sarahmarie

EMMA Better known as the "Parisian Queen of America," needs little introduction in this country. Emma's "House of all Nations," as it is commonly called, is one place of amusement you can't very well afford to miss while in the Tenderloin District. Everything goes here. Fun is the watchword. Business has been on such an increase at the above place of late that Mdme. Johnson had to occupy an "Annex." Emma has never less than twenty pretty women of all nations, who are clever entertainers. Remember the name, Emma Johnson 331 and 333 Basin Street Vanilla bourbon, tea rose, jasmine, pink pepper, and patchouli. I get mostly rose from this right away, but on my skin that's not terribly surprising. It's a prickly, peppery sort of rose, especially when I sniff close to the skin...but what wafts up from my skin is a very true rose. As it dries, a round sweet note rises up under the rose - presumably the vanilla bourbon! It gives a bit more weight to what is otherwise an increasingly floral scent. Jasmine and rose together seems to be going a little bit sharp on my skin, but again, that's my chemistry at work. I'm not getting patchouli. I can definitely see this being lovely on someone whose chemistry is a bit more friendly to florals. It's pretty, but on me the bourbon and patchouli can't quite balance the floral, so it's a bit off. I like the waft of this, though - it's a perky rose (I think the pepper livens it up a bit), and if I got just a bit more of the vanilla I'd be really happy.

Orion, the Hunter, is the Lord of the Winter Skies. At his left shoulder sits orange-hot Betelgeuse, and in the heart of his sword, he holds a nebula that swirls with the birth of new stars. Weathered brown leather, wild fig, Macedonian cedar, fire-red tobacco, pepper, white musk, and cardamom. Oh my goodness this one is amazing. I smelled it at willl call and liked it, but I didn't get a chance to try it on before I had to leave...and then I got it for Christmas! Lucky me! I can pick out the fig, cedar, and pepper the most easily when wet, with a hint of the cardamom... and together those smell a) delicious and remind me a bit of nutmeg. It feels somewhat foody, and really just warm and delicious. As it dries, the leather, tobacco, and musk come out a bit more, grounding it and making it much less of a foody experience. I can still smell warm, slightly sweet cedar goodness, though, with a gentle underlay of leather and white musk. I keep applying it to myself, but also to my husband. It's a great blend of like, comforting yummy and also kinda sexy and masculine - but not in a way where it feels specifically cologne-y or like femme people would feel out of place wearing it. I'm wearing it and loving it. It's soooo gooooood.

"Eyes, eyes! New eyes for old!" shouted a tiny woman in front of a table covered with bottles and jars filled with eyes of every kind and color. "Instruments of music from a hundred lands!" "Penny whistles! Tuppenny hums! Threepenny choral anthems!" "Try your luck! Step right up! Answer a simple riddle and win a wind-flower!" "Everlasting lavender! Bluebell cloth!" "Bottled dreams, a shilling a bottle!" "Coats of night! Coats of twilight! Coats of dusk!" "Swords of fortune! Wands of power! Rings of eternity! Cards of grace! Roll-up, roll-up, step this way!" "Salves and ointments, philtres and nostrums!" Otherworldy golden incense, blooming wind-flowers, everlasting lavender, bluebell, a faint whiff of exotic sugared candies, and fae mist upon wet green grass. I think this may be my first time writing a first review. Eeep! Okay, without looking at the notes at all, here's my impression: this is a light, mysterious, fruity floral scent. I can't quite pin it down, but it's definitely ethereal. It evokes things like the little glass snowdrop in the book - delicate, precious, and light. It's light enough that it may be quite fleeting, but it's gently throwing right now, creating a light, sweet veil around me that I think fits perfectly with the mood of the Fairy Market. And now that I've looked at the notes, I can tell you this: it blends and separates just like the scents of a market would. When I sniff closely, I smell a united, well-blended sweet, fruity floral with an undercurrent of incense, but if I don't sniff directly, I get hints of individual notes. It swirls. This is so pretty, though I'm interested to see how it dries down. If you're a fan of the *idea* of this scent, I think you'll love it.

I love lilac and beeswax and generally can't wear white tea because it goes very sharp and soapy on me, so this was a gamble! At first, it's sort of a candied lilac scent to my nose, which is really lovely. Then the white tea amps up, and for a little while I thought it was going south...but now that it has dried down all the way, it's much less sharp than I was expecting. The lilac and the white tea blend so thoroughly I can't really distinguish them separately, and the beeswax grounds it a bit, perhaps keeping it from going full soap on my skin. Overall it's a scent I would wear lightly, because it's quite strong...but I'm pleased that it may work for me! It's really pretty and unique.

So, I do not like florals in general, but I do love Tiki Princess - plumeria works for me. Lily often doesn't, and strong, heady florals can be A Lot, so I was a bit nervous about this one...but I think I like it! It's warm and rich. Definitely floral, but in an unusual way. I can certainly smell the lily, but it doesn't take over and run away with everything like it sometimes can for me. It reminds me of DDLM - perhaps the chrysanthemum? But it wears better on my skin that DDLM tends to, even though I do like DDLM in theory. I'll have to wear it a bit more to decide what kind of mood I will wear it in, but I'm pleased that it's a possibility for me!

How can it be I never reviewed this? I looked through and didn't see, though I know I have tried this before, back in the early days. I got Lampades as a frimp from the Lab, and I remembered that it didn't work well for me - but that was probably 10 years ago, so I decided to try again. And I'm intrigued! It's really interesting. I get cranberry and lily with some spices, rounded out by musk - pretty much what it says it is, but it's surprising to me how well this seems to be playing on my skin given that fruits and lily don't usually. It's like the cranberry is grounded by the musk and sweetened by the lily, and the spices keep it balanced so it's not overbearing or too fruity or floral. In other words, it's well done, which is no surprise. But the magical combo might just work on me! My first tentative test faded quickly, so I'm on my second round to see what happens on the drydown when I apply a little more.

On me this starts out as a delicious chocolate scent, more brownie than bar, if that makes sense...I say that mostly because usually chocolate turns kind of sad on me, but this one remains very warm and rich while it lasts. There's also a note that smells to me like amaretto. It doesn't stick around, but it's there in the beginning. After a while, the chocolate takes a back seat and it smells distinctly of BOOK, which is fascinating and awesome. The candle wax is present in little hints. It's lovely. Once it's dried down it is hard to pick out the chocolate, but when I look for it, it's kind of there, and still very nice. It's a very unique scent. It came with a cool paperback 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which I have never actually read! So that's super cool too. EDITED to reflect more thorough notes on my second wear.

This is an unusual choice for me, and it wears very differently on me than it does on others here, it seems. For me, the lotus (and ylang ylang?) are very prominent, with some sandalwood for grounding...and it remains not foody at all for me. I was hoping for fig but don't smell it. But, the creaminess does keep the florals rich and soft, and I can see this being a very pretty warm winter floral scent. I'll have to wear it again before I decide whether it's for me, but it is very nice.

This was a gamble for me, but it turns out I really love it. It's much like Gingerbread Poppet, but with some morphing - gingerbread with spicy cinnamon candy, gingerbread with a fruitiness, gingerbread with vanilla. For me the gingerbread is a warm and delicious constant, close to the skin but with great staying power. The various accompaniments come and go and are delightful the whole time. I really enjoyed wearing this one on Christmas Day, and I anticipate enjoying it throughout the winter for its cheerful, comforting qualities. EDITED to add that once it's completely dry it smells very distinctly of gingerbread with vanilla icing - it's really perfect and I love it. It's long lasting too. I think I prefer this to my beloved Gingerbread Poppet even! I'm in love.

So, my skin amps and does weird things to tea. It gets kind of soapy or something, and sort of sharp. I know this - Dorian fails on me, for example, because of it - but I keep trying. I should maybe stop. This is actually a really great, clove smokey smell on me, with just a hint of the cake. I was so hoping for that, basically, and I got hopeful. But then the tea...the tea blooms into a super strong amped up thing that overpowers everything else. If you are someone who likes these notes and can play well with tea, I think you should try this. It comes so close for me, and I think it's just my chemistry that sinks it.

This was such a surprise for me! I tested it at VT WC. Caramel is a note that I often try for and often fail with, and this one starts to go the way of the badness - but after a while, it settled down and was straight up delicious. With the cookie and apple, it's delectable - not cloying, just a really yummy perfect balance of slightly buttery, browned, sweet, apple. So good.

This is so great in the bottle and initially on my skin - that sparkley strawberry smell with cotton candy underpinnings, bright and sweet. But several of the notes in this are iffy on me - strawberry, though I love it and keep trying, and cream, which I also want to have success with but tend to turn a bit flat and strange. Those things happened here, sadly, and it just doesn't work. But, if these are notes you do well with, you will adore this. I am tempted to keep it based on the bottle photo alone, buuuut many scents call to me...

I love this painting and I love some of these notes, while others were a super questionable decision...but I'm glad I went for it, as this one is quite nice on me! The jasmine doesn't run away with me, it's just pretty and sort of a nice, round, deep note. I get a lot of clary sage and I am really pleased with that! Those are the primary notes on my skin - the oudh is present but just the most stand-out of a nice, grounding base that's really nicely blended. I'm really digging this one, and I love that it's very unique and a departure from some of my other seasonal choices.

I really love this in theory, but in practice it may be too strong for me - it triggered a migraine. I want to try it again, because I definitely see the beauty of it, but it is Very Powerful and something in it may not agree with me! My impressions, though, are of an incensey brown-red scent, very musky and resiny with major depth. I bet it will age beautifully, too!

I love both strawberry and beeswax, and have had mixed success with them in various blends - but I was really hopeful about this! I am not disappointed. For me, fruit notes often go really high and sharp, or else plasticky. But this one doesn't do that, and I think it's because it has such a nice grounding in the beeswax. It balances it and keeps it from running wild. The candy is there too, sort of vaguely - it sweetens up what otherwise might be a sharper strawberry on my skin. It's a surprisingly powerful scent with staying power - I can still smell it on one of my wrists almost 24 hours after applying! I am so happy that this one worked for me. If you like strawberry or beeswax, I think it is a must-try!

So, I often cannot wear chocolate perfumes even though I love the idea in theory. I was nervous about this, but I'm glad I gave it a try! This wears well on me. The chocolate stays chocolate, without going weirdly plastic, though it is a drier, more cocoa-like smell than a richer kind. I'm okay with that though, it makes it feel more wearable and versatile. The cinnamon is very subtle, just warming things up a little, and the dry down is lovely - close to the skin, with a warm feel that smells a bit like it has amber in it on me. Very nice.

I tried this when I got it at will call, but I somehow never wore it again and forgot about its existence! But I'm glad I discovered it again. This is a nice one! In the bottle it's very strong and throws a lot, but it settles right down as it dries. On me it's warm and sweet, a nice blended pear-wine hybrid that wears pretty close to the skin but doesn't go all weird the way both of those notes have done for me in the past. It's grounded by a warm, dry quality that keeps it from being too cloying. So glad I hung on to this and didn't overlook it forever!

This one invokes pink, turquoise, and pearls to me, perfectly mermaid! I saw someone compared it to Pink Snowvballs in their review. Wet on my skin, I do detect some similarities, but it is dramatically different to my nose. It's perhaps a similar pinkiness, but clearly aquatic and more...perfumey, by which I probbaly mean floral. Now, I am not a floral person and aquatics often give me headaches. This one, though, is so gentle and light that it works for me. It's pretty and girlish, but I think it can be thought of as sophisticated too. I'm glad I went against my general scent type and got a bottle of this!

I had a baby this summer and my name is Sarah, so this one just kind of fit and I bought a bottle. So glad I did! It's so comforting. It is semi musky/animalistic and a little bit prickly, but only in the safest, strongest, most soothing way. It's hard to explain! I can tell you I wear it to bed sometimes because it feels warm and comforting, and it wears close to the skin (not enough throw or strength to bother the baby!)

Candle wax, smoke, red sandalwood, a dusting of kitchen spices, and a dribble of vanilla ice cream. To me, the candle is the star of this show. It's the perfect candle scent, suffused with love and glowing. The sandalwood and creamy spice is there and beautifully blended, and all together it is really just perfect and lovely. It's a very warm, safe, comforting sort of scent - or rather, those are the feelings it evokes for me. I think Ive been looking for this scent for a long time and didn't even know it. Beautiful!

Raspberry sherbet dotted with orangesicle, merlot gelato, pink cotton candy, and iced lime. It's been a while since I've written reviews, but I'll try! I didn't think I would like this, because fruity, colorful sounding scents like this rarely work on my skin - usually they get really sharp and tart smelling, and sort of...generically fruity. This, though, is very different! I am so glad I got to try it at NEWC. This scent smells very much like gummi bears in the bottle...but on my skin, it becomes a smoother, lighter-but-with-depth sweetness. It's primarily sherbet and cotton candy, I think, which is a lovely scent combination for summer time. I've been wearing it a lot lately. Definitely worth a try if you're someone who hasn't had luck with fruity scents in the past, but like the idea of this type of scent!

The proto I tried at NEWC smelled like red velvet cake on me, mostly, so I was a bit surprised to find that the bottle I ordered smells very very intensely of honeyed, boozy snake oil when first applied to my skin. Like, really intensely, you guys. As it dries, that blends with a more identifiable wine scent, definite tobacco, and the slight scent of dry, warm florals. It takes a while before anything discernably cake-y or frosting-like emerges, though I'd say I can pick that up now. At this point it doesn't throw honey like crazy, so my husband may actually be able to be in the same room with me (poor fellow, he hates honey scents). Regardless of the honey, this scent is really gorgeous. I'd even go so far as to call it FUCKAWESOME. You want some, you really really do.

Did I review this? Guess I didn't. I loved loved loved the Gorobble in the bottle and when it first hit my skin. It's toasty marshmallow-y goodness all around. But on me, it very quickly and summarily went very, very burned - and nothing else. Juuuust burnination. So sad.

This is everything I wanted in a Halloween scent, for real. It smells just like trick-or-treating on a perfect, crisp night, crunching through dry leaves. I get sweetness, light smoke, dead leaves and crisp air. There is the tiniest hint of pumpkin. It's Halloween in a bottle, to me. I love it.

I love this one! It's very fizzy, a bit sweet, unidentifiably pink, and it's boozy but not overwhelmingly so. Bon Vivant failed miserably on me, so I was nervous... but this one stays true and non-plastic and fun! I'm in a pink place, it makes me happy.