Gwydion

In bottle only: It’s pretty much as described, bubble gum is dominant with cherry lollipops a close second. I do get the orange lollipop as well, but the perfume, is nearly overwhelmed by bubble gum and cherry pop. There isn’t a chance of this going well on my skin, but if smelling like bubble gum and lollipops is your thing, this is it.

In bottle only: Strong, smoky vetiver mostly. It’s making me think of the volcanic Ash in one of the old tiki LE scents. Further sniffing will turn up the more delicate notes under the ash. Tangerine is the strongest of these, with cedarwood next. This smells like the aftermath of a catastrophe, a volcanic eruption, a forest fire. It grew on me rather, but would be impossible for me to wear. If smoky vetiver is your thing, this would be it.

This is very well blended. It is sweeter than I expected with the sugar cane syrup and coconut softening elements like the bay rum and the woods. It’s sweet, woody and masculine, with the cedar being the strongest of the wood elements without overwhelming the other discreet notes. There is something a little odd with looking sniffing. I don't know the bitterwood note, although I can guess via process of elimination, but I think the issue is with how it mixes with the cedar. I still like it, though the off note makes it less exciting than I’d hoped.

People covered smokey and floral. I'd like to mention Dorian as my nominee for Fruity.

It's not aquatic, but If he likes Drakar Noir, try getting him to try Vicomte De Valmonte. It's better, purer, more complex, but has the same pheromone enhancing effect and feel. Aquatic sea wise, may I suggest Jolly Roger. Also, if you can find an old bottle of the LE The Phoenix, it's very much a ship at sea scent.

I love that, and wish they'd resurrect it.

In bottle: Mmmm… Creamy, vanilla, ginger. Seriously, this is more candied ginger than gingerbread, which is just fine with me as I have two other gingerbread scents. The baked goods effect is present but very soft next to the dominant ginger, spices, and vanilla. The marshmallow cream is mostly making an extra creaminess to be honest. This is a lot flatter than the true gingerbread offering from the lab. Wet: The ginger and vanilla back down a bit, letting the sugar sing. It’s also a bit less creamy and a touch more baked goods, but not by much. Dry: Sugar and ginger mostly with a touch of creaminess.

In bottle: Unusual of an interesting design. The Lebkuchen comes off as nutty and rather similar to the Pfferneuse from a previous year, blending beautifully with the rice porridge element. The candied fruits are distinct, but go excellently with the Lebkuchen and porridge. The cream smoothes things beautifully and the clove gives a hint of bite. This is making a wonderful addition to the baked goods yuletides in the BPAL cannon. Wet: The fruit comes out a little more, but the new balance doesn’t overwhelm any of the elements. It turns out Lebkuchen/porridge combination creates a gorgeous and nuanced backdrop to show of the spiced candied fruits to excellent effect, like little scent jewels on a tasty, tasty backdrop. The cloves a little stronger, but not overwhelming. I’m quite happy with this. Dry: The fruits mostly fade out. The clove ends up the strongest survivor, with a bit of porridge.

In bottle: Cinnamon dominant gingerbread, pretty much exactly as promised. Wet: The baked goods and ginger qualities come out more and push dowen the cinnamon to the point where it’s just barely strongest. The nutmeg and clove have a little more room to move and provide good support to the other spices. Dry: Still cinnamon dominant. Other elements soften and blur, but last in there diminished state.

In bottle: This is one of the darker wood notes. The embers give the impression of frankincense without whatever it is I find annoying about frankincense. The effect is sharp and a little viscous, with an ashy aftereffect. The fog note grants what little softening there is here. This is not a comfortable scent, but intriguing. Wet: One the skin, the wood goes from dark to green, I think due to the way it blends with the ash. The frankincense feel is gone. The fog bank rises. This is making me think of unripe coconut, for no reason I can quite pin down, though I’ve reacted to wood/ash combinations this way before. It is lighter and slightly sweeter on the skin, and much easier to live with than I was expecting from the bottle. As it warms, the fog/ember combination turns out to be quite lovely, and vaguely spicy. It’s an androgynous scent, which I think will vary widely with skin chemistry of those wearing it. Dry: The fog does the thing that ocean/ozone/strom scents do sometimes on my skin, though not as strongly. I’m having trouble describing this, but it’s clearly a my skin chemistry breaking something down to make something flat and not quite right. In this case, itt’s a much softer version of whatever it is goes wrong and I could likely still wear this in a pinch. It’s basically the degraded fog note, linen, and a touch of wood at this point. I’m not sutre how useful this review is to other people, as it’s very likely my bizarre skin chemistry, but this is a sad finish for a promising scent.

In bottle: Pomegranate dominant. It is pretty much as described. It’s strong pomegranate over the lab’s gin note. I’m not good with juniper, so I’m not skin testing, but if you like pomegranate, this is likely your best bet for a good GC blend.

In bottle: I’m not a fan of juniper and historically despise gin, both on skin and as a drink, so when I say, this is a genuinely pleasant, tangerine dominant, sweet light, fruity scent, it should really tell you something about how well this is blended. I am loving the guava and the passion fruit rounds it out beautifully. I amp citrus, so I’m not skin testing.

In bottles: This beautifully captures an evening garden. It feels cool and dew damped. I have no idea how they made it smell like water rich air, and chill, but it does. The flowers are complex and richly toned, mingling perfectly with the incense, very much evoking the sense of twilight. The earth and moss ground it and the herbal touch gives it a savory tang. If I wore florals, I would be in love with this. Wet: I’m guessi ng honey suckle and jazmine, but I’m not that good at flowers so I could be mistaken. Mysterious and erotic, the loam adds an earthly sensuality when mixed with these flowers and the natural musk in skin. This ought to be lightly brushed into the hair of a voluptuous brunette, to lure her lover to bury zhir nose in her hair. I keep thinking of Horace’s night garden with the lover chasing the laughing woman, through the maze of blooms to steal a kiss. Dry: Not surprisingly, my skin chemistry strips this away to vaguely floral drier sheets, which is one of the many reasons I don’t wear florals. Unless you’re skin does this to most non-rose florals, I wouldn’t worry about it.

In bottle: This is sweet and oudoorsy. The ozone gives the predominantly green scent a special zing. It is lightly floral, but in an ecclectic garden sort of way rather than a perfumey sort of way. This smells like a lawn with a mixed garden verge just before it rains. The asphalt doesn’t smell that much like asfalt, but that and the metal, and stone, definitely give a sense of city, or at least suburban park. This manages to smell like the future and my childhood all at the same time. Wet: Tangy and almost fruity on the skin. It is cooler and more delicate on my skin. It’s an androgynous sort of feminine, if that makes sense. A lot of the city scents drop out, leaving the grass, ozone, and florals dominant. It’s less complex and exciting than it was, but still absolutely lovely. Dry: The fruity/floral effect dies down. It ends up being a sort of grass/ozone/drier sheet thing. It’s not as cool as it was, but not unpleasant.

In bottle: Pleasantly crushed greenery in tone. I don’t know most of these notes to tell which thing does what, but it’s right up my alley. It is very faintly floral, but not in a conventional or off-putting way. Wet: Medium green, a touch less crushed, as if some of the plants are now reading as fresh. The floral is so understated as to be nearly undetectable. The anise is more ghost than substance. Nice, very nice. There are both heavier and lighter scents in my crushed greenery collection. This fills a hole I didn’t even know I had. It’s very bright and fresh, with lovely definition between notes. Dry: A touch powdery and drier sheet like and very slightly feminine on the dry down, mostly because the florals come out a bit more. It retains it’s richness however. It’s more a matter of the balance shifting within the scent than a radical change.

In bottle: Peppermint, Alas! I am not good with peppermint. It’s also got vanilla and an underlying baked goods thing. I’m going to skin test it anyway, in the name of science. Wet: If you like peppermint and vanilla as a combo, this is likely your scent. They do blend together really well, and if peppermint were not the salt to my slug, I’d likely love this. The baked goods notes drop out rather, leaving the mint and vanilla to duke it out for dominance. Dry: Vanilla dominant with a hint of mint and cookie. Not bad for a mint scent, really.

In bottle: This is somewhere between egg nog and pfeffernusse cookies, closer to egg nog. By this I mean the actual food items. I haven’t tested BPAL’s egg nog, and I’m too lazy to scent check with the Pfeffernusse bottle in the other room. It is closer to egg nog, I think, mostly because of the eggy richness and the spicing. I’m guessing it’s heavy on the nutmeg and clove and contains some anise, along with other christmassy spices. I’m already wishing I had a bottle, because this is complex and heady. Wet: It’s not as creamy or eggy on the skin. The spices really come out. It is flatter, with less depth and complexity. It’s like my skin has mostly eaten the baked goods part. Dry: Mmmmmm…. I do love the spice combination here. It’s now clove dominant, with plenty of support and complexity. The egg cookie fragrance reemerges a bit, but remains understated. I do love a good clove scent and this is an excellent one.

In bottle: Brownies. No really. It’s got a very dense, dark chocolate baked goods thing going on. The spices blend well. The espresso is understated. Wet: Much as in the bottle, though the gingerbread becomes a touch more distinct as an individual scent. It still creates a delicious brownie effect in aggregate. The espresso blends pleasantly with the whole, and while distinct, is gentle enough not to cause me trouble, and I tend to react badly to coffee scents. Dry: The espresso turns a little funny with wear, taking the chocolate into left field with it. It’s still pleasant, but not as stunning, with the gingerbread flattening into something a little dry. The spices mostly blend with the chocolate. It'’ interesting, but not the stunning thing I first nosed when I opened the bottle. Odds are, this is my skin chemistry. Your mileage will likely vary dramatically.

If you like Embalming fluid, you'll likely like Kamiho.

In bottle: This beautifully captures its concept. It does give a sense of chill and the dominant moss and moor grass notes create a sense of outdoors in winter. The mud is understated and blends with the fire to the point of separate notes being hard to distinguish. Wet: The grass scent grows more complex and dominant. The moss gives a vaguely aftershave effect to it. Fire is more noticeable now with the wind/storm ozoney thing balancing it out. I’m liking this a lot, though I think I’d like it better without the ozone. Dry: Mostly ozone and moss. Not nearly as good as it started out.

In bottle: I’m liking the way the bergamoyt and rose interact. There’s a zestiness and a fullness, I’m suspecting comes from the plum. It does indeed manage to smell expensive. This is a mature sort of rose scent. Given what rose does on my skin, there’s no point in skin testing it.

In bottle: Pretty much as described. The oleander is strong, sharp, and sweet. The honey gives the floral a richness and depth it wouldn’t otherwise have. Wet: Less balanced, and somehow, the oleander is now making me think of cat litter. I think it’s my natural musk joining forces with the honey to take on the oleander which has gone shrill on my skin. I am convinced this is my skin chemistry refusing to play nice, so likely YMMV. Dry: Honey with a sharpness and a soft flaral edge. I think the oleander breaks down rather in the warmth of skin.

In bottle: Mandarin dominant, with a strong lily of the valley presence. Vanilla is next strongest. Sandalwood is understated. Rich and pleasant. Wet: Orange sweetened with vanilla and a touch of lily of the valley. Sweet and womanly. Totally not me, but very well blended even with my tendency to amp orange. Dry: The opium and sandalwood come out. The mix is now remarkably womanly and sexy. The vanilla and sandalwood combination works particularly well. This really does beautifully embody its concept.

In bottle: Sharp apple, with a hint of something chemical underneath. It’s strong and intense. Wet: Sweeter and stickier smelling on the skin. Crystiline and delicte. Pleasingly simple. Dry: Goes a touch plastic.

Aftershave, candy wrappers, brimstone, and cat. In bottle: Yep. Aftershave. This is not particularly fortuneate. The aftershave is fairly generic and it’s combination with the brimstone is a touch ugly. Cat seems to be mild musk. Wet: Yurk! The brimstone/aftershave combo is nasty chemical, and my naturally musky skin combines with the cat musk to be a bit overwhelming. My skin chemistry hates this. I smell dirty with industrial pollution and unwashed body. Dry: Actually, this isn’t so bad. It ends up a soft, vaguely chemical, but perfectly reasonable musky aftershave, with a touch of candy. The problem is that the lab already has other, better, aftershave colognes, at least for someone with me skin chemistry.