bunnymcfoo

Nepal poppy, lotus root, wild rose, and blue hibiscus with blackberry, tonka, sage, lavender, peony and vetiver. Holy crud, this is all fruit. Blackberry, blackberry, blackberry and hey! where'd that citrus come from? I smell juicy, which I know is a weird way to describe a scent, but there you have it. As this is drying down, I'm getting even more fruity, juicy, lushness from my wrist, and I could almost swear that I'm getting some peach now too. Weird. Ah, there's the herbal, slightly bitter edge. Niiiice. This is a gorgeous blend, but I'm not sure that I want to smell exactly like a fruit tart on a hot summer day. Hm.

In the Bottle: I can actually smell the chocolate in this before I even open the bottle. Very rich, very much a dark chocolate. I'm hoping that when I put it on I'll get some of the other notes, especially since I adore white chocolate. (Yes, I know, I'm odd.) Once I get the bottle open, I get a ton of herbal notes, which are merging with the chocolate in a kind of weird way. Wet: Herbs and chocolate sliding around behind it, hovering over it, wrapping around it. Like cocoa almost, one that's been infused with herbs. I know, it sounds a little weird, but I'm loving this a whole lot. I'm getting a ton of cardamom (which my skin thinks is the best! thing! ever! and amps like there's no tomorrow) and there's those herbs, slightly bitter, cutting through the sweetness of the chocolate. Dry: Grown up chocolate. I'm not actually sure how I feel about this one, but right now I'm leaning more towards loving it than anything else. My wrist smells like cardamom infused chocolate, and I keep wanting to lick it. >.<

In the Bottle: Okay, the monsterbaits are just kind of weird with me. In the bottle this one smells really rich and fruity with a bit of cream, but not like a real fruit, more like the way fruit would smell if someone described it in a book maybe? It's way more intense than it should be. Wet: Sugary and sweet and creamy fruit. More of the oddly fake fruit smells, with a layer of baked goods scent. Dry: Oh god, the drydown on this is gorgeous. It's faded, but with confectioners sugar and cherry candies. I love this so very much, but I have no idea when I'd ever wear it.

I can't decide if I like this or not. Hm. In the Bottle: Kind of the weirdest mint I've ever smelt. I'm totally not getting Thin Mints, more like a vanilla-mint toothpaste almost? It's bizarre. Wet: There's some cake here, along with the mint & vanilla. It reminds me a whole lot of this cake that my mother adores, a chocolate mint angelfood cake. I like it, I think? Dry: Cake and mint and I'm still getting a dash of chocolate. It's still that cake, but there's an odd layer of dirt and dust smeared over it along with an odd dash of celery. Celery of all things! Bizarre, but not bad.

in the bottle: Sugar cookies! baking sugar cookies, omg. YUM. there's a hint of rum and lime, but mostly sugar cookies over everything else. wet: I'm getting a lot more of the rum and lime, and there's a good deal more of the tobacco, which I LOVE, but I'm still getting more cookies than anything else. Baked now though, no more of the baking-cookies-scent. It itches a little bit, which is weird, but it smells wonderful. dry: I smell like tobacco sugar cookies that were made with lime instead of lemon. This is amazing. I'm not sure I'll be buying a big bottle of this, but I will for certain be using the rest of this imp and then decide about that.

See, I don't like puppets. These puppets don't like me. Sharp, bitter, and hateful. I'm told that the drydown goes roses and woody, but I can't get there, can't make myself work through the note here that's turning my stomach. Maybe it's the teak? That's gone bad on me before. Or maybe it's the labdanum. Whatever it is, it smells like utterly wretched crap on me. *sigh* Oh well...they can't all be winners, right?

in the bottle: A very delicate floral. I think I might smell honeysuckle? wet: I'm barely getting any flowers at all, at first, but the ivy's coming through loud and clear. Nice. A few minutes later, and the ivy's faded away. *sad* I'm all flowery now, which isn't bad, but it's not the lovely green scent I just had. Bummer. dry: So the Ghost settles down into a light green floral. Very pretty, I'm getting a lot of very sweet florals. Sadly, I'm only getting them when I actually smush my nose right up against my skin. Not a lot of throw, but the wear time seems pretty decent.

in the bottle: You know, it's funny, but on first sniff, all I can think is that this smells like perfume. *palms up* Another sniff, and I'm getting a note that reminds me really strongly of Eclipse. Honey? Pepper? Clove? Do they even have anything in common besides cinnamon? Hm. wet: Oooh, honey and cinnamon. Yup, this smells a LOT like Eclipse. This is a cinnamon I could get behind; there's no burn, thank god. Please please please don't go weird on me. *crosses fingers* And yum, after a couple of minutes, I start getting pepper in with the cinnamon. Doesn't sound like it should work, but MAN, I'm really liking this one. no, no, no. The itch is starting up, as per usual with cinnamon. Maybe it'll die down? It's not too bad, so far... dry: Okay, the itch does die down, without ever getting too bad to deal with. \o/ After about an hour or so, Bengal dries down very nicely. The strongest note by far is the honey, with the spices blending together to support it. About halfway through the drydown, I hit a period of time when I smelled like a big ol' chai tea, and I really wish that had been how it had stayed. This end result is more like a spice tisane with a lot of honey added to it than an actual chai. Really really lovely, but more comforting than sultry. I think I might need a 5ml of this one, though not until fall or winter.

in the bottle: sweet, slightly spicy florals. wet: Spicy, utterly gorgeous floral. I can distinctly smell the carnation, and there's something else that I'm assuming is the phlox? In any case, it's lovely. dry: Sugar and spice and everything nice, in very deed. This settles into a spice that somehow manages to be potent but not at all overpowering. The floral notes are still there, under the spice, lifting it up and making it very spring-ish. There's just enough carnation to be recognizable, and it's not so sweet that the sugar overpowers everything else. Seriously, this is a fantastic, beautiful scent. Figures, I find a floral I love, and it's come and gone! *rolls eyes at self* ah well, there's always swaps, right?

I'm just going to second what Mad Girl said. In the bottle and wet on my skin, this smells like unbaked brownie batter. Rich chocolate, with a hint of something else...maybe something nutty? Whatever it is, it's totally overpowered by the chocolate. Dry on me, it's richer and a little darker: baked brownies, fresh out of the oven and cooling on the counter. God, I just want to gnaw on my wrist. Either that or go bake some brownies. hm....there's an idea!

Okay, I get the pumpkin in this one, peeking out from behind the cocoa (which is very much the strongest note on me). And that is where I'm pleasantly surprised by this blend, in that it's clearly not chocolate, but cocoa powder. Dry, kind of dusty, and with a sweetness that you have to wait for. Very very nice, and not at all what I was expecting.

I have no idea how Beth does it, but this is all apples on me, with a hint of spice. Really lovely, very light and refreshing. Very much a fall scent, with the promise of winter right around the bend.

in the bottle: Oh man, I don't get much pumpkin, but I totally get nutmeg and clove. I'm drooling here, people. wet: Little bit of pumpkin, lots and lots and lots of peach and nutmeg. Weirdly, this is super sweet, like a juicy peach sweet though, not sugar-sweet. I can't figure out why my elbow smells more like a peach pie than a pumpkin one, but I'm not complaining! dry: Oh my lord. Oh, oh, I'm in heaven here. I smell like the kitchen on thanksgiving when there's pies in the oven. Peach mixed with pumpkin, and overlaid with spices. I was hoping not to smell like the Great Pumpkin when I put Jack on, and oh, I got my wish! This is a beautifully balanced scent, warm and sweet. Guh!

in the bottle: This smells like dessert. Mmmm! wet: Oh, they weren't kidding when they said this has a wicked bite! I'm getting so much buttercream, but there's very much an alcoholic snap there. I think it might be more of the honey mead than the rum, because there's a rich undernote of sweetness here. dry: There's a wee, tiny bit of hazelnut peeking out now, but I feel kind of like I've been smothered in alcohol spiked frosting! It's really yummy, and I kind of really want to lick my wrist. Still, it might be just a little bit too sweet for a perfume, at least for me. I think I'll check back in a little while, hopefully it'll have mellowed a little bit.

in the bottle: like a few others, I find Clio's sharp, almost bitter, initial impression to be slightly off-putting. I'm not sure I even want to try this one. *gulp* wet: You know, my skin likes patchouli a whole lot more than I do. Most of what I'm getting to start with is an overwhelming wave of that, with a sharp edge to it. I'm not really liking this very much. dry: Okay, this mellows, but sadly, it's mellowed into something that smells like a wood-polish, a household cleaner, or maybe a really nasty shampoo. Oddly enough, it kind of reminds me a little bit of my mom's old witch hazel skintoner: bitter, astringent, and not something that my skin likes. Ornery indeed!