maewitch

Ya, I think this vanilla and I just don't see eye to eye. On me it smells just like those cheap, powdery discount department store vanilla spritzers. I may have liked this when I was thirteen. Off to swaps it goes.

A friend who absolutely does not wear perfume walked into my house and immediately starting sniffing me and demanding to know what I was wearing. This blend is just lovely. Utterly soft and so pretty I may need to acquire something frothy and white to wear on balmy spring days just to do this justice. This is all pale greens and pinks and soft white, a luminescent and gentle thing of beauty. The pears and grapes come out first, and rest on the delicate florals. Exquisitely feminine and more than a touch fae.

Wow. I mean, really...wow. Seductive, elegant, exotic. Sweet incense and other notes blended so perfectly I am hard-pressed to identify any single one as distinct. This is just so perfectly sensual. This immediately makes me feel languid, earthy and mysterious. Loooooove.

A fabulous summer fragrance, on the heavier side for sultry evenings out. The peach is perfectly luscious and sweet, and stays fairly distinct throughout most of the dry down, carried by a damn near perfect combination of musk and amber. Amber is hit and miss with me, but the ones in this blend don't overwhelm me or have that powdery-yet-oversexed touch. The final drydown is a slightly sweet musk. It's all good.

*comatose and drooly on the floor* This is pure delectable honeyed vanilla. It's not complex, and it's sure not subtle, but damn is it sexy. It smelled too sexy from the bottle, almost like...er...sex-sweat, but on the skin it just blooms into this incredible creamy honey that's not too sweet or cloying. And despite the lack of subtlety, it's not an overpowering scent (and I say this having accidently spilled some on me). BIG bottle, immediately.

Richly, decadently feminine. It seems like dragon's blood is quite floral on me. That's the first note that hits me when I apply this, and though it lightens during drydown, it's present throughout. And it's a floral I really really like, almost herbal-edged. I don't get the cherry note at all, and the clove barely makes a peep, but there is a sense of something murky and deep red in this. This is a very womanly blend on me, very confident and a little dark. This one is a keeper. EDIT: Is there myrrh in this? I can't distinguish it, but it may be what is making that red note deepen. Cool.

Look at that, a woodsy scent I can totally wear. This reminds me of a cross between Samhain and Hex, without the stewed spicy apples of the former, or the incense of the latter. For about a minute, when first applied, I get a faint medicinal note, like crushed herbs, and a brisk, almost ozone quality. Then the damp woods, the smokiness and the musk come out, and I am shocked at how subtle they are. This is absolutely the smell of forest to me, complete with loamy earth, rain still clinging to both leafy and evergreen branches, something faintly sweet like wild berries in the underbrush, and the scent of a sleek and graceful being moving through the woods. I really have to learn to expect the unexpected when it comes to BPAL, because if I was not obsessed with trying every Lunar blend, I don't think I would have given this a try based on the notes. And I would have so missed out. I don't know that I would wear this as a regular perfume, but I can definitely see this used ritually.

Erm...baby powder? Albeit very nice, vanilla-scented, ever-so-slightly spicy baby powder. This is fresh from the lab, so I think I'm gonna let this one age and retry in a few months. (Will post edit then.)

This was very light. Especially in comparison to the whomp on the head that is the ginger in Shub. Whereas Shub is all rolling sensuality, this is dewy innocence. Creamy milk dashed with ginger more than anything. I don't get the honey, which is weird because it seems like my skin usually amps that up. Lovely and gentle, almost something I would wear to bed as a calming fragrance. As a day scent, I prefer something with a little more waft and some more staying power. This barely made it through the train ride. I'll try slathering it on next time I wear it.

Wet, this is super-sweet pear and plumeria (which amps up on my skin like jasmine). It's almost too syrup-y, but the drydown eases up a bit. It's still an incredibly juicy, fruity, sweet floral. The champagne note does add a certain light-heartedness to what would otherwise be a smothering scent. It is VERY girly. I like it, but I think this will be a limited scent for me.

Ok, this one knocked my socks off. I admit I got it purely because of the mythic associations, not really expecting to like it. I mean, armor, leather, all kinds of woods? Not my bag. I was so so SO wrong. Wet, I do pick up some sort of damp woods, which are not at all unpleasant. Dry, this is berries and spice and musk. I feel like I should be draped in some furry blanket, snuggling up to some warrior dude who's feeding me the ripest berries and the yummiest mulled wine. Bottle, like, NOW.

This came out as a well-rounded vanilla-sandalwood blend, and that's pretty much it. I can't really distinguish the floral notes, but I guess that's what is rounding out the blend and adding to the sweetness of the vanilla. It's pretty and sort of old-fashioned feeling, like really expensive soap. This doesn't feel young or sexy to me, but makes me think of the time I stayed with an older female relative in France. There's something about this scent that comforts me, makes me think of quiet elegance and antiques and laundered linens. I don't know that I would really wear this too much, but the scent has such pleasant associations that I can't see myself swapping the imp away.

So. Flippin'. Fabulous. This is richly ambery and spicy and just vanilla-plum-sweet enough and OMG I am going to stop drooling over my wrist sometime next week. I was worried about the coconut, but it barely makes a peep, just a little suggestion of possible plastic for about 10 seconds, and then this is pure golden-cream-edged-in-shimmery-brown goodness. SOOO glad I have a bottle coming to me eventually.

Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter... her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose. This is probably one of the sweetest and most innocent versions of a rose scent that I've smelled so far. The pomegrenate is succulant, sweet and just a little tart, and the rose is fresh and light. I love rose, but can't usually wear it because it tends to stand a little too stark against my skin, and I associate it with more 'mature' perfumes. This rose is very distinct, but it actually works in with my skin, and is balanced by the juiciness of the fruit. This smells EXACTLY like what I would associate with Persephone: a girlish form with something nebulously more womanly at the core.

Hrrm. The strongest note I get (and that's saying a lot, as this blend was surprisingly nose-to-the-wrist on me) was the strawberry. This actually reminded me of Strawberry Moon, but red and musky, whereas that one was pink and sugary. The strawberry in this one, however, has a strangely nose-itching chemical quality. I don't like it. I can barely pick up anything under it, except the general feel of something reddishly murky. EDIT: once the strawberry fades (about an hour later) this is a sexy red musk. But it's so light, and the opening stage not to my taste at all. I think there are blends that provide something similar without aggrevating my nose, so I think this one goes into swap.

The florals are extremely well-blended in this one. I can tell there is rose and carnation, but neither one is jumping up and biting me on the nose. It's a dusky, spicy, smoky floral, very much what I imagine a Gypsy perfume would smell like. There is a very faint soapy note when it is wet, which somehow makes it seem like a clean exotic smell. It's getthing smoother, richer and sweeter as it dries, the incense amping up even as the florals mellow out (and the soap note disappears). I have a decant, but I may have to acquire a bottle.

This is absolutely wonderful. Much softer than the first five minutes predicted and an ideal fall scent. The first few minutes were a little off-putting, as the nutmeg came on quite strong, and the pumpkin was strangely artificial, like potpourri. Drying down, it morphed into an incredibly creamy and oh-so-slightly-spicy pumpkin pie scent. I think the peach, while not explicit, lends a little sweetness and serves to lighten it up a bit. It actually smells like Samhain without the woody-earthy aspect. I can see myself wrapped up in a huge blanket and huddled up on my couch, sipping something warm and alcohol-laced, watching the leaves fall outside. This goes on the big bottle list.

All kinds of mint, something herbal, and it's all gone within minutes. Stupid skin chemistry.

Aaaargh! Begone you, heliotrope! And it does, after a few minutes and the sweetness goes down a notch with it. The I get the peach and the oakmoss. The peach is ok, but I'm a little hazy on the oakmoss - it's got that tickly-your-nose-slightly-nauseating quality. Overall, I like the sweet juiciness, but not so much the oakmoss. It's quite nice from a distance, but a close sniff just magnifies what I like least. This is a very light blend however, so not much throw. Ambivalent. I think I will try this again at another time.

I have a really hard time placing this one. On one hand it reminds me of Angel perfume, which I loathe. I can't figure out what the commonality is, or what even bothers me in Angel to begin with, but there's something here that's just rubbing me wrong. On the other hand, this is interesting blend. I can pick up the citrus and something like a honey note (possibly the sweetness of the plumeria?). The rest is sort of a mystery to me. Overall, this one might be a pass. I don't see myself wearing this.

Named in honor of the primeval Greek Goddess of Night. A scent reflecting inky black skies and eternal desolation. Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose. Unfortunately not meant to be. The jasmine is too strong - almost nauseatingly sweet and cloying - and overall this blend smell way too 'mature' for me. I don't get the rose at all.

I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to, though it's nice enough. From bottle and wet, it's almost pure almonds. Almost like almond oil hand cream. It has a slight baby-powder note as well, which does recede as it dries. I'm not getting distinct honey, just some sweetness. It's also very light, which lends that just-from-the-shower kind of feel. Honestly, I can't find anything to hate here, but I'm just not floored, ya know?

This is incredably unpleasant on me. Just sniffing out of the bottle, I get this sharp, almost acrid note that raises all my hackles. I get no vanilla and no apricot. Usually jasmine and ginger are great on me, but there is some combination in this that is just making it completely unwearable. It smells...almost rotten. I have to wash this off immediately before I start feeling ill.

Waaayyyyy sweeter than I was expecting, almost a jasmine-honey sort of sweet. Especially on the drydown. From the bottle it smells almost like The Unicorn, though with less floral. Wet, it smells light and sweet, and I have to sniff slowly and deeply to pick up that watery aquatic note. Which is good, because overly aquatic or ozone-y blends tend to smell sharply masculine on me. This smells more like sitting by a lake in early spring....you get the florals and the freshness, and just a wiff of something watery on the breeze. Despite the association with early spring, this is in no way a 'chill' scent on me. I like it, though I remain on the hunt for a truly icy blend.

Holy Mother! A coconut scent that doesn't go plastic on me! I've been extremely anxious to get this one, because I've tried many different coconut scents since ordering it, with mostly unpleasant results. I was so pleasantly surprised when I finally got this. Out of the bottle, it's a crystalline lime-mint, with just a bit of creaminess detectable. The mint, of course, pulls its usual disappearing act within minutes. What I'm left with is a creamy, pale coconut milk scent, with the lightest wiff of something brightly citrus. I am still in shock that I am actually smelling the coconut in here. It's sweet but not foody. It smells nothing like tanning lotion, but like fresh coconut split open. That being said, I now just don't know if I'm a huge fan of coconut. (It smells like the real coconut you would eat....and I dislike eating it.) Without the plastic note, it's certainly pleasant, but I just...don't know. I think I need to wear this one some more to get a better feel for it. EDIT: further dried down, this is even sweeter and creamier, and less distinctly coconutty. I like!