edenssixthday

Odd Portents - I thought for sure the lavender and black currant in this would ruin it for me, but it doesn't! It's a really beautiful scent on me. Oddly, I get no musk at all. Rather, it's a very husky and incensey herbal scent on me. I really love geranium and myrrh, and they're the dominant notes in this, along with the black rose, which is definitely a dark, deep rose without being heavy. It's a very pretty blend with good staying power and a nice, solid, but not overwhelming, level of throw.

Halloween: New Orleans - When I first got my Weenies, I decided this may be my favorite of the bunch. It definitely reminds me of fall in NOLA, and the time I spent playing in the parks and running around on the levees and drinking at the Fly after school. God, this smells just like fall in New Orleans - fresh but humid air, tons of that heavy, gorgeous Spanish moss, and something sweet just below the surface. And then... oh no... it turns to plastic on me. Something in this blend hates my skin, and it depresses the hell out of me because it was such a perfect scent before it turned. Okay, I'm still not sending it off to swaps; it's going to get a run in the scent locket first to see how that works out for me.

Thirteen (8/10) - I don't usually like the Thirteen blends, as they're usually way too chocolatey and foody for me, but this one... this one's a winner! It doesn't smell good to me at all in the bottle. In the bottle, I'm mostly smelling chocolate, pink pepper, and bergamot (three of my least favorite notes) with a bit of honey (which is "iffy" on me). But I tried it anyway, because we all know how BPAL can change with skin chemistry, and sure enough, it blossoms into something positively gorgeous on me. I keep catching wafts of it and just can't believe how good it smells! The dark chocolate note is there, but it doesn't turn to dust or plastic on me as chocolate usually does (dark chocolate seems to work better on me than any other chocolate), and I can't smell the pink pepper or bergamot at all on my skin once it dries. The honey note is there, and its one of the sweet, smooth honeys that doesn't smell cloying or sickeningly sticky. I think the pimento berry is what's making all the difference here -- I'm discovering over the years how much I love that little note. It just really smells both sweet and spicy on me at the same time and is awesome! The tobacco grounds the scent, but it's not too earthy. This is a beautifully-blended scent, and while I put the bottle up on my sale page after sniffing it, now that I've gotten up the nerve to try it on my skin, I'm taking it off my sales page and hoarding it for myself.

Mabon 2010 - I don't recall how this compares with the original Mabon, but this one was a disappointment. I really wanted to smell myrrh and blackberry wine, but most of what I'm smelling is sage, chamomile, hops, and a bit of nuts. It's comes across as fairly masculine and herbal on me and really isn't my type of scent at all. It is fairly subtle and doesn't last very long on my skin, either.

Ecclesiastical Excesses - Everything about the ingredient list screamed "winner!!!" at me. But I'm pretty disappointed after trying it on. It's a rose-and-frankincense scent that's kind of generic and bland. On my skin, it doesn't blossom at all. It just sits there, kind of flat and dead. I'm sure it smells fabulous on the right person, and I thought for sure that person would be me, but it's not.

Ghoulish - Oh, I love this! Sweet, syrupy cherry, sweet shredded coconut, and sweet, syrupy amaretto all blend together to make so much deliciousness I can hardly stand it. And unlike most foody scents, this one does not turn to dust, band-aid, plastic, or burnt plastic on my skin. Instead, once it dries down, it disappears. Completely. POOF! GONE!!! So instead, I will wear this in a scent locket and see if that works better, but I might find that everyone I encounter gnaws at my neck, because this smells way too good not to eat.

Pomegranate V - When I first applied this, it smelled entirely of pomegranate juice and amber. I knew it was a winner from the get-go, and then as it warmed up on my skin the opium came out, as did the cardamom (two of my favorite notes in the world) and the other notes were there, but far in the background. This is stunningly gorgeous on me, but not nearly as dark and heavy as I expected from the scent. It's dryer and reminds me of early fall when you hear the dying leaves rustling on the trees in the breeze, as opposed to later in the season when the dead leaves rustle against each other as they're blown across the ground.

Dawn: Priestess - Priestess is a really beautiful, rich, deep, strong scent. Granted, I love myrrh, patchouli and rose, and jasmine isn't usually a problem for me anymore. I don't really smell the jasmine in this much at all. For the first two hours I wore this scent, I had no idea there was jasmine in it and was surprised when I read the ingredient list. The myrrh and rose are definitely the strongest notes on me. The patchouli gives them both a bit of an earthier grounding. The scent is fairly incense-like, but not in a smoky, hippie kind of way, more of a high church kind of sacred scent. Just as Dawn: Maiden is innocent and Dawn: Mother is mature, I would say that Dawn: Priestess is sacred. Really, really lovely. ETA: It has an above-average level of throw, so no need to slather. Also, the staying power of this one is really phenomenal!

Dawn: Maiden - This scent reminds me of both Katrina van Tassel and Pink Snowballs in it's sweet, innocent rosiness. The rose is light, soft, pink, and sweet and not nearly as dry as most tea rose scents. The milk and olive blossom really give an innocent, youthful type of feel to the overall blend. The heliotrope really sweetens it up and the honeysuckle, oddly, doesn't suck on my skin in this one. The honey is there, but blends beautifully with the other notes (especially the milk) as to be barely discernible. This is a really gorgeous soft, sweet rose scent, and while it reminds me of Katrina von Tassel and Pink Snowballs, it's a hundred times better than either of them. This one is bottle-worthy.

Dawn: Mother - This is a stunning scent. It's very rich, deep, dark, and mature. It's a "floriental" in nature, and that frankincense really gives much depth to the rose while the saffron warms it up and the honey sweetens it. The honey is very light -- just enough to add a hint of sweetness to a deep, smoky, rich rose scent. I really love this. It's very grown-up, beautiful, and verging on sexy.

Marshmallow Pumpkin - This reminds me a ton of the Pumpkin Pie bath oil -- super spicy and pumpkiny. There is loads of cinnamon in this, but also a super-sweet marshmallow scent. I'm actually bummed out about this one because for me, the pumpkin and marshmallow is an awesome combination, but there's way too much spice for me to be able to wear this happily. The marshmallow definitely comes out stronger the longer it's on my skin, but unfortunately, the spiciness doesn't fade nearly as much as I wish it would.

Candy Corn Coated Candy Apple - I'm not usually a fan of apple blends, but I keep trying them because one or two times, I've tried apple blends that were AWESOME. This one's pretty good. It opens with a blast of crisp, juicy apple, but as it warms up on my skin, I can smell the candy corn coating, and it's delicious! It's tooth-achingly sweet, though, and probably more for someone who likes both apple and sugary scents. I'm very glad I tried it, but I just don't see myself choosing this apple scent over, say, SGA.

Harvest Moon 2010 - This is my favorite of the Harvest Moons so far. When I first put it on, it smells very green and fruity, but as it warms up on my skin, the dry leaf scent really comes out and blends beautifully well with the wine and plum, which give a sweetness to the autumnal leaves. I smell apple and juniper berry, clove, and mulling spices around that, which gives the scent a lot of texture. The amaranth is quite identifiable, too, giving the scent a hint of dry graininess that blends wonderfully with the other notes. Overall, it's a perfect fall scent full of dry leaves, dark fruits, woods, spices, and grains. It's really wonderful for the first 30 minutes or so, but then something happens on my skin, and for the next several hours, all I smell is the amaranth. Stupid skin chemistry.

Mule Skinner v1 - From the name alone, I thought for certain this was going to be something either meaty or leathery or sweaty -- i.e., just plain gross. But it's not! When I smell it wet, there is something slightly acrid about it, and something chemical-smelling like nail polish remover (but I get that from Pumpkin King and Scarecrow, so YMMV), but there's something really sweet and delicious underneath. Upon a second sniff of the wet oil, something about it reminds me of Mad Sweeney. and I realize that acrid scent is actually whiskey. So it's whiskey with something sweet and fruity beneath. As it dries down on my skin, it turns into a deep wine-like scent, maybe berries and whiskey? I really don't know, but it's definitely alcoholic and it's definitely fruity-sweet in a semi-dry way and it's really awesome.

Flor de Muerto - I thought I would hate this because I hate the smell of real marigolds. I put them in my garden to keep the bunnies away from my pretty flowers. It works, but they also keep me away because they stink so bad! I was really surprised when I put this on and smelled a really pretty, golden floral. I never smelled any of the spice that some other reviewers have noted. It's just a very pretty scent, almost a single note floral, but without the high-pitched, headache inducing cloyingness that so many florals have. It's just really feminine and very beautiful. It also has above-average staying power on my skin, although the sillage seems to decrease significantly after drydown.

Pomegranate III - Oh, pretty pretty! This is very much like a Middle Eastern-style scent. Reminds me of the Halloweenie version of Khajuraho. It opens up with a blast of date and spicy clove and right behind that is a wave of sweet, dark, deep, red, juicy pomegranate and husky, sexy myrrh. As the initial blast fades away and the scent starts to warm up on my skin, I can also smell the sandalwood and a tiny hint of lavender -- so tiny that even I, the lavender-hater, can still handle this scent. Overall, it's an incredibly beautiful, complex scent, with a cornucopia of scents and "flavors" about it. It's really awesome. I just wish it were stronger and lasted on my skin longer. For a myrrh blend, this fades too quickly from my skin (my skin usually grips on to myrrh and won't let go).

This opens up as a subtle and fairly generic floral scent with a swirl of smoke all around it. It's actually really lovely! This is the second "cigarette smoke" scent I've tried and loved, so I guess that's a note I really like. The cocoa leaves give the scent a bit of an earthy dryness. It's cocoa-y and dry-leafy at the same time. I have no idea what chichi is and how it may be adding to the overall scent. Sadly, this scent is very subtle when it's wet and virtually non-existent when it dries down. I put it on, finished my makeup, left the house, started the car, and by the time I got on the road 5 minutes after applying, it was totally gone -- not a trace to be found.

Pomegranate II - This is a very bright, sweet citrus scent. It opens up with a blast of sweet lime, grapefruit and lemon verbena. It's just so bright and fresh and summery! About 30 minutes after I put it on, I got caught up in a wind gust, and it swirled the scent all around me, and that's when I really smelled the pomegranate, which deepened the scent and kept it from being too bright and sparkly. It really gives some depth to the citrus and rounds them out quite nicely. Sadly, it faded pretty quickly on my skin, although it seemed to last longer in my hair. Very, very pretty summertime scent.

This opens up with a heavy blast of warm, beautiful oak and a bit of earth and sweetness, which must be the booze. As it dries down on my skin, the earth note fades a lot and the wood note gets stronger and is given depth by that gorgeous booze scent. I have no idea what booze this is, but I would guess it's not scotch or whiskey, as they don't smell good on me at all, and it's definitely not gin, wine, or champagne. Beyond that, I have no idea what booze could be. There's a bit of greenery in the scent from the "cemetary weeds" note. It's fairly faint and gives the scent an even greater sense of earthiness. Overall, it's a really, really pretty, organic scent full of woods, sweet booze, and a nice bit of earthiness to boot. I'll definitely be wearing this one again.

The Wild Swans At Coole - This scent is a fresh, sweet-water aquatic that's fairly masculine due to the chypre, but there is a touch of pretty, feminine florals, although to my nose at least, they come off as slightly high-pitched. It's very clean, fresh, and airy, and reminds me of my annual autumn trips that I took in my 20s to the Boundary Waters region in northern Minnesota, where you find crystal clear lakes that haven't been touched by motorcraft, amidst hundreds of miles of pure, fresh air and millions of trees that are beginning to turn to brilliant colors in the cool temperatures at night. It's an incredibly evocative scent. It has good throw and the staying power is about average.

Nothing Gold Can Stay - From the scent description, I expected green leaves and tea, two notes that rarely work for me. Instead, I don't smell greenery at all. I smell the most gorgeous amber I may have ever encountered with a little tang from the ginseng. I can barely detect the roibos, but it is in there, far beneath the other notes, giving the scent the slightest touch of tea-like scent. This doesn't remind me at all of dewy green leaves but rather the scent of warm air blowing through early-autumn trees. It's not the scent of the trees, but the scent of the wind and everything it carries with it. It's really pretty, but sadly on my stupid skin (which eats up so many fragrances), it has little staying power.

Calaveras - This opens up with a warm, dry, peppery chocolate with a really strong twist of tequila. As it dries down on my skin, the booze note almost disappears (but not entirely) and I'm left with the dry, peppery chocolate scent. It's certainly not a sweet chocolate, and yet there's something in here, probably the cajeta, that's sweetening the overall scent up to the point that it's cloyingly sweet over the smoky pepper-and-dry-cocoa notes. I'm not much of a chocolate person and I generally don't like pepper of any sort in my perfumes, and the cajeta is just way too syrupy sweet for my taste, so I'm afraid this one is not for me.

The Unsteady Governess - I really like this scent. It's the same white tea found in Yurei, and the violet is soft and sweet without being powdery and smelling like your old Great-Aunt Edna. I was so glad to read the previous reviewer's comments about the bergamot and Earl Grey tea, because that was my experience, as well. As the scent warmed up on my skin, it took a distinctly bergamot/Earl Grey flavor, and smelled even prettier than it did initially. It's very simple and very pretty.

The Aurora Spaceship Takes a Dive - I don't smell much in the way of wildflowers -- a bit, but they're far, far in the background. To me, this smells predominantly like a ton of hay and woods. It's got a fairly masculine cologne scent, in an oddly semi-aquatic way, and I say "oddly" because it doesn't quite fit with the hay and woods. This is definitely not my type of scent. Sorry.

PPN143 - This opens up with a woody, masculine cologne-type scent, but quickly dries down to the scent of clean skin and soap, with a hint of woods in the background. It's the perfect "clean" scent for a guy. Very nice, but not for me.