batsy

In the bottle: Cherry merlot wine, quite tangy, almost vinegar-y? It tickles the nose. Wet: Immediately get the burgundy, almost a mahogany quality to it. It's not furniture polish; this mahogany reminds me of Riding the Goat. I know it's not listed in the notes, so I'm guessing it's just how the burgundy and merlot blend. It's not particularly spicy when wet. Post dry-down: It gets a bit gourmand foodie on the skin. It's sweet but not sugary. All the wine and spices blend into a deep richness. I tend to enjoy the blends with wine and this is no exception. The clove really starts to come out as it dries down. Verdict: There isn't much throw to this one after about two hours; I slathered it on generously but it clings close to the skin. It did have a sour note about five hours on but it wasn't off-putting. If you're looking for something medium and lightly spiced, this might work for you.

In the bottle: Super sweet and creamy, very sugary. Kind of like hazelnut cream with a bit of bourbon. Quite foodie! Wet: The ink comes out in a way that I could only describe as "wet ink on parchment". It smells lovely, it's hard to convey in words. It has quite a bit of throw when wet. I found it a comforting scent, possibly due to the mix of sandalwood, frankincense, and myrrh. It's not particularly "deserty" but it has a warmth to it that envelops the wearer. I won't hesitate to say it sparked happiness in me. Post dry-down: The hazelnut really stuck with me the longest; I think it's a deeper hazelnut with the oak and sandalwood mixed in, but it's still that distinctive hazelnut. Verdict: I'm super happy I picked this, not just because of the notes but also the label image. As an art school kid who "tattoo" all over herself with Sharpie in high school, I feel like this was a scent made for me. It's a warm foodie scent with a dollop of dark ink.

In the bottle: Oh boy, that's a lot of sugar! The strawberry is hitting me the most, followed by blackcurrant. Wet: It really does smell like you've opened a fresh bag of Skittles. No lie. It's still mostly strawberry for me, deepened by the lemon and lime. Dry down: It's no longer punching me in the face with its sugary sweetness and it's not as bright as when wet. Verdict: This is a hilarious scent and I love the concept and the name. It delivers on the "rainbow" part. I'm not sure that I'll keep the bottle; smelling like Skittles isn't my thing. But I do think this is a fun blend and enjoyed sniffing it.

In the bottle: wet cedar! Wet: cedar and graphite? It smells more like a cedar block used in a closet to combat moths then a pencil. This is not a bad thing. I don't quite get the eraser note others have gotten. Dry down: Basically the same, not much throw. There's a sweetness to it that I didn't expect. Verdict: Probably going to keep it because it's a SN and the novelty of it.

In the bottle: green aquatic froot loops. Sigh. Wet: The same, for a long time. I can't remember which aquatics I tried way back in the early days of my BPAL discovery but they did the same. It's a headache in a bottle for me. Dry down: It's still wet sugary cereal. Depressing. Verdict: I love San Francisco, and even though I've never been fortunate to spend a Halloween there, I desperately wanted to love this blend. Unfortunately, testing it now aged 11 years (and back when it was released, though I'm not sure I reviewed it then) it hasn't changed for me. So sad. Hopefully someone else can enjoy the bottle.

(very aged by now) In the bottle: Brimstone. Wet brimstone. Yep. Wet: Yep there's the hyssop and tobacco, it's morphing to an earthy scent, quite rich. The rum might be messing with this. Rum doesn't like me. Dry down: Hm. Pretty much the same as the wet, only less concentrated. Not much throw at all, difficult to discern anything but tobacco and earth. Verdict: Going to pass. This one does nothing for me.

(2008 version, aged) In the bottle: Oh no, no, I will not repeat what my first thought was. Oh, this not going well. That's definitely beer/soggy barley. Wet: Surprise! The whiskey is here! I was not expecting this based on that horrible mix I sniffed in the bottle. Oh, wait, as it dries down, there's the mix that made me distrustful. Dry down: It's very sweet and warm, like whiskey, but there's a sour note that is making me remember less pleasant smells involving my cat. Verdict: Going to have to pass. If it was just the whiskey note, I'd probably love it. But can't overcome the weird mix triggering unpleasant scent memories.

(2008 version, very much aged) In the bottle: Oo, there's tobacco, wood, agave, and roses. All very faint but I've sniffed enough over the past decade to pick out notes. This is promising. Wet: This is very woodsy with a hint of spice. As it begins to dry down, the roses begin to pop on my skin; they're a deep rose. I think the agave keeps it sweet but not sugary. Dry down: The tobacco returns and blends with the roses, which is mellow and soft, and I'm thinking the copal gives it a depth. It conjures the image of an altar covered in roses while someone smokes a cigar but it smells good. I wouldn't normally go for this but I love my bottles of Día de los Muertos and this reminds me of some of the notes in them. I'm not sure, as the full dry down takes affect, that I would wear Mictecacihuatl as much. Verdict: This is tough. It smells so wonderful in the bottle and wet, but dried down there isn't much throw and it's got a baby powder element I'm not sure it can shake. Baby powder and woods... Might retest it another day to make sure skin chemistry isn't messing with this.

In the bottle: strawberry candy? Specifically those hard candies in the shiny wrapper that is printed to look like a strawberry? But also wet strawberry goo. Full on sugary in your face. Wet: strawberry cotton candy fresh from the machine. I don't get anything but strawberry. And it's the fake strawberry flavoring version. Dry down: I think I got the candy corn? I mean, it's hard to be definitive, since it's such an in your face sugar punch. Dry, it seems to have brought out the "blue" but it's still 98% strawberry sugar. Verdict: This is not for me. I wouldn't wear it at all. Strawberry flavor is fine but not for wearing.

In the 5ml bottle: darkness. I'm getting tiny whiffs of incense and oppoponax, I guess that's the "smoke"? Wet on skin: there's cedar. Not too strong, thankfully. Smells kind of like a wet pine forest; basically where I reside. Quite calming and pleasant Dry down: There isn't much throw for me, so it's difficult to discern notes. It's smokey and dark, with a hit of cedar and pine. Quite masculine, tbh, but again very pleasant. Verdict: Lovely scent but not for me. I wouldn't wear it often enough to justify keeping the 5ml.

Traditionally, Beaver Moon is named thus for a very obvious reason: during this time of year, beavers are hard at work building their dams and preparing for the onset of winter. However, we at BPAL rarely let an opportunity for sleazy campiness pass us by! For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: gooey apple cheesecake! Wow, I'm first? (That's never happened in all my BPAL years.) Ah, Beaver Moon. My first was the original. I have had good luck with these, so here's hoping 2012 is a keeper. In the bottle: Lambs-Wool cheesecake. I kid you not. It's not as strong as Lambs-Wool in the bottle, and there's decidedly a gooey cheesecake element, but still. On the skin: Decidedly cinnamon right off the bat. It doesn't burn my skin (thankfully) but it is certainly there. The smell reminds me of a home-made thick crusted apple pie with gobs of cinnamon on top. The apples scent is still the same note of Lambs-Wool (thankfully I love Lambs-Wool) and the more it dried down on me, the more the cheesecake note came popping through. Doesn't have a heck of a lot of throw, not as much as the original Beaver Moon or other incarnations, which is probably good. (Other versions tend to give me a headache, so I have to wear them sparingly.) Overall: A lovely addition to the Beaver Moon family. Foodies will love it, cinnamon haters might hate it. I love the artwork, as well. Only wish I'd been able to afford more than one bottle!

A shrouded embrace: blackcurrant and amber with cassis, lavender, and deep purple mogra. Wow, I get to be first? Cool. In the bottle: dark and sharp lavender. It burned a little at first whiff. On the skin: On application, it's pretty much all cassis and lavender for me. To my nose it's "green"; not woodsy nor aquatic, which is what I usually mean by green, but more a "magic" green. Herbal. Dry down: I wore this all day and while it does not have a strong throw, it decidedly stayed with me. The words that popped in my head when I catch the scent were "purple plastic", which I think is due to some deep-seated childhood memory of the scented My Little Ponies I had. This is not a bad thing! The more time that passed, the more it morphed into a purple amber, difficult to describe in words but beautiful to sniff. The lavender does not overwhelm like it can, and although I have no idea what purple mogra is, apparently it smells good to my nose. Verdict: I'm glad I bought one bottle of this. I took a chance based on the black currant and amber and got a nice blend I'm sure I'll enjoy when I choose to wear it.

In the vial: strong lavender, jasmine, herbal. On the skin: Burning lavender. Which, I like lavender, but whatever else is in this doesn't like me. It made me cough. This is certainly potent in the lavender department, so if that's you, then you'll want to check this out.

In the vial: Jasmine and burning. Burning in an unpleasant way. That's probably the myrrh, which usually I like. Bleh. On the skin: Okay, jasmine. I hate you, you hate me, why did I put this on? No, no, bad.

In the vial: SANDALWOOD, then leather. On the skin: hello white leather from a 1980s music video that ran in heavy rotation on MTV. I like this; usually I'm hit or miss with sandalwood but the leather makes this balance out in the "yum" category. I can only imagine this would smell wonderful on a man. It's spicy but the hit of leather makes it creamy (?) to my nose. I might have to invest in a bottle of this.

In the vial: Chamomile with herbs. A tinge of rose. On the skin: Yeah, this isn't very pleasant to my nose but certainly makes me think of Rome. The juniper disagrees with me, which of course my skin amps. This is a very clean, fresh scent, not exactly green but in that vein. Very herbal.

In the vial: Golden amber and a juicy peach. On the skin: The musk is amping hard, with the patchouli deepening it in a dark way. The peach eventually breaks through and turns overripe, over-sweet, and mixed with the musk and patchouli, it gets cloying. I really hoped this one would work but I don't think even letting it age would improve it for me.

In the vial: There's certainly date in this, with a bit of herbs. The longer I sniffed, the fig came out. On the skin: Yeah. That's fig. Fig and I don't play well. There's a bit of honey, mixed with decay (?) as well. Certainly evokes the city when sniffed, but not something I'd actually wear.

In the vial: super sweet coconut, with a tinge of something dark. On the skin: Yikes. This went instant baby powder on me. Which is sad, because I've been looking for something with proper coconut in it. Bugger. To the swaps pile.

It's been over a month since I got my bottles but being sick stalled out my ability to test them. Before bed, I slathered on Crimson and went to sleep, and I think it was a wise choice. It still smells awesome. In the bottle: red wetness; clove, oudh, resin-y. It does morph, as I sniffed it about a month ago and got a bit of a metallic hit back then. The oil is red, much like my beloved Unheavenly City. As soon as I put it on, it shot my mind right to my great-great-aunt's home in North Seattle. I have no idea how, as I haven't been in that house in over 30 years, but apparently it smelled similar to this blend. On the skin: super sandalwood! My skin really amps the incense in this, so I easily agree with the 'nag champa' comments above. It is a strong scent that morphs (I put it on about 4am and almost 10 hours later it's still going) down to a undeniable resin incense. Only when it's wet do I smell the clove and musk; it reminds me of another BPAL scent that does a near similar thing on me, but I can't quite place it. It has a hell of a throw, too. Of the three Crimson Peak scents I purchased, I think this will be my favorite.

In the vial: gun powder. Burning gun powder. I actually coughed. On the skin: Lemon Pledge and burning gun powder. I don't know; I would certainly say this blend does not work for me. Even after dry down, it's a burning, bitter, medicinal herb scent. And that's that.

In the vial: Oh, hey, ylang ylang. On the skin: I get myrrh, but it's not strong enough to overpower the florals. And even the ylang ylang is gone. I'm not getting roses, I'm getting flowery baby powder. Sadness. Swap pile!

In the vial: Chrysanthemum and cactus flower, the latter being something I love. Also a hint of darkness. Possibly the vetiver. On the skin: Leather, worn leather that's all warm and supple. At full dry down, I'm still getting leather but the floral aspect is coming out. It's not terrible; it reminds me of a western wear store (odd analogy, I know.) After a while it turned to floral hand cream with leather. I just can't see wearing this. Bummer.

In the vial: Minty. Fresh. The oil has an actual green cast to it. Neat! On the skin: This is a woodsy green, which is a "green" I can tolerate. I went into this without high hopes, so this is a nice surprise! It's certainly not strong in small doses, and you get a bit of spice in the background as it dries down. I got a whiff of smoke (incense?) as well. It's a sweet green, which is something I don't think I've ever said in any review! Overall, quite a surprise and I'll certainly keep this imp.

In the vial: ....chlorine from a swimming pool? Okay, that can't be intentional, but it's the first whiff I got. On the skin: super wet aquatic, like seaweed on a wet, sandy beach. But not a sunny beach; more like the Oregon coast. On dry down it got "green", so more seaweed and what I would hazard to be verbena. It smells like a hand cream that my mother has. A hand cream that I hate. I think I would like to forget this. Swap pile!