iiinterstate

In the bottle: Leatherrrrrrr. Yum. On me: Oh man, this is good already. I can pick out the olive oil, but it doesn't go cloying on me like it did in Hanerot Halalu. After a few moments the wood comes out and blends smoooothly with the leather. After awhile: Leather is definitely the primary note in here, and its great. I'd say this blend is gender neutral and FABULOUS. I generally like the lab's leather note even more after it has had some time to settle, so I'll probably be buying another bottle of this to age. This might knock Western Diamondback into second place on my list favorite leather blends

This is one of the Lupercalia blends I'm most excited about. In the bottle: Incense with a flash of metal. On me: More incense gives way to the lab's stone note (which I love). I don't get much metal while its wet. I like this so far... I haven't smelled anything like it before. After awhile: This stays pretty consistent. A good balance of stone and incense. I get more incense in the throw than when I am sniffing my wrist. Verdict? A keeper. Not sure how often I will wear it, but this is an intriguing blend.

I ordered this expecting the ultimate carnation blend but I think I just confirmed that almond does not work on me at all, ever. All I smell is the almond, just like in Queen of Sheba. And it isn't good. Too bad.

I bought this on a whim to accompany my bottle of Black Lace. First impression: very very green, with a little musk. After a few minutes: I'm getting the chrome note now, and maybe a little bit of leather too. Hmm.. something about this is not right for me. I'm thinking it might be the skin musk, which is hit or miss on me. It smells green and a little sour.. not for me.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this one already. When I first got the bottle it was a little too smoky-smelling for me. The incense and licorice ended up coming off like charcoal. However, after letting it rest for a little while, this blend is mostly coconut and rum to me. Very smooth and delicious, with a little extra kick from the licorice and an occasional waft of incense. I like it a lot more than I expected to. I loooove coconut, and Obatala is one of my default blends, especially in summer. Deathly Pride is like a darker Obatala on my skin. Yum.

In the bottle: strong ginger musk! Wow, this is incredible. The ginger is sweet and kind of fizzy smelling. There's sort of a creaminess to it as well. I didn't except this one to be the winner of the inquisition blends for me, but I've got my nose glued to my wrist! I might try to hunt down another bottle of this.

I took a gamble on this one, usually flowers don't play nice on my skin, but I looooooove amber. In the bottle it smells like cognac and amber. on me the marigold comes out, but not too strong. Its definitely a sweet floral but the other notes keep it from overpowering. Dry, I don't smell much cognac, but I do get quite a bit of amber. I think after this has a month or so to settle it will be something I wear often.

This is fresh out of the mailbox so my review might not be spot on. In the bottle it smells like cocoa and patchouli which is interesting, because there's no patch in here. I think I can pick out every note listed... the cocoa is really downplayed after a moment on my skin (which in my case is a good thing). What I smell most is the charred beams and blistered resins. It smells hot... the same way Sunbird does, but with a hint of sweetness from the other notes. I don't get much coconut at all. As it dries, I get a little more tobacco and a lot less cocoa. The overall effect is kind of sweet and smoky. I REALLY like this! I think a guy could pull it off as well.

I jumped on the chance to grab a bottle of this (2005 version) even though it will be totally hit or miss on me. I am expecting all kinds of autumn and Christmas out of it. In the bottle it is cinnamon and clove and something else I can't identify. On my skin it is quite different. Clove fades into the background (yaaaaay!) and white pepper comes to the front with the cinnamon. While this is definitely the fall spicy scent I had anticipated, there is also a kind of woody undertone to the whole thing that brings it out of potpourri and into something wearable. I think I need to wear it for a full day before I can give the final verdict, but I see it being something I like and save for the holiday season.

Its rare that a scent will smell exactly like I imagined, but in the bottle, The Sun does! Very bright orange and heliotrope with a little spice. On my skin, it smells much the same. Lots and lots of orange, which I love. There is some kind of foody background here, but heliotrope goes that way on me sometimes (and I'm not complaining). Overall, The Sun is exactly how I imagined it. I am most pleased. There is not a huge amount of throw, but I bet this will be awesome in a scent locket and that will help make it last.

Mmmmmm this does smell like marshmallows... definitely the same marshmallows I smelled in Plastic Pink Flamingo. However, in PPF, the marshmallow eventually went a bit cloying and I got sick of it. I GREATLY prefer Boo. As it dries, it's easier for me to pick out the separate cotton and spun sugar notes, and the cream is just barely there. Very light, soft, and sweet! I know Boo is meant to be for fall, but I think it suits me in the hot summer weather

I will be the first to admit that I get all caught up in bottle-excitement and sometimes *love* things that I don't actually love just because it is new and special. However, I love Sunbird with the purest of BPAL loves. Wet on my skin, it is very resiny, spicy, and smoky. I get the same brimstone-y feeling from Sunbird as I do from Hellhound On My Trail. It gives the blend a kick but does not overpower. And, it smells hot, like hot sand, like in the Ifrit only more so. As it dries down there is a little sweetness to it.. an herbal sweetness, which is appropriate. So the end result is hot sweet resiny smoke. Occasionally, I get a little bit of a metallic edge when I sniff my wrist, but not a lot. The throw is mainly smoke and spice. This is a gorgeous blend, and if there is any left for sale when I get paid again, I will probably buy another bottle. I have nothing quite like Sunbird in my collection, and I cannot WAIT to see what this is like in a year. (if I don't use it up first!) Overall, a scent I will wear when I feel sultry and smoldering.

I am embarrassed about how long I have let this partial sit in my BPAL box before trying it. Its been a REALLY long time. In the bottle it smells like.. well...mums. Spicy and awesome, and one of the few floral notes I really enjoy. It dries down into heavy muskiness and opium smoke, with the spicy still there. And may I say, this is fucking sexy. The opium smoke almost reminds me of honey, its so thick, but I think that is more my skin chemistry than anything. drooooooooooool

I must be crazy, because I don't like florals and I ordered this. Carnation seems to be the great exception to that rule, and i love sugar and pink pepper, so... I risked it. Lucky me, this is a GREAT blend. Gently sweet with a spicy kick. The sugar lends a slightly fruity feeling. I love it! It smells PINK and happy and awesome.

A golden summer musk with warm fig, orange blossom honey, sweet blueberries, and bright velvety crimson raspberries. in the bottle: musky berries, and something kind of green. wet on me: orange blossom and berries. right now the orange blossom is dominating a little but that tends to happen on my skin. As it dries, the fig comes out and tames the orange blossom. Oooh this is some good stuff. I can smell a little bit of everything, with the honey coming out more in the drydown. I like this a lot already, but I bet in a few weeks once everything has settled a bit, it will find its way into my heavy summer rotation. Yum! Overall, a very balanced and delicious blend (that's not overly fruity!) Edit: I've decided this reminds me a bit of Tomoe Gozen.

I'm trying to figure out what this reminds me of, but I can't do it. I almost want to say Candy Phoenix. Not that this is fruity or candylike... just the powdery feel I get is familiar. But fortunately, its not ALL sweet powder. There is something else, which of course I cannot identify, that makes me keep coming back to this. Whatever is not right about this blend smells JUST right on me And I don't usually care for powdery or floral blends.

Note: this bottle is a couple of years old. I am not a person who likes florals at all, and I really expected this to be a floral nightmare with musk in the background. NOT SO. When first applying, I get a lot of magnolia, and lush is really the only word to describe it. After a few minutes some spice comes to the foreground, and everything is just soooo smooth and well blended. This scent has PRESENCE. I feel like if I walked down the street I would turn heads just because I smell so good.

I'm REALLY excited to try this one because so many people have compared it to Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids, which I like a lot! First impression is the crispest, freshest apples ever represented in a perfume oil, backed up by warm oak. After a few minutes I TOTALLY get the comparison to HIWTK. It must be something in the twilight mist that makes it sweetly musky. I'd love a bottle.

Blackberry tea, with something darker. (Dark musk, perhaps? ) Its very light and fresh, and I barely get any sage at all (which is how I like it.)

this is the blend I was most nervous about testing. Goats milk does not sound like a lovely scent to me. However, I tried it anyway, because the lab does not make things that smell gross. And of course, this blend is no exception. Milk, fig, and myrrh, just as described. I was worried it would smell like Milk Moon 2007, which turned to crazy pineapple weirdness on my skin, but this is quite different. I really like it a lot, smooth and creamy but not foody or pungent at all. Yay

Dirt, hyssop, myrrh in almost overwhelming harmony. The balsam is there too, but not much. I really don't like the strength of it, if that makes sense. There isn't a strong throw, but when I sniff my wrist it is olfactory overload. I think I'll let this one sit awhile and come back to it :/

Wow, this is lovely! When I first opened the vial I got a big whiff of herbs, but on my skin it's smooth, sweet, and spicy. It does have a bit of a menthol vibe to it, but not enough to bother me. Lots of chamomile. After a few minutes that menthol feeling is gone, and what's left is so well blended I can't decide which note is taking control. It smells like warm sunshine, and I want a bottle!

This one is definitely reminiscent of Sea of Glass, only it feels less green. I don't get the gold at all when I first put it on, just a nice, unisex aquatic. Maybe its just me hoping for it, but after a few minutes things take a turn for the shimmery, and I do believe I know what gold smells like now The cologney-ness of the aquatic notes is lighter than before. The end result is an ethereal aquatic scent with the occasional waft of something golden/metallic/wonderful. I wish I could describe it better because i like it so much. I definitely need a bottle for summer.

juniper could make or break this blend for me, but I HAD to try it with all those delicious fruits. When first applied, it smells like fizzy lemon candies. I like THAT. After a few minutes, the fizziness fades a little, but not completely. Now there is more fruit and less juniper, non of the dreaded bathroom-y scent I sometimes get from juniper or gin blends. Yum!

I really like this! It is indeed like Velvet Unicorn, but I feel like the drydown has a cleaner feeling to it. I'm not sure if that makes sense. Sugary dandelions overall. I need at least one bottle.