Sabrina, the Ring Mistress

[persianmouse]

I had the good fortune of receiving an imp of Sabrina, the Ring Mistress, from a lovely forumite who acquired a bottle from the god Zeus after she defeated the Kraken armed only with a fancy cane.

 

Smelling Sabrina the Ring Mistress in the imp, I really really REALLY didn’t want to put it on. It smelled like paint thinner and birthday cake from Wal-Mart (which is like mediocre cake filled with apathy and despair).

 

But put it on I did, and oh, goodness, to borrow a phrase, this one is a grower not a shower. NO MORE PAINT THINNER AND WAL-MART CAKE.

 

It stays very close to the skin, and I want to say I smell honey. Or something akin to honey. Or something that is absolutely nothing like honey, but in my head I have decided its honey. Whatever. ME SMELL PRETTY NOW is what I mean.

 

There’s something very innocent and sexy bordering on taboo about Sabrina. Like a pretty young girls petticoat or pantaloons. There’s something so gentle but so so fuckable about it. Innocent indecency. Like a pretty young girl adjusting her garters, unawares as to the peepshow she’s performing.

[fairnymph]

Peachy, light orange oil. Creamy, moderately sweet, foody delicious, rich VANILLA and some musky sandalwood. I get a hint of plastic, a tiny hint...otherwise this smells blissful.

 

Much drier and woodier and less sweet - the sandalwood explodes on my skin, and it's rather dry for my tastes. I think there is at least one other wood note here, too - I'm almost positive some warm, rich, exoctic teak (cause this reminds me of that note from Glowing Vulva), and it's so dry and warm that there could be some cedar, too. This has a hint of sharp spiciness, that plastic note, which is either carnation or saffron. This is reminding me of Underpants, except that it's much less sweet and creamy and rich and vanilla-y on my skin - and lighter in the imp, too. Definitely a similar vanilla/sandalwood/spice blend.

 

Oh yeah, this is totally reminding me of both GV and UP, like if they had a baby - and I really mean a baby, because this is a much lighter scent than either of those which are on me, VERY intense in throw and overall potency. This is no weakling, but it has a delicate feel - it's more like Jingo-Kogo in that regard, which has great throw and longevity, but has a 'light' feel. I'm pretty positive that this has both the teak note from GV and sandalwood and saffron notes from UP. Especially the last, as it's so distinctive and I've never smelled anything other than UP that shares this saffron note. I also get something a little - anisey? Very light, and I could be confusing it with the saffron which my skin does strange things too, but I get a tiny bit of black licorice.

 

The sandalwood note is not only the one in UP but also in Jingo-Kogo - so I now see why people find those two blends so similar, though I don't really because they FEEL so different to me - but yes, they have the same intense, musky, creamy, delicious sandalwood note. I think it's Mysore, based on comparison to my EO of that note. I'm still confused about the saffron note - I do think it is just saffron now, and not some anise in there - but it's turned into that sort of wintergreeny saffron note that Love's Philosophy turned into on my skin, and I am not a fan. Also, the teak here is just too rich for me - I rarely find teak wearable. Overall this scent amps up greatly in throw and potency.

 

Sweet, drily woody, deep and exotic teak with slightly sharp, intense, almost mentholic saffron dominate over a gorgeous creamy, musky, quite intense mysore sandalwood base with some of the soft vanilla from Antique Lace and UP. The latter two notes are fantastic and amazing and they are what jump out in the imp - but on my skin, the teak and saffron are total intense bullies and the vanilla in particular - which is so lovely - fades until it's a faint mist, taking some of the sweetness and creaminess with it, too. If this is released in a similar form, I will buy it anyway for a scent locket. Very strong throw and superb longevity.

 

Yeah, this one is going to be WILDLY popular.

[cfrancesca]

Totally, totally, the creaminess in Jingo Kogo and Glowing Vulva but this is the slightly younger version. I get sweet and creamy vanilla, sandalwood, and hints of honey. The sandalwood becomes a little drier and more pronounced with time, I'm also getting a slight hint of mint (but only when I smell it up close).

 

This is wonderful!

[zankoku_zen]

I love the sandalwood in this one, but the vanilla. Oh, it definitely is the same type of rich foodie vanilla that goes to 'plastic' on me.

 

Sad, sad, sad since I'd been hoping for a vanilla/sandalwood mix.

[myth]

I am having an extremely hard time figuring out what this is. It smells familiar though. Wood? Spice? Some booze maybe? A whiff of smoke? A slightly foody tone? I’m just not sure. It could be any, all, or none of those.

 

Second try: this time I immediately smell a high pine-like note, but not pine exactly. So wood maybe, yeah. Also… celery seed? Hm. This is definitely an odd one! I might like it, but I’d have to be able to do a full wear to know for sure.

[Delirium1009]

In bottle/imp: Boozy, alcoholic vanilla.

 

Immediately on skin: This is mostly vanilla, with some booze and a light bit of the green note from Snow White… maybe bamboo, or stems. It has this lovely, creamy frosting-like vanilla note blending into this bright, tangy green scent that really is rather pretty and unexpected. The booze that I got at first sniff kind of melts away from the green note.

 

After a little while: The more I wear this, the more I love it. It’s all boozy, thick, rich vanilla (and no powder in sight!) with just a touch of that green note still lingering in the background.

 

Overall Impressions: I love this scent. Vanilla can sometimes turn to powder on me, but the one in this stays rich and foody. There’s this really nice green background note that keeps this scent from being too foody, however, which is really nice. If the final version of this is as nice as the prototype, I need at least a couple of bottles!

[grrrlennyl]

Sabrina, The Ring Mistress

 

On: Sweet vanilla and musk.

1.5 hours in: A light, sweet, powdery musk.

3 hours in: Sweet musk. Still powdery.

3.5 hours in: An incredibly pretty sweet, powdery musk.

Overall: So lovely. I'm gonna see how often I wear this, but I'm glad I have some.

[saralaughs]

Musky vanilla sandalwood. I almost smell sassafras but nothing like what is in Anti-Saloon League or Phyllocrania Paradoxa v1, just a mild, almost spice smell that makes you think 'What IS that?' in a good way. Lovely and I'm glad I got to try it but I won't hurt myself by looking for more, although I wouldn't say no to it, either.

[ljaylh]

Thank you to the lovely saralaughs for passing on a tester of this to me!

 

Sabrina smells soft and creamy and warm and lovely, and slightly delicious. Like puppy's breath

 

It reminds me a little of CD023, but it's not as strong or as dusty.. it has a similar strawberry-like vanilla tone though, and the same kind of soft/dusky sandalwood but they're not really the same scent. It also reminds me a bit of Kitty from the Courtesan series - but without the honey and orchids (and Sabrina is much softer and creamier). There also seems to be a very very soft musk in here, but it's not going powdery on me at all, and there is something slightly spicy but not in a noticeable way.

 

If this is what the final version of Sabrina will be like, then I'm sure she's going to be very popular. This is one of those 'my skin but better' kinds of BPALs that's just really.. well, nice.

[Dark Alice]

I FINALLY GOT TO TEST THIS AND ARGHHHHHHH!! IT STINKS ON ME!!!! This smells like fake strawberry plastic on me with hints of honey and vanilla. GAH!

[Hattress]

Ooooooh! A sample of this was tucked in with a recent swap, and it's wonderful. It's a rich, foody vanilla on me, with a bit of honey and just a hint of something spicy or musky. Just enough to give the sweetness a little bite. It sticks pretty close to the skin, which is a shame; I want a cloud of it wafting around me all the time!