Antoinette

This turned out to be my favorite from this year's C2E2 blends. In the bottle - sweet myrrh. On my skin - This does remind me of the Myrrh SN but I'm getting a lot more from it. The honey is sweet and bright, making the myrrh seem golden and warmer than when it's on its own. I am not familiar with sweet flag, but if it's lending a sweetness then its lovely too. This doesn't morph at all on me and creates a resinous golden glow that's sweetly swoon worthy. It brings back memories of when I worked in a museum specializing in Egyptian artifacts, this same type of smell could be detected from one of the mummies. Love it!!!!!

I can't wear anything with cinnamon on my skin. Leaves big red welty welts that burn. Thank goodness for scent lockets!

I find this to be one of those heart breakingly beautiful scents Beth conjures up that leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy. It has a warm and glowing gentleness to it. So so pretty. I can define each note, but they blend together well...leaving a gorgeous and light filled impression.

A scent of pearls and ivory: orris, violet leaf, narcissus, and Madagascar vanilla. This review is for the 2013 version: I owned the older version of this previously and sold it because it turned to pure powder on me, so I went into this new 2013 bottle with a little trepidation. All the notes in this are ones I love and that generally work good with my chemistry, so optimistic thinking! This 2013 version smells different to me right from the start. I suspect it's a fresh vs. aged thing going on. This smells much sharper and less dusty in the bottle than what I remembered. On my skin this is quite different, I can actually pick out each of the notes and it's not going straight to powder! There is a dry, powdery aspect to it from the orris, but I love it here because it isn't overwhelming. I can smell the vanilla a whole lot more in this fresh bottle and it's extremely pretty. The sharpness fades as it dries, but doesn't go away completely. In the end it becomes a very lovely dusty vanilla with a slight floral backdrop, the violet and narcissus blend together nicely for me. I am really happy I took a second chance on it!

This SN conjures up a lot of scent memories for me. I absolutely adore this one. I find it tough to describe, but I'll try - it's like a high pitched and dusty resin that is warm, sweet and comforting. I was afraid it might go way powdery on me, but it doesn't and it lasts for hours and hours. So, my scent memories with this one are really happy ones. I used to work at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, Cailfornia and when I first opened the bottle of this oil I was immediately transported back there. Not only was that the best job I ever had (I was a tour guide getting to spend my time studying and teaching about something I love) but it's also one of my favorite places in the world. This Myrrh smells like parts of my experiences there. Specifically, one of the mummies! The employees at that time all knew about this one mummy that gave off a sweet and resinous scent. One of my bosses showed me how to position my nose just so at the seam in the display case, where air could escape between the sliding glass door, and inhale deeply. That beautiful mummy smells like this beautiful myrrh. Love. LOVE. Love. Thank you, Beth, for bottling more magic!

Fiam, I understand completely. Anything with cinnamon in it makes my skin react the exact same way. There was an oil released last year, Autumn Cider, that I fell head over heels for, but the cinnamon in it burns my skin. I love it so much that it prompted me to order a scent locket from the Trading Post. I can wear it with abandon now, in my scent locket. Totally worth the investment!

I have grown to love vetiver, so I knew I needed this SN. Vetiver absolutely has a calming, grounding effect on me and I have come to rely on my BPAL vetiver blends whenever anxiety comes calling. First impression upon opening the bottle was of smoke and bacon. The bacon is more of an impression, really, it's not like I want to start eating or anything. The vibe of this oil is earthy and immediately grounding. On my skin it develops into a smoky, earthy scent with a green quality to it. It's seems complex, deep and rich. It does lighten up over the next few hours, but it has great staying power and throw. I agree this scent isn't for everyone but I am so happy to have it in my BPAL armory. It is definitely a therapeutic, rather than a perfume, oil for me. Love it!

This is the 2012 version: I get little to no morphing from the bottle to my skin. This is a deeply sweet juicy scent. It smells like a deep purplish red juice, I find the apple pulp, mulberry, blackberry and pomegranate juices well blended and smooth. It's decadent while being fruity and fun. I really like this.

Gobo is like lemon marshmallows on my skin. That's the best way I can think to describe it. At first I thought it smelled a lot like Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, and it does, but it's softer somehow. I never got the marshmallowy thing from LSSB. I love Gobo. It's uplifting and comforting at the same time. Pure delight!

I only smelled this in the bottle, but I get a blast of sweet cereal (like fruity pebbles) that finishes with jelly beans. Super fun scent!

This was love at first sniff! It really does start off with a blast of pink pink bubble gum and stays that way for a long time on my skin. As it dries I also get the faint vanilla smell that angelicruin mentions in her post above. It's a very girly and sweet perfume. Yum!

Like standing under an apple tree in full bloom. Beautiful. Absolutely love it.

I feel like I've been searching for a scent like this since I started with BPAL a few years ago. It's so good! Singing Moon is like breathing in a cool silvery mist. It's ethereal but there's enough going on with the plant notes to keep it grounded. The ambergris in this is so gorgeous. It's sweet and a little musky. Just lovely! I love this for hot days. It's really just like a cool silver fog. I love love love it!

Orris root, lilac, galbanum, white tea, Italian bergamot, and blueberry. In the vial it's mostly blueberry but on my skin it shows all it's beauty! The blueberry is forefront at first but the orris grows stronger on the dry down with all the other notes playing support in a lovely way. This blend has a unique way of feeling both dry/powdery and juicy at the same time. Hard to describe but I love it! Definitely want a bottle.

I love jasmine, so I was excited to try this one. It goes on as a slightly citrusy jasmine and dries down to all jasmine on me. It's a softer jasmine than other blends I have, so it's nice for when I want a lighter scent. Very pretty!

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! This is sweet and warm with just the slightest edge from what I think is the gingergrass. The honeys, vanilla orchid, gardenia and dragon's blood resin meld into such a pretty and almost humid scent that reminds me of warm weather that's not suffocating but soft and comforting. (Which is quite a feat because I am not a warm weather fan!) Upgrading decant to bottle.

Spicy dark ginger. Delectable and a bit foreboding. Love it! I literally dabbed on just a smidge from the imp and it was enough to last for hours. Throw was amazing from just a teenie drop. Amazing stuff.

In the vial this is just like its description and I love it. Stone and moss with a little ivy and rosehips. Wet on my skin it stays the same, a really great atmospheric blend evoking the labyrinth. As it dries the rosehips come out a lot. I have a history of amping rose notes, so I think that's just my skin chemistry. This has great throw and lasting power. I plan to wear it in my scent locket to get more of the stone and moss feel. It's lovely!

I took a chance on this one, I'm not usually into aquatics, but this is so pretty. I really get the impression of being seaside on a cool day. The honeysuckle is sweet but the star of the show here, on me, is moss and salty spray. I like it for its atmosphere.

Really pretty, fresh, fuzzy peach. Stays very close to my skin, but it's lovely to inhale.

Wow, this is looking (or smelling ) to be the first minty BPAL that I really like! I will say that the mint is strong in the imp and upon application, but it does soften up with a little time. The rest of the notes seem really well blended to me, I'm having trouble picking them out individually. But, if I close my eyes and inhale, I think I'm getting mostly sweet raspberry and honeysuckle. The overall impression is 'sweet' with a bracing and refreshing cascade of white peppermint in the background. Quite different from anything else I've tried. I could see myself reaching for this one on hot summer days. It's lovely!

It took a few years, but I finally acquired a bottle of this and I'm thrilled to report that it was well worth the wait. In the bottle : Wowza! Sweet pink plastic. A little unsure.... Wet on skin : Ok, this is really living up to its name. It's sweet marshmallow, dandelion and sap all rounded out with a plastic tinge. Definitely pink! I like it but the plastic edge is a bit too much. Dry down : Perfection. The plastic scent drifted away and what's left is sweet pink sugar and marshmallow. The dandelion and sap lend a greenery that is lovely but doesn't stick around for more than an hour or so. I love this. Stays close to my skin and sticks around all day. Also want to add that it reminds me of Velvet Unicorn. They share the same sugary scent that I love!

I love this blend. It reminds me of my favorite Easter candy - these milk chocolate covered marshmallow bunnies. I detect the coconut in it too, but the macadamia nut and mushroom aren't very apparent to my nose. Really happy to have this one!

2012 has been a stellar year for finding BPAL blends that are right up my alley. Pink Moon is another winner! Right out of the box, Pink Moon was very light. I've noticed it strengthening with time and it's just wonderful. If there were such a thing as pink chocolate, this is what it would smell like. The white chocolate stands out the most with the floral notes whispering to me about spring in the background. It is feminine and sweet, fresh and evocative of the season. I adore it.

It has taken me over two years to take the plunge and skin test this one (got an imp from the Lab). I always wanted to try it but shied away because of the musk, which I've never been able to stomach in any other blend. But...Morocco smelled sooooo good in the vial that I caved and dabbed some on. To my amazement, this smells just as good on me as in the imp! I smell the musk and it's beautiful. Morocco is the exception to the rule for me and it's so good. It's hard to pick out individual notes, but I get a strong vanilla and spices feel with the musk softening everything up. I'm bowled over by it and the fact that I actually found a musk blend that I love. I already ordered a bottle.