Wwindy

This smells like spring to me, not summer! On my skin it starts out all crushed green stems mixed with lemon pulp and zingy dried ginger (my nose definitely reads this as powdered ginger rather than fresh, don't ask me why). The bright green and citrus notes die down a little over time, mingling with something clean and airy. The amber stays far in the background. This didn't seem like it had a particularly long duration as far as I could tell, but when my husband sniffed me after about six hours of wear time, his assessment was that it smelled like an orchard -- so he must have picked up at least the greenery and lemon verbena. Overall, this is a very pleasant, bright scent... and such a fantastic concept! I think the lemony element might be a little strong in the beginning stages for my personal anti-citrus inclinations, but anyone looking for a good scent for work or other situations where you don't need the heady musky incense-y stuff will want to check this one out.

Gorgeous, but a heartbreaker! Wet, the marigold seems a little more prominent than the chrysanthemum to me -- the floral aspect has a very bright golden-orange, late summer/early autumn feel. The flowers blend smoothly with swirls of sweet cinnamon and smoky incense. It's a lovely, lovely scent, but... gone so quickly! I slathered this morning, and within two hours there was barely any trace left on my clothes. Very sad...

Androgynous indeed -- or metrosexual, maybe. In the bottle, Glukupikros is lightly herbal with mossy overtones and a bit of an evergreen edge. On my skin, this is a surprisingly clean scent. The overall impression is actually on the floral side of herbal, but not sweet; the lavender is prominent, shaded by the narcissus. The musk and woodmoss seem to be combining with the lavender for a light cologne effect. The woods are in there if I sniff for them, but very faint -- in fact, I don't really smell any of what I would have thought would be the dominant "heavy" notes in this blend. After reapplying in a couple of different spots, I notice the amber coming out a tiny bit more (the backs of my hands seem to have totally different chemistry from the rest of my body!). If I hadn't dabbed in the new locations, I wouldn't have picked out the amber at all. It's still not strong, and I'm still not getting any "vanilla caramel" in the slightest. Overall, this is a very subdued, clean, gender-neutral blend. The throw is minimal. Like Lycanthrope, I'm baffled by the contrast between the note list and the actual scent!

What a quirky scent! Weird, but very appealing. I get mostly the vanilla licorice cookie scent that others are reporting, underpinned by the leather from De Sade. To my nose the coal just adds a little edge of smokiness, BUT -- beware! -- there are some people who'll find that the dominant note. A friend of mine with a sensitive nose had a bad reaction to my merely opening the bottle in the same room with him ("Ack, I smell the coal, close it close it CLOSE IT!"). I still think it's pretty neat, though.

It's a little aquatic, but otherwise I thought Lyonesse (Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss) had a similar feel to L'Estate (Nepalese amber, vanilla infused amber, golden musk, sandalwood, golden lily, sunflower, and honey myrtle). Lyonesse is one of the Wanderlust blends. You could also try Inez (Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood) -- that's a Carnaval Diabolique and thus will be going away at some point in the not-too-distant future, but at least you still have time to stock up on it if it works for you.

Two words: Moldy basement. I don't think I've ever had a BPAL blend go quite so horribly wrong on me; on my skin this really does smell exactly like a damp, mildewy cellar. Not in anything remotely resembling a good way, either. *sigh* Well, I'm glad other people are getting earthy rooty goodness out of this, anyway!

I would start making noise ASAP. If the tracking says it was already delivered, there are three likely options -- it went to the wrong address, your doorpeople are sitting on it, or it's somehow gotten lost/misfiled in the system. Whichever it is, you probably want to get the investigation going...

Is it wrong how much I'm into the artwork for Piper at the Gates of Dawn? I think it might be...

Even though I was a little dubious about the orange and floral notes, I ordered this unsniffed because I loved the concept so much! On initial application... whew, that is one shrill, high-pitched blast of orange and pine! Sopranino panpipes?!? As things start drying down and mellowing out, though, Piper turns into a gorgeous musky patchouli with a hint of citrusy sparkle, rounded out with sweet warm honey and amber. I think this is the same heliotrope note I liked so much in The Sportive Sun; I'm not normally a floral fan but there's something about that heliotrope-amber combination that really seems to work. There wasn't a whole lot of throw for such an earthy scent, and it didn't stick around very long, but I'm hoping that's because I was experimenting with lotion today. I'll try again and see how it does on clean skin tomorrow. This is a beautiful concept and a beautiful blend, even if I do have to keep slathering. Anyway, I'm so in love with the label art that I'd be keeping my bottle no matter what!

Very evocative! It does smell dark: a hazy, purple kind of darkness. The clean herbal lavender and grounding rosewood balance it nicely at first, but as it dries down the thick sweet poppy comes out more and more, and I wind up with a lot of heavy perfume-y sweetness over a little powder from the amber. This is a very sophisticated, interesting blend -- not quite working for me, though.

I knew there was something sexy about the way he wooed Lady Anne, but who knew Richard III smelled so good?!? This reminds me a lot of Mort de Cesar (that wonderful dark clove/balsam/cypress combination) and a little of Valentine of Rome (the incense, cypress, and myrrh) -- but WooD (heh!) starts out with an added lighter, tangier note from the mandarin. I get a bit of the rosewood but not much if any of the nutmeg; I'm not sure what artemisia smells like, but there is something here a little more floral than MdC or VoR were for me. The evergreen sharpness fades down fairly quickly. Once on for a few hours, what's left is mostly musk and myrrh, spiced with clove. Not very Christmas-y on me, I don't think! Much more "dark Shakespearean villain"...

This smells exactly like Hershey's Kisses on me. I don't know what happened! I love amber and amber loves me! Not here, apparently... *sigh*

Holy morphing magic powers, BPAL! Wet, De Sade was SMOKE SMOKE SMOKE and MORE SMOKE on my skin, very much like the smoky scent/flavor you get in good Lapsang Souchong. Right around the time I was about to give the concept of leather up as a lost cause, abracadabra presto chango! Ta-da! It's a leather coat! I'd actually say this *isn't* a Coach bag or pair of high-end boots or an aged jacket -- to me it smells more like newish mid-range leather. To be specific, like maybe you just went out and bought a new flogger. (Not that I know what that smells like, Mom, honest!) ... Oh. Well, of course it would. O hai Beth, I see what you did there! This doesn't have a huge amount of throw and fades out fairly quickly, but it's certainly evocative while it lasts!

Hi systemaurora! I've had the same thing happen a bunch of times. I've been following the discussions about aging (for Lab imps) and decanting techniques (for non-Lab imps), but honestly I've just sort of decided that it's like that "No one ever steps in the same river twice" aphorism. The BPAL keeps on flowing, and we (or our noses/preferences/skin chemistries!) keep on changing...

Does exactly what the label says! This is warm and resinous, a little woody and maybe even a little powdery, but not too sweet. It doesn't morph much, except that the peppery frankincense steps back a bit and lets the myrrh move more to the front as it dries. This is very straightforward. It's lovely, but I think I prefer some of the Lab's more complex blends.

Ditto on To Autumn! It starts out with a very strong hazelnut note -- to my nose, that element fades down as the blend dries, but it's still really nice.

I should start out by noting that my skin apparently does not do "cold" or "chilly" or "snowy." I don't know if it's because I'm a brunette or a Leo or what, but my chemistry will do backflips to keep any of the Lab's wintry notes from having anything like their intended effect. Having said that... When I put this on, I get a faint fleeting hint of pine and something slightly masculine -- but within five minutes it's turned into 100% cedar and sandalwood. It reminds me a lot of the Pit & the Pendulum, as mentioned above. Sniffing the vial I can indeed smell the dark and chill... but my skin just isn't having any of that. *sigh*

('05 release) This really, really reminds me of a cross between The Sportive Sun and Heavenly Love & Earthly Love. (I know, those came later, but I tried them first!) Lots of lovely amber and resin, maybe a bit powdery but not unpleasantly so, with faint vanilla/floral overtones. If this were music, I would say it's a variation on the theme of the two blends previously mentioned, transposed a little higher up -- sorry, that's not a very objective description, but I don't know how else to put it...

Oh, yum. This starts out all apple and hazelnut, with a bit of sweetness from the opium and a touch of something almost gingery. The hazelnut is very rich and velvety, almost like chocolate. As it dries down, the overall effect gets smokier and darker, with the damp fall leaves (I know the description says dry leaves, but they don't smell dry to me!) coming forward. I'd say this is darker and a shade more masculine than L'Autunno, and it's a walk in a deciduous forest rather than an evergreen forest like Samhain. Another fabulous fall blend!

As mentioned above, the L'Autunno bath oil is really, really sweet when you sniff it in the bottle. I've been using it as a post-shower moisturizer rather than bathing in it, so I can't tell you what it does in the tub -- but on my skin it loses virtually all of the sweetness. My husband says it smells like a hayride on me, and it does! It's got a very strong grassy hay note underlaid by the cedar and sage and rounded out by the warm, subtle patchouli. It's very pleasant and evocative of the season, but here's the thing: Combined with the L'Autunno perfume? This. Is. SPECTACULAR. I don't even have words. I'd been wearing the perfume on my skin and the room spray in a locket, and yeah, that's a nice combination too, but the perfume and the bath oil together? SO GOOD. It's just so deep and rich and complex and... and... quintessentially autumnal! I can't get over how fabulous this pairing is.

The world must be ending... I HATE citrus notes. HATE 'em, I say! I also hate foodie scents as a general rule. But first Gunpowder snuck up on me, and now this! Somehow Fearful Pleasure is absolutely scrumptious, even though I can smell the orange peel. Er. Um. As a matter of fact, I have to admit I actually like the orange peel. I'm telling you, the world is ending. Anyway. As others have said, this scent is spot-on accurate for the flavor text: Cider, not fresh apples, not apple juice, but delicious hot mulled cider with orange slices and maybe a few cloves and cinnamon sticks thrown in. After a little while the fruity notes fade back and the oakmoss and smoke come forward a bit more, giving a slightly more perfume-like effect. The smoke is never particularly strong on me, and I can't pick out the sassafras. The blend doesn't have much throw on me, and even towards the end it doesn't really smell like anything you'd identify as "perfume" -- it's more like I've been hovering over a crockpot full of the aforementioned spiced cider long enough to have soaked up the steam in my clothes and hair. I was inspired to test this yesterday because the weather was so hideously cold and wet and wintry, and it wound up being the perfect warm, cozy pick-me-up. Yum. Tartchef, you crazy enabler, look what you've done now!

So weird! If I weren't looking at the list of notes, I would swear this was gardenia with a hint of incense. Seriously, I get just about nothing but glossy, creamy white floral. Dunno why, but I do! Where it's most faded on my skin, I can pick out a very faint trace of vanilla. It's a pretty scent, but very much not my kind of thing. Ah, skin chemistry...

Such a great concept, and such a fascinating blend! During my initial dab-test yesterday, this kept morphing all over the place. First it was lavender, then it was tea and vanilla, then it was Snake Oil-y headshoppy goodness, then back to lavender, then the fennel popped out... whoa nelly! Today with a full slather, LV is steadier: a beautiful lavender musky sweetness. It reminds me a little bit of Wulric the Wolfman, and a little bit of TKO (both of which I love), and then of course a lot of Snake Oil -- just lighter and far more innocent than SO. I do get occasional hints of tea, but no lily of the valley at all (and am just as happy without it!). Off to order a bottle before this comes down...

A reviewer above noted that this reminded her of the Burt's Bees baby product scent. I agree! I'm using that line for my daughter right now, and on my skin TGoAH smells very much like it, with the addition of a slightly stronger carnation note. This is really charming, very winsome -- it does indeed gladden my heart. As evocative as it is, I don't think it's something I would ever wear as perfume; I'll keep my decant and maybe dab it around in the coming months/years when I want to remember my little sprout as a baby.

(Samhain '08, in decant form) On initial application, the evergreen notes here hover perilously close to the dreaded Irish Spring Effect (and, weirdly, that soapy-clean pine note endures where my shirt's picked up a little oil!) -- but happily, after a little wear time, the greenery disappears almost entirely from my skin. What remains is a nice honeyed apple with overtones of patchouli and smoke. I think the only trace I'm getting of the pumpkin is the sweetness; the spices aren't coming through at all, at least not that I can consciously detect. The effect is definitely autumnal, without being overtly foody or too intensely smoky. If I could convince my clothes not to cling to that iffy evergreen, that would be lovely! As it is, I like this blend quite a bit but will probably be wearing L'Autunno more often. I am curious to try Samhain releases from other years, to see if the fir and woods are less prominent in any of those. ETA: (Samhain '07, also in decant form) Wow, '07 comes up different on my skin than '08! '07 seems to have a lot more patchouli -- that honey sweetness is stronger, too. I could pick out the pumpkin note at first (not as buttery as the lab's pumpkin generally is on me), but it faded pretty quickly; the apple isn't anywhere near as strong in '07 as in '08. Mostly this rendition is a sweet, rich, nuanced patchouli on me. Could be the vagaries of decanting, could be aging, could be skin chemistry -- but there's definitely a big difference here! I'm going to have to try a side-by-side comparison...