MeiLin

In the bottle I kept smelling something plantlike with an edge, and then I realized it was one of the notes in Swedish Bitters (the digestive). I'm thinking maybe myrrh, even though it's not in the description. Very very sweet in the bottle, a little maple-y. Wet, not as sweet, and I amp whatever that bitters note is. Ends up a dusky sweet floral that vanishes on me quickly. The hubby likes it so it's a keeper.

I love this thread. SO many foodies, so little $$...

Big foodies here at our house! Eat Me, totally. Also Channukiya (doughnuts!), Bliss, Alice (for a good fruity scent--pie cherries), Miskatonic University (the oldest calls it "evil butterscotch"), Cheshire Moon (cake, tropical fruits and exotic flowers), Samhain (pumpkin, apples, spices, cold autumn night), the Pumpkin Patches 1-5, White Rabbit, Dormouse (well, tea), Love's Philosophy (cream), Yuletide (cloves and cinnamon), Sugar Skull, Diwali. LOVE the foodies.

This was one of my favorite poems growing up--don't ask me why, I just loved it. And this smells exactly like it should, exactly like the poem. The clover and heather balance the rose and carnation just perfectly. It's just...oh gosh, I'm almost in tears. It smells like early summer, like sweet sunshine. May have to snag a bottle.

I think I'm in love. This is deep, mysterious, changing--suspended between winter and autumn, between the warmth of a kitchen and the chill of the night air. It's like standing on the threshhold on an autumn night. It is the very essence of Samhain. Even the famously patchouli-hating boy likes it. This is one of the most different perfumes I've ever smelled, and I keep sniffing my wrist helplessly. On the scale of bleh to guh (which does not include "do not want!"), it's a guh. Now to track down a bottle!

As usual, I amp the vanilla. From the description you'd think it'd be chai-like, but it's not. It reminds me of the way my cats smell when they've managed to sneak outside--that clean fur smell, somehow. It's delicious. I love the black tea with milk BPAL note, I'm finding. I already knew I loved the honey note. And the clean linen smell, which usually makes everything smell "perfumy," here is what turns the whole thing into delicious clean cat drinking sweet milky tea. Weird description, I know, but I love it. I think I'm one of those foodie people...

In the bottle: Very masculine. I thought, oh, this goes to the boy. Wet: Oh goodness! I think I like this! Not as masculine, but still unisexy. Drydown: Definitely feminine, though the right guy could get away with it. My boy, not so much. The myrrh just makes things interesting; it doesn't ruin the whole thing like it did in Bilquis (sob). The musk is predominant, a bright, clean musk sweetened by the currant, fruit gums and violet and then taken in a more sophisticated direction by the orchid, spices, moss and vetiver. The lavender keeps it bright, the myrrh and tobacco give it a slight edge. I say all that, but it's hard to pick out individual notes. This is a very sophisticated but not "perfoomy" scent, a good night-into-day one. Drier yet: The florals are receding and it's going simultaneously spicier and darker--must be the eclipse part. It's morphing more masculine now. In fact, no two sniffs on this one have been the same. Very complex. Gosh, I'm so pleased, I really was afraid I wouldn't like this, but it's one of my favorites! And gee whiz, it's not even foodie!

In the bottle: Sweet, sharp fruit and flowers over cake. Lovely. Wet: More cakey, but still quite fruity/flowery. Dry: I really amp those cake smells, don't I? Initial throw is strong, but it fades quickly, and I'm finding that half hour after I've put it on it's nearly gone. Just like that darn cat. What's left is that tangy fruit and soft floral surrounding cake. The image I get in my head of this scent is a vanilla cake with lemon/orange frosting, decorated with heaps of blossoms and exotic fruit jellies. It's not sexy but it's comforting in a sweet, fun way. There's a touch of playful silliness in it. I really really like it and I'm glad I gambled on a bottle.

Aw, it goes to soap on me. The husband goes so far as to say "rotten soap." Had to wash it off. sigh.

I've only had to wash off three BPALs. This was one of them. My husband's review was "HOLY JESUS WHAT THE HELL IS THAT STENCH?!" I really love the BPAL honey note and was optimistic this would work on me. Sadly, no.

In the bottle: Sexy vanilla icing! Wet: Whoa! Mint! Coconut! Eucalyptus?! Man, my skin chemistry is strange! Dry: It smells like nothing so much as Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil from the '70s, which I loved, luckily. I like it well enough that I keep smelling myself to see what the bugger is doing now--it keeps morphing!

Meh, just meh. I amp carnation, and in this blend it just muddies all the other notes. Disappointing, since all the notes are faves. Just not, apparently, all at once, on my wrist.

Luscious. The hubby just went, "ooh, what's that? I like it!" I smell pumpkin, ginger, vanilla, the teeniest bit of lemon peel. It smells like really good, not too sweet pie.

What an odd scent! My husband sniffed my wrist, did a double take and said "what the hell--beets?!" To him it smells like fresh out of the ground root vegetables. I smell soft dirt with vetiver and vanilla and amber. I really like it, it's extremely unusual and I'll keep an imp on hand. And: On the right guy, this scent could be swoon-inducing. I put it in my husband's imp box to see what happens. ETA: This is now our favorite BPAL. I cannot wear it without being attacked by the hubby. It's okay on him but killer on me. A bottle of it will be in my next order.

2005, well-aged obviously: Clove and cinnamon are duking it out in my cleavage.

In the imp: Honeyed fruit and flowers, very sweet and vanilla, with a spicy undertone. Wet: Sweet with the spices coming up and the rose in the background. Dry: The amber, sandalwood and champaca come forward making it more Indian, but on me the honey and vanilla are ever-present. The florals are there but they're drowsily hanging out in the background perusing the bongs. The honey and vanilla notes on me are just wonderful, I'm guaranteed to love almost anything with either. I hope the 2008 is as good!

On me this is a melancholy rose, a rose that's been around, a rose thinking about the past. There's a spiciness to it, like amber or resin, along with the rose and orchid. I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, what labdanum smells like! I really, really like it, but then roses do very well on me. This will probably grow up to be a bottle.

Imp: Violet and neroli on top and they're not sharing! Wet: Violet, neroli and increasing iris with a lot of sandalwood Drydown: First the sandalwood comes up, then retreats into the iris. The violet and neroli are cuddling on a fur rug of white musk. I like this but I know what the husband will say: Too headshoppy for him. (Neroli and sandalwood.) Keepin' the imp, won't be buyin' a bottle.

Smells very masculine on me. The cedarwood and geranium are really strong, and while eventually the other florals come out, it's just not for me. Could be really interesting on the right guy. Into the "trade" section of the squee box it goes.

I like it but it's a little too manly for me. And the hubby thinks it's too patchouli-ish and hates patchouli. I'm smelling sandalwood, not patchouli, but we have very different noses. I put it in his squee box and I'm betting it'll smell great on him.

In the bottle I smell the violet first, but then I always do. On the skin wet, the white mint, palmarosa and osmanthus come to the fore in a very green, almost grassy scent. Dry, the florals come to the fore with the sandalwood as the bottom note. The hubby says it's not a sexy smell but a very light and pleasant one. This is well-suited to daytime wearing and would be a perfect scent for a girl (and considering Utrennyaya is the Maiden aspect, fitting). It's clean, not too crisp, and just sweet enough, with the sandalwood and rose giving a hint of the woman she will some day become--some day far in the future. It goes in the "wear again, may buy" section of the squee box.

I let my gf into my box of squee and nearly didn't get De Sade back. She was all "I MUST DROWN MY HUSBAND IN THIS." And I was all, "NO, THAT'S FOR DROWNING MY HUSBAND IN, STEP OFF, BITCH." yeah. it's like that.

Fairy Wine? Love it. If it's got honey as a predominant note, I'm all over it. And I like the green, bitter dandelion scent. It's just perfect, this one.

This is amazing. I think it's one of the few sweeter scents that will work on the husband--can't wait to find out. It works on me, beautifully, a crisp, almost masculine scent with a bit of berry. Just gorgeous. Others have said "floral," but on me it goes very green.

Aw, sweetie. I've battled depression for a long, long time myself. Make sure you eat decent and get walks in, even short ones around the block. It helps so very much, and I hate walking. Be as gentle as possible with yourself. As for smellies, you'll know better than I what will make you feel better, but I find Doves Heart to be very soothing. Be well, dear.