Clare-Dragonfly

In the bottle: Mmm. Yummy. Not sure what I’m smelling, but I think there’s apple, and maybe chocolate? It’s nice. On me: Darker. Funky. That is the only word I can think of to describe this, and I don’t mean the funky smell of feet, I just mean funky. I definitely smell apple peel here. Not the apple itself, just the peel, and also the stem. Later: This seems to have faded and softened just a tiny bit, and it continues to be delicious. I think I’m getting a headache from it, though. I hope it’s not this dear scent’s fault! I could have a headache for no real reason… Mmm, apples and honey. Oh, it smells like Rosh Hashanah! This lasts a good several hours and smells delicious the entire time. It really does smell like golden apples—I’m impressed. A definite keeper!

In the bottle: Very grandmother’s-perfume. Reminds me of Ophelia. I’m wary. On me: Mmm, this is way better now. Light and sweet. I get the same sugar as in Snake Oil and Penny Dreadful, but a lot less of it, and this is also fruity and floral on top. It’s still kind of perfume-y though. Later: This doesn’t seem to be doing much except slowly fading. The sugar is gone, though. It’s basically just perfume. A nice perfume, for perfume, but not for me—not when I have such options as Persephone and White Rabbit! Second try: I’m not getting any sugar or fruity this time, just perfume. How disappointing.

On me: Kind of medicinal, but not in a bad way at all. The pine is spicy and the orange softens everything. It’s a high smell—I don’t see it as earth at all, but buoyant, definitely. And it is the Jabberwock! Later: This smells incense-y, but not actually like incense. It reminds me of hippie stores, but not the ones that actually burn incense. Weird. But the orange scent is delicious. It also reminds me of Asian food… It is kind of masculine, though. An hour later: Like most BPAL scents, this doesn’t last very long on me. It is rather intriguing though. I don’t have to be wary about trying this again. Second try: This time the incense disappears quickly into a sharp orange scent. I like the initial scent in that I would go into a store or restaurant that smelled like it, but it’s not for me, and I don’t really like the orange as a scent.

In the bottle: Sort of food-ish. I guess they are all food smells—well, except lavender, but that always smells edible to me. On me: I don’t know. Yummy. Sort of sweet but with a dark background. I rather like it. Very green. Later: This seems to go kind of soapy and then fade pretty quickly. I’ll have to try it again and pay more attention next time… Second try: Minty, but going soapy fast. Or, that could be just because I just washed my hands. Hmm. Nah… it’s nice at first, but too soapy.

I honestly have no idea what this smells like... but I don't like it Off to the swap pile.

Gift from Penina. In the bottle: Weird. I really don’t recognise any smells here. A tiny bit spicy, maybe? On me: Still the same sort of weird, reddish smell. After a while: Incense-y. My friend thinks it smells like old books on her, but I really don’t smell it. It might be layered a tad over The Hesperides, but that seemed to be pretty well faded. Second try: This sweetens after a while—it’s sugary, like Snake Oil, but while Snake Oil is white and yellowcake, Penny Dreadful is dark red. Gilly fell madly in love with this when she gave me a hug and smelled it, so I gave her the imp.

In the bottle: Incense-y, but sweet, and kind of piny. Really yummy and not what I was expecting. On me: I don’t even know how to describe this. “Sugared” is the right word. It’s lighter than I expected it to be. A little bit sour, though, in a weird way. It seems to be sugar on top of incense. It really doesn’t smell all that sexual to me. I’d really like to eat something that tasted like this—I think it would be some sort of soft cake with sugar caked on top. It would be delicious, but way too much to eat more than every once in a while. That’s a lot of sugar. Oh, and liquor—the cake was cooked in liquor and it wasn’t all boiled away. A few hours later: I went out with my friends, and it stayed on the whole time. The scent hasn’t changed, though it did soften a tad, and it’s just barely fading now. I figured out what the scent reminded me of: Coldstone Creamery’s Sweet Cream ice cream. Which is fantastic, because it’s my favourite. This is not an everyday scent at all, but it’s delicious, and I’m definitely keeping my imp and maybe getting a 5ml for when I want to smell edible. I really expected this to be much darker, though. And more sexual. It's just yummy. Though who knows, maybe the boy I have a crush on will think it's sexual...

In the bottle: MMM lavender. And other stuff I think. But mostly lavender. Spicy and dark. Delicious. On me: Still lavender, sort of soapy/musky, but that might very well be because I just had a shower. Tasty. Very tasty. I went to bed right after putting this on, as I hoped it would help me sleep and/or give me vivid dreams. Unfortunately, neither seemed to be the case. It smelled utterly delicious, so I kept sniffing my wrists, and while it seemed to calm me a bit it didn’t help me go to sleep, and I didn’t sleep any more deeply than usual, nor do I remember my dreams. Ah well. I intend to try all the other sleep blends, so hopefully one will work for me.

In the bottle: Spicy and weird—dark green. I can smell the tea, and maybe the milk. The pepper, too, and a hint of honey. A tiny bit perfumier than I expected any of these scents to be, but much less so than Fae. On me: Mmm, much spicier now—any hint of a perfume-y scent is gone. I hate spicy tastes but love spicy scents. I think the combination of the tea, pepper, and ginger is reminding me of honey. Licorice, too. Reminds me of Garland of Letters, so I guess it’s a bit incensy. Sitting: I’m really liking this. I don’t think it’s me, but it’s delicious. After a few minutes, the milk starts to come out more strongly. A few hours later: It gets sweeter as time goes on. I really love this scent. Will try it again after I’ve tried others, in order to compare better.

In the bottle: Sweet and a little dark, with just a tad of spice. I don’t know most of the scents but I think I can smell the honeysuckle, and no musk. On me: Sweet and almost cloying, but not in a bad way. I can definitely smell the honeysuckle, and what I think is the lilies, though I don’t really know what lilies smell like. Still no musk, which pleases me. It’s drying quickly and becoming lighter and more powdery. A flower all white and pale pink, with just a touch of dark, sexual pink in the inner petals. I was afraid this would be all musk like Fae, but I can’t smell the musk at all. A couple of hours later: Fades to an eye-watering powdery scent, then disappears. If it weren’t for White Rabbit, I’d think my skin just ate BPAL.

In the bottle: Perfumier than I was expecting. Nice, though, and light. Sort of lacy. On me: Still perfume-y—I’m hoping it will calm down some. I do like it for a perfume though. Pale, bright green, with white mist over it. A few hours later: Just perfume-y now. It doesn’t smell all that great. I’m going to wash my hands soon. I might give this another try, though, possibly in my hair. Oh, it’s probably the musk that I’m not liking. It did seem to have plenty of throw and lasted for a long time.

In the bottle: What a weird scent. Very strong, a little spicy. There’s a perfume-y note like everything else, but it’s hiding. Definitely smell dried leaves. On me: Sharper and woodsier. Much, much woodsier. A very dark woods—it might be day, but the trees, evergreens and oaks, are too thick to tell. Yummy. As it dries the woods just get sharper. I think my mouth is watering. I’m not sure there are lilies or aquatics in this, but then I don’t really know what those smell like. After fifteen minutes or so: Mmm, that must be the lilies coming out. It’s softer and sweeter now, but I still like it. Though it smells a little like soap. Expensive soap. Yet later: It’s getting powdery now. Hrm. I don’t like this as much. I’ll give it a bit more time then I might wash it off. Ten more minutes: Nowp. Not my thing. Just powdery ick now, and it seems to be making my eyes water. I’m really disappointed, it smelled fantastic at first. Maybe if I try it in my hair or as a room scent it’ll work out better. Going to go wash it off now.

In the bottle: Dark green, brown, spicy—is there cinnamon in this? On me: Mmm, darker and spicier. How is there not lavender in this? I do smell the patchouli and I think the juniper. Very dark. Deep brown. It is masculine, though. This seems pretty strong. I’m continually noticing it without having to sniff my wrists. I’d just say it has throw, but I’m not sure that I like how strong it is. Later that seems to change, and it’s very dark and unpleasantly spicy when I sniff my wrists. I didn’t know a smell could be unpleasantly spicy. It’s like woodsmoke and moss, but in a bad way. Later: It’s still like woodsmoke and moss, but now in a good way. Not really spicy anymore. It smells like lying down twenty feet away from the campfire, on your side in very slightly damp fallen leaves, the stars bright pinpricks way above the tops of the trees. Much later: It’s still there, barely clinging on. I like this one. Still smells like woodsmoke and wet leaves.

In the bottle: Kind of citrussy, pale, bright. I can definitely see why this is called “lightning”. On me: Hmm, more citrussy, but I also get a rain scent. Not sharp, but damp—like the ground after a long rain. Lemon peel. I want to lick my wrist. Probably a bad idea. A few hours later: Just barely there. In fact, I might be imagining it. It’s nice, but not for me, and fades too quickly.

In the bottle: Licorice and pine. Kind of overwhelming and sharp. On me: Even more licorice. Not a fan. Twenty minutes later: Though there’s barely a smell now, it’s more woodsy and pleasing. A few hours later: Just a faint perfume smell clinging to my wrists. This scent was a disappointment, though I might try it again later.