lysithea

Agreed. Huesos De Santo and Le Pere Fouettard are the best anise and licorice scents. It's unfortunate that they are both LE.

This was an odd combination of foody and floral. Initially, it was fruity, with a rich warm nuttiness. It almost had a chocolate feel. As soon as it started to dry it took on more floral qualities. I kept thinking that I smelled gardenias or honeysuckle - some kind of sweet floral. I did like the scent. It is complex, lush and very rich. My husband didn't care for it, however. Most of the time my skin cannot do grape or pomegrante very well. Often pomegrante will turn harsh and almost take on an acetone scent to it. That didn't quite happen this time, but I wonder if that's something he picked up on that I didn't. I plan on giving it a few more tries to see if it was just wonky skin chemistry.

Light plum with a vanillic sweetness. Wet, I can pick out a bare twinge of nutmeg. I agree that the rice helps to lend a creamy sweet underlayer to this blend. Throw is light, but it stays true. A really lovely blend.

I should know better by now. Pomegrante and I, while on friendly terms for food and edibles, do not get along in scent. This is sweet, tooth achingly so at first, with a touch of darkness from the currant. But pomegrante jumps in and turns on me. I cannot pick out pear, which is one of my favorite BPAL notes - nor the apple. However, I suspect that it is the apple that gives that fizzy feel to it.

This smells so much like the Four Seasons Inquisition L'Estate Bath Oil that I had to take a double take. This is a great general catalog replacement. Only it's dialed down a few notches and has become a more accessible and less complicated scent. It's so lovely and warm. The peach and vanilla come through the most strongly. I think that there will be lots of fans for this little beauty.

Bezoar is the most chai-like blend I have found. Still, it's kinda odd. Sniffing from the bottle, it's spicy. It smells exactly like the Classic India Spice Chai from YogiTea (the strongest spiced chai I have found). Cardamon is very present in the early/wet stages. As it dries, there is a definite creaminess/milkiness that comes through as well. I have no idea which part of the blend is coming forward at that point. At intervals, I can smell a slight woodiness (and the slightest twinge of pickleness that some have mentioned), but it stay deep and close on the skin. All in all, I am pleased to have given this a chance. Not sure if it will go into my more standard rotation, but certainly something I will reach from when I'm looking for different and unique.

Citrusy & clean without being "WHOA LEMON". It's tempered with a nice musk that keeps the blend as a whole nicely grounded offering longer wear length. The addition of currant (my favorite fruit note) was a definite plus for me. It is herbaly, bright and clean. The musk and the elusive snakeskin note almost push this into the unisex realm, but I think much would depend on individual skin chemistry as to which side of the scent equation will amp. Personally, I amp musk - so the late drydown for me is all musk all the time. Still, I think overall it is a different and interesting combination.

Initially, in the bottle this smelled odd. I can't really put my finger aas to why. Perhaps my nose was a bit wonky this morning. Anywho... There is a distinct backnote of sassafrass that was quite unexpected. I was immediately reminded of Stimulating Sassafrass Strengthener without any of the vanillic tones. As it dries, it went through very distinct floral stages on my skin. I will admit that Florentine Iris does not play well on my skin, but the woody notes kept that in check, thank goodness. I never really got the orange or white grapefruit. On late drydown, the chinese musk remains. I do find it both comforting, but sad. Very fitting for the scent and it's description.

I think you will love Fearful Pleasure. It works great on my skin, but I can totally imagine this rocking on a guy's skin as well. I can't wait to hear how you like it. I rarely buy more than a single bottle of anything, but I had to have a backup of Fearful Pleasure. :-)

In agreement on Huesos de Santos - nice lift from the anise while wet. Just wish that lovely note would stick around longer on my skin.

Soft honeyed milk and carnation are the strongest elements of this blend for me. Carnation lends a hint of spice to the mix. As it dries down, the powder comes out, but it's nice...not dusty or dry smelling powder. Just a sweet soft cuddly clean barely there kind of scent. It's definitely comforting and nurturing in feel and I think it would make a nice after bath sleepytime comfort scent. If you like scents like Alice and Dana O'Shee, definitely add this one to your collection before it's gone.

This turned sweet rose on my skin. It wasn't a true one note simply because the tobacco grounds it and keeps the rose from turning overly harsh or sour on my skin. Rose blends sometimes go wonky with my chemistry. Never quite sure which way the pendulum will swing. Overall, it was quite lovely. Certainly another fine rose based blend to add to the collection. The beeswax lends a bit of sweetness and the cocoa leaf a dusty overlay on the floral components.

Initial sniff from the bottle is orange cake - real cake, real orange - without any of the fake plasticky kinds. Wet immediately on skin, it offers me a feeling of deja vu'. Pumpkin Queen (oh, beloved!) without the pumpkin? This is but a fleeting memory as the scent of rich, velvety designer wedding cake with a hint of orange with a cool lift of anise reaches my nose. Still, I find my mouth watering for just a taste of this imaginary cake. Indeed later, the floral blooms find their way to the party, showing up late, but leaving my skin with a quiet whisper of sugar and flowers.

Blueberry initially very noticeable in Crawdad Dream - it does recede quite a bit, but does remain berry-ish until the late drydown on my skin. If you like blueberry, it is worth picking up. It ends with a vanillaesque foody skin musk with just the barest hint that there was blueberry in it. It's a rather chaotic scent overall, but really nice.

I second the rec for Hanging Gardens. Perhaps these will work as well: MACHU PICCHU Sweet tropical fruits burst through deep, wet rainforest boughs, enormous steamy blossoms, over thin mountaintop breezes, mingled with the soft, rich golden scent of Peruvian amber. MANILA A tropical, humid, lush scent, with a faint echo of Pacific breezes, jungle blossoms, and deep wet woods. Sampaguita blossoms, banana leaf, palm, and narra. PORT-AU-PRINCE Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras. R'LYEH Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. The sunken city of the Great God Cthulhu. A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves. (sometimes described as "evil grapefruit") SANTO DOMINGO An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms. SILK ROAD A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa. (spicy but not exaclty aquatic...) WINDWARD PASSAGE Breezes blowing off of the waters of the Caribbean: marine accord, seaweed, and bladderwrack.