grifyn_whiffs
-
Content Count
1,783 -
Joined
-
Last visited
6 Followers
-
This started out as beautiful, warm sandalwood, but the ozone note (like it has several times before) killed it for me. After about 20 minutes, it just smelled like a herbal remedy and went dusty on my skin. I never got the sweet that happened for anyone else. Not for me...
-
Something I've learned from BPAL: Lotus scents = bubble gum. Well, to START, anyway. The bubble gum phase of this one was over within the first five minutes. From there, it was slightly sharp and spicy for a moment and then... frighteningly soapy on my skin (Amber, I see what you did there). The soapy amber goes away, though, and for a blissful hour, I got a gorgeous waft of smooth silky lotus every time I shifted or put my hand through my hair. Really, really pretty. Even now I get the faintest trace of it on my skin. Not long lasting on me, but really pretty.
-
A very grown up honey! I layered this with Lush's HIWTK, and it really was a sweet tooth kind of day. I got the wine note on dry down, but not the myrrh so much. I think the flowers were kind of folded in (to my nose) with the honey. The throw was nicely wafting, and I think it stuck around for 2-3 hours (this is a long stint for me!). I may like this just as much as Sudha Segara!
-
This scent is surprisingly wearable! It's also sweeter than I imagined it would be: the woods that open up are soft and pretty, and then I smell the violets and phlox. I was expecting something a bit more ominous! It goes a bit powdery for a few moments (I'm not sure which note did the deed), but evens out on dry-down. Unfortunately, about 20 minutes after dry-down, all but the faintest, prettiest, warm floral whiffs are gone. But, it was definitely worth re-applying throughout the day.
-
I was eager to try this one after hearing so much about it. The initial whiff is very promising -- it smells like a crystalline blanket of snow and delicate flowers. Unfortunately, like Snow-Flakes before it, my skin had eaten it within about fifteen minutes. There's something about the pale white florals that my skin just soaks up. I have to assume it's the floral notes since I've tried snow storm and snow notes by themselves and had them turn out beautifully. I don't get the almond notes or vanilla. I do get a faint edge of mint (I love mint, so that's fine), but mostly "small white flowers poking up through slushy snow." I'm curious to smell this one on someone else. I'll bet it's brilliant on someone whose skin behaves for the notes.
-
I had no idea how much I would adore this. It's absolutely breathtaking. Why have I never heard of Candy Charcoal before this, seriously? Black smoky candy and violets, with lilies rounding everything out. I love everything about this... that poof of chimney dust makes it smell so different from anything else in my collection -- it's wintry, cold, pretty and sweet. I can definitely see where it would be an acquired taste, however... that smoky note's not going to be for everyone. But for me, this perfectly blends my love of sweet florals with sweets and smoky resins. I know they're here until January, but I MUST order some now!
-
Scent like Partylite Hokuspokus / Abracadabra
grifyn_whiffs replied to Antaria's topic in Recommendations
I did a little Googling last night -- and ended up mostly on eBay auctions. The description I kept seeing was, "A delightful scent of secrets... with a surprising twist." I guess the twist is not fragrance related (the yellow candle morphs to green), and the delightful scent... well, no one seems to be talking. I came across one description that described it, very briefly, as "citrus-like", but I'm not sure how much that helps you. Edited. Message cloned itself. Weird. -
I'm testing this one and The Death of Autumn at the same time, thinking of them as cause and effect scents, BUT... not caring for October so far. There was an astounding "that's a red leaf" feeling as I started sniffing, which makes me wonder how the lab can sometime capture a COLOR in the bottle. It sets my synaptic firings all a-tingle. This goes a little too man's cologne on me, as well. The only thing that keeps the smoke from taking over is the sap, which I like... a faint woody sweetness in the back. But, too far in the back. Is it weird that going back and forth between this one and The Death of Autumn makes the bitter clove in the latter REALLY pop out to my nose? Nice... evocative, but not really my thing. Will add to swap/sell list.
-
This was a little overpowering on the initial sniff, but having put it on my arm TWICE now from my decant, I am overjoyed. This is a such a dry, brisk breath of autumn-turning-to-winter. Each time I check the drydown, I like it more. I love how the dark amber, rather than making things seem powdery (amber misbehaves on me) makes everything seem dry, brittle. The dead leaves here are magnificent -- brilliant shades curling and browning at the edges, rattled by the breeze. There's some smoke drifting through the background. It strikes me that this blend has nowhere to go but UP, as these notes all strike me as ones that age gorgeously. Also, this blend morphs gorgeously. GUH. There's saffron... not 100% in love with how my skin handles saffron, so I'm relieved when it morphs into the blend and isn't so discernible. I'm not really sensing or picking out the florals, which is fine by me. This is beautiful. I may just have to score a bottle of this... dammit! My potential next order list is getting longer and longer.
-
I get the astringency when I first sniff this one, too. I suspected from the notes that this one wouldn't work on me, but I do like how that faint linen note is behaving with the dry florals. I'm really liking both the rose and violet in this, so it's useful to know that these notes are similar to those in Hope & Faith. This one doesn't really "work" for me. Conceptually, it's a nice floral, not "atrocious" at all.
-
The description for this one scared me, too. Vinegar? Get thee hence! BUT, I am so stunned: This is the blend I WANTED Centzon Totochtin to be. CT went "off" on me (something about that rum note, I think), but started out so beautiful, and so does The Chilling Cellar! The blood musk is so unbelievably gorgeous on me! Admittedly, I don't get anything Eeeevil from this blend, but maybe evil is in the nostrils of the beholder? This is perfect, perfect, perfect! It's right up there with the Perilous Parlor for Haunted House blends that will require a bottle buy!
-
The description for this one scared me almost as much as any of the others. Smeared fungus? Rot? "I don't know about this..." But I wanted to see if BPAL could do a scent that made me think of a long-abandoned, haunted foyer. At first, I swear I can smell the fungus/mildew. BLEAH. After about five minutes though, this is WOOD. WOOD and more WOOD. Old, dark wood, a little bit of varnish I swear. If it weren't for the faint trace of cognac, this would smell like opening a bureau drawer or a new bookcase. When I give it a bit more time to dry down, it takes on this very OLD feel. Very masculine and dusky. Not my favorite room of the Haunted House thus far, but still an interesting experience!
-
I am in awe. This smells exactly the way I would expect a wet, poisonous, dangerous garden, with bright blooms to ensnare small children, to smell. I can smell wet, sweet blooms, viscous green vines and stems, and something underneath that says, "No, don't do it!" An aunt of mine had a patch of deadly nightshade in her front garden, and she had planted a bunch of chrysanthemums and rhododendron around it. I just remember walking WIDE around her garden, wide-eyed, not wanting to touch ANY of it, thinking it was going to get me. I don't know if she liked it, couldn't get rid of it or was afraid to get near it like me. I used to have dreams that it uprooted itself at night and would come after me... This scent is such a reminder of that garden.
-
This is my favorite of all the Haunted House blends I've tried so far! On me, it's a SLIGHTLY spicy, fresh pear, and then the vanilla comes out. This isn't the same pear to me as the one in Titania, which is a syrupy sweet pear, but a more true pear, peel and all. It's closer to the pear in Endymion, but I like this one more. I agree that it's the same vanilla as Tokyo Stomp -- a warmer, creamier vanilla. Thankfully, this vanilla has behaved on me so far. The drydown just gets better and better, and the pear doesn't seem to fade on me at all! A bottle of this just might have to find its way into my collection. ETA: Two subsequent tests found it fading on me, leaving just a whiff of pear after about half an hour. Damn, I really wanted this one to work for me.
-
At first, I only smell a light incense. When it dries, it occurs to me: This is the scent that I wanted Dee to be! Dee went herbal on me, but this stays old, magical incense. I'm not getting the nefarious notes here. The tomes do not seem to be forbidden, nor the past servants infernal. It's just a wonderful old library under thick dust. There is something floral, but my skin eats pale florals, so all is well... it's just a nice, sweet note very much in the background on me, blending with the dustiness for that "old book not opened for centuries" scent. I wish the incense were a bit more pronounced, though. Maybe my skin is eating a that, too?