Sakari

Agostino Veneziano White sandalwood, opoponax, shriveled black plum, and vetiver. Eep! I never (well, almost never) post reviews, because I'm not terribly good about picking out notes, but I feel the need to review this one! I blind bought a bottle of this, and it's turned out so much more lovely than anticipated. In the bottle it was pure sandalwood, but on my skin I feel as though all of the notes are working together to create a single and unique thing of loveliness. I can't compare this to anything else in the BPAL universe, except to say that the plum note, which is the last note standing as the scent fades (and it takes awhile--this on has moderate throw but excellent staying power on my skin) is the plum from Snake Charmer and Tarantula Fascinator. If this collection of notes works well for you I recommend you pick some up!

This starts off bright and fruity, but on my skin rapidly dries down into something belonging to the Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty family. I think it's going to age gorgeously.....

I'm bad at picking out individual notes, but on me Half Elf v5 smells like honey looks: rich and golden. I'm in the honey and vanilla camp, and maybe amber and/or musk. On my skin there's nothing powdery or light about this scent. It's not heavy or cloying, but it definitely has a warm roundness to it. As it dries down whatever vanilla like component is present comes forward on my skin and seems to ground the scent; it smells less "bright", but richer overall. I don't smell any identifiable woods, but I can believe they're there. No florals or herbals that I can smell, though. This is truly a lovely scent, at least on my skin.

Harigata II is a really lovely summer scent--all that coconut!

Oh, good--someone else is getting sassafras!! I apply after shower while my skin is still damp, and during that first ten minutes after toweling off I smell like effervescent vanilla with a definite tang of sassafras; as the day goes on it mellows out to a much richer vanilla. It's beautiful!

Vanilla blackberry tea...and those three notes take turns in terms of strength and throw. It's a quiet scent all the way through, though, and doesn't morph much for me from bottle to skin to drydown. I definitely get the association with Dorian--it does smell like a quieter, more feminine variation (and smells lovely layered with Dorian, too!). Quiet, creamy, sweet, delicious.

Samhain '08 here, too! (after showering with Jack soap and rubbing down with Spun Sugar Spectre bath oil)

I also use the bath oils as a post-shower moisturizer. My first sniff of Spun Sugar Spectre in the bottle was straight up OMG SWEET! It was initially just a blast of sugar, but started morphing as I smelled it--deeper than I'd initially thought, and less hectic than pure sugar. On my skin it smells very golden; I kept trying on images and rejecting them...it's like caramel, but neither that dark nor that heavy...like toasted marshmallows, but not exactly marshmallow-y...I was surprised at how many subtle changes it went through before it settled. Now it's a lovely light golden sweet smell that I can tell will go beautifully with lots of different scents--it will obviously complement the standard sweet scents, but I think it'll also enhance spicy scents, and I think it'll add a gorgeous layer to vanilla scents as well. Can hardly wait to find out!

In the imp: all I get are the spices--gorgeous, but STRONG! Wet: Oh, lemon!! HAI! It's a rich lemon, too, not at all thin, and the spices are there peeking out through the wafts of lemon oil. Nothing in the way of baked goods yet.... Ten minutes later: the lemon's easing off now, but I'm still not getting cookie--this is a rich gingerbread cake I used to make, the texture and quality of carrot cake, that had lemon zest in it. Great. Now I'm hungry.... An hour later: This is still a deep, rich, well-balanced gingerbread cake with lemon, but I won't be surprised if it turns more cookie-ish later on; it's definitely turning somewhat drier with time. It maintains depth so far, though, which delights me. I may have to ask for a bottle for Christmas!

You're so very welcome! I know I spent a lot of time fretting about potentially lost orders until I finally figured that one out--happy to help others avoid the nail-biting....

The Lab doesn't pick up orders from CCNow until they're actually within a couple of days of filling them (barring backorders and such); oftentimes you won't see "Shipped" until it's only a day or two before you get a CnS. During updates and when things are especially hectic that usually takes a few weeks. ETA: I just went and looked at my October 1st order, and it's still Awaiting Shipment, too. I won't start worrying for at least another week or so. THANKS! Altho, unless they know what is ON the order, how can they know if they can fill it or not? I do not like this CCNow, I think I'll try PayPal next time and see if it's better. I know the lab is busy busy busy and we *must* wait our turn. (as she stomps her feet and throws a fit because she LOVES her BPAL!) :lol: THANKS Sakari! You have created a monster. I love you too.

The Lab doesn't pick up orders from CCNow until they're actually within a couple of days of filling them (barring backorders and such); oftentimes you won't see "Shipped" until it's only a day or two before you get a CnS. During updates and when things are especially hectic that usually takes a few weeks. ETA: I just went and looked at my October 1st order, and it's still Awaiting Shipment, too. I won't start worrying for at least another week or so.

The CCNow "shipped" message indicates that the order has been picked up by the Lab; it just means that they're working on filling it now. Usually that means you'll get a Click-n-Ship from the Lab soon, but this update has been hectic, and there are several scents on back order. Don't fret!

Apparently the Pacific Northwest has decided to join the rest of the country in having a summer as of this weekend, and I'm finding that Mag Mell is a perfect scent for warm weather!