paperdoll

I would agree that this is not quite as dry as the Spanish moss that I have smelled hanging from the trees in south Georgia. This is very fresh and green. I believe this smells like Spanish moss, it's just... fresher. And greener.

Initial Sniff: Honey, vanilla, and amber with a strange sort of tang.

Wearing: This starts off beautifully - all amber and honey. Very sexy. Then vanilla does the bad things vanilla does on my skin, and all of a sudden I smell like baby powder. Blargh.

Final Impression: I cannot wear vanilla. It saddens me.

Initial Sniff: A warm green, lush floral. I can't pick out any of the individual notes.

Wearing: Oh, yum. The green florals are enveloped in a warm golden haze. I still can't pick out any individual notes, which surprises me. Usually myrrh and amber develop beautifully on me, and this is beatiful, but the notes are just a golden haze. This wears off too quickly for my taste.

Final Impressions: This is gorgeous. It is warm, lush, green, and golden.

Initial Sniff: Ok - I think this one is quite angry in the vial. The resins, fruit and flower somehow combine to form seething passion.

Wearing: Dragon's Blood and... black pepper? When wet this is very angry and spicy - to the point where I was almost intimidated by the scent. As it dries the pepper scent goes away and I get a beautiful dragon's blood/amber/musk/currant scent. It did fade rather quickly - a few hours later it is completely gone.

Final Impressions: Beth, in all of her genius, has perfectly captured rage. The hugely passionate red blinding start, the smoldering anger that follows, and ending with the more palatable resentment. I'll have to be in the right mood for this one, but seriously - this is genius and art.

Initial Sniff: Cypress, woods, green, flowers... gorgeous!
Wearing: This develops an almost fruity tang as it dries. This is a smoky woody floral that lasts all day long. The drydown is sweet forest woods.
Final Impressions: Oh, and

Initial Sniff: Citrus zest and juniper? pine? I'm not sure, but it is green.

Wearing: This is a beautiful green citrus... for about 15 minutes. Then it is gone.

Final Impressions: I liked this, but it went away far too soon! I actually tried this three times just to make sure I wasn't accidentally rubbing the oil away on something. I really has staying power of 15 minutes on me.

Initial Sniff: OZONE! In the background I can smell dryer sheets.

Wearing: When wet, this smells just like it does in the bottle. As it dries, the ozone backs off, and I get a fresh, clean smell - those lunar oils are there, and some florals I can't identify. This fades away to nothing after about two hours.

Final Impressions: This one surprised me. I ordered it on a whim, not really expecting too much from it. I actually really like this, though! I anticipate wearing this a good bit this summer.

Initial Sniff: In the bottle I smell something fruity and jasmine.

Wearing: JASMINE! No remnants of fruitiness remain. And then the ylang ylang appears. And it does what it always does - goes all bitter and gross on my skin.

Final Impressions: I like fruit, I like jasmine. I do not like what ylang ylang does on me. So sad!

Initial Sniff: Flowers, herbs, and juniper in the vial. Very nice.

Wearing: When wet, this smells like a posh men's cologne. I can't really distinguish the notes until it dries down. Upon drydown, the violets and Lily of the Valley dominate, while the myrrh warms and the juniper and cypress balance.

Final Impression: This is wearable, even though it contains two notes that don't normally work on me (violet and Lily of the Valley). It is a floral that isn't really floral, a myrrh scent that is light, and a woody scent that isn't really woody. A brilliant blend that I'm sure is absolutely fantastic on the right person - because I am the wrong person and it really ain't that bad on me!

SPOOOOOOOKY!!!!

 

Initial Sniff: It smells like mint chocolate chip ice cream. And rum. Or Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies... and rum.

Wearing: For just a moment I smell like a Thin Mint (and rum), but then the coconut comes out and the rum goes away. The drydown is coconut, slightly chocolate, and slightly mint. The staying power is not fantastic, but that's ok.

Final Impressions: I'm not crazy about this, but my fiance is. He spent all night nuzzling my neck! So this scent is a keeper after all!

Initial Sniff: Woody and animalistic - the rosewood and musk are what really stand out to me in the vial.

Wearing: Mmmmm... the amber, musk, and sandalwood meld into a beautiful warm glowing puddle. As it dries, the sandalwood really takes over.

Final Impressions: This is beautiful!

Initial Sniff: Patchouli, cedar, black pepper... and something slightly astringent (what I am assuming is the grapefruit).

Wearing: Vetiver. That's all.

Final Impressions: I don't know why I keep trying scents with vetiver. I like vetiver, I really do. It smells good on me. But it drowns out all other notes on my skin, so the drydown is the same for every scent that contains it.

Initial Sniff: Bright, sharp lavender with some herbalness in the background.

Wearing: At first this is all lavender, but as it dries it becomes more interesting and complex. The drydown is spicy lavender and sandalwood.

Final Impressions: I love this! It did not effect my dreams or their recollection, but it was a beautiful and calming oil that helped me calm down at bedtime! I need a big bottle of this one!

Initial Sniff: Violets! This is a very deep dark floral.

Wearing: This is quite flowery - eventually the fruit peeks out a little, but not much. The incense makes this blend bearable.

Final Impressions: I'm beginning to think that violets don't like me. Nonetheless, this is a very nice blend if you do dark florals.

Initial Sniff: The same quiet pine that graces Skadi, and those ubiquitous and mysterious lunar oils.

Wearing: Again, cold soft pine like that in Skadi - without the sweet berries. Instead, those lunar oils add a luminescent sheen to the forest. The lunar blends all turn softly sweet on me during the drydown, and this is no exception. The lunar blend never overtake the pine, though - they live in harmony on my skin.

Final Impressions: I'm so glad this didn't work for Batgirl! I didn't order this (in a rare fit of self-restraint), but she kindly swapped it to me. It's not my favorite lunar blend, but I really really like it!

Initial Sniff: This smells like a forest floor covered with berries. It also smells a little like a cherry cough drop (complete with the power of mentholyptus).

Wearing: Oh my. The dark green smells are strong, with just a touch of berry peeking out and sweetening it up. I cannot stop sniffing myself. I can smell the sage and the tea (though it smels like outside, not like food), and I swear there is just the tiniest hint of pine. After several hours, the berries take over and this becomes very sweet.

Final Impressions: Skadi is the first winter - pure and white and young. Bewitched is Skadi in her final summer - she is old and wise and mellow with age. She appears different now, but is just as beautiful as she was in that first winter.

Initial Sniff: Fruit and patchouli. Sharp and sour at the same time.

Wearing:When wet the patchouli is very strong, yet this fruity sweetness is hovering in the background. Then the fruit really blossoms, and the patchouli provides an interesting base - the incense notes make their first appearance at this stage as well. After a while, the fruit and patchouli slowly fade, leaving a delicious incense smell behind.

Final Impressions: Sign me up for a big bottle! I love each chapter of the story that is Urd on my skin.

Initial Sniff: Cinnamon, jasmine, and smoky incense all waft out of the bottle.

Wearing: This is like the incense and jasmine of The Caterpillar with a little something extra - the spicy cinnamon. The drydown is exactly as another reviewer described it - "herbal insencey coca cola."

Final Impressions: Two emoticons sum this one up for me: and

Initial Sniff: A powdery floral and a sharp herbal with spices.
Wearing: Very spicy and herbal to start - this gives off a very powerful vibe! Unfortunately, this goes all baby powder on me after an hour or so.
Final Impressions: I liked the wet stage, but I just can't do baby powder.

Initial Sniff: This is super sweet. I smell cantaloupe, strawberries, and lots and lots of sugar. I hate cantaloupe, but I can't help grinning when I smell this.

Wearing: This doesn't change at all on my skin - it just gradually fades away to nothing.

Final Impressions: I defy you to maintain your glum attitude in the face of Aunt Caroline!

Initial Sniff: Creamy honeyed almonds and vanilla, with a sharp metallic tang behind it.

Wearing: This does not smell very good on my skin - vanilla often goes all weird on me. But I don't wear this - I use it to scent my "Lucky Lotto" seven day candle! Whenever we buy a lotto ticket, I place it underneath the burning candle until just after the drawing.

Voodoo Effects: Well, we haven't hit the jackpot yet, but we have had a couple of $2 winners - which is more than we ever had before!

Final Impressions: I look forward to further testing this one out!

Initial Sniff: Banana Laffy Taffy and poo. I am apprehensive.

Wearing: Oh god. As this dries, the banana disappears and the poo scent develops. And it wafts. This has fantastic throw; the only problem is that everyone around me knows that I smell like a barn. And the barn ain't clean. I scrub and scrub, but it lingers on. I need to shower - perhaps if I exfoliate the top layers of skin it will go away.

Final Impressions: This is by far the foulest scent I have ever willingly put on my body. I've written a lot of reviews, and there are many where I say "This isn't for me, this isn't my style, etc." Let this be the first (and hopefully last) occasion where I take it a step further. This oil is truly vile. It is foul. If you still want to try it, PM me - you can have my imp.

Initial Sniff: Orange that somhow manages to be sickly sweet and bitter at the same time, on a bed of unidentifiable flowers and greens.

Wearing:The sweet orange fades into a more floral and green scent as it dries. I think there is light myrrh in here, giving a lightly sweet resiny base to the scent. This fades away to nothing in about an hour.

Voodoo Effects: I'm not feelin' it.

Final Impressions: This scent is more of a dark orange with green around the edges than red. This is not objectionable, but it is nothing special on me.

Initial Sniff: This is sharply herbal in the vial. I really can't pick out any individual notes, but I do smell a vague sort of mintiness.

Wearing: The initial herbal phase is very nice, but as it dries it turns to roses. Blargh. The roses pass into something distinctly more unpleasant - baby powder. Double Blargh.

Final Impressions: Blargh. 'Nuf said.

Initial Sniff: Clean herbal floral soap.

Wearing: This isn't at all soapy on me. It is just clean and beautiful. Lightly herbal (something sweet - perhaps basil?), lightly floral (heliotrope? poppy? honeysuckle?).

Final Impressions: This is GORGEOUS! Many reviewers have used the word "beguiling." That sums it up perfectly.