Ravenclaw79

At first, this was all honey, reminiscent of Mead Moon. Then, I got this sudden blast of ROSES OMG ROSES ... uh-oh, roses DO amp on me. But somehow, the plum tamed it. It's a nice berry-fruit scent, grounded by a hint of floral and with a puddle of honey lying underneath. Not bad at all. Somehow, this seems more appropriate for spring, Valentine's time maybe, so I'll probably put it away and test it again then.

Clove! Clove-and, though. Clove and... wood, I think. Something earthy and non-foodie.

Weird ... reading the notes, I get none of that. What I do get is a powdery sort of scent, sort of like something you'd smell in a bathroom (in a good way), soft and almost a little Ivanushka-y.

Fruity, then a bit like a pile of Strawberry Shortcake (and her friends) dolls. Now, it's a calmer, more subtle fruity blend. It's nice, but it's not remarkable to my nose, not something I need a bottle of. Not terribly winter-ish, either, not to me.

Oooooooohhhh....

 

I think this is the first time I've openly "ooh"-ed at labels, but those new Phoenix ones are bee-YOO-tiful! I sorta wish I'd bought them now, just for the bottles. (I don't suppose anyone would swap me empties, though, seeing as they're so purdy.)

This is a pretty subtle goat's milk -- usually, I get a heavy whiffy of goaty milky goodness with that note, but here, it's just a mellow, creamy background for some nice, subtle spices. I may have to try this one again with a double-slather -- it's nice, or I think so, anyway, 'cause it's faded back a lot already.

Nice and fruity, pomegranate-y. I'll have to do a side-by-side test of this one with Candy Phoenix, though, 'cause they might be so similar that I don't need both.

First whiff: Roses! Pink roses, a whole freakin' ROOM full!

 

Drying down: Say, who just did dishes? *sniffs* Drat, it's me. I smell like Palmolive.

At first blush, this smells EXACTLY like the Moonlight Harvest Yankee Candle I have in my bedroom, spot on. Dunno why, but it does.

 

Dried down (and after a bunch of shoveling), it's much more subtle, almost like Midwinter's Eve but not really (the prunes, I guess) and a teeny bit hearthy and very close to the skin. Not bad. I'll give it a second test, but I might end up with a bottle -- this might replace Midwinter's Eve nicely.

OMG, this is AWESOME! This is everything that I'd hoped Sailing Stones would be -- sassparilla, a little bit medicinal, a touch of withered desert grass and a little sweetness that reminds me of prickly pears (I know it's the fig, but it smells more like the cactus in this blend). It's PERFECT -- so evocative, reminding me of my trip to Arizona.

I finally got some of these, thanks to the always awesome millicurie -- and it's just as fabulous as I'd hoped! Granted, I don't smell the cinnamon and ginger very much -- it's mostly orange, with a hint of clove to add spiciness. But it's really, really awesome-smelling stuff. Now, I'm faced with the problem of use it 'cause it's awesome or hoard it 'cause if I use it, I won't have it.

 

Also, yes, I second inkaddict's comment -- why don't we have any readily-available orange scents in perfume? I'd buy orange cream, or orange clove, or really anything that's mostly orange as long as it doesn't have patchouli or vetiver.

I'm dressing up as a flapper for Halloween, and I'm trying to pick a scent to wear that night -- something sexy, something that says jazz and speakeasies, something without patchouli or vetiver, something I own (and obviously something I don't usually wear -- I don't usually go for dark/slutty/boozy scents).

 

I have Belle Epoque, Bon Vivant and Smut. Which do you all think would be best? Or is there another scent out there that would be perfect that I'm not thinking of?

Weird. This started out metal and grease, mechanical grease. It quickly went to straight oil and stayed there for a while, like motor oil or axle grease.

 

After an hour or so, I got a brief whiff of grass.

 

Hours later, it's now more cologne-y, but still with a touch of grease. Interesting. Not bad, that's for sure. It reminds me of... The Lady on the Grey, Black Butterfly Moon ... something dark and perfumey. But I'd rather hoped for something more like ink and graphite, from the early reviews. In that sense, I'm disappointed.

Initially, this smells like any other aquatic (sadness). Then, it smelled like soap, very clean. Now, it's faded back, less sweet, but it's still a lot like any other of the BPAL aquatics. Bummer.

My initial impression of this was pumpkin pie spice, or more like it, a can of pumpkin pie filling. I know there aren't any spices in the description, but I'd swear it smelled like pumpkin and pie spice, along with some dirt and some grass. After a while, the dirt and grass faded back, leaving a really yummy pumpkin smell.

 

But something went seriously awry with this one over a period of hours. Six or so hours later, it just smells ... musty. Like I've been crawling through an attic or seldom-used closet (and I haven't). Ick.

At first, this was very blackberry.

 

Then, there was this huge blast of what I'm guessing is berry+scone -- it was actually really reminiscent of Floating Brain, sort of a cereal-ish smell, like Fruit Loops or Trix.

 

Ultimately, it settled down into something sweet and jam-like, but still perfume-y. It's not quite as foody as I expected, not terribly cake-y either, but it's really sweet and nice.

Pumpkin and ... apples? Maybe it's the almond, or the brown musk (never tried brown musk anything, I don't think), but there's something sweet with the pumpkin and a teeny bit sharp, and it comes across to my nose as apple-y.

Somebody left one piece of caramel in the bottom of the pillowcase I took trick-or-treating, and it's taken on a sort of vanilla-ish smell from all of the other candies that were in the bag. And the pillowcase itself, it smells like linen, but not like laundry, not like Wensleydale. Yummy.

At first sniff, this was pumpkin and OMGNUTS -- there was this huge blast of NUTS when I put it on, and then it died down just as abruptly.

 

Now, it smells like spiced pumpkin, but not really SPICY, just gently spiced, and a bit sweet. I can't really smell the coffee so much, which is sort of a bummer, but it still smells nice.

 

EDIT: I had my boyfriend smell this hours later, and what he said was "hm, smells like chai." So for those looking for a chai scent, maybe try this one?

Dear June Gloom,

When first I met you, I was enamoured by your name. But I knew you were no good for me -- you ran with a bad crowd, all soapy florals and overpowering bouquets, and you came from a bad family, a bunch of boring blooms.

But I was tempted. I knew you'd just break my heart, but I gave you a chance anyway, lured by promises of mist and rain, promises so many others had broken before. I hoped you would be different, even though I knew that was impossible.

And when I least expected it, you stole my heart. Where have you been all my life, with your sunshine-y freshness, your shockingly wonderful, delicate petals of joy? How did you make me love you when the odds were so against us? And how can I ever live without you, knowing that I let you slip away?

I can only hope that someday, among the swappy streets, we'll meet again.

Yours,

Ravenclaw79

Wow, this one's dirty. I was hoping for a well-grounded fruit-and-spice scent, but what I got was just the ground -- dirt, followed by minty dirt, followed by omghithereDIRT. I smell like a bag of potting soil.

Initially, I smelled lemon -- bergamot, I'm guessing, from the tea. When I first got it on, it was unexpectedly wonderful, a nice mix of tea and vanilla. But as it dried down, it went more man-ish. It's true, though, that if I smelled a guy wearing this, I'd probably want to jump him. But there's a masculine undertone that makes this... well, it's borderline, almost unisex, but nah, no thanks.

Wow, I got a weird read on this one... wet, it was very dry and a bit cologne-y. As it dried, it went to more of a wood smell, wood mixed with something herbal. Later, it still smelled like wood, but sweet wood, mixed with something dishsoap-y (lemon flower, I assume). Not for me, that's for sure.

At first, this one screamed "fruit!" at me, a lot like Spinning Pinwheel. Once I got it on, it changed to "grape!" -- grape candy, grape soda, like that.

 

But when it dried down, the grape (currant, I'm sure that's supposed to be) faded back, grounded in the earthiness of the mushroom and rhubarb. Very nice, but when it dried down, the throw went to almost nothing, which is sad.

When I opened the bottle, this smelled delicious -- the most perfectly accurate, realistic cream cheese frosting scent ever, exactly like opening a can of frosting and taking a whiff.

 

But on my skin, the frosting and cakey undertones went away, and what's left is the scent of "generic BPAL" -- it's the smell of my box of swappable imps, apparently the perfumey notes that are meant to be underneath the cake smell. I'm really hoping it's a hormonal thing (took the last pill of a pack today), and I'll hold out hope until I try this again in a week or two. It was lovely wet, but then, blah.