ND¢

In the bottle: Hard to identify. Something herbally medicinal, a little pipe tobacco maybe? Something sweet. On me: The second I put it on I thought 'wintermint gum tobacco air-freshener!' Something I can't put my finger on that smells very familiar. People compare Nocnitsa with this, I think I've observed. This definitely is more like herbal medicine and less like spicy berry-fir. Icy Hot! That's what it is. My mom used to put it on my dad when I was a little kid. As it sits, the Icy Hot fades, and it starts to seem more clean, herbal. Not light, friendly herbal, definitely a darker herbal. But eventually it did grow to be more of a perfumey scent ('sharpness,' I guess, is what I associate with it being 'like perfume') and it didn't suit my skin. I'm not sure if my body chemistry just can't carry it off, didn't react well with it or what. I think a gentler, less piercing forest smell would be right up my alley.

In the bottle: Winter berries and faint greenery. On me: The berry is dominant, but seems like a wild winter berry smell than anything... a nice if subtle distinction. Was hoping for more sage and musk, but sage would be so subtle as to be overwhelmed. The musk is there as an undercurrent that makes me think about old-timey holiday parties, drinking and eating elaborate courses and dancing, but fades out. And then this is a berry perfume. Green tea? Not on me. I'll be looking to swap this one.

In the bottle: A little like cleaning solution (the bleach kind rather than the Pine-Sol kind), but not unpleasant, with a vague herby scent I eventually identified as plains grass. On me: no cleaning solution smell. Brought out a sweet and more overtly herbal overtone, less like grass and more aromatic. A bright, warm smell that manages to be crisp and not muddled without overpowering my easily-overpowered nose. As it dried I started thinking about the sort of flowers that grow in dry places and sharp fresh-chopped wood, though I'm not getting anything scorched or barren about it. I'd compare it to Yggdrasil, not in the actual scent at all but in the way that the potent herbal tone asserts itself and sets the tone as an aggressive perfume. But then later I noticed that on the wrist that just got a second-hand taste, it's woody, soapy, comforting. Maybe if I used less I wouldn't get so blown away by smells. I tried that, just a dot; but it went through pretty much the same process on a smaller scale. I can see how people would describe it as masculine, but I think that's more of a stereotypical classification than a useful one in this case. I actually found it a good deal more floral than I was expecting. If it'd stayed at all like the smell in the bottle, I think it'd have been more desolate and barren, etc.

In the bottle: Something rich, like butter. A sharp sweet note every so often, maybe peach? Something more like potpourri than clove and nutmeg. I got some on me, so I took a break and sat there smelling. Potpourri again, Glade Plug-ins if you smell the jelly up close? I guess I can try once more and leave it longer to see if I like smelling like 'Autumn Fresh' air freshener, but I think not. After I washed it off and waited a while, I could still smell a bit of it. Better, more evocative of an autumn holiday. I'm going to keep it for room scent. NICE room scent for this fall, when we're having to move and unpack all our boxes right in time for Halloween.