Elemcee

Oneiroi is pretty much just lavender on me, which means that it is a very prim and proper, old-fashioned sort of perfume, because that's what I associate with lavender. Be interesting to see if there's a lavender-heavy blend that doesn't bring those things to mind. It's certainly not unpleasant, though, although it's not the brightest, or the sexiest, or the most mysterious, it's nice to wear for the daytime, at least. I'm about to sleep in it. I have to admit, some of the reviews here have made me a little nervous to try this, but other reviewers have said that it helps them sleep, so maybe it'll work for me.

Black Annis smells like the dank, musty cave, and also, er, chocolate, weirdly. At least at first. I'm not sure what to make of this, since whilst I actually like both scents, I'm not sure about the two, together. Then the chocolate aspect fades, and we're left in the cave, alone. Like I said, that musty underground smell is one that I like (because it reminds me of the basements and tunnels underneath the castles I used to visit, I think), oddly, but I'm not sure that it's something I'd like to smell of. Eventually, it fades to something airier, like we're approaching the entrance to the cave. I don't know about this one. It's not exactly unpleasant, but it feels weird to wear. I think it would suit a man, better; he'd make the most of the muskiness.

Berenice is clean and fresh, creamy, clean and fresh again, and musky, in that order. It's certainly melancholy, although not really emotional. Berenice is cold and hard, and you can see that there is something bubbling under the surface, but she refuses to let it come to the top. She dresses impeccably, although plainly and has very pale Victorian English skin.

Belladonna starts out as a sharp, medicinal scent, but on the dry-down becomes a warm, spicy and only slightly sweet scent. I can certainly imagine a night-time forest, and a beautiful leaf-clad lady who wavers in and out of my vision. Although I can't be sure if she is just a flower, after all.

Spellbound is the present to Darkness's past. A musky, sultry rose scent, that I imagine would be worn by a femme fatale in a silk negligee, waiting a seduce an elegantly dressed man, when he finally arrives at her door. Unlike Darkness, though, I think I could pull this one off.

Numb certainly is numb. Straight out of the bottle, it's one of those days when it's so, so cold, and so so dry, and everyone is saying 'We'll be getting snow, soon', but you never do. So sharp and cold, indeed. After a while, though, it softens and warms up to a nice violet scent. By this point, you're back at home in front of the fire with a good book and the TV on.

Shadow Witch Orchid is a vibrant, lush floral, flourishing in a humid, wet climate. It is unarguably feminine, but not at all delicate. The woman who would wear this has a wardrobe full of bright silks in many colours. She certainly isn't someone who is afraid to stand out among sombre blacks and greys.

The embodiment of Classic masculinity. A warrior's scent: the green hills and grasses of the battlefields, the resinous incense from the prayers to his Gods, and a touch of the musky leather of his armor. Ambergris and frankincense with sage, and basil. This herbs and leather. Very clean and, yes, very masculine. It actually made me feel quite unfeminine today, which is fine because being a tomboy suits me when the mood takes me. I think I'll save it for days when I'm going to go traipsing off in muddy fields and castle ruins in old boots, though. This scent suits adventure.

Neo-Tokyo smells like somebody sank a piece of metal in a puddle of fresh rainwater in a beautiful garden. There's definitely something synthetic in here, too. When I first touched it, I expected it to be gloopy and neon blue. Yet there's still that natural aquatic-floral freshness, although I can't pick any notes out, exactly. It's a nice scent, though, I think.

This sharp, heady scent smells like I've just opened an old trunk full of feather boas and velvet and sequin dresses. It's a very traditional, glamourous and feminine perfume. On someone, it's the scent of a femme fatale. On me, however, it's the scent of a little girl who has splashed her mother's perfume all over herself. It's a shame, but this scent is for a lady who is older and far more sophisticated than I.

The Cracked Bell is a sharp, tangy note on a soft base. It's a beautifully despairing scent, somehow. I definitely imagine somewhere huge and ornate yet old and crumbling.

Tempest is a prettied-up version of salt water. Not just salt water, actually, but the real, living sea. It's the waves crashing at the base of the cliffs of Dover, it's the scent coming through the window on a breezy Summer day, it's what I can smell when stepping off the train at home on a rainy day. Except softer, and with a slight floral twist. I've always lived near the sea, and this is a very comforting scent, especially when I'm away from familiarity.

Amsterdam is very bright and clean and fresh. It does make me think a bit of those days in February and March when the new flowers are growing, but it's still freezing cold. Going for a walk in the early spring past fields of tulips and peonies. This is too 'cold' a scent to wear in Winter, I think. The 'water' notes make me shiver, unitentionally, whereas in Summer, they'd be nicely cooling.

Dana O'Shee is my breakfast porridge, when I've gotten up early enough and can relax and eat breakfast with a cup of tea and not have to worry about being late. It is the most perfect porridge, ever. It's not glamourous or obviously seductive, but it would be a lovely scent to wear when one is cuddling up to someone nice and warm...

There is a hint of commercial cologne in Villain. Fortunately, though, it doesn't give me the image of a teenaged boy who swiped a bottle out of his dad's bathroom cabinet so he could pull girls on his first visit to a nightclub. Villain is very proper, very well-dressed, very Victorian upper-class. He may be suave and devilishly charming, he may just be very pompous. It is a very sexy scent for a man. I wish I knew someone who could do it justice. And maybe wear a tailored jacket with ruffled sleeves and polished boots to go with it. Villain does lean more to the masculine, although it's not too musky, so it could work for a woman, too. Maybe a more androgynous woman, I think.

Bliss is my mum's chocolate biscuit cake, cooking in the oven. It really is pure, rich, endorphin-releasing chocolate. No crap, artificial imitation smell, here. Bliss, for me, doesn't fulfill the usual perfume 'role'. That is to say, I don't wear it so it wafts gently past people's nose as I glide past. I wear it to smell it, myself, because I want to smell chocolate all day.

Dragon's blood is interesting. It does smell like tears. Like that point when you've been crying and your cheeks are soggy and your sinuses are aching and you're gasping for breath. It smells like that. This makes me feel a bit of that cathartic yet melancholic feeling that isn't too unpleasant, without having actually cried.

I'm not feeling very well, today , so I decided to pick out a scent that I would find comforting. Verdandi is just that. Dark, soft apples, this is, both in the bottle and on my skin. For some reason, the scent of apples is a scent that I find to be comforting. It's making me think of a little cabin in the middle of a forest. The cabin is very warm and there is an extremely soft bed in there. A lady is stirring some warm apple drink over the fire.

Grand Guignol is round, sweet, tart and boozy. It's definitely something I can imagine being swigged shakily in some old, dark bar. I'm not sure that it's a 'nice' perfume, per se, but I keep do getting the urge to sniff my wrists.

This scent is fruity, yet soft. Magaera is my sulky, petulant, easily made jealous side, as loathe as I am to admit I have one, and one that might pop up regularly, at that. This is quite a darkly seductive scent, though, so you get the feeling that she can and will have any man (or woman) she wants, regardless of the circumstances. Weirdly, though, it also kind of reminds me of this tea I sometimes drink called Imperial Spice. It's got that dark, fruity-spicy scent. So it's kind of...evil sexy tea.

Cathode starts out very fresh and minty, but then, after a while, turns quite soft and musky. It's odd that this is a 'negative' scent, because it actually relaxes me and makes me feel positive. I felt quite tense and a bit annoyed , but, now, I'm starting to feel calm. It's a nice scent before bed, because if I'm calm, I think of nice things. It's like Dragon's Milk in this respect. Very much a relaxing/bed-time scent. Of course, I am listening to Sigur Ros, which also helps.

I've never tried absinthe, so I can't say how true to the real thing this is. Absinthe is definitely anise. And green. I can imagine the fairy, though she's more gossamer fine rather than Mouline-Rouge-spangly. This is a fairly subdued scent. Nothing for work or anywhere formal. But maybe for college or a night out with friends.

The Bearded Lady is incredibly feminine, despite the obvious. Reassuringly feminine, in fact, as there is something comforting about this scent, yet it would still work at something quite formal. It is a very immaculately groomed lady in a fashionable yet reserved dress in a pretty colour. I'm thinking lilac, for some reason. Bearded Lady is, on me, mostly a floral, although there is a hint of amber and vanilla that keeps the flowers from being too cloying.

Dragon's Milk is so pretty. It just makes me want to curl up in bed and go to sleep. Or curl up in front of the fire on a cold day, whilst wearing a nice, warm jumper. I smell only a hint of Dragon's Blood, mostly it's a sweet, milky, vanilla scent. Really lovely.

This started out as being just patchouli. Then the orange blossom and carnation show themselves. It is mysterious, I could imagine wearing this with an ornate venetian mask.