Eemia

Bright, strong strawberries with a translucent quality. The strawberry note is all I can smell at first and I couldn't be happier about it. I don't get any sweet syrup or candy connection here, it reminds me more of a natural type of strawberry. A vanilla-floral comes through as it dries, and it's very creamy and soft, slightly sweet too. There's a mild earthiness underscoring everything, which must be the vetiver but it's so tame in here that I don't notice it much. Overall this is just a gorgeous strawberry scent and I love that the fruit stays vibrant throughout most of the wear.

I've moved away from red musk heavy scents in the last few years since I think my chemistry has changed quite a bit. But damn... I love this. It was an unexpected new fixation and it smells amazing on me. Creamy and vanilla dominant with dashes of red musk that remind me of cherry dragon's blood resin for whatever reason. The strawberry is sweet and artificial in a good way, like hard candy. Cream notes can go weirdly buttery and sour on my skin sometimes but this is perfection. It's more of a bourbon vanilla cream than a strawberry cream, and it's very rich and sexy. The cherry blossoms seal the deal for me though. I'm crazy for bpal cherry blossom scents, they're the embodiment of fresh femininity for me, and in this they just sing. Light and floral and perfumey, they mingle with the more heady notes for something that just seems unlike anything else in my collection. It's slightly sharp when first applied, and I can really notice the cherry blossoms more so than anything else but then it settles down and becomes this gorgeous floral-musk-cream hybrid. I keep the bottle in my purse, something I haven't done often with any of my bpal bottles since I'm always worried about losing them or spilling. But this is one to grab and apply all the time. So much love for this.

I love this snow/white floral combination. It has that cold, soft, semi-powdery snow note that reminds me of the one in Snow White. The gardenia is the most prominent on my skin, and it has a strong, velvety quality that's very lush and feminine. I adore orange blossom, it smells sort of sweet to me, and I love the delicate aspect of it as well. Overall this isn't perfumey or stuffy despite the florals. The neroli keeps it fresh and light and a little astringent. I like the greeness in here as well, which I think is the neroli again. It really does feel delicate and new and light like the name implies. And it dries down into a beautiful gardenia petal softness. Beautiful.

So… absolutely love the label art, the name, and the scent. But I'll admit my main reason for wanting this was because I have a little rescue cat named Monkey, and I wanted to display this bottle on my TP Skeleton Shelf. Anyway, this is really pretty and feels like a skin scent in a way. It’s very light, easy to wear, and lightly creamy. It starts out with a cheerful but not too sharp fig, and a tropical smelling lotus. Sometimes lotus can smell bubblegum tinged to me, but this lotus only smells floral and exotic and weirdly soothing. There’s a creamy, milky undertone that thankfully doesn’t go sour on my skin. Overall this feels so smooth and balanced. It doesn’t last on my skin very long, only a couple hours, but there’s a lingering semi-sweet sandalwood dry down that I’m obsessed with because it’s similar to Tushnamatay, a long time favorite. The bourbon vanilla is rich and a little smokey, and just so good. This is really unique, and definitely a stand out from my typical snowy Yule favorites. I feel like this might be an underdog Yule this year, but I truly love it.

I would have loved this no matter what, but I'm so glad that the scent itself is beautiful. I adore lavender, and certain bpal fragrances (Somnus, Fairy Market, TKO, Twilight) have been staples for me in order to fall asleep and combat chronic insomnia. This smells like clean, herbaceous lavender and golden, dry grassiness. It's light and sheer and has a tea type of association for me, which might be the chamomile (even though I never drink chamomile tea). This is very gentle, with skin-scent type of quality. It's soothing, but there's a charming spirit to it with the sweet vanilla. I love the vanilla addition especially, as it's a pretty, feminine touch that makes this a favorite for me to wear during the day as well as for bedtime. This has particular sentimental appeal for me as well since me dad read to me every night as a child, without fail. Even when he was away on business trips he would call and read to me over the phone, or would create his own made up stories on a little tape recorder that I could play at night if he couldn't call. Later, as I grew up, we read together side by side on the couch. And when I moved out of the house for college, we sent books back and forth and then talked about them together like our own little book club. It's a memory I hold very dear and I think it's so lovely that the Lab and the Trading Post have shared such a sweet memory like this with everyone.

Lots of dark, smokey woodiness. It's not earthy or soft at all. Very robust. It does have that mysterious, creepy feeling, which could be from the notes or the idea of it, I can't tell. Either way it's something that stays with you, and reminds me of something that I can't quite place. This type of woody smell isn't my usual cup of tea (though I do love wood scents) but I like it. It's unique and I don't think I've smelled another bpal quite like this one before. After about 30 mins or so it lifts into a brighter, more translucent smell, which I'm guessing is the white musk. It never smells sharp or high pitched as I expected. I agree with other people who mentioned the cologne aspect, though it's not a rugged cologne. On me it falls more into perfumey or fougere territory. This is one of those that I can try over and over and I'm always surprised at how strange it is. I've had it for a year now and it smells better now that it's aged.

This is very strong when first applied, and sort of cologne tinged or masculine despite the florals. It really captured me right off the bat though I couldn't decide if I loved it or hated it. I'm a rose fan in general, and a bpal rose fan in particular, but couldn't familiarize myself with the rosiness in this one. I think the rosewood threw me off. It's very powerful and woody and earthy, and round, for lack of a better word. Anytime I smell rosewood I associate it with "roundness" or fullness in some way. It's a beautiful wood and so sensual in here. It does add a bit of an old fashioned flair, though not in a negative way. The tea rose is lovely and delicate and dry, and I notice it more as the scent wears into my skin. It reminds me of the tea rose in Marie, my all time favorite fragrance. With my chemistry it can be a little perfumey but I actually adore that about it. The tea adds another herbal or earthy quality that pairs with the rosewood well and tempers the femininity of the tea rose. This does become powdery during the dry down but it's very subtle, unstuffy, and feels like a skin musk type of powder more than a dusty baby powder. Powdery dry downs turn me off more often than not so I'm relieved that this didn't become stuffy at all. Overall this feels velvety and tactile and memorable and I love it.

Lots of soft leather, followed by a bit of dark sweetness. It's a stronger leather than I was expecting, and it definitely has that worn in, almost old fashioned or Western type of feel. I love the almond in here, which is sweet and sort of creamy, like almond paste or an almond cookie. It balances out all that leather, which would have otherwise been way too much for me in this one. I get hints of a semi-sharp perfumey note that trickles off into more musky territory later on. I'm thinking it's the amber, but I'm not sure. I never notice the vanilla amping at all, but it adds a nice undercurrent that helps make this more feminine. My first impression immediately after applying wasn't too great... it almost felt like a leather single note. And I couldn't figure out what the sharpness was that I was smelling. It almost reminded me of a blood note or maybe wine, and I went back to check the listed notes to see if that was it. Luckily I like this a lot more after the first half hour when it settles down and changes into something more interesting and sweeter. I think it's going to age really well.

This is a smoky, unusual, and sexy gardenia on my skin. I don't always love gardenia on myself since it tends to overwhelm any other note it's paired with, and sometimes feels a little thick or overly heavy. But I love the smell of them in general. This actually works on me though since the gun powder is tamping down the gardenia and making it less floral and more mysteriously edgy. I can't really tell that it's gun powder I'm smelling, but then again I don't really have a point of reference. I get a smoky, sultry, slight sharpness that is so beautiful with the milky, creamy thickness of the gardenia. There's a nice balance of masculine and feminine, which is really appealing. I've been loving it for the warm nights here, it's like that perfect unexpected pairing with a skimpy sundress.

Non-sweet, murky vanilla and thick beeswax. It stays close like a skin scent and isn't the slightest bit heavy or suffocating. The vanilla is very natural and realistic smelling, so to speak. It's not boozey or candy-ish, and it's not artificial like a generic lotion either. It amps on my skin, as most vanillas do, and has a sophisticated, understated vibe. I like all kinds of vanillas, whether they're sickly sweet or barely there sheer, and this feels subtle and musky in a delicate way. I thought I'd be picking up more of the clove and cinnamon but it's the beeswax that stands out next to the vanilla. For some reason all beeswax notes smell creepy to me and this is no different. It's smooth and blanketing and a little floral, like tiny white petals. It reminds me of the beeswax note in Hand of Glory, my favorite sinister beeswax scent. Thankfully the beeswax doesn't translate to honey since that can be a death note on my skin. The cinnamon and clove are soft and smell more like incense than spices. I usually don't like either note since they remind me of kitchen cupboards and sharp cooking spices but they are beyond gorgeous in this. Dry, resinous, and far in the background. They add a little depth on my skin but aren't giving off that horrible sharp, burning tone. As this dries down they're more noticeable but still so soft. This is sensual and beautiful and smells so damn good. So, so silky.

This smells a lot like Almond Blossom 2013 with some sweet vanilla and white floral added. I love, love, LOVE Almond Blossom and so this one was another instant love. Luckily the cream note didn't go plastic or sour on me as it can sometimes do. It's just a rich vanilla, minus the heaviness of the cream. Mostly though that gorgeous smooth almond liquor note is the strongest part, and it smells so decadent and sexy on my skin. I like the softness of the mimosa, which is heavy and feminine but not overpowering. It just adds a little interest in this so it's not so extremely sweet and dessert-like. I'm not usually a gourmand fan but I have a handful of foodie type bpals that I adore and this is going to join them in their little club of specialness.

Finally! A Vulva that works on me!! Past Vulvas have always gone slightly plastic or sour on my skin due to that reoccurring cream note, and I so wanted to love them. For whatever reason the cream accord in this is behaving, more than behaving: it's actually smelling pretty damn great. Maybe it's the mixture of the other notes, but no twinge of plastic or sourness here. It's smoothly understated, sexy, and vanillic but not super sweet. Just the perfect amount of sweetness. It's golden and sun warmed and supple. The coconut is perfect in here, natural and milky rather than that artificial sugar sweet kind. It makes this a jumble of vanilla-coconut-amber amazingness. I get a bit of a nutty note here that must be the macadamia, and it adds to that warm, beach vibe I get from this. Maybe because anything coconut reminds me of suntan lotion and hot Southern California beaches. But that's my favorite part about this... the borderline Summer sensation I have whenever I wear it. I get more amber as it dries down and it feels more resinous than musky. No powderiness. It's a very silky, sensual scent. A touch earthy too but not in a way I can properly pin down. Beautiful!

The rosewater amps like crazy on my skin. It's almost exclusively rose based for hours. It smells like tea rose to me more than rosewater because it's very, very strong and has a similar vibe to Marie (my fave tea rose scent). I haven't been too into rose scents lately so I was hesitant to try this but I loved the combination of notes so I had to give it a go. I wish the rose would calm down a bit because it takes forever for me to smell anything else in here. After a couple hours I get hints of a dry, sweet musk that goes a bit powdery. Not thick or obviously powdery, but enough where I notice it. The cherry is pretty great when it shows up, and it smells a little like a cherry liquer, which I'm guessing is the bourbon mixing with it. But it's not dominant enough for me. I wish I could smell it and be like "yes! cherry!" No such luck. It stays softly musky and dry for the duration of the wear time, and it lasts quite awhile on me. I was hoping for more of a Youth's Disengagement vibe from this, but it's like night and day. No similarities at all (at least, on my skin there isn't). So I'm bummed that this wasn't a big hit but I'm going to keep it for a few months and see if it changes over time. Here's hoping!

This is a cool, silky smooth pear that smells nothing like I expected. I was thinking the pear would be syrupy, a touch candyish, or overtly "pear" I guess, something like Endymion maybe. But the pear is so sheer and natural in this, just like dewy drops of pear juice. It's not sugary or sweet. But it's not bright and tangy either. It's like this perfectly balanced scent that feels light and clean without all the usual light and clean connotations. It sits close to my skin and doesn't last very long; I was reapplying it after two hours. I get a bit of some kind of pale, washed out lemon here and there, and it's beautiful. I'm not normally a fan of lemon notes but this is more like a mist of it combined with the luminescent pear and some kind of super shy musk. It's one of the lightest bpals I've ever worn. I love that it doesn't turn into a vanilla or a musk on the dry down. It's just here one minute and gone the next. It almost reminds me of a body wash or something in how light it clings to my skin. It doesn't seem like I've just applied perfume. I really, really love this. My chemistry has been really off lately and nothing has been smelling right to me. So I was pretty thrilled when I tried this and fell in love with it.

This is very cologne-ish on my skin. Like a high-end masculine fragrance with a smooth, flashy tone to it. At first it's modern and glitzy from the icy notes that send off a sharp, ringing scent. It's similar to a lot of bpal ice notes that have a minty, green, ozone quality. Then it becomes more old-fashioned as the oakmoss starts taking over, adding a classic, black and white cinema feeling. Here it reminds me of Robert Piguet's Bandit, which toes the line between feminine and masculine with it's heady oakmoss based scent. It's sexy, but ultimately too masculine for me. I love masculine scents but this is too overwhelmingly so. I don't get any touches of floral from the artemisia or sensuality from the muguet. There's a musky element that appears later on that adds a lot of depth and warmth, but it's not enough for me to want to wear it often. I ended up passing this on to a friend who really likes it and it smells great on him.