crebbsgirl

I was very wary of this scent, as I have had a lot of trouble with mandarin notes in the past. I needn't have worried. This is a truly beautiful blend. It's a very complex scent, and I almost can't distinguish individual notes. It's a spicy, floral, sweet blend. The rose is predominant on me, but I'm actually liking it. (Which is odd for me, given my general distaste for all things floral). I think because it's deepened by the saffron and amber. All in all, I'm really enjoying this one.

Pure internal harmony and spiritual bliss: the perfected meditation blend. What the heck happened here? In the bottle... beautiful. It was everything the more positive reviews were saying - sensuous, comfortable, warm and inviting. I had seriously high hopes for this. It was all sandalwoody goodness. And then, I put it on. After about 10 minutes of yummy something started smelling... odd. I sniffed around my entire office before reluctantly putting my nose to my wrist. Yup, that smell... was coming from me. Somehow, it went from cozy warm goodness - to Play-Doh. To the swaps pile it is!

This was all lavender in the bottle, but once I put it on my skin... WOW! The lavender quickly settles into the background and the nag champa, sandalwood and tobacco come out. The nag champa especially tempers the lavender, making it far less astringent than usual. Over all this is a very smooth blend. Beautiful and not too heavy. I would almost swear there was a hint of leather in there. Definitely a big bottle purchase. This works well in the summer, but I can see it holding it's own in the colder months as well.

Honestly, this is the only scent that confuses me. One day I wear it and it's a lush wondrous experience of jasmine and magnolia and amber. One day I wear it and it turns all room-deodorizer-floral on me. This is the only scent I've had such passionate reactions to. I wore it to a dinner at an Indian restaurant and a guy I was chatting with told me it was intoxicating and exotic. That same night someone else asked if I had been cleaning the carpets? So weird. I'll keep this around, but it's always a guessing game when I wear it.

Alright I have no idea what happened here. In the bottle, everything was wonderful. The lavender, orange and almond are all playing nice. You can smell the bergamot and mint sort of floating around there too. On my skin - something smells like play-doh. I'm not kidding.

I was very wary of this, as it was frimped to me in my last package and I have a notoriously rough time with florals and fruits. When I uncapped the imp - oh man - all fruit. I bit the bullet and applied it though and wow! I was shocked. This may be the first fruit BPAL I can wear! It smells delicious. The florals don't overpower and the fruit isn't cloying in the slightest. It almost smells a little like candy, but nothing super sugary. Unfortunately, it wore off in about 4 hours.

I was rather surprised at this one. I am not a fan of florals by any stretch of the imagination but this one was absolutely breathtaking. Even on my skin! It was subtle but still noticeable (if that makes sense). The rose didn't come out at all for me - which may be why I liked it so much. But the jasmine and black orchid were blending beautifully with the musk and sandalwood. I'm not sure if the osmanthus was present or not, but I suspect it was as there seemed to be a dimension to this one that I couldn't quite pin down. All in all, a wonderful scent.

Alright, I am now convinced that fruit and I do not get along. In the bottle, this was beautiful, red and delicious smelling. On my wrist however, this morphed into something I can only describe as rancid. I let a friend of mine try it on and it smelled beautiful on her - this is the same friend I gave my imp of Carnal to, so I think I just need to admit to myself that fruit is not for me. Darn.

In the bottle this is a light floral, pretty and sweet. On my skin this turns into a heady blend that I would associate with walking through a greenhouse. It's not necessarily overbearing, but it is hot and damp and floral. I think it's the jasmine and honeysuckle. I can't really smell the buttercup at all. Overall, surprisingly I really like the damp greenhouse-ness of it. But I don't think this would be an everyday scent for me.

This is a wonderful scent. In the bottle it is rich and enchanting, spicy and truly lovely. On my skin it settles into a somewhat familiar scent I can't quite put my finger on. The carnation and musk really blend well together and the sandalwood peeks out every now and again. It may be a little reminiscent of Samsara by Guerlain. But I may be right out to lunch on that. Definitely a keeper.

In the bottle this is wonderful. The carnation adds a spicy kick to the sweet pea and water lily. I got this because someone said it smelled like Lush's Potion, which I love but can't wear because I seem to be allergic to their solid perfumes. On me, this smelled nothing like Potion. All I can smell is sweet pea. The carnation seems to have disappeared.

The mint definitely takes a front row seat here. The aquatic notes sort of stay in the background for the duration. This is a really interesting scent. I'm not normally one for light, fresh smells but this one is intriguing. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long on my skin, and by midday, it had disappeared altogether.

White tea really stood out once I put it on. The carnation and rose faded into a supporting role. This is a very light scent. It left my skin after about 4 hours. I typically like more "Oomph" in my scents.

This had a lot of promise for me, but unfortunately once on it developed an overly-sweet vibe that I couldn't quite place. Cloying almost. I think it may have been the olive blossom paired with the vanilla, but I can't be sure. It was much too much for me though.

On me, this turned all rose. I was hoping the sandalwood would take more of a dominant role, but it didn't. Instead this became a very intense floral. It was alright for me, but as I'm not a fan of florals, I think I'll have to pass.

This was a beautiful blend, I will have to order it again as my imp got stolen It reminded me a little of O, but more floral. It settled close to the skin, and was a warm and delicious scent. The honey and sandalwood made for an entoxicating combo.

Simply put, this did NOT agree with me. I normally like violet, and vetiver and I have had a tumultuous relationship but we get along more often than not. This blend, however, disagreed violently with me. This was possibly the sharpest scent I have ever tried, and I like my scents smoother, more languorous. This was decidedly in-your-face violet and vetiver.

I was mildly wary of this because sometimes vetiver just doesn't work on me. This blend was beautiful though. Light, and stayed close to the skin. The sandalwood and neroli were beautiful here. I'm not usually one for the lighter scents, but this made the big bottle list.

In the bottle, this is screaming patchouli!!! Almost to the point where I'm frightened to actually put it on. However, once I did, was I ever glad! The orange blossom came seemingly out of nowhere to temper this. It turned absolutely beautiful. It didn't seem to last very long for me unfortunately, but it was a sexy and sophisticated scent while it did last.

Carnal and I did not get along. At all. In fact, I feel like we got into a big fight and will never speak again. It was bad. In the bottle, it smelled delicious. Sparkly mandarin mellowed by earthy fig. Wonderful. On my skin, it turned a little sickly sweet. And then... the mandarin whacked me over the head and just kept hitting. The fig came out for a little while, but the mandarin beat it into submission. I really wanted to like this because I love Lush's Figs and Leaves soap. I have come to suspect that I cannot wear fruity notes. I think I may just have to make my peace with that.

Well, I can definitely see why this is one of the most popular scents. All I smell is spicy vanilla-ness. Now normally, I don't enjoy vanilla in perfume, but this is quite nice. I think I like it because it reminds me of O. It offers the same slightly powdery, spicy vibe. Thoroughly enjoyable! ETA: Alright so I ended up swapping this shortly after I got it. I wasn't reaching for it nearly enough. But that was before I knew about aging. I finally managed to get my hands on a decant of SO that had been aged a year. The difference is astounding. This is a much more complex and smokey scent than the fresh version. Amazing.

I truly adore this scent. The honey, vanilla and amber combine to make a thoroughly enjoyable blend. On the skin it's almost a little powdery, but it never quite gets there. It reminds me of warm skin, mussed sheets, and sunshine. It's almost impossible to keep your wrists away from your nose.

This is another favourite, which is a little surprising given my curious affair with patchouli. I really can't stand patchouli on its own; but I'm discovering I tend to realy enjoy it in blends. The orange blossom, patchouli and ginger are all beautifully balanced here. This is an incredibly sexy scent, perfect for a night on the town.

Here is what I learned from trying Blood Kiss: my skin does NOT like cherries. This turned so utterly sickly sweet on my skin it was near unbearable. I think the cloves may have made it worse. I so desperately wanted to like this one because usually, I really enjoy poppy, honey and musk scents.

This is a deep floral that I surprisingly love. I think it must be the sandalwood, musk and neroli combo with the violets. In the bottle, this was mostly violets for me, but on my skin it mellowed and was tempered by the musk. I didn't ever get the iris so much. It's a little sharper than your average floral, which is why I suspect I like this. It's a very unusual and complex scent, and thoroughly enjoyable.