Briar

This is the 2006 version. In the Bottle: Delightful, dirty vetiver with a lurking hint of sweetness. It makes me think of cotton candy fallen in the dirt. An exceptionally strong throw. On My Skin: The vetiver backs off almost immediately, becoming a softer, muskier loam instead of U SMEL SOIL NAO. It's still a down-and-dirty hippie type of smell. I've lost the cotton candy entirely. At the very top of the inhale, I get a sharpness - like a hidden mint. After Fifteen Minutes: Mmm, filthy hippie. This is dirty, woodsy vetiver at its absolute best. There's a hint of sweet smoke reminiscent of the cigar scent I get in Black Annis, without being so overwhelmingly foul that I have to wash it off because I smell like a sour cigar shop. It's smoky, dirty, and a hint of sweet. There's something which makes me think of apple cider at the very top of the inhale now. Having just escaped the hubbub of the county fair for a while with a cup of hot cider in hand, I'm sitting on a fallen log and mourning the cotton candy I dropped in the loam - that's the olfactory visual I get.

I can only sniff this one in a bottle because I was given a free sniffie of it which doesn't have enough to actually wear. Also, I have a stuffy nose, but I shall try! In the Bottle: Candy! It's like a mix of cotton candy and marshmallow fluff! It's super-sweet but not terribly cloying. The very top of the inhale has a hint of grass. It's a shame I can't try this one on!

My nose is stuffy from a cold, but I'm going to give this a try anyway. In the Bottle: Soap. Totally soap. I don't even understand. There's this tiny hint at the top of the inhale that maybe the soap is covering something dirty. On My Skin: Soap and a fudge brownie. I feel like I'm eight-years-old, eating a fresh brownie while Mom folds laundry. This is unusually vivid sensory imagery for me when it comes to BPAL; I mean, Beth's good at sense imagery, but this one's downright weird. After Fifteen Minutes: Soapy soapy soap. It's floral, it's got a hint of a bite on the top of the inhale, but wuff, I'm just not getting the delightful melange of notes listed by Beth. If I sniff really hard and really deep, there's some chocolate lurking. Maybe if I give the chocolate a little more time...

My nose is stuffy from a cold, but I'm going to try anyway. In the Bottle: My first whiff of this is red wine, and on the backside of the inhale comes the chocolate. It's not a heavy, thick chocolate, but more of a thin syrup type - with a cherry on top. It's like...a wine for dinner and a sundae for desert. On My Skin: My skin says "Ohai chocolate cherry, let me pump! you! up!" I just stuck my nose in a cheap sundae. After three or four breaths, though, I start to get a whiff of something...patchouli-like on the very top of the inhale. There's a dark resin lurking under my cherry sundae. Where did the wine go? After Fifteen Minutes: Where did all the chocolate go? Talk about a morpher! It's all boozy wood - like someone spilled sweet red wine on a freshly-cut wood picnic table. It's not precisely piney, but I definitely get a "lumber yard" type of scent. It's not sawdust, too sharp for that. Exceptionally odd, but not bad. I wish I'd gotten more of the blood note.

In the Bottle: Creamy, boozy, coffee. It's a heavy sort of sweet, something which should be stirred with a tiny stick and sipped hot. The boozy note is sharpest at the end of the sniff. On My Skin: Coffee and something spicy come roaring out when this hits my skin. I amp coffee like woah, it seems. The creamy scent remains lurking behind the coffee, but this seriously is just shouting "fall day in a sunlit coffee shop window" right now. After Fifteen Minutes: The coffee stops roaring, but it's still there, and the boozy note is getting heavier. There's something almost parchment-like in here now that it's calming down. The spice is mostly gone - all I get is heavily boozy coffee and a hint of old book. This scent delightfully matched what I think was intended, but the heavy coffee note just is not for me.

In the Bottle: Coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate. Emphasis on the chocolate. I mostly get the coffee on the "back sniff." On My Skin: For a second, the coffee smacks me in the face and I am not pleased; coffee is not a scent I like. Then it takes a seat and lets the cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y scent come out to play. The longer I sniff it, the milkier the chocolate gets. After Fifteen Minutes: This has dried down to an almost skin-musk-like chocolate. It's soft and fuzzy and encourages nuzzling. It's gotten surprisingly quiet and non-spicy the longer I've worn it. I really like this scent, but I have several like it already.

It's been several years since I last bothered doing reviews, but I think I need to be getting back into the habit of it, so here goes! In the Bottle: Gingerbread. And other stuff. But really anything else is an afterthought. This is gingerbread like woah. Something sharply spicy in there too, like a nutmeg or something. On My Skin: It starts to go more gingerbread and "fall" potpourri on me pretty quickly. That sharp note is amping up and it burns my nose a little. As I put my wrist away from my nose and start doing other things, I get this persistent feeling I'm...in a Kirkland's store. You know those chintzy places full of pseudo-ethnic tchotchkes that always smell overwhelmingly of slightly-off potpourri? Yeah, the air around me smells like that. After Fifteen Minutes: Hoo, yeah. Generic fall potpourri. It's sharp, acrid, and a little bit plasticky. If I take a really deep breath and hold it, I can get something reminiscent of the gingerbread from the bottle, but the rest of the scent doesn't seem worth the deep breath. Verdict: I just don't like pumpkin, man. My fall scents are smoke and apple; this gingerbread pumpkin pie thing isn't doing it for me at all, and my skin seems to turn this to plastic quickly. Eugh. Swap pile!

My very first sniff of this - moments after it was handed to me at Will Call - was "ooo, wow!" so I can say with some confidence I'll probably like it. In the Imp: Sparkling, sharp orangey laundry detergent powder. I like the "clean laundry" scents, so this makes me happy. There's something sunny about this, but definitely quite powdery. As someone else said, when Beth wants to make powder, boy does she ever make powder. Wet: Sunnier, less screamingly orangey. Still very detergent. There's an ambery musk or something peeking out from behind the citrus. Drydown: The powder really crawls out as this dries. I feel a bit like I stuck my nose in a cupful of Tide Citrus-Clean or something. It reminds me of clean sheets hung to dry on a line in the middle of a bright, hot July day; a little grass would complete it perfectly. I AM IN LOVE! Why, oh why, can't there be more of this?

Scent: Frumious Bandersnatch Bottle: Fruit...wood. Like orange tree wood or something. I almost want to say there's something weird, like teak, in it. Wet: Uh-oh. Anubis alert. Something that smells like old potpourri here. Where'd that nice fruit scent go? The exhale on this one isn't quite so bad, but the inhale...that's Anubis. >.> After a While: I really don't know what makes that "bad potpourri" smell - I don't know what the scent is. But it's the scent of walking into a chintzy, cheap, made-in-China pseudo-Victorian-safari doodads and paintings store. (i.e. A Kirkland's if anyone's been in the one at Dulles Town Center.) It must be a certain note, though, because now several scents I've tried have it, and it's a note that hates me. Before It's Dead: Please, please die. Please?

Scent: Sin Bottle: Thick and viscous... Patchouli, definitely. Maybe vetiver too. Lurking amber or musk or something. Wet: Yeah, patchouli. And something a little woodsy. This scent's smell seems to match its molasses color - heavy, slow, and thick. After a While: Patchouli, though not a dirt variety. And something floral that I can't identify. A thick floral, like roses dipped in maple syrup or something. Before It's Dead: Very funny, this one... The patchouli just faded, slowly, down to nothing. It didn't go powdery or dirty on me first. It just...receeded. I'm not sure how I feel about this scent - which reflects how I feel about patchouli, really - but I think I'll keep it for now and try it again.

Scent: Pink Phoenix Bottle: Super sweet. Candy and fruit. I'm almost reconsidering it, but hell, let's try it. Wet: Fruit Loops. Okay, after a moment, maybe more like cotton candy. But wow, sweets-sweets-sweets. Not a baked sweets, like cookies, but a hard, slightly fruity sweet. After a While: Okay, this went from kind of icky to kind of nice now. It's blended a little better with my skin to produce a floral, sweet, candy shell smell that isn't too overwhelming. It needs to die down a little before it's good, I guess. Before It's Dead: Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby powder. *sigh*

Scent: Nocturne Bottle: On the breath in, I think moonflower and jasmine. On the breath out I get...marshmallows. O.o This is a highly floral and slightly sweet scent. But it's not a "sunny" floral. Not meant to be, obviously, but it does achieve some impression of gentle night. Wet: Very gentle greenish florals. I know this flower - my mother grew it in her garden - but I don't know what it is. There's an undercurrent of maybe violet here. After a While: Violently violet. Lots of violet. Maybe even vaguely sickeningly so. This scent has a heck of a radius, too. My whole car smells of violets. Before It's Dead: It's nearly dead now, and still a greeny, floral violet, but faint. It had complexity at first, and then it didn't - it was all one note towards the back end.

Scent: Black Lotus Bottle: Uh oh. This smells like Anubis. >.> Sickly, sharp floral. Again, I will brave the insanity and put it on my skin... Wet: It's gotten a little more floral, a little less sickly on my skin. Whatever that top note is, as it burns off, this doesn't smell so bad after all. Still a bit like past-sell-by-date potpourri, though. After a While: I went grocery shopping and didn't pay attention to the middle of this scent. Before It's Dead: However, if you take what I didn't like about Depraved and mix it up with what I didn't like about Anubis, you get Black Lotus. Sadly. I thought I was a fan of lotus notes. But damn...this is old crayons and bad potpourri. Ugh. Swap!

Scent: Wanton Bottle: Sweet, sour undertone... Wait... OMG. Cherry cough syrup! EW! Oh man, I really am gonna put this on me, aren't I? *sigh* The inhale is okay, a little sweet, but the back-end of the inhale comes with this cherry cough syrup smell/taste. But I'm trying anyway... Wet: Damn. Still cough syrup on the back-end. I can't get over it enough to smell anything else. There's maybe something patchouli-ish in here... Argh. Why do I do these things to myself? After a While: I'm not sure how something can be both sour and floral, but this is - like lilies in a funeral home. Ew. This scent is all just ew. Before It's Dead: I'm so glad it's dead now... It went through a very brief floral patchouli phase, maybe ten minutes, and then it was done. Quite definitely on the swap pile. Not as bad as Black Annis was, but it still needs to go.

Scent: Burial Bottle: Woah. Evergreen trees and dirt. Heavy. Maybe cedar... It's not a Christmas tree evergreen, but a deep forest evergreen. It strongly reminds me of hiking up Old Rag. Wet: Cedar, juniper, hemlock... Deep, deep, dark green. And thick patchouli dirt hiding under the tree... After a While: Still very strongly juniper at 11:50 AM (I always tend to put on about 9:30-9:45). The...what's the word...throw?...isn't as strong. It's not stomping around behind me anymore, but staying sedately on my left wrist where it belongs. But it hasn't burned off to pure patchouli yet, like most patchouli-ish scents tend to do on me. Before It's Dead: I don't think I've done a Not Dead Yet so long after application since that first tiny bit of Misk. U. that Beth let me wear. I still smell evergreen, and I think the patchouli drifted off before the juniper. It's fairly faint now, though.

Scent: Enraged Orangutan Musk Bottle: First, and without the bottle open, I must say: Oook. Okay, bottle opening... Like sex in a greenhouse. O.o It's musky and dark, with something very green and tropical swirling around it. But the core of this is dark, dark, dark and lurking. Wet: The tropical note picks up on my skin, and overpowers the more primal notes...for about ten seconds. There's something ambery trying vainly to bring golden light into this mix, like the sun through a rainforest canopy. And a powdery violet sort of note, but that might be the ambery scent on dry-down, since ambers go powder on me. Wow. Another sniff, still a terribly complex and dark scent. I'm really liking this so far. After a While: In the car on the way to work, and at the grocery store to pick up lunch for the next several days, this had a dark, greeny, tropical scent again - and I don't mean a tropical flower, I mean like a large, leafy, "elephant ear" plant - whatever those are called. And the musk underneath added an almost soil-like smell. This is just a "wow" sort of scent journey, here. Before It's Dead: It's 11:21 now, a little earlier than I usually do the pre-post-mortem on my BPAL, but I wanted to type up something while there's still scent to smell. There's a powdery amber sort of undertone, and still this lurking, wet-wood/green something clinging to my wrist. Somehow, this all feels like a very "earth" scent. ^.^

Scent: Monster Bait - Underpants Bottle: My first whiff of this said: "Food." A very sugary, slightly burnt-on-the-bottom vanilla cookie. With the second whiff, I tried to find more, but I couldn't smell anything beyond "OMG COOKIE!" Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Wet: A little more burnt to the cookie when I put it on. And an amber or musk or something lurking underneath. After a While: After about 45 minutes, this turned into cotton candy. Not bad, but still really sweet and slightly crispy/burnt. Before It's Dead: If I press my nose to my wrist, here at noon (I put them on around 9:30 AM) I get this lovely little whiff of vanilla. Somehow, this scent isn't the sexy sort of scent I expected from a.) the name and b.) some other people's reactions, but when Morti caught a whiff of my wrist, he did grab and inhale for a minute or two. Maybe I just associate vanilla and cotton candy with more whimsical times than sexy times.

Scent: Midnight Mass '05 Bottle: Years of incense, built up. It's got this "weight of ages" smell. A little old books, a lot of smoke, and some woodsy undertones. Wet: Something sweet comes crawling out when I put it on, like candy and incense. How strange... There's something in this that's also in Kathmandu - I swear - and it's whatever part I liked. After a While: In the car, on the drive to work, it began to smell juniper-y in a nice way. Before It's Dead: Unfortunately, here it is noon and it's doornails again. *sigh* It was very short and sweet, I guess. I'm going to have to try this one again, when I have time to sit with it and pay attention to it, and get a better-rounded "scent" from it.

Scent: Languor Bottle: My first thoughts were "aquatic floral." It's quite perfumey in a "traditional" sort of way. I'm afraid it might be way too sweet and floral for me, but the wisp of aquatic sharpness underneath it might help. Wet: Now it's a more aquatic woodsy scent. To a completely untrained nose, I think of lotus blossoms on water and sandalwood incense. It's kind of nice. First Break: Okay, changing up the timing on this because at 11:00 AM, the scent is already nearly gone. I put it on at 9:30 AM, so that's a heck of a fast demise... For a little bit, it went all icky "old perfume" alcoholic floral on me, and now it's all aquatic - like seaweed without the salt - and only if I press my nose to my wrist. Lunch: Yup. By lunch, this one was doornails. (As in Dead As.)

Scent: Alecto Bottle: Sharp floral, like lily and dragon's blood. Some sort of wood - maybe rosewood - lurking underneath. I don't have enough of a nose yet to pick everything out of this. Wet: The wood comes flying up out of this scent to smack me in the nose. Now it's more like a cedar. Under it is almost a soapy, citrus scent. First Break: This scent has demised very fast. I recall when I got in the car, about half an hour after I put it on, that I smelled a very nice red sandalwood from it. Here it is at noon, though, two and a half hours after application, and I barely smell it at all (a powdery wood) with my nose on my wrist. It certainly won't last 'til lunch - another hour and a half off. Lunch: Didn't last 'til lunch.

Scent: Zorya Bottle: For once, I actually think I smell frankincense and myrrh (I usually can't pick them up). And something sharp-sweet, like dragon's blood. It's a very resiny sort of scent to me, thick and heavy, but in quite a nice way. Wet: It just got sharper on my skin, almost a piney scent. This reminds me of ...something... I've smelled at Esoterica, but I can't place it - like one of the super-good loose incenses. First Break: I completely missed all my timing on this. At some point during the early part of the day, I do recall thinking that a.) this had a nice incense-y smell, and b.) it had a throw like De Sade (which I still need to review). Lunch: Way after lunch, there's a little of this left if I press my nose to my wrist. It's somewhere between Nag Champa and copal - ever-so-faintly bitter floral woodsy... Falls firmly into the yum category, though not the OMGMUSTHAVE category.

Scent: Anubis Bottle: My very first thought was "a Kirkland's store." O.o It smells very potpourri-ish; something juniper-y, and something sort of berry-sweet. Completely not "Anubis" scented to me. Wet: Still Kirkland's. A little foody. As it begins to dry down, something wooden comes up. Wow. Talk about a scent I can't place for crap! *lol* 30 Mins.: My god... I smell like a Hallmark store. *facedesk* Insane, fake, old-lady potpourri. Ew. Two Hours: Okay, on the tail-end of this scent, it begins to smell yummy. It's a soft amber with a touch of wine. I can only smell it if I press my nose to my wrist, though, and I'm not sure the experience of reaching this point is worth it. . . Heck if I know what made it smell like a Kirkland's store, but I think the scent isn't very "Anubis"-y to me, and is going on the swap pile. Sigh. And I had high hopes, too.

Scent: Libertine Bottle: Something sweet, a sort of floral powder. I swear there's a hint of leather under it. Something very, very faintly cigar-like, but not overwhelmingly so like Black Annis. Wet: Much more powdery - a very sweet sort of amber smell. Leather lurks behind it. This scent is awfully complex, and my nose doesn't seem to be up to separating the scents this morning... First Break: Now it's dried down to a really strange mix of sandalwood and amber. Or something. It's very light, slightly exotic, and lots of powdery. Second Break: Now it smells like candy and baby powder. How weird. . . Aha! The candy scent is chamomile and the powder is violet! Chamomile always smells a bit like candy apple to me... I would think from the list of notes in this that I would like the scent more than I do. I'll have to give it another go later.

Scent: Embalming Fluid Bottle: High, sweet, and cold - like flowers under perma-frost. It's a fairly floral scent, but quite appropriately has something dark lurking under it. Wet: Almost a lemony sort of floral on my wrists. There's a bite like some kind of mint under it, but I completely can't peg it as mint (especially since I usually don't like mint). There's a lily scent in here too. First Break: Still very much lilies on ice sort of scent. It really didn't change a whole lot, surprisingly. Lunch: By lunch, however, the scent is gone. *sigh* Oh well. It stayed floral, but not sickeningly so, the whole time. I caught the lemon and thought it was mint (that's twice now I've done that). I don't know where I got the lily from - maybe it was the green tea. The aloe was one of the "cold" sources - I always associate the scent of aloe gel with cooling. All in all, a highly strange scent, but I like it.

Scent: Grandmother of Ghosts In the Bottle: The very first thought that came into my mind was "super-floral Nag Champa." Something in several of these BPAL scents reminds me of Nag Champa somehow. On a second whiff, I get something rose-like and something musky. Wet: Some note in this must be used in Kathmandu, because this reminds me strongly of Kathmandu but...dustier. I get whiffs of something piney - maybe cypress - and still that strong floral. It's quickly drying down to baby-powder, though... It is quite a "grandmother" sort of scent to me. First Break: Sandalwood and baby powder. Like a Tibetan grandmother taking care of her new grandkid. There's still the barest hint of rose. Lunch: Powdery musk, oh how I grow to loathe thee... I've got a soft, feathery, baby powder musk again. A lot of scents tend to do that on me... >.>