pinkusmaximus

On first sniff, I was sure I wouldn't like the 2012 incarnation of Pink Moon. I had the delightfully carnation-y 2007 version in my head and was taken aback by the totally different scent of this year's moon (not sure why, since the notes were, you know, pretty clear). But I decided to try it anyway, and am so glad I did. It IS a different scent, for sure, yet it's clearly from the same family. The chocolate is really strong--and to me, off-putting--from the bottle, but on my skin it's not nearly as identifiable as chocolate--it's just sweet and creamy. The honey and vanilla don't stand out to me individually, but I think they contribute a creamy note to the scent, too. Whereas 2007 Pink Moon was sugary, this version is rich and smooth. It strikes me as much more grown up, and I think it'll make a perfect springtime scent for daytime wear, even to work. I suspect it will take me a while to get through the bottle because the throw is surprisingly strong for so many light notes, but that's OK, because I'm really curious to see how this version changes with age. I don't feel the need to hoard it or anything, but I'm glad I bought a bottle and I think it will get plenty of love.

Oh, this is so pretty. Pink Snowballs is officially the first rose scent I've ever been able to wear without amping the rose like crazy. In this blend, the rose stays in the background, giving just a hint of sweet floral loveliness to the scent. This doesn't smell exactly like rose + Snow White to me...it's more like rose + sugary vanilla. I don't get the hint of greenery in this blend that I do in plain old Snow White. But whatever the other notes are, they play beautifully with the rose. This stays nice and close to the skin and is perfectly work-appropriate, which is a nice change from the heavier scents I usually choose. It's pink, pretty, and girly...I wouldn't want to wear it every day, but it's certainly a lovely scent.

I liked this very much when I first tried it, but upon a second application, I wonder if I liked it because it reminds me so strongly of my all-time favorite BPAL scent, Boomslang...and I don't think I need any more scents that remind me of Boomslang, since I have approximately 1,117 bottles of that stashed away in anticipation of the end of the Carnaval. They don't smell exactly the same--Troupe is less sweet and the cocoa note is more subtle--but they're so similar in feel that I don't think I need both. Don't get me wrong, this is lovely and sexy...but it's not all that unique among the many other dark, musky, sexy BPAL scents I already own and love. I might purchase a bottle just to give my Boomslang army a break, but I don't feel the need to stash this one.

I love the way this smells in the bottle--it's cool and green, a little sweet and fruity, but not too perfume-y, and I couldn't wait to try it on my skin. Unfortunately, once it's applied, all I smell is GRAAAAAAAAAAPE, and on my skin, grape = sour. I smell like I've been on a bender and need to shower! I might try this in an oil burner since I like the bottle smell so much, but on my skin, it turns into something very cheap and unpleasant....too bad!

I suspected this might not work on me thanks to a few of the notes, but I thought I'd give a decant a shot just to see what all the fuss was about. It's fresher than I expected--I thought it'd be heavier--and at first it really does evoke the feeling of being in the middle of a quiet winter forest, but ultimately it dries down to something that smells like generic men's cologne, which isn't what I usually go for. Too masculine for me--I'll try to rehome my decant so someone else can try it.

This is lovely--warm, woody, spicy, and dark without being masculine or "dirty" smelling. It's really well blended--I can't pick out any individual notes except for perhaps a bit of clove, and it's not overwhelming as it can be in other clove scents. This is my favorite "family" of fragrance and I know I'll reach for this again and again, especially in the winter months. I bet it will age beautifully, too. I'm definitely going to buy a bottle and just need to decide whether it's multiple-worthy.

Hmm, I didn't get any mint from this at all. On application, it smells of cold, faintly spicy mums...like you walked into a florist's refrigerator and stuck your nose into an arrangement of mums. It's chilly (but not minty) to my nose. There's a strong initial blast of scent that's very pretty, and then it fades away completely in about 30 minutes without ever morphing into anything else. I like the scent very much, but with such poor lasting power I doubt I'll buy a bottle.

I mean...it's a very minty scent, you know? There's not much more to it. To me, this smells pretty much the same as previous incarnations of Lick It. It's perhaps a bit mintier, a bit less sweet, but that could also be because it's fresh and I'm comparing it to bottles with at least a year of age on them. I don't buy the Lick It family of scents to wear as perfume--they're not complex enough for my taste. I love the way they make my house smell when I use them in an oil burner, and they're so strong I only need a few drops. I also like to slather them on my wrists and neck to cool off when it gets sticky and hot in the summer--they're great before bedtime on hot nights, like air conditioning for my skin. Finally, I really like the combo of any Lick It + Snake Oil--it smells delicious and the peppermint note really lasts in combination with the SO. That's the only way I get any lasting power or complexity out of this family of scents (but I know that going in, so it's not like I'm disappointed when they don't last on their own).

Love this blend. I suspected I'd like it, based on the notes and my affection for Snake Charmer, Mme. Moriarty, Marianne, and others in the same family, but I didn't expect to love it immediately, and I do. It's more evocative of Snake Charmer than similar to it, but if you like one I imagine you'll like the other. Mircalla manages all at once to be warm and sharp, aggressive and feminine, spicy and sweet. It's definitely a sexy scent and one that's noticeable, but it's not overpowering, and I might consider wearing a light application to work. The spicy clove gives the musk a homey, almost foody innocence and saves it from being an exclusively sexy scent, as Smut is for me. The drydown is an amazing, muted blend of all of the notes, and I'd be hard pressed to say which stage of this scent is my favorite--I like it in all stages. Mircalla is definitely multiple-bottle-worthy, and I can hardly wait to see how she ages--magnificently, I suspect.

Ugh. I don't smell Samhain in this spray, and I certainly don't smell sweet cinnamon and sugar. What I smell is a wet, smoldering fire, into which someone has tossed a handful of bitter cinnamon sticks. I could smell something unpleasant as soon as I opened my box from BPTP, but it never occurred to me it would be this spray--I was sure I'd love it based on the notes. Instead, I find it harsh and dank, and I will try to rehome it immediately.

BPAL has helped me shake my fear of patchouli, as I have found many patchouli blends that actually work on me. This, unfortunately, is not one of them. The patchouli is super strong, and it's not the "good" patchouli I sometimes like--it's a dark, dank patchouli that devours the other notes in the blend. All I smell is dirt...and I don't want to smell like dirt. I'll probably keep the bottle for a bit to see if it mellows out with age, but if it doesn't, the Gnome is off to the swaps.

On the plus side, the rose in this blend is indeed faint--it stays in the background on me even though I amp rose like crazy (and dislike the note very much). I would probably not be able to pick out the rose in this blend if I didn't know it was there. On the meh side, I can't really pick out any notes in this scent. It never really morphs the way some blends do; instead, it smells the same when I apply it as it does when it's fading away. It's not offensive--it's even pretty. It's just...generic. It's floral, it's nice, and that's pretty much it. It doesn't really evoke a particular mood for me, and that makes me think I probably won't reach for it much. I generally take a second to think about the kind of day I'm going to/hoping to have, then choose a scent accordingly, and I can't imagine when I'd reach for this scent.

I was excited about every scent in my most recent order, with the exception of Cake Smash. I was expecting it to be utterly foody and way too sweet and was preemptively mad at myself for ordering a blend I knew I'd probably dislike just because the reviews were all squee-y. AND THEN... I decided to try it on my skin...and I love it. There's an initial blast--and I do mean blast--of sweet cream cheese icing. On me, it lasts no more than 5 minutes. Then, suddenly and as if by magic, the fragrance completely shifts gears and becomes a delightful Snake Oil-vanilla hybrid, like girlier, lighter Snake Oil with a little extra sugar. It's not really foody at all--I would never describe this as "cakey" if I didn't know what it was. The throw is only medium and the staying power is much less than that of Snake Oil, but I don't care. It's a lovely, comforting, girly blend that isn't too much of anything--not too sweet, not too strong, not too MUCH (as Snake Oil can sometimes be, love it though I do). I would feel perfectly appropriate wearing this to work, on a date, at bedtime, or curled up on my couch. I may even order another bottle. Of course, now I'm in big trouble, enabling-wise, as I've been positively reinforced for trying a blend against my better judgment. Greeeeat.

I knew as soon as I read the notes of this blend that I would like it, and I do. Right after applying, the coconut is strongest, but it's not sweet or excessively foody. It shifts quickly over to an incense note--like Madame Moriarty is burning some incense in her fortune-telling tent. It's a great blend--lighter than Mme. without losing that feminine, sultry appeal. I can hardly wait to see how this ages--I think it'll be even better over time and I do believe I will need a couple of backup bottles. As a bonus, the label is utterly adorable.

I bought this bottle on a whim, knowing full well that chamomile can be a hit-or-miss note on my skin. Some chamomile is lovely--herbal, clean, warm, and comforting. Other chamomile notes can smell sharp, masculine, even dirty on my skin--and I don't care for those. I thought the vanilla note in Sachs made this one worth trying, and I'm so glad I did--I adore this blend. This is my favorite chamomile--strong, but not overpowering, and not even really identifiable, at least not to me. If I didn't know the notes and you asked me to describe what I smell when I apply this to my skin, I'd only be able to say, "herbal vanilla." To me, neither note dominates. They blend together beautifully into a warm, feminine, gentle fragrance that smells like my skin, only much, much better. I think I'll wear this at bedtime or on rainy "staying on the couch" days. It's utterly comforting and girly without being babyish or too sleepy. Love.