Voleuse

On first application, this is bright jasmine and a hint of citrus, light and cheery. It gets more complicated over time, with a swirl of herbs and maybe a little musk, though I can't quite tease out the different notes. There are woods, and tea, and oh, it's just a wash of happiness. The jasmine is predominant on me, but it's not overpowering the other notes at all.

This is lush and simple and gorgeous. The fig is sharply sweet, and the milk lends a lovely, slightly sour, creaminess to the blend--that is, the fig makes it sweet, not the milk. I don't pull myrrh from it, but there is a faint sweet-smokiness that isn't all fig. This is very warm and nummy, though it doesn't strike me as foody. (Then again, I don't eat figs, so...) It's very pretty and earthy, and I think quite unique, perfume-wise.

Oooh, this is quite subtle at first, smoky and cool, with a bit of sweetness to it. It's a dewy night scent, dark and enchanting. I like the way the musk balances with the sweeter incense and floral notes, so it snakes around you without being overpowering. Sexy. Sexier than you would expect, even when this fades to a brittle, rosy incense.

This is a nice incense blend, with lovely polished woods behind it. It's only vaguely sweet, but nicely smoky. It's not very heavy or churchy, but rather a pleasant background sort of incense, mysterious but not immediately overpowering.

IMO, this is a really great atmosphere spray, though perhaps not as evocative as other ones, and maybe it doesn't linger quite as long. I'm not able to discern the notes particularly (certainly I don't smell lily or amber), but overall this gives such a lovely, bright impression: super-clean (with a hint of laundry, yes), lightly sugared, with the faintest hint of perfuminess. It feels very much like...marble corridors open to sunlight.

Warm, snuggly honey musk with sweet vanilla and a hint of rose and sugar plums. Oh, this is lovely! Honey cake and soft, soft vanilla, with the faintest hint of florals in the background. It is rather foody, but in a way that doesn't turn plastic on me, which is a nice change. It's very, yes, snuggly and warm--not super-foody, but surprisingly sophisticated and feminine.

Incapacitating poofiness: spun sugar, white amber, white musk, citron, and lemongrass masking a sinister, almost chemical undernote of elemi, zdravetz, and ravintsara. This has impressive throw, though it's a bit of a punch in the face at first: almost Yankee Candle pungent, if that makes sense. Sweet and citrusy and bold. It's definitely lemongrass, though, which is neat--usually I get lemon from lemongrass, but this time it's pretty distinct. In a few minutes, however, it fades to a nice, powdered-sugar lemongrass, like those sweet lemony pastille things, but with lemongrass instead. Soft and sweet, with a faint halo of something else, something cool, which keeps it from being generic. I like it.

This is sweet and, oddly, a bit plasticky and dusty--almost like there's some plaster of Paris in the blend. After a little while, the sweetness is identifiable as vanilla, though I'm not sure whether I can discern the other notes. This is really quite lovely and evocative, but the plastery bits prevent the blend from becoming quite wearable for me. Two hours later, I caught a gorgeous whiff of violet-and-vanilla sort of scent, and discovered it was this! Neat! Based on this, I suspect it might be a bottle-worthy blend, but I'll definitely have to be patient.

In the bottle, this is all cake, but upon application, it's sweet cucumber and a bit of warm cake. It's faint, and over time, the cakiness fades. This is light and pleasant. Very innocent and sweet, but not long-lasting.

Wood and a bit of men's cologne--and the cologne gets more prominent as time passes. There's eventually musk, as well, and unfortunately it's the kind of musk that ends up smelling a bit rank. It's also faintly aquatic, without any of the flowers others noted. Overall, though, it's a nice wood and polish sort of scent, dignified and masculine.

Huh, this is rather citrusy on first sniff, which I didn't expect. It's a few minutes before the sharpness fades, but then it becomes a nice balance of citrus (bergamot?) and chocolate, with the faintest hint of tea. I like this stage of the blend, but unfortunate, it ends up mostly bergamot on me, with only a tiny bit of chocolatey tea.

Sweet fruits and a hint of smoky incense. This is pretty, and for some reason, much sweeter than I expected. Over time, it stays very true to the grapefruit, but not so juicy as to be an extreme fruit blend. Instead, it's sweet and warm. This feels more like a springtime scent than a yule one, but I suppose that's the point.

This is so pretty! I'm not very good at recognizing any of the individual notes, but overall this is a soft, rounded floral. It's sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. It's very close to the skin on me, soft and sophisticated, but the throw is pretty weak. It is quite nice, though!

This is much rosier than I expected! It's rather like rose and resin, and something almost citrus but not--maybe that's the lychee. Even over time, the intensity of this doesn't fade: sweet, sweet rose and resin. This seems like it should be old-fashioned, but it's so demandingly present at the same time. Impressive.

Oh, my! On first application, this is a demanding violet, nothing like the softness of Faith (or is it Hope?) or Violet Ray. It's definitely sweet and sexy, but a step bolder than the others. Over time, the pseudo-sharpness fades, giving way to something faintly herbal. The violet is still there, but it's tempered. It's still sweet, but less intensely. (I don't get vanilla at all.) A nice, close-to-the-skin, sexy scent.

This is GORGEOUS. On first application, it's juicy and almost intensely sweet, with a hint of florals fluttering in the background. When I sniff deeply, I catch lavender and moonflower, and it makes for a wonderful, cool blend. After a few minutes, though, the blend softens, becoming musk and moonflower, with a faint hint of sweetness. It's just as wonderful, but so different from the first impression. In the end, the melon-y sweetness of this is ephemeral, with a halo of musk that grounds it. Lovely.

Hmmmm. This is a bit soapy on first application, then it rounds out to clean amber and florals. Very feminine, though it makes me a tad sneezy. So far this is nice, but not the smoky sexiness I expected. After fifteen minutes or so, I find myself very thankful for the (possible) floral stompiness, because I get the faintest edge of wrongness I sometimes get from amber + musk, which usually ends up extremely unpleasantly for me. (There is some version or combination of musk that inevitably smells like civet in a bad way. I haven't figured it out yet.) Instead, the musk is harnessed by soapy florals, so that the blend hints of both, but doesn't smell quite like either. After forty minutes, this is a warm musk, with a hint of spice and soapy florals that suggests this is a woman's blend, without being super-feminine. This could be extremely sexy, I suspect, but I don't have quite the right chemistry for it. I'm glad I have it, though--I'm curious to see how it ages.

I never thought I could describe a patchouli scent as gentle, but this is definitely a soft, nostalgic sort of patchouli. The woods are a good counterbalance--not towering, terrifying woods, but rather a twisty, friendly forest with winding paths and nice, springy places to sit and read and take naps. This is a bit dusty, as well, like an old and well-loved library. This isn't something I would normally wear, but it's enticing and evocative.

This is a fresh and lovely aquatic, a bit cologney and very cool and clean. I like the way the aquatic balances out what could be quite musky, so that it's soothing instead of aggressive. There's a hint of saltwater in the background, but overall this is very "ocean sweet" to my nose. It gets sweeter, juicier over time. This is a great scent for warm weather.

I am a lover of honey and Snake Oil blends, so I had high hopes for this. On first application, this is an intense honey sweetness, reminding me of the richness of Athens. It lightens in a second, though, to a more flowery, playful honey. I don't get any Snake Oil hints, aside from a slithery spiciness, very subtle, in the background.

On first application, this is a lovely, creamy hot chocolate--like El Dia de Reyes, but without the spice. (I keep wanting to say this is minty, but that's purely because of my mental associations, as I usually have mint hot chocolate with marshmallows, rather than just plain hot chocolate.) There's something a bit chalky behind it--perhaps the puppet aspect of the blend, but to my nose, it morphs into hot chocolate mix, rather than hot chocolate in liquid form.

This is more incensey than I expected, which is silly, because half the notes are incensy in one way or another. I like the way the vanilla sweetens the blend, so it's not quite overpowering, and combined with the spices, I find this quite intriguing. Over time, the incense-slam fades, leaving sweet, spicy vanilla and a kiss of patchouli. This has decent throw, but I'm more impressed by how long it lingers.

On first application, this is sweet and creamy, like high-quality, made-from-scratch cupcake frosting. As it dries, it gets spicier, but as I've experienced with Egg Nog in the past, the overall scent fades quickly. On the bright side, this doesn't get as plasticky on me, but what lingers is mostly unexceptional. Ah, well.

For some reason, I'm always wary of honey, so this blend came as a pleasant surprise. The honey is perfectly tempered by the floral notes, balanced so it doesn't become cloying, as honey often does with my chemistry. There's an herbal note in the background as well, which in turn keeps the florals from growing too strong, and it adds a bit of spice, as well. This is beautiful, though I'm not head-over-heels. Thankfully so--I've seen the heartfelt pleas for bottles. *g*

Hm. This is very...foresty. Not evergreen, exactly, but green and cool. There's something like...a lake, vast and rippling, and a brisk wind, and a hint of sunshine. This is gorgeous, peaceful, patient.