alicia_stardust

I smell pomegranate and a light herbal quality in the bottle. As the oil dries, the pomegranate turns into a very, very sweet and juicy fragrance. It's almost overwhelming at first, but in time I do notice a touch of lotus root and river reeds. There's something floral in there, but again it's subtle in relation to the prominent pomegranate. I think the herbal quality I'm picking up on is due to the hyssop. This has a very strong throw and a very long wear-length. It's sweet and juicy pomegranate above all else, but there is just enough of an herbal/floral/aquatic quality to round it out.

This smells like clover to me. It's as if I have taken a fresh sprig of clover and smeared it into my hand, giving an extra release of the green fragrance. The ivy and moss add more green to this blend, but they are not heavy at all. Beyond that, I can smell the heather. The rose sweetens it up just enough, and the carnation is barely there but definitely adds a touch of warmth. This blend is gorgeous! It's light and green. It smells of springtime and ivy and moss. Something about it is so fresh and buoyant.

HER VOICE This one surprised me good. It's a pale, wafting floral aquatic, but this isn't the sort of floral aquatic that goes high-pitched or soapy. Instead it is a gentle, dewy, water-drowned hyacinth that is grounded out by beeswax. The lilies and honeysuckle add their sweetness but they are subtle and seem to be countered by the heady spiciness of the carnation and the expensive-perfume fragrance of heliotrope. There is a hint of rose in there, and the amber and vanilla just barely warm this cool, spring-like floral. Something about this brings to mind pink hyacinth, pale blue and white petals, spring rain, light and dewy florals, and a touch of melancholy and longing.

Overall, Fascinum is dry and golden. The sharp, dry cedar and the warm amber almost make this an incense fragrance, but not quite. The litsea cubeba adds an almost lemon-evergreen hint, but it is subdued in comparison to the amber and cedar. The saffron adds a warm, hay-like, exotic spice to this. Together, all of the notes in Fascinum combine to form a warm and alluring fragrance. It is dry, golden, exotic, and has a strong throw. I do agree that this is gender neutral, but to be honest I think I like it best on a guy. It just has that sort of vibe to it. =)

DEFUTUTA Defututa is a winner. I smell champaca right off the bat. I find that the sandalwood and champaca provide a strong, smooth base for the rest of the notes. I have to mention that the characteristic sweet sensuality of jasmine is present, yet very different from its standard behavior. It seems to be more of an accent and it almost buries itself into the champaca and honey. Above the champaca sandalwood base, and outside of the jasmine accent, the other notes swirl into a sensual, earthy, glistening, breathy, bare skin effect. The olive blossom and sultry honey hit my nose the most, but the smoky vanilla adds a touch of smoothness to them. The cinnamon is ever so subtle. I bought this as part of an imp pack, but a 5ml of Defututa is without a doubt going into my next order. Sensual, breathy, sweetly hypnotic, good throw and wearlength. This is amazing.

DEEP IN EARTH This is a gorgeous floral-earth blend. There is a freshness and vigor to the prominent rose geranium, and it keeps the loamy, murky moss and dirt from being too dark and heavy. The yew is bold and possibly woodsy/herbal. Even with the fragrance of the dark and damp graveyard dirt, something about this blend remains almost fresh, almost aquatic overall. Strong throw, long wear.

This presents a bright and sharp orange blossom with a nice floral finish. The orange blossom, together with the white rose, lemon balm, and jonquil, create a theme of light and brightness. That is countered, but not overshadowed, by the presence of the root, seed, ambergris, and benzoin. Overall this blend has a floral quality to it; gentle and light, sweet and almost watery, yet with a nice little bite to the orange blossom.

I can immediately recognize the rose otto. The patchouli sort of grounds this out a bit; I find it to be a gentle patchouli and it goes well with the creamy, balsamic benzoin resin. I do pick up a hint of a woodsy-floral which might be the petitgrain. The contribution of each of the above notes in lovely in itself, but the thing that truly elevates this blend to a work of art is that cassis bud! As the oil dries, the cassis (not to be confused with the cinnamon-like cassia) becomes a prominent factor in this blend. It is the young hint of what will become a darkly astringent, juicy blackcurrant. When that combines with all of the other notes? Exaltation.

This is much nicer than I expected a vetiver blend to be. While that dark, vegetative vetiver is prominent, there is a different edge to the scent overall. It's smooth and almost cool. The white sandalwood is dry and it sort of envelops the vetiver, thus tempering it. The neroli lends just the right amount of orange floral to the mixture. This is simple yet artistic, and the fact that I appreciate this despite the vetiver is a strong statement. If you are wary of vetiver, satisfy your curiosity. If you love deep earthy vetiver, you MUST try this.

Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal *lick* This is absolutely tantalizing, and for the record I am not a "foody" scent lover. Wet: I get a kick of creamy grapefruit. Smells a bit foody in the bottle, but not once it dries! Dry: This is so well-blended, yet if I concentrate I can detect a rotating medley of notes: the lemon candyfloss just barely peeks above the spicy ginger and pink pepper, which sits right on top of the grapefruit and pear, which is smoothed out by the vanilla cream, and which is touched by a hint of floral. This really is quite remarkable, uplifting, innocent yet sinister. This is another keeper. =)

I Married a Vampire from Planet X Wet: In the bottle this smells like red resin and a smooth, smoky, musky leather. Dry: This dries into the most amazing, sensual blend of antique resins, red daemondrops, musk, and leather. The caraway, cinnamon, and clove (especially) are complementary to the resins, leather, and musk. I actually expected this darker, deeper part of the blend to be very dominating, strong, and in my face. Instead I find that it is a very smooth, rounded mixture. It serves as a strongly suggestive, sensual, sinister base. The top layer of this fragrance is much more subtle, but I can definitely detect the sage and white musk, followed by a touch of melon and grapefruit. It doesn't distract from the prominent base, yet it adds so much more to the overall picture. The two aspects of this fragrance work together beautifully, and much better than I hoped. This is definitely a keeper. I find it to be gender neutral, sexy as hell, and it has a good throw and wearlength.

This was such a fun and generous gift from the Lab! I smell mostly cocoa absolute, but beyond that it's mostly a sort of decadent tonka/vanilla, caramel, light spice, and musk... all, of course, nestled behind the dominant cocoa absolute. This is fun, foody, and I love the way the cocoa separates from the rest of the oil. How silly.

I have to second Old Moon. It is such a gorgeous winter scent and it completely took me by surprise. Your icon cracks me up.

The vanilla and amber and peach are the most prominent part of Tamora. This isn't your standard bold resin or in-you-face peach, though, probably because it's peach blossom and not peach itself. This fragrance is gentle and sweetly feminine. It's light and refreshing. The vanilla rounds it out and the heliotrope lends a refined floral quality to it. Simply beautiful.

The Pool of Tears is a soft, forlorn, and gentle layer of salty tears over a soft and sweet, innocent floral perfume. I tested this quite a while ago but it was the first true "aquatic" blend that I fell head over heels in love with. Something about it is so gentle and melancholy.

Cheshire Cat is bright, colorful. The grapefruit sends a sharp and dominant fragrance out, but the musk and currant and chamomile make their own individual appearances. Even though this initially presents as a well-blended, singular fragrance I can pick it apart and I find that aside from the ever-present grapefruit, all the other notes sort of appear and disappear in a medley of fragrance... much the like Cheshire Cat himself would do.

The dark musk blends well with the two resins. I expected this to be a darker, more masculine fragrance but instead I find that it is a gender-neutral fragrance with a lightness to it. That lightness is in thanks to the neroli and bergamot. I find this blend to be soothing and grounding and I'm keeping it on hand in my collection.

Lady MacBeth is amazing! It is the first blend where I said, "This smells PURPLE!" immediately after my first whiff of it. The wine is sweet but dry so it is not cloying. The thyme grounds this out to keep the wine, currant, and berries from taking off. It gives it a nice balance. The berries do come out to play last of all, after it has settled into my skin for a while. I can't quite describe how or why I like this so much, but it is tantalizing!! I love how bold it is.

I can't quite place my finger on what this smells like to me. I get a touch of lime but mostly I smell a fruit punch-like fragrance that takes over the blend. I believe it may be a pomegranate berry mixture. There's a touch of a boozy kick in the background but it is light and fleeting. I classify this with Swank, but I think I prefer Swank a little more than this one.

I smell juniper, and lots of it! It gives this a deep purple-green dusky "color" to it. The cypress adds a nice woodsy quality to this and the rose sits on top. It's a strong, mature rose, but one that still isn't dwarfed by the lovely juniper. I really love this!

Shadow Witch Orchid is lovely. It's subdued, ethereal, and mesmerizing in it's feminine sensuality. I find orchids to be dusky and sultry, and this one is no exception.

To me this smells like a white rose illuminated by the moonlight. It has dew on it and a few petals have fallen to the ground, only to find themselves water-drowned in a small puddle that lies amidst moonflower vines. It's a light scent and fades quickly, but the fleeting quality of this only adds to the magic and ethereal quality of the moon rose.

This is a beautiful lily in full bloom, but there is a dark and spicy twist to it. I really can't describe how beautiful this is. I remember when this was released that everyone, even self-professed lily-haters, fell in deep and mad love with this scent. I can see why. It's worth checking out no matter what scent category you tend to favor.

The sweet fig is what I notice first, but behind that I get the most amazing sense of green earth and dirt, woods, vines. It's so incredible to get that quality from something that doesn't directly smell like patchouli or soil. I love how sinister and intoxicating this fig is!

Lotus, on me, is sweet and watery with a light, almost bubble-gum-like quality to it. However, when you add in the "blood" to make this blood lotus, it instantly becomes a darker, stained lotus with a juicy, sinister bite to it. It's a keeper.