puck_nc

I love the scent of wisteria, and it's hard enough to find in perfumes, so I had to give this a try. Origin: Part of a big imp purchase off LJ In the Bottle: It's very light and floral, and I can pick out my wisteria. Wet: Hmm...the florals vanish and all I get is lemon, cedar and musk. The combine into an almost cinnamon-scent. It's like I'm standing in an old-fashioned candy-barrel store. Drydown: Wow, this fades fast on me! The florals creep back out, but by the time they do my skin has eaten it all. Verdict: I'm thinking of trying this as a spring room scent since it's so pretty in the bottle.

Anything with roses in it gets a tryout with me. Origin: Bought in an LJ sale. In the Bottle: Hmm...this isn't a pleasant smell for me. Either the orchid or labdanum is very acrid. Wet: Well, for once I'm not sure what to think. The roses aren't really blooming but at least the acrid-ness is lessened. Drydown: Ugh. This turns into a very faint baby powder on me, with no throw. I'm glad this doesn't happen with my favorite rose scents. Verdict: Off to the swap pile.

If it has roses, it must be tried, even though I felt pretty sure going in that the coffee was going to turn me off. Origin: Bought off LJ. In the Bottle: A very crowded scent, and it's hard to isolate the notes. I get whiffs of coffee & wood. Wet: The coffee is strong, as is the vanilla and fig. I smell like Starbucks! Drydown: It goes sharp & acrid on me. The combination doesn't hang together at all. Verdict: It wasn't the coffee in the end but the mahogany and tonka bean that I couldn't stand in combination with the florals.

A celebration of the Bone Church of Prague. Frankincense, rosewood, lily, and geranium rose. Anything that has rose listed in the notes is a must-try for me. Origin: A frimp from a kind BPALer on LJ In the Bottle: dry and dusty, definitely like an old church Wet: incense and more incense. My hate affair with musk continues. Drydown: *sigh* The rose never blooms, nor does the lily. It's all musky incense. Verdict: Sold off.

It was my first Lunacy order. I ordered with trepidation, fearing I would wind up smelling like my dad's Christmas fruit salad. Origin: Fresh from the Lab. In the Bottle: All I can pick out is sour/citrus fruits. Lime, tangerine...it does smell like my dad's fruit salad, which is heavy on the grapefruit. But I don't like grapefruit and that's not one of the components. Wet: MAJOR grapefruit and tangerine, maybe a hint of the mango or papaya...something tropical is trying to peek out. Drydown: Nope, tangerine and oranges. I have to breathe very deeply to get even a hint of other notes and the ones I can catch are the ones I don't care for...like apricot and cantaloupe. I get no apple, no strawberry, no pear. Verdict: Oh well. This one will be sold or traded.

I put this on my wishlist early on in my BPAL experience, long before I had learned what my skin tends to do with either violet or musk. Origin: Frimp from the Lab In the Bottle: I can pick out the musk, violet and maybe the neroli, but overall it's more woodsy and musky than floral. Wet: violent violet and sandalwood. Violet just plain hates me. Drydown: Oddly enough, the musk doesn't take over like it usually does. The violent backs off some in favor of a musky sandalwood, but that bitterness hangs on. Verdict: Swapped.

This sounded like a unique and interesting floral to me. Origin: Bought in a lot on LJ. In the Bottle: Very floral, buit a cool floral. Definitely makes me think of the night and the moon. Wet: Purple and dark, definitely evocative of nioghttime. Something in it makes me think of violets, but without that awful acrid-ness that usually happens when violet meets my skin. Drydown: It lightens up a bit, and a note develops that I can't identify. Whatever it is, it's sharp and sour and not very pleasant. Phooey. Verdict: Off to be swapped.

Since I lived in Spain for a year and visited Madrid, I had to see what Beth had come up with to represent the city. Origin: Purchased on LJ. In the Bottle: Cough syrup! Ew. I can smell the clove after a few persistent sniffs. Wet: I get clove and something sweet and thick, but it doesn't smell like wine. Perhaps it's the mimosa. Drydown: The wine never shows up. It stays medicine-y with lots of clove and that pink-red sweet note. Verdict: Not something that I'd wear, and not a scent I think of when I think Madrid. But I remain curious as to what Beth would do for Sevilla...

This sounded like an interesting possibility, since I love sweet florals. Origin: Swapped for it on LJ. In the Bottle: Nice! Sweet brown lilies. Wet: Hmm...all lily, no sweet. Drydown: The honey creeps back slowly, but it hangs around in the background. Verdict: Not bad, but not me. Into the swap pile.

I adore the smell of rain and had to try this. Origin: Decant bought on LJ. In the Bottle: A light and clear scent, full of ozone and water. Wet: Wow, VERY ozone! Drydown: The ozone hangs around, but the watery elements and a hint of evergreen start to emerge. Verdict: I don't know that I like this on me. I may try it in my oil burner as a room scent.

I wasn't sure about the herbs, but I do love strawberries and decided to give this a try. Origin: Decant bought off LJ. In the Bottle: Mmm! A Strawberry smoothie with a bite! Either the tea or sage isd giving it a sharp green sting. Wet: One of the herbs overwhelms it, sharp and astringent. I can barely smell the strawberry. Drydown: The herbs calm down a bit, but I still have to work very hard to find the berry. Verdict: The strawberries stay too faint on me. This is all herbal and not something I'd choose to wear. Off to the swap pile!

This wasn't a scent I would have tried from the description, but I've always had a soft spot for Lady Bast. Origin: Bought on a whim with some other imps from LJ. In the Bottle: The only thing I can smell is the almond, despite several tries. Wet: Very almond on my skin, and I think the cardamon. Could be the myrrh. I'm not getting anything else. Drydown: And right on schedule, here comes the musk. *sigh* It's not that I don't like musk. I just don't like how it drowns out every other note in the bottle once it meets my skin. Verdict: Swapped.

It's rose. It must be tried. Origin: Part of my very first LJ purchase. In the Bottle: It's an enticing, spicy aroma, roses drunk on a humid summer night. Wet: Hey, where'd the rose go? It's all musk now! Drydown: And this was my first experience with what my skin does to musk. Even the tiniest bit, my skin revs it up until I feel like I'm wearing the cheapest of dime-store colognes. Verdict: This one got sold fast.

As I love eating gingerbread and love the smell of it, I had to give this a try. Origin: decant bought off LJ In the Bottle: Fresh gingerbread!!! Wet: All the spices surge forward to duke it out. I'm getting wafts of clove and cinnamon and nutmeg, one after the other. Drydown: Eventually the ginger wins, with the cinnamon hanging tough. Verdict: I'm not into wearing foody scents, but this is going to smell absolutely wonderful in my oil burner come Christmastime! ETA: I bought a bottle of the 2005 edition, and it seems that this one is a little more bread-like, a little sweeter, with slightly subtler spices. Still the yum, though!

I debated this one when Carnaval Noir came out because of the rose and carnation, but experiments had shown that my chemistry tends to take any hint of musk and ramp it up until it overpowers everything else. So instead I got an imp when the opportunity arose. Origin: LJ sale In the Bottle: All musky and smoky, very little floral. I think maybe I can smell the bergamot just a touch. Wet: ALL incense and musk. I can't find any other notes for several minutes. Drydown: Nope, stays all musk all the time, peppery with the incense, but still 100% musk. Verdict: Betrayed again by my own skin. Off to the swap pile!

If rose is listed in the notes, I must try it. Origin: This was a freebie from the Lab in my very first order. In the Bottle: Odd, for once I can't pick out any particular note. I can usually pick out at least one or two. There's a suggestion of darkness, of blood and malicious intent, but no identifiable scent to my nose. Wet: Dusty dried roses, with spices creating high notes. Drydown: Hmm...now something that smells like lemon is coming out. And I'm getting the soap phenomenon that I've seen othyers complain about when it comes to roses. Thank goodness this doesn't happen to me with my favorite rose scents! Verdict: Not for me. Swapped it was.

Given my love of all things rose, this had to be included in my wish list. Origin: Bought an imp in a lot off eBay. In the Bottle: I get a light, crisp floral that smells almost like violet, though violet isn't one of the components in the description. Wet: Interesting. I'm definitely getting a violet scent, but without that hideous acrid-ness that is normal when violet meets my skin. Perhaps that's the moonflower? Drydown: The rose statrs peeking out, then blooms beautifully. It's clear and not too sweet. Verdict: This is a beautiful scent, a lighter and less demanding rose that my 25&7 or Rose Red. I think I see a bottle of this in my future.

I picked this from the BPAL site because it has rose and vanilla, two notes I love. After falling in total love with Bearded Lady and its florals/jasmine/vanilla, I was hoping that this could be my poor-man's catalog version when my LE supply eventually dries up. Origin: Bought an imp in an LJ sale. In the Bottle: I get a sweetly rich floral with a sting of jasmine. (Doesn't jasmine sting?) This is promising. Wet: Whoa, jasmine! The vanilla has disappeared behind the florals and I can barely smell it. Drydown: Okay, the jasmine fades a lot while the gardenia blooms. Then it all settles down into a nice light floral combo. Verdict: Well, it's not the poor man's Bearded Lady I was hoping for. The notes are too high and light and there's none of the rich complexity that I adore in Bearded Lady. It's a pretty nice floral on its own, but I already have many floral BPALs that I love. This is off to the swaps.

Origin: Bought a decant off someone's LJ sale In the Bottle: Sweet, tangy, almost sour. It smells tantalizingly familiar. Wet: Icy notes come out, melding with that sweet scent that I just can't place. Once I look at the description, I know I'll be smacking myself on the forehead. Drydown: *pout* The icy is leaving! Now all I'm getting is cloying fruit...like gum or punch or something. The icy was what made it interesting! Verdict: (looks at description) Oh, that was plum! Okay, yes, the plum jelly my mom used to buy from a roadside stand. If only the icy cool notes didn't run for cover within minutes...think I'll be swapping or selling this.

Nabbed a decant of this off LJ. Anything with that many floral notes went onto my wish list. In the bottle: A rush of sweet florals, very rosy, with a cool element behind it all. Wet: The orchid or lutus, I'm not sure which, emerges for a few minutes, but all the lovely roses are still blooming. Drydown: Light, sweet, fresh flowers, without being too sweet. Not much throw at all, which is fine for plenty of occasions. Verdict: I like it a lot. Yet another discontinued scent to haunt the forums for...

I adore mint both as a scent and as a flavor, so I've been trying as many of Beth's minty scents as I can find. So far the experience had been disappointing, with the mint blended with things that hate my skin, like violet (Ultraviolet) or not coming out as much as I'd hoped (Frost Moon). I'd been stalking the LJ communities and finally landed a decanted imp. In the bottle: For once, I can clearly pick out everything in the catalog description. I get the blend of mints, especially spearmint. I get the waft of cucumber that softens all the mint with a cool green-ness, and the pepper poking its nose in. Wet: Bright crisp mint. Drydown: The mints soften, but the cucumber and pepper don't really announce themselves again. It's staying pretty true to the wet stage. Verdict: Yay! Minty goodness for my skin! Wah! It's a discontinued scent! *scurries off to check out eBay*

Origin: Bought a decant on LJ In the Bottle: Musk and leather shot with green, I immediately think a man's scent. Wet: Wow, something's surfaced! Tinges of vanilla or maybe sandalwood, but still predominantly musk & leather. Drydown: Unfortunately the sweetness fades and it begins to turn really musty on me. Verdict: I want to see what it will do on my husband. I rather like the in-bottle scent and if it works on his chemistry maybe I can lure him into the cult.

Origin: Swapped for a decanted imp on LJ In the bottle: I can smell sweetness, I think honey and maybe coconut just holding the closed imp to my nose! Opening the bottle, I get hit with a lovely creamy aroma laced with the golden honey. Almost like a cake baking in the oven. Wet: Hmm...the creamy and honeyt notes get swallowed up. I'm getting faint whiffs of the coconut and maybe mint, but whatever it is it's not entirely pleasant. It's not the sour milk that a couple of people have mentioned though, not repulsive...just not as yummy as it was in the bottle. Is there ozone in the lunar oils? I'm getting a zing of some sort. Drydown: *sigh* OK, yes, it is sour milk. The mint and sweet can't overcome it. Verdict: Okay, okay I get it...foodie scents do not cooperate on my skin! *pouts*

I included this in an imp pack from the Lab before I realized just how much violet and I tend to disagree. In the bottle: Vanilla flowers, almost candy-sweet Wet: Here comes the acrid stage of the violet, clashing horribly with the vanilla. Drydown: The violet gets through its issues, letting the vanilla and gardenia come forth. Verdict: Well, it's my usual issue with violet, in that I either have to wear it in a scent locket or wait through a nasty stage for the violet to calm down. And in this case the end result leaves the violet and the other notes clashing somewhat to my nose. Going to have to think about this one.

This was a surprise freebie sent to me by a fellow forumite I purchased from. In the bottle: A very light, white floral, with hints of smoke and incense behind the flowers. Wet: The smoky incense comes to the forefront. Drydown: The incense fades, but for me the florals don't really bloom. I can't pick out any of the notes, not even the rose or gardenia. Verdict: On me this is too light and indistinct. Into the swap pile, I think. ADDED 11/30/09: Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I've been on a gardenia kick lately, and decided this could round out an imp pack. I'm a bit scared of the rose, though, as rose can go icky on me. In the Vial: Ooh, nice! Very gardenia, but a gentle, cool gardenia. Lots and lots of white florals in here. Wet: Not quite so much gardenia. Now I'm getting an impression of hyacinth; I'm not sure which of the listed notes is closest to hyacinth. However, since I love hyacinth, I'm not fussed at all. At the moment it's a restrained, quiet floral blend. Drydown: The gardenia comes back, but doesn't overpower the scent. I still get a crush of lovely, gentle florals with an unearthly tinge. Verdict: I like it! I might need to do some side-by-side testing to see whether I need a bottle, given that I have a LOT of floral blends already. ETA: Spoke too soon. It went to soap on me after about half-an-hour.