Ravenclaw79

Grassy, strikingly so, like a fresh-cut lawn. Unfortunately, it goes a trifle soapy on me. And grass isn't really my favorite scent as it is -- I was hoping it would be leafier.

I don't quite know what to make of this one -- I've honestly never smelled anything like it. It started with this odd... malty, maybe, scent? Now it's settled into what I'm betting is oats, 'cause it smells vaguely of food, like cereal. I may have to give this one a second test, 'cause it's such an unusual scent that I really can't figure out whether I like it.

Wood-y, cologne-y, a tad dishsoapy. Sadness.

This starts out nice, as a light, fresh, floraly thing, but it fades into soapy, which makes me sad. I like the smell of soap, but not when I really wanted dandelions.

Mist and mellow fruitfulness: mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat. This is really harsh and masculine, which I totally wasn't expecting. It's like a Phoenix Steamworks with nutmeats -- it's that sort of harshness to me, that kind of masculine not-me-ness. Bleh.

Fearful Pleasure is amazing, the perfect autumn scent, warm mulled cider that makes me want to drink my arm (I know, my arm is not a beverage)... I'm looking forward to trying the decants I put in for, but I don't know how anything could possibly top this one.

I am SO glad I went straight to a bottle on this one! It's AMAZING! One of my favorite BPALs ever, for sure! Okay, so the review: Wet: Sharp, green apple (uh-oh ... this is not really what I was hoping for...) Drying: The sharpness subsides, and in its place, I get cloves, a nice spicy note Drying more and settling in: Oh, muh, guh. It's the most amazing, warm, delicious mulled cider ever. It has that little hit of cinnamon and nutmeg at the back of your throat when you sniff, even, that little sensation that makes you want to gulp down a huge mug and go back for a refill. This stuff's incredible.

I swapped for DCC, which I just got to try today. In the bottle, it smelled like Midwinter's Eve, sort of sweet and plum-y. On me, the roses came out, lots of roses (I amp roses), and it seems to have mellowed into roses with sweet plums behind it. It's nice, maybe even nicer than Midwinter's Eve (shall have to try them side by side next).

I guess this is one of those ones that's just gonna go wacky on me and smell nothing like it's described. That sucks, 'cause the description sound beautiful. But what I got was one of the oddest combinations I've ever smelled: Lemon and caramel. I kid you not. It was weird, but it wasn't bad, just not something you'd ever expect to smell in combination. As it dried, the caramel part faded and the lemon calmed down, so I ended up with a very light, bright-smelling, lemony scent. Nothing spectacular. Eh.

In Neil's words, 'It smells like green apples and like sex and vampires, all at the same time. (Actually, it smells like sexy vampire apples.)' My first thought: Ooh, pretty bottle! I love the blue. In the bottle: Apples with a hint of sharp cold something. My brain knows it's mint, but usually, my nose would be screaming "OMG MINT NOTHING BUT MINT MINT MINTY MINTNESS!" and it's totally not. It's just ... cold. It's a neat effect I've never gotten from any of the "cold" blends before. Wet: Oh, this is nice! It's a pile of apple peels thrown off the back porch into a snowbank, apples that are frozen, encrusted in snow. Drying: I really, REALLY want to love this scent. After all, it's so limited, and it's in such a pretty bottle, and I love apples. But ... it's doing something on me I'm not sure if I care for enough to want to smell it all the time. The apple has faded, and so has the cold. It's a teeny bit soapy and a lot sweet, like a sugary musk of some sort. I never wanted to buy a locket, 'cause they're pricey and 'cause they're silver and I never, ever wear silver. But this might be the oil to talk me into it, 'cause it was such an intriguing and apple-y blend, and now, it's something else -- not awful, but not great, either.

Wet: Sweet and fruity. Drying: This one actually does smell a lot like blackberry tea. Mmmm. I may have to give this a second test (which is always the stage before "buy about a hundred bottles" ).

Wet: Sweet and wonderful, all fruity and lovely, orange peel and nutmeg. Drying: Hello there, almond. Nice to see you. But why'd you have to kick everyone else out of the party?

I smell like a muffin. Nom, nom, nom. It's very pumpkiny, with a sort of dry after-smell. Quite lovely, though, pumpkin with a hint of perfumeyness, a bit of cold juicyness and a smattering of baked deliciousness. Yum.

Oh my. I want to eat my hand. This smells like cinnamon sticks, utterly drool-inducing. It's making me think autumn, too, which is bad, 'cause I imagine the new Weenies will rock hard enough on their own without me wanted to throw six bottles of this in the cart, too.

Grapey. Very grapey. It's a muddled grape, though, like grape and dust, grape and old paper, with a hint of floral something trying to poke through. Odd. I can't decide how I feel about this one.

As I test this out, what I keep thinking is "candle shop." Not in a bad way -- it started as an overpowering fake-chocolate smell, like a chocolate-scented candle, but then it faded back and started to mingle with the rest of the notes, and now, it's a lovely combination, like all of the nice smells that hit you all at once in a candle shop.

In the imp: Dark, harsh, a little soapy Wet: Soapy with something tobacco-y ... not tobacco per se, but like the part of tobacco scent that catches in the back of your throat after you're done sniffing it. Drying: About the same, just fainter. Still soapy and dark and not terribly pleasant.

In the imp: Candy? It's almost like bubblegum and peanut brittle, a sugary candy sort of smell. Wet: Bubblegum... then a hint of carnation. Drying: Sort of like my mom (which isn't how I expect a Grindhouse lady to smell!)... sweet and floral. It's not offensive, but it's unremarkable.

In the imp: Fruity ... must be the nectarine Wet: There's a little something fruity, a little something sharp, but mostly it's the beeswax I'm getting, a golden note like a lot of the honey blends. Drying: Faint and floral ... there might be green tea, and there's probably lily of the valley, but it's so faint, so fast.

In the imp: Sweet and very orange. Apricot's probably right on the money. Wet: Very sweet and apricot-y, a really sunshiney orange smell. Drying: This is definitely a happy smell, like bottled sunshine. It's a little like a fruity shower gel, but that's not a turn-off. I'll probably give this one a second try later on.

In the imp: Sweet, sugar-sweet... it almost smells like the midway at a fair, like maybe I'm standing next to the friend-dough booth, where they have those big vats of warm fruit filling if you want it. It's a fruity sweet, with a cherry-cola-ish undertone. Wet: Cherry tobacco? It's a bit lighter and fruitier than that, but it reminds me of cherry pipe tobacco. There's a hint of soapiness, too, which is less good. Drying: This is really smoky-sweet, but while that's usually kind of meh for me, this one's really fascinating. It smells a little like cherry tobacco, and it also smells a little like a Strawberry Shortcake doll, in an odd way. This might merit a second try.

I got a mellow, golden perfume out of this one -- perfumey, is the best way to put it, I think. There's a hint of bronze in there (like one penny tossed in the perfume kettle), but other than that, I don't really smell much in the way of specific notes. It's not sharp or floral to me, though. Not bad, but not wonderful.

In the imp: Sharply sweet roses, almost nose-crinkling. Wet: Powdery roses, with maybe some other flower poking in there from time to time (sweet pea, must be). Drying: Meh. Old lady-ish powdery roses. Not a fan.

In the imp: Bleargh. "Shadowy wooded notes," I'm gonna say. Pretty hostile-smelling. Wet: Hm. Still woody, but actually not in a bad way. (I like wood smells, but they always seem to smell rank on me, so so far, this is a surprise.) Drying: Surprisingly warm and nice, figgy and woody without being all sharp and awful like so many woods are on me. And there's a hint of something sorta like suntan oil, which I guess must be the palm. I'm shocked to be liking this one, considering how bad woods usually turn on me. Definitely worth a second test later on (I'm always hesitant to buy a bottle without numerous tests).

In the imp: Mixed flowers, sweet flowers, with none particularly dominant. Wet: Violet, maybe? Yeah, I think it's mostly violet now. Violet and green-flower, like the smell of a flower stem. Drying: Sadly, it's just sorta mixed flowers, with violet predominating. No lilac at all.