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Pumpkin with five woods, English ivy and galangal root. This went on as a very sweet pumpkin, dried to a desiccated husk, and then turned to baby powder. ::sigh:: Off to swap.

Lagniappe from the lab. In the bottle, it was intriguing. On me? It smelled of liniment. Moldy apricot-scented liniment. Bleah! ::tosses it in the swap pile::

When I ordered this, I said to my husband: "I will either love this or hate it." Hot damn, it's the former! In the bottle, I smell something milky and sweet. Wet, I smell the sharpness of tea, and perhaps just a bit of the pepper? Dry: Oh, my god, this is beautiful. Crisp, clean, soothing. I've worn it to bed twice, because I just find it such a comforting smell. I think this is going to be my first 10 ml order, yes indeedy.

In the bottle: Honeysuckle. Wet: Honeysuckle! Dry: Yet more...honeysuckle. And in conclusion: Honeysuckle. Off to swap.

In bottle: Sharp, commercial-perfume smell. ::wrinkles nose:: Wet: The same smell, but stronger. I nearly washed it off at this stage, but I'm glad I waited. Dry: This has morphed into a lovely aquatic floral, dark and warm. I can't identify any individual notes except maybe ::sniff:: carnation? Smells delish, anyway. Conclusion: Very nice, though I doubt I'll buy a whole bottle.

In the bottle: Stale cigarettes. What the hell? (I finally decided that must have been the patchouli.) Wet: Overwhelming patchouli for a moment, then the apples began to come through. At that moment, I thought it might resolve into a good scent for me. Alas. Dry: ::wrinkles nose:: I smell like one of those fakey apple-pie-spice candles. It's really, really nasty. Off to swap.

In the Bottle: It smells like...wine. Really, a glass of wine. Wet, on me: Wine, with a warmer undertone. Dry: Wow, this is sexy. Warm musk spiced with something sweet, with a wafting piquant wine smell. Very complex perfume. I really like this one! Oddly enough, I couldn't identify any individual notes beyond the wine for an hour or two, when suddenly the rose drifted up to my nose. This is brilliant.

In the bottle: Piney! Wet: Oh, crap. This smells like cleaning solution. Drydown: I'm veering between two different images provoked by this scent. a) The house I lived in when I was 4-6 (which was 1967-69). I don't know why it's bringing this image back so very strongly - must have something to do with the greenery that grew there. A hotel room. I think whatever pine smell there is must be used in the hospitality industry as a cleaner. ::sigh:: I had to force myself to wait till it dried alllll the way, and...I still don't like it. Wah! I had such high hopes for this one. Off to swap, I suppose.

In the bottle: Almonds. Overpowering almondyness. Wet: Really sweet almond milk (it's used in medieval cooking. I despise it.) Dry: I smell like...marzipan. Bleah. Just not the scent for me.

Unlike everyone else, I smelled no cypress, no fir, no smoke. Only flowers. In the bottle, and wet on my skin, there was a loud "perfume" scent which I associate with commercial perfumes. But after it dried, it was...you ever stuck your head inside a florist's cooler and taken a big whiff? That chilly, beautiful jumble of flowers? That's what this smells like. It's very familiar somehow, though I can't put my finger on the predominant floral note. It doesn't smell sorrowful at all to me, either. It smells...happy. I have to say, it's nothing like I expected from reading the description or reviews. I really like it more and more as it marries with my skin. My husband likes this one a lot, too (he paused this morning as I put it on to say, "That smells nice.") I'll be wearing this one fairly often, I think.

In the bottle: Irish coffee, yum! Wet: Irish coffee! Dry: Irish coffee!! Oh, dear goddess, I smell delicious. ::weeps for another limited edition OTP (One True Perfume) discovered too late to order::

In the bottle: Luscious vanilla, like getting a whiff of cookie dough. Wet: The vanilla disappeared beneath some sheer spiciness that I just couldn't place. The scent was a little aggressive, but I figured it would mellow. Dry: I was right. Once dry, it's a dark, spicy vanilla. I love this. I could wear this - well, not everyday, but on a regular basis, anyway. It has a little throw to it, as well (most of the ones I've tried don't travel much beyond my personal bubble.) ::writing it on the 'I need a 5 ml' list::

Preconception: I figured I'd hate this. The description did not sound like something I'd want on my body. Weeds? Dust? Eyew! In the bottle: All dandelion. Wet, on me: DANDELION!OMGWTFBBQ!!!! Not vile, but not really all that appealing. And then, something happened during the drydown: The dandelion smell lowered its volume and married with the hops to become a sweet and herbally scent that I really, really liked. It had almost a dusty undertone, as well. About an hour and a half after I applied, I finally smelled the booze - almost like a sipping whiskey, sweet and smoky. What a surprising little scent!

In the bottle: Sharp, unpleasant smell that I can't identify. I was seriously afraid to apply it (given a bad reaction to another scent last week.) Wet: The sharp scent fades in a moment, and I'm left with...well, I can't smell anything, really. It's like my skin just drank it up. Huh. Drydown: Ah, there it is. A woodsy, dry scent with a little sour edge. Dry: A little less woodsy, a little more incense-y, and the sourness is more noticeable now. Conclusion: Eh. Not my thing.

In the bottle: Sharp, bright scent that I can't really identify. Is that supposed to be the leather? Wet, on me: Musk and leather duke it out. The leather is pungent - a newly (and cheaply) tanned smell versus overwheming musk. It's so masculine I feel like I'm crossdressing. Dry: Huh. Suddenly, there's a smoky, slightly sweet scent with a tiny powdery undertone. I didn't care for it wet, but this is nice. I can't wait to see how it smells on the husband. ETA: On my husband? Smelled like cat pee. ::sigh::

Has anyone else had a reaction that included a taste? I had a really bad experience with Cathode this morning (it made me sick to my stomach, and I could not get it washed off for hours) - at one point, I got a weird metallic taste in my mouth that seemed to be related to the smell. Anyone got a possible explanation?

In the bottle: Minty! Wet, on my skin: Pleasantly sharp and minty; I really liked it and foolishly dabbed more behind my ears. Memo to self: Never do that again. Because next, we have the drydown: Slowly, the mint disappeared, to be replaced with something oppressive and headache-inducing, which began to increase in strength. At this point, I went to wash it off. Didn't work. Dry: Now it's making me sick to my stomach, and I've got a strange metallic taste in my mouth that appears to be connected to the smell. Ugh! I washed it off again and it didn't work! Plus, I smell like an old lady's house. Three freaking hours and two washes later, I can still smell it. Every time I get a whiff, my tummy flips over. How come the scents I love don't have this kind of lasting power? Conclusion: Anybody want this?

In the bottle, this is a slightly spicy pumpkiny scent. Wet, the orris jumps out to the forefront, making it a very candyish sweet pumpkin scent. I can't even identify what the orris smell reminds me of because it's so perfectly married with the pumpkin. Dry, the scent is remarkably stable for hours. My husband swore he could smell sandalwood, which must have to do with the throw, because up close I couldn't smell any at all until hours and hours later. This is incredibly long-lasting - even after six hours, I could still smell spicy sandalwood. But - I'm not sure I like it. It's such an unusual scent, and such a new combination to my nose that I think it'll take a wearing or two to really figure out whether it's for me.

In the bottle: generic 'white floral' smell; not particularly offensive, not particularly enticing. Wet, on me: OMG, overpowering violet smell that I think is the orris root. I reallyreally didn't like this. Drydown: I smelled like...my grandmother. Who has worn 'White Shoulders' for as long as I can remember. Even my teenager remarked on it - "Hey, you smell like Granny. That's weird." Dry, a couple hours later: Now I can smell sandalwood, if I sniff right up close to my wrist. Needless to say, I'll be swapping this one.

I got this as a freebie in a generous trade. In the bottle: Ugh! I expected it to be 'churchier', but this smells almost like an evil lemon. Wet: Some odd yellow fruity smell (I think that's the spikenard) that just overwhelmed me. Dry: I confess, I didn't leave it on that long. I disliked the smell so intensely that I ran to wash it off. Ah, well. I'll pass that one on.

I tried on "Sugar Skull" this evening (from a traded imp). I don't know whether this is last year's batch or not (I also don't know if this year's batch was reformulated). I only know that I really don't like what I put on. On my son? It smelled delicious, like brown sugar. On me? Oy. In the bottle, it smelled syrupy. Yum! Wet, it smelled of those commercially produced "cinnamon brooms". Loudly. Aggressively. (The husband smelled no cinnamon, so maybe it's just me.) Dry? It smells of fake cinnamon with an undertone of burnt sugar. Dammit. The husband said, "That smells pretty good - kind of a root beer/sassafras smell." I smell no root beer. ::eyes husband suspiciously:: If the bottle I ordered smells the same, it'll be swapping time right quick. ETA: Yep, the bottle is exactly the same nasty 'cinnamon' smell. Bleah.

In the bottle: Christmas! The sharp pine smell reminds me of home. Wet: Unbelievably, it stays the same on my skin, perhaps getting a bit sharper. Dry, the pine fades a bit, to be joined by a soft berry scent. The pine is beautiful without being overwhelming. ::sniff:: I smell like Christmas! This one is definitely a keeper - too bad for me it was an LE.

I have the most screwed up body chemistry. On me, this smelled vile. I couldn't detect any gardenia or jasmine, or even rose (which usually doesn't miss an opportunity to be too strong on me.) I can't even describe what it smelled like - it was just awful. I think I might steer clear of the gardenias after this. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_7') smilie

I opened the bottle and the husband said, "Smells like English Leather." I dotted some on my wrist. Crud. It smells like English Leather. Off to trade. ETA: I traded this to a friend who loved the smell in the bottle. When she put some on, I was astounded to smell an intense rush of citrus like a fresh peel, which dried down to a pleasant citrusy smell with just a hint of something spicier. Damn. It really does all boil down to body chemistry.

I love this scent! In the bottle, it smells all dark and chocolatey, and wet on my skin it smells like smooth velvety chocolate. I keep sniffing my wrist, over and over. When it dries, a bit of powder-smell creeps in, but it still has the nice foody overtones I love. My only objection to this is that it goes away too quickly - I'll have to reapply through the day. I'll wear this a bit more, but at the moment, I'm thinking this is my new large bottle perfume. ETA: As it dries down, the sandalwood wafts up - I smell wonderful. Definitely a keeper.