Leopard403

Wow, this is strong. The strongest BPAL scent I've tried so far. I say that because I had a very physical reaction to sniffing this wet: Something hit me in the back of the throat, like the first tickles of strep, and my mouth watered heavily and my back teeth started to ache. Luckily, it isn't nearly as strong after it dries on my skin, but in those first few minutes I think I could seriously be in danger of anaphylaxis. Like whoa. The scent itself is reminiscent of the Yankee Candle scent Home Sweet Home. I'm hoping this will mellow with time.

I am SO in love with the Punkie Night and Blue Pumpkin Floss labels. I can't wait until mine are delivered!

Ye gods I hate lavender. It just eats everything else, filling up my nose and brain and leaving room for nothing else. Bah. Misericordia is 99% lavender on me, and it's the hard, medicinal kind, not the gentle kind that will put you to sleep. If I sniff long and hard enough, I can smell the sweet and slighly soapy scent of black currant blended with magnolia, and that part of the scent is *gorgeous* and makes me hate that lavender even more. There's also a hint of resin there for warmth. But mostly, it's like a cheap sachet.

I love this, but I have a clear bias because I love rose and what it does on my skin. To me, Cicuta is all rose, all the time, but it is a warmer rose than other BPAL scents with something every so slightly sweet underneath. I reckon that's the other notes, which blend beautifully. This smells like someone took fresh rosewater and turned up the "sexy" button to eleven. Very nice! eta: I've realized that this reminds me a little of Blood Countess, though not nearly as bold or as deep-dark as BC. This would be Countess Bathory's little sister.

I knew I wanted to try Philologus because I would love to smell like old books, and Ü was such a disaster on my skin. Sadly, I don't think this one is a good replacement. I was also hoping the candle wax note would be similar to that in The Lights of Mens' Lives, but no such luck. When sniffing straight from the decant vial, this is *very* perfume-y, the kind of scent I tend to avoid. Wet on the skin it is very similar to strong, generic men's cologne. It definitely settles down as it dries, but it sort of loses all its character as well. Once it is dry on the skin, it smells aquatic to me, and way too masculine for me to wear comfortably. Sad.

Damn, how does the Lab make a scent smell "cold"? I'm fascinated by that! In one out of every 100 huffs of Tiki Princess, I imagine the cold part of the scent could be mint, or perhaps eucalyptus; but really the majority of what I smell is fantastic pina colada-y coconut. The throw is good-to-great, and considering that tropical notes usually fade quite fast on me, this lasts a surprisingly long time. I don't understand the Snow White comparisons because to me SW is mostly almond with soft white florals, and I don't get either in TP, which is fantastic because that means I can love SW and TP all in their total separateness.

Big bright ripe banana when wet; but then it dries into something *very* perfume-y. I don't get any grenadine or rum.

When I was younger (and much more vain and foolish), I used to use an orange-colored tanning gelee (Banana Boat, I think) on my skin before sitting out by our pool. Polynesian Pop smells identical to that product, but unfortunately, like the other Luau scents, it doesn't last very long on the skin.

(This review is for the 2010 GC version.) Like passion fruit-scented soap. Not bad, but not great, either. Throw is poor and it doesn't last at all, which is sad.

Goes on warm and boozy, almost like strong suntan lotion. But it immediately turns into black licorice, and then it's gone in a flash. I really want to love this, so I'll put it away and try it again later.

Wet, this is all perfume-y, headache-inducing, sweet-tart cranberry. It eventually mellows into something *very* similar to Swank, which is nice, but that initial phase is so painful I don't know that I will ever wear this again. Pity.

OMG that is surprising and exciting!

Egyptian musk overwhelms everything else on my skin, no matter how gorgeous the other ingredients.

I was anxious to try Paper Kite, because early reviews kept saying "sweet coconut" or "creamy coconut." But on my skin, the creamy part turns salty (as cream notes tend to do), and the coconutty part was eclipsed by the unpleasantly sharp pepper. So I smelled like salt and pepper. Bummer.

Luna is lovely, a clean green fruity scent that is very dainty and dreamy, sort of a pear-y version of The Unicorn. Unfortunately, it doesn't last very long. I was hoping the carnation would ground it a bit, but I don't get any carnation at all; and the lime, sugar, and pear notes that are most prominent seem to burn away immediately.

Spicebush Swallowtail is part pancakes, part Yankee Candle holiday blend on my skin. It's actually rather nice, but I cannot take it seriously in hot, humid weather.

Of all the recent fluttery things, I was looking forward to Rosy Maple the most. But somehow, this turns into straight-up plumeria on my skin. As in Yankee Candle Plumeria. So sad. eta: Okay, I'm trying again, and this time I'm not getting candle (yay!), but I am getting Bath & Body Works Sweet Pea (boo!). Maybe I should put this away and try it again in a few weeks.

Oh, LOVE! This is quite uncomplicated, as on my skin it smells just like monoi oil. There is a bite of sharp incense/resins when first applied and I was worried about that, since amber and I don't get along, but this settles down into gorgeous tiare. (Truly, I did a side-by-side blind test with Harp and my bottle of Julphia's monoi oil, and they are indistinguishable.) Luckily I ADORE the scent of monoi, so I am one happy camper.

Everyone else seems to be calling this a "creamy floral," and it is definitely a creamy-smooth type of scent; but on me there is also something distinctly spicy about it, similar to the spice of a carnation. I was worried the tuberose would be cloying, but it is quite soft, and seems to be very well-grounded by the other scents. This is a very ethereal, pretty blend, not quite delicate enough to be called "dainty" but definitely not the typical feminine perfume, either. I like it very much.

I need to put this away for a few weeks, because right now, on my skin, all I smell is A-1 Steak Sauce.

A strangely proportioned, opulent, lustrous scent: neroli, Hawaiian ginger, white musk, tarragon, beeswax, heliotrope, yellow rose, oud, coriander, amber, and lime peel. Like Okayaki, this smells like *nothing* on my skin, even upon slathering. The difference is that, to my nose, this is also very, very light in the bottle: I get a hint of ginger, but nothing more.

I can't decide if I need a bottle of this or not. I like it, but there's something dirty about it. Not dirty as in dirt; dirty as in way too much naked flesh to be appropriate for the general public. Heh. It's slightly creamy and slightly floral, but also manages to smell sort of soapy and like the type of skin that is pale and usually covered with clothing. (Someone on another board said it smells like penis; and while I certainly wouldn't go that far, I could see why someone would say that.) Sometimes the lilac becomes a little cloying, which is the make-or-break part for me. I love the creamy vanilla-and-wood base, but that top note floral is strong. eta after a full day's wear: No, I do not like this on my skin. It goes from the notes above to salty boiled peanuts. *gag*

I agree with the comparison to Lush's Bathos, because this is a sugary violet to me. Also similar to Faith, though not that top-note-sweet sugar; this is deeper, and must be the vanilla. It's nice and needs more testing.

Holy Christ this is strong when it's wet! I feel like you should be rubbing your face with this in preparation to moisturize! The black raspberry apparently tends toward blackberry on my skin, going all astringent, and the apricot is cloying. I don't get any white chocolate.

Yep, black licorice; though there is a hint of something pretty and pink underneath. Too bad that the pink is so faint.