zankoku_zen

Honey Moon 2013 The thyme/herbalness of this was surprising to me. It smelled like beeswax and herbal honey. It was comforting and soothing, and sort of reminded me to Ricola, but better. More honey, more sweet, more wearable. Herbal, honey, smooth.

Rosewood, honey, and musk. This one is rosey, very honey-like, and musky. With a touch of herbal background.

Vetiver, licorice and sandalwood. Smoky bacon on wet, and then a slap of licorice which gives it a weird anise sweetness. As it dries, the bacon part disappears and I get more of the licorice/sandalwood vibe going on. Slightly masculine on me. Dark, smoky, brooding.

I'm actually weirded out a little by how much I really enjoy this blend. It's blackcurrant, musk, and a teensy bit of rose. This smells like dark fruit, musk and a touch of the ink on wet. Funny, I keep sniffing it and being on the fence about it. Dark, fruity, mysterious.

Effervest vanilla, feather light violet. It ends up sort of soapy on me, but this is a light, feminine violet blend.

Oh Mops, you're an odd bat for me. On wet, you smell like a spicy husky cardamom musk. And then as you dry, you sweeten up a bit, the ginger makes an appearance, and you smell... well, better, but not quite what I was expecting. DAMN YOU CARDAMOM. Dark, husky, musky.

Smooth honey, sweet cola resin with a touch of woods. Stick close to the skin, has almost no throw on it for me. It does, however, smell like a better version of what your skin should smell like.

This has the same patchouli note as Badgers, with hints of black leather, and vanilla and almond. In other words, this smells like a leather version of Badgers. I prefer Badgers, but I can see why people love this blend.

Clean lemon, breeze... and laundry. I get some really nice and lovely dryer sheets. BOO.

I have to say that this is a gorgeous single note - in the same way that Sweet Alyssum and Red Spanish Carnation have been. Clean, musky, slightly tobacco-ey, aquatic. Slightly masculine. It's warm, and comforting, and hard to pin point exactly what it smells like. GORGEOUS.

Turkish Delight, coffee and roses. This coffee is rich, chewy, and foodie. And underneath, I get the rose note curling out from the thick, coffee overlay. Very arabic, exotic, and toothsome. Not my type of blend, but very interesting.

On wet, this is a huge note of tobacco and musk. And then it dries to an amber and musk blend. Heady, sophisticated, womanly. Sadly, it is not something that I am loving. BOO.

Gardenia, wet wool, tea biscuits and mothballs. This smells like someone's old grandmother's house. EPIC SKIN FAIL.

Green grass, skin musk, and detergent. This smells like your kid in a freshly laundered shirt with massive grass stains on it. And you can't be mad at them because its what kids do. This scent is evocative of the simple joys of being a parent, and having a kid that likes the outdoors.

Rosemary, oregano, and a hint of mentholic fur. This just smells, weird, to me. It's green, herbal, strange.

Musk, cedar and metallic honey. This smells dark, heady, and animalistic.

Planting Moon, you start with such promise. You open up as a green, tomato leaf, peppery arugula and vegetable blend. And then you devolve into a green vegetable soap. You are breaking my heart.

Soft rose, honey and fig. This smells female, sensual, rosey.

Did Antikythera and Haloes make babies? Because that's what Arana smells like. Woody vanilla, hint of musk. Slightly masculine, woody vanilla. Yeaaahhhhhh....

Weird. This smells like musk - with an overlay of cookies and a base of anise-seed. Dark, perfumey, older.

Blue musk, hints of tuberose and moss. It smells blue, comfy, and very light. Low throw, low wear length. My nose really has to hunt for this scent on my skin, even on wet.

Lemon, white florals, clean..... and HOLY CRAP, it's Jean Nate! Clean, citrusy, with a hint of spice/sandalwood at the very base.... And definitely smells like a better version of Jean Nate. Decent throw, decent staying power.

Love starts as - no joke- a subway ride straight into my childhood. It smells like a strawberry and vanilla ice cream that I would get as a child. It evoked summer days, being in the pool, hearing the siren call of the clarion from the ice cream vendor, tearing through the grass in the yard to get to the man before he had ridden off to parts unknown. By no means was this the most expensive ice cream you could buy, in fact, it was pretty low in the totem pole, but the blazing pink and white vanilla was one of my favorite flavor combinations. It came in a little plastic cup, with a wooden spoon, and you would have to hunt for the slightly less popular strawberry/vanilla combination - which was eclipsed by the more popular lucuma/vanilla. And after about an hour, the rose makes an appearance and hijacks the lovely strawberry/vanilla ice cream bits. If it had stayed as a strawberry/vanilla ice cream, I'd be all over this like some sort of wild feral animal. Sadly, the rose plays a spoiler in this relationship. But, wow, what a trip down memory lane.

This is the same juicy fruity strawberry note as from Strawberry Moon 2012 - which has been my most favorite BPAL strawberry blend. Ever. Sadly that ended up with just too much candy sweetness for me to wear. THIS, on the other hand, has enough green notes to deter it from turning into a strawberry candy morass. It might involve slightly more testing to see if this ends up being too sweet.... but the possibilities are tantalizing!

There's almost something bubbly on wet about this, but it's quickly a sweet plum, black currant and carnation blend. This actually puts me in mind of Morgause - minus the incense, but plenty of dark purple and plum notes. Plum, purple, heady.