GemmaCat

Wood and spice at first, possibly sandalwood is in here somewhere? There's also a fresh note, like cold night air, and a mossy green note begins to emerge as this warms to my skin. It ends as all moss and sandalwood. Nice, but not for me.

At first this smells very odd, like a mixture of anise and cherry bubblegum; a cacophany of scents that are impossible to place. But then I get a rich, dry, red wine scent, followed quickly by dark soil and crushed flowers. Very complex and pretty, but ultimately the drydown is too floral for me.

Initially this smelled like really strong orange blossom, almost like orange cough syrup, but then the rose starts to emerge as this warms to my skin, and the whole scent evens out into a lovely sweet-floral. Very pretty and feminine with a youthful feel, but not my thing.

Sharp myrrh and cypress. Way too strong for me, I'm afraid!

This was all dragon's blood resin on me, which meant I had to wash it off straight away as that particular resin turns to a floral monster on me and gives me migraines.

I expected this to be very rich but the burgundy wine gives it an elegant dry note, which combats the sweetness of the plum amaretto pefectly. This is pretty damn amazing on my skin, to be honest. It's sweet, feminine, almost playful with the blend of elegant dryness and bright, girly plum. I need a bottle of this, pronto.

This one was a frimp, and I tried it on before I read the ingredients, which means I was pleasantly surprised. I usually can't wear florals without getting nasty headaches/migraines, but this is soft, sweet violet on my skin with a lovely powdery drydown that is very feminine and elegant. Definitely a keeper!

Ooo, this is delicious! At first it's all gooey, sweet honey and vanilla, but as it dries down I get the lemon and pomegranate emerging, evening out the sweetness and making the whole scent pretty, rich, and uplifting. A definite favourite, and another wonderfully blended scent!

This is fresh, moist potting soil. It instantly brings to mind all the times I've planted bulbs in the Spring. On the drydown, however, it gets a sharp note (possibly the cypress) that causes my head to get all achey and fuzzy feeling, so it's not one I can really wear. A fantastic earth scent, though.

Wow, this is a perfectly blended scent! At first, it's all rich, dark cocoa; gooey and a little bitter, but it quickly sweetens into a throbbing, muted floral blend that gets stronger with time. Usually dragon's blood resin gives me a headache, but the cocoa and musk in this keeps it under control. Very complex and perfumey. It's not one I'll wear often, but it's so beautifully blended that I'll be keeping hold of my decant.

The first time I tried this, I had a cold, and so it just smelled like cologne. With a fresh nose, this is absolutely beautiful. It's all fresh citrus (mandarin always smells like lime to me, for some reason) and light tea, with the sweetness of mint. As it dries down, it gets softer, and the fougere and musk balance out the sweet notes perfectly. This is how I'd hoped Dorian would be (sans vanilla).

Kinsport is the archetypal aquatic scent: salty, fresh, and with just a hint of sweetness. There's something really unusual about this one that I can't place; something fleeting, bringing to mind fish shimmering just under the surface of the water. the dry down is the most amazingly realistic sea breeze! So beautiful and fresh!

Initially, this is all freshly cut pear and grape. It's a sweet, juicy grape, not dry or tart, and it adds a certain sparkle to the scent. As it dries down, a sweet and soft floral emerges, merging perfectly with the fruit. This is a beautiful Spring scent!

This instantly made me think of very fine, very expensive cologne. It has an almost cucumber-cool note, which i suspect is the aloe, but I didn't really get the linen scent, more a masculine cologne. Very nice and fresh, but not for me.

Dark, boozy berries with a tart, almost powdery drydown. This is so juicy, with such depth, that it genuinely made my mouth water. Tart berries, however, aren't something I like to wear, so I swapped this one on. If you're looking for a dry-wine and berry scent, you need this Maelstrom!

I wasn't around when this was first released, and have only heard about it in the past month or so as a Holy Grail BPAL scent, so, of course, I needed to try it for myself to see why it is so special. In the imp I can definitely see why people love it so. It's spicy with a mellow undertone, soft and yet crisp, with the merest hint of something herbal. On my skin, however, the ginger turns dirty and sour, and is really quite unpleasant. The good news is that this imp was shipped off to a new home where it could be properly appreciated.

This is an amazing scent. It's spicy, foody, and comforting. On my skin, the spices merge together to create a spiced-cake scent, which is surprisingly pure. With time, it softens into something much gentler, and the white pepper peeks out shyly. On it's own I think it's delicious, but when layered with Hearth 2005 it becomes a mouth-watering bakery scent. As a coeliac who can't eat wheat-based cakes anymore, this really satisfies any residual cravings for gooey, spicy, bakery-goodness!

Looking at the notes listed, I can say that I'm not getting any honey. I am, however, getting oodles and oodles of sinfully delicious buttered chestnuts and thick sugar; like molasses. This is a decadent, comforting scent, but very strongly foody. On its own, it's not something I would wear, but layered with Three Witches (revisited)? OMG! Scent-gasm! I smell like a walking bakery, one that specialises in spiced cakes and candies. Beautiful!

I was very much looking forward to this one as it combines two of my favourite scents: vanilla and tea. It isn't, however, what I was expecting. Upon initial application it has an almost citrusy smell that reminds me, oddly enough, of a cleaning product, like Ajax or something. It's really off-putting and weird. :/ Eventually I get a scent of real vanilla tea with a squeeze of lemon and a nice muskiness (the fougere, perhaps?) but that cleaning product smell keeps appearing every now and then. Definitely one to stick with until I'm 100% sure but not the "OMG! I need a big bottle of this" scent I'd hoped for.

I have no description for this, but I believe it's quite rare? It was actually given as a freebie with my Misk U and Pink Moon purchase, and smells divine. The name is just perfect for this as it's bright and sparkly. I think there might be some gratefruit in there, and something that smells like really bright lemonade mixed with sweet white wine. This really makes me think of glitter and is just so incredibly pretty and uplifting. Lovely!

This is exactly what is says: blood moon. It has the metallic sharpness of actual blood, with an odd sweetness. This made me think of blood mixed with syrup (candy loving vampires, perhaps?) or macaroon biscuits dipped in blood. Incredibly evocative and impressive but seriously icky and off-putting to me.

The name of this moon refers to the color of wild ground phlox, a primary component of this Lunacy Blend, which is one of the most widespread floral signposts of springtime in North America. This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar, carnation and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season. This is a weird one. In the bottle it smells like really bright and pink florals, and threatens to give me the usual floral-induced migraine. But once on my skin, the flowers close right up and hide away so there's just this very faint lingering scent with a sweetness that can only be from the strawberries. On the drydown, it gets even fainter but a very slight creamy note peeks out. I suspect this smells beautiful on people who don't have my skin chemistry as it seems like my skin just devoured this one. Another one to decant so I can spread the love.

EEE, juicy strawberries! *huffs my wrist greedily* Much riper and more potent than in Bon Vivant. This is so beautiful, and the scent of really juicy strawberries envelops me as soon as I smear it on. It's like taking a bite out of a freshly picked stawberry and having the sticky syrup run down my chin. Mmmm. . . Sadly, on the drydown the ylang ylang and lotus come out, which puts me off a bit as I'm not a big floral fan. I also don't get the creaminess I was hoping for, but overall it's an incredibly beautiful scent and I suspect my mum will LOVE it. For anyone else who doesn't like the floral drydown: if you wear this in a scent locket, you get the juicy strawberries and cream of the ylang ylang with none of the florals. Perfect! I like to wear strawberry body lotion, Bon Vivant in my hair and on my pulse points, and Strawberry moon in my scent locket when I need a pick me up.

That's right: I got my greedy paws on a bottle of the precious, and eagerly applied it this morning as soon as I'd ripped my package apart. This is ALL irish coffee: sweet, a tad milky, rich, and absolutely mouthwatering. I had some reservations before I sniffed this, since I LOVE coffee but hate anything coffee scented or flavoured (I know, it's weird), but this really is delicous. The first thing that struck me about it is the throw. Immediately after application I was enveloped in the coffee-scent, and the staying power is equally formidable. It only disappeared 6 hours later because I jumped in the shower. Actually, the scent is so strong that it did trigger my asthma a little, making it the first BPAL scent without jasmine to do so. ^^; I'd heard tell of the 'dusty library' drydown and got some of that but not enough for my liking. So, yeah, I was a smidge disappointed, but not by much. Overall, I can see why this is so popular and it's the most impressive of Beth's scents I've tried to date. At first, I didn't think it was really me, but overtime I've grown addicted to it. It's perfect to wear when I'm studying or want a cozy pick-me-up.

Initially, I really didn't like this. It smelt harsh, abrasive, spicy and dirty (in the bad way!), but as my skin warmed it up the Egyptian amber made an appearance, and the whole scent mellowed and deepened. On the drydown this smells like a deeper, more complex and musky Snake Oil; very sensual and dark, like twisted love or fanatical devotion. This also has fantastic throw and staying power. I'm undecided so far and need to test it further. I love the drydown but I'm not sure about the initial smell.