Koumori

Ding Dong Ditch! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Samhain scent with cinnamon sugar and candy dust! I picked this one up off Etsy. This will teach me to read the reviews before I do this, as I can see this atmo is very divisive and unfortunately I come down on the "no!" side. I love Samhain, but this isn't that. I love cinnamon and sugar, but this isn't that either. There's a sour component in here that I find very unpleasant- maybe even something like the pickles others have described. The vinegar/sour/decayed off note that I get unfortunately doesn't fade away, and I imagine I will put this up for swap or sale.

I got this one from the Etsy shop, where the description was slightly different: "Night-blooming wildflowers, indigo musk, black currant, and clove." I should have checked over here first, because oh my goodness I do not care for this scent, and had I known that the description might be incorrect on Etsy, that would have made a huge difference. I was expecting a more fruity/spicy scent, and what I get from this is a noseful of what I interpreted as lily of the valley, but if the description over here is correct, maybe it's orchid. Neither of them is a favorite of mine, and sadly I don't see myself ever wearing this.

Soap. There are some frankincense notes I can wear, there are some rose notes I can wear... alas for me, Rose Cross isn't it. It's overwhelmingly "soapy" on me on first application, and while after a couple of hours I could get around to "incense," it's not a scent that I can wear. I ended up taking to my wrist with rubbing alcohol after a few hours; just needed it out of my nose.

I really wanted Ü if I'm being honest, but the museum gift shop was out of it when I visited, so I picked up a bottle of Victorian Garden instead. I was a little leery, as I have not cared for the honey notes I've tried from other e-tailers and some lavenders leap straight up my sinuses to hang out. This came very close to being one of those lavenders too sharp for my taste, but in a fortunate stroke, the honey used in this blend actually mellows out the medicinal nature of the scent enough that I feel like I can wear it on the (very rare) occasion I might decide to go for a lavender scent. It reminds me of a slightly sharper version of Arkham. Overall, the blend worked on me where it shouldn't have, but I don't see myself going for it very often.

I got a bottle of this from the BPTP Etsy store, and now I am going to be stalking it FOREVER just in case they turn up another bottle or two. This scent is lovely! Vetiver is usually such a death note on me that I avoid anything that contains even the smallest amount, but it isn't any problem in this oil, just enough to lend a little bit of edge to an otherwise earthy, warm scent. None of the other notes seems to dominate; sometimes I get a breath of fig, sometimes pine, and the vanilla doesn't come to overwhelm but just ties everything else together. Holy cow, I love this.

It does sound like this one is chemistry-dependent, and it doesn't work for me at all. I love the scent in the bottle, where it's a rather wistful floral. When I applied it, though, wet I got an immediate acrid smell, the vomity smell others have noted. I had to force myself to sit through drydown and not run to wash it off immediately. Luckily, that bile smell does dissipate, and it dries down into an intense floral. On me, I got a tea-steeped floral upon initial drydown, but the narcissus and jasmine took over soon enough. Both of those are usually death notes for me, but in this case the jasmine seemed to work well on me without turning into an acrid headachey mess. I do get a sense of that etheral nature of the scent description. With the narcissus, though, the florals were just too strong for my taste.

Reactions I got the first time I wore Bedbug: "What is that amazing smell?" "You smell like... cookies." "Don't go away, then I can't smell you anymore." "You smell great, by the way." Orange and ginger, a little like orange pekoe tea. Amazing. I need more.

I get major lavender and jasmine from this one, rounded out with a deep vanilla. This is a very powerful scent- if I'm planning to use it on my sheets, it's overwhelming unless I spray it in the morning- even then I only need to use it every other day. I can't speak to how similar it is to TKO, but it doesn't seem to help me sleep; it's hard for me to quiet my mind if I'm using this one, so it's a daytime/linen closet spray for me.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the carnation in this one, as that's not a scent that tends to work well for me. But it rounds out the cardamom nicely, and the touch of chamomile isn't overwhelming either. This is one where it's difficult for me to pick out individual notes, but I love that. There are a lot of elements in here that I tend not to like individually, but together this comes together into a soothing, cheering scent that I look forward to using a lot.

This reminds me of one of my very favorite BPAL perfumes, Yuletide, which I've been hoarding since 2005 and wearing every year at Christmas. It's a delightful, cozy scent: pine, a little touch of smoke, and lots and lots of home baking and quiet celebration with friends and family.

I think I went a little overboard on the foody scents this year. The Second Spirit gives me an initial hit of pine and spice, and the berries start coming out upon drydown. Bayberry is one of my favorite Christmas smells, but I'm not sure how well it plays with the orange and spicy notes I get out of this. Will need to wear again to make up my mind, I think... not a hardship.

Whoop was the Christmas Carol scent I was most excited for, and it's a delight. I love the bayberry and pine; it puts me in mind of a sunnier version of Yuletide. I love this, but it has almost no stay on me; an hour after application it was almost gone.

I wish I had this as an atmo spray-- in the bottle it is amaaaazing. My first thought was of gluhwein (the actual wine; I haven't had the chance to sample the BPAL of the same name so I can't speak to how it compares)- fantastic, spicy, fruity red wine and maybe a hint of brandy as well. On drydown the full-bodied redness of the scent lingers, but the almond starts to come out around the edges. This doesn't have a lot of staying power on me, but while it's on it's ON, big and round and boozy and ripe and happy.

This is a surprise hit for me. I actually ordered it as an afterthought, but I'm really enjoying it-- it's perfect for winter. I don't get much of the firewood. When I first put it on I get a strong initial hit of cinnamon and spice, and that remains the dominant note for me on drydown. There's some warm boozy notes lingering underneath, but this is mostly a spicy, warm, expansive scent. ETA: This scent has great lasting power on me. After a few hours the boozy/sherry/woody notes really start coming out.

A light, fizzy, breezy floral. I am still using this as it's over 80 here today, in defiance of everything the calendar says, and it's enough to make me pretend it really IS still summer.