Laurel the Woodfairy

Well, out of those options, Bon Vivant would certainly be preferable to Shill at the gym! I wear BPAL for yoga--Coiled Serpant or Sudha Segara usually, but that's a little different from the gym since it's a big studio and no one gets very sweaty. When I'm going to hit the machines I use something very light but happy, like Dormouse.

A frimp from the Lab, who must know I am simply gagging to go to Venice. Since I haven't been able to go yet, my strongest association is with Jeanette Winterson's novel The Passion, which is set partially in Venice and portrays the city as alive with magick...the particular magick, I always imagine, of those of us whose element is water. So, obviously, I have lots of positive baggage in trying this scent. On me, Venice is softly aquatic-floral, which is totally appropriate. The lemon and currant notes keep it interesting and distinctive, fresh enough to balance the dreaded sweet jasmine (although I wish I was getting more rose). This is feminine with a kick. Yes, I can imagine Villanelle, the gorgeous gondolier heroine of The Passion, wearing this. It's not an everyday scent for me, but I am keeping Venice--it will be a hope-chest imp to wear when I finally get to Italy!

I haven't had much luck with many of the sexy scents (Desire, Le Petit Mort, Love Me, etc...at least O is fabulous on me!), but I won't stop 'til I try them all. So I ordered Hunger in my latest batch of imps. Hm, I loved narcissus in Pride, but the orange is giving it a very different feel here. I can smell the vanilla, but it seems to be fighting with the other notes. Hunger is overall a bit bitter, despite the vanilla. It might make me want a Creamsickle, but it does not inspire lust (then again, it's not a Voodoo blend, so I'm sure YMMV depending on how sexy you think Creamsickles are. ) It drys down to incense, but in a dirty-hippie way rather than a sexy way. This is not going to be the sexy scent for me, obviously!

Ooo, thank you for your research, Macha! Very interesting. This was a frimp from the Labbies, who obviously realize I could use some empowerment. Er...I also just saw The Skeleton Key and must now get all negative superstitious ideas about Voodoo out of my head. I hashed out my ethical issues in a different thread ages ago and have long since decided that the self-directed oils are consistent with my spiritual practice. Anyway, on we go: Oh. Yum. A lovely lemon topnote floating over a warm bakery note with a touch of fresh, green ginger. It's similar to the calm, happy lemon note in Water of Notre Dame, but *not* powdery on me like Follow Me Boy. There is a depth to the base notes that's quite rich--it may be patchouli, but I do not think there is heliotrope, as my skin can't stand that. This is a reassuring hug from your grandma when she's in the kitchen baking lemon cookies. I keep thinking of the Oracle in The Matrix. A blend that is no less powerful for being homespun in feeling.

Midway is good; also, if you can get your hands on any leftover Sugar Cookie from last Yule, it's so flat-out all-around sugary AND bakery that it may fit donut, as well as cookie, cravings.

Whew, it's a strong one! A whole garden, indeed. Gardenia and pear really stand out, with a sweet compote of dates and figs underneath. This reminds me strongly of Titania, but a hot, humid version of Titania's icy fruit/floral. Titania on vacation, perhaps? This is way too sweet for me, especially as autumn approaches and I start thinking of crisp, spicy scents. But if you want a tropical island scent that's lush and *extremely* strong, this is the garden for you!

"Eden" is one of my favorite names/words, and I never think of Biblical Eden with all that judgmental good n' evil stuff; I think of when I saw Sarah Brightman on her "Eden" tour, and the stage was full of warm light and velvet-draped sofas and hot shirtless men frolicking around. Hey, every diva gets to design her *own* paradise! And if Beth's paradise is figs, that sounds good to me. Eden the oil starts out kinda weird on me--a plastic note that *has* to be the coconut (drat, forgot that was in there). This fades to allow almond milk reminiscent of Dana O'Shee to emerge. There's a soft, rich sandalwood note underneath. And...here, figgy, figgy! Where is it? I LOVE figs, and I've had no luck with BPAL fig scents--the note just doesn't like to come out on me. ::dabs more on:: On second dab, the lovely Dana notes beat the plastic coconut to the punch; very nice. And on the drydown, the fig made a brief, lovely appearance with its signature green-yet-creamy gorgeousness. But it has to fight the ick-coconut every step of the way. ETA: I tried it on Brian. *He* got figs. ::pout:: Well, apparently I have been cast out of Fig Paradise!

At last, I get to try Midway! I seem to recall that the Midway label has a picture of a roller coaster on it--that's the perfect emblem for the morphing-est scent I have ever tried! First it was a lovely topnote of cotton candy, then salt--Brian thought of peanuts, but I think it was the taffy, then butter. The butter lasted about 20 minutes, then the powdered sugar emerged, closely followed by the dough for funnel cake. The next time I slathered more on, the gorgeous cotton candy/sugar tart came on stronger and lasted longer on drydown, and *that's* what I most wanted. The butter stage...not so much (there's a reason I didn't order Shill!). Overall, Midway is a wildly fun ride; it was awesome to go around smelling of funnel cake. It's a little like one of those carnival games where you don't know what prize you will get each time, though--you may get sugar, or you may get butter. I'm thinking I should buy some Pink Sugar for my sugar-perfume-fix and save my Midway imp for carefree moods when I'm willing to take a chance. Everyone should try this at least once--I've *never* had a scent go through so many clearly defined stages, and it's a whole party in a bottle!

My first thought on application was, "wussy apricots." The apricot note is true but soft; after a few minutes a surprisingly buttery note emerges. An apricot tart, perhaps. Nice but too faint for me. Depraved is a better choice if you want a strong apricot.

Ooo, yum! I ordered this with Brian in mind, and I was right: we both went "mmmm!" and it's definitely very him. Coconut is not a good note on me, but on him it blends creamily into the surprisingly sweet and buttery rum. The tobacco is really interesting--it's not a heavy note as it is in Hearth, but it's a clever way to add sweetness in a more masculine way than most sugary notes would be. I can indeed see this being a Jack Sparrow oil! Definitely a winner for the boy.

Hurrah, the Queen's caravan has arrived! She comes in her lovely amber bottle with the special label, so worthy of gypsy-tent decor everywhere. I had already promised decants to three people--one Forumite plus my lovely Gypsy mother and sister, so I may have to order another bottle. For now, I still have enough to savor. Gypsy Queen is the best of all rich, deep notes--a swirl of incense floating over a spicy floral bouquet, with a sexy musk base note. Different notes keep wafting up to me--now it's carnation, now neroli. This is for the woman who wants to smolder in thick eyeliner, sheer draperies, and heavy heirloom jewelry. The perfect evening scent--incensy floriental--but possibly also a daytime scent for those with enough glamor to pull it off. Mmmm. Makes me want to get in touch with my Bohemian roots.

Thank you for the frimp, Labbies! Super-dark in the vial, a murky deep brown. Smells of spicy pine, like a Christmas tree! And I can see how the musk could be called "furry"--this is a Christmas tree that's still in the woods with a critter living in it. This would be a room scent rather than one I (or DH) would wear. But I already have Yuletide for my winter room scenting purposes, so I'll swap this to someone who needs it.

It really amuses me to think of someone asking what perfume I'm wearing and to reply, "Succubus!" Anyway, this was a frimp from the Lab, bless their hearts. I love the unusual orange note in Masquerade--a sort of blood orange--so I hope this is like it. Yes, the first note I get is the lovely Masquerade orange! A second later...harsh and bitter. How can sweet things like mimosas and cloves go so sharp? Weird. Off to swap; I'll be buying a bottle of Masquerade soon, as it is my perfect orange and cannot be improved upon.

Regan arrived with my bottle of Honey Moon, which I am swapping as it was completely lacking in honey on me. But I *did* get honey in this order...from Regan. On first swipe it smelled exactly like O ( ). But then it went all powdery and weird; the orchid itself is nice, but something--presumably the stephanotis--does not like me much. It's not truly awful, but it can't compete with O, my perfect honey scent.

I am thrilled that my bottle arrived on Lammas--I take it as a sign that I should use it in ritual *and* drink some of DH's homemade mead tonight! Sniffing the pretty bottle with the yellow-trimmed label: no honey yet--just the crisp lunar oils (whatever they may be) and some herbs; the thyme perhaps? On me: the ginger comes out, and the (urgh) jasmine--why does jasmine love me when I hate it? *How* can it drown out other notes this way? There's a bit of the gardenia from Lady of Shalott...and still no honey. Wait, maybe a *tiny* bit way down in there, but I wouldn't even have noticed had I not been sniffing for it. This is mainly an herby lunar blend with some mixed sweet notes underneath. Nope, 'O' is still the honey scent for me. I'll save some of this for ritual and decant the rest into imps.

Lucy would have to go out of her way for me not to like her, considering my mad love for Beth's rose notes *and* Victorian Gothic literary references! Lucy's rose is indeed a green rose; I can't pick out any spices, but there may be a touch of resin. What it really smells like to me is La Belle Dame sans Merci, with more rose. Since I am almost out of Belle Dame and love roses, this is a highly suitable replacement. It does not seem terribly sad or tragic to me, nor yet super-romantic...Havisham embodies all of that for me. This is a nice everyday rose and, unlike Lucy, has very little bite.

I finally got to try an imp of The Star, and it's immediately jumped onto my Big Bottles Wishlist. This is *the* summer BPAL to me. A bright burst of lime and fresh mint topnotes, and then immediately creamy coconut and almond cookies! The lime stays around though, and the throw is excellent--it wafts beautifully. I didn't know a bakery base scent could combine so well with fruits. The Star is a mojito with fresh sprigs of mint in it, served with a plate of macaroons to nibble by the pool. It is decadent and summery and posh. A vacation in a bottle. Truly gender-neutral, too, and one of the few scents where Brian picked out exactly the same notes I did (we have quite different noses). We need a bottle to share. I'm glad The Star is one of my favorite cards, so I have an excuse to dump this on--it's for ritual!

My first sniff of the imp reminded me of O--the vanilla and musk, no doubt. Definitely a sweet scent, which is fine by me! Once on, Desire lost most of the O resemblance as the other notes came out--I can't distinguish rose (alas), but the neroli is interesting. Desire is a rot-your-teeth-sweet scent for adults--much more mature notes than Lolita, but this could be the Lolita for people who, like me, can't stand heliotrope. There's something acrid underneath in the base notes that comes out on the drydown--not sure if it's the patchouli or the teak, but it's not pleasing me. I'm glad I could swap for Desire and try it, but I don't think I'm enamored enough to keep it; I'm being really picky about which scents I keep now, as I want them all to fit in my imp box. Off to re-swap, then!

I wanted Nemesis for two reasons--first, because of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, in which Miss Marple appears (incongruous though it sounds!) as Nemesis. And then the notes--ginger, fig, and rose and some of my very favorites, and I like the others as well. I'm hoping for some fig to tide me over until my Eden arrives. Looking over the thread, it looks like this one can vary wildly from person to person--er, perhaps meting out whatever justice needs to be dealt to you?? In the vial: attractive red/rose color, smells softly of light woods On me, there's rose from the very beginning (my skin looooves rose), with a base note of patchouli that reminds me of Coiled Serpant and a touch of the cypress wood. Where are the ginger and figs? :taps foot impatiently: Oh wait, there's something peeking out at the back...the fig! Softer than I expected, but it's in there. This is not a "Fig!" scent though. The ginger is no more than a whisper of spice. Overall: Nemesis is understated on me, like the ghost of a very strong scent; woodsy in a dry way, with a touch of dried flowers and fruits--like I would imagine the Secret Garden to smell before it was discovered and brought back to life. I wouldn't buy a bottle but I like it enough to keep the imp; it's a scent of quiet, earthy strength.

A gracious frimp in a swap, although vetiver seldom likes me, so I am proceeding with caution. Random side-note: I said to Brian that, unless you had bottles of all 7 Sins together on your dresser, people would have no idea why you had a bottle labeled Sloth--they might think you were trying to smell like an actual sloth, and by all accounts they really stink because they sit there and grow moss, mold, etc. Although we think it would be fun to have a pet sloth and drape it on the furniture. Anyway. Whew! This is a *thick* scent; my first thought was molasses, for it has a sweetish topnote and the myrrh registers as spice on me. It smells like a cauldron full of thick, black witches' brew (although probably not a brew I would make!). It's not bad, but it is rather masculine--I can see the Old Spice connection. I think I'll try it on Brian.

I'm a pink-loving girly-girl, so I'm happy to have a decant of Pink Moon to try! OMG, it's Sugar Skull as a summer scent--that same yummy sugar note comes out first, but then there's a huge bouquet of wildflowers underneath (I don't know what phlox smells like; the flowers all seemed to blend together). The strawberry note is faint, but it's like a touch of Bon Vivant under Sugar Skull...I've never layered those two, so I'm glad Beth has done it for me in a way that works so well!

A decant from the generous VorpalBunny! Whoa, what an interesting scent! *Powerful* incense with floral underneath; reminds me of The Caterpillar but with a touch of pine. Surprisingly sweet, though (it did a quick morph)--almost Sacred 'Ho level of sweet. Not the sort of thing I'd normally wear, but for witchy nights it could be used in ritual.

I have Eden on order and can't wait to try it, as Intrigue didn't work for me. Go fig.

I have done that many a time... That would be a Water of Notre Dame day. A calm-down-and-feel-zen sort of scent. Believe in the voodoo!

I got a decant from the lovely VorpalBunny; I am very excited, as this is the first CN scent I've tried (Gypsy Queen is on order...). Fire Eater has a sharp, aldehyde top note--like you'd find in high-end perfumes of the Coco Chanel era. There's floral underneath; carnation and jasmine, I think. I'm not crazy about jasmine, but this is a really interesting way to do it--it's like a bonfire of red/pink flowers, and you've just tossed pure alcohol on top to make a BIG flame. The aldehyde "burns off" pretty quickly and spice creeps out and licks the edges of the scent. A very interesting, evocative blend. ETA: Not to be off topic, but Olympia's review made me shriek with laughter. I would say that, yes, Woodfae have similar noses to humans.