hlinspjalda

CXXVIII (128) In the bottle: Light pungent fruit (smells like watermelon rind) and a floral. It reminds me of Pennsic (summer camping) in a way I can't figure out. Wet: Still melon rind, but there's something else in there, maybe an herb or moss? Half an hour: There's a fleshy white flower (muguet?) in this, also a grassy sweet flower. The fruit smell is largely gone, but a faint remnant lingers. There may be a bit of patchouli in it, too. One hour: Still light floral, something fleshy and white but very gentle. There's definitely something grassy in it, too, something kind of warm and sweet. Two hours: There's an aquatic note in this one, the first one that's worked on me. But it's still floral, light, like maybe a tree blossom. Four hours: This kind of reminds me of Khajuraho, and Machu Picchu. The aquatic note has worn off, also the fleshy white one. Now it's just a gentle sweetness. This doesn't rock my socks, but it's very pleasant. Seven hours: Still there, although it's down to a single note now. I wish I could identify this note, which seems so familiar. It's grassy, but floral. I think Tavern of Hell has it too. Months later, after a very busy summer, I came back and sniffed this bottle again. That fruit note is PEACHES! My favorite Lab fruit note! I can only plead the severe disruption of my normal life that happened around the time I got this scent, but it's PEACHES! It's a fresh peach note, though, not the sweeter "white peach" in some of my favorite scents. It might be the same as the "summer peach" note in L'Estate bath oil, which sends me swooning. I got PEACHES! How perfect is that?!?

In the bottle: Like good mead, honey with tannic herbs for balance. Also some resin. Wet: Something pungent and resinous dominates immediately. I can also smell the honeysuckle. Where did the mead go? Twenty minutes: Honey, but with some bitter or tannic notes. There's also a sharp resin note. This needs more time to develop. One hour: Honey, carnation, herbs, resin. Getting closer to a balance. It is complex! Two hours: The carnation and herbs have mastered the honey. This has blended well, but I rather regret the loss of the sweeter floral notes. Three hours: Definitely not very sweet, much more an herbal, growing-things kind of fragrance. Even the resins are subordinate to the oak and herb. A wonderfully complex blend, but it doesn't rock my socks. Five hours: I do like this one. It seems ever more complex as the floral notes diminish, I guess because the resins are peeking out more. I traded this away again for a bottle of my very favorite LE scent; I doubt I'd have let it go for anything less than a top-five bottle.

In the vial: Tart, sharp floral with a spicy undertone and something faintly citrusy. Wet: Floral, maybe the heliotrope? Warm musky amber underneath and maybe a hint of carnation. Twenty minutes: Slightly bitter floral (heliotrope?) over a warm sweet carnation-y base. But there's a sharpness to it too, not at all the rich sweetness I expected. I think this needs to age more. One and a half hours; Amber-musk base with some penetrating florals above. The blend is sweet, but a little too pungent for comfort. That odd bitter note continues to sound. Four hours: Entirely gentle now, but still with that bitter edge.

In the vial: Grapefruit peel, jasmine, a touch of light musk. Wet: This is odd. Normally jasmine moves to the forefront of any scent on me. But The citrus seems to be keeping the jasmine in the background and under control. This is aromatic, offbeat, almost but not quite ethereal. Half an hour: Light musk-rose base, and the jasmine and grapefruit peel are still duking it out. Not at all sweet, yet not headachy bitter either. One hour: The bitterness of the grapefruit peel has died off, leaving only an elusive, yet invigorating, trace. Surprisingly, the jasmine seems very mild as well. This is remarkably subtle and refined, maybe too much so. Two hours: How can jasmine and rose be that light on me? Amazing feat. But this is probably going to wind up traded; although distinctive, it's too subtle. Three hours: Almost entirely gone, remarkable! Just a glaze of jasmine and grapefruit peel now, and I can't tell if that's my own skin beneath or the white musk, it's so light. Five hours: No, I think that's the white musk. With almost no additives (just a bit of grapefruit), it smells like warm and slightly sweaty skin.

In the vial: An unfamiliar floral, an unusual musk. The resin comes in a distant third, but is there beneath everything, holding it together. Wet: The floral is stronger, not as sharp as before; it does have an ethereal, not quite grounded sort of tone to it. It's almost as if the musk and frankincense is from another scent entirely, one placed near the first but definitely separate. this needs to develop. Twenty minutes: Still needs to develop more. Very pungent, sharp musk, not enough warmth from the frankincense. One hour: Definitely still ethereal, not very grounded. There's more warmth than before, but you have to get past the floral and musk to get to it. I think it's probably not done developing on me, though. Two hours: The musk-resin axis is stronger now, but the florals are still rather piercing and unearthly. My body chemistry doesn't often give me back an impression much like the catalogue description of a scent, but this time it definitely does. "Distant, chill and pitiless" sounds pretty much right to me. Three hours: Now the scent has finally gone to ground on me, it's pretty pleasant. A sort of honey aura has developed; I'm guessing that's the osmanthus as it ages. Four hours: Warm, sweet, musky floral. This developed well on me, but it took too long to get to the place I wanted it to be. I'll be finding ways to share this with more appreciative owners. Six hours: Generic sweet floral tinge atop resin base. Not bad, but not distinctive either.

In the vial: Something sour first, then strong vetiver, then musk, frankincense, lavender; a lot of intense notes all in one place. I wonder how they will blend? Wet: Immediately dark and sharp: vetiver and something woody, astringent. This is quite intense. Half an hour: Sour, astringent, but also pungent. It smells like an old-fashioned health food store, the kind with herbs, spices, and loose teas. There's a sweetness at the very bottom of it, but the herbs are almost overpowering it. One hour: This has blended down quite nicely. I don't particularly like the blend, but it is well crafted. I get vetiver, something fruity, tea with spices, and something herbal. The resins are fairly well hidden, which is odd for resins on my skin; usually they pop right up. It still smells like a shop to me. Two hours: Vetiver folded into something thick and red, like resin or gum. Too bitter for me, but very nicely blended. Three hours: A little more mellow now, but still somehow makes me think of a thick red resinous gum, something I'd almost want to chew. Five hours: Now that the vetiver's ceded control, this is very nice, although it's obviously near the end of its life. Resin, some musk, some spice and herb.

In the vial: Patchouli-spice, with sweet and woody notes. Wet: A bit like Malkuth, without the fruit. I don't get most of the notes, but the patchouli-spice axis is very strong. This smells a lot like cinnamon, too, only concentrated, like I was chewing on a toothpick impregnated with cinnamon oil. Half an hour: Still something like Malkuth, but not as rich or deep. The angelica adds an intriguing almost licorice-like touch. It's remarkably non-floral, too; that surprises me given the way muguet tends to sour on me; even gardenia can be iffy. One hour: Yep, still like Malkuth. The sweet intensity of it is dying back in favor of that licorice note, and the resin seems to be ramping up. Still no sign of the muguet, and the gardenia is almost unnoticeable. Waiting for the inevitable red sandalwood sour, which hasn't happened yet. Two hours: Not a lot of change. This doesn't have nearly the throw that Malkuth does on me, but it really does have some of the same notes. And the red sandalwood hasn't soured yet! Three hours: Still patchouli-cardamom with a cinnamon licorice aura like one of my favorite herbal teas. I like it very much, and if I hadn't already fallen in love with Malkuth I could see having fallen for this one. Five hours: The patchouli has faded to a savory sweetness which goes great with the spicelike notes. There's just a tiny touch of floral in it. It reminds me of something, like maybe a light potpourri or a room spray, but pleasantly so, without the ugly chemical notes.

In the vial: Salty-sharp leather and citrus. Wet: Still salty, but the lime ramps and the lavender pops up. Twenty minutes: Leather, salt, light citrus and lavender. Meh. One hour: Smells like stale houseboat to me. Two hours: Yup, definitely stale mouldy houseboat. This is the second-most spectaular fail on me that I've encountered in a BPAL scent. I still have no idea why!

In the vial: Mostly hazelnut, but other sweet and spicy notes make this smell very rich and complex indeed. It may be kind of foody, though. Wet: Roasted hazelnut-vanilla, with very rich resiny undertones. This may not work for me as a perfume, but it smells fabulous. Half an hour: The hazelnut has fallen back into a better balance with the rest of the notes. Now I get resin, honey, and hazelnut in approximately equal proportions -- spicy, sweet, rich. The other notes are hard pressed to keep up. One hour: The vanilla has overcome the hazelnut, making this a great deal less foody but no less spicy, sweet, and rich. And the red sandalwood hasn't soured yet -- bonus! But it's a little like wearing a spice rack: the blend of intense, wonderful scents is so overwhelming, I am losing the impression of my own skin lying beneath the oil. It's not that it's too heavy, because it's not; it's got very little throw. But it's covering me rather than enhancing me. Two hours: The myrrh is turning out to be the dominant scent here. I love myrrh, and it's by no means overbalanced. But in this blend I think I'd like it better if there weren't quite so much myrrh. The blend of it is quite wonderful, though, and I'm at a loss to understand why I'm not more drawn to it since it's full of notes I love. Three hours: Now it's more amber and less myrrh, it's more bearable. It's weird, this one. I like every single element in it, I like that it is not delicate, I like everything about it, but when push comes to shove I just don't want to smell like this. How curious! I wonder if there is some uncovered association there somewhere that I haven't realized yet. Five hours: It's gone kind of powdery now, mostly resin and a bit of honey.

In the vial: Sweet, slightly tart rose. Wet: Sweet with the "jammy" note, or like really good rose water. Mutating toward more complexity by the second, though, as the sweetness turns richer and more intense. Twenty minutes: Very strong rose. There's an underlying something I haven't puzzled out yet, but mostly it's a particular rose note. I like it, but it's a little simplistic. One hour: Not as strong now, but very fragrant. I can get more of the resin now; it's a little spicy, like amber. I like this. Two hours: Very nice. Subtle, gentle. Not a lot of throw, but very pleasant the closer you get to it. Three hours: Soft, sweet, warm rose-resin. Definitely romantic rather then sexy. Four hours: Still nice, but starting to lose the rose. Six hours: Faint now, more resin than rose. I'm glad I have a bottle of this!

In the bottle: Delicious, a little foody: roasted almonds with fruit and very sweet floral. Wet: Roasted almond and honey, but the floral comes up quickly. The sweetness turns sensual, driven by the jasmine. Twenty minutes: Honey, jasmine, powdery floral. For a scent full of sweet notes, it's not all that sweet on me compared to, say, Jezebel. One hour: Still honey and honeysuckle-jasmine. The powdery effect has died back somewhat, which is good. This is heady, sweet, rich, intense. Two hours: Still mostly honey-floral. There is still some powdery effect, so this is not perfect on me, but it sure is pleasant. Three hours: I really like this, but it is a bit on the powdery side. Five hours: Still delicious, but the powdery impression lingers. Eight hours: Wow, it's still there! The powdery note seems similar to the one in Hetairae. I wondered if it could it be the fig, but L'Autunno has fig and isn't powdery. Must be something about one of the three honey notes. Litha and Jezebel have honey but don't go powdery; Mead Moon went powdery.

In the vial: Oh, lovely! Sweet apple peel, tangy fruit, jasmine, and a touch of something bitter. Wet: Jasmine first, then quince! Hurrah! If this doesn't change much, I'm going to fall madly in love with it. Twenty minutes: Myrrh and jasmine work well together on me: it darkens the jasmine and lightens the myrrh. This has a base layer of those two notes, with apple and quince on top. There's also some sandalwood and a breath of musk, but I can't make out the green or citrus notes. It sure is pleasant, though. Hour and a half: Light myrrh-jasmine with sandalwood and very light fragrant fruit. It's really faded a lot since I put it on. That's too bad, because it was so fabulous! Now it's just pleasant. I'll probably save this because of the significance of some of the ingredients to me, but I don't think I'll have to pursue any more of it. Three hours: this is no longer sweet, or juicy, or even particularly floral. It's a very nice subdued blend on me, nothing much worth repeating. But boy, that first hour was wonderful! Four hours: Sandalwood and musk, faint and warm. There's an impression of something herby-fruity, but it's definitely a faded scent now.

In the vial: Fruity, nutty, a little like really good sherry. Yum! Wet: Whew, this one is intense and very autumnal. I smell apples, and baked products, and spices, and hickory nuts, or maybe it's black walnuts. Definitely fresh, wild nuts. Wow. Wasn't expecting to like this one. Twenty minutes: It's more like potpourri now, but with a spicy bite. Definitely not my usual style, but pretty nice anyway, and I just love the nutty note. It reminds me of scavenging hickory nuts off the ground in the fall when I was a child; nothing in the world tasted better than those nuts, broken open with a rock and devoured on the spot. Hour and a half: This really is delicious, but it still says potpourri to me, like fragrant wood chips impregnated with stronger scents. The nutty note that I adore is less noticeable now, too. Three hours: Still very nice potpourri. Four hours: Still potpourri, but less aggressively so. And I still catch the whiff of burning and crisp dry leaves that makes this so autumnal.

In the vial: Sweet, with an insinuating evergreen note. Wet: The evergreen strengthens, and there's another woody note. The base is sweet but a little flat. Half an hour: Less sweet now, but warm. The evergreen dominates, but there's also the pungency of something else, maybe the birch? This is interesting, not as floral as I'd hoped but it hangs together well. One hour: Mostly soft evergreen now. Three hours: Clean, soft evergreen with a hint of floral beneath. Five hours: At this stage, I like it very much, even though it doesn't smell like clover or birch (the two notes I wanted it for). I'll probably wear this a few times.

In the vial: Sweet rose, with a bit more honey obvious than the usual sweet rose notes. Wet: Warms up nicely, retaining something smooth and buttery that must be that cream note. Still noticeably honey, too. I like this one, but it may be too incredibly sweet for me. Twenty minutes: Delicious sweet rose fragrance. Yet another in the long line of BPAL rose scents that I adore. Hour and a half: It's much less strong now, having faded into a wonderful daytime scent. The honey and rose have melded, subsiding into the creamy background so none of the notes is foremost. Three hours: Very light, warm, and creamy now. Don't think I need that bottle after all. Four hours: Still pleasant, just not very noticeable. I'm glad I got frimped a second imp of this, but I looked at all the bottles of BPAL rose scents already in my collection and decided I didn't need a bottle of this one too.

In the vial: Something tangy like honey, a breath of cocoa, and a tart note. Smells good! Wet: Warm and sweet, the tangy note softens into floral. This is very pleasant. Half an hour: The impression of tangy honey has developed and matured. I think it's the rose giving it the tartness. I like this very much and may have to get more if it stays this pleasant. One hour: I really like this one. It smells rich, complex, sweet, and a little strange, all at once. I may need more. Three hours: Oh, yes, this has stayed pleasant enough that I think I need more of it. Five hours: More of this, please. I bought a bottle, it's now my official Hallowe'en fragrance.

In the vial: Smells green and sharp; is that grains of paradise that wrinkles my nose like pepper? Wet: Wisteria and tannic notes, with a warm resinous pungency underneath (sarsaparilla?). Half an hour: Mossy dark green, with floral and herby overtones. There's something very familiar about it. One hour: Complex but soft, mossy and herbal. Three hours: Quite green, mossy and herbal. There's one sweet, almost spicy note, but it's pretty much buried in all the others. Five hours: Still mossy-green-herbal. Not bad, just not me.

In the vial: Wisteria and pomegranate. Sweet, tart, fragrant. Wet: Very pleasant. The fruity note is augmented by anise, the wisteria is in the background cooperating nicely. There's a depth of something I think is going to develop into myrrh. Half an hour: Oooh. I really like this! It seems to have developed an unaccountable lemony note, but the floral is not dominating the way I feared it would. It's light, well balanced, centered, and pretty. One hour: Gentle and pretty. I really like this, but I can't pick out any notes in it at all. Two hours: A little thinner now, a bit woody, and the resin is more evident. I still like it very much, though. Three hours: It's gone a little woody, almost like sandalwood. But I still like this, much more than I expected to. I may need more. Four hours: Soured a bit, so it has a short life. But it's so pleasant, I may overlook that. Seven hours: Still a little bit of herby resin.

In the vial: Mostly amber, with musk and lily. Smells wonderful. Wet: Oooh, fabulous! It smells very ambery, but with a bright yellow note that's almost like citrus. Is that the myrtle? Twenty minutes: Amber, musk, a sweet note, and still that bright citrusy note. It is subtle, though: I had to breathe on it to warm it up before it registered well. Perhaps it would do better in a location closer to a warm pulse point. One hour: Amber vanilla musk. The lily and citrusy note seem to have folded in together. Still subtle; I will probably need to wear more of this than the usual few dabs. Two hours: Comparatively light, pleasantly vanilla-tinged amber-musk. Three hours: Persistently light and yummy. Evidently the sandalwood is not the red variety, because it's not souring. Hurrah! Five hours: Still persistent, more balanced toward vanilla now. Eight hours: Sandalwood, musk, amber. Very light, but still there. This is quite nice, and I'll keep my imp, but I prefer the L'Estate bath oil.

In the vial: Foody but very like autumn. Smells of the farmstand a a local apple orchard, with cider mulling. Wet: Sharp herby apple with woodsmoke. The patchouli is noticeable now. This one's going to be iffy on me, I think. Twenty minutes: The whole room smells of this one, all apples and spicy carnation and smoky patchouli. Unexpectedly, this one is working very well on me. But it is treading perilously close to "scented candle," so we'll see. One hour: Narrowly avoiding "scented candle," but this is extremely strong on me. The whole room smells good! Two hours: Still carnation and woodsmoke, but the apple has calmed down. There's a note I think is the fig, a rich fruity one. Surprised not to get more musk and myrrh off this one! Still, it is warm and earthy, a good fall scent. Three hours: Still deliciously autumnal. I like it better now it's so subtle. Five hours: Yum, I can get some of the patchouli now. This one starts off too fruity for my taste, although pleasant, and turns into a lovely subtle everyday autumn kind of scent. Eight hours: Patchouli, smoke, and something greenly herbal (hawthorn?). I tend not to get along with the Hallowe'enies, so this is now my go-to autumnal scent.

In the vial: This smells deep, in the sense of a hole maybe. It's green too, something like a tree, and there's something almost nutty underneath. It makes me think of something very organic, like a huge tree with deep roots in dark soil. Wet: An aquatic note and a floral, a fleshy white flower similar to jasmine. Maybe night-blooming jasmine? Twenty minutes: Aquatic still, and mossy, and I still get the impression of a flower. There's also a tinge of vanilla, maybe? Three hours: This has mellowed quite a lot. It still has a green tone, but there's also floral and vanilla. I like this more than I expected I would.

In the vial: Roses, wonderful roses! This is like damask roses plus the "jammy" note I first picked up on in Two, Five, and Seven, which is also in Parlement of Foules and Marguerite. Wet: The light sweetness of it warms up and darkens into something much richer and less like sunshine. This is a deep red Old Rose with a lot of petals, in full bloom. Twenty minutes: Yup, definitely red Old Rose. Wow! Three hours: There's definitely resin in this, I think amber from the sweetness of it. It's just the faintest bit powdery now, but an hour ago it was amazing. Keeper. Wish I had the opportunity to buy a huge bottle of this one, because I would in a heartbeat.

In the vial: Vetiver and moss, a very sharp and salty scent. Wet: So far it smells just like it did in the vial, but there's a hint of some unusual mint coming up. Not spearmint or peppermint, or bergamot. Maybe wintergreen or pennyroyal? It's kind of menthol, so I'd be inclined to think wintergreen. Twenty minutes: Still extremely green, but now there's a hint of some warm spice, or maybe a wood, beneath. Cedar, possibly? Three hours: Very herbal, in a non-pungent kind of way, yet still with that little touch of menthol. That might be birch or cedar, definitely some kind of aromatic wood. I rather liked this one because it was so different from most of the other scents I've tested.

In the vial: Bitter and citrus, like the rind of a bitter orange or maybe kumquat. Wet: Still bitter citrus. It smells almost like the local pastry shop, though, with citron and glazed fruit tarts. Yet it's not at all foody. Twenty minutes: Still smells like a pastry shop. I don't know if that's fruits, or maybe almonds, but a bitter citrus predominates, and there's something tannic as well. Three hours: There's an almost baked-goods base on this one, but the bitter citrus has dialed way back. It's fairly flat now. This one was stimulating, but it didn't sing to me so I sent it to a better home.

In the vial: Pine first, then earthy and mossy, but also sweet, not bitter or dark. Not my style, but appealing. Wet: The pine spikes but then is overtake immediately by sweeter notes. I get patchouli first, then floral. There's something darker beneath, but still with the appealing richness of green about it. Twenty minutes: Sharper now, mossy, but with delicious patchouli-floral notes not too far from the surface. I like it. One hour: Fairly green and herby, it smells more like a man's scent now. But there's enough floral in it to sweeten it. I still like it, but I don't think it's for me. Two hours: Herby-mossy, still deep green and manly. Still like it. Three hours: Mostly sour oakmoss now. But it took a long pleasant journey to get there, so I don't begrudge it.