milo

Icy, sweet candy vanilla with dried leaves. I could swear there is some kind of mint here, but maybe it's just the snow note. This is REALLY good on me, it's what I wanted Waltz of the Snowflakes to be. I only hope the sweetness doesn't amp on me later, which is what some sweet, snowy blends do. The sweetness really is kind of got a slight maple vibe, but it really adds a nice touch to the snow. Nice!! After awhile, the sweet maple does amp. sigh.

Dark, resiny, woody, but there is a creamy sweetness that keeps this blend in check. It kind of reminds me of one of the Banshee Beat prototypes. UOH34, I think.

Wet, dark, voluptous spicy dragon's blood. Dryer, something more woody comes out, it's almost like vetiver. An odd combination, but I really like it, and it's very true to it's description. I like this, and will definitely keep the imp and may track down more in the future.

The aftermath of piratical nuptials: walls smeared with red and black frosting, copious amounts of spilled red wine, the leftover contents of three full bars, dry leaves and desert flowers crushed into carpet, tobacco smoke, and champaca incense in a cloud of body-heat amped Snake Oil and Dorian. Wet, sweet red wine with a touch of cake. Dryer, more spice than wine, though it is still in the background. I'm thinking the spice is the incense vibe I'm getting? This is quite lovely, spicy, voluptuous red wine, (though it doesn't smell boozy per se). The sweetness may be the cake in the background, but it is very subdued at this point. Very glad I have a bottle, and looking forward to how this one is going to age. Later on, the cake comes out more, so as others have mentioned, this is a 'grown up' Cake Smash. I love it, and a back up is already on the way.

Wet, lots of pine with a lovely candy sweetness. I'm getting no wildflowers, thankfully. Dry, the pine fades, and we're left a with a soft fluffy cotton candy scent. Bottle worthy for sure.

Wet, fake sugary cake that you buy in the store wrapped in plastic that would probably last at least 10 years without opening. Dry, still the fake chemical cake, very sweet, artificial vanilla, and lots of sweet frosting that you buy in a can. After awhile though, (a jog and a couple of hours later) it is quite nice, and my shirt smelled awesome the next day. Not fake, just a creamy vanilla cake. Not sure if I can last the couple of hours to that point, but it is quite wearable now, and this is coming from a non foody. Will keep my bottle to see if it improves with a bit of age.

This is like a bitter honey on me. They don't blend together nicely, it's like two separate entities fighting on me. Not really my thing, though I do like the honey note here.

Very masculine clove at first. There's a brief spell where it smells kind of 'pickle-y', but quickly fades. Turns into a smooth, black musky clove masculine blend.

All I get here is a sugared, pink rose, very similar to 'Hope'. For a rose blend, it is nice, but I wish the musks and coconut came out. I'll wear this when I'm in a rose mood, which is not very often.

This is kind of a citrussy, herbal blend, it really does smell like a TAL oil. The description really called to me, and I hope it will help with the difficult changes ahead in my life. Will report back!

This is for the original version. I swapped away my resurrected version back in the day, because I wasn't too fond of foody scents. Well, tastes can change, and I discovered that I loved foody scents on other people, so I wanted to try this one again. This is pretty much how I remembered the resurrected version, and true to the description. Delicious deep-fried funnel cake, caramel, (though I can't say I get any apple), a touch of marshmallow, and a bit of salt, which I don't remember getting in the resurrected version. I get a faint muskiness here as well, and it also lasts longer. But the two are pretty similar. I'm glad I have the imp now to enjoy, as I (very) occasionally don't mind smelling foody.

CCXXII Purchased off of E-Bay. In the bottle, some kind of evergreen. On, the same thing, but with something dusty, some kind of berry, and maybe a bit of leather. This is very much like walking in a icy pine forest, with winter berries frozen underneath, and a bit of leather from the jacket you are wearing. I don't get any Snake Oil, but maybe everything else is drowning the poor snake out. It is strong, and a little dab'll do for next time, (if there is one), as I just find this blend a bit too much, and without the Snake Oil (on me), this Chaos just doesn't make the cut.

This is the 06 version, most generously frimped to me by a lovely forumite. In the imp and on wet, a spicy white wine, and though I normally don't like white wine notes, I REALLY like this. Maybe the spice is tempering this a bit, or maybe the age. Dry, there's more of a cakey note with spice, and just a teeny bit of alcoholic wine. Oh, this is soooo good, it's a non-foody foody, just the kind I like. Umm, this would be a definite bottle list if it were to come back as a Yule. Yum!!

Wet, a dark lilac. Dry, less lilac, more resin's, and a lovely black musk, very masculine and 'rough' around the edges. Not my kind of blend at all, but still it's drawing me in, I keep sniffing my wrists, I thinks I'd like this on a guy.

This has so many notes I like, and it does smell promising in the imp. Fresh mandarin mostly, but with something else a bit pungent. On, not so good. Very medicinal, like Dettol at first, no mandarin, tonka, saffron, just yucky disinfectant. Dry, this smells a lot like Red Lantern to me, kind of sweet, burnt caramel with the dry dusty tobacco, a blend that is NOT good on me. This is such a morpher, but not in any way good on me in any of it's stages.

Mainly getting sandalwood here. I find that all these Grendel blends seem to be related somehow, they smell kind of similar, but different in their own way somehow. At first, this is kind of cologney and sharp, but then tones down a bit. I wish the vanilla and plum came out, but all in all, I love sandalwood, so I do like this. Probably not enough for a bottle, but I'll certainly enjoy the imp.

In the imp, very promising. The bourbon vanilla and rum stand out. On, a different story. The pink pepper makes itself known, not a note that I like or works on me very well. This smells high-pitched, spicy and sour. This is NOT going well. Off to swaps. eta: I must say that a couple of hours in, this is much better. Not so sour any more, very little floral and now a muted patch. I like this, but not enough to suffer through two hours of the first bit.

Wet, and for the first few hours, this is a very ethereal, powdery, somewhat crystalline 'silver' scent. It really run's along the lines of Silver Phoenix and Staged Moon Landing. I'm betting there is orris here. At first, I really didn't get the Antique Lace comparison, but on late drydown, I really do see a strong similarity, though this is about 4 hours in, after a shopping, and a heavy workout. Which, by the way, it is still going strong. Sooo, if you like Antique Lace, there is a resemblance, but you'll have to wait awhile to get it. Maybe aging will bring out the similarities more? Nice, but I think the imp will suffice.

This ends up being a sparkly pink grapefruit soap on me, very much like something The Body Shop would make. Suffice to say, I do like it, it's very refreshing and I'm sure I'll use up the imp. The grapefruit is true and sticks around.

Wet, a fresh, outdoorsy musk. It's almost like there's a bit citrus here. Dry, a sensuous darker musk, kind of smells like black musk to me, but maybe it's the leaves? If this is what dry leaves smell like, I need to try more blends with the dry leaf note. I love this, it kind of reminds me a bit of Panther Moon and Schwarzer Mond. Thanks to the forumite who frimped me this, I love surprises!!

Wet, quite strong citrus perfumey smell to this one, but not in an offensive way, if that makes sense. There is nothing 'drugstore' about this at all, very well blended, sophisticated, regal, strong but gentle. It dries (on me), to less perfumey, slightly woody, and more sweet, creamy tonka. There's something about this that kind of reminds me of Pallas Athene, not sure what it would be, but it does. This one is a big surprise win for me, and will probably at least seek out a partial. It is incredibly gorgeous on me, though I do amp Tonka, one of my fave notes.

I've waited so very long to try this, so excited!! Wet, warm amber incense, sweet, but with something sharp, like vetiver. Dry, the vetiver or whatever it reminds me of disappears, and it's still warm amber incense, though I'm getting spice now too with a bit of dark fruit like Penance noted. This reminds me of a 'Snake Oil incense', if that makes sense, a more incensey snake oil, but I'm sure there is amber here making this a warm blend. I REALLY like this, but probably not enough to shell out the big bucks for it (right now anyways!) For now, I'll keep and enjoy the imp and use it for very special occasions.

At first, this is a non-heady lily, (if that is possible!), that smells somewhat 'green' to me. Dry, still lily-like, but with a bit of musk and dark fruit thrown in. So this ends up being sweet lily musk, with a dark fruit. Sounds simple, but really quite beautiful. I'm glad to have an imp, and will treasure it!

A testable sniffie from an awesome forumite! Wet to dry, I'm getting a gentle pink rose. Not getting any carnation, but there is some spiciness here, and that may be it I suppose. I'm not much for rose blends, but this is quite pretty, soft, not sour and stays true without going powdery. I'm not sure if I've tried the released version, but this is nice, and I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to try it.

At first, I get a musky, woody vanilla orange. This is pretty much love at this point. Dry, more orange, less sandalwood. Ergh, now it is very similar to Lilith vs. The Giant Crab on me. I'll have to do a side by side, but it is extremely similar, and it is what I thought of after it dried on me. I wish it had stayed how it was wet on, as it was unique to any other bpal I've tried. I do like this, but it is definitely not a HG scent for me, and those who are curious, Lilith vs. is very similar. ETA: I just had to add, I did one wrist JK, and the other Lilith vs, and while there is a similarity, Lilith falls flat after a couple of hours. I put Jingo Kogo on before bed, so I probably missed a few hours of the total perfume experience. I applied at 7:30, and at 12:30, she is still going strong, but as other reviewers noted, it is a musky vanilla with a touch of lovely mandarin. This is very nice, and yes, I would buy a bottle or three if it were ever released. BUT, there are other Bpal vanilla's that are very nice in their own right and on the same vein or feel. Lyonesse and Morocco come to mind, (as well as the oranginess of Lilith vs) though different, have the same vibe.