Tess

Thoroughly revisited. This year’s Hearth is warmer, sweeter, and more traditionally comforting. This is the scent of candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine. In the bottle - Nutty, buttery, sweetness! Wet - So far as food goes, this is really nice! Drying - The chestnut and the smoke really keep this from going super crazy. The pine is coming out far more, but it's not a terrible version of pine. Dare I say the same pine as in Skadi? The sweet isn't so sweet now, not so powerful. But it's a nice combination. Not very STRONG, but subtle and comforting. Dry (2 hours) - This is very close to the drying stage, only fainter and just slightly powery. Overall - THIS is a good scent I could wear.

In the bottle - White and clean. Some very soft white florals, cherries and linen. Quite lovely. Wet - Cherry and linen, cherry and linen! Drying - This is ylang ylang, it really must be. On me, it's getting this "earthy" type feeling, as the cherry disappears and the linen fades behind the floral. I think there may be a touch of rosewood in this, for that earthiness.... Dry (2 hours) - So... strong... The floral is killing me it's so strong. My skin ate the yummy fruit and linen, amping the heck out of the floral to the point of insanity. I just tried to wash it off, it was getting to my head so badly. Overall - Absolutely great in the bottle, total crap on my crazy skin. Sigh.

In the bottle - Very sweet and minty, but it's a boozey mint, like Schnapps. Wet - Oh no, butter. Drying - Wow, this turned into pure rancid on me. Which, yes, is just my skin. The sugar went plastic (as per usual) and the butter went rancid (as per usual). So now I have a combination of those two and the wonderful, wonderful boozed mint on me! Dry (1 hour) - Just as I thought, the mint got eaten by my skin, so I'm left with unhappy plastic. Overall - I know this is lovely, I know that people adore it, I just know that it was the absolute WRONG combo of scents for my skin. If only I could smell like the bottle...

The Snow-Shoe Goddess, Giantess, the Norse embodiment of winter. Frost-rimed winter berries, crisp pine needle, and a slush of bright snowy notes. In the bottle - A lot less cold smelling than expected. In the forefront is the balsam pine, not as strong and killer as most pines to my nose. I'm getting just about no berry here. Wet - Hrm... nothing, really. Drying - This is a very nice pine. I actually really like it. It's not overwhelming, although it is in the front. I get the barest hint of berries making this sweet. It reminds me very much of a Christmas tree, one that's been in the livingroom a few days, adding it's scent to the holiday cooking. It's light, though. Very light. Dry (2 hours) - This is very nice, but very faint. The pine note was just PERFECT, although I could have used more berry to it and more something else. It is almost a single note. Overall - I can see why this is loved.

In the bottle - Very, very much Snake Oil with some added incense to it. Almost exactly aged Snake Oil to my nose. Wet - Oh no, nag champa! THE GRAPE! Drying - Good old franky, stomping out and putting the schmack down on everything else. At least it's keeping the grape of the nag champa down. (My skin does odd things to some notes, I admit it.) Sadly, it's a very dark franky, so it's getting that twinge I don't like to it. Snake Oil and tangy frankincense. Dry (1 hour) - Mmm, nice and incense with some nice Snake Oil. But it's pretty darned faint, which just about no throw at all. Boo. Overall - This is a lovely, lovely one. But it requires someone who'll give it some oomph.

In the bottle - Strong men's scent, heavy on the leather, although the sweet incense in in there. The leather is very clarifying. Wet - So very much leather! Drying - This is far less sweet than I thought it would be. The leather is certainly the strongest note, with quite a backing of those woods and just a touch of the rosewood to give it a softer, dreamier feeling. Oh, geez, the throw is very lovely, though. Soft, floaty... Very much smelling like a man wearing cologne in an old library, but not dusty at all. A well-kept library. Dry (1.5 hours) - Hrm, sweet leather on a man in rosewood perfume. It's nice, it really is. Not overpowering, almost subtle but not faint. Overall - This is a tough one. I feel like I SHOULD love it, but I just don't. It's... nice. It just doesn't wow me. I think it's due to being so upstanding and respectable. Like an older version of Quincy Morris. But I love my Quincy in all his wildness.

In the vial - Lots of artemesia with a touch of the lime and vetiver. I'm getting NONE of the spice notes. Wet - FLOWER. GAH. Drying - Oh, the artemesia is fading. Some nice lime and ginger are coming out. I'm not terribly a fan of this, though. It isn't faint in that "need more" way, but it's softly floral. There's also a note here that I don't like. I think it's the nutmeg adding to something... Dry (2 hours) - This is a really interesting floral. But very floral. A little lime, a little ginger. But FLOWERS. Overall - Not for me at all.

Dragon's Blood with honeysuckle? Headache in a bottle. But I love the ginger and pepper, plus it's my sign, so I'll try it. In the bottle - No dragon's blood, but lots of pepper and honeysuckle. Plus opoponax, actually. It gives it a bit of depth so it's not all blaring. Wet - FLORAL. Drying - Still lots of pepper and honeysuckle. I'm getting anything else, really, and my wrist is actually burning a bit. Hrm, that's not good. Maybe, just maybe, I'm starting to get some more opoponax out there, but it's taking a back seat to the floral. At the least, the dragon's blood is being calm. Dry (2 hours) - Floral, floral, floral. Honeysuckle with lilac and that's it. Ugh. Overall - Just too much floral for me, which confuses me since this doesn't seem like a "flower" type sign, but oh well. Off to the swaps.

In the bottle - Oh goodness, this is WONDERFUL. The woods with the sweet flag give this a fantastic creamy texture. And the floral notes mix with the "swampy" moss and water to give it a lovely depth. Wet - The moss comes out with a pow! Drying - Okay, it's mostly moss, wisteria and cypress right now, which is... actually not that bad a thing. As time goes on, the creamy nature comes back as the hickory and sweet flag flex their muscles more. So far, I'm adoring this. It's not a light aquatic, but it's certainly not that dark on me. A nice medium. Dry (4 hours) - This has some nice staying power. It's a slightly more powdery version of how it was before. Overall - It's nice, it really is. But is it nice enough for me to keep? Nah. I can see this being lovely on someone with more distinguished tastes or more closet space!

In the bottle - Lemon verbena and evergreen. I'm not catching the lavender that everyone smells yet. Wet - Very, very herby. Drying - Gotta be evergreen in here, it's giving me that almost minty herb scent. And I -think- some of the herb might be saffron, as I'm getting that spiced herbal scent. I'm getting a very, very minor lavender in there and the citrus of the verbena is all gone under the evergreen. Ah, my skin, amping some notes to high heaven! Dry (2 hours) - This has become a rather boring light lavender with a touch of a dry herb. Light and pure and.. well, boring. Overall - No, not for me. I think this would be much more suited to someone with a different skin chemistry and a more sensitive nose.

('07 version) I remember taking a small sniff of the bottle and turning my nose up at it. Maybe with the aging..? In the vial - Dark, dark musk and grapes. Oh, it's got THAT musk in it. >_< The one my skin/nose breaks up into grapejuice like in Urd. Blarg. Wet - Very boozy. The grapes have become... wine! And so much musk. Drying - If Satyr and Urd had a love child, this would be it. It's HEAVY musk and wine on me with some incense to it. Where'd that come from?? It's like nag champa was added to it! It's actually really nice. Dry (2 hours) - Seriously, Satyr + Urd = Smut! It's oddly very nice, although I can't see myself ever wearing something so very heavy. And I could probably make it smell the exact same by layering. Overall - Eh, not something I'd wear and if I DID decide to, I'd just layer the two.

('07 version) I know that white flowers work well on me, but I have no idea about pink and yellow florals. I know that I loooove these flowers, so I hope my skin works with 'em. In the vial - This is really, really nice! It's not too sweet and the florals are really light and... pink! It's actually a little hard to pull all the notes out of this, it's blended so well. Wet - Oh, the carnation is coming out nicely. My skin loves that stuff. Drying - One of the florals is going a bit soapy and powdery. The carnation is still very much in the front. There's, like, zero pink sugar. This is all floral on me, all the time. Dry (2 hours) - This stayed very true to the last stage, only fading slightly. Except for this strange... offness. Not rotten, but just off. Hrm. Overall - This is really pretty up to the dry stage, but it has very little throw and that off note.... Well, I'll be passing this along.

I'm not quite sure what to expect from this one. I love currant and amber tends to be quite yummy on me, but sandalwood? Honey? Neither works with me normally. But.... we'll see. In the vial - This is very... perfumey. The honey is very strong and I think it's the sandalwood that gives it that perfume smell. I can sense the wood lurking in the back, but it's not dry yet. Probably will get that way on me, though. Wet - Honey goes buh-bye. Drying - This is really, really clinging to my skin. It smells almost exactly the same as in the bottle right on my wrist, but there is NO throw. *blinks* Wait, there's a teeny tiny throw of a subtle honey which, well, isn't a bad thing. When I press my nose to my wrist it's awesomely sexy, too. Dry (2 hours) - Well, there's more throw than before, but it's very honey and... well, I just am not that much a fan of honey. There is some sandalwood still with it, but it's very much mostly honey. Very, very sweet. Overall - It's not terrible, but I don't like it nearly as much as it should be liked. It's just very, very honey. This would be fantastic on someone who really loves honey. So off it goes to find one of those people.

It's been a year (!) since I've posted and therefore a year (!) since I've tested any new BPAL. If my nose is rusty, I apologize. In the bottle - The musk and the orange are very much at the front of this, with some of the tea leaves and cardamom darkening it and making it just a bit spicy. Frankly lovely. Wet - Heavy on the musk and the tea. My nose loves orange, but my skin seems to eat it. Drying - The cherryblossom is making this almost a touch soapy. The amber musk is very much amber and the black tea is very black. I'm not getting any of the satsuma or the cinnamin, though, which is sad... It IS very soapy. Dry (2 hours) - As is normal for me, all the really interesting notes got eaten by my skin, leaving a very lovely mix of amber musk with a light dusting of the cherryblossom (thankfully over the soap now) and the tea. It's quite sexy and has a very nice throw, yet not overpowering. The SO loves it, too! Overall - I wish this were a GC. LOL As it is, I'll be keeping my bottle for those nights where a sexy smell is needed. Really like this one.

I love mint! I do! And I love bergamot and Snake Oil. Don't like green tea, but I think I can deal with it if the rest works out well. In the vial - Oooo.... A very rounded mint, not sharp, mixing with lovely Snake Oil. No bergamot or tea, though... Wet - I think I sense the slightest bergamot in here... Drying - Nooo, green tea, go away! The mint's very strong, very much at the front, but the Snake Oil is still making it's presence known. The green tea, though, is starting to come out with it's nonminty leafness and... well, I just don't LIKE green tea. It works to damp the mint down, sure, but... it's green tea.... It hurts my nose....

I usually have problems with frankincense going overly powdery, but I hear tell the orris in here keeps it in check. In the vial - Ooo! I'm getting a lot of copal in here, although the orris is making itself known. The franky is there in the background making it smoke. Wet - Deep resins and incense with a sweet punch and spice. Drying - This is quite, quite nice. Snake Oil dancing in the smoke. The orris isn't overly strong (never is on my skin), but the copal and franky are playing nice, one on top of the other, giving the Snake Oil's vanilla a nice backdrop. The spices of the Snake Oil aren't as "wham!" as they normally are on my skin, so that's great, to. Dry (1.25 hours) - It's stayed very true to the scent previously, only it's gotten dry. Very dry and dusty. Overall - Do I like it? Yes. Do I like it enough to buy a bottle? Probably not. I've never been one for heavy resin scents, which is what this is, and the dustiness just put me off.

Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla. I hope the berries aren't too strong in this. The other notes sound wonderful (neroli!), but if the berries are as strong as people are saying they are... In the vial - The berries are quite noticable, but they're not overly sweet and they mixed in lovely ways with the neroli. Wet - More berries, less neroli. Drying - ...I don't like this. The berry is very strong, tart and a bit soapy. There's also what I believe someone described as cut grass smell. I'm not getting any amber or vanilla, but the spices from the Snake Oil are out and... not working with the berry very well. I can almost get a pine scent from here, too. Dry (45 minutes) - Now, this stage I don't mind. The Snake Oil has really come out and it's got just the barest hint of a powdery berry and neroli to it. Sadly, it's very faint. Poo. Overall - Boy, am I striking out with the Snake Pit.

I haven't reviewed this one yet? I'm surprised! In the vial - This reminds me a lot of an opium den with champaca flowers sitting in the smoke, bodies in cheap cologne heating it all in their stupor. Wet - Poppy smoke and very woody sandalwood, with some tonka in it. Drying - ..I remember not liking this one. What the heck was I thinking?! It's smokefilled and dark, with some sweetness of the tonka to it and a little floral from the champaca. It's simply lovely, in a smooth dark and languid sort of way. It isn't terribly strong, I will say that, but it has this lovely throw that clings to me, drawing those around me to smell me more thoroughly. Really, really lovely so far. Dry (1 hour) - This is one heck of a dry sandalwood. It's pretty much down to that and champaca, which is actually pretty bland and uninteresting. Nice, but eh. Overall - It isn't nearly as bad as I somehow remembered, but the drydown is just boring.

Apple, so it could be tricky. Come on blood orange and lemon peel! At least the florals are ones that usually work on me. In the vial - Apples, plumeria, a little Snake Oil and a whole lotta soap. Wet - It's heavy on the spiced apple, really. It's a dark scent though. Drying - The apples really plump up after awhile, becoming overly tart to my nose. The plumeria is there, not as soapy as in the vial, but the whole scent smells disjointed to me and does flow at all. It's lightening up as time goes one, the apple and the plumeria really taking over. The two really don't work together right in here... Dry (2 hours) - The Snake Oil is just not there, but it's faded down to a soft musky floral with a touch of apple to it. Very feminine and better than the previous stages. Overall - Even if the beginning stages didn't smell to the point of hurt, the dry down is just too subtle and girly for me. It'd be very nice on someone who likes purple florals, though.

I'll say straight up that I don't do aquatics, so I'm not holding much hope for this. That said, I loved the olive leaf of Haloa and the oakmoss of King of Clubs, so maybe....? In the vial - ...love. It's masculine, yes, with a minty freshness to the moss that I'm dying over. This reminds me of... something. Yggdrasil? Wet - Wow, that's some fade out you got there. Drying - Seriously, this hit my skin and poof! Gone. I reapplied and I still can't smell much. My S.O. can, though, so we're going to rely on this nose a bit. And... he likes it. He does admit to it clinging to my skin like mad and he's picking up a baby-powder note to it. I'm getting some of that, too. There's no Snake Oil in this to either of our noses, though. And it is really, really faint on me.

I hear this is spicey like whoa. I love spice! In the vial - GEEZ! The cassia is crazy strong, with a huge backing of both ginger and cinnamin. SO STRONG. Wet - Yum, yum, yum. Drying - The cinnamin is strong and mixes with the ginger in such a way that makes my throat dry. The cassia is quite nice in this, although I'm really hoping it calms down a little. Which is... bizarre coming from me. I'd love some more Snake Oil in this, although it is spicey and fun. Dry (2.5 hours) - The cassia is, strangely enough, still holding on and still pretty strong. The cinnamin is still there lightly and a little powdery, but there's very little Snake Oil. It's rather light and... well "rooty," if that makes sense. Overall - Hmm... I don't dislike it. I'm not super big on it, but it does have nice staying power, for something on MY skin. I think I'll keep it around and see what my thoughts are on it later.

I thought it'd be nice if I made a wishlist for my Switch Witch. Please note that I'm certainly NOT asking for all of this. Or any of this, actually! It's a nice way to organize my thoughts on the things I want to buy at some point. Amazon.com wishlist. None binding and mostly a record of things I have yet to buy there. You can pretty much ignore the bath stuff on there, as that was added on a whim. Althaea - Soap: MisterX Angry Skin, Silken Rosewood, Blue Lotus and Neroli, Honeyed Amber, Sunshine Citrus (samples of these would be fine, too!) Villianess - Indiscreet Smooch!; Scintillating Smooch!; Dulces en Fuego Smooch!; pretty much any Smooch! (samples would be wonderful) Prairieland Herbs - the Hair Affair Kit; Shampoo Bars in: Sage, Sweetgrass & Cedar, Rosemerry Nettle, Peppermint & Tea Tree, Ginger Beer, Chamomile Citrus; Lemongrass Hydrosol; the Buzz Off lotion tube Talulah - Holistic Skincare Kit for Combo/Acne Skin Wylde Ivy - Soap: Lime Fizz, Black Raspberry Crush, Lemon Ozone, Raspberry Lemonade, Sandcastles, Spa Blend, Summer Fling, White Cashmere, African Vanilla Bean; Sweetie Lotion (samples are good) Lathers and Lights - Scrubs: Margarita, Pumpkin Latte, Oats & Honey, Thai Retreat; Hearts in Bloom Bath & Shower Creme; Cocoa Cafe Body Souffle; Berry Blush Body Lotion; Sole Survival Foot Scrub; Honey Citrus Hand & Foot Butter Klean - Scrubs: Devil Made Me Do It, Blue Hawaii, Klean Kolada, Pink Grapefruit Vanilla, Lime Crush, Orange Glow, Satsuma Splash, Thai Lemongrass, Peppermint Dream Smooth-ez, Perfect Pumpkin Smooth-ez (samples yay!) Oyin - Head-to-Toe Honey Wash; Greg Juice; Black Soap and Honey Gentle Cleansing Foam; Belly Bar Butter Bar; Cocoa Mango Butter Bar; Grand Poo Bar Queen Bee - Soap: Lemongrass, Gitchigumee, Purification, Salute to the Sun, Sweet Soul Sister, Tofani, Dancin' Fool; Mint Brown Sugar Scrub; Citrus Brown Sugar Scrub; Citrus Lip Balm; Healing Lip Balm; Herbal Lip Balm; Sunshine Lotion Bar Chagrin Valley - Soap: Carrot & Honey, Chocolate Almond, Citrus Woods Green Tea, Cucumber Lime Yogurt, Honey Beer, Java Spice, Neem & Tea Tree, Orange Creamsicle, Peppermint Twist, Shea Rose Clay; Shampoo Bars: Chamomile & Citrus, Herb Garden, Honey Beer & Egg, Mud & Clay, Neem & Tea Tree, Nettle, Rosemary Mint, Summer Sunshine; Hemp Mango Mint Lotion Bar (Samples are wonderful) ...this is just what I could think of without searching... 0_0 While I often shop there, I pretty much have everything I currently need from Elementals, but a gift certificate to there is great.

Uh, gee, even without looking at the notes, I see the massive amounts of chocolate in this. So... yum. Not at all the same chocolate as in Kali, I can tell right off. In the vial - The teak gives the chocolate (and yes there's tons in here) a warm woody note, but I can see why someone mentioned mint. It's not a true mint, but it's like the IDEA of the fakey mint used in candy is there. Wet - Cho. Co. Late. Drying - The chocolate is dying back a bit and the Snake Oil is really coming out, only boozier than I'm used to. The teak is also warming it up, but I'm not getting any rice milk. The chocolate has become less the candy and more the powered true cocoa scent, which works well with the booze seeping out. Dry (2 hours) - Babypowdered right out. Blarg. There's just the slightly touch of teak and spice, but it's mostly straight up powder. Overall - Well, it was nice when it started, but even then, I have chocolate scents that I like more. After the powder hit, well... Nothing more to say, then.

Leather and sage tend to be "eh" on me, but tonka and red sandalwood are yum. Let's see how it balances out and it I'll have luck with ANY of the Snake Pit... In the vial - Yeehaw. Leather and Snake Oil, with just the teeniest touch of sage for that herby kick. Wet - Leather, leather, leather. Drying - Ooo, this is actually turning out nicely. The sage is coming out, but it's a soft sage mixed with the sandalwood. The leather is still in the front, but it's not in my face like normal. It's still got that new leather scent, though, so it's a bit clarifying to my nose. The Snake Oil spice is playing around in here, mixed with the leather. It's a soft scent. Dry (1 hour) - This is very leather and is oddly a very true leather. The sage is there quite strongly, as is what I always seem to refere to as the "Snake Oil spice." I'm going to have to look up exactly what that entails again one of these days, it's been so long. Overall - This is nice, soft and very Western feeling. If I were to go horseback riding or camping, I could really see wearing this one.

I was going to do my usual review system with this scent, but that got derailed yesterday when my S.O. was going through my stash of the Snake Pit and decided that he loved, loved, LOVED Habu. I open the imp up, gave it a sniff and commented that I smelt something akin to apple in there (later found out to be bamboo), which tends to sour on my skin. He simply wouldn't take no for an answer. I put some on. The snake turned on me and bit me hard. That damn bamboo note did exactly what I knew it was going to do, becoming rotten and sour on my skin. The spice notes of the Snake Oil only encouraged it and the wood did nothing to dampen it down. My S.O. sniffed me, wrinkled his nose and said... "Can you ask on your message board to send me someone with good skin chemistry?"