edenssixthday

The Confectionary - This is the scent of all sorts of goodies all in one place: baked pastries, cakes, sweetbreads, and candies, fudges, swirly sugar concoctions -- all covered in a light dusting of powdered sugar. Sugar notes usually don't work on my skin, and this one quickly takes on a burnt sugar quality, although it's not heavy and makes the skin smell a bit like creme brulee on me. Those who love the sweet/foody/sugary type of blends are going to go crazy for this one when it's released. This is a really fun scent.

The Flower Girl -- This is a really pretty bouquet of light, fresh flowers. It's more the scent of flower petals than the actual full-blooming flower. I don't know what flowers it is -- it didn't have the high-pitchedness of lilies, or the depth of rose, or the pungency of jasmine. It's more like a mixed bouquet of wildflower petals. It's very pretty and romantic in a pure and innocent kind of way.

Black Widow Circus - I tried this one after trying a ton of other scents at Convergence, so my nose wasn't good at picking out individual notes, but I really liked the scent. It was a definite favorite among the preview/prototype scents that were out for testing at C15. My notes indicate that it's a sweet candy scent, that's warm, with a touch of both dustiness and spiciness. The dustiness has more of a feel of age and memories rather than thick, heavy dust (a la Rat King). It's really a wonderful scent and I can't wait for the next CD update!!!

Alien Invasion - This is my favorite of the latest blockbuster series. It smells like lychee and starfruit -- fruity-sweet and fruity-sour. It's green and fresh in the way a cucumber or melon tend to be. I imagine it'll be well-loved by the people who enjoy fresh, green, fruity scents like Yemaya and Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat. I meant to get a bottle of this, but in the craziness of the Trunk Show at Cobwebs III, I forgot to pick up a bottle of this before I left the store. I definitely need to order some.

The Phantom Cow of Yerba Buena Island - Beth said this is milk and herbs, and sure enough, it's milk and herbs! It's got that baby urp milky scent from Milk Moon 2005 and a slightly dirty green scent that must be the herbs. Initially, it strikes me as a fun novelty scent -- something I enjoy for the novelty of it, but nothing I'd wear as a personal fragrance -- but the longer it sits on my skin and the more it warms up, the more it starts to smell really, really appealing. I will wear this as a personal fragrance! The milk note mixed with the herbs gives it a freshly-squeezed, body-warm, fresh cow-milk scent, and the herbs back up the natural odor of the fresh milk that doesn't usually reach us by the time it's been processed and shelved in the stores. It gets warmer and herbier and baby-urpier and yummier with time...it's very pleasant and comforting and I can't stop sniffing my arms!

The Sailing Stones of Death Valley - I have had a completely different experience with this one than the first reviewer did. I don't smell any of the greenery, with the possible exception of the slightest hint of desert scrub, but definitely none of the notes she picked up on. It reminds me of my trips to Burning Man -- I smell lots of warm desert sand with (as previously mentioned) a hint of desert scrub, hard desert rocks, scorching hot but clean air, and ruthless sunshine beating down on the playa. Behind the sand and stone, I do smell the slightest hint of something woody, but it's vague and faint, and I also smell something slightly sweet, which I guess could actually be one of the desert fruit notes that the previous reviewer picked up on. This is an amazingly well-blended scent, highly unisex, and very, very pretty.

PX117 - This is a gorgeous cake scent. I agree with the previous reviewer -- when I first sniffed it, my first thought is that it's similar to Huesos de Santos, which I adore. On my skin, it starts out as a heavy white-cake scent with a hint of orange. As it warms up on my skin, the anise starts to come out, and also a sweet buttercream note. Unfortunately, as with a lot of the bakery-foody blends, this one starts to take on a musty/dusty quality before it even fully dries down. It'll make a great scent locket scent, though! I think this one is going to be a hit among the foody-lovers.

Kroenen - I hate the smell of wet vetiver oil, and almost didn't try this one on because of that strong, nasty wet-vetiver scent. But then I remembered how much vetiver changes on me once it dries down, and sure enough, my skin turned out to absolutely love Kroenen. Once it dries on my skin, it takes on this awesomely warm, husky, masculine, and dark quality full of warm woods, a hint of patchouli, and of course, that gorgeous gravelly and gritty scent of vetiver. Mmmmm! It's uber-sexy and would smell fantastic on a guy, but smells fantastic on me, too. I definitely want some.

Sunbird - This is wonderful! It's predominantly a husky-myrrh scent with some other unidentifiable notes, perhaps resins and woods, and maybe a bit of sand-type notes. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Priala the Human Phoenix, The Ifrit, and Kubla Kahn. It's really delicious. I tried it at the DD Trunk Show, and didn't have much untested skin left on my arms, so I put some on my shoulder and kept sniffing my shoulder all night. I know I looked ridiculous, but who cares -- I smelled amazing! I really liked the husky, smoky, resinous, warm, golden qualities of Sunbird and need to get my grabby little paws on a bottle of it.

PX23 - This is a very dry, woody, incense-like scent. There's definitely amber, but it's not the bright, golden, powdery amber that I usually love so much. It's drier and deeper... older. I also smell woods, possibly sandalwood, possibly not. Maybe even the tiniest drops of cedar and dust. As this sits on my skin and warms up, it takes on the slightest hint of something sweet, like vanilla or sweet cream, but it's barely there. This scent reminds me of visiting old European chapels that are full of ancient wood, and dust-motes dancing in the rays of diffused light shining in through stained-glass windows. It's a fairly subtle scent once it dries down, but it has decent staying power. I think I really like it!

Pontia - I don't like BPAL's lavender note and I don't like their bergamot note, so I don't know why I tried this. It was about as good as I expected it to be...which is to say, not much. It was all lavender, lavender, lavender on me. Wearing it was a really unpleasant experience. Fortunately it fades quickly leaving behind a slightly herbal after-scent that is actually quite bearable. This one needs to go to a lavender lover...and quickly, too.

Labores Solis - I love this! It's a gorgeous woody frankincense, sweetened by the saffron and softened by the chamomile -- slightly herbal, but not really. I don't smell the heliotrope at all -- sad, because I love that note. This is a gorgeous unisex scent, and one that I could wear any time of year. Lovely!

Mort de Cesar - This one comes so close to being perfect on me...but misses the mark by a hair. It's dark and woody and sexy, full of bitter clove goodness, deep resins, and dark fruits. And then there's the blood accord, which just turns it all to hell. It's so close to being a GORGEOUS scent on me that I really, really wish that I could wear blends with blood accord in them. I think there are a lot of people who probably love this one, and even though it doesn't quite work on me, I'm surprised I don't see more ISO's for it.

Spinning Multicolored Metallic Pinwheel - The first thing I notice is sweet effervescence, almost like champagne, but the juniper makes it smell kind of gin-like...sort of like Twenty-One, but VERY FRUITY. It's sweet and delicious and yummy, and I totally want to drink it in a pretty martini glass while wearing pretty shoes, kind of like Sex & the City. If you like Spiked Punch, you'll definitely like this one.

The Feast For the Greatly Revered Ones - The first thing I notice is cinnamon, followed immediately by cocoa, followed immediately by something sweet and bright that I first thing is oranges, but then I realize must be the agave wine (although I'm positive it's more of a sangria with some orange wedges floating in it!) This is not remotely the type of scent I would normally be drawn to, but I'm really enjoying this one. I wish I could get my house to smell like this! Must track down more...

PPEL6 - This is the scent of bitter coffee grounds spread across the floor of a dark, heavy, green jungle. Make me think of Honduras, Costa Rica, or some other Central American coffee-growing region. I don't smell florals, but I do get a heavy green tropical feel behind the coffee grounds.

PGAI17 - When applied wet, this has a small "poof" of almond that instantly disappears. Then, the scent becomes something warm, heavy, and almost has a hint of both sweetness and spice. It's kind of like Baron Samedi and Inez made a baby in Port-au-Prince. I would guess there may be a bit of almond, amber, vanilla, and maybe even a hint of spiced rum in this. Plus other stuff that baffles me. I love it. I only have a little, but I'm keeping it and will wear it all up. Definitely. Oh, and I also think this would smell really sexy on the right kind of guy. Mmmm... mmmm.

Planting Moon - I have a Demeter scent called "String Bean" that I absolutely love. The bean note in this one smells exactly the same. I can't believe how much I love that green bean scent! This smells like freshly-turned spring earth, sort of earthy, sort of rooty, and very lightly floral. If it weren't for that dastardly earth/dirt note, I think I'd LOVE this scent, but the earth/dirt screws it up for me. The overall scent makes me think about kneeling in my garden in the spring, pulling weeds, planting seeds, and little plantlings. I love how it evokes feelings and memories -- I can't wait to do my spring gardening again next year!

Smoky Moon 2009 - This is a beautiful ethereal woody-floral scent. The orris and nicotiana are the strongest notes, but they're complimented so well by the others that it refrains from being an "orris & nicotiana" scent. I don't actually smell the elemi at all, a note that usually turns a scent kind of odd on me, so there must just be a little bit of it in this one. The longer it sits on my skin, the more the musk comes out, but the musk never overwhelms. It sort of wisps along the surface. I think this is a soft, masculine scent that would smell really outstanding on my husband. Too bad he's allergic to perfume.

Strawberry Moon 2009 - I didn't buy this originally because I thought the dandelion was going to make it go horribly, horribly wrong on me. But I kept hearing such rave reviews, that I got myself a bottle. I love the scent. It smells like the taste of those wonderful strawberry hard candies with the soft strawberry center. Sugar-candy scents aren't usually my ideal type of fragrance, but the hint of bitter green plant notes blended with the sweet, sugary strawberry candy scent makes this really unique and quite lovely, in a sugar-candy summery sort of way. It is fairly subtle on my skin, but occasionally, I'll catch a gorgeous waft of it that is so delightful that it makes the subtlety almost worth it just to have those few moments of that "ahhh, this is GOOD" feeling. I'm going to try it in an oil burner, too, and see how it works in my house. Also, I think I'll try it in a scent locket to see if I can't get it to last longer that way. It's gorgeous and while it won't be a scent I grab all the time, I do think I'll be wearing it a lot over the course of the rest of the summer. Mmmm....yummy.

Empyreal Mist v3 - The first note I smelled is soap. However, once it has a chance to warm up on my skin, it retains a bit of soapiness, but mostly, it's a clean, crisp, green, white floral. I'm positive there's some frangipani in this, along with a bit of crushed green stem/leaf behind that, and something bright and light that gives it a sort of ethereal type feel to it. It's the type of scent you'd find in the high-priced commercial perfumes at a department store -- classy, sophisticated, slightly tropical, fresh, and feminine.

Horn of Amalthea - This opens up with a blast of all the various notes at once. It's a cacophony of scent. After it sits on my skin for a minute, the overpowering swirl of scents calms down a bit and it begins to make a little sense. Quince is absolutely the most dominant note, followed by carrot and pomegranate and lettuce. The other notes swirl around in the background of the quince/carrot/pom/lettuce, and complement them quite nicely. I don't smell any cream or honey, and the fig is very subtle. This is a really unique and interesting scent, but I'm not sure I'd choose to wear this as a personal fragrance. It's just a bit too confusing with all those various, contrasting notes that work almost well together, but not quite.

Lilith and the Jarocho - Verbena and jasmine with a twist of lime. I smell little of the heavier, creamier notes I had expected, and only the light, bright citrus notes and jasmine, with a hint of vanilla in the background. In fact, the jasmine and vanilla together kind of remind me of Monster Bait: Bigger Critters. This scent is like a Verbena-Citrus Bigger Critters. It's a gorgeous, complex scent that is perfect for summertime.

CD023 - I didn't think I'd like this one when I read reviews that used words like "butterscotch" and "toasted sugar", etc. However, I absolutely adore it, and I don't normally like the foody blends, and blends with too much sugar usually turn to "burnt plastic" on my skin. This one, however, is wonderful! It's sweet and yummy, without being heavy or fake-smelling. I think it has the same sugar that's been used in some of the recent "Lick It" Yule blends. If there's vanilla in it, it's not a heavy, boozy vanilla, but a lighter vanilla. There may be a hint of white or yellow cake in this blend, too. It's impossible for me to describe it accurately, but suffice it to say that if it were ever released, I'd buy a bunch of it!

The Host of the Air - Very, very green. It's got a strong grassy, milkweed scent that is the dandelion note overpowering everything else in it (as dandelion usually does on my skin). It's got that strong, pungent smell of freshly mown grass. On me, it's overwhelming and too strong for my taste.