batsy

In the vial: yeah, that's vanilla with a hint of orchid blossom. On the skin: On me this is sour. With a butter note. And a floral backdrop. All are strong in a not-so-cool-to-my-nose way. Rats. Still an extremely interesting blend. (And now on the dry down it smells like My Little Pony plastic on me. There goes that.)

In the vial: honeydew melon, with citrus. It's like green in a bottle. On the skin: It's a dry aquatic, which is totally an oxymoron but true for this blend. You can feel the scoured san all dry and the twisted trees surrounding an oasis of green. The freesia stands out on me, with a backnote of neroli and honeydew. It is alien in nature. Quite smashing!

In the vial: This is a green apple martini with a big drop of lime! On the skin: The above doesn't hold true on my skin. The mint is strong to me, but everything else disappears. In fact, the whole thing just gotten eaten by my skin to the point where I can barely get any throw. Well, except the mint. That's still there. Oh well.

The legendary site of the Viking colony in Newfoundland founded circa 985. Crisp northern wind blowing over loganberry, wild roses, prairie crocus, iris versicolor Linné, mountain avens, yellow birch bark, mayflower and maple leaf. In the vial: berries and juniper. Vikings ahoy! On the skin: Well, the iris is strong, as well as the crocus, on me. It's an aquatic floral befitting of Vinland. It's pretty light, I have to be right up on it to get the throw. Quite lovely. On the drydown the bark/woodsy note comes out to play. Eventually the roses join as well.

In the bottle: sweet sweet currants, with a buttery undertone. On the skin: The roses truly come out, deep and rich and sweet, almost a red wine-like scent. I normally don't go in for rose scents, but this one hit me just right by not being a dominant floral/rose scent. It's sweet as it dries on my skin and lasts a long time with good throw. It's not a true foody, but will appeal to rose lovers and foodies! I sniffed this at C13 and fell in love, promptly bought a bottle!

Oh boy, the oil is red. In the bottle: gardenias'n'cream with a bit of spice. On the skin: There seems to be an oriental-esque quality to all three of these, which is kinda fascinating. Most definitely a floral, with gardenia and a hint of jasmine. I think this blend is the strongest of the three; there's a LOT of rose (to my nose anyway) as it dries, which is very befitting of the City of Roses. Almost like the Rose Garden in the summer when it's dry and all the roses are in full-bloom. That's what this one evokes. If you love rose scents, you'll want this one! Thank you Beth, for capturing Portland's roses in a bottle!

In the bottle: Bamboo, all watery and similar to Dragon Moon. I don't know why lychee nut popped into my head but it did. On the skin: It's a green-y Asian aquatic. That's a mouthful. There's a hint of spice that starts to pop when it hits my skin that's nice. It's got an underlying floral component that I'm not sure if it's jasmine; I think it is jasmine, the more it comes out on the drydown. it's a really beautiful scent, all spooky like I've been literally shanghai'd in the tunnels.

In the bottle: Jasmine, light and sweet. On me: See, jasmine and I do not play well together. It overwhelms me. It's a floral blend, no doubt about that, very evocative of a feminine ghost plying her trade on old-time Portland streetcorner. It's pretty, that's for sure!

Thanks so much!

Whom do you email/contact about TAL orders? Specifically bottles missing from orders...

So this is the infamous Shattered I've heard about... someone frimped me an imp to try. In the vial: Oh yeah, sparkling grapefruit. Pink in a bottle. On the skin: Still sparkling grapefruit with a heavy punch of something floral. Very bubbly... very aquatic. It's a lovely scent, almost 'designer', if you will. Unfortunately, whatever is in it gave me a headache. Oh well.

(Minor backstory: I have severe episodes of depression, anxiety/panic attacks, and OCD) Last night things got into a bad space for me, mentally. I'd forgotten I have a spot of Lionheart but when looking for something else I came across it. I spread some on my wrists and inner elbows, being as those are the most effective areas to get the scent into me. Within ten minutes I was calm and focused. It actually revoked the insomina I was heading towards and banished the dark thoughts. I made it through the night (gave me vivid dreams) and I'm relatively okay today. I'll probably reapply soon. As for the scent, on me it's got the warm sun-kissed amber smell akin to BPAL's The Lion (which is my favorite BPAL) with a musky, woodsy tone to it. I don't get florals, there might be a bit of moss in there (something green, not sure what) but it's warm and comforting like a blankey. It stayed with me through sleeping and this morning it's not as strong, but it's long-lasting on my skin. Where as I've used White Light with decent results, if it came down to it I'll use Lionheart from now on!

In the vial: Well, it's a familar burn-y smell. I can't place it but I know I've sniffed that note before. On the skin: It's floral, whatever's in it. And it's giving me a headache. Bummer.

In the vial: Ironically it reminds me of when you've just cut into a pumpkin, that smell. On the skin: ugh honeysuckle. I get a whiff of black pepper but the honeysuckle is murder. Good thing I'm not an Aries.

In the vial: Whatever it is, it made me cough. On the skin: Burning smell, in a bad way. Pine tar, hardcore cinnamon... now my skin is burning. This is why I don't play with fire.

In the vial: A freshly opened box of Fruit Loops. Seriously! On the skin: Oh my god, Beth bottled Fruit Loops! This is hiliarious! It's that sugary-sweet fake-fruit smell! Awesome! I can't believe it! Now I can smell like Fruit Loops when ever I want!

In the vial: eww... raw ginger root. Like in the produce department. On the skin: ugh, cassia. And my eyes are burning. Wow, not a good combo for me. *hurriedly tosses in the swaps*

In the vial: salty fruit. On the skin: Holy... I didn't know one could create a perfume that smells EXACTLY like a can of Squirt soda, only salty! Grapefruit ahoy indeed. This is fascinating!

In the vial: whoa, red wine! On the skin: Mimosa. And lots of wine, like buckets full. It takes some drydown but the clove shows up and it's a full blown party. I really like this, the balance of the sweetness of the red wine and the spicy clove... yum!

I haven't had any luck with any of the Draconis scents, so I'm trying again. In the vial: honey and vanilla. Good so far! On the skin: Somehow the vanilla/honey temper the dragon's blood and it hasn't outright scent me screaming. I actually *like* this one, so it pays to keep trying in a scent family. This one I'd actually wear! *gasp* I knew the Dragon couldn't keep failing me. This is yummy!

In the vial: burning, kinda like Fallen. On the skin: still burning ashes. A bit of resins. Unfortunately, there's no throw on this at all and it's just really hard to tell. What little scent I can get is nice, warm.

In the vial: salty ozone. Kinda like a beach after a rainstorm. On the skin: There's a citrus in this. And while most aquatics kill me outright, this one isn't. It's rather lovely, light and airy. The ozone and citrus are key notes. I can honestly say this aquatic didn't send me screaming!

In the vial: woodsy. I love how it's green in colour! On the skin: Saffron and musk. Manly. It's actually kinda nice, it gets spicy on the dry down. Reminds me of a high-end mens' cologne. Neat!

In the vial: Vetiver and cactus. On the skin: The 'mum really pops, but I have to shove my hand into my nose before I can get anything from it. There's no throw. The vetiver chokes everything else to death. It's also kinda sour. I was hoping it was similar to DDLM, but it really isn't. Oh well.

In the vial: Vetiver darkness. Reminds me of Czernobog. On the skin: Hardcore dirty musk. Has 'male' written all over it. Heated and warm. I actually like this one; I love Czernobog, so I was probably bound to like Satyr too. It has a dirt-quality to it, woodsy too. Yum. A keeper!