paperdoll

Initial Sniff: Very Cherry, with just a hint of resin and spice. I am apprehensive.

Wearing: Cherry usually overwhelms any other notes present in a blend, but oddly enough the cherry here fades as it dries. The dragon's blood really comes to the forefront with the cloves kicking it up a notch (BAM!) and the myrrh rounding it out with a mellow sweetness. Excellent staying power as well.

Final Impressions: I don't get any of the metallic tang or the menstrual-ness of real blood that others have described. This is a sexy, spicy blend and it will have a place in my imp box!

Initial Sniff: In the vial, I can't pick out the amber note. It smells like straight dragon's blood resin.

Wearing: Oh dear lord. I still can't pick out the amber note, but this is not like the dragon's blood single note. The heat of the dragon's blood is mellowed, and the overall tone of the blend is a glowing golden red. As it dries, it sweetens up a bit.

Fianl Impressions: I need a big bottle of this. It is just too gorgeous for words.

Initial Sniff: This is woody and very deeply green. This is a beautiful forest night and strange but beautiful things lurk in the shadows...

Wearing: This is a little bitter upon initial application, but it quickly mellows into a beautiful shimmering green cloak. It sweetens as it dries, but maintains its earthy mysterious greenness.

Final Impressions: Simply beautiful.

Initial Sniff: The sweet almond is nearly overpowering. There is some interesting spiciness slinking around the background, as well.

Wearing: The overpowering almond fades rapidly into a warm golden glow of amber, musk, and spices. The musk quickly overtakes the amber (and everything else, really), leaving a pleasant musky glow until it all fades away a few hours later.

Final Impressions: This is nice while it lasts, but... I just don't know. My expectations were very high going in (I purchased a 5ml unsniffed), and this really just doesn't live up to those expectations. I think I'll try it again during a different hormonal time before I completely give up on this though!

Initial Sniff: In the vial, the peach is sticky sweet, but I can smell the dark earthiness beneath the ripe juices. Very interesting... playful, yet deep and dark.

Wearing: This starts off a bit harsh - the patchouli really dominates the blend for the first 30 minutes or so, but then the sweetness of the peach and the smooth musk come and mellow things out. I never did catch a whiff of the amber.

Final Impressions: There are things that I really like about this scent - it is really different and interesting, and I feel very hip and trendy while wearing it (no, I have no idea why!). I'm just not sure it is me.

Light myrrh seems strange to me - it doesn't smell like the myrrh I am familiar with. It is a bit spicy and seems almost floral instead of woody.

This does lack the depth of dark myrrh.

Dark Myrrh is a thick scent - almost syrupy. I have to agree with tempete's review wholeheartedly - this starts off with a sharp woodiness and smoky incense notes but quickly deepens into a dark honey sweet incense.

As a myrrh lover, I also prefer the dark myrrh to the light.

Mmmmm... this is the spicy, warm sandalwood that loves me! Woody, warm, inviting... this develops on my skin into a beautiful and comfortable (albeit hippie-ish) smell. This is not dry at all - it is a burnished red wood polished to a high gleam from years of use and care.

Gorgeous!!

This is a very dry white wood smell, like ladylatemar, I think that this smells very much like cedar. This is the sandalwood that goes dry and dusty on me in blends. Unfortunately, this one is not for me!

Wow, that's ginger! This is very, very strong. This is the pungent smell of grating fresh ginger root. It fades over time, but it is still something I'm not eager to smell like.

Heliotrope is bright - almost sparkly - in the bottle. It is sweet and powdery... very pretty.

I know there are many blends out there that contain heliotrope that I love - Greed, Tamora, and Leo come immediately to mind. Unfortunately, the single note is something I cannot wear. It is instant baby powder on me, which I hate!

At first, Andra's description is dead-on: syrupy sweet lime Life Savers. After just a minute or two, this becomes a more bitter lime zest, and then quickly fades to nothing.

jj_j is exactly right - Lime is a beautiful and perfect citrus note that lasts for but a moment.

Oh my god.

This is frickin' gorgeous.

The green floral with light spice... fading to a creamy green spice...

this scent is a delight from start to finish. It smells like a freshly cut carnation, only it is the most perfect, freshest, most highly fragranced carnation of all time.

This scent has great staying power as well - it lasts all day long!

I am so not used to patchouli by itself. I love it in blends. By itself... well...

When wet, this smelled like wet rotting patchouli mixed with hippie BO. It smelled like dreadlocks on a nasty fungo hippie who does not believe in hygiene (NOTE: I do NOT think all dreadlocks smell bad, just those that are on people who are unclean!).

After this dries, it is nicer - I get more of the translucent, burnished quality jj_j found in this . I'm just not sure I can get through the funk to enjoy the dry stage.

Mmmmmm... as others have said, this is smooth, mellow, gorgeous, thick, warm, golden...

I love wearing this amber - it is exotic and comforting. It is warming and long lasting. This is the amber that dominates Haunted, so if you are missing this, try out Haunted!

I agree with jj_j - this is a very dry floral. I don't smell poppy seeds, but I do smell dessicated (yet still very fragrant) flowers. The drydown is almost peppery in its spiciness, without losing its any of its "floral" qualities.

This is very interesting - I wish I had ordered a 5ml instead of just an imp before it was gone!

This is a beautiful light tropical floral. It is just ever so slightly sweet, ever so slightly green... subtly gorgeous.

The only problem? It fades away to nothing after just a half hour. I am excited to explore the layering possibilities, however!

Initial Sniff: This is the most stuck up scent I've ever smelled. The rose and narcissus are equally prominent in the bottle.

Wearing: ROSE!! It's my chemistry. his ain't nothin' but a rose thang.

Final Impressions: I just can't wear rose, but if I could, this would be the one I would choose. I like Pride's confidence, and yes, the haughtiness speaks to me too.

Initial Sniff: Herbal and fruity and utterly indescribable. This is like an outdoor church (I guess the church impressions are from the frankincense and spikenard) - fresh, but a sanctuary nonetheless.

Wearing: Wet, the herbal notes stand out, but as this scent dries, the fruitiness really takes over. I agree with the reviewers above who smelled peach. While I've never been terribly fond of peach, the herbal notes in this keep it from being cloying.

Final Impressions: Beautiful! I only wish this had better staying power.

Initial Sniff: Bubblegum and cherry lollipops! Super sweet. This makes my mouth water (I'm on a diet).

Wearing: This is all bubble gum and lollipops for the first hour, but then something a little more grown-up peeks its head out. The final result is very naughty indeed. Innocence defiled and whatnot.

Final Impressions: I really like this! It makes me feel young and carefree...

Initial Sniff: Holy Crap! Evil in a bottle indeed.

Wearing: For the first hour, I smell like evil dirt. Bad, bad, bad. But as this mellows, the vetiver and patchouli become much more appealing... and there is a slight citrussy note in the background. Thus this scent morphs from overtly evil to a smooth evil that talks real pretty and makes you love it.

Final Impressions: I actually don't hate this, which surprises me based on the smell in the vial. I am not sure I'll keep it forever, but I'll keep it a while longer!

Initial Sniff: This ia floral, spice, and a little resin. I honestly can't pick out any individual notes in this blend, even when I read the description of the oil. It smells like a sophisticated men's cologne.

Wearing: As this dries, it becomes almost creamy, or perhaps we'll call it "soft-focus" in keeping with the theme of the oil. It retains the indescribable posh cologne smell for several hours, after which the myrrh takes over and it becomes a sightly spicy sweet resin.

Final Impressions: This isn't my kind of scent - it is a bit too sophisticated and refined for me. This is my fiance's favorite scent, though, and it smells just fantastic on him. I agree that this blend really is named appropriately - but I ain't no Lauren Bacall. I like that my sweetie smells like Bogey, though, and I will be very sad when his bottle runs out.

Initial Sniff: In the bottle, all I can smell is vetiver. It does have the tell-tale scarlet coloring of a dragon's blood blend, but I really can't smell anything but the earthiness of the vetiver.

Wearing: Mmmmm... the dragon's blood comes out as this dries, sweetening the vetiver and making it a bit softer around the edges. The cinnamon also makes an appearance, adding a spicy bite to this blend. And the serpent gazes at her unknowing prey, taking her own sweet time to prepare the strike...

Final Impressions: This scent doesn't have a whole lot of rave reviews, but my experience with this oil is entirely positive. It is just beautiful, in a very seductive and lethal way.

Initial Sniff: Fiery! I can smell the amber, myrrh, and ylang-ylang in the bottle, plus a little something fierce which I'm guessing is the civet. I like a lot of the notes in this one, so I am hoping it does nice things on my skin.

Wearing: At first the ylang-ylang really dominates, but fortunately that phase is short in duration. The resins are deep and dark, and there is still a stong floral presence at drydown.

Final Impressions: This is a gorgeous woman who does not hesitate to don her armor and ride into battle. She practices swordfighting in a dress with her hair flowing around her... the wild woman of old. I will miss this scent very much when my imp is gone.

Initial Sniff: Wow! What the heck is in this? This scent is hot - smoldering yet volitile.

Wearing: There's something citrus, a little vetiver, sandalwood, and something burnt. This really isn't as unpleasant as I thought it would be! It is very interesting, and very hard to describe.

Final Impressions: It isn't bad, but it something about this makes me feel a little uncomfortable. It's just a tad unsettling. Swaps away!