zankoku_zen

This one is an herby vanilla skin musk. Pretty, but nothing remarkable in my book.

I like pumpkin scents. In the beginning, this is very pumpkinny but as it dries, all the other elements come out. I get a little beeswax and the beer. The beer actually makes this blend less buttery and more manageable.

The massage oil is silky, sinks in fast and has the most wonderful TKO smell. Ever. It's very true to the Panacea blend. I don't think in our house we need a TKO massage oil --- cuz the masseuse would also fall asleep! On the other hand, I can see this being used as a 'sleepy time' pre bed moisturizer. Oh TKO, I love you!

I go get a sort of pineapple vibe from it. It's bright and citrusy at the beginning, but as it dries, I get more of the frankincense and olive combination. It's still bright, and shiny, and a very golden scent. It has a light floral overtone to it.

I get a woodsy rosy blend with a hint of peach. This one is a pretty delectable peach blend, if you ask me. It's pretty, and vibrant and very alive. The rose is but a touch, it's mainly a woodsy peach. This is no wilting flower. And even though it is missing the 'sexual' edge of Ebisu, once my Ebisu runs out, I think I might spring for a bottle of Belle Vinu.

This one is a soft, rosy powder. Unfortunately, the amber in this one goes powdery. After about an hour, I can smell something that I can only associate as 'gold'. It's not metallic per se, but it does give the distinct impression of gold. This is a soft, womanly scent. I can see a little girl liking this.

Smoky cedar. Which to me means... burnt pencil shavings. Oh tangerine, where are you?

Very high pitched floral amber powder. I get a teensy bit of sandalwood and something a little nutty. But I agree with lycanthrope, in that high pitched chirp. This is chirpy, uplifting blend. With the powder of DOOM. At least for me. It's like sparrows in real life --- you either love them or hate them. I love sparrows. I think they are cute in their smallness. I don't like this blend though.

This one on me is a creamy vanilla amber with a touch of pomegranate juice. The amber goes powdery, so it's a no go for me. It's darker than I expected.

Ugh. This so doesn't work for me. The tuberose and jasmine are high pitched and... aggressive, and vapid. The lotus is also out, with its bubblegum sweetness. Yeah, not for me. At all.

This blend also has vetiver in it --- because I detected the smoky baconness of it. It didn't last past the first few minutes, and then it became a sweeter woodsy blend with a touch of smoke. As it dries, I think there is a tiny sweet floral to it, which I occasionally get from certain aquatic components, so I am guessing that might be the tears. If you are looking for a good starter blend in the smoky category, I would heartily recommend this one. It's a light, slightly sweet woodsy blend and you just get enough smoke that it isn't overpowering. A good introduction to vetiver as well. Not as a main component, but it teaches you not to fear it as a note in general. Meaning, there are blends... like this one... where is works wonderfully.

Okay this blend totally has vetiver in it --- because for the first 30 minutes or so, it smells like smoky bacon to me. After about an hour, it has morphed to a smoky, woodsy blend. But the first 30 minutes were absolutely horrific. Even the husband kept asking if BPAL made a scent that was called "Bacon, burnt to a crisp!" Funny now that it has calmed down. Not quite when I first applied it.

I have to disagree --- it was slightly chilly at the beginning and I can see the sweetness, but it's basically turned to talcum powder on me. Sweetly scented talc powder. Now this one I do agree with. Spicy, almond and how sweetness. For spicy lovers, this would be very sexy.

At the beginning I got really dusty sweet violets. As it has dried, the baked sweets have come more to the forefront. So now it's dusty baked goods. Like Christmas cookies thrown in the chimney. Naughty kids.

This one is a tart, crisp, juicy pomegranate. It's festive, fresh and full of Christmas spirit. Seriously, this could be Pomegranate SN. At least for me.

Okay, so I didn't seriously find this appealing in the bottle. I should know better now, shouldn't I? I really get the apple cider, with a hint of berries, and woods. This is like the spring version of Samhain. The apple note is more like Fearful Pleasure of recent Weenies. However, when FP can be a little potpourri like, Mabon is smoother. Some of it might be aging. But yes, apples, woods and just a teensy bit of berry. Lovely.

Toad Halls is fresh, aquatic with a lemony/citrus tinge to it. It smells of a polished hall with the windows open. It's the act of walking outside through the french doors of your magnificent estate and smelling the sunshine and flowers from your sprawling gardens while you sip tea in your freshly pressed suit. I guess the best summation of this... it's like those picture perfect Lacoste tennis ads with the people in mid-jump. Bright, wealthy, healthy and just impeccably dressed.

Woodsy, a tinge grassy and very dirty. Vetiver for me is such a dirty note, and I mean, it smells dirty and earthy, and gritty. The sandalwood kinda polishes it out a bit, smooths the grittiness of the vetiver over, but it's not enough.

This one is a minty/herbally lavender blend. The mint is pretty bracing at the beginning. And my skin completely eats this up. Half an hour later and it's GONE. ... Grr.

I agree with jewelbug in that this is a black pepper cologne. I get huge wafts of leather. This is MANLY, sexy, domineering. A little spicy, just enough sweetness to entice. Overall, very appealing. Black pepper is a death note on mr. zee_zee, and I have to agree with jewelbug, he wouldn't like me slathering sexy on some other guy. Which means this most excellent blend has to find a new home...

Okay, so I really get buttercream vanilla icing from this. Makes me think of cupcakes and that delicious icing.... Mind you, there is no CAKE in this. Just icing. It's a little on the sweet side on me, and just a little plasticky (either the vanilla or cream) but it isn't as bad as I thought it could turn out (cream is usually a death note). I think the saffron adds just the right amount of 'spice' to keep this from being too sugar sweet. If you're a foodie/sugary/sweet lover, I would definitely recommend this one to you.

I definitely get the tobacco and pepper on this, esp. when wet. After that, I get the berries and the pine. This is a darker, spicier scent than I typically go for. Esp. with the tobacco and pepper being so amped up. I think I'll pass this on to a more loving home.

Yes, I can see the comparisons to Numb in that cold, powdery violet way. Except I get a little more ozone. But I also agree that this is like Dirty, if you took Dirty and made cleaning fluid out of Satan. I mean, it smells like vast air... and just menacing threat. It's like something you recognize, but utterly corrupted and non-human. At all. If I found an animal that smelled like this, I'd run far far away. If some other human smelled like this, I'd also run far far away. ETA: Apparently, the review above is NOT for Yog-Shoggoth (although I maintain it is), and I have since received another decant that is in fact, vastly different. This one is NOT cold and powdery. It is in fact, ozone, airy and with a bit of vetiver thrown in. On wet, it kinda reminded me to certain blends that have the word 'goat' in the description. Definitely masculine. It dries down to a very masculine blend. Again, perhaps I should dab on the hubby.

This one is a plummy lilac. I don't really get the leather at all, perhaps as a 'base' note, but it's the plum and lilac that take center stage. I'm neither a fan of plum nor lilac, but it's pretty nonetheless. If you love either note, I seriously recommend trying this out.

I agree with the Milk Moon 07 comparison - it's got that milky, slightly tropical feel to it. I actually think I smell coconut milk and maybe that's the aquatics coming through. After about an hour, the aquatic part turns into dryer sheets.