ladybird

In Bottle: Mostly jasmine, with a bit of the ginger to sharpen it up Wet: Eeeew. I can't smell anything except sour wrongness. I don't know what happened Dry: A little better. The ginger comes forth, and the vanilla softens it. And then...cardamom? It smells like Indian food. Which is not a bad thing, definitely - I love Indian food. It's just not really what I'm looking for in a fragrance This one's going in my trade pile - it's just not for me. But it still really makes me admire the lab's ability to concoct unusual, creative, and complex scents. I'm sure that no conventional perfume even comes close to this fascinating combination of spices.

In bottle: Bright, delicate floral. Wet: Odd musty scent. Is it the jasmine going wrong? Is it the honeysuckle? I can't smell the buttercup at all, in all of this... Dry: Ugh. Grandmother's Attic Jasmine, all perfumey and musty. Something about this jasmine doesn't like me. Oh well. I've got Ostara, for my shiny-yellow-floral needs This one's going into the trade pile.

Oh, good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets chocolate from this one I was so very confused, expecting a floral! It's rich and fruity and chocolaty. It reminds me of Vice, a little, but much much stronger in general. I think this one is too strong for me. Into the trades!

In bottle: Fruit and spice, predominantly cinnamon. On skin: Mmmmm. Warm mulled wine, with a hint of berry. This is the spicy-wine scent that I had hoped Madrid would be. It's absolutely lovely - purple and sweet and spicy. I'm definitely keeping this one- I'll pull it out again in the autumn and winter. This is a scent that will warm me up.

In bottle: Mostly lavender, with a little greenness that must be from the fern Wet: Still mostly lavender and green, but with the rose coming out. (Sigh. My skin really wants to strengthen rose notes.) Dry: Lilac! Here comes the lilac. It's softened and made more complex by the slight green notes that remain, and by the sweet sugar - and of course, by the rose, because my skin just can't let any rose fade into the background. But mostly it's lilac. I've been looking for a lilac scent for ages, and I think I've finally found it. Yay!

Exactly what it says it is Bright, bubbly strawberries, sweet and fruity, but cut enough by the champagne note so as not to get too overpowering. Despite the luxurious associations of strawberries and champagne, this feels like a very casual scent to me - not something I'd wear when I'm getting dressed up for a formal occasion, but fun enough for a party.

Sweet, light, and delicate. The flowery rose is balanced out by the white tea, I think, so it's not too strong - rose often gets overpowering on me, but this one is very mild. There's a coffeeshop near me that sells a white-tea-and-rose drink, and I was expecting Maiden to smell like that, but it's even lighter and sweeter. The name is well-chosen - this scent gives off an air of innocence. I'm hoarding Maiden in anticipation of summer - this is the kind of light scent I'll want to wear when it's hot outside. And if I ever enable my 15-year-old cousin, this is the scent I'm starting her on.

Wet: nondescript floral. Pretty, but nothing special. Dry: Almost nothing...and then an hour later, I'm enveloped in this gorgeous floaty cloud of lilies. Very delicate and feminine, the kind of subtle scent that makes me keep turning my head to sniff, and thinking "Where's that coming from? Is that me?" I ended up trading it for something I liked better, because I'm slightly overloaded with delicate florals But this was a lovely scent, and I'd definitely recommend it to my fellow light-floral lovers.

Ostara cheers me up every time I wear it. It smells bright-yellow and happy - daffodils, buttercups, all kinds of other lovely yellow spring flowers, and sweet bright lemon. I'm losing a lot of the complexity of this scent, but that's really OK. Cream usually turns to icky-sweet syrup on me, so whatever is in this that balances out the cream, it's doing a great job of it. It's gray and gloomy and rainy here today, but Ostara is doing its part to bring back the spring sunshine

First wet sniff: grassy, but not unpleasant. Light and springy, the scent of fresh growing grass that has just been rained on. Drydown: Oooh, there are the flowers! Buttercup! I think I'm getting some of the moonflowers too. All of the herbs and the cucumber just blend together in a lovely light green scent to support the flowers. It's like this scent knew what I wanted it to be, and is bringing out the floral notes that I had hoped for. I can't stop smelling my wrist! I love Blue Moon, and it loves me Slave1 recommended this to me, and I must thank her - I am every bit in love as she said I would be

I present to you... The Short Sad Life of BiggerCritters on Ladybird In imp: It smells like Gluttony? Huh? Maybe it's the vanilla? Wet: VANILLA! Vanillavanillavanillavanilla. And the same syrupy cream that made Gluttony go all wrong. Oh, I'm afraid of this one. After 15 minutes: one last gasp of VANILLA! And then a flash of baby powder, and it's gone. Fortunately, I have a good friend who wanted to try this one. She's going to get her wish

Thou art false, O moon, as the hearts of men. I will not, will not love again. Bulgarian rose, tea rose, violet leaf, opium poppy, Bois de Jasmin, patchouli leaf, honey, blue lilac, balsam, woodruff, and lemon peel. Lovely, floaty, and light. I agree with all of the 'pale pink' descriptions above - it's a delicate, pink, misty scent. It smells like a garden on a summer night - the roses are dominant, but there are other flowers too, hovering just behind the roses. I was worried at first that it might disappear on me - on the initial drydown, the scent got very very faint. But then, the longer I wear it, the more it comes back, with the other notes adding subtle complexity. Oooh, this one is pretty. Lovers of roses, lovers of light florals, and those looking for a scent to wear on a hot summer night - Rose Moon is for you!

Queen of Hearts isn't an aquatic, but it reminds me of the summers I spent on Cape Cod when I was little. I think it's the combination of flowers, plus a faint saltiness. It doesn't smell like the ocean itself, but it smells like summer near the ocean

I got this one as a frimp from the lab - I'd never have chosen it on my own. Frankincense and vetiver? Not me! But this worked surprisingly well. It was dark and spicy and mature...kind of sexy, actually. I didn't get the lemon at all, just the spicier notes. Maybe it was the sandalwood that came out? It was a fascinating scent, and I'm really astonished it smelled good at all. But it's not the kind of scent I'd wear everyday.

Oh, yum The cherry is barely noticeable, just a little hint of added sweetness and complexity. Mostly, it smells like those chocolate oranges - the dark chocolate kind. This is the kind of chocolate scent that I had been hoping Gluttony would be. I'm so happy I found Vice! I'm going to hoard this one!

I'm so glad I had no idea what this scent was when I tried it I got it as a frimp in a trade, and just tried it with no knowledge of what the notes were. And I hate tobacco! But this scent doesn't smell tobacco-y on me, and I'm not getting the hairspray that a lot of other people seem to get, either. Instead, it just gets...warm. Lovely and warm and cozy with a golden-brown feel to it. This is a scent I'll wear next winter to warm me up!

What a wonderful sweet fruity rollercoaster of a scent! In the bottle: sweet honey, and an almost appley scent. Swoon. Wet: A sudden burst of sharp herbs, but the flowers and honey are still there under it. Dry: The honey comes back to the front, tempered by flowers and beautifully sweet again. I can't even pick out which flowers are there - it all blends together in a wonderful warm spring fruity flowery blend. Oh, I'm getting giddy just writing about it This is one of my favorites - it's a perfect spring and summer scent. I'm going to hoard it

This smells exactly like my old Victoria's Secret Violet Rose lotion! I loved that stuff, and I've been looking for something similar for ages. Marie is it! It's wonderfully flowery, and the violet balances out my skin's tendency to bring out the rose notes in any scent. It's one of tne of the most feminine BPAL scents I've tried, but it's still mature, not girly. I'm hoarding this one

There's a soft drink that you can get here in the northeastern US called birch beer. It's like root beer, only lighter and milder, and it's usually clear. It smells like the inside of green birch twigs, light and sweet and birchy. And that is exactly what Hamadryad smells like on me. It's not a bad smell. It just makes me thirsty

*whimper* Curse of the Baby Powder strikes again! This started as a lovely fruity-flowery scent, all warm and happy. And then a little while later...baby powder. My skin just does this to some scents. So sad! I was really looking forward to this one. Into the trades...

In the imp: eeew. Rancid medicinal fruit. On the other hand, that's exactly how Queen of Hearts smelled to me in the bottle, and it turned out absolutely lovely, so I had hope On skin: Grapefruit! Strong pink grapefruit, citrusy-sharp at first, then drying sweeter and mellower as time goes on. I'm getting a tiny bit of the lime and cranberry that are in a Cosmo, but only if I think about it really hard. It's mostly grapefruit. This is a really intriguing scent, but I'm not sure I like grapefruit enough to wear it that much.

I was so looking forward to this one - roses and spices, two of my favorite notes! And indeed, on drydown I get a faint rose scent. But mostly? Grass. Lawnmower clippings. Grass grass grass. Such a sad, grassy disappointment! Back into the swap pile with this one.

In the bottle: Mmm, spicy wine. On skin: Spice spice spice. After a little while, a tiny bit of fruit comes back, but it's mostly a whole lot of cinnamon and cloves. It's like mulled wine smelled from the next room - a nice scent, but too spicy and intense for me, alas!

Lily of the Valley, Calla Lily, stephanotis and a drop of cherry. In the bottle: Strong, medicinal, rancid cherry. I was really scared of this one. On skin: Magic! All the nasty cherry vanishes! My first thought was "summer on Cape Cod" - it brought back a flood of childhood memories. It turned into a beautifully light summery floral, with lily-of-the-valley dominant, and a few aquatic notes. It's odd because a) the description didn't say anything about aquatics, and aquatics don't usually work on me. But this is a wonderful exception to the rule. After two hours, it's almost entirely faded away, but the overall scent hasn't changed, just the strength. It won't last for an all-day wearing, but I'm keeping it for when I need reminders of happy childhood summers on Cape Cod

Wow. Trying this scent has been an absolutely fascinating process. It's the only scent that's actually increased in strength with wearing. When I first put it on, I could hardly smell it at all. "Oh no," I thought, "it's one of those scents that turns to nothing on me. Darn body chemistry!" And then, about 15 minutes later, I started getting this faint floral scent. Now, two hours later, all of the spice that's supposed to be in this scent is starting to come through. It's still lovely and light, but with a hint of spicy intensity. I still think this one's going in the trade pile, because my body chemistry seems to be cancelling out all of the lovely fruitiness that I had hoped for. But it was a fascinating experiment all the same