puck_nc

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I love carnation, like coconut, and learned that Maid of Orleans is jasmine, which sometimes works for me. If only the fruits will behave... In the Bottle: Cinnamon, coconut and mango are at the forefront, but they're clashing rather than blending. It's a bit sour and musty. Wet: I'm getting mostly mango and maybe a little coconut, but that off-putting sourness is still there. Drydown: That's better. The sourness has faded and in its wake is a very lovely, mildly fruity blend of coconut and florals. It skates toward suntan-lotion territory but doesn't get close enough to the edge. It's a summery, slightly musky-sexy scent. Verdict: Glad I took a chance!

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I do like the smell of fresh dandelions, faint as it is. In the Bottle: Holy...I have never gotten such a wonderfully strong dandelion scent, not even with a dozen bunched into my hand. The greeny sweetness of dandelion is just perfect in the bottle. Wet: VERY green, but not the usual florist-shop green stem or the green stem that would quickly go hideous on me if this were a rose note. The green is a bit warmer and carries just a hint of the dandelion. Drydown: The greeniness fades, which ought to leave room for the dandelion. And the dandelion is back, though something about my skin seems to be making it a little musty. It's nowhere near the ickiness that I've had happen with rose and violet, but it's definitely no longer the true gloriousness of the dandelion in the bottle. Verdict: I think I'm going to try this again and see if there's something I can do to get that dandelion on my skin. No matter what there will be some scent locket action with this.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: The Single Notes are back to an extent. I'm gonna be trying any floral that isn't rose or violet. In the Bottle: A floral, but a floral with a very, very decided lemon-citrus tone to it. Wet: Extremely lemony, but for once it's the scent of a true fresh lemon and not the chemical-ish Lemon Pledge. It's pleasant, but definitely not what I was expecting. Drydown: The lemon fades quite a bit, but unfortunately what's left in its wake strikes me as a very faint, wilted and muddled version of what violet does on my skin. It's not the acrid stank of violet, but it's not a pretty flower or a pretty fresh lemon. Verdict: Pity I can't capture the wet stage and keep it forever, because it is truly lovely at that point. But my chemistry will not play nicely with it.

Origin: frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I never ordered this one because of musks and wasabi and not knowing what mastic was. When looking at the review thread again to remind me what the notes were, I noticed that the first couple of reviews said "floral" because of the heliotrope. So I opened the imp and sniffed. In the Vial: Rich, sexy flowers with a shot of green spice. Must try! Wet: A blast of very heavy, sweet flowery heliotrope. Drydown: Well, there's definitely musk in here because it's amping, darn it. I can often handle white/pale/blue musk, but whatever this is seems to be teetering on the spectrum toward red/dark. It's not completely taking over the scent - I can still smell the heliotrope and probably the wasabi if I try hard, but they're not the star. Verdict: The imp might get some scent-locket action, but I won't need a bottle.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: Blue musk is a musk I can usually wear without the amp of doom. I love night-blooming jasmine and morning glory. White sandalwood ought to behave. A lot of these notes make me think of Kindly Moon for some reason, a scent that I enjoy wearing with its blue overtones. In the Vial: Hm. Something floral, either the tuberose or the morning glory or maybe the herbs, is smelling sour or at least leaf-stem green. Wet: More floral notes, all with that high greeny tang to them. The musk and sandalwood are behaving inasmuch as they aren't amping and mowing down all the other notes in their path. Drydown: The greeniness goes away, leaving a scent that seems to be all about gentleness: gentle florals, gentle musk, gentle sandalwood. But the musk and sandalwood are finally edging out the other scents. Verdict: I'll play with the decant a bit more, but probably not something I'd get a bottle of.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: I love vanilla. I like some woodsy scents. This was something of a shot in the dark. In the Vial: Very woodsy and a bit of vanilla. It's a cool scent, like the chill of a dark forest when you work your way in far enough. Wet: Wood and more wood. The vanilla, if any, is deep inside the scent. Drydown: The vanilla emerges, but remains a quiet presence behind the wood notes. It's working more to soften and sweeten the other notes rather than take over. Verdict: Pleasant, but I honestly don't see myself reaching for it much. We'll see if the decant gets used up.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: There are so few magnolia scents out there that work on me, I'll try almost any of them. While there are no death notes in this for me, there are scents that I tend to avoid, like the bergamot and lemon. In the Vial: Very heavy on the sandalwood and cardamon, almost to the point of smelling like an old-fashioned men's cologne. Wet: On my skin the magnolia comes surging out briefly, which makes me happy. Then very quickly the sandalwood does its amping thing on me; I was hoping yellow would be a pale enough sandalwood not to misbehave so. Drydown: The bergamot develops, though the lemon peel never really comes out like I was expecting. I do understand the classic-perfume feel others have described, though it stays on the masculine side to my nose. Verdict: I would have no objection to a classic-perfume scent if it had a lot of magnolia. Unfortunately this one doesn't on my skin.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: This sounded like it might be an interesting scent on my husband. But I'll try it on as well. In the Vial: Tea and very lilac. Masculine, but delicate. My initial thought is a version of Dorian for the hottest summer days. Wet: Huh. I have no idea where it's coming from, but I'm getting an almost lemony tang from this. No licorice, tea or lilac on first contact. Drydown: The tea comes out, but it's very lemony tea. Unfortunately something is also making my skin sting a bit. I remember occasionally reacting as such to a really strong cinnamon blend. Maybe it's the licorice? Verdict: I'll try it on the husband, but definitely not for me.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: Shot in the dark. Peppermint is good and I can probably do white myrrh in the way I can do white musk. This is a chance to see whether ambergris is too much on the "dark" side of the scale for me. In the Vial: A strongly masculine scent, overlaid with peppermint. Interesting. May have to try it on the husband. Wet: Minty and musky and a bit aquatic. It definitely smells like a guy's scent to my nose. Drydown: The mint calms down a little and now I'm getting a rather strong scent memory of my grandpa's collection of colognes when I was growing up. Not quite so aquatic. Verdict: Definitely not something I will wear, but I will try the decant on the other half and see whether he likes it enough to order. Given that he still has 7/8 of a bottle of Dorian since I first bought it years ago, I'll bet not.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: I have a couple of strawberry scents I love and the occasional sweet/candy scent. The rose worries me, but perhaps rose sugar won't go icky-collard-greens on me. In the Vial: Extremely sweet vanilla marshmallow with a hint of strawberry. This is definitely going into a scent locket. Wet: The rose surges, but at least at first it's not going icky. It's surrounded by clouds of sweetness. Drydown: Dammit! The icky green is there - not as strongly stinky as I've experienced in blends that include the flower note, but it's enough to taint the whole thing. If it would only behave, I'd probably have a delicious marshmallow strawberry scent right now. Verdict: Well, the decant will get used up in my scent locket. We'll see if I use it often enough to justify a bottle or simply keep an eye out for more decants.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: With the carnation, honeysuckle, and jasmine, this one is hitting a lot of my favorites. In the Vial: A burst of floral, but there's a thread of something that makes me pause. I don't think it's the grape, but it's a sweet note that is at the same time cloying. Wet: That thread is there for just a second, then melts into the lush bunch of florals. It is indeed effervescent, it's sweet, and bubbly as if flowers could make champagne. Drydown: This has settled down into a lovely lightly greeny spring floral. The "purple" for me is light and airy, rather than deep and commanding. Verdict: As I hoped, this one will be a bottle purchase.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: This was another "what the heck" try. I love lavender but I don't love lemon. In the Vial: Very bright lemon with an undertone of the lavender. Wet: Oh, darn. The first waves are going chemical on my skin and at the moment it's lemon furniture polish. Here's hoping that calms down. Drydown: Well, thank goodness, the chemical-ness calms down. In its wake there is lemon and lavender. The one thing I'm not getting is the sugar. It's a very herbal, green scent on me. Verdict: Not sure I'd use a bottle of this one, but I might keep the decant.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: Why the heck not? All that fruit and foody is not normally my thing, but I was getting a bunch of decants anyway. What was one more? In the Vial: Lime. Lots of it. I can tell that the other notes are in there somewhere, but the lime is strong. It's almost like a strawberry margarita or daiquiri sniffed above the lime wedge. And now I want a drink. Wet: The sweet of cotton candy emerges to play with the citrus. It's a sugary jumble of candy and fruit. Drydown: Soft sweet candy with yummy fruit undertones. The only thing that is keeping this from being an instant bottle purchase is because it has so little throw. I am having to mash my wrist to my nose to get a whiff. Verdict: Must ponder whether the fast fade is worth the lovely scent.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: Love gardenia. Have had success with rice in some of the oriental scents. Honey musk is iffy. I have no preconception of orris. In the Vial: Whoever said "baby" above nailed it. A sweet baby in the bath, all clean and soapy. A very comforting scent. I'm highly likely to keep this for scent-locket purposes alone if it doesn't like my skin. Wet: For a brief moment it's all soap, and then the gardenia comes out. The honey musk starts chasing it, but I'm not getting the usual amp-to-extremes reaction that musk often causes on me. While it's not quite as pure innocence as it was in the bottle, it's still a very fresh and pure scent image. Drydown: I'm not sure how to describe how it settles down on my skin. I can detect the honey musk. I can detect the gardenia. I'm sensing a comforting creamy undertone that is probably the rice milk. Overall there's not a lot of throw, making this a potential good work scent. Verdict: This one goes on the potential bottle list.

Origin: decant circle by Absinthetics Initial Thoughts: I have several apple scents that I enjoy, like Glittering Apple of the Stars, Snow Glass Apples, and Punkie Night. This sounded like it could be a similar scent to Glittering Apple, which I only have one bottle of right now. In the Vial: Heh, this is pretty much a Golden Delicious apple in the vial, with the sweet and the tart playing tag. Wet: Ah, the musk is apparently on the darker side of the scale, because here comes the amp. However, there is still an apple-y undertone as the musk washes over all. Drydown: Darn. Something is going a little nasty somewhere in here, causing a bit of rankness. On me it's mostly musk and some apple and that unpleasant trace of whatever. Verdict: I might keep the decant for scent locket purposes, but I have other apple scents that like my skin better.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: As long as it's not rose or lily, I will try almost any predominantly floral blend that Beth makes. In the Bottle: This is divinely pretty. Sweet and rich and floral and I keep opening the bottle for another sniff. It suggests a carpet of lovely flowers on a day that is warm but not quite tipping the balance into hot. If it doesn't work well on me I'll probably keep the bottle just to put this in a scent locket. Wet: There is a faint trace of artificiality or plastic and some of the green in the floral comes to the surface. If this were a rose scent, this would be the point where the scent not only went green, but stinky-cooked-collards green on me. It's not at all that bad here, but it is harshing my squee over the bottle scent a bit. Darn my skin chemistry. Drydown: The green note backs off and lets the flowers come back in. The sweetness isn't coming quite back to the level it was in the bottle, but it doesn't have to in order to be swoon-worthy. A lush carpet of flowers that fades enough to cling to my skin but not much more, making it an excellent candidate for wearing to work. Verdict: There's just enough of that honeyed undertone that it feels like it might be close enough to sub for my beloved wisteria single note. I'll have to pull out my precious half-imp and try them side by side. Very glad to have this bottle.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Flowers that aren't rose or violet, check. Mint, check. Thyme, inoffensive. I'm iffy about the redcurrant but have some scents where it works very well. In the Bottle: Cool and minty white florals. A bit of an impression of the chilly air in the spring or fall as the seasons are beginning to turn to or away from winter and that sun is rising in the east without bringing any heat with the light. Wet: The tea or something is lending itself to the family of notes that amps on me. The first burst is lightly musky, but not in the dark side of the spectrum that usually turns way too strong. Drydown: The redcurrant that I was worried about seems to be a mellow and very subtle undertone, making the flowers seem all the prettier. Where in the bottle it was a cool spring wind it is now a warmer spring wind and promising fascination to anyone who crosses the wall next to Wall and into Faerie. Verdict: The only thing holding me back from saying this one's a certainty is that my skin is itching a bit where I applied it. I'll try again just in case it's me and not the perfume.

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have managed not to sniff this GC scent even after years of BPALing because I saw the name and assumed it was one of the graveyard/earth/dirt scents I don't care for, without once reading the description. Silly me. In the Imp: Clean linen-y white florals. Very fresh. Wet: A sweetness joins the fray, making me think a little of my beloved wisteria. Drydown: Hm. There would seem to be the faintest trace of rose in this, as a skanky green undertone has developed. Pity, because it's just enough to bother me. Verdict: This one is off to the swap/sell pile.

Origin: Straight from the Lab. Initial Thoughts: I am an all-florals-all-the-time type of perfume consumer. I love gardenia to bits. The only thing that worries me is the foody notes taking over. It's a rather hot day here - when I first pulled the bottle out of its wrapper and held it to my nose, all I could smell was a heavy sweet baked note. In the Bottle: Tea and biscuits, indeed. I'm not getting even an iota of floral from the bottle. Rich, incredibly strong and sweet tea with a pastry beside it. Wet: At first it's yet more tea, tea, tea, sweet enough for the spoon to stand in. And then the glorious gardenia starts to fight its way to the top. Drydown: And the gardenia promptly fades again. All I'm getting after half an hour is tea and biscuits. This makes me sad. Verdict: I'll give it a couple of days and try once more, but if all I'm left with is foody then this bottle will need to find a new home.

Origin: Straight from the Lab. Initial Thoughts: I tried the original Peony Moon but something in it was just a little off and wouldn't let me enjoy the scent. Here's hoping that this one works. In the Bottle: Light, sweet and airy florals. An absolutely gorgeous scent that makes me think of a classic perfume, without the alcohol interference. Wet: Hello, sandalwood! Please to be letting the other notes come and play? Pretty please? Drydown: There we go. As I'm sniffing the warm, sweet florals mixing with the sandalwood, I'm chuckling that yet again, as in Peach Moon, I tend to do better with fruit blossoms than the actual fruit. Apricot fruit does not like my skin. Apricot petals seem to be fine. However, the longer I wear it, the more it edges ever so slightly toward the dryer-sheet territory mentioned above. Hopefully it'll go away soon. Verdict: I'll probably play with this a little before making a final decision.

I hesitated for a long time about whether I wanted to try hair gloss or not. While my hair can frizz horribly with humidity, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to apply it evenly and I'd get greasy sections of hair. Scent-wise it's lovely: the tiare keeps it from going too far in the sunscreen direction and I have a pretty and subtle sweet coconut scent for most of the day. I do need to work on even application: the first time I was able to get it evenly through the ends of my hair (which made it super-soft!) but missed my scalp and still had flyaway hair there. The second time I managed to get a couple of good squirts up in my scalp, but they were too good and I had greasy patches that stayed no matter how much I combed and brushed. If I can get it to distribute evenly through my hair, I will enjoy this very much.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have had some very good pumpkin experiences with BPAL, both on the foody and not-foody spectrum. Of this year's Pumpkins, this one was the only one to not have a death note and as a bonus it has tons of vanilla. In the Bottle: Rich sweet vanilla and spicy pumpkin. Almost like a fresh pumpkin pie. It is delicious. Wet: Like several others have noted, the spice amps up in a big way. For the moment it's all cinnamon and nutmeg with a sweet undertone and very little pumpkin. Drydown: My patience is rewarded - after a few minutes the spice relaxes and the vanilla comes back in full force. The pumpkin is there, but very quiet in the background. People who love the vanilla but aren't hugely fond of pumpkin may find themselves liking this. Verdict: Keeper! I am so glad that the Pumpkins weren't a set this year.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: This one has been on my must-try-eventually list ever since it debuted. I love floral scents in general and wisteria is one of my favorites, along with star jasmine. When my lone Weenie bottle needed a companion traveler, it was time. In the Bottle: That has to be one of the most balanced, smoothly blended unifications between grassy green and sweet floral that I've ever smelled. Neither shouts down the other, they both just happily co-exist. It smells very wisteria and honeysuckle, like the flowers I associate with May and June as the weather heats up into summer. Wet: Something in her jumps out at first. It's a bit herbal so perhaps it's the thyme. It's not so strong that I can't stand it, all the sweet floral is still there underneath. Just have to wait for it to settle. Drydown: There we go...the herbal sting mellows out and the green becomes grassy once more. That tricky balance is back: the floral keeps the green from going too herby and the green keeps the floral from being cloying. This is also a very gentle scent, not much throw, so I can wear it to work. Verdict: Took me long enough, but I'm glad I finally got this one.

Origin: decant circle Initial Thoughts: Not many of the Paranormans grabbed me, but this one made me stop and pause because one of my son's best friends is a little girl with a very geeky, scientific mind. Who knows, if it doesn't work for me I might pass it on to her and create a new young BPALer. In the Vial: High, white & light green, crisp. I'm definitely getting the clean linen with an apple undertone and maybe a taste of ink. Wet: It takes a minute, but then the apple comes out, much sweeter than I expected given the shampoo description. And because I amp musk, I'm also getting the impression of skin. Very clean, sudsy skin, but it's there. But the musk is counterbalancing the soapiness rather nicely. And if I close my eyes and breathe deeply, I can imagine the green-ness as some nice goopy science plasma in a jar...like the barest hint of ozone. As I'm sniffing, the apple fades a bit and the linen comes back. Verdict: It's nicer than I expected, given other reviews of really strong apple, but I'm not sure that I'd wear it. Think I'll poke around my bag of imps to re-home and see what else might be appropriate for a young girl...

Origin: decant circle Initial Thoughts: Rose and I aren't 100% comfortable with one another, but I like lilac and the rest of the description made me think along the lines of our deeply mourned Antique Lace. In the Vial: A gentle and slightly soapy floral. It's a little sweet, a little green, and completely beautiful. I hope the rose likes me... Wet: There's a hint of the rose skank that I usually get, but whatever the sweetness is, it seems to be holding it in check. The soapiness is a bit stronger, but not a problem yet. Drydown: Darn it. The rose has skanked up just enough and the soapiness has gone just a little stronger. Plus it has faded really, really fast on me. Verdict: My skin really doesn't like this and I am hurt. It's SO pretty in the bottle. I'll definitely try my decant in a scent locket so I can keep enjoying it in its most beautiful state, but I'm not sure a scent locket will use up a bottle.