PurringPulsar

Stormclouds over the Midway In the imp: nag champa and a hint of smoke. No stormy notes. Wet on skin: the incense warms up and I smell opium now. Dry on skin: actually, this isn’t too bad. I was expecting OZONE! but I don’t seem to smell much in here. To me it’s more of a humid, muggy scent than an electrical note-more like the air before a storm. I do smell incense, which does indeed have a plum like feel to it, reminiscent of Hellion and the Witch Queen but not identical. Not a sweet plum, but a dry, tart and smoky one. It’s more of a nag champa incense than a resinous one. It’s a darker version of Midnight on the Midway’s incense. I also smell a dark green note, maybe the wormwood? And there’s a little bit of opium too. After a while: it gets a little bit soapy at drydown, but the stormy ozone doesn’t really show up in this scent, which is a good thing for me since thunderstorm scents turn to detergent on me. this doesn’t. now it has that same ‘night air’ scent that Mid on the Mid has but overall, it’s dominated by what I’m sure is wormwood. I’ve not been sure of this note before but there’s a note to this that is deep and green, a bit herbal and slightly absinthe-y, but not boozy. I really like it. there is a problem with this scent-it goes really faint on me very fast. Verdict: I’m surprised at this one-I was expecting electric ozone of doom. But I don’t get much of it. The stormy scent I do get is more of that humidity that builds up before the storm actually breaks, wet and oppressive, but not crackling with lightning, just yet. But it is ominous, evoking the heavy air and the purple-grey sky hanging overhead, just before the heavens open. I do smell some pleasant incense and opium wafts too, a fruity plum incense reminiscent of Hellion (but not as sweet) but the note I get a lot of-and now I feel I can recognise it better-is wormwood. A pleasant greenish herbal scent that was apart from the other notes in this scent, I’m sure that’s wormwood. The scent does fade, and overall it’s not really my thing, but it’s good to see (or smell) a storm scent that doesn’t turn to washing powder. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Not really, but I actually don't mind this scent. If you like this, try: Midnight on the Midway, Thunder Moon, Visiting the Temple…at the Winter Solstice

La Primavera In the imp: this is so pretty. Tuberose and the most gorgeous jasmine note! Wet on skin: gorgeous tuberose and jasmine, now with orange blossom and lemon. Dry on skin: if the plum blossom ruins this I will scream. Because right now this is the most beautiful mix of tuberose, orange blossom and jasmine! So often, BPAL jasmine turns sour on my skin but not in here. Here it smells like jasmine should. The lemon and orange blossom add a sharp citrus scent with a hint of something sophisticated, like a cologne, to it. I can smell a bit of oak moss too, and I think the jasmine is fleshed out a bit by the ylang-ylang, but overall this really shows off the tuberose. It also reminds me of Hanami, one of the few plum blossom scents I can wear, which is a good sign. After a while: it seems that the plum blossom in here is very much like the ume note in Hanami, which means it is not going cloying and doing the ‘Doom Blossom’ thing on me, but smelling light and fresh and airy. Now the PB is dominant, mixing with orange blossom and tuberose. The moss grounds the notes very nicely. This is so pretty! It’s delicate and fresh and a little bit watery, floral but not heady, a tiny bit perfumey in a sophisticated yet youthful way. Verdict: it’s a miracle! A plum blossom and jasmine scent that actually smells wonderful on me! Usually these notes take over and ruin a scent, but not here. I think this PB may be a different kind to the usual, and the jasmine is also a nicer variety. The scent starts off as a wonderful sparkling citrus-floral fragrance, bright and playful and fresh. It smells youthful and feminine, a bouquet of happy spring blooms. The scent then goes into that same breezy yet sophisticated blossom scent I got in Hanami, which I love. This one is a little more complex with orange blossom instead of cherry blossom making this a little bit tangy, not sweet. As I was born in spring, the fact that this scent smells so lovely on me makes me very, very happy. I’m glad I managed to get a bottle! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Definitely. If you like this, try: Hanami, E Pluribus Unum, All They Had Seen

Sturgeon Moon In the bottle: whoa, this is very, very aquatic. With a hint of floral cucumber. Wet on skin: now something aggressively green seems to be rising out of the watery notes! Dry on skin: this is really odd. It smells like a green salad on me now. Not just because of the cucumber, but something in here smells like red cabbage or lettuce, and also rocket. Fresh and green and salad-like (almost like Virgo 07), and also very wet, the greenery smells watery, and there are aquatic notes surrounding the greenery. I even smell that hint of sand. There’s also a very weedy scent, like dandelion. I also smell a hint of floral and some moss too. After a while: the scent smoothes a little. It still smells very very green, now less like salad and more like wet weeds (there’s definitely a feel of pondweed to this) and lichen. Unfortunately it seems the watery notes are now turning a little too soapy for my likings, because I get this washing powder scent appearing now. Sadly this then turns to a green-leafy soap scent. I think the aquatic, or cucumber, maybe even the agave note, has backfired on me. Verdict: this was strange on me. normally I tend to fare better with freshwater aquatics than with marine ones. It started promisingly with it’s scent of greenery and water, almost like a cucumber and lettuce salad mixed with outdoorsy green notes like weeds and reeds, and a little hint of lapping water on the shore of a lake. Then the pondweed scent gets stronger, and then it turns to soap. I never get plum or benzoin, or even musk, from this. The aquatic notes seem to be turning too clean for my likings. Though, after trying Mictecacihuatl, a totally different scent which had a similar soapy reaction on me, I wonder if it’s the agave that’s going wrong. The good thing is that this scent doesn’t smell like sturgeon (or caviar) on me at all! I just wish it kept the lake shore with greenery scent I got at the start. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No. If you like this, try: Singing Moon, Virgo 07, Mictecacihuatl

Hanerot Halalu In the imp: mmm, honeyed beeswax with a bit of citrus. Wet on skin: oranges glazed with honey. No olive or smoke yet. But I smell something a little musky? Dry on skin: this is beautiful. it’s very hard to describe this other than it is so gorgeous-and smells different to what I expected. This to me has a scent of oranges and honeycomb (the wax and the honey itself) with a hint of olive oil (though this olive smells nothing like salad oil). I love Beth’s beeswax note and this is full of that wonderful stuff. There is a hint of something a little smoky, though not on the level of Hand of Glory. This is a gentler version of HoG. I don’t know why I smell oranges but I smell a strong orange note reminiscent of bitter oranges, or candied orange peel. It’s a lovely bittersweet orange. It reminds me somewhat of the orange-honey scent I got in Thaleia, though much softer, less juicy. Strangely I also smell anise? a hint of something a little spicy. After a while: it still has that wonderful orange and honey scent, but now I smell more of the beeswax itself…and the smoke. Which smells not like the fiery smoke of Hand of Glory, but of candle smoke. I love the smell of blown out candles, and I smell it here. Soft waxy wisps of smoke with a glowing scent of warm orange and honey, and a little bit of olive (which now smells like the leaf and the blossom as well as the oil). I was disappointed by Chanukkiyah, this is how I hoped it would smell…it lacks the gourmand notes that went wrong on me. There are soft skin-scent nuances that pop up now and then, but this overall is a soft warm orange-gold scent of orange beeswax and candle smoke with olive and honey…this is a very smooth scent, luminous, well blended, harmonious. it gets so beautiful at drydown when the scent wafts with something that’s hard to put into words other than ‘golden’ and ‘sweet’ and ‘warm’ but even that is not enough to describe just how lovely it is. it’s got a reassuring, soothing feel…it’s strange because I get that soothing feel from a lot of the olive scents-Tzadikim Nistarim and Banded Sea Snake come to mind. Verdict: I can’t get over how beautiful this is. It has a golden sweetness which is not honey, not amber, not vanilla, yet it hints at them. It seems to be a golden sweetness that defies description. it’s very different to any other beeswax scent…the word ‘transcendent’ comes to mind. Simply put, it’s the ultimate beeswax candle scent, enhanced by sweet orange and olive oil. It is the smell of candlelight-not just because of the candle smoke, but it brings to mind the warm, flickering, comforting light of candles, warm golden tones in the darkness. Light at the darkest time of year. It makes me feel like there’s a warm glow inside of me when I smell it…truly glorious. I need three bottles at least. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Of course! If you like this, try: Hand of Glory, Channukiyah, No 93 Engine

This scent is really, really growing on me. The first try, I sprayed it directly on my bed, smelt it, and I wasn’t so sure. I was expecting this to smell like De Rode Sko, which I adore, but it is actually a lot sharper than DRS and also quite different. The ginger in here dominated and the orange note was a little bit sharp for me. But on the second try, when sprayed in the air as an atmospheric spray (as opposed to a linen one), I quickly fell in love. Now I keep spritzing the corridors with it because it smells so festive. Like a pomander boosted with extra spice. Gorgeous bittersweet oranges with tangy ginger and sweeter cinnamon and clove. It’s the perfect jolly Yuletide scent, and I really like it. what’s more, it lasts for ages! Even with orange in it, a note that normally doesn’t last long…I love the way this not only lingers, but diffuses extremely well-one spray in the corridor, and the whole upper and lower landing smells like Christmas!

Ooh, pictures? I'd love to see the new GC labels (and I'm tempted to buy a GC or two just for the labels!)

Orange Thanks to dpoulsen for generously including a sniffie in a swap! In the imp: orange, of course…but this is more complex. it’s like orange and heliotrope and amber with orange blossom. Wet on skin: juicy orange, orange peel, neroli, and golden sweetness. Dry: oh crap. I feared this would happen. In other words, I think I’m in love! This, to me, smells like a bold, full bodied Seville orange, the scent of its peel and the scent of its juice. I say that because it reminds me of the aromatic and bittersweet orange juice that I drank when I was in Seville, squeezed from local fruit. And it reminds me of marmalade (like Down the Rabbit Hole). But not only that…I also smell the orange tree’s blossom and leaves, and also a wonderful sweet and golden backdrop which to me smells like amber, vanilla, and a dash of heliotrope. After a while: ok, so the original orange ‘zing!’ has faded a little, but that’s citrus for you. However, this orange note is pretty persistent, its juiciness has gone but its bitter peel scent still lingers. Now I also smell more of the orange blossom/neroli and the sweet base notes that seem to anchor the volatile orange notes, to ground them. Now this smells a little more perfume-y, I’m guessing there’s some white amber here…or maybe white musk and tea? And something vanilla-like. The final drydown reminds me a bit of Lady Lilith, but stronger, sweeter, but also a bit more citrusy. It’s white musk and a sharper, effervescent citrus which is either kumquat or mandarin. And some amber too. After a few hours I swear I even smell a hint of frankincense! And I love that! Verdict: this is, without doubt, the One Orange Scent to Rule Them All. And I’m smitten by it. Sunny and vibrant Seville orange backed up by orange blossoms and gorgeous sweetness. The drydown is a little more sophisticated in feel, less zesty but still wonderful. This makes me realise that there are too few ORANGEY scents in BPAL-there’s this and Huesos de Santo, but this isn’t as sweet and sticky as Huesos, this is fresh and bright, not sugary and indulgent. The closest thing I have to this is Ra, which I adore and have lots of, and also to a lesser extent, it resembles Sol Invictus, but this is also very different to those-the orange is more ‘out there’, fresher, juicier, more dominant and straightforward. There’s a similar ‘fresh orange juice’ thing in Lustration as well-maybe I can try layering Lustration and Ra to see if I get a similar scent? I’ll have to see if I can track down more of this (easier said than done!) because my sniffie, it seems, is spent. Dammit, another rarity that I’ve fallen madly in love with… Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Oh yes-and I crave more. I think I’ve tried as much from my sniffie as I can.

L’Autunno In the bottle: smoky sweet spicy apples. Very heavy on the apples. Wet on skin: apples! Lots of apples in here, but now I also smell figs and smoke and something nutty. Dry on skin: the apple notes are sadly trying to screw this scent up, and the fig’s a little too sharp (I like my figs brown and mushy and sweet) but I really like the other supporting notes-the wood smoke note is fabulous, incredibly evocative of autumn. There’s also something here that brings to mind dead leaves upon soil, and tree bark. Lots of earthy patchouli in here. I can smell some almond (this smells like toasted nutty almond, not bitter almond/amaretto) and maybe a touch of musk as well, the carnation is what makes this smell spicy, and there’s a nice myrrh note underneath. Here’s to hoping the apple tames a bit. After a while: mmm, this is actually improving! The apple is doing the same thing as it did in the latest 13 scent-it’s softening and merging with the other notes. In fact, this now smells less like the fresh apple from before, and more like cooked apples…almost like apple compote, which I love. My mum’s apple compote is one my favourite things about autumn. This also reminds me of another favourite autumn dish-apple crumble. This is a crumble of apples and figs, topped with almonds (and I swear I’m getting something buttery, like pastry) and spiced with cloves. Mmm. Around it lingers the scent of smoke and the earthy scent of leaves and soil and twigs. The more I smell this, the more I love it. After a moment when I fear the apple will turn bad again, when it goes sharp and a bit sour, this then dries down into a gorgeous spiced patchouli with sweetness and fruit-it actually reminds me of Alone, or the Phantom Calliope with apple instead of cherry. For some reason, I get cassia and cardamom here. The patch sticks around for ages here-it’s really strong-almost aged-patchouli, with sweet spiciness. Verdict: though not as wonderful and ‘instant love’ as L’Estate, this is a really gorgeous seasonal scent! At first I wasn’t so sure as the apple was very sharp, I thought it wouldn’t be nice on me. But then the apple calms a bit and gains a ‘baked’ smell, which I love. It smells like apple tart (a bit like a Tarte Tatin, actually, but not as caramelised, and it also reminds me of apple crumble) with figs and nuts and a background of myrrh, spices and really strong patchouli. This patch becomes dominant as the scent fades and sticks around for ages, even resisting showers! This is a lot nicer than expected and like many apple scents these days, it seems to work better on me than usual. I like it a lot but I’m not sure if it’s my favourite, when compared to Fearful Pleasure, which I think I prefer as my definitive autumn apple scent. I’m still not sure whether I need my bottle. I have a feeling it will age really well though, and a little goes a long way. either way, this is a wonderful autumnal fragrance. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Definitely an imp’s worth. Maybe the bottle? If you like this, try: 13 (June 08), Samhain, To Autumn, Fearful Pleasure, Harvest Moon (any)

Hellhound on my Trail In the imp: rich vanilla with a gritty ‘voodoo’ base, herbal and dark. Wet on skin: bourbon vanilla and something almost boozy, like absinthe. And some bay rum too. Dry on skin: now I can smell the HJ root. It reminds me somewhat of the voodoo scent, High John, but it doesn’t have too much of a chemical/antiseptic undertone like what I got in HJ. There is a very medicinal scent to the whole fragrance though, like a cupboard full of mysterious healing herbs. I also smell the bay rum and all sorts of unknown, unusual herbal notes. I get whiffs of brimstone too…and this does, indeed, have a hint of something (not unpleasantly) sulphurous to it. subtle, but I can pick it out. There’s a metallic, almost dragon’s blood or absinthe like cool-woody-resinous scent, which I think is the HJ. The tobacco is very quiet, and now even the vanilla takes a back seat. After a while: oh, that’s changed a bit, and it’s changed for the better! Now the vanilla makes a comeback, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. And it’s joined by the tobacco, and the scent is now very similar to Antikythera Mechanism, which I adore. The tobacco-vanilla combo is very similar to that, and it’s almost like there’s a hint of teak or patchouli here as well. I still smell the herbs, the HJ root and the bay rum, and the BR in this scent doesn’t overwhelm and make this smell too aftershave-y or soapy as it usually does. The scent does seem to veer into slightly soapy or medicinal territory. Something about the HJ or bay rum in here smells a bit clinical, like some kind of sterilising product, alcoholic almost, but in a clean way. it does smell soapy but not too chemical or bitter like the HJ notes sometimes go. Bay rum does have a habit of going a tiny bit weird on me. the only thing that’s constant is that incredible vanilla. However, after a few hours, something in here turns into Morocco on me! maybe the musk? But I kept saying ‘why am I smelling Morocco here?’ but that is a good thing because I love Morocco, and this is a vanilla-heavy version of that scent…fringed with those mysterious roots and herbs. Verdict: this is a voodoo version of Antikythera to me. the same combo of wonderful vanilla and tobacco from AM, but with a mysterious base of intriguing herbs and smoke and a dash of bay rum. I adore the vanilla in here-gorgeous rich Bourbon vanilla-but I’m not so keen on those strange herbs and roots in here. I think it’s the High John and possibly the brimstone, and definitely the bay rum, that make this smell odd on me. it smells medicinal-at first this is a pleasant kind of medicinal (as in, herbal) smell but then it goes all chemical and the HJ starts to have the same kind of reaction as dragon’s blood on me whilst the bay rum smells like a soapy men’s cologne. The only thing I love about this scent is the drydown, which is pure Morocco on me. but apart from that, I’m not sure about this scent. I’ll keep my decant, just to see if age brings out more of the vanilla. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Not sure. If you like this, try: Antikythera Mechanism, Tombstone, Morocco, Oblivion, High John

... This is the scent of pure graveyard dust, spattered with grave loam and dusted lightly with tombstone moss. Graveyard Dirt 08 In the imp: mmm, that lovely wet mushy mushroom-y smell of watered soil. Wet on skin: smells just like mossy tombstones, wet soil and decaying plants. Dry: mmm, this is gorgeous! It smells uncannily, realistically, just like the smell of forest soil after a hard rain. Very similar to the first incarnation, actually. Only this time I smell more in the way of forest-y notes, I can smell bark and leaves and bids of decaying wood, old soil, mushrooms, moss, even hints of greenery and at times, a hint of spiciness or nuttiness. This is Graveyard Dirt, but with an autumnal twist. Now I really want to layer this with Blade of Grass for the ultimate ‘autumn in the woods’ scent. Sometimes I swear I smell a hint of eucalyptus in here as well, or camphor. After a while: like the previous version, this seems to fade rather fast, but even though it is fainter after about an hour, a trace of scent remains, and this smells really nice. It now has this haunting catacomb like scent…less like a cave and more like a crypt, I can smell cold stone, there’s a moss note to this which is green and a bit dusty. I smell cool lightless underground air. Hints of coffin wood. and all around, a slightly unnerving, yet oddly comforting sweetness, of all things. I’m amazed at how catacomb-y this smells, it reminds me of the way the air smelt inside the Capuchin catacombs of Palermo. It reminds also me a bit of Queen of Clubs with the fruits and flowers removed, but the earthy notes remaining. Verdict: I loved the original GD, but comparing them, this is my favourite. The mushroom scent I get in both versions is less pronounced in 08, and a bit too much for me in 05. This one is a bit softer in scent, but seems to stick around longer. There are also hints of that ‘autumn in the rain’ scent of wet mushy leaves and decaying vegetation that I’ve smelt a lot in real life these last couple of months, a melancholy but beautiful scent of nature. 05 was a wetter soil scent, like soil that’s just been watered or rained on, this has that aspect to it too but there’s also a stony scent, like tombstones or crypts, a damp stone scent which I love…this comes out more in the drydown, adds a really subterranean scent to it all. A marvellous improvement on that amazing dirt scent that was the first Graveyard Dirt. I’m not sure I’d wear this often unless I was writing a story or setting a mood (as in I could wear it because I love it, but not as a ‘public perfume’, ie for going out), but I’d love to use it as a room scent or layered with something else. It’s a masterfully blended, very authentic scent. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! this is the ultimate dirt/earth/stone scent! If you like this, try: A Blade of Grass, Penny Dreadful, Zombi, Premature Burial, Burial, Madeline, I'm guessing most of the Graveyard Book scents (even though I haven't tried any yet)

Penumbra In the bottle: red musk, amber, tobacco and a bit of lavender. Wet on skin: juicy pomegranate joins in, along with sharp neroli and moonflower. Dry on skin: this is gorgeous! The purple musk in here smells, to me, like red musk, and I love that! I also smell the black amber, sweet and resinous, combined with the lavender I get a scent almost like the Emathides, but not identical. The pomegranate note is nice and strong, it’s sharpness enhanced by the neroli. And a gorgeous tobacco smoke swirls through the scent. This is deep red and shadowy, but with a hint of fruitiness. After a while: this has sweetened up, lost it’s sharpness, and now this is all about the musk, amber, tobacco and pomegranate, which in here has turned to a wonderful wine-like note, very rich and red. It’s like the pom in Mme Moriarty. At times I swear I even smell a hint of blood accord, something about this reminds me of the Blood Garden, Mort de Cesar or Crypt Queen, it’s even a little bit metallic like the blood scents. The amber is sweet and dark, the musk is rich and red, the tobacco is sublimely smoky. This smells a little bit like Midnight Kiss as well, but a bit fruitier. This smells magnificent. The scent moves through stages of blood musk, pomegranate wine and purple incense, rich and sumptuous and mysterious. Verdict: this is stunning! I loved Lunar Eclipse, but this may be even better! It’s a beguiling and shadowy beauty, luring me in with wafts of smoke, amber, tempting pomegranate and lavender, laced with hints of red. I adore the purple musk-it’s a lot redder and deeper than expected. It starts off very lavender-y but then the pom kicks in, merges with musk, and the scent gains those sanguine crimson tones that makes it such a darkly seductive delight. Purple Phoenix was really bad on me but this is wonderful. It’s another one of those musky incense with fruit scents that Beth does so well, and I’m glad I bought two bottles. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Of course. If you like this, try: Midnight Kiss, Emathides, Blood Garden, Lunar Eclipse, Mme Moriarty, Crypt Queen, Dark Delicacies, On Darkness

Day of the Skulls In the imp: honeyed, sweet flowers. I smell beeswax, rose and another floral note. Wet on skin: this is almost like Katrina Van Tassel, of all things…honeyed creamy rose. Dry on skin: a gorgeous rich rose gilded with frankincense and honeyed beeswax, with a hint of extra sweetness (the cocoa?) and one of the other floral notes, with a sandalwood base and a hint of tobacco. This is splendid! It’s a lot more complex than KVT now, but there’s a slight similarity with the honey and rose, although this also reminds me of other honey-rose scents like Lady Luck Blues, and now also of the incense-rose scents (Rose Cross, Tabula Smagradina etc). Very rosy, a lot more than expected, but as a rose lover, this makes me happy. After a while: eventually the rose is taken over by the most gorgeous sweet fresh floral note! is this cactus blossom? Whatever it is, it smells luscious and almost like orchid or champaca, a sweet white floral scent. This is covered in beeswax, and by this point the tobacco has also strengthened a little, now this smells a bit smoky. The drydown is a mix of smooth honeyed floral with an almost hay-like sandalwood and golden tobacco overlay, with hints of rose and incense. really lovely! Verdict: if Dia De Los Muertos and All Saints had a baby, it would be this. This takes the best of both scents and mixes them perfectly. There’s the frankincense-glazed rose of All Saints with the tobacco and chocolate and heady white florals of DDLM. It starts off as very rosy, with frankincense and beeswax adding golden accents. The scent then gradually sweetens and the floral changes into those exotic cactus blossoms (I think?), still with the incense sticking around. The tobacco (a paler, blonder variety than usual) and sandalwood with the luminous florals add a dry, bright, ghostly tinge to the scent at drydown. The flowery notes are not too loud though. This is really nicely balanced. I’m glad I have a bottle-I love rose and incense scents, and this is a really unique take on the theme. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! If you like this, try: Dia De Los Muertos, All Saints, Rose Cross, Lady Luck Blues, Tabula Smargadina, Libra 07, Magdalene, To Helen

Summer Summoning Spectacular In the bottle: a fusion of Pancake Breakfast, Sugar Skull and Al Azif. A kind of burnt caramel incense. Wet on skin: now I smell grass notes, green grass with sweet smoke. Dry on skin: this is a really intriguing one. Very complex with lots of facets. It smells of green grass, burnt grass, different kinds of smoke, pancakes, maple syrup, and that wonderful Al Azif incense, which is fitting to the theme! The grass note is strange-at first it reminds me of Dog Days which I love, but then it develops a bitterness, and smells of burnt grass (not dry grass, but singed grass) and even a hint of burnt dandelion. Almost like the hellish version of One to Tie. It’s a slightly acrid burnt smoky note that I’m not sure I’m digging. I do get incense smoke too, which I prefer. The pancake note is obvious but it’s not failing on me like it did in Pancake Breakfast. The sweetness here is halfway between the Spring Training’s caramel corn smell and the sweet rich dark amber-myrrh scent of Al Azif, with a dash of treacle. After a while: the Al Azif scent has faded a little and the grass, instead of it going all balmy and gorgeous like in Dog Days, now smells even more burnt, and develops a bitter green scent which is almost floral and soapy. I’m not so keen on that kind of grass note. On the plus side, I smell more pancake (which smells like a true pancake scent) and less syrup. But I’m really not keen on the burnt, charred grass and dandelion scent here. Verdict: this is what I’d imagine the aftermath of Carnaval Diabolique to smell like. Sweet burnt treats, caramels, the remains of fairground sweets trodden into the grass, the scent of sinister burning and chaos, and a whiff of incense. Very atmospheric, but it’s a shame that a couple of notes in here are not working on me at all. The grass is too bitter and harsh, soapy and charred. The incense is gorgeous, a thick sweet myrrh-resin, but sadly it gets pushed aside by the scent of scorched dandelions and floral grass. The pancake/syrup note is also strong but doesn’t bug me too much. I never got coffee from here. Ultimately, not a keeper. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Sadly, no. If you like this, try: Al Azif, Pancake Breakfast, Spring Training, One to Tie, Sugar Skull

MVJBA: Dog Days of Summer In the bottle: mushy grass clippings, soft hay, and something sweet…maybe dandelion too? Wet on skin: definitely dandelion! This reminds me of the Schoolhouse and Sagittarius. Dry on skin: very green and a bit bitter, like bitter lettuce or weeds…though it also reminds me of my galbanum essential oil. But for now this is gorgeous! It smells like mellow summer foliage, dandelions, clover, a hint of drier grass notes as well. The warmth and humidity of summer is captured well, but it’s not an oppressive humid smell. It does have something edgy to it from that sharp greenness, but the great thing is that it isn’t that green note that turns soapy. I think this is more like the agreeable grass note in Blade of Grass. In fact, the more I smell this, the more I am sure this has fig, or fig leaf, in it. something reminds me of the deep green with the sweet-fruity undertones I got in Eden. After a while: the scent loses that initial fresh greenery and turns drier, more and more like dry grass clippings, dry lawns, a touch of something sweet and golden (beeswax?), pollen and warmth. Near-endless sunshine and heat hazes. The scent is now spot on like dry grass and withered weeds, and golden hay…I can almost hear crickets when I smell this. Not so much of a muggy scent now, this is now a tiny bit arid, and I like that. Not arid in a desert-y way, but more like a ‘hosepipe ban’ summer…oh yes, this is the scent of the summers I haven’t seen for ages. The scent becomes even softer, a tad dusty, sweeter, more golden and then it becomes evocative of that wonderful smell of summer evenings. Balmy air, a tinge of dust, warm hay and grasses, the setting sun turning the landscape to gold, the mellowest time of day. The drydown that I get from here is fig! I’m very surprised, but delighted…it’s a dry grassy fig scent. like a lighter, less sweet Strangler Fig, it even resembles Aeronwen to an extent. But this is a really gorgeous warm fig with dry summer grasses and warmth and a bit of sun warmed skin too. Verdict: I’m on the lookout for the perfect grass scent, and I’ve also got a thing for astronomical mythology/folklore so I was very interested in trying this scent…and thankfully, it works. Most grass/wildflower scents don’t, but this is an exception. It’s not exactly the smell of mown lawns, but this is the smell of dry summer grass and a little something extra which to me, smells like figs and sun warmed skin musk and dandelions. And most importantly-no soap! It smells just like the perfect lazy summer, sultry heat, chilling out in the garden, sun shining down on a lawn that’s just turning dry. If this were a song, it’d be the Kinks’ ‘Sunny Afternoon’. This is the scent of summer heatwaves in a bottle-but without all the nasty stuff (sunburn, flying ants, mosquitoes, that horrid clammy sweaty feeling you get when it’s too humid, etc). This scent, as well as the sunny goodness of L’Estate, makes me crave a good, proper summer again…none of those ‘monsoons’ like we had this year and last! This is one of the few grass scents I love and had to get a backup of. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes and I bought a MVJBA pack to get another bottle!

Blue Fire In the imp: blueberry! Sweet delicious gorgeous blueberry! Wet on skin: now I can smell the gin, and the scent gains a boozy effervescence. Dry: blueberry and gin. The gin is very strong here, it smells just like the gin in 21, that smell of clear, cold juniper, only this time, with a hint of blueberry and papaya. I smell a faint hint of lemongrass, but it’s not as strong as I expected that note to be. The strongest note for now is the gin, and the blueberry seems to have quietened down a lot, which is a shame because the blueberry note was so lovely. After a while: the blueberry note, which is very sweet and almost creamy, really wafts! All around me is a cloud of blueberry and I love it. however, when I smell my skin where the perfume was applied, all I smell is sweet gin, which is not as nice as the lovely blueberry that I smell on the scent’s throw. It seems that the gin note totally dominates and by the end I hardly smell that blueberry waft any more…just sweet gin, not as sweet as before but a lot drier and more bitter as well. Verdict: I adore, adore, adore the blueberry in here. It smells sweet, juicy, bright, happy, delicious and blueberry-tastic. But once it hits skin, that gorgeous berry scent gets rudely pushed aside by an almost bully-like gin note. It’s gin first, sharp and juniper-scented, with blueberry as an afterthought. The scent doesn’t improve much at drydown either, with still more overpowering gin. I’ll have to see if this one works better in a locket because…blueberries! Crawdad is lovely but not blueberry enough, but this is too heavy on the gin for me… Emoticon rating: (but a great big for the blueberry note) Is it a keeper? Not really. If you like this, try: Crawdad Dream, Golden Wave, Rangoon Riptide, 21, The Hamptons, Swank

Blood Moon 08 In the bottle: very metallic, as in, like the metal scents. A bit sweet too. Wet on skin: smoky, nutty, vetiver-y even! I can smell sweet musks and woods, and metal. Dry on skin: a chaotic, wild musky incense with hints of grassy herbs, and a very metallic feel to it. This has an iron note to it-it smells like the way blood tastes, it is rusty, but there’s also a sharper, steely note to it like a sword. It reminds me of the metal note in Robotic Scarab in that this metal smells genuine and true, without turning soapy or ozone-y. The incense, if there is any, is predominantly black dry smoke, not resins. There is a hint of Ivanushka to the musk, but this is the dark side of the ‘deer/mammal/fur’ musk scents. After a while: ok, now it is turning soapy. What the hell? There is nothing in the note list that usually turns to soap…this smells like the reaction I get with ozone and some floral notes. And there are no ozone or floral notes in here…oh wait a minute, there are ‘forest flowers’ here. But I wasn’t expecting them to amp and turn to soap. This smells much too much like washing powder now, with that metal note now turning even more metallic, and the gorgeous musk, wood and smoke notes being pushed aside. It now smells muddled, a bit messy, a clash of rough bloody notes and clean soapy ones. Verdict: I loved the original Blood Moon. It was all spicy musky woodsy goodness. I thought this would be similar-improved by incense. But this failed pretty spectacularly on me. Instead of the warm spicy musk with hints of blood accord I expected, I get sharp metallic notes, rust and soap. There is some musk here, and woods, but I don’t smell incense. Though at times this does also resemble Hunter Moon 07, this is a lot more violent. HM was more like a cosy scent of autumnal warmth and a touch of spiced wine with warm fur and incense. This is the hunt in action. It’s unnerving and frantic, it makes me think of blades, it’s not a quiet scent. The images this scent evokes are not pleasant. It also reminds me of the Black Tower in it’s mood, slightly apocalyptic, a scent of battle. I find it a very uncomfortable scent to wear at first, with it’s blood and metal sharpness, and then wham. It turns to soap and washing powder. What the? Though seeing the reviews, I'm not the only one who gets soap here. Needless to say, I’ll be swapping or selling this one off. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No-I have two bottles of this but I don’t like it… If you like this, try: The Bloody Sword, the Black Tower, Hunter Moon 07, Tintagel, Ivanushka, Phoenix Steamworks

Snow Glass Apples In the bottle: mmm, this apple is promising because it reminds me of the one in Mock Turtle’s Lessons. A crisp sweet apple, juicy and tempting, and surrounded by coldness. Wet on skin: ok, now it’s gone rather sharp on me, as apple scents usually do, but I also smell that ‘sweet snow’ note, and a watery mint. Dry on skin: hmm. This is intriguing. As apple scents go, this isn’t bad. it’s not turning fake or sharp or cloying or artificial on me. It smells of frozen apples. Or like a chilled apple martini. It’s a glassy and cold apple scent, mainly green apple on ice, with mint, a hint of sharp glassy ozone (a bit like the House of Mirrors glass note) and an undertone of that sugary snow note from the likes of Ice Queen, Snow Flakes, Moon of Ice to name but a few. It’s actually really nice. After a while: ok, this isn’t as nice any more. It’s not doing the worst that apple notes usually do on me, but something in here is turning overripe and cloyingly sweet. Maybe it’s apple blossom, but at times this smells more like plum blossom. Plum blossom and my skin don’t really get on. But there’s still a hint of green apple to this scent which is pleasant, and the ice/snow notes are very pretty now, slushy and watery and a bit melon/cucumber-like. And the sugary sweetness is lovely. I’m just not keen on the overripe fruit scent in here. Verdict: I bought this on the off chance that this could be the perfect apple scent, but sadly it wasn’t to be. It’s not the apple note that caused problems as usual, but something else that turned cloying and sickly. For a while this was really nice, smelling of frozen apples, just like I hoped for. A hint of that sweet snow note with mint and a bit of airy ozone, and a good apple note. but then something here-I’m guessing a floral note-turns on me and does the same thing that certain blossom notes do on me-turns bad, a bit cloying and like rotting flowers and fruit. So sadly, this isn’t the perfect frozen apple. I think that Snow White fits that role-I get an apple note from that scent. Plus a lot of the autumnal warm apple scents work a lot better on me. My bottle now has a new home. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No, sadly. If you like this, try: Mock Turtle’s Lessons, Hesperides, Snow White, Poisoned Apple

Sticky Pillowcase In the imp: strawberry flavoured hard sweets and candyfloss. Wet on skin: sharp sour sweets and strawberry candyfloss, and a hint of linen. Dry on skin: it’s a sugar rush, but not as sweet as I expected. I’m shocked at how tart this scent is on me. It’s mainly strawberry, but it smells like those strawberry sour sweets, this scent is almost acidic, contrasting with the sugary notes of candyfloss and bubblegum. Oddly, it also smells salty, which I’m guessing is the saltwater taffy? I also smell, surprisingly, a lot more of the pillowcase than I thought I would-there’s a clean linen scent underneath the sticky strawberry sugar. And then at times I get whiffs of the candy corn-the same caramelised popcorn-y scent from Trick or Treat, but this is very fleeting. After a while: this then smells very much like Beaver Moon 07, a very similar strawberry note, like strawberry sugar…but then I realise this actually this smells a lot like Bloody Mary now. It has that same lollipop smell to it…it smells like I’ve smeared a sticky strawberry lollipop on my skin. I’m tempted to lick my wrist now! Thankfully at this point the sourness is a lot less apparent, I also don’t get much lint/linen. There’s a hint of marshmallow, very faint, in here too. The scent then completely loses that sourness and becomes a little too sweet. it reminds me of Treat 1 now actually, but maybe a little more sugary, less fruity? This is almost pure lollipops on me now, strawberry lollipops with a bubblegum filling. Verdict: I was expecting this to be very, very sweet. I was actually surprised by how sharp it was, even sour. Like sour sweets. The strawberry note here is a bit artificial, but that’s to be expected because this smells like sweets. But I think I’m amping the scent of the pillowcase itself, as it smells a bit like a clean ozone scent, almost salty, but leaning towards laundered linen. But where’s the marshmallow and candy corn? It does improve at drydown when it smells less sour, and turns to a Bloody Mary-style lollipop scent, like I’ve licked a strawberry lollipop and rubbed it on my skin. This isn’t a caramel sugar scent (unlike Gooey Pillowcase, which I prefer), this is a white/pink sugar scent with fruity sharpness. Sadly, it’s too sour at the start and tooth-aching at the end for me to really like it…maybe if it were a little creamy or vanilla-y, I’d prefer it. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No. If you like this, try: Sugar Skull, MB Bloody Mary, Bon Vivant, Beaver Moon 07, Xanthe

CTIV: XVIII In the bottle: frankincense! Maybe a bit of myrrh? It reminds me of a less smoky Midnight Mass. Wet on skin: resins!! Beautiful glorious frankincense! Dry on skin: oh, this is wonderful stuff. It reminds me of Midnight Mass, Meshkenet and maybe Valentine of Rome. It’s frankincense, and lots of it. not so much a burnt and smoky frank note, this is more like the pure resin. It reminds me a bit of the frankincense a friend brought back from Oman. Though there may also be some myrrh here too, and possibly either a musk note, or perhaps a floral or green note of some kind? Possibly a herbal myrrh, as this reminds me of Anubis as well. but this is exactly what I wished for in CT-a resinous scent. After a while: the scent loses that sharpness from before, becomes darker, smokier, now it’s got a hint of burning to it, it also smells dusty and desert-y. It’s still heavy on the frankincense but now I think I smell more myrrh, a slightly bitter myrrh with a smoky darkness to it. I think there may be galbanum in here now, that explains the greenish resin scent, and I think there may also be some spikenard in here too. It also reminds me of a frankincense-heavy version of Blasphemare Reliquary. There’s something almost Egyptian about this scent, maybe it’s resemblance to Meskhenet and Great Cry in Egypt is what makes me think that. It smells like dry crumbling and very ancient resin clinging to papyrus…indeed, the more I smell this, the more I am sure that there’s a papyrus note in here! It’s a light and papery-reedy scent over the dark moody resins. There’s even a hint of saltiness, which to me, evokes natron… Verdict: I have half wondered if this is custom blended for me. I know it’s not, but this is the kind of CT I’ve been hoping and wishing to get for so long, I can’t believe I have got it in a bottle. This is a resin lover’s dream! It smells like all those wonderful incense scents all blended together. Frankincense and myrrh at their best! It starts off heavy on the frankincense, but then goes towards a myrrh-y scent, and then it goes into a stage which reminds me of those Egyptian scents I adore-scents like Meshkenet, Great Cry, Anubis etc-it even hints at smelling of desert sand, ancient stone, papyrus, mummy wrappings, it even smells old, aged and dusty, and golden. It’s not a sweet resin-I don’t smell amber here. It also smells predominantly like unburnt resin but there are hints of incense-burning resins too. I love this one, my favourite CT scent of all time I think…can’t wait to see what aging does to it. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! CT is such a risk so I’m so glad I have a bottle that’s right up my street.

A Blade of Grass In the imp: holy crap this really, really does smell like fresh grass and autumn leaves. Wet on skin: huh? Now there’s a weird funky pungency in here…other than that, it smells of leaves. Dry on skin: other than that strange, decayed and pungent musky note that I smell here (almost like valerian?) this smells spot on, and I mean spot on, like the autumns of my childhood. Crunchy dead leaves, damp earth, grass, the remaining hints of green, tree bark…this is the scent of early October when the days are still fairly mild, but the seasons are changing-it’s not an Indian summer scent as such, but it’s not a cold autumn scent either. The weird pungent note disappears about 30 seconds after application, merging into the decayed vegetation scent. After a while: the scent is a little more ‘blurred’ now, and has turned just a tiny, tiny bit soapy, but not in a bad way-it doesn’t detract from the fact that this still smells like the perfect autumn scent, like crunchy leaves and dry mossy bark and a hint of the last grass of summer. Now I smell more a mushy leaf scent, like wet leaves, and more a tree-like scent (not wood, but bark and twigs). Verdict: this is the scent I wanted to get from October. This is the scent of autumn, bottled. Or rather, autumn days. This lacks the smoke of an autumn night, or late autumn. But it smells like early autumn days, so much so that it sends shivers down my spine. It smells like walking through Hampstead on a sunny day when the leaves are falling. It smells like exploring the woods and the smell of the earthy woodland floor and the grass of open parkland. It smells like the bark of the trees and the decaying leaves and earth. It smells of conkers and acorns. It smells like running into piles of leaves and messing about in them, I can almost hear the leaves going crunch underfoot. It’s so impressive, and it smells so accurate, so natural, I’m floored by how authentic it is, and so happy to find an autumn leaves scent that works on me and smells just like it should. Bravo Beth! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! If you like this, try: Graveyard Dirt, October, To Autumn, Dog Days, School House

Harvest Moon 08 In the imp: a fruity version of October or L’Autunno spray. Wet on skin: the ‘autumn leaves’ note mixed with fruity cherry, plum and grape. Dry on skin: now I smell a hint of the grainy and fruity notes of previous HM scents, but this time mixed with the ‘autumnal’ scent from October, L’Autunno spray, Death of Autumn etc. I’m ambivalent about this autumn leaves note, while sometimes it can smell nice, at other times it smells overwhelming and borders on smelling soapy or like cleaning products/air freshener, and sometimes it’s not dry or smoky, not ‘dead leaves’ enough for me, it’s too green and moist. This mixes the autumn accord with a strong cherry note which smells sweet and almost like a cherry dessert, but not cloying or medicinal. I also smell plum here, and a hint of grapes and herbs. No spices yet, but I do smell dry wheaty notes. After a while: something in here is turning on me, one of the fruit notes is turning sour. Maybe the cherry reacting with the autumn notes? On the plus side, I now smell the saffron and the scent sometimes reminds me of that lovely ‘autumn in a warmer climate’ scent I got in Death of Autumn. But I’m now not keen on the autumn leaves note here, and the cherry has turned really sharp, in an unpleasant way, it’s acidic, piercing and, worst of all, turning a little bit vomit-like on me… The drydown is a slightly sickly version of the older Harvest Moons. However, at times, there’s something in the spicy mulled cherry note mixed with hay/grain reminiscent of that legendary scent, Lughnasadh. Yes, this reminds me slightly of Lughnasadh. Not identical, and Lugh is spicier and more agreeable on me (it doesn’t have that sourness) but there is a resemblance. Verdict: of the Harvest Moons, this is the one I like least, I’m afraid…it just goes wrong on me in many ways. At first I get the green-soapy and slightly masculine autumnal note from in L’Autunno and All Hallows Eve sprays and some of last years autumn scents, and I really am not crazy about it-it’s too perfumey and green and doesn’t smell dry and brown enough to be autumnal for me. and sadly, it gets worse, when one of the fruit notes (I think?) turns to vomit or pickles on me, a sour and uncomfortable scent. the only good thing about this scent is that when it doesn’t smell sickly or like autumn cologne, it smells like that elusive scent, Lughnasadh. But this is fleeting. Overall, I am not at all keen on this. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No. If you like this, try: October, previous Harvest Moons, Death of Autumn, To Autumn

Huesos de Santo In the imp: delicious creamy orange cake! Wet on skin: orange! I love how orangey this is…I can now smell anise in here as well. Dry on skin: sweet candied orange, almost like marmalade! Delicious! I also smell the cake base, which does indeed remind me of Eat Me but without the intense vanilla and berry notes. There’s a lovely sprinkling of aniseed on top, which I really like because it does indeed remind me of those Spanish biscuits with anise in them. There’s a hint of custard but to me this is more like an orange buttercream topping for the cake. After a while: this gets even better! I don’t get much in the way of flowers, but I now get a lot more custard! And what delicious sweet vanilla custard cake touched with orange (I love the orange note in here) and I really like the interesting twist that the anise adds. Now I get more of the Eat Me vibe that other reviews mention, but the custard is a bit like Egg’d Mailbox, but with orange instead of the carnation-ish vibe I got in Egg’d. however, at times, there’s a hint of spice to this scent too. The drydown is all gorgeous custard. I hardly get any floral notes in this scent at all. Verdict: this is my favourite of this year’s Halloween releases. Orange cake, anise biscuits, sweet vanilla custard, all blended wonderfully. I don’t get flowers in here-just the gourmand notes. Most BPAL orange notes are too gentle, too soft, they fade fast or get buried in the other notes. But not this one! This is the kind of orange scent I’ve been looking for-a gutsy orange sweetened with sugary notes. It’s a marmalade glaze over a delicious Eat Me style cake base and there’s a bit of anise which adds something unusual to the scent without being intrusive. And then, once the orange and anise calm a little, the custard really comes to the fore. This is a wonderful note-creamy but not sickly or sour, not eggy either, but vanilla-flavoured and smooth. I didn’t realise I could love custard notes so much but this is perfect. Orange and anise cake seems to be a popular theme around the etailer perfume world this Halloween, and this is hands down my favourite scent of this kind. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yup, and I have a backup coming. This is so different to other BPAL foodies I have. If you like this, try: Eat Me, Egg’d Mailbox

L’Estate In the bottle: ohhh, I smell sweet gorgeous amber and a hint of floral. Wet on skin: sweet delicate golden amber gorgeousness. Dry on skin: this is absolutely beautiful! Sweet vanilla amber boosted by silky golden musk and sandalwood, and a touch of floral-this lily note isn’t turning to soap on me, yay! The amber is sublime, I can smell the vanilla, but most of all I can really pick out the Nepalese amber, which smells a bit like Arcana’s Nepalese amber note (and, in turn, like those Ambra de Nepal scents) and I wonder if there’s a hidden cardamom note to this. It is a tiny bit spicy, but in a subtle way. Overall this scent is golden, warm, sultry and evocative of sunset colours. For some reason, it makes me think of summer holidays, there’s a very exotic feel to it. It also reminds me of Mouse’s Long Sad Tale, that mix of floral notes, vanilla, sandalwood and magnificent amber. After a while: this just gets better and better. The amber gets smoother, sweeter, more wonderful. This blend really glows, radiating scent off the skin. the scent is so golden, it’s the colour of late evening sunshine, it’s a scent that makes me think of that balmy and gentle warmth at the end of a hot day, mellow and welcoming. It’s just so beautiful, perfect amber enhanced subtly by floral notes, vanilla, musk and sandalwood. The musk that lingers at drydown is a dry Egyptian musk scent, reminiscent of sun warmed skin with a hint of sand. This then turns into pure golden amber and vanilla and musk. I can’t stop huffing my wrist, it is absolutely beautiful. Possibly my new favourite amber scent, along with the likes of Inez. I also adore the way this wafts. Verdict: this blend more than makes up for the gloomy summer weather I’ve been having here. It is sunshine in a bottle. Pure liquid gold, this is a glorious blend of ambers with a beautiful golden musk, lifted with subtle floral notes and sandalwood, with a hint of spice. It smells very regal, a solar scent, but very feminine, luminous, shimmering, the scent of a sun goddess. It is like the scent version of a mellow summer sunset, and it seems to glow so radiantly from the skin, a very uplifting scent. I am in love with that spicy Nepalese amber with it’s cardamom-ish nuances! interestingly there seems to be a slight variance with my bottles-two bottles smelling a bit lemony, but the other being a purer amber scent, which I prefer. But I love both versions. I’m keeping at least one backup bottle of this scent! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Oh yeah. If you like this, try: Mouse’s Long Sad Tale, Inez, Hermia, Hymn to Proserpine, Lyonesse

Lune Noire In the bottle: very similar to Black Moon, but sweeter. Wet on skin: this sharpens a tad, but now I also smell some frankincense, gardenia and champaca. Dry on skin: mmm, frankincense! I can really, really smell the olibanum now and I love it. It’s the same gorgeous smoky peppery resin from Meshkenet, and it gives this scent a hint of something Egyptian which fits the label perfectly! Underneath this wonderful resinous note I can smell the floral notes, orchid and gardenia and champaca. I also smell a hint of pear and amber, and the beautiful blue musk unites all the notes. But above all, this is a scent of incense wafting over heady nocturnal blooms. After a while: oh, I love this olibanum note so much! It smells exactly like burning incense does, like the kind of scent that lingers in churches…I love that scent. In here the incense is coupled with those rich sweet floral notes, orchid being the most dominant one. The white amber adds a luminous sweetness, the blue musk is faint but I smell it’s ethereal ‘night air’ scent wafting through here. The combination of resinous incense and floral notes is gorgeous. The incense lingers, develops that lovely ‘smoke hanging in a sacred space’ scent, and the floral notes sweeten, with the amber note showing up a little more. I don’t get clove or moss here, but that doesn’t matter because this is wonderful. Verdict: a spectacular scent. it’s floral incense with ethereal touches of musk and amber and fruit. I can smell rich heady moonlit night flowers, with that wonderful airy blue musk-but the best thing about this scent is that fabulous olibanum, the scent of burning frankincense wafting over it all, almost like sacred lunar incense. I love Black Moon, and this is similar, but I think this one is nicer, because of that magic touch of incense. it also resembles the Egyptian scents that I love so much. The champaca doesn’t take over, nor does the gardenia-I think the incense and musk keep these notes in check. This is a wonderful scent, one of my new favourites of the ‘night blooming/night air’ scents! Emoticon rating: Yes, I have three bottles. Is it a keeper? If you like this, try: Black Moon, Meshkenet, Nuit, Urania, Midnight on the Midway

Mead Moon In the imp: mmm, the same delicious honey from Honey Moon, but mixed with O’s honey. Wet on skin: now the honey becomes lighter and sharper, and the lemon comes out! Dry on skin: sharp wild honey mixed with fizzy tangy lemon! This is very much like O now, only lighter and more summery, not as sweet. the mead is a sharper honey than I expected, the promise of Honey Moon-style honey has faded, but I like this. It has a wildflower-y, pollen-touched scent to it. and it’s definitely not boozy. The lemon note smells just like lemon drops, right down to the hint of sherbet. I don’t smell spices yet but I smell hints of herbs. The scent wafts too. After a while: the tangy honey does eventually tone down and the scent I’m left with is that honey I love so much-the Honey Moon/Hony Mone honey. Sweet, rich, rounded and translucent, golden and a little bit floral. in fact, this smells almost identical to Honey Moon now, only less floral, but there’s definitely a flowery note here. Oddly, I smell no cinnamon or cloves here. Just sweet glowing honey. The drydown is more of that wonderful honey, and it gets sweeter and sweeter until this becomes a less floral, more herbal version of my beloved Honey Moon. Verdict: this is a gorgeous honey scent! It’s not perfect-at times the honey is a tad too sharp-but the drydown is well worth it. It starts off with a sharp honey made even more tangy by lemon, and herbs too. No spices as far as I can smell, but overall it smells of rosemary and lemon infused wildflower honey. Almost like O, but more outdoorsy. But then it gradually turns to that beautiful Honey Moon/Hony Mone honey blend that I love so much-that rich, sweet, full bodied and glistening golden sexy honey with a touch of herbs. Really stunning. I never get anything boozy like I did with Hellcat. I can only imagine this honey note improving with age. I still prefer Honey Moon, but I’m certainly keeping a bottle of this scent as well. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I have a bottle! If you like this, try: O, Hony Mone, Honey Moon, Litha, Fairy Wine