volant

Picky picky me, I have found another winner that rises above my growing collection of "almost-there"s. I hesitated to get a tropical scent because I didn't want to smell like the air freshener in the office bathroom, but I have more trust in BPAL by now, and I don't regret taking Machu Picchu for a spin. Overall: tangy citrus, humid freshness, and big rainforest florals. All very good things! A touch of amber - not my favorite scent, but I think a good element here. Wearing it dry: I don't smell very much amber, but I suspect that it must be what balances this scent to keep it on the personal fragrance side of the dangerously room-freshener-heavy tropical scent spectrum. I think of the scent of plumeria in Hawaiian rains whenever I smell my skin, and the crispness (reminiscent of satsuma peels) keeps my nose searching for more while the subtle warmth allows me to feel like I wear it rather than just emit the scent. The boy: This one was being muddled with some other perfumes when he evaluated it, but when he said he liked parts of the scent quite a bit, I think he was refering to the Machu Picchu parts, as it has several elements in common with his favorite of my hair conditioners.

How I love foody smells. And I, like others here once read that men in scientific studies identified pumpkin (pie) as their favorite scent most consistently. So, it's with disappointment that I report I cannot really wear Jack, though this isn't for lack of scent fondness. Overall: pumpkin, caramel, and clove... and a rawness at the back of my throat. Wearing it dry: It's a delicious smell to me - sweet, round, spicy. Enough to satisfy the most foody scent lovers without giving up its personality as a perfume entirely. It's quite strong, lasting 4 or 5 hours of constant goodly wafting. This would be a good thing, except that mere minutes after first smelling it, the back of my throat becomes scratchy and sore, and every delictable nosefull brings another dose of discomfort. The boy: After wearing it a while, I gave my wrist to my boyfriend for assessment. The harsh critic doesn't like how foody it is, and appears unmoved by the supposed pumpkin effect after... discreet observation. Addendum: I'm still enjoying this as much as I can as a home scent in the diffuser. It's a delicate balance, though, as just over a certain threshhold even this more subtle method irritates the back of my throat.

I waver between liking this scent excessively and only liking it solidly. It's very pleasant in either case! Overview: sweet, floral, cool, and milky Wearing it dry: This is one of my favorite scents in the bottle (faintly citrus-y, even!), but the dry scent is unfortunately a little powdery. Still, it is a really lovely, smooth floral that lasts about 3 hours (pretty good, for me) and wafts well enough for me to smell it easily after only applying only a very small amount. The boy: After wearing it a while, I gave my wrist to him for evaluation. He likes this one, though it isn't his favorite.

This seems like a scent for someone older than myself, like my coworkers might ask if their mothers had been around if I wore it into the office. I think I'll see if my own mom likes it when she comes to visit. Here's the breakdown: Overall - classical perfume, powerful scent magnitude, powdery neroli undertone, strongest note is sandalwood Wearing it dry - I've always shied away from what I think of as typical "perfumey" scents, but I wanted to try this and made myself wear it awhile. It's strong enough to waft around me, but not so much that I consider it "loud", and unfortunately there are no big surprises in the scent itself. Although I still feel it's not for me, I respect the scent for distinguishing itself nicely with sandalwood. It makes me think of my grandmother's bedroom, tastefully decked with lace and linen, and antique sandalwood chests lurking beneath every quilt. The boy - After wearing it a bit I gave my wrist to my boyfriend for assessment. He too thinks of his grandmother, and we agree that the potential mental scarring from olfactory confusion of me and her means I should probably wash it off.

I'm delighted with this scent, and if I can ever get it to smell strongly enough on me, it'll be one of my first big bottles. Here's the breakdown: Overall impression - foody, sweet, strongest note is almond Wearing it dry - Just delicious. I would really like to smell like my wrists do, but this scent sticks very very close to my body. I pour on increasing amounts to disappointly little amplification effect. I enjoy the scent's lightness, but get out there and waft, darn you! The boy - After wearing this a bit, I gave my wrists to my boyfriend to have a whiff. This one he likes on me, no caveats, and not even any complaints about the foody nature of it. He says it's good and light.

I could imagine this as a very definitive fragrance for the right person. A scent that would be unmistakably recognizable as theirs to all who knew them. I don't think it'll be mine, but I do think I'll keep this as a room or sniffer scent for the pure refreshment of it. Here's the breakdown: Overall impression: Light yet potent, strongest note is green/mint, invigorating with a leaning towards medicinal Wearing it dry: The aggressive coldness is remarkable, and even after it begins to fade and settle into more floral undertones I can really feel my sinuses clearing - a benefit, but not really something I want in a body fragrance. The gracious violet is a latecomer to this party, and I wish it had made an earlier appearance and kept that rowdy mint from making such a scene and drinking all the sangria. The boy: Gave my wrist to my boyfriend for review after I'd worn it for a few minutes. I pretty much knew his response was going to bring up some type of medicine-likeness, and sure enough it was cough medicine that registered in his memory. We smelled it a few more times and fianlly agreed that it's "just wierd" for a perfume.

Tea frangrances are tricky for me. I think I'd really enjoy something that honestly smelled tea-like on me, but nothing I've found yet seems to. Still, White Rabbit is a keeper. Here's the breakdown: Overall impression: Well-rounded, sweet, warm peppery, strongest note is linen Wearing it dry: I just can't smell tea once it gets out of the bottle. It is unique, though, due in large part to the enjoyable peppery spice. I suppose that pepper smells more like tea for others. The boy: Gave my wrist to my boyfriend for review after I'd worn it for a few minutes. He says it's floral, which isn't thrilling but he does like it. I suppose "linen" to me does incorporate floral element (the linen waters my grandmother uses), so I can understand his assessment.