animalcule

Bottle: Fruit candy (a tiny bit of vanilla?). I was not expecting this to be so sweet, or the fruits to be so overwhelming. Wet: Fruity fruity candy. Dry: Finally a hint of sage, giving it much more complexity. Still mostly sweetness and fruits, though, and it doesn't last on my skin at all. It's pleasant, but I will be selling this bottle. ETA: April 2011 I decided not to sell this one, and I'm glad. As it's aging the sage, cedar, vanilla, and balsam (all favorite notes of mine) are strengthening, and the fruity notes calming. It also gained a huge amount of staying power compared to when it was new! I am looking forward to seeing how it continues to develop. ETA2: November 2011 HOLY CRAP has this gotten strong. It's very woodsy and herbal with just a touch of fruit/citrus and a hint of vanilla. I'm liking it more and more.

In the bottle: Creamy light vanilla with fresh evergreen. Wet: Now with a menthol note, definitely 'chilly'. Dry: Creamy light vanilla with fresh evergreen. A very subtle scent but has great lasting power on my skin!

This started out lovely on me which was no surprise as I adore a lot of the notes: musk, sage, pine, mint, citrus, verbena- yes please!! I am also a huge fan of forest scents. However in the end it's a lot of oak (bleh) and juniper, and juniper makes me nauseous. This wasn't an exception.

My favorite weenie so far! I will probably be getting a bottle, and wearing it in the spring and summer. This is the perfect candy scent - fruity, super-sweet, yet citrusy. God I love white musk.

Also my favorite white tea scent so far. Super-fresh and with a citrus kick. Not sure if I need a bottle yet.

Very fresh, bright floral - but every straight floral I have ever tried smells like soap to me. No bottle for me.

in the decant: reminds me very much of The Hesperides, but better. Green apples and that 'orchard' note, which is very strange to my nose. wet: the woodiness mellows- apples and spices now. dry: gets very faint after drydown (fresh, slightly woody apples and spices), but fresh BPAL almost always does this to me. So far I like it but I don't need more. I will report back if I fall in love and end up ordering a bottle.

I tried several times to describe this, and have failed. It seems very complex to me, and it's morphed a great deal (without a single unpleasant stage). I agree with PPs that it's sweet, spicy and somewhat herbal(but not dry), has a lovely floral aspect, and the berry note is quite strong (but somehow it's not foody). I really love it, and I wasn't expecting to. I will be keeping this bottle and look forward to seeing what aging brings.

Blast. This is a faint and dusty (not in a way I would pinpoint as cardamom) vanilla-sugar on me, with a hint of a musk that I don't enjoy (first time trying Egyptian). I'm still glad I ordered a bottle to try before they went down. Could have been perfect... sure my bottle will be for someone else.

Sweet strawberry candy with a darker bit of spiciness (sap? grass?). Not incense-like at all, but not what I interpret as herbal or foody (cinnamon) either. It smells nice, but I could sniff a strawberry candy for the same effect. Throw is practically non-existent and it has no staying power on my skin. Glad I got to try it but it will be swapped. ETA: I did swap away that bottle, but kept thinking about it, and eventually got a another one! It's not a good skin scent for me but I love it in the bottle and my hair.

Wet, Phantasm is lemon verbena single note to my nose. Dry, it's fresh verbena with some soft soapy florals - and then it fades right away, within about 15 minutes (there is a mild soapy scent lingering, but no verbena). If it remained strong lemon verbena I would be buying a bottle.. but no.

I don't know of a fennel scent BUT I wanted to note that Huesos de Santos was re-released this year and it has an anise note. I am going to try it!

YUM. In the bottle it smells exactly like a candy cane. On the skin, the throw is sweet peppermint candy but if I get up close and inhale, it's menthol shooting through my sinuses. Also, it tingles where I applied it! It does fade pretty fast but that's to be expected with mint. Not an everyday fragrance, but a keeper for me! I adore candy canes but do not eat them anymore, this is nearly as good. And I can't imagine anything more refreshing on these 95 degree 90% humidity days I was suffering through all this summer (may they never return). Lick It Til It's Sticky will be getting lots of use both in warm weather and around Christmas.

Very similar to Baobhan Sith on me, with less citrus. Mostly I get a fresh, clean, laundry type of smell which is quite strong and makes me a little nauseous - backed with fruitiness. Not my thing.

Grapefruit and dryer sheets, very fresh and clean smell. I thought BPAL tea was made of win on me, but trying 8 tea scents in the last month has proven me wrong.

Strong sweet honey (smells just like the real thing), lemony mint, and delicate florals which makes this more perfume-y than drinkable. I love it. Luckily I bought a whooooole bottle. It's a mild scent but still quite strong with a lot of throw on me.

Knew I would love this so I ordered a bottle unsniffed. I do. I smell like a delicious spice cookie with a hint of cool freshness. I suppose that's the pine - there is just enough to evoke Christmas and make the blend more interesting.

In the bottle and on my skin Joyful Moon is a soft, musky French vanilla backed by mild florals and rooty notes that make it very clean and powdery. For such a mild scent it's got quite good throw and lasting power. Three people said I smelled like baby powder. Nope, not for me. I'm glad I got to try it but my bottle will find a more loving home with someone else.

in bottle: a BLAST of foody sweetness! Reminds me of very fresh flavored coffee beans - that almost alcoholic smell. Chocolately and nutty. wet: super sweet chocolate, light coconut. dry: nothing toasted marshmallow. Exactly. Confirmed by 4 children, who told me I smelled exactly like marshmallows as soon as I walked into the room. I don't love it for everyday, but I like it, and I'm already using it in my oil burner.

in the decant: juniper, sandalwood, and florals with some fruitiness (?). Very nice, although not at all my usual thing. wet: more of the same without the fruitiness. dry: Consistant. Sandalwood without the incense vibe, gorgeous fresh juniper, backed by soft florals that don't come accross as soapy or too powdery. A surprise hit for me. Will probably get more use as a room scent than perfume, simply because I'm usually in the mood for super-girly scents.

in the (brand-new) decant: cedar and florals. Smells really good - like soap. Uh-oh. I'm beginning to think that anything with jasmine or other 'heady' florals just smells like soap to me! wet: mmm. Cloves, cedar, and fruit. dry: Spicy floral soap. Nope. This would be a fabulous room scent and I will use it as such.

in the brand-new decant: I can't make out the specific notes. Definately floral, and quite perfume-y. I'm excited about this one! wet: slathered it on and it's a very subtle creamy floral. I am not getting the peach. I can't believe so many reviewers mention this being strong! I can barely smell it. dry: the peach is here, but it's very soft and the floral is still the main focus. It gets better and better. ETA: I'll be buying a bottle of this. Soooo good starting about an hour after drydown. The floral mostly burns off and I get that sweet, ripe, juicy peach.

in the bottle: whoa, super sweet and strong tropical floral! wet: ah, here comes the coconut! Nice fresh coconut, and the florals are still there giving it a fruity pina-colada vibe. As it dries an herbal, medicinal note is coming to the fore. Almost like eucalyptus? Or maybe just mint-like? I see some reviews saying 'pine' which I don't get, but it's along those lines. Frothy and cold indeed. dry: unfortunately so far the complete drydown is very faint candied fruity-floral with a bit of fresh coconut. Not enough vim and vigor for me. Tiki Princess is growing on me slowly, but I am still leaning towards selling my bottle. If aging changes the drydown this is such an interesting scent I think it will be a keeper.

in the vial: lemony berries, sweet pea wet: very tart lemon-berry candy. It makes my mouth water and my nose tingle! I do not get much sweet pea (just enough to soften it up a bit), and no vanilla yet. dry: still lemon-berry-candy but with a background of vanilla and the florals which tone down the foody sourness I got at first. A bright pink and very girly scent. I like it very much but am undecided if I will be getting a bottle.

Touareg tea, Asian pear, carnation, lime sugar, green musk, armoise, and thyme. I was expecting to love Luna but it's just... weird. Slight fruitiness against a background of mustiness. I can't figure out what makes this go so terribly wrong on me! I don't get any citrus at all, and it's very subtle.