Honey

Can I please love this rose for once? Imp: Cedar or teak. Very sharp, acrid, wooden, strong. Also sour and tart, perhaps bergamot and nutmeg. Wet: Bergamot, rose and sandalwood - three key ingredients of Nivea lotion. And it really smells like it. It's more fruity, though, because of the mandarin and more tart because of the nutmeg and/or saffron. Dry: Sandelwood is very prominent in this scent. It's spicy, creamy bur doesn't have a strong throw. Rose shines through faintly.. but, all in all, a light scent that seems a bit imbalanced.

Tamarind.. ohh, exciting! Imp: Wow.. this smells.. really foody. As if.. there were a caramel note faintly in the background that held together juicy grape, fig, pomegranate and apple. With a dash of cinnamon. Wet: Somewhat.. boozy and juicy. Sweet and still.. like caramel or cake. A bit fizzy. Reminds me of rum raisins.. but that's just not it. I think the almonds add to the sickly sweet & foody appeal of this scent. Dry: This one goes really.. sharp, acrid and bitter on my skin. Fennel/celery plus burned sugar plus fish oil. Wow.. as if something has gone really bad and stayed on my skin for days. Must wash off!

My bet is this one was supposed to go or will go into the Yule selection. Bottle: Butter vanilla and rum raisins. Smells like Christmas, smells like stollen. VERY foody and strong. Wet: OK, this IS stollen. Buttery dough with almonds, rum raisins and the lightest hint of lemon peel. Has a sugary caramel note as well. A dash of cinnamon, orange peel, perhaps nutmeg and/or allspice and clove in the background. Dry: Oh well.. turns to leek and/or celery on my skin. I also get some burned sugar. Drat.. I hate when those things happen.

It's finally summer in Germany, so this scent is more than fitting! Imp: Wow! Boozy, fizzy tangerine and.. ginger? No.. must be the fruity/spicy appeal of this scent. Very exotic! Wet: Tangerine, guava, passion fruit.. all there! Not too sweet, not soapy.. just.. fizzy and boozy and tiki! Dry: Passion fruit and guava are the strongest notes to me when dry. Not too boozy for my taste and has a decent throw. Hmm.. will wear this when it's hot outside (because I wish I had a tiki bar)!

Please, no violet.. Imp: Sweet warm herbs, green notes, interesting floral notes I cannot pin down. Wet: Purple floral notes and sharp, sweet spices. Smells very much like a soap. Nice - but not for me. Dry: Citrus notes appear. Green, sharp, tart.. and a bit like sweat.. erk.

So excited to give this a try! Imp: The notes that strike me first are grapefruit (juicy, tart, fresh), aloe (light, green, fresh) and rice wine (sweet and sour). Yum, good. Wet: Fresh, light, yellow/green/white. Similar to but much stronger than Kumiho, similar to but less lemon-y than Embalming Fluid (and I was disappointed by both). Dry: Light and fresh. Could need a stronger throw. After a wile, the creamy and spicy candied ginger & sugarcane come through. Oh, this is yummy and JUST.MY.THING. Vanilla adds to the creamy texture. I am sure the musk and sandalwood will appear later and make this long-lasting and nice. Oh, darn, I so want a bottle of this!!

Yay! Frimp I never would have picked for myself but.. Imp: Wow! Spicy orange vanilla with a floral undertone. Smells like.. Snake Oil mixed with dripping sweet orange juice and a waft of intoxicating flowers. Wet: Omg, LOVE! Fruity Snake Oil!? So good! I hope it stays like this when it dries down. Dry: Hmm, it has some sort of.. eggy note that appears now. Still spicy orange & dark vanilla, though, which smells yummy. Have to wait for a while and have to see how the scent morphs on me.

A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove. Finally!! @ Usagi Imp: Sweet apricot and spicy sweet clove! Very light throw in the vial. Wet: Sweet, thick, waxy, condensed apricot. Not fresh, fruity and juicy like peach. Just.. sweet apricot (like dried apricots that are very condensed in their flavor). And a lovely clove. Dry: Sweet and spicy. The more it dries, the more the clove gets through. Smells almost like.. black tea with apricot flavor. Has only medium throw but a long staying power i.e. I can still smell the soapy and sweet apricot-clove mix on my wrist after 12+ hours. Lovely scent but nothing I see myself wearing on a regular basis as I don't have that much oil and I need to bathe in something in order to smell scented right.

Dark and juicy... Imp: Very dark and sensual, yet.. somewhat medicinal and fruity. I can definitely smell the musks and the fig % black current. Wet: Smells.. dark, sweet and juicy. and a bit spicy. I cannot make out the single notes, it just comes across as decent blend. Dry: Warm, spicy, a wee bit soapy. Nice.. but nothing special.

Oh, creamy goodness! Imp: Smells creamy and yummy. Shea, definitely. Could also be some light chocolate. Really delicious. There are already herbal notes striking my nose. Wet: This is awesome!! Creamy shea and fragrant spruce. Oh, that is so NOT generic but soft and green and lovely. Dry: More wooden now then before. Creamy wood, slightly spicy. Not as herbal as in the wet stage. Alas.

Fruity Gods? Imp: Ohhh, lovely sweet grapefruit! Plus aquatic notes. Wet: Still yummy sweet grapefruit. Slightly marine notes Dry: Grapefruit and spices.. ginger and anise? Still fresh and aquatic like a cologne.. but.. hey, this ain't bad at all. To me this is rather fruity fresh than really something salty from the sea. Will be kept and tried for a full day.

Wow, scent rollercoaster! Imp: Sprite! This totally smells like sprite. I think there is lemon and lime in there. Sweet not sour. But maybe it's also vanilla and ginger, so.. yes, it also reminds me of ginger ale and coca cola. I guess that means we have a good deal of sweet sugared citrus fruits, some heavy orchid and/or lily floral notes.. and ginger, maybe sweet clove as spices. Wet: That's.. coke with lime! Sorry, it just smells like exactly that. Ohh, it turns creamy after a couple of seconds. Yes, ginger and almond, that makes it spicy and nutty. OK, dare I say someone dunked their ginger cookies into cake with lime? Yes, that's what it is. Dry: Not quite sure what to think of it.. such a strange, strange scent. It's.. bubbly and full of joy, very sweet and bright. I might give it a try and wear this one all day and see how it goes. ETA: Cassia! There must be some of that in there as well. And tonka appears on the dry-down after a while.

Rose overkill! Imp: Sweet, sweet roses. Very strong. Myrrh and jasmine tune into the mix, too. Wet: Multi-layered rose with fruity mandarin and spicy myrrh. A really lovely blend although I am not much of a rose lover. Dry: Soapy, fruity floral notes, strongest of all is rose. Might be jasmine in there as well, but I usually have a hard time detecting that as a single note in a mix. Hmm, not really my thing I guess.

Honey on honey, purr! Imp: Omg, so good! Freshly peeled oranges, sweet honey and a floral undertone, I think this must be the ash manna. Wet: This is way more fruity than like honey. It could be orange but also passion fruit or some other yellow-orange and exotic fruit. There is a herbal and rich note to this scent. Dry: It smells what I have always wanted orange blossom honey to taste like! Very sweet and fruity with a herbal and spicy undertone. The citrus note is a bit too sharp for me, though, and the scent takes on slight toilet cleaner attributes after dry.down (maybe a bit heavy on the bitter lemon that could be in there after all).

I really hope this won't burn my skin too badly.. Imp: Patchouli! Very strong, dark and intense scent. Behind the patchouli, I can detect bitter orange, cinnamon and bitter clove. Wet: Smells... smokey. Incense is stronger than the patchouli now. Still rather dark, earthy and bitter. Not really any orange or cinnamon detectable. Dry: Very earthy, fragrant and tart. Patchouli and incense are the notes that come out the strongest on my skin. Cinnamon and clove give the scent and nice texture but are not too overpowering. I cannot detect any orange at this state on my skin. Hmm.. bit too dark and tart for my taste.

Something light, something bright.. Imp: Grape, pear and sweet pea jump right at me! I think that these notes harmonize well with one another. It's sweet and juicy yet also floral (but rather yellow & pink floral notes, not white & green ones). Wet: Oh, yummy! This scent turns into something.. silver golden for me. Fresh, slightly sweet yet something green shines through. Floral notes get stronger in this scent on my skin. This is mainly green juicy pear with a hint of white grape and sweet pea on me now. Dry: It's very bubblegum-like on my skin. Sweet and juicy. Mainly grape and pear. I don't know what moonflower and snapdragon smell like, but the floral notes in this scent blend really well to a yellow-whitish mix. A light scent for spring, but somehow this is a bit too sweet for me.

Discon or not, this one is lovely! Imp: Wood, herbs and pickle water. Wet: Strong wooden notes, slightly sharp. Green, herbal and slightly floral (maybe calla lily and/or lily of the valley). Dry: Dry sandalwood and other wooden notes. A creamy greenness, slightly sweet and herbal. I wore this on my wrists today and had Van Van in my scent locket. Those two (because they share the sweet grass I assume) fit together very well.

Instant love. Imp: Strong, acrid, medicinal. Like tea tree oil, vetiver and the deepest patchouli. Wet: Still medicinal but with a more grassy note. Herbal and strong. Dry: Light vetiver (that smells like sweet basil or dill) with dried sweet grass or hay. Coumarin is very strong in this one! Therefore, there might also be tonka bean and vanilla grass in there. This scent is just lovely! Herbal, sweet and sexy. You really feel more confident and secure when having Van Van in your nose. I just love it. I might need a bottle of this.

Hee, my second greenish imp.. Imp: Wow! I smell sweet pea with only the slightest hint of sage. Very green and bright and light and sweet and fresh! Wet: Reminds me very much of soap. Fresh and light, still mostly sweet pea and only a dash or herbs. Dry: If I concentrate really hard, then I can smell something like tonka in the background. This has almost a grassy feel to it.. yes, like sweet grass and soap. It's delightful as a spring scent when you need something behaved and innocent. ETA: Skin needed to warm up a bit for the tonka to show up. It smells really.. like Herbal Essence now or a nice body lotion. That may sound generic but subconsciously it gives you the feeling of being clean and cared for!

Oh, what a pretty bottle! Great label art, yay! Bottle: Blood orange, guava and pear strike me at first. I could swear I also smell some banana, but I guess this whole tropics-in-a-bottle feeling played tricks on my mind. I am glad the violet is behaving, otherwise I would already be sick on the couch.. Wet: Caramel and candied fruits. Smells like sweet fried bakery goods with something.. tangy and sharp. Fruity and sweet. Dry: Tangy blood orange and caramel. Very bitter, sharp, sweet and.. something is off in this blend. Must be the caramel. Doesn't really work on me in combination with orange and violet.

Yay! Secret stash imp! Imp: Very sweet and plummy. Could swear I detected some nutty rice pudding but maybe I hallucinated because I remembered rice pudding as an ingredient and not cream. Slightest hint of florals. Wet: Wow, this smells like actual plums! Not sweet and cheap like IKEA candles but actually.. yes, plummy with a hint of fruity greenness, a sharp tangy note. Dry: This is a plum single note on me. No flowers, no cream. Quite nice and not too overwhelming but also a bit boring.

I really wish citrus worked better on me.. Imp: OK, wow, complex citrus scent. Smells like tangy grapefruit, just the fluffy white inside of the peel. The slightest hint of green tea (more herbal than black tea to my nose). Allover green and tart and fruity. Wet: Green citrus. So I googled the components: yuzu is something of a complex lemony orange while mikan is an Asian satsuma (sweet mandarin). Smells very fresh and sour to me and not too sweet (what the notes could suggest). Even the oil is green in the imp! Have I ever seen a green oil? I think not. Dry: I can detect the slightly bitter texture of the black tea that is layered with a citrus overkill! I am glad it's no "toilet cleaner" lemon but something that's really hard to pin down. Very green and fresh and even sour. I am missing a creamy sweetness that would make this even better for me.. or wearable on a daily basis.

The rose in rosemary.. Imp: Strong, herbal and soapy. It doesn't really smell like the fragrant rosemary to me that I use in the kitchen. Maybe the rose is just overpowering. See, what I deemed to be soapy was merely the rose.. I guess I cannot smell one without the other (like some people, for some reason, mix up almond and cherry). Wet: Tart, dark, even mossy. Very deep green. A bit acrid.. like burned rosemary. Ah, after a few seconds, a great rosemary note appears, overpowering the rose now (which is good). Dry: Smells.. sharp, herbal and green with a slight dash of bitter orange and a hint of soapy rose. Smells a bit.. waxy, dusty and sour to me.. somewhat unpleasant.

Kumiho - where did you go? Imp: Yep, that's crisp white tea and ginger. Extremely light! Barely noticeable. And with a hint of citrus. Wet: Smells the same but stays weak in character. Dry: Poof! Gone. Not even the ginger lasts on my skin. I could empty the imp over my head, I guess I'd still break my nose sniffing for the scent to linger and bloom.

I love those "no notes listed" scents as they really train your nose.. Imp: OK, I will just toss in all my thoughts.. I smell something soapy and aquatic. A very masculine cologne scent. I guess I am smelling dragon's blood, anise, cinnamon, curcuma/turmeric, lavender and something herbal like rosemary and thyme. So, this is fresh, aquatic, slightly tart and herbal. Wet: Something floral.. not quite calla lily, not quite rose. I am not good with flowers.. but it's almost as sweet as a rose and not as fresh/green as calla lily. Very soapy. Could be jasmine (but that's only because I peaked above). Dry: Could be sage in there instead of rosemary of thyme. And maybe something mossy. Vetiver? If so, then only very slightly. Smells like a herbal soap to me. My skin amps cinnamon and/or anise after a while. It's pretty but nothing special I guess.