fallow deer

From the vial, Vinland is sharpish berries - I can recognise the loganberry note (like raspberry but slightly sharper) - and light floral notes with a small spike of green. As Vinland dries, the floral develops towards rose, the berry softens and the result is pretty, soft, light and fresh while still feeling wild.

My sister is at a much higher speed than me and she has just been round and tested my BPAL collection for the first time. Within minutes, she had whipped open The Cheshire Cat and Imp, applied to both wrists, declared love and then rapidly hate: 'how do I get it off?!' I quietly and calmly soaked a cotton pad in Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 and wiped both of her wrists. I felt like Florence Nightingale. She went away with an imp of Snake Oil and Anne Bonny and the web address.

The Unicorn is very meadow-like to my nose

I was really drawn to this blend since chocolate and wine have been succesful for me so far. However, we are not talking about chocolate here. We are not even talking about dark chocolate. This is hardcore, bitter-as-hell class A cocoa, the kind you can't buy in supermarkets. And the wine. Not your easy drinking Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is sharp and even slightly vinegary. From the vial, both notes caught at the back of my throat and were far from inviting. It didn't really mellow out on, either, so I washed it off. That'll teach me to see chocolate and wine as comforting...

Yes yes yes! I didn't get on with either QoS or OM, one was too burny-almondy, and the other too dry spicewise - but I /wanted/ to so much. Bastet is /ahem!/ purrfect ambery warmth ETA: Good Lord! I've just slathered myself in Bastet scented lotion and oil and I smell absolutely divine! I feel like I'm glowing with golden light! I feel like I'm lying in a pool of warm sunshine! Wow!

Hmm - I'm slightly on the fence about Skadi. Out of the bottle, a very promising piney smell but something's catching my throat. Wearing, Skadi starts bright pine with the berries coming through gradually. However, my throat is becoming decidedly sore and the scent feels very sharp and slightly flat. My chemistry's not doing awful things and making Skadi smell bad, but its certainly not helping her to bloom like others have described. Also, Skadi didn't last long at all, maybe three hours. I'm going to try again in a week since the pine and berry combination is lovely, and the sore throat may just be the start of a cold.

From last year's reviews, this was the Yule LE I was looking forward to the most. When I opened the bottle for the first time, I was slightly surprised and disappointed since Midwinter's Eve reminded me somewhat of the sharpish berries of Jester, which I find too artificial. Wearing, there is quite a sharp berry scent at first, which is more like a blackcurrant chewy sweet than anything else. It gradually sweetens and starts to smell very bright, but with an almost-sour, almost-alcoholic undertone that gives depth and interest. It lasted all day on me, and became very sugary, almost crystalline but still very juicy. I'm glad the very sharp note wore off, and I'm overall very pleased with this blend.

Very sweet and soft. Smells vaguely artificial at first but this tang dies down quite quickly. There's something very dreamy here, like clouds rather than snow. As it dries down, it becomes more and more gorgeous with a certain nuttiness grounding the general light sweetness. If I try very hard to make out distinct notes, I think I can smell apple blossom underneath all the vanilla and nut, which adds crispness. I think if I wore Snow White on an 'off' day, which I have occasionally where I generally feel under the weather and over sensitive, then I would get a sick headache. But at the moment, I'm enjoying it very much. ETA: wow - I'm now testing Snow White on my elbow rather than wrist. It's much sharper and cleaner with the floral more prominant and the artificial note barely detectable. Can't wait to slather myself after my shower! ETA II: I've been wondering whether to post this comment because it's a bit wierd, but even though I still love love love Snow White, I've been getting a wierd feeling (maybe not smell exactly, but an intimation maybe) of /shellfish/. We're not talking fish really here, but just a slightly /clammy/ sensation that isn't totally horrid but just a bit wierd. Hmmm... ETA III: It's also like the buttercream Yankee Candles

I just hold the bottle with my index finger over the stopper, tip it upsidedown and then use the stopper to dab the F54 on.

Mmm - this is one of my daytime faves, although it does fade pretty fast. It's very sweet and warm, with a round fruity note. Most green scents are too sharp for me, and many florals are headache-inducing. The Unicorn is neither too sharp or too floral-y and is perfect for when I want to feel a bit girly.

I feel totally left out on this one! Perversion for me was an odd combination of liquorice and cream - very peculiar and unsettling. It reminded me of these odd liquorice and cream stripy lollipops which I used to enjoy as a child but now the thought is fairly unattractive. It smelt the same in the vial as on, so I think it's my brain and nose superimposing 'liquorice' onto 'leather' rather than weird skin chemistry issues.

I'm not sure, starrykitten, but people have mentioned resinous oils 'maturing'; perhaps your imp of Aureus had matured, while the bottle you have is still fresh? I think both amber and patchouli could change over time. Not sure about The Star, though...

You may like Love Me which is jasmine and cinnamon, on me at least! Have you tried The Caterpillar? It's very jasmine-y with bergamot and insense on me. I would definately go for Eve, it's gorgeous.

This is definately a night smell - not a dressed up going out night, but a wear dark clothes and tread softly though the woods night. When I smell this I find myself also listening very carefully and my eyes widen and other senses expand around me as I wait. And then I realise that I'm not in the middle of woods but sitting on my sofa with my computer! Its like a winter night version of The Unicorn in a way. Ooh I read Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus recently and this reminds me of the shaman's village in Siberia - bears and blood and magic! ETA: I'm so glad I can smell the spices in this!

Vixen is another suggestion.

Damn you enablers! Splashed out on the Egg Nog and Spiced Apple 3 in 1s yesterday... Really, I mean thank you, since had a very lovely shower this morning and will probably do so until Christmas unless I forget to tell my boyfriend how expensive they were...

Lear is very dry cedar, with a touch of sage. It's my boyfriends fave. I find it a bit too dry to be mine, but I do quite like it. He may not miss an imp if you'd like to try it

You might want to check the notes and do a search on the BPAL website, Diana. The F54 description is: "Visions of smeared candy red lipstick, torn fishnet and searching, sunken eyes. The scent of an all-nighter: cognac, tobacco flower, dark musk, black rose and clove" On me, F54 is mostly boozy rose and clove. In addition, my less-than-scientific similar scents would be Blood (Essence of dragon's blood resin, thickened with myrrh and cherry, with a trickle of clove) and Queen of Spades if you can get it.

From an aromatherapy point of view, rose is good for your heart if you like the scent. My favourite rose oil is Eve, which also has notes of honey and apple blossom and I find it really comforting and calming. Frankincense has cathartic properties and can help you move on from hurt - Psyche has both rose and frankincense.

Ok, great - I'll put The Hermit on my imp list. Ooh - I forgot Severin! I have tried it, actually, and you're right - the leather does ground the citrus and give it a bit more solemnity. It's on my 5ml list already !

I The Apothecary. It is beautiful, clean, calm and rather serious. I imagine it wearing horn-rimmed glasses. I'm looking for scents with a similar feel. Not necessarily other 'clean' scents; I've tried Embalming Fluid, Baobhan Sith, Kumiho and Old Shanghai and do like them, but I'm looking for something a little bit more earthy and, well, serious Anyone who likes The Apothecary too - any suggestions?

Chimera to me smells very much like Philosophy's Cinnamon Buns shower gel

Regan! I've just recieved Samhain and love it. But I'm very much reminded of a Lush fragrance - what could it be???

I find Tushnamatay the most comforting and soothing BPAL oil I've tried so far. To me it smells like sandalwood and lavender and I wear it to bed when I'm feeling tense or stressed. Have you tried massaging the pressure point on the muscely part of your hand between your thumb and forefinger? When I have a headache (I get wisdom teeth headache really badly) I do this on the hand that corresponds to the side of my head the ache is and it works every time. You need to squoosh around with your other hand until you feel a slightly tender place, then firmly squeeze that place or massage it - hold for about five minutes at a time. I usually end up with one very red hand, one slightly aching one, but no headache. It works on every other person I've tried it on, too, although I havn't tried it on a migraine sufferer yet.

Hi Mayfair Rosalind is quite similar to Bewitched, I found - a little greener and lighter though. You might also like Jester which is rather sweeter than Bewitched and quite appley.