spanishviolet

Dreamland is my perfect rainy day scent, for when it's grey & misty & drizzling all day long. The soft florals & musk fit just right ...

Randomly picked this out of my to-try pile today & decided to give it a try after checking out the notes. I seem to recall thinking it was too sweet in the imp when I first got it, but I'm craving sweet today, so let's see ...

And why haven't I ever put this on before?!? I smell soso good ... wow. Apparently vetiver loves me - it's great in Lex Talionis & my CTIII, & now here. The vetiver-y edge keeps the mix of vanilla-honey-cherry-clove from being too boringly candy-sweet - I can't stop sniffing my wrists! For me this is the same sort of scent mood as Dragon's Milk, just a little darker - more going-out-evening instead of settling-down-with-book evening.

Admittedly, it is a bit strong for late-August-in-Dallas heat - maybe next time I ought to slather a bit less. But overall, thumbs up! This goes onto my growing list of GC bottle wants.

At first, the lemony-powder notes were a bit too much for me, and I frowned. But then a few minutes passed, and suddenly I had this lovely white springy scent wafting lightly up from my wrists. It seemed innocuous enough, but I kept being drawn to sniff it. After a while, I could smell the musk from Dorian, and felt quite innocently sexy, in a way that only someone snuggled up close would be able to smell.

Overall, a calm & happy scent that will be perfect for gorgeous spring days like today.

I could hardly bear to stop sniffing this. But I had to because I'd put it inside my elbow & couldn't walk around at work all day with my nose in my elbow. Wrists, I'm sure everyone's used to by now ...

Anyway! The early caramel reviews scared me, since Red Lantern was so overbearing on me. But then I sniffed it - OMG! The most delicious rich vanilla, with a sandalwoody dryness keeping it from being too foody, with a saffrony tinge of spice. Saffron has been a bit weird for me in other scents, but here it all works!

Just couldn't believe how divine this was. A bit of foodiness to smell like rich vanilla deliciousness, but not so much that I got bored like the last few cakey scents I tried. I have a new love!

In the bottle, this was a buttery vanilla with just a little mint. Once on, my skin ate up all the vanilla like it always does, and I was left with a dusty mint scent that made nearby loved ones frown. It was swapped post-haste.

If your skin eats up vanilla like mine does, don't worry about this one. Lick It worked much better for me.

Roses and booze, strong and thick. Maybe a slight alcoholic tang, but no sulfur, no glands, nothing. Just rich decadent rosey goodness.

I don't have any real eloquence to bring out here, just wanted to add my experience since it's so outnumbered by opposite reactions. Perverse indeed!

This smelled to me like sitting in a garden full of wonderfully smelly herbs on a warm humid evening. Despite the description, it didn't remind me of winter at all.

I love lavender & chamomile teas, so I had fairly high hopes going in, despite the presence of sandalwood & ylang ylang, which usually aren't so great for me. In the bottle, I can sniff the chamomile & sandalwood - they seem to be blending together well. When first applied, it smells like sweet flowers (presumably ylang ylang) blended with lavender. Over time, the sweetness decreases, & I can smell more of the lavender & bamboo, with a hint of the light-appley note of chamomile.

It's very soothing & pretty, and makes my nap seem like I'm curled up in the above-mentioned garden sniffing beautiful things, warm & protected & happy. Definitely a keeper!

When my Yule order first arrived way back when two months ago, this was the first scent I twisted open & tried. I sat there trying to think positive thoughts about greenery and fresh-cut roses, and my boyfriend said, "You smell like Citronella." I said No I don't! but I did. That was all I could smell until it faded. Heartbroken, I put Rose Red in the back of my bottle box to wait until the day I was finally not-lazy enough to make a sale post. That day still hasn't arrived (I'm really lazy), and tonight I decided to give Rose Red one more try. And now -

I get it, I get it! *does happy dance* No longer does Rose Red elude me. I sniff it and smell fresh, garden rose, with the warmth of my skin giving it the warmth of a rose sniffed on a beautiful sunny afternoon. So pretty! It's very different from Peacock Queen, whose fullbodiedness I adored on first sniff, and so an excellent addition to my growing stable of rose blends. I feel like a rose fairy ...

I feel sort of mean now thinking of how glad I am I didn't yield to any of those "desperately seeking Rose Red!" posts. They'll have to look elsewhere - my Rose Red has aged perfectly over a couple of months ... At last my hoarding tendencies have a happy result!

Lavender & cinnamon. Sounded odd together, but I like both these things so gave it a try. Now I'm wondering why this combination isn't found all over the place. My god, this is gorgeous! I can't say if it's brought out any Mercurial qualities in me, since I'm at home reading, but it's so warm and inviting and I can't stop sniffing.

I usually have only mild problems with cinnamon (hardly ever, but even then not a problem if I keep it on my wrists), but this does burn a little. Don't let it get anywhere near sensitive areas! I think I may buy a scent locket so I can enjoy the scent fully without having to dilute with lotion.

Anything but sharp on me. These are soft, pretty white roses with warm resins under them. Definitely more approachable than Rose Cross, and softer than All Saints 05, so far as rose/resins go. Liking it so far ... Mmm. (Happy sniffing...)

Sandalwood and very white florals. First on, I'm a little worried, but it's warming up by the second and now I can smell hints of honey & some of the beautiful tuberose that worked so well on me in Dia de los Muertos ... Yum. It's sticking close to the skin, but is definitely worth frequent wrist-sniffing. I love it more with each whiff!

Strong in the bottle, very light on me. With deep sniffing, I think I smell some Snake Oil-style musk, crossed with the sexy sweetness of Sed Non Satiata. Oddly, though people said Sed smelled like peanut butter on them at first, I never got that with Sed but did with Smut.

The peanuts fade before too long, and are replaced by a light warm, brown-sugary glow. Very pretty!

In the bottle, I get a lot of caramel. Second sniff, tobacco & coconut are there too.

On me, it's caramel again at first, and the really strong, dark dry coconut. This scent has the same feel that Miskatonic University did on me, with the woody notes replaced by caramel.

I liked the sound of about half the notes listed, and was optimistic about the others because tobacco usually works for me, but ... this is not me at all. As a coffee, it would be yummy, but I'd want to add cream to get rid of a slight plastic tinge. If Misk U was kind of harsh on you, this might be too. Ah well, off to sniff the others ...

I love this blend! It's a warm spicy sunny blend. I picked up two bottles, even though I'm trying to cut back, because I tend to be all air & earth, & I figured I could use some fiery motivation. I'm glad it smells so wonderful!

On me I pick up the lemon/orange, heliotrope & clove, with some cinnamon, but not so much that it smells craft-shopesque. Instead it's a full warm citrus that I love, even though I don't usually go for citrus.

It does fade quickly, but I'll happily reapply to keep that warm sunny goodness going. I'm looking forward to wearing this on cold wintery days when I'm missing the sun ...

The description of this sounded lighter than I normally go for, but it lingered in my head & wouldn't go away till I ordered it. Fresh out of the box today:

Wow. This is light and sweet. I get the sweet pea & peony, with underpinnings of cucumber, and it's all beautiful. Innocent and demure. I'm looking forward to wearing this a lot in the spring, and am definitely glad I got a bottle. Not my usual sort of thing, but probably the most perfect example of its kind. And I think I really like sweet pea ...

The first few seconds smell deliciously pine & vanilla on my guy, but after it dries down it goes sadly plasticky on him.

On me, it smells great for the first minute and then disappears completely. I think it's still there, as in other people would be able to smell it, but lately my nose refuses to recognize a lot of bpal vanilla & turns it into dust instead. So I get a light piney dust. Again,

Sadly, off to the swap pile ...

I wasn't sure about this one at first - on me it smelled similar to Black Phoenix, an old favorite, but without the cherry, though it was a little muted, and I wondered if it was one of those scents my nose just refuses to recognize are there.

Then I wore it again today. I think it must have been a time of month thing, because today it bloomed into a beautiful light warm spicy musk. I reapplied in my normal obsessive fashion, and may have ended up with a little too much on, but at our morning meeting I got four compliments from coworkers! I've never gotten more than one a day before.

Also, I love the pale pink color of the oil. It looks so rich and sensual ...

After I ordered this year's, I got an imp of the 04 version which led to great regret that I'd purchased this - it was all sour white florals, absolutely terrible on me. Early reviews of this year's seemed to confirm my shopper's remorse, and when my Halloween order arrived last week, I took a quick test sniff & set it aside to go into a swap post. In a mood for new scents tonight, I decided I had to test it at least once to be fair first ...

I am amazed! Wet, I smell heady white florals, which I normally really dislike, but somehow these avoid smelling waxy and horrible. They're luscious and smell kind of like lily to me too, but ... lighter. At this stage, I smell only florals but don't mind because they're so unexpectedly lovely on me. As it dries down, I can smell incense coming out and a hint of smooth cocoa, maybe a little bit of tobacco.

Unexpected love! I don't think I'll need more than one bottle, and I really hope it doesn't age like last year's did, but wow, this is great. A beautiful autumn floral.

I love candy corn, but hardly ever eat it because I don't want to commit to a whole bag, so I was really looking forward to getting my nostalgia fix from this scent.

It's not quite what I was expecting. It doesn't smell like light sugar & honey, like the Brach's brand of candy corn I like. Maybe more like one of the cheaper brands ... It's very mapley and kind of buttery. Not much like candy corn on me, but still pretty tasty.

On me this is sugar, musk & spices. My roommate said I smelled like yummy cookies.

I get a hint of smoke and only the tiniest echo of booze once it dries down. It's a little lighter than I was expecting, and fades in a couple of hours, but what a delicious couple of hours! Definitely going to need some more before this goes away!

This was the first of the patch I tried on. I was a little wary of the description - I love both notes, but wasn't sure I'd like them together. But once I'd opened the bottles and done the first sniff test, I had to try this first.

It is divine! First I smell the pomegranate, but it's warmer than usual. The pumpkin gives it a rich underpinning - the scents don't clash, they just round each other out. I can see why some people might associate it with a candle, but there's nothing fake or waxy about the smell on me - it's all fruity warm deliciousness. ... I think I need more!

Smells like a library full of medieval books & maps, with sunlight coming from high windows onto burnished tables in the center of the room. The rosewood & leather give it a subtle richness.

I love the way this smells, but I don't think I'd reach for it often. It's got a very neutral vibe, neither masculine nor feminine, and on me this is definitely a skin scent. I'll have to try it again & really slather to see if Dee & I will work out together.

I was a bit worried by the wine part of the description, since wine generally smells sour on me, but I needn't have been. This is, as everyone else has said, perfect fall beauty. Apple cider with a bit of florals, a bit of foody spices ... yum. The wine is an undernote that just adds richness to everything else.

Haven't smelled last year's so I can't compare, but this is my favorite Lunacy so far. Perfect for fall (i.e. temperatures in the upper 80's - gotta love Texas). Hopefully I'll still have some left when it gets cold enough to wear scarves, because I want to smell this lingering on my warm & furry clothes!

Warm spicy roses with maybe a hint of incense ... I love this scent. It's what I was hoping for from Harlot, which turned soapy on me.

These are enticing roses that lure you closer, not the overpowering kind that give you headaches. Absolutely gorgeous, and a perfect match for the story it's based on. Staying power is about average on me. Very glad I ordered this one!

Mmm. A gentle happy glow.

I love the scent of lavender, but have long since given up trying to wear it on my skin since it always turns sharp. I think this scent has finally made it possible!

At first, it's a warm lavender, bringing up happy nostalgic associations. After it dries a bit, I can smell more of the rosewood (giving it a smooth, burnished feel) and the tonka (more warmth). The patchouli seems to be kind of mixing with the rosewood - a dry spiciness.

I seem to be just listing the ingredients here, but all together they're amazing. Classic, ladylike, and warm. Very happy with this imp!