Brianne

I had to quote andrabell on this one because I agree so much! In the vial: sugary On me: Oh my. I cannot even describe Lyonesse. If I thought it was gonna smell like THIS, I would have ordered it sooner. I'm so lucky the Lab gave me a frimp of it! This smells - as andrabell suggested - like O without the honey. It's creamy, smooth and sweet and very very lickable. Slightly sugary vanilla - like the vanilla in Black Opal and Antique Lace. Final note: I have nothing else to add except that this is SO awesome. EDIT: Here's the banner I made for it:

In the vial: sweet and light grapefruit On me: It goes on very bright and sweet grapefruit but it quickly starts deepening and becoming more masculine. The grapefruit and bergamot settle down into the marine notes almost immediately. Despite the marine note being very obvious it's not completely OZONEY/aquatic like Yog Sothoth was. It's much more subtle and definitely warmed by the ambergris. The ambergris also adds to the masculinity of this blend though. I just have a hard time smelling it and not thinking of something a guy would wear. This is nice though - it's clean, a tiny bit citrusy, lightly sweet and smooth. Despite it being "clean" it's actually a warm scent though, I don't get the "cool" vibe from it.

In the vial: apple On me: Like many others, Ladon is almost all apple on me. Strangely enough, Beth's apple note tends to go wierd on me (it doesn't smell bad, but it doesn't smell like apple either). But her apple blossom tends to smell like a soft, sweet light red apple scent. In Ladon, I must mostly be getting the apple blossom because there is nothing going off about this scent. The dragon's blood and hyacinth are very faint and working well together since I find that the two smell similar. Dragon's blood never fails to smell like lilacs on me, so the two together smell like soft, spring flowers. Together they work well and end up smelling airy, slightly sweet and light - it's definitely a Spring time scent. Final note: This is pleasant - definitely the kind of scent I would wear in the Spring. It doesn't particularly stand out to me though - possibly because I've already tried two other lightly fruity, soft scents today (51 and Croquet) - I like it, but I'm not sure I really need more than the imp.

In the vial: Cola? On me: When this goes on, it smells like cola at first - strange but amusing! The cedar and vetiver become apparent immediately. Very deep, very strong and quite distinct. Something about this makes me think of incense shops out at our local Ren Fest. It's just sort of deep and resinous and woody at the same time. The patchouli is very nice in this and I get a TINY little bit of cinnamon which ends up kind of adding a tiny little sweetness to this, but not a lot of spice. Deep woods would be a perfect two word review for this. This is SO deep and because of that, it comes off as a bit masculine. It's far too strong and deep for me to wear, but I still somehow enjoy it. Final note: I couldn't wear this as a personal scent - it's too much for me - too much wood, too deep - I like it though, maybe because it reminds me of something I love. I feel inclined to keep the imp even though I won't be wearing it lol. Such an interesting scent at the very least!

In the bottle: mmm grapefruit! On me: Words that come to mind: energetic, uplifting, fun, clean, bright. This is not as fruity as I had imagined it would be, and yet it's everything else I thought it would be. It's very bright and crisp with a slight woody undertone (not woody as in cedar, but I should say woodsy, rather). The lime and grapefruit are very dominant and yet it doesn't become too citrusy here - the nectarine sweetens and smooths this out a little. And the other notes help deepen and "mature" it - it's very clean and nice and complex at the same time. Final note: Glad I got a bottle of this! I would have loved for that lime to be even stronger, but even without it being super strong, it's such a nice blend!

In the vial: clean and green smelling On me: Goes on kind of bright and green with a hint of citrus. Very clean smelling, makes me think of F5 when it's wet. Edensixthday mentions Theirry Mugler's Angel and I have to agree! While it doesn't smell just like it, it does smell similar and has the same sort of vibe without the alcohol smell. It's PURE gorgeous when it's dry. I mean I can't even describe it but I am so sad that I didn't get a bottle instead of an imp. It's slightly sweet and musky with some soft fruity notes. It's such a beautiful blend and everything works together very well. The fruit isn't overwhelming at all - it's subtle and adds a playful touch to this. It's not sugary sweet but it's sweet enough and the wood notes add a sort of mature, deep background to this so that it's not all fruity and sweet and girly. It's very complex, but definitely beautiful. Final note: A definite winner in my book, I ADORE this blend. Beth outdid herself, it's so unique and complex. EDIT: Here is a banner I made for 51 if anyone would like to use it:

In the vial: Uh oh is that diapery smell? On me: Well the diapery smell is gone - I was afraid maybe jasmine was in here @__@ Thankfully, it doesn't seem so. However, this goes on SO STRONG on me. I mean, it's a pretty potent blend. And it's far more herbally than I ever would have guessed. I'm getting a strong lavender note with a strong incense note. The wierd thing is - I'm not getting any of those notes actually listed. Every single one of those notes usually work on me and then I put this on and what I've got is a strong herbal incense rather than a sweet, musky blend as I was expecting. Musk is usually dominant on my skin but for some reason, it's just not really coming out much in this. This is another blend that is somewhat "old lady" -ish on me. I know everyone has different ideas of what makes a scent an "old lady" smell and it's usually tied to what our own grandmothers wore - my great grandmother always wore strong, old fashioned incense like scents and this makes me think of it. It's potent, mature and a little too incensey and heady for me. I'm not sure how else to describe this scent, other than to call it an herbal incense scent. Final note: You know, it just happened to work out for me because I was SO SURE that this blend was going to work for me. It sounded perfect for me and I wanted to get a bottle but couldn't afford it so I had to settle for an imp for now. And as it turns out, I just don't like it. So it worked in my favor that I couldn't afford the bottle! This scent is not at all what I thought it was going to be!

This is an older thread, but since it's popped back up, I had to add to it! I am, as some know, a mint FAN. I ADORE mint. There are certain blends that could be called minty or cold that as a mint lover I would have to say didn't work for me - Undertow (which was seriously odd on my skin), Numb (which was a powdery floral more or less), anything with pennyroyal is less mint and more bathroom cleaner on my own skin (this is of course different for different people though!). Snow White was beautiful and soft but I wouldn't put it in this category myself. My favorite mint blends are Lick It, Tulzscha, and Spooky (which is a soft mint, but still)

In the bottle: Light, slightly floral On me: I can say with some certainty that this floral is not rose, lavender, jasmine, or gardenia. Honeysuckle!! That's what it is! I knew it smelled really familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it at first. It's vaguely sweet and airy with a light, bright feel to it. There is a spice there also, but it's very gentle. I don't smell cinnamon or eucalyptus, but I think this spice is probably sandalwood. It's gentle, subtle, earthy and warm. It's hard to describe White Light as a scent - it's very nice and it seems to fit it's name. I put this on just to review it and I find myself feeling calmer. I got this specifically to do a full ritual with, but haven't gotten to that yet. I can say though that wearing this, it did have at least a calming effect on me. Final note: Very pretty - not the kind of scent I'd reach for a lot as a personal scent, but it seems to be effective, so I can see myself wearing this when I need it. I will be using it mostly to annoint a candle, so I'm hoping it will be equally effective that way.

In the vial: sugary floral On me: Well the sugary note is gone and now I get rose. It's vaguely spiced in a generic kind of way. Unfortunately, that's about all I can say about this blend. Final note: I gotta learn to leave the Voodoo Oils alone, it seems that most of them have rose in them and I just don't like rose.

In the vial: Is that HAY? On me: Having grown up in the Midwest (lived here my whole life) I know the smell of hay, and that's what this smells like to me. Dry, a little green and brown, and pungent like many outdoor smells. It's very herbally now that it's sitting on my skin though. It seems we are all getting vastly different scents from this one - some of us get herbal, some people get rose, some lemon, some cherry and almond. I had wanted to try this with hopes that I would be getting cherry and almond but I am getting no such smell from this. I honestly can't imagine how anyone would have much of a positive reaction to this blend, it's pretty awful to me. I sense some rose in there somewhere, it's kind of green and watery smelling but definitely still pungent and herbal. There is an undercurrent of something kind of funky in this that makes me think of a swimming pool - sort of chlorine-y to my nose. Someone above mentioned Crabtree and Evelyn and I have to agree, it does sort of remind me of some of their scents, and yet I don't find this to be nearly as pleasant, in fact it's distinctly "off" smelling to me. Final note: I don't like this, at all. There is just something wierd on me about this blend, it smells completely off on my skin.

In the vial: Mmm bergamot! On me: Oh yeah, that's bergamot alright - it's a tangy, deep citrus smell. Slightly on the masculine side, but not too much so. Clean, crisp and tangy. Right behind that, I can smell a dry leather smell. It's pretty faint though, I would have to say that the bergamot/Earl Grey scent is the strongest in this. Then after it's really dry on my skin, the leather scent practically disappears and the bergamot turns suddenly mildly soapy. It's still citrusy too, but now it smells more like a bar of soap than anything. Final note: I had waited a long time to try Severin. I did think I would like it though, because I love bergamot and I love leather, so it was surprising to see this go a little soapy on me. It's not a bad scent by any means, it's just not for me.

In the vial: Mmm cocoa! On me: Right away, this is exactly what I expected. It's a very traditional Autumn smell in my opinion - the kind of smell I traditionally associate with that time of year. It makes me think of cocoa, pumpkin pie and candles. My Mom has always been keen on having candles for every time of year (gee I wonder where I get it from lol) and in Autumn, she always puts out candles that are typically foody and generally a lot of cinnamon, pumpkin and nutty scents make their way through our home. So in a sense, this is rather tied to memories for me. I think for that reason mostly I like this blend. The pumpkin isn't TOO buttery, in fact, it's a little "fruitier" than normal in this one. The cocoa isn't too sweet, the hazelnut isn't going crazy on me. It's very nice, it all melds very well. I have to say that it makes me think SO much of Yankee Candle Company candles lol. Final note: I'm glad I overlooked my usual fear of nut notes to give this one a try. The hazelnut and walnut are remarkably subtle in this and the end result is something very pleasant and enjoyable. Definitely something I'd want to wear in the Fall. I am sort of torn on getting a bottle because part of me thinks that my bottle of Pumpkin Queen is probably close enough to this, and another part of me thinks that this is different enough to warrant a bottle haha.

In the vial: Mmm almond milk! On me: What's so strange about this scent is that it manages to do two things it really shouldn't: a) I get very little pine. Pine is a note that usually goes berserk on my skin and takes over, but I just barely smell it here. It smells very much like Death Adder on me, and I can't see any good reason why it SHOULD It is sort of masculine, but in the way I find Dorian to be mildly masculine. It's not enough to make me not want to wear it, it's rather subtle. It's a little woody, a little musky and deep and yet there is this undercurrent of sweet, creamy and smooth that has the tiniest hint of something *green* (that isn't the pine, it's sort of a fresh green smell). It's an unusual combination and it doesn't quite smell the way I imagined. Not that that's a bad thing, it's actually a really nice scent. Exotic, slightly sweet and creamy - very interesting. I don't know why it smells so similar to Death Adder on me, I put Death Adder on my other hand to compare and they are very similar at first. Organ Grinder is slightly greener and "cooler" than Death Adder. In the long run though - once Organ Grinder has been on my skin for some time, it loses a lot of it's similarity to Death Adder. The wood is woodier at that point, and the creamy note has settled quite a bit. Final note: This is a hard scent to describe. I really like it, but I had to contemplate for a while about whether or not I felt that I really needed a bottle of it. At first, I was sure I did. But when I thought about the similarities on me between it and Death Adder, I ultimately decided that I like Death Adder better and I will just go with that. I will keep my imp though, because it's a nice scent!

I'd be sad to see certificates never available. The only people I want to give certificates to are the people that wouldn't have wishlists. Whoever mentioned the prepaid Visa though, that's a good idea!

In the bottle: Mmm buttery sweet! On me: Wet, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Buttery cookies and sweet lime. DELICIOUS. Better than The Star even, because it's tart. Oh! There's the rum! Sweet and boozey, it compliments the other notes so well and comes off like butterscotch. I'm lucky in that my skin doesn't seem to be eating the lime as some people are having problems with that. The wonderful thing about this scent is that it's foody but without being too foody. It really walks the line there between a scent that just has foody elements, to a scent that is food based. Final note: I love this every bit as much as I thought would!

In the bottle: Sort of masculine and clean On me: Mmm bergamot! Very clean and refreshing! Ginger and vetiver started spicing this up, but it still somehow stays a "cool" scent despite that. It is kind of masculine smelling because of these notes together, but I don't find it to be so far on the masculine side that I would not feel comfortable wearing it. Okay nope, I take that back. It's really edging into masculine territory now. Not to say that it isn't great - it smells really good and I love that this smells clean and bright - it's something I'd want my husband to smell like right after he showered. If there was a soap that smelled like this, the hubby would be forced to use it hehe. It strikes me as being a green, outdoors scent. Not in a "pine and dirt" kind of way - but it makes me think of standing in a green field, at the base of a mountain, with a river nearby. It's that kind of outdoorsy. Bright, citrusy, uplifting. Final note: hard to describe Spider but it's really nice. Someone mentioned Wilde earlier up and I see the similarity. If you like WIlde, then Spider is right up your alley. I don't think I'd wear this much, if at all - and yet, I don't want to get rid of my bottle either. Whether that is mostly an attachment to the character the scent is made for, or if it is just a real enjoyment of the scent itself I don't really know lol

In the bottle: Mmmm cool Egyptian musk On me: Right away this is fresh, green, airy. A light Egyptian musk and aloe. Very refreshing. Then the sandalwood kicks in - it's very light and mild and just adds a slightly woody edge to this very clean scent. Not getting any vanilla here, but definitely getting everything else. It's such a unisex scent - it's very inoffensive, light, clean and refreshing. It's interesting, and it makes me think of water even though it doesn't smell aqautic. Final note: Out of the ones I've so far, this is my favorite Carousel scent, which is surprising because I thought I'd like it least. It's just the kind of scent you could wear anywhere, anytime. I think it's surprisingly beautiful, I hope more people will give this one a chance.

In the bottle: powdery floral - rose maybe? On me: This reminds me of something - I just can't put my finger on it. Another BPAL scent, it has a powdery wierd thing going on for me when it first goes on. Is that myrrh?? It smells like myrrh to me, it's very incensey and a little powdery and that's what myrrh tends to do to me. As it dries down a floral starts to emerge - it's hard to place it, because it's very perfumey and kind of generic smelling on me. I really want to like this one. Really really really. But it smells like great grandma used to smell and I don't really like that. It's just too perfumey for me and that damned myrrh note just never really works well for me. I will admit that it seems complex - it feels like something a mature and sophisticated woman would wear. Final note: I keep sniffing my arm hoping to like this, but nope. I just don't feel it. I almost feel like I'm not really smelling Mama-Ji, because I get no nutmeg, no cardamom and no spices. I get myrrh and florals.

In the bottle: Mmm plum and peony! On me: This goes on very pink and refreshing - the plum is beautiful - it smells fresh and clean and a little sweet but not too much so. The peony is also lovely, not quite as heady as it is in Peony Moon. And then there is suddenly this bright, tart tangerine and mandarin scent. It's very uplifting and just wonderful! There is there other tart note in here that smells vaguely citrus like but it isn't the tangerine or mandarin so I'm going to guess it's the lychee? It's definitely a fruit note. It's so zesty and clean that it smells like someone is peeling citrus fruits right in front you, seriously. This ends up being softly sweet and mostly fruity and uplifting. Final note: This is beautiful, it's definitely more along the lines of what I was expecting with the fruits and peony. It's airy, lightly sweet and fruity. A wonderful blend to lift your spirits I think, I have a feeling I'll be wearing this a lot this Spring!

In the bottle: vanilla cupcakes! On me: Holy shit, cardamom! This went from vanilla cupcakes to pure cardamom in zero seconds when it hit my skin. It's crazy strong! Luckily, that backs off a bit as it dries down. I do catch whiffs of the chocolate cherries, but the chocolate is less like the chocolate in Bliss and more like a bittersweet cocoa. The cherries are faint and smell a little artificial to me (I think people understand what I mean by that). So, I'm glad that smell isn't amping. The vanilla is definitely there and it's nice and sweet and pairs well with the cardamom. It does smell like a baked good in a way, and yet somehow isn't 100% foody - mostly foody, but a little perfumey in a way. As this is on me longer, that cardamom starts to settle in even more. It's still rather prominent but not as in-your-face as it was. The vanilla in this one is really nice and it makes me think of cake or something. I wish the caramel was evident in this blend, but unfortunately it's not. Final note: Not quite what I was hoping for - the cardamom is a little crazy and the caramel is a no show. I don't love love love it, so the second bottle was probably unecessary, but I do like it and I think that if it has time to age, it will probably age into something fantastic. ETA: The longer it is on me, the more I like it. And the more I believe that aging this for six months will make a huge difference

In the bottle: Unsweetened cherry koolaid On me: This makes me think of my childhood when wet. We didn't have a lot of money growing up, so when you'd make Koolaid and it calls for one cup of sugar, we only put in half a cup. So it smelled more watery and tart, and that's exactly what this smells like when wet! I have never smelled acai berry before, but I like it for that impression. The neroli is there too but it smells a little green to me - it disappears after this stage though. When it dries though, it's definitely not watery and tart anymore. It's deepened quite a bit and it's got that golden and smooth quality from the amber. The spicy cardamom too has become very patchouli like in my opinion - it has that deep spice and kick to it. The Snake Oil is definitely apparent too. I have to admit that I'm kind of shocked that I didn't see any comparisons to another beloved oil - Snake Charmer - obviously, it doesn't smell exactly like it, but it is quite similar in my opinion. Smokey Snake Oil with a deepness to it and a fruity note. It's very nice and I love this for the same reasons that I love Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty. Final note: Surely it can't just be me getting the Snake Charmer impression. I really feel that it's quite similar and I find this oil to be much deeper and sexier than I had thought it would be (I was expecting something mostly fruity and sweet). Very nice!

In the vial: sweet lavender On me: I have a tendency to think of some oils as being crosses between two other oils. This is another one of those times where this scent reminds me distinctly of two others scents. In this case, it smells very much like Monsterbait: Underpants and Cheshire Cat. It's an unusual combination because Cheshire Cat is an herbal yet warm tea like scent and Underpants is sweet and sandalwoody. This goes on me mostly sandalwood and vanilla but as it dries, that lavender starts to come forward, with a little orange and cocoa and tea. It's such a strange mixture and yet it's terribly appealing! I have to say I possibly like this one better than the original formulation! Very different, and somewhat foody and yummy and yet not straightforward foody. Final note: This is really nice, I totally love this blend. Have to get a bottle!

In the vial: tobacco On me: This makes me think of Kali or perhaps Mum Moon (but less sweet and creamy). It's tobacco and patchouli backed by a faint fruity floral. I think perfume is a good way to describe this one, it's closer to my traditional ideas of perfume - it's womanly, and kind of mature and heady. It's interesting, because it's not quite what I was expecting as well - it's definitely more floral and heady than I was expecting. Final note: I wish I had more to say on it but it's fairly straightforward to me. Heady and perfumey floral touched by fruits.

In the vial: lavender and vetiver *cough cough* On me: Man this goes on POTENT and very herbal. I should have expected that given the notes of lavender, vetiver, clary and sage. I was just expecting the vanilla, cocoa and cistus to be more apparent right away. But, just as I typed that, the cocoa and vanilla step right up and say, "HERE I AM!". Warm, chocolatey and sweet. It is suddenly the exact opposite of my initial impression. Somewhere back there, I still smell the vetiver and birch but it's a nice woody addition to the warm foody smells. I really want to like this one, but that background vetiver and birch and lavender - though not in the foreground - is giving me a bit of a headache. And to top it off, BPAL's cocoa is always exactly the same on me - smell's mostly just like Bliss and I already have an imp of that haha. Final note: This is really interesting, certainly some unusual scent combinations here but it's just not for me!