tarantulove

Well, Snake Oil is the most obvious answer.

This is probably the most interesting blend I've tried yet. It goes on almond with an almost dirty note I don't really like (musk?), and morphs between that, soap, a beautiful burnt smell, and marzipan. It's on soap right now -- I think that soapy note might actually be the jasmine, which is becoming more stable on my skin, and blending with the woody, burnt note (sandalwood?). I'm just not sure I want to wear it as a perfume.

I'm getting a lot of linen out of this. It's shifting between black tea and white linen on my skin, sometimes a mix of both. The result is a very proper smell, something that reminds me of upright English gentlemen. I'm not getting any ginger, honey, pepper or milk, which is unfortunate, since those were the elements that made the scent seem most interesting to me. It's also *very* faint.

Hellcat starts out as that marzipan-ish cherry/almond note, which I find a wee bit saccharine, though I occassionally catch whiffs of what smells like real almonds. I'm not sure if that's just my imagination, though. It eventually dries down into a creamy, buttery smell with a nutty edge - nice, but not something I want to walk around smelling like. Pleasantly, I don't get much booze at all. Still, it is definitely a very indulgent scent - I have the same "whoa, too sweet!" reaction I had to Gluttony. And I normally love sweet scents.

Any other scents similar to Gingerbread Poppet? I have to say, most of what I got out of Sudha Seagara was curdled milk, not warm, deep, spicy, sweet baking gingerbread. In addition, GP brings to mind a deep scarlet or forest green colour, while Sudha made me think of a so pale it's almost white yellow. Siren doesn't really work on me either. I *love* GP, in case you couldn't tell, and I'm fervently praying Beth re-releases it this Christmas, but until then...

This is one of the few BPAL scents that doesn't seem to morph on me at all, so there's no need to review its stages. In the vial, it's salt water. On me, it's salt water, with a fresh splash of something light, fresh, and citrusy - I can't pin it down to any specific fruit, it's a little lemony. It definitely reminds me of the beach - it's not something I particularly want to smell like, but I can imagine that someone who had positive associations with water would just love this.

Now I see why everyone always says lotus smells like bubblegum. This is pure, bubblegummy lotus on me, wet and dry. I don't get any citrus, or florals - just gum. (Actually, there's a tiiiny, very subtle hint of something spicy at the edges -- I'm guessing that's the amber.) Not luscious, juicy, gum, the dusty light pink kind that comes as tape. I'm not particularly crazy about it, to be honest.

The first time I tried O, I wrinkled my nose in disdain at the "fake honey" smell and put it away. It's slowly wormed its way under my skin, though, to the extent that I'm thinking about a 5 mL.... It starts out all honey: golden, glowing, oozing honey, melting into my skin. It slowly morphs into a vanilla softened and made creamy by a hint of honey at the edges... I wish this stage of O was stronger, because I would definitely buy a 5mL of it. By this time it's no longer a bright gold but a creamy, soft yellow. It speaks of afterglow to me, not the act itself. It doesn't scream sex, it subtly insinuates it. It's a soft but naughty, suggestive smell.

In the vial, it's grapefruit with a bitter edge. Whoever mentioned the grapefruit peel was dead on. On my skin, it's that same grapefruit with a slightly bitter note. I don't get any ginger or tea or apple blossom. And then after about 10 minutes, it sinks into my skin completely. Boo. I love grapefruit, and I really wanted to like this one...

You know what's weird? Dorian smells like pineapple on me. Yes, pineapple. If I sniff hard enough, I can sort of make out lemon and vanilla and tea, but their cumulative effect? Pineapple. Yeah, I don't get it either. It's some weird skin chemistry thing, though. I'm not much for pineapple. It smells lovely and warm and comforting in the vial, though.