puck_nc

Origin: decant from a D*C circle Initial Thoughts: While I'm not the biggest fan of citrus scents, now that my Polar Bear Plunge is almost gone I need a new wake-me-the-hell-up option in the shower. In the Bottle: Lime! Bergamot! Mint! It's snappy, it's eye-popping, and even sniffing from the bottle is livening me up. And when I first opened it, my pre-teen son was all over it, wanting to put some on his skin. In the Shower: This is amazing and unsettling. I feel like I've been dipped into a vat of that Icy-Hot arthritis rub. My skin itself feels warm and comforted inside, but icy and refreshed outside. Very strange, but I am definitely awake and alert now. After the Shower: It takes a while, but this eventually settles down into a soft citrus mint scent. Verdict: I think I'm going to have to watch the BPTP venues for any leftovers or find a fairy for the next event where they're selling this, because I'll definitely use up a bottle or two.

Origin: Straight from the Lab at the time and finally reviewing Initial Thoughts: Invigorating vanilla mint? Hopefully it will wake me up in the shower on all those have-to-get-up-inhumanely-early mornings. (I generally like my job but hate my schedule.) In the Bottle: Very snowy and minty, but the vanilla comes across more like a soft floral than foody. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. In the Shower: One of the things I love about this oil is not just the cold minty scent it produces, but the fact that it physically cools my skin even in a warm shower. Very helpful for clearing the cobwebs of sleep! After the Shower: The scent lasts a long time on me and after about the first hour it's like I'm wearing any other of a number of BPAL perfumes - I can tell it's there, other people notice that I smell nice, but it's not overpowering in any way. Verdict: I was very glad to use this bottle and if the BPTP ever resurrects it I will buy more.

Origin: Frimp in my most recent Lab order Initial Thoughts: I'm fairly certain I tried this before, but I didn't leave a review at the time. The anise may have been too much for me. Since then I've found a few Oriental-themed scents that I love, so let's try again. In the Vial: Sandalwood and liquorice. I don't get the cherry blossom at this point. The sandalwood is almost enough to keep it from going medicinal. Wet: Hm. For once my sandalwood-amping handicap is working for me, because the anise is weak and the cherry blossom is starting to come out. Drydown: Well, I think I can definitely pick out all three elements in the scent. But they're not quite meshing on me. It's a light, airy wood, but nothing here is really grabbing my attention. Plus my skin is not completely happy with the situation - there's a slight burning sensation going on. Verdict: This one needs a better home than I can offer.

Origin: Straight from the Lab. Initial Thoughts: It's a single-note floral that's not one of my few floral death notes. Gotta try them all! In the Bottle: Lemony, milky, greenish. A bit like a white lily on speed. Wet: Oh, wow! A profound shift to a lush white floral. Drydown: Hmm. My mom called and I wasn't able to sniff with attention during the process. It's still a floral, but something I can't nail down is just a little off about it. It's not skanky green-stem, it's not musk-amp, it's not soap. It's a little deeper, a little sweeter, with just a hint of that citrus from the bottle. Verdict: This requires further testing with undivided attention.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: It's a single note. It's a floral that isn't rose or violet. It must be tried. In the Bottle: A lush and wet/rainy floral, not too far from my beloved wisteria and hyacinth scents. So far so good! Wet: Now there's a faint streak of green and a bit of musk to it, but the lovely floral is still dominant. Drydown: The green is fading and the musk is a bit stronger. These things may be mutually causal or not. But the floral sweetens up a bit and is turning into a really lovely noseful of small purple and white flowers. Verdict: Yay! I'll do a side-by-side with my half-decant to be sure, but this could be an acceptable substitute if I don't get my beloved wisteria with this special wave of SNs.

Origin: Decant circle Initial Thoughts: This was the only one of the Dragon*Con dragons that didn't have an immediate death note, though I hemmed and hawed over whether midnight musk would be too dark on the spectrum and therefore amp and chew up the other notes. I finally decided a decant was worth the risk and maybe the lunar blossoms and orchid would dominate. In the Imp: Dark, rich, almost smoky and sexy. My scent memory is thinking of the perfume Poison, of all things. There's musk and some orchid and the herbs are producing the faintest thread of a note. Wet: And it goes oh-so-musk. Drydown: However...either the orchid or oakmoss is keeping it from becoming All Musk All the Time. It's still very sultry, but not giving a whole lot of throw (possibly because I dabbed with a light hand). Verdict: This is interesting. I could see myself wearing this for an occasion where I was all dressed up for an evening on the town. I may pull out that bottle of Poison I still have and my half-imp of Queen of Spades (the supposed BPAL twin to Poison up to now) and do some side-by-side comparisons. Definitely keeping the decant for now.

A soft, sensual, luxuriant blend with a wicked bite: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond. Origin: Frimp in a decant circle purchase Initial Thoughts: Now that I look at the notes, I don't see any immediate death notes. I'm not necessarily fond of booze notes, thought. In the Imp: Very rum and very almond-y. Wet: The honey erupts, sweetening everything up. It's very foody, but I've dipped my toe into the foody direction over the years. Drydown: A super-sweet and boozy cake. Verdict: It's not as bad as I suspected given other experiences with booze notes, but probably not something I would wear. Off to a better home!

Origin: from Dragon*Con thanks to a wonderful fairy! Initial Thoughts: Rose and I have had a...difficult relationship. Rakshasa's rose seemed to work well for me, but I later learned that it was possibly because patchouli mows down other notes in a wide swath on me. Other rose scents were hit or miss and then I ran across the Peacock Queen, which turned into horrid stinky cooked greens on my skin and seemed to doom me for any blend with a strong rose element. And then I found The Rose, which hovered on the edge of good and bad before finally settling down into good. But I wanted to try Cherokee Rose for several reasons. (1) It's a floral single note. (2) I have Cherokee blood on my mom's side of the family. (3) My initial impression when Googling images was that it might not be an actual rose, only named as one, and might work on me. Since D*C, I've seen mentions that said it was just like Peacock Queen and that it was nowhere near as strong as Peacock Queen. Only thing to do is try it and be ready to wash it off if things go downhill. In the Bottle: Fresh rose, but with a very strong thread of citrus-y sweetness that I don't remember linking to rose before. It's a rich and layered scent, but not a heavy one. Wet: The lemony streak is warring with the skanky-green-stem threat. It honestly doesn't strike me as what I think is a true rose scent with that citrus edge growing so strong. Drydown: This is annoying. I get more of a rose scent gradually and so far the green-stem is adding freshness instead of ruining the scent, but the lemony edge is so strong that it's almost at artificial cleaning product levels. I'm trying to wait this stage out and hope. (Husband just came home from work - I had him sniff and his first words were "Lemon Pledge!") Further Drydown: Well, the lemon is finally not as strong as it was. Unfortunately, that has left room for the green-stem to surge forward and even then there's still a strong artificiality to it on my skin. It's definitely not the strength of Peacock Queen, but it's stronger than I was hoping for. Verdict: As always, I'm thrilled that I got to try a single note, but this one really doesn't like my skin. Maybe I could use it up in a scent locket eventually, but as scarce as a con-exclusive SN is likely to be, it seems fairer to let this one find a new home.

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: This one had not registered on my radar yet, but lily sometimes works very well for me. In the Vial: Wow, a rush of warm cinnamon and spice that is very inviting. This is foody rather than floral. Wet: A blast of wonderful sweet spices. This is what I wanted from various Day-of-the-Dead inspired Weenies or Navidad Yules. It's not foody per se anymore, just a rich crush of spiciness. Drydown: The lily begins to come out, softening the spice and adding a luscious creamy dimension to the scent. It's subtly sexy and inviting. Verdict: All hail the frimp! I need to get a bottle of this lest it get discontinued suddenly.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: There are blends with lotus that work on me. There are blends that don't. It's a 50-50 shot whether I'll get the sweet or floral lotus note. But having just missed the single notes the first time around, I'm not passing up anything that even remotely interests me. In the Bottle: Interesting. The initial impression is somehow both candy-sweet and aquatic floral and of all things it smells like a pineapple/orange lemonade drink. Wet: On my skin it's not so sweet, though the citrusy impression is still there. There is also a fresh green hint of leaves or stems. So far so good. Drydown: Gradually a creaminess develops that pushes this toward magnolia territory and makes me wonder whether the two plants are related. It is light, lemony and creamy with a bit of that leaf-stem greeniness. Verdict: I think this is a keeper. I'll be curious to try layering it with other florals and spicy blends.

Origin: Frimp from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I'm going to guess it was a combination of not seeing any of my favorite notes combined with the word "black" that has made me skip this one before. I tend to amp black musks and probably presumed that black ginger wouldn't work on my skin. In the Vial: Wow, that is a serious noseful of spice. The ginger and cinnamon are very strong and of all things it smells like the spice combo I use when preparing my crock-pot brown sugar pork. Not quite the "foody" I would want in a perfume... Wet: Damn, it really does smell like the ingredients for my pork, sans the pork. Spices, heavy on the ginger, and a little bit of fruit underneath. Drydown: After a brief phase where the spices skirt toward painful on the skin, the fruit fades and leaves almost pure spice in its wake, but in a fainter, sort of dusty version of how it smells in the vial. Verdict: Definitely an interesting experience in smell association, but not something I would wear.

Origin: Frimp in an order from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I discovered early on that most BPAL rose notes tend to pull this icky green-stem trick on my skin that turns the scent into cooked collard greens, which is not a pleasant association for me in any context. But the frimp is here and I will play fair. In the Vial: Light, fresh, dewy rose. Perhaps a touch lighter and more innocent than the few other rose notes I've tried. It's got a lot of green in there. I fear. Wet: And after a tantalizing breath of pure rose, the skanky stank begins. sigh Drydown: Hmm...is it possible? I may be imagining it but it seems that the green-stem note is fading and letting the rose out. It's still sharper than I would prefer, but compared to some of my experiences it is possibly quite wearable. Verdict: This warrants further experimentation, but if I've finally found a strong rose note that plays nicely with me in the BPAL arsenal, I will be a very, very happy girl.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I either simply missed this one as a general glance at the Salons showed me a lot of my death notes, or I was put off by the cypress. Stargazer lily is one of my favorite florals, I like blue lilac and delphinium very much, so this should have been an earlier purchase instead of a last-minute desperate-to-get-it order. In the Bottle: Green and herby. The cypress and ylang ylang are strong with the florals just peeking out. Wet: Ah, good. The florals come rushing out to meet my nose. Something is keeping the entire scent just on the watery side, in keeping with the theme of melancholy. Drydown: Excellent...the cypress and ylang ylang have faded into the background, leaving a lovely gentle floral in their wake. I can pick out my beloved stargazer lily and the lilac meshes nicely with it. Verdict: I am so happy to have snagged a bottle of this before it was gone forever.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Several of the Lab's Asian-floral blends have worked nicely for me in the past. I think I would have gotten around to this one eventually (Salons being more expensive) but the retirement of the line prompted me to action. In the Bottle: This is possibly the closest I've ever come to thinking of a BPAL blend like a commercial perfume spray. My first impression is of all things, astringent alcohol, which I know isn't in here. The second sniff is strongly sandalwood with a fresh edge to it. Wet: Light and breezy pear and honey with a floral backdrop. Drydown: The sandalwood develops, but since it's white sandalwood it's not devouring everything in its path. The honey note is still prominent and the pear and florals are balancing into a spring-like sweetness. Verdict: I think I like it. The throw is low enough that I can wear it to work.

I placed my order today. I got Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree like I planned and also tried for Melancholia--it's been moved to the discontinueds here on the forum but was still live on the site. I hope I get one of the remaining bottles...

Origin: Straight from the Lab! Initial Thoughts: Single notes are back? CARNATION is one of the first? SOLD!!!!! In the Bottle: Rich red and spicy carnation with just a hint of green to give the impression of fresh petals. Wet: Oh yeah, that's CARNATION in my face! The green note has retreated for now, leaving a powerful spicy floral. Drydown: The spicy calms down a bit and the leaf/stem green has perked back up. It's also developed a musky quality that may just be my skin amping any drop of musk to be found in a blend. Verdict: I am going to have so much fun with this! Might need to snag a backup bottle before it goes away.

I have never delved deep into the Salon, mainly because so many of the blends have a death note for me (dark musk, incense variations, patchouli, amber, etc.). I do have a bottle of The Fox-Woman Kuzunoha which I like a lot. After reading the reviews, I think I'll need to snag a bottle of Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree. I love several of the more floral Asian blends and the reviews sound divine.

Origin: decant circle Initial Thoughts: I saw lots of florals, which are generally my thing. The only note that made me hesitate was the violet sugar as the BPAL violet note tends to turn hideous on my skin. In the Bottle: Light, faint herbs. There's the faintest suggestion of candy, which may be the violet sugar. Wet: A bit more floral and a bit less herby but still a very high, sharp scent at this stage. Drydown: It warms up and the florals come out more. It's sweeter but the violet is not skanking up as it is wont to do. But something just doesn't quite balance and I don't know if I can put my finger on it. Verdict: I'm going to play with the decant some more. It's almost but not quite there...

Origin: decant circle Initial Thoughts: After reading the description I was hoping for a scent akin to Antique Lace with linen, vanilla, some flowers and a hint of musk. In the vial: Sweet, soapy flowers. Not at all like Antique Lace's vanilla musk. This is a very innocent scent, fresh and bubbly and very inviting. Wet: A tad less soapy and a little more herby, but still very clean and bright. Potentially a good summer scent, cool and refreshing, for those who can't or don't do acquatics. Drydown: The herby edge backs off and the vanilla starts to emerge as more than just "sweet". The soapy impression is mostly gone, leaving a lightly floral clean scent. Verdict: I think I like it well enough to get a bottle in my next order.

Origin: Decant circle Initial Thoughts: There's not enough blends with wisteria. There weren't any notes of doom in this one, so I tried it. In the Vial: Cypress and juniper. A heavy, dark, green swampy scent with a sharp tinge from the jasmine. Wet: Still very much wet swamp at first and then a rather soapy sting of neroli and/or jasmine. I can't find my sweet wisteria anywhere. Drydown: The cedar amps on me and takes it from a swamp to a forest...still dark and green but not quite so earthy and watery. I can just make out the wisteria, buried deep in the background. Verdict: If you're looking for a scent that makes you feel like you're in the Bayou, try this.

Origin: Decant circle Initial Thoughts: Honeysuckle will always grab my attention. The fact that the amber is white and the musk is sandalwood take it out of instant death-note territory and into the realm of possibility. In the Vial: I'm picking up musk and a chilly edge, but what strikes me is that this is tripping my scent memory like crazy. I'm immediately overcome of memories of playing at my mom's makeup table as a little girl (1970s) because this smells exactly like one of the cheap Avon-style light musk perfumes she would use for daily wear (she kept the Chanel No. 5 for special occasions). As I keep sniffing, the pear is showing up and moving the scent away from my memory. Wet: A sweet and musky floral with the barest hint of the snow note. At this point the honeysuckle is doing me proud. Drydown: Other than amping as musk does on me, there's very little morph overall. The musk isn't defeating the honeysuckle, but I'm not getting a clear sniff of most of the other notes. And unfortunately, something is making my skin itch. Verdict: A very interesting experience with the first sniff, but I have other blends that let the honeysuckle shine.

Origin: decant circle Initial Thoughts: Basically, I had to try and know what kudzu smelled like. I've grown up around kudzu, seeing it take over barns and telephone poles and anything else foolish enough to stand still, but never noticed a scent. In the Vial: An initial blast of earthy green and then the ginger cream slides in. Wet: Ginger is the dominant note, with the earthy green kudzu underneath. Then the honey creeps in to smooth things over. Drydown: A very odd juxtaposition of foody with the ginger cream and honey against that greeny note with so much dirt in it. Verdict: I think I would have liked this very much if the kudzu had been swapped for a floral that works for me. The earth note just seems wrong to me.

Origin: Decant circle Initial Thoughts: I might be able to wear peach musk without amping it terribly. I'm not sure if the tuberose will behave like rose rose and go skanky-green on me. In the Vial: A pink floral with the chill of a snow note. Light and pretty. Wet: The musk comes out as musk does on me, but it's not mowing down the other notes. The chill is there as are the florals. Drydown: Well, it took a while, but eventually the musk did start to take over the scent. And what is left able to fight back is the chilly note which has morphed into an evergreen note. My impression now is of a very light and pretty Christmas tree. Verdict: I may keep and finish the decant, but I'm not sure I need a bottle given how many evergreen scents I have already.

Origin: decant circle Initial Thoughts: This blend had me almost squeeing out loud as I read the notes: stargazer lily, white gardenia, delphinium, magnolia, white musk and white sandalwood...the big hesitation was the white rose. I can only hope that all the other notes will keep the rose from going green-stem skanky on me. In the Vial: A sweet white crush of flowers with a whiff of sandalwood. *crosses fingers* Wet: Gardenia and lily and magnolia and now it's the musk providing just enough of a presence to tie them together. (please behave, rose, please behave...) Drydown: Thank you, perfume gods! Not even a hint of the stink that I can cause in a rose note. I have a very soft, gentle floral with the different notes blending into one very smooth whole. Verdict: My only complaint is just how little throw this has on me. Now, that makes it an excellent work scent, but I was hoping that so many of my favorite notes would produce something dazzling. Given just how many floral blends currently reside in my box, I'll have to think about whether to add another.

Origin: Decant Circle Initial Thoughts: I like peony and I've never smelled a vanilla orchid but thought it sounded divine. In the Vial: A cool spring floral with a strong undercurrent of sweetness. Very refreshing. Wet: Bright and fresh peony, cool orchid, and just enough vanilla to keep it from being leaf-and-stem green. Drydown: Not much morph to this one. Maybe it's a tad greener and less sweet than when wet, but it's still a lovely spring floral with that delicate thread of sweetness. Verdict: Gonna have to consider a bottle of this one.