zankoku_zen

Both the husband and I are having trouble defining this scent - there is something sweet, and something floral, and on me definitely man's cologne. On him, its sweet, something old lady, something old man, something foody, something slightly earthy. Verdict: Yes, this is the scent of someone with stars in their eyes. It's got this dreamy and slightly enchanting quality and in my mind boyish on the verge of masculine. Unfortunately, my boy isn't quite the dreaming youth type so it's a no go for him.

I have to say that this was a sharp, green floral. Almost unisex... but not quite. Slightly ozoney at the beginning, but toward the end I got some of the woodsyness of the cypress and in general just a short of marshy like floral. Pretty. But not for me.

In the imp: Florals On Skin: Florals, hint of amber, hint of pepper On Drydown: The hint of pepper becomes a little more distinct and the amber turns powdery. So this is a mildly powdery and peppery floral. Verdict: Erm. Skin chemistry is not cooperating with this one. Ah well.

In the imp: Buttery Jack On Skin: Pumpkin, light citrus (probably from the pomegranate, slight creaminess On Drydown: The creamy aspect has turned into a plastic aspect. I am really thinking that the BPAL cream note and I don't get along. Verdict: Bad skin chemistry. I was hoping for chocolate and pumpkin, and I got something else instead. SAD!

In the imp: Lavender and sweet tabacco On Skin: This very sophisticated lavender perfume, and the scent of something else that I can't recognize On Drydown: Oh no. The dreaded black musk makes an appearance. Now I smell sweaty and full of smoke. Verdict: Grr... black musk. If not, this would have been a great lavender blend.

In the imp: Tobacco and flowers On Skin: Flowers and smokey rum Drydown: Hothouse flowers and a hint of smoke with a splash of rum Verdict: The florals really takeover for me in this blend. I'm not a huge smoke/booze person but this doest make me think of the tropics and just the heat, the flowers and sort of ... well, being piratey.

At the beginning, this is very floral but toward the end of the drydown, I get a more woodsy/resinous scent with cedar playing a more prominent role. This does make me think of a blooming garden, and how it 'dies' and transitions more into 'earth and woods' during the winter months. There is however a rather sharp note lurking about, like a little prickly thorn, that I'm not too keen on.

This a lush and very regal rose blend. It's not entirely rose, but on me, this is definitely a rose-dominated scent. There is a muted floral background upon which this rose is blooming, and there a hint of earthiness to it. Very pretty.

In the imp: Pear and pumpkin On Skin: Pear! OOH lovely. Unfortunately after a few minutes, it burns off and I get in-your-face pumpkin. Very much like Jack On Drydown: Jack Two hours later: I get less pumpkin, hardly any at all, slight grapes and very slight jasmine. Pretty. Verdict: I'm going to have to give this another whirl, possibly in a week or so to see how my skin reacts. I'm not entirely ready to give up on it. Not keen on the drydown stage and I was really hoping that the pear would last longer. Ah well.

In the imp: Shrill floral On Skin: Very shrill floral. My immediate reaction was ... what is this and why does it smell like a byproduct of a feline digestive system? On Drydown: It's less shrill, slightly more soft, less pungent. I can smell some of the dirt. Verdict: This just doesn't work on my skin. At all. I think the violet is way too sharp (I haven't had good luck with blends with violet as a component) and the BPAL dirt note smells just 'dirty' on me.

I can barely pick out any notes on this one. What can I say? This is a haunting, ethereal floral. It was barely there upon application, and then closer to the drydown it blossomed only the slightest so that I could catch whiffs of it. Haunting. Poetic. It really are like the words of love whispered in the wind. This blend embodies a concept so well, it's actually a little creepy. Bravo labbies!

Straight from the beginning, this was a rose blend. I had hopes in the imp that some of the other components would show up but it was pretty much rose with a touch of sweetness. WAH! Rose, why do you have to love me so? I also wanted the other notes to come play with me!

In the imp: Aquatic and ozoney On Skin: Aquatic, ozoney, very chill. Is there perhaps a hint of mint in this? On Drydown: Slightly softer, more lemony After several hours: Soft, slightly lemony aquatic. Verdict: This is pretty... but it wasn't what I expected at all. It's pretty but I don't this door and I will become close friends.

Again, an ubershort review. This one started out promising, a relatively 'profound' aquatic and I do have to say that it was unlike any other aquatic I had encountered. Unfortunately, it turned into a generic cleaner after about thirty minutes. Sad.

This is a very classic perfume that dries to a very dry vanilla on me. The vanilla is not too sweet and it does have very dry and rocky like properties. A very fitting interpretation of the poem.

In the imp: Sea, kelp and aquatic On Skin: Some plum and a soapy aquatic On Drydown: Plum soap Verdict: This suffered the same 'soapy' tendency as Thalassa. BPAL's aquatics are a hit/miss thing apparently on my skin. Ah well.

In the imp: Slightly musky, slightly floral, a bit fruity On Skin: A tinge of apricot (which makes it sweet), a brush of roses and a swirl of musk On Drydown: It's a weird meld of sweet apricot (fruity) and roses. Verdict: Ah, roses. My favorite nemesis. In any case, this one didn't work out. The drydown is very interesting but not something I'm personally attracted to.

In the imp: Crushed green stems indeed! On Skin: Crushed green stems, slightly woody, slightly musky On Drydown: The crushed green stem aspect dies down a bit, I get more of the musk and wood, with a touch of sweetness Verdict: This is a very GREEN scent on me. Not entirely pleased with it, but I think it would be dynamite on a boy. I have no reason to think it is particularly masculine, but I think it would appeal more to a guy's sense of smell. In any case, off to try it on the husband!

In the imp: Florals and incense On Skin: Slightly musty orange blossom and incense On Drydown: Musty orangey leather Verdict: I'm hit or miss with leather scents. Both Whip and Severin are great, but De Sade was horrible. This one for me is just weird. Orange and leather? I feel like I dripped orange juice on my leather pants and they have also been lightly scented with incense. Interesting combination, but not for me.

In the imp: Masculine cologne. On Skin: Slight tinge of vanilla, slight papery tone, slightly musky On Drydown: Very masculine like musk, hints of vanilla and paper. Verdict: Not for me, but I think I might want to try this one on the husband. I think he'd smell QUITE good.

In the imp: Fruity and floral On Skin: Citrusy fruit (um, hallo kumquat!) and incensey like floral. Actually, it kinda reminds me walking into a Lush store. I definitely get a strong orange blossom note from this. On Drydown: Slightly sweeter, but again, I feel like I've got a Lush store, with all the wonderful melds of smells on my skin. Verdict: This was QUITE a surprise. I expected the pepper to dominate, which is why I stayed away from this. I get juicy fruits, clean orange blossoms and just a strange meld of the two which, again, reminds me of the smells that waft out of a LUSH store. Pretty, but just a tad too sweet for me.

In the imp: Lemony verbena On Skin: Lemon verbena explosion! I'm also getting a dreaded 'cleaner/soapy' vibe to it. Drydown: Lemon pledge. Verdict: I do have to say that this is bright AND sunny, just not the way I expected. I sort of expected it to be slightly mistier and not so clean. Ah well. I'm sure there will be someone who will love this more than I will.

In the imp: Watery flowery aquatic On Skin: Slight cherry note overtone, again, this is a watery aquatic. And yes, I do get the impressions of damp foliage. This is very ghostly and ethereal. Very pungent. On Drydown: I get more of the incensey vibe underneath, despite it being a watery aquatic. I'm glad that the cherry didn't ultimately dominate, since it can be very sweet on me. Verdict: This is an awesome scent depiction. And part of it does remind me to my japanese grandmother. I don't know why since she wasn't the kind that wore perfume and had incensey on her. She did, however, once a week go to the Japanese Cultural Center... and that also kinda smelled like this. It might be the green tea which makes me think of her. In a sense, this is a very nostalgic blend for me. Wow, now I miss my grandma...

In the imp: Buttery On Skin: Buttery and berry like. It's like a fruit tart. On Drydown: Berries (not too sweet) and roses. Weird combo on my skin. Verdict: This is an odd line of foody and floral. From a scent interpretation, this really captures the Knave of Hearts. It's just not something I love.

In the imp: Incensey On Skin: Something REALLY smells incensey on me. Slightly musky, slightly vanilla sweet. On Drydown: The amber makes an appearance, it's more of a resiny blend as opposed to an incensey one. Something sweet in the background. After two hours: Pretty, slightly perfumey very close to the skin scent. Verdict: Pretty but not for me. I can see this being a very passionate and sexy scent, and utterly stunning on the right woman. From an artistic standpoint, this is dynamite. From a personal preference, it's not the kind of scent that I'm drawn to and wear. So I'm gonna send this little fella on to a more loving home.