Chantarelle

Gluttony and Jack seem to be the ones that guys react to the most, at least of the ones my group of friends has tried. The best compliment I ever got, though, was while I was wearing Three Witches, but that's because cinnamon and cloves are this guy's favourite scents.

I don't think this works for me at all. It's oddly sweet and powdery, with a weird undertone that I think is the rum. Not even remotely what I was expecting. I'll try it again, but I'm not impressed.

I would never have picked this out -- I mean, roses and violets are usually big warning signs for me -- but I tested it at a smelling party a couple of orders ago, and I loved it. I think it's the wine. So far every scent with wine that I've tried has been wonderful. It's a big, rich scent, the kind that wraps itself around you and gives you attitude all day. And the floral is not prominent at all.

Oh, god, this is so nice. Bright peach at first, then the vanilla creeps in. There's a little while, about 5 minutes after application, where the floral comes through, but even then it's tempered with the sweetness. And now, it's sugary fruit up close with a sandalwood aura and I can't stop sniffing my wrist.

I love this. Fantastic. Very cinnamon on application, then it becomes almost almondy on drydown, and the other spices peek through. Like a sweeter, more mysterious version of the original Three Witches. The only problem was that the cinnamon made me red and welty on my neck, so I'll just have to be careful where I apply it.

Oh, pretty. On me this is a very warm and sweet scent, without being sugary. Not particularly gingery, either, which is disappointing -- I keep looking for that scent that will give me a true ginger bite. Sadly, it fades almost immediately. I put on twice as much as normal, and it was still gone within a few hours.

I have such a hard time with lemony scents -- I love fresh lemon, but they always end up smelling like floor cleaner on me. Shanghai, sadly, was no exception. However it was a more consistent scent, and one with more depth, than most of the others I've tried, so I'll probably give it a chance. I just wish the tea had been more prominent.

Hello berries! That's all I get from this -- just straight-up berry without anything else -- but it's a wonderful scent. And really, apparently I can't have too many berry scents. A winner, definitely.

This starts out with a nice mild berry scent, not too sweet, and a woodsy undertone. And then the floral kicks in, although it's not particularly strong. Overall, I'm fairly meh about it, although I don't dislike it.

In the bottle and first on there's a very strong, sharp smell of alcohol (the rum, I presume), which reminds me of why I dislike traditional perfumes. This fades away almost instantly, to be replaced by lemon. I don't understand either. The lemon being lemon, it soon fades away too, and I'm left with something vaguely cocoa-like, but honestly, I had a very hard time forming any sort of impression. I had to try it three times before I could even decide what it smelled like. I don't dislike the scent, but it's pretty forgettable for me.

This is far too flowery on me -- I think it's the rose. I was hoping the apple blossom and honey would balance it out, but unfortunately that's not happening.

I wore vanilla for so many years (Body Shop, natch) that when I started buying BPAL I stayed away from anything with vanilla. It's a good thing I changed my mind, because this is a wonderful scent - warm vanilla with a fabulous spicy undertone. Not too overpowering, but with good staying power. Brilliant stuff.

Thoroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon. Yipes! This is so strong. I was a little afraid to be around people today, because I felt like it was coming off me on waves. I think I like it though. It's heavily sandalwood, with a strong patchouli undertone, which is very reminiscent of high school for me. At the end of the day it fades into a bit of baby powder scent, which is probably the amber. And sadly I never got much cinnamon. I'll have to try this again, using a little less so that I can smell it without wincing, before I can make a final decision.

This smells exactly like root beer on me, right down to the scent of carbonation (if there is such a thing - but seriously, I feel like I can smell the bubbles). Wild. I can't help wishing I got more of the wine and cocoa that many of you are getting, because I love those, but I'm enjoying my root beer.

At first, a lovely lemon tea scent, which would be the verbana. Sadly, the lemon disappears quickly, as it is wont to do. What's left is a sort of herbally green scent, fresh but not too strong. I don't get any of the orange or almond. In the end, the whole thing fades really quickly, and is not really for me, despite my enjoyment of the initial green lemon.