Cali

Oh dear. I might have made a mistake to try this out, as I was so sure I'd love this... I love the lab's wine note but in the bottle it is in-your-face strong and slightly more sharp (but maybe that's just me/because it's so strong). There's something in here that just doesn't tickle my fancy, and if it's really only those two notes, I'm sure it's the amber. Which, to me in here is like a dusty rag in the middle of a cold cave, heh. Weird, cause I'm usually a sucker for amber. Only when this is nearing end of it's ride (and it does stay on for a looooong long time) I like it, but I'd have to go super close to my wrist to smell anything.. And I actually like wearing smellies that are kind of obnoxious. However! The possible silver lining is that I've only had it in for a day, so I'm gonna let it settle for a good couple of hours, who knows it'll change and I'll get back to this. But only to have it smell nice at the very end of the ride seems unnecessary for me. We'll see. EDIT: Now that it's settled more, it's definately softer from the start, and doesn't morph much on the skin: it's more of a bitter wine (not like a chardonnay, but genuinely more of a dusty bitter wine). No more rag in a cave, just some dust. Actually, I just realised what this reminds me of now, the manuscript. From what I remember I liked that one much less on my skin, and it's not the same smell, but it had the same essence of dust or the dryness of paper... It's warm and fits the colder season, but I can see this working really well at the end of a warm summer's day. Unfortunately I'm just not into this as much as I try. Someone else will adore this though. ^^

Hmmm... on application it's basically just a thick liquid cocoa. Not a huge fan of how the cinnamon comes in at first.. it's nearly orange instead of cinnamon. And that happens to be a combination that I hate. However, about 7 minutes in it fades again, this time to a softer cinnamon and a watery cocoa. Unfortunately that happens a lot with cocoa on my skin, bah! This has a lot of potential and I see why these are so popular!

This is very smoky? I'm getting helluvalotof smoke... is that really just me? Anyway, it's basically a frothy, deep smoke and something floral. I actually don't hate it, it's just that I have no idea what to think of it!

Oh no.. I'm just not destined to like any of the alice in wonderland scents I'm afraid. Appearantly I just don't like the smell of tarty sweet pies and fruit (actually it might be the buttery/creamy notes bpal uses in more of these)... Anyone who does might want to give this a try?

This reminds me a bit of Edith Cushing from the get-go! Mostly thanks to the vanilla accompanied by those very bright fruity notes. And then, there's that wool note... which I hadn't sniffed before. How to describe this. Like a favourite childhood plushie, perhaps? Without "my own" in it... that kinda old, fuzzy, dusty fabric thang. The hyperfizzyness doesn't last long on my skin and merges more with the rest and now it's more oudh then anything. Nice, and a little odd.

Ok I'll admit, this one really scared me because I HATE snake oil, but I was just too interesting to me because boomslang literally translates from Dutch to treesnake. I don't hate it, to be honest/suprisingly. It's kind of a watered down snakeoil to me. Wouldn't neccesarily say the cocoa is really cocoa if I wouldn't have read the notes; it's got a bit of a dusty feel to it, more then cocoa, but maybe that's just me. A tad sweet and soft snake oil. Not bad! Not for me though, as much as I don't hate it. I wouldn't wanna smell like this, but I can see how people just love this.

It's like Mary Read's darker, more evil sister! The red patchouli really gives this blend something oriental, something exotic, shrouded in something beeswax or even leather-y. A wonderful sultry kickass blend!

On first application this reminds me a LOT of Thalassa, the galapagos mermaid. When it's calmed down a bit, I get a very strong SALTwater, and definately getting a bit of that lovely rum note, and that gunpowder makes it a kickass unity. As much as I love pirates and nautical ...anything, I don't think I'll need this in my collection but what a rad blend to try!

It's really exactly the notes from the description on me, really. After a while it goes slightly more red/sweet on me which is a lovely surprise, but it's just this sharp, cold air with the slightest bit of metal and florals/greens.

I'm super happy to try this, don't get me wrong, but MAN does this not work on or for me. It reminds me of those chocolate covered-orange filled chips which repulse me *shudders*.. And generally I don't like chocolate mixed with fruit anyway... I mean, I should've known but then again ya never know for sure. Certainly interesting though, as the blossom and pomegranate notes are just wonderful on themselves. It goes burgundy on me, with that dark undertone of chocolate in there.

dry, smoky, nutty, woodsy. At first sniff I didn't think I'd like this at all, but now that it's slowly settling into my skin I actually find it quite charming. A lovely frankinsence floating around in a dimly-lit wooden cabin. Whatever I percieve asa nutty note (must be the galbanum???) in here makes this a meh for me, but otherwise it's lovely.

I'm getting the same dirt-note and underground feel that zombie has, but without the sweetness of the rose. This is a bit more harsh and realistic. It's like smelling upturned, damp ground. Wow!

Oh, BPAL, how I love thine wine note. It's just like a glass of smooth, slightly (and not too) fruity wine. The red currant comes out more as it dries down, and the honey falls into the background. It's almost like having a glass of wine while walking in a herb-gardenpath ...or something. Very very nice!!

I'm getting the same artificial sweet note as in blue lollipops, but more grating...Other then that I find it hard to pick out the notes, I mean I guess I can smell the orange and beer but otherwise??? Perhaps I'm out of touch heh. Reaaally doesn't work for me at all unfortunately.

Okaaay, so I have figured out by now that tuberose is... not a note for me. Which is what I remember bothered me about the other miss spink. I'm getting a lot of the tartyness a lot of the other BPAL GC foodies have, which I am ALSO not a fan of (I'm a mess, I know) and this whole thing just amps on me like cRAZY and gets messy and I ...kind of just wanna wash it off again. Miss Spink, you're a sweet old lady but this doesn't work for me.

Clean and slightly soapy, but green enough to distinguish itself more as something floral and green. Waaaaay too soft for me/on me though, as I prefer really in your face kinda things, but this is so subtle and sweet, I can't bring myself to dislike it at all.

I've smelled this before and it's not helping that I can't recall where. A soft, sweet pear in the background, fuzzy light florals in the front. A cold winter morning in an ancient castle, filled with flowers and a grandiose fruit cornucopia?

On my skin this is aaaall citrus dishwasher cleaner while in the imp it's a little more ...velvety, and fuzzy. Bleh, not good on me at all.

...Black patchouli? Slightly aquatic and ozone-y. Some sort of white floral and a wood note. Not sure what to think of this. Interesting though!

Dark and dull, with that sweet wine, sandalwood and burnt grasses. I wish it was amping more on me as it lays kinda flat and I'm just not getting out of it what others seem to be getting, but it's definately atmospheric. Would be lovely to have on as inspiration with a fitting illustration project.

A very strong dark patchouli and neroli, wow! Upon first sniff, I know this is not for me, as it kinda hurts my head, but on drydown that ylang ylang comes through and adds a sweeter undertone. It's kind of a thick, inky/droopy squishy plum with that dark sharp patchouli.

A dark cold night and a feast made for witches. Lovely soft leather that bpal does so well. It's really quite red on me! All the notes are easy to pick out here, yet they're mixed to perfection once again.

On my skin the lavender and insence is very very strong at first, then turns into lemon, mostly. Really zingy, sharp and green. Not a huge fan but it's not unpleasant.

A very soft fuzzy floral with a breeze finding it's way through bushes and trees. Slightly aquatic. Light purple. Very pretty, very girly, very fairies fluttering through a forest-y. Lemme link this song/attraction because it's what I'm transported to in my mind upon sniffing this.

Fresh!! I can imagine myself in the early morning in a forest, sitting by a near stream. Lavender, slightly herby and lots of green leaves in there, and ...moss? Really quite lovely.