splendidissima

Based on some of the reviews, I was hoping for a little more sweetness/sugary presence, but I do get the faint creamy note! The lavender is very faint here - on me it's a lemon-eucalyptus scent, cool and clean, with something making it a little smoother and rounded, so the lemon and eucalyptus aren't shouting or sharp, but instead wrapped up in something softer, especially as it dries. It's a fresh cool scent - I can see how on some people it might tip into cleaning-product territory, but on me, the creaminess helps keep it on the right side of that, and very wearable.

Lemon and warm spices! I wouldn't've said gingerbread as much as the spices in gingerbread - there's not a baked goods note, just the cozy rich spices. It's not as sweet as I was expecting, though there is some sweetness - it's limoncello, versus lemon sugar. But there is still the lemon-syrup sweetness that's in limoncello, so that's present! It's not very boozy, either. It's interestingly complex, overall! It's fairly low throw, but seems to be sticking around for a while, and I like it!

I love the Lick Its, and I have several! This one's not as sharp as some other years, or as sugar-sweet as some - it's very well balanced! Sweet vanilla peppermint, beginning to end, and very nice.

I've been trying more lavender scents lately, after White Chocolate & Lavender Madeleines and also Mari Lwyd were unexpected wins for me! This sounded intriguing, like it might be a good sleep scent or hot weather scent. In the bottle and wet, it's a sharp clean-smelling lavender - not soapy, but like the air is very cold and clear and bracing, and also full of fresh herbal lavender. As it dries, it almost ventures into...I once had a boyfriend who loved to wear, like, Cool Water and those sorts of scents, and my nose is doing a weird scent-association, I think. Hmm. An hour or so later, it's sort of a cool dry lavender herbal mint! I might like it to be a touch sweeter, but I do like sweetness in general. I do think it'll be a good sleep scent, especially at this stage.

In the bottle and wet, this goes on as rich boozy butterscotch - like some sort of idealized version of butterscotch schnapps! But then very quickly a lemony note emerges, and by the time it's dry, it's a sweet tea with lemon. Both stages are nice, but very different! This has a big throw in that initial stage, but it also vanishes super-fast: after about half an hour, I couldn't find it on my arm at all. I like it, but I'm going to have to practically bathe in it, or keep reapplying every thirty minutes, for it to stick around!

Foodie, lightly honeyed, spice cake! Cake in the sense of, ancient grains, or something like a johnnycake - more savory, not a sweet cake. Warm and hearty, full of nutmeg and clove. Plus a drizzle of warm golden honey poured over the top - not a lot, not enough to soak them, just enough to be noticeable and add a hint of sweetness. This is actually sort of similar to By Thys Fyre I Warme My Handys, on me, but I think I like Hildegard better - no smoke (which went weird on me), and honey instead, for a little more sweetness!

Exactly what it says it is: sweet butter, cream, honey! The honey does have a floral edge - like a honeysuckle, or wildflower honey. And it's backed by the rich buttery cream, but it's also oddly a light scent, if that makes sense - it's not heavy, more like a waft of cream and butter lifted up by a breeze. Low throw - this is a skin-close scent - but it's very pretty! It makes me think of spring.

Oh, this is so nice! I wavered over this one because it has so many notes I've never tried, but the reviews sounded lovely, so I threw it in! On me, it's a big poofy warm vanilla - a golden sort of vanilla, like being outside in rugged hills and glowing sun. It's very well blended, or maybe I just don't know enough of the other notes to pick them out! I really like this; it's like a warm comforting hug, a big cozy billow of vanilla, settling in. Low throw, but I also didn't put much on because I'm testing a few things. I want to keep sniffing my arm, though!

I'm a medievalist, so I had to get this! It goes on with a swirl of wine and fruit, and I wish it stayed there! I do start to get the band-aid quality as it dries - not sure what's causing that, maybe the smoke? As I persevere, after a while, I think now I'm getting the oatcakes and bread coming to the front. I like this stage; unfortunately it's also very faint at this point! I can barely smell it on my arm. I wanted to like this more, but I'm glad I tried it!

Interesting! At first, in the bottle and on wet, I thought it was almost too sharp - heavy sandalwood and something akin to black pepper! Pumpkin in the back, being quiet. As it dries, the pumpkin comes out more; now it's very well balanced. It's not sweet - I was actually hoping for a little more buttery sweetness - but it is warm and toasty and cozy, sort of the feeling of sitting out on the porch on a dry hay-warm October night, in an old wooden rocking chair, with pumpkins glowing. Awesome Husband said it smelled a little masculine, but not in a bad way - woodsy and peppery.

So...as I'm sorting through my imps and decants from my grad school phase of "buy ALL the bpal"...I've got some Mead Moon 2008, or so says the label on this decant. There's only about a drop or two left. Let's see. ...wow. That's still...potent. Huge throw, given how little is on my wrist. It's...sweet honey. That's all, really. Sweet thick luscious honey. I do very much like it! I think it's very different from later more complex versions? It's a heavy honey single note on me, but that might be the 2008 formulation. I'm liking it, but of course these drops - aged at this point - are probably different from the new versions!

Pulling out what I think is a pretty old imp (curled tag, faded, not much left): I remember mildly liking, not loving or hating this...and I think that's still true? It's more berries in the imp...but then goes almost instantly to berries + soap on me, and the soap is the strongest! It's...fine if you like that, perhaps, but not really my preference!

I can't recall whether I've reviewed Jack before, but I've got a brand-new imp, so, here're my current impressions! (I do have an older bottle, and am considering a back-up...) I love pumpkin, and I do love this: it's buttery, warm, glowing pumpkin, with a little dribble of peach juice. Not much spice; I wouldn't even call it spicy, just that the nutmeg is maybe adding some warmth. It's very close to the skin on me, but has great staying power!

This is...amazingly, eerily accurate! Exactly what it says! We made mincemeat pies last Christmas (2020, I mean), and this is SPOT-ON. A jumble of warm cozy dark spiced fruit (mostly apple and raisin, but really everything all tossed together), brown sugar, a hint of apple cider, baked in a rich pastry crust! It's very much a holiday association for me, but it's a delicious one! If you like mincemeat pie, you'll love this, I think.

Much like @Madame Mew above, I mostly get Sugar Cookie, and it's a caramelized brown sugar sort of cookie, dark and rich! It's like fresh-baked dark brown sugar/toffee/toasty-edged cookies, sitting next to a big red rose. The rose is present, it's noticeable, but the cookies're louder. This one's interesting on me because I feel like the notes never blend - like, it's very distinctly cookies! + a red rose! side by side!, versus scents that swirl and blend together. I think I'm also learning, between this and Sugar Cookie Snow White (and a bottle of Sugar Cookie from a previous year), that there's something in the Lab's Sugar Cookie note that gets super-amped on my skin and also goes very dark brown sugar on me. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I like brown sugar, but it means that probably any oil with Sugar Cookie in it is just going to end up being primarily that, for me!

This starts off as sugary pink grapefruit, which I enjoy! It does start to go powdery after a few minutes - not in a bad way, but more artificial kids' candy (the Fun Dip comparison is spot on!). I like the opening better, so I'm wondering if it would last longer in a locket, versus on my skin.

Cherry! Spicy cherry! I don't get much pumpkin, but I do get pumpkin spice, over a rich dark cherry sauce, and a creamy cheesecake backdrop. This goes on very intense, big and bold, but not in a bad way - it's just a very big happy spiced cherry cheesecake! It stays pretty much the same upon dry-down, only softening slightly. It's a good holiday scent!

Fresh-baked, sweet-tart, lemon bars! I really don't get much pumpkin - I'm looking for it, and maybe it's there as a warming note in the background, adding some buttery-ness, like Jack? Maybe that's adding to the lemon bar/pastry hint? But this Bat is primarily a delightful sweet-tart sugared lemon bar on me, which is very fun!

Like filigree_shadow, I get mostly black plum, dark and purple! As it dries the marshmallow comes out a bit more, giving it a breath of sugar-sweetness, but not much - it's still primarily a black plum scent on me! I have a vanilla bean lotion, and I might try putting that on first. Or seeing how this would layer with something like Ghost Milk or Gingerbread Mummy!

This is mostly Sugar Cookie on me - which on me goes darker, brown sugar & caramel rather than light & fluffy - but it's Sugar Cookie with a kiss of the lab's snow note, just enough to give it a sweet cool chill. I don't really pick up the florals; it's very much a toasty dark sugar cookie being nibbled outside in winter, which I like!

This one starts off as a strong herbal with a bit of sweetness, which is interesting! Sadly, about five minutes in, it's basically gone to baby powder on my arm. Not unpleasant exactly, but not something I especially want to smell like! I might try it in an oil warmer or a scent locket, to see if it stays in the sweet herbal realm any better.

A frottle from the Lab! I love pumpkin and pumpkin spice, but I've been leery of blood and musk (and honestly I'm a bit squicked by blood in general!), so this isn't something I'd've ever picked, but let's try! It's...a spiced honey? A rich dark very spiced honey? Okay, this isn't bad so far... As it dries, I get more musk, though it's still very spice-forward - pumpkin-spice-drenched honey over a red musk. I think maybe I'm also getting a hint of the opium poppy at the back? It's definitely a dark scent, like deep scarlet velvet. Poenari mentioned Dracula above, and I can totally see this being a vampire scent. 🧛‍♀️

Oh, gosh, first! I hope I can do this justice! This is a gorgeous scent, first of all - I'm so, so glad I got a bottle! (I love lime, and I used to adore the BBW Lemongrass Sage scent, way back when. So I couldn't resist this!) It's a luscious sweet herbal-lime scent in the bottle - a nice balance of sage + lime. On me, it's sweeter than I expected - it's a sugared lime! It's actually reminding me a bit of Clown Princess of Crime, minus the bubblegum-lolly sweetness but plus a soft herbal note, which gives it a more grounded backing - more cozy, I think, like I've got some fresh sage to cook with. It's still predominantly sugared lime at the forefront, though. As it dries, the sage comes out more, though it's still a little sweeter than I expected - but I'm not complaining! It's a sugared lime + fresh sage + happiness sort of scent - like a light sparkling pale green. I could see this working well as a ritual type blend: cleansing and brightening, shadows dusted off, kitchen all happy and snug and put to rights, with a dusting of sugar crystals on top. It could certainly be a good summer afternoon scent, green and radiant - but I think it'll also be a good scent for gloomy winter days, when I want something bright and fruity but also warm and domestic and sweet. Nice throw so far, about half an hour in! I honestly really love this; I think it's one of my favorite Duets ever. 😍

Oh, gosh, it's a strawberry shortcake! Or a strawberry pie! With some coconut whipped cream! Mmm. This is definitely a sweet candied strawberry - maybe even a little artificial, not in a bad way, but like thick strawberry gloop, syrupy and squishy. Plus a fluffy poofy airy topping, also lightly sweet (not too sweet), made with shredded coconut. I would absolutely eat this, or maybe drink it - if you added some rum, it could be a strawberry daiquiri! Fairly low throw, but it seems to be lasting a while, clinging to my skin. I thought I'd like this one, and I do indeed!

Lighter than I expected, but that makes sense for the "pretend carrot" aspect! Like the above reviewers, I mainly get cranberry - a cheerful bright cranberry, not too tart. As it dries, more warm pumpkin plus something else soft and cozy and orange, probably the carrot pulp (never smelled that in perfume before, so I'm guessing! it's not really savory, more like the sweetness of oven-roasted carrots or squash, if that makes sense?), starts to emerge in the background, which is very nice and comforting and makes me think of holiday coziness. Primarily it's a cranberry scent, though, on me!