NoirRosaleen

Aw, bugger...I got Employee of the Month, enabling me to choose a $50 GC to the place of my choice, and I was hoping by now they'd have GCs here...*sighs* Oh well, I'll ask for a Visa GC instead

I'm surprised at how many people are saying green and pine, because I don't get that at any point. It's definitely got roses in it - my skin LUUURVES roses - but it's got enough otherstuff to make it work for me. I'm horrid at picking out individual notes, but on me it smells of spiced tea and tobacco, and a mix of dried and fresh flowers. It very much says "night" to me - like something an elegant lady would wear to a party when she wants to stay in the background; mysterious and aloof. I think this is going to be my fall/winter daytime scent. I need a big bottle...*sighs*

No mint, but definitely sugar, maybe brown? No bourbon either. Not sure WHAT besides sugar...just the usual signature BPAL-ish smell, which I can NEVER describe. Don't think I'll keep it...

After reading another review I finally noticed the incense-ish scent to Masquerade...before I could just baaaarely smell it on my skin, as sort of a very faint lilac. It's very close to my natural scent, I guess, or maybe I've just burned too much incense in here It's nice, but my boy immediately went "UGH!", so out it goes. Oh, well... Ooh. Actually, I just noticed a bit of Coca-cola in it, too. Maybe that's why he "ugh!"ed? Maytbe I'll try again with him after waiting an hour for drydown - I made him smell it 5 minutes after. Edit: ...you know what, he can bite me, the more I sniff this the more I like it.

Oh, my. On first application, it was lovely and slightly apple-y, fading to a very lovely (but not overly feminine) greenish floral...and was eaten by my skin within an hour. >_< I might try again later and see if it lasts longer...I loved the way it smelled while it lasted!

Soapity soapity soap soap. For some reason, sweet pea turns directly to soap on me, overriding all other scents, and refuses to change the entire drydown. Bleah...swap-box!

In the bottle: hard to smell, but intriguing. On my wrists: OH BRIGHT STARS I JUST PUT KAUA'I ON MY WRISTS. I went there exactly once when I was 16, and the minute you step off the plane there's this lush, beautiful, growing-things-and-flowers scent, that is now clinging to my general area. Oh happy dance, I finally found it!!! Up close it's different, weirdly enough, but still dark and yummy and ohh... Must have big bottle. MUST. Wonder what it would smell like on a boy...? *drools* EDIT: Well, maybe not...a few hours later I smell like Lemon Pledge. Baahh...

Introducing Chaos Theory II CLXXX: This is the love child of Grog and Spooky. Buttery, coconutty, suntan lotion with a hint of pineapple... Unfortunately it pretty much fades into my skin within 15 minutes. If I put my nose RIGHT up against my arm I can smell it, but why bother when I could put on Grog or Spooky instead and get to smell it without a lot of effort? Way too many scents diappear on me. It's sad. I'll try again later, but I think I'm swapping...

I was absolutely thrilled that I didn*t get glomped by the lemon in this one - it was really mild, with more of the floral than the citrus. I*ve lost my knack for describing scents, I think, but it was just yummy and light on my wrist. Too bad it*s discontinued, I might*ve gotten larger bottles of this...

...suck. I*m wholly Viking (Swedish/Irish/English/Norse), so I was really hoping...but it*s nothing special on me. At first it was a cool berries and..incense...? on me, but after awhile it had a distinct note of HAIRSPRAY, of all things. Bah! Tears is currently doing the same thing. I*m wondering if hairspray is just my skin today. I*ll hang onto Vinland and try it again later...

Juliet is...pink on me. This is bad, as I HATE pink. It*s a nice floral, and I kinda like it, but it doesn*t scream my name, and the pinkness of it is getting to me. Sorry Juli, maybe another time...probably after I have a daughter It *is* a very young-girl scent.

Heartbeast has the character desc. of this scent dead on. Desi is very much blue-green, pale, watery, sad scent...cool and floral, and yielding in a sense of "whatever I can do to help my lord," with the helplessness of knowing that whatever is wrong she can*t help because he won*t let her. I like it, but it*s just too...sorrowing for me. The characterization is so dead on that I think I*d start feeling like her. Assuming I ever land the part, however, I*ll immediately trade for an imp of it to help me get into character...

I had such high hopes for this! It came as a surprise add-in from Oubliette (I think). Unfortunately, though Wanda*s wine works on me, Lady M*s turns immediately into Grape Otter Pop mixed with Grape Robitussin. BLECH! Treacherous lady, indeed. I wish it had gone winey on me and not grapey...*sigh* I had the same reaction from Bordello, actually. Maybe it*s the berries that turns into grape ickiness on me.

White geranium, calla lily, cedarwood and black orchid. A gentle floral bouquet masks a sinister and black-hearted core. Well, I like calla liily, so I thought I*d try this... In the bottle: ...pickles? On my wrist: Again with the pickles, although there*s some cedar too. The pickles are in the back, but just them being there at all is a bit jarring. After awhile the florals join the pickles in the back, with the cedar staying firmly in the front seat. This does something weird to my nose...I smell my wrist, and right after I take my nose away the inside of my nose feels oddly dry. The cedar is softening up now, getting a bit brighter, and the pickles have disappeared...but they took the flowers with them. Overall, I think this is going away...I can*t stand that weird dry-nose thing it*s doing to me. I*ll leave it on for today, but this is NOT a keeper.

Well, hel-looooooo, lemongrass! For awhile, that*s all I can smell...then the woods are coming in the back, softening it up...really reminds me of one of the candles at Illuminations in the "relaxing" section. The flowers sneak in after awhile too, mixing among the woods like...flowers among trees, actually. The woods start dominating a bit more after a few minutes, but more like you*ve walked in from a field of lemongrass and are now standing among the trees. So far this is a really nice blend...I*ll check back in a few hours or so.

I was hoping to like this one, too...and in the beginning it was much akin to O and Follow Me Boy. However, I don*t know if it was the spices or what, but something went very bitter on me. The honeyed scent is still there underneath it, however whatever*s on top is kinda turning my stomach. Off to swaps, and here*s hoping Old Morocco or Snake Oil does better on me!

OOH! I wasn*t keen on trying this, but I went ahead and got it ni a swap...and I*m really pleased I did! Again, I can*t pick out individual notes to save my life, but I put it on before going to a dance party, and it went perfectly with my outfit (silver beaded silk dress and long black cloak). This is upscale, classy, and is now fighting with Black Widow as my "expensive perfume" for nights out at the theatre or the opera (or things like that). Very grown-up. I*m kinda sad nobody asked me what perfume I was wearing at the party...

Ave Maria sticks around for about the same amount of time it takes to say its name. I put it on my boy, and for awhile there was something soft and slightly lemony (DRAT!) on his neck if I snuggled up close, but it was extremely faint and disappeared fast. On me it was lemon, again, and a little stronger, but still went the same way as it did on him. I wonder why so many things go to lemon on me...?

I really wanted to like Pele - I love plumeria and ginger. However, aside from maybe a hint of those two, mostly this was a soft, generic floral on me - just like Juliet, Desdemona, Ouija, Bayou (believe it or not), Catherine, Psyche, the list goes on...they all kind of smell the same on my wrist. I might trade for this again later and give it another try, but I was really wishing for something more exotic than what Pele turned into on me.

This was one of the few rose blends I*ve tried that I didn*t mind too much. The other flowers in the blend really softened this up for me, and made it not nearly as "sharp" as most rose scents I*ve tried (I think that might be the "powdery" sensation on me). It still wasn*t screaming my name, though, so off it went. Man, I*m horrible at reviews...*laughs* I wish I could pick out different notes for you, but my nose just isn*t that picky.

Lightning was soap and lemon on me...not enough lemon to make me want to gag, but not really marine at all to me. I*ve noticed this with almost all the marine blends...I have never smelled the water/salt that I was imagining. Maybe it*s just what my skin does to the "marine" aspect, but I*ve gone through Bayou (floral), Jolly Roger (not there long enough to distinguish), Undertow (sickly sweet if memory serves), Hurricane (lemon), and now Lightning, and I*m not getting rain, storm, marine, what-have-you from any of them. This makes me sad.

Hurricane on me went...lemony. I*m not sure if that was the vetivert (since I have no idea what that is), but it went lemon lemon lemon, and no China Rain that I could tell at all. Off to swaps!

Eh...on me, Catherine is just another rose blend, with ROSE and a few other flora that are hiding out in the back. Apparently my skin REALLY likes rose. I don*t. I guess this is a swapper...

HOO! This baby is SWEET! At first sniff, my wrist reeks of sugared artifical grape syrup. The artificialness does wear away, and so does the grape, leaving...sugar. This is slightly fruity sugar, rubbed on my arm. I*m noticing I*m not fond of really sweet scents, either, so even though Bordello lasts (and lasts, and LASTS! 10+ hours here!) on me, I*m afraid it*s going away...why don*t any of the ones I love last very long on me?

Wow, this one changes REALLY fast on me. At first, right as it hit the skin, it was sickly sweet cherry cough syrup, but almost immediately the sandalwood and resin come out to play, and the sickliness dies a fast death *hurrah!* It keeps morphing darker and darker...within minutes it*s a yummy, incensy blend with the slightest hint of fruit waaaay in the back where it belongs (as far as I*m concerned). I*m not sure this will be an everyday scent, or even a keeper (as I do have TONS to go through still...), but it*s not too bad on me. Now let*s see if it lasts through the gym! EDIT: Drat...the incense all ran away during the workout, leaving just the fruity weirdness... Off to swaps.