theseagrows

amaaazing. i used to love going to goth clubs in my 20s and occasionally these days (RIP dark sparkle in SF) and this brings to mind a black-walled, very dark club indeed. in the bottle all i smell is something super synthetic, like latex and fog. i was kind of afraid i wouldn't like this, but once sprayed i get in this order: clove cigarettes, latex and fog, then the wine comes through, then tobacco. can't really pick out the absinthe strongly but i'm sure it's there in the clovey-wine melange. after a few minutes it's mostly tobacco, and i wish the wine stuck around longer, but i like this a lot and am glad i got a bottle.

this is so pretty- it's got a hint of the coolness from the snow note and the juniper starting out. after a little while it settles down a bit and i mostly get lemony white tea and white musk. the other notes ground this some, and like others have said, it's very well blended so that none of the notes stand out too strongly on their own. it's very pretty and i could see it being worn in numerous seasons.

this starts off as frankincense and rose. i see the similarities to hope and fear set free. the thing with that scent is, the initial frankincense-heavy part is unpleasant for me since bpal's frankincense note gets very leadlike on me. it's a bit leadlike in here too, but the rose and balsam seem to deplete that effect a bit. after awhile it's a beautiful vanilla-amber with hints of rose. now i am curious to try this and hope and fear next to each other, because it seems as if this one works better for me, if memory serves.

ooh so pretty and fruity! I get mostly white tea and apricot with a bit of orange blossom. the tea keeps the apricot from being too sweet, and the apricot keeps the tea from being too astringent. i really like this one, even though I'm not always a fruity scent lover. I think this would be even better in spring or summer. yum.

this one starts off with pure red musk and then the honey amber comes through pretty quickly, with some violet leaf seconds later. after a few minutes i get something a little woody as well as rose. soon it gets sweeter- like a very thick red musk with roses and vanilla and probably some pomegranate. i think i am getting a hint of something dark in the background which is probably patchouli but possibly vetiver. however, overall ,it's a thick honeyed red musk with florals and a bit of fruit. after awhile it gets very sweet and fruity on me (I think i amp pomegranate sometimes?) and it's just too sweet for me, so i will be swapping this one.

this is mostly apple peel on me. i think maybe there is some rose geranium and wood with a hint of vanilla but it's mostly sweet woody apple peel. not a big apple fan here, but i was intrigued by the other notes. oh well. the apple certainly doesn't smell bad, it's just not my thing. this is one of those scents that has a candle/potpourri vibe...not my favorite, but probably wonderful on the right person.

(updated review of 2017 version) i get mostly lilacs in the beginning with some white tea and a hint of candle wax, but not much. the lilac is strongest at first but i think the candle wax warms it up through the drydown, while the tea gets stronger. after being on the skin 20-30 minutes it's mostly white tea and lilac but at this point they are more balanced. this scent is like rain on a spring day, and i think it makes a perfect rainy day/spring scent, despite it being a yule blend.

i am not a foody scent person, but i like edible floral stuff like violet/lavender/rose candy or cakes, so that's what drew me to this one. i can definitely smell baked goods and florals in the decant. on my skin it's a slightly toasty baked scent and lavender with a bit of sourness from the ale. it kind of smells like cakey-lavender bubble gum? then the ale comes out more and it's like...beer and lavender. interesting. i think i'm amping the ale and something is goind a bit plasticky...i think i will be swapping this one.

i love leathery, rosy, musky sexy scents so i knew i had to try this one! not to mention coconut all i really smell is red musk in the decant, with a hint of pepper and ginger. immediately on the skin it's red musk and leather, mmmm mmm good. then the coconut comes through along with the rose and ginger. it becomes mostly leather and coconut, with the red musk in the background. after the drydown after quite some time, it turns kind of plasticky, i think from the coconut. i like this at the very beginning, but then it gets sort of anti-climactic for me. not bad by any means, i just have similar scents that work better for me.

this starts off with the familiar bpal snow note, all white and fresh. it's been so long since i've experienced this note! it's nice to smell it again. after about 5-10 minutes i get a hint of something other than snow, something warmer yet still hard to place, because the snow is dominating, but i think it's sandalwood(?) overall this is mostly just...snow. there is a hint of something else in the background, but it's just too much an ozoney/aquatic scent for me.

this starts off with rose, rosewood and some tea, then the rose blooms fully and there's a slightly sweet candied rose happening. the lilac seems subtle and to be a supporting floral, rather than dominant like the rose is, but it definitely adds to the complexity of the scent. it does seem so victorian and evocative. after awhile it gets a little powdery and sweet, but remains primarily a rose scent. i like this a lot! i have so many rose scents, so i will most likely keep my decant and probably don't need a bottle.

i smell the leather strongest when first sprayed and it's a musky leather, but it's not super traditionally-masculine leather. then the roses comes out, it gets a bit sweet and musky afterwards with a hint of the opium smoke. it's kind of a powdery musk with hints of leather and a tiny bit of rose. very nice! glad i got a decant of this one

got a sniffie of this in a swap with a couple of sprays to spare! if i smell it right from the sprayer there is something a little stinky, though when you spray it that's not present at all. once sprayed, it smells like polished wood (lemony polish) and roses to me, with a little greenery from the ivy. it smells kind of fresh yet old fashioned at the same time, if that makes sense.

this is a very creamy honey with hints of vanilla and smoke. lovely! this note is terrible on my skin but i like it a lot as a room spray. love the ambiance of this one!

as soon as it hits my skin it's all red wine with a hint of grape, reminds me of grape bubblegum! that sweeter grape note seems to come and go but the wine stays strong. after being on the skin about 20 minutes or so it's just pure red wine on me. i cannot pick out any other notes, but there is something there softening it. bpal's wine note often turns weird on me, but i am loving it in this! definitely keeping my decant.

ooh i've been gravitating towards osmanthus prominent scents, and this may be one? at least at first. the beginning opens up with tea and osmanthus and a hint of smoke. it's very tea-like to start and a bit later the sandalwood and vanilla come through a bit and warm it up some. then the osmanthus really seems to bloom even more after awhile, very nice! i don't really seem to get any patchouli, maybe it's subtle in this. i really like this scent, not going to get a bottle, but will keep my decant when i want to reach for an osmanthus/tea scent.

this scent is so soft i have to huff my wrist to smell it! it's all toasty vanilla sandalwood and pink pepper starting off, with some saffron in the background. a little while later i smell the labdanum but don't seem to get the oudh. it's a very soft scent, i guess i thought it might be more resiny but it's mostly vanilla and pink pepper. i am not a huge fan of pink pepper, and i was hoping for more oudh, so i think this will be sent to the swap pile. not bad by any means, but i have similar scents that smell better on me. it gets a bit rubbery on me, for lack of a better word. i think it may be the pink pepper.

strong, dark rose with myrrh that comes in and dampens the rosiness. this is not a sweet soft or dried rose, it's definitely blackened rose and i think i tend to amp rose, so it's sort of happening here. black rose with resins backing it up, but it goes a bit sour on me. i absolutely LOVE rose, and some of bpal's rose blends are my favorite, but that's the thing, it has to be the right rose and usually has to be blended with more notes or it tends to go weird or sour on me. whip does the same thing, it's like my skin hates the more simplistic rose scents but loves the ones with more notes (gypsy queen). oh well, i love the imagery of it and had to try it, but i thought there was a 50% chance it wouldn't really work with my skin chemistry and i was right. off to the swaps with this one, sadly. i love a resiny rose when it works!

oh nooo, this sounded amazing but it starts off as a weird cough syrup scent on me not sure what it is, but it has to be the honey myrtle or maybe the red benzoin...not sure what else it could be. frankincense often doesn't work on me, but i can't even smell it in this. a minute later i get some coconut i think. it's sickeningly cough syrupy on me. a hint of florals come through, and i generally like osmanthus, and have been seeking it out lately, but here it just smells off. my skin chemistry is not liking this scent at ALL unfortunately and it makes me a little queasy.

this starts off all dewy florals. i guess this is lotus, though in the past, bpal's lotus has been much more bubblegum-scented on me, but maybe they've changed it since i last tried anything with lotus(?) it smells very wet and lush, definitely brings lotus to mind, and the serene waters surrounding it. i think i am getting some orris root after awhile, and maaaybe a hint of white sandalwood, but not much else. awhile later i get a slight hint of egyptian musk and it basically dries down to orris root and musk. after quite some time the vanilla finally comes through and the lotus settles down. i like it a lot more now, but it's just too much lotus for me overall.

got a sniffie of this in a swap! there's not much in here so i sprayed a bit on my arm it's a mixed bright floral with plum and blue musk. kind of sweet-floral and "perfumey". i am personally not a fan of blue musk on my skin, but it's not bad for an atmo spray, i admit. i think i get mostly musk, wisteria and plum from this. it smells very springlike to me, but in a perfumey sort of way. nice, though it's not really my personal style, i am glad i got to try it.

got a frimp of this in a swap at first, it has that mushroomy note that i get from death cap. (i am trying this on my skin.) in fact this smells almost identical to death cap to me, except it's a bit more sweet due to the orris/balsam. i am guessing the calamus is the mushroomy/earth note. at times it almost smells like something subtly minty in the background, but not exactly. hard to describe. the amber/orris becomes more prominent, getting a bit powdery but in a good way, with just a hint of frankincense. it's as if death cap got ambery and a bit resiny.

i got this as a frimp in a swap! it's all vetiver at first. i like vetiver sometimes if it is blended with the right notes (for me) but it isn't doing much for me here. i do get the lemongrass shortly after applied to the skin as well. then the lemongrass comes forth with the vetiver backing. i think i get some neroli too? ahh i don't really know. the vetiver and lemongrass kind of dominate over the other notes, which just make a mish mash in the background.

this is mostly sweet mint on me, guess the sweetness is almond, from reading other reviews. the almond smells more noticeable in the decant, rather than on my skin though. then i get a blast of anise and eucalyptus. it's getting that vicks vapor-y coolness. then some greenery comes through, but not sure what it is. this sure smells medicinal on me.

this smells like milk chocolate and strawberry, with the chocolate as the prominent note and the strawberry adding a supporting sweetness. i am often not a foody scent girl, but i am liking some of these chocolate scents in the weirdest way. i do not want to smell like baked goods, but chocolate seems like it could be ok from time to time. admittedly, i'd be more willing to wear this in a bath/body oil scent but i actually like this. it's very true to form, and it's the perfect balance of strawberry and chocolate on me. strawberry can sometimes go plasticky on me, but it doesn't here luckily. surprise like!