saralaughs

Wowzers. It's good. Maybe not Pumpkin Queen good to some of you but PQ fell on her cardboard face when it came to my skin so I'm enjoying this. Right off after applying I get pumpkin. Surprise huh? It's a rich, buttery pumpkin too so I was a bit worried at first. Into the drydown though the mandarin comes out. I usually don't go for citrus but this is realistic and juicy smelling...not sharp at all. It cuts through that buttery pumpkin like a knife. The sugar cane is there, sweetening it up...but just a bit. It's not sugary at all. The ginger is in the background...I can hardly tell it's there. Definitely not pumpkin pie OR sweet pumpkin. Some beautiful where inbetween.

Lovely. Really, really lovely. On, the lime sugar is like WHOA. It is always there but backs down fairly quickly. There is a definite herby quality that I get that is sort of lemon-ish, so I'm guessing the thyme but it's not strong. It tempers the citrus sugar very nicely and is softened by the musk and pear. I do not get much carnation at all. This is very pretty and perfect for summer.

How freakin weird. In the decant/tester, I get the cardamom. Like whoa cardamom. On, I immediately get wood. Yeah, woody wood woods. After awhile, it gets creamy and starts to smell like the worlds best cinnamon toast that you ordered from one of the worlds most expensive restaurants that have a 10 star rating. I like it. A lot. But it may be too foody for me. I dunno.

First applied I get the candyfloss and possibly rose sugar? I dunno. It's really sweet and pink to me. Lemon blosssom joins just as fast though and there is a bit of a floral element that lightens it up. I really like this part. It's pretty and sweet and light and summery. Then, I dunno what happens, but I can tell you that Rosy Maple? She's maple honey. The blend goes sugary syrup. Thick and yeah...mapley. The lighter elements disappear on me.

What about Josie? That has honeyed peaches with it but it's magnolia.

Okayaki was a huge bergamot player on me. YMMV.

Rum is always an iffy note on me. At the best of times, it can go sickly sweet on me and others, immediate soap bubbles. This isn't any different, in that the rum is the first note I smell and it is all soap bubbles. It's soon beaten into submission though...or at least into the background. The tobacco comes out fairly quickly on this and gives a spice to this scent that is needed. It calms down on the spice note and is very prominent but still not the star. The leather is very quiet as well. Not in your face at all but there to lend a hand and blend in. The star is the tonka. This is very creamy smelling without smelling like cream or a dessert. I really, really like this. Yet there is still that sour soap bubble note in the background. I dunno if I can get over that. We'll see.

First applied, I smell pastry. Like a nut dough or something. It's why anything that sounds edible from the Lab doesn't work on me. After a bit, the nutty dough goes away and I start to get a bit of honey with the plums. There is a bit of rose way in the background, giving a hint of something floral but it's not overwhelming at all. Now, into the drydown, it's this lovely plummy cream. Very nice and snuggly. I'm glad I don't want a bottle though.

First on, I get the patch. It's lovely and smooth and deep. The pink pepper is there too. It's almost cinammony in it's spice. The berries are there too, giving it a bit of sweet juiciness. The oaky vanilla creates this base on which everything else stands and it is a lovely base. Very smooth and creamy almost but not foody at all. I want more tobacco leaf but I'm not getting it. It's a lovely scent but I don't think I need a bottle.

Immediately on application, I get the white tea. I'm not really a tea girl, to be honest. I try to convince myself that I am, but I'm not. I dunno why I deny that. Anyway, the tea is subdued, so it's not very strong. The sandalwood is there and it is very calm and understated as well. This sandalwood isn't drying everything out for me like it usually does and that's a good thing. Amber comes in later, giving it a warmer feel and smoothing everything out. The floral aspect is very light and heady at the same time. It gets this powdery feel after a bit but it's not powder. Does that make sense? The vert isn't strong and only adds a bit of a dark aspect and keeps everything grounded. Nice. I like. I dunno if it's something I would wear though.

Very blackberry with a hint of buttercream. I don't get too much cocoa though. Just a really rich berry icing.

It's really sexy. It makes me wanna snuggle up and purr with a special someone. Wet, it starts out all LEATHER, all the time but quickly settles down. The leather is still there but now there is this sweet, spicy element that comes into play. I can't place it, so I won't tell you I can. It's just yum. It smells warm and safe and cuddley and sexy and yet a bit hard to place. I need a bottle.

ZOMG. Bright red and green apple with a bit of spice. Smoke. At the very background. Deepening it. Musk rounding it. Fig lending just a bit of other fruitness that is a bit dark yet not syrupy. The myrrh here isn't dominating or crying for any attention...it blends in seemlessly and lets the apples, fig, wood smoke, and patchouli really shine. The carnation is there as well but only as a hint of floral spice. I love it. Now I may have to find a bottle. Dammit.

Immediately upon application, I get wood. Dry wood and something else...leafy. The poppy juice is there as well, reviving it from being totally parched. A few minutes in, I get the nutmeat. The apple pulp has joined in with some spice. It's approaching apple pie territory. Apple pie that you happen to be eating outside but still...apple pie and that is like the kiss of death for me when it comes to apple scents. I wanted more outdoors, less kitchen. Didn't get it.

Bay rum is right. It is kinda 'old man' cologne at first. The tobacco leaf comes into play and deepens it, taking it out of half soapy/clean old man rhelm. I get just a *hint* of floral that makes it lush and vibrant. I like it but I dunno if I'll buy a bottle.

CHAMOMILE. And MOAR CHAMOMILE. I'm reminded, as I sit through this testing to see what the scent will be like after a bit, that I don't like chamomile. It doesn't get any better either. It goes sharp and a powdery vanilla soon joins it. Just not for me.

A nice spicy honey scent. It smells really sharp/herbally in the decant. Once applied though, I get cinnamon bark or cassia. It's a dry spice though. I get a bit of evergreen as well but it is not overpowering at all. This is a sweet spicy blend that reminds me of Hot Cider for some reason.

The weirdness continues. But I think it's in a good way this time. Immediately after putting it on I smell the patch. But it's not a dirty hippy patch. It's more of a sophisticated, slightly sweet patch. The same that was used in MME, maybe? I know, there is no patchouli listed but I'm only relaying what my nose smells. The clove is there but it's in a 'clove cigarette' way, not the food way I'm always trying to avoid. It's sweet and gingery too. The tonka shines in this but not so much as it's in your face. I freakin' love it. I need a bottle. Or two. I can't believe I found a blend with clove that works on me.

This one confuses me. It went on fabulous. Juicy fruit that smelled delicious with a bit of a sweetness going on and the brandy digging deep. Just mouthwatering. Then it starts drying. I still get the juicy fruit and brandy but the ACK sweetness is receeding. I'm not sure this is a good thing even though I'm not a total sugar fanatic. It's just that with the sweet receeding, something else comes up in the background. It's a powdery, sharp note. It doesn't take over the blend but it almost kills it for me. I dunno. I may have to wear this a bit more to see if I need a bottle.

This is yummy. I like. But not enough to buy a bottle. Anyway... First on, it is really sharp and herbally. There is a rich honey note down at the bottom. Then it blossoms. The herbs get sweet and fruity (tomatoes, afterall) and the honey lightens to match that sweet herbal scent. It's very nice and summery. Not something I would wear though.

Mint. And lavendar. Both which I do not really care for. Very herbal with a bit of mint on drydown. Very sharp.

Really...plain. I get the amber as something that adds to the leather, making it a bit wild and not quite tamed. The leather is really understated though. It is not in your face and is quite content to sit in the background, unnoticed. I do not get much clove or clary sage at all.

This is really crystaline. Giving you the impression that the air could almost implode in on itself, taking you with it. There is a thin musk to this. Possibly skin musk as suggested above but it gives it that airy, perfumed skin sort of quality. There is a sort of stone quality to this and it is very cologne-ish in a fresh, clean way. I would love to smell this on a man. The oil itself is beautiful! This blue that keeps seperating from the yellow that when mixed is an aquatic green.

Weird. The first thing I think of when putting this on is Vasilissa. It's got the same star jasmine note. That *pink* floral that is almost fruity. It's darker than V is though, and not as pink. The amber/incense drags it deep and gives it a bit of rougher sort of character. The florals though...after a bit into the drydown, they turn sharp and high-pitched, turning this scent away from a pink fruity thing, into something that I'm just not grooving on. Started out promising but ended up a dud. For me, at least.

Yes! It is the same black musk (or one so similiar that it really doesn't matter) that is in BTBT, which worked beautifully on me. Applied this goes powdery from the musk. Usually powder is a no-go for me but this is a beautiful powder. Almost like baby powder smell but more grown up, if that makes sense. It's deeper and more mature some how. Anyway, the goodness ends there. The sandalwood is a bit prominent in this on me and gives it this weird dryness that I really can't stand. I'm sure it will be appreciated by others though.