dawndie

In bottle: florally pineapple

On skin: burst of pineapple juice, delicious!

Half-hour later: softens quite a bit with dusky coconut and white florals. Disappearing fast -- please come back, my pretties!

In conclusion: a mellower version of Upa Upa, which was a boozy tropical explosion. This is for the staid, formal dinner in the dining room at Trader Vic's, instead of hanging out in the bar and watching Blue Hawaii under the light-up puffer fish.

In bottle: light strawberry juice

On skin: sweet strawberries floating in a spiked punchbowl of gin

Half-hour later: the gin is overpowering the sugar and strawberries, drat

In conclusion: I love the boozy blends, but the gin is aggressive against the candy and delicious sweet strawberries. I'd love more strawberry; maybe a jolt of Pink Phoenix or Floating Brain would help it along.

In bottle: water and earth

On skin: garden greenery, verdant and slightly sweet

Half-hour later: snappy green beans, almost peppery, with the watery dirt

In conclusion: I feel like I can drop a seed into the bottle and it'll germinate. Fertile earth and teeming plants. How great for spring and summer!

In bottle: bright fruity plum

On skin: incensey champaca (a favorite) and dusty sandalwood

Half-hour later: softens to a respectable dupe of Hellion, dark purple plum and sandalwood

In conclusion: I rarely go wrong with the dark winey blends, and this is another great example. Each ingredient is a favorite on its own, and all together it's

XXXIII

In bottle: light diffused honey

On skin: sugared roses

Half-hour later: the delicious O honey has warmed up under some fairly strong florals, maybe jasmine or orchid?

In conclusion: I'm so in love with O, it could be blended with anchovy paste or garlic and I'd still enjoy it. Sometimes floofy flowers like rose and jasmine can be overpowering, but the O base is quietly assertive, simply shrugging its shoulders and saying, "Ain't no thing but a chicken wing on a string." Like Honey Moon or Hony Mone with more luscious honey.

In bottle: weird plastic vanilla

On skin: wow, does this bloom nicely when wet! Creamy vanilla right off with some watery coconut

Half-hour later: the creamy vanilla mellows with a bit of tea. I don't like most tea blends but this is delicious. Barely any rose to be found

Worn with Red Rose: there's the great BPAL Rose that I love, but how weird that it only seems to appear when the two scents are combined! Creamy, slightly spicy roses. Really pretty!

In bottle: dusty spices

On skin: fairly strong cloves, almost too dry & spicy for my taste

Half-hour later: better, the musk has appeared along with the warm spice. This reminds me of Spawn of the She-Demon, dusty musky. Barely any rose to speak of though

Worn with White Rose: there's the great BPAL Rose that I love, but how weird that it only seems to appear when the two scents are combined! Creamy, slightly spicy roses. Really pretty!

In bottle: creamy fig

On skin: sweet berries and fig, fruity & delicious

Half-hour later: everything's melding together nicely: a base of smooth boozy cognac, berries in the middle, then leathery and dusty on top

In conclusion: sweet but definitely unisex, all the elements are perfectly blended. The dusty waft really does remind me of a brown paper bag!

In bottle: spearmint gum

On skin: Lick It-style mint with sweet geranium

Half-hour later: the mint has mellowed, and I have mellowed too!

In conclusion: what a soothing blend! This reminded me of Oneiroi: I put it on and go, "aaahh." So cool and comforting.

My parents went to Bat's Day in November and bought me a bottle of Toad Hall for Christmas! They're awesome.

In bottle: soapy aftershave

On skin: warm polished wood

Half-hour later: sun-warmed wood and the clean soap note has returned, but it's not too sudsy

In conclusion: I was afraid this would be too masculine, but I'm enjoying this one. Sunny warm wood that's just been mopped. This is a lighter masculine blend, like I Married a Vampire from Planet X. Very clear, clean and refreshing.

In bottle: lemon cola

On skin: root beery sarsaparilla (does anyone pronounce "sarsaparilla"? I say "sasparilla" like the old-timey drink)

Half-hour later: a bit of spice warms up, but remains mostly sweetened cola

In conclusion: it was *hours* before the distinctive red musk appeared, which I love and look forward to. By that point, this seemed to be masculine cologne on me. I wanted Fire Phoenix and added Earth Phoenix as a "maybe," and it turns out I didn't like this one as much as Earth Phoenix. Better on a guy, I'll bet.

My parents gave me a bottle of Gooey Pillowcase for Christmas! They went to the Bat's Day black market in November and Mom liked this one the best.

I immediately recognize the "burnt sugar" smell of Sugar Skull. It lasts a good long time too -- I spritzed once in the guest bedroom, and then hours later Mom and I marveled at the staying power.

I'm not a huge foody fan, but this isn't too cloying or overwhelming. Just a nice burst of sugary sweetness!

Cute label; I can practically hear the theremin in my head!

In bottle: cake

On skin: strawberry blast, then lots of mushy cake

Half-hour later: still strawberry & cake, but fading fast

In conclusion: this reminds me of Pink Phoenix with extra floofy cake. I love the strawberry note and wish the blend hung around more, especially when Pink Phoenix in comparison lasts forever on me.

In bottle: chlorinated flowers

On skin: watery dirt

Half-hour later: the florals have amped up, plus some black cherry juice

In conclusion: this was like a slightly sweeter Worm Moon. No heavy musk, just a nice dusky base. I've been reaching for this all week since I received it; I love the light watery dirt blends.

In bottle: sweetened floral

On skin: luscious orchid and incensey champaca flower

Half-hour later: a decadent vanilla has warmed up under the rich florals

In conclusion: this one had such a stellar reputation amongst my forum friends, I knew I had to try it eventually. The vanilla is so delicious and doesn't turn to plastic, and anchors these lush florals. Beautiful!

A sniffie from the lovely filigree_shadow!

In imp: sweetened alcohol

On skin: sharp alcohol, to the point of resembling rubbing alcohol. Don't drink that, kids!

Half-hour later: the sweet pink fruits have appeared, toning down the alcohol

In conclusion: when that Inquisition round was announced, this was the one blend that appealed to me the most. Fruit and booze? Yes please! I must prefer the darker boozy-winey blends, though, because this one is a wee bit too high-pitched for me. So glad I got to try it though!

In bottle: crunchy green grass

On skin: pure summery grass (I'll geek out and say it's St. Augustine, like one-half of our front lawn)

Half-hour later: red, gold and brown leaves have started to fall, plus a teeny bit of sweet yellow floral, like dandelion dust

In conclusion: I bought a bottle of this on a whim after I received a sniffie of the Schoolhouse. I realized, "I don't have any green grass scents, this must be rectified." I really like the additional dust from the autumn leaves, and this turned out sweeter than I expected, plus it lasts and lasts.

In bottle: watery orange juice

On skin: orange dessicating into dust, like honey dust

Half-hour later: there's the beeswax, mellow and slightly sweet with a touch of the dusty honey

In conclusion: this is the quietest BPAL blend I've ever tried -- it stays close to the skin, however it lasts and lasts. This is what I wanted Chanukkiyah to be, which started out nice but ended up a sugar blast. This is relaxing, serene and lovely.

In bottle: rummy fruitcake

On skin: booze-soaked fruit & cake. I love the boozy blends!

Half-hour later: Shub-like ginger and mellow spice heats up

In conclusion: I was unsure whether to order this one or not, as I'm not a fan of the overly-foody blends. Like others have already said, however, this is a grown-up version of plain ol' boring gingerbread. This is quickly turning into a favorite!

In bottle: snappy sparky red musk

On skin: the mango is there right away, pow! Juicy and sweet

Half-hour later: the red tea and red musk have warmed up behind the sticky fruit. Red red red!

In conclusion: this is so rich and luscious. Reminiscent of my beloved Corazon: simply replace the golden dusty amber with the red dusty tea. Fabulous!

Wet: super-fake cucumber lotion

On skin: zucchini! or a more rustic cucumber

Half-hour later: cucumber salad with lawn clippings vinaigrette

In conclusion: this is a sour side of green, with a vinegar edge (could it be the corrupting power of the political process?). Fun concept though!

In bottle: bitter herbal

On skin: soft and sweet, especially from the Shub-like ginger

Half-hour later: continues to be almost-powder soft and almost-sweet herbs

In conclusion: tartchef's review above mentioned "milky" and that's exactly how it's proceeding on me. This ends up in the same family as Snow White and Snow-Flakes, a soft-sweet-creamy floral.

In bottle: fruity red wine

On skin: wine with strong sweet pomegranate

Half-hour later: musty-dusty wine with that "blood" note, like something catching in the back of my throat.

In conclusion: pomegranate and dark wine are favorite notes of mine, and I'm hoping the dusky leather and tonka will appear upon aging. Another luscious dark winey blend like Blood Garden and Wanda, very nice!

In bottle: dusty musk

On skin: the red musk blooms right away, somewhat unusual as in other blends it takes a while to appear. Punchy mandarin too

Half-hour later: there's a melange of subtley dusky florals, one isn't stronger than any other. Pretty amazing, as rose or violet (both of which I like) can succinctly overpower everything else. The base is red musk with a bit of Southern sweet tea

In conclusion: this hints around a sweeter Chrysanthemum Moon. Many of these Salons are so sophisticated, and this is the first Salon bottle I've purchased. Lovely!

Wet: uh oh, ashtray

On skin: yep, lots of gritty ash. Can't say I'm surprised

Half-hour later: just when I couldn't take it anymore, this one softens a bit with what seems like juicy hearts of palm

In conclusion: I was afraid this would be a "yuck" blend, but it ended up pretty interesting. I would enjoy this as an incense, just not as a perfume