malanna

LUGHNASADH The first of the year's Harvest Festivals. Lughnasadh represents a rest from toil and a time of reflection. Fertility magick is practised, as is agricultural magick used to ensure a bountiful Autumn harvest. The holy day is named after the Celtic deity Lugh, God of Skill in All Things, Patron of the Arts and Sciences. Though he and Rosmerta, his consort and the Goddess of Nature, are venerated at this time, the holy day was created out of respect for his foster mother Tailtiu, one of the Earth-Goddesses. Though she was a Lady of the Fir Bolg, she was a good, loving and honorable being, and cared for Lugh well. After her people were defeated by the Tuatha Dé Danann she was forced to clear a vast forest for the purpose of planting grain, and sadly, she perished from exhaustion in the process. The Hill of Tailte in Ireland was named in her honor, and legend states it was there that the first festival of Lughnasadh took place. To some outside of the Celtic mythos, this holy day also marks the annual death of the Sun God or the God of the Grain. The holiday is celebrated with contests of skill and cunning, feasting, oath-making, and agricultural competitions. It's bad that I'm the first one to review this, since I'm quite bad at identifying notes, but here goes.... In the bottle: Ooh, I love this. I think I've smelled this before, but I can't think of what it smells like (argh!). There's definitely what I think is cherry. A close approximation would be: a cross between a non-fizzy cherry cola and sweet cough syrup (but not bad-tasting), with a tiny undercurrent of Love Me (the cinnamon I'm picking up). On: As it's drying, I think of Love Me (cinnamon-y), yet with a little bit of a ritualistic feeling to it. Over time, the cinnamon gets more pronounced, but something's pulling it back. It morphs even more--oh, this smells like another BPAL scent I've tried. What is it?! I did a search of the reviews that I've done and holy mother of god, it's Alice! No, really, it is Alice. There's that cinnamon kick, with the floral (carnation), yet, something is coating those two, which is what milk did for Alice. It's Alice, but a bit older and less prone to throwing tantrums. It doesn't give me the headache that Alice did. I'm thinking that's because there's less cinnamon and that floral (I'm not going to try to guess its identity). Between the ritualistic stage and the Alice stage is a scent that is still a bit comforting (only a bit for me, as I don't like cinnamon). If I liked cinnamon, I could fall asleep to the in-between scent. I don't think I like this on my skin (ooh, in my hair!), but I'll be trying this again later. Edit: Take all I say with a grain of salt. I was in a rush to review this, and it takes me ages to decide that I really like or dislike a scent. Edit 2: Holy crappin hell. I put this in my hair two hours ago and this is so much like Alice, I'm starting to think this was mislabeled.... *waits for others' reviews*

Sunny floral! Seriously, a golden yellow floral. I would say daffodils, because that's what everyone else is saying, and because it's an appropriately yellow. however, I don't know what a daffodil smells like. This is such a happy scent! It makes me think of Clinique Happy, because this is what Happy (of the non-exuberant, quietly, yet brightly, glowing sort) should smell like.

The Haunted Palace smells so familiar. It smells like a BPAL scent I've tried before, one I've enjoyed, but not enough to hold onto. It's not light, but it has an otherworldly quality to it. The amber is apparent, as is a dark citrus that's light in strength. The sweetness comes from the gardenia, and the red musk makes it vaguely exotic. This is so hard to describe; the notes meld so perfectly. And amazingly enough, I can tolerate, and even enjoy, the red rose! I enjoy it for the exquisite smell, but I don't feel as though I'd wear it very often.

Yummy, yummy! This smells like tolerable spiciness (I would say it's like cinnamon, but cinnamon scents go wonky on me, and this is soooo nice), Gluttony (rum--but the rum note in Underbed and Cassia don't smell like rum to me, but browned something), and a bit of cake. Quite lovely. I don't think it's something I would wear regularly, but it's certainly an exquisite scent.

Aquatic! It really does smell like a pool of tears--well, metaphorically. It's a sweet, slightly floral aquatic, and if you think about it, little girls' tears are probably sweet (amidst the slight saltiness of tears) and vaguely floral, an innocent floral.

From the get go, Casanova is strongly lavender. Then it calms down and the lemon emerges. I'm not sure about the notes, besides the lavender and the dash of lemon. All I can say is that it smells like a refined man's cologne--something you might come across at a department store counter, but much more intriguing.

I've never sniffed anything like this before. It basically smells like an aquatic cacophany, sort of like the careless, yet somehow deliberate, mess after you've left a mischievous child alone in a room stocked with crayons. It almost has a soapy/powdery feel to it, although that's not quite it. There's definitely mint, lime, a bit of apple, and vodka here. The mint stands out and makes this a bit cool. It fades, becoming less aquatic, yet not fruitier. It just somehow changes to becoming less watery. The Mock Turtle's Lessons were so new to me at first that I had thought it would be a new love. Once I've gotten used to it, I still like it, but can see it's not going to be a Great Love.

Eos is really nice. It's mostly honeysuckle, with the jasmine coming out a short while later. Jasmine, to put it nicely, does not tickle my nose. However, in Eos, there's only a slight whiff of jasmine, and it only enhances the sweet, glow-y feel of Eos. It dries down to a very sweet, yellow floral. It's quite nice, but still not my style.

From what I'd heard about Bengal being spicy, I was expecting it tobe a spice-a-palooza. It is sort of spicy in the beginning, with hints of skin musk/honey, but then it becomes super honey. It's really viscously sweet; it basically smells like honey poured on skin. The spices are definitely there, but they're not so apparent. Bengal is so sickeningly sweet, they don't seem like spices. They're muted by the honey. It's really sweet. I sort of like it, but I think it's too sweet to wear as a perfume (for me).

I thought I'd hate this, but I actually sort of liked it. I kept thinking it smelled like ginger, not because it smelled like ginger the note, but just because it had a warm, spicy glow I associate with ginger. Hetairae's mostly honey and ylang ylang, with a bit of clove for a subtle (very subtle) spice. It smells like the body heat of someone who's been out in the sun at an Arabian market--that is, if body odor was a pleasant smell.

Rose and jasmine, with the jasmine making the rose a dark rose. Wicked is a very heady, heavy scent. I can't stand it. Jasmine and I have a hate/hate relationship. Same for rose. Still, I appreciate the frimp very much!

This does sort of smell like Anne Bonny in that it smells like the wood planks of some sort of warm building (Anne Bonny smelled like the wood in a sauna). This is basically just sandalwood and a lot of cedar to me. My nose isn't so sophisticated (and patient) as to pick up the various incense notes. A fairly tolerably scent, as far as wood scents go, which I'm not a fan of.

Beaver Moon proves to me yet again that while I love food, I'm not so big on scents that smell like food. Beaver Moon smells like cheesecake, but not so exciting. A rather flat cheesecake (not literally, but in note). On me, it doesn't smell like a rich cheesecake. It smells generically foody (not rich buttercream) with a hint of cheesecake. It's like a one note wonder. I had hoped that at the least, I would be overwhelmed by the richness of the Beaver, because at least I could wear it to stem off cravings for sweets, but alas, the Beaver must go off. I'm really surprised by how popular the Beaver has been, since BPAL has a lot more scents that are more complex and exciting. However, perhaps on other skin chemistries, the Beaver is a lot more nuanced. ETA: It isn't strong nor does it last very long.

This smells just like Desdemona, after the initial strongly bitter stage! Just like it! It's watery, green, and white. It's a clean floral with a bit of bite. It makes me think of that painting with the woman in white, floating in her pyre (or whatnot). I think there's a BPAL scent based on that painting. Well, this smells like the style of painting (plus the water), sort of prettily vague; the figures aren't clearly outlined, yet they are clear (not sure if this is making sense). Sweet Pea is softly determined. Desdemona, I say! I really should try to get a hold of Desdemona so I can see if it's just like Sweet Pea.

I don't think I've been in an apple orchard, at least knowingly, so this might be a bit difficult to review. Upon application, this smells cold, clear air, but with an edge to it breathing, almost like a frosty mint (not menthol, though). It's very interesting, although I'm not particularly fond of this stage. After a while, it gets slightly sweet and it smells green, not green herbal, but green in a clean way. Most of the time, when I describe a scent as being clean, I'm thinking of laundry or starched linens, but this is clean in an outdoors-y way. It's the same type of clean as Amsterdam sans tulips. It's like being seated by a brook, with the soft, bright green grass poking between your toes and a cool breeze lightly kissing your hair and blowing specks of pollen onto your eyelashes. It's the sort of clean that you breathe in at a glade far away from the city, feeling as though every breathe of the unpolluted air will cleanse and revitalize you. When Apple Blossom settles into the skin, it doesn't smell like air, but smells vaguely of apples, but a bit like what I remember BBW Freesia to be (although this might be because I just wrote a review for the Freesia SN). It smells like a white floral soap. A very refined white floral soap. It's the sort of floral that isn't crisp (like rose) or heady (like jasmine), but instead, wafts. I'm not sure if I like the second stage (the clean stage) or the last (floral) stage more, but I think the floral stage would be amazing to smell in nature. I really have to visit an apple orchard so I can see if this smells like apple blossoms. It's a nice scent, but I've decided to send my single notes to better homes. Knowing how valuable my single note impies are means I've never really used them, so I've decided to let them go to better homes. It's a bit weird, but it bothers me more to keep them around and never use them, with them weighing on my conscience, than to not have them. However, if this were still sold, I'd use this for non-perfume purposes, which is something I've never really considered with any perfume. I'd buy lots in order to dump into my detergent and to scent the home (which is really saying a lot, considering how I've really only bought two big bottles of catalog scents and, even then, ended up deciding that was still too much for me to use).

Reviewing this before I send off my imp to a better home. Like everyone else, my idea of Freesia came from BBW. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how, initially, it didn't smell like BBW's Freesia. There's a bit of a tropical gummy bears impression, like everyone else said, but really, it smelled like tropical apples, juicy, happy apples (if there are such a thing) that are joyously set on a background of the tropics. However, as it dries, it smells a bit like the BBW Freesia, because of a slightly plastic or artificial aura to it, but it's airier. After a few hours, the plastic note is gone, it smells vaguely like BBW, but not, because the BBW Freesia is marked by the presence of artificiality. It's very light and airy and slightly sweet. In summary, it smells awesome, like tropical apples, then settles down to an airy, light sweet version of BBW (it should be the other way around, but the BBW is the only point of reference I have).

I'm not big on rose; any scent with a hint of rose is automatically eliminated as a scent I could like. Therefore, I expected tuberose, since it seems to be related to rose, to be a scent that, while I don't actively dislike, I definitely don't like either. I was pleasantly surprised to find that tuberose, unlike rose, is soft around the edges, and, like grrrlennyl said, almost candy-like. It's ethereal and light, pink and sweet. I suppose I can see how this is related to rose, but it's about as related to rose as it is related to plumeria, or a tropical scent that wafts a great deal. Tuberose isn't a regal note like rose is, but instead, is inviting; tuberose is a well-mannered young woman from the 1920s who easily invites confidences.

This smells a bit like the wet leaves part of Samhain, except that there's smoke on top, so perhaps it smells like burning leaves. It's boozetastic and slightly sweet. It's mostly sweet smoke (from the burning of the leaves) with an undercurrent of buttered rum. It's a nice scent, but not all that exciting for me.

When I first sniff this, it smells so sickly sweet. Despite that, it doesn't smell like candy, but medicine, because there's a huge oomph of artificiality that you can pick up distinctly from cough syrups. I would say it's mostly honeycomb, strawberry, and sugared pear (emphasis on the sugared part) at this stage. I wait for it to mellow out and lose that artificial note, which takes a few hours. Finally, it grows into my skin, and I can pick up the vanilla bean; there's less honeycomb, and the sweet pea is there to mellow it out and give it a light, wafty sort of feel. It's still sweet, but not so dense, so it's like a pink cloud. I expected to love this scent (vanilla bean? sugared pear?), but it's too sweet and pink for me, even with the more mellow drydown. I'm reading the other reviews, and reading how everyone got giggly is now making me want to giggle. hehe.

Reviewing this before I send it off to a better home. I always thought it would smell like the tropical Calgon spritzes: heady, creamy, tropical floral. Instead, Pikaki is a light, clean, white floral that's slightly sweet. The three main words I would use to describe it would have to be tropical, sweet, and light. It gets slightly creamy after a while, but still maintaining the clean impression. It would make a glorious detergent, since it's so clean and sweet, with the faint tropical undertones.

At first, this smells like booze and a dry wood, almost like pencil shavings combined with gerbil chips. After an hour or so, it finally settles down into something nice. It's not quite Snake Oil, but it has a similar sultry feel. Instead of incense, it smells like sweet, red musk. It has a sugared Middle Eastern sexiness to it.

Snow angel smells like a fizzy lemon drink: ginger ale, lemons, and sugar. It smells less fizzy with time, but the soda impression remains. A pleasant scent, but not all that remarkable for me.

Catherine smells like both sunblock and cleaner. It's heavy on the rosemary, but the rose slowly comes out and it smells vaguely soapy and sort of like Come to Me. The orange blossom emerges, and it just ends up smelling like a lightly scented rose soap.

This was kind of nice. A bit of incense wafting about, backed by magnolias. However, when I was sniffing it, I felt as though it smelled like some BPAL perfume. I couldn't put my nose to it...until I realized it smelled like a musky Gingerbread Poppet! At least, that was the closest thing I could think of at the moment. A nice scent, but not for me.

Fruit Moon was tropical punch the other times I tried it, but on my final test, before sending it off to a new home, it got rather damp, like soggy fruit. Musky fruit with some guava wandering about. Ah, well. It's a good thing it turned out so badly; otherwise I wouldn't have to miss it.