filigree_shadow

I've had this decant for several years now. When I first got it, I tried it and thought it was too acidic and unpleasant. For some reason I stashed it in the back of my imp box instead of swapping it, and now I've found it again. So I decided to give it a whirl. My tastes have changed a bit since then, plus I'm sure the oil has changed in three years, too. It was slightly acidic and darkly fruity -- not juicy at all -- at first, but then when it was dry it changed to mostly a cantaloupe scent. You'd think with those billions of fruit notes in there I wouldn't be able to pick out a particular one, but that does seem to be the prominent note. Soft and sweetly fruity. Still not my fave of the fruity scents, though, so this time it goes in the swap box for sure and not shoved in the back of my BPAL box.

Bold, creamy rose. I don't get much honey out of this, but mostly soft rose petals. It's strooooong on me, though. Just a little bit is plenty. I've put a little test swipe on my skin each day for the past three days because I kept meaning to getting around to writing a review for it, but I kept procrastinating. Then the next day I'd say, "Oh, I never wrote that review, I ought to do another swipe to refresh my memory." So I've kind of been smelling this a lot in the past few days. It's the kind of rose scent that I like (and I don't like many of them), but it's not my favorite one. I'm half tempted to hang on to the decant, but I think I like Pink Snowballs better than this one. So probably this one can go.

Compassion, eloquence, introspection: Chinese musk and rain, with salty oceanic notes, frankincense, juniper berry, lily of the valley, lavender, cinquefoil, and sweet pea. Usually, the aquatic scents aren't a big hit with me. They generally just smell clean to me. I mean, I like smelling clean as much as the next guy -- it's better than the alternative -- but I don't wear perfume to smell clean, I wear perfume to smell like something else. This one is a bit different, though. Sure, it smells aquatic, but it's softer than aquatics usually are on me. It's sweet and floral and a bit herby in addition to the water notes. More feminine than aquatics usually are. It seems like it has a bit of an airy quality in addition to the watery quality. This is probably one of my favorites of the aquatics.

I'm bound to like anything with copal in it, and I like this one a lot. It smells like a musky honey scent, but it also has a twinge of the sort of traditional-cologne-type scent I associate with copal. Thankfully the honey isn't going awry on me at all in this one. It's a good, warm, sweet, musky scent. It's not loud, so I don't have to worry that I'm going to knock anyone over with my perfume. I like that kind. ETA: I decided to do a full wear of this rather than just a test, and it's quite perfumey on my throat. It reminds me of Prada perfume -- it has a similar feel. I got more of the light honey scent when the oil is on my arms, but on my throat? Traditional perfume. That's what it smells like. And that's right what my nose is in the midst of. It's not bad at all -- I like it -- but I don't often have the opportunity to wear this sort of scent. It smells like a grown-up special occasion type of scent, and I'm just not very high-brow.

I didn't think this would work on me, based on the notes (chocolate goes wonky on me, "creamy" scents tend to smell strange and artificial), but I wanted to try it anyway, just in case. You never know. Well, I could have safely avoided it. It did just what I thought it was going to do. However, before the whole thing boarded the bullet train to hell, it smelled like a wonderful marshmallow scent with just a hint of coconut. I liked it a lot. My skin chemistry just can't handle scents like this.

This is a bold, non-heady floral. It seems like I don't smell those very often. Normally, if a floral blend is strong on me, it's usually one of those heady overpowering scents like tons of jasmine or something. Not this one. It's perfumey, yes, but not in a stinging zingy way that reminds me of hairspray like some of the perfumey florals do. I couldn't tell you what any of those Swedish flowers smell like, so I really have no idea what I'm smelling. Orchid tends to smell similar to lily on me, and that's not what I'm getting out of this at all. They do smell like white flowers, I can tell you that much. I'm trying to think of something in the GC that this reminds me of, and I'm not coming up with anything. It's a very "traditional" type of scent and different from most BPAL oils. If you like the non-heady florals and you're looking for something that's a bit on the mature side and doesn't have rose in it, try this one. It smells sophisticated and elegant to me.

I like all these notes except the jasmine, and I can't smell any jasmine in this! The citrus note and the plum are prominent when it's wet, but as it dries the darker notes get stronger. It turns quite perfumey, as you'd probably expect with those notes, but it's perfumey in the best way possible. Smells like very expensive perfume. Not at all like generic department store perfume. It's elegant and beautiful, and it's definitely more of a nighttime scent than a daytime one. I can't point to any one note in particular -- it's very well-balanced -- so I can't really tell you what this smells like. I just know I like it.

When I'm close up to this scent, I smell the moss, but I can't smell it in the scent that wafts up from my wrist. It mostly smells like a creamy red currant when my wrist is the usual distance away from my nose. Very sweet and very red. I like it a bunch, but my skin butchers that cream note and turns it into plastic. I'm super sad about that because if it weren't for that I would want a bottle of this. I love the patchouli and moss with that sweet red fruity scent. The sweet red currant really is the strongest note on my skin, even when it's dry, and I have MB: Bloody Mary for this type of scent -- that one works really well on me, so I'll just stick with that one.

I've had this decant for a looooong time, and I'm just now getting around to writing a review for it. I've tried it a couple of times, but I've never worn it. To me it smells like a very calming, relaxing scent. There's a distinctly soapy quality to it, but it's rather pleasant. It's herby and smells light purple. I looked at all the other reviews and most of them mention lavender, so yeah, I guess that's probably what it is. Never got a big blast of it, though, and generally lavender is pretty obnoxious on me. Of course, this oil is probably 4 years old at this point, so it has probably changed somewhat. This isn't a scent I'd wear, but I like it fine.

Considering the state of the economy and other worldwide woes, I think we all need a little extra dose of good luck. A sweet, comforting base of dark chocolate and brown sugar with thirteen herbs of good fortune, including nutmeg, Tonka, allspice, star anise, Jamaican and African gingers, devil’s shoestring, lucky hand root, and thyme. When it's wet, the anise in it is the strongest note, making it smell like licorice. Like licorice and... and root beer. Ginger? Absent. Other spices? Gone fishing, evidently. This smells like what it would taste like if I had one of those root beer-flavored hard candies in one side of my mouth and a piece of black licorice in the other side. It's not as bold as that would be, but that's the general feeling. When it's dry, that whole licorice-root-beer combination goes away and I'm left with a vaguely spicy scent over a base of anise. Good grief. What a mess. Well, I guess sooner or later my skin chemistry was going to have to foul up one of these Thirteens, and it looks like this is the one.

Eek, this one is not good on me. Smells dusty and musty. Yikes. It makes me think of my grandmother's sweater that has been sitting in a drawer all summer and she didn't wash it before she wore it in the winter and she smells kind of like a musty sweater. There is no way I can get away from that association with this -- that's exactly what it smells like to me. So, no. Not gonna work for me.

I have no idea what the most prominent note in this is. Must be a combination of things because it doesn't smell like one thing in particular. A bit of tobacco and musk, but it's slightly sour. Not in a bad way, to be honest. It just smells a little off. I don't dislike it, but there are other masculine scents I like better. Generally perfume oils smell different on my husband than they do on me, so I'll hand this one over to him and see whether he likes it.

This started out very perfumey (from the frankincense, I bet) and then turned slightly less perfumey. It's herby without smelling like any particularly herb -- it just has that sort of harsh, kind of bitter scent I associate with herby scents. I guess that's from the sage and galangal. It seems like there's a little bit of pepperiness to it, too. It's not floral or resiny or woody; this is one of those ones that's hard to put into a category. To me, it kinda just smells like a generic perfume. It's not bad, just not a standout for me.

I generally like the leather + berry combination, and I like it in this. The leather is really soft, though. Not very prominent on me. I'm not sure that I'm crazy about the cognac in this, which is odd to me since I figured leather and cognac would smell good together. It's a softer scent than I imagined it would be, probably due to the cream (which thankfully is not turning to plastic on me in this one like it usually does). Plus, when I read "brown paper bag" I didn't think that would be one of the notes involved, but I'd swear it is. There's a dry papery note in here too. It ends up being a sweet creamy fruity scent with a leather undertone. Quite lovely. I like this, and it works. The only reason I'm not going to look for a bottle of it is that I think I already found my leather true loves, which are Nanny Ashtoreth and Le Père Fouettard. I think Miller vs. CA would definitely grow on me if I wore it often enough, but... damn, I just have so many bottles. I'm trying to be super picky these days. In a death match between this and Nanny, Nanny wins. But I like this. Crap. I'll keep the decant and wear it a few times, and later I'll decide whether I need more. That seems reasonable.

Wasabi, pu-erh and Touareg teas, green cedar, myrrh, white sage, khus, frankincense, and coriander. Green and weird. I don't know how else to describe this scent. Something in it smells vaguely aquatic to my nose, but it also smells like a super-sweet powder, with a bizarre spicy kick from the wasabi and coriander. Green, peppery, powdery water. See? I told you. Weird.

Let me preface this by saying that I often like vetiver. A few types of vetiver are BLECH ARGH on me, but often it smells like a dry, smoky, grassy scent on me. Sort of like tall reedy brown grass that somehow got a bit singed on the edges. It's quite appealing, and nothing at all like the hideous grossness that other people describe. Velvet Tiger smells like that vetiver I just described (dry, smoky tall grass) with tangerine and cinnamon. The cinnamon is not too strong, and the tangerine/orange notes lighten up the scent a lot. It seems like I can smell the licorice in it too, but just a little bit. It gives the tangerine note a little extra twang. This isn't something I'd wear every day, but it's something I most definitely like.

I smelled pumpkin straight off, and then a few minutes later it disappeared. Ends up smelling like red musk, berries, and carnation. (Thank goodness no jasmine.) The musk and the fruit seem to be the dominant notes. I think the pumpkin is holding down the red musk just a little bit, and I bet the fig is helping out with that too. But when it's dry I can't pick out either of those notes individually. I'm a sucker for red musk blends, and I like this one. It smells more playful than red musk usually smells because of the berries.

At first it smells like pastries, but then it smells like cookies. Cookies with some spices on. The spices are not too strong at all, they're very enjoyable (and I'm a gal who doesn't like spicy scents). Argh, I have so many foodie scents! Do I need another one? Hem. Haw. Wibble. This one smells really good, but my other ones smell really good too. On my skin, this one smells close to something I already have, but for some reason the name of it isn't coming to mind. I guess I don't need another one that smells so similar to something I already have.

Hm, apple blossom? So why does this smell peachy on me? I'm sniffing pretty hard, and I can't turn that peachy scent into something that smells like apples no matter how hard I try. Nope, it just honestly really smells like peaches on me. The florals are there but not prominent -- can't pick any single one out -- and the musk, amber, and sandalwood give it a good firm base. But mostly it seems like a soft fruit scent. Not a loud one, a soft one. Pretty and feminine. It wears fairly close to the skin. I like this, and I'll definitely keep my decant.

I sort of expected the jasmine in this to overpower the other notes, but it doesn't. The tea rose does. It seems like I can smell a little bit of vanilla bourbon, but mostly it's a soft rosy scent. It's a good rose, but it doesn't seem like there's much else going on.

This decant has been sitting in my "to test" box for about 18 months. I kinda forgot it was in there. It's not one I would have set aside to age because generally I don't try to age florals. I guess it just got lost for a while. Anyway, this smells like ROSE. Basically, just rose. A wee bit of myrrh, but not much. It doesn't smell like a cute pink rose or an innocent white rose, it's smells red and a bit thorny. Slightly greenish. Not dewy or soft.

I wish I had written down my thoughts about Dionysia when I first got the decant 18 months ago. The only thing I remember about it was thinking that it had benzoin, patchouli, and mahogany in it, so I'd give it a while to age. But now I don't remember what it was about the scent that I disliked when it was fresh. I'll tell you what I do know, though: The aged version is FAB. Raspberry notes sometimes go weird and chalky on me -- it's not. Frankincense sometimes gets too high-pitched and sweet on me -- it's not. This is all deep and beautiful with a plum overtone. The throw isn't super strong, but it's basically exactly at the level I like: I can catch whiffs of it from my wrist from time to time, but I don't feel like I'm sitting in a cloud of it. When I put my nose directly to my wrist, I don't like it as well (it's a bit too sweet), but the wafty scent is great. A deep, dark, sweet plum.

I didn't get lemon from this at all. I got grapefruit. It smells like the same grapefruit top note I get from Manhattan. Maybe because of what else is in with it, I'm not sure. The citrus scent fades out after an hour so, as citrus notes do, and what's left is a really nice musky skin scent. It's not loud at all, it's sweet and clean-smelling. I wouldn't say "fresh" because it's too musky to be fresh. I can see why people have described it as smelling like soap, but that's not what leaps to mind for me. It's just nice and soft.

Creamy, sweet violets. Personally, I really like this scent. I've worn it several times while just hanging around the house, and I enjoy it. I like violets -- it's one of the few floral notes I truly like and don't just tolerate -- and this sweet soft version is pretty. The creamy part of the chocolate note goes a little bit wonky on me after an hour or so (creaminess tends to do that on me), but unless my nose is right next to my skin I don't notice it. So that didn't bother me too much. My husband, though... not his fave. He walked in the room about an hour ago and said, "Something smells weird in here." I said, "Does it smell like wet dog? Because the dogs were just out in the snow." He said, "No. Smells like BPAL. But one I don't like." I held out one wrist. "Nope, not that one." Held out the other wrist. "It's that one. It smells better close up, but from the doorway it doesn't smell good." Poor White Chocolate and Sugared Violets. Voted icky by the hubby. (Also, he could smell it from the doorway? Damn. I just put some oil on my wrist. I thought the scent was just in a small little area right around me. I couldn't even smell it that well. Sheesh, I wonder if I'm bowling people over with my perfume without realizing it.)

This is sweeter and bolder than I expected, and it also smells a bit sportier than I would have imagined. Sort of like cologne, but without any kind of twang. It's smoother than cologne smells to me. It's actually kind of fresh scent, but usually when I think of fresh I think "green," and this isn't green at all. Personally, I'm not really getting musky or sexy from this like other people did. It's one of those scents that I like and I find entirely pleasant, but it's not enough of a standout to make me want a bottle of it. It's what I think of as an everyday scent, not something for a special occasion, but something you could wear all the time.