tarotgirl99

I got a decant of this more out of curiosity than the thought that it would actually work for me. In bottle: Cough syrup Wet: cherry candy Dry: fruity sweet flirtiness that lasts all day and then eases toward the end to just a soft, feminine, almost floral fruitiness. I especially love the drydown but I found myself needing a bottle. It will be a great summer scent.

I brought this one out for New Year's Eve--it's too special for everyday. On me, it's a smokey grey-hued gentle rose-cherry with something bolstering it underneath--the cognac, I think. It's very feminine and even womanly...and not remotely depraved or desperate. It makes me feel sophisticated, though. As if I have mysteries and more layers than Shrek's onion (only I wouldn't know about anything so gauche as onions...or Shrek for that matter). I am not sure if it's age-related, but both throw and wear-length are limited, esp. throw.

Originally, I was primarily a floral girl, though BPAL has expanded my worldscent. I am picky about my florals, though, as many don't work on me, especially when they're too cool or green. The evil Ylang-Ylang is a particular nemesis, but hardly the only one. La Primavera is, as named, pure spring. A garden of spring flowers that are gently warmed by the sun. Nothing too sharp, but definitely not bland. It's innocent, but never cloying. And I don't get the dread dead flower smell that usually accompanies anything Ylang Ylang-related. All the seasons are wonderful, but La Primavera and L'Estate are hands-down my two favorites. This one has medium throw and wear-length on me.

This was the only champagne scent that interested me, because I'm not a fan of champagne scents in general. Add cigars and I'm outta here. But I do love rose. This scent is amazing, in that it really smells exactly like the description. There is rose. There is champagne. And that is it. Unfortunately, I don't like the combination on me. The rose wasn't a strong, robust rose and the champagne was light, flirty, and a bit cheap. But I did marvel at the amazing likeness to the real scent of champagne and rose.

By the time I became a BPAL addict, Shub was no longer available for purchase and it was THE scent on everyone's lips. I got a chance to try it and fell in love. Then it became a GC scent and I purchased a bottle from a forumite who was disgusted at the lemon presence. But Sarada assured me the lemon would fade and I trusted her. Then I let it age. For about two years. I put it on last night and, no surprise, Sarada was right. No lemon. Just the most rich, loamy gingerbread scent imaginable. No sweetness, like Gingerbread Poppet. It's like a Gingerbread Forest. I went under the covers and just inhaled my wrists and was able to be surrounded by the Gingerbread Forest. I was and am totally captivated. Aged Shub= Enchanted, Addictive Gingerbread Forest. No sweetness. Gingerbread for Adults.

Thanks to a great swapper, I got a tester of Gluhwein to try. Neither Bah nor Humbug worked on me. The Snowblind/Snow Angel twins were not for me. And in the imp, Gluhwein smelled SO wine-y, which never works for me. I was so cheerful, I felt like I had escaped a bullet. No mad inquisition obsessions. YAY! It was with a light heart I smeared Gluhwein on my wrist. It seemed too light, so I smeared a bit more and bit more after that. So quickly the wine note faded into nothingness. And all I was left with was this glorious, luminous spicy honey. As another reviewer wisely noted, it's similar to my beloved Egg'd Mailbox. True love, that's what this is. True love. Damn it! Gotta find more NOW. After I inhale my wrist just once more. ETA: If you have some Svadhinaopatika, try it...for some odd reason, they seem to smell awfully similar on the drydown. Svad takes a lot longer to get there, though.

Thanks to an oh-so-generous swapper, I got the chance to test Snowblind. I didn't purchase it (though I did get a sample of Snow Angel), even though I've tried both before and neither worked on me. There are none Snowblind as will not see (or, in this case, smell) that I'm just not a Snowbird. In the imp, the butter actually gags me. It's like buttered popcorn, but it's minty instead of salty. Not my ideal combination. But I soldier on and put a smear on my arm. The butter wears off fairly quickly. That's a good thing. Unfortunately, what remains is buttermint. Boring, unappealing buttermint. Mint lasts a while on me. This is not a blessing. Snow, Snowblind is just not for me.

Fantastic swapper sent me a tester of this. Initially I had no interest (Licorice! Bah! Humbug!) but when I heard the anise dissipated quickly and left you with loverly vanilla...I had to try it. In the imp, it's pure anise. No vanilla to be found. Wet: it's mostly anise but there's a whisper of creamy vanilla that gives me hopes for the future Dry (after an hour or more): More vanilla, but not enough to make me think there's a future for me and the Humbug. ETA: On the plus side, this lasts forever. Pretty good throw, too.

Thanks to a lovely swapper, I got a chance to try Bah today. I was sure I was going to love it and was willing to swap my first born (Havisham) for some of it. Oy...thank goodness no one took me up on my offer. In the bottle it smells delicious. Like those Coffee-Nips I used to enjoy as a child. A dash of sweetness, but mostly coffee, coffee. Wet, it smelled the same. Oh yum. It was such a deep, dark roast. Rich. By the time it dried, my wrist stopped smelling like deep coffee and turned into the can that holds the coffee. Tinny nasty bitterness. Like some old, nicotine-addicted yellow-toothed guy who lives on coffee and smokes and wants to kiss you. ICK! I am fighting the urge to wash it off, hoping (so far vainly) that it will morph into its earlier stages. This is no longer on my ISO list But keep in mind that my skin is weird and in no way indicates that Bah will turn into disgusting breath guy on you.

This reminds me of Quincy Morris...only instead of sharp lavender we have a sweeter, gentler lilac. Both make me think of long black leather gloves that have been to their share of glittering events. There is a danger of feeling a touch old-ladyish with this one, whereas Quincy M. is delectably lethal. Still, on the latter part of drydown, they sing a duet in harmony. Not sure if I'll keep the imp. I have plenty of Quincy Morris when I am in the mood for a duel.

This is a low-rent version of Cupid Complaining to Venus on me. It smells fabulous in the bottle (honey love with peach-gardenia spritzer), but it's kinda weak once it's on. Limp. Thin. Dies young. Lady of the Gardenias (instead of camellias?)...

I worked very very hard volunteering for Barack Obama from the beginning. So when I found out about these delightful political frimps, I hoped really hard that I'd get Democrat, ESPECIALLY when I heard the word "honey" associated with it. Well, not only did I get the President I wanted, I got the Democrat imp. (This must be my year.) And just like Barack, who I knew would be fantastic beyond all fantasticness, this imp makes me quite joyful. I get honey and some kind of spice on first application, but soon it's just the pure rich honey that made me obsessed with Honey SN. This has nice throw and lasts quite a while, too. Can I save this for election days as a good luck talisman. YES I CAN! But I'm not sure I want to. ETA 1/20/09 - wore it today! It felt perfect and after eight hours, it's still there!

I know I'm lucky to have a bit of this...really, I do know. And am grateful. BUT. It just smells like orange essential oil to me. And I have a lot of different orange essential oils.

Olive oil, beeswax, and smoke. The first sniff I took of this on my skin was just amazing...it was like entering a golden hall with a huge ceiling and big-assed choir. Or at least the sound of a very loud shofar at a really nice synagoogue. After a while, I get mostly honey and lemon--this scent reminds me a little of the TAL Milk and Honey, actually. But it's got significantly more zing. And throw. And it lasts and lasts.

In the bottle: A strong white rose dominates...very little honey. Wet: I almost swallowed my wrist. The honey is the honey of Honey Moon--golden spun sweetness. But instead of flowers and herbs, it's all rosiness. I get no cream. I try to do other things but I am enchanted by this scent on my wrist and keep coming back to inhale some more. Dry: The honey fades but the lovely rose stays and stays and stays, like an Energizer Bunny. I put on a few tiny dabs and 12 hours later, she's still hanging around on my wrist. Medium-to strong throw. Some of the reviews scared me, because I love rose, but not Rose Red, not freshly cut rose. Also, cream can turn into nasty baby puke on me. Not this time. Katrina is a potent white rose, but not the sophisticated Peacock Queen rose (which I also love). Slightly softer, but just as strong. I thought this might be a bit like Lady Luck Blues (which I also love), but Katrina is zestier, more full-blown. I am trying to cut way back on my BPAL, but I may need a second bottle of this pure loveliness.

XLIV This magnificent scent is my idea of heaven. Imagine creamy rose and magnolia flowers budding on a Gibbous Moon made of green cucumber--only instead of only blooming for a short time (like Gibbous Moon), this aroma lasts and lasts. My heart completely belongs to the first CT scent that ever worked for me. Thanks to the kind forumite who sold it to me, and showed me a CT scent could ever love me Previously reviewed by Cadinya.

This was the scent that made me decide not to play. Eggs--ick. I don't even like to sit across someone who is eating them. Especially fried. (I am actually feeling nauseated just writing that.) But oh oh oh oh. This is one of my all-time favorite scents. On my it is spicy, creamy egg custard, which I will eat, esp. if it's spicier than it is eggy. And this is a creamy cinnamon-nutmeg and vanilla concoction I don't want to resist. It's a sure-fire nausea-beater.

In the bottle: Punkie Night On first application: Punkie Night with Snow-Flakes, a kind of winter version of Punkie with mint added Drydown: The mint is threatening to overpower the apple, but at first the apple isn't giving up the ghost (so to speak). Eventually, the mint sucks all the apple's ripe potential. Sadly, I think this will end up going to swaps. But like the apple, I'm not giving up the ghost just yet.

I've never been someone who had to have super-rare scents...all I care about is how something smells on me. I didn't even have that much interest in Anaconda but after inhaling a sniffy, I kinda went ape...non-reptilian, but quite excitable. On me, this is warm, spicy snake oil...with a rich sweet tonka thing going on. Maybe it's the tobacco? But I can dab on a drop and it lasts forever and I truly do inhale the part of my skin that I have anointed. I am not a foodie. And as I read the reviews, it is so clear to me that my skin is atypical. Because this isn't foodie at all on me, it's just sexy and not remotely cold-blooded. If I could purchase this in bottle form, I'd buy a few. And normally I'm not much of a bottle collector, either. The Anaconda transforms me into a habit-changer

In the bottle: Carnation, clove Wet: Hello, Clove Early Drydown: Clove, clove Hours later: Clove, clove, clove Too much of anything is usually not workable for me, so...goodbye, Clemence...

Maybe it's me and my freaking strange skin, but Mead Moon and Honey Moon are practically identical on me. That's not a bad thing--Honey Moon was my first BPAL OMGLOVE! And I don't have all that much of it saved. So you'd think I'd be happy. But I'm kinda disappointed. I wanted it to be less herby than Honey Moon. More Ambery, more flowery. I still keep snorting my arm, so it's not all that disappointing...just not what I was expecting based on these reviews. BTW, throw is strong and it seems to be lasting a good long while.

I like this much more than Crypt Queen (which I didn't like very much at all). It's a dark incensy fruit that comes on strong and then burnishes into your skin. Brown plumminess. It's dead sexy. For mature audiences only. I am hoping I don't need a bottle, but I may have no choice.

The sage note on initial application made me almost nauseated...then it pretty much disappeared. All that was left was a new rose. A green, Red-Rosy kinda rose. I'm more of a Peacock Queen Rose kinda girl. Within 10 minutes, everything had disappeared from sniff except the hintiest hint of rose, and I was actually relieved.

When this first went on, I thought...light normal perfume. But Inez lasts and lasts and she morphs into sheer loveliness within an hour of application. Damn it, another bottle! *** Lasts and lasts and lasts...when I went to bed at 3 a.m., Inez was still going strong and beautiful.

In imp: Honey and a sharp, not so nice note...Patchouli? On first application: Sweet, thick rich honey. I keep hearing about Mead Moon but since I'm still waiting for my bottles, all I can think of is, "This is honey love." I keep inhaling. And waiting for an unpleasant morph. An hour later: No unpleasant morph. The honey sadly does lessen, but the peach comes out to play and I loves me some peach. I need at least one bottle. Maybe more. This is love and the first of the Grindhouse gals to make me fall. Sadly, she doesn't last very long. But what there is of her is cherce.