Tess

A very good friend of mine loves the scent of that most dignified of flowers, the iris. (The bearded iris, to be exact, but I really don't know the difference between them all.) I did a search for it and came up with a few things, but I was hoping one of you lovelies could point me in the right direction for the best of the bunch. Many thanks in advance for helping a very non-floral type woman.

In the vial - There is much ylang ylang here, which is generally a bad thing, but here it is at least being given some depth by the labdanum. The honey is a sort of lurking sweetness. I'm not getting hardly any musk at all from this. Wet - I see what people mean by fruity. Drying - Oh dear, that floral is stomping all over everything! The musk as come out, too, and it is just not the right kind of musk to go with the sweetness. The musk is a deep one, very robust. It's like the musk wants to have a sophisticated dinner part and the floral is prancing about with a really annoying giggle. I can't pick up anything else because the two are just fighting it out on my skin. Dry (3 hours) - Well, the honey is gone, which has helped keep the ylang ylang down. The musk has also lighted up a bit, so it's not clashing with the floral as much. There's almost a little edge to it, like carnation notes have, but just a tiny bit. It's like there's a bare suggestion of something, but not enough to actually smell like it. Overall - I really don't like this one much. It gives me a rather rocking headache and it is all due to the ylang ylang. That note and I never work.

In the bottle - The pumpkin is very strong here, with quite a buttery flavor to it. The peach lurks in the corners, but I'm getting surprisingly little spice here. Wet - Less pumpkin and more actual butter here, oddly enough. Drying - Pumpkin notes usually give me that smooth impression of butter, but here it actually seems to -be- a butter note. I can tell because it immediately went plastic on my skin. The spices are out, but it's slightly hard to tell where one begins and another ends due to the very strong "sour butter aka. plastic" scent. Unless I'm mistaken, the peach is part of the problem for me, as it is making the pumpkin go rancid. Unfortunate. Dry (2 hours) - I'm really disappointed in this. Generally pumpkin notes love me, but this one is nearly entirely plastic on me. Overall - Less butter with my pumpkin, please!

I should have reviewed this long ago, as it is one of my favorite scents, but it is hard to put into words how glorious it is. The mixture of honey wormwood and absinthe makes for the most lovely smelling experience. My nose revels in the light lemon scent and my brain is tricked into thinking of little faeries tripping about in front of my eyes. It is one of those scents that, if it was to come back, I would buy a gallon of without even considering the cost. I only have a single imp left of this little beauty and I have enjoyed every drop.

In the bottle - Wow, this is really full of heliotrope, which the copal and labdanum being present as well. The heliotrope almost smells bubbly, as odd as that is to say. There is some gladiola giving the florals some power and I think I can get a hint of the lily in there. A very unusual scent so far. Wet - This is not at all what I think of when I think of Sheol... Drying - I have yet to get even the barest hint of tonka, but the labdanum is coming out full force now. Also, the floral is being bloody dominated by the iris, which is unfortunate. It's giving me that "labdanum dust" feeling in my throat. (I don't know how better to describe it, but it often happens with that note.) Overall, I've yet to see how this relates to Sheol, which is a drab and gloomy place to be. Dry (2 hours) - This is just utterly gone. I can get the barest glimmer of floral copal, but it has faded to such an extent that I need to huff my wrist to get anything at all. Overall - Well, it just doesn't fit my image at all. Which is good, since I didn't really like it all that much, anyway.

In the bottle - Popcorn, turkey, some caramel and this odd... astringent scent that I can't place. It's very odd. Wet - Is that cherry? Huh. Drying - Okay, I don't think I like this too much. That bizarre smell sitting right in front is fading a little to leave me with a rancid cream with popcorn and turkey. Uh.... Dry (3 hours) - It's not as bad as I had feared. It's actually rather nice! Turkey with some cream pie and cherries. A full meal all at once. Overall - Not for me, but it's not as bad as other people have said. It's very foody.

In the bottle - Mmm, linen with a hint of vanilla and some white florals. Plumeria? Baby's Breath? Something of that variety. Very clean and breezy. Wet - More floral now and less vanilla. Drying - I'm nearly positive the floral note is plumera. It's got that slightly soapy touch I'm used to from that note. The linen and the vanilla have backed way the heck off, the vanilla especially. Here's hoping the floral backs off to let the linen back out, since that's the major draw here for me. Dry (2 hours) - Light and clean. The floral has back off, so the soap has also faded to a large extent. The linen is light, crisp and divine. This is very much the scent of fresh laundry left out in the sun. Overall - It is a delightful scent, but I think I prefer the more robust scent of White Rabbit. This is a "doesn't smell like I'm wearing perfume, but I smell good" type scent, where as I like to smell like I'm wearing perfume. I would very much suggest it to anyone who is sensitive to scents, but who wants to smell pretty.

In the bottle - Oh YUM. Cocoa and vanilla with some bourbon give it the foody, but there is musk and vetiver in the background which is glorious. And the lavender is just there enough to dance with this. It is incredible. Wet - Just a touch of birch. Drying - The cocoa is backing off (common with my skin) and the birch is coming out far more. Well, okay, not -far- more, but it is more noticible. It is giving this scent an interesting twinge that I find surprisingly nice. The vanilla is almost gone, oddly. But... oh darn, there comes the sage out in full force, making this rather too herby. Arg. Dry (4 hours) - The sage came and left, thank goodness, leaving that wonderful cocoa/birch scent, with a hint of musk and lavender. It is much fainter now, but it is delightfully NOT foody, which I really like. Overall - If I weren't too lazy to shake it before every use, I'd keep this one. But I am, so I'm not.

In the bottle - Dark plum with narcissus are the two main notes coming to the fore, but with a subtle backing of the pathouli. Quite the dark scent. Wet - Plum and patch! Drying - Mmm, finally getting some champaca in there. It's one of my favorite florals! The narcissus is very much making its presence known, though, keeping the plum from being nearly as fruity as it seems to want to be. I'm not really getting much in the way of sandalwood, probably due to the "scorched" nature of the note. Really, it's plum with some nicely mingling florals on a bed of the patchouli. It is very dark, but complex. Dry (3.5 hours) - It has stayed surprising true to before. The plum has become much more dry and the florals have actually backed off, but it still very staying strong. Overall - I actually don't care for this much if only due to the patchouli. If it were missing that one note, I'd love it, but meh.

In the bottle - This is such a complicated scent. With each inhale I'm picking up more of the notes, blended together in a very wet fashion. The base is very much green sandalwood and oakmoss, but there is the lovely tea and vanilla and citrus notes floating through it. I'm completely intrigued. Wet - Mmm, the spice notes come out. Drying - Jasmine has made its sneaky way to the front, the jerk. It is drowning out quite a bit of the complexity of this as it is getting amped up. If I smell long and hard, I can get the wonderful play of the ginger, orange and vanilla, but it takes a hard inhale to get past the floral blast. So very annoyed with jasmine right now. Dry (3 hours) - I keep thinking that I should like this, but then I get a whiff from my wrist and it's just.... very nice. It's feminine without being overpowering, a common theme during the drydown of oakmoss scents for me. The sandalwood is no longer green, but much drier and the vanilla honey is quite nice. I'm not getting any citrus, but it's very nice and musky now. Overall - I actually find myself really liking this. It is far more complex than I'm used to liking, but once the jasmine gets to stomp around and hissy fit, it gets tired out and leaves me alone. I'm not sure how people call it masculine, since it is completely feminine on me without being being incredibly floral or sweet, which is quite nice.

In the bottle - A very musky cherry, but I'm not getting any anise from this at all. Wet - This isn't at all like the cherry in Jailbait. Drying - Oh, er, hi there, anise. The cherry has gone... well, I'm not sure how to explain it. It isn't fake the way that cherry candy is, but it still has gone very fake. The musk is just not around at all. It's fake smell with anise on me. Dry (3 hours) - Nothing really has changed in this. Still very, very fake smelling on me. Overall - I don't think I've ever found a scent with cherry in it that I've liked...

In the bottle - Burnt caramel and more burnt sugar. Hrm. Wet - Uh, nothing. Drying - Hrm, okay, now I get the Snake Oil. Amber and caramel with some sandalwood. There is... a lot of sugar in this, but brown sugar. Sticky and slithery. It is becoming less and less "burnt" as time wears on, the scent also getting stronger as my body heats it. It does, indeed, remind me of aged Snake Oil layered with Sugar Skull. Dry (4 hours) - This is... really nice. It sticks to that nice Snake Oil + Sugar Skull, only it doesn't go burnt on me the way that other sugar scents do. It so lovely. So. Freaking. Nice. Overall - I was hoping that I wouldn't like this, but it's... incredibly nice. I'll never get myself any more, but maybe I can do some layering to emulate it...

In the bottle - Blueberry and vanilla. I can certainly see why things like pancakes get brought up, but I'm not getting any butter from it. To me, it is like blueberry pie filling. Sweet blueberries and vanilla. Wet - The berries are becoming much more "real." Drying - Oh, hrm, the vanilla isn't a type that my skin is liking. The berries are already becoming powdery and the vanilla has become very chemical. I can still get wafts of the bottle scent just slightly less sugary. Only warmer, if that makes any sense. It is quite faint on me, though. Dry (2 hours) - This reminds me of something, but I can't remember what scent it is. Sweet cake with blueberry powder is what I'm getting. It creates a very nice halo, though. If my nose gets too close to my skin it smells like plastic, but there is a nice, soft throw wafting around me that is quite pleasant. Overall - I would never wear it, as my personality doesn't fit foody scents, but it is quite nice. I wish the blueberry didn't dry down to quite so generic "berry" smelling.

In the bottle - Okay, I'm normally very much not a person for florals scents, but this is surprisingly nice. It's very yellow in scent, favoring the daffodil and sugar blossom. There's also just enough honey to sweeten the bouquet. Unbelievable to me, I actually might like this. Wet - Oh hey, there's some rose and phlox now. Drying - This is becoming very green now, replacing that happy yellow floral. The rose is very wild here and the green is just like cut stems. It's like I'm holding a clutch of freshly plucked wild roses with a few other flowers mixed in for color. Oh, there is some nice play by the bluebell here, too. I've lost the honey but this is a sweet, very carefree floral scent that I like. Dry (3 hours) - Sweet and subtly floral. It's very true to the earlier stages, but softer. And it is giving me a headache. Which is, you know, not so nice. Overall - A very, very nice floral scent for people who don't get floral-induced headaches.

In the bottle - At first it's a patchouli overload, but then the ylang-ylang comes out and slaps me in the face. I'm not picking up any neroli in here yet, hrm. Wet - Oh hey, it's neroli! Drying - Ugh, gods, so much ylang-ylang. So, so much. It's blocking out everything else that is going on with this scent, it's so overpowering. I keep inhaling, hoping something else will pop out and beat the florals down, but alas. All flowers, all the time. Dry (1 hours) - I can't stand to smell this anymore. It isn't floral now, just... bad smelling. My skin turned it absolutely rank. Overall - No. No. More no.

In the bottle - Wow, is the labdanum strong in this. It is mixing right with the rose and giving it a sour scent. The teak isn't helping matters, either. It's a very, very strong and almost medicinal scent. In fact, if I close my eyes, this smells exactly like the dentist's office I went to as a child. An interesting vision to bring up via a scent, but I'm not sure it's one I want to walk around with. Wet - TEAK. Wow, so much teak. Drying - I'm getting almost no cedar from this at all, but that smell of a very well combined labdanum/rose/teak is right there. The teak is stronger in the front, at least, and the rose is much softer than in the bottle. We'll see if the teak in general works with me, in particular. Dry (4 hours) - Teak and cedar and... that's it. Dry wood. At least it doesn't smell like a dentist's office anymore, I guess. Overall - Very not for me.

In the bottle - I'm getting quite a bit of the chrysanthemum with a nice backing of musk and opium to support it. The ginger is just a bare glimmer in the back of my nose, more a tingle than a real scent. It's a dark scent, deep and yet floral. Interesting. Wet - Hrm, still true to the bottle. Drying - Sigh, I should have known. The mum is coming out strong and soapy now. The ginger is completely gone and the musk has backed off to let the opium have the full background. But it really is quite soapy, with an almost powdery residue. Dry (3.5 hours) - The soapy floral backed off quite shortly after it really settled down, going back to a very close version of the bottle scent only slightly dusty and dry. Unfortunately, by now it is quite faint and sweeter than it was. It still is decent smelling, even if the darkness and strength of it are lost. Overall - I'm surprisingly happy with this scent on me. The spiciness with the floral against the dark background actually works very well. I'll try it out a bit more and see if a bit more of a liberal application gives the strength more "umph."

In the bottle - The vanilla and the orchid are mixing into an almost candy cherry scent. The champaca is much stronger than I'm used to, although the orchid is by far the stronger of the two. It is nearly overwhelmingly sweet. Wet - I'm actually rather glad that my skin tends to eat vanilla notes. Drying - That orchid is just so very strong, to the point of overpowering almost everything else. I'm getting faint whiffs of the musk and the tonka, but the floral needs to calm the heck down so that the other notes can come out more. Dry (4 hours later) - It went into this cheap, overly sweet and yet faint floral scent. The French vanilla is there, but smells cheap as can be. Overall - Terrible on me.

In the bottle - When people say this is just chock full of resins, they aren't kidding. It has a smooth backdrop of that deep musk and then the resins play on top of it. There's the slightly bitter note of the myrrh, as well as some sweet from the benzoin (which I can't for the life of me spell tonight). So far, I'm in love with this one. Wet - Oh, this is so dark and lovely. Drying - The blackness of the musk and the myrrh are coming out far more and it's lost quite a lot of its sweetness. Hrm, yes, it has gone somewhat powdery on me, too, although it has become very faint. Darn it, come on skin, bring it back to me!

In the bottle - Wow, that's nail polish remover like mad to my nose. With a little cherry, but whoo it's alcohol smelling. Wet - Less like bubble gum and more like cough drops to me. Drying - I'll be honest, this is exactly what I -don't- want to smell like. I'm not getting any of the "woman's perfume" but I'm getting all the sticky gum and fake cherry scent I can stand. More than I can stand, even. It's headache inducing. Dry (2 hours) - Not as "in your face" as it was, as it's heavily faded. Now it's a dusty pseudo-cherry scent. Overall - A big no from start to finish for me.

In the bottle - This really is surprisingly green smelling. I'm getting lavender (it's very soapy) and frankincense, but there's more sharpness to the green than is explainable just by lavender. Wet - There really is a ton of lavender in this. Drying - I wish I could tell what this other "green" floral note is. Probably some carnation in there, as it has that slightly spiced floral note that I love, but it's very heavy on the lavender and the "green." Frankincense is just gone. It's a bright floral scent, through and through. Dry (4 hours) - Lavender was mostly what I could smell until the last hour or so, when everything faded and it was gone to the barest frankincense. Overall - Lavender doesn't work on me in the best of times and this wasn't the best of times. Add to the fact that it didn't give the impression of a sun scent at all...

In the bottle - I'm going to compare this to Lick it Again, only it has some more vanilla in it. It's not a straight vanilla, but more like a french vanilla. It's nice, though. Very smooth. Wet - Mmm, I wish there were -more- mint. Drying - It's hard to describe the difference, but this isn't as sweet as Lick it Again. The mint is more robust, with the vanilla (still leaning towards "french vanilla") has almost a darkness to it. It draws my nose to it, giving me that sinus tingle that you get with mints. But it's not overpowering mint nor candy mint. It comes across as a part of a whole, blended together. Refreshing! Dry (3 hours) - Oh, it's -that- kind of vanilla. As time went on, this went more and more sour plastic on me. Now it's all that and no mint. Overall - Darn you, vanilla!

... Oya’s ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum. Oya winiwini! In the bottle - Very cherry and almond. There's a deeper note in there, something incense, but the cherry is so strong it's drowning it out. Wet - Cherry, cherry, cherry. Or I guess plum. Drying - There's the incense coming out. It's way heavier than I thought at first, a very dark incense. Black, more black than BPAL's normal darkest incense. I don't like it with the sweet cherry, to be truthful. It's jarring, uneven, and not fitting with the theme of Oya, IMO. Dry (2 hours) - The drying stage lasted far longer than I'm comfortable with. It is now dried to a sweet plum musk, but it's quite faint. Overall - There just isn't enough plus points to this for me to really keep it.

In the bottle - Very heavy on patchouli, moss and juniper. Oddly, though, I don't mind it. It's not as deadly dark as other combinations of those notes have been. The honey is lightening it up. Wet - It fades away a whole lot the moment it touches my skin. Drying - Very true to the bottle, only even brighter on the tree side. The balsam is light and lovely, with a nice under layer of the patch and the musk. Rather masculine, but very nice. A comfortable, soothingly sexy man this would be. If I were a man. LOL

In the bottle - This is not what I expected. The peach is extremely light to my nose, almost overpowered by a "generic" floral and amber. Overall, it's very perfume smelling. Wet - Ah, okay, THERE is the peach. Drying - I feel like I should know this floral. Wisteria? It's bloody strong, whatever it is, stomping out all the nice peach and amber. No, no.... maybe it's freesia. Whatever it is, it's all I can smell. Dry (2 hours) - Smells faint and powdery and perfume like. Overall - Newp.