porcelina

pride is a very sweet rose- but it's sharp, almost piercing in its sweetness at first. after a little while it softens and becomes something very nice. i'm not a floral girl, by any means, but if i was feeling exceptionally frilly and girly i might be able to wear this. it's very soapy, like i've just taken a warm bath in a tub filled to overflowing with frothy pink bubbles.

lavender and jasmine- dear god, this is terrible. they feed off one another's power and combine into a monstrous creature, lavemine (jasender?), more terrifying than anything else known to man. the honeysuckle tries bravely to step in and tame the beast but jasender just eats it.

queen is regal and, well, queenly. i'm not sure i can pull it off. it's good initially but there's something icky and herbal and maybe floral lurking just beneath the surface that turns me off to it- and then whatever that bit is comes out in full force and woooahhh, i can't wear this. but- wait! when it fully dries it's woodsy and sweet (is that honeysuckle?) and i actually think it works! i'll be keeping my imp.

i am not an ozone person, but i really, really like lightning. it's fresh and clean and watery. i could easily see myself reaching for this on a really hot summer day- it has a really good throw, too!

this mouse is very soft, sweet and pleasant. the sweet pea sugars up the vanilla and amber. it wears very close to the skin and is just cozy and warm and nice.

this is a nice citrus blend. the grapefruit is sweetened by the red currant and it all sits atop a cloud of yummy musk- and amazingly, the lavender in cheshire cat hides very well and doesn't ever rear its ugly head!

oh i love this! in the bottle i do get the pickle that a couple of others have mentioned but it disappears when it hits my skin. on my wrist i get this gorgeous, clean, furry musk- like the musk in hunter moon but without the berry/wine and evergreen smell i get from HM. there's some wood in there, too. aah! ivanushka is wonderful.

ok, so- this is definitely "chilly and bright". unfortunately it's also just too damn light for me and smells really plasticky after a while. nooo thank you. which is too bad, because i really adore the label art.

Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. oh my GOD! this is heavenly. it smells like warm, fresh-baked gingerbread. when i put it on my wrist and sniffed, my mouth literally began to water. i want to eat my arm. gingerbread poppet, where have you been all my life?!

diwali is really pleasant- rich, sweet, smooth and somehow bright, a little spicy and creamy. haha- in other words, it's a little bit of everything! unfortunately it fades very quickly on my skin and doesn't really smell like anything after a while. boo. to the swap pile we go.

in the bottle this reminds me of sitting at the kitchen table on christmas eve nght with my mom and aunts, drinking coffee and eating delicious chocolate christmas cookies. unfortunately, it turns burnt and awful on my skin. bpal coffe tends to go really plasticky and fake on me, and el dia re reyes falls into that trap as well. alas.

when i first sniffed sagittarius in the bottle my initial thought was, "dandelion, yay!" there is something a little thicker and richer smelling- the fig, i think. on me it's all bright, happy, green and yellow dandelion with a hint of sweetness. surprisingly i don't get any sage. this satisfies my need for a straight-up dandelion scent- i'm so glad i caved and ordered it!

in the bottle allison gross smells exactly like roadhouse to me... the same dark, heady, heavily green floral. on my skin it is more herbal and fresh-smelling. when it dries down it's unfortunately very light and faint, because that's when i start to get the dragon's blood musk note and it's wonderful. it's so green and fresh and sparkly and full of adorable flowers... it's like a fairy tale meadow. i just wish it lasted more than a minute on me.

oh GOD, this is terrible. whatever bitter, medicinal, horrible scent this has is also in nero, another scent that i can't stand. this is an instant headache and makes me feel queasy. euuugghhhh.

wow, for once a boozy scent doesn't make me smell like i just spent the night drinking myself silly. this smells like dry apricot tea on me!

wet and dry, it just smells exactly like a cherry blowpop to me!

sweet, smoky and resinous. i've begun to think that there isn't an amber blend i can't wear, and apparently black musk loves me too. this is dark and earthy and sexy and musky and sweet and mmm. i LOVE it.

all this smells like on me is mildew and sour milk! euuughh.

astonishingly, the sandalwood in brown jenkins actually behaves itself on me. this is very dry and scratchy smelling, if that makes any sense at all. there's coconut but not creamy coconut meat, it's the husk, for sure. the incense is especially nice... overall a pleasantly dry, earthy scent.

the myrrh and balsam are actually very nice but anubis is just way too herbal on me.

smells like a dusty wooden box filled with drived lavender. sneeze-inducingly dry!

bien loin d'ici smells like cheap incense and some sort of cloying, stinky flowers on me. it's kind of bitter as well and it makes me sneeze! to the swaps!

singing moon is much sweeter than i expected. it really is very evocative... i regretted not ordering a bottle when it came out and now my partial is not enough! it smells like moonlight over a cemetery overlooking the sea. sweetly herbal with faint whiffs of sea air and smoke. i've never smelled anything quite like it. it's fantastic.

kill-devil is SO EFFING DELICIOUS. sweet, sticky and dark. it's kind of like bonfire night only not burnt and smokey. the honey is gorgeous, so smooth and sweet. the mollasses is dark and gooey and the wood rounds it all out. lasts a long time, too. i am in love!

this stuff is great. feminine but not frilly or girly- this woman is a bad ass. i don't get any patchouli (thankfully) and the rum and sarsparilla add a certain sweetness. it's definitely salty but it's not all cologney men's body wash, as some aquatics tend to go. at times it's almost creamy. this was a really pleasant surprise!