pandorasmuse
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Everything posted by pandorasmuse
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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In the decant: Florals and greenery. Nothing too strong, nothing too dominant. Wet: All kinds of florals floating around! It’s kinda soapish, but not unpleasantly. Drydown: I get a little bit of incense after this dries. It’s not overpowering. Usually I don’t like incense, but this is nice. Later: I think I’m gonna pass on this. I don’t DISLIKE it, but I don’t like it strongly. I had to test it twice, actually—and I still can’t remember my impression. That’s a strong indication to me that it’s not for me.
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In the decant: Very sweet! It sort of reminds me of Cheerwine. I think my nose gets almond and cherry confused. Wet: More cherries? I am so confused! And a bit of bubblegum dust? I don’t smell wine at all. Drydown: As it dries, a little cinnamon emerges. It’s old cinnamon, though. A bit dusty, a bit muted. Later: THERE we go. There’s the mulled wine! This is reminding me a bit of Punkie Night at this stage. You know, I have no strong feelings about this one either way, really.
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In the decant: Not just a candy cane—a just-opened box of ‘em. Wet: Definitely smells like minty candy! It reminds me of dinner mints, rather than candy canes. It has some softness to it. Drydown: Lots of mint, and my skin is tingling in the way that my mouth tingles when I eat a strong mint. Later: The mint all but disappears after about an hour, leaving sweet creaminess behind. When I wear for a whole day, the scent entirely disappears after a few hours, except the for the faintest minty hint left on my clothes. Really fun for an hour or two, but it just doesn’t last.
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In the decant: Altoids. Wet: The mint is much less sharpish now, since it’s being softened by the other notes. Drydown: The drier it gets, the less minty it is, and the more I like it. Later: After wearing this for a full day, I can say I am in love. This is a wonderful mysterious blend—it really does uplift the way an epiphany would.
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In the decant: It’s very herbal. It doesn’t smell like grass, exactly. I think I’m getting the dead weeds. Wet: Truly, the scent of digging in the dirt. The earthiness is an interesting thing. This is the first dirt scent I’ve tried. Drydown: Dried grass, and not much else. Later: This is another grass that just isn’t going to be what I hope for. Someday I’ll find my grass scent. I know it’s gotta show up eventually. I'll have to try something where the dirt doesn't peek out and then disappear--it was interesting, and I wish I'd had more time to make up my mind how I feel about that note.
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In the decant: Very sweet, in a floral fashion, and there’s that wonderful cold note that I love. Wet: The same scents, in reverse order and strength. Wonderful cold note, and sweet sweet floral. A hint of pine. Drydown: The floral part all but disappears. It’s the faintest hint in a lungful of cold, snowy air. This is wonderful for those who are a fan of the snow scent. SO getting a bottle if it stays like this! Later: Hmmm. It mellows as I wear it, and it smells like the house of my childhood best friend! Which would be awesome… except I was terribly allergic to her cat, and would sometimes get really bad allergy attacks. My nose seems to remember this, because it made me snuffly, and my eye started itching. I’ve never had a problem with the Lab’s cold notes or tuberose before, so I’m sure this is psychosomatic, but still. I don’t need the itchies. Too bad—so many fond memories.
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In the decant: Fantastic! this smells like a Christmas party! Wet: Mostly spices, with a bit of woods. Drydown: Pretty overwhelmingly spicy, with some candied sweetness. The pine and holly are both MIA. Later: Meh… it was great the way it smelled in the bottle, but it’s not something I’d wear. Wearing it, it’s even less of something I’d wear. It’s a little overwhelming, at least for me.
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The 2010 version! In the decant: Chocolate coins, for reals! The ones that come in the yellow mesh bag. I swear there’s foil in there somewhere. Wet: I like this cocoa. It’s muted, not OH HAI I'M IN YOUR FACE like other chocolates I’ve tried. Drydown: The amber comes forward a bit. It’s second fiddle to the chocolate, but the two play together nicely. Later: I like this. It’s foody, but not overly so. Fun! It doesn’t have a lot of throw, but when I wear it for a whole day I keep getting whiffs of snuggly chocolatey-but-not-overly-so goodness.
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This is the 2010 iteration. In the decant: Melty, gooey marshmallows! Wet: The cream is top note. Sweet, delicious cream. Drydown: Still cream predominantly sweet cream, with the barest hint of cotton. Later: The sweetness fates, leaving the scent of creamy clean sheets behind. This is really a lovely perfume.
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I’m not really sure what just snow is going to be like. I love the wintery scents—hoping this will be a winner. In the decant: Slightly sweet, like snow cream. Wet: Slightly minty wetness. Clean with a slight hit of evergreens and sugar. Drydown: This is warm, rather than cold. One reviewer likened it to coming into someone’s house—I’d agree with that. It’s the first breath of warm air, with the snow just beginning to melt on your clothes. It’s already starting to fade, though. Just like the snow on your clothes, in fact. Later: It gets colder. And… it becomes more of a clean scent, slightly reminiscent of Wensleydale, at least to my nose. Unfortunately, I didn’t like Wensleydale very much, and I don’t think I’m too keen on this one, either. I think I like snow scents mixed with flowers or evergreens best, but not so much all by its lonesome.