LizziesLuck

A kind forumite was nice enough to send me a tester of this! As usual, it smells almost identical in the bottle as it does on my hair (my 'hair chemistry" does not seem to chance scents the way skin chemistry does). It's nutty and incensey and a little sweet. I like it quite a bit, but I am not sure how much I would wear it. I may try to track down a full decant of it, but can't see needing a whole bottle. It's nice though, just not wowing me.

I love lilac, love sweet pea, and am super curious about the watermelon, so I had to try this! Wet: Cucumber. Which is kind of like watermelon, without any of the sweetness, so I guess it's actually the melon that I am smelling. Very very bitter. Not at all pleasant, currently. Dry: Not nearly as unpleasant now, very faint and light. There's something salty in there, something kind of smoky and earthy. Hints of lilac, a fair bit of wood. I can't detect the watermelon, but there is something fresh and watery about this, but none of the sweetness I had expected. There is something off-putting to me about how the woods and the florals mix in this. Unfortunately, this one is not a winner for me.

I'm with you, an excuse to try the Carnavals, now that they're coming back! I find myself wanting to try them all. I had another thought, but I imagine you've likely already thought of this, but just in case - Lyonesse Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. It has the amber and the ambergris and some florals. I get a lot of vanilla out of it as well, and some musk. It's quite pretty. Not sure if it would be at all what you're looking for, but it's GC at least!

Someone was kind enough to give me a tester of this in a swap. Wet: I can smell most of the individual parts of this - Snake Oil, Dorian, and Lavender. I don't smell the fennel though, and the lily is actually kind of sharp in this. The lavender a bit bitter. Dry: Snake Oil with lavender and hints of Dorian (dryer sheets, on me). I actually kind of like it, but not enough to hunt down a bottle. I feel like I would end up wearing this as a bedtime scent.

I can't believe I never reviewed this! Frumious B (as I affectionately refer to it) is a favourite of mine, and I am so glad I have a bottle! And sad that it was discon'd. One me, this is GORGEOUS plum (plum is iffy on me, so I cling to it when I find it in blends that work for me!) and spicy carnations. Love love love!!

I was worried about the sea moss in this, I don't care for aquatics, but all of the other notes of are so full of win, I couldn't pass up trying it! Wet: Something I can't put my finger on that reads almost as a deep cocoa to my nose...intriguing! Hints of vanilla and musk combined, which I LOVE. But also something soapy. Boo. Yep, that's turning to soap right under my nose. Dry: This dries down really nicely into a light vanilla musk and amber. It's quite faint on me, but I only tested a small amount. I don't like many of the phases it goes through, but the end result it quite pretty. I think this deserves a full day test.

Wet: (The oil is a beautiful red colour which makes me happy) very amber dominant. I am really hoping for a lot of vanilla out of this one, so hoping the amber settles so I can smell the other notes. Dry: This is so lovely. I think my favourite amber blend to date. And it is for sure an amber dominant blend, not vanilla. The vanilla and oudh only serve to back up the amber in this blend, on me. It's sweet and feminine and lovely, and I am glad I scored a bottle!

That's a tough one. I am not seeing a lot that looks even close on the old Speadsheet of Doom. Maybe try out Torture Queen when she comes back around with the Carnaval. White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome. Actually The Maltese Cross of Sanctus Germanus from the Carnaval might be closer, but still no mint Golden amber, blood orange, ambergris, lilac, frankincense, and agarwood. But did you see this? She's got a partial for sale.

This is lovely. It's not what I expected at all - I had actually completed failed to read the notes and thought this was going to be straight up Black Vanilla and Cardamom. Oops! It was a strange coincidence that had me wearing Loved To Death earlier today, and so when I tested this I knew immediately exactly what it reminded me of - Loved to Death! I think I also solved a mystery for myself. Loved to Death always smells of creamy vanilla and anise to me. So does this. Both have blackened vanilla. So now I am thinking that blackened vanilla reads as anise on me (or to my nose). It all makes sense. (they also both contain cinnamon, so it's also possible that black vanilla + cinnamon = anise to my brain). The cardamom in this is subtle but persistent. The tobacco and oudh combine in a way that reminds me of Antikythera Mechanism, but they aren't dominant to me. It's mostly creamy vanilla and anise, and I love it. I will be pairing this with Loved to Death on a regular basis.

People might think I am crazy, because anise is not listed in the notes, but my favourite anise blend (I assumed we were talking about BLACK licorice? aka anise?) is Loved to Death. On me, Loved to Death is the most beautiful, soft vanilla anise scent. I love it. To death. Ha ha.

Wet: A blast of very realistic lime. Tart! Some herbal greenness as well. Not getting the aquatic I was expecting. Dry: Green and herbal. A little sour, but not in an unpleasant way. Not really my type of thing, but glad to have gotten to try it.

Frimp from the Lab! Wet: Dark smoky/sour rum. Wow. That is heavy and sinister. Not the Lab's rum note that I love. It smells like the liquid smoke I cook with occasionally. Like wood chips smoldering. I may have to scrub it off. Dry: I let it dry for a few mins only, and it was still all acrid smoke. Had to wash it off, it was very unpleasant on me. Not for my tastes or skin chemistry! Glad to have gotten to try it though.

Wet: This leads with light peach, followed by light florals. I think I detect some lavender. The amber sweetens it up. I can't detect the vetiver, but there is a slight dustiness. It's much lighter and brighter than I expected. Pretty, but not wowing me. Dry: Peach and florals with something a little bit darker underneath - galbanum and vetiver I think. Sweetened nicely by the amber without being sickly sweet or cloying. I can't pick out any individual floral notes - what I thought might have been lavender disappeared. I am not very familiar with jonquil. This is quite nice, but it's not wowing me, and there are other peachy smells I like better.

Frimp from the Lab! Wet: This smells a bit like cologne..... (lol @ Lady_P above me). But seriously. It's manly. It's nice though, clean and fresh. a bit citrusy. Maybe more like an aftershave than cologne, but definitely a man thing, to my nose at least. I will admit though, that I like really feminine blends for the most part. I am getting primarily the bergamot. No vetiver to speak of, but then again I have discovered my skin DEVOURS it, so I almost never get to actually smell it. I can't really pick out hay, but I wonder if that is what is sweetening this up a bit. This is not sexy man cologne. This is clean man cologne. Like, just got out of the shower, smelling like man-soap kind of smell. I like it. But I don't want to smell like it. Dry: The same as wet really, not much of a morpher on me.

Wet: The tea in this is AMAZING. Sweet, but not creamy. So good! If it doesn't morph and stays like this, I need a bottle. It's not masculine on me so far, it's sweet enough to prevent that. Almost smells like there's amber in it. It's a scent that I immediately want to slather in, because it's light and it's THAT GOOD. I keep adding more to my arm. Dry: Still amazing. I can't actually pick out any of the other notes, just sweet tea, but it's a perfumey tea. The other notes give it complexity, even if I can't quite pick them out. I love this, and will be getting a bottle. Not masculine at all to me, in fact, very feminine on me.

I received a half-decant of this as a frimp. Anything with rose-infused amber is worth a shot to me! This is quite perfumy, as amber sometimes is on me. That doesn't keep me from liking it though. The rose-amber dominates, the other notes round it out. A bit of the aquatic note comes through. It's lovely. But I'm not sure if it's something I feel the need to hunt down a bottle of. The longer I wear it though, the more I like it. It's feminine and romantic.

<snipped> Yes indeed! The Salon is not exclusive to Pretty Indulgent, though I could not tell you where else you can get it right now. The scents on this page are ones exclusive to Pretty Indulgent. /hijack

I tried this way back in 2005 when I first got into BPAL. I recently received a frimp of it from the Lab, and thought maybe I would give it another shot, as my tastes and chemistry have changes. My original notes on it read simply, "Berries, Cool Whip, Plastic. Yuck" I have to agree with myself. The plum has gone to that fake plastic berry note, as it does half the time on me. There's something overly sweet, and decidedly yucky. Not for me!

... Oya’s ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum. Oya winiwini! Wet: Plum for sure, but whatever the rest of it is went instantly soapy and powdery, preventing me from picking out notes. The plum note is very "fake plastic" smelling on me as well. This is just not working for me.

Wet: This reminds me a LOT of Antikythera Mechanism, which is odd, because that's what I was wearing earlier, but I showered, so this is not left-overs. As it dries, whatever note in common (I am guessing the 'broom twigs' are either oak or teak) it has with Antikythera fades away and this gets very herbal and green. I get hints of the Lab's "decay" note, which I adore. Dry: ? It fades so fast! I have reapplied three times now, and each time it's gone in moments. I guess it's not meant for my skin chemistry. It was interesting though!

Wet: spicy and almond, and reminds me of Eclipse for a brief second before I get this WEIRD herbal smell. It's underneath the cinnamon and almond, and it's not pleasant. It's actually kind of creepy and sinister. Not in the way I like. Smells like rotting vegetation. This one is going straight into the "no" pile for me.

Wet, I get some spiciness (I thought it was cinnamon, but it faded too quickly for that) and some effervescence, it kinds smells like cola at first. Then there's something herbal. It's fairly pleasant, but not something I want to wear as perfume. I don't really use ritual oils, so I will pass it on to someone who might!

Wet: Very green at first. Can't identify any of the florals individually. Very light, fading quickly, It's not wowing me. Usually I will amp both rose and carnation, and I am not getting either in this, just an indistinct, light floral. Dry: Don't know, it's gone within minutes. I think this needed something to ground it, for me at least. Too light and non-descript, not enough throw or wear length to be a keeper for me.

Wet: A bit astringent, but quickly this becomes sickly sweet, I think from the beeswax. Some of the tea and musk come through. But it's just soooo sweet! And very perfumey as well. I am not caring for it so far. Dry: This is not nice on me. The combo of white tea and white musk with the sweetness of the beeswax is almost nauseating on me. Not for my chemistry, or my tastes! surprising, because in theory I love tea, musk, and beeswax, and sandalwood and oud generally don't give me any issues.

I can't believe I never reviewed this. I have such a deep love for this scent. It really evokes a feeling for me. It's very gentle, feminine and lovely. The main notes in it for me are the florals, a splash of pomegranate and peach, with a touch of aquatics. This is the ONLY aquatic blend I have ever loved. It's fairly sweet. Light and clean. I have had a score of imps of this over the last 10 years, and keep meaning to pick up a bottle. It always gets passed over for new, flashier LE's, which is sad, shame on me! I will pick up a bottle one of these days and wear this slightly melancholy blend in the Spring.