milo

This ends up being a honeyed, soft white rose on me, very reminiscent of Katrina Von Tassel. Pretty and girly. I can't remember Alice, so I can't comment on that, only that it wasn't bottle worthy to me. I had and liked Katrina, but it just wasn't 'me'. Though I do like, this, it's pretty and feminine, it's just not 'me'. I still may hunt down a decant though, as there is the odd time I like a to wear a delicate rose blend. Another nice thing about this blend, is that it doesn't go sour or powdery. Nice!

At first, this is very nice. A sweet snow blend, and kind of what I wanted Waltz of the Snowflakes to be. After 45 minutes or so, the snow note turns to fungus on me. Yeah, my wonderful skin chemistry ruins a blend yet again. So now I smell like sweet, snowy mushrooms.

Wet, candied fruits and red musk. Uh oh, not a big fan of candied fruits, in fact I detest them. Soon, it ends up being a slightly spicy, fruity red musk. There is a dusty vibe going on here, which I'm not really digging, kind of like candied fruitcake that is a year old that someone forgot about in the cupboard. This blend is not for me.

Wet, the fir dominates, and I get a teeny bit of the resinous pine bark and a lovely mint. After a bit, the fir is not as strong, and this blend ends up being a slightly sweet vanilla mint with a touch of evergreen. This really reminds me of Snowblind, only I found Snowblind too sweet and foody. I can also see how some see the comparisons to Snow White, as I think it's the same vanilla. Other than that, I don't really get the SW association. It's been awhile since I found a bottle worthy Yule, so this is a nice surpise, and I can't wait to use this one in the summer. OK, after two hours, this ends up being cloying, sweet mint vanilla, even sweeter than Snowblind now. I believe I'll stick to Green Tree Viper for my mint fix.

I believe I've tried this before, but I'm definitely not getting the same vibe. At first slather, this reminds me of swimming pool, and I can't really figure out why as there is no chlorine scent. At first I thought it was a rose lotion I may or may not have used when I was a teenager lifeguard. It then hit me. This was a hot tub fragrance I used for our hot tub several years ago, which I loved. I think it was tropical passions or something. I just loved smelling it while the hot water swirled around me. Although I like this, it's kind of artificial smelling on me, and just a teeny bit rose-like, more of another kind of floral to me. This is all probably to do with chemical chlorine association, and if I ever get my hottub going again, I'd love to smell it in there.

Pretty much incense and cedar on me. This reminds me of inside an ancient church, with old pews and burning incense. I like this, but have Midnight Mass for my incense fixes.

This starts out kind of astringent and piney. Kind of like a floor cleaner. After a couple of minutes, it is barely noticeable on me, (and I slathered) just a watery disinfectant smell. This is really bland, and blah. eta: OK, so give it a half an hour, and the blend does strengthen. Weird, bpal usually starts out strong and then fades. It still is the mentholated/eucapalytus-like blend to me, so I still don't really like it. 2011 Version: Incense and christmas greenery. Better than last year, but I have Midnight Mass to fill the incense greenery for Christmas.

Definitely get a cream note here, along with the candied fruits. Not a big fan of the fruits, as they are dominating the blend here. It definitely smells festive though, along with a bit of spice. A bit to foody for me, though the cream note is pretty nice here.

To my nose, this is dead on to Gingerbread 07. I did a side by side with an imp, and I couldn't tell the difference. Both are gingerbread cookies, fresh, homemade with sugar dusted on top. I'm not a foody, but this is really yummy. Not something I'd wear regularly, but nice for a cosy evening at home by the fire.

At first, this is mentholated ashes, very strange and kind of off-putting. It feels kind of like peppermint on my skin, a cooling effect. Then, perhaps one of the most dramatic morphing turnarounds in my bpal history, it is now a beautiful plum sherry with spice. The ash is now gone. This reminds me of Sin, or a more sweeter, spicier (less incencey) Hellion. It definitely is Christmassy in a festive, spicy way. The Sherry is at first alcoholly, but that soon fades off. I really like this, and am contemplating a bottle. Not sure how much I'd actually wear it, though, as it is quite festive and definitely reminiscent of Christmas.

This is a really good one for me to try, as I am all stuffed up from a head cold. Immediately upon application, my nose is cleared with a strong peppermint. This gets stronger as it dries, and I can even feel it in my eyes, my wrists are slightly burning as well. This incarnation is less sweet and more strong than others. It is like a Fisherman's Friend, only in peppermint. I love the strength of the peppermint in this blend, but not sure if I want to go around smelling like a candycane on steroids. Oh, and I licked my wrists, (very lightly) and I could taste a teeny bit of peppermint, and experienced the tingly 'fresh' feeling. I will definitely use up my sniffie for the rest of this head cold, and may hunt down a decant. I imagine this would be great in warmer weather.

Wet to dry, this is a dark, masculine woody blend. I really like dark and woody, so this is a good thing, however, it is much to masculine for me to wear. Me thinks I have too many masculine blends that my guy doesn't even wear anyways, so I'll leave this one for now.

Wet, this is pretty much vetiver on me. Dry, still vetiver. I love amber and lavender, so I'm hoping they will come out eventually. So far this is a 'no go'.

This ends up being a non-quite heady floral, but I'm thinking the plumeria is drowning out everything else, as I don't get anything but a strong floral here. I love chrysanthemum and like incense, and don't get any here. Dahlia interested me, as I don't get any scent from the Dahlia's that I grow every year, so I was definitely curious. Pretty much singular plumeria here, folks. 2011 Version: Strong heady floral as well, no other notes but the plumeria. Reminds me of a tropical vacation, which is nice for the scent association, but otherwise, not for me.

I don't mind Dragon's Blood when it is blended with certain scents, mainly musks and woods. At first, this is a juicy, bold berry-like red musk blend with the DBR. Liking it so far! Unfortuneately, the musks and berries fade, and we're left with straight up DBR. Damn, it was so promising to start out.

At first, this is effervescent blueberry gin, with a touch of tartness. For some reason, I'm getting coconut here. Maybe it's the papaya? After a bit, the fizziness fades, but it is still tart blueberry gin with a bit of coconut. I REALLY want a drink of this, it smells like it would taste so very yummy. A couple of hours in, and now I'm getting plastic coconut. So boo hoo there, but I really enjoy it until it hits the plastic phase, and this is a really nice taste of summer in the middle of winter here. I certainly will enjoy the imp, and search out a recipe for Blue Fire, the drink!

Wet, lovely citrus and fir with a touch of musk. Very unisex and refreshing at this stage. After a bit, the citrus and fir fades and the musk is now dominating. It is rather bland and unassuming now, and I wish it had stayed the same scent as the wet phase. There's also a faint hint of pickle juice here which makes it more unappealing. Damn, I was looking forward to a new fave, as the notes seemed to be made of 'win' for me. Oh well. Maybe this would be better on a guys chemistry, but it's certainly not meshing with mine.

I really like the actual floral smell of lily of the valley, but not on me. I really don't get the oppononax, just the heady lily. For those of you who love or like lily of the valley, this doesn't go powdery at all. This reminds me of a lily of the valley powder my mom used to own and ended up throwing out. This really smells like something grandma would like.

Wow, this smells really dirty, and musky with a touch of fruity fig. I think there is some vetiver here, but I don't get the fungus at all. I don't dislike it, but I don't really like it either. Kind of just a neutral 'meh'. It is a quick fader on me even though the initial blast is rather hard to take.

At first, I'm thinking that this is another heady, sweet floral of the jasmine family variety. After a bit, my daughter, who is sitting down the couch from me, wonders what 'that amazing smell is'. I put my wrist to her face and she says, 'it smells better from a distance'. And after about an hour from applying, this really does smell amazing. A slightly floral (but in a good way), sweet non-powdery (but it has that powdery feel, if that makes sense), beautiful sensual honey-sweet blend. I really like this, a first for a jasmine-like blend. Very feminine and non-assuming, non-offensive way. LOVE, and I may get a bottle once my imp is used up.

Very fresh and heady, if the two can be combined. This is pretty much lily and rose on me, but I do get a touch of fruit as well. I enjoy the freshness of this blend, and I think it would be a great 'cruise' blend in the tropics, but the headiness is too much for me. There's a bit of waxiness too, I don't know where that's coming from, but all in all, this blend is not for me.

At first this is all about the gardenia. After a bit, the gardenia still dominates, but a bit of what I thought was sandalwood, but must be the patchouli coming through. This ends up being a strong, tropical heady floral, with a bit of delicious patchouli. Too tropical and heady for me though, I wish the amber was dominant here.

At first, this is spicy ginger, cinnamon, and perhaps a bit of cardamon with a touch of marshmallow. And what a lovely marshmallow it is! As it dries, the spices fade, and the marshmallow comes out in all her rice krispie treat glory. For once, the spices take a background on me, and this blend ends up being total awesomeness, and this is coming from a non-foody bpaler. WIN, and I may just hunt down a bottle or partial.

... Blackened sandalwood and misty lavender, with curling wisps of smoky tobacco, nag champa, and labdanum. Very astringent and masculine upon applying. Gradually the ashes come into play, so it's a lavender (astringent) and smoky blend now. I normally love (or at least like) lavender, but this is way too smoky. I get no sandalwood to speak of. Overall, this blend is overpowering, (in a bad way), medicinal, smoky, masculine and not me in so many ways. Oh well, can't win them all!

Wet, a very 'green' floral. Kind of like a florist's cooler, a fresh green with lovely flowers. This is quite lovely, but more suited for spring weather to me.