silver_dollar

A tribute to the opium den cum bawdyhouses of Shanghai in the 1930’s. Golden amber, blonde tobacco, Sudanese black coconut, rich caramel, black currant, white opium and delphinium laced with a sensual blend of Asian spice. I just got my first big bottle ever - yay! This was purchased from Astrid. The label is really pretty. In the vial: I'm smelling chocolate, cherries, and hazelnut. I can practically taste this in the back of my throat. On my skin: Oh, this is yummy and rich. Coconut, but not really tropical-smelling, with chocolate and something fruity, and something that smells like maple syrup. Don't laugh, but I've eaten at a restaurant that served Carribean pancakes - banana, coconut, and pecans - and this smells like that with syrup poured all over them. This makes me really happy. Later: Yep, this definitely smells like a whorehouse, in a good way. Um, what I'd imagine one to smell like, anyway. A few hours later, this is sugar and coconut and something a little boozy. I swear, I'm still smelling hazelnut, too. Oh, that must be the caramel I'm smelling. I don't know why I smell caramel and think, "Hazelnut!", but there you go. Anyway, this is delicious. Edited on 4/26/06: Bleurgh. I don't know what it is, but the last couple times I've tried to wear this, I've had to wash it off almost immediately. It gives me a headache. Oh, Red Lantern, I loved you so much, but I guess it's time for you to go to somebody else.

A sultry, exotic scent that inspires devious plotting and clandestine affairs. It is a scent painted in artifice, veiled in deceit, and slithering with whispered secrets. Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes. In the vial: I can't really pick out any individual notes, so I will just say it's strong, almost chemical-y. On my skin: Chocolate? Fig, with another fruity note I can't identify underneath. (Kiwi? Banana? Blueberry? My brain isn't working today.) No wait, I think it's strawberry-banana. This smells a bit like walking into a candle shop. Later: This is really well-blended, because I still can't identify any one note, just the general scent of the blend. I can't say I'd buy this again, but I will use the imp up.

In the vial: Bananas. On my skin: Still bananas. After it dries some faint wood notes start to come out. An hour later, it's about half banana, half incense (sandalwood?). It stays pretty much the same throughout the day. Eh. It's okay but not really my thing. Guess this will be my first swap.

I was trying to decide which to try this morning - Dorian, Manila, or Intrigue - when "The Picture of Dorian Grey" suddenly came on TV. Seems like my mind's been made up for me. In the vial: Sugary, lemony tea. On my skin: A sweetness that isn't really tea or vanilla. More like pure sugar and maybe some sort of flower? I'm not good at identifying florals beyond rose and honeysuckle, so who knows. Anyway, this is extremely sweet. I can't smell the lemon anymore at all. After about ten minutes, I start to pick up a faint tea scent with some vanilla thrown in, but this is still mostly sugar with ( I think ) some musk. After thirty minutes, this is vanilla with lots of sugar. I don't think it's exactly the same vanilla as in Snake Oil. It kind of reminds me of snow cream, when we get enough snow to make it, which is about once a decade. This is really nice, but I'm undecided whether I'd buy a big bottle of it. Probably. Edited 8/23/09: Wow, I don't know what I was thinking when I first reviewed this, but I had to edit this to say that this might possibly be my most favorite BPAL ever. It is wonderful.

In the vial: Bitter chocolate. On my skin: Bittersweet cocoa (not chocolate, but cocoa). I can't smell the wine or rum, but I can smell what Beth must mean by blood - this has a strong coppery afterbite. This is darker and stronger than I expected, not that I'm complaining. My dog likes this, too - she keeps trying to lick my wrist. Edited: Now, a few hours later, it's starting to smell like sinister baby wipes. I like it, and will probably buy a bigger bottle, but I'll definately have to reapply often. Edited again: Sorry for the double edit. Reapplied a few hours ago and now it's dried to a more chocolate note. Much better.

I can smell this before the vial is opened, which is good. In the vial: Uh. Cherry bathroom fragrance? Like the stuff they put in public toilets? On my skin: It still smells the same wet. It's not horrible, but I'm not too sure about it. On drydown, though, it's wonderful. It smells, to me, exactly like cherry incense. Like the headshops in Gatlinburg, in a good way. It actually smells a lot different from how I thought it would. I guess I thought this would smell like some exotic fruit cobbler. I'm pleasantly surprised. This strikes me as sexy, but comforting. It's also got a good throw - it's the first BPAL blend I didn't have to put my nose directly against my wrist to notice it. I like that. I think this is very me.

My first review! I got this as a freebie in my first order. I would never have thought of trying this, but I was pleasantly surprised with it. In the vial: The only thing I smell is herbs, with a very faint hint of apple. On skin: Oooh, this is nice. I love the apple-y scent. That said, it doesn't overpower the other notes at all. This is really well-blended. I've never smelled black amber, but I can pick it out immediately. Odd. This makes me think of the time of year where summer starts to turn into fall. It's very... Appalachian, if that makes sense. Unfortunately, in less than half an hour this scent's turned to what must be the powder/soap smell people sometimes complain about. It's not unpleasant, though - it kind of reminds me of scented lye soap. I really miss the apples. Maybe if I wear it on my clothes, it won't turn into soap?