TheIceMaiden

Its a close-up of a skull. You see the eye sockets and nose hole but not the lower half (sorry about the blur):

I love cranberry and I'm always thrilled to see it used in a scent. Additionally, The Jersey Devil is one of my favourite cryptids, so I was excited to try this. Cedar can be tricky on me, and sure enough, Jersey Devil starts off with a strong blast of cedar. But it burns off within five minutes to reveal a gorgeous blend of cranberry, tomato leaf, and just a little pine. This also has decent throw and longevity. I like this, its fresh and outdoors-y, and except for the cedar intro, much less spooky than its namesake.

I did not like Clarimonde when I first tried her because it was a mix of a potent, powdery musk (black I think) with some powdery amber. This is the Oriental perfume stage I assume, and I did not like it at all! But then it dried down to a lovely white rose and musk scent. So I held on to the scent and after a year of aging, the Oriental perfume is more tolerable (although I'm still not crazy about it) and there are more roses and musk. Much better! La Morte Amoureuse is an enjoyable story so I'm glad to have Clarimonde's scent to go with it.

I was as surprised as everyone else to get rose in this, although for me it was a pleasant surprise as I love rose. Anyway, on me Bite Me starts off almond and a soft rose (rosewater maybe?) then I get caramel with the rose in the midstage, and a very light cake note on the drydown. This reminds me of a sweeter Katrina Van Tassle, a much sweeter (and less spicy) Pothon Meter, or less rosey (and less plastic-smelling) Hope. Love it!

The Girl is a beautiful, but very light scent. It clings to the skin and fades after a few hours. Its mostly a mix of birch, amber, and a vanilla-esque musk with just a bit of well-blended florals. Jasmine and ylang-ylang are both normally very strong on my skin, but I can't even pick them out. This is one elusive vampire though, the scent is really light! But its gorgeous and a new favourite Halloweenie.

I was pretty excited about this as rose, lavender, and carnation are my favourite florals, and white and blue musks are two of the very few musks I like. And Under the Harvest Moon has met my expectations, its very lovely indeed! From wet to dry stage, I get a base of vanilla and musk. In the wet stage, I get lavender over this base, then rose and leaves, and finally the amber. This is very soft and close to the skin and I think it will be perfect for those days (and nights) that are no longer summery, but not yet autumn.

I usually don't care for sugary scents or cotton/linen scents, but I love Boo. The cotton note is soft and clean, the sugar isn't toothache-sweet, and the cream keeps everything together nicely. Its sweet, but I don't find it to be foody at all, and its one of my favourite new Weenies this year.

This is my fourth Halloween with the Lab, and I always wished for a pumpkin coffee scent. So thank you Beth for finally making one! Anyway, this starts off with a not-too-strong pumpkin note backed by the coffee bean. As it dries, the pumpkin fades and I get what smells like spice (although I know its not in the notes). Overall, this smells like walking into a fancy coffee shop in the autumn. Delicious!

Shanghai is my favourite green tea scent from BPAL. The tea is the dominant note with dry honeysuckle petals and just a bit of lemon mixed in. Unfortunately, its very light and doesn't last long.

This starts off with a very sweet cherry that isn't quite cough syrup, more like red Twizzlers. The licorice root joins in so now I smell like all kinds of Twizzlers. The cinnamon comes in as it dries which tones down the sweetness and makes it less candy-ish. Overall this is a nice scent, quite light-hearted and fun and not at all sinister like the story its based on.

I didn't expect to like this because I don't care for the scent of baby powder, but surprisingly, I love this. Its sweet powder over clean skin with the occasional whiff of smoky brimstone. I think I detect a bit of lavender in the drydown as well. This is light and soft and I enjoy it as a bedtime and/or comfort scent.

Sniffing the bottle this is, like others have said, a jelly donut. On my skin its strawberry (and maybe a bit of raspberry?) jam with lots of burnt sugar similar to Sugar Skull. But it becomes too burnt-smelling on my skin, and the jam fades away quickly. But in a scent locket, this stays an even mix of jam and caramel-sugar and its much nicer. Mmmm brains indeed!

I usually don't do well with incense-type scents, they either give me a headache or make me sneeze. Gothic Horror (which a friend let me try from her bottle) is different, its working on me! It starts off woodsy clove, then dries to a lovely mix of spice, benzoin, and a lightly-floral incense.

Alien Invasion is a blend of very bright citrus, white grapefruit and other notes, with some kind of tropical fruit hanging around underneath, plus lots and lots of green musk. The throw is light and it doesn't last long (a sneak-attack invasion!)

This is very melon-y (honeydew to my nose) with hints of citrus and just a little green tea in the wet stage. The dry stage is a little off on me because white grape and mullein don't work well with my chemistry, and within an hour this bat has flown away and I smell nothing. But in the scent locket, the yummy melon and citrus tea stays all day long, which is the way I prefer this scent.

I think this is going to end up being a new favourite for me from the Mad Tea Party line. Alice's Evidence starts off bright quince, then settles into a deep spicy plum. This has good throw and lasted for quite a while on my skin. Its warm and spicy and very autumnal.

When I first got this bottle fresh in the mail I almost let it go because it smelled funky and sour. I decided to let it settle for a week, and I'm glad I did because its gorgeous! Overall, this is a very light, clean, and well-blended scent. The wet stage is mostly lily and green tea with hints of orange, eucalyptus, and mint. It dries down to a soft tea and floral blend. I think it fits the J-Horror genre well as its spooky and subtle, like the films.

I'm sorry its not a great picture, but here you go:

This is lots and lots of fresh strawberry with a touch of creamy white chocolate. It doesn't last long on my skin, like the other chocolate blends I have tried, but its delicious while its there!

This is exactly what the name promises - creamy white chocolate, lightly toasted coconut (not as toasted as Eden), and fluffy marshmallow. Its a light scent and doesn't last too long on my skin, but its incredibly delicious while it there.

This is the spice of Gingerbread Poppet with a little fruit and rum and extra spice in the background, and wrapped in a warm, fuzzy musk that keeps it from going too foody. I absolutely adore this scent!

Katrina Van Tassle starts off with a cool, crisp white rose that reminds me of the rose in Moon Rose (one of my favourites). The rose stays prominent until drydown, although it is joined by a very subtle cream note in the midstage. By the drydown, its a light cream with maybe a tiny drop of honey. ETA: This was light when it first arrived, but a couple years of aging has made Miss Katrina quite strong! This is also one of the very few blends with honey I can wear. Katrina Van Tassle has become one of my top four BPAL scents of all time.

A Blade of Grass is the last fresh cut green grass of summer with a smattering of early autumn leaves, but not yet dried. There's still a little sap in the leaves to give them a little sweetness. This reminds me just a bit of October, but its warmer and without the crisp ozoney-autumn air and woodsmoke. Its just grass and leaves and its beautiful!

According to the bottle label, this is destined to join Rappacini's Garden if it comes out. It seems appropriate as this isn't just an apple scent, its more like an apple tree surrounded by an herb garden. Apple of Sodom does start out crisp apple but almost immediately I get herbals notes and a touch of floral. I'm not very good at identifying notes but I think there might be a bit of mint in all that herbal greenery. This is light and pretty and much less sinister than the name implies. I hope it comes out some day!

Worm Moon smells like pure dirt in the bottle. On my skin, the dirt is there but it isn't the fresh-from-the-grave kind like in Zombi. Its lighter and softer, like potting soil or garden dirt. A light floral note mixes in with the dirt. As Worm Moon dries, the florals disappear, the dirt becomes very faint, and I get blood and red fruit. I am really enjoying this scent because it reminds me of gardening, but it also has that fun BPAL twist of including the blood and other surprises.