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bronze_ribbonsLog (most recent listed first)
[Copied from 12/4/07 entry]
A new handful of imps arrived in the mail over the weekend. The BYM liked Ivanushka and Long Night Moon best, and wasn't so crazy about Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo (a frimp) or Sagittarius. He likes scents to be on the subtle side.
Lab descriptions:
LONG NIGHT MOON
The nights are at their longest, the sky is at its darkest. The air is still with reflective silence.
A bouquet of night-blooming flowers, petals dusted with frost. Cereus, moonflower accord, night phlox, honeysuckle, silver thyme, white mint, and blue musk.
SAGITTARIUS
Mutable Fire: the essence of striving.
Sage, clove, dandelion, balm of gilead, fig, and chamomile.
IVANUSHKA
Soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves.
My initial impressions: I wasn't wowed by any of them, but none of them were "OMG no" either.
Ivanuskha (decant) I have to sniff hard to smell at all (not unlike Ozymandias). Kind of powdery.
Long Night Moon (decant) - sweet but not cloying. Has a bit of a bite to it - maybe a winter version of Gemini?
Sagittarius (decant) - kind of sunny and mild. I think it's the chamomile. (Doesn't quite fit the name, associations with arrows notwithstanding.)
Cleopatra's Veil (sample from a different manufacturer) - interesting and pleasant. Reminds me of Chanel No. 5, but I'm not sure if they've actually anything in common. It just tickled that tendril of my sense-memory.
Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo (lab imp) - very flamboyant. Very orange, which I personally like. (Probably wouldn't smell all that good on me, but I'll keep it for the "staying awake until stupid hours trying to catch up" nights.)
Sol (decant, discontinued)
2/6/2008 - it's fun, but it's not me. The name fits.
12/4/2007 - heavier, more aggressive scent than the Long Night Moon scents
11/29/2007 - not sure what I think of it yet. It is brighter and sharper than a lot of the stuff I'm accustomed to wearing, but it's not unpleasant. May need to sniff it next to "Prague" and see how it compares... lab description: Authority - Creativity - Courage - Leadership - Abundance - Good Health & Healing - Illumination - Truth - Honesty - Wise Counsel - Prophecy - Pride - Revelation - Equilibrium - Mediation - Nobility - Generosity
Vampire Tears (decant, 11/24/2007, Shojo Beat LE)
lab description: Regret born from ceaseless longing: wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka.
my reaction: Butter! and sugar. If I put this on, I'd smell like a popcorn ball.
Seraphim (lab imp, 11/24/2007)
lab description: A perfume sacred to the highest of the angelic hosts: calla lily, wisteria, white sandalwood, Damascus rose and frankincense.
my reaction: I've been wearing this the past couple of days, and will probably alternate between it and Yule for this year's holidays (with a definite preference for this one, though). I smell mostly rose and smoke -- for me, it's in the same family as Lady Luck Blues and Erato, but a touch lighter.
the BYM's reaction: "Smells better up close than further away."
At some point after the holidays I may start a separate post where I log my reactions to scents in pairs and groups. I was sniffing some imps in tandem a couple of days ago where the dirt notes in some of the earthier scents became much more obvious to me after inhaling some other scents in which they were absent. That sort of thing.
Paris (lab imp, 11/21/2007)
lab description: Sensual, decadent, and enigmatic. Lavender, softly underscored by lotus and spice.
my reaction: Well, crap. I wanted to like this but it smells like a juice concentrate someone left out too long that's not quite fermented into wine. I think the description's on the money -- it's very interesting, and it's not as obnoxious on my skin as it is in the vial, but each time I smell it in the vial my first instinct is to recoil. The words "spoiled sweetness" come to mind. And yet it is interesting...
Yule (2006) (decant, 11/21/07)
lab description: It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh.
my reactions: I've worn this a couple times this month, in a sort of "I don't love it but it's ok" way. The main note I could pick out prior to rereading the description was pine; post-description, I can recognize the thyme as well. (The thyme may make it a keeper, actually, as that's one of my favorite herbs. It's a bit embarrassing being this suggestible, but both my senses and my wits tend to lag about ten steps behind when it comes to scent- and taste-memory/recognition)
Despair (decant, 11/12/07 - discontinued)
Kelly Neumeier's description: Roman chamomile, rosewood, cypress, Rose Otto, lavender, sandalwood and ylang ylang.
my reaction: First impression - rather sweet. It's on the light side -- not unpleasant, but not a standout for me.
Erato (lab imp, 11/3/07) [discontinued 1/24/08]
lab description: a crush of roses with sweet pea, myrrh, ylang ylang, orris and stephanotis
my reaction: Late-summer honey. Very nice.
additional note, 11/21: I've been wearing this a fair amount lately - a good daytime scent on me when I want something not too heavy, not too bright, and not too showy. (Put another way - in some settings, I need to feel unobtrusive and blendy-in like. This is a fairly conservative scent that fits that bill.
Ozymandias (lab imp, 11/3/07)
lab description: Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds.
my reaction: Doesn't smell like much of anything in the bottle or on my fingertip. I can catch the whiff of incense if I inhale deeply enough, but I don't want to work that hard to enjoy a scent.
Cthulhu (lab imp, 11/2/07)
lab description: A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.
my reaction:
(before checking the lab description) Oooh. OOOH! I really like this. Light and green. Reminds me of Embalming Fluid, which is a favorite.
(after rereading the lab description) Hm. Is this my body being weird? I admit that "light" doesn't go well with the Cthulhu concept; doesn't smell all that creepy or slithering either. "Prague" is darker and more mysterious to me.
Three Witches (tester, 11/2/07)
lab description: warm cinnamon, husky clove, and white pepper
my reaction: Smells like a bourbon ball. Not unpleasant, but not something I'd wear.
Gnome (tester, 11/2/07)
lab description: PURIFICATION :: HEALING :: FORGIVENESS THE ASTRAL BODY :: EMOTIONAL HEALTH :: COMPASSION DREAM WORK :: DIVINATION :: IMAGINATION :: FRIENDSHIP SPIRITUAL GROWTH :: TRANQUILITY :: TENDERNESS RECEPTIVITY :: CREATIVITY :: ILLUSION [This would be why I end up trawling the net to find out what the hell some of these things actually might smell like before gambling on them...]
my reaction: Interesting! Very woodsy. Leaf mold and mulch. Reminds me of the time the entire garden of the office park atrium got dug up -- the entire building smelled of fresh dirt. It was so strong that it was almost on the verge of unpleasant. ETA: Mulling it over this some more, I can't see myself wearing this either, even casually, because I'm about as outdoorsy as an electric coffee grinder.
Prague (lab imp, 11/2/07)
lab description: Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies.
my reaction: Dessert wine -- a shade heavier than a sweet Riesling. Muscatel, maybe. I like this. In the same range as Taurus and Gemini.
Reactions prior to 11/2/07
13 (2006) - I wanted to like this, but found it offputtingly sweet. Like wearing chocolate toothpaste dissolved in Riesling.
All Saints - I like it, but the BYM doesn't ("powdery"). Heavy enough that I'll wear it only during the winter (and it would appear, only when on my own). (Ordered in 2006, but I don't know if the seller sent me the 2006 or 2005 version.) (2/1 - not sure where my bottle is. Probably hiding behind a book...)
Asphodel. Love. Light. This is the one the BYM's liked best on me so far. [Discontinued 1/24/08.]
Bad Luck Woman Blues. Meh.
Cockaigne. Very foody. Like wearing donuts. Not for me.
Carnaval Diabolique: Antonino the Carny Barker (was a swap for "13"). Lab description: White musk, wild plum, vetiver, black coconut, verbena, fig, and lavender. An autumn/winter scent.
Dorian. Meh. I don't hate it, but it's got a hint of sugar that I don't care for.
Embalming Fluid. Love. Light.
Gemini. Love. Bright and complicated. Almost a bottle candidate, but it was an LE; plus, I can wear Asphodel more often.
Hunger. Like. Dark. (Not so crazy about it 01/08.)
Juliet. Love. Very light - a summer scent. Lore warns that scent disappears with age, so stick with imps.
Kitsune-Tsuki. Meh. I don't hate it, though, which is good since what's left of the vial is currently evaporating inside my car.
Lady Luck Blues. Like. Rose incense. [Honeyed Bulgarian rose, vanilla flower, benzoin, tonka, black plum, peony, and iris.]
Neo-Tokyo. Meh.
Phantom. Love. Dark. A winter scent. Fits my mood when I'm feeling a bit too invisible. [Discontinued 1/24/08; I have two imps that are very different shades of amber - should test at the same time at some point.]
Port Royal. Like a lot. Medium. Reminds me of good times in New Orleans (bearing in mind that my idea of a good time is drinking red wine around a friend's kitchen counter after going out to hear a brass band). [2/6 - ended up wearing it often during the week before Lent this year. Seemed appropriate.]
Shub-Niggurath. Urgh, too sweet and foody for me.
Tamamo-no-mae. Meh.
Taurus 2007. Love. Almost a bottle candidate, but I like Gemini even more. Can wear this year-round. [2/6/08 - Became less of a favorite as time went by.]
Wanton. Like. Medium. [Lab description: Palmarosa, red sandalwood, attar of rose, patchouli.]
Scents listed in grey = no longer on hand.
Origin of imps sporadically noted, as that helps me remember relative age of the sample.
[Copied from 12/4/07 entry]
A new handful of imps arrived in the mail over the weekend. The BYM liked Ivanushka and Long Night Moon best, and wasn't so crazy about Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo (a frimp) or Sagittarius. He likes scents to be on the subtle side.
Lab descriptions:
LONG NIGHT MOON
The nights are at their longest, the sky is at its darkest. The air is still with reflective silence.
A bouquet of night-blooming flowers, petals dusted with frost. Cereus, moonflower accord, night phlox, honeysuckle, silver thyme, white mint, and blue musk.
SAGITTARIUS
Mutable Fire: the essence of striving.
Sage, clove, dandelion, balm of gilead, fig, and chamomile.
IVANUSHKA
Soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves.
My initial impressions: I wasn't wowed by any of them, but none of them were "OMG no" either.
Ivanuskha (decant) I have to sniff hard to smell at all (not unlike Ozymandias). Kind of powdery.
Long Night Moon (decant) - sweet but not cloying. Has a bit of a bite to it - maybe a winter version of Gemini?
Sagittarius (decant) - kind of sunny and mild. I think it's the chamomile. (Doesn't quite fit the name, associations with arrows notwithstanding.)
Cleopatra's Veil (sample from a different manufacturer) - interesting and pleasant. Reminds me of Chanel No. 5, but I'm not sure if they've actually anything in common. It just tickled that tendril of my sense-memory.
Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo (lab imp) - very flamboyant. Very orange, which I personally like. (Probably wouldn't smell all that good on me, but I'll keep it for the "staying awake until stupid hours trying to catch up" nights.)
Sol (decant, discontinued)
2/6/2008 - it's fun, but it's not me. The name fits.
12/4/2007 - heavier, more aggressive scent than the Long Night Moon scents
11/29/2007 - not sure what I think of it yet. It is brighter and sharper than a lot of the stuff I'm accustomed to wearing, but it's not unpleasant. May need to sniff it next to "Prague" and see how it compares... lab description: Authority - Creativity - Courage - Leadership - Abundance - Good Health & Healing - Illumination - Truth - Honesty - Wise Counsel - Prophecy - Pride - Revelation - Equilibrium - Mediation - Nobility - Generosity
Vampire Tears (decant, 11/24/2007, Shojo Beat LE)
lab description: Regret born from ceaseless longing: wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka.
my reaction: Butter! and sugar. If I put this on, I'd smell like a popcorn ball.
Seraphim (lab imp, 11/24/2007)
lab description: A perfume sacred to the highest of the angelic hosts: calla lily, wisteria, white sandalwood, Damascus rose and frankincense.
my reaction: I've been wearing this the past couple of days, and will probably alternate between it and Yule for this year's holidays (with a definite preference for this one, though). I smell mostly rose and smoke -- for me, it's in the same family as Lady Luck Blues and Erato, but a touch lighter.
the BYM's reaction: "Smells better up close than further away."
At some point after the holidays I may start a separate post where I log my reactions to scents in pairs and groups. I was sniffing some imps in tandem a couple of days ago where the dirt notes in some of the earthier scents became much more obvious to me after inhaling some other scents in which they were absent. That sort of thing.
Paris (lab imp, 11/21/2007)
lab description: Sensual, decadent, and enigmatic. Lavender, softly underscored by lotus and spice.
my reaction: Well, crap. I wanted to like this but it smells like a juice concentrate someone left out too long that's not quite fermented into wine. I think the description's on the money -- it's very interesting, and it's not as obnoxious on my skin as it is in the vial, but each time I smell it in the vial my first instinct is to recoil. The words "spoiled sweetness" come to mind. And yet it is interesting...
Yule (2006) (decant, 11/21/07)
lab description: It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh.
my reactions: I've worn this a couple times this month, in a sort of "I don't love it but it's ok" way. The main note I could pick out prior to rereading the description was pine; post-description, I can recognize the thyme as well. (The thyme may make it a keeper, actually, as that's one of my favorite herbs. It's a bit embarrassing being this suggestible, but both my senses and my wits tend to lag about ten steps behind when it comes to scent- and taste-memory/recognition)
Despair (decant, 11/12/07 - discontinued)
Kelly Neumeier's description: Roman chamomile, rosewood, cypress, Rose Otto, lavender, sandalwood and ylang ylang.
my reaction: First impression - rather sweet. It's on the light side -- not unpleasant, but not a standout for me.
Erato (lab imp, 11/3/07) [discontinued 1/24/08]
lab description: a crush of roses with sweet pea, myrrh, ylang ylang, orris and stephanotis
my reaction: Late-summer honey. Very nice.
additional note, 11/21: I've been wearing this a fair amount lately - a good daytime scent on me when I want something not too heavy, not too bright, and not too showy. (Put another way - in some settings, I need to feel unobtrusive and blendy-in like. This is a fairly conservative scent that fits that bill.
Ozymandias (lab imp, 11/3/07)
lab description: Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds.
my reaction: Doesn't smell like much of anything in the bottle or on my fingertip. I can catch the whiff of incense if I inhale deeply enough, but I don't want to work that hard to enjoy a scent.
Cthulhu (lab imp, 11/2/07)
lab description: A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.
my reaction:
(before checking the lab description) Oooh. OOOH! I really like this. Light and green. Reminds me of Embalming Fluid, which is a favorite.
(after rereading the lab description) Hm. Is this my body being weird? I admit that "light" doesn't go well with the Cthulhu concept; doesn't smell all that creepy or slithering either. "Prague" is darker and more mysterious to me.
Three Witches (tester, 11/2/07)
lab description: warm cinnamon, husky clove, and white pepper
my reaction: Smells like a bourbon ball. Not unpleasant, but not something I'd wear.
Gnome (tester, 11/2/07)
lab description: PURIFICATION :: HEALING :: FORGIVENESS THE ASTRAL BODY :: EMOTIONAL HEALTH :: COMPASSION DREAM WORK :: DIVINATION :: IMAGINATION :: FRIENDSHIP SPIRITUAL GROWTH :: TRANQUILITY :: TENDERNESS RECEPTIVITY :: CREATIVITY :: ILLUSION [This would be why I end up trawling the net to find out what the hell some of these things actually might smell like before gambling on them...]
my reaction: Interesting! Very woodsy. Leaf mold and mulch. Reminds me of the time the entire garden of the office park atrium got dug up -- the entire building smelled of fresh dirt. It was so strong that it was almost on the verge of unpleasant. ETA: Mulling it over this some more, I can't see myself wearing this either, even casually, because I'm about as outdoorsy as an electric coffee grinder.
Prague (lab imp, 11/2/07)
lab description: Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies.
my reaction: Dessert wine -- a shade heavier than a sweet Riesling. Muscatel, maybe. I like this. In the same range as Taurus and Gemini.
Reactions prior to 11/2/07
13 (2006) - I wanted to like this, but found it offputtingly sweet. Like wearing chocolate toothpaste dissolved in Riesling.
All Saints - I like it, but the BYM doesn't ("powdery"). Heavy enough that I'll wear it only during the winter (and it would appear, only when on my own). (Ordered in 2006, but I don't know if the seller sent me the 2006 or 2005 version.) (2/1 - not sure where my bottle is. Probably hiding behind a book...)
Asphodel. Love. Light. This is the one the BYM's liked best on me so far. [Discontinued 1/24/08.]
Bad Luck Woman Blues. Meh.
Cockaigne. Very foody. Like wearing donuts. Not for me.
Carnaval Diabolique: Antonino the Carny Barker (was a swap for "13"). Lab description: White musk, wild plum, vetiver, black coconut, verbena, fig, and lavender. An autumn/winter scent.
Dorian. Meh. I don't hate it, but it's got a hint of sugar that I don't care for.
Embalming Fluid. Love. Light.
Gemini. Love. Bright and complicated. Almost a bottle candidate, but it was an LE; plus, I can wear Asphodel more often.
Hunger. Like. Dark. (Not so crazy about it 01/08.)
Juliet. Love. Very light - a summer scent. Lore warns that scent disappears with age, so stick with imps.
Kitsune-Tsuki. Meh. I don't hate it, though, which is good since what's left of the vial is currently evaporating inside my car.
Lady Luck Blues. Like. Rose incense. [Honeyed Bulgarian rose, vanilla flower, benzoin, tonka, black plum, peony, and iris.]
Neo-Tokyo. Meh.
Phantom. Love. Dark. A winter scent. Fits my mood when I'm feeling a bit too invisible. [Discontinued 1/24/08; I have two imps that are very different shades of amber - should test at the same time at some point.]
Port Royal. Like a lot. Medium. Reminds me of good times in New Orleans (bearing in mind that my idea of a good time is drinking red wine around a friend's kitchen counter after going out to hear a brass band). [2/6 - ended up wearing it often during the week before Lent this year. Seemed appropriate.]
Shub-Niggurath. Urgh, too sweet and foody for me.
Tamamo-no-mae. Meh.
Taurus 2007. Love. Almost a bottle candidate, but I like Gemini even more. Can wear this year-round. [2/6/08 - Became less of a favorite as time went by.]
Wanton. Like. Medium. [Lab description: Palmarosa, red sandalwood, attar of rose, patchouli.]
Scents listed in grey = no longer on hand.
Origin of imps sporadically noted, as that helps me remember relative age of the sample.
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