Lailya

Greetings, fellow BPAL addicts! I'm hoping you guys can help me out. A good friend of mine has recently fallen in love with Romance by Ralph Lauren, but she also knows how hard I fangirl BPAL (and how much money I throw at the Lab) and she's curious to know if there's a BPAL equivalent to Romance. The ingredients listed for Romance I've found are: "Sungoddess Rose, Marigold, Ginger, Chamomile Oil, Yellow Freesia, White Violet, Lotus Flower, Day Lily, Patchouli, Oakmoss, Musk." I appreciate any help you guy can provide!

I really wanted to love Snake Oil, but it was really "meh" on me - and then I broke out in hives. Luckily they subsided after I scrubbed my wrist, but damnit, I had hoped some aging would make Snake Oil awesome on me, but with a reaction like that, I have to avoid all the amazing perfumes that are based on Snake Oil, too. I know it wasn't the vanilla, since I frequently wear other scents with vanilla, but the "Indonesian oils" part of the description kinda leaves it open to just what the heck I was reacting so badly to...

In the imp and wet on my skin, this was sharply herbal; my first impression is pure green, which of course is perfect for a scent named Envy! On dry down I could definitely smell the mint (mmm, and is it ever a lovely gorgeous mint: reminds me strongly of a freshly-picked sprig) coming out, with just a hint of the lime. Once dry, the bite of it fresh from the imp was still present, but it was mellowed out by the lime and the lavender, which had finally emerged, and mmmmm. This was absolutely lovely to smell. I'm actually rather shocked by how much I liked this; I think this might very well be bottle worthy.

Mmm, delicious! In the imp it's very much like a hot cocoa mix: dry and a bit powdery, but still very nice! Once applied, however, it turns into a rich and creamy chocolate - exactly like a milk chocolate bar or hot chocolate made with milk instead of water! Mmm, so yummy, it was really hard to resist licking my wrist while I was testing it. (I also shoved my wrist under my twin brother's nose to see what he thought and he went, "Brownie?! ") This definitely requires a bottle! It works wonderfully on its own, and I bet it'll layer beautifully with a few other scents.

Ooooh, pretty melon - honeydew with a bit of cantaloupe, very juicy and refreshing! It takes pretty much the same both in the imp and on my skin, which pleases me. The throw could be a little better, but on the bright side it lasted a decent amount of time - about five or six hours, perhaps a little longer - and this scent evokes so many happy memories for me (my family loves melons of all sorts and I have so many memories of us all sitting around the kitchen counter while Mom passes out thick slices of cantaloupe or honeydew or watermelon) that I can't help but love Yemaya. This is perfect for spring and summer, and it's so soothing for me I foresee myself putting a drop on my pillow every now and then to help me fall asleep with a smile on my face. I will definitely be buying a bottle of this when I can.

2009 version-- Mostly rose in the decant, but I love rose, so yay, rose! Once applied... Oooh, does this ever work on me: it smells exactly like the description, both wet and dry! Rose mellowed out with vanilla, with a chilly undertone that reminds me of a nippy December or January afternoon. Very soft, but very beautiful. (It also passed what I call the Brother Test, because my twin bro really liked it.) This is a huge winner. I MUST HAVE MORE, OMG.

2007 version-- Whee! Gingerbread, gingerbread, gingerbread! One of the previous reviews mentions that this is "Christmas in a bottle" and I must agree. Once dry the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves come out and wow, so yummy with all the lovely spicey sweetness. Smelling it makes me feel warm and cozy; all I'm missing is a hot mug of apple cider, a knit sweater, and a cat in my lap and I can imagine it's Christmas-time at home! Really love this.

In the decant I mostly smell vanilla frosting, thick and rich and lovely. After application, it definitely turned into cake proper; I can't really find words to describe it any other way. o_o; I love foody smells, but I honestly can't decide if I like smelling like cake or not. It also failed the Brother Test, but I think that was because it was too sweet for his tastes; apparently my brother's love of Mom's baked goods does not extend to smells that attempt to mimic them. I might come back to this. I really want to love Sprinklecake; maybe I'll give it another test at a different time of month, see if that plays into anything.

I love vanilla. I love mint. I love vanilla and mint together. It smelled exactly like minty vanilla in the decant. I was so excited to try this. The oil goes on the skin, and the lovely minty vanilla turns into something reminiscent of a sour tic-tac. Immediate beeline to the bathroom to scrub my wrist. Curse you, skin chemistry! *headdesk*

Holy Irish coffee, Batman! I smell like Bailey's! Lailya likes. Lailya likes a lot. No dusty or wooden notes, though aging should address that. In the mean time, this is truly wonderful: it's thick and warm and makes me want to write. Irish coffee is something I strongly associate with some original characters of mine and I strongly suspect I'll be using this to help inspire me when writing about them. It's a bit too boozy to wear to work or class, but I think it'll work great as something to throw on and cuddle up in a comfy sweater on a cold night! Very glad I bought this, I will be guarding my bottle like a dragon guards her treasure hoard. *waggles eyebrows*

I received this as a frimp in my first BPAL order and I wasn't originally sure about this when I read the description. In the imp, however, it smelled intriguing: smoky grape, with just a hint of rose beneath it, so I figured what the hey, I'll give it a shot. Oh dear God. Upon application, this immediately turned foul, pretty much what I imagine a burning vineyard would smell like, and the throw was huge: at the time I tried this, my mother was sitting on the other side of the room and she got a really strong whiff of it. I'd applied it to my left wrist, but the skin on my left hand started itching (classic sign of an allergic reaction for me) as well as a minor reaction headache. I had to immediately wash this off, but it lingered. Ugh. Nasty. I tested it again the other day to see if maybe skin chemistry at another time of month would alter anything and nope, still burning vineyard nastiness. Couldn't scrub fast enough.

Received this as a frimp from the ever awesome Catalyst! In the imp I liked it - sugar sweet with thick honey, and just a touch of wood. (Made me want toast with some honey slathered on it.) Unfortunately it looks like Kill-Devil doesn't like me very much at all: going on wet the honey overpowers everything and comes on much too strongly, and once dried the honey becomes sickly sweet, almost medicinal, like cheap honey lozenges. Bleh.

The ever-awesome Catalyst sent me an imp of this and it smelled wonderful! Chocolatey toffee, mmm, yummy. Once it hit my skin, though, it turned ugly. The hops suddenly came out and turned a too-sweet rancid, if that makes sense, and overpowered everything. Very sad, because I love foody scents and Gluttony sounded amazing. Curse you, skin chemistry!

Received a decant of this from the ever-awesome Catalyst and I need to share how much I love it. In the imp, it's a sweet buttery-caramel with a bit of bite to it - the tequila, perhaps? Really lovely regardless. When first applied wet, it reminds me very strongly of Miskatonic University: for whatever reason it smells almost exactly like a nutty coffee, but hey, I love coffee! Dry: Oh my God. Oh. My. God. It's turned into a truly gorgeous spicy chocolate rounded out by the vanilla and a bit of caramel-sweetness that has to be the cajeta and just a touch of smoke. Sweet God take me now, I can't get my nose away from my wrist, I smell delicious. I love this scent. Beth, if you see this, I beg of you, PLEASE bring this scent back for Halloween this year I will buy SO many bottles omg.

(Got this as a frimp with my first BPAL order - thanks muchly, Beth!) In the imp, I get a lot of the melon and mint - yummy! I love this scent combination. I also get a little bit of the green tea; overall, it's really bright and refreshing. Going on wet and during drydown, the mint and melon stay dominant in a very in-your-face way. The green tea note also vanishes, with the lime starting to take its place, though it's very subtle. Dry, the mint and melon have mellowed a bit, and the lime is more apparent; I'm also getting a bit of the lemon balm, and a smidge of the grape if I focus. I really love this scent! It's pretty and vivid and makes me happy; I can't help but smile after sniffing this. My only complaint is that on me it fades fast: an hour after application I couldn't smell the bit I'd dabbed behind my ears and I had to press my nose to my wrists to smell it there. (Not even my mother could smell it, and she's got the nose of a bloodhound, I swear.) I really do adore TTLB, though, so I think I'll add a bottle of this to my wishlist and maybe use it as a room scent or in a perfume locket. So pretty.