crebbsgirl

This started off nice. The Snake Oil taken up a notch with ginger and cassia. A really nice spicy kick to it. It was seductive and attention getting. And then some weird plasticky note came out. I have no idea what happened here but I usually have no trouble with SO. It went horribly fake smelling and gross on my skin. Boo. I was looking forward to this snake most because of my love of spice. Apparently it wasn't meant to be.

This was not what I was expecting at all. This is a very fresh blend. Something is slightly aquatic feeling here. It's sweet, but a dry sweetness. The incense and tobacco notes are prominent. I can faintly detect the dust. My skin eats this up, so it's pretty well gone within an hour.

Holy crap this is a morpher!! Wet, almost all I get is jasmine. The black orchid is present as well and I can very faintly detect the paperwhites. The myrrh is barely present. As it dries, it goes powdery on me, like a gramma smell. There seems to be a faintly citrus vibe here, almost lemony? I put this one on and was paying close attention to it for about an hour or so. I went out for dinner and shopping and when I came back, I could smell this delicious, resinous, spice. It was Eshe! I was shocked! Gone was the powdery floral perfumey smell and in its place was a complex, albeit light, resin/spice scent. I liked the end result, but it took a very long time to get there.

Hi, people I'm quite new to BPAL (made my first order this October, and this is my first post) but I'm already noticing a few trends to my tastes. My nose isn't experienced enough yet to pick up on many individual notes, but vanilla seems to be one that's common to many of my favorites so far.

 

I love Dorian, Eclipse, and Belle Vinu, all of which mention having vanilla notes. On the other hand, I also really like Scherezade, The Raven, and Ozymandias, which seem incensey/spicy/musky/woody. I don't think I really really want straight foody scents, but I'd love to find more scents that bend the vanilla with the spicy, incense/wood notes.

 

I've never been a fan of patchouli, but I guess it might work for me in blends, so I won't rule out scents that use it.

 

Suggestions?

You might try the Antikythera Mechanism. There was a wonderful teak/oak note here. It was warm and delicious without being foody. Dragon's Milk is vanilla and dragon's blood resin and on me there's a slight spicy note that comes out. Good luck!

Ylang ylang and I are still apparently feuding. I thought we could put our petty differences aside, for the sake of patchouli and myrrh, and especially red musk (she's never been anything but good to me, that one). I guess I was mistaken. Especially about red musk. That bitch totally sided with ylang ylang here. The result was a cloying, in your throat thickness that I just couldn't get past. Patchouli and myrrh tried valiantly to subdue the other two, but in the end, the ylang ylang/red musk alliance was just too strong-willed. I had to wash this off.

This is the blend that made me love patchouli again. I can't believe I haven't reviewed this until now. This was a frimp from the lab awhile back that I ended up loving even more than the ones I picked myself. The patchouli was earthy and delicious, not overly hippie. The cinnamon provided a spicy depth and the amber lends a beautiful sweetness. Just YUM!

I have no idea what went wrong here. All of the notes in Wrath are typically go-to's for me. Except when I put this on, it smelled...well... rank! There was something absolutely WRONG about this blend on me and I have no idea what it was. It took on a scent that I usually get when I try to wear anything with the lab's civet bouquet. Oh this was just BAD on my skin. Boo.

Tropical indeed! Wet this was very much banana and coconut. The apple and pomegranate came out more in the drydown. This was very fruity. I didn't get any chili pepper here, and I could faintly detect the sugar cane. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys sweet fruit scents, but my tastes run a little darker.

On me, this was earth with soft florals. It went a little musky on me, which dirt scents tend to do. I really liked this though, as there seemed to be a spice to the dirt that was a little unexpected. The dry down stayed much the same, and still with a faint floral note here. Overall the effect was comforting, which was completely unexpected. I need to test this a couple more times but I think I will be getting a bottle in the near future.

I was a little scared of this blend, but I was determined to try it, after hearing one forumite's theory that either Eclipse or Chimera will work for anyone, and those that don't do well with one, will do well with the other. And since Eclipse was such a massive fail for me, I figured "what the hell?". Chimera is the blend that defies the odds for me. The only note in here that ever works for me is myrrh, and even then it's usually 50/50. Copal and honeysuckle are typically deal-breakers for me. This blend however, was wonderful! The cinnamon and myrrh balanced well with the copal and honeysuckle so that the overall effect was a sweet, spicy scent with a depth to it and a very very faint floral hint. Breathtaking!

I really enjoyed this blend. The clove, allspice and cassia were key notes on me. The tobacco and peppercorn came out more during the drydown. The tea leaf wasn't overly apparent (which is a good thing as I tend not to do well with traditional tea scents). The sandalwood added just enough of a "perfumey" vibe so that I didn't smell overly like a market. This was a beautiful scent overall, spicy and warm.

On me this went sweet rose. The apple and peach were very strong when wet, but dried to nearly undetectable amounts. The rose came out with a vengeance and the honey sweetened it up. I could barely smell the musk underneath. I had my mother sniff my wrist where I had applied this and she actually said "It smells like dead things." I think I will be swapping this.

This was an incredibly feminine blend. The violet-like orris took a predominant position here, with a faintly patchouli undertone, while the musk was definitely more present. I didn't get much myrrh here at all. The overall effect was powdery and dry. It sweetened considerably on the drydown, getting almost cloying on my skin. In the end, not a blend for me.

Dry cocoa powder and warm sultry amber. This is rich and sophisticated. Dark and gorgeous. I really like this, but it may be too chocolately for me to wear regularly.

This was a truly perfect scent for me. The cassia took the lead while wet, the entire blend spicy and exotic, with the red musk adding a gorgeous base, and the tonka and tobacco playing dirty. And then, during the drydown, the mandarin came out. Oh the humanity! Mandarin does NOT like my skin, or maybe the other way around. Thus, this went sickly sweet and thin. Not for me

MMmmmmm Crowley is LOVE! Wet I get leather and mahogany, with a patchouli and musk undertone. As it dries, I can get faint whiffs of the lilac, and the vanilla comes out a little bit as well. Further into the drydown, the vanilla comes out more and blends with the leather and mahogany, while the patchouli becomes a little more predominant than the musk. This is dead sexy. I'm not getting much lemon rind here, and I can only very VERY faintly detect the oakmoss. Overall the effect is earthy and woodsy, while slightly sweet. Just YUM!

Wet, this is a pretty sharp green. The bay and laurel predominate. As it dries, the wine note comes out and gives a roundness to the blend, while the honey sweetens it. The incense kicks in last, leaving a dominant resinous tone. After awhile, all I can smell is incense, to the exclusion of all of the other notes.

WTF Grape Kool-aid? As it dries, the grape sugary smell calms down and there's a smoky goodness to this but unfortunately it doesn't last. Midway through the drydown, there is a musty stage that seems to stick around. The patchouli and nag champa can't save this one for me.

This blend is totally dominated by both the paperwhite and lily notes. I cannot detect any opium or poppy here at all. I get a heady white floral blend, reminiscent of a hothouse. As it dries I am getting a distinctly soapy vibe here and eventually, this has turned into a faint soapy floral that feels just a little too old for me.

I accidently swapped for this - very long story - and I am reminded of why I dislike almond scents. Or rather, I am reminded that my SKIN hates almond scents. In the bottle there is a complexity here I find intriguing. On the skin, it starts out nicely, the almond and mandarin adding a foody overtone to Snake Oil, while the myrrh adds a bit of depth. As it dries though, I get amaretto flavoured Snake Oil. Not good.

Prague on my skin is a very clean floral. Not soapy. Crisp and light. There seems to be a very faintly aquatic vibe here. I'm also getting a bit of a honey tinge as well. This is incredibly light and feminine, and not something I would normally ever wear.

Predominantly cherry cola, with a rose kick. My skin doesn't like roses, and this is no exception.

I didn't get cloves from this blend, but I did get Dragon's blood. This was a little fruity floral, and I think I could detect a bit of jasmine here too. Overall, not really what I'm looking for.

Jasmine and I do not get along, and now apparently, apricot and I are having a tiff. This started out nicely vanilla and white ginger. Sweet with a little spice. As it dried, the apricot and jasmine started duking it out for supremacy. Neither won, and this blend became sickly sweet, with a fruity overtone. There was a bit of a rotting vibe on my skin. I had to get rid of it.

This may be the one wine blend I can wear! Other blends tend to go fruity on my skin, but this stays wine-like and wonderful. I think the herbs might help to temper it. This is really quite nice. I can smell a little earthy note in the background. The overall effect is a little cool and sharp, with just a touch of sweetness. Someone above mentioned dirty wine and I must agree wholeheartedly.