ariosa

Here is yet another bottle I'm kicking my own ass for not buying. This scent is unbelievable. It's light and fruity and rich and creamy all at the same time. It starts off like a nice cup of tea with lemon, and then just gets... richer. I almost get a peach scent from it as it dries down. It has excellent throw and is going to be another summer scent LE that I'm going to have to hoard like crazy, and track a bottle down when I finally have some money. Beautiful, beautiful.

I didn't order a full bottle of Blue Moon because I had NO idea how it would be on me. Too many unknowns, and I find I don't do as well with 'blue' scents at a commercial perfume level. How wrong I was not to order a bottle of this. I will be hoarding my decant for special occasions. This is simply lovely. I get mostly aloe and iris, and something sweet and watery. I'm not sure what it is. It doesn't have a lot of throw, but that's okay, because this is one that feels like it should be close to me, and shared with those I let into my inner sanctum. It's light, ethereal and dreamy, and simply lovely. I may have to try and track down a bottle of this, because it's absolutely stunning.

Initially: red fruits and nail polish O_o Thankfully the nail polish bit eases off as the perfume dries, and then! Oh glorious, the powdered sugar comes out. Now, I've not tried a blend that has powdered sugar in it, but I have to say I'm totally lovin' it! In fact, I'm loving everything about Bloody Mary, and will enjoy finishing off my decant. It's nice and light and fruity, just for summer! The cream doesn't overpower anything at all -- for me, this blend is all light red fruits. Lovely.

Initially: pencil shavings. As it dries down, it does warm up into something nice. The pencil shaving smell is still there, but I can smell the warm foody scents underneath, rounding out this blend. And after an even longer time, the foody smells take the forefront, with the woods taking a back seat. I love the foody scents. Still, I really don't know if I'm going to be able to get past the pencil shavings smell, and that's disappointing for me! I'll give this one last try, but I think it's going to end up in swaps, as it's just not my thing. I never really know until I try wearing it for a whole day -- or if it's an obnoxious floral. Everything deserves a second chance

Holy crap. I don't know what is in this exactly, other than what others have mentioned above, but the person at the beginning of this thread who said that it made her feel like her head was emptying out totally has this bang-on. I breathe in, and my thoughts float away. This is on just for testing purposes right now, but bedtime will soon be in order if I continue to huff away as I'm doing. I find Somnus just too distracting to lull me to sleep, but damned if I haven't found my sleep blend in TKO. Of course, I've yet to put it to the test -- more to be added later.

This is lavender, but I also get some lemon? Chamomile? There's definitely something else behind it. It's not a sharp lavender to me -- whatever else is blended with it softens it, and it's very lovely. This will certainly be coming with me on my upcoming trip. I don't regret this purchase at all, and thanks to Midnight Aeval for decanting me some to try!!

I'd been wanting to try Chimera for ages, so when the lovely Midnight Aeval included it as a frimp in a recent purchase, I was excited! I wasn't sure how cinnamon would sit on my usually very sensitive skin, but this had honeysuckle! Another love, after getting to try (and buy) Aries 2007 this year. Initially, like many people have posted, I got Cinnamon Red Hots with a healthy dose of honeysuckle. The resins were there, but not overpoweringly so. As it dried down, however, it became mostly cinnamon and resins -- which is totally okay, and I'm loving it. I just wish there was more honeysuckle in the mix. Obviously I amp cinnamon and resins, which I figured I would anyways. Still, once completely dry, it's not overpowering. It's subtle, rich, comforting and lovely. I will look forward to wearing this more in the fall/winter. It's definitely a keeper!

Selune, the Moon Goddess, fell in love with a beautiful shepherd named Endymion. She appealed to Zeus, asking him to cast Endymion into everlasting slumber so that she could be with him for all eternity. Her wish was granted, and every night the Goddess visited her love as he slept. A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk. I received this as a frimp from the lovely AutumnBriars in a recent swap. When I read the ingredients, and noted 'pear', I squealed aloud. Literally. I loves me some pear (Tenochtitlan I love, love, love!). But then I saw Lily of the Valley, and eeped a little. The musk didn't scare me, nor did the bois du rose. So... I hoped, beyond all hope that the pear would trump all, and shush the Lily. Well, initially, it was all Lily, and my heart sank. But after a while, the musk and the pear warmed up, and made me smile again! Then I noticed that the bois du rose was smelling an awful lot like rose... and mixed with the Lily, were tag-teaming up against me and the pear/musk love. Eventually, when dry, it's quite nice. The pear and the musk are enough to temper the Lily of the Valley and the Bois du rose, but I'm not sure that this is something I'll really wear. It's turned quite soapy on me, and I'm very disappointed. It's not the scent's fault -- Lily of the Valley just amps to the nth degree on me, usually. It's also faded to the point that I need to put wrist to nose to smell it. I'll still give this another try, though I do think I'll end up passing this on to someone who will give it more love. ETA: Lab's description.

Oh oh OH! As a lover of the Body Shop's Satsuma, I have to say that I absolutely adore this scent. It's very citrus, but what I like about it is the kick the pepper gives it. It's the summer scent I was looking for -- Satsuma has always been my favorite summer oil. I'm just glad I've found a BPAL that's just as nice, if not NICER! Compared to lemons and grapefruit and lime, this kumquat seems to last on me. Thanks for frimping this, caramialove! I love, love, love it, and may have to get a bottle!

Oh bloody hell! And I mean that in a VERY good way! I received a decant of Treat #2 as a frimp in a sale from caramialove, and I wasn't sure how it would react on my skin. I had ordered and tried an imp of Bliss months ago, and while it was alright, it wasn't anything spectacular. I was disappointed, because as a chocoholic, I wanted to smell like chocolate. Mmmm. Well! Treat #2 is rich and decadent. It's almost all chocolate on me, and I think I can smell the buttercream initially, too. After a while, the orange starts to come out to play, and a little bit of cardamom, too. I'm curious to see if the mint comes out to play once completely dry. I like this one!

I received Black Lotus as a frimp in a sale from caramialove. I was very excited once I read the ingredients. Lotus! Amber! Myrrh! Sandalwood! All things I LOVE in great quantities! It initially goes on very bubblegummy, which is okay with me, because I loves me some fruity smells. And then you can get a nice whiff of something smokier in the background. As it dries down, however, I'm not quite sure about it. Not 100%. There's something that seems a little off -- not in a bad way, but not in a 'OMG I LOVE THIS' way either. That only lasts for a few minutes, though, and then it's all lotus and amber, with a wee bit of myrrh. Unfortunately, I don't get a lot of sandalwood from this, but it's okay This really is quite lovely, and I look forward to using up my imp! Thanks, caramialove!

I definitely get soft, creamy floral from this. I love it. I wasn't extremely agitated when I put it on, but I had several things I didn't mind banishing from my mind. I applied this sparingly, but it didn't take much. I feel more calm, grounded, centered. Kind of like how I feel after a good yoga practice. I think I'm going to have to order a large bottle of this. It's amazing stuff.

This was the last of the frimps I received from the lovely roseaeron! Initially, all this is is rose on me. Which doesn't surprise me, because that's usually what my body picks up and runs with. It's not pure rose, however, for I can smell a bit of resin and a bit of mandarin. As it begins to settle, though, the predominant scent is rose, rose, rose, and for that alone, it will likely find its way to swaps.

I received this as a frimp from the lovely roseaeron, and when I read the initial description, I was a little leery. I haven't found much luck with tea scents. I do LIKE them, but I find that they give me a headache after long wear. I was also thinking that Severin would be totally masculine. But this? This I'm hoping doesn't do the same thing to me, because it's a nice cup of tea with a fresh, juicy lemon section dropped in. I LOVE this. It's not too masculine at all. It's nice and light and lemony, and I have now found yet ANOTHER scent I'd like to wear in warm weather. Aiee! I'll post an update if it ends up giving me a headache like a few of the other tea blends do.

I received Dragon's Reverie as a frimp from the lovely roseaeron, and my initial impression is that it smells like my local metaphysical shop. This must be the dragon's blood and amber influence. I winced a bit at the description, because of the ylang ylang. Normally, I'm not so much a fan of the ylang ylang, but in this it's balanced quite nicely by the resins. I notice the ylang ylang more than the poppy, but all in all, this is a very nice blend, and I'll be keeping it as an evening scent, or days when I want something a little deeper.

I received Grand Guignol as a frimp from the lovely roseaeron, and the imp had leaked a bit in transit. And it smelled HEAVENLY! I could not wait to open it up and try it on my skin. Unfortunately, Grand Guignol plays hide and seek with my skin. It almost disappears completely upon first application. I was so, so disappointed! I practically have to hold my wrist directly under my nose to smell the faint, faint apricot. I get no brandy out of this at all. It's just pure, faint fruit. After a time, this warms up, and becomes less faint. And by less faint, I mean I can hold it a centimetre or two from my nose. Very, very disappointing. Still, I'm going to keep the imp at hand and try again! If anything, it would be a nice scent to wear to bed, since it sticks so close to the skin!

I received this as a frimp from the lovely eviltemptressdq in a recent decant circle shipment. I cheated and read the ingredients first before trying, and almost didn't try it, because the only BPAL rose I've ever liked was London (and that not even enough to really wear it lots, so I gave it to a rose-loving friend). But! My motto is try EVERYTHING BPAL because you just might be surprised in the end! So, I placed a small amount of Pride on the inside of my arm... and it's not bad, really. The rose seems to be behaving itself, instead of amping to the nth degree. Perhaps the narcissus balances it out. The fact remains, though, that I'm just NOT a rose fan, and while this is a lovely blend, it's not for me. I'm really thankful I got to try it, though! Thanks Labbies and thanks ETDQ!

I wish I'd taken a chance and ordered a full bottle of this for myself, instead of a decant. Resins usually do well on me, but the black musk had me worried a bit. I needn't have worried. This goes on strong, but quickly fades to a rich, dark resiny musk that's sexy and spicy and comforting all at the same time. I don't mind it when it is strong, so I wouldn't mind if it stayed that way. It does fade down a bit so it's almost like a skin scent, but then again, I think my skin is eating most scents today. I may have to break my 'don't spend a bunch of money' rule to try and hunt down a bottle of this. It's so, so nice.

I love Milk Moon, and Milk Moon loves me! It's rich and fruity (like a Pina Colada on me, as was described by someone else above). The milk doesn't turn on me at all, which is nice, and the fruits are rich and strong. Not overbearing strong, just... nice. I don't get much honey or milk, really. It's all fruit. Pomegranate and date and grape and dates. If I weren't saving for an expensive trip this summer, I'd hunt a bottle down. It's lovely My only complaint is that it fades quickly on me, but that may just be today. I find all of my scents are disappearing quickly today.

This reminds me very much of Samsara, which I used to wear all the time years ago. And now I understand why, when I wore it, I was approached by so many men, either wanting to know what it was for their wives, or wanting to know what it was so they could stand closer to me! I'll definitely be keeping this!

Alright. I have to admit it. I -am- a floral girl, with the right flowers. I looked at the description for Prague, and shuddered. This will -never- work on me, I thought. Never. Well, Prague is lovely. It's a very green scent, but soft. Not biting, sharp or herbal. It's soft, warm, and gentle and I likes! Thanks Labbies for sending this along with my order. I'd never have chosen it for myself!

I think I'm starting to realize that I may not be a tea-scent kind of girl, as much as I want to be. Mind, I've only tried this and Dorian, but both have -something- in them that leaves me feeling kind of headachy. Both Cordelia and Dorian are -beautiful- scents, but they don't always sit well with me upon initial application. However, if I wait out the initial 'ouch' moments, Cordelia is quite stunning. Lemon and cedar and musk dominate for me. Will be nice to use up my imp for the summer! ETA: I can spell, really.

Almond. BPAL's almond note and I don't get along, I'm discovering. But this is not the case with Port-Au-Prince. There's an initial whiff of nail polish remover (this is what almond does to me), but it quickly disappears in favour of warm cloves. Like many above, this makes me think of clove cigarettes. It's lovely!

Out of this one, I get mostly myrrh and balsam, though once it dries down and settles I get berries? O_o It's not quite what I was expecting, given the description, but I really do like it. It kind of reminds me of Florence, but without the amber. I think it would be a nice scent in the fall/winter. It makes me think of Christmas Edited to add: today I wore this by itself all day. It gave me a headache. It doesn't smell bad (it really is quite lovely!), but something in it doesn't agree with me. Sadly, off to swaps it goes.

Fae. I love, love, love, this scent! It sparkles, and it's warm. It keeps close to my skin, which is a bit of a disappointment. I wish it had more throw! It's mostly peach and musk on me, which is okay, though I get an occasional whiff of bergamot and the oakmoss lends depth. It's beautiful!