sunlitgarden

This review is for the 2009 resurrected version. Imp: Carnation! And a bit of other spice..... ginger maybe? On my skin, this is a spicy, gingery carnation. The baking-type spices are amping on me, though, and I'm not getting as much as carnation as I'd like. There's a bit of a cream note that's going slightly sour, but that fortunately fades as it dries down. This is nice, but I actually think I prefer Morocco and Alice for carnation. GC wins again! Amazing! o_o

Highly caffeinated, profoundly sugared lemon-lime soda. Yesterday, I finally got around to skin testing Loli.Goth and Victoriana.Goth, so I decided Geek.Goth should join the party as well (even though it was a recent acquisition.) In the decant: Woo, lemon-lime! This really does smell just like a fizzy Sprite! On my skin, it's much the same. It's very sweet and effervescent. There's some vanilla sugar in here, sweetening it and keeping it from being PURE CITRUS ATTACK. Actually, what it reminds me of is this lemon cheesecake flavored ice cream that I recently got - not the cheesecake, but the sweet lemon ice cream part of it. This is surprisingly my favorite of the Goths I've managed to test so far, although Gothabilly is still on my to-try list. And I feel lucky about that, because I'd guess it's the least coveted of the 2010 Goths!

A lovely forumite frimped me a decant of this in a swap. Thank you! In the imp I smell various florals and white chocolate. It's almost a bit boozy-smelling (the bourbon vanilla, maybe?) I just tested 13 April 2012, and I think this is the same white chocolate. Unfortunately, 13 April 2012 didn't really work on me, and I'm getting a similar weird note on my skin here. I think it's this white chocolate note not liking my chemistry. I have had success with some other white chocolate blends, mainly the Box of Chocolates, but I think that's a different white chocolate note...which on my chemistry seems to work better than this one. Like the 13, I'm not getting ANY florals on my skin at all! As it dries, the boozy note comes out more and more, and in this case it's not pleasant. I'm actually wondering if I get this boozy note from some of BPAL's strawberry notes, as I had a similar reaction to Strawberry Moon '09. (White Chocolate, Strawberry, and White Pepper Truffle did work for me, but I think that strawberry note was different as well - a more candied, sweet strawberry rather than a "fresh berry" strawberry.) Overall, this is a chemistry fail!

Based on previous reviews I think this one is highly chemistry-dependent, because I had almost an entirely different experience. In the bottle, there's a lot going on here. I smell the white chocolate, some sweet flowers, and also a kind of vegetal note (possibly due to the eggplant and basil flowers.) Wet on my skin, it smells much the same as in the bottle. I don't know that I would have identified this note as white chocolate. It smells more like a light milk chocolate to me. It's a little herbal and green. As it starts to dry I'm getting light chocolate and the herbal note, which sounds weird from the description, but it isn't unpleasant, although it is a bit unusual. The sweeter notes start to come out more as it dries. There's a bit of a planty-sour note though, and it just made me sneeze... It's fairly dry now, and I'm starting to get the honey, but the slightly sour vegetal note is still there. I'm disappointed that the florals I like (carnation, rose, peony, etc) are completely absent from my skin. It also is still making my nose itch/run. This is the first allergy-type reaction I've ever had to a BPAL. I unfortunately don't think this one is a keeper. EDIT: So, I just tested Pink Moon '12, and have a very similar result on my skin -- slightly sour note and NO florals. I think my skin and this white chocolate note just don't get along. (No sneezing though; that seems to be something in the 13.)

A lovely forumite sent me some testers as thanks for doing a fairy pickup for her at a Seattle WC awhile back, including Victoriana.Goth. I've been hoarding it ever since, but decided it was time for a proper test and review. In the imp: Rose, mostly, but I can smell some frankincense as well. I recognize the combination from Rose Cross, which I've been wearing a lot lately. On my skin, I can smell the "light purple" florals (lavender, lilac, wisteria), that add a pretty and soft powdery edge to the blend. Violet leaf behaves better on me than violet flower. Rose is still the strongest note, though. It's very pretty, but given its rarity, it's not different enough from Rose Cross on me to warrant tracking down a bottle. It's inspired me to try layering Rose Cross with Needlework.

A lovely forumite sent me some testers as thanks for doing a fairy pickup for her at a Seattle WC awhile back, including Loli.Goth. I've been hoarding it ever since, but decided it was time for a proper test and review. In the decant I get strawberry, peach and a sweet musk. On my skin, the strawberry amps up, and becomes crazy-sweet. The vial scent is more balanced, I think. I'm not getting much musk on my skin. I'm sadly discovering that the lab's strawberry notes tend to go overly sweet and a little boozy on me, and I'm getting a booze note here as well. It's kind of like Strawberry Moon '09, which developed a weird and unpleasant fermenting note on my skin. This doesn't quite do that, but it's still not great. It's actually quite similar to the fruity burnt sugar smell that Sugar Skull became on me. I'm actually a bit relieved that it's not great on my skin, because it means one less BPALicorn to lust after. o_o I think this tester will be gifted to a new owner, since there's still a bit of oil left in it.

Was frimped this by a lovely forumite! Imp: Wow, this reminds me of walking through the P-Patch at the local park in late summer or fall, when there are all sorts of vegetables growing. Or walking through a farmer's market with fresh produce. Basically, this is like a vegetable garden (minus the dirt). On my skin, I get predominantly a fresh cucumber note. It kind of reminds me of the old B&BW scent "Cool Cucumber", but of course better because it's BPAL. Very refreshing. Now I want to try Squirting Cucumber, because I doubt I'll ever get another imp of this, and I like it.

I realized the Will Call exclusives from last December weren't on there, so I added them. Edit: After the latest Etsy update, I realized the March '11 Trunk Show protos weren't on there... so I added those too. There are a lot of them. o_O

I am a big rose fan, and this is a great rose. The frankincense gives it a sweet-spicy-woody backdrop. I really love this and want a bottle.

I had the very dark Blossoms in Springtime. Unfortunately, it went kinda funky on my skin (I blame the amber) and I sold it. It did smell kind of red-musky to me, but I'm not sure if it's actual red musk, or just the amber.. I know all the other oils I have that are that color do have red musk in them.

Imp: This smells almost like licorice, but I think it's a combination of the tobacco and rum notes. On my skin the rum comes out more. It's a spiced rum - smells like vanilla and spices like clove. I'm getting more spices than booze. It has the warm quality of blends like Spicebush Swallowtail and the spiced rum in Upa Upa. I'm not getting any florals, and the tobacco is fainter on my skin as well. It smells almost like banana. I like this, but I have other blends that fill the niche.

Imp: Yep, bubblegum. o_O Think I smell a bit of the cherry, too. On my skin, I'm starting to get the orange, and a teeny bit of flowers(?), which may be contributing to the "womanly perfume". The cherry is fakey, as you'd expect from "cherry lollipops", but combined with the bubblegum smell it's kind of too much. Not something I'd wear in any case, although accurate. Edit: When dry, I'm getting mainly cinnamon, as other reviewers have described. I like it better now, but the initial stage is not worth waiting out.

Imp: Astringent mint and lavender. This is strong. O_o On my skin, it's a little sweeter - an herbal sweetness. It's refreshing smelling, although still astringent. I don't smell lime, exactly. I prefer the Lick Its for my mint jolt, I think. This is kind of reminding me of fancy toothpaste. o_O

Rangoon Riptide -- This review is from the resurrected 2010 version. Imp: Yummy, creamy-smelling pineapple and other fruits. I feel like there's coconut here, or at least the feel of a warm creamy coconut. Smells like a frothy tropical drink. (I know, not a huge surprise considering the category...) On my skin, I get juicy "red" smelling fruits, the raspberry and maybe passionfruit. The pineapple is still there, though. It's not very boozy on me, at least not while wet. Blue Fire was a winner from the resurrected category and I think so far, this is #2, although I haven't tested them all yet. (I love Upa Upa and Opuhi from the original Lounge as well.)

Imp: Citrus and melon. Fruit salad. o_O On my skin, citrusy and kind of salty? There seems to be an oceany-aquatic note here. The Lab's snow notes often turn dryer-sheety on me, and that seems to be happening here. Overall, this is smelling like laundry or dish soap on my skin. I think I smell gardenia as one of the flowers, but it's unfortunately the gardenia that goes soapy/headache-inducing on me.

In the imp, this is flowery and a bit salty (probably from the ambergris). There's an almost vegetable note, or a savory spice - maybe the carrot seed? The overall scent is a bit astringent. On my skin, this reminds me of a garden grown a bit wild, with many kinds of flowers and some overgrown vegetables as well. It brought to mind a book I haven't thought of in many years, that involved a girl who often escaped to this hidden garden (It was not the Secret Garden, though.) I don't remember the details of the plot, but I do remember the cover, which showed a colorful garden. This scent is reminding me of that cover. (Aha! I found it! My google-fu knows no bounds! It was called Mandy. I have really not thought of this book in *years*. Go BPAL, for digging up random things in the crevices of my memory. I think this was the cover, although it doesn't quite match my mental image of the garden.) As it dries more, the rose comes to dominate the scent on my skin. This is a pretty and soft scent. I think I prefer the floral blends that have some vanilla or musk in them to add a bit of sweetness, though. I'm not really getting the benzoin here.

Boooo! I don't have Excel, so I can't test it there. I had been holding off on uploading it to Google Docs, since Ravyn's was already there, but I just went ahead and did it. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ash3e75IebiZdE9JTWJYUmllU3p1X1VJT25ZTWEwRWc This one allows editing. I didn't remember the exact dates for some of the moons and such. If anyone trolls it I have a backup on my computer, haha.

In the bottle I get a warm almond, the maraschino-cherry type. On me it's a warm, sweet scent. Gypsy Moth also had the Egyptian musk and cardamom combination, and it's one of my top scents. I can pick that combination out here as well - it's what I would describe as dry and sweet. It kind of reminds me of cinnamon sugar. Overall, the scent is warm, spiced, and resinous from the amber and myrrh. I really imagine a bright golden expanse of sand when I smell this, and as Bast is a solar deity, it suits her well. (Full disclosure: I am a follower of Bast; I get the feeling she is pleased with this oil, as she is a goddess of ointment/perfume as well. Yay all around!)

Okay, I think I figured out what the problem was with not being able to save in excel format, I had to convert it to the older type of OpenOffice files...anyway, this one should work in Excel, hopefully: Here

I *loved* the art for this one. Vulvas of all types! Whoa, this oil is dark orange-red. I wasn't expecting that for some reason. In the bottle, it's a rich and creamy-smelling vanilla. I am getting red musk on my skin, or at least a similar note, which I'm pretty sure is what makes it be dark red like that. I've only seen that color from oils with red musk, although it could possibly be from the resins in here. Musky and a creamy vanilla. Thankfully, this isn't the cream note that goes sour on me. As it dries more, I'm getting more amber, with an almost aquatic edge from it - this must be a similar amber to the one in Lyonesse, because I'm getting a Lyonesse-like impression at this stage, although I think I like Lyonesse better... this is kind of "clean" smelling, but also has a artificial-perfumey vibe I don't really like, I think from the florals. It's giving me a hint of the sourness I sometimes get from cream blends (boo! It was good at first!) I think there's a particular amber that may go bad with my chemistry, because I had a similar unpleasant result from Gelt. Not Lyonesse, though, thankfully. I am not getting any honey or beeswax. Although I was expecting this to be my favorite from the 4 Shungas I bought, I think it's actually last. o_O Edit: Okay, after about a half hour the bad note calmed down a bit. It smells okay on me, but not great. I still don't think this is a keeper though, because there are too many scents that are amazing to wear ones that are just okay on me.

I uploaded the updated spreadsheet here for now. It's in OpenOffice (.ods) format; I told it to save as an Excel document but the extension would not change. Let me know if it doesn't work in Excel and I can try to change it...

I wore Klara a few times when she was new, but kind of have ignored her for a while... Trying her out aged. In the bottle: Sweet honey and florals. I am getting a bit of citrus from the mandarin as well. Wet on my skin, it's much the same. As the "dusting powder" note implies, I am getting some powder here. Not really baby powder, though. Something a Victorian lady might have. I was hoping that Klara would be like Alice with the honey/rose/carnation, and I am getting a similar effect. Klara is very light on me, though, and fades fast even with a pretty good-sized patch of oil. I'm not sure I need to keep Klara when I have Alice, but it is a very light, pretty, feminine scent. Edit: Completely dry, I'm mainly getting the rose from Klara.

I was bored this evening so I added everything up through this latest update to my copy of the Hackess/Rayvn spreadsheet. I PM'ed Rayvn about getting it added.

Poisson D'Avril 2012 - I can't believe I'm only the second one to review this scent! O_O I guess florals really are comparatively unpopular... This is just the kind of floral I like - sweet and soft, without being cloying or sickening. Lenten rose is another name for hellebore, not "real" rose. This is spring flowers in a bottle, with a sweet and almost powdery, but pleasant edge from the sugar blossom and honey. The sweetness comes out more as it dries. It is fairly light on me and doesn't last all that long, but I don't mind slathering.

In the imp: Leather and incense. Wet on my skin, the leather is strong. I haven't had as much success with this "white leather" note compared to "black leather".... it smells harsher on me. It's not bad in combination with the incense, though. There is a metallic tinge here as well (the armor). This is reminding me a lot of The Robotic Scarab, which also has metal, leather, and frankincense. But I like TRS better. I haven't been too impressed with the RPG scents on their own, but I know they are made for layering. I'm not getting white musk or vanilla, which I was hoping would soften this scent up somewhat. But I might try layering it with Good and see how that works out.