storme

In the imp: oh, wow, soft beautiful cherries and other berries, sweet (but not sugary and spicy. On me, wet: cherries and cloves and warm soft silky spices and general bakery goodness. On me, dry: Man, this is like being surrounded by the scent of newly-baked fruit pies. Spicy and soft and creamy and very autumn-fruit-y. The apple in this is doing the manky rotting thing behind all the other pretty smells, though. Verdict: I only had the tiniest smearing of this to test, and I think it's nice - but not so nice I need to weep and wail for more. Glad I got the chance to try it.

In the imp: this reminds me of Nihil. A slightly sweeter commercial perfume, but still a commercial perfume. Sophisticated and elegant but fresh. On me, wet: lemon peel becomes really prominent at first, but then calms down and becomes a generally citrus scent, very sharp. It lacks the edge of warmth it had in the imp, alas. On me, dry: ah, there's the warmer amber/leather/wood, but it's fighting a losing battle with all the citrus. It never quite manages to balance out again. Verdict: if it smelled as good on my skin as in the imp, I'd be buying a big bottle in my next order. As it is, it's just another citrus scent, and it's not as nice as some others of those.

Thanks to the lovely reedsong for throwing in a teensy bit of this scent when we swapped! In the imp: very perfumey floral scent - like, commercial expensive perfume. On me, wet: oho, gardenia flaring up, and then... the barest whisper of floral, like an aftertrace of something very expensive. And slightly soapy. On me, dry: faint, but very clear airy light white florals over ozone and sweet.. brightness. Man, that's unhelpful as a description. Still like an expensive commercial scent, but a *good* one. Verdict: I think the word that comes to mind when sniffing this is 'clarity'. This is pretty much exactly the kind of scent I would have worn before swapping a bunch of BPAL. Now, I'm not sure it's really my style any more, or that it's nihilistic, come to that, but it's very pretty.

In the imp: mints! like, a happy, humbuggy sweet sort of mint over damp cucumber. On me, wet: mm, humbugs. and cucumber. sweet caramel-minty-wateriness. On me, dry: ah, the sweetness has faded, and I am left with a plpeasantly minty watery scent. No pepper, no real fire, but very nice all the same. Verdict: Not all that dissimilar to Nuclear Winter on me, so I think I'll be sticking to that one instead.

In the imp: cherry-almond, but not marzipanish - very very strongly cherry. On me, wet: cherry cherry bakewell cherry sweet cake cherry cherry RAR. And some more cherry. On me, dry: a slightly creamier cherry, over a powdery floral. After a while, soapy cherry-tinged florals, so I assume there's lily or jasmine in here. Verdict: mrm, I don't forsee myself returning to this scent - I don't think cherry soap is my thing. Off it goes.

Non compos mentis, indeed! A contrary, conflicted scent, bubbling with merry madness. Contains apple, rose, and lemon. In the imp: citrusy rose, with occasional wafts of a very crisp apple. On me, wet: lots of lemony rose, weirdly soapy and sharp and powdery. Hmmf. On me, dry: Urgh, powdery rose and the lemon being sharp and stinging over the top. Weirdly, the apple is not a problem - but rose and lemon are not merry together on my skin. Verdict: This smells like a very weird soap. Not my taste at all.

In the imp: a slightly musky, powdery sweet rose. On me, wet: a weirdly soapy rose, with something furniture-polish-ish about it. Hey, where'd that musk and sweetness go? On me, dry: bitter soapy roses with furniture polish sprayed all over them. Meh. Verdict: I don't know what it was that didn't work on me, but whatever it was *really* didn't work on me. Sigh.

In the imp: sharp gardenia over cloying sweetness. Hrrrrrm. On me, wet: some spices over a really cloying floral - jasmine, mostly - base, with powder and ick all mixed in. Gah, this is not nice on me. On me, dry: still primarily jasmine, cloying and soapy and nasty on me, with some sweet sugary vanilla and spices behind it. It's actually making my stomach turn up close, although sniffing from further away all I get is mild sweet spices and it's much more pleasant. Verdict: I wanted to like this for the name alone. Alas, it seems I am not cut out for sacred whoredom. Swap pile.

In the imp: almonds! actual almond smell, rather than the marzipan scent I usually get from BPAL almond. And coconut. On me, wet: coconut cake of some sort, but moist and rich and sweet instead of dry. Interesting. This is the kind of scent folks mean when they like cakey scents, isn't it? On me, dry: coconut and fig cake. This is nice, but making me sneeze. And it's fading fast. Verdict: Interesting, but I think I'm still not sold on smelling like a cake even when it works okay on me.

2005 version: In the imp: sharp sharp floral - or is it apple? it's very very sharp, anyway, above a creamy coconut and vanilla. On me, wet: oh, yes, that is apple, or apple blossom, or something else sharp and almost urine-like. No creaminess, just nastiness here. On me, dry: nasty nasty vile icky apple juic gone hideously wrong. Nothing else in this now. Verdict: Oh god, that's hideous. Fie, away.

In the imp: whoa sweet sweet flowers. That's like every sweet floral ever in one imp. On me, wet: mrf, that's a very.. perfumey scent. Sort of acridly sweet florals. On me, dry: stale floral talcum powder. Very sweet and dry and catching in the back of my throat ickily. Verdict: Blech, no. Somehow I'd managed to overlook the orris in this blend when adding it to my wishlist, but it came back and bit me. Swaps pile!

In the imp: oh, my. Dark swirling rich sexy yumminess. Tonka and patchouli and tobacco being the main things I can smell. On me, wet: Ah, there's that red musk kick on my skin. There's something very dry in this, though - I think it's the chinese cassia, since it's a powdery cassia sort of feel. On me, dry: The cassia's backed off a bit - this is now mostly a dry-ish red musk scent with a dusting of cassia and a waft of tobacco and tonka adding earthiness to it. And there's pepper, too, making my top lip sting as I sniff. Verdict: Mrf. I think Blood Moon is a better red musk on me - this is just that bit too earthy and dry for me. Swap pile, I guess.

In the imp: lots of gardenia and aquatics and ... is that what crystalline musk smells like? Man, that's pretty - very bright and watery. On me, wet: urgh, something in this darkened and murkified this as soon as it hit my skin. Musty florals and aquatics. On me, dry: hmm, I wonder if this is the water blossoms or the muguet, but that musky scent is sort of like rotting flowers. It gets a little better with time, but it's still drowning out everything but a sort of celery-ish scent. Eurgh. Verdict: Not working for me at all, I'm afraid. But it smelled so pretty in the imp...

In the imp: sweet cherry-almond marzipan scent. On me, wet: sweet cherry almond, fading swiftly to add a hint of a cucumbery smell behind it. On me, dry: hmm, lots of vetiver and that watery almost-cucumber metallic scent, and only the faintest hint of cherries. It's very soft. Verdict: Hmm. Not my style, I think. Swap pile.

Testing primarily for scent and not for intent right now: In the imp: a honeyish resin - almost boozily dark and syrupy. On me, wet: whoa, powdery resin and herbs, with some soft woods behind it. On me, dry: back to that boozy resin, but with those woods intensified and taking the sticky edge out of it. And finally, a soft, powdery sandalwood smell is all that's left. Verdict: I didn't notice much difference in how people reacted to me, but the scent itself didn't do much for me. Enh.

In the imp: woody eucalyptus and gin. On me, wet: sweet piney eucalyptus and menthol. Man, this is sinus-clearing. Like sticking a tube of Vick's VapoRub up your nose. On me, dry: No significant change - it gets a bit more woodsy, but only to the extent that there's some cedar twigs up my nose with the metholy eucalyptus. Crazy. Verdict: I don't have a cold - if I did this would probably break through it. But I could just use VapoRub for the same effect, and for any other purposes I don't want to smell like this. I don't think I'll bother keeping the imp of this around.

In the imp: wow, sweet plums and cherries. On me, wet: mostly cherry and some florals, with a touch of musk. This is sweet but light. On me, dry: this fades pretty fast, but i lovely - a light, musky sweet plum scent. There's some spicy floral in here - maybe carnation - too, I think. Verdict: If it wasn't so faint, this would be a big bottle candidate - sweet, spicy warm plum. I'll keep the imp around, I think.

Testing primarily for scent, not for intent: In the imp: lavender and herbal limes and maybe a hint of musk. On me, wet: Lavender herby musk. I should like this, however, it's making bile rise in the back of my throat, and I'm not sure why. On me, dry: gah, Pan urinated on my wrist. That's what this smells like once dry, anyway. Ick. No wonder I was reacting badly to it. Verdict: This is not inspiring me to much except mad scrubbing. Fie, off, away, yick.

In the imp: bitter herby lavender and maybe some sort of mint. On me, wet: soft minty lavender with a hint of cinnamon. This is lovely - soft and warm and comforting. On me, dry: it faded fast, but what there is left is very cinnamonish. I can also just about discern the lavender. Verdict: I did get on and finish some icons I'd been dithering over, so maybe it really does work. And it's a very nice smell, even if it does fade fast. I'll hang onto my imp.

In the imp: fruit! really rich ripe blackberries and blackcurrants! And some booze. On me, wet: whoa, that's like... man, it's Kir, that's what this smells like. Wine with blackcurrant liquor. On me, dry: booze and berries and a hint of warm sweet vanilla beneath it. But mostly booze. Verdict: It's a striking scent, I'll give it that, but so totally not something I will ever wear. Swap pile.

In the imp: powdery amber over sandalwood. On me, wet: mmm, sandalwood and saffron, much warmer than in the imp, and the nutmeg and musk mingling in a sultry way behind it. On me, dry: a soft, gentle sweetly-spiced warm sandalwood scent. Subtle and well-blended - it's hard to pick out the individual notes now. Very light, very mellow, very pretty. Verdict: this isn't an attention-seeking scent, but it's beautiful nonetheless. One to consider getting a bottle of.

Tested for scent here, not intent: In the imp: hey, sweet clove! and some herbs and a few mingled florals, too. On me, wet: argh, baby powder. Seriously, as soon as this touches my skin, powder. On me, dry: the clove is fighting through the powder, but still, this is almost pure baby powder on me. Wah. Verdict: Brings great fortune? ....not smelling like this it won't, sorry.

In the imp: dirty menthol and vetiver. On me, wet: lots of vetiver, over a mentholy-piney coldness. On me, dry: oh, there's a softer sweeter minty note now, and the vetiver has calmed down. This is lovely and fresh and cold, very.. isolated and desolate in feel, very appropriate to Pluto. Verdict: Aw, poor Pluto, no longer a *real* planet. At least it smells good. Probably my favourite of all the celestials I've tried.

In the imp: strong, slightly astringent lavender. On me, wet: slightly soapy and very pungent lavender - sort of herby and bitter, but in a way that appeals to me. On me, dry: Still fairly sharp, still fairly pungent, still very herby. It's dry and acrid, not a sweet soft lavender - but very compelling. Verdict: I love lavender in blends, so no real surprise that I like this. I don't think I would wear this alone, though - I'm too attached to Safari for that - so I guess I will be trying to swap it for other SNs to test.

In the imp: shockingly enough, like cloves. mmm hot sweet spicy clovey goodness. On me, wet: hot, dry sweet cloves - slightly dusty-smelling, I guess, but very very rich and vibrant. On me, dry: sweet and creamy and spicy - this is not as bitingly hot as it was at first, and softer, but still rich and delicious. Lots of throw, considering how sparing I was with my application. Verdict: Oh, so glad I got to try this - and fighting the urge to want more of it hard. Lovely.