puck_nc

Origin: Bought at the Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: This one I skipped right over when I first looked over the Luper offerings. The first problem was rose - I had only just discovered that rose does not go stinky in my hair the way it does on my skin - and the second and third problems were frankincense and myrrh, both of which amp horribly on my skin. But at the Will Call I took a regretful sniff, and then tried a regretful spray on my hair. And discovered something new. In the Bottle: Heady rich wine. Something, probably the myrrh, is giving it a bitter edge. On Wet Hair: Overwhelmingly rose, but a rich and honey-sweet rose without a trace of the green-stem issue that plagues me with most rose blends. Where Rose Red might be a winter/spring chilly rose, this is a lush summer rose. Dry: The hair dryer brings out the incense more and balances the whole thing. It's still a rich and sultry rose, but there's more complexity and mystery. Verdict: I can't stop huffing my hair. I think I'm going to need another bottle before the Lupers disappear.

Origin: Frimp in an order Initial Thoughts: This is a mishmash of notes that I like and notes that are iffy on me. Let's see what happens. In the Vial: Smooth and silky jasmine. I'm really surprised that I'm not picking up at least the cinnamon, but everything else appears to be creating a rich foundation to show off the jasmine. Wet: Still jasmine, but it's more in line with the rest of the notes making up that foundation rather than being in front. It's warmer and spicier, which could be the cinnamon emerging or the sandalwood amping or both. Drydown: This is astoundingly well-blended. The jasmine is still the only note I can identify for sure, maybe the vanilla. The overall impression is a warm and sweet comforting jasmine, as if it had been dipped in caramel. Verdict: I think I like this one a lot. We'll see how fast I go through the imp.

Origin: Frimp in a Trading Post order Initial Thoughts: No notes available? Then no idea! In the Vial: Creamy light florals. Definite sweetness. I can see where people would say coconut, but my husband who detests coconut and unerringly makes a face when it is present in a blend didn't recoil. So if it's there, it's really well-blended. Wet: The creaminess gets stronger and pushes it more toward foody than it was in the vial. Light and frothy and sweet. Drydown: I think there might be something in the musk/amber/patchouli family in here, but on the white/light side. It's amping, but not in the mow-down-all-other-notes way that the dark end of the spectrum does. I'll run with someone's suggestion of piña colada - this would be the stage where some dark rum was added. It's deeper and richer. Verdict: I think I like it, though I'm not sure how often I'd reach for it. I'll keep the imp for now, at least until such time as we learn the notes.

Origin: Bought at the Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: This was one that I was watching reviews on, because while I'm all over the plum and vanilla flower, the other notes are iffy. Since the reviews were mixed about what notes emerged, I was glad I got to try it in person. In the Bottle: First sniff - pure honey. Second sniff - Okay, maybe there's some tea and stuff in this honey. Wet: The tea is the first note out the door, and it takes several seconds for the florals to start catching up. It's all cool spring, green but with a soft and sweet undertone. Drydown: The florals and honey emerge, making the scent warmer, but still very gentle and spring-like. Then the tea seems to come back - perhaps that's the ambergris helping it - but it remains a wonderful comforting floral scent. Verdict: A bottle came home with me. A great gentle and grounded floral that's a bit different.

Origin: Bought at the Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: I love pear as a note - it features in Juliet and The Perilous Parlor, a couple of my favorites. I always hesitate over musk if it's not clearly spelled out whether it's a light or dark musk, since darker musks amp badly on me and I've had a couple of lemon-furniture-polish experiences as well. This was on my maybe list, but I got to play with it at the Will Call. In the Bottle: Very, very pear. Cool and not candy-sweet, but positively pear. Wet: Still very pear, but the lemon emerges quickly. And it's not artificial or overpowering at all, just adding its citrus zing to the pear. Drydown: I would think it is safe to say that this is not a dark musk. The musk develops and blends in nicely, making the overall scent a bit less fruity and a touch more skin-like. It's subtle and would make a good work scent for me. Verdict: Lovely! So glad I was able to try this one and bring a bottle home.

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Violet is usually very problematic on my skin, turning acridly unpleasant. But I love gardenia, lilac, and lavender with a passion. I will cross my fingers and hope. In the Vial: A light and pretty crush of florals grounded by either the sandalwood or the orris. It's like one of the first warm spring days of the year. Wet: A rush of gardeina and floral with the sandalwood amping up a touch the way sandalwood sometimes does. Drydown: The violet is playing its stink card, but perhaps because of the numerous other notes it's not as strong as it has been in other blends. The gardenia is sort of taking everything over and that's not a bad thing. Verdict: Well, it's nice to have found at least one blend where the violet doesn't overload and go icky. We'll see how often I reach for it.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: Like stellamaris, my skin does very disagreeable things to a lot of the Lab's rose notes. In my case I get green-stem to the level that it stinks like cooked collard greens. But I let Puddin' convince me that perhaps my hair would not misbehave so badly. In the Bottle: It's the same beautiful fresh-cut rose that is the perfume. Applying: My usual method is to spray into my damp hair or in my hands to work it in. I went for fewer sprays than normal, just in case since I wasn't going to have time to try and wash it out before work if it was disastrous. And at first the green-stem was pretty strong. Drying: Blowdrying my hair quickly cut the strength of the scent, but I had a few more minutes of trepidation before the rose finally bloomed again. Wearing: It has lasted all day at a very gentle level, giving a lovely pure rose aroma. Verdict: I am very glad that this works on my hair and I can finally enjoy Rose Red in its proper courteous form rather than the greeny "HULK SMASH!" that my skin produces.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: At first, the lotus root and cade put me off. And then the reviews came in speaking of cool lilac floral. So I added a bottle to my last-minute Yule/first-minute Luper order. In the Bottle: Lilac with a strong note that is alternately herby and chilly. Wet: Well, hello, lotus! I remember your faintly bubblegum adventures from other scents...can you let the other notes out to play? Drydown: It seems to be settling down to a lilac with a sweet edge from the lotus. Definitely not as chilly on my skin as herby with the chamomile. Verdict: Unsure. It's not the lilac explosion I was hoping for but it may grow on me.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: The notes list included several favorites (honeysuckle, coconut, white jasmine), an iffy note (moss), and an unknown. Ever since I discovered that the "white" rule with me and musks also applied to patchouli, I've been eager to try white amber since it falls in that same family of notes that usually amp horribly on me. In the Bottle: Warm jasmine. This is like a solitary garden corner, shady but with sun dappling through the leaves above. It's really well-blended - all the other notes just cluster up and support it. On My Skin: It's a slower process than with the perfumes and/or the darker ambers, but the white amber does step up and make its presence felt. On the other hand, it brings the honeysuckle and coconut with it, which is a win.It tilts toward a summery scent without going all the way. Verdict: I think I will be able to use this up, eventually.

Third on the throw. I got home, opened my box, left the candle on my desk while I ran back out for some errands, and came back to roses in my den. It's very true to what I remember from trying the perfume so many years ago - freshly-cut rose. And this won't go icky on my arm!

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I like lily in some blends - I wasn't sure about what "cobra" implied. Time to find out! In the Vial: Sweet, fresh, slightly greeny lily. A second sniff detects an undertone of something grounding...the faintest resin or sandalwood. Wet: For a moment I get that green rush that I usually get with rose, where it goes all stem and leaves. But it morphs very quickly into that undertone note, which means said undertone note is something like red sandalwood, a darker musk, incense, or patchouli-related...something that my skin amps like a fiend. However, the lily is not backing down without a fight. Drydown: An interesting detente has formed between the lily and the amper. The amper is keeping the lily from going too green on me and lending a nice spicy flair to the scent. The lily is keeping the amper from going into "cheap headshop" territory. A scent quiet enough for the work environment, with an edge of sexy to it. Verdict: Definitely keeping the imp. We'll see if it gets used enough to turn into a bottle purchase.

Origin: Bottle bought on the forums Initial Thoughts: At first this wasn't even on my radar because generally booze=bad for my skin chemistry. Then someone mentioned in a thread that the "bourbon" of Bourbon vanilla has nothing to do with the Kentucky state drink but instead a geographic region of islands in the Indian Ocean that produces the majority of the world's vanilla. Thus educated, I immediately promoted this to my wish list. Because vanilla. In the Bottle: Definitely vanilla. Smooth, rich and dark without screaming "CAKE" or "FOOD". I like it and am already pondering what this would layer with to give another scent an extra dimension. On skin: This turns a bit more resinous, since of course benzoin is somewhere in the resin/incense family and that set of notes tends to amp on me. But it's not eating up the vanilla, only enhancing the aromatic side of vanilla and continuing to keep it out of foody territory. Verdict: Lovely! I'll probably snag another bottle of this before it goes away, because it makes a perfect gentle scent on its own and has so many possibilities with combining with hair gloss and perfume...

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I love the scent of violet. However, I discovered early on that the BPAL violet has this nasty tendency to go ugly on my skin, so I never looked twice at this. I expect this will not work on me, but we've all learned to never look a gift frimp in the notes... In the vial: Chilly and sharp mint with sweet violet. Bracing enough to warrant the "brusque". Wet: Airy and a bit ozone-y, but gentled by a soft floral undertone. It's rather nice and early-spring. Drydown: Hmph. And the pretty goes away. It's not quite the icky acrid skank that violet tends to produce on me. It's more like tomato leaf and grass and all a bit muddy. I suppose this could be the violet leaf? Eventually some of the florals showed up again, but they're not really sitting pretty next to this green mucky note. Verdict: Well, now I know. In the past I've automatically nixed anything with violet leaf because I assumed it would go acrid like violet. Perhaps if the other notes are robust enough, I can deal. But it won't be with this blend - it needs someone whose skin works with violet.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: So, when this was introduced as part of the Mad Tea Party, I dismissed it because I didn't want to smell like food. This was some time ago in my BPAL development. I did try Drink Me when I got a frimp of it at some point and decided I liked it, but I think the currants, which had been problematic in a couple other blends, kept me from trying Eat Me. And then there was the BPTP hair gloss battle in which Eat Me was a lonely foody scent hemmed in by a bunch of stuff with deal-breaking notes like patchouli and amber and vetiver and dark musk. And I voted Eat Me as a sort of protest because what I really, really want are some BPTP Lunacy polls that are 100% floral and guarantee something I'd love. Eat Me won. And having voted for it, I felt I ought to purchase it. And I discovered I loved having my hair smell like vanilla cake with a dash of currants. So I promised myself that I'd throw an imp of Eat Me into a future BPAL order. In the Imp: The same luscious vanilla cake with a thread of currants running through it. Wet: Fruity-sweet vanilla. The cake is in hiding right now. Drydown: The cake emerges again, blending beautifully with the rest. As a whole it makes its presence known, but doesn't overpower. Verdict: Thank you, hair gloss, for showing me the way to a great GC scent!

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Love coconut. Wildflowers are a yes although honey is a maybe. Saffron is a bit of a wild card. In the Bottle: Extremely mild coconut. I'm having to really sniff with the bottle right at my nose to get it. Wet: Still very light, with me having to hold my nose right at my wrist. I think I'm getting honey more than anyhing else at the moment, but something is keeping it from being too cloying. Drydown: The coconut does come out to play, giving this a slightly stronger throw. Compared to the sweet creamy coconut of Ivory Vulva, this is definitely a more natural coconut. It's still on the sweet side, but not candy-like. Verdict: Uncertain. I think, maybe, that if I had to choose between the coconuts I'd go with Ivory Vulva myself. But if you prefer your coconut less cavity-inducing, try this one.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I ended up enjoying the Lab's Wild Dandelion SN from the recent run. I'm always open to florals that aren't rose or violet. I do pretty well with sugary florals, but honey is a bit hit-or-miss. In the Bottle: Joyous greeny dandelions with a dash of honey. I hope they're not so green that they do the rose-to--cooked-collards on me. But it's a noseful of spring-into-summer fields and very uplifting. I'm almost tempted to pull out my Dandelion SN for a comparison sniff. Wet: Green and grassy, but no initial signs of the dreaded collards stench. Drydown: Ooh, pretty! I think the other flowers are coming out to play, and they intensify the dandelion as they do, The honey is staying in the background, holding everything together nicely without shouting its presence. Verdict: I do believe we have a winner! I may need a second bottle of this before it goes away. If you love sunny spring or summery florals, check this out.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Mimosa - I'm on board. Vanilla cream - totally. Almond blossom - has worked in the past. Let's see what they do together. In the bottle: Lovely, rich, perfume-y mimosa. A gentle, subtle and creamy-sweet floral. Wet: Creamy and a less sweet floral. I'm thinking the almond blossom is taking center stage first. Drydown: Slowly but surely the mimosa creeps back out, but something is giving it the slightest stale edge. Something that was shining in the bottle is being held back by my skin. Verdict: Unsure. I really, really want to love this one as it's so gorgeous in the bottle. I may try a bit in my scent locket tomorrow to see if I'll use up the bottle that way. it's so close to being what I want it to be on my skin...

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I haven't always gone for the Vulvas among the Shungas, but last year's Reflected Vulva turned out to work very well on me. Looking at the notes for Ivory Vulva, the coconut and cream sounded perfect, but I was a bit worried about the drop of golden amber. Even a drop may be enough to amp and steamroll the rest of the notes. In the Bottle: Lots of sweet coconut, and definitely a buttery presence from somewhere. A veneer of childlike innocence with rather mature and sexy undertones. Wet: A rush of macadamia and coconut, but then the amber comes roaring up very quickly. This bodes ill... Drydown: The amber backs down enough for the other notes to play along, but I'm not sure about it. It stays VERY close to the skin on me and there's a lot of macadamia in it. I get a bit of the cream or maybe the marshmallow root, but the coconut is hidden under it all. Verdict: Undecided. I'll probably try it again in a few days to be sure, but I get the feeling this will be best on someone else's wrist. ETA: It took a while, but after finishing testing all the other Lupers, I found that this had turned to sweet creamy coconut candy at some point. So it does take a while but ends up rather nice on me after all.

Belle Époque?

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: My favorite of the series is the original Lick It, but I regularly try others when they arrive. Most are a good combo of mint and sweet, though I've had a couple go plasticky on me. With proceeds going to a very good cause, I jumped at this one. In the Bottle: This version seems to be a bit heavier on the vanilla and the mint - it doesn't have quite the bracing nose-clearing strength of some of the previous mints. But it is, as always, a lovely candy cane in a bottle. Wet: Now the mint is more of the nostril blast variety: cold and crisp and sweet. Drydown: I get that lovely tingle on the skin that tends to come with strong BPAL mint. I also get a bit more of the sweet candy vanilla. Verdict: A great addition to the series. I'll probably pick up another bottle or two before the Yules come down.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I'm a florals fan. Sometimes white tea works for me. I am intrigued by the idea of candlewax, but it hasn't always worked in other blends I've tried. In the Bottle: A candle with a gentle lemon scent and a very strong dash of tea. Wet: The lemony impression becomes more floral and steadily shifts to what I expect from lilac. The tea is very faint but the candle impression is still there. Drydown: The lilac goes lemon again and unfortunately the combination with the candlewax is turning it into the impression of furniture polish. I can't find the tea anywhere now. Verdict: My skin definitely does not bring out the best in this scent. This bottle needs a home where it can be appreciated.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: At first I wasn't considering this one. The atmo sprays seem to be the final frontier with me in trying to keep my house from filling with BPTP bottles and I had only bought three big bottles before and kept two. And then the reviews and chatter started. When I rethought buying all the candles at once, this jumped into the cart. In the Bottle: Tooth-achingly sweet pink candy! I cant decide whether it's strawberry or cherry or a combination, but it's lighter and much more cute than what I would expect from plum. This smells like the bedroom of the frilliest and most girly-girl of four-year-olds. Any vanilla is buried under the piles of flounces. In the Air: That's a bit more like it. The vanilla is more detectable, allowing the sweetness to mature a bit, and the fruit is now more like what I consider plum and not quite so strong and sugar-drenched. Verdict: I'm not 100% sold on it, partly because I expect my husband will not like it very much and that will limit my opportunities for using it. But I think I'll also be trying the VioletChaos method of litter-box odor control and see whether that works for me as well.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: Capturing that wonderful scent of a Christmas tree is always a plus for me. I have several perfumes from BPAL that help, but an atmosphere spray seems like the perfect answer for enjoying one of my favorite aromas. In the Bottle: Evergreen. Lots and lots of evergreen. There's a suggestion of chill and snow, but I'm not sure how much of it is notes in the bottle or the fact that spruce and pine are so firmly fixed in my mind with Christmas and therefore winter. In the Air: Without the concentration in the bottle there's a little more of the snow note with some layers to it. Still very much Christmas in a bottle, but with a gentler feel than your typical mass-market atmosphere spray. Verdict: I believe I'll be hanging on to this one.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I have found a subcategory in my love of florals, thanks to last year's Nice Glop, that will always grab my attention. Floral and sugary-sweet. From Nice Glop's honeysuckle to Nectar to Peach Nectar and Vanilla Orchid, I am all about the cavity-inducing sweet florals. So of course Winter Lily and Sugarcane caught my eye. In the Bottle: Very crisp and cold lily. It's fresh and the cold/snow note brings a snap to it that I find refreshing. In My Hair: My most common application method is either spraying directly on damp hair or on my hands and working it into wet hair. As I applied the sweet note made itself known, but stayed in a nice balance with the lily. Where something like Nectar goes really, REALLY sweet (and that's not a bad thing) this finds a lovely three-way balance between white floral, cold, and sweet. Verdict: I love it and am almost certainly going to be snagging another bottle or two after my next paycheck. This is a HG I can see pairing with several of my very floral BPAL scents.

Literally everything! Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: After trying the perfume version of this, I knew I'd want it as a candle. If it's like any of the other BPTP candles I've experiences, it'll be true to the scent and lovely for burning and scenting up a room. Unlit:The gorgeous blend of spices is right there, perhaps a touch mellower on the cinnamon or a touch stronger on the pumpkin, but the epitome of foody fall. Lit: Gentle pumpkin spices, again with a slightly stronger presence of the pumpkin. It has the same lovely throw as my other BPTP candles, Verdict: Very glad I got this one!