PumpkinGuts

Fascinum, dry on my skin, is a dead ringer for Sandstone soap.

I don't wanna say what this reminds me of while it's wet. Let's just say it lives up to its inspiration. After letting it sit for a while, it ends up smelling a lot like LUSH's Sandstone soap. Pretty spot-on, actually. Zingy litsea cubeba and spicy saffron are the dominant notes. No pencils here! The wearlength is rather short.

Oh, definitely. O is super-strong, sticky honey and amber. As it dries, the amber comes out more. Someone described it as "sex in a beehive", and that's pretty much what it is. Don't worry, this is so full of honey that I'm unable to detect any of the vanilla.

I haven't tried Bliss or Gluttony, but O has a very strong throw (for me, comparable to Snake Oil) and is one of the longest lasting scents I've tried. I don't smell any chocolate in O, however.

This one is so worth the drydown. It starts off deep, rooty, and cedary-- dark green plants and wood chips. Then... goodbye, wood chips, helloooo, sexy man smell! It turns into sandalwood and musk, and a trickle of aftershave. You can bet I'll be slathering this on my boyfriend (whether he likes it or not). Poison Ivy would totally smell like this; I'm sure with all the men she seduces she gets a little bit of that aftershave on her, too.

Wet: Grape cough medicine Dry: Powdered grape candy à la Fun Dip (or Baby Bottle Pops) A lot more bearable in the dry stage, but still too sweet for me. It reminds me of something a prepubescent girl would wear, or how kids smell when they eat too much candy and have a sticky ring of it around their mouths.

Hmm... I, too, am getting a sort of dusty chocolate. It's cake, without a doubt, just not the vanilla buttercream or "Funfetti" that I was expecting. After a few hours of wear, a honey note emerges on my skin. What's this? O with chocolate? I approve. I'm kind of hoping once it ages it will start to smell like Funfetti cake, though.

Man, would I love to smell the pumpkin. Ya know what this smells like? Sugar Plum Fairy. Only it's less bright and fruity. It's the tiare. I don't know if I'm sensitive to that note or what, but it's very heavy on the flowers. Pumpkin Princess is pretty much a tiare single-note on me until three or four hours later when it dries down to the vanilla fluff and meringue. It's lovely, but it smells more like Easter than Halloween. I'll have to let it age and see what it does... pumpkin, please!

Mother Ginger is both foodie and fizzy, like ginger snaps and marshmallow fluff saturated in ginger ale. My stomach just grumbled typing that. Nothing buttery about this one! Pure deliciousness.

Hello, flaky pastry crust. You're just what I was hoping for. Only the cherries are present (no almond or apricot) and they're nice, but just a teensy bit on the soapy side. That's not enough to deter me because, dude, I smell like a pie.

Sticky glaze is right! Beaver Moon 2010 is a super-sweet oil, there is nothing creamy about it. I wish I could smell the cheesecake component, but it's yummy regardless. It's also one of the longer lasting oils I've tried, I can still smell it on myself when I hit the sheets. This version is much more sugary than its previous incarnations.

Hmm, this was a lot sweeter than I expected. It reminded me a lot of Halfling. Wet, it's what I imagine eating sugared porridge in a barn would smell like. I get hay, sweet oats, and a little spice. It becomes spicier as it dries. A very appropriate scent for the late summer into early fall.

What a lusty smell. I get all sticky-sweet honey and powdery amber from this and none of the vanilla (which is fine, since I have a lot of vanilla smellies). My liking for O has waned over the years, not because it smells bad, but that it's just not very "me". I always get a ton of compliments whenever I wear it. Give it a try if you want to smell like a sex kitten. Throw: Jeepers! [5/5] Longevity: Impressive [5/5] Rating: Good, but doesn't wow me [3.5/5]

Carnal is orange sherbet sandwiched between two spice cookies. It's one of my top GC blends and I always become hungry when I wear it. This one seems most appropriate for winter and fall. Throw: Medium-strong [3.5/5] Longevity: Average [3/5] Rating: D for Delicious [5/5] EDIT 3/2020: Unfortunately does not age well. There's a soapy undertone now, but it had a good life!

[2010 version] Huesos De Santo broke my heart. In the bottle it smells like an orange creamsicle-flavored cake. On my skin, overbearing anise, rotting funeral flowers, and orange cake. Sob. Throw: Strong [4/5] Longevity: Unknown [i had to wash it off...] Rating: Yucktopia [1/5]

To my nose, Pomona is a tangier Hesperides. It primarily smells of apple, rolled in nuts, with a kiss of tart pomegranate. I get none of the chemical "acetone" smell. I see myself wearing this all throughout autumn and feel lucky to have come across a bottle. Throw: Medium [3.5/5] Longevity: Average [3/5] Rating: Lovely [4.5/5]

A circular pastry glazed with pink sugar that symbolizes the sweetness of life and the certainty of death. I'm in love! Golletes is the ultimate in foodie scents. It smells like fresh donuts with fluffy clouds of pink buttercream frosting, sprinkled with Crunch Berries. Of all the BPAL I've sniffed, this is the bottle I'd most want to drink (if it were edible.) Throw: Whoa! [5/5] Longevity: Godly [5/5] Rating: I'm planning the wedding [5/5]

I'm not quite sure how I feel about Boo. The vanilla is sweet and delicious, but smells a little off when it's on my skin. Either the cream note goes wonky or I just don't get along with the cotton. I want to love it, but I'm on the fence for now. Throw: Medium-strong [4/5] Longevity: Average [3/5] Rating: So-so [3/5]

This is a yummy one, but extremely strong. I feel like I need to apply it at least an hour before I leave the house to avoid having everyone within a ten mile radius getting a whiff of my delicious, spiced cran-apple stench. That's pretty much what it smells like. It's heavier on the cranberry than the apple, and man, does it pack a powerful punch. I advise against using it in an oil burner. Tart, spiced cider. Throw: Holy @#$! [10/5] Longevity: Godly [5/5] Rating: Num [4/5]

I must be the only foodie in the world who can't stand Eat Me. I included an imp of this in my first ever order, figuring that because currants are good and cake is great, Eat Me must be the Holy Grail of food scents. Not so... Way back when I first tried it, I could smell the tart currants and the vanilla, but there was something not quite right lying beneath the cakey-ness. It instantly made me nauseous. Now that I'm a more experienced BPALer, I can put my finger on what it is: SNAKE OIL! Heavy spice/incense notes are not something I want in a cake blend. Alas. Throw: Strong [5/5] Longevity: Great [4.5/5] Rating: Stomach-churning [1.5/5]

When I first opened my fresh-from-the-lab bottle, I was caught off guard by the Carmex-like smell (which I assume was the hemlock). I guess it's one of those oils that needs a little time to calm down because the astringent scent was totally gone a few weeks later. Now that it's aged a bit, I get mostly the marshmallow, lemon, and a smidgen of blueberry. To my dismay, no pie crust is present. The marshmallow smells a lot like coconut on my skin. I like it, but it's not really what I was going for. I'm jealous of those of you who are getting whiffs of lemon curd and flaky crust! Throw: Medium-strong Longevity: Great (2-3 hours) My Rating: Not bad! 3.5/5

Dude... I'm all over foodie smells, too. My top recommendation is Golletes. It was available only last fall but I've seen it for sale on the BPAL Marketplace recently. It's described as a circular pink pastry and it smells just like that, with a touch of Crunch Berries. Hands down, my favorite foodie. You'd probably love any of the Beaver Moon scents. It's a little different every year it's released, but it always stays in cheesecake territory. As for GC blends, I suggest: Dana O'Shee (marzipan), Jack (spicy pumpkin), Jailbait (sweet bubblegum), Bread-and-Butter-Fly (buttered bread with sugar), and the ultra-sweet Cockaigne. Also, a forum-only perfume called Sprinklecake was just released. It sounds like the ultimate in foodie heaven-- "Rainbow sprinkles baked into rich vanilla cake with thick, creamy frosting topped with glittery candy flakes." I'm drooling just thinking about it.