LizziesLuck

I have learned that citrus and I don't get along, but I had to try this because of the chocolate peppermint, which I love! Wet: bitter grapefruit. Blah. Immediately turns nasty on my skin. Why did I think this would work on me? Getting pretty soapy. Dry: Soapy citrus. No hint of the chocolate peppermint I had hoped for. Not for me! glad I tried it though.

Wet: Ermagerd, wood!! Like, a whole wood shop full of wood shavings. And some Frankincense. Which is lovely, buried under that pile of wood shavings. It's that really thick "chewy" Frankincense, which I really like. Sweet and resinous, but oh so much wood on top. Dry: The Frank in this is great. The woods actually settle down and aren't terrible either. These aren't wood shavings like pencil shavings, they are wood shavings like fragrant cedar, but still not something that I personally want to smell like. I have many other blends with Frank that do work for me, but this one is just not one of them.

Orange Blossom is extremely iffy on me (usually terrible, occasionally amazing) but I love patchouli, so giving this a shot with an open mind. Wet: This actually smells a lot more like orange than orange blossom to me. Orange is not a good note for me either, but this is a nice, sweet, realistic orange - like freshly squeezed orange juice. Hints of the patchouli underneath. It quickly turns to chemicals though, really bitter chemicals. Pretty unpleasant, but not very strong so I will wait it out and see how it is dry. Dry: Doesn't get any better. This isn't just the case of a blend I don't care for, my skin has turned this into a nasty chemical mess that no one would care for. Too bad. The juicy fresh squeezed orange juice note that I get out of the imp and for seconds before my skin ruins it is really something else.

Was lucky enough to receive a sniffie of this in a swap, and I'm pretty excited to try it, especially since the Snake Pit should be the next act re-released in the CD line-up. Wet: Pretty amazing. This is so aged and thick and glorious. Snake Oil with Cocoa is an amazing combo. This isn't that far off aged Snake Oil. I can pick up the cocoa for sure, but not much, if any, of the other notes. Dry: This ends up just smelling like beautifully aged Snake Oil on me. I think the Snake Oil is so powerful it has dominated all the other notes. I may seek a decant of this fresh when the Snake Pit comes back around, just to see, but I don't think I will need a bottle right away. I already have aged Snake Oil, plus another bottle aging, hard to justify more at this point! ETA - 2016 Wet: So amazing. I LOVE the combo of Snake Oil and cocoa. I am praying that the previous version I tried maybe didn't have a ton of cocoa in it (totally possible, as I have seen the way it can separate in the imp/bottle) and that it will stick around once dry. I want to smell like this all the time. I think I can pick up the teak in this too, and something sort of florally creamy, which may be the rice milk? Mmm, this is actually better, more complex than the aged version I tried, which really smelled ended up just smelling like Snake Oil. Dry: Snake Oil Maybe a touch sweeter, and I do think I can still pick up a hint of cocoa, but it's still mostly Snake Oil. I need to do a side-by-side test to see if I am crazy about that or not. Make no mistake, I love it, but I also love plain Snake Oil.

Received this as a lovely frimp I love incense, but I hadn't gotten a hold of a decant of this because I was worried the "night blooming flowers" night be jasmine, as they sometimes are. Wet: Maybe not jasmine, but something similar. It doesn't amp to high heaven on my skin though, the way jasmine always does. The incense is lovely, but the whole thing wants to go to soap so badly....it's just teetering on the edge. Could go either way. Dry: Soap. Really really strong soap. Great throw! Lol. If you have chemistry that doesn't turn this to soap, I imagine it would be a nice strong scent, good lasting power. As for me, it's so strong I have to scrub it off. Glad to have gotten to try it though!

I am a lover of all things ginger. But most especially, I love the Lab's effervescent ginger note, but it's hard to find, and it broke my heart once when I got an imp of Gnome that was from a batch variation and I couldn't get more of it...but I digress. Wet: I can immediately tell that this is the same effervescent ginger note that was in that imp of Gnome that I loved so much. This makes me HAPPY. Mixed with the effervescent ginger are some creaminess and some lime, one of the few citrus notes I can wear, so this also makes me HAPPY!!!! Oh this is so good. Sweet (likely from the fig, though I can't pick it out) but not cloying, creamy without going plastic. It's like a limesicle with ginger. Or an ice cream float made of ginger ale and lime ice cream. It's gorgeous. I immediately want to slather in it. Dry: This remains amazing on me, and I am so happy to have it! Creamy, effervescent ginger with hints of lime. Sweet, but not cloying. Good throw. I will wear this a lot this summer.

<snipped> If you like your chocolate with some spice, you may want to try out El Dia de Los Reyes - one of the current Yules. Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar Or for chocolate with fig and woods Intrigue Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes And if you like chocolate with some incense, you almost have to try Velvet gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh And my absolute favourite non-gourmand chocolate scent The Candy Butcher Bittersweet chocolate with a heavy cream undertone. I know that likely sounds gourmand, but there is this herbal undertone that keeps it from being foodie, and it is just gorgeous! If you like Cheshire Cat because it actually smells like cake to you, maybe you would like other cakey scents? Have you tried Cockaigne? milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine. There is nothing out there like Snake Oil, but there are other blends that have Snake Oil in them, and lots of folks who like Snake Oil also like those! You might like Tombeur vanilla-infused sandalwood, blood musk, antique patchouli, vetiver, lavender, bitter almond, amber, and a trickle of Snake Oil. And also, I feel Morocco is one of those classics, totally different vein, but if you like Snake Oil you may like it too Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia. Hope you find some new GC scent loves that are easily obtainable!

I used some of this as moisturizer before bed. This is pretty much the only way I use the bath oils, as I find the idea of watching bpal go down the drain disturbing and distressing and I can't get past it. This is amazing. I love sugary florals, so I had to have it. I can't pick out the exact floral notes, but I do think I may detect some rose and some white florals. The honey note itself is a light floral honey, to my nose. This is gorgeous, and if you like sugary florals you owe it to yourself to try it! I will wear the heck out of this in spring.

Wet: oh wow! The Myrrh in this....my heavens! With the vanilla! Swoon! I think I can actually smell the red pepper too, which I was so worried about, but it's not like red pepper the vegetable, as I had feared, more like the pink pepper note in Mi-Go Brain Cannister, which I love. This lovely so far. Dry: The red musk comes out a bit more (which is great, love red musk) and it balances nicely with the Myrrh as the dominant notes in this, on me. Fantastic. I love Myrrh, love red musk, so this is all win for me! A keeper.

Wet: Hello vetiver! Nice to meet you! This is the first time I have ever been able to pick vetiver out in anything, my skin always eats it. It's woody, a little smoky, earthy, a bit nutty, and altogether lovely. I am not sure why so many people don't like it. This is gorgeous so far, but could be the other notes. I can pick out the tobacco a bit. The sweet creaminess of the vanilla. the herbalness of the lavender. Not getting any spicy carnation yet. Hints of a dark musk. This is so well blended. It's dark and rich. Dry: Lots of dark vetiver! It does go through a short, slightly unpleasant phase where it's sour and quite vegetal, but that passes and the sweetness of the vanilla comes back and tempers it. I really like this, and it's quite different from anything in my collection, so I do believe it's a keeper!

Wet: Something dry and spicy, like cardamom but not quite. Gorgeous florals underneath. Really lovely already, and still blossoming on my skin. It's very light. Immediately I want to slather in it. This is so pretty, a beautiful spicy floral, not what I expected at all. This is different than any of the other florals I have. If it's this good on dry down, I will be so happy to have this in my collection! Dry: Lovely spicy floral. I don't get any honeysuckle out of this at all, so I am not sure what I am amping here, but it's gorgeous and different than anything I have. Maybe it's the hyacinth I am getting or asphodel, I am not very familiar with either. Anyway, no clue what I am smelling, but it's floral, not too sweet, a bit spicy, and downright gorgeous. A keeper for spring and summer for sure! ETA: now that its spring and I'm actually wearing this, I am noticing that there is also something fruity/citrusy about it too. Its lovely and different and it makes me happy.

I had PROMISED myself no more rose for a while! I have so much! And then the Post drops this on us, and how can I say no??? Wet: Uhhhh swoon worthy already. This combo of notes is KILLER. No one thing stands out to me, the amber, rose and snow blend together seamlessly. Growing up, I had a friend whose mom smelled like this. I always thought she smelled so pretty and sophisticated. Dry: This is amazing. It's perfumy, in the best way imaginable. The way the rose, white amber (which is much different on me than other colour of amber) and snow note mix to create something totally unique is really stunning here. I have nothing like this in my collection, despite having a ton of rose. This does not go powdery, or sour as rose can sometimes. This is perfect. I love it, and am so happy to have it!

Wet: boozey caramel, with a hint of nuttiness (which is currently reading as cherry). Yum! If that cherry edge settles down this will be a real winner on me. This is already settling nicely. I get hints of caramel and pastry, hints of cinnamon, but this is mostly lovely nuttiness. Really yummy. Hoping it doesn't go wonky or anything once dry! Dry: Soft and lovely. A very comforting scent. Cinnamon, pastry and caramelized nuts. Really nice. A keeper for me! A must for foodies who also like cinnamon!

Wet: Clove single note. Like whoa, cloves!! I like cloves. But I have never put them in my pecan pie before. I had to go to my spice cabinet and pull some cloves out to make sure I haven't gone looney, but no that is in fact pure cloves coming off my wrist, with some added sweetness. Quite nice, really, just not one bit what I had expected. Where are, umm, the pecans?? Dry: Clove single note. I didn't realize I amped Clove so much! But sadly that's the only note I am getting on my skin. I resniffed it in the bottle, and true I can detect a hint of clove from the bottle, in the bottle there is also beautiful notes of sugary pecan pie filling....too bad none of that shows up on my skin! Off to the swaps!

Wow! Just put on some of this as moisturizer before bed. Its way better even than I had hoped. I was expecting cooked peaches in pie crust, but this is like straight up, juicy, fresh, tangy-sweet peach. Really lovely. Makes me think I may need to get the perfume in peach too, as I have had a hard time finding peach that isn't overly sweet on me. This reminds me of the peach note in Jack, glowing and lovely. I will wear this a ton in spring and summer!

Wet: Creamy cinnamon. I amp cinnamon, so I am praying it doesn't overpower everything, I love coconut so much and want it to sing through here! As the cinnamon settles, I do get some lovely hints of coconut. It's very light though. This is a really comforting blend. I could pick out the sheep's milk momentarily but as soon as the oil hit my skin it was gone. As it warms up and dries down, the cinnamon fades and the coconut comes out more, making me quite happy. Dry: Once this is good and dry, I can actually detect the sheep's milk again! It actually lends an interesting perfumey quality to something that could have been much more foodie. I really like this and am glad I got a bottle. Can't wait to slather in it and smell like coconut cinnamon goodness!

So I blind bottled this because when I read the description, I immediately thought - Medieval carrot cake! And I wasn't too far off the mark, Wet: I swear I get cardamom, and it's lovely. I know there aren't any spices listed in this, but to me is smells like spicy cake. And the first spice I get is cardamom, followed by some nutmeg and I think maybe a hint of clove. Spice cake. Yum! It actually really reminds me of Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcake without the cheesecake note. It's really nice, very much a foodie scent. There's something a bit tangy along with the sweetness. I do get some nuttiness, but I can't pick out a carrot or date note specifically. Dry: It has pretty well disappeared, but I just tested a small amount. I really like this, and will do a full slather, and as long as it lasts a bit longer, this is a real keeper on me! As it dried down, it reminded me of Jack - warm and glowing and spicy, sweet and a little bit tangy. Delicious!

Mmmm!! Cherry candies and carnations! This is awesome. A must try if you love fruity-florals, carnations, or cherries. I love the combo of the sweet/tart cherry (which is not a fresh cherry note to my nose, it is more like a cherry candy) and the spicy floral. This is lovely, and doesn't turn to cough syrup on my hair, as it likely would on my skin. Finally I get to wear something with cherry!! And it's not totally dominated by carnation (I amp it to high heaven on my skin). I did think there might be a snow note to this, but if there is I can't detect it. I will wear this a lot in spring and summer.

Oh wow. Oh wow. I did not know what to expect. I am not too familiar with red sandalwood, though I like sandalwood in general. I was more looking at the honeyed amber and clove and thinking that sounded amazing. And it is. But the red sandalwood also really sings in this, it doesn't take a back seat the way sandalwood often does (on me at least). This is so beautiful. Sweet, spicy, woody. Unique. I was a little bit scared by LiberAmoris' comparison to Crimson, just because that was such a complete and utter fail on me, but this smells nothing like Crimson to me (thank gosh, because it just smelled like chemicals!). This smells like heaven. The clove is just perfect, not overwhelming as it sometimes is. Everything is balanced really beautifully. I will enjoy wearing this a lot, especially in fall and winter.

Uhhhh this is good! I sprayed it on my sleeve to test (I have found that my hair chemistry does not change scents the way my skin does, so it's safe for me to test on cloth). It smells more like cookie to me (chocolate chip to be precise) than marshmallow or pie, but I'm ok with that, because it's awesome. It's sweet but not cloying, chocolately and decadent. I am a foodie lover, and I can see wearing this with any number of my perfumes. This is going to be one of the HG's like Boo where it goes with a ton of things and I am super happy to have it in my collection. Yum!

Fresh out of the mailbox! Wow, a big blast of patchouli. I like patchouli, so I'm not mad at it. I also like rose though, and I'm still waiting for her to show up to this patchouli party. I can smell the sugarplum, sweet and a bit juicy. This is really nice, but I do hope once it has settled a bit more the rose becomes more prominent. Mmmm, I keep stuffing my face in the pillow I sprayed with this. So good. Maybe I don't even care if the rose ever shows up, I love this as it is. I just thought with a name like "The Painted Rose" there would be, well, rose. Either way! Love this.

Oh my gosh this is so pretty! Immediately I want to wear it - spray it all over my scarves and sweaters and everything. Gold is such a good descriptor for this. It's all golden peaches and golden amber and golden honey and golden vanilla....with some warm golden woody tones from the patch leaf. The combo of the sweet/tangy fruit and patchouli is reminiscent of Depraved to me, but this is much more innocent. Still, I can see wearing this sprayed on my clothes with that perfume and smelling fantastic all day. LOVE this.

You have so kindly recommended things to me, so now's my chance to repay the favour! I find Morocco to be an absolutely spot on smell-alike to Possets Arcturus which is listed as Madagascan, Tahitian and Mexican vanilla. I know there is (maybe?) zero vanilla in Morocco, but my nose never lies and it is telling me it is the exact same lush, smooth, creamy non-foody, somehow perfumey vanilla as Arcturus. It might just be my weirdo skin, but you never know! I LOVE Morocco! You know what, I never thought about it, but Morocco DOES sort of have a vanilla vibe - creamy, smooth, all those things. Maybe that's why I love it so much? I sometimes wonder if maybe I'm just not meant to wear BPAL vanilla, but that would be such a sad thing! Thanks for the rec! Maybe I just need to convince myself that some of the things I already have smell more like vanilla than I originally thought....lol.

Wet: Very sweet juicy fruit, not really recognizable as any specific fruit to my nose, backed up by some faint pretty florals. Dry: This moves into that "fake fruit" vibe I get from plum or cherry sometimes. I actually think it's the grape doing it in this case. Smells like the grape in couch syrup, without the medicinal part. Not for my skin chemistry!

Wet: Pear and sharp bitter lily, in equal measure. The sharp greenness from the lily settles fairly quickly though. As does the pear, this is quickly turning into a floral with just a hint of fruitiness that isn't discernible as pear. I really want to find a pear scent I can wear! Dry: This has turned all to rose, really sour rose. Though the sourness does fade and it's just light rose. I amp rose. I should have known that would happen. It's pretty, but I have a ton of rose in my collection, I don't need anymore. I wouldn't have thought the bois de rose would read as the flower though...hmmm.