dawndie

Wet: light chamomile

 

On skin: barely-there honey

 

Half-hour later: honey slightly warmed up by tonka

 

In conclusion: this reminds me of Hanerot Halalu, light and delicate. Soft and quiet, while I normally like to wear blends with brashness and "oomph."

Wet: sunny herbs

 

On skin: sun-warmed herbs, not as spicy as Sunbird

 

Half-hour later: distinctive grains from Dana O'Shee have appeared

 

In conclusion: I don't get any weird elements, like bones or skull or chicken feet. Just a slightly spicier Dana O'Shee, light and pretty. I was sure thrown off by the name!

In bottle: bitter chocolate

 

On skin: Tootsie rolls!

 

Half-hour later: hot damn this is nice. Smutty musk with a dollop of dusky cocoa

 

In conclusion: what a great cold-weather blend, dark and dreamy. This and Now Winter Nights Enlarge were my big favorites this Yule.

In bottle: watery citrus

 

On skin: zippy mandarin with some dusty wood nearby

 

Half-hour later: mélange of citrus, floral and wood

 

In conclusion: this is a grown-up fancypants blend, like Lady Lilith -- lots of favorite ingredients blending into a sophisticated floral. I wish I got the Snake Charmer/Madame Moriarty vibe, but maybe aging will help it get more sinister and less snooty.

In bottle: sweetened oatmeal

 

On skin: slightly spiced fruits

 

Half-hour later: creamy sweet, like a Yule nog with pureed plums

 

In conclusion: this is a luscious blend, sweet but not too foody. Reminds me of To Autumn for some reason, even though the ingredients aren't similar. Nice blend for a cool day.

Wet: green cologne

 

On skin: wow, potent! It's wafting a good 12" off my arm. Pungent mossy green

 

Half-hour later: dark fruit and musk are trying to anchor the green cologne

 

In conclusion: this is one of the strongest blends I've ever tried -- the imp packs a wallop! This reminds me of an aftershave my dad would wear in the '70s, like Skin Bracer. Too masculine on me unfortunately. Whoever buys a bottle of this would get their money's worth, as the waft goes like gangbusters.

In bottle: red wine

 

On skin: boozy red yum!

 

Half-hour later: fading red fruits, more foody than boozy

 

In conclusion: I wanted a fruity red KABOOM with this one, and I'm pleased in general. There's something astringent which comes off as "booze" but thankfully keeps the blend from turning to plastic. It hangs around too, especially compared to Suck It. Fun and festive!

In bottle: sweetened musk

 

On skin: bawdy red musk

 

Half-hour later: still lots of red musk, barely sweetened with caramel and honey

 

In conclusion: I love red musk blends, but I was dismayed to read reviews (after I ordered) with amping caramel like in Red Lantern. Luckily this blend didn't do that on me -- it's a delicious sweetened red musk blend, fun and boom-chicka-boom-y.

In bottle: creamy vanilla

 

On skin: wow, a total dupe of Snow White and Snow-Flakes

 

Half-hour later: the fresh pink roses have peeked out, but it's mainly lots of delicious creamy Snow White goodness

 

In conclusion: I half-expected this would be akin to Alice with its creamy roses, but it's straight off the Snow White Express. I have bottles of Snow White ('07, I believe) and Snow-Flakes, but this is a great variation as I love the BPAL Roses too. Delicious!

Wet: sweet berries

 

On skin: tangy watermelon

 

Half-hour later: the musky base has warmed up with lots of fruit

 

In conclusion: I love the sweet watermelon in this, and it's fine that I don't get any of the other fruits. Plus the musk anchors it to my skin and keeps it going. This one is so fun and refreshing!

In bottle: oozy cherry cordial filling

 

On skin: cherries!

 

Half-hour later: fades significantly and becomes more like red Twizzlers, plasticky licorice

 

In conclusion: more of a candy blend instead of a boozy blend. This doesn't have enough staying power to wear on its own, but would be great to add a cherry-bomb "oomph" to another blend.

In bottle: musky clove

 

On skin: lots of swarthy musk with a tinge of BBQ smoke

 

Half-hour later: musk and clove, smoothly blended

 

In conclusion: I was unsure about this blend, as it sounded pretty dark and foreboding. I liked the Chapel though, so I took the plunge. The smutty musk makes a great sensual base and the brimstone and clove aren't overpowering. An imposing dark blend that's amazingly smooth and enjoyable.

In bottle: liquid sugar

 

On skin: sugary-sweet mounds of pink candy fluff

 

Half-hour later: still lots of pink sweetness with a poke of green sap

 

In conclusion: I don't go for the candy-foody blends right off, but this one really pops. I swear it has a light musk, as something anchors it to my skin and it lasts and lasts. This is up there with Pink Phoenix as a classic sugar-blast scent that for some reason smells great on me.

In bottle: watered-down incense (thincense?)

 

On skin: same thincense, with a smattering of Snake Oil

 

Half-hour later: the coconut is here, dry and husky, but that and the thincense combine to be like 20% when I want a 100% blast. This blend didn't want to show up for the party. I'll see if it ages into something stronger.

In bottle: sand baking in the sun

 

On skin: Snake Charmeresque musk and a little spice

 

Half-hour later: the spice has barely strengthened, like slivers of mellow, brittle cinnamon bark floating over the musk

 

In conclusion: here is the classic Madame Moriarty-Snake Charmer musky base, dark and luscious. This blend teeters on the edge of the Spice Cliff -- any more spice and I'm not going to like it, but it stays tantalizingly close. Golden and warm.

Burst of perky daisies, then a light outdoorsy whiff, then it disappears. Daisies are an underappreciated flower, plus I want lots of dirt and sticks! I'd love it if it were 30x stronger.

In bottle: powdered fruit, like a drink mix poured into a pitcher before adding the water

 

On skin: sharp musk with a tinge of sugar

 

Half-hour later: fruit and musk duking it out. As you can imagine, the musk is winning

 

In conclusion: due to my selective reading, especially first thing in the morning when the Lunacy posts, I read Berry Moon as "FRUIT SALAD YAY" when actually the first ingredient listed is summer musk. The musk, while light and pleasant, is quite strong on me, but I do like the honey and fruit milling about on top. Reminds me of Anactoria, sweetened musk.

In bottle: light white floral

 

On skin: honeyed flowers

 

Half-hour later: sparkly ozone over the flowers, light and pretty

 

In conclusion: I was pleasantly surprised with this one as the ozone, instead of going soapy, became very blue-beachy. Maybe this was wishful thinking, as I grew up near the beach in SoCal and loved the cool, overcast days of June Swoon. Glad I ordered a bottle!

Sweetened incense, beautiful! My only complaint is it disappears pretty quickly, in comparison to something like Gooey Pillowcase which is quite potent. I would like this in a perfume as well as a giant bottle for the house.

In bottle: unflavored cough syrup

 

On skin: red fruit and earth. Fruity dirt!

 

Half-hour later: still lots of tart red fruit with dusty dirt. Hella strong too, wafting all over the place

 

In conclusion: this was like Crypt Queen on me, if you replace the dark dirty patchouli with the earthy mushroom and dusty myrrh. I was most afraid/unsure of this one, and liked it the best out of the 3 Le Mat scents! Pretty cool, interesting blend.

In bottle: nothing much, just vague resins

 

On skin: sweet berries and a hint of that distinctive sage from Corazon

 

Half-hour later: musky and mellow with resiny frankincense

 

In conclusion: it was weird, when I first put it on all I could smell was red musk, and I was disappointed because it was a near-duplicate of Marianne, which I wear quite a bit. Later when I tried it was its own entity and very different, but it sure doesn't want to hang out. It stays very close like a "skin musk" blend. I haven't tried this in conjunction with the other Le Mat blends, so maybe it's stronger with the others.

In bottle: sharp old-school perfume, like Gloria Vanderbilt

 

On skin: watery pear, and there's a bite of sharp woodiness too

 

Half-hour later: mellows into a smooth cologne, sweet moss and dusty wood

 

In conclusion: this seems to be a companion scent to Quincy Morris, because both have that distinctive, delicious pear. Probably too masculine on me by itself, I'll have to try it with the other Le Mat scents later. However, this would make an awesome room spray, as if visiting Miss Kitty in her Victorian boudoir above the saloon.

In bottle: tart red berries

 

On skin: delicious blackberry with a peppery zing, I could drink this straight-up

 

Half-hour later: the fruit has gone hazy and more powdery from the amber

 

In conclusion: I love red currant in a darker blend like Blood Garden, but this is perfect for the too-hot summer days we're having. Dusty mellow sweetness, assertive but not too heavy.

Up until now I had never tried the BPTP bath oils, as I don't take baths and assumed it would be too greasy to use otherwise. But the tempting notes listed for this one made me take the plunge.

 

Since my bottle leaked a bit I simply took the slick bubble wrap and rubbed on my arms. It absorbed nicely and I didn't feel like an oil slick -- and since it was 100 and humid, I could have been uncomfortable in an instant! The fragrance lasted for hours and I felt nicely moisturized.

 

And the mellow sweetened berries scent is gorgeous!

In bottle: bubblegummy strawberry

 

On skin: strawberry bubblegum, like I should start chewing on my arm. Green grass note quickly follows

 

Half-hour later: the garden greenery is quite strong, barely sweetened with strawberry juice. I love the green grassy blends so it's fine with me. Disappearing quickly, too

 

In conclusion: while I was hoping for the return of the original Strawberry Moon, this is great in its own right. Refreshing and peppy.