tinyvulture

This is a subtler pumpkin note than I’m accustomed to. It’s spicy, but not overly buttery like some pumpkin blends I’ve sampled. I’m not really noticing the musk or honey. It’s like 50% pumpkin, 50% almond. These two notes make a nice, foody pairing. Like if you went to a really great dinner party around Halloween. You walk in and the house smells like the host has been baking all day. Pumpkin pies, almond tarts, and other baked goods are set out on the table, fresh out of the oven. That’s what this conjures up in my imagination.

I’ve never had the pleasure of eating a croquembouche, so I can’t make that comparison, but what I get from this is some kind of fresh, warm baked good, topped with candied toasted almonds and a little bit of poppy seed. (There’s no poppy seed in the description, but well, that’s what my nose is telling me.) The almond note is really nice and creamy. The pastry note is yeasty rather than buttery. I’d like it better if it was buttery. It’s pleasant, but it’s not making me drool.

I’ve never smelled black cherry brandy, but I recognize the brandy note from Grand Guignol. At first, the black cherry note is very strong and reminds me of cherry Kool-Aid, but it mellows out after a few minutes. There’s also something vaguely waxy about Suck It...like wax fangs. Not sure what that's all about. Ten minutes on, it’s subtly fruity and not noticeably boozy -- a fun, cheerful cherry scent.

i know this is supposed to be vetiver and florals, but i swear my imp smells like vetiver and cigarette smoke! as a former smoker who still enjoys the aroma of secondhand smoke at times, that is not a bad thing, although it does make me think twice about wearing this oil out of the house! there’s also a faint whiff of leather in the background, but the vetiver is the main event here (that happens to me often with vetiver scents, my skin must amp it). i think this will smell good on my husband. i’m not picking up any floral notes. it seems like a really dark, sexy masculine blend.

when first applied, this is too strong for my taste. the sandalwood is so heavy. soon, it mellows out somewhat (although still quite strong). the spicy dragon’s blood resin paired with the dry sandalwood shavings results in a scent that is bold, fierce and powerful, like something a warrior would wear into battle!

like roses mixed with lots of dark green stems, leaves and thorns. not a true rose note, but something in the same family. it’s a rich, warm, powdery floral, balanced by herbal greenery. i would enjoy a lotion or soap with this scent. it’s feminine and sexy, but also clean and understated.

for jasmine lovers only! i find that a lot of the lab’s earlier jasmine blends don’t smell that great on me. i don’t know why i have better luck with newer ones. nyx is pretty much all jasmine on me, and kind of smells like nail polish remover. the myrrh and rose are noticeable but faint. it’s giving me a headache after only a couple minutes. sorry, nyx, but it’s off to the swaps pile for you.

This is sort of like Centzon Totochtin plus wine and cinnamon. The rich cocoa pairs so beautifully with the fruity, sweet wine and the powdery kick of cinnamon. I’ve never had Mexican hot chocolate, but now I would like to! I’m so glad I got a bottle of this before it went away. I wasn’t sure I needed it because I have bottles of Centzon and El Dia de Reyes, but this scent shines as its own unique creation. Love it.

cold vanilla ice cream melting over a big slice of hot apple pie right out of the oven. the tartness of the apples is matched perfectly by the creaminess of the milk, and there’s just the right amount of spices to give it a little kick. gentler and less spicy than Fearful Pleasure, and so perfect for autumn. makes me nostalgic for trips to the cider mill, bringing home bushels of apples and baking them into mouth-watering desserts. scrumptious!

Honey, cream, and a touch of powder. Reminds me of the Burt’s Bees honey-scented body butter that I use regularly. A gentle, milky scent, soft but not faint. It makes me think of babies, too, as other reviewers have noted. It’s pure, sweet, innocent. My husband likes it on me. Glad I picked up a bottle – I think it will get a lot of love.

the combination of pipe smoke and leather is really comforting and homey, here. i thought it would be similar to hellfire, and it sort of is. i picture an old man, bearing a resemblance to santa claus, relaxing in his log cabin, in his leather armchair in front of the fire, smoking a pipe. yet, i wouldn’t call this an especially “masculine” blend. not a typical “holiday” blend but very nice. would probably buy as a room spray, as well.

a soft, sweet pear blend, subdued yet beautiful, and warm, from the musk. just a touch of the bois du rose. like eating a fresh sliced pear on your porch on a warm spring day, smelling the roses off in the distance in your garden. the only slightly objectionable thing about it is that it’s so subtle. but that’s ok, sometimes. for example, it will be nice to wear when i am rocking my baby to sleep. it’s a warm, inviting scent, not overbearing, just right.

the sweet, fruity floral scent of plumeria is the star here, backed by crisp juicy pear. the champagne adds a slight alcoholic note. overall, this blend smells sort of like hairspray. i might have liked it better without the alcohol -- it’s giving me a mild headache. oh well – another one for the swaps pile!

Oh man, I can tell just from sniffing this in the imp that I’m going to love it! It’s strong and it screams AUTUMN! I get the sweet autumn leaves note from Samhainophobia, mixed with moist earth and damp moss notes. I normally don’t care for moss, but it really fits here. There’s also the green ivy and the lovely oak, which may be rotting, but it is still so warm and almost has a nuttiness to it. This reminds me of rainy Octobers and the way the outdoors smell after an afternoon storm. So much to love about this scent! It’s so awesome and I really hope it returns this Halloween.

here we have the joyful summertime scent of golden peaches sweetened by vanilla, combined with the delicate floral-fruitiness of osmanthus. also, some extremely rosy rosewood is present to give this airy concotion some backbone. very “peaches n’ cream,” very sweet. just wish it were stronger - it’s such a light whisper of a scent.

From the description, I figured this would be an ozone scent, which don’t typically work on me. But after reading reviews, it sounded like something I should at least try. I was right - I like it. The ozone is surprisingly toned down and the charming snowdrop note is most prominent. I don’t think I’ve smelled snowdrop before but it’s pretty – a light, crisp floral - very “girly perfume.” I don’t smell the cypress or cedar (which I was looking forward to) or the berries. Just sweet little flowers drifting on a gentle, cooling breeze.

A combination of slush, white winter florals, and mint. Definitely kin to Snow White, Moon of Ice. Light, fluttery, powdery – just like snow flakes! Creamy and feminine, very pretty. There was something about Snow White that I did not care for, but I’m really enjoying this scent.

This is the blast of cold air that hits you when you step outside during a snowstorm, combined with the scent of smoke lingering in the air after a candle has been snuffed (sort of like Darkness). It’s as though a cold draft came in the front door and blew out the candle! I like scents that evoke such strong imagery in my mind. The wintry, slightly soapy ozone is enhanced by a touch of chill mint (just a little bit – this isn’t really a minty or foody scent). The candle smoke is, well, smoky, but not too strong. All in all, a clean, cool, pleasant scent. And it’s one of the rare occasions where I am finding ozone wearable. Hooray for that!

smoky vetiver and juicy citrus – what an odd, yet fascinating combination! calling this vetiver “earthy” doesn’t do it justice. it is strong, like coffee grounds. the satsuma orange and tangerine are sweet like jellied orange slices. they soak into the vetiver like… like coffee grounds soaking in freshly-squeezed o.j.? that sounds really unappetizing. and yet this scent is not bad. it’s very powerful, particularly the vetiver and citrus notes. i can smell the licorice cowering in the background if i really hunt for it. the teak, cinnamon and amber? forget it. after about 5 minutes, the vetiver has died down considerably and this is a mostly citrus scent with a nice grounding of earthiness. i don’t particularly love citrus scents, so i'm glad i didn't order a whole bottle. but velvet tiger is definitely unique, and appealing in its own weird way.

A BEAUTIFUL, sophisticated, dark and mysterious rose. I love it. To me it smells of dried red roses –that powdery yet concentrated deep rose scent that comes with age. Add to that the spicy kick of clove and tobacco (think clove cigarettes and you’re not far off) and the amber, musk and tonka, which tease out and enhance the warmth and sweetness of the rose. I only vaguely smell the fir when I inhale sharply – its astringent quality is noticeable then. This is so well-blended – I don’t find the rose overpowering. It mixes in so smoothly with the other notes. Rich and complex, possibly my favorite rose scent.

I was curious how this bonfire scent compared to Bonfire Night, which I enjoy. While Bonfire Night is smoke mixed with a syrupy, foody note, St. John’s Eve, on the other hand, is thick smoke combined with a strong bay rum note (think Baron Samedi) and a gentle touch of incense – not foody at all. I prefer it. I got a decant and now I wonder if I should track down a bottle. It’s such a great outdoorsy, woodsy scent – the campfire smoke that leads you to the bonfire where everyone is drinking and having a good time.

This makes me wish for a big bag of toasted coconut marshmallows to devour. That’s exactly what it smells like - with a handful of white chocolate curls mixed in. The coconut note is a dead ringer for the sweetened, toasted coconut used in baking, not the raw coconut note found in some other BPAL blends. I used to have some chocolate-coconut bath bombs that smelled sorta like this and I wish I had some now because I could definitely bathe in this scent. It’s awesome!

Lavender is the strongest note in this bouquet. For some reason I’ve never cared for the lab’s lavender note. It’s too powdery and sweet on my skin. It’s weird here in combination with the ylang-ylang, which is quite heavy. The lilac, gardenia and orris are harder to pick out. The overall effect is an extremely powdery, sickly sweet, old-ladyish floral blend. It’s just not for me.

I received this as a freebie in a swap. It's a must for jasmine-lovers. Jasmine works with my skin chemistry about 50% of the time. Unfortunately, it's not working here. It's kind of powdery and old-ladyish. The soft tuberose is noticeable in the background, but it can't compete with the strong jasmine. Surprisingly, since it usually amps on me, I can't pick out the lotus at all. And, there's just a tiny hint of sugary lime. It's as though the jasmine has muted all of the other notes. I'll send this one one its way and hopefully it will work better on the next recipient.

100% leather…a great replacement for my bottle of Dead Man’s Hand that I foolishly parted ways with. There’s something a little sweaty and dirty about it, but not in a bad way. Like a leather jacket that’s taken on the owner’s scent, maybe. This scent is not super strong, but up close it’s very sexy.