Lorelai1945

I'm not surprised at how differently this reads on my skin than it does for most people (although I see a couple of people having similar experiences this time), but I don't get cotton candy or sugar..or really much sweetness at all, especially when wet. In the bottle the scent is rather faint, but I get a hint of vanilla, something musky/boozy, and a LOT of what smells to me like sandalwood (orris?). On my skin, it's much the same, except there is also something that pushes through when it's wet that bares a lot of resemblance to rubbing alcohol. It's very dry, quite musky, slightly dusty, and has a lot of that sandalwoody smell. It reminds me of a dried bouquet that's been hanging to gather dust for a very long time. In that sense, it has similar qualities to Antique Lace- except the vanilla is less prominent for me in Celeste and never fully asserts itself, whereas when AL is dry it's all vanilla. The scent that this reminds me the most of is The Harp of C'noc I- this is very similar to that on my skin. When it is totally dry it sweetens up a teeny smidge and the alcohol goes away, but this is not the amazing scent I was expecting it to be..at least not with my skin chemistry. It's more musky and dry/powdery than anything else. I don't dislike it, but I don't think it'll ever be a favorite unless aging does it a lot of good.

Wow! I was completely surprised by this one. I was expecting to amp the peach like crazy, and for this to eventually turn plasticy or doughy with my skin chemistry. I was wrong on both counts! It starts out SUPER FRUITY- peach and strawberry jam goodness. It ends up pure strawberry Koolaid on my skin- bright and red and sweet and amazing. It softens so that it doesn't have a lot of throw, but it doesn't turn on me or do anything weird with my skin. I don't ever get even the slightest hint of cheesecake, but it doesn't bother me. I'm just happy this smells good and works on me. It's very fun and I can see wearing this in the spring and summer. I think I'll have to find a bottle.

Wow- This smells exactly like Snowblind on my skin once it's dry. It has a bit more "cookie" feel and less of the heavy Love's Philosophy vanilla cream, but they are so close that I doubt I could tell between them. It's quite lovely- soft, sweet, minty cookie...but not much of the cookie- much more mint than cookie on me. I'm glad it's not going dry or strange on my skin like most pastry notes do. I made peppermint candy cane-shaped cookies when I was in preschool (it's one of my earliest memories and I loved them so much that it really sticks out in my mind), and this smells a lot like them. Oh yes..I HATE buttery scents and usually amp the heck out of any present butteriness (Boo, that would be you), and I get no butter from this scent at all.

I personally think that the honey in Valse Finale is extremely similar to the honey that is in Door from the Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman) scents. Door isn't exactly GC (it's more expensive and not guaranteed a permanent run I don't think), but it'll be around for a while as far as I know, and it's a beautiful scent. Slightly stronger but similar to Valse's honey would be Deadly Nightshade Honey- it's very different from Womb Furie or O- type honey. Neither will be exactly like Valse Finale, but if it's the honey in it you crave, I suggest you give them a try.

This is very sweet and soft, bright citrus. I usually don't like citrus scents, but this is so well-blended that the sweetness from the tonka and the amber really helps to round out the bergamot to the point where I'm not amping it like crazy (still am, but it's definitely not as strong as it usually would be). Others are saying this is dry, but it's not super dry to me- in fact, the bergamot seems a bit juicy to me, especically in the earlier stages. It's very comforting and cozy in feel- and happy! It is sweeter and I like it even better in the imp than on my skin, but I actually think this is something I could wear. It's not an absolute love, but it's nice, and I like it a lot more than I expected to.

I get an immediate blast of dark red cherry. Like black cherry Koolaid mix. It is sweet, but it's also rather strong. I don't get a lot of creaminess when it's wet, but as it dries it does seem to round out a bit. Whatever powdered sugar is present here gets eaten up by my skin, but there's enough sweetness inherent in the fruit keeps it a bit sweet on me. There's almost a hint of woodiness present too- like mahogany. It dries down to a slightly more mellow, woody cherry. Once it's been around for a really long time, it ends up just a hint of cherry that clings to the skin. I like it. Something about it keeps me sniffing my arm, even though it's not the type of scent I typically go for. It does do a little bit of the plasticy thing that most foodie scents do when they meet my wacky skin, but it's not bad or enough to keep me from wearing it. I'll have to try it in my scent locket to see how it differs.

In the imp, Red Lace smells like a slightly fruity cake- it's moderately sweet and rather light, and pretty fantastic. I don't smell any patchouli or red musk at all, and maybe just a hint of tobacco-y cotton. Wet on my skin, it seems to immediately morph into something completely diferent from what it smells like in the imp. I smell a lot of sandalwood and the softest red musk I've ever come across. The sweetness leaves me, unfortunately, with a drier, more perfumey scent. I agree with previous reviewers that this is not nearly as heavy as I'd predicted that it would be. I still don't get much in the way of patchouli, which for me is a great blessing (I'm not a big fan). I suppose what I'm left with is sandalwood + soft red musk + the faintest hint of berry and some sweetness way back in the background. There is almost a teeny hint of anise as well, which I think must be the red musk blending with one of the other notes. I can almost compare this to a softened Smut, only this is is much kinder to me on my skin. I am definitely not in love, but it isn't a horrible disappointment, either. I do wish very much that the scent would stay true to its bottled form when I put it on my skin, but that never happens anyway. Maybe I'll try it in the scent locket. I can definitely see a connection to Black Lace, as that one is also pretty dry and perfumey on me. This is just more "red" and a bit sweeter/fruity. At this point I'd say it's a 3/5. I'll be interested in seeing how aging affects this one.

In the bottle, this smells amazing- a lot of cake with some slightly boozy cherry and a bit of strawberry. It's the same type of cake that I get from Eat Me, the drier more potent one, and not the softer incense-heavy cake from Cake Smash or Beaver Moon '05. When I put it on and it's wet, I get a blast of the same smell as in the bottle, a lot of cake with that same strong boozy cherry- not much strawberry at first. As it dries, I get more of the strawberry, and it becomes less cherry and cake and more strawberry cupcake- like those boxed cake mixes that make pink birthday cupcakes. I like this stage the best. Unfortunately, my insane skin sucks the living daylights out of this scent (just like it does with lots of yummy sweet foodie smells), and after only maybe 10-15 minutes, leaves behind only a faint plasticy strawberry, doughy smell that is not very sweet or pleasant. The eventual drydown is almost exactly what happened to Golletes from this past fall's Weenies and more recently, Lilith's Tea Party. Something about the cake/pastry and strawberry combo turns to plastic on my skin and totally breaks my heart. I will say that the drydown here is not as bad as that of Golletes (which was absolutely revolting), but is still rather plastic and not super pleasant. After a half hour, there's hardly a trace of the scent left on the skin at all. If this would stay true on me I would adore it. I'll test again, but if this doesn't end up working in my scent locket, I'm afraid it may be headed for swaps. I'm super disappointed, mainly because my expectations were so high for this one. ETA: Retested today; a little less plasticy. I'm going to keep trying this one. It smells SOOOO good to start with..I am determined that it shall work out!

I'd do a layering of Dorian, SO and a touch of TKO. I was going to say the exact same thing! That's almost what it smells like on me. Not exactly the same, but Dark Del's Mysterious Warning is also very similar in feel. I don't think any GC scent smells that much like Underpants. Lyonesse would definitely be closest IMO. To me, there is nothing (GC or LE) that is quite like The Girl. I find it to be rather unique. Infernal Lover is very heavy on the red musk, so if you like that try The Grindhouse from CD or Scherezade. You may want to layer one of those with a honey-heavy scent to get a bit closer to TIL. Gothabilly is another very unique scent, but if it's cherry you're looking for, I agree that you'll want to try The Red Queen. It has a wood note that Gothabilly doesn't, but it definitely is strong on cherry.

Gack. In the imp, this smells like a muddled mix of cold coffee, cigarette smoke, and weird hazelnuttiness. Not a great combo. When I first put it on my skin I get WHOA tobacco and it makes my stomach lurch a little- smells so much like old cigarette smoke. Then...the hazelnut of doom comes out to play. Weird latex-glovey hazelnut. It always does that on my skin. The leather also blasts through, but on my skin it is somewhere in between a soft, worn, supple leather like The Red Rider and a super-metallic, chemically leather like Sara Pezzini, leaning closer to the Sara Pezzini chemically-side. So...yeah. I get cold coffee, stale cigarette smoke, latex gloves, and chemically leather. This is pretty much awful. It's very sharp to my nose, especially when it's still wet. Must. Wash. Off. ETA: Once it's been dry for a while, the chemically-ness does die down and I get some spices that are actually rather nice coming through. However, I couldn't go through the initial stages of doom to be able to ever wear this. Unless all that nasty stank ages out, this is still a fail. Bummer, too.

2010 Version In the imp, this is extremely juicy, sweet, and fruity. Almost bubblegummy, but in a good way. On the skin, it loses some of its bubblegummy sweetness, and the winter flowers join the mix. It's definitely a mix of cold, sweet plums and soft floral. Because my skin eats sweetness, it's probably not as sweet on me as it would be on someone with different skin chemistry, but does retain more of the sweetness than I thought it would. There is a teeny hint of plasticy-ness threatening to jump out, but it stays pretty mild, and it's not enough to really bother me. I do detect the lab's slushy show note in there (which does NOT like my skin or vice versa and usually ends up smelling like dirty asphalt snow), but it also stays pretty tame. After it dries, it smells to me like a lip balm that Bath and Body Works had years ago- I can't remember, but I think it might have been called Sugar Plum Fairy. Again, a teeny bit plasticy on me dry, but not bad. This is what I expected Bpal's Sugar Plum Fairy to smell more like. On someone with different skin, I bet this would be amazing. On me, it's not half bad.

This has potential to be amazingly beautiful, but I'm afraid my skin chemistry is never going to let this one shine on me. I'm willing to keep trying, though. In the imp, this is moderately sweet and somewhat candy-like. I can see the resemblance to watermelon Jolly Ranchers, but thankfully it is not as sour or as strong as I feared. There is definitely floral at work here, and this is very cool in feel- icy almost, but not ozoney. It's like candy and delicate flowers have been put on ice. Wet on the skin, this is slightly sweet, very cool floral. Must be the tiare. Most of the sweetness and sugar disappear once this touches my skin since I suck up all yummy sweet goodness. A bit of sugaryness will come and go briefly, but it's fleeting and just doesn't stick around on me. Overall, I'm getting cool tropical floral and apricot...but it's not very sweet on my skin. It's very feminine. What I don't get any of ever is cacao or plum or vanilla- they may be there somewhere, but they are not detectable at all. This goes slightly soapy on me, but it's not bad. On someone whose skin is not insane, this would be SO beautiful- it needs more sweetness to liven it up, but I think on most people it would have that. Maybe aging will help.

2010 version This starts out sweet leather with tobacco. I really like how it begins on my skin. It's smooth and sweet and buttery leather. I almost get some soft mint in there, too. But...the more it dries, the more a lemony citrus scent pushes through- a lot like lemon Pez. It's a sweet citrus. This scent is a lot softer than I imagined it would be, but that lemon ruins it for me.

Christmas candle. That's what I get from this- a combination of holly, some spiciness, and bayberry or mulberry or whatever those red Christmas candles are usually scented like. It smells like a Christmas wreath in a country cratf store. Meh- not for me.

When I put this on, I smell mostly red musk (but a peppery red musk- I can definitely tell there's pepper in there, but it's hard to put into words what that smells like- it's like a heat), and I also get anise like many others before me have mentioned. I HATE anise, but this isn't heavy or strong, so it's not unpleasant...but it's there. As it dries, The Soldier starts to smell a lot like Smut on my skin, except it doesn't go as strange/latexy as Smut does. I think that the red musk is softer but the same type. What I don't ever get any of is anything resembling pie. There is a hint of a creaminess about the red musk, but it doesn't really scream "creamy". Once dry, there is a hinf of leather, but it's still mostly red musk. It's cool..there's almost a mintiness about it. This is okay, but I think I can live without a bottle. Not the winner I was hoping for.

'05 Version In the imp, it's straight up red velvet cake. Not frosting, just moist, slightly chocolate-y cake. And not the nasty dusty chocolate I usually think chocolate scents smell like. Wet on my skin, it's more like frosting- somewhere between vanilla and chocolate, and very creamy and sweet. NOM I want to eat this! I don't get any cheesecake or strawberry. As it dries, it becomes slightly drier and more cakey again. Still very good! My skin kind of sucks it in, but I wouldn't mind reapplying this one. Dang. I need a bottle.

At first, it's a blast of lavender. And then...the jasmine takes. over. It's cloying and heavy and kind of reminiscent of cat pee. I've heard of jasmine doing this to other people, and now I know exactly what they mean. I know some people don't like the term "old lady", but that's how I would categorize this. Bleaugh. ETA: Once totally dry, I do get a teeny bit of honeysuckle poking its head out and it's a lot less cloying. However, I really don't think it's worth the HAI I'M JASMINE stage that kind of nauseates me.

In the bottle I smell a soft, semi-sweet floral tea. It's lovely. There's also a smidgie of vanilla there somewhere. I can draw a connection between this and Dorian in the cool, tea feeling. When wet on the skin, this reminds me even more of Dorian. Definitely sugared tea (only not as sweet as Dorian and not as much vanilla) with some florals. It's very pretty and feminine. Actually, at this stage, I think this scent is the child of Dorian and Sybil- it smells like an exact mix of the two. The more dry this becomes, the more I get rose from it, to the point where it's almost single-note white rose. It's relatively soft, and it's one of the prettiest roses I've come across, but I wish my skin wouldn't eat all the sweetness and any trace of vanilla there was. Once it's been dry for a long time, I get a bit of the sweetness and tea back, but it stays mostly rose. Sometimes I sniff and get a lot of rose and sometimes I get some of the tea and sweetness. I'm going to keep testing because I really want to love this one.

2007 version I have a hard time describing Snow White, which is why I think I've never reviewed it before. It's very creamy and soft...somehow I want to say it's a round scent. I know that makes no sense, but it has a roundness, a fullness- it's creamy and soft and never hurts the inside of my nose. I get a hint of rose, a hint of coconut, and it's sweet but not candy-like. I can see how people say there's vanilla there, but I don't get enough definitive vanilla to consider this a "vanilla" scent. It may just be a different type than most of the lab's other vanillas. Or because my skin eats vanilla and doesn't let it shine through like other people. I don't get mint from it, and to me it's not really super cold. There's some other floralness somewhere, too- perhaps carnation in a small amount because I almost get a hint of that type of spice. Dunno, though. 2007 is my favorite of all the years I've tried. It's really lovely and innocent and feminine. The 2010 version seems like it's watered down a bit..like it's farther away when you smell it. There is also more rose, and in fact 2010 reminds me a lot of last year's Pink Snowballs. I thought '09 had the watered down feel, too. Maybe Snow White strengthens and gets better with age. Makes me want to try '04 and '05.

In the imp, this is lovely- almost exactly like BBW Twisted Peppermint. It's a nice blend of creamy vanilla sweetness and mint. On the skin...Altoids tin. SOOO minty. Would be lovely poured in a pedicure tub, but not to wear as perfume. If you need your sinuses cleared, give this a big 'ol sniff.

In the imp this is SO SWEET OMG! It's a citrusy sweet- I'm trying to think of what candy this reminds me of...maybe an orange gumball. Orange Tic Tacs? Kool-Aid? Something orange. On the skin it's pretty much the same.. Sweet but yet slightly sour, definitely citrus. I get no mint really, but it has a slight cool feeling to it. Between this and Changing the Shadows, I'm thinking I amp teh orange! Whatever kind of candy this is, it's an orange one. It dries down kind of soft, and I don't mind it. It is just so candy-like that it feels less like perfume and more like I spilled something on myself. Dunno if I'd wear it.

In the imp, this is fantastic. There is a lot of buttery (but not in a bad way!), creamy vanilla mixed with a hint of mint and pine. Of course, my skin will not let it remain that way. A bit of vanilla remains once it's on my skin, but the pine and mint take the wheel. Neither are ferocious or offensive, but they block the poor vanilla from coming through (well, or my skin just eats that part). This reminds me a bit of U: Mutter Museum, only much softer and less...weird. I kept waiting and waiting for the vanilla to take over like so many others had mentioned, but on my skin it never really does. It's nice, but not the winner I was hoping for. By the time the pine has faded, so has most of the scent.

This one doesn't really morph on my skin. I get sugared citrus to begin with, and it stays that way. I kept trying to figure out what this smelled like..and then I realized it smells like orange and lemon Pez. Almost dead-on IMO. I'm surprised this is so sweet on me. There may be a little carnation back there somewhere, but it's mostly the orange.

This is a very realistic rose scent- it smells like a real, wet rose. It's not just blossoms, though. It smells like the leaves and the stem- the green, woody parts. I end up getting more greenery than rose petals; it smells like the scent I'm blasted with when I cut off the bottoms of roses in order to put them in water. Not something I think I'd wear, but if you really love roses, this one's for you. Once this has dried a bit, it becomes rather spicy- spicy rose and greenery. ETA: 2010 version

I smell flowers!! in the imp. It does smell like a real flower- the lily, I think, but it's still just HI I'M A FLOWER! On the skin, it goes powdery, and it kind of makes my nose hurt. I get no vanilla or clove at all. It smells like a department store perfume on me- just powdery flowers and more flowers. It's not overly cloying or offensive, but it's just not for me. ETA: And randomly, once totally dry for a while, I get CLOVE with flowers in the background. Hmm.