Veronica

VENUS OBSEQUENS Venus the Gracious Pink apple and blackcurrant with honey and cardamom. I love, love, love apple so I was very excited for this one. In the bottle, it's all APPLE! with cardamom/blackcurrant/honey mixing into a sweet, warm background--very pretty! Wet, the cardamom comes out full force against the apple, the blackcurrant (cassis) comes out as well, giving the warmth of the cardamom a slight pungence, almost smokiness. Dry, this is all cardamom and blackcurrant--spice and smoke--sweetened with just a bit of honey on me, with just the faintest hint of apple is the background. A really beautiful scent that epitomizes the kind of layered, complexity Beth is so good at capturing, but ultimately not something I personally would regularly reach for--though I would love it on a guy! So disappointing that the apple in this doesn't agree with my chemistry!

ARISTOCRATIC COUPLE Bourbon vanilla, preserved apricot, and cardamom. In the bottle, this smells like an juicy apricot floating over a spicy vanilla base, with a tickle of cardamom taking over at the end. Creamy and sweet with the nutty warmth of cardamom--absolutely lovely in the bottle. Wet, the cardamom comes out full force and this is all spice over a vanilla base. On dry down, the caradamom loses its edge and settles down into a barely discernable background note as the apricot takes center stage and I'm left with light, sweet apricot over musky vanilla. This scent hangs very close to the skin and dries down faintly on me (but I'm also not a slatherer). Really lovely, but the apricot note turns ever so slightly plastick-y on me, so I might have to give this one a pass after all.

Sharp clear and cold, but something in this makes me a bit nauseous.

Worn leather and astringent salt, slapped over with sweet spiced booze. All notes are very present but a bit of a cacophony.

CINNAMON with just a wee bit of almond.

This dries down to a soft flora with a hint of darkness. You get a hint of something charred but underneath that is velvety vetiver, keeping it from being to smoky. Lemon is in the background keeping it all clean and intentional smelling.

Oh I almost love this! I get a base of copal and myrrh, blended into a lovely creamy almond base, glazed over with a strong dose of cinammon. Without the cinnamon it would be a surrogate hit for me. In the same family as Bengal, strangely reminiscent of Snow White!

Hot, warm amber with a deep blood note. Very pretty, with that kind of sweet, fruity note dragons blood tends to have.

Milk chocolate and slightly buttery as always on me. One of the Lab's best chocolate scents on me!

Straight neroli and a hint of frankincense. Orange and amber and spices.

Dark, smoky patchouli over a deep woodsy base. Exotic, very spiced, not for me.

I was so hopeful for this, but unfortunately the juniper turns a bit off and throws the sweet, musky over notes into discord.

A very cloying rose scent, goes a bit soapy and green on me.

Very fruity and candy like on me. Too much.

Buttered popcorn. Why, oh why foodie scents!

Ultra sweet lemonade. Not for me, pure sugar and lemon.

Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants. Overly foody scents always just smell like buttered popcorn to me--this is no exception.

Too much patchouli and cinnamon for me. Dark and spicy, but not in a way I enjoy.

Exactly as described--metallic and oily. Not for me.

I was really hoping I'd love this--vanilla, basalm and sassafrass sound like a winning combination on me--unfortunately, the cedar note in this is completely overpowering.

I thought I would enjoy this, but it is pure cloying white floral on me.

This is a very green and aquatic floral over a spicy floral base from the tulips--sad because I adore peony as a note and tulips are my favorite flowers!

I got this on the hope that it would be similar to Buck Moon on me. While it is definitely in the same family, it's a bit of a no go. I get a skin musk--but very animalistic and dark--layered over a soft, clean powder base. This scent is strangely very sweet and clean but musky. I do like it, but it's not a must-have love for me.

A men's scent, and not my favorite from BPAL (Wilde, Antony).

Too much rose is a little headache inducing and one of them is going sour on me.