suileach

Resurrected version. This is ALL cotton candy - and it's a really true cotton candy scent; smells just like the real thing - on me. Nothing else comes out on me. While I'd love to smell the funnel cake, I like cotton candy enough to like this just the way it is. Yum. Throw is very light, but it did last all day when I put some in my hair. This is a good scent to slather.

Queen Alice smells inexplicably like guava juice on me. I swear, carnation does the oddest things when combined with my chemistry.

In the vial: Grape bubblegum. On my skin, it takes on a complex, sweet, smoky tone. It's still grapey, but in a much less candy like way. After a bit, it becomes really lovely. It's not at all boozy, and there's a delicious tartness to the grapes. I'd say it smells like hot fruit cobbler, serenely grounded by incense. Works much better on me than I would have expected.

All crisp, bleak ozone...at first. It becomes a bit warmer, sweeter, and almost...furry...smelling on me, rather like a wintry version of Coyote. One of the few ozones I've tried that doesn't smell like laundry detergent. After a few hours, it's very muted...hushed...grey. Deceptively calm and still.

Smells like butter rum lifesavers for a minute, and then it's straight on into genuine Egg Nog. Spicy, boozy, creamy, awesome. I need a bottle so I can slather myself silly. And I need a scent locket so that I can actually smell it for longer than 5 minutes, because it only takes that long for my skin to eat it, leaving behind the faintest trace of dusty cinnamon and nutmeg.

Chilly, chilly, chilly! Dry fir and sap; I smell like a tree. I can't see myself wearing this often, but it certainly is a wintry scent. Oddly enough, something in this turns kind of salty and plasticky on my skin. I've never had that happen before. I guess this is what people mean when they talk about things smelling like play-doh. But then the mint comes out again, the play-doh overtones vanish, and it begins veering back and forth between acrid and sweet. It finally settles on sweet - all balsam and mint - and stays that way. Huh.

Well...I feel like a weirdo, but I don't like Black Lace very much. In bottle: Sour soap, wet cigarettes, and starchy cotton. On: More of the same. The vanilla and booze come out, hesitantly, after about 10 minutes, but they find it difficult to push past the other notes, which have morphed into some sort of generic, dry, incense-like smell. At the 20 minute mark, I finally get more vanilla. The sour note is bugging me once again. I think it might be the tobacco; I've had bad luck with that note in the past. After an hour, it's down to a smoky, sultry vanilla with a tinge of bitter smoke. It is incredibly faint on me by this point. Reading everyone else's raves and predictions as to its aging (as well as the pretty, pretty label) made me hesitant to give up on it, but alas; I am brutal about only keeping bottles I love.

Oh my. Sparkling wine, fruity honey and fresh flowers. *swoon* The wine is golden, mead-like, beautiful; the honey is rich and dark; the flowers are wild and heady. I think I might actually be allergic to this, because I started sneezing like crazy after applying it, but I don't care and I will find a way to wear this anyway. It's that gorgeous. It fades intriguingly, blending smoothly with the natural scent of my skin, so that it smells like I've been lying in a field of red summer flowers. Absolutely beautiful.

Oh, yum. This is foody and foresty - my two favorite things! - at the same time. There's a warm spicy bread, a touch of something minty and crisp, and dry woods. There's also something that I can only classify as purple running through it. Is it a floral? A fruit? Who knows! At any rate this smells like the quintessential winter scent to me. It's absolutely perfect. Has decent throw, too. I had to put it above my elbow because I was running out of scent-free skin on my lower arms and hands, but I can still smell it wafting through my sweater. After drydown, it's still lovely and warm, and smells a bit of cloves.

Ah, November. I was sad after Death of Autumn and October didn't work on me, so I was hoping against hope that November would prove the exception and be an autumn leaf scent that works on me. Verdict = In the vial and when first applied, it has that unpleasant, nearly overpowering astringent smell that occurred with DoA and October. And yet it also has this deep, amazing *dirt* scent to it that really does smell like cold winter earth. There's also something dry and, to my nose, cedar-y. On drydown, it smells like ozone, snow, and burnt leaves. Amazing. This is just what I've been looking for in terms of leafy-smoky-autumny goodness.

OMG GINGERBREAD. Hot, moist, gingerbread cake with spicy cream icing. At first I didn't think this had any throw whatsoever but half an hour after putting it on, the scent of spicy gingerbread began wafting around me. mmmmmm. It just keeps getting stronger, and spicier, and warmer and . What a wonderful scent!

This is not at all what I was expecting! To me this smells like ozone, ozone, and more ozone, with a hint of something sweet - like grass, leaves, or corn husks - burning in the distance. I'm excited, because I can't wear most ozone scents...and this one actually works on me without turning soapy or otherwise offensive. It's amazingly smooth and soft; it isn't acrid or harsh at all. After a few hours, it gets a tang to it - the iron edge of slick, wet blood. It's rather lovely.

Sharp, green, and juicy. A touch astringent. Wet, it smells like pulling thick, starchy weeds out of the ground, breaking the stems and having the milky sap inside ooze out. It mellows out after a few hours, becoming less sappy and fresh-plants-out-of-the-ground. The musk and amber give it a surprising, grown-up depth - it's all happy and summery and green while still managing to be sophisticated.

Whoa. This scent rocks my world. My first impression was mint - not spearmint, or peppermint, but catmint. I concur with the other reviewers who've mentioned that. Then I got hints of chamomile (probably the catmint/catnip thing again), eucalyptus, dirt, sugared vanilla, and a touch of lemon. The overall impression is one of being outside on a green, sunny Spring morning when everything is still and covered in dew. My nose is all acquiver at the sheer delight that is this scent; the throw is great; it smells just as wonderful up close as it does wafting around me. I want everything in my house to smell like this. I want to roll around in it. Scent my laundry with it. Scent my boyfriend with it! Here's the thing: I don't usually like any of the notes people've listed for this! I hate rose; I dislike mint; lemon doesn't work on me. Heck, I don't even like some of the note impressions I listed (chamomile? Ew!). So why do I love this scent so much? There is definitely going to be a big bottle of this in my future. Best frimp ever.

<-- emoticon says it all Not since Crossroads and Santa Muerte has a scent hated me this much. I don't know what it is. I love red musk; I have no strong objections to myrrh or patchouli; ylang ylang by itself can't be responsible for so much evil, can it? And yet. This started out as an overwhelmingly strong combination of incense, socks, curry, and dirty dishes. It dried down to black mold and was as strong as it was wet. Thankfully, it seems to have been easier to wash off than the other two scents mentioned above were. I wish I could figure out what it is about this scent that goes so badly with my nose and body chemistry!

Smut 06! Disclaimer: I tried this on immediately after getting it out of the cold, cold mailbox. In the bottle, this is unadulterated heaven - it's like a heavier, darker Snake Oil, without the plastic layer that Snake Oil has. When first applied, it smells just the same. Gorgeous, rich sugar - brown sugar heavy on the molasses - and musk. It's a gourmand scent, though not foody. The booze is an afterthought, like a sweet, hot dessert drink with a touch of cream liqueur. Annoyingly, my skin eats the sugar in less than 5 minutes and all that's left is a deep, sweet musk. It's still nice; it just isn't as wonderful as it was wet. There's red musk in this; it has the same husky, dry scent that the musk in Krampus has. I might try layering this with a straight vanilla/sugar scent to see if I can get the initial stage of omg loooove to last. Update: Now that it's had a chance to warm up in my house for a few days, it smells even better. Love this stuff. Gotta say, it really is smutty - I wore it out for the first time (just to a friend's house), and as time wore on, I realized it smelled just a little too sexy-dirty for polite company.

This is an old thread, but I just had to pipe in that, after the initial pine/juniper burst, Black Forest smells exactly like Opium on me. I know that sounds weird! I used to wear Opium regularly, so I'm very familiar with it. I think maybe it's the ambergris combined with the woodsy notes that does it on me - Opium has a very complex, musky, oriental, spicy sort of smell and that's how ambergris + wood smells on me. It's interesting..there seem to be a number of theories floating around about just what notes are in Opium, and they're all just a bit different. The ones that are almost always mentioned: - plum - clove - carnation - rose - tangerine - lily of the valley - coriander - myrrh - sandalwood - cedarwood - castoreum - opoponax I don't think musky vanillas like Snake Oil are going to cut it.

Ooh. Lovely in the vial. When I first smelled it, I thought there was amber in it. Maybe it's the copal? At any rate, this is all bright, red cinnamon riding over a deep, sweet resin. On me, that sweet, resinous something becomes much stronger and dukes it out with the cinnamon for dominance. The sweet, resinous something is winning the battle, making Chimera venture briefly into the category of sickly-sweet. On drydown, it reminds me strongly of O in its wet stage - all thick honey and vanilla. In fact, if it weren't for the opening cinnamon note, I would swear that's what I'm actually wearing now. If this resists going powdery, it might replace O in my rotation.

Wet: Lime, tomato, and sugar. buh? Drying: Now it's boozy. But still with the tomatoey-limey-bowl o' sugar. Drier: And there's the oak. Dry: Rum, molasses, and freshly mown grass. Even More Dry: Birch beer. Gah. This...argh. I want to like this - it's a very unique, peppy, capricious kind of scent, and the individual notes are appealing (though the honey doesn't show up on me) - but it just doesn't work for me as a whole. It morphs like crazy, which is fascinating, but anything that ends up at root beer or birch beer is a big no.

At first sniff - fruit and incense. The rest of the notes are actually keeping the frankincense tame on me, for once. This scent is incredibly warm and clean without crossing the line into soapiness. There's a hint of something spicy and citrus-like, but without the sharpness of actual citrus. (I'm a bit relieved to see fruit - particularly tropical fruit - frequently mentioned in the reviews, as I thought I might be crazy.) Overall, it's quite heady, intriguing, and surprisingly lovely. I don't think it's a very me scent, but this might be a good one to keep around for annointing candles to elevate the mood.

A floral scent for people who don't like florals! I got Regan as a freebie from the lab, and I almost put it straight in the swap pile without trying it. I'm glad I decided to give it a chance. It's delicate, feminine, and sweet without being cloying. Florals usually smell sickly to me and give me headaches. Not this. The vanilla stays true for hours, without going powdery or plasticky. When it dries, I find that it smells like honeysuckle. Mmm.

(2005 version) Oh my. This is the first time BPAL's apple note has not brutally knocked me over. It's still strong, but I can actually put my nose near it! It's all cider and mulling spices from about 6 inches away, and it is gorgeous. ...Wait a sec. After only a few minutes, it's all cider and spices from up close, too! Man, do I amp spice! Whither the apple? Whither the pumpkin? 15 minutes later... What the. I think it's turning on me. There's something lurking beneath the cider. Something that reminds me of when this year's jack o'lantern started getting moldy. augh! Ah, well. I'm almost relieved that this turns on me -- means I don't need to track down a bottle of a two-year old scent!

Black Forest was my first BPAL love. I haven't worn it in quite a while, owing to the fact that I amp the ambergris and musk in it like whoa -- and I do mean whoa -- making it a scent I can't wear out in public unless I want everyone within a 20 foot radius to be overwhelmed. Despite that wee issue, I still adore the scent. Because of what I amp in it, I don't get a 'cold, moonless night' at all. I get an exotic, spicy, warm pine forest. In the vial, it's all pine and juniper, but it warms up as soon as it hits my skin. It actually strongly resembles Yves St. Laurent's Opium on me, which I find a bit puzzling. However, that was one of my favorite scents in my late teens, so I was thrilled to discover that a perfume without alcohol could produce that same heady scent. To sum up: Heady, spicy, woodsy, enchanting, crazy strong throw. Black Forest rocks.

Oh Jack, how I love thee. This was the first pumpkin scent I ever tried, and I immediately fell in love with it. Whether or not it actually smells like pumpkin, well...I'm not so sure. For me, it starts off as a delicious, scrumptious mix of caramel popcorn and creamed sugar and butter. Then the spices emerge, and the scent becomes warmer - think cookies baking. After a few hours, it dries down to a buttery peach scent, light and candy-like. Yum.

Argh! The tobacco and musk combination hates me every time - sharp, bitter, sneeze-making. Ambergris usually loves me, but it seems to have no chance here against the dreadful duo. Ooh, hey, wait! *There's* the ambergris, half an hour later. It battles with the lime for a bit, but ultimately we're back to moldy tobacco and old cologne. I rarely say this, but this is a very male scent. It, er, smells like aftershave to me. It might be an interesting and complex aftershave, but...it isn't something I want to wear. Ah well. I'm glad I'm not all that into pirate imagery, otherwise I'm sure I'd be heartbroken!