lohengrin

Most of the "cake" blends turn floury/cocoa-powdery on me, much to my dismay. Cockaigne... doesn't. Cake and wine! It's amazing!

Coyote? Tombstone? Neither has the wood stove note you're looking for, but both are southwestern-inspired.

Noooooooooo! SOAP. *cries* I love Daffodil/Dandelion type florals, and that's one I still don't have in my collection. I was hoping for that, from Sundew. Alas, instant soap. Must be aquatic notes in here somewhere, as I don't see anyone having mentioned jasmine, which is my other main 'soap' offender.

I don't know if it's the mimosa doing this to me, but there is a disturbing undercurrent of... feces... to this oil, on me. Succubus doesn't do this to me, but Madrid goes really weird and unpleasant on me, too. Washing it off. Now.

Alas, this rose note does exactly what every other BPAL rose note does on my skin: HI! I'm a Big Red Rose! Watch Me Glisten With Dew! No darkness, no corruption, nothing but fresh garden rose.

Uhm. Goodness, this one is odd. I'm going to have to go with rootbeer that has been sitting in a pagan shop for a couple hours and has absorbed the smell of the incense. It's interesting, but it kind of gives me a headache.

I'm at a complete loss for how to describe how Vinland smells on me. Mostly it smells of rose, but it's a strangely subdued rose, which makes me think there's something else to it, under the surface. What that something else is, I have no idea. Damn roses.

Soapy, definitely soapy. A little bit herbal, too, but mostly it smells of expensive soap. Ew. Definitely does not say sexy to me.

Instant, stabbing headache. Curses! I thought maybe because it turns out that a (very) small amount of sandalwood is okay on me after all, maybe myrrh would be the same. Not so. It could also be the labdanum, though I really hope not, since I desperately want to love Jacob's Ladder, and apparently rockrose is labdanum. :/ I had to wash this off very quickly, but the brief impression I did get was of very resinous sweetness, with herbal undertones.

Uhm... slightly sweet powder? Probably that's the violet, or the primrose. It's nice enough, but certainly not what I was expecting. On me, this is a soft, innocent, sweet scent. Like baby powder with just a touch more sweetness. Not a winner for me, alas.

Verdict: Spicy, but since there's no cinnamon (which totally takes over on me), it's nicely multi-dimsensional. Just very slightly buttery, with lots of clovey/bay kick. No almond or rum, but that's okay. I quite like it this way. ^^

Verdict: I tried this one out of sheer curiosity. And I think I kinda like it. It's WEIRD. It's minty... but very herbal. Very, very herbal. Smells like a mint teabag, that kind of herbal mint. Plus, apparently both pennyroyal and lavender help repel mosquitoes. Good to know.

In the imp: Chocolate. On, wet: Still chocolate. Damn. Later: Chocolate, with a little iris, maybe, not sure. Unfortunately, still dominantly chocolate, which I do not much like.

In the imp: MINT. Minty mint mint mint. On, wet: Mint, I say! And just a hint of cucumber. Later: It fades out to cucumber with a background of mint. God. Love this. So. Much.

In the imp: I smell mostly green herbs. ^^; On, wet: Odd, it's somehow... citrussy. o.O Very much so, in fact. Lemongrass, maybe? Later: Yup, that's lemongrass, now with a base of fresh ginger, not cakey ginger. Not at all what I was expecting! Not that I'm complaining. Until such time as the grapefruit scents come back, this will do nicely for a citrus scent with kick!

In the imp: I could swear I smelled chocolate in here, at first sniff. Second sniff, and it was vetiver. On, wet: Vetiver and roses. Overpowering. x.x Later: It fades a little, but remains very much rose and vetiver. Pity, cactus flowers sounded kind of intriguing.

In the imp: Chocolate and honey. Maybe a bit of lotus. On, wet: Sweet floral, with just a bit of honey and chocolate in the background. Later: Honey-sweet flowers. The chocolate, mercifully, fades away to nothing. Maybe a hint of red wine and tobacco, because this does smell a bit more layered and complex than just honey and flowers, but anything else is too subtle for me to pick out.

In the imp: Soap, and a faintly acrid, smoky smell. On, wet: Stronger, more acrid smoke. No leather, no more dragon's blood/soap. Later: Stays pretty much the same as wet. The leather peeks out towards the end of the scent's lifespan, but enh. Not impressed.

The essence of innocence shattered: glittering Egyptian amber and heliotrope, infused with the sweetness of strawberry and vanilla - dragged into debauch by lusty red musk and a dribble of black cherry. In the imp: Cherry cough syrup. On, wet: Cherry and strawberry. Less fake-smelling than any of the other BPAL strawberry blends that I've tried. Still kinda smells like lip gloss, though. Later: Really does smell like lip gloss, or Strawberry Shortcake dolls. But, unlike the last couple strawberry blends I've tried, it doesn't smell like BURNING Strawberry Shortcake dolls. ... Still not a keeper, though.

In the imp: Soap. Cursed dragon's blood. On, wet: Soapy, with currant. Later: Soapy, with soap. SIGH.

In the imp: Sweet, floral. On, wet: Floral, sharp. Maybe some vetiver. The peach/sweet note is gone. Later: And then it fades down to generic sweet floral. *shrug*

In the imp: WHOA SWEET. @_@ Not as sweet as, say, Jailbait, but sweet. On, wet: Little bit soapy. Sweet and soapy. Damn. Later: Soapy, with something nicer in the background. ;_; Still haven't found my citrus scent that ISN'T discontinued.

In the imp: Almond. On, wet: Almond, and a touch of cinnamon. Later: The almond is overwhelmed by the cinnamon. Pretty much like every other cinnamon blend on me, except Harlot. Missing the almond.

In the imp: Sweet, kinda peachey, and something more solid. On, wet: Sickly-sweet too-much-peach, but with a promising undertone. Later: For my first sandalwood blend, this is encouraging. The amber and sandalwood even out the peach, make it less offensively sweet. Can smell just a hint of vanilla now, too. Quite nice.

In the imp: Rose. On, wet: Rose. Later: Straight up rose. No spices. *sulk*