Aredhel

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: MUSK!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I love all the listed notes, so how could it go wrong?

In the decant: Honey and a beautiful golden musk, with just a hint of something floral underneath.

On skin, wet: Vanilla musk and honey, again with a brief floral tinge. I adore this musk, and am hope-hope-hoping this doesn't change too drastically as it dries.

On skin, dry: Musk, musk, musk. Gorgeous, warm, slightly fuzzy, glorious musk, with just the slightest hint of honeyed vanilla. I? I am in love.

Conclusion: I've had a decant of this sitting around forever (well, for nearly three years now, since it was released in 2008), but have never gotten around to it. Now that I have, well... I need to find a bottle somewhere, ASAP.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Melon tea!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: Another "wait, I haven't tested/tried this yet?" blend. I love black tea leaf and honey, but wasabi... hmm.

In the imp: A blast of yellow-green... something. This is wasabi, I take it? I'm well versed in the taste of it (me = sushi addict), but not so much the smell of it in perfume-form. This is... interesting.

On skin, wet: Well, this is terribly surprising already. Whomever it was above that said there was something melon-like about this was dead on, at least to me. This smells like one of my favourite melon iced green teas. No honey as of yet, though.

On skin, dry: This is fantastic. As it dries, the honey comes out a bit, and it dries into a cold, honeyed melon green tea scent. It's a nose-won't-leave-my-wrist kind of scent. Honey has a tendency to turn into warm plastic after a while, but I think the wasabi and tea leaf keep it in line.

Conclusion: Love! It strikes me as a very Spring-like scent. Given that it's mid-November as I write this, it may be a while before I find myself wearing it daily, but I'll definitely be picking up a bottle with my very next order just in case.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Dark green

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I'm surprised that I haven't tried this already. None of the listed notes dislike me outright, but just the same, I'm not entirely sure what to expect.

In the imp: Equal parts evergreen and juniper, with a lovely herbal undertone.

On skin, wet: I usually dislike evergreen/juniper combinations, but this is lovely. Cold and and green and just a touch floral.

On skin, dry: This fades into an incredibly lovely evergreen-juniper combination, neither note truly distinguishable from the other -- and that's not said unhappily.

Conclusion: This is Green with a capital G - a deep, dark green, a few shades south of #002F14. (How geeky is it that I actually found a hex colour that fits how this smells to me?) It's an evergreen tree covered in snow, just after you've cut it down and before the thing has started to wither, maybe with a juniper garland (as suggested above) or a the scent of a nearby juniper candle. It's a lovely thing, and I'd love to find more of it.

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky florals.

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I love all the listed notes, but I still can't fathom how they'll smell together.

In the imp: Warm, musky honey. Absolutely gorgeous!

On skin, wet: Strong osmanthus and vanilla flower, but light on the vanilla bit and heavy on the flower.

On skin, dry: Warm, silky, honeyed vanilla flower. The musk gives it a slightly fuzzy quality - which is one of the many things I love about musks. It's a bit more flowery than I normally care for, but for some reason, I can't help but find this beautiful. It has weak throw, but lasts for hours.

Conclusion: Warm, slightly fuzzy, flowery musk. Surprisingly lovely. If I can track down a bottle, I'll definitely pick one up.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in one word: Perfect spiced pumpkin!

In the decant: Spiced pumpkin and cedar. Love!

On skin, wet: A mixed bag of tobacco, pumpkin, vanilla, and cedar. One would think this would be much sharper than it is.

On skin, dry: Very creamy, spicy pumpkin and cedar.

Conclusion: Absolutely gorgeous! I can single out each of the listed notes save pine and white sage, but they blend together beautifully. I second the comparison to Illustrated Woman, but I think I like this just a tad more, if possible. I'm so glad I tracked down two bottles of this, but I still fear they won't be enough.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Surprisingly awesome.

In the imp: Cherry-almond booze and faint mint!

On skin, wet: There is something almost sticky about this, like slightly flat Rum & Cherry Coke. It's very strange, but not at all in a bad way.

On skin, dry: Rum, something spicy (clove, maybe?), lime, orange, strong cherry, and fizziness! This is one of those "Not usually my thing, so why am I jamming my nose against my wrist so?" scents that I love for no apparent reason -- but oh, I do so love Te Po. It does have a "candle shop in fall" quality, but I think that's a good quality here.

Conclusion: As many others have said, this is definitely fizzy, bordering on strangely carbonated. How the hell won imparts a carbonated quality to perfume is beyond me, but I've never come across something like it before. I definitely need to find a bottle of this.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Cinnamon and cider!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts:

In the imp: Spicy, Snake Oily apple!

On skin, wet: Slightly spiced apple cider. It's quite nice, but doesn't really smell much like Snake Oil.

On skin, dry: Cinnamon-heavy cider. This smells fantastic, but again, isn't really what I was hoping for.

Conclusion: Spiced cider -- nothing more, nothing less. I don't get anything approaching Snake Oil here, which is sad, because that's what I was hoping for. It is fantastic for what it is, and if I come across a great price on a bottle, I'll pick one up, but I won't need to seek this out,.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sugary wood!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I'm probably going to regret trying this, because of the rose, but how can I resist?

In the imp: Sweet, woody blackberry. If it stays like this, I'm sold. It reminds me just a bit of a cross between King of Spades and Red Lantern.

On skin, wet: Musky, salty leaves. There is a hint of something like celery. This is very strange at first, but the woody quality beneath the salt and leaves is gorgeous.

On skin, dry: Burnt, woody, musky sugar with with occasional blackberry wafts. This is a distant cousin of Red Lantern, without the heavy caramel. The mahogany is impossibly warm and dark and other words I can't find.

Conclusion: It's no secret that I am a fangirl for wood notes, so that I'm enamored of a sugary, musky wood scent should come as no surprise. I definitely need to find more.

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spring!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: This doesn't seem like my sort of thing, but how could I try the other three and ignore LP?

In the imp: Plum blossom and the dread ylang. Eep.

On skin, wet: Surprisingly bright and, dare I say it, pretty! The plum blossom and lemon peel are the most prominent notes, and they're both soft and beautiful.

On skin, dry: I hate to admit it, but this is gorgeous. I was prepared for a kick-in-the-face floral, but that's not what Spring is like, so it's not what La Primavera is like. Like Tania, there seems to be a dewy, almost wet quality to this -- like flowers in a mid-April shower. The orange blossom and lemon peel give the scent a wonderful, faint sweetness, and I don't think I'd care for this scent nearly as much as I do if it weren't both both notes. There's no sign of ylang-ylang, and just the barest hint of something warm and slightly darker than the rest of the scent, which I take to be the oakmoss.

Conclusion: La Primavera is definitely a winner. I never, ever expected to like LP, so excuse me while I go try to build up a stash.

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Seawater!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: SM didn't really appeal to me, but how could I not at least try it?

In the imp: Sweet-and-salty sea water and cucumber.

On skin, wet: Watery, salty, but surprisingly lovely cucumber. It's sweeter than I'd anticipated, but I'm not complaining. It's not musky at all to me.

On skin, dry: Bitter, salty seawater and strong, perfumey cucumber. It's much cleaner than I'd expected: for some reason, I had imagined SM would be salty and fish-like.

Conclusion: SM is definitely the salty, bitter cousin of Blue Moon 2004. If it were just a bit less salty, I think I could adore and stockpile this, but since it's not, I'm glad I didn't grab a bottle.

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Strange blueberries.

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: How could I not try this, if only for the concept alone? Luckily, the notes sound wonderful.

In the bottle: Beautiful, creamy vanilla-blueberry. Love!

On skin, wet: Blueberry tea. How very strange. I think I find this strange because my experience with blueberry in perfume is so very lacking, and, I think, for good reason: I'm not finding myself fond of blueberry tea! I can also detect red currant and musk, but just barely.

On skin, dry: Musky blueberry muffins. A very... strange change. Have I mentioned that this is a strange scent? Hmm. It's very, very sweet, but not cloying. As a blueberry scent, this is quite lovely -- I'm just finding myself less than fond of blueberry.

Conclusion: Strange really does say it all. It's a total morpher: vanilla-blueberry love to blueberry tea to musky blueberry muffins! I love the smell of fresh blueberries, but somehow, the smell of it on my skin is less than dazzling. I can, however, see how fruit/berry lovers would throw themselves at this.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky berry tea!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I amp jasmine something awful, but I'm giving this a go anyway.

In the decant: Acai berry and jasmine. A strange but hardly unpleasant combination!

On skin, wet: Musky berry tea! The white musk is much stronger than I'd anticipated, and that in itself is a fantastic thing!

On skin, dry: Surprisingly little change from wet. Like all white musk-heavy BPAL blend, this has a very soft, fuzzy quality, like warm velveteen. The tea stays just this side of soapy, and the is muted beneath the musk. This is the closest thing to BPAL's white musk single note I've ever gotten, and it is gorgeous.

Conclusion: Daiyu is surprise winner! It's got very little throw, so I'll need to slather, but I'm more than willing to do so. I'll definitely need a bottle!

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky vanilla tea!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: I love amber, musk, tea, and ambergris, but we'll see how it goes with gardenia and chrome!

In the imp: Musky amber and something very cold and bright -- chrome, I imagine? Intriguing and lovely.

On skin, wet: Wow. Very cold, musky vanillic amber tea. This is gorgeous. I can't place why, but I love the chrome quality. It's very sharp, but it doesn't overlap the other notes: it's a sort of base for them. Visually, it's like vanilla tea in a chrome tea cup just pulled from the freezer. (Let's say there are amber musk candles burning nearby to account for the other notes, eh? )

On skin, dry: Soapy white tea and chrome. White tea tends to turn into soap on me, so I'm not surprised. The chrome becomes very perfumey, and a bit "masculine." No hint of gardenia or ambergris that I can detect, strangely enough.

In Scent Locket: In a locket, Torture Queen is musky, vanilla tea love! There is nary a trace of chrome after the locket warms the oil, and though I do like that cold, sharp undercurrent, in the locket TQ combines three of my favorite notes.

Conclusion: Torture Queen is another scent I can't wear on my skin, but which wears beautifully in a locket. I'll definitely need to pick up a bottle before the Carnaval packs up and heads out.

Rating (on skin): 4/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Apple!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: Sexy vampire apples? Of course I couldn't resist!

In the bottle: Cold green apples and something a bit like ozone. Interesting, but a bit too sharp.

On skin, wet: Mint? How the...? There's definitely something minty to this, and I must say, apple and mint make a very strange combination. It does have a Snow White-like quality about it, but I wouldn't say it smells at all like SW.

On skin, dry: As SGA dries, it becomes a cold floral sort of scent. Like Snow White, it's a blind floral, in that I can't pick out anything in particular; like SW, it's a smushed kind of scent, like taking florals and mashing them into a paste until you can't discern Flower X from Flower Z. The longer it wears, the less apple-y it becomes, until it's a frozen, faintly minty floral.

In scent locket: SGA in a scent locket is something totally different. At first, it's sharp and crisp and, again, not really my thing. After it warms in the locket for a few minutes, it's the most wonderful, cold, bright green apple. I usually only go for spiced apple/cider-type scents, but there's something gorgeous about SGA in a locket.

Conclusion: On-skin, SGA is too floral for me. In a locket, however, I'm enamoured of it. If SGA had a color, it would be a very pale, light green on my skin; in the locket, it would be sparkly, glittery neon green. I'm glad a little does a long way in the locket, but I'll still probably find a backup bottle.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie:

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts:

In the imp: Sweet, earthy, slightly spicy apple! This bodes well!

On skin, wet: This is what I wanted Samhain to smell like: deep, earthy, sweet and spicy cider!

On skin, dry: Patchouli, cider, and cinnamon. It's deep and warm, smoky and spicy, sharp and surprisingly rich. Fall in a bottle.

Conclusion: L'Autunno is everything I love about fall. More specifically, it reminds me of Hallowe'en season. Like Monster, it brings up very specific memories: crunching through red, brown, and orange leaves on Hallowe'en 1993 in my maternal grandmother's Michigan neighborhood. Trying to fend off my mother's constant nagging -- "Don't walk on your costume!" "Stay where I can see you!" "Don't go to that house; the light is off!" -- while racing my friends to the next house. This was back before those absurd "you can only trick or treat between 6 and 8pm" laws started popping up, and it must've been about 11pm. The whole neighbourhood was alive with music and laughter and kids throwing rejected treats at each other -- really, now, who gives out carrots on Hallowe'en? The sidewalks were packed with monsters and faeries and princesses, elaborate costumes mothers had slaved over for weeks and last-minute get-ups from the drugstore. The moon seemed full (having been full the night before), and there was a woman reading palms on someone's porch. When I passed her, she was telling someone about the true origins of Hallowe'en, peppered quite liberally with anything she could think of to terrify the young kid. Hallowe'en back then had a vibe I've never been able to find again -- one not unlike that which one finds at rock festivals and political rallies: a miniature version of that connected feeling. I can't fathom why it brings up that memory, but I'm not complaining --just babbling. Simply put: L'Autunno is a winner.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie:

In the imp: A very strange combination of honey, peach, and cocoa.

On skin, wet: Honeyed peach, with just a touch of patchouli! This is very, very nice indeed.

On skin, dry: On my skin, honey can be either a] beautiful or b] horrible. EZ's honey note is definitely taking the former route. The patchouli, peach, and cocoa make this a very earthy scent I'm becoming quite fond of. It's like a combination of peach tea with a hefty dose of fresh golden honey with one of those thin dark chocolate stirring-sticks dropped in, and some inexplicable but lovely patchouli note.

Conclusion: I had no intention of trying it, really, but Eisheth Zenunim is a surprise winner. I'll definitely need to stock up on this.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Cedar!

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: Amber, vanilla, musk, and cedar? Oh, I hope this works.

In the bottle: Cold, musky cedar!

On skin, wet: Cedar -- beautiful, rich cedar. It's a cedar single note at first, but as it warms up, the musk and amber become apparent.

On skin, dry: Musky cedar and amber. It's definitely a cousin of Morocco -- a very close cousin -- just a bit smoother.

Conclusion: Inez is vanilla-cedar love! As much as I love it, though, it's close enough to Morocco that I won't need to build up a huge stash. Five or six bottles should be enough.

Rating (on skin): 1/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spicy pickle juice.

In the imp: Whoa... ew. Sour and just... sour.

On skin, wet: I haven't a clue what the heck in this is making it so sour, but it smells like cardamom and pickle juice. So weird.

On skin, dry: Sour sawdust and cardamom. This has got to be one of the strangest BPAL scents I've ever smelled.

Conclusion: Definitely, definitely not for me. It smells strange in the vial, but I sniffed it on a friend last week, and it was pure woody cardamom love. Skin chemistry is such a weird thing.

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Coconut and lilac.

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: Musk, vanilla, tea, tobacco, and coconut? I'm there! Hopefully the lilac plays nice.

In the imp: Musky vanilla lilac. Interesting, but very floral.

On skin, wet: Soft, coconutty lilac, but very strong lilac.

On skin, dry: Coconut and lilac: nothing more, nothing less. Lilac does have the tendency to eclipse all other notes, so I'm not terribly surprised, but without the lilac, I imagine this would be fantastic.

Conclusion: Ashlultum is a very fuzzy scent. If it had a color, I imagine it would be a very soft purple. It's a lovely floral scent, but just not for me.

Rating (on skin): 3/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Spiced, honey root beer.

In the bottle: Honey! Sweet, thick, rich, spiced money.

On skin, wet: Root beer? The hell?

On skin, dry: Root beer.

Conclusion: Oy. When I first sniffed it in the decant, I fell in love. I stuck some in my scent locket and went on my way, searching and hunting for more -- all the while assuming it would be that same sweet, deep honey on my skin. And then, when I finally do try it, it's root beer with a touch of honey. Alas. I'll still keep a bottle or two for the locket, but I don't need to seek any more.

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Sour wine.

In the imp: Sour wine, full stop.

On skin, wet: Carnations, cider, and warm wine. Not bad, but not really nose-catching.

On skin, dry: Sweet, floral cider and sour wine. A very strange combination indeed, this one, and not one that works well with my skin chemistry.

Conclusion: Wine is wont to turn sour on me, and it does just that in Queen Alice. Beneath that sour wine is a very pleasant floral cider. Not my thing, really, but very nice all the same. The thing is, of course, that one can't get rid of that blasted sour wine.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky honeyed vanilla.

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: This could either be amazing or amazingly bad on me. We shall see.

In the imp: Patchouli, pine, and tobacco! Nice, but very heavy.

On skin, wet: Tobacco and PINE. Very aggressive pine. Pine with dominance issues.

On skin, dry: Musky, resinous honeyed vanilla undercut by a deep pine. This? This is awesome. It's surprisingly faint, but I'd reapply as often as necessary. It reminds me of MME Moriarty: they're both deep, musky, patchouli-laden vanilla scents, and both are fantastic.

Conclusion: It started off iffy, but I'm won over. I'll definitely pick up a bottle or 50 -- this will need to be slathered to keep going, and given that it's all-pine-all-the-time in the decant and while wet, wearing it in a scent locket is out. If you like MME Moriarty, you may well like the Illustrated Woman.

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Musky burnt plastic.

Preconceived notions/pre-review thoughts: The listed notes are all ones I adore, but the mentions of "burnt plastic" leave me wary.

In the imp: Salty, slightly woody caramel!

On skin, wet: No sign of plastic yet, just a very golden, woody, musky amber-caramel that I'm finding absolutely beautiful.

On skin, dry: ....Burnt plastic. Musky, sweet burnt plastic, but burnt plastic all the same.

Conclusion: Caramel is hit-or-miss with me. It's fantastic in Red Lantern; not so much in Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht. I love it in the vial and while wet, so I'll definitely give it a try in a scent locket.

Rating (on skin): 2/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Hazelnut coffee!

In the imp: Chocolate! Slightly spicy white chocolate.

On skin, wet: ...Hazelnut coffee? It can't be, but it is! Warm, rich, slightly chalky, nutty, and very slightly spicy, this reminds me of a good hazelnut coffee with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. It reminds me of the coffee house I frequented as a teenager.

On skin, dry: Nary a trace of apple blossom, honeysuckle, frankincense, allspice, tea, or tonka! The chalky quality may be due to the chocolates or sandalwood: both are wont to end up that way.

Conclusion: I can't fathom what combination of notes equals hazelnut coffee when combined with my skin, but it's a dead ringer. Alas, while I do enjoy a good cup of hazelnut coffee, I'm not quite as keen to smell as though I'd rubbed the coffee into my skin.

Rating (on skin): 5/5

Summarised in a few words/smilie: Winter!

In the bottle: Something akin to ozone, strong pine, and lily. Interesting, but this may end strangely.

On skin, wet: Very strong, very cold pine, and just a hint of lily. The pine begins to calm down immediately, and the plum quickly comes into the foreground, and the white musk is right behind it. This, of course, is a fantastic thing!

On skin, dry: L'Inverno is a morpher. It goes from an intense pine to a slightly sweet, very cold, musky plum with the slightly sharp tang of orchid and pine beneath it. Without that tangy (that's the only word I can think of to describe it!) background, this would probably be too candyish for me. Thankfully, it's not, and I? I am completely in love with this.

Conclusion: L'Inverno reminds me of nighttime in the dead of winter, just before the Christmas season, when the season hasn't yet given way to red and green and white lights, warm spices, and hot cider (or egg nog!); when winter stands on its own and isn't tied down to a holiday; when all you can think about is the six feet of snow the weatherman's promising, the 5-foot icicles hanging from your roof, and the absurdity of early-morning pledges that you'll never ever complain about the summer heat again. L'Inverno is winter -- not Christmas; winter -- in scent form, and I simply adore it.