karihan

In bottle: Strong, slightly dry vanilla with a little edge from the saffron. On wet: Yes, this does call to mind both Antique Lace and Love's Philosophy, but the vanilla orchid gives it a white floral tinge that makes this it's own scent. The saffron gives this a bit of spark that keeps it from being cloying. Drydown: Still very vanilla, but now the orris comes out more. I'm pretty sure that's what's turning the scent a little powdery. Not drastically though. Conclusion: I'm still a little on the fence about Celeste. Very pretty scent overall, and I do like having the Antique Lace vanilla without the cotton/linen/fabric kind of note that always amps on me. I like the combination of sweetness and elegance with a subtle hint of sexiness, but that orris powder note at the end keeps me from falling for Celeste wholeheartedly. Of course she could be suffering from comparison with Kitty on my other wrist, over which I am , so I'll let her settle for a while and give her another try later.

Got a very full bottle in a swap. LOVE the label art. In bottle: Citrus with a hint of spice. Not what I was expecting, but I like it! Pretty sure there must be yuzu in here, because at my first sniff I said hello Aizen-Myoo! Since I love AM, this is a good thing. There might be some star fruit and other citrusy goodness in here as well. On wet: Yep, smells uber-grapefruity like yuzu does on me. I am not sure what the spice is, as one sniff says ginger and the next clove. Whatever it is, it blends very well with the citrus. Drydown: This gets a bit more complex as it dries, with just a hint of white floral making itself known. The fruit has mellowed and the spice has come forward just a bit, but not to the point where it overwhelms. Conclusion: Zingy, bright and pretty! I'm sure I'll reach for this one as the weather warms up.

Swapped for a bottle of this one, because the combination of notes sounds so intriguing. In bottle: WALLOP OF RED MUSK AND TOBACCO. Yowza. I may smell a hint of root beer in there, but it's very faint. On wet: Ah, there's the sweetness now. This is a lot of red musk with an equal blend of root beer and tobacco with it. Drydown: The tobacco fades just a little, and a hint of a funnel-cake-type sweetness comes out. Red musk and root beer are still present and accounted for. Tasty and sexy at the same time! Conclusion: The Elephantine Colossus is a very nice blend of sexy and foody. I'm not sure it's entirely me, but I'll keep it around for a bit and see what others have to say about it.

Alas, this one does go to furniture polish on me. Not unexpected as this often happens with strongly lemony scents and my skin, but I just had to take the chance. *lesigh* Off to the swaps!

Hmmm, I love all the notes, but haven't tried pom and chocolate in combination before. Let us see what happens! Making sure to give the bottle a good mixing first, of course... In bottle: Ooh. It's dark, darker than most scents I wear, but I can smell the tartness of the pom and the sweetness of the honey. Intriguing! On wet: Still dark, tart and sweet, but now the darkness is definitely dark chocolate. We're talking a 70% cacao Lindt chocolate, very intense. Drydown: Oh hello, there's the orange blossom coming out, lightening the scent ever so slightly. It's still a deep, dark scent, but the pom and the orange blossom give it a bit of playfulness that I like. Conclusion: Spanish Dance is a surprise winner! Though all the notes are foody, the end result on my skin is more intriguing and sexy than I-want-to-gnaw-my-arm edible. It comes across as gently enticing, a come-hither scent for those who don't want to be too obvious about it.

Oh my word, I love this one. Spicy and gingery like Gingerbread Poppet, but sweeter, lighter and overall more feminine. Doesn't morph hardly at all from the bottle to the drydown, and it lasts very nicely on my scent-eating skin. I'm so tempted to hunt down a backup bottle, I can't even tell you.

Awwww, drat, I so wanted this to work and it smells so great in the bottle! Alas, on my skin the pine, holly and bayberry apparently want to duke it out with the yummy foody notes instead of playing nicely. It's like I layered two different perfumes and together they acquired a rank edge that doesn't want to go away. Off to the swaps with this one, I'm afraid.

I got this one because I love all the notes, except for mate which I haven't tried yet. In bottle: Oh dear. The first whiff is weedy-smelling and a little musty. Mate, is that you? I do pick up some sweetness and carnation in the background though. On wet: OHHHHH, much better. Vanilla, sandalwood, tea, there you are! The minute it hit my skin, this opened up into something warm, sweet, lovely and much more promising! Drydown: This hasn't morphed so much as gotten more intricate. The sweet vanilla is now counterbalanced by the carnation's spice, the orange blossom's brightness and gentle herbal hints from the teas. The sandalwood deepens everything, just gorgeous. Conclusion: This one is my favorite out of all the Yules I've tried, and also the most thematically correct, as it really does go through a wonderful transformation from bottle to skin. As post-spirits Scrooge would say, glorious, glorious!

Alas, BPAL's melon notes seem to have issues with my skin. I get overripe honeydew and limp herbs, nothing else. Sorry, TTLB! I must find you another home.

Red wine notes can turn sour on me (ALAS MONTRESOR), so fingers crossed! In the bottle: WHAM, wine and almond combined. Very strong! On wet: Okay, a little spice is coming out, the marzipan is still very present, and the wine is behaving itself. So far so good. Drydown: Oh wow, this is yummy! The wine, almond and sugar are rounded out with spice and what smells to me like a little touch of citrus. I liiiiiike! Verdict: This is everything I wanted out of Gluhwein and didn't get, plus more besides. On my skin Gluhwein smelled too dark and spice-heavy, like mulled wine that has oversteeped. AGCY&N smells like warm, welcoming spiced wine with citrus and almond, an unabashedly festive cup of glogg! As someone above noted, this probably shouldn't be worn in a professional environment, but it will be great for fall and winter get-togethers or any time I want to smell warm, cozy and delicious.

In the bottle: Tangy-sweet fruit candies. Very reminiscent of Treat #1, which I love. On skin: A warm vanilla mellows the tangy fruit. It's just buttery enough to remind me of taffy, but not overwhelmingly so. Plenty of sugary sweetness, this one definitely lives up to its name. Drydown: I get a hint of mint, but thankfully my skin doesn't amp this into MINT, as has happened with other blends. It rounds out the sugary taffy and fruity candies nicely, keeping the scent just this side of tooth-achingly sweet. Other than that, this one doesn't morph much, but stays at yummy candy deliciousness. Verdict: OH YUM. This one is unabashedly foody, but more intricate than most foody blends I've tried. Kingdom of Sweets, you're a keeper! So glad I got a bottle.

Swapped for a bottle of this, as I do love me some strawberry, but Strawberry Moon '09 just went too green on me. In the bottle: Rich, ripe strawberry with a touch of sugar and a hint of something bitter in the background. Hmm. On: Yow. This is very much true strawberry, but I also smell a distinctly odd bitter bite that past experience tells me is the mimosa making itself known. Very true to the description, but do I really want to wear this? Drydown: Oh thank the infinite. After only a few minutes drying time, the mimosa settles down to a wispy hint of dark floral bitterness, which actually does a nice job of grounding the strawberry just enough to let this be perfume and not food. Conclusion: I think I've found my go-to strawberry BPAL! YAYZA!

I cannot believe I haven't reviewed Tiki Queen yet, because she is gorgeous on me! Lush tropical flowers with the lovely monoi gardenia taking center stage, made sweet and just a touch creamy with the vanilla and coconut, with the musk and neroli adding just enough depth and sophistication to keep this from becoming little-girly. Bright, fun and just a tiny bit sexy. Doesn't morph much, and it lasts well on my often scent-eating skin. I'm sooooo glad I finally laid hands on a full bottle of this!

Pardon me while I cry a little. Going by the list of notes, Sugarplum Fairy sounded like a dream scent for me, and indeed in the bottle it smelled like an enchanting blend of foody and floral. HOWEVER. On my skin something in this goes straight to soap, and not a pretty soap at that! Sorry, m'dear, but we are not meant to be. I must find you a home where you can be loved.

I love pomegranate, and I had such high hopes for Pom II. It smelled deliciously fruity and fresh in the bottle, with just a floral hint from the verbena. Alas, on my skin the white musk amped so severely that the other notes could barely get a look in. Off to the swaps!

Okay, I apparently amp the cubeb in this to insane levels. The honeys are there, but muted, and the overall effect is very lemon furniture polish. The cardamom isn't showing up to the party at all. I may try this again at some point, but this particular bottle is off to the swaps.

I approached the Apiary scents a little warily, because while I love honey scents, most of Rappacini's Garden smells far too herbal-medicinal on my skin for my tastes. I'm happy to report, however, that Hemlock Honey is a winner! Warm golden honey, lent a fresh green tang from the hemlock. Not medicinal, not overwhelming, and it stays pretty consistent from imp to drydown. This one goes on my bottle purchase list!

Marshmallow goo and pumpkin pulp! And yes – this, too, is vegan! I'm relieved to see that I'm not the only one getting spices out of this. I thought my nose had gone wonky. I was hoping for a melding of Marshmallow Poof and pumpkin, but the spiciness makes this smell a lot less like marshmallows and a lot more like pumpkin pie. A very tasty pumpkin pie, true, but not what I was hoping for. With all the pumpkin scents I already have, this one may be for the swaps.

Oh NOM. This one pretty much lives up to its name, both in the bottle and on my skin. Tart, fresh apple predominates, but there's a hefty dose of of sugar and vanilla cosying up to the apple, a very slight touch of butteriness contributing to the candy corn impression and a gentle hint of spice from the cinnamon. Definitely foody, definitely fall and very delicious. If you like foody scents, I recommend this one! For anyone looking for layering opportunities, I tried Ginger Skulls with Candy Corn Coated Candy Apple and had to restrain myself from gnawing on my arm. Fruity-spicy-sweet-fall YUM.

This one stays delightfully the same on my skin as it is in the bottle: Fresh, gently tart fruits warmed up with the zing of ginger and with just enough sugar to marry everything together. Bright and delicious, I'm so glad I got a bottle of this one! For anyone looking for layering opportunities, I tried Ginger Skulls with Candy Corn Coated Candy Apple and had to restrain myself from gnawing on my arm. Fruity-spicy-sweet-fall YUM.

Okay, I'm not sure what my nose is making out of this scent. In the bottle and wet, it's definite pumpkin. I am not getting the spices that others have mentioned, just pumpkin flesh with ... something behind it. Something almost buttery and kind of taffy-like, but not all that sweet, and definitely not candyfloss. As it dries down, the blackberry wafts up very slightly every so often and then fades again. Overall it's a far earthier scent than I expected. I'll have to think about this one.

In bottle: COFFEE. With spice and a little sugar, but this is espresso all right. On wet: Pretty much the same. Drydown: Okay, Pumpkin Latte, where's the pumpkin?! For that matter, where's the Latte? This is a delicious coffee scent, rich, spicy and gently sweet, but I get no pumpkin, no vanilla and only the barest hint of milk. It does last quite well. Conclusion: Alas, I think I'll have to let this one go. On my skin it reminds me strongly of Arcana's Caffeinated Death, and I already have a 10ml of that. Normally my skin loves BPAL's pumpkin, so I have no idea what happened to it in this blend.

In bottle: Pastry and sugar, as advertised, though worryingly strong on the butter. I can see where people are getting the popcorn jellybean smell. On wet: Well now, hello strawberry-cherry fruitiness! The sweet pastry is still there, but this has definitely gone PINK. Drydown: Pink sugar still with some fruity tartness, crusting warm pastry. YUM. The butter note behaves itself, thankfully. This one does last well on me; hours later it had faded only a little. Conclusion: A fun, lighthearted scent with decent throw and staying power. I'm glad I got a bottle!

I get some cake and tea in the bottle and during the wet stage, but dry this turns to tart strawberries, pretty florals and a touch of cream. Not what I expected, but still very nice and something I'd wear in a lighthearted, girly mood.

I have to say I'm on the fence about this one. I get the rum, I get the butterscotch, I get a little creaminess and a hint of cheesecake, but something in this is going faintly plastic on my skin. Doesn't morph on drydown. I think I'd best give this some time to settle down and try it again later. If what I get changes, I'll edit.