steffanina

Tulip- (No description for this one can I find, so, off I go into the unknown! I'm not sure I could voice what a tulip smells like, as I've always perceived it as an essentially scentless flower.) In Bottle: A very light, clean, opens-your-nostrils floral scent. Wet: My goodness! That underscent...that "scentless flower" scent is there in this! That nondescript vegetable-y scent, underneath that hot floral smell. Dry: This is not the smell I get when I put my nose into a tulip and sniff. But there's definitely the scent of a bunch of tulips all together,with the smell of their snapped green round stems almost as strong as the floral blooms themselves. This is nifty. Not a scent I'll want to wear all the time, but it doesn't go sour or musty on me and I love how it evokes the memory of flowers that don't have a strong scent. Overall: Interesting if not a frequent flyer for me.

Pink Snowballs 2011- In Bottle: Sugary perfume, neither floral or foody but some blend that won't quite come near each. I see why some think this is close to Snow White! Wet: A light soapy candy. Dry: Is it possible for candy to be soapy? Is it possible for this to be not "eww" but "how interesting!" It is! The perception of the Snow White scent is still there but less; Snow White is one of those scents I've wanted so much to love but there's something cloying in it I can't get over, so, I'm glad that fades. This is not a scent that's thrilling me but I want to try it again. It really does give me the essence of "pink" under everything. Overall: Not completely sure; will try again.

Leather Phoenix- In Bottle: (The ingredients in this weren't what attracted me so much as the commemorative nature of this blend.) Sharp cologne-y smell, and leather. Wet: Not quite so sharp and eye-watering as I feared. The leather blooms. Dry: The leather is just too sickly-sweet for me. Sad! Overall: Not the sort of leather blend I can wear. *goes back to Whip and Dead Man's Hand for optimal leather scent*

Event Horizon- In Bottle: Strong, perfume-y but not sharp. Wet: A dark, but not sharp, perfume. I had thought this would be musky but it's not; it's quite heavy, though. Sweetness is coming out. Dry: Dark and sweet but not too sweet. Not a dry scent. Overall: Not the kind of thing I usually wear but interesting! I may want to try this again in the future.

Sugar Cookie 2011- In Bottle: Sugar Cookie 2004 has for years been my favorite BPAL scent, no lie. This smells like the 2004 version: like sugar cookie dough with that nutmeg tang. Oh, joy. Wet: Yes, I think this is every bit the 2004 version. Rich raw cookie dough with nutmeg. Dry: Delightful raw cookie dough, how I love you. Overall: Identical, as far as I can tell, to Sugar Cookie 2004. This DELIGHTS me.

French Love- In Bottle: Indefinable! Sweet, and somehow nostalgic--I get this whiff of a gift shop I used to go to in my childhood... Wet: Fruity-honey sweet. Has that Dragon's Blood type of base in it. Dry: Very sweet; aggressively sweet and bright, with a little...whiff of something like civet-y reek underneath it Overall: Not for me.

Anubis- In Bottle: Resin, floral, wine, sweetness. Wet: Honey-sweet, a little floral. Dry: Very sweet; the resin is not medicinal at all. Overall: A little too resinous for me to want it as a wearer.

The Coil- In Bottle: A little sharp, a little minty. Something in it reminds me of Velvet Nudie. Wet: Lemony flowers. Not lemon itself, but...lemony florals. Still a little minty. Dry: Mintiness dominates the drydown, but not an agressive mintiness. There's still that lemony floral scent. That's about all it does for me; it's not a remarkable scent for me, but it's not unpleasing. Overall: Not for me on first try, but interesting.

Jerusalem Cherry Infused Honey- In Bottle: Honey and pine. Wet: Almost mentholated pine, with honey underneath. Dry: Pine and menthol are gone within minutes. Honey with a very light floral undertone all the way through. Not a foodie honey scent but a light and sweet one. Overall: Pretty light honey scent.

Maenad- In Bottle: Strong, eye-watering floral. Wet: Not quite so eye-watering. Floral with a strawberry undertone. Dry: The berry scent is stronger, but a little cloying with the florals. This doesn't work for me, pity. Overall: Too cloying and floral for me.

Bread-and-Butterfly- In Bottle: Sugar, toasted; if I go back for a second and a third and a fourth sniff, I can't smell the sugar any longer and something ever so lightly floral-fragrant appears. Wet: Light sugar with tea; the tea has a lemony hint but just a hint. Dry: Sweet and very lightly creamy, with that floral-tea hint. Not at all acrid or "perfumey" even though it has that floral hint. Delicate, and sweet and very nice! I wish that toasted sugar remained the strongest note but it's still nice. This doesn't seem very long-lasting but I like it. Overall: I'm so glad I tried this! I'm sure I'll wear it.

Aperotos Eros- In Bottle: This is one of those scents I'm reluctant to put on my body, because it has strong notes I don't usually like to wear. Benzoin just smells like medicine to me. I feel like I smell nag champa even if that isn't listed. I think I'm going to try it on my ankle instead of my wrist. Wet: Faint. (Good thing I can get my ankle to my nose.) I smell sweetness with the benzoin sweetness dominating. And I still get nag champa; maybe that's the "Indian musk." Dry: Hugely long-lasting, and it still reminds me more of nag champa than anything else. It's a perfectly nice scent but it's just too much for me. Overall: Not one I will want to wear.

White Chocolate, Black Raspberry, and Apricot Cordial Truffle- In Bottle: Alcoholic floral fruits. Delicious! Wet: Black raspberry fights for dominance. It reminds me of those great jellied raspberry candies. I don't think I smell the chocolate but it might be fleshing out the base of the scent. Dry: Sweet and fruit-floral, with that rich alcoholic note. I think it's primarily a Black Raspberry Cordial scent, but I have no problem with that, it's delicious. (And it's nothing like cherry cough syrup!) Overall: Sweet fruity foody scent; I like a lot!

Dark Chocolate, Whiskey, and Cognac Truffle- In Bottle: Woo, intense whiskey! Smells a lot like the whiskey of Mad Sweeney (which I love). Wet: Sweet whiskey with a candy undertone. Wow, this is good. Dry: *sniff sniff* Hellooooo? Where did you go? Wow, all I've got is this little hint of dry something, like the inside of a wood barrel, but that's all that's left. I kind of like this "inside of a wood barrel" residue, but it's so very faint. Overall: A fast fader on me but quite delicious for what it gives.

White Chocolate, Strawberry, and White Pepper Truffle: In Bottle: I can smell the softness of the white chocolate, and the strawberry is nicely sweet and subdued. No pepper yet. Wet: Slightly floral under the strawberries, a little fragrant like perfume. White chocolate is almost undetectable. Dry: Like a sweet floral strawberry; the white chocolate is subtle if it's there at all. Not as candy-like as I'd wanted, but very nice! I never did get the white pepper in any strength I would recognize, but I bet it gave it some of this floral richness. Overall: A creative strawberry scent!

Milk Chocolate and Matcha Green Tea Ganache Truffle: In Bottle: Oh, dear, something musty and unpleasant. A hint of ginger, too, perhaps? Wet: Not so much musty scent, and the ginger is stronger. Wait, I think it's lemon-lime that's rising up, rather than ginger. No chocolate at all. Dry: Lemon-lime, with a little tea suggestion under it to temper it all. Darn, I had such hopes for this one; I love matcha candies. Overall: Doesn't do what I'd hoped on me. Oh, well.

Dark Chocolate and Key Lime Truffle: In Bottle: Strong sweet lime candy scent. Wet: Lime, but not so much lime candy as lime perfume. Dry: Shoot, I don't like what's happening to this lime. No chocolate left on me, and the lime turns musty. Or maybe it's the chocolate remnant turning musty, but, either way, it doesn't work so well in the dry-down. Overall: Would work nicely as a scent locket if I want a lime scent (which I do like).

Milk Chocolate, Coconut, Cardamom, Rum, and Ginger Truffle: In Bottle: Milk chocolate with a hint of hazelnut-coffee hits me. Wet: Milk chocolate and a little alcoholic note. I think I can smell the perfume of the cardamom. Dry: Chocolates turn into hazelnut-coffee chocolates on me, though this is not necessarily a bad thing! Particularly when they don't go musty. The coconut makes this just a bit sweet on me, but the cardamom and ginger amp this up in a deliciously spicy way. Overall: I like a lot. A great chocolate scent on me.

Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand- In Bottle: Fruit-florals and sweetness. I smell orange. Wet: Not quite orange, there's something else offsetting it. Something else fruit-floral, and a strong, almost acrid note in the back of my throat. Dry: The orange blooms up again, the acrid note recedes but I can still tell it's there. And here comes the honey but there's an acetone-like background with it which makes the whole thing too sweet and strong, too cloying for me. I like this best in the bottle, I fear. Overall: Better for me as a scent locket.

Old Scratch- In Bottle: I think I smell lavender; this doesn't give me that slap of men's cologne right away. Wet: Very faint on my skin, just the merest hint of soft soft cologne. Dry: I'm not sure why but this is giving me an unpleasant, slightly nauseated feeling. It's like all the things I fear about men's cologne just decided to go into stealth mode until they could sneak past my defenses and go, "HA!" It doesn't agree with me. Overall: Not for me.

Blackberry Jam and Scones- In Bottle: Lightly fruity but with a hint of florals tempering it. Wet: Wow, this is faint. I get a floral powderiness off it and it's really faint. Where is my blackberry foody goodness I expected? Dry: It's gone. Off into the ether with a floral memory wisp, nothing else. It's like I never put anything at all on my skin. Oh, that makes me so sad. Overall: A mere thread of a scent, shows not at all on me. Wah.

Goblin- In Bottle: I smell Goblin and become afraid, very afraid. I smell peanut butter and pencil shavings and a cruel dry smell like vetiver. It's a little sickening. Where's the patchouli? It's not like any patchouli I know. I just don't think I can put this on my skin. Maybe on my ankle. Wet: Sickening sweet nut butter and pencil shavings. I'm glad I didn't put this on my wrist. I love patchouli as a rule but I can't find it here; it's just this sickening sweetness and woodiness. Dry: I think it's the black coconut which has been my terror. The very eventual dry-down is sweet black coconut, tamed and unoffensive, but I can't get through those initial stages for it. If I want black coconut and vetiver I'll happily enjoy Death Adder; this just didn't work for me. Overall: Too sickeningly sweet for me, sadly.

In Bottle: Oddly soured citrus. Wet: Not so sour, not so citrus. Elusive. Herbal or floral, I'd guess. Dry: Soapy, in that it smells like an herbal/floral blend one would use for soap. Clean-smelling but with an edge. Soon, though, a sour smell like the change some rose scents go through for me. Overall: Does what florals often do on me, so, not for me.

The Phantom Cow of Yerba Buena Island- In Bottle: A soft evergreen with an almost citrus hint. Wet: Softly evergreen. Dry: A slow fade of that evergeen-like scent. Pleasant, but not one I'll covet. Overall: Pleasant soft evergreen scent.

Suck It- In Bottle: Almond, and Cherry cough syrup. Wet: The cherry cough syrup is not very medicinal, more like cherries and booze, and there's an almond hint. Ooh, I'm very pleased at how not-medicinal this is. Dry: Oh, wait, where is this pepper coming from? It's an odd, peppery scent, taking the place of the sweet booziness. Maybe that's what brandy does? Soon the pepper recedes and I'm left with cloying cherry syrup, sadly. Overall: A morpher, but its final stages don't work for me.