Carolyn

Wow, I got such a different impression than everyone else. On me this starts out very green and very sophisticated. What I would call "perfumey" --as in department store perfumes. The expensive kind. Then it morphs into a rose/incense/soapy thing on me. Nice, but not for me. I can't do BPAL roses, for some odd reason. Great lasting power.

I bought a 5 ml. of this and was worried that perhaps I had acted too rashly. Was this *really* the scent I loved so much just two weeks ago? Upon first application--whoa, don't get in an elevator with me! This is a very heady, thick, strong jasmine. My advice to all of you is, GO EASY. You slatherers (and you know who you are), restrain yourself, please! The heady jasmine did turn soapy on me, but I don't see that as necessarily a bad thing at all. But then, oh, then, I get this creamy floral drydown. Is that buttercup? I like buttercup. I didn't get much honeysuckle, but that's okay, I have Anathema coming any day now...

I think this is an absolutely stunning scent, but it does not smell the way it's described. I get violets. Woody violets. In fact, on me this is almost an exact clone of Keiko Mecheri's Genie Du Bois, which is a woody violet scent. Out of the bottle I got a little bit of coconut and a little bit of hazelnut. And those notes lingered for the first few seconds or so on my skin. But then it turns into a very sophisticated violet scent with the merest hint of white musk and candy. Does iris smell just like violet? Do people often get those confused? I guess I'm smelling the iris, but it sure as hell smells like violets. To me this is a very purple scent. Slightly candy-ish on the drydown but for some reason it's not cloying. Deep swoon.

YES! YES! OOOOHHH, YESSSS!! I'm doing a Meg Ryan here, flipping my tresses around my face and writhing in ecstasy. Well, maybe not quite, but I am smiling broadly. At first all I got from sniffing the bottle was butter. After reading these reviews I went back and smelled buttery butterscotch. I love that when that happens. Someone points out a note that I didn't smell, and then I go back and there it is! Silly nose of mine is always the last to pick things up. Once on, the buttery butterscotch is joined by....mint? Does anyone else smell a fresh hint of mint? And light florals. You wouldn't think buttery butterscotch and mint would be a good pair, but they are, by golly. Yes, it's mint. I'm sure of it. It might make a new ice-cream flavor-- Butter Mint.

Funny, but I don't see heliotrope on the list of notes, and yet to me this smells like straight heliotrope--which I LOVE, by the way, if it's done well. Which this is. Vanilla-sweet, but with a bit of moth balls thrown in for spice. (Poor moth!) That's what heliotrope smells like on me and for some odd reason I love it. So far I'm batting a hundred with my BPAL orders!! (Oh dear, is that the expression? Why do I use baseball expressions when I don't even like baseball??)

I looove cherry almond fragranes (although I have difficulty separating the cherry from the almond--what's up with that?), and I highly reccommend Dana O'Shee, O, and Blood Kiss. I don't see many raves for Blood Kiss, but I do love it most sincerely. It has a heavy patchouli top note but dries down to pure cherry love. I also love blending O and Dana O'Shee for a scent that is a dead ringer for POTL. Only POTL costs about, oh, 125.00 a bottle. Gotta love that BPAL.

I agree with all the reviews that describe this scent's deep earthiness. Yes, it is earthy, loamy, mildewy. Yes, it is a mostly mausoleum, graveyard-at-dusk kind of scent. Yes, death and decay did come to mind, as well as something sour and ancient. The problem for me is, I do not want to smell like a corpse. So this will be my first definite swapper. Too bad. Love the name.

Mmmm, sweet, sweet, heady honeysuckle. Nothing dark to me at all. More of a summer's evening type of scent. Luscious and thick, perfect for sweaty nights. I don't get much of anything other than honeysuckle, but that's okay. Must have 5 ml of this for summer.