Silverstrike

Whatdya know, there is a BBW scent that smells like this! Kumiho is supposed to be white tea and ginger; I get tea and faint ginger, nothing to really offend me at first glance. Upon drydown, it basically stays the same. . . tea and a little ginger, but nothing complex, and nothing that impresses you so much you're knocked down (as I was with say, Snow White ). That said, however, Kumiho is great as a light, everyday scent.

This review is for Mistletoe '05. This smells like Christmas tree. I don't get any other notes, just Christmas tree. This may be great as a room scent, especially around Christmas time, but not necessarily something I want to wear, although it's certainly beautiful and really just like a Christmas tree (have I mentioned it smells exactly like a Christmas tree?). If it had a hint of sweetness I think I'd be able to wear it as perfume, but the way it smells to me, it's almost astringent in its pineyness. But if you love pine, you've got to try this.

This review is for Rose Red '05. In the bottle, this is fresh roses. First applied: fresh roses (complete with "green" scent). After a few hours, the green fades and the rose remains. A few more hours, and the rose fades too. This is pretty, but unnecessary because I've fallen in love with Snow White (which is more "me" than Rose Red is). Rose Red is a beautiful, beautiful rose, but I guess I'm not that much of a rose person. Although I am curious to try Peacock Queen now, to see how that compares.

I had high hopes for Lick It because of a LE Celestial Seasonings tea from Christmas 2004--it was called "Candy Cane Lane" and had peppermint and vanilla bean in it (along with other things that seemed unimportant). I loved the tea and waited for its return. It didn't come back for Christmas 2005 (or at least I wasn't able to find it at any supermarket I stalked for that month) and left me heartbroken for my favorite tea, a box of tea I'd been rationing all throughout the year, and now never to be found again. Which brings us to Lick It. I was hoping Lick It would be the perfume version of Candy Cane Lane--after all, both predominately have peppermint and vanilla notes. I'm on the fence; I love the peppermint and vanilla in this, but there's an off note in it and I can't figure out what it is (kind of reminds of what I think is the lunar note in Beth's lunar oils, if that helps). It gets stronger too, as time progresses and the vanilla and mint fade. But, it's delicious to sniff in the bottle so I may have to keep it just for that. It does make me wonder what Snowblind smells like though, in my quest for a scent that smells like Candy Cane Lane.

I've gotten two frimps of this from the Lab and I feel I should review it before I forget. Basically, it smells like floral tissue paper on me. This probably works well on people whose skin chemistry allows them to wear BPAL florals, but I've learned in the past that I am not one of those people--I seem to do best with sweet scents, where florals can be a side but not main component of the scent. So if most BPAL florals agree with you, this is worth checking out, but if most BPAL florals do not agree with you, move on.

I originally wanted to order an imp of this because when I went to Recommendations, I asked about a scent that would smell like Etro's Umbra. Hades was one of those that were recommended. And then lo and behold, it was a frimp from the Lab! Like Umbra, it has opoponax and labdanum (not that I actually know what those are, but both have those notes listed). There's a hint of that same sweetness from Ambra in this, but Hades ends up soapy on me. It fades all right, but because it goes soapy, I'm not certain I'd purchase. I'm off to try Penitence and Cathedral next.

Let me preface this review by saying that I've never had Earl Grey tea, so I don't know what it smells like. That said, Severin is supposed to be black teas, Earl Gray and leather; I get an antiseptic note from it though, kind of green--maybe this is the leather? It's not unpleasant, and doesn't turn into something icky as it dries down, but it's not necessarily something I want to wear. Clean light fresh scent though.

Wet, The Apothecary was really delicious, in a way more beautiful than the other tea fragrances I've tried, but as it dries down, there's what my nose associates with artificial, some note that doesn't agree with me. After it's dried, it doesn't smell that great. Something a little plasticky or like insect repellant. I'll probably send the imp along to someone else or swap it.

I think I originally ordered an imp of Jack because it was autumn and I wanted to see how it would compare to Samhain; some people seemed to love Samhain but not Jack, and others seemed to love both. I've had the opposite result: Jack agrees with me, but Samhain does not. In the imp, Jack was very buttery, which had me worried, but as it dried, the butter calmed down and the cloves and spices came out more. It smells very much like a scented candle to me, but in the best way, which is why it's something I could imagine wearing again. Best of all, it stayed nice on my skin after drydown. Since Samhain, Sugar Skull and Devil's Night didn't work on me, Jack is my frontrunner for an autumn scent (although who knows what might come out that's new in the fall). It's nice.

Nice to know it's not just me. . . Van Van is not quite right on me. Something about it smells off or raw, which I realize may not be the best way to describe it, but is the only way I can describe how it smells to me. This did smell better on my brother though, so I don't know. But on me. . . this doesn't work. It doesn't make me feel bolder either, just off.

In the bottle, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo smelled happy and made me smile. Once applied, however, it smelled more like artificial grape and plastic. I will probably place this in my "Swaps" pile.

Frimp from the Lab. Initially, the jasmine was very strong. Eventually it died down and blended with the rest of the notes, but it still ended up being an overwhelming white floral. A soft, overwhelming (how's that for an oxymoron?) white floral. Venice is pretty, but not my cup of tea. If you already know Lab florals work on you, this is probably worth checking out.

I got a very definite light floral top note and an artificial "grape" as the bottom note; they never exactly mellowed nor morphed on my skin. Mainly, it tickled my nose. Since I was interested in trying this more for how it smelled than whether it might bring me good luck or alleviate depression and instead, it tickles my nose, I won't be buying a big bottle. But, I'm going to keep the imp just in case I think I may want some good luck--like when I have jury duty next month!

Oooooh, this did not go over well on my skin. My first impression, upon application, was "artificial cleaning scent". It didn't improve over time. I ended up sending this off to a friend who was interested in trying BPAL florals (Euphrosyne and Eos worked for her and they didn't for me) because the least I can do is enable, right? I'm glad I got to try it, because it sounded like something I might possibly love, but I've struck out.

Blood Countess is a very pretty perfume, and there's not much I can add in terms of the different notes noticed in it. What I will say, however, is that it's not me--I feel like I'm wearing someone else's pretty perfume, so this won't be going on my big bottle list.

I was hoping I'd like this one, and I do! I can really only definitely pick out the coconut note--everything else kind of blends together to me, but other than that, it just smells yummy. I wasn't sure whether this would work since it has a musk in it (generally, musk (black, white, whatever) doesn't work well on me, but this hasn't turned on my skin, so I'm happy. Normally with musk, I have a nice period and then a yucky stinky period, but with Black Pearl, even the drydown is pretty. I'd rate this a 4 out of 5.

Wow. This was a frimp I got and tried just today. It smells like soap!!! It doesn't smell soapy, per se, but like a bar of soap. Deoderant bar soap, me thinks, the kind men use. It just smells clean, at least that's how it reacts with my skin--cleanly washed skin. My gosh, I wish I could get my husband to wear this! I don't get apples or rose at all, maybe some lemon, but mainly, just soap. It's fabulous.

As soon as it was available again, I ordered an imp of this to see if I too, would love this as much as most forumites seem to. Short answer: I don't. There's a note that tickles my nose and turns my stomach; I don't know what it is, but it's the same off note that I got from Milk Moon and Flower Moon. Also, upon application, something morphs into a plastic scent--seemingly as soon as it hits my skin. Which is a shame, because it sounded so lovely, but I guess this one is just not for me.

The scent of loss, love and the echo of time without end: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves. This smells a lot like laundry detergent or scented dryer sheets on me. I don't smell violet in this at all--at least if what I smell from Numb is violet, which is the only comparison I can make to BPAL violet. What I think I smell a lot of is rose and lily--I don't know about the chamomile or the autumn leaves. The scent was pretty strong for the first hour, then it started fading. Even though this one didn't work out for me, I'm always glad for frimps from the Lab since they give me the opportunity to try something I wouldn't have necessarily picked out myself.

This doesn't smell very happy. When wet, I smell something that's bitter. As it dries (afterwards as well), I can smell leather and something sour--which I think is the red wine. But what I smell the most is something like Worcestchire sauce, which oddly enough, was the overwhelming note I got from Sugar Skull, just not quite as strong here (but still quite prominent).

Snow White 2005 Really, there isn't anything I can add to Snow White's reviews about how it smells--I've only tried about 60 BPAL scents so far, and I don't know all of the notes, etc. but I guess this might have coconut and flowers. . . although it's not like it's solely or mainly coconut or flowers. I haven't tried Dana O'Shee (although it's currently on order) so I can't compare in terms of that either. But what I can say is that I love this fragrance. Absolutely, positively love love. I truly have no idea what is in this, but it smells fabulous in the bottle as well as on my skin, and it doesn't turn into something disagreeable (which for me, is absolutely amazing). Even when I can discern a plasticky smell, it works. And I can still smell a bit of it overnight. So far, my top catalog scents would be March Hare, Embalming Fluid and Dorian, and my top LE scents would be this, Midway and Numb (for comparison's sake, I've also tried Mi-Go-Brain Cannister, Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Samhain, Devil's Night, Sugar Skull, Jacob's Ladder, Stardust, Rose Red, Mistletoe and Lick It). But I haven't found anything else, in the GC or LEs, that I love nearly as much as Snow White. And when I say love, I mean would buy again in a heart beat. If Snow White were in the GC, I'd probably make it my "signature" fragrance (it's just so friggin' amazing), but it's not, so I'll just hope it's available next year. Oh, I love this one. I really, really love her.

I've been looking for a purdy amber fragrance, but unfortunately, this one is not it for me--it turns soapy immediately and stays that way. It's too bad, because The Lion is all Big Red cinnamon chewing gum on me, and Jacob's Ladder turns sour on me. Alas, the search continues.

Wow, you can smell the hairspray in this! In the bottle, at least. After I tried it on, I couldn't smell the hairspray anymore; it turned into a really pretty floral fragrance that has a little musk in it. Within in hour though, it exploded--rather than this pretty little fragrance I had on my wrist, it turned into this gigantic fragrance that stuffed up my nose--a lot of white florals don't agree with me, and I knew that going into this, but I still ordered it because Stardust sounded so fabulous. Even for all of its acknowledged loveliness, however, it isn't me the way you may put on a perfume and go "Ah. . ." and relax. This one requires me to work, and I just want to enjoy. I'll probably give this another go later, but I don't know.

This was one of the Yule scents that I was most anticipating. . . with that said, I'm not sure I'll be keeping this bottle. In the bottle, it's spicy, creamy, yummy. After it gets onto my skin, however, it morphs into something that is neither creamy nor yummy; it's sour-sweet and reminds me of baby powder or something related to babies. I think there's still a little spiciness there, but it's barely discernible due to the sour-sweet smell. It's not offensive (I'm wondering if this is what amber smells like? The only other BPAL amber fragrance I've experienced has been The Lion, in which my skin ate the amber and I was left with a Big Red cinnamon scent) but it's not quite what I would term pleasant either, so I'm on the fence with this one. But maybe it'll grow on me, we'll see. Edited 28-Mar-06: I pulled this bottle out again to try, and I must say it's improved with age. I really have no idea how to describe it--it seems musky without musk, perfumey without perfume. Something that smells like yummy skin. I'm really glad I didn't get rid of this bottle, because I think this is in my top ten now.

I got this as a frimp from the Lab. I'd never heard of it before, so of course, I had to look it up (that's when I found out it was discontinued/brought back to life). First impression: Very cedary, with something kind of sharp, I think the grapefruit. Upon drydown: The cedarwood isn't as sharp anymore, but something about it is still quite strong. Very woody (like inside a chest). Three hours later: Gone! Overall: I'm not sure what vetiver smells like, but mainly I get cedarwood (I think), which is basically mellow but a little sharp (which I realize sounds contradictory); the grapefruit disappeared on me pretty quickly. I don't think this is something I would have chosen for myself (anything with patchouli I've generally tried to avoid in the past, but perhaps I'll be exploring my BPAL options now) but I did enjoy it.