grrrlennyl

Shining black leather, gleaming metal, labdanum, and myrrh. Kroenen On: Heavily alcoholic (from the labdanum, I think) with tons of leather, metal, and myrrh. 1 hour in: Lots of myrrh and leather. 1.5 hours in: Tons of black leather. This definitely isn't the soft, well-worn, dusty brown leather of Dead Man's Hand. 2.5 hours in: All black leather. 3 hours in: Black leather with a hint of metal. Overall: I'm not a huge fan of leather, in general, and the addition of the other notes doesn't really help.

Parker Lily On: Sweet and melony, but not syrupy or cloying. Half an hour in: This is starting to smell like a melon that's spoiled on my skin. Underneath, there's a powdery, sweet scent, but it's barely there. 1.5 hours in: Still slightly-off melon, but even sweeter. 2.5 hours in: There's still a bit of a spoiled feel to the melon note, and that's mostly what I smell. Overall: I don't know what happened, but my skin just killed this one.

On: Delicious cologne with a metallic edge. Half an hour in: So much metal. Definitely very tinny. That's all I'm getting. 1.5 hours in: Metal and ozone. 2.5 hours in: Sickeningly metallic. Overall: This just isn't something I can wear.

Sunbird On: Catholic church incense, resinous and full of pageantry. 1.5 hours in: Still church incense, but less pungent. 3 hours in: Still about the same. Church incense all the way. 3.5 hours in: Something a bit dry and woodsy is in the background, but it's still mostly an incense scent. Overall: This was an interesting surprise. I was expecting something sweeter and drier. The church incense was nice, but I have Midnight Mass to satisfy that need for me.

Sabrina, The Ring Mistress On: Sweet vanilla and musk. 1.5 hours in: A light, sweet, powdery musk. 3 hours in: Sweet musk. Still powdery. 3.5 hours in: An incredibly pretty sweet, powdery musk. Overall: So lovely. I'm gonna see how often I wear this, but I'm glad I have some.

Peach Moon On: An insanely heady, fruity floral. Definitely peach blossom and I'm getting a lot of the white tea, too. 15 minutes in: A sweet blossom, almost bitter white tea, and heady jasmine. So prettty. 1 hour in: The ho wood is coming forward more now and the blossom is going a bit sharp on me. 1.5 hours in: Wood. 3 hours in: A sweet floral/musk scent. 3.5 hours in: Very faint. Sweet. Overall: This is pretty, but I can't imagine wearing it often.

Paper Kite On: Ridiculously sweet coconut with black pepper. Very interesting. 15 minutes in: Well, This has gone oddly sharp and kind of smells like rubbing alcohol on me. I wonder if my skin is having an issue with the angelica. 1 hour in: Rich, sweet coconut with a hint of pepper. 1.5 hours in: Sweet, slightly powdery, coconut. Pretty and simple. 3 hours in: Soft, sugary coconut. Dry and a bit powdery. 3.5 hours in: A barely-there powdered sugar scent. Overall: I think this is really pretty (aside from the insanity at the very beginning), but I don't think I'd try to seek out a bottle.

On: Tons of red sandalwood, which tends to go bad on me, and a lot of dark musk. 1 hour in: Dark musk and sandalwood, mostly, with a bit of incense. 7 hours in: A slightly sweet, powdery musk. Overall: This dries down to a nice, pretty scent on me, but it isn't remarkable.

Velvet Clown On: Wow. This literally smells like everything in the description but the greasepaint. Crazy. 1 hour in: Mostly circus peanuts and a bit of something spicy. 7 hours in: Vaguely sweet. Overall: This is a cacophony of scents at first, but fades away to nothing on me.

Werepuppy On: Definitely a brown musk and dry honey. Interesting. 1 hour in: Dirt and brown musk, which I'm not really a fan of. 3.5 hours in: Dirty musk. 4.5 hours in: Dirty brown musk that stays close to the skin. Overall This isn't me at all.

Splatter Comedy On: Crazy amounts of banana and a graham cracker crust. Awesome. 1 hour in: Ground up graham cracker and tangy, metallic blood. 3.5 hours in: Dirty metal. I'm so sad that the banana is gone. 4.5 hours in: A greasy metallic scent. Overall: This pretty much broke my heart after it dried.

Sara Pezzini On: Tons and tons of honey with a hint of leather. 1.5 hours in: I'm getting a background of wood with something dusty and honeylike in front. 2.5 hours in: Honey with a slightly plasticky leather note. 3.5 hours in: Honey, but still an odd leather note closer to the skin. Overall: This definitely has a lot of throw. It's just not great on me. Update: I slept with this on and, over 14 hours after applying it, I'm still getting a nice bit of musky honey. Very pretty and definitely one of the most long-lasting oils I've tried.

Sky City (Before) On: Fresh flowers and grass. Very pretty and summery. 1.5 hours in: Grassy gardens. 2.5 hours in: Grass and flowers. 3.5 hours in: A faint, floral, grassy scent. Overall: This just isn't very interesting on me, which is sad, since I usually really like dandelion and grass scents.

Wrestler Onogawa Kisaburo Blowing Smoke at a One-Eyed Monster, The On: Wow. I'm getting a lot of licorice in this, but an alcoholic sort of licorice. Very strong. It's almost veering toward cough syrup on me. Half an hour later: This was STRONG at first, but has toned down some. I'm definitely getting wood, black pepper, dry sandalwood, and tobacco. 1.5 hours in: Wood. 2.5 hours in: Wood with something sweet. 6 hours in: Wood. Overall: I'm not big on wood scents, so this isn't really for me.

Shirafuji Genta with a Kappa On: Gorgeous. Citrus, sweet alcohol, juniper, and a bit of wood. I hope the cedar doesn't amp up on me. Half an hour in: A dry, sweet, grassy scent. 1.5 hours in: Still the same. 2.5 hours in: Still the same. This is amazingly consistent after it dries. 6 hours in: Gone. Overall: I'm surprised how difference this is wet than dry. I'm glad the cedar doesn't go all pickly wood on me, but I don't think I'd wear it for the sweetgrass note often.

Silver Phoenix On: Earthy notes. Plantlike with a hint of sweetness. Very pretty. 1 hour in: Opalescent is a good word to describe this. It's sort of sweet, definitely white, and the notes seem to be swirling (peacefully) around each other. It's hard for me to pick anything in particular out. 1.5 hours in: Sweet, earthy flowers. 2 hours in: Still about the same. These flowers are pretty heady. 3 hours in: Much lighter and softer. Floral. 4 hours in: Floral and slightly sweet. Overall: This is pretty, but not something I'd wear often.

Tin Phoenix On: Lovely. So much white mint. Smooth, bright, and slightly sweet. I can barely catch a bit of lemongrass. 1 hour in: Uh oh. There's an odd, not-nice smell to this. This is going to be an obscure reference, but it reminds me of the mushroom in the scratch and sniff book, Little Bunny Follows His Nose. Well, that and a hint of tonka. 1.5 hours in: This has changed again. The metals and ozone have come forward, and that mushroom scent is in the background. 2 hours in: Still that mushroom scent and ozone. 3 hours in: The mushroom scent is gone and I'm mostly getting ozone. 4 hours in: Metals and ozone with a hint of lemongrass. Very soft. Overall: When wet, this is definitely something I would wear. Dry, it just isn't me.

Quicksilver Phoenix On: Lavender and a fresh, almost piney scent. Interesting. Half an hour in: Lavender soap like whoa. 1.5 hours later: Wow, something sweet and a tobacco note have taken over the lavender. Crazy. It's very soft and not cloying at all. 2.5 hours later: Something sweet with tobacco and a hint of lavender. Definitely soft and smooth. Overall: I think this one is gonna be tested again. I can't quite figure out what I think of it.

Lead Phoenix On: This is crazy. Sort of a lush, damp floral, but the cypress is really strong, too. I don't think I've tried a blend like this before. That said, cypress (and pine, spruce, etc.) all remind me very strongly of xmas, so I'm hoping this doesn't overwhelm it too badly. Half an hour in: I can't really pick the notes out of this. It's definitely a bit sweet, in a slightly fruity sort of way, with a hint of cypress in the background. Other than that, I'm not sure. 1.5 hours in: Now this seems like a salty, heady floral. How odd. 2.5 hours in: Vaguely woody. Overall: I don't know what I was thinking, but this is far more complex on me than I thought it would be. Unfortunately, it dries down to a slightly odd wood scent on my skin.

Sticky Pillowcase On: Holy crap. A bowl full of every sort of halloween candy. 1 hour in: Definitely candy corn and tart salt water taffy. So sweet. 3 hours in: Dusty candy. 5 hours in: Totally candy corn and taffy. This is still relatively strong, but not overpowering. Overall. I'm not a huge foodie person, especially the not-tart and not-powdery candy scents, so this isn't really for me.

Rose Moon On. Lots of roses. Sort of green and sort of perfumey. 1 hour in: Wow. Very strong, woody roses. 3 hours in: Dusty rose perfume. 5 hours in: Still all rose. Overall: For the most part, I love BPAL roses, especially the wet, green ones (Rose Red, especially). This is more of your prototypical rose perfume on me. I don't get any of the other notes at all. This isn't a bad thing, since I do adore rose, but I already have other rose blends that I like better for myself.

Pisces 2008 On: Wow. A dense, lush scent that's definitely water, but also earthy, but in a hippie sort of way. It's a bit sweet, but it's hard for me to pick the notes out. Half an hour in: I think I'm getting the sarsaparilla more now. Everything else is really well-blended and hard to describe. I'm digging it, though. 1.5 hours in: A bit of a more floral scent is coming out, but this is still wonderful and heady and lush. 4 hours later: This has faded quite a bit. It's still pretty, but not as strong. Overall: Definitely a keeper. I'm sure if I put a bit more on it would work out fine.

On: Wow. The vanilla orchid reminds me a lot of Regan, which makes sense. I usually have bad luck with "blossom" scents, but I'm just catching a hint of something floral in the background. Half an hour in: Still very pretty. I think I'm getting the ginger blossom a bit, but there's still the gorgeous, sweet orchid for the most part. Sigh...I love orchid. 1.5 hours in: So sweet and pretty and soft. 4 hours in: Sweet, soft orchid. Overall: Sigh...I adore orchid. This is so beautiful. It reminds me of Regan, but isn't as sweet or heavy. Definitely a keeper.

Mictecacihuatl On: Wow. This is really interesting. Spicy woods and definitely some roses. Nice. Half an hour later: Woods, tobacco, and spice. 2 hours in: Dusty woods. 5 hours later: Tobacco and woods. Overall: This isn't really my cup of tea.

Liz On: Definitely vanilla and soft flowers. I'm not getting the smoke or leather yet. Half an hour in: This is making me swoon. Powdery and sweet and floral, with a hint of something fruity. I'm in love. 2 hours in: Still amazing. A fruity floral vanilla. Love. 5 hours in: Still the same. Woot! Overall: SUCH A KEEPER! I adore this. Sophisticated and beautiful.