Silverstrike

I think I really wanted to like this one because of the name and the notes, which hypothetically, sounded perfect. The chrome got really amped on me though, and there was very little aside from that. The gardenia never made an appearance for me. I'm glad I got to try it out though.

I didn't think I'd like this because I didn't like Rose Red (although I love Snow White), but I'm close to love with Peacock Queen. I didn't like the "greenness" of Rose Red; Peacock Queen seems to be roses without the green. I didn't think I'd like rose, but I like this one so I may try more BPAL rose scents in the future.

Wet this was very much like Candy Butcher, which is great for me because I love the Candy Butcher. As it dries though, it gets quiet powdery, very much like sniffing cocoa powder in a cannister. It made me want to cough and sneeze. I like it, but not as much as I love the Candy Butcher. If you also love the Candy Butcher, this is probably worth checking out.

A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers. 2007 version Starts off primarily as that BPAL winter berry scent that is similar to currants. It makes me stomach feel queasy. Eventually, it dries down and softens, but ends up smelling more like a berry version of that artificial Strawberry Shortcake scent. I'm glad I finally got to find out what the buzz is about, but I'm probably going to stick to Snow White and Lick It Again.

I'm on the fence. I thought it was wonderful for the first hour, but after that something sweet got really amped up. It kind of made me think of currants, and the thing is, currants and I don't get along. I'll retest later.

At first I liked this a lot but as it dried down it made me wonder whether it would smell better on a guy (even though it has flowers in it). I think I still like this, but imp-like, not full-bottle-like.

This was kind of like some sort of cleaning spray on me. It was quite astringent, and typically I prefer scents that have a little sweetness in them. This wasn't it, but it was nice to try.

I've been hoping for years that Beth would resurrect Egg Nog. For whatever reason, I'd been really wanting to smell Egg Nog even though I don't actually drink Egg Nog. Unfortunately, it turns quickly and I get the Play-Doh as well. But I'm still glad because now I know.

Just applied I really liked this, but about twenty minutes later after it had dried down it didn't smell as pretty to me and something a little sinister came out. Cold and sinister. I'd almost wear this on a regular basis, but it makes me feel like I need to look over my shoulder.

Regret born from ceaseless longing: wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka. This is what Schrodinger's Cat should have smelled like! (At least in my opinion.) It's a contradiction: I smell baked concoctions, something like fresh fruit, but it all melds together into the most gorgeous, happy smell (well, I suppose a fifty percent alive and fifty percent dead cat couldn't smell that good). This easily slips into my Top Ten.

It was a bit overpowering, like Sugar Skull. Now that I've skimmed the reviews, I can sense that familiar note to Red Lantern as well. Unfortunately, both scents did not work for me, and neither does this one.

Wet, there was a bit of a threatening edge, but now that it's dried down, it's quite nice. Piney and snowy, but not as overpowering as Mistletoe. This smells like "clean guy."

I think this is my least favorite pumpkin of the whole patch. The chocolate note smells similar to 13 on me, which also didn't work out--it just turns into stale chocolate, ruining it all.

I, too, got this as a frimp with my last order (which included Vampire Tears, which I love). I didn't order this one because I'm not a red musk fan, but even so, I'd agonized over whether I should have ordered it. The frimp let me sample and put my fears to rest. Midnight Kiss is beautiful, but not bottle worthy for me because for whatever reason, red musk makes my stomach feel queasy. The blend is beautiful, and I'm glad I got to try it, but I'm also glad I didn't buy a whole bottle of it.

This was a surprise winner for me (in trying the pack of imp's ears). I tried this without reading the notes description and first found it fruity, then honey-y in the most delicious, amazing, perfumey way. One of the times I tried it, it smelled as though it had notes in common with Thierry Mugler's Angel, or that Prada fragrance, or Chanel's Mademoiselle (at least I think it's that one). But better, because it doesn't have anything synthetic-smelling about it. Absolute heaven. I totally have to buy a bottle before I finish my imp.

Wet it smelled kind of interesting. After I put it on, it morphed into something VERY powdery, now that I've read the description, I think it's the amber. I initially smelled like "old lady" or at least old lady perfume, and then it mellowed out to something that smelled very feminine but not necessarily anything I liked about feminitiy. Now that it's really mellowed out (like, after two hours) it smells kind of nice, but I'm still a little wary because there's something about it that still smells wrong on me. I like Jacob's Ladder, but this is not my cup of tea.

I have no idea what geranium smells like. That said, I really liked this wet, but as it dried down, it started to smell more and more wrong. I think it was the black patchouli, because in GC blends patchouli and I have never really gotten along, but the beginning lemon was quite heavenly.

I got bawdy and boozey for this one, no sweetness in a bubblegum type of way at least. After it dried, "opium den" came to mind but I couldn't point out any specific notes to explain why. This one is not for me, but it was well blended and worth trying.

Chestnut blossom, lily of the valley, King mandarin, French magnolia, and golden musk. I'm quite on the fence on this one. Sometimes it seems divine in a warm, chestnut-y way and other times it seems orangey and overkill. I'm not sure I'd get a bottle but I'll keep the imp for now.

Oh, bravo Beth. This was really cool--I tried it without reading the notes. In the imp, it smelled apple-y to me actually, rather than peach (I just read the notes now). That was what drew me--it seemed like a nice, sweet apple scent so I put it on. As it dried, it started to smell sinister--herbal I guess. It didn't smell like GC Hemlock to me, Hemlock actually smells a little sweet, but this dried to what I thought hemlock would have smelled like. For awhile I really did not like the scent on, but going back and reading the notes I understand it now, because lavender doesn't agree with me. When it finally softened and mellowed, it wasn't bad, but it had a long period of herbal death that made me reflect upon how the scent was so appropriate to its name, because of course it would smell nice and inviting at first, to get you to drink from the cup of death, and then, only after you've imbibed, would you find out that it wasn't that good for you. This was a really cool scent to experience, but definitely not something I'd wear on a regular basis (or probably ever again, because of the lavender). Trippy though.

Initially, it smelled vaguely minty and kind of cookie-ish. After I read the reviews I realized that yes, it's Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies I smell. And I don't really want to smell like that. I'm not sure why, it isn't anything against Girl Scouts or their cookies, there was just something off-putting to me about smelling like this. It doesn't smell bad, it just doesn't smell like me. I guess I was expecting something more minty and creamy, not so much cookie. So I think I'm going to keep my imp, and swap my bottle.

Wow, go figure that I'm head over heels for Milk Moon 2007--Milk Moon 2005 was absolutely awful on me (so I passed in 2006). I don't get grapes or pina colada, it starts off smelling like milky white florals and after it dries, maybe just honey and milk in the nicest sense. Old Milk Moon was plasticky and rancid on me, so I got a decant of this year's Milk Moon just to see what it was like. I think it may make a place on my Top Ten it's so wonderful. (I almost question whether I got the same perfume that everyone else did.) I've got to get myself a bottle of this, it's absolute love.

This review is for the 2007 version. Caveat: I'm a foodie person. If it's sweet, I'm much more likely to like it--my favorite scents include Midway, Candy Butcher and Hungry Ghost Moon. However, I'm also trying to branch out of straight foodie scents--one of my favorite scents is also Jacob's Ladder, so I thought I'd try Red Lantern, since both have amber (and GC ambers that I've tried so far, do not work for whatever reason). Straight from the Lab I had instant buyer's remorse because this smelled awful to me--to my nose, very similar to Sugar Skull and Devil's Night, neither of which worked for me even after I'd tried aging them. It's a similar sweet burnt Worsterchire (sp) sauce scent that disagrees with my nose. After a month of two, it was basically the same. But now, after maybe three months, it's starting to grow on me. It's starting to smell kind of sweet and smoky, and if you wait awhile, a little perfumey kind of the way Jacob's Ladder is on me (which is what I like), possibly the amber? It does smell a little naughty, and it isn't a scent I think I'd feel like wearing everyday necessarily, but it's become beautiful to my nose, and I'm glad. Makes me wonder what it'll be like in a few more months.

This was delicious except for one thing--on me, the cakes are stale!!!! Why, oh why? Otherwise, delicious. I tried it in a scent burner and the cakes still smell stale, not sure if it's fixable.

Personally, I love Night-Gaunt. After Shoggoth, I thought I liked Shoggoth better, but being hormonal, I for some reason reached for Night-Gaunt. The grapefruit was quite cheery, and it ended up fading the same way Shoggoth does on me--it smells faintly of florals, but mainly just smells nice and clean. I'm adding it to my big bottle list.