luxuria

I don't always have to be sinister, do I? Here's to finally being able to hit the slopes again! Soft white powder snow with a touch of youthful girlie perfume. Wow! First review. Talk about pressure In the bottle, this smells slightly sweet, aquatic, and piney. It reminds me a lot of Dublin, actually, which reminds people of Skadi, so if you were mourning the lack of Skadi this year...Snow Bunny might be your answer. On my skin, the pine note comes out a lot more. It's girlier in the bottle. It's fresh and crisp, and definitely smells more like actually being out in the snow than Snow White. It's a lot more woodsy-floral than Snow White's almost foody sweetness. The "youthful" part is spot on as well. On the drydown, it settles more into the skin. The pine is less biting and the softer, sweeter notes I smelled in the bottle come back out to play. This is my favorite stage, but I'm partial to the more "comforting" scents, and that's more of what it is at this stage. Overall? Entirely not what I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. It's a morpher but lovely at all stages. Sorry I can't be more eloquent!

Three Brides, Jan Toroop. Moroccan rose, king mandarin, red sandalwood, Egyptian amber, orchid, carnation, benzoin, tonka, calla lily, vanilla flower. In the bottle, this smells like a department store oriental that I can't quite put my finger on. It's spicy, but clean, and it doesn't really have the incense vibes that a lot of the oriental lab blends give off. On my skin, it sweetens up. I can smell the tonka and amber growing stronger. Oh my god, is this stunning. Sultry and feminine with a breath of sweetness and spice. I can definitely smell a floral component--lily and rose, mainly--but they're not the nose-twinging and cloying kind. They stay nice and muted and just sort of swirl around with the rest of the notes. The more this settles, the more I smell the tonka with the sandalwood (and a touch of amber). Tonka is my absolute favorite note of all time, so I am pretty much jumping for joy right now. Three Brides is sexy, but not in the same way as, say, Smut. It's a slit in a skirt or a plunging neckline, not grab-you-by-the-collar feral energy. I'd wear this for a night out at a nice restaurant, not a bar. All in all? If you were thinking about trying this, at least get your hands on an imp. A+! I'm sitting around in my pajamas writing this and I'm suddenly inspired to put on a little black dress and some lipstick.

A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate. Really, no one has reviewed this yet? Well, OK. I'm almost down to the bottom of my candle, so I think I know it pretty well by now... I LOVE this. I liked Bliss the perfume but never found myself reaching for it to wear it, because after a while on my skin it took on a cloyingly-sweet note, but I don't get that at all here. And it's strong! Enough to a] scent any clothes I have laying around if I burn it long enough, and more importantly for me, b] cover up the smell of pot smoke that comes up nightly from my neighbors downstairs It's just a nice default home scent that blends well with other fragrances. Obviously it falls under the gourmand category, but not enough to smell like something is actually cooking in the oven. Lastly, it's a crowd pleaser -- my roommates, guests, and that time it scented my laundry, coworkers too. I bought this because I wanted to try a BPTP candle, not because I expected to really love the scent, but I do, and I'm going to have to order a new one once I finish up Yules.

Aw man, I didn't want to because I knew it'd be a pain ever getting more of it -- but I love this a lot. I've told this story elsewhere, but for posterity, since I started getting migraines and stopped being able to wear so many of my old perfumes, Snow White has become the scent my perfume world orbits around. I loved it when I first tried it back in 2004 as one perfume of many but I've developed an intensely affectionate, nearly monogamous relationship with it post-migraine. Of the scents I can still wear freely even on days I'm easily triggered, this is the one I love the most and I'll buy anything BPTP releases scented with it. It works beautifully as a bath oil, especially if the water is hot enough -- that seems to release the scent a lot better -- and regardless of anything I put on my skin during or after, it always feels a lot softer just having the oil in the water. I don't need to use so much of it that it makes my bath a slippery mess once it's drained, which is nice, too. It's a light scent, but the oil itself is well-perfumed. It works beautifully as a body moisturizer as well, sinking in the skin quickly and not feeling greasy yet not disappearing. And the scent lasts and lasts and lasts if you 'wear' the bath oil. Not just all day, but into the next. I'd be hesitant to put it all over my body for that reason because I think I'd stink up a room with Snow White if I did that and not everyone would appreciate that as much as me, but I use it on my lower legs and elbows and it's nice to get a fresh whiff every time I shimmy out of my pants or pull up my sleeves. HOWEVER...I almost hesitate to write this because it sounds so horrible, but when I first put the oil directly on my skin, it smells AWFUL. Like diapers and scotch tape. Something about how the perfume was reformulated for the bath oil does it no favors concentrated and on its own, but thankfully it mingles with my skin chemistry basically within seconds and smells like the gently sweet Snow White I know and love. If Snow White doesn't play nice on your skin, I'd exercise caution before smearing it all over in case the funky notes linger instead. That weird diaper smell is something I've never gotten from any other Snow White bottle or product, so thank goodness it's gone so fast.

The original oil starts out super minty then fades to a slightly minted, sweet vanilla on my skin, but this is a pretty even balance of both I never get from wearing the perfume. It's not a bad thing at all -- just a nice, soft, girly candy cane scent that's enough to make you hungry if you haven't eaten yet! I'd recommend for smaller bedrooms or bathrooms because the throw isn't great but it's still very clearly scented when you're close to the candle itself. It's a really nice alternative to the 'usual' chestnuts-roasting type holiday home smells as well.

Ohh...I'm heartbroken by this one. I was dying to get my hands on the candle since it's my signature scent and I loved the original perfume, atmosphere spray, and soap so much, but it's scented so faintly. I know Snow White is a lighter fragrance, but I also bought the Lick It candle and when I walked up to my dresser, I smelled the unlit Lick It more than I did the lit Snow White. I used it in my smallish room with the door closed, and the one positive I do have to say is that when I went out into the rest of the apartment and then back into my room, my room smelled 'fresher'. Just not in a way that really smells like Snow White. I'm glad I still have the atmosphere spray, but in the winter there's something special about the experience of lighting a candle, so I'm still quite sad -- I know the perfume at recognizable strength works beautifully as a home fragrance. Edited to add: I'm down to the last 1/4 of my candle, maybe more, and the original review sticks, unfortunately. I hate to give a big fat thumbs down to both the Trading Post and anything scented with Snow White because I truly do like my other candles a lot, this one just flops for whatever reason. I let it burn for 1-2 hours at a time and the most prominent scent I get during that is just 'burning candle'. I hope this might come back next year formulated differently.

HEARTH 2005 (Limited Edition) Thoroughly revisited. This year's Hearth is warmer, sweeter, and more traditionally comforting. This is the scent of candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine. In the bottle: Hello, butter. It smells slightly nutty, too, but I'm mostly picking up on the butter. On the skin: The brown sugar comes out almost instantly, and that nutty smell gets stronger. Oh, there's the wood, too, a couple minutes later, along with a faint breath of pine. This is definitely not a purely foody scent. It reminds me of eating those chestnuts inside a log cabin with the fire blazing- I don't get very much smoke at all, but it's a very warm scent. Luckily the butter is pretty much nowhere to be seen. It doesn't morph too much on drydown, but I'll edit this if I notice anything different. Overall? Very homey and evocative. This would make an absolutely fabulous room scent.

Snow White the perfume has become the closest thing I have to a "signature" scent, especially ever since I started getting migraines and can't tolerate a lot of my old favorites -- that being said, I didn't think I could love the scent any more. I was wrong! It might even work better as a room spray than a perfume. It just makes things smell good without announcing "hello, I came out of a bottle." It's light without the sharp/astringent qualities I associate with a lot of "light" scents, and it's sweet without smelling anything like candy. It's calming without making me want to automatically go to sleep. Most importantly for me personally, it's strong and long-lasting without irritating my all-too-sensitive nose. It's the perfect bedroom scent to me, since Snow White the oil always felt like more of an intimate or skin scent. It also works well as "back up" for the perfume, which doesn't last that long on my skin. I misted some on my jeans (since they won't stain) and it lasted all day. I really hope I never run out of this.

This is definitely the cherry component in both Kabuki and Blood, but the sweetness level is somewhere in between those two blends' wet phases. This isn't a completely sugared, candied cherry but still smells more like maraschino cherries than a fresh one. However, it definitely has a little bit of depth still. I can't compare this to Black Cherry or any other cherry-related single notes because I haven't tried any of them, but this is a really, really nice cherry note. The only downside is how unbelievably fast this disappears on my skin. I think I'll mainly use this for layering purposes.

My first thought when I smelled this was "Dragon's Milk!" I'm not sure why, but it has a vague floral-fruity smell that Dragon's Milk had for me, too. It doesn't smell like it has dragon's blood resin, but a similar vibe? I'm not sure how to explain it. It quickly settles into lightly fruity, breezy incense. I don't smell the Snake Oil base at all--it's just kind of a girly headshop smell. It has throw, but not an overwhelming amount. Every so often I smell a pure, clean floral instead of the incense smell, so it's an interesting morpher. It's a good spring scent, I think, for people who usually like their scents heavier. EDIT: A couple hours later, it's patchouli, patchouli, patchouli. Nothing else. The hell? That doesn't happen to me with regular Snake Oil. It's been like that for the rest of the day.

This is very aquatic pine on me with a faint hint of sweetness many hours later that doesn't really mesh well with the pine scent. I wanted to love it, but it just gives off a 'men's cologne' vibe to me I like Skadi, Snow Bunny, Dublin, etc. much better.

At first, it's mostly an odd sort of chocolate covered orange (there was an almost boozy note lingering around), but on my skin, the fig comes out to play. It's foody, but really doesn't actually smell like candy, and it's not all that sweet. The spices help bring it into perfume territory. This wasn't quite what I was expecting, but wonderful nevertheless! The fig + orange combo is very striking.

I love cherry and I love spice, so initially, this was a match made in heaven (or hell, as the case may be.) Indeed, the cherry, cardamom, and cassis are perfect, but this is also a much darker scent than I'd anticipated. The patchouli doesn't completely overtake the other notes at first, but it's the main component of the drydown, and the verbena also adds a touch of sharpness. Simply describing it as "spicy cherries" sounds too festive--it has some bark (literally) and bite.

Fruity, but it's earthy, sensual fruit grounded by warm sweetness. I figured "patchouli leaf" was just a new way of saying "patchouli," but no, to my nose, it's really a distinctly different note. Mme. Moriarty smacks the Snake Charmer upside the head and sends her running. I love SC, but this is much better, in my opinion. The musks are more under control and the pomegranate adds a much more refined touch to the plum. Every note is just perfect, all stages of morphing are gorgeous, and wow, is it just me, or is it hot in here? I admit I initally bought this just because it seemed blasphemy to pass up on the scent named after Beth herself, but it's become the clear winner of my CD collection. If you're unenthusiastic about red musk and patchouli (which I am), trust me, it's worth a try regardless.

BPAL chocolate loves me. With the exception of Lump of Coal, it makes love to my skin chemistry in a very poetic and enthralling way. Needless to say, I was ready to beat old ladies with their own handbags to get my paws on this, and it didn't disappoint. It's chocolate, but a more liquid version of other BPAL chocolates, if that makes sense. Bliss and Lump of Coal (before my skin wrecked it) both had a brownie vibe, and Velvet smells more like powdered cocoa. This is more like a chocolate river. However, it isn't ALL chocolate. There's something mixing with it, kind of vanillic but not actually vanilla, and it's not as sweet. It reminds me of something in Underpants, actually. Final verdict? This is worth hoarding. And it would make the world's most KILLER bath products and lotions.

I had a hard time placing this. I think I predominantly smell the fruity notes--the plum and the fig--but that doesn't actually make this fruity, just...something. I can smell just a touch of the musk and vetiver with the lavender pulling this over to the side of 'unisex'. It's not exactly sweet, but it still has some sweetness to it due to the coconut, etc. I think this is really the most unisex scent I've tried--really, I couldn't choose between calling it a masculine or feminine perfume if my life depended on it. Even though it doesn't have any notes most people typically associate with 'sexy' scents, I'd find this deeply, deeply seductive on either gender. Overall? Very nice. The notes I bought it for stay nice and strong, and the ones I was afraid of (mostly the vetiver) kept their beastly little heads down.

In the bottle: Pine, scotch tape (no, really!), and patchouli. On my skin: Murky scotch tape. It's starting to sweeten, though. I think that's the almost milk. That's a really nice note and just overrode the scotch tape. I'm starting to smell the tobacco, too. The tobacco + almost milk combo is especially nice (but I'm biased because those are some of my favorite notes.) The pine disappears but the patchouli sticks around, lurking just below the surface, and it adds a very subtle touch of earthy darkness. Overall, this is a more masculine blend, but a creamy and sweeter one. It's like nothing I've smelled before, that's for sure sure, and I'm glad it didn't stay the same as the awful bottle scent. This is another example of completely bizarre notes that just work.

In the bottle: Lemony! Kind of astringent. On my skin: Mostly the same, but I smell the opium smoke now. It's just a supporting note. Mostly it's all lemony lemon lemon, but a dark lemon rather than an innocent candy-like one. It gets a little creamier and more smooth as it sits. It isn't bad, just nothing I'd want more than an imp of. Sadly, this isn't much of a morpher. I had high hopes for it, too where's the vanilla and coconut? Black musk and heliotrope?

In the bottle: Mmmm, tropical fruits. I smell cherry even though it isn't a note, too. On my skin: The other notes come out almost immediately so it isn't just fruity. It smells like delicious, juicy candy that isn't too sweet mixed with a little something spicy. I think the guava is the most prominent note. There's something airy about it, too--probably the spun sugar + pepper. This is amazing! A lot of the fruity scents tend to get cloying on me with an overly sweet, almost rotten kind of smell, but this stays fresh. The only downside is how quickly this fades. It's wonderful, though.

In the bottle: Night blooming flowers and something smoky. On the skin: Pretty much the same. It's a little reminiscent of Midway but much, much less sweet and definitely floral. It's nice, but there's something kind of sharp and powdery about it that keeps me from compulsively wrist-sniffing like I usually do. It's mellowing the longer it sits, luckily. Overall: Pleasant, but not quite what I was hoping.

In the imp--mmmm, cake and butter. That's about all. On my skin, this bears an uncanny relationship to Gingerbread Poppet and Miskatonic University. They shared some common foody note that this does, too. It's not as spicy as Poppet, though there IS something drier I'm smelling that's not as sweet. I'm not getting any wine at all, which is a bit disappointing, but this is still nice. It's foody without being sticky and overly sweet. Wonderful!

In the bottle, this is all apples, apples, apples. And a little bit of spice. It's like spiced cider. On my skin, a bark-like note immediately comes out--like drinking cider near freshly-cut logs, except with much more complexity than that description gives it credit. Oh, holy wow, this is gorgeous. I think I liked last year's HM better, but this is a wonderful crisp autumnal scent that mixes the spiciness with fresh air. It completely dodges the tendency to smell like potpourri like some similar scents can. It's definitely not a sweet scent, either, despite the fact that it's fruity which can sometimes get candy-like. My nose is glued to my wrist.

CCXCVII Ooh, this is pretty! Like a less syrupy Pink Moon or Pink Phoenix. Light, spring-like florals with a dash of sugar and maybe a touch of fruit. This is girly and youthful without being tooth-rottingly sweet. Wow, the more I smell it, the more gorgeous it seems. Not my usual fare, but I approve. This would be a hit if it were released to the GC, I think.

CCXCVIII: In the bottle, this smells like dust. Seriously, this is the smell of an attic in an old Manor home with a touch of deep florals and a definite linen note (or maybe aged parchment). On my skin, pretty much the same thing, it just disappears quickly. This is the old lady perfume to end all old lady perfumes, but there's something sophisticated and very charmingly old fashioned about it, too. I find this very evocative, but sadly not for me.

In the imp, I smell the same 'burning wood' smell I get from Djinn and Brimstone mixed with some leather and something softer. On my skin, that fades, just leaving the smell of wood backed by the tonka and something spicy. Yeah, it smells like burning a bit again--I think that might be the spiciness? OK, now it's back to leather. Wow, is this a morpher. It's gorgeous, though! Creamy yet masculine. Too masculine for me, alas, but I'd get a bottle if I weren't single