TheIceMaiden

Blushing rosehips, pink rose petals, and vanilla cream with white jasmine and a drop of bergamot. This unicorn starts off as a naturally sweet & juicy rose with just a hint of bergamot. Eventually the jasmine shows up in the background. The white jasmine is different from the typical jasmine notes, it is smoother, less perfumey, and quite lovely. The drydown is a sugary rosey-vanilla.

BEAVER MOON 2010 Here we go with the double entendres again! Strawberry and peach cheesecake, heavy on the sticky glaze. In the bottle, this smells very sugary, lots of peach, and not much cheesecake or strawberry. On my skin, its pretty much the same - sugary sweet peach and eventually sugary sweet strawberry-peach. This is very different from the two previous Beaver Moons, which (to me) were heavier on the cheesecake/cream/vanilla notes. The peach note is sweeter than any other BPAL peach scent I've tried before. ETA: After some aging, the cheesecake note does come out more during the drydown, although its not as prominent as the previous Beaver Moons. I think this might be my favourite of the three.

As sweet as it sounds. This is a combination of a non-buttery, non-spicy pumpkin note and a creamy vanilla base. It's not overly sweet and the throw is light, but it is quite yummy.

The stickiest thing you shouldn't lick this winter. Peppermint candy cane with an extra jolt of sugar. This is similar to its four older Lick It siblings, a combination of chilly peppermint, sugar, and vanilla, plus the addition of menthol to make it extra chilly and a bit metallic. Its a nice combination, but I prefer the previous versions (with 2008's Lick It Like You Mean It my favourite).

Sugared peony and rose-tinted vanilla with mallow, white musk, lavender buds, and a touch of apricot. This unicorn starts off with a delicious mix of lavender (sweet & powdery, not herbal), vanilla, and mallow. It's a fluffy purple cloud of a scent that reminds me of a sweeter version of TKO. After a while, the scent smoothly morphs to a sugary, musky pink floral. I never picked up on apricot, but perhaps that will come with settling/age.

Still, there was a tale he had read once, long ago, as a small boy: the story of a traveler who had slipped down a cliff, with man-eating tigers above him and a lethal fall below him, who managed to stop his fall halfway down the side of the cliff, holding on for dear life. There was a clump of strawberries beside him, and certain death above him and below. What should he do? went the question. And the reply was, Eat the strawberries. Strawberries, fresh-picked. Has anyone else (besides me) longed for a strawberry single note? Well, this is it!!! Eat the Strawberries is juicy ripe strawberries, neither too tart nor sweet, with a little strawberry leaf. It reminds me a lot of Strawberry Moon, minus the dandelion and other notes. Yum!!!

`It says "Bough-wough!" cried a Daisy: `that's why its branches are called boughs!' `Didn't you know that?' cried another Daisy, and here they all began shouting together, till the air seemed quite full of little shrill voices. `Silence, every one of you!' cried the Tiger-lily, waving itself passionately from side to side, and trembling with excitement. `They know I can't get at them!' it panted, bending its quivering head towards Alice, `or they wouldn't dare to do it!' `Never mind!' Alice said in a soothing tone, and stooping down to the daisies, who were just beginning again, she whispered, `If you don't hold your tongues, I'll pick you!' There was silence in a moment, and several of the pink daisies turned white. `That's right!' said the Tiger-lily. `The daisies are worst of all. When one speaks, they all begin together, and it's enough to make one wither to hear the way they go on!' Daisy, pink carnation, pink pepper, and sugar. This is a very lovely scent! This starts off sugared daisies but gets less sweet as it dries. The carnation is lurking somewhere in the background behind the daisies. The throw seems to be on the lighter side. This is a very pretty, light-hearted floral that will be wonderful for spring and summer.

White chocolate and marshmallow pumpkin floss! Yum! This is the lightly-spiced pumpkin floss note mixed with a light marshmallow note. As it dries, the marshmallow gets stronger and the pumpkin tones down a bit. The white chocolate comes out in the drydown. This reminds me of a past Weenie favourite, Marshmallow Pumpkin, but more subdued and with a touch more spice. The throw is somewhat light and the staying power is moderate, but it's been my experience that pumpkin scents age beautifully.

I’ve run away from a little old woman,
 A little old man, 
A barn full of threshers, 
A field full of mowers, 
A cow and a pig,
 And I can run away from you, I can! Oh dear! I’m quarter gone! Oh, I’m half gone! I’m three-quarters gone! I’m all gone! Both in the bottle and initially on my skin, this is spicy gingerbread with fruit...I think maybe pomegranate, but I'm not 100% sure. The sweet jam comes in next (raspberry maybe?) to make this an even-fruitier gingerbread. The drydown is just spicy gingerbread (similar to Gingerbread Poppet, but less clove) with a hint of sweetness from the jam. Yum!

This starts off rich, buttery shortbread then dries to a light vanilla-mint cookie scent. Its a light scent and quite nice while its there.

Crystallized glittering shards of lightly spiced pumpkin sugar. In the wet stage, this is a very sugary, lightly spiced (not buttery) pumpkin note. To me, it smells almost exactly like the Pumpkin Candyfloss note used in all the different scents of that name. As it dries, it smelled like lightly spiced white sugar with a hint of pumpkin. Yum!

Campy, over-the-top gore, full of gleeful self-mockery. Examples: the Evil Dead series, Return of the Living Dead, Toxic Avenger A bit of blood and chainsaw grease underneath a banana cream pie. This starts out lots of banana with cream underneath. I don't detect a pie crust note or anything cake-like. As it dries, grease with a hint of metallic blood comes out to mingle with the banana. Its such a strange combination of notes, but it works!

BEAVER MOON Traditionally, Beaver Moon is named thus for a very obvious reason: during this time of year, beavers are hard at work building their dams and preparing for the onset of winter. However, we at BPAL rarely let an opportunity for sleazy campiness pass us by! For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry. Oh dear, the pressure of the first review.... Beaver Moon starts off a deep cherry scent with some vanilla behind it. Strawberry and sugar takes over next, its very sweet and candylike. After a couple hours, its toned down to strawberry ice cream. I can't compare it to the original Beaver Moon as I haven't tried that one. Its different from Bloody Mary (at least on me), a different cherry note and less vanilla I do like them both! The bottle label is pink and is different from the shirt - its just a beaver chewing on some wood. Adorable!!

Pumpkin candyfloss with strawberry cream and red currant. This starts off with the same pumpkin floss note used in the other blends...sugary pumpkin & spice. The red currant comes up next, it's both juicy and tart. The strawberry cream comes up towards the end, it's initially a lovely strawberry note before it settles down into a strawberry and cream scent in the drydown. Yum!

White roses, white amber, and snowflakes. My bottle just arrived today, and as it settles and warms up it may change, so I might need to edit this review later. But for now...this is glorious!!! This starts off with sweet rose and the vanilla-snow of Snow White (my all-time favourite!). It's similar to Pink Snowballs (another fave), except that the rose note is very much a white rose, and its not as sweet. As it dries, the white amber comes out, making it very similar to Love Lay Upon Her Eyes (yet another fave!), but with the vanilla-snow background, and the slightly different rose note (white vs. red). I adore this and if it doesn't change with settling, I suspect I'll need a few more bottles in the future.

The opening stage of this, as stated above, it black cherry cream - it's both sweet and tart on me at the same time. The cherry fades out on me and I get a dry, lightly-sugared blackberry note. After a while, it's just simple & yummy cream. I love cherry scents and this is probably my favourite one so far.

It was the very witching time of night that Ichabod, heavy-hearted and crest-fallen, pursued his travel homewards, along the sides of the lofty hills which rise above Tarry Town, and which he had traversed so cheerily in the afternoon. The hour was dismal as himself. Far below him, the Tappan Zee spread its dusky and indistinct waste of waters, with here and there the tall mast of a sloop, riding quietly at anchor under the land. In the dead hush of midnight, he could even hear the barking of the watch dog from the opposite shore of the Hudson; but it was so vague and faint as only to give an idea of his distance from this faithful companion of man. Now and then, too, the long-drawn crowing of a cock, accidentally awakened, would sound far, far off from some farmhouse away among the hills-but it was like a dreaming sound in his ear. No signs of life occurred near him, but occasionally the melancholy chirp of a cricket, or perhaps the guttural twang of a bull-frog, from a neighboring marsh, as if sleeping uncomfortably, and turning suddenly in his bed. Moonflower, night-blooming cereus, white hellebore, English ivy, monkshood, angel's trumpet, oleander, and eastern hemlock. I'm not familiar with all the notes but I'll do my best to review. Witching Time starts off moonflower, a sharp floral, and lots of greenery underneath. Thankfully whatever the sharp floral is fades or settles and its now moonflower over lush greenery, of which I can pick out the hemlock and a little ivy. The drydown so far reminds me a bit of The Gibbous Moon but this is a bit more potent, greener, darker and more mysterious. I'm really enjoying this so far and hope the rest of the Halloweenies are as good!

No description available. I'm not familiar with this type of cookie, but its scent reminds me of a Lithuanian cookie my family gets for special occasions. This is a light cookie note (not buttery like Shortbread Snowflakes) with spices - lots of clove and maybe anise and ginger too? - and a touch of sweetness, like powdered sugar. The throw and wearlength is pretty decent too. If this came in large bottles, I'd buy quite a few, its that good!

Dark chocolate, lime and chocolate mint. This is a fresh from the box on a very cold day review, so I'll edit if anything changes. This is yummy and candy-like. It smells like a mix of chocolate-covered candy canes and sweet lime lollipops. As it dries, the lime backs off and it stays chocolate mint. The drydown is very minty, but more like fresh mint and no longer peppermint. I love minty scents so I'm glad I bought a bottle unsniffed! To compare this to last year's Dark Chocolate Key Lime Truffle, this (so far) is more chocolate and a different lime note.

Every holiday season should be full of lewd suggestions and filthy double entendres, right? Lick it in earnest! Lick it with vigor! Peppermint candy cane with an extra jolt of sugar. This is similar to all the other Lick It's - sweet peppermint, vanilla, and sugar, just like a candy cane. There seems to be a bit more peppermint in this one as my skin is extra cool and tingly, as well as a little extra sugar. There also seems to be a very light musk in the drydown underneath all the candy cane goodness. If you've enjoyed the previous Lick It's, this is a wonderful addition to the collection.

Frau Holle, or Holda, is the personification of the changes wrought when winter seizes the land: she rides the chill winds in her chariot, shaking out her featherbeds in order to precipitate snowfall. The rolling fog is the smoke from her hearth fire, and thunder claps when she reels her flax. Holda is a goddess of matrons, who governs spinning, domestic chores, witchcraft and witches, and the Wild Hunt. She presides over the transition of souls, both to and from this world. Though she is childless, she watches over children, and the spirits of newborns spring forth from her sacred pool. Her festival falls during midwinter, when the dead roam free. She holds court in Hörselberg, from which the Wild Hunt is issued, and all the beasts in the land heed her call. Snow-covered pines, witches herbs, bestial musk, flax, and ethereal flowers that represent both birth and death. This is another lovely snowy creation from the Lab. The snow/slush note is there, but its subtle, as is the pine note. They mix with florals and the musk. I'm not sure what kind of musk it is other than its not red or black. As Frau dries, it becomes less floral and more herbal. In the wet stage it reminds me a bit of The Snow Maiden, and in the dry its a little like a snowy Hexennacht.

RAPUNZEL IN BALLPOINT Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab promotional ball-point pen on copier paper, 2012 I love Rapunzel. She's a nice person and laughs a lot. My hair is like Rapunzel's, only it's brown. Sparkly apple musk. Rapunzel in Ballpoint This starts off with green apple, backed up with one or more soft musks. It very much reminds me of Snow Glass Apples, minus the snow/ice/mint note. Now as its drying, the green apple backs off and the musks stay light and a bit powdery. I'm quite enjoying this scent so far. ETA: After letting this settle for a few days, I've noticed it's more apple-y and less musky. The musk is soft and clean, not powdery now.

Milk chocolate and matcha green tea ganache truffle. I love green tea, both the Lab's and as a cup of tea. I'm not familiar with matcha green tea, but I'm always up for trying something new. This starts off with a lot of the tea and not much chocolate. The tea is a bit sharper than the green tea I'm familiar with (such as in Shanghai or Embalming Fluid) - its stronger and a bit leafy smelling. As it dries, the tea mellows out and becomes a bit citrus-y. Its very nice so far and I'm hoping that once this settles, I'll get more chocolate with the green tea.

Milk chocolate, coconut, cardamom, rum, and ginger truffle. This is total yum. The strongest note is the ginger, which is like fresh-ground ginger root. The chocolate, rum, and coconut are there, but are very much in the background until the drydown, when the cardamon comes in. ETA: Now that this has had a week to settle, I re-tested it. Now its almost all cardamon with barely anything else. Such a shame, because the ginger note was amazing.

This is the first bottle I've ordered unsniffed in a long time. And I'm glad I did, because I adore it and have gotten multiple compliments too! I was worried about the mention of pine or evergreen notes, as both trigger migraines for me. But I don't detect any in the perfume. It starts off with a refreshing blend of eucalyptus & a hint of mint. The sandalwood and vanilla come into play next, both are very soft and well-blended. Not foody or woodsy at all!!! The throw is moderate-to-light and the staying power is a few hours minimum.