harmonyfb

You know, I'm not a floral-type person, but this is just flat out pretty. It's light, not overwhelming. Sticks fairly close to the skin, instead of enveloping me in a toxic flower cloud. The notes seem familiar, but I can't pinpoint which flowers I'm smelling. Nice. I think I'll keep the imp for my 'girly' days.

In the bottle, and wet on my skin - ew, wintergreen. ::sniff:: Except...it's not really wintergreen. It appears to be the juxtaposition of some different notes that causes the rather unpleasant wintergreen/menthol thing. After a moment, I can tell that the smell has to do with a tree resin, because I can almost taste the sap in my mouth. (Bleeeccch, for the record.) I'm determined to wait it out, because it's fading, but it is a bit overwhelming. Now that five or ten minutes have gone past, the pine is starting to peek out - now I can detect snowy notes, crisp air, and the faintest breath of flowers, but it's very, very faint. If it weren't for those five or ten minutes of resiny wintergreen hell, I'd love this scent. (ETA: No, I wouldn't. It's giving me a HUGE headache.) Also, it now smells of gin, which I suppose must be the juniper.

In the imp, sweet and fruity, though it doesn't smell like pomegranates, as I expected. Wet, the amber makes itself known immediately, overwhelming the fruitiness (which still doesn't smell like pomegranates, wtf?). For a few minutes it's warm and sweet and spicy, and I quite like it, and then it dries....and turns right to powder. The hell? I love amber, and it loves me! It never ever goes powdery on me! Come on, don't be that way, baby. ::sniffs:: Dammit. Powder.

None of the other formulations of 13 worked on me, so I didn't hold out much hope for this one. In the bottle: Chocolatey! Wet: The same sour chocolate smell that I got from The C.andy B.utcher Dry: Sour Chocolate. Ugh. Dry, 10 minutes later: Sour chocolate overlaying a faint, sweet, creamy scent. Bleah. Damn my skin chemistry! Dry, 25 minutes later: Sweet, creamy and honeyed scent with just a whiff of sour chocolate. Actually, this stage smells a lot like Milk Moon '07, but with a pervading sourness. Urgh. I'll save it to try at a different time of month, but I don't think this is going to work. ETA: Tried three times, at different stages of my cycle. All three times: rotting chocolate. ::sigh::

I'd suggest hitting the Snake Pit (specifically Saw-Scaled Viper, if you like the spicy stuff.) Mmm, good.

In the bottle: There's that same bitter, horrible note that made me hate Y.uki-Onna with a blinding passion. Wet: Still smells like rancid orange peel. Dry: Some sort of sweet blossom covered with rancid orange peel. Ugh. And....big headache. Conclusion: Anybody want this? ETA: Dry, some minutes later, I smell sweet linden blossoms and perhaps the faintest rose. This stage is absolutely beautiful, but it's so faint I have to press my nose to my wrist to smell it. Certainly not enough to put up with the rotting orange peel to get to it.

This was a generous swap from The Perfumed Ferret. Overall impression: A very pretty floral, if a little old-fashioned. On closer sniff: Yes, there's rose in there, somewhere, but there's also a sharp greenish note that serves to make it a little more stand-offish than it might be otherwise. Throw is veryvery low - my nose must be near my skin to get the full effect. Made, I think, for those who love intimate florals.

In the imp, I smelled nothing. Wet, nothing. Dry? Well, maybe a little whiff of sawdust, but mostly nothing. And then, something happened. The scent warmed up on my skin, and became this sweet, dusty sandalwood-type fragrance. Just enough throw to waft up to my waiting nose. Warm, comforting, and a brilliant interpretation of this particular character.

I think either Boomslang (hee!) or Pumpkin Queen. So hard to choose...

Night-Gaunt. Especially once the grapefruit has burnt off, so what you smell is night-time flowers and cold dark. Mmmm.

In the bottle, this smells of power. I found it a comforting and relaxing scent. Last night, I anointed my forehead and heart with dabs of it to try and jump-start my creativity. Nearly all the magickal blends smell exactly the same to me - a peculiar herbal blend - and Nine Muses was no exception. This oil also had a slightly menthol-y note. It enveloped me like a cloud while I slept, and I woke up feeling like I was ready to make a start on some more short stories. I think I'll be getting a lot of use out of this oil.

In the imp: Sour and 'off'-smelling. On me: Single-note jasmine. Quel surprise (any jasmine at all means the blend smells of nothing but on my skin.)

Incense and resins are not my thing. But I had to try all the Arkham scents, so eventually I got around to this one. In the imp, it smelled...brown. Soft and brown. Not at all what I'd expected. Wet, it disappeared, and then bloomed up with a slightly acrid smell. Dry, the acrid-ness went away, and in its place was a balanced, subtle, smoky scent. Now I understand why the incense-lovers went ga-ga over this. I can detect sandalwood, and maybe some sort of smoky musk, and it's just gorgeous. Not my thing, but still - wonderful, classic perfume.

Sweet bubbly blend that is light and effervescent. Heavy on the plumeria - an intoxicating fragrance that I love when smelled from our tree, but may be a bit much on my wrist. This strikes me as a very girly fragrance in the traditional sense - heady and feminine.

More of that 'sporty' masculine aquatic action. Spicy, salty, and warm, and there's something there that reminds me strongly of a popular men's cologne (can't think of which one, though). Might try it on Manly later, but it's not for me. Classed with T.hunder Moon, J.azz Funeral, and S.hadwell for masculine charm.

The essence of innocent summer in a bottle. No, really. Wet, this was all sweet peachy goodness, like biting into a ripe warm peach. I feared it would become a little cloying - and it did go through a short phase where it was as I feared, but as it dried, the amber bloomed up beneath it and turned it into a warm, sweet scent that lifted my spirits and made me smile.

In the imp, it was a sourish scent of indeterminate origin. Wet, it was a delicious black tea with something complex beneath it. Five minutes later, it was cherry blossoms and something sour. Ten minutes later, the ho wood had obliterated all before it. Sour, flat, and just awful. Thank goodness I didn't buy a bottle unsniffed, because this is not for me.

I'd second the rec of the Unicorn, but also add The Hanging Gardens.

The selection that I always use to entice newbies includes an LE (Pumpkin Queen), but for GC's? Miskatonic University White Rabbit Night-Gaunt Hanging Gardens Two, Five, and Seven Lyonesse Villain (for men)

How funny - I've avoided this scent because of the notes. I figured that rum, bourbon, and graveyard dirt would add up to the anti-harmonyfb scent. But...in the imp, this was a clean, clear scent, and that continued when I applied it. It was like cold rain, light and refreshing. Dry, it smells faintly of leather and rain. Wow. Very evocative of southern cities after a good thunderstorm. Conclusion: Don't be afraid of trying scents with notes you don't like.

In the imp: Juicy plums Wet: Sense memory. I'm in high school, and I'm standing backstage at a forensics meet, waiting to go on. It was so vivid a recollection, I felt like I could reach out and touch the past. Wow. Why would this evoke that memory? I don't know. Dry: Like a pleasant, berryish candle scent. It's like the impression you get when you use scented candles to scent your dresser drawers - just a faint, sweet smell. Verdict: I kinda like it.

I almost didn't post this review, because I couldn't bear to try it on my skin. In the imp, this smelled like...I swear...bubblegum and ass. I have no idea which note is giving me that impression, but obviously, this scent does NOT like me. ::shudders::

In the bottle, this was sharp dragon's blood and bitter orange peel. My heart sank, because dragon's blood really plays havoc with my allergies (and I don't care overmuch for the smell - a little goes a long way). On my skin, it was loud and sharp and giving me a headache. Woe! It's dried down to a red-orange scent that reminds me very much of a New Age bookstore I used to frequent. That must be the dragon's blood. Alas, the amber I had pinned my hopes on has not shown up at all. Definitely not for me.

In the imp: Surprisingly fruity. Wet: Sour fruit. Dry: leatherLeatherLEATHER...and sour fruit. And STINKY FRUITY SOUR LEATHER. With a LOT of throw. ::gags:: ::rushes to wash it off:: Well, rats.

I wanted to love this. Really, I did. I've tried it three times, and each time I've convinced myself that I'll love it forever...but honestly, this is a sourish rose blend on me. After a couple of hours, it settles into a rosy amber smell, but it's simply not very pretty on my skin. ::sigh::