terrenity

Reviewed from imp, aged ~5 years. This is so not my usual BPAL jam, but wow... this scent is really pretty. On my skin it morphs quickly into a clean, clear aquatic, sweetened by what I'm almost positive is the sarsaparilla. Underneath is a little bit of the leather, salt, and patchouli, but my skin eats the base notes pretty fast (which is unusual). The throw is very clean and "round", it reminds me of beach glass. I can't see myself wearing this often (it's just not very "me") but I would love this as a room spray or a candle, especially if the base notes came through a bit stronger.

(A generous swapper sent this to me a long time ago, and I'm ashamed to say it's taken me this long to try it, because I was too afraid I'd love it and never be able to get more.) Decant: Surprisingly floral. Really not getting much vanilla here. I was so surprised that I had to come and check the description. On: Yep, there's gardenia. It definitely dominates the scent for the first hour, making BiggerCritters a soft and sweet white floral. Not much depth to it, but it's pretty. Occasionally one of the notes gets upset and fights back, threatening to go heavy floral or vanilla-plastic, but mostly it's behaving. Later: Eventually the gardenia and the vanillas give up and decide to be friends, becoming something very like honeysuckle. Throw is low, as it almost always is on my skin. I never detect the grapefruit, but it's possible that's faded with age. Overall: This is really really pretty, but the overall effect on my skin is something I feel like I could duplicate with something much less HTF. I think I can probably find it a more loving home.

Decant: white chocolate. I can't really pick out anything else. On: Aw man, betrayed by my skin chemistry. Coconut turns into a giant waxy monster and eats all the marshmallows and chocolate. Now he's hanging out fat and happy and I smell like tropical chapstick. Someday I'll find a marshmallow scent that works on me.

In decant: caramel! And a little smoke? On: This reminds me so much of Red Lantern! It must be the caramel and red mask. Strangely, I usually amp red musk like crazy and anything sugary goes to plastic, but somehow this is really working. Unnnff sexy smoky caramel musk is right!! I've tested half a dozen blends this weekend but I think this one takes the cake. I want to smell like this forever!

Decant: Florals (ylang-ylang is strongest to my nose), pine, and snow. Delicate and feminine. On: I don't often order florals because I find them to be incredibly hit or miss on me. This one is really pretty though... I think the pine and frost are really helping it to behave on my skin. I'd put it in a similar category as Snow Bunny, but Snow Maiden is much more delicate and less "pink". If Snow Bunny is one of those lady olympiads with the perfectly curled hair that somehow looks gorgeous even after slaloming down a hill in the freezing cold, Snow Maiden is the fairy that bestowed these magical powers on her. This is a scent for wearing with your pearls, ladies!

Normally I stay away from the chocolate box scents because the lab's chocolate note tends to go powdery on me, but I took a chance on a decant of this on a whim... and can I just say, it was worth it. Decant: Strawberry and white chocolate. This is so realistic that my husband was able to ID it immediately on a blind sniff. Ugh I want to eat this so bad. On: Thankfully, this stays pretty true on my skin. Like Strawberry Moon, it doesn't last too long, but it's delicious while it does. Love!

2008 version Decant: Vanilla, butter, rum?, and caramel. Hubby says this smells like coffee and I can see where he's coming from (it reminds me of Miskatonic U). It's very deep and caramelized... not at all the buttery-fluffy-white I was expecting. On: Skin chemistry strikes again! All the depth goes out of this and it ends up smelling like a vaguely plasticky vanilla. Womp womp. I'll be passing this one to my husband.

(Hard to believe this bottle is six years old...and that I never reviewed it!) Bottle: Pine, snow, and a little bit of cedar. On: Like most of Beth's snow/pine blends, this one remains pretty true on my skin. It's soft and a little bit sweet. This smells like a log cabin at night in a quiet, snowy forest, where the moon is out and everything is sparkling and silent. Pretty. Later: The grassy notes amp up a little over time, making this different from some of the otherwise comparable Yule blends. It's a dry grass, though, sweet and little spicy, like hay. With the woods it's almost cologne-y (in a good way!) sometimes... I feel like I catch a different facet of this every time I sniff. The throw on this is super low on me (less than 3 inches), and it's fading fast - my skin seems to be eating it. I'll have to try this on my husband, or in a scent locket, before I make a final decision.

(I'm trying to go through and test all of the bunches of imps I have collecting dust. Not sure of the age on this one but I'd guess about five years.) In imp: Super sweet, golden, a little bit plasticky? On: Until this exact moment, I didn't realize the common denominator in Alice and Bengal that makes both of them go to sticky plastic on me... it's honey. There were a few glorious minutes when I put O on when it was all golden syrupy honey, but now it's teetering on the edge of plastic again. It's so so close to being awesome. The sillage is definitely better than the up-close wrist huff, but I can't decide if it's actually good. Since I also smell plastic in the imp I think I can chalk this up to a double failure of both my nose and my skin chemistry. This is triggering a super strong memory of testing Bengal in the dark of winter when I was in college... sitting in a cafeteria grabbing a late dinner and cup of crappy hot chocolate, surreptitiously huffing my wrists to see if I still smell like spicy plastic. It's snowing outside, One Republic is on the radio, and I'm doing the crossword in the school paper. I've never had a BPAL trigger a memory of another BPAL before! Verdict: Probably the swap pile. Too bad... amber, honey and vanilla are some of my favorite things!

(Reviewed from imp, at least 5 years old) In vial (blind sniff): Sharp, green, and masculine. Something here is very pokey but I can't place what it is. On: Warms and mellows quickly to a soft, resiny pine. Wow, this has aged fabulously, yum. It's sweet and a little spicy (it reminds me of cola for some reason) but still bright. This feels like it could be a Yule blend. Maybe like Snow Bunny's brother? Not strongly masculine though - definitely something I would rock on a cold day. It's surprisingly awesome!! Verdict: Keep! If my pine-loving husband doesn't steal it, this might go into my holiday rotation.

Does anyone know if the Lab's amaretto note has almond in it? I know not all brands of amaretto liquor are made with almonds, so I was wondering if blends with amaretto notes might also be almond-free? Edit to Seajewel: Just wanted to chime in that I'm allergic to most jewelry too (exceptions so far are platinum, titanium, and sterling silver), and I've had zero issues with my clocket (which I bought about three years ago).

Disclaimer: This imp is at least 3 years old. In imp: Aquatics and green musk. Very soft and clean-smelling, reminds me of some aquatic-themed B&BW shower gel I used to have. Looking at the notes I'm actually not sure where this is coming from...I'm not getting the fruit at all. This would be a really nice spring/summer scent when you just want to smell like fresh laundry! On: ...and it's gone. If I get reaaaaally close I can catch a whiff of freesia and musk, but for some reason my skin just ate this one up. Guess this is one for the scent locket! This one has been on my wishlist essentially since I got into BPAL because of the "clean laundry" comparisons. I never would have guessed it from the notes, but this one really lives up to its reputation! I'm sad that my skin eats it, but I think it'll be lovely in a scent locket for summer. It's clean and refreshing but not soapy. If this is what aliens smell like, sign me up!

Imp: Syrupy, sweet peach! This is sweeter and deeper than other blends with peach/apricot notes that I have - possibly partly due to age. On: The peach blooms and then starts to slide into apricot territory - a bit "drier" for lack of a better word. Clove pokes its head out but isn't sharp or dominant at all - more like clove oil than dry cloves. I would call this a "skin" scent - it's soft and round and unobtrusive, as if you just naturally smell fabulous. Lovely. I think this will only continue to age amazingly, too. Average throw and lasting power on me.

Imp: Syrupy, sweet peach! This is sweeter and deeper than other blends with peach/apricot notes that I have - possibly partly due to age. On: The peach blooms and then starts to slide into apricot territory - a bit "drier" for lack of a better word. Clove pokes its head out but isn't sharp or dominant at all - more like clove oil than dry cloves. I would call this a "skin" scent - it's soft and round and unobtrusive, as if you just naturally smell fabulous. Lovely. I think this will only continue to age amazingly, too. Average throw and lasting power on me.

Imp: Sugar with a touch of slightly medicinal smelling red fruit (cherry?). I can smell the candy/marshmallow note in here that does weird things on my skin.... On: Within seconds of hitting my skin this blooms into... plastic. Something floral (probably dandelion) is waving in the background, trying to be seen, but the plastic is so strong I can hardly smell anything else. 20 minutes later: Somehow this morphed into a soft, sugary marshmallow scent, with the dandelion flitting around it. I have never, ever had a blend that's gone plastic turn back on me before, what a nice surprise! Unfortunately the throw is incredibly low - I have to have my nose within an inch of my hand to smell it. It's pretty enough but between the low throw and the plastic phase I just can't see myself reaching for this often. Swap pile!