cabinwench

Happy fifth birthday to the bpal.org forum! To commemorate five years of camaraderie, love, and unbelievable kindness, we present a scent comprised of notes that encapsulate the essence of friendship: carnation, apple, sweet pea, vanilla cream, passionfruit, sugar cane, tonka, and guava. This is very apple in the bottle and wet on the skin, then the creaminess and vanilla/tonka comes out to add depth. A comforting, luscious scent, subtle, stays close. Not tremendous throw, and it does not last long at all on me . I was a greedy girl and got backups, which is a good thing-I suspect I'll be going through this fairly fast. It makes me feel very sweet and maternal, even though it fades too fast. I have layered it with scents (alcohol-based) that have honey notes, and it makes a lovely foundation.

Oh, this is better than imagined. The snow and various evergreens of The Snow Storm, and a cold purpley-red juiciness of berries (a bit similar to the grape/berry note in Shivering Boy), with an overlay of cold sweetness from the florals, but this doesn't jump out as "A Floral Note", per se. On the skin as it dries, the pine green notes lighten up, and more berry sweetness comes to the fore. The resins never disappear, but they take a more supporting role. There is a slight note of earth after drydown (it almost smells like...toast?) This scent seems very dependent on where it is on my skin--sweeter on the fleshy area between forefinger and thumb, a more astringent true "lab snow" note over my wristbone. The snow note I love in Snow Flakes is in here somewhere. I re-sniffed the bottle after wearing this for 15 minutes. Holy Moley, it almost blasted me out of my chair. This is not one I would sniff from the bottle and think "Oh, yes, I want to smell like this". There is a huge amount of morphing going on here. The initial sharpness and the loveliness of the drydown makes me wonder what aging will do to Old Moon. I really regret only getting one bottle. This is hoardable.

I love this. Sea of Tranquility is the perfect name; it is very calming. Sniffed from the bottle, the florals are intense, and the amber and sandalwood are jumping out. I don't get candy floss; I get lush arrangement of creamy, heavy flowers displayed in a room with a freshly varnished floor. Okay, that doesn't sound very appealing, but the amber and sandalwood, to me, are evoking childhood memories of putting down a new coat of varnish on the dining room floor, getting the house polished and ready for a big event, a few days go by, the house is decorated, and a big arrangement of waxy magnolias and other white flowers are centered on the table. Very grown-up, almost stately, floral with polished-wood backbone. Drying down, the polished wooden floor morphs into subtle spice, but the creamy white florals remain. This is elegant, formal, and calm. I love this on my skin, and plan to spare some drops for room scent.

I was expecting more straight-up honey, even after reading the other notes. Sniffing the bottle, I got whiffs of orange label 13--why is this chocolatey?!? A bit more honey comes out wet on skin, and a slightly funky, almost sour high-pitched note. It quickly calmed down into the jasmine-honeysuckle arena, with sweetness. If I concentrate, I can get something that could be apricot, but isn't terribly straightforward. This is a nice jasmine with hints of mellow fruits and foody-sweetness, but I'm just not getting the honey I was hoping for.

Wet, Snow White has that hint of plastic that several of my ultimately loved scents have, so I've learned to overlook it for a minute. Then there's a soft, green coconut smell, like real, off-the-tree coconut, not "here's yer bottled coconut oil of the shelf". Within minutes, a green-wood hint and some mellow mint comes out. This lasts well on me, and it's such a pure, innocent fragrance, with a touch of masculinity in the wood and mint (maybe foreshadowing loss of innocence). Without my contacts or glasses, I got a good look at the label (astigmatism is better than a magnifying glass) and was surprised about how, um...pervy it looked. The lettering makes one dwarf look like a cigarette is hanging out of his mouth as he's contemplating putting his hand under her skirt. I like this very much and this may not be my last bottle.

Oh, my! This is so lovely. In the bottle, it's somewhat fruity (light citrus, maybe), with a backbone of the herbal leaves. I don't think I've smelled honey musk before--it's not a strong honey note, but a subtle sweetness. Then the low note of the vanilla creeps up. I can see the softness reminding someone of baby powder, or expensive dusting powder of days gone by, but then the green leafiness pops back up and and makes it unique again. Fae spices--maybe sage (I know, it's an herb, not a spice...)? I am soooo glad I got a bottle--this is going on my skin and in the oil burner. I want my house to smell like this!

Strong pine at first, with some sweetness in the background. Notes I made before re-reading the description were "pine, sweet, toast? warm, floral?" A cold scent in the nose, but then there's the warm toast--outside in wintertime, at the back kitchen door with Christmas baking going on? After 15 minutes on skin, there's something dark and juicy: a pie of unidentified berries baking? Not that there is a blackberry or other particular berry note, just something baked and crusty, sweet with some tartness. I get more of the dirt note, then something morphs into floral. An interesting blend. I am not seeing the need for a bottle right now, but I'm glad I got an imp.

In the imp, this was strong berry. Wet, it settled into sweet plum, akin to Bordello but less, um...Bordello-ishness (no saloons or leather corsets). A dirt note tht is faint but grounds this a bit. There is something astringent in here, not in a bad way--just adds a little complexity. Maybe fresh greenery (not pine boughs; more like cut holly). After dry-down, a tiny bit of plastic is hovering around, but I have to concentrate to pick it out. A nice blend, but with a 10 oz bottle of Bordello on hand, I can't justify a bottle. I plan to enjoy the imp, though--it's a keeper.

I tried this before I read the reviews, and had forgotten the Lab description, so, while looking at the label that said "Christmas Rose" I thought I got a hint of rose, but very soft--then the herbal and snowy notes jumped in. This makes me think of meeting a lover in a stand of pine trees after a snowfall, and he surprises me with a small bouquet of sweetheart roses. This scent stayed pretty true, and was uplifting and refreshing for hours. Not a lot of morphing on me. I could see using this in a warmer as well as wearing it. I should be ordering bottles from the update first, but I had to add a bottle of Christmas Rose. This really is lovely.

Well. I was all set to ebay this as I'm not a Libra, and sniffed from the bottle (along the rest of a big order) it just wasn't my thing. So, I'm poking around reviews and note that Libra 2007 has lots of notes I usually love...hmm. I sniff again, and wet, it still isn't all that, but I dab. Black currants and roses and honey, oh, my! Less honey, and more roses 'n berries, which is not a bad thing. But honey is certainly in there around the edges. So, husband comes in to gather dishes from the computer room to wash (he is such a good guy!) and starts sniffing. "What's that smell??" Now, that can be a good thing, or a bad thing. I hold out the dabbed wrist--"that smells GOOD!" After 30 minutes, there might be a hint of Dove soap floating around, from the rose, but it is not a bad association. It's more like noticing that Dove used a note that's in Libra, than like getting "Dove" from Libra, if that makes any sense. It's warm and comforting, good for going into late fall and 48 hours of rain. This is coming out of the sales pile.

Soft and sugary, with an almost herbal undernote hiding under the carnation. A sweet-skin scent, and I can see where people get the "girly" imagery. I got an imp of this some months ago, and apparently sampled too timidly--it didn't make much of an impression. Today I decided to slather more than dab, and it's so much better. This is one that needs a bit of lavishing to get the full impact. After 30 minutes, the spice comes out a bit more, but it's still more of an herbal note, slightly astringent, combined with the sugar. More complex that I had originally thought, like tasting a creme brulee made with rosemary or lovage-infused milk. Probably not bottle-wrothy on me, but I'm very glad a friend imped me some.

This is soooo pretty! An imp in a swap: I probably wouldn't have sought this out on my own (thanks, Ah Xia!) If I concentrate (well, really, if I just pay close attention) I can get the juicy pear, the lily of the valley, and a soft musky rose over all. There's almost a wine-y note, but it's faint--just enough to give it some sparkle. When I first put this on, though, my first impression was "Joy!" as in the Joy by Jean Patou. Not saying that it's like a dupe, but the impression, of classic, elegant perfume is there. This is lovely and would be perfect for an upscale evening out. I'm leaning towards bottle-worthy.

First off, let me just say that I really liked the artwork on the label, right down to the little white stars in the ARIES lettering. Very pretty. In the bottle, this is black pepper, and a touch of something that says "pizza parlor"--almost an oregano hint. I get that rubbery note others have mentioned. Almost no florals at first. wet: not a lot of change drydown: the florals come out, along with a soft ginger in the background. I'm not a dragon's blood person so I can't speak to how much that's coming out, but after a while, it's a very pure, waxy-flower floral: lily of the valley/lilac/honeysuckle and reminds me a little of hiacynths in bloom. The pepper backs up and lets the spring flowers come out. There's also a touch of something green in the background. This ends up just beautiful on me. It's worth the initial not-so-great phase. And even that isn't bad as much as it's just--different. A very nice Spring scent. And since it was an LE, thank TPTB for swappers, so I could snag a bottle after finding out that this worked for me!

The Dodo: In the bottle: woodsy, spicy, no fruit Wet on skin, amply applied: I've walked into an old-timey shoe repair shop: leather, shoe polish, old wood, mysterious oils. A bit of soap. Leftover cinnamon buns behind the counter. Initially, no fruit. This is not...uninteresting, but so far, not a scent I'd want to wear, not one I'm racing to wash off. We'll see what some more morphing brings.

As I love my Punkie Night, I couldn't resist Poisoned Apple--Apple and GC! Wet, this is almost overpowering red apple with a sharp, almost papery-bitter core. Dry, the apple ripens and a slightly woody note, a bit smokey, runs through it, and something a bit medicinal--maybe the opium? Longer on drydown, a simple floral comes out and the apple slides into the background. Much more complex than the all tart fruit of PN; the drydown would not be out of place at work and would not smell obviously fruity. Would also be a dangerous-evening scent.