puck_nc

Initial Thoughts: I like drinking peach bellinis. Totally worth blind buying. In the bottle: Lightly fruity with a fizziness that I think is the champagne note. On wet hair: The fruit coalesces into tart peach with the champagne. Not much throw to it. After blow-drying: No morph to speak of, but it remains very light champagne and peach. Verdict: A very gentle and pretty scent perfect for those who love a champagne note. I personally would have liked a bit more of a kick from the peach. However, for people who love what the glosses do for their hair but are afraid of strong scents because workplace/being around sensitive noses/etc., this would be a very good choice. I'll see what the next few tries feel like before I decide whether I need to keep the backup bottle.

Initial thoughts: I hope it's like the old Panacea blend that was good for headaches, Oof or Ugh or Grr - I forget which it was. In the bottle: As advertised, lots of peppermint and eucalyptus. If you've ever tried the Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus/Spearmint aromatherapy scent, this is that but much icier and fresher and better. On the skin: Wow, ALL the peppermint! The first inhale from my wrist made my nostrils tingle. It's certainly working as a distraction from the headache. Drydown: The peppermint blast has calmed down, letting the eucalyptus through. I'm also getting the first hints of lemon. Later: Lemony bright and soothing and I do think it helped bring the headache down a bit. I could see applying a bit to the temples, or to the wrists and lying down where one wrist is near my nose and just letting the scent drift around. Verdict: Glad I got it. Might be on the lookout for a backup bottle.

Initial Thoughts: I love several of the Lick It series. Minty and sweet are right up my alley. In the Bottle: Gooey marshmallow with a trace of mint. Very sugar-heavy and mint-light. On Wet Hair: The mint develops somewhat, but it's less mint and more icy chilled sugar. After Blow-Drying: The mint fades again and I am mostly back to the beginning of lots of marshmallow with a little mint. Verdict: Not sure about this one. Like Snow White, it doesn't seem to have a lot of staying power, but I don't know that I need several bottles of scents that only give me nice smells when I'm drying my hair. I may try again and use more to see if I can keep the scent going.

Initial Thoughts: I never tried the hair gloss before because I tried the perfume oil back in 2005 and something in it turned into sour dishwater on my skin. But over the years I've discovered that some scents with dealbreaker notes for my skin actually work nicely in my hair. (I'm looking at you, rose.) So I figured I'd try this. In the Bottle: Sweet marshmallow and cool florals. On Wet Hair: The florals go nasty and sharp for a moment and make me worry, but it calms down by the time I finish massaging the spray into my hair and the floral notes remain. After Blow-Drying: The marshmallow comes out to play and softens up the floral notes. Verdict: I am quite relieved that the hair gloss experience is nothing like my perfume oil experience. But the scent is really quiet and by the end of the day is mostly gone. Which at least makes it a good candidate for work or somewhere if I want the benefits of the gloss making my hair smooth and shiny without a stronger scent that might offend someone else.

Initial Thoughts: I like TKO a lot and use it regularly to help me sleep, so the above description seemed intriguing to me. I didn't catch at the time that it might mean a blend of TKO and Snow White. I tried Snow White all the way back in 2005 and it did not play well with my skin. So now I'm worried. In the Bottle: Very lavender with a sweet and cool floral. Doing side by side bottle sniffs with TKO actually makes TKO smell stale by comparison, and I like TKO a lot. Wet on Skin: The first impression is that stale dirty-dishwater effect that I got from Snow White. Thank goodness, that fades after a few minutes and I have a really quiet impression of sweet flowers in the snow. Drydown: Well, my fears of the acrid stink I got with Snow White don't seem to be happening, thank goodness. It's staying gentle without a lot of throw, getting less chilly. There's vanilla poking its nose in from somewhere. 20 minutes later: The lavender has finally come out and is melding with the vanilla and florals. The entire scent is still staying very low on the skin. Verdict: I am very relieved that it doesn't behave like Snow White did and thinking this could be a good alternative to TKO - my husband complains sometimes about how strong TKO is when I put it on my temples before going to bed. At the very least it's a pretty scent and right up my alley as a florals fan.

Initial Thoughts: I love jasmine and lavender. I love vanilla tea. Blue musk usually doesn't amp on me like darker musks do. I think peony works for me in some of the Shungas I've tried. In the Bottle: Very floral and somehow a touch aquatic. Wet on Skin: A very strong burst of jasmine and then lavender joins in with just a hint of tea. Drydown: Things warm up as the musk kicks in, softening the sharpness of the jasmine and lavender. I'm not getting much from the vanilla tea. 20 Minutes Later: Finally the vanilla tea shows up and adds a layer of sweetness to the whole thing. A gentle, jasmine-y floral musk. Verdict: It took a little while to get there, but I like the end result a lot.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: This was honestly more of an impulse buy since I was getting the rest of the Shunga HGs. I'm not fond of tangerine or blood orange, but I'm always hoping to find a HG with similar cool citrusy vibes like Lightning Storm, which was my favorite gloss for hot days for years. In the Bottle: Lots of tangerine/blood orange and white tea. On Wet Hair: The musk comes out and tamps down the tangerine and blood orange, which is fine with me. After Blowdrying: The orange blossom comes out and balances very nicely with the musk. It's not quite the levels of cool/chilly I was hoping for, but it's very nice. Verdict: Keeping the bottle. I will use this.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I like plum, I like honey, and nothing in the list is a deal-breaker. In the Bottle: I'm getting a LOT of honey, a bit of plum, and a definite zing of lemon. On Wet Hair: No real change yet. This is very much honey, to the level of The Sharing of the Cake Between the Lion and the Unicorn, but with lemon zest. After Blowdrying: Still strongly honey on me, but the lemon calms down and there's a trace of floral freshness. Verdict: I like it a lot and am glad I grabbed a bottle.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I like lilacs a lot and I love bourbon vanilla. Amber can amp on me if it's dark, so fingers crossed there. And then the reviews emphasized how it's so very lilac, so I bit. In the bottle: FRESH-CUT LILAC! ALL THE FRESH-CUT LILAC. Wet: Lilacs without the "green" of fresh-cut. Guessing the amber is toning it down or the vanilla is making it sweeter. Drydown: Lovely sweet sun-warm lilacs. The vanilla and amber aren't front and center but are enhancing the lilac very nicely. I'm not sure I can pick out any muguet since I'm not quite sure what it's like on its own, but it's not doing anything bad that I can tell. Verdict: Keeper. I definitely recommend this for any fans of lilac.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Vanilla and sandalwood are two great scents that go great together. I'm glad chatter about it came up in the Discord, otherwise I would have missed it. In the bottle: More sandalwood than anything else, but a very sweet undertone that is probably the vanilla. Wet: And now it's more vanilla than anything else. But it's staying very close to my skin, with almost no throw. Drydown: The sandalwood comes out more, and for me it's a really balanced presence. Woodsy but not too woodsy, sweet but not too sweet. Verdict: Potentially an excellent work scent, given the lack of throw. I like it a lot.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Wisteria is one of my favorite flowers, so when none of the other notes are deal-breakers, I'm gonna try it. White musk doesn't amp on me and I like lily and plum. In the bottle: Plum and florals. Very sweet and heady. Wet: Because it's my skin, the musk jumps out. But because it's white musk, it doesn't roll over the other notes. I get lily and maybe plum blossom at first, then the wisteria comes out to play. Lots of florals, grounded in the musk. Drydown: The sharpness in the lily calms down and everything melds together into a gentle floral, rounded out by the plum and musk on a very delicate level. Verdict: This is exactly my type of BPAL, so I'm very glad I grabbed a bottle.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: This was an impulse toss into the shopping cart. I usually go for bolder pinks if I wear pink. In the Bottle: Rose pink. The Easter Grass flake does include some green, but there's also yellow, pale blue, and a very bright pink. Coverage: This is a very translucent polish. I ended up trying four coats but still didn't get full opacity. So if that's a goal for you, keep this in mind. Verdict: It is very shimmery with the pale glitter sparkling everywhere. The hot pink glitter gives it a bit of extra spice. On a whim, I tried one coat over my test of Harlot and that was interesting, like gilding a ruby with gold dust. I'll keep playing with the bottle and see what happens.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: Le Léthé is my go-to red. I was curious to see if Harlot would please me as much. In the Bottle: A deep and sexy unapologetic red. Coverage: Two coats was enough for full coverage, giving it a full glossy red like a sports car just rolling off the assembly line. Verdict: I definitely prefer the shimmer in Le Léthé, but this is nice and I already have occasions in mind where I could wear it.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I have several greens in my collection already, but nothing like this. In the Bottle: Gold and copper glitter is simply raining down through the green. Two coats: This is close to the Luperci green, but absolutely bursting with metallics. So shiny! Verdict: Of all things, I'm thinking this will be a good fall color. The green backdrop with all the copper and gold shimmer of changing leaves. I'm glad I got it.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I debated a little about buying this one because bright yellow is not one of my typical color choices. But I decided to try it and give the Lab one less bottle to move to Philadelphia. In the Bottle: Light and bright yellow with a green tint and lots of shimmer. One coat: Well, it's definitely yellow. Two coats: Super shimmery and when the light hits right, that copper leaps out. Verdict: This is much prettier than I was expecting. We'll see how often I reach for it.