Gin

Lemony, but not quite like the fruit. Lemongrass is more complex than that. There's a heaviness here, it's not as fleeting as a true lemon. Very nice.

Blue, cotton candy, strawberries, and whipped cream are some of my favorite things, so of course I had to try The Devil Will Find Work For Idle Hands. It makes me think of blue raspberry Air Heads, even though I don't know I'd say it smells like them (???); it just has that feeling of fruity SUGAR!!! and you know how Air Heads have a sort of weird granulated texture - like the sugar crystals didn't fully melt and combine and are just barely held together by Plasticine cornsyrup goo? That's this scent. In a good way. And then there's a bit of a second layer, later, when it's calmed down. Initially, I thought it smelled like the apples-and-cream of Agape, but it's more aggressive than that--blue raspberry-and-cream maybe, like the vanilla soft-serve that comes with the flavored syrup swirled in, or sugared strawberries with cream. I want to drink it. Ultimately, though, it's a absolutely delicious, bright but not overloud fruity-sugar scent. I intended to give a bottle to my daughter, but I think I might keep them both.

I feel like my experience is not the same as everyone else's. Bitches starts with lime / lemon-lime, but on me, it's sort of... waxy. Syrupy, maybe? It briefly explodes into the full rainbow, but I feel like that sort of waxy lime-lemon stays at the forefront. I think it's actually the blood orange--it's one of those notes I always want to love but never quite blossoms into what I expect (looking at you, Akuma). And then, it smells salty. (???!) Like, a rainbow-colored Lush bath bomb with big grains of salt--a margarita bath bomb. Kind of similar to Philosophy's margarita shower gel. I don't especially like lime, and smelling salty is pretty freakin' weird, if you ask me, but... I actually like this. Or, I'm at least fascinated by it. Also, it's low-throw, which adds to its mystique. I have to really get close to sniff it. Also, while trying to decide if my nose is broken, I gave my applicator toothpick a sniff, and it was PURE Lime Chiffon. Like, 1985 Lime Chiffon with her parrot and weird hat. (I still have one, so I feel pretty confident in this comparison.) Dries down to a powdery lime -- the pressed-sugar Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip stick with a just a whisper of lime powder residue on it.

Opens with banana. I'm not even a big fan of banana, but there's something so charmingly cheerful and Laffy Taffyish about the Lab's banana, I can't help but love it. Banana and a whiff of vanilla, and my mind immediately goes to 'A Stroll Through the Quarter', which is one of my favorite BPALs of all time. Then it goes Lab-cakey -- you all know what I mean -- and I'm out of the Quarter and into yellow layer cake land. About 2 hours in, it's cheesecake. Or at least cream cheese frosting. It's original Beaver Moon, but quieter; vanilla with just a little of that cream cheese tang that the Beth does so well. I can't tell if it's fading into vanilla ice cream of if I've just lost perspective because I've been huffing myself so hard. Regardless, this is absolutely delicious. I was on the fence about buying this one, because I was caught up in some of the flashier fruit-explosion blends, but it has absolutely knocked my socks off with its amazingness.

YUM. Doesn't smell like much in the bottle, but on the skin, it's apple and white cake. Apples are short lived, and I'm left with a spicy-vanilla-cakey scent. I like this better than both Lambs-Wool and Fearful Pleasure, which I think are the most similar.

I had to really shake this one to get it blend. It has weird texture when applied and it smelled more stout-y than chocolatey and I was like, ehhhhh. Over the course of a couple hours, though, it turns into a sort of sour chocolate--in a good way, like cream cheese brownies or chocolate cheesecake. Ultimately, I get chocolate + cream cheese + powdered sugar. I it, and I'm kind of kicking myself for only buying one bottle. (My daughter came in and accused me of eating Cadbury Mini Eggs--I think it was the Chocolate Stout Cupcake she was smelling.)

I was on the fence about Frosty Silkybat 'cause I'm generally not into snow notes, but I missed the original and I figured this must be the next-best thing. It is definitely snowy. I sprayed it on my hands first and it smelled very medicinal--almost like eucalyptus & menthol. (I think it was snow + patchouli.) I almost didn't try it on my hair 'cause I didn't care to smell like I hadn't washed off last night's Vick's VapoRub. In my hair, it's very much the Lab's snowy note. Sort of pine-eucalyptus and that bright, almost-lemony tang? I'm not in love with this, but I also don't hate it. I wish I got more vanilla and patchouli, but maybe that will come with age?

Yup, Snow White. Like LiberAmoris, I find it difficult to describe the scent. Flowers, almond, vanilla, maybe coconut... sort of. It's a soft scent, but I thought I could still smell it in my hair hours later.

I think it comes as no surprise that this smells like Sugar Plum Fairy with added vanilla. And actually, it smells quite a bit like Bordello, too (good call, Sammy!). My whole family loves it. However... it seems to fade really fast in the air. My husband said it was a shame that it wasn't a candle or wax tart instead, so it would stick around longer, and I agree. As a linen spray, it does last longer, so I think I'll be using it primarily for that purpose. (I think this would be dynamite as a hair gloss, too!)

Puddin's been knocking it out of the park with these HGs. I got a Scapula Chaos HG because I'm a sucker for vanilla. I thought I had a good chance of getting a lovely foody vanilla. That's not at all what I got, and I was kind of disappointed. Mine is kind of Frankincensey? Reminds me a lot of the Frankincense and Clove HG, which gave me a headache. Except this one works and is really great. I'm in a weird sort of incense-loving phase, I think, because I'm really loving how 'churchy' this makes my hair smell. It may have myrrh and/or vetiver, too. I really don't get any vanilla, it's kind of along the lines of the old Tarot: Death oil. Dry, salty, like the incense from the Latin Masses of my youth.

LXXXIX - 89 I admit, when I got this, I was like, really? :/ I swear it's jasmine and ylang ylang-- two of my most hated notes. Maybe a lily or something, too? Except... it's actually amazing. It smells a lot like my memory of Aveda's Brilliant line. It's very Aveda-smelling, at any rate. And I *LOVE* it. I'm really not one for florals, but this evokes the spa, and it's fantastic, especially since we've had such a dreary winter. I really needed the pick-me-up of this uplifting, relaxing scent. I wish I could duplicate it because I'm going through it at an alarming rate!

Snake Oil Hair Gloss is the HG HG. Snake Oil tends to go very powdery on my skin, but I ended up with some of the HG as part of a lot I won on eBay. It sat in my cupboard for probably a year before I gave it a go, and OMG, it's so amazing. I use it so much, I can't even pick apart the SO scent anymore, really. It's just Snake Oil! Spicy-smoky-incensy vanilla, I suppose. All I know is that I ALWAYS get compliments when I wear it, and the scent lasts in my hair for a really long time.

Boo HG is just as vanilla-sugary-marshmallowy-sweet as the perfume, and it is STRONG. I'm hoping that this becomes a recurring 'Weenie--both my daughter and I adore it, and I only got one bottle!

I get a sort of cherry + lemon from the bottle. I think someone said Pixy Stix (?) and I agree. On my skin, it reminds me a wee bit of Chimera? IDK. Maybe I'm thinking Dragon's Milk instead. Because yes, there's DB here. It's a little too warm and dragon's blood-y for my skin, I think. The toothpick I used for testing retained the initial citrus-cherry-candy scent, though, so this might be a scent locket oil for me.

Orange blossom honey, white coconut, and pear with flecks of golden amber that glimmers like sunlight on water. Wow! Initially, it was very white-floral and I had to go look up the notes 'cause I was like, "wha?" Then I'm like, oh, orange blossom honey. I'd say I'm about an hour in and I'm getting mostly honey with faint coconut and maybe some amber. I think I smelled the pear early on, but it didn't register as pear at the time. Now that I'm looking for it, it's mayyyybe a bit of fruitiness in the background. Oh, and there it went to powder. I love everything about this, except that. :'( (Maybe scent locket?)

I get honey + patch from this. I loved BB, and this is no replacement, but I think the patch is similar. The honey doesn't go powdery on me, it's like the honey from Tomoe Gozen. Eventually, the patchouli fades (????) and leaves me with mostly honey. It's nice, but I'd rather have more patch. Perhaps age will help.

OK, so I'm pretty sure the Lab rum is what goes coconutty & stabby in my nasal passages, so I was sad when I opened the bottle. But I couldn't let it go untried--and thank goodness because while there is a high, sharp minute, this is actually really well behaved for this sort of scent. Overall, It smells like a rummy coconut cake with a side of vanilla ice cream. YUM. (I bet this layers brilliantly with A Stroll Through the Quarter. It seems to have the same vanilla note.)

In the bottle and wet on my skin, it's strongly chicory, if chicory smells the way I think it does? I get coffee + earthy, almost-chocolatey + kind of fruity. (In larger amounts, it smells kind of like oranges.) It stays that way for a bit, and I can't decide if I like it or not, because the chicory makes me think of high-fiber granola bars. But then it smooths out to a creamy cafe au lait scent and I forget all about my chicory indecision. It's really cozy; a good chillin'-around-the-house scent. (I reapplied before bed & woke up still smelling like cafe au lait--perfect!!)

I. Am. OBSESSED. When I first tested it, I got almost acetoney (??) banana, then a whiff of flowers and church incense and I was like, oh no... But then suddenly, it morphed into a sort of incensy vanilla bean ice cream. I can't even describe what it smells like, but right now I want everything scented with ASTtQ. I've been slathering it practically nonstop over the past few days. I don't get much banana except for the opening blast, and I haven't really noticed the flowers since that first test. The incense is somehow salty (??) and reminds me of All Saints' (at least my memory of it). And the final stage... is just heaven. "Incensy vanilla" is the best I can come up with, but I feel like that doesn't convey how amazing it is. It's so, so good. It's sweet and foody enough to satisfy my olfactory sweet tooth and the incense adds a unique twist and makes it a little more interesting and 'grown up' than my usual candy-sweet BPAL faves. If it wasn't an LE, I think A Stroll Through the Quarter would be a perpetual multiple-bottle purchase for me.

Eh... too powdery for me. After my Madagascan Vanilla fail, I was hoping Rum-Soaked French Tonka would be the scent I wanted, but it's not. It opens with a 'high' note -- I don't know what that really means, but it makes me think pink, like Marshmallow Poof. It's almost cherry (could be almond). Then it goes powdery vanilla, like a light dusting of powdered sugar over a bit of caramelly rum. It's "OK", but not really what I was looking for.

This shoulda been perfect for me. I love vanilla, I love rum. Instead, Madagascan Vanilla Rum goes on burnt-caramelly, with that high rum/coconutty note that stabs my sinuses. Two hours later, it's mellowed into a gorgeous marshmallowy vanilla that makes me want to chew my arm off (in a good way), but I don't know if I can deal with the initial two hours.

Yup. Orange. I felt like it faded pretty quickly on my skin, so I tried it in my scent locket yesterday. It's lasted for ~36 hours now and is still going strong--although, I probably put an imp's worth on the cotton, and the throw isn't very strong, but *I* can smell it and that's all that matters. The scent is bright and cheerful and makes me happy.

Yep, cherry. The cough-syrup kind for a minute (but just a minute!). Then, jellybeans, and then Neil morphs into a light, tropical fruitiness. Very odd & unexpected, but I really like it.

In the bottle, this smelled a lot like Anne Beany to me. On my skin, it's pretty light: a little rum, a little vanilla-y, a little perfumey (like vanilla flower or something). It's not as loud as I usually like, but it's OK--I work in a small office with 3 other people so I'm trying to not wear scents with huge throw. Rum-Soaked French Tonka will make me smell good but not overwhelm my coworkers.

I thought this would be louder than it is. I get a subtle, slightly foody rice scent and nothing else. I thought i'd get more cherry & whipped cream, but actually, I like it without.