Leopard403

I have a similar question about Australian Copperhead. I have two partial bottles that have very different labels (the snakes are on different sides of the bottles, and the snakes themselves are also different). Did the label change? Is one older than the other? Thanks! Yup, there are different labels. There was some discussion about this a few pages back. (Page 108 of this thread. For some reason I can't copy a direct link to those posts...) eta: I don't know which is the newer version, but I'm sure someone else can tell ya!

I've realized that my nose and brain equate the Lab's champagne note with their gin note, so in that way the initial bite of Stardust reminds me of that first whiff of Velvet Pink Kitty or Blue Fire. That loud sharp note really hides all of the others unless I really look for them. So essentially, Stardust is lovely when I concentrate, but otherwise it's a one-note wonder.

I find The Garden in Winter to be rather confusing: it smells of tuberose to me. Quite lovely, but not at all what I expected!

I adore the smell of Peacock Queen perfume but it makes me sneeze something terrible. Luckily, this is not the case with the BO version! This is essentially the same scent, though there is an oude-like note that is a little more prominent in this version. Still SO lovely, and finally a version I can wear!

I did a quick skin test of Unhappily Ever After as an after-shower moisturizer, and whoa, all I got was champagne grape. It was bright and almost fizzy, very similar to the gin/juniper note that makes some of the Lab oils so crisply boozy. It was a lovely scent, though I admit it was a bit overwhelming. I kept rolling over in the night and catching a whiff and it took me a little off guard every time. I am hoping that the other notes blossom a little better when used in the bath, and I'll report back after trying!

Not quite sure how I feel about Chocolate Espresso Gingerbread. In fairness, I've only used it as an after-shower moisturizer at this point, so I base my review on that. When sniffed from the bottle and during application this scent is A-MAZ-ING. Every part of the oil's name is identifiable and it literally made my mouth water a little. After a moment on the skin, however, the gingerbread really takes over the other notes; but even more disappointing is the fact that after about five minutes this smells, well, off. The only thing that comes to my mind is "spicy cardboard." I'm hoping this will change a little upon use in the bath, or upon aging a bit. If I could just keep it from morphing away from that first delicious blast!

Still not sure about Gingerbread Snake. I bought it mostly because I am kicking myself for not buying a bottle or two of Snakes in the Pumpkin Patch, and I thought this might be a reasonable substitute. So far, though, this is ALL gingerbread with NO Snake Oil. Given the nature of SO I'm sure that will change with time, but as gingerbread ages it runs a greater risk of reacting with my puny white skin. The good news is that because this is strong, the throw is incredible and just a dollop to test remained on my skin through a hot shower. As a result, it is probably amazeballs in a tart burner.

Salty caramel. eta: After a more thorough testing, if I FORCE myself to smell that delightful vanillin musk of aging books then I can identify those notes, and at that point this blend is just LOVELY. Still, though, this is mostly foody on me.

The notes combine into something almost citrusy, with a slight sweet sugarplum beneath. More of a Spring scent, really.

Soap.

My dad makes a spiced hot toddy for holiday parties, and Goblin Market smells just like it when it first hits my skin. A few minutes in, though, all it get is apple combined with notes that remind me of Swank. It wears forever and becomes a bit masculine over time. A nice scent, but not one I need a whole bottle of.

Snake Oil in the Pumpkin Patch There's all manner of shenanigans in this year's pumpkin patch! Pumpkin'ized hybrids of GC BPAL scents abound! I am about to commit sacrilege and I know it, but here goes: Hi, my name is Leo, and I’ve never skin tested Snake Oil. I KNOW, I KNOW. I have some SO imps and I’ve played with them a little. And I like SO when I sniff it. But I’ve never worn it. Nevertheless I was super-excited to see Snakes in the Pumpkin Patch, because I just knew that it would be amazing. AND IT IS. Shockingly, I don’t really get any spice from it, and I don’t get the buttery note I so often get from the lab’s pumpkin. This is just SO with an autumn twist, not identifiably foody at all but dead sexy. And it lasts and lasts. So now that I’m initiated I’ll crack open my old SO imps. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m in trouble.

An armload of maple boughs and a swirl of autumn leaves. This is syrup-esque when wet, but only slightly sweet on dry down. There's something masculine about it, and I think that's wood with a hint of green and high, dry leaf. Very evocative!

When I sniffed Theme in Yellow right out of the bottle, I couldn’t tell it apart from Jack. That same very buttery, ever-so-slightly spicy pumpkin. But TiY blossoms on the skin and comes into its own, and at that point I could tell that the foody note I was picking up was probably that honey-cream-type scent that I get from beeswax. Eventually I can also recognize similarities to The Lights of Mens Lives, which is one of my favorite scents. That must be the candlelight in the description! Yes! The pumpkin itself gets less pie-like over time; while I would never sniff this and think “that smells like fresh pumpkin guts!” it definitely becomes closer to fresh raw pumpkin as it wears. So I guess this is kind of like TLoML and Jack had a fat happy baby. With an ADORABLE label! LOVE!

I am falling all over myself in love with Harvest Moon '13. Sooooo glorious. It doesn't smell "like roses" and it doesn't smell "like leaves"; instead it is some fabulous combination of the two. Just amazing. I wish I'd taken a chance and ordered more than one bottle, but alas!

Sigh. Damn that buttercream. I don't know if it's my skin or my nose (though in the end what's the difference?), but sometimes cream notes turn on me. At first, this was all pumpkin pie spices, but it quickly became my cream scent nemesis: Salty boiled peanuts.

This is so good. SO GOOD. When I sniffed right out of the bottle I was worried, because it is NOT GOOD right out of the bottle. But as soon as this hits my skin it is just lovely. Similar enough to the other Lace scents to be identified as one, but definitely light enough to be called Summer. Nothing made me think specifically of floral or foodie scents save for a quick whiff of caramel on the drydown; rather, this is seamlessly blended into a complex, creamy delight. And upwards of 10 hours after application I was still sniffing myself and it was still there! :love!:

A soft, ethereal scent suffused with gentle comfort. A remembrance of tea roses, lilacs, and soothing hugs. Norman's Grandma reminds me of another BPAL blend...but due to the revamping of the search function on the main site I cannot figure out which one! London maybe, because of the tea rose. But whereas London has a "wicked" vibe, this is all comfort and hugs just as described. It really does smell like a kindly ol' grandmother who smells of cold cream and sachets and soft wrinkled skin, and while a lot of people say things like that as a borderline-slur ("poo, it smells like my grandma!") I mean this as the greatest compliment. I mean, the lab does it again in capturing exactly what the scent is supposed to be. It is evocative of simple love. On me, it is mostly soft rose with the tiniest peek of lilac underneath. It does not turn powdery, and it is a fresh and clean skin scent without being indentifiably soaplike. Very unassuming, though: More like the scented lotion I would wear under another, "louder" perfume blend. It doesn't wear long, either, which I guess is to be expected with something this gentle.

Fizzy at first but that burns off quickly. This is weird, though: At a distance this smells glorious, but up close it is waaaay too perfumey. Really, if I sniff my wrist at 12 inches it smells like fresh-cut honeysuckle with a hint of plum and something sweet. At 2 inches, it is harsh, loud old lady perfume. Hmmmm...

I certainly understand the comparison to Strawberry Moon, as at first sniff SM and Self-Portrait with Puffy Stickers are identical. But after a few minutes, the differences are notable... though unfortunately I don't know that I have words to describe them in my vocabulary! On me, SM has some notes that are green and some that are slightly dry, very reminiscent of a strawberry patch but also very simple, as in nothing more than a strawberry patch. In contrast, SPwPS is slightly creamier and a tad sweeter, and it is clear that there are other things in there besides strawberries. I tend to amp rose and there is nothing there that says HI THERE'S ROSE HERE, but it is clear that there's something grounding the fruit and grass notes. All in all, a delightful scent, and I think it has enough nuance to put a bottle on the same shelf as my SM. EDIT ON A NEW DAY: Okay, wow. I'm sitting at my desk at work and just applied SPwPS ... and right now it is all French-milled soap with rose undertones and screaming white florals. I swear there should be lily and stephanotis in there.

Yeah, this is like SGA without the sex or the vampire. Nice and simple, but the throw is poor and it fades fast.

This is a sweeeeet lemon and a very mild lavender, and wet this is so lovely. Unfortunately, after a minute or two upon drydown it starts to smell, uh, familiar... and once my brain identified it as Lysol Antibacterial Wipes I just couldn't get away from there.

Loooove this. I'm testing these without peeking back at the descriptions first, and my first reaction to Self-Portrait was "soft and lunar." So the orris must be in the forefront. Luckily, the orris and the gardenia are gentled by the other notes and the honey isn't HELLO RAW like other lab honey blends on me. So the upshot is that this almost smells like clean baby skin. Slight powder, slight sweet, slight floral but not overwhelmingly one or the other. So, so good, this is definitely a bottle purchase for me!

I'm an amper of cherry, and it looks like Cykranosh will fall victim. I get mostly sweet cherry, though, so in fairness the other notes must be tempering the usual cough-syrup undertones. This is nice and it seems to last, but I don't know if I need more than a decant.

The first time I sniffed Love, my eyes rolled back in my head a bit. Wow, this is good. Wet, it is all sweet rose, which is so lovely, and on the skin it is SO pretty. Like a delicate dessert with soft cream and fresh strawberries and edible rose petals dusted with sugar. It is youthful and sophisticated at the same time, not quite foody and not quite floral, so I would agree with "complicated" as a good descriptor. I really love Love and I might need a bottle, or two. edit to add: This is very similar to Sweet Vanilla Rose, one of my favorite D/Cd etailer scents. Mmmmm.