zankoku_zen

Hazelnuts, cream, and vanilla..... AND HOLY SHIT, THIS SMELLS VERY SIMILAR TO SHEELA NA GIG! I don't think Sheela had leather, but it did have creamy vanilla and hazelnuts. It's not as pearlescent as Sheela, but it shares alot of similarities. This may end up too foodie for me, but it's lovely and tasty.

Vetiver, rooty earthy patchouli and a smidge of black musk and tobacco. This smells deep, dark, and manly.

Sweet, sticky black musk and cinnamon. It's darker, more sinister, more complex than the regular Miss Forcible. Oddly enough, the image that popped in my head was "spider woman".

Crushed greens, white roses, and lilies and a touch of sweetness. This blend reminds me to some of the Ars Moriendi blends, in the sense that it is chilly white florals with melancholy and nostalgia hanging around them in giant swirls.

Bitter, brimstone and musky flowers. On wet, this smells more like the vetiver and then it dries to a dirty, bitter old lady white floral. Only that kindly old lady that is knitting, you notice that her teeth are razor sharp and her knitting bones are made from human femurs. Yeah, that's not your grandma sitting right there. Unless you're a denizen from hell, at which point, IT IS YOUR GRANDMA. (And my advice to you is, RUN BITCHES, RUN.)

So, take a Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate with Marshmallows packet, rip it open and you get this cloud of the mix, right? That's what this smells like. Creamy, sweet milk chocolate with a touch of marshmallow. If this is what evil smells like, where do I sign up? On me, this doesn't have a huge throw and it sticks pretty close to the skin. I found Bliss too watery for me, and most other chocolate blends end up being either too foodie, or have an element that doesn't work for me. This, on the other hand, would be THE bpal chocolate blend for me.

Spicy pepper, leather and something that smells like licorice. What? Honestly, its like a pepper/leather blend on me, and these are two BPAL notes that rarely work for me, if at all. PASS.

Licorice, patchouli and sandalwood. On wet, I get hints of fruity lemon, which seems to clash with the licorice and sandalwood on my skin. PASS.

Okay, I finally busted out my partial of Determination for a work project. And it is HELLA effective. Given where I am in my organization, I am constantly dealing with interruptions. A pretty big narrative report sort of crept up on everyone and I had to spearhead its completion. Knowing that we were running short on time and that the only way to get this puppy done was to be able to POWER THROUGH it, I busted out some Determination two days in a row. 60 pages with graphs, charts, etc. DONE. As for the smell, its dark and musky. Smells like vetiver and patchouli. And dries to something that almost has some amber in it with swirls of patchouli. Honestly, this could smell like motor oil and I'd still put it on. I was actually complimented on "smelling good", while I was wearing it, so I'm not too concerned. I wasn't paying attention to how it smelled honestly, because my focus was elsewhere.

So, I finally busted some of this out the other day.... and Very minty, very refreshing. The mint tingled EVERYWHERE. Literally. So if you're a bit sensitive, this may not be the thing you enjoy while soaking into it. I found it, personally, very invigorating, but the tingly cool sensation may not be fore everyone.

Moss, kelp and salt. This reminds me to a softer version of Ebisu, from the Shungas. It's got an Asian aquatic vibe to me. Fun.

Minty, lime, and hints of gin and green tea. This one isn't bad. It smells green, fresh and summery. And my skin eats this like NO tomorrow.

I have to admit being pleasantly surprised by this. Typically BPAL sweet pea is an uberaggressive floral on me. Meaning that it BLOOMS on my skin, and by bloom, I mean it bombastically explodes all over. And that's all I can smell. This one is slightly sweet, with a touch of green, very soft, and very feminine. It's very fresh... and oddly enough I think I like it just the way it is. Floral, fresh, feminine. The color that comes to mind actually is the pink tone that some white roses get. Blush? I think it's called. Hrm. May have to track down a partial of this.

Mango, coconut and jasmine. On wet, its very fruity but as it dries, I get bigger hits of jasmine. Admittedly, this is probably the BEST smelling jasmine blend I've had, since it has a tendency to turn into cat pee on me.

Patchouli, vetiver, and coconut. This reminds me to a softer, more floral version of the GC Goblin.

On wet, its cool strawberries and red currant with a hint of minty green. As it dries, the red fruit aspect dissipates and I'm left with a giant hit of oakmoss, pine and cypress. Green, woody, cool.

Lemon, white musk, and something that smells like bitter wood. It dries down to a citrusy, thyme and sage blend.

Bourbon vanilla, peach blossom, and hints of amber. I'm surprised at how much I like this blend. I thought the ylang ylang and freesia would be too much, but I am pleasantly surprised. Foodie, rich, pleasant. ETA: So, yes, this is vanilla/amber + light florals, and oddly enough to me, the vanilla + amber combo is strangely reminiscent to Amaterasu v3. Whereas I have a limited amount of Amaterasu v3, I think I may go on the hunt for more Serotine Bat. Oh yes.

At least for me, it's pretty obvious that this single note is quite old. On wet, it has a waxy, almost plastic quality to it which disappears as the scent dries and then the actual floral smell of the narcissus starts popping up (obviously narcissus is more of a heart/base note than a top note). It's lovely, rich, white floral. Highly pungent, no sweetness, slightly bitter. Leans toward the lily scent, with an occasional reminiscent whiff to daffodils. In some ways, it reminds me alot in feel and sophistication to Shadow Witch Orchid. ETA: Definitely rich and heady. And smells remarkably like daffodils. Hmmm.

Ded Moroz, is that you? Okay, so to me, On the Balcony smells very similar to Ded Moroz, with the rose infused amber and some of the ozone/air mimicking some of the colder snowier notes of Ded Moroz. It's warmer though, with hints of copal and myrrh. So yes, very closely similar. I like On the Balcony, but that's because I really enjoy Ded Moroz.

Amber, vanilla, hint of orchid. This is golden, heady and reminds me to Badgers, minus the honey leather component. Therefore, I adore it. Would absolutely love more of it.

You can't really add anything on this topic other than. THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID. Strong, clean dirty, patchouli.

Lush tropical, edged with lemon. It's citrusy, white, and very tropical white flower. It sort of makes me think of sitting underneath a palm tree. Oddly enough, it does remind me a little to passion fruit. With that tart citrus zing.

Oh Dandelion, you break my heart. You start off as this awesome green sappy blend, but as you dry, there is a slightly bitter undertone that continues to come through. It's not a strong scent, very green, very realistic. I'm going to re-test again, but it looks like we may be parting. ETA: Again, same scent experience. The drydown on me is very bitter. SUPER SAD PANDA FACE.

Iris, pale musk, dark fruits and darker herbs. This one is an odd mix of dark florals and cooler white musk (I think its the iris + musk convo). It's dark, ethereal, floral.