Venneh

Got this as a tester from a recent swap with unlaced (thanks again!), and there's just enough for a skin test. In the imp, this smells vaguely like Lilith v. The Giant Crab; some bright citrus combining with vanilla for a creamsicle sort of effect. There's just enough for a small patch test on the back of my thumb, and it's an amazing orange-vanilla scent with a hint of musk. ...Aaand fuck me. This is going to be another DISO, isn't it?

This is an amazing scent on me. In the imp, this smells like a combination of the amber, heliotrope, and peach blossom; a very bright scent. On my skin, it's amazingly bright and fruity at first, and slowly fades down so that te vanilla comes out to play as well. Don't know if I'm getting the sandalwood so much. Either way, wonderful blend, definitely getting a bottle of this.

In the imp, I'm getting patchouli and vetiver, and its pretty much the same on my skin, drowning out all the other lovely notes. Bah. At least it fades fast, though. Swaps/sales.

See, I don't get any of the carmel at all, which is a bit odd. This is pretty much delicate red musk, with a touch of vanilla and honey, and really delicate. Going to try this in a wider skin test, as this is near Bah! right now which is giving me all burnt coffee smells. On the second test, I smell a bit of caramel in the imp, but none of that appears in the blend; it's a honeyed red musk, and just a bit effervescent. Definitely worth seeking out a bottle.

Eucalyptus and mint in the decant, and on my skin. Starting to think my skin doesn't like eucalyptus, as this is doing something similar to what Christmas Rose did on me. Yeah, this one isn't for me. Swaps/sales.

In the imp, this smells like Snow White, only even fainter without the greenery note. And yep, since the reviews have all been saying Snow White + rose, this turns into Play-Doh and faint rose on me! Not really for me.

In the decant, this is mainly chocolate and coffee, with maybe a hint of whiskey? On my skin, oh yeah, that's coffee alright, with maybe a bit of chocolate lurking underneath. Coffee's taking on almost a burn smell. We'll see how this goes. Yeah, the coffee ends up dominating, but takes on a bit of a burnt scent. Not really for me.

I'm really not sure what I'm getting here. In the imp, it smells like doctor's office, which is odd, as white ginger, jasmine, apricot, and vanilla should not have this effect. On my skin, its a combination of jasmine, white ginger, and I'm not really getting the apricot or vanilla. And not much liking the scent that much, either. To swaps/sales

'09 Blend C'mon, baby, don't do what '05 did to me and go all Play-doh greenery on me. ...Fuck. I'm getting that Play-doh smell in the decant. C'mon, turn out different on my skin... Nope. Play-doh greenery. Gah. Whatever's in here just doesn't agree with me. Stupid skin chemistry. :/

'09 Blend In the decant, this is a dark rose, vaguely reminiscent of the rose I get in Ysabel. And it translates the same to my skin. Hmm. We'll see what the drydown does; if this behaves, it might be worth a bottle. It seems to be a muskier rose than I usually run into. Thinking this one will be a bottle.

In the decant, this is PEPPERMINT!!! Very, very obvious peppermint, we'll see what my skin does to it. Once on, this is still a really sharp, astringent peppermint. Not really sure that I'm liking this. And it fades quickly. Meh. Not really for me.

'09 Blend In the bottle, this smells like slush and flowers buried underneath. Slightly astringent. On my skin, it's reminiscent of Szepasszony for about five second before turning into really astringent glass cleaner. Not for me.

In the decant, I'm getting pomegranate and something green and sharp. On my skin, this is seeming to be pretty straight up pomegranate, with a hint of ice or something? Not sure, we'll see how the drydown goes. It turns into something you'd find in an air freshener. Not for me, sadly.

I'm really looking forward to trying this one, and hope it works out. I agree with Lucille; it's a cross between a cappuccino and egg nog. This should be really good, with any luck... Once on my skin, the balance tilts more towards cappuccino than egg nog, with the egg nog lying underneath and a bit of spice. Mmm. Going to have to ask what my mom thinks of this one, as she's working at a Starbuck as a holiday job. The egg nog eventually dominates, with spices and coffee underneath, and so long as you slather a fair bit, it lasts long. This one's going on the bottle list, I think.

Just recently got a bottle of this in a swap; thanks again so much, naughteblonde! In the bottle, this is a very gentle, delicate floral, almost a bit powdery. Once on my skin, it's the same sort of delicate floral, deepening a bit as well, and a bit powdery, but not as much as it was in the bottle. A very feminine scent. Dries down to an even more delicate powdery floral, with each note more pronounced. Probably not going to be wearing this as much because it's not something I'd wear on a regular basis, and this is crazy rare, so once it's gone, it's gone.

In the imp, I get vetiver and florals. This is probably not going to end well. On my skin, this is pretty much vetiver and what I think might be either the cactus flowers, the rose, or chrysanthemums. Mostly vetiver. And the lesson here is always trust your instincts. Swaps/sales.

In the imp, I'm getting lily and musk, with a faint hint of something, not quite sure what. On my skin, this is lily for about five seconds before being swallowed up by woods and pepper and laurel. Just, no. Swaps/sales.

I got a dry sniffie of this in a recent swap with devilot (thanks again, girl!). And what I'm smelling is this absolutely sweet, creamy, wonderful vanilla spiked with sugar. Can't skin-test this, sadly, but I've at least got to find an imp of this so that I can do so. And so, to the DISOs! EDIT: And now I have just enough to test this. In the bottle, this is amazing; vanilla and sugar and cream and just oh wow. On my skin, this continues to be amazing; the saffron and the sandalwood are coming out, and it's just beautiful. Until... oh dear me. It appears there is some wood in my panties. That's... really unexpected. Especially since I'm a girl and all. oO It's dominating the whole thing, like wood is wont to do. And the loveliness of the panties lurks just underneath and out of reach. Sadness. (On the other hand, oh dear sweet zombie Jesus, thank you for letting me dodge this BPALicorn bullet.)

So, according to the Lab description, I should be getting copal, plumeria and sweet orange and smoke and South American incense and crushed jungle blooms. We'll see how this actually goes. In the imp, I'm getting a faint tropical floral with orange in there. Well, that seems accurate save for the incense and the smoke and the copal. On my skin, the copal is combining with the flowers for an intoxicating scent very vaguely reminiscent of Giant Vulva, with a spike of orange. Let's see how this goes. And it quickly fades into nothing, with a faint hint of incense and smoke. Meh. Swaps/sales.

A really faint floral scent in the imp. On my skin, this is a really beautiful, delicate floral blend. Let's see how this goes. This ends up being a bit of an aquatic lily/rose blend, a really delicate scent. Think I'll get a bottle of this.

In the imp, this is honey, with a faint tang that might the ylang ylang or the musks. On my skin, this is, again, honey with a tang of musk, can't really pin down the ylang ylang. Liking this so far. Something in here, either the musks or the ylang ylang, makes the blend take a bit of a sour turn with the honey. Swaps/sales.

In the imp, I'm getting florals mixed with skin musk. Hm. This should be interesting. On my skin, it's pretty much the same; skin musk, and florals, a really close to the skin scent. I'm liking this so far. This is really good as a close-to-the-skin scent, definitely worth getting a bottle of.

In the imp, this is red wine and honey, with a hint of myrrh lurking underneath and sweetness from the flowers. On my skin, this is predominantly myrrh. Gah. I'll wait to see how the drydown goes. It stays predominantly myrrh, and is just not good on me. Ugh. Swaps/sales.

In the imp, I'm getting what has to be the pomegranate and rose. Very straightforward, two notes. We'll see how this does. Once on my skin, it's a pretty equal balance between pomegranate and rose. If it can stay this way, this may be bottle-worthy. And it does, and getting a bottle of this now.

In the imp, this is a really sharp floral, not sure what to think. On my skin, it's the same sort of thing, which I'm going to attribute to the laudanum. We'll give it time to see if the rose or orchid assert themselves. Well, the white rose asserts itself exclusively on the drydown, but between the sharpness and then the rose dominance, this just isn't working. Swaps/sales.