OctoberGwen

This reminds me of one of those super good-looking, "pretty boy" type men: it is too smooth and too certain of its own charm. Those qualities are almost a guaranteed turnoff for me. Heh.

 

I like all the notes here (except for brown musk, which is never my friend), but somehow the sum of the parts plus the gingerbread just doesn't do it for me.

 

Overconfident, self-satisfied musky gingerbread.

I tried a couple of last year's Snowballs (Pink and Yellow), and I find these to be very fun, fresh scents. Purple is no different, and I think the combination of currant, cardamom, and sugar plum (the one sort of plum I like on my skin) is really lovely. I don't get Beth's distinctive snow note with these, they just smell fresh.

 

Not something I'd wear regularly (maybe on a super hot and muggy day, but that's about it), but still fun to try.

OMFG.

 

I love this.

 

I was hoping against hope that this would actually embody the poem, and it does. In spades. If I close my eyes and sniff, I'm standing against a cold window, looking out over the snow-lit moors with the firelit cottage room at my back.

 

I definitely smell peat and heather, over a lovely musky wood base. I know that my beautiful red musk is here, but it's blending and not dominating. I've never smelled anything like this, and I will most certainly keep my decant, and may get a bottle.

 

Gorgeous, haunting, so evocative, and unlike anything else I've ever smelled.

 

Bravo, Beth.

 

2013 version.

 

This is gorgeous, golden and rich. I'm getting mostly beeswax and amber and a touch of fig; no pom per se but perhaps it's balancing the fig. I do get an unfamiliar sweetness which must be the sufganiyot, but it's not nauseatingly sweet. A very nice, quite distinctive scent. I really like this a lot. I am happy to have a full decant.

Oh, Skadi is lovely. Beth's distinctive and unmistakable snow note, plus a hint of berry. I'm not getting much pine needle - perhaps a touch, nothing more. The snow eases back in the drydown and the whole thing becomes soft, like a blanket. A truly beautiful scent for the Norse goddess.

 

This is something I would never wear, so I think my little half decant will be just fine. I am so happy to finally try this legendary Yule, though.

 

Of course, I may change my mind and get a bottle. Really, the drydown is so pretty, and I have nothing else like this in my collection...

 

ETA: I can't stop smelling my arm.

I've never had a desire to try this because of the peach, which is always awful on me. I got a frimp from a fellow forumite, though, and finally decided to give it a go.

 

The Zieba Tree is really, really lovely. It's not my usual sort of scent, but sometimes I am in the mood for just this type of fresh/pretty. The white blossoms are grounded by the dreamy musks and the sandalwood, and fortunately the peach is nowhere to be found, save for a hint at juiciness. It is a bit of a soapy scent, but as I said: sometimes that suits me. And I am always a fan of lemon and orange blossom.

 

This is definitely a pale and dreamy scent, and I very much like it. I probably won't get a bottle, but I will keep my imp.

Love the musky undertone, hate the super sweetness. I really need to stop trying blends with dragon's blood resin! I simply don't like it, it's far too sweet.

When I first apply this and for quite some time after application, I get a note that is just screaming-sweet bad on me. Is it the copal? The cardamom? I'm not sure. I can smell yummy black coconut underneath, but that's about it.

 

Much, much later this softens down into something quite beautiful. Alas, it's not worth suffering through the initial phases.

Sadly, neither this nor Scrappy Damsel worked for me. Maybe I'm Naughty and I don't even know it.

 

I got no patchouli and no amber; on my skin this was mostly honey, cacao and ylang ylang. I'm just...not a fan.

 

Note: I used a small tester amount as an after-shower moisturizer.

I had very high hopes for this, because the only note that gave me pause was the honey. Lately honey has been behaving quite well for me, though.

 

Alas: something in Scrappy Damsel disagrees pretty violently with my skin chemistry. All I get is plastic!

 

No orange blossom, no white musk, no cedar, no sandalwood.

On me, red patchouli is warm, syrupy, sensuous and voluptuous... and black is more woody, earthy and dry, and often goes a little bitter or sharp on my skin. Red is snuggly, Black is gnarly. So if I had to choose, it would be red all the way

 

That is actually my exact experience as well. I much prefer Red.

 

Just as an aside, I actually thought #occupy was Black, because it is extremely gnarly on me and not like BB at all.

 

I highly recommend Tricksy as a rich, delicious Patch blend.

I love this. Heady, sweet jasmine with a touch of coolness. Sambac seems to be a jasmine that works nicely on my skin, but I would have bought this even if that were not the case.

 

Sometimes I am just in the mood for a lush floral, and this will fit the bill perfectly.

 

The label is beautiful, too.

Somewhere between the wet stage and the complete drydown I get a bit of the "metallic" quality that MountainGrrl spoke of, but thankfully it is short-lived. This is an interesting, amber/woodsy, warm blend that I find oddly comforting.

 

I wanted this for its good fortune drawing properties, but I love the scent as well.

 

Thank you, Lab! It is always such a pleasure to shop with you on Black Friday.

This smells like smoky marshmallow graham crackers with a hint of pumpkin. Absolutely delicious, and my husband always hopefully inquires if I've made cookies after I spray it.

 

I have so many dark resiny sprays that I really appreciate a good foody one now and then. I am very happy to have a bottle of this.

I really wanted to love this, since red musk and black patch are fabulous and I like roses, too. (I don't amp rose, in general, and I love how it smells with some of the darker ingredients.)

 

Sadly, though, sugar is never my friend and apparently sugar blossom is the same. It makes this too sweet for me to consider using as a moisturizer, which is how I most often like to use my bath oils. I'll keep the decant, and will almost certainly use it in the actual bath, but I don't need a whole bottle.

 

Dodged a bullet that time!

I didn't like this on my skin, but man does it ever work beautifully as a room spray. A unique, wholly Autumnal Day of the Dead olfactory experience. I was hoping my decant would be enough but I think I really want an entire bottle of this.

 

Shit.

Oh, yes.

 

Come to mama, you slutty vampire wench.

 

This smells similar to Marianne and Lust, all red musk (clearly blood musk is red musk in its "Carrie At the Prom" costume) and red patchouli and sex and whatnot. I don't get cacao or tobacco per se, but they are surely adding their unique brand of sex to this sexfest. The myrhh and benzoin give everything a gorgeous, resiny base on which to screw sit.

 

Callidora is right up my alley. I need bottles. Rawr!

This is a very pretty, very sweet floral scent that I think captures the photo Beth used quite magnificently.

 

Not my sort of thing at all, but really lovely for those who enjoy sweet florals.

I skipped this scent because vanilla is often 'meh' (unless it's the bourbon variety, and then it's 'blech'), I dislike leather on my skin, and deathnote hazelnut smells like someone barfed into a full ashtray and dumped it on me.

 

I was gifted a sniffie tester of the Sack as part of A Mellifluous Circle of Fabulosity, so I figured I'd slap it on since, hey, you only live once. Also, I like three year aged patchouli as much as the next gal.

 

Sadly:

 

The vanilla leather ashtray barf just did not do it for me.

 

 

p.s. This sounds ungrateful, but I am glad I got to confirm my suspicions about this scent - believe it or not. So a big 'thank you, Mell!'

I am very pleasantly surprised by this blend. I passed it over because bourbon vanilla and sugarcane are heinous death notes on me, but somehow with everything else in this mix - they work.

 

It's a beautiful, smoky-sweet incense scent that is neither too smoky nor too sweet. Definitely a "greater than the sum of its parts" sort of blend, as I can't really pick out any individual notes at all (and each of them is pretty distinctive in its own right.)

 

Quite fascinating. Not sure if I need to hunt down a bottle with all the other BPAL commitments my wallet has right now, but I feel like I will regret it if I don't. Grand Guignol: Thanatos is unique and very memorable.

 

Thanks so much to Mellifluous for the surprise sniffie tester!

Upon initial application, I get something that is reminiscent of lemon (which I happen to love): I think it's the combination of bergamot and ambergris. It's really quite lovely.

As the scent settles into my skin, a bit of the dry, crumbly sandalwood comes out. I prefer dry scents to watery ones, but I don't want the white sandalwood to take over. I am hoping it gets a little muskier with time; I can't really smell the white musk yet. I think if the musk can balance out the sandalwood, this will be really beautiful.

Later: definitely muskier; the waft on this is getting really nice. The lemony quality is gone. I'm getting a beautiful musky ambergris with a bit of sandalwood. This is a soft, pale scent but I wouldn't classify it as 'white'. It is really unique.

Contemplating a bottle.


ETA: Even later, I keep catching whiffs of this and it is just gorgeous. The ambergris really shines in the far drydown. I am definitely going to need a bottle of this for days when I want something soft and pretty - with staying power. Ambergris alone tends to vanish fairly quickly on me; I can still smell Elegy No. 1 S. 196 on my wrists the next morning. LOVE THIS BLEND.

Hahaha, I was hoping for the opposite of what Numanoid wanted...and also did not get what I wanted.

 

Bourbon vanilla is not my friend: it amps all to hell on me and gets overwhelmingly, sickeningly sweet. Not even the patchouli (which I was hoping would dominate) could beat that sweetness into submission this time. The spices seemed nice, but also played second fiddle to the vanilla.

 

Not for me, sadly.

Oh my freaking God.

 

This is...perfection. Golden amber is the King of Resins on my skin: delightfully dry and rich and lovely. The aged labdanum is smooth as silk, lending some depth and complexity without any sharpness at all. The oude just rounds it all out beautifully. A symphony of scents. How fitting.

 

Multiple bottle worthy.

I am a confirmed Snake Oil HG whore, but may I just say:

 

Silkybat is made of win and awesome.

 

I can't wear sugared scents on my skin because they turn into "I've been barfed on" scents, but in my hair? Oh, yes. Sweet baby Jesus, my hair smells pretty. And with the patchouli? Whaaaaaaaaaat!

 

As with all the BPTP glosses, my hair looks great and is shiny and behaves. Two spritzes in palms, applied to dry hair, yadda yadda.

 

I love patchouli (most of the time), but the 'sugared' part does something really interesting with the patch here. It's light, sweet, and just smells...really fucking good. My husband loves it. I love it. I really will need multiple bottles of this, shelf life be damned.

 

Please don't tell my Snake Oil.

Yeah, Zombie totallly freaks me out...

 

I know, right? There have only been two that give me the creeps: that, and Whitechapel.

 

And Depraved is nasty, but in a very different way.

 

Hope you had a good Halloween, Zii, whatever you smelled like.