edenssixthday

Bad Luck Woman Blues - This smells strongly of heavy moss, pepper, vetiver and carmel. It's simultaneously raw/earthy and sweet/foody. The heaviness of the scent is reminiscent of Trick #2, but the sweetness of the caramel doesn't blend well, IMO, with the other notes. Keep in mind that I tend to dislike caramel. In fact, I never like it. As the scent dries down the caramel fades a bit and the scent takes on a bit of a dusty aspect to it and starts to smell less earthy and more woody -- it smells like caramel poured over fresh wood notes with a sprinkling of dust on top. This scent definitely doesn't work for me. I am fairly certain that without the caramel, I would like the dark, heavy, depth of this blend. But with the caramel, I can't wear it. The throw and the wear length are both way above average.

Monsterbait: Bloody Mary - This is a beautiful scent. It's a smooth, creamy blend loaded with heavy, dripping, syrupy cherries, yet it doesn't have any of the light frou frou aspects of a typical cherry vanilla scent. It's darker, deeper, richer, and heavier. This is the scent of fresh sliced cherries smothered in powdered sugar until the sweetness draws the fresh, tart juices out of the cherries, forming a natural, sweet syrup. This is the scent of those same fresh cherries with rich cream drizzled over them and served on a bed of marscapone cheese. It's an elegant dessert for grown-ups and is most certainly not one of those light, fluffy, desserts for little girls in pink tutus. The throw is moderate when first applied, but the wear length is quite short, so the throw decreases quickly as the scent dies off my skin. Still, it's good enough for two bottles. Yum!

Milk Moon 2007 - I didn't care for the original Milk Moon, as I thought it smelled entirely of baby urp. I didn't have many hopes for the 2007 version, and when I applied it, the first thing I smelled was honey-laden baby urp. But almost immediately, the date moved up to the forefront, creating a scent that reminded me of standing in Jericho, looking over the date palms and being told that I was standing in the biblical "Land of Milk and Honey." As the blend dries on my skin, the date, milk, and honey, blend to become warm and creamy, and it still smells a touch like baby urp...but I like it, oddly enough. This is also when I notice pineapple. I know it's not listed in the scent description, but I swear I smell pineapple swirling through this blend, along with the occasional sweet touch of pomegranate poking through. This is a gorgeous, gorgeous scent. On me, the throw is light, as is the staying power, but it's definitely worth reapplying and experiencing the whole range of scents as it morphs on my skin, because it's just that good.

Poisson d'Avril - When I first applied this, I thought it was going to be a really strong, heady floral, but it settled down very quickly, becoming a sweet, smooth, light, lovely, springtime floral. The honey really tempers the floral sweetness, keeping this scent from being too powerful. It's overtly feminine and makes me think of springtime tea parties (with hats, gloves, the whole shebang) in a pretty flower garden. The scent has a lovely level of sillage and the wear length is about average.

Monsterbait: Tokyo Stomp - This smells like a yummy vanilla-mint in the vial. It smells like a very strong, musky vanilla blended with a sweet mint that reminds me a lot of the mint in Lick It Again. Unfortunately, as soon as I put it on my skin, one of the vanillas in this blend becomes very milky and buttery and starts to smell like baby urp, and the mint gets completely out-of-control, and the whole thing smells like someone's trying to cover up the scent of baby urp with toothpaste. The scent is really, really strong -- one tiny drop envelopes me in a very strong scent. In only a couple of minutes, the entire scent takes on a burnt-plastic scent that is so strong as to become nauseating, and it lasts and lasts that way and ends up getting washed off. I'm afraid this isn't for me.

Ded Moroz - First, I want to thank Shelldoo with everything in me for her amazing generosity of sending me a bit of Ded Moroz. I feel so honored to get to try this blend! And not only am I honored, I am delighted, because it is really amazing. I echo Shellie’s sentiments that it would be fantastic if Beth could resolve the component issues for this blend and release it someday. I would buy a few bottles! This is the perfect blend for amber lovers. It’s not dry and woody the way amber can sometimes be; rather, it’s soft, warm, and almost powdery in a fresh, slightly sweet way. When I first apply it, it comes across as soft, fresh, and cold from the combination of moss, sage, and snow. I also detect something very minty initially, but it’s not the kind of mint that I usually find sharp and "offensive." It manages to be soft, sweet, and adds a hint of chill to the blend. As it warms up on my skin, the cool freshness dissipates and the ambers begin to dominate the blend, with a hint of rose rounding them out. The redwood and teak are so subtle on my skin as to be barely discernible, but they do seem to deepen the overall effect of the scent. This is a soft scent, but I wouldn’t say it’s subtle. I had put the tiniest drop of this on my skin and an hour later went outside, and the breeze picked up the scent and swirled it all around me. It has a gorgeous sillage and definitely leaves me desperately hoping that Beth can find a way to release it. It’s really lovely.

Oooh... this is amazing! There's nothing artificial about it in the least. Initially, it smells very much like anise or like sucking on a strong, barely-sweet, rope of black licorice. As it dries down, the anise aspect is still very strong, but fades enough that I can also smell the dark green, herbal aspect of this blend. I can't imagine wanting to wear this as a perfume by itself, but it does make me want to run home and start growing fresh basil!

I got my decant from Wikkidraven, so it was labeled "feathered snake oil" even though according to her review, it was listed on the forum as Beth's Exp. #1. When I first applied it, I thought it smelled exactly like Snake Oil. So I tried it again the next day with the Exp Blend on one wrist and regular Snake Oil (aged about a year) on the other wrist. That's when I could tell the difference. I was surprised at how "dry" the regular Snake Oil smelled, and for the first time, when comparing it with the Experimental Blend, I could distinctly smell patchouli in the original Snake Oil. The Experimental Blend is definitely sweeter and creamier, as if it has an extra dose of vanilla. The other reviewers have noted fruit/berry in Experiment #1, but I don't smell that. I just smell a non-floral, non-woody sweetness...so I guess it could be fruit, but it's not distinct in the least. It's definitely my favorite of all the experimentals I've tried so far. I would love to have a vat of this. Although I believe in letting many people try the different hard-to-find blends, so I won't even keep my little imp, as gorgeous as it is. It would just make me cry when I run out.

The Agony of Loss - Wow. So here I am, thinking this would be my least favorite of the Agony/Ecstasy blends because of the lavender, cedar, and smoke. Turns out, it's my favorite. Yes, I love it more than even Passion! This is not at all the type of scent I would normally wear, but there's something about it that grabs me and even though I can distinctly detect the notes I don't usually like, I can't stop sniffing myself and can't get over how beautiful this is. It's a very clean and fresh blend, reminding me a bit of F5, actually. It also seems quite unisex to me. The first notes I detect are the lavender, cedar, and sandalwood, all perfectly balanced, bright, and crisp. As the blend dries down on my skin, those three notes actually move to the background and I can smell the awapuhi and smoke. The smoke initially blends with the sandalwood to give off a scent that reminds me a lot of an incense note, but as the sandalwood recedes, the smoke becomes a distinct note of its own, that's subtle and subtle. The awapuhi really starts to come out at this point, and the scent becomes distinctly tropical and makes me want to get right up and fly over to the Islands. This is a gorgeous scent -- clean, fresh, floral, a touch smoky, and remarkably fabulous. I can't believe I thought I wasn't going to like it!

New Year's Eve in Dogville - When I sniff this in the bottle and when it's first applied to my skin, it is the strong scent of freshly-applied men's cologne that's slightly herbal, slightly lavendery, slightly white-musky, and slightly piney, but mostly just cologney. As it dries down on my skin, the cologne dissipates and I smell champagne -- very dry, bubbly champagne. I don't smell the scent of women's perfume at all -- just cologne and champagne, and after drydown, mostly champagne. It's a nice enough fragrance, but after drydown, it's very subtle and it's not sweet enough for my taste. It's not like the strawberry-sweetened champagne of Bon Vivant. It's a very brut champagne scent. The scent doesn't last long on my skin at all, either, which kind of bums me out. I imagine this would be a great men's scent.

Stranger in Camp - When I first applied this, I had a few moments of silly giggling because my very first thought was of the Monty Python "I'm a Lumberjack" song. "I cut down trees, I skip and jump..." Anyway, YES, this is the scent of a real-life pine forest! It takes me back some 30+ years to one of the first times I ever went camping at Lake Tahoe: It's the scent of evergreens wafting through the crisp, clean, early-morning air, the scent of pine sap oozing down tree bark, the scent of campfire on my clothes the next morning. It's so fresh and evocative of time spent outdoors in a piney, foresty wilderness. While it's not a scent I would choose to wear as a personal fragrance, it is so dead-on that I'm really impressed with it. The sillage and staying power are both very strong.

One to Tie, Two to Win - This scent is very grassy, but predominantly is the scent of bitter, milky dandelion. The grassy aspect of it is so spot-on that I feel like I'm going to have a grass-allergy attack from the scent association. However, it brings back memories of sitting in my front yard as a little girl, showing my sister how to break open the stalk of a dandelion weed, and suck the bitter, milky substance out of the stem. I don't know how she does it, but Beth not only captures the grass and dandelion scent, but the smell of a warm, clear day with light breezes, and little puffy white clouds scattered across the deep, blue sky. It's about the greenest green scent you can imagine -- I would highly recommend this to people who like green, grassy scents. The throw and staying power are both very strong.

A Bold Bluff - This is the overwhelming scent of dried hops, ready to be used in the production of beer. It's a dry-leaf scent that is extremely bitter smelling. However, the tonka tempers the bitterness of the hops, although the scent certainly isn't a tonka-dominant scent (it's not rich, creamy, vanilla-esque in the way tonka usually is). I don't smell the cherry tobacco in the least. It's just nowhere to be found on my skin. This to me is a man's scent -- the scent of rugged, swarthy, outdoor man. The scent has very strong throw and staying power.

A Bachelor's Dog - This is the only one of the DPP scents that I'm disappointed with -- not because it's bad, but because I can barely smell it even when I have my wrist stuffed halfway up my nose, much less when I'm just going about my daily business! The Salons scents in general tend to be unwearably subtle on me, and this one is on par with the majority of the other Salon blends, but really unique compared to the much-stronger line of DPP blends. It is a bit stronger when it's first applied than it is upon drydown. When first applied, all I smell is musk -- warm, sweet musk that's almost feral in nature. However, upon drydown, the musk becomes really soft, almost powdery, and it loses its animalistic edge, and becomes practically inert. Behind the musk is the faintest touch of leather and dry tobacco, but they are so faint as to be barely there. It's definitely got a traditionally masculine quality to it, but it's very much a skin scent and I believe anyone could wear this, regardless of gender -- as long as they don't mind a scent that is so very subtle. This is not the type of scent to wear to catch anyone's attention, but I imagine it would enhance the scent of sweet, warm skin when snuggling up to someone wearing it.

His Station and Four Aces - Well, I would have never thought of putting lilac and leather together, but now that I smell it, it makes complete sense. Leave it to Beth to perfectly blend the oddest pairs of scents! This is my favorite lilac perfume of all time because as much as I love lilac, and as true to life as I find most lilac perfumes (especially BPAL), the lilac is always too strong and heady for me, making me feel self-conscious about wearing it, and often giving me headaches. However, the lilac in this blend is soft and muted, which must be because it's lilac fougere and not straight lilac. No matter what, I just love it. The leather co-dominates the blend with the lilac. It smells to me like the same leather that is used in Whip -- black, bold, leather. The musk lends a touch of a crisp, crystalline quality to the blend, providing the perfect backdrop for the lilac. This is a really unique and fantastic blend. It also doesn't strike me as being particularly gender-specific. It's really fantastic. Great throw and moderate staying power.

Riding the Goat - On my skin, this is predominantly a pipe tobacco scent that reminds me of Herr Drosselmeyer without the touch of cherry. It's definitely got a strong level of sweetness, as is typical with pipe tobacco. The incense and woods are beautiful -- they're dry, yet very rich and full of depth. The scent makes me think of a dignified professor sitting in an stuffed armchair in a wood-paneled library, pushing his spectacles up his nose, taking a puff off his pipe, and leaning back in his chair as he begins reading a leather-bound book of great philosophical significance. It's a wonderful scent. It's not feminine enough for my taste, but it's still quite wonderful.

Sitting Up With a Sick Friend - I continue to be amazed by the DPP Salon scents. This is yet another one that has me very impressed. This blend is predominantly a strong perfume scent that reminds me of something from an era gone by -- perhaps something my grandmother would wear, yet it's not an "old lady" scent (my grandmother is quite classy, sophisticated, and strikingly gorgeous!) It's a very floral scent, and I agree with the previous reviewer that there may be a touch of carnation in with the rose water note. The tobacco blends gorgeously with the floral and perfume notes, reminding me of something a classy French fragrance house might have created. The leather note is evident, but it's so subtle that if I didn't know it was leather, I may have never identified it as such. It adds a depth to the blend and grounds the florals in a way that keeps this blend from being a traditionally feminine and floral blend. I imagine this would be the perfect scent to wear when dressing up for the opera or another similarly classy and elegant event. Great throw, great staying power, and overall great blend.

Kelly Pool - This is my second-favorite of the DPP blends, and my second-favorite Salon scent overall. I have to disagree with the other reviewers, as on my skin, this doesn't remind me of Numb at all. The first note I smell is rose, which surprises me, as I expected a strong rosewood, which is a note I don't like -- but apparently I like it in this blend! It's a warm, wood-based rose that's slightly powdery (maybe that's why the other reviewers referenced Numb?) and there's a touch of a warm, slightly heavy scent far beneath the woody rose that I'm guessing may be the worsted wool (?). As the blend dries down, the wood notes definitely become stronger and the rose recedes a bit. Still, it's predominantly a rose blend with woody notes right behind it. It's very regal, classy, and sophisticated. I really love this blend.

Pinched With Four Aces - This scent is the perfect example of Beth taking notes I don't like and making something truly amazing out of them! I can't stand coffee-scented things, and cinnamon and tobacco rarely ever do it for me, and the ambiguous "dry woods" is something that I can never be too sure about in a blend. However, in this one, they combine to create a warm, rich scent that's totally and completely swoon-worthy. The coffee note is warm and slightly sweet, as if there's a touch of cream swirling through it. I don't even notice the cinnamon until the blend dries on my skin, at which point, I smell the lightest dusting of cinnamon, as if a quick dash of the spice has been sprinkled on top of a cup of hot coffee. The tobacco and woods lend a deep, rich, and almost masculine scent, although this is definitely not a traditionally masculine blend. I think it can be worn well by anyone. I simply cannot get over how completely blown away I am by this blend. It's the first BPAL in quite some time that has truly surprised me and blown me away, and it's most definitely my favorite of ever single Salon scent released so far.

White Pine - This scent is VERY piney, but it’s not nearly as offensive, as I expected it to be. I tend to not like pine blends, but on its own, the white pine is softer than what I would have expected. I definitely recognize this note from Golden Priapus. It’s a really nice single note, but it doesn’t last very long on my skin. I probably would never wear it on its own anyway, but it was fun to try it. I’ll be swapping this one away.

Someone sent me a very generously sized chunk of Dorian soap in a swap package. She and I both agreed that while the soap is quite lovely, the scent is way too faint. I agree with her that it needs at least 3x the amount of scent in it. I can't wear Dorian perfume oil because my skin turns it to dust, so I was excited to try the soap to see if I could enjoy the scent that way, but it's just too faint of a scent for me. I definitely prefer strong-scented soaps. However, scent notwithstanding, it's a really fantastic soap with a gorgeous color, smooth texture, and luxurious, rich lather.

Lycaon - I should have gotten a bottle of this instead of a decant! This is really damn sexy and very reminiscent of Schwarzer Mond. The dominant notes are patchouli, musk, myrrh, frankincense, and the scent of dry leaves. I have been using my little imp of this as sparingly as possible, but one of these days, I'm just going to go all-out and have a Lycaon spree and use it all up in a matter of a few days. The scent is strong, woody, and resinous. Oddly, despite the notes in it that tend to last a long time on my skin, this fades quickly on me.

Chaos Theory 2: CCXCVI (296) – This blend is really fascinating. The top note is that of a rich, bold cognac and reminds me of Formula 54. Beneath that is the distinctively sweet scent of white cake. There also seems to be some sort of sweet floral (I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s not jasmine, magnolia, gardenia, honeysuckle, lilac or wisteria!) This is a lovely scent and I’m so glad I swapped for this imp. It fades quickly, but until then, the scent is divine. Last reviewed by Reedsong.

My review for the 2006 version can be found here. Night's Pavilion 2007 - How does Beth do it? It's got the exact same scent description as last year's blend, yet it smells totally and completely different to me. If it's the same, then my skin chemistry and/or scent preferences have changes dramatically! This year's blend is very soft and light. It's a very light musk and floral scent, with the lightest aquatic touch, which I think is probably the Nile lily as opposed to an actual aquatic note. I barely smell the frankincense in this blend. It's far, far, far beneath the other notes. I hated last year's blend. It was heavy, dark and head-shoppy. This year's is totally and completely different (at least to me!), and quite lovely. It's still not a scent I would find myself wearing often because it's so subtle and wispy, but it's still very nice. And very surprising.

Kalahantarinka - I postponed reviewing this for a while because it’s really difficult to describe this scent. Also, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. It’s just kind of a weird one for me. When I first apply it, I definitely don’t like it because the lavender is the strongest note and I find it really overwhelming. However, as the scent dries down, the lavender dissipates, and the rest of the notes create a scent that’s very warm, herbal, and viscous. I don’t know what most of the notes in this blend are, so it’s very difficult to describe how they interact within the blend. It’s got quite a woody-floral and bitter-sweet scent to it. After trying it two more times, I finally decided it’s not for me. The throw and staying power are moderate.