destructivedelight

Wet: In the vial, there is no sweetness at all, just lots of green. I had to check the product description to make sure it was even a floral! It smelled like a vegetable (probably the geranium)—fresh, strong, warm vibrant and clean. Dry: As the perfume dries, geranium remains at the fore. Lily appears in the background, sweetening the scent slightly. The clean vibrancy remains. I love that this is a warm scent with only a hint of sweetness. I usually wear cold scents. Aside from violets, which are cold and sharp on my skin, most floral scents are just too sweet for me. Goneril is warm, vibrant and soft, but there is no sickly sweetness. This may just make it into permanent rotation!

I was very excited by the description of this product. I love apple scents and I love to wear gold; I thought this would be a smell I would want to devour. Wet: In the imp I, I smell something floral and slightly alcoholic--maybe the myrtle?--which makes the perfume sweet and woodsy. Dry: As the perfume breathes, the woodsy smell disappears. Amber moves to the fore, with slight apple blossom undertones. The smell is warm, smooth and golden. After about 30 minutes, the amber turned to baby powder--kind of a sticky sweet smell that made me kind of nauseous. Once again, I am left seeking a warm perfume that works well on my skin.

Wet: In the bottle, O smells syrupy sweet--honey with fruity, somewhat alcoholic undertones. It smells viscous, thick and sticky, a humid summer day. Dry: The honey really comes out, warmed slightly by the amber. The tension of the bottle breathes a bit, and the vanilla seeps in. I probably won't use it again. Sweet, warm scents don't work well on me--I'm a winter scent kind of girl--and O is as sticky and warm as they come.

Wet: In the vial, this smells of citrus, mostly lemon--it is tart, but not sour, somehow tempered by mint. Dry: On my skin, citrus pops out immediately, providing a fresh, vibrant scent that matches the energy of the city. Within 30 minutes, however, the citrus had disappeared almost completely, leaving a dry tea smell, with a hint of orchid. What began as a vibrant, aggressive scent became somewhat passive and tired. This is not the Manhattan I know! The description seemed so exciting, so East Village. But the scent is little old ladies dining on the Upper East Side.

Wet: In the bottle, this scent is warm, sweet and golden, with strong amber and jasmine presences. I'm not usually one for sweet scents, but I was excited by the distinct presence of the citrus, which adds a subtle tart quality. On me: The citrus disappears as the scent dries, leaving a sticky sweet smell. I love jasmine by itself, but combined with amber, became just too syrupy for my taste. I wish I could like this scent. I love Versailles and the court of Louis XIV, and I wanted very badly to love this smell. But the golden grandeur of the bottle disappears quickly with wear, leaving a faded syrup smell. It is a very strong scent--it stayed on my skin after 9 hours of wear!

Wet: In the vial, I hardly smell violet. It is a somewhat generic floral bouquet, with just a hint of the warmth. Dry: On me, the violet comes out immediately. I can also smell a bit of the lilac, which softens and warms the scent. Violets are often very sharp and cold on my skin; the addition of lilac strikes a lovely balance between sun and ice. The scent toes the line between a secretive/mysterious flower and a warm/outgoing one. For me, this will be a wonderful scent for March and early April, when the world hasn't quite decided whether she wants to live in winter or spring.

In the vial: Didn't like the scent--too woodsy and medicinal. I was disappointed to not be able to detect much violet On: The violet and lily begin to come out, gradually overtaking the myrrh. On my skin, the voilet gains strength as it dries. Within 30 minutes, I am left with a subtle violet twinged with a hint of darkness. Love this one. I think it will become one of my staples.