stardreamer

Fresh out of the bottle: Holy grapefruit, Batman! For some reason, Beth's citrus oils don't last well on my skin. I find this odd; pre-BPAL, citrusy scents were almost the only thing I could wear, and they didn't fade all that fast. At any rate, this is no exception; the blast of grapefruit backs off fairly quickly and the currant comes out to play. It reminds me of Lady MacBeth, but with a little more citrus sharpness. R. says "mosquito repellent". As time wears on, I think I'm getting a bit more floral sweetness, but this never turns into a really floral scent (thank the Lady!). Staying power is moderate, but it doesn't throw for very long -- this is another "I want to wear something, but not to overpower people" fragrance for me. I'm a bit sorry that I didn't find it until after it was discontinued, and I may look for someone's leftover 5ml to buy.

Swapped this from Olympia301, thanks! This is a really well-balanced blend. It's hovered just on the edge between floral and citrusy-sharp ever since I put it on, and that was 12 hours ago. Looking at the ingredients list, I think the "floral" is the lavender while the "sharp" would be the carnation. R., unsurprisingly, didn't like it -- he said it smelled like laundry detergent to him. I'm not getting anything that suggests mosses or amber. I honestly can't tell whether I like it enough to keep or not! It's pleasant, and has excellent holding power without being overpowering when fresh on, but I'm not sure it's me; more testing is indicated. This may well end up being a "keep and use, but don't re-order" imp.

First impression: chocolate and booze?! WTF? I thought this was supposed to be vanilla and wood! Fresh on: Not so sure about this. Usually vanilla is my friend, but there's something very dark and bitter overriding it this time. Could be the cedar, but I'm more inclined to suspect the sassafras. R. comments, "I need to stay upwind." After an hour or so: Now I'm getting my normal vanilla amp-up, with the same kind of woody goodness underneath as Golden Priapus. The chocolatey note disappeared along with whatever was making it unpleasantly bitter. It definitely wasn't the cedar causing the problem; I can still smell that under the vanilla, and it's nice. Final opinion: If it weren't for that dark, bitter note, this would have been a very nice blend. But the opening takes quite a while to fade, and the final result is not very much different from GP, which doesn't go thru that unpleasant phase. This one will be re-swapped.

Got this in a swap. Actually, I managed to swap for it twice, because I got impatient and arranged a second swap before I'd heard back about the first one! In the bottle: Cranberries and incense. Hmmm, this reminds me of something, but I can't figure out what. Fresh on: Okay, now I've placed it. This reminds me of a rock shop. A specific rock shop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that I've been to once or twice. I'll bet they burn a similar-smelling incense there. Drydown: This is pulling a Snake Oil on me -- the cranberry fades faster than the incense notes (smoke and musk?), although it does seem to have decent staying power overall. R.'s reaction went straight past "Ew, yuck" and into "Eewww, what is that?" Re-applying after a swim: Now I'm getting a bit of a "Yankee Candle shop" feel; the cranberry is more pronounced, but a touch artificial. That could just be a reaction with the leftover chlorine on my skin, though. Overall: I like it, though less than I'd hoped to from the description. I'll keep and use this imp (when I'm not going to be in close proximity to R!), but may re-swap the second one.

In the bottle: Oh-oh, I hope that's not coffee I'm smelling... Fresh on: I'm not thrilled with this, but let's see what happens as it dries. Drydown: Well, it wasn't coffee. Sadly, it wasn't cocoa or wine either. The overwhelming notes in this mix are the rum (I can smell the similarity to Grog) and... MOTHBALLS. Yes, this is very much like I imagine Grog mixed with Queen would smell on me -- burnt sugar and mothballs. Dammit, I wanted to like this one so much, but I'm afraid it's headed for the swap pile. Oh, well. This is why I buy/swap for imps rather than bottles! And "rum" has just definitely made my list of components to avoid in the future.

In the bottle, I can barely smell anything at all. Fresh on, I get almost nothing but coconut, and not terribly much of that. After it's been dry for a while, the iris peeks out a little bit. Staying power is fairly low; after 8 hours, it's effectively gone. "Menacing" seems to be entirely the wrong word to describe this scent. But I do like it, and I'm finding that it's nice to have some scents that don't throw much, for times when I want the mental lift of knowing I'm wearing it without having to listen to R.'s comments. I don't think he even noticed I had it on.

This is quite floral, but not an obnoxious floral; it's relatively light and sweet. I think I can catch the apple blossom and red clover. Went out in the car with R. and it didn't make him sneeze, which is good! Staying power is moderate; 5 hours and it's still detectable on my wrist but I'm sure there's no throw now. I'm not sure it's really me, but I'll keep it and test it once or twice more before making a final decision.

Sadly, on me, this is uncomfortably reminiscent of the burnt-sugar note I didn't like in Gluttony and Hellcat. It's not as overwhelming, but it's definitely related, and still not something I really want to wear. Off to the swap pile! ETA: Later in the evening, I layered a little O over the remaining Grog, and that was an interesting combination! The addition of O's strong honey scent made it come out rather like mead. If you have and like both of these, I heartily recommend trying them together.

In the bottle: Tea! Fresh on: This is more like what I expected White Rabbit to smell like. Definitely black tea, though I can also get the "linen" scent. Very light and crisp. R. finds it "mostly innocuous". Drydown: This continues to be light and airy, not changing much. Holding power is low; it fades after a couple of hours. A good summery fragrance, though I'd have to carry an imp with me if I were going to be out all day. Worth keeping because I like tea scents, but I'm not sure I'd get another imp after using this one up. After reading the other reviews, I'm beginning to wonder if the tags got switched on Dirty and White Rabbit! Apparently I'm the only one who gets "tea" out of this scent, but that was the one identifiable note for me.

In the bottle: Enh, floral. Rose? I hope not... Fresh on: Very green! But still a lot of floral. I'm not terribly thrilled with this. Drydown: The aquatic notes come out after it's been on my skin for half an hour or so, but the florals are still very evident. This is an excellent example of a scent I might have liked a lot early on, but now it just doesn't hold up against my established BPAL favorites. It's light and pretty, but something I'd hardly ever wear any more. This is one for the swap pile -- someone else will like it better.

In the bottle: Apple! Lots of apple, very nice. Fresh on: Getting more of the herbal touches now. A nice, light scent. Drydown: This becomes more complex as it sits on the skin. I can't identify any particular herbal note, but the combination with the sweetness of the apple is very nice indeed. Noting that once again, amber seems to work for me. Staying power is moderate; I don't think this has much throw, but I can still catch whiffs of it some hours later as I move around. A good fragrance for warmer weather, I think; somewhat darker than Titania, but similar in the summery-fruit feel. Definitely a keeper! EDIT, a month later: This has moved into my Top Ten list; I just ordered a 5ml. Having read some of the other reviews, I agree that "spiced apple" is a good description -- but not so spicy as to relegate itself to autumn only. Wearing it is a bit like being in the Franklin Cider Mill during harvest season; it's a blend of fresh-pressed apple juice and the darker tang of aged cider.

In the bottle: oh dear, it smells like patchouli again. Must be the musk. Fresh on: more of the same. I smell like a Newage store. Drydown: this never really changes. I don't get anything but the patchouli-like scent -- no saffron, no spices. Holding power is pretty good; I only put on a little, and it's still faintly present some 8 hours later. But it isn't what I thought I was going to get (and I am SO not a patchouli person!), so off to the swap pile it goes. And "red musk" goes on my personal list of notes to beware. (I'm glad to see, after reading some of the other reviews, that I'm not the only one who gets nothing but patchouli out of this. I always wonder, when my experience seems to be completely different from anyone else's, whether it's just me!)

Swapped with Laurel the Woodfaery for this, because the description sounded so luscious. In the bottle: Ooh, maybe this is going to have the same kind of relationship to Bordello that Golden Priapus does to O! (i.e. similar elements, but darker and less overtly feminine) Fresh on: Mmm, nice... hey, where'd it go? Reapply, more heavily. Still disappears very fast. A while later, I could swear there's a hint of a chocolate note in there; it reminds me of the way Vice smells after I've had it on for a while, only much, much fainter. I am PEEVED. I like this scent quite a bit, but apparently my skin eats it. I'll definitely keep the imp and continue trying it from time to time to see if time of month or activity level makes any difference. This could easily become a favorite if it had more staying power. EDIT, after several more attempts: This never does develop any strength or real staying power on me, but I love it far too much to give it up! It's dark-chocolate cherries with a hint of wood and wine underneath -- not really similar to Vice, but in the same family; they layer well. This may end up being my first 10ml, just because I have to slather it to get it to last!

There's not a lot to be said about this one. It's heavily floral, and I'm just not a floral kind of gal. I don't get any sage or musk at all, just florals and a sweet undernote which I think must be the tonka. It's pleasant enough, certainly not an "ew, yuck" for me (though it was for R.!), and if I needed a floral fragrance, I might keep it. I want to compare-and-contrast it against a couple of other things (most notably Roadhouse) before I let it go, but I suspect it's going to end up on the swap pile.

That pretty much says what I was going to say about this. In the bottle, it smells sweeter than I expected, almost with a floral note. On me, it's almost too sweet, nothing like the dark honey scent in O. I don't think I'll be wearing this as an individual fragrance, but it should work well to layer with other things if I want a bit more sweetness.

In the bottle: mostly honey. Fresh on: still a lot of honey, but now I can catch the other notes as well. I can understand why this is compared to Snake Oil -- add the incense note, and they'd be very similar indeed. R.'s evaluation: "probably innocuous in small doses." Drydown: Oh yes, my skin amps up vanilla! Which isn't a problem, since I like vanilla. I think this one has just broken into my Top 5; I'm also starting to conclude that amber is an okay note for me, unlike many of the other resinous components. There's a strong resemblance to Golden Priapus here, minus the sharp piney undertinge; this is relaxing and langorous, while GP is a "power" scent to me. This is not just a keeper, but something which will go into the regular rotation.

This was a Lab freebie in my last order. In the bottle: Green and citrus. This may be nice. Fresh on: The citrus disappears almost immediately. What's left is very green indeed, a soft springlike fragrance that reminds me of iris, lilac, tulips, and forsythia -- the foliage as well as the flowers. I don't get any mint from this at all; the anise may be what's giving me the "bulb flower" associations. R. describes it as "mild floral soap". If I were a churchgoer, I could definitely see this as something to wear for Easter services... or to a funeral. It has the sort of semiformal floral feel which I associate with that sort of occasion. Drydown: This stays very true to its initial scent once the citrus is gone. Holding power is moderate to good; 7 hours later I can still catch whiffs of it as I move around. This is definitely a keeper, something I can put on whenever I'm longing for the fragrance of a Midwestern spring. I may have to try layering it with my Blue Lilac single note and see how they go together! EDIT to add: The second time I wore this, I got smacked in the face by ANISE, and it remained a strong anise scent all day long, but with the "green/bulb flower" note still underneath. Still keeping it, but I thought the difference between the two trials was worth noting. Now I'm wondering how it would layer with India Bouquet, whether it would reinforce the fennel in that or overwhelm it completely.

In the bottle: wow, lots of butter in this one! I'm not sure I want to smell that buttery. Fresh on: okay, less with the butter and more with the hot toddy. There's definitely rum in this. Drydown: Ew, it's the same burnt-sugar note that I got from Gluttony. I believe this must be the hazelnut, and I think I'll not order anything else with that component, TYVM. In fact, I'd classify this as "Gluttony Lite" -- it's not as thick and heavy a scent, but it's very definitely in the same family. And it's very definitely not for me; off to the swap pile with this one. ETA: No, it's not the hazelnut; it's the rum. Apparently rum and my skin just don't get along. I don't know what's up with Gluttony, because it doesn't have rum in it -- but everything else that goes burnt-sugar on me does.

Well, it's definitely tea! Not getting the spices at all to speak of, and R. says it smells like "bar soap", which is probably the "clean linen" component. Medium staying power -- it took several hours to fade. This is definitely not a chai or Indian tea scent, and I'm not sure whether it's enough different from Shanghai to bother with; I'll have to do a compare-and-contrast between them. Usually vanilla comes out fairly strongly on me, so I wonder where it is in this? Bottom line: not good, not terrible, probably worth keeping but not getting more.

I swapped for an imp of this because reading the Forum reviews had gotten me intrigued. The original description says nothing at all about what's in it, but the reviews all talked about (surprise!) Indian spices, curry, and fennel. And they're right -- this is very strong of the fennel and smells rather like being in an Indian grocery. R.'s reaction was neutral, which is the best I can hope for with him. I like it a lot; unfortunately, it doesn't seem to last very well on me -- I've already reapplied it twice and it's still fading fast. Definitely worth keeping, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble of looking to buy/trade for more unless I could find a mostly-full 5ml. I'm still looking (so far without success) for an Indian saffron/curry scent...

In the vial: oh dear, that's awfully heavy on the almond. Fresh on: drat, I'm having the same problem with this one that I did with Black Phoenix -- it's cherry/almond and not much else. Not getting the amber, saffron, or cardamom at all, though I can catch the lotus underneath. After several hours: getting a bit of the musk now, but I think this one is just too almond/floral for me; I was hoping for something more herbal/spicy. Blast and damn, I really wanted to like this. I may keep it around for a few months and see if aging improves it, but it's not going to get worn very much... especially since R. finds it extremely obnoxious.

Smells orangey all right, but less like orange pulp than orange peel, tangy and fresh. Sadly, my skin EATS this -- I tried it twice to be sure, and the second time I really slathered it on, and it was still almost gone in an hour. I may keep some of this for experimenting and/or a scent locket, but I'm likely to decant the rest into imps and put them up for swap. No sense in my keeping it all when I'll never wear it.

I adore lilacs. When I was a kid in Michigan, the neighbor across the street had these HUGE lilac bushes -- blue, white, and lavender -- and they were just masses of sweet-smelling blooms in the spring. When I moved to Tennessee, I was without lilacs for a long time. Eventually I bought a place, and the first additional landscaping I did was to plant a lilac bush. While it didn't bloom as profusely as the ones I remembered, it was still a sweet breath of springtime scent -- almost the only floral scent I really like. Then I moved to Texas. Lilacs don't thrive here, it doesn't get cold enough. Oh, there's something the nurseries here sell as "lilac", but it ain't. So I had to order the Blue Lilac single-note before they went away. This is LILAC! It smells exactly like those sweet lilac bushes in my neighbor's yard, and evokes memories of my childhood. As is usual with floral scents, R. finds it obnoxious, so I may not be able to wear it very often. But now I can get my lilac fix any time I like! Sorry for the long ramble and the lack of specifics about the fragrance -- the only thing I can think of to say about it is that it smells like fresh lilac flowers, and I am in ecstasy.

That's my partner. Hypersensitive sense of smell, and virtually anything except foodie scents either makes him sneeze, gives him headaches, or sends his sinuses into open revolt. He's putting up with my BPAL addiction very reluctantly, and I have a smallish group of scents that I can wear with him and a larger group that I like but have to wear only when we're not going to be together for most of the day. That being the case, I doubt I'll ever get a "pounce" response from him. But I've noticed that applying Golden Priapus too heavily can get ME going!

A Lab freebie that I never would have ordered, given my aversion to rose. But hey, I'll try anything once if it's Beth's... This is very strange. I don't care what the description says; my nose says there's no rose in this at all, nor any other detectable floral. On me, it's all aquatic! "Midnight dew" is a fairly appropriate description; it's a light, chilly, watery scent. I rather like it -- certainly it's worth keeping around long enough to compare with Tempest, Szepassony, and Titania, as it seems to fall into the same general scent family. R., of course, finds it thoroughly obnoxious, but it may very well end up in the "not while he's around" group. I'm delighted to find something with "Rose" in the name that actually works for me!