Jessica

I noticed the same thing and ended up putting mine in the Special Instructions area as well.

In the bottle it was exploding with fruit and cherries. It smelled so sweet my teeth hurt and it reminded me of my grandma's car air freshener. Especially overpowering in the Florida sun. Anyway - must I mention I was apprehensive? However, I slathered some on my wrists where the sweetness held true till the dry down. On the dry down I started smelling powdery, which still wasn't pleasant. Fortunatly, it didn't last and several hours later I am smelling faintly of cherries and it smells ohsogood. Black Phoenix has staying power, too, which is nice. Not sure if this merits a bottle, however the imp has a new home on my shelf.

I was really excited about Dublin not only because the description sounded beautiful, but also because I really love Ireland and anything to do with it (being half Irish and all ). Anyway, in the bottle it smelled crisp and fresh and clean. It smelled divine. When I first put it on it was a little sharp to the nose. Almost offensive at first, which was really upsetting but luckily.... ... on the dry down and throughout the rest of the day it came back to that fresh and clean smell I loved on first sniff. It smells faintly green and cool, and is an all around pleasant scent. It has a looooong staying power with me, which is excellent.

I'm not sure what I'm smelling here, something almost like astringent on the surface but with an underlying sweetness. It's musky too, and a rather heavy scent that I find myself not too fond of. Wet and in the bottle it was almost over-powering, and I didn't really want to try it on my skin, but alas.... On the dry down, the sweet undertone is stronger, pushing the harsh smell of astringent/whatever-it-really-is away. Nice, not a total push away, but one that is definatly heading into the swap pile for me.

I had high hopes for Hurricane. I live in Florida and love the smell before a really bad storm. Well, I also live off the Bay and the scent of wet garbage also accompanies any real gusty storm. Alas, Hurricane was accompanied by a sickly murky smell that reminded me of... well garbage. I'm really disappointed, I was hoping for a more electric, wet smell but was left with something that is undefinable after the dry down. I had to wash it off, it just wasn't meshing with my skin right. Hurricane is also very strong, so I'd caution using it sparingly. A little goes a LONG way with Hurricane.

In the bottle Desdemona smells sweet, light and innocent. I was cautious about this scent because I didn't want it ending with a powder smell. I hate powder smells! However, on the wrist it is at first very overpowering in its sweetness and fresh scent. Dying down it settles into a light, again fresh smell that I absolutely love. I hate it when the scents stick to the back of your throat - I get that a lot with spicier notes and heavier scents. Desdemona has none of that and reminds me of sunshine and pleasant weather. I shall keep you.

I got Kumiho in a swap and I'm glad I picked it up. In the bottle it smells light and sweet and tea-y. I already had decided I liked it, and prayed it wouldn't turn funky on my skin. I slathered a little on after the shower and was very pleased. I sat down to read and was rewarded with whiffs of sweet tea and eventually faint lemon. Kumiho is excellent in every regard except it doesn't last long. I thought it just might be me, but after reading the other reviews its obvious that Kumiho just doesn't have the staying power that is required to make it perfect. I'm definatly going to order a bottle, though, in my next order. It reminds me of Pledge (but without the chemical smell, obviously!). I always did want to spray a little Pledge on my wrists - just didn't seem very healthy.

My first whiff from the bottle granted me an unidentifiable, offensive smell. "I don't think this one is a keeper," was my first thought. However, ever the optimist (ha!) I thought I'd give Urd a shot just in case it held something special upon further examination. Ugh. Wet on the skin its strong and musty. I can see the appeal it might hold for some people who might desire heavier scents, but this just is not me. I kept it on while I typed the review, but now I need to go wash it off. I noticed none the grape notes that others seemed to pick up, unfortunatly.

Definatly a scent that lives up to its name. Gluttony, in the bottle, was everything I imagined it would be from the lab's description. Sugary, sweet and tooth-rotting. I loved it before I put it on. My skin held the scent for a long time, I'd get wifts of it just by shifting around. Yum! It was still all sugary. Even hours later I still get a little of the scent without deliberatly raising my wrist to my nose. Definatly a keeper - it reminds me of the holidays at my Gram's house, baking cookies and indulging in way to many sweets and snacks.

Rapture was all rose in the bottle. We used to have this huge Abe Lincoln rose bush right by my front door. The thing was a monster, so big we couldn't dig it up if we wanted too without like... a back hoe or something. Anyway, it was gorgeous and the smell these huge red roses gave off was wonderful. This is what Rapture reminded me of. Unfortunatly, as I wore it through the say I was getting annoyed with it. The rose was SO rosey! I decided that Abe was good in small passing doses, but I didn't really want to take him around with me everywhere. Very pretty, just not exactly me. To the swaps!

Despair is the very first scent that I tried of BPAL's. In the bottle, Despair was woodsy and it reminded me of the tarot card store I visited one summer in Lillydale. On my skin it smelled the same at first. The smell lasted a few hours, but it wasn't very strong. Later on I started to smell the ylang ylang and it was more of an "oriental" smell. I wish it would of eventually showed its cypress but alas, I was left with a distinct ylang ylang and not much else. allamanda was right, Despair is a really understated scent. It's a keeper for now.