sunlitgarden

In the decant: Sweet, light. It's a nice balance of the sweet vanilla/honey/musk and the floral magnolia. The vanilla/honey are making me think of cake a little bit (a white, fluffy, wedding cake type -- which I guess is appropriate given the name of the scent). It's not really a foody scent though. It's just sort of the suggestion of cake rather than having one right in front of your face. On my skin: Still a light, pretty scent. There's something almost minty-smelling when I sniff it closely. I'm not getting a lot of throw from this scent, and what I do get is mostly the honey and vanilla. There's a bit of the "Play-Doh" type smell in the vanilla but I've found that with other scents with vanilla this sometimes ages out (it did in Joyful Moon) so I'm not overly concerned about it. It's a nice scent but a bit too light on me to be one of my favorites.

I was hoping the lemon verbena wouldn't be the dominant player here, like it so often is, since it was listed last in the notes... but it's still almost all I can smell in the decant (I think I smell a little osmanthus in there) and especially on my skin. I get a little bit of floral (osmanthus and rose) in the background. Dry, I'm getting more rosewood (it smells like rose flower to me). Overall, this is okay, but I was hoping the osmanthus would be more noticeable.

2016 version: In the decant: I can definitely understand the comparison to cream soda here. There's a sweet vanilla and something that smells effervescent. There's also something about it that smells almost medicinal/band-aidy to me? Not really a fan of that aspect. On my skin: Unfortunately, that "band aid" aspect amps up right away. Is this the cream being sour? I don't know what it is. It starts to smell a teeny bit spicy, too, which I'm assuming is the saffron? I am not really familiar with saffron as a spice individually, though I know it's used in Indian spice blends. As it dries: less "band aids" and more root beer or cream soda.... but the "band aids" thing never totally fades. Not for me, sadly.

I wanted to try this because some of the florals are loves for me (rose and peony, though I'm not familiar with "rose peony", and vanilla orchid) but I am a bit worried that it will be too overpowering with the strong white florals. I thought frangipani and plumeria were the same thing -- maybe two different species are in this? In the decant: Yeah, definitely floral, but I don't have that overpowering heady blast like I sometimes do from gardenia. There's almost something astringent about this. I sometimes get an almost licorice-like element from peony, and I am smelling that here. On my skin: Still no white floral blast -- this is promising. I was wondering if it would smell tropical, and it does a little bit, but it's on the lighter side. It's kind of a light, springy floral scent with a tropical edge. I like it; it's a nice variation from the more rose/lilac/fruit blossom-dominant spring florals I already have many of.

In the decant: I mainly smell boozy berries -- the strawberry and blackberry wine. On my skin: I'm not really smelling the gardenia here. I'm still getting the wine/boozy fruit, with a little vanilla and I think I can detect the frankincense as well. As it dries, I'm getting a bit of an incensey background to the fruit/wine, but the fruit wine is still the strongest note on me. And, as it dries down further, the incense note seems to fade away but the "concentration" of the alcohol note seems to increase... now it smells more like blackberry brandy than just blackberry wine. Based on the other reviews I'm guessing this is somewhat chemistry (or batch?) dependent. On me it's basically heavy berry booze and I didn't get the gardenia at all. I do seem to amp wine notes, though.

I had to order Fluttering Peonies -- I love all the notes. This is the first Bath Oil I've tried, because I pretty much only take showers and not baths, but was advised that they make good moisturizers! I am using this as a moisturizer/lotion. On my skin it is a sweet fruity-floral scent with a teeny bit of an almost minty green-herbalness at first. That note fades, though. The vanilla doesn't stand out to me, nor does the spice from the carnation. I can smell the vanilla if I really focus on it, but it's not the main player. It's mostly a balance of the peony and peach with the honey to sweeten it. But it's not overly sweet or cloying. This absorbs into my skin pretty quickly and doesn't feel too greasy. I only need to use a couple drops at a time. It's a keeper!

In addition to the recommendations you've already gotten, I would add: The Dormouse (Mad Tea Party) -- "A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony." This is a light and refreshing tea scent. I've been wearing it a lot lately, as it's very springy to me. Vial of Holy Water (RPG) -- "The gleaming, indescribably clean scent of purified, ritually consecrated holy water." It's a clean aquatic. Aizen-Myoo (Excolo) -- "Yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea." Sjofn (Excolo) -- "Our song to the Norse Goddess of Love is scented with apples and birch and bound with apple blossoms." These are all scents I personally have found that fall into the clean/sweet/fresh category. While there are some florals, I don't find them too overpowering or cloying in these scents. I would also recommend that you try everything you get as a frimp (free imps you get as bonuses with a purchase) even if you don't think it will work based on reading the scent description. I've had some great surprises over the years!

I really like this one. In the decant, it's a mix of spicy and sweet with the frankincense and vanilla/benzoin. As it dries, this is reminding me almost of a cookie-type smell with the vanilla and spiciness, but the frankincense keeps it from being *too* foody. It's making me think of a chewy caramel, but more the overall texture of it rather than the actual taste, if that makes any sense at all. Sticky resin pieces! Of the decants I've skin tested so far this is the first that's been a bottle contender. Unfortunately, this does fade pretty quickly, but it's lovely while it lasts.

In the decant: Is "gray amber" the same as ambergris? I don't smell the usual "ambergris" note in here, in any case. I mainly smell a spicy frankincense and the lily note is smelling a bit "green" to me, not just floral. The frankincense, possibly in combination with the spices and slightly green-smelling lily, is doing the thing it sometimes does where my brain associates its smell with pickled hot peppers... On my skin: The lily comes out more as a flower now compared to how it was in the decant. It still smells spicy at first, and the frankincense + spices are still kind of reminding my brain of something pickled... After a little while this starts to smell kind of soapy and powdery on me, but the frankincense and spices keep it from being overpoweringly floral. I'm not really smelling the white musk in here (it's usually a note I enjoy). I like this okay once it's dry (and the "pickle" association is gone), but overall I am preferring The Contrast for a frankincense scent from this update.

In the decant: I'm mostly smelling a spicy/peppery sandalwood and something that smells almost verbena-like. Is that the ti leaf? I wasn't familiar with this note, but it is apparently a tropical plant from Hawaii, not related to tea. On my skin: Very spicy right away and then some osmanthus emerges. I'm not getting the usual "apricot" smell from the osmanthus here, but it is adding a sweet floral note to the scent. I'm not really smelling a typical vanilla note in here but it does say vanilla bark and not pod/bean. I think it might be just giving the scent a sort of smoothness and sweetness as it dries down. It doesn't smell dry or dusty to me like sandalwood often can. I got a bit of this on my upper lip while sniffing my wrist and the pepper burns! It's surprisingly light on my skin. I like this but I don't think I need to keep more than a decant of it.

I decided to try a decant of this because while jasmine is a note that often doesn't work on me, I enjoy jasmine green tea and tea scents in general. I'm not sure I've ever tried mate; I haven't had it by itself but might have had it in a tea blend. I'm not really familiar with it as a note, in any case. In the decant: Light, refreshing tea, and something a bit zingy (is this the mate?). On my skin: The jasmine behaves here. I am not really smelling jasmine at all in the up-close wrist sniff but I do get some floral jasmine wafting up from my skin. It smells good overall, not indolic or soapy. Sniffing my wrist up close, wet on my skin The Teapot smells somewhat green in an herbal sense, like mixed herbs. It kind of makes me salivate. Maybe this is the mate? I get more bergamot as the scent dries, which makes it smell tart and lemony overall. The scent is pretty light. It almost reminds me of one of the Metamorphosis scents. The drydown is fairly powdery smelling to me, and a bit soapy. Overall, this is okay but I don't think I need a full bottle. I prefer The Dormouse for a light floral + tea scent.

Has anyone tried both Mystical Aphorisms of the Fortune Cookie and Hecate? Are they similar or different? I like the idea of sweet almond incense but I already have a bottle of Hecate.

Fighter lists steel and blood (I can't necessarily pick out the blood, but if it is there it's more likely to be a metallic blood rather than anything like red musk or dragon's blood) and it definitely has an aspect of cold gray metal to me along with leather. I don't want to smell like it, personally, but it's quite evocative.

I think Haunted was a frimp a while ago, but we've had it for a few years at least at this point. Michi mainly uses this imp, but I found that I hadn't reviewed it yet or tried it on myself, so I figured I would try it. In the imp: This is very powdery smelling to me, close to baby powder. The amber smells wood-like, and black musk tends towards sweet, as it often does. On my skin: In some blends, I can't really pick out the amber specifically, but I think that it makes a blend smell what I describe as "perfumey"... which isn't always a bad thing, just that it's something I associate more with commercial/department store perfumes. This is not that perfumey amber, though. It reminds me more of the gilded amber in The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair, almost wood-like. The musk is sweet and tending towards powdery, and it has that sort of "deep" quality I sometimes find in black musk.. where it's like you're trying to peer into the bottom of a dark pool. I keep sniffing at it, feeling like I'm getting closer to the "bottom", but never quite reach it. It's kind of an unsettling feeling, but also enticing and interesting. I got this feeling from the black musk/ambergris in Panther Moon too. It could be compared to the feeling of being scared but strangely compelled by an old abandoned or supposedly haunted place. I just saw the lab description again and saw that they mentioned "foreboding" -- that's a good description. The amber gives this a glow and warmth to it. If the black musk is a dark haunted house, the amber is like the glowing orbs of light that show up on photos. I probably wouldn't seek this scent out to buy a bottle, but I do enjoy it enough to want to keep the imp around. I think I might actually prefer it to Playful Wooden Mallets for a black musk scent (yay GC!)

Although the Salon scents have been discontinued for a few years, I got a frimp of this in a recent package from the Trading Post. Mysterious...Thanks Puddin! In the imp: I smell dirt and a minty snow note. The resins here smell a bit like salad dressing vinegar to me. O_o On my skin: Doesn't change much right away. Minty snow, dirt, and the savory/vinegary resin smell. That vinegary note does fade away as it starts to dry, and the mint also fades. I'm left with mostly dirt, snow (which still smells "chilly" to me even if not specifically minty), and sweet-smelling resins. I'm glad that this isn't the bitter sort of myrrh. Overall this isn't really for me, but I'm glad I got a chance to try it!

Imp of unknown age, probably received as a lab frimp at some point. This does indeed smell "smoky and gritty" to me -- probably mostly vetiver. It's not really anything that I'd want to smell like, but I tried putting a teeny drop on my skin. It smells almost spicy in a way, at first, but very dusty and dry and smoky. It's definitely an interesting and evocative blend.

Source: Recent frimp from the Lab I am pretty wary of this one because of patchouli and vetiver, but I am going to at least try it... In the imp: I mostly smell sweet orange and wood-smoke vetiver/patchouli. Smoky, earthy citrus. On my skin: I got more oil than I wanted out of this imp, some on my fingers. On my skin it's... mostly the earthy sort of patchouli, smoky vetiver, and sweetness from the citrus and ylang ylang. It doesn't smell as specifically orange to me now as it did in the imp. Drying, this is actually smelling a bit alcoholic to me, a lot like smoky whiskey (which I also don't enjoy drinking), or like a very aromatic wood. I'm not the right person for this blend! It's too smoky for me.

I think Namaste was a frimp at some point, but I'm not sure how old it is. Jasmine and patchouli are both pretty iffy notes for me, but I try to test all the imps I get, so I will try this one out anyway. In the imp: This smells quite "tart" to me. The lemongrass jumped out at me first, then the florals, but the more I sniff at it the more the woody/earthy notes come out. Something in here kind of reminds me of roasted coffee beans or very dark chocolate. The lemongrass combined with this note made me think "fancy herbal chocolate" for a second. On my skin: Lemongrass is the dominant note when this is wet (it's more like the unspecified "lemon" note than the usually gentler lemongrass to me). The patchouli is behaving -- no BO, just a kind of earthy, grounding scent. The jasmine is also okay too, tending more towards soapy-floral than indolic. The wood is coming out more as it dries. I'd say it's about equal parts lemongrass and woods with the florals in third place. Dry, the wood has a musty sort of quality on my skin. I don't like this stage as well. Overall, I don't think this scent meshes with my chemistry very well. It's like a bunch of pieces that don't quite fit together rather than a unified whole.

I think this was a frimp from the Lab, but not recent. It's probably about 2-3 years old. In the imp: Mostly leather and some clean-smelling musk. I can't say I'm smelling blood, exactly, but there is definitely a metallic quality to this scent. It smells "cold" and makes me think of a storage room full of weapons and leather armor. On my skin: there's definitely something a bit "musty" about this scent, like the basement/storage room. It's almost kind of... mildewy smelling, but that might just be an association with the cold + mustiness. As this dries, it continues to be really evocative of musty leather and cold metal - but not really something I want to wear on my skin. It's definitely a good smell for a Fighter though!

I recently tested a decant of Aphrogenes (a 2011 Luper) I got as a frimp, and I found it to be a really nice, light coconut that wasn't very tropical smelling. The overall scent was very springy and white to light pink in color associations to me. It kind of reminds me of Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom in the imp and wet, but that stage doesn't really last.

I have a 2008 bottle and it still smells amazing! Sorry someone might of tampered with your bottle. That sucks! It's a bummer for sure but good to know that if I find another bottle it should still be good

I think Love is still my favorite strawberry. Some strawberry notes can smell a bit boozy/fermenting on me, but in there it's perfect. I really liked both Battle Fairy in Training and Sticky Eyeballs and Floppy Entrails from this year's Liliths, too. I talked myself out of Strawberry Sufganiyot because I have Golletes already, but I've been regretting that decision! Maybe it will return next Yule...

I bought this bottle from the Lab about 2 years ago, but to me it smells about how I remember it smelling fresh. I'm trying to go back and review everything I haven't so far! In the bottle: Very light and clean smelling. It's mostly light, refreshing tea with the peony in the background giving it a sort of "wet" floral quality -- not aquatic, but like a dewy blossom on the bush. This smells very springy and kind of reminds me of a L'Occitane scent. I'm guessing at least one of the teas is white tea which often has that light and clean quality to me. On my skin: Primarily tea (it's more like black/green tea now, but more like sniffing a box of teabags than the cup of steeped tea) with a little bit of peony and herbs. The herbs are almost a teeny bit savory and kind of lemony (lemongrass? It's more gentle than LEMON which can be overpowering). While I don't really smell the peony with an up-close wrist sniff, I am getting periodic whiffs of a pleasant floral. As it dries, it gets quite sweet, but it doesn't really smell like candy - more like tea with sugar in it. The peony also comes out on my skin more when it's dry. Overall, a nice light, fresh, gentle scent that's nice for spring.

Some of my favorite springy scents: The Dormouse Titania Fairy Wine Needlework (2010 Shunga) Blooming Rose (2012 Shunga) Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono (2012 Shunga) Peony Moon 2013 Weeping Branches Moon Poisson d'Avril and I'm expecting some of this year's Lupers to be good too! In general a lot of the Shungas feel springy to me.

I have a bottle of Sugar Cookie 2008 that honestly smells like it's gone bad. It smells like stale/bad vegetable oil. HOWEVER, I bought it from a seller on LJ who was suspended for, among other things, selling adulterated oils. I didn't think it was bad when I first got it (in 2010?), but over time it's gotten gradually worse in a way that none of my other scents (even other bottles from that year or older) have. So I suspect it's not actually the BPAL's fault, but that the seller diluted it with something that's since gone bad... but does anyone else have an older Sugar Cookie that can comment on what it smells like? Fortunately, this was the only outright bad experience I've had in all the online buying/swapping I've done.