sunlitgarden

In the imp: A bit of incense, but mostly heavy florals. Put only a small bit on my arm... this is way too floral for me. It smells sharp, and headache/nausea-inducing. Way too heavy.

In the imp: Very "green" and herbal, fresh and minty. I can smell anise for sure. I have had absinthe (albeit a crappy brand) and this does smell like it! On my skin Absinthe smells a bit floral, but mainly mints and anise. Mostly anise. Unfortunately, it is soapy as well. It's basically licorice soap. Doesn't work on me, it seems.

The cocoa does separate in this one, and will require gentle shaking to mix it up. In bottle: Cocoa mostly, with a little bit of the sweet orange blossom honey. Smells really nice in the bottle. On my skin, the chocolate is still present, but it's very sweet, a bit sickly-sweet, unfortunately. There's a bit of an almost nutty smell. The combination of the notes is unfortunately giving me a bit of a headache... it's similar to the effect from Pumpkin III '07, which also had pomegranate and chocolate - that was white chocolate, but the effect is similar with the nutty-ish smell that gives me a headache. And... ugh, the more I wear it, it just turns sour and weird. Stupid skin. I had high hopes but this is not a keeper, unfortunately. It must be the same chocolate note as Gelt 2010, which also didn't work on my skin despite smelling awesome in the bottle.

Sugar Skull (2010 version) I was hoping for something really candy-sweet and fruity, but on me, Sugar Skull smells more boozy than anything else. It's a little too much for me, and I have ended up not really wearing it, so I'm sending my bottle on to a new home.

Blue Pumpkin Floss smells like curry on me. I really wanted to like it, but all I get is curry. I think it's a combination of the spices and butter note...

In imp: Sweet, light musk. On skin: Smells good but not remarkable. I'm getting some strawberry now, and a bit of booze. Reminds me of Fairy Wine. I like it, but I think I prefer Fairy Wine.

Strawberry Moon (the decant isn't labeled, but I'm pretty sure it's 2009) In the imp: Boozy strawberry. On skin: The green, grass/dandelion sap comes out almost immediately. That heady, boozy note is still there, though. It reminds me of the cognac note in Black Lace (the resurrected version.) It smells almost like a fruit in the process of fermenting. Weirdly, I don't smell the strawberry at all on my skin, it's all grass/sap and that boozy note. I was hoping for sweet vanilla strawberry, but that's not what I'm getting. It reminds me of Black Lace without the cream note that went sour on me.

In the imp: Fruit punch! Fresh on skin, it still smells like fruit punch, or a mixed-fruit candy. I smell citrus (mainly the tangerine) and... what smells like cherry, though it isn't in the listed notes. It reminds me of cherry or raspberry limeade - there's a bit of tartness to it, but it's very... juicy, and actually makes me salivate. Weird. o_o As it dries, I'm starting to smell the juniper, which gives it almost a "chilly" edge, probably due to my association with it and winter smells. Now it reminds me of a fruity popsicle. Fruit punch, limeade, popsicles -- this scent reminds me of summer all the way. It's a warm spring day, today; it does fit the weather but I think this will have to be a summer-only scent for me. It really reminds me of sitting on the deck outside eating popsicles and reading a book during the summer. The "Summer Garden" collection name really fits Pinwheel. It's pretty light overall on my skin. I think the decant is a keeper, but don't know if I'll be tracking down a bottle.

Pumpkin Latte (2010 Version) I've been culling my stash and realized I never reviewed this one... I love the way this smells - but I can't seem to wear it. I normally like foody smells, but this just smells like something I want to drink, not wear. It's very realistic. And we know that BPAL is for external use only. Ugh! Now I want a Starbucks pumpkin latte and it's April! Fortunately, I do have a can of pumpkin in the pantry that I can use to make some yummy pumpkin bread... Did I mention that this scent makes me hungry?

Thank you Ravyn for keeping the spreadsheet updated! This thing is a lifesaver for me.

Gelt 2010 I bought this at Seattle Will Call because I loved it so much after testing it there. Unfortunately, while I do still love the wet stage, the dry stages don't work so well. Wet it is a dry, rich cocoa that I love, but as it dries it takes on a note that's kind of sour and kind of soapy. I tried giving it a couple months age to see if it would help, but unfortunately it has not so I think I won't be keeping this one as it seems to be a chemistry issue.

THANKS! This sounds great!

Thanks Hackess! Your spreadsheet is a lifesaver

Rose Red (2010 Version) I love rose, both for the scent and for its associations (I'm an Utena fan, enough said) and have been building up a collection of BPAL rose blends, so I was very happy when Rose Red returned this year! And, I have to say, I loooove it. I think it's the closest BPAL I've tried yet to smelling a fresh rose in the garden. The flower smell is strong, but there's also a damp greenery note, and it's just lovely. This is backup worthy on me.

The Great Sword of War smells like buttered popcorn on me, but I think that might just be my chemistry.

Ops This is a rich and lightly spicy foody blend to my nose. After it was first applied, I could smell cardamom and other spices. Citrus was detectable more to me after a couple hours of drydown. After a full day's wear, it's fainter but sweet. The overall impression is of a fluffy cake, not rich, with spice and citrus that complement each other well and are not completely dominant one way or the other. I really like it!

I wore Ops for Thanksgiving today, it seemed appropriate.

Beaver Moon 2010 In the bottle it's a candy-sweet, fruity strawberry-peach. I like it a lot in the bottle. On my skin, it's fruity with a very slight planty edge. After a few minutes of wear, it's peachy, but also tending towards sour. *shakes fist at chemistry* I was going to give it more time, but it's actually making me a bit nauseated, so I think it's off to swaps.

The Infernal Lover Sweet red musk. The honey goes a bit powdery on me, but I still like it. I think it will improve with age.

Either Marshmallow Pumpkin or Sticky Pillowcase. Maybe both

Marshmallow Pumpkin I am loving Marshmallow Pumpkin! It's a little dry and spicy, but at the same time sweet and floofy. I was hoping Blue Pumpkin Floss would be like this, but on my skin it smelled like curry somehow, so I am thrilled that Marshmallow Pumpkin works! The scent lasts for many hours, but I have been reapplying it every few hours anyway because I love it so much and want it to stay strong.

Very sweet and candy-like in the bottle. On my skin I smell a tart, fresh, green apple, with a soft edge of sweetness. Doesn't smell specifically like candy corn to me, but the apple is so yummy! It really captures fall to me. I don't explicitly smell smoke in this blend, but I almost feel it swirling around me as I sniff... a leaf-burning, fall smoke. It's very evocative! Much later Edit: Unfortunately, like most apple blends, this doesn't last long on my skin.

Licorice Bats Most of my friends hate black licorice. I love it. So I had to get Licorice Bats! It captures the smell of black licorice amazingly well. In the bottle and when first applied, the cocoa is rich and warm, and there's almost a cherry-like note. As it dries, it smells like pure sweet licorice on my skin. I love it, and want to eat my arm (a common problem with foodies!)

Partly because of this Mario Bar, I think of Yoshi as being a sparkly, light green apple/melon/lime type scent. Maybe Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat.

Pumpkin III '07 I picked this up from a forum sale several months ago, but didn't feel like the weather was right to wear it until now. This is a drier pumpkin than I'm used to. It smells kind of nutty even though nuts aren't listed in the notes. It's a bit sweet and fruity from the pomegranate. It's yummy! Much Later Edit: So, I decided this one isn't for me. I like how it smells at first, but it eventually gets this weird sour smell on my skin, which I think I've narrowed down to the cream note due to several other scents that did the same thing. Blehhh.