Brianne

In the bottle: watermelon candy!! On me: This is everything I hoped it would be!! Watermelon is the strongest at first, and makes me think of pixie sticks because it's fruity and candy like but in a pure sugar kind of way. Then the lemon and lime really kick in and this becomes tart and sweet and exactly what I was hoping for with this scent. Final note: Just not a lot to say about this one because it is pretty much what you'd expect. I was excited about this scent because I really wanted a scent from BPAL that was primarily watermelon. And this scent fits the bill! It's so tart and fruity, I just adore it!!

In the bottle: fig! On me: This goes on like sweet but slightly tart fig, and smooth but faint chocolate. It's sweet, but not so sweet that it is overwhelmingly candy-like. It does have a dessert quality to it, but the fruity-ness keeps it from becoming heavy. Before long the orange and coconut are there too and this makes me think of a chocolate covered orange, crossed with Eden. It smells like both at the same time. Final note: Just wonderful, I am so happy I have this! It's wonderfully fruity and sweet, without being too sweet. The fig and coconut keep this fresh and airy, and the chocolate and orange give it a dessert edge. If you like 13, you will probably like this.

In the bottle: BUTTERCREAM! On me: Mmmm right away it's so yummy - very much those cakes with soft cake smell and buttercream frosting. It settles down very quickly though into a soft olive leaf smell backed by grapes - slightly fruity, airy, leafy and still slightly sweet as well. Such an interesting scent! I really can't describe it beyond that - they meld together to create a very unique scent. It's not too sweet, not too fruity - it's beautiful! Final note: I can only encourage people to try this scent for themselves. It's not my favorite, but I like it a lot and it's such a nice combination that is very hard to describe that you really have to smell it yourself!

In the bottle: bright, sweet berries! On me: I can't put my finger on what kind of berry that is... maybe blackberry? It's very bright though and gives this a fruity kick in the pants. That frosty smell kicks in rather quickly too - snowy and like blustery wind carrying a slight aqautic note on it. I'm not sure what daffodil smells like, but I imagine that must be the soft floral I'm smelling in the background. It's quite faint. Mostly to me, this scent is berries and icy wind. After a while I get a piney scent - like trees but it's not terribly strong. Definitely present, but still behind the berries and snow. Some people have said they feel this is a little masculine, and I have to say that I think it could be taken as a unisex scent. Aside from the initial blast of berries, I could see a man or a woman wearing this well. Final note: Beautiful and actually very similar to Knecht Ruprecht in my opinion. This is pine, berries, snow, and something sharp and biting like cold wind.

In the bottle: Smooth patchouli On me: The patchouli and myrrh are most evident to me right away - luckily, that patchouli is super smooth and keeps the myrrh from going into pencil shavings on my skin. This is a sweet resin - very incense like so anyone who is a fan of incense scents - this is for you with no doubt. This is a little hard for me to describe because the scents all just kind of meld together to make a generally incensey scent on my skin. After a while, I can't even really specifically pick out the patchouli, it's all just melded together. The amber actually makes this a little powdery on me and definitely puts it on the sweeter side of the spectrum. Final note: I like this one, though it isn't a favorite. It's very resinous and a little sweet - I suspect that a lot of people who like things like Sugar Skull or Grog will be fond of this one.

In the bottle: Orchid is the first thing I smell On me: Watery is definitely the first thing that comes to mind when this hits my skin. Blue-green and watery. At first the blue lotus is right in the front and it's just beautiful and smooth. Like crystal clear, perfectly still water. But that cucumber and pear kicks in pretty quickly and makes this more fruity than aquatic and the musk keeps this smooth and a little warmer. It all blends together beautifully - definitely a girly blend in my opinion. Makes me think of a lot of the Victoria Secret blends because it has that sort of girly bedroom vibe going on (not that it smells like a Victoria Secret blend in particular, just makes me think of it). It's not too fruity, not too aquatic, not too floral - it's a beautifully done blend. Final note: Simply gorgeous. If you like subtle fruity florals this is probably right up your alley!

In the bottle: a watery floral On me: Right off the bat, I have to say that I think there is jasmine in this. Because when this is wet on my skin, just for 15 seconds, I smell that funky smell that usually indicates jasmine. Luckily, it doesn't stick around, it quickly dissipates into an aqautic floral - the floral being a rather generic floral scent, I can't pinpoint exactly what floral it is. I definitely get a faint hint of what could be considered the "asphalt" - something dark and gritty behind this scent. But it's very difficult to detect and I only smell it if I put my nose right on my skin. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one though who doesn't get vetiver from this at all. I kept looking for it but I just can't smell it. In the long run, I would call this an aqautic floral - it's pretty and airy and strangely "cold" without having a menthol smell to it in my opinion. Final note: If you like Cool Water or other such aquatics, you'll probably like Black Ice. It's a very pretty, sophisticated and feminine floral aquatic. Not exactly my bag, but I like it enough to at least keep part of it.

In the bottle: Osmanthus! On me: Osmanthus is the first thing that pops out on me with Kindly Moon. For some reason, Osmanthus is always very strong on my skin and always smells sor tof boozey to me. Before long, this settles into a softer scent - slightly sweet and definitely fruity. Kind of floral too, but not in a very apparent way, I would describe this more as fruity than floral. The beeswax and vanilla keep this slightly sweet but not overwhelmingly so. The peach blossom comes through in this though and I think that's what gives this a fruity vibe. It's just a very clear, uplifting, feminine blend that is a little hard to describe. Final note: As I said, this is a little hard to describe. There are a lot of elements coming together in this scent and it works perfectly well together. A beautiful scent that makes me think of the word "clarity".

In the bottle: Oh God, dust ><; On me: At first, I am a little put off because I wasn't expecting the dust to be so.... you know.. dusty. It's all I can smell when I put this on. Okay, this just scares me right off the bat - it's like Miskatonic University all over again - dust and wood. Wood and dust. Dusty wood. Woody dust. Just awful on me, nothing sinister or sexual or naughty about that smell, it's just awful lol. THANKFULLY, after only a few minutes it settles into the drydown stage which includes considerably less dust and wood. This is turning into a red musk that I am absolutely in love with. The leather is definitely there - it's a black leather, not rawhide and it's sharp and works wonderfully with that smooth red musk that is so beautiful in this scent. Someone (maybe a few people?) mentioned smelling a little bit of patchouli and I definitely get that. It's very much in the background though and fits in well with that leather. Thankfully the dust is GONE. Final note: I was REALLY not liking this at first, and suddenly it morphed into this amazing scent that I cannot stop sniffing. If this is what Spanked smelled like, no wonder people went crazy over it!!

In the bottle: ooh Christmasy tree fruity goodness! On me: How does Beth do it??! How does she capture cold air in a bottle?? The first thing I think of when I smell this is the cold winter air carrying the smell of a tree and fruit on the wind. The fruit smells of apple and something else - a red, watery fruit - maybe holly berry? The pine is there, and normally I just don't care for pine much but it's tempered in this scent by the fruit and the mentholy cool air and junpier smell. I believe the warm, smooth scent in the background is the almond wood because it is definitely reminiscent of almond oil, but lighter. Final note: It all comes together to make a smell that makes me think of the winter air, but even more it makes me think of Christmas. It's clean but slightly fruity and has a smooth note underneath. This is just wonderful, not too masculine and very unique!

In the bottle: Iris and cognac, so a sort of boozey purple smell On me: Goes on GRAPES GRAPES GRAPES! Smells just like grape koolaid at first, and I just love that. It's fun and different Before too long the grape koolaid smell tones down into a softer grape smell with purple floral behind it. The violet shines through most of all with the florals and with the faint fig and plum backing up the grape, it keeps this from going FLORAL even though floral smells are present. This scent couldn't be more purple unless it was actually colored purple too. Final note: Love it. It's just a fun scent I think, and I've already gotten compliments on it though I've only worn it a few times. It's different from anything else I've smelled in my BPAL catalog and even though the grape keeps it fun and sweet, the florals keep it from smelling like a young girls play perfume. A keeper for sure!

In the bottle: Right off the bat, I get a warm incense smell of frankincense and amber On me: This goes on really strong and overpoweringly incensey. After a while it settles down into something a little less strong and headshop-y. I keep waiting for it to morph into some golden citrus though and that doesn't seem to be happening. I can understand why people are comparing it to Et Lux Fuit though - to me, it seems a bit like Et Lux Fuit but *more* like Kindly Moon on my skin. After wearing it a while I do get a bit of citrus - it's sort of a sharp undercurrent with the warm incense smells. It's not overly evident, but it is there. Once it kicks in, I do like the scent better. Final note: It's definitely a golden, incense scent. The citrus is the only thing that saves this scent from going immediately into my swap pile - it helps tone down the frankincense and gives this scent another angle. However, this scent still doesn't really "speak" to me and smells more of frankincense than anything else. I'm sad I don't get the sweetness of tangerine or the spice of saffron.

In the bottle: The bitter clove and black musk make a sort of cologne like smell - masculine and warm On me: The clove really pops out at me, it's wonderfully spicey and yet isn't too obvious. I don't feel like if I walked by someone right now they'd go, "What smells like clove?". Then all of a sudden, it all starts working together. Cinnamon, tonka, clove, musk - all of it makes a wonderful and deliciously sexy warmth. I do believe that the ginger is spicing this up some too, but it's not easy to pick out because of the cinnamon. Ah!! I'm finally catching a whiff of leather too! This scent has a lot of notes that are really all coming out to play, rather than only a couple notes being dominant. This stays pretty well the same after wearing it a while - spicey and woodsy, very nice!! Final note: This is downright sexy and has a smoldering, exotic quality to it. I can see this on a man for sure, but I think it would work well on a woman too (I certainly plan on wearing it!). I would call this scent the lovechild of Dracula and Three Witches

In the bottle: OSMANTHUS and honey! And the reason I know in all certainty that's what I'm smelling, is because this is how Kali smells on me at first - same exact smell! On me: As mentioned, this goes on like Kali on me - osmanthus and honey. Unusual scent I think, which is why I identified it right away. In only a minute though, it starts settling on my skin to become something warmer and sweeter. The sandalwood and spices seem to be combining with the honey to make something that smells reminiscent of chocolate (note: It doesn't actually smell LIKE chocolate, just reminiscent, in that warm, deep, sweet way). It doesn't take long though before this scent becomes REALLY floral. And yet, it still makes me think of Kali. In comparing the two side by side, I find them to be very similar. After wearing this one for quite some time, it's more honey and sandalwood and musk on me, which I enjoy quite a bit more than the floral stage. This is what I was thinking this would smell like. Final note: This is definitely a floral scent, and I wasn't really expecting that. The final stages of this scent is more what I was expecting, but the floral part might be too much for me. It does smell very similar to Kali on my skin. The upside is that this scent has a lot of throw to it, and is very strong. I am unsure whether or not I will keep this one. I like the stage where it smells semi sweet and warm and woodsy, but the floral stage isn't for me I think. Even if it was, I already have Kali and the two smell so close that it's nearly the same scent on my skin up until the last stage. It IS a nice scent though, just not what I was expecting. So this is a maybe - if I was fonder of florals this would be a definite.

In the bottle: Sweet patchouli On me: Right off the bat, this scent goes on a lot like Samhain to me. It has that smooth, deep patchouli with hints of something lighter and sweeter in the background. It doesn't take too long to darken up though and that spicey, deep vetiver really kicks in. This has some real kick to it in my opinion, the spice is very nice and works well with it's overall woodsy fall quality. In the background there is something faintly sweet and almost fruity smelling to my nose, I'm not sure what it is since no fruit is listed for this scent. Overall though, this does make me think of fall in a husky, burning leaves and woods kind of way. It is reminiscent of the smell of the air when someone is burning leaves, which I think is a fantastic smell. Final note: This is Samhain's older brother - deeper, darker, more mature. If Samhain is the celebration of the bounty of Autumn, then Samhainophobia is the celebration of the decay. It just has a woodsy, burning quality to it without being acrid, which I really appreciate. Lovely.

In the bottle: Spicey juniper! On me: This is very junipery on me at first, but after it hits my skin, a sort of minty/cold air smell starts creeping in. Then it becomes powerfully minty - but not in a sweet way or an herbal way, in a very dark and deep way. It's kind of icy-hot like in how powerful and deep the scent is. This is definitely not all mint though, there is a beautiful outdoorsy element to this - sort of clean air with snow and juniper. Just beautiful. After wearing this for an hour the mint has settled down (still present though) but this still screams outdoors in winter to me. It's very cool and refreshing but has a sort of rugged feel to it. I think this scent is absolutely perfect for The Carpathian Mountains. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I sure am glad this is what I got! Final note: Love love love love love love love. I am fairly sure this is a second bottle for me, because I would cry if I ran out of this beautiful scent.

In the bottle: softly sweet cakey smell On me: Right on my skin it's kind of incensey and kind of foody, but hard to describe other than that. It doesn't take long for all the scents to meld together so much that it's really like one scent. It's kind of incensey but has a slight sweetness to it. It's not overwhelming. Someone above mentioned a rose smell and I have to agree. It's not obvious though. I am certainly not inclined to call this a rose scent, and yet the incense seems to have a sort of rose vibe to it. Unsual combonation here. The longer I wear this, the more I start to smell a faint leathery note. I swear I really smell it - it's like rose and leather incense now. Very different. I still don't really know what I think of this though - I can't decide if I like it or if I would rather pass it on, that's how hard it is for me to describe this scent. I've left it on my skin for several hours now and what I mostly get is myrrh a this point. It took a long time to get to this stage though, so it doesn't bother me too much (I'm not that fond of straight up myrrh). Final note: I don't know if I like this or not. I definitely don't DISlike it. I'm going to hold onto it for now and wear it a few more times before deciding how I feel. Regardless, I don't think this is a love for me, but it just might have a place in my collection

In the bottle: POWERFUL butterscotch! On me: In the bottle it is straight up sweet butterscotch, but immediately the apple kicks in when it hits my skin. Beth's apple note doesn't smell straight up apple on my skin (as I've mentioned in my other reviews) so it's kind of apple with and airy, slightly floral quality on me. The apple isn't the main note here though, that butterscotch is still pretty front and center. There is a green-ness coming from the apple note though that sort of grounds this and keeps it from becoming candyish on me. Not too long after putting it on, the rum becomes incredibly apparent. I now smell like delicious rum with a greenish apple background and a hint of butterscotch. The caramel may be too close to the butterscotch smell for me to directly smell it, but the coconut doesn't seem to be there at all, which disappoints me. Final note: Though I hope that next time I wear this I get more coconut, it's a really great scent. Very fun and sweet and a little boozey. Great scent!

In bottle: MMMM WARM PUMPKIN!! On me: WOAH! Right off the bat I love this one - it's everything I was expecting. Warm, pumpkiny, slightly sweet. When it hits my skin the orange comes out a bit, lending a softly tart zest to the pumpkin note. Then the cardamom kicks in and spices it up - it's beautifully warm and a little foody, but not TOO foody. I think the amber really lends a nice smooth quality to this too but doesn't steal the spotlight from the pumpkin. This is like an exotic, new twist on pumpkin pie. It's pumpkin pie with beautiful citrus zest and amped up spice. This is GORGEOUS!! Final note: This is everything I was hoping for and more from this blend. I am fairly certain I need another bottle of this one. So beautiful and perfect for fall, I will be wearing this damn near every day this season I bet!

I noticed no one added that it was rereleased this year in the subtitle! This is the 2006 version I am reviewing! In bottle: Chocolate and some kind of airy floral On me: Above, Karen mentioned that the floral makes her think of a floral she has smelled in several of the Funeral Oils. I have to agree, this floral makes me think of that particular line and it's sort of a cloying white floral that I have smelled in several of those blends (particularly thinking of Jazz Funeral here, which smelled heavily of this particular floral). I remember smelling this in Hell's Belle also I believe, so I think this must be magnolia. The magnolia (or whatever floral this is, but I'm fairly convinced it's magnolia at this point) is sort of taking over the scent, but behind it I do smell a soft whiff of tobacco - warm, slightly sweet. I think the chocolate sweetens this up a little too, but this is FAR from a foody scent in my opinion. It's sort of exotic and unusual and though on one hand I think this smells like a floral scent, on the other hand, it's got so much else going on in it that I wearing this, I don't feel like I smell like a floral blend. Final note: The longer I wear this, the more it's growing on me. I do really have to slather this one on to get some throw. The floral is melding nicely with the other notes, so in the long run you get a slightly sweet, slightly floral, warm exotic blend. I like this enough to keep it, though it wasn't neccessarily what I was expecting from this particular blend.

In the bottle: Green and oddly bitter On me: Something about Beth's apple note just goes a little wierd on me. It's always sort of green and a little floral even. I have had this happen with all of her apple blends I've tried - most noticeably in Harvest Moon and Hesperides. This reminds me a lot of Harvest Moon at first - it's quite green and has a sort of floral scent behind it. Very similar to how Harvest Moon behaved on my skin. It is sort of vaguely apples and cider to me but not like real apples and cider if that makes sense. It's not as sweet and fruity or tart as either of those are in real life. On me, Beth's apple note just goes a little off. Not bad, mind you, but not as appley as it is on everyone else. Aside from that small disappointment (because I really DID want a nice cider scent) it's very pretty. Like I said, it does have a floral edge to it, so it comes off as more fall-ish and sophisticated than foody and warm as I was expecting. Final note: It really does remind me of Harvest Moon, they smell quite similar on my skin. I wish this had been more true to an apple and cider smell on me, but that's not the way it works with Beth's apple on me unfortunately. However, I do like it and will be keeping it for a lovely fall scent

I was going to say JESTER! It's very curranty on me. Bordello was all amaretto and plum on my skin, I never did get currant from it. I do get a little currant from Dragon's Heart, but not a lot. But I definitely get currant in Cheshire Cat! It's like currant + grapefruit + musk and it's beautiful.

Jailbait was a candy orange scent - but not really orange since it smelled of cherry too in my opinion. Carnal smells mostly of fig to me. Kuang Shi was more musk and mango than orange. However, I think Hunger is a beautiful, robust orange scent. Rather than being a tangy citrus, it was sweeter and richer. Very pretty!

In the bottle: Green tea! On me: Immediately, I agree with it being called F5. It is indeed refreshing! Once it hits my skin, the verbena comes out quite a bit. It doesn't take very long though for the aloe to join in and what I get is a truly wet, green smell. Then, the mint comes in. It's like each note is joining one by one every minute that passes. After 5 minutes, what I've got is a truly refreshing scent. It is a little seaspray like and yet it still smells of green tea and aloe and a touch of lime and mint and verbena. It's cool smelling and has a little bite. Final note: I adore this, I'm so glad I got it!

In the bottle: Black Cherry! On me: When this first goes on, I am immediately reminded of black cherry cola. It's got that syrupy cherry note but also a sweet and spicy note that smells like cola, no kidding. I am surprised I didn't see anyone mention that, because I swear that's exactly what it smells like wet! As it dries down, it becomes spicier - a husky, dry and exotic spice. The patchouli lends a sort of woodsy darkness to it, but that cherry and spice really go well with it. This is one of the more unusual blends from Beth I think (all of her blends are interesting, but this one stands out as being unusual - as I felt about Kabuki). I find myself rather captivated by this scent. It's not that I necessarily adore the notes, but somehow it's just alluring. I cannot stop smelling it!! Final note: There is something about this blend that I really love. I think I might actually need a second bottle of this, I can imagine this aging beautiful as well! So unique!