Soupy Twist

All I'm getting is a faint, plasticky, powdery, artificial orange blossom note, very hard to smell unless I'm right up against my wrist. I had to put it on twice just to make sure there was anything there. Five minutes and it's gone.

Exactly what it says on the delicious tin. A candy cane dusted with powdered sugar. Although after about 15 minutes it actually starts to feel icy-hot on my wrists. Hmm. ouch?

What a weird ride. Toffee in the bottle, but it goes on as a tonka/butter. The custard goes by briefly (Life is short; eat dessert first!), which morphs into... turkey? with gravy? Something "heavy" and salty. Someone passes the butter again, and I guess the cook wasn't paying attention because everything turns slightly burnt. It's just an overall vague burnt-food note. The dry-down is a like a failed crème brûlée: buttery sugar scorched beyond edibility. Must echo rhubarb3point14: This is the damned strangest thing I have ever put on my wrists. I admire the Lab's ability to make something which changes so much.

Apple. Apple apple apple apple apple. Perfect. Not getting other notes and don't care. I love Arcana's apple note and this is just a touch more "raw red apple" and slightly less sweet. Perfect fall fragrance. I need to go apple-picking now.

Leather and a little sweet resin in the bottle. Goes on as a smoky leather which quickly fades to that horrible burnt cigar smell from Dragon's Hide. Wow, when the Lab combines leather and incense, it does not work on me. Good to know.

In the bottle: almond. Wet on the wrist: marzipan. mmmmm Two minutes: still a lovely cherry almond. oh, hope. Five minutes: Oh joy, oh rapture! Is this finally the delicious rounded almond I've been searching for? Ten minutes: Oh NO, frankincense! No, don't cloud up the lovely almond with your terrible musty bitterness! Wait, marzipan, come back! Twenty minutes: Well, it was nice knowing you, Eclipse, but my skin has apparently disposed of you entirely. There's not even any frankincense left.

Lemon and mint in the bottle. Goes on as hyssop and anise, with a little menthol. This becomes a sweet, rounded woody note — I guess it's the wormwood? — which dries as a weird sweetish anise. It's an interesting scent, but I don't think I'd wear it again. I like my licorice a little more on the bitter side, closer to fennel. At least the cardamom didn't eat everything like it normally does on me.

Currants with vanilla in the bottle. Goes on as a "deep" cake note, not a high sweet bright one like Arcana's. The vanilla comes in but it quickly morphs into tonka, which takes on that "too much butter on the popcorn" smell. That doesn't last long, but neither does anything else. Finishes as a faint vanilla.

Goes on as a lovely aquatic and almost immediately becomes a fantastic hyacinth. This is even better than Grief and Egle. I might have to get a bottle. No citrus, but I have plenty of those. I can't stop huffing my wrist!

Juniper and mint in the bottle, and it goes on as juniper, but the mint frankly turns creepy — there's no other way to describe it. And both notes almost immediately fade into a sickly sweet floral, which I guess is the lotus. It actually turned my stomach after a few minutes and I had to wash it off. I see why the Greeks thought it caused hypnotic comas. Bleah. I really wanted this to be an awesome mint, or at least another nice pine, but it's "Island of the Lotus-Eaters" instead.

Mostly apple blossom; the grape is sort of hinted at without ever being fully realized. A little soapy/powdery. Pleasant but unremarkable.

Honey with dried herbs in the bottle. Goes on as lavender and roses, which is briefly bearable, but then gack it becomes a truly obnoxious baby powder.

Marzipan in the bottle, and goes on as a slightly sweet almond extract. Shortly dries to buttercream, losing the almond. There's a brief honey note, and it finishes as a faint hazelnut. Not much throw. I really wanted this to be the almond, but alas, no.

Boring. Amber, sandalwood, and a little sickly sweetness. No peach at all.

Way too much yuzu in this. Mint and yuzu in the bottle, with a little lemon as well when it goes on. The bitterness (like grapefruit pith) becomes stronger as it dries. There's a green lemon note — not lemongrass, more like lemon verbena — and finally ends as that bitter, harsh citrus. I was really hoping the vanilla would soften it more. I'm not getting the lovely pine-snow notes from some of the Lab's other snow scents. Dammit, why is this the citrus which hangs around instead of Embalming Fluid or Baobhan Sith?

Oh, this is lovely. Sweet light snow. There's a wee bit of juniper in the top note as it dries, which accentuates the creamy sweetness.

Champagne and grapefruit in the bottle, which is surprising given the drydown. It goes on as grapefruit and mint, which becomes a lovely chilly aquatic. The mint takes over (my reaction was "That'll clear your sinuses!"), and then it basically becomes a slightly sweeter version of 21. Doesn't last as long, sadly. I'll enjoy this imp, but I already have a bottle of 21.

Lemongrass and lemon verbena from start to finish. A little bitter on the drydown, and not very complex. Ironically it lasts longer on me than most BPAL citrus scents, when I'd prefer that it hurry along and one of its cousins hang out.

Another gorgeous tea/citrus blend... which disappears on me. Ginger in the bottle with citrus when it goes on, which dries to a lovely tea. And the whole delicious thing is gone in less than half an hour. *sob* Why does my skin eat BPAL's tea and citrus notes? As noted above, this is similar to Embalming Fluid and Baobhan Sith, both of which I love and both of which vaporize on me.

Cedar in the bottle, which doesn't do it for me. It goes on as a blend of sassafras and balsam, with vanilla coming in and out. While I like balsam, and I like the root beer note, they aren't blending well. It ends as a simple vanilla, but I have other vanillas which last just as long and are more complex, and have a lot more throw.

2011 version: A sickly-sweet tobacco rose from start to finish. I love tobacco, but this was bleah. Had to wash off. Didn't get any other notes.

Starts promisingly with tobacco, but the hazelnut sadly doesn't work, and then cardamom comes in, turning the whole thing bleah. There's a suede/leather note, but I amp the cardamom so much that the tobacco is totally gone. This sounded so good on paper and I love tobacco and coffee notes. Apparently I need to stay away from "Middle Eastern spices" or any variant thereof.

BPAL's 21 is an amazing gin & tonic with mint. Dana O'Shee is a foodie honey/sugar/almond kind of thing. Possets' Gelato Vaniglia and Villainess's Decadence are your vanillas, for sure. Arcana's Ambrosia is honey and vanilla, and Possets' Vim is almost identical to it. All my other faves have chocolate or tea in them, so I can't recommend them to you.

Something weird and bitter in the bottle — maybe the chamomile? I get a little leather, then something which smells like cherry tobacco (as in chewing tobacco). No vanilla at all. And then it's gone. Quite disappointing; this sounded so good on paper.

Jasmine in the bottle, and adds gardenia and tuberose as it goes along. A pleasant floral, just south of too sweet. I'm an atheist so I'm not using it for any of the ritual aspects, but it certainly lightened my mood.