Gwydion

In bottle: Exactly as promised, rich vanilla with a sharp licorice edge. Wet: The licorice is stronger now. I would swear there was a touch of leather, but it’s not listed, so I am likely wrong. The vanilla reasserts as it warms, softening the whole effect. It balances beautifully on the skin, though with a worrying itchiness. Dry; Stunning vanilla goodness. Yum.

In bottle: They aren’t kidding about the flowers. If you like rose blends, this is a lovely one, the three flowers blending together beautifully. Wet: Faint chemical edge. The flowers grow more individual, yet still work together nicely, blending with the emerging plum, to make something rich and ripe. Dry: retains it’s pleasant miox, though the rose stands out rather.

I love Hand of Glory. Channukah was excellent. I don't like HYH quite as much, though it's good.

The Sea Foams Milk has a nice cream if you were layering.

In Bottle: This is not entirely fortunate. It certainly smells like certain Chinese treats. The walnut and magnolia are quite strong. I think the odd effect might be hyssop with fig. Wet: smells like good for your hair hippy shampoo. I blame the hyssop again. As it warms, the clove and chamomile come out, along with the musk. Again, the effect is not entirely auspicious, though the clove/magnolia combination is interesting. Dry: It’s reminding me of a number of the bamboo blends that BPAL makes. The weirdness of the fresh application fades into something more gentle and auspicious, though the musk is simply too much when combined with the hyssop and my naturally musky skin. It’s a shame as it’s a very near miss indeed.

In bottle: Rich mulled cider. So many apples. The sassafras adds a sweetness over a faint hint of wood. Wet: The complexities of the blend come out on the skin, though the apple stays dominant. The orange peel manages not to amp too much, which is a blessing. The wood and smoke coke out, giving the whole thing a wild edge. I am pleased. Dry: The peels are stronger, or perhaps the apple weaker. It is a pleasant wassail scent, with a rich, smoke/wood undertone. Very fall, very pleasing.

In bottle: Surprisingly tart and light green. It reminds me a little of Embalming fluid, only with sea breeze and maybe a touch of ivy or mint. Wet: The scent morphs a little and does in fact smell of autumn leaves under new snow, though I can still smell that ghost of ivy or mint. It is delicate and gentle, yet chill and fascinating at the same time. Dry: Vaguely shampoolike, but mostly damp autumn leaves. I’m happy with this. It is atmosperic in a subtle way, not stunning, but certainly pleasant.

In bottle: Lavender sachet. Wet: The lavender is still dominant, though the entire thing is much greener and more complex. It smells of new mowed field, with herbs and wildflowers fresh severed by the blade. There is something rather like dry fungus underneath, which is actually pleasant. Dry: Gentle medium green scent with lavander on top.

In bottle: Gentle, unusual floral with a faint medicinal edge. The rose is very understated. Wet: A rich medium green scent with a delicate floral overtone. I can’t really smell the rose as a separate scent, though it certainly contributes as the blend warms. Dry: surprisingly pleasant and delicate floral. It’s a touch powdery, but in a dried flowers way.

In bottle: This is too sweet, like cheap sugar candy and too many flowers. I can smell the ivy, but barely. Wet: Better. A soft floral with almost no throw and a strange mix of the sensual and the innocent. Dry: Soft, interesting floral without much staying power.

In bottle: It is much as you would imagine, dragon’s blood and flowers. Wet: The flowers balance the resin nicely. It’s a sweet feminine thing with a sensual edge. The flowers are vaguely funereal, the blood, strong. Dry: Soft dragon’s blood tempered with flowers. Not much staying power.

How about Jolly roger? sexy, manly pirate with a cleansing sea smell. Certainly I feel good wearing it.

I second AM and would like to add Pickled imp.

I rather like The Sea Foams Milk, though the milk is understated there due to the strength of the Aquatics.

I second the comforting creaminess that is Shadwell.

In bottle: Leather and smoke and metal. I can pick out the pepper. This is a rich, sexy, manly scent. Wet: Weirdly, it smells like smoke and holly, which I find pleasing. The leather is strong and rich. The pepper and lime give a sharpness to the blend. The hellfire is working me, despite the hint of something rank underneath. This is insanely sexy. Dry: I’m hoping I can handle that touch of something off, because I am in love with this. It wildly sexy in a Dean Winchester/guys I dated in high school way.

In bottle: Gingerbread and rum on top, though the rest is discernable. It is very cakey. Wet: The Clove really comes out along with the candied fruit when warmed by skin. The result is a rich cakey blend, much as promised in the description. It gets sweeter and lighter and spicier as it wears. Dry: Powdery, though still cake sweet with a hint of spice.

In bottle: Musk and chocolate and caramel and patchouli. Wet: More cakelike only with patchouli. Curiously soft. There is something weird underneath, wine maybe? Dry: Patchouli mildly sweetened by chocolate cake

In bottle: They are not kidding about the wine, though the rum is present too. The cocoa has the dry bitterness of baker’s chocolate. It really does smell vaguely of old blood, though I think that’ an artifact of resin mixing with wine. It is rather rank and repellent. Wet: Much as in the bottle, though the mix is more even, the dried blood stronger and the wine weaker, evening the whole thing out. Dry: Startling in a good way. It settles into incensey goodness with cocoa and… claws. I know, claws isn’t a scent, but this reminds me of bloody claws, dry and vicious and attention grabbing. I do love the dry down, but I can’t handle the way it smells to get there. It does have decent throw and staying power if you like something chocolate and vaguely unnerving in a good way and are patiuent enough to wait for it to settle on your skin.

In bottle: peach bubblegum. Wet: really luscious peach bubblegum over myrtle. It is almost spicy. I do rather like it. As it warms, the amber separates a little and the peach grows deeper and more luscious. Dry: fades fast to a soft peach.

In bottle: Instantly unnerving. The rose and resins do some peculiar things. It smells sharp and over ripe. Wet: The warmth of the skin brings out the dirt. It does smell like dying roses and incense over dirt. It is not a scent I’d chose for myself, but I could see why it might work on the right woman. The incense does strengthen as it wears, but the rose is so strong, the dirt hasn’t a prayer of competing. Dry: Lots of rose with some sandalwood under it.

In bottle: This is almost teeth gratingly bitter. I am wondering if that skin is really grated citrus skin. The ginger and dirt aren’t kidding either. This is not an easy scent to handle. Wet: The initial bite sweetens as the resin warms up, bringing the other spices with it. There is still that grating citrusy scent, but it hovers over a cookie or perhaps a cinnamon bun. Dry: the dirt is lovely and the ginger/blood/cumin combination intriguing, but that intense unpleasant “desiccated skin” note makes this distracting and impossible to wear.

In bottle: In does indeed smell like men’ cologne. There is a powdery light upper end and a pleasant piney edge with a hint of citrus. Wet: Sexy, clean, a little vicious. It is lighter in feel than I expected, but still quite heady. As it warms, something musky and faintly leathery comes out. Dry: Ooo! Leather and sexy, sexy men’s cologne.

In bottle: Several of these notes are completely unknown to me, so it’s hard to pint down what is causing what. The scent is rich and sweetly herbal, the berries well mixed with tea and greenery. I like BPAL’s “snow” scent, which is pleasantly strong here, cooling what would otherwise be a late summer scent. Wet: The snow/pine scent is stronger on my skin, but the richness of the under scent is undeniable. I think this is the first time I’ve enjoyed juniper in anything. Dry: A clean powdery, vaguely outdoors in winter sort of scent. There is more juniper in the dry down, alas.

In bottle: The kumquat is sharpest, with the orange blossom second. Wet: It smells like candied citrus, mostly. This is not suprising with my skin chemistry, which amps anything in the citrus family, apparently including kumquat. Dry: I can actually smell the white tea under the kumquats and orange blossoms. It’s light and pleasant, suitable for a young teen girl.