Alethia

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

Thoughts before testing: I love fig, but the coconut and almond have me worried. Wet: Strong almond milk (but not the type of almond that is strongly cherry), very creamy and pretty with a lovely sandalwood base. This is surprisingly nice. Dry down: The scent hasn't changed, but it smells exactly like a lotion my mother used to use after we had been at the beach. Dry: Still creamy almond and sandalwood. I get no coconut, fig, or fig leaf. Final thoughts: This is pretty, but I'm missing the other notes, and I don't see myself reaching for it often if at all. Verdict: Nice, but not for me.

Thoughts before testing: I love each of these notes, and am really hoping for a win from this blend. The last 6 oils I've tried have been complete and utter FAIL on my skin, so here's hoping! Wet: All I get at this stage is clean, fresh florals. It's quite pretty, but not terribly distinctive or unique. Dry down: The honey and incenses are starting to deepen the scent, and it goes from a nothing special floral perfume to a distinctive, deep floral. I'm really liking this, actually. Dry: Alas! Within an hour, Les Bijoux is gone from my skin. Not even a hint remains. Damn. Final thoughts: I really loved the dry down stage, the meh wet stage and the fact that the scent is gone rather quickly leave me wanting more. Verdict: This one will most likely go off to the swaps/sales/gift box.

A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon. Thoughts before testing: The description of this scent sounds amazing and right up my alley, if a little sweet. I love each of the notes listed here, so I'm cautiously hopeful for this blend. Wet: Pure blast of peach. It's a beautiful ripe peach, just lovely. Dry down: The sweet pea comes out to play, which is great because sweet pea is one of my favorite florals. Dry: It turns into florally soap once it's all the way dry, which is super disappointing. Final thoughts: I think I'll retest this one just to make sure. Verdict: Pending! ETA description.

Thoughts before testing: I love most of the notes listed here except for ambergris (which turns super powdery on my skin) and orris root (which I have no idea what it even is). Wet: Extreme, pure, unadulterated powder. Oh ambergris, why do you hate me so? Dry down: All powder, all the time. Dry: And powder closes the act out. Final thoughts: Ambergris has made it onto my "Notes of DOOOOOOOOOM" list officially. Verdict: Lyonesse is not for me. After two years and a hormonal change, I've got to rewrite my review of Lyonesse. Ambergris now works beautifully on my skin instead of turning to pure powder and Lyonesse is a thing of pure beauty. My bottle is fresh from the Lab and as such is slightly sharp. I think a little aging will do wonders for this, but it's getting plenty of love from me right now. It starts as a musky vanilla with that beautiful, slightly salty ambergris backbone and is lovely. It dries down to perfumey classic smelling musk with lovely hints of florals and ambergris and vanilla. Lyonesse is stunning.

Thoughts before testing: The description of this scent is so intriguing; thank you Witch! Wet: All I get is pure salt. Salt? What the heck? Dry down: Still salt with a little soap. How does florals, fruits, woods, and amber turn into salty soap? Dry: Salty soap Final thoughts: What the heck, skin? I've gotten soap from many a blend before, but never pure salt. So disappointing. Verdict: This is a no go for me.

Wholeheartedly seconding the mention of Crib Girls as my personal favorite honey blend. I've gone through close to half a bottle in a little over a month I also really, really love the honey in Josie. It's perfect for those days where I want a simple sweet scent.

Thoughts before testing: I am a little embarrassed to admit, but I wanted to try this because I no longer eat cake I follow a primal/low carb lifestyle, and cake is most definitely not low carb. So I was excited to at least smell like cake! I adore the currant note in Fairy WIne, so I'm hopeful Wet: Powder? I'm not getting any cake or currant. Weird. Dry down: Still powder. Not sure what's going on here! Dry: Baby powder. Thoughts after testing: This is maybe the most bizarre thing I've ever had a perfume do on my skin. Normally amber turns to pure powder on my skin as does ambergris, but neither of these are listed in Eat Me's notes. Maybe I have a bad imp? Verdict: I'll test once more, but I don't foresee myself keeping this one.

Thoughts before testing: I purchased this and Suck It at the same time. I had never tried a cherry/red fruit scent before, but having previously tested Suck It, I don't have high hopes for Bloody Mary. Wet: Nothing but sugared cream. No fruits, just cream. It's kind of nice, but not what I was expecting. Dry down: The artificial cherry note of DOOOOOOOM appears. Oh no. Dry: Nothing but artificial medicinal cherry on my skin. Thoughts after testing: Well, now I know to stay away from cherry blends! Verdict: Off to the sales page!

Thoughts before testing: I was super excited to try this one out. I love apples and cranberries, and love the smell of real cider. Wet: Bright fresh cranberry. Wow. Every year for Thanksgiving I make cranberry pear jelly squares, and this smells exactly like the first stage of making the jellies. Dry down: The other notes start to appear, and I go from smelling like delicious cranberry to a Yankee Candle I had last year. I don't know how I feel about this. Dry: Not much change from the dry down to completely dry. I still smell like a candle, and I don't think that this works as perfume on me. Thoughts after testing: This will make a lovely room scent, but I don't like it on my skin.

Thoughts before testing: I love the Lab's rose blends almost universally, but the amber in this has me a little apprehensive. Amber tends to go all powdery on my skin, so we'll see what happens. Wet: Strong and lovely rose. At this point, it could be a rose single note. Dry down: Still a rose single note, which smells lovely, but I'm missing the other notes. Dry: Ah. The amber came out to play and turned a beautiful rose note into nothing but powder. Damn. Verdict: I love the wet and dry down stages, but the powder in the final stage wrecks this one for me.

Thoughts before testing: I've been looking for a good pear scent since I joined the forums, and since I have a strong love of all things vanilla, I have high hopes for this one! Wet: Wow! This really does smell like pear ice cream, but not in an obnoxiously foody way. It's quite lovely. Dry down: I'm getting less ice cream, but the pear and vanilla are absolutely beautiful together. Dry: The pear fades away after about 2 hours and leaves behind a beautifully creamy and full bodied vanilla. Thoughts after testing: This stayed close to my skin, which I appreciate, and the staying power was pretty decent (around 6 hours). Verdict: Love this! I probably won't kill myself to find a bottle, but will be on the lookout for one.

Thoughts before testing: I love the smell of cherry, but have never tried an oil with that note. A lot of the previous reviewers mention cough drops/syrup, so I'm a little apprehensive. Wet: Ah. This is all cherry cough syrup on my skin. It's very sharp and medicinal smelling. Dry down: I smell like I rubbed cherry Robitussen on my skin. Dry: The medicinal smell finally faded after about 90 minutes, but it took the whole scent with it. Even with my nose pressed against my skin, I can't smell any hint of Suck It. Verdict: Off to the sales page!

Thoughts before testing: I was so excited to try this (thanks Witch!), but after the fiasco that was Glowing Vulva (aka High Pitched Screaming Teak of DOOOOOM) on my skin, I'm quite nervous about the teak note in this. Wet: Slightly powdery amber and teak. Oof. Dry down: Piercing teak. This does not bode well. Dry: The teak is beating every other note senseless. Damn. Thoughts: I tried this the week before my time of the month, and so hopefully my hormones are screwing with both this and Glowing Vulva. I'll retest in two weeks to see if that makes a difference. Verdict: to be continued!

Thoughts before testing: I am a huge rose fan (particularly the Lab's roses), and I love the rest of the notes listed as well. This should be pure win on my skin! Wet: Wow. Pure soapy rose. I've never gotten soapy rose from a BPAL scent before. Not even getting a hint of the other notes. Dry down: The rose is still quite soapy, but the honey is starting to peek out. I'll be honest: at this point, I am not a fan. Dry: Somehow, this morphed from Eve into Persephone on my skin. Not sure what happened, but I'm not particularly fond of Persephone, and I'm not fond of Eve either. Thoughts: I tested this during the week before my time of the month, which might be screwing up my skin chemistry? I'll test again in two weeks just to make sure, but I do not have high hopes for the resting. Verdict: After repeated testings with identical soapy outcomes, Eve has been sent to a better home.

Thoughts: I was frimped this by my most excellent Switch Witch! I cried a little when I saw it because GV is listed in my Excel wish list as "Hahaha. Yeah right." I've wanted to try this since I first found BPAL, but never expected to be able to. I have high hopes for this blend because I love all of the notes listed. Thank you my Witch! Wet: High pitched shrieking teak. WTF skin?! Where's the cream and lotus and amber?! Dry down: Still nothing but shrieking teak. Dry: I can't believe that all I'm getting from this blend is sharp teak. I'm so disappointed. Thoughts: It is the week before that time of month for me, so I won't give up hope for Glowing Vulva yet! I'll retest in about two weeks when my hormones have calmed down a little and hope that it'll make a difference. Final thoughts: It's been a full two weeks since my initial testing, and any hormonal issues should be done. Sadly, the second test is identical Verdict: Glowing Vulva is sadly not for me.

Thoughts before testing: I love sweet pea, vanilla, and white sandalwood. The two ambers worry me slightly because they tend to go super powdery on me, but we'll see. Wet: Sweet, slightly floral vanilla. I'm not getting a lot of sandalwood or amber, and the sweet pea is staying in the background for the most part. Dry down: The amber starts to come out to play, and it's not going powdery! Maybe the sandalwood is grounding it? I have no idea, but I'm really loving the lack of powder. The vanilla is still sweet and slightly floral. I wish the sweet pea would be a little more prominent. Dry: There's the sweet pea! This is really beautiful. The amber is still behaving, and I'm loving how this smells on my skin. Final thoughts: This scent lasted quite a while before any noticeable fading (around 6 hours on my skin, but YMMV), and kept close to my skin which I appreciate. Verdict: I will definitely be using up my imp, and will most likely be a bottle purchase.

Thoughts before testing: I have no idea what saffron smells like, but I do know that I (nearly) universally love vanilla and cream blends. I have high hopes for this one! Wet: Creamy, spicy root beer. Wow! This is pretty spectacular wet. Dry down: Still creamy and spicy but less root beer and more vanilla. So far, this is pure love. Dry: Creamy, spicy vanilla. Final thoughts: The scent sticks close to my skin, but I'm ok with that. It's also super long lasting. I tested it at 6 pm and woke up the next morning at 6 am and could still faintly smell it on my arm. Verdict: This is a hands down win for me, and I will be scouring the sales page for a bottle.

Thoughts before testing: After reading the reviews on this page, I absolutely had to try Hod v2. I'm in a bit of a vanilla and carnation obsessive phase at the moment, so i have high hopes for this. Wet: Creamy, smooth vanilla that's slightly spiced (the carnation?) Very nice. Dry down: The carnation becomes more apparent here and blends with the vanilla beautifully. I'm not picking up any sandalwood. Dry: Spicy carnation, creamy vanilla, and just the lightest hint of sandalwood. Verdict: This is really a stunning blend. It's perfect for this time of year for me and is instant love.

Thoughts before testing: I love cherry scents. They tend to stay true on my skin and not turn into nasty artificial cherry/cough syrup. But this has red musk, which only very rarely works on me, and star anise, which is one of my most hated scents. However, I'm trying really hard to skin test everything that comes my way to break out of my comfort zone, and since this was a Lab frimp, I had to try. I'd be willing to bet big money that the anise in this will wreck the whole scent. Wet: Pure cherry. Ooh! This is nice, but surely it can't stay that way forever, right? Dry down: Ah. Anise, we meet again. It drowns out everything else in this blend. Dry: Soap and anise is all I'm getting now. Thoughts: Well, it was worth a shot, right? Verdict: No thank you. Kabuki gets shuttled to my swaps/sales box.

Thoughts before testing: This was a frimp from the Lab, which is good because I never would have picked it otherwise. White musk turns to baby wipes on me, and dragon's blood tends to be stomach churningly sweet on my skin. Despite loving apples, apple blossoms, and hyacinth, I don't have high hopes for this. Wet: Nothing but apple and apple blossom. Well that's a nice surprise! I'm getting no white musk or dragon's blood resin. This is really soft and girly at this point. Dry down: The hyacinth starts to peek through, and is absolutely lovely. It's not a high pitched screaming floral blend and it's not powdery, which I really appreciate. Dry: Still no musk. The dragon's blood resin made a very small and subdued appearance finally, turning the blend a little sweeter than I like, but this doesn't automatically disqualify Ladon from staying in my collection. Final thoughts: I think that I really like this. I'm lucky in that my younger sister also loves BPAL, and I have a suspicion that she'll go bananas for this. If that happens, sister gets it Verdict: Probably not a bottle purchase, but between my sister and I, the imp will be well loved.