rayvn1

At last, the light at the end of our three-month tunnel of misfortune. To commemorate this momentous occasion, we present a big ol' bottle of sunny, happy, bounciness -- a golden blend with a celebratory feel, promoting joy, peace, and a sense of comfort and well-being: golden amber, heliotrope, vanilla musk, carnation, daisy and sunflower bouquet, neroli, lemon peel, ylang ylang and honeycomb. I recently got this in a swap and oh man, was this lovely when first applied! Rich, golden waves of amber and vanilla musk. Yessss! Now I'm just crossing my fingers that it stays that way through the drydown...It would be so easy for this to turn to flower bouquet of doom. Crap, it's already changing and becoming a flatter scent that's a bit hairspray-ish. This was poised to be a top ten and is sliding into the swaps pile instead. Too bad Edit to add scent description

Almost forgot to review this one! I'm a sucker for vanilla amber or the vanilla musk I think is in Illustrated Woman (?) so I had to give this one a try. I remember it was pretty non-descript on me. Sweet, pretty and feminine with peach and gardenia. Not really my cup of tea though. Glad it went to a good home.

Mmm ozone and rain. Goes a bit towards the soapy side of things. Not the greatest aquatic on me lie Szepasszony (sp?) or Calico Jack, but definitley not the worst either! Worth a re-try in my book.

This smells just like Thin Mints or Peppermint patties How fantastic! Not something I'd want to smell like very often, but it's sweet, cool and refreshing. Nice!

Tamamo-no-Mae’s scent is soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo smoke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha. Interesting! A slight level of skin musk with a very dry, slightly bitter citrus scent. Glad I was able to try a sniffie, but not something I need to track down.

Quick fade for me too. Cooling blend heavy on cypress and not on what I'd hoped for (soil and patchouli). Some teakwood warmth in the mix and a very plant-based smell. Meh on me.

Mmm musk... I'm a huge fan of musk but they sometimes go a really bad way and I'm still trying to figure out which ones work or have the potential to not work. This one seems to work very well, especially on my husband He smells absolutely great with it on! Very masculine, slightly harsh, but with a sweetness that brings it all together. Keeper!

Holy crap this works on me. I wasn't really expecting it to and I can't really explain what it smels like, but it's a sweet, powerful scent that makes me feel feminine and sexy. Wow. Great throw. Vaguely floral even though I'm not a big floral fan. This is one of those special bpal's that break the rules

I was hoping for a strong dash of orange blossom as in Vixen, but instead I get a sharp white musk tinged with a citrus background. Not really for me, unfortunately.

Surprisingly good! This started out with an overly sweet and strong fruit juice note tempered by a rich incense-y level. Settles down into strong, rich incense with just a dab of sweetening fruit. Very pretty! Confident and strong blend on me.

Ohhh man, this is good stuff! I've come to love the plum note and this was very reminiscent of the scratchy, dusty plum I get from On Darkness, one of my top ten LE's. Similar to Bensiabel, but a little less rugged and more fruity - bursting with non-sweet plum juice. Even as a non-foody bpal'er this was a win. Awesome.

When I first applied I thought: Ivy! A very similar note to Death of Autumn, but fresher and sweeter. Now that it's drying I get a perfect Fall scent of leaves, ivy, and I would have sworn there was a little apple or apple cider in here. Fantastic Fall scent!

I've been hemming and hawing on whether or not to try this one because it seemed like it could go very, very wrong. Wet on skin I got a light rose scent heavy on synthetic wood polish. Now that it's dried though, I get the slightly sour labdanum (yum) and rose with the two woods warming things up. I don't think I'd wear this one often, but I am glad I gave it a try.

What the hell was I thinking? Jasmine... <sigh> When will I learn that it will almost inevitably ruin a blend on my skin... A very rich scent, but utterly wrong on my skin. Not good

This is a very girly blend on me. Lots of honeysuckle and otehr flowers with a fresh breeze of mint flowing through it. Not really my thing, but very pretty on the right person

I agree with Lioness - garden mint, not chewing gum mint (hallelujah!) and some herbs as well. Fresh, green and lively. I'm lucky to have the insanely beautiful Comic-con version of the bottle and the tarot card.

Oh crap. Why didn't I hold onto this, again? A hint of ozone on me with a cologne-y edge and a dusty, harshly sexy leather note. Crap. I need to track it down again - that'll teach me to let something age before I send it to swaps

I could have sworn there was black coconut or coconut husk in this! I get a rich, beautiful musk mixed with a creamy base. Really sexy scent

This is a very light scent on me. I had to test it twice just to get a good handle on it. Powdery amber with a primary note of berry and a bit of incense spice swirling around in it. Nice, but not something I need to hold onto.

Lavendar and lemon verbena for me so far. A bit powdery and low level throw. I'm getting over a head cold though, so I'll have to re-test before deciding this little imp's fate.

I'm getting pver a head cold right now so I'll be re-testing this one once I'm back to full nose strength, but I'm getting a delightful burst of sugared citrus notes. Not exactly the grapefruit note I've come to recognize, more tangerine and a pinch of lime. Not getting much else, but that's just fine with me This may be even better than Croquet to try to enable my mom since she loves citrus scents!

I got a sniffie of this recently from a generous forumite Not somehting I would usually try since I haven't looked into the foodie bpal scents, but this is a pleasant, sugary scent. Decent throw. A bit of vanilla underneath the sugar buzz. Nice!

Hm, I like this much more than I thought I would! My skin is pretty anti-floral, but the mix of vanilla and amber is combining with a surprisingly easygoing jasmine and honeysuckle. I would never need a whole bottle, but I'm so glad I got to try this!

This thread was so much fun to go through! Wish I'd thought of wearing a themed bpal to the HP movie (pretty sure I was wearing Dorian, which works for me since there was so much Malfoy in it ) Here's a few more due to insomnia: Mrs. Norris might be - The Buggre Alle this Bible: Crumbling paper and ancient cracked leather with a touch of tobacco leaf and incense. The Golden Snitch - Phoenix Steamworks: Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage Hagrid - Bonfire Night (maybe with a pinch of Dragon's Blood): Beer, woodsmoke, tar, and treacle. Or maybe Doc Constantine. Fang - The Two-Headed Goat: Dark musk, pimento berry, oakmoss, birch wood, and petitgrain. Mundungus Fletcher - Maybe Centzon Tetochtin since they preside over parties and drunkenness? Ooh, Fairy Wine Narcissa Malfoy - Le Serpent qui Danse: A sinister, darkly seductive scent inspired by poetry of Charles Baudelaire. Violet entwined with vanilla and gardenia. Can't remember if someone mentioned this one, but for The Mirror of Erised I'd like - Lady of Shallot: The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger. Viktor Crumb - Lurid has the Bulgarian lavender and ozone for all that Quidditch playing : Shocking, horrific, fierce, savage, sensationalized, luminous and hazy: black currant, Bulgarian lavender and white musk with a dollop of thick resin and a voltaic charge of ozone notes. Centaurs - Robin Goodfellow: Dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage Peeves - Imp: Devilishly playful: white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli. Voldemort - Bloodlust: A fiery Martial blend that embodies primal rage, lust for conquest, and all-encompassing desire. Dragon's blood essence, heavy red musk, Indonesian patchouli and swarthy vetiver with a drop of cinnamon. Or Bluebeard: A scent swirling with dark rage, unbridled jealousy, and murderous intent. Violet, lavender, white musk, and vetiver. I think of Sirius Black when I wear Dracul. Drooooool : Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom. But I will totally jump on the Crowley train! James Potter - I haven't tried this one, but I love the description of Wolf's Heart: Grants courage under extreme conditions, helps overcome fear of death, and strengthens the fortitude of artists and businessmen, enabling them to further their goals. Lilly Potter - Cordelia: The essence of faith, love and devotion: lilac, lemon, green tea, wisteria, osmanthus, white cedar, and Chinese musk. For some reason, many of the Gaiman scents work just as well for me as HP scents: Kind Dumbledore - Mr. Nancy: Sugar cookies with bay rum, tobacco, and lime Kick-Ass Dumbledore - Odin: His scent is dry elm bark, amaranth, warrior’s musk, and Odin’s Nine Herbs of Power. (Not a Gaiman bpal specifically, but gotta love him in American Gods) Ginny Weasley - Pepper (They share the red hair, too!) : Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium. Harry Potter - I know it's a completely different character, but I love the outdoors-y, courageous charm of......Tristran: Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint. Sheesh, my imagination is getting carried away! And I probably never would have gotten around to googling "Severus Snape fanfiction" if I hadn't seen this thread

This was a sniffie frimp received in a swap with a good amount of oil to test I was a wee bit concerned because while all those notes sound lovely, especially the vanilla, musk and wood - grapefruit and rice wine tend to dominate on my skin. I end up with a sweet, fresh, light scent with strong lashes of ginger and grapefruit sugar. Sweet and light, but not my cup of tea. Many scents with rice wine or lighter musk are just too pale and polite on me.