zankoku_zen

In the Bottle: Citrusy and orange. I smell a tinge of lavender On Skin: Clean, citrusy. I smell the lavender. It's a very clean scent. It makes me think of Baby Johnson's cologne. It evokes images of purity and innocence. I get a tiny tinge of herbalness now. On Drydown: I get more of the floral and herbal part of the scent. There is something that smells slightly masculine on me, like a hint of musk. Verdict: This is great, clean, breezy scent. I'm not sure I adore it despite my love for citrus. Hmmm...

In the Bottle: Ginger and milk, with a hint of sweetness. Interesting... On Skin: Milky undertones and the sharp note of ginger. It reminds me of Alice, less floral and more sharp. I can smell a tinge of floral, which I'm assuming is the ambrosia. On Drydown: Nuts. This turned soapy on me. The ginger's sharpness evaporates and I get a milky, sweet soap. I smell very clean. Nuts. Verdict: Starts out lovely but then turns into soap. Curses. To the swap pile.

In the Bottle: There is a chocolatey, deep green smell to it. On Skin: I can smell the chocolate and something else, kinda nutty and fruity which could either be the black palm or the fig. There is a spicy note at the end. It is a very comforting scent. On Drydown: Definitely chocolately with a musky/spicy tone. It smells a bit masculine now. After another 15, my skin has drunk this all in. It's completely faded. Verdict: Lovely scent but its lack of staying power makes it a swap. Nuts. Hopefully Centzon won't do this to me. Ah... chocolate.

In the Bottle: Very floral. Delicate though. On Skin: Very floral, delicate, innocent. I would call it whispy. It has a golden quality to it, like the sun playing on your face in the early morning. The jasmine reminds me to Yuki-Onna. But where Yuki-Onna is wintry and sharp, this is gentle warmth, like waking up in spring. On Drydown: There is a tinge of green at the end, which keeps this from being overly sweet. The jasmine is more predominant at the end. Verdict: It reminds me to Nuit but I think I like Eos better. ETA: 7/29/07: It definitely reminds me to Gibbous Moon. Since I have a bottle GM, I think I'll let this imp go. On the other hand, once my GM bottle is gone, I know what to replace it with.

In the Bottle: Floral and a bit sweet On Skin: A bit watery, slight floralness. There's still that sweet note. On Drydown: A sweet floral. Like a sugar gilded lily floating on water. Verdict: Pretty scent, like a young girl being rowed down a river. There is something very reminscent about Juliet but sweeter. Not me though. Too sweet.

In the Bottle: There is a note in this scent that I love about Hollywood Babylon. It must be the red musk. On Skin: I can smell the red musk and something more incensey, either its the myrrh or the patchouli. The ylang ylang gives it a light floral touch. On Drydown: This is just a sexy scent, its a bit more muted than when wet but dear lord does it try to incite you into debauchery. It's alluring, and naughty and animalistic. I love it. Can you smell like sex? I say yes... yes you can. Verdict: Must. Get. Bigger. Bottle. But for now... Must. Find. The. Boy.

In the Bottle: Fruity sweetness and light florals. I can smell the sweet pea. On Skin: I smell something like sugared peaches. There is the sweet pea and a slight rosy floral note to it. On Drydown: This reminds me alot to Juliet. Only more fruity sweet. Verdict: Pretty scent but too fruity sweet for me. Off to swap.

In the Bottle: I smell carnations and something kinda sharpish, which would be the white tea. On Skin: I smell the carnations, and another floral, which would be the rose. It's still very sharp, I thin the carnations have a tinge of bitterness on my skin. On Drydown: A very clean scent. It reminds me of something but I can't remember what it is. It does smell very pure. I can smell more of the tea now. The bitterness has disappeared but there is still that sharp aftertaste. Verdict: Pretty. But not me. I'll trade this imp to someone who will like it more than I.

I remember smelling this at the DC BPAL swap and thinking I liked the strawberry notes. In the Bottle: Smells strongly of strawberries. On Skin: It reminds me to Fruit Roll ups. Or a Strawberry Jolly Rancher. Very sweet. Where is the champagne?? On Drydown: Some of the sweetness evaporates. Now it just reminds me to strawberry jam. Verdict: Pooh. I was hoping that the champagne notes would come and cut the sweetness of the strawberry. Instead, I smell like candy. Off to swap.

Warrior, Trickster and Goddess of Magic and Poets, she is one of the Tuatha De Danaan and the Queen of the Faeries. A very complex scent, both shadowy and fierce: black orchid, sandalwood, night-blooming jasmine, osmanthus, Somalian rose, and Chinese musk. In the Bottle: Something sweet and rosy. On Skin: Almost cloyingly rosy sweet. It's like sugar and roses combined together. Potent. After a few minutes, I can smell another floral trying to wedge its way through. It's getting more complex but still dishearteningly sweet. On Drydown: Still cloyingly sweet. I'm going to go wash off. Verdict: Queen Mab is surely playing tricks on me. Instead of being shadowy and fierce, I have a bright sweetness. Almost like a watermelon. I'm wondering what note I'm just not getting along with here... Off to swap

In the Bottle: Smells clear and crisp and a bit astringent. On Skin: I can smell the green tea. There is a bit of a lemony after sniff and I can catch whiffs of something floral and sweet, which must be the honeysuckle. On Drydown: Still smells like tea. There is also something slightly spicier on me. It smells very Asian. Verdict: I really enjoy this scent. It smells like tea. It's clean and refreshing. This definitely makes me think of Asia, with its green tea smell and its purity. I enjoy this scent. Alot. I think I have a new favorite.

In the Bottle: Strong lime smell.... almost like limeade! On Skin: Very fresh. Very strongly clean. There is a whiff of a soft floral coming through which must be the lilac. On Drydown: This gets a tinge of a soapy smell. This makes me think of drinking lemonade as you watch your clothes hang in the breeze. It smells really tasty. Verdict: Pretty smell but a bit too sharp for my taste. I don't think its for the boy either. Off to swap this goes.

In the Bottle: Medicinal cherry. On Skin: Very woodsy. I think its the mahogany that I'm smelling. This is a very warm scent. On Drydown: Some of the woodsy smell fades a bit, and I can smell a fruity undercurrent. It doesn't smell like cherries. There's a slight incensey note at the end. Verdict: A pretty scent but not me. Thank goodness because these were the last drops I was able to salvage from the imp that leaked in transit.

Boy has responded well to Juliet and Hollywood Babylon. He even went so far as to agree that Hollywood Babylon smells like "devious cherries." I wore Spellbound out to meet some friends. One of them went "Holy crap... you smell sooo nice." I'm beginning to think that Beth's red musk works really well for me, since it is one of the common elements in both perfumes.

Even before opening the imp, I can smell the strong aquatic notes. In the Bottle: Something very aquatic, and very sharp. And almost grapefruity. Ooh! I'm excited now. On Skin: There is something sharp. It smells a bit like Tempest but there is something more citrusy about it. It smells clean and pure about it. On Drydown: This smell is less strong than Tempest. I think I like it better. There is a slight powdery. Verdict: I like this. I'm keeping the imp. So lovely. I don't know if I'll order more Tempest or more Sea of Glass from the lab. Hmmm...

I got to try this at the BPAL meet up in DC. In the bottle: Something very warm, kinda musky, kinda floral. On Skin: I get whiffs of the ginger, and a hint of vanilla. It's sexy. On Drydown: Has a bit of floral note now, still can't smell the jasmine or apricot. I get the idea of a confident yet elusive woman. Verdict: Pretty scent. But not me. I'm glad I got to try it though.

In the bottle: Smells musky. On Skin: This smells like Hollywood Babylon, but less sweet and more spicy. It's a bit masculine. I can't really smell the peach. On Drydown: After a few hours, its just musky, less spicy. Very warm. Very sexy. Verdict: I'm keeping the imp. It's very impish, a bit seductive, a bit playful. I think Beth hit it dead on with this scent. There's something a bit dangerous, a mischevious glint underneath lowered eyebrows, a scheming smirk. Oh yes. I like this.

In the Bottle: Airy, kinda floral. Something sharp. On Skin: There is a strong citrus note on it. It's still very fresh smelling. On Drydown: The citrus note calms down. The smells is very fresh, very airy, very clean. After a few hours of wear, you can smell the soft floral note. Verdict: Very pretty. I enjoy this scent alot. Alot.

In the Bottle: I smell violets and a hint of lilac. On Skin: This has a strong floral smell. The violet smell is pretty strong like in Ultraviolet and the Raven. On Drydown: Still very violet and floral. It's very sweet. It lacks the spiciness of neroli. It fades fast from my skin though. Verdict: Again, I feel the same way about Nocturne as I do about the Raven. This is a lovely violet scent but Ultraviolet works better on me. Off to swap so that it will find an owner that loves it more than I do.

This is a really full imp. And has this lovely amberish color. In the Bottle: Strong rosy smell. Gah! It was so tough to pop open the imp without spilling some of the oil. On Skin: This is rosy without being overly powdery at the moment. It's a very warm scent. I'm liking this. On Drydown: My nose is really like this. It's got a clean rosey smell but there is something very sensual about it. I'm beginning to think that it's the red musk. Which is one of the ingredients of Hollywood Babylon. Verdict: I don't know what Beth uses for her red musk but my skin reacts really well to it. My nose is now constantly sniffing the one spot where I applied it. This is a keeper.

In the Bottle: Smells like fresh pears. Juicy! On Skin: On contact, it initially smells like a really overripe pear. I can smell some powdery floral, which seems more rosy than lily. On Drydown: Some of the pear smell dissipates and the florals take over. It's still very sweet and floral. Verdict: This is a pretty scent but just not me. I can't get over the sweetness factor, which still has me on the fence about Blood Countess. Except I'm not as fond of the pear smell as I am of the plum.

In the Bottle: Violet and iris. It smells like a more floral version of Ultraviolet. On Skin: I can smell the iris and the violet. This is a much sweeter violet scent than Ultraviolet on application. The iris is a bit more predominant. I'm getting a whiff of neroli. On Drydown: Very much like Ultraviolet on drydown. Perhaps a tinge muskier. Verdict: The iris makes this scent sweeter than Ultraviolet. I like Ultraviolet just fine and so by extension this scent. However, it isn't so much more different form Ultraviolet in my skin that I'll keep it.

In the Bottle: Something incensey. Must be the sandalwood. On Skin: I can smell something like crush flower stalks, its very green. I can smell some of the sandalwood. On Drydown: Still has that crushed green smell but its a bit gentler now. I inhale deep and there is something very calming about it. A gentle repose. Verdict: This is an interesting scent but not for me. Off to swap it goes.

In the Bottle: Strong ozoney smell. On Skin: This is sharp and tangy, still with the ozone smell. It smells very sporty and masculine to me. It kind of reminds me to Irish Spring but with a richness to it. On Drydown: This is a nice, clean scent. I find it very appealing. Verdict: This strikes me as a good room scent. Or a good scent to mix with unfragranced fabric softner.

I'm excited about this. I like the cherry smell of Hollywood Babylon and I love the lily smells from Goneril and Juliet. In the Bottle: I can smell the lilies. And something sweet and fresh, like an apple. On Skin: The lilies predominate but there is an underlying sweetness to it. There is also the hint of something green, which I'm assuming is the stephanotis. On Drydown: I can smell some of the cherries coming out. It's not predominant like in Hollywood Babylon though and it's an interesting mix with the lilies. Unfortunately, it fades fast from my skin. Verdict: I like this. The scent isn't overpowering and domineering like I would associate with the Queen of Hearts. There is something very elegant and appealing to it. However, because of its limited staying power, I would have to slather this on. It may be better off at another home.