yewberry

What is this? Strange, sharp, herbal, almost bitter...with the hint of nutty/grainy/maple. It reminds me a touch of eating a maple doughnut and candied pecans while showering with a bar of Irish Spring. The oddest damned thing!

Oh, I'm falling in love with this scent. It took a few tries, but especially in the dry down (when it lingers on and on...I love scents with staying power). There's definitely a tiny bit of vetiver in there. I think that's the electricity scarring mentioned in the description. But it's tempered nicely with the ozone, cypress, and blood notes. In the end it reminds me of a kinder, gentler Agnes Nutter.

It must be the musk and honey, but it smells a lot to me like a sweeter, less resinous Bien Loin d'Ici. Really pretty and sexy. I'll wear this a lot when I'm fancied-up.

This Charming Man. A very attractive men's cologne. I can kinda tell he's not really into me, though.

This one's so very my cuppa. It feels almost like the masculine twin of Bien Loin d'Ici. There's clove and patchouli at first, but they faded quickly on me. The vetiver is indeed martial as others have mentioned, which is matched sniff-for-sniff with the sharp pepper note. The champaca is the grace and beauty in this one, though. Keeps drifting in and out, sometimes obvious, and sometimes nearly undetectable. A strange, morphing enigma of a fragrance. Fascinating...

Looks like my experience with this fragrance is a little unusual. I don't find it intense at all, but warm and surprisingly fresh. Leather at the front, pine winding its way throughout. A little warm spice and patchouli in supporting roles. Ah, and there's the copal in the dry-down. The oakmoss really ties it all together, melding it into one unique whole. Overall a gorgeous, surprisingly airy, unisex-tipping-toward-masculine scent on me. So glad I bought a bottle!

Gorgeous. Bright, fruity pear at first, drying down to warm honey/beeswax and creamy vanilla. Very much like Ichabod Crane, only fruitier and sweeter. Definitely bottle-worthy for me!

Had high hopes for this one, but right out of the vial I could tell it wouldn't work with my skin chemistry. I can't really pick out any of the individual notes once it's on, and after five minutes it smells exactly like a fresh squirt of Aqua Net. Off you go to swaps...

Pretty. Really, really pretty. And (thankfully) not in a floral way. Something (the oakmoss, I'm thinking) is giving it a warm, slightly musky foundation that keeps it from drifting off into space. I'm pleasantly reminded of Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden...except warmer, more grounded, and generally more grown-up. This is a fragrance for Beltane, and I look forward to wearing it on the first sunny day of spring.

I'm finding this one endlessly intriguing. Definitely getting the sharp cumin note (reminds me a bit of Dracul), but it calms down a while after application. Warm, muted patchouli is hot on its heals. I think some of this muting is the result of the honey/beeswax note that adds roundness. And finally the cardamom comes out with its typical Pepsi-like fruitiness. The overall result is mysterious and masculine. I'm not sure I'll wear it much, but it's so unusual and beautiful I'll definitely hang on to it...

Have I never reviewed The Coiled Serpent? Well, then it's high time: Strangely ethereal cedar (normally delightfully sour and grounding...is it sandalwood that's making it float?). Patchouli (decidedly earthbound). And something almost flowery. I adore this fragrance. I need to wear it more often. Definitely helps get things moving in the old brainpan.

Deliciously well-blended. My first whiff brought one word to mind: classy. This is an elegant evening fragrance with just a touch of the exotic. I don't see myself having occasion to wear it much (none of the above adjectives describe me), but I gotta give this one props for its genuine, lasting beauty.

On me? This is Lightning with a warm, delicious honey dry-down. Very pretty and surprisingly nice on me (pretty and I don't usually get along).

Tutti-fruiti in the bottle, to the extent my husband cried "Whoa, FRUIT" from three feet away. Sadly, like most of BPAL's apple, this one turns sour on me. The honeyed layers really are rich, deep, and gorgeous, though.

Rootbeer and men's cologne. Would have preferred more of the former, markedly less of the latter. Sadly, this one's a bust with my skin chemistry...

As others have mentioned, it's a bit like Blue Fire, except more juniper and citrus on me.

Bland, amberish men's soap on me. Bleh. I would have loved the sweetgrass.

Folks we have a winner! The scrummy coconut of Brown Jenkin, with fruity currant close behind. The vetiver adds an edge Brown Jenkin lacked without overpowering the blend. It's wonderful in this supporting role. Excellent staying power (on me) and nice medium throw. ETA: Does anyone know the correct spelling of the name? My bottle reads "Fuwa", not "Fuwu"...

There's nothing about the individual elements I don't normally like (with the exception of bodark bark, which I've never smelled). Sadly, my body chem seems to want to turn this into a weird conglomeration of black pepper and bread-and-butter pickles. Tragic... ETA: Settles down into a mediocre men's cologne-y affair. Meh. But at least the pickles are gone.

Very, very like Lightning on my skin. Ozone amps on my skin something fierce, in a good way. Definitely in there somewhere.

My very first prototype, but sadly not for me. Super gardenia kapow at all stages. If there are peaches, they make no appearance on my skin.

Goes on soapy and stays that way. Geranium and I do not play well.

Papaya, blueberry, lemongrass, and gin. PEZ!!! Mellowing down into a resinous (juniperus, specifically) fruitiness. Truly evocative of a gin-soaked fruity cocktail. Youthful and fun with a twist of boozy maturity. Yum.

Okay. I'm shallow. I hoped this would work on me just so when people asked "What's that ambrosial fragrance you're wearing?" I could say "Oh, that's Men Ringing Bell with Penises". That's not to say the description doesn't intrigue. Tea, green sandalwood, moss...and it really is as beautiful, light, and complex as it sounds. The result is at once unisex and cleanly masculine. Really, really delightful, but not, in the end, my cuppa sandalwood tea. I look forward to giving it to a friend of mine just to see the look on her face, however.

Anything with awapuhi smells like high-end salon shampoo. This is no exception. A bright, clean, soapy scent, but not really something I'd wear.