dementia_divine

A small amount of this oil was decanted from an imp and has aged for 4+ years. In the decant: Strong musk, honey, and a resin (I'm thinking myrrh or benzoin), and some herbs. It's rather powdery. Wet: Musky (maybe a brown musk – definitely not white, red, or black), resinous, and really powdery. It smells as if I've fallen into a pool of baby powder. Dry: Musk and a dark resin that is still somewhat dry and sharp. The scent is still powdery on me, but not nearly as powdery as it was before. There's also a lemon-y quality to the scent. Verdict: I cannot attest to its purpose, but as far as the scent is concerned, this one is too powdery and sharply resinous on me.

A small amount of this oil was decanted from an imp and has aged for 4+ years. In the decant: Grape and a floral note. Wet: Blargh. I am not a fan of artificial grape, and this is what that reminds me of... like grape candy or Dimetapp. Then I start to get that artificial grape with a white floral note. Dry: The fake grape smell is still present, but not as strong as it was during the wet stage of the scent, and I think I'm also getting some lilac and possibly some lotus. Verdict: I'm reviewing this for the scent alone, and not the oil's purpose. And as far as the scent goes, I can only say: NOPE. This one is not for me. That grape-y Dimetapp note means this is not something I'd use again even if it were just for its intended purpose and not the scent itself.

In the imp: A light, soft, pink rose, a bit of sweetness, and a smattering of herbs. I'm somewhat reminded of Pink Fuzzy Handcuffs, but with the addition of a few herbs. Wet: Yep, this is definitely pink rose and some herbs (I think I'm getting a bit of lemongrass and rosemary). While I think this features the same rose as in Pink Fuzzy Handcuffs, this scent is not as sweet as that one. Dry: The pink rose is still the star of the show, but the herbs are lighter now, and there's a bit of sweetness (but it's not due to vanilla or honey – maybe there's some gardenia here). Verdict: I'm only testing this one for its scent, and thus, I cannot attest to whether it is effective for its purpose. The scent is pleasant, but as I already have Pink Fuzzy Handcuffs and too many rose scents as it is, I doubt I'd end up reaching for this one.

A very tricky kitty, indeed. Used most often as a key to bringing back the joy one needs to have in life in order for living to feel worthwhile. Brings back a sense of delight in simple pleasures, and creates a surge of childlike curiosity and a youthful sense of fun. This blend can also be used to reverse troublesome lesser crossings, create a playful air of catlike sexuality, and, because cats will be cats, it can also be used to throw minor, irritating or bothersome hexes, causing small amounts of chaos and disruption to your foes. A small amount of this oil was decanted from an imp and has aged for 4+ years. In the decant: This one is strongly resinous! I think I am getting a sharp, dark myrrh. Wet: Yep, this one is pretty heavy on the dark myrrh. I think there may be some benzoin in this as well, and there's a smattering of herbs in the background. There's also some rose (perhaps dried rose) mingling with the myrrh and herbs (one of which I believe is lemongrass, but it's not as strong as it usually is). Dry: This is still a predominantly resin scent on me, although the myrrh is softer now, but I am getting more of the rose and herbs (there's definitely a bit of lemongrass in here, and something minty) during this phase. Verdict: I cannot attest to the oil's purpose as I only tried it for its scent. It's okay, but resins and rose aren't a combination I really enjoy, so I don't think I'll continue holding on to it. I am glad I got to try it, though!

I bought an imp of this one a few years ago but neglected to review it! In the imp: Apples, cinnamon, and cloves. It's like a super spiced apple cider! Wet: Roasted, mashed apples, pear, and cinnamon. Dry: This smells like lots of (rather dry) cinnamon has been heaped upon some mashed apples. And I think there may be a bit of cherry as well. Now I want some pie. Verdict: Forever keeping! I can't attest to its purpose (although that's why I bought the imp in the first place...), but the scent itself is a lovely, spiced apple scent that would be great to wear in the autumn. I may end up getting a bottle of this one when I run out of Lambs' Wool.

In the imp: Mist, lilies, and rose. Wet: The mist and lily notes are the first to leap out at me, followed by rose. The lily and rose seem content to sort of meld together and share the stage instead of fighting with one another for dominance. Dry: The mist note is not as prominent as it was before, and the rose has also calmed down a lot. I'm mostly getting a sweet lily scent now, backed by a bit of mist and rose. Fortunately, it never turned soapy on me at all! Verdict: This one is nice for a straight-up floral scent, but since there are other lily scents I would reach for over this one and this is discontinued, I won't hold on to my imp.

In the imp: I get all of the notes in the order they're listed, but the lemon verbena is the strongest of them all. Wet: Lemon verbena, green tea, and jasmine, accompanied by some bitter neroli, which, at the moment, resides in the background. Dry: This ends up being a lemon verbena, green tea, and jasmine scent on me. The neroli remains in the background, and the jasmine isn't the heady type that overtakes everything because the lemon verbena is pretty strong and seems to be keeping it in check. Verdict: This one is okay, but it's too strong on the lemon verbena for me. I prefer Shanghai and Embalming Fluid as far as green tea and citrus scents go (especially Shanghai, which also has green tea and lemon verbena in it, but features a lovely honeysuckle as opposed to jasmine and neroli).

In the decant: I tried this at DCC a few years ago, but I wanted to do a proper test of this one, since having so many scents on your arm at a con and trying to write short notes about them all can be overwhelming. The first notes to stand out to me are the osmanthus, honey, lavender, and peppermint, and behind that, I get the bergamot and thyme, and sometimes, some of the honeysuckle. There's a lot going on in this one! Wet: The honey, peppermint, lavender, and chamomile are all pretty strong on me. I'm also getting some of the bergamot, and then the osmanthus. In the background, I get some of the thyme and just a bit of honeysuckle. But the thyme seems to be getting stronger over time. After a bit, I am able to detect the raspberry note, but it is not a main player. I would describe this as mostly herbal with some florals and bergamot. Dry: The honey, peppermint, lavender, chamomile, and bergamot stayed strong for a while, and fortunately, the thyme did not end up becoming a main player. This is still a honeyed herbal and floral scent on me, with the floral notes (save for the honeysuckle, of which there is only a touch of) being more prominent during this phase, and honey and chamomile being the stars of the show after a few hours of wear. It's got a bit of a 'soapy' quality on me without having veered into complete soap territory. Verdict: In my DCC notes, I wrote that this could be a nice spa scent, and I still get that vibe from it. Fairy Bites is pleasant, but it's not a scent that really grabs me.

In the imp: Freshly washed linen drying in the warm breeze, a fresh, bright floral note (possibly peony), a bit of green apple, and a bit of tart, waxy berry. Wet: This still makes me think of peony and clean linens. I keep thinking peony because the floral has this fresh, lemon-y quality to it that reminds me of the peony in The Dormouse. Then, the tart, waxy berry (or possibly a root of some kind – things often described as rooty tend to have a waxy quality to them on me) note emerges, but it isn't a main player. It's lingering in the background. After that, I get a bit of spice and some effervescence. Dry: The scent is a lot warmer now. The fresh, citrus-y floral aspect of the scent is gone now, and so is the effervescence. It makes me think of the sun-warmed flowers note in All in the Golden Afternoon, which I believe is sunflowers. There's still some waxiness present in the scent, but no berries (fortunately). There's still a hint of spice. Verdict: This one is pleasant, but probably not something I'd reach for again due to the waxy quality I get in the background. I'm glad I was able to try it, though!

In the decant: I get a blast of the blue spruce and sleet, followed by the cypress smoke and the yew berry. Wet: The lovely sleet-covered blue spruce note, which I recognize from Blue Spruce and Snow-Capped Pine is the star of the show, backed by the cypress smoke and the yew berry. The lavender in this is really light, and the smoke part of the cypress smoke isn't too smoky. Dry: The yew berry is more prominent during this stage, making this primarily a blue spruce, sleet, and yew berry scent with some cypress smoke wafting through the wintry forest. Verdict: This is a lovely winter scent! I preferred the wet phase, when the yew berry played a lesser role (I'm not a big fan of berry scents, and I think the berry in this is stronger than in Skadi), so I don't need to hunt down more of this. But if you're looking for a wintry forest and berry scent, this should be right up your alley.

In the decant: The jasmine note is by far the strongest note, backed by the resins and blackcurrant. Wet: The jasmine note is also the strongest on my skin, with the blackcurrant note and resins in the background. As the scent sits on my skin, the blackcurrant note becomes more prominent. Dry: Sweet, heady jasmine accompanied by the sweetness of blackcurrant. The caramelized black amber and frankincense are lingering in the background, behind these notes. Verdict: This wasn't initially on my radar, but I ended up ordering a leftover decant because of the positive reviews. Although this is a well-behaved jasmine, it's too jasmine-forward for me, but it is nice, and I'm glad I was able to try it.

In the decant: Golden rose and vanilla bean, backed by a light frankincense. Wet: Creamy yellow rose, vanilla bean, and frankincense. The frankincense in this one is still really light. Dry: This one stays really close to the skin. The yellow rose is the star of the show, accompanied by the light sweetness of the vanilla bean. The frankincense during this stage is even lighter than before. I think it mainly serves to add a bit of warmth to the scent. It isn't long before I'm not able to pick out the frankincense at all. Verdict: I was curious about this one because of the yellow rose note, which I had not tried before. I think it's nice, but it's not really wowing me.

In the decant: Tea roses with a plate of shortbread cookies in the background. Wet: The tea rose note is the most prominent on my skin, with the buttery shortbread cookies in the background. Dry: The tea rose is wafting over the shortbread cookies, which are much stronger now than they were originally, but not strong enough to overtake the rose. After a while, it's a light tea rose scent warmed by the shortbread. I agree with those who have likened this one to a rose syrup. Verdict: I really enjoy the combination of the tea rose and the shortbread, and I don't feel like it is too similar to The Knave of Hearts (which I wondered if it would be like minus the blackcurrant note). While I really enjoy the scent, I'll probably just stick with my decant, because I feel like I have too many rose scents as it is. But if I didn't have too many rose scents in my collection already, I'd probably be leaping for a bottle of this (and I'll retest it before the Lupers go down just to be sure). Of the Une Douzaine de Roses that I've tried (the others being Un and Sept), this one is my favorite. I kind of wish I had bought a bottle of this one instead of Pink Fuzzy Handcuffs.

In the decant: It smells like cherry and rose candy! Wet: This is a jammy, candied cherry-dipped rose. It really does smell like a cherry-infused rose candy. The rose aspect seems to be growing stronger over time, though. Dry: The jammy red rose is stronger now, but the cherry aspect hasn't dissipated. I can definitely see the comparisons to Lush's Rose Jam (but with the addition of cherry). Verdict: I like this. I don't feel the need to grab a bottle (I have too many rose scents already... and I sold my bottle of Lush's Rose Jam perfume a few years ago), but I'll be hanging onto my decant.

I wanted to get an atmosphere spray to use a lot during the spring, because a lot of the ones I have are either for sleep or are better suited for autumn and winter. I decided to give Lakeside a shot, because of the daffodils and daisies mentioned in the description, and because I loved the Lakeside scenes in the book. I was not disappointed. Lakeside is absolutely lovely. It smells like green grass, daffodils, and daisies on a warm spring or summer day. A realistic aquatic note comes out after the initial blast of the sun-warmed field of grass and flowers, and it really has this feel of being beside a lake and a flower-strewn meadow. I do not get any of the cookies or blood mentioned in the description except when the scent is sprayed directly onto something like paper towel, and even then, there's just the suggestion of something else there that's really faint, buried beneath the cool water. But when I spray the scent all over the room, I just get the grass, flowers, and cool water. I really enjoy this scent and am so happy that I bought a bottle!

In the bottle: Yep, this is the sugared lavender of TKO. UNF. In my hair, it's all about TKO's sweet lavender. If I hold my hair up to my nose and inhale really deeply, I can smell a bit of sandalwood and pear beneath it, but mostly, it's SUGARED LAVENDER MALLOW PARTY. The first day I applied it to my wet hair and felt really sleepy for about an hour as a result! (TKO is my most-used sleep scent, but sometimes I get too used to it, and so I can't wear it on a nightly basis anymore.) But the second day, when I applied it to my dry hair, it didn't make me feel sleepy at all (maybe because I paired it with the zingy grapefruit and sugared lavender of Sugar Phoenix). As a slut for sugared lavender ALL THE THINGS, I am really happy to have a bottle of this. I'm currently debating whether or not I need a back-up (since I do have Lilith's hair gloss and so many bottles of hair gloss already, and I don't think I'd reach for this one as often as Lilith's hair gloss). I haven't decided whether or not I should listen to the voice of reason (so many hair glosses already!) or the voice that tells me to hoard all of the sugary lavender things. But if you are on the fence about this one, grab it before it goes away. You will not regret it.

In the decant: I'm mostly getting the tobacco-threaded incense smoke. Behind that, I can smell some resins and a bit of the blackened vanilla. Wet: The tobacco-threaded incense is the star of the show, and the tobacco in this is a sweet variety. I think it's the tobacco from Orgy With Nine Women. The labdanum and benzoin are lingering behind the tobacco incense, and the blackened vanilla just serves to add a bit of sweetness to the scent. Dry: Same, but lighter and sweeter. The tobacco incense is still the star of the show, but it's not as strong as it was before, and the resins and blackened vanilla are a little stronger during this stage. Verdict: This is a lovely tobacco incense scent! I'm definitely keeping my decant. I may end up grabbing a bottle at some point in the future, but I feel like I don't reach for my tobacco-heavy scents enough as it is (Orgy With Nine Women, Red Lantern, Eastern Comma...). I'll have to see how much I reach for this one.

In the decant: I immediately get hit with the black musk, the inky part of the myrrh, and the clove bud, and then the sweetness of the black coconut and champaca follows. Wet: Okay, this is weird. I'm getting the strong black musk, the smoky clove bud, the odd, inky myrrh, and then the coconut and champaca. I feel like the dark notes are clashing with the sweet coconut and champaca. I think the black musk and black coconut are at odds with each other. Dry: The black musk eventually calms down, and the sweet coconut stops fighting with it, so that it's mostly musky, sharp myrrh and clove on me, with the black coconut and champaca in the background. Verdict: I like the clove. But the wet stage was a little strange on me, and the myrrh ended up being a type I don't really care for (I prefer the soft kind), so I don't think I'd reach for this again. I am glad that I got a chance to try it, though.

In the decant: The sweet pine-y snow note of Snow Bunny, The First Soft Snow, and NYC Snowball Fight with some blossoms (the wisteria being the most noticeable to me). Wet: The sweet, pine-filled snow note reigns. The snow note is pretty strong. Beneath it, I can smell some of the cherry blossom and wisteria, but they're buried pretty heavily under the snow. Dry: Eventually, the pine-y snowdrift begins to melt. It becomes more floral during this stage, although the cherry part of the cherry blossom isn't as strong anymore. I get more of the wisteria during this stage (but not a lot of it – it is not a main player in this one) and what I think must be the ume petals. The sugary, pine-y snow is still the most prominent part of the scent, though. Verdict: This is nice, but I already have a few scents featuring this snow note, so I don't need more of this one.

In the decant: Mostly musky peach blossom with a bit of bitter almond and amber. Wet: Musky peach blossom and bitter almond. The peach blossom isn't as sweet and peach-y as it is in Tamora. The bitter almond is a little jarring. I thought it would be a sweet one. There's this element to the scent that it is like the Lab's dead leaf note (not the crumbling dead leaf one, but yellow and red leaves, some with spots of green that still remain, that have recently fallen from a tree) a bit pepper-y and cologne-y. Dry: Eventually, it does veer out of that funky phase, and I'm left with a very light, almond-tinged creamy floral accompanied by some sweet musk, with a bit of amber in the background. Verdict: I almost leapt for a bottle of this one, but I'm glad I opted for a decant instead. On a positive note, the peach blossom isn't nearly as strong or peach-y as it is in Tamora. But the funky wet phase is not something I'd want to endure again.

2018 version. In the decant: Sweeter than I was anticipating! I'm getting lots of champaca flower, sugar cane, and coconut. Wet: The champaca and sugar cane are the strongest notes on me, with the sugar cane being the strongest note. Then, the coconut joins in. The ambergris is present, but I feel like it's role is to tie the notes together instead of being a main player itself. Dry: This is still sweet sugar cane, champaca, and black coconut on a bed of ambergris, although I do get a bit of the ambrette seed in the background adding some more warmth to the scent during this stage. Verdict: This is too tropical and almost candy-like for me, but I'm glad that I was able to try it.

In the decant: The white amber, orris butter, and narcissus stand out the most to me, followed by the bergamot. I'm not getting much vanilla. Wet: I get the white amber, orris butter, and narcissus, as well as a bit of light vanilla. The white amber and orris butter are the strongest notes on me. I only get a bit of the bergamot. Dry: The orris butter reigns, backed by the white amber, sweet narcissus, and the sheer vanilla. The bergamot note is fainter than it was before. I only get it if I press my nose to my wrist and inhale really deeply. Verdict: I wanted to try this because VULVA, but I was wary of the scent because of the orris. Alas, the orris decided to have a powdery party on my skin, so this Vulva is not for me (even though I enjoy the other notes).

In the decant: The smoky terebinth pine note leaps out at me the most. It smells like musky pine and resins. Wet: The pine is still a main player, but it isn't nearly as intense on my skin. I'm getting a lot more of the blue musk and resins, with the amber being the most prominent of them. It's mainly blue musk, terebinth, and amber on me at the moment. Dry: This remains a musky pine, amber, and myrrh scent on me, with the amber note being even stronger than before. I'm also getting some of the tobacco now, which adds a gentle smokiness to the musk, pine, and resins. After a while, the amber becomes the star of the show, and the pine note becomes a lot softer. Verdict: This is a nice amber scent! Not something I need to hunt down more of, but I'm glad to have my decant.

In the decant: Sweet blueberry vanilla bubblegum! Wet: Blueberry candy to the extreme! I am getting more of the vanilla on my skin, but this does smell mostly like blueberry candy to me that's somewhat reminiscent of Blue Lollipops. After a bit, the bubblegum emerges, so that it's more like blueberry and vanilla swirled bubblegum as opposed to lollipops. Dry: The bubblegum component has become softer during this phase. The blueberry continues to reign, and I get more of the vanilla now. Verdict: This one is true to its description! I had to try it because it was Lilith's creation, but the scent itself is too strong on the blueberry for me.

In the decant: The floral notes jump out at me first (with the honeysuckle being the strongest of the three), but I do get the wet green leaves in the background. Wet: The sweet honeysuckle is the strongest note on me (huzzah!). I'm surprised the tuberose and gardenia aren't trying to overtake it. The green leaves reside in the background, but it really does seem as if they've been dew-kissed. Dry: The honeysuckle is no longer the star of the show. The heady tuberose and sweet gardenia have joined it. Now, it's like some honeysuckle drifting over the strong tuberose and gardenia. The wet, green leaves in the background are slightly more prominent during this stage and have a bit of a peppery bite to them. Verdict: I enjoyed this during the wet stage, when the honeysuckle was the strongest, but the dry stage is a bit too strong on the tuberose and gardenia for me. This isn't a scent I will be needing more of, but I'm glad I got to try it.