telesilla

Why I tried it: I like the notes and wanted to see why this was so popular. In the bottle and wet: Spicy, sweet vanilla. Drying down: It's a little sweeter than I usually like and there's a powdery noted under it that makes me wonder if there's amber in here too. Dry: Still quite sweet and most of the spiciness is gone; what's left is a kind of sweet powdery vanilla, almost as if I'd dusted my wrist with vanilla sugar. I've read that guys fix on vanilla as sexy for various reasons, which may explain why this is so popular. It doesn't say Teh SeXX0rs to me, but I'm not a guy. All in all, it's nice but since I'm not over the moon about it, and I know someone who will probably like it more than I do, it's going to her.

Why I tried it: Notes, middle eastern hook and um ... Jinn. What? In our vampire universe, the vampires are considered Jinn. Yeah. Nothing to do with Qui-Gon. Really. In the bottle and wet: Mmmm .. spicy oranges. Drying down: Ok yeah the patchouli is showing up a little but it's not too bad and my skin chemistry likes patchouli. Dry: Oh man I might as well just buy big bottles of every single middle-eastern scent Beth makes that doesn't have roses in it. This is a very luxurious scent, very much a "come viz me to ze Casbah" kind of thing, all spicy fruit and incense. It's like the other spicy scents--almost foody but not quite. Big bottle for sure.

Why I tried it: It's totally up my alley, note-wise. In the bottle and wet: Cinnamon and clove and honey! Drying down: Still mostly cinnamon, clove and honey, but I get a little tang of ginger as well. This is absolutely fantastic, more sweet than expected but I love it. Dry: It doesn't morph much, and I'm glad really because I love it as it is. I think I can catch a tiny whiff of the peppers but it's mostly sweet. Such a keeper.

Why I tried it: I like tea scents and love honey and some of the other notes. In the bottle and wet: OMG Latex? Kink fans rejoice. Drying down: No seriously, this smells like a dental dam. And while I hate dentists, I have some good associations with dental dams. Be that as it may, I don't want to smell like one. Dry, later: Still smells like latex. Not a keeper.

Why I tried it: I love me some fruity blends. In the bottle and wet: Wow! Neroli! Drying down: The neroli isn't so bitter now and the raspberry is coming forward. I'm not really getting any blood orange yet. Dry: People talk about a specific BPAL smell and for me it's that there's often a resinous or faintly incensey note to the perfume. I know people have called BPAL "head shoppy" and maybe that's it. Whatever the note is, it's here, although it's faint. And I can smell the blood orange as well. Later: It's very nice now, all fruity without too much of one given fruit. It's very summery and light. I may need to have a BPAL deathmatch between this and Swank.

Why I tried it: I liked all the notes and it's one of the Lab's most popular scent. In bottle and Wet: Sweet amber Drying down: I can actually get each note here. It's still overwhelmingly sweet, and right now the vanilla's on top. Also I either put on too much or for some weird reason it's not drying down as fast as stuff usually does. Dry: It's a little more balanced, but still quite sweet. I like the way the amber is just a little powdery and the honey is very warm in a way. It so totally does not make me think of O at any point in her journey; it's too simple, to be honest. O was a little more complex and even before she went to the Chateau, a little too sophisticated to wear anything like this. Makes me think more of her friend's sister, the young girl that got pulled into the whole thing. Later: The blend's mellowed out some, and it's not as sweet as it was. It's also quite sexy in an interesting way. I'm thinking I might use this to layer under things I want to sweeten up. I need to do an ingredient search too, this would smell really good with some almond under it to give a little bit of a bitter note. In short, I like it and I might even order a big bottle.

Why I tried it: I like Bet's wine blends and I love clove so it seemed a no brainer. Also I enjoyed the few days I spent in Madrid in 1978. In the bottle and wet: OMG bubble gum, but fruit bubble gum, not the traditional. Drying down: still very very sweet but I can smell the clove now. Dry: Nancy says it still smells like bubble gum, but I'm getting Sweet Tarts and cloves. It's an oddly nice smell, but not as a perfume. I wonder if this is because it's Old Madrid? Maybe the formula's been changed or maybe this is just old enough that the chemistry is wacked. It's also got one hell of a throw on it. Later: I think I can smell the wine note but it's buried under the clove flavored Sweet Tart. I'm afraid it has to be a "no."

Why I tried it: I like the notes. In the bottle and wet: Sweet! I'm not getting sandalwood at all, which is odd as my skin usually emphasizes it. Drying down: It calms down some; I'm getting the amber now, but it's still mostly peach blossom and heliotrope and a little vanilla. Dry: I like this, although I have yet to smell the sandalwood. It's vanilla/floral, a rich sweet floral that manages not to be cloying. I'm just not sure it's something I'd wear, as it's not very "me." But if you like vanilla and florals, this is a good one.

Why I tried it: There isn't a note here I don't like and several that I love. In the bottle and wet: ALMOND! Drying down: The almond is still strong, but I'm getting the cardamom and the saffron now. There's an almost dusty note that I think is the myrrh. Dry: Oh this is nice. I'm still hoping to find something that's exactly like Scherezade only with almond, and while this isn't it, I still really like it. The dustiness is still there and the almond has died down so you can smell the spices and the amber. There's just a tiny hint of bitterness thanks to the myrrh, but it's mellowed by something--the musk maybe. I'm not getting the lotus at all, or at least I'm not getting anything floral. Later: It's gotten even smoother, and it's hard to separate out the notes now. I like things like Swank, where the one note is obvious, but I also like things like this, where the individual notes get lost in the blend.

Why I tried it: A friend gave us a bunch of imps she was looking to get rid of so I figured I'd try it. In the bottle and wet: Fruity and rosy. Drying down: It's a really fresh clean rose scent and the pomegranate compliments it nicely. Dry: Ah rose. My soapy old nemesis. *sighs* Too bad; I hope Nancy likes it on her.

Why I tried it: Mostly because it was a frimp, although it was also on my wish list thanks to the fruitiness of it. In the bottle and wet -- Wow! Fruit! Flowers! Um and...stuff. Drying down and dry -- No thanks, the gardenia is way to floraly rich for me. It doesn't smell bad on me, in fact, it smells pretty good. But it's just not a me scent. *gives to Nancy, who likes it a lot* Also? So, not gender neutral.

Why I tried it: It's one of the Lab's most popular scents In the bottle and wet: Sweet and rich. I get the sugared vanilla but not the tea yet. Drying down: There's a sharpish note that I think is the tannin from the tea. Right now, it's not, for me, all that and a bag of chips. I'm not hating it, but I could easily name five blends I like better. 15 minutes later: There is no Victorian Gentleman anywhere near here who is going to take great liberties with my person as soon as the door is closed. No Victorian Lady either, alas. It's just vanilla/musky--didn't Jovan do a vanilla musk back in the late 70s?--with a slight whiff of tea. Later: I don't dislike it, but I'm not all that wild about it either. Might be my body chemistry or something, but I don't think I'd be as disappointed it everyone didn't talk it up so much. Oh well, more for you all who like it. *grins*

Why I tried it: In spite of the jasmine--a note I'm not wild about--the other notes sounded good. I love Beth's fruit scents, particularly her apricot. Also, it was a frimp. In the bottle and wet: Apricot and jasmine, with more of the latter, alas. Drying down: The apricot comes to the foreground. Dry: It's blended pretty well, no one note dominates the other, so it's sort of a fruity, sharp, floral. I don't dislike it, but I'm not as wild about it as I am about March Hare, for example. It's kind of...nice and non-offensive. Later: It's still nice but not nice enough to keep.

In bottle and wet: Cold minty, but it's a green mint and not the sweet mint of Lick It. Drying down -- Still minty, but it's got that odd band-aidy smell that Hemlock had for me. Nancy thinks there's anise in it but I'm not so sure. 15 minutes later -- I think this is the green note that's in Cthuhlu, because this smells like minty Badades. It's a cold smell but not the barren desolate cold of nuclear devastation; it's too green for that. This is more like when you have a cold rainy snap early in spring. Later: It doesn't really morph much. It's a keeper; this is gonna be really nice in the summer when the temperatures get up into the 100s.

In bottle and wet -- Gingerbread, the soft kind, not gingersnaps Drying down -- Still gingerbread, there's even a little baking powder type tang to it. Dry -- It doesn't seem to change much at all. Unlike Shub-Niggurath, there's no evil undernote; if Shub is Evil Gingerbread, this is Good Gingerbread. I think Shub wins out with me, but I'll keep this one. It's about as close to foody that I want to go and I've been informed I shouldn't wear it when Nancy's hungry.

In bottle and wet -- OMG candy cane! Must not drink it, lick wrist or make cocoa just to flavor it with this stuff. Drying -- Candy cane and vanilla and the tiniest bit of something underneath it that's just barely smokey. A little later -- Still quite minty and, while sweet, not cloying. The incensy/perfumey note is a little stronger and I actually like that because it doesn't smell like I simply rubbed some cheap Christmas scent designed for an oil burner on my wrist. Yes it's Christmasy, but it's kind of a grown-up Christmas and is something I can see wearing other times of the year. A half hour later after a walk -- The mint and the vanilla are still pastede on for grate yay! Whatever the "grown-up" note is, it's a little more present, and so the whole thing is a little less Christmasy and a little more balanced. This one is very much a keeper. It's faded some after a little over an hour, but I hardly put any on and I didn't use lotion before putting it on and I had recently showered, so I think it's fair to say my skin was kinda thirsty.

Why I was wantin' to try it: To me eternal shame, I'm not kowning about pirate rum, matey, but I love me some of that thar bay rum, so anchors away! How could a salty dog like me not be trying the Grog? In the bottle and wet: I'm wantin' some of them Butter Rum Lifesavers, arrr! Drying down: Cursed be, 'tis more butter than rum. This old pirate ain't sure if Cap'n Beth's butter note be working with me skin chemistry. Dry: Aye, 'tis so. Alas, there be something in the butter note that be smelling strongly of chemicals on me. I'll be swabbing the deck and me arm at the same time, arrrr!

Why I tried it: Foolish I guess; I should know better than to even think of trying LEs. But it sounded nice; I love carnation and amber and musk and Beth's fruity stuff.... In the bottle and wet: Sweet but a little sourly tart as well. Drying down: Almost bubble gum, kind of like Athens. Dry: Oooo intriguing. I think I'm getting the carnation and the berry with a nice amber undernote. (suddenly, like five minutes later): yikes! Vinegar. WTF? After a few minutes the intense vinegar dies down, but there's still a sour note that puts me off. Ah well.

In the bottle and wet: Woody perfume. Drying down: Really sharp and dry. I think I'm getting the rosewood and the balsam. Dry: I can smell the ginger now as well as the rosewood and balasm. No tobacco, which is too bad as I think it would mellow things out a bit. There's a hint of something sweetish as well, maybe the opium. I'm not wild about it, actually. It's just kind of ... meh. (later) It's gone soapy on me as well.

Why I tried it -- well originally it was because CN was extended and I had some birthday money, so I ordered a couple of decants from someone. Leather and smoke and something woody. Drying down: Still mostly leather and smoke and wood, nothing sweet at all. It's like De Sade crossed with Cathedral. Dry: Leather., smoke, and now some citrus and something vaguely boozy that might be the bourbon. It's not bad, although it's seriously masculine, too much for me to wear. I haven't managed to assign it to any of the guys I write about. He'd have to be pretty butch though.

In the bottle: Pickle juice. Really. Ew. Don't get me wrong; I like pickles, but not as, you know ... perfume. Wet: Sweet pickle juice. Oh boy. Drying down: Orange blossom and carnation. Better than pickles. Dry: No pickles anymore. *is relived* Spicy orange blossom. I don't get strawberry or the other florals. It's actually kind of masculine in a weird way, sort of a gents version of orange water. Later: Alas, all the spiciness has faded and all my skin is hanging onto is an orange blossom/strawberry smell that's actually kind of ordinary and way too young for a 42 year old.

Deep herbs and apple with black amber. Why I tried it: the idea of apples and amber appealed. In the bottle and wet: Apple! Drying down: Still apple and a fairly sweet apple at that. Dry: Still with the apple, although it's not as sweet. I'm not getting any amber at all and I can't identify the herbs although I can smell something herbal. Although there's no honey in this one, I'm getting an apples in honey effect from it. Or maybe apples in a very light sugar syrup. It's very nice; this one's a keeper.

Why I tried it: It sounded yummeh. In the bottle and wet: Dragon's blood and really sweet cherry. Drying down: Still quite sickly sweet but the clove is showing up now. Dry: The sticky sweet has gone away and the myrrh is there now. It's not a bad balance, although I'd like a like a little more clove. It's got the same note I've noticed in other resinous BPAL blends, a kind of incensey scent that makes me smell like I've been handling really good incense. I'm undecided on this, but since I know someone who would probably love it, I think it's going to her.

Why I tried it: White tea and ginger? How could I not? I've only smelled a clone of BBW's white tea and ginger scent but I love it. In the bottle and wet: Oh yeah this is already good. It's mostly tea with a touch of ginger to it. Drying down: The ginger's showing up more; it's a nice fresh ginger with a little of that lemony smell that you get when you slice into ginger root. Dry: It's more ginger than tea now, but it's still quite gorgeous. Another perfect summer scent. Thanks to not updating my wishlist, I've ended up with two imps and that makes me happy as it seems to fade rather quickly.

Why I tried it: I figured that if I was gonna like something foody, this'll be it. In the bottle and wet: Pure pumpkin pie. Drying down: Still insanely foody. I don't even like pumpkin pie and I want some. NOW! Unless this mellows, it's just too foody for me; I'm seriously thinking of gnawing my own forearm off. Dry: It's gotten to be peachier now, but still all with the nutmeg and cloves. It's odd that I don't think that March Hare is too foody but this one is. It's a lovely smell and might make a good room scent if you like foody room scents.