puck_nc

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have a precious original tarted imp (handwritten tied-on label from the very first year or two of the Lab) of SN Honeysuckle which I love to sniff. It goes a touch soapy on my skin but is still mostly bright honeysuckle. Which is one of my favorite scents ever. Of course I was going to try a new single note. In the Bottle: Very honeysuckle, a little more green than the very aged original. Wet: Intensely floral but maintaining that thread of green like a vine tangled with other bushes. Drydown: It settles into a quiet rich honeysuckle. There's a hint of soapiness but not enough to detract from the scent. Verdict: A most excellent pure honeysuckle for fans of the note!

Origin: the first bottle was a decant, then I ended up with a full bottle, possibly from Etsy Initial Thoughts: I love peach. I like ginger and hope the fact that it's white will keep it from going too foody/holidays. I know not from cubeb. In the Bottle: Very peach and bright and fresh. Either the cistus is being citrusy or the white in the white ginger is being very bright. On Wet Hair: It gets a little less peach and a little more ginger-y, but still very bright. Now that I've read some of the other reviews, yeah, lemon makes sense. After Blow-drying: This one doesn't have much staying power on me. It's very faint ginger peach after I've dried my hair. Verdict: It's a lovely scent, good for summer, but doesn't last the way some others do.

Origin: decant that was frimped to me in a purchase Initial Thoughts: I need to be selling rather than buying BPAL right now, which is why I haven't bought a bottle of this yet. But this was one of the few new American Gods scents that I had on my list and I am very happy to have the chance to try it. In the Vial: An initial wave of general sweetness gives way to pure strawberry. Not quite fresh-picked, but lightly sugared...as in definitely ready to eat. Wet: Ah, there's the fresh-picked part! Not as sugary, but very sweet strawberries. Drydown: I'm getting a little hint of musk from somewhere. If there's any musk used to create the blend, then my skin will amp it. So it shifts from fresh strawberries to a gently sexy strawberry perfume on me. Verdict: I have no objections to a gently sexy strawberry perfume. I think I'll be including a bottle the next time I order.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: Antique Lace is one of my top 5 BPAL scents ever, so of course I leaped at the chance of getting it in hair gloss form. In the Bottle: Straight-up Antique Lace with all the lovely vanilla. On Wet Hair: For me the vanilla intensifies and now I can understand it when one of my students asked if my perfume was based on some kind of cookies years ago when I was still wearing it regularly and not hoarding it. Drydown: The floral notes pop up to join the vanilla. Verdict: Works as well in my hair as it does on my skin. Should more ever be made I will jump for it and I will start looking at forum sales/swaps.

Vivid purple base with strong shifting purple-to-red shimmer. Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I like purple. I like it a lot. In the Bottle: A very deep purple with a royal blue sheen in the glitter. One Coat: More berry than purple and most of the shimmer is pink. Two Coats: Much darker, a true royal purple, and the glitter shimmer shows a lot of blue as well as pink. Verdict: Definitely keeping this bottle. May get another. Has that lovely smooth high-quality finish as well.

[No additional description given.] Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I've never been interested in the "dead leaves" note. But I like cedar and the notion of cinnamon incense (which I could not wear on my skin due to the incense amping and possibly the cinnamon irritating) was a strong pull to try this. In the Bottle: Musty cedar. Like a stale cedar chest. Oh dear. Wet in hair: Okay, at least the "musty" is not showing up, but it's still strongly just cedar. There's maybe the slightest hint of cinnamon in there. After blow-drying: Harmony of a sort has been achieved. The "dead leaves" still seems to be mostly hiding in the cedar or incense, which has come out and brought a bit more cinnamon with it. Verdict: I think I like it well enough to finish the bottle, but I'm not 100% sure I'd look for more. It's got the same natural, slightly quiet vibe of "Departing Like Smoke" but with a decidedly "forest" or "fall" character.

Lime-gold microglitter floating among gold flake. Can be used as a lucky topcoat, or slather on two coats for an opaque treasure chest of gold. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I will never turn down a funky glitterbomb. In the Bottle: You've seen Pumpkin Spice Everything? Stardust? Nuclear Winter? This is more of the same, but in a background color that can't decide between neon yellow or neon green. One coat: Even with a practiced hand, I expect that one coat won't be enough glitter unless you want this to top-coat another color. The surface is a bit gritty. Two coats: This should mostly get the coverage you want. Let the sparkle commence. Not quite as gritty, but still uneven on me. A nail technician could probably get it to be smooth, but I needed a top coat. Verdict: If you like the BPAL Claw Polish glitterbombs, you'll like this one. I'm not sure I need another bottle, but I did get several compliments wearing it the last few days.

Midnight blue holographic with starfire blue and gold micro flake. Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I liked the idea of a deep star-pricked blue. In the Bottle: Deep blue with the barest hints of holo-sheen. And then I noticed a later of silvery glitter at the bottom. Much vigorous shaking of the bottle produced a wave of sliver hologlitter. One Coat: (first try, unshook bottle) A not-quite-opaque-enough evening blue with sparkle. Shook bottle and there seems to be more glitter involved, maybe. Two Coats: (first try, unshook bottle) Very much like blue sunstone. Dark, navy blue shot through with silver and gold. Shook bottle produces the rainbow of hologlitter. Verdict: I will probably get another bottle or two of this. Insanely smooth on application. ETA: Having worn it a day, this is a real morpher. In low/indoor light, the polish is very blue sunstone with the deep blue showing metallic flecks. In bright light or sunlight, the holo-glitter goes to town.

Pale gray lilac glowing with a shifting sheen that morphs from purple to blue to red. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I already have Baku and Oneroi. Do I need another pale purple/lavender? Yes, why not? In the Bottle: An unassuming lavender, until you turn it to the light. And then the glittery sheen of blue and deep purple comes out to play. One coat: Not quite opaque enough if you're like me and your nails naturally French-manicure with strongly white tips. A gentle lavender with hidden depths. Two coats: Good coverage and a more pronounced purple to it. Plus all the rich blue/royal purple hologlitter shine you could want. Verdict: It's the tiniest bit sticky on application but dries quickly with a smooth finish. I don't think one has to have a clear top coat other than for protection. I expect I'll get another bottle of this.

The hot, electric orange of distant fires. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: This doesn't appear to be one of my favorite shades of orange, but I wasn't quite sure based on the website photos. In the Bottle: This is bright, hot orange. Very flame-like. One coat: I wasn't expecting this to be so watery to apply, but it does go on smoothly. One coat *might* be enough, maybe. Two coats: This turns out to be rather easy to work with. Full coverage is achieved and it goes on quite evenly. Verdict: It's a nice polish to work with, but I'm not sure I'll keep it. It's quite orange.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Jasmine is usually a winning note for me. None of the other notes are bad for me and I love me some vanilla. In the Bottle: That's...really oddly interesting. I get the jasmine and the sweet sugary vanilla frosting side-by-side, with the anise coming in at the end of the sniff. The combo is oddly alcoholic...my mental image is of something sweet and creamy with an interesting exotic liqueur. Wet: Very jasmine, some anise. The sweet creamy elements are lurking. Drydown: Hm. This continues to tilt toward the jasmine end and the anise stays very strong. There's some vanilla in here as well, but it's definitely not going foodie on me. Verdict: I may try it a couple more times. I am waffles right now. That anise is being annoyingly predominant.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have a few pear scents I love, like Juliet and The Perilous Parlor. I can do white musk without it amping to unbearable levels. I have a couple of scents with rice-related notes that I like. Why not? In the Bottle: Very pear. Fresh pear with maybe a dash of the rice milk. Wet: Still pear, but the rice milk is stronger now. We'll see how much the musk amps. There's a baby-like innocence to it now. Drydown: The musk comes out, but mainly grounds the scent and makes it a little more sophisticated instead of foody. This one does stay close to the skin. Verdict: This is likely a keeper.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have a partial decant of the original Pink Moon, which I like a lot. I may or may not have tried a later iteration, but so many of these notes are wins for me I had to try this version. In the Bottle: Lots of flowers and honey and a sharp tang that might be the strawberries or might be one of the flowers. Definitely a cheerful scent. Wet: A blast of florals, with something threatening to go sharp, but it very quickly lets the honey loose and sweetens up. Drydown: This is staying strongly honey on me, with a backing of flowers. I can pick out the carnation if I try hard. Verdict: It's not what I expected, but I think I like it.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I have several blends that I love that use this note. I thought I'd see what the stripped-down version is like. Then I read the reviews of it being more orchid than vanilla. Hm. Could be soap city. In the Bottle: Cool, creamy, sweet, white, and floral. I actually am getting an impression of vanilla in there. I like it. At worst it would be a great scent locket option. Wet: It immediately goes VERY floral, tilting greenish. This often happens with me and florals - I can't wear the BPAL rose or violet notes because the green takes over to horrid levels of skank on my skin. But this is skating up toward the vicinity of green without turning bad. Drydown: Hm. This feels like it's going in the soap direction for me, but I'm not sure if that's because I gravitate toward soaps with floral scents. It stays on the sweet side for me. Verdict: I'll play with it some more before I decide whether to keep the bottle. But if you are a fan of white sweetish florals, this is something to try.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I like all four of these notes. In the Bottle: That's an awfully big drop of strawberry. I get lots of strawberry, a little cherry blossom and maybe the orchid. On Wet Hair: I get the same citrus impression that Casablanca did. Strawberry candy and something lemony. And a bit of the tea. Very sweet and girlish. After Blowdrying: This calms down pretty quickly on me to a very quiet spring floral. Verdict: I will try a couple more times before I decide on keeping or passing it on. It's super-quiet this first time on me.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: The only note I was iffy on was the iris root.Love vanilla and musk. In the Bottle: Very vanilla, lightly musk, and a dash of rice that makes me think of Aunt Rosie's All-Purpose Cephalopod Bath Oil. On Wet Hair: Wow, this goes strongly to the rice powder. It's all powder all the time and right now I really don't like it. After the Blowdry: Okay, not quite so much powder. There's more musk and a little more vanilla. Later in the Day: I don't usually notice much of a shift in hair gloss scent after I've dried my hair, but later on, I started getting a lovely waft of vanilla musk from my hair that lasted into the evening. Verdict: I think this could be the first time I've experienced such a morph in the hair glosses. That wet stage truly had me rethinking my purchase. But once it settles it is marvelously low-key sexy on me. I might need a backup bottle.

Sprigs of pale green dotted with blood red droplets of red currant and cranberry. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I love Christmas/evergreen scents but I'm not sure about my hair smelling like a Christmas tree. Decided it was worth a try. In the Bottle: Mostly dark red fruits with an undercurrent of green. On Wet Hair: What the...? Lemons? Yes, of all things I'm getting a strong citrus impression. Maybe it's the cranberry? After Blow-drying: Well, now it's sort of faded. I'm getting the barest whiff of the lemony impression and maybe the green note again. Verdict: I'm going to try again in case I didn't shake the bottle enough or something. It's rather nice in the bottle and I want it to be nice in my hair.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: My interest was sparked immediately, but I held off a bit and waited for a few reviews, since I have a decent selection of "cold" florals already. When they spoke of a soft, true-to-life jasmine, I bit. In the Bottle: A jasmine so soft and fragrant that it borders on honeysuckle. This reminds me of the star jasmine that used to grow up a trellis at my old home. The only "winter" I get is that it has the feel of a white floral. Wet: It goes a bit sharp and stingy on my skin at first. I've had some jasmine variants do this and it usually settles down. We'll see how this does. Drydown: The worst of the sharpness goes away and some of the sweet jasmine comes back. It seems to be retaining an airy quality from the wet stage, hanging onto a suggestion of chill. Verdict: I'm very glad I got the bottle. It will be seeing a lot of scent locket action as well as being worn.

A black based multichrome that will shift from red to gold to bronze to green in different lighting and angles. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I have a wonderful black microglitter from an Etsy supplier that is almost gone. I love how the sun will wake up a rainbow in the smooth black and wanted this to be a replacement. In the Bottle: Shimmery fine purple glitter. Interesting. One Coat: Now we have an inky black base that is smooth as glass. But we also have microglitter that is very red and copper - I'm not seeing much green as I wave my hands around. A skilled hand could make one coat of this work. Two Coats: Still that glassy black obsidian base with the copper/bronze/red effect. Verdict: It's a gorgeously high quality polish. I might use one bottle, but I'm not sure I'd use two. This feels like an autumn/Halloween polish more than a winter one. ETA: Now that I'm wearing it out and about, I've discovered the variations in the glitter seem to depend on what kind of light is around. I get coppery red indoors under light bulbs but greeny-gold in sunlight. Very interesting...

Filled with microflake and glitter; snow white micro flake, silvery blue micro flake, shifting blue to purple iridescent glitter, and icy blue shimmer. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: It's a glitterbomb in a new shade! I like light blue! In the Bottle: Light blue with iridescent blue and silver sparkles. One Coat: A pale blue sheer polish with a ton of silver shimmer. Two Coats: More blue, more shimmer. Pictures aren't doing it justice. Verdict: I love it and I think I might need more. This is a great shade for celebrating not only winter, but my Tar Heels. I can see myself wearing this a lot.

Be not sorrowful: snow-touched cherries dusted with sweet, spicy blooms. Origin: Straight from the Post Original Thoughts: Sweet, spicy blooms to me mean carnation. Snow can be good. I'm not sure about cherries, but thought it was worth a shot. In the Bottle: Very strongly cherry - it dances between cough-drop and candy. It's also definitely sweet and floral. The snow is just the faintest impression of cold. Applying: There's a blast of the almost-medicinal cherry as I'm applying it to wet hair. Drying: I can't think of any other way to describe it, but it's like the snow note greys out the cherry, muting it a lot. I know that doesn't sound appealing, but it's not a bad thing. And pretty quickly the carnation takes hold. Wearing: The end result for me is a carnation HG with a tinge of cherry that is no longer so sweet that it's cloying or medicinal. Not as powerful a throw as some other HGs I've used. Verdict: Based on the sniff from the bottle, I'd suggest cherry-lovers consider grabbing this one. ETA: If you love cherry and carnation, definitely check this out.

Origin: decant from Trailer Trash Princess' circle Initial Thoughts: This has wisteria and does not have any instant deal-breaker notes. This was always going to be tried. In the Vial: Icy, airy, sweet floral. I'm not sure which of the floral notes is strongest at the moment. Wet: Not as icy to start and a bit soapy. Sometimes lily does that on my skin. Sometimes it works out. *crosses fingers* Drydown: Uh-oh. While my beloved wisteria is making its presence known, there's still a strong soap element to the scent. Verdict: I am going to try my decant again before I give up. There's not enough wisteria blends in the BPAL arsenal to give up so easily.

Origin: decant from Trailer Trash Princess' circle Initial Thoughts: I can do myrrh without amping if it's white, maybe. Labdanum has worked on occasion. I love vanilla. Let's see where this goes. In the Vial: Rich and sweet resins. It's been a very long time since I smelled it, but it reminds me a bit of the old classic mainstream perfume Poison. Wet: Still dark and sweet but more myrrh than labdanum now, I think. There's an airy undertone that I associate with myrrh. Drydown: The vanilla comes in stronger - I think this was part of the sweet element from earlier. It is subtle and sexy and definitely lends itself to the "secret". The entire scent is a little cooler than it was before, but still very resinously rich. Verdict: I think this may have to be a bottle purchase.

Origin: decant from Trailer Trash Princess' circle Initial Thoughts: For years in my BPAL journey I would always try an evergreen/snow scent without deal-breaker notes, hoping to find something close enough to the elusive Skadi. Since Skadi reappeared a few years ago, I now try these scents out of habit. In the Vial: Very cold, spruce and pine. The evergreens are ramped up to almost sour levels. Wet: More spruce than pine, maybe. Not as cold and not as sour as in the vial. Drydown: The snow is staying hidden, leaving this predominantly evergreen on me. Like with some of the other reviewers, this is going a bit sweet on my skin. Definitely unisex potential. Verdict: An interesting variation of the theme, but I don't know that I need a bottle of it.

Origin: decant from Trailer Trash Princess' circle Initial Thoughts: Blue musk is a musk note that doesn't amp horribly on me the way darker musks do. Definitely worth a shot. In the Vial: Cold, crisp snowy night air. For the moment I'm getting all the snow and none of the musk. Wet: And now I'm getting all of the musk and none of the snow. A very pleasant, cool, sleek musk. Drydown: The snow note creeps back to add some chill to the mix. A cool, subtle, sophisticated musk. Verdict: This might be a bottle purchase for me.