zankoku_zen

Fresh dirt and radishes! It's a fresh, herbally, planty sort of blend. It makes me think of Planting Moon, and how I wanted that to work out.

Wisteria, jasmine and tuberose. This is a dusty, dry sort of floral (probably because of the oak moss). Dries down to a mossy, slightly floral blend. PASS.

Hockey Urchin is definitely therapeutical. It smells medicinal and at the beginning it was herbally spicy (allspice and ginger) with a definitely salty edge to it. When your body needs some serious TLC, break this out!

Ah Snow White. Even in the bath oil, you are a cool tropical drink to me. Coconut cool, pineapple sweet. And perhaps a touch of almond and cream? As a perfume, I didn't care for you. I find you much more appealing as a bath product. Still, there are other bath oils that appeal much more to me, so I'm gonna send you off to someone that DOES love you.

Honey and gardenia. This is a sweet honey + gardenia. And this sucker lasts. About 12 hours later, I can still smell it and at this point, I can catch a whiff of the turmeric. Not my type of blend at all.

Peppery ink. On wet, it has this bit of linseed oil going on, and it reminds me of when my sister used to do art in high school and college. As it dries, the papery note comes out more thoroughly and it ends up like a big blotch of ink on heavy paper.

I have very mixed feelings on Dolly Kei. On wet, its this copal/tobacco mess. It's dark, aggressive, smoky on my skin. As it dries, it mellows out. And the copal goes away. Two hours in, and its this beautiful tobacco vanilla business. (And I have Pinched on my other wrist as reference, and yes, there are some similarities). I can see anyone who enjoys Haloes/Antikythera/Pinched enjoying this, but I'm very on the fence on it. Not to say that it isn't a beautiful vanilla-tinged tobacco but its just a tad masculine for my taste. But uh... yeah, GORGEOUS blend. However, it doesn't trigger a visceral response in me, so I'm just going wave this blend goodbye!

Pink sugary roses, hint of gardenia and violets. This is a very PINK scent - soft, sugary, gentle. It's perfect for a little girl, or even a tween. Innocent, sugary, pink.

Pepper, hints of bergamot and cologne. This is a very peppery blend on my skin. Not obnoxiously, like black pepper, but I definitely amp up the pink peppercorn. So yeah, hurray for pink peppercorns?

Butterscotch! But as it dries, some dirtiness/grittiness comes out, with tones of anise seed and a touch patchouli. This prevents it from being ALL BUTTERSCOTCH, and gives the blend alot of depth. Toothsome, in the some way that some of the other BPAL blends like Mother Shubs Pfefferneusen was. Tasty, but not for me.

This is a bit of a morpher on me. On wet, this smells like watermelon sugar. It dries to a vanilla cotton candy blend. It's light, airy and sugary. There's a slight woody/musky base that grounds the blend and prevents it from going ALL SUGAR, ALL THE TIME. I totally understand why people are nuts about this one. Too candylike for me, but its still appealing. ETA: So I tried it again. And on wet this time, it was watermelon sugar + buttery toffee popcorn. And then it dried down to a vanilla wood musk base. So it took it like an hour to reach perfection, but you know what, I'll take it. ETA2: Okay, so a few days later and I'm having pink sugary vanilla induced cravings. I need more Mouse Circus. Like serious need. I feel like I should be writing a BPAL version of "Under the Bridge", about that interminable wait as you wait for the guy (in my case, decanter) to show up with your goods (ordered a partial, along with other SN goodness). Do I need more than a partial? It's not like I have a habit. It's not like I don't have other BPAL. It's not like my life is going to suddenly collapse for lack of Mouse Circus in my life. ... It isn't, right? ETA3: I got a partial bottle, and this one smells more like popcorn/woods than the vanilla wood musk base.... which just leads me to believe I need a FULL bottle as I'm only experiencing PART of the beautiful.

Radish, dust and soap. This actually smells like radish soap. If there were such a thing. Which there should be, as it would smell awesome. As a soap. As a perfume, this is a pass.

2011 version Sugar Cookie and I have a distinctly hostile relationship. Previous incarnations were fake vanilla. In this case, the vanilla is less fake, but the nutmeg has been amped up and it ends up smelling JUST LIKE the Yankee Candle Sugar Cookie candle. Meaning that its got a waxy feel to it, which is great if it makes you think beeswax, but in this case it ends up waxy and fake. SKIN FAIL.

Carnation can be such a hit/miss for me. The SN on the other hand is the kind of carnation that works for me. It's heady, a little spicy, but in general SMELLS JUST LIKE A CARNATION FLOWER. The real deal. No joke. You're a carnation flower. I don't know what that means. But whatever. You smell fabulous.

Oh, oh, oh. I think I'm in love. It smells green, clean, and like apples. This is that green apple note from Snow Glass Apples. Obviously less icy, but it's the same. It's got a bit of a floral tinge to it, esp. when it dries. Some would say that its too delicate, or perhaps soapy, or even perfumey. Heathens. What do they know.

Rich, dark vanilla. Tones of dark wood and sassafras. Delicious. ETA: Used this as a moisturizer in the bath and sadly, there's a bit of the vanilla that goes plasticky on me.

Berries, peach and a touch of icyness. It's like a fruit pop/slushee, coolness. There's a light honey component to it. Tasty, but I think I like Butterfly Garden better.

Very light and sweet honey. Definitely florally tinge. It's very beautiful, light, and definitely sticks close to the skin. Its more predominant in the first hour, but after two, I can barely smell it. It's absolutely GORGEOUS, and makes anyone feel pretty.

Oddly enough, this Fraggle smells more like dryer sheets to me than Boober does. And I think it's the osmanthus. 2 hours later though, I get more of a lilac, delicate bloom going on (hello violet!), and something kinda spicey. Meh.

Linden and vanilla. It smells clean, and vanilla and Invidiana said it best when she said "vanilla laundry". It's a gentle, clean, scent. I'd also use this as soap, cleaning product, candle, etc. It's got that fresh, clean vibe that would make your house smell AWESOME.

Ultrasweet gardenia with a touch of coconut. Not my thing at all.

Herbal juniper and sweet mint. On wet, the sweet mint is predominant. That burns off a little and the herbal juniper comes in. It smells like a cross between really expensive shampoo and something cool and refreshing like a mint julep.

Floral honey. I'm not a big honey fan, but thought I'd give it a whirl. It's soft, silky and mr. zee_zee says that it smells nice. I squirted once on wet hair, and on wet it was pretty strong, but after about two hours I can't really smell it.

Lemony black musk, amber, hint of dry wood. It's a very strong female scent - and a cross between Haunted and L'Estate. It has that golden resiny amber from L'Estate, and while there isn't actually leather, the black musk does seems slightly 'leathery' to me. In a sense, it reminds me to Heroine (although I find Heroine sweeter). She's like Heroine's bigger, badder sister. You know, the kind that Heroine calls upon for back up.

Zebra Heliconian is a sophisticated green floral. I don't really get coconut or coffee, but I get the opium tar, vetiver, ambergris, clary sage, and hint of lemon. It's sort of warm, but sort of cool, gender neutral, and with a clean musky vibe to it. I'm actually enjoying this much more than I anticipated. It might actually be bottle-worthy for me.