edenssixthday

#105: Frankincense and orange. It's not super-sweet orange, it's kind of tart, so maybe blood orange? It smells like there's something sweet lurking far beneath ... perhaps lotus flower? This is a gorgeous scent. It's really awesome.

Great Grey Witch - This is gorgeous! My very first two thoughts were how similar it is to Silver Phoenix, and then, how similar it is to Staged Moon Landing. It's that gorgeous, gently powdery orris note. Soooo lovely! The chamomile is very subtle in this and the sugar gives it a sweetness that is, I think, another reason why it reminds me of Staged Moon Landing. I absolutely adore ambergris, and while I can't smell it in this blend, I have a feeling that is what is giving it the warm base it has on my skin. It's a beautiful, truly lovely scent, and by far my favorite of all of the Metamorphosis blends (which is saying a lot since they're all awesome!) However, I don't know that I need it since I have a stash of Silver Phoenix and I also have some Staged Moon Landing. It's so pretty -- don't miss out on trying this one!

Paper Kite - My tastes have changed a lot over the years, and I don't dig regular coconut the way I used to, so I didn't expect to be nuts about this, and I was right. It's an "okay" scent -- perfectly nice, but it doesn't stand out as something exceptional (as far as my particular scent preferences go, that is). I'm really happy that for once, the black pepper doesn't completely ruin a scent for me. It adds a bit of spicy depth, but is otherwise completely unoffensive to my pepper-sensitive nose. When I first apply the scent, the pepper is a lot stronger and there's an odd note that is slightly boozy, but that fades upon drydown. It fades quickly from my skin -- completely gone within 2.5 hours from time of application. Overall impressions are that this is a pretty scent for summer, particularly for people who like coconut. This is like a classic beachy coconut scent with a twist.

Monarch - Other people have been comparing (or un-comparing [?] as the case may be) this blend with Pumpkin Queen. It's definitely not PQ, but I'd absolutely put it in the same scent family; you know, the "if you like this scent, then you might like this scent" kind of thing. On my skin, it opens up with a burst of super spicy (hot ginger!), buttery, smooth pumpkin. It's obvious from the get-go that this is my type of autumnal scent, definitely not a summer scent. The ginger is extremely bold and spicy. The amber gives the scent a bit of a woody-resin base. The sugar sweetens up the whole thing. The juicy mandarin stays around the edges and never really jumps in with both feet. The ginger remains the dominant note with the pumpkin not far behind it. When I stop sniffing my skin up close, the mango actually becomes the dominant scent! It appears that while the ginger is super hot and spicy and strong, it sticks close to my skin. The scent wafting around me is more that of sweet, sugary mango syrup and pumpkin. I'm kind of on the fence about this one. I'll hang on to it and give it another shot in the fall when I might be "feeling it" a bit more at that point.

 

Spicebush Swallowtail - This is the first time anything with brown sugar in it has smelled good on me! On my skin, it's a brown sugar/sassafras/clove scent that actually reminds me a lot of sorghum. The plum is there giving a different type of depth to the other notes, but it's definitely a background player. For once, the clove is definitely present on my skin without amping to high heaven. Overall, it really does remind me of spicy sorghum and it's quite delicious. I'm amazed I can wear this "foody" scent, and delighted, too. It's not something I'd reach for regularly since it's out of the range of the type of scent I'd typically wear, but that's also part of what I like about it. It has really strong throw and staying power.

Gypsy - I AM SO CONFUSED BY THIS SCENT! When I first opened the bottle, all I could smell was caraway. TONS and TONS of caraway. It reminded me significantly of Khrysopelex. I wondered if since "caraway" and "cardamom" are possibly next to each other if you have oils stored in alphabetical order, if they perhaps got mixed up, because the caraway is so freaking strong! And then I came here and read reviews, and someone else mentioned that this blend reminds them of Khrysopelex and all the cardamom in it...but there is no cardamom in Khrysopelex, although there's tons and tons of caraway in it. So color me really confused. No matter what, this opens up with a REALLY SUPER STRONG caraway note. It's overwhelming and it would smell delicious if it were on rye bread on a plate in front of me, but as perfume, I'm not that into it. But I keep wearing it, and about half an hour later, I start to notice the cardamom peeking through beneath the caraway. And about a half hour after that, the caraway note is completely gone (thank dog!) and all I can smell now is my beloved cardamom. I love, love, LOVE cardamom soooo much I can't even put it into words, and this is another gorgeous cardamom scent. The Egyptian musk (which is another all-time favorite note) blends beautifully with the cardamom and the trace of vanilla and tonka, giving this blend an overall warm, creamy, smooth, sultry kind of scent and feel. It's awesome. But it is subtle with very little throw. Next time I wear it, I will have to put more on. Even though it doesn't have much throw, I still occasionally catch a waft of something really pretty, and smile when I realize it's coming to me from the places on my arms where I put Gypsy. Very pretty, and definitely a keeper.

Luna - This starts off with a really sweet and refreshing slice of lime and all sorts of green sweetness. It's really awesome at this stage. After it's been on my skin for about 10 minutes, it takes on the weirdest, flattest funkiness that I can only attribute to the carnation, which often does weird things on my skin. The carnation seems like such an odd note to put in with the rest of the notes in this blend, and it sure doesn't work on my skin. Because it smells so great when it's wet, I think for me, this is better used as a scent locket or oil burner fragrance.

Rosy Maple - This makes me think of pink lemonade. The lemon blossom blends with the sugar and vanilla to become a sweet, creamy lemon without any of the tartness (or Pledge-iness) of actual lemon perfume oil. Then add the huckleberry (and acai berry?) and candyfloss, and you've totally got a recipe for pink lemonade in perfume oil form. I'm also thrilled to report that while other reviewers note the strong presence of sweet pea, I do not at all, which is awesome since sweet pea is a deal-breaker for me, as it never fails to turn soapy on my skin. There's no soapiness at all in this scent. There is something -- vanilla bean is the most likely culprit -- that takes on a hint of dustiness when I sniff my skin up close. So instead, I don't sniff my skin up close. The scent wafting around me is very girly, very pretty, very sweet, very summery, very feminine, and soooo pretty. It's pink lemonade. Mmmm... delicious!

 

Common Jezebel - This is a lovely scent! When I first opened the bottle, I smelled apricot and vetiver. I hate the smell of vetiver when it's wet, but the drydown on my skin is almost always magical. So I was intrigued by the combination of apricot/vetiver. When I applied it to my skin, I could smell a bit of coconut under the wet apricot/vetiver, and as it dried down, the vetiver became much more subtle, and rather than blasting me in the face with it's dry earthiness, it simply became a really nice base note for the sweet apricot to do its thing. A thin ribbon of coconut swirls through the scent after drydown, but it's hard to pin down. I don't smell the lemon or red currant at all. The overall scent is pretty subtle and after two hours it has faded significantly and by the four-hour point, it's pretty much gone. This is a gorgeous summertime scent if you're the apparently rare person who is okay with vetiver.

'Tis The Voice Of The Lobster - I really wanted to love this because the fruits in it and are awesome, but the gardenia and woods in it ruin the whole thing and makes it smell like walking down the potpourri aisle at Hobby Lobby. It's one of the rare BPALs that's so sickeningly sweet and artificial and synthetic-smelling that it gives me a raging headache.

 

 

White Chocolate and Sugared Violets - Mmmm.... white chocolate and Faith. That's exactly what this is. I love the sweet, powdery violet scent and I'm so glad that I can wear white chocolate (as opposed to milk or dark chocolate) because this smells delicious! I do get the faintest bit of dusty plastickiness when I sniff really close to my skin... so I just won't sniff my skin that close. The throw is really pretty -- sugar sweet violets with a trace of sweet white chocolate. It's so delicious. Yum!

White Chocolate and Strawberry - I love this. It smells like white chocolate and sweet, sticky, strawberry jam. When I sniff my skin up close, I pick up some of the dustiness that foody blends tend to acquire on my skin, but that's only if I'm sniffing really close and huffing really hard. It's very similar to White Chocolate, Strawberry, and White Pepper Truffle. I need to use this stuff in my oil burner so my whole house smells so delicious!

Dark Chocolate and Pepper-Smoked Caramel - I was scared of this scent because it has three of my least-favorite notes in it. However, I was frimped a bit, and when I smelled it in the vial, I couldn't believe how beautiful it smelled. It smelled smoky and sweet and sexy! So I ventured to put some on my skin, and it was really, really pretty: the deep, rich scent of cocoa blended with smoky pepper and a hint of sweet, buttery caramel. And then I let it stay on my skin and it all went to hell. Each of the three main notes did what they normally do on my skin: the chocolate went to plastic, the pepper got dusty, and the caramel turned rancid. It's like a freak show of horror notes on my skin. I'm glad I only tested a small patch. If I had a bottle of this, I would absolutely wear it in a scent locket, but since I have only half a decant, I can only do that a couple of times before it's all gone.

Ira Bath Oil - The heaviness of the vetiver in this blend kind of scared me, but as soon as I splashed it in the tub and it was no longer concentrated in a bottle, the strength of the vetiver eased up significantly and the orange was able to power through. The patchouli is really nice -- serves as a really nice base for the orange, keeping it grounded. The orange and vetiver blend really wonderfully, too. The overall impression is the scent is very earthy, outdoorsy and summery feeling -- full of the scent of heavy grasses and bright bursts of citrus. I like it so much in the tub I also add a little to some body oil and apply it directly to my skin, and my skin smells delightful and feels luxuriously silky. I know a lot of people are wary of vetiver, but I think they might find this is one that will work for them.

Opium Poppy Claw Polish - The color is stunning - it's bright, vivid fuchsia. It's got an incredible amount of gloss. The color is absolutely perfect for summertime in it's brightness and vivacity. I get tons of compliments when I wear this shade on my fingernails. The polish is also a very heavy lacquer, so two coats make my nails appear really thick to the point that a couple people asked if I wore acrylic nails. The chipping/tip wear for this color is about average compared to my normal wear/chip tendencies. It's so pretty I think I need to go put some on my toes right now...

Midnight on the Midway Claw Polish - This is a really pretty shimmery plum. The color is deep and intense, and catches the light beautifully. It doesn't seem as thick as the other claw polishes I've tried, and not only did I get tip wear within the first few hours of applying it, but by the next day, I had chips -- not just at the tip, but smack dab in the middle of the nail -- and that was with a good base coat, two layers of polish, and a good top coat. I don't think I've ever had a nail polish chip in areas other than the edges. It's very odd. I'll keep wearing it because the color is stunning, but I have to be prepared for touchups and possibly removing the polish and entirely repainting. I do wish this particular polish was a little stronger.

Bordello Claw Polish - This polish looks gorgeous in the bottle, but the instant I opened it and saw the fresh paint on the brush, I caught my breath because of how beautiful it really is. I was unprepared for the bright, vivid color of the polish. It's a brilliant raspberry color with loads of shimmery silver flecks. The silver is heavier than the polish, so when I apply it to my nails, most of the silver sinks to the bottom (when I remove it, the top layer of raspberry comes off first, leaving a thin layer of pure silver next to the nail!), but enough of the silver remains to give the raspberry a really beautiful flash and shimmer. There is nothing subtle about this nail color, and the first time I wore it, I had many, many people comment on my nail color (all positive comments), something that's never happened before! I love it. I think it may be my favorite nail polish color ever.

Gennivre L'Artiste du Diable is also backordered, per an email conversation I had with Bill yesterday about why my 5/27 order hadn't shipped yet. He said, "Unfortunately, it could be a while before we can ship that item." So if anyone has an order with Gennivre in it, that could cause a delay, too.

The Curator - This is light myrrh and lots and lots of herbs. The herbs reminds me of the "funereal" herbs used in blends like Eshe a Vision of Life-in-Death and the dust note is light and almost pretty, blending really well with the other notes. It's a sophisticated scent and very gender-neutral. I wish it had stronger throw and staying power.

Alice's Evidence - This is a spicy quince and prune scent. The prune is kind of plummy, but has more of a dried-fruit scent about it. It smells like a compote or a chutney. It definitely smells edible, but not in the typical foody kind of way. I really, really like this and in fact, I'm wondering if I should try to create a rum-quince-prune-ginger chutney at home.

The Lotus Tree - This is a very sweet honey mixed with a heavy, white floral. The honey is ultra-sweet and the artificial smelling and the floral is bright and piercing. There's a powdery feel to it, too, as if there's a hint of musk in the blend. Overall, it's a very perfumey scent that just isn't working for me.

PW12 - Definitely a fruity-floral. The first note I identified is either peach or peach blossom (I'm leaning toward the latter because it's not really "juicy"). There's definitely a bit of a tropical vibe to this blend, but there's also something extremely sharp and bitter, which could very well be the florals. It's a weird combination of pretty, tropical, fruity notes peeking through almost soap-like, bitter, green notes. I don't like this and don't find it pleasant in the least. It's very strong and offensive. Off to wash it off now...

E Pluribus Unum - This is a very bright, happy, fresh floral scent. There is a ton of greenery in the scent, as if the stems and leaves were crushed along with all of the blossoms. While I can't identify any distinct flower, there is a soft powderiness that seems to accompany one or more of the notes, a bit of fruitiness that may accompany another few notes, and a headiness from some other florals, although it's tempered by the gentle sweetness of other notes. It's a remarkably complex floral scent and I'm so glad I finally had the chance to try it out.

Comforting Plush Companion - There's so much love for this blend among the reviewers so far, but I just can't add to that love. I can identify each distinct note and I love each note, but when blended together, the overall effect is that there's something broken or not-quite-right about this blend. My first instinct is that the sugar plum and rose aren't blending well, but I know I adore Snooty Rose, which is all rose and plum, so that can't possibly be it. Whatever the case, something in this isn't blending well with something else, and to my nose it's really a wonky scent. I wish I could love it. I love every note in it. I'm sad this doesn't work for me.

The Harlot's House - On me, this is a sharp, bitter, white floral with lots of green stemminess. There's a hint of dry white sandalwood and the sweet powderiness of violet, but for the most part, it's entirely the unpleasant odor of angel's trumpet -- very perfumey and and unpleasant floral blend.