caitilarkin

This was a gift from my lovely and generous Switch Witch!

 

In the bottle: I looooove the Lab's clove note, and at first sniff I noted rich clove tempered with brown sugar.

 

Wet on skin: The clove is blending beautifully with the sugar and sassafras...not getting much plum as of yet...

 

Dry on skin: Oh, how I love this! Somehow this combination of very foody notes is melding into a very sophisticated, non-foody scent. I'm tempted to think that there's a touch of brown musk in here...

 

Lasts over eight hours on me and is appropriate for both work and play. This one's a Top 10 for sure!

In the bottle: Holy Mother of Clove...accented by dry woods and a leetle bit of bay

 

Wet on skin: Still exceedingly clovey, which I expected since I amp clove like WHOA, but I'm starting to notice a hint of sandalwood.

 

Dry on skin: Here we go! The clove has calmed down, the woods are less dry and the sandalwood is playing nicely with the vanilla and carnation.

 

This is lovely after about 10 minutes and really hits its stride after about half an hour. It lasts well over eight hours on me and becomes deeper and more complex as the day goes on.

 

Even in the dog days of summer, I love this one and expect that it will be a huge favorite.

In the bottle: Cool coconut with light tropical florals

 

Wet on skin: I love the Lab's plumeria note and it's fantastic here blended with the same coconut-type note from Snow White

 

Dry on skin: The florals deepen and blend beautifully with the coconut. One of the floral notes--I'm not sure which one--is similar to guava or passionfruit.

 

Tiki Princess smells like the lovechild of Snow White and Cheshire Moon. Since those are two of my favorite BPALs, this is a big hit with me. It was very light on me and faded after about 4 hours on the first skin test (most BPALs last all day on me). It will be perfect for the hot, sticky summer that is bearing down on us.

On Darkness, which was mentioned on the previous page, is a deep, warm, velvety purple to me. The incense, lavender, violet and poppy combine to make a very comforting purple night sky type of scent.

In the imp: Plum and lots of musk

 

Wet on skin: The incense is taking over my lovely musky plum and making it too sharp and sweet.

 

Dry on skin: Luckily, the incense calms down as the oil dries, allowing the plum and red musk to shine while florals add a touch of sweetness. I never detect the beeswax at all in this blend.

 

The Witch Queen reminds me a lot of Prunella (due to the plum, no doubt). I'll have to test them side by side to determine which is more bottleworthy, but they're both lovely when dry.

In the imp: Moist, fertile soil...if you like earth notes, you'll love this. It really does smell like...fertility.

 

Wet on skin: The balsam amps on me, hugely, and I'm about to wash off the blend when the myrrh and cedar notes come to the forefront and balance the scent.

 

Dry on skin: Resin, florals, earth and woods...this is absolutely beautiful. The balsam is present only enough to add a pleasant sharpness to a well-grounded blend.

 

I usually love the Lab's dirt blends, but this is the first one I can really see myself wearing in public.

In the imp: spicy Mexican hot chocolate

 

Wet on skin: The maize note is coming to the forefront, which I thought would be weird but it's really yummy, especially with all spices. Cocoa and maize as a delicious combination...who knew?

 

Dry on skin: The cocoa recedes and the maize/spice combo blends with something sweet (must be the agave wine).

 

I like this best in its early stages--this might be one for my scent locket.

In the imp: Milk--very goaty milk

 

Wet on skin: Ooh, much better! The sweetness of the myrrh and the deep fruity fig are tempering the goat's milk. I'm a big foodie lover so this blend is right up my alley in its present state.

 

Dry on skin: The milk is almost entirely gone--once dry, the blend is primarily myrrh with a touch of fig for the rest of its 3-4 hour life.

 

I'm not normally crazy about myrrh, but I really like it in this blend. Very yummy.

In the imp: Bright, fizzy fruit--heavy on the lime and white grape

 

Wet on skin: The fizziness (which, as others have said, is probably from the juniper) is more soda-like than alcoholic on me. And the fruits are well-blended so I can't really pick anything out except for the lime.

 

Dry on skin: This was surprisingly long-lasting on me--over five hours. It didn't morph much, although the fizziness did die down somewhat after an hour.

 

Me likey! This is a nice summer scent.

Vanilla is always win, cedar is almost always win...the other notes in this I wasn't so sure about before I tried it...

 

In the imp: Lovely rich vanilla with hints of sassafras and dry cedar

 

Wet on skin: Ugh, the cedar is amping and it's turning to pencil shavings! I've heard about this phenomenon before, but this is the first time it's happened to me.

 

Dry on skin: The vanilla and sassafras are struggling to climb out from under the Godzilla-sized pencil shavings, but it's a losing battle.

 

This is the first time cedar has hated on me.

I did not submit a plea for this Yule Inquisition--even though I really wanted Gluhwein--due to my incredible self-discipline no monies because I bought too many Yules and Anniversaries. Now that it's a rare, I had to do a bit of stalking to find a decant.

 

In the imp: Red wine--very boozy

 

Wet on skin: Mulled wine is at the forefront, but I can actually pick out every one of the other notes, even the bay leaf. The ultra-booziness is fading, too.

 

Dry on skin: The honey is now as strong as the wine--how I love and adore the Lab's honey notes. The spices are sticking around, too.

 

This lasts for over eight hours on me, with the honey being the longest-lasting note. Love, love, love and will have to find more.

Vetiver and I are not on speaking terms since the Velvet Tiger Disaster of 2009 (wherein the vetiver did kill all the other notes and eat them), so I was a bit afraid to try Prurience. And if I had read the reviews beforehand I NEVER would have tried it at all.

 

In the imp: VETIVER

 

Wet on skin: Initially it's more VETIVER, but slowly the carnation and musk start to peek their little heads out.

 

Dry on skin: Ah, much better. The lovely spice of the carnation and sweetness of the tonka are holding their own.

 

This is ideal after about 40 minutes. Based on other reviews, I'm going to hand on to this and see how it ages.

In the imp: Mandarin, vanilla and faint sandalwood...oh mama, this is delicioso...

 

Wet on skin: The lily has joined the other notes, and if this dries down as a lovely melange of mandarin/vanilla sandalwood/floral then I will have to spring for a bottle.

 

Dry on skin: Nope, the mandarin has disappeared and the whole scent has turned to faint floral powder. Oh, the humanity. Does opium go powdery? None of the other notes in the blend have ever done this on me.

In the imp: Wood and amber with a touch of citrus

 

Wet on skin: The citrus is coming to the forefront and the wood is now identifiable as cedar--lovely!

 

Dry on skin: I think that labdanum does not like me...the blend has gone powdery and shrill; this has happened with other blends containing labdanum.

 

Sadly, this ends up being too sweet and powdery on me. Even the amber and cedar couldn't save it.

In the bottle: Red musk and dark fruit

 

Wet on skin: The tartness of the orange blossom is coming out, and so is the medicinal quality that is sometimes apparent in fresh red musk.

 

Dry on skin: After about 20 minutes, the sharpness of the red musk yields to the sweetness of the orange blossom and the deep earthiness of the pomegranate. I can't detect the melon at all.

 

This is a very sensual, grown-up, take-no-prisoners kind of scent. Even though the red musk is very raw and strong right now, I still love this blend and will probably adore it even more as my bottle ages.

In the bottle, I got lots of cherry plus a little bit of red musk and myrrh.

 

I use the BPTP bath oils as after-shower moisturizers, so I slather lots of this on and get beautiful blood orange, cherry and red musk. The citrus comes out even more as the oil dries.

 

Like the other BPTP bath oils, this lasts from shower to shower on me, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Those who like red musk absolutely have to get some of this before the Warrior Queens leave.

 

 

In the bottle: Thick, herbal honey with faint florals

 

Wet on skin: The thick honey is receeding just a tad, and I can pick out the yummy copal, honeysuckle and chamomile. There's also a grainy note--maybe it's the yarrow? (I've never smelled yarrow before.)

 

Dry on skin: This is thicker and sweeter than Litha 06. On my skin, the main similarity between the two is the lovely honey note. This year's version also lasts longer on me--over 12 hours.

 

I wore this yesterday (on Summer Solstice) and it was absolutely perfect.

I almost didn't buy this because the dreaded jasmine is the first note listed, but ultimately I couldn't resist the story and Lilith's sweet baby face.

 

In the bottle: Lots of sweet jasmine and lime

 

Wet on skin: I love candied tamarind (for those who have never tried it, it's a sweet/sour/tart fruit) and I swear I can smell it here, just a tad. There's also a bit of margarita in the background and the jasmine is still present. (And not amping or going soapy. YAY!) The primary smell now is the lime, though.

 

Dry on skin: As the blend dries, the Dorian comes out and the margarita amps--a Dorian margarita!

 

Later, the moss and other florals take a turn before the blend ends up as a sweetened Dorian.

 

This is absolutely unique, evocative and slatherworthy.

In the imp: Tropical floral with a faint tinge of alcohol (the drinking variety, not the icky perfume kind)

Wet on skin: Yup, this is definitely plumeria all the way. The champagne adds a tiny kick and the pear is nowhere to be found. This makes me sad because I love the Lab's pear note.

Dry on skin: Once the plumeria calms down the blend is quite lovely. If you like plumeria, you'll love Thalia.

In the imp: Lovely spiced amber

 

Wet on skin: The berries have arrived, and they're kind of grainy as well as sweet.

 

Dry on skin: I never got any iris with this, but the spiced amber with a berry background is very nice. This also lasted pretty well (over five hours), so it will probably go into the regular rotation as I am an amber fiend.

In the imp: Salt water with a touch of cream (this description isn't appealing but the scent is quite comforting and yummy--previous reviewers have compared it to condensed milk and I agree with that)

 

Wet on skin: Gah. The aquatic note is going soapy on me and clashing with the milk note.

 

Dry on skin: Sadly, this didn't work on my skin at all due to the soapiness, but it's nice in my scent locket.

In the imp: Grass and fresh water

 

Wet on skin: The florals have appeared but they're drowning

 

Dry on skin: Apparently peony and/or tulip do not like me. And I need to accept that most of the Lab's aquatic notes don't like me either. This blend, so fresh and springlike in the imp, turned into acrid soap on my skin. Ah well.

 

In the imp: Gah. Lots of bitter cypress.

 

Wet on skin: The cypress amped for a bit, then faded to provide backing for heady, sweet florals.

 

Dry on skin: This morphed into a lovely blend of mostly orchid and currant, backed by poppy and labdanum. I never did get any myrrh and the cypress retreated after about an hour.

 

I didn't expect to like this but I really did.

I'm not a floral gal, but I liked this one because the notes are not the usual rose/lily/jasmine perfume fare. As other reviewers mentioned, I think there's an uncredited light musk in the blend which appears at drydown and deepens the florals. Although it didn't last long on me (about two hours), it never went soapy or shrill as florals often do on my skin. Definitely will be keeping the imp.

I've never smelled crocuses or snowdrops, so this will be an olfactory education for me.

 

In the imp: Light, white florals

 

Wet on skin: I can definitely pick out the lily influence, and the other notes are registering as very green and fresh, as others have mentioned.

 

Dry on skin: The florals become deeper and richer with time--it's almost like they're blooming.

 

Lasted about 4 hours on me and never go in to soapy territory as so many floral notes do with me.