Soupy Twist

Juniper and mint in the bottle, and it goes on as juniper, but the mint frankly turns creepy — there's no other way to describe it. And both notes almost immediately fade into a sickly sweet floral, which I guess is the lotus. It actually turned my stomach after a few minutes and I had to wash it off. I see why the Greeks thought it caused hypnotic comas. Bleah. I really wanted this to be an awesome mint, or at least another nice pine, but it's "Island of the Lotus-Eaters" instead.

Mostly apple blossom; the grape is sort of hinted at without ever being fully realized. A little soapy/powdery. Pleasant but unremarkable.

Honey with dried herbs in the bottle. Goes on as lavender and roses, which is briefly bearable, but then gack it becomes a truly obnoxious baby powder.

Marzipan in the bottle, and goes on as a slightly sweet almond extract. Shortly dries to buttercream, losing the almond. There's a brief honey note, and it finishes as a faint hazelnut. Not much throw. I really wanted this to be the almond, but alas, no.

Boring. Amber, sandalwood, and a little sickly sweetness. No peach at all.

Way too much yuzu in this. Mint and yuzu in the bottle, with a little lemon as well when it goes on. The bitterness (like grapefruit pith) becomes stronger as it dries. There's a green lemon note — not lemongrass, more like lemon verbena — and finally ends as that bitter, harsh citrus. I was really hoping the vanilla would soften it more. I'm not getting the lovely pine-snow notes from some of the Lab's other snow scents. Dammit, why is this the citrus which hangs around instead of Embalming Fluid or Baobhan Sith?

Oh, this is lovely. Sweet light snow. There's a wee bit of juniper in the top note as it dries, which accentuates the creamy sweetness.

Champagne and grapefruit in the bottle, which is surprising given the drydown. It goes on as grapefruit and mint, which becomes a lovely chilly aquatic. The mint takes over (my reaction was "That'll clear your sinuses!"), and then it basically becomes a slightly sweeter version of 21. Doesn't last as long, sadly. I'll enjoy this imp, but I already have a bottle of 21.

Lemongrass and lemon verbena from start to finish. A little bitter on the drydown, and not very complex. Ironically it lasts longer on me than most BPAL citrus scents, when I'd prefer that it hurry along and one of its cousins hang out.

Another gorgeous tea/citrus blend... which disappears on me. Ginger in the bottle with citrus when it goes on, which dries to a lovely tea. And the whole delicious thing is gone in less than half an hour. *sob* Why does my skin eat BPAL's tea and citrus notes? As noted above, this is similar to Embalming Fluid and Baobhan Sith, both of which I love and both of which vaporize on me.

Cedar in the bottle, which doesn't do it for me. It goes on as a blend of sassafras and balsam, with vanilla coming in and out. While I like balsam, and I like the root beer note, they aren't blending well. It ends as a simple vanilla, but I have other vanillas which last just as long and are more complex, and have a lot more throw.

2011 version: A sickly-sweet tobacco rose from start to finish. I love tobacco, but this was bleah. Had to wash off. Didn't get any other notes.

Starts promisingly with tobacco, but the hazelnut sadly doesn't work, and then cardamom comes in, turning the whole thing bleah. There's a suede/leather note, but I amp the cardamom so much that the tobacco is totally gone. This sounded so good on paper and I love tobacco and coffee notes. Apparently I need to stay away from "Middle Eastern spices" or any variant thereof.

BPAL's 21 is an amazing gin & tonic with mint. Dana O'Shee is a foodie honey/sugar/almond kind of thing. Possets' Gelato Vaniglia and Villainess's Decadence are your vanillas, for sure. Arcana's Ambrosia is honey and vanilla, and Possets' Vim is almost identical to it. All my other faves have chocolate or tea in them, so I can't recommend them to you.

Something weird and bitter in the bottle — maybe the chamomile? I get a little leather, then something which smells like cherry tobacco (as in chewing tobacco). No vanilla at all. And then it's gone. Quite disappointing; this sounded so good on paper.

Jasmine in the bottle, and adds gardenia and tuberose as it goes along. A pleasant floral, just south of too sweet. I'm an atheist so I'm not using it for any of the ritual aspects, but it certainly lightened my mood.

Very hard to describe in the bottle — pastry? Goes on as fig, with notes of the candles. This becomes more incense-like (as the candles burn, I guess) and some light spice comes in. Finishes as warm beeswax.

I would have called this "Logic": a pretty flower that smells bad. The narcissus is a sour, orchidy smell which drowns out the other two notes. I can tell they're desperately trying to come to the fore, but the well-named narcissus refuses to let them share.

Definitely a "sweet grain" thing going on, but it's hard to describe. Honey on oatmeal? Cane sugar? Cream of wheat with sugar syrup? Almond/marzipan? It becomes powdery on the dry-down, but not in a bad way. Creamy and sweet. I like it more as it wears.

Gin and tonic and mint. My eyes rolled back up in my head in ecstasy. I want to drink my wrist. I need a bottle of this yesterday.

Lily of the valley in the bottle. Goes on as lily and sandalwood. Some hibiscus comes in, which morphs into apple blossom, and then the lily of the valley returns. Finishes a little too sweet.

A perfect rendition of hyacinth, from beginning to the rather brief end. Great for the beginning of spring when the hyacinths are blooming and I just want to smell like one all day.

I would have named this one "A Walk Along the Beach." So imagine you've come out of a pine forest which is edged with honeysuckle and you're standing on a beach which leads to the ocean. You walk along, smelling the jasmine and the fir trees, and then the ocean air is stronger than the pines. As you continue, the trees fade back and there's a grove of hyacinth before you, pairing prettily with the ocean which sparkles in the sun. The beach eventually curves away, and you follow the path back onto land, ending in a meadow of hyacinth and honeysuckle.

Cool dry musk in the bottle. Goes on as dry leaves. There's an herbal note, maybe the amaranth? It continues as a dry, crisp, smooth, pleasant, masculine herbal scent, but that morphs into powder (maybe because I'm a lady).

Oregano. All I get is oregano. The World Tree smells like a good pizza.