PersephonesChild

In the imp this was, like, supersweet omygawd candy. Really. I had my boyfriend sniff it, and he said it smells like Silly Straws-- exactly like Silly Straws. I'm a touch disappointed, because most perfume company's strawberry scents smell like candy, yet a number of the more recent strawberry bpals I've encountered have not. It just seemed rather generic. On my skin, though-- I get the dandelion! I get it! I'm one of the lucky ones! It's like greenery covering the strawberries, like they're hiding underneath, and you have to dig down to get them! It's mostly green and leafy with a tiny hint of fruity sweetness tucked underneath. Maybe too sweet? I don't know. I'll wear this for the rest of today and decide if it's too candy-ish.

I've been considering this scent for years now-- mint, yuzu, and lime, geranium, call lilly, and sandalwood all sound lovely, but lavender, patchouli and vetiver are things I've never gotten along with-- I mean, there are two absolute deal-breaker notes in this, and I don't think a vetiver scent has ever been a favorite. I sniffed this at a M'n'S yesterday, though, and I had to have it. I tried it on this morning, and I realized why-- it smells exactly like the alpine meadows in the Wasatch in Utah, where my parents live, a mix of flowers and mint and sage-- though sage isn't listed, though patchouli and vetiver ought to be ruining this for me, they don't. It's absolutely spot-on. I imagine I will need more than an imp of this.

In the imp, this was smoky and strange-- actually, I was very concerned about this scent on first sniff. It does have that scorched grass note, which reminded me of how much Scarecrow and I did not get along... On my skin, it's scorched grass. And that's it. Unlike Scarecrow, there's no overtones of acetone, just very realistic dried grass. I'm kind of disappointed, because I was really hoping for coffee but I don't get any at all. But on the other hand, hey, scorched grass! I'll keep this around for the time being.

Oh, this is amazing! In the imp is was definitely woods-- though rather inert woods, like a table. On my skin, it's real, live, living trees, with some twigs stripped of bark to reveal their fresh, green smell. I particularly note a light, wintergreenish scent-- it's Sweet Birch, one of my favorite trees! I'm so excited that that's one of the woods included (and for all you out there getting a minty scent, that's what you're smelling!) It dries down later to be somewhat dusty-- sort of like osmanthus. The fresh on my skin stage is by far my favorite point, but it's hardly offensive at any stage. What a wonderful find this was!

I'm getting, like, a lettuce single note. It's green and crisp and somewhat watery. In the imp, there was a hint of floral, and orris, which is always somewhat dusty to me. On my skin, though, it's pretty much lettuce. If this doesn't do some serious morphing soon, I'll have to pass.

Independent smells exactly like ginger ale, but good luck getting your hands on some!

In the imp, this was very leathery, with some light woods beneath it. Yes, it was masculine, but only if you really wanted to interpret it that way. On my skin, I like the way the other notes sit on top of the leather-- the leather is a very subtle base. The rosewood is rather prominent, and definitely adds to the "dusty books" feel. Oddly enough, it becomes very, very overtly masculine-- in fact, it smells somewhat like shaving cream! I don't really get any tonka at all, just leather and wood. It's very nice-- very gentle. This is a very clean, friendly man. But it's decidedly a man. I've been wearing it all day, and everytime I move I can smell it (it's got some serious throw for something so gentle) and I think to myself "Man, I smell like shaving cream." This isn't a bad thing-- really, it does smell pretty good- but I think I'm kind of tired of smelling like it at this point.

I'm pretty miffed about this one, because it has so many notes of different kinds-- rose, opium, hay, tobacco, ginger, lily... man, by the description, this is all over the place. But to my nose, it's bubblegum. And really, just bubblegum, straight up, not the complex kind. Ordinarily when I ring up bubblegum at the BPAL counter, I wash it off an move on, but I feel like sticking around, out of some kind of dedication to the fact that the description for this is so interesting that it must get better at some point-- right? Ok, it morphs somewhat on late drydown. I can definitely pick out the opium layer on top, a little incense, no rose, no lily, a vague hint of jasmine, and some light, gingery tea. I'm waffling, because I love the opium, but I think I like the note better in Belle Epoque, and Flowering Chrysanthemums.

I feel like the fact that I haven't reviewed this scent yet is something of a crime, considering how fast I'm going through my precious decant. I find the scent to be very versatile-- the boozy notes are very subtle, and can be mistaken for ozone and aquatic kind of feeling. It's light, fresh, sweet and fruity, and wonderful for summer. But it's also slightly sexy and naughty. It very much gives me the sense of sea spray, even though I know that's not a note. I'd been concerned that the rock candy would render it too sweet, but that's not the case at all. It's just sweet enough, just cool enough, and if I can get my hands on more of it, I'll be coated with it all summer long.

Hey, I have no particular advice, but I thought it might interest you to know that there's research showing that fibromyalgia patients are more sensitive to bad odors than the general population-- so they'll rate the same smell as being more unpleasant. I guess that means don't try to love something if you don't right away, and don't be surprised if you're picker than most forumites!

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this scent, and I was a little nervous, because a lot of strawberry notes in other perfume smell really fake. I can render judgment on this strawberry note, because it's so mixed with other scents. I smell the splashy brightness of orange blossom, and some edge of hibiscus, but there's a strong herbal part that adds darkness to the whole riot. I think it conveys its name very well, and I think I like it.

In the imp, this was a sweet, softly floral scent-- pretty much pure cherry blossom. I love the way this smells! I put it on my skin, and forgot about it for a moment or two as teh internets distracted me, then took a whiff of my wrist, and... WHAT? Now it smells like soap that's been coated with anise! I smell no sign of the cherry blossom-- alas, I think it reacted badly with my skin. I don't really smell the sandalwood, either. And that soap smell? It's not nice soap. It's mushy gray soap. Alas. Although I like the wet stage so much, I may just keep it to wear in the scent locket!

That'd be Kitsune-Tsuki-- check out out, I highly recommend it as well.

Two of my favorite notes! I think most of my favorites have been hit, but let me add that Melilot, which is in La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente, is a kind of clover.

The smell in the imp is a strong dose of marigold and chrysanthemum-- a fresh and piercing, non-sweet floral. Not very much amber, cinnamon, etc. On my skin, the vanilla and sandalwood opens up beautifully, to give a sweet but not too sweet base to the high notes of the florals. I don't get much amber, so I'm going to assume that the amber incense just melds perfectly with the sandalwood. And... I love it. It smells a lot like Belle Epoque (more than The Mouse's Long and Sad Tale) but slightly less in-your-face. There's no lily to potentially go soapy, and the sandalwood dries down a lot more gently. The marigold and chrysanthemum float on top the whole time, perfectly supported by the other notes. Not too sweet. Not overwhelmed by either cinnamon or amber. Perfect.

Huh, you know what's taking over this blend for me? The ambergris. I was excited when I smelled this in the imp, because, although it's similar in notes to a number of other blends I have (Madame Tracey, Marie...) it definitely didn't smell identical. The plumeria had an over-riding fruitiness to it, and I think after that the tea rose played a calm second. On my skin, then, I got this sense of oil. And nothing else. Well, that would be the ambergris. Yeah, there's definitely something green about it-- and almost swampy. Yes, I know that sounds very odd, but my experience is that swamp water smells sweet. And oily. I think I'm going to have to try this in the scent locket, I'm just not ready to give up on it yet.

My immediate thought upon smelling this in the imp was that it smelled like floor cleaner. I hung in there for a second, and identified it as a combination of the alcohol of the sake, the light citrus, and the woods-- yep, it's a freshly cleaned floor. And yet, of all the decants I got, this is the one I decided to skin test first. I still get a sense of the floor cleaner, but the sake's sharpness has subsided. It's not bubbling apricot (nothing like March Hare or Katharina) but the apricot has warmed up a little bit. I like the fact that it's ever so slightly sweet, and a little "earthy" from the wood, but not overwhelmingly so. I think this may have a place in my permanent collection.

This is the most popular and accessible blend that I have a bottle of-- mostly because we were at the Chapel Hill Whole Foods smelling things, and my boyfriend said he liked it. It gets amazing responses, though-- this may be one of the bpals that gets me the most attention, right up there with Bilquis and Cockaigne. I like it for the sandalwood. It's definitely white sandalwood-- not so gritty and red sandalwood, but smoky and present. The vanilla sweetens the blend and works well with the sandalwood, and the sweet pea adds a clean, slightly soapy feeling when I first apply the oil. I really don't get any amber at all, so it must mostly hold the blend together. This is good, though, because amber and I don't really get along. Finally, I want to say that although this is a gentle blend, it has incredible throw. Seriously, I don't have another bpal quite like it-- you could smell me from across the room. I wear this when I want sandalwood, but not the rough, dirty feeling I get from Belle Epoque.

I got this frimped to me months ago, and have just been sort of scared to try it. Well, I finally dove in and guess what? It's nicer than I thought it would be. I mostly get a smoky kind of bark smell, which reminds me of Polyhymnia and Tiki King. In fact, I'd pretty much describe it as the half that those two blends have in common-- Polyhymnia minus the lemon, Tiki King minus the coconut.

You must try Moana-- it may not have florals listed in the notes (mostly seaspray, as I recall), but it dries down lovely and sweet, kind of a cousin of 51.

How about The Penitent Magdalene: Immortelle, lily of the valley, gaiac, amber, honey, white sandalwood, almond flower, blonde musk, and hyssop. (I have the impression it'd be kind of resiny, though...) Endymion: A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk. Not sure if you can handle the calla lily in Helena: Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose. And since it's described as a powdery floral, give Madame Tracy a try (I'm a big fan): A coquettish blend of tea rose, ume blossom, geranium, lily of the valley, violet, and heliotrope.

Yeah, I'm more than a little curious as to why you're choosing a blend this way-- some kind of special use that need a thick oil?

I don't know about you, but I get a fruity, peppery edge from Zarita that's not really in either of those-- the strongest notes for me are orange blossom and carnation. I notice that Maenad has orange blossom and carnation, Tweedledee has orange blossom and white pepper, and Hunger has orange blossom and vanilla, but for the record, I have tried none of these scents, so I can't compare them to Zarita.

This has lotus in it, doesn't it? I'm getting something that smells kind of like melted bubblegum-- in a really nice way, but it's lotus for sure! It's definitely sweet, but not really what I would call floral. There's a little bit of the kind of pollen-like smell that reminds me of Tiger Lily and Hell's Belle, but nearly as pronounced as in those. It also vaguely reminds me of the sweetness in Sturgeon Moon-- in that way where it smells like nectar, but not flowers. I think young girls would adore this scent-- it may claim to be purple in the description, but I see it as decidedly pink! Overall, I think it's too simple a scent for me. ETA: I just recalled that when I made my boyfriend sniff the imp of this, he said "Something is wrong with that scent." I think I shouldn't wear this.!

Very true to the description! The heavy, blackberry scent is incredible when first applied-- far and away my favorite bpal berry scent! It smells juicy, and thick, and amazing. Some green, herbalness arises later on, but I don't consider it an overly herbal blend-- it's definitely more of a fruit scent. It reminds me of a blackberry room freshener my parents were given as a gift many years ago that I appropriated, and used to scent certain pages of my favorite books at the time! It lasts quite a while, and I'm delighted to have it.