thestrangeheart

My favorite sexy scents are: Judith & Holofernes Skin musk, honey, carnation, French magnolia, patchouli, sandalwood, and immortelle. Lucy, Kissed Diabolical voluptuousness, a siren song from the grave: juniper and yew brushing against blackened violets and funeral roses, red musk and hot blood, veined white marble and icy, brittle musk, all pulsing with the sinister, hypnotic scent of patchouli, amber, oude, and cubeb. Black Lace The embodiment of Victorian funereal elegance. A delicate sugar-spun vanilla cream cotton, stained by tobacco and incense, Indian musk, and drops of cognac.

Wet in the bottle this is BPAL's PASTRY note with some strawberry in the background. The cake note reminds me more of Blackberry Jam and Scones than Cake Smash, weirdly enough. After a about five minutes of PASTRY (which is nice, I guess, but I'm not crazy about overly foody scents and this stage is too much for me) then it smoothes out. It ends up being very, very creamy and sweet, with the faintest touches of strawberry and rosewater and tea. It's really well-blended on my skin— I don't really smell distinctive notes, but a pretty, creamy scent. I really like this, actually, once the initial blast dies down. It is very evocative of a tea party: pinafores and big bows, sunlight and pots of cream and tea. I suspect this is more of a springtime scent than a winter one, but I'm happy to keep it around!

I am normally not a foodie at all, but dipping my toe into the lovely frosting to see how it goes. Bottle: Hmm. When my gf first got the bottle, it was all cream cheese frosting. Now that's settled down a little and I smell the red velvet cake more, with a hint of frosting. Getting the Snake Oil in the background. Wet: Cake with a faint resin and a hint of tea. Dry: Lemon pound cake? Hmm. I suspect it's Dorian making itself known. The cake is sweet, but not overly so— not that thick sweetness that I get from sniffing the bottle. A little drier, but still lovely. Reminds me of tea cake with a brown crust. Huh. Not what I expected from the bottle sniff, although I expect a lot of that is my skin.

When I first saw the scent list on this, I hesitated because of the frankincense and the lavender, since I've never had great luck with either of those notes. But then I decided I'd give it a shot, and found only . I agree with the reviews that said this sounds like a much more complex London, which is my go-to everyday scent. I think it's the green swampy notes that really make the blend for me— it's a tiny bit similar to the green in Garden Path With Chickens, but without the light springtime florals and the herbs. Victoriana is that delicate old-fashioned floral— the rose and wisteria and a bit of the violet leaf is primarily what I get out of here. I get very little lavender and really no frankincense. Verdict: If you're looking for a more complex, old-fashioned floral and love London or Rose Red, Victoriana may be a true love.

When I first got my decant of this, it was very gardenia-heavy— kind of a typical BPAL gardenia on me, and I had Swan Maiden for that. Didn't give me that lovely peat smell that I'd been hoping for (I have childhood memories of loving that smell). But now? Aged? Oh my, this is gorgeous. It's deep and earthy in just the right way, not dirt but earth, the smell of sunwarmed ground. The gardenia is lighter than before, and just adds a touch of sweetness and blends perfectly with the water lily and poppy. The florals are almost creamy, but not overly sweet. Great throw and lasts a long time, too. I had to track down a bottle.

This is probably my knockout for the Lupers-- I got a half bottle but I'm not sure that will be enough! This is just such a pretty scent. In the bottle it's a soft, sweet violet with vanilla musk hiding in the background. Once it's on me, though, the vanilla and violet have about equal predominance. The other florals combine to soften up the violet. It makes me think of a young Grecian girl in an organdy dress and a wreath of flowers in her hair. It's a tiny bit reminiscent of Antique Lace but much more floral and lighter. This had pretty decent lasting time and throw, and it just makes me happy to sniff my wrist.

I get very little rose in Poisson d'Avril (which was much to my sadness, since I love rose, but my bottle is up for sale/swap if you're looking for one!). It's like a more complex, sparklier Amsterdam.

This is so pretty, sweet, and warm. On me it smells like a warmer and longer-lasting version of Alice (I would have sworn up and down there was rose in here had I not known). It's really well-blended: I don't really pick up on any of the notes separately. It is definitely a pink and creamy scent. I imagine a young woman who works in a bakery, walking out-- the cream and warmth linger with her, but she stops to gather up a big bouquet of flowers and inhales.

When I first put this on, I get a big blast of honey and a tiny bit of fur. Hmm. It reminds me a little of the honey musk in aged Lady Una. I see the comparisons to Stinky here, definitely. Dry the honey recedes a little and I can smell the dirt and the flowers. I'm also getting a little bit of spiciness in the background. Hmm. There's definitely a milky creaminess in there as well. There's something very Pa-Pow like about the drydown, and I'm also getting some of the baby-ness I get from Gladdener of All Hearts as well. Maybe it's lavender along with the milk and honey? Conclusion: I like it pretty well, and think I'll keep my decant. It's nice and lovely, but it doesn't really do anything that new for me.

This was one of the first imps I got when I started full-on into my addiction and I didn't realize that you should test everything . . . In the vial: Yuck. Spicy, spicy carnation and bergamot. This was not what I wanted Alice to be at all. Put it away and returned to it months later. Actually testing it. Carnation plays really nicely on my skin. It smoothes out and is just a soft, creamy touch. Bergamot vanishes on my skin. Mostly I get the milk and honey mixed together, with a bouquet of pink roses nearby. It's definitely very girlie, sweet and comforting.

It might be the tea rose note you're objecting to in Marie & 2,5,7 . . I utterly adore roses and seek them out wherever I can find them, but I find I don't always love BPAL's tea rose note. It's almost too candy-sweet and bright, and doesn't have that wonderful complexity that fresh roses do. I find the "red rose" and "white rose" notes seem to work better on my skin (although London is the tea rose exception for me-- whatever else is in that makes it lovely). Peacock Queen is definitely lush and full of roses-- I think of it as a "darker" rose scent (if you think of those roses that are so red they're almost black-- that's what Peacock Queen smells like to me). It's fuller than Rose Red, IMO. Pink Snowballs is soft and pretty, but the rose doesn't dominate much at all. And like most everybody else, I've never come across a rose scent as beautiful as Rose Red / The Rose. That smells exactly like a full-bodied red rose to me, thorns wet with dew.

Resurrected version that I couldn't help but get! In the bottle, it's . . . almost stiff, starched lace? I get that cologne smell that others have mentioned (maybe the cognac that's doing that?) Not much vanilla. Hmm. Wet: Ah, there's the vanilla and tobacco. Not bad, but the cognac is still dominating over everything else. It's giving this a surprising bite that I wasn't expecting. But the vanilla musk here seems really similar to Antique Lace, which is what I was hoping for. Dry: Ahh, this is what I was hoping for. Black Lace seems to be Antique Lace's sexier cousin . . . definitely that lovely vanilla musk, but the tobacco and the incense waft around in the air, curling around the vanilla. Cognac seems to have faded discreetly to the background. I'm curious to see what aging will do to this, if it'll smooth out some of the rough edges I'm getting in the earlier stages. But definitely a keeper.

Skin musk, honey, carnation, French magnolia, patchouli, sandalwood, and immortelle. Mmm. This is one of my favorite "grown-up" scents; it feels very womanly to me, both sexy and confident (ready to decimate in any area). It's the kind of thing I can wear to both a work party and to a day of laser tag. Fresh I get the patchouli and sandalwood with a hint of the magnolia and honey, but it dries down to a lovely lush scent, warm honey that's fierce and almost a little primal. The carnation spiciness doesn't overwhelm in this blend, even wet. The skin musk brings everything together, and on me, it dries down into a very smooth scent but still with a hint of that edge.

Starts off very thick, almost dry (summery) grass-- I picture a big field in late summer, perhaps in autumn. Then it starts to go sweeter from the wildflowers and the fur. The grass fades away fairly quickly after being so strong in the beginning. It does go a little baby-soft-- not quite Gladdener of All Hearts, but there is something here that reminds me of that milky sweetness that babies and puppies have, with the wildflowers lingering in the background. Summery and warm. The thing I love most about this is it's definitely a puppy scent sweet-- it reminds me of what Penny used to smell like (after she'd been washed and romping out in the yard. She took on a stinky cocker spaniel scent a few days after a bath ). But I miss my girl so much (passed away in June after sixteen years together) and this is a lovely scent to remember her and all pups with.

I got a decant as an afterthought (and the very generous decant circle runner sent it to me alongside another because of a mixup) and . . . wow. This is swoonable. I didn't think to try it when it first came out because red musk is notorious for overwhelming everything on my skin. And I love florals, so I didn't have high hopes for this. It's well-blended (everything I hoped B340 would be, actually) and so, so lovely. Mysterious and dark and Victorian. Sniffing, I get the rush of red musk and blood but it's pulsing underneath the dead roses and violets, the juniper and yew clouding overhead. I had to immediately run out and track down a bottle, and luckily I found one. Lucy, Kissed is immense amounts of dark Victorian love.

My little brother got in on the imp-action last night (love friends being enabled and arm smelling over the kitchen table) and was testing unloved impies. . . and we discovered that Desdemona (sweet pea, carnation, and water lily) smells fantastic on him, all spicy carnation and warmth. He was testing out florals and others and finding that his skin chemistry took some scents in completely different directions, which I thought was just fascinating.

This is echoing what has already been said, but if you do like rose and/or violet, Hope and Faith are children of AL. When I first smelled Hope I said that "it smells like Rose Red and Antique Lace had a baby," and it's a lovely scent for floral-lovers. The thing that I love most about Antique Lace is that gorgeous, faintly floral vanilla musk, and that's hard to duplicate. . . but if you don't mind additions of stronger florals, I recommend Hope and Faith.

This, oddly enough, might be my favorite of the WKAP oils I've tested so far. In the bottle: Christmas! The fir definitely dominates, but I can smell the ozone as well. It's quite nice, actually. It feels very Christmasy. On me: The ozone slips away and I'm getting the berries-- it actually reminds me a bit of a glass of deep red wine next to the Christmas tree. Dry: All Christmas. Seriously evocative smell-- this reminds me of standing next to the Christmas tree, breathing in with something sweet in the background (the fruit sweetens and softens the fir, but doesn't really dominate). I don't know if I'd want a bottle, but definitely hanging onto my decant.

I'm normally afraid of carnation, but a good experience with Queen Alice made me try this one. . . Wet: Carnation, carnation, carnation! Too much spice for my tastes (I definitely love the sweeter florals). Can't get much rose or tea at all. Deep breath and waiting it out. Drying: While drying it's pretty easy to pick out the different notes in here: there's carnation, which is still squashing everything else, but now I can smell the rose and definitely the tea. . . the tea is nice while it's drying. Definitely white tea, a little bit sweet, but I'm still not loving this. Too much upfront carnation. A while later: Okay, that's much more up my alley. The carnation fades and the rose comes out, and it becomes a slightly spicy rose tea. The sweetness of the rose begins to appear, and the carnation is actually quite nice. Not an absolute favorite, but I'd put it on again.

The Illustrated Woman has a delicious tobacco note-- Skin musk, smoky vanilla, pine pitch, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, and tobacco. On me the pine is a leetle strong at first, but then it slips into the background and lets the vanilla, resins, and tobacco take over. It's also a fascinating scent; I can't stop sniffing myself when I wear it.

There's also Hope, which is a combination of Antique Lace and rose-- lovely, sweet sugared rose, maybe it would temper the old lady smell? You might also want to check out Two, Five, and Seven, which is a warmer version of Rose Red. I think of it as kind of a summery rose, although there is the edge of green grass in there. Persephone is another warm rose-- lovely, juicy note with the pomegranate. I find that the two mix together pretty nicely. La Bella Donna Mia Mente has some pomegranate and rose, but I actually like it a little better than Persephone-- it turns into a rosy scent that doesn't overwhelm with flowers.

In the bottle: Sweet parma violets. Very candy-like and sweet. Lovely, but where's my rose? Wet: Still the violet, but the flatmate says that the rose is underneath. Anxious sniffing proves her right; the sweetness of the violet is drowning out the rose for the most part. Dry: Ah, there's my beloved rose! Very much a pink tea rose, luxurious and in bloom. It's a very feminine scent: it makes me think of a vanity with a bouquet of roses and a nosegay of violets resting alongside a silver-backed brush. The sweetness makes it girlish but not immature. On me, though, the violet and the rose seem to be . . almost too much in bloom? I love them both, but I think they might work better separately. This is a lovely scent, but a bit too much of good things.

In the imp: Pine and patchouli, which normally I hate. . . but the pine is deep and fresh (more of a rich, mature pine) and softens the Patchouli of Death. The skin musk rounds it out . . . no real sense of the vanilla or tobacco right now. Wet: The vanilla steals in, slowly at first, but then gives it a sweetness that is really nice. Don't get much honey, which is nice (I tend to amp honey to no end). The pine moves more into the background, and the spices don't overwhelm the scent at all. Dry: Tobacco, pine, and vanilla, with a hint of spices warming everything! Oh, that's lovely. This is very appropriate for the illustrated woman. . . it's a tough scent, but has its own tender and warm side. This isn't so much a dark scent as it is a complex one . . . fascinating. I bought this thinking that it wouldn't be me, but it suits the main character in the book I'm writing, so I had to try. Finally got my hands on a decant, and it's just lovely. Not my usual type of scent, but it definitely evokes the character.

La Belle au Bois Dormant is my go-to for spring scents. . . it's so fresh and springy, with new blossoms and bright fruits. When it gets hotter, I like La Bella Donna Mia Mente-- it seems more like summer in full bloom. Both are just lovely.

Oh, yum. This is definitely a readerly/writerly scent. I got an imp to see if it would fit as one of my character's scents, but I think it's going to become one of my signatures instead. Wet: The rosewood comes out strong, with just a hint of the incense. It's a smell I find comforting (reminds me a lot of my childhood, since my dad is a luthier). As it dries, the parchment starts to come out, but the rosewood doesn't go away. Dry: There's the dusty, warm scent of parchment. My skin turns this creamy (because it wants to turn everything into a floral, no doubt), but the rosewood stays and there's always the slightest hint of incense that warms everything up. Hmm, I should try it with Peacock Queen to see if I can get roses and books. . . that would be my ideal scent!