Fragrances -La Maison de la Vanille - Vanille Givrée des Antilles
AmyM 9/6/2006 12:19:00 AM
This is what Angel would smell like if CSP made Angel. It's Angel, but with a thick cloying sugary vanilla underlayer. Not a fan. It's not offensive, but I wouldn't choose to wear it.
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Scrubs -Kiehls - Kiehls Papaya and Pineapple Face Scrub 
AmyM 4/25/2006 8:33:00 AM
Barely any scrubbies (which would be fine if it was described as a mask, but it's called a scrub), and I've used it twice and it's made me break out twice. I love every other Kiehl's product I've tried, but this one is a total dud for me. I'll give the rest of my tube to my best friend, who loves it.
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Bath Treatments -Kneipp - Valerian & Hops Herbal Bath
AmyM 4/2/2006 1:38:00 PM
I am so unbelievably impressed by this product. Most "sleep-enhancing" products smell nice and are relaxing, but don't really do anything to make me sleepy. This one hit me like a freight train. After 20 minutes in the bath, I could barely walk straight to get to the bed! It's like a powerful sedative. Amazing, amazing stuff. I will never be without it. Also smells nice (a bit lemony) and turns your water a lovely shade of turquoise :).
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Nyarlathotep
AmyM 2/14/2005 2:35:00 PM
This is a very, very changeable scent on me. I won't be ordering a bottle (and will probably swap my imp, as it's not really me), but I like it a lot more than I thought I would. Wet: Anise? WTF? Drydown: For about half an hour this smells a lot like Morocco on my skin. Clean and softly spicy. Dry: Much, much, stronger. A strong, dark incense. Church incense. This is actually what I'd expect Cathedral to smell like, though I haven't tried it - it smells exactly like a Catholic church.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - The Unicorn
AmyM 2/14/2005 2:33:00 PM
This is a very "pretty pretty princess" scent (and I don't mean that in a bad way!). The Unicorn would be a lovely fragrance for a very young girl. It's fruity but not overly so (made me think of white grapes), light, and luminous. A bit too innocent for my taste, but very, very pretty.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Tarot- The Hierophant
AmyM 2/14/2005 2:28:00 PM
The Hierophant is the bastard love-child of Hamadryad and The World. Wet, I smell something strongly reminiscent of Hamadryad's woodsy cinnamon. It dries down into The World's confusing but lovely cool-greenness-and-warm-spices combination (BTW, if you like the smell of Florida Water you should like this - it's a very similar scent) - it's pretty much a dead ringer on my skin, actually - BUT without turning into pencil shavings as The World does. Fantastic. The Hierophant is one of my favorite cards, so I'm thrilled that I like the oil. A definite winner.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Snow White
AmyM 12/24/2004 11:08:00 PM
Snow White is very linear on me - it doesn't change from the wet application to what I can still smell of it 10 hours later (yep, it's very long-lasting). It somehow manages, without being minty or sharp, to capture the bite that you feel and smell when you walk outdoors on a really cold day. I think that's the coconut. It doesn't do what coconut usually does on me, which is turn into a plastic scent. Nor does it smell tropical. Just cold. I can't identify any florals as such. This really smells just like snow.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Gingerbread Poppet
AmyM 12/24/2004 11:08:00 PM
If I hold my wrist a foot away from my nose (or sniff out of the bottle), it's lovely fresh-baked gingerbread. If I put my wrist up to my nose, it's Three Witches Lite - though not a bad smell, not nearly as nice as the gingerbread version. Either way, there's something that catches in the back of my throat with this scent that makes me feel a bit ill. I *wanted* to love it, and I almost did, but...
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Baba Yaga
AmyM 12/24/2004 11:07:00 PM
Two words: pineapple incense. Headshoppy, but in a pleasant way.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Frost Moon
AmyM 12/21/2004 11:56:00 AM
Since mint and eucalyptus were two of the three listed notes, I expected this to smell similar to Bath & Body Works' Stress Relief (mint/eucalyptus) line, which I quite like. I couldn't have been farther off with that guess. And I should have known better, because my skin LOOOOOOOOVES lotus. The initial wet scent is a breath of mint - a light, soft mint rather than a sharp, biting mint. I love mint, but sometimes biting mints are a bit much even for me. This is lovely. The mint disappears almost immediately. This is a light frost that burns off as the morning sun rises. After about two minutes it's gone, and the lotus has come out to play. But all thanks to all that's holy, in this blend it's actually understated (my skin usually amplifies it until it eats all the other notes and smells like musty bubble gum). I wind up with a scent on drydown that's something like a really expensive shampoo - that doesn't sound great, but I *love* it. Even my mother, who hates perfume, really likes this on me. It's lovely. Soft and understated, very close to your skin, so it won't be obnoxious to anyone (though I can't imagine disliking this scent). You'd have to give someone a hug for them to be able to smell it. Also very long-lasting for such a soft scent. I'm SO pleased. I think I actually like it better than either of the Yule LEs I ordered (Snow White and Gingerbread Poppet). Frost Moon is a real winner. I just wish I had more than one bottle!
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Conditioner -Back to Basics - Vanilla Plum Fortifying Conditioner
AmyM 11/18/2004 9:45:00 AM
I'm not a huge fan of the scent - it's sweet, generic, and a bit artificial - but I don't think my hair has EVER looked this good. It's so soft I can't stop running my hands through it and so shiny that my highlights look like they're shimmering. It's also nice and fluffy - good volume - and I have really fine hair, so that's a feat. GREAT stuff.
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Shampoo -Back to Basics - Vanilla Plum Fortifying Shampoo
AmyM 11/18/2004 9:44:00 AM
I'm not a huge fan of the scent - it's sweet, generic, and a bit artificial - but I don't think my hair has EVER looked this good. It's so soft I can't stop running my hands through it and so shiny that my highlights look like they're shimmering. It's also nice and fluffy - good volume - and I have really fine hair, so that's a feat. GREAT stuff.
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Moisturizers -Lancome - Aqua Fusion Cream
AmyM 9/23/2004 3:21:00 PM
I really like this moisturizer. I took one lipstick away for the scent, which I could really do without. However, it's a fantastic moisturizer - very emollient without feeling at all heavy or greasy - and has completely taken care of my impossible dry patches without breaking me out. I don't know if it'll be heavy enough come winter, but it's great for now and has become a staple for me.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Old Port-Au-Prince
AmyM 8/27/2004 6:29:00 PM
Wet: Whoa, almond! Dry: Okay, much better. Mmm. MMMMM. This is delicious. Gorgeous, warm, exotic spices. A fabulous fall/winter scent, but also great for a hot, humid summer night.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Tarot- the World
AmyM 8/27/2004 2:09:00 PM
Oh yeah. This is a good one. Wet: smells shockingly similar to Florida Water (which is good, as Florida Water is one of my favorite scents). Like Florida Water, it manages to be cool and refreshing and spicy (warm spices, no less) at the same time. Really nice. Drydown: It's woodsy-earthy on me now. Subtle. I don't know that I'd wear this one as a perfume, but it's the perfect scent to wear for meditation. Oh, nuts. Now I'm getting a pencil-shavings scent. Oh well, I still like it.
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