theseagrows

i tried a little bit on my wrist, but haven't tried it in the bath yet. it's sparkly and effervescent with some warmth from the vanilla, though the vanilla takes its time coming through. i think it starts off all champagne and violet leaf and ends up with vanilla added to the mix. i'm getting a bit of rose in the background but it's not a very strong note in this. it's a nice scent! a little decadent in a way.

this starts off as a bright and effervescent aquatic scent. shortly the snow-wind comes through, slightly sweet, icy and minty. so pretty. there is a sweetness here that comes out later, which is undoubtedly the almond blossom. this is a very pretty, light and slightly sweet scent. it may be too aquatic for me, but i am going to try it once more to be sure, because i was testing like 4 scents at once!

first off, i get a foody note from this, like chestnut. not sure what that is, but after it fades i am getting mostly rosewood and smoke, i think. the rose peeks through even later and the patchouli is quite subtle in this, at least on me. there is a slight aquaticness here, which must be coming from the sea-kissed patchouli. it is a pretty scent, i love the rosewood, oudh and rose components, but that slight aquaticness is a dealbreaker for me.

this is definitely a red musk dominant scent, as i can smell in the vial. on my skin, it's red musk with something that reminds me of soil or dirt in the background. maybe that's the peat? i can't really sense any white musk, heather or hearth wood. it just really smells like an earthy, slightly aquatic red musk on me. something in this is pierces through the musk but i am just not sure what note it is except that it seems to have a cooling quality to it. after about 15-20 minutes this becomes a pretty snowy scent with no red musk! a major morpher on me. it still has that cooling note, it blasts your sense of smell lightly, almost like smelling mint, but it doesn't seem like mint.

in the vial, this was reminiscent of snow white. i immediately got a little worried because snow white is not good with my skin chemistry. however, this one seems to be working much better so far. it's a soft, sugary snow scent, simple and pretty, though there is something underlying in this that smells slightly musky on me, but it seems to come and go. it reminds me a bit of some previous years shungas that i really love.

hmm this scent is interesting. it's a bit strong in a cologne-y sort of way. too strong for me anyway, it gives me a mild headache. i can smell leather and sarsaparilla as the leading notes with the honeyish-vanilla in the background. this does seem to have a typical masculine cologney note on me. i kind of like it but it's also a bit too strong for my tastes.

this a peach with greenery and wood on me. i tend to steer clear of peach but i got this in a lot of NYCC scents, so i tried it. the peach has a sourness to it, probably from the woods...neither scents work so well on me. the amber and carnation are nowhere to be found here, which is too bad, because they would help this scent for me!

this is mostly rose, but there is something slightly sour to it. i get fig and honey, but they are melding in an odd way...at least in my opinion. i don't really get much vanilla here. more like a sweetened, slightly candied rose scent, but there is something in here that smells a little off on me...honey often doesn't work, so that could be it, but i'm not sure.

this is a lovely creamy vanilla-floral. i get mostly gardenia and vanilla with jasmine as a backing note. there is a hint of lemon but it's not a super herbal lemon verbena or anything. this has a similar feel to robert piguet's fracas, which i love! perfect for hot weather days like today...

this starts out as a sandalwoody-tea rose, with the sandalwood being stronger than i personally enjoy, then the tea rose becomes more prominent and i like it more, at least from a distance. the pencil-shaving scent of sandalwood fades in and out on me.

as soon as i saw as above and so below i knew i had to try them. this scent is lovely. in the bottle, i think all i smells is cardamom and patchouli, but it blooms quite a bit more on my skin, into something gorgeous. it's a coconutty-caradmom-musk. the amber and musk are balanced so well with the vanilla, copal and cardamom, that no note really sticks out too strongly...they are blended perfectly. this is so sexy and modern, i love it! it doesn't smell exactly like it, but i am getting a bit of a similar feeling to snake charmer. i'm not sure why...maybe the fact that it's sexy and has coconut. i love both as above and so below. so glad i got them both, but i knew that they would be perfect for me and i was right. in a word, both of these are hoardworthy. at least for me.

as soon as i saw as above and so below i knew i had to try them. in the bottle this smells kind of like a boozy green-almond scent. almonds that aren't quite ripe, thus they smell bitter. this one starts out as pure leather and slowly morphs into a leathery-vanilla scent with a hint of green, which must be the oak bark and jasmine combination. i am trying this with so below at the same time, and i think that maybe these would be amazing blended together, which i will try soon.

i am so glad i'm seeing people use this as after shower body oils, because that will work better for me, since i don't take baths as much anymore, but still want to try so many bath oils! that being said, i tried this on my arm and mmm it smells great. it's a musky rose scent when it dries down, but starts out more sugary-rose-patchouli. it's a warm and sexy and lovely scent. resiny, musky florals...probably my absolute favorite type of scent. i can't wait to try this as a post-bath oil. i'd love it as a perfume too.

in the bottle it smells like pure lavender, but i don't get much on my skin. it starts off with mostly white rose and some backing lavender, maybe a hint of the carrot seed. after a bit, it softens and i think it's mostly rose and vanilla orchid. it's mostly dominated by rose, but the other notes soften it, so as not to make it too strong or sharp, but it is definitely a rosy scent, at least on my skin it is. it almost reminds me of tea rose, but i think it's softer due to the vanilla orchid. i really really like this. after awhile, the rose seems to fade completely, and i'm left with vanilla orchid and carrot seed.

not generally a foodie-scent person, but this one drew me in. i tried a smidgen on my hand and it's lovely! cocoa-coffee with some nuttiness that is strong at first, but then calms down after a bit. i can't really smell the pine, but there is something in the background, which must be it. very cozy and perfect for winter/fall.

this starts off as pure pumpkin on me, with alice nowhere to be found. it gets really spicy after that, which initially seems like it's coming from carnation, but it gets VERY spicy, like cinnamon spice, at least on my skin it does. later on the soft milky scent of alice does come through a bit more, and the rose peeks through just slightly. this is mostly spicy pumpkin on me, and it's too foody for my tastes so i will have to swap it. i prefer the original alice with my skin chemistry.

the pumpkiny note in this is very nutty. i think BPAL once used chestnut as a note, and this was it. it seems to have a softness in the background, kind of like musk. then the dorian scent makes itself more apparent pretty quickly, with the pumpkin adding a bit of spicy nuttiness to the overall dorian-ness. it's a fall-like dorian scent! kind of nice, but i am not a big foody scent fan, so i prefer the original, though i could see myself maybe wearing this a couple times during the halloween season!

this starts off soft and sweet, smelling like baby powder with a hint of skin musk, vanilla and something bright. not minty, but gives off a similar sensation when i smell it. after awhile the lavender comes through, though i don't sense the dorian very strongly, i must be there! this is reminiscent of TKO, i think it could help me relax or fall asleep. i guess it's the lavender vanilla combination. it's like a more complex and sweet TKO.

this starts out with a woodsy-forest-y berry scent. not like pine, per se, but just trees and leaves and greenery. it's very well blended, so difficult to really pick out notes. it is much subtler and softer than what i imagined it would be. after it's on my skin for awhile, the pomegranate smells juicier and lss like berries. it gets increasingly soapy, in a green sort of way. maybe i'm amping the chypre? not really my type of scent, so it goes to the swap list.

This is a very very soft scent. Starts off with a milky-cottony scent that is very comforting. There is a very slight hint of something sweet, most likely soft floral. It definitely invokes the idea of the scent well. After awhile, the ozoney-ness comes out more, though it is very very subtle. It becomes even more soft and more floral, less cottony. Very interesting scent, but I will probably swap it.

This starts off like a powdery-wood scent with resins mixed in, but nothing that I can singularly identify. After awhile it has a dustiness to it, like a musty, dusty old room that's been locked up for a century. Very evocative of a haunted house indeed. I think of a haunted Victorian parlor when I smell this! Very intriguing, but I can't really wear this, personally, so it's of to swaps.

i knew this smelled reminiscent of a commercial perfume, and Ondine hit it on the head with the BBW sensual amber. it reminds me a lot of that, but it's softer and more flowery. it's a bit too strong for my personal tastes, it has a lot of throw. the spices really amp up the florals on my skin. it's not a bad scent or anything, it's just not my cup of tea.

well, i knew this one would be a gamble, and was hoping it would work with my skin chemistry, but sadly, it does not. it's a sour, soapy white floral on me. rose can be hit or miss, but i think white rose misses more often. also calla lily, usually a miss, i should'e known. oh well, it's off to the swap pile for this one.

holy cocoa! this starts out as all cocoa with the blood musk supporting in the background. it is very strong. after about 20-30 minutes some of the resins come through, i think i'm getting mostly myrrh? mixed with the cocoa and aged patchouli. it smells very dank and musty now, which does kind of remind me of a coffin, come to think of it. sadly, this just doesn't work on me, it's too resiny for my tastes and the cocoa is stronger than i'd like.

this scent is very purple, as you would imagine it would be. in the beginning i think i mostly get violet leaf, poppy and incense, maybe a hint of cacao and olibanum? it's all very well blended. there is a sweet fruitiness from the plum too, but it's not super plummy or overwhelming. i say that because, i tend to amp BPAL's plum note and i am not a fan of super fruity scents. the plum was the only thing in this that really scared me, but it's alright. i feel like it has a similar feel to queen mab and glasgow, and is sweeter than queen mab but less sweet than glasgow. i like those 2 scents a lot, and i probably like them both more than this one, but i like this too. it's more incensy and dark i guess. after it's been on a few hours, it's mostly smoke and white musk on me. very subtle. this is a pretty soft scent, it's not too strong or overwhelming.