Leopard403

No orange in Jabberwocky to me, this is fresh and manly, heavy on the pine and ozone-y eucalyptus.

Katmandu is a "high" scent, in that it hits me high up in my nose and brain rather than tickling the tip like most scents do. (Do olfactory cells work like tastebuds? Are there "sweet" and "sour" places up in my schnoz?) Anyway, it's a high woody scent, slightly sweet light wood, with a hint of spice. Like freshly-cut but very dry cedar chips and incense.

All I get here is cinnamon potpourri. Weird.

Everything I equate with "masculine" combines in Slobbering Pine: It's piney and aquatic and slightly cologne-y. Would be excellent on my boyfriend, methinks.

Oooh, Lulu is bright and fresh (and yes, quite soapy), just like my beloved Dia. Lots of that sparkly tobacco flower up front, but nicely grounded by the other notes on the drydown.

Oh. Um, yeah. Hilma is not good on me. There is something distinctly, uh, circus-like about it; as in wild animals and elephant dung.

I don't get any peach from Josie. None. That's okay, though, because the magnolia is gorgeous and ever so slightly soapy; just like the complimentary toiletries I used to get in my favorite Savannah bed & breakfast. Josie is obviously a very Southern girl, as this is evocative of thick, lush, heavy Southern air. Love! edit on 2/4 to update: Oh, so there's the peach. Lots of peach. Yowza. Fortunately (because I found the peach so strong as to be cloying and slightly offensive), it burns off my skin in record time, leaving that creamy magnolia behind.

Like filigree, Flora has hints of peaches on my skin, though if I concentrate really hard I can see how that comes from the apple and sandalwood combination. I was worried about that mention of musk, but I can't smell it at all. As others have mentioned, this isn't identifiably fruity nor is it an obvious floral, but it lies somewhere in between the two. It's quite lovely.

Wet, Tin Phoenix is very similar to Whitechapel (and Lush's Avobath) to me. As it dries, it turns into something slightly more sophisticated, and there is something masculine and cologne-y there. Quite a nice surprise, and lasts forever!

Wet, Spooky Res. smells like mint chocolate pina colada to me. What's in there that would smell like coconut tropical goodness? On my skin, this smells of after dinner mints and plastic. It's that vanilla creme note of death that turns nasty. Big fail for me.

By far, Lead Phoenix is the biggest surprise of the anniversary bunch for me. I was testing sniffies blindly, with no list as to what notes were in which scent, and I think I should do that more often: I think knowing ahead of time plants a seed, placebo effect-like, as to whether I'll like something or not. This is lovely but hard to describe on my skin, I guess most notable as a clean floral, though not at all soapy or identifiable as a "flowery" scent. This is very sophisticated and gently perfume-y and quite excellent. Not at all "lead"-like on the skin! Damn, I wish I could do better than than in describing it. I'll come back after I've thought on it some more...

Good gracious, this is Alice to the one millionth power, and a little dab'll do ya! Hot, creamy carnation-y goodness, with the amber just slightly powdery. Very sexy, this will be much better on a date than at work. It's too heady and sultry for the workplace, but it's perfect for a steamy night with a loved one.

Why is this so violet-y good when there's no violet in there?!? This is another Phoenix in which I can't discern separate notes, but the overall tone is soft and powdery, and makes me think of the color lilac and dainty fairies and spiderwebs wet with dew. (Insert eyeroll here; I know how that sounds! ) As ethereal as this feels on my skin, it lasts a ridiculously long time. As in: I put it on last night before dinner, and when I woke up this morning and rolled over, I could still catch a whiff in the hair that had been tucked behind my ears. Quite nice, and potentially bottle-worthy.

I can't even skin-test this one. In my sniffie, all I get is old blood and rust and it hits my nose in a wave of hot scent that made my gorge rise. Not for me, this one.

I can't really pick out any separate notes in this scent; the best I can do is say that this smells "bright" and is evocative of orange groves and Springtime. Amber is hit-or-miss on my skin, and in this blend it works as something soft and almost powdery.

This is a lovely little scent. I was worried about the patchouli note, but that part of Copper Phoenixis evocative of Clemence, which I like very much. Over that I can smell a honey-bright orange-y scent, with something unidentifiably floral (the rose?) keeping that grounded and far from citrus furniture polish. As it wears I definitely get more of the sandalwood, but that soft patchouli and zesty scent are still there as well. Unexpectedly good!

Oooooh, they ARE really awesome!

Yes, Phoenix pics please! Pics! Pics! Pics! *bangs desk*

This was the biggest surprise in my decant package, and I'm so glad I gave this a try! (I give thanks to MarketFresh--at least, I think it was her--for pointing out that jasmine and night-blooming jasmine are two very different things in the perfuming world. I also give props to Catseyes, my decant leader, for making the fantabulous decision to use a pic of Buffy's The Gentlemen on this label. ) This is a very bright, very happy scent. It starts out citrus-y without the bathroom cleaner smell I so often get, and the bergamot keeps it grounded. Freesia and eucalyptus are noticable without being sinus-cleansing; and the florals dance without being too heady. This reminds me of something from my past--something with happy memories, though I can't recall what--so that could be why I love it so much. This will be a fantastic scent to wear during the time of year when winter is bleeding into spring, and everything is sort of mushy and gray but trying desperately to bloom again.

I couldn't even skin-test this one, I just knew upon first sniff that this wasn't for me. Much too head-shop.

I expected bright bubbly fruit here, but as others have mentioned, this is shockingly warm! Not impressed with the dry-down, though, as this turns into synthetic cherry air freshener they sometimes use in bathrooms. Guh.

Gorgeous and complex while wet, I definitely smell the spicy warmth of those mums. Unfortunately, it's straight up mint when it dries.

Oooh, nice. I expected this to be heavy on the fruit, but it is suprisingly foody. On my skin this is a fantastic dark coconut, similar to Obatala but less buttery and more complex.

How on God's green acres does this become BABY POWDER on me? Maybe I'm at a weird time in my cycle. I'll definitely review again in a few weeks.

On my skin, this is so sweet it turns almost powdery, which is a weird phenomenon because when this goes on wet it is incredibly tart. If you rolled fresh pomegranate seeds in baby powder, you'd get this on the drydown.