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.

Whew - this is very strong at first. Definitely too much. In the end, it's a wonderful warm vanilla scent, with just a hint of the orange, but it takes a while before it calms down enough for me to be able to handle it.

I had such high hopes for this because of the cardamom, but unfortunately it's gone baby powder on me -- sweet baby powder, but baby powder nonetheless. I'm starting to think that amber and I aren't a good combination. So sad!

Mmmm, this is one of my favourites. The fig is definitely predominant -- sweet and a little fruity. Underneath there's a rich bitter cocoa and something a little bit woody (or smokey?). As it dries the sweetness fades a bit and the cocoa comes forward, but it's still that awesome mixture. Fabulous.

I love the way this smelled in the bottle and on first application - a bright, biting lemon scent with a little bit of depth. Sadly, as it got comfortable on my body it turned into a flowery soap. Definitely not for me.

Did you know that studies have been done that found that the scent men are most attracted to is pumpkin pie? This is so strong on first application - I was almost overwhelmed by the pumpkin, although the spice was awesome. Luckily it mellows within a few minutes to straight up pumpkin pie, and gets sweeter as the day goes on. By the end of the day it's almost like a pumpkin candy. YUM. This is a definite foody scent. If you don't want to smell like dessert this is not the smell for you. Luckily, I'm very happy to smell like dessert. Heh. Note: I believe this scent has been reformulated and a peach note has been added. I have an early verson, for what it's worth.

When first applied, this smells strongly of apple, which is a little odd, since I don't think there's any apple involved. But it mellows down to a nice sharp, fruity scent that I love. I can see why this is the favourite of nearly everyone I know!

Mmm, I love this. Fresh out of the bottle there's a fabulous sharp grapefruit, which actually sticks around a bit, unlike most grapefruit scents. Top that with the fruity plum and something musky and it makes a wonderful oil that lasts well.

Holy sweet! The description is totally accurate - bubblegum and lollipops. I never did get any of the "womanly" undertones, either. It's fun, but I'm not entirely sure I can imagine wearing it for long periods of time. And in fact, by the end of the day I was a little tired of it.

I really wanted to like this. It started out wonderfully, with not too much rose, but the lemon became waaaay too strong and it started smelling like cleaning products. No thanks!

This is a very true chocolate scent, with consistency and staying power. Not an everyday scent for me, but I love it.