acaciasears

Man, I just don't know about this one. My first impression reminded me of the saccharine-sweetness I got from Sugar Skull (which I couldn't even attempt on my skin - sweeter than sugar and far too much of it). Part of me loves it - it's fruity and sweet, and I'm a big foodie-lover from way back, but part of me think this smells like someone spilled Sweet & Low in the red cough syrup. In Bottle: red & purple skittles mixed with cough syrup. On Skin/Throw: fake berries & saccharine. Dry Down: Ok, it's evening out now. The instant sweetness calms down, and a little of the sour cherry comes through with the pastry-cream scent coming out from behind those red fruit notes, which very strongly resemble maraschino cherries. I'm not going to lie, this is totally artificial, but it's still pretty nice. It's awfully sweet, but I had the same problem with MB: Tokyo Stomp. I think the trick is to apply very lightly, and often. Some scents carry evenly for a long time - this one goes on strong and fades to a reasonable scent pretty quickly. Now that it's more of a cherry tart scent, I'm in. This reminds me SO much of those Strawberry Shortcake scented dolls from my childhood. It took me the entirety of this review to finally realize that's what I'm smelling.

A friend of mine gave me an empty bottle of Dorian a while ago; it had a couple drops in the bottom so I could test it, which I did, and I knew immediately that I had to get a bottle. It seems to me from personal experience and reading the reviews that Dorian is extremely variable. The empty bottle I had (which was, admittedly, well-aged) was a sweet, musky, honey-vanilla tea with a splash of cream. The bottle I just got is almost all lemon & musk in the throw, which is medium-to-light, and fades out to the sweet & musky tea that inspired me to buy it. I won't say I'm disappointed, because it's still nice, it's just a lot more masculine than I had hoped, and is lacking in strength. I am confident that this will change once the bottle ages a bit, and if not, it's a nice variation from my usual foodies & will smell quite nice on my boy. In Bottle: Lemon and musk with a hint of sweetness. Mostly, it's tart & musky. On Skin: Very tart (I don't want to say sour, because it doesn't smell spoiled - it's definitely more tart than sour) and strongly musk. It's pretty faint, so I need to use a lot. Drydown: THAT's what I wanted; honey-vanilla tea with a little bit of musk. The parts I don't like as much are the first to fade out and the parts I crave are the ones left behind. It fades pretty quickly, which is a shame, but I prefer that to a scent that is so strong I have to wash my wrists off in order to breathe again. I will use this bottle, but I hope that the next time I order it, it's got more of the sweets and less of the tarts & musks.

Coffee cake, gingerbread, chai. This is my "it" scent. After something to the order of a dozen bottles, this is the one I've dreaming of - I've finally found it. Wet: Spicy, sweet, cinnamon and cake and a drizzle of caramel on top. Throw: Strong, but thankfully not overwhelming. I can apply this at work and not feel embarrassed. Drydown: Everything is still there, just softer. The spiciness is usually the first thing to fade on me, but I'm pleasantly surprised that it didn't on this one. Things other people smelled that I didn't: Wine. Not a bit of it, and I'm entirely thankful for it. Alcohol notes of any kind are terrible on me. Butter. Drink me is one of my standards, and THAT one is buttery. Hearth '05 even more so. This one? Not at all, and that's great with me since I already have a couple really buttery scents. I have to go edit my "favorites" list and put this right at the top.

Almost all the reviews said the same thing - smells like Girl Scout cookie Thin Mints - and I was skeptical. I had to smell to believe. It's so true. There is nothing I can say that hasn't already been said - delicious Thin Mint madness. It's got a serious throw on it, so use sparingly! EDIT: My normal application is to turn the bottle upside-down with the cap still on, and then dab the cap onto my wrist once or twice & rub my wrists together. It was such a delicious smell I couldn't wait - but it was way way overpowering. I ended up having to wash my wrists off after about 45 minutes because it was just too much. I haven't eaten lunch yet and that sweet foody scent was making my stomach do acrobatics, despite the fact that I almost exclusively like foodies. I'm going to have to be very careful when & how much I apply with this stuff; it probably wouldn't bother me so much if I wasn't at work.

Alice is very light and floral, but it might seem a little young for your purpose. I have a difficult time with floral blends as well. The closest thing to a perfumey perfume that I've liked isn't even BPAL - it's Burberry Brit - which is light and sweet and a little floral. This isn't a scent recommendation so much as an idea you might like that I've found to be true. My best friend wore Snake Oil on her wedding day; she had never tried it before, but she loved it the instant she smelled it. Now whenever she wears it, it reminds her of her wedding day. In my own experience, I wore Punkie Night on vacation in Disney World this past year, and now every time I wear it, it puts me right back there again. Whatever scent you find, I recommend saving it (I know it's going to be difficult!) for your wedding day so you'll have the happy memory associations. Just a suggestion!

Parliament of Monsters is heavenly. Get it while Carnaval Diobolique is still in town, you won't be disappointed. I bought a bottle for my boyfriend and now he flaunts his neck at me all day, it's fantastic! It works on women, too, but the initial throw is a little masculine. Once it fades, though...

I still haven't made up my mind about this one. I got it in a swap, and I definitely like it better than what I swapped for it, but this one is making me think really hard about it. In Bottle: A little sweet, a lot of floral. I'm smelling the vanilla, but it's hiding behind the aged flowers. Wet: very sweet, but not sickeningly so the way Sugar Skull was to me. A little bit floral, and WOW baby powder. If this powder smell doesn't go away, I'm going to be sad! Dry: ahhhhh MUCH better. The powder scent fades pretty quickly. The vanilla is fairly creamy, which is nice, and once it's dry it's the only thing left. Vanilla is my staple scent, so I of course like this, but it pretty much smells like Tahitian Vanilla or Vanilla Fields or Vanilla Lace or any of those other drug store/Victoria Secret/what-have-you blends. I like it a lot, but I don't see much of a point in buying BPAL if it's going to smell like everything else, you know? I think I'll try layering this and see what happens, maybe I'll change my mind.

I go back & forth on this one. I cannot decide if I like it or hate it. I don't love it, but sometimes... I almost crave it. In Bottle: (ok, I mean "In Imp") Someone spiked the cherry cough syrup with cloves. It's thick, a little sweet, and vaguely metallic. On Skin: Still cloves and an oddly chemical cherry. It fades out almost the same as it goes on, which is odd - most of the other scents I've tried morphed a lot as they dried. It's kindof nice: fruity and chemical. It smells like the color red. I made the mistake of smelling this imp again during my period... BLECH. Something in my body made me want to wretch, and that slight metallic note was amplified tenfold. Because of that, it will be a while before I'll want to try this one again.

Thick, sugared and bloated with sweetness. Dark chocolate, vanilla, buttercream, and hops with pralines, hazelnut, toffee and caramel. In Bottle: Very dark, very thick, bittersweet. There's a lot going on here, but it's not at all what I was expecting from the description. On Skin: The first time I wore this, one of my co-workers asked if someone was burning a candle. It smells like late Autumn from a distance, but up close it's like someone burned the brownies just a little bit, then poured toffee over top and served it with a cup of coffee. It's not bakery-fresh on me, it's darker & nuttier than that. I think this bottle might be hazelnut-heavy. The throw for Gluttony is stronger than any other blend I've tried. My normal application is a dab from the cap on a 5ml, or several passes with the wand from an imp. The imp gave me a lot, but it was just enough. The dab from the 5ml was WAY too potent for my liking. All together, my last try with this one was too overwhelming and scared me off for a while. I need to find a better method of application as a little bit goes a very long way. There is chocolate in this, but if you're looking for a chocolate blend, I like The Candy Butcher better. Though I've never tried it, I hear Bliss is nice as well.

I was hesitant to try it. The idea of something being "the most popular" makes me uneasy. I don't want to smell like everyone else, I want to smell different and beautiful. But I give up. You win, Snake Oil, you win. In Bottle: Incense and sweet perfume. I was uneasy when I first opened it, but I have loved it on so many of my friends that I wasn't about to give up without trying. On Skin: At first, it's a mysterious exotic blast. Sure, there's vanilla in there somewhere, but the throw is only giving me the sultry, unusual, and a bit heady waft of the far east. As it fades, the exotic edge comes off a bit, and after a while it's just a very pretty vanilla with a bit of incense and spice to keep you interested. It smells different on every person I've smelled it on. I've come to recognize it on one friend, but I know all of the scents she has, so it's easy to pick out. My other friend has many many more imps than I do, so every time I see her she smells different. I saw her last week, and she stuck out her wrist for me to smell - "what is that?" I asked. Snake Oil. You sneaky, sneaky little imp, I didn't even recognize you.

Oh.. oh yes... YES YES YES I will preface this by saying I love and live with a man who probably wouldn't notice if his sense of smell disappeared overnight. I get so excited when I receive a new blend in the mail and instantly pass it over to him, only to see the same shrug every time. This is a man who won't wear cologne except the occasional Axe body spray, which I argue makes him smell like a damn frat house. Well, he still doesn't particularly care about his sense of smell, but this smells ABSOLUTELY STUNNING on him. which is really all I wanted. In Bottle: Smells like a masculine cologne. A little woodsy, a little sweet, but definitely masculine. On Skin: Instantly a sweet and masculine scent. It fades out fairly quickly, and the drydown is gorgeous. It's soft and sweet and almost a little fruity, but I'm sure that vague fruit note is the opium being sneaky. This will work beautifully on a man OR a woman, but be warned - the initial throw is fairly masculine. Once it starts fading out, it could go either way. This is not a potent or overwhelming scent - you may want to apply liberally. I apply one or two dots with the dabber inside the cap, and it was pretty much gone after 2 hours.

I had my heart set on this one. It didn't work out. In Bottle: Smells very strong and sour. I hate to say it, but it smelled like vomit. I think the honey might have been overwhelming. On Skin: Sweet for an instant, and then VERY strong baby powder. What a disappointment. I'd love to smell this on someone that has the right skin chemistry to pull it off, it has all the ingredients of something lovely. On me, it's horrible.

In the bottle, this is so tart and juicy that my mouth waters as soon as I breathe in. I cannot wait to put this on. Wet: Wow this is strong, and ROSE strong. Very very rose. Still juicy, but I think I was hoping for pomegranate with a splash of rose and not the other way around. Drydown: Still rose, still tart. I love the tartness of it, and I thought for sure I could wear rose - can't everyone? It seems to be really intense on me, which makes me a little sad. I still like it, but I'd love it on someone else's skin that took to it better.

Wet: soft, sweet coconut and shea butter. Refreshing like it's been poured over ice cubes, but still a warm scent, like someone just opened a container of macaroons. Drydown: this one doesn't morph on me. It's sweet, it's coconut, and ever-so-slightly shea. This is a good everyday scent for me. The thing I love most about this scent is that it's not overwhelming. I can smell it just fine, and I'm not worried about it emanating strongly like a lot of my BPAL - I can apply it at my desk and relax about it. It's sweet, it's soft, and it's light, but it still lasts pretty well.

I see a few people suggested Eat Me; I liked it ok, but it's not nearly as good (to me) as Drink Me. Drink Me has a *lot* going on, but the general impression I get is hot buttered toast & fresh pound cake with buttercream frosting with a single cherry on top. I am almost exclusively a foody scent lover, and that one is extremely foody. You might also like Gluttony, but that one's a little richer & less sweet.

YES YES YES!!!! Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for!

(edited to respond to your edit) Hmm... that is a good thread, but I'm not sure if this would work as it's foody specific, down to the subcategories of different foody varieties. I'll happily leave it up to the mods, they will know where this fits best! Thanks for your help finding the "favorite scents by family" thread! Either way, it's very helpful!

Perhaps this thread has already been done; I looked around and found similar topics, but not exactly what I was looking for. I propose a guide to all things foody. I became interested in BPAL a few months ago and immediately went searching for the most decadent, bakery-fresh scents I could find, and I've had some success, but there's so much I'm missing! I know I'm not the only person fascinated by all things foody, so how about a thread where people specifically talk about their favorite ones? Here are a few categories to start, more categories are certainly welcome, as I'm sure I'm missing some, and I'll list a couple I know & like in each category to get this started: Bakery: Drink Me (GC, Mad Tea Party) Eat Me (GC, Mad Tea Party) - this one is ok, but it's not one of my favorites Gourmand: Gluttony (GC, Sin & Salvation) Hearth 2005 (LE, Yule 2005) The Candy Butcher (LE, Carnivale Diabolique) Fruity: Punkie Night (LE, Halloweenie 2006) Persephone (GC, Excolo) Now, these are just some that I've tried & would recommend to other foody lovers. I didn't love Eat Me, but it's worth recommending anyway, because it would probably work a lot better on someone else's skin! I also debated including Snake Oil, which I absolutely adore, but I'm not sure how I'd categorize it, or if I would even place it in "foody" at all.

In Bottle: Rich chocolate cake batter. The scent is dark and almost bitter, like unsweetened baker's chocolate melted & mixed with creamy milk. On Skin: It sweetens as it dries. Much more vanilla now, but still definitively chocolate. It started off heavy & dark, but gets lighter and sweeter as it wears. It was a little powerful and overwhelming at first, but its softening up, which is nice. I'm not sure what the "plastic" morph is, but this is remaining fairly pleasant on me. There is a slightly sour note to it, but I think this scent needs a little bitter & sour to keep it from being too sweet. Drink Me (Mad Tea Party) & Gluttony (Sin & Salvation) both work on me, so if you like those, this one might be something to try!

LOVE it! I wish I had ordered two bottles before they went away! In Bottle: Tart apple cider. Sweet, simple, and clean. On Skin: Still feeling the tart apple, but as it dries down, I'm getting some of that spiciness, the way a good cider should be. It smells warm, like someone's been stirring spices into fresh pulpy apple juice over a low, slow heat. If you like foody smells and have fun layering, try this one with Drink Me (from the Mad Tea Party GC collection). It smells like hot apple pie.

This is one of my staple scents. I adore it. In Bottle: Butter, cake, fruit, toffee, maybe a little rum. It's very sweet (but not saccharine like Sugar Skull was for me) and rich. It's thick and heavy, not intended for those who like light & airy scents. On Skin: This one just really works on me. It smells almost exactly like it did in the bottle. Initially, it's almost equal parts butter/toffee and some sort of tart fruit like cherries or pineapples. On the die-down, the fruit wears away first, and what's left is warm vanilla-toffee-butter heaven. It makes me think of buttered toast with strawberry jam next to a freshly frosted cake with buttercream icing. It manages sweet and savory simultaneously. If you like delicious & foody, I strongly recommend Drink Me. If you like light, fresh, or floral scents, stay away - this one is thick and heavy and decadent.

This was one of the very first scents I tried, and I'm so sad to say it didn't work at all on me. In Bottle: vaguely floral & powdery; sweet, but I'm not smelling much vanilla or amber, and can't pick out anything resembling sandalwood. On Skin: After about 3 seconds, this turned to an exact reproduction of chewable Children's Tylonol tablets (grape flavor). I have no idea why, but it's a very recognizable scent, and because of the negative associations with it (IE - I only took it when I was very little and sick) I can't wear it. Love vanilla, love amber, love sandalwood. It just hated me. I gave it to a friend of mine, and it worked on her, so that made me happy! (this was my first review!)