steffanina

Spooky- In Bottle: Chocolate, mint, and coconut! Couldn't be lovelier. Wet: The chocolate and mint are there, and then the peppermint starts to dominate. And there's a little coconut here too. Dry: This morphs down to something mildly chocolate mint, in a sort of airy way. I think that's the coconut. Wish it stayed more intense on me! Overall: I like but condtional; I think I'm going to try it in scent lockets.

La Fee Verte- In Bottle: Sharply alcoholic, though nothing like anise. Wet: A very light green floral-herbal. Dry: This dries down to white musk! With vanilla. This is classic Ombre Rose type perfume. If it gave me more than that I'd probably have a better appreciation for it, since other scents do this too (Antique Lace is one). But it's a very nice scent in its own right! Overall: Nice!

Doc Buzzard- In Bottle: Oh, masculine and sweet-light musky--reminds me of Torture King, one of my all-time faves. Wet: A little more wood-and-chocolate (vetiver, I suppose) than Torture King. Some musk but with a teensy whiff of rot underneath. Dry: It's a rich woody-musky that isn't quite for me. Though it seems a nice masculine scent. Overall: Not for me.

Baron Samedi- In Bottle: Almond, and something like rum, yeah. Wet: Very medicinal, like benzoin. I wanna watch this dry-down. Dry: I can see why men wear this; there's a lot of nice stuff here with that little touch of musk and sweetness but it's just a little too medicinal on me. Overall: Not for me.

Tiphareth- In Bottle: Faint; sort of sweetly resinous. Wet: Resinous, hugely. Sweet and unaggressive. Dry: Wow, I rather like this one! It smells like Christmas, and like the woods, and it's sweet and, well, if I want to smell like a wood nymph in the winter, this is what I'd pick. Overall: I like!

Netzach- In Bottle: I can hardly smell anything! Wet: Something sour-resinous? Spicy? Wait--peanuts! Seriously, a little after-effect of peanut butter. Dry: This faded fairly quickly. It stayed a sort of resinous mishmash before it did. Overall: Not for me.

Pomegranate (Single Note)- In Bottle: Pomegranate but almost with a peach undertone. Wet: Still got that floral-fruit peach thing going with it. Dry: Pretty but very light and my skin just eats it up. I guess I'll have to go with Swank for my pomegranate needs! Overall: Nice, but fades fast.

Chrysanthemum Moon- In Bottle: MMM. Delicious honey! And florals. Wet: Honey and florals, in that order of bloom. Dry: This is magnificent. The honey of this, mixed with just the most controlled amount of florals--wow. One of the loveliest feminine BPALs I've found yet. Overall: I love.

Antonino, The Carny Talker- In Bottle: Ooh, the lemon is strong in this. Wet: Lemon like lemon furniture polish. Dry: The lemon faded but there's muskiness, a general masculine scent that's not unpleasant. But I don't think it's holding my interest. Overall: Not interesting for me.

Kathmandu- In Bottle: Ooh, something very sharp like acetone in this. That's the dominant note. Wet: This is WILD. It's menthol-y and sweet and...there's clearly something in this I'm completely unfamiliar with. I smell almost no cedar yet. Dry: Oh, my, this fades so fast, and I'm left with just the tiniest amount of cedarish wood. Like a #2 pencil. Overall: Started interesting but such a fast fader.

Spanked- In Bottle: Leather and musk. Very masculine scent. Wet: A strong leather bloom. Not as delicious a leather as Dead Man's Hand; more the leather of De Sade. Dry: Sigh! I did want to love this scent, it's so popular. But it's that harsh "burning car upholstery" leather, and it takes a while to dry down to something I can like. I imagine this scent is like, for me, me wandering into some S & M club thinking it's going to be something a tourist can gawp at, and then get pulled into a room by someone who is Not Kidding Around and wants to teach the rude tourist a lesson. I'm in over my head. Which is exactly how I am with this scent: in over my head. I might give it another try later; if it still doesn't work for me, I'll find it a good home. Overall: Very conditional.

Lotus Moon- In Bottle: There's a sweet floral in there, and a little amber, yes. Wet: Not pleasant to my nose, it's a sharp floral-herbal smell now. Dry: Much better on the dry-down! Amberish, still not quite enchanting to me if you know what I mean, but not unpleasant at all. Nice, actually. Overall: Nice on the dry-down.

Binah- In Bottle: Kind of...generically resinous-spicy. Wet: Sudden wood-and-chocolate bloom! Must be vetiver. And spices. Kind of yummy undertones. Dry: This isn't bad! It's amberish, but there's a little cloying undertone that I think will keep it from being a favorite. Overall: Not bad.

Sol- In Bottle: Ooh, aptly named--my initial impression is "fiery." This is all spicy and almost clove-like. Wet: Resinous, intense, just a hint of clove. Dry: I was keen to see what this did but unfortunately it's kind of a fast fader! I still like it, though, for as long as it's around. Overall: Interesting but fades quickly.

Snow Angel- In Bottle: Sugar with a touch of orange-citrus. Wet: Candle-sweet. Spicy-orangey though not at all clove-like. Dry: This is SO good. It's powdery and warm and lightly orange-sugary and delicious! (It's funny how a lot of "ice" or "snow" scents come off as warm scents to me!) I keep sniffing at my wrists to get the yummy scent and that's always the giveaway as to how much I love a scent. Overall: I love.

Flower Moon- In Bottle: That's a yummy fruity-floral-berry smell. Wet: A little more sharp floral when it goes on. Dry: This becomes more floral than fruit on the dry-down--as would be appropriate for the name! And you know what? It's yummy! It's a lovely floral, just a hint of fruit-berry behind it, all pink-flowery. Overall: A very nice floral!

Somnus- In Bottle: Hmm. Floral but sharp, an underlying rot-whiff too. Wet: Eurgh, that rot-whiff came out sharply. Oh, God, I'm smelling soiled diapers. Dry: Okay, the soiled diaper smell goes away quickish, but what's left isn't very good for me--powdery-choky, eye-watering. Overall: Definitely not for me.

Gnome- In Bottle: Hmm, musky male cologne. I get no earth off this at all. Wet: Menthol in the middle of this masculine musk--wow, interesting! Dry: I'm afraid this got kind of sour-unwashed-old man on me. Not going to work. Overall: Not for me.

Ice Queen (2004)- In Bottle: Ooh, pine and orange and sugar. I like. Wet: The orange comes out more strongly; not as yummy as in the bottle, but this has strong dry-down promise, I sense. Dry: Wow, I can see why this is hugely popular! It's kind of orange-sugar-warm; fades a bit quickly but it's delicious while it's around. Mmm! Overall: I love.

King of Spades- In Bottle: Grape-and-musk in this one. Yummy-smelling. Wet: Yup, grape musk. This doesn't smell masculine at all to me. Dry: This stayed sweet and lovely all the way through. It's remarkably nice, with its sweet light grape musk scent. Overall: I really like!

Queen of Clubs- In Bottle: Grapes, wine, and earth. Mmm! Wet: Earth dominates hugely. But powder-wine scent is there too. Wow, this is hugely complex. Dry: Wow, when the earth dries down, this is one lovely scent! I often like earth in a lot of these blends, but at first the earth is too strong in this one. Once it dries down, though, this remains complex and lovely. There's wine and sweet powder and it's really nice. Overall: I like a lot!

Lucretia- In Bottle: Ooh, grape-sweet, and a little amber. Wet: Strongly perfumey--I have no idea what will happen with this! Dry: Okay, it dries down to something softer and amberish. It's a nice scent though it doesn't seem to have a lot of lasting power on me. Overall: Actually pretty nice.

In Bottle: Ooh, very sharp and eye-watering insect repellent like. Wet: Something like an ozone version of amber, kind of noxious to me. Dry: Okay, this got better, but it took a while. There is amber at the heart of this and that part's nice, but I'm not sure the wait is something I'll want to sit through. Overall: Conditional, but has a nice dry-down.

Dreamland- In Bottle: Light and sweet floral like gardenia. Wet: Light, sinus-clearing floral. Dry: This kind of dries down into a bit of a mishmash and fades. Sorry that it didn't work for me. Overall: Not for me.

Pink Moon- In Bottle: Strawberries and florals, as advertised! Wet: Strawberry and floral and sweetly delicious. Dry: This is such a lovely strawberry scent! If it were more easily available I'd get more, but at least there are other delicious strawberry BPALs like Bon Vivant. Overall: I love.