maryamblue

I have to preface this by saying Inez, although she looked appealling, was going to have to prove herself to me. Why? Because I am deeply suspicious of amber. Too many amber scents evoke this highly neurotic and misogynistic boy I dated years ago; I immediately stuck Brisingamen on the "no" pile and washed it off when I realized it smelled just like him. Nevertheless, sometimes amber doesn't do that. But I'm gunshy. Still, Inez looked like she might be one of the good ambers. She's very ambery at first. Oh, dear. But wait: now she's going vanilla. Inez is very edible-smelling. I'm not getting any floral note – I expected the spicy edge of carnation to cut the amber/vanilla scent, and it's just not there. The myrrh is there, but what it does is turn the blend into something that smells to me like a honeycomb. It's nice, but...It smells like something I'd love to eat, but not necessarily something I want to wear. I kind of think this smells like something I would love to wear if I were actually a bee. Which I am not. Sorry, Inez, I wanted to love you but you're just not the girl for me.

I got this as a decant. In the imp it smells complicated and lovely and sweet. But when I first put it on, it's all acai. Acai is nice, but I'm now concerend about smelling like a smoothie. But in just a few minutes, the fruitiness is tempered with the green-yellow tang of what has to be tea and chrysanthemum. The acai is still there, but it's blended down now, and it is nice. I do get a breath of musk as a background note; musk works well on me, so this is all for the good. The floral note in this is a little too sharp for jasmine; don't know where that went. Really, though, as good as it is, I don't mind if a note got sacrificed in the process. Oh, my paws and whiskers, I love this one; it makes me want to walk around with my nose in the crook of my elbow, snuffling away like a truffle pig. Always a sign of a keeper, although not a very attractive image. This is a very bright scent, but has a certain elegant and complex feel to it, not overpowering. It wouldn't be bad to be stuck in an elevator with Daiyu, if you know what I mean. Daiyu is a perfect balance of sweet, fruity, and sour. I love this girl. This is the kind of scent that reminds me of why I love the Lab, and why my vanity is cluttered with bottles and imps (as hard as I try, I just can't keep 'em organized.) I need more of this.

I agree with those who say this one is terribly subtle: you put it on and then wonder if you put any on. But wait...I have sandalwood, and patchouli licking its edges (good thing; patchouli can overpower). There's a note I can't make out: it reminds me – in a good way – of baby lotion. I suspect it's the orris. I get a little bit of a vanilla edge from it, and a faint floral, but mostly...it's that lotiony note. Which is not at all unpleasant. Somehow, the scent of Cytherea reminds me of clean skin.

In the bottle, it boded heavy on the ocean smell, with only a tinge of awapuhi. On? Mmmm....seaweed. With froth. With just a gentle overlay of florals. But mostly seaweed, which ought not to smell so nice, and yet, it does. This is an incredibly accurate distillation of ocean smell, without the undercurrent of dead fish. Which is good, not having the dead fish. Mmmm....seaweed...

The common word everyone seems to mention in reviews is "fizzy." Well I must concur: this is the first scent I've ever smelt that somehow smelled carbonated. How in the Sam Hill was that achieved? the scent of carbonation? This is highly pleasant, although what it really boils down to on me is a spiced cherry Coke. I would have liked the lime to remain a little stronger, but this is nice and warm and drinkable...well, y'all know what I mean.

I was sent an imp by a good friend of mine who sometimes arbitrarily decides I must try something, and thus far she is *always* right. What a good friend (and you know who you are!) Goodness gracious, I love Kumari Kandam. I get very little ice to this, except maybe a little tangy bite at the outer edges. Mostly, it seems very *warm*. And not floral, but fruity to me, like mangos and somethings citrusy -- overlaid with lovely incense. There's a sturdy kind of earthy center to it, which I imagine must be the clay. What this clay smell does is make it earthier, and really quite sexy. There is a tone of burnt sugar in here, which is just so endearing. It's earthy and fruity, but the incense takes it into another realm altogether, and while the scents mingle together beautifully, you can smell them all separately. It has some of the same feel as Macchu Pichu on me, definitely, with more of a dark base and candy overtones. I am ordering a nice big bottle or so. This is a solid, sexy, consistently pretty scent.

OK, I confess: I was almost afraid to try it after sniffing it, because there was this odd, sharp, almost-rancid note, not unlike...sweaty overripe fruit. If fruit could sweat, that is. A slightly-unpleasant organic note. I got scared. Do not panic. Do not be afraid of the Boo Bam. I tried it anyway, and immediately that disappeared. Hallelujah! It is really, really lovely. Very green and crisp, and the notes are nice, and also fairly subtle. The one this reminds me of the most is Caliban, which I adore, so apparently palm is the primary note on me. This has good throw but is subtle, and it wears really well. I could still smell it a little when I got up the next day.

In the bottle, and right on, this is mostly fruit soaked in rum. More fruit than rum, though. A complex mix of fruit, too. After a while of wear? Booze. Bright, pineapply booze. Curious, because on me, this would *almost* smell like a commercial blend of some kind -- it has an almost brassy tone, not unlike something like "Giorgio" -- but it's too fruity-cocktail to actually be mistaken for rich-lady smelly stuff. It's kinda naughty like that. (I've noticed that some of the tropical BPALs are more likely to remind me of commercial blends; this is by no means a criticism, as I love BPAL's tropical fruit-and-flower blends -- just I think they tend to be more "perfumey" more often, with a few exceptions). It's a butterscotch-yellow smell. Also, Screeching Parrot wears a very long time. I do prefer a BPAL that I can smell hours after application (well, as long as it works well). This one is sassy, just like an amiable parrot that has learned unusual and shocking cuss phrases in five languages. I like it.

I really prefer the tropical-type scents, and this? Is perfect. It's what I've been looking for. Ahem. As everyone else had already said, it's a fruity floral with a yummy candy center. However, despite that, there's nothing cloying or too much about it. The neroli (I think) gives it a little citrus zip. The thing that confuses me though, is that it really smells very like plumeria to me, despite no plumeria note being listed. So: sweet tropical, not too sweet, not heavy, and excellent wear. This is terrific.

This is totally zippy, zingy and thoroughly citrus in the imp and for about...15-20 minutes...on me. And then, little by little, the citrus dies down quite a bit, and something sweet and cherry pops out. Eventually, it smells like I'm wearing cherry limeade. However, that's a good thing: as much as I like that initial citrusy punch, I also like smelling like cherry limeade. My only vexation with this scent is that it doesn't last nor throw as well as I'd like.

This arrived as a frimp. I probably wouldn't have tried it (I couldn't immediately place the name: "Pontarlier? What?") otherwise, but aha, behold the wisdom of the Lab in picking frimps. My first impression: heavy crisp lavender, and the green-fern scent of Caliban (which is one I'm very fond of, and almost surprisingly so). the scent is old-fashioned, kind of formal, and slightly masculine. Well, I *like* it. I put it on before getting dressed, and felt like I just had to put on the crisp white men's wear tailored shirt just to match the feel of this scent... After a while it becomes more feminine, and quite rosy. Not obnoxiously so, more like dried roses. This scent really seems very charmingly archaic to me (hmm, maybe I need a different style of shirt now...something with lace and poofy sleeves?) I don't really get the absinthe, and the ferns retreat into the background -- there, but underfoot. It is both floral and sharp, which is charming. There is something slightly eldritch and archaic and Green Fairy to it, and it's very dignified, for lack of a better word. I like this a lot. Good call on the frimp, y'all at the Lab! EDIT: And now...I finally smell the lilac. Funny how this one changes!

Sister to Pele, Patroness of Hula Dancers, she is a Lady of Hawa'ii, and is caretaker, mother, and beloved of the land itself. The heart of the forest beats along with Her dance, and the air is suffused with Her scent: mai'a, hibiscus, white ginger, akala, na'u, Hawaiian moon flower, yellow ilima, pink lokelani, jewel orchid, and fringed orchid. I searched, and found not...so I guess I'm posting the first review of Hi'iaka? (I posted this in altered form on LJ, and was also the first there...so...) I really love both Manila and Pele, so I ordered this the moment I saw it, just knowing it would be the right thing to do. Ahem. And this got to me right quickly; thank you! First impression: whole lotta flowers goin' on, as Jerry Lee Lewis might have said while sniffing this. It's a whole melange of tropical floral. It's hard to pick out any one note, but orchid, or one of its close kin, seems to dominate. There's a note of slightly-spicy white ginger, and a backup of something rather bubblegummish. I like bubblegum. All right, so far so good; I can smear this on myself with little trepidation. After ten minutes, the florals have not exactly settled, but have made this lovely blend that's sweet, but not cloyingly, artificially so: it smells like the freshest of sweet tropical flowers, and their greenery. It's like being in a flower shop. The scent is green and hot pink -- sweet, yet zippy. Hi'iaka, by the by, is NOT (IMO) a unisex scent; it's all girl. And while the florals are a little more pronouncedly floral than many of BPAL's scents, there is something about it that is very bathtime fresh, not person-who-smells-like-they-used-perfume-in-lieu-of-bathing floral, if y'all get my drift. Sweet as pie, but not overbearing about it. The bubblegummy note remains, though it is fairly subtle after a short while. The slightly deeper spicy note grounds it just enough. But what we have here is lots and lots of flowers. And it *is* slightly bath producty, but in the best possible way. This is very complex, though -- there are several distinct floral scents to it. It's not really much like Pele to me at all, but I could see the two as being complementary. It lacks the woody notes of Manila. This has very little non-flower base as far as I can see, but it's still nice, complex, and resonant. I've had to struggle to come up with a scent to compare it with at all; truthfully, the only thing it reminds me of at all is...Poison. It shares some small similarities with Dior's Poison (DISCLAIMER: back in the 80's I wore Poison a lot, and it was noted by many that it really didn't smell on me like it did on most people, so very possibly no one else will note any similarity.) Also, it lasts and apparently throws fairly well. Other people seem to like it. Yep, she's a keeper!