AnnetteL

Anyone reading my reviews will note a very common theme - BPAL flowers + me = soap. So why did I buy this? Well, I'm not sure, but I am very glad! Yes, it's somewhat flowery, but somehow the soap is avoided. I think it might be the sweetening influence of the strawberry, which really is the dominant note in this for me. I do like the strawberry, but any more would be overkill as it is on the verge of being bubble-gummy. I notice some other people say cotton candy, but there's too much going on here for me to think that. Overall the blend reads as sugary and, well, pink I really like this - but, given how the strawberry is amplified and pushes through all the other notes I probably won't be ordering Strawberry Moon next week...

Chaste Moon has been well covered, but I might as well add my voice to the pack! Initially I get the butterscotch/caramel note, sweet but somehow not overwhelmingly foody. This fades into a very light bouquet of... flowers? I question this because almost every floral BPAL blend turns into soap on me, but this miraculously does not. It's very gentle, and unfortunately not particularly long lasting - but I definitely like it, and will put up with re-application.

Every now and then I order an imp of something that I should have known wouldn't work for me, and yet I manage to skim over that in my excitement. Santo Domingo is one of those - "Caribbean blossoms" should have warned me instantly that this would probably turn to soap on me, and it does, almost as soon as it hits my skin, overwhelming the other notes (which I do like).

A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of the spices / woods / tea / herbs / green notes mentioned in other reviews, nor did this resemble Snake Oil (which I like). Silk Road on me was overwhelmingly floral, and likemost of BPAL's florals it morphed into soap in very short order. To be fair, I really should have guessed this from the description, but the wonderful poetic language drew me in

This one did some weird stuff on me. It was never really minty, more... well... kind of musty and boozy. I didn't think I had an aversion to alcohol-y scents (I like several blends with rum) but maybe bourbon is a different story. The drydown turned almost into sandalwood at one point (!) then finally ended up a little spicy as well as woody. Where those notes were coming from, I don't know. In any case, it didn't quite work for me overall, and wasn't at all what I was expecting.

This happened to me, too - when it hit my skin there was a really strong, bitter green note that completely overshadowed the hints of honey I could smell in the vial. I toughed it out for two hours but the acrid part never faded. I am guessing it was the laurel reacting with me somehow. It sounds like other people are having good luck with this one, but it didn't work out on me at all.

Goneril goes through three distinct stages on me within the first hour. First it is almost pure wood - cedar is there, but it seems more complex than just that, I'm pretty sure I smell sandalwood too. Then in the second stage it becomes quite green and the geranium emerges. This was an extra from the lab, but I had been curious about this scent before precisely because of that geranium, which is quite an unusual note. Then the third stage is just soap, which usually means it would be white florals on anyone else's skin I was getting quite fond of it until that point, but unfortunately I just can't deal with that soapiness.

Akuma reminds me a lot of Carnal, with a burstingly bright translucent sweetness. It does have something of a deeper core when first applied, that made me think of March Hare, but that faded quickly on me leaving just the fruits. It's verging on too sweet for me... okay, it is too sweet for me. But still quite pleasant!

Wet, Blood Lotus smelled exactly like a blend of dragon's blood and lotus - no surprise there. It was all the things described above - thick and sweet and lush. But as soon as it dried it turned into... cedar? Yes, cedar! This was an extremely odd transformation, though it sounds like inkstone also experienced something similar. And unfortunately, cedar + my skin = pencil shavings

Unfortunately on me this is *just* cinnamon - and it's Big Red gum too, not a nice cinnamon cookie. I really can't smell the clove or pepper at all. I think cinnamon might be a note I have to avoid in future because it really overpowers everything else once it hits my skin.

Soooooo floral. (Well, what did I expect when every note is a flower! Heh ) It went a bit soapy on me, but almost every white floral does, it's just a skin chemistry issue and probably shouldn't put anyone else off this. Anyway, it is well blended, and quite evocative of midnight/moonlight, but florals aren't my thing so I'll be passing my imp on.

In the vial, and wet on the skin, this is kind of gross - a sharp bitter/sour deodoranty citrus kind of smell - but that quickly subsides as it dries and within 5 or 10 minutes it turns into a fabulous fruity blend. Not too sweet (usually my problem with fruits), but still succulent, and beautifully matched by the sandalwood and musk. It doesn't feel at all cruel or painful or any of those kind of associations to me, in fact it's quite bright and welcoming. I'm very pleased with this one!

Ditto here - no auto-response to my Cold Moon update Paypal order. Since it's happened to several of us I'm probably not going to email them just yet, I'm pretty sure everything is okay with the orders... but if anyone else does, please post the response here

On first application this is quite traditional-perfume-y, which is usually not my thing. And yet, it's still *gorgeous*! The florals manage not to annoy me, I think because of the hint of mandarin, and the deep spicy base notes make it rich and heady, yet it's also quite creamy. Unfortunately however, the mandarin and florals drop out of the mix rather quickly, leaving just the base notes, which aren't unpleasant by any means but just can't compare with the preceeding glory. I will have to try this one a few more times, but I suspect I am going to keep on feeling disappointed every time it changes like this.

Wow, NOT what I expected at all! I smell almost nothing in the vial, then on my skin the scent comes out but there's no milk or honey, just effervescent ginger. Not that it is a problem, in fact quite the opposite, it's wonderful! Fresh, crisp and tangy, a with touch of green sweetness. It is a light scent, and I had to apply twice as much as usual, but once it was on it didn't start fading for at least six hours. I'll definitely be getting more!

When Kyoto first went on it was cherry and almonds, then as it dried the sandalwood and anise emerged. This is like a less sweet, slightly woody version of Kabuki. I'm pleased that the cherry didn't become sickly-sweet, as it has in other blends, but combined with the star anise it was rather medicinal and not really something I'd want to wear. I just don't think cherry works well on me, sadly.

Hmmm. This was just unpleasant. (I could offer some words to describe it, but they would also be unpleasant.) I couldn't wash it all off either, I had to smother my arm in Alice to cover it up. I'm not sure what the offending note is - I know musk and myrrh both do fine with me, but vetiver is in Alecto and mullein is in Samhain and they were both fine... mysterious. Maybe there's something else in there that's not listed? In any case, this definitely doesn't work on me and will be going straight to the swap pile.

On first application this really is like opening a bottle of absinthe - herbal, aniseedy, a touch of lemon. On my skin it morphs fairly quickly into licorice candy, which I also enjoy. However, about an hour in it starts to smell very soapy, and it also fades quickly from that point (almost nothing left after 3 hours). This starts out as the best absinthe scent I've smelled, and I've tried a few - if only it stayed that way!

On first application this is the same overwhelmingly strong and sweet apricot note as found in some other blends, like March Hare, but on my skin that disappears within five minutes and the scent becomes very lightly fruity, but predominantly a sweet earthiness - I'm guessing this is the musk and "sweet roots", but it really smells quite similar to sandalwood on me. 95% of me likes it, but occasionally the earthy smell just catches my nose the wrong way and it's not quite so pleasant. I'll keep my imp, but probably won't invest in a bottle.

Ohhhhhh yes. This is everything I had hoped for. It's a little coconutty, but not obnoxiously so, a little hazelnutty, the base is smooth musk, and the iris it very light but provides just the right finishing touch. Overall, this is warm and creamy and exotic, yet mellow. It's jumped straight into my top 5. Also, I got compliments on this from my SO twice today, and that's quite rare for him!

This was so beautiful at first sniff - tart cranberry with an earthy, almost wet undercurrent. I could pick out all the listed notes, but the lily was the most prominent after the berry. Unfortunately my skin seemed to latch onto the cranberry, and it quickly got sweeter, and sweeter, and sweeter, leaving all the other delicious notes behind. It ended up very much like Carnivale, or even a fruity version of Bordello, and was just too sickly sweet and cloying. It did last a LONG time, though!

Port-au-Prince is pure almond in the vial and wet on the skin, but that note disappears almost as soon as it dries. Then it becomes a thick, strong rum/spice scent - it is quite masculine, but not so much that I don't want to wear it. The clove is the most dominant of the spices on me. This actually reminds me of a less harsh Laudanum, I guess it's the spice/sassafras combination. It's definitely rich, but when applied lightly manages to be comforting in its potency. I will keep my imp around for cold evenings, and may well want a bottle when it's gone...

Well, I don't smell apple OR lemon! On me, Desire is a kind of a foody-hippy mix - definitely sweet and vanilla-infused, but with an earthy, almost slightly incensey patchouli/musk base. I can't really detect the rose or teak as distinct components, but when I really look for them I can find traces. This is a close relative of Snake Oil in my book, though a little darker and more complex. I probably won't buy a bottle of it because I love Snake Oil a tiny bit more, but I will definitely enjoy my imp.

The top notes here are a delicious blend of caramel/honey tinged apple. I was having trouble putting my finger on what the base smells like until I read it in one of the other reviews - hay! Just lightly, the sweet apples are definitely dominant on me. It's very yummy smelling, but somehow I just don't feel right wearing apples. It makes no sense, as I will happily slather myself in the scent of almost any other fruit, but that's the feeling I get. I do think this would make a *superb* room scent, and will definitely be trying that out soon. If it's as good as I imagine I might have to get a bottle.

Eeeep - I somehow swapped for this without realising it was heavy on the orange blossom. I think I had it mixed up with another scent in my head. I am really not a fan of orange blossom at all, so I knew once I actually read the ingredients that I probably wasn't going to like it. I can barely detect any other ingredients here. I think part of the reason I dislike orange blossom is that my skin really amplifies it. Therefore I can't really say anything about it except it smells like orange blossom! I should note, since lots of other people have mentioned it, that I don't get any orange (as in the fruit) note, which to me at least is a world apart from orange blossom. A shame, as I love orange! If it smelled like orange peel, or orange juice, I would adore it. Overall this one is just not for me, it doesn't work with my skin chemistry or taste.