Northernminx

Cherry sweet and bright in the imp, I was surprised that the cherry note totally dissapeared when I put it on. This is surprisingly upright and womanly and assertive, a strong white floral with a touch of lily but mostly that other flower whose name I will not attempt to butcher for you here. It's strong, a little too strong if you over apply as I did on first swipe, but mellows into a classically dignified floral. Pretty but nothing in it is screaming loud enough for me to get a bottle.

I would love to say this worked for me as it's gorgeous in the imp that Chopchica graciously swapped with me. However, whatever floral is in this does not like me much and went powdery and sickly sweet on my skin. Unfortunate, as even when I use thse oils in meditation or ritual, I tend to use them _on_ me. What was rich, ambery sweet, with a touch of floral spice in the imp just sort of wanders off into cloying powdery smells on me and the effect this might have in granting any sort of empowerment gets a bit muddled in my subsequent sneezing fit. I think I'll send this into swap. Much with the sadness.

Oakmoss and Juniper berry are the notes that come out strongest in this, a somewhat sweet woodsy scent with a touch of dark mystery. I actually really like this more than I anticipated I would though I can't see wearing it often. There's a certain reassurance in the richness of it, as well as a certain something unplacable.

Minty, but more of a pennyroyal mint rather than mint itself. This has that distinct burnt herbal undertone that pennyroyal has a habit of taking on my skin. Thankfully that fades offa bit. There is a little fruitiness to this as it dries down but I can't say it's really fruity and I get ocasional whiffs of Anise as well. Intriguing, complex, and everchanging I would really love this but the pennyroyal burnt thing is kinda driving me nuts in the first stages. Stupid chemistry

Fruity, but not so sweet on me. The neroli in this really adds a greenish sharp tinge (at least I imagine it's the neroli) This starts as a green encased blood orange, very sharp and citrusy. The raspberry creeps in but it reminds me of unripened raspberries rather than sweet ones. Odd, a bit unsettling, this was still fun to try even if it's not quite me.

I was very much looking foreward to this one but was a little leery of the sandalwood, which tends to be a dominating note on me. Sadly the spice in this just dissapears into that sort of powdery dry flowery smell that sandalwood tends to turn into and I never got a chance to preview the other notes. Damned chemistry. This DID smell wonderful in the bottle, a touch spicey and very exotic.

Wow is this one a complex ride. Sweet almond, milk, and coconut out of the bottle, like the first, gentle and innocent steps into the garden. This starts sweet, and warm and almost tropically decadent. Rounding the corner you find a fig tree in bloom, sweet fruits and the rich green scent of the leaves make this much earthier and green in the middle stages, almost sharp with an undercurrent of warm gorgeous fig. The final stages of this really go back to that almond and coconut phase. Innocence to knowledge and the bitter sweet fall afterward. Gorges, exotic, different, a keeper.

This goes directly to my friend Jay, affectionately referred to as The Leo. Warm, just a touch of cinnamon and spice, and tons and tons of amber. Warm and soothing and a bit of dry savannah, this is nice on me but would be wonderful on a guy. Must. Cuddle. Nod. nod.

I love rose scents and I wanted to really adore this but its a bit wierd with my chemistry. I get a lot of green grass and a touch of powdery roses as this is in its last stages of dry down, but overwhelmingly I get the lush, wine-soaked rose that comes out in Blood Rose for me. Very wierd, and not that I don't love the scent of Blood Rose which is one of my favorites, but I've no need for two of them. Off to swaps for someone that it works better for than me Edit: Tried again out of desperation. Now it's sweet. What the...??? Now I adore this. Hrm.

Ylang ylang and a touch of something a little spicey, maybe Jasmine, as this starts. It's an almost too sweet medicinal smell while wet, but that's pretty typical for ylang ylang on my skin. This dries into a gorgeous soft, spicey smell with just a touch of soft floral, not white or overpowering, more like wilting flowers in summer heat. Utterly feminine and gorgeous, a soft musk starts to come in as this wears on making it incredibly sexy. Love this one, definite keeper.

Lemon. Oh lemon you know I really do like you but you're just so persistant and loud and squeaky and happy that you drive all the other notes out of the party. While i am told Lavender stuck her head in for a visit you kick-boxed her right out the door again. Lemon. More lemon. Yet more lemon. I like Lemon, but I don't find it soothing and sadly this never really does anything other than lemon. Oh well.

Whoa. The phrase: incredibly complex comes to mind. White chocolate in the bottle it's a cocoa smell for a moment but is creamier and lighter than any of the other BPAL chocolate scents. Tangerine and a touch of sweet citrus come out on my skin, sort of a rich, decadent table set with flowers, fruit, and candy. There's a definite floral undertone to this but I wouldn't classify this as strictly floral or strictly foody, rather a combination of both. The white chocolate stealths it's way back in eventually for which I will be ever thankful. Gorgeous and ever-shifting and just wonderfully yummy.

Happy and joyous best describe this. A pure, watery, clean floral, not cloying, but a garden full of fresh flowers. The freesia and lotus are the strongest on me, making this a little bit spicey-fruit as well. It's gorgeous, but also very strong and while I love florals this one, combined with my chemistry, never really made me sit up and go wow. It's not that it's not capable of it, simply my skin seems to be eating all the notes and not leaving much there. Ah well.

Almond straight out of the bottle and while wet, spicey and warm this dries into a complex, masculine and earthy combination of tobacco and vertiver on me. The vertiver is thankfully not as strong as it could be and while I still find it personally unsettling, it doesn't override this scent at all. Amber starts to really round this out as is wears on and it's gorgeous and warm and sexy, but not quite ringing bells enough for me to hoarde it.

Earthy but not herbal in the bottle, warm and soft with tons of myrrh and a touch of rose and the faintest trace of warm, red currant. Going on this is incredibly warm and juicy without being too fruity. The myrrh and vanilla really soften the fruits, adding a dark, swarm sweetness to this. Complex much? The layers in this are almost impossible to pick through and the notes seem to cycle, pomegranite and currant fading into hints of vanilla touched rose. This is incredibly grounding, a perfect scent to encompass a protective, strong hug. Feminine but not floral, earth mother indeed! LOVE it

Chaos Theory CXXXIII (133) In the bottle: Buttery and warm and kind of like buttered popcorn. I'm a bit surprised as I thought this is what Shill might smell like. On it goes! On me: There's something faintly minty under this, sort of fresh and layered under a warm buttery richness. It's sort of foody, but not, warm but also not spicey. I am wretched at picking notes out but there is also something a little floral? Maybe a few drops of Gardenia although not anywhere near enough that I would call this a gardenia blend. The verdict: Wierd but good. It's as it progresses a lighter more playful version of harvest moon on me.. Chaos Theory CXXXVI (136) In the bottle: ooo minty On me; whoa. Werd. A little bit like Sasparilla and mint, this is herbal and minty all at once, with a touch of sweetness. It goes a little sticky and off on me sadly. The verdict: weird but not so good with my skin. While I love the mint and whatever else is in this in the bottle, my skin does bad things with it. Swap it goes

Masculine? This? Only in the way that makes most masculine perfumes look wimpy. Which is not to say this the kind of sweaty, ugh, grunt type of guy. Smooth, classy, dangerous, seductive, rogueish, and ultimately the kind of man your mother told you to stay away from. Wow. Exceptionally well blended I can't quite pick out much of the note list on this, although there are hints of lavender and enough citrus to make this a little bitter initially, it's just utterly gorgeous and sexy as all get out. The leather peeks in occasionally, but overall this is just very well blended, masculine, and sophisticated - the kind of perfume most men's cologne's aspire to be and never reach. This is so going to my boyfriend.

Gorgeous! This is Red Rose's younger, more innocent sister. Ethereal and sweet, with maybe some sweetpea or honeysuckle under a fresh, dewy rose. This isn't a powdery rose scent, but rather a fresh one. Light, perfect for hotter weather, and beautiful. Definite keeper.

Coconut macaroons with a touch of orange peel. Yah I know, odd association but that's what the Star dries down to on me. It's sweet, homey, comforting, and rather bakery like in an Italian cookie sort of way. I don't really want to smell like this all the time as it made me amazingly hungry, but it was great to try.

This is the only Dragon's blood blend in Ars Draconis that has worked fantastically well on me - and boy does it work! Rich, spicey, sexy dragon's blood and a touch of warm glowing musk. Sexy, strong, and slinky. This is a little strong for day-wear for me but it's a great evening scent and is going on my 5ml list.

Very sharp and green, the pennyroyal is almost metallic to start, but fades to a sort of menthol sort of mintiness which is surprisinginly refreshing. Combined with the lavender this reminded me of a victorian doctor, just a little edgey but good for you in the end. Nice but just on the side of unsettling that I've no desire to wear this one often.

Mmm this is gorgeous, light and fruity. Similar to titania in bright fruity juciness this is all light, sweet plum when I first put it on. Playful, and clean this is a great, sweet summer scent. Daffodil and Jasmine add some sophistication and there is a definite spice and light floral as this dries down. Gorgeous... a keeper!

Oooooooo I'm in love! Warm and buttery without being...well buttery. This is soothing and calming and very milky - much more so than Dana O'Shee which is another favorite. This is like Dana's laid back cousin. Reminiscent of warm, spiced milk there's a touch of sweetness to this that I'm adoring. This was almost minty underneath when I first applied, kind of like those butter mint candies, the lunar oils coming through I expect. Those have since faded and left me with a warm, strong but not overpowering, milky goodness. yum!

Fruity and berryish, with a touch of crisp evergreen and something cool in it. I get a lot of fruit (berries more than pineapple) at the start and a lot of something green and sharp as this drys down. This was much cheerier than I anticipated, cooling and happy and bright without being too sweet or too earthy.

I'm wondering if I got the same scent here as my imp of Tum was very spicey, lots of cloves and smoke and no fruit at all, just that almost metallic sweet bite that is clove on my skin. Spicey, fragrant, and a little incensey on the dry down, this was pleasant but just didn't do much for me.