edenssixthday

Dreadful Lies - This is a lovely amber blend. On first application from my decant, I felt a little whimper rise out of me because it would be so hard to get a full bottle! But then it turned a little too powdery on me to wear a lot, so I'm okay with my decant. Phew! Still, it's nice. It's a warm, powdery amber, and I get absolutely no tagette from it, and just the lightest hint of cognac, which smooths and rounds out the amber, while the powderiness of the amber keeps the cognac from being overwhelmingly boozy and rich. It's a really lovely blend, but the way the amber turns to such a warm, golden, powdery scent reminds me so much of Delousing Powder, that I think I'm good sticking with my old DP when I need a pretty, warm amber scent.

Quicksilver Phoenix - I have no idea what cinnabar and mastic smell like, but I do know that lavendar is a nemesis and white sandalwood and elemi are both "meh" notes on me, so I didn't have high hopes for this, which is good, because if my hopes had been high, I would have been terribly disappointed. On me, this is just really gross. BPAL's lavender note turns very "gamey" on me and this one is so gamey that it almost smells like there's civet in it. It has a strange poopy-diaper scent about it. I don't smell the sandalwood or elemi at all, just the lavender and poopy diaper.

Iron Phoenix - In the bottle, the red ginger is so strong and biting that it just smelled awful to me and I really thought I was going to hate this blend. It didn't smell much better when I put it on my skin, either. However, once it dried down on my skin, I was absolutely bowled over by what a beautiful fragrance it turned into. I had to double-check that I had put on my skin what I thought I'd put on it. When it dries down on my skin, the myrrh becomes the dominant note, backed up by the pepper and metal. The dragon's blood is barely discernible, but gives this scent a hint of sexy sweetness, and the clove is also barely there, but along with the now-subtle ginger, it spices up the scent. I'm completely blown away by how this one changed on me between the wet phase and the drydown. I was so appalled by the fragrance in the bottle that I was tempted to not even try it on my skin, but I am so glad I did because it's true love.

Tin Phoenix - This is lovely. It's bright, clean, crisp, cool, and sweet. I love the way the mint and lemongrass sweeten up the metals and the way the ozone gives it a crisp quality. The hyssop gives it the faintest touch of floral and the tonka deepens the scent to keep it from being too bright. Both the throw and staying power are below average on me. I think this would smell fantastic on a guy, too.

Lead Phoenix - When I smelled this in the bottle, I didn't think I'd like it, but once it dries down on my skin, it's really beautiful. It's not the type of scent I think I'd reach for to wear myself, but I think it would smell amazing on a guy. The hemlock is the dominant note, and it's a note I don't usually like, but the tobacco and cypress work together to temper the astringent qualities of the hemlock and make it smell really lovely. The plum is subtle and adds a tiny hint of dark sweetness to the mix. Sadly, I don't smell the lettuce at all. I really love this blend and the more I think about it, maybe I will wear it myself!

Silver Phoenix - I expected this to be an unpleasant floral, so I didn't even get myself a decant from the group I ran. Fortunately, I had a little left over because this turned out to be, for me, the surprise hit of the anniversary update. It's stunningly gorgeous. The orris is the dominant note, but orris tends to be dry on me, but in this blend, the other notes -- the mallow in particular -- serve to sweeten it up and make the orris really stunning. The juniper adds a bit of an unexpected edge to the scent, keeping it from being too floral-sweet. I don't smell the pear at all. This is a beautifully blended scent that's slightly powdery and sweet and very ethereal and luminous. Just stunning. I'm ordering a full bottle!

Copper Phoenix - This is a really pretty scent. It's very warm, woody, and resinous, but is a lot softer and sweeter than I anticipated. It's blended really well and no single note stands above the others. The predominant notes (on me) are the amber, patchouli, sandalwood, and pepper. The cardamom, honey, orange and apricot are barely discernible, but sweeten and soften the darker, woodier notes. I wish it had a bit more throw and staying power, but otherwise, it's a really pretty scent that seems very gender-neutral to me.

Hellboy - Ugh. On me, this is gross. It's the scent of aftershave, but also something sour and old, that I can only guess is the "cat" note. My kitty-cat smells nothing like this, thank God! The aftershave is slightly aquatic, but mostly just like cheap drugstore cologne. I can't imagine this smelling good on anyone, but I'm glad to read that it does.

Snowball Fracas - I don't generally like dirt notes, but I love the snow + dirt in this scent. It's a really awesome combination. It smells like BPAL's typical snow note plus fresh, wet earth, nothing more and nothing less. It's not what I would ever choose to wear for a personal fragrance, and I can't really imagine using it as a room scent or scenting bath products with it...but I still want to keep smelling it because it's just so perfect.

Vampire Tarot: The Magician - I love this scent! It's heavy, dark, black, smoky, woody, resinous and spicy. The rosewood is definitely the heaviest note, and I'm not really sure what each of the other notes smell like except for benzoin, which I don't detect at all. This is a warm, comforting scent for me. It's heavy in the bottle, but subtle on my skin, and it lasts for a long time. I'll catch little wafts of it and it immediately eases me into a state of peace and serenity. I really love it!

But Men Loved Darkness Rather Than Light - Oooh, this is pretty and very sexy! It's a smoky, dark scent, fully of oakmoss and saffron. It's got a hint of gritty myrrh and biting ginger, and is deepened by the patchouli and sweetened by the vanilla and lightly spiced up by the clove. The labdanum makes it just the slightest bit bitter, while the sage softens it out, and the pimento berry adds the tiniest hint of juiciness. This is the most remarkable scent in that I can smell every single individual note and tell how it contributes to the whole, yet it's so well blended that when I'm wearing it, I don't pick out the individual notes, but experience the synergy of all the notes together. It's really lovely and one of my favorites of the 2009 Yules.

This is a lovely, fresh floral scent. I don't smell the tea at all. Rather, it's light and feminine, very refined, and pretty soft roses and iris.

Tissue - The rice is the first note I smell in this -- so soft and pretty, sweetened by the honey, and deepend by the gardenia. However, as it sits on my skin, the gardenia starts to take over everything. The rice gives it a bit of a powdery edge, but that gardenia is still really heady, heavy, and cloying. Just a little less gardenia in this scent and it would be a gorgeous, light floral that I would really love to wear.

Joulumuori - This smells awful on me. The scent is heavy, thick, slightly spicy, and syrupy. It's cloyingly sweet and has a weird bitterness about it, almost as if it's gone off and started to ferment.

On Darkness - I didn't care for the first release of this scent, but I can't get enough of the 2009 version. Rose Geranium is my #1 all-time favorite note, and I get so excited when I see it in blends. I was scared about the lavender in this blend, as it's one of my worst notes, but somehow they work together gorgeously. I mostly smell the rose geranium, lavender, poppy, and rosewood. I can't get over how they blend together to make a scent that is so beautifully heavy, woody, and floral at the same time. It's like no other perfume I've ever smelled -- very unique. I really love this one!

When the Winter Chrysanthemums Go - Wow, this is an incredibly strong chrysanthemum scent -- it smells like a bitter floral, just like they do when you're planting them fresh in the ground in the spring. There's also a heavy mint note in this blend, as well as the feeling of cold, icy frost or snow. Overall, it's actually a quite pretty scent, but not something I find myself reach for.

The First Soft Snow - This is a sharp, icy-cold, piney, snow scent with a hint of floral in the background. It's actually quite lovely on me, but fades uber-fast.

The Apple of Sodom - I'm not a fan of BPAL's apple note in general, and this is no exception. It's bitter, slightly rancid apple blended with a darker, ashy-type scent. It's not particularly unpleasant, but I don't see that it's something I would ever reach for.

Fire For Thy Stepmother's Daughters - I thought this would smell something along the lines of Hellfire or Djinn, but it's a deceptively scent, more like a faint trace of ashes in the air rather than flaming coals, etc. There's something almost floral in this scent, too. It's a lot prettier than I expected, and not remotely deep, smoky, husky, and sexy as I had hoped. It's very light on me with a really faint level of throw and fades quickly from my skin.

Bohan Upas - This is a really pretty scent! It's very dark and heavy, with a pimento berry type fruit note. It's really hard for me to describe -- it's just dark and slightly fruity, but not in a juicy way, and the "deep green leaves" aren't "green" in the typical sense or in the evergreen type sense, either. It's almost like a green plant you'd find deep under water. I'm sorry I'm not describing it well at all -- it's just a really pretty, dark scent that's highly unisex and something I feel I could wear on a night out when I really want to feel sexy.

The Rose - When my husband sends me flowers at work and they arrive in a big cardboard box, this is exactly what I smell when I open up the box -- fresh, damp, red roses, and fresh-cut green stems. It's hands-down a perfect substitute for the 2005 version of Rose Red. This is a truly gorgeous scent, and one of the truest red rose perfumes I've ever encountered.

Baba Yaga - This review is for the released version. It's completely different than the previously unreleased version. This is all herbs and dust, moss, and twigs. It probably smells great on the right person, but not on me, as I can't wear dusty scents at all. I wish I smelled more of the patchouli.

Every kid wants a pet magah bird! A prism of scent, an explosion of multi-colored feathers: blood orange, black plum, sugar cane, guava, frangipani, coconut, pimento berry, violet, caramel, and pear. Pet Magah Bird - This is a really bright, fruity scent, but it's got depth from the caramel, pimento berry, and even the dark plum. It's very sweet and sugary and I could see little girls falling in love with this fragrance. If it didn't have my nemesis caramel in it, I'd probably really love it, but the caramel goes wonky on my skin (as it always does) and gives it an unpleasant undertone on me. I wish there was a way to filter out the caramel because without it, I think I'd go crazy over this scent!

The Smilin' Servitors' Hyperdimensional Holiday Hits - This is a really bright and uplifting scent. Perfect for those cold dreary winter days when you need a kick in the pants to get going in the morning. The lemon and yuzu are the strongest notes, and I don't smell the jasmine or eucalyptus at all. I don't really see myself wearing this as a personal fragrance, but I could totally see myself using it to scent a shampoo, soap, or even as a room scent.

Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers - This is a very green scent, but it's different from the green summer scents. It's icy and chilly, with a hint of dry leaves, musk and spice. It's an early-winter type scent. It's got a slightly aquatic type vibe to it without being an actual aquatic. It's fresh and clean and seems like something that would smell really good on a guy.