LizziesLuck

Decant, from a circle. The almond milk is dominant in this immediately after application, but the Sarsaparilla quickly overtakes it. The tobacco smoke just peeks through. The almond milk as well as any sweetness or creaminess fades within minutes, and what's left is something herbal and green, I think the High John the Conqueror Root. I still get faint whiffs of sarsaparilla, but in a herbal way and without the sweetness I usually associate with it. Eventually the herbaceousness fades leaving me with a very faint scent of sarsaparilla. It's nice, but nothing that excites me. I had hoped for a sweeter, creamier, stronger scent. I had also hoped to detect the coconut. This one's not for me. ETA: Retesting this (a different decant) because my tastes and chemistry have changed, and I should love this. Should. Wet: Lots of Sarsaparilla and almond, in equal measures. Getting something herbal - almost mentholated. It's a much darker, deeper scent than I remembered. Dry: There's an odd note in there that I don't really care for. This has very little throw, but a good amount of scent, nose to skin. I still get the sarsaparilla, which I love. But I'm just not loving the other notes. I guess I can really accept that this scent is just not for me. Too bad, it seems like it should work.

Decant, from a circle. Wet, this is glorious fresh apple. Green apple, to be specific, without being too tart. As it begins to dry, the rich sweetness of the honey starts to come through, but it's still almost all apple. This dries to a faint, sort of "dusty" apple. I don't get any of the other notes, and the apple really doesn't work on me. I think I may have to face the fact that BPAL apple just doesn't work for me, at least not as the main note in a blend. Makes me sad.

2015 version, from a decant. I tried this right after receiving it. It came from a decant circle, so it's not as "lab fresh". I had hoped that I had given it enough time to settle. Initially it smells mostly of sweet lemon. Not candy sweet, but sweet enough. There's something faintly floral mixed in, but the lemon is dominant for sure. I don't get any vanilla or coconut, which is what I had hoped for most. It's gone completely after half an hour, so I can't say what it would be like dry on me. Rather disappointing, but you can't win 'em all. ETA: I am going to age this and try again.

This starts out as lovely lemon candy, as expected. That lasts for about an hour, and then it's lemon-scented sticky bathroom cleaner...unfortunate. Thanks, skin chemistry! Ruin everything, why don't you!

Wet: Sweet, gingery, citrusy. Doesn't smell like aftershave to me, but it does smell very unisex. Dry: Clean, light and fresh. Very nice. Mostly bergamot on me I think. Not me at all though. I shall pass it on.

Wet: This has the same effervescent ginger note I get from Gnome, mixed with something dark and sinister and brooding. A bit earthy, a bit smoky. Dry: Wow. This is not what I was expecting. It's as if Gnome and Zombi had a love child. Dirt, and effervescent ginger, with a bit of cinnamon. It's a bit dusty too. I really only wanted to try it because I love The Graveyard Book so much, and this was the scent that sounded the most wearable for me. I like it much more than I expected to, and am contemplating adding it to the "want a bottle" list.

Wet: Oh gosh, there is something in there that just hates me! It's crazy strong and peppery and spicy with this weird note that I've never experienced before. It's truly awful. "Black spices" maybe? Because I love all the other listed notes and have never ad any of them go "wonky" on me. Dry: Unfortunately this does not work for me at all. It's quite peppery and bitter. I get none of the listed notes that so appealed to me (Ginger, Patchouli, Honeysuckle and Musk are all things I like). I'm pretty sure the black spices, whatever they are, have ruined this for me. While it's not something I would ever wear, I can appreciate this for what it is. It's very appropriate for the name War, that's for sure!

Wet: Soapy, herbal, and not nearly as sweet or fruity as I thought it would be. Not bubblegum at all. Dry: I'm getting mostly wild rose from this, which turns immediately soapy on me. Grapefruit is always iffy on me, and in this it's sharp and bitter and not good. Oh well, can't win them all!

Wet: A deep dark smoky rose. Hints of oakmoss. Something almost crystalline. Really interesting. Dry: Oh wow. This might be it. This might be THE ROSE that I've been searching for. It's sweet and feminine. It hasn't gone powdery or soapy. I will need a full day test, but this is glorious. ETA: So I somehow list/frimped my tester of this away, and totally forgot that at one time, I had thought this was THE ROSE for me. THEN someone frottled it to me. Now I am retesting it. It's darker than I remember, in a good way. I love the combo of patchouli and rose, but have yet to find a BPAL perfume that combines the two, that works on my skin. This may be it! Once dried, I really love this scent. It feels comfortable, and familiar somehow. It's likely one of my favourite florals I have ever smelled. So so grateful to the kind person who sent it to me, since I had totally forgotten about it, but am so happy to have it now!

Wet: Sweet and musky. Somehow dry. A bit spicy. Rich. Dry: Iz niiice. Iz real nice. It's hard for me to pick out notes though. I get some amber (but not crazy amped amber like I sometimes get, which is great) and maybe some sandalwood. It's sweet and creamy. Bit spicy. It's warm and comforting. I can see wearing this in the winter for sure.

I am not big on aquatics, but I have tried Windward Passage and find it to be quite nice. The only aquatic I actually really like is Lightning, but to me it's also a bit floral, so I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for earthy, I have to recommend Zombi first, oh how I love it. earth and Roses. It's glorious. I also recently discovered how amazing Yorick is, as far as earthy scents go. It's earth and Angel's Trumpet, which to me is a very spicy floral, almost as if cinnamon and Jasmine had a love child. It's super pretty, rich, earthy and spicy on me. ETA: How rude of me, I should have welcomed you to the forum!!

Wet: Tea and Honey Dry: Really lovely. I find this so well balanced that it's difficult to actually pick out the individual notes, they're all so evenly matched. It's very smooth, slightly sweet. Tea and honey and fruit an musk, all blended beautifully together. Just lovely.

Wet: Freshly baked oatmeal cookies and milk. So much so that it actually makes me want to bake oatmeal cookies! Yum! Dry: Sweet, creamy, nutty. I don't get any spice. It's less "oaty" than it was. It's very warm and comforting. I love it. Needs a full day test, and then possibly a bottle.

I've been dying to try this, I LOVE the lab's cake note!! Wet: Glorious honey cake. Rich, a bit buttery, sweet, but not too sweet. Creamy. Not getting any fruit or wine (which is fine by me!). Dry: Uhhh this is good!! Will need a full-slather, full day test to be sure, but I think this just shot to the top of my "get a bottle" list.

2005 - Decant Wet: It smells a lot like Harvest Moon (various years) to me....fruity and a bit earthy and woodsy. But there's this weird note in there..almost something fermented or rotten even, and it's throwing this off for me. Dry: That note fades a bit, but something about this nauseates me. It makes no sense, as all these notes have always been fine on me. I think I will try another year, it may be that this hasn't aged well. It is 10 years old, after all! So I'll get another year and give Samhain a second chance.

Wet: really sweet. Overly sweet, in fact. Like overripe fruit. Dry: still intensely sweet fake plum, unfortunately. The other notes are drowned out. This is a really aged imp (8-10 years). I would be interested to try a lab fresh one sometime.

wet: minty absinthe and soft white florals. Pretty Dry: nose to skin, this is slightly sharp floral with quite a bit of absinthe. The waft, however, is gorgeous lilac. This is really pretty and would be lovely for spring.

frimp from the Lab Wet: More sharp floral and greenery than citrus. Dry: This is a gorgeous soft floral. The sharpness all fades, and I'm left with something akin to honeysuckle maybe? I'm not great at picking out florals. But it's lovely, light and feminine. This would be beautiful for spring.

It's still warmish here, though no longer really hot. While I'm waiting for true Autumn, I've been wearing Dia de Los Muertos, The Red Queen, Molly Grue. I can't wait to break out my Harvest Moons!

I actually find I wear all my most foodie scents in the winter. I love smelling like baked goods all winter long! Plus I find most of them too heavy for summer, so winter thus seems the logical time to wear them....

I ended up with this by accident, but felt I should at least give it a fair go, even though it's not something I ever would have picked myself. Tea rarely works on me, and I'm having a hard time imagining how it will go with Chocolate. In the bottle Very little chocolate. Green tea for sure, but also citrus. And totally fruit loops, as others have pointed out! Wet: Mostly green tea and crisp citrus. It's actually quite nice right now! Dry: I actually quite like this, and can see wearing it a lot in the summer. Very strong green tea, a hint of citrus. It did go through a short-lived "fruit loops" stage, but it didn't last. The only hint of chocolate I'm getting is the sweetness it lends the blend. Very nice! An unexpected surprise.

These all sound fantastic!!! I have come to the conclusion that I need more hair gloss. Like, a lot more hair gloss.

In the bottle, this is all chocolate and rum. Yummy! Wet on skin: The cardamom comes out strongly, with a kick of ginger as well. Very spicy, very little sweetness, and no chocolate, coconut, or rum. Dry: I still can't really identify the coconut, however there is a distinct nuttiness to the scent. It's sweetened up a lot, though I still can't really pick out the chocolate. It's really well blended, the spice isn't smacking me in the face anymore. It's very smooth and mellow, sweet, nutty, and a bit spicy. All in all I quite like it and will enjoy wearing it this fall!

Wet: Mandarin and opium. Dry: Still mandarin and opium. It's complex though. I quite like it! I don't get any vanilla out of this at all, and no lily either. It's sweet and sort of smokey. I can see wearing this in the summer.

Excited to try this, there aren't many Bpal scents with a peony note! Wet: Clean floral with semi-aquatic hints Dry: Such a light, beautiful floral. This needs a full day test, but I might need a bottle. The peony is gorgeous. This isn't quite as good as Peony Moon, but I do think it'll be lovely in the spring.