MeiLin

So far, the snow note has not worked well on me; this is the first Yule where I've gotten a lot of the snow notes. In the decant: oooooh. Woods and amber, something green, and cold. Wet: So far, the best snow note of this year's batch. Moss, a very green sage, the woods (especially teak and rosewood), and over all, the snow. Ambers at the back; I think they are what's making the sage more "green" than Thanksgiving-dinnery. Dry: Ded Moroz is one suave mofo. The ambers come forward with the woods and everything's gone sweeter; the snow recedes, and now I smell something almost like balsam. Perhaps that's part of the snow note in this? It's beautiful, and I think it could work equally well on a man or woman, though it's a little sweet perhaps for a man, at least on me. Others are not reporting the sweet and are getting a more masculine blend; I do tend to amp amber, so maybe that's why. This may be a partial. So far I haven't found anything I want a full bottle of.

In the decant: Kinda spring-scented-candle-y, to be truthful. Wet: That odd, berry-candle scent, daffodils. No ylang ylang, or maybe that's what's giving the berries the candle impression. Dry: Meh.

In the decant: Odd. A cold street, outside a florist, the galvanized tin buckets of flowers all around, and perhaps I've brushed a hanging ristra of chiles--the slightest whiff of them... Wet: The same, but the chiles are gone. They were barely there to begin with. This is very cold. Dry: Oh, gosh. What a morpher. The chill is gone. Musks, a little chile returns at the back of the nose, soft floral. I really like this, but I'm betting Sir won't.

Christmas candle. No1 Daughter actually begged me to wash it off. I didn't think it was THAT bad, but it's not graduating to bottle.

In the bottle: Peach, white tea, chrysanthemum. uh-oh, jasmine... Wet: Oh, no, jasmine! dang it! There is peach and chrysanthemum. We'll see what happens. Dry: Jasmine, peach blossom (definitely blossom, not fruit), and white tea. This is VERY sophisticated. I'm not sure how often I'd wear it. We'll see.

Diable en Boite = Devil in a Box = Jack in the Box: In the imp: Men's cologne, not very distinguished. Wet: Much better; not as cologne-y. Redwood and tonka, tobacco, a little of the clove, and some sweet that I think is the black currant. Dry: Dry wood, edged with the bitter clove. There's a floral I expect is the peach blossom, and a little sweet still. Nice, but not a bottle.

In the imp: Bergamot first, and then the blood orange. Very happy and light. Wet: Bergamot and rose geranium, not my favorites when there's too much of them. Then orange and ginger, lemongrass. They make the others bearable. Dry: Slight hint of ginger. The lemongrass and bergamot/rose geranium are predominant. This is really pretty, but I'm not sure it smells like me. It needs the Sir test. Further: The longer it dries, the more the ginger and previously missing frankincense come out. I got a fleeting wisp of a coconut accord there for a sec, but it's gone now. The ginger and frankincense make me like it more.

Dear me. But I like musk and civet and vetiver, so what the hell. In the imp: Sharp civet, then musk, then the greens and woods, coming up strong in the back. Wet: Weird! I got a quick hit of apple! I smell the birch first, heavy and spicy. Reminds me of birch beer. mmm...birch beer... Vetiver, moss, no musk or civet yet. Dry: As it dries down the civet comes up, sharp but tempered by the moss and a juniper-y note I surmise is the rowan. (I have no idea what goosefoot smells like.) Still a lot of birch, which for me makes this quite unique. This may be partial-worthy. It reminds me a little of a less-kapow version of Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, perhaps only because SSS smells like good root beer and this smells to me like birch beer.

In the imp: First very dark musk, then the tobacco, then cacao very last. Wet: Chocolate tobacco?! The chocolate note is similar to the one in last year's Gelt, not sweet, a little bitter. (I love Gelt.) As it settles it gets smoother, more chocolate-y. Chocolate tobacco on a bed of dark musk. so far? o_O massive love. Dry: The cacao faded with drydown and left a pleasant, dry, baby-powdery musk. Every once in a while I catch a little chocolate. It's very pretty, but it strikes me as being a good deal like Gelt. I'm going to have to do a sniff test between them to see if I want to get a bottle of Burlesque Troupe.

In the imp: Y HALO THAR, COCKAIGNE! Very buttery cake. VERY buttery. Wet: Popcorn! Butter, popcorn and salt. Smells like hot pretzels with butter (oh gods that sounds good. *weeps for gluten intolerance*). Not as sweet as in the imp, and not a single stick of incense, let alone three. As it develops, out comes the beer. The intense butter begins to fade. Dry: Hops, butter and a touch--the faintest touch--of incense. Verdict: REALLY interesting scent, but an imp is enough.

In the imp: Cool amber, musk, ylang ylang. lurve! Wet: Huh. Something sour and acrid spoils my delight, but it fades and is back to the musk-amber-ylang ylang trio. Dry: This is a lovely, white scent, floating and ethereal, though that sour off-note pops up now and again. Verdict: It's fading quickly and just isn't distinguished enough for me to want a whole bottle. ETA: Well, Sir nearly nommed my wrist off, so I may be getting this after all..

Samhain '07 was one of my earliest BPAL loves, and is still on my top ten list. It's one of Beth's most amazing "story" fragrances, scents that actually tell a story or set a scene as they unfold. (How do she do that?) Samhain's "story" is that of standing in the doorway on a cold October night. Behind you is the scent of cold air, wind, fallen leaves, a little smoke, a little evergreen. Before you are the scents of coziness--apples, spices, pumpkin pie, warmth. A perfect evocation of the night when the wall between this world and the next is at its thinnest. And with this expectation, the '09 is slathered on. In the imp: Patchouli like whoa. Wet: Patchouli fading to evergreen, then clove and nutmeg. Dry: Still patchouli and spices. Not at all the perfection that the '07 was, but perhaps it's because the '07 was acquired in mid-'08 and had had time to age a little. Verdict: I'll stick to the '07.

Unholy mist congealing into soft, white flesh, with black marble, remnants of liturgical incense, wolf's fur, and black flecks of froth. In the imp: I smell NONE of those notes. It smells damp and sweet. Wet: Again, none of this. It's sweet, and smells a little of violets. What is it with me smelling violets when no violets are listed! In a short bit, it smells decayed. It fits the theme, but I'm not sure I want to smell like that. o_O Dry: It remains close to the wet phase, with a sort of sourness to it, like soured milk--very faint, but there. Verdict: I find this very disturbing. I don't like it. It's not quite wash-off, but it's close; it raises the hair on the back of my neck.

In the imp: Cologne, a little spicy, but not distinguished. Wet: A snapped-stem green, wet. As it develops, it goes through a sweet phase, the snapdragon and heather, I think. Dry: The sweetness fades, and one is left with a dry green. Gone after four hours. Verdict: Eh.

In the imp: As described. Weird! Wet: Woo. Blood. Then heliotrope and dirt. The heliotrope is a little powdery. Dry: Eh. It turns old lady on me. There's really no other way to describe it. Verdict: No.

In the imp: Hello, Gluttony, Miskatonic University and Cockaigne! Buttery sugar. Really really sweet. No1 Daughter swooned--this is her absolute favorite kind of scent. Wet: Omigod, it really is candy corn! and is indeed corny! The super, super sweet fades quickly, but it stays sweet, sorta caramel-y, and candy corn-ish. Dry: This is different from the other butter-sugar scents. It's grounded, for lack of a better term. Sweet, but not sticky, dry--ha! like candy corn! Dang, unlike Lewis Black, I LOVE candy corn. I confess that I love butter-sugar-caramel foodies (and the cake foodies like Eat Me and Cake Smash). Verdict: Partial, at least.

In the imp: Violets! That's all. Wet: Violets! That's all. But a good violet, soft, not overpowering. Dry: Violets! But there's a sinister undercurrent--a fading, dusty smell, as if something had once been perfumed with violets and then put away in a linen cabinet for a very long time. Perhaps an elegant lady's handkerchief. Verdict: Sir likes it, which is unusual for a floral. I like it; it's the first BPAL violet that hasn't been ZOMG! VIOLETS! on me. Perhaps a partial. It's funny that I picked up a note no one else did! Either I'm confused, or my nose is, especially because y'all have been reporting aquatics and I'm not smelling it. (I hate aquatics.)

I need an enabling scent: Meyer lemon and vanilla. Any hits? or is it a miss?

In the imp: Weird, sharp funk. o_O Wet: Sharp--pomegranate, I think--and nuts, perilously close to the Death Note, but then resolving to hazelnut. The pomegranate smells like like the seed/juice and more like the astringent membrane/matrix they're enclosed in. If there's apple in here, it hasn't shown its head. Dry: The apple finally shows up. No berries. That weird, sharp funk is still there, like the under-sink cabinet of your kitchen--cleaning supplies. Once in a while the hazelnut peeks out from the veils of sharp unpleasantness, and then disappears again. Verdict: Extreme disappointment. I really was looking forward to this, and it's not so bad I'm going to wash it off, but into the swap case it goes. feh.

dang it! I'M the webhost! I fixed the perfoom.com/www.perfoom.com problem; I use Drupal and run multiple sites on one code base, the top level of which is digitalnovelists.com. I just neglected to direct both perfoom/www.perfoom to the same spot. Thanks for the headss-up. As to duplicates: I keep a pretty close eye on things, and the software disallows duplicate names in most instances. I have caught duplicates where someone has left off or added a "The" and such, but they've been rare. I ask people to search first in the entry form, and I'll make the search box more prominent. Notes: I say on the entry form to use only notes listed by the etailer; I don't really have another way of policing it apart from users and my own eyes, but I just don't have time to look up each scent. If you find something mis-described, you can always let me know--somehow--and I'll fix it. If notes are mis-entered, it's really not THAT huge. I can fix the entry itself with very little effort and no change to your lists. Contact form: I can't open it up to anonymous browsers. I would get far, far, far too much spam that way. I'm sorry. You're welcome to leave notes for me either in this thread or in PM. Thanks again for the heads up.

This is for the '09 version. In the imp: Intially, a whiff of leather. Smoke in the distance. Ivory soap--Ivory soap?! Wet: Ooh. Smoke and musk. Still that hint of leather and, yes, Ivory soap. Perhaps a recently showered hot guy in a leather jacket at a bonfire? Dry: Smoke. Leather. No booze. Verdict: This reminds me a tiny bit of Hellhound on My Trail. Sir says it's a traditional perfume-y smell. I think it's too masculine for me, and will be putting the imp in his box, not that he'll actually USE it, but one can dream...

In the imp: Dark like whoa. Orchid and patchouli. Wet: Initially the same, but rapidly my skin amps the smoky vanilla (definitely smoky) and clove. Yikes, this is awesome. Dry: The orchid comes back. For some reason, if Kool-aid made an orchid flavor this would be it. I have no idea what that means. I think this stuff might be hallucinatory. This is a nighttime scent. I see vivid purple gloom, which is a contradiction in terms, but hey. Way, way in the back is a melancholy sweet note that keeps the whole thing from over-gothing itself. I think it's the balsam. I'm really torn. Sometimes this stuff is astonishingly good, sometimes it's meh! patchouli funk! We'll see how it dries down further. Further drydown: Up comes the musk, which always amps on me. It's settling into musk, clove, vanilla and patchouli. I don't know how different enough this is to justify an entire bottle, but it is lovely.

Contact form is up at Perfoom.com. If you spot something amiss there, or need to contact me about any Perfoom business, drop me a line there.

You tell me. That's it! I will put a contact form up. Thanks!

In the imp: Oh, just what I hoped for! Baked apples with spices!! Please, Gods, let it stay like this! Wet: The spices very much in the forefront--the clove, actually. At a distance, I smell the milk, but it's not sour like the BPAL milk note usually goes on me. Now I'm getting the ale--how odd it is to smell ale in perfume!--and the apple. The apple is increasing with time. So far, giddily happy. Dry: I can see why some people say this smells like scented candle. I'm smelling sweet spices, mostly--the clove still paramount, then ginger, and the nutmeg nearly buried. All but the apple's sweetness is gone of that note; if I sniff hard I get the ale. I'll be interested to see how this changes throughout the rest of the day. Later: The apple keeps playing peekaboo with me! Sir has had a sniff and says he likes it a great deal, and the BPAL-Sniffin Dog gave it two snurfs (that's good). Verdict: Win, possibly the only win for me out of the 'Weenies this year.