evekrieg

This might have been my favorite out of the Shungas that I've tried so far. Reminds me a little of Jo Malone's "Dark Amber and Ginger Lily" except a little sweeter and less woody. It's sophisticated and sexy and delicious. I'm almost wishing that I'd bought a back-up bottle. That's the trouble, I guess. The more of these I get, the more I want. Grr.

Vanilla bean and vanilla blossom, golden honey, antiqued amber, beeswax, copal, lotus blossom, and helichrysum. What a strange and complex little bottle! Wet it smells absolutely gorgeous. Sweet and warm with a tinge of something else in the background. The drydown smells nothing like how it did while wet. Something almost aquatic comes out of the background. I think I might really like this but I'm still not sure exactly what to think! Some of my favorite perfumes start out that way. I am excited to let this one settle for a few months and revisit it as I'm sure it will continue to be interesting.

This is the first Shunga I purchased. Peony has always been my favorite flower scent and I have yet to find one that smells true. It's definitely sweet and pink but I haven't been able to decide how floral it is on me. Some of the earlier reviewers mentioned that they can't smell this at all, and I find that it disappears quickly on my skin. It's pretty and pleasant but not very peony. It feels like a very lolita-esque scent. Innocent and young and frilly. Definitely going to save this for some spring slathering.

In the bottle it's really pretty. On my skin it's sickly sweet, pretty, but sweet. It doesn't seem to have much staying power at all. My skin eats it. I'm beginning to wonder if the sugar note is death to me as well, as Devil's Night 2011 also has this sort of effect. I'm going to leave this one alone for awhile and see how it ages.

I hardly got any smoke from this one and it was surprisingly gentle on me. Another that stays very close to the skin.

This was my fourth shot at a dragon's blood blend. It's not something I would've ordered for myself but it came as a frimp with my last order. It smells very green in the bottle. On the skin it's quite pleasant. The sandalwood falls really close to the skin in the drydown with lots of smoky sweetness. It's not something I would wear every day but I'd love to smell it on a man.

It does that pencil shavings thing on me at first, then the leather starts to come through as it dries. I can imagine this being an extremely sexy smell on a man but it doesn't really work well with my body chemistry. I definitely do get the association with hay and horses though. It's got that subtle warmth.

I received this in a swap for Mary Read (which smelled like sweaty socks on me) and boy am I ever happy about it. I didn't know what was in it when we swapped, but it is sure a fascinating piece of work. Normally jasmine and honeysuckle are flat-out nasty on me but this has this lovely, strange spiciness. It's lush and does actually remind me of a hot summer night or a greenhouse. It's definitely a weird scent, sexy but slightly off. I was surprised by how much I liked it. On a side note: there's something in it that gives me hives. I put it behind my ears at work and was itching. Later, I noticed that I had two giant spots where I applied the perfume. No idea what note would've made me react.

Usually jasmine and rose are scents that I pass over on principle but I'm new enough to BPAL that I want to try everything. This was a frimp with my last order, or else I can guarantee I wouldn't have tried it. Wet, my first reaction was "ick flowers!" because the jasmine and rose were so prominent at first. As it settles down, it really warms up and starts to behave. It actually smells really feminine and pretty, not like an old lady or a funeral home like I was expecting. Not necessarily something I would choose for myself, but a well-made scent nonetheless.

I was so excited to try Velvet as it would be my first BPAL with any chocolatey notes in it. In the bottle it smells chocolatey and soft and delicious. On my skin the cocoa disappears almost right away. It went kind kind of rancid on me from the get-go. I get a sweaty sort of sandalwood, reminiscent of pencil shavings. There's very little sweetness, mostly just wood. It's a little disappointing, but I'm going to set it aside and see if it gets better with time. Edit for time: I've given it a couple more hours. The sandalwood has mellowed out, and I'm smelling the cocoa again. Really pretty.

I'm skeptical of things when I don't know what notes are in them, but the reviews for this were generally positive so I gave the imp a go. It smells lovely. Wet, it smells kind of like 7-Up and soap. It's at once clean and warm, fresh and green but not overpowering. It has a bit of a skin musk feel on me as well. Will have to try this one around a special someone or other and test it out!

Out of the bottle it smells kind of like Nosferatu, with less flowers and more warmth. On the skin it smells like dirt and surprisingly, cashews! It has this strange warm nutty undertone which I'm really enjoying. I was hoping that the dirt would fade and that lovely warmth would come through more. It has changed from nutty to more spicy, but the dirt is definitely sticking around. It's a strange scent to be sure, but beguiling. I can see myself falling in love with this, despite the fact that I don't usually try dirt scents. In this case, being adventurous really paid off. Perhaps a large bottle next time?

This came to me as a frimp, and was my second [and possibly truest] BPAL love to date. I have worn this out to industrial night on several occasions and everyone tells me how strange and delicious I smell. I burned through that imp in no time flat. Utterly sexy and spicy and complex. At first it smells a lot like cherry coke, no lime or much pine to speak of, but then the almond and pine creep up into it. It's undulating and perfectly blended. No one note seems to stick out or ruin the balance. I just ordered a large bottle of this, and suspect that I'll need more than one in the days to come.

This was my first BPAL love, tangled unfortunately with lust and heartbreak. I will always love this scent; the way that the apple is so true, with something so delicious and sinister at the core. I usually despise artificial fruity scents [DKNY Delicious] but this one is perfect. Completely and utterly round and glistening. To smell it on him now would be devastating. I suppose I should reclaim it as my own but I can't bear to wear it. It has a dangerous power over me. If this scent did not belong to someone else, I would absolutely wear it all the time.

While I didn't find this scent to be particularly menacing, I did find the experience of wearing it to be enjoyable and certainly interesting. On me it's sort of soft and creamy and sweet, without any particular note standing out at once. Despite the name being "Black Pearl", it felt more like a freshwater pearl, like the way reflected light dances through water. It's a very safe scent, not offensive in any way and really quite pretty. I'm going to let my imp settle for a few months and see if the coconut comes out any more.

This is the first aquatic-y scent that I've tried from BPAL. I received this imp from a friend, so its age and origin is somewhat unknown. The age probably has something to do with it but everything in this blend is really mellow. Eucalyptis and bergamot really do blend well together and I think I'd like to smell this on a man. It sweetens up as it dries down, and it's doing a weird plastic-y thing on my skin. Definitely interesting but not something I'd commit to in 5 ml.

The jury is out on this one. It's definitely smoky, but has more of a honey feeling to it that I wasn't expecting. Honey turns rancid on me, kind of sickly sweet. There is foliage somewhere too, but not much spice. I'll have to keep trying it to see how it changes. I desperately want to love this.

In the bottle is a shock of lavender. Wet on the skin it's lavender as well, but as soon as it starts to dry, the sharpness fades away and something soft, floral and sweet comes out from underneath. It's absolutely lovely, but seems to stay close to the skin. A little too close, unfortunately. I wish this one had more throw, because I adore it! [Will probably need more, if it comes back next year!]

Somehow I wound up with two 5mls of the 2011 version. So far it's my least favorite of the Halloweenie ones that I've tried. It smells very much the same in the bottle [sluggish, flat] as it does on my skin. On my skin it's sweet, heavy, and feels similar to Play-doh. There's something wet and green in there too, but it never seems to open up into more than a singular note. I've been reading about ageing, and I think I'll put these aside for a couple of months and see what happens. If they're still the same they're going into the swap pile.

Before the Grand Dame was the Pumpkin Queen, she was a Pumpkin Princess! Bright, sweet pumpkin with vanilla fluff, guava, chocolate-dusted white amber, tiare, red currant, raw honey, and meringue. I am a huge pumpkin enthusiast so naturally I was excited to try Pumpkin Princess. I didn't find it to be particularly pumpkin-y, but enjoyed it nonetheless. In the bottle it's very candy-sweet, on what I find to be a high register if that makes any sense. On my skin, I don't really get much pumpkin but I get the fruity and marshmallow-y notes which are actually quite pleasant. It's a very cheerful scent, feels like it would be perfect for a sunny winter day.

I'm usually a huge fan of Vanilla, and thought that the citrus notes and mint might make for a refreshing scent. It was -40 here this week, and the perfect time to try it. It starts off very lemony with a tiny bit of mint, and the yuzu [which is an oriental citrus of some sort] seems to be present. A few minutes in, the lemon dies down and it gets sweeter. Surprisingly, the drydown is really spicy. Reminiscent of the Vanilla Spice body butter from Body shop. Something that I was definitely not expecting, and really delighted by. I was expecting a cold, wintry scent and got yummy-spicy instead. Not sure if I'd buy this one again, but I'll certainly enjoy the 5ml I do have.