puck_nc

Origin: Direct from NYCC through a darling fairy. Initial Thoughts: I have been happily exploring the newly-discovered "white" side of things like patchouli and frankincense, things that I long avoided because the usual ones amp so badly on me. I love gardenia, I'm good with jasmine. The biggest worry is the rose, as rose often turns rancid on my skin. In the Bottle: Rose and gardenia. A very airy, "proper" floral. Wet: Welcome, frankincense, Will you behave and not amp as your darker cousins do? Will you let that lovely vanilla and jasmine come up beside you? You will? Thank you! Drydown: The florals resurface, mainly led by the gardenia. But thank goodness, the rose is behaving! It's all smoothing out into a mature but gentle floral with a hint of musky spice from the frankincense. Verdict: I like this one. A nice Victorianesque floral.

Origin: Straight from NYCC thanks to a lovely fairy! Initial Thoughts: I am quite fond of pear, like apple at times, and like a dab of star anise or clove. The ambrette seed is the only worrisome note. I connect it firmly - rightly or wrongly - with amber, which is a problem note for me. In the Bottle: Pear and sweet apple. Very light and spring-like and fruity and delicate, with maybe a touch of clove peeking out. Wet: There's some pear, and I think the anise, but the ambrette seed or possibly the honey is rising to the top quickly and isn't settling down. It seems to be clashing with the pear rather than blending with it. Drydown: The whatever-it-is, the honey or ambrette, is continuing to dominate, although it has settled enough that I can pick out the fruity notes again. The clove and anise are at best accents or totally blended in. Verdict: I'm going to have to ponder this one. I don't love it straight away, but I feel like I want to. And yet there's that something that just doesn't seem to be sitting quite right on my skin. It is a lighter scent, a good potential work choice, and I agree with the gender-neutral potential mentioned above. I'm just mot sure it's me.

Origin: Bought at NYCC by a wonderful fairy! Initial Thoughts: I have had some success with champagne notes. I will always stop and pay attention when carnation is involved. I haven't been doing much with room sprays, but I suddenly have two bottles and a small handful of goblin squirts hanging around my computer desk and now this one... In the Bottle: First sniff is ALL the champagne ALL the time. The second sniff shows a hint of spicy carnation lurking about. In the Air: Spicy-sweet carnations and sparkling fizz.I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough carnation from the previous reviewers, but it is most definitely there. Verdict: This is a lovely, refreshing scent. Glad I got it. But now I'm afraid I may have a worse BPTP problem than I had before...

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have had great success with a variety of pumpkin BPALs over the years. I like a foody pumpkin. I like spice. There was no way I was going to resist trying this one. In the Bottle: ALL THE SPICE! It's a big huff of cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice and ginger and whatever else gets tossed into a pumpkin pie. There's a soft foundation of something - I'm going to assume it's the pumpkin, but I'd also believe it if you told me it was butternut squash. But this is mainly the Thanksgiving end of the spice rack. Wet: Now it's a noseful of ginger more than cinnamon. There's a tantalizing edge of something familiar, something that makes me think Christmas spice, almost like eggnog...perhaps nutmeg or allspice, both of which I add to my nog. There's also a less-than tantalizing itch starting where I applied it. Drydown: The power of the spices calms down, but if there's any pumpkin, it's not coming out to play at this point. The itchiness hasn't gotten unbearable, but it persists. Husband's verdict: "Clove perfume?" Son's verdict: "Pumpkin perfume?" I think the husband is right about the clove, but that the son is associating the scents that get called "pumpkin" this time of year. Verdict: More than anything else, it's the itchy feeling that makes my decision. I'll probably go for a BPTP candle or hair gloss or atmo spray with this scent, but probably not keep the perfume. ETA: Just for grins, I tried layering PSA with Jack, which is a strongly pumpkin scent on me. I put the Jack on first, then the PSA before rubbing my wrists together. That seemed to take care of the itching problem and also turned it into a gorgeous foody fall scent, a pumpkin-all-the-things aroma. Guess I'm keeping the bottle after all!

Origin: massive Dragon*Con decant circle Initial Thoughts: If this had been a perfume I would have said no because hay is not a favorite note and rose more often than not hates my skin. But this is hair gloss. Perhaps rose will behave on my hair. But perhaps not. So I went for the decant. In the Bottle: Oh, wow. Vanilla peach as a nectar-drenched flower rather than a food and gorgeous. My second huff detects the hay, but it's an accent rather than a feature. Not really detecting the rose at this point. If it stays true I'm going to need to hunt for a bottle... In the hair: Oh, man. My first try is on dry hair - I usually apply it to damp hair and then blow--dry - and it's nothing like it is in the bottle. I'm getting dry, dusty hay and what seems to be the orchid and rose, also dusty. After a while I think the peach starts to come out a bit, but it's hard to tell. On the plus side, the dreaded skanky stink that usually happens when I meet rose isn't present. On the minus side, I don't think I've ever had a hair gloss morph like this. Verdict: I'll try again in the morning with my usual routine of applying to wet hair to see what happens. At worst, I may experiment and see what a hair gloss does with a scent locket. ETA: I noticed when I went to bed that my test tress of hair had mellowed a bit and had a bit more sweet peach to it. This morning the wet application produced a more balanced scent between all the notes: not nearly as dusty-dry on the hair last night but not as sweetly floral as in the bottle. There must be something about the decant bottle that funnels the sweet notes, because I did put some in a scent locket and got that same four-note balance as I did in my hair. So my final verdict is that it's very pretty but I'm not so in love to be desperate to find more.

Origin: a massive Dragon*Con decant circle Initial Thoughts: I ordinarily don't look at the atmo sprays, because I already have too many bath oils and hair glosses, but this sounded almost exactly like last year's Sugared Peach bath oil that I love to bits. In the Bottle: Peaches drowning in sweet with just a hint of spices in the background. It made me think of the first time I experimented with making individual whole-peach pies with a cinnamon whipped honey, except without the pastry element. In the Air: Sweet, sweet peaches and that barest touch of something - cinnamon or cardamon or ginger, something with the tiniest fairy bite to keep this from being straight-up canned peach. Verdict: I do quite like it. I do expect it to last a while given how little I remember to spray the one atmo bottle and goblin squirts I have, but that's all to the good,

Origin: bottle bought through a massive D*Con decant circle Initial Thoughts: The first few times I tried a BPAL scent that was predominantly peach, it would be too in-your-face fruity for me. My first success was Peach Moon, which was peach blossom rather than fruit, and Peach V from last year's Dragon*Con ended up working very well as a superbly balanced peach tea scent. This one alone of the 2014 Peach Pit spoke to me because I often enjoy jasmine, I love vanilla orchid, I love peach blossom. And I have lately discovered that my white musk=good/dark musk=amp rule seems to apply to patchouli. So it's time to try white frankincense as well. In the Bottle: A rich and gloopy dessert of flowers. Jasmine and peach blossom drenched in vanilla and cream. This is gorgeous and I could just huff the bottle. There'll be some scent locket action with this one. Wet: Hello, incense! Aren't you just so light and pretty when you aren't amping to 11? And aren't you nice to let the other notes keep playing? Drydown: Both the jasmine and vanilla orchid have stepped up, simultaneously making the scent a bit sweeter and a bit airier/white floral. It has lost the luscious decadence of the bottle on my skin, but it's still a lovely, rather sophisticated floral. Verdict: Total keeper. And nice to know my journey through the white side of the musk/patchouli/incense family continues on a positive note. Time to watch out for white amber next...

What I have learned on my BPAL journey through the years is that patchouli amps on me. Any perfume that had patchouli in it would see the note stomp all over the others and leave me with a scent akin to "stale head shop". But so many of the blends are divine in the bottle. And then I discovered that when it came to musk, if the musk was "white" or "crystal" or "blue" it would play more nicely with the other notes and not amp all over the place. I adjusted my ordering habits accordingly. Fast forward to last year, and a sweet Lilith's Birthday blend called "Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending" (white patchouli with Provence rose, delicate freesia, pink tuberose, jasmine sambac, orange blossom, butterfly musk, vanilla orchid, and delicate spices). The white patchouli caught my eye, as it was the first time I could remember ever seeing white next to patchouli. I bit. And it was breathtaking. And now I pay attention to blends with white patchouli in them. Here is a link for the handful of BPAL blends that use it. Looks like it's mostly a limited-edition ingredient, but there are two current LEs with it: Yucca Giant-Skipper and Visions of Autumn VI.

Origin: bought from a fellow forumite Initial Thoughts: While I have grown to love some foodie scents, my eyes still tend to slide over scents with lots of foody notes when looking through an update. This was an impulse toss-in-the-cart when buying several items from another forumite, then it sat in my shower for months until I finally tried it today. In the Bottle: Sweet and gooey goodness of the autumn variety. On the Skin: As I started applying it I got a plastic impression for a moment - possibly the sugar of the marshmallow. But it faded pretty quickly, leaving a very sweet fall spice blend. I agree that this definitely has some cinnamon to it - it burned slightly on my freshly shaved legs and also on my nose when I unthinkingly swiped at it when leaving the shower. But the scent is lovely and not as heavy as I feared it might be. Verdict: A very nice addition to my collection and if it were to resurface I would buy more.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: In the last year I've discovered a whole new avenue of notes I can play with. I learned early on that a dark/red/black musk would amp on my skin and steamroll the rest of the blend, but that white/blue/light musks work reasonably well. Then Beth brought out the *white* patchouli in Butterflies, Flowers and Jewels Attending and I found one of my all-time favorite scents. So patchouli is no longer an automatic deal-breaker the way it once was. And hey, there's iriis, mimosa, and vanilla to boot! In the Bottle: Gentle musk and patchouli, a nice sweetness, and an airy quality that could be the iris or mimosa. Very pretty. In my Hair: Applying it to damp hair, I got mostly the musk and vanilla. Once it was in, it turned a little more floral, but not hugely so. Now, 12 hours later, I can barely detect it at all. Verdict: It may be a matter of applying a little more, but if it remains a quiet scent it'll still do for work and help my hair stay shiny-soft.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: This sounded like it was exactly my kind of thing: lots of sweetness, lots of florals, and a touch of something like bergamot to keep it from causing cavities. In the Bottle: Very sugary-sweet flowers with a strong citrus zing from the bergamot. Yesterday when it was just unpacked with all the rest of the things, I thought it smelled like last Yule's Nice Glop (honey-coated honeysuckle & sugarcane). But that must have been the very hot weather and the proximity of the Phlox bath oil, because today that bergamot zing is much stronger. In my Hair: When applying it (again, just after using the sweet Phlox floral bath oil as a post-shower moisturizer) at first I had that overwhelmingly honey-sugar impression spraying it. But once I rubbed it into damp hair and began blow-drying, it took on a much cooler, herbal element. Now, 12 hours later, I can barely tell it's there in contrast to the faint Phlox leftover on my skin. Verdict: I need to try it without using the Phlox bath oil, but my general impression is that it's a likely keeper for using on work days.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I like Drink Me after finally opening a frimp and trying it for lulz, but had avoided Eat Me as being too foody and thinking currants had been the downfall in a couple of otherwise pretty scents. But after a few Lunacy polls of scents that were definitely too dark/musky/patchouli/dirt/etc. for me, I voted for Eat Me as a sort of protest vote, never realizing that it was that popular. And having voted for it, I decided I should follow through and buy it. In the Bottle: First inhale - rich sweet cake. Second inhale - dark fruity currant on top of the cake. It is indeed a yummy scent. Might toss an imp into my next BPAL order to see what this would do on my skin. Applying: I have straight and really thick hair, so I bend and hang my head, spritz the hair gloss on hair that's still damp, and use my hands to try and work it through. It usually takes me 6-10 sprays to get it all. Then I blow-dry it. While I was applying I expected to smell the gloss - that's what happens with my CVBT gloss and Lightning Storm. But I didn't really smell anything and when I held my wet hair to my nose all I got was the shampoo. Drydown: Again, I usually have no trouble smelling my other hair glosses all day long. But I have to sort of hunt for Eat Me in my hair against the shampoo (not a really strong shampoo, but a light citrus-fruity one). Every once in a while I'll find a lock with some sweetness to it, but there's no way I can say this is strong. I even tried asking my husband what my hair smelled like and he could only say my hair smelled clean. Verdict: Undecided. It's doing the usual job of making my hair nice and soft (but maybe not quite as shiny as the others?), but I'm not really getting the benefit of the scent this way. I'll try again tomorrow, but since I have a couple Butterfly hair glosses en route, I might look to give this a better home rather than overstock. But I'm definitely trying the perfume at some point.

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: It's a Friday. The mister and I have strawberry wine. Why not? In the vial: Cinnamon, clove, and a nutty undertone. Wet: Very cinnamon. I'm not getting a skin reaction that I can tell, but then I've dotted it very sparingly on my chakra points. I do feel a bit of heat around the heart chakra, but it's not uncomfortable. Drydown: The cinnamon gets richer, a touch more foody-sweet, I really can't pick up anything else. But I am enjoying the scent very much as I lift the neck of my shirt and sniff where the scent is trapped. Verdict: I'll edit in any results as far as intent. I would call last night a success... I have a smidge of Cinnamon SN and am tempted to try a side-by-side test of them.

In the Bottle: Rich sweet florals with a thread of fruity plum. In the air: A light gorgeous floral - I can pick out my beloved wisteria - that gently spreads through the room and stays very subtle. Verdict: This is the first time I’ve actually tried a room spray bigger than a goblin squirt. I think I’ll keep this one.

Initial Thoughts: White musk is doable. I like iris and apple blossom. We’ll see what the fruits do. In the vial: Very sweet and fruity but with a cool edge that evokes the dawn rather than a foody scent. Wet: Orange. Lots and lots of orange. I can barely detect anything else. Drydown: The musk amps as musk does on me, but not overwhelmingly. The other notes are a vague jumble of floral and fruit with a thread of the nutmeg. The whole thing has warmed up compared to in the vial. Verdict: There’s nothing in here that’s bad on my skin, but not a scent that grabs me.

Honey, mimosa petals, and white amber. Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have known for quite some time that when it comes to musk, I need the lighter side of the spectrum: white/pale/skin/crystal all tend to work well on me while black/red/brown/dark all amp to a hideously stinky level. I would get the same amping problem with patchouli, incense, and amber scents as well. I only recently learned that such a thing as white patchouli existed--thanks to Butterflies, Flowers and Jewels Attending--and that white patchouli smells nice on me. So when I started seeing white *amber* as well, I definitely wanted to try that, too. This was the first scent in that quest that didn't have other deal-breaking notes along for the ride. In the Bottle: Honey-drenched amber, with the mimosa creating an intoxicating floral zing. This is a sexy caramel of a scent without being the least bit foody. Wet: Hello, honey! For a moment I might as well be huffing a bear-shaped squirt bottle. Then the mimosa springs out with a burst of pink-and-green springtime. Drydown: I get the amber now, but hallelujah, it's playing WITH the other notes, not stomping all over them. It continues to be very come-hither, but with a light and playful tone rather than the in-your-face sense a darker musk or voluptuous rose would offer. Verdict: I am giddy at the thought of being able to explore scent families that I assumed were closed to me because of my skin chemistry. The fact that BPAL can still surprise and excite me like this going on nine years later is a real testament to Beth's genius. More white amber, please!

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I will always stop and take another look at a scent with magnolia. Grey musk will hopefully be light enough not to amp like a guitar and I know little of orris root. In the Bottle: Elegantly floral. My initial impression is that this is something my mom would wear and she went for classics like Chanel No. 5. There's the tiniest edge of something sour. Wet: The edge of sour blasts out and then fades quite a bit, leaving mostly magnolia and musk. Drydown: This isn't morphing a whole lot. That bit of sourness lingers and I'm trying to convince myself that it's a feature, not a bug. The musk is smoothing out the magnolia, reducing the greeny factor one would get sniffing a fresh magnolia and preserving that air of mature elegance. Verdict: I think I'll keep this one. I can think of so many places I might go where this slightly older and elegant scent would be a good fit.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I love sweet pea. I like cherry blossom. I have no objections to sugared cream. It sounds girly enough for me. In the Bottle: Definitely an unexpected fruity character to this, given that my usual experience with fruit blossoms is that they are *floral*. This smells like juicy fresh fruit to the point that I can't tell where the sweet pea might be and the sugared cream is only there to suggest the idea of a dessert. Wet: There's the sweet pea! But it smells like it's dragged in a watermelon from somewhere. Very pink and summery. Drydown: The sugared cream comes out and I think this is what is giving the coconut impression. It definitely feels tropical. Verdict: I am waffles. In and of itself, it's a pretty scent. But it's so not what I was expecting and it doesn't seem to have that vibe of "Oriental" that I look for in the Shungas. I'll give it another go and see if it grows on me.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have had good success with several of the BPAL Oriental-themed scents, with plum and rice wine and such. I also like lavender and was curious about white ginger, having recently discovered that the white/light side of certain notes behaves well on my skin. In the Bottle: I agree that this is a very lavender scent to begin with. I think I get a hint of the ginger, but not much. Wet: Rice wine and ginger! A complete 180 from the bottle. Drydown: The lavender comes back out, but is now side-by-side with the other notes rather than in front. I agree that it's a bit like Needlework and I also find it a bit like an Oriental version of Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels Attending with the light blend of spicy and floral. Verdict: I believe I'll hang onto this one.

Kiss-soft clouds of spun-sugar snow. Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I want to like Snow White, but every time I've tried it, it's gone odd and plasticky on me. When I started seeing reviews of "kind of like Snow White but not", I figured I'd give it a try. In the Bottle: Light and smooth vanilla mint. Just a bit too greeny to be frozen winter, with an undertone that suggests floral and spring without actually being floral. Wet: There's a quick burst of minty sweetness, and then it seems to disappear completely on me. There's the faintest trace of vanilla sugar, staying extremely close to my skin. Drydown: It does strengthen a bit after drying down, into a very soft vanilla sugar scent. The green/mint edge that was in the bottle is barely there on me. Verdict: I'm on the fence. The first thing I can think of is wearing this in a situation where I'm not supposed to wear perfume, because no one would know I was wearing any but me with so little sillage. On the other hand, so light as to be undetectable isn't exactly why one wears perfume. I'll ponder.

Okay, I know I reviewed this, but it looks like my post got eaten. In short, it's yummy foody-sweet mint in the bottle. I get the marzipan first on my skin and then it dries down into a lovely creamy and sugary cooling mint. If you want to love the Lick It series but the mint is just too overpowering, give this one a try.

Origin: The Trading Post via one of the pair of lovely forumites who agreed to split an Inquisition with me. Initial Thoughts: I almost clapped when I saw this lovely tempting lotion with beautiful notes. And then I almost cried when I saw that every single Nice bath oil and perfume had deal-breaking notes. But now I get to enjoy the sugar-coated goodness of one of my favorite flowers. In the Jar: It's a bit runnier than I expected from something called "Glop"; more of a sauce consistency than a batter, if that makes sense. The scent is divinely sweet honeysuckle, all drenched in sun and gold and honey. On My Skin: I tried it on one elbow, since that's a particularly thorny problem as far as dry skin goes. It did take a moment to rub in and sink in, but once it did it improved the situation immensely. The scent isn't quite as tooth-achingly sweet on my fingers, though it's still very much sugary honeysuckle. I shook the jar up before trying it on the other elbow, just in case anything had settled or separated in transit. It remained that slightly runny consistency but treated the second elbow just as nicely. Verdict: I would like Glop to become a Thing, please. While I'm at it I'll shoot for the moon and hope that Nice Glop in particular becomes a Thing, although I'll take it in any combination of notes that I can wear.

Origin: Swapped for it. Initial Thoughts: While I love me some pumpkin and I love me some pecan pie I wasn't sure about committing to a bottle. So I was glad to get the chance to try a decant. In the bottle: The force is strong in this one. I can clearly smell it from the closed imp. Very nutty, very sweet, and a bit pumpkin-y. Wet: The pecan comes out in full force, swimming in sweet sugary treacle. This is so very pecan pie at the moment. Drydown: The pastry develops strongly, enhancing the pie sentiment. The pumpkin never really comes out strongly, though the pecan settles down a bit. Verdict: Quite foody and mostly true to the name. If you love your foody scents, you should consider it.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I hoard the original Lick It and have tried the later ones over the years. But none of them have ever seemed to quite match the original. Since my Skadi needed traveling companions, I figured it was time to try a new bottle. In the Bottle: Wow...that's different. Maybe it's a byproduct of trying slightly minty Skadi and then very minty Mother Shub's Unmentionable Peppermint Creams before this, but the candy cane I was expecting isn't there. There's almost a syrupy quality to the sweetness, and a tinge of alcohol that makes me think of peppermint schnapps. But when I sniff my original Lick It from 2005 and Lick It Now side by side, they do seem quite similar, with Lick It Now suggesting a bit more sweetness. Wet: Nostril-clearing warm mint rises from my wrist. I'm rather astonished how it can be so bracing and yet not chilly at all. Drydown: The mint calms down a little, but only a little, and the sugar emerges. The sweet candy-cane of the Lick Its comes into full force, still holding onto that odd strong-but-warm mint. Verdict: Definitely a keeper!

Origin: Straight from the Lab, ordered the minute I saw it. Initial Thoughts: I have been hoping and begging for this scent to be brought back for ages. I acquired a half-imp of the original 2004 Skadi sometime in 2006 or 2007 (though I only got around to properly reviewing it in 2011). It's the most natural-smelling pine I've ever encountered in a perfume, and with the snow and winter berries it's such a gorgeous snowy-outdoors scent. I've found consolation with a couple of blends like Mistletoe or BPTP's Hollyberry and Mistletoe. I've missed out every single time a bottle of Skadi appeared on eBay. So that shriek you probably heard in three states a couple of weeks ago, soon after Yules went up? Probably me. In the Bottle: I'm comparing it to my imp, which I've tried to keep carefully over the years, but has certainly aged. The imp is more strongly pine with snow, while the new bottle seems to have more berry to it. There's the slightest tinge of fruity/citrusy something to the new bottle that I don't get at all from my decant. Wet: A cool but not cold blast of pine with that rich multifaceted fruity undertone quickly shifts into an almost minty pine. The aged Skadi is much chillier and is missing a lot of that fruity layer. Drydown: New Skadi stays wonderfully sparkly and blended, keeping the minty pine and tang of berries under a lovely blanket of snow. Old Skadi is more straight-up snowy pines, but still beautiful in its ability to be natural rather than fake-candle smell. Verdict: I am still in love and will almost certainly be grabbing more bottles before this treasure gets away.