Northernminx

Citrusy and plum in the vial, I really wanted this one to work on me but sadly this just faded out into a vague powdery scent on me. Alas my chemistry doesn' t like something in this and rather than any of the lovely combinations from above, I get baby powder.

Sweet but something sharp in the vial. On me this blends into that gorgeous almost marzipan concoction that Dana O'Shee does on me, soothing and creamy. The ginger peeks through a bit to add some spice and in the end this is a little less sweet than Dana O'Shee. Exquisite and I think a keeper

The tang and fruitiness of the pomegranite is most evident in the bottle with the rose making this almost bitter at first. It mellows into a nice rose scent, dry and powdery with an overlay of sharp and tart pomegranite. This is an unusual buit lovely combination, however it doesn't last on me and I don't really adore it enough to be a keeper. Into swaps!

I was expecting more spice in this than I got but I can't complain. In the bottle, sweet and buttery, chrysanthymum and warm golden sweet breads. Putting this on that candy corn smell hovers for a bit but mellows into a gorgeous blend of warm buttery notes and golden florals. There's nothing light about the flowers, they're all the hardy, waxy, autumn kind found bedecked on new england porches from October 1st until the first frost kills them. A vague hint of apple and maybe white wine instead of a darker red. It's an autumn harvest indeed, but more earthy and foodier than Mabon. This isn't a hugely strong scent on me but it's persistant and stays and I'll get whiffs of it through the day. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Definitly hanging onto this one. It could well be a staple autumn scent for me

A knock down all out brawl of patchouli and civet on me. You don't want Patchuoli and civet to brawl on your skin. The end result is something more like...er..stale and unclean bathrooms than anything pleasant. This is one of the few scents I literally just couldn't take and had to scrub off with dish soap. A nice try but the sinister overpowering and decidedly sort of unclean smell really bothered me. It seems to have worked a little better for others so off to swaps.

Originally I wasn't planning on keeping this because it's just so resonant and second-skin a blend on me that it kind of turns into this golden red glow on my skin. That said, that is exactly why I'm keeping it. A second sniff and this is a gorgeous resin and amber filled concoction that just sings with warmth. It never powders out, never turns stale. Just mmmm mmm perfect. big bottle!

Peppermint in the bottle and strong for the first while of wearing. After about an hour the mint is still there but far less potent and a light floral scent has come up - violets or lavender (I'm not always good at distinguishing notes) The effect is refreshing at first but whatever the floral is becomes too medicinal on me, a strange mint and lavender sachet blend that for some reason reminds me of a victorian lady's tea parlor, maybe a british one in India with lace curtains drawn to keep out the sun and strange lands.

A sharp herbal crispness at first sniff, the cedar is readily apparant. The woodsy smell fades quickly on me, which is a bit dissapointing. There's an under current of something dark green, herbal - possibly the olive leaf that flickers in and out under a sort of sweetness. The berry, light, fruity sweetness of this is gorgeous but I wish the herbal had stuck around a little longer to balance it. I can't decide if I want to keep this one or not...so another test later.

My only experiance with this was standing by a huge bloody bunch of it in New Orleans. I'm happy to say this is a dead ringer and unlike a lot of the honeyscukle blends I've smelled over time, there is nothing synthetic or alcoholy about this at all. Pure, sweet, light flora. It's a key note that stands out for me now and is absolutely lovely. I will at the very least keep an imp of this around if not a full bottle as it's simply and elegantly beautiful.

I put this one on before bed last night as a test (because if I don't put them on at bed I'm never going to get THROUGH all of them :sob:) In the imp it's a stalish coffee smell. But on? Oh what another story. An initial cup of smooth creamy vanilla tinged coffee, mostly cream and sugar that fades into gorgeous undertones of jasmine and rose with that vanilla just occasionally peeking through to soften the whole blend. GORGEOUS. Utterly gorgeous. This definitly goes on the big bottle list. A soothing but sexy and smooth as silk scent.

I was completely surprised that this was as soft as it was, but still has some staying power to it. A lovely blend of Juniper and rose being prominent and an undercurrent of dragon's blood warming this up. Wildfire this may be, but it's definitly fae, elusive and flickering through darkened trees. This ends up a warm, scent with a floral overtone. Unfortuantely, since it usually takes something with kick to stay on me anyway, this one isn't lasting so well. I will likely swap it off to someone who must have it.

Hrm...it tends to honestly depend. On days that I'm a grey mood and like the rain, I'll wear something refreshing and ozoney like cathode or blue moon. Usually though I like something comforting and warm on rainy days so I'll shoot for Dana O'Shee or Old Morocco. To be honest I'm so caught up in trying new ones half the time I don't have a chance to wear the old ones

Oh Mabon... adoration is too weak a word. To start: It is perhaps officially fall but we've had a heat wave of mid-70's and low 80's up here in New England this week. The end result is that while the trees are switching to their autumn wardrobes before their winter strip show, it's muggy and warm and not at all autumnal. Except when I put Mabon on I had the desire to go carve pumpkins, drink cider, and drive through long back roads of colorful trees. Reminiscent of an orchard's bountiful harvest, Blackberry and apple cider seem to be the predominant notes, but there is something still softer and woody underneath, a smoothness of hazel and soft shadowed glens. It's still going strong after an hour of application which, for me, is one of the marks of a winner as perfume slides off me very easily. This is a gorgeous, ripe, lucious scent but still not warm. It's cooling and soothing still. Purr. Purr. Purr.

Sharp, biting, proud, and dangerous. The lime in this is readily apparant, there's a vague frutiness in there, possibly the berries, but tihs isn't a light or playful scent. Rather this aptly lives up to it's name, something somewhat incidious and sharp. Not quite me but since others have compared it to Poison, I'll toss it over to one of my friends who loves that perfume.

An almost musty, musky woodiness at first, this was a strong, steady, and very natural scent, neither male nor female. After a few hours this dried down into a very light herbal scent. there's still occasional whiffs of something a little muskier, but overall there's a pleasant, calming herbal smell, almost sweet and a little powdery but still very nice. While pleasant I don't see myself wearing this a lot so off to swaps.

I have absolutely no idea what happened to this one but it smelled like isoproply rubbing alcohol when i put it on. Atringent, strong, acidic and utterly not rosemary, orange blossom, or rose. Apparantly something in my chemistry reaaallly didn't like something in this blend. Swaps. Definitly, sad as I was curious on this one and really wanted to like it.

Strong and musky in the bottle, a definite scent of patchouli. Obeah was almost overpowering at first but the musk subsided a little bit, leaving something dark, masculine. This wasn't menacing but rather comforting and strong. I'm going to set this one aside for Jake I think, as it's too strong for me.

A green tea scent, sharp and herbal and almost lemony. There is a slight undercurrent of the peony in this, but mostly this is fresh and clean rather than floral. Unfortunately it tends to go a little acidic and lemony on me and thus I won't be keeping this one. Onto swaps for this

A golden, warm glowing floral, the rose in this made elusive appearances beneath the jasmine. The musk warmed this up, definitly an afterglow scent, but more of a lovemaking one than pure sex. This was alluring in a beautiful way but in the end didn't last overly long on me. I prefer a little more oomph to my jasmine blends so off to swaps.

Earthy and musky at first, this smells very much like deep dark earth, but a bit spicier and more menacing. There is something strong and sinister about this. The dry down is a bit odd and strangely soaps out on my skin, leaving the entire impression of having dug too deep in the garden and then going to wash my hands. Off to swaps.

This one was a little scary looking in the imp, dark and sticky. First whiff was very earthy, strong, feral, wild and a little bit of grape in there. Apparantly civet and I did not agree as it soon smelled like grape and...er...uh... well my niece's diaper. Sad sad as I wanted this to work but alas my chemistry said no. off to swaps.

Dark, rich, verdant green in the bottle, the first few minutes of this were what I imagine an olive orchard or a vinyard would smell like just before bursting into harvest. Cool, dark, winey earth and something distinctly green and rich smelling, like digging your hands in fresh tilled gardens. That scent fades as honey and myrrh become apparant in an almost chocolatey smoothness. This one is lasting on me in that final honey and myrrh stage but since it smells very similar to O on me at this point, I'll be adding this to the swap pile despite it being very very yummy.

Musky and strong in the bottle, this remained a very strong, resiny and masculine scent when I put it on. The civet and orange add a sort of nasty sweetness under a base of thick, arrogant resiny musk. This is one powerful scent, very in control, commanding and potentially sinister. I've tucked this one into swaps as it's just not me.

Rosalind started in the bottle as a clean, light floral. On application the first hour or so it stayed green and wet and fresh, very much soft green grass growing by a small stream. The berry scent crept in slowly, adding a light fresh and subtle fruitiness to this. A BEAUTIFUL scent and a definite keeper though it doesn't last long. This is a good spring and summer scent though it might be a nice change in mid-winter to remind me that it's not always going to be freezing.

A flash of ozone, bright cleanness at first that mellowed into a soft, tropical fruit scent. I can't for the life of me place the fruit, but it's lovely, adding something juicy to the cool wetness of this scent. This is a lovely blend, a definite mountaintop jungle scent without the earthiess. It doesn't last long on me, however, and I'm not certain if this will be upgraded to a big bottle or not. I'll keep the imp around for a while until I figure it out.