Vicious Mistress

Chaos Theory LXXXVII I've got to give this an edited review after trying it one more time, because my impression is different from my original review. In the bottle: Cinnamon and spices. Maybe cloves too? Definitely a warm, spicy smell. On my skin wet: Cloves! And cinnamon, but mainly cloves. No burning like a cinnamony scent usually does. There's something else there that I can't put my finger on--something floral. Drydown: After about an hour or so, other notes come out: leather? and jasmine. The cloves are still strong, but I'm beginning to smell the leather and jasmine more now. There was a short period where it smelled like the air after you burn sparklers: metallic and warm and slightly smoky, which I'm thinking is the leather note. It's kind of nice, actually, and I'd adore it on a guy. Final thoughts: I may edit this later, but the scent is staying pretty stable now, or at least what I can smell of it. The cloves/cinnamon adds just a bit of heat to the leather and florals. I said before that it reminded me of standing on the veranda of an old antebellum home with spicy scents wafting in from the kitchen, but this is different. It's more like standing in the back doorway of a kitchen with some spicy holiday clove-and-cinnamon concoction on the stove, and the scents of night-blooming jasmine and the leather of horse tack from carriages carried on the breeze. I'd like this scent if it weren't for the cloves. Heavy cloves scents and I just don't get along.

I have to admit I don't like O. It smells like crayons on me.

I think Old Morocco smells very much like Amber Romance, but it's not as heavy. Maybe your friend would like that.

In the imp: Melon Wet on my skin: sweet melon with something sharp, like grapefruit, that almost made it smell bitter Drydown a few hours later: light, sweet melon still. The bitterness is gone and it's very pretty and very light. I think this would be great for a warm sunny day.

I've found that if I wear the cinnamon scents on my wrists and behind my ears--maybe also in the hollow of my throat--I don't get the burning that I get if I wear them in the crook of my elbow or in my cleavage. I guess you just need to watch places that tend to stay warmer, or with skin touching skin.

Here's my dilemma, and I'm not panicking, but I'm getting worried. I received a Click-n-Ship Thursday before last for the Red Moon that had been missing from my previous order. I accidentally erased it some time early this week, and didn't see it as a big loss since C-n-S meant my package was on its merry little way. (Right?) Well, it hasn't come yet, and it has NEVER taken this long for a priority mail package to get to me--even regular mail which I think priority mail has turned into. I can't check to see if it was mis-delivered or sent back since I no longer have the email, and the postal carrier (who's a sub this week) says he hasn't seen anything for my house. I think it should've been here by now, definitely. Should I email Nella and ask if they've gotten it back, or wait a few more days? I have another order that should be here Monday or Tuesday. Is there any other way I can check to see what's up with my package? Over-analysis is my curse.

Out of the bottle and wet on my skin, this smells like a cherry cough drop--but in a good way. After a while the cough drop smell fades and the spices come out, pushing the cherry scent into the background and letting the cinnamon working it's mojo. Then the cinnamon and spices mellow out with something soft and floral, to make this a lovely feminine scent for fall. I think I love it, but I will have to wear it a few more times to make sure.

Imp: some strange fruit I don't recognize, and a slightly watery scent On my skin/wet: dusty watermelon/raspberries? I don't recognize the notes, but it's a dusty fruit kind of smell Drydown: Where'd it go??? I think I can still smell it. It's faint and watery, but truth told, I can't tell if there's anything still on my wrist, or if it's the Lightning I rinsed through my hair last night. Hmmmm, will edit later if it comes back. So far it doesn't appear to have lasted 2 hours on my skin.

Tintagel: In the imp: DRAGON'S BLOOD! On my skin wet: CINNAMON!!!!! At drydown: cinnamon! (but not so loud)...and something else. A very little hint of leather, maybe a bit of wood I don't recognize. It's hard to pick out any particular notes it's blended so well. I was leery of this because of the dragon's blood, which usually projects itself from my skin with a bullhorn. But not this. I can't smell the dragon's blood at all. It's fading after 2 hours, but I didn't put a lot on. I may have to reapply more and see if I can give a better description. Very intriguing.

This was just too much for me. Cinnamon and cloves and something else and it was all so strong on my skin that I was overwhelmed by it. Into the swap pile it goes.

This smelled like honey on me when wet, rather sweet and foody. When it dried a very waxy smell started coming up from my skin, like I'd been slathering myself in crayons. Definitely not a scent for me.

"We must protect the essence!!!!!!" Sorry,'Dr. Strangelove' was on this weekend.

I love Old Glasgow! It starts out as a smooth flash of dusty warm blackberries and mellows out into lovely, unobtrusive heather. Definitely a big bottle of this one.

Starting out, I could smell the wine backed up by tobacco. The wine faded away fairly quickly (which is good because wine doesn't like my skin) to a mellow, tobacco- and leather-backed chocolatey tonka bean. Yummy. There is some coconut in this that was noticeable more in the mid-drydown stage. (For a few minutes there I kept glancing around for the tanning lotion!) Once dry, however, I didn't smell it anymore. It lasted all day too.

This started out ozoney and soapy on me, and as it dried it just turned soapy. I didn't notice any leather at all, which is odd, because I can usually pick out the leather very quickly on my skin. Unfortunately, this was not me. To swap it goes!

My favorite of the ozone scents! It stays clearer and fresher than Lightning, which before Tempest was my favorite ozone scent. This doesn't have the faintly soapy drydown scent that Lightning has. Tempest is a clear field after a thunderstorm with lightning still in the air and rain-washed clean, whereas Lightning is like taking a shower outside after a thunderstorm.

Many pre-BPAL moons ago, I wore Estee Lauder's Beautiful. I loved the dry-down scent, but the reason I stopped wearing it is because the initial scent was so sharp and strong to my nose that it gave me headaches. Unfortunately, Kali seems exactly like that scent to me. It's strange, because when I tried a friend's imp, this seemed sweet on me and I ordered a bottle right away. I wish Kali had the drydown scent of Beautiful instead of the initial scent. However, I will say that this scent didn't change a lot on me and it lasted until the next day when I took a shower. I have a feeling many will love this scent. I just can't wear it.

I agree with what everyone else has said about Old Kathmandhu. It starts out woody with something green that I can't identify. I would almost think it's violet, except that this green note LIKES me, and violet does not. Then the lotus comes out a bit and sweetens it. As someone said before, this is like Aureus, but not so heavy. It's very comforting and I feel very drawn to this scent. I wonder if there's a tinge of vetiver in this? Beth's vetiver doesn't usually like me very much, but I have an EO of vetiver that in small doses is extremely calming and comforting to me. I'm not sure OK is 'me', but I think I will wear it more and see if I can grow into it. Very lovely. ETA: I got no 'vicks' scent at all in this. Nothing sharp at all. Just woods and spices and just the perfect amount of sweet. Beth is a genius. Edited again to add that there's a very beautiful ethereal scent towards the end of the day that smells nothing like the earlier scent of OK. I can't really explain it. It's faint, noticable 'from the corner of my nose' so to speak, but very beautiful. Definitely a big bottle of this!

Namaste Cheshire Cat Kitsune-Tsuki Old Glasgow Scarecrow Dana O'Shee

This was plain powder on me. I can't wear musks. In the swap pile it goes!

I work in agriculture too and here's my advice. Be yourself. Be girly if you want to. The guys will tease you at the beginning, but they do need to see you as female and not just one of the guys. As for which scents guys love, it depends on the guy, unfortunately. Just wear what you like and what seems like you. I personally love Tempest and Lightning, but I wear them on hot, muggy days when I want to feel and smell fresh. I don't think I'd snag a guy wearing them, but I feel better, and therefore the guys around me feel better because I'm my usual sweet self and not some sweaty, cranky woman-beast. Then again, some guys like fresh ozone-y smells on a girl. Clean is good.

How 'bout Old Glasgow, Tarot: Hermit, Pele, and Kali? All are light and sweet on me. Another vote for Dana O'Shee too!

I'd take a staple or two that are different--say two with distinctly different notes if possible, and a new scent that you've tried once or twice but you know works well on you.

This may sound strange, but wear the oil you wear when you're STUDYING for the bar to TAKE the bar. Why? Memory association. If you get stumped, just sniff your wrist, and it may help you remember what's eluding you. Good luck!

Do you use essential oils at all? They help me figure out notes more easily, because I recognize the scents. What you might also do is look at the different notes of the ones you liked/didn't like and see if you can find similar notes in all of them to determine what does and doesn't work for you. This is the easy way. Just buy/swap lots of imps and try things you think you may not like. Sometimes those are the ones that end up as your favorites.