Aveya

Imp : Elementary school desk (aka; frankincense) Skin: Woody, incesy-esq. Feels a bit mystical. Drydown: Blend is very natural, woody, and incense-esq. It feels holy. Drenched in religion and mysticism. Woody, earthy, incensed, textured. Later drydown has more of an almost leather-touch, getting more masculine as I wear it. Verdict; Exactly what it should be, the Catholic Cross.

Preconception: I love Carnation. I love cardamom. I like honey - but it amps. I'm hoping for a spicy warm creamy thing. Initial Skin: WHOA hi there Honey. You're super flippin' sweet. Drydown: Super super quick I get spices with my honey. Artisan spiced honey. SUPER rich sweet honey. My blood sugar is rising smelling this. But then the carnation & cardamon add their beautiful beautiful warmth and tang. I'm in love with it. I wish I amped cardamom more. I usually amp carnation,but the honey has WON OUT. Honey is Queen. She is also cloyingly sweet to me. Not in a sugar way, not in a creamy way, but in a raw syrup honey. Late drydown: Raw. Honey. Comb. Verdict: Disappointed that the honey won out in this battle. I had high hopes for a spiced beautiful blend. It's really beautiful, except for the queasy sugar-induced edge it adds to me personally

Preconception : I'm madly in love with blueberries. MADLY. It all traces back to Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dreams .... So I'm on an endless hunt. I almost blind-bottled this one but decided to hold off. "Frozen" and "Floral" have me concerned. Initial Sniff: Crawdad. Oh my blueberry affair. Initial skin: BLUEBERRY! Briefly. Then Bubblegum? Then SUGAH! Got a cavity. Drydown: So, I should have known that frozen petals would still smell like floral. The icy-floral thing + tangerine is a bit strange to me. It almost smells like bird feathers and bubblegum. (Why do I know what that smells like) The blueberry is still being blueberry, but there's a cold citrus edge to it that's cutting it into a floral, clean, strange place for my brain. This is a really unique scent. The longer I sniff it, the more it reminds me of Teleste, the only other Saturn moon I've tried. Which is interesting - there's something about these moons that are really blending together well into a proper set. It has some of the same delicate strength. It comes across "watery" to me, in that the scent smells diluted - not actually diluted just that it doesn't APPEAR full bodied. But yet it has crazy throw for me, and has really rounded edges. Almost like a light halo? How there's the outside rim and you know it has full body, but at the same time it's empty and missing parts. I promise I make sense. Late drydown the blueberry comes back as the more dominant note. In any case - this is a scent worth trying in my opinion. It has some nods to Lilith's Blue Unicorn Moon - a definite blueberry bubble gum. But then has been adulted pretty hardcore, and made into something sophisticated and complex. I could sniff this forever contemplating how it makes me feel. Therapists should use Black Phoenix scents instead of ink blots. Verdict: Not what I thought it would be. A contemplation on blueberry bubblegum, bird feathers, and our place in the universe.

So I love Hope. I loved Katrina Van Tassel way back when. I love Rose. But I have trouble wearing it because it AMPS like there's no tomorrow. On first apply this is 100% RED ROSE in your face. It amps on me - for sure. But it's got a softer edge to it during the amp'd early-apply stage than other blends. Something extra red and rich and sweet. Then within no time, the rose tames down and the creamy vanilla benzoin God of my Heart comes out, and sweetens it up. It's not like Hope, to me. It's not sugary and super sweet - it's notably a creamy vanilla-sweet. But the beauty of this one is about three-five hours in. And all that's left on your skin is a soft, sensual glow of a sweet vanilla-resin rose as you could never have dreamed it. The drydown gives me the same mood-lift that the laaaate drydown on Dee gives me (not the same scent though, all mood). I'm excited to wear this one to work - start of the day a powerful bold rose, and then end the day with a relaxing creamy beauty. This isn't very complex to me - It's straightforward and beautiful. It's got a slight spark in there that reminds me of some of the red musks, but more in spirit than actual smell. It has a sultry edge that marries the vanilla/rose combo in a way that's adult and beautiful. And while benzoin's creamy-sweet body keeps things tempered, there's still a sharp wetness of a red rose petal through the whole thing. Really beautiful for me. Probably a bottle buy. I can see this being a daily work-wear for me.

I got this one because i was curious. That's all. Wet on skin, it's legit babywipes. I mean that in the best way possible? it's clean and floral, but a little bit astringent. There's a powdery earthy ness to it that in the baby-wipe comparison smells like the fabric. For me, it's hard to shake that. Babywipes or wet dryer sheets. It's a soft gentle scent, but on me that doesn't mean low throw. I got this one to teach my nose new things, and Im a bit sad all I can get is baby wipes

I had no idea I had this. But I've been chugging through my old boxes of imps to test everything. I neglect GC scents so they tend to multiply. Initial is suuuper buttery and bready. Not yeasty, but toast-ish. Gets super creamy with a touch of tea. I feel weird but this is exactly spot on. But as it dries, it gets less foody and more creamy-floral. Light and gentle. Very in line with the Wonderland scents. Can't believe I hadn't tested this before.

Initial on skin this hit me with a wave of vegetal herbal dusky earthy. Really beautiful though, not dry but super wet and lush loam. QUICKLY takes a lemon-turn. There's this small period where it smells legit salty. If you've ever had genuine japanese candies, they like to have these salted plum candies that are too bitter for me. But it smelled exactly like that for a brief flicker and I about fell in love. Then it went all dirty desk on me. Which, I've learned, is frankincense. After that it kind of wafts around between those few phases, and it ends up being a really really funky smelling thing. Salty, lemony, desky, earthy, and this odd tickle of something sweet. Totally bizarre. Think age did some weirdo things.

Stage one: FRUIT! Sweet smashed up Hurricane-style fruit. This is a dream for me. I love the labs fruits, and super sweet scents. This is similar to Candy Phoenix for me. It's got a tad more depth/heart than Candy Pheonix does, and comes across more decidedly fruity. But SUPER sweet and juicy, and I'm in love with it. Stage two: .... Is that frankincense? The sticky old lemonhead covered in pencil shavings? Yes, yes it is. Or something close to it. The super sweet fruity wave of phase one almost immediately puffs into the atmosphere as soon as I notice this woody element, and the whole thing shifts away from my Candy-Phoenix Playground and into something more sophisticated and serious (And desky). Not so much a fan. It comes across more syrupy (like caramel scents tend to go on me). This phase reminds me more of Shango's unfortunate drydown on me too. Verdict; Unfortunate morpher for me. Love the initial apply of raw sugar fruit, not in love with the later "lunar oil" drydown.

WHOA! I got this one as a whim - another "I think this smelled awful but want to be sure" thing. So, the other reviews are right on. To me this smelled like a mishmash of candy that melted in a gross Ex boyfriends car and blended in with lint and dog hair and dirty. And then on a hot summer day re-melted and "perfumed" the entire car again. Dirty suckers. Molding Flowers. Souring fruits Bitter medicinal insanity. Well, now I know!

What a weird scent! I got this one on a whim in a forum sales, because I've seen this note pop up in a few blends I kind of like. I was curious. DID NOT until just now realize it's also Frankincense. That makes loads of sense! I recently went through a bout of frankincense scents and this is most certainly in that family. So, when I was in school desks were metal with wood tops. If you were to take, say, a lemonhead, suck on it for a few moments. Toss it into your desk wet. Then take some cough drops, upend them into the desk. Throw in a 20 year old math book, wooden rule with a metal edge (for use as a weapon, later), and then toss in a plastic pencil sharpener (full, with both pencil AND crayon shavings), then add some puffy stickers on your Lisa Frank binder and toss that in too, then shake your desk violently. Leave to sit over a blistering hot weekend, then come back on Tuesday (teacher's conference Monday, of course) - stick your head in the desk, and inhale DEEPLY. That's this. Apologies to those that love this scent. I can NOT get over the quirky nature of this. I've found scents that do amazing things when blended together, but won't be a scent I wear on it's own.

My first run-in with Myrrh was mixed with vetiver. And overall smelled like wet basement to me. Since then, I've struggled to be able to tell what Myrrh vs Vetiver did in scents. Well, I FINALLY got both Vetiver and Myrrh single notes in my possession so now I know. They do the same thing in my nose. Bitter. Earthy. Myrrh has a wet roundness about it, but with a powdery-floral center. I'm impressed by how bitter and dusty it is. It's also strangely light and feminine, I can sense both the sorrow and growth. Overall I'm really intrigued by it, and am happy to explain to my nose what's been going on all these years. Unfortunately it does not assuage how I feel about Myrrh. Or Vetiver. They're made for each other in their bitter dirty earthy strangely sweet way. But I'll stay in the corner with my patchouli and sugars.

Source: Forum sale Preconception: I hate vetiver. I have never smelled raw on-it's-own vetiver but in every single scent with it, I swear it smells like musty damp basement. Hate it. hate it. So naturally I need to try it, understand it, and see if I hate it or am confused by it. Challenge for my nose. Bottle: OH god. Yeah. So I hate vetiver. Musty basement kicking me over the head. However - I sniffed deep as I read the first review in this thread - and I would say it's spot on. "it smells like the supplest suede and the richest soil, like sacred smoke and lime zest." Skin: Interesting. I'm thinking the Vetiver is like patchouli. In that you literally love or hate it. And if you love it, you LOVE it. You want everyone in the world to love it. You try to convince others to think of it differently. To try it differently. To put preconceptions aside and just EMBRACE it. (Or is that just me? ). As I smell vetiver I can sense it. There's a depth to this that is ... captivating. Bonfires and magic. "Sacred Smoke" is the most perfect description. There's soul in this. But it's also dirty, dark, bitter. Oil spills on dirt floors under old radiators in creepy basements. Roots coming in through the walls in the cellar. It's alive where it shouldn't be. It's beautiful and sacred yet unsettling and raw. Drydown: It loses a bit of the dark-depth, and instead gains a sort of grassy dusty vibe. It's this stage of vetiver I truly despise. If it always smelled like the first apply on skin, I could certainly learn to love it. The DEPTH early on is unmistakably breathtaking. But it sort of adjusts into burning herb satchels and oil spills, instead of all the depth. The high notes are a bit assaulting to me and overpowering. Verdict: Dirty, earthy, smoky, grassy. Oil slicks, dirt floors, burning grasses. Masculine to me, but wearable by all.

Source: Forum Sale, partial bottle Preconception: I ran across lotus once in a scent and thought I really liked it. But wanted to smell it stand-alone to understand it. Bottle: Clean, light, pink, gently soapy. Skin: Floral, wet, slightly musky. Crisp yet milky. A touch fruity. A touch citrusy. Drydown: I agree with the review above that says Lotus smells like cashmere. It definitely smells cozy, clean, gently floral, but also has this... fizz to it. It's the citrus/fruity zing. Kind of makes it feel fuzzy. Verdict: Cozy sweater, misty pond, grapefruit florals, all rolled into one cozy interesting scent. Unisex with a feminine slant. Much more layered and complex than I assumed it would be.

Vial: PEACHES!! Floral tones. Skin: PEACHES! And Floral. Peach is so strong at first, it's fantastic. Drydown: Floral takes hold quickly - but it's a really beautiful floral. Maybe florals are growing on me. Heady magnolia for sure - it's thick and cool, soft and wet, doesn't give me that "floral sneeze" that jasmine does. I'm not very floral-savy since I hate 90% of them. But this is really lovely and easy to wear. It's just ALL peaches and magnolia. I was worried the "honey" aspect would take over, but it's just keep things sweet. Verdict: Cool thick sweet white floral and juicy light peaches.

Source: Lab frimp I think! Preconceptions: I could use some strength lately. Vial: Sweet? Fruity! Skin: Instant kick of something fruity, but I couldn't quite pinpoint it. It didn't scream grape or cherry to me. Berry, but that's it. It felt purple/black, but didn't last long. Drydown: Moves into a more herbal/floral combo with a soft sweetness to it. I swear there's a vanilla smooth undertone to it. Verdict: Going to give it a shot for it's bewitching properties. I suffer from social anxiety and sometimes small things can help me make that phone call