Invidiana

This is one that I actually like much better than the proto. While the proto of this smelled like, shall we say, something pretty unmentionable on me this version is very reminiscent of Fern Frost, which I also love. It's bracing without being sharp or herbal, starting out as an ozonic (but not cologney) blast of chill wind with a frozen aquatic (also not cologney) hoarfrost note that settles to reveal frosty lichen that is somewhat green but not quite green in the classic sense, more of a dark and almost woody green. I've fallen for it pretty fast.

This turned out to be a completely unexpected winner. I feared it would end up being mostly dusty rose with a bit of linen, but on the contrary it's an absolutely lovely snowy linen blend anchored by crystalline musk. I definitely recognize the Lab's white musk note in here, and the linen gives it an unconventionally "clean" feeling very different from the mostly soapy blends that are normally associated with that category. It has that cold quality brought on by the snow note, but without being minty or piney. I barely detect any rose at all, possibly because what is here blends so seamlessly with the other elements for a tinge of a floral quality that only compliments the blend. The more I smell this, the more it fascinates me.

I love gingerbread blends, and this is no exception. I get a lot of classic warm and spicy (but not overwhelmingly so) gingerbread like Gingerbread Poppet, and then the combined smells of all the candy accents a gingerbread house is embellished with. I can pick out hints of chocolate, candied fruits definitely with some candied citrus in there, a tiny bit of mint in the wet stage that fades quickly, and a ribbon of sugary frosting. The most prominent notes on me are the gingerbread, chocolate and sugared fruit (especially what seems to my nose to be candied orange peel) in that order. I think this is going to get even richer and more delicious as it ages.

I think I liked the proto of this one better than the released. While the proto was all deep dark fruit this one is a tad too herbal for my tastes. I do like the rich and tangy fig note very much but at least on me the chamomile keeps battling it for dominance along equally herbal rosehips and ginseng; the three of them together remind me of the metric tons of chamomile tea that got poured down my throat whenever I was sick as a kid. If you do like chamomilie, you might want to give this a whirl as it's a very prominent note here.

This sure is a morpher, but a really pretty one. At first it's bracing, cold and somewhat piney from the hemlock, though I can't really tell it apart from other snowy BPALs with some sort of evergreen. However, the drydown really sets it apart. The snow and hemlock are still there and provide that element of cold, but the orris emerges and makes it unlike any other snowy blend I've tried before--a soft and "downy" snow scent very appropriate considering the theme. It's very unique even comforting in an odd way. Another one earmarked for a bottle.

I usually hate elemi, but this is a huge exception. For some reason I thankfully get no elemi but a wonderfully shivery duo of mints wrapped in white musk that I love right away, but something magical happens as it dries down, which makes me love it even more. The "deepening darkness" emerges as it dries down; I'm guessing it a blend of dark musks with a bit of warmth to it, but not enough to negate the cold, just to envelop the scent in an olfactory starless night. Beautiful.

This took me totally by surprise because I was expecting rose overload but instead got a lovely glowing winter berry scent backed by the golden feel of the frankincense and sandalwood with just a brush of soft florals. This is like a warm version of the winter berry notes in blends like Skadi, The Snow Maiden and Snow Moon if that makes any sense. It still has that distinctive red "holiday" berry quality about it but no snow surrounding it as several other BPALs with winter berries do. There is a touch of red rose but it's the velvety smooth kind that turns out lovely on my skin which makes me think there is at least some Damascus rose in here. Another one I need a bottle of.

Warm, glowing and beautiful. I actually got the impression of orange blossom here, probably from the way the combination of linden blossom and orange zest behaved on my skin. As it dries down the ambers and honey really shine, and I'm also echoing the impression of beeswax. It also grows a bit sweeter and creamier over time from the vanilla, and the honey and amber elements seem to warm up and grow alluringly musky as it keeps drying down though I must note that honey and resins do tend to take on a musky quality on my skin after a while. This is a perfect evocation of radiance, and I imagine it will age wonderfully.

I was initially leery of this one because eucalyptus and I haven't always been the best of friends. However, this must be a different sort of eucalyptus note because it isn't a menthol blast in my face but a fresh burst of coolness that quickly fades to reveal a lovely ethereal veil of blue musk over soft and slightly sweet white florals, mostly the davana and iris. It does retain a delicate frosty quality throughout, reminiscent of frost-rimmed petals glittering in the early light. Definitely bottleworthy for me.

What can I say? This is warm, creamy and delicious. I definitely recognize that boozy sweet rum note also in Hot Buttered Rum melding with smooth vanilla cream dusted with a hint of nutmeg, one of my favorite spices if not my favorite because it has a certain slightly sweet warmth that doesn't venture into being overwhelmingly spicy like cinnamon can be on my skin. Love.

This started out so odd on me I almost didn't give it a chance. It was just really acidic with the citrus wrestling the snowy and minty aspects for dominance with almost no vanilla coming through. However, after letting the notes settle things between them the acidity burns off and it becomes a lovely creamy citrus with soft vanilla and a hint of sweet mint. From where I thought it was going to end up smelling like bona fide yellow snow on me it's going to turn into a bottle.

There really is something bright and "golden" about the floral notes in this. At first it's all snow, but as it dried down some glorious warm florals that don't feel floral in the classic sense arise--very difficult to describe. I would almost say they're honeyed florals but it's not quite honey, just something beautiful and glowing bursting forth from the snow. This is like the big sister to The First Soft Snow and I think it will be joining my bottle of that soon.

So I finally get to try the holy of holies. Funny I should phrase it that way because guess what I turn it into: church incense. Church incense and bunches of flowers. Bastardized by my skin chemistry Noir ends up smelling like the Easter vigil, and when you have to put up with an Easter vigil of--counts on fingers--four hours in the Orthodox church, most all except a few precious minutes spent standing up, it isn't exactly something you want hanging around as perfume. It's that same incense smoke from the censer mingling with the scent of the lilies and carnations they put out in vases by the altar every year. I really can't pick out what combination of what notes is doing this on me. Perhaps it's the oppoponax/myrrh/clove? Jasmine/oppoponax/myrrh? Jasmine/myrrh/Lily of the Valley? It could be all or none of those. I barely get any plum or rose at all, maybe a hint of rose on the drydown but something ate the plum. As it dries down it becomes a bit sweeter, though I must note that I tend to amp the sweetness in virtually anything that has even a hint of it. Something of a powdery quality also begins to set in, possibly from the rose and resins, though the church-incense-and-flowers vibe is still prominent. It doesn't end up entirely unpleasant in an objective sense, but the memory associations of being ten years old and feeling my feet helplessly blister only halfway through that epic service are just too strong. I will leave the rest of the Noir that exists in the world to those whose skin really does turn it to magic.

I love this one. Love, love, love. Simple but amazing. It's like thickest, darkest, most delicious blackberry honey I've never tasted. The slight tartness of the blackberry balances out the naturally sweet honey note. I need a bottle.

Apple blossom often turns into the cheapest, nastiest sort of baby powder on me. While everyone else was raving about Eve v5 I was sneezing.

I didn't spring for a bottle of this right away because I was a little leery of the pine and cotton candy combo. Strangely, it works! I don't even get too much pine, but what is there combines with the floral elements to make this smell like eating cotton candy outside in a field of wildflowers surrounded by pine trees in the springtime. As it dries down the pine all but fades completely, and I'm left with a sweet pink cotton candy scent backed by soft wildflowers that balance it out. Glad to say it did turn into a bottle.

I would characterize this as a feminine snow and pine scent. It definitely has more of a "cold" quality than the released due to the pine plus more prominent mint and ozonic notes that are like bracing winter air in the beginning but soften on the drydown. I wouldn't say this pine is the dark pine resin of Gacela of the Dark Death or The Most Magnificent Christmas Tree but a lighter, slightly sweet pine needle scent like that in Skadi or Ondurdis. I do see a link between this and the released in the combination of snow, soft nonfoody vanilla and white floral notes. I can't put my finger on the exact florals, but they are present, though I think to a lesser extent than they are in Snow White. This version has no coconutty quality like the released, it does share something of the pleasantly powdery quality the released takes on as it dries down, though I would say this one ends up less powdery overall. This is Snow White in a snowy evergreen forest, and it is as beautiful as the image it conjures.

This is like Skadi, Talvikuu and Snow-Flakes crossed paths. I actually have Ondurdis on one hand and Skadi on the other to compare notes. It starts out bracing, with a rush of frozen ozone like a blast of winter wind in your face, but not a mentholic cough-medicine type of bracing--similar to the wet stage of Skadi. On the drydown, while Skadi goes to mostly pine and winter berries with a dusting of snow on me, Ondurdis becomes a soft yet uplifting predominantly snowy scent with hints of pine, nonfoody vanilla and a smidge of winter berry, but not the prominent pine and berry of Skadi. Overall I'd wager there is about a 75% similarity between the two (on my skin at least), but when my nose jumps from one to the other I can pick out subtle differences. Despite the scent worship that surrounds Skadi, I have to say that I personally prefer this one.

This reminds me almost exactly of David's Pumpkin Pie Chai (though strangely that isn't a rooibos--guess that's where the "almost" comes from), which in my opinion is the best pumpkin tea out there and believe me I've been through boxes and boxes of pumpkin tea from every brand imaginable. Now for me to equate this with my favorite pumpkin tea, it's obviously good. This is not a heavily syrupy or buttery pumpkin blend, but warm and sweet with almond and just the right dusting of spice that doesn't raise its flag and take over in 2.5 seconds. There is a certain creaminess from the coconut that doesn't assert itself as coconut but smooths everything out, and the licorice/fennel also don't scream their names but contribute a unique depth. Love!

This definitely smells like a Christmas tree, but it's a wearable Christmas tree scent rather than the pine-on-steroids Black Forest goes to on me. I think it's the sweet balsamic sap and warm background woods that tame this one, and I'm not familiar with what silver birch smells like on its own but I'm sure that has a part to play as well. It has a certain comforting sweetness on the drydown that is surely coming from my skin amping the sweetness in the sap note, and I love that. Beth has taken a classic Christmas tree scent and made it so it remains true to the theme of a Christmas tree, but smells like more than just a Christmas tree. Beautiful.

This is a pretty perilous scent for me alright. I turn it into a sickeningly cloying pear candy on steroids for quite a while, and finally when that aspect of it has had its fun a soft vanilla musk comes into play and the ubersweet pear finally starts to recede. I can now see the comparison to Antique Lace but since I already own that and so many other vanillas with which I don't have to put up with a torturous wet stage, I don't think I'll be hunting any more.

Smoky cake! I'm thrilled that I primarily get vanilla frosting, dry leaves and smoke out of this. I'm also really glad the wine didn't end up either cloyingly sweet or really sour and takes a backseat. I can pick out traces of the other notes--a bit of booze here, a bit of incense there, teensy hints of Snake Oil and Dorian if I really concentrate on finding them--but when everything comes together it's basically like cake smashed into the smell of autumn for me, and I love it.

Some apple scents that don't have a baked apple notes or a backup of foody gloop tend to go cloyingly sweet on me. So what business, then, do I have with a bottle of this in my hand? I had a hunch and I was right: it really is as gorgeous as its name. It's mostly all apple wet, but that quickly changes when the other elements come into play on the drydown. I get the soft sweetness of vanilla, ethereal musks, and the sensuality of heady tropical blossoms fully supporting and balancing the apple. I don't really get much bergamot but maybe it's helping keep the natural sweetness of the apple in check. This is a beautiful and diaphanous scent that "sparkles" even without effervesccence, and I'm so glad I took a chance on it.

This is another I've fallen hard for. It's all pumpkin and boozy vanilla wet, soft smoky wood notes emerging as it dries down and adding to the warm autumnal feel of it. The linen note is pretty faint and only appears at the tail end of the drydown but then again I expect it to be taking into account that it's supposed to be a diaphanous linen shroud rather than dominant linen. The pumpkin and vanilla remain the stars on me, highlighted by a smoky woody background. Love.

This is beyond cider. This is the illegitimate love child of apple cider and the most delicious hot toddy in the world. Right away I get the spiced apple and citrus, then the richness of the butterscotch liquor and brown sugar become more evident as it dries down. The orange and lemon don't overpower but add just the right balance of tartness to the natural sweetness of the apple note. This is warm and comforting and cozy and just a bit boozy, perfect for the many chilly nights we have ahead of us.