groovyrooby

Gorgeous. Love the Blake illustration to start. I was looking especially for frank, amber, and bay laurel. That's exactly what I got! This reminds me quite a bit of Citrine, which I also love, though this is a more savory, less citrusy blend than that, so I can justify having them both! It's got a beautiful warm glow, pleasantly bitter, and good throw. I will wear this to the office in late Summer & Fall and other times when I'm trying to give respectable, upstanding citizen. Going to upgrade from decant to bottle before the clock runs out on this Painting of the Month.

This stuff is potent! I received a partial bottle as a frimp, which was awesome because I was very curious about this one. It's a great traditional fresh aquatic kind of smell - not particularly salty as I was hoping. Very blue-smelling. And from first whiff it struck me as a familiar scent... My husband thought it smelled like something you'd pick up at a fragrance counter, very 90s hip unisex. Not my typical style, but you never know, so I gave it a go. Welp. This is a dead-ringer for something my dad used to wear, therefore it's a no-go for me. Not that it's unpleasant! Not that my dad is unpleasant!! But it's so spot-on, I just feel like the dad of my teenage years is getting ready to go out for a date night with my mom, and that is not a scent I'm looking to have on my head. :P For better or worse, the scent is incredibly potent, and I only used a single spray - half the HG I normally use. Husband could smell me in the hallway with the door closed. I sprayed some Totality on top to try to smother it, but it still hung in there. If this scent is your jam, and I am certain it will have lots of love, this is a brilliant creation! Just very viscerally not for me due to personal associations.

I never would have chosen this for myself. Silk? Leather? Wine? So many things that I never would've expected to work for me. But I was frimped a sniffie and lo & behold this is wonderful stuff! Goes on sweet & fruity in a resin-y way, almost bubble gum, like Thieves Rosin. It's rich and sweet tart. It seems the dark fruits + frankincense + labdanum combo is a winner for me, because this reminds me of a lighter, more floral version of The Wish, which I also adore. I went ahead and ordered myself a bottle and thanked the frimper for the surprise. I LOVE being surprised! And this defied my expectations. It dries to a powdered sugar-y dark fruit incense. And none of my usual troublemakers are causing me any trouble here. At best, they blend with the versions that I love - leather with the frankincense make it aromatic, wine with the dried cherries give it that rich fruitiness, and silk with the rose petals makes it a sensuous floral. Gorgeous.

Here to rave about Sturgeon Moon! I'm trying to blind-bottle less, but I went for it with this one, knowing it was not bloody likely to work for me. Aquatic is NOT usually my thing - too often strikes me as "fresh" like a bar of Irish Spring soap. But because of superstitious mojo reasons, I did it anyway on a hope it would surprise me and it is a LOVE!! It's starts with a sweet watery vibe, similar to Sirene Medievale or even The Last Unicorn. Instant love. It dries down to a soft vegetal floral that reminds me of Sunyashniki. Probably the hay & the poppy & driftwood combo? I tried it straight out of the bottle when it arrived yesterday & slathered on more this morning. It's a perfect end-of-summer scent. Do not fear the aquatic.

I love & collect black licorice blends. Same with grapefruit, my favorite citrus note! however... black licorice + grapefruit = celery?? Eventually faded to a chewy licorice candy, like I can almost see the yellow/green tooth marks in a bite of that good Australian licorice. Aniseed & molasses. I will have to give it a few more tries before coming to a final verdict on this one.

Just adore this. I love citrus scents in the morning, and this is a great addition to my current selection. It is uniquely floral citrus - the violet is sweet and not at all soapy - and it lasts longer than most of my favorite citrus blends - including the grapefruit note! Wonderful and a must-have for me. Upgrading from a decant to a full size.

I just adore this. I was so sad there were no Liliths this year, as they are easily my favorite collection. But this will tide me over! Herbal lavender and sweet floral incense - nothing smoky, just really cozy and soft. It's got great, gentle, lasting waft of warm and snuggly lavender. I can't decide when I most enjoy wearing this - in the afternoon with a fuzzy sweater or at night to send me off to sleep. The name is really apt: close, like second skin, effortless and gracefully haunting. Wonderful & the most reached-for bottle I have right now.

Put this on after swimming laps at the YMCA. Husband walked in the room when I got home and said - Ooh! Smells like candy in here! Life Savers! Red Life Savers!! I have been searching for a way to overpower the chlorine aroma from the pool. Slathered this on immediately post-shower in place of lotion, and the clothes I wore afterwards still smell like delicious red candies. We have a winner!!

I am just loving BPAL's honeyed red fruits scents! And this one with rose!! The Triumph in My Song scents have been overwhelmingly winners for me, and this is no exception. On me, this is very rose, the kind I like, velvety and sweet right on the bush, not dried. The honey makes it extra resinous and rich, and the fruits give it yet another layer of sweet-tart sweetness. It ends on the red sandalwood, a nice lingering sweet incensey note. Really beautiful. Blind bottled like a freaking boss and patting myself on the back for it!

Well this is a win! Lemon marshmallow! No plastic!! Mellows out to faint sweet lemon with a little toastiness, not unlike Boozy Lemon Bars on me, but with sweet marshmallow cream rather than cookie.

Coconut! Not at all tropical. Cozy and snuggly. This actually reminds me of an old imp of Brown Jenkin that I've been hanging onto forever. I got myself a fresh big bottle of Brown Jenkin, because I love that imp so much, and I've been patiently waiting for it to age to the same point as that imp... It's taking forever, and I'm still enjoying the sweeter, more potent coconut for now, but this THIS is like fast forwarding to the aged version! Just what I wanted! First bottle sniff was a bit rough - green banana acetone, to my nose. Super aromatic. But it ended dry, scratchy and a hint sweet, almost makes me think this has cocoa, but I think it's just the combination with coconut. I don't think I get any red currant so far, but this was a fairly fresh-from-the-mail test, and it's really nice as-is. Glad I went for this.

Oh boy oh boy this scent is a dream come true. It's like they took all the best parts of some of my favorites and rolled them into one magnificent blend! The rich, resinous fruits of Like the Very Gods or The Wish, plus the candy-sweet red musk of Heartshow, with an extra kick of spice from The Sky Quivered Red Like Flames of Fire HG. Up close, it's dry and toasty, red hot desert spice musk. But the waft is all honeyed fruit. Candied fruits, red musk, and pink spice. Gorgeous. Delicious. Tested it first thing in the morning, just a couple dabs on a wrist, and I could smell it all day while doing yardwork, under my gardening glove, above the sage bushes and the dirt. Exceptional. So glad I blind bottled this. It is love.

This reminds me a lot of one of my favorite Labors of the Months: And I Wede My Corne Well I-Know. The cardamom is gorgeous and the balsam gives it a spicy even-greener kick. The honey sweetens it to an almost maple-like effect. Husband describes it as a honey-musk. And the patchouli gives it that cozy, scratchy wool feel. It's earthy-sweet, green not dirt, spicy warm, dry, rich and delicious. Love this. definitely a keeper!

Note to self: blue & white musks are not my jam. I prefer red & black, spicy musks. If I had been able to see past the jasmine & benzoin blinders, I would have realized this is pretty much the opposite of where I usually go. Sometimes that's good! But here, it means I came to this for exactly the wrong reasons. This is very blue and floral, fresh, cool, and aromatic. It is exactly as described - emphasis on the blue, crystalline, nighttime. If those are your vibes, you are going to love this!

Very woody. Almost bitter, dry wood. Heavy on the toasted aspect, along the lines of bitter, toasted spices. Twiggy, like dried sticks. Powerful for a couple hours. Sweetens up to a lingering rice milk to finish.