Thursdae

Peach is first to the party in a halo of white petals. Over time, carnation begins to shine through, supported by the musk and resin. Even so, I can still detect a thread of peach twining among the rich floral spice. It’s lovely. Something I’d choose for an evening on the town.

I keep reaching for this! It’s a scent that stays fresh and sweet on my wrists over hours of wear. Beautifully blended with a subtle ginger zing and a dapple of neroli. The citrus components work their uplifting magic like they always do. Super enjoyable and fun.

Love at first sniff! The opening notes somehow put me in mind of Polyhymnia, but when I checked the notes, seems like there's no commonality. Polyhymnia: orris root, white sage, rowan bark, red sandalwood, myrrh, rosemary, lemon balm, honeysuckle Pleasure Abundant: orange blossom, sweet amber, red honey, pink peppercorn, frankincense smoke Pleasure Abundant is staying fairly close to my skin, with a very pretty powder effect. The honey and amber sweeten it and the smoke gives it body. Happy to add this one to my favorites.

MOTHER GINGER From beneath her skirts emerge eight gingerbread children: gingerbread, French vanilla, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and marshmallow cream. Mother Ginger has an airy freshness and openness to it. I sometimes find the "baked goods" type of ginger scents a little heavy due to the butter, the batter, the other spices... This is unlike those, being smooth and light; in fact, an uplifting ginger. So good!

Really love this. To me, it comes across as a very well blended cologne. I can't pick out individual notes like lemon peel, just a smooth and vibrant, unisex fragrance. After the first flush fades, I feel like there's sandalwood or something woodsy, or maybe that's just my expectations of something in the fougère family.

A fresh spring rose that is brightening my room and making it feel like April flowers!

I adore this. I had my first bath with it tonight, and it filled the room with carnation and neroli, with an undercurrent of honey. Definitely floral with the freshness of neroli, and luckily the carnation stays fresh, too. (I always want to love carnation, but sometimes it doesn't love me back.) This is right up there with my favorite BPTP bath oils of all time.

Großvater Tanz didn't smell good in the bottle, but since I was at Will Call at knows perfume, I tried everything on anyway. A few minutes later, I caught a miraculous, familiar scent from Saturday mornings as a kid, getting up early to watch cartoons and eat sugar-coated cereal. My favorite cereal was sweet, with a fruity pop, and smoothed by rich milk. So there I am at Will Call, sniffing the side of my hand, completely intrigued by the suggestion of Froot Loops but not knowing which bottle had produced it. After accidentally enabling about five other people--"Smell this! Which one is it?!" "I don't know, but tell me when you find out!"--I figured it out. Totally awesome and I can't wait to get a bottle of this!

I rubbed a little Forest Reverie in the crook of my elbow, and before you could say "Sweet Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn," I felt my phantom testicles descending. If you want to smell like a boy in a really, really good way, here are the steps: 1. Apply The Forest Reverie 2. That's it! You're done!

To me, Tiki Princess is a kissin' cousin of Snow White.

Enraged Groundhog Musk was a keeper way-back-when because I liked the spicy, almost-cinnamon smell, but...tried it again yesterday, and my skin reacted with red welts. Cinnamon-type scents have done that before (Alone, I'm looking at you). I love how they smell but they're locket-only for me.

#356 Amber and chocolate.

Giant Squid surprised me. Without looking at the bottle, I poured a little on the back of my hand. Ooh! Lightly spiced apple juice...or apples richly cooking down to sauce... That's when I checked the label. Squid? No apple in the notes--no fruit, even? What up, nose? Whatever it's made of, whatever marine creature inspired it--this bottle is mine, all mine, so keep your tentacles to yourself.

The Wrestler Onogawa Kisaburo Blowing Smoke at a One-Eyed Monster really resonates with me. I love the woodsy/balsamic backdrop sweetened up by white honey and the ticklishness of the pepper. On me, its throw is light, a bit heady, but still very grounded.

Smoky, smoky, smoky...as though vetiver had been wrapped in a moist plantain leaf and suspended in sweet smoke to dry.

Helios is like being French-kissed under the orange glow of a setting sun. You want to let your eyes close but the light is too beautiful.

Well, now. Based on the notes listed, I wouldn't have gone for Fire for Thy Stepmother's Daughters. Don't know why I ordered it. I guess I liked the name. But...what exceptionally good luck! There's a hint of glowing woodfire, but there's more of fruit than flame in this blend. Perhaps others are right when they say lotus or dragonsblood, I don't know. I do know that it starts with sweetness like the nectar of flowers or ripe fruit, is lightly polished by something minty (perhaps spearmint), and just gets better the longer I wear it. Thank you for a wonderful new scent, Beth.

Wanda gives me the film noir vibe like nothing else. Mata Hari sounds like it's worth a try for you, although it didn't work on me.

Lulu started out brash, and I suspected rose, which can sometimes be soapy on me. In a short time (about ten minutes), the blend mellowed into sweet white florals gently brushed by bergamot's uplifting citrus fruit. Lulu caught me all unsuspecting and converted me!

Mason & Jenkin's Port Jelly is a delight. I love Lady MacBeth and now I have Port Jelly to love, too. One of my coworkers was sniffing the air, mumbling something about wine. I said nothing because I'm all mysterious and stuff. There's more than wine here. There's a depth to it. Maybe a hint of the oak cask the port was aged in, maybe a hint of the beeswax used to the seal the cask, the sugar to sweeten it, the fruit pectin to thicken it, and the charge of intoxicating liquor. Drunken .

Pepper starts out with sweet awesomeness, and gives me about half an hour to an hour's worth of buttery croissants with a sprinkle of those big, crunchy sugar crystals. It's very pretty indeed. The drydown is not as appealing to me. I guess it's the peppery part, which somehow turns away from the sweet side, alas.

I can't quite remember the name of the oil Season of Ghosts reminds me of. Was it the Haunted Palace? I loved that, and remember it as rich and lemony. Season of Ghosts is lemongrassy rather than lemony, and somehow that endows it with a foody aspect to my nose. Not a cookie/cake thing, more savory than baking. I can imagine wearing it in hot weather. That is, if I ever get over my obsession with Shanghai in hot weather. Because Shanghai rocks a summer afternoon like ocean foam splashing your feet as you walk along the beach, carrying a tall glass of tea with ice from top to bottom.

Pink Snowballs is mild and pleasant, as if Snow White had picked a bouquet of winter roses--their petals are furled from the cold so their fragrance can't lift into the air. I don't detect a snow/slush note. I would really love this in a beauty care product of any kind, from shampoo to skin cream.

Using the BPAL Review search engine, "Liz" didn't come up.

I'm not much of a fan of violet, so this imp of Violet Ray has waited untested for many months. Once on, I'd describe it as violet tea with a lump of sugar, served in a carved wooden cup. There's more purple to it--lilac, which I like a lot--and I don't detect any mint, which is probably just as well, because sometimes I find both violet and mint to be sharp. But this is much softer and sweeter than I was expecting. Wearable, a little nostalgic, with a restrained assertiveness. I just made that last part up.