steffanina

The Deep Ones- In Bottle: Ooh, very sweet citrusy-fruity aquatic! Wet: More of an aquatic but still with some fruit in it. Dry: Fades a bit quickly, but nice while it's there. A citrusy blend. Overall: Will try again.

13 (July 2007)- In Bottle: Mellow cocoa smell! Wet: Sweet fruit-floral blend; oddly I don't smell the cocoa at all. Dry: The cocoa does emerge a bit later, along with a bit of rose but it's not the sour rose that rose often becomes on me. It's interesting; not something that I think will be beloved but it might grow on me. Overall: Interesting; I'll keep trying it.

Mad Sweeney- In Bottle: It's a whiskey-and-honey toddy! Wet: What a lovely smell--this is what whiskey SHOULD taste like, instead of burning your skull from the inside. Dry: It's beautiful, more strongly alcoholic than the Irish Cream scent that Sugar Cookie 2005 had, and truly whiskey. Lovely and sweet; I love it and will have to get that 5ml after all, I guess! It's for a good cause, anyway. Overall: I love.

Mag Mell- In Bottle: Lemon, and a little bit of ginger. Wet: Lemon pledge-y. Dry: Fades quickly and wasn't anything that turned me on, so. Saying bye to it. Overall: Unremarkable for me.

The Dodo- In Bottle: Something like clove, with sweet pastry notes underneath, and I think I smell the red musk. Something in here smells like the seashell-filled gift shops in Florida! Wet: Cinnamon more than clove, with that same odd undertone--not unpleasant! Dry: This is kind of baby-powder-cinnamon, which is not the best of combinations for me, but it's not too bad. I think it will probably be a keeper for me but I may not really use it. Overall: Conditional.

Destroying Angel- In Bottle: Rained-on earth, loamy and mossy. Wet: Peppery notes come out in the earth. Dry: Interestingly, this turns sweet and floral on extended wear--it morphs dramatically and it's a great effect. Overall: I really like!

The Knave of Hearts- In Bottle: Buttery pastry, a hint of cinnamon! Delicious! Wet: Just a hint of rose on top of the pastry. It reminds me of rosewater jelly in pastry crust. Dry: Rose has a tendency to go sour on me, but the buttery pastry scent of this tempers it, makes it undeniably interesting! I'm going to return to this one more than once, I'm sure! Overall: I really like!

The Raven- In Bottle: I smell sharp metallic violets and something that smells like...like something fresh and green that's been crushed between my fingers. Like the smell of squeezing Edamame pods. Wet: Dark sweetness, like Poison perfume. Still those metallic violets and that crushed green smell. Dry: Wow. I think I love this. I was hoping that at some point I'd find a violet and neroli blend that worked out for me, and this is it! I love violets and wanted something that stayed like violets. Overall: I love.

Croquet- In Bottle: Sugar, citrus, soap-cleanness. Very tasty! Wet: Sweet citrus blend, a bit of "Irish Spring" herbal-ness. The soap-clean is dominant over the fruit. Dry: Stays around nicely, clean and fruit-smelling, I like this! Overall: I really like!

Cockaigne- In Bottle: (dies a little of joy) Oh my GOD, sweet cake cinnamon roll icing sugar DELISH. How is it I never found this one before this?? Wet: Sweet foodie cinnamon deliciousness. Vanilla cake. Caramelized pecans. A hint of the scents in Monsterbait: Underbed. Dry: The cassia-and-cake of Monsterbait: Underbed is prominent on dry-down, with an almost metallic undertone. I'm sorry about how quickly this fades! I will still enjoy it though. Overall: Love; wish it lasted longer. Edited to add, 9/19/07: I wore this today (it's one of my very favorites now) and just the little dab I put on my wrist lasted all day. Eleven hours and still sniffable. Why on earth did I think this was a fast fader, the first time?

March Hare- In Bottle: Peach, rather like a peach candle. Wet: Less candle-like, with a hint of the clove beneath the peach. Very nice! Dry: Mostly very light and peach. Doesn't stay long, but quite nice nevertheless. Overall: I like!

Black Hellebore- In Bottle: Very sweet and green! A whiff like Irish spring. Wet: Sweet grasses, very clean and green. Dry: A sweet scent, not really soapy but clean. The littlest bit of fruit. Nice, though not one I'm likely to turn to a lot. Overall: Nice.

Ave Maria Gratia Plena- In Bottle: Incense, spice, something dirty-diaper-y like jasmine. Oh, look, there's jasmine listed in the fragrance. Yes, that's what jasmine does to me. Wet: Peanuts and spices and faint dirty-diaper jasmine and incense. Dry: Eh. Jasmine and I are not friends. Plastic diaper scent stays around. Overall: Not for me.

Hetairae- In Bottle: Floral and incense and sweet. Wet: Ooh, that dry pale acetone scent is here, but instead of smelling like Juicy Fruit, it smells like sunscreen. It's interesting. Dry: I kind of like the light sunscreen scent; the bit of clove that's advertised does underlie this. It's sweet, honey-like, spicy, a tiny bit incense-y. Not bad at all! It doesn't last long but it's light and nice. Overall: I like.

Pruno: In Bottle: Orange and very sugary! Deliciously foody. Wet: Orange, sweet, but more alcohol. Like a margarita, or maybe an orangetini. Yes, I just made that up. Dry: There is the tiniest floral note in this, though it stays essentially like fruity alcohol. Sweet, delicious. This is a remarkable scent. I think I'll go put Swank on my other wrist and see how they compare. I might actually be buying another bottle of this while I still can, because I will not want to run out of this one. I would smuggle this into prison in a body cavity, I would. Overall: I love.

Cancer 2007- In Bottle: Hmm, vague aquatic scent with a little bit of must. Wet: Not a heavy aquatic. A bit grassy and hot and weedy and spicy. Dry: This is very much the scent of walking through a weedy field on a dry DRY hot sunny day. It's not quite the same as Roadhouse with its dandelion smell; it's less floral than that (though Roadhouse is not very floral at all to me). It is hot and dry and there's nothing floral or fruit at all. And the dryness means there's nothing sweet at all, either. It is not really aquatic at all, either, unlike my first in-the-bottle impression. And there is a mustiness that never resolves on me which makes it a scent I'm unlikely to want. Too bad; I was hoping the lettuce note would work for me! Overall: Not for me.

Mata Hari- In Bottle: Jasmine does not love me; I smell dirty diapers. Wet: Plastic dirty diapers. Dry: Not an improvement on dry-down either. Sorry to be so terse about this, but this, I've learned, is the fate of jasmine scents with me. Overall: Not for me.

Polyhymnia- In Bottle: Lemon and spice, more lemon (a little Lemon Pledge-y). Wet: Yipe, hugely Lemon Pledge. (I wonder if I'd like Lemon Pledge if I didn't associate it with the product?) Dry: I wish I weren't trapped in the Lemon Pledge of this. It just won't work for me. Overall: Not for me.

The Reaper and the Flowers- In Bottle: Sharp, floral, no good promise here for me. Wet: Sharp florals, they water my eyes a little. Dry: No, there's nothing here for me; florals are not my friend and this one's too eye-watering to even be a good next-door neighbor. Overall: Not for me.

Nocnitsa- In Bottle: Pine and earth! Wet: Ooh, such a nice earthy scent. I'm hoping the pine doesn't turn Pine-Sol-ish, which doesn't usually happen with BPAL scents but this one seems like it could be close. Dry: No, it doesn't become Pine-Sol! It's stays pine-smelling in a way that's stronger than some of the more pleasing pine blends that I like (Talvikuu, Jolasveinar, Knecht Ruprecht) but it's interesting, and I like the earth combined with it. I may have to try this again. Overall: Interesting, will try again.

Saturnalia- In Bottle: Oh, what IS that? (recaps bottle, backs away, approaches again)--It's like, god, it's like something seaweedy that I'd eat in a Japanese restaurant! It's nice, though, make no mistake! Wet: The dry cruelty of vetiver but tempered, greenly, with that sea-smell. Dry: The smell of the sea. The smell of mermaid's tails, drying under the sun as they lie on rocks. It's really strong. I would never have guessed there was violet involved if I hadn't known, but knowing, I can see where it comes in. I can't wear this one on any regular basis--it's too eye-watering--but I will keep my little imp around for sniffing, when the mood hits. Overall: Interesting but too strong for me to wear.

Hellcat- In Bottle: Butterscotch and almonds and a whiff of alcohol, oh, YUM. Wet: Light, soft, cherry-almondy Jergens lotion. Just a little of the butterscotch reemerging. Dry: The alcoholic scent really takes over this. It's nifty--not as fabulous as that first in-bottle whiff, but complex and still kinda delicious. I may need to grab a 5ml of this one, but I'll try it again a time or two before I decide. Overall: I do like, I think I could grow to love it.

Poisoned Apple- In Bottle: EVIL APPLE. Oh, wow, I like this a lot. It's like apple cider going to alcohol. Wet: A floral note comes out--I hope that isn't too dominant, because I don't like it as much as the apple part. And what's this, a hint of clove? Makes sense with the apple, I suppose. I already like it better than Punkie Night because I'm not getting that waxy candle impression from it. Dry: I'm not sure if I love this or just want to. Something in here is overwhelmingly sweet; I'm guessing it's the opium, and that's the note that dominates on dry-down. I would like to smell more of the apple! Nevertheless it's a fascinating scent, and I think I could grow to like it a lot. I already like a good deal of it a lot. Overall: Want to try again. I do like.

Dirty: In Bottle: Fresh and breezy and grassy. A little green and outdoorsy. Wet: Juicy berry-ish. Grassy and outdoorsy again. Dry: I get that "Herbal Essences" shampoo thing off this, that green juicy scent! It's fresh and tasty and I'm really glad I tried this. Overall: I like a lot!

Othello- In Bottle: A tiny bit floral but mostly like really delicious laundry detergent--all fresh and breezy! Like Tide Original Scent (which I use). Wet: Strong rose bloom, but I don't find myself shying away from the fear of sourness as I usually do. I guess I'll see what it does! Dry: This is one of the nicest rose blends I've encountered--I say that every so often, like with Whip, and Persephone, since rose tends to go sour on me and I'm not that enamoured of florals. But if I needed a rose scent, this would be one I'd consider! I don't think I'll be getting a 5ml of this but I'll keep and enjoy my little imp. Overall: Very nice!