fairnymph

Light gold oil. Lots of gardenia - the sort of sour-sharp kind, that's very strong and bullies, other strong/heady/traditionally perfumey white florals, a 'rain' sort of aquatic note, and what I think is white musk And yes, the lovely ginger, but it's overwhelmed by the florals. There is a nice tart freshness to this, possibly citrusy. The aquatic note is also a little soapy, though. I get more of the refreshing ginger, but also more of the gardenia, which is definitely the main player here. The muguet is really strong as well, and it's sort of rooty and sweet in sickly way - it reminds me of lotus root a bit. The white musk is a bit TOO bright and generic, cheap-preteen-perfumish. This is very jumbled, not blended well at all. Slow to dry. The aquatic note has amped a lot, almost to be on par with the gardenia, which is still that unpleasant sour sort. Unfortunately I don't like this type of aquatic, either - it reminds me of cheap Rain-scented incense or fragrance oil - definitely artificial/fake with an almost plastic quality, and the white musk is similarly cheap seeming so together it's a double whammy. The ginger has amped and is a bit spicy, quite invigorating, but totally overwhelmed. And the citrus note is that rotten 'evil grapefruit' note from R'lyeh. This has improved a bit - the notes have blended somewhat, so it's less chaotic, and that ginger note has really amped. So has the musk, which now smells like white musk and something else - an amber? I get a definite sense of amber-y warmth. I also get an odd nuttiness - like there's chestnut in this - yes, it's even oddly foody. So now this reminds me a little of Wiley's Swamp a tad. But this is way more 'generic cheap drugstore perfume', and way more floral obviously. I get lots of rootiness from the amped muguet, and the gardenia and rainy aquatic remain very strong. Intense throw overall. A few hours later this is slightly sweet-nutty (almost a grainy note, the way that say, Leanan Sidhe is) and musky gardenia SOAP with fresh, bright ginger. It's mostly floral powdery soap from a distance but when I sniff more closely I can still pick out all the notes. It's an odd blend but it does coalesce more over time, if never completely harmonizing. Better than the earlier stages indicated, for sure, but still not my style. Strong throw but it fades somewhat before holding.

In the bottle: Sharp, sweet, and almost earthy - a lingering warmth. It smells like a very specific candy, but I can't place it - maybe something with orange? Yes, orange peel. Spiced jaffa cakes? Wet: Vanilla coming out, making me think of orange creamsicles. I can detect the jasmine in the background. The ginger adds a nice spicy freshness. Dry: Really warm and spicy, still sweet but less strongly so. Summary: Vanilla and ginger, spicy, almost smoky-incense-y warmth. This is a potent oil. At no point could I single out a jasmine note. Not my thing, but an intriguing blend.

In the bottle: Green, sharp, soapy. There's a hint of something I don't like, but it doesn't seem to be listed in the description. Wet: Soapier, and the mimosa is coming out more - but I don't think I'm a mimosa person. I can't smell the bergamot - alas. The neroli must the be the source of soap - always does this on my skin. Dry: Very quickly turns to powdery soap and stays that way.

In the bottle: Jasmine-floral, perfume-y, hint of greenery. Wet: Here comes the musk - it's warm and sexy. Jasmine amped as well, and I can smell the roses coming out. I can smell a hint of neroli, but no bergamot. Dry: Jasmine, musk, and soap (neroli always does this on me), with a hint of rose. Summary: Without the soapiness, it'd be quite a lovely jasmine based scent. I'll have to give up on neroli - combined with jasmine, it goes to powder-soap.

In the bottle: Sweet, bright, citrusy. Honeysuckle and orange and heliotrope. Wet: Less citrusy, sweeter and more cloying. The heliotrope is still delightful. The honeysuckle may be too overwhelming in this. Strongly orangey still, in a fruity way. Dry: It's sort of bubblegum-fruity now, which is appropriate for Lolita, but not the sort of fruit I like. Too foody. Summary: Heliotrope, honeysuckle, and sweet-bubblegumy-orange. Good throw and lasting power.

In the bottle: Sweet and nutty - almonds. Wet: Honey and almonds. Yummy, and very strong. It's like almond extract. Dry: Something floral has emerged; it's really light and delicate. The almond has calmed down immensely; it's nuttier and less benzaldehyde-y now. There's a sort of buttery-spicy smell, I'm thinking cardamom? It's quite nice. A very warm scent. Summary: In the final drydown this is predominately a light jasmine-y floral on me, with hints of honey, almonds, and cardamom. A strange evolution, but enjoyable. It's not a keeper, but I was pleasantly surprised.

In the bottle: Lotus, jasmine, and lime, in order of increasing potency. Wet: Sweet and soapy with a dash of lime - the tuberose emerges full force and the jasmine amps, making this a soapy powdery hell combined with the amped cloying lotus bubblegum. Dry: Sweeter and sweeter by the second. Off to sink! Tuberose and lotus = my worst enemies, and jasmine is rarely a friend.

In the bottle: Sweet, fruity, dark and musky. A little wood and floral. Wet: Sugar, strawberries, polished exotic woods. Powdery florals. Black currant rose, and violet distinct. Dry: It's becoming very sweet, woody, musky and dusty. I agree that in the drydown it smells like a fruity version of Smut. Summary: Sugared strawberries and purple fruit, deep musk, dark woods, and powdery florals. Good throw and wearlength.

In the bottle: Unripe grapefruit zest. Wet: Very light. I'd have to really slather this stuff on. I think I can smell a hint of ginger now. Definitely a fresh, bright scent. There's maybe the faintest hint of floral, and an underlying plant-y smell, maybe the white tea? Still mostly grapefruit zest touched with ginger. Dry: This scent doesn't change very much, but it also fades pretty quickly. Summary: This is definitely a white grapefruit as opposed to pink grapefruit sort of smell. It's not very sweet at all. It's quite lovely, but evanescent. Not worth it to me with how my skin eats it, alas.

In the bottle: Peppery-spicy-foody, a wee bit sweet. Wet: Less peppery-spicy, more foody. Like spiced caramel apple cake. Dry: As it dries, hints of mint, sage, and some light spicy floral are emerging, as well as the musks. But the caramel is still largely overwhelming. Summary: Musky caramel with wisps of sage. Good throw and wearlength. Not my thing.

In the bottle: Rosemary and orange blossom. Wet: The rose is coming out strongly, and the orange blossom is already turning a bit soapy. The rosemary is fainter. Dry: Rosemary mostly gone, and the orange blossom-rose combo has turned powdery on me. Summary: Powdery soap - sigh!

In the bottle: Rose! Wet: Rose, with a hint of violet. Fresh. Dry: The rose softens a little, but it's still delicious and fresh, and the violet is so very light. This doesn't go to powder or soap on me at all. No old lady! Summary: I would have never thought I'd like this (it was a frimp), but this is one of the nicer BPAL rose scents I've tried. Feminine and classic.

In the bottle: Lemon verbena + lemon grass. Wet: LV and LG still by far the strongest, but the grapefruit has emerged a bit, and slowly the musk is coming out as well. This is a really interesting oil - I think in a good way. Dry: Musk is stronger. The other notes have faded except the LG is still potent. Summary: Lemongrass and musk. Nice, but I'd like some floral. Could be good for layering.

In the bottle: Clean flowers and greenery. Hawthorn and clover, and both orchid and apple blossom distinct. Wet: Clover and apple blossom strongest, but the other notes are still apparent. Slightly sweet. Strong throw. Dry: The orchid has amped noticeably and the hawthorn and apple blossom have faded. Still mildly clean-aquatic, but not as 'fresh'. Summary: Black orchid, clover, and hawthorn. A light floral with green notes. Fades extremely quickly; very poor lasting power.

In the bottle: Fresh, sunny wildflowers. Wet: Flowers, and a hint of slightly sweet fruit. A bit heady, and a bit soapy. Dry: Iris, violet, and daffodil. Other floral notes I can't pinpoint. The fruit is a bit melony, maybe cantelope? Summary: Powdery mixed floral with a hint of cantelope. .

In the bottle: Sweet, floral, citrusy woods. Definitely getting the orchid, geranium, and cedarwood. Wet: Fainter, a little soapy. Heavy on the orchid, which is heavy. The lily and geranium are lovely but distant. Dry: Strong, sickly sweet, overwhelmingly heady orchid. It's the same orchid that it's in Blue Moon 07, but unchecked by any other notes. Must wash off. Summary: Soapy, heady, sweet black orchid.

In the bottle: Green, sweet, sharp and fresh. Wet: Okay, the green-fresh smell was familiar to me, and now I realize it smells like a certain brand of soap, though I don't know which one...maybe Irish Spring? Or maybe it smells like a certain shampoo? In any case, it definitely smells like some sort of person-cleaning branded product. Which is not entirely bad, but it's definitely the strongest note. It does smell grassy though in a nice way. I'm not smelling the fruit. Dry: Slow drying oil. The branded soap smell has faded alot, and the fruit has come out a bit (and nicely, it's not sweet), and maybe a bit of floral, although I think the floral is part of the branded-soap smell. But the floral aspect is more noticeable now, slightly. Summary: It fades pretty fast, despite being strong at first. It's actually a nicely balanced clean-floral with hints of fruit in the end.

In the bottle: Rose, lilies, jasmine, amber! Heady floral. Wet: The rose is definitely strongest, with the warmth of amber behind it. This is a powerful, womanly scent. The jasmine is playing nice, so far. Dry: Pretty much the same. Very little morphing, and a lovely deep, complex blend. Summary: After an hour or so, it goes a bit powdery as amber tends to on my skin. It's still a rich multifaceted floral with rose dominating, but too strong and warm for me.

In the bottle: Buttery cake (tonka), lilac, violet, a hint of green resin. Wet: Tonka still strong, but lilac is firmly next, quite heady. The violet is lighter, and I'm getting a faint whisp of lime and the resin is benzoin. This is a weirdly sweet, heady floral-green scent. Dry: Lilac in the fore now, but the tonka is still quite foody-sweet. The lime has strengthened, and I think the violet is going a bit powdery. Summary: Sweet, heady, cloying lilac over tonka. Must go to sink.

In the bottle: Fresh. clean, lightly-citrusy floral with hint of fruit. A nice sharpness, brightness - I think from the fruit, oddly enough. Delightful. Wet: Oh wow, the apricot is really coming out - and it's not too sweet. The musk is nice too - light but present. I don't usually like things this fruity but this is pretty yummy - even if the apricot is a bit overpowering. Dry: It's holding quite well, but has morphed into a sort of spicy-musky apricot scent. Still nice, but I miss the orange blossom and the lighter notes terribly. It's sexier now, on the up side. And the orange blossom never went soapy - disappearing is better than turning to soap. Summary: In the bottle this is really wonderful, on my skin initially it's a bit too fruit-heavy for me, but settles into a sort of sexy scent. I don't usually go for sexy, so I'm not sure how much I love this - I'll have to try it again in a bit and re evaluate.

In the bottle: Musk, moss, dark musty woods. Wet: Musk definitely the strongest. Slightly sweet. Strong but not overpowering. Hints of sage and heather, and other herbal-woodsy things that are sort of dark and masculine. Dry: Very dark, sexual musk with some herbal woods behind. Reminds me greatly of Buck Moon. It's so dark it's almost incensey, but not a sweet or powdery or overwhelming way. Summary: Strong, sexy musk backed by dark woods. Very good throw, moderate lasting power. Unisex verging on masculine.

In the bottle: Sweet, spicy cinnamon and honeysuckle. Wet: Still cinnamony, but peppery too. It's quite spicy and tickles my nose. The honeysuckle is strong and sweet. There is another floral note that is light and feminine, I presume that's the passion flower. The amber is providing a warm foundation, but it's not an overwhelming note. Strong throw, and a slow drying oil. Dry: Sweet, spicy honey. Nice, but not my thing.

In the bottle: Soft, citrusy and powdery-sweet floral. Wet: Rose and lily. Lotus is usually terrible on me but it's quite nice in this. Something is still powdery-soapy. I'd almost swear it's tuberose. Dry: The lotus amped for a while and was lovely and soothing, but then faded, and the lily was fading from the start Summary: I have rosy powder-soap. Sigh.

In the bottle: Clean, almost soapy pink blossoms. Girly. Wet: Cherry and plum blossoms! Slightly sweet in a fruity way, but also lighter and fresher. A faint hint of powdery wisteria. Dry: Heady, powdery-soapy wisteria amps majorly. Something sharp and almost anise-like has emerged. I can still smell the fruity blossoms, but they're overwhelmed by the former notes. Summary:It calms down a bit to mild fruity blossom and powder-soap. Wisteria is the devil.

In the bottle: Aquatic ozone; hints of salt and flowers. Wet: More floral. Clean, almost soapy. Less ozoney-masculine on my skin, but still far from feminine. Dry: Gentler and yet more floral. I'd say it's unisex at this point. The feeling it evokes matches the description perfectly! Light, clean, sparkling. Summary: Fresh, unisex white-green floral with hints of ozone. Moderate throw and lasting power.