reynardine

This was a very white scent, very dry, and somewhat metallic. Whatever that metal note is, it doesn’t work at all on my skin.

In the bottle and upon application, this scent is very boozy. However, it calms down and the fruit component comes out. Not sure what fruit it is, but the overall effect is very refreshing. Perfect for hot weather! I was pleasantly surprised as boozy scents tend to amp on my skin, but this one was light enough that I could carry it off. Fades fairly quickly, though, after maybe two hours.

Unremarkable scent in the imp. Applied, I'm getting Orange Blossoms (which I love) and a hint of rose, with greenery. Fades into this gorgeous light floral, very pretty and demure. A going-to-church scent.

In the imp, there was a wonderful cake scent. Applied, it turned to toffee on my skin and then poof! Disappeared! In 15 minutes!

It smells alright in the decant, a bit sharp perhaps. But on application, this is lemon and vetiver ick. And it just gets worse as it dries down. Vetiver seems to be a note that I can’t carry off, no matter what. Wash off.

In the decant, this is pure candy. Applied, I’m still getting candy: watermelon candy to be specific. Great if you like candy scents, but not for me.

I wasn’t sure what to think about this one, as I have never tried a blend with brown sugar in it and clove is an element that I usually don’t like. But I love plum, so I thought I would give it a try. In the decant, I’m getting a lot of sassafras. It also goes on strong on my skin and the brown sugar smells like, well, brown sugar. A sort of sugar but not that sweet. I can see now why the Lab included clove in this, because it does accent the other notes very well. It dries down to a very spicy, almost earthy scent (not dirt, though). Interesting, but not something I would wear.

Okay, in the decant, I’m getting the pumpkin right away, which can only bode well as I am a great fan of pumpkin. Wet, the ginger and sugar cane and pumpkin all come out loud and clear. On drydown, the citrus is coming out, but is held in check by the pumpkin. I really like this one. Will do a second test (and run by my husband, who REALLY likes pumpkin scents) before deciding if this is bottle-worthy, but it is certainly in the running!

Decant. When first applied, it is has that commercial perfume flavor which I heartily dislike. But it quickly softens. Getting the orris, getting the chamomile, getting the sugar. Dries into this lemony-type scent which is okay, but I just don’t like lemon scents.

Yew berry infused honey. Decant. Goes on very evergreen and then mellows. Sharp scent with a touch of berry, not much honey that I’m getting, but maybe that is what is softening the evergreen? Will test again, as I’m still trying to decide if I like it. It does remind me a lot of the Yew Trees scent, but with a slight tang (yeah, I’m getting that lime smell as well…)

In the decant, this is a lovely, fresh scent. Applied, I’m getting a bit of spicy tea. As it begins to dry down, I’m picking up the lime sugar and musk. For a while, it is a pretty tea/lime scent, but it fades very quickly and turns extremely light to where I can barely smell it unless my nose is right there. Will use up the decant, but no bottle on this.

In the decant, I can really smell the honey. Upon application, the scent turns very sweet, almost candy-sweet. The brandy peeks out a bit, too. As it dries, the honey comes back. A bit cloying for me, so probably won’t get a bottle of this.

Really getting the coconut on the first application. The pepper starts to come out as it starts to dry, giving the scent a bit of a kick. Something is going plastic on me, though. Is it the sugar? Okay, that calms down after awhile, and then I’m just getting a light, pleasant coconut with a hint of pepper. Very nice! Will test again to be sure, but a bottle of this might be in the future!

In the decant, it has this lovely vanilla, sugar scent. Immediate scent upon application is a bit, well, dry. Might be the tonka coming out? You can certainly smell the musk, too. Almost spicy? Anyway, as I don’t much care for musk or spice, I don’t like this part. On drydown, the spice calms down a bit and the scent smooths out. It’s interesting, but I’m not sure I want a whole bottle of this. Also, it faded on me very quickly—didn’t even last out an hour.

#4 (decant) With the Chaos Theory series, you always end up gambling because you never know what elements you are going to get, beyond the base, which this time is vanilla. I was kinda excited about the Chaos Theory bottles, but then realized that I needed to get a decant first, even if I didn’t know what another bottle’s elements were. I’m glad I did. The Chaos Theory vanilla note has the same issue that I have with a lot of the lab’s vanilla notes. They go horribly, terribly plastic on me. So on my skin, all that shows up is this horrible burnt smell. In the decant, I picked up vanilla with a very nice aquatic. Too bad my skin didn’t like it! So no Chaos Theory Vanilla bottles for me, I’m afraid. But it was fun to try.

I know this reply is kinda late, but I've had the same problem as you (my skin is sensitive as well.) What I figured out is that I can only test 2 or 3 scents in a day. Any more and I start having problems. The oils that I end up getting bottles for have never set me off, so no problems there. Hope this helps?

When first applied, this is PEPPERMINT like whoa. After about 15 minutes, it softens into this pretty lavender/mint blend. Doesn’t last terribly long—a couple of hours. Very nice for hot days.

Sniffie. Getting a bit of the fruit, but there is something sharp in this blend, and also something that goes plastic on my skin. The plastic phase passes and I end up with metallic fruit. Interesting, but not bottle-worthy.

A kind fairy sent me a half-decant to try, since I was very curious about this blend. I suffer from insomnia and thought it might help, but am a bit leery of lavender. Lavender is fine, but it reminds me of some bad times in my life and so I tend to dislike it for that reason. But if it helped me to sleep...and so many people recommend this! Alas, I didn’t realize there was eucalyptus in it. That stuff makes my eyes and nose BURN. I can’t get past it even to the lavender. Drying down, the eucalyptus goes away and the lavender comes out. After about 30 minutes, this turns into a gorgeous sugar. I don't know what to do!! Is it worth the few minutes suffering through the eucalyptus to get to the pretty sugar? *angst*

Someone frimped me this one. From the imp, I’m getting pure jasmine. On my skin, a bit of the citrus and musk comes out. I must amp musk, because by the time this dries down, I’m mainly getting musk and jasmine. Not to my taste at all.

Light, slightly boozy scent. The apricot is coming out loud and clear, making this extremely sweet on first application. But as it dries, a sour note comes in and it smells almost rotten. Pass.

I’ve been curious about this one for quite a while (thanks to the kind person who frimped me some!). A lot of people rave about it. As for me, I’m not sure what the fuss is about. I’m mainly getting musk, with no tea whatsoever, and it is so light as to not be distinguishable from my natural skin scent. Maybe a little sweeter, but not much difference. Pass.

Got a few samples of this from C2E2, and although there were some death notes in it (incense, sandalwood, I’m looking at YOU), in the interest of science, I thought I’d at least try a bit. Whoa, mistake. The incense is very strong (frankincense, maybe?) and my eyes started burning at once. Honestly, I couldn’t pick up anything else past the incense. It smelled like the Cathedral I attend after a funeral. Trade pile.

Picked up this bottle recently because the notes sounded like they would work on me. However, although pomegranate, orange blossom and melon are usually WIN notes for me, I’m finding that Red Musk does not like me very much. The scent is otherwise nice (I do like fruity blends!), but since I amp the musk so much, I think this one will go on the trade pile.

I wanted to try this since I really like the Embalming Fluid perfume (great for hot summer days!). The soap is lovely, nice color mixture and scent, lathers well. However, the scent doesn’t seem to linger on the skin the way I had hoped. And for the price, I’d want that.