sarahmarie
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Everything posted by sarahmarie
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A piercing, radiant perfume: dragon's blood resin, lily of the valley, lilac and galbanum. I really wanted this to work out for me, but sadly, it's just really too floral and soapy on my skin. It could be really lovely and deep on someone whose skin doesn't do this to floral scents though! I can see the potential and the beauty in this one, but my skin kills it dead.
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I tried my sisters' bottle while I was visiting. On me, this smelled a lot like Skadi, but with a sort of powdery perfume mixed in instead of a deep, sweet berry scent. I know that's sort of exactly what the description says, but that's what it smelled like to me! It was a nice scent - very cute and girly, and very appropriate for a snow bunny to wear. As a non-snow-bunny myself, this isn't on the must have list for me, but it's cute and I'm glad I tried it.
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I got to try my sister's bottle of Lick It while I was visiting for Christmas! It starts out a bit weird on my skin, but as it dries down it goes through a period of perfect candy cane bliss. I love it, love it, love it. Unfortunately, soon after this brief period of perfection, the mint vanishes, leaving a nice sweetness which fades soon after that. It just disappears completely! I may get some anyway, because I love that brief period of candy cane perfection, but I'm not sure if I need a whole bottle since it vanishes on me so quickly. Sigh!
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Oh! This wasn't one that popped out at me based on reading the description, but I am so glad the goblins chose this scent for me! Clearly, they know me better than I do. Fee (how to do the accent mark on the computer? I don't know) is a lovely surprise. It's honeydew-riffic, and light and happy with florals that stay nice on me. I know people are making the comparison, so I'll say this: Dorian didn't work on me and Alice smelled pretty soapy on me, but I think the honeydew is helping to counteract that chemistry issue, because Fee smells so pretty on my skin. It's sweet and girly and happy and while those things aren't always my deal, this is *perfect* for me somehow. Good job, goblin scent-pickers. I am pleased.
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Warm, unique, and very strong-smelling. Dragon's Blood does have a floral aspect, but it's smooth and warm and resin-y. I put on just a teeny bit, and it was really plenty! I really like Dragon's Blood, but I'm not sure if I can wear it or not - it may be a bit too strong for me. I'll have to give it another try to be sure.
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I really only get rose and frankincense on my skin -most likely because those are two notes that like to amp on me, and the frankincense takes over on the drydown, like it normally does. I really love the rose in this, though - it's beautiful. For that alone, I will give it another try, but I'm really not sure about it yet.
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The '05 version I was hoping Sugar Cookie would be spicier, because I kept reading about it's spice. But it's not very spicey on me at all. Still, it is a dead-on sugar cookie scent, absolutely accurate. It's sweet and vanilla with butter, but not the butter that made me ill in Gluttony or Jack or Shill. It's a gentler butteryness, adding some salty "flavor" without being overwhelming. Sugar Cookie turns a little bit odd on my skin. It's not a huge change, it's not necessarily one I can't live with...but I was a bit disappointed with my chemistry with it. It just turns a little too flat and sweet, and there's a slight hint of that plasticky smell people get sometimes. I think I will try layering it with Three Witches and see if that works better for me.
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I love this one! It smells just like a fir tree covered with snow. I don't find this too masculine at all - though it is something a man could wear. It's just light and evocative and clean, and I think it suits me just fine. It dries down in to something I don't quite recognize but still really enjoy - I assume that's the birch coming through, because I couldn't tell you what birch smells like. Fresh out of the bottle though, it smells like a Christmas tree when you first bring it in from the outdoors and it's radiating cold. or like going out to the Christmas tree farm and wandering around in the snow looking for the perfect tree (while your toes freeze despite your boots), the smell of cold air and snow and trees mingling. It does remind me very much of Skadi, but it feels colder, and more true to the outdoorsy feeling (Skadi felt like being inside during a snowstorm to me - you can feel the chill through the windows, but it's warm where you are.) I bet it makes a fabulous room scent, too.
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Sparkley! This smells really sparkley (sparkly?) in the imp. It's fruity and boozey and it almost tingles. On my skin, the cranberry blossoms and sweetens. Apparently, my chemistry wants to turn this lovely sparkley tingling thing into tart candy. It's still good, and when I sniff close to the skin I get more of the tingle, but I had hoped it would stay more true to the imp. I'll definitely give it another go though - it's too much fun to pass up entirely!
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I didn't expect to like this one, but I was surprised by it. It's light but has good throw, and the peach and vanilla pop right out. There's also a floral quality, but it stays light and soft. The amber and sandalwood don't really jump out at me, but that's for the best since amber and I don't always get along. I wore just a little bit of this on my wrists and in my hair. It stayed strong for several hours, but it wasn't overpowering - just a light, perfume/shampoo sort of smell that I liked. I'm not a big girly-perfume wearer, so it probably won't be part of my regular rotation. But when I want something pretty and feminine, this is a great choice.
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I didn't really expect to be able to wear this, since I'm not a big incense-wearing person, but I had to smell it just because...it smells like church! And I don't do church anymore, except when I visit my parents for Christmas, but it's evocative to me. And Midnight Mass does smell like church...but on my skin, it's mostly just really strong frankincense. My skin amps up frankicense and it can be a headache trigger, so I probably won't keep it. But I can totally see the potential for awesomeness if you can wear frankincense and like incensey smells.
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I didn't order a bottle of this initially, because I was afraid of being overwhelmed by sugar. But I got an imp from a lovely forumite, and I fell in love with it. I promptly ordered a bottle and am eagerly awaiting it. It's definitely sweet, and it smells just like candy corn to me - but it's surprisingly light and non-sickening despite the candy smell. It's warm and soft and sweet, and it goes really well with Three Witches (I get no spice from Trick or Treat alone, but with Three Witches it's extra spicy and delicious). I'm so glad I tried this one, and so pleased that it worked out for me!
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Wet: It's buttery and spicy, and as it dries the spicy comes out a little more. I like the galangal - that's the gingery note, right? It offsets the buttery pumpkin nicely. Dry: The buttery pumpkin dies down, as it always does on my skin. The butter stops very quickly, which I am grateful for - the buttery and I do not get along. Woods, ivy, and that ginger-y smell all come through. There's a dry, peppery feeling to this blend. It's masculine, but not prohibitively so for women. In the end, I like this, but I don't think it's very me.
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Dove's Heart smells like rose to me, too. I get the white flowers too - I think they are the kind that go really soapy on me. And this one does, so I won't be keeping it...but I can totally appreciate the potential effect of this blend from smelling it. It's soft and sort of feathery, with a warmth and sadness to it. I can imagine it being comforting, if I needed comforting right now, and if it didn't have that thing that a lot of voodoo/floral blends have that makes it go really soapy on my skin.
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I don't know why, but I was really surprised by how much this oil really smells like apple cider on my skin! It smells most exact and genuine while it's drying down - in the beginning, when it's freshly wet, I find it a little bit odd. I think it's the whole buttery pumpkin thing - wet, it weirds me out a little! But after a few seconds on my skin, the weirdness vanishes and it's all spiced cider goodness. After it's dry, it's more spice, with just a little apple sweetness. I like this one a lot, as has been a pretty common theme so far with the Patch.
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Oh - I think my skin hates orris! I've smelled this note before in something, and it strongly disagreed with me then, too - but now I guess I know what it is! It's very sharp, very very strong, and biting to my nose, and it's really headache-inducing. So PP #4 and I really do not get along, and I'll be swapping this bottle for sure.
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Oh! I like this more than I thought I would. It was a little odd at first, but the drydown is fabulous. The combonation of pumpkin and pomegranate was hard for me to imagine, but it works really well - the pumpkin rounds out and sort of grounds the pomegranate, it's hard to explain. Basically, it's a very tangy fruit smell. It sort of makes my mouth water. It's suprisingly strong, but in a nice way! It's both simple and really unique. It manages to be warm but light and cheerful, and I really like that about it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I am very happy with PP3. Beth is an amazing superstar goddess of scent.
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At first, I got sweet, musky, booziness from this, with just a hint of the spicy bit everyone's talking about. It's very autumnal, and very wild and windy feeling. As it dries down, it becomes more and more musky. I don't usually like musk, but this one is very light as musks go - I'm honestly not sure how I feel about it. The problem I have with Devil's Night is that I'm afraid it's too musky on my skin for me and not enough of everything else. When I directly sniff my arm, I can smell some sweetness, and definitely a fall wind underneath the musk - but mostly what I get from this is musk. It's light, it's not unpleasant, but it's not really what I wanted. It smells really great wet, but I think my skin wants to amp the musk up way too much. I'll probably give it another try in a few days, when I'm not on my period and when I'm totally healthy, since I know both sickness and menstruation can mess with skin chemisty...but as of right now, it's not looking good for Devil's Night. I'll edit if anything amazing happens next time I try, though!
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I am still sick, but I can smell today! I will edit if any dramatic changes occur when I am well again. Pumpkin Patch 2 is the first of the Patch that I've tried. I chose it because it seemed really comforting, and I am in the middle of a terrible cold and had to go out this afternoon. It was the perfect choice, I think! It started out buttery-smelling, but the butter dies down quickly and then things are really great. I smell the cocoa, and it's very smooth and warm over the slightly fruity, slightly buttery pumpkin. It makes me think of hot chocolate and baking. My nose is a little weak, but I'm pretty sure there's a gentle nuttiness as well - the hazlenut is the one I'm most familar with, so that's mostly what I pick up. It smells like all things warm and cozy and autumnal. I love love love it, and will wear it whenever I need to feel warm and safe in the cold fall and winter. It's delicious!
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This is very sweet orange on me, as it is for lots of people it seems! It doesn't really morph at all - it just goes on sweet orange and stays that way. As someone who doesn't like orange-flavored things (thought I do like fresh oranges, I just like 'em tart!), this has negative associations for me and thus will not work out. Even if I did like sweet orange, I don't think it's very me, somehow. Hopefully someone who enjoys orange more than I do will appreciate it, though!
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Spice me, baby! The spiciest BPAL blends
sarahmarie replied to Orodemniades's topic in Recommendations
Wrath. Cinnamon and clove, with what I think is jasmine underneath. It's very warm and red, and it's definitely long-lasting with good throw. -
This scent surprised me. I expected to be overwhelmed, but it wasn't overwhelming. It's mysterious, and dark, but heavy without being *heavy*. Wet, I smell incense and candle smoke and a hint of rose and neroli (I think that's neroli, anyway.) As it dries, the neroli gets stronger,but the incense remains. The candlesmoke seems to have vanished, which is too bad - it was awesome while it lasted. It's another complex scent that I haven't decided about yet, but I think I like it and I'm glad I swapped for an imp of it.
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Definitely kind of crazy! Freak show is fruity figginess, with a peppery-sweet undertone, on my skin. My skin loves fig - loves loves loves it - and so this comes off *very* figgy on me. Maybe too figgy, even though I like fig. I just don't want all those crazy mixed up smells to vanish and leave me with only fig! I think I like it, but I'm finding it hard to explain or decide about. I guess it's pretty freaky that way, huh?
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Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper. I didn't really expect to like this, but I like wood and pepper smells, so I gave it a whirl. It's much lighter than I expected, and the florals don't hit me hard like they often do. I hate to make this comparison, because I really don't like equating any of these oils with the everyday smells they remind me of sometimes...I think that can be demeaning. But this time I'm going to have to say that it smells like clean laundry to me, at least on the surface. A lot. It's nice and gentle and soft, like that, but there's still something biting about it, even with that quiet softness. Something in that pepper that comes out underneath.... I'm honestly not sure if I'll wear this, but I am definitely much more fond of it than I expected to be. It's a strange, pretty, slightly menacing scent that you should try if you like light, gently floral smells.
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I tried my sister's imp of this, also...and sadly, I really loved it. It's all spice and warmth and deliciousness. It even lasted really well for me - it was soft on my skin but stronger in my hair, and when I shook my head I got to smell a burst of clove, pepper, and cinnamon. I kind of thought I smelled ginger in there too, but I'm probably imagining things. This is a delicious, warm, autumnal scent that I would love to have if it should ever reappear.