lanablade

I would not have expected to love this from the notes, and mostly got it out of curiosity. Wet: Smells like perfume. Like a perfume you'd get at the perfume counter in a department store. That's probably the Violet and Lily. Underneath I can smell something sharp, smoky, and resinous. Probably the myrrh and opium. Dry: The florals die off fairly quickly leaving the most amazing sharp smoky opium. I don't get any fruit really, or any cassia. The dry down of this reminds me a lot of the dry down of Red Lantern with less sweet. I love this but it smells very similar to other perfumes that I have so I don't know that I need more than the decant that I have.

I've had this bottle for ages, but this may be only the second or third time I have worn it. In the bottle: Nothing. Maybe a little lemon and opium sharpness. Wet: Lemon (which wikipedia tells me is the elemi) and something medical with a background of rosewood. Dry: At a distance, this is tobacco and opium and just a hint of rosewood, which makes me a super happy camper. Up close, it's more medicinal (go figure), which is probably the balsam. It smells like exactly what's on the bottle. An old timey apothecary: dark and herbal and medicinal and mysterious. I like this, though it's not really a 'me' fragrance. I'll probably attack my partners with it at some point and see if I like it on one of them better. I will say that for an oil that doesn't seem to smell like much in the bottle, this is pretty potent once it's on.

Wet: Gingerale and rosewood. This scent is surprisingly soft on me, and rosey, but not offensively so. It's a little soapy, like the rose soap your grandmother kept in her bathroom for guests that was shaped like flowers and nobody ever ACTUALLY used? I can tell the tobacco and opium are there if I concentrate, but they're staying surprisingly quiet, which is disappointing. Half an hour: There's still a slightly woody/soapy/dusty smell to this, possibly the rosewood. The ginger isn't so much a smell as a slight tickle in my nose, but the whole thing is pretty light. It seems to change scents every time I sniff, sometimes more gingerale, and sometimes more tobacco and opium, and sometimes just dusty rosewood. Verdict: For all that I'm not a huge florals fan, I find myself liking this one. It's complex and slightly moody, which I like, feminine, which is unusual for me, and the gingerale effect adds a bit of fun and sparkle to it that makes me smile. It can tend to soap a bit, and I wish the tobacco and opium would come out more. I might try layering it to see if I can amp the smoke that curls around the very edges of this scent. It's also quite light, but lasts a long time. Overall, I'd say I'm glad I like this as much as I do, but not more, given how rare it is.

In the bottle: This is very faint. Tea and sweet and just a touch of lilac. Wet: Lilac and an undercurrent and aftertaste of sweet vanilla and tonka. GORGEOUS! Dry: Soft, gentle lilac floral over a sweet base of goodness. No tobacco, sadly, but I'm betting that'll come out more with aging. I received this bottle yesterday, straight from the lab, and I usually don't make a final ruling on Beth's creations till they've aged at least a month, but even raw, this one is amazing and delicate and feminine. Very contrary to what I usually wear, but I find myself loving it.

*insert requisite 'my nose sucks' disclaimer here* Chaos Theory MCCXLV: (gotten at a MnS, and as far as I know, it's never been reviewed) In the bottle: This has a soft, sweet, woody background with something sharper and stronger up front with just a touch of spice. On wet: Spicy and slightly sharp... I'm gonna throw a dart in the dark and say that that is patchouli. It's pretty soft, though. Smells slightly soapy. There's definitely something woody in the back, and maybe a tiny hint of floral. On dry: More flowers come out, and I've smelled this before somewhere. It starts to smell more 'perfumey.' There's a hint of something minty in the background, even. This is very close to the skin, not terribly strong, and it reminds me very much of a commercial perfume I've smelled before, but I'm not sure which one. I like this one, even if it does smell a bit commercial.

In the imp this smelled like some kind of soft rich floral, very deep, but still very feminine and not overpowering. Once I put it on, it went straight to... Baby Powder. Johnson and Johnson Extra Strength Super Soft Baby Powder. For the last two hours it has bounced back and forth between baby powder, spicy flowers, and super sweet nuts. I only hope this one calms down a bit as it continues.

Wow. Okay, color me SO surprised on this one. I was digging through my stash for an imp that my SW had requested *waves* and found this in my to try box. I'm always behind feminine sexual power, so I figured, why not try it out... For the first few minutes, I could have sworn I was going to have to wash it off. PINE PINE PINE. Then, about five minutes in, all of a sudden the pine backed off and something soft and sweet and rich appeared. Seriously, I was having the boy sniff and over the course of maybe fortyfive seconds, the pine just about vanished. What's left is soft and potent and mysterious and not something I'd usually wear, but it's totally growing on me. I don't think I'd need a bottle of this, but it's FASCINATING to smell!

Soft sweet heavy vanilla with TONS of throw. Dab lightly, and you'll be surrounded by sweetness. If I sniff closer, there's an almost effervescent scent underneath that must be the saffron. I can see where people would say vanilla candle, but it's a really really expensive candle that has sweet frosting undertones to it. ETA: I think that effervescent-ness must be where the wintergreen comes from, though it smells spicier than wintergreen on my skin.

I second the shampoo/body wash thoughts, but don't let that turn you away! Hanami is gorgeously soft and subtle, and very very feminine without being disgustingly overpowering. When I first smelled it, it reminded me of really expensive salon shampoo, but once on, it reminds me of the Avon perfume Haiku, which was the only perfume my mom could get me to wear for many years. I also have to add that my university has a huge square filled with Sakura and Ume trees, and this smells just like them, so to me, it DOES smell like fresh flowers, just those flowers happen to smell like bodywash. *shrug*

Sadly, this is one of those scents that does the generic berry takeover on me. I can smell the orchid around the edges, with a tiny hint of vanilla or tonka underneath, but the main overruling scent is fruit, aka champaca flower (I think). Ah well, she's off to a new home.

2007 In the imp: The fiance (who usually says all BPAL smells like honey) sniffed this one when I first got it and said, "Hey! That one smells like GINGERBREAD!" in a very surprised sort of way. And it does. Wet: Slightly lemony ginger cake. Just a hint of lemon make this tart and spicy and sweet and amazing. Dry: Fresh baked gingerbread. The lemon kind of disappears and leaves this amazing fresh from the oven gingerbread scent. We were driving to Thanksgiving dinner today and I kept catching whiffs and wondering who had stuck gingerbread in my car. Waaay Dry: In the very last stages, this is unbelievably deep rich muted gingerbread that smells just unbelievable. This is actually the first perfume I've ever had just sort of disappear on me. I put it on about twelve hours ago, and in the last hour, it just went poof. No fading out or anything, I sniffed my wrist before we left, and the smell was there, and by the time we got home (about half an hour) it was completely gone. Usually the scents get fainter and fainter over several hours, and never truly go away on me. This was just... Gone. Fortunately, I have a whole bottle to luv on.

Ah... My old foe Incense. I received this as an addition to a Switch Witch package along with a note that it hadn't worked for her. Sorry, Witchy, it didn't work for me either. In the bottle, it smelled kind of like a really interesting liquor. Once on, the incense rose up and attacked me, smelling (and tasting with every breath, bleh) of really bad, cloud-o-death perfume. I had to wash it off and I couldn't stand it long enough to pick out any subtleties. One bottle now up for adoption to a good home.

I got this from my Witchy today, and had to try it. I'd do a wet to dry countdown, but it honestly smells the same the whole way through... Flowers with an undertone of rich vanilla. It smells familiar, but I can't place it. It's very pretty, and feminine. One of the few floral scents that doesn't smell icky to me. Good for the days when I want to smell flowery. I like.

In the imp: Holy crap, it smells like strawberry shortcake. Exactly. Wet: The cake picks up a bit of a gross underscent to me at first, but that fades pretty quick into a berry scent with a bit of something under it. Dry: The same berry scent. No idea where the cake and vanilla went. This isn't quite the generic berry scent I get from most things, but it's close. Just a touch sharper. It's kind of pretty, though I doubt I'll reach for it that often.

In the bottle: Sweet water? Smells a lot like my old favorite, Cool Water. Wet: Smells A LOT like Cool Water. Very aquatic and sweet. The throw, however, is warm and subtle woods. Dry: Woods and aquatics. Not really much in the way of spices, but they're there occasionally. This is Port Royal lite. Port Royal is richer and heavier to me, but this has those same salty PIRATE characteristics. If Port Royal is a Pirate, then Calico Jack is a Privateer.