Lunasariel

In the imp: Ooh, this one is interesting! Predominantly musky amber, but with an interestingly spicy note that brings incense to mind, but isn't incense itself. The labdanum, I want to say? Wet: I appear to be amping the musk (sorry, my nose isn't yet skilled enough to distinguish which kind), but my beloved amber is still going strong. There's also a new, sharp edge - hemlock, perhaps? Nutmeg? Tobacco? It's hard to pin down. Anyway, the sharp note isn't there for long, and it settles down into a lovely spicy-sweet musk blend after a few minutes. Dry: Labdanum and amber, with just a hint of smoke. At once a comforting and powerful scent - I like!

In the imp: Yup, that's bubblegum-y lotus right there. There may be hints of amber and/or sandalwood down there somewhere, but the lotus tends to override everything. Lotus traditionally doesn't play well on my skin, but hopefully the presence of my beloved amber will change things for the better. Wet: The lotus backs down, leaving the myrrh and sandalwood more prominent. Upon immediate application, I would call this a spicy-sweet scent, in that order. It enters an odd metallic phase for a little while, but luckily this doesn't last long. Dry: A foody-fruity-sweet amber, with the amber and/or sandalwood making themselves more definitively known at the very end. i can tell it's aiming for dark and sultry, but the fruity sweetness of the lotus keeps it much younger and lighter.

If anybody is watching Marvel's Agent Carter, Hayley Atwell has gone on record saying that her character wears a perfume very like Bésame's Decades of Fragrance: 1940, which is described thus: After prohibition, NYC jazz club, 1940s Aromatic, Floral, Ambery Top notes: bergamot, cognac, davana Heart notes: rose, clove, labdanum Base notes: sandal wood, amber, benzoin I would love to smell like Peggy Carter! Does anyone have any suggestions?

Porridge, kukui nuts, and pastry crumbs. In the imp: Yup, that's a foody scent right there! There's even something a bit berry-like, which I didn't expect. I'm a bit worried about the butter, though - it smells rather overwhelming here, and I don't know how butter-like scents react with my skin yet... Wet: As someone above notes, definitely in the family of Eat Me. However, instead of cupcakes, here I'm getting flaky pastries that have been on the cooling rack for a few minutes. Over time, the berry note expands and fights with the pastry for dominant note. Dry: A pleasant vanilla note emerges right at the very end, but otherwise, it just sort of slowly goes stale and fades away.

In the imp: Industrial-strength bathroom cleaner, like you would smell in recently-cleaned rest stop bathrooms on the I-5. Uh-oh, this does not bode well. Wet: ...Wow, even worse. Now it's industrial strength bathroom cleaner sprayed around an I-5 rest stop bathroom in a futile attempt to cover up the underlying funk. Not quite sure yet, but I think I may have finally found the very first scent I have to scrub off... EDIT: Glad I didn't scrub it off after all! After enduring trucker-poop stink for about 15 minutes, it metamorphoses into the promised earthy-floral blend, albeit heavier on the former than the latter. I still wouldn't call this 100% a winner, but any improvement is still improvement, right? Dry: A faint medicinal-chemical smell. Still on the lower end of "meh." I'm tempted to age this for a good long while and see if it goes anywhere, but, eh, my aging box is getting pretty full, while my swaps box still needs some love, so to the swaps it goes!

In the imp: Yup, that's a straight-up mix of mint and lavender. Earthy, energizing, and perhaps a bit odd (the zing of the mint plus the soothing lavender creates an interesting experience), but I definitely wouldn't call this wicked or vicious. Wet: The minty pennyroyal becomes dominant, but the lavender is still there, lurking in the background. Now it's an herbaceous, energizing, slightly sweet smell. In fact, it smells almost exactly like the hippie/New Age shops that abound in my hometown. Dry: Within an hour or so, it dries down to something far less pleasant - a sort of minty-sour, very faint skin-smell.

In the imp: A light floral with heavy undertones, if that makes sense. I believe I'm mostly getting wisteria complicated by rose, but I haven't smelled wisteria in situ for years, so my sense-memory may not be the most reliable thing here. It's definitely a girlish scent - floral-sweet and even a little candy-like. Wet: A more omnidirectional sweet floral with, inexplicably, a hint of baby powder. Seriously, where did that come from? The candy-like sweetness dies down over time, but the baby powder stays. Dry: Still dominantly baby powder, but now with about as much sandalwood as florals.

In the imp: A heady, languorous, indolic floral - I would almost swear there's jasmine in there. Not getting much of the "bitter" aspect. Wet: OK, now I'm leaning more towards neroli than jasmine. While it still maintains that languorous, almost hypnotic edge, there's a fresh overtone that lifts the whole thing up a bit. Florals can be a bit hit-or-miss on me, but right now, I'm calling this one a hit! It's elegant, seductive, and just a bit dangerous, but still maintaining that fresh, deceptively innocent overtone. It veers a little soapy on me after about an hour, but thankfully doesn't stay there long. Dry: A soft, woody floral - I want to say that sandalwood is in there somewhere? Or amber, perhaps?

In the imp: Sharp overtones floating over a broad, smooth base. For some reason, my first thought was "Victorian??" - possibly the rose? Wet: The rose is coming forward, but I don't think I'm amping it too much. Actually, this reminds me a lot of Lilith - a dark, complicated rose. After a few minutes, the incense and benzoin start to be a little more noticeable, but the rose still dominates. So far, it's nothing I would have picked out as particularly groundbreaking, but it should be noted that, at this point, my boyfriend (who NEVER comments unprompted on my perfume - he has nothing against it, but he's a foot and a half taller than me, so it just doesn't reach him most of the time) said that this one "smells amazing." Dry: A deeper, broader scent, with the rose fading almost entirely. I would call this a resinous scent in the neighborhood of incense, but not actual incense - it doesn't go sour at the very end the way incense does on me, and it doesn't bring back :\ memories of 8:00 AM mass.

In the imp: Something light, airy, and sweet, yet still grown-up and dignified. It feels energizing and cleansing, but not a typical "clean" scent - much too wild for that! I'm really loving the fresh green undertones, which keep the berries from going too sweet. Wet: ...And, to the surprise of none, I begin to amp the berries right out of the gate. Berries don't amp on me as badly as fruit (Tamora was like getting punched in the face with a fistful of peaches, srsly), but they do tend to dominate. I would almost call this a perfectly realistic blackberry note, but not quite. Maybe it's the fact that, for me, the smell of blackberries is inextricable from the scent of blackberry vines, sunlight, and hiking trail dust, or maybe its the other unnamed "wild berries" running interference, but it's not quiiiiiite there. The sage and maybe the green tea are still hiding under there somewhere, but it takes at least a semi-trained nose to distinguish them. Dry: Musky sage. Very pleasant, but it's only there for a flash before it fades altogether - and surprisingly early, too! Doesn't last for more than four hours or so, alas.

Field grey courgette musk, roughly cured leather, and vetiver. In the imp: Primarily vetiver - a sharp, rough, slightly earthy scent. Not my usual thing, but here goes nothing! Wet: A bit more of the leather, but the Lab's description is very accurate - this is a much sharper, more roughly cured leather than I'm used to, but leather nonetheless. The musk is also there, rounding things out and sweetening them up a little. The vetiver is still definitely present, but it's now less of a vetiver SN. Dry: A surprisingly wearable, sweet, musky leather. Nothing ground-breaking, but I'm actually looking forward to layering this one, and I've never played an Orc in my life. (I gravitate more towards Elves and Half-Elves, which is ironic, since Half-Elf drastically failed to work on me.)

In the imp: Now this is an interesting one. It's heavy-leaning without being overpowering or cloying, sweet in a dignified sort of way - a fruity floral without the usual fruity floral tweeny connotations, if that makes sense. A definite power scent! Wet: The beautiful smell of a lush summer night, with is a bit odd, since I HATE lush summer nights (sweat is possibly my least favorite thing in the entire universe, no lie). But this may just enter my winter rotation, along with Juke Joint, for when I need a reminder of summer. But while Juke Joint is cool drinks in the shade on a brilliant sunny day, this is all the best parts of a summer night without the actual sweat or bugs or anything - mysterious, romantic, lazy, and sensual. I'm not familiar with either honeysuckle or opium, but I'd be willing to bet that this is a good blend of the two - not getting much vetiver at all. Dry: Shifts from honeysuckle-opium to opium-honeysuckle, and then straight-up opium (with maaaaaybe just a trickle of vetiver, but it's not a note I'm too familiar with). Now it's a lovely sweet (but in a dignified way, still avoiding the cloying direction a lot of sweet scents take on me) skin-scent. It's slightly reminiscent of the drydown of a lot of incense-based scents, but without the weird sour note a lot of them develop. I would still definitely call this a power scent - looks like we have ourselves a winner here! And once again the Lab's frimp psychics prove accurate...

In the imp: A light floral scent, but I wouldn't guess roses right off the bat. There are some light spicy overtones, but overall, I would call this a light, feminine scent, good for summer. Wet: Man, I'm amping the hell out of this rose - now neither the spices nor the musk appear at all. Dry: The musk comes out a liiiiiittle. But it becomes a very soft, skin-level scent very quickly, so this actually could just be residual perfume from my coat sleeve overwhelming it. I'll re-visit this scent in the summer, to see if we like each other better, but right now it's 49º and rainy outside, and i'm looking for something with a little more warmth, a little more substance.

In the imp: Woooo that's some rosin right there! Hemp lends sweetness and what I foresee to be a lovely leather note grounds it, but what I get right out of the imp is a big ol' blast of rosin. Wet: Upon first application, I could almost swear I smelled cooking spices??? But whatever that is, it dries down pretty quickly, leaving a much more leather-dominant scent. The sweetness of the hemp is now much dialed-down, and what I believe to be the rosin (I admit I'm not too familiar with either hemp or rosin, IRL or as interpreted by the Lab) plays a close second fiddle to the leather. What I'm getting now is pleasantly smooth, deep, and unisex-leaning-masculine. Mmmmm, heaven - just add a touch of amber, and you'd have pretty much my dream perfume. Dry: Fairly linear - soft, sweet leather with an extremely graceful fade.

In the imp: A sweet, woodsy smell. I'm testing a bunch of new frimps right now (thanks, Lab! ), and after yesterday's Eden disaster, this is just what the doctor ordered - bracing without being screechy, and a lovely mellow note at the bottom to round everything out. It makes me think of Aragorn a ranger who has just come in from tramping through the forest, and is now sprawled comfortably in an inn somewhere. Wet: Both the sweetness (which is more of a leathery softness than berries or herbs) and the woods grow sharper. But still not veering into screechy/tense territory - now, I would say, it's gone from mellow to pleasantly alert. I totally second dementia_divine - if I ever get back into archery and/or the SCA, this is what I'm wearing. My experience with the RPG line is that each one is generally pretty simple in and of itself (possibly to facilitate layering?), so "unisex sweet woods" pretty much sums this one up. Dry: A pretty straight-up woody scent, with the leathery sweetness diminishing over time. That is, right up until the end (at about the 11 hour mark), when I got a burst of unexpected leathery sweetness before it faded altogether.

In the imp: Yup, that's fig, strong as can be. Unfortunately, I HATE figs (an encounter with a wasp-filled fig tree in kindergarten pretty much sealed their fate with me), dislike coconut (which always smells like disappointing birthday cake to me), and generally don't play well with the Lab's honey note. But I received this as a frimp, and as is well known, the Lab's psychics are top-notch (I was flat-out terrified to try Azathoth, which I also got as a frimp, but is now one of my favorites), so here goes. FOR SCIENCE! Wet: A fruity-almond sweetness that I can see plenty of people loving, but I find rather cloying. As time goes on, it veers increasingly foody, in a honeyed-milk sort of way. Still far too sweet for me, but gourmands line up, we have a winner! That is, gourmands who don't have a deep-seated hatred of figs, because the rich, fruity, slightly vegetal scent of figs is still very noticeable. Dry: Pretty much the same honey-milk scent, increasingly faint until it vanishes altogether after ~7 hours.

In the imp: Wow, that actually does smell velvety! Overall, right now it's a smooth, sweet scent with a tart undercurrent (which is probably from the berries, but I'm also willing to credit my old friend amber for the little extra bit of pizazz). Wet: A predominantly tart berry scent, which has me a bit worried - I amp fruits like nobody's business, so I hope berries don't fall into the same category. It's still definitely a sweet scent, but a particular kind of sweet - I initially pinged it as a muted sort of creamy sweetness, but after looking into the notes, my nose is probably getting a false positive from the powdery notes in the iris and/or amber (which I love, but goes powder on me about 40% of the time). It's an almost synthetic kind of sweetness, but not in a bad way, if that makes any sense? Dry: A powdery, soft, slightly spicy amber. Ahh, now this is much more my speed - amber saves the day again!

In the imp: Sweet herbs and a woody background, topped by, yes, something effervescent and almost bubbly. I suppose that's the "starlit" part of "thick, starlit, unspoiled forest"? Wet: Very different than I imagined. It starts out as a very sweet scent (but almost a foody sweetness, rather than floral or herbal), with that bubbly champagne/Sprite note over everything. However, this topnote calms down pretty quickly, leaving a very close-wearing woody-herbal scent, although still with a distinctly sweet edge. Dry: A little woodier, but still much sweeter and lighter than I had anticipated. Throw is still rather low. Overall, I was looking for something much more robust and wild, and less "sparkling apple cider."

In the imp: Yup, there's the musk. And the wood, but a dry, subdued wood. Overall, it's a bit tickly to the nose, actually. Oh! And there's a kind of sweetness rounding it out, but it's an ineffable and adult kind of sweetness, nothing readily identifiable as floral or fruity or foody or whatever - I'm inclined to think it's the leather. Wet: Sharper and a little less sweet than in the bottle, although I think the leather(?) is still hanging out somewhere in the background. This is now most definitely a musty, dusty type of scent. I'm still getting only faint woody hints, and still no dusty rags (although I admit I'm not at all sure I would be able to identify them if they're there). The musk is still pretty dominant, but I miss the warmth it had in the bottle. Now there's something almost...herbal there? Yeah, near-herbal is how I would describe the sharpness; like slightly dusty dried herbs. Dry: A surprisingly comforting leather-musk blend - very masculine, but somehow more pleasant because of it. (And I'm normally a vanilla and/or amber girl, for reference's sake.)

In the imp: ...Huh, I don't think I've ever smelled anything quite like this before. I think I can smell the sandalwood at the base, but "distorted" is a really good way to describe it. There's sweetness at the top, but it's a a very interesting, unique sweetness. If I were testing blind, I wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do with it, but thanks to y'all, I think I can place it as the pink pepper. There's also a smoky/incense edge rounding things out, if I really dig for it. Wet: I was all prepared for something smoky, woodsy, mysterious, and slightly sweet, but all I'm getting is straight-up slightly synthetic sweetness. Boo-urns. Dry: After about an hour, it gradually fades to the vanilla sandalwood described above (more emphasis on the former than the latter, though). And this may be because I've had both my wrists enthusiastically snuffled by my cousin's dog, which may have rubbed some of it off, but right now it's just...meh. Like, it's only been a few hours since I applied it, but now I really have to shove my nose into my wrist to get anything at all, and what I'm getting is pleasant and inoffensive, but it doesn't wow me.

In the imp: Woohoo, my first chypre! Sharp and herbal, with the amber surprisingly difficult to discern. The cedar is definitely there, providing a dry, woody facet. Wet: Hellooooo, cardamom! The neroli also really comes out. But, alas, no amber. Overall, it's slightly sharper and much more bitter. The cedar still isn't immediately apparent as cedar per se, but it still keeping everything dry and sharp. Luckily, after a few minutes, it settles down into something much more amber- and galbanum-dominant, with the neroli still providing a citrus-y edge. The sharpness is still there, but now it's much more manageable. Dry: A gentle, soft herbal-resinous amber. As much as I love amber, it sometimes goes powdery on me, but thankfully it seems that either this is one of those that doesn't, or the herbs/resins are preventing it from doing so. Final verdict: Omnomnomnom.

In the imp: Mostly bright, effervescent citrus, but complicated by a sweet, slightly earthy base. Wet: The sweetness is much more prominent. At first I thought this was the patchouli or the tobacco, but nope, it's my old friend amber, my first BPAL love! It keeps the citrus from going sour or the patch from going dirty. My goodness, this is delicious. The patch and tobacco are still there in the base, keeping things nicely smoky and mysterious, but overall, I would call this a citrus-amber scent. Dry: Amber, with a surprisingly tenacious hint of patchouli hanging around.

In the imp: Sweet chocolate, so rich I can taste it on my tongue and in the back of my throat. Maybe a touch of cinnamon. Hot damn, never have I been so tempted to disregard the Lab's "for external use only"/"not for consumption" rule. Wet: A definite hint of coffee and the sweetness is more clearly brown sugar, but chocolate is still the dominant note. So it's more complicated, and oddly enough my overwhelming desire to chug the bottle is somewhat lessened. When I took this on the rounds of my family, the result was generally "mmm cookies." Apparently there's a hint of vanilla in here somewhere? Dry: The chocolate fades more and more to the background until it's a primarily coffee scent with some cinnamon - very sharp, but still a little sweet. Dammit, I want my chocolate back! This isn't unpleasant (well, maybe a little - I *do* prefer hot chocolate/tea to coffee), but I miss the scrumptious warmth.

In the imp: Now this is an odd little duck. I'm unfamiliar with many of the notes here beyond what Fragrentica and Google can tell me, so I'll be rubbish with picking out individual notes. For now, all I can say is that it's interestingly clean and sharp, but with a sweet, almost soporific, undertone. Wet: The sharpness amps way up upon initial application. (Frankincense, is that you?) However, after just a few minutes, it mellows WAY out, and what is probably the benzoin and labdanum come to dominate. Yummy! The herbal, incensey notes are still hanging around at the edges. Most incense blends tend to put my hackles up (sorry, recovering Catholic over here), but this one is different enough that it feels warm and mysterious, not like someone is about to roust me out of bed at 6:30 to sit on a hard piece of wood in an unheated room for like four hours. Oddly enough, the first mental image I got was the soft-focus filters they would use in the 60s to make women look all unearthly and extra-beautiful. That's what this scent feels like. Dry: A slightly smoky take on the mellow, resinous blend that incense usually dries down to on me. Again like most incense blends, it LASTS. 12 hours easy (although it's gone slightly sour at this point), and overnight more than likely.

In the imp: It's hilarious that this is based around a good-luck charm, because I knocked it over twice while I was sniffing it. Anyway, it's a very strong lemon scent. A touch of sweetness to keep it out of Pledge territory, and a bare whisper of other herbs in the background (although these took some determined sniffing to discover). Wet: I'm getting hard lemon candy rather than lemon bars - say, Lemonheads. I can't tell whether this is because I spilled it twice and thus applied more than usual, or on its own merit, but this has some decent throw to it. The herbal notes come out more and more over time, as does a sort of vanilla scent. Dry: OK, now I'm starting to see where all the lemon bar comparisons are coming from. It still isn't straight baked goods to my nose, but the sweet vanilla edge is getting stronger, thus edging the whole shebang into foodier territory. The vanilla even becomes the dominant note after a few hours, although it eventually gives was to a sort of generalized herbaceous scent, where it stays until it fades completely after ~ 6 hours.