dementia_divine

2009 version. In the bottle: The peppermint, buttery rum, coconut, and cocoa stand out the most to my nose. It's like a coconut-y chocolate mint cane. Wet: At first, it's still like a peppermint candy cane followed by the butter rum. Then the coconut and cocoa emerge and make it more into a chocolate mint scent. The cocoa note is not overpowering. It's reminiscent of an after dinner mint. Dry: It stays like that for a long time, but after it has been dry for a while, it ends up being a predominantly coconut-y butter rum with some cocoa thrown in. Verdict: Sometimes butter rum can stomp all over the other notes on me, but I really enjoyed the chocolate mint that I got from it during the wet phase. Thanks to my wonderful Witch for bestowing Spooky upon me!

In the decant: Guava, pink grapefruit, lemongrass, and a smattering of lunar blossoms and herbs. Wet: The guava note is the strongest, followed by the pink grapefruit. The grapefruit note ends up becoming stronger than the guava note, and the lunar blossoms and herbs have emerged. Dry: The herbs are a lot more prominent during this stage of the scent. It's a fruity, herbal, floral scent, although the citrus notes have calmed down a lot from when they were initially applied. I'm getting more guava than grapefruit again. Verdict: I didn't know how this long list of notes would play on me, but as a fan of the Lab's pink grapefruit note, I was hoping that would be a main player. And it is, at least, for some of the time! I think I'll keep my decant on hand and reach for it in the summer months, but I don't think I need to hunt down a bottle.

In the imp: Amber, lavender fougere, and rosewood. Wet: Lots of lavender fougere and amber. The lavender in the fougere is a sharp, herbal lavender. After a few minutes, I can smell the rosewood and the patchouli. Dry: The lavender has calmed down, and the amber reigns, followed by the rosewood. After a few hours, it's all amber backed by the rosewood. Verdict: I was hoping for more lavender fougere, but this is predominantly an amber scent on me, and the lavender within the fougere was sharper than I was expecting. The scent is nice, and I'm glad that I got a chance to try it, but I don't think a bottle will be in my future.

In the imp: Dust, white flowers, and moss. It's somewhat astringent. Wet: Whaaaaat!? This smells like nail polish remover on me. After a few minutes of that dreadfully sharp phase, I can smell the white sandalwood (acting as the dust) with some of the white florals and moss, but the nail polish remover smell hasn't completely dissipated. Alas. Dry: Sadly, it never loses that sharp acetone quality on me. Aside from that, I'm getting a lot of the dry, white sandalwood note, backed by some powdery white florals and some moss. Verdict: My skin chemistry really didn't like this one. I've never had this happen before! I'm glad I got a chance to try it, but I'm going to have to pass on my imp.

In the decant: Exactly what it says in the description. Sugar, honey, and rose. Wet: I'm getting lots of the honey and sugar alongside a fresh red rose note. It does not take long for the rose note to assert itself and end up becoming stronger than the sugared honey. Dry: A nice, sugared rose. Although I initially thought it was a fresh red rose, it now is more reminiscent of a pink rose note. Verdict: I really like this. I already have a bottle of Hope, but I think I like this one more. It's sweeter, and the rose note ends up being calmer on the drydown. If I had to compare it to another BPAL with rose and sugar, I'd say it's more like Love than Hope. I'll be holding onto my decant, and I'll consider upgrading to a bottle if I go through it quickly.

This really does plunging one's nose into a sweet, blue flower, nectar, stems, and all. As it dries, I do start to get some of the watery floral vibe that others have mentioned. And like LizziesLuck, I think it may have been one of the wildflowers found in the wonderful Venus Verticordia. This is simply lovely. I'm not sure my decant will be enough. I'm going to try layering this with Wild Dandelion SN and pretend I'm in a field of wildflowers in the spring.

This decant is not marked with which year it is from, but I received the decant in 2013, so it is from sometime before then. In the decant: Soft resins (mostly amber and benzoin) and rockrose. Wet: I'm getting soft, powdery amber and benzoin. After a few minutes, the rockrose emerges. I'm not able to pick out each individual note in it, but the amber reigns, with something floral beneath the resins. As it begins to dry down, the tonka starts to sweeten up the scent. Dry: Predominantly a sweet, soft, cuddly amber. The amber and tonka notes are just lovely. Verdict: I like this. I don't think I need more of it, but I'm happy to have my decant!

In the bottle: Warm pumpkin, citrus, ginger, and amber. Wet: I'm getting all of those notes, with the mandarin and orange peel being much stronger on my skin. I'm also getting more spice on my skin. So it's mostly citrus and warm pumpkin, followed by the spices, and then the spiced amber note. I think this is the same pumpkin note in Jack, minus the peach, and without the peach, it doesn't end up being a sickly-sweet buttery mess on me. As it dries, the pumpkin overtakes the citrus notes, and the spices and amber take up bigger roles. Dry: Warm pumpkin, Egyptian amber, and spices. Despite the presence of the spiced amber and ginger notes, it doesn't end up being as spice-forward as a lot of other pumpkin scents I own. Verdict: I was slightly worried about the pumpkin note, because it seems to be the same kind in Jack, which didn't work on me, but fortunately, the other notes kept it in check. I am glad to have a partial and will happily use it up, but I don't think I will need to hunt down more of it.

In the decant: Cherry Starburst backed by amber. In my hair, the Starburst-like jellybean note dominates at first, and then the soft ambers come out more after some wear. That said, the candy note never goes away: I still get lots of it hours later. It's just not as strong as it was when first sprayed. I've worn this two days in a row. On the first day, it reminded me more of Starburst. On the second, there were moments when it continued to remind me of that, but when I freshly applied it to my hair the second day, it did have a crushed jellybean vibe. It's a very nostalgic, comforting scent. My boyfriend has told me that I smell really nice and that he really likes it two days in a row. It looks like there is going to be a bottle of Pa-Pow in my future.

In the bottle: Sugary pumpkin and lavender. Wet: There's a blast of lavender, with a spiced, sugary pumpkin candy floss note right behind it. After a few minutes, the violet sugar emerges and becomes quite prominent, and it's more violet, with the sugary pumpkin candyfloss in the background. Dry: Several hours later, both the lavender and violet seem to have retreated to allow the warm pumpkin candyfloss to reign. I'm not sure if it just never appeared on me, or if I just wasn't paying close enough attention, but I can't remember detecting any mint on my skin! Verdict: I was worried about the violet for a bit, but fortunately, the pumpkin candyfloss was able to shine once the scent was dry. I'm happy to have a bottle. Thanks to my wonderful Witch for the bottle! :]

In the decant, I mainly get the green tea, honey, plum, and ambergris. On my skin, it is much the same. The green tea is clean. The honey is heady, just as it says in the description. The plum is pretty prominent, too. I'm not really a fan of plum, so I must have gotten this for the green tea and honey. The vanilla flower really is just orchid – there's no vanilla here. The green tea and honey end up being the dominant notes once the scent is dry. Verdict: I'm glad I was able to try it, but the plum note makes this not for me.

In the decant: I can smell all of the notes in the order that they're listed. I'm somewhat reminded of Lyonesse, likely due to the amber, ambergris, and vanilla, but this is a different (not golden vanilla) and contains different florals, so they're not that similar. Wet: I'm getting the ambergris, moonflower, amber, and vanilla with the white tobacco petals (which kind of reminds me of the tobacco found in Fake News – but it's not as strong here). The vanilla note is getting stronger over time, and it's a soft, creamy vanilla. Dry: The soft vanilla note reigns, and I think this may be the creamy vanilla found in Antique Lace (2017). I'm still getting lots of ambergris, moonflower, and the white tobacco petals are more present during this stage. The amber note isn't as prominent as it was before. It's soft, pale, ethereal, and really pretty. Verdict: I really like this and think I may need a bottle!

I received this from a Goblin Grab Barrel bag from the Trading Post back in 2015... and only got around to trying it recently. In the imp: Minty, herbal honey. Wet: Same, with the soft mint note being stronger on my skin. But then the mint note gains a licorice-y vibe. Dry: I feared that this contained the Lab's pennyroyal note and that it would go into headache territory for me, but the mint note calmed down somewhat, and now I'm pretty sure it is spearmint. This ended up being a spearmint-y, floral honey. Verdict: This one isn't my cup of tea, but I'm glad I was able to try it!

Mother of Demons, Vengeful Fury, Darkest Seductress, Queen of the Djinn, Goddess of the Gate. Red wine, myrrh, black musk, and attar of rose. In the imp: The red wine note is the strongest note. The other notes are lingering in the background. Wet: Red wine and black musk reign, with the black musk having a lemon-y quality to it at first, followed by the attar of rose. As it dries, the myrrh note begins to emerge. This is a sweet red wine, and I don't know if it is the combination of the red wine and the rose, or just the wine by itself, but it's sweeter than I had anticipated and reminds me of something that I can't quite pinpoint at the moment. Dry: The black musk note is even stronger in the dry phase, but I'm still getting a lot of red wine to accompany it, and finally, the rose. The myrrh note is present as well, but I have to put my nose really close to my arm in order to smell it. It seems to be content with its background role. The next morning, I woke up and could still smell this on my arm. At that point, it was mostly cuddly myrrh, like the type in Bastet, sweetened by the red wine note. Verdict: I didn't think I would enjoy this, but it's a lot better than I thought it would be! II'm glad that I was able to try it and will see how often I reach for the imp.

In the bottle: Like sticking your face in a bag of big, powdery marshmallows, surrounded by crisp apple slices, but it's predominantly a marshmallow scent. In my hair, it's still predominantly a marshmallow scent, but I do get more of the crisp apple than I did in the bottle. It. Is. GLORIOUS. I tried it two days in a row. The scent is far more prominent on dry hair than wet hair, so I would use that method to apply it if you want to be in an amazing apple-y marshmallow (but mostly, true marshmallow!) cloud. Verdict: LOVE. I am so happy that I have a bottle. Thanks to Absinthetics for being my fairy!

Disclaimer: I always use bath oils as moisturizers and not in the bath as intended. This has a similarity to 2015's Candied Apple single note, only this isn't a heated sugar note, and the apple note is a soft one. It's got a lemon-y aspect to it, but it is reminiscent of apple slices being dipped into a bowl of sugar. I used to have a bottle of Honeyed Apple bath oil, but it has been gone for a while now. Sugared Apple is lovely, and I am happy to add it to my apple arsenal. Thanks to my wonderful fairy for picking this one up for me!

2017 version. In the decant: Musty, fallen leaves, dirt, and a hint of cypress. Wet: Incense-y fallen leaves (musty, but not crumbly ones), dirt, cypress. It's somewhat smoky. The smokiness, combined with the fig, almost makes this veer into barbecue sauce territory on me. That's... odd. I wasn't expecting that. (Thanks, skin chemistry.) Dry: Thankfully, that weird phase was short-lived, and it's now mostly dried leaves, dirt, and cypress, sweetened by the honeyed fig. After a while, the honeyed fig note becomes the most prominent, with the leaves, dirt, and cypress mingling in the background. Verdict: On a positive note, the dead leaf note didn't give me a headache! I don't think I can deal with that odd part of the wet stage of the scent again, though, so I will be passing on my decant.

Crystallized glittering shards of lightly spiced pumpkin sugar. 2017 version. In the decant: When this first arrived, it was all pumpkin spices, no sugar. It was as if someone had spilled a jar of pumpkin spice. Now, I do get some sugar, but it's still mostly pumpkin spices. Wet: Pumpkin spices, sweetened by sugar. It's like a sugared Pumpkin Spice Everything. It doesn't burn me, remarkably, but the area where I applied it is very warm and somewhat tingly. In any case, this is not lightly spiced. Dry: Still sugared pumpkin spice, with the spices being somewhat calmer during this stage. Verdict: This is pleasant, especially during the dry phase, but I don't feel the need to grab more of it.

In the bottle: Mostly champagne, with some ginger and apple in the background. Wet: Bubbly champagne, but the ginger component quickly sidles up to it, so now it is somewhat reminiscent of Ginger Ale. Alas, that phase is short-lived, and it quickly goes back to being mostly champagne on me, followed by the ginger in the background. As it dries, I begin detecting the apple note, but it is very light. Dry: Still champagne dominant, but with more apple than before. The ginger note has calmed down, but still remains in the background. Verdict: I do amp champagne, but Shade was such a success with its balance of pink grapefruit and champagne on me, that it makes a wonderful summer scent. I figured this would be my autumnal champagne scent. It's nice, but I wish there were more of a balance between the gingered apple and the champagne on me. I don't love it like I love Shade.

In the bottle: Cake, where art thou? I can smell cardamom pods and apple, and it reminds me more of an apple-filled chai than apple cake. Wet: I get a bit of sweetness from a frosting note, but it quickly retreats. This scent features a juicy red apple note. The cardamom note is like the cardamom pods you would find in a chai, not the crushed kind found on top a dessert like in Cardamom Cream Pumpkin Cake. I'm still mostly reminded me of an apple cider with chai spices than cake. Dry: I'm still not getting cake from this. The spices are very faint now, so it's mostly a red apple scent. It's not juicy anymore. After a while, I start to get what could be some faint traces of cake, but it's buried under what seems like an almost waxy apple note. It's more like a shiny apple, dangling from a tree, than a foodie apple. Verdict: This is not what I was expecting at all. I was hoping for another apple cake scent, since I have already used half of my bottle of Hard Cider Cake. Alas, it's not cake-like at all on me. I have a lot of apple scents already that I'd reach for over this one, so I'm not sure I will hold onto it.

In the bottle: The apricot is the dominant note, and it reads to me as a lightly spiced apricot, like lightly spiced apricot preserves. I can also smell the sugar cane. When this first arrived, I could pick out the marshmallow and apple, but now, I mostly just smell the apricot and sugar cane. Wet: Apricot and apple, warmed by the sugar cane. Then, the marshmallow note starts to peek out, making the scent sweeter. I agree that the sugar cane does add a bit of woodiness to the scent. The apricot is the star here, and it's still giving me that lightly spiced, not fresh, dessert-y apricot vibe. Dry: The apricot and sugar cane still dominate, but there is a bit more marshmallow in the background now. I cannot pick out the apple anymore. The scent ends up being really light after a few hours of wear. Verdict: I was worried this one would end up being too sweet, but it isn't on me. I didn't want to end up passing on it because it sounded like it would be great to pair with Apple Marshmallow hair gloss, but it's mostly an apricot scent on me, not an apple or a marshmallow one. I like it, but I wish the marshmallow note were stronger on me.

In the decant: A perfume-y, but crisp apple. I wonder if there's an aquatic note contributing to that perfume-y apple vibe? Wet: Indeed, there is. I get a water-y quality from this, like a bunch of apples are floating around in a metal tub full of water, just as Forspecial Plate mentioned. As this sits on my skin, the aquatic note gains strength, veering into soapy territory without going full-on soap. Dry: A soft, watery, aquatic apple. It's more aquatic than apple on me, with the aquatic note actually giving me a water-y vibe and not just turning to soap on me. It's rare when aquatic notes don't hate my skin chemistry! Verdict: I do think that the bobbing for apples was captured really well. I have a lot of apple scents already and don't really think I'd reach for this, but if you like apples and aquatic notes, give this a whirl.

In the decant: This reminds me of butter rum candies, with some apple and some light spices in the background. Wet: The apple butter note is the strongest note on my skin, and I agree that it does seem to be a green apple note. The spiced rum note is the second most prominent note. The spices are stronger on my skin than they were in the decant, and the vanilla cream note is also present. The spiced rum note seems to be increasing in strength the longer this sits on my skin. Dry: Mostly spiced rum and vanilla cream with a very light apple note. Verdict: I was hoping for more apple butter and vanilla, but the spiced rum note ends up taking over for a while on my skin (which is what I feared). But if you're looking for a lot of butter rum, you won't be disappointed!

In the decant: Extremely boozy rum cakes and blueberries. Wet: Same. I feared this would be really boozy, but I was hoping that the other notes would help tame the rum cake note. But it's the strongest one, followed by the blueberries from the scones. Then, the black tea note emerges and becomes stronger over time. Dry: Predominantly black tea and blueberry scones with some rum cake and biscuits in the background. Verdict: I mainly wanted to try this because it was the only gourmand from the The Tell-Tale Heart collection. It's too booze-y and blueberry-y for me, but I'm glad that I was able to try it.

In the decant: More bitter smelling than Cardamom Cream Pumpkin Cake. I am mostly just somewhat medicinal chai spices and cinnamon. Wet: Fortunately, the sweetness of the frosting note comes out more on my skin, but it's pretty strong on the chai spices. After a few minutes, the cake note begins to emerge. Dry: This ends up being more cupcake-like during the dry phase. The chai spices have calmed down somewhat, and the scent is sweeter now, with the frosting definitely seeming to be cinnamon-dusted. This is the stage of the scent I like the best. Verdict: I think of this more as a nice chai scent more than a cupcake scent. It's nice, but I don't think I need to upgrade to a bottle.