liquidtrance

- In bottle, really nice. Too nice to believe? On skin, initially.. This is amazing. Musky, yes.. But the vanilla tea keeps it real. We'll see how it dries.. Has the potential to get too musky. This isn't -totally- dry yet, but its close. It's still musky, but there's a good balance of the 'vanilla tea' It is slightly masculine. There's a little twinge of something sharp to the tea, as well. Overall, though, this is lovely. Would certainly consider a bottle.

Wow! The vetiver, sandalwood, maybe mint are apparent first sniff. This scent gives a warm feeling. It's soft like the other scents I've tried with vanilla.. But this is comforting, too. The lime and yuzu bring a brightness to the scent, but subtle at first becoming more forward. I love the sharpness there. Not too much, mellowed by the other calmer notes.

Very woody at first. Pine, and resins. Very cedary. I think this is the cedar that I THOUGHT was sandalwood in Kathmandu. On the verge of smelling like pure pencil shavings. No thanks. There's something else at the back… something almost sweet, but not in a candy sort of way. Smells of like sweet wood.

Right off the bat this smelled like cedar and perhaps the sage. Quickly, though, it morphs to … a barely noticeable scent. At first I think I can hint at the cedar, then as I keep inhaling, the scent is nearly gone. A trace of the vanilla, and maybe musk.. but hardly anything there. Slowly the carnation seems to peek out. Very strange how it diminished so quickly. Though this was shy with my nose-to-wrist, the wafting scent stayed surprisingly full of cedar. I never got much carnation (as expected) before it dissipated.

A smokey floral at first? Develops into a cleaner floral, as opposed to more stereotypical perfume floral to me. Starts getting an almost cool (relatable to cucumber?) back note. Overall, a little more floral than I prefer.

Imp sniff: there's something in this that makes it a little fresher than I would have expected. Not at all murky smelling. Worth a skin test. Skin test: Something bubblegummy/lemon-cleaner at first. Maybe the musk? Maybe due to RMW right now? Smells sort of like ginger. Soft ginger/bubblegum. Musky ginger in the end. ETA: 11/10/09-- Retried my lil imp, and although I got the WHOA LEMON stage on application, the citrus dissipated within five minutes of application this time. The ginger note I was detecting before, I think may have just been the musk. This is rich and soft as it is drying. Almost powdery, but not quite dry smelling.

Ooo, dark florals. Heavy, a little unsettling to the nose. Definitely the darkest florals I've ever smelled. Heady and deep. Somewhat familiar poppy, but deeper. Something much more familiar to BPAL is amping up as this dries… The narcissus/poppy smell is there (heady, cloying) but up close it might be the myrrh that is changing this from something enigmatic to something familiar and not adored. From a distance though it is pretty fabulous. Even as I write this though, the close scent is less obstructive. Unfortunately, it seems to also be going rather powdery on me. Losing its dark edge and getting much more stale smelling, and less potent. From a distance the poppies are still ass kicking good though. Once fully dry, its a heady, soft, and dark floral. Somewhat reminiscent of my mom's perfume, too. Fine scent. Not quite me, but not necessarily to be sent off to swap either.

A midnight scent, evoking images of flickering golden firelight reflecting off the sheen of glistening skin and the jerking shadows of bodies suffused with spiritual ecstasy. A deep, powerful, resonant blend of myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove. Pine and almond at the outset. Patchouli is creeping up the back. The lime might be there, but smells somewhat similar to lily? Or generic lemon-citrus. The vanilla is quickly making this sexy smooth. Especially from a distance!! At a distance this smells like the best almond christmas cookie ever-- the clove joining in?? Smells almost too delicious for perfume. The close sniff is still very... off setting, like many an other blend I've tried. Not sure particularly what it's attributing to... Patchouli? Myrrh? (What does myrrh smell like on its own??) From a distance though... coooooookies! Cookie fades a bit. Ends up being much more cedar/piney, but not overtly. Not too much. Overall, a good one. The vanilla sticks around, which makes it really nice. Maybe its the clove that seems cedary? Note that this goes on VERY strongly when first applied. Actually, its more patchouli than pine/cedar, for sure. This is actually... a huffable patchouli blend. I really like it. WEIRD. After Sin, I thought I'd despise patchouli. This, though-- Check plus. All the stages seemed nice, too. A little overwhelming/headachey when i realized how POTENT the stuff turned out, but better moderation next time might help. COOL!

Hot chocolate and a hint of sandalwood at first. As its drying its getting a little stranger. Maybe getting weird since I tried out Strawberry Feels stuff at the Lush store less than an hour ago… Couldn’t resist trying it, though, so now its just an awkward combo. Retest-- Weeeird. At first smells like strangely rotting fabric. Might be the mix of vanilla, cocoa, and the wood. Up close, the rotting fabric almost smells even like wet dog. Pretty much right on the money. Maybe it will dry down better... This ends up being an awkward sandalwood. Theres a slight vanillic chocolate in the background that throws it funny. Swap.

First impression is of… chocolate covered oranges…Or maybe jasmine-something-tea… Jasmine earl grey? Up close it smells totally different and strange. Up close it's herby and rather orange-blossomy… Has the sharp note of… God these notes are hard to name! Maybe there's ginger thats fuddling things. Ginger, a little lemon or orange blossom... As it wafts its almost got a lemon and grass scent. perhaps, lemongrass. but still that smidge of tea. Ends up as sort of a grassy cookie tea smell.. By FULL drydown, it's mostly sweet grass with just a hint of lemon. Kind of nice, actually. Not ravenous for it, but by the time its really dry its MUCH more enjoyable and lovely than wet.

Smells very cough syrupy. Very sharp. Smells like being young. The scents that come with scented-toys, the cheap-o makeup kits as a kid that you buy to pretend you're a grown up. Starts to get mellower on the dry down, but still smells… adolescent. The scent continues to morph, but bleh-- I'll be damned if it's getting much better. Starting to smell like the plastic underneath all those scented kids toys. Has more of a "perfumey" tone, though. Oh man! Wicked fake fruit crappy lip gloss scent. Ugh ugh ugh, no.

A really bright scent. The aquatic/grapefruit is really there for sure. I think this would make a good summer scent. As mentioned, very bright and clear. Sort of typical bath and body scent, though. As it's drying the hint of mint is coming out which seems to make this much nicer. Faded within twenty minutes, just reapplied another little smear. A lot of reviewers are saying that this is MINTMINTMINT over grapefruit, but for me the mint is barely there at all which is a shame. It's mostly just soapy citrus.

RMW->Wow, very high pitched.. like orange blossom, almost. Very similar to those "BLEH" scents, but with something titillatingly smooth in the background. Slowly changing into something different.. Morphing a lot. Seems to still have a hint of the orange blossom, but in a much less repugnant way. Not particularly spicy per se, perhaps its the musk that is most poignant? Almost something floral wafting throughout..Very feminine, without being too floral, too powdery, or .. Well, it just seems to get better and better. Maybe they are right about red musk week. Gets a sweetness to it, similar to vanilla or honey, but indistinct, with a slight powderyness but mellow. Not harsh, not daft, just mellow. A very happy musk-- not too musky, not too..anything else. Almost..like snake oil? Yes? -- Tried again in locket. Nice scent to get wafts of. A little overbearing at times, though.

The Neroli seems familiar. The other florals are soft, not quite soapy, warm. Not a total love, but no strong distaste. Unremarkable. Almost just a bath&body smell to me. Unobtrusively benign. Gets musky towards the dry down. You can definitely tell it's dark musk, vs normal. Overall, swappable.

Imp sniff: the juniper smells quite fresh, as in Black Forest, but here it's tacked down with the bits of patchouli and maybe the oakmoss, which make it a little murkier. On resniff of the imp, the patchouli and myrrh were definitely bigger players than the juniper. On skin, now, the patchouli is big from distance. Up close I get a cleaner sort of smell, which seems in line with the way the juniper in BF behaved at first. The patchouli, coupled with something else here, is soft and demure. Does not at all come across head-shoppy. The juniper berry is barely present, lending the barest tartness to the patchouli and I find that the myrrh may be lending its subtle "bubblegum" aroma to sweeten up the patchouli as well. This makes for some nice patchouli. I keep catching heavier bubblegum whiffs now and again, though. It smells mostly woodsy, somehow which I really enjoy. I think the oakmoss musk develop out because there's a bit more green now, less bubblegum for sure, and it's really comforting. In the very end, the patchouli boots all the other scents out. Nice, for a patchouli blend, but not amazing.

The jasmine and rose are most distinct.. Yet strangely they don’t do the usual plasticky, nose-wrinkling scent here. Up close, I start to get that nose-wrinkling, but then it is quickly replaced by surprised glee. I think the vanilla is stepping in to bring it all together in a great way. The rose and jasmine blend really well, and neither is particularly overbearing. The fig may also be helping with this, making this one big pleasing scent. No coffee at all. This is definitely the best jasmine/rose blend I've ever tried, though.

In the imp this smells like what might be the rum and sarsparilla-- sweet but almost grassy? There's also that hint of "ocean". On skin though, it's quite strange. Headache inducing. Too strong. Heady. Similar to roadhouse, I think. As this is drying it might be getting better. The patchouli seems to be coming out, and kicking off the sweet, sickening edge with something more earthy and grounded. Or, it might be the musky leather. Not sure this is morphing for the better, or just towards something differently nauseating. As this is more dry, it isn't horrible but I'm pretty certain the sarsparilla may be the ugly culprit. Or whatever aquatic note is used here. Swap away. On super full drydown I can just barely hint at the patchouli/leather, but it's still overtaken by that funny green/sugar/aquatic/headache scent.

<3 I think this might be a keeper. There are so many notes, it's quite difficult to describe anything in particular. It smells very golden, a warm yellow. Not distinguishable as particularly floral, but it has the same candor. As it is drying, it starts losing that floral reminiscence. Maybe it is the leather, hay, vanilla, tea leaf.. There's just a soft, round balance. Very mellow (opium? haha). Not sharp the way that most other BPALs with floral seem to go on me. I really like that it has that softness, and roundness without being vanilla (which seems to be the underlying culprit for most of those 'likes'). As it gets drier and drier, though, it is losing some of it's softness. Nothing sharp.. just, less smooth. An unexpected, very light, floral seems to crop up. Brings back some of the softness. Definitely huffable. Good blend. Still soft, warm, and lovely. A+

Upon very first sniff, the first thought that came to mind was "Wow!". There is SOME flower in this or the loam, or something… that just makes me melt from a distance. Up close, the flower scent is much more familiar. I want to HUFF but it's just not the same up close!! It's so soft and deilicate smelling! The wafting lovely smell (the violet?) is slowly rounding out to the close-to-skin smell (tempering the sharper ylangylang?), and also it seems as if the earthier loam is sprouting up. Detracts from the lovely violet smell. Up close there is still the sliiiightly soapy scent (ylangylang)... The scent seems to fade rather quickly, or Im growing used to it easily? Stays very close to the skin. After 15 minutes it's lost its sex appeal. Basically just powdery and slightly.. loamy? Damn!

In bottle: ALMOND. Cherry garcia smelling ALMOND. On contact: Almond, and that hint of vanilla-cinnamon. The almond almost immediately starts calming, and what might be the franincense/heliotrope (?) accent it. The cinnamon is not at all primary, and the vanilla makes this subtley sweet. After about 10 minutes, the almond is gone, mostly. What's left is something with a similar tooth-aching syrupy smell like O's honey, but a little darker and harsher. Some whiffs also give off a plastic scent. Had potential at first, but turned blah. 20 minutes or so later, the plastic note is gone. Just husky vanilla. Ok.

Golly, wood and leather like WHOA. Very scruffy smelling > Manly. With just the faintest hint of what could be pseudo familiar tonka? Reeeally warm, and comforting in a VERY strange way. Really really strong, too. Very easily apparent without getting wrists close to nose. It's definitely worn, comfortable, soft leather. The rosewood must be giving that plushness to it. This is very appealing in much the same way that Hay Moon is. The rosewood seems to take the stage, still with a veil of leather, as it's drying, but theres something almost vanillic in the background. Reminds me a bit of the biker/leather shops on the boardwalk, but not as seedy. There's something... sophisticated about this. Sophisticated, but alluring, inviting. Inspires sighs of comfort. Neither the leather or the woods are too overbearing. And so happily pungent with just a single wand swipe! i keep worrying that the wood or the leather is going to overtake the scent, and I'll be weirded out, but it stays nice and rounded. Almost, almost too pungent. Strongest BPAL I've ever tried to date. Hmm.. On second test, VERY leathery/woody. A little too much of a strange scent.. not bad, just felt self-conscious in it. I think Dee might have patchouli in it... very similar to the leather smell... Overall this is deemed a good sent to snuggle up and read a book in, but makes me a little too self conscious reeking of leather in public, haha

Very coconutty, but not at all in a cloying, fake way. The iris (?) soon comes through as well. The blend is very soft and mellow. Very wearable. Not foody, not floral, but nearly just right. Let's see how full drydown goes, though… Seems to be getting softer and softer. Not a very strong scent. Not too faint, but not overwhelming like florals or incense can be. Starts to go a little fake after awhile. Or at least just single note coconut. Maybe it's the hazelnut? Less appealing, though not by much. Scent gets VERY faint. Not an everyday wear, but not unloved. In the full drydown, the scent is barely there. Mostly just a little musky... and that's about it. Very shortlived scent.

Imp sniff: Wow. Fresh and clean! Not at all BLACK. Skin test: Ooooh, the juniper/pine here makes this delectable. I sort of feel like a christmas wreath (not a tree, mind you!), but mmm. There's something that's making this chemically sharp for a bit, but I'm hoping that will fade off. The musk really starts to mellow this out as it dries. The woods also come back to the fore as this dries. Fortunately this never goes to pine-sol or cleaner on me. Really fresh. After a couple hours this is supremely less pine/juniper, and much more musky. Still, surprisingly great.

Wow. Creamy, fruity, awesomeness. As it dries.. Started off like bubblegum, but is drying down into something more like cotton candy? Maybe a little like jelly beans. Up close it smells a little strange.. Like there's that bubblegum-myrrh peeking through. From a distance it's nicer though. Very candy-sweet. Maybe a little too artificially sweet. Still definitely a nice happy scent. I think I'd wear this occasionally. As its almost fully dry it gets back a little bit of it's creaminess (so it is less hard candy-sweet). It still smells partly artificial, but I don't think I mind it. I think this might, in the end, smell like the artificial strawberry in little girl lip gloss. Almost too much? It goes through a lot of really interesting phases though.

Nostalgia encapsulated. A soft, wistful blend of dry flowers, aged linens, and the faint breath of long-faded perfumes. I think I can detect the linen scent pretty easily, definitely "perfumey". Soft, but perfume-sharp. Continues getting softer and softer as it dries, though. Makes me think of cotton fluff. Does seem to smell.. Antique. Attractive, but sort of dated. And.. it is sort of lacey. Wouldn't really mind it as an everyday scent, but it doesnt scream to be worn on me either.