Invidiana

Unfortunately, my skin doesn't get on very well with this at all. The notes look like they should all work on me, but maybe it's the petitgrain--it's the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange plant, and my guess is that on me, petitgrain+patchouli=disaster. Whether it's the petitgrain or a certain combination of any two or more scents in the blend, whatever it is, my body chemistry instantly turns it into sharp black pepper. This is why I am thankful for the existence of imps.

This is another one of those that really needs to dry down before you can get the full scope of it. Wet, it starts off very woody and smoky, almost too masculine, but the feminine notes emerge relatively soon. For anyone afraid of rose blends, the rose just blends into the other florals seamlessly without being prominent. Santa Muerte reminds me of a woodier, smokier version of Mictecacihuatl. Beautifully done!

This comes out as a very true lilac to me, with a hint of dragon's blood in the background; odd, since I usually amp dragon's blood over florals, but then again there are quite a few florals here up against the dragon's blood. Reminds me more of Easter than dragons Guess that's just how it played out on my skin.

Errr, this comes out as really strong lemon verbena on me, much like lemon cleaner. It's made even more pungent by the rosemary. Proof that not everyone's skin works with every blend, even yours truly who has success with things like cream and chocolate. Ah well, it's always good to try.

I can definitely see how this is evocative of angels with all the white florals. The whtie sandalwood and frankincense deepen it a bit without making it too "dark" for the theme, and the frankincense adds just a slight resinous sweetness. For those of you afraid of rose, it isn't too prominent at all, just hangs in the background. It's a lovely scent; not really my type of thing, but still lovely from an objective standpoint.

I was a bit leery of the verbena, but it doesn't come out on me at all. This one was a pleasant surprise--no verbena, and I absolutely love it! It actually reminds me of this cherry-berry soap BBW had years ago that I couldn't stop huffing Of course after they ran out, they never brought it back. Now I've got it all bottled up; the juicy cherry and champagne grape really come to the front, the citrusy stuff gives it tang, the musk some sexiness and the florals and ginger an exotic twist that isn't too typically "summer". Luscious!

Unfortunately this one wasn't true love on me. It was a very, very dry incarnation of the Great and Illustrious Carnation of Doom (which I amp like all doom) on an equally dry patchouli and frankincense background; I was hoping for the frankincense to save it, actually, but this type of frankincense turns out to be a really dry church-incense type and not at all the sticky-resinous type; overal this ultimately ends up very perfumey and just not for me personally.

This smells exactly like what I'd imagine one of those pumpkin-cranberry-cake-whipped cream trifles you see in holiday magazines to smell like. I'd actually rather have the scent than the taste because I prefer to waste my calories on other things But never mind eating trifle, the scent is divine; creamy, dreamy pumpkin and white chocolate, sweet brown-sugary caramel, and just a hint of tartness from the pomegranate. It's basically Thanksgiving in a bottle

No worries, this is not a dirty or grassy scent at all. It's like yummy baked spiced pumpkin with brown sugar, with the sweetness tempered by the leather. My skin amps sweet stuff, so I'm not really getting much soil or water-weeds, and I feel the pitch mixing in with the leather gives it that dark, earthy undertone that's like the fitting Sleepy Hollow backdrop of a black night. There is a very slight salty/aquatic undercurrent, which must be the water-weeds, that isn't jarring at all, just mixes in smoothly as if you salted the baked pumpkin a bit. I knew this was a winner

No one worry here, there's no literal smell of electrical discharge, just plenty of cool evergreen and sparkling ozone. This actually reminds me a lot of Snow Moon, perhaps less sweet and more piney and chilly. I could have sworn there was some sort of juniper in here, but that could be my nose playing tricks on me. I love this as I do most Christmasy scents and will definitely seek out a bottle.

The snow-covered foliage of the Black Forest and the fruit and woods of apple and almond trees. Knecht Ruprecht, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: this scent is a beautiful combination of glistening red winter fruits--not apple-dominant just because apple is the only fruit specified in the notes, but a balanced blend--swirled with chilly evergreens and a slight hint of sweet almond to finish it off. This scent definitely gets me all nostalgic about Christmas.

This is a softer rose than Rose Red, which is a bit spicier and mintier in comparison. I thought I could detect a hint of evergreen somewhere, but maybe that's just ozone giving it the chilly "winter rose" feel. It dries down to a soft red rose, possibly the feel of rose petals covered by a light snow. Many thanks to the kind forumite (you know who you are!) who included a partial bottle of this in her package. It's a light and pretty red winter rose, ladylike and sophisticated.

This is a beautiful melange of all things Christmas: red berries, holiday spices and warm woods with whiffs of evergreen and cookies baking in the background. It's basically everything you'd expect to find and smell in a warm and cozy house on Christmas Eve.

Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. On me it's mainly a mix of the roses, oranges and sweet notes wtih a soft floral undertone and a zing of pink pepper. It's a stirring and vivacious scent; not sure if it's me, but still pretty.

Argh, I don't think lotus and rose mix well on my skin. Either alone in a different blend is fine--Bastet has lotus and worked on me, and I have many rose blends that work on me as well--but the two together just don't agree with my body chemistry and take on a certain steaming-dog-poop undertone when mixing with it. Oh well.

This is sexy, golden and fierce. The combination of amber and musk is just a win-win all around, which probably accounts for most of the reason why this is so sensual. The additional fierceness is probably the saffron, which I've never actually smelled on its own, and the undercurrent of sweetness is the almond and lotus talking. I get just a hint of cardamom, which is a lovely complement. Bastet really is fit for an Egyptian goddess!

I could have sworn there was anise in this, which I love, but the blend of these notes probably comes out to something similar to anise but more woody. It really does make me think of those old-school saloons, and there's a leathery feel to it as well even though there is no leather note in the description. The sarsparilla adds a nice root beer type of feel to everything else. I definitely get the feel of wood, leather and sweet booze...this is probably another imp that's turning into a bottle...

This is another imp that's eventually going to turn into a bottle after all the holiday mayhem dies down. It's actually a really great summer scent for people like me who don't do the typical "summery" banana, papaya, mango, pina colada etc. The first note that comes out immediately is the salty and refreshing sea spray, and it dries down still retaining that vibe but also the richness of the leather and woods and that wicked but not overbearing splash of bay rum. Yarrrrr

This is thick, rich and divine. It's definitely true to deep dark coffee, and the booze is there but just a complimentary accent, not overkill. The mocha touch works out great on my skin, but my skin tends to do well with chocolate blends in general. Like with Gluhwein, I'm going to seek out a recipe for something similar to this too.

Wow, this is just wonderful and totally worth the wait. I lost it not once but twice on eBay (which I'm quitting for a couple months because I just have issues with eBay) and finally found a kind forumite who put her bottle on the chopping block. It was everything I hoped for and more: I was expecting spiced wine for sure, and the wine is not boozy at all but just a red-fruity base for the spices and pleasant hint of tartness from the citrus rind. What really came to the forefront on me that I just loved was the honey; thick, rich, golden honey that just blended perfectly with the rest. Thanks to this I've been inspired to hunt down a recipe for real gluhwein! It's going to be a very merry Christmas indeed

This was an extremely kind gift, you know who you are, and though I know none of us are mind-readers here, by a really lucky chance you definitely hit the nail on the head that I love clove! I adore clove, and to my delight I amp it too (as I found out with Samhainophobia), which only makes it even more beautiful mingling with the resins and woods in this blend. Those three are the prominent notes for me in Zenobia, and in addition there is also a certain earthy fierceness that comes out, if that makes any sense, which makes me think of a warrior maiden running through the woods to hunt down the enemy. I am so happy I have a bottle of this, and maybe I should give it a go when hunting those of the male persuasion...

I almost cried when I sniffed this one because it reminded me of a certain evergreen potpourri that we had in the house when I was a kid and my grandma was still around in the days before dementia got the better of her. But it is quite lovely; sweet evergreens, the evergreens of which I'm guessing are sweetened by the florals, covered in a chilly blanket of winter-minty snow. Grandma passed on a couple years ago, but I'm so glad I have a scent that will forever remind me of her.

Ha, I am not "nice", and you could probably guess what's on the way to my doorstep from this year's Inquisition. However, there are many "nice" scents I adore, and this is one of them. I'm not getting any lemon or florals at all, really; what comes to mind when I wear this is a sparkling winter scene of snow-covered evergreens with the added candy sweetness of spun sugar. Now I love evergreen scents, but for anyone who's afraid of them this is a good one to try as it's more of a background evergreen. I'm also a dessert foodie, and I think this is a great holiday choice for dessert foodies who want to try "icy" winter scents. Even though Santa will probably put a lump of coal in my stocking, I still think I deserve this!

Oborot starts off pungent at first, to the point where I was seriously wondering whether I should swap it, but the trick with this one is that you have to give it a chance to dry down. It is strong, so just a little will do for women at least. But once it dries down, you reap great rewards. The pungent haze clears and you can really feel the entire scene through the scent; the dark evergreen forest, the salty spray of the ocean, and the resinous sweetness of the incense that balances the first two out. There is also an unmistakable feral quality reminiscent of that in Wolf Moon, a fierceness that I can best describe as seeing this entire picture through the eyes of a wolf. I can imagine this was probably a very difficult scent to blend, but it was done with a great accuracy that really brings out its complexity and beauty.

Trust me, this is definitely not the scent of soggy leaves! Falling Leaf Moon really was everything I hoped for and more. It starts off initially cool and dries down to a beautiful scent of warm, dry fallen leaves and wood with just a hint of aquatics in the backdrop. For anyone who fears patchouli, I'm not getting a prominent patchouli note; it blends in very smoothly with the rest of the notes. I can swear I'm getting a hint of cinnamon in the drydown, which must be a part of the "fallen leaves" accord to give that warm crackling feel and just adds to this scent's autumnal beauty. Absolutely gorgeous!