whitsunweddings

Allow me to wax pretentious for a moment: Jack is interesting to me because it is so redolent of a culture that is not my own. I'm from New Zealand, and Jack is based around concepts that to me, are very American: Pumpkin as a sweet food (which we don't do here), the season of "Fall" (we do have seasons here, but - at least where I am, at the bottom of the North Island - they're often not very distinct from each other. Autumn is generally just like "Huh, there's some leaves on the ground and it might rain a bit more than it did in summer"), and Halloween as a big celebration (which we do here, but only half-heartedly and with much wailing and knashing of teeth from certain parts of the community). I don't think I've ever seen a jack-o-lantern in real life. So, to me, this is as exotic as smelling a perfume based around ~sacred polynesian blooms might be for some of you. Just an interesting thought! Anyway: In the imp: Butter, pastry, and peach. Wet: Spicy butter. Dry: The butter and pastry bugger off somewhere, and I am left with spiced, juicy white flesh peaches (hmmm, so glad those are in season right now). It's delicious, though not really something I can see myself wearing daily.

So, I have this friend who is obsessed with carrot cake, and I want to wow her (and possibly do some enabling in the process) by finding a BPAL that smells like it. What scents remind you of this delicious creation, lovelies? Thanks in advance

... Is it weird that this topic is making me feel peckish? Thanks all! I'll keep an eye out for your suggestions.

Awesome! I'd say PHILIP LARKIN BUDDIES but that doesn't really feel appropriate for his work, somehow

Oh my goodness, Seraglio sounds delicious! Holborne: Yup! He's my favourite poet.

Ooh, that sounds lovely. I'll go look for it now, thanks!

In the bottle: Currants and pastry. Wet: The same. Dry: The currants become more prominent, and I get the same grubby smell that I get with Dana O'Shee. No porridge, which is a real shame, as porridge is obviously the king of breakfast foods.

Jasmine soap. Just... jasmine soap.

In the imp: Almond and fig. Wet: Sweet almond, coconut and sandalwood. Dry: Fig, coconut and sandalwood. Eventually the fig takes over, as it is wont to do on my skin. Gettin' figgy with it, yo.

In the imp: Syrupy lemon. Wet: As someone above said, lemon gummy lollies! Dry: A sweet lemon. It's not foody, or something that would get rid of 99% of household germs (thank goodness), but more of a 'fancy soap' lemon. Some incense does come out a bit later, but it's very faint. This faded very quickly on my skin, and was gone in just over an hour.

In the imp: Hmm, spiced cherry and something that smells a bit like chlorine. Wet: Cherry, clove, that unfortunate chlorine scent. Dry: Almost entirely clove. The chlorine smell never really goes away. Le bummer

In the imp: Sweet myrrh and herbs. Wet: A rich, slightly fruity scent (kind of like berries). Dry: Light, fruity myrrh.

In the imp: Sweet cakey things! Wet: A very sweet cakey smell, possibly with icing. Something fruity, which I assume to be the currents. Dry: Cloyingly sweet cake. Bah, my skin does not love cake (which is okay, the rest of me does). I have a friend who I bet this will be awesome on though

In the imp: Artifical grape! My sister said it reminded her of the cheapo grape flavoured lip gloss we used to get from the $2 shop when we were kids. Wet: A green, clean smell - young branches, as others have said - with sweet honey shining through. Dry: A lovely clean honeyed floral. I wore this to work and lasted several hours, with decent throw.

A gloriously elegant representation of Lady Death. Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh. In the imp: PATCHOULI OF DEATH!! Wet: Patrchouli with myrrh coming through. Slightly soapy and spicy. Dry: Sweet myrrh grounded in earthy patchouli. It later turned into a dirty, patchouli-scented soap. Not my thing!

In the imp: Sweet glacé cherries and almond essence. This is like a liquid bakewell tart! Wet: The same, but moreso, with vaguely patstryish notes (like I get in the Knave of Hearts and Halfling). Dry: Turns into that unfortunate grubby smell that I also get with Halfling (milk on my skin, perhaps?). It wore off rather quickly.

Dans le port d'Amsterdam Y a des marins qui chantent Les rêves qui les hantent Au large d'Amsterdam In the imp: Cut grass mixing with florals... Some sort of olfactory pun? Wet: Grass, amazingly so. DryL A sharp, grassy floral that sticks close to the skin and fades quickly.

In the imp: Rosemary! Wet: Astringent, dark green rosemary. Very clean and fresh. Dry: Surprisingly masculine - the rosemary is quite coloney - but with sweet orange underneath. Eventually fades into a sweet, herbal orange blossom. I like the simplicity of this scent, but it's gone after a few hours on me, and I need something that will last me the day. Oh well!

A very tricky kitty, indeed. Used most often as a key to bringing back the joy one needs to have in life in order for living to feel worthwhile. Brings back a sense of delight in simple pleasures, and creates a surge of childlike curiosity and a youthful sense of fun. This blend can also be used to reverse troublesome lesser crossings, create a playful air of catlike sexuality, and, because cats will be cats, it can also be used to throw minor, irritating or bothersome hexes, causing small amounts of chaos and disruption to your foes. I didn't know anything about this scent when I ordered it. I just picked it because I really like cats. Carpe kitty! In the imp: Mint! Wet: Sweet, slightly musty mint. Dry: Generic floral scent (which is what rose does on me) and a bit of mint. Boo.

In the imp: A very strong wine scent, but I can definitely smell honey, and something incensey, which I assume to be myrrh. Wet: Wow, sour wine! I was initially concerned that this would make me smell like an alcoholic. Dry: My skin amps incense (which is great, because I love it), so I get the myrrh most strongly, though it is sweetened by the honey. The wine is still there but not nearly as prominent - it just adds a short of richness in the background. I have worn this to work and received several compliments (one a good eight or so hours after I'd applied it, so good staying power!) and no-one's taken me aside to ask me if I have a problem with merlot. Def considering getting a bottle of this.

In the imp: Vaguely aquatic shaving foam? Wet: And one day we will die/ and our noses will cry/ from the scent of shaving foam coming from over the sea... Dry: This reminds me unfortunately of the Lynx body spray (which I believe is called Axe overseas) that boys I knew in my youth used to bathe themselves with. This would fit into their range perfectly (ooh, harsh!). I can see the ad now: some dude would spray himself liberally with the stuff and then he'd get a million mermaids flopping about all over him. Blech. Not a scent for me at all.

In the imp: Sharp, herby ginger and citrus. Wet: Pure effervescent citrus! This would make a lovely soft drink, if BPAL ever wanted to expand into that market. Dry: It turns into a fizzy, powdery artificial orange scent on me. Like those little fizzy disc lollies that you can get? Or Berroca? It's a real shame that it ended up like that - I would have bought a bottle if it had kept its wet scent.

Though I like black licorice in small doses, I am not at all a fan of aniseed in any other form. Black jellybeans? Bleeeugh. I was frimped this, and though I know it's not for me, I will review it in the interests of SCIENCE! In the imp: Fennel plants. We had some growing by my primary school when I was a kid, and they always smelled kind of rancid, especially on hot days. Yup, that exact smell. Groce. Wet: Fennel like whoa. Dry: It actually turns into a quite pleasant lemony-soap affair. However, I can still dectect some aniseed lurking in the background, and am afraid it's going to return and wallop me in the face, so I'd best go wash it off now.

In the bottle: Green, herby. I would rub this on a chicken. Wet: Still herby, but I can smell the florals coming through underneath. Dry: I can't distinguish between the herbs and florals. It smells kind of like fancy moisturiser, the kind you buy a female friend from the pharmacy when you need a last-minute gift (everyone's done that, right? Right). An hour or so later: A bright, almost fizzy mix of flowers and herbs. It's quite powdery though. It's the sort of thing I could see myself wearing when I'm an elegant old lady, but not so much now.

This was so odd on me. In the bottle: Very sweet, more fruity than floral. If anything, it reminded me of watermelon candy. Wet: Butter! You know when you're baking, and you have to cream butter and sugar? Kind of like that. Dry: That weird sweet butter (which isn't unpleasant, just unexpected), with rose talcum powder underneath. I can't decide if I like it or not. I'll give it to a friend who really likes rose, and see how it works on her.