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Showing results for tags 'Yule 2014'.
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In the month of December, another fair American medium arrived in England. This lady and her husband, Dr. Roberts, attended a course of lectures I was then delivering in Providence Chapel, upon Mesmerism and Animal Magnetism. They introduced themselves to me, and invited me to visit them. I did so, many times; and to them do I owe much; for, through the information I received from them, I have been enabled to inquire more fully into this soul-stirring, and very important subject, after several Seances at Mrs. Roberts's in Dyer's Buildings, Holborn [MD: original], where I witnessed the moving of the table in various directions. This is what is called “Table-turning,” and which has been attributed to Electricity or Animal Magnetism, by many intelligent and scientific persons… I have seen a loo-table suspended in the air, at least six inches from the ground, without anyone in the body touching it. —Hardinge, 1854 A heavy, tactile scent that thrums with voices from beyond: black polished teakwood, gullies of ectoplasm, and ghostly white musk. Wet: Starts out unpleasant. Strong camphor scent and sharp lemon. Dry down: This ones a real morpher. Camphor goes away almost immediately and the sharpness of the lemon starts to subside. Musk makes its appearance and I swear I smell vanilla. Dry: Okay, this is not what I was expecting but its actually very nice. Sweet lemony tea, vanilla, and musk with a wood smell underneath. I never would have said that it was specifically Teakwood.
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Snowballs of blue lilac, lotus root, Roman chamomile, sandalwood, and cade. Wet this smells a lot like the top note of Blue Moons (like, the 2007 version in particular, not the classic one), then it veers right into wet but pretty lilac territory. After the very fresh, true to life lilac scent fades a touch, you can really smell the herbal push for the chamomile. I'm not getting frank cade from this (thank god!) but it may be adding a little bit more depth and sharpness to an otherwise initially floral blend. I then get both lotus root and petal, although that may be the lilac still playing tricks on me. While wet, it is very complicated, still very much lilac, without it being a very masculine scent. I would say this is a traditional strong floral. On drydown it melds together and stays pretty true to form as a blustery, springtime lilac bush, hazy in the heat from the bees, with the fragrance dripping off the petals so strong you swear you can see the air around the bush dance and you temporarily lose your place as you get taken by the sheer presence of flowers. ... Uh... well now. So if you like lilacs you must try Glaucous Snow!
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Lick It is back, as minty and sweet as ever, and now you can lick it for a good cause: proceeds from every sale of Lick It With Consent will be donated to RAINN. I'll be first. Had my husband try this on this morning. In the bottle: sweet and minty. Wet: Wow, peppermint. He kept going on about how cold his skin felt. Dry: The peppermint isn't as strong, it's pretty much faded. The sweetness is coming out, but it's not a feminine sweetness. Kinda like the sweet mint gum. It seems really unisex. The throw isn't very strong, either. Edit: We tried this again. Nice and minty at the front, but the dry is so much sweeter on my husband. Sweet to the point of smelling feminine on him. I liked it, but he thought it made him smell like a girl. A bottle I'll give up to the swap list.
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Practical Occultism consists, first, of a perfect mastery of the individual’s own spirit. No advance whatever can be made in acquiring power over other spirits, such as controlling the lower or supplicating the higher, until the spirit within has acquired such perfect mastery of itself, that it can never be moved to anger or emotion—realizes no pleasure, cares for no pain; experiences no mortification at insult, loss, or disappointment—in a word, subdues every emotion that stirs common men’s minds. To arrive at this state, severe and painful as well as long continued discipline is necessary. Having acquired this perfect equilibrium, the next step is power. The individual must be able to wake when he pleases and sleep when he pleases; go in spirit during bodily sleep where he will, and visit—as well as remember when awake—distant scenes. He must be enabled by practice, to telegraph, mentally, with his fellow associates, and present himself, spiritually, in their midst. He must, by practice, acquire psychological control over the minds of any persons—not his associates—beneath his own calibre of mind. He must be able to still a crying infant, subdue fierce animals or angry men, and by will, transfer his thought without speech or outward sign to any person of a mental calibre below himself; he must be enabled to summon to his presence elementary spirits, and if he desires to do so (knowing the penalties attached), to make them serve him in the special departments of Nature to which they belong. He must, by virtue of complete subjugation of his earthly nature, be able to invoke Planetary and even Solar Spirits, and commune with them to a certain degree. To attain these degrees of power the processes are so difficult that a thorough practical occultist can scarcely become one and yet continue his relations with his fellow-men. He must continue, from the first to the last degree, a long series of exercises, each one of which must be perfected before another is undertaken. A practical occultist may be of either sex, but must observe as the first law inviolable chastity—and that with a view of conserving all the virile powers of the organism. No aged person, especially one who has not lived the life of strict chastity, can acquire the full sum of the powers above named. It is better to commence practice in early youth, for after the meridian of life, when the processes of waste prevail over repair, few of the powers above described can be attained; the full sum never. Strict abstinence from animal food and all stimulants is necessary. Frequent ablutions and long periods of silent contemplation are essential. Codes of exercises for the attainment of these powers can be prescribed, but few, if any, of the self-indulgent livers of modern times can perform their routine. The arts necessary for study to the practical occultist are, in addition to those prescribed in speculative occultism, a knowledge of the qualities of drugs, vapors, minerals, electricity, perfumes, fumigations, and all kinds of anæsthetics. And now, having given in brief as much as is consistent with my position—as the former associate of a secret society—I have simply to add, that, whilst there are, as in Masonry, certain preliminary degrees to pass through, there are numerous others to which a thoroughly well organized and faithful association might advance. In each degree there are some valuable elements of practical occultism demanded, whilst the teachings conveyed are essential preliminaries. In a word, speculative occultism must precede practical occultism; the former is love and wisdom, the latter, simply power. A Victorian occultist’s incense, invoking the Four Archangels: precious wildcrafted Indian frankincense with myrrh, cassia, sandarac, palmarosa, white sage, red sandalwood, elemi, and drops of star anise bound with grains of kyphi. In the bottle: kyphi! A fruity, wine-y kyphi scent with lots of cassia and a bit of anise. On skin: glorious spicy kyphi. This smells less like Cairo’s lemongrassy-rosy take on kyphi, not as wine-y or ashen as Philosopher in Meditation, it’s more like the kyphi note from the Oak and Kyphi atmosphere spray, or the Chthonic Kyphi incense from TAL. It’s spicy, resinous and complex. Cinnamon/cassia is the most obvious note, but it’s also full of myrrh, frankincense, red wine and honeyed raisins, there’s also a hint of fuzzy sage to it as well. The anise isn’t there any more. I absolutely love the resinous spicy scent this has. It reminds me a bit of Haloa but without the foody notes. It also reminds me of Egg Moon’s cinnamon frankincense. After a while: it doesn’t change too much but I think the honey and wine aspects of the kyphi become more obvious. The resins deepen further, the cassia becomes warmer. The myrrh is wonderful in here, it reminds me of the myrrh in Priala, especially with the cinnamon, but not as smoky. Something about it reminds me of a couple of last year’s phoenix scents. Verdict: probably the best kyphi scent by BPAL so far. If you are a kyphi lover, you must get this. It’s brimming with spice and resin and honeyed wine, all in balance. Yule is a perfect time for this scent to be on sale, there’s something almost festive to it because of the combination of red wine and cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh, at times it reminds me of mulled wine in a church during a Christmas service, but it’s got that undertone of mystery and darkness hinting at more ancient, occult origins for this particular incense blend. The great thing is that it’s cinnamony but doesn’t burn my skin. I’m glad I took a chance on this as it’s perfect, I think it will age amazingly. Is it a keeper? for sure. Maybe a backup? If you like this, try: Egg Moon, Pliny’s Phoenix, Tacitus’s Phoenix, Priala the Human Phoenix, Oak Leaves and Kyphi atmosphere spray, Saturnian Phoenix, Philosopher in Meditation, Haloa, Cairo, Saint Foutin de Varailles, Valentine of Rome
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The scent of mad piety, blood and martyrdom, soul-crushing guilt, and frenzied devotion: frankincense and myrrh disoriented by labdanum, unsteady yuzu, shredded ginger, black cypress, and Aleppo Pine wood thickened with dragon's blood resin. Sniffed: wow, that's a brisk snap of the fingers under your nose. Peppery ginger, bright yuzu, and fiery red resins. This smells . . . martial and reverberant. I don't get any soul-crushing guilt, but there is indeed a frenzied energy to the blend. Wet: I. Love. This. It's perfectly seasonal, too - the yuzu and pine with church incense notes make it smell like a room full of evergreen boughs and brightly burning red Christmas candles, turned up to 11. The dragon's blood is fruity and round; it's almost got a bayberry quality. How on earth does something smell like candle flame? I hope this dries down well, because it wasn't even on my list and now it's shot up to purchase status. Worn: it gets drier and woodsier as it ages, fading to the ghost of burned incense. Really, really good incense. I'm not normally into the incense-heavy blends, but this is a winner.
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A thick, spongy white cake spiked with hard apple cider and frosted with whiskey-laden buttercream. Exactly what it promises - spicy apple cider, cakey goodness and whisky buttercream. The cider and whisky are quite potent when wet on the skin but on the drydown we get a rush of creamy sponge cake. I don't know if anyone else is going to pick up on this (my nose may be fooling me) but I get the tiniest hint of coconut too. This is no bad thing. This might be one of my favourite gourmand Yules ever. Absolutely delicious, has amazing throw and there is no doubt that this will age well. Lovely!
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Black and red musks with honey, leather, and sugared black rose. Eldritch Dark hairgloss is close to the perfume, its smells like leather, honey and dark roses. Its teh sex in the bottle!
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Wine spilled across freshly pressed table linens, a wilted holiday bouquet, and a furtive hint of whiskey and baked bread. I was so intrigued by this, and I'm not even sure why! I do love dinner parties and the smell of ironed linen. Wine usually gets too noisy on me and I don't like gourmand stuff...but I bought a bottle untested? Okay. In the bottle, the cakey/bakey/bread note was quite strong, Eat Me-like with the berryish wine note. I wasn't going to give it the honour of First Tested, but I spilled a couple of drops so I decided to make this Deipnophobia night. On my skin, the baked goods calm right down and I get barely a whiff of wine--that's really good, since the Lab's wine note often gets cloying on me. The linen dominates, with wisps of subtle whiskey, wine and bread. It's more of a perfumey "linen" note than a photorealistic slightly-scorched smell of ironed linen, but I'm really loving this. Are there florals? I can't pick them out, me. The bread reminds me of the yeasty sufganiyot note in Chanukkiyah (which I also got another bottle of in this order). Nom.
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The Shard in the Heart, The Worm in the Rose Atmosphere Spray
zankoku_zen posted a topic in Atmosphere
Stony contempt and blossoming darkness: vetiver trickling through sickly roses. Damp, red roses and a touch of vetiver. The smell sticky, deeply red rosey, and very cloying. It's a heavy oppressive red rose. -
A suffocating, oppressive white shroud: a fragrance heavy with ice, strangled by damp oakmoss, artemisia, and muguet. A very clean soft scent. Slightly powdery. Can definitely smell the oakmoss and muguet/Lily of the Valley. As it dries the Lily comes out a lot more and it becomes lemony floral clean powder scent. I think this would be really pretty in the spring and summer as it doesn't make me think of ice when I smell it. Reminds me a lot of Lily Savon from Lush so if you liked that definitely give this a try. ETA - To add that this scent has decent throw and good lasting power. I applied it mid afternoon and it was still on when I went to bed around midnight.
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Welsh cakes and ale with a smattering of dried lavender. In the bottle: Sweet baked smell with the faintest wafts of a boozy note and lavender. Wet on skin: The lavender pushes its way to the forefront, that baked smell lingering behind it. The ale is there too, but you have to pick it out. Dry down: Toasty baked lavender goodness, kind of like scones almost but not especially sweet ones. With lavender sprinkled on top. Verdict: I liked this a lot. It's a very cozy, comforting sort of scent, a curl up on the couch in a warm blanket with a cup of tea and good book on a rainy day type smell. Calming and homey without being dull, to my mind.
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Ghastly misshapen branches casting long, twisted shadows and clutching at you with prickly needle-like fingers: pine pitch, bone-white dried fir, and spruce tar with opoponax and blackened tobacco. First off, take this review with a bit of salt. I just got it in the mail this morning and my bottle was so cold it misted up when I took it out of the box. But I was dying to try it, so here we go. ITB: Pine and something almost lemony sharp. Unsettling for sure. Wet: That lemony thing is totally gone, replaced by a sweet pine. The combination of the balsams and the pine is both sweet and dark and very masculine on me. Evil christmas tree is very much the right frame of mind for this. It's obviously pine and tree resin, but something else lurks in the background that's a little sweet, a little unsettling and very wonderful. Drying: Opoponax tends to be a sweet resin on me, and I can really notice that sweetening here. It's still a very dry scent, but there is something almost fruity about it, the way I had hoped Skadi's berry note would behave. I can barely notice anything I could call tobacco, which is a shame because I love it, but there is something blackened about this for sure. Right now it's prickly to the point of being a bit sneezy when I really huff it, but its not at all cleaner fluid, which I was worried about with all the pine. Dry: Surprisingly sweet. While there is still a bite to this, it settles into something that's a lot more unisex than I expected from the first initial blast of pine and woods. The brightness of the pine takes a back seat and I'm starting to get a wee bit of the tobacco, which I expect will be more pronounced as this ages and develops. My other really woody blend in my collection is Jupeterian Phoenix, which is an amazing and very snuggly wood scent. This, while still being wood dominant, is like JP's evil brooding brother. It's dark, pine rich and really wonderful. I made a good choice for my single bottle Cyber Monday purchase.
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Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints. Rating (on skin): 5/5 Summarised in one word: Peaceful. In the bottle: Interesting! A definite 'cold' scent; frosty and very minty. While there may be peppermint here, the most prominent mint seems (to me) to be wintermint -- a good thing in my book, because I love wintermint. On skin, wet: Crisp and clean, and very cold. There's a distinct ice-like quality, like frozen earth. This is what I had wanted Numb to be (by the time I received it, and had changed my mind about mints). On skin, dry: Beneath the ice, there's something grassy here. Slush, mint and grass. An unexpected turn, but a lovely one! Unfortunately, after about an hour, it starts to give me that "I feel like I'm going to sneeze, but don't" feeling, which hangs around until the scent dies off. Conclusion: It's hard to explain this one. It's like a devastated, grassy open field in the middle of winter, when the ground is completely frozen. An odd description, I know. As Macha said somewhere, this is a much more 'peaceful' scent than I would have expected. But then, that makes sense -- wouldn't things be peaceful after a 'nuclear devastation'? All told, I'm growing very fond of this scent.
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Frosted gingerbread, leather, pipe tobacco, and fruitcake crumbs. Gingerbread man wearing a leather jacket. This brings to mind the most hilariously adorable images to mind. The leather is a bit strong in this right now, but I think it is going to age wonderfully! I don't get any tobacco at all.
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Mod Note: Please note that this is the review topic for the 2014 and 2016 version of this scent, which differs slightly from releases in 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, and 2015 (which have their own topic). Be good, or Krampus will toss you in a river! Sinister red musk, black and rust-brown leathers, dusty rags, and wooden switches. 2014 version! This is a TOTALLY different leather note than Hans Trapp... it's interesting to me, because the scent descriptions and notes of the two of those scents sound similar but they couldn't smell more different. This leather is old and worn and dirty. There's definitely a woodiness in there, and I totally get the dust note! This would be super sexy to smell on a man, it's all rugged and bad boy. Don't know if guys would want to smell it on me though!
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Snowballs of hay absolute, tonka bean, honeyed oak, patchouli, chestnut blossom, and oudh. Fulvous Snow is absolutely beautiful. The snow note here is very faint on me, and comes across more as a slightly creamy, fluffy undernote to the amazing golden-brown, tawny play of notes above it. Wet, everything is seamlessly stitched together—there's no one note that jumps out and asserts itself on my skin. Instead, there are moments where I can smell something individual, but then it's immediately subsumed by what smells like ambered sunlight. After it's fully dried down, the patchouli, honey, and tonka pull forward a bit but stay close to the skin. This is one sexy snowball, my friends. Although there is a touch of something wintry here, I think this is one that I would happily wear year round. A backup bottle will be necessary.
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WINTER-TIME Late lies the wintry sun a-bed, A frosty, fiery sleepy-head; Blinks but an hour or two; and then, A blood-red orange, sets again. Before the stars have left the skies, At morning in the dark I rise; And shivering in my nakedness, By the cold candle, bathe and dress. Close by the jolly fire I sit To warm my frozen bones a bit; Or with a reindeer-sled, explore The colder countries round the door. When to go out, my nurse doth wrap Me in my comforter and cap; The cold wind burns my face, and blows Its frosty pepper up my nose. Black are my steps on silver sod; Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; And tree and house, and hill and lake, Are frosted like a wedding cake. Sweet, soft snow. I really love this. I'm usually a foody lover, I love rich and cozy scents. Spicy scents. But there is really just something sparkling and magical about this scent. It has a lightness and a freshness about it. It's a little difficult to describe the exact smell. There's something resembling a wintergreen smell, but then it also reminds me of coconut, haha. It reminds of of being a kid and putting on my down coat to play in piles of pine-needle laden snow in the woods, pretending I was one of the winter fairies from the movie Fantasia. Though at the same time it also has a clean and warm scent that lingers on, that makes me feel how I felt after coming in from the cold, taking a hot shower and cuddling up in front of the woodstove with a big fluffy blanket. It's just pleasant and gentle and beautiful. I really love it. It also has amazing lasting power, I could still sniff my wrists after a 13 hour workday and get a good whiff. I smelled it wafting around me all day.
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The breath and tears and pulse of all life; the fluid that flows through all creation, permeating space and time and spirit: olibanum, red benzoin absolute, labdanum, betel leaf, galbanum, mastic, and angelica. Oh wow! Strong benzoin and labdanum, with a hint of angelica - this is stunning on application! Something slightly peppery comes out as it dries, I'm assuming this is the betel leaf (I have no clue what that smells like, so I'm guessing here), and it complements the sweet resins beautifully. Olibanum is very faint, I can barely tell it's there, but it gives this a smoky undertone. I don't smell any galbanum or mastic at this stage, but it's a great blend, especially for lovers of sweet incense resins, which I am. Near final dry-down I can detect a little more olibanum, a touch of mastic and now definitely some galbanum with its green-woody-rooty notes. Star players remain the benzoin and labdanum, making the blend sweet, dark-vanillic and rich, with the rooty, herbacious and deep green note of galbanum right alongside. I'm loving this already, and it's going to age spectacularly - very glad I got a bottle!
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Mod Note: This is the review topic for the 2014 version of this scent, which differs slightly from releases in 2008 and 2013 (which have their own topic). Rum-soaked brown butter cookies, crusted with sugar, soaked in almond and garnished with orange rind and pummeled pecans. In the bottle: All kinds of cookie goodness. This is definitely a sweet gourmand scent, it doesn't smell too boozy but I can tell it's there lingering in the background. It almost reminds me of Starbucks Eggnog and Gingerbread lattes, which is totally a good thing. Wet: At this stage it smells like heavily boozy cookies, with a slight hint of orange rind and cinnamon. I'm not detecting pecans for some reason unless pecan and cinnamon smell similar? It doesn't burn the skin however which is great. Dry: Oooooh, it's completely turned into a butterscotch scent, I quite like this as it's similar to a dessert we have over here in the UK called Angel Delight which smells almost identical, I love it! Overall: This is a lovely Christmas perfume, I feel it associates with this time of year very well! The only downfall if there is one is that I'm not sure if I can handle smelling like a butterscotch cookie everyday...it is beautiful nonetheless.
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They are imps of the kitchen, or drawing-room at most; and, if any spirit answers to their sphere, it must be those of unclaimed and disaffected ghosts, who, having no substance within themselves, out of which to compound a spiritual body, wander about church-yards, or haunt the localities where they enacted old crimes, or lived frivolous and disjointed lives. … It may be that the spirits called the Rappers… belong to this class. They are in, what Dante would call Limbo, driven to and fro, perturbed and lonely. These eagerly question the finer spirits, who pass through their realm on their way to higher spheres, of all the gossip that used to interest them on earth. But, inasmuch as the companionship of these people was in no way desirable while they lived in this world, they become less so when separated from the body. They are the gossips of ghost land, poor, frivolous, flimsy wretches, who receive the shred of thought here, and the shadows only of through in the spirit world, for all thought has a body and a substance as it were to itself, so that we say a thought may be grasped in anticipation of the fact hereafter; hence, thought finding no lodgment in these thin poor spirits, floats right through them. They have a restless desire for tangibility, and are perpetually trying to command material objects in a way to make themselves known. —d’Espérance, 1897 Idle poltergeists and truant phantoms loitering in darkened corners and shadowed hallways: black cedar, patchouli, and tea leaf spiked with a tittering cackle of pink peppercorn, mate, and lime rind. Gossips of Ghost Land is kind of a wild olfactory ride. First applied, it's definitely cedar and patchouli, with something that feels minty but might be the lime? The tea leaf, mate, and pink peppercorn add color and movement so it does smell restless, like different spirits moving around in the dark. Dry, this is primarily patchouli and tea leaf on me, with cedar lingering but not dominant. (I don't amp cedar, though, for the record.) The pink peppercorn and lime smooth into an interesting layer that adds subtle spice and freshness. The sillage smells a bit like chocolate, which is so weird and fun. The overall effect is really unusual and perfectly evocative—there's something a bit disturbing about this one, in the best way. I'm definitely hanging on to my bottle because the progression is so fascinating and the patch/tea leaf drydown is really nice.
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Ripe, bursting, blood red holly berries pricked by sharp, waxy holly leaves. This is for the 2014 version... In Decant: Smells so good....a perfect soft blend of holly berries and leaves. On Skin: Smells the same, and get that wax holly leaf scent....kind of "chap stick" like, but that fades right away! Drydown: This is such a wonderful Christmas blend!!! If you are like me and have been wanting to find a nice holly berry type scent, but most seems to turn to cat urine on you (anything pine type does that) then do not worry! To me, this is a softer version of the 2005 one, but maybe that has to do with it being newer. I might have to get a bottle of this stuff!!!!
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Gingerbread with black coconut, patchouli, and sweet benzoin. In the bottle: The gingerbread is definitely the most noticable note but there's a darker aspect to it, this isn't your average straight up sweet and foody scent, it may even appear a little bit masculine. I haven't tried Goblin on it's own so I can't compare but this is beautiful and an instant winner for me. Wet: Oh yeah, there's the gingerbread note bursting to the forefront, it's quite prominent but it fades quickly and merges into this smooth and sensual dark scent. I'm sure it's mostly the black coconut and patchouli that I'm smelling at this point. Dry: This stays pretty much the same as when wet however it does smells even more gorgeous on drydown, the coconut and patchouli are taking over but the gingerbread is still lurking in the background providing warmth. I think this does have a slight masculine smell about it but it's definitely still wearable for women in my opinion! Overall: Well if I had money to buy backups of Gingerbread Goblin I would throw all of my cash at bpal right now, but alas I don't so I will savour every last drop of my precious bottle!
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Black licorice and rusted musk with tobacco absolute and myrrh. Sniffing, lid shut: Some kind of fusty musk. Not good. Sniffing, lid open: Smooth, vanilla licorice, nothing else. On: Tobacco. Orange and vanilla flavored tobacco. And licorice. It's hard to tell where the tobacco stops and the licorice begins. The orange isn't sharp. Maybe it's the 'rusty musk' in the scent description? I know tobacco isn't supposed to be foody but I get a faint cloud of warm vanilla tobacco wafting around me and I want to eat my arm right now. So. Good. Not recommended for people who hate licorice, but if you really like tobacco and don't mind licorice (or you're actually a licorice fan like me), this is excellent. Edit: on the drydown, I'm starting to think the orange might all have been in my head, but it did smell very much like a light orange note mixed in with the tobacco.
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Gingerbread with red musk, patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh. Imagine a patchouli-lite Lust where the ylang ylang is candied and the red musk is sugared. Add a shot of gingerbread and that is what the dry down smells like to me. In the bottle i smelled fresh Lust and a hint of gingerbread but once on, i had to keep sniffing (puzzled) because it doesn't smell like Lust to me...it smells gorgeous - perfumey gingerbread - but it doesn't smell like my beloved Lust. Huh. I cannot wait to see what some age does here, this should be some ride.
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Gingerbread with amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon. Absolutely stunning. I actually tried this on blind - unbelievably, I forgot what I ended up ordering for Yule this year. I retrieved my order from a dark mailbox, grabbed a bottle at random and applied before driving off to the mall. I had NO idea what it could be but it smelled absolutely incredible and so I couldn't wait to get to a lighted parking lot and see that I had applied... Gingerbread Sin. I was stunned because the ginger in this is so cool and refined on me, unlike last year's much warmer Gingerbread Snake. This smells like a sophisticated, classy, expensive perfume (yet it's cuddly at the same time.) I could see this in an elaborate crystal bottle. While I can smell hints of Sin in it, this doesn't come off as a hybrid of Sin and Gingerbread but rather an entirely new scent. Patchouli always makes me nervous but it's barely detectable here. Probably the strongest note on me is the amber, which warms it up a little eventually. Otherwise it stays the same, no morphing. I imagine this is going to be wildly popular and would encourage anyone on the fence to get a bottle. It's probably one of my favorite BPALs of all time.
