sunlitgarden

La Belle au Bois Dormant Floral! This is a crisp, tart floral blend with a bit of fruit from the pear. (My SO said it smelled like sour apple from a few feet away.) I'm not familiar with all the floral notes individually, but my first thought was something like a mix of gardenia and jasmine (minus the problems my skin has with jasmine). It's okay, but too strongly floral and cloying for my tastes.

Black Rose MYRRH! And.... cucumber? This is weird. o_O It doesn't smell like rose up close, but I am getting whiffs of rose as I sit here. Unfortunately, this reminds me of some kind of cleaning solution.... chemistry and/or nose fail. Bleh.

Croquet Grapefruit! And a hint of astringency - mint? Hm, checking the notes, it might be the sage. This is a light, citrusy fruity mix with grounding patchouli and musk. I'm not getting rose. Unfortunately, I'm also getting a bit of a sour smell. I'm still not sure what note does this with my skin chemistry (although whatever it is, it ended up in my Vanilla CT as well.) It's not awful, but not great either... I think it's just not a good match for my chemistry.

Fae Peachy, with sweet florals and white musk. It's very soft and fuzzy, like peach skin! This compares most closely to Titania of the scents I've tried, but it's not quite as fruity and bright. Fae is very comforting and warm! I love it!

Machu Picchu As the description implies, this is a very green and ripe scent! It reminds me of walking through the greenhouses at my university, which are filled with exotic plants from all over the world. The fruits are sweet and sugary, somewhat candy-like. It's a little bit dryer-sheet-laundry-fresh. The amber is very light. I like it!

Horreur Sympathetique Wine! And honey! And some grapeyness, though in a good way, not in a fake-grape-flavoring way. Wow, this is really nice! It's very sweet, but rich and dark at the same time. This is a possible bottle purchase.

A pounding heartbeat coalesced into scent: demonic passion and brutal sexuality manifested through myrrh, red patchouli, cognac, honey, and tuberose and geranium in a breathy, panting veil over the darkest body musk. Sed Non Satiata Honey with a bitter spike of myrrh. I'm not getting florals, really. There's a sharp tang to this scent that I don't love, but I do like the honey and musk backdrop... the patchouli is OK too (not normally a big fan of it) And my SO likes it on me. The imp is a keeper, I think!

Marie Wet on my skin the dominant note is rose, and it's a really nice rose - but there's also a weird chemical smell that reminds me of... paint or nail polish remover or something. I forgot this had violet in it when I tested the imp. I've already mentioned having chemistry problems with violet - usually I can't smell it at all and it also deadens other aspects of a blend, but I think this is a fun new manifestation of violet death. Augh

Manila Tropical and fruity... definitely banana and pineapple in there. It reminds me of a tropical cocktail, or the fruity notes in Milk Moon 2007. Unfortunately, whatever my skin did with Milk Moon, it's doing with Manila as well; it smells a bit overly tangy and acidic. Wood comes out more as it dries. I don't think this is a match for my chemistry.

Brisingamen In the imp it's a little bit astringent (the myrtle?) Wet on my skin, I'm mainly getting amber and soft florals, with a bit of spice from the carnation. The overall floral impression is soft and pretty. This is going a bit powdery on my skin, but it's still really nice, golden and soft. This will be going into my keep box, and possibly bottle list once I've tested it a bit more.

Wicked Imp: Whoa, this is sinus-clearing strong! I applied a small amount and the myrrh is VERY strong and bitter. I smell a bit of jasmine in the background and only a teeny bit of rose. This smells medicinal and overpowering.

The Witch's Garden This is strongly floral. Smelled like jasmine in the imp, but once I put it on I mainly smell gardenia, and a bit of herbs. There's a bit of a nutty quality as well. As it dries a bit, the parsley is definitely noticeable. The gardenia seems to really be amping on my skin and is really too strong for my taste, and is a strange combination with the herbs. Not for me, I don't think.

Eden Fig is dominant at first, and it's very rich. I am a bit coconut fan, but the "toasted" quality of the coconut here combined with the almond is smelling a bit unpleasant to me, a little stale (I got a similar note in Eat Me). I am getting the "buttered popcorn" note mentioned in some other reviews as Eden dries a bit more. I am getting some delicious coconut whiffs though! Unfortunately, as it dries down more, it goes a bit sour on me. Off to the swap box it goes.

Snap-Dragon-Fly I have been getting a lot of Mad Tea Party frimps lately! This smells gingery-spicy to me at first. Now I'm getting sweet plum and brandy. It's foody but not overwhelmingly so. I think this is a keeper but will need to be tested again in fall/winter.

Skuld Skuld smelled like grape flavoring and frankincense on my skin. (I guess it was labdanum, but they smell pretty similar to me.) Not my thing.

Olokun In the imp and wet, melon!!! Salty, sweet, and fresh. This one works better than Yemaya on me, as far as "aquatic melons" are concerned. As it dries down the melon fades, leaving a crisp and fresh aquatic scent. I like aquatics but it tends to be hit or miss whether they will work on my chemistry; Olokun does seem to be working, for which I am glad.

Al-Shairan Cinnamon is the dominant note in the imp and wet on my skin. Cinnamon and musky incense with a bit of fruit. It's a bit too strong/heavy for my taste.

Antony In the imp, the sage and basil smelled foody in a savory way, but thse frankincense becomes much more prominent when applied. The ambergris adds a bit of a salty tang, but it's mostly all frankincense on me.

Manhattan Frimp from the lab. In the imp, it mainly smells lemony. Wet on my skin, it smells lemony with some tobacco of the "dirty ashtray" variety (is this the black leather?) Fortunately, the dirty ashtray smell fades. After a few minutes, I mainly get citrusy mint.... then it turns soapy. Manhattan and my chemistry don't seem to get along.

Mountain of Bone Oh, I like this! It smells like white wine with fresh tropical fruits. There's also a hint of something minty. Very light and fresh.

Kurukulla My first thought was the lab's wine note. This smells like boozy roses to me. I'm a rose fan, and I like it. Don't think it's my favorite BPAL rose, but I'll hang on to the imp.

The Sluggard Frimp from the lab. This is... weird. My first thought was a sweet mint, but I think it was the astringency from the lavender. I wasn't sure other than that, it was kind of a mushy mix. After looking at the notes, I can smell the frankincense, and sweet gardenia and pear with a woody background. It's very sweet, and it isn't really working for me, unfortunately. It gives me a headache.

The Lady of Shalott Wet: Mainly gardenia with a hint of the lily of the valley/muguet. There is a bit of spice to it thanks to the ginger. Mostly, it's strongly sweet white florals. White musk is sweet on my skin, as well. There is a an aquatic edge in this blend that makes it feel fresh -- it's not salty, more like the scent of a river or lake. Salt notes tend to go bad on me, so I'm happy that this is an aquatic-feeling blend that works on my skin. It's a really nice scent! The Lady might be too floral for me to wear often, but I think my mother would like her (lily of the valley is her favorite flower).

Bread, lightly buttered, with weak tea, cream, and a lump of white sugar. Bread-and-Butterfly This does smells grainy-toasty to me, and a bit spiced. Sweet-spicy -- there could be cardamom? Maybe anise? Yes, there's definitely a licoricey anise in this. It's not overly sweet, and actually tends more to the spicy side, but I do get sugary-creamy whiffs from time to time. I don't think it's very wearable, but it's definitely interesting!

Katrina van Tassel Rose and honey with a little cream. There's a tiny bit of sour/sharpness at first, but it fades. Katrina is sweet and light, probably the most similar to Alice from other blends I've tried, but without the carnation/bergamot. I'm a rose lover, and this is really nice!