theseagrows

this starts off golden and a bit fruity from the apple blossom. i definitely get beeswax, olive blossom and gunpowder with maybe a hint of chamomile and sampaguita. after awhile the sampaguita amps up a bit and it's mostly that and apple blossom with a beeswax background. this is an interesting scent! some of these notes can be bad on me but they work in this, however, i was really drawn in by the olive blossom, but this is more of a slightly smoky appley-jasmine on me. it's nice but not something i would wear very often so i will probably swap.

starts of sweetly, effervescently herbal and green. i definitely smell the anise/licorice but it is not overpowering. after awhile the sweet effervesence calms a bit and it's a cool, green anise. something in this seems almost fruity-like, but in a subtle way...not sure where that's coming from, but it's there. like not quite ripe fruits or berries with some unripe greeness.

i've been dying to try this for years and finally got my hands on a bottle. i am not really a foody-scent person, but i love violet, and i thought white chocolate might be a bit more like the chocolate lush scents (which i can wear.) this seems like rich chocolate with hints of violet. probably too chocolaty for my blood, but i am going to see how this smells after a few hours. luckily, this chocolate actually works on me, even if i am not super keen to smell like food. foody scents often go plasticky or just weird with my skin chemistry, and this does not. it's very true to it's description, though i wish the violet were stronger and the chocolate were a little less bitter and less realistic. however, i think on the rare occasions when i do want to smell like chocolate, this is what i'd be picking up. ETA: finally after a half an hour the violet becomes stronger and the chocolate is less bitter. it's like faith with a soft white chocolate, which i like a lot. i sold off my faith bottle and this is a nice replacement.

I tried this as a body moisturizer tonight and I love it! it's a beautiful, soft black tea and vanilla orchid scent, and luckily the vanilla note is not too foody for me. after awhile the black tea fades and it's pretty much vanilla orchid. I like the subtlety of this a lot, it's nice for a warm night like tonight.

i love this scent so much that i got the hair gloss! it's just like the beloved dorian scent but you can smell it wafting around as your hair moves around your head. so lovely.

i get a slight tartness from pear but then it just blends seamlessly with the vanilla. it's pretty and the vanilla is the stronger note in the end, but the pear keeps it from being too foody or sweet. tart + sweet...very nice! it seems like a soft, comforting fall or winter scent (for me.) and thankfully it's a foodie i can handle.

at first this is like a soft grey musk with iris/orris root, and i too, swear, violet like milo mentioned. then the magnolia comes through and is very subtle. this is a light, elegant scent that is perfect for spring. it's like spring in a bottle to me. i love iris/orris root so i am digging this. i just looked up orris root and it says: Fabienne Pavia, in her book L'univers des Parfums (1995, ed. Solar), states that in the manufacturing of perfumes using orris, the scent of the iris root differs from that of the flower. After preparation the scent is reminiscent of the smell of violets. the more you know the magnolia does go a bit soapy on me, which is my only complaint, but my skin chemistry is picky so it's to be expected. i think i'll keep my decant to wear in spring. eta: we FINALLY got some rain in california and this seemed like the perfect scent to wear today. today it doesn't seem soapy at all. just a subtle magnolia-iris with the beautiful musk in the background. miiight need a bottle now.

i think i'm getting soft woods and ambergris at first. this reminds me of something SO MUCH but i can't place it yet. it seems kind of "watery" yet not aquatic or "fresh", very evocative of ambergris in a theoretical way. probably literally too. there's something that reads a bit salty here to me too. i just realized that this reminds me of an amber rollerball hippie perfume i had in high school. i like how nostalgic this is for me, just not sure it's something i would wear a whole lot but i like it.

this is a spicy vanilla floral-oriental. like butterflies and jewels attending, it's very reminiscent of BBW's sensual amber, and even more so. it's a dupe for it on me. also is in the same vein as gaultier's classique, which i used to wear in college quite a bit. this reminds me of my younger 20s self when i first got to san francisco and was going out and having a great time. for that alone i really like this, nostalgia wins! i do not get tuberose from this at first, just but vanilla musk and mandarin primarily. it's very spicy-sweet and suits ava's age and character well, i think. after awhile i do get a small hint of tuberose though it doesn't really read as tuberose, it's definitely floral. this one has alotta throw on me, and i do really like this especially for the nostalgic value for me personally. i'd wear it going out dancing, because these are the kind of scents i used to wear when i went to goth clubs and got dressed up.

how did i never review this? i know tried it once...anyway, i got an imp to try again because i couldn't remember. ok, yes it's pretty foody to begin with but not the foodiest ever. pretty autumnal and halloween type scent. it's a bit nicer when it becomes a bit less foody but still overall it's too foody for my tastes.

hmm, i don't seem to get the notes clearly. it smells just like a head shop or indian incense. a little bit soapy too, can't smell much else. very "hippie" scented on me.

this is like slightly minty-aquatic ice water, like taking a deep breath on a cold winter's day. there also seems to be something slightly smoky, which i guess is the stone and fire. it's bringing to mind a roaring fire, outside on a cold, damp night, however the coolness seems to dominate. this strikes me as a more traditionally fresh masculine scent.

ok i tend to avoid fruity scents, especially peach but i noticed that i seem to be a bit open to apricot and nectarine because they're more tart. also jasmine often goes wonky on me, and sometimes patchouli too, so this was a risk for me! it really does smell like candied apricot with a hint of jasmine, quince and skin musk. very dainty and pretty. after awhile i am smelling the tonka as well, and later on, unfortunately for me, it becomes much more sweet and heavy on the peach. if you like peach and patchouli you'd dig this, but it's just not right for me.

huh, this is not what i expected at all but it's a pleasant surprise! it's a pure, skin-musky tuberose. i looove tuberose so i am really loving this. a little later on a very slight greenery comes out behind the tuberose, yum. this is almost a tuberose single note on me, which is fine by me. perfect for warm summer days. i am SO happy bpal has been doing more tuberose lately. it is delectable, especially in summer. ETA: about 2 hours later this is a soft tuberose-vanilla. gorgeous.

interesting, it's a lot sweeter and light than i expected for some reason. i think it starts off with orchid, bergamot and juniper. light, floral and almost kind of fruity. it seems more traditionally feminine or maybe just unisex. after a few minutes the sweetness burns off some and there is some rosewood now with maybe a hint of sandalwood but the orchid still remains. overall this reads kind of fruity-floral to me and it smells nice but it just doesn't really fit my personality. i am curious to smell this on a man to see if it's any different. it is very orchid-heavy on me for a long time. however, after maybe 30-40 minutes this weird powderiness comes through. i think it must be sandalwood, because it smells dry and masculine. i don't really like that kind of powder (unlike violet and amber) and i am going to have to swap this.

ok, this starts out as strong jasmine but it's a nice jasmine that doesn't smell stinky on me, which is a rarity. it's a bit strong but i think i can handle it. after about half an hour the jasmine settles a bit and i think the woods come out a bit more, and then finally the vanilla, honey and ambrette seed warm it up even more. such a pretty scent, it's kind of like a unisex jasmine scent which is more to my liking than super-feminine jasmines are. however there are two things that might make this difficult for me to wear. 1. this has a lot of throw on me and i think it's giving me a bit of a headache, and 2. something seems to be turning slightly plasticky on me, but not TOO bad. i think this might be nice to wear from time to time but not very often, so i will probably keep my decant but won't need a bottle.

i tried this because i like blackberry, but whoa is this sweeeet at first. it smells like cough syrup or definitely something medicinal. a few minutes later it's a very strong berry scent with a kind of sickly sweetness from the honey. it's very cloying on my skin and alas, this is why sometimes fruits and honey are complete no-no's for me.

hmm, i admit i was a bit scared of some of these notes, since a lot of them often don't work on me. freshly applied this smells like chcoolate and vetiver and both are very strong on me at first. after a few minutes i think i am sensing the maize and the chocolate is calmer so this is still primarily vetiver on me. after about 20 minutes this scent rounds out a lot more and it isn't as bitter as it was in the beginning. i think after being on my skin awhile it's copal, cacao and a bit of honey. thus far i can't seem to smell any cotton blossom. i think i just amp the vetiver so much that it kind of takes over everything, unfortunately.

i smell predominantly white musk at first. then it seems that the frankincense and vanilla come through, warming this up a bit and rounding it out. it's very subtle, and it's mostly white musk on me with hints of the other notes. after about 15 minutes or so the leather and armor comes out more and it's less ethereal than it was before. eta: a couple hours later this is a very pretty skin scent of white musk and vanilla. <3

this starts out with just amber then i can smell a hint of oudh and then vanilla is added to the mix which kind rounds it out and makes it even richer. it becomes much more strong and then this becomes primarily vanilla with amber, but the oudh is subtle because i can only sense it slightly. this is quite warm and beautiful and luckily this vanilla works pretty well with my skin chemistry, yay. ETA: after about 40 mins this is OMGGORGEOUS on me. i really love it so much, it reminds me of some high end perfumes i've tried. need a bottle of this and oh i'm sure that's going to be a bit difficult.

how have i never tried this?! i love almond and rose. maybe it was the nutmeg that frightened me. i always think of it as when it's a strong note and all foody, but there are a lot of scents with subtle nutmeg that i adore. anyway... this starts out with a lovely almond, very marzipan like. then some rose comes through with the neroli and it smells good for a time, then suddenly it just turns to a sour rosy scent. i don't know why but some of BPAL rose scents are absolute favorites and some go all sour like this.

in the imp i think i just smell cypress and hint of patchouli. on my skin it starts out very green and herbaceous, then it's mostly cypress with hints of rose, patchouli and maybe fig. something in this seems a bit soapy to me, but i'm not sure what. i think i amp cypress because that seems to be the most prominent note and it isn't changing much. after a bit it gets a bit more rosy and the tonka seems to come through, warming it up, but it's still mostly cypress i think.

What are your thoughts on yarn and handmade yarny things? i don't do anything with yarn myself and i am not especially intereted in yarny things...maybe something small? For bath and body products: do you have a bathtub or shower? i have both but i've been showering a lot more lately and have a bunch of bath oils i haven't been using, so shower stuff is probably best for now. Incense, y/n? yes! Would you like loose, fancy tea? yes! i love most teas except for very smoky teas. i like black tea the best 9chai, different flavors of chai, vanilla, earl grey, english or scottish breakfast, ginger peach) but also green, jasmine, etc. and i love trying new teas as well. What is your favorite fall activity? it doesn't get very fall-like here unfortunately, we get our warmest months up through october. i just love halloween in general, and sometimes we go to the dia de los muertos celebration-i love seeing the altars at the end. i like when the air gets crisp and the leaves change. I'm in Japan, anything specifically Japanese-y you want? nope, but i am open to things. Please briefly describe (color, style, preferred type of beads) or provide a picture of (if it is suitable), the type of necklace (if any) you would be interested in getting. If you do not like necklaces, what kinds of jewelry (if any) would you want to wear? sadly, i almost never wear necklaces anymore. the only thing i seem to wear anymore is rings and earrings. What about hot chocolate/malt drinks? i don't have a big sweet tooth but i like hot chocolate on occasion, i don't like malt though (like chocolate malts, right?) Solid perfume / lip balm? yes to both. Day of the Dead Stuff? sure! Does anything from this shop catch your eye? corpse bride, hedonistic, black honey, lucy chiffon, corset, the red queen's rage, caterpillar's smoking pipe and beguiling violette sound nice. Dear Pumpkin: Do you have aversions to any animals or insects? some bugs, yes. like maggots and cockroaches. to a lesser degree, worms. i hate spiders, but don't mind halloweeny spiders. How do you feel about canned foods like jams and things along those lines? i love jam! but i don't like cooked/mushy/non crunchy apples so maybe not anything apple-y. i also dislike honey, though i sometimes use it in cooking where i can't taste it. Do you have a favourite colour scheme? black and dark jewel tones, like black/blood red, black/emerald, black/teal, black/plum, black/silver, black/gold. i also love grey or black/grey. How do you feel about stickers (and stationery in general)? love them! but i already have a lot of this stuff, but maybe a little bit would be ok. How do we feel about fibercrafting (knit, crochet, etc.)? wearables? crafted critters? If you would like a scarf or something similar, would you like it to be themed, like fall colors, or have a skull or other halloweenie motif/border? critters for my cat would be welcome. i don't really wear stuff like this though. What makes you feel pampered? a nice facial mask, fancy tea, baths, perfume of course! New Question! We've covered what critters you don't like, but what about the critters that you DO like? What are your favorite animals/creatures, real or imagined? cats (especially black or grey ones), sea otters, horses, foxes, lop eared bunnies, wolves, goats, many birds. I have a dumb question! I know it's a big joke that we get everything five years later than everyone else in the world, but is there anything specifically Canadian you'd like? Maple things, chocolate bars, or any of our creepy chip flavours? i don't know anything about canadian chips to be honest, so i'd have to research that further i don't have a big sweet tooth, but i wouldn't mind trying some maple/chocolate stuff. A new question from me: While I am stalking the restock of the Rice Pudding hot process soap, does anything from Paintbox Soapworks catch your eye? i tried some of their soap a looong time ago. i'd be keen on trying new stuff, like mandika hot process soap, and glycerin soaps in blackbird, gingermilk, lavender truffle, the bees lament, and the pink sand cold process bar. Is there is any TAZO tea you have a hankering for? Zen, Awake, Passion, China Green Tips, Vanilla Roibois, Calm, Refresh? (tea bags in a tin) i haven't had any TAZO in a long time, but i remember liking it. the apricot vanilla creme sounds quite good. and any caffeinated chais and earl greys. How about any Teavana tea? (loose leaf) i love their earl grey creme, and i'd also like to try javana mate, black dragon pearls, and capital of heaven. How about Starbucks coffee beans? If so, ground (and for what kind of filter) or whole bean? no thank you on any and all starbucks coffee. Coffee/tea travel mugs or ceramic home mugs? no thanks, i already have enough. except i just remembered i added one on my etsy wishlist recently, though. eta: that wasn't a hint or anything! i realize now it looks like it was, but it wasn't. just trying to NOT be contradictory or confusing. basically i would be happy with one but don't NEED one. sorry for any confusion there. Coffee maker (french press) or tea steeper? neither, thank you. Anything else from Starbucks/Teavana? Syrups, honey, whatever? nope. How would you feel about a gently-used card game? For example, something I may have purchased several years ago and maybe played with my daughter *twice* before she became a moody teenager, and too cool for card and/or board games? sure. Alcoholic beverages in your goodies-- yay or nay-- if yay, what kind? sure! i love wine, whiskey and gin the best. i am interested in trying liqueurs too. i just don't like sweet stuff or vodka. CANDY CORN--- YAY OR NAY? yes! Name at least one thing that you really wouldn't like to receive in your package. anything that sets off trypophobia, but that's probably kind of difficult to do. I have eyeshadow pigments which have been decanted from--as in the powder tapped out into another container,never used directly. (I don't use very much makeup, though I love it, so I keep shadow pigments clean so I can safely share.) Would a jar of pigment handled thus bother you or are you ok with cosmetic-type stuff that has not been directly touched? sure, i have been meaning to start wearing eyeshadow more again. For those with fiber allergies, is it ok if you get, say, an ornament/amigur-whatsit yarn thing that has wool in the blend, as long as it's not something to be worn? Also, because I don't know, do people with wool allergies generally also have sensitivity to other fibers like alpaca? i think wool can make me itch if it's really scratchy, but an ornament type thing would be fine. Dearist Pumpkin- do you have a preference of edible/drinkable vs. non edible items in your package? Would you prefer your package heavier on one side or the other? hmm i do love edibles, but maybe not as the majority. however, i do love edibles, so i'm not too picky on this Any guilty pleasures? TV show you're embarassed to admit you like? Musical group/preference that seems out-of-place for you? i consider the urban fantasy/mystery type books i read as kinda guilty pleasures- kelley armstrong, diana rowland, karin slaughter. guilty pleasure tv shows...drop dead diva, my little pony friendship is magic, the gordon ramsay shows, netflix makes it so easy to watch things i never would've watched otherwise, haha. i like a lot of music, from the sublime to the dark to the absurd and i also like a lot of "cheesy" stuff, like 70s/80s lite rock 80s hair metal and dancey/pop/r&b late 80s/90s stuff...(childhood memories!) nothing real recent though... And now, a new question: to sort of piggy-back onto the question about small kitchen items, do you like to bake or cook, and if yes, are there any special ingredients, spices, or decorations for baked goods (like sprinkles in seasonal shapes or those decorative picks you put on top of cupcakes, for instance) that you would like? hmm, i KNOW i need some spices but can't remember which one until i actually get to a recipe that calls for it, but i looked over a list of spices and i could probably use chili powder, paprika, curry powder, marjoram, turmeric and tarragon. i don't bake much so don't really need baking supplies. Hey, Pumpkin! How do you feel about lounge pants/pajama pants? i love them but i would rather buy them myself. Another question! Do you have long, medium, or short hair? What kids of hair accessories do you like to use? was long, now it's kind of medium. i wear it down most days. i do put it up when i'm home though, and could always use more of those 6-pronged claw clips (in black or dark colors) because mine are always breaking. i like the medium sized ones because i have fine hair and if they're too big my hair just falls out of them. like this! http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/scunci-no-slip-grip-chunky-claw-clips/ID=prod6099218-product If I were going to the mountains tomorrow, for the apple harvest, would you wanted some dehydrated apple rings??? hmm maybe. i don't recall having them before. If you have an Etsy favorites list, are all of the things on the list things you'd be happy to get, or are some of them gift ideas for other people, or stuff that you've already bought and loved but don't need more of, or for any reason not something you'd want to get in this swap? they are all things i am interested in as far as i can remember! Are there any scents from the Lilith update you would like ? Any other you are looking for ? there are a few yes, but i already got in a decant circle!

hmm i wasn't even sure what to expect from this one. this is a soft, worn leather, not a fresh black leather at all. it basically smells like a woody leather to me and a hint of amber or musk, which is probably the fougere. it's softer than i thought it would be. i also get something a bit rubbery, but luckily it is subtle. i like this, but i think this may smell better on my boyfriend so i'm going to test it on him.

daaaamn this is the cream/milk note that smells like pee on me this starts out with some toasty foody note that smells like burning slightly, then i get the urine note, which i never know will happen, because i've tried some scents with "cream" and they are perfectly fine. and this sounded so lovely too, but my skin chemistry is not having this. no sirree.