jewelbug

Imp: This is really buttery and cakey...and I can defintely see how people have said cheesecake. Yummy! Wet: Buttery and foody, but also....more. Its really hard to describe. I get a deep sugared smokiness, much like a get from Sugar Skull (particularly the 2004 vintage). But this seems less sweet than Sugar Skull, with added buttery cakes (hubby says piecrust), and with a touch of what I can only assume is the olive leaf. There's some spice in this too. Its amazing--the yule standout for me, personally. Dry: The longer this dries, the less buttery/foody it is. It gets to be a dry darkly sugared incense, a bit smoky, spicy and sweet. Its just...wow...its defintiely sugar skull family on me, but a more subdued sugar, with more of the newly lit fireplaces in the cold air smell, and the olive/myrrh/wine (that must be what is doing the unidentifiable wonderfullness) is just insanely gorgeous here. I can't stop sniffing. Verdict: I was supposed to take a shower, but I put this on and then sat around sniffing myself and refusing to go wash it off. I need bottles, my half decant just won't do!!!!! Lasts 6-7 hrs. ETA: I'm glad I tried this the same day as All Souls, cuz they are similar concepts, i think, and this one made me feel much better about AS not working out on me like I'd hoped!

Well, I looked up the notes (Versus Versache Time for Pleasure, right?) and they are listed as: Sensuality, delicacy and greediness for this flower-fruity nectar: bilberry, wild strawberries, blackberry; apricot, fishing; vanilla and musk. I've never smelled it, so I can't say exactly, but based on the notes I might reccomend a few: Hollywood Babylon has strawberry, vanilla and musk, so it might get the right feel (its been a while since I tried that, but I know I enjoyed it). You might like bewitched (blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk) as a more tea/herbal take on the fruity scents. Its really pretty. Yerevan is also sweet and pretty, and shares apricot and fruit/floralness with your VV: apricot and pomegranate with deep plum, wild roses, two Middle Eastern pale musks, white orchid, iris and sweet roots. Bpal's appricot/peach scents are phenomenal, just so you know. Hanging gardens comes to mind, though it doesn't share notes: date palm, ebony, fir, pomegranate, plum, two pears, quince, fig, and grapevine with plumeria, three gardenias and dry rose. But its defintiely got a sweet floral/fruit vibe, and is really pretty, as is titania. Hope that helps a bit! Good luck finding your bpal.

Imp: I have to say, in the imp, this is one of the most exciting scents…Icing and cake with a bit of incense. A really cool combo, and one I can’t wait to try! Wet : Incense dust. It’s a bit sweet/foody, but not nearly as much as in the imp, and I’m getting mostly incense. Drying: There appears to be a bit of spiciness to this, whether its the incense or the cakes, I couldn’t say. This seems like a strong dusty floral incense to me, with a brush of sweet. I was hoping the balance would lie the other direction. And whatever floral component it is….its not one I’m too fond of. Dry: Okay, REALLY dry floral incense, and I’m still not a fan of this floral note (its treacherously close to jasmine, though if this is jasmine is a relatively good one compared to what it usually does on my skin). Florals aside, this does have that spicy sweet component. In feel, this reminds me of Dia De Los Muertoes (incensey floral with a slight tiny bit of food). Overtime, the floral in the incense smells more rosey to me, and the slight bits of cake go away. But the currant comes out about 1:30 in, giving a fruity sweet floral incense. And on the complete late drydown, there are notes of honey and champaca in this too. Overall: Its actaully really pretty after the flower I don't like fades out. But this isn't something that I would wear much, if at all. Glad I got to try it, though! Lasts 8+ hrs.

Imp: Something fumey, something creamy (almost almond like creaminess, but I guess it’s the tonka?), really hard to tell in the imp.... Wet : Fruity, cherryish (like a lollipop), though this is nothing like jailbait lollipop…There is also a sharp floral that I’m not a huge fan of. This is sweet, and lightly creamy. Drying: Okay, just cheated and looked at the notes--the fruity part and the sharp floral part are both the champaca flower, I think, maybe with some help from ginger which sometimes smells fruitloopy on me. But I happen to know that champaca flower works on me, so I just need to wait for it to dry out. The sandalwood is coming out now, too, nice and woodsy, and the combo is strongly reminireminiscentllion. Dry: Yup, the champaca settled, and the sandalwood and champaca are equals in this blend. I get sweet heady champaca flower, dusty sandalwood (a lighter colored sandalwood, if I had to guess), and the slightest smokiness. Its like a lighter, less scorched hellion (no plum, though, and less spice). This would fall between Hellions grit and Khajuraho's sweetness. After about 2 hrs, the sandalwood backs off and this is a predominately champaca scent, wtih a bit of pepper. It lasts 6-7 hrs on me. Overall: This is really pretty, but I think it would be redundant with my Hellion and Khajuraho. I will do a comparison of all three, but my guess is that the good dr, though wonderful smelling, is something I can pass over.

Imp: Reminds me of Lush's Snowcake soap, with a bit of pine and some extra cool zing. Wet: Snow White (for the record, snow white was creamy almond and mysterious floral on me--much like lush snowcae) + Mint. Dry: Snow White + Mint, though the mint gets softer later into the drydown. Overall: I think those of you lamenting Snow White should try this. Its very close to my nose. Personally...as snow white aged it started to go weird on my skin chem, so I'm not sure if I should buy a bottle of Snow-Flakes or not (will it do the same?) Regardless, this is very pretty, and I actually prefer the mintiness of Snow-Flakes to Snow White. Really elegant and wintery.

Bottle: This label graphic is so cute! As for the smell, in the bottle I thought of a mélange of fruity skittles candy. Wet: I actually get a good deal of citrus out of this wet. It’s a sweet pink citrusy blend, and very candyish. Like I could lick my wrist and taste a yummy lollipop! This citus note is beautiful, sharp but sweet. I kinda expected this to be similar to pink moon and pink phoenix, but its definitely a different quality. Dry: I get predominantly sharp citrus wth occasional wafts of melon and strawberry, all wonderfully sweetened and candy like. And every now and again, I swear this actually has a “dusty” quality-- it gives the feel of that white powder you find on hard candies. After about 40 mins my skin makes a synthetic smelling note out of it, unfortunately, and under the plasticy note, its more pink moonish than before. Overall: I’ve tried this twice. The first time it went horrifically synthetic plastic weirdness on me after a short while, and the second time it smelled beautiful and delicious. I think some of the beths sugars do that on me depending on my cycles. This is sweet and girly and pretty, but not really something I'd wear often. Which is just as well, since I bought it for a friend.

This is for JL 2006. I've not tried '05, so I can't provide a comparison... Bottle: This smells likey honey sweet amber and a hint of orange. I wasn't expecting the orange, but I like it! Wet: Creamy sweet orange--like honeyed pfefferneusse cookies without all the spice. Drying: Still sweet and creamy, but now something more intense is coming through, something powdery in a good way. Incensey almost. Mostly amber, if i had a guess. Dry: This isn't at all what I expected when I smelled the bottle, or from what I smelled wet. This takes on a very strong dusty goldness--incensey, powdery amber. Its quite strong, but pleasantly so. Its defnitely all-invasive--more so than many bpals I've tried. It makes me feel warm--like I could wear this instead of a sweater in the wintertime, if that makes any sense. Because it envelops me THAT much. Late dry: Sweet super amber, slightly powdery in a good way, going strong. Very warming and cozy. Even a bit creamy. That orange is undetectable now, this is a quintessential amber fragrance. Overall: I quite like amber, though it sometimes goes overly powdery on me. this one doesn't. Its perfect, golden, warm, like a shroud against the world. It lasts 7-8 hrs on my skin, and really is one of the strongest (throw-wise) that I've tried. I've already experimented with layering this, and it does wonders warming up tons of other blends. I'm so glad I ordered a bottle unsniffed!

Yeah, I second Moxie. Its bpals most insanely orange scent. And I love it!

Imp: A red musk/patchouli combo. Very sexy, but I hope the fruits and nilla come out once it hits my skin! Wet: Oh, wow! There is the vanilla. This is a really dark red vanilla. I can’t help but be reminded of Dragons milk (red nilla), but this has spicier earthier edge, which is perfect cuz Dragon's Milk is too sweet for me—Mme. is like Scherezade meets Dragon's Milk. I’m not detecting any fruits yet. Dry: I’m starting to smell plum on the outside edges of the vanilla sexiness. It is a good thing indeed! Unfortunately, Mme. Moriarty is showing her relastionship to snake oil, because around the first 30-1hr mark, this does a weird syntheticy thing on me (like SO), but its not as strongly so as SO was. By 2-3 hours in its gone and I can seriously smell the plum/patchouli/musk/vanilla combo, and the plum is gorgeous once it makes its full appearance. Luckily, the syntheticy part is fairly short lived, so it just might be worth it…. Lasts about 7 hrs. Verdict: I just know this one will age beautifully, and I think that will probably get rid of the syntheticy bit on me, too. I’m tempted to buy a bottle just to age it and see. I’d have a while to age it as a test before I need to decide on multiple bottles. Edited to add: The red musk/patchouli in this turned out to be too much for me to grab for on a daily basis, and the syntheticy skin chem thing combined to make this a swap. Sent it along to a new home quite a while ago.

Bottle: Mostly a really sweet light orange with a background of smooth, buttery pumpkin (but not overwhelmingly buttery, which for me is a good thing). I was hoping to be punched in the face with red ginger, but I can’t smell it at all. I do think I smell a hint of another spice, though..cardamom? Wet: Immediately on, it does get more buttery, but this is a far more subtle butter than I experienced with Jack. And this has that great orange fruitiness. Early Dry: This is much gentler than I expected. I don’t get spice at all, and I really can’t pick out the amber. Its like a very smooth, light buttery pumpkin with citrus. Its really pretty, but I confess that I wanted spice and figleaf and amber more than citrus and pumpkin (silly of me with a name like pumpkin queen, huh?). I love this scent, and I will keep this bottle, but I will have to think over whether I want the second or not. This has a weird phase about 20 mins in where it smells different depending on where it is on my body: on my elbow, this is pure orange and fruitloops. On the back of my hand, warm buttered pumpkin, slightly fruity and wonderfully warm and smooth. On my wrist, a little syntheticy, as butter sometimes goes. The differences are astounding. Very weird. Late dry (2.5 hrs): OOOH! This has really morphed over time, slowly with me barely noticing (busy day at work!)…So, now I can definitely smell the amber, rounded out and made warmer by hints of buttery pumpkin and juicy fruits, more mandarin than other oranges, cuz it’s sweeter and juicier than normal. There is a little spice to this, but its of the cardamom variety instead of ginger. Its phenomenal. Delish, but not overly foody. And that synthetic-ness from earlier went away completely. Over future hours, the balance keeps tipping towards amber, with everything else in the background, becoming less juicy/sweet/butter/foody as it progresses. All stages are really beautiful. Lasts well over 6 hrs, by which time its super amber with a hint of all the warm autmunnyness. Verdict: Well, I can definitely get rid of my jack imp, because I prefer the sweet lightness of PQ to Jack’s more in-your-face-piecrusty buttery pumpkin (which goes just a bit synthetic on me anyway). I think this will age phenomenally with the amber and spices. I might just want that second bottle afterall…

Preconceived notions: I don't wear florals often. But I'll order anything with fig just to try it. Which means I'm obviously hoping for lots of fig. Imp: a very sweet floral (lily, i'm guessing mostly) and a sharper sandalwoody note. I can't really smell anything else (and I couldn't pick out hibiscus if it punched me in the face, anyway). But no fig yet. Wet: the sweet floral is far less now and it seems sharper. Still quite floral with sandalwood. Drying: Its actually more sharp than I expected...bitter in a "green" way. So, there IS a greeness to this scent, but not one that brings to mind my beloved fig. Oddly, its bitter and sweet at the same time. I don't know how to describe it well, apparently. I do get hints of fig, but they go just as quickly as they come. Late drydown (5ish hrs): The bitterness is gone, and now this is a sweet almost creamy floral. Very pretty, and almost honey sweet. It lasts well past the 5 hr mark, so definitely one that I could apply once and keep going all day. Overall: This is very pretty, especially later into the drydown. I think that floral people will love it. I was personally hoping for more fig. I smelled it a few times in and out, but it was fleeting, and I need wham-in-your-face-fig.

So, I'm not doing a usual jewelbug review on this one, cuz well, sniffing my wrist every 10 minutes wouldn't be a good way to calm myself to sleep, now would it? When I put this on, I immediately thought that it was "lavender, true bpal style." Which is to say its unlike any lavender blend I've had before--wholly unexpected and beautiful. I get an herbally (slightly peppery/lemony) lavender, but its not at all sharp to my nose--a sweet sugary vanilla note soften the whole blend. But this isn't the vanilla I was expecting from the previous reviews. No fluffy white clouds and marshmallows for me. On me, this vanilla is of the dark syrupy brown variety, and almost a bit musky. Which I think is another reason I thought this was so inherently "bpaly." At times I feel like there is a mint, or some other cooling effevescent scent running in and out of the lavender vanilla combo. Its a unique and beautifully blended scent, a complete surprise, but soothing and comforting, and yes, like a warm hug. Effectiveness: Okay, I think this would calm me to sleep most other nights, but when I put this on the first time, I was so intrigued with smelling myself that I didn't want to sleep.

I've been on the quest to find a BPAL like lush's Jungle for quite a while, and I have to say, I've fallen head over heals for Antonino, cuz it has a very similar feel on my skin chem!!! (well, late into the drydown, anyway...)

See you there! You know, I'm actually going as the mad hatter, but I don't have any of the mad hatter oil. Maybe I'll just wear Trick #1. Or Devil's Night. I'm sure i'll figure it out tonight when I'm dressing for my party.

Imp: This smells so chocolately delish! Wet: Very chocolate, but immediately I get other notes from this--almost hazelnutty, actually. And something vaguely underpantsish--that kinda complex vanilla smell. Drying: The chocolate all but disappears when this is dry, and I get a beautiful sexy cream that really does remind me of underpants. Sadly, I start to get wiffs of rubbery/plasticy/syntheticy smell. This happens to me with quite a few super foody blends (underbed and closet come to mind, and underpants does it sometimes too). Kinda like smelling candy AND its wrapper. Verdict: Doesn't agree with my skin chemistry, but oh my god, is it delicious when its not on me. Great foody treat for those of you lucky enough to have friendly skin!

Imp: This is a very unexpected blend, the notes are crazy together (but in a good way). In the imp, I smell lavender and verbena predominantly, but don't think for a moment that its a run-of-the-mill herbal, cuz under those herbs is a hint of dark fruity sweetness, proming curveballs in your near future (or mine, at least). Wet: Lemon verbena is the primary note when this hits my skin. Its incredibly bright and cheerful. There is the barest hint of darker heavier fruits, but wet...almost all verbena. Drying: Its still lemony, but its backing off so you can get more of the other notes. Plum comes out, as does the white musk. And...coconut! Now, usually, coconut turns playdoh-y on me, but I think black coconut is a sometimes-exception, and luckily that is the case here. Dry (45 min-1 hr): the lemon is but a faint whisper to the dark fruits (which are almost winey/montressorish to me), and the musk/coconut combo. Its truly beautiful, and not at all what you'd expect from the way the scent starts out. Verdict: A glorious cacophony of notes. So complex, and definitely a scent adventure, probably not unlike the adventure that antonino himself is selling. So far (but i've yet to try them all), this is my CD standout, and I'm seriously considering a bottle. edited: I've worn this more since, and its come to remind me of LUSH's Jungle scented solid conditioner, which is one of my favorite smells ever. So yeah, that bottle I was considering? I ordered it.

Imp: I have to confess that when I sniffed this, I didn't want to continue. Jasmine and I are typically enemies, and in the imp, this is very strong jasmine to my nose. I had hoped the "sambac" would be different, but alas, its not. In the imp, jasmine is all i smell. But I'll try anything once! Wet: Very sweet jasmine. Still at odds with my skin chemistry, but not as badly as in some other blends. And its actually letting some other notes come through, cuz I can smell some bitter violets. This is an intensely strong floral. But in the background, there is a lovely almost citrusy fruity (mimosa?) smell. Just that the jasmine goes wonky on me and overpowers the others. Dry: It takes about 2 hours for the jasmine to recede and let the others play nicely. After it does, this is actually very pretty, though I'm not typically a florals gal. Its a sweet heady floral, kinda fruity and just a hint of creaminess. In this phase, it actually reminds me quite a bit of khajuraho, though I can't tell you why from the notes list. Similar feel, maybe? Overall: This lasts about 7 hours, and while I don't like the first ~2 at all, the remainder is quite pretty. I reccommend this as a complex scent for jasmine/floral lovers, but alas, I am not one. But mimosa/vanilla stage at the end is very pretty.

In the Imp: A woodsy, leathery dark sexy smell. This triggers my scent memory of Geek, though I don't actually have my Geek anymore to compare directly. I'm really happy that the evergreen notes seem understated, cuz I generally don't go for a lot of evergreens. ON HUBBY: Wet: More pronounced leather on skin than in the imp, and a bit fumey when wet. Drying: Whoa! This is sexy--the leather is still there and pretty prominent, but its joined oh-so-nicely by smoke and woods. Its masculine and musky and dangerously sexy. Its actually really different from the scents my hubby usually wears (he likes em sweeter: voodoo, tombstone, etc). Dry: (30 min on) The leather and smoke are joined by lots of musk and deep amber, and its sorta got a powdery smell. Okay, not powdery exactly, cuz its not like a baby's bum. Its more like the leather clad bum of a nice smelling man. But the powdery smell makes it gentler--like finding out that the bad boy on the motorcycle has a sensitive artsy side and likes to cuddle. Mmmmmm. ON ME: Wet: Super leather, bit of woods and smoke. Very masculine, as one would expect given the above review. Drying: Thankfully, this is a tan leather, rather than a dark/black one. Or at least, I think so. It doesn't go beef jerky on me like some of the darker ones, which is always good news. I get that powdery amber out of it, and its a very sexy smell, though too masculine for me. Dry: This actually is more smoke/leather, less amber/musk/powder on me than it is on hubby. I kinda wish it did this on him, though its still super sexy on his chemistry, too. My final scent is a sweet leather with dark musky amber and just a wee bit of woods. This lasted about 8 hrs on both of us, so I applaud its staying power. Verdict: Did I say "Sexy" enough times in that review? No? Well then, sexy, sexy, sexy. I have to let hubby give this a proper few day test run--he likes it, but its just not his normal fare. Though I wouldn't mind if it were! ETA: And nope, hubby wasn't into this one so much after all...swapped a while ago!

Another vote for Moxie! The BEST citrus. (in my humble opinion, of course). Just pure orangey citrusy brightness....

Bottle: Super sweet peony, kinda fruity. Preconceived notions: Peony is a floral I can actually like, other than that i'm hoping for moss and sage and maybe some cucumber. I suspect that the "fruity" feeling is from the cucumber, actually. Wet: Very strong peony, and something I couldn't smell as well in the bottle...its a sharp floral that my nose doesn't like. Sadly, I think its the sweet pea. Sweet pea and I don't get along when its too strong--it makes me think of clean public bathroom--something about the scent of that cleaner reminds me of sweet pea. Happend with aeval, and a few others (thought there are definitely sweet pea blends that i enjoy--pink phoenix comes to mind!). Dry: This blend on my skin=sweet pea+peony. I like the peony, but the sweet pea is just too much for me. It overpowers all the other things I wanted to smell. Overall: It lasts for about 8 hours, which is great staying power for a fairly light sweet floral, and I think I can see many floral gals loving this one. Sadly, its just not for this non-floral-lover. No matter, I've got budding moon and peony moon for my peony needs....I just wish peony moon had annabel's staying power.

Awww...poor SO! Wait?! Does that affect YOUR bpal wearing? *gasps in horror*

I might just be crazy, but when I layered sugar skull 05 and jack, they really started to meld into a HIWTK scent after about an hour (i absolutley can't explain that notewise...). Maybe my skin chem is just whack, but it made me insanely happy! edited to add: I agree, closest thing to SDM is 13. I often layer them.

I learn something new every day....Here are the notes for drakkar: Drakkar Noir: top fragrance notes: bergamot, lemon and rosemary. The middle notes are: basil, amber and patchouli and the base of the fragrance is: cedarwood, leather and sandalwood. Not a bit of oakmoss listed. But i swear it smelled like that oakmoss EO to me. I'm a nutter!

Hmmm, nothing comes to mind right away, but to me, Midsummer's Night smells strongly of an Oakmoss essential oil that I've tried. Maybe try some of the BPAL's oakmoss containing blends?

Blood Moon (super cassia/cinnamon musky wonderfulness), Bengal (spicy like chai tea), Chimera (honeyed vanilla cinnamon) and are my spicy faves, though I wouldn't classify the second two as musky. Silk Road is a great spice and green grassy scent, which really envokes the east for me, but might not be dark enough for you. Scheherazade is a very pouplar middle eastern spicy musk scent. And Three Witches is a pure spice blend, though its an LE (pepper, clove, cinnamon). It didn't work for me, but many spice lovers swear by it.