dementia_divine

Artist Unknown Honey, rose petals, and carnations - a drop of blood - red clover, cubeb berries, and vanilla cream. Aww, the thing that looks like a miniature version of the dragon-dog from The Neverending Story isn't on the label. In the bottle: I believe features the same carnation note as Startled Toad. At least, there is a lemony aspect present, and the combination of whatever that note is and the carnation remind me of that scent. It's not the spicy carnation found in scents like Queen Alice. I feel like this scent is similar to the Trading Post's Butterfly Nectar bath oil. This is a peppy scent. I'm mainly getting sweet flower petals and what I think may be the cubeb berry. The vanilla cream note is present, but it resides in the background. Wet: I'm getting more of the vanilla cream note on my skin. The carnation note is the most prominent note, which isn't surprising – carnation tends to do that on my skin. I don't dislike it, but I hope this doesn't turn into carnation single note. At the moment, the rose is quite prominent as well. Dry: I think the blood note contains clove, as I can smell some clove now (or is that the cubeb berry?), along with the florals, honey, and a bit of vanilla cream. After a while, I mainly smell carnation, clove (or cubeb? The Google tells me that is peppery), rose, and a hint of the vanilla. Verdict: I bought this one because of the name and the sugary florals. But I was worried about the carnation being too prominent for my liking, and it is. I'm going to let this settle some more and retest it before deciding whether or not to keep it. Hopefully the vanilla will come out more with age. I don't dislike it, but I own a lot of sugary floral scents, and I can't see myself reaching for this one very often.

In the imp: Mostly lily and neroli with just a bit of frankincense. Wet: The lily and neroli are quite prominent, and the frankincense note is a lot stronger on my skin. I'm also getting the ginger root now. Then, after a few minutes, the purple fruits emerge, which I believe includes plum. Dry: Spiced lily and purple fruit with just a hint of neroli in the background. The purple fruits end up becoming stronger than the lily, so that it's spiced purple fruits with some lily, with the neroli and frankincense just barely there in the background. Verdict: Purple fruits are not my cup of tea, but I'll hold onto my imp anyway since it's part of the Mad Tea Party collection (and I don't want to part with any of the Mad Tea Party imps I've collected).

In the imp: Heady lilies with some cherry. Wet: The heady lilies dominate on my skin, although I do get a lot of cherry as well. Sadly, the cherry is short-lived, and it just becomes a lily party. Dry: The lily notes have calmed down and allowed the cherry to emerge again, although it's just a hint of it (and not nearly as strong as it was when it was first applied). Verdict: This one isn't really for me since I prefer sugary florals, and this has far too much straight-up lily for my liking, but I'll be holding onto my imp just because I collect imps from the Mad Tea Party line.

In the imp: This is strong on the florals, especially the jasmine and carnation, with some bitter neroli, some incense, and some patchouli. A lot of the notes in this are iffy on me, so I will be surprised if this one works with my skin chemistry. Wet: This is intensely floral on me, with the jasmine and carnation taking the center stage, but I'm still getting the bitter neroli note, a waft of incense, and now, some vetiver. Then, the moss emerges, and it is making this veer into soap territory on me. Dry: It's still predominantly floral, but the bergamot and neroli are stronger now, and the moss has calmed down. This particular iris note has a Dr. Pepper-like vibe on me. I am getting very little patchouli and vetiver, but I can still smell the incense in the background. Verdict: This one was better than I thought it would be, since some of the notes have a history of being problematic on me. I don't dislike it, but it's still not really my cup of tea. I'll hold onto my imp anyway since I like to hold onto everything Mad Tea Party.

In the imp: Cassia-riddled red musk and lemon peel. Wet: Cassia and red musk dominate, followed by some fruitiness. But it's not long before the red musk rises over the cassia and ends up taking the center stage. I'm not particularly fond of red musk, which loves to stomp all over other notes on my skin. Dry: It's mostly red musk, cassia, fruit, and sugar cane. Alas, it kind of smells like cinnamon bubblegum on me. Then, the agarwood shows up, which, combined with the red musk and fruit, smells really awful on me. There's this smokiness and fruitiness to it and it just smells really off on me. Verdict: The Dodo is definitely not for me, but I'll be holding onto my imp, like I do with all things Mad Tea Party.

In the bottle: Banana candy (like banana Laffy Taffy) and cereal milk. Wet: I'm getting a lot more of the cereal and creamy milk on my skin, along with the banana candy. After a minute, the latte foam appears. Forunately, the banana scent, while present, isn't as strong on my skin as it was in the bottle. Dry: Sugary cereal (is that Cocoa Pebbles I'm smelling now?), spilled cereal milk, latte foam, and some squished banana, which smells more realistic now, and not candy-like. Verdict: Sufficiently cereal-y! I had been putting off testing this one for a while because I was afraid of the strong banana note, but it didn't end up being a problem on me. I don't need more of this, but I'm glad that I was able to try it!

In the imp: Rose, mandarin, myrrh, and musk are the notes that jump out at me. Wet: The citrus notes are really strong at first, and the neroli is rather sharp. Then, the jasmine note joins in, and it is pretty strong as well, followed by the musk. After that, the rose emerges. The rose, jasmine, and myrrh end up dominating after a few minutes, with a bitter tinge of neroli. Dry: The myrrh reigns, followed by the strong jasmine and rose, with the bitter citrus and musk in the background. I do smell some nice mandarin every once in a while, and I wish I were getting more of it. Verdict: The combination of the myrrh, jasmine, and rose with the neroli is just not my jam. It's sharp and bitter on me.

In the imp: Dusty woods, lilac, and dried rose petals. Wet: The wood notes dominate, at least one of which still has a dusty quality to me, with the blue lilac permeating the room. But then, lo! I get... sarsaparilla!!?!?!?! Well, that was certainly unexpected. At first, I experienced this coolness, and I thought it was some kind of mint representing the ectoplasm, but then it took on a distinct root beer quality. It smells like someone spilled some sarsaparilla in this Victorian parlor in which a séance is about to take place. Dry: Okay, the curious root beer phase was short-lived. I am now getting a burst of something cool (must be the ectoplasm) in a smoke-filled room with wooden tables, with wisps of lilac and dried roses. The place on my arm where I applied the scent has a very cool feel to it. The wood notes are not nearly as prominent as they were during the wet phase of the scent. Then, the tea rose emerges, so that I mainly get tea rose, ectoplasm, lilac, and woods. When the ectoplasm note dissipates, I'm mainly left with the tea rose, wood notes, and dried rose. Verdict: This one morphed a lot on me. I have no idea where the random root beer phase came from, but the dry down of this scent really fits its description! I'm glad that the dusty woods ended up calming down, because I'm not a fan of wood-dominant scents, and I didn't really want to smell dusty. I don't need a bottle of this, but I think I may hang onto my imp just because it's such a curious scent experience.

In the imp: Intense musky roses. Wet: Red roses accompanied by musk. Dry: The red rose still dominates, backed by the musk, and slightly sweetened by the coconut. Normally, orris is a problematic note for me, but this hasn't veered into baby powder territory on me yet. I think one of the rose notes is Bulgarian rose, as it reminds me of Love Lay Upon Her Eyes and Two, Five, and Seven. After a while, the orris note comes out more, so that it's the red rose, followed by the coconut-tinged orris, and some light musk. Verdict: I hesitated on testing this one for a while because of the orris in it, but it doesn't end up turning the scent to baby powder on me. Huzzah! While I enjoy it, I have a few other rose scents that are similar to it. So this one won't be a bottle purchase, but I'm glad I got a chance to try it!

In the decant: I remember this one being really strong on the black amber and jasmine tea a few years ago. Now, I get a lot of vanilla accompanying the jasmine tea and black amber. Wet: The jasmine tea is the dominant note, but it's sweetened by the vanilla and backed by the black amber. Dry: The jasmine tea continues to reign, with the vanilla and amber in the background, but the vanilla is more prominent now, and the amber adds more warmth to the scent. Verdict: This aged really nicely. I don't need to hunt down more of it, but I'm glad that I got a chance to try it. While I enjoy this one, I'm going to pass it on to someone that will probably enjoy it more, as I rarely reach for anything with a prominent jasmine note.

In the decant: Extremely heady jasmine. Wet: Heady, sweet jasmine with a bit of green tea leaves. Dry: It's still quite heady, but it has calmed down somewhat, and it is sweeter now. It almost feels as if there is a cool, breezy quality to this, and I'm not sure if that can be attributed to the jasmine or the tea leaf. Verdict: This is too heady for me. Still, it was far more pleasant than I had been anticipating – it's just way too intense for me. That said, jasmine lovers, rejoice! This is the single note for you.

In the decant: I can't remember if I tried this when it came out without properly reviewing it, or if I just never got around to testing this before the 2015 Lupers came down. This is really strong on the resins, rose, and the jasmine. Wet: It's the same on my skin. The dark resins dominate, along with the rose and jasmine. The patchouli has also made an appearance, but I haven't detected any vanilla yet. Dry: It's the same, only somewhat softer. The resins continue to reign, followed by the jasmine, patchouli, and rose. There's just a touch of the bourbon vanilla, but I have to press my nose to my arm in order to smell it. After a while, the patchouli note ends up becoming a lot stronger, so that I'm mostly getting the resins, patchouli, and jasmine. Verdict: Resins and florals together aren't really my cup of tea, and the vanilla isn't strong enough to add enough sweetness for me.

In the imp: Herbal lavender, maybe some citrus and herbs. Wet: Herbal lavender, but more like a lavender sachet than a sharp lavender note, and an herb that may be rosemary? It seems to be getting herbier over time. I'm also getting some citrus, which could be a bit of lemon, but not straight-up lemon, if that makes sense. Dry: Now I'm getting something like an herb or spice, that's like clove, but not, in addition to the lavender and could-be-rosemary herb mentioned earlier. The citrus note has calmed down a lot, and the like-clove, but-not is now the strongest note present. Verdict: I like this, but not as much as my beloved Nanshe.

In the decant: I'm getting the honey, quince, and vanilla, with some cognac and tobacco. Wet: A light honey, quince, some cognac, and golden tobacco, with a bit of mandarin. This is really light. Dry: Lots of honey, quince, and vanilla. The honey in this is light and just pairs beautifully with the vanilla and quince. Verdict: I'm glad I got to try this one! I don't think I need to hunt down more of it, but I do enjoy it.

In the imp: Sweet, non-heady flowers. Wet: I'm not sure what crocus smells like, but the lily notes in this aren't heady or going into soap territory at all. This is nothing but soft, sweet, lovely floral notes. As it dries down, it's beginning to smell like Smarties (not the chocolate kind... the little round chalky candies). Dry: After it has been dry for a while, I'm not getting as much sweetness anymore. The candy-like quality has gone away, and the lilies are more prominent than before. Verdict: This is nice. I don't think I need more of it, but I'm glad I was able to try it.

In the imp: Very ozonic and 'soapy' to my nose, with more fir than in the aged imp. Wet: This is a very citrus-y, ozonic, slushy snow note. The ozone ends up taking over, and it smells rather soapy on me. Dry: The ozone ends up calming down, but it still reads as soapy on me. Sadly, I'm not getting any fir or anything that reminds me of pinecones. Verdict: My skin chemistry just doesn't cooperate with this one.

In the decant: Juicy green apples, but it smells like a green apple scented soft candy rather than hard candy. It's not a realistic apple, to my nose. Wet: I'm still getting green apple candy. I'm surprised that this one features a green apple note – I was hoping for a yellow one. Sadly, it has this plastic-y vibe to it that doesn't seem to want to go away on me. Dry: Eventually, the fake quality of the scent does go away, and I'm left with a crisp, green apple, hanging from a tree. Verdict: While the end result is nice, it's just not good with my skin chemistry during the wet stage. On a positive note, at least I didn't fall in love with a discontinued apple scent?

This one is from a Goblin Grab Barrel t-shirt order that I got a few years ago. It's from 2005. In the imp: It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what at the moment. It's feminine and floral with a somewhat watery vibe, but the florals aren't heady. Wet: I'm getting an aquatic floral note. Then I start to get a pink rose. Dry: The pink rose is now the dominant note, followed by some greenery, with an aquatic, white floral in the background. Verdict: This is pleasant, and I'm glad I got a chance to try it. That said, I don't really see myself reaching for this one, as I have so many rose scents already, and I prefer sugary florals.

In the imp: Mint, coconut, and citrus – maybe lime? Wet: Yes, it's lime. I'm getting lots of fresh lime. After a few minutes, it begins to get sweeter, and I think that might be the coconut. Dry: Lime, coconut, and a hint of mint. I think there may be some lemongrass beneath the lime, too. The lime in this sure has some longevity! Much later, the coconut note ends up becoming the dominant note, and it's lovely! Verdict: I really enjoy this. It's refreshing and uplighting. I'll cherish my imp and use it sparingly during the summer months.

In the imp: Lots of red wine with some cassia, rose, honey, and some chocolate. Wet: I'm getting a lot of red wine, honey, and rose. I'm also getting some of the dark chocolate, cassia, and hibiscus. As it begins to dry down, I'm mostly getting the red wine, honey, rose, and hibiscus. Dry: The red wine, rose, and honey are still the strongest notes on me. I tend to amp the Lab's red wine note, so I'm not surprised. The honey is not as strong as it was during the wet phase of the scent, though, so it's mostly red wine and musk rose on me. Verdict: I was curious about this one because of the long note list, and I wasn't sure how it would be. Alas, the red wine and rose notes dominate on my skin, and the combo isn't one I particularly enjoy.

Tweed and crisp linen, lime-tinged aftershave, the sleek steel and oil of a well-cared for service revolver, and a memory's echo of a Jezail bullet shell. In the imp: Something in this is reminding me of something, but I can't pinpoint what it is! Ah, I think it shares a note with Zip Line. Maybe there is brown leather involved. But I also detect a hint of cinnamon. Maybe that's what reminds me of it. I'm also getting lots of lime aftershave. Wet: Same. It's very reminiscent of Zip Line on me, minus the full-on cinnamon buns, of course, and with the addition of lime aftershave and a metallic tinge that tends to come out more the longer this sits on my skin. Dry: It's still really reminiscent of Zip Line (minus the sticky cinnamon buns) on me with the addition of a cologne-y metallic note. The lime aftershave has dissipated. There's also a hint of spice. Verdict: I only used a dab of this, but it's really strong and starting to give me a headache, even though I don't mind the scent itself. It's like a more masculine Zip Line without the foody component on me.

In the decant: This is a sweet plum scent that is reminiscent of Bordello. It's very strong on the sugar plums! Wet: Sugar plums, made even sweeter by the sugar. It's like plum candy. After a few minutes, I start getting the vanilla part of the sugar. Dry: The vanilla sugar has gained strength, and the plum, while still strong, has calmed down somewhat. I'm not really getting the other notes. It's all sugary plum on me! Verdict: This is far too strong on the plum and too sickly-sweet for me, but it is definitely befitting its namesake!

In the decant: The chocolate hits me first, followed by the graham cracker and marshmallow. In my hair, I get a lot of the cinnamon-y graham cracker along with some of the scorched marshmallow and a bit of the chocolate. I'm glad that the chocolate note isn't stronger, as I thought this might end up like the Marshmallow Cookie Pie perfume oil on me (mostly somewhat over-baked semi-sweet chocolate), and I already have a chocolate-y hair gloss (El Dia de los Reyes) in my collection. Throughout the day, it has mostly been a cinnamon graham cracker and marshmallow scent on me with just a hint of chocolate, but the scorched marshmallow is subtle (unlike Apple Marshmallow, which is like being in a cloud of uncooked marshmallows). I like this, but I wish the marshmallow note were stronger in my hair.

In the imp: This one is STRONG. The oak note is the strongest, and it is quite sharp. I do get the wet stone, note, too. It's very dark and foreboding. Wet: I only applied a tiny dab of this to my skin as it is so strong, and I don't want it to cause a headache. The sharp oak note dominates, but the wet stone note is also rather strong, and it's very realistic. I cannot identify which of the other notes I'm smelling, but I can say that this is really evocative of what it is meant to represent. Dry: The oak note never calms down. I'm not getting as much of the wet stone anymore. It's still very dark, but it reminds me more of freshly polished wood furniture now. Verdict: This is too sharp and too woody for me.

In the imp: Grass and lilac. Wet: This one is really strong on the grass and lilac. There are some other floral notes at play here, but I'm not able to identify them. Dry: Soft lilacs and green grass on a warm spring day. Verdict: I thought this might be too strong for me at first, but it actually calmed down and ended up being quite pleasant! It would make a lovely spring scent.