countessmouse

Blech. I think I could like this one if it were minus the flan element. In general, I don't like to eat caramel, and now I know I don't like to wear it either.

Off to the swap pile.

It starts off smelling very strongly of wet leaves, which had me thinking that I probably wasn't going to like this scent. I waited it out, however, and was rewarded with a layering of florals and bourbon vanilla. After the initial unpleasantness, this one has morphed into a lovely fall scent that is definitely on the keeper list.

I am so, so happy I got a bottle of this one. It's all spicy florals (yay white carnation and magnolia!) with just a hint of sandalwood and has an excellent throw. I smell good!

Slightly ashy at first until the sandalwood warmed. This is a slow morpher - mostly sandalwood at first until the florals decided to make an appearance. The scent is a beautiful blend of warm woods and creamy florals.

Scents like this one make me nervous - they can get so ozone-y that I just can't tolerate them. This, however, is fantastic! Just an underlying hint of the wet stone (I agree, Sam; how dothey do that?!) topped with old wood and an incensy floral.

This just might get added to the "must get a bottle" list.

I want to love this...I really, really do. But I just can't. While the floral and mint are lovely, my body has decided that white chocolate should smell like cola. So now, instead of a lovely minty bouquet, I get the occasional whiff of cheap, discount, store brand cola. Meh.

Horribly disappointed here.

Damn, I wish I had more of this than 3/4 of an imp! Kind of fruity and sweet at first, it has warmed into this golden spicy orange and wood scent that is absolutely fabulous.

Off to stalk down a bottle...

Either there is a touch of jasmine in this or lotus does the exact same thing that jasmine does on my skin. It took more than two hours to get past that sour jasmine smell before something nicely floral finally popped. And that lasted all of 10 minutes before it started going all plasticky on me. I have yet to detect any amber. Meh.

Off to the swap pile you go.

Very lightly minty at first, then it quickly ramped up to an icy floral that was just heavenly. My only complaint is that it is rather light on me, but I was huffing my wrist all day. I wore it on our first cool rainy day and it was so perfect!

Must track down a bottle of this one...

Mostly leather, very little rose. I smell like a purse.

Oh so not for me.

Very clean aquatic at first with nice hints of the sweet juniper. As it warms, I can detect more of the florals (more sweet pea please!) and it is quite pretty. Unfortunately, this scent is also disappointingly light.

Overall, it's very pretty and I might be tempted if I see a bottle up for sale at some point.

Oddly enough, I smelled pralines when I first applied it, which amused me to no end because I'm from New Orleans (that and the name of the scent to begin with). That lasted for about 2 minutes before it switched to mostly patchouli and clove with a hint of vanilla. It's a bit strong, but I like it.

Veil started out beautifully with lots of soft florals (mmmm...gardenia); however, it finally dried down to nothing but sandalwood. The sandalwood is nice, but I want those florals back. Too bad.

Really spicy when wet. I detected a lot of cinnamon at first, which had me worried because my skin is sensitive to cinnamon oil, so I spent the first half hour obsessively checking my skin for irritation. Now that the initial panic is over, it has warmed up to a combination of spice, leather and wood which is quite nice, but just a tad too masculine for me. I may have to try this one on the guy.

Very citrusy at first, this has dried down to a lovely herbal aquatic with a hint of floral. Fresh and clean.

Think I need a bottle of this one.

It smells of a minty breeze through pale flowers in sunset shades of lavender, pink, and pale blue... This smell captures the feeling of Dawn on a Summer morning. It is ethereal and pretty.

This. I only wish it weren't so delicate that I can barely smell it at three hours post application.

Out of the four in the series, I think I like this one the best. It's dark and resinous with just a hint of incense. Smoky often doesn't do well on my skin, but this is so light it works. Not sure if I need a bottle, but I'll definitely be picking up this decant from time to time.

I hate to say this, but it was redolent of dirty hair for the longest time after application. Enough to irritate me and tempt me to wash it off. While the dirty hair scent has faded and the citrus seems to be popping up, I am still not a fan of this one. Off to the swap pile it goes.

I came sooooo close to washing this one off immediately after application. The pikaki and tuberose misbehaved in a spectacular fashion - to the point I was almost nauseated. The urge was resisted, however, and I've been rewarded with a spicy little floral with just a hint of vanilla. As long as I can live through the initial blast of unpleasantness, I think this one is a keeper.

The low key vanilla is perplexing - I usually amp the hell out of it.

I was really hesitant to put this one on because, like Monster's husband, all I was getting was old lady bathroom spray in the imp. Wet on the skin, however, it was rose, rose, rose - and surprisingly, it wasn't powdery or sour, just a soft blooming one. As it drys down and settles in, I'm getting less of the rose and more of the iris and sandalwood, which is just fine with me. It still smells slightly old ladyish, so the jury remains out on this one.

Pickles! All I can smell on application is pickles - really.

On drydown, the balsam and sandalwood take over with a hint of pepper. Very nice in an odd sort of way.

Overwhelming cinnamon and pomegranate at first. Started to get a little of the fig just before it started developing a dusty/musty smell. I'm not liking this one very much at all.

Very green and herby in the bottle and wet on my skin. On dry down, I'm getting amber and something spicy. I smell good!

Very, very nice. This one is a keeper!

While this is a rose that I can actually wear without it going soapy on me, it is really, really, ROSE. I'm more than a little disappointed that there isn't more carnation present, and the rose is sort of giving me a headache.

If rose is all there is, then this one probably isn't for me.

09 Version

Chilly evergreen and berries at first, not as ozoney as some of my other beloved Yule scents. I was beginning to think it wasn't anything special until the ylang-ylang and daffodil jumped out and said hello. Wow! Beautiful, chilly florals. Love it!