Delirium1009

In bottle/imp: Grape and a bit of candied pomegranate. Immediately on skin: Powdery grape and more powder, with a touch of leather. This has a very soft note to it too, but it’s not really creamy… just soft and lightly sweet. After a little while: This gets more and more grape-dominated as I wear it. It’s grape, plus a touch of pomegranate (both really sweet) and a bit of powder poured over the top. Overall Impressions: I don’t like overwhelmingly grape scents, and this is just that. I had high hopes for the leather and tonka bean, but they’re not really evident here, especially once this dries down.

2008 version In bottle/imp: Amber plus bitter resins and green notes. Immediately on skin: The amber in this is nice and warm, but it’s matched with some cloying notes and resins. Something in this is turning powdery on me, and it smells a bit plastic-y too. After a little while: This is so not me… there’s a bit of amber, a touch of powder, resins, and something cloying but smooth. This isn’t really sweet, but it has a definite golden feel to it. Overall Impressions: This just doesn’t work on me… I don’t know enough about the notes to say which one it is, but something here is rather cloying to my nose. The amber is nice, and the resins give this a nice richness, but that other note just makes this wrong on my skin.

2008 version In bottle/imp: Perfectly balanced pine and perfume. Immediately on skin: This strikes me as very similar to L’Inverno; it’s mostly a pine scent, but the other notes make it feminine and lovely. This is like a floral/fruity pine scent, and sweet but not too sweet. After a little while: This just gets stronger and more blended together as I wear it. The pine and perfume are so lovely together; they’re not too sharp, and not too perfumey. It’s sweet, but definitely balanced nicely by the astringent pine. Overall Impressions: This is quite a lovely scent, and not something I was expecting to like as much as I do. The pine is perfectly balanced against the perfume, and this is sweet but not too much so. It reminds me a lot of L’Inverno, but with more florals and not such a strong fruitiness. This is almost brighter, happier.

In bottle/imp: Pine and orange with something softening the blend. Immediately on skin: This smells like it should be sharp, but it isn’t. The first thing that hits me is a mixture of pine and orange, but it’s so smooth. The other notes are indistinguishable but this is overall very warm, smooth, and faintly sweet under the top notes of pine and orange. It’s slightly musky, slightly floral, slightly sweet and very unusual. After a little while: This has turned… odd on me. Central to this scent there is now an earthy, musky note that all of the other notes blend into. The blend is overall now very solid, earthy, and slightly citrusy with hints of pine and musk. Overall Impressions: This started out relatively nice, but something came out on my skin that strikes me as slightly bitter and very substantial in the blend. It’s earthy and almost cloying, and sucks in the other notes, releasing hints of them as they blend into the central scent. It’s hard to describe, but this isn’t something I would wear.

In bottle/imp: Chocolate. Powdery, yummy hot cocoa almost. Immediately on skin: Powdery chocolate with a hint of warm, soft amber. This is a little less foody smelling than I thought it would be. After a little while: This turns a bit plastic-y on me after a little while. The amber fades and I’m left with powdery, slightly plastic chocolate. Overall Impressions: I don’t do well with chocolate notes, and here is no exception. This started out a warm, golden chocolate scent but dried down into something… not so pleasant. I’ll just have to stick to El Dia de Reyes for my chocolate fix.

In bottle/imp: Roses and other fresh, golden florals. Immediately on skin: This is a floral scent, but there’s a clean airiness laid over them. I think it’s the mist, but it smells very bright, but thick. The rose is the most identifiable flower, but there are other soft, light blooms there too. After a little while: The roses come out more as this dries, and it becomes a very dewey and slightly cool perfumey rose scent. I also get a touch of orchid from this. Overall Impressions: This is a lovely, feminine scent. It has other things going on besides the rose, though; the mist note is slightly cool and perfumed, but separate from the yellow blossoms. It smells golden, but cool and bright at the same time, though not sharp. This blend is very wearable and wistful.

In bottle/imp: This is very ozone-y, with a bit of some kind of tree (cypress perhaps?) and something herbal and woody. Immediately on skin: This is incredibly strong on the ozone once I put it on my skin. Under that I get an herbal soapiness and an end note of something almost floral, but it’s very fleeting. After a little while: Ah, the orchards have come out. The ozone still lingers, but it’s overshadowed by this smooth woody fruitiness blended with soapy herbs. A touch of apples, perhaps, but it’s not a very distinctive apple note. This scent is smooth, dark, and a touch cool. Not icy, but cool. The soapy note really distracts me from enjoying the rest of the scent however. Overall Impressions: This scent reminds me of a cool night. The ozone, which is strong at first, softens nicely and this settles down into this well-blended, cool, smooth, fruity scent. This is unisex, but maybe leaning towards feminine due to the fruit in it. But the ozone keeps it from being too girly, which is nice, too. Unfortunately something in this strikes me as soapy, so I don’t love it, but I like it.

In bottle/imp: Cedar and fir wrapped with light musk, sandalwood, and a hint of rose. Immediately on skin: This is a chilly, icy and almost minty cedar and pine scent with a bit of berry, rose, and light musk sweetening it. It’s astringent and smells very cold and crisp. The notes all seem to be blending nicely. After a little while: This has gotten more airy and feminine as it dried. The notes in this are almost seamlessly blended and combine to form this chilly, foresty floral scent. The cedar is probably the most identifiable note, then the black berries and rose adding a good dose of sweetness and smoothness. The musk and sandalwood really don’t warm the blend, but they swirl around and smooth out and ground the cedar a bit, keeping it from being too high of a note. The blend is still very cool and icy however, and has a crystallized sort of feel. Overall Impressions: This is a pine and cedar scent I could actually wear, and I’m so excited about that. It’s a bit sweet and floral with more than a hint of berries and rose, but that really helps balance the pine and cedar. The other notes just blend together so nicely in this. I can sense them more than pick them apart because they’re so nicely blended. Overall I have to wear this to see if I would use it enough to warrant a bottle, but it’s a lovely scent to experience.

In bottle/imp: Warm milk and an aquatic sea-like note. Immediately on skin: This is the same milk note from Milk Moon 07 and Obatala with a heavy dose of salty aquatics. I hated the two aforementioned blends, but in this the mixture of these two vastly different notes is rather nice. It’s soft and creamy, then the aquatic bit almost stings my nose. The scent finishes off smooth and a touch sweet. After a little while: This is no longer milk and then salty aquatic-ness… it’s milky aquatic-ness. Maybe that doesn’t make much sense, but that feeling of separate notes I was getting at first has disappeared and they’re blended together nicely now. It’s smooth, milky, and watery with a nice salty feel. Overall Impressions: I won’t lie… I hated Milk Moon 07 and Obatala. Why I decided to take a chance on this blend, I’ll never know. But I’m sooo glad I did! It’s very interesting and odd, but lovely. It has a lovely crisp aquatic overtone over the base of smooth, warm milk. I’m just not sure how wearable it will actually be for me, but I like it enough to keep the imp.

In bottle/imp: Fresh, dewy rose and green stems. Immediately on skin: This reminds me a lot of Rose Red, only the rose note is much rounder and soft. There’s a lot of green notes to this, plus a bit of soapiness. After a little while: This softens so much as I wear it… it’s really melded nicely into my skin. I smell a very soft mixture of rose and green notes, but it’s blended nicely. I guess I’d say it’s like standing a foot or so away from a rose bush with the scent of the blossoms and some cut stems wafting towards you, but not right up close. Overall Impressions: This is a lovely rose scent, and if I could compare it to anything else, I’d say it’s a softer, more delicate version of Rose Red. The rose in this is soft and very smooth, and while the green note is a little sharp at first, it quickly fades to something understated that balances out with the rose note. And I also have to say that out of all the bpal rose blends I’ve tried, this one seems the most realistic to me with that slightly watery, round scent that real roses have.

In bottle/imp: Citrus and currant with a bit of green herbs. Immediately on skin: This is mostly citrus (lemon and lime) and herbs with a hint of musk when wet. There’s more of a fresh, bright feel to this than sweet, and it’s a mixture of yellow and green scents in my mind. After a little while: The green herbal feel this had at first fades quite a bit with wear, and the currant comes out a bit more. However, now I get something a little bitter, which I think may be the musk. It’s not overwhelmingly bitter, but it adds a solid, deeper element to the scent. The citrus is still wafting at the top of the scent, and the currant is very light. Overall Impressions: This is a fabulous scent, in my opinion. But it’s actually quite unisex, and I don’t think I would wear it that much. It’s a lot of fun to sniff, however. The citrus and musk are an interesting combo, and the currant really acts to blend them.

In bottle/imp: Plum with a hint of creaminess, and something green and herbal in the background. Immediately on skin: This is a girly mixture of plum and something that reminds me a lot of the fool’s parsley note in April Fool. This smells fruity and sweet, but has a definite green, herbal twinge to it. The cream isn’t very strong, but it tempers the plum from being too sharp. After a little while: This gets smoother as that green note fades and becomes more of a slightly floral plum scent with the cream smoothing out the sharp feel that plum can sometimes have. It’s mostly a fruit scent, but has enough of the other notes to make it more complex and not JUST a fruit scent, if that makes any sense. Overall Impressions: This is a girly, slightly flower, slightly creamy plum scent that is very nicely blended once it settles. The throw isn’t that strong, but I do get light hints of juicy plum from further away. It isn’t until I’m right up close to it that it really blossoms, however. This is lovely, and very feminine and fun.

In bottle/imp: Cherry pie and cream. Immediately on skin: There is a very strong cake note in this, or something like pie crust. It is melded with baked cherries and cream. It seems to have the same pie crust note I get from Pumpkin Cheesecake, which smells almost nutty on me. After a few minutes: The cherry note in this has turned to more of a fake cherry now, and slightly medicinal. The pie crust note is still there, and it continues to smell rather nutty. The whole blend has a slight creaminess to it, but it isn’t all blending well to my nose. Overall Impressions: I had high hopes for this, but it has a weird pie crust type note that ruins it for me. It’s slightly nutty and blended with the cherry and cream notes. If you enjoy foody and cherry blends, this might work on you.

In bottle/imp: Light spices over a subtle herbal note. Immediately on skin: This is incredibly perfume-y right as I put it on. I’m getting a very sharp musk, deepened by light spices. The cinnamon is most prominent, then the cardamom, but they take a back seat to the amber musk. After a few minutes: This is still very perfume-y on me with the musk standing out as the strongest note and the spices in the background. I can smell the tea and it’s very crisp and sweet, and there’s the slightest tang of citrus. There is something almost floral about this blend… floral and sweet and musky, but in a very cheap commercial perfume way on my skin. It’s a very airy blend like steam off of a glass of spicy tea. Later on: After wearing this for an hour, the musk has faded a bit and I’m left with a warm, spicy, and not overly sweet tea scent. It has a very crisp feel to it. Overall Impressions: In the first hour or so of wearing this, I find the amber musk dominates the scent and gives it a strong perfume or cologne feel. But the spices and tea notes blend in beautifully and create something very wearable. This is a very airy, warm scent, and I could imagine a guy wearing it just as easily as a woman. I like how it smells after an hour or so the most, but the initial scent isn’t bad. I have to say though that I prefer the lab’s green tea notes more than the black tea in this one.

In bottle/imp: Crunchy leaves and grass. Immediately on skin: This smells like summer melding into fall. It smells like I took a big handful of fresh grass and crunchy, dry leaves and mushed them all together. It’s fresh and green but dry and autumnal at the same time. After a little while: This doesn’t really change much on my skin as time goes on. I think that at most, it becomes a little more blended together and the leaf note fades a little. What I’m left with is a fresh grass scent with a nice amount of dried leaves to temper that sharp greenness. Overall Impressions: Grass and leaves. Leaves and grass. Dry, crunchy leaves and fresh, fragrant green grass. This is nice and simple but with a good balance between the two aspects of the blend. If the description sounds nice to you, you’d probably enjoy this.

In bottle/imp: Very clean leather and musk. Immediately on skin: This smells of leather and musk. Surprised? Well it’s more than that. It’s a very clean musk and leather scent, and is much lighter-smelling than I was expecting. It has a cologney overtone to it that I like. After a little while: This has hardly morphed at all. It’s still clean, dry leather and musk with a slight cologne-like note. Overall Impressions: This blend is simple, but well blended and nice. It’s edging into masculine for me, but could definitely be unisex. I like this one much more than I thought I would; it’s clean, but warm.

In bottle/imp: Vetiver with a cool herbal tone over it. Immediately on skin: This smells strongly of smooth, herbal vetiver to me. There’s a bit of smokiness to this as well. After a little while: The other notes seem to have come out a bit. There’s now a sharp almost metallic note along with the vetiver, and a definite overtone of moss. This is a sharp, herbal vetiver with a very evident dry metallic note. Overall Impressions: This is unisex but definitely edging into masculine to my nose. It’s strong, dry, and rather thick-smelling. The vetiver is the strongest note so if you don’t like it, avoid this blend. The moss gives this a slight freshness, but the gunpowder makes it more sharp and metallic. It’s an interesting blend, but not something I personally would enjoy wearing.

In bottle/imp: Woody resin with very smooth spices and a hint of tobacco. Immediately on skin: This scent smells of strong resins mostly, but has a nice smooth spiciness in the background and a touch of fruitiness. There’s also a nice amount of dry woods. After a little while: This is a bit more floral now with strong, woody resinous depth to it. The wood, tobacco, and spices seem very smooth, but something in this is just a touch bitter. It’s very thick and rich. The agave nectar and roses give this a flitting sweetness, but the resin and wood dominate most of this blend. Overall Impressions: This is an interesting resinous, woody scent with bits of spice, tobacco, and a hint of sweetness. It’s dry but thick, and slightly cloying and bitter. I’d say this is unisex edging into masculine, but depending on how your skin handles it I can imagine it may go more feminine. Interesting, but not for me.

2008 Version: In bottle/imp: Rich punch-like fruit and mulling spices. Immediately on skin: This smells very similar on me to last year’s Sugar Skull. Except I think this one might be a little fruitier. This is a deep red/pink/purple fruit scent. It’s very juicy, rich, and sweet. It smells almost like punch. Oh, but wait… a perfuminess is coming out now, making this almost floral. It’s very sweet, and almost smells more like candy and sugar flowers than fruit after a minute or two. After a little while: Rich, sugary, fruity… so wonderful! I love this scent. It hasn’t changed since it settled into that slight perfuminess on my skin. It has a definite candied, crusted sugar quality to it this year that’s not as thick as last year’s. Overall Impressions: I love Sugar Skull, but I don’t like this year’s version quite as much as last year’s, and I have 3 bottles of that already. This one is a little less thick than that, but still retains a juicy dark red fruitiness and sugary quality. It also has a light perfumey overtone which isn’t bad, but I prefer the other one.

In bottle/imp: Apple and oakmoss with a light poppy/opium note and something almost cake-like. Immediately on skin: This is a very apple-dominated scent. It’s a fragrant, red, juicy apple with a bit of oakmoss adding some whisping fragrance and this interesting almost foodie note underneath. I think it’s the nutmeat, but I’m not really sure. This scent is interesting how there’s this misty, fragrant apple and then the more solid base of nutmeat and faint crunchy leaves underneath. After a little while: This gets less grounded as I wear it and definitely becomes a more ethereal fragrance. It’s still quite strong and has great throw, but the nutmeat and leaves in the background fade a bit while the apple, moss, and poppy juice get a little stronger. It’s sweet, but not overly so, and not really cider or fresh apples. It’s more like apple perfume, but with a fall overtone. Overall Impressions: Whereas Samhain is earthy autumn apple, and Fearful Pleasure is cider apple, To Autumn is misty, ethereal and slightly foody apple. At first the nutmeat is very strong and makes this almost foody smelling, but as I wear it that fades and I’m left with something akin to Poisoned Apple with a definite fall flavor.

In bottle/imp: Lots of fragrant white flowers. A bit of depth and sweetness to this, but mostly they’re perfume-y. Immediately on skin: This is thick, deep and bright nighttime flowers. I can pick out the moonflower, but that’s about it. They smell mysterious with a touch of sweetness and also a bit of bitterness. After a little while: This hasn’t morphed much on my skin. It’s still this really deep, mysterious floral blend. There’s a bit of bitterness and smoky flowery notes, but it balances really well with the sweeter florals. Overall Impressions: This is a lovely nighttime floral blend… without jasmine!! This blend is very floral with a hint of bitterness to balance it. It’s slightly smoky, but not overly so. This is a dark evening type of blend with just enough complexity to keep me sniffing.

In bottle/imp: Honey sweetened patchouli and light musk. Immediately on skin: Patchouli and honey just don’t work on me… but somehow in this blend, they’re nice together. The scent is very sweet, but has the undercurrent of deep patchouli and a light touch of musk. There’s a bit of carnation and magnolia, giving the scent a breath of florals. The sandalwood adds a nice warmth as well. After a little while: This is smelling a bit like Autumn to me, but sweeter and softer. More specifically, I find the honey/patchouli/musk combination smells a lot like the dry leaves in that blend. This has not changed much, except for the fact that it’s melded together even more. It’s a sweetened patchouli musk scent with a hint of light spicy florals and warm sandalwood. It’s a very warm and almost smoky scent. Overall Impressions: This is a nice blend, and very complex but nicely blended. The patchouli and honey blend with the skin musk to create a very pretty scent and it’s not very floral at all… there’s just a hint of carnation upon drydown. The sandalwood adds a beautiful light and warm spiciness.

In bottle/imp: An airy floral with a very light finish of snake oil. Immediately on skin: This smells of bitter resins, soft powdery violet, and the tiniest amount of snake oil. After a little while: The floral tones of the orris have come out quite a bit and this is like a dry, violet snake oil. It’s very powdery however and bothers my nose quite a bit. Overall Impressions: This is much more floral and powdery than I was expecting. It smells like violet and dry resin with the tiniest bit of snake oil. It’s nice, but not for me.

In bottle/imp: Vetiver with a finish of smooth snake oil. Immediately on skin: The vetiver is the strongest note in this, but I can smell the snake oil blended with a little bit of coconut in the background. This is smooth, but it has the bitterness of vetiver. After a little while: This definitely becomes more creamy as it’s worn. However, I wouldn’t call this a sweet scent at all. It’s very dry and heavy on the vetiver with a very smooth, creamy dose of snake oil following behind. This is quite powdery smelling on me though. Overall Impressions: The vetiver in this is the main note I get, so if you don’t enjoy vetiver you probably won’t like this blend. The snake oil in this is nice and creamy, but this isn’t a sweet blend at all… it’s more dry and powdery with hints of vanilla and coconut all under that veil of vetiver.

In bottle/imp: Strong, complex cologne. Herbal, but clean. Immediately on skin: This is a very “hight” scent. It’s almost a clean scent, but it’s almost spicy too. I think that’s the pimento berry and oakmoss blending together. It’s very unisex, sharp, and cologne-y. After a little while: Wow, this turns to baby powder on me pretty quickly and then stays like that. It’s the dark musk, I’m sure. Behind that is the light spiciness of the pimento and the fresh feel of the oakmoss. Overall Impressions: This is a more unisex, drier scent for sure. It’s very high and powdery with a kick of spice and a very interesting cologne-y type of feel. The dark musk goes totally to powder on my skin, so this doesn’t work for me. It’s interesting to sniff though, and totally not what I was expecting for a goat scent!