steffanina

Bordello- In Bottle: Berry berry strawberry berry strawberry berry. (I sense a theme.) Wet: Berry with a hint of creamy floral. Very nice! Dry: I would call this berrylicious. It's got a hint of wine and flowers about it but for the most part is creamy berry, very rich but not cloying to me at all, though I'd be careful about wearing it in too much quantity. But I never do that anyway. Overall: I like a lot!

The Music of Erich Zahn- In Bottle: That bone-dry, cruel scent of vetiver. Wet: Yup, vetiver. I like vetiver plain to sniff, and I like vetiver in many blends on me, but I'm not sure if this will be a good blend on me. Dry: This remains that really, really dry vetiver and there's a bit of cloying something here, resin-like. It might be the musk. The cloy of it puts me off. Overall: Not for me.

Port-au-prince- In Bottle: Almond. Totally Jergens cherry-almond lotion scent. Wet: Sweet almond, still that Jergens thing going on. --And the clove starts to show itself a bit. Dry: The clove remains subtle, even though it becomes the dominant note--I can see this as a really yummy fall scent! I'm not getting any rum from it but that's okay, this is still a nice foodie scent. --And the very end of this seems to reinforce a buttered almond smell. So nice! Overall: Very nice! I could love this one!

Monster Bait: BiggerCritters- In Bottle: A sweet fruity rich smell, but also a little rotting-meat, plastic-diaper smell underneath. Is that the jasmine, is that what gives me that impression so often? Oh dear, if that's so. Odd that I haven't figured that out before this, in trying nearly five hundred scents. Wet: Oh, that is much nicer initially on--something foody and sweet, and that rotting-meat whiff seems to be not nearly so prominent. Let's see how this dries down. Dry: It dries down to something that can't be denied is a little rot-whiff jasmine; if I hadn't bought a 5ml of this unsniffed, I'd probably be saying, "Eh, not for me." But I want to like this, darn it, so I'll keep sniffing at my wrists and see if I like it as we go further. --I'm not sure I do. I'll have to try it again and see if it grows on me. Some of these "maybe" scents, or scents I wish I liked, do grow on me, like Smut and Snake Oil. Overall: Not sure. Will try again.

Villain- In Bottle: Spicy. OH. This is a much more delicious take on lavender than I am used to! I wonder if it'll hold up on my skin? Wet: Just a little bit powdery, and definitely masculine and spicy but without the "insect repellent" smell of men's cologne. Oh, my. There's a very wicked man in leather gloves menacing me, I can smell it in this scent. Dry: Oh, geez, this will be one of those highly specialized scents, as in, not something I'll wear often, but I really will have to keep this around because, god, i would love to be consensually molested by this scent, I really would. The spice and the powder--I'm not sure I can separate the citrus (lime) in this but it's there, and this is easily my favorite lavender blend of BPAL to date. Overall: Specialized but I love.

Pink Phoenix- In Bottle: Sweeeeet juicy cherry-strawberry musk. Smells like a sweet young thing in heat! Wet: Same thing on my skin, highly strawberry-fruity with underlying musk. Dry: Yummy! This stays very much the same from bottle to dry-down, and the whole impression I get is sweet, yummy, and a scent I very much like to wear on my skin, it isn't just about candy and fruit (though I like candy and fruit lots). Overall: I love!

Stardust (2005)- In Bottle: Whoa, I really do smell hair spray. That ozone-smoke smell. I happen to like hair spray, but I wonder what it will smell like on my skin. Wet: Amazingly hairspray-ish. There's flowers to promote that scent, underneath. Dry: What an interesting dry-down--it dries down to a perfumey, hot flower scent that seems like it would appeal to those who like traditional spicy perfumes. I do like it; I don't think it's one of my favorites but I can see I how I wouldn't want to do without this one in my collection. It could get addictive. Overall: I do like.

Anathema- In Bottle: Something floral and heavy, like a humid day. There's a hint of cherry-almond like Jergens lotion. Wet: So very HEAVY. Hard to explain! Floral, yes. Rich, yes. Dry: I like this in the same way that I like Black Lily--because it is floral but it is creamy and heavy and does not go sour in the way a lot of florals do. I think I like this one! Overall: Not bad!

Glitter 2006- In Bottle: Fruit-scented champagne. Almost like sangria! Wet: Bubblegum and champagne. Remarkably sweet and delicious! Dry: This is so sweet and lovely. It smells just like the way I'd want a fun-filled evening to smell. Overall: I love.

The Bow and Crown of Conquest- In Bottle: Hello, I am a sharp masculine cologne that is reminiscent of insect repellent. Wet: Not nearly so obtrusive once it's on, kind of spicy. Dry: Well, I'm not so fond of this one, but I can see where it would smell interesting on a man. Not a bad scent but I don't care for it myself. Overall: Not for me.

Nemesis- In Bottle: Resinous and spicy, hard to pin down! Wet: A little cedar, continued spice; this is interesting! Dry: It fades down to something sour-floral spicy, not very obtrusive, but not all that fascinating for me. Overall: Interesting but not for me.

Eclipse- All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon. In Bottle: Almond is the most obvious, and the vanilla tempers it nicely. The cinnamon is hinted at too. Wet: Deliciously foodie, like almond-vanilla soap. Dry: Fast fader, too bad; it fades to something soapy and vanilla, a little baby-powderish. Pleasant, but I wish the almond lasted longer. Overall: Pleasant but a fast fader.

The Death of Sardanapal- In Bottle: Cinnamon and wine, really cloying, yipe. Wet: Still cloying like cinnamon and wine. Dry: This is very resinous-incensey and it's just too cloying for me to be able to enjoy it. Too bad! Overall: Not for me.

King Cobra- In Bottle: Resinous and spicy. Wet: Wood and resin, the scent of Snake Oil is only hinted at beneath it. Sweetly resinous. Dry: It's sweet and almost fruity, this spicy-resinous smell! Very nice and has a great dry-down. Not floral but sweet and fruity-foody. Overall: I like!

Habu- In Bottle: Sharp and eye-opening, the insect-repellant smell I dislike in many men's colognes. Wet: Much fruitier and juicier on! The insect repellant smell is not present at all. Dry: Wow, what a difference from the bottle! This dries down to a floral-fruity-spicy version of Snake Oil, which I find I even prefer to the original Snake Oil. I didn't think I was going to like this one, but I do! Overall: I like!

Green Tree Viper- In Bottle: Mm, minty. At first soft and vanilla minty but after sniffing longer the mint is icier. Wet: Helllooo tea tree oil. Minty and creamy. Dry: This one doesn't last all that long on me! Pity, because it's lovely while it is there. I might have to see how it compares with the duration for Snowblind, since that's in such limited quantity. It'd be nice to have something less rare to compensate. Overall: Lovely but doesn't last long.

Death Adder- In Bottle: Ooh, dry and bitter like a desert. And I mean that in a good way. Wet: The coconut and the vetiver complement each other beautifully! That tiny hint of sweet-and-dry. Dry: I LOVE this. Dry and coconut-yummy and so very, very interesting. A little masculine but I'd much rather wear it on myself than smell it on a guy. What a beautiful blend of dry-and-sweet. Overall: I love.

Cottonmouth- In Bottle: Floral, a little citrusy. Wet: Very bright floral with some citrus. Dry: This is not a bad scent at all, but I am not as excited about florals to be in love with it. But it's nice for being a floral! I think it's the Snake Oil that does make it feel like that. Overall: Nice. Not as exciting for me personally.

Coral Snake- In Bottle: Wow, the apple is huge! In the bottle it's the nicest apple scent I've smelled. Wet: Apple, and something flowery, and something candy-like. Candied apple with flowers! Dry: This is beautiful, fruit-flowery without ever becoming sour floral on me. Rich and spicy with apple dominating. Overall: I love.

Boomslang- In Bottle: Spicy and musky, as close to the original Snake Oil as I can imagine. Wet: The chocolate blooms quickly, quite nice! It's overwhelming any other scent, this chocolate. Dry: The chocolate recedes; I find that what remains smells simply like Snake Oil. Not that that's bad, but after that first chocolaty smell the novelty is over. Again, not a tragedy, as one's left with pleasant Snake Oil. Overall: Nice, like Snake Oil.

Banded Sea Snake- In Bottle: Herbal-sweet. And there is some rich creaminess in there too; it smells a lot like Dorian! Wet: Whoa, it's that same sugary tea smell of Dorian! I mean, it seems almost identical. Fortunately I adore Dorian. Dry: I can't get over how much this smells like a rich version of Dorian, with the underlying creaminess beneath the light sugared tea smell. I could eat this up. Overall: I love.

Australian Copperhead- In Bottle: Ooh, a huge delicious berry scent on this. Wet: Berry, flowers, and something almost mentholated. Dry: I hardly smell Snake Oil at all in this! This is just remarkable--the dry-down is all rich berries, and I wouldn't even know there's Snake Oil here; it's like a canvas, where there's this gorgeous picture and you can't see any white in it, except that you had to start with a bare white canvas to get this gorgeous picture. That's the richness of the Snake Oil making it a rich scent. Overall: Remarkable!

Asp Viper- In Bottle: Mmm, almond sweetness, and richness underneath. Wet: Strong almond. Dry: The almond sweetness recedes and leaves around the cleanness of new Snake Oil, but that's no bad thing. The impression I get is of sweet Snake Oil upon the depths of the dry down. I really like this blend. Overall: Delicious!

Mandrake- In Bottle: Wood-and-chocolate. Cedar-ish. Wet: Less cedar-ish once it's on, but still woody. Still a pencil-shaving smell, and something like Play-Doh. Dry: Cedar wood is still the dominant note. Not my favorite, as it reminds me of hamster cages. Overall: Not for me.

Bilquis- In Bottle: Honey and almond, right away! Wet: Honeyed almond and wood and something floral. Dry: I love the complexity of this scent. It's impossible to classify, except as something rich and sweet. Overall: I like!