yeahbutnobut

Teatime in Roswell In the imp: buttery cucumber sandwiches, and cake. I do not like the buttery sandwiches here. Wet on skin: cold butter, soggy bread, cucumbers…and a gorgeous sweet cake undertone. Dry on skin: ok, that’s not too bad. Still buttery, but bearable. I can’t smell the earl grey specifically, sadly, I was hoping for a strong black tea infused with bergamot but I don’t really get anything like that, just a weak tea, a very nice iced tea, but not proper strong English tea. The biscuits are less of a distinctive blend of shortbreads and digestives and more of a white sugar or icing scent, I can’t smell anything like the cookie notes from cookie scents. Very pretty, I must say, not biscuity enough for me, though I think I smell cake. Soft white cake, but not the yellow and pink ‘windows’ of batternberg cake slices, and I can’t smell any marzipan or jam. The cucumber actually turns from the slightly icky cucumber sandwich into a very pretty fresh flowering cucumber plant scent. It actually smells more like melon at times. But the buttery note, which is oddly salty, comes back every now and then. After a while: after about half an hour, this becomes incredibly pretty. It’s not a defined foody scent; all the notes have merged into a smooth, sweet scent with elements of fruit, cake and sugar. There seems to be a hint of white amber or white musk that remind me of other alien scents like 51 or Alien Invasion-probably the ‘strange glow’-and this binds all the notes together really nicely, and it’s in here that I think I smell bergamot and tea. I now smell the cake note a lot more clearly, and it does have a hint of icing to it-a blend of fondant and marzipan (the good stuff without almond flavouring) attached to the cake with jam. I smell delicate crispy biscuits and a wet sugary note like sugar cane. The cucumber really has turned to gorgeous melon, similar to Fee or Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat. Verdict: this reminds me of a cross between Chewing Bits of String and the Boneshaking Velocipede scent-the sweet tea, salad and sugar scent of Chewing, and the sweetened cucumber of Velocipede. There’s also a similarity to Left His Nurse-this is the summer version of that scent. It does smell like a proper English picnic at times (all that’s missing is grass and strawberries) and it's almost like a sci-fi take on the Mad Tea Party line! But other than the disturbingly realistic cucumber sandwich note, I can’t really distinguish the other goodies in this scent other than a watery, sugary, slightly cakey, slightly floral scent. However, the drydown is gorgeous-a soft white amber and musk with sugar and melon and cake and sugar cane and marzipan, and a jug of iced bergamot tea. This then ends up smelling like a foody version of 51 or Pollution. I like this one, especially after an hour or two, but I don’t really like buttered cucumber sandwiches as food and kudos to Beth for making it so realistic, but it’s too real for me! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? probably not! If you like this, try: Squirting Cucumber, Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat, 51, Alien Invasion, Left His Nurse, Boneshaking Velocipede

The Aurora Spaceship Takes a Dive In the imp: bluebells and magnolias, and a bit of hay. Wet on skin: soapy bluebell and white flowers. This smells like Host of the Air. Dry on skin: interesting. This smells uncannily like wild grasses and weeds and wildflowers, but it’s also a bit soapy and the magnolia has a high-pitched white floral scent that seems to take over. I smell thistle, a dry, husky and almost hay or dry grass like note. I also smell what could be sage, but it’s a fresh green sage as opposed to a dry herbal type. I smell bluebells, but they seem to turn soapy on me, which saddens me because I love the smell of real bluebells. No burning windmill smell, nothing smoky or scorched here, but a lot of golden grass and hay and heady sultry flowers. After a while: bluebells, magnolia and dry grasses. It smells a bit flat and soapy now. The magnolia has a kind of tinny cologne floral scent to it now, not keen on that. The bluebell has turned really odd (but thankfully it smells faint now) and now smells greener, and quite bitter. I smell hints of hay and thistle, and at this point I smell some smoke. Again, not bonfire, but more like hazy, gently smouldering wood and a hint of tobacco. The scent does have moments when it smells like a summer’s afternoon in a dried up prairie, and I can almost hear the crickets singing…but sadly the florals make this too soapy. Verdict: very evocative of its setting, I smell this and I see golden plains shimmering in the heat haze, dotted with colourful wildflowers, a hint of magnolia wafting from a nearby garden. I’m looking for the smouldering remains of a windmill or even a fallen spaceship but it seems the, erm, authorities, got there first and covered it up because I can’t really smell any smoke or ruins here, just a hint but not enough. And the flowers here turn bad on my skin. The bluebell turns soapy, the magnolia overwhelms and smells like a generic floral perfumey scent. Not my thing. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? no. If you like this, try: Host of the Air, Poisson D’Avril, Little Bird

Fuwu Bansaku in Ruined Temple with Black Monster on Umbrella In the imp: the vetiver monster is lurking in here, waiting to do damage. It’s a nutty, sweaty vetiver. Wet on skin: coconut, sweet wood and vetiver. Reminds me of Death Adder, but with more vetiver. Dry on skin: not too bad. The vetiver is a bit too strong and has that odd sweaty peanuts scent to it that I don’t like, but I like the coconut, sandalwood, oud and tonka in here. There’s a hint of very nice blackcurrant, a deep rich sweet fruit, and with the sandalwood, it reminds me of Man with a Phallus Head, without honey. The coconut is dry, toasted, husky and sweet, like the coconut note from Deathly Pride or Brown Jenkin, and it blends so nicely with a gorgeous warm sandalwood note. After a while: this goes into a phase that makes me think ‘vetiver? What vetiver?’ as it’s all sweet coconut with a really beautiful sandalwood, and I love the combination of those notes. This is the black coconut of Snake Charmer and Red Lantern, not a foody or suncreamy coconut. I love it. but then the vetiver makes a comeback, and instead of having that weird peanut scent, it smells burnt and tarry and a bit like ashtrays. Not good at all. And as usual with vetiver, it sticks around for a very long time too. Verdict: I wasn’t expecting to like this one much, and I don’t like it ultimately, thanks to the vetiver. Having said that, there are some very pleasant stages in this scent. I adore the coconut and sandalwood in here, and they work so well together. I like the fruity depth lent by the currant and the sweetness of the tonka. If this had no vetiver, or a milder kind of vetiver (like khus), I would probably have kept it. but ultimately this is too vetivery for me. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? nope.

Humanitas In vial: smells like a cross between strawberry chewing gum and the cherry jam corner of a Muller Fruit Corner! On skin: this smells strongly of Hollywood’s strawberry flavoured gum, which is a French brand of gum I used to love as a kid, and every time I went to France I’d make sure I got some. I know, that sounds odd, but that’s exactly what this smells like, and what it reminds me of, and I love that, actually! However, then the cherry note comes out, it smells just like the cherry ‘corner’ on a Muller yogurt (and I like that too!) and that pushes the Hollywood gum scent away somewhat. And then I smell the frankincense and carnation. And this blend of carnation and frankincense reminds me of my beloved Ysabel bath oil-the carnation variety! And I’ve been looking all over for more of the carnationy batch of Ysabel, but this smells like it with added fruit notes. In fact, it seems like the fruits in here fade away, and I’m left with a gorgeous mix of spicy carnation and warm, resinous frankincense. And then I realise this also seems to have the same gorgeous sweet black cherry that’s in Gothabilly as well. Once my Ysabel runs out, I know what to get, this is a really good GC substitute and I like the candied aspect of the fruit notes, they don’t turn to plastic on me or turn sharp or medicinal. A keeper!

ROMANTI.GOTH Dark vintage musk enrobed in a velvet black swirl of plum, precious resins, opium tar, sweet incense, and Nepalese amber. In the imp: black musk and opium. Has a worrying hairspray-ish scent. Wet on skin: ooh, now I smell incenses and resins, and a lot of smoky opium. Dry on skin: opium and musk, and lots of smoke, charcoal dust, resins thrown on a bonfire. Where’s the amber and plum? This is a lot smokier than I expected, it’s also a lot muskier. I do smell some gorgeous hints of frankincense, myrrh, something that may be benzoin and a scent that reminds me of Panther Moon, but I also smell a lot of thick black smoke like that of a coal fire or bonfire, charred wood, the one myrrh note that doesn’t work on me, and an opium note that is amping to the heavens. I know tobacco isn’t a listed note but I swear I smell it, and I don’t like it. The musk also seems to have slight hairspray aspects to it. This reminds me of the original Black Lace…but I don’t like that scent. No sweet fruit or amber to tone it down. After a while: the musk completely fades and this smells like OMGBURNING. Yup, burning. Just pure smoke and blackened embers. Not gorgeous incense smoke or that amazing bonfire smoke from St John’s Eve or Devil’s Night, but tobacco and opium and tobacco and opium and yet more tobacco and opium, and it smells like ashtrays, cigars and charcoal, stuff that’s been set on fire. No incense (save for the bad myrrh that dislikes me), no amber, no plum, no musk. I suppose the advantage is that I don’t smell vetiver. Verdict: I thought this would be amazing. Like Snake Charmer with more incense. Or like Hellion without the notes that turned bad on me. Almost everything in this scent was a surefire winner-I say almost everything, because it has troublesome opium in it too. And guess what was the strongest note, stomping on the plum and amber and resins and turning into a kind of mutant ashtray from hell note? Yup, that’s right, this was all opium, all the time, with a definite tobacco-type scent to it, and to top it off even the musk ended up not working on me. It just smelt like an out of control acrid smoky mess on me. If I want dark opium and resins, I think I’ll stick to Event Horizon, one of the few opium scents that smells fantastic on me. I admit, I had slight suspicions, and my suspicions were right-despite the promise of the notes, I guess I’m just not goth enough for this scent. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? sadly not-this is less Romanti.Goth and more Romanti.Fail on me.

Very Slightly Haunted Dollhouse In the imp: wine gums! Yes, this smells just like wine gums (which incidentally don’t contain wine!) Wet on skin: citrus? I do smell dry white wine but I smell lemon too, and berries? Dry on skin: hmm, this has a similar lemony note to the one in Left His Nurse. Not sure what that is? It’s not bad though, this scent overall is very pretty. Surprisingly fruity, actually. This to me smells like fizzy lemon sherbet with wine gums. In a nutshell, it smells like sweets. I think I smell the wine but it smells more like lemon spritzer to me. I also smell something vaguely spicy, and certainly some sugar, but the most important thing seems to be missing-where is the carnation? I smell hints of it, a vague pink sweet floral-ish spice, but it’s not making itself obvious. In fact, the lemon here smells like lemongrass/verbena? After a while: this turns really cloying. This doesn’t smell like carnation to me. It still smells like wine gum sweets, but with something sickly sweet. It reminds me of a kind of red fruit jelly scent, incredibly sweet, gelatinous, sticky, and as to what fruit it smells like, I can’t say-somewhere between strawberry, raspberry and red grape. There is a hint of rose petal or geranium too, which is nice, and that weird lemon note, which isn’t so nice. But it doesn’t smell like what I expected it to smell like. Where’s my carnation? This seems a world away from the glorious carnations of Pink Moon 07 or Ysabel bath oil. Verdict: I have no idea what happened, but had I smelt this without a note description, I wouldn’t have thought it was carnations and wine grape. It’s a lot fruitier and sweeter than expected. It smells very pretty at first and has a fruit flavoured sweet scent, like strawberry wine gums with rose petal jam and some kind of strong lemon randomly added. And then it develops a scent that I find more cloying than anything else I’ve found in BPAL, and it made me feel a little queasy-I’ve never had this reaction before. Usually fruit scents or even gourmand scents don’t give me this reaction but this scent was too much, an overload of candy coated roses and strawberries oversweetened with dessert wine and added syrup…and not a carnation to be found. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? no.

Staged Moon Landing In the imp: gorgeous sweet iris, like Florence meets Silver Phoenix! Wet on skin: oh yes, this is good. Now I can smell the sandalwood! Dry on skin: wonderful! It smells of orris/iris, vanilla and sandalwood. I’d say this is less like the cold, sparkling Silver Phoenix orris, and more like Florence’s iris with vanilla instead of amber and with a bit more woodsiness added, and a lot drier and paler. I don’t smell any muguet per se, but I do wonder if that’s what’s turning the orris note into a more floral iris scent rather than just powdery orris. There’s a hint of green yet resinous sharpness from galbanum too. But it’s mainly vanilla-sugared iris and rich sandalwood. After a while: the vanilla really comes out and develops the most gorgeous sugar crusted scent ever. This smells just like royal icing (the white crunchy kind used on wedding cakes) with crystallised violets dusted with powdered sugar infused with vanilla beans, and a beautiful sandalwood and iris base. The cistus might be what adds warmth to this scent, almost like amber? It reminds me a bit of Faith as well but it’s a lot more complex and more like iris than violet. This is what I wanted the violet, orris and vanilla combination in Signior Dildo to smell like. It’s such a comforting scent. I also agree with the Black Opal comparison but without the Egyptian musk or teak type note I get from that scent. Verdict: as a lover of all things space related, I have an odd fascination for the fake moon landing theory even though I think it’s a load of bunkum! (Maybe it’s a fascination purely because of that.) So I was very eager to try this one, and I am not disappointed at all-in fact, this is even better than expected considering it contains lily of the valley. It reminds me of Florence, one of my favourite BPAL scents, so that makes me happy. It’s a similar rich yet pleasantly powdery iris with a sweet woodsy background, though this time it’s vanilla that turns wonderfully sugary in the best way possible at drydown-nothing creamy or buttery to this vanilla sugar. As well as being cosy and sweet, this scent does have a dry, dusty feel to it, which is fitting for the moon (or a fake moon anyway!) but unlike Silver Phoenix, which this also resembles to a degree, this is warm and grounded, not cool and dewy and ethereal. A lunar scent that’s a lot more down to earth than usual. I think I may need an extra bottle of this! Emoticon rating: :love!: Is it a keeper? yes! I think I need a backup too. If you like this, try: Silver Phoenix, Florence, Black Opal, Signior Dildo, Faith, Le Serpent Qui Danse, Violet Ray, Cytherea

Egg Moon In the imp: cassia and cinnamon! Not much resin, this is spicy! Wet on skin: spicy and dry and hot cinnamon. Dry on skin: not eggy at all, this is gorgeous! Yes, it’s all cinnamon and cassia, but they are so good, and I do love a proper cinnamon type scent. It’s all about the spices in here. The cassia is very much like cinnamon sticks but I’d say it was a bit drier and woodier, whilst the cinnamon note smells a bit more gourmand and familiar. This smells very cosy and warm, reminiscent of chai and spicy cakes and pastries, without any blatant foody notes, but still smooth and almost creamy-I think the sugar cane note may be doing this. I also smell some hints of golden resin underneath, subtle but delightful. A hint of frankincense wafts past, adding a dignified, sacred air to this scent. After a while: as the spices calm down, the wonderful resins start to make themselves known. This then starts to smell like my favourite incense: kyphi! The frankincense is surprisingly tart and fruity for some reason, almost like it’s been soaked in red wine. The description doesn’t mention myrrh but I swear I smell it. I’m not sure what dammar or bdellium smell like but they are resins so I’m sure they may be creating the myrrh and wine type scents here. The cinnamon is still there but it seems more balanced with the resins now. The juicy sugary sweet cane lightens the scent too. Verdict: this is the egg of a phoenix. Nestled within smouldering holy resins and spices, ready to hatch and rise from the fire. The lighter, spicier twin of Priala, this is a magnificent cinnamon scent. Though this reminds me of Underbed, this is a lot more mature to me, because there’s resin here instead of cake and cocoa. The first stage is cinnamon and cassia to the max, but eventually the resins come out and the scent becomes a really balanced cinnamon-frankincense resin blend and I love it. It’s also my birth month moon, which makes it even more meaningful to me, and I haven’t found an April moon scent I could wear since Pink Moon 07, but this scent is fantastic. Emoticon rating: :love!: Is it a keeper? yes-this is one for multiple bottles. If you like this, try: Priala, Eclipse, Chimera, Bengal, Plunder, Sunbird, MB Underbed

Clytie In the imp: neroli. Gorgeous and slightly bittersweet neroli, and lots of it. Wet on skin: fresh dewy orange blossoms, a hint of lily and frankincense. Dry on skin: this is gorgeous. This is neroli, gentle dewy flowers, and a warm base of frankincense. The neroli leads the way, it’s wonderful here, a proper orange blossom scent, a hint of bitterness, a hint of tea, it also smells a bit like the smell of crushed orange tree leaves. The muguet is actually really nice here-at least for now. It seems to be the kind of lily of the valley I can tolerate, like the one in Penitent Magdalene or Lilium Inter Spinas. I smell a tiny, tiny bit of heliotrope and osmanthus (which is like the osmanthus in Belle Vinu). The frankincense adds a little bit of spice and a nice resinous base for the flowers. After a while: the neroli does lose its intensity, giving way to the other floral notes. After a moment when I fear it’ll turn soapy, it improves, and it’s time for osmanthus to shine. This combination of osmanthus and frankincense reminds me of another favourite of mine, Night’s Pavilion. The heliotrope sweetens it a little. Even the muguet is playing it cool. I don’t adore it as much as Helios but this is a lot nicer than I expected. Verdict: this is the perfect complementing scent to Helios. Whereas in Helios, it’s frankincense dominated with a hint of neroli, in here it’s the reverse-orange blossom dominates, with a hint of frankincense. The scents are yin and yang. This scent has a few doom blooms in it but miraculously, it works on me! No soap or sharp piercing flowers of fail, but a pretty scent of fragile white petals with a little bit of golden spicy frankincense to ground the flowery notes. It’s very pretty, delicate and feminine and youthful, it’s like spring flowers covered in morning dew lit by the warm rays of Helios. Of course I’m more partial to the sun god’s scent but I’m surprised as to how good his companion is. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? yes! I may get a bottle set. If you like this, try: Night’s Pavilion, Christine, Lilium Inter Spinas, Belle Vinu

Panther Moon In the imp: nag champa incense, with a swirling, mysterious black musk undertone. Wet on skin: this is a dark skin stainer, but once on the skin, the musk unfurls. Dry on skin: ohh, this is so good. The champaca in here is really nice-normally I dislike champaca but in here it smells like proper nag champa incense. Not a really thin, bland, tinny scent that I sometimes get from NC scents, but a rich, complex incense with spicy, woodsy, floral nuances, the way such incense scents should smell. The musk is the strongest note, and it’s not the sweet, almost vanilla scented and powdery black musk, but a more unisex type that smells so sexy! The ambergris here is definitely the salty type rather than the ambery type. The ginger adds a touch more spice, whilst myrrh darkens the musk in a way that reminds me of Minotaur. There is a tiny bit of anise but it is subtle and everything just works really well together. After a while: this is actually quite subtle, but then again that’s fitting, as it evokes the image of a panther lurking in the shadows, silent and waiting to pounce. The musk then gives way to the champa which smells so good here, smoky and incense-y rather than like the cloying floral it usually turns into on me. Ginger and myrrh just add to the spice and incense I get here, whilst ambergris adds a sophisticated shimmering scent. It stays understated on my skin but gives off little spicy musky wafts every now and then, and at drydown it sweetens into a gorgeous black amber scent! Verdict: mmrrrowww, this is awesome. Sensual and smoky and sleek, this is black and lithe like a shadowy cat stalking the jungle. Secretive, slightly threatening, dark and sultry, it evokes the panther perfectly (or should that be purrfectly?) with its smooth black musk and what could possibly be the best nag champa or champaca note ever-not just in BPAL but it the whole smelliverse. It’s understated yet incredibly sexy and exotic. I adore it and cannot wait to see how it ages! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? yes! If you like this, try: Velvet Panther, Gaueko, Temple Viper, Urd, Schwarzer Mond, Minotaur

Brotoloigos In the imp: powdery pink sandalwood? Wet on skin: I like what the geranium and myrrh are doing in here but something smells pink? Dry on skin: this is unusual. I get the same powdery old-fashioned pink sandalwood scent from Croquet, even though these share no notes. I also smell something like the powdery exotic spice market sandalwood from Baghdad. The scent also has something to it that makes me think of Turkish delight?! This scent is weird. But it is very pretty, and I do love what the geranium and myrrh are doing. The geranium seems to be a bit like the Stress Relief kind, and the myrrh is rich and sweet. No tobacco, and I’m not sure what wenge is unless that’s what smells like pink sugared wood? After a while: the drydown this has is gorgeous. It is pink and powdery, but it’s a nice powder, and underneath that powder I smell some absolutely stunning geranium and myrrh, and these become the dominant notes over time. It’s not often I find something dominated by geranium, but this one has a very obvious geranium note, warm and rich with rosy-herbal nuances, it’s this that gives the scent a rich magenta-pink tone. And the myrrh here is the sweet, dark, amber-tinged variety. I don’t smell any tobacco save for a hint of smoke. Verdict: an unexpected love from the Ares collection, this isn’t as murderous as the name implies. It’s not even that masculine to me. this is pretty, pink, sweet…but not in the way you expect. This is pink and sweet and powdery done in a way that’s really unusual, it’s a rich yet slightly dusky magenta with hints of sandalwood/rosewood incense, aged wood, dusty antique chests full of resins and a casket of freshly picked Bourbon geranium leaves. It smells familiar, almost a vintage perfume, yet unusual and surprising, and it becomes even more wonderful at drydown when geranium and myrrh take centre stage. I wasn’t expecting to like this much but this is one of my favourite Ares scents. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I have half a bottle. If you like this, try: Croquet, Baghdad, Harimise, Stress Relief bath oil

The Harp of Cnoc I’Chosgair In the imp: this has a weird note that’s halfway between a green floral and some odd biscuit scent. Wet on skin: a weird, tinny burnt stem note, with sweetness? Whaaaaa? Dry on skin: ok, I smell the tiare, but this is more like ‘Evil Gardenia’ (though with the evilness toned down a great deal) than the rich monoi note from Tiki Queen. It’s a greenish, sharp, and surprisingly watered down floral, like the floral note from Pele. And that’s all I smell, along with a tiny bit of sweetness and a tiny bit of marigold. And it’s all very faint. What the? Where’s all the loveliness that everyone’s raving about? Where’s the richness of vanilla, amber and cardamom? Where’s the comparison with The Girl, Morocco, Lyonesse or L’Estate? This doesn’t smell anything like those. All I smell is that watered down gardenia and a bit of marigold. I am so disappointed. After a while: thankfully the drydown is much nicer, but it’s still faint and other than a tiny bit of sweetness contributed by the vanilla, I can’t smell anything else here apart from the flowers. A very pretty gardenia, it reminds me of a fainter, less incense-y Ecstasy of St Theresa now, but without the depth of the frankincense and oude. I have to say, and it does remind me of monoi, but it’s not as heady and intoxicating as the Tiki Queen monoi. I’d say it was more like the fainter, drier tiare in Marae. But I’m just disappointed at the way that I get no amber, cardamom or sandalwood from this scent at all. Verdict: this one is a scent that seems to have a lot of batch variation. The review notes above are for a decant I got, and the bottle I got from the Lab smells very similar. But I also got a bottle from a forum seller, which smells so much better. It smells like the golden amber, vanilla, cardamom and sandalwood gorgeousness that I expected, with a little bit of gardenia. Similar to the wonderful amber of Okayaki with the warm sandalwood of Morocco, with tiare. It’s not perfect, the gardenia in my ambery bottle still smells a tiny bit strange at times, oddly bitter or harsh, and not as fabulous as the monoi note in Tiki Queen, and I’m not familiar with tagettes, but the sheer awesomeness of the other notes makes up for the lacklustre gardenia in here. I have a feeling this’ll get better with age. Emoticon rating: either or depending on batch Is it a keeper? I will keep the bottle I have that smells of amber goodness, hopefully the floral note will tone down with age, and then we’ll see. If you like this, try: Marae, Pele, Euphrosyne, Ecstasy of St Theresa, Morocco, Okayaki

Ides of March 2010 In the imp: this smells very different to past Ides. It smells like LEMON! Wet on skin: lemonade with lemongrass and spiked with verbena. Dry on skin: with verbena, lemon and bergamot, it’s no surprise that this is a citrus overload. This smells like lemon sherbet mixed with lemonade and limoncello with lemongrass and verbena. Underneath it I smell some hints of herbs and flowers and some cardamom too (in fact, the mix of lemon and cardamom reminds me of a honey-less Crib Girls), maybe some sweet amber and musk, but lemon is the strongest note. And I really like it. Normally I don’t like verbena but this smells more like lemon sherbets to me and I love that. After a while: bergamot and verbena remain but this isn’t as brightly lemony as before. Now I can smell the amber, narcissus (surprisingly good in here, not at all perfumey) and dark musk. Maybe a hint of smoky, mossy spikenard too, but overall this is a bright, green, zingy and springy scent. This isn’t at all dark like Mort de Cesar. Verdict: my favourite of the Ides. It lacks the weird savoury salad smell I got from previous versions, and smells like a bright lemon with a hint of floral amber. This is verbena I can tolerate, because it’s supported by proper citruses and doesn’t do the lemon soap thing, not to mention I expect this to smell lemony from the notes and so I’m happy that it does. It’s such a sunny, cheery, lively lemon. I really like this one even though I was expecting more of a darker undertone because of the spikenard and musk. This is more like sipping limoncello on a warm evening in Rome rather than the dark, moody Mort de Cesar-ish scent of foreboding I expected from the dark musk and (usually) incensy earthy spikenard. I have to see what happens to the usually problematic verbena, but I have a feeling I should have bought more of this scent! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I will keep my decant but I may track down more because heavy lemon scents are hard to come by! If you like this, try: Phobos, Phantom, Crib Girls, Tin Phoenix, Gold Phoenix, previous Ides

Iron Phoenix In the imp: spicy metal! It smells of ginger and clove and rust (yes, rust!) Wet on skin: ginger, clove, pepper and shiny steel. It’s like metallic chai! Dry on skin: this is very, very different to the Iron Phoenix prototype, and a lot nicer. This smells predominantly of red spices. Ginger is strongest, but though red ginger can be problematic, in here it works fantastically. It is a dry, gritty ginger, hot and biting. I also smell a beautiful rounded clove note, and hints of pepper. The dragon’s blood is there, but it is subtle, and isn’t reacting badly. In fact, it smells more like dragon’s blood incense here. There’s a hint of myrrh too. The metal note smells more like rust-I also smell iron proper, but that too is subtle. This brings to mind a visual image of deserts or even the surface of Mars. It reminds me of Kinnabari, though not as mineral/clay-like. This is what I wanted Aries 07 to smell like. After a while: the drydown is still as spicy and red as before, but it’s a lot smoother and sweeter, and even nicer than before! The clove swaps places with ginger and becomes the most prominent spice note. Surprisingly, even though this has dragon’s blood and it is contributing to the overall red scent, it’s not amping or turning to mutant lilac or burnt red pencils on me like usual. The iron note is also really nice here-not a sharp, cold, shiny steel but more of a worn and oxidised metal, a mix of glinting grey and spicy rust. I also smell a lot of myrrh, the sweet, almost ambery version, and I think that’s what’s making this whole scent smell really lovely on my skin. Verdict: this is my favourite of the iron/Mars themed scents. It’s as spicy as Mars, Aries and Wrath, but without the really intense red dragon’s blood. It also reminds me of the Bloody Sword but not as metallic. This is a nice middle ground, but with a lot more emphasis on the spice. Ginger and clove are the main players here, but the pepper supports them nicely. I particularly like how gingery this is at first. Everything works so well here, even the problem notes work with the spices and the wonderful sweet myrrh to make this a red, rusty, warm, pleasantly dry spice blend which really excites my Aries side Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? definitely-I have a half bottle. If you like this, try: Aries 07, Mars, Wrath, Saw Scaled Viper, Bloody Sword, Phoenix Steamworks

Candles Moon In the imp: milky berries and icy eucalyptus/evergreen. Wet on skin: sour milk and fruit. Like Nonae Caprotina but with blackberry instead of fig. Dry on skin: think Ichabod Crane meets Lady Una. The milk is not sweet or creamy, but a very raw, sour smell that reminds me of the raw/live Greek yogurt I sometimes eat with fruit, especially combined with the sharp blackberry which has no sweetness in this scent (at least in Una the berry note was sweeter). Like with LU’s blackberry, I get a hint of the dreaded ‘bad kitty’ smell here too. It’s not as strong, thankfully. I smell a hint of pale wood or tree bark, and a fresh, cool linen-ozone scent which is the wind, as well as a hint of the snow note (the pine-citrus-eucalyptus kind as opposed to the sugary-mint-cucumber-musk variety). And the most important note is absent…where are the candles? I smell no wax; no heat…maybe a whisper of smoke? The notes here seem to clash. After a while: ok, the notes seem to meld together better. It’s still a little too sharp for my tastes but thankfully it’s a fruity rather than dairy sharpness. And the blackberry smells more like real freshly picked berries and no more cat pee! The milkiness is still there but has toned down to a much more agreeable scent of cool fresh milk. The snow note is what makes this smell cool, but something in here reminds me of clean linen? Like a fruity White Rabbit, and a lot less sweet. But still, the most important note is missing-the candles! Where are they? Though I have to say the more I smell, I do smell something that reminds me of the smell of a candle flame-yes, a flame. Not a blown-out candle, not wax as such, but the smell above a candle flame. So yes, Beth has captured the smell of candle heat as opposed to smoke, which is remarkable. But it’s still not strong enough! The drydown after a few hours is very nice though and resembles, of all things, Hungry Ghost Moon! I have no idea why as the scents share no common notes. Verdict: this reminds me of the sour milk and soap and beeswax mess that was Ichabod Crane (at least, my skin turned it into a mess), with Lady Una, but it’s actually a lot nicer once the notes co-operate. I really, really don’t like the first hour of wear. It’s everything I don’t like-sour milk, cat pee blackberry, cologney ozone-in a dissonant mixture, and not a flicker of candle wax or smoke. However this does becomes more bearable at drydown, when the troublesome notes calm down, their sharp, sour aspects fade away to reveal something smoother and more coherent. Almost like a seamless creamy-fresh-fruity musk and wood scent. it is very pretty, but because I really dislike the first hour or so of wear, and also because it isn’t as candle-y as I hoped it would be, I sold off my decant. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? not worth keeping, to me. If you like this, try: Lady Una, Nonae Caprotina, Ichabod Crane, Chaste Moon 10, Milk Moon 07

Helios In the decant: ohhhh…glorious frankincense with a tinge of citrus! Wet on skin: frankincense, saffron, cedar, neroli…reminds me of Labores Solis and No 93 Engine. Dry on skin: gorgeous frankincense and saffron. This is a wonderful golden sunny scent. The resins are strongest, especially the frankincense, which smells really sappy and almost like fresh pine resin, backed up by the smokier copal. The saffron adds a golden, dry, arid touch, it’s very strong here. The cedar forms a lovely solid base for the glowing notes, whilst neroli adds a lovely flash of citrus. This is absolutely stunning. It’s a strong, powerful sun scent. After a while: this becomes very similar to Zenobia, the same frankincense, saffron and slightly woodsy base. This doesn’t have the shadowy patchouli and clove, this is brighter, more golden, and with a different type of spice to it. It smells dry and sandy, a true desert spice scent. This is the sun at its fiercest, not sweetened with amber or heliotrope, but fiery, but not harsh. I love how warm this scent is, how vividly golden-yellow it is. Verdict: yet again, Beth successfully bottles sunshine in scent. This is what I wanted to smell in Gold Phoenix. Golden resins heated by saffron, with a piercing note of neroli, and a bit of dry wood to ground it. This is the summer sun at midday in the desert, the sun laid bare. Commaning, sometimes unforgiving, its blinding light dominates all and its presence demands to be worshipped…yet this is also warm, uplifting and inviting, especially at drydown, when it softens, turning to the mellow golden shades of late afternoon. It’s a perfect antidote to damp, wet grey days. Compared to Ra, Sol Invictus and Labores Solis, I’d say this is more like LS but without all the dark eclipsing notes, and it’s a lot heavier on the frankincense. I have a feeling that, like LS, this will become spectacular with age. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? definitely-I need at least two bottles. If you like this, try: Labores Solis, No 93 Engine, Zenobia, Robotic Scarab, Sol Invictus, Ra, Sol

Left His Nurse While In a Crowd In the imp: an odd dusty chocolate and creamy berry scent. Wet on skin: berry liqueur chocolates and a dusty furry musk. Dry on skin: now I smell cake, and it smells like a spicy fruity cake, moist and containing golden syrup, stem ginger, various dried fruits like dates and maybe raisins or prunes. I also smell lemon tea, and some chocolates too, with a red berry liqueur filling. It really smells like what it says it should, all these sweet teatime treats laid out, tempting and delicious. I smell a hint of furry fuzzy musk, a golden and dry musk, but I think the lemony tea is strongest. After a while: the scent goes through a lot of morphing. Some stages are nicer than others. Sometimes I smell dusty musk, at other times lemongrassy tea, at other times ginger cake, and then it seems to settle into a smooth sweet chocolate and berry scent. It smells like chocolates filled with a berry fondant. The berry note is identical to the one in Miller vs California. Indeed, by the end, this is very similar to Miller vs CA, right down to the hint of booze and something reminiscent of fig, and with the leather replaced by cake. The musk is dry and brownish, a little dusty, reminiscent of Miller’s paper bag note. It’s not as big and furry as I expected, nor does it remind me of the Lion. The scent then settles into a chocolate-berry. It reminds me of a 13, maybe the March 09 version, but it’s a little flatter, not as interesting, to my nose. It’s lost all the complexity of the cake, tea, musk, spices…there’s an odd boozy thing to it that smells a bit weird? Verdict: this had so much potential and complexity to it, but something about it means it isn’t really perfect on me. There are moments when it shines…the wet stage is a glorious mix of ginger cake and lemon tea served with Quality Street chocolates. But something in it isn’t quite right? Is it the musk? I normally have no trouble with golden musk. There’s a weird lemon note that I seem to smell in a lot of the Inquisitions in this round. It works well here, like lemon tea or lemon drizzle cake. The drydown of this scent is a weird dusty musky chocolate with a pleasant berry fondant filling. It’s nice, but I preferred the first stage when I could smell everything in here, the cakes, the tea, the chocolate and musk, and nothing really clashed, but the drydown is a little flat in comparison. I think I’ll stick to Eat Me and Huesos de Santo for my cake fix. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I swapped the bottle off, but I'm keeping a decant.

Trinket In the imp: a rich, deep red fruit. Cherry maybe, but I also think damsons. And wine. Wet on skin: raspberry? Is that you? Now here’s a note that’s rare in perfume… Dry on skin: raspberry and patchouli, with that almost animalistic ‘filth’ note I got in Cupcake Splatter. This smells like that with velvety red fruit instead of cupcakes…plus some blood accord. It’s unusual. This is a very adult trinket and it has sinister origins. It smells like blood red and bruise-purple fruit: pomegranate, raspberry, cherry (real cherry, not sugared or over-almondy cherry) and currants, maybe some prunes, and a dark and dirty earthy-musky blend of patchouli with tobacco and possibly even spikenard, and a splash of deep wine. After a while: reminds me of one of the blood-themed scents…and smells like what I wanted to get from Dionysia, but with hints of Crypt Queen or Zombi. It’s a very velvety yet dirty and dark scent, with something feral and even a bit vampiric? Eventually this turns to a rich red scent, wine and raspberry with that musky-earthy undertone and that perfumey scent, maybe a bit of spice and possibly subtle rose. I never got any amber from this scent. Resin, perhaps, but not anything that leaps out as amber, at least not to me. It’s really nice once the odd dirt note fades, very sophisticated, a tiny bit perfumey, in a good way. Verdict: this is a lot darker and more intriguing than expected. This trinket is a ruby or garnet pendant on a tarnished silver chain, with quite a history behind it. I smell deep crimson fruit. I can’t say what but it’s not blatant cherry, to me it’s like raspberry and cranberry and red wine, with hints of blood accord, animalic musk and dirt, and spice, maybe incense too, it’s a bit smoky. A vampire’s trinket, perhaps? It manages to smell both luxurious and sinister. I like it, but I was hoping for a little sweetness for balance, and something about the dirty note under those lush red fruits turns odd and funky on me. But this is a fascinating little trinket of a scent that seems to tell the story of an ornament with a mysterious, possibly blood stained past. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? not sure…may need re-testing?

Xmvlzencab In vial: rich honey and a gingery floral. On skin: sharp honey, not as sharp as Tomoe Gozen, more along the lines of Oceans of Love with a bit of O. I think some of this sharpness is caused by the ginger, which is of the tangy, almost citrus variety as opposed to the gingerbread/spicy type. I’m not sure what black laurel smells like, but the plumeria is a rich exotic floral scent here, a bit like monoi or frangipani, but with honey. This smells lush and tropical. It’s not like Honey Moon, sadly, it’s more like Flower Moon 09, but this is nicer, the floral note is not as muddled, it’s a lot more straightforward. It’s also a lot sweeter, the honey and flowers here are very nectar-like, indulgently sweet, but not cloying. The scent becomes sweeter and more floral at drydown. It’s a very pretty scent, but I would have liked the honey note to be a bit richer, like the one in Oceans of Love which had beeswaxy nuances, or that awesome Honey Moon/Hony Mone honey which is my favourite honey note of all…I probably won’t get a bottle, but I may keep my decant, and may try bathing in this. I think this scent-with a name that would win Scrabble points-would make a lovely base for other floral honey scents.

Vampire Tarot: the Priestess In the imp: sandalwood, a bit of smoke, a bit of something medicinal, like ho wood? Wet on skin: this is nice, reminds me of a less sweet Silver Phoenix, or Smoky Moon with less smoke. Dry on skin: ooh, this is full of iris. I do love iris, and this type is more like orris to me, a bit pale and powdery in a very agreeable way-but it’s not as dry as orris. The dryness here is thanks to the sandalwood, which is really lovely, and has an unusual ho-wood/rosewood type scent to it. The juniper is discreet, like the juniper in Silver Phoenix and even the troublesome nicotiana is behaving-I smell it, adding a hint of smoke, but for now it isn’t turning to Ashtray Flower. After a while: this smells smokier but it’s not turning to ashtray at all, like I feared it would! It’s more like a haze of subtle tobacco over an ethereal silvery iris and a velvety sandalwood base. I really like it! This is what I wanted from Smoky Moon, which sadly turned too tobacco-y for me, and the delphinium in that scent turned weird. This one is a lot more straightforward: smoky woody iris, shimmering, sultry and mysterious. It’s also quite warm, like a moonlit summer’s night-this does have a lunar feel to it. Verdict: this one is surprising, as I like it a lot more than expected. This is very different to the original High Priestess scent, which smells like almond, pennyroyal/mint, lotus and something like mushy dead leaves to me. This one is so much nicer. I just hope the nicotiana doesn’t get too strong/smoky with age because it’s perfect as it is. It smells like a beautiful iris and silvery sandalwood mix, with a sultry haze of subtle smoke to it, a tiny bit of juniper that doesn’t smell like gin on me. It’s like Silver Phoenix meets Smoky Moon, somewhere in between the two. With the cool shimmering iris of SP, but with the sandalwood of SM, and a hint of the warm tobacco flower that in here is more restrained than in SM. I’m currently on a bit of an iris kick so this satisfies it. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? yes-I’m going to finish the decant and then get a bottle (if the nicotiana stays subtle). If you like this, try: Silver Phoenix, Smoky Moon, Lulu, Black Pearl, Bony Moon

In the imp: mmm, a lemony rose scent with a brush of herbs and neroli. Wet on skin: surprisingly effervescent honeyed rose. The lime is really strong in here. Dry on skin: this is really good! It reminds me a bit of Venice, I think…a floral citrus rose with a watery and fruity aspect to it. It also reminds me a bit of something else I can’t quite place…Helena maybe, or maybe Moscow, or Versailles? The tarragon and coriander are really intriguing here; they add a greenish, herbal, and spicy distraction from a scent that’s warm, rosy, yet also bubbly and citrus-y. It almost reminds me of Lush bath bombs-fizzy, flower filled, and warm. I can’t tell if the notes are meshing well or not though, but I like it. After a while: hmm, I’m not sure. Maybe I don’t like heliotrope as much as I used to? Because this reminds me of Et Lux Fuit now, and I am not crazy about that scents despite the fact that it contains a lot of notes of win…this scent just smells flat and weird and even a bit soapy. It’s lost the warm fizzy and complex scent, the bright lime has burnt off, and even those unusual herbal notes have gone. Even though jasmine is not a listed note, there’s something here that reminds me of it, as well as something that smells like something burnt, or even popcorn (what the?) on me. Verdict: this one saddened me…its note list had so much potential, so many wonderful notes. But it wound up smelling unimpressive and plain on me, with none of the notes shining out and doing their best on my skin. I liked the beginning when it was a citrus rose, fizzing with colourful flowers and with intriguing hints of herbal spice, a warm effervescence that reminds me of bathing with a fizzy bath bomb full of rose petals. But things that are fizzy tend to go flat, and I’m afraid to say this one does go flat. I’m disappointed as to how something that could have been so good just wasn’t. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? no. If you like this, try: Et Lux Fuit, Moscow, Dolce Stil Nuovo, Two Loves, Haunted Palace, Venice, Versailles

XCDL13 In the imp: boozy vanilla extract…like Antique Lace’s grown up sister. Wet on skin: mmm, this is nice. A bit like the vanilla-rum in Underpants, but boozier. Dry on skin: I like this! It smells like vanilla extract and a strong dark sweet booze undertone. At first I thought it was rum but now I wonder if it’s a bit like brandy or sherry, there’s a fruity aspect, like a hint of wine, to it. The vanilla is sublime. It’s Antique/Black Lace or Underpants vanilla, smooth and sexy and a bit musky-linen in scent. There’s a tad more caramel to this though, and a lot more alcohol. Actually the more I smell it, I think it’s actually cognac. A gentle and sweet cognac, usually that note dislikes me but in here it works. After a while: this is strong! It’s a lot less linen-y than Antique Lace, the vanilla scent here has a wonderful Bourbon vanilla depth to it. It’s intoxicating and powerful vanilla. I’m not so crazy about the cognac at the back of the vanilla, it’s doing the weird thing that cognac notes do on my skin, but this is very similar to Black Lace but without the thick tobacco that I disliked in BL. I adore the vanilla here. Verdict: I can see why this is so beloved, as I myself have fallen for this. It’s a sexed up Antique Lace. It’s like Black Lace without all the things I disliked in Black Lace. It’s the same creamy sexy vanilla, sophisticated and gorgeous. Similar to Underpants in that it’s a bit woodsy, and boozy like a vanilla liqueur, only this smells more like cognac instead of rum. Cognac usually disagrees with me and at the beginning it’s strong and incredibly boozy, but in here it fades away leaving a wonderful voluptuous vanilla behind. At once creamy like the finest ice cream yet also musky and classy, not foody or buttery in the slightest, it’s like the musky vanilla of Antique Lace (but a lot less innocent and gentle) or the sandalwood vanilla of Underpants, and I think it may be Bourbon vanilla, my favourite vanilla note of all. This wonderful vanilla lasts and lasts and lasts. It’s vanilla perfection and I do hope that one day something like this comes out, heavy with this type of vanilla. but I am so glad I found a bottle of this because it will be cherished. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? definitely!

Gold Phoenix In the imp: definitely verbena, with a hint of resin and metal. Wet on skin: very, very lemony. It reminds me of Et Lux Fuit. Dry on skin: where’s the amber and frankincense? This is overwhelmingly verbena to me. In small amounts I can tolerate it but in here it’s not a small amount, and it’s my least favourite of the citrus-type notes. I can smell some heliotrope, a bit of metal, and a weird sort of oily undertone that I’m sure is a side effect of the verbena. But there’s very little of the resins and the amber. Just traces-at times I swear I smell a hint of frankincense, and the blend of heliotrope and a lemony note is highly reminiscent of Et Lux Fuit, but it’s the weird oily-bitter undertone this has that I’m not crazy about. Where is the amber overload I hoped for? I can’t even smell the amber! After a while: interestingly, I smell something a little metallic, a hint of a gold note, but it’s not at all like ozone or the cologney metal note I’m used to. But sadly the verbena just won’t budge. This is unusual because citrus notes usually burn off fast, even the ‘faux’ citruses (like lemongrass and verbena), but in here it sticks around for ages, and I’m not sure if it’s the angelica or heliotrope, but there’s a floral note that doesn’t work here. I smell a bit more frankincense, which I love, but where the heck is the amber? Verdict: this ranks as one of my biggest ever BPAL heartbreaks. It was supposed to be made of pure and utter win. I was hoping that one day there’d be a Gold Phoenix scent. and when there was and I saw the notes, I squeed with joy. I mean, three ambers, frankincense, just those alone should make this stunning and amberrific and resinous and golden. But then there’s the verbena note. it has a habit of amping to turn into the dreaded lemon soap smell of death, but I thought resins would subdue this troublesome note. Hell no. Verbena stomps all over the resins and completely owns the scent, turning it to overwhelming lemon that turns to lemon soap with a bitter oily undertone and the other floral notes turn to soap. I wanted resins with a hint of lemon, not the other way round! Gold Phoenix, or rather, lemon verbena and florals + my skin chemistry, you broke my heart into a thousand pieces, and ruined what could have been the most awesome scent of awesomeness. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? *sobs* no! If you like this, try: Litha, Et Lux Fuit, Helios, No 93 Engine, Sol Invictus, Arcana, Lilith and the Jarocho

Malignant Dreams of Cthulhu in Love In the imp: seaweed chocolate. It’s odd, but it seems to work. Wet on skin: now this smells like the aquatic cologne I get with many sea scents, and chocolate. Dry on skin: this one is weird, but so intriguing! It reminds me a bit of the 13 series, but this is even more unusual. It’s aquatic notes with chocolate, mainly dark choc. The chocolate and seaweed combination reminds me of some kind of adventurous chocolate experiment concocted by a high end chocolatier. Has there ever been seaweed chocolate available? I wouldn’t be surprised if there is. There’s also a lot of sea breeze in here, but sadly this sea note smells a bit too clean and soapy for me. A bit like the aquatic note in the pirate scents, which turns to washing powder on me, but here there’s a bit more cologne to it. It’s very fresh and almost ‘sporty’ which contrasts the chocolate greatly. I don’t smell any incense. After a while: this then settles into a blend of aquatic salty linen stained with dark chocolate. There’s an odd and almost buttery (I’d say more oily, but it reminds me of salted butter) scent to the chocolate, and yet it is also very bitter, a little like the ‘raw chocolate’ I’ve seen available. It still smells like one of those ‘avant garde’ savoury chocolate truffles, like if chocolate was blended with Japanese seaweed. Verdict: this scent is weird! I’ve not encountered a chocolate aquatic scent before, and I wasn’t sure such a thing could work as chocolate and aquatics are opposites to me-chocolate is rich and sweet and indulgent, aquatics are fresh and clean and on me they tend to smell like sporty deodorant. But this mix of contradictory notes does work! It’s not my thing, but it’s unusual and intriguing and I like it for that. it helps that the chocolate note smells more like dark chocolate than milk/white chocolate, and as such it reminds me of those experimental chocolate flavours, like a chocolate and seaweed and sea salt bar (that would be an interesting idea for a chocolate flavour actually). Sadly, I don’t get the incense, and the sea note ends up smelling of soap on me and there’s a weird buttery note I don’t like. so not a scent I want to keep. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? not really.

Womb Furie In the imp: I smell SO but very little honey. Maybe more vanilla? Wet on skin: ah, now I smell honey! Dry on skin: Snake Oil and honey-the perfect couple. I see why people say it’s like O, but it’s a lot sweeter. The honey does have a hint of that dry, biting, musky edge to it but it’s not as blatant. This is actually a really balanced blend of the heavy, heady vanilla of SO with the lighter sweetness and pollen-y scent of honey on top. It’s delightful! I also see why people say this smells a bit Play-doh-y, and I got a similar scent with Golden Priapus, a fluffy and semi-foody vanilla. This may fade with age though. This reminds me very much of a honeyed Snake Oil Chaos Theory I have, which is one of my favourites, only that CT also has coconut which this one lacks. After a while: the Play-Doh smell does fade, as does the sharp aspect of the honey, and this seems to become much more Snake Oily. It’s still honeyed, there’s no doubt. It smells more like ‘set honey’, the honey that’s opaque and grainy as opposed to syrupy and translucent. The vanilla here smells more like the slightly gourmand vanilla which can get oversweet, but I think that’s a fresh Snake Oil thing. To be honest, this smell reminds me of sweet sticky cakes drizzled in honey, the vanilla has gone all crumbly and foody and reminds me of cake-in fact, I don’t know why, but I smell cinnamon here! Yes! Is cinnamon a usual component of Snake Oil? It smells like cinnamon buns with honey, or spicy sticky toffee cake. I know this is billed as a sexy scent but I actually find it very cosy, a luxurious and languid comfort scent that makes me feel pampered…perfect for, well, those times of month when the womb gets furious! (At the risk of sounding TMI, I’m testing this at this particular time-how fitting!) Verdict: believe the hype, because this is a fantastic blend-I always thought Snake Oil would be a soulmate of honey. This is proof that this is a match made in heaven. The honey is a bit like O but this is much better than O. I am not keen on O on it’s own but I have a CT with O which is one of my all time favourite scents (honey with red musk and spicy resins) and this reminds me that this sort of sharp yet vanilla-sweetened honey is really enhanced with a deep, sexy and musky base like SO. Despite a slight Play-Doh stage, this turns into the most delectable cinnamon-vanilla-honey Snake Oil scent ever after a while. It’s a surprisingly cosy scent, with a very indulgent side to it as well; it smells like some kind of sticky sweet exotic dessert. I will need to compare this with my honeyed Snake Oil CT though, to see whether I need one bottle or two. I know I’m getting one bottle, and aging it. I cannot wait to smell this in after a year. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I’m getting a bottle because this can only get better with age! If you like this, try: Snake Oil, O, any of the Snake Pit, Snake Charmer, any of the Snake Oil Chaos Theories, Smut, Hony Mone, Mead Moon