Lit Chick

I was going to wear Herr Drosselmeyer, but I opted for Gingerbread Poppet at the last minute. I scented the house with Midnight Mass. NYE will probably be Red Devil. If I feel more lazy and snuggly, a bath in Maiden.

Well well well. Very interesting. Sweet and fruity in it's very wet stage, but not a candy sweetness. Fresh lovely plum. I thought I hated fruit, but I love the plum. And hello, musk. Just as the musk starts to maybe be too animal,a very fast cinnamon moment. That morphs into a muted creamy spicyness. Yay for carnation! I LOVE this. However, my skin is eating it alive. 3 hours of wear and I'm left with the tiniest hint of fragrance, like I took a bath in something really nice. Ahhh - and this would make the most fabulous bath.... I might have to buy a 5ml. Updated 2024 - I never did buy a bottle but I tried a fresh imp again. This is really lovely, but my skin still eats it. Might be great for layering.

... Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower. I've learned so much since I started BPALing. As a newbie, I would have smelled this and gone "ICK!" and that would have been about it. However... this is a really lovely, very traditional, elegant perfume. I don't wear scents like this, but at least now I can appreciate it. It's a really vigourous floral, and it has a good amount of musk in there. It's not right for me, but this is one everyone should try. I have a feeling that if it works, it would really really work and be an OMFG oil.

This is very nice. At first, it's very dragon-blood, but in a much lighter way than I was expecting. It's fresher somehow. In the dry down, the woods really take over. I started to get nervous, because the only really awful reaction I've had to an oil was with Grandmother of Ghosts, and it started to smell similar. However, this wood was much softer. It melted right into my skin and turned into a very cozy scent. It's very masculine, but in a protective (not sexy) sort of way. It's a warm cuddly blanket smell.

This is impressive. It starts of as a sweet, traditional floral, but with a juiciness. Wet and full without being fruity. As it dries, I get more of the rose in the form of soap. There's enough herbal aquatic to keep it from being acrid soap, though. I do not smell like my great-aunt's powder room, yay! Fully dry, the soap is gone and it's a delicate, clean, floral. It smells like fresh spring air, with just the hint of blossoms. Excellent and unexpected!

Aeval is the only "powdery" blend that is magnificent. It's lightish, and yes - powdery, but it works. Love it. Leanan Sidhe is also gorgeous. It's my current go-to floral when I don't know what else to wear. In other words, always nice no matter what my mood. Finally, Kitsune-Tsuki. It's more perfumey, but sooo elegant.

This is a very delicate, gentle floral. It's so soft and lovely, with the fragile smell of spring. It goes by so fast on me, though. If I did not have too many bottles of florals that bowled me over, this could become a favorite. But as it is, Budding Moon is just too demure for me. My skin loved it for 10 minutes and then devoured it.

So, I was not a Snake Oil fan when I tried it. Also, Snake Charmer left much to be desired. When I read the comparisons to both, I was prepared to be disappointed. But - this is wonderful. I smell the booziness when it's first wet, but then it quickly turns into a sweet, soft, sexy musk. It's very well behaved on me. It also made me snuffle my elbow for hours. I did not tire of it at all. At the very final dry-down, this had a bit of play-dough smell, but it was after evrything else was long gone. I also smell sassafrass in this. There's a delightful touch of the sweet rootbeer that I love in Laudanum. Perhaps a dab of that with Snake Oil would be a decent replacement when I'm done with my bottle.

Lightning slashing the midnight skies over the endless reaches of the ocean. The electric tang of ozone, marine notes, and a drop of sharp rain. Dead on - a crackling ozone smell. It's dry lightning - the kind that comes before the storm. My skin cannot do ozone - it;s just off. The husband had more success with this - crisper and less burnt. I think I prefer the smell of wind and rain to the smell of lightning, so this is a pass - but as far as the ozone smells go, it's a winner.

I think I like this one. It's spicy root beer, and odly enough that smells really very pleasant on me. The husband hated it - it was thick and dark on him. But on me, just sassafrass with a playful attitude. It's not a bottle-worthy scent, but it's one of those that I'll always want an imp of, for those craving moments.

Heh. Tried this on the husband last night. He sniffed and said "It smells like Stetson." I'll have to take his word on it, as I've never smelled that knowingly. It does smell like a very standard, very traditional aftershave. It's not cologne - pure aftershave. And that's not bad at all. There's something very nice about a smell that's just pleasant, as opposed to sensual, seductive, etc. As for the boy's reaction, he deemed it a nice change of pace.

This is almost wonderful. But alas, my skin HATES tea. It goes bitter on me.... oh god it's awful (tea in general that is). If this did not have tea, it would be a bright, luscious, goregeous scent. Fresh and a little sweet. Very cheerful. Too bad the tea note stays so strong - ugh. I'm so sad.

If you can get some, Midnight Mass is a really heavenly cedar/incense.

My DH just informed me that Oisin is his favorite scent ever, and he needs more. ACK! So, I have a sample of Dublin coming - but any other subs? I smells like heaven on him, so I'd like to keep him in it!

This is a ridiculously good aromatherepy oil. When wet (5 min or so), it's all Vicks. Medicinal, but very sinus-clearing. Which is exactly what I needed today. It sweetens and calms as it dries - and it so pretty. Unfortunately, it fades away to nothing. Unless that's my slight cold... I'm using my imp like crazy today, and it's really perking me up. I might even get a bottle - this would make such a good bath!

I smell lavender and lemon. And then I pass out. I really slathered last night, and the husband said it smelled like cake. Which sort of makes sense, as he's made lavender pound cakes with lemon icing before. The smell to me is nothing special - but I was having a hard time getting to sleep last night and this worked wonders. My brain simply would not shut down, but after a few deep breaths of Quietude, my mind went blank and I slept hard.

The husband tried this one out - and while it was nice, it was not the right scent for him. Lear went dusty and musty on him - similar to what Grandmother of Ghosts did to me. Guess we can't wear dry wood scents. It was very good at evoking "regal old man", though - so I have to compliment the blend. It's exactly how Lear should smell.

I'll start out by saying I love this, because there's a few moments early on when this is not nice at all. First sniff - Sweet woods, with citrus. Swipe - Sweet woods with spices. Wet - Holy terror of terrors - mentholated sweat. Fresh, tangy, sharp sweaty sweat with some Vicks. Dry - Clean, slightly sweet and spicy, gentle woods and florals, very cold and fresh. A tiny bit like potporri (berries?). It's a very wearable scent, perfect for the season. The initial wet stage is very scary - but it passed in under 3 minutes. And the rest of the scent is worth it: Husband and I were eating toasted nan, and when I put down the plate he thought I had dusted it with cinnamon sugar. Nope, that was just me, lightly sweet and spicy. And about an hour later as we were just watching TV, he took my hand and started kissing it. Not as an advance - he was still watching TV. He just was rubbing and kissing my hands. And where do you think I had applied Snow Moon? Complete winner, again on my top 10. This winter has been really amazing for BPAL. **ETA** this also makes for an excellent sleep blend. I lost my bottle of Quietude, and have been using this instead. They don;t smell the same, but put me in my peaceful happy place.

I was nervous about this one... fruit tends to be a bad thing. But more and more, I'm finding fruits that love me. Everthing in this blend loves me, except finiky rose. Gorgeous, perfection in a bottle. Bright, summery, happy... pure sunshine and butterflies. And after a few glorious mintues, this turns to soap. This gives me hope though, and I will stop avoiding the super-fruity blends.

When first applied, this smells really interesting (in a good way). Musky, dry, floral. But, as it dried all it turned into musky wood. Sometimes those notes are fantastic on me, sometimes not. This was a not. It turned into a dusty, airless, claustophobic smell. Ah well, they can't all be winners.

Hmm. Not what I was expecting, but so nice! None of the notes scream out - it does smell like all the listed notes, just not any one in excess. I was thinking this would be a room scent, but it's too soft for that. Or possibly a smelly for my hudband, but it's too sweet. The last thing I expected was a perfume for me, but it's perfect! This is so gentle, very peaceful. It's like a bedtime story.

When I was a newbie, I had a lot of scents that went powdery/soapy/etc. It's a common issue - I guess it's hard to smell the nuances in BPAL when you're used to commerical perfumes. That said, some things are still powder etc on me. Don;t worry, you'll find something. Of the one's we've both tried from your first post, I had the same reactions. So, my rec'd from your list: Dorian - very very nice, very interesting Scherezade -this did go powdery on me, but in a nice way. Worth a try. Intrigue - one of my all time top 10. I's suggest Bastet as well. Wet it'a all almond, but dry it's amazing.

Sugary, sugary, with more sugar on top. Too much sugar for me. However, this and Hearth cooperate well. Nice smell, one that should please the sugar-fiends out there.

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me.... C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me, C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me! OOOOH, Cookie Cookie Cookie starts with C! [/Cookie Monster] Ahem. I am not usually a sweet and foodie kind of gal. Ickers. But this? AWESOME. Sweet, yes. But not syrupy. Spicy? Yes - but not burny. It's utterly delicious, and smells just like the gingerbread I've been baking. After an hour or so, it's a little more mellow. Delicious!!!!

Whoa, nutbutter. Exactly as everyone else describes. Sweet foodie nuts with a gentle whiff of pine in the drydown (so gentle - I can't do pine, but this was OK). On me it was VERY strong and nutty, very very foodie. A bit too much. But a tiny drop of this plus a tiny drop of Sugar Cookie was pretty nice.