edenssixthday

Knick-Knack - This smells like the inside of an orange peel -- the white, pulpy part that's definitely orange, but not as bitter and zesty as the peel and not as sweet and juicy as the fruit. There's a slight hint of clove, but amazingly, it doesn't amp on my skin as clove usually does. This fragrance sadly does not last on my skin once the scent dries down, either. It's a great scent when wet and I'd probably do best using it in an oil burner rather than on my skin. But it's nice, very nice. I wouldn't mind, either, if my clothes smelled like this, so maybe I'll use a drop or two in the dryer.

Trinket - Hmm.... nope, not a single drop of cherry or cola or honey in my Trinket! It's a faintly sweet, lightly powdery, warm amber scent with a hint of incense smoke and a trace of spices. It's very pretty, cozily warm and comforting, and seems to be the perfect "sweater weather" type fragrance. Lovely!

Violens - I've been on the hunt for the perfect sandalwood scent for years and years now. I was hoping this would be it, but it looks like I need to resume my search. The sandalwood notes are really nice, but this scent has too much musk for my taste. The musk overpowers the sandalwood and combined with the leather, there's a weird, charred-meat quality to this scent that is just not quite doing it for me. I do prefer it when layered with Sachs, as the sweetness of Sachs tempers the "meaty" qualities of Sachs...but it still smells too much like barbecued meat for my taste.

Sachs - Sachs opens up with a strong chamomile and super-sweet vanilla scent. This combo of notes somehow = banana (???)

Once it dries down, it's a simple, sweet, creamy vanilla. It's pretty, but I've had this for months and never find myself reaching for it. It's soft and subtle without much throw and my skin eats it up, so it has no staying power on me.

Blue Moon 2009: Elizabeth's Creation - This opens up very light and ethereal, with the blue musk and moonflower at the forefront and reminding me a lot of Silver Phoenix and Under the Harvest Moon. Then I smell soapy spicy florals, almost like carnation, but not. That doesn't last long at all because it quickly becomes evident that the lavender in this is going to make this scent completely unwearable for me...but then that impression only lasts for a minute or two. As it starts to warm up on my skin, the cypress note moves to the front of the blend and really dominantes it, and the other green and tart notes bolster the cypress. Once the oil actually dries on my skin, all of the notes that were vying for the top spot settle down significantly and it becomes a much more balanced and well-behaved scent. I can smell that gorgeous blue musk again along with the dry floral scent of iris, and the frankincense giving them depth and texture. It's pretty, but so subtle that once it quits goofing off with all of it's crazy morphing, it kind of loses all of its personality, and on me, it becomes a bit boring. This is a really, really fun scent for the first 10 minutes or so with all of it's crazy chameleon-like changes, but in the end, it's not something I'll likely ever reach for.

Hatmehit - My skin amps the dirt in this scent. I also smell wet, green reeds and soft herbs among the fresh aquatic notes, but that wet riverbank dirt scent is too much for my liking. So sad.

Whirling Wind Moon - This is a really lovely fragrance. On me, it's predominantly plumeria and cold, dry, ozone-like winds, which must be the musks and white sandalwood. I'm quite surprised that I can't identify a few notes at all in this blend (Lily of the Valley, gardenia, amber). It smells the same to me in the vial, wet on my skin, and dry on my skin. It's not a morpher at all. It's quite beautiful.

Overportective Possessed Talking Doll - This is a really bright strawberry-mimosa blend. It's so simple, yet so fun and wonderful! I don't know which note is giving it a touch of bitterness, but I love that part of it! It's got a tartness/bitterness about it that keeps it from being candy-sticky and candy-sweet. It's very strong with a ton of throw. I love it a lot and think it's going to get worn a lot this summer. I wish I had more than a little partial decant, but since that's all I've got, it's good that a little goes a very long way.

Playing with Dangerous Toys - I had the impression this was one of the big-time hits from the Inquisition, but I have to say I just don't understand why. It doesn't do anything for me. It smells okay, but nothing to write home about. It's mostly a chocolate-wood scent that's bolstered by the tobacco and a hint of coconut. A couple of previous reviewers used the term "flat" to describe this, and I definitely echo that sentiment. It has no pizzazz. It also doesn't last long on my skin at all and once it dries down, has virtually no throw.

Boneshaking Antique Velocipede - Oh hello, my old friends, Cucumber and Sage! I recall again why I love you so much.

 

This is such a pretty little scent. It totally took me by surprise how much I like it. The scent is a strong, summery cucumber and sage scent that is bright and sweet and earthy, yet has a level of depth brought to it by the darker, heavier tonka, coconut, and woods. It's so pretty I can't even put into words. I know this was a Naughty and Nice Inquisition scent, but to me, there's nothing wintery about it at all. It's summery and earthy and airy and just so pretty. The throw is moderate for the first hour or so, and then it fades, which is the only sucky part of this scent. My skin just eats it up. But otherwise, it's wonderful and I it.

 

Noisome Clockwork Tin Locomotive - This opens up with a super-strong mint-and-anise scent, but quickly dries down to a lovely spiced rum scent backed up with a hint of anise and mint. I can't identify any of the other notes in this blend with the exception of something dark and murky lurking beneath the brighter top notes. This scent has a low level of throw and is fairly subtle on me, but it's really great. It's a fabulous unisex scent. I only wish it were a tad bit stronger. Still Noisome Clockwork Tin Locomotive =

 

 

Edited because I left out a word.

Chewing Little Bits of String - I can't even begin to say how lovely this smells at first! And then I can't begin to say how awful it starts to smell when the marshmallow turns to plastic on my skin. And then I can't begin to say how lovely it smells again once the marshmallow/plastic note fades and the other notes shine through once more. When it's not in the "awful" stage on my skin, it's really awesome! It smells so delicious and makes me think of drinking sweet tea while relaxing on a shady porch on a hot summer day in the Deep South. The lemon-honey-tea has a creamy quality to it that must be from the cotton note in this blend. Even though this goes through an "awful" stage on my skin, it's only a stage, and the beginning and ending are so fabulous that I'll keep wearing it. Or maybe I'll just wear it in my hair so it doesn't "turn". The scent lasts for a really long time and has a moderate level of throw and wafts very nicely and softly around me. I love it.

Black Death - This is super-heavy on the patchouli and blackened sandalwood on me. There's the lightest hint of clove spicing things up, and I occasionally think I smell a thin slice of lime peeking through, but by the time I catch on to it, it's gone again. There's a hint of bitter orange peel, too, which doesn't sweeten up the scent at all, but adds a bit of texture. It's a deep, heavy, sexy scent, and I really think I like it!

 

When layered with Black Heart, amazing things happen. The sweetness of Black Heart rounds out the rough, dark, patchouliness of Black Death, while the rough, dark, patchouliness of Black Death tempers the sweetness of Black Heart. When layered, the dry-down becomes mostly a honey-sweet verbena over a dark-fruit patchouli. I love these two fragrances together.

Black Heart - When I first apply, all I smell is pomegranate. Lots of juicy, dark pomegranate swirling all around me. When it dries down, it's all smooth, sticky vanilla honey. Nothing more, nothing less. On the one hand, it's disappointing because I was excited by the vanilla-sandalwood and the grape and cognac in the scent description but they don't appear at all on me, but on the other hand, it's still a lovely, soft fragrance.

 

When layered with Black Death, amazing things happen. The sweetness of Black Heart rounds out the rough, dark, patchouliness of Black Death, while the rough, dark, patchouliness of Black Death tempers the sweetness of Black Heart. When layered, the dry-down becomes mostly a honey-sweet verbena over a dark-fruit patchouli. I love these two fragrances together.

Deathly Pride - I took one little whiff of my decant and before I even tried it on my skin I knew I was going to have to track down a full bottle (and I did! WIN!) This opens up on me with a strong licorice and coconut scent, very sweet and semi-tropical. As it dries down, that's when the sheer beauty of this fragrance really comes out. When it dries down, all the notes are evident, but it's predominantly a husky incense scent that's bolstered by the sexy spiciness of the bay rum, sweetened up by the licorice, and smoothed out by the coconut. I don't have the right words to describe it, so suffice it to say that this scent is perfection in a bottle. I not only swoon every time I catch the scent wafting around me, but I've had more compliments on this once scent than I have had on everything else I've worn in the last year combined. If human/perfume marriages were legal in the state of Colorado, I would get down on one knee and propose to Deathly Pride.

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!