Wwindy

Yum! To me this smells a little like a cross between Eggnog Latte and El Dia de Reyes: spicy chocolate coffee, with added nuts! It's a little less creamy/eggy than Eggnog Latte and not boozy at all, but the overall impression is definitely related. I'm getting the same strong blast of cinnamon other reviewers have reported; I don't, however, pick up much by way of the pumpkin except for a slightly buttery aspect -- which is just fine by me. *Huge* throw on this; I actually applied a fair amount less oil than I usually do, and am still making my whole office smell like pumpkin spice latte!

Dragon's blood turns into a strong lilac-like floral on me, so the heavy dose of sandalwood here pretty much winds up just barely balancing that out. The sandalwood holds its own more strongly on my wrists and the backs of my hands, but the dragon's blood wins in my cleavage or the crooks of my elbows. The final result goes back and forth between incense-y sandalwood and a lilac/lily combination with a faint tinge of soap. Not bad, but I think just a tiny bit too flowery for me -- people who get more resinous qualities from dragon's blood will likely not have that problem!

Yikes, my first BPAL cat pee experience!!! I had heard rumors about that happening with blackberry for some people, but had never smelled it myself before... After application, when I put my nose very close to my skin I could just barely pick up whiffs of what should have been a pretty combination of light floral orange blossom and green mint, but in the throw Couple Consulting an Enpon smelled EXACTLY like cat pee. I waited about 15 minutes before I gave up and washed my test patch off -- I guess it's possible the blend might have shifted if I'd given it more time, but I just couldn't cope with eau de fresh kitty accident. It's too bad -- as mentioned, I could catch olfactory glimpses of what this scent should be like, and it seems like it should be rather pretty on someone whose chemistry plays nicely with it.

I'm another one who finds this similar to Glowing Vulva. On my skin, it's almost entirely oak and vanilla -- a very rich, deep, saturated blend, not particularly sweet. I must really be amping this unevenly -- I don't get any fruit or ginger or even sandalwood at all. I like it, but the strong oak/non-sweet vanilla combination does come off as almost a little butch on me.

I thought I would really like this, but it goes both soapy and a little plasticky on me. I'm still hunting for my perfect green BPAL, it seems! ETA: Scratch that! I don't know if it was aging or a skin chemistry change (I'm inclined towards the latter for various reasons), but... Carlin is now exactly the deep leafy green scent I was hoping it would be. I really like that it's *just* greenery and nothing extraneous -- it's not grassy, not floral, just that rich, lovely greenery. Beautiful.

After the initial blast of black licorice, this winds up reminding me a little of Tom's of Maine fennel toothpaste (in a good way)! The licorice softens and acquires sweeter, more floral overtones over time -- not too much time, though, as this is definitely not a long-wear scent on me. It's interesting while it lasts, though!

devilot, have you tried Melainis (teak, frankincense, caramel, oakmoss, red currant, labdanum absolute, bitter clove, patchouli, star anise, tobacco, and black musk)? If you haven't, you should! It's kind of a scary blend when wet, but once it dries down... wooo!

I think it violates one of the Laws of Nature (Lamia and I shall not like the same scent, lest the universe implode!), but... I really like this. I don't get a huge amount of smoke from my decant; mostly I get clove and deep resins. It's almost like a cross between Mort de Cesar and Schwarzer Mond -- yum! Nice wear length, too, and a good amount of throw.

*whimper* aaayyyiiiieeee, orange zest up my nose! I thought the amber and myrrh might make this work for me, but this blend is just about all SUPER SHARP CITRUS + MARIGOLD as far as I can tell, with maybe a hint of dry crisp leaves in the background. I agree with Venneh about the wood polish association, and also possibly citrus cleaning fluid. The citrus calms down a little as this dries -- it's still just too much orange for me, though.

Wow, this one is weird. It's definitely smoky, but a pungently chemical kind of smoke rather than bonfire or tobacco -- very strong and harsh to my nose. In fairness, I don't like vetiver, but this seems much more artificial to me than the Lab's usual vetiver notes. My husband says it smells to him exactly like the spray used to smell when he would ride his bicycle behind the DDT truck as a young boy! (I know, I know, it was a different era...) So, if there's anyone out there who knows what DDT smells like, that's what my husband is comparing this to. I should also note that the oil itself seems thick and slow to dry on my skin.

It isn't GC, but The Sportive Sun is a warmer, brighter version of Labores Solis -- and it's usually fairly easy to track down.

If I hadn't come here and seen other reviews mentioning florals, I would've thought I had the wrong oil in this imp! I get virtually no greenery at all. The overwhelming impression here is strong white florals -- I'm guessing gardenia and something else I can't quite pinpoint. This is much too flowery for me. Very disappointing, as I was really hoping for the green and herbal aspects.

I love this so much I'm not sure I can even write coherently about it... The two dominant notes on my skin are the myrrh, warm and velvety and rich, and the fir, which is not fake-Christmasy at all, it's a very natural, deep, cool, foresty scent. The combination of the two almost *shimmers* in my nose: it's like the scent vibrates back and forth between those two extremes. Like one of those silks with different colors in the warp and weft, you know? where it changes its overall color depending on how you look at it? Rounding out the myrrh and fir is a musky incense blend with woody traces. The overall impression is very warm and exotic, but not overpowering and definitely not "perfumey" -- it's just this complex gorgeous evocative smell. There were people walking around saying "What smells so good?" the first time I wore this in company... turned out it was me! :love!:

Yikes, something in here really doesn't like me! My experience was much like Lamia's. In the imp, this smelled so strongly off to me -- yes, like stinky cheese, or something rotting -- that I almost couldn't bear to put it on my skin. Once I bucked up and put a dab on, I got overpowering wintergreen Lifesavers mixed with a hint of that foul funky whatever and a very, very faint trace of apples. *sigh* So not for me. So very, very not for me. And while this blend isn't quite as hideous on my skin, sniffing it in the imp is right up there with Badger in my tiny little file of SERIOUSLY BAD BPAL experiences.

In the bottle this definitely has a very strong hot, sandy, desert vibe to it. On my skin, it's gentler and less strident. I get raisins (but not grapes -- there's no overt fruitiness), sandalwood, lavender, and patchouli... with maybe a tiny bit of red musk. Sort of a strange combination, but it really works!

This oil smells *amazing* when I pour it out. I got all swoony over Zenobia when I took that first whiff of her... and then, like ravenfeathers, I wound up with plastic on my skin. *sigh* I think the calamus must be the problem note -- I'm not really familiar with it, but everything else here usually behaves just fine on me! I mostly use the bath oils like body lotion, but clearly I have to try something else with Zenobia, because I'd really like to be able to hang on to that initial fantastic rich resiny scent...

So who's wearing Labores Solis today in honor of the eclipse? I am! I love it when I can pull out exactly the right BPAL for a particular day/occasion.

I don't know, but it sounds maybe almost kinda like it could be Brides of Dracula? "Gleaming skin musk, honey and white amber, plum blossom, osmanthus, sandalwood, calla lily, and a light, sensual blend of Eastern spices."

Wow, that cubeb comes off really citrus-y! This seems like it's all lemony pink pepper on me. I wonder if maybe some of the notes didn't hold up well over time, or if this decant didn't get an even distribution of notes...

Hee! It's true, Lamia and I are pretty much textbook examples of scent opposites. I plead innocent on this particular failure, though... it's The Sportive Sun that I adore! However, I have to echo tartchef's well-written comparison of Sportive Sun and Labores Solis -- there really are strong similarities between the two, with Labores Solis having a more shadowy, cool-toned, almost "blue" feel. This one hovers much closer to the dreaded baby-powder amber effect for me (I don't have that problem with Sportive Sun at all), but the frankincense and the light fresh herbal aspects seem to keep it just on the right side of the line. Oh, look, Lamia... you were right! I like it.

Wet, this seems like it's going to be really nice -- I get the sweet lily, with a little bit of tang -- and then my skin turns it into an uncanny imitation of that cheap sanitizing soap you find in institutional bathrooms.

If I weren't looking at the note list, I would describe this (post dry-down) as dry, spicy carnation and incense with a touch of unsweetened coconut. Looking at the list, I'd say it's the clove and herbal/woody qualities of the hyssop and orris (maybe?) that are making me think of carnation. Don't ask me about the coconut, I don't know! The patchouli seems stronger in the vial than on my skin -- wet, it reminds me a little bit of its incarnation in Melainis. Dry, it isn't particularly prominent in the blend, but patchouli and I are suchveryclosefriends that it may just be playing super-nice with my chemistry. I like this a lot, but it's definitely got (appropriately enough) what one of my friends would refer to as "a strong personality"! Not for the faint of heart.

I love this scent. Litha '06 wasn't fantastic on me (too sweet and too faint), but this... this is something else! Note list be damned, when I first apply this it smells exactly like ivy and grass on a bright sunny day, with an overlay of warm golden honey. As it dries, the lovely rich frankincense comes out more and more. I get only a tiny hint of the florals -- I wouldn't have picked them out if I didn't know they were there. Hints of sweetened frankincense do stick around on my skin, but overall this doesn't have much staying power -- I don't mind, though, it's absolutely worth reapplying. This is the only BPAL I've ever had make it to *three* unsolicited compliments in one day of wear. Also... uh... my husband likes this. A lot. Like, he really likes it. This is exactly the summer blend I've been looking for! Thanks to tartchef for recommending it, and to hlinspjalda for swapping me a bottle! (and, hlinspjalda, I am sorry it didn't work out for you... but awfully glad to have my hands on it!)

This starts out all honeyed musky almonds. Over time, the amber comes out, but I'm not really getting much of the other notes. This blend does a weird thing on my skin -- for about five to ten minutes, it has virtually no presence or throw. I kept layering more on after my initial application, and now (two hours later) I still get almost nothing when I put my nose close to my skin, but I can tell I have a perceptible scent aura floating around me. Huh! I like this, but am not sure it's bottle-worthy due to the throw issue.

This is almost all jasmine and ylang-ylang on me, with maybe a touch of lily. There isn't much throw. Given how much I generally dislike florals, it's not *awful*... but I am surprised that there doesn't seem to be any resin, wood, or spice showing up. Not a keeper for me!