zeldaZ4

A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Ah, Snow White! My favorite BPAL fragrance. So beautiful, so unusual, nothing else like it found anywhere else. I've acquired two bottles of the oil since joining this forum in August (2010 and 2012 versions). This candle smells DEAD ON the fragrance that I love. Icy but yearning, delicate yet rich. Apples, vanilla, and cold, cold, cold. A perfect picture of beauty, frozen in time. I simply ADORE Snow White and had SUCH high hopes for this candle. Unfortunately, the scent of the candle is so faint I can barely smell it. At first I lit the candle in my kitchen, but when I couldn't smell it after a few hours of burning, I thought the big, smelly room might be too much of a challenge for Snow White's candle. I moved it to my small bedroom (ten feet by twelve), closed the door, and left it burning for at least an hour. Nothing... Sigh... This must be how the dwarves felt as they gazed at her lovely sleeping face. It's as if Snow White was still sealed inside her glass coffin, not a hint of life escaping. The jar is beautiful, the label is elegant and lovely, but if there is no smell, there doesn't seem to be much point. Perhaps I got a dud. Perhaps others won't have the same experience I have. Because if the scent trapped inside this candle were to permeate the room, it would be magnificent. Hopefully it will be for someone else!

This year's minty double ententre! A sticky, sweet peppermint candy cane with a copious dusting of vanilla. I'm first? Wow! I took the plunge and ordered Lick It Softly unsniffed due to a previous habit I had of mixing B&BW's Twisted Peppermint with their Vanilla Bean Noel. It was a Holiday Thing of mine, for which I'd receive many compliments and "Oooh you smell like CANDY" comments! I was hoping Lick It Softly would have the same effect. Well, no compliments yet. Unless I count those from myself. But this is exactly what I had hoped it would be. Starts off very bracing and minty and cold when wet. As it dries, a warm, sugary, almost musky vanilla emerges. The effect is really wonderful and festive, and has made me decide to take Lick It Softly with me in December when my mother and I cruise the Rhine through Germany. There are not many times when I'd like to smell like peppermint candy, but I think this will be one of them. So happy I risked a bottle!

Second this rec, big time! I am lucky enough to own French Tobacco (swoon!) Now that I know what the isolated note smells like, whenever I wear AM, I think Wow! Tobacco! It is soooo good! Also, White Peacock, if you can get it.

Candles Moon is a delicious fave! I put some on just now, so I could post my reply. Sweet honey, cream, & berry. I don't smell "snow" a la Snow White. But there IS a decided coolness. Like ice cream rather than just cream. I adore it! But be sure your skin agrees with cream, because its prominent.

Wild Swans at Coole for St Patrick's Day! It's supposed to be reminiscent of Autumn, but to me it is so strongly associated with the cool, magical green of Ireland that it is perfect for now!

Beautiful, beautiful cinnamon and almond. I love this scent! Sadly, my wrists do not. Itchy, itchy, red. But this smells so good, I plan to mix it with orange oil and burn it in my effusion lamp. Will update with the results. ETA: this works beautifully in the effusion lamp! May have to seek out imps!

Sniffie from Ralenth: Starts out as delicious, wet Butterscotch Candy. Then... what on earth??? Morphing to plastic. Not just ANY plastic, but dusty old plastic. It is eerily familiar and unsettling, then it hits me - this is the scent of the historic aircraft in the museum in my city. Huge, hulking, and dark. Filled with aging electronics, cracked vinyl upholstery, faded logbooks. And ghosts. Really creepy scent! Do not want to smell this on me EVER again!

In the Imp: Mmmm lime. Nah, can't be. Must be the lavender. My daddy when I was a little girl. OnSkin: Wet, astringent lavender, smoke & incense. I think I like... Uh oh… as it dries, it starts to smell like lavender-scented bacon, splashed with a little maple syrup. Blecccchhhh! Off to the swaps with all four frimps!

2012 Yule Decant from Ralenth! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! Of all the 2012 Yules I have sampled, I haven't smelled one yet that made me say "Hell yes!!!" Until Gelt. In the Imp, there was milk chocolate, plus a dry dustiness that almost smelled like cocoa with a spinkle of cinnamon. Wet, the cocoa ramps up immediately, joined by the amber. Rich and dark and delicious, but with a hint of the sweet milk chocolate still lingering. It's a perfect balance of scents, which stay in balance as it dries. And - this is the BEST part! - the amber never goes to powder! I NEED A BOTTLE!!! It is dark and dusty and dry and sweet and golden all at the same time. Everything I hoped Velvet would be. I can imagine layering this with things like Snake Oil and O and Bastet... mmmmmmmm

2012 Yule Imp from Ralenth! In the Imp: Sweet, creamy, buttery, nutmeggy goodness! On Skin: Wet, the cherry adds to the mix, but it's not overpowering or artificial. As it starts to dry, the heavenly scent of rice pudding emerges. Hot and bubbling from the oven, brown around the edges, it is slightly nutty and very creamy. Still only a hint of cherry, which suits me just fine! As of now, I don't want more than my imp. It's delicious, but not something I need to smell like. I will see how this wears during the day and edit this post later. ETA: A few hours later, it has faded to a soft, sweet, creamy scent. Nice, but for a creamy, rich, fruity scent with staying power, I will stick with my bottle of Candles Moon.

2012, from a Ralenth decant. ITI: Buttery, spicy baked goods! Yum, yum! On Skin: Wet, cinnamon rolls slathered in buttercream frosting. Dry, the cinnamon jumps ahead of the warm, buttery sweetness. This doesn’t remind me much of a sugar cookie, but it is certainly edible. And as the nickname suggests, it is spicy hot and tempting. I can picture wicked little red-horned devils shoveling ooey-gooey pastries out of the oven, onto platters, and into the faces of hapless dieters everywhere!

ITI: A sweet blend of honey, lavender and thyme, plus something buttery/salty which must be the nougat. On Skin: Wet, the same as in the imp. Very interesting balance between the thyme and lavender. I can smell each distinctly, but neither is dominant. Dry, the nougat continues to remind me of creamy, sea-salted caramels. Within half an hour, the thyme had asserted itself, but the creamy, salty elements remain in the background. After a few hours of wearing, there is a soft, spicy sweetness left. The lavender is most prominent, although I can still smell the thyme and a hint of salt. Reminds me of the faint remnants of cologne around the neck of a man when you hug him at the end of the day. I agree with thekittenkat that this would be a good scent for sleeping. My favorite phase is not long after drydown, before the nougat has faded.

ITI: A summer garden in sunshine. The peonies are warm and dripping nectar while bees buzz about. On Skin: Wet, very strong peony with no cream yet. Dry, I start to detect something foody, as if someone has laid a plate of biscuits on the table in the peony garden. That foodieness fades quickly, and the peony seems to amp, and amp, and never stop amping! Yuck! Straight up, really strong floral. Had to scrub it off!

ITI: Mmmmm…. Strong rose with an underlying rich, dark, creaminess. Super high hopes for this one! On Skin: Wet, the dark rose from the imp is prominent, but something else immediately jumps out. Something foody, but savory, not sweet. Curry powder? Sage? And onions??? An odd juxtaposition. Dry, its still smelling like a huge vase of aging roses in the kitchen while the Thanksgiving turkey cooks. The bird has been stuffed with onions, sage, and celery. Maybe a touch of butter. Is this the guiac wood? Savory vegetables? I like to EAT them, not wear them! Thankfully, the vegetables start to simmer down in about half an hour. Two hours later, I can smell faint rose on one wrist, faint wood on the other. Not a keeper for me!

2012, from Decanter Ralenth. ITI: Christmasy and beautiful. I don't know if I have ever smelled Catholic sacramental incense, but this definitely smells special. On Skin: Wet, on my wrist I smell cedarwood and dark resin, as well as an evergreen that could be pine or cedar. Dry, it evokes not a Wintery Church of Worship, but a Summery Cathedral of Play. The Okefenokee Swamp Ride at Six Flags Over Atlanta, or the old Monster Plantation at Kings Island, Ohio. Those theme parks always smelled like fresh cedar to me, from the miles of newly-sanded fencing baking in the sun. But the cedar of the Swamp Ride & Monster Plantation smelled deliciously dank and spooky from its contact with the water on which the boats rode thru the dark tunnels. Midnight Mass smells exactly like that!

This is for my 2012 Yule decant from Ralenth! ITI: A very young Snow White, carrying a bouquet of fresh pink roses in one pink-mittened hand, a snowball in the other. On Skin: Wet, this is a softer, lighter version of Snow White kissed with innocent rose. Dry, the snow note has faded, leaving a delicate pink floral bearing only the faintest resemblance to Snow White. After about half an hour, the snow note drifts back in, along with a sweet hint of fruit that is almost cherry, but must be the vanilla & rose. There isn't much throw, but it is long lasting. The light snow note lingers hours later, mixed with an almost musky warmth. It's nice, but I'm on the fence about whether or not I need a bottle.

ITI: Exactly what I hoped it would be! A fresh bouquet of dark red roses, richly perfumed. On Skin: Wet, the greenery starts to emerge. A touch of evergreen more than rose leaves or ferns. Like branches of the bouquet were picked from a damp, dark cedar forest. Appropriate for the story of Snow White, Rose Red and the Bear. Dry, I am still loving it. The throw and sillage seem to the most of any rose scent I've tried. Stronger than The White Rose and The Peacock Queen. I may actually need a bottle of this one... Meanwhile, I have the urge to slather on more for bed!

ITI: Delicious rose, not so much fresh, but that of the old Rose Milk hand lotion. My grandmother always had a bottle on her dresser. When I was a little girl we would watch the Rose Parade on New Year's. Rose Milk was one of the sponsors, and I always associated it with the lovely, smiling Rose Queen waving proudly from her float. On Skin: Wet, something vaguely woody starts to emerge behind the rosiness. The thorns? Dry, it stays true to my initial impression. A rich rose with something solid behind it. Sadly, I am beginning to believe that my skin eats rose. I love the scent passionately, but it fades quickly. This one and Lil' Menes' Feline Entertainments are making me wish even more that the Zodiac Scent Lockets would come back soon!

ITI: Beautiful dark golden yellow oil. The first whiff is powerful, yet warm & comforting. Like stepping into the metaphysical shop in Yellow Springs to buy stones and get my cards read. Ahhh… I've come home. On Skin: Wet, it's the same delightful imp-scent, magnified. It's at once cool & fresh, warm & cuddly. As it dries, a playfulness starts to emerge. Like pink BubbleYum. I still get the sacred woods, essential oils, and pulsing stones of the Wicca shop, but now I can sense unseen fairies and sprites flitting around, winking at me. Dry, it reminds of me Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea, only the mint isn't as strong. I think the coolness is coming from spearmint and catnip, and the soft, floral warmth from chamomile. That would also explain the gorgeous golden color. A wonderful,mood-lifting scent, inducing happiness and calm. Just like a cat! ETA: Fade, fade, why must the good ones always fade??? Sigh...

My first tester from the lovely pack of Yule decants I got from Ralenth (get well soon, Ralenth!!!) In the Imp: Mmmmmm... smells like old fashioned rose potpourri and nostalgia. Like the first time I walked into a store full of handmade, country-style, crafts and candles. Now that scent is rather commonplace, but back then it was special. This imp evokes my initial love. Wet on the Wrist: That same sense of country nostalgia, rose and cinnamon, amplified. No black tea yet. Dry: Mixed in with the rose and cinnamon, I am getting the faint whiff of something cakey- like the gingerbread mentioned by Foodie, above. It's as if I were sitting in a Victorian parlor on a winter afternoon, with a cup of hot black tea and a plate of gingerbread beside a bouquet of dusty, fading, roses. ETA: This had a lot of throw, and lasted a long time, too. I only dabbed a little bit on my wrist, but at the end of the day it was still going strong. It had morphed into something that reminded me of Eldritch Dark BO, incensey, perfumey, spicey, rosy. Mrs. Grose is a very pretty, warm scent, but better suited to perfume the house than me. Today I dumped the imp into the faded remains of the wax in my scent burner, which was a Christmasy-spice blend. The wax has been in there a while, thus has very little scent left. I will report back on how Mrs. Grose fares in the room. ETA more: She makes a lovely room scent!

Comparing my 2010 to my new 2012, they are exactly the same. One on my left wrist, one on my right. Lovely and perfect as ever. May need another bottle before the Yules come down.

Lick it Softly, mixed with L'Occitaine Verbena lotion provided to us by the ship ms Discovery II. Docked in Wurzburg for Chrisymas day. Very warm here! Lick it Softly, mixed with L'Occitaine Verbena lotion provided to us by the ship ms Discovery II. Docked in Wurzburg for Chrisymas day. Very warm here!

Maybe... there is an herbal note I can't quite put my finger on. I'll give it another squirt and see if I get Italian food... But not tonight, as I just ATE Italian food and want to be sure I'm not just smelling myself.

I also smell the ginger that Maroon reports. There is a touch of sweetness too. Now I read the "hay" note is in there, so mayhaps this the reason? It's very bright and fresh; a real mood-lifter. I got this free goblin squirt from BPTP with my order. Thanks, Puddin'!

Cathedral! Wonderful for layering!