Witch's Dagger

De Sade This was part of my French order. Preconceived notions: I didn’t get any leather in Wanda, none in Loviatar, and only a slight bit in Casanova. If I’m going to get leather, it’s going to be in this one, which is said to be pure leather. Note: By the time I tried this, I’d also received Dead Man’s Hand, so I’m reviewing them at the same time. In the vial: If I hadn’t had Dead Man’s Hand to compare, I would have said that this smelled like pure leather. But Dead Man’s Hand is more of a pure leather. This is leather and a very tiny bit of incense or smoke - something dark and brooding. On me: For the entire hour it was on, it really didn’t change much. Pure, black leather with ambient dark incense. This is excellent. Overall: I love this. I like it much more than the pure leather of Dead Man’s Hand. It has something mysterious to it, something dark and maybe even a little ominous. Nothing you can really pick out, but it’s there. Without Dead Man’s Hand to compare, I would never have noticed anything but the leather. Edited to add: Whoever said bonfire - yes! That's definitely there as well. Mmmm...

Dead Man’s Hand Preconceived notions: Nothing with Leather had worked on me, but I’d just ordered De Sade when this came out. Eventually, I decided to try this, too. In the vial: Pure leather. Just leather. Maybe a little dust, but mostly, just leather. On me: Like De Sade, this stayed constant the entire time. Just pure leather, brown suede. Overall: If De Sade didn’t exist, I’d probably keep this, since the leather is so accurate. But I like De Sade better, and they’re close enough that I don’t need both. I’m going to try to swap this for a bottle of De Sade (since my De Sade is in imp form).

Oisin I got this for a friend, but since I don’t use much when I test, I figured I could review it. Preconceived notions: Sounds a little too light for me, but we’ll see. In the bottle: Grass, herbs, wild flowers, and fresh air - a meadow. On me: Sweet frehs herbs, morning dew, sunlight filtering through the butting trees on a beautiful spring day. This is life and light and happiness. In 20 minutes: The same, I think there might be a bit of fruit in this as well. In 30 minutes: Vanilla, flowers (rose?), and the original scent: sweet, soft, pungent, and airy. In 1 hour: Sweet, floral, smoky. A very harmonious blend. Overall: This is very nice, but I was right - too light for me. I’m happy I got to try it, but I think my friend will enjoy it more.

Temple of Dreams For use when working with the many Gods of Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares. Review of the fragrance itself. Will update when/if I try it as a dream oil. Preconceived notions: Herbal, lemony, citrus, lavender, clove, rosemary, spice, something deep and resiny. Good for work with dreams - it sounds like people have had success with it. In the vial: Mostly lavender, but something sharp, white, and glittering, yet hazy and soft - white musk? Also something minty, maybe eucalyptus (or rosemary as noted above, though I find eucalyptus to be more cool and minty than rosemary, and this is definitely both). On me: Intoxicating. Maybe there’s some mugwort in this - I recognize the way it works. And there’s still some mint or eucalyptus in it. It’s mostly lavender, and definitely dreamy. I can easily see using this for dream work. In 15 minutes: Mint, but a lavender/herbal mint, not a sweet mint. Somewhat spicy (maybe it is rosemary after all). Not bad. In 55 minutes: About the same, and beginning to fade. Overall: I really like this and I can’t wait to try it out for dream work. I can’t see wearing this as a day fragrance, though. It’s too intoxicating, and I’d likely run my car off the road in a dazed dreaminess, or daydreaming instead of getting my work done.

Urd: Fate Preconceived notions: A sexy incense scent. Sounds great for me. In the vial: Sweet dragon’s blood and cinnamon. On me: Dragon’s blood or vetiver and spice, and something soft and sweet (vanilla? amber?) It has a sense of timelessness - elegant in the sense of simple, beautiful, and effortless grace. In 10 minutes: Smoky, distant, ageless, dust, yet filled with life. Another excellent incense scent. I want to smell like this all the time. I wish I could describe it better. In 20 minutes: Sweet incense with spice. Exotic, yet calm. Definitely a skin scent. Very good for a priestess blend. In 30 minutes: Less sweet, but otherwise, about the same. Very dark. In 40 minutes: About the same. In 1 hour: Still about the same, but sweeter. I recognize this - it’s the scent of some amber incense sticks I have (which are sweeter and heavier than the actual resin) Overall: This is wonderful and amazing. Definitely a keeper, maybe a big bottle. Exquisite. (and maybe that “amber” was really the nag champa)

Bloodlust Preconceived notions: Heavy, dark, resiny, spicy, hot, sinister, and arousingly hypnotic. No, I didn’t have high expectations for this one! In the vial: Metallic dragon’s blood or vetiver and patchouli . . . and something else. On me: This sweetens and warms - the dragon’s blood sings on my skin. This is dark, underground, visceral, and animalistic. This is red wine and steak, with candles lit, and large knives. In 25 minutes: The same. Spicy, biting, ravenous, devouring. In 1 hour: Still going strong. Overall: Excellent. My preconceived notions were right on. This is a keeper - maybe a big bottle!

Desire Preconceived notions: Heady, dark, lemony, and mysterious. In the vial: Green herbs with brown spice (cinnamon, I think, but the brown version, as in Harlot, not the “red hot” version). On me: Cinnamon, herbs . . . vanilla? Amber? The herb and spice notes are strongest - this is very green, very hot, yet they are softened and sweetened by something else. In 15 minutes: Vanilla, cinnamon, I can pick out. There’s something else. This is lush, fiery. Definitely appropriate for Desire. In 40 minutes: Sweeter, definitely. And fading. Still quite lovely. In 55 minutes: It’s completely absent on my left wrist, but my right smells about the same. I think there might be some clove in this. Overall: Wow is my nose off. The only thing I got that was actually listed was the vanilla. This is very nice and lovely, but I don’t think I’d use it enough, so I’ll probably swap it. Edited for spelling.

Delight Preconceived notions: a deep, complex, delightful, oriental floral - hmm... sounds like it might be a little too light for me. In the vial: sticky sharp flower stem juice. Ugh. On me: *coughs* Whoa florals. Ylang ylang, jasmine, maybse some peony or rose. Oh, this is so not me. In 15 minutes: Sharp flowers screaming at me. I can’t pick any out from the crowd. In 30 minutes: Gentler now, and sweeter. Honey maybe? Still, too floral and light for me. In 50 minutes: About the same, but faint. Overall: Not for me at all.

Vice I got this in a swap with HappyLoveJoy. Thanks! Preconceived notions: Bitter dark cocoa, sweetened by syrupy cherry and tangy orange - I thought this might be too sweet, and I really like Velvet, so I wasn’t sure about another predominantly chocolate scent. In the vial: Velvet-like chocolate with tart, not sweet, cherries. That’s promising! On me: Mostly tart, incensy cherries. No chocolate, but very dark. In 15 minutes: About the same, but with a hint of chocolate - like Velvet w/tart cherries. In 50 minutes: Completely gone. Overall: This was nice - I really liked the bitingly tart cherries, but I do like Velvet more. I will probably keep the imp, but I may swap it. This isn’t bad, there are just so many more oils I like more, I’m worried I’ll never get back to it.

Delirium Preconceived notions: none. Apparently, this one didn’t strike me. I don’t have anything written down about it. In the vial: Fruit and very sharp flowers. I don’t really like it. On me: Fruity, smoky, citrus - very sharp - the pith. Within 5 minutes this goes to that terrible rose I got in Black Widow, Wolf’s Bane, and Marie. Very strong, very sharp, very painful. It lasts the entire time it’s on my skin, until I washed it off after the first hour to try something new. If it changes into something better, great, but I’m not going to deal with the opening sharp fruit/flowers, nor the evil rose dry down.

O is orgasmic, period. And yet, somehow relaxing. I love sleeping with it, and would love to smell it on a guy. In the vial, it's incredibly sweet. So sweet, I was worried it would give me a toothache. However, the sweetness luckily lasts on me only a heartbeat. And then, it changes into something most wonderful. I can't go into detail on this scent, because it's too well blended. I can't separate the vanilla, the amber, and honey. It smells like O. Orgasmic. It is strong - a little bit wafts quite far, and it has longevity - it lasts all night long (this is a big deal for me - most scents fade in the first hour). It is also a very intimate scent. Not intimate in the revealing clothing kind of way, but in the sense of one on one conversations while cuddling by candlelight. While naked. That gradually turns from talking into kissing, from kissing into caressing, from caressing into ... This is lovemaking that lasts all night, and includes things other than just intercourse. Things like talking, eating (and feeding each other), cuddling, listening to and acting out each other's fantasies. The kind of lovemaking that only happens when you know and trust each other deeply and intensely. This is why I find it relaxing and comforting, yet dead sexy. And this is why I wear it at night when I sleep, and not when I go out, even on the town. This is my private scent. I don't trust that deeply very easily. Yeah, I think I need a bottle of this. Edited completely after reading other reviews and being inspired by them.

Belle époque Preconceived notions: Sophisticated, yet decadent, with an exotic edge. In the vial: sweet, honeyed, floral amber On me: Carnation? Spices? Flowers! But this is very golden and elegant. The belle époque indeed. I definitely get ladies in gowns dancing at balls filled with crystal chandeliers. In 20 minutes: Ooh - amber and vanilla coming out and sandalwood, too - very warm candle-lit halls of mirrors. Wonderful! In 30 minutes: Where am I getting this smoky amber? The smoky, I get – sandalwood. But there’s no amber mentioned in the notes of this blend. The opium, maybe? I did the review without looking at the notes, and here’s what I wrote at this stage: “This is one of the most glorious amber blends I’ve tried.” What’s with the amber? In 50 minutes: About the same, but beginning to fade. Overall: I think I need to keep this “glorious amber blend” and figure out what’s going on. It sure is gorgeous.

Succubus This was a freebie from the lab. Thanks! Preconceived notions: A bitter, sensual orange - intriguing, dark in an exotic way. I didn’t get anything like that: In the vial: An herbal brew with a twangy eucalyptus after-breath (the scent equivalent of an aftertaste - I smelled it as soon as I -closed- the imp, not before). On me: Very green. Fluorescent kelly green, the color of absinthe’s Green Fairy. It warms up, but it’s still so green. Herbs, eucalyptus, maybe some mint. In 15 minutes: Soap. 100% pure Ivory. In 30 minutes: Still soap... In 55 minutes: Faint soap that can barely be detected. Overall: I think I’ll be passing this on, though that green scent was electrifying. I loved it. But not for only 15 minutes’ worth. And the bitter, sensual orange - that could have been cool, too.

The Lady of Shalott This was a freebie from the lab. Thanks! Preconceived notions: Too floral? In the vial: Instantly, I get the same gardenia as the one in Sacred Whore of Babylon: fake watermelon. And aquatic notes of some kind. On me: Spicier. I can detect some other flowers. It’s very innocent and watery. In 10 minutes: Even spicier, and thankfully less watermelony. I don’t know what does that to gardenia, since Crossroads wasn’t like this. In 45 minutes: The same. In 2 hours: Spicier and definitely floral, but this is like what you’d think of if you ever thought of tasting petals. Kind of sharp and bitter. In 2 hours 30 minutes: I’m reviewing, and I never washed this one off, so I have more to say. It’s rain. I mean, it smells like rain at this stage. The real thing. In front of the rain is something green and those bitter petals. This is much better than it was. I guess scents do sometimes change on me in longer periods of time. Most of the time, they fade in an hour. This is rain falling on white flowers with large green stems. Overall: This is my aquatic. I’m keeping it. May get more. I wish it didn’t have that whole first hour, though. Way too watermelony. But I love the fresh garden rain smell at the end. Amazing.

Bordello Origin: Part of my Western Catholic Death order. Preconceived notions: (from my journal after reading reviews - to give an indication of what I was thinking): -this is Dionysian! -sexy, rich maroon lewd, deductive, sultry, heady, potent, corsets & bustles, decadent & sinful, drunk on wine, a wild thorny berry patchi n the moonlight, something a stripper would wear, not deep or mysterious. In the vial: Sweet strawberries - like strawberry syrup. *worries* On me: Sweet strawberries and wine - I want to drink this. Mmm... Not sure if I want to smell like it, though. I think I’ll compare it with Bon Vivant to see which strawberry scent is best. *looks at notebook* Oh, wait, this isn’t strawberry, it’s currant. No wonder it smells so good. In 10 minutes: Now, I’m getting some smoke along with the sweet strawberries. This is a great enhancement. Makes it less chokingly sweet, and darkens and deepens it. In 45 minutes: The same. Overall: My preconceived notions were right on. Read them and forget the rest. This is excellent.

Santa Muerte Preconceived notions: Somewhat worried about the flowers, but I love vetivert, and the description makes it sound like something perfect for me, intent-wise. I'm very intrigued by Santa Muerte due to what I've glimpsed briefly in one of my spiritual sources - very powerful and wise. In the vial: This reminds me strangely of a sweeter, more floral, and sharper Santo Domingo. I could swear there’s rum in this - of the kind in Santo Domingo, not the kind in Hellcat. It’s a very intriguing smell. On me: Oh, this is heady and provocative. A dangerous woman in the jungle with black eyes (no, I’m not susceptible to the power of suggestion at all!). The flowers don’t smell like a “floral” to me - they are dark. Like Santo Domingo again, this is a floral that doesn’t smell like a floral. Clearly the flowers are dominant on my skin, but they aren’t girly, garden-like, romantic, or anything else I normally feel about flowers. These are poisonous blooms. In 10 minutes: I swear I’m getting some citrus here - maybe one of the flowers is orange blossom. It’s very smoky, sharp, and powerful. On my right wrist, I’m getting something like vanilla in there. It’s still more floral than I was hoping for, but strangely, I don’t mind so much. I’m really liking it. In 35 minutes: Definitely smoky, in a dangerous kind of way, with a hint of water or lush rainforests (not that I’ve been to one - it’s sort of a humid greenness) and these flowers. I still haven’t gotten any vetiver from it. Darn. Overall: This is lovely. Definitely keeping the imp, may spring for a bottle! I do wish I got more of the vetiver, though.

I'm another Nocturne lover. And after some of the words here, I'm definitely looking into Saturnalia, Ultraviolet, and Faustus. Marie turned to Rose on me, and the Raven didn't work at all (powdery generic floral) on me.

Good topic! I've now tried Lightning, Storm, and Storm Moon, and none of them smelled like this - they were all either too minty or too citrusy. Storm Moon was the closest - the rain scent was there... it was just accompanied by lemon dish soap . So, which of the former recommended scents would you say are less citrusy/minty?

I found Velvet to be darker than Centzon Totochtin, because the dragon's blood and wine are such -red- scents to me, plus there is a kind of sweetness in that one. The sandalwood in Velvet adds a particular woody kind of bitterness to it. I haven't tried Tezcatlipoca yet, but it's definitely on my wishlist, and Intrigue wasn't chocolatey at all on me. So, of the three I've tried, I'd recommend Velvet for your needs (though I personally prefer Centzon Totochtin, just slightly).

Storm Moon Preconceived notions: I liked the name, and I’ve been looking for something both dark and stormy. In the vial: Rain and dish soap. I love the way I can really smell the rain, but I wish the dish soap would go away. On me: More lemon dish soaap, with a hint of ozone (I think, though I don’t really know what “ozone” smells like), and fresh air. It’s already becoming spicy and mysterious. There’s a lot of citrus, though. In 20 minutes: Citurs, salt, rain, something dark. I’m desperately trying to like this one, because I love that rain scent I smell, but the citrus and the dish soap won’t go away. I keep trying to tell myself I’m just imagining it, but it’s still there. In 40 minutes: The same. In 50 minutes: Beginning to fade. Overall: I think I’m going to have to swap this one. I love the rain in there, but the dish soap ruins it for me.

Vixen Preconceived notions: A dark, spicy orange, but I forgot all about the orange between when I had my preconceived notions (August) and when I tested the oil (today). In the vial: Dragon’s blood? Vetiver? Patchouli? Maybe some kind of spice? On me: This smells a lot like dragon’s blood and red patchouli on me. It’s a very sensual red scent with a black core. Visceral. In 15 minutes: This is still very sensual. The patchouli has deepened and softenent, and the dragon’s blood (orange???) has that lush red sweetness. It’s very strong and wafts well. No forgetting you’re wearing this one. In 1 hour: Still about the same. Overall: Keeper. I’ll have to check it with other lusty red scents to see which one I like most. I don’t want to have too many that are similar...

Brisingamen Preconceived notions: A wonderful, sweet amber blend. In the vial: Apple, but somehow not a real apple On me: This is the most wonderful apple scent, because it is more of a perfume than something you’d eat. The amber does to the apple in Brisingamen what sandalwood does to the chocolate in Velvet - makes it more bitter, less edible. It’s still primarily an apple scent, though, with the amber as an enhancement. In 15 minutes: Still mostly apple, with amber backing it up and keeping it from going edible on me. In 25 minutes: Now, the amber is beginning to take the lead in this scent. The apple is becoming the back-up, adding sweetness and a juiciness or wetness to the amber. This is lovely. In 35 minutes: About the same. In 50 minutes: Pure amber, and very faint. Overall: Mmm... This is one juicy amber/apple blend. Great for sensual days in the summer.

Santo Domingo Preconceived notions: I was worried about the rum, but Port au Prince worked - this doesn't sound too sweet, which I think was the problem with the other rum scents I tried. But I really got it to go with Santa Muerte *blushes*. In the vial: Flowers, rum, exotic spices - very nice. This is not the icky rum I get from Hellcat, etc., but a sharp spiced rum, right out of the bottle. I love the way spiced rum smells (but not how it tastes, unless watered down, and then I wish it were thicker, but without the metallic alcohol zing), but so far, it hasn’t worked much in oils. On me: This is really unique. I really like it. IT’s a dark, ominous, ritual floral. I never would have expected that. It somehow manages to be completely floral, while giving the impression of Voodoo ceremonies with masks around a fire and lots of chanting and wild dancing and laughter. But it’s a floral. Wow. In 20 minutes: Rose? Yes! My goodness, what is the world coming to? This is a dark rose, like Black Rose, but with spices, like Harlot, and the rum is still slinking about backstage. I wasn’t expecting this to be a rose scent, but it works. In 45 minutes: Wow, this is a real morpher. Now we have much less rose, and it’s almost completely rum and spices. There’s something else, too, softening it - sandalwood, perhaps? Or musk? Overall: Incredibly unique and fascinating scent. Amazing.

Crossroads Preconceived notions: A complex, dark floral, moss, dirt, herbs, and incense. Sounds lovely to me. In the vial: Gardenia and a touch of spice. On me: Yep, still lots of gardenia. It’s a very silky, sensuous scent, and the gardenia is behaving itself a lot better in this scent than it did in Sacred Whore of Babylon. In an hour and a half: Whoops - forgot to update this. But mainly it’s been smoky gardenia. It reminds me of Sand & Sable, but better, of course. Overall: This is lovely, and I’ll definitely keep the imp. It’s too light for what I was thinking, and I’d really like more of the moss, dirt, herbs, and incense.

Velvet Preconceived notions: I got to smell this one at a friend’s house. It was good - sandalwood and chocolate are a good combination! I don’t know what took me so long to buy it, nor why I didn’t immediately spring for the 5 ml. In the vial: Chocolate powder. On me: I can’t really describe this well. It’s chocolate, but it’s not something I’d want to eat. The sandalwood is adding this wood note, which makes it somewhat bitter, but not in a bitter chocolate way (which I would eat in a heartbeat). This is more like what I’d imagine chocolate incense to smell like. In 25 minutes: Wow. I’m getting a burnt wood chocolate scent now. Very lovely - comforting, yet intense and somewhat dangerous. In 45 minutes: Still gorgeous, and it’s floating all around me. In an hour and 20 minutes: About the same. Overall: I love this! I think I’ll need a bottle eventually!