phedre

This smells like fresh sweet oranges and sexy musk. Nice!

In bottle: Green, herbal, a little floral. Wet: Greener, more florals. It's ok, but not great. Drydown: Whoa. Gorgeous. A little sweet, a touch spicy, and an underlying herbal floral scent that's just lovely, and perfectly balanced.

This is absolutely beautiful on me. I was a little scared of it in the bottle at first, the metallic notes were worrying, but on the skin it morphs into an elegant, rich scent, with floral top notes and a nicely balanced blend of incense and sage to keep things grounded. It's extremely feminine, with no hint of the cologne others are getting.

I haven't written a review in a while, but this one needs it. Slightly acrid and perfumy in the vial, it goes on a touch strong. But once it dries down, it becomes the most incredibly gorgeous scent: a touch of refined cognac, rich smoky vanilla, and spicy musk all meld together to become something indescribably lovely. I have two full bottles and a half bottle in a roller ball, and I may just have to hunt down more. I have been wearing this daily since I got it, to the point that my entire wardrobe now smells like Black Lace, and I want more. I could quite happily have this as my only perfume - even my beloved bottle of Storyville hasn't been touched since I got my hands on this!

I finally got my hands on my bottle of 13 today. Know what it turns into on me? Storyville with a peach twist. Slightly less spicy/clove, but close enough that I can probably stop searching high and low for a second bottle of my beloved, and store tons of this version of 13 instead. It's cocoa, vanilla, a touch of ginger, sweetness, and rich decadence all in one luscious package. I shall be hoarding this one.

I agree. I do not think that the snake image is being "used to sell perfume". Many of those who purchased the purfume did so with no knowledge or care as to what the label would look like. I think it would be absolutely fine to forgo the snake images (and headaches). It's what's inside that counts. I think it's past time to stop harping on snakegetters. She saw her work being stolen (and yes, it was stolen), got upset (understandably), and made a mistake (just as the lab did). She has since apologized for her public airing and has cleared matters up with the lab themselves. The lab made a mistake, snakegetters made a mistake, they both fessed up, apologized, and life moves on. Continuing with negative statements against either one is pointless.

Lady Luck, please smile down on me. A melancholy scent, aching with longing, created to appease Fickle Fortune. Honeyed Bulgarian rose, vanilla flower, benzoin, tonka, black plum, peony, and iris. This is ever so lovely. In the bottle, it's tart plum and rose. On my skin, it's rich plum, with that tart note. As it dries, the florals emerge and the tartness disappears. There's definitely honey, rose, and vanilla flower coming out here! I can smell the iris quite strongly, and the tonka adds a bit of spicy depth. I really like this!

Gorgeous. Absolutely frickin GORGEOUS. I've managed to track down two bottles, thank god, because I could just drown myself in a vat of this one. Deep, dark, mysterious resins and smoky incense. This is powerful, slightly sweet, and spiritual, but not in a church way. It stays true on me from bottle to skin. So much love for Minotaur!

Tokyo Stomp stomps all over every vanilla mint I've tried; it kicks Snowblind out of the room and throws the Lick It twins out the window. This is THE vanilla mint. In bottle: Peppermint and vanilla, but not a foody vanilla at all. This is lush, pure vanilla beans. Wet: Definitely that cold peppermint scent, mixed with vanilla bean. But there's something else in there lurking in the background. Drydown: It gets more and more vanilla-esque as it wears on, but this is where it gets bizarre: it gets a floral note. There has to be some kind of flower in this because it just comes out and trumpets itself all over me. The mint settles into the background, and the vanilla is the smooth, creamy scent of vanilla pods. Love!

There's so much gorgeous in this bottle I could just plotz. First, the bottle. Prettiest BPAL label in my collection! I would LOVE to have a babydoll shirt based on this one *hint* Then there's the contents. Oh dear. In the bottle, I get phlox, bluebell, tulip (!), and a bit of sugary sweetness. Wet on my skin, daffodils! I love the daffodils! The phlox is still there, and an almost cotton candy sugar bubbles up underneath, just barely there. On drydown, this just becomes one smooth blending of lovely florals, sweetened by a touch of honey, and the honey itself doesn't have the sharpness I associate with the BPAL note at all, more of a creamed honey. This is a happy, sunny spring day, when the weather's perfect, the kind of spring day that make slogging through winter completely worth it. I've been drenching myself in this ever since I got it, and I am completely in love!

In bottle: Pure mint! Wet: Sweet spearmint, with a touch of the bergamot. Not much snake oil yet. Drydown: This turns to powdery spearmint, like wrigley's spearmint gum. There's a touch of warm snake oil underneath, but it's barely there. Not really my type of thing at all.

In bottle: new black leather and smoky vanilla. Smells like walking into a leather goods store. Very strong! On skin: Snake oil immediately comes out, with the leather fading a bit. I was a bit scared of it in the bottle, but it has more promise now. Drydown: This is deep and sultry, with the familiar snake oil scent darkened. Definitely a nighttime scent. I'll keep this around to see how it ages; I suspect it'll do wonderful things after a year or so of aging.

In bottle: Wet berries. Definitely the acai, that stereotypical cocoa and fresh fruit smell. neroli. On skin: oh this is pretty. Warm amber and berry tones, with that deep cocoa undertone that's just barely discernible. Drydown: This is snake oil with just a hint of acai, and fresh clean neroli. Juicy! This is a bright and lighthearted snake oil. It fades quickly, but it's nice! Definitely a great spring scent.

I'm not normally a foodie, so I wasn't afraid of being addicted to Anaconda. Oh boy was I wrong. In vial: butter, caramel, and vanilla. On skin: it stays exactly like the vial: pure buttery caramel, almost toffee-like, underscored with sweet vanilla. Drydown: this stays true from the vial through drydown: sweet, buttery vanilla caramel. Gorgeous! It's almost maple-like. ETA: hours later, it's still going strong. I applied this at 10 AM this morning and I can still smell it at 7 PM! The snake oil comes out and turns this more incensy with that creme brulee note others mentioned above. I think I'm in love.

In bottle: frankincense and copal. Wet: this is very warm incense, with a bit of snake oil underneath. Drydown: Frankincense is definitely coming out in force. Powdery and warm. Definitely a keeper!

In bottle: mossy green, a touch of lemon cleaner. Wet: this is pretty! Still a bit lemony, but nice nonetheless. Drydown: mosses and leaves. This is ok, but not something I will wear.

Note: this oil is incredibly prone to separation. Even on my skin, it separates into different colours. In bottle: chocolate covered snake oil is right! Wet: Warm cocoa mixed with a touch of wood. Snake oil is very present in this one, more so than any of the others I've tested so far. Drydown: I normally hate cocoa in scents, but this one? I think I love it!

In bottle: heavy on the vetiver. A touch of opoponax. Wet: Argh! Vetiver is my nemesis. It hates me. This has turned to burnt rubber on my skin. Drydown: smoke, like hickory chips. There's a hint of coconut here, but ick, definitely does not work on me.

In bottle: Lily and passion flower. Very floral. Wet: There's something off here, sour, but it passes quickly. Sweet floral notes. drydown: sweet lilies layered over snake oil. Very nice!

In bottle: this smells like cocoa, with a woody touch. On skin: warm, deep wood. This is so lovely. drydown: snake oil's starting to peak out now. Warm woody snake oil with a hint of green. This is just lovely.

In bottle: Orange, sharp, tart apple peel, and lemon. On skin: There's a sharpness to this, something almost herbal but not quite. There's the smell of fresh red delicious apple, a bit of lemon, and tons of orange. Drydown: lemon and blood orange. I get no snake oil from this at all. Definitely interesting, though. It's growing on me as it dries.

In vial: Cherries! Pure, sweet summer cherries. Wet: Maraschino cherries, sweet and sticky. Drydown: Holy morph, batman. Licorice has come out in spades! This is nicely balanced between cherry and licorice, with a touch of musk. I like it!

In vial: Sweet morning florals and dew. Wet: Pretty, but nondescript. A light floral scent. Drydown: It's more or less disappeared. It never really came into its own, which is unfortunate.

In vial: Sweet peach blossom and lavendar, with a herbal note. Wet: For a change, the lavender isn't overwhelming on me. There's definitely sandalwood here, and a touch of wood and herbs. Drydown: Too sweet! Nice, but just overwhelming in its sweetness.

In vial: Vanilla and caramel, with a boozy quality. Wet: I've had a maple syrup whiskey before, and this reminds me of it. Sweet, yet potent. Drydown: tobacco leaf and sweet maple whiskey. Interesting.