Ajila

Wet on me this was juicy, juicy peach with the sparkly, sparkly helitrope in the background, it's so sunny and bright, it's lovely. As it dries it goes through a stage which I would have sworn was white musk. Dry this is that lovely vanilla/amber dry down that I've gotten from other blends, most noticeably O . I like this a lot, it's my favourite peach blend that I've tried so far.

Wet on me this smelt odd, my first thought was bacon, but reading the other reviews has convinced me it's olives, as I've been known to get the two mixed up in real life. It's bitter and very green. When it dried, it became quite harsh and metallic. I didn't really get on well with this, I was too put off by the smell to see any benefits from it.

So this is what ylang ylang smells like then? Wet on me it's very pretty, sweet, but sharp as well. As it dries I can see why this could be described as a skin scent. And then ... I'm sorry, but I don't find ashes particularly seductive. Something in my skin chemistry spoils this totally , I suppose it was something I wasn't likely to be wearing a lot anyway, but I'm still quite saddened.

Wet on me this is lush and fruity. I admit I have no idea where Santo Domingo is, but this brings to mind girls dancing in long grass skirts and flowers in their hair. I'm aware of the rum in the background as well. When it dries it disappears almost completely, but there are traces of what smell to me like cut grass and leather. This is really short lived on me, but I don't love it enough to mind.

Wet on me this is a fight, a battle between the almond and the jasmine. It really does feel as if the two notes are just not prepared to share the space on my skin, they're zooming up and down my nostrils in an attempt to win my attention. When the blend settles down, it turns out that the jasmine won, it is now the predominant note and very pretty it is too, but there is some thing else in the background, which smells remarkably like Jeyes Fluid. When this fades the tail of blend is entirely musk, this is the first BPAL musk I've tried that's gone really, well musky and animalistic, and it's too much for me by itself. This has been a really strange blend on me, it has had three definite stages and each stage I didn't like for completely different reasons. Oh well I'll swap it on to someone who'll love it.

On me this is lavender, lemon and something else (part of me says bergamot, but it's an instinctive guess rather than anything else). It's a softer lavender than any of the others I've tried from the lab, it's very soothing. I haven't been sleeping well recently so I'll definitely try it tonight.

Wet on me this is sharp, bitter, almost viscious grapefruit. It's the whole grapefruit too, the pith, peel and pips as well as the flesh and juice. Dry it's much the same, it becomes more powdery and the ginger appears, sitting at the edges of my sense of smell. This is quite strange, I don't know about strength and courage, but this certainly helped kick off my lethargy in the afternoon.

My Dragon's Heart, is deep red in colour as well. Smell wise on me it's really just sweet dragon's blood, but like you said different noses/different skins.

Wet on me this is predominantly apricots, but there is something else there as well. It's odd it's a scent that's almost not there, but it's distinctive in its way of being not being there, its like the centre has fallen out of the middle and I can only smell the edges (I don't think this is making any sense). Dry this is just pure fresh juicy apricots, which last really, really well. I'm a little disappointed that I don't get any clove from this, but overall it's a really, really lovely scent. The light fruitiness is great for a hot sticky day, but I also think it would be comforting on a cold winters night. I'm so pleased, this is the first of the Tea Party Range that I've liked.

Wet on me this was quite a synthetic smelling sweet floral mishmash that was practically head ache inducing. Fortunately it dried quickly and when it did it was a pretty strawberry and orange blossom combination that was very more-ish. Once that intitial blow to the nose has gone this is a very lovely blend.

Wet this was the smell of Lockets; lemon, honey and menthol, which is really quite strange. As it dries, it goes through a lemon peel stage and a lemon juice stage, before settling as an old fashioned lemonade. It's a very soothing, clean scent and I do think it'd be very effective at purification.

Wet on me this was very wet, juicy fruits, when I first tried this I forgot there was mango in there and I couldn't work out why it smelt so much more fleshy rather than citrusy. The musk and the manderin are there in the background, giving the mango a slightly fizzy edge. I don't get any sandalwood at all. Dry the fruits fade and I'm left almost entirely with the musk, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but probably not for me.

Wet on me this was a rich, creamy cedar. As it dried it became sweeter and more herby. At times I could have sworn that I smelt coffee, but I think it was more imagined than real. This was a very soothing scent on me, I think I may try this as bed time blend.

Wet on me this is pure, strong cedar and it stays that way for pretty much the duration. As it fades it does get smokier and spicier though. The smoke is the kind you get from burning green wood and the spice is a kind of mulled wine spice, both of which just sit in the background, making the cedar more mellow. This isn't for me, but I think my mum will like it.

At first sniff, Dandelion and Burdock, which I have to admit threw me somewhat. Wet on me this was dark, spicy cherries. When it dries the star anise comes through, at first it's quite sharp and medicinal, but as if fades it becomes sweeter, smelling for all the world like aniseed balls . It does really smell as if at some point it's been coated in sugar, towards the end of its existence it becomes slightly creamier as well. This is a very unusual blend and I like it, but I don't think I would wear it.

Wet on me this was strong, sweet, cloying honey. To me it's the same honey as in Athens, so sweet and heavy it takes your breath away, but in a good way as far as I'm concerned. When it dries the honey is still the prominant note on me, but there is now a powdery orange note in the background. Overall this is a very pretty sweet blend.

Wet on me this was coconut (the black palm possibly?) and sandalwood. However, this faded quickly to leave what I thought was sour cherries, but I figure is actually the figs. 20 minutes later and yes, it's fig, lush, juicy and somewhat dark figs. This is the final stage on me, and it lasts well, going on for at least six hours.

Wet on me this was originally sharp, hot cinnamon, so strong it made my eyes water when I took a big sniff. After a few minutes I can smell almonds, just sitting there in the background, but they never really get properly involved. The cinnamon continues in a strong, almost medicinal vein. After an hour this settles into a softer creamier feel, but the cinnamon is still the definite controlling factor in the blend.

Wet on me this is cherries, gorgeous, sweet, juicy cherries . The cherries continue as the predominant note, but in the background there seems to be a more sparkly theme, which I atribute to the helitrope. This dries pretty much uniformly on me, but as it fades the musk, vanilla and amber do become slightly more apparent. On the whole this is a thoroughly gorgeous blend .

At first on me, whoah vetiver, followed by whoah leather. I was glad that I had only dabbed this on my wrists, because if I'd put a lot on I wouldn't have been able to keep it on, I like both notes, but they were just so strong on my skin. This faded pretty quickly into a pretty floral scent with the rose, jasmine and gardinia working together pretty well. Two hours on and that had gone, to be replaced by the vetiver. Vetiver seems to like my skin, because this just lasts for ages like this.

Wet on me this was very minty, but with a creamy background to it. As it dries it goes through a vanilla and a nutty stage, before settling into vetiver. I don't really know about the effectiveness of this blend, but it certainly seems both calming and comforting, which may be what you need.

Wet on me this was dirty almonds, I don't know if that dirtiness comes from the fact that this is bitter almonds rather than the sweet almonds I'm more used to or if it is down to the myrrh or the musk or something else. After about 20 minutes the almond has disappeared entirely and I'm left entirely with myrrh, which is nice, but a bit heavy for me.

Predominantly on me this is figs, dark, rich, juicy figs. In the background, there's something more earthy, to me it smells like the damp bark of an oak tree. It's not very strong on me and fades quickly, but it stays true to my original impressions. On the whole this is a pretty blend, but not a favourite of mine.

I had really, really high hopes for this one and at first whiff I felt that they were justified, creamy smooth butterscotch . But then I sniffed something sour in the background. As the blend dried on me it got sourer and sourer, and then it began to turn into an ashtray scent. The sweetness was still there and I can see how gorgeous this could be, but apparently not on me .

This was a very faint scent on me, I slathered twice, but it was still barely distinguishable. What I can smell, if very much the currants and a background green and earthy smell, that I would associate with picking black currants in my Grandparents garden. On the whole this stayed true throughout the life of the blend on my skin. It's quite a dark scent, which at the same time manages to be quite pretty, but I wish it was a bit stronger.