TheIceMaiden

Sometimes, all I want to do is to hold her and enjoy her warmth. I love her, and she is the best part of me. Sugared rose and orange blossom.  This is an even mix of a sugared pink rose (very similar to the rose note in Fuzzy Pink Handcuffs) and sugared orange blossom. It isn't overly sweet and the throw and staying power are moderate (although that will probably improve with age.) I love this scent and I'm so glad I blind bottled it.

This starts off all cinnamon bun - lots of bakery cinnamon, a little icing, a little pastry. The pumpkin spice note comes in as it dries. I didn't get pumpkin, just clove and nutmeg mingling with the cinnamon. The throw and staying power are moderate right now, but I'm sure this will age well. YUM.

I was very much looking forward to this and so far, it doesn't disappoint. There's a hint of gingerbread but its mostly chocolate and espresso. It very much reminds me of chocolate-covered espresso beans, and of El Dia De Reyes (but less spicy). I hope the gingerbread comes out more once this settles but otherwise, I really like it so far!

This is mostly a gorgeous rose note, neither too sweet nor perfumey, with the lightest hint of cacao. The throw and staying power are moderate. Although this has almost the same description as Une Douzaine de Roses: Quatre (Cacao-dusted red rose petals), it's not the same! The rose in that is very full-bodied and red, the rose in this year's scent is soft and gentle.

This is a simple but lovely scent. It's a mix of a slightly sweet, slightly perfumey rose note with a natural (ie, not medicinal) red cherry note. The rose is stronger initially then the two notes blend together in the dry down. The throw and wear-length are moderate. I really like this! It reminds me a bit of last year's Strawberry and Rosebud. It's not at all similar to Une Douzaine de Roses: Un (cherry-dipped rose candy) since it smells more like fresh-picked roses and ripe cherries off the tree.

This is so pretty and girly and elegant. It starts off with lots of cream, some jasmine, and hints of rose and amber (white amber, I think). It eventually settles down to a creamy, fluffy vanilla scent with light floral and amber notes.

Snow White and Alice and two of my favourite perfumes, so I was very excited about this! Frostbitten Alice starts off with a lot of carnation and a little vanilla-snow. After a while, the carnation fades out, and I get vanilla-snow with a hint of milky honey. The throw is moderate and the staying power is medium. This is a very well-blended Frostbitten scent, Alice isn't buried under all the snow.

This starts off with maple leaves then dries to rose and blackcurrant with a lovely soft musk note. I don't get any oudh. The throw is light and it lasts a few hours. This is a very pretty scent, it smells early autumn when the leaves just start to fall.

This starts off with plenty of oud and a lovely red rose note underneath. It stays oud and roses with only a hint of the sandalwood in the drydown. The throw is moderate and the staying power is pretty good. I really like this, it reminds me a little of Seance & Between Your Heart and Mine, both of which are two of my favourite rose perfumes. I usually don't care for oudh, but the oud blanc note is smoother and less potent than the typical oudh.

Milk chocolate, coconut, cardamom, rum, and ginger truffle. This is total yum. The strongest note is the ginger, which is like fresh-ground ginger root. The chocolate, rum, and coconut are there, but are very much in the background until the drydown, when the cardamon comes in. ETA: Now that this has had a week to settle, I re-tested it. Now its almost all cardamon with barely anything else. Such a shame, because the ginger note was amazing.

This is a lovely scent! The strawberry note is juicy and realistic (very similar to the strawberry in Eat the Strawberries) and the rose is soft and a little perfumey. I'm not sure what kind of rose this is as it is not as heady as a red rose or as sweet as a pink rose. It's somewhere in-between. I love this scent and wish I had gotten more than one bottle!

Milk chocolate and matcha green tea ganache truffle. I love green tea, both the Lab's and as a cup of tea. I'm not familiar with matcha green tea, but I'm always up for trying something new. This starts off with a lot of the tea and not much chocolate. The tea is a bit sharper than the green tea I'm familiar with (such as in Shanghai or Embalming Fluid) - its stronger and a bit leafy smelling. As it dries, the tea mellows out and becomes a bit citrus-y. Its very nice so far and I'm hoping that once this settles, I'll get more chocolate with the green tea.

[No additional description provided.] Pomegranate is a note that can be hit-or-miss on me, but Alice is one of my top favourites, so I had to try this! This is mostly juicy, slightly sweet pom mixed with carnation. There is a hint of the honey-milk sweetness underneath, but the scent doesn't really say "Alice" to me. The throw and staying power are moderate right now, but I'm hoping settling and aging will improve everything. Overall though, it is a pretty scent.

BEAVER MOON Traditionally, Beaver Moon is named thus for a very obvious reason: during this time of year, beavers are hard at work building their dams and preparing for the onset of winter. However, we at BPAL rarely let an opportunity for sleazy campiness pass us by! For your pleasure and amusement, we present this year's incarnation of Beaver Moon: wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry. Oh dear, the pressure of the first review.... Beaver Moon starts off a deep cherry scent with some vanilla behind it. Strawberry and sugar takes over next, its very sweet and candylike. After a couple hours, its toned down to strawberry ice cream. I can't compare it to the original Beaver Moon as I haven't tried that one. Its different from Bloody Mary (at least on me), a different cherry note and less vanilla I do like them both! The bottle label is pink and is different from the shirt - its just a beaver chewing on some wood. Adorable!!

As sweet as it sounds. This is a combination of a non-buttery, non-spicy pumpkin note and a creamy vanilla base. It's not overly sweet and the throw is light, but it is quite yummy.

The stickiest thing you shouldn't lick this winter. Peppermint candy cane with an extra jolt of sugar. This is similar to its four older Lick It siblings, a combination of chilly peppermint, sugar, and vanilla, plus the addition of menthol to make it extra chilly and a bit metallic. Its a nice combination, but I prefer the previous versions (with 2008's Lick It Like You Mean It my favourite).

This starts off rich, buttery shortbread then dries to a light vanilla-mint cookie scent. Its a light scent and quite nice while its there.

White roses, white amber, and snowflakes. My bottle just arrived today, and as it settles and warms up it may change, so I might need to edit this review later. But for now...this is glorious!!! This starts off with sweet rose and the vanilla-snow of Snow White (my all-time favourite!). It's similar to Pink Snowballs (another fave), except that the rose note is very much a white rose, and its not as sweet. As it dries, the white amber comes out, making it very similar to Love Lay Upon Her Eyes (yet another fave!), but with the vanilla-snow background, and the slightly different rose note (white vs. red). I adore this and if it doesn't change with settling, I suspect I'll need a few more bottles in the future.

The opening stage of this, as stated above, it black cherry cream - it's both sweet and tart on me at the same time. The cherry fades out on me and I get a dry, lightly-sugared blackberry note. After a while, it's just simple & yummy cream. I love cherry scents and this is probably my favourite one so far.

It was the very witching time of night that Ichabod, heavy-hearted and crest-fallen, pursued his travel homewards, along the sides of the lofty hills which rise above Tarry Town, and which he had traversed so cheerily in the afternoon. The hour was dismal as himself. Far below him, the Tappan Zee spread its dusky and indistinct waste of waters, with here and there the tall mast of a sloop, riding quietly at anchor under the land. In the dead hush of midnight, he could even hear the barking of the watch dog from the opposite shore of the Hudson; but it was so vague and faint as only to give an idea of his distance from this faithful companion of man. Now and then, too, the long-drawn crowing of a cock, accidentally awakened, would sound far, far off from some farmhouse away among the hills-but it was like a dreaming sound in his ear. No signs of life occurred near him, but occasionally the melancholy chirp of a cricket, or perhaps the guttural twang of a bull-frog, from a neighboring marsh, as if sleeping uncomfortably, and turning suddenly in his bed. Moonflower, night-blooming cereus, white hellebore, English ivy, monkshood, angel's trumpet, oleander, and eastern hemlock. I'm not familiar with all the notes but I'll do my best to review. Witching Time starts off moonflower, a sharp floral, and lots of greenery underneath. Thankfully whatever the sharp floral is fades or settles and its now moonflower over lush greenery, of which I can pick out the hemlock and a little ivy. The drydown so far reminds me a bit of The Gibbous Moon but this is a bit more potent, greener, darker and more mysterious. I'm really enjoying this so far and hope the rest of the Halloweenies are as good!

No description available. I'm not familiar with this type of cookie, but its scent reminds me of a Lithuanian cookie my family gets for special occasions. This is a light cookie note (not buttery like Shortbread Snowflakes) with spices - lots of clove and maybe anise and ginger too? - and a touch of sweetness, like powdered sugar. The throw and wearlength is pretty decent too. If this came in large bottles, I'd buy quite a few, its that good!

Dark chocolate, lime and chocolate mint. This is a fresh from the box on a very cold day review, so I'll edit if anything changes. This is yummy and candy-like. It smells like a mix of chocolate-covered candy canes and sweet lime lollipops. As it dries, the lime backs off and it stays chocolate mint. The drydown is very minty, but more like fresh mint and no longer peppermint. I love minty scents so I'm glad I bought a bottle unsniffed! To compare this to last year's Dark Chocolate Key Lime Truffle, this (so far) is more chocolate and a different lime note.

RAPUNZEL IN BALLPOINT Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab promotional ball-point pen on copier paper, 2012 I love Rapunzel. She's a nice person and laughs a lot. My hair is like Rapunzel's, only it's brown. Sparkly apple musk. Rapunzel in Ballpoint This starts off with green apple, backed up with one or more soft musks. It very much reminds me of Snow Glass Apples, minus the snow/ice/mint note. Now as its drying, the green apple backs off and the musks stay light and a bit powdery. I'm quite enjoying this scent so far. ETA: After letting this settle for a few days, I've noticed it's more apple-y and less musky. The musk is soft and clean, not powdery now.

This is the first bottle I've ordered unsniffed in a long time. And I'm glad I did, because I adore it and have gotten multiple compliments too! I was worried about the mention of pine or evergreen notes, as both trigger migraines for me. But I don't detect any in the perfume. It starts off with a refreshing blend of eucalyptus & a hint of mint. The sandalwood and vanilla come into play next, both are very soft and well-blended. Not foody or woodsy at all!!! The throw is moderate-to-light and the staying power is a few hours minimum.

I spritzed this on my pillow last night and fell asleep with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head (and slept great too!) This is the sugar plum note from my beloved Sugar Plum Fairy, mixed with the loveliest vanilla note. It's a sweet, cuddly, long-lasting, and very much a ridiculously adorable scent. Please make this in bath oil and perfume next year!!!