windbourne

Really? No one else? Okay, then I will go second. This is based on a very testable 1/4-ish decant sent to me by my rad fairy. All of these have death-or-otherwise-notes-I-do-not-enjoy-wearing in them. This was the one I was most hopeful for. In the vial, it smelled pretty pleasant, fairly light and peppery, with a notable patchouli haze and slight citrus-esque tone. On my skin, it was pretty nice for a few minutes, the pink pepper was the strongest note, slightly leaning sneezy and subtle dustiness from the orris. However, after about ten minutes it becomes Patchouli Pink Pepper Cologne: THE RECKONING, and actually amped up strength after almost an hour or so. I almost had to wash it off, as patchouli is not really my kink. It is quite dapper (though rather than particularly EGL-style aristocratic, it reads to me like one of those upstart-new-money-types, the kind who are just a little more posh than their actual means, and read the newspaper as a display rather than because they have interest, but who have impeccable hair. There are definitely spats involved, and probably linen suits.), reads to me as tolerably masculine, and on someone else, might be seriously gorgeous. It's really quite straightforward, barring the relatively quick burn-off/invisibility of the bergamot note. If you think you like it, you probably will. If you are fond of a bright, cologne-ular patchouli, by all means, seek a bottle of this posthaste. If you like none of these things, don't torture yourself with it. It will not surprise you.

FUWU BANSAKU IN RUINED TEMPLE WITH BLACK MONSTER ON UMBRELLA Black coconut, red sandalwood, black currant, tonka bean, vetiver, and Malasian oude. ...You know, this was the one I was most expecting to love? But something about the combination of notes just reminds me of a slightly fruitier Priala, or Ifrit's weird sister, the one who met this dude named Rumpelstilzchen and hides in underground caves instead of burning on the desert sand. In the bottle I can smell the coconut, the sandalwood, and the vetiver adding a lovely smoky backdrop. On my skin, it murks up and gets even smokier, with a slight sweet undertone. As I'm not a huge fan of really deep smoky vetiver most of the time, and the sandalwood seems to be cowering somewhere in the background...well. I didn't have to wash it off, but I'm not really enjoying it as much as I could. This is a must-try for vetiver-lovers who also like tonka and coconut. For me, it is a "hey, I'm glad I got to try this!" Seems to be lasting for quite a while without fading (3 hours+) and throws moderately. I can smell it a few inches from my face, but not if my arm is outstretched.

...That pretty much sums up my response to this. Well, seriously. It's a gorgeous soft, creamy, wet, rose petals in the bath like that scene from American Beauty only with some pink and white mixed in with the red petals rose. I tested by way of slathering it all over, and as the day wore on, the cream got creamier and the rose toned down a bit (though it never disappeared) and a slight almost honey or beeswax-like note popped up. It never seemed to inflict itself on the people around me, so the throw, even being used as a moisturizer, was not heavy. I'm sorry, I'm actually having a hard time figuring out how to describe my response more effectively than ISDHGAKAJKHAKAJHRKJER AMAZING GKAWKRAWJGRGAWKFNDS. I think that pretty much covers it. I initially bought one bottle, took it back to my hotel room with the rest of my loot, sniffed it, and immediately went down to buy another. And contemplated buying a third. I have been on the hunt for a soft perfect rose like this for ages, and I have it, and it is much larger than a 5 ml bottle and I'm still not sure I'll have enough. Does that make sense? I think what I mean to say is that it is awful and no one in their right mind would ever want it, right? Right. Settled then. (as always, your mileage may vary, and you had darn well better know you like roses at the outset before buying a bottle of this, because if you don't and buy it anyway, you are very silly. because roses.) As a side note, there is something very satisfying in a hilariously visceral way about walking up to Puddin' and asking for a bottle of Virgin's Blood. *cough*

Despite having two Usual Notes of Death (cedar, black pepper), I liked this one. I credit the ambergris, which, as is usual for me with scents in which it appears, takes over and rules the scent with an iron fist. I mean, there -are- other notes there -- I can tell that it contains benzoin because there's a sweet, vanilla-like-but-not-exactly note, and I can tell that there's some cedar, some balsam, and some incredibly lovely oudh, and late into drydown, some mild black pepper, but by and large, on me, this is AMBEReverythingelseGRIS. Awwww, yeah. I really don't know many other people for whom this particular peculiarity of chemistry holds true, so, er, your mileage will almost certainly vary. I find this to be a soft, silvery, fuzzy scent with a teeny bit of creamy-woody shading. Kind of makes sense, I guess, for a silver-haired bat. :3

Snowshowers-lovers, go try yourselves decants or bottles of Phoenix at Dawn, no joking around. It's remarkably similar in many respects, available until Feb. 10, and ...yeah. Try it. Fizzy orange blossomy sweetness, but BPAL-style, with BPAL longevity and a little more oomph. ETA: and Phoenix at Midday ends up smelling a lot like Jingle Spells on me. O_o;; Yay for citrus and herbal. Did you manage to get a bottle of Snowshowers perfume? It was on their Canadian website last week & is a LE fragrance. I was considering getting Twilight as well, but I have a BPAL that smells similar (SDPU1) and the bottle was $50. Eek. I'd love to know what BPAL smells like Snowshowers though, because I tried the perfume and it was gone in 30 minutes. Oh man I had no idea Lush made a snowshowers perfume this year! I still have a tiny bit of the solid version they put out about 4 years ago. Still smells the same. Glad you found something from bpal that's similar. I will keep my eyes peeled for others and post here when found!

On me, this one is a strong, headachey jasmine with a background of musk and a bit of dusty orris. It is surprisingly dark for such a floral, and the jasmine is quite fresh-smelling, but this one is not much to my tastes, I'm afraid. Washing wrist (head is actually starting to pound) and sending the decant to the swaps pile. I'm at a 0/4 for this years Phoenixes. :/ Foo.

This, very sadly, smells mostly of herbal cough drops on me. There's a very pleasant honey note that, in a different mix, would be lovely, but in this particular case, enhances the effect. Wisteria is another of my OH NOEZ notes, and true to form, it amps like crazy as it dries, so I get faboo cough drops being slurped under a lovely bower of wisteria. Not a keeper, and just so you know, I'm terribly jealous of you who can wear this. It smells so pretty in the vial!

I wish it maintained the initial HELLO I AM BLOOD ORANGE PLEASED TO MEET YOU blast, because that was amazing. Even the single note I have from another etailer isn't as fierce as that was, bright and juicy and intense and wow. Sadly, it goes quickly and the geranium becomes the strongest note on my skin. I'm okay with geranium, but I prefer it in more medicinal blends; it just feels more natural to me in those. In this, it feels kind of out of place. As it dries, it becomes startlingly perfumey, which is not awesome, but is a frequent consequence of pomegranate on me. Ah, well. This batch of Phoenixes all had death notes blended with notes I really love, and it seems like the death note is winning every time. My mouth is still watering from that first blood orange explosion, though. Dang. Time to go buy some tangerines. *_*

Sweet, fizzy, joyous. I like this one quite a bit--it has things in common with L'Ecole des Filles (orange blossom very heavy at the start, definite rose note later), and, as several have said, Spinning Multicolored Pinwheel, though this is much less multicolored and softer. Copper Phoenix also has some similarities, but that one is much deeper and a bit sharper. What it -really- reminds me of is the Lush scent Champagne Snow Showers (citrussy floral, orange blossom and champagne). It's a little sturdier than that one, with the sandalwood undertones rising up as it dries, but otherwise very similar. If you like that one, go buy this. I find this Phoenix to be lovely, but carnation always eventually just smells weird on me. So I'm going to drop my decant with someone who will love it more.

Hey! Sweet, fruity -- wait,is that cherry blossom? And a hint of pine? Bamboo, definitely, bright and green and wet. Aaaand then some plum blossom and wisteria, taking this to the land of dryer sheets. But not entirely in a bad way. As it dries, the mandarin and yuzu step up with the magnolia. It gets to be quite the fruity party in here for a while. If I were to give this one a color, it would be that particular peachy-orange color that peaches get colored in a lot of anime. It's not peach-scented at all, but it's that kind of color, and it's that kind of scent -- very bright and lively. The pine remains an undertone throughout the entire wearlength, just kind of chillin' in the background keeping all those flowers and fruits grounded. This is, overall, a really fun scent, bright and pleasant. It softens considerably after a half-hour or so, but it never gets dark or heavy. Optimal for days when you haven't seen the sun for over a week and you're starting to get a little grim. Pop this on your wrists and you'll remember that things aren't too bad. Doesn't last a hugely long time, not much throw, and I confess I really like the earlier stages more than the later drydown. This is one I may scent-locket, just to keep it in the damp stage for longer.

So, I've tried this twice, at different times of the month, and it's smelled completely different each time. The first time I nearly expired from the beauty of the warm, slightly dusty, furry, leafy, musky gorgeousness wafting gently off my arm. Simply wonderful. Marvelously evocative. Takes me straight to an enchanted forest where streams turn young men into deer. The second time, I got the pickles. Now, to be fair, after I rubbed my wrists together fairly roughly, the pickles went away, to be replaced by a lovely (but not -as- lovely) dry leaves and musky scent, but still. Pickles. O_o Lasts quite a while, though the initial fadeout happens pretty quickly. Maybe an hour to drift into a soft skin scent that I can still smell several hours later. Not much throw to speak of; wearable at any time I feel like wanting to run and be slightly fragile and creature-y. I think I'll have to schedule wearing this one carefully. When it is good, it is very, very good, but when it is bad, it is pickles.

Whoa strong. Very white, very strong white blossoms -- magnolia and lily first, with the iris tempering it a bit, some orchid, some muguet, and a definite background of pale sandalwood. Gets a bit sour for a while; I'm not too fond of gardenia sometimes, and this is one of the things it does that I'm not wild about. Mellows down after about an hour; the magnolia is pretty strong, reminds me a lot of White Phoenix or Yvaine, but without the sweet or lavender notes. This is a very white, pure scent, slightly feathery from the iris and sandalwood, slightly watery around the edges. -Very- evocative of a Swan Maiden. Drydown is pretty consistent; on me this is not much of a morphish scent. It's pretty strong, and lasts a fair while, but the throw is not too strong. Still, it's one I'd be wary of wearing around people who are sensitive to department store-type or ordinary perfumes. It isn't quite that, but it has a bit of that feeling. Clean, white, feathery, floral.

Yay, ozone. :/ Okay, that was a snappy start. I'll work on giving this an actual review now. Wet, it starts out -very- ozone, the same kind of notes that thrashed Windy Moon and other scents with 'wind' or 'storm' in them. The cedar comes out next, followed by a hint of berry and some very -wet- aloe. There is a definite electric aspect to this scent, which is strange for me because it's also quite sweet. If it were furry, this is what I might expect Pikachu to smell like--zappy and yet peculiarly adorable. (Sorry, but that's kind of where my brain is going, considering the cute pig and palm label.) Most of the notes slip away or blend as it fully dries, leaving me with mostly a sweetish aloe and wet, ozonic scent with just a slight woody undertone. It's definitely a weirdings sort of scent, almost tingly in the nose, though not in an effervescent way. Like something mystical is happening on my wrists. I'm not sure if I actually like it or not, but it's certainly interesting. My main question ends up being: When on earth would I actually feel like wearing this?! At late-stage drydown, it's become a light, faintly floral scent without a lot of distinction. There's still a bit of aloe, but the woods have faded out. Lasts a pretty short while, doesn't throw too far. Now excuse me, I'm going to go wear The Emathides again for a while. :x

Slightly scary! This one has a couple of death-notes for me and at least one that is not one I always like. But. Here we go. This is sweeter, way sweeter than I expected it to be. The lavender, as I feared, is pretty strong, but not as astringent as it can be. It really reminds me of TKO, actually. But moreso. More intense, more complex, just….more. As it dries, the lavender settles to a quiet buzz and the currant and olive blossom emerge, along with an incredible black amber and blue musk. The scary notes (violet, cedar) never appear, and the rose attar is a faint drift on the wind. It is somewhat tempting at this point to become flustered and just point up at previous reviews and yell "WHAT THEY SAID." It's so purple, and shiny, and crow-shaped! There's orchid and olive blossom (thank you, Defututa, for showing me that I love that note) and lavender and amber! It's gorgeous! It's beautiful! The label matches it wonderfully! This went from something I was okay with having a bottle of as part of a set that I could test to being something I am REALLY EXCITED about having a bottle to wear. This is what I wanted Witch Queen to smell like, if this also had beeswax. This is fantastic. I've been having success with using Gladdener of All Hearts as a comforting sleep blend, in part because of the strong sweet lavender component. I might try this one out for nights when I want stranger dreams. Wears like a beast, throws like a champ. 100% awesome.

Sooo. This one starts out a kind of Dial-soap-like herbal, and that lasts a violently short ten seconds or so and then it dissolves into its components. From the top of my nose: Sunflower, VERY strong; ginger lily (I got a bottle of a single note of this from another etailer not long ago, so it -really- sticks out to me.), moderate; chrysanthemum, moderate; muguet, strong; and then a melange of mostly white and yellow flowers. The ambergris is there, but mostly as a quiet, dark underpinning to the scent, which is …ambery in color, but not amber-as-a-scent-note at all. It has certain similarities to Encroaching Madness, but never takes a turn to musty-land as that one did when I tested it. As it dries, it goes a bit incense and herbs and then the ambergris comes out, and, as it almost always does on my skin, rather takes over the drydown. There's a sweetness that mellows it, probably the dragon's blood pretending that it's actually there, and just a tiny bit of white rose peeping in about the sides, but mostly ambergris. I'm pretty okay with this perfume, but I don't know that I totally love it. It doesn't have a great set of notes for my skin, and I have other ambergris scents I like more. I think that, if I hadn't experienced that drydown with other scents that I enjoyed more overall, I might have liked it. However, the drifting white-and-yellow blossoms aspect combined with the sharp herbal KABOOM it starts out with leaves me feeling pretty neutral about the whole experience. Throw isn't huge, wearlength isn't long, but not short either. Maybe three hours to complete dissipation? Near the end it turns a bit bathroom-cleanerrific. Hm. :/ Might be do-not-want; will test again later to see if results are the same. p.s. You know what's stronger than this and completely blew it off my wrist? Minotaur.

Sweet, summery ocean air and honey with a bit of green and a bit of floral and a whole lot of beautiful. It starts very fresh and clear, a translucent sort of scent with a soft blue-green tinge that gets darker as it dries, though never murky or dim. There's a seaweedy saltiness to it, too, stinging my nose just a little bit. There's also a slight rosy note, but white rose, pure and gentle. In late-late drydown there is a slightly grayish dusty note that reminds me of orris or violet. This reminds me a little of Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, though without the heavy ambergris drydown, and much, -much- lighter. It's also faintly reminiscent of Obatala in the clear water aspect, though without the milky white coconut note. Throw is variable, depending on how warm I am, how long ago I applied it, and how warm the weather is. If I'm chilly and it's pretty dry, it sticks closely to me, but if I'm warm and in a warm place, it's possible to smell it several feet away. It doesn't last a hugely long time, but I can still tell where I applied it several hours later, as that spot smells like sweet water. I don't know that I'd have ordered this one when it was live, but I'm reaaally happy to have a bottle in my briny little mitts now. It won't likely be leaving again.

So, I have to admit that I've had this one for quite a while, both a decant and a bottle, but have never reviewed it for some reason. Crazypants. Anyway. There are stark differences between the decant and the bottles, most notably that the decant is much softer and creamier, with a much more prominent rice flower note. The bottles are sharper and more ginger-white tea, especially initially. In both there is a gentle vanilla-like base, and a nearly citrussy …I hesitate to call it a bite, but definitely a nibble. The skin musk is pretty amazing, slightly sweet and …well, skin musk-y. I am hard-pressed to describe it as anything other than a sweet skin scent. It fades over several hours, sweetening up as it goes, and wears like a dream. It's worth mentioning that rice flower has been one of my "MUST FIND MORE THINGS" notes since I tried the Castitas bath oil (rice flower, vanilla, cream) and thought it was one of the most gorgeous things -ever-. This is the only perfume I remember trying that has that note in any kind of prominence, and it seems to show up pretty rarely. I do like the decant a little more than the bottles, and I'm tempted to carefully leave the cap off one of the bottles for a while to see if I can artificially age it a little? But that's a scary prospect. :x Wear length is decent on me, throw is moderate (though it can -really- kick up if it's warm out!), and I'm pleased to have as much as I do.

RESINS LIKE MAD. Heavy, dark, intense, smoky--this guy means business. The myrrh is a little less sweet than many that I have experienced, but the benzoin and balsam balance that out a little. There's a pepperiness to this on my skin, but not a specific pepper-type note, if that makes sense? It's a little sneezy. I've experienced that before with black musk, so it doesn't surprise me much. As it dries, it stays pretty solid and dense. This is a scent I might wear out to a club or something like that. Somewhere that I might like to have a really sturdy scent that would stand firmly on my wrists and last for hours while I danced. Something that would make people around me sniff and wonder what smelled so amazing. Throw is pretty significant, and it doesn't take much. Lasts a long time. Is intense and a little brutal. I can't say I'm in love or will be wearing it constantly (I can't, not at work. The scent-sensitives there would be Dead of Resins in minutes), but HODAMN this bottle is amazing. If I hadn't gotten a full set of the Therianthropics, I probably wouldn't have gotten this, as it overlaps quite a bit with Priala, but this is a much darker scent, lacking fire and smoke and brilliance. Priala rises, but this one sinks into the black. However, having gotten it, I am happy to have it. My goodness, yes.

Dark, murky, woody, weird. The strongest note to my nose is the hickory, thick and smoky, followed by a dim swampy note and some very greenish florals. There's a strong sweetness to this. The wood backs off fairly quickly, and it cools to the scent of earthy water and rushes. There's something very humid about this scent, very evocative of the swamps of the Southern US, especially in cooler weather. It really feels more of an autumnal blend than a spring, despite the release date. It's very strange, and keeps shifting back and forth on my skin, swamp to woods and back. The flowers drift in and out, a medicinal wisteria and very yellow jasmine-type note. Late drydown returns pretty solidly to a smoky hickory scent, albeit much fainter. It's fairly short in terms of wear-length, maybe four hours tops. I can't decide at all what I think of this. It's -very- shifty and very elusive on me. I really want to wear it during the late summer, when the shadows are stretching out and you can almost see eyes gleaming in them. Which is to say, the bottle art is spot on.

For about ten seconds, this is a warm, furry scent on my skin, and then it immediately shifts to a salty fir and moss with a very faint undertone of fresh roots and earth. The rootiness continues, and a slight sweetness appears, and a faint incense. Other people have commented that it's lighter than they expected, and I am finding the same -- the first minute or so is pretty intense, and then it lightens up. It's like…hm. It reminds me of being in a grove of trees near the sea at night, somewhere wild and untouched and pure. There's a little bit of incense after a while, but it's not strong, more like the smoke is drifting in from a temple some distance away. And it is a little smoky, in a pleasantly light vetiver-y way. This is not a scent I would have chosen for myself, but like Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice, which it reminds me of a bit, with the incense and damp and dusty aspects (this is more foresty, that is more mountainish), it surprises me into enjoying it a great deal. I wore this to work during the holiday rush and it was -perfect- for keeping me calm and mellow for the worst of the day. Throw is mild, scent fades fairly quickly but leaves a faint dusting of sweetish moss, light pine, and incense that lingers for quite a long time.

Initially a strong strangely herbal blast of tea, soured slightly by cherry blossom and amber musk. The cinnamon adds some warmth, but also stings my nose. No tangerine, either in the bottle or on me. Cherry blossom is not a great note on me (and I amp it liek woah, naturally), as it trends towards the 'dryer sheets' end of the spectrum, but this is not the most offensive iteration of it. As it dries, there is a hesitant bright spark of citrus, and the amber musk really starts amping up. The tea leaf remains very strong, however. It reminds me a little of a couple of different orange spice teas, but still with this odd sweetly floral note of the cherry blossom bubbling to the surface. Late drydown is pretty sharp, dry cinnamon with a little bit of tea, cardamom, and dryer sheets. It gets very strong about the four hour mark and fades gently after that. I like this, but it's not as heart-meltingly gorgeous as I was somehow expecting it to be. I think I would completely love this without the cherry blossom. It is also worth noting that I've had this blend as a decant and it was substantially different, less dry and sharp, more citrus and spice. It may age differently depending on how it was handled. YMMV.

Strong, very dark and myrrh, slightly reminiscent of Priala, but less fiery. Definite black musk, some frankincense. Tiny bright hints of greenish olive leaf and tart dimples of white ginger. Really strong, hefty throw. Not particularly violent, just dark and broody. Certain aspects remind me of a darker, damper Ifrit, too. This is getting really gorgeous, smoky, heavily black-brown in nature, and with a really deep and baleful myrrh. There's a nearly powdery green note that may be the spikenard showing up late to the party. Gets a bit sneezy (and -very- masculine) in late drydown, but that's usual with me and myrrh. Fades nicely after about six hours, which is average on me. I like it far more than I was expecting to, given the comparisons to Schwarzer Mond, which I don't like at all. ;

This reminds me a great deal of Silver Phoenix. The apple lends it a slightly sweeter aspect, but it dries down about the same on me, so, since I have a bottle of Silver Phoenix, I'll be skipping this one in favor of something else. If you missed that one, or would love a sweeter, apple-y version of it, go for it. It's a beautiful perfume, silvery, soft, and pretty.

Cherry blossom, wild iris, wisteria, and hibiscus. Hey-hey! I didn't know this existed until I poiked up to the BPAL booth and went BAROO? A new spray? I must test! So I have. It's -highly- reminiscent of Hanami, which is perhaps unsurprising, as they share both cherry blossom and wisteria as notes, but Sakura is considerably more fruity, with a reddish tinge to the scent that Hanami doesn't have. As a room spray, I think I like it more -- it's something like the scent of a warm spring day, and expresses quite beautifully the idea of the flowers blooming. It'll be wonderful year-round, I think; anytime you need a breath of spring. (It does have a slightly dryer-sheety aspect as well, which is kind of awesome in a room spray because your room smells incredibly clean afterwards. >D)

What I hoped for: "I hope the scent is much the same, silvery, fuzzy and a little weird." What I got: Silvery, fuzzy, a little weird. WIN. Anyway. So this has very little anise or licorice on me, which is a little disappointing for me, since that's part of why I bought the blend. It's primarily a soft musk and iris/violet blend. It starts out very strong, sitting on my skin yelling, "HELLO, I AM FUZZY AND A LITTLE WEIRD" for about twenty minutes, at which point it dulls to a cuter, softer, but still fuzzy waft. I can tell there are other notes, such as the slightly woody patchouli base and a slightly dusty heliotrope, but some of the notes (black currant, apple blossom) never really rise to the surface to be smelled, being merely notes inspiring a slightly sweeter scent than it might have been without them. On later drydown it develops a strange tickly feeling, as if I might be mildly allergic to some component; I want to sneeze when I sniff my wrists. It's all musk and faint iris at this point. In the bottle it has a slightly stronger licorice scent, but mostly I get woody patchouli and fuzzy musk. I really want to love it, but I have to tell you--I have no idea under what circumstances I would actually wear it. It's really not very 'me'-like at all. Hm. ETA: Definitely allergic to something in this. Itchy eyes, sneezing, and itchy skin. BOO. D: