saralaughs

This is pretty gorgeous on me. With Snow White I get this powdery almond thing. Not pleasant. I don't want powder on my almond, k? Thanks. Pink Snowballs solves that problem. I just get this creamy almond with a light, pink, soft, fresh rose. It doesn't morph and lasts awhile. Very pretty but simple blend. I'll probably get a bottle before Yules go away.

First applied, I get mint. Not a hugely minty mint but mint nonetheless. After a bit, that is joined by wood. Yes, wood like woody the woodpecker. Only not birdlike. But wood. Those two mingle for awhile and then the mum pokes out. Of the snow. Like just poking. As in I can barely smell it. I get amber as well but only for a bit. Then everything disappears, like it was never there. As in presto-chango-re-arrang...GONE! Ah well. There are others...

This is beautiful. It reminds me of a really high end perfume that doesn't smell commercial at all (Stella by Tocca, if you're curious). First on, you get that sharp lightness from the citrus, specifically the yuzu. It's a bit cold feeling at first, due to the overwhelming citrus. That quickly fades and it starts to mellow out. I start getting this round, pink feeling. It's creamy and yummy. The citrus is still there to add a bit of lightness but the tonka, Tuberose, and Peony have come to play. I smell a bit of the frank but it's not strong and overwhelming (which frank tends to do on me). It just adds a bit of *darkness* into all this light these notes are making together. In the end, it all just melds together to make this wonderfully light (it's throw is decent so that's not what I'm talking about) roundness made up of citrus and florals. They just go together so well that the meld into one smell. LOVE.

Please know that I have an aged bottle (about 1.5 years) In bottle: Shampoo. Specifically Pert Shampoo. On: Right after application the green scent of grass gets sharper and more prominent for awhile. Water, flowing water to be specific (I know...Beth is a damn genius), joins it shortly afterward. After a bit, they join together and the sharp freshness of the green grass goes away, leaving a pretty fresh aquatic smell behind. The peony (LOVE) springs (ha! like that?) forth and intertwines with the other scents to smell just like a fresh bloom, a bloom that just woke up after winter while the melt is still on the ground. It's a beautiful evenly balanced scent.

Not being a huge fan of Dragon's Blood in the first place puts a damper on my even liking this scent. I get a lot of the Blood and it amps to high hell on me, giving it this medicinal cherry smell. Ugh. SCRUBBED off.

Ok, I'm surprised but I'm getting more than just caramel. And what I'm getting is pretty damn good. I dunno. I'm gonna have to retest a bit later to give a better review. I will come back and edit. Ok, here goes...I may have to come back and edit more later. In bottle: caramel. On: Immediately I'm blasted by caramel and something...sharp. Possibly petigrain. It doesn't take long to smooth out though. The caramel slowly recedes as well but leaves this deep sweet smelling sugar that I wish caramel was like on me all the time. The petigrain continues to shove its head up though. Definitely a bit of a sharp citrus. It goes away again. Morpher. Further in the drydown I start getting beautiful champaca. Ylang Ylang is in there somewhere as I have a tickle in the back of my throat...it's not too prominent though. This is light on the vanilla-infused red musk and heavy on the caramel/honey still. Yet there is this lovely floral that peaks through all this and melds with that warm sugary base. It's beautiful. It's also backed by this barest hint of patchouli. I like it, but still too much caramel for me. Lovers of Red Latern on the other hand will rejoice.

2009 Version: First applied this is a hugely citrus scent. I get sweet citron and tangerine right off the bat. This is shortly joined by bitter orange. They are sugary sweet and tart but they are also a bit powdery on me too. After a few minutes (ok, maybe ten), the citrus backs down to something that I can actually handle instead of blowing my nostrils off. The powdery scent resolves inself as well...it becomes this gorgeous floral that is creamy, sweet, and a bit heady/tropical in nature. Frank joins the party and lends a very smooth softness that grounds all the other notes. It isn't very prominent but is like the sky that this sun is rising into. It just gets better from there. A half an hour or so into the drydown, the amber and saffron come into play. They aren't dominate players either but I think they warm everything up. It creates this beautiful ray of light that you can actually sniff. Pretty cool.

In the bottle: this smells like a woody/herbal (in a good way) warm scent. Wet on: Wood immediately asserts itself followed quickly by a minty scent (peppermint I believe) with moss intertwined. The moss almost gives off a moldy impression, like it's been too wet for too long. That sharpness quickly goes away (thankyoujebus). Drydown: Wow. The teak, redwood, and ambers are coming into play now. The mint has settled into the background but is still there...almost as an afterthought though. It's warm woods (amber+wood) mainly with this backdrop of sage/moss giving a bit of green headiness to it while the mint chills it a bit. A winter day in the forest where the sun is shining so brightly that it's a bit warm yet still cold. One of those days where you've only got a warm sweater to on to go outside yet you can still see your breath? Those days where you might actually like winter (if you hate it in the first place...like me)? Yeah. This is it. Totally thought this wasn't going to work on me when I first put it on. I was so, so wrong. I don't know that it will become one of my HUGE favorites but I'll keep the bottle and enjoy it. I do wonder something now though. I wonder what it would be like layered with The Snow Maiden??

Leo had this right on one. First, how have I not reviewed this scent? I love it. Second, it is like heady tropical heat. I can understand where the screams of OMG CANDY come from. The hibiscus in this is the main star and can really be sweet or sour based on your skin chemistry. On mine, she happens to be just right. A very heady floral that is a bit sharp when first applied, the blend calms down a bit into the drydown. The edges that hibiscus can have are smoothed out considerably with the additions of the other florals (even though I really can't pick them out individually...hibiscus is still main stage). The vanilla, musk and coconut are minor players yet they deepen and round out the blend on me...bringing a creamy, tropicalness to it without the addition of more florals. And it's gotten better since I originally purchased from the Lab. I'm so glad I got a bottle and it will be one that I treasure.

Oh how I had forgotten how gorgeous Her Voice is. Wet it is very green and stemy as others have said. I also get a burst of light floral, mainly the hyacinth, which I love...lots. After applying it, it starts to warm up. While the hyacinth stays in the forefront (and it does not smell fake in the least bit...if I close my eyes, it's like I have a fresh handful of flowers right in front of me), it is joined by the beeswax, which adds a bit of a honey-ish feel to it. Not so much straight up syrupy honey but a dry, crystaline sweet waxish scent. The hyacinth stays true throughout it all. I do go through about 5 minutes of something sour in the background but it then balances out again. The star is the hyacinth, backed up by the beeswax and a bit of amber/vanilla. The amber and vanilla isn't too present here but just adds a bit more warmth and creaminess. It's lovely and I'll cherish my bottle.

The weird thing about this blend (and I am a Scorpio) is that I really don't care for any of the notes. It is just a perfect example that Bpal blends are sometimes more a sum of its parts rather than individual notes. When I first apply, it is very sharp and bitter. Anise-like smells assualt me but it quickly fades into a sweet powdery musk for a bit. After a bit, I get warm incense wrapped up in deep, dark musk that is tamed by just the right amount of sweetness and a *hint* of floral. The powdery feeling mainly goes away. It ends up working very well on me. The blend screams purple. Dark, dank purple. Purple that is almost black. Very deep, mysterious, sexy and quite complex if you take the time to notice. Just like a scorpio.

This was a very promising scent for me as I like all the notes listed. I'm iffy on orange (or any citrus for that matter) though. I can take it in small doses. Unfortunately, this was not a small dose. The orange is the main player here and if I liked orange well this would be a beautiful blend for me. Orange with a bit of plumeria and other florals warmed up by the copal and incense smoke. It is very well blended and screams lushness to me. It's that citrus that gets me. If I loved orange, this would be an awesome blend for me.

Dirt. And then mold. Seriously. Mold. The mold takes over fast and does not let go. Imma pass on this.

Our Nightmarebane. Named after the Baku, benevolent Japanese spirits that eat nightmares. In Japanese tradition, nightmares are gifts from malevolent spirits; when you wake up from one, you may call, "Baku, please eat my dreams!", and if you are virtuous and merciful in spirit, the Baku will devour the evil, transforming it into a blessing of good fortune. Lavendar. The herbally, just picked fresh kind. Then EVILNESS of some sort of mint. I had to wash it off at that point as I was getting a headache!

Blood orange with a bit of raspberries when first applied. The neroli then comes into play making it a bit bitter for me. Weird. It also went a bit powdery candy. Not my thing.

This is a very light, close to the skin type of scent. It starts off with the cherry blossom in the front but as it dries, the moss does come out and adds a bit of a sharp, green edge. This helps the blend from going OMG I'M FLORAL. Further into the drydown the vanilla musk comes into play and wraps the whole thing together. It becomes a very warm, sweet green floral without that floral edge. It's flowery instead of floral, if that makes sense. I love it.

This is truly vanilla orchid on me. A very tropical vanilla (that is in no way foody) with a bit of a heady floral. The vanilla orchid really dominates after drydown, with the ginger adding just a bit of tropical umph to the blend. It is in no way bitter but just sweet, a bit floral, and heady. It starts out almost lemony on me though. Weird. Hardly any throw and average wearlength.

Prunella. What is strange is that I love the color purple but no blend that screams PURPLE seem to work on me.

For some reason, I'm getting a spiciness I was hoping would not be present as that is what ruined Midwinter's Eve for me. It goes on very plummy and juicy smelling. OMG lovely. About 2 minutes after that, I get spiciness (I'm thinking from the flowers?). That only goes away for a short time into the dry down when I get this rich creamy plum smell that I wish would stay. Alas, weird on me and I'm not a fan of spicy plum.

This is very nice. It goes on strongly metallic/herbally. When Beth said Halls of Gold, she meant it. This starts out as a kind of cold, metal scent and not warm at all like I first imagined when I read the description. It does warm up a bit from the resin and gets downright pleasant after awhile. The metallic zing is ever present but it totally is toned down a bit and melds well with the copal. It is really manly on me. While I do like to pull off manly scents this is one I just don't think I'll be able to do it with. I think maybe I'll try it on the fiance...

A bizarre blend of pineapple, tangerine, tobacco, apricot, and seltzer coated with hazy amber and heady sun-baked flowers. First applied, I get the fruit. It's very juicy and tangy in a way but there is this sweetness in the background tempering that tangy aspect. After a bit, there is a floral that appears. It's a warm low floral instead of one that screams its presence be made known. The tang and juiciness is still apparent but has melded together with amber and this lovely, light floral. Beautiful and well-blended.

This was really dry on me. Dry and brittle almost. The rose really came out on me where I had hoped that it would be rose-infused amber, it became ambery rose. After a bit it calmed down so it wasn't screaming ROSE at me but also turned powder. Rose and powder together just don't do it for me. Beautiful if you like rose and amber but definitely not for me.

I dunno but I really like this. It is a pretty scent. And I mean pretty, as in girlie pretty. First applied, there is a sweetness that comes with the musks and it definitely screams pink to me. Shortly it starts to get a bit sharp and dry (sandalwood and jasmine I suppose) but after a few it deepens a bit with the warmth of amber and the sharpness smooths out. I'm left with a very pretty, pink musky warmth. The sweetness is still there. It also has a bit of that "powdery" quality that comes with perfume but I believe that to be the musk and jasmine on me. This brings to mind a 16 year old on the verge of womanhood...finding her way. Beautiful. Innocent yet mysterious.

This. It's like a woody/green/creamy/spicy sex scent. Makes me wanna go make love where panda's do.

"Serious berry here. This serious bizness," says berry. The berry is the one doing all the talking upon first application in this blend. The acai is the only one present for a bit. In about 15-20 though, it's a different story. Vanilla speaks up along with some incense. I then get a sharp note that I really don't find appealing. Neroli and I do not get along that well. I hardly get any amber or cardamom.