kakiphony

I'm also with you. I even resent having to eat my lunch with my husband sometimes. Especially when I'm in the middle of a good novel. Then, all I want to do is be left alone to read for an hour. There is just so little time in life that can be all ours -- we need to savor it. I wish more people could get that. Oh! And I'm jealous as all get-out that you have the attitude to wear fishnets to work. My sole nod to the inner me is red shoes. I love pairing my boring black court suits with red Mary Janes. But fishnets would be sweet.

I've been meaning to make a similar entry as way to keep track. I was tempted by the 50 in 2007 lj community, but I suspect I read way more than 50 books a year and would just irritate people there. I think a list is a grand idea though.

I spent a lot of time sniffing oils before I picked my Christmas scent, and I went with Red Lantern. Someone told me that my description of how this almost 1 year old aged oil smelled on me sounded a bit like the lab's description of Hearth, and I agree. It smelled more like Hearth than Hearth on me! Silly, but true. It was just like gooey caramel dessert eaten in front of the fireplace. Too yummy. For New Year's Eve, I'll probably go with my Lady Vixen. The sweetened patchouli seems like just the thing for a decadent party. I'm noticing that as my bottle ages the scent is getting thicker, richer and sweeter. I may have to invest in some more bottles soon just to age them! For Valentine's Day, I'll probably end up going with Queen of Sheba because it makes the husband want to eat me. This is a good thing.

On me, the Lion dries down to golden grasses tinged with spices and something sweet and honey-like, but not honey.

In the bottle: I held off on trying this one for quite a while because of its smell in the bottle. It smells like cherries. But not fresh cherries -- nasty, sweet, cherry cough syrup variety cherries. Cherry is one of my least favorite notes of all time. But the description of this is so lovely...I will be brave and give it a try. Wet on skin: Cherries. I am now frantically praying that this morphs. Early dry down: Luckily, it does morph. After about fifteen minutes, the woods begin to show up through the cherries. This good, because I love woods. On me, almost all woods are dry and a little bit spicy or have cedar-closet like tones. The woods in this blend lean more toward the spicy woods than the dry cedars, but they're very pleasant. Actually, they smell a little more like sawdust than they do like wood. I wonder if that's the effect of the linen mixed with the wood? Linen has always tended to go dusty/powdery on me, and that may be why has a sawdust feel. I'm not getting the leather yet, and the tobacco is mainly represented by the lingering cherry. That fruity smell has deepened to become more like pancake syrup than cough syrup. Someone else got maple syrup, and I'm not getting maple, but I understand the connection. The tobacco/cherry note is very edible and sticky. Late dry down: An hour after application this has morphed into something almost unrecognizable from the cherry cough syrup in the bottle. The tobacco note, which originally smelled like cherry, now smells like sweet cloves. The wood is till sawdust. There is a faint smoke aroma in there as well. This scent is warm. It's sweet, spicy, and really delicious. Such a keeper. I'm really glad I overcame my fear to give it a chance. I also suspect that this one is going to age extremely well. I'm betting the sweet tobacco smells deepens as this oil is aged, and I end up with even richer and warmer than what I have no. Soooooo good.

All commercial perfumes make me sneeze. It doesn't matter if they're florals, musks, vanilla-spicy things or berry: I sneeze and the snot cometh. It's that pesky alcohol thing I think. I can wear many bpals without sneezing. I do best with resins, spices, honey, amber, vanilla, tobacco, etc. However, floral, ozone and marine bpals give me the same reaction that commercial perfumes do: the whole snot and sneeze thing. It's trial and error. The oil base of bpal is godsend for those of us with allergies, but you might still find some smells that trigger reaction. The only way to find out is to try!

In the imp: Evergreens, with just a touch of dark spices (mainly the nutmeg I think) buried deep down underneath. The spices are almost an after-smell, if there is such a thing. Wet on skin: Wow. This almost disappears into my skin at first. It takes a good minute or two (long enough to go find my computer, pull up this listing, and start the review) before I can smell anything at all. Then, the evergreen (the balsam?) is back, with a touch of dry woods and a dark musk rising up through it all. There's not much throw at this stage though. Early dry down: After the first ten minutes, the evergreen note is still dominant, but now there's a smoky element to it. I get the same bay/cooking scent that other people have noted, but it's hard to pin down because it plays hide n' seek through the balsam and the smoke. The musk in this is amping much less than dark musks usually do on me. I'm not getting a "cold" vibe from this one at all. Instead, it feels like standing beside a fire at the Christmas tree farm. It's not a normal perfume smell for me, and I'm actually thinking that, for me, this one might be a better room scent. I'll be back to update with later dry down notes from work... After half an hour: As usual, my body chemistry is doing totally different things with this oil on my left and right wrists. The right wrist is all myrrh. I mean ALL myrrh. It's cologny and a bit bitter. The left wrist, on the hand, has turned into a haven for the spice elements in the blend. Clove is there, and nutmeg too, plus the bay/green cooking spice smell. The musk is turning powdery on that wrist, which gives the spices a strange baby's butt undertone. Note: The one thing I'm not getting from this that seems to turn up in multiple reviews is rose. That would be an absolute deal breaker for me as it makes me sneeze, but the rosewood in this does not manifest as in any way floral on me. Late dry down: An hour after the initial application, I can safely say that, while not unpleasant, this scent really isn't for me. (Except maybe as a room scent, which I'll try over the weekend.) The left wrist turned into baby powder with an underlayer of cloves, while the right risk is MYRHH with a base of wood. I prefer the right wrist to the left -- but it's too "traditional perfume" for me.

Yes! This is exactly it! I thought I was crazy because I don't know anybody else who has the same reaction I do to the smell of microwave buttered popcorn. Yikes, what a shame. I really wish these ones would work on me. Can anyone recommend any other foody scents that don't have this effect! or know if I might be lucky with Gingerbread Poppet. I have all my appendages crossed that this one will be re-released in the next Yule update and that it will work for me! Many thanks, you guys are awesome. Here's the ones that give the fake butter smell: Jack Gluttony Sugar Cookie Hearth (although it was a little more like Kettle Corn w/ pine-sol!) Hellcat ALL of last year's Pumpkin Patch oils White Rabbit And the foody/sweet & rich scents that didn't give me that smell: Dana O'Shee Queen of Sheba Organ Grinder Red Lantern O Perversion

The butter in Jack, Sugar Cookie and Gluttony turns into microwave popcorn fake butter smell on me. The only milk/butter notes that DON'T do this on my skin are the almond milk in Organ Grinder and the cream in Dana O'Shee. Otherwise, I avoid anything with butter, cream, milk etc. The milk in the Mad Tea Party scents doesn't go buttered popcorn on me, it curdles. But it's still baaaaaaad.

It was one of the Elementals (and hence kind of an LE), but Sylph isw gorgeous soft lavender.

In the bottle: Deep woods and a bit of sweet behind them. (I assume I'm smelling the red musk as woods.) Wet on skin: Deep, dry, resinous and woody. On me, the red musk and patchouli leaf combine into something almost like a cedar or a really deep, dry sandalwood, or possibly a not-too-sweet pipe tobacco blend. It's like the inside of a humidor after the cigars have been removed for a while. Early dry down: This is all about the red musk and patchouli leaf. It begins to soften a bit around the edges, but it's still a very deep, resinous and woody scent. The boy gives it a thumbs up, but we both agree that after Organ Grinder it's hard to be objective. (After you've smelled perfection, it's hard to be open minded about other scents.) Late dry down: Two hours after I put this on, it hasn't morphed very much at all. It has faded, but the scent is essentially the same woody, deep resin with which I started out. There's a little bit of sweet which lends it a kind of pipe tobacco feel, but there's no fruit of which to speak. Apparently, the red musk and patchouli ate the plum and pomegranate. Conclusion: This is nice. I'll probably use the whole bottle, but I won't be ordering more and stockpiling like a mad fiend. It's too close to some other scents I already have and like (Vixen, Red Lantern, and my woodsy Chaos Theory), and not spectacular and original the way Organ Grinder is.

In the imp: The sarsaparilla is predominant, with a sharp green note lurking in the background. If this has patchouli in it, it's the subtlest of the lab's patchoulis I've smelled to date, and the almond milk is nearly undetectable in the bottle. Wet on skin: The sarsaparilla is still predominant, but the almond milk makes a cameo appearance. The sharp green note is still in the background, and it gives the scent a clean, fresh feel. It's much more herbal than I expected at this stage. Early dry down: This. Is. So. Good. The almond milk and tobacco smoke have come out to play and they're softening the edges of the sarsaparilla and the green note of the pine bark. It's impossible to describe this scent accurately because it smells like nothing else I've ever smelled. The smoke is not smoke at all -- it's the lingering after-smell of really subtle pipe tobacco that used to be stored in a drawer. The almond milk smells like neither almonds nor milk. It's this sweet, subtle, creamy blending agent that makes everything smell just slightly edible while not be at all cloying. And the sarsaparilla is just...really, really nice. Late dry down: The black patchouli in this blend has never really surfaced on me. I suspect, though, that it's what is grounding this blend of unexpected notes and making them hang together in such a lovely fashion. What I end up with is a sweet, yet also green and slightly spicy blend that has an effervescent character. I LOVE this blend. The hoarding will now commence.

DCCCLXXXIII In the imp: Tropical fruits. For once, a fruit scent isn't Juicy Fruit gum to me, it's the old zebra striped "tropical fruit" flavored gum. I suspect there may be a touch of lotus and some other florals in it too, but it's too soon to be sure. Application point: Left wrist. Wet on the skin: This is driving me crazy. It smells EXACTLY like some tropical fruit that I can't quite place. Is it mango? Is it papaya? Arg! What the heck is it?! (Whatever it is, it smells pretty darn good.) Early dry down: After about half an hour, the overwhelming tropical fruit scent (what is it?!) has started to tame itself with some subtle, sweet florals. I don't think that this has lotus after all, unless maybe it's golden lotus. (It doesn't do the overly sweet Bazooka gum thing that lotus usually does on me.) It reminds me a little bit of Titania in that it's fruity, tempered with sweet florals. I actually think there might be a touch of peach in here too, since I'm getting the same back-of-the-throat, syrup sensation that I got from the peach in that blend. There's also a subtle spice at the base that I think is actually a really light musk. It's very similar to the floral musk I got from Titania. Maybe it has something akin to the musk rose that was in that blend? Late dry down: Sometimes, I really hate my nose. My chemistry has actually turned this fruity floral blend into something quite nice, but my nose refuses to admit that florals can ever be nice and insists on itching and sneezing. It has a mind of its own. Grr. This is still a very sweet, tropically fruity scent, but paired with subtle florals over a base of an unobtrusive something that might be either a musk or a spice. I definitely want to find this bottle a good home. It deserves one. :hug:s bottle. After investigation: I drug the boy to the grocery store where we man-handled fruits in the produce section and sniffed them like crazed fiends. I'm now convinced that the tropical fruit scent is papaya. The boy, of course, has to disagree. He says it's guava. But we both agree that it's not mango!

DCCCXCI In the imp: Dark. This is all woods and maybe deep patchouli. It’s earthy, yet dry. The boy likes it, so we apply it to my left wrist. Wet on skin: Milder than I expected. Very, very woody. I’m getting that same cedar impression that I often get from all the dry woods. Early dry down: Deep, deep, resinous woods with something mildly spicy poking up from below. The boy and I agree that we smell cedar and pine. We’re not sure what else. This is warm, rich, earthy, just really wonderful. Late dry down: Along with the woods, I think this has a very subtle musk. It has developed the “light sweat on the skin/slight salty spice” way that the lab’s best musks do on me. This is to die for. Especially since tonight is cold, wet and gray. This feels like a fire and a snuggle. (Oh, and it smells delightful on the boy’s neck too!)

Ditto everyone else's comments about skin chemistry, but just for my 2 cents... I've found that the bpals that "cling" the most with the least waft on me tend to have either vanilla or amber as a base/major component. Butter is a huge waft inducer, as are florals and heavy spices. Of the spices, saffron seems to stay closest to my skin, while pepper and cinnamon have the most waft.

The remainder of my circle reviews... DXV First sniff: Lemon and something bright white floral. In the imp: Butter and lemons. Again, I think I was on crack during my initial sniff. Application point: Left elbow crook. Wet on skin: Gently buttery with lemon and some other crisp fruit. Faintly sweet floral. REALLY pretty. Early dry down: Hmm. Now the floral is back, along with something a little skunk-like. I'm giving this one some more time to see how it turns out, but so far, I am not impressed with how my chemistry treats it. Late dry down: The butter is gone. The lemons are gone. What I have left is a creamy floral. I think it's white florals (as was my initial impression). It's pretty, but not me. Last reviewed by mandragora. DLXII First sniff: Floral. Sneezy. In the imp: Grape nehi and florals. I think I'm smelling ylang ylang and lilies, but as always, you'd be well served to doubt my floral identifications. Application point: Right elbow crook. Wet on skin: Much more floral than in the imp. I think it's lily. It's an herbal, only slightly sweet floral, and reminds me of the church at Easter and my mother's flower garden against the side fence (hence the identification of lilies). Early dry down: Floral, floral, floral. Like a florist's shop. Makes my nose sun like a faucet. This may not make it on my skin much longer. Make. It. Go. Away. Want. To. Rip. My. Running. Itchy. Nose. Off. My. Face. Last reviewed by mandragora. DLXXXIII First sniff: Apple blossom and woods. In the imp: Fruity in an unidentifiable way. Kind of like baby aspirin, which seems to be how I register most sweet, high fruits. I don't get apple blossoms now. I think my nose was overloaded during that first sniffing session. Application point: Left wrist. Early dry down: I do think there's a slightly spicy wood underneath the fruit in this blend. As it is drying down it's becoming more of what I think of as traditionally perfumey. There's a floral element (again, I don't do florals, so I'm bad at identifying them), and some traditional perfume spice. I smell a bit of carnation, which is one floral I can usually pick out. Late dry down: Sweet florals with a bit of fruit, and maybe a soft wood grounding it. Maybe sweet pea? Pretty, but very not me. Much too soft and feminine without the spicy edge I like. I'll probably frimp this out unless someone reading this wants it. (Just ask!) Previously reviewed by Juniperus Intrepidus. DLVI First sniff: Grape nehi (ylang ylang) and other florals. Maybe with a little citrus. In the imp;: Deep, dark, rich grapes and a some spice. Application point: Right wrist. Wet on skin: Sweeter than in the imp. Grape (again, could be ylang ylang) mixed with something bright and herbal. Early dry down: This is interesting. The grape has deepened again, and I'm getting something not unlike mulled wine. I think we can rule out the ylang ylang being the grape note and conclude that it's a wine note. There are some pleasantly foody spices. Overall, this is warm and rich. I like it. Late dry down: Finally, one I like! Wine and spices with something sweet in the back. There may be some floral notes in there, but they are non-offensive to my nose and just provide sweet, pretty body to the scent. There is something really rich at the very base of this. Tonka? In any case, in my opinion, this is the best of the 10 imp lot. I will wear this. Really. I will. In fact, I'm going into the bathroom to wash everything else off and apply this as my scent for the day. Last reviewed by mandragora.

DXXIX First sniff: Baby aspirin. Maybe with a boozy undertone? Application point: Left inside elbow. Wet on skin: Juicy fruit gum. This is definitely a fruit scent, but it has that powdery, baby aspirin undertone. Early dry down: Sharp and spiky. It's still fruity, but something herbal in it is giving it a high, green undertone. It jumps at my nose and does the meringue. There's a floral note in this that is pretty distinctive, but, unfortunately, since I don't do florals I can't identify it. Late dry down: As this dried down, almost all the initial juicy sweetness morphed into a green, fresh floral with a slightly peppery tang. It's pretty, but makes me sneeze. DLXV First sniff: Faint cherries and vanilla extract. Something richer too, but I’m not sure what. Application point: Right inside elbow. Wet on skin: Cherry cola flavored bottle caps candy. Early dry down: This is very, very cherry. I think it's an alcoholic cherry as well. It's sweet and boozy. It's what the center of a chocolate covered cherry should be, but never really is. It's not me at this stage, but it's actually fairly mouth watering. Late dry down: This has stayed amazingly true to itself on me. The cherries have morphed from faint to deep, tart black cherries, and the vanilla has lost of the booziness and become more creamy over time, but it's still definitely a cherry dessert of some kind. There may be some sandalwood grounding this as I'm also getting something woody and powdery at the same time at the back of my throat. It's kind of like a cherry version of Underpants! It's not quite me, but I bet that someone out there wants to horde this one. DLXXIX First sniff: Boozy, buttery and somehow nutty. Amaretto maybe? Application point: Left wrist. Wet on skin: Definitely a top note of something buttered and there's something medicinal underneath. Early dry down: This is fading very quickly on me. The buttery has retreated and the nut-like smell I first detected is developing. It smells like very faint flavored coffee with a touch of rum. Late dry down: Gone. Really. This has faded so much that's practically non-existent. There's the faintest hint of botterscotch. DLXVIII First sniff: Coffee, butter, rum? Application point: Right wrist. Wet on skin: This smelled like butterscotch for about a second and then something sweeter and more floral/fruity rose through it to tame the butter. Early dry down: This has turned into a very light, sweet and slightly fruity floral, but there's something rich and buttery (maybe cream?) at the very base. It reminds me of a creamy version of Litha. Late dry down: A very faint creamy floral with a slightly powdery spice (maybe saffron?) under it. Pretty, and very young and flirty. I hope this one finds a loving home because I kind of like it. DXXXI First sniff: Coconut citrus rum. Application point: Left wrist. Wet on skin: Spicy coconut and pineapple. My god, I want to eat my wrist this smells so good. Early dry down: Damn you skin chemistry! Something green and sappy has risen to the surface to defeat the edible goodness. It smells like pine boughs at Christmas! There's also a touch of something like rose, but very, very faint. Late dry down: My skin chemistry is now officially nuts. As quickly as the pine emerged, it is gone. Now I smell saffron and powder with a hint of suntan lotion underneath the powder. DXIII First sniff: Butter and cherries. Cherry chip cake! Application point: Right wrist. Wet on skin: I don't know what I was smoking when I first sniffed this, but it couldn't be less like cherry chip cake if it tried. There's something smoky and something bitter like myrrh or vetiver and maybe a wood in there. It reminds me of Blood Kiss. Early dry down: This is drying down to a sweet, powdery musk. It still reminds me of Blood Kiss. I think I'm definitely smelling cloves here, but there's an off-hand chance that scent is coming from the tea across the room from me. Late dry down: This also faded relatively quickly, but it has left behind a slightly spicy musk that I actually think I rather like. It reminds me just a touch of Blood Moon and more than a touch of Blood Kiss. Of all the imps of CTIII I've tried so far, this is the most "me" of the scents. It's complex, yet dries down to be a skin-like smell. All scents previously reviewed by Juniperus Intrepidus.

In the imp: The patchouli in this is woody and reminds me a little of Anne Bonny. It's the main note I smell, although there's something sweet lurking underneath it. Wet on skin: Holy head shop, Batman! This is incredibly thick incense laid over the muskiness of unwashed flesh. It smells like the inside of a really dirty used bookstore/Wiccan shop (read: headshop) that I used to go to in Boston to buy really cheap used books. (Yes, that's really why I went there.) Early dry down: The nag champa and the patchouli battle it out to see exactly which variety of incense I'll smell like. Both of them are very strong and it has more waft than I tend to like. The muscadine and cereus are in there somewhere, trying to sweeten this blend up, but not having much luck. There's just the faintest hint of something like Mogan David wine mixed with sweat under all the incense. Late dry down: This was too strong and too unclean smelling to leave on for long, especially since I had to be around people. I washed it off after 20 minutes. This one really surprised me. I tend to get along well with patchouli and I love nag-champa incense. However, this was much too strong for me, and ended up making me smell unwashed. I guess it just proves that it's very important how and with what patchouli is blended, since I finally understand what people mean when they say they don't like how patchouli makes them smell like dirty hippy.

In the imp: Interesting. This is sweeter and lighter than I was expecting, with less bitterness. I'm getting more of the "purity" than the "pathos". It's very golden. Wet: Still light and sweet, but with an herbal undertone that is green and reminds me of how it smells as I walk down through the woods to the lake on a summer day. Early dry down: This just keeps getting sweeter. At this point, it's a sharp, high, and sweet, yet green, floral. It reminds me of Litha. Late dry down: This is really gorgeous. After an hour, the sweetness is still there, but has faded into my skin. It's a sweet, green blend with a slightly spicy base note that just smells fresh, clean and really delightful. It still reminds me of how Litha develops on me, and that's a very good thing. Yay! Another one that works!!!!

In the imp: A sweet, fruity perfume blend. Ylang ylang often has a fruity smell to me, along the lines of Welch's white grape juice. It's dominant in this blend in the imp. Wet: At first application, the ylang ylang is still dominant, but I can smell a hint of salty-tangy musk underneath. We'll see how these develop. Early dry down: This is turning into grape Kool-Aide. It reminds me of Tintagel, but without the smoky notes that make that so interesting. This is just fruity and almost cloyingly sweet. Late dry down: Still very sweet and grape-flavoring scented. However, after about an hour, the musks finally made themselves known a little bit. They are overwhelmed by the honey and ylang ylang, but they lurk under the surface, all salty and sweaty. I think that this would be a gorgeous blend on someone on whom ylang ylang doesn't have a tendency to go quite this sweet. (It works in Hetaerai on me because of the patchouli, but otherwise I just end up smelling like Kool-Aid or Nehi with it.) It's just a tad too sweet.

In the imp: Perfume mixed with the deep, thick dust that burns out of my furnace ducts during the first cold snap of the fall. It doesn't prompt a burst of rhinitis, so I'll give it a try. Wet on skin: Flowery perfume and more of that thick dust. Early dry down: For once, the florals are taking a backseat in a scent on me. The grave loam/dust smell is the major note in this. It's not a wet soil though, it's definitely dusty and dry. There's something like the papery dusty note in Antique Lace in this as well. Late dry down: This one faded quickly, leaving behind some baby powder mixed with the smell of a dusty attic. It's interesting, but not quite my thing.

In the imp: The juniper is the tope note, making this astringent and sharp rather than sweet. However, the Orchid is definitely present and the bergamot is in the background reminding me, as it always does, of my morning tea. This is one of the prettiest florals I've smelled yet, but I'm too chicken to do more than sniff since it makes my eyes water. Back into the Altoids tin it goes.

Disclaimer: When they make me sneeze and snot-up at the first whiff from the imp, I pass on actually trying them. In the imp: Floral, with a whiff of cherries and something sharp and tingly underneath -- perhaps either menthol or eucalyptus. It smells like cough drops to me, and made me sneeze four times in rapid succession.

Disclaimer: This is another one that never got to the application stage on me due to its floral contents. I've been sniffing things I ordinarily would not try in the course of the General Catalog circular swap, but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to apply them. In the imp: Sweet bubblegum flavored children's liquid antibiotic. Ugh. It might develop into something better, but I just can't stand to put it on. It reminds me way too much of the trauma of having spoons full of something that was decidedly NOT sugar (or butter rum for that matter) shoved into my mouth as a child.

Everyone's chemistry seems to treat these differently, but of the three orange blossom w/ patchouli fragrances you've listed, the least heavy patchouli on me is Vixen. Masquerade and Ravenous seem to hold the patchouli note more heavily on my skin, while in Vixen it gets sweetened and tempered by the orange blossom and ginger. I agree that orange blossom is more floral than citrus, but to me it's a much sweeter floral than most. On me it sweetens most blends in the same way that honey will, rather than giving me a heavily floral note. That's precisely how it behaves in Vixen for me.