inkstone

This was a freebie from the Lab. On my skin, this was woody, resiny and incensey. I think the wood was cedar because it gave me that faint pencil shaving vibe that cedar always does on my skin.

It was also far too too strong for me.

This was a freebie from the Lab and I make it a point to try everything the Lab sends me but... Bah, this is pure patchouli on me. Not quite disaster levels but not quite the prettiest thing on me either. Totally not for me. I bet this smells and sutis someone else more but it's just not me.

This was a freebie from the Lab.

It smells strongly mint when I first put it on but after a few minutes, it becomes sharp and hard. I think that's the eucalyptus blending with the mint. It's vaguely medicinal though, which helps clear my sinuses. Hee. In the late drydown stages, this becomes a softer version of mint and violet. It's not a bad blend, but when the majority of its skin life is that hard mint, I think I may have to pass.

I love this blend! It's peppermint and vanilla all rolled up into an almost creamy drydown. When I was wearing it, I spent more time with my nose pressed up against my arm than not! Which I'm sure made me look really, really silly.

I think I cried when I spilled a little bit of it because I loved it so much!

This is a very strong, haughty rose scent. I definitely agree that it's Rose Red grown up into a vain woman. Hee. Something in the mid-drydown stages reminds me of Whip but I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it's that ripe, lush drooping rose vibe that's there.

And if you want throw... Woo, this blend has it. I only put a dab on my wrists and I feel like I'm drunk on roses.

A freebie from the Lab.

I really, really wish I could say what was in this, but my skin ate it in 15 minutes flat. O_O All I got was a faint whiff of something vaguely incensey mixed with a soft floral.

A freebie from the Lab.

This dries down to a skin-hugging, comfy scent. It's a warm blend of wood, amber and faint musk. It's not really for me but it's nice.

This was a freebie from the Lab.

It's a very, very strong floral on me, so I already knew it wasn't going to be a keeper. For some reason, it smells quite commercial on me. It's a nice scent for those who like this sort of thing, but definitely not for me.

A freebie from the Lab.

In the imp: Citrusy fruity.

Wet: Very strong grapefruit. Wow.

Drydown: A purple grapefruit, which I think is the result of the plum blending with the citrus.

Final thoughts: This reminds me of Aizen-myoo in many ways, though without the strong black tea note. Not for me though, but I think I know someone who'd like it so I'll pass it along to her.

In the bottle: Pumpkin greenery? I assume that's the ivy.

Wet: Wow, this is very, very woody. It's not a pine woody; it's the deciduous woody. There's a kind of earthiness here that keeps it from being so dry.

Drydown: This is fairly masculine on me. It's not at all foody and to be honest, I can barely smell the pumpkin which is somewhat odd.

Final thoughts: It's a nice blend but definitely not for me. Alas!

In the bottle: Smoky pumpkins.

Wet: Dry, strong sandalwood. I can smell the pumpkin in the background but it's predominantly sandalwood.

Drydown: I'm still not sure what orris smells like -- I don't think I've tried enough blends with it as a note -- but this is pretty much pumpkin incense. It's smoky and dark and mysterious.

Final thoughts: It's a nice blend but it's not something I would wear. It's just too dry for me. I like more wet, lush blends.

In the bottle: Chocolate pumpkins. Hmm. That's different.

Wet: Actually, this is really unpleasant while wet. You can smell the layers -- the pumpkin hugging the skin, the rich chocolate wafting over it and then over top both of them, a very bitter nutty note. It's really off-putting.

Drydown: However! It calms down and the cocoa recedes until I get a cozy, gourmandy nutty pumpkin resting near my skin. It's kinda comforting.

Final thoughts: I like it! I might not need the whole bottle, but I like it!

In the bottle: Pumpkin mixed with cider. Okay.

Wet: Um. Damn. I can tell this is a beautiful blend. Really, I can. But my skin chemistry is totally not beautiful. *weeps* It becomes this odd mix of tart apples, mulled cider & spices. In theory, that sounds lovely. On my skin, not so lovely because they're not blending and smelling vaguely medicinal. I don't know what's going on!

Drydown: But in the end, that doesn't matter. Because the spices apparently include cinnamon and now I smell like red-hots. *shakes fist* Damn you, cinnamon!!

Final thoughts: I'm really bummed this didn't work on me. And no, it's nothing like Pumpkin King. Alas.

In the bottle: A fruity pumpkiny blend. Interesting. I love pomegranate so I had to try this one first!

Wet: A very, buttery strong pumpkin. I'm about to cry here. Where's my pomegranate?

Drydown: Oooh, there's the pomegranate. It's very, very strong right now with a grounding pumpkin in the background. Lovely.

Final thoughts: This is a bright, fun fall blend. I was lamenting a few weeks ago about how I had no fall-like fruity blends. I love fruity blends, but they're all more suited to spring and summer, not autumn. Apparently, I just got my wish!

A freebie from the Lab.

A very strong, dark myrrh spiked with tons of vetiver. I kind of expected this to go bad on me, and true to form, it did. Le sigh. I think people who like the heavy scents will like this one, but it's really really not me.

A freebie from the Lab.

This is a very pretty blend! It's a light, fruity and smooth scent. I really, really liked it!

Unfortunately, my skin gobbled it up and it was gone in 10 minutes flat.

Another freebie from the Lab.

I was really surprised to learn this blend has patchouli in it. Maybe I'm one of those people where red patchouli works, but black doesn't? I don't know.

Anyway, this was very very sweet on me. It's a sugary, fruity blend reminiscent of orange soda. I barely detected the patchouli, which is very very odd.

This was a freebie from the Lab.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what else was in this blend. In the imp, it smelled herbal. On me though, it's pure pure pure ROSE. That's it. Nothing else. I don't know how that works.

I received this as a freebie from the Lab.

This is terrible on me. It smells like oiled wood shavings set on fire. The fire effect I understand; the oiled part not so much. I never seem to have much luck with these types of blends.

I discovered BPAL just as this blend was being discontinued so I'm glad it was rereleased as a limited edition.

On me, this is great mix of berries and musk. The amber gives it a smooth quality and the heliotrope lends a bit more sweetness than I was expecting. It's very nice. There's something vaguely spicy in here so I think that's the carnation. Very lovely.

This is an unbelievably fruity blend, which is wonderful because I love fruit!! I was initially concerned about the presence of lemon, since that note goes haywire on my skin. However, since there were TONS of other fruit notes in here, I'd hoped it would get drowned out.

And it so did, yay!

On me, this blend is melon, tropical fruits, and berries. There's the barest hint of citrus, but it's not strong at all. I love love love it! It is a very happy, frolicky blend though, and I'm not sure how often I'd wear it. It's such a summery blend.

Wonderful.

I admit I was one of the people who thought Numb might contain some mint, though early reviews proved that wrong. Oops.

On me, Numb is a very powdery floral that dries down to something reminiscent of dryer sheets. It's not quite a dryer sheet smell, but it's there. I do smell the violet, but it's not very strong. Then again, violets aren't very strong on me in the first place.

I'm not quite sure I agree that it's cold, per se. It's very fresh and clean though, the way you want to feel on those muggy, gross days. But cold? It doesn't fit my perception of cold, at least not on my skin.

It's a nice blend, but not quite me.

This was a freebie from a recent swap.

In the imp: Powdery roses. Oh, well then!

Wet: Rose, rose, rose.

Drydown: Rose powder. Bah.

Final thoughts: This is a very straightforward rose scent. And as such, goes straight to powder on me. Le sigh.

Sweet cinnamon. However, I couldn't keep this on for very long because my skin showed its intermittent cinnamon allergy and started to itch. I had to wash it off before the burn started.

Deep, resiny pine. I wish I could give more impressions than that, but my skin must have been hungry. It completely sucked up the scent and was gone within the hour.