desu

In the bottle: MINT, albeit slightly creamy. On my skin: This smells so yummy, I have to keep from gnawing on myself. Definately a good scent to get a morning-hater like myself moving. Later on: The mint has (mostly) stepped aside and let the violet take the stage. Not bad, since violet goes a bit powdery and sickly on me.

In the bottle: This is a sweeter version of Dragon's Hide to my nose. Dragon's Hide smelled like J&J baby shampoo, so it'll be interesting to see where this one goes. The components are different, so I'm hoping it won't turn to shampoo on my skin like it did with Dragon's Hide. On my skin: This one's turned into sweet baby shampoo on me. :| Later on: What I'm guessing is the fig is Last Man Standing on my skin. The shampoo smell is gone leaving behind juicy fruit.

In the bottle: Deliciously complex. I can't really pick any single note out. There's supposed to be rose in this? It'll be interesting to see how this one turns out on me then. On my skin: The musk is coming out as it should. I do detect a slight hint of rose in the background although it doesn't seem to be turning soapy yet. Nope, there go the roses going to soap. Sigh, and I was so hoping this one would be different due to the musk.

In the bottle: Absolutely incredible! The musk, florals and herbs are really well-balanced in this one. This is really helping me recall the stories of Oisín: the hazelnut-eating salmon, the dogs, the deer, his men, and all of their adventures. It's truly a lovely MANscent. On my skin: Delicious. I want to have a hot make-out session with myself sniffing at this stuff. The musk is somewhat overpowering the herbs and florals in this one, but hey, I love musk! It's all good. Mmmm... Later on: Still wonderful. I'm glad I have enough of this to keep me sated for awhile.

In the bottle: Lavender and something that reminds me of lemon verbena. This smells bizarre, really. On my skin: The bizarreness continues. The lemon isn't too lemon, as it is balanced out by the lavender. Together, they smell vaguely familiar although I can't quite put my finger on it. Later on: The lemon is starting to pipe down some causing the scent to become quite lovely. It still has a bit of a bite to it although it is very soothing now. I was curious how this could be a sleep blend when it starts out so brash, but now I understand.

In the bottle: I can smell jasmine, myrrh and rose. Rose tends to go soapy on me, and jasmine is a skin bully, so it'll be interesting to see where this one goes. On my skin: The rose and jasmine are doing a little dance together on my skin, which is great because the jasmine is kept in check from becoming too jasminey while the rose isn't busy turning into soap. Later on: The jasmine is starting to peter out on me, so the rose, having no counterpoint, is starting to go soapy. A shame becuase I thought it was going to be that rare rose that didn't turn to soap.

In the bottle: The lemon verbena and jasmine are entertwined together at first sniff, the sandalwood lurking in the background. I'm a little worried about the jasmine because my skin amps jasmine pretty well. On my skin: So far, so good. The lemon verbena and jasmine are competing with each other as top notes. It's really quite interesting sniffing this. What I think is jasmine starts taking on a lemony note, and vice versa, so they seem to swirl around each other. Being familiar with Mountain Snow Woman, this really does evoke her icy visage in my mind, snow flurries eddying around her white kimono as she waits for another victim. Perfect, spot on encapsulation of her in perfume form. :] And I can't say how pleased I am that the jasmine isn't bullying its way to the front to the detriment of the other notes like it usually does. Later on: The lemon verbena and jasmine have finally burnt themselves out, and all that's left is the sandalwood.

In the bottle: Cherries. On my skin: Cherries. The veltvety woods are just beginning to make an entrance. I'm hoping the woods will help balance out the cherry sweetness. Later on: It's starting to smell like cherry cough syrup on me now.

In the bottle: Delicious. A perfect blend of fruits, flowers, and woods. On my skin: The fig is very prominent here, yet at the same time it's soapy due to the rose. This was a scent I wanted to love, but it doesn't love me. Later on: It's pretty much fig and soapy rose duking it out at this point.

In the bottle: Crisp, clean with vetivert skulking in the background. On my skin: Vetivert apparently loves me. Even though it behaves well in other vetivert-containing scnets, I'm not sure if I love it in this incarnation. It has mostly drowned out the crispness. Later on: The vetivert has calmed down some. It's gone almost musky on my skin -- not a bad thing since I love musks of any stripe.

In the bottle: Juicy, sweet fruits and florals, almost bubblegum-y in fact. On my skin: My skin is eating this one up. It's now just a very faint juicy fruits and florals. Later on: Nothing.

In the bottle: I'm guessing the sweetness is from the Bordeaux, but it smells suspiciously like Kool*Aid. What's with things smelling like other odd things either on me or in the bottle today? On my skin: Smells like everything it's supposed to smell like, thank Heavens. The wine, berries, herbs, etc. are shining in this one, although the throw isn't very good on me. This will probably be one of those scents my skin drinks up. Later on: Although mostly gone, it still smells faintly of berries.

In the bottle: Spicy roses. Roses can go either way on me -- they either smell good, or they smell like soap -- so I'm curious to see which way this one swings. On my skin: Yep, as usual, the rose is going soapy. :|

All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon. In the bottle: Delicious almonds. Smells like almond paste, acutally. On my skin: Almonds, vanilla, and something a little spicer in the background. It's starting to warm up now from the vanilla and cinnamon. I'm really falling in love with this scent. Later on: Vanilla-cinnamon almonds. This would also make a lovely room scent. Yummy!

In the bottle: Eucalytpus in my face, followed by his sibling, Juniper. On my skin: This stuff's really jumping off my arm! Eucalyptus is still very strong, although the other players are lurking in the background. Later on: It's starting to smell like Comet of all things. Comet? My boyfriend smelled this one and agreed with my assesment. Weird.

In the bottle: Spicy honey sweetened with fig. After trying Honey Moon and falling in love, I had to try this one. On my skin: This is like the sassier sister of Honey Moon. I can definately smell the honey and fig, but there's also a spicier edge in the back. The throw isn't anything to write home about, though, even though I desparately wanted this scent to linger about me. It's a very sexy scent. Later on: Faded a bit, but still smells wonderful. For more information about the hetairae, try James Davidson's Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens.

In the bottle: Rich, deep chocolate. On my skin: Chocolate at first, but this starts to fade as the other components push their way to the front, the patchouli and leather particularly. Later on: Everything remains deliciously balanced. The chocolate, although more subdued, is still there. The florals have started to peek through some to round out the depth of the other notes. A very subtle, well-balanced blend.

In the bottle: While I'm familiar with what the notes are supposed to smell like, my nose is interpreting them as... shampoo. Johnson's & Johnson's baby shampoo to be precise. Ooookay. On my skin: Smells like baby shampoo still, although starting to become a little smokier and darker. Later on: Leathery baby shampoo. Alrighty then. :|

In the bottle: Cream: check. Mineral: check. On my skin: Creamy vanilla with only slight hints of opal fire -- a shame because opals are characterized by their fire. If I were pressed to say what opal type this reminds me of, I'd lean more towards Coober Pedy and their white opals rather than the famous black opals of Lightning Ridge. Later on: Still creamy and sweet although more of that opal fire is starting to come into the foreground now. Egyptian musk was mentioned earlier, so I dabbed some of mine from Attar Bazaar on to compare and sure enough, that's exactly what it's starting to smell like now -- not that I mind though because Egyptian musk is my absolute favorite musk.

I really wanted to get my hands on a bottle of this because my skin, for the most part, just loves Sun-themed scents -- except for Tum which turned to grape-flavored Big League chewing gum on me. :| In the bottle: Spicy citrus. In the skin: "Hello, Olfactory Nerves!" This really warms up on my skin -- not temperature but smell-wise -- until it finally reaches a sassy crescendo. It seems like the notes are duking it out with each other. Later on: Disappeared?! Not even the barest hint that there was anything there at all. This Sol went from firey center of the universe to dead neutron star in the space of roughly an hour. I think this is one to scent a room with, or wear as a pick-me-up to get those sleepy peepers open first thing in the morning before class.

In the bottle: Mint!, albeit a controlled mint not a HI HOWYA DOIN'? eye-opening, sinus-clearing mint. On the skin: Still minty. The coconut and vanilla appear to be vying for control of my skin right now, as vanilla is one of the notes my skin amps up very well. Not really getting much of the rum yet. Later on: The vanilla appears to have conceded slightly to the coconut. The cocoa is also starting to assert itself on my skin. This is something to put on first thing in the morning: the mint to jumpstart me and the others to help keep me mellow later on (I'm not a morning person. At all.). No sign of the rum.

I'm not Catholic, so I don't know what this is supposed to smell like as far as church incense goes. In the bottle: Resiny. A little worried about how this is going to develop on me. I have a fear it's going to go spicy-obnoxious on me like Azathoth and Hamadryad did. On the skin: Develops in a quiet, well-behaved manner. The throw isn't particularly strong on me, but I'm okay with that. This a very solemn and somewhat mysterious scent. The resins are balanced by something sweeter and milder in the background. Later on: This just mellows more and more. It really is quite lovely on me. This is something to scent a room with or wear when I want to feel cozy and relaxed.

I was a little leery of the food aspect of this scent since musk is more my speed than foodie scents. In the bottle: Smells exactly like a cupcake my boyfriend would make: moist and absolutely delicious. This is no store-bought cupcake! There is attention to detail buried in this delectable delight, that hint of someone going to the trouble of making something simple yet really good. I want to savor the first, scarf a second, and sneak the rest into bed with me. On me: Although it turns to cotton candy on my skin, it doesn't do so in manner that is cloying or obnoxious. It lurks in the background, but never lets you forget it's there. I was cooking dinner while wearing this, and I'd keep getting little hints of its scent as I was doing so which only served to make me hungrier than I already was. My boyfriend asked me when I was going to start moaning over how good it smelled. (How do I answer that one?) Later on: The vanilla in this is really starting to shine through now, making it less cotton candy and more warm and cozy. This is definately one to hoard.