Like a Girl

[RedPersimmon]

Let's gear up and help the Angel City Junior Derby 2018 A-Listers get to this years Junior Roller Derby Association's National Championships! This year's event will be held in Feasterville-Trevose from July 20-22, where the top teams in the nation will compete in high speed, high level flat track derby.

Angel City Derby is a 501©3, based in Gardena, Los Angeles. Aside from building athleticism, roller derby helps the players socially, giving them confidence, leadership skills and teaching the skate skills they need to be able to play this competitive game at the highest level. As an inclusive league, they value diversity and recognize that each child is an individual as well as a team player, working to bring out the best in each.

A sleek skin musk with Mysore sandalwood, bourbon vanilla, frankincense resin, and a touch of costus.

I tried this at the June WCWC. Since Drag is for Everyone's skin musk and frankincense turned aquatic on me, I wasn't planning on trying this. However, I really liked it, so I put a swipe on my arm right before WCWC ended.

What I got was a skin musk with vanilla and facets of honey, lightly fragranced with a sheer layer of sandalwood and frankincense. It worked really well in the summer heat. Out of the seven scents that I liked well enough to skin-test, it was one of two favorites.

Medium longevity and medium sillage.

[GypsyRoseRed]

It's very light in the bottle, and definitely has skin musk front and center, but after wearing it for about ten minutes what emerged was a slightly floral musk with an elegant vanilla, with a very subtle breath of sandalwood. Totally in love with it.

[LiberAmoris]

Ugh, I love this. Like A Girl is deeply in the skin musk category, like if Grooming Scene in a Brothel + Morocco pulled back so far that they were almost sheer. This is beautifully wearable everywhere; vanilla and sandalwood is like the smell of skin in heaven. Also, what a lovely cause to support! I will likely need another bottle before this skates on.

[Happicuppa]

I had some high hopes for this one, some of my favorite scents have some of the same notes (Sachs, Drag is For Everyone)

 

In the bottle: Neutral, is it you? Neutral + something femme in the bottle.

 

Wet: Sandalwood, vanilla, and skin musk and dare I say, it gets plasticky for a second on me?! Panic!

 

Dry: This has lost the plastic pretty fast, whew! I'm really getting Neutral + Some Buddies and that's not a bad thing. Clean, sheer, and feminine. I can see being about to wear this to more scent-subdued locations or just day-to-day for that clean, fresh feeling.

 

Glad to support the cause!

 

Rating: 7.5/10

[zankoku_zen]

I mainly get a vanilla sandalwood skin musk. Very faint. This reminds me to Amaterasu v3, but honestly, with less throw. Almost non-existent on me.

 

But hey, if you loved the Amaterasu v3, here's a good nice stand in substitute. I am gonna try this again, just in case it's me today. Because I really really liked what I was able to smell of it.

[mizliz2176]

This isn't faint at all to me as others describe (granted its only been on for five minutes). I just did one swipe from my decant wand and it's fairly potent...and gorgeous. Very feminine in an understated way. A dusty vanilla sandalwood with a hint of nonfloral floral....if that makes sense. Only say that because I despise most florals and this is lovely.

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Warm vanilla-sandalwood skin musk. If there's any frankincense, it's very very light.

 

Dry: My skin pretty much ate this. It's still the same kind of scent as the wet stage, just very faint now.

 

I'll hold on to my decant to see how it ages, and edit this post if it changes.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Skin musk, bourbon vanilla, sweet yet dry Mysore sandalwood, and frankincense.

 

Wet: Bourbon vanilla and skin musk are the first notes that leap out at me, followed by the sandalwood and frankincense. I have been trying to skip scents with bourbon vanilla listed lately because it was barely there in the last several scents I tried with the note. This is more like what I was hoping for with Drag is for Everyone. I think the frankincense used here is the same one found in Venus Caelestis, because this shares a similarity to that scent, and I think the costus is playing a factor in reminding me of that scent as well, since it had a light, sweet floral accompanied by light resins. This is a lot sweeter and feminine than I thought it would be, and I cannot stop sniffing my wrist!

 

Dry: On me, this is vanilla-infused sandalwood and light frankincense accompanied by a sweet, candy-like floral on a bed of skin musk. The costus makes me think of blue lotus instead of the animalic description I got when I looked up what costus is supposed to smell like.

 

Verdict: I can’t believe I was originally going to skip trying this one. I am so glad that I decided to try it, because this is amazing! The wet phase in particular really reminds me of Venus Caelestis, which I regret not getting a bottle of, minus the sugared lemon. I need a bottle of this, stat.

[Juliamon]

I tried Psalm 82:2-4 yesterday and I'm in the mood to keep testing skin musks. Maybe it's the heat.

 

In the imp: ...really, nose? Neutral again? Well... a less-sweet Neutral, anyway.

 

Wet: Ooooh. Very sandalwood-forward for a minute, then settles into sandalwood-touched skin musk. Not a lot of frank, if I hadn't read the notes I don't think I'd notice it was in here at all. Oddly delicate for something roller derby-related.

 

Dry: Yet another BPAL sandalwood falls victim to my hungry skin! Between that vanishing and the vanilla amping, this one actually DID turn into Neutral on me, albeit less sweet. On deep sniff I can still pick up a little bit of the sandalwood so it's at least more tenacious than the white variety, but none of it makes it into the throw.

 

It's absolutely lovely, but dries so similar to Neutral on me that I can't justify a bottle.

[Alethia]

Thoughts before testing: I can't get enough of blends with skin musk, and vanilla + sandalwood is always a win in my book, so my hopes were high for Like a Girl to smell pretty dang good.

 

Wet: Ugh so pretty. This is heavy on the skin musk wet and it smells clean and warm and just slightly sweet.

 

Dry down: The sandalwood and vanilla come to the forefront and it definitely starts to smell like a sheered out Morocco. Still clean and warm but more sweet from the vanilla.

 

Dry: The vanilla and skin musk intensify just slightly and this winds up being a vanilla'd skin musk with just a breath of resin to ground it. It's warm and clean and just barely sweet and I love it. This has moderate throw and good wear time (7 hours before I really had to try and notice it).

 

Final thoughts: It's been a minute since I tried a perfume that made me think "Man, I smell PRETTY." Very feminine, very pretty, and basically what I want my own natural skin to smell like. Morocco has long been my favorite perfume, but the lighter and more natural feel of Like a Girl might be enough to claim the top spot.

 

Verdict: Backup bottle needed stat.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: WOW this is immediately way better than I expected. The skin musk and vanilla combine seamlessly, so this presents like a vanilla musk on me, which I ADORE. The sandalwood and Frank give it an incensey, sophisticated vibe that keep it from dipping into vanilla cupcake territory. This manages to be girly and womanly at the same time, which I love. Love!! It's quite light on me, but I am wondering if that means I can pull off wearing it to work.

 

 

 

Dry: This is very much a skin scent, those who like perfumes with tons of throw - this isn't it. But I feel like it's perfect for when you need a pretty, feminine, but unobtrusive scent. It's a faint but rich resinous vanilla musk on me, and I am really happy to have it. I only got a partial, and may need more. Hope it's available for a long time, both so everyone can try it, and also to keep supporting Angel City Junior Derby!

[biggnerd]

in the imp: hey hey vanillay plus a little muskiness and floral? my skin amps bourbon vanilla like mad, so let's see what happens!

 

wet: bourbon vanilla with something a little vegetal funk.

 

drying down: oh hai vanilla with a little vegetal musk that adds just a little depth and interest to the hello sweet of the vanilla

 

final: vanilla extract - this smells like me in high school when i doused myself in vanilla body spray, so in a way, it has a very accurate name

[Lucchesa]

Like a Girl is mostly sweet bourbon vanilla and skin musk on me, and it's lovely. I get a little sandalwood but nothing that I recognize as frankincense. This is a skin scent on me (I rarely get much throw from anything), much more vanilla than boozy, absolutely work appropriate. I think it would also be quite a nice scent for a preteen girl, but it's not obnoxiously girly, just pretty in an unobtrusive way.

[Casablanca]

Like a Girl is an intoxicating vanilla-sandalwood skin musk, sweeter and more floral than I expected for its listed notes.

 

Musk, vanilla, and sandalwood were strongest for me. The vanilla had a sheer quality that reminded me of Ava, which was interesting, because we were watching Only Lovers Left Alive while I was testing this.

 

I also got a moderate and perfect amount of a frankincense that reminded me of the Implacable Beautiful Tyrant hair gloss I love.

 

The floral hint was entirely in service of the vanilla musk: This wasn't a floral-category sort of blend, but rather a vanilla musk grounded in incense-like sandalwood and frank. Still, some well-blended floral hints made me think of white flowers, especially creamy gardenia, but I don't know what it was.

 

This blend was quite potent on me, given the small amount I put on; I was glad, because I could not stop inhaling it.

[Wench457]

I blame my skin chemistry for this one. I bought this because it's for a great cause, and it should have been at least pleasant on me. I really wanted sandalwood vanilla skin musk. Instead, for some reason, I get carnation single note.

 

Alas.

[brineydeep]

This is amazing and everything I had hoped for from Drag is for Everybody.

 

It’s a mix of dry sandalwood, skin musk, and a hint of vanilla. It’s light but has a little throw. It’s somewhat neutral, but also sweet and warm and dry.

 

It’s just an amazingly comforting scent and I love it.

[milo]

Sandalwood, musk and vanilla, which sounds amazing in theory, but it's just not wowing me. This one reminds me of the sheer musks of the 80's, Jovan and such. It smells like clean girl, and I do like it, there may be a place for it in my collection, but I prefer Psalms for a barely there clean scent. Hmm, I'll have to think about this one.

[Little Bird]

I usually enjoy skin musk and that clean skin type of scent, but the musk here is reminding me of screechy, sharp, drugstore white musk, and the sandalwood is doing its usual turning to baby powder thing.  I can't smell any vanilla or resin.  Dry, powdery and sharp.

[Velvet Lilly]

One of the sweetest, light and lovely scents I've ever put my nose to.

She's Graceful and young, but not naive. She's strong and feminine.

I admit, I love this more than Antique Lace.

Soft dainty sandalwood, vanilla and knowing musk.

I love this princess that can save herself. 

[theseagrows]

i smell the bourbon vanilla, and frankincense first, then the skin musk blooms. this is pretty but it's so subtle. a warm skin musk scent for sure. i find it simple, subtle and close to the skin. pretty, but just not enough complexity or sillage for me personally...

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by theseagrows

[puellacaerulea]

In the decant, it's light skin musk with bourbon vanilla and sandalwood. The sandalwood and frankincense fade a lot once on, and this ends up being a light, sheer vanilla musk on me with a faint whiff of sandalwood to deepen it. Sticks really close to the skin, and has maybe fiveish hours of wear time. It's pretty, leaning a little more on the conventionally feminine side, and would be great for work or other situations where you want something subtle. Considering a full bottle.

[murqmaid]

musky, clean, light, feminine
stays very close to the skin and has little throw.

pros: this is very wearable, and the vanilla is just beautiful!  i struggle to find vanillas i can wear, but this one is just so airy... i suspect the frankincense and sandalwood have a hand in this, but i can't detect them directly.

cons: this is pretty, but it might be too simple for me. i personally can't justify the purchase, given the abundance of interesting oils at the same price point.

i'm glad to have tried this, and will be holding onto my decant 😌

[AEris]

I am completely in love with this incredibly special hidden gem!

 

Like A Girl is primarily a skin musk, a softly glowing aura imbued with quiet confidence. The vanilla is light as a cloud, the sandalwood is smooth but delicate. The sexy woody animalistic costus and brightly resinous frankincense are just the right twist to add intrigue to its soft tones. 

 

I need a backup before it comes down. I have put a sizeable dent in my bottle already! 
 

[mineralgirl]

On the bottle sniff, I get a sharpness, which I think is the frankincense. On my skin, the word that comes to mind is medicinal but I'm not sure what note could be doing that. Sadly, not what I was expecting or hoping for. On dry down the vanilla finally shows up but the sharpness is still overbearing on it. I feel like I'm not getting anything like everyone else is. 

[Frills]

Frankincense and vanilla and something floral... It's beautiful but so faint I have to get up close to my wrist to smell it. If it had a bigger throw I'd probably spring for a bottle.