zankoku_zen

For me the gunpowder is sharp and metallic, combined with the sweetness of honey I get the same sharp, metallic smoke that I do from Gun Moll. It's like a slightly sharper, less floral and less complex version of Gun Moll. I like, but then again, I like GM. For those that missed out on GM, give this a twirl. It doesn't have the same vibe - it is much darker and sinister but it gives you an inkling of what GM is like. I am beginning to think I like gunpowder as a note.

Whiff of lilac and lettuce, and then I get soft florals, a hint of coconut and orris. Very light, soft and gentle. My skin eats this up.

Patchouli, black moss and lavender. This is like a dark, foreboding lavender. It smells of dark dreams, dirt and danger.

Tobaaco flower and sweet honey. This is more light and sweet than I expected. I was hoping for something smokier.

This smells to me like a lilac version of Host of Air, so some of the everblooming flowers are definitely lilies. Sadly, I get the lilac on most when wet, and then the lilies dominate everything on the drydown at which point, ti smells like a DEAD ringer for Host of Air on me. Which makes me happy, so when my HoA runs out, I will pick up a lilac-tinged HoA in the form of Lilac Wood. Success!

To me, this was initially a combination of cherry cough drop and pomegranate. And now, its definitely pomegranate with honey. Sadly, it never seems to lose its almost medicinal edge. PASS.

Honey and apple blossom. The apple blossom smells slightly soapy to me. So yes, light, pretty and very appropriate for a young girl.

Ozone, red musk and saffron. This smells like a summer storm in a desert city. It's clean ozone, hot sweet musk and makes me think of thunderclouds over a desert.

Amping the red musk, hint of vanilla, and chocolate peppermint. So yes, sweet red musk. That's what I get.

This has the same soft slushy snow note that Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse. I get tons of pine, spruce, amber and musk. Slightly masculine and feral. Cool, and yet warm. Like fur.

Well.... this is quite a morpher. On wet, I get more of the blackcurrant, hollyberry and pine. But as it dries, I get more of the musk, pepper and rose. More wearable than I thought it would be. This scent definitely changes according to what notes your skin chemistry amps.

Phoenix in the Winter reminds me of a combination Ice Queen and Snow White actually. It's got the same soft snow note from IQ, a hint of almond and sweetness from SW and I get a good bit of hollyberries. Well, hmmm. If I didn't have enough IQ already, I'd pick up a bottle of this!

Darker woods and a swirl of a sweet aquatic note. Oddly enough, it makes me think of a pirate ship. Yarr!

2010 version: Wintergreen to me just smells to me in this like Listerine. With flowers. Yup.

Lilies, soft jasmine, brush of ylang ylang (I am beginning to think that BPAL's ylang ylang note and my skin don't play well together). Tiny hint of vanilla lurking on the background. This is young, playful, and girly. Very graceful and delicate.

This one on wet has a strong almond and marzipan smell, and then it dries to a rosewood with heavy on the rose part. The rose is softer than alot of BPAL rose blends, but yes, primarily rose on me. Pass.

This blend is mildly headache inducing for me. This is the BAD bpal leather note - synthetic black leather, except someone dumped coffee grounds all over it with a hint of hazelnut. If leather and coffee get you going, give this a whirl. Unfortunately the combination to me just makes my head hurt. Literally.

This is much lighter than I thought it would be. I get a TON of rhubarb. This smells mostly fruity, clean and with a slight muskiness to it. Loads of rhubarb and apple blossom. And just the tiniest hint of leather on me. Which is nothing short of a miracle, since BPAL's leather notes and I are a bad combination. A lot lighter than expected and more wearable. Hmmm. Do I need to hunt down a partial now? ETA: I find that my bottle of Heroine did not smell like the imp. I get apple blossom, hints of rhubarb, leather, and amber. Its fairly 'cologney' on wet, and then dries to a warmer amber/leather blend. On the other hand, on those days that I *need* to kick butt, Heroine is an invigorating blend. To me, its like the perfume equivalent of a leather jacket. You put it on, and you're ready to take on the day.

Wildflowers + dandelion = soapy mess. Sadly, no lilac and just sweeter, soapier florals. Alas.

I smell tea, a hint of violet and the wormwood. It's very interesting and very Asian in feel, but I'm not a violet fan. This is clean, mysterious and exotic.

Thank YOU to a very generous forumite, who sent me a tester of the original Sephiroth blend. Oh Gamaliel, you are an odd one. On wet. you smell like heavily spiced apple cider. It dries to a dry coconut, spice and sandalwood scent. And my guess is red mysore sandalwood, as this is the kind of sandalwood I enjoy the most.

Thanks to a very generous forumite who let me swap for a decant of this in my neverending quest of test all BPAL. Wobanakik starts off with a heavy, green plant smell. It reminded me to Planting Moon, with the heavy sweet aquatic smell that Water Phoenix/Hatmehit had. It dried however to a green, slightly resinous amber sort of drydown although very faint on my skin. Pretty, but not for me given the fact that my skin likes to EAT this. One hour later, and its gone.

Prototype of the released Dark Delicacies exclusive blend Spawn of the She-Demon. There are some pretty obvious similarities and some pretty obvious differences between this prototype and the released version of the DD blend. For one, the name is different. It's She-DEVIL, as opposed to She-Demon. While they both share the red + black musk combination as a base, I find that this incarnation has coconut. I get a dark, musky coconut blend. Admittedly, my skin can find any trace of coconut in a blend and latch on to it, so this may vary. I get just a teensy bit of mango, but it's very muted. Overall, I'd have to say that this is a predominantly black musk (which can smell a little stinky on me) and coconut blend.

Clean, ozone metal. It has distinct lime and ice notes. More gender neutral than masculine, and oddly appealing. If you like metal and you like lime, give this a whirl.

This reminds me to Garden Path with Chickens, but grittier and dirtier. I smell carrot, slightly herbal flowers, wormwood and hits of dirty patchouli. Interesting, but not for me. If you like dirt scents, give this a whirl.