weaver

I get used coffee grinds, mothballs and a bit of lurking rose. Sadly this will not work for me.

I got it as a gift from arcticghost. I never thought that aquatics were my thing and never ordered any. I tried a couple aquatic frimps the Lab sent me with orders, and my opinion stayed the same. Until now. I love Sea of Glass. It is clean, very bright, fresh (but not green or citrusy). It has a citrus note in there, but it is soft and does not dominate the blend. It is calm and watery, and smells like lilies of the valley covered with dew early on a crisp summer morning. Sea of Glass has surprisingly strong throw for being a soft aquatic, and lasts 2-3 hours on me. Great for summer. I keep reaching for it, I would just have to get a bottle of this.

Butterscotch, hazelnut, caramel and rum. Much more tempered than Gluttony or Grog, but still nicely foody. This is one of my top 10 smells

Got the imp from our wonderful Emzebel. I was pleasantly surprised that a non-rose floral worked on me. This rarely happens. Nice lily with a bite, some spices there, I cannot tell which. More like an idea of spices, orange peel perhaps. Beautifully balanced, floral, fresh, and not too sweet. I love it. Unfortunately, my skin just drinks this neat, no water or ice. It has minimal throw on me, even when wet, and is completely gone in half an hour. I will use the imp for sure, it’s too pretty, but no bottle for me.

On me MB Closet = Grog + Gluttony. On a subject of Smut and Scherezade similarity: I find Smut and Scherezade very different. Smut is in my top 10, the most beautiful blend of musks, it is sharing the very top spot with another scent. Scherezade I tried once and couldn't believe how bad it was on me: all sharp saffron and sassafras. I tried it one more time - same thing, so I traded it away.

Underpants start like Red Lantern, then progress into Antique Lace, and have a Snow White drydown. No wonder it is that popular. I get rich caramel, vanilla and rum when wet. Then saffron comes forward. At the dry state the saffron and sandalwood are at the center stage, smooth and buttery from ever present vanilla. The throw is very decent, and the staying power is average – it took about 3-4 hours to completely disappear from my wrists.

It starts as a sweet vanilla orchid. It's the same orchid as in Queen Mab, gentle and beautiful. Then a steely core shows up. Is it stephanotis? I don't know this note. Ok, I googled stephanotis. Stephanotis basically smells like jasmine. And here's one intersting quote: "Stephanotis is another name for Madagascar jasmine (Stephanotis floribunda) ... When fully open the flower emits a repulsive scent, which is strongest at night..." All right then! In the end I am not sure I like the bitch underneath the sweetheart exterior.

It was a frimp. I would have never ordered it because of coconut and musk notes, and I am also weary of iris. But this one surprised me. This is the first oil containing coconut that I can wear. To my further amazement blood musk I can deal with. Usually musks overpower me. Here I do get musk and coconut, but they are extremely well blended, light and in the background. It seems that I love orris. Blood Pearl is boozy and a little sharp and smooth at the same time, and a bit powdery when dry. It's sultry and sexy and red. I like it quite a lot.

Smooth, cool, green, and slightly sweet. If you like Embalming Fluid, this is better: smoother and rounder, more blended, less lemon. I smell green tea and something else green, must be bamboo. The roundness probably comes from Oude. When wet it is very bright. Then it settles in the dry state, and I get some wood notes, but it continues to be juicy and fresh. It has better than average throw, and lasts a reasonable amount of time, 3-4 hours. It will be a wonderful summer scent. On my scale of 1-5 (5 being the best) it rates 5.

Very lovely. Lotus makes roses smooth and fluid. I expected lotus to add sweetness, but - no, it didn't. I love BPAL roses, and they love me back. It looks like I love lotus too, and it reciprocates. This combination is beautiful. Unfortunately, my skin just eats this up, it has no staying power on me - gone in about an hour.

I got an imp as a gift. It's the old tarted one, so the oil is well aged. I didn't find it "sexual and commanding in the extreme". To me it smells very comforting, soft, vanilla and herbs, warm dry grasses in the midday sunny field in the end of August. I imagine if I were a man I would yearn to put my head on a bosom that smells like that, close my eyes and sigh. Well, I am not a man; but DH likes it on me. I will be getting a bottle of this.

It was a freebie from the lab. I wouldn't have ordered it myself, as the name was meaningless for me. Not anymore... Bittersweet chocolate, more bitter than sweet, dark rum, old port, and a puff of smoke. Beautifully blended. The throw and staying power are great, after several hours it morphs into bitter coffee. Without milk or sugar. I love it. I am always slightly annoyed reading in Clavel or Galsworthy about how English ladies were required to leave the room after dinner “to powder their nose”, so that men could drink their port and talk about deals and politics. I am no raging feminist, but it ticks me wrong. Centzon Totochin paints a picture for me: An old country club dining room, lots of leather and dark green velvet curtains, heavily starched tablecloth that used to be pristine only an hour ago. The dinner is being cleared away, and men are leaving the room to go to the john or to the garden, or wherever they go when they leave. The waiters in black are bringing in old port the color of blood, aged amber rum, dark almost black sticks of bitter chocolate and French cheese. The ladies are kicking off their shoes under the table and getting comfortable. Finally… they can talk among equals without the silly flirtations that seem to be necessary when men are around. They drink and savor and talk about Sartre, movements of silk market, new Russian ballet. Occasionally you hear: “An interesting thought….Have your people call my office tomorrow”. As port is being finished, the conversation slowly dies down, and you hear Brahms played on the grand piano by the window. Time for coffee and maybe a smoke. The opulent power. Yes, ma’am.

I smell them all: chocolate, vanilla, buttercream, pralines, hazelnut, toffee and caramel. I love it. Don't have a sweet tooth really, don't like to eat sweets, chocolate - no exception. Gluttony satisfies my need for sweetness without me having to eat anything. I need a big bottle of this. I will use it by itself and layer it under anything that is too sharp alone, like Sacred Whore.

Slightly sharp herbal, not unpleasant. Something that may be found in the medicine woman's pouch. The best part is - it works! A definite 10ml bottle in my future.

Yes, I tried them on my skin with the same results - practically no smell at all. I tried several times, last time using a very large amount. Still very faint... Thank you for bringing up this point, pranashakti!

I think I have a problem with 2 bottles from my recent order . Morocco and Dragon’s Milk bottles smell considerably weaker than the respective imps I have from my previous orders. In fact they are so faint that I can barely detect the scent from the bottles, even when I hold them open right underneath my nose. Are the oils defective? Are they too "fresh", and need to mature? What is the Lab’s policy on exchanges? Do they replace the defective bottles, if they are indeed defective? Grant you that I am quite a newbie, and it could very well be that I don't know what I am doing. But still, I paid my money, and I want my scents. How does this work?