zankoku_zen

Thanks to a generous forumite for a sniffie of this. You know who you are, and I love you! On wet, there is a strong menthol/medicinal overtone to this. It dries down to something resinous, and the color of the oil is dark orangey red, which makes me think that perhaps dragon's blood is a component. There is also some vetiver in this, because it as a gritty, smokiness to it. I also catch a whiff of leather.

Thanks to a generous forumite for a sniffie of this. You know who you are, and I love you! Threnody v3 has a very clean, amber smell. Touch of white florals, I would guess orris and maybe tuberose. There's almost something powdery on the drydown, which may be the type of amber being used.

Thanks to a very generous forumite for a sniffie of this. You know who you are and I love you! Again, echoing the previous review - this is a sweet, delicate floral. Hint of violet, freesia, perhaps some orchid. It definitely had more of a lemon tinge on wet that burned off. And a slight vanilla musk on the drydown. Very, very pleasant and wearable.

Thanks to a very generous forumite for a sniffie of this. You know who you are and I love you! Definitely milk chocolate and butterscotch, slightly salty - and very apropos for a Box of Chocolate scent. It's a little too foodie for me, but it smells delicious!

Veronica is oddly a delicate floral. I get hints of lily and iris, and splash of oakmoss and blackcurrant on the drydown. It smells like some truly refined soap.

Ninon on me is smoky vanilla musk and hay. It sort of reminds me to being next to a horse. I think it's the hay. The vanilla musk is more musky than vanilla. As it dries, I get tinges of amber and lavender. Mmm. Not for me.

Oh Kitty. BPAL's strawberry note just won't work with my skin chemistry. It is sweet and plasticky and oh so fake. So this ends up smelling like vanilla and plastic strawberries... which is just like a Barbie doll smell. It also has a heavy 'cakey' undertone to it. Sad little Kitty.

Celeste to me smells like a better version of Morocco, which probably explains the popularity. Pretty vanilla and a good bit of saffron, which to me smells like the exotic spices in Morocco. But yes, a more vanilla Morocco. Tasty. Esp. if you like/love Morocco.

Bitter, smoky fig and carnation. I think between the carnation and the vetiver they cut down on the fruity aspect of fig, and the carnation lends a certain powderiness to the blend. Good bit of nutmeg on the drydown. More wearable than what I would have given it credit for.

Frankincense and leather. The leather accord is more along the lines of DeSade, although less harsh and synthetic. It softens considerably on the drydown but this is essentially an all leather scent on me. Pass.

For me, this is a sharp almost salty floral. I get lavender, orange blossom and violet. Powdery violet. Yup. Definitely not for me.

Oh Virginia, what a personal disappointment you are to me. I sadly amp up the frankincense, white sandalwood and spices to the extreme. The sandalwood is powdery, the caramel amps up on the drydown. And you are a sweet, powdery musky incensey mess with orchid tinges. Sadly, I think you lose against the bright, clean floral appeal of Lola. Perhaps someone with a more gifted skin chemistry can make you work. But not me. Which is a huge disappointment, since I thought you would be a winner. Pooh.

UFFF. This is so good. Okay, so typically anything with pomegranate, tuberose, pimiento berry or jasmine is a no no. Lola, in fact, was one scent I expect dismal things from. And what a shocker, she is utterly lovely, and quite takes my mind off the disastrous Virginia. Not this time. So for me this is lush, sweet florals. It ends up smelling like the more floral, red aspects of Fire Pig. Heady plum blossoms, lily and a touch of green. And yes, a slightly clean edge. I can see people associating this with a shampoo, but you know what, its the sort of floral shampoo smell that I can totally dig. Hell, if my hair smelled like this all the time, I'd stockpile the shampoo. Fruity, floral, clean.

Coconut with whiffs of iris and cherry blossom, with some orris peaking out. The orris gives the iris/cherry blossoms a sharper edge. Boo. I know I amp up coconut, but the whiffs of iris and cherry blossom are very tantalizing. This makes me think of things that are soft, like tissue paper.

Sugar Moon reminds me more to Lune Noire than its predecessor. It's a dark, sugary fruit floral. Purple in vibe. I get hints of sugar, plum, black currant and violet musk and orchid. It dries to a very sophisticated orchid, in the same vein as the Shadow Witch Orchid. This to me is such a 'purple' scent both in feel and expression. I am not a fan of most of the elements here, but this is dark and seductive. Mmm, delicious.

Sweet spun sugar, soft coconut and soft freesia. On wet, it is those three elements and a brush of lavender. I am not surprised that I amp either the coconut and freesia, but I believe all the other elements and the addition of the sugar make both the coconut and freesia less aggressive. It worked out how I imagined it would, but I am surprised at how soft and creamy it is, and not strident. Interesting, but not for me.

Lavender, bergamot and pecan on wet. And then it dries to a soft lavender, pecan and tonka blend. Very nutty. Slightly foody. I am not fond of nutty blends, but this one was surprisingly pleasant.

On wet, this smells like sweet grape candy. As it dries, its more of a wine and honey. The honey is definitely predominant on wet.

To me, I don't really get dirt. I get something that smells like coconut and a white floral. Yup, definitely coconut. Odd.

Amber, frankincense and patchouli. Again, a very warm scent. Not a fan of either resins, amber or patchouli. Admittedly, this is softer than I expected and in some ways, it makes me think of House of Mirrors without the aquatics going on, but rather the warm amber base of that. I am pleased, in some ways, that this isn't metallic at all. ETA: September 2016 So, five years changes you. I have come to realize that antique amber is one of my favorite notes. Ever. So yes, amber, a touch of frankincense.

Oh Burning Vulva, you are anything but fiery. You are a close, warm skin scent. I get vanilla, amber, hints of leather like in Heroine, and honey from the beeswax. In fact, a lot of honey. This is essentially a warm vanilla honey scent on me. Pretty, and the honey is not obnoxious. Huh. Who would have thought this would have turned out to be so wearable?

This is herbal patchouli. It's woody, and herbal, and I think this would be a great GUY scent. Clean, woody, slight whiffs of fruit/herbs.

This is a red red scent. I get lots of cherry, red rose, dragon's blood and red musk. Like I said, red red red. The black cherry and dragon's blood sweeten the rose and musk. This a heady, womanly scent. ... Not for me!

Red musk, mixed with champaca and patchouli. Sensual, woody... and did I mention the red musk? ... So, yeah, not my type of blend at all.

So this smells like creamy ginger milk, slightly foodie. Verges on gingerbread on me, actually. I like to eat gingerbread, but this is a little too foodie for me. Delicious, but not the type of scent I typically wear.