steffanina

13- In Bottle: Red musk and cherry-chocolate. Wet: Red musk and cherry, though I'm not sure about the chocolate. It might be a psychological need to pair chocolate with the cherry rather than me really smelling it, even though chocolate is an element listed for the scent. Dry: I seem to amp red musk until it's sickeningly sweet. I'm not blaming that on the cherry; that's just what I do with red musk. Red musk is better as an occasional sniffer for me. Once it's faded it's nicer, but it's hard to wait for it to fade and get there. Too strong for me. Overall: Not for me.

Tezcatlipoca- In Bottle: Chocolate and wood. Is there vetiver in this? That woody dry note. Wet: Chocolate and wood that is almost cedar but not quite. And incense. That incense will probably make this not quite work for me. Dry: Fades on me; I wish that chocolate stayed around longer! I'm left with sweet incense-y scent, which is a bit nondescript, but that's my chemistry and not the scent's fault. Overall: Not for me, though not unpleasant!

Kabuki- In Bottle: Grape-cherry! More pleasant than cough syrup, though. Wet: Grape-cherry; the musk is very subtle, the way I like it. And something a little minty. Dry: Minty; the musk is just a bit too cloying on me today; red musk does that, sadly! Overall: Sweet, red musky, not for my chemistry right now.

Vicomte de Valmont- In Bottle: Very sharp and cologne-y. I wouldn't put this on if I weren't doing a BPAL review; it's everything I don't like about men's cologne and the men who wear it in choking quantities. Wet: Acrid-sharp cologne. It gives me that green/aquatic vibe. Dry: Softer, less acrid, and if men would wear this in the tiny quantity I have used, I would even like it on them. Very aquatic and...well, I have to keep using the word cologne-y. Overall: Not for me, but it does give me insight into what men's scents should be like when used appropriately!

Gelt- In Bottle: Smells just like it's advertised--amber and cocoa. Wet: The amber has an edge, and the cocoa is soft, not too aggressive. Dry: The amber dominates and it's very dark. Smoky, too, and not so foody on the dry-down. Overall: Fascinating but more a scent locket scent for me.

Hanerot Halalu- In Bottle: Powdery cherry-orange. Wet: Powdery cherry-orange. Not what I was expecting but sweet and fruity! Dry: When I remember that there's supposed to be beeswax in this, I say, "Oh, of course, that's what that is!" But I still get cherry-orange powder all through! Overall: A wild blend I'd never have expected to smell like this from the ingredients! I may have to try this again.

Sugar Cookie 2008- In Bottle: Resembles Sugar Cookie 2005, with its Irish Cream sweetness. (Not, sadly, the nutmeggy fabulousness of SC 2004, but, hey, I've got plenty of that hoarded.) Wet: Creamy and with that hint of alcohol. Still Irish Cream all the way. Dry: Reliably creamy and alcoholic. Does not give me the "raw cookie dough" vibe that SC 2004 gives me (which is still in my top 3 BPAL scents of all time), but still a nice foodie scent. Overall: Irish Cream in a glass.

Butter Rum Cookie- In Bottle: This has an aggressive spicy note, and there's a hint of alcoholic rum. Wet: That spice is very bold--it smells like curry! Though there is sweetness I don't get alcohol once it hits my skin. It's sort of like a curry smoothie. Dry: Very true on dry-down, that strong curry spice and sweetness lingering. Interesting scent though it doesn't evoke butter rum for me on my skin. Overall: Sweet and interestingly spicy foodie scent.

The Magi- In Bottle: Citrusy powder--woo, right up my nose! Wet: Powder and citrus. Dry: Powdery citrusy fruity brightness. Overall: A little too sharp for me, but a fascinating blend.

The Gaoler's Daughter- In Bottle: Grass and a little must and some honey. Wet: Honey and a strong sharp floral. I think that's the neroli. A little soapy note too. Dry: The sharpness recedes and the peach comes out a bit. I already love the oddness of neroli and if I liked florals more I'm sure I'd love this. Overall: A very pretty and interesting floral!

Le Pere Fouettard- In Bottle: Bitter leather--not the rawhide suede-y kind--and candy. Wet: The leather is bitter and overwhelms the candy sweetness. Dry: I wish this were one of the rawhide-type leathers that I love so much in BPAL (a la Dead Man's Hand)--instead it's the other kind, which is almost sickeningly fragrant for me, sadly. (I can't bear De Sade, either.) Overall: Wrong kind of leather for me.

Torture Queen- (I got this because Torture King is my favorite of the seriously masculine BPAL scents; I had to try the counterpart) In Bottle: Ooh, metallic. Very much like Bed of Nails. A bit of a hot floral in the background? Wet: Light and hot. Both the metal and the hot floral play in an ozone mixture. Not aquatic, but ozone. Dry: I'm so impressed by how Beth can put this metal scent into a bottle. If there's anyone out there lamenting the unavailability of Bed of Nails, give this a try. Overall: Novel. Remarkable.

Robin Goodfellow- In Bottle: A sharp note that I associate with masculine colognes. Herbal Wet: Wet crunchy green stems. Dry: Not masculine; herbal, yes. Powdery floral overtop it. Very hard for me to name the notes in this; I just get the herbal-floral blend. Sorry to be so limited in this one! Overall: Herbal scent, not one I'll want to return to, probably, but pleasant.

Undertow- In Bottle: Tea tree oil, and something fruity, like melon. Wet: The tea tree oil's strong--yipe! I got it on my lip when sniffing my wrist! Woo, that's cold/hot. And the fruity note, but, yipe, let me go wash my lip. Dry: There's a note like lime in this. This is a really interesting scent! I'm not that crazy about how strong tea tree oil can be, but this is quite refreshing. Overall: Fascinating scent! I could really grow to like it.

Defututa- In Bottle: Hard to describe--kind of herbal, and I can smell the jasmine but for once the jasmine does not smell like dirty diapers! I'm going to be optimistic and hope that carries through on my skin. Wet: Sweet and herbal mishmash. Not unpleasant! And I smell something sweet, and the jasmine remains pleasant too. Dry: The sweetness is nice, the cinnamon is subtle and pretty, and the jasmine is, hooray, not noxious at all. I don't quite think this one is going to be a craver for me, but I'm overjoyed that this is the first BPAL jasmine that didn't go to dirty diapers for me. Overall: Good reasons to like it!

Helena- In Bottle: Pale, pale rose. Wan, even. Something thin and watery and base is trying to cling to it, like baby's urine or chamomile tea. Wet: Same pale rose and chamomile tea feeling. Dry: I just can't get anything more from this one than that pale, wan rose. And now the base smell is more like urine. My chemistry hasn't done anything good for this, I'm afraid! Overall: Not for me.

Magdalene- In Bottle: Oh, dear, it's that very very sharp powdery floral that makes my eyes water. Wet: Sharp powdery floral. Not so much as to make my eyes water but not anything I enjoy. Dry: The powder is rising and chokes my throat. Acrid. I fear I won't be able to wear this long; I'm for a shower. Overall: Not for me. Acrid floral.

Coyote- In Bottle: Hm, this has a men's cologne scent, kind of eye-watering and sharp, and I think I detect vetiver. Wet: Light, a hint of the grassiness, and dry. I feel sure there's vetiver here, or something very like. Dry: A hint of the amber; its milkiness is side by side with that light cologne-y smell. Not going to be a favorite of mine but it's a very nice masculine smell, kind of mellow as opposed to sharp, once it's gone through the dry-down. Overall: Not for me but interesting; somewhere between unisex and masculine.

Huesos de Santo- In Bottle: A very light kind of cake scent, like orange sponge cake. It reminds me of almond poppyseed cake with orange icing. Wet: The orange is sharper, more floral. Still foody but not deeply rich yet. Dry: Much less cake-y foodie as time goes on, more orange frosting and florals; it's really dead-on with the description. My favorite part of this is sniffing it in the bottle, as I love the foodie side of things. Overall: A delicious sniffer; very pleasant to wear but not quite tops for me.

Pickled Imp- In Bottle: Whoa, this one scares me. The pine sap scent is very strong; combined with the clove it really does smell like something preserved and dead in a jar. The power of suggestion, yeah, but I'm seriously reluctant to put it on because it creeps me out. It really is reminiscent of a preservative. Clove functions as an anesthetic anyway, so the medicinal psych in this is overwhelming. Wet: I'm telling myself it's just pine sap and to get over it. It's such a prominent note I can barely notice the vanilla, which I would ordinarily love. Yes, there's vanilla and clove there, but the piercing pine sap scent is overwhelming (and still scary). Dry: Cinnamon does show up, and EVENTUALLY the pine sap recedes, and what I'm left with is far more vanilla-clove-ish than what started, but I don't think I can get past the initial stages. Heck, I can hardly get past opening the bottle. And every so often I get the pine sap whiff and I shudder. Overall: Clever but hits scary psych triggers for me.

Pumpkin Patch 5 2008- In Bottle: Pumpkin and fruit. Sweet berry fruit, I think? Wet: Pumpkin with more fruit, and a nutty note. Dry: The fruit takes over. Cranberry-strawberry dominates, the musk is only a hint, and the florals are so subtle they just add a little romance to the fruit without actually smelling like floral. Very nice, though I would have liked to had the pumpkin around longer! Overall: Fruity and pleasant!

Miskatonic Valley Junior Baseball Association, Pancake Breakfast In Bottle: Oh, this is so freaking yummy. The smell of maple-y, caramel-y pancakes and the boysenberry air all over it. Oh, I have to stop myself from burying my nose in it. Wet: The boysenberry overtakes and continues its rich sugary goodness. Dry: Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. That's all I can say. The delicious maple sugar continues to match the boysenberry for every step. It's rich and cake-y, too--I can smell the butter that has to have been used to make these fantastically rich. (No mustiness at all, either, on my skin, which is one of the sad fates of many of my favorite foody scents!) Overall: Immediately one of my favorites.

A Countenance Foreboding Evil- In Bottle: Bone-dry vetiver and orange. Wet: The orange is prominent; the dryness of the vetiver makes it smell like a dried orange. Pleasant! Dry: Vetiver overtakes. Dry dry dry. Vetiver lovers will dance. Overall: A very nice vetiver scent.

Sugar Skull 2008- (My impressions of this scent are quite different from my observations of the 2005 version, but that may not be because of a change in the formula--it might be the way I perceive scents these days.) In Bottle: A sweet, dark scent. I can believe the sugar but there's something deeply rich in this. Wet: Rich and sweet, not quite sugary, but with an underlying note of...of burnt, of woodiness, of dark sweet smoke. Not a resin, not a musk. Not sandalwood and certainly not patchouli. Not vetiver unless it's really really subtle vetiver. Dry: That smell of dark sweet smokiness gets more prominent and simply delicious. Anyone smelled Parfumerie Generale's Aomassai? I don't know what the note is that produces that same dark sweet rich woody burnt smell, but it's here. It's incensy but deliciously sweet and not at all resiny in that eye-burning way resins go on me. Overall: The most sophisticated of foody scents. Wonderful!

Sticky Pillowcase- In Bottle: Tart strawberry. Wet: Strawberry candy. There's a whiff of something...not quite musty, but a hint of dust. Is that the lint smell we were promised? I'm not sure, it might just be an after-effect of the fruit. Dry: A pink sugar scent begins to overtake the strawberry, and so does the tartness until it's tart fruitiness that tries to disguise itself as other fruits. First it wants to convince you that it's lime, but it's not, it's still strawberry but tart tart tart. Then maybe fruit punch, maybe grape, but it's really strawberry just trying to fool ya. If you like fruity candy scents that aren't too sweetly cloying and are just a bit subtle, this should be right up your alley. It works great for me! Overall: Yummy! A serious keeper.