zankoku_zen

In the imp: Cologne, perfume On Skin: Wow. This is like a time and place, and yes, it is New Year's. It's like wearing an event on your wrist. Cologne, perfume and a slight champagne fizz. Slightly effervescent. On Drydown: This smells like a masculine cologne that I've smelled before (some commercial brand). Either an old boyfriend has worn this... or someone I wish had been my boyfriend! Verdict: This is an olfactory experience. This is the night where you party with that handsome guy you've had your eye on, and yes, he does kiss you for the new year's. As an actual perfume, it's not something I'd wear because it veers into the masculine cologne. But zowhee... this would be dynamite on the right guy. I might have to try this on the hubby.

In the imp: Orange blossom and patchouli On Skin: Ginger whiffs, orange whiffs and patchouli On Drydown: Patchouli Verdict: Admittedly, this patchouli is LESS strong than in other blends, and not so 'dirty hippie' as some of the other patchoulis have been. I just wish the orange and ginger had stuck around longer.

The perfect vanilla mint. In the imp: Buttery mint On Skin: Creamy buttery mint, the vanilla smells slightly plasticky like in Tokyo Stomp, but not as bad. On Drydown: Vanilla plastic with a hint of mint. Verdict: Oh, this breaks my heart so. The vanilla has the plastic quality that TS did, but not as bad. And I was so looking forward to this. I'm not sure it is the vanilla, but Snowblind shares some ingredient with Tokyo Stomp that just goes to funk on my skin. Bad skin chemistry. Bad.

In the imp: Sweet floral On Skin: Very sweet floral. I smell the tell tale bubblegum smell, which means this has lotus. I also get a whiff of wet wool, which means... gardenia. There is an aquatic overtone to all this. On Drydown: Bubblegum water and flowers. Verdict: This fades fast on my skin... but in general, I'm sad that lotus smells like bubblegum on me.

In the imp: Raspberry jam? On Skin: Raspberry/orange marmalade. Very sweet. On Drydown: Spicy citrusy floral. Reminds me to Mama-Ji, on it's drydown. Verdict: This ends up smelling very similar to Mama-Ji on me. On wet, it's too sweet for me to handle though.

In the imp: Perfumey On Skin: Kinda chilly, but it has an incensey core (reminds me to the incense in Morgause, actually). It kinda reminds me to Method's laundry detergent, I can't remember the scent type right now. Something very clean and pretty. On Drydown: Incensey floral Verdict: There is something very familiar about this, aside from the Method reference. I asked my husband to sniff it and he said that it smelled like "church". Not the actual church, but someone who went to church with them when he was young. In any case, I don't think this one is for me. I was hoping it would be chillier but its a rather warm and incensey floral on me.

In the imp: Shadowy On Skin: Smells kinda like bandaids. Whuh? On Drydown: Bandaids/pith of the grapefruit. Verdict: Uh... my skin chemistry totally did not cooperate on this one. Either the opium or the poppy or whatever else is in this blend is not my friend.

In the imp: Green floral On Skin: Kinda piney, warm green floral On Drydown: Spicy, warm greenish floral, more of an incensey vibe. Verdict: This is a very well blended scent in that no particular note really stands out. I'm not into the spicy/incensey florals, but this is pretty.

In the imp: Apple and something else. On Skin: Apple and something warm and floral. This is the same sort of juicy apple that you find in the Hesperides, but minus the warmth. This isn't foody, but rather a perfumed apple. On Drydown: More of the flowers, I think particularly the oleander, wins. After like 5 hours: Floral Verdict: As an apple scent, I like this better than the Hesperides which was a tad too foody on me. On the other hand, this isn't a comforting scent. This is definitely something a little more sinister, a little more wicked. It might smell like an apple, but it isn't just an apple. Personally, not so keen on the oleander, but as a concept this has been fantastically executed. Bravo labbies!

In the imp: Lime On Skin: LIME LIME LIME! Hello Margaritaville. On Drydown: Lime with the hint of a sharp floral, perhaps lavender? Verdict: Love this. It's great. Clean, purifying, bright, cheery. The only problem I have is that it doesn't have a great throw or staying power. But you know what? I can totally reapply. Oh yes.

In the imp: Juicy pear On Skin: Juicy pear and a whiff of the ocean. Definitely very beach like. On Drydown: I get more of the ambergris which I think accounts for the musky smell, and I smell a sharp floral. Perhaps the osmathus? I don't recall if that's what it is (and have no clue what osmanthus really smells like anyway). Verdict: The wet stage reminds me of Bat combined with something like Thalassa, very fruity and beach like. The drydown I'm not so fond of.

In the imp: Rose and patchouli On Skin: Very warm musk, patchouli and the hints of rose On Drydown: Musky patchouli and rose. Verdict: Pretty, if you like patchouli and rose. Very warm and seductive.

In the imp: Lavender On Skin: Lavender and rose, it's a pretty floral On Drydown: I get more of the amber peaking out. And some of the patchouli. Verdict: Interesting. But not for me. I might try it out on the husband, but he also tends up to amp up patchouli and he's not fond of it either.

In the imp: Honeydew Melon On Skin: Honeydew melon On Drydown: Honeydew melon candy, slightly sweeter After two hours: The melon aspect wears off a bit, but it's still sweet, youthful and pretty. This reminds me to eating melons on a hot day and the juicyness just drips over your fingers. Verdict: Sunny, youthful and definitely fruity. I don't fancy honeydews (not my favorite fruit) but this is a light and sweet scent that I'd recommend for children or young girls.

In the imp: Floral On Skin: Soapy deodorant On Skin On Him: Toiletries (he can't make up his mind if it smells like deodorant, shampoo or soap) and Vick's. He asked me if it had menthol. On Drydown: Rose attack! The rosewood is very prominent, as well as the violet. Oddly enough, it's kinda like a soapier version of Whip. Whereas Whip's leather component keeps the rose smell from being overpowering, violet is rose's evil sidekick in the domination of my skin. On Drydown on Him: Several whiffs afterwards, "soap". Mountain, foresty soap. It would be called "Spring Glade" or "Mountain Glade" or any other kind of permutation of a combination of it. But still soap. Verdict: A no-go for either of us. I suppose that neither he nor I are rakes at heart. Or rose lovers.

The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David's lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk. In the imp: Carnation and plum On Skin: Carnation and plum and spicyness On Drydown: More plum, less carnation, slightly musky Verdict: There is something here that reminds me to the Frumious Bandersnatch. I think it's the plum. It's a very pretty scent but not something I'm personally crazy about. I guess I'm just not a plum fan.

Caveat: This has always been one of those scents I've been thinking about trying. In the imp: Fresh, floral, green vibe On Skin: Fruity light floral On Drydown: This is like having a cloud wrapped around my wrist. A rather fruity smelling one. Verdict: Fresh, light, slightly fruity and with a whiff of clean, this does give the impression of mists and clouds and other sky-ward things. I think it would make a great introduction to a light scent to a BPAL newbie. Very pretty.

In the imp: Patchouli On Skin: Patchouli with a touch of clove On Drydown: Patchouli, clove and something else... perhaps the myrrh? Slightly resinous Verdict: Not for me... and just by sniffing it, definitely not for the hubby. On the other hand, this patchouli isn't as overwhelming as black patchouli.

In the imp: Green floral On Skin: Green floral and I can smell a whiff of peony On Drydown: As it dries it gets more incensey and earthy. In fact, now it sort of smells like some sort of soap and underneath, BO. Verdict: Oh. my. This went REALLY REALLY wrong. It's like someone trying to cover up their sweaty skin with some clean smelling cologne... and it's not working. I feel horrible for leaving such a bad review, but my skin chemistry apparently hates this blend.

In the imp: Mango! On Skin: Juicy, delicious mango. On Drydown: SAGE attack! It's the most predominant note. I get a whiff of lavender, and in the background, almost beat to submission is the glorious mango. Oh come back mango, I so miss you. ... Now sage and mango co-exist in a very strange harmony. Verdict: Unfortunately sage always makes me think of Italian cooking, and pizza. And therefore, my head thinks cheese. So Corazon ends up being a mango pizza. I get this initial impression of pizza, and if I inhale strongly enough I get that gloriously lovely scent of mango. Oh Corazon, you are breaking my heart. [And yes, for you Spanish speakers, that's really ironic]

I Fire Pig and I'm not one for juicy florals in general. Cheshire Cat might also be good. Oh, and Night Gaunt. For me that was like smelling a grapefruit, pith and all. So definitely not too sweet.

Shattered has lotus, and than can turn bubblegummy on some people.

In the imp: Menthol and clove On Skin: Menthol, perfume and spicy. I can definitely smell the clove. On Skin on Him: Upon immediate application, it smells mostly like camphor (probably the menthol) and cloves. After a few minutes, it morphs to what he describes as either a mixture of Old Spice and CK or an old lady that is wearing Avon's Black Suede On Drydown: Very much more perfumey, slightly bitter, and I get the same note of fir that I get from Hexennacht. On Drydown on Him: He said it smelled like Old Spice on a lady, slightly feminine. Verdict: I didn't get this blend for me, but for him. This is definitely not something he fancies wearing and I'm not sure I fancy him wearing it either. It doesn't work with either of our skin chemistries. Ah, off to swaps with you!

In the imp: Smoky! On Skin: Sweet plums and smoky autumn air On Drydown: Autumn air, fir and again, the whiff of sweet plums Verdict: This reminds me alot to Samhain 2005 (I've never tried the 2006 version so I can not speak for it), but slightly more fruity. Samhain had more apples, and this one smells like plums. Not my cup of tea because there is something very sweet in this scent that is almost too sweet, and for me, clashes too much with the smoky autumn air.

Have you thought of layering different scents? I imagine Kataniya (which is very metallic) and perhaps one of the Asian Salons would make for a good combination? I'd recommend either Spirit of the Komachi Tree or the Lantern Ghost of Oiwa for that cherry blossom note. You might want to go with a GC instead of the Salon. But for m Neo-Tokyo was very metallic and cherry blossom. But you might want to throw in something for the orchid and wet fruits component.