asciident

Wet: Just sweet cream. First on: Spicy carnation and sweet cream, but layered thick on top of that is a pungent slap-you-in-the-face iris note. Yowch. Dry: Strange. It dries down into sweet cream with a hint of orange and spice. The iris is all gone, which is great because I was so not digging that particular iris. In the end, it's very soft and subtle (low throw), but I get a shock of spice every time I sniff my wrists.

I won't do a full perfume oil-like review, because this pretty much did not morph on me at all. It was soft lavender blossom and lemony-lime juice all the way. I woke up feeling like crap, basically (happens when I'm dehydrated), and couldn't get my mind to settle to start the day. I also have the luxury of going back to bed if I want, which is a concern for lavender blends. Thankfully the citrusy element of this blend makes me feel awake, perhaps countering sleep-inducing lavender. But it's not a buzzy, caffeine-jolted awakeness. I feel a lot calmer, and soothed, much less frazzled. (No doubt drinking the liter of water helped, too. ) I love this blend, and when my imp runs out I'll be getting a bottle.

Wet: Incense! Warm, rich incense. First on: Hm. I'm not very knowledgeable about orris, but I think it's lending a sort of sweet, vaguely floral (yet earthy?) note. Otherwise this smells like spicy vanilla incense. Dry: Very interesting! The best way I can describe this is that it's what I expected Snake Oil itself to be, or maybe like Snake Oil incense. Interestingly, it's not like its incense-brother Temple Viper. That was very much like sweet vanilla incense, and this is much more like Snake Oil incense. I wonder if this makes sense to anyone but me. At any rate, I like it very much!

I was in a soapy circle (mainly because I am a soap FREAK and have enough soap to last about four lifetimes...so I tried to limit myself to samples...for now ). I was given the label for Misk U, so I'll leave off mentioning that for when I review it. Anyhow. I used a little slice of my sample bar in the shower today. The lather was nice-- rich, though not in the sense of big and bubbly-- and left my skin feeling moisturized after. My (non-facial) skin has a big tendency to dry out, so this was a great change of pace! As for the smell, it was very rich in the bar and I was a tad worried about feeling like I'd dipped myself in chocolate. I was pleasantly surprised. I do smell nicely of light milk chocolate, but the throw is *very* minimal. In fact, I pretty much have to stick my nose to my skin to get a whiff. This is great; means I can layer it with regular perfume oil and I won't overwhelm anyone walking by. Overall I like this soap very much, and if I do convince myself I need yet another bar of soap...this is the top of the picks!

Wet: A straight shot of dragon's blood. First on: Dragon's blood is definitely the lead note in this scent dance, but there is at least one floral -- rose gardenia? -- and one spice (which is vaguely myrrh-like, though I'm not sure if what I'm smelling is myrrh or not). Sort of like walking through cherry tree-lined garden path on a summer day. Dry: Very cherry at this point, but I'm not getting the cough syrup effect. There is still another floral amping up the overall flowery effect of this, but it's lovely. Soft and sophisticated, but alluring. Will have to wait for the boyfriend to get home before I can tell if it has any carnal sin effects, though.

"The Pretty Era", France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. Wet: Creamy opium, and vaguely sweet florals. First on: Sweet, but not foody, creamy opium. Vague florals. I know what's in it, but it's not really hitting me unambiguously. Dry: Settled down to opium mingling with sandalwood, a vague sweet floral drifting in and out. Definitely a keeper. I'm a twinge disappointed that I can't smell any mandarin or even citrus here; I'm afraid it's being rather drowned by the opium and vanilla. But the rest makes up for it, certainly. A decent throw, but light enough that it's not overpowering (opium can be very heady, but it's not here).

Wet: Spicy, warm musk. First on: Erp. A weird, sharp commercial-perfume phase. I know I love these notes, though, so...waiting for it to settle down. I still smell the red musk here, and if I concentrate it's nice. Dry: Mmmmmm. So worth waiting for the dry-down. Smoky, spicy, sensual red musk. One of my favorite comfort scents. If I ever get 'round to buying bottles instead of imps, this is at the top of the list.

Wet: A straight-up shot of cocoa made with milk. First on: Vanilla and cocoa. Mmm. Dry: Like a cocoa/chocolate chai. A bit dusty, which I think might be the spices of S.O. or the teakwood, but it's gorgeous.

Wet: Spicy sandalwood. First on: Incense mixed with creamy, slightly sweet lotus for a while. Then the lotus stepped to the background and cedar amped up. Dry: Cedar, very woody, with just a hint of a creamy incense behind it. Hmm. I'm going to have to try it again later. The more it dries, the more it smells like plain cedar, which is fine except that I remind myself of my late hamster's wood shavings...

Wet: Fruity, citrusy yum. First on: Peach, lychee, orange, tangerine...and maybe some narcissus & peony. Really bright orange scent, I think. Dry: Dragon's blood came out to play. Adds a touch of resinous cherry, and I get a bit of pine and plum now as well. Wonderful blend!

Imp from 2004. Wet: OMG. It smells so good. Juicy and sweet. Must.not.drink. First on: I smell like delicious, sweet juice. Dry: Whatever florals are in this are a perfect complement to the plums. I can't get over how great this smells. And I only have one tiny imp!

Unspoken love. Inspired by Oscar Wilde's poem. A scent brimming with pathos and memories of longing and loss. Rose touched with ylang ylang. NB: I don't know what year this imp is from. It is a Lab-labelled imp, though. Wet: ROSE. Very rose. But a pink sort of rose, with fresh cut stems. First on: Hmm. It's a nice rose, very fresh and light, but at the same time something is very green. Dry: It's gone a bit sour on me. ETA: Forget sour. It gave me a headache for hours.

Wet: Sweet, fruity and just a hint of floral. First on: All the florals bloom as soon as it touches my skin. It smells strongly of heliotrope, carnation, daisy and sunflower sprinkled in vanilla musk. Vague citrus notes. Dry: The vanilla musk and citrus went into hiding. Amber and florals, which is perfectly nice, but I'm not in love with it or anything. I was hoping for more amber+vanilla+musk+citrus. It is a really golden, happy blend, though.

Wet: Strong, incensey vetiver. Very earthy. First on: Snake Oil is popping out! And I think it may be helped along by the extra vanilla in the blend. So far, I'm indifferent. If it smells just like Snake Oil, it'll end up in the undecided pile along with it. Dry: Huh. The extra vanilla and maybe the coconut in this toned down everything I wasn't sure I liked in Snake Oil and made this intensely sweet in the dry-down. Just a sweet, sugary vanilla blend. Have to wait for the dry down to get it, but boy is it worth it! It's almost like a vanilla single note for me.

Wet: Warm amber and honey. First on: Red sandalwood makes its appearance. Mostly honey and sandalwood. Something's a bit spicy; the massoia bark? Dry: The oude and sandalwood are making for a very woodsy blend, sometimes overpowering the honey-and-amber combo, sometimes not. I'm ambivalent. And my boyfriend tells me I smell of his mother's old potpourri. I'll try it again in a few weeks to see what I make of it then.

Wet: Hello mint! Yum. First on: Unlike the other snakes I've tried so far, Snake Oil is trying to pop right out on this one. It seems to be blending with the bergamot strangely. Green tea is in here somewhere...but it's swimming in Snake Oil. Dry: My skin sucked out all the mint, and sadly all the green tea. I'm left with a sort of orangey Snake Oil, and it's really not doing much for me. Disappointing; I had really hoped to love this one.

Black amber erupting with a dark volcanic surge of fiery dragon's blood and a burst of melati, rose geranium, mandarin and black currant. Wet: Very fruity! Much more...cheerful? than I expected "Rage" to be. And floral; rose geranium is pouring out of the imp and it makes me nervous. First on: It's like a deep, rich, fruity red wine. I really like this aspect to it, but there is still a distinctive "perfumey" floral element that I'm not sure about. Dry: It dries down and the rose geranium mellows. Really quite lovely, like fruit blossoms! Not rageful at all.

Wet: Mmmm, sweet frankincense! First on: I'm already in love. My skin loves incense/resin, and this is like a sweet vanilla incense. Dry: More of the same. I love all the notes, and it's heady and sweet. I can't stop sniffing myself. So far this is my favorite snake!

Wet: Interestingly, this is a much whiter scent, or pink really, than you'd expect for the Queen of Hearts. I like it in the imp, but florals are hit or miss on me so I guess we'll see. First on: Lilies! Lots of lilies. Extremely feminine. It's sort of teetering on the edge of being too much. Dry: I can't smell cherry in particular, but I do have a feeling it's blending into the lilies and stephanotis. This surprised me; instead of amping up florals to scream from my wrists (a common reaction on my skin!) this mellowed when it dried. This is the perfect springtime scent, especially because it's so light when it's dry; the throw is limited so it isn't overwhelming.

Wet: Mrm. Strongly perfumey. I'm apprehensive right off the bat. Definitely floral, but nothing says blood to me. First on: A definite red floral smell, but very deep thanks to the other notes. It's still overwhelming, but I'll wait for drydown to judge it. Dry: I don't know; I normally love blood perfumes, but the lotus is ruining for me. It's just too heavy-n-floral. I wanted to like it, but the throw is enormous and I just can't take it. I'm going to go wash this off; it's not for me.

Wet: *nose twitch* Dry and spicy. Like sniffing your spice rack, maybe. It has potential. First on: Hmm...the cinnamon is nice, like a nice spicy, dry cinnamon not red hots. Something smells almost cocoa-y? Dry: Despite my vague description, I would have been happier if this stayed in its first on phase. It now smells like rotting wood. Or at least something rotting and something woody. Meh. I don't know what note is doing this--cassia isn't usually horrible on me, and neither is ginger. It's almost as if something took a slightly sour note in Snake Oil and twisted it, making it worse.

Wet: Wow! Really strong almonds. Marzipan, really. First on: Snake Oil lathered over marzipan! Wow. The almonds temper down the the perfumey patchouli part of S.O. Dry: Warm myrrh coming into play. This is a cozy foody scent. Like a hug.

Wet: Juicy açai berry (which smells and tastes very similar to blueberry, just not quite) with a hint of citrus. First on: A bit of cardamom and smoky vanilla trying to poke through the berry. Dry: It dries down into a more powdery smell, which I think is the amber even though amber doesn't always go powder on me. Snake Oil is lurking here somewhere, but the berry is so juicy and bright that it's hard to sniff it. The smoky vanilla gives it some extra depth. Very nice!

Wet: Ambery musk and cinnamon. First on: *swoon* It's so. perfect. Spicy, light musk with the barest hint of something sweet. Dry: Something very comforting/earthy about this. Dried down, it's just a wee bit spicier, but not overwhelming, and the black tea is coming through a bit more.

Wet: Shockingly strong eucalyptus with a sort of white minty smell drowning in there somewhere. Cold and metallic. First on: The violets come out to play, but they're mixing with the eucalyptus and mint. The effect is such that the violets don't get so heavy and overhanging as I might have expected of them, and the floral part is toning down the slap-you-in-the-face aspect of the eucalyptus. Dry: Same as first on -- violets, eucalptus and white mint. This might be a great summertime scent, because it is cold while still being nicely floral, but it's hard to tell in late February! I will have to try it when we get some warmer weather.