lushlovely

Another awesome decant gifted by the lovely Wench457! This is another decant I had been wanting to try for ages and somehow she knew just how to make my day! First sniff from the vial: mmmm, smells pleasantly intriguing! Wet on my skin: *inhaling deeply* ohhhhh yeah, this is goooood. The first thing I smell is something slightly akin to MB Bigger Critter but BETTER. It's much softer and gentler than BC but with the same delicious foody/spice note. I'm now getting more of the sponge-cake qualities and practically squeal with glee! Dry-down: I now realize I will be on the hunt for a whole bottle of this scrumptious little morsel. I love it!! I wasn't such a huge fan of BiggerCritter because I thought it had too much jasmine or something that overpowered the tasty cookie/biscuit part. But when I smell this it is a perfect blend of the softer version of BC and a moist, creamy sponge-cake dripping with whipped cream. YUMMAAAY!!

Thanks to the lovely Wench457 for the generous decant of this! I had been wanting to try this and she made my dream come true. First sniff from the vial: if this was a drug, I would be in rehab in no time! Smells just like it says. Before it ever hits my skin I can tell I will have to hoard this baby. Wet on my skin: Hellooooooooo yumminess! I loved Creepy but didn't care for the rum note associated with it. I have never tried Punkie Night but I imagine that SSCA is the love-child of Creepy and Punkie Night. It's going to be a while before I unglue my nose from my wrist because I'm alllll over this delicious caramel granny smith! Seriously, this one delivers exactly what it says! Dry-down: A new favorite. I will take any and all amounts of this I can get. I wish I could bathe in it. If you like caramel apples, and I mean a real true caramel, none of the fake imitation stuff, and granny smith apples, you will truly appreciate this treasure!

And here I thought I would be the only one not fond of this vintage. I couldn't agree more with stellans review, for the same reasoning. I was a huge fan of Flower Moon 05, which was shocking on its own because I am most definitely not a floral lover, but it had just the right amount of fresh tulips that I couldn't help but adore it. Tulips are my absolute favorite flower. Also, another reason I was hesitant to insist on getting this years was because of the honey. The lab's honey scents and I do not get along. Ever. I also noticed in the description that this years was missing the tulips, but I figured I still had to have hope since I loved the 05 so much. First sniff from the bottle: *sniff-sniff* uh-ohhh. Maybe my nose is getting ahead of itself and I've created too much pressure based on the glowing 05 experience. Wet on my skin: hmmm, *wrinkling nose* so far this is nothing like 05. No lovely tulips, but lots of dried flowers and herbal honey! *sigh* Drydown: Grandma-ish dried flowers and herbal honey, lots of it. It actually makes me feel sick when I smell it. Each time I do sniff it I keep hoping it has magically morphed into something fresh and dewy. But all I get is that wretched floral honey. Trust me, I love honey. I use it in my hair, face, it's wonderful. But I hate the smell of it in perfumes, lotions, etc. I officially give up on the lab honey scents. Verdict: It's probably pretty easy to tell already, but I did try to keep it around a few days to give it another try, but sadly enough I just got the same outcome each time. I can only do certain florals (soft,fresh ones) and never mixed with honey. Luckily enough I found another lovely member to swap vintages with. This really was a disappointment for me though.

I was sooo looking forward to Gluhwein because every year in Sweden we go absolutely nuts over this stuff, except we call it Glögg. And every november the new releases of new and old flavors of glögg come out and people start buying it up because it's only available for a short while. About a month leading up to Christmas we drink a small cup of glögg every night so we get a chance to try them all. So I'm a bit of a glögg freak. I was so happy to get my nostrils on some. In the bottle: hot cinnamon candy blended with a touch of cloves and cardamom, and a bit of sweet wine in the background. Wet on my skin: Red Hots and lots of cloying honey! I don't normally do well with the Lab's honey notes, so I'm unsure about this. Unfortunately I don't get much wine at this point. Drydown: Still very cloying honey mixed with mulling spices. This smells just like Big Red on me! I get no wine however. Just all Big Red, all the time. This baby has a lot of staying power and I could still smell it on my arm the next morning. But again the honey is just the party-pooper for me. If only I had more hints of wine in mine and less honey, it would have been a keeper.

I was very skeptical about trying this one because I didn't like Strawberry Moon and any other strawberry note is usually too gritty, fakey pink for me, if that makes sense. I never expected to love this one as much as I do. First sniff from the vial - Mmmmm, there's that same soft and sweet white chocolate note I get from the white choc.,marshmallow & coconut one but with whiffs of REAL strawberries, not fakey cavity-inducing ones! Wet on my skin: my nose is just naturally drawn to the spot on my skin where I applied this. This is soo intoxicating. It's not overly rich at all. Just pure delicious, milky white chocolate with a perfect dose of ripe, sweet strawberries. Drydown: This is freshly made strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream and little juicy strawberries. This is NOT to be associated with the kiddy strawberry shortcake doll. Nothing fake about this lovely at all! Verdict: Let us eat cake!

This was another chocolate from the box that I knew I had to try, even though I personally loathe cherry cordials and I wasn't a big fan of Bloody Mary. In the bottle: Mmm, smells better than a real cherry cordial. This is the cherry cordial you would get from an exclusive chocolatier, not the 1.99 box from CVS. Wet on my skin: Maybe I should rethink my relationship with cherry cordials. Drydown: This is sooo much better than Bloody Mary, so if anyone didn't like that one and is afraid of this one, don't be. It's a decadent, fine chocolate-covered cherry. Verdict: If I had stuck my hand in the chocolate box and bit into this, I certainly wouldn't be disappointed but I'd still be hunting down the ones with nuts or coconut in them.

This is my favorite of the non-white chocolates in the box! In the bottle: It smells exactly like a wonderfully rich and delectable chocolate buttercream frosting!! Wet on my skin: This is the real thing baby. I'm not usually a fan of the lab chocolate notes, but first El Dia del Reyes changed all that, and now this! Drydown: I want to eat my own flesh. I think I was safer when I didn't like the lab's chocolate notes. Verdict: This is delicious!

I wasn't looking forward to this particular chocolate as much as some of the others, mainly because I was a little fearful of the pepper note, but I knew I still had to try it. In the bottle: Smells very rich and caramelly. Reminds me slightly of Red Lantern. First applied: Smells even more like Red Lantern. Drydown: All I can smell is a less boozy version of Red Lantern. This is kind of a complex scent for me, mainly because of the Red Lantern association I get from it. I had a love/hate relationship with Red Lantern because I loved the caramel note but hated the booziness of it and finally ended up swapping it away. I like this but it's not my favorite and I won't need to hunt down more of it.

I wouldn't normally have picked this one since I don't do rose scents, but a very lovely forumite was kind enough to include a sniffy of this in a package, and I'm very glad she did! To me it smells spot on of bubbly, crisp champagne and a freshy,dewy red rose. Spot on. It's the kind of rose I can actually wear. I had to laugh when I saw someone else post above what Puddin had said about it smelling like pepsi, because when I let my mom have a whiff and asked her what it smelled like, she said 'Smells like Pepsi!'. LOL. So I guess he wasn't the only one!

I'm not sure why it took me so long to get a bottle of this since I knew, being the foody that I am, I would love it. Let me just say it did not disappoint at all! I knew I was getting a bottle of this and made blueberry pancakes with blueberry/maple syrup last saturday in preparation for the arrival of the yumminess. In the bottle - a nice whiff of blended blueberry/maple syrup starts to waft out. Wet on my skin - Ohhhh. I am in so much trouble because I can already tell my arm will be velcroed to my nose the remainder of the day. Syrupy, buttery pancake goodness come to mama!! Drydown - several hours later I am still getting delightful whiffs of blueberry and maple pancake delight. This is delicious. If you're not a foody you may not care for this one, but this is a must-have for all the foody fans.

It's been far too long since I last reviewed anything but when I got this today I new the time had come. First sniff from the bottle: Mmmm...my nose is detecting the beginning of a beautiful relationship with this bottle full of delicious white chocolaty goodness. Wet on my skin: Ohhhh yeaaaahhhhhhh..... this is sweet delightful confectionary heaven in a bottle. I get wonderful whiffs of toasted coconutty-marshmallows. Drydown: I still get the delicious toasted coconut and marshmallow concoction but now i'm also getting a whiff of something that reminds me slightly of Lindt's white chocolate and coconut bar. In other words, YUM!! Several hours later I still get soft, sweet whiffs and realize it's my own skin that is making me hungry for white chocolate and coconut. This is absolutely fantastic and I will be on a mission to hunt down another bottle of this gourmet goodness.

I mainly purchased the 07 version because I was hoping that even though it wasn't similar to the original Beaver in its description, it might be somewhat related once I sniffed it, because the original is one of my most precioussss. Upon first whiff - candied berries mixed with a very brown sugary graham cracker crust. So far no resemblance to the original Beaver. Wet on my skin - A teeth-gritting sugary berry, mixed with.... powdered sugar icing? It's starting to remind me slightly of something else, but not the original Beaver. Drydown - Still very berry-like and still some hint of graham crack crust. The scent has stayed pretty true from bottle to drydown. I love berries. No, I LOVE berries and berry scents, but this one was almost a bit too cloying for even me. It sorted of reminded me of Strawberry Moon. Or maybe a mix of Strawberry Moon and Sugar Skull 04. I like this one, but not enough to wear it because it makes me feel like a walking Strawberry Shortcake doll. I much prefer the original Beaver and will continue to hoard the bottles of cheesecakey cupcake goodness that I have left! After all, it's the only bpal scent where a total stranger stopped me and told me I smelled 'mesmerizing'.

First sniff from the bottle: This is pink and yellow flowers! It's oh so lovely and I can hardly wait to test it on my skin. It's so very springy and airy. On my skin: More of the same bouquet of happines. This makes me swoon. But wait...... something's starting to shift..... 15 mins later: I'm gutted. The spring bouquet that was there earlier has now morphed into a cloud of old-fashioned hairspray and old-lady perfume. Noooooo!!! If I could just keep the scent from the first 5 minutes, but alas the old lady doused in hairspray and perfume is way too overpowering for me. Fortunately i have a friend who likes it, but I'm not sure I want her to have it because then I would still have to smell it.

First fresh whiff from the bottle: HELLO Juniper!!! This screams juniper at me every time I open the bottle. The sage and cucumber are being a bit shit and only waving at this point. Wet on my skin: The juniper continues to be the drama queen while everyone else is just following shyly behind. This is reminding me a lot of certain Christmas potpourri blends, with the pines and juniper in them. Drydown: Much better, much softer. Definitely a bit creamier with a bit more tea and cucumber. This is my favorite stage and I will definitely hang onto my bottle, although for a while there I was wondering how often I might actually wear it. This one is a beautiful morpher.

First sniff from the bottle: This is glorious sunshiney cup of lemon tea with just the right touch of milk. Mmmmmmmm. Wet on my skin: more of the same, although there were times when I kind of wondered if it was going to get too lemon perfumey. Dry: Beautiful. Just beautiful. It's exactly as the description says, soft, creamy skin musk with a very slight touch of lemony-ginger tea. I love it!

Another RG blend I thought for sure would be perfect for me. Wet stage: Fake chocolate with some fruity/floral peeking out underneath. For the next half an hour there's a war between the chocolate, rose, and fruit. Dry: This goes soapy chocolate rose on me. I'm not doing so good with the RG's.

I was told SWO reminded some people of Lush's Silky Underwear, so that alone got me hooked. First whiff of the bottle: mmmmmm, I can tell this is going to be a keeper. Wet on my skin: This is very much like SU but yet definitely not the same. It's a very engaging vanilla-orchid. Dry: About 2 hours later, this is all soapy perfume on my skin. I guess it's not a keeper after all.

Wet on my skin, Strangler Fig smells like 95% dirt and 5% dusty fig fruit. It definitely reminds me of another blend, but I can't quite put my finger on it.... Omen maybe? At any case I keep getting whiffs of it and it reminds me of a cemetary or funeral home. Dry: Much better, but still too much 'dirt' for my taste. It's like Intrigue but without any of the sweetness.

First whiff from the bottle: Chocolate and.....campho-phenique?? Or maybe that's just hte herbs way of greeting me. I must admit I'm worried. On my skin: A little better because I'm getting a bit more chocolate absolute and fruit Drydown: Definitely better than the first whiff. It is really quite spicy and the chocolate is starting to turn a bit cat-pee on me, or maybe that's the 'catnip'. I'm definitely getting lots of clove and cardamom, but no fig meat for me. Finally it balances down to a spicy chocolate, but at times I do get whiffs of old potpourri. I can't decide if I will keep my bottle or not because something in it is a bit too sour for me. Add me to the list of those who prefer the original 13.

First whiff from the bottle: buttery-honied grape with something pungeant sticking its tongue out at me. On my skin: uh-uhhhh. More stale bitterness, like going into a really old church where there is still the lingering scent of old incense. Must be the F&M doing this. I had such high hopes for Haloa because of all the comparisons to Beaver, and Beaver is probably my all time favorite lunar blend. I didn't get any of the cheesecake similiarity between them at all, nor any frosting. I thought sure I would love this one, but the F&M just ruin it for me. I can't see myself wearing this one at all really.

From the bottle: Very spicy woodsy smell.......I'm starting to worry. On my skin: Lots of cardamom mixed with cherry wood and a faint waft of caramel every now and then. My nose is completely confused. I'll keep one bottle but I don't see myself wearing it very much, maybe next winter? It smells very intriquing and yummy in its own weird way though.

First sniff from the bottle: Chocolate thin-mint cookie indeed! But also with a good dose of soft vanilla. On my skin: I get more mint than anything else, as if the chocolate layer is almost completely melted and the vanilla is going next. The mint just lingers. I like this one, I really do, but I don't need more than one bottle of it so I will probably swap my second one when it arrives. The bf didn't care for it at all, and most other people thought it smelled nice, but odd at the same time. It doesn't have much staying power on my skin at all, but a still a lovely scent.

First sniff from the bottle: huge bowl of tainted exotic fruits! Wet on the skin: more of the same, just a wee less strong. I'm getting more grapefruit and lychee. 25 mins later: the peony comes out to join the fruit parade and it all balances so nicely!! It definitely reminds me of something else..... maybe one of the Escada perfumes? It is a bit perfume but it calms down very nicely. I love this and am so glad I have a bottle! To think I was about to swap it right off because of the first sniff.

All the comparisons to Red Lantern couldn't be more spot on! I mean it's not exactly like RL, but they definitely fell from the same tree, so to say. In the bottle: Mmmmmmmm, deep boozy caramel swirling with red currant. Wet on skin: More of the same but with the tobacco trying to shove it's way to the spotlight and the cinnamon leaf and red sandalwood singing back-up. Drydown: The caramel is still there and still boozy, but much more toned down and definitely taking a little bit of back-seat to the tobacco and red sandalwood. I'm still on the fence about keeping my bottle or not. I tried it on me and the boy, he didn't care for it so much on himself because he said it smelled too girly, and I think it smells more masculine. So I guess Beth did a perfect job describing an adrogyne via a bpal blend. At times I almost can't stomach it though, because I get an almost sacchriney/ fake sweetener undertone and I'm suspecting that's the tobacco.

I sooooo very looked forward to Madame M, and just knew I would love it because I love plum, I love pomegranate, and of course I love vanilla. But the red musk had other plans..... In the bottle: Whoa. Herbal cough syrup supreme. Wet on my skin: Ick. Even stronger herbal medicine. I'm suspecting the red musk and patchouli leaf. I love patchouli but patchouli leaf is a different story. Dry: Softened herbal cough drop with a tiny bit of the plum trying to peek out. I'm extremely disappointed because everyone kept insisting I try it and most everyone else loved this so much. I really wanted to love it, and I definitely tried. But it simply makes me want to gag. The boy on the other hand, loved it. Which is just typical because he is sooo picky.