coulrophobe

In the bottle: Another blend that smells like trees. *sigh* That's not a good thing. I was hoping all the floral notes would compensate, but evergreen notes tend to completely take over whatever scent they're in once they hit my skin.

 

On: Pine/fir and something my nose is interpreting as eucalyptus - I think that's actually the birch. If I sniff long enough, I can just barely catch a hint of something sweet and floral, but it's pretty much overwhelmed by the Pine Trees of Doooom.

 

Drydown: Lunacies generally do work for me - and I can smell the distinctive "lunar oil smell" underneath the evergreens after a while. As the tree notes get milder, there's an almost dish-soap quality to them - it's not offensive, but also not what I normally want to smell like. If I could just get the fir/birch to calm down a bit, the florals underneath smell sweet and strangely spicy.

 

I'm mainly disappointed because so many of the winter oils this year have smelled the same on my skin, with subtle differences like "slightly sweeter" or "this time with mint" (and I already had Ice Queen and Skadi). Having this along with Nuclear Winter, Talvikuu and Snow Bunny is a bit too much for someone who's not really into the whole "smelling like a tree" thing.

I put off getting an imp of this forever, because I really don't like frankincense very much (smells like soapy trees), and myrrh tends to turn a bit syrupy on me - so how would they smell good on me together?

 

Well. Somehow they manage to. Penitence is pure warm resin, not too woody - and it dries down to a smokey spice resin.

 

Very subtle, and surprisingly comforting. I think I'll wear this one to sleep tonight - it just seems so soothing.

Wooooo, that's lemony! But it's a fresh, rich, creamy lemon balm scent, rather than lemon Pledge.

 

Definitely a bright, sunny, wake-you-up sort of scent. Once in a while, I think I catch a whiff of herbs or wood, or a fleeting hint of honeysuckle, but the lemon balm pretty much owns this scent.

 

I'm saving this one for a rainy day, literally - I think it'd be a great antidote for depression brought on by dreary Northwest winters.

I'll have to agree with the Rat King comparisons - but only because in both that and this blend, all I can smell is dirt.

 

And unfortunately, dirt is an absolutely horrid note on my skin; it turns into a dry moldy smell as the oil dries on my skin.

 

I'm completely perplexed that I can't smell anything but dirt in this... maybe I should put it aside and try again in a week or so - could be random chemistry fluctuations.

In the bottle: Ack! Butter.

 

On: Butter. With a side of butter. And a little bit of syrup.

 

Very sweet and cloying - I just can't do the foody scents very well. I pretty much knew I wouldn't be able to wear this one - I'm glad that so many others like it so I'll be able to give it a better home!

I first smelled the unreleased version of Snowblind back in summer and loved it, so I was delighted that my naughty plea resulted in this blend.

 

On me, it's a true vanilla mint - creamy, but not at all buttery. Makes me think of those pastel-colored melt-away mints.

 

The mint doesn't last too long on me (it never does, much to my dismay), but the lingering sweetness is still quite lovely.

I agree with UltraViolet that Florentine Iris is a bit similar to violet - to my nose, both are a bit powdery, but definitely and decisively *purple* smelling.

 

I've always loved the iris blends, like Black Pearl, Florence, and the dearly departed Morella. By itself, Florentine Iris is sharper and has a bit of greenness. It's almost watery smelling as well... I suppose that's contradictory to it being "powdery," but it's a note that insists upon being complicated to my nose.

 

For a final verdict - I like it better in blends than I do on its own. I like something to soften it up, like the musk in Black Pearl. But it's still my favorite floral note, and I'll keep hoping for more irisy blends (while hoarding my precious SN imp).

In the bottle: sweet, fruity, and a bit creamy.

 

On: You know, it does just smell... pink. There's a fake strawberry aroma that dominates at first, but it's not unpleasant - just a smell that's not found in nature. As it dries, I can smell more of the vanilla and honey.

 

It's light, girlish, but still subtle on me.

In the bottle: Spicy patchouli... really can't smell much else.

 

On: It burns, it burns! I'm assuming that's the cassia. Oddly, I've never had that reaction to cinnamon (and I've tried almost all the BPAL cinnamon blends)... come to think of it, I haven't had a painful reaction to *any* BPAL before. But this one definitely stings.

 

Smellwise... it's OK. But so similar to Blood Moon and a bunch of other spicy scents, it's not really standing out for me. Which is probably a good thing, since wearing it is a bit uncomfortable for me...

In the bottle: Like others have said, this is lilac to my nose. With other stuff mixed in that I can't decipher yet.

 

On: Of course, maybe my nose is saying "lilac" because that's how it often interprets Dragon's Blood. I'm also getting a heavy dose of jasmine.

 

Unfortunately, neither Dragon's Blood nor jasmine are very good notes for me. I was hoping for a fresh, pure lilac scent - but sadly, this isn't it, at least on my skin.

In the imp: Very citrusy - this scent has a bite to it.

On: There's a bright splash of grapefruit at first, then it calms down and I can catch whiffs of florals. Unfortunately, however, white tea has a muting effect on my skin - Baobhan Sith is a very light, subtle scent on me. Lovely, but barely there, and so pure and innocent smelling - not what I expected from the name.

Still, it's lovely enough that I'm praying for a good grapefruit crop, so perhaps it could be resurrected someday.

Another vote for Yggdrasil, as Dublin was green-floral and very feminine on me.

 

And maybe Coyote? There's a bit of a leathery note from the doeskin, but it's not a "rawr, leather" scent at all - light and grassy. My dad's not a cologne type of guy, but he liked Coyote.

I have chemistry that tends to sweeten up whatever I put on my skin... so a lot of "traditionally masculine" scents end up smelling pretty darn feminine on me.

 

I tend to like the spicier ones like Dracul, or leathery ones (mmmm, Dee!), or a few of the woody/earthy scents (the dearly departed Typhon comes to mind). And musk, always love the musk. Some of the cleaner masculine scents like Wilde just end up smelling soapy-gender-neutral on me, however.

In the bottle: I'm not sure what I'm smelling - a bit fruity, a bit floral, a bit incensey.

 

On: Definitely warm and a bit powdery, with subdued florals and a hint of orange. Dragon's blood is usually an obnoxious floral on me, but here it manages to stay on the resiny side - I think the amber is a good influence for it.

 

Verdict: Not my favorite of the Lunacies by far, but very pleasant, and a nice warm scent for dreary winter days like this one.

In the imp: Juicy fig mixed with something almost cedar-y.

 

On: My skin really amps up the fig - which is good, because I *love* fig. Cocoa rarely works with my chemistry, but it's such a minor player in this blend (for me) that the dreaded "stale coco-puff" effect never happens. It's slightly woody, warm, and dark... and unabashedly figgy.

In the imp: Hoo, boy - that's patchouli, all right!

 

On: Now I can smell the cedar, and a dusting of cinnamon, in addition to the "eau de hippie" - luckily for me, the vetiver stays in the background.

 

Definitely an earthy blend, with a little light spice - while this blend is not very "me," it's not offensive to my nose at all, either. I think if a man were wearing this in my vicinity, I'd be inclined to pounce and snuffle.

In the imp: a lemony-green sort of smell.

 

On: The verbena is definitely the dominant note on me. I much prefer lemon verbena to straight lemon (the latter is more likely to be lemon-pledge, while verbena stays in the sweet, natural lemon phase). As it dries down, I catch a hint of jasmine and tea... but it's mainly a sweet lemon blend on my skin.

 

A very uplifting, springy blend.

In the imp: Kind of sharp-smelling, almost like neroli.

 

On: Vaguely floral. Vaguely soapy. In general, just kind of vague - I was expecting something much more assertive. Eventually, it just turns into a soft soapy rose.

 

Doesn't smell very merciless to me!

In the imp: Clean smelling, and I can pick out the tang of bergamot.

 

On: Turns into a very strong soap scent on me.

 

Might be lovely with a man's chemistry, but on me it's just very masculine soap. Not unpleasant at all, but not really my style.

In the imp: Neroli! Yup, that's neroli.

 

On: Neroli! But now there's something more aquatic, which was more along the lines of what I was expecting. As it dries down, the neroli goes a bit powdery (because that's just what it does on me), and it becomes a very soft, sweet floral blend.

 

Very unlike what I was expecting, and quite nice.

 

Unlike everyone else, I get no lotus whatsoever. But did I mention lots of neroli?

Preconceived notions: Admittedly, I'm not much of a rose fan. Love the real thing, but it's not a note that works on me 90% of the time. But in the name of science, I'm trying this and hoping it's part of the other 10%.

 

In the bottle: It's not striking me as uber-rose just yet - I can smell it, but there's a white florally feel to it. Must be the ylang ylang.

 

On: Again, it is rosey - but not the screaming-pink fake rose effect I get from most rose blends. It smells softer, chillier, more mature. This is a bouquet of white roses to my nose.

 

I'm still not a rose girl by any stretch of the imagination, but this is definitely one of the better rose blends I've tried.

In the imp: Quite fruity - that's how the wine notes usually smell to me. I'm not picking anything else up, but this smells promising.

 

On: Oh phooey, I should have known better. The rosiness amps itself up (attar of rose is a dry, powdery rose scent on me), and the jasmine kicks into high gear with the dusty, polleny funk I get from most jasmine blends.

 

This one's a sneezer. I feel like I'm covered in pollen.

 

Not for me obviously!

In the imp: Definitely dry wood, with a lemony tang... *looks at description* My bad, make that a bergamoty tang.

 

On: Hakkotsu stays pretty true to how it smells wet for me, except that it softens a bit and the Lily of the Valley, which always smells pleasantly soapy to me, appears.

 

The associations I'm having are oddly tropical - it's making me picture white sandy beaches and palm trees... I just realized this smells like suntan lotion!

 

Not what I want to smell like all the time, but in the middle of winter when I'm cold and miserable? Yes, please!

If I'd read the reviews before trying Luna, I'd probably never have opened the imp - anything cherry/almond makes me recoil in horror.

 

Luckily, I get no cherry or almond from Luna. On me, it's pure white floral. I'm pretty sure I smell jasmine, which is usually not a good note for me - but in Luna, it behaves.

 

A very clean, light and feminine scent.

As everyone has already mentioned, Mystery is one odd little blend.

 

At first I thought it smelled a bit lavendery, but mixed with something that made it more tolerable (lavender is harsh/sharp/disquieting to me).

 

But upon reading the other reviews, I found myself agreeing with things I hadn't noticed. Anise, no -er, wait a minuted, there it is. And then I can smell a little whiff of lemon, I hadn't noticed that. And I definitely can smell plastic dolls and dog shampoo.

 

The strange thing is that I'm not finding any of these bad - and lemon and anise aren't notes I even like!

 

Unfortunately, it's not meant to be, as Mystery develops a kind of burnt tone on drydown. A little oily and charred - similar to the feeling I get with vetiver, but not quite that harsh.