Meg

In the bottle: Extremely strong almond, with jasmine blooming in the background. Wet: The almond starts fading as the blend hits the skin and dries, giving way to... Drydown: lush jasmine! But not only jasmine. There are many flowers in this blend, and probably lots that I don't know, but it smells like a soft white floral. I wonder if the almond from the beginning isn't actually cherry blossom, because I tend to mix almond and cherry scents. There's a depth to this floral, I think it comes from some kind of lily, which is delicious. I'd swear there's a tiny hint of lemon in there, too! mhh! Overall: A very soothing blend, soft and white, milky and motherly. It's calm and quiet, all white flowers - I'm lucky that florals generally work out well on me. It doesn't turn overly sweet, which is a good thing, and everything is so well blended that apart from the cherry-almond and the jasmine, I'm not sure what I'm smelling, but I like it. Another blend that perfectly represents its planet: it's the gentlest, most nurturing of the Celestials I've tried, which morphs from foody to flowery in a very capricious way. I sniff it before I go to sleep, it helps me feel relaxed.

In the bottle: Orange peel. Wet: Still a very warm candied orange peel scent, with hints of smokiness coming in. Drydown: It remains a slightly dirty, sticky orange and orange peel scent, with incense. It reminds me of cutting a hole in a mandarin and sticking a tealight candle inside - the smell is slightly waxy and smoky, but citrus dominates - there may be other citrus fruits in there, but it's mostly orange I can smell. I think that there might be a flower in there, deep down, but I have no idea what it might be. It's soft and white, possibly some kind of blossom. Overall: It's a comforting, uplifting scent. It makes me think of amber, that lovely orange-yellow colour and the slightly smoky quality some of them have. It's a quiet flame, with a certain presence, but not invasive. Quite grounding and energising, it helps me get courage when I'm feeling anxious about something. A lovely radiant blend, very representative of the Sun.

In the bottle: Dry pencil shavings, strong! It's... weirdly comforting. Wet: Still pencil shavings, with a slightly creamier texture. There's a slight turpentine resin scent to it. Ooh, could this be cedar? Drydown: Ooh yeah, I recognise the cedar note. A glorious, warm, homey, happy scent. I think that there are other woods in there, though, possibly oak, but I'm no expert. After a while it also develops a slightly smoky quality, like logs burning happily in a fire. It's slightly spicy too, but I can't place the spice - pepper, possibly? And the all of a sudden boom, I get a slightly buttery note out of nowhere, warm and glowy and delicious, making the scent even richer. Oooh! People smell fruit on me, but my nose doesn't seem to identify it - I register it as a kind of wood. Overall: I love it. It's seems so simple at first, but it's not. I love walking in the woods and touching trees, and I also love the smell of burning wood. This has the smell of both, it smells homey and outdoorsy at the same time. And the rich warm oily note is dead on for Jupiter, I'd been expecting a note like walnut or hazelnut, so I was pleased to see it pop up. It works just like Jupiter should: it makes me all enthusiastic and happy.

In the bottle: Wow, it's Mars-red! I smell clove and/or cinnamon and a faint floral, as well as something resinous (Dragon's Blood?). Wet: Spicy! I think there's pepper in here, but there's also definitely jasmine. Peppery jasmine, it's very invigorating, actually. There's also something resinous, possibly some kind of incense. Drydown: The flowers really develop and become dominant on my skin. I can smell jasmine, but there's also lilac and ylang-ylang, I think. It's quite spicy and a little bit musky, like the civet note. In an undertone I smell dragon's blood, orange and... lotus? is there *lotus* in there too?! Wow. It settles into red-hots cinnamon, ylang-ylang, lilac (?!) and dragon's blood, after quite some morphing. Overall: It's the weirdest scent celestial I've smelled so far. It's so well blended that it really challenges you when you want to pick out a note. It smells slightly metallic, like rusty nails (could there be a dash of ozone in there, too?), and sharp, and sweet. It most certainly smells like Mars: powerful, a bit aggressive, sexual and with a huge amount of energy. It certainly isn't one of my favourite things to smell, but I can see myself using it when I have trouble getting things done.

In the bottle: Almonds, pretty sweet, but with a slightly woody base. Wet: The almonds turn to cherries, and become very discreet. Drydown: Wood! Slightly bitter, and very warm. It's such a subtle scent that I had to reapply some because I couldn't find it anymore on my arm. Ooh and then slowly, berry notes come out of the wood, blackcurrant I think. Overall: A deliciously subtle wood blend, the description is pretty much what I get. It's warm and "red" smelling, but unfortunately it's pretty faint. That's really the big drawback, it's one of those scents that needs you to stick your nose on your arm. I'm not familiar with the character the blend represents, but it's regal and feminine. Very nice.

In the bottle: Lotus and mint. I'm not looking forward to it... Wet: Sickly sweet lotus and piercing mint - they really don't go well together. Drydown: Yep, still mint and lotus, mint dominates at first. The lotus is still this practically fruity wet note. There's a slight herbiness from the juniper, too. Eek the mint is really violent. It smells like something I can smell at my dentist's - the minty paste he uses to polish my teeth. Eep. Once the mint evaporates, I'm left with a sort of thick, tart lotus. Which isn't much better. Overall: Well, the description hadn't appealed to me, and as much as I was pleased to be able to try it because it was a frimp from the lab, I really, really hate this blend. It reminds me of unpleasant dentist memories, and I hate lotus and juniper generally. The only good point for me is that it evaporates fast. I'm sure it'll appeal to those who like aquatics and fresh sweet scents, though.

In the bottle: Gack. Violent evergreen resin, sickly sweet. I'm afraid. Wet: Still strong, sickly evergreen resin, slightly minty. Drydown: The resin veeeery slowly subsides, leaving a smell of wood behind it. I think that the very sweet component is honey, it reminds me of chestnut blossom honey, bitter and dark. There's still a very mentholy smell from the evergreens. Oh, and perhaps linden blossom, too. Overall: It fades rather fast... fortunately. I get blossom, yes, and resin, but I don't get very much wood. Really it's very sickly on me, I like the touches of blossom, but it's not enough for me to like the blend in general. It certainly does smell like forest spirits, but they're too sweet for me.

In the bottle: Delicious wood and cooking herbs, it smells like a kitchen by a herb garden. Wet: Ooh, raspberry leaf! Very green, it smells like a marketplace with wet leaves in wooden crates. Drydown: Cedar wood and greenery, it's very pleasant, a bit spicy, very kitcheny. It reminds me of celery root, too. Overall: It just reminds me of all kinds of leaves and woods that you'd find in a market or a kitchen. I wouldn't wear it (then again...), but it's a perfect atmosphere scent, very green, very evocative of food even though it's not downright foody. Yum.

In the bottle: Pure - and a little obnoxious - jasmine. Wet: Jasmine and... myrrh I suppose. It's darkened, anyway, and smells spicy. Drydown: This is very thick jasmine. Instead of being bright, it's heavy and dark. At very rare moments, I smell a bit of rose. Overall: This was part of my "experimenting with jasmine" batch, I was curious to try a blend with the same ingredients as Wicked, to see how different it could be. Well, it's radically different. While jasmine is quite nice on me, I prefer it more in the background. It does smell of night, of darkness, of the bitterness of myrrh. A pretty blend, but not me.

In the bottle: Light musk and grasses, very outdoorsy. Wet: Warm musk and amber, with fresh grasses peeking out. It smells a bit powdery. Drydown: It's slightly citrusy, I hadn't expected that. There's a mix of all kinds of grasses, one of which smells a bit powdery. It's a warm blend, and now that I think of it, I can actually smell real grass, the same note as in Val Sans Retour. There's still a slightly fruity smell in there, but I can't put my finger on it. Overall: It smells a bit like grass/herb-scented soap or powder on me. There's a bitter undertone probably from woods, and the grass note tends to give me a bit of a headache (though it's not as obnoxious as in Val Sans Retour). While it does smell very much like nature, it isn't really my thing.

In the bottle: Pure buttery marzipan almond, pretty overpowering. Wet: Marzipan! Sweet, rich almond, very foody. Drydown: The almond subsides a little, leaving a dark, slightly bitter, myrrh behind it. All of a sudden I find myself missing the foody part of the blend, because it's become a little boring now. I don't smell the musk, which is common as it often comes out after a few hours, on me. Overall: It's pleasant and a bit dark, mostly myrrh after the drydown. It doesn't evoke much to me, it starts out pretty foody and then goes pretty much pure myrrh on me, I don't think my skin brings out the right balance between the notes (read: I amp myrrh like hell). Pretty, lovely if you like almond, but not me.

In the bottle: Sweet, tangy ozone, with a slightly dark syrupy note. Wet: The ozone goes out for a while, before coming back with a tangy vengeance. It smells slightly spicy and broody, not airy. Drydown: A heavy smoky scent full of spices - myrrh I think - comes forward and mixes with the bright, metallic ozone. I'm not really specialised in incense notes, but this one is pleasant and oriental. The ozone makes me think of a knife in all that smoke. Overall: It's a surprisingly light and soft scent. It's not overpowering, aggressive ozone, it's just pleasantly scented and spicy, a bit like the scent by the seaside. Very feminine and not really aftershavy/deodorant, which is rather rare for ozone blends, but there is a bitter smoke scent deep in the background. Well blended, pretty.

In the bottle: Pine forests, specially the wood and resin. Lovely! Wet: Powerful resin or needles, similar to turpentine, with wood coming out underneath it. Drydown: Absolute pine wood. It reminds me of a mountain pine forest in the summer, the trees all heated up by the sun, giving off their wonderful, sweet scent. The wood is predominant over everything else, which is a good thing considering that pine needles can smell overpowering. Overall: It's unbelievably evocative. When I go hiking in the mountains in the summer, this is how it smells. Sweet and woody, with a hint of evergreen needles and resin. And the chalets in the mountains are mostly made of pine wood and smell just like this, too. This is extremely outdoorsy, and summery, even though it's an evergreen scent that most people would link to Christmas. I don't get any berries, but that doesn't matter, because it's gorgeous as it is.

In the bottle: It smells woody, reminiscent of huge forests, with a hint of orange. Hmm. Wet: I get amber over the woods and orange. There seems to be some herbs or perhaps a bit of vetiver? It smells rooty. Drydown: Spicy, zesty orange that smells rather juicy and woody. It really reminds me of a jungle flavoured aftershave, because there's a cologney elegance to it. I can't really pick out the musk, but it might be black musk, that tends to only show when all the rest has evaporated. It develops a tropical quality to it, though I couldn't explain why - possibly a hint of tropical fruit like mango. Overall: It's quite a powerful fresh scent, I'd put it as a masculine, aftershave type of scent. I was expecting - dreading - something more animalistic and feral, and this is a pleasant surprise. It vaguely reminds me of Dracul, probably the wood/orange/musk combo, but much more tropical. The extreme drydown is a bit less pleasant - very tart, with slightly more threatening, bitter musks and amber. But generally, it's pretty, it's true to its name and it's hilarious.

In the bottle: Dragon's blood and strong, astringent leather. Wet: The dragon's blood warms up and takes over, as well as a slightly smoky smell. Drydown: Leather is added to the smoky dragon's blood, and the general smell is resinous and a bit cologney - very clean, and the smoke smells nearly like steam than like incense. It smells spicy with dragon's blood and prety bitter from the leather. Overall: Bitter smoke, bitter leather and spicy dragon's blood - it does smell like some kind of armour, and it's a pretty masculine scent, I think, fresh and cologney. I wonder if there isn't added pepper in there, because it tingles on my skin, and it might explain a bit of the bitterness. It goes slightly powdery and sweet after a while. I don't think it's a particularly pleasant scent, but I'd expect a dragon's skin to smell something like this.

In the bottle: Hypersweet honey, ylang ylang and rose. Er... eep!? Wet: Obnoxiously sweet honey and ylang-ylang with... banana? weird... Drydown: As it dries, I get another floral than rose, I'm guessing it's the apple blossom. There's also honey and ylang-ylang in large quantities. The rose comes out finally, it's a soft tea rose, makes me think of white roses. The sweetness has gone, mostly... it's more spicy than sweet, now. Overall: I think that I'm not a huge fan of apple blossom, it dampens down the rose with a slightly sickly-soft scent. The blend becomes quite spicy with ylang-ylang, nearly peppery, which is quite nice. I think it does have an innocent/sinful duality, with the soft apple blossom and rose and the spicy ylang-ylang and sensual honey. However, it doesn't work out very well on me.

In the bottle: Lemon and black tea, yum! Wet: The lemon smell turns out to be the bergamot of Earl Grey, and I get leather, wonderful leather. Drydown: I smell leather, tea, bergamot and a hint of lemon. It's delicious, it smells bitter, clean and overall absolutely fabulous. There's a touch of fruit, I'm still thinking lemon, but it's extremely discreet. Overall: Very evocative - a bit broody and intellectual, a perfect blend for a man, but also wearable by a woman without seeming too masculine. It keeps varying from pure tea to lemon fruit to leather, and it's really great. So, what's wrong with it? No staying power. It dies in less than 30 minutes, nearly completely disappears, and it's tragic! I may try to layer it with Embalming Fluid to see if I can get it to hold longer.

In the bottle: Various rose petals and a spicy cinnamon, perhaps also amber? Wet: Red hot cinnamon with rose in the background. Drydown: Rose and cinnamon don't mix well. It's a very soft rose actually, I'd say a white rose, and it's rather pale and watered-down. The cinnamon has gone from red hots to quiet but spicy, fortunately. Still, it's a rather faint scent on me. Overall: It smells a bit like faded cinnamon chewing-gum in rosewater. I don't feel any special attraction to it, it's too quiet for me. The rose is really too soft for me, I like my rose bolder. Here it doesn't really stand its ground with the cinnamon, and it's a pity. Not my thing.

In the bottle: The exact smell of dark cocoa powder. Wet: Poof! Dark cocoa changes to rich, creamy milk chocolate. This is the most realistic chocolate scent I have ever smelled. Drydown: Very sweet, creamy milk chocolate. I'm Swiss, I know this smell very well, and it smells exactly like Lindt chocolates. More specifically, it smells like Lindor balls, which are balls of milk chocolate filled with milk chocolate cream. Yum! Really, I can get the same effect as Bliss if I rub chocolate on my skin. Overall: It's stunning, I'll give it that. I'll keep it because it's hilarious and wonderful to have a scent that smells exactly like chocolate once it touches the skin. However I'm not a foody person and I'd never wear such a cloyingly sweet scent. Besides, about 30 minutes after drydown, it goes sweet, powdery, woody and a bit bitter, a bit like milk chocolate... 3 years after it's sell-by date. Still, excellently blended.

In the bottle: Wine and bitter leather. I got a frimp from the lab and fell in love with it as soon as I sniffed it. Actually I think I even got a bit tearful as I smelled it because it's just one of those scents that smell like home - extremely evocative. Wet: Wine, leather and a very fresh scent of ozone and greenery. There's also a slightly oily scent that must be ambergris. Drydown: Oooh, pure bliss. Wine, leather, wood and ozone all mix together to create an unbelievably atmospheric scent. The first time I smelled this, it reminded me of England - probably because I spend way too much time when I'm in England in old castles and stately homes. There's also a cool emptiness to the smell that really represents the desolation perfectly. Overall: There's the familiar warmth of wine, ambergris, leather and wood, signs of life. But they're met with the coldness of ozony air and bitter green plants eating away at stones. Hot and cold, life and death clash in this scent in a really poetic way. Not only to I love the way it works so poetically, I also adore the way it smells, specially the wine/leather notes. It reminds me of a man without smelling masculine, so that I can wear it and think of an aloof knight in leather armour. The blend reminds me of the Last Unicorn's King Haggard and his crooked towery castle. And I think I could rave about it for hours, still. I got a 10ml of this, I love it so much.

In the bottle: slightly powdery herbs and flowers. Wet: The oily scent of white musk, with the same flower/herbs combination coming through. There's a herb in there in particular that I can't place but that I know, ack. Drydown: The musk has become very light and is letting through various fresh herby scents, like crushed grass. Some of them smell a little tart and citrusy, perhaps even a little minty, and they're not particularly sweet, but that's the best I can do describing them. They do remind me of summertime, herbs warmed by the sun. There's a soapy quality to it, though, as is often the case with me when I wear white musk. It also becomes sweeter, a sort of shrill, heady sweetness that reminds me - eep - of floral toilet deodoriser. Overall: It's very evocative of a warm summer day in a garden, with the herbs warming up and letting off their scent around you, as you laze around. It's softly sensual, possibly inspiring, and very green. However, I feel that this is more of a men's blend. The herbs smell masculine and a little bit feral, and I can't help but think that this would fare better on a man, specially as their skin wouldn't amp the sweet notes like mine does. Nice, though, before it goes all sweet.

In the bottle: Butter, walnut, slightly acidic booze and sugar Wet: I can smell musk and a buttery, walnutty note, as well as something slightly citrusy. Drydown: The scent of bonfires, the pleasant kind, hot, delicious wood burning - uncanny. There's also... yes, the warmth of indistinct alcohol, buttery nuts, maybe chestnuts. There's something slightly dark and bitter about it, though - yes, it's probably the scent of dry leaves, or maybe a bitter kind of musk. And it smells so hot, so fiery. Wow. There's spice in here, probably a touch of cinnamon. Hmm. Overall: A very evocative scent, really reminiscent of autumn. It's complex and well-blended to bring back all kinds of images that you didn't even know were stored in your mind. Leaves, bonfires, kids messing around with fire, chestnuts as winter arrives. Whoa. Really surprising, very pleasant. I don't think I'd wear it as a perfume, but it's fascinating.

In the bottle: Violets and possibly neroli. It has a distinct cologney feel to it. And there's a woodiness from dragon's blood, I think. Wet: The salt note again! It dominates but I can still smell a bit of neroli and violet back there. Drydown: As it dries, the violet and neroli come out again, quite subtle - as if they're being muted by something slightly musky, perhaps white musk. I catch whiffs of a herby scent somewhere in there, quite bitter, but it only emerges from time to time. Overall: It's mostly violet with a hint of white musk, and a salty note, still, but it smells clean and a bit soapy and powdery most of the time. Sometimes there's a dusty quality to it. Er... I don't see how that can represent fire. It's pretty if you like violet, but it doesn't evoke much for me.

In the bottle: aftershave and soil - a very fresh, masculine scent I can't pinpoint with a dab of earth. Wet: Same as in the bottle, but the earth note comes out and becomes rather salty. There's a tobbacco scent to this, as well as some mushrooms, at the back. Drydown: The aftershavey smells comes back, I'm suspecting it's vetiver. It smells rooty and dark, but still clean, with hints of tobacco. A mushroomy, salty dirt scent wafts back and forth over the vetiver. Overall: It's Graveyard Dirt's salty brother. It's very evocative and makes me think of some kind of a salty swamp. It's oceanic and earthy at the same time. Interesting, but I prefer Graveyard Dirt straight. Gnome smells sort of sweaty and dirty rather than clean, despite the fresh note, it's a bit stifling, like a really hot swamp by the seaside. People describe it as smelling of dustbins, and there's a bit of that. Oops.

In the bottle: Powerful lavender and mint - oof, eye-watering! I actually got menthol in the back of my throat by sniffing it too hard! Wet: The same lavender and mint, very slightly toned down. It's making me cough! Unbeliveably invasive smell, it gets everywhere, ick! Drydown: It softens, thank goodness! ... into an unpleasant citrus scent. Oh ick! So that's obnoxious lavender and mint that turn into some kind of ozony orange, with a metallic tang. Overall: I get how it smells like the element Air, because mint and lavender really do represent it well. However, it's awfully unpleasant and invasive, even the smallest sniff has me keeling over. Definitely not something I ever want to smell again! I have seldom felt this ill and distressed when smelling a BPAL blend.