Iceblink

Tropical goodness. Tiki began very candy-sweet on me and then went through a slightly odd powdery phase about 10 minutes in; once that passed it became more of a fruity-floral. I smell the vanilla and flowers. It's not as sweet as last year's Tiki Queen but absolutely beautiful and definitely puts you in mind of the tropics! Nice.

Perfect! I love almost all gin blends and this one doesn't disappoint. It's veryveryvery juniper-y at first but becomes wonderfully effervescent and, yes, PINK. It's refreshing and light and not too boozey--just a perfect fruity cocktail. LOVE.

Nudie starts out so light it's barely detectable, but it opens up and blooms after a few minutes and it's quite lovely--a sweet, faintly citrusly skin musk. Very close to the skin, very sexy, very traditionally perfumey--NICE! Seems to have decent staying power for something so light. This is one of those scents you'd wear to bed Marilyn Monroe-fashion, if you know what I mean. Might be bottle-worthy.

Fluffy, creamy strawberry and cherry--makes me think of the "strawberry taffy" part of Sticky Pillowcase, isolated. Teeters dangerously on the edge of plastic on me at first but seems to settle down on the right side of things. Sweet and girly--I like this!

The morph this one performs is astounding. It opens up as wet, rich dirt (oh that BPAL dirt! I do love it) that gradually becomes a completely different creature--drier, maybe a hint of tangy sandalwood? A breath of dried flowers? It reminds me just a teeeeeny bit of Darkness. No trace of the dirt is left. It's not something I'd wear but fascinating to smell how this one develops and changes.

Lots of earthy, musky oakmoss. The honey and currant poke through just a teeny bit as it dries, sweetening the blend--but mostly this is OAKMOSS, which means it's making me think this would be better on a man than on me. Probably will age wonderfully, though. Not very much staying power for a blend with so many heavy notes.

This is just beautiful. It's very light and upon first application I feared it was going to go straight to laundry detergent on me, but oh...as it dries, it's so pretty. Very gentle orange and lemon blossom and peach, grounded by musk and the lightest of sandalwoods. It's delicate and feminine and perfect for springtime. Not much throw--this one whispers rather than yells. Gorgeous!

Green and herbal. This does smell rather lethal. Another one I'd put in the for-men category. It's quite strong and long-lasting. Adding that a day later, my hand's a bit irritated and bumpy where I put this one on...approach with caution!

The ash takes over everything here on my skin. It's not unlike Smokestack--a sweeter, cinnamony Smokestack. BPAL's smoke/ash notes blow my mind with their realism but oh dear, I just do NOT want to smell like them.

Oh yum. Very foody and very fruity--this is delicious! The pomegranate and fig and grape jump out at me and I get a faint spiciness underneath from the cinnamon and almond. This *almost* reminds me of a lighter, sunnier version of Fruitcake. Really nice and lots of throw too.

Very green and planty, with something that reminds me of evergreens. Is there a teeny bit of vetiver here as well? A bit on the manly side.

HONEY, kept from being sticky-sweet by the lotus. Lotus is very sweet to my nose and tends to be way too strong on me but it's pretty good here, giving the honey a floral and slightly musky quality. I really like this and I don't think any other blend with lotus has worked on me at all so this is a nice surprise!

I smell a lot of musky dragon's blood here, and flowers--sweet, overpowering ones like gardenia. A little jasmine too. Something slightly sharp too but I can't place it. This isn't a bad smell; it's actually kind of nice but it's VERY strong. I guess that's how the boys smell it to follow you.

Fresh cherry blossoms and sweet green tea. The sake gives this an alcohol-ish tinge. This is very light but lasts a long time and very nice for spring days.

I hoped the vanilla orchid and incense would save this from being anothe soapy floral of doom on me, but...alas. It IS nice enough, light and springy, but just so soap-like and powdery on me. Damn my skin!

Mmm, honeyed rose--this is very similar to Katrina van Tassel on my skin, but the myrrh gives it a depth that sets it apart. If Katrina's a girly scent, this is a womanly one. A slight tangy fruitiness from the nectarines is barely detectable. Very nice and feminine--I like this one.

I love this--it's all yummy spiciness, like sniffing your kitchen pantry, and I get a faint sweet sugaryness in the background and a whiff of cocoa. I almost feel like I shouldn't even be trying this now because in a month or so it's going to be incredible. I also love that it's completely different from the other 13s I've tried (July 07 and some of the older ones). Beautiful.

I was worried about the carnation here but I only get a whiff of it when this is straight out of the bottle--then it becomes a lucious fruity cream! Tangy apples and tropical fruits and vanilla, oh my. Very pretty, very flirty, and will be absolutely perfect for spring!

Sweet honeyed wine (think Fairy Wine) and a lovely lilac note that opens up after a few minutes. The myrrh and resins make a deep background for Eros but the honey and wine are the standouts here. It's a bit too sweet for me but I do like the lilac as lilac usually doesn't work on me, and it's very pretty here.

OK yeah--aged Snake Oil, Snake Charmer, aged Vixen, very similar. The vetiver here is rich and chocolatey and combined with the tonka, amber and musk this is very Snake Oily indeed. I get a faint waft of carnation but it's very subtle. Any fans of the Snake Oil "family" should definitely try this one.

Intense plum and wine--very much like Prospero but the sandalwood comes along in the drydown to calm down the cloying plum. The champaca adds to the sweetness. I don't think BPAL's wine notes work too well on me, though; it tends to amp like crazy and although I love wine and the smell of wine, I don't really want to smell *like* wine as it causes people to talk, heheh.

I got nothing but strong pink pepper from this for hours. Waaaaaaaaay too much! Once it settles down, though, this is a nice fruity, sweet rose with just a bit of the pepper remaining. If the heavy pepper stage didn't last so long I might like this better, but I think it's a bit much for me.

Fresh teak is almost unbearable to my nose and that's what's most obvious in Melainis at first--it just SCREAMS teak and smells like I've been rubbing an eraser all over my hand. Not good. But teak also fades nicely (and I know it ages amazingly); after a couple of hours, this settles down into a smooth, dark blend of black musk and patchouli with spices and a great labdanum note. It's not sweet at all, despite the presence of caramel, currant, and tobacco--I get the musk and patchouli more than anything else. Wears close to the skin. Warm and dark. Getting past that first blast of teak is tricky, though.

Resins and rose--I was hoping this might be a bit like Phantom but I almost think it's better, so far. The pomegranate isn't too prominent here, just adding a light fruity sweetness to the blend. Mostly I get rose and amber, with the myrrh adding a darkness that makes this more complex than Black Rose or Persephone. The frankincense isn't too strong here, thank goodness. A sophisticated and elegant oil.

I keep sniffing my wrist and thinking "Perversion?"--must be the tobacco and coconut. A bit of oakmoss is peeking through the longer I let this dry. This is nice and light considering that it's got some heavy notes in here--the amber isn't too overpowering and powdery and the musk is very soft. Really like this one.