JazzieCazzie

This was a scent that, based on notes, I was absolutely dying to try but, based on reviews, I was afraid to get a bottle. So I was ecstatic (no pun intended) to be able to get an imp in a swap. IN THE IMP: Ambery spicy resin with a touch of sweetness. Exactly what I would have hoped for. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Actually, once on, the honey amps right to the forefront almost immediately (which honey tends to do on me). And ... it's nummmmmy. DRYDOWN: Ambery resinous hypnotic honey. OVERALL: In the end, this turned out to be what I'd hoped for rather than what I'd feared. So I will continue to look for a full bottle. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.2

IN THE BOTTLE: Sweet and clean and a little aquatic. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Quite lovely, actually. The floral element is mild and slightly unusual, perhaps because of the honey. Then, after about 30 seconds on my skin, the honey starts to amp and becomes quite spicy. DRYDOWN: This turns into a really neat, slightly woody, light scent. OVERALL: I probably wouldn't go through an entire bottle, so if I see people looking for it on their wish list would part with imps in swaps I think, but it's definitely a keeper for occasional use. JUST a little too sweet to be a regular scent. On a scale of 1-5, about a 3.7.

Managed to nab imps of Dream and Sleep in the same wonderful swap ... IN THE IMP: Lavender lavender lavender. Yay. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: OMG. I am reading my notes and they make no sense at all. This apparently knocked me on my ass and I babbled like a sleepy idiot. Here is what I wrote (I guess, if nothing else, proof that this really DOES put you to sleep): "This is more of a scent with a plan (note: I am comparing it to Dream which I wrote notes on first and they were coherent). It's busier, more like it has a purpose. More of a baby scent that needs to put it down. And scent its room and wash its scars." Well, all righty then. I could, arguably, retest this and make it coherent and I will probably do that in the future but for now, perhaps, this will make sense to someone and show that SLEEP WORKS. So, tentative score: On a scale of 1-5, for purpose alone, a 5.

Got an imp in a swap ... IN THE IMP: A sweet, floral lavender rather than a straight-on lavender. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I am calling this a "sweet" lavender but that's not to be confused with, say, TKO which to me is vanilla crossed with lavender (like Lush's Twilight) ... more like a sweet flower blended with lavender. DRYDOWN: It stays a true sweet lavender, very light and airy and, I guess, powdery as some people have mentioned. But to me, at least, it doesn't really get cloying or nauseating. OVERALL: I like this a lot and have popped the imp into my bedtime box for sleep aid. I wouldn't buy a full bottle simply because I have other lavender blends I like better -- the ones that are more herbal or true lavender without the sweetness. But it's not a swapper either. On a scale of 1-5, about a 4.

This was high on my wish list and I lucked into not one but TWO bottles, via swap and eBay. So yay! IN THE BOTTLE: Elegant, fresh and gender neutral. Definitely what I'd call a resiny incense scent but an outdoorsy one. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Wow. I get many more images and words from the scent of this than I do actual descriptive notes, so I apologize in advance. I find it, oddly, slightly fruity. Also very clean, sort of Dial soap-scented (which I really like the smell of). Also, somehow, a slightly sweet cocoa scent though I don't see that anywhere in the blend. Overall I'd call it a very clean resiny-incense. DRYDOWN: Fruity, but not in a bad way (and for me, most fruity is bad). More like a deep dark fruit, the kinds I like. Also soapy but, again, not in a bad way. It's really pleasant and lovely. OVERALL: Not enough incense/amber in the drydown for me to keep both 5 MLs but definitely enough to keep one. On a scale of 1-5, about a 4.

Was able to get an imp of this AND Cake Smash v6 together and test drove the two together in search of the perfect cakey-ness ... IN THE BOTTLE: Wow. Very complicated and I'm getting an array of notes from the imp. First I think caramel frosting but then I also get spicy poundcake. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Definitely getting a caramel/burnt sugar note VERY strong on my skin. It's not a washoff, though, because of the big background sweet spice note. I would never have placed it as ginger or gingerbread without other reviews, I admit, but I can see that might be it. DRYDOWN: I find this to be sweet on my wrist but creamier in the crook of my arm. OVERALL: Like, don't love. Caramel, which I love to EAT, is not a good note for me. And it amps a LOT. On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.5.

A scent I put on my short list based on notes and reviews here and was able to pick up on Etsy. I confess straight out that it is the rare BPAL lavender blend that I DON'T love (I'm in the small group of folks that doesn't adore TKO because it's too sweet for me, and not a big fan of Oneroi -- bubble gum -- or Nanshe -- dishwater -- but pretty much every other one? Bingo). IN THE BOTTLE: Lavender lavender lavender and herbs. Not too sweet. Dabbed on wrists and in crook of arms. WET: The lavender amps all over the place the nanosecond it touches my skin. It's a super-strong scent but in a good way. I'm not sure which of the other blends it reminds me of but I want to say Temple of Dreams (I'm not sure my nose is quite attuned enough to be sure) ... I'm in the minority of people who think this could have been a proto for a Somnium scent rather than a Panacea but what do I know? DRYDOWN: Nice long legs, lavender with a slightly sweetish herbal drydown. OVERALL: If this isn't a Somnium prototype, it should be. This imp (I always decant an imp out of my bottle for testing and easier application) goes RIGHT into my Flentz box ... yes, I use the earplugs case for all of my BPAL lavender-y imps pre-bed. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.8.

After spending a wonderful night reading just about every review/description in this folder and on this board to make up my wishlist, Fenris Wolf v2 went to my very short list thanks to the comments about "cola" and the comps to my precious Schwarzer Mond. So when I saw a bottle on Etsy I HAD to buy it. What a very smart decision!!! IN THE BOTTLE: Oh yeah, baby. Sexy cola. Come to mama. Dabbed pretty generously on both wrists and in crooks of arm. And yes, I may have put some in the cleavage. WET: Oooooooowwwwwwwwwoooooooo. What does the wolf say? Resiny. Delicious. COLA COLA COLA. In case you hadn't guessed, I love the cola scent (which I THINK is opoponax but not sure). This is just the perfectest of perfect blends when wet ... so how will it dry? I know that sometimes this wet scent can dry just a tad TOO masculine for me. DRYDOWN: Just delish. Perfect perfect perfect. I can see why it would probably be classified as a "guy scent" but it is just divine on this girl. It just makes me think of deep, dark secrets. I cannot stop sniffing myself when I wear it. OVERALL: Um, yeah, I like it ... I do remember the released version of Fenris Wolf, which I liked a lot (I MAY be wrong but for some reason I think I may have sent mine to Lycanthrope or a newbie who loved this kind of blend). I can't recall exactly how they differed, but whatever the case may be, I can't imagine a more perfect blend for ME than this one. SO grateful to have gotten my hands on one. On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5.

Was able to pick up two cakey-yummy-HTF imps, this and PPGC, and test drove them on separate arms. This won the day big-time for me! IN THE IMP: Sweet and rich and creamy. I don't actually get the chocolate of red velvet, just a generally numminess. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Num num num num. Not very descriptive, I suppose. But in my quest for the perfect (not too plasticy) cake blend, this is cupcake perfection to me. DRYDOWN: Stays lightly sweet and delicious, foody but not perfumey, and not TOO sweet. Just. Right. I honestly don't think "cream cheese frosting" but I think I would associate that with being more pungent and this is not pungent. It's just ... freshly baked cake from my oven. OVERALL: An absolute delicious keeper. I wish I had more. No plastic, no caramel, no play-doh. Whatever is in it, it works really well with my picky body chemistry. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.2

I gobbled this one up because a) I find many of the blends I like include Olibanum though I had no idea what it was and when I looked it up, it was a form of frankincense which is one of my biggest notes of win! IN THE BOTTLE: As Shirei noted, this is unbelievably thick and syrupy in its consistency, something I almost never see except when it's a SUPER aged blend and then usually in a resin (Penitence and Ahathoor come to mind). The main hit I get is resin but there's something unusual about it, which makes me think of construction sites or something. Not bad, just unusual. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: It's resiny, ever-so-slightly metallic, and very sharp and clean. I think in another thread from a Will Call, perhaps, someone noted camphor and that could be it. Oddly, I don't get "frankincense" at all on this. More of some sort of slight floral/herb blend. DRYDOWN: I still can't put my finger on notes, probably because it IS a note, but it's massively evocative of something from my childhood involved with school. It could be the cleaning solution (though I'm not calling it soapy or icky-cleaning, more ... industrial). Or if it's indeed a resin, it could be because the nursery school I went to was in the basement of an Orthodox synagogue. OVERALL: I like this a lot but would not wear it alone as a single note. I think it would be a great note to layer with other blends and that's what I plan to do with it. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Received an imp in the decantapalooza. Disclaimer that I never tried the original Miss Forcible so I'm not sure how the "others" differ. I do like musk ... But, sadly, I am definitely in the minority on this one. IN THE IMP: Not getting sweet or musky or anything good. Smell's like an old lady's house, very salty and stuffy and musty instead of musky. Dabbed cautiously on one wrist. WET: No. Just ... no. Exactly how it smelled in the bottle but stronger. Salty, stuffy. Old lady's closet that hasn't been aired out in 10 years. To my nose, on my skin, the polar opposite of "sticky sweet." DRYDOWN: Still old lady. No other way for me to describe it. It makes my nose wrinkle. OVERALL: Sad face. Into the swap pile for someone who will love it. On a scale of 1-5, my rare 1.

From the decantapalooza update: And my thoughts definitely echo and reflect many/most of the posts before me. IN THE IMP: MOSTLY Bliss-like pure-a$$ chocolate (as opposed to what I consider the cocoa note, which I also love) but there is something almost ineffable behind it that I suspect I'll come closer to figuring out once it's on my skin. Applied to both wrists. WET: Very Blissy. Very chocolate-y. And something else lurking and waiting to dry down on me ... I also thought a little like Velvet but more like Tezcatlipoca. DRYDOWN: I am thinking, now, that that secondary note is whatever the "marshmallow" scent is but it's subtle. It just makes it sweeter ... for me, it's not so much like hot chocolate with marshmallows as it is a hard chocolate candy, where inside it's pure chocolate but the outside has a sweeter hard sugary shell. OVERALL: I like this a lot. It's not an everyday scent because it's so sweet but it's a keeper imp, for sure. I expected it to be a little more like Sue's Great Old Puppet Show but this is chocolate-ier for me. On a scale of 1-5, about a 3.9.

Vanilla, saffron, and cream. Had been on the lookout for an imp of this -- wasn't ready to commit to a bottle -- since reading the "cream soda" comps and snagged a small lot in which it was included on eBay. Obviously it was VERY well aged. The label shows it was decanted by "Calixnoir." I won't say I had really high hopes, despite my desire to try it ... I know that cream tends to go horribly wrong on me and vanilla can go either way. IN THE IMP: Oh bad cream. Milk Moon-ishly sour. But there's also another component that rises behind it which is familiar, really familiar, but to my early-morning brain I can't quite make the connection. Dabbed on my wrist and in the crook of my arm ... I often get different notes amping and even different drydowns there. WET: The sour note that was so prevalent in the bottle calms down immediately upon application and at first it's just sweet vanilla, but then there's that familiar kick again ... and to me, it's not mint at all (mint is another note that goes HORRIBLE on me), it's sassafras and I smell like a root beer float. That is a good thing. DRYDOWN: As it dries, the saffron-lovely-saffron rises and adds a middle-eastern medicinal note to the sweet root beer. It reminds me a LOT of my beloved Scherezade. The scents are markedly different on my wrist -- where it stays sweet and cream soda-y, and in the crook of my arm where it is full-on medicinal root beer float. That latter scent is FABBBBBBOOOOOOO. OVERALL: I would try to find a big bottle except that there are clearly different "versions" out there and I wouldn't want to commit unless I knew I was getting that "medicinal root beer note" version. I'd sum this up, in the crook of my arm, as root-beer-scented Scherezade. On a scale of 1-5, about a 3 on my wrist but a 5 in the crook of my arm. From here on in, I'll just apply it on the sweaty points.

Acquired a sought-after partial in a swap. IN THE IMP: Sweet and spicy as expected. I'd say more cake/frosting than cupcakes per se but that's totally subjective. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: I'm getting something I associate with "nutty" in the top mix here ... it could actually be buttery or even burnt sugar. I don't want to go as far as to say caramel because it recedes pretty quickly. But I am getting that aspect of the sweetness -- buttercream frosting, I guess -- than the cake. And I'm not really getting a cheesecake vibe. DRYDOWN: This is very mild and sweet. I like it. It goes sort of syrupy as it dries. I never actually get a cheesecake smell from it per se, to my nose. It makes me think "Halloweenie" scent. OVERALL: I am glad I got this and I like it and will use up the imp but I wouldn't buy a big bottle because it's just not something I could see wearing much. I think I would like it more in a body scrub or bath oil. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Received as an extra imp in a swap. For this I am forever grateful. I would never have ordered it based on description or without notes. IN THE IMP: The first "note" that hits me is that ineffable "medicinal" scent which is one of my favorite BPAL scents even if I'm not 100% sure what it is. Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: This is awesomeness in a bottle. Medicinal yet also spicy hot cinnamon. I am not getting the "nutty" others have mentioned at all. And I'm not really reading it as earthy either. More like cinnamon crossed with some sort of resin or wood ... I keep wanting to say there is frankincense in here but my nose may be deceiving me ... maybe amber? DRYDOWN: The amazing wet scent simply gets better and better as it dries. I am physically unable to stop huffing my arm and am very glad I'm in the privacy of my home office because I'd look like a loon if I were in public. OVERALL: I am eternally grateful for having been gifted with it and it has immediately gone on my big bottle WAAAAANTTTT list. On a scale of 1-5, a rare 5

Received an imp of this as an extra in a swap. It is not something I EVER would have picked out for myself to order because I don't wear booze well. IN THE IMP: Sweet, warm almonds with a spicy kick. NO trace of rum for me on first sniff. At first I think it may be toooo almondy-sweet to try but it is so interesting I forge on. Dabbed on wrist. I don't have the guts to go for the crook of my arm. WET: Verrrrrrrrrrrry cinnamony. Like red hots. It's shockingly ... absolutely nummy!!! DRYDOWN: This gets even better on the drydown. The clove and cinnamon is just awesome on me. It makes me want to dance around to "Cravo e Canela" (a Brazilian song that translates as "Clove and Cinnamon"). NO booze. NO aquatic. Wow. OVERALL: I am ecstatic. An absolute keeper. <3 On a scale of 1-5, a 4.6

Received as a decant in a swap. IN THE IMP: It's too "busy" for me to define any of the notes in this from the sniff but it is interesting. Dabbed on wrist cautiously. WET: Sadly, WAY too much wine amps on me right away and makes me queasy from the get-go. Funny how much I LOVE to drink it, but just can't wear it. DRYDOWN: I can't get to it. The winey winey wine makes it a washoff. ON a scale of 1-5, a 1.

Got six testers from the stocking series in a lot on eBay. IN THE IMP: Deep cocoa. A very rich dark chocolate. Dabbed on wrist. WET: Strong chocolate, maybe semi-sweet, with a boozy component. I generally LOVE BPAL chocolate scents but boozy notes don't work on me. DRYDOWN: I really liked the chocolate but for some reason, once dry, it went very soapy on me. I have no idea what note in here did that because I'm not that familiar with what comprises the blend of red velvet cake, but whatever it was ruined it for me. OVERALL: I don't really get "cream cheese frosting" or anything here. I'm not really sure what it is on drydown. It's ... odd. It's not what I expected. It's not terrible or anything, it just doesn't seem to work for me. On a scale of 1-5, a 2.

Picked up six tester scents from this release on eBay. IN THE IMP: Definitely much more gingerbread than honey. Dabbed on wrist. WET: Strongly gingerbread and only minimally honey at the beginning. It is sweet, though. Pretty much a WYSIWYG but there is also something else lurking in the background that I can't put my finger on which I think may be a tad boozy, and that would fit the series. DRYDOWN: Odd. Pleasant but a little ... salty? Herbal? I know no one's mentioned this so it could simply be my own weird body chemistry but I am getting a note that reminds me a little bit of chicken soup. There was a proto from awhile back, either Nine Mysteries or Obeah I think, where I also got a chicken soup mix. I am thinking it could be one of the spices in the gingerbread that reacts this way on me. OVERALL: This may be the nicest of the batch on my skin but it's not really me. On a scale of 1-5, a 3.

Since I LOVED the scent of the Blueberry Peppermint in the bath oil tester I received, I couldn't resist bidding on a tester lot of six of the Stocking scents that included this. I had forgotten that mint is a note of doom on me, though I adore it as a real-life scent and flavor. IN THE IMP: Totally full-on blue mint, like mouthwash, Very bracing and eye-opening. Would be a great sinus-clearer. Dabbed into crook of arm (wrists still wearing other scents from earlier in the day). WET: The blueberry creeps in so it smells like a sweet mint. Not awful. The bath oil, to me, smells better because it doesn't have the reaction my skin has to the scent (blergy). My thinking, while this is wet, is that while I know this is a no-go on me as a scent, it might make a great tester-sniffie to use in my steamshower's aromatherapy well. DRYDOWN: Sadly, this goes just horribly, horribly wrong on me on drydown. And I'm not sure if it's even the mint that's the culprit. I tend to not like fruity notes with the exceptions of pink grapefruit and fig (I couldn't even try on the Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie scent, the raspberry was so repellent) so it could very well be the blueberry ... but whatever it is, it's just rancid on me. I smell like an old lady. I can't even take the chance that this will be the case in the steamshower, so instead all six of the testers will go onto my special "tester package take 'em all" list when I update my swap list next month. Le sigh. OVERALL: Well, I am really glad I got to try it because based on how much I like the bath oil, I might have bought a bottle if it was re-released. On a scale of 1-5, a 1.

Got an imp of this in a small lot I bought on eBay. Disclaimer: I'm not a big fan of strawberry-scented blends but there have been two -- Pink Moon 2005 and Malkuth -- that I could stomach so I was curious about this one. Not optimistic but certainly willing to try. IN THE IMP: Not sure how many Philosophy 3-in-1 shower gel fans there are here, but a few years ago they had a limited edition set available on QVC that included a scent called Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries. You can still find it sometimes on eBay, Amazon.com, etc. I still have some. And this smells EXACTLY like that. I think the chocolate in the Philosophy shower gel is supposed to be milk chocolate but it's not really definable. And I don't have the nose to discern which kind of chocolate it is. Dabbed on wrist. WET: Yup. This is that. MUCH more strawberry than chocolate but a strawberry that I actually like. Like the Strawberry Shortcake dolls. And like, to me, the sauce you get on strawberry shortcakes or sundaes. Probably because the chocolate is giving it that sweetness, but to me it's still a sweet strawberry more than a chocolate-y strawberry if that makes sense. It's also got a little pungency to it. DRYDOWN: Not a long laster on me. But the tart/sweet mix is very nice and works well for my nose. OVERALL: I would not buy a big bottle of this or wear it regularly for one reason. My husband HATES the smell of the Philosophy gel so I can be pretty sure he wouldn't like this either. He thinks it smells like barf in the bathroom after I take a bubble bath with that gel. So since I have a nice 4-oz. bottle of the gel that I take with me when I travel (dual bubble bath and shampoo), my plan is to use the rest of this imp and make lotion that I can wear with the gel/shampoo when I'm away and he's not there. Hee. On a scale of 1-5, about a 3.5. It's not for everyone and it's pretty strong but it's really interesting and cool.

Got an imp of this in a swap and was very excited to try it. I had never tried ANY of the Box of Chocolate blends, oddly enough, but I love Beth's chocolate and cocoa notes. IN THE IMP: Sugary sweet light violet. I am not getting what I think of as a "chocolate" note per se, but that could be because white chocolate is simply different from the usual chocolate or cocoa. Dabbed on wrist. WET: It smells almost exactly the same on my skin as it does in the imp and that's not a bad thing. It's really lovely, super nice. Just sweetness (but not cloying nauseating sweetness, pure light sugar candied sweetness) and candied violets. I have never eaten candied violets but I imagine this is the olfactory equivalent of what they'd taste like. DRYDOWN: Light, delicate, sweet violets. Sorry for the department of redundancy department. Consciously I am not getting ANY chocolate vibe from this but it is more than possible that the white chocolate is simply part of what I am sniffing as "sweet sweet sweetness." OVERALL: I really, really like this. I don't think I'd buy a full bottle but would not turn down more imps. I think it would make a GREAT BPTP bath oil or bubble bath -- that I'd buy. Light and delicate and subtle. It's something I'd wear when I feel like singing "I Enjoy Being A Girl" (what, you don't go around singing that?) ... I sometimes read posts from people asking for suggestions of a scent to buy for a tween/teen girl they want to get into BPAL and now that I've smelled this, I would definitely post next time and suggest looking for this. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

I would never have ordered this myself because it has "note of doom" peach in it, but it was part of a small lot of imps I purchased on eBay and I am bound and determined to try EVERYTHING that comes my way for the sake of anal-retentiveness. IN THE IMP: Sadly but not unexpectedly, peach is the overriding note to my squeamish nose. Dabbed onto one wrist. WET: Happily, this is not as deadly once applied to my skin. I think this is because honey has a tendency to amp on me big-time, maybe even more than peach and other icky stone fruits (icky to my nose, but among my favorites to eat, go figure). So the sweetness of the honey offsets or at least lessens the more nauseating (to me) sweetness of the peach. Plus, another big amper for me is patchouli (love) and in this case that REALLY helps balance out the blend for me. DRYDOWN: The patchouli, honey and cocoa make up for the peach to a big degree for me, and the patchouli in particular gives the scent a surprising crispness and balance. OVERALL: Crazy as it sounds, this blend reminds me a lot of nursery school -- a combination of paste (patchouli) and fruit juice. Unlike most nursery schools, we did NOT have milk and cookies because it was an orthodox synagogue nursery school (we're not orthodox but it was a great nursery school). Ironic, since the blend name is Hebrew. This will go in the swap pile but it was not the disaster on my I had feared. On a scale of 1-5, about a 2.5

I got an imp of this as part of a small (and ridiculously cheap, not sure how it slid by!!!) lot on eBay which I had bid on specifically for another imp and a BPTP goblin squirt. But the anal-retentive part of me insisted on test-driving even the scents that I had not actively sought, and even though I suspected they might not work. What we do for love and science. IN THE IMP: Not unpleasant (I say this because honestly, of all the notes, ONLY the amber is one that I consider a "me" note). Floral, rich, complex, rosy, creamy. Applied just to my wrist (test-driving both of the unknown quantity imps from this purchase and didn't want to go all-out with crooks of arms in case they really were disasters on me). WET: The immediate reaction was ugh. The second was blerg. I got an immediate queasy reaction and was SURE there was something fruity in there though nothing was listed. Perhaps it was one of the unspecified "opaline notes"? Definitely smelled the rose but it wasn't super strong. I couldn't place the ozone. I got no amber at all when wet. It screamed "wash me off" but I held out. It's complex and confusing ... DRYDOWN: I'm glad I held out because it definitely improved as it dried. Whatever the note was that was making me physically queasy evaporated quite quickly. And in its place, the amber amped up and did a nice job, for me, of evening out the sweetness. Dry, I'd assess this as primarily rose and amber. OVERALL: Definitely goes onto my swap list, but it was NOT, in the end, a strict wash-off (though I did wash it off since I just showered, LOL). Still haven't figured out the mystery fruity note. On a scale of 1-5, a 2ish. But when wet it would have been a 1 so that's not that bad.

Received as part of the lovely TTP's decant circle. Worth noting in advance that normally I would NEVER have ordered this because it has almost exclusively mildly deal-breaking notes of doom. However, I really wanted to go whole hog on this particular decant circle and try things I might not have tried otherwise, figuring I can always put things that don't work on my swap list. And this was the one I most expected to be a "does not work" for me. IN THE IMP: I honestly don't have words to define this. It's much simpler and cleaner than I would have expected by the list of notes in the blend. I'm getting vanilla but in a clean, dry linen way, not a sweety-sweet way. And no fruit or booze in the imp throw for me. Dabbed somewhat cautiously on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: Upon application, the fruit amps up as I expected (and I am not a fruit girl at all unless it's pink grapefruit or fig). The mandarin, cognac and apple blossom are the notes that are most evident to me. Yet it's not terrible. It's very complex but it doesn't have that "department store" component. DRYDOWN: And just the mere fact that I don't feel the need to wash it off is a huge "yay"!!! There's also something as it dries down which is salty/peppery -- I figure is probably the caramelized tobacco. OVERALL: While this scent is not for me, it is yet another example, in my opinion, of Beth's amazing virtuosity. She takes what is, in essence, an absolute feast of all of these different categories -- sweet food, flowers, fruit, booze, etc. -- and makes it a truly unified blend. It's not MY blend, but it's a great one. On a scale of 1-5, a 3 just for its amazingness in that respect.