zankoku_zen

GIANT hit of wisteria and frankincense. Wisteria so doesn't work for me. I smell frankincense and black musk underneath, so it smells kinda dirty to me. Ugh.

Synthetic black leather and a hint of black pepper and vetiver. BPAL's black leather note on me is typically overpowering (um, hello, DeSade!) and this one is softer, almost wearable. Very masculine, very cold.

OMG - this is dark, incensey and delicious. Normally, cedar turns to pencil shavings on me and frankincense is too resiny. Instead, this is dark, foreboding and deliciously woody with a touch of smoke. If I were a guy, I'd totally wear this. All the time.

Dirt and weeds. One of which I think is dandelion. Sadly, this veers into soapy territory for me.

Green woods that dry to woods, a load of beeswax and a metallic tang. It's cozy, somewhat familiar, and very comforting. It's what childhood sanctuaries should smell like.

Starts off as this amazing figgy pudding, but dries down to a holly stick, slightly woody and slightly figgy. Where's the pudding, damnit? SAD.

Shortbread and white chocolate. Not too sweet, hint of fruit. Delicious!

Haloa has always been a BIG CAKE mess for me, very rich and buttery. This one is a pleasant surprise and for me, much more wearable. I do get a 'cake' base, but the buttery richness of it is cut by a stronger fruitier presence (pom, is that you?) as well as a hint of green. For me, this ended up being a softer version of Haloa, and more wearable. Still, not my style but worthy of considering esp. if you amp up butter/cake notes.

Very minty. Very much like the original Lick It. I sort of enjoy this one because the mint sticks around, and sweetens up a bit. Previous Lick Its (minus the original) the mint did a vanishing act after the wet stage. I am not sure how mint ages, so I'm on the fence on whether I need more or not.

I am beginning to think that BPAL's stone note just goes to air freshner on me. This is cool, dark aquatic that veers into the air freshner/laundry detergent variety. SAD.

Medicinal vetiver. It's dark, smoky and a hint of dark fruits. Not my style at all.

Crisp snow, mint and tuberose. It dries to a slightly vanilla and tuberose blend. Sweeter than expected. Unfortunately, BPAL's tuberose note is always a high pitched, obnoxious floral on my skin. Out of all of the tuberose blends, this one has to be the least obnoxious but still very loud. Cool, wintery, floral.

I get a giant hit of vetiver on wet, but it essentially dries to an amber/lavender combination. Again, a very warm scent and soothing. Warm, soothing, glittery.

Honey powder, rose and a hint of carnation. This is too sweet and powdery for me, but the rose note does remind me to Katrina Van Tassel. Soft, girly, powdery.

This one has a very strong lavender note on wet, and then dries to a warm patchouli with a hint of blackberry. Because of the lavender, I find it very soothing. Soothing, warm, herbal.

Warm, fruity vanilla. I get hint of the mandarin, and red currant. Not my favorite type of scent... I guess I don't like to combine fruits + vanilla. Pretty, warm, floral.

Piney, slightly foodie. It smells of Christmas and christmas foods. Warm, comforting, inviting.

Tropical honey. At first blast, I get a hint of the laurel. But this essentially smells like honey with hints of plumeria and ginger. I can't handle this much honey, but I imagine this is the closest you can actually get to bathing in a vat of it.

This smells like grape candy, jelly beans and gum drops. Esp. the jelly beans and gum drops aspect, that's the main aspect of it. Sweet, fruity, bright. Definitely appropriate for young children, and SPOT ON interpretation. Totally makes me crave candy though.

The cream is killing me. It smells like fizzy airy ginger, hints of vanilla and plastic. Oh cream, you have ruined another scent for me.

Dark, spicy mince pie and hints of spruce. Smells like Christmas cooking. It's dark, spicy, and flavorful.

Weird peach cheesecake with plastic, slight whiff of strawberry. BPAL's strawberry tends to go to plastic on me, so this scent is no exception. Which is sad, because underneath the plastic overtone, I can smell some AMAZING peach cheesecake. If this were re-released as just "peach cheesecake", I would be very tempted to pick up a bottle.

Holy crap. I may need more of this and I'm not a sugary/foodie kind of lover. This one is a sweet, very delicate plum and candy scent. And yes, vaguely smelling like watermelon Jolly Ranchers. This is totally not the type of blend that appeals to me. And yet it does. Mmm, delicious. I could see this being very appropriate for a young girl.

I don't think the chocolate and pomegranate work for me. It's got a strong orange blossom component to the foodier parts and my brain just interprets this as weird chocolate. PASS.

Anise, clove, powdered sugar and a hint of cinnamon. This smells like a spice cookie. Warm, spicy, comforting.