Tracelina

For a brief moment when I dabbed this on, I think I may have smelled the xocolatl and vanilla...but it immediately morphed to tequila and jalapeño. And then amped all over the place. I'd been worried about the chocolate note, but I guess when hot peppers are involved, all bets are off! Oh well. Other Weenies were big winners for me, so I'm not complaining.

I bravely ordered a bottle of this unsniffed, after it was recommended to me by the same friend who first put Bensiabel on my wrist. And I'm so glad I did. When it first goes on, Oya is very wet, juicy fruit with a bit of spice. It morphed through a brief moment of smelling like apple, and then settled into a beautiful sweet slightly spicy plum scent. This is a definite cousin of Bensiabel (my go-to GC scent)--a more feminine version that's comforting and familiar and lovely. A beautiful reminder that I need to pay closer attention to the general catalog, even as shiny limited editions keep vying for the contents of my wallet.

I ordered 4 Halloweenie scents based on notes and reviews, and this is definitely the winner of the bunch! Wet in the bottle, this smells like delicious cake--a good sign, since I'm a fan of Beaver'versary and was hoping this might be a fall twist on that. When it first hit my skin, I panicked because it smelled like buttered popcorn (same as Miskatonic U. does on me, sadly). After a few moments, though, it dried down into a lovely orange cake scent with a hint of marigold. After a bit it gets slightly dusty, which to my mind is completely appropriate! I'm definitely keeping my bottle, and I may need a backup...

Strangely enough, when I put this on--fully expecting marigold overload--what I got was honeysuckle! Maybe my nose is broken, or I don't know the Lab's marigold note, but this floral starts out much sweeter and more watery than the marigold note I remember from Harp. Once it dries down a bit, the powdery marigold peeks out. After a couple of hours, it's settled to a dusty floral that could be comforting and lovely on the right person. Unfortunately, I could tell that if I applied this in larger quantities on myself, it could be headache-inducing. If you're into sweet, pure florals, give this a try; it has none of the bitterness that marigold sometimes manifests.

When I first applied this, it was stunning and evocative--the dry leaves note I love in Chant D'Automne, and the green grass note from A Blade of Grass. As soon as it starts to dry, though, I get a powerful cologney aquatic note. That fortunately goes away quickly, but what I'm left with is a salty, vaguely sweet turquoise aquatic. It's a soft, melancholy, clean scent, and I wish I had a smelly-amenable guy around so I could test it on him (methinks my roommate's cat would protest if I tried it on him! ). I think this deserves a more full-on test, since I love the meaning behind it and the city itself...will update if anything changes drastically.

This is really lovely wet in the bottle, and leads me to think that the accompanying TP spray would be gorgeous! On my skin, though, the blend sadly loses much of its complexity. I'm apparently amping the olive blossom to high heaven, because most of what I get is citrusy when it's wet. There was a brief moment during which I could smell the moss deepening the blend a bit, but then I lost it again. Dry, this is now a dead ringer for Twinings' Lady Grey tea. I'll leave it on for a few hours and see if it morphs. It's a nice unisex scent, and could be a really good option for folks who love citrus blends but can't find one where the top notes stick around. This is a lovely blend, but I'm not sure it's a "me" skin scent--that said, I'm thinking I'll need to pick up the atmo spray!

Like many, I bought this hoping that the beeswax would dominate and be enhanced by the accompanying florals and smoke. Sadly, it was just not meant to be. I think I've now pinpointed the note that makes certain blends go to baby's butt on me: apple blossom. Oh well, it was worth the learning experience. I'm off to send this to a more loving home.

So tonight, I skin-tested a 1/4-decant left from 2008 to see whether I'd like the atmosphere spray (and whether I might want to snag a bottle this year). At first, it was lovely and cold and delicate and slightly powdery. And then it dried. Er, coconut?!? What the heck? Maybe I'm just amping blends as single notes today, but this seriously went to coconut (not fresh, more like coconut-thrice-removed-from-the-actual-fruit) and stayed there for hours. Damn. Maybe I'll just splurge and buy a bottle of the atmo spray, because this was lovely before it decided to go all piña colada on me.

Wow, am I ever glad I got my hands on this before the 'Weenies came down! I think I'm getting a lot of birch, which I hadn't noticed in any other blends before but which smells delicious on my skin. It reminds me both of Dior's Hypnotic Poison and Givenchy's Indecente, both of which I came *this* close to buying when I was sniffing my way through commercial perfume stores several years ago. Unlike those commercial scents, it doesn't overwhelm my nose--it has good throw, but not overwhelmingly so. I'd been wary of the musk at first (some lighter musks can amp to high heaven and give me monster headaches), but here it stays completely in the background and just adds to the complexity and beauty of the blend. Ditto the star jasmine. What can I say? I bought two bottles unsniffed (one for my mom, one for me) based on the notes and reviews, and I'm glad I did. Now I have to find the funds to buy more before the 'Weenies come down for good! If you're afraid to try this because one or two notes worry you, don't be. It's amazing! eta a p.s.: The Girl smells almost identical on me in the bottle, wet, and dry. Don't know if that has ever happened to me before with BPAL. Yum!

This is beautiful--to me, it's the lovechild of Buggre Alle This Bible and Oblivion. Which is strange because there's no musk in this...maybe that's the "blackness" of the leather? Black Rider is a heady scent--not the headache-inducing leather in Western Diamondback, or the deep note in Bensiabel, but a woody dark note that doesn't say leather so much as it cocks an eyebrow and smirks suggestively. I could see this being a unisex scent; that said, I definitely think this is one that folks will be trying on their male significant others.

I'll echo what others have said about Yule. At first I was all "this is Xmas potpourri," but now that I read the other reviews, I can sense the pine undertone. The cinnamon definitely stays in the background on this one, which is ok--I like cinnamon, but not to the exclusion of all else--but the florals and pine that are happening mostly make it smell like a very holiday scent to my nose. It could be a gorgeous atmosphere scent, but I think I may let it sit for a while and skin-test again to see whether the Xmas tree vibe mellows out a bit.

When LunarAwe told me to try her imp of this, I was hesitant at first. See, leather tends to amp like crazy on me (Western Diamondback, I'm looking at you), and I don't tend to like fruit blends. But then I put Bensiabel on, and fell under his gorgeous spell. This is, for me, one of the most balanced blends I've tried in the year I've been into BPAL. The plum is dark and rich, the lilac is lighter & sweet, and the leather is grounding and slightly dry. Somehow, each note keeps the others in check and prevents any one from taking over. I bought a big bottle of this as soon as I had funds, and it has become my go-to scent since then. Also worth noting: although I like the way I smell regardless of what yummy scent I'm wearing, this is the only one that multiple people have complimented me on.

I was the happy recipient of LunarAwe's bottle of Carlin. I'm still deciding whether I love it on myself, though. Because, hoo boy, do I smell like MAN. In the bottle and in its first wet stages, I smelled whatever note is prominent in Host of the Air for me--maybe heather? Then as it mellowed and dried it had a lovely warm green period where I was huffing constantly. Then it went to sharpish, green, man cologne. Now, mind you, if I could test this on someone with the right skin chemistry, I think I'd never get more than a foot away so I could keep coming back to sniff. But as it is, I've been worried that the entire world can smell me coming from a mile away. I may hold off on wearing this again until it's slightly cooler outside (thus less skin exposed to the air and giving off scent), and will try blending it with things that could balance out the sharpness a tad. Basically, this is a very green scent, but not in a way that makes me think of flowers or plants. If you're looking for a gender-neutral-to-guy-friendly 'Weenie scent, this may be a good bet for you.

Said friend c'est moi. We have very different skin chemistry, and I was hoping that the tomato and greener elements would win out over the sweet pumpkin elements (I like pumpkin to a certain extent, but wanted something fresher for autumn). I tried it at LunarAwe's home and, although I could detect a faint hint of tomato and rosemary after it had been drying on my skin a bit, mostly Pumpkin III smelled like candied plastic pumpkin on me. Ah well. One fewer bottle to have to horde.

Ok, Merrill's not crazy. And I agree--in the bottle, this is very fruity. It smells like green apple, banana, and possibly melon to me--juicy, but rounded out with something like coconut. There's something lurking in the background keeping it from getting OMGFRUITY (probably the Penitence), but it's not easy to pick out. I put a small dot on my skin, and it smelled exactly like Banana Boat sunblock. Again, the coconut/banana smell comes out. Unfortunately, it's accompanied by a base note that smells like baby wipes. It's utterly bizarre. And sadly, not my cup of tea. Now I have to decide whether to order another CT bottle and hope for something more resinous...