edenssixthday

The Candy Butcher - Yummy yummy in my tummy! Seriously, I want to guzzle this right down. It smells sooo good, like a very high quality and very expensive cream-filled truffle. The first note I detect when I apply it is chocolate, and while it's rich and creamy, it's very sweet and creamy -- like milk chocolate. As it warms up on my skin, a note begins to develop that is sugary and creamy, and which is exactly what makes this blend so amazing because it's not just a chocolate scent. It doesn't morph at all for the first hour, but after about an hour, it starts to get a bit of that icky plastic smell, but only when I sniff it up close. The wafts of scent I get from it are still absolutely perfect and yummy and I imagine it'll be even better when worn in one of my scent lockets. The sillage definitely mellows upon dry down, but I do still catch wafts of it about me here and there. The staying power is better than I would have anticipated, but I still have to reapply after the 3 hour point. I've been thinking that I've been becoming a "foody" and this scent has confirmed those suspicions. I can't get enough of it!

Chaos Theory 3: XVIII (18) - I like this one! It's sweet and lightly musky, like sugared, white musk! There may be the slightest hint of pear in this, as well. It's a very "white" scent, and while it's not one I'd normally find myself attracted to, it's just so sweet and innocent and pretty. It sticks close to the skin and the staying power is quite light. Previously reviewed by crescentwench.

Carfax Abbey - I have this wooden china cabinet that is over 100 years old and although I keep it clean and polished, it still smells wonderfully old. Tucked in a back corner of one of the shelves, behind one of my pieces of china, I keep a little bowl with potpourri in it, the scent of which, combined with the scent of the old, dry wood and crevices with decades of dust trapped deep within them, creates a scent exactly like Carfax Abbey. I swear this oil blend smells like Beth sat in front of my china cabinet, opening and closing the door over and over, breathing in the amazing scent from it until she finally felt she could replicate it. I'm not sure how I feel about this blend as a personal fragrance, but the overall scent reminds me so much of this piece of furniture which has been collecting it's old-time scent since my great-grandmother's grandmother was using it, that I'm going to hang on to the oil blend and any time I want something to smell like that china cabinet, I will know exactly what to use to replicate that scent. It's not something I'd typically wear, but to me, the scent is just so comforting that I can't help but find it appealing. As a perfume, the sillage is moderate and the wear length is about average.

Theodosius the Legerdemain - This scent is crisp and clean, and smells very masculine to me. It's incredibly well-blended and I wasn't able to identify any of the notes on their own, with the exception of the tea, although it's certainly not a strong tea scent. It's incredibly fresh and has an aspect of it that reminds me of a light men's cologne. I wouldn't wear it myself, but I think it would smell wonderful on my husband. The throw is moderate and the staying power is well below average.

The Penitent Magdalen - This is such a pretty scent! Initially, it smells very strongly of lily of the valley and hyssop, but as it warms up on my skin, the hyssop and lily of the valley fade into the background and honey and white sandalwood become the dominant notes. I am not sure what some of the notes listed in the ingredient list are, so I'm sure I'm smelling some of them, but can't identify them. There is something in this blend that's making it slightly turn to plastic on my skin, but I'm not sure what it is. About an hour into the wear time, the scent gets the slightest touch of an almost-jasmine-like scent, but it's very subtle -- just enough that I still like it despite its similarity to jasmine. Overall, this is a nice, warm, sweet, woody-floral and reminds me of a blend that might be categorized in with the funeral oils (if it weren't already in The Salon!) The throw and staying power are both below average.

Silence - The first time I wore Silence, I couldn't smell anything. I mean, absolutely nothing. The second time I wore it, I could smell the slightest hint of musk and peach. However, upon drydown, it completely disappeared. This scent obviously just doesn't do it for me because it's so incredibly light and subtle.

Count Dracula - Imagine if Spanked were spicier and a little less strong in the leather department and a good ten times better than it is. There you go: that's what Count Dracula smells like. I'm so replacing ALL of my Spanked with Count Dracula! The leather, clove and cinnamon are the dominant notes, but behind it I can definitely smell the woodiness of the patchouli and coffin wood mixing with the spiciness of a Shub-like ginger. This is really incredible and definitely the most amazing of all TOotD scents. The sillage is impeccable and it lasts for several hours on my skin. Simply amazing.

R.M. Renfield - This is dark, musty and very masculine. I use cumin in my cooking a lot and always think it smells like B.O. (I love the taste, not the smell!) Unfortunately, I recognized the cumin in this right away. It definitely gives this blend a bit of B.O. scent. The moss is the other dominant note – very wet and slimy. The patchouli makes the scent woody and husky. Overall, it’s a very manly scent that I think would be phenomenal on a guy if it weren’t for that weird cumin-B.O. scent that it has to my nose. I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass this one on. The sillage is quite strong as is the staying power.

Gennivre l’Artist du Diable - Unfortunately, this blend has several notes in it that just rarely ever work for me: tea, honey, mint and lemongrass. The scent is very light and bright and makes me think of some of Beth’s Asian-inspired blends. The orange blossom gives this blend a touch of a powdery feeling, as orange blossom always does on me, but I’m afraid that’s the only part of the blend I like. None of the other notes work on me and combined together, it smells strikingly like Philosophy’s The Tea Party set, which has mint tea, sugar and lemon. It’s not bad, it’s just not me. The scent has an average level of sillage, and the staying power is moderate.

Three Brides - This reminds me of Horreur Sympathique, but a lighter, more subtle and less-champagne-like version. The Salon scents are so well-blended that it’s difficult for me to discern individual notes separate from all the others, but in this blend, the rose, amber, orchid and tonka are the strongest notes, and it’s a really warm and soothing floral-wood scent. As it warms up on my skin, the benzoin takes dominance over all the other notes, making it a surprisingly sweet scent – a little too sweet and honey-like for my preferences, but it’s still beautiful. As with all Salon scents, it’s very, very subtle on my skin, but highly sophisticated and classy. Although it’s very subtle and sticks very close to my skin, the staying power is comparable to most other BPAL blends. I think I’ll be hanging on to this one. I doubt I’ll wear it often, but I have no doubt that there will be occasions where it’s absolutely perfect.

Xanthe, the Weeping Clown - What a phenomenal scent! This is one of those rare, bright, tropical-type BPAL blends which I crave so much. It’s just lovely and reminds me of breakfast on the beach in Kona. The opening note is that of sweet guava nectar thickened and brightened with the sharp, sweet scent of fresh-squeezed orange. As it begins to dry down, the apple blossom begins to appear, but it’s light and sweet, not heavy and thick as it usually is on me. The white pepper gives the blend just the tiniest bit of kick and the sugar sweetens up the already-sweet blend. Although it starts out smelling like a lovely Hawaiian breakfast juice cocktail, as the sugar begins to go to work on it, it does begin to smell more like a juicy-sweet tropical candy. I love this scent and think it’s going to layer gorgeously with a lot of my Coconut Hut tropical-scented lotions. The sillage is and wear length are both about average.

Johnathan Harker - What a bright, crisp scent! The verbena and white sandalwood give this blend an overall feeling that’s very reminiscent of Shadow. I think those who are disappointed that Shadow is discontinued would really like Johnathan Harker. The lavender and iris give the blend an herbal-floral touch and the white tea is barely discernible, but rounds out the entire scent. The scent is very sharp, bright and strong when first applied. Once it begins to dry down, it’s not nearly as sharp and bright, but it still stays fairly strong for the first hour and begins to softly fade at that point.

Sugar Skull 2006 - This is my favorite so far of the three years of Sugar Skull (I despised '05 with a passion!). 2006 is uber-sweet like the others, but not nauseatingly so. This one reminds me more of really sticky maple syrup. It’s definitely sweeter and foodier than I usually like in a scent, but I actually like this one. The sad part is that after about 20-30 minutes on my skin, it starts to take on a very strong plastic quality, although that facet of the scent is only discernible when sniffed up close. The scent is very strong when first applied, but fades dramatically upon drydown and disappears completely within 90 minutes.

Chaos Theory 3: CCCXVIII (318) - This is the strangest BPAL I've ever encountered. It smells like chili -- not spicy red chili powder, but like green poblano chilis, cut in half, de-seeded, and then canned. It's very green and sharp and it's making me hungry for chili rellenos! *grins* While wet, I know there have to be other notes in this, but all I smell is the scent of juicy, sweet poblano chilis. Once it begins to dry down, I smell something that's definitely floral, like the scent of calla lily, yet throughout the life of the oil, whatever that note is that smells like green chilis remains the dominant note. I'm really curious what that note actually is, because I have a hard time believing that Beth would make an oil -- even a Chaos Theory -- that was predominantly green chili oil. That would just be really strange.

13 (October 2006 formulation) - This is the best of all the 13s so far! I'm absolutely crazy about this scent. When I first apply it, I smell the dark and bitter scent of unsweetened cocoa powder blended with the woodiness of sandalwood and the sweetness of vanilla. As it begins to warm up on my skin, more and more of the notes in this blend become evident, such as a hint of nutmeg, a sliver of orange rind, a drop of amber and a splash of rooibos tea. It's foody without being gourmand/bakery, and it's incredibly delicious, dark, spicy, and exotic. Sadly, it doesn't last on my skin for more than a few minutes, but in a scent locket, the scent wafts around me all day long. I'm going to give this bottle of 13 a lot of love. The previous 13s didn't work for me and I almost passed on this one. I'm so glad I didn't!

Treat #2 - I was hoping that the coconut, fig meat, and cardamom would be the strongest nots in the blend; unfortunately, when I apply this, it smells like a cheap chocolate purchased at the drug store. It's a lightly-orange and milk chocolate truffle filled with thick and heavy mint cream. It becomes a "skin scent" almost immediately upon dry down and after about 30 minutes on my skin, I can only smell it when I sniff up close, although at that point, it's gained a weird, plastic-like quality about it. Sadly, this is yet another gourmand/candy/foody scent that's just not going to work on me and which I'll need to pass along to a more loving home.

The Temptation - When I first apply this, it's incredibly light and it's predominantly peach and rice flower and little else. It smells like a scent that would wear nicely during the late-summer peach season. However, as it warms up on my skin, the sillage begins to increase, and it takes on a sweeter and fuller quality. The rose and lily begin to appear and lend the blend a smooth and round quality, while the black musk gives it a depth it didn't have initially. It still seems like a "light" scent, yet a tiny bit on my arm definitely scents the air all around me. The scent lasts surprisingly long considering how light it initially seems. I'm very impressed by this one and while I initially didn't think I'd be drawn to it again, I'm now convinced I'll be wearing it a lot next summer time. It's a perfect summer time scent. Just lovely.

Horreur Sympathique - The only way I can describe this is as something of a cross between Bon Vivant and Freak Show. In the vial and when freshly applied to my skin, the effervescent scent of champagne grapes is the dominant note, and it reminds me of the strong champagne note in Bon Vivant. As the blend begins to warm up on my skin, however, the tonka becomes quite prevalent, and mutes the strong, crisp, bubbly scent of the champagne grapes. There are a lot of individual notes in this blend that are very sweet on their own (honey, wine, benzoin, sugar cane, opoponax), yet the tonka and oakmoss work together to mute that sweetness so that it's more of an underlying facet of this blend, while the more dominant notes are creamy, warm, and a touch earthy. This is a truly impeccably-blended scent. I would have never imagined that all of these notes could work together so well, but they really do. It's the scent of a strong and confident (but not haughty) woman who knows who she is, what she stands for, and where she's going. Sadly, the sillage is very light and the scent doesn't last on my skin very long at all. But it's still nice and one I imagine I'll find myself wearing a lot to work.

Slobbering Pine - This is the scent of a dewy pine tree sprinkled with sugar! It's definitely a pine scent, but it's not as sharp and biting as most of Beth's pine blends. It's definitely got a wet, watery scent about it that lightens up the evergreen scent, and it smells like someone sifted sweet, white sugar over the wet tree, and maybe a little bit of lemon zest, as well. Just as some lemon blends are so sweet they can smell like Lemonheads candy, this smells like some sort of pine tree candy. I really like this one! I'm still not sure that I'd be keen on wearing it as a personal fragrance since it's just really not my "style" of scent, but I might just have to try it some cold, wintery day during the coming months. Definitely an interesting scent. The throw is above average, yet not super-strong and the staying power is about average. Edited to correct HTML problems.

Devil's Claw - If you've ever has the misfortune of smelling the scent of an ashtray full of cigarette butts that have been soaking in rainwater for several days -- that is what this smells like. On me, it's smoky, soggy, rank, and vile. I like scents that have a touch of gritty vetiver in them, but this one... well, suffice it to say, I must wash it off NOW!

Mania - I was really excited about this blend because red musk and strawberry are two of my very most favorite notes. Sure enough, this blend did not disappoint me. I don't smell the white musk at all, but it rarely does show up on my skin, especially when combined with scents that are so strong as the scent of thick, sweet, red musk. The strawberry leaf definitely lends the blend a quality of fruity strawberry, but not as sweet. The fact that it's strawberry leaf and not strawberry fruit leaves the blend a bit more earthy than it would if it were pure strawberry oil. The grapefruit slices through the musk with a shiver of cold crispness, providing just the lightest hint of tartness to the overall blend. As with all red musk blends, this one lasts for hours upon hours on my skin, and the sillage is amazing -- just the tiniest drop on the back of my hand leaves my entire body enveloped in the gorgeous, sweet scent of this blend. This scent is strikingly similar to one of my all-time favorites, Hollywood Babylon, and if you like that blend, red musk, or others such as Smut, Bon Vivant, or Mme. Moriarty, I highly recommend this blend to you!

Pulcinella & Teresina - This blend is very surprising. Somehow, the notes all combine together to create a very myrrh-like scent, despite there being no myrrh in the blend at all. It's slightly incensey, sweet, and a touch husky. None of the individual notes (labdanum, cedar, teak, rose) are distinctly identifiable -- they just smell like myrrh when combined, only perhaps a touch sweeter. The sweetness is very strong initially, but around the 60-90 minute point, it softens significantly and becomes more of a "powdery" sweetness. This is one of those "a little goes a long way" blends, and I only need the tiniest drop on my pulse points -- if I were to slather this one, I would probably asphyxiate myself and highly offend everyone around me. The staying power is phenomenal. Around the 3 hour point, it's just as strong as it was when I first applied it, and it doesn't need to be reapplied for 7-8 hours after in itial application. It's a really nice scent, and I look forward to enjoying it again very soon!

Death of a Gravedigger - The scent is sweet, slightly gritty soil. I think it may possibly be the first "dirt/soil" scent that I've actually liked...and then I notice the nose-clearing, distinct scent of a winter evergreens that really starts to burst forth as the blend begins to warm up on my skin. A little after that, the opoponax begins to get cloyingly sweet, and the blend starts causing me to completely recoil. Definitely not one I see myself using as a personal fragrance or room scent -- I had to wash it off.

Fox-Woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child - Well, I half-love this scent! The sweet cherry blossom and and slightly sour wisteria notes are simply gorgeous and I can hardly get enough of them. However, the jasmine spoils it all for me and add tea and teak to the mix, and it half-ruins it for me. If I could get a scent that was just the cherry blossom and wisteria combination, I think I'd be in heaven! The scent has absolutely perfect sillage and the staying power is just about average. I really wish jasmine worked on me better. I have a feeling that this would be just gorgeous if I could only wear jasmine.

Punkie Night - Apple rarely works on me. It starts out smelling rancid and turns into a wet penny loafer smell from there. This is one scent that is no exception -- except it smells like penny loafers boiled in spicy cider. I have a feeling that without the overwhelming apple scent, the cider/cranberry blend would be phenomenal, but the apple completely destroys it for me. The throw is very light and the staying power is quite poor. It's got just enough of that berry-spice scent that I love in holiday candles, so I think that as poorly as it works on my skin, it just might work nicely if used in an oil burner to scent my home around the holidays. Punkie Night 2010 - My skin chemistry has changed since the original version came out, and apple typically smells nice on me now, so I really like the 2010 version. I think it's exactly the same ratio of oils as the original 2006 release. This time, however, on my skin, it smells like delicious crisp apple, yummy tart cranberry, and has a slight edge of mulling spices warming it up. Very pretty, and I would love to drink this if it tasted as good as it smells!