kikithepirate

I thought I was going crazy when I first applied this scent -- it smells like Christmas! It wasn't pine exactly, but more like the fresh, spicy, orange-laced, slightly piney scent that you get when you take a wreath out of a bag. Definitely no "bubblegum" in this perfume at all. The spices calm down after the oil dries, and it becomes a very pleasant, slightly fruity floral. Despite the rose otto and the amber, this doesn't go powdery or soapy on me. I can definitely pick out the sandalwood, which seems to be what prevents this from becoming an in-your-face floral scent.

My CT is bottle #212. Berries! Specifically, I recognize the boysenberry note from BPTP: Pancake Breakfast, which I absolutely love. I think there might also be the tiniest bit of blueberries in this, too? I don't usually like blueberry, but if they're in this, they're pretty well buried. The vanilla is very, very strong, and this oil has extremely good throw -- the very first day I wore it, I got complimented on it by a guy on the street asking me to sign a petition. The vanilla has a slight medicinal quality to it, like I get from Snake Oil, but that fades away as the oil has some time to settle.

For whatever reason, Gypsy smells very "dry" to me, though what it is exactly that makes it dry, I cannot say. Helpful, I know. At first I wasn't really sure whether or not I liked it, but I quickly found myself slathering it on. It is extremely light, with a bit of a musky undertone, and there is actually something minty about it when applied, but that fades as the oil dries. The scent which emerges after this oil has had some time to dry on my skin is really beautiful. Creamy and slightly herbal, with the faintest touch of sweetness. I want to slather it all over, but I also want to let it age, because I think it will grow into something extremely gorgeous -- I just have to have the patience to let it do so.

Oh, wow. I never would have tried this on my own accord, but WOW. It's so beautiful! Soft and pretty and airy. It reminds me of something my mom used to wear, but I have no idea what. I wish I could give a better review than that, but all I can say is that this is lovely.

This one morphs a lot. Dark and much too masculine for me on first drydown, with the woods coming to the forefront and giving this a very cologne-esque feel. Then the wine and mimosa come out to play, and it sweetens up quite a bit, to the point where I thought that it was possibly feminine enough for me to wear it. After a while, however, the wood is back, and that's pretty much all that's there. I really love Zadok Allen Vineyard (and it has aged amazingly well, I've found) but this doesn't really remind me of it at all, aside from the fact that they both have wine in there, somewhere. I don't get any dirt from this, but it is a very earthy scent. Because wine scents tend to age well, I might hang on to this to see how it does, but I have a feeling that it's always going to be a bit too manly for me. EDIT: I'm wearing this today and the woman working at the cafe complimented me on it. However, the interesting thing was that she told me the smell reminded her of her home in Syria.

Pumpkin pie! Definitely not the fresh, sharp pumpkin that I've gotten from the Pumpkin Patch scents and Jack -- I don't really care for those. This was a much sweeter, subdued, baked pumpkin, loaded up with lots of yummy spices. Nothing "blue" to my nose, at all. As for "floss," well... it was definitely sweetened? Definitely really, really yummy and warm. It stayed pretty true on my skin, and I was really sad that I wasn't able to buy a bottle. I really loved this, but I don't think that I loved it enough to pay whatever exorbitant prices it will no doubt go for on eBay. Instead, I'll just wait hopefully for the REAL Blue Pumpkin Floss to come in a future CD update!

Honestly, this was not anywhere near being on my "to buy" list, but everyone in our car ended up going home with one. The strawberries in this are SO juicy and realistic, I was in love with it on my skin. It actually turns slightly spicy and a little bit powdery on drydown, making me wonder if there's the tiniest bit of amber in this? Just an incredibly gorgeous scent.

Smelling this bottle was like getting beaten over the head with an old leather baseball mitt. That's pretty much all I need to say about it, really.

This was a really faint, grassy and sweet scent. Maybe a bit of a chamomile in it? It wasn't too herbal, but it wasn't really too anything. It faded pretty fast on my skin, which is saying something, because this was one of those "OOPS I DIDN'T MEAN TO APPLY SO MUCH!" scents.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. I mean, I already know that I love regular Eat Me, so I figured I might also love this. I think that the fruit is different here -- wildberries instead of currents, maybe? And there's an additional almond/amaretto scent to this. Love.

I didn't skin test this, but all I can tell you is that it is STRONG! My impressions from smelling the bottle can often be different than when applied to skin, so take this with a grain of salt, but the headache that I had already been developing from sniffing so many blends proceeded to explode when I smelled Butter Arsenic. I got a really strong, chemical and herbal blast. Not so much butter, but lots of bitter.

fairnymph, I'm wondering if maybe you got your IXHV protos mixed up? Because while IXHV 4 is COFFEE!!!, I don't get any coffee at all from IXHV 37. Instead, this is a very buttery, almost rum-like scent, with something feminine in the background --- I think I actually pick up a tiny bit of sugared rose? It's faint and very pleasant. A very ladylike scent, but one that might also appeal to foodies. EDIT: I'm wearing this again today, about a month later, and I finally realized what it was that I was missing: pumpkin! There is DEFINITELY a buttery pumpkin note in this. When it goes on, it still has that slight floral hint to it, which never quite goes away. However, once it is dry, the pumpkin comes to the forefront. I think I didn't identify it as pumpkin at first because I'm not used to smelling pumpkin in combination with florals, and because the lab's pumpkin note is always a bit off to me. There is definitely something cake-like about this, especially after it is dry.

I agree with fairnymph's review -- sweet and very creamy (and a genuine cream, too -- not one that goes plastic or sour on my skin) with only a very tiny bit of spice. Where Hod Res. was CARNATION!! on my skin, in Hod V2, the carnation takes a major backseat. I loved this version way more than Hod Res., and I wouldn't surprised if the bottle becomes one of my new favorites. EDIT: I actually get something sort of metallic from this upon application, now. When I was on my period, I had to wash it off, it was so metallic. Blech. But now that I'm back to normalcy, the metal smell fades away once it's dry, thank God. I was worried I was going to have to get rid of it, which would have made me really, really sad.

I really expected this one to be an instant favorite, based on the notes, but I actually find it to be a rather boring, generic floral. It's a bit of a normal, sour rose -- nothing to write home about. I hardly get any patchouli or vanilla at all. I love rose, but there are many other BPAL rose scents that I prefer over this.

I tested this without looking at the notes, and instantly could smell the melon. I am not a melon fan, and thus this is definitely not for me. This scent is all sweet melons to me -- it smells like a very ripe cantaloupe or honeydew. Not my thing.

Hmm! I was really interested in this, because I know that I love 3/4 of the notes -- everything except Daisy, which was the big wildcard. I think it's a winner, though if I had a bottle, I'm really not sure how often I would reach for it. I love carnation, but I'm not sure if this has enough added depth to it. It's definitely "cute," as other reviewers have mentioned, but it's also strong enough to really stay with you for the day (or at least for a long date!). It maintains the strong floral quality as it dries, but gains the addition of a very creamy scent. I think this is probably going on the bottle list, and we'll see how much I grow to love and or get bored with it over time.

Oh, wow. At first, this was a total surprise hit. I tend to HATE melon -- anytime that something says it smells like melon anything, I go out of my way to avoid it. But on first application, this is a really amazing blend of juicy fruits. Unfortunately, once it tries I get too much of that typical "melon" scent. Not enough to make me totally disgusted (as I usually am at the scent) but enough so that I would never wear this.

Unsurprisingly, this is a very manly scent, what with all of the trees and the wood and the sap and the trees and the... yeah. Anyway. It actually does have a bit of a je ne sais quoi perfume scent to it, but I think it smells like the perfect men's body wash -- or what a man SHOULD bathe in, were he not covering himself in other manly things he buys at Walgreens. I agree with other reviewers that this is a "green" scent, though I wouldn't really call it grassy. But something is reminding me a little bit of cilantro, oddly enough... maybe the privet? Who knows!

Lily tends to be soapy and problematic on me in general, and this is no exception. I should have known that a combination of frankincense, "purple fruits," and lily would spell disaster. Well, to be fair, it's not really a disaster -- it's just a very soapy perfume scent. Meh.

This is really lovely, but really faint. It's a pleasant, non-offensive scent, and neither the mint nor the chocolate is nearly as strong as in other BPAL perfumes in which they appear. The other notes play back-up, but all in all, I could barely smell the perfume on my wrists when slathered, and after an hour or so, it was gone completely.

I'm a big amber fan, and I love fruits when they're done well, so I really wanted to like this. Unfortunately, it smells like laundry detergent to me.I'm a big amber fan, and I love fruits when they're done well, so I really wanted to like this. Unfortunately, it smells like laundry detergent to me.

Well hello there, butter! I honestly didn't believe people when they said that this smelled like buttered toast, but... for real, people. It does. Well, it smells like buttered toast with some sugar sprinkled on top. It actually smells quite masculine to me as it dries, but not overpoweringly so. I think that this is definitely a good unisex blend. It's really comforting -- it would be a good scent for days when you feel like you just need a hug, or when it's cold outside and you're cuddled up in a blanket with a book and a cup of tea. I think I might need a bottle eventually.

Unf. Was lucky enough to get a sniffy of this, and just... man. It is so spectacular, and will I ever find a bottle of my own? It actually reminds me a bit of Snake Oil, but in my mind, this is what Snake Oil should smell like -- in other words, I actually like it! And not just that, I LOVE it. It has that same medicinal quality that I get from snake oil, but instead of being overpowering, it is backed up by this amazing creamy quality. I want to smell like this forever.

This was the Neverwhere scent that I really, really wanted to try, and it was included in an AWESOME collection of sniffies that fairnymph sent me! I love this. It actually reminds me of the "Brazened Honey" scrub from Lush, except a bit subtler. Definitely a "golden" scent, perfect for spring and summer, but I think it would also just be good for days when you need a positive, happy perfume. The honey isn't nearly as cloying as it tends to be in other scents - it's slightly powdery in the dry down.

Wow. Just... wow. I bought a bottle of this half-expecting to hate it, just as I've hated pretty much all of the uber-popular scents: Antique Lace, Snake Charmer, Snake Oil, the list goes on and on. But WOW, this is amazing! As others have mentioned, certainly the smoky vanilla is the main player here, but it's hardly alone. There is a spice (from the musk? Tobacco? Or maybe the incense?) and also a faint fruity smell... I see that others have mentioned apple, but I actually thought that it was closer to pear, myself. That fades away after a few minutes, though, and you're left this really beautiful, warm, spicy scent. Wow.