tunedtochords

I was hoping this would be a little sweeter and spicier, even though the description says just a hint of pumpkin pie. That being said, I love the actual scent as opposed to my preconceived idea of what it would be like. I was trying to describe this to a friend who was waffling about buying her own bottle. "It's like Christmas in a bottle," I said, and that's exactly what it is. There is pine and bayberry and cranberry and this note I can't define that just *is* christmas. I was a little afraid that I'd smell like a holiday candle, but I don't. This just... is Christmas. I can't think of a better way to describe it.

In the bottle, this smelled kind of like strawberry hard candies and strawberry bubble gum. I was a little bit afraid. On me, it's still very sweet, but the strawberry and peach blend nicely. Eventually, things settle down and a creamy note appears. Reminds me of those creamsavers candies from Lifesavers, but a little less sweet and cloying. Sticks around for a long time; I wore this all day on Tuesday, and it's now Friday and I can still catch a hint of this on my pillow at night. A definite keeper.

After reading the description, I had to get this. Plus Snake Oil and O are two of my favorites, so I had high hopes. I wasn't disappointed. When I first got Womb Furie, in the bottle, it was like someone had mixed bottles of Snake Oil and O together. I could definitely pick out the honey, and the more subtle vanillas of Snake Oil underneath that. Now, in the bottle, six or so months on, Snake Oil is becoming more and more obvious. On me, as it usually does, Snake Oil dominates, but there's definitely honey there. Very sweet, very sexy. Warm and vanilla-y and honey-y, three of my favorite things. Wish I'd stockpiled this one. Sigh.

I got this as a Christmas gift, which was perfect, since it's not something I would've typically bought for myself. I was intrigued by it, but there were too many risky notes. But. I'm really, really glad I have a bottle of it now. In the bottle, I get straight-up honey. Very sweet and warm. On me, this reminds me of Smut, but waaaay toned down. I'm guessing I amp the red musk. It's very warm and sexy, and it lasts a long time. I can definitely see myself wearing this at a small intimate gathering where I'm flirting with someone, or wearing it on a night in cuddling with someone special.

Deep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk. Sometimes, fruity scents do this thing where they go all fakey and I feel like I'm wearing a little girl's glittery body mist or something. Not Bewitched. This is gorgeous. Fresh blackberries and the greenery surrounding them. Reminds me of late summer in the woods and fields where I grew up. A definite spring/summer blend for me. But it stays fresh and true, and it's just lovely. No fakey grossness here.

O was one of my first "big bottle" purchases. I think I'm weird; I get no honey at all from this. I do get lovely warm amber and vanilla. When this was fresh and new, it went kind of baby powdery on me. But it's aged really beautifully, and is now just amber and vanilla amazingness. And maybe a teeny drop of honey. But mostly amber.

In Bottle: Fruity, with a buttery note somewhere, almost like popcorn balls or something. Wet: Peaches. And butter, still. No pumpkin to be found. Ouch, can definitely tell there's spice in here. Word to the wise: do not apply directly after a shower. Dry: Peaches. Holy jesus, the peaches. The spices do come out; they're very subtle and mix nicely with the peach. It's a very warm scent. The pumpkin never
appears, though. It's nice, but disappointing, as I was really hoping for a nice pumpkiny scent. This is very strong and has a pretty good throw and lots of staying power.

In Bottle: Um, Coke. Why does this smell like Coke to me? It seriously smells carbonated. Wet: Warm and milky, with a bit of ginger. Dry: This doesn't change much. The ginger's amped a little more. Mostly milk, though. It's comforting, but not my favorite thing in the world. It doesn't stick around long, either, and doesn't have much throw.

In Bottle: Straight-up almond extract. Kind of marzipany, too. Wet: Very almondy. Almost too much so. The almond extract feeling continues. Dry: Ah, this is better. Other notes are starting to appear. The cinnamon becomes more prominent, and the vanilla is nicely in the background. The almond
remains dominant. This was my first big bottle purchase, and I'm glad. I love how it's aged, and it's my favorite BPAL almond blend. It really does remind me of the sun, and I like to wear it on the coldest of cold days. It helps me remember that winter doesn't last forever.

When I first got a bottle of this in '07, I loved it in the bottle. But on me, it did this weird morphing thing and smelled kind of bitter, sour, something that is just not good. (This was after an hour or so of wear.) But I dug this out the other day because it was freezing and I was just going to sniff it because sniffing warm foody things is comforting, you know? But it had aged so well! Just lovely and warm and I could see the gingerbread lined up on the counter waiting to be decorated. Of course I had to give this another go-round. And oh man, I'm so glad I did. I smelled like amazing cookies all day. This, combined with Villainess's Gingersnapped whipped, and it was very difficult to not gnaw off my own arm. Got lots of compliments, too, which is always nice. But yes: gorgeous and spicy and warm and foody. Shall definitely be using my bottle sparingly and reserving it for special occasions.

I was really looking forward to this, as ambers usually work really well on me. Unfortunately, it's way too masculine. Basically, it smells like clean man. You know, that soapy, musky, not-quite-definable smell. With a hint of, well, amber. It's nice, but, you know, not on me. I need to find a nice boy to hand this off to, because it's definitely the kind of thing I'd like an SO of mine to wear.

Sugary vanilla tea, exactly. And oh, the musk! But not that scary and overbearing musk that gives me a headache. A lighter one. But oh so good. Love love love Dorian. Actually, this was the first bottle of BPAL that I ever finished. It's my go-to blend. The empty lives in my purse now so I can sniff it every now and again until I get another bottle. It's masculine, yes, but not overly so. Ah, I just love it. (Can ya tell?

Okay, maybe my skin is just weird, but after dry-down, Lilith Vs. the Giant crab smells like Lush's American Cream/Shimmy Shimmy. It's quite yummy.

I did not like this in the bottle. The cream cheese frosting note hit me in the face and it seemed sour, like it had gone bad or something. I could smell cake, though, so I thought I'd give it a try. And yay, so glad I did. Wet, it's still sort of sour, but the cake comes out and it's lovely. As it dries, the cream cheese frosting settles down and blends with cake, and later, I get the vanilla tea of Dorian, mmmm. Don't smell any Snake Oil or Doc, but like others have said, perhaps SO will come out with age? All in all, I reeeeally like it. Okay, this has become one of my favorites since I originally wrote this review. It has lots of staying power, and the Snake Oil amps quite a bit on me. So it's cakey Snake Oily Doriany goodness. Just got back from a party where I wore this and got so many "Ooh, you smell so good!"s that I lost count. Am having to use massive amounts of restraint to make this bottle last.

To me, in the bottle, this smelled like bubble gum. I was very wary of this. On, though, it morphs into this yummy fruity creamy thing. I'm not good at picking out individual notes, but I can definitely pick out the tangerine and something creamy. Yum. It has a light throw, but quite a bit of staying power. It reminds me of the way Lady Lilith smells on me, but less dark, more breezy. Really liking it.