sunshinedaisybliss

So.. as a card-carrying member of the Vanilla Lovers Association, I was desperate to get my hands on some Elf v4. When I read the reviews talking about it being like XCDL13 and Antique Lace - two of my most beloved BPALs - I thought this was going to be it.. The One.. Alas, it is not. On my skin, the vanilla in Elf v4 does exactly the same as the one in Celeste - it puts out a chemical/alcohol tone that really turns me off. Where Celeste had pink tones, Elf v4 has white ones.. and again, that's problematic for my skin - there's a musk of some sort in here (my guess is white musk or skin musk) but not the kind of musk that works nicely for me. I'm not picking up any particular floral elements, maaaaaaaaaybe some orchid if I try really hard to find it, but it does have a forest/floral kinda vibe about it - not in a 'green' forest sense.. it's more a feel than a smell. When I can get my nose to put aside the bits that it doesn't like, I can see why this is so nice on other people.. it has a beautiful clean feel, a lovely softness, and a smooth sweetness without being obviously sweet as such. It's pretty, and kind of ethereal - it's shiny in a white light kind of way. And it's not horrible on me, it's just really not all that nice and I wouldn't choose it over either XCDL13 or Antique Lace - to me, it's not in the same category at all as either of those. If you held me down and tickled me, I would probably eventually admit that it has slight similarities to Antique Lace.. but I don't think I would ever say it is anything like XCDL13, no matter how unbearable your tickling became. Because.. it just isn't. Obviously, going by the other reviews before me, I am in the minority here.. but vanilla is a fickle beast and not all types work well for me. Sadly, Elf v4 just has the wrong type of vanilla for my skin

I'm not sure I can add much more to the reviews already here.. but I have to agree, this is a very very pretty blend. I feel it is perfectly suited to the Courtesan in this Asian-inspired context - it's feminine, sweet and golden, but there's also a bit of mystery in there. On first application, everything was very sweet and fruity - it took a few minutes for the coconut to come out. After about 20 minutes, the 'golden' aspect comes into play and the scent develops a kind of glow to it - it really came alive beautifully, and that was actually my favourite stage of the perfume.. before it lots its shine a little and kind of collapsed into a fairly flat fruit/carnation/coconut smell. After a full dry-down I'm left with a nice soft pear that's not overly sweet, a soft hint of coconut, and a top note of carnation. I definitely found this blend to be more interesting on my skin before it flattened out at the end, but it really is very pretty and definitely worth a try if you enjoy these golden Asian type fragrances.

Firstly, I have to say that "Dick Fancy" is such a great name But this is all about the Captain, and oh my.. Captain Cully, if I smelled this good all the time then I too would be merry twenty-four hours a day! I see other comparisons have already been made, but to me.. CC lacks the sharpness/strength of the leather in Dead Man's Hand, and the sweetness of the leather in Quincy Morris. It doesn't have the oiliness of Olisbos, but I agree with cfrancesca that it's reminiscent of Enkhespalos. If I had to pick a 'smells like' for Captain Cully, I'd go with Brom Bones.. the leather has a similar musky smoothness and a light sweetness - it's not as rich as Brom Bones, but the tones are similar. On my skin, I get a lovely soft leather - tempered by a very soft musk which I find is there in feel rather than actual smell. Tonka and woods is always a great combination, and it works really nicely here to provide a nice earthy base for the musky leather to sit atop. The porter only really comes out after the full dry-down, and it adds a layer of depth that just finishes the whole effect of this perfume off perfectly. The leather was definitely the top note at first, but once that porter comes into effect it melds everything together. I think it's great to have such a lovely leather blend in the GC line-up! Captain Cully is exactly what I was hoping for when I read the description - a beautiful soft, natural leather that's totally wearable. A must-try for leather lovers

Smells gorgeous in the bottle.. but on my skin, what a disaster! Lemon has never been a friend of mine, but I had to give this a try.. but no, it's not for me. On my skin, all I got was lemon. As in.. LEMON. And not a pretty lemon either - a nasty, sour, sharp and overly sweet/cloying lemon. It smells a bit like furniture polish. So sadly, this is not for me I do think it would work beautifully as a room spray though!

I would suggest you try Grief - the notes are lily of the valley, hyacinth, calamus, muguet, hydrangea, and elemi, and reviews are here. For me, Grief was that 'florist shop' smell - fresh cut flowers with the aquatic/water tone. I'm not sure it has the 'cold' that you're seeking, but I think it's definitely worth a try I'm also thinking Waltz of the Snowflakes might work - reviews are here (it was a Yule blend from last year, so you'll need to search the sales area to find a decant) - it's more 'forest' than 'flowers', but it does have a very fresh/cold feel and it's very very pretty. Another Yule blend you might like to read about for cool florals would be A Cold, Clear Winter Day.

I agree with mxtine - Obatala really is beautiful, and Tiki Queen is gorgeous but kinda hard to find these days. Little_Rowan - I love Shango, but I find it to be a little more 'heavy' than a typical summer-fruity-cocktail kind of fragrance. First up.. if you haven't done so already, check out all the Atomic Luaua Lounge blends, they are being discontinued soon but those are some of the yummiest tropical/summer blends around. And my suggestion would be Velvet Tiki - gold-washed frangipani, vanilla flower, vanilla bean, coconut, hibiscus, papaya, pineapple, bouganvilla, passion fruit, and three orchids - it was a Limited Edition blend, so you'll need to go hunt it down in the sales area, but it's tropical summer in a bottle

hihi I think there might be a thread already for this kind of question, so your post might get moved by one of the mods. But while it's still here - I can try to help with your questions It's definitely 20 bottles for the limit on the $14 international shipping cost from the Lab.. I've done a couple of 20-bottle orders so I know that's right. If you go over 20 bottles, your shipping cost goes up to the next rate which is $29.00. But remember that if your order totals $500 or more, shipping is free Oh.. and if you're ordering from the Trading Post, just be careful because the rates can be different if you're buying things like bath oils and atmosphere sprays since they need a bigger box.. so it's always best to email first and ask for a shipping quote on Post orders. I do recall seeing group orders posted here, but I don't think they're done very often. They do happen on the LJ BPAL communities quite a bit though, mostly in the US - but most people are happy to have international people join in, so that can be a good way to save a few $$ when you only want a couple of things. There is an Aussie BPAL community on LJ, and I think there's also a UK one, but I'm not sure if there's one for Singapore or the Asia region - if not, maybe you could set one up! Group orders are a great way to save money on shipping, but they can be a lot of work to organise (and decant circles can be a LOT of work) so I would suggest that you take some time to get to know other BPALers a bit first - see if you can find people in your area/region and maybe start off small by sharing an order with a friend or two, before jumping in to running decant circles or group orders. I hope that helps!

When this first hit my skin, I didn't quite know what to make of it - there was something slightly medicinal/herbal about it, almost like a balsam smell, and I immediately recalled that pine had been mentioned in earlier reviews. As a fully paid-up member of the anti-pine club, I though uh-oh.. this isn't good! But oh.. Saqqara.. much like your namesake, you are intriguing and complex - your secrets are hidden beneath your exterior. After only a minute or two, whatever that pine-y business was has disappeared and a lovely spicy mix has emerged. Clove is definitely a major player, but I think there's also some red musk (or some dark/darkish variety of musk) at play, and some cardamon as well. I'm reminded of The Arabian Dance at this point - the spices are similar, but there's no coffee in Saqqara. There's also some similarity to Spanked, but no leather.. and Saqqara is more heavy on the spice. I see other reviewers have mentioned amber.. hmm - yes, there might be amber here, but it's not a 'fresh' amber (which generally goes powdery on me) - I'm thinking it's likely to be an Egyptian amber which would make sense in this blend but also explain the slight smoky tone that it has. The clove here is really lovely - it's sweet, not sharp, so I'm not getting the 'ewwwww dentist' association that clove sometimes gives me. Ultimately I find that Saqqara dries down to mostly clove with a hint of spice - the other spices fade over time but the clove stays true for quite a long while. The throw is quite strong, so a little dab is more than enough! A very very nice blend, and if it ever makes it to release then I know the spice lovers out there will be hoarding this one

Thank you to the lovely Dark Alice for sending me a tester of this! When first applied, I got milky chocolate and butterscotch/buttercream, as others have mentioned. Then about 3 minutes in, I got banana. What, banana?!? Yep, banana - the fake/candy/syrup kind of banana. So for a couple of minutes, it was all chocolate and banana then suddenly.. the banana vanished. Then it was back to chocolate (which has lost its initial milky flavour and become more deep) and butterscotch, but the butterscotch has done its usual thing and turned into a burnt sugar smell which isn't as bad as some other butterscotch/brown sugar experiences I've had, but it definitely leans towards the 'burnt' side. Despite my lack of love for butterscotch, this is actually quite yummy. For people whose skin tolerates brown sugar related notes better than mine, I think this would be delicious.

I agree with ZZ's review above - it is slightly medicinal at first, like a strong balsam perhaps. Actually everything about it is pretty strong at first - it's kind of pungent for 5 minutes or so before it starts to dry down. 10 minutes in, and I can finally lean in close for a smell now that it's settled down. And what I get is like a gorgeous leather - not the soft and subtle type, but also not the harsh/chemical type - it's a strong leather type of smell, but it's more 'rugged' than 'harsh', like it's well-worn. Vetiver? Hmm.. yes, probably - but it's not the evil vetiver of doom.. there's just a nice smokiness to the base. And there's something musky in here too - a dark musk, but with a hint of sweetness - perhaps a brown musk, or a black musk - it's nice. And there's something that tickles the very back of my nose when I breathe the fragrance in deeply.. that may be the vetiver, but it could be a touch of ginger. Every now and then, I think I can smell something nutty in there, but I can't quite pinpoint it so perhaps that's imaginary. Despite its somewhat rude introduction, LUES II dries down into something really special - warm, musky, leathery, and smoky. The longer it stays on my skin, the nicer it gets! EDIT to add - the dry-down of LUES II is very similar to Burning Vulva, but less powdery.

What I get most from Fée is a beautiful soft honeydew melon (but it's not too sweet or candy-ish, it smells just like fresh melon) and I can also smell the lychee so together it's just a lovely clean fruity sweetness. The vanilla isn't something that I notice on its own - kinda like how the vanilla in Mouse's Sad & Long Tale just merges invisibly with the sweet pea, in Fee it merges with the melon/lychee. I don't get any sunflower. I find that the carnation comes in after about 15 minutes - it kind of overlays the fruit and takes away the sweetness a little, and at that stage the smell deepens a bit but doesn't really change a whole lot except that the melon becomes a lot less MELON like it was at first. I have no idea where the oakmoss is - it never really comes out on my skin.. nor does the white tea (but to be honest, I don't find that white tea itself has much of a fragrance). I also don't really notice the peach blossom! So it might just be the way it works on me, but really it's all about the melon/lychee/vanilla, with the lovely carnation threading through. Fée is really a beautiful scent, it's soft but not weak, and sweet but not foody. It's just like a fresh ray of sunshine on my skin - gorgeous.

This starts off with a bang - the musk, clove and pepper are very much up front when I first apply the oil. In the imp, it's a lovely rich brown colour, which is always a good sign when musk is involved After letting it dry down for 10 minutes, I find that it's softened up nicely and those strong notes have mellowed out a lot. The musk and clove together form a base that's richly sweet rather than scary dark, and the pepper has subsided nicely. The tonka and neroli have added some lightness to the scent, and the opoponax provides a sweet resinous vibe, so the whole thing ends up having some nice layers to it. Often I find the GCs lack the complexity of some LE blends, but that is definitely not the case with Old Demons of the First Class. On my skin, it retains its multi-layered complexity for quite some time - the darker notes don't lose their richness and the opoponax/tonka/neroli never go too far into the light. The pepper stays on top, slightly tickling my nose but not in a way that's overwhelming. Overall, everything is beautifully balanced and smooth. This is definitely one to try if you enjoy deep musky blends like Panther Moon and WILF - it's a very classy blend with a touch of intrigue

Rose! Rich, luscious, nose-tickly red rose. And sharp red currant. That's pretty much all I get from this blend (but your results may vary.. I amp rose in crazy proportions) so I'm very disappointed because I wanted everything *but* the rose from this blend. So unfortunately I can't comment on the amber, blood orange, myrrh or golden musk. All of those should have been beautiful, especially the amber + blood orange combo, but alas.. rose is a fiend. One day I will invent a device to extract or minimise unwanted notes from my BPALs. And rose will be the first to go. Then perhaps I'll be able to enjoy some of these lovely blends

When this first hit my skin, I got a big smack of red musk and dragon's blood with a slight warmth of wood.. I'm thinking ooh! this could be good! Ten minutes later, I'm left with dragon's blood and cherry and rose. Like dragon's milk without the milk, kind of. The cherry is very nice though - it's not the cough medicine type of cherry, or the red/artificial kind of cherry - it's a deep dark luscious one. Twenty minutes later, and it's all about the rose. Definitely a red rose - the deep, velvety kind - which is nice if you like rose, but rose is not my friend. I can smell the persimmon though - that's an interesting note, and if the stupid rose wasn't stomping all over it then I think it would be really lovely here. Berry.. hmm.. maaaaaaaaaybe, it's very subtle. The rosemary is a bit strange in this mix - it seems to be trying to find its place in amongst the fruits but it can't seem to settle. Ultimately, this ends up being a very faint dragon's blood/cherry mix with a hint of red musk. It doesn't stay on my skin very long, but what I get is very enjoyable. But as interesting as Areia is, I don't think it would be a perfume I'd reach for - it's just not enthralling enough to hold my attention.

Yeah.. loving this one! When first applied, the anise is strong but the coconut is right there with it. Who's going to come out on top? Anise steps up in front.. coconut comes up from behind.. coconut leaps forward, anise jumps ahead.. and so it goes for the first ten minutes until they finally get to a point where they share the lead. And that's when Harigata II hits its sweet spot for me - I get a beautiful soft, creamy coconut/anise mix that's really quite beautiful. Thankfully, no hazelnut in the early stages - that was the only worrisome note here for me. There is a very waxy tone to this blend though, which could possibly be from the hazelnut but I think is more related to the coconut. And the white amber.. well, I'm not finding that one much in here either - there's a hint of amber, and it's brighter than the 'standard' amber (which generally adds a powdery element on me), but really the stars of this show are the coconut and anise. Which is just fine with me, because they are a fantastic combination - the sweetness of the coconut is beautifully tempered by the weight of the anise and together they blend seamlessly into a softly sweet and rich licorice/coconut smell that I'm really enjoying. Over time, the anise fades more quickly than the coconut - so that's my only complaint here really.. it's a shame they don't both hold their own equally through to the end. Oh, and finally after about an hour.. the hazelnut appears! But it's subtle, which is good because I do tend to amp nutty notes. I've been searching for a good anise for a while now - and this may just be it.. Harigata II could become a bottle purchase for me

Yep, here I am again.. another one I had to try, because of the mango. Have I mentioned how much I love mango? Yes, yes I have.. several times already The uh-oh note in here was the crushed tomatoes.. because seriously, what are those doing in there??!!?? But my concerns have been squished, because Ushi is just gorgeous - simple yet complex, bright yet deep.. really it's very impressive. When I first apply the oil, it's all mango - sweet, fruity, lush. Then the fig comes out and cuts through the fruitiness quite a lot, which is good here because the mango was pretty full-on at first so the earthy sweetness of the fig is perfect. The red musk in Ushi is fairly subdued on me - it's there, but it's not stomping around like it sometimes can on my skin. And the crushed tomatoes.. well, it's strange, but I can actually smell them in here! If I sniff really close-up to my skin, and take it all in, then the last thing passing through my nose is the tomatoes (but I think they're tomatoes with a touch of vine/leaf rather than just the tomato fruit). Eventually once everything has dried down and been on for about an hour, I'm left with a gorgeous red musk base with the mango and fig floating softly above it - a slightly creamy feel has emerged, and the whole thing has become very soft and snuggly. My only complaint about this Shunga is that it reminds me a lot of Shango, which I already have. The fig is probably the point of difference for me between the two, and I think Ushi is overall a more complex blend with more layers than Shango, but I'm not sure the variance is enough to warrant a bottle purchase of Ushi.. as lovely as it is.

I had to try this, because.. mango. I have extreme love for mango. So even though I figured the white rose would spoil everything (I do not have extreme love for rose), I gave it a shot. Well.. what a surprise! This is extraordinarily pretty - and I am very happy to report that the mango is here! Nymphia and Ushi both have the same gorgeous sweet and rich mango nectar- like note, but in Nymphia it's softened into something very creamy in feel - that's probably the influence of coconut and perhaps the waxiness of apple blossom. This is so well blended, that it's actually hard to pinpoint individual notes. I think the mango and coconut are most prominent, but the spun sugar is quite noticeable as a top note - it's not toothachingly sweet, it's quite a subtle sweetness but very very nice. Although I think this is a creamy smell, it's still quite fresh with the cucumber. The white rose is so subtle that I can hardly find it, and I honestly can't smell any lavender in here at all. It does have a tropical vibe to it, but nowhere near as full-on as the Atomic Luau Lounge blends or Tiki Princess - it's just a hint of tropical. Hmm.. wait a sec - 30 minutes in, and the white rose has come out a lot more. Not to the point where it's amped over everything else (as rose tends to do on me), but it has interrupted the nice sweet creaminess a bit. Nymphia really is very very pretty - sweet, creamy, slightly tropical, fresh and clean. It's the perfect sunny spring day smell, but it also has some depth to it that presents as slightly sensuos. If you enjoy blends like The Girl and Vasilissa, you're going to love this.

For the first 15 minutes or so, Manilus keeps messing around on my skin! One minute it's all leather and sandalwood goodness, the next it's a weird lemon/floral thing, then it goes back to leather again. Finally, after about half an hour, it settles into a nice soft leather with a hint of nutmeg - slightly powdery from the sandalwood. The cedar is very soft, but the frankincense is definitely there - being a bit annoying actually.. it's a bit too much for my liking, and it's overpowering the other notes. There's a freshness in here as well, which is probably the frank again plus the violet leaf, and that bright/fresh element seems out of place - the whole blend feels off-balance somehow. The leather/sandalwood/cedar/nutmeg are merging together really nicely into a soft and mellow brown fuzz but the frankincense and violet leaf keep coming in and going LOOK AT ME which just kills the mood. I think the frankincense and violet leaf should have been hurled from the rock, leaving Manilus to keep the other lovely notes. I dunno.. I don't hate this, but I'm annoyed at the dissonance that this combination of notes produces on my skin.

As expected, this one starts of with a blast of vetiver. Actually.. make that a BLAST of vetiver - really, it was kind of overwhelming when I first applied the oil. But that silly vetiver - it's just a show pony, and was soon pushed back once the other notes emerged from behind it. About 15 minutes in, and I am getting a beautiful wood/balsam/rum mix which is heady and luscious. There's also a coconut smell going on, which seems very out of place but I suspect could be the labdanum being silly with the rum. At the 30-minute mark, I'm still trying to find the musk - it's not obvious.. it's there, but subtle, and the weird coconut thing has faded away now. The overall vibe to Wrestlers on my skin is slightly sweet with the wood and rum being the main players and the lovely smoky vetiver creeping around in the background (the vetiver kinda tickles my nose, it's not sharp or overly strong/dark.. it's absolutely just right in the mix). I'd put this in the same kind of group as blends like Raven Moon, Hellhound, WILF etc - not that it really smells like any of those, but it has a similar feel. I'm particularly loving the rum accord, and surprisingly.. also the vetiver - if you're reading this and worrying about the vetiver, I'd say give Wrestlers a try because it's not at all nasty. A really nice blend with a clever mix of notes that keeps me interested in this fragrance long after its initial application.

First up, I have to say this is a beautiful poem.. sad, haunting, beautiful. So I had to try this blend purely because I love the poem - even though I didn't have much hope for it since the only note that really appealed was oude. When first applied, I got the watery rose that others have mentioned but with the oude smelling quite resinous and sweet/dark in the background. That quickly faded into a pretty generic rose smell (my skin amps rose, so your results may differ) with a hint of amber. On me, it ends up smelling like dried roses (pink and white, pale roses rather than dark ones) with a bit of smokiness and a slight plastic top note. And it fades pretty fast. So this one is just not for me.. but I'm glad I gave it a try.

Hmm.. when I first dabbed this on, it smelt like leather + nail polish remover Thankfully, that chemical sharpness died down and the leather came out nicely within about 3 minutes, and the brown musk in here is quite soft and powdery rather than feral/dark at this early stage. 15 minutes in, I hit this weird patch when I could swear it had turned into jasmine - I have no idea what that was about, but I swear it developed a really strong and sweet floral-like top note. That actually stuck around for a while, and became quite strong, until it eventually faded away and left me with a dry sandalwood/musk scent on my skin. Alas, one hour later I lean in for another whiff and discover that the leather + nail polish aroma is back. I really feel that there's just too much going on in this blend - to me, it seems like it wants to be all brown musk/leather/sandalwood/clove but the labdanum and champaca come dancing in with their pretty floral and sweet tones and just spoil the whole thing. Bye bye, Dancing Koi.. you are not for me.

Honey, you are an evil nemesis. You totally spoilt this one for me. me---> <---honey Yes, this is the same gorgeous deep ginger from Loaded Gun. And I love that ginger.. so rich and luxurious. And the clove for me is surprisingly subtle - it's there, but it's not really strong. The cream would have been nice if it wasn't mixed with the honey. Which brings me back to the honey. Sadly, this is the type of honey that produces a horrible powdery cloying sweetness on my skin and makes me feel a bit sick. I'm happy that I didn't go for a bottle unsniffed (which I was tempted to do, because.. mmmmmm, ginger) - I have learnt that I must try before I buy when honey's involved. Sadly, this is not a winner for me. Honey strikes again!!

Mmm.. this starts off full of dark, mysterious fig with a touch of sweetness but then the nutmeg and vetiver join in and it all gets very dark and mysterious. Myrrh pops in a few minutes later, and the carnation also makes an appearance around this time. Fifteen minutes in, and what I have is a lot of carnation going on - by far the most prominent note, to the exclusion of almost everything else. Even the vetiver! Carnation beats vetiver, who woulda thunk it?!? So although I can detect the other notes, albeit very subtly (the green tea is particularly nice), ultimately this ends up being a dark version of carnation on my skin. Nice, but not particularly interesting.

I love mango. I'd like to live on Mango Island, where I would sleep in a bed made of mango - within a house made of mango, and if all I could eat for the rest of my life was mango.. I would be quite happy with that. So I was really hoping for a lot of mango in this blend, and not so much the white chocolate/buttercream business. So can somebody please explain why this smells like coconut on my skin? I swear this is all white chocolate + coconut on me. If I try real hard, I can find the mango in there, but it's nowhere near as mango-y as I was hoping for. And I'm finding the white chocolate to be exactly the same variety that we had in the Box of Chocolates series, which isn't a bad thing but it's quite sweet and slightly cloying. So the lack of mango hit is disappointing, but that aside.. this is a lovely sweet tropical blend but with emphasis on the sweet.

Holy guacamole, this is good stuff. Seriously, seriously, good stuff. This totally smells like an opium den. Not that I've spent time in an opium den! Well, maybe I have. But you'll never know I feel like I'm just copying what VioletChaos said.. but really, this spray should also come with interior design transformation powers - I expected to turn around and find the room full of old black leather furniture with red velvet throws draped all over them and massive soft tasselled velvet cushions everywhere. And a big old mahogany four-poster bed with miles of silken fabrics billowing around it. There's cast iron candelabras everywhere, and through the hazy room I can see a half-naked man reclining on a burgundy velvet chaise lounge over in the corner, lazily swirling his cognac around a jewelled goblet. And I'm pretty sure there would be a bawdy wench or two around somewhere. Anyway - where was I? Oh yeah.. Red Lantern spray. It's rich and spicy - exotic and delicious. There's a very intoxicating sweetness that's not foody/candy like at all - but oh so yummy. This is good. So Good. GET SOME NOW!