zankoku_zen

Jasmine on wet, but as it dries I get the 'aquatic' note that everyone talks about and I think it's definitely lotus since the water is sweet.. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a bit of civet/musk also going on. There's also something almost 'peppery' at the base of this. Not my style at all.

Strongly floral - definitely ylang ylang and sandalwood. I really enjoy the sandalwood note, and I think sandalwood is one that ages really well. It's very smooth, clean and slightly woody. No powderiness. However ylang ylang seems to be stabbing my nose. On wet, I got a hint of the rose, but it's basically gone now.

Super sweet cherry liqour and coconut. Whiff of saffron. Thankfully my skin chemistry eats this like no tomorrow. 15 minutes after applying and I get this very tiny faint whiff.

Roast coffee, a TON of cinnamon and nutmeg and a smidge of pumpkin. I do have to say that the cinnamon and nutmeg are the most prominent piece, with an overlay of coffee. For me, I smell the hint of coffee first, then the spices and then at the very end the pumpkin. On one hand, I like the fact that the buttery pumpkin is not present, and I do enjoy the whiff of strong black coffee. However, the amping of cinnamon and nutmeg makes it smell less like a coffee... and more like a giant spice cake of doom.

Huge blast of peppermint - you know the kind that you have in peppermint candy. Unfortunately, my skin eats this up like no ones business. ETA: So straight from the bottle, I think the mint lasts a lot longer than originally. But yes, this is sweet peppermint. Like from the Lick It and Lick It Again incarnations. Sweet peppermint, cool mint. No icy blasts.

Hmmm, my guess is patchouli, khous, nutmeg and wood. It's definitely dark but not sinister, manly and potent.

I get red wine, clove, cinnamon, perhaps other spices, a metric ton of ANISE, a whiff of pepper and rose. It's a very complex scent. It smells - dark, gritty, and perverse. And like licorice candy.

No description available MMH2 is a smoky green floral. It's got the same warm smokey note that Gun Moll does, perhaps a drop of jasmine as well. Sultry, feminine, deep. Comparing it to MMH3, I think there's either some vanilla, amber, perhaps even beeswax in this version.

Thanks to Invidiana for a sniffie of this! To me, In Reilig Oran is the Host of Air's big brother. Dirtier, greener, and it has an aquatic note that toggles between salt and fresh water. It is both dark and light, fragrantly green and with a touch of masculine air to it. I think the green either comes from dandelion or heather. I like Host of Air, so I like this. I'd love to try this out on mr. zee_zee but given the rarity, I rather not chance it working out on him.

Ah, and again, I don't think BPAL citrus notes fare all that well, and Pink Grapefruit to me is no exception. On wet, it's got a horrible lacquer/varnish smell that is absolutely horrible. As it dries, it becomes more of the bitter pith of a grapefruit, and if I sniff about an inch or two away from where I applied it, I can sort of smell the grapefruit. If my nose is closer however, it smells horribly bitter and fake and like b.o. Epic. Fail.

Apricot to me smells more like baked apricot with a good dash of cinnamon on top. It has a 'baked' quality, warm, sugary.

This to me is the smell of childhood - it is artificial strawberry - the kind you get in candies, Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Not quite real, but almost real. Sweet, sugary, innocent. Dude. It really does smell like a Strawberry Shortcake doll.

White musk, ambergris and powdery violet. It smells sharp, aquatic and whitely floral. Sort of like soap. Meh.

Out of all of the honeys so far, this is the one I found most wearable. It's got honey, dark greenery but something that smells almost spicy/smoky. Very sexy. It's got the same vibe as Gun Moll and Voodoo Queen (no components that are truly alike), but more in the feel of it. Dark, mysterious, womanly, deadly. Not to be trifled with.

Vrishka is very pretty - its got honeyed apple, and something green/floral. I definitely amp up the honey. Very spring like, very pretty.

it starts out as green, milky dandelion plant and stems. Unfortunately it does not stay that way and eventually turns soapy and then disappears from my skin.

Rosewood definitely skews toward the rose end of things. Rose, warm and slightly woody grounding it.

Creamy cedar smell, almost peppery wood. Light citrus swirl. This is a very nice sandalwood/incensey smell. ETA: From the bottle, definitely a much more cedary sandalwood. On wet, I get a citrus/lemony. Smooth.

Oats, tonka, brown sugar, hay. And a bit of nuts. In the end, it smells like breakfast in an old farmhouse barn. There's something very 'outside' in this blend - and I think its the hay. Definitely one of the stranger BPALs.

Heavy bitter plantiness - I actually get a whiff of coconut from it and honey. It makes me think of sticky suntan lotion.

Soap. and just the barest hint of blood and vetiver. It's a very masculine, clean scent. Oddly enough, it smells like Ivory soap.

This one has the same orange note as Orange Phoenix. It's a super blast of orange on wet, but fades quickly. I am left with a slight orange blossom note, sandalwood (with slight powderiness), resins. It's a warm, sensual blend. I can see it fitting in well with the Shungas.

Light floral - I have a swirl of what I'd call fairy like notes a la Floating Market and Fairy Market - that sort of sugary incense vibe. I think this has a brush of lilies in it.

Herbal lavender and a hint of cool cinnamon. Very interesting. Pleasant, but not noteworthy for me.

Sweet vanilla florals and honeysuckle. Way too sweet for me, but I can see why this is so popular. It's like the sweetness of TKO without the lavender - the same plushy creamy vanilla.