thekittenkat

In the decant: Patchouli and coriander and mint are very, very strong. Wet: Now I'm getting the sandalwood. But those first three notes I mentioned are present, but hiding in the background for now. The dry-down: A morpher of a scent! The tonka bean and the redwood have come out to play. There's also a bright crispness which must be the lemon peel. And a sweetness that's coming from the rosewood. The three woods are starting to meld together. In fact, this is a very complex blend, with so many different notes, yet all working together, but perhaps at different times. As it dries down, I'm beginning to get a dry and dusty feeling (dust on your trousers) but with still a bit of a sparkle (stars in your eyes). No mud here. I'd like to try this on the bf. These gender-neutral scents that smell good on me always seem to smell better on him.

In the decant: Very sweet magnolia,with lovely lavender lurking underneath. Wet: The lavender is very strong and obvious. But there's still the sweetness of the magnolia swirling about. The dry-down: The lavender and the magnolia are starting to blend now. I also get the feeling, the sense, that if I close my eyes, I'm outside, underneath the starry sky, standing on the lawn just next to a lavender bed, and there's a wonderful magnolia tree nearby, blooming away merrily and tempting me to climb its branches just to get closer to the stars. There's a gentle breeze, as well, moving through the lavender bed and causing the flowers and the leaves of the magnolia tree to rustle softly. This lovely scent is very evocative of a spring night in the Deep South. And I should know, because that's where I live.

In the bottle: Various early summer flowers, some aquatics, and a hint of citrus. Wet: The aquatic note is the strongest. But that wonderful citrus note is lurking in the background, and ready to pounce. Don't worry, the flowers are still present as a middle note. The dry-down: Lots of florals (maybe daisies, roses, maybe wildflowers, and anything else floral that might grow by the side of the road in SoCal), but with a gentle rain dancing among the petals and the leaves and stems. Not sure what the citrus is, as it could be several of the fruits--I'm getting orange and lemon for certain, but not sure of any other citrus rind. Fresh herbs--those might be what's giving this a touch of sweetness--again I wish I knew for certain. For those of you who didn't like the old June Gloom, don't worry. At the June SEWC, some of us did a side-by-side sniff and test of old and new June Gloom (I brought my bottle of the later from home, since there wasn't going to be any June Gloom bottles for sale, and TrailerTrashPrincess brought a decant of the original). The original is lemon, lemon, and then some more lemon, veering close to Lemon Pledge. The new version is nothing like, just those fresh florals with a little bit of water on them, and a slight citrus hint. June Gloom 09 is very lovely. And it should get more love.

In the bottle: Aquatics and herbs and some sort of sharp note that I can't ID (perhaps a metallic note, thus the gold?). Wet: Very much the same as in the bottle, however a lovely sweet note is rising up. The dry-down: Some herbals plants are coming out in the dry-down. Amongst others, could be a sweet sage note. But mostly, this scent is very much the same throughout, and doesn't morph a lot. This is a lovely and quiet scent for summertime, and I love that Beth is going to continue with the Egyptian oils. This is a wonderful concept, well expressed, and I look forward to more in the series. And the bottle's artwork is elegant.

And the last CD prototype that we tested at SEWC. I got vetiver and smoke, and then some florals and a sweetness. Confusing but interesting. I would like to try this again when it comes out.

Another CD prototype that we tried at the SEWC. To me, it was like walking into a bake shop or a candy store, where everything is being made fresh. Very yummy! This is bottle-worthy when the new Act of the CD goes live.

One of the Hellboy prototypes tested at SEWC. I really wanted to like this one, but was unimpressed by the prototype. It was a faint skin scent on me, some herbs and some plants. (However, this was tested late in the evening, so my nose wasn't working so good by that point. This is the one Hellboy scent that I really want to try again, though. )

This was one of the three CD prototypes that we got to test at SEWC. I didn't get any dark florals or other dark notes from this, just lots of light florals. Couldn't pick out any particular one, but I did like it. In the same family as The Unicorn and other multi-florals. I want to try this again, because it doesn't really seem to belong in the CD from what I smelt in the bottle and then on my skin.

I tested this late in the evening at SEWC. By that time, I guess my nose was "broke" because I couldn't pick up much of anything from this--it seemed well-blended and somewhat sweet. I hope to be able to test this again when I don't have so many scents to test, as the other reviews here make it sound like something that I would adore, on the bf.

Tested this at SEWC. Had heard the hype, but I wasn't expecting to like this, as I don't like lilies and they don't like me, so I had no hopes of this one. Lots of lily and also brown musk, which is a musk that doesn't work on me, as I have just found out this past weekend. I didn't get any fruits or any sort of a bright feeling from it. I think that the brown musk and the lilies just overpowered anything else in the scent. In fact, I had to wash it off rather quickly. So I'm glad that I don't like this, as it will be mostly impossible to obtain.

I tested this at the SEWC, very late in the day, so my nose wasn't picking up everything. Alas, I didn't get the lovely notes that others have mentioned in previous reviews. I hope to be able to try this again in the future, but all I got was smoke and vetiver from sniffing the wand to letting it dry a little on my skin. But then, this could be about right for a phoenix?

A very generous person gifted me with a 1/4 imp. Tonight, I decided to test it. I now understand what the fuss is all about. In the imp: Saffron, saffron, saffron. Wet: This has suddenly morphed into something much more complex. There's my favourite yummy sugar note, and a delicate vanilla, not unlike the vanilla note in Antique Lace, but more obvious and bold. And also there's the butter rum, foodie indeed, but not so sweet as I might have expected. (And not too buttery loud as Jack was.) It's lovely and seems like it's going to blend together in an amazing way. The dry-down: The sandalwood is a wonderful base note. The faint spicyness holds the vanilla and cream and rum in check, and makes this not so foodie, but instead something very elegant and sensual. It's an incredible and well-blended scent, and I can now see/scent why this is a holy grail for so many. Later: Alas, this is fading away. Yummy but faint.

In the imp: The mint and thyme and red currant are the top notes, but I detect the florals lurking underneath. Wet: The tea and mint and thyme are still holding their own, but the red currant and the florals are starting to come out and bring a sweetness and softness to this scent. The Dry-down: Another lovely and amazing well-blended and balanced scent. I think what is keeping everyone together is the jasmine tea. I love how the florals and the tea are sweetened by the red currant, but at the same time, the sweetness is held in check by the mint and the thyme. Do wish I knew which mint this is. A very light and delicate scent, evocative of Faerie.

In the bottle: I'm detecting all the fruit notes here separately, and maybe a whiff of the juniper. Wet: Now the fruit notes are blending together, but not too much so. The juniper is like a light green base note. The dry-down: The metallic-plastic note (i.e. the juniper) is not very present, but keeps the fruits in check. All the fruits are present and well-blended now. Others at the DSWC agreed with me that this is a "hit"! I like this more than I expected to like it, and I expected to like it a lot! I think that this is a perfect summertime scent for those who like these fruits. The blueberry note reminds me somewhat of the berry note in Blue Phoenix, but really more like the blueberry note in Berry Moon.

In the bottle: Marshmallows, sugar, and the pink scent of strawberries. Wet: As in the bottle, only yummier if possible. The dry-down: I want to lick my wrist. This is like a strawberry marshmallow candy delight to me. (I won't compare it to that strawberry marshmallow fluffy stuff that comes in a glass/plastic jar, because I have never tried the latter, even though I see it at my grocery store all the time. I'm somewhat afraid that it would be totally nasty and artificial in taste.) As it dries, though, the dandelion sap rears its lovely head as a hint of green, keeping this oil grounded and not 100 % candy. I bought my bottle at the DSWC. As I stated over in that thread, if you like Velvet Unicorn, Velvet Pink Kitty, Marshmallow Poof, and Strawberry Moon 09, you will love this scent. My only concern is that I had to re-apply every couple of hours. Other than that, this is just wonderful. And the label art? Just darling!

In the imp: First off, I can smell this without the little decant bottle being open yet! There's cacao, maize, and other notes that I am not sure of that sweeten and spice this oil. Wet: Yummy cacao, with hints of the maize and what I think might be the octli, and some unknown spices. This is, of course, not chocolate, but if you like Beth's chocolate oils that are not so sweet, like some of the 13s, you may like this. The dry-down: The scent continues true throughout, very much the same from imp to the drying phase. Just a note: in the decant, the cacao had settled to the bottom. So I had to turn it upside down, and rotate it a few times in an effort to get it to mix somewhat. It never really has mixed all that well. I can see that I will have to do the same to a bottle. When we tried the prototype at DSWC last month, this was powerful stuff; I could smell it with my arm down at my side. Many of us had speculated that June or July would be a corn moon, and whilst not a lunacy, this will do very nicely. Here's a link to octli at the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octli

In the imp: Heavy on the frankincense and the saffron. Wet: Now I'm getting some of the amber and chamomile. Very spicy, but a warm scent. The dry-down: A very golden and spicy scent. That being said, I'm not sure that this is a "me" scent. I'm picking up more of the sweetness of the heliotrope at this point. The Wiki has an entry on Artemisias: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_(genus) Wormworm and sagebrush. Interesting. At any rate, this is a complex scent, with different notes manifesting at points along the way. Sweet and spicy.

In the imp: Lots of goat's milk! Wet: Still lot's of goat's milk, which is not at all like cow's milk, and also lots of yummy fig. The dry-down: The milk has backed down, and that touch of sweet myrrh is spicing up the fig just a tad. My nose is glued, as they say, to my arm. Bottle-worthy, and then some! This isn't a complex scent, but the crafting is in how everything is so well blended. Like others before me, it does remind me of the Milk Moons. I see this as an autumn scent, even though figs usually ripen here in August, and the weather is still hot summertime weather. And I love me some figs and goat's milk yogurt, so this oil was probably a given to start with. And, yes, this is a very foodie/fruit scent. The myrrh is what saves it from being just fruit and food.

In the bottle: The honey musk, something green and leafy, and also something spicy, but in a faint and elusive way. Wet: I just drizzled some honey over a few freshly-washed-and-picked blackberries; I had already sprinkled some vanilla extract over these same blackberries. Since they came from the brambly vine creeping up the old stone wall at the bottom of the heritage rose garden, perhaps the Fair Folk have been amongst them and left some of their magic behind. (Well, this is what this stage smells to me--my own fantasy. ) The dry-down: Everything has blended in such an exquisite fashion, with the honey musk being the note that holds it all together. I still would like to know what those fae spices are, but sure and the Fair Folk won't be tellin'. I was a bit surprised when I realized that I hadn't reviewed this, as Lady Una was my first purchase from the Lab, a couple of years back. One day I was reading along on Neil Gaiman's blog, and he mentioned that a company was now making perfume oils based on the graphic novel that he co-created with Charles Vess, Stardust. As this graphic novel is one of my favourites of all time, I zoomed to the BPAL site, found the Stardust section, and started looking through the scents. Lady Una, with the honey musk, the vanilla, and the blackberry (leaf) jumped out at me, so to speak, as a winner. So I ordered it right away. And that the proceeds go to the CBLDF is an added plus in my book! This, the first oil that I ever ordered from the Lab, is still my favourite, and I'm now on my second bottle. Just exquisite. ETA: Just fixing the smiles from the former board! And I'm on my third bottle at least. If the Post ever made this in a hair gloss and/or a bath oil, I'd be thrilled!

In the bottle: Snake Oil, but it's a little sweet and chocolatey-smelling. Wet: This is a dark and sticky oil! Very chocolate or cocoa-scented, but the wood, which I think smells more like cedar than teak, is very present. The dry-down: The sweetness of the rice milk is now swirling through the Snake Oil spices and the cocoa, but it's not too sweet. This is not what I would call a heavy foodie scent; if anything, it sort of reminds me of baking chocolate or baker's cocoa powder. There's a pale or white floral note, which is strange, because no florals are listed as notes. Maybe that's something from those exotic Indonesian oils blending together? At any rate, I can't wait to see how this ages.

This is for the 08 edition. In the bottle: A lot of mint, perhaps like a winter mint, and a touch of vanilla as a base to give it a little sweetness and not be quite so tart. Wet: Still very minty. The dry-down: The vanilla finally comes out and combines with the mint to echo the smell of those wonderful after-dinner butter mints. This is just totally delicious, and my nose could be stuck to my wrist the rest of the day. But what elevates this scent above that of the yummy candies is that there's a sparkle to it, that the freshness of the mint is preserved, and is not drowned by the vanilla, the way it is in the butter mint candies. It isn't foodie, but somewhat candy-like. At the same time, the vanilla tames the mint somewhat, and so the mint doesn't run away with the scent. A lovely balancing act. And seems to be long-lasting as well. If you like the mint in this, you could try Death of a Gravedigger, Garden Path with Chickens, or Cloister Graveyard in the Snow.

In the bottle: Very dark incense, but with something sweet (must be the white rose) deep in the mix. Wet: I'm reminded of how Dan Patrick, the ESPN anchor/newscaster would talk about about a player on a hitting streak, saying "he's el fuego" or something like that. (We would always laugh, because he was not saying, "he's on fire", but "he is the fire"! ) But now I know what he means. The dry-down: The white rose and bay rum are there, but as I stated up top, they are a bottom note. A little layering with Mr. Nancy or the White Rose from the Unity set might be interesting. First way for tart, second way for sweet. But, yes, otherwise, a summer bonfire on which someone has tossed on white roses that were first sprinkled with some old bay rum.

This is for the 2005 version. In the bottle: Vanilla and florals. Wet:There's the sweetness of the vanilla, and lurking under the snow are those florals. And just a whiff of coconut. The oil is cool, very cool, on my wrist. Once again I must wonder out loud, "How does Beth do that!". The dry-down: Rather much the same as wet. A very light and pleasant scent. It stays close to the skin. This just gets sweeter and sweeter. Very much like Snow White '08, except less coconut.

In the bottle: Grapefruit and the florals; not sure where the vanillas are. Wet: The florals and the grapefruit (a sparkly note) are the top notes. There's vanilla way down deep, though. Some sweetness from the vanillas is starting to loft its way up. The dry-down: I'm picking out the white gardenia now; this was one of my mother's favourite scents. The five vanillas are swirling through all the florals, and making a lovely combination of them in a beautiful bouquet. This isn't as sweet as I thought it might be, but it's still very nice. It seems like it will be more of a skin scent on me. And the label is cute! This is more sweetly elegant, because of the floral notes, and not quite so young-lady-sweet. But the sweetness of the vanillas is still very obvious. It's not too candy or foodie because of the floral notes, but still sweet. A keeper for sure.

Note: My bottle came from the DD Trunk Show, with new label art. In the bottle: A pale sort of wintery, minty musk, and winter breezes blowing by. Wet: The mint is morphing even as I type this, from a light spear-or-winter-mint to something a little more sweet (but not candy or foodie). There's that pale musk deep down, perhaps a white musk, anchoring the sweet mint. The dry-down: Cool and refreshing. Not as cold on my wrist as some of Beth's other snow note perfume oils. Very lovely on a hot southern day such as today. However, this may be one of those that I will have to slather, but still a keeper, nonetheless. I'm not getting the Snow White comparisons at all. Snow White is a lot more floral on me, and also it has that strong coconut note on me. Snow-flakes is more in the same family as Ice Queen, Skadi, and Dublin when I sniff it in the bottle and then when it first hits my skin. It does become more sweet on me as it drys down, but that's still a sweet mint. The closest scent I can now compare this to would be The Snow Maiden, and the Maiden gets very floral in the dry-down. There's still mint and musk in Snow-flakes in the dry-down.