zankoku_zen

In the imp: Berries and grass On Skin: Bright and breezy berries and grass. Drydown: Slightly more floral, the berries are still there and there's a teensy hint of grassyness to it. Verdict: This is a nice floral, in a generic shampoo sort of way. It kinda reminds me to Herbal Essences sort of way. Smells fresh, clean and floral, but I can't get the commercial association out of my head. Nuts.

In the imp: Clove. Smells like cough syrup. On Skin: Cinnamon and cloves. Kinda reminds me to gingersnap cookies. It has a slight plasticky undertone. On Drydown: Clove and cinnamon. Spicy. After two hours: I can really smell the pepper on this one. Verdict: This isn't for me. It's pretty in the baked goods sort of way, but I've never been a fan of cinnamon, clove or pepper.

From Illyria, I like Tamora, Goneril and Juliet. Which reminds me.... I should get another Goneril imp soon...

On Skin: Floral and pine. After a few minutes, the pine is VERY dominant. It kinda reminds me to Snow Bunny. On Drydown: It smells very strongly of pine and a hint of juniper. After thirty minutes, the pine almost disappears and the vanilla and amber come into play. It sort of reminds me to O at the moment in the sweetness + amber sort of way. On Him: It smells like a berry candle, very sweet. The vanilla comes out on the drydown, but overall, it's too sweet for his taste. Verdict: This was quite a morpher, going from pine to vanilla in the span of about half an hour. It's a pretty scent, but for pine I have Snow Bunny and for sweet amber I have O, and he doesn't like it much for himself. Alas, our hearts are too full of other BPAL to show this lovely scent the love it needs.

On Skin: Soapy florals On Drydown: Soapy florals. Very clean smelling. Verdict: Clean smelling, slightly aquatic floral. It's breezy and light and very sunshiney. And yes, it does work. On the other hand, I don't really have a need for it (knock on wood) so I think I'll send it along to someone who needs it more.

In the imp: graham cracker? On Skin: Vanilla, slightly woody On Drydown: Warm vanilla, slightly spicy? There's an element I don't know what it is... and it's probably the stephanotis. After like four hours: Very warm vanilla. Verdict: This is pretty much vanilla on me. I'm not a huge fan of how vanilla smells but this was pretty. Not for me, but still pretty.

Yeah, when I'm just putzing around the house I usually try out any new scents that have been waiting around. I also like tea scents for comfyness, so I go with Alice or Dorian. Another good one might be Tarot: the Lovers.

I do get a very similar-like base to Alice in a floral sort of way, but at the very minute of application I get something that smells like roast turkey! After a while, I just get a hint of treacle/sugary sweetness and floral warmness. It faded after an hour, so I think I'm going to stick to the original Alice.

On HIS Skin: What he calls 'smells like may apple, a spicy/earthy one'. Definitely the earthiness is coming from the patchouli. I think what he smells is a combination of the lemon peel and the lavender. The spiciness might also come from the anise. On Drydown: Old Spice. Verdict: He doesn't enjoy this one. I don't think it smells all that bad, but I think he associates 'Old Spice' smells with his father and grandfather... and therefore, has no desire to smell like either of them. Ah well.

I haven't tried this one out because I swapped it for the boy. So this is basically on the boy, since he'd be the one to wear it anyway. In the vial: I can smell the bay and a touch of pine On HIS skin: Vick's Vapo Rub. On Drydown: Smells like cloves. Verdict: While he likes the smells of Vick's Vapo Rub and cloves, he has no actual desire to smell like them. He's very very picky when it comes to finding a scent he likes, but he's open to trying whatever I think might work on him. Unfortunately, the wet stage is simply not something I enjoy even when I enjoy the drydown.

In the imp: apple and plumeria On Skin: Apple and plumeria, but it's a bit soapy On Drydown: Very much still apple with a warm base. It kinda reminds me to Punkie Night. After an hour: GONE Verdict: I didn't get any real Snake Oil from this. It was very apple-heavy at the beginning and kinda heady... but it didn't last at all. Sad, really.

In the imp: Strong and buttery On Skin: Smoky, slightly buttery rum smell On Drydown: Smoky pancake syrup. Verdict. I got no lime from this. I want key lime goodness. Alas, I was denied. Instead I got pancake syrup. Fabulous pancake syrup... but disappointing when I was hoping for limey cookies. Stupid skin chemistry.....

In the imp: citrus and floral On the skin: Creamy floral, orange blossom I do believe. It had an herby top edge to it and it made me think of pizza the first minute it was applied. Which was a bit weird. On Drydown: Creamy orangey smelling. Slightly warmer and muskier than on wet. Verdict: Despite the original weirdness, this ends up like orange sherbet on my skin. Creamy, tasty, sugary orange that isn't citrusy. It's very tasty. Perhaps too tasty...

On Skin: Olive juice. Like the olive you get in a martini? Yeah, that's what it is. Drydown: Still olive. There is something a bit musky about it and it makes me think animal-like and feral. Verdict: This is not calming for me. If it had smelled like olive oil, that would have been neat. Instead, it smells more like an olive floating in olive juice... or a dirty martini.

This is indeed Tigerlily's grown up sister, sophisticated and sultry lily. In the drydown, I get the tiniest hint of a creamy vanilla. Fabulous. The only problem I have is a mild soapiness at the very beginning when it is on wet.

This is for a girl, I'll edit this later for a guy 1. Alice 2. Dorian 3. Snake Oil 4. Bat Woman 5. O 6. Perversion 7. Intrigue 8. Snow White 9. Rose Red 10. Samhain 11. Blue Moon 12. Chaos Theory I've noted some that are not my favorites, but in the interest of enabling, they would go REAL far.

This isn't really an LE.... but I've found that Mama-Ji and the Frumious Bandersnatch smell very similar on me. I guess my comparison is more of an unimpable vs an imp-available scent.

In the imp: Spicy On Skin: spicy orangey carnation-like floral. Did I say incensey? It's got that vibe. It kinda reminds me to Frumious Bandersnatch Drydown: Spicy loveliness Verdict: This is what I was hoping Bakeneko would be. Love it.

In the imp: Lily and iris Wet: Jasmine, cereus. It's a heady and pretty floral Drydown: Pretty white floral, creamy Verdict: Pretty. A bit heady at the beginning. I'm torn on whether to keep it or not. I might have to test it again before I make up my mind.

In the imp: Sharp green shoots smell On Skin: The sharp green shoots smell that kind of reminds me a little of how BPAL iris smells on my skin. After a minute, I get jasmine wafting out at me. On Drydown: Smoky like and sexy. It's a heady floral without being too floral. It's musky without being musky. Verdict: Perfectly blended because I can't seem to pick out any of the individual notes. Dark? Check. Dangerous? Check. Exotic? Check. Sexy? Check. Overall though, it may be a smidge too dark on me. If I was more prone to vamping it out, I would love this in a heartbeat. Knowing myself, this is more in your face dark and sexy than I think I can pull off. It's a gorgeous scent though.

In the imp: floral and opium On Skin: Floral and smoky. The smoky aspect actually makes me think of the smokiness of bacon fat frying. Drydown: Smells very lily-like and alot like F5 which I tried yesterday. Interesting. Verdict: Lily power. I have other lily scents that I prefer. I was hoping more for the smokyness factor in this blend.

Much thanks for ForeverLastcXs for a generous sample of her Dorian soap! Dry: It smells like a softer Dorian In the Shower: Lathers up well, smells very much like Dorian while lathering. Smooth texture. Yes, very nice. Toweling Dry: The scent lingers slightly on the skin and it's fairly moisturizing. I have oily skin and most soaps tend to strip all of the oil off, leaving me fairly sensitive and in need of a good moisturizer. Verdict: I've been a shower gel girl since college. Occasionally, however, I do crave some soap on my skin. And for my money, I'd definitely pick Dorian for those occasions. The soap isn't so highly scented that you *have* to wear Dorian after it, but it makes a good base for it.

A refreshing scent! GET IT?! Aloe, white musk, lime peel, fresh mint, seaspray, verbena and green tea. In the imp: Fresh smelling and green vibes On Skin: Clean and refreshing. The verbena is the most prominent note. On Drydown: Still clean and refreshing. The verbena calms down a bit and I get a bit of the sea spray. Verdict: Fresh and very clean. So clean in fact, it reminds me to dryer sheets! It's a soft and comforting scent... but I'm not sure I'd like it as a perfume. I can see this being a great room scent, or using it to scent laundry products with.

In the imp: sugary woody fruits On Skin: Leather and musk? On Drydown: It's musky and masculine. There is a definite woody component to it and the cassia is just too much on my skin. Verdict: Not for me. I was hoping for a fruitier spicy blend. Instead I'm in the OMGCassia camp I suppose. This flighty bird is for someone else!

In the imp: Sharp lavender On Skin: Sharp lavender and pizza herbs. It's very herby. Slightly unpleasant. On Drydown: The lavender fades and I get more of a warm herby sort of smell with perhaps a touch of almond. It's herby and bitter. Verdict: I don't think this scent is for me at all. Most of the time I don't mind the way VD blends smell but I really don't enjoy this one.