ECAmber

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: wow - elegant citrus on the wand, but on the skin immediately warms into a much earthier scent. The citrus disappears completely with the milkiness of ylang ylang firmly seated in amber with just a hint of biting violet. Warming up: the violet takes over almost. It's not as cloying and I think it's the amber and hints of patchouli trying to pull it back. Drying out: Think I might wash this off. The violet is just taking over, becoming more and more sharp, more and more cloying. Too bad, the wand scent was delicious.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: pine and vanilla with a liquid scent of skin on top. On the dry down: this turns immediately sweet vanilla with a thin layer of honey on top. The pine fades but doesn't disappear. This is sweet but not sugary, there is depth, slight hint of tobacco, resin, patchouli and pine. incredibly well balanced. Further in: The honey and vanilla sit neatly on top, the pine is right underneath it. deep into the inhale is the musk and resin. oddly the patchouli is very faint and not the usual domineering. There is a light sharpness that keeps this from getting powdery and complacent. This jumped straight to the top of being my favorite scent. Ever. Without qualification. Grab a thesaurus and look up "beautiful." There you go. I need multiple bottles of this. I really don't want to imagine not having it. Also, so people know I'm serious - I hate hyperbole.

ohhh.... I'm nervous. First time to start a thread and how excited that its this scent. I knew instinctively that I would love this one and it was nothing like what I thought... but incredibly beautiful and powerful in a completely new way. here are my notes: Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: This is balsam fir, a very sweet woodsy scent. Seems like there is just the tiniest hint of mint or menthol, something slightly fruity or berry like perhaps. There is also something like porpourri here, cedar perhaps. Reminds me of the air in the Herb Lady (one of my favorite hole in the wall, eclectic, earth-mother gaia shops in WV that smells unlike anything else. A comparison is a very high compliment). On the dry down: this has a lovely apple-y quality to it. Still very much woods and pulpy. Not a great throw though. It dries out a bit... green wood dehydrating, decomposing into brown. This is a very cold kind of scent. I can almost smell the bite of cold wet air. It's a paradox the balance between the almost pulpy fruit and mint, just a tiny hint of both, but enough to go up against the larger impression of dark forests, old trees, cold liquid water is just enough to help break it all back into it constituents. Cedar and Balsam, yes. But there are other woods here, and herbs. It wants to be masculine and Beth manages to make the body of this scent unisex and still be extraordinarily true to female and male. Fading out: This stays pretty true throughout. Apple/fruit pulp with lots of woods behind it. whiffs of mint, maybe even honey slide one way then the other, never for too long. Distraction against the core of achievement: the paradox of a dead god, a woman and man presented in there who are perhaps guardians, or more likely - the god itself. split him in two and... Regardless, Beth has absolutely blown me away with this creation. Just beautiful... edited because i can't spell

CCCIX (the bottles really are very lovely). Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: chocolate. Almost exactly like Bliss. If one can attribute sex to chocolate, this is a close representation. Not musky, earthy or anything, but there is a depth here beyond mousse. On the dry down: weird… there is a definite citrus thing going on, which is usually a top note. Something herbally, but not green or sharp under that. Very sweet and chocolatey with the herb/wood scent that is really hard to place. It might be giving it the lemony-orange/citrus vibe. There might even be the tiniest whiff of mint (??) This is where Beth shines. This thing is growing tentacles and moving beyond passive thick chocolate pudding. It kind of has a life and depth that is all it's own. The shifting is really quite lovely. Further in: Goes right back to chocolate, not much else. there is a tiny hint of wood, deepening it a bit. The fade stays true to original scent... it is a bit like a ride. very chocolatey start, around the bend into orange and lemon groves where someone, quite rudely stripped the bark back and the scent of citrus sap hangs in the air, not sharp and the grass and leaves are untouched... then around a corner and a tiny sprig of mint and wood shaving falls in your lap. The ride comes to a stop and you brush off the leaves that have stuck to you from the sap but none of that distracts you from the chocolate that sat with you the entire time. surreal :-)

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: Hint of peppermint right off the skin then clean and herbally. Very green, herbally start. Sage, lavander and cedar are apparent. On the dry down: Oddly I get honeysuckle once this starts to dry. Not the sickly sweet honeysuckle that usually turns cloying on my skin, but real honeysuckle from when I was a kid. The florals begin to step up while the sage, cedar and lavander balance it out nicely. There is a very soft, mellow resin holding it all together. Further in: softens up quite a bit and looses most of it's throw on me. Proportionally the floral seems to get slightly sweeter and continually grow past the herbally part of this scent. This probably would have become a bit cloying and overbearing if it didn't fade as it did. Fading out: Tail end of this is resinous, a bit dark while carrying the nicer elements from the start straight through to the end. The herbal, sweet, floral, all had their moments, but like sphaghettification they have all been pulled into the darker tones of this scent.. Lovely, dynamic, edgy.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: Blueberry, sweet, almost candy like but pleasantly not cloying. Slight lemongrass/citrus scent. On the Dry Down: Surprisingly pleasant. Fruit and citrus makes a great balance. I have to say this one has been the biggest surprise. It started off reminding me a bit of the old Strawberry Shortcake dolls, the ones that had scents embedded in the plastic. Whichever one the blueberry doll was... in any case, I half expected it to stay juvenile... but it almost immediately picked up the lemongrass scent and matured into a very pleasant scent. Overall it's very lovely!

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: There is a smokey bite to this right off the bat. Fades really fast though into something masculine. Woodsy, very pleasant. On the dry down: Fades really fast. Very masculine to me. Fading out: wow, that went fast. Kinda spicy, woodsy - a manly scent.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: Very aquatic on the wand, immediately develops a oh-so slightly spicey kind of floral. Mostly the hibiscus I think. On the dry down: Sweet kind of floral that is definitely laid over the aquatic notes. Further in: This one seems to just get sweeter. Sweet in a heavy sweet cream with lots of fresh cold water and floral kind of way, but the sweet cream has gone just a tinybit sour. Fading out: kept getting sweeter and more floral. Great start, blah finish.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: White flowers with little petals with very mild weather, fresh air and lots of sunshine. Lillies, lilly of the valley, honeysuckle, dandelion, chrysanthemums, sweet water. Very open, spring scent. Fading out: This one stays true throughout pretty much to the end. The last notes are the same with a hint of spice or amber in it. I normally don't care for lillies of any sort, which is an understatement. They absolutely hate me no matter what. This one somehow manages to muster up some genuine friendliness for me which is very pleasant. The warming at the end gives me the mental image of the early summer/late spring sun just starting to go down giving the whole cloudless day a golden glow to it. Very pleasant indeed.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: Very first scent out of the imp is sharp and fades almost immediately. There is something very sweet on top, like candy, but not candy you find very easily or eat very often. Vanilla based perhaps. Woods underneath it. Aquatic. Definitely attention getting at first. On the dry down: Smoke. It's a smokey sweetness with water. Further in: Spice (cinnamon I think) is coming out now. Still buttery candy-ness and smoke and water. Wow. Just so much going on in there. Fading out: Wow, more smoke coming out. It's almost like being in the Tower, falling from it and landing in food-y sweet flowers with smoke being carried on water heavy breezes. Oddly I don't actually smell flowers... but it's the impression I get. Thoughts: Starts with a sharp (and oddly pleasant) notes which leads into water mostly with the sweetness. Then comes the earth in the form of wood and something slightly incense-y and then the fire. For the card I think this is really quite remarkable. Follows the progression of images on the card - almost as if from the point of view from someone falling from the top of the card and not the one actually looking at the card. Something about the first few minutes though are rather frustrating... it smells exactly like something I should remember, some memory that I just can't place. This makes for a great distraction from trying to figure out what exactly is going on in this scent. All in all I'm really pleased with this. It's complex, thought provoking, true to the imagery of the Tower.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: OUCH. It's not just death, it's the process of dying. Very earthy at first, very sharp, lots of woods and green. And if I keep inhaling slowly it turns into ammonia in my nostrils. This is bitter, has a bite and is a bit too strong. On the dry down: a sweetness that was not at all present is suddenly here, bags dropped at the front door standing at the threshhold. Interesting. Everything else is there too, just kind of standing in the room wondering if she'll come in. Further in: The bitterness, bite, sharpness, woods and greens are back. The sweetness is a wallflower. The wallflower in a room with death, which means she's present but mostly dried up with the petals falling off. Still really strong. Fading out: I wouldn't know. I gotta wash this stuff off. OUCH. Final opinion: yep, it's death and the process of getting there. Medicinal as I kept thinking that this is woods and earth, with a hint of spice all getting brutalized by ammoinia and formaldehyde. Gotta give credit where credit is due: this is exactly what I imagine death to be like. I have to say that it didn't do diddly to aussage my fear of it.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: Sharp, biting scents, VERY earthy. Loam and slightly dusty with musk underneath. On the dry down: Woods are coming out. Cedar is there, but others are hanging with it. Damp green, but it's a gray-green, like it's dying or in poor illumination. Still lots of musk and slight bite. Fading out: I thought this was fading quickly. Little did I know it was shifting into something with a spiciness to it. Musk, bite, dust are still there, but warming up a bit (less of the cold scurrying along the wall). This actually reminds me of the journey to being the Rat King. Starts off with almost no sentience at all. Pure animalistic glands at work with lots of having your nose in the floorboards (which sounds bad, but works out quite well). Slowly morphs from that to standing upright and assuming an almost noble air about itself. I really enjoy this scent for the journey. I may not wear it, but I'm completely impressed. Extraordinarily clever!

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: aquatic and yellow flowers. Very light, makes me think of spring at high noon - vibrant and lots of light. On the dry down: green comes in, grounding it and giving it a sharpness. Behind the green comes the woods. Still spring, still very bright and floral, but not sweet or cloying. Further in: Sunflowers, cut green grass, grove of woods, sunlight. There's something spicy lying underneath - my nose can sense it, but it translates to a sharpness of shadows where things aren't really hiding so much as being what they are. Fading out: The flowers are fading a bit along with the light. Leaves with more wood, green and now the resin makes its appearance. Still slightly sharp, but not cutting. My description: This is Justice. Balanced, complex, thoughtful and full of dignity. Seems a bit ironic considering the imagery it gave... it started with an approach through a meadow, with lots of fresh air and light, grass and yellow flowers... up to a grove of woods and ended with being right inside the edge of the woods where one can experience every aspect as it is (no sugaring or excuses made). But consider that there is no wind, no sound - none of those things which distract the eyes from seeing clearly. Just a brightness and vibrancy that brings everything to light. Rather elegant, but not to be taken lightly or for granted.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: very fruity, loads of berry and a strange combination of chalk and water. On the dry down: almost immeidately the scent morphs into something spicier and slightly sweeter. The tiniest hint of wood in the background. Slowly morphs into something sweeter, almost cloying with a hint of tartness. Fading out: This one has throw and it took longer than normal for me to get to the fading out phase (that's saying something as most scents just vanish within a short amount of time). It finally ended up where a lot of people described it: bubble gum. I don't get the apples, it's more like synthetic strawberries... which isn't bad really. Just not for me. Too bad the wood and spice didn't stick around. My description: This one threw me. Automatically didn't like it for the combination of fruit/chalk/water. Yeck. But almost immeidately it turned at my sideways and slowly won me over. Rather appropriate for the Chariot who finds victory in approaching with intellect instead of wasting energy going in straight on. Ironically is slowly lost me in the end. But I have to admit: it does embody the Chariot.

Wet on the wand and straight on the skin: first was sharpness mixed with florals. Almost cloying for a moment there....Then the sharp became green/herbal and the florals seemed to go aquatic. On the dry down: still green, still aquatic, slightly sweet and just a hint of spice. I keep sniffing my wrist. Fading out: Sweeter. Still maintains a truly admirable balance. Most scents tend to roll off in one direction and this sits the edge of the blade straight to the end. My impression of this scent as The Lovers: This has balance unlike any scent I've tried so far. Green in the form of earth (wouldn't seem right if this went dusty or muddy) and water, which is rather telling given the card. Very magnetic. It's enigmatic and arouses curiosity.