Alethia

Thoughts before testing: Hermia has been on my "to try" list since I joined the forum in June. I finally put an order in, but before it got to me I discovered the honeysuckle goes bad on my skin. I love the rest of the notes though so we'll see how this goes. Wet: A blast of amber and pepper; this is an interesting combination because the pepper keeps the amber from becoming powdery and gives it a nice kick. Dry down: The passion flower comes out to play, and it's beautiful. The pepper is keeping the rest of the notes in check, and the honeysuckle has yet to make an appearance. I'm really liking this! Dry: This is such a beautiful blend. It's deep and a little spicy and only lightly floral. Final thoughts: Hermia is one of the few scents I've tried recently to get a full day wear. The throw is slight (which I prefer, as I live in fear of my perfume announcing me!) and lasts throughout an entire workday (around seven hours). This might be one of my new favorites, and I see a bottle purchase in my future. Verdict: Keeper, possible bottle.

November 12, 2011 Thoughts before testing: I tend to do best with simple blends (less than 5 notes), and I'm crazy about each of the notes listed here, so my hopes are high! I blind bottled this one and am really hoping it works. Wet: Strong orange blossom and honey with just a breath of sandalwood to ground it. It's not overwhelmingly sweet, and not too floral. This is quite lovely! Dry down: Still heavier on the orange blossom and honey but the sandalwood is coming more to the forefront. This is really beautiful. Dry: It goes through a prolonged powdery stage, but by the end of the day it's become this beautiful rich sandalwood. Final thoughts: I really love the wet, dry down, and very tail end of the dry stages, but that 2+ hours of powder makes me indecisive. I'll keep the bottle to let it age, and retest in 2 months to see if that changes anything. Edited to add: Aging fixed the powder issue, but Jezebel isn't distinctive enough to earn a place in my heavily curated BPAL box. Edited May 13, 2017 again to add: Despite thinking Jezebel was a hard pass, I never sold my bottle. Then yesterday, when I was deciding what to wear, it caught my eye. Let's see if nearly 6 years of aging and my ever-evolving perfume tastes have made a difference in how I view this one. Thoughts before testing: I didn't read my old review or look at the notes before trying it on, and the only thing I remember about Jezebel was honey, orange blossom, and sandalwood. I don't remember why I don't wear it. Wet: Yowza! What a beautiful, rich honey and juicy rose! I don't remember roses being in this? No trace of the orange blossom, but that's ok because this is beautiful. Dry down: Strong blast of sandalwood to compliment the honeyed rose. The sandalwood is really pretty here. Ever since my miscarriage, I've been having a problem with rose amping to high heaven (I'm thinking a lingering effect of the pregnancy hormones?) but the honey is really reigning it in. Crimson Peak's The Waltz, for reference, was nothing but sharp and powdery rose, so I'm really glad to see that it's in check here. Dry: At the very tail end of wearing (6.5 hours later), the sandalwood turns slightly powdery, but for the vast majority of the day, this was a really beautiful dance of sandalwood, honey, and rose. Final thoughts: I'm sad that the orange blossom never made an appearance. I'm not sure if that's a note that ages out like citrus or maybe my body chemistry is different? Either way, it's really lovely and even the husband approved. Thanks for hanging on to this, past Alethia! Jezebel is going back into my regular rotation.

Thoughts before testing: I'm quite excited for this. I like skin musk and myrrh, and ylang ylang is a good note as well. Wet: Floral honey. Not getting any myrrh from this. It's nice, but a little generic. Dry down: It went a little astringent on my skin and is making me sneeze. Dry: Damnations. It's pure powder on my skin while still managing to be astringent. Final thoughts: Sale!

For Snow White's evil queen, I'd say Peacock Queen due to this I don't know if you can see it clearly enough, but it's a peacock throne. Edited for general ignorance of how to post a picture. Argh.

Thoughts before testing: I read the reviews, and clove is one of my all time favorite notes so when I had the chance to try this I jumped! Wet: Very warm and spicy. I'm definitely picking up sandalwood and a little cinnamon, but mostly clove Dry down: This morphed into a clove single note on my skin. It's a drier clove (not sweet like in March Hare). Dry: Still SN clove for me. This is pure love. Verdict: Hoarding.

Thoughts before testing: This was a frimp in a recent order. I would have never picked it out for myself because it has my archnemesis Jasmine. I'm apprehensive but I'm trying to skin test everything that comes my way so I can expand my BPAL horizons just a tad. Wet: This is a sweet floral vanilla, and it is lovely. No sign of the jasmine (which I'm ok with!) and cinnamon (which I'd like to see). Dry down: The jasmine is still not making an appearance, and the vanilla has faded slightly. But I think I can smell a little cinnamon because it's changed from a sweet floral to a more spicy floral. Loving this so far. Dry: Beautiful spicy floral, but not in a "leave welts on your skin" kind of spicy. Love this. Final thoughts: I'm so glad that the jasmine was nowhere to be seen, and I quite like this blend! Verdict: I'll have to skin test a few more times, but I'm thinking that this is a bottle purchase.

Thoughts before testing: I have heard about this scent since I joined the forum, and when I saw an imp up for grabs, I jumped. I'm actually kind of hoping that I don't like it simply because it's kind of hard to find. Wet: Incense and vanilla, slight hint of cognac. Wow. I'm not usually a huge incense fan, but this is really pretty. Dry down: The incense fades a little, and the vanilla sweetens up with a little more cognac. I'm really quite liking this! Dry: The incense comes back out to play and so does the tobacco, tempering out the sweetness of the vanilla. Final thoughts: The lasting power and throw on this are quite amazing. A drop is *almost* too much, which is excellent because my decant will last longer, prolonging the inevitable search for this beautiful scent. Verdict: Hoarding.

Thoughts before testing: I love each of the notes listed here, so I'm expecting a big win with Gypsy. Wet: Oh my god, this is RANK on my skin. It smells like pure unadulterated body odor. Dry down: Still pure nastiness. I couldn't do a thorough testing because the stench was overwhelming and had to be washed off. Verdict: Sales!

Thoughts before testing: I love all of the notes listed here except for orris, which I'm not sure what it is. Wet: Big beautiful gardenia and just a hint of lavender. Lovely! Dry down: Wait, where did my florals go? And where is this soap coming from?! Dry: Blast. Soap. Verdict: Sales!

Thoughts before testing; I was pretty sure that this was going to smell god-awful on my skin. Milk, fig, and myrrh? It sounded like a recipe for disaster! Wet: Fig doesn't usually work on my skin, but this is surprisingly wonderful! The fig here isn't too dirty, just slightly earthy in the best way, and the milk is sweet rather than sour. No hint of myrrh, and I'm quite surprised at how much I like this. Dry down: This is actually really nice! It hasn't changed except is maybe just a little deeper. Dry: The myrrh finally makes an appearance and rounds the scent out into full bodied amazingness. Final thoughts: I'm so surprised at how much I love this! Verdict: I'll be keeping an eye on the sales page for more of this.

Thoughts before testing: I have no clue as to what this will smell like, so either way it'll be a surprise! Wet: This is strongly soapy on my skin. Dry down: Soapy still, but the herbs are coming out to play. Dry: This would make a very nice hand soap, but it's not working on my skin. Verdict: Sales!

Thoughts before testing: I've recently discovered a love of beeswax, so I'm quite excited to try this. Wet: Oh wow. I can't even begin to pick notes out because this is so beautifully blended. Dry down: It's going just a touch powdery, but still quite beautiful. Dry: This is a beautiful blend. Final thoughts: I was all prepared to proclaim victory and start scouring the web for more of this when my mother walked by and said "What is that?! You smell just like your grandmother!" in horror. And upon further sniffing, I do indeed. My grandmother was not an easy woman to get along with, and we had a particularly rocky relationship. Sadly, this association has ruined GV for me Verdict: Beautiful, but off to the sales!

I am so in love with this oil it's not even funny. I workout in the very early morning (5-6 am), and I use this in the shower at the gym as a moisturizer. The smell on my skin is divine (the perfect vanilla as far as I'm concerned) and it perfumes the locker room beautifully. I'm rapidly going through my bottle and will be ordering at least 2 more. Pure love!

Thoughts before testing: I'm beginning to think that red musk is what gives me stabbing head pains, so I'm approaching Scherezade with caution. Wet: Oh yeah. It's the red musk. Throbbing pain commences in 3....2.....1! I couldn't even make it through the dry down stage because I had to wash this off.

Thoughts before testing: I'm really hoping this works, because so far I'm 0 for 2 after having tried Glittering Apple and Golden Apple. Wet: Very strong, very sweet strawberry with only the faintest hint of apple. It's so sweet that it's making me a little nauseous. Dry down: The strawberry morphs into (and I swear I'm not making this up) Pez candies. What?! Dry: Pure essence of Pez. Final thoughts: I must have the weirdest skin chemistry ever. Verdict: Off to the swaps!

Thoughts before testing: I was super excited to try this. Like bouncing up and down excited. Wet: STRONG champaca. It drowns everything else out, and it turns out I'm not crazy about champaca. Dry down: The champaca disappears and leaves behind a beautiful hibiscus and amber scent. This is lovely, even if it's weird that there's no apple. Dry: Pure soap. Damnations! Final thoughts: I really, really wanted this one to work. Verdict: Off to the swaps!

Thoughts before testing: Out of all the Weenies, I was most excited to try the apples. I had high hopes for this one, as I love nearly all the notes listed. Wet: Fresh, juicy, delicious apple with only a tiny hint of vanilla. This is making my mouth water! Dry down: The apple disappears rather quickly, leaving behind a really nice, full bodied vanilla. Dry: The vanilla also does a major disappearing act, leaving me with no scent at all. Final thoughts: This was pretty, but even if it had stuck around longer, I don't know that this would be a keeper for me. Verdict: To the swaps!

Thoughts before testing: I've seen Morocco being raved about in various places here on the forum, and the notes sound pretty awesome, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to try this! Wet: Oh. My. GOD. Sandalwood and carnation with just the barest breath of musk. This smells absolutely amazing. Dry down: The carnation and spices are coming to the forefront and mingling with the sandalwood. I can't get over how great this smells. Dry: This stays true to the dry down stage, with the addition of a hint of vanilla. I am in total and complete love. Final thoughts: I spent this morning working on graduate school applications and kept having to take breaks to smell my arm. It's been a full 5 hours, and the scent hasn't faded at all. Verdict: Morocco has catapulted to my top five, and I will be ordering a bottle of this in my next lab order.

Thoughts before testing: I had ordered in my obsessive quest for clove scents before I realized that I amp patchouli to high heaven. So when I finally received this imp, I was extremely wary. Wet: Oh dear lord. Nothing but patchouli. Dry down: The patchouli is screaming from my arm, but I can smell just the tiniest hint of clove through the din. Dry: Still just patchouli. Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I have no expectations for this scent at all, which can be a good thing! So we'll see what happens. Wet: Strong, crisp tea and freshly ground pepper. This is interesting. Dry down: Still tea and pepper, with just a hint of honey. Dry: The honey comes out to play a little more and is nicely augmented by the tea and just a little bit of ginger. Final thoughts: I think that this is a scent that could benefit with a little aging, so we'll try that. I'm not crazy about this fresh, but I'll revisit White Rabbit in a few months and see. December testing: WR has definitely benefitted from aging. The scent is much, much more smooth, and after wearing several times, this has shot up to the top of my bottle list. Verdict: Hunting for a bottle now.

Thoughts before testing: I'm in a very spicy scent mood today, and I'm really hoping that Bengal will work for me! Wet: Obnoxiously strong cinnamon and ginger. Dry down: This smells exactly like those huge Fireball candies. No honey, no spice, just Fireball candy. Dry: Sixty minutes after application, the scent has faded to almost nothing. If I put my nose right above my skin, I can smell honey faintly, but that's it. Final thoughts: I'm going to let this age a little in the hopes that it'll work better. December testing: After a little aging, this is much, much better. It's a lot less like Fireball candies and a lot more awesome spicy perfume. Unfortunately, it disappears fast. Verdict: After a little aging, I love this scent but not it's lack of staying power. I'll use my imp but this isn't a bottle purchase.

Thoughts before testing: I'm not sure what Kashmir musk smells like, but I really enjoy the rest of the notes here, so this should be fun! Wet: Creamy orchid and only a slight tinge of rose. This is lovely. Dry down: This turned a little plasticky and musty smelling, which I'm assuming is from the cream. I've never had a BPAL scent with cream turn to plastic on me, so I'm a little worried. Dry: The plastic note disappears, leaving just beautiful orchid and cream. Final thoughts: I'll have to retest to see exactly how long the plastic stage lasts, but it wasn't too unbearable. Verdict: This one's a keeper, but I'll be content with my imp I think. No need to track down a bottle. ETA that after realizing that the plastic stage was a hormonal issue and not a component issue, I burned through my decant in a matter of weeks and upgraded to a big bottle

Thoughts before testing: I've never tried a blend with sake and green tea before, but I like the rest of the notes. It should be interesting! Wet: Strong red currant and only the barest breath of tea. Dry down: Still strong red currant, but the cherry blossoms are starting to peek through. Dry: The cherry and plum blossoms have made an appearance, but the red currant is still the dominant note. Final thoughts: I enjoy the currant note in Fairy Wine, but not as much here. It's a little too much and too overpowering for the other notes here. Verdict: Off to the sales box!

Thoughts before testing: I'm beginning to think that patchouli may be a note of death on my skin, so I don't think that this will work on me, but we'll see. Wet: Oof. Dirty patchouli. That's all I get from this. Dry down: Still dirty patchouli. Dry: Dirty patchouli. Thoughts: Argh! Not only is the patchouli here the dirty kind, but it lasted for HOURS on my skin. Even three scrubbing sessions couldn't entirely get the scent off my skin. Verdict: To the sales box with thee!

Thoughts before testing: I love each of the notes listed with the glaring exception of white musk, which invariably turns to the smell of baby wipes on my skin. I've yet to find a blend with white musk that doesn't, but I remain optimistic! Wet: Sweet heliotrope with a hint of peach. No white musk?! I'm really hoping the baby wipe note of doom stays hidden. Dry down: Ah, I spoke too soon. Hello, white musk. Thank you for drowning out the heliotrope and peach. It's cool, I didn't want to smell them anyway. Sheesh. Dry: Baby wipes. Damnations! Final thoughts: I think that this may be my last trial with white musk, because it's just too disappointing. Verdict: Off to the sales/swaps/gift box