AmyO'Shields

I'm so glad someone else smelled a similarity to Ephemera! I actually love Ephemera, but where Ephemera is more high-end perfume, this is more representative of a Japanese Spring bottled... I'm not sure how they do it, but I am grateful!!!

I keep trying this perfume and I want to love it, but it just doesn't love me. I love the poem and its author. I'm a big fan of Orris, but apparently not a fan of Muguet (Lily of the Valley) which makes this blend go sharp, white, and floral on me - so much that I can't wear this perfume. I have tried different times of the month, different times of day, etc. and have given it at least 2 hours on my skin each time. I give this perfume a 4/5 until the Muguet roars my skin down- then she gets a 2.

Sugar, Cream and a bit of linen - lots of throw (which actually surprised me) and lasts about 3 hours on my skin. I like having the option of smelling like sugar-cream if I want to! Good stuff. ETA: BOO 2010

I was lucky enough to find a half bottle of this on ebay, and I'm kind of sad: it's so good I have to track down more! On me at first this smells slightly soapy (and for the first hour or so there is just a hint of soap), but it's not unpleasant. Must be the flower combo... I smell Ivy and Moonflower for sure, and I love this! What a terrific dark, green perfume! Going strong after 3 hours... 4/5

I am actually grateful for this amazing perfume oil! Each year I wait for Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte, and for the longest time it was one of my favorite things. Pumpkin Latte is just what I needed. I have smelled quite a few oils that try to capture the essence of an espresso drink, and I only ever smell coffee. This is perfect! The espresso note is STRONG... and I love that. So, when I get a craving for a 450+ calorie drink, I just reach for my Pumpkin Latte... Another amazing perfume! 4.5/5

A wonderful Apple Cider perfume...with a bit of cream...and a bit of spice!

This has been one of my favorites since it came in the mail in September... Galangal+Patchouli+wood/leaves= amazing! In the bottle I ALMOST FEEL like I smell lavender...but I don't...'cuz it's not in here... On me I smell a bit of patchouli, some wet-ish wood, a wallop of Galangal, some musk and tobacco. I don't really ever smell the oakmoss (and I am a huge fan): this is one of those perfumes where you don't need to smell every component - it's a perfect blend. The Decrepit House morphs A LOT. Each girl needs a turn on top! The Galangal retreats a bit over the next hour...and then I can't pick anything out...which is awesome! This perfume lasts just over 4 hours on my skin (which is pretty amazing - most tend to disappear after the first 2 hours or so) and I love every stage of its morphing. I always think I smell Lavender when I open the bottle, so one day I decided to wear Under the Harvest Moon right next to The Decrepit House on my wrists. It was absolutely amazing. Fragonia? Er... I looked this up (had never heard of it) and immediately understood this perfume and why it works the way it does on me: "The odour is described as "a pleasant fresh cineolic odour with a hint of a citrus note (which becomes more pronounced after a few minutes)mixed with a slight spicy cinnamon tonality and sweet balsamic undertones. The dry down is very faint being sweet, soapy and woody balsamic." (copyright Tony Burfield 2004)." (from Pap.erba.rkoi.ls .com) The Decrepit House - 5+/5 Absolute Love. Top 3.

I was so excited to receive this in the mail today after reading the reviews and waiting anxiously! I got the female WILF label....so cute!!! In the bottle I smell Snake Oil and a hint of Peppermint... VERY nice! On me I smell a nicer, aged Snake Oil (as someone else has already mentioned) and musk - not sure if I'm smelling red or black or both (I'm assuming they are perfectly blended so probably both) and a vaguely Werepuppy-ish vibe, which is nice and cuddly! After about an hour, the Peppermint comes out on me and the cocoa gives the impression of a bit of Boomslang (which I love)... This is an amazing perfume oil, and I think another bottle is in order...

I love the smell of leaves...all sorts of leaves at any point of the year...and wind? Cold wind? I love Autumn and Winter... What went wrong here? I tried this at Knows Perfume and it was amazing...I thought I was going to have to get 2 bottles. Glad I chose to get 1 bottle - it is VERY difficult to wear, no matter how much I love it in the bottle. Wow. I think it reminds me a bit of October (like other reviews), but it is VERY refined, and cold (which it ought to be!). Like I said, I love this in the bottle, but I can't wear it - makes me so sad!

I can't say anything that hasn't already been said about SF - it's glorious! Reminds me of October but with an aquatic twist. So much for my originality!!!

Odd Portents indeed! In the bottle: I smell Oppoponax, Lavender and a bit of incense. I know there's no Oppoponax... isn't Oppoponax Sweet Myrrh? Must be the amber sweetening up the Myrrh...very nice! On me: Lavender, Olibanum, Myrrh, and a touch of amber. This blend stays sharp on me for about 45 minutes, but it isn't unpleasant. Drydown: After 2 hours, this goes incensey-sweet on me - an earthy-grounded sweet. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was Benzoin in here somewhere... The lavender disappears, the amber-incense becomes more prevalent, and I may be smelling a bit of Black Currant (there are hints of All Souls in this even though they don't smell similar to me). I can't pick out the dark musk (although I'm sure it's doing a super job of rounding everything out) and I never smell the bourbon geranium (which I'm thankful for). This perfume is surely a winner - there have been so many out of the Gothic Lit though... Volume 2 anyone? I'd give this blend a 4.5/5 for it's amazing drydown. The more I sniff my wrists I am noticing a similarity in feel to Mother Ginger... Maybe if All Souls and Mother Ginger had a romp? That might sound off, but that's what I'm smelling!!! isn't our sense of smell amazing? ETA: I don't get any type of Rose at all...

I have been wearing this perfume since September 2010...it's about time I give my review! I am a big fan of Robert Frost's work, so I ordered this straight away. I love most of the perfumes I have tried with leaves (any kind of leaves) in the description and have loved the ones that don't have vetiver. This isn't a dark leaves scent anyway, it's a perfect "dewy green leaves" scent. I don't get the amber at all, I think the slight tang I sniff may be the ginseng and rooibos. If you are a fan of Summer's Last Will and Testament and Flor De Muerto give this one a try. They are similar to my nose, but Nothing Gold Can Stay is a brighter Autumn scent. 4.5/5 on the Herb Girl scale. ETA: I just put something together looking at the description: Moroccan amber, ginseng and rooibos paint colors to me and I'm wondering why I never noticed this before?! Amber - golden Ginseng - yellow/greenish Rooibos - red/coppery Green leaves - Green That's awesome. ETA: I think this may be my signature scent...although that's sad because I highly doubt it will come back...SO GOOD!

Woods in Winter was love at first sniff for me, and it only got better on my skin. It's like Snowstorm and Mistletoe ('05 or '07) had a baby...and it's gorgeous!!!

OK...let me start off by saying that I am not a wintergreen / spearmint fan. I am, however, a FERN fan so this was a must buy for me. I will admit I was super scared for the first half an hour: YIKES Spearmint, with a sadly crushed frozen fern fighting for air! But then - oh dear - it smells just like frozen ferns / greenery and it is lovely! I'm one of those people that hikes in all seasons (and fortunately in the Pacific NW that is possible) and I love the smell of plants under a blanket of snow or crunchy from a bit of ice... Cold Moon 2010 really hits the mark, and I recommend that you give this little gem at least half an hour on your skin for it to blossom! YUM and Yum!

Dance of Death = for me. I have found that Dance of Death is similar to Lucretia is similar to The Raven. I love all three, so this is exciting - even if two become discontinued, I still have one!!! Goddess help me if they get dc'd together. I smell the Myrrh in the bottle, and on my skin it's an Orris fest and I smell sandalwood. Not quite as dry as I thought it would be, but seems to definitely be a cooler weather perfume for me (as most with Orris tend to be). It evokes a lovely violet/grey color when I close my eyes. This has been in my top 10 for quite a while, and I'm pretty sure it will stay there. ETA: I just looked at the notes for this and I cannot believe there's Patchouli in it! I don't get any at all - and I love Patchouli. Maybe with some more age?

A frimp with my Etsy order... I can't say anything that hasn't already been said, just wanted to reiterate: Vetiver. Lots of it. Vetiver is one of those scents that I think you either love or hate, but I find myself in the middle. It is amazing in some blends (Bloodlust, Fallen) and a deal breaker in others (A Golden Idol and Chant D'Automne) and sometimes I wear Vetiver (the essential oil) with much success, but I think I'm just going to start leaving the Vetiver blends alone... this one wasn't bad or icky, but dark and sinister and aptly named.

This was not on my list to try or buy this year. I have to thank the reviewers here and Christen at Knows Perfume for enabling me because I think this may be my second fave of the Halloweenies this year. I wore this to bed last night, and it was absolutely stunning. This is very well done: I smell the peppers, the cocoa, and the vanilla...but it doesn't smell like peppers, cocoa and vanilla to me. It smells like chestnuts, oak, vanilla and dry leaves in SE Arizona in Autumn. When I sniffed my wrists, I closed my eyes and was trying to figure out where this scent had taken me - and it was back to Arizona, somewhere around Tombstone in 2002 in the middle of a grove of trees (wish I could remember which kind!). Sorry for the wacky post, but really good perfumes evoke memories of places for me, and I love that. This one is a win, and I wish I had bought more.

When I tried this last month, it smelled like perfect carnations on my skin. Ordered a bottle. When I tried it after my bottle arrived, it smelled like perfect carnations on my skin. Wish I had ordered 2 bottles. I was really hoping that it would be the same, and it is... I finally have a super carnation perfume! It's not spicy...it's like a perfect home grown white carnation, and I love it!

Rose Red 2010: I absolutely LOVE this rose...and I can count the perfumes with rose in them that I actually like on one hand... Crisp, deep, almost aparkling...this is truly a perfect rose scent. This is a stick-your- nose-in-a-wet-rose scent. Rose Red smells almost identical to a particular rose in the Point Defiance Rose Garden in Tacoma that I just can't remember the name of! I will tell you that this rose isn't red...it's yellow...and I love it! I don't think one bottle will be enough. This perfume has become one of my top 10 (most likely 5) in the past month. Thank you for creating a perfect rose scent...I will cherish this rare find.

YAY! I finally got my bottle of Beaver Moon today at Knows Perfume! This is one of the nicest (I'm not quite sure why, but the word elegant comes to mind...) foody blends I have ever worn. Based on other reviews, my boyfriend and I were wondering which would come out more on me (the strawberry or the peach)and decided that we hoped it would be the strawberry... Strawberry wins! In bottle: Strawberry candy with a hint of Peach candy and a bit of cheesecake... Wet on me: Holy Strawberry Jam batman! And cheesecake...and a bit of cream...and a bit of peach Dry: A super yummy, soft, perfectly balanced Strawberry Peach Cheesecake. I'm so glad I got no plastic sweetness...just yummy goodness. Wishing now that I had bought 2 bottles.

In the imp: bright, wet grass with a hint of lilac On wet: Lilac like WOAH! Really...I get lots of Lilac and freshly snapped twigs! a true lilac, not icky plastic lilac) Dry: The Lilac has retreated a bit, and the green-ness has really amped on me. My boyfriend loved the Proto of this, and I expected him to love this on me...not so much. Oh well! It's a very green / lilac scent, just as it should be! Awesome!

This is the OTHER perfume that I can't wear. It sounded perfect for me...Lavender, Incense, Amber...sign me up! I think it's the poppy that doesn't like me at all...I don't think it's the same poppy used in Vechernyaya (which is one of my favorites)... like I said in the Chant D'Automne thread: can't complain that 2 out of over 200 don't work for me!!!

Oh, I was SOOOOO excited to try this... Vetiver and I are like cats and essential oils: everything's ok as long as one of us can leave the room if needed. I feel awful - I mean, it's an Autumn perfume for crying out loud and I can't wear it. I'm hoping to find this a good home... it's just all Vetiver on me. With all of the BPAL I have tried (and need to get reviewing!!!) I guess it's hard to complain that one or two don't work on me. I love BPAL...

Chimera is a very special oil. I love how perfume oils smell different on everyone! In the bottle I smell cinnamon and powder. Wet on skin I smell cinnamon and powder...and more cinnamon. Is cinnamon related to Violet? J/K 15 minutes later - ooohhh cinnamon with honeysuckle on top and copal underneath...with a bit of powder. That MUST be the myrrh... Staying power on me? Forever. If I want to wear Chimera on Tuesday, I need to make sure I wear something that smells good with it on Wednesday and Thursday as well...even through scrubbing in the shower she lingers. And that's fine with me.

When I open the bottle of Harvest Moon 2010, I smell sweet, fizzy, woods...not like Birch or Root beer, more like Cedar or Hemlock Beer? With a hint of grape? I actually love this perfume, I wish I could sniff the previous Harvest Moons to see what they were like! When it dries down, I get a syrup-y sweet smell of decay, if that makes any sense. Not sure how much I will actually wear this, but I do tend to reach for it when I wake up in the morning for a wake up call! MMMMM...Harvest Moon and Earl Grey to start the day!!!