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Indulge me a little. You know that moment when you have your head back over the basin at the most fabulous hair salon in town and your hairstylist is letting the cool water sluice over your hair? Your eyes are closed, the scalp massage begins and the problems of the world wash away with the water? In that moment, you have a hard time imagining that life could be any better and you take a deep breath in. And there it is. Perfection. The waft from the most exquisite shampoo offsetting the warm skin and gentle aftershave of your stylist and the soft leather from the chairs. Les Anges Déchus is that moment in a bottle. Hmmm....I wouldn't have described this scent as masculine. On me, Les Anges Déchus is so heavenly these angels haven't been 'fallen' for long. I think the blonde tobacco and orris root might be leading the way for me, although I am not really familiar with khus, life everlasting or cabreuva. I can't isolate the black currant, and Spanish moss and leather are just support players, keeping the floralish notes clean rather than heady. To top it all off, the longer I wear it the sexier it gets. It's a gorgeous scent, and I'm sure this won't be the last bottle I own.

Funnily enough, I was just reading about Diorissomo this morning. Apparently it was designed to showcase Lily of the Valley. That's where I'd start your searches - the magnificent search engine on the BPAL site brings up eight options when you search for 'valley'. Maybe check out the reviews from the links to see what she might like...?

I wore The Snow Maiden on Christmas Eve for a quiet night with my husband and children, Krampus for Christmas Day with my side of the extended family (I needed the rush to survive the day) and for Boxing Day with my husband's family it had to be The Winter of Our Discontent (for the comfort and refuge - it was perfect for closing my eyes and blocking out the world ). I'm not actually doing anything for New Year's Eve but I'll be wafting Et Lux Fuit. It is not typically my kind of fragrance, but it is lovely and I just adore the spirit and sentiment behind its creation. Maybe my New Year will be filled with light.....

Dear Krampus My name is aine and I am 32 years old. I live in Australia. Last year I asked Santa for jewellery but this year I have been a very bad girl. I have used profanities with an expertise envied by sailors. I have lied about my credit card statement. I have hatched elaborate plots for the downfall of one of my bitchier workmates more often than I care to admit. This year for Christmas I think you should punish me for my bad deeds. Blindfold me with your dusty cloth. Smack me with your leather paddle. Teach me right from wrong with your switches. But most of all, dear Krampus, dribble on that red musk to show me who is boss. Achingly yours, aine I was envisaging Loviatar-with-something-extra but this is a blend like no other. Clean and dirty at the same time. Round but dry. Seck-su-al. Looks like the bad girls got lucky this year!

This is an absolutely gorgeous scent. It's not snowy. It's not icy. It's not pine, nor slush, not even cold. And yet it is Winter. Unfortunately it is stinking hot here at the moment, but if I sit in my office and close my eyes I can imagine enjoying the cozy warmth from a fire inside a cabin, drinking mulled wine and reading Shakespeare. For some very scientific testing and magnificently elaborate special effects I turned my aircon onto blasting freezing and tried it out in 'wintertime'. Still wonderful. Did I get much work done today? Um, nope. Did I smell fantastic while I fart-arsed around? Hell yes. There will be more bottles of this one for me.

I use the Just Ask Alice skin and the Community Gallery link is on the lefthand side in the bar at the top of screen. I imagine that in other skins it is with the Live Chat, Members' Blog, Swap Feedback etc....

Two Monsters is delicious. Reading through the notes when this blend was released was like a raunchy encounter with a soft kid-leather paddle. Leather? Oh yes Patchouli? Harder... Vetiver? *moan* Ambergris? Right there baby Ginger? Oh god... Oakmoss? Huunnngghhhh Well, you get the picture . This is a sensational scent, sweeter than I imagined, but for that leather note, I will forgive it anything. Bottle. No question.

I got an imp of this as part of a decant circle and immediately put it aside. I knew it would be awful on me, honeysuckle is my 'so bad I want to chuck' scent. Curiousity got the better of me, and I armed myself with a wet cloth and a slice of orange to whisk that baby off if things started to get ugly. I swiped a little on my wrist and braced myself. How is this so good?? No really, I avoid honeysuckle at all costs. I overlook florals in favour of dirt and wood fragrances. This should be a disaster. And yet it is not. Bat-Woman is a masterful interpretation of a nighttime garden. It is pretty and elegant. Floral without being sickly, or sinus-clasping, or overpowering. A stylish floral. I have never worn a fragrance like this before. I have just ordered a bottle, so that will change!

And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt is such a beautiful, emotive painting, I was not sure what to expect from the scent. I adore Beth's Egyptian fragrances, particularly the Stations of The Sun, so I was trying not to let my imagination run away with itself and set myself up for disappointment. This blend is so soft and warm and deep and rich. Beautifully complex. I am very glad Beth listed the notes for this one, because I would have been lost left to my own resources. I can't decide whether it smells most like resins or spices or hot skin. I don't get a great deal of throw from this oil, but when I press my nose to my wrist and inhale I can smell the burnished red colour that flows through the centre of the painting. Wow.

Very much in love with King of Hearts. I love that it is such a cohesive melding of notes, all contributing to the chorus, none vying for soloist. This is the nicest lavender fragrance I've tried. It is also the nicest rose fragrance I've tried. Actually, pair those notes up with subtle wood, short-lived cherry and a gentle musk it is one of the nicest fragrances I've tried full stop. On me, this has medium throw and lasts all day. It is like pulling on a soft luxurious jumper that fits beautifully and makes you feel special. King of Hearts is the scent I reach for when I want to smell gorgeous without Making A Statement. Easy Top Ten. Almost forgot, it's good for a giggle too - my little boys nearly pee laughing when I wear this one because they think it is called King of Farts .

Szepasszony belongs in the same scent-space for me as Dublin so it might be worth a try. Personally though, I think you can't go past Water of Notre Dame for calm still water. Lovely.

I tried Vixen before I read the reviews and was not expecting the scent to turn out the way it did at all. I was expecting light and fresh with a woody undertone but instead got a warm, round, sensual fragrance ready to lure an unsuspecting plaything into its den. Vixen is the sticky liquer of seduction. I wouldn't have guessed the notes if I hadn't known them and I am still finding it difficult to isolate them. Masterfully blended.

Freaky. I could have sworn this had melon in it. In the imp and wet Iambe is an overwhelming melon scent to me. I checked the notes several times - no melon. Thank God for the reviews, my sanity is still intact (though barely!) and I am not the only one who got melon. Fifteen minutes after I applied Iambe it is conforming to its description and I am getting amberfloraltea. Thirty minutes after application it is gone. Where is the patchouli? I love patchouli, but it didn't even stop by to say hello. Maybe the melon scared it off.

Tombstone is like bathing in a Sarsparilla Spider. Thick vanilla, thick vanilla and more thick vanilla on me. It's big. It's loud. And it stays true to type for many, many hours. My skin takes vanilla and throws it back at everyone within slingshot range with wicked glee. Off to swaps before someone gets hurt.

Oooh, I have a sneeking suspicion that Alice and Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids have been playing in the Naughty Cupboard. And they've obviously decided to name their offspring Dana O'Shee. I am finding it hard to accept that milk notes are not my friends, nor are honey notes. This could be absolutely delicious on someone else - a little dab to complement Lush's Snowcake or a generous lather to give some extra oomph to HIWTK. But, alas, 'tis not for me. I smell a bit like cloyingly sweet old porridge.

Libertine is a clear, light, airy fragrance - perfect for work environments where unobtrusive scents are required. For me, it is a much lovelier version of Estee Lauder's Pleasures - the notes in Libertine are far more natural and nose-friendly. If you are the type to steer clear of heady or cloying florals but would like a feminine fragrance, this would definitely be worth a try. This is rosewood, chamomile and bergamot on me with the other notes not really making their presence felt until an hour or so after it is applied, and I didn't ever get the violets I hoped for. I want to use the word dry or peppery but neither is what I am really looking to say. I think Libertine would really come into its own when you need an elegant perfume for daytime.

I swiped this on thinking nothing good could come of a blend containing both jasmine and lotus. POW! It's Jasmine alright. No doubt about that. And she has brought her girls Tuberose and Lotus along for the ride. This is Floral with a capital 'F'. Just as well Lime is riding in the backseat keeping the girls under control, and being the voice of reason. I didn't see much of Lime but I knew she was there stamping on the Woo-down pedal when needed. And I think she might have been preventing Lotus popping her bubblegum out the car window. An hour later Jasmine is still driving but it's a much more elegant entourage now. Muse won't be more than an imp for me, but as long as they are on their best behaviour the girls can stay.

Urd is sensational! This was a leap-of-faith oil for me. I like fruity scents on others but never on me. I don't *do* fruit. But the lure of Urd with its promise of patchouli and nag champa was too strong to resist. The muscadine is gorgeous - grapey without being bubblegummy. There was a brief moment when I thought the grape note might go too sweet but it pulls back to just the right level, adding to the light resiny goodness rather than overwhelming it. It kind of reminds me of Lush's Ooh La La with patchouli instead of the lavender. Urd is perfectly blended and will undoubtedly be my next big bottle purchase.

I had braced myself for disappointment with this one. I adore myrrh and opium is always good on me. Could Darkness be anything but a letdown? Absolutely! This is divine. It is rich and comforting, like the place you might run to in the darkness. Or the person you find in the darkness and realise you needed all along. The myrrh is fabulous as expected, this is the most glorious opium note I've encountered and the narcissus rounds it off beautifully with an elegant flourish. It is the scent you hope will flood your senses when you lay your head on the bare chest of a strong man in the dark of night. *sigh*

Pow! This is punch-you-in-the-nose strong in the imp. My husband actually recoiled when I waived the little wand under his nose. The first five minutes on the skin continue along much the same overwhelming path and I thought this might be the second oil I have ever had to wash off (and I've tried over a hundred). Thankfully I was too lazy to get up and go to the basin because The Red Queen did one of the most dramatic morphs I have ever experienced. One minute blasting pungence, the next a delicious morello cherry and mahogany blend. Regal indeed. This is a magnificent take on 'red' and testament to Beth's creative vision.

I have a friend who says "A wood blend is a wood blend is a wood blend....". Sacrilege, I know. So it was with much triumphant glee that I presented my Luperci slathered arm for olfactory evaluation. This is a gorgeously smooth 'wood blend', different entirely from any other I have had the pleasure to try. It is fascinating without being overpowering. Beautifully blended. Even my friend had to agree. The only downside is - it was a LE, I love it, and I only have an imp. Waaahhh....

As many others have said, Juke Joint is all about mint juleps - but in the nicest possible way. I applied this with much trepidation, boozy notes can be awfully cloying on me and mint tends towards sharp and bitter. No need for concern. This is a surprisingly gentle blend, clean and fresh and pretty without being even remotely soapy. Unexpectedly lovely and not very boozy on me at all, its value is in its uniqueness. This stayed close to my skin and faded to almost nothing after a couple of hours so won't be a big bottle purchase. Was fun to wear though.

This is all aniseed lollies to start. Then cherries. Then aniseed lollies. Then cherries. Then aniseed.....well, you get the picture. Kyoto is a big, round fruity fragrance with plenty of liqourice throw. Imagine my surprise when an hour later I can smell balloons. Sure enough, Cherry and Anise have finished their passionate love making and wandered off, leaving a rubbery reminder behind. Not for me unfortunately, wish Kyoto had stayed a bit longer. And taken it's *ahem* rubbish with it when it went!