gingersnapp

I prefer the throw from this oil significantly more than sticking my nose to my skin. Up close, this is fairly off-putting. It's very spicy, perhaps from the ambergris, and just sharp and biting. The throw, however, is really comforting. It's kind of a my-SO-got-out-of-bed-but-I-can-still-smell-them-on-the-sheets kind of smell. Musky, yes. Spicy, somewhat. A very "skin" smell. The longer I wear this, the more it grows on me.

This is warm and sweet and just a slightest bit perfumic. There's something very calming about this blend... a little bit herbal. But the warmth is golden and reminds me of honey or amber or saffron. I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but it's very beautiful and calming, yet somewhat empowering.

Mmmm, rich, spicy, dry woods. And then 10 minutes later, nothing but a slightly resinous residue. Fast fader, light scent. Sadness.

There are many notes in this blend that are usually the standouts when they are on their own with other, less dominant notes with my skin chemistry, so I was curious which of them would win the battle for my nose. This was chocolate and roses. Straight up. Very sexy and very demanding and powerful. I really like this one. ADDED Jan. 30: Hmmm. Dryer sheets? Something comforting like that. I have no idea which notes blended to give me that warm fuzzy feeling, but I kind of like it. It's not soapy or fake smelling like dryer sheets, but emotionally, this blend is having that effect on me.

Without knowing what the notes in the blend were, my nose detected the citrus immediately. At first I was positive it was orange, but then it shifted to an apple smell, and now that I see there is apricot and orange blossom in this, it makes sense to me. The white musk is more of an afterthought, or what is really holding the soft fruit and floral together. Very delicate and feminine, with a playful side.

The sweet pea was the strongest note on my skin, but there was also a fruity after-throw that must have been the pear. For some reason, I got kind of a "tanning lotion" vibe from this, which usually happens when there is coconut in the blend, but in this case I'm not quite sure what did that.

Ugh. When I applied this, it smelled like straight up rubbing alcohol. Very sharp and dry. As it dried and mellowed on my skin, it did get a little sweeter, but definitely not something I would choose to wear.

Softly spicy rose soap. I think it's the frankincense that does it to me every time. I really wanted to love Rose Cross too, because the Lab's roses are my favorite, but the incense just turns the whole thing sour and soapy on my skin.

I was very wary of this blend because vetiver(t) is my mortal enemy. I feel about vetiver the way 99% of the people on this forum feel about civet. It hates me and tries to do me mortal harm. At any rate, I decided quite some time ago that I would try every blend and this one was a gift from the Lab, so I would feel guilty just passing it along untested. I did, however, put only the slightest dab from the wand on my wrist. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. The China rain lightens and sweetens the vetivert to almost tolerable. It's still a very hard-to-like note for me, though. It's too deep and murky and for some reason I feel a lot of negativity associated with this blend. That being said, though, my face didn't feel the ten ton pressure that vetiver usually brings about. Maybe we can learn to be friends after all.

This is a sweet, but dry smell. It's very complex and well-blended, because all of the notes are working together, instead of fighting with each other for dominance. The black narcissus is the dry smell, somewhat spicy, almost peppery. It lends a bit of dusty muskiness. The orange blossoms sweeten it up just a touch, without making it overly floral or cloying. The vanilla is underlying both of those, again, adding sweetness without making it foody or overly sweet.

I know this is weird, but the throw to me, with its sweet sharpness, smells very much like honey. There is a crisp green scent underlying my phantom honey note, almost like evergreen intertwined with a soft white flower. My nose doesn't really know what to do with this blend, but I know that I really like it.

Holy red musk, Batman! In the background is the slightest hint of heliotrope adding a bit of floral to the mix, but this blend is all red musk, all the time on my skin. Which is okay, because I've found that BPAL berries don't tend to work with my chemistry all that well. In the vial, I could smell a little bit of the strawberry and black cherry... enough to make me nervous. But it's barely present on the skin. I think I'm only smelling a little bit of them because I know they're in there. That being said, there are a lot of blends with red musk that I like better than this one. Off to the swap pile.

Brisingamen is my favorite carnation. It's soft and spicy, and very beautiful. (That's in Love Potions, if you want to look at the description in the reviews.)

This disappeared minutes after I applied it. I guess I can smell the slightest bit of remnants of the red musk and maybe lilac, but it's almost entirely gone. All I smell is my skin now.

This was a sweet but dirty blend. I really loved how well the honey, fig and patchouli were blended. It's deep and warm and slight sticky sweet, but not overwhelmingly or cloyingly so. Just rich and sensual and earthy.

This one is unique on me from all the other blends that I've tried in that I smell it more / better the further away from the point that I applied it. As in... the throw is strong and I can smell it with my arms to my sides, but if I bring my wrist to my nose, I can barely smell it. Bizarre. At any rate, when I first applied this, it was a crisp spiced apple smell, almost like Apple Jacks cereal (which I love). As it dried, there's definitely more of the forest for the trees in here. I can smell the dryness of the wood and the greenness of the leaves. This is a really beautiful blend that makes me think of sunrise in an apple orchard. Calm and tranquil, with the promise of something delicious to come.

This is very creamy, sweet and musky. I've smelled a BPAL blend similar to it, and I want to say it's because of the oleander and/or magnolia. I don't get much of the mandarin other than a hint of citrus to the creaminess of this blend. It's pretty, but with a bit of a sinister edge to it.

Mmmm, this is the sweet pipe tobacco my uncle used to smoke at the holidays. This is delicious soft swirling smoke with just a touch of worn, warm leather. This is what I wanted Hearth 2004 to be, because that scent was a lot stronger and more in-your-face. This one is gently hanging in the air like the aforementioned smoke. Delicious and comforting.

This smells like those hot, buttered spiced almond vendors on the street in autumn and winter. Or at a fair. Very delicious. The honey mead and rum add a nice boozy kick to the spiced almond smell, too, as it continues to dry. I wrote this one off a little prematurely, I guess. I actually really like this one.

This is a very sweet, languid scent. I thought there was patchouli in here for sure, and maybe some myrrh, because that it what it is reminiscent of on my skin, but looking at the ingredients, I see neither of those. I'm going to have to go ahead and guess the sweet, languid thing I am smelling is the red musk. It's actually a blood-ish scent, so that makes sense. It has a little bit of a metallic tang to it like blood. I do get something herbal, but I'm not sure. Perhaps that is the "herbs in conflict." Other than that, I'm unable to individually identify the other listed notes. But this is really unique and enjoyable. Very strong and dominant.

This is just calm and slightly spicy musk. I can't really identify any of the notes, but knowing that there is white musk in here, that is readily the most identifiable. It's unobtrusive and soothing, but it also seems to be fading pretty quickly.

This has a very strong, bitter citrus scent with an underlying cold minty note. I applied it to my palm and rubbed my hands together to get some focus on what I have to get done at work today. I felt very focused and motivated for a brief burst of time, but then I started to feel.... stressed? Rushed, perhaps? I'm not sure. The oil fades quickly from my skin, and I've already reapplied it once, but it's gone again. Maybe this is why I can only focus for a short period of time and then I start to lose momentum. This would be nice for a concentrated effort, but for the long haul it didn't stay with me.

I do get a little bit of sweet pea, but the combination of flowers turns this blend into guest bathroom soap on my skin.

I was apprehensive of the vetiver, because that is the most dominant note with my skin chemistry in just about every blend, and it renders all other notes unsmellable. But there is something else in this particular blend that is tempering it quite nicely. Keeping it in check, so to speak. On my skin, this is light and masculine, somewhat spicy with a bit of a peppery punch. I would say the musk is the most prominent, but other than that, I can't really pinpoint any particular note. It's just a quiet masculine blend. Somewhat grounding, somewhat calming.

Where Rose Red is the perfect red rose, Venus is the perfect pink rose. There is just a slight touch of green stem, but it's all gorgeous, soft, beautiful, quintessential pink rose.