Jump to content
BPAL Madness!

zankoku_zen

Members
  • Content Count

    13,746
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by zankoku_zen

  1. zankoku_zen

    Time Does Not Bring Relief

    For me, this is a sharp almost salty floral. I get lavender, orange blossom and violet. Powdery violet. Yup. Definitely not for me.
  2. zankoku_zen

    Virginia

    Oh Virginia, what a personal disappointment you are to me. I sadly amp up the frankincense, white sandalwood and spices to the extreme. The sandalwood is powdery, the caramel amps up on the drydown. And you are a sweet, powdery musky incensey mess with orchid tinges. Sadly, I think you lose against the bright, clean floral appeal of Lola. Perhaps someone with a more gifted skin chemistry can make you work. But not me. Which is a huge disappointment, since I thought you would be a winner. Pooh.
  3. zankoku_zen

    Lola

    UFFF. This is so good. Okay, so typically anything with pomegranate, tuberose, pimiento berry or jasmine is a no no. Lola, in fact, was one scent I expect dismal things from. And what a shocker, she is utterly lovely, and quite takes my mind off the disastrous Virginia. Not this time. So for me this is lush, sweet florals. It ends up smelling like the more floral, red aspects of Fire Pig. Heady plum blossoms, lily and a touch of green. And yes, a slightly clean edge. I can see people associating this with a shampoo, but you know what, its the sort of floral shampoo smell that I can totally dig. Hell, if my hair smelled like this all the time, I'd stockpile the shampoo. Fruity, floral, clean.
  4. zankoku_zen

    Aphrogenes

    Coconut with whiffs of iris and cherry blossom, with some orris peaking out. The orris gives the iris/cherry blossoms a sharper edge. Boo. I know I amp up coconut, but the whiffs of iris and cherry blossom are very tantalizing. This makes me think of things that are soft, like tissue paper.
  5. zankoku_zen

    Sugar Moon 2011

    Sugar Moon reminds me more to Lune Noire than its predecessor. It's a dark, sugary fruit floral. Purple in vibe. I get hints of sugar, plum, black currant and violet musk and orchid. It dries to a very sophisticated orchid, in the same vein as the Shadow Witch Orchid. This to me is such a 'purple' scent both in feel and expression. I am not a fan of most of the elements here, but this is dark and seductive. Mmm, delicious.
  6. zankoku_zen

    Nymphia

    Sweet spun sugar, soft coconut and soft freesia. On wet, it is those three elements and a brush of lavender. I am not surprised that I amp either the coconut and freesia, but I believe all the other elements and the addition of the sugar make both the coconut and freesia less aggressive. It worked out how I imagined it would, but I am surprised at how soft and creamy it is, and not strident. Interesting, but not for me.
  7. zankoku_zen

    Copulating Mice

    Lavender, bergamot and pecan on wet. And then it dries to a soft lavender, pecan and tonka blend. Very nutty. Slightly foody. I am not fond of nutty blends, but this one was surprisingly pleasant.
  8. zankoku_zen

    Anthesteria

    On wet, this smells like sweet grape candy. As it dries, its more of a wine and honey. The honey is definitely predominant on wet.
  9. zankoku_zen

    Vampire Tarot: The Lovers

    To me, I don't really get dirt. I get something that smells like coconut and a white floral. Yup, definitely coconut. Odd.
  10. zankoku_zen

    The Ring

    Amber, frankincense and patchouli. Again, a very warm scent. Not a fan of either resins, amber or patchouli. Admittedly, this is softer than I expected and in some ways, it makes me think of House of Mirrors without the aquatics going on, but rather the warm amber base of that. I am pleased, in some ways, that this isn't metallic at all. ETA: September 2016 So, five years changes you. I have come to realize that antique amber is one of my favorite notes. Ever. So yes, amber, a touch of frankincense.
  11. zankoku_zen

    Burning Vulva

    Oh Burning Vulva, you are anything but fiery. You are a close, warm skin scent. I get vanilla, amber, hints of leather like in Heroine, and honey from the beeswax. In fact, a lot of honey. This is essentially a warm vanilla honey scent on me. Pretty, and the honey is not obnoxious. Huh. Who would have thought this would have turned out to be so wearable?
  12. zankoku_zen

    Festival Mask

    This is herbal patchouli. It's woody, and herbal, and I think this would be a great GUY scent. Clean, woody, slight whiffs of fruit/herbs.
  13. zankoku_zen

    Areia

    This is a red red scent. I get lots of cherry, red rose, dragon's blood and red musk. Like I said, red red red. The black cherry and dragon's blood sweeten the rose and musk. This a heady, womanly scent. ... Not for me!
  14. zankoku_zen

    The Arbor

    Red musk, mixed with champaca and patchouli. Sensual, woody... and did I mention the red musk? ... So, yeah, not my type of blend at all.
  15. zankoku_zen

    Young Pine Saplings

    So this smells like creamy ginger milk, slightly foodie. Verges on gingerbread on me, actually. I like to eat gingerbread, but this is a little too foodie for me. Delicious, but not the type of scent I typically wear.
  16. zankoku_zen

    Kataskopia

    Stemmy tuberose, hint of jonquil. Dries to something floral green and powdery. And headache inducing. PASS
  17. zankoku_zen

    Standing Female Nude

    Rose, and red rose that that. This sort of reminds me to Rose Red, but with amber and some musk in the background instead of the icy/plant stem/apple overtones. Pretty, light rose.
  18. zankoku_zen

    Ushi

    Ushi to me is a fruitier than ever red musk. Mostly mango and fig, and perhaps a touch of green from the tomato and definitely the red musk rounding it out. I am pleasantly surprised. Typically, I amp up Beth's red musk so that most of the red musk blends end up like red musk SN on me. I am surprised at how well all of the notes play together.
  19. zankoku_zen

    Harigata II

    This is a smooth, coconut and hazelnut blend. There's a faint hint of anise in it, but I mainly get creamy coconut and hazelnut. Definitely not for me.
  20. zankoku_zen

    Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat

    So on wet, I adore Lemon Scented Sticky Bats. It's lemon candy. But like the lemon is on steroids. It's lemon, lemon verbena, lime that smells like lemon... you get the picture. And sugar. The sugar is definitely vanilla sugar. As it dries, the lemon dissipates and I get a warm, vanilla sugar skin musk sort of scent. YUM.
  21. zankoku_zen

    Antheia

    Jasmine is often a problem note for me. Just uncorking the vial makes me think cat pee. On wet, it just smells like ultra-heady jasmine, with a touch of rose and some wet wool underneath. This is heady, potent and to me mildly headache inducing. Utter. Fail.
  22. zankoku_zen

    Hekaerge

    Hekarge starts off with a whiff of lemongrass on top of resinous patchouli and some lavender. And then it dries to a patchouli, resinous myrrh and balsam sweetened by honey. Balsam to me is a wood that ends up sort of smelling like cedar, and thus ends up in quasi-pencil shavings. So yes, spicy, resinous woody. Not for me.
  23. zankoku_zen

    Nikephoros

    Nikephoros, you are an utter fail to me. You are dark patchouli and resiny benzoin. Actually, I think I would have been happy with invidiana's experience. This is a warm, resinous scent, and definitely not the kind that I'm attracted to. PASS.
  24. zankoku_zen

    Nude Woman Reclining

    Nude Woman Reclining does remind me vaguely to the Bearded Lady - I get a mishmash of floral notes, over which honeysuckle is the most prevalent. I can smell the warm vanilla base. This scent is womanly, heady and sophisticated. It's definitely a mature woman, secure within her own feminine power.
  25. zankoku_zen

    Dark Chocolate, Lime and Chocolate Mint

    While this lasts, it is delicious. I can smell the peppermint on wet, with a tang of lime and a whiff of chocolate. Yes, this smells like mint chocolate chip. And dries down to... nothing. My skin chemistry ate this one up. Literally in like five minutes. But the peppermint note in this scent is to die for. I wish it had stuck around...
×