zankoku_zen

Smooth gleaming amber and leather, with a hint of oudh. Sadly, no blackcurrants which is what I was hoping for. But this is definitely a feminine black leather. I think the amber smooths the leather out and makes it much more wearable. Medium throw, great wear length. Sadly, not my cup of tea.

Auri's Most Perfect soap is handmade with scents of ash, elm, and hawthorne, as well as containing beeswax, nutmeg, and selas flower. It's produced by combing through Slow Regard to get every last detail correct to make it as good as it could be. Be sure to keep Auri's most perfect soap somewhere safe, away from greedy climbing beasts. From the soap itself: "Made with tallow, ash, elm, and hawthorne, just as Auri used, this soap is sure to strike you as most perfect. Additional ingredients include beeswax, nutmeg, and selas flower." This is definitely a musky blend. We get the selas flowers, the beeswax, and something almost musky-woody. It has a ton of throw and scents up the entire bathroom. Unfortunately, neither mr. zee_zee or myself cared for the scent of it after a few days. There was something almost slightly unnerving, and its a bit powdery when you first inhale, so it ends up almost smelling like a chemical component used to clean the bathroom. We'll use up the rest of the soap, but not sure I'd buy more.

Cocoa powder, cinnamon and brown sugar. This smells like the hot cocoa my uncle (who has since passed away) used to make around the Christmas holidays - chocolate (bitter, with a touch of powderiness), spicy (because of the cinnamon, which I would venture to say smells like cassia cinnamon), and just a touch of sugar. It's a very nostalgic smell to me actually, and it smells like holidays in Latin America. Average throw and wear length on my hair.

Summery buttery rum coconut. This one smells like coconut sun tan lotion. If that's what you're into, give it a whirl. I got a bit of mintiness when I first applied it.

"A super cool proto for the Pandora series called Vesuvian Lava Cakes which smells like a chocolate bundt cake with warm hot fudge poured over it" is how it was described to me. Wait, chocolate lava cake? An unreleased prototype that appeals to my masochistic collectionist type? Who am I to resist? I am happy to announce that is is indeed a very chocolate blend - I get chocolate cake and chocolate fudge. It stays pretty close to the skin and keeps being creamy and fudgy. This reminds me alot to Lump of Coal, but perhaps of a darker chocolate variety. And more fudgey. Hell, it even evokes greatly the ever elusive and coveted Dark Chocolate. It has that decadent edge that Lump of Coal was missing. God, I am craving chocolate now.

Burnt sugar, tinge of raspberries, buttery cookie. It's pretty foodie, not not the type I really enjoy. I get a ton of buttery shortbread from this, and something that smells almost almond like. And yes, with a dollop of raspberry jam.

Banana, cocoa, and a touch of smoky tobacco. Much more wearable than I anticipated. Good throw and wear length. Sadly, I actually don't like the banana smell. Which makes me sad because the rest of the scent is super awesome.

Cold lavender and icy aquatics. This one actually smells like a men's fougere to me, and I'm gonna go slap this on mr. zee_zee and see how it works. Low throw and wear length.

Violets, jasmine, and white sandalwood. Cucumber adds a coolness to the violet-jasmine combo. But it's really violets-jasmines on a bed of citrusy sandalwood. Medium throw, medium wear length.

Guatemalan Coffee does smell like guatemalan espresso drip. It's got smokiness but also a light citrus, and underneath is a smooth palate of sweetness. This is a good coffee blend. I don't really find it wearable as itself, but it really is an amazing single note.

I really really like the green in Luperci. It's a nice ivy/moss green, that on the first and two coats is very sheer. I've also done three coats, and I have to say that the translucence prevents the shade from being too flat. Lovely!

Michael Casts Out All of the Fallen Angels, Gustave Doré. White sandalwood, olibanum, styrax, galbanum, white dammar, valerian root, and white musk. Warm sandalwood, galbanum and hints of resin smoke, and valerian. Smoky, warm, masculine.

Thick medicinal honey, sage and a touch of white flowers. This one definitely smells like honey that you'd eat in case you were sick. It's got that medicinal edge to it, with a very woody sage as a base.

Cake, tea, and cucumber. It's foodie and fresh, and perfect for the summer. It's like a light summery vanilla cake with enough fresh tea and cucumber to keep it light and frothy. If you get your hands on it, you won't regret it!

So I managed to swap for a tester of this, and it smells more than just sugary dark chocolate, a whiff of cream. I would say that there's some dried grass, a touch of wood, and maybe some bourbon in there. It's richer, more complex and definitely more than just a foodie blend. Candy Butcher has never been a blend that has worked for me, but I am very impressed by the prototype.

OMG, Formula54 is that you? I get red musk, smokiness, and a whiff of booze and makeup. It's probably the closest thing to a F54 dupe that I've smelled in BPAL.

Unnumbered. So this Chaos definitely has vanilla, and it has an almost bubbly/oily component at it that made me think 'flue gas' from the Century Guild Century Guild 'When I' scent. I think it may be narcissus. It ends up being slightly masculine on me. So steampunk sort of Oriental.

Oooh, I totally had a bottle of this and forgot to review it. Based on the super sketchy notes I took, it smelled like pink ice with a blush of amber. It was pink, with a touch of minty, touch of rose, and touch of amber.

Ice, red musk and a swirl of frankincense. This remains somewhat minty even in the drydown. It's a slightly minty red musk with a very resinous base. Medium throw and wear length.

Sugary Vanilla candy, what smells like coconut, and a hint of musk. I can see both the Midway and cotton candy references. Very pink and sugary.

Oudh, honey and a dab of patchouli/leather. This is not what I expected at all!

This soap is amazing, and despite it being a few years, still has some powerful scent attached to it. Honey, a dab of plumeria and another white floral. Lovely.

Sweet pea, musk, and vanilla sugar. This is a very sweet, sweet pea blend. Low throw and wearlength. It sort of reminds me to Victoria's Secret scent, but I can't quite pinpoint which one.

Smells like grapefruit champagne. Fizzy champagne notes, bright ruby red grapefruit juice. Tart, fizzy, and very glittery. Good throw and wear length.

Dark chocolate with a dark burnt sugar, amber, and myrrh. This is a very strong dark chocolate blend. Sugary, rich, foodie. Great throw and wear length. If you're into chocolate, this 13 is for you.