thekittenkat

in the bottle: Fresh mint with sugar, but what kind of mint? Wet: More like a spearmint than a peppermint. Not very sweet. The dry-down: Now more the peppermint emerges, along with some sugar. On the bf, it's more sweet and pepperminty, but my skin is more acidic while his tends more to the basic. I adore this series, and LIwC has aged beautifully.

Just a little bump!

As of Yule 2014, these are the scents that have returned at least twice. (Note that there are two listings for Hearth tn the Reviews; these are known to be different scents.) The Peacock Queen the Lick It series Midnight Mass Gelt the Mother Shub series Faunalia Chanukkiyah Egg Nog Skadi Snow White the Snowballs series The Fruit of Paradise El Dia de los Reyes Butter Rum Cookie (strangely there are 2 listings!) Haloa (listed twice) Midwinter's Eve La Befana Winter-Time Snow-Flakes Rose Red Knecht Ruprecht Krampus (again, 2 listings) Gingerbread Poppet Mason & Jenkins' Port Jelly Sugar Cookie Le Pere Fouettard Nuclear Winter Gacela of the Dark Death The Snow Maiden Ded Moroz The Adoration of the Mi-Go Stardust Yule Diable en Boite The First Soft Snow Black Ice Sol Invictus Herr Drosselmeyer Jolasveinar Pet Magah Bird The Winter of Our Discontent Snow Bunny The Shivering Boy Talvikuu The Rat King On Darkness Mistletoe Noche Buena

There's Fern Frost/Fern Forest; read reviews here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/71465-fern-frost/?hl=fern+forest This was an imp from the Post for Yule 2010. I love it and am still hoping for it to return in 5 ml bottles!

In the bottle: Yes, that's black cherry brandy. The red wine is giving the cherries more of a sweetness than one would usually find in brandy. Wet: Wow! That's a blast of sweet delicious cherries that have been soaking in something alcoholic. The dry-down: Gorgeous scent, but no real staying power on my dry skin. I do like it a lot, though. It stays close to the skin as it fades. That sweet blast goes away sharpish, but the drydown never hits that tart candy scent, I'm happy to report.

Welcome to BPAL and the forum! Sadly, while I can't assist w/ your current question, it might interest you to learn that, sometimes soon, both the Lab and the Post will issue Yules, a yearly winter-time and winter holiday-themed LE (limited edition) selection of perfume oils and goodies. You can get an overall idea of what they are like by reading reviews of past Yules. And decant circles for Yules are always helpful. Also, if you live near any of the Will Calls, those are great to try before you buy and meet other Bpal-fans. HTH!

Magnificent Autumn, Samhain, Tattie Bogle, Fearful Pleasure, Boo, Cristina, Ivanushka, Mabon (the 1st one), Falling Leaf Moon, Sonnet d'Automne, Samhainophobia (2013), and Countess Dolingen of Gratz..

To these I would have to add: Embalming Fluid Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat Mouse's Long Sad Tale some of the Liliths all the peach goodness from Dragoncon

HARVEST MOON 2010 Harvest Moon is celebrated in almost every culture, and the bounty of the season is marked in a myriad of ways. Harvest Moon touches the Equinox, the festival of Janus, the culmination of Homowo, the "crying of the neck" in Cornwall, and the Women's Festival of the Moon. This is a day that celebrates abundance and beauty, fertility and progress, and the light of this full moon blesses new undertakings and reunites lost loves. The Harvest Moon, by definition, is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox, and thus, it shares some of that Sabbat's characteristics. This Full Moon was thus named because it rises within half an hour of the sun's setting, in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this time farmers are able to work longer into the night by the light of this Moon. As the year draws to a close, the Full Moon rises an average of fifty minutes later each night, with the exception of a few nights surrounding the Harvest Moon, which only rises 10-30 minutes later. This moon is also, to the human eye, the fullest and largest of the year's Moons, hanging gloriously huge, yellow and low in the night sky, and many lunar illusions play tricks our eyes at this time. The Harvest ushers in many celebrations, including the Equinox and the Festival of Janus, God of Doors. Janus is the Roman Lord of Gateways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. Thus, the Harvest Moon is a time for blessing new ventures, the onset of new and progressive phases in one's life, and rites of passage into adulthood. This time of year also marks one of the Festivals of Dionysus, Lord of Ecstasy and the Vine. This Harvest lunacy combines the autumnal scents of dry leaves, mulling spices, balsam fir, cedar, juniper berry, clove, saffron, damson plum, sage, yarrow, and lily twined with Dionysus' sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple and pumpkin, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine. This is a review of the proto at DSWC. I will edit this review when I have my bottle in hand. In the meantime, I am posting this brief review because the Lab is being so kind to leave Harvest Moon '10 up so that us WC folks can report back to you. In the bottle, wet, and in the dry-down, for a large combination of notes, this is very well-blended. It does give a lovely impression of drying fields once the harvest is done. However, I'm not getting any of the fruit, esp. the apple or pumpkin; and I gather that this was a few other people's impression at WC as well. I will have to do a comparison of this with previous versions later on. I like this fine, but one bottle will do me just fine.

Bumping for more lovely suggestions/recs.

In the decant: The sandalwood and the patch jump right to the forefront! Wet: Now, with even more spiciness! The dry-down: As it dries, there's hints of the roses and the musk, and something sweet which must be the balsam. Sadly, those lovely notes never seem to meld w/the spices. It fades away as a soft sandalwood. Nice but not needed, and I had hoped for so much more, since I like all the notes.

In the decant: So very well blended! Tobacco is shot through these elegant notes. Wet: Those other notes are overwhelming the tobacco; however, it makes the cacao not so bitter. The dry-down: And yet another shift, as the tobacco returns to the forefront. There's a touch of saltiness from the ambergris. The white musk causes this to be a bit 'perfumey', but not terribly so. The oil itself is a golden brown, perfect for a tobacco scent.

In the decant: Cedar and hay, w/ hints of the rose and the pink pepper. Wet: The cedar and hay retreat in the face of the other notes. The dry-down: Now, all the notes are blending in a sort of dried floral/woodsy bouquet. If cedar doesn't amp on you, and you like the idea of dried roses tossed in the hay, this may be worth trying. A very pleasant springtime perfume.

In the decant: An opened jar of cardamon-flavoured honey next to a bottle of pink apples and blackcurrants. Wet: Oh, yummy! The pink apple is strong and fresh. The dry-down: The cardamon has really come forward, and all the other notes are settling deep into the blend. But wait, the scrumptious apple has come flying back! And there's the honey again! I rather like this.

In the decant: Yummy dark chocolate with hints of black musk and golden amber. Wet: My skin just eats this up, sadly. The dry-down: Really disappointing. I ordered this scent because I love dark chocolate, like black musk okay, and knew that I was taking a chance w/ the amber, as it usually goes to powder on my skin. But to have such dark notes just go poof!? That was totally unexpected. Yes, I'm haunted by this ghost of a perfume.

In the decant: This is more like the white rose is being drowned in the other notes. Wet: There's a little bit more of the white rose now. The dry-down: I love Beth's white rose note. However, the jury is still out on this one.This white rose has indeed been marred by the oakmoss, the Spanish moss, and the labdanum, and the balsam only slightly sweetens it up.

In the decant: Slightly spicy honeysuckle, with only a faint whiff of the gardenia. Wet: I'm getting a bit more of the gardenia now, and the patch is obvious. There's a faint coolness -- I wonder if that's from the crushed diamond accord, whatever that may be. The dry-down: The notes are starting to meld together in a sort of spicy floral. There's still that faint coolness. The gardenia is not heady like a blooming gardenia bush would be; I suspect that it's being held in check by all the other notes. I like this but not enough to upgrade to a bottle.

In the decant: The flowers are sweet and spicy. Wet: Now it's like the heady roses are drenched with the vanilla and sprinkled with some patch. The dry-down: Alas, the amber has appeared to stomp all over this lovely scent. Why does amber have to turn to powder on my skin and ruin so many scents?

In the decant: Yep, that's Embalming Fluid and chocolate. Wet: Much the same as on cold sniff. The dry-down: This isn't a morpher, but the spices of EF overtake the chocolate note and leave it as a fainter note.

In the bottle: Sweet fig undercut by vetiver. Wet: More fig,but the vetiver keeps it from being too sweet. The dry-down: Not really much of a morpher, as it's the sweet fig only slightly tainted by the rich dark vetiver throughout.

In the bottle: Vanilla musk aswirl with spring flowers and leaves, with hints of benzoin and moss deep in the mix. Wet: More of a crisp green scent now. The dry-down: Now it's back to something like the cold sniff scent. I have to hope that the tuberose doesn't come forward. A nice early spring scent. As Eva said at WC, this really surprised me, to be my fave of this year's Bards.

In the bottle: This is a goth spring in a bottle! Very well blended scent. With each sniff, I get a different note. Wet: The berries and the chamomile come forward. The vanilla is a supporting player. , The dry-down A touch of bitterness from the green cognac keeps the sandalwood from being too smooth, along with the black tea. I like this, but it may need to go in a scent locket, as I like the cold sniff the best.

A cold sniff of the decant gave me a blast of the last three notes. Once on my hair, at first all I can smell is the black vanilla (may I have an SN of this, please and thanks!), but then the cardamon (a fave scent/spice), the oudh, and the tobacco make their presence known, but in a subtle fashion, adding a depth and richness to the vanilla. I really like this, and can see it as a lovely HG for the autumn. )

Cold sniff: brownie dough exactly. Yum! Wet: same as on cold sniff, but sweeter. Dry: how does Beth do this? I would scrape this off my arm and bake it, but alas, I know better! Good stuff, good times.;)

Cold sniff: Much as on the tin, but more blue musk w/ hints of the other notes. Sprayed on an unscented tissue: Much more headier mix when sprayed. Lovely blue musk melds well with those white fire notes, esp. the iced honey. Just delightful.: