ctate

In the imp: Another ozone and citrus scent, this time a fizzy fresh grapefruit tone with light crisp flowers behind. On me, wet: Wow, big change. The clear grapefruit turned immediately into something greener, now evoking rainy bushes and flowers with a vaguely piny/camphorous note peeking out. Weird change, although not bad. Not earthy at all. On me, dry: The grapefruit never came back, leaving just faint floral ozone. Rain on irises, say. It's pleasant, although not as interesting IMHO as Sea of Glass. The finish here is a purer floral than that one, so it's worth having both for different effects. I don't know whether this one is right for me, that's all.

In the imp: Oh nice, a clean bright ozone backed with some kind of very light aquatic floral, or maybe lilac -- softening and sweetening the ozone sharpness without being cloying. Hints of lemon around the edges, but not at all prominent. On me, wet: The floral background thickens and comes forward. I was afraid it would become orchid-heavy, but it's veered off towards a clean rain-on-flowers sort of outdoorsy smell. Still ozone, of course. On me, dry: Damn, damn, damn. The light pretty floral background has turned into fabric-softener dryer sheets. Really nice dryer sheets, but still. Crud. Off for swap.

True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent. In the imp: Hm, tough to pin down. Vaguely spicy, clove/allspice sort of hints, with a firm initial impression of unsweet orange/citrus, neroli or grapefruit or some such. Then hints of something a bit camphorous, and maybe a thread of mint? All on top of a familiar store perfume counter foundation, patchouli and maybe musk. Very earthy, with mossy touches. On me, wet: Whatever that camphorous note is leaps to the front, and aha, amber, lots of it. Quickly morphing to reveal cedar as the camphorous note, and starting the develop the patchouli. On me, dry: POW. Patchouli and amber, and more patchouli, strengthening over time and with a hellacious throw and tenacity. The cedar has backed off, although it's still floating around in the background. It's got a lot more guts than I expected from the description. A well-structured scent, although I suspect it's only for people who like patchouli. (A lot.) This was a frimp; I'll be passing it along.

In the imp: Just as advertised, all four notes distinguishable. Clear and clean and bright, understated citrus. Even the musk is buoyant. This is really pretty. On me, wet: The aloe and musk jump up immediately, with the tea almost disappearing. A little richer than in the imp as a result. On me, dry: The musk warms up on me and becomes a little sharp. The tea note has come back, interestingly, as has the lemon (slightly). The aloe is gone. It seems to want to go powdery, but so far has managed to avoid it. (Later) I think musk just finishes strangely on my skin; it's turned a little sour and nose-tickly just like Iago did.

In the imp: Wow, this is great. Faint lemon twinkling underneath bright sharp ozone. It may be the ozone, but there's some quality in the background that puts me in mind of teeny white flowers: not a florist's bouquet, but the shaded sweet verge of a meadow. On me, wet: Essentially unchanged. There's a slight tip towards Lemon Pledge™ but it seems to be holding its own against the urge. On me, dry: Still ozone, maybe a teeny hint of lemon echoing but not really "there"... and hunh. Something warming underneath... white musk? Can it be? It's reminding me of the late trail-off of Iago. Very gentle, but definitely there. This is a great scent.

In the imp: Oooh, nice. Sweet thick musk, hot suede, and an elusive wintergreen-cypress-camphor note that must be the vetiver. On me, wet: Dang, the leather disappeared immediately, leaving vetiver over musk. Still nice, but not as interesting. On me, dry: The suede is trying to come back but not quite succeeding. The musk has also turned a little sugary, and taken on some aspect that makes my nose tingly/sneezy. Wild. The vetiver has toned down a lot, too. This is still attractive, but just a little weird because of the musk's transformation. I think I'll hang on to it anyway.

In the imp: Assertive medium-bright unsweet citrus-fruity something -- people seem to say grapefruit, but I disagree; it is a bit darker and more complex -- with murky aquatic florals backing it up. A thick smell, only a hint of sharpness. Ozone. Intriguing. On me, wet: The florals have broadened out and come to center stage. It's starting to verge towards air freshener. What happened to that bright clear fruit sort of note? A thin high note has taken over, and the murk has carried through. A hint of something nebulously spicy, plus little vanilla in the background, and souring a little. The ozone is hanging around, though I'm not good at picking that out. On me, dry: Murky less-sweet floral candle sort of aroma, spiked with ozone and carrying some sort of dark muttering undernotes. The intriguing bright citrus submerged quickly on my skin but might be more lingering on someone else. Don't get me wrong; this isn't bad, particularly because it avoids being too sweet. It just isn't what I would have guessed from the imp, and isn't something I will use. Off for swapping.