sunlitgarden

Whoa, this is strong... thick and smoky. The vetiver basically eats up everything else, unfortunately. I think I'm getting a little floral under the vetiver, but the florals are actually a bit sickening, and overall it's just way too strong for me.

Paris Bubblegummy lotus with a bit of spice... cinnamon? I don't smell lavender. Not my favorite, it goes a bit sickly sweet and weird, like a craft store candle gone wrong. Not what would make me think of Paris, at all.

A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew. Moon Rose This is a light, dewy rose. I'm not sure exactly what moonflower smells like, but I'm getting touches of a gardenia-like floral. This is so lovely and elegant... it really does evoke walking through a rose garden at night to my mind. I already have several rose blends I love, but none are this light and airy - this might be a bottle purchase.

Thanks so much! Your spreadsheet is a lifesaver!

French Love I'm getting dragon's blood and light florals. Maybe lilac. It's similar to Dragon's Eye, and pretty, but I prefer Dragon's Eye.

Veil I keep trying blends with violet thinking maybe one will work someday. Well, so far, none have. In the vial, it smells kind of dusty/powdery, with the weird chemical smell that violet causes. Tried a small test patch.... gross violet. I enjoy most of the other notes, but I can't smell them with the violet. Off to swaps.

Ultraviolet: Very eucalyptus/minty astringent in the imp! On my skin, it is astringent and cooling. At first I get a bit of ammonia-like burning in my nose when I smell it, but that does back off within a couple minutes. Still, this reminds me of a certain household cleaner (Mrs. Meyer's Basil scent, though it really doesn't smell like basil.) It's really hot out currently, and the coolness is refreshing. For me, violet usually either goes one of two ways - I can't smell it at all, or it smells like some chemical paint thinner horribleness. In this blend, it seems to be the former -- I'm mainly just getting mint/eucalyptus. If anything, the violet is adding to the household cleaner vibe. I think I'd be more likely to seek out the mint/eucalyptus in a blend with no violet.

Theodosius, the Legedermain -- Decant from March 2008 (almost 2.5 years at this point, though I only recently bought it.) I got Theodosius kind of thinking that Dorian: Theodosius :: Snake Oil: The Snake Pits (yes, I actually liked those analogies, how could you tell ) I do smell an undercurrant of what is like Dorian, but it's more citrusy (from bergamot?) and herbal. I'm not really getting jasmine, fortunately, as it usually doesn't work on me. Unfortunately, this is going a bit... powdery/soapy, and fading. I'm not sure if it's due to the age, but I like Dorian a lot better...

Lab frimp. Wet, it smells like various greenery with the dandelion adding sweetness. The tobacco comes out a bit more as it dries, smelling almost anise-y. As it dries down though, this really reminds me of the spices in Bastirma (dried spiced beef in Armenian cuisine). It's tasty, but not something I would want to smell like...

To me Queen of Sheba smells like those pickled banana peppers you can get on sandwiches. Haven't tried it on the skin yet, but I don't want to smell like a pepper... Okay, so i tried putting a bit of it on the back of my hand. First blast is still the pickled peppers.... I agree with whoever mentioned corn chips, that's what I'm getting under the pepper-spices. This is basically CHIPS AND SALSA. Eventually the salsa fades, but I am getting... chips. Off to swaps with you!

White musk and light florals. It's really pretty! The orris gives it a slightly dusty powdery quality. I admit I occasionally get whiffs of something that reminds me a little bit of Play-doh, but not really in a gross way... Joyful Moon strikes me as feminine and delicate, which I usually don't identify with, but it's a really nice blend and probably a keeper. Edit 9/20: A month later I love this even more. It's a gorgeous soft vanilla. I wore it a couple days ago and I kept sniffing myself all day! Edit 10/9: I forgot I had edited this already, because I came back to edit it AGAIN with how much I love this scent!!! Whatever was doing the Play-doh thing when it was fresh has aged out entirely now. Gorgeous soft musky vanilla with gentle florals.

I LOVE Dia, it's in my top 10. To me it's a sexy, almost cologne-like coconut. I oakmoss though. I love Paduan Killer Swarm too. It's a bit too smoky and thick for me when first applied, but it dries down fast, lasts forever and is just delicious. Paper Kite is very sweet coconut (though it does have the pepper making it kind of dusty - I need to re-test this before it comes down to decide whether I need a bottle.) I like Tiki Princess, but on me the herbal greenery is a lot stronger than any kind of floral. It is a nice coconut though, and I'm keeping it for now - but I prefer Paduan and Dia at the moment.

Black Lace (resurrected) I seem to have the "appley" version of this scent. In the bottle and wet it smells like fresh, tart green apples and crisp cotton/linen, with a bit of vanilla sweetness. The apple does back off as it dries. What remains is rich and dark, probably a combination of the wood and cognac, but still mixed with the vanilla/lineny freshness. It almost smells a bit salty or aquatic, like one of the pirate-wood scents, when I press my nose to my wrist. The tobacco comes out a bit later on, but it's fairly faint, and mixed with incense. This scent is an interesting mix of things... Edit: After several hours, it has really smoothed out into a sweet yet dark vanilla. I really like this stage - I just wish it went straight here! Maybe more aging will help.

Great Grey Witch In the imp, it smells a little lemony-astringent. On, it's lemony with a greenish herbal note as well, and some sugar sweetness. The general "green" note seems to be resolving itself into the chamomile with a bit of salt from ambergris. I am getting lots and lots of wafts of sugar. The overall impression is a bit like a bakery, or sugared herbal tea, even though I wouldn't exactly call it foody. Unfortunately I'm getting a bit of the Lemon Pledge edge I got from Phobos. Lemon isn't even listed in the notes, but it's going SuperLemon on me.

I haven't smelled Spanked... but I do know of a store near here that carries Pacifica. I'll see if they have it...

Boomslang (fresh) In the bottle: Chocolate, with undertones of Snake Oil. Wet, it's a creamy chocolatey Snake Oil and then as it dries a bit more the teak wood comes out. It has a lovely spicy smoky feel. I like this a lot, it adds deepness and richness to SO. There's an almost minty quality as well when sniffing from a distance. Edit: Uh oh... I'm getting slight BO-whiffs from the patchouli. It's not constant, but occasionally it happens and isn't too pleasant..

Marguerite Rose is dominant, with some bitter myrrh, but the myrrh doesn't take over like it sometimes does. Also sandalwood in the background, and something a bit citrusy? Maybe that's the ylang ylang. It's like a thick buxom rose, not sweet or innocent. It's a little overly heavy... Not sure whether I'll really wear it or not.

Sticky Pillowcase This is a mix of sweet, sugary fruity candy on me. I'll have to test this against Rosy Maple later, since they are similar in my mind (at least, just remembering Rosy Maple.) As it dries a bit the fruitiness fades some, leaving a snuggly-sweet marshmallowy scent. Edit: The sugar note in the drydown reminds me a lot of the brown sugar note from BBW's Brown Sugar and Fig (which I really like!)

Mason and Jenkin's Port Jelly A bit winey-boozy... but the dominant smell is sweet-tart red fruit (currant?) with a little spice. Very candy-ish and yummy!

Clockwork Couture Female Starts off with a gorgeous sweet vanilla, then out comes a smooth, rich, creamy leather. This smells so good! It's very rich and deep, yet feminine. I love it!

Bathtub Gin Juniper is the predominant note, but there's also a bit of sweet fizziness. It reminds me of gin mixed with Sprite, a sweeter equivalent of a gin and tonic. Yummy!

Milk Chocolate, Coconut, Cardamom, Rum and Ginger Truffle This is delicious!!! Chocolatey and rich, a little spicy, almost nutty. The rum isn't too boozy, it's more of a candy "rum ball" scent. The ginger is subdued, more of a candied ginger scent rather than raw and biting. There's almost a bit of wood in the background. After 6-ish hours of wear, it smells like a rich hot cocoa.

Old Moon Pine/evergreen, with some tart berries in the background. Makes me think of walking through a forest on a cold winter night. This is really nice! It lasted several hours on me before fading.

The Dodo CASSIA and red musk! I'm getting a little lemon now, too. Mmm, I like this! It's going a little bit potpourri/craft store in autumn, but I still like it. I'll hold onto the imp.

Dragon's Eye I mainly smell the lilac and lily of the valley, but there's a resiny background. These are florals I like! This is a floral that works well on me and isn't cloying. Imp is a keeper, not sure if I'd wear it enough to get a bottle.