dementia_divine

This was the Midsummer Scream exclusive that appealed to me most. I did not seek out a fairy for it because it was so close to SDCC and those exclusives were more important to me, but I was thrilled when this popped up on Etsy and immediately ordered a bottle!

In the bottle, this is syrupy, spiced, foodie pumpkin.

 

In my hair, the spiced pumpkin reigns, backed by a deep amber, not a golden one (like the kind in Galloping Dreams atmo). The spiced pumpkin makes me think of the pumpkin in the GCs in the pumpkin patch scents. It only stuck around for a few hours in my wet hair. Applied to dry hair, the strong spiced pumpkin calms down somewhat after a few hours, but it’s still a spiced pumpkin and amber scent… just not as strong as it had been.

 

This is not as strong as Pumpkin Spice Everything HG, but I think I like this more because it is spiced pumpkin and not just pumpkin spices.

 

I am really happy to have a bottle of this, and I look forward to grabbing it in perfume oil form when the Weenies arrive (since Beth mentioned that this would have a sister scent)!

In the imp: There’s a sharp, somewhat sour (like vinegar) note, and something sweet, accompanied by what I think could be hay.

 

Wet: There’s something sweet, but then I am hit with a blast of that sharp note that I, too, can’t help associating with nail polish remover. It’s like nail polish remover and banana!?!?!?!?!?! I just had to do a search of this thread to see if anyone else happened to get banana. Glad I am not the only one. I hope this changes.

 

Dry: It takes a long time for that sharp, nail polish remover-like note to calm down. When it does calm down, I do get smoky, scorched fields. It’s sharp, somewhat smoky, with dry grasses and dry dirt, but oddly, there’s still that sweet banana-like note in the background.

 

Verdict: Well, Scarecrow was a scent experience… but not one that I particularly enjoyed. The wet phase was unpleasant (and unexpected), and it isn’t until it has been dry for a while that I think it resembles its inspiration. So if you are wanting to smell like a dry, scorched field and dirt, you may have to brave the wet phase first, unless that was just an epic skin chemistry fail. But wet or dry, Scarecrow is not for me.

In the decant: I can smell all of the notes that were listed, and I was expecting a blast of eucalyptus upon opening the decant, but that actually wasn’t the case. The ti leaf stands out to me the most, followed by the black currant, eucalyptus, some oudh, and mate.

 

Wet: The tea, eucalyptus, and black currant are the first notes that jump out at me. Then, I smell some herbal, slightly smoky mate and oudh behind those notes. The eucalyptus ends up gaining strength but has a light feel to it… it’s definitely not an in-your-face medicinal eucalyptus. The black currant adds a sweetness to the scent, but it is kept in check by the other notes.

 

Dry: The black currant is now one of the stronger notes on me, but I am still getting the eucalpytus and tea. The green oudh and mate reside in the background, darkening the scent, although the oudh does end up getting a little stronger after a while.

 

Verdict: I wonder if I amp black currant? I think Blacklight-Reactive Zombie Hand is nice, but I wish it were less currant-forward on me.

I let this rest for a day before testing it because it is so hot here.

 

In the bottle: Resins, cognac, vanilla cream, a bit of saffron, and like a few others, I feel like there may be a blonde tobacco note in this, too, but maybe that’s my nose playing tricks on me because I’m used to that being in a Lace scent.

 

Wet: The amber and the cognac notes jump out at me first, followed by the vanilla cream. Then, I get the oudh, which reads to me as a sweeter variety, and then the saffron emerges. After a few minutes, I get lots of saffron, vanilla, and resins. The cognac is still there, but it is not as strong as it was initially.

 

Dry: On me, this is saffron-infused vanilla cream, cognac, cozy resins, and musk. It’s Love’s Philosophy’s saffron + Lace vanilla and cognac + resins on a bed of golden musk! Really lovely!

 

Verdict: I am really glad that I leapt for a bottle! I love how vanilla-forward this one is on me. This smells wonderful already, but I think it will only get better with age!

In the imp: I’m getting tons of white musk with some lime and hibiscus.

 

Wet: The white musk is still very strong on me, but I’m also getting more lime and hibiscus on my skin. It’s veering into soap territory on me, sadly, thanks to the white musk being so strong, but behind the soapiness, I get the tart hibiscus and lime.

 

Dry: Okay, the white musk has calmed down somewhat, the hibiscus is a little softer than before, and I am still getting the lime note. I can also smell the matcha now.

 

After a while, it ends up being a clean hibiscus and matcha scent with a touch of lime. I prefer this phase of the scent.

 

Verdict: The white musk in this was just way too strong for me, sadly. This isn’t for me, but it was nice to be able to try it.

In the imp: I get the tropical fruits, steamy blossoms, and the breeze note with some amber in the background.

 

Wet: The tropical fruits leap out at me first, but then there’s a blast of greenery, so it’s the rainforest boughs accompanied by a bit of sweetness from the fruit. Then, I get the steamy blossoms and the clean breeze note.

 

Dry: The steamy blossoms end up stealing the show, but I still get some of the sweet, tropical fruit, greenery, and now, there’s some amber in the background. After a while, the breeze note ends up being the most prominent note on me, followed by the steamy blossoms. The amber continues to reside in the background.

 

Verdict: Aww, I was hoping for more amber! I am glad I got to try it, but I do not think it’s one that I would wear (although it would make a nice room scent).

In the bottle: This really does smell like fresh air, green parks dotted with dandelions, and blooming gardens. The only note I’m worried about is the metal, as metal notes are often really sharp and cologne-like on me, but I’m not able to pick it out of the bottle, which gives me hope that this will behave on my skin.

 

Wet: The fresh air note, with the scent of flowers carried on a gentle breeze, is the first thing I get from this, followed by green grass riddled with dandelions. I get a little citrus, like orange peel, which makes me wonder if there’s orange blossom in this or something representing an orange tree, but it doesn’t stay long. Then I get a light, sweet apple note, making me think there must be an apple tree in this park.

 

Dry: This is the scent of apple trees and blooming flowers floating on a breeze. The scent seems to be getting cleaner over time, but it doesn’t smell like soap, fortunately.

 

Verdict: I wanted this because of the dandelion, but it did not end up playing a big role on me after the initial blast of it. Still, the scent is nice. It manages to smell clean without veering into soap territory. I think it would make a nice spring/early summer scent, but I think it would make an even better room scent. So I will hang on to my bottle and probably use it for both purposes (and probably try it in a scent locket to see if I can get more dandelion from it that way).

A few weeks ago, I spilled half of my decant of this on my leg, hated how it smelled, and had to go shower to wash it off.

 

Yet, I still made myself do a proper test of this scent... which I immediately regretted soon after applying it.

 

In the decant, it's all honeyed, dark oudh, no vanilla to be found.

 

On my skin, I think I finally got the poo-dh experience that everyone talks about. I totally got the diaper thing. It was not only me that was repulsed by the scent: my boyfriend said I smelled like baby wipes.

 

I tried to scrub it off. It would not budge and ended up just smelling like a dark, dirty (that kind of oudh that gives me a dirty patchouli vibe like in Half-Elf), oudh.

 

This one is not for me.

In the bottle and when initially sprayed, Cabbage White Caterpillar HG smells like Trix cereal.

But that quickly changes. I get a blast of lemon sugar at first, more lemon sugar than I was expecting from the description, that made me think this would be good to pair with scents like Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat. But the lemon sugar calms down over time, and the marshmallow ends up being the main feature of this scent. The mint is a soft mint. Whenever I randomly got a whiff of my hair, I always got the lemon sugar or the marshmallow (especially the marshmallow) from this one, not the mint. I had to hold my hair up to my nose and search for the mint, so it is not nearly as minty as I thought it would be. Because of that, I would be more likely to pair this with marshmallow or lemon sugar scents than mint ones. I paired this with Dragon Smooch perfume oil yesterday because they both have mint and marshmallow listed in the notes, and I got a lot more mint from Dragon Smooch than I did from this hair gloss.

After several hours of wear, this becomes all about the marshmallow, and I can still smell it in my hair the next day.

I am really happy that I grabbed a bottle of Cabbage White Caterpillar HG.

In the decant, I get ozonic incense.

 

In my hair, it’s lemon-y ozonic incense. I was worried that there would be plum in this after the plum wine sky description, but fortunately, if there is plum in this, it is not a main player. The ozone note seems to fare better in my hair than it does on my skin. It’s clean but does not go into soap or dryer sheet territory. I agree that this is like a nice-scented hair product.

 

After several hours, I wonder if there is a bit of plum in the incense smoke. There’s definitely a purple feel to it.

 

It’s not a hair gloss that I need a bottle of, but I think I will hold on to my decant until I can track down a decant of Stormclouds on the Midway and try those scents together.

I am afraid of this one. Leaf notes can either smell like bell peppers on me or give me a headache, I am not a fan of anise or civet, and vetiver and I are usually not friends.

In the imp: Anise, moss, and vetiver. I am afraid.

 

Wet: The anise note takes the center stage. I can also smell the vetiver and moss. Then, I get the musky civet.

 

Dry: The moss has decided to come out more, which I think tends to happen with moss notes on me. It’s muskier now, thanks to the civet, a little smoky from the vetiver, and I’m still getting lots of anise, but it’s smoother during this stage of the scent. After a while, it ends up being mostly musky moss, leaf, and grassy vetiver on me.

 

Verdict: Black Annis was not nearly as menacing as I thought it would be. It’s not something I’d wear, but I feel like the description was more intimidating than the perfume oil itself.

In the bottle: Orange blossom or neroli (definitely a bitter citrus-y note) and jasmine are what I get from the bottle.

 

Wet: Whoa, the oil is bright! It looks like I have orange juice on my arm! I am getting jasmine and an orange-y note that isn’t straight-up orange. The more it sits on my skin, the more I keep thinking orange blossom.

 

Dry: The oil has left a huge yellow area on my skin! It ends up being a citrus-y (like freshly peeled orange) white floral scent with a dash of (I'm thinking white) pepper. The citrus aspect ends up becoming less prominent over time.

 

Verdict: It was really nice to get to try this prototype, but ultimately, it’s just not something I would reach for, so I will have to see if I can find it a new home.

In the bottle: In the bottle, I only get the snow note, and it’s an ozonic, slushy snow.

 

Wet: The slushy snow note is also the most prominent feature on my skin, but now, I am also getting some orange. Then, I get the sandalwood, and a little clove. I hope the clove ends up coming out more, as I’m hoping for orange + clove-y snow. There’s something weird smelling in this on me -- I am not sure if is the combo of the snow, orange, and sandalwood or if there’s actually a metallic note in this for the iron descriptor? I am thinking there has to be. This… smells like slushy snow Spaghettio sauce on me. o.0

 

Dry: Yeah, for some reason, the slush-y snow, orange, and metal (and perhaps the chalkiness?) combine and smell like slush-y snow tomato sauce. This… was very unexpected.

 

Verdict: Since my skin is doing weird things with this one, I think I will try this in an oil burner and see if I can enjoy it that way.

 

In the imp: I do get the blood (I get a sharp metallic note and a little spice), but the soapy aquatic note is by far the most prominent aspect of the scent in the imp. Aquatics are often soapy on me, so I do not have high hopes for this one.

 

Wet: This is SUPER SOAP on me. And now that I’ve written that, I can’t help but envisioning a bar of soap in a red cape, thinking it has come to save the day, when really, it is ruining it. Behind the mountain of soap suds, I detect the blood, which is not making me think of dragon’s blood at the moment (dragon’s blood can be wonky on me and often stomps on other notes), but maybe that’s because I have wandered into the SOAP KINGDOM.

 

Dry: The blood note, which reads as incense-y to me (and may be the one found in Mithras) has come out more and seems to be getting stronger over time, but there’s still some aquatic soapiness in the background. There is a floral aspect to the scent, but if there’s dragon’s blood in here, it’s not being problematic like it usually is on me.

 

Verdict: As far as blood notes go, this one is okay -- but the aquatic note is far too soapy on me.

In the imp: The lemon peel in this is actually a lot softer than expected, but it’s one of the main notes I’m getting from the imp, along with the white sage. Behind those notes, I can smell some frankincense and fougere.

 

Wet: This is kind of medicinal, in a cough drop way. The lemon peel and white sage still stand out to me the most, but I’m also getting more of the lavender fougere on my skin than I did in the imp. Then, a light frankincense emerges, along with a pale sandalwood.

 

Dry: The lavender fougere and resins are the main players. I am still getting the sage, but the lemon peel is very light now. The resins are a little heavier(the labdanum has probably joined in, and the frankincense has gotten stronger). There’s no smoky vetiver here -- it’s the herbal bourbon vetiver variety that I can handle.

 

Verdict: This is light and airy and more pleasant than I thought it would be. I think it would be great on a guy, but I don’t think I’d reach for this one myself, even though it is nice.

In the decant: I can pick out the coconut, vanilla, smoky cacao, whiskey, coffee bean, and some spice.

 

Wet: There is a lot going on in this one, so there’s no way I am going to be able to pick everything out, but I am getting the smoky cacao (it’s stronger on me than it was in the vial), coconut, vanilla, and spices. Then, I get a little coffee bean and some whiskey, but I wouldn’t say this is a boozy scent. As it sits on my skin, the vanilla and spices become more prominent. The orris butter comes out as the scent begins to dry, and I hope it doesn’t take over everything, as orris typically loves stomping on everything else and making a scent a powdery mess with my skin chemistry.

 

Dry: While I do get the orris butter, it hasn’t succeeded in declaring dominion over the other notes and ruining the scent thus far. And I can smell the truffle note now! It’s a spiced, slightly smoky cacao on me now with some truffle and vanilla, as well as some carnation. After a few hours, the carnation ends up becoming one of the main players -- I’m not surprised, as I tend to amp carnation -- along with the spices and cacao.

 

Verdict: This is a really interesting, complex 13. It’s not one I need to hunt down more of, but I think I will hold on to my imp and maybe reach for it when the next 13 rolls around (since I don’t really wear 13s except on that day).

In the decant: Sweet Snow White snow piled on top of chocolate-y Bliss.

 

Wet: The sweet snow note from Snow White is the most prominent part of the scent, but Bliss’ brownie-like chocolate-y self is getting stronger as the oil sits on my skin (although it hasn’t managed to overtake the snow note).

 

Dry: The snow note ended up reasserting itself, so this is sweet snow-covered Bliss. But after several hours of wear, what remains is mostly the Snow White snow… the chocolate note is very faint.

 

Verdict: I am glad that I got to try this one, because I love the sweet snow note, and I enjoy gourmands, but I am also glad that I did not leap for a bottle of this when it was live since it mostly ended up being the Snow White snow on me, and I already have multiple bottles of Snow White.

In the decant: Hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows!

 

Wet: It smells just like a cup of hot cocoa made from a packet with little marshmallows included! The marshmallow is more prominent on me than it was in the decant. There’s a fuzzy warmth to it that must be the felt.

 

Dry: Okay, now I do get the glue note, and it is very realistic. It’s marshmallows and glue on a fuzzy cocoa blanket. The glue ends up being somewhat sharp on me and stronger than I would like it to be in the end, but this was great when it had less of a presence.

 

Eventually, the cocoa reasserts itself so that it’s mostly cocoa, felt, and a little bit of glue after several hours of wear.

 

Verdict: I really liked this at first, but then the glue got to be too much for me, but after a while, it became more cocoa-y again? I have a lot of chocolate scents, so I will probably let go of this decant because I can’t see myself reaching for this over those, but I will say that I love that this isn’t just a straight-up gourmand and that, while the glue note wasn’t for me, I appreciate how realistic it smelled! This was definitely a scent experience.

2009 release.

 

In the bottle: Lightly spiced boozy goat’s milk egg nog with some soft coffee in the background.

 

Wet: This smells like creamy egg nog. It was boozier in the bottle than it is on me, although I do get some booze after a few minutes as well as the soft coffee liqueur.

 

Dry: It’s boozier now than it was before, and the spices have now come out to play, but they are soft and aren’t overpowering. I really enjoy how creamy this one is, but I wish I got a little less booze during this phase of the scent. The coffee liqueur is fainter than before, but I can still smell it in the background if I inhale deeply.

 

Sadly, this one is pretty soft and doesn’t have any throw. I wonder if slathering would help?

 

Verdict: This is a nice, creamy egg nog scent. I think I will hold on to the bottle and see how much I reach for it once the holiday season rolls around.

I received some imps of the original in my Trading Post orders over the last few years, and to me, it’s similar to Plunder, but with some incense. I am now going to test the Resurrected version on one hand and the original on the other to see how they compare.

 

In the bottle: This is a lot heavier on the cinnamon than the original. I am not sure if that’s because the original is aged, though. It still reminds me of Plunder (they both have cinnamon and tea).

 

Wet: The cinnamon is a lot stronger in the Resurrected version. The original is softer and smoother, but again, maybe that is due to age. You can tell that they’re the same scent, but I’m able to get more notes from the original because the cinnamon is a lot calmer. Even though this is very cinnamon-forward, it’s a softer cinnamon variety that isn’t burning my sensitive skin.

 

Dry: This is still mostly about the soft cinnamon, while the original has the cinnamon, tea, incense, and other spices. The incense in this is very light and the original is smokier, so I am thinking that that’s probably the main difference between the two.

 

Verdict: If you are a fan of Plunder or that scent family, there’s a good chance you will like this one as well. This is nice, but I already have a few cinnamon-dominant scents in my collection that I don’t reach for often enough, so I will likely end up gifting this to a friend that adores cinnamon scents.

In the decant: Cinnamon and greenery stand out to me the most. The moss is present, and there’s a touch of ozone, some resins, and what I believe is the same papyrus note found in Funerary Papyri.

 

Wet: There is a lot going on here. I do not think I’ll be able to pick out all of the notes, but the cinnamon, greenery, and moss are the first notes I detect. Then I get a resin, a little bit of soapy ozone, and some fresh, green, and slightly citrus-y papyrus. There are also some florals at play here, but I am unable to pinpoint which ones they are. There’s something slightly sweet in here (not the honey) that I am not feeling, but I am not sure what it is (maybe the styrax?). As it begins to dry, the moss, grass, cinnamon are still the notes that jump out to me the most, with a resin not far behind. Even though the cinnamon in this is described as heady, this is not a scent heavy on the cinnamon (and I’m glad, since I have sensitive skin).

 

Dry: The moss is now the dominant note on me, followed by the amber. I also get a bit of honey. It’s somewhat soapy on me now, but I’m not sure if it is because of the moss and the ozone, or because there are just so many notes in this one. I think it’s probably the moss and ozone, though.

 

After a while, the moss and ozone do give it an after-rain feel, but the honey has become more prominent by this time, so it’s part after-rain scent and part honeyed resin. How curious!

 

Verdict: It’s okay, but there is too much going on in this one for me. Oddly enough, the phase of the scent I enjoyed the most was the one I got after the scent had been on my skin for a few hours.

In the decant: Lots of almond (the kind I can’t help associating with cherry) and rose. I only get a trace of leather in the background if I inhale really deeply.

 

Wet: The almond note is very strong, and I can’t help but thinking of cherry when I smell it. The red rose is also pretty potent. I wonder if that is also contributing to the cherry association, or if the leather is, as I can smell it now, and I’ve had some leathers do that on me before. Unfortunately, this smells really medicinal on me at the moment. I hope that changes.

 

Dry: The leather is more prominent than it was before, and I still get the red rose, but alas, that medicinal vibe hasn’t gone away.

 

Verdict: The almond in this one just didn’t work on my skin, sadly. I prefer Whip.

In the decant: Skin musk, bourbon vanilla, sweet yet dry Mysore sandalwood, and frankincense.

 

Wet: Bourbon vanilla and skin musk are the first notes that leap out at me, followed by the sandalwood and frankincense. I have been trying to skip scents with bourbon vanilla listed lately because it was barely there in the last several scents I tried with the note. This is more like what I was hoping for with Drag is for Everyone. I think the frankincense used here is the same one found in Venus Caelestis, because this shares a similarity to that scent, and I think the costus is playing a factor in reminding me of that scent as well, since it had a light, sweet floral accompanied by light resins. This is a lot sweeter and feminine than I thought it would be, and I cannot stop sniffing my wrist!

 

Dry: On me, this is vanilla-infused sandalwood and light frankincense accompanied by a sweet, candy-like floral on a bed of skin musk. The costus makes me think of blue lotus instead of the animalic description I got when I looked up what costus is supposed to smell like.

 

Verdict: I can’t believe I was originally going to skip trying this one. I am so glad that I decided to try it, because this is amazing! The wet phase in particular really reminds me of Venus Caelestis, which I regret not getting a bottle of, minus the sugared lemon. I need a bottle of this, stat.

In the decant: Lots of almond and hazelnut, with some fig behind those notes.

 

Wet: The almond and hazelnut stand out to me the most. It makes me think of a glazed pastry. I am now regretting my decision of not eating some of the almond kringle I bought from Trader Joe’s for breakfast. Then, I get the fig behind those notes, as well as some rose-y Turkish delight. The blast of almond that I got before has already calmed down within a few minutes, and now the hazelnuts and rose-y rahat lokum are the main players, but the fig is not far behind.

 

Dry: This ends up being strong on the hazelnut, fig, and rahat lokum for a while before settling down into a warm hazelnut and Turkish delight scent that’s less rose-y than before with a calmer fig note.

 

Verdict: I wish the almond had decided to stick around longer, but it doesn’t normally last very long on me, so I am not surprised. In the end, this is nice, but the fig ends up being stronger on me than I would like it to be. It was really nice to be able to try this one, though!

In the decant: I get a pale honey drizzled over dry flowers, and behind that, I get a metallic note. I hope the metallic note cooperates on my skin.

 

Wet: This is a cold, honeyed floral scent, but the metallic note adds a cologne-like quality to it. The honey is definitely a pale variety, and the flowers are dry… they remind me of something, but I cannot pinpoint what they remind me of at this time.

 

Dry: Alas, this has gone into powder territory on me. It’s slightly honeyed, floral powder. I am guessing that my skin has decided to make this mostly about the dust and dead flowers.

 

After a while, it’s a cool, musky floral scent with a really light honey.

 

Verdict: I was interested in this one because of the honeyed floral aspect of the scent, but alas, it ended up being really powdery on me at one point, so it’s not something I’d reach for. On a positive note, the metallic note in this is kinder than those notes usually are on me.