pekeana

In the vial, I get the strawberries and I get the champagne... But on me, it all smells like champagne. I reek of booze. *twitch*

In the vial, Jailbait is all sugar and bubble-gum, but with a twist of something dark and leering in the background. On me, the fruity orange comes up and a musky floral comes beneath. I love this so very, very much. It's definitely going with me on vacation tomorrow.

Some of my favorite BPALs have florals in them, but the florals aren't the dominant notes on me. My favorites right now are: Snow White [last year's Yule LE]: a little minty, a little vanilla, a little floral, a lot clean and sweet. Gingerbread Poppet [last year's Yule LE]: straight up gingerbread cookies. Old Morocco: A lot of musk and sandalwood with a little spice and carnation to twist it up and even it out. Xiuhtecuhtli: Oranges with incense and just a tiny bit of plumeria to sweeten it up. [On me, it's incense and orange peel, yum] Three Witches: A 'gasmic blend of cinnamon, clove, and pepper. Sudha Segara: A little sweet, a little spicy, no floral at all.

Ooooh, Sacred Whore of Babylon strikes me as very old-fashioned, but with a twist of the more modern. So does Alice, and also in that vein, Old Morocco.

In the vial, Gluttony is very rich and decadent -- and I definitely got the Yankee Candle Hazelnut Coffee scent. On me, all I smell is gingerbread and butterscotch with a green/herby twist. And then, right before it disappears [within two hours], it's all green/herby with a splash of dark chocolate. I definitely prefer the scent in the bottle over what it smells like on me, alas!

In the vial, Kabuki is just one great big Cherry-flavored Jolly Rancher. It's definitely the same cherry note as the one in Blood -- thick and juicy, bright red, and just waiting to drop from the tree. I do get a tiny bit of the anise and the musk after a few sniffs, but it's overwhelmingly cherry. On me, it stays very cherry for about half an hour, then mellows out into a gentle musk + anise licoricey smell with just the barest hint of cherry to add interest to it. It's also, again like Blood, a very faint, gentle scent on me, close to the skin and very tantalizing.

*dead in love* In the vial, Gingerbread Poppet smells exactly like the gingerbread cakes and cookies that my grandma used to make me -- it's soft & sweet and just divine. This is also the first BPAL scent I've tried that stays exactly true to the original scent. On my skin, it's exactly the same as it was in the vial. I really hope Beth brings this one back again sometime, because it's just to die for.

Queen of Spades, Mabon, Snow White, Xiuhtecuhtli, and Old Morocco all last forever on me. A little goes a long way. Hehe.

Bliss and The Hesperides never fail to calm me down -- Bliss shoots immediate scent pleasure straight to my brain, and The Hesperides is what I usually wear to bed after a long day. For some reason, they're both so very soothing to me.

There's no guarantee that I'll find them again, but... I'll try. Man, that would suck. It would be like me going to California and finding out I'm allergic to lettuce, beans, and tomatoes. *twitch* I would die.

I've seen some paella recipes that don't have saffron in them -- they substitute a combination of, of all things, curry powder and cinnamon. I'll try to find you one of them, if I can.

Hmmm... I'd say try it but keep some calamine lotion and Benadryl on hand. I love roses, the color, the scent -- but the pollen and the oils make me itch/burn. And I'm sensitive to milk, apples and oranges in food, but I have no problems whatsoever wearing them as perfumes. I guess it's just going to depend on your body's tolerances.

Sounds like what you need is a shot of Plumeria.

In the vial, rose rose, overpowering rose. On me, it settles down a bit until it itches, then burns. I have two red welts on my arm now -- one from Spellbound, and one from Silentium Amoris.

Spellbound is really nice in the vial. Then I put it on. And it was all nice and subtle rose and musk for about a minute, when it started to burn. I'm trying to figure out why some rose blends burn and some just itch, and why some don't bother me at all.

In the vial, Storm smells like citrus and... wtf? It smells like citrus and mint, with a twist of daffodil. *does a double take* On me, it's very minty and citrussy for the first twenty minutes or so, then fades dramatically. The mint is gone, and now I smell like grapefruit, yuzu, guava, all wrapped around a soft bouquet of daffodils and dandelions. It's quite pleasant, but I'm not sure if it works well enough for me to keep it.

In the vial, strangely enough, I smell everything but the civet. On me, however, Puck is strongly grape for about 10 minutes, then dies into sage + oakmoss with an underlying dose of, you guessed it, civet. I smell like some dog that's been eating breakfast sausage and rolling around in moss came and crapped on my arm. *twitch*

In the vial, I don't know what I'm smelling. On me, Mata Hari just won't behave. That's not in a good way, mind you. The rose makes me itch -- not burn this time, just itch. The coffee still overwhelms the scent even 4 hours after I put it on, and it just... It doesn't work with my chemistry at all.

In the vial Tzadikim Nistarim smells like pineapple and olive oil, with just a twist of frankincense. Mmm, yummy, I love myself some good frankincense! On me, the frankincense sweetens and the olive ripens. The pineappley scent, which I assume is a combination of spikenard and the other components, mellows out and takes on an additional scent almost like coconut. This is a very gentle, soothing blend -- fruity without being foody, and incensey without being overwhelming.

Well, then... I'm not really sure what to think of Queen of Spades. It's very dark and fruity in the bottle, almost wine-like in its complexity. I smell the berries and the amber and wood, but it all blends together so well that it's difficult to pin down what else I'm smelling. On me, for the first hour, it's pure berry bubble gum. Then the amber comes up and gets floral powdery, and the woods keep it grounded behind the amber. It's a very intense, complex scent on me, but to the rest of the world, I smell like powder + bubblegum.

I'm not sure what to say about Sacred Whore of Babylon. In the vial, it's your everyday generic floral with a touch of something woody/grassy. I don't get spice or vanilla at all. Just floral. On me, it's just the same as it was in the vial for about an hour, then it morphs into a soft, sweet and slightly spicy & grassy floral. I'm not wild about florals at all, but this is growing on me. Will definitely keep the imp, and I may buy more. Now that it's all mellowed out and is starting to disappear, I smell incredible. Even my mother with her "no, not more purfume!" urges likes it. Wahey!

In the vial, Alice is a very creamy, milky floral. Makes sense, considering there's milk in it. Also, for come reason, the carnation manifested itself as anise to my nose. Anise? Wtf? On me, yeah, it's anise, carnation, milk, and just a tiny bit of rose. It settles down into a very soft, sweet, creamy floral and stays that way. It also makes me itch a little because of the rose, but there's no burning and no major welting, so it's all good. I'll keep this one for when I feel the urge to smell interesting.

Wolfsbane is kind of woody, very rosey, and has a twist of spice. Alas, the oil is making my arm burn.

Mmmm, Hemlock. I keep getting winners in this order, and this is no exception to that! In the vial, Hemlock is piney, eucalyptussy, and minty, with just the barest hint of lemon. On me, it's very piney and slightly minty. It's a nice pick-me-up scent a lot like Embalming Fluid -- light, cheerful, and happy. Alas, my skin sucks it up quite a bit so it's got about an hour's worth of staying time, but it's so damn good I just don't care. Slathering is good.

I need a 10ml of Three Witches, like, yesterday. My skin is very tolerant of cinnamon [no burning here, folks], and it likes to amp up clove, so I smell like CLOVE with just a touch of cinnamon. It's a very soft scent for being as spicy as it is, though, and you have to be right up against my wrist to even hardly smell it. I love this one an extraordinary amount, lemme tell ya!