ACVail24

Hymn to Proserpine I wanted to love this one - but alas; twas not meant to be. Upon application to drydown all I got was distressed, foul amber. Amber usually works very well on me ; as does pomegranate ; but apparently not in this perfume. No pomegranate, foul amber and this overall mold smell. not pleasant at all. 0 of 10 Ranking

Pumpkin Soap I could smell this in the mailbox! And it was fantastic! Once I opened the box my room smelled like freshly cut jack-o-lanterns. I didn't use my bars right away because I was so in love with how they scented my room...ah, nostalgia. I have since opened 1 bar and decided to cut it into smaller pieces for use. I used my small cutting for a wonderfully decandent bath the other day and my goodness - did it smell like pumpkin! My skin emerged a little on the dry side (not unsual for me + soap of any kind) and I smelled very much like the season of fall - pumkin with hints of creaminess and spice. Verdict: I will probably use this more as a hand soap than for my showers & baths. If the bar had a touch more spice & moisture to it, then it would be a different matter... 7 of 10 Ranking in use... 9 of 10 Ranking in scent!

Australian Copperhead In the Bottle: Berries! and an undertone of Snake Oil and vanilla. On my Skin, Wet: More berries and smoky vanilla! I get the SO but it's delightfully subtle - it lets the berries and vanilla be the stars! On my Skin, Dry: A little more SO now, but still mostly smoky vanilla and a berry-licious undertone. Verdict: 9 of 10 Ranking! very beautiful & sophisticated - but still young & playful. Wonderful snake!

The Death of Autumn 2007 In the Bottle: Less intense than October but very very similar to my nose - could it be the 'dead leaves' note, I wonder? On my Skin, Wet: A sweeter version of October. On me, October was very masculine and quite pungent too... TDoA is not as strong, sweeter, and more feminine. This really could be a cute little set, TDoA for the gal & October for the guy I can't break down TDoA by notes - it's too well blended for me to pick up on any single note. On my Skin, Dry: Sweet, smoky, and resin-y. Not very strong either - just wiffs of it when I move my arm near my face. this is a very fall oriented scent - it would be difficult to wear during the spring or summer I think. Verdict: 8 of 10 Ranking. very lovely & evocative! ETA: I can smell the chrysanthemum! and hints of the clove too- but mostly this scent is dead leaves and amber on me - but SO well blended that I had to wear it a couple of days to catch the subtleties of it! Very beautiful!

Singing Moon 2007 In the Bottle: Jojoba oil? hmm...strange - but since it's somewhat of a sea - based scent I guess that's not such a big surprise On my Skin, Wet: Jojoba oil and white flowers. the overall impression for me is a seashore up on a cliff, surrounded by little white wildflowers. I smell what seems to me like seaspray too. On my Skin, Dry: more seashore evoking imagery and seaspray. I still get white wildflowers & now I'm picking up what seems to be lichen? hmmmm...that's a new one for me. Verdict: very evocative! This isn't really something that I would like - but somehow it speaks to my "ancient" self....which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I can't think of another way to describe it. 9 of 10 Ranking!

Long Night Moon 2007 In the Bottle: This smells like Snow Moon - which I LOVE! On my Skin, Wet: yep - Snow Moon. with a touch more florals. On my Skin, Dry: Snow Moon base scent- but then a glorious field of frost-crystallized flowers makes an appearance! beautiful! they are cold florals - nothing warm about this scent, yet it is somehow inviting. Verdict: at first I thought this was Snow Moon revisited - but it is a very different moon in its own right. the initial application was a dead ringer to Snow Moon - but then it transforms into the most lovely field of glittering flowers and mists under that familiar silver light. Gorgeous! 8 of 10 Ranking! ETA: I must've been on a hormonal roller coaster the first time I wore this - it smells nothing like Snow Moon in the bottle!! instead I smell frozen solid flowers - something akin to buttercups, even! It does still remind me of Snow Moon - but not nearly as much as I thought initially. Where Snow Moon is cold and floral but soft, like powder snow; Long Night Moon is cold floral and hard, like hore frost. They are still similar - but not almost identical like I had originally thought

Egg Nog 2007 In the Bottle: Cream. And a touch of booziness. On my Skin, Wet: Cream! and the beginnings of rum I think... not very impressive at this stage. On my Skin, Dry: more complex now -but still predominantly cream. I can smell the rum now & some spiciness to it as well. I'm not an Egg Nog drinker so I can't compare this to the real thing - but I'd probably sip this if it had been handed to me in a cup.... (though hopefully I would have noticed the lack of color & consistancy before taking the plunge ) Verdict: I will wear this around the holidays, but that's gonna be it. We'll see if it doesn't make it to the "elsewhere" pile in time. 5 of 10 Ranking

The Peacock Queen 2007 In the Bottle: Heavily rose and quite herbal too! I can see how this differs from Rose Red already! On my Skin, Wet: Green & a massive red rose! This is a rose completely open and very rich smelling - the scent evokes the image of a complete bouquet of red roses, but you can only smell one rose out of the bunch - because that one rose is so strong that there is no need for the others to smell like anything....make sense? no. but that's what I smell On my Skin, Dry: Roses, Roses, and Greenery! I have no idea what makes the difference between Rose Red and the Peacock Queen - but it's significant - even though they are both rose scents. Verdict: I MUCH prefer Rose Red over the Peacock Queen; but I will wear the PQ for more sophisticated nights out vs. Rose Red where I can use her under just about any circumstance! 7of 10 Ranking!

El Dia de Reyes 2007 In the Bottle: Hot chocolate with a splash of coffee anyone? this smells fabulous! On my Skin, Wet: OMG a chocolate that works on me!!! LOVE! I can smell the coffee and the brown sugar too - lovely lovely lovely!! On my Skin, Dry: Still heavily chocolate, but it DEFINITELY smells like the Mexican hot chocolate my family makes on Christmas day! ::mmmmmm....nostalgia!!:: The one drawback for me is that I can't smell the cinnamon - but it's a very minor issue for me. The rest of the scent is just so awesome! Verdict: Another bottle please!! This is the only chocolate scent that has really worked on me & the memories it evokes are astounding because of the accuracy of the hot chocolate!! 10 of 10 ranking!!

Pumpkin III 2007 I was wanting to buy the entire pumpkin patch - but decided to see how one pumpkin compared to GC Jack instead... In the Bottle: Wet thick pumpkin - to me this smells almost like pure pumpkin, with no other ingredients... When compared to Jack, PIII is a true pumpkin smell; whereas Jack smells like thick butter in it's bottle. On my Skin,Wet: Still pumpkin, but with the cream note starting to appear. I can vaguely smell the chocolate- but it's very faint on me. I do not smell the pomegranate at all - which is actually OK with me for some reason. I cannot smell the caramel either - but I can detect it in there. It's lurking.... On my Skin, Dry: Heavy cream with pumpkin undertones...no chocolate, no pomegranate, caramel is still lurking.... Jack smells more like Halloween to me nose - PIII is pumpkin dessert after the Halloween party is over. Verdict: A very nice, understated fall scent. It's foody without being too sweet or provoking the person sitting next to you into a hungerous rage I could wear this all year round for dessert outings with friends....mmmmmmm... dessert! 7 of 10 ranking!

The Haunted House: The Perilous Parlor In the Bottle: Almost nothing but sharp vanilla. There's a touch of something juicy, but in the bottle, it's very hard to determine what it might be... On my Skin, Wet: Pears!! Luscious, scrumptious, crisp fresh pears!! with a dusting of vanilla sugar on top! DIVINE! On my Skin, Dry: Luscious pears and decandent vanilla! this is wonderful! Absolutely fantastic! it's like a magical outdoor marketplace where they only specialize in fresh, crisp green pears and only work with the perfected vanilla beans to make the entire block smell glorious. Verdict: Love Love LOVE this blend has the perfect combination of freshness and warmth... the pears are the finest specimens the earth has to offer, and the vanilla is so thick and rich that it's almost an amber - not quite but almost.

Shojo Beat: Midnight Kiss In the Imp: Fruity & Fizzy! On my Skin, Wet: ACK! Patchouli!! ew! On my Skin, Dry: Less patchouli, but also the wine note - which is 50-50 on me. this is not one of those positive 50's. Verdict: Since I'm not a fan of patchouli, I doubt that this one will stick around, but I'll try it one more time without hormone interferrence. ::washes off MK:: oh, well- Guess I'll try again in a week or so..... 1 of 10 ranking for me

Incubus In the Bottle: Is this a caramel single note? seriously, I don't smell anything else On my Skin, Wet: Oh my! LOTS of caramel! yum, yum, yum! with a teeny tiny hint of mint and a subdued presence of musk On my Skin, Dry: 3/4 caramel, 1/4 minty musk the throw has diluted quite a bit - so it's more of an aura than a scent now. Verdict: I think I'll try this one in the Phoenix locket! I REALLY want to try it on the BF....mmmmm, caramel scented boy!! Quite a wonderful scent - it's not quite me, but it could be! 8 of 10 rating

Samhain 2007 I was definitely on the fence about this one - I really, really wanted to try it, but I wanted to read some '07 reviews before taking the plunge. Well, the reviews were quite helpful in mentioning that there was no patchouli overtones - only a small number even mention it in their reviews at all. Also, the bottle is awesome! In the Bottle: PINE! it's like a mini forest in there! I really don't get any other notes from the bottle. My skin does like the wood notes quite a bit - so I'm not worried. On my Skin, Wet: A tiny bit of patchouli - it's quite subtle, but I'm not happy about it anyway. some more pine - or maybe it's the fir....either way it dominates the patchouli - so I will encourage it! WAY TO GO WOOD NOTE!! On my Skin, Dry: Some spiciness that I can't really identify. it almost smells like incense, but not really. the wood note is still there but it's more in the background now - like a backdrop forest to a Halloween gathering of costumed mortals and genuine beasties 3 Hours later: no patchouli no wood note no spiciness ALL DARK CHOCOLATE I never experienced the spiced apples, so I'm a little sad about that - but frankly, I'm super excited about a chocolate Samhain!! It's possible that I need another few hours to see if the apples show up - so maybe I could wind up with DARK CHOCOLATE COVERED SPICED APPLES!!!! ::SQUEE!!!:: Verdict: I need another bottle!! 10 of 10 rating!! Gorgeous, gorgeous blend Beth! ETA: I DID get dark chocolate covered spiced apples after about 7 hours!!!!

Vampire Tears In the Bottle: Kind of a mix of sweet & bitter fruits...maybe some kind of incensy note in there too. On my Skin, Wet: Black Licorice? Hmm. Weird. oh, wait - it's black licorice & gardenia. definitely weird - really not what I was expecting at all! On my Skin, Dry: the licorice smell goes away now - I can pick out the neroli. this is starting to remind me of The Raven but with Grapefruit or Tea or something other than voilets. Verdict: Interesting, interesting. I like it for some strange reason (I hate black licorice) but this one morphs quite a bit in subtle ways - it's too interesting to be disappointing!

Beaver Moon 2007 After reading such fabulous reviews of the original Beaver; I don't think I even looked at the ingredients before ordering! In the bottle; Smells an awful lot like MB:Bloody Mary, which was almost nothing but sour milk on me - but this is the Beaver Moon, surely it will behave more to my liking! ::crosses fingers:: On my Skin, Wet: OMG - strawberry delight!! This reminds me of the strawberry & bavarian cream dessert at La Madeliene! ONLY INFINITELY BETTER!!!! On my Skin, Dry: Sugary sweet strawberry! luscious cream! And something a little bit pie-crust like....hmmm...... Verdict: Thank you, thank you Beth for bringing this moon back this year!!

Crypt Queen In the bottle: kind of musty roses & some just-about-to-turn-rotten fruit On my Skin, Wet: Pepper! Patchouli! Roses! The patchouli is stronger than I was hoping for - but thankfully it's not "hippie" patchouli, just kind of earthy & grounding. The pepper tickles my nose a little - but not enough to make me sneeze The roses smell like they are just slightly dry (like when your bouquet is a day or two away from becoming papery) On my Skin, Dry: Roses & Raspberry(?) The rose note is fairly noticeable, though not overpowering. Still a little on the dry side. I don't think I've come across a perfume with raspberry before (even in BPAL! ::gasp!: so I'm not positive that the fruity note is raspberry; but I can say that it doesn't smell like pomgranate to me 3 - 4 Hours later: Pretty good staying power, though after puttering around in some dusty old books, I think the dust overrides CQ somewhat. It still smells like drying roses, but also the pepper comes back out a little - and kind of flashes back and forth with the raspberry note. Verdict: Very interesting & thankfully not patchouli heavy! I really am interested in the raspberry note - it's so pretty & subtle. the roses have that GREAT quality of being borderline papery - it's an astounding note! Well done, Beth! 8 of 10 ranking! Note on the coffin: The moss was a great touch! The coffin itself is nice and substantial with some beautiful golden finishes on it. Lovely & perfect for Halloween!

All Souls 2007 In the Bottle: Heavy heavy incense - and nothing else. On my Skin, Wet: Still heavy incense, but with a sugary fruit note in the background. On my Skin, Dry: Incense and sugared currant. in that order. Verdict: I really, really like this blend. I greatly enjoy an incense blend if done well. All Souls 2007 is one of those blends! (Also, currant and my chemistry have a BBF clique thing going on - so I figured this one would work out well. And it sure did!)

October 2007 In the Bottle: Its smells like a dark version of Ulalume to me. On my Skin, Wet: yep- Ulalume with smoke instead of lilies. On my Skin, Dry: Red leaves, smoke and a slight touch of sap. I do not notice a "cold" feel to it, more just "masculine" Verdict: This oil is not really my taste - but I do like it for some reason. If it ages well it could become really, really nice or just awful. I do want to wait and see though.

13 - July 2007 I was very, very excited about a 13 with an orchid note! I bought 2 bottles right away In the Bottle: Smells very much like some kind of expensive candy shop. Quite foody but not necessarily sweet - and there are bouquets of fresh flowers throughout this store, so there are wafts of floral notes mixed in with the overall gourmand flavor of this version of 13. On my Skin, Wet: Lots and lots of Honey! I should know by now that honey is a note that will either amp like crazy or swallow the rest of the perfume. at least I have honey this time instead of an oil disappearing act On my Skin, Dry: Honey. Oh, wait - and Orchid! And Starfruit! OMG STARFRUIT!!! WOW!! I am definitely impressed that the honey did not remain the dominant note! OMG STARFRUIT!!! This is AMAZING! ::LOVES:: Verdict: At first this was nothing but honey on me and I had given up hope that there would be anything else to it. Then there was Orchid with the honey - and my nose was exceedingly joyous! THEN the Starfruit joined the party and it was all over for me - TRUE 13 LOVE!! 10 of 10 rating!

Black Lily In the Bottle: Clean, airy Lily - with an underlying shadow that is somehow creamy. On my Skin, Wet: Creamy shadowed Lily. I smell what seems to be the onset of Vanilla. On my Skin, Dry: Spicy, creamy Lily & Vanilla. it subtly reminds me of Peitho for some reason. Verdict: Not one that I'll reach for often but definitely one that I'll keep a 5ml around for. Like fiddledragon stated: "I can see the "black" connotation, but it's an elegant dinner black, not a sinister black" I couldn't have said it better! thanks fiddledragon!

Allison Gross I bought this one more out of curiosity than anything else... In the Bottle: Very very herbalicious! This is so strong in the bottle that I'm leary of putting it on - All I smell are herbs; no Dragon's Blood, no Moonflower, nothing except herbs! On my Skin, Wet: The herbs amp somewhat now (oh-no! ) but there also seems to be an undercurrent of orange or something floral - though at this stage I still cannot pinpoint anything except herbs On my Skin, Dry: Still herby but definitely subdued. I get the warmth of the Dragon's Blood now, but cannot say that I actually smell it. I am also smelling what seems to be the sunflower! The sunflower just glows on the surface - and is very lovely. Verdict: I was not expecting the herbs to dominate the early stages as they did - but the end result is worth the journey. 6 of 10 rating.

Cottonmouth - The Snake Pit In the Bottle: Fresh and floral! I can smell the Snake Oil spices and vanilla, but they are the base for the lovely, lovely florals. On my Skin, Wet: Stronger Florals and Snake Oil vanilla mostly - very nice! It does have that 'clean' feeling to it that other forumites have mentioned - loving this so far! On my Skin, Dry: Spicy creamy florals on me. I cannot pick out the Snake Oil anymore, though it's presence is still definitely felt in the spices and creamy-ness that vanilla tends to do on my skin. Verdict: I love this wonderous snake! I have to admit that I'm torn between Cottonmouth, Coral Snake and Boomslang. I also really really want to try Habu, King Cobra and Green Tree Viper and on the fence about either Asp Viper or Saw-Scaled Viper.... so many snakes, only so much $$$$ I want to try other snakes from the pit until I decide on a favorite!

Thunder Moon 2007 Preface: I LOVE thunderstorms and a full moon - there was no way I wasn't going to buy this one. In the Bottle: Ozone - lots and lots of Ozone! Ozone actually works on me 95% of the time so I'm excited! On my Skin, Wet: More Ozone, but I also smell a little bit of the 'water soaked summer blooms' peeking out now and then - I don't smell any of the wood notes though, nor the grasses. On my Skin, Dry: Less Ozone now, more florals and a note that reminds me vaguely of BPAL's Lightning - maybe it's the amber or rain note... Verdict: Thunder Moon 2007 is a sister to BPAL's Tempest - I have always pictured Lightning as being a 'male' Ozone scent and Tempest being a 'female' Ozone scent....Thunder Moon 2007 is the floral version of Tempest. I have a 10mL of both Lightning and Tempest so I HAD to get two bottles of Thunder Moon 2007 Wonderful Lunacy Beth!! Thank you so much!!

Voodoo Blends: Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo Well, I DEFINITELY needed a pick-me up yesterday - being on the verge of crying as a result of other peoples shortcomings is most certainly not a happy place. In the Imp: (Freebie!! Thanks BPAL!!) Very intense sugar! It's not a pink sugar for me like other reviewers seem to get - my sugar is golden and silvery! There is also a tiny dab of cinnamon to my nose here. I couldn't pinpoint the warm note though - which other Forumites have described as berries/cherry. I'll go with that for the warm note - I can definitely picture sugared cherries now On my Skin, Wet: OOOO - More sugar! and the cinnamon & cherries kindof fade into the background a little bit, not much though. THIS IS WONDERFUL!!! I no longer feel like I'm about to cry (please note that the situation hasn't changed any between pre-ACJM and application) I'm even feeling less depressed/enraged!! AMAZING! On my Skin, Dry: Golden Sugared Cherries!! with a cinnamon stick in the background - carried on the breeze Maybe there's a tiny tiny touch of anise or some other spice - It's wonderfully subtle! Verdict: I MISS THE 10mL BOTTLES NOW!!!! Phooey! Oh well, I guess it's going to be two 5mL instead (but with the next Lunacy update- can't let the moon travel alone ) 5 of 5 rating!