Dinerdulcinea

I just got a YC catalogue in the mail with a 'new' "Autumn Leaves" scent...I have never smelled Samhain or Autumn Lodge, but this is available now and may smell like it. (???) One can always hope, right? OOOOO My brother would LOOOOVE that!!! Thanks for the tip! (PS Stormwatch has been discontinued and is the only candle my brother really loves and covets! What he doesn't know is that I bought him 2 EXTRA candles that I am hoarding until his all run out and they are no longer available in the store...then VOILA! Surprise for brother!!!)

in imp: very dry smelling. It is light, but has an air like a room that has been sealed and airless for some time. I think what I smell is actually a light wood of some kind. (?) on wet---an interesting lovely dry-ness. Same as above with a greater sense of airlessness. Dry--Still a light woody dryness with a tiny hint of sweetness in the background. Very creepy and heavy-air smelling even if the perfume is not strong. Eventually this becomes a nice, one-dimensional light wood on me. I got compliments from a co-worker. Summary: I might wear this every now and then, but it is not something I would seek out as a signature scent for me.

in imp: sour bananas on wet: sour bananas with flowers on Dry: Quickly becomes a bright floral with...jasmine. *does research* Probably the Sampaguita flowers (which appear to be a type of jasmine) LATER: Eventually becomes a nice, WARM floral. The warmth may come from the fruit, which disappears completely at first, but comes back in a more pleasant state. Very pleasant and nicely balanced. Summary: I might wear this every now and then, but don't feel compelled to get a bottle just yet.

I think Thaleia is a rockin' summer scent. I also like Eve. For going summer to fall, Bewitched.

imp: rose rose rose. Such a clear rose too. Very very nice. There is some leather. on wet: immediately, I smell like I am wearing something akin to Johnson's baby shampoo. Dry: Still major baby-shampoo-age. I am beginning to think I will probably never be able to find a clear rose that STAYS clear rose after being mixed with my skin. Oh well...I shall swap her to someone that will cherish her and to whom she can remain true.

imp: great rose and nice florals. I can really smell plumeria. on wet: florals with a yucky, sour washcloth note...I think it may be the rose. Some of the BPAL blends I have tried with rose in them seem to do that to me, and then it goes away after a bit and becomes nice. But still nice plumeria and other florals. dry: no more sour old washcloth rose. nice floral blend with good throw and lots of depth. several hours later: Still good through after several hours. A very lovely floral blend. I liked this much better after it settled in a bit, but if I had to pick and choose, I would say this one is too much of a straight floral for me to want to use it often. VERY nice, but I might put it with the swaps to get something else I am really craving to try, like O or Snake Oil.

I had my first allergic reaction today. Queen of Sheba gave me a huge, red, itchy welt. I washed it off right away though and it is back to normal now. I contacted the lab to find out if cinnamon is an ingredient in the "spices." If not, there is something else that bothers me. I'll have to figure out what.

imp: I smell almond, but to my nose, it smells bitter and severly burned. wet: VERY burned and sour!!! EEEEEEK!!!! IT HATESSSSS us, my precious! It left a giant, red, itching, burning WELT on us...yes it did. Must wash it off STAT! Summary: This oil must have cinnamon in it. If not, there is something else I am allergic to. And it smells hideous on me. SWAPS!!!

Hail unto Thee who art Ra in Thy rising, even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength, who travellest over the Heavens in Thy bark at the Uprising of the Sun. Tahuti standeth in His splendour at the prow, and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm. Hail unto Thee from the Abodes of Night! in imp- imp: I smell a light wood on wet: light wood and citrus. Very pleasant. dry: still light wood and citrus, but it is taking on green and floral notes now. There is also a little sweetness like honey, but it is very light. Later: WHOAH! All of a sudden I smell something emerging like clove. WEIRD! I am not big on clove (apparently---the clove note seems to have a tendancy to become "burnt stinky candle" on me) so we'll have to see... Summary: This one has lots of nice notes and is very complex and evolves a great deal. As I hate clove, though, I think it is not a keeper.

If you really want to be certain, you can always email the lab to ask them specifically whether the component is present. *nods* AWESOME! I didn't know that was an "allowed" use of their e-mail! Thanks!

Does anyone know if Snake Oil actually has cinnamon among those "Indonesian spices?" I am allergic to cinnamon and don't want to try it if it is in there. Thanks!

Sadly, I get "butterscotch and hazelnut cookies gone bad." Not for me.

This scent really worked on me. imp: resinous and woody...a hint of pine tar wet: warmer, but also more of a hard wood smell dry: this has a nice, deep, woody smell on me. 2 hours later: this becomes even more warm and earthy on me, but also a little sweet (in a good way). YUM! I like this one! edited to say: as luck would have it, I got this as a frimp and loved it!

In the imp, Smut is a great blend of foodiness and sexy musky-ness. On, one musk starts to rise above the others too much for my taste...and it is not my fave musk---it has more of a traditional perfumey smell. My friend at work tried this and covets it. I will sell my imp to her. She is a BPAL virgin (hahahahaha...more converts...) I think I like Sherezade better on me, but I would like to try some more "foody" blends because I really liked the foody notes in this one (if only the musk weren't so heavy on me). Oh well.

... Honey mead with honeysuckle, oak wood, ivy leaf, wild thyme, carnation, daisy, vervain, gum arabic, frankincense, yauhtli, and liquid copal. This is a very nice blend. It dosn't get powdery on me at all, has good throw, and lasts allllll day. It is very similar on me to Thaleia (honey?) and between the two, I actually prefer Thaleia (which has more fruit on me and less floral). This is just a little more floral than I normally prefer. I will swap this one off since it is so similar to Thaleia with my chemistry. Still, for a floral person, this is a really great blend.

in imp: OOOO! Smells sweet and makes me want to get near it. mmmmmm... on wet: sweet and rich, with something---perhaps the carnation---underneath. Interesting and lovely so far...I have to wait a while and see if this one turns on me... Dry and after a few hours: This has great balance, and is very pleasant...Fresh and clean. But I am still getting a little tiny "soap" note that I am not sure I want. Maybe the combo of the rose and milk? I'll have to ponder that. Much later: too soapy on me. off to the swaps. not quite what I was after in the end.

imp: I get a strange grassy odor mixed in with the incence smell. wet: The grassy smell is reallllllly getting amped on me. I don't think we will be friends. We'll have to see... Dry: The grassy smell goes away and I end up with a SUPER HEAVY commerical-smelling oriental. I think this blend is just not right for me. I like Scherezade on me better than this one. Oh well...we must try it before we know if we like it!

In imp: I smell pepper...and some sweetness, but it is scary and I want to recoil away from it! several hours later when I get the courage to actually TRY it... on wet: anise, a deep black scent (fig?) and maybe currant. (doesn't smell at all like the imp!) VERY interesting!!! Dry: It DOES smell gritty! Like crushed rocks and mineral-laden sweat. I don't think I like it on me, but it is gritty all right! I can still smell anise. After a bit, I get a certain "old lady perfume" quality under it all. A few co-workers have wrinkled their noses at me, so off I go to try and wash it off. Swaperoonie!

Masabakes: imp: myhrr mixed with other stuff on wet: myhrr with other stuff. Very nice! Dry: Very rich and myhrr-spicy...which I love cuz I love myhrr! Dry after a few hours: I like the basic smell (sweet and myhrr-y), but it gets a slight "soap" tinge on me. REALLY expensive and fancy soap, mind you---perhaps the nicest soap ever, but still a little soap. I'll have to ponder if I would want that all day. Maybe other people don't smell a "soapy" quality on me. (?) Hours later: Kind of odd-smelling now...a burning rock quality. A co-worker just sniffed it, raised one eyebrow and tightened his jaw and said, "hmmmmm...that's...interesting." I think that is a "no." Off to swaps!

March Hare: imp: apricot and clove. clear as day. On wet: apricot and clove...still clear as day. Dry- The clove is WAY too heavy on me now. It's like, CLOOOOVVVVVVE!!!!" Unless this thing changes A LOT soon, it will go to the swaps ASAP. Summary: YIKES! On my skin, this becomes "icky candle." The clove amps too much and turns all plasticky. I loved the apricot smell at the very beginning (in the imp) so maybe I will look for more scents with apricot and stay away from scents with clove. Swap-er-oo

imp: I can smell FIR, bigtime. I think there is a hint of tobacco, a hint of orange blossom and mint and a hint of clove. But mostly fir. On wet: The orange blossom really comes out now, but there is a very DARK undertone, which I love. There is some note, though, that is currently on the edge of giving me a headache (but again, that COULD just be work)... Dry: The clove is starting to come out. Almost the headache thing again. It smells like a shop near here. Pleasant enough to walk into for a while, but not sure I could stand to smell it all day long. I will wait and see what this one does after an hour and then several hours. Summary: uhhhh...it's nice but just not me. On my skin, I end up smelling too much like an import shop. Note my fave. Oh well.

Dana O'Shee imp: LOTS of sweet almond. on: a little bit of sweetness, but almost nothing at all. Like a very pale sweet milk. It reminds me a little bit of the time that I cooked bulgar wheat in milk for breakfast. The tase of bulgar in milk is stronger than this smells, but Dana O'Shee smells about as strong as the actual cereal smelled when I cooked it. This is so faint as to be almost completely gone on me in a bit over an hour. So sad!!!! --after several hours, I get a faint soapy smell that almost gives me a headache. : ( Maybe I will try it again another day and see if the headache was just work (which is icky and would give anyone a headache.)

Intrigue: imp: wood...and cocoa On wet: cocoa and...something. Maybe palm(?) maybe wood (?) hmmm... Dry. I can't quite put my finger on this. I love the cocoa and the wood...almost a spicy wood. YUMMY!!!! After several hours I eventually get a woody soapy smell. No more cocoa. Not overly soapy, but a little soapy. Or incense-y. Nice, but not sure I want to smell like that all day. Summary--Up for consideration.

I kind of like Intrigue and think it the way it smells on me would be a good match for what you are describing. Not sure if you like it though. Also Masabakes if you want something rich-autumn-color-smelling. What about Belle Epoque? Well wishes, Bride!

I smell Bergamot very strongly in the imp---which is great cuz I LOVE Bergamot (Earl Grey Tea smell). After a bit, the leather starts in...red and warm at first, then (as the bergamot fades away) a warm brown. Sadly though, by the time I got to this stage, it is almost completely gone. Summary: Although I like it, I would really have to dump it on...because, on me, it has no throw at all after about 20 minutes. Too bad, too, cuz I like it...staying power aside. Hubby tried it too and... basically, the same thing. Nice though!