Beth's Experimental Blends

[Ina Garten Davita]

A few of us got some of Beth's experimental blends in a LUSH swap, they are unlabled and unnamed. I numbered mine and was dying to review them, I hope you'll do the same!

I'll put them here but if Shollin wants them moved, then by all means...

 

Beth's Blend #5 in a stout, dark green bottle.

 

First Impression: Cinnamon, oh yes...lovely fresh, warm cinnamon.

 

Second Impression: Cinnamon and something creamy...vanilla/cake/coconut. Like Cinnamon Buns but with a strawberry swirl. It's foody and sexy...think Hollywood Babylon but with cinnamon instead of black cherry.

 

Final Analysis: Addictive, delectable, utterly divine!

[violetblue]

I swear, I got one that is like Red Moon with Vanilla. I am literally swooning over here!!!

[kimmer]

Beth must have anticipated my need for Snake Oil. I have one that seems like Snake Oil with a small hit of almond, one like Snake Oil with a hit of lemon (I'm not good on notes), and one that is so cinnamony (yet completely unlike Chimera).

 

I am very pleased.

 

I've got a few of these layered right now, but will post a review or two later tonight.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Beth's Blend #4 in a traditional amber bottle

 

First Impression: It seems to be a marriage of Snake Oil and Blood Lotus.

 

Second Impression: Definitely the spices from Snake Oil, but not the same sweet vanilla. There is lime in here, lime verbena if my nose isn't fooling me. And something creamy and thick...lotus? It's the same juicy thickness I get from Blood Lotus. It's Snake Oil's tropical island dwelling cousin.

 

Final Analysis: Wow, it's really unique and hard to describe. I've got to wear this again to try and figure out what else is lurking in the little bottle of the preciousss.

[clover]

Every bottle I got is absolutely gorgeous! They're all really different, too...one is ambery, one is junipery, one is fruity, etc...

 

However, one of the bottle that I got stands out above all of the others. Ever since I discovered BPAL I have been looking for a perfect apple scent, and now I have it. I was unpacking my box and discovered that there was one little green bottle that I hadn't noticed at first. I opened it up and was struck right away by the appliness. I thought I might just die. I LOVE the smell of apples. And when I tried it on, I realized that it was predominently apple, but with just a hint of vanilla, or maybe even Snake Oil. But it doesn't turn the apple sweet at all, like The Hesperides, it just seems to stabilize it, so that it lasts longer than a fruit scent normally would. I can only describe it as pure golden apple cider, and I absolutely love, love, love it!

 

I'm so lucky...

[kimmer]

Sounds like we all love our treats from Beth.

 

I'll review Beth's Blend No. 1

 

When I posted yesterday, I called this one Snake Oil with a hit of lemon. This one is kind of a changeling.

 

Sniffing the bottle, I get a lemony scent; maybe lime.

 

Wet, I get lemon. creamy lemon. almost like lemon meringue pie, but with just the slightest mellow note of Snake Oil.

 

Here's where I get the mixed results, and I think it's related to body temperature/activity--

 

If I'm chilly (rare for this menopausal female), this scent remains creamy lemon meringue pie ala Snake Oil. Very hard to describe, but it's just luscious.

 

If I'm warm, it dries right down to Snake Oil.

 

Either way, I love it, and *I smell good*

[Ina Garten Davita]

Beth's Blend #1 in a cobalt blue bottle

 

First Impression: *girlie screeeech*

 

Second Impression: What do you get when you mix Snake Oil and Haunted? Pure alchemical bliss.

 

Final Analysis: I once mixed half an imp of Snake Oil with half an imp of Haunted and it became one of my favorite blends. Now I have an entire bottle...let the slathering begin!

[Ina Garten Davita]

Beth's Blend #2 in a cobalt blue bottle

 

First Impression: Sweet amber and thick patchouli.

 

Second Impression: This is very much like a mixture of Haunted and Sin. I can smell amber, patchouli, dark musk and and the tiniest trace of spice.

 

Final Analysis: While I really like Sin, it lacked oomph. Problem solved, this bottle is packed with oomph. It's dark, sexy, naughty and sweet.

[grrrlennyl]

experiment #1

at first: this blend came in a blue bottle. it's sweet, in a fruity way, but i can't figure out which fruit. maybe cherry. very interesting.

on: not fruity anymore. something sweet, maybe along the lines of amber. also a bit heavy in a smoky way.

1 hour later: very strong. very sweet and heavy.

2 hours later: lovely. i'm wondering if i smell a bit of currant. smooth and a bit sweet. wonderful.

4 hours later: a fruity sweetness. lovely.

overall: even though i can't really pick out the individual notes, i really like this one.

[grrrlennyl]

experiment #2

at first: this came in a blue bottle. grapefruit, and maybe some other citrus. very light.

on: orange! grapefruit! there may be other citrus fruits in there, too. great.

1 hour later: joyous! for a citrus oil, this is still really strong.

2 hours later: a little sweeter, but lemon or some other citrus that's been mixed with honey in a cup of hot water. fabulous.

4 hours later: this is still sweet and almost a bit musky. the citrus is still there, but not in the forefront.

overall: love it! i love citrus scents. this one is so refreshing. i love how the sweetness comes out and makes the citrus notes more complex. a great scent!

[grrrlennyl]

experiment #3

at first: in an amber bottle. violets! very smooth, soft violets. this is beautiful.

on: beautiful. i love violets and that's pretty much all i smell.

1 hour later: still violets. gorgeous, sweet, powdery violets.

2 hours later: yay for violets!

4 hours later: super powdery! i love this. it still smells like violets.

overall: well, i love violets, so i definitely like this one a lot.

[grrrlennyl]

experiment #4

at first: in an amber bottle. tobacco? maybe with a bit of fruit and flowers. interesting.

on: a gorgeous floral. there may be a touch of tobacco, too.

1 hour later: this is such an interesting scent. i think i might smell a warm spice and some fruit, too. very nice.

2 hours later: a sweet floral now. i think i smell amber, but can't pick out the other notes.

4 hours later: much softer. a very light amber, with some other notes in the background. i might smell lotus.

overall: this is really a nice scent. i'm glad it develops the way it does.

[morleigh_s]

Ok...just so you guys know, I'm horrible at picking out scents but I will attempt to anyways.

 

Beth's Experimental Blend #1

 

In the bottle: Almonds! Very stong smell of almonds, very similar to Hecate

Wet: Smoky almonds, a bit of something that smells like leather and when I inhale deeply I smell marzipan.

Dry: This ends up being very similar to Snake Oil but with some extra almonds thrown in.

Overall: Very nice blend. I love Hecate and Snake Oil so I know I'll be getting alot of use out of this one.

[clover]

Another one of my experimental bottles from Beth:

 

Sniffing from the bottle: Juniper! Pure juniper. Oh how I love juniper!

 

Upon application: Well, it's deinitely junipery, but it's a little warmer.

 

After a few minutes: A-ha! It appears to be Snake Oil made with juniper instead of vanilla. How very, very lovely.

 

Conclusion: This is absolutely perfect for me, because there are certain times that, as much as I loooovve Snake Oil, the vanilla in it cranks up to 11. My stupid girlie chemistry. So, now, when that happens, I will have another option. Yay! How wonderful.

[grrrlennyl]

experiment #5

 

at first: very sweet. like lotus, but much drier. very pretty and white.

on: very sweet. i can't pick out the notes, but i think there might be some amber and a watery floral.

1 hour later: the slightest hint of something citrussy. sweet, possibly with some wood or tobacco.

2 hours later: heavy and sweet.

2.5 hours later: sweet and heavy still. this is really warm and full.

overall: this is really nice. i love the heavy, warm, full scent of this scent. beth is fabulous.

[grrrlennyl]

experiment #6

 

at first: sweet, but with an edge. maybe something a bit smoky. maybe a bit of wood.

on: orange and some sort of wood? kind of odd. i'm not sure i like it.

1 hour later: weird. very sweet, smoky wood.

2 hours later: still the same woody sweetness, but with something else. i think i smell anise or something else. sassafras?

2.5 hours later: still that slight oddness of this scent.

overall: this is a very odd scent, but i like it. i wish i knew the actual notes in this, since there are some unfamiliar ones that i really like in it.

[hypothermya]

Clover's Experimental Blend #2

 

I got an imp of this from my Swap Faery who *rocks*!!!!

 

First Impression

 

Oh my gosh, this scent is driving me nuts! When I first smell it, there's a sort of bubbly scent to it that's very tart (like champagne, maybe), which is quickly followed by an earthy sweetness (maybe juniper mixed with something I recognize from Baba Yaga). And then apples.

 

Wearing It

 

Okay, this is just weird. I think scents without descriptions make me paranoid. I think there may be vanilla in this. Definitely a bit of juniper. Maybe some apple. And maybe some champagne notes. Or maybe I'm just hallucinating all of this yumminess. It smells like an especially earthy, sweet apple.

[inkstone]

A special extra from Chaos Runs Amuck!

 

Quantum Spice's Experimental Blend #111

 

I feel very embarrassed that I'm the first one to try to pick this apart. My nose isn't that experienced, but I'll try my best.

 

In the vial: Lavendar, mostly. There's something else that's a little sharp to my nose, but damned if I can figure out what it is.

 

Wet: I think that's amber. Amber tends to smell somewhat hard, sharp and sour upon initial contact with my skin. There's something else... A dark, lazy floral... I know this smell. Why can't I-- Oh! It's the same note from Juju and Morgause. I think that's violet!

 

Drydown: I'm almost positive this is violet. After it's dried down, it clings very closely to my skin. It had much more throw in its wet stages; here it's just cozy. I can smell the lavendar faintly in the background and I can hardly make out the amber, which is fine given its sour-smelling tendencies on my skin.

 

Final thoughts: I feel very lazy wearing this. I'm curious to see what others think is in here, since I'm not so good at picking out notes and this has no description.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Mystery Blend #6

 

First Impression: Warm, sweet and spicy cinnamon.

 

Second Impression: This could very well be the cinnamon single note, but there is something deeper blendend that may be a bit of dark and dry cedar.

 

Final Analysis: This is a very wintery and Christmasy scent, it's warming and wonderful. I can't wait to layer this with Sugar Cookie!

 

[pekeana]

I swapped with BabyKitty for imps of her experimental blends that she described as "minty O" and "orangey O".

 

They do smell like pennyroyal+O and orange-blossomy+O in the vials. But once they're on my skin, each one takes on a life of it's own -- neither is powdery like amber+honey is on me, and both have a medicinally metallic underlying scent. The mint one has a touch of floral down beneath the metallic scent, and the orange one has a touch of something woody/extra resinous.

 

I like both of them very, very much!

Edited December 13, 2004 by pekeana

[Ms. MSGirl]

I too got samples of babykitty's "orangey-O" and "minty-O" samples, and I love, love love the "minty-O" one!

 

To me it smells nothing like O, but rather like a slightly softened version of Snake Oil with an underlying buttery-minty note. I can smell the mint most strongly out of the vial, on me it works more in concert with the vanilla and spices. The overall effect is like Snake Oil + that note that some people have described as play-dough in Dana O'Shee, which I really love because it reminds me of Burt's Bees buttermilk-and-honey-scented baby lotion + a slight buttery mint. So it's fabulous! It's a creamy white version of Snake Oil, and it stays for ages.

 

Thank you so much babykitty! this stuff is wonderful!!

[Theravada]

I also got ahold of a decant of each of babykitty's experimental blends. Both have a similar base, it reminds me of the warm, thick, extremely sexual red musk base used in Snake Oil. Very wicked!

 

The one blend has a distinctive mint note to it. It's hard to distinguish what mint it is....but I'm sure it's not peppermint and I would guess it is spearmint. Very nice! It adds a fresh, crisp edge to the thickness of the musk and doesn't have any of the heady sweetness of the vanilla note in Snake Oil.

 

The second blend has the same base but is citrusy instead of minty! It smells exactly like Snake Oil but with a orange blossom note replacing the vanilla note. This creates a whole different kind of sweetness. It's not thick and sticky like you get with the vanilla, instead it is a well-balanced and mature sweetness.

 

Both of these are really wonderful, but my personal favorite is the minty version. It's just so exotic!

 

ETA: Something in these didn't agree with me and made my skin get all red and itchy, so I swapped them off to new homes. Sad

Edited January 17, 2005 by Theravada

[diabolique]

i received a bottle of an experimental blend from a lovely forumite who labeled it as "dragon's milk with spice," and that immediately caught my eye. i love dragon's milk, and i love spice, so what can i say?

 

when i opened the bottle and sniffed, though, my reaction was, "this isn't dragon's milk, this is snake oil!" i wasn't disappointed at all, though. i love this blend a lot. it seems like i got another one of those snake oil + something random scents, and it's actually made me want to try snake oil again.

 

i think, if we didn't at least get the same one, kimmer and i received very similar experimental blends. it took me a while to figure out what the extra random note was, and it kept changing on me. one minute it was cherry, the next minute it was a creamy citrus, and then i couldn't smell any extra note, so i was convinced i just got a bottle of snake oil.

 

this is very luscious smelling. it's sweet snake oil (but very smooth, spicy, and mellow-- almost a medium aged snake oil ) with creamy, fluffy lemon ice cream swirled around in it. it isn't something i'll reach for when i'm going out, but it's very comforting, and i like it.

Edited February 2, 2005 by diabolique

[danuv]

My first set of Lush swaps got lost in the mail somewhere and I've received a most amazing bundle of experimental blends today. These are very initial reactions to them wet and I absolutely suck at identifying and describing so please please bare with me. I'm still just bowled over from Beth's generosity and how amazing these are. I labeled them starting with 'A' just so I can keep them all straight. Remember, wet and I suck. Wait, that sounds naughty. You get the idea though.

 

 

Blend A - sharp and piney in the bottle as it dried out on my test strip something a bit floral started to pop out. I get the feeling it's a morpher.

 

Blend B - Mmm, reminds me of something between Velvet and the Tushie one. Sweet vanilla and a little chocolate and maybe sandalwood. It will be very interesting to see what happens to it on my skin.

 

Blend C - Citrus!! Lemons! Oranges!

 

Blend D - One of the more confusing ones to me. I don't recognize any of the elements but it's very strong and I'd say masculine. Husky and animalistic. Also a bit sharp.

 

Blend E - This may be my favorite from these initial impressions. It smells like my childhood Christmas memories. Cloves in oranges, spice. Warm and happy but not really strong. It's a gentle smell which seems surprising to me in something spicy. Maybe some apple in there. Cider perhaps.

 

Blend F - This smells a bit like the green element in Rose Red. When it dries on the strip something floral-ish seems to come out but I can't quite pin it down. It's lovely. A little melancholy.

 

Blend G - Plum! This smells just like Midwinter's Eve to me. Jolly ranchers all the way baby.

 

Blend H - Rum! Wow jeeze I've fallen into a barrel and can't get up again! Maybe a bit of butterscotch in there.

 

Blend I - Another one of the oils that perplexed me (not that this is hard to do). I smell something I think I recognize from Snake Oil, perhaps a bit of vanilla? then bubble gum, the cheap pink kind! It also has a smidgen of spice to it. Very curious! I think this one should be interesting on the skin too.

 

 

Anyway, as you can probably guess I'm giddy giddy giddy. And a little giggly. I may come back and add to the reviews later as I wear them if I can remember to.

Edited February 14, 2005 by danuv

[harlequin]

I'm not sure where/how these originally came about, but I got passed Andrabell's Experimental Blend (#3) in the travelling bottle swap..

 

Oh my.. I'm totally in love with this! *this* is what I was anticipating Snake Oil would smell like.. It's not as incensey as S.O. it's kind of creamier.. maybe a touch sweeter, but not much..

 

Dude. If I could buy this version, I'd bathe in it!!

 

 

Rating: :D

 

 

 

 

(Not that I don't like the actual Snake Oil, but it can be a bit too incensy for my tastes..)

Edited February 26, 2005 by harlequin