Lit Chick

I opened this and tears came into my eyes.

 

My elementary school was surrounded by crabapple trees, and there were many such trees scattered about the neighborhood.. In the spring, they were so heavy with pink and white flowers. It was my favorite time of year.

Sometime when I was in high school, the trees were cut down. I assume disease... they were old. They were not replaced. It made me so sad.

Then I moved away, and have not been near an apple tree in the spring since.

I cracked open the bottle and those trees came back. The sound of happy bees, the joy of those trees in full bloom...

I never even really thought of the trees as particularly fragrant either.... but scent memory. They were, but it's not an overpowering smell. Just the sunny smell of childhood.

sniffle.

 

This is not particularly wearable for me - apple fruit works, but apple blossom goes a bit soapy. I smell good and clean, but very much changed from the bottle. Still, I will treasure this - what a bright and happy and fresh scent! I think I might make this a pillow scent.

I am Christopher Walken and carnation is my cowbell.

 

This SN is perfection, smells exactly like the real thing. Fresh, creamy, spicy.

In the bottle - traditional masculine cologne smell. Nice, nothing special. Also nothing scary. A BPAL newbie could smell this and not be afraid to try it.

1st wet - Lilac for a second, then LEATHER. Clean leather. Not brand-new, but not broken-down either. Well worn but meticulously kept.

Dry - Tonka (which smells like vanillaness, but does not go plastic on me like real vanilla does), spiced wood, sex.

Very dry - a sweet, sexy, close-to-skin musk.

 

Honestly, this is SUPER SEXY, and gorgeous, and it makes me feel wrong because it smells like I'm cheating on my husband. He usually wears more romantic blends (Oisin). This will smell SO good on him. It smells fantastic on me - but because of the musk it smells like it rubbed off, rather than was applied.

 

This will be in heavy rotation.

Wow.

 

Major scent memory with this one.

 

It smells exactly like Sanctuary Crystals circa 1995. And that store for me was all about freedom and newly awakened sexuality.

 

It smells fantastic on me... it's a little nostalgic... I feel the need to listen to some Pearl Jam. Ocean.

Wet, this is flat-out nasty. Aggressively green and sharp and sneezey.

I hate you, green tea. You are very weird on me.

 

But.. in a few moments, something starts to happen.

Seriously, chills...

is that...

CARNATION?

 

I just did this people:

Not even kidding, I got up from the PC and flailed around and huffed and flailed.

 

Since 2004, I have been looking for a majorly carnation-y scent, and I have not really found it. But this could be it.

After much huffing and drying, the carnation is gone and instead I smell... still pretty awesome. I can huff out the orange but would not have placed it without the description. The tea keeps trying to be a dick, but failing.

 

This is absolutely bottle worthy. How many bottles depends on the very-dry stage. I need to let my nose rest and see if the carnation sticks around as the main note when I'm not paying hard-core attention.

This might, maybe, be my holy grail. Two hours should tell....

I was feeling a bit perverse when I decided to try this.

 

Based on the dearth of reviews, I'm guessing that this blend was one long list of death notes for many. It was for me, but I was tempted by honeysuckle because sometimes that is magical on me. And like I said, I was feeling perverse. Maybe lots of death notes would cancel each other out, and create something unexpectedly wonderful!

 

Nope. There was a flare of floral doom when I first applied, and those bad notes did what they do. And then, the scent died. I have the vaguest soap note remaining.

 

Lesson learned. Lots of known baddies cannot morph into something pretty.

2011 version.

 

It smells exactly like the description. And that's pleasant, and odd.

snow, check!

dirt, check!

smushed greenery and florals, check!

barest hint of pastries? Not quite. I get a huge whopping crumb note.

 

This is not one I'd wear, but I will dot in on my boys and see what they do to it. It's a fun, kind of messy scent. It would be good as a room scent - it has a comforting jumbly holiday feel.

Oh, this is lovely. If I had not already tested Frost at Midnight, this would possibly be my favorite of the Yules.

This is a bright, sunny scent. Very floral, but also very green. It's a budding, airy scent. Very much the promise of springtime. It's like those melty late-winter days when the sun is bright, the day feels crazy warm (in comparison to the day before), and you skip around in a sweater instead of a giant bundled coat.

 

It reminds me a little of Sea of Glass, but bouncier. I'd place them in the same fresh/clean/bright category,

Wow, this was not what I was expecting at all.

There is a new note of doom for me - papyrus.

When very freshly wet, I get a blast of lovely bright floral and a fresh grass scent. And then the grass amps and eats everything, then it mellows, and then I get very strange smell, like the grass is farting out the flowers. How weird is that? I bet that's the fir, because I'm one of those people that sometimes gets hints of body odor with fir/pine. As it dries, the champaca and ambergris start to make an appearance (and those ROCK), as does whatever gives that chilly scent. It's SO close to being really nice, so very very close. But my skin disagrees with the green notes too violently.

Fist impressions - Queen Mab. Must be the jasmine and rose, and the fact that I have not smelled QM since 2004ish.

At first, I did not care for it... but it kind of grew on me. Not enough for a bottle, but this is a pleasant perfume.

It does fall into the old-lady / fancy soap category. My chemistry teeters on the edge of pushing this into the harsh soap scent. Rose and I are so-so. But the jasmine is really lovely, and it's what makes me enjoy this.

2011 -

Wet, it is boozey deliciousness.

Freshly on, it turns super-sweet, like store-bought white frosting.

Dry - cake batter.

Super-dry, vaguely sweet.

 

Well, it avoided going plastic on me like 2007's version, but overall it was way too sweet and not my thing. I think I'll layer my decant with Mad Sweeney, because this nog could use more booze!

I am a sucker for any blend that has carnation, ever hopeful that carnation will be the main note.

I should have known that leaves (a death note for me) would never ever allow a favorite note to even show itself.

 

Alas, this smells like decomposing vegetation on me, with a hint of rosey perfume underneath. Mental image - the fresh grave of a young bride. Or, I guess, the perfume of a freshly reanimated bride...

 

Oh my oh my. Gorgeous.

Wet, it is SO DIVINE. I will use a locket for this, for sure.

It smells like hope, and love, and kindness. Pure, very clean, a windy freshness. It's very floral, so on some this might go soapy. But it's so slight and airy that it never crosses that line with me.

 

I ADORE this. It's been ages since I've had such an instant love for a BPAL.

 

This may be double-bottle worthy.

Ondurdis...

 

Almost a ZOMG scent. Almost. I only have one other pine scent currently, and that is Snow Moon. These are similar enough that I don't feel like I need Ondurdis. Snow Moon is sweeter, and more likely to hit that dreaded BO note.

Ondurdis is fresher. It has a hint of the BO, but it's not off-putting. It's only there when I huff and analyze. After an initial POW of throw, this settles and becomes subtle.

 

A very nice, crisp, slightly sweet winter-pine scent. I will certainly use my decant.

Oh good, I'm not the only one who gets buttered popcorn jelly belly, my most hated of the flavors.

 

It smells good and bad and good... cannot make up its mind. I'm not sure about this.... honey can be dodgy with me. Cream is awesome... and I can smell the notes fighting over who wins on my skin. I'm going to keep this and see what happens at different times in my cycle... right now I'm fertile and the honey and my hormones do not mesh. It's oddly masculine, perhaps it will be hot on the husband.

EEEEEEEeeeeEEEEEeeeeEEEEEeeeeEEEEE!

 

Instant love.

Perfection.

This may just be my BPAL holy grail.

 

Freshly wet, it is super-sweet. Fruity. The pear is singing. Then it quickly dries into a soft, gentle, every-so-slightly-spiced lotion scent. It's kind of creamy, kind of powdery.

Very second-skin. Hardly any throw and does not have much huffability in that it's a very natural scent, so it smells more and more like yummy skin than perfume.

 

I had DH give a sniff with his fresh nose and he very much approved. It's sexy, but not in an agressive way. This would be an excellent bridal BPAL. Its subtlety and low-throw make it more work-friendly than many of my other BPALs (no one will be saying who smells like booze/cookies/bonfires).

 

I am not a bottle-hoarder at all. I will be getting 2 backups, that's how amazing it smells on me.

Jabberwocky is a bit like Vick's Vapor rub - but in a good way. I know there are other menthol smelling blends, but I forget, since those were too medicinal. Jabberwocky is happy medicine.

Yes. Yes. YES!

 

First wet, it is very pleasant and creamy, with a touch of suntan lotion - but not an aggressive Banana Boat way. I guess fresh coconut and skin will always have a bit of that feel.

As it dries, it becomes an incredibly delicious creamy skin musk scent. It's I love and adore cream scents, and this totally made up for my crushing disappointment with Chaste Moon 2010. Coconut milk. Yesssss. Precioussssssss.

 

The comparisons to Snow White scared me, because that one started nice on me and without fail turned oddly melted plastic. Beanman does have a similar feel as Snow White, but without any of the badness. Same musks perhaps.

 

I dabbed some on to test last night, and my 2 year old came over and said (in the very exaggerated toddler way) "MMMMM. That smells GOOD!" And started to huff my arm, repeating "Yummy lotion!" He has never done that before! So, I gave him some and he was very pleased. This oil is toddler approved!

 

I am sad.

 

Chaste Moon '05 is probably my top scent ever. I ordered 2 bottles of '10... and unless they chill out in the next 2 weeks, they will be swapped. With the original, cream was the main note, with florals slightly supporting. '10 is herbal florals of doom, and I get a totally newbie reaction with it - it's harsh and soapy.

 

I will give it time, since milk and cream are listed notes in the description - maybe they just need time to relax. '05 got sweeter and creamier with age, so I am willing to see if this gets better. However, I don't think it will ever match the original, because the florals are just too strong here.

 

 

In the oven like heat of AZ in the summer, my favorites are Aeval and Amsterdam.

Interesting. Snake Oil and all prior variants turn into plastic doll head on me. And this was no exception, until the very very dry stage. After about 2 hours, it was sweet but sexy. I kept smelling it, baffled. It's almost too sweet for me, with a bit of sweaty naughtiness.... but it smelled GOOD.

 

I might get a bottle... maybe. The first two hours were annoying, going from yum to yuck and back again, repeatedly. But once this settled, it lasted ages. I'm intrigued. I sort of want a Snake Oil blend that works.... off to the talk me down thread I guess....

2010 version:

I was hoping for carnation, and I'm not getting any. At all. Perhaps it will age well though. At first, this reminded me of The Gladdener of All Hearts, because of the massive baby power note. So, I went back and tried TGoAH, and it's aged well. I'm thinking Hod will do the same. If not, then I'm fine with that as well.

I love BPAL cream, and I think this has some. It's a close-to-skin scent, mellow and soothing.

I don't get vanilla really - almost very BPAL vanilla note turns plasticy on me, and this does not turn in the slightest. Just lightly sugared cream. The longer it's on, the more the power turns into that cream.

 

In fact, as I huff away.... this might be a good replacement for Chaste Moon. CM is much much sweeter, but what I loved in that was the creaminess - and I think I prefer it with less sugar.

Snow Moon is really really icy snowy pine. Nothing warm or mully about it.

 

For woodsy / spicy scents, there are loads in the CG that would fit. Is it the pine you want more or, or the spice?

Some initial thoughts -

 

Loup Garou

Jabberwocky (love this, big BIG pine, citrus to makes it cheery)

Hamadryad

Block Buster - I'm wearing some aged BB right now, and it's a very gentle mulled scent, close to skin, makes me very positive.

Bengal

 

 

 

 

I got to try this at an M&S.

It was a vanilla that worked on me, probably because of the major cream factor. I did not get the usual plastic. Of course, my nose could have been broken by the time it would have turned...

 

It was really delicious, very melty-vanailla ice cream over a little bit of white cake. It's a very heavy vanilla, a sweet, goopy, foodie one. Very straighforward. Glad to have tried it, and I think this would make a wonderful sleep scent. It's very relaxing. Not what I'd wear for my normal perfume though.

I got to try this at a MnS.
I adored the early stages, when the smoke and leather is still there. If it stayed true, this would be an instant top 10. But. Then it gets very sweet vanilla floral.
The plus - this is now only the second BPAL blend with vanilla in it that did not go plastic on me. Huzzah.
The minus - my skin amps sweet, which is why I like my sweets grounded by spice most of the time. It's lovely, and people liked it on me. But I like just a little more edge I think. This might blend excellently with one of the smokey oils.... and now I'm wondering what it would do with Mad Sweeney, which smells like fire on me in the dry.
Worth a bottle for the experiment? Not sure.... but the sweet/smoke combo was . Hmmm.