zankoku_zen

In the imp: Cologne On Skin: Cologney-like. I get a very sharp ozone note and just the barest edge of white florals around it. On Drydown: More sharp ozone, and a hot metallic tang with swirling white florals. The cologney feel is barely there. Verdict: It's a little on the masculine side and the ozone note is slightly too much for me. At the same time, it's a very powerful scent. It definitely bespeaks 'I take no crap from anyone'. It's very clean and very white, and I have to agree with the impression that it is both hot and cold at the same time. And really, it does smell like flowers on hot metal. It's not too user-friendly for me but it's a brilliantly executed and imagined scent. Cheers to the Lab for this one!

In the imp: strong medicinal sort of scent. And yes, I can see how this can be the base of High John the Conqueror.... minus the lovely grape! On Skin: very strong medicinal, woody sort of scent. I smell a faint tinge of almond around the edges. I don't like it... Drydown: This scent calms down after a while. After a while, I can smell something sort of ambery and woody and almondy. After like two hours, I definitely get amber and almondy. Very warm. Verdict: I don't know if this works, since I've been applying to jobs today. On drydown, it smells nothing like High John the Conqueror which I'm wearing on my other wrist. It's more resinous and woody. I like it on the drydown. Really. I have to say that a combination of both of these scents and a smidge of Anthelion has done wonders for my disposition today. I have felt energized and motivated and in general, in cheery and good spirits. Perhaps it also has to do with Spring... but whatever it is: I'm happy!

In the imp: slightly herby (perhaps that's the calla lily smell?) and something I called ambergris in my head... only to find out that it's probably the grey amber I'm smelling. The initial impression is gray... and very airy. On skin: it's soapy for a bit and the amber smell is pretty strong. On drydown: turns into a soft florals, delicate, white and clean. And yes, the impression of a garden in cool nighttime air comes to mind. There is something innocent and yet highly sophisticated about this. Verdict: The drydown sort of reminds me to Nivea Cream that comes in the blue tin that my mom used to smear on our faces to prevent sunburns during our times in the beach. It's a crisp, refreshing and lightly floral smell. And yes, airy. Still, the 'gray' color vibe that this throws off is impossible to ignore. It's a complex light floral and I like it. I'm trying to figure out just how much and I might have to try it again just to make up my mind.

I was very intrigued to try out this scent... since I haven't really tried anything with a leather note. In the imp: caramel and coconut smelling. There is also a strong woody undertone, so it isn't completely sweet. On skin: caramel and coconut smoke swirl together. Again, there is a woody tone to it. On drydown: I get a rich leather scent with a hint of sweetness and the wood tone comes out to the forefront. Very potent. Good throw and staying power. Verdict: The sweetness fades quickly and instead I get a woodsy leather like scent, very rich and heavy. Perversion's leather and wood notes seem to love my skin, but I'm not too keen on them truthfully. On the other hand, this was a very sophisticated and dominant blend and I think on the right person, and in the right mindset, this would be a powerhouse of a smell, sexy and dominant. I don't think I'm a leather note girl but I'm really glad I got to try this!

This definitely has honey in it. At the beginning it was very floral and aromatic. After about 30 minutes, the honey note seeps out alot more. There is a very sweet scent between the honey and the sugar cane. Verdict: Not crazy about this scent. It's a very sweet floral on my skin. And by floral I mean BIG. I wonder if its the osmanthus or hibiscus.

In the imp: Peach and lavender On Skin: Peach! Very soft and sweet peach. I get a tinge of rose, but overall it's a bright floral peach. On Drydown: About an hour later the peach smell has faded and instead I get the sandalwood note most prominently. Again, I have a tinge of rose. Verdict: Loved the peach, but I'm less crazy about the drydown. I love how it begins like a sweet scent and ends in an almost solemn spicy scent. This is how I imagine sipping on the Cup of Death would be.

I'm currently wearing PB as I'm filing out applications for jobs and sending out resumes. Before I started, I meditated thinking, 'I want to be employed. I want to find a job.' So far, so good. I'm feeling pretty good about today's batch and hopefully, someone will contact me for an interview. Scent-wise, I dabbed some on my neck. It smells like cherry chapstick. Not unpleasant, musky and warm. I'll update this review once I see any noticeable results.

This doesn't change much, if at all, for me to notice from application to drydown. It's sweet, caramel apples. Very much like the Hesperides. Only slightly less heavy, a little more citrusy. Verdict: Bright, fresh, crispy juicy succulent apples. But again, just like the Hesperides in my skin. Mmmm. Tasty.

It smells like musky lavender with clove in it. I dabbed some on two chakra points and just thought about myself and what I wanted. It basically boiled down to me thinking about 'being happy'. This is a very comforting and uplifting scent. And I agree with Oly's review... you don't get a voice from the heaven thundering down on you but you do get a reassuring nuzzle on the head, which is comforting and revitalizing. I've been doing a job search for the past few weeks and anyone knows how much that can suck. This is making today's search so much more bearable. I'll edit this to see how it works the rest of the day but I can tell you already, I feel better and I usually get some sort of mild doldrums because of winter. ETA: 2013 So it's been six year since I've gotten some Anthelion, and I have a partial. I only bust this out when I need a day when I really need the world to be OK, either because it's been rough professionally and personally. And it invariably helps. I don't think it just immediately reverses your fortunes, but often times acts as that respite you really need to keep going.

In the imp: Citrus and florals On Skin: Bright warm citrus. It's so delicious right now! On Drydown: The citrus goes away and instead all I get is some 'generic' perfume smell. The cherry blossom is strong but I've never had it be 'this' strong. I was hoping for more cinnamon. Verdict: I'm going to try this again in a few more days. I really do want to like Bakeneko. I do. I had high hopes for the cinnamon and satsuma tangerine. If the drydown were a spicy mix, I would love it too. But this 'floral' nonsense? GAH.

In the imp: sugary blossoms On Skin: Burnt sugar, sort of like in a creme brulee. It's so strong I also smell something like the whiff of a coffee roast. On Drydown: It mellows to a sharp floral. However the 'burnt' smell lingers for a while. The floral isn't too perfumey... it's just sharp. Verdict: Zarita smells like she should be cuddly but she pokes you with a sharp knife. I can see her being pleasant to someone else but to me, her threat lingers and part of me is wary of her. Unfortunately, off to the swap pile for her.

Unlike theseagrows, I decided to take a chance on it because of the cucumber/pear combination. Unfortunately for me, it's a very musky sort of floral. And yes, dark and brooding do come to mind. Florals underneath the presence of a new moon sort of feeling. On the drydown, it's more musky and less floral. Part of me wants to associate it with sandalwood and patchouli, since it gives me the same sort of vibe. Verdict: Darkly beautiful. Yet more musky than floral. I'm not the type that wholly appreciates this dark lovely so off to swap it goes.

I got a sniffie of this. Thanks Arylkin! In the bottle: Coconut?!?! On skin: Coconut and florals. I'm pretty sure that coconut is not one of the components. It might be the mixture of the tonka bean and vanilla. It's very lush and tropical On Drydown: Still tropical flowery. The smell of the coconut has disappeared and I can distinctively smell the vanilla now... and something else, warm and musky. I can smell the orchid after about an hour, still pretty in the tropical flower way. Verdict: Jungle love. This is very bright and sensual. Very exotic. Very pretty.

In the imp: citrusy On skin: Fruity-citrus. There is something musky underlying it, and I can't pinpoint what the fruit is. It kinda brings to mind the 'scented' fruit ink that some pens for children have. On drydown: Definitely musky. Dark. No aquatics... simply musky. Verdict: No water... instead I seem to be straight into sniffing Cthulu, a musky sort of smell. Odd to say the least. I was hoping for some 'deep' water... but apparently, it was not meant to be.

In the imp: Aquatic On Skin: Immediately, it's a fruity aquatic. Smells a bit like melon. It's quite tasty. After a while, it starts to morph and gets a tad bit more salty. On Drydown: Soapy undertones. Smells fresh, clean and aquatic still. Verdict: Definitely an aquatic. I'm sad about the soapy undertones though. Olokun is lord of the sea on a bright, sunny summer day in Brazil. Lots of white sand, hot sun and ripe fruits. Bright and cheery.

In the imp: Grape juicy! On skin: Wet, the most distinctive note is grape juice. It is bubbly and effervescent and immediately it's a mood enhancer. Hard to be somber when you're wearing something to cheerful! After it dries a bit, I get more of the floral undertone. On Drydown: Definitely floral. The grape is gone. There is still a certain amount of fruitiness but I think I smell jasmine. It's a very light, playful sort of floral. Verdict: Most of the Voodoo Blends haven't worked for me... but I think does! It makes me happy. And everyone knows that happiness allows you to work through a number of problems. I was wearing it when I've emailed a number of resumes, so hopefully, it will also help in that aspect. And yes, at the beginning I did get a purple sort of vibe from it... and then it streaked straight into white. ETA: weekend of 5/20/2007 So my husband and I drive up to State College, PA to visit his bestfriend who is living out there and I put on HJC earlier that day. On the drive up, mapquest directions took us OFF the highway and the interstate and into basically back country roads... several of which passed through state parks... at about 10 PM. And let me tell you, I'm usually easily creeped out. Heck, even my husband, who grew up in rural MD and is used to no lamp posts at every 10 feet was feeling mildly creeped out. Me? I was chill as a cucumber. The trees, the darkness, the unknown roads didn't creep me out. I was serene as a clam. That really proved to me that HJC works (even if it was a placebo effect, meaning it worked because I thought it would... but that's okay because fear is a psychological thing anyway).

In the imp: musky On skin: Again, musky (the black musk is very prominent) and very savory. I do see how people would compare it to an Indian restaurant/curry. It's very fragrant (because of the ajowan). On drydown: It's a little subtler and sweeter. The black musk mellows down, the ajowan is slightly less pungent and there is a sweetness that possibly comes from either the tamarind. There is a floral lilt to this... which could be a combination of the opoponax and the mimosa... or maybe I'm just guessing. Verdict: I would definitely categorize this as a 'dark scent', and very turbulent at that. It's also 'masculine' in my mind because of the prevalent black musk. It's very fragrant and savory. Definitely interesting. Part of me likes it... because I like Indian food. Part of me thinks that this is not a scent to be messed with.

Thoroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon. One of these days, I will learn... I swear. This is nothing but patchouli and sandalwood. I smell like a headshop. Verdict: Again, this is resinous, gritty, fragrant patchouli and sandalwood. I can see the comparisons to Aureus in this one. Again, not for me. But for you patchouli lovers, I would totally recommend this scent.

I really get honey (tons of it), snatches of red wine and florals. The florals come out much more in the drydown. Verdict: This is a sweet scent, very foody and makes me think of olfactory cakes. If I were a deity, I would find this scent very pleasing. The honey note is almost too much for me in this case... but it's quite lovely.

Athens. I'm wearing it right now and I've got a strong honey note off of this. MMM...

This was spicy plum with a warm musky base and yes, I could get hints of carnation now and again. It was warm and pleasant... if a bit like potpourri. Verdict: If this is what frumious bandersnatchii smell like, I'm going to keep them as pets! It does make me wonder what non-frumious bandersnatchii smell like... Overall, it was a warm, golden sort of scent with snatches of plums and carnation, which made me think that this tricksy fellow has been out in the garden in the sun. Very nice, indeed.

In the imp: Ozoney On Skin: Aquatic, lightly floral, again part of me wants to compare it to Sea of Glass but the vetiver changes the 'aquatic' component in my mind. On Drydown: Ozoney, sporty, aquatic. More of a male aquatic in my mind. Verdict: I was hoping for something more 'snowy' or reminiscent of 'dark nights, driving down obscure roads, watchful'. I didn't get the scent of asphalt from this. It was a pleasant, if rather masculine, aquatic. Damn skin chemistry of mine. Alas, I continue to search for the wintery blend that will appease my fickle heart.

A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom. I was hoping for a very citrusy-orange sort of smell. Very much like Et Lux Fuit. In the imp: Slightly herbal. On Skin: Very herbal. Almost green. No citrus. On Drydown: I get more of the amber/powdery smell now. It's very warm. But again, no citrus and still slightly herbal. Verdict: My skin chemistry makes me so sad. I was hoping for some of the lovely fruity citrus that everyone else was getting. Ah well, it was not meant to be. ELF has no competition then. ETA: edited to add description

In the imp: aquatic and floral On Skin: Lilies! This definitely has lilies in it. On Drydown: Smells very much like Sea of Glass because of the lilies. Verdict: Most lab aquatics must have lilies as a component because the smell of lilies is very predominant on my skin. This is a very pretty, girlie scent. I'd recommend this for small children because it's very innocuous and I can imagine elementary school girls wearing this as they dash about in the playground.

Again, this was tried on the husband. On me: Smoke! On him: Smoky... but you can smell eucalyptus and a hint of menthol on his. On drydown: I do get more of the eucalyptus and menthol hints that he did at the beginning... and mine dries down to a pleasant incensey sort of smell, smoldering ashes and whatnot. On his drydown: He inhaled deeply and wondered if there was valerian in it. On him, it smelled like Vick's vaporub and a head shop. Verdict: Again, skin chemistry is non-cooperative in both of our cases. I don't like smelling like smoke and he wasn't keen on the 'vaporub' stage of the drydown. On the other hand, we had tons of fun smelling it wet... and wet it's pretty phenomenal for a scent.