kjirstiben

Wow. This was a shock to the system. I'd been working through the 2009 chocolate box, taking notes for reviews, used to the idea that all of them turn bad on my skin because I can't wear candy notes. But this is in a league of its own. Actually--it reminds me of Gluttony and my reaction to that scent. It's a heavy, smoky, slightly sweet boozy caramel, and as it dries it amps to powerful levels. It's got almost a coffee-like dark bitterness and the smoky caramel reads as almost savory. This is too strong for my tastes, particularly on a warm day, so I went and washed it off. Glad I tried it, but I won't be wearing it again!

Continuing the rundown of my sweet scent disasters (the chocolate box of 2009 was what really showed me that I couldn't do the chocolate scents), this was initially sort of a buttery light chocolatey scent--white chocolate, without a doubt--layered over a sort of fruity-floral scent that I can easily recognize as violet, but a juicy sugared violet. As it dried down, it turned into a very nice smooth white chocolate melded with violet, overlaid with an acrid sour-dusty-stale topnote that my skin can pull out of most candy scents. I can see that I would have liked it, had it worked, and it's very true to the name. Edited because my auto-correct sneakily stuck in "topknot" in place of "topnote"

Autumn leaves scattered among blades of grass. This was a bottle from my second BPAL order ever (2008 Halloweenies), and I'm surprised by it. When I tried it on back then, I remember thinking, "Yeah, smells like fresh-mowed grass," then there wasn't much more to say. But since then I've learned that most grassy (hay, etc.) notes turn into something acrid and scorched on my skin. I came back to this fully expecting that to happen when I skin tested it today. I got fresh-cut grass… that really stayed grassy. Indeed, at a couple points, this almost had a wildflower-like note to it. Very pleasant, very fresh, and it lasted for hours, eventually drying down to a "clean" scent. I think this might be a nice one to layer with florals, to ground them or make them a little more casual… A really fun scent! I'm glad I tried it again. Edited to add scent description.

When I first put it on, the metallics (ozone?) really took over, and I'm not partial to those--too much like a guy's cologne. However, as it dried down, a sweetness of--I think--the anise emerged as a counterpoint, which really counteracted the "man-cologne" initial impression I got. The two blend together into a smooth, indeed polished, scent. I keep getting the impression of "aquatic" from it which I know can't be right, but it reminds me of a "spring rain" type scent. As it continues to metamorphose, the frankincense emerges and adds another confounding factor (for me). See, I love frankincense--even in a scent where I don't love anything else, frankincense can save it. I think that's what's happening here… As far as I can tell, I don't get the leather note at all. I suspect my skin may eat leather, or maybe it's part of what reads as "man-cologne" to me. Overall, it's not bad, but it's not great, either. And since I have a powerful love for No. 93 Engine, which has some of the better features of this one in common (frankincense!), I don't imagine I'll be reaching for this often in the future.

My first thought was that El Dorado smelled like guys' deodorant--granted, it was a little overpowering while it was still drying down. Over time, the vaguely Old Spice-y character of it (I think that's the copal?) stayed with me throughout the day. I think I'd like this on a guy, but it bothered me to smell it on myself. That said, the copal resin stays remarkably consistent, going from a slightly cologney beginning (the "halls of gold"?) to a warm, spicy sun-baked scent. It smells good, but very, very masculine (and a little goes a long way).

Sigh. I've been obsessed with the "rose-infused amber" part of this description and really, really wanted this scent to work. Sadly, however, it really doesn't play nicely with my skin. In the bottle this is a blast of rose scent, but on my skin it disappears almost immediately into a salty, metallic aquatic. I'd imagine that's the tears and gold talking. The aquatic blasts for an hour or so (strong throw) until it's overtaken by something bitter/scorched smelling... and that would be my skin doing its thing with the straw scent. (This happens to me with anything in the "grassy" family, much to my chagrin.) What's so frustrating is that, underneath the scorched smell, I can make out the loveliness that would be the rose-infused amber. On me, it's more a soft amber with very little rose. Interestingly, I got little to no rose out of this scent the entire time I wore it. I guess it really depends on your skin chemistry! Oh well, chalk one up to a learning experience, and I'll know to avoid hay, straw, grass, and so on in the future.

Mmmm... so good! This one has the effect, almost, of rose-flavored whipped frosting. At least on my (somewhat quixotic, chemistry-wise) skin... (after all, how many people get semi-foody out of "crystalline"?) In the bottle this is very rosey, and while the description says red roses I get white rose out of it, much like (as others have mentioned) Katrina Van Tassel or White Rose. On my skin it quickly becomes sweet, and I want to say powdery but it's more like powdered sugar than talcum powder. A few hours later, I have a lovely sweet-rose scent lingering very close to my skin. I think one could easily slather this without overpowering anyone!

Moscow is a gorgeous floral. I'd had concerns about one or more of the flower notes amping (jasmine... I'm looking at you!), but the combination was balanced and unbelievably pretty. It was a bit strong initially (I'll have to apply with a very light hand in the future, to avoid headaches), but after an hour or so turned into a beautiful scent experience. Very much the smell of burying your nose in a huge bouquet of beautiful hothouse blooms. This stayed true to itself--floral, green, almost wet-smelling--all day long, without metamorphosing into something weird (the way so many scents seem to on my tricky skin). Truly a lovely scent, and exactly the kind of floral that I've been seeking as a summer scent. Though it does seem odd that this feels so summer-appropriate--shouldn't Moscow be a wintry thing?

Grand, courtly and robust: a glittering, golden scent that would do Louis XIV proud. Gilded red and gold citrus with amber, ruby roses, jasmine and orris. This is a sweet, warm, gilded citrus-floral scent. In its wet phase, Versailles is all heady florals (perhaps too much so for my tastes), but when applied with a light touch it does tone down into a lovely scent. The amber in it is not prominent, except for hours (and hours--more like the next day) after application, as a fuzzy warm scent. I was surprised by how well the citrus stuck around in the scent; as soon as the florals had calmed down (took an hour or so), the blend was very much red-gold citrus-floral. And very sweet. Reminiscent of sunlight streaming in windows from high above, illuminating hazy floating dust in the palace corridors. Very evocative and very nice.

This is a tropical floral with a deep green backdrop... very reminiscent of steamy Southern nights. I have to use a light touch with it in order to keep the jasmine in check, but having done so, this is truly wonderful. A glorious floral-green tropical wash of summery scent. I've been wary of jasmine after a couple bad experiences--this has given me some hope for the florals after all!

Wow--this was almost scarily high-pitched floral for a few moments after putting it on. Thankfully it mellowed out over time. Oleander Honey is a sharper, and as one reviewer mentioned, more bitter herbal floral mixed with the honey of this blend. When the oleander initially takes over (during its wet phase) it's a little overwhelming, but when it calms down this is a very sweet honey-floral scent, with a hint of lurking bitterness in the background. Not sure if it's a winner for me--I can definitely see where we're getting the soap connection, though it would have to be an expensive floral soap.

To me, this was less jasmine and more reminiscent of a beloved pikake perfume that I bought long ago on vacation in Hawaii. Definitely tropical blooms, no matter what. After having read the reviews above, I was worried that this would be an overwhelming cloud of jasmine on me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that after the initial blast when it was wet, this quieted down beautifully, tempered into sweetness by the honey. On me it's mostly (tropical) floral with a touch of honey. Very lovely, and a good summer scent--this would feel right on a warm, humid night.

(bump) I've found that "green" scents are my most troublesome scent family. I can do evergreen, but put me in grassy/leafy (herbal?) or--shudder--aquatic territory, and within an hour or sometimes less, it develops a bitter, scorched and unpleasant overtone. (This is a skin chemistry issue that has plagued me since I tried a scent called "Freesia" in college from Bath and Body Works. Great on my cousin, horrible on me!) The "snow" note, in particular, seems to have had a helping hand in ruining many a blend that I had such high hopes for... sigh. On the other hand, the evergreens are just wonderful for me. In particular, I've loved: Golden Priapus Illustrated Woman Nero Has anyone else had this "greens" problem? Any recommendations for other outside-the-box green scents that might be OK? (dandelion, for instance, seems to stay true on me) What about other evergreen scents?

Mostly pine when I first put it on, this scent is a different side of pine than I usually smell. It's more of a "brown-smelling", woodsy pine, rather than a sharp, green version. As it dries down, it turns into an amber-pine mix that is lovely and sweet with a little honey underneath, and as it continues to develop, I have a warm, sweet honeyed amber that is delightful. This has no bad stages and I like all the notes, and because it has amber in it, I foresee it getting better over time… what's not to love? Recaplet: Warm, sweet, honeyed amber after a woodsy pine start. My rating: 5 of 5 (I LOVE IT!!!) Color impression: Warm clear light brown.

Going on, The School-House is grassy with dandelions. It stays that way through the drydown, with remarkably little metamorphosing. As time goes on, it continues to be green, weedy, and plant-like, then eventually fades into a dandelion faintness. Very nice, true to its original character, and simple. Recaplet: Green grass and dandelions throughout. My rating: 3 of 5 (Nice enough.) Color impression: Grass-green and yellow.

This scent goes on sweet and a little musty (which has to be the wool note), and stays that way for quite a while. Around the four hour mark, I started to get a funny "scorched" smell from it, with a musty quality… very reminiscent of burnt hair (ick!). Thankfully, that was a short-lived mini-stage, and the scent became more of a dusty smell, then virtually disappeared. The end stage is a faint, smoky beeswax. It's a very nice scent at this point, but not worth hours of musty wool--I could get a pure beeswax scent from Hanerot Halalu, much more easily. Recaplet: Sweet musty wool with a nice beeswax endstage. My rating: 1 of 5 (I'm not fond of it.) Color impression: Charcoal gray.

Initially applied, this scent is pure peppermint with some softness--maybe vanilla--underneath. Drying down, the peppermint is still there, but something less pleasant emerges--something plasticky and burnt-smelling. Or maybe burnt plastic. Yes, around the half-hour mark, this turns into a scorched plasticky-smelling scent, with oddly some sweet peppermint lingering around the outside edges, and it dries down through several weird plasticky-sweet stages, ending up smelling a bit like candy-scented plastic in its endstage. I think it's safe to say that something in here doesn't like my skin chemistry--this went appallingly bad and stayed so. However, since I liked the scent when it was far away from my skin, I may try it in a locket. Recaplet: Scorched peppermint candy plastic (eeek!). My rating: 1 of 5 (I'm not fond of it.) Color impression: Pale green and white stripes.

This goes on with a strong beer and blood scent, but dries down stronger on blood than beer. It's a very pungent scent, and quite stable on my skin. As time goes on, it continues to be a slightly metallic, boozy and pungent smell, slightly sour, but intentionally sour (as opposed to sour because it went bad on my skin chemistry). Definitely appropriate to the concept--however, not really a scent I'm keen to project around me. Recaplet: Metallic and boozy--beer and blood consistently. My rating: 2 of 5 (Meh.) Color impression: Dried blood red-brown.

Initially on, this is loamy dirt. The first time I tried it, I swear it smelled just like fresh mushrooms to me, though on consecutive wearings it's more like real dirt--but loamy, rich dirt. As it dries down, this becomes really, really light, and what was rich and wet-smelling becomes dustier in character. It turns very gritty and dry over the next couple hours, then fades away completely. What a fun and unusual scent! Probably not something I'll wear often, but it's perfect for what it's supposed to portray. A perfect Halloween scent, and has potential for layering. Recaplet: Wet dirt, then dusty, gritty dirt. My rating: 3 of 5 (Nice enough.) Color impression: Gray-brown.

When I first put it on, this smelled strongly of neroli (bitter white floral) with a soft peach underneath. Neroli is obviously one of those florals that amps on me… it is making its presence known from the first second it touched my skin. There is, however, a sweetness that I can barely smell underneath it. After a while, I have a sweet honey-peach scent on me, once the neroli (not soon enough) recedes to the back of the scent. This is a floral, peach, honey scent, without too much metamorphosing, once the neroli stops amping to screaming levels on me. I think it would be nice on someone else, but due to the problems I have with neroli (and to some extent with peach), this just isn't the scent for me. Sigh. Recaplet: Screaming floral, then peach with honey--never quite works. My rating: 1 of 5 (I'm not fond of it.) Color impression: Peach and cream.

When I first put it on, this is a lightweight fruit-candy scent. Upon drydown, however, it turns sour on me (a number of sweet scents do this on me). But just when I think all is lost and the scent is a wash, the sour stage ends, and on the other side is a tart hard candy scent. It's much fainter at this point, but a clearer scent. Over time, it becomes fainter and fainter to the point where I eventually don't smell it anymore. This only lasts about half a day on me. Recaplet: Fruity hard candy that lasts a half day. My rating: 2 of 5 (Meh.) Color impression: Hard-candy pink.

Initially applied, this scent smells just like spiced cider. Over time, it mellows and its components smooth together, so the apple, spices, and such aren't distinguishable from one another. In its later stages, there's a certain soapiness about it at times, but not in a bad way. This is a good, warm, cidery comfort scent. Great for autumn and winter. Recaplet: Spiced cider that mellows over time. My rating: 3 of 5 (Nice enough.) Color impression: Apple cider brown.

Going on, this is a rich brown sugar scent, and it remains so during its drydown. Unfortunately, it goes sour after a while, but this seems to be a transitional stage, because it pulls back out of the sour territory and goes back to being a brown sugar scent, now with a whiff of fruit somewhere. Over time, it turns into a subtle brown sugar scent with a hint of… perhaps pineapple… along with it. Recaplet: Brown sugar, with eventually a touch of fruit. My rating: 2 of 5 (Meh.) Color impression: The pale brown of brown sugar.

Initially, this was a light sweet floral, and as it dried down, it deepened into a full-blown gardenia scent. It continued on as a single-note gardenia for about three hours, at which point I started to get a hint of honey, and a faint papery trace in the background. Oddly, one hour after that, the floral note had completely disappeared, leaving a "clean" scent behind it. Not soap so much as the clean scent left behind after you've washed away the soap. An interesting scent experience--I'm still trying to decide what I think about it. But the gardenia is really pretty, and this goes through no nasty phases. Recaplet: Four hours of gardenia, then clean skin. My rating: 3 of 5 (Nice enough.) Color impression: Gardenia white.

Initially on, this smells just like baking coconut, the shredded kind you get in plastic bags, sweetened and ready to toast on top of baked goods. As it dries down, the white chocolate emerges and smoothes out the scent. Over time, the coconut fades out and it is all about marshmallows and white chocolate--smooth, creamy, and sweet… And sweet… and sweet… and sweet… This never toned down over the course of a LONG day at work. It's lovely, but maybe too rich and sweet for me to wear on a regular basis! Delightful, though, and probably a good base for layering with something more floral or herbal to cut the sweetness a bit. Recaplet: A super-sweet, smooth and creamy confection. My rating: 3 of 5 (Nice enough.) Color impression: Creamy white.