Invidiana

Vanilla laundry. Boober, I think I love you. When something is supposed to smell soapy and is in a completely different universe from my aunt's guest soaps, I'm all over it. Linden can sometimes go sharp or lemony on me, but not here. It just keeps contributing to the fresh and clean feel. For a moment I'm in the washroom with a great big bundle of fluffy white towels rolling out of the dryer and the smell fo sweet pink soap lingering in the air. Heavenly.

Mokey was my favorite Fraggle as a kid, both for her awesome lilac-and-mint coloring and her far-out poetic way of speaking. This deifnitely does her justice! It's a light, clean floral that makes me think of a bunch of purple flowers mixed with violet candy, and is somehow strangely calming. Fortunately I don't amp the orris above all else in this one like I did with Black Opal. I can see how this could go soapy on some people, but fortunately it just comes off fresh on me and reminds me a bit of a now-discontinued fabric softener I used to huff like mad. I swear this is a compliment!

YUM. This is as deep as Uncle Matt thinks he is, and somehow still lighthearted in all its delicious foodiness. I'd say the fig and vanilla are the most prominent notes on me, followed by a dark and earthy chocolate. I wouldn't say this is a chocolate-dominated scent, but you can tell there is a cacao note in there adding to its body. The pear and quince that sweeten it up just enough but not too much. Sometimes I've had bad luck with pear notes going cloyingly sweet, but gladly not in this case. It must be the type of pear that likes me, like that one in The Vine. Winner!

This is red alright--sweet, tangy red fruits that remind me of things like Sweettarts and all the red varieties of Starbursts. It's red fruit candy that's kept from being cloying by the zing of natural sourness from the fruit as well as a bit of a snap from the pink pepper, then made a little more grown up with the pink musk. I had to refrain from licking it off.

I initially "wembled" on this one because pineapple sometimes doesn't play nice with my skin, but Wembley seems to like me. It's a tropical explosion onf pineapple and banana wet, with a hint of mint. As it dries down the mint disappears and I slowly end up amping the delicious honey above the tang of the pineapple and creamy banana, so I get a gentle fruity honey cooled by soft white musk. Tropical honey! I'm so glad I sprang for a bottle.

This is like a creamsicle rolled in citrus Sour Patch Kids. It's more tangy citrus at first, and settles down into a delicious smooth creamsicle-like scent with cool vanilla, though with a little more variety than the traditional creamsicle becuase of the three types of citrus. This is one of those rare foody ones you can actually wear in the heat. Like everyone else, I need to keep reminding myself I can't drink it.

I waffled on this in the beginning because of the rosemary, but it turns out that barely makes an appearance at all. This is the scent of somber evening flowers towards the end of summer, chill winds hanging in the air, cool seaspray and frost just beginning to crystallize. There really is something "silvery" about this as mentioned previously, I'm taking it from the ambergris especially though I have a feeling the davana and frost notes also contribute to that feel. This is surprisingly beautiful and refereshing in a really unique way. I'm so glad I risked a bottle.

Half the notes made me cross my fingers they'd be victorious, and the other half, well....unfortunately that was the half that ended up winning. To my nose this is all bitter GERANIUM wet followed closely by tomato leaf and pimento. It's only the drydown that I get some lovely beeswax and honey in the background, but sadly not enough to take over the geranium and tomato leaf of death. Reminds me a lot of Jerusalem Cherry Honey, actually, that same standing-in-a-tomato-patch scent. Fans of that type of stuff will love this, but it's not really my thing.

I had high hopes for this, and the sparkle of citrus at the beginning helped contribute to that, but unfortunately I just amp the petitgrain too much to enjoy it. I think this scent would have worked well on me without it; bright, sunny citrus perfect for summer. However, the extent to which I ended up amping the petitgrain just gave it a bitter herbal edge that was hard to ignore.

Here comes the deathly kind of lemon to haunt me again. I tend to amp lemon peel notes as opposed to the juice and I definitely do here. I think, however, it's the cilantro that really does me in. I don't like to eat it or smell it, and unforunately it just doesn't go away. I can pick up traces of the other notes but the lemon and cilantro are just too kitchen-prep for me.

I'm afraid there is just way too much juniper and cypress here for me. Surprisingly not much cucumber comes out, but it might be because I amp the juniper and musk the most. I actually like the musk, and while I can do hints of juniper or cypress here and there I just can't wear something this dominant in those notes. I had hope for the orchid, but can barely smell it. Oh well.

I was really hoping the coffee, coconut, opium and tobacco flower would end up being the primary players here, but unfortunately the first thing I get is a blast of lemongrass and cedar. These do fade gradually on the drydown, and I can pick out the other notes here and there but my favorite ones don't end up coming out as strongly as I'd like and the lemongrass/cedar dominance that remains is just impossible to ignore. I really do want to give it one more shot though.

Carnation is another one of those notes that can be hit or miss on me, but this one is absolutely perfect. It smells exactly, exactly like a fresh-picked carnation, a bit stronger than the white and pink ones I'm used to, but an absolute dead ringer for the flower. I could swear there's even a bit of dewiness to it. Since fresh carnations also remind me of that old-fashioned Christmas candy that comes in all different colors, that was one of the first things I thought sniffing it. Floral but not cloying, a touch sweet, a touch spicy, and a huge surprise. I'm glad I took the chance!

I haven't always had the best realtionship with apple blossom. Sometimes it's worked, sometimes it hasn't. I turned Eve v5 into cheap cloying floral soap, but got on very well with Valse Finale et Apotheose. Naturally I hoped this would be like the apple blossom in the latter, and it was. This is the perfect fresh, clean floral. It's a bit more appley wet, reminding me a bit of the Suave apple shampoo I used to use in junior high, but quickly dries down to a cool floral skin scent. The clean aspect isn't the floral guest soap I got in Eve v5, just fresh and clean like just-washed skin and the scent of spring flowers on a cool breeze. It's perfect for warmer weaterh as well as those days I don't feel like wearing anything heavy. I am so glad Beth is bringing single notes back, and can't wait to see what's next!

I second the Weeping Branches Moon comparison, and I'll add that it's a cousin to Hanami and Sakura spray as well, except with tuberose instead of cherry blossom. Wisteria and tuberose are the first notes to make themselves evident, and what was unmistakably honey, which reminded me of the Honey hair gloss; this must be one of the honeys from there. It's a lighter honey to my nose rather than the really thick dark type, but really pretty all the same. The wisteria, honey and tuberose are really at the forefront of this on my skin, with whispers of jasmine backed softly by the wood and moss. Much love to my wonderful Anime Expo fairy for grabbing a bottle of this for me.

Before I start my onlaught of proto reviews, I must thank my incredible Cobwebs angel who was able to pick them up for me. I really don't think it's possible to thank you enough. While the notes for the released Katharina are white musk, apricot and orange blossom, I would say the proto is mostly white musk and orange blossom and a testament to soft, sweet femininity. It's full of that lovely BPAL white musk which gives it a certain freshness and cleanness though not in a soapy way. The orange blosom is not sharp or soapy but gentle, sweet and springlike. There is a trace of floral apricot grounding it, but this isn't something with a strong apricot note at the forefront like March Hare or Depravity. This apricot remind me more of pressing my nose to the skin of a fresh apricot and smelling the sweet fruit rather than a candied apricot scent. Overall this scent is lovely and perfect for spring, like draping yourself in sheet of soft chiffon laden with orange blossoms.

A bit of history: the Weisse Maus (White Mouse) was a Berlin cabaret where guests could choose a black or white eye mask to remain anonymous. It was known for the naked "beauty dances" performed by women after-hours. The proprietor claimed they weren't supposed to be sexual. Right. This one is very deceptive. At first sniff, this is an airy green floral with a lemony tinge, the greenness and lemony quality fading to give way to a certain "whiteness" as it dries down. To my nose it's probably white orchid, honeysuckle that actually behaves, possibly a non-cat pee jasmine and other white blossoms. It seems innocent enough. However, the further it dries down, the more its seedy underbelly comes through. There is a certain muskiness with a tinge of sweetness beneath, like a scented evocation of the supposedly non-sexual "beauty dances" that went on after the more wholesome crowd retired for the night. It seems to me like white musk and white amber (which must be what's adding the hint of sweetness)and white sandalwood. Even though it isn't a smoky scent, as a whole it's reminiscent of white smoke or vapor, like the characteristic haze flooding an actual cabaret.

It seems to me this and UOH2 were Banshee Beat protos because the same notes are present but in different proportions. I would say this one is the woodier version of Banshee Beat. The patchouli and vanilla are obvious enough and a tiny bit of hemp fades quickly on the drydown, but this version has the addition of what I believe to be oak. I LOVE oak. It reminds me--in the best possible way--of a vanilla-oak candle I have that I can't bring myself to burn because I just want to keep huffing it. The main difference is that this has the addition of a warm sensual patchouli that is a perfect complement to the oak and vanilla. This is like the woodland version of Banshee Beat, rich and warm. Definitely a keeper!

This one is an unsung hero(ine?) of BPAL the orchid family: Lune Noire: black orchid, jonquil, white pear, white amber, gardenia, olibanum, champaca, sweet clove, tonka, oakmoss, and blue musk. If it likes your skin, it is truly an otherworldly scent. Also, Beth's Black Moon from last year: Black Moon: black orchid, motia attar, mugwort, English pear, jonquil, violet leaf, myrrh, opoponax, crystal musk, ylang ylang, and 5-year aged patchouli. I know the myrrh and resins may make it sound heavy, but they're more of a mysterious veil in the backdrop. It's a much more ethereal scent than the note listing might suggest.

I love this. I adore this. I had a hard time doing much more than swooning when I tried it on my wrist. It's a bit more rosy wet, but still like the petals of the most voluptous Damask roses doused in smooth vanilla cream--and drying down on the skin, the cream seems to soak through the rose even more, making this an interplay of sweet creamy innocence shot through with a pulsating crimson heart. It's a scent of red intermingling with white but was clearly not intended to be a "pink" scent. Guilelessness and corruption in a bottle. Amazing.

This one is all lush, and dewy hothouse orchids entwined with tendrils of incense. It seems every color of orchid has been incorporated into here somehow, from white to dark purple, making this a gorgeous exotic floral with a mysterious, almost smoky finish from the incense. It makes me think of all the exotic things blooming around the Mayfairs' Garden District house in Anne Rice's The Witching Hour.

This one is a very sophisticated and surprisingly sexy bat. There is a lot of white sandalwood in the wet stage, and I'm momentarily afraid that's all that will show up on me, but it becomes less prominent as the other notes emerge. Some sage makes itself known wet but quickly recedes. The balsam must be the main thing that sweetens it on the drydown, probably along with the frankincense as resins tend to sweeten on my skin, and the muguet adds a slightly sweet and almost creamy undertone. Meanwhile the underlying patchouli contributes a certain mystery and sensuality to the whole scent. It really is quite beautiful. Sometimes white sandalwood ends up overly dry on me, but here it's the furthest thing possible from that.

Evil chocolate. Evil EVIL chocolate. This is not a foody scent, but the cacao is evident from the wet stage and remains at the top throughout. For a moment the patchouli and mahogany wrestle with it for dominance. I was afraid at that point it would end up being all masculine patch and wood, but the cacao then reasserts itself with the other two close behind, gradually sweetened by the tonka, sarsaparilla and balsam in the background. The dark musks add that final sexy finish that gives a new meaning to "dark" chocolate. An enormous thank you to my Bats' Day fairy for picking up goodies for me, because I'm loving every one!

I knew this would be my favorite bat (and did I mention how adorable the label batty is?) It's not a fizzy scent on me, not for more than a couple seconds anyway; then the vanilla cream, sarsaparilla and fig only keep getting better and better with the warmth of saffron in the background. The barest hint of lime remains on the drydown, but it's actually a pleasant tangy counter to the sweetness. It ends up as a golden vanilla cream, if you can put up with my synaesthesia, with sticky fig, a hint of warm spice that isn't "spicy" in the stereotypical sense, and a shot of sarsaparilla that reminds me a bit of Spicebush Swallowtail. Actually this is very much like a Spicebush Swallowtail and cream sundae, come to think of it. Love!

At first I actaully get a lot of woodiness from the cedar and pepper, but after about a minute those take a backseat to the softer, "silvery" notes of amber, ambergris and benzoin backbed by balsam and oude for a mildly sweet yet substantial depth. Seconding the spun-sugar feel of this once it dries down; I think the benzoin, which I amp, is behind that, giving it a vanillic undertone. The cedar and pepper don't budge from where they are and just meld into the undertones, letting the notes that have risen to the top command the show. One of the few BPALs with cedar I can do!