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Oct. 13th, 2005 01:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joiedecombatBeef = win. The crock-pot roast came out delicious. I am stuffed full of beef and potatoes and carrots. Yum.
Also, my Black Phoenix lab order finally came!
I ordered nine sample vials. I received ten. They threw in an extra one as a freebie. Because they rule like that.
The Apothecary: This one surprised me. The lab says "Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig." In the bottle, it smells appropriately green - a deep, juicy wet green, not at all dusty or earthen. On and wet, it still smelled green, with a bit of an astringent note that I'm sure is the tea leaf, but the other notes kept it smooth enough to keep it from being too sharp.
Somewhere within the first two hours, the scent grew deeper and a little sweeter, losing the astringence... and eventually turning into a fruity scent. Not a very sweet fruit; it's a warm scent, still a little herbal, and a little spicy... I can only assume this is the fig and the ginger. It's ceased to be a green scent at all. It's very pleasant, though. I doubt I'll keep it - not so much my style - but it's a nice smell.
Dragon's Hide: This is an interesting scent... not what I'd expected; I hadn't smelled dragon's blood resin before. Overall it's a much cleaner scent than I thought it would be. I don't get smoke from this at all, though the lab description says it's dragon's blood resin, leather and smoke. I do get a leather scent - a clean leather that puts me in mind of a stables. Clean leather, clean horse, hot water and saddle soap... the resin sweetens it some, but I think it's too masculine for me. Very neat, though. I like it, I just wouldn't wear it.
Hunger: Officially this is black narcissus, orange blossom, and vanilla. It's a spicy scent - I get a bit of orange from it. The vanilla seems to be mostly a background note to smooth out the others. My initial impression was vaguely akin to a clove orange. Not unpleasant, but not me.
Lightning: As advertised, Lightning is a fresh aquatic scent, with a sort of a salt-air tang that must be the "marine notes." I like this kind of scent, but it's rather too masculine for me - I'd like it better on a guy, I think. For myself I'd want something sweeter and clearer, without the traces of salt.
ETA: Not long after application, Lightning changed into a less pleasant, kind of weedy scent. Definitely not for me.
The Lion: Initial impression is... spicy. Warm-spicy, sweet-spicy, kind of like... gingerbread? A very tasty smell. As I wear it, it's beginning to shift somewhat and I'm getting a slightly less foody sense from the spices, a bit more like... dried summer grasses, or something. But still kind of like gingerbread. I'd love it as a candle, but it's not the sort of thing I'd wear. The addition of vanilla would make it much more something I might wear, and I'm hoping Sudha Segara will turn out something like that.
Neo-Tokyo: What the hell is this? ...No, seriously? The lab says it's "urban metallics and an ozone-tinged breath of electric light mingled with reedy bamboo, crisp mountain air, cherry blossoms, delicate orchid and a splash of playful, wet fruits." I can't for the life of me figure out what it makes me think of. It's a sharp scent - fresh-clean-sharp, with a tang like sea air and a sweetness of fresh water and a hint of green that might be bamboo. As it has started to dry, I've begun to catch whiffs of something sweeter which must be the florals... teasing little breaths of them. The only thing I can say for sure is that I can totally imagine Aya smelling something like this.
ETA: Fascinatingly enough, a night's sleep later I can still smell this, but it's changed from that fresh, sharp, somewhat masculine scent into a much sweeter and more fruity scent.
New Orleans: The first one I tested. According to the lab, this is honeysuckle and jasmine with a bit of lemon and spices. I don't know from jasmine and I don't really catch any lemon, but I can definitely smell the honeysuckle. I like honeysuckle, so that's just fine. It's a sweet, creamy floral - like honeysuckle, like paperwhites, like... Southern flowers. Similar to Follow Me Boy, but more floral. I like it. Unfortunately, it isn't lasting very long. I don't know if it's just how sparingly I tested it, or something about today, or if it simply hasn't got much staying power on me. I'm hanging onto it for now, in any case.
Seraphim: In the bottle, Seraphim is very floral. Almost immediately upon application, though, the scent went from a mass of white flowers to flowers and soap to flowers and... the beach. Not the aftershavey salt tang of Lightning, but the actual scent of a beach. What the hell? I can only assume that's the frankincense I'm smelling, but it's... very odd.
Sudha Segara: A lovely creamy scent. Though there is ginger in it, it's not spicy at all; it's simply a smooth, sweet scent - not at all like The Lion with vanilla, but very appealing and comfortable. It makes me think of expensive soap, not because it smells anything like soap, but because it's the sort of scent I'd imagine you could use in a really expensive soap... the kind you'd use when you wanted to take a long, soothing bath and emerge feeling soft and smooth and relaxed.
Swank: Not a part of this order - I got it earlier from a trade - but it occurs to me that I haven't yet reviewed it, and it's fully deserving of a review. It's a crisp fruit scent. It's not sticky-sweet or juicy; there's a dry note which when joined with the fruit brings the scent to sparkling clarity and gives it a bit of sophistication. It's bright, effervescent, and fun, an energetic scent which I absolutely love.
Tintagel: Spilled a few drops on my finger whilst opening the imp to sniff it, so this became my impromptu second test. Smells like... Christmas. No, really. In the bottle, it smells like a bayberry candle... once on, it smells like nothing so much as mulling spices with whiffs of evergreen which eventually came into the forefront. It went through a number of interesting variations once it hit my skin, but at all points it smells like Christmas. If BPAL oils weren't so expensive I could use it on a light bulb ring come December. I can't imagine I'd want to wear it much, though.
All reviewed now; that's it until I get some more to try out.
Also, my Black Phoenix lab order finally came!
I ordered nine sample vials. I received ten. They threw in an extra one as a freebie. Because they rule like that.
The Apothecary: This one surprised me. The lab says "Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig." In the bottle, it smells appropriately green - a deep, juicy wet green, not at all dusty or earthen. On and wet, it still smelled green, with a bit of an astringent note that I'm sure is the tea leaf, but the other notes kept it smooth enough to keep it from being too sharp.
Somewhere within the first two hours, the scent grew deeper and a little sweeter, losing the astringence... and eventually turning into a fruity scent. Not a very sweet fruit; it's a warm scent, still a little herbal, and a little spicy... I can only assume this is the fig and the ginger. It's ceased to be a green scent at all. It's very pleasant, though. I doubt I'll keep it - not so much my style - but it's a nice smell.
Dragon's Hide: This is an interesting scent... not what I'd expected; I hadn't smelled dragon's blood resin before. Overall it's a much cleaner scent than I thought it would be. I don't get smoke from this at all, though the lab description says it's dragon's blood resin, leather and smoke. I do get a leather scent - a clean leather that puts me in mind of a stables. Clean leather, clean horse, hot water and saddle soap... the resin sweetens it some, but I think it's too masculine for me. Very neat, though. I like it, I just wouldn't wear it.
Hunger: Officially this is black narcissus, orange blossom, and vanilla. It's a spicy scent - I get a bit of orange from it. The vanilla seems to be mostly a background note to smooth out the others. My initial impression was vaguely akin to a clove orange. Not unpleasant, but not me.
Lightning: As advertised, Lightning is a fresh aquatic scent, with a sort of a salt-air tang that must be the "marine notes." I like this kind of scent, but it's rather too masculine for me - I'd like it better on a guy, I think. For myself I'd want something sweeter and clearer, without the traces of salt.
ETA: Not long after application, Lightning changed into a less pleasant, kind of weedy scent. Definitely not for me.
The Lion: Initial impression is... spicy. Warm-spicy, sweet-spicy, kind of like... gingerbread? A very tasty smell. As I wear it, it's beginning to shift somewhat and I'm getting a slightly less foody sense from the spices, a bit more like... dried summer grasses, or something. But still kind of like gingerbread. I'd love it as a candle, but it's not the sort of thing I'd wear. The addition of vanilla would make it much more something I might wear, and I'm hoping Sudha Segara will turn out something like that.
Neo-Tokyo: What the hell is this? ...No, seriously? The lab says it's "urban metallics and an ozone-tinged breath of electric light mingled with reedy bamboo, crisp mountain air, cherry blossoms, delicate orchid and a splash of playful, wet fruits." I can't for the life of me figure out what it makes me think of. It's a sharp scent - fresh-clean-sharp, with a tang like sea air and a sweetness of fresh water and a hint of green that might be bamboo. As it has started to dry, I've begun to catch whiffs of something sweeter which must be the florals... teasing little breaths of them. The only thing I can say for sure is that I can totally imagine Aya smelling something like this.
ETA: Fascinatingly enough, a night's sleep later I can still smell this, but it's changed from that fresh, sharp, somewhat masculine scent into a much sweeter and more fruity scent.
New Orleans: The first one I tested. According to the lab, this is honeysuckle and jasmine with a bit of lemon and spices. I don't know from jasmine and I don't really catch any lemon, but I can definitely smell the honeysuckle. I like honeysuckle, so that's just fine. It's a sweet, creamy floral - like honeysuckle, like paperwhites, like... Southern flowers. Similar to Follow Me Boy, but more floral. I like it. Unfortunately, it isn't lasting very long. I don't know if it's just how sparingly I tested it, or something about today, or if it simply hasn't got much staying power on me. I'm hanging onto it for now, in any case.
Seraphim: In the bottle, Seraphim is very floral. Almost immediately upon application, though, the scent went from a mass of white flowers to flowers and soap to flowers and... the beach. Not the aftershavey salt tang of Lightning, but the actual scent of a beach. What the hell? I can only assume that's the frankincense I'm smelling, but it's... very odd.
Sudha Segara: A lovely creamy scent. Though there is ginger in it, it's not spicy at all; it's simply a smooth, sweet scent - not at all like The Lion with vanilla, but very appealing and comfortable. It makes me think of expensive soap, not because it smells anything like soap, but because it's the sort of scent I'd imagine you could use in a really expensive soap... the kind you'd use when you wanted to take a long, soothing bath and emerge feeling soft and smooth and relaxed.
Swank: Not a part of this order - I got it earlier from a trade - but it occurs to me that I haven't yet reviewed it, and it's fully deserving of a review. It's a crisp fruit scent. It's not sticky-sweet or juicy; there's a dry note which when joined with the fruit brings the scent to sparkling clarity and gives it a bit of sophistication. It's bright, effervescent, and fun, an energetic scent which I absolutely love.
Tintagel: Spilled a few drops on my finger whilst opening the imp to sniff it, so this became my impromptu second test. Smells like... Christmas. No, really. In the bottle, it smells like a bayberry candle... once on, it smells like nothing so much as mulling spices with whiffs of evergreen which eventually came into the forefront. It went through a number of interesting variations once it hit my skin, but at all points it smells like Christmas. If BPAL oils weren't so expensive I could use it on a light bulb ring come December. I can't imagine I'd want to wear it much, though.
All reviewed now; that's it until I get some more to try out.
