reynardine

Wow, this one is really pretty! Wet, I’m getting amber, magnolia and wisteria with a bit of mint. It dries down to mainly amber, ambergris and mint on me. I may get a bottle, must test again!

Decant. I’m getting a soft and pretty aquatic with this. Mainly olive with a touch of moss. I really like it, but it isn’t something I would wear.

Okay, when I first opened the decant, the jasmine slapped me right in the face. Whoa! Woe! I wanted to like this one! However, never underestimate the power of skin testing. On the skin, the pomegranate and benzoin really come forward. It dries down very evenly, with the ingredients in perfect balance. That being said, for me the jasmine is still just too piercing. Pass.

It has a nice, complex scent in the bottle, but the minute it touched my skin, I started getting candy (that’s either the grapefruit or pink lime). The scent does deepen a bit (good, I hate candy scents), but is still very, very sweet. As it dries down, the pomegranate starts to come forward and calm things, but there is still a huge candy vibe going on here. It might be my skin, though, citrus fruits almost always go to candy on me.

Rather heavy on the incense in the beginning, but dries into a lovely, rather soft scent. I’m trying to decide if I like it or not. It is pretty, though. On second testing, I do like it, but as I rarely wear incense scents, I’m going to pass on getting a bottle. But if you like incense, this is a nice one.

In the imp and wet on the skin, it starts off as a cake scent. Then a cherry filling comes into play. Rather light on me. It does come back and the drydown on this is magnificent! Bottle-worthy!

Smells interesting in the decant, but on the skin, the first impression is of red hots. Very spicy cinnamon. I am getting pumpkin in there, but the cinnamon is kicking its butt. No go for me, I hate cinnamon.

I don’t drink coffee, but I do like the rich smell of it, so I thought I’d give this scent a try. Wet, I get a bit of pumpkin at first, but it is quickly overtaken by the nutmeg and cinnamon. Very spicy. As it dries down, the coffee smell comes out and is rather bitter on my skin. D-: It sweetens a bit, but not a lot. Going to test this one a second time a bit later and also have the man test it (to see if the bitter part is just my wonky skin chemistry.) May revisit review at that time. EDIT: Second testing still presents the extreme bitterness. The man obliged me by testing a bit on his skin and the scent stayed true to a rich spicy coffee. Looks like coffee is a death note on me, so this bottle is off to the sales/swap pile.

In the bottle, I’m getting the impression of blackberry, sage and nuts. Applied, it starts off with blackberry, a touch of apple, hops and nuts. Later, the chamomile starts coming out. Maybe some ivy? Drydown, the blackberry comes back out but is nicely balanced with the other notes. On my skin, this is a very nutty scent! I agree with the previous reviewers that this is a “dry” scent rather than a “juicy” one, but it is perfectly suited for the season and would be appropriate throughout autumn, not just September. I like it a lot and will order a backup bottle before it comes down!

In the bottle, I’m getting lilies and dry leaves? Very odd, this is not anything like the previous two Harvest Moon blends I’ve tried at all. On the skin, I start to get a bit of the tree scents (either the fir or cedar?) and mulling spices. This one is such a morpher! Now I’m getting the wine (I amp booze notes like whoa) and yes, a touch of woodsmoke. Of the three Harvest Moons I’ve tried (2006, 2008, 2010), this one is by far my favorite. (Note: I’m probably going to use it a lot this fall. Given how much it is morphing even now, no telling what ageing will do to it.)

How did I not review this before? Oh, because I had the 2006 version and reviewed that! Okay. Harvest Moon 2008 starts off as VERY STRONG woods (fir and especially cedar). I have to watch it with cedar notes as I am allergic to actual cedar. But as it dries, the woods calm down and the scent begins to sweeten a bit. It does smell like the woods in autumn! Once the cedar finally backs away, this becomes a very pleasant scent, especially if you like fragrant woods, almost soft, like a walk in the forest in the morning.

Bought an imp of this because the notes sounded intriguing. And it does start off smelling very nice, almost a spicy fruit scent. Almost masculine, but that may be the spices. Dries into a musky soap on my skin.

Why did I even try this? Oh, yeah, frimp, gotta at least try. Oh, this stuff is NASTY. Way too strong, and orange and pine should never mix. I don’t much care for eucalyptus, but that note tends to fade quickly on my skin. Really, this stuff makes my eyes water. Awful, awful.

From imp. Wet, it is very sweet (probably the grapefruit), almost candy-like, which I abhor. As it dries down, the scent deepens and becomes more interesting. I’m getting the musk and chamomile. Even later, the lavender comes into play and it becomes rather soft and pretty. But it fades into baby powder on my skin, so it’s a no-go.

Bandersnatch musk, redolent of spicy carnations, wild plums and chrysanthemum. From imp. Wet, this is a very sweet scent. Dries down to mainly musk and carnations. Not getting much of wild plums or chrysanthemum. While I like carnation as a flower, on my skin it amps and almost gives me a headache. Not for me.

Really liked this one. Freshly mowed grass with rose bushes in the background. It smells like a garden in summer.

Thanks so much! Your spreadsheet has been so useful!

A frothy, cold coconut perfume, pure and sweet, with gentle wafts of plumeria, pikake, and ala ala wai nui. Oh, this is FANTASTIC! In the bottle, it smells like chilled coconut shavings. Applied, it still smells like chilled coconut, with a very light hint of florals. Doesn’t morph and lasts for about five hours. Wonderful for hot, humid days. I’m getting more of this for sure! A lot of people have compared this scent to Snow White, but it doesn’t smell that similar to me.

Very pleasant in imp, nice light fruity scent. Actually gets stronger when it hits my skin, mainly getting pineapple and raspberry. Very little rum, thank goodness. I really liked this one, but the throw is very light and it fades quickly. Will use up imp but probably not get a bottle. Another half-full imp from lab! :-/

In the imp, this smells absolutely divine. On my skin, the brandy amps like whoa. And goes very sour. Still has that nasty, bitter note upon drydown. I think it must be the anise that is messing this one up for me. Since I loved the scent so much when it wasn’t on my skin, I’m going to use up the rest of my imp in a scent locket. Also, imp from lab was only half full. Am disappointed about that.

Only sniffed. There is a very cold note to this, harsh with myrrh, but the dirt note is very strong and rather ruins the whole thing for me. (I dislike dirt notes immensely.) Did want to try it because this painting is one of my favorites.

Very aquatic blend, but nothing that makes it stand out from other Lab aquatics. Very light, fades quickly.

I wanted to sniff this because of the pumpkin note, but the dirt and leather notes in there completely ruined the scent for me. If you like dirt and leather notes, this might be worth tracking down. The pumpkin note in there is an outdoors pumpkin, rather than a foody one.

Got of lot of lily and chrysanthemum in the decant, but on my skin, the sandalwood became very strong and set off my allergies. Glad I got to try this, though. The other notes had me very curious. Should have know about the sandalwood, though.

Only had a sniffie of this one. WHOA BUTTERSCOTCH!!! It seemed to completely overwhelm anything else: I didn’t get the caramel or apples or anything. Didn’t try on my skin, so not sure of how the drydown would have worked. However, I don’t like butterscotch, so I probably wouldn’t have cared for this one anyway.