theseagrows

hmm this wasn't like i expected it to be, but many of my absolute favorite bpal's have oakmoss as an element, but for some reason, in those, the aquaticness of this accord doesn't come out much. this is much more aquatic than i was anticipating, giving it more of a clean feel. i can't really do aquatics, truth be told. this reminds me of shampoo or a sweet, herbal shower gel. kind of reminds me of the really old herbal essence shampoo from the 70s or 80s. i think i'd love this scent in a shampoo! just not sure i will get much wear out of it in general.

i haven't tried this in the bath, and i think maybe the plastic bottle it's in is turning it weird (is that possible?) anyway, i put some on my arm and it smells a lot different on my arm than in the bottle. it's a mix between fresh and vanilla, i think. the papyrus turns a bit wonky on my skin as it often does, but other than that, this is a nice scent. it's a very white feeling scent, and fresh in a way, but not in the typical laundry detergent way, but rather pale white scents. there is something slightly baby powdery in here too. spider silk is the perfect name for this.

it smells sweet and sour to me in the vial, and on my skin it turns very sour. i think cypress may be the culprit here? it smells like dying roses with a hint of pomegranate in the background, not a good rose scent at all. it's funny, because rose usually works for me and is one of my favorite notes, but unfortunately, it occasionally does this. i think the cypress and pomegranate are adding that sourness, possibly, as they are both notes that often don't work with my skin chemistry. i was so taken by the purple roses and myrrh, that i thought this one might work for me. i am disappointed that it didn't but now i can pass it on to someone who it will work for

i admit, i had mixed feelings and a bit of fear about this scent. BPAL's frankincense note and my skin chemistry are notorious rivals. when i first put this on it smelled...strangely medicinal, then came the frankincense in it's pencil-shaving glory, but luckily, that stage did not last long, because the vanilla came through and all the sudden it was gorgeous. i do get the lush american cream impression as well, as someone mentioned above. this scent, once dry is very beautiful and sexy in a subtle way. i think i need a bottle of this.

at first this is all tuberose, which is a note i like, so it's just fine. very floral, not for the floral-haters at all. then comes the aniseed, and now it's tuberose and aniseseed primarily. I don't smell the lilac, or it's very subtle, and the carnation doesn't seem to come through much at all, but i think white carnation is less spicy, so maybe it's subtle, hanging out in the background. this is a herbal-floral on me. pretty and different than the usual floral scents, but it's not really wowing me as a scent i would personally wear often.

i must admit, i have mixed feelings on this one! my gut feeling was that this scent is too sweet for my tastes, but the more it settles into my skin, the more i don't seem to mind the sweetness. this is a warm, soft, sweet scent that kind of wraps you in comfort (did i just type that?) but really that's how it feels to me- soft and comforting if a bit sweet. i think the vanilla is the most prominent note on my skin...it's hard to even make out the other notes, rather than just a warm, sweet blend. definitely keeping my decant of this!

this is a very fall-like scent, spicy and warm, it's slightly foody too, i'd say. i'm not much into fall scents, but this is nice. i like the clove and spiciness of it, but it's too foody for my personal tastes, probably because of the brown sugar and cardamom which adds a sweetness to the spiciness. also, i have tried other similar bpals to this one, but maybe without the vanilla. i could see wearing this occasionally in the fall/winter, but it probably wouldn't get that much wear out of me.

i love all the notes in this, and it's quite nice. the blackberry is subtle and not too sweet. this is like a more complex and sexy blackberry-musk scent, and i love it. the rose really isn't that prominent at all, i can barely sense it, apart from a slightly sweet sugary scent. all the notes in this blend seamlessly and smell amazing with my skin chemistry. sexy in an understated way.

damn, i was really hoping to love this one, but i think the ozone component ruins it for me...i am not a big fan of ozones or aquatics in general, and in this scent, i love all the notes but the ozone, which turns this into a sweet soapy scent on my skin. combined with the vanilla, it is just too sweet for my tastes.

this is the first hair gloss i've tried! i have fine but frizzy hair and used this on my hair dry, not too much, then worked it through my hair with my hands. my hair looked instantly polished and smooth but didn't lose any of it's body, thankfully (fine haired gals know what i mean!) onto the scent-it's luscious, very warm and inviting. my boyfriend hasn't smelled this yet, but i have a feeling that he will definitely swoon when it happens. it's a honey-musk, not too strong or overpowering and very warm and sexy. i love it now, but i could see loving it even more during the fall/winter months when my warmer scents come out. i am intrigued by this and now i want to try more hair glosses!

i am re-reviewing this one- at the outset i think i get benzoin and honey. i dunno, it's so familiar but doesn't really smell like any of the notes separately. the musk is a cooler rather than warmer musk to my nose, interestingly enough, if that makes any sense. later on i get some odd nuttiness. now cedar doesn't often work for me, but it never smells like this, so i don't know what is going on here, but there is an element of sogginess to this. i don't know how else to explain it-damp and a bit dank. not sure what could be doing that. is it an odd sort of musk? maybe large amounts of benzoin don't work for me! i am so confused.

this smells a bit like my dad! must be the dryer sheet-scent others have mentioned, except my dad has the added scent of tobacco instead of licorice the licorice adds a nice sweetness. this is a gentle, close to the skin scent, and doesn't have a huge amount of throw. i don't find it overly masculine or feminine, more gender neutral actually, and a rather interesting scent.

this is a very youthful scent indeed. a soft, cottony musk mixed with honey and just a hint of gardenia to balance it out. very soft and comforting, but my skin amps the notes way too much and it's a bit overpowering on me, particularly the powder-cottony musk.

i had high hopes for this, but sadly from the outset the strawberry-marshmallow combination just does not work on my skin. i was hoping this would be mostly rose sugar and vanilla, but my skin is amping everything else. the strawberry smells overripe on the verge of rotting and literally almost makes me gag. my skin does not do foody scents very well, but this one is particularly bad there is an almost alcoholic note after about 5 minutes, which doesn't help things much.

yep i get oak and leather primarily with the vanilla and almond in the background. very pretty yet i am amping the leather a bit in this. i don't seem to get any patchouli for some reason...it is really mostly oak and leather but i like it wafting around me, because when i smell it on my arm the leather is pretty potent and almost feels like it burns my nostrils! as above is similar, and for some reason it works a bit better on me, but i still like haute macabre too. ETA: i get patchouli after it's been on my skin a much longer time, and it adds a nice earthiness but is not overpowering. also, at this point the leather is tempered a lot and i like it better.

i love the idea of vintage musk but the biscuit bits, not so much...as usual they turn rancid and weird smelling on me. but with a hint of something like white musk!

a lovely fairy picked this up for me! this is a beautiful, light and slightly creamy scent, and thankfully the sandalwood does not turn to pencil shavings on me, as it sometimes does. in the beginning i am getting mostly musk and tobacco, with the amber in the background adding a bit of warmth. i think this scent is absolutely beautiful, perfect for warm days. I knew I would love this scent, since it seemed reminiscent of Dia to me, which, as you can see from my signature, is one of my favorite scents. this does remind me of Dia a lot but with a bit more warmth, due to the amber. also, I swear there is oakmoss in this...the underlying scent is the same in Dia, and I attributed it to the oakmoss, unless I am wrong! I am SO glad I got a bottle of this. I knew i would love it and i do! ETA: i am wearing this again today and my reaction is completely different. i don't get any creaminess now, i just get slightly aquatic/cool musk and tobacco. it's a bit too strong and aquatic. i wonder why i am having a completely different impression now?! it is reminiscent of dia, one of my favorites, but i think the coconut in dia helps soften and warm up the scent. this scent doesn't smell warm to me at all now. maybe i was testing several and got them mixed up, who knows.

another frimp i received. this starts out quite bright and herbal, with the white sandalwood and clary sage at the forefront. it has a white musk feel to it a bit. after awhile it gets a bit more floral and resiny, it blossoms nicely. there is a slight sweetness too, which must be the beeswax and adds a nice element. also, i am thankful to have the beeswax in this work for me! often times it doesn't with my weird skin chemistry. the violet is beautiful on my skin, which is good with florals. i like this more than i thought i would. it's more herbal than what i usually wear, but that adds an interesting element that usually isn't present in the florals i wear.

another frimp i received recently. this is definitely a fall-winter scent. i think my skin mostly brings out the tonka, leaves and ivy, which generally reads as ozoney or aquatic on me rather than herbal. there is a bit of slight floral to this, the hyssop i guess. if i sniff very deeply i can make just a wisp of coffee in the background, and i can't seem to smell any patchouli at all. i think this would be a nice scent on someone else, but on me it's a bit too ozoney and gives me a bit of a headache. i think i am amping the ivy, unfortunately.

got a frimp of the 2011 version, and it's a prime of example of why i can't do/dislike foody scents. some spice in this, that seems really familiar, is reminiscent of cat pee on me. not sure what it is though. so it's like a spicy cookie with a hint of cat pee. most foody scents always find a way to turn rancid on me.

this was a frimp. what an interesting scent! at first it almost smells fruity to me, in a gummy/candy sort of way, like the red airheads candy. i don't know why i'm associating it with that, it's not that sweet. after it dries, it stays sweet but is less fruity. i'm not sure what it is maybe the honey + cumin? i am not that familiar with cumin in a scent. it's kind of a nice, autumnal scent. sweet and syrupy, but i am having difficulty picking out single notes. it does seem sweet and a bit woodlike to me, although there is no wood listed, so i'm not sure.

another frimp. i remember seeing this one and being curious about it, but figuring it might not work for me. it's very earthy, as is to be expected. the carrot seed adds an interesting element that is earthy and slightly sugary, but not sugary in the usual sense at all. it's mostly patchouli with a hint of tea and carrot seed, i think. i am never really sure of what peru balsam smells like. this is a very interesting scent, kind of difficult for me to describe, in all honesty. it leans to a more masculine scent, but it seems innovative and atypical to me, which i like, as i find so many "typical" scents for men to be offputting. maybe i should try this one on my s.o.

got a frimp of this...what an interesting scent. i certainly wouldn't have tried this on my own, since plum, honey and sometimes patchouli don't work with my skin chemistry. i am kind of liking this though, it smells very unisex to me, but my first thought is that i want to smell this on my boyfriend. i do like it on me though-it's very autumnal, as implied by the name. i think i am mostly smelling the maplewood and green cognac, with just a hint of honey and fir needle? it's a very green scent, but in a autumnal way, like fig. it doesn't smell like fig but it's "feeling" reminds me of fig, it's lighter and more airy. i will definitely keep this imp-would love to try this again in autumn/winter, where i think it would really shine.

this is a soft, comforting scent. it's mostly clove with a hint of sweetness. i love both these notes, so this is quite an enjoyable scent for me. reminds me a bit of mure et musc when it dries down, after about half an hour. it's pretty and light, and perfect when you want to wear something soft and uncomplicated. good scent for work.

this starts out as all beautiful, bold orange blossom, which is one of my favorite notes.after awhile the sandalwood comes through, and as it happens often, this one turns to pencil shavings on my skin. the champaca is very subtle, i just get a slight sweetness in the background, which i am attributing to that. it's mostly just orange blossom and pencil shavings. too bad that sandalwood is so hit-and-miss for my skin chemistry!