SophieCedar

Wet: this phase made me fearful that Kitty was too candy-like for me. Upon application, the strawberries and french vanilla are cloyingly sweet and I can barely smell anything else. However this settles quickly.. the bergamont and sandalwood develop, deepening the mixture and cutting through the sugar. The orchid comes out nicely as well, fragrant, pink & white color impressions, and not overpowering or conflicting. Drydown: Ahhhh.... that's the basic 1 word expression for this phase. Sweet woody sandalwood, vanilla, and strawberries with orchid and a still fresh touch of bergamont. Perfect mix.

It's hard to find a singular note honey from the collection. Hmm..I've tried them all.. which one smells like pure honey? Most closely for me was Horse Chestnut honey from Rappaccini's Apiary. I've eaten really chestnut honey before and this is an exact match. You may also like Womb Furie. It's got 3 honeys blended with Snake Oil. I find it very dominant on the honey part. O always turns powdery on the drydown on my skin, but I agree it's a good honey recommendation. The wet phase was still wonderful. Some loose honey related recs that I love: Hellcat (sweet boozy honey with hazelnut) Dana O'Shee (milk and honey) Cockaigne (honey coated pastries) Hetairae (honeycomb, clove and ylang ylang mostly.. this was my 1st love!) No. 93 Engine (warn golden wood and lemon honey..gender-neutral)

So, I've read the reviews, had some of the unfavorable experiences at varying times, and still I come to the decision that this is the vanilla I was waiting for. Wet: this phase can vary wildly depending on the time of day, environmental smells, no longer detecable scent still lingering on my skin mixing, excess coffee, etc etc etc. Sometimes it's brilliant warm vanilla and saffron with sweet soft orris and orchid. Other times it smelled like vanilla vodka (this happened at work..yes the place you rrrreallly don't want it to happen), vanilla plastic (if it was applied cold), or vanilla soaked tires (accidental layering or I had too much coffee that's oozing out my pores). Drydown: even though the wet phase is always different, it consistently comes to the same wonderful conclusion.. warm vanilla bean and orchid with fire-stoking saffron. It absolutely glows. The throw is amazing and easily identifiable, but fortunately, (and this is the reason I started getting heavily into bpal) separates itself from all the musky, weird, chemical, girly, vomit-inducing, beguiling vanilla perfumes on the market. A true go-to scent.

2011 version: I did a side by side comparison of '11 to '08. Not sure if this an age or component comparison...or both! I wasn't around for the '08 version when it 1st came out so I bought it aged. Wet: '11 is slightly more amber, less coconut and caramel, and goes on smelling like fresh dried pungent tobacco and opium with a sweet background. '08 is stronger on the delphinium and goes on very syrupy, maybe allowing some currant to take over.. I think the opium and amber are just more potent when fresh too. Drydown: The delphinium and opium with a dry currant are what sticks around for '08. '11, the cologne mix of tobacco, opium and amber is prominent. '11 maintains sweetness much better. Huh.. I had no idea what I was missing by having an aged bottle, only! Further into drydown, '08 starts to smell rank, compared to '11.. dry, papery, and a bit like flat cola, when sniffed 1st. I wouldn't have noticed this if I had worn it alone. In fact, my memory tells me that 08' worn alone, smells just as glowing as '11, when it's not competing with a fresh bottle.

Not the desperation, desolation and anguish of unrequited love, but the distant, chill and pitiless scent of the object of that doomed desire. White musk, osmanthus, Nile lily and frankincense. Wet: very sweet, almost baby aspirin smelling. Not so much frankincense, more white musk, lily and osmanthus..even though it has the baby aspirin thing going on, I like it! I can see the apricot association. Drydown: all light candied apricot and white musk. Slight floral lily smell but not notable. I think this will be a nice summer scent. In the category with katharina and the luau lounge.

This is an unexpected love. Wet: I was initially afraid of this one, having 2 dreaded essences: violet and white tea. Not to fear! this is wonderful! Apparently, parma violet is much sweeter and warmer than whatever other type the lab usually uses. Sweet egytian musk, beeswax, parma violet and leather with orange blossom and copal. I can smell the white tea however it just gives a fresh touch and heightened awareness. Lovely warm sweet scent. Drydown: same! Gets even more warmer and lovelier!

Mmm. Bought a bottle of this after testing. Wet: creamy coconut, hazelnut and anise. Lovely complexity and simplicity at the same time Drydown: creamy coconut, warm hazelnut, and sweet light white amber. The anise has moved to the background. I love this one.

Wet: slightly boozy and meaty rice wine with vanilla bean. Yum. Drydown: the booziness subsides a little and melds with the white sandalwood and vanilla bean perfectly. The white musk amps the whole blend and makes it glow. I described this to someone as having a slow magnetic pull. Completely unexpected winner. I tested this and fell in love! Bought a bottle and still in love.

Wet: I didn't expect the blood orange to be kicking so much ass in this one. When 1st applied I smelled black currant, blood orange, patchouli, and an itty bitty sliver of white mint. You'd think by reading that impression that it's an uplifting & invigorating scent with promises of something primal..but no. My brain perceives this actually as doleful, somber. The galbanum and oakmoss pulls all the levity down to a psychologically basal and mournful feel. It truly emulates the image's sepia tone and prone position. drydown: still blood orange based but dryer. The black currant comes out more. The galbanum and oakmoss continue to shine with a slight meaty warmth from the benzoin. Overall a great impactful scent. Would be a good choice for fall.

I'm sure this is brilliant on someone else, but pomegranate does not like me. I can barely get it to say a nice word using Mme. Moriarty. The Great He-Goat, it threatens to bite but barely keeps in check. Madonna, it outright says to me "why do you keep trying to befriend me? You know better." This blend was the deepest disappointment of the Salon III set...considering I'm a perpetual, oblivious optimist in regards to perfumes. Wet, this comes across as strong hyssop and pomegranate with something that smells like dryer sheets. Drydown, no dryer sheets but still very sharp soapy green with tangy fruit. Oh well!

Wet: whoa. something extremely sharp and powdery races up my nostrils and dissipates instantly. Bizarre. Maybe it was the bois du rose running for it's life. Ok now it's sweet deep warm rose, slight bit of violet..this fades fast, bubbly girly sweet mimosa flower, wet currant, and bourbon vanilla. oooh! This is like a grown up, multifaceted Hope. I can't smell the gardenia through everything unfortunately. Calla lily? there a bit if I stretch my imagination and have the notes in front of me. Color impressions are true to the painting's composition. drydown: the rose continues to dance harmoniously with the rest of the notes (whew). Still mostly a very sweet floral with rose, ambergris and bourbon vanilla twining, mimosa, currant, and calla lily. It has more of that distinctive ambergris smell that gets lodged in my nasal cavity. Kinda gives me the impression of shoving my face into overly sweet sugar dripping pastry and heady flowers. whoa again. This is conceptually what I would say is the perfect scent mate for me. But when the Fairy Godperfumer created & presented, I questioned my deepest desires and started scrapping the schematics. I need to go contemplate human nature for a while.

Ok when the imp pack arrived in the mail, I completely passed over this one with a "meh". I feel terribly embarrassed for myself now, considering how beautiful this is. Embarrassed that my nose didn't pick up the finer qualities and was all "ooh look! shiny things! *dump*" Wet: sweet peach kernel, bitter almond, thick sweet honey, and saffron. The myrrh and hyssop provide a wonderful brown, burgundy, and green depth behind the sweet straight-forward top notes. I'm not picking up on the belladonna? Drydown: sweet resinous wonderfulness. The peach kernel hangs strong with saffron and honey. The frankincense comes out only slightly and just to compliment and amplify this perfectly. For a second I get wafts of what could be considered an egyptian musk, but this is just a cleverly crafted combination of ingredients and my brain placing meaning where it wasn't intended. debating a bottle.

Wet: strong astringent wet rosemary essence and rose. It's putting a tang on my tongue. (tang on my tongue? ok what is up with my verbiage today. this is the second time I've spit out something that sounds like it came from a Dr. Seuss book..)The rosemary starts to mellow within the 1st 30 seconds and rose comes forward very strongly with a slight orange blossom in the background. drydown: this goes soapy on me and I can't loose the soapy bitter tang in my mouth. The orange blossom is translated to a sharp citrus dryness. It's sweeter side is lost behind the medicinal rosemary and strong wet green rose. If only Catherine was fond of portwine or sweet cakes this would balance. I would feel almost bad if I blended this with a sweet or musk considering the power and presence of it is the original intention. I'll hold off and try again some other time.

Wet: leather and olive oil with a slight polished wood background. The leather is brown and definitely oiled. There's a buttery quality to it, not sharp or fruity. (whew) Drydown: smells like a gentleman's club. Soft warm leather and warm sweet wood. Kinda like Herr Drosselmeyer without the pipe tobacco. Nice!

Wet: this scent makes me rethink my hatred for tuberose..ok maybe hatred is too strong. Could just be a dislike. Wet, there's strong sweet tuberose, jonquil (daffodil), mandarin, green musk (wow never smelled before) hyacinth, and violet musk. Very sweet, green, pervading, and elusive. Reason I say elusive is because it's strong but you can't really hone in on it well by getting closer to your wrist. It's not direct like some foodies, resins, or say a jasmine or red rose base. Drydown: tuberose, jonquil, sandalwood (strong here, yay!), hyacinth, and a touch of styrax (plant origin of benzoin). Sweeter as the mandarin gets juicier and looses it's sharpness. The florals mellow too. It's a floral blend that leaves a tang in my mouth. This isn't a bad thing. Just a very distinctive watery green purple floral with a lovely resinous woody base. I really like this and need to try it out a few times. Great variation for people that like lily of the valley, tuberose, or daffodil blends.

Wet: ooh wow. I didn't want to like this because what a naughty naughty gal.. concealing love affairs! Hurmph! But this truly is a dazzling scent. 1st strongest are the orchid and plum musk, followed by neroli, narcissus, grapefruit. Sweet flowing purple reminding me of suspiro here and there. Drydown: sweet narcissus and plum with neroli, sandalwood, and a touch of thyme. I wished to smell more oakmoss, but that's ok. Nice supporting actress for this one. The suspiro association is still there, but this is more sugary and a little darker. It fades somewhat quickly.. oh the similarity to real love affairs is becoming obvious. hahaha

Wet: springy fresh, green jasmine. Something that smells like fresh pavement and riding by flower beds in spring. I am a huge jasmine fan, and was momentarily depressed when I smelled something like a litterbox, which passed in all of about 10 seconds. I think my nose was misreading information and was overwhelmed. Crossed wires quickly straightened. I think the gardenia and jasmine had a quick cat fight. The jasmine, rose, gardenia, and ylang ylang quickly sort themselves out to a nicely aligned bright spring jasmine mix. Strange how reminiscent this is of riding a bike in spring. Drydown: warm soft, non-powdery jasmine with apple blossom, amber and ylang ylang. The gardenia is getting lost in the background, which is fine. Wonderful.

Wet: oooh boy. I knew I should have bought a bottle of this right of the bat. Next order! Calla lily is of course dominant here, honeysuckle is sweet and wonderfully complimentary to it. The jasmine is actually only slight on me..? Bourbon vanilla is the one that starts to appear the fastest. I can't tell you how surprised I am by that. Drydown: this turns creamier, sweeter, and muskier. Strange because the ambrette seed can be a nightmare on my skin occasionally. The galbanum develops as well. This is just gorgeous.Sweet, heady, seductive florals, bourbon vanilla, and warm amber.

Wet: ok I opened the imp and the cap popped, went flying, and sprayed a trajectory of Love & Pain all over the computer. Therefore, the scent is uhm.. very present right now. This is a really interesting one. As love and pain can be, it's all encompassing, confusing, alluring, dark, and soothing all at once. My brain wants to explode due to the emotional malfunction this is causing. The lavender is strong and soothing. Underneath is a strong current of musk and resinous notes. Balkan tobacco is unlike any I've smelled in the past. It has a port wine-like quality to it. The vanilla is so dark, and in combination with the tobacco and musk, it translates as tonka-esque, if you smelled it blindly. Drydown: apparently my coffee is starting to work. This review is much more verbose than the previous one..(which was basically filled with mono-syllabic grunts of "mm good"... ) The lavender mellows without getting powdery. The tobacco takes forefront with dark vanilla and lavender just provides this sweet and sad backdrop. golden copaifera is warm and glowing too. Really amazing scent. One that I'll be coming back to over and over to try and figure out.

Wet: bitter clove is really interesting as a dominant note. This comes across as what I wanted Old Spice to really smell like, but they had to add powdery crap and alcohol to ruin it. hahahaa. The black musk smells sweet, combined with clove. Mahogany wood is dominant as well. Drydown; very old spicey, but not in a bad way. the clove takes over everything but I can smell a bit of patchouli behind it. The mahogany wood is still around but softer. Not bad! I can see developing a 1 week fascination with this and using the imp up.

Wet: something sweet..fruity smelling...wilted greenery? and black amber. I completely didn't expect the fruit smell! The sunflower bouquet smell comes out short after application. It's warm yellow dry, aromatic without being incensey and balanced. drydown: I can smell all elements here. The amber burns down some, as expected. I think the what makes this a signature scent is the dry stems. Without that the scent might waffle and disappear. Nice, warm, dry, late summer early fall, sunbaked dried floral scent.

Same from wet to drydown. Yellow rose, chrysanthemum, and skin musk with slight cream and mandarin. Where's the honeycomb? There's a lot going on in here and I was hoping the cream and skin musk were going to be more prominent. I have no idea what wide-throated yellow monkey-flower is supposed to smell like, but it's in here! This is predominantly a floral mix with slight sweet background. Strange because it's one of those scents where I focused in on only the elements that I wanted (skin musk, honeycomb, cream, honeysuckle) and everything else was *blah blah blah* because I was fixating. My fault! I mean, it's still a nice glowy scent, but I need to come back to it with a fresh perspective.

Wet: oooh..oceanside on a spring morning. makes me think about running down to the ocean to watch the sunrise (yes, I do that frequently). Not very dissimilar to Maine oceanside in spring. The kelp, oceanmist ambergris are strongest of course. The florals are a really unusual addition. Completely took me by surprise even though I, of course, can see they're listed in the description.. Osmanthus and freesia are great additions. White pear sweetens the florals and makes them singularly notable instead of getting lost in the mix or turning the whole thing sour. Very wise. Drydown: the kelp and ocean mist burn down to a soft blue-green. Florals ease off slightly too. The pear and amber become more prominent. Smells like the part of sunrise when the sun starts to warm me and everything around me and I'm finally ready to leave for some breakfast or an adventure. *sigh* spring is coming.

Ok this one surprised me. My preconception of how it would smell was quite different. I contribute it to the asain pear and lavender monofloral honey. Wet: cherry blossom and asian pear with blue lilac and wafts of lavender honey. The sandalwood is there but stays in an auric circle around the rest. Warm light purple color impression. Delicate but inviting. Drydown: sweet lovely lilac and cherry blossom. Lavender note is not as strong, but whatever honey base was used is still around. It smells creamier than the wet phase..surprising. I thought the asian pear and cherry blossom with residual lilac would have turned this acidic on drydown. It wears very close to the skin and smells quite natural and "pretty". Youthful and pure without being naive.

Dusty amber, grey musk, red orchid, moonflower, night-blooming phlox, stock, honeysuckle, English ivy, toadflax, and purple salvia. Wow. This is a really unusual beautiful floral. When the package came in the mail and preliminary sniffing ensued, this was one that caught my attention. Wet: grey musk and dusty amber apparently like my skin. (Bat-Woman works well on me too). The red orchid is second. It really does an amazing job of adding dimension and plays off the amber and musk amazingly. They're quite harmonious, however! Moonflower is gorgeous and innocently seductive as usual. I can smell bits of the stock, honeysuckle and ivy. The overall impression is a "true" perfume base, but on deeper inspection, I'm not repulsed or overwhelmed. (that's normal for regular perfumes..they draw me in and then cause headaches and/or nausea or, at best, just an overall feeling of ickiness). There's something iridescent about this. It reminds me of Black Opal in some respects. Drydown: sweet orchid, moonflower, and honeysuckle with amber and grey musk background. I'm surprised the grey musk stuck around! I can still smell bits of ivy, and now a whisper of toadflax. Overall a sweet dusty gray. I never thought I'd smell that in a perfume..ever. Very interesting and curious how this will shift in perception, in the warmer months ahead. Love it!