pandorasmuse

In the decant: I half expected to get something similar to Thoos, because of the tangerine and white musk. Far from it. This is darker and fruitier (but it does have the same “afterscent” that lingers in my nose, because of the musk). Wet: Oof. For some reason, and I do feel terrible saying this, it smells like baby powder sprinkled on a baby that needs to be changed. Something in here is NOT working on me at all. Ugh. I couldn’t wait any longer, I had to wash it off. Utter chemistry fail.

In the decant: Tea is predominant. I can’t really pick out other notes. I’m especially glad I can’t pick out the star anise—that’s one note that is always iffy on me. Wet: Lemon Pledge, unfortunately. Drydown: The Pledginess disappears once the oil has dried, leaving a pleasant, distinctly tea-like scent. Later: It’s a nice, true tea with lemon. It reminds me of the way tea shops smell, actually. A nice warm weather scent. Unfortunately, it’s gone after about 4 hours of wear. It’s nice, but I don’t need a bottle.

In the imp: Smells like church. Friendly and welcoming. Wet: More wood than anything else. As it dries, it becomes less woody, but it’s warmer now. Drydown: I’m really liking the smell, but not as a perfume, really. This would be a nice room scent, I think (but it wouldn’t work for my house. Too cluttered). I see another reviewer says this would be good on a guy. Perhaps I will try it on my husband. Later: Not for me. But it’s quite pretty!

In the imp: Ooooh. Dreamlike, indeed. I really like the way this smells! Wet: Wow! Misted blossoms. It’s like a garden where the blooms are just starting to open, early in the morning when there’s fog and dew everywhere. The oil even feels cold on my skin. Drydown: Vaguely shampooish. Later: This is OK upon extended wear, but it still has a tang of shampoo. Not for me, unfortunately.

In the decant: Straight up marigold, even with that bit of an edge the flowers have. Impressive! Wet: JEEZ this is pretty. This is what I want my flower perfumes to smell like! Drydown: Still amazing. (Please stay amazing, please please please!) Later: It stays amazing! It’s warm and sunny and lasts all day. Love it, and I've purchased a bottle!

The meeting of Heaven and Earth: golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka. 2010 version. In the decant: How very odd. I can’t seem to smell anything at all. Wet: Warm and buttery. I’m getting mostly amber and tonka. Drydown: Very smooth and pretty. Later: It’s nice, but it doesn’t last. It disappears very quickly on my skin.

In the imp: Sweet and syrupy, with an ominous edge. Wet: Marzipan. Almond tends to swamp all other elements on me. I can smell vanilla in the back of my nose when my wrist is about 2 feet from my face. Drydown: Mmm. Warm and cinnamonny. Cinnamon becoming stronger and stronger as this stays on. Later: Ehh… Fireballs candy. Don’t think this is gonna do it for me.

In the imp: Dark and warm. Wet: Still warm, gently spicy. A bit too dudelike for my taste, at least in the wet stage. Must make a note to try it on the Mr. Drydown: Smelling resins, but there’s a distinctive medicinal quality, which is not as nice. This makes me think of old-timey engineers, their clothes spattered with oil or grease, working on some sort of machinery… in a hospital. Hmm. Don’t think this is working for me. Definitely must try on husband. Nope, doesn’t work on this. Afraid the Engine is a miss.

In the decant: This reminds me a bit of October, but a little sweeter and fresher (odd—seems it should be the opposite). Wet: Smells like fancy soap. Drydown: The top notes are nice, but there’s a deeply unpleasant undercurrent here that I can’t pin down. The unpleasantness (whatever it is) is a dealbreaker for me. Glad I tried it, but it doesn’t work.

In the decant: Wow. Cinnamon. All cinnamon. I have no idea where that’s coming from. Wet: Warm cider with a cinnamon stick! This makes me think of November/December. Drydown: The only part of the snake oil base I’m smelling is the spices in with the cider smell. Later: Very autumnal, comforting (weird for a snake, I know), and delicious.

2010 version. This is a clear oil, which surprises me somewhat. In the decant: Rosy rosy rose-rose. No greenery like in The Rose, just straight up blossom, right before it starts to wilt. Wet: Wow. Extremely rosy—more so than The Rose. I like that. Drydown: See above. Later: The Peacock Queen just hangs out with a bit of a sneer on her face. This is awesome: aggressive but not off-putting, floral without being girly or retiring. Winner!

This is the 2010 version. In the decant: Delicious cider! Wet: Sharp, tart apple. Granny Smith apple. An additional sharpish scent that I believe is cranberry. Drydown: The tartness is rounded out by the spices now. It really does smell cider-y. Later: This smells like holidays. I wore it on Thanksgiving. Great scent for October all the way through the end of December, I think.

Honey dusting powder, mandarin, iris, ylang ylang, tea rose, and carnation. In the decant: Lots of honey, but not overpowering honey. It is light, and powdery (imagine that). The only other thing I can pick out is the tea rose. Wet: Sugared mandarin with tea rose as a backdrop. Drydown: This is like Katrina Van Tassel with some carnation thrown in. I can’t smell the mandarin (but I can tell it’s there—there’s a bit of a tang in the back of my nose), and I don’t get overt iris or ylang ylang. This is well-blended, sweet, and girlish. Later: This is pretty, but it’s a lighter rose than I usually go for. I liked Katrina more (come back someday, please!), but this is good. Don’t need a bottle, but I’ll keep my decant for days when I want to wear a less aggressive rose scent.

If this is anything like The Snow Maiden, it’s gonna knock my socks off. A clear, cold-looking oil. In the decant: Sweet! No individual flowers than I can pick out. Maybe a bit of sugar? A hint of that snow note. BPAL snow doesn’t always work on me, but when it does, I love it. Wet: Vanilla sugar. Unfortunately, also some plastic… Drydown: This smells like my old Ikea toybox full of Barbies in the early 90s. This is the first time a BPAL scent has gone plastic on me, but I’ve heard many stories. This certainly is a disappointment. Later: I left it on to see what happened. The plastic did fade somewhat, but the resulting scent reminded me of Waltz of the Snowflakes. I think I can safely pass on this one, as long as I pick up Snowflakes.

In the decant: Nom nom nom. This smells delicious. I mostly get the pomegranate with bit of a berry—that’s probably the currant. There’s a bit of citrus. I’m not getting any of the non-fruit scents yet. Wet: Still delicious, but different. I still smell a lot of pomegranate, but the citrus notes are stronger. The cedar comes in at the end of the whiff, toning down all the sugar. Drydown: Love. So delicious. Later: NOOOO! It fades, and fast. If not for that, it would be totally bottle-worthy. I LOVE the early stages… they’re wonderful… but the scent just disappears. I’m will most certainly keep my decant. This is too pretty to lose, even if it doesn’t want to stick around long.