femmefatale

I had such high hopes for this one. It sounded like something I would love. Dh tried it first and it smelled wonderful on him, though too feminine. So I expected it to be beautiful on me, right?

Nope. At first it's a lemony sweet incense, then it turns to manly soap, and ends up smelling like bathroom cleaner or that rough powdered soap they used to have in public bathrooms.

Definitely not for me and off to swaps.

In the imp it smelled a bit like my mil's bathroom. I almost put it in the swap pile right then. I'm glad I didn't.

Wet, it's mostly vanilla, but then the sandalwood and amber come out. The amber goes slightly powdery, but in a nice way. I can also smell the orris, but luckily it doesn't drown everything else out like it tends to do, and just a hint of the lily.

On me this really isn't what I would classify as an aquatic, but it's not a floral either. It's a very pretty, feminine scent and I'm so glad I didn't judge it on first sniff. I am most definitely keep the imp and might get a bottle.

I love love love this one! It starts out smelling like a very realistic banana dropped on the ground. Now that may sounds gross, but really, it's wonderful. At a point it reminded me of banana Runts and dirt. On my skin the banana immediently begins to fade and I get a bit of a dusty stone (headstone?) scent. Not long after that begins to recede and out comes a very earthy scent. It smells like a greener version of Graveyard Dirt, with a bit of sweetness in the background. Somewhat summery.

Now I absolutely love the smell of bananas and had originally hoped the banana would stick around longer, but I am so happy with the way it turned out, I wouldn't change a thing.

I don't like eating caramel apples, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this scent. Seriously. There is something about this scent that evokes such happiness in me.

In my locket it smells like fresh green apples sprinkled with the perfect amount of sugar. It is such a happy, playful scent.

On my skin it starts that way but morphs into a rich, caramel apple. It's not too sweet or too crisp, just perfect. And it lasts forever on my skin (which is very rare) and I love smelling it as I fall asleep once it's been on a few hours. It's so comforting.

This just knocked Hellhound out of my top 2 I think.

I have no idea how to dexcribe this one. I get a slightly sweet incense, a bit of dust, the barest hint of smooth polished wood, and something I can't quite pin down. It's actually not as masculine as I expected, and in fact becomes just a bit powdery as it dries down, but I really like it and need to hunt down a bottle.

This one is really pretty. It definitely smells like a park on a spring day with the scent of a nearby stream through the woods. It is neither too woodsy, green, floral, or aquatic. It's just very well blended and much brighter smelling that I expected.

In the imp it's a very sweet fruity smell. Wet on my skin though it is a very dark, evil green scent with just the barest hint of a floral. This is a very strange scent and reminds me so much of something from my childhood, I just can't place it.

As it dries it does start to sweeten up, but doesn't become overly sweet. I can catch some of the strawberry and orange blossom now, and the black poppy calms down a bit. I think I'm getting more of the carnation also.

This is not at all what I expected. It's very interesting and I love how it morphs. It makes me feel mysterious and playful at the same time. I can't stop sniffing my arm and I can't wait for Mr. Fatale to get home from his trip to see what he thinks.

When I sniffed this in the imp, it smelled like old lady to me. Or rather, old lady house. I have no idea why.

Once on, I get mostly sage with a bit of berry tea. It's not a bad scent, it's rather light and pretty. As it dries it sweetens up a bit and actually reminds me of a blackberry lipbalm I used to have. Then it just about disappears.

It's nice, but not unique enough for my taste. I think I'll pass this along to my sister who might like it more.

At first I got sugared lemon (?) with spice, but as it dried down iit became less sweet and all about the spice! It's mostly ginger, cinnamon, and clove with a hint of citrus and leather. I don't think I'm picking up much of the dirt and blood.

Whatever it is though it's wonderful. It's a perfect winter scent and I think it would be great for layering. I can't wait until Mr. Fatale gets home so I can slather it on him, too. It's a unisex scent and definitely bottle worthy.

ETA: As it's been a bit longer, I'm not so sure I like this one. Something smells a bit...off. I'll need to try this on hubby before deciding on a bottle.

ETA again: Ok, I think I figured it out. I think I'm picking up some black pepper in it that always makes me sick to my stomach. I think this is off to swaps.

At first this is sweet and juicy, very tropical feeling. As it starts to dry down something warm and slightly peppery comes out. Surprisingly the amber isn't drowning everything else out. It very well balanced. Not too sweet, too floral, too fruity, or too spicy. This is the scent for floral or fruit haters who still want something summery and tropical.

I like this a lot more than I expected to and I have a feeling it will get worn a lot this summer.

I didn't think I liked apricot. I always associated it with funky potpourri or candles.

This though is delicious. At first it is straight wonderful fresh apricots. As it dries something (perhaps the booze?) comes out to balance the sweetness. It doesn't strike me as a boozey scent though and is surprisingly wearable.

It's very pretty and would make a great spring/summer scent. I doubt I would buy a bottle, but I am definitely keeping the frimp and I'm so happy to got to try it!

Oh, this is just gorgeous. I'm not a big floral person, but I do love the smell of honeysuckles, just usually not in perfumes. Most honeysuckle perfumes are very fake smelling. This isn't.

On me it's mostly honeysuckle with just a hint of jasmine. There is a greenness that helps to keep it from being headache inducing sweet and a light musk that adds some depth. It is very pretty and will definitely be a beautiful spring/summer scent. I'm also curious to see how it layers w/some Graveyard Dirt.

I tried this in both my locket and on my skin and I'm going to review both since they end up so different.

On my skin it starts out as a very smokey, sweet leather with a somewhat perfumey scent due to the wine. As it dries the wine calms down and I'm left with a beautiful vanilla leather scent with just a hint of tobacco. Sadly, no rum or coconut for me, but I'm still very happy with it.

In my locket it's just straight up dirty. It's all wine and leather and smoke. This is definitely a high class pleasure room during the seduction time, not the stale "ewww what is that stain?" post-fun time.

Oh yum!

At first it was a dusty, woodsy vanilla. Then the sassafras came out out and the cedar calmed down a bit. Now it smells like the most delicious rootbeer (not the cheap stuff, the really good stuff). When I smell this I think of drinking bottled rootbeer in an old time saloon. This the "on the wagon" cowboy.

I love this and honestly, I didn't expect to. I'm hooked.

ETA: Once it's completely dried it is the most delicious woodsy vanilla. Most vanillas disappear on my skin, but not this one. I think this just made my top 15 easy.

I was sent this by my super sweet swapper. Oh my, I am so happy I got to try this!

It smells clean and spicy at the same time, almost like a docked trading ship. I swear I get some water mixed with cinnamon & ginger with a touch of honey to sweeten it and some herbs (maybe tea) in the background.

It's beautiful and I think I'm going to need a bottle.

I am soooo happy that someone kindly frimped this to me because otherwise I never would have tried it. I can't believe I almost missed this.

In the imp it smells like chocolate covered berries. Not cheap milk chocolate, but rich, dark, cocoa.

Once on the skin it becomes less foody and almost a bit smokey and spicy. It's a very sexy scent and imo, unisex.

I have to get a bottle asap because I don't think my imp will last long.

I would suggest that if you try Chimera, don't get an aged bottle. For some reason the spice seems to completely disappear.

I agree about Shub. It is the sexiest spicy baked goods I have ever smelled. There is something there that keeps it from being too foody and definitely makes me feel slinky and exotic (and edible ).

In the imp it's mostly jasmine. Uh oh.

Wet it's still mostly jasmine but it starts to darker a bit and it's beginning to smell like jasmine incense. Very pretty.

But then...I start to catch a hint of the dreaded cat pee, but that lasted about 2 seconds and it's gone. (sigh of relief)

As it dries further it starts to smell like this shop I used to go into that sold soaps and incense. It's actually very pretty and surprisingly clean smelling. I actually expected something a bit smokier and spicier. It's a lovely scent though and I'm very happy I got to try it. I think I will have to see how it does in my locket, hopefully it will be a bit more complex without my wonky chemistry.

ETA: As it's drying down, the tobacco is coming out a bit more and making it a touch smokier. I think I catch a hint of the hay, which I'm not sure about. It comes and goes.

'06 version

At first this is one of the most realistic tree scents I've ever smelled. Then the smoke starts to come out along with the rosewood and the barest hint of incense. I'm not getting too much of the spices and citrus, more like an impression of them.

This is beautiful and there is something about it that's keeping it from turning into potpourri.

It's actually a very realistic scent and I get the visual of a slient snow covered forest at night.

I love this! I think I'm going to have to pick up this years bottle to see how it compares.

I love love love this one! I smell all the notes and they just blend beautifully together. There is something poignant about this scent.

I can't wait to see how it smells on hubby.

Wow, at first I could've sworn there was grapefruit in here. It must be the bamboo giving it the sharp, tangy citrus vibe.

As it starts to dry the wood comes out along with some slight powder from the snake oil. This is quite different from the other snakes blends I've and I think I rather like it. It's not my favorite but I definitely think I will have to pick up a bottle. I think this would be a great summer scent.

I have no idea why, but on my King Cobra smlls like a sweeter version of Hellhound.

I've oticed that it seems they send out international orders in bulk so there will be a wide order date range in there. I'm sure it makes it easier for them to send a whole bunch of internationals at once.

'08 version

YUM!!!

This is so wonderful! I was a little worried because in the bottle is was *strong* and super super sweet, but on my skin it immediently mellows out and some delicious spice comes out, but it isn't "spicy!".

As it dries down further, the spice recedes and I'm left with one of the most comforting scents I've ever smelled. It makes me feel like a kid again, being wrapped up in a warm blanket, staring at the christmas tree, and sleepily eating my cookie before bed.

I really have no idea how to else describe this other than just "perfect". It's not as sweet a I expected (luckily) and I think this will be a fanstastic holiday scent.

I need another bottle. And for someone who doesn't like a whole lot of foody scents (except for Gingerbread Poppet & Trick or Treat because they are mostly spice on me), that's saying a lot.

ETA: This has a hell of a throw, so a little goes a long way.