zankoku_zen

Candles Moon 2012 Milk, hint of ozone, and beeswax. This one is a creamy, breezy blend. Occasional swirl of fruity blackberry. Much lighter than the 2010 version on me.

Oh god, this is this years Host of Air. Traces of honeysuckle, lots of green ivy and moss. It's slightly aquatic, very clean with just a hint of sweetness. I can see this going to 'soap' on some people - and it veers into that territory for me, but GODDAMN does this smell nice.

To me UMU1 is delicate flowers, sugar, and something that ends up like plastic. For the delicate flowers I am guessing tulip and perhaps bluebell in it. As for the 'plastic' that comes out - it is a bit scorched earth like, and I know I've smelled it in other blends - so it could potentially be a type of vanilla or a fruit note that does not play well with my skin. I did not get any grape on my skin, which is sad because I do smell it in the vial. Perhaps the grape note turns plasticky?

This one sounds pretty good too. What about Sugar Plum Fairy? Is that strong? Sugar Plum Fairy is the only plum blend that has worked for me. It's light, sugary plum. Not too sweet though.

Seriously, a raspberry cookie. It's got the fruity boozey raspberry (not too sweet) and the cookie crumble (not too buttery). Pretty delicious. On the drydown, the raspberry goes a little plasticky on me. But now I want cookies!

Sweet pumpkin candy. Sugar, pumpkin and hints of citrus. I actually find it quite pleasant, not too overly sweet or buttery pumpkin. In fact, this may be my favorite BPAL pumpkin blend.

Soft, white flowers! Defnitely dandelion (which lends a little milky sharpness) and apple blossom. Like Host of Air, it's got a light airy quality to it but slightly more sugary and fruity (possibly because of the huckleberry wine). Light, airy, floral.

GINGER, peony, quince, plum blossom and a hint of citrus. This smells like ginger candy on floral steroids. Who is trying to mask it with dryer sheets. Sad, since I was very looking forward to Water Dragon.

This one is one spicy chocolate blend. I smell anise, ginger, nutmeg and then a swirl of herbs, with a hint of chocolate. Out of all of the thirteen blends, I have to seem this is the one with the strongest 'vibe'. It smells like something you would use in a ritual. Not entirely decorative chocolate. This is the chocolate that you use to bribe gods with. But when bribing gods, one has to be careful...

Chocolate + spices. For me, I smell mainly the ginger with a dash of turmeric. It's smooth, gingery chocolate. Sort of like if the gingerbread man doused himself in chocolate.

Resins, patchouli, cinnamon and a heavy dose of red musk. This is the sort of sexy redolent blend, along the lines of Mme Moriarty/Smut for all you red musk lovers out there. Dirty, sex, red.

Rose, chocolate and a hint of spices. This to me, is a primarily rose and chocolate blend. I would categorize as a classic romantic foodie blend. Because chocolate + roses is textbook classic. If you like either, I'd give this a whirl.

Icy mint, pine, loads of candy and pumpkin. It's still a bit sweet for me, but I find that this has been one of the more enjoyable 'candy' scents out there. It's the smell of a crisp Halloween night and pumpkin pie. I find it highly evocative.

Mushrooms, hay and wood. This is a delicate, very earthy, very manly sort of scent. It smells like the outdoors.

Soft incense and resins, with a swirl of rose. On the drydown, it gets warmer with the amber. Again, I'm surprised by this. Really want to see this layered with Halfing, Lawful and Neutral.

Cinnamon and musk. It smells slightly sweet and powdery. It's like musky cinnamon cookies.

This smells like gingerbread - heavier on the bread, light on the spices and a touch of wood. Yup, very foody.

Rum, leather, hints of vanilla and frankincense. This is a heavily RUM based scent, with the leather acting as a grounder and then swirls of everything else. Being neither a rum nor leather fan, this isn't for me. It's kinda piratical, manly, and leathery.

Green, sweet powdery. Hint of absinthe and juniper with a swirl of cardamom. Odd.

Sandalwood, frankincense, tinges of clove, honey, musk with a white floral overlay. This is a sweet, resinous floral. Sexy, but not for me.

Sweet resins, hint of pine. Actually, I ended up liking this more than I thought I would. I am very excited to try this layered with Evil, Chaotic and Lawful.

Jasmine, tuberose, hint of iris. On wet, there was a peppery overlay (possibly white or pink pepper) to this. White, commanding, jasmine blend.

Beeswax, clary sage and sandalwood. This is a bit of a jumble - with the resin/wood notes and then the beeswax lending it a touch of sweetness and warmth. In general this a a clean, dry sandalwood. Very gender neutral.

WISTERIA, jasmine and hints of juniper and cypress. It's a dark, southern sort of blend. At least wisteria always makes me think of the south. It's a manly sort of wisteria blend, so perhaps more like a southern gentleman's cologne? Dark, brooding, wisteria.

#63 This to me has to be straight up vanilla booze. It's like the heavy dark vanilla smell you get from vanilla extract with a slight rum overlay. In some ways, it makes me think of a vanilla rum cake. Tasty, very wearable, very foodie. Sadly, too foodie for me.