zankoku_zen

Sweet, almost peach-like florals and musk, with a hint of cold ambergris. It really does remind me to Tamora, but less heavy. Too sweet for me.

Linen with a hint of sandalwood. This is a clean, manly aftershave. Ditto with the hint of soapiness. Better than Old Spice.

Dusty cinnamon, boozy rum, and something that smells like spoiled egg nog. This is utterly wretched on my skin and gives me a headache. Actually, it probably smells like the Monday after the Christmas office party - in which the bowl that the egg nog has been overturned, and it just sort of sat on the carpet over the weekend and when you come in Monday you realize what a mess the conference room carpet is. SKIN FAIL.

HGM 2011 is nothing like the original Hungry Ghost Moon. The original to me was very candylike ginger sweetness. This one has more of a bitter grapefruit pith overlay, the ginger is more like gingerbread with hints of wisteria. It's like a ghost tookover a gingerbread house left over from Christmas. A ghost that smells like wisteria. Thereby, I rename thee: Haunted Wisteria Lane Gingerbread House. It doesn't smell like murder, but what do I know about ghosts and Wisteria Lanes?

Pine, peach musk and a hint of tuberose. I was hoping for an icy, chilly snow like from Kingfisher, but this is straight up PINE, mixed with tuberose. Which oddly makes it smell like a bit like a cleanser. SKIN FAIL.

OMG. This blend is fabulous. It's a smoky teak wood and bay rum blend. It's like a sexy japanese pirate. Take Johnny Depp and make him asian. Sexy, adventurous, manly. I'm going to try and slather this on mr. zee_zee now....

Patchouli, cumin, and a hint of honey and tobacco. Or as sunshinedaisybliss put it: "Patchouli curry with honey sauce, mixed with cigarettes and garnished with a sprig of mint. "

LEATHER + HONEY. I get occasional hints of tobacco, but in general its a brown leather + honey blend. Being a fan of neither of predominant notes, I'm going to pass on this one.

Roses, with a hint of lilac and peony. It isn't the lush red rose from say Peacock Queen or Rose Red. This one is a sweeter, milder rose note. Definitely pink. Pretty, but not for me. On the other hand, if you like rose blends, this would be a KILLER bridal perfume.

Creamy honey with a touch of pear. It's sweetly cloying, but unfortunately the BPAL's cream note tends to go plasticky on me on the drydown and this isn't an exception. I bet its a delicious pear scent on the person with the right skin chemistry.

Sexy woods. I get vanilla orchid, sandalwood, and patchouli. It's dark and potently sexy. It was odd to smell alcohol in a BPAL blend, but it dissipated quickly. Smooth, dusky, woodsy.

Sumai no Sechie was a surprise. It smells light, fresh and fruity. Fig, muguet and ylang ylang. I may have to retry again and see if I need more.

Sweet apricot, honey and jasmine. Sweet fruity jasmine floral. Mr. zee_zee however is a a not a jasmine fan. At all.

Honey, furry musk, nuts and a hint of berries. On the drydown, my skin amps up the nuts and honey, so it makes me think of some of the Yule scents like Hanerot Halalu.

Smoky ginger, hint of mint (or kudzu. Is kudzu minty?), honey and cream. It's a very intriguing scent, very well blended, but perhaps a little too odd for me to wear. That being said, it's one of the more original BPALs out there.

Tangerine, sandalwood and moss. On wet, the mandarin and tangerine are bright and sweet. As it dries it's more of a citrus tinged sandalwood and moss.

Plasticky vanilla, hints of peony and orchid. This is very sweet, and definitely not for me.

Pepper, clove and dark chocolate and something that smells like bubblegum candy. If you like a dark side of Jailbait (with CHOCOLATE), I'd give this a whirl.

Snowy lily and hints of iris. It reminds me to Cloister in Graveyard in the Snow actually. My skin eats this up though, sadly. It's a very pretty, haunting, silent scent though.

Coconut, carnation and amber. In some ways, this reminds me to Red Lantern, minus the caramel component.

Fruity, juicy floral. This is a jumble of smells but ends up smelling like a nice bouquet. It's a nice summery blend, and would actually work really well as a body lotion.

Ozone, snow, musk and hints of honeysuckle and pear. It's like a soft vanilla (except no vanilla) cuddle warmth. But made of SNOW. And OZONE. Which can be such harsh notes. Instead, this is like a snowflake making love to another snowflake on honeysuckle petals. HOT DAMN. I think I'm in love.

Strawberry candy and vanilla sugar. Really sweet. Sweet, candy, strawberry.

Black, musky coconut and brown sugar. It actually makes me think of coconut macaroons. It's got that heavy 'cookie/foodie' sort of smell to it. Yup, definitely coconut macaroons. Which is awesome if you love coconut macaroons and/or foodie blends.

Lilies and roses! It is mainly a lily blend until the first hour, and then the mix definitely switches to roses being more predominant. It's green, fresh, lilies and roses. This is a voluptuous and sophisticated floral. Heady.