torikitty

I, too, love the white chocolate and strawberry blends. There's just something about the clean, yet sweetness of the white chocolate that pairs so well with strawberry. I had forgotten what calvados is, but looking it up, it's apple brandy. I wouldn't have guessed it from smelling this. Luckily for me, the brandy doesn't get disgusting on my skin. I think the alcohol ends up coming across as a hint of effervescence, but definitely not boozy. Nor appley. Creamy and smooth is good description for this. It's very springtime for me. I would love to try this as a cocktail.

I hadn't used Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat in a few years, so I forgot how good it is. This is so good! This is very, very similar to the original. In fact, I would have to put them side-by-side to find any differences. If anything, it's slightly less tart lemon. I highly recommend this for anyone who missed out on the original.

In the sixth year a battle took place in which it happened, when the fight had begun, that suddenly the day became night. And this change of the day Thales the Milesian had foretold to the Ionians laying down as a limit this very year in which the change took place. The Lydians however and the Medes, when they saw that it had become night instead of day, ceased from their fighting and were much more eager both of them that peace should be made between them. – Herodotus, on a prediction of by Thales of Miletus Red amber and leather, patchouli, champaca flower, frankincense, oudh, castoreum accord, and black musk. In the bottle: chocolate and herbs? Drydown: leather and black musk ooze out from the back. There's a bit of pungentness from the castoreum accord and a hint of champaca flower. It's going a high-pitched bitter on me. Dry: I seem to amp all the wrong notes on this one. I'm thinking the castoreum is just not working for my skin because everything else in this list is fine on me. I'm hoping that someone with a different skin chemistry can help the notes blend together better. Edit: Hours later, the funk has worn off. Now it smells like a nice, incensey light leather sitting around a heart of amber. It took quite a while to get here, but it is pretty when it eventually calms down. Maybe I'll try this again tomorrow.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all. Darkness, Decay, and the Red Death: blood musk and black tobacco, birch tar and bleeding cypress sap. I'm such a sucker for tobacco. Even when all the other notes don't particularly call me, I'm still willing to try it for the tobacco. Wet: musk, perhaps of the red or blood variety. I don't really know the difference. I can smell the cypress in the background. Drydown: Oh, hello, tar. Why are you here to ruin this party? Darkness and Decay, indeed. Cypress is still hanging out, just kinda waving from the back of the room. Dry: The birch tar and cypress have combined to create this interesting platform where they work together to hold up the musk and hint of tobacco. In an oddly bright red, but in a dangerous way. I feel like this leans masculine on me, with the tobacco, tar, and cypress holding back any sweetness. The musk is slowly trying to round out these scoundrels, bringing a bit of sweetness. I didn't expect this sort of change. It's still too much tar and cypress for me to enjoy, though. Much later: It's sweetened up significantly. It ends up smelling like an slightly evil version of Smut on me. So, I guess there's blood musk in Smut, and I'm amping the musk here.

Ooh, what a fun idea! I think the previous lists are good and I'll copy a few. I think I would recommend things that the lab does a lot of, and things that either stretch people's perceptions of what works on them, or solidifies if they like something or not. Skin chemistry is so interesting and varied. I think the Imp Ears packs are a great reference for the different categories. Snake Oil (you either love it or hate it, but getting on the snake oil train is fun when 'weenies and yules come around) Dead Leaves & ____ (for the same reason as above) Dorian (i feel like this is a good way to test if fougere is your thing) Kabuki (Red musk and cherry) this will tell you if you like red musk and/or cherries/ and what your skin chemistry does with fruits or just cherries Cthulu (aquatic) again, love or hate, it's good to know what your skin chemistry does with these notes The Lion (amber) same as above I think the Booze, Citrus, Vanillas are so varied that I can't pick specific. This requires lots of playing. Florals: I'm the worst person to make any recommendations in this category Dirty: the perfect way to find out if you like the "Fresh" category. Alice (do you like rose?) Now that I'm reading your signature, I see that you're a gourmand/herbal/woody fan, which is kinda similar to me. That changes my list a bit. Snake Oil (big fan of Snake Oil) Booze: skin chemistry does interesting things with different spirits. Try rum, wine, whiskey, and cognac separately. Rum doesn't do much for me, and I hate the way cognac smells on me. Rum: Piratey things available from GC ( Port-Au-Prince ). Wine: Hands-down fave: Dark Chocolate with Merlot-Infused Black Cherries (hard to find, message me if you'd like to try a decant, but there's other wine ones out there that aren't L.E.) Blood Kiss, i think has wine, is GC. Whiskey: Mad Sweeney (GC) Kabuki: love it (GC) Leather: Perversion (GC) (never thought in a million years I would love this as much as I do, highly recommend) Standard Gourmand: Eat Me (GC) (there's a million imps of this floating around in people's sales pages) Bakery: Unsubtle euphemism (looks like it's a Luper that's still up there, it's wonderful, it's like fresh foccacia to me). Last year's Lilith: Loaf is a must try. Bakery, tarts: Knave of Hearts (GC) Chocolate: Vice (GC) Coconut: Blood Pearl (GC) Apple: The Poisoned Apple (GC) Strawberry: Any of the Strawberry Moons Spice Rack: I've yet to find anything that is heavy on Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, or Basil. They are usually paired with cucumber or tomato, and have a strong "green" quality that doesn't work for me. Or maybe heavy on the orris and are too dry or dark for me, or heavy on the dirt note or moss. I haven't done enough digging in the recommendation forum to look for these notes specifically. You can find lots of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. Star anise, nutmeg, and caraway are harder to come by. The holidays are great for new releases including these. Definitely try different things with clove. It's not the same in all the blends. And, pepper, figure out which you like. White pepper does amazing things on my skin (Xanthe, the Weeping Clown or White Chocolate, Strawberry, and White Pepper Truffle). Salt, surprising, smells nice as well. There is an LE (Aegir), which I love, but you can't find anymore. I haven't tried this, but I bet it's nice: Lavender, Sea Salt, and Rain (as long as the rain doesn't do the soapy thing), which is probably easier to come across decants. I have a hard time recommending woods because I'm very specific about which I like. I'm a rosewood fan, and I adore King of Hearts (GC). ETA: Sorry, this turned more into a recommendation post, than a Starter pack. I do believe in trying everything because you never know what will work with your skin, but I think that would turn this into a "starter box", and nobody wants to pay for that.

Near the end of last semester, we arrived to pick her up from school and she was hanging out in her classroom drawing pictures on the white board. Of course I joined in and wrote funny looking kid with an arrow pointing at her. She changed it and wrote a cute kid, and gave me her big giant smile as if to say I WIN! Pale lavender and Tahitian vanilla with a smudge of chalk dust and a pop of strawberry bubblegum. This is such a fun blend! I didn't expect to like this. It reminds me of the bubblegum kids' shampoo that my niece's had. It's light, sweet, fruity, and bubblegummy, that somehow manages to smell clean. This doesn't morph too much on me, either. This is a fun weekend scent. The lavender is pretty light, but I think it's providing the clean base. This is just a happy scent that I'd recommend to "clean laundry" fans. After drydown, the bubblegum calms down, but still makes the lavender/vanilla fun. Medium wear length, medium throw.

Is there anything similar to Lush’s Avocado co-wash? I’m guessing lime, rosemary, lavender, and nettle?

This is really pretty, but does lean on the laundry soap side of things. Staying power is impressive. Just not a white, clean floral that works for me.

Circling back around to trying to find something that was close to Mrs. Meyer's Iowa Pine scent...Nava's NAliday Tree is pretty close. It could do with a drop of clove to sweeten it up, but it's definitely hitting that pine note I was looking for. Hit me up with your imps if you didn't enjoy it, please. ?

I agree with the small amount of spice. And perhaps some cream and sugar. Maybe just a hint of vanilla and sugar. It's sweeter than i expected, which I really enjoy. This is like being heads-down in a coffee shop, working on something you enjoy. I think it's a great smell, but I think my chemistry sucks up coffee really quickly, so I don't think I can really speak to the wear length.

I feel like there was a weenie in 2020 or 2019 that people commented leaned strongly on the Bulgarian Tobacco side. I could be way off, though. Maybe it was a yule? Perhaps search through reviews, but filter them by date? It was something somewhat recent, but maybe it was just recent to me since I just got around to reviewing it. I tried to look through my posts to see if anything stood out, but nothing did. I'm sorry I can't be of more use, but I think there's something out there. I got curious and did the search in the Weenies Reviews. https://www.bpal.org/search/?q=Bulgarian Tobacco&type=forums_topic&nodes=141&search_and_or=and TTP has a decant of Groan of Mortal Terror I'll see if I can dig out my imp later, and match with anything in my current stash.

Peppermint patty is the first thing that comes to mind. Gingerbread spices rise up as this dries down and mellow out the peppermint. I wouldn't think to put these 2 smells together. They surprisingly work after it's dry, but I think it's only if your chemistry allows for the peppermint to calm down.

Smoky cocoa with a hint of bitterness. Definitely not for me, but I can see chocolate lovers who also enjoy a hint of smokiness really like this.

I'm a huge fruitcake fan. My family makes it every year. I even made one for the first time this past year. I've never tried a chocolate version, though. My initial take when trying this out...this is Jólabókaflóðið! It's dry, dusty chocolate, with a hint of nuts! Smelling them together, one of each hand, so I have a better comparison. Chocolate fruitcake has an underlying hint of candied fruits, whereas Jola has more hearth smoke and candlewax. Chocolate fruitcake has a tiny pine aspect that hangs out around the edge, but maybe it's just clove. As they drydown, smelling them up close is very different. I guess there's something in waft from my neck, when there's a bit of distance and time, they end up smelling similar. I want to blame it mostly on my nose. At the end, the way my nose interprets the chocolate in the waft is the only way it's similar. At the end, Chocolate fruitcake doesn't pack as much of a boozy, fruity punch as I was expecting. It's still lovely and light, and wearable. If I want fruitcake, I'll reach for my beloved ICD-37.

Captain Lilith is a harsh taskmaster and her first mate has been put up for public humiliation. His crime must have been not making her buttered pasta fast enough. Can he escape? Will people come by and throw tomatoes at him? Caramelized rum ice cream with a splatter of berries. This smells exactly like the description. This is a really, really nice sweet vanilla with rum in the background, it kinda reminds me of bread pudding. It's really strong, and it doesn't seem to warp and become plasticy like some vanilla blends. The berries aren't super apparent, and I think they kinda morph to smelling like raisins, where bread pudding is coming from. It's wonderful for those gourmand lovers.

Soapy ozone, definitely not for me.

Starts out as a really pretty, juicy peach. Similar to those peach gummies you can find in Asian grocery stores. The peach chills a bit, and the yuzu slowly bubbles up. I don't get overwhelming citrus or musk. This clearly stays in the peach realm for me. What a great option for Spring!

I keep forgetting that I don't enjoy this apple. It goes on like a red apple. I would expect to like everything else, but they add a darkness and depth that doesn't suit the red apple, in my opinion. It ends up feeling like a dirty, dusty red apple that I don't enjoy.

I don't think the apricots are easily recognizable. But I think my nose isn't picking up a bunch of nuance at this point. I wasn't impressed with this as much as I wanted, but I'll have to test it again later.

Zankoku_zen touched on it being "delicate", but that's really the first thing I would put forward about this. It's a very close-to-skin scent. Frankly, it's so light, that's why I'm not keeping it, even though I enjoy the scent. And Roseus mentioned "watermelon candy", and now I see the comparison, too. Drydown helps with moving away from watermelon candy, though. To me, this lives in a weird gray space between sugary, spicy, and a touch of white floral, maybe nicotiana. It's hard to pinpoint anything in particular. I would wear this if I was going to church and I didn't want to offend anyone or overwhelm them in a small space.

Why did I think there was leather in here? I was walking around, thinking this was an approachable leather that didn't come across as too strong. Reading the notes, I must have made my coworkers crazy smelling like patchouli, oudh, and musk. Trying this again, I get more incensey and wood. And it's not nearly as strong as I previously experienced. I think my nose is wonky. I will have to test this again because I really liked it a few years ago.

In the bottle, this smells gross. Like a fermenting sweet treat. I only mention this since a bottle sniff shouldn't deter you from trying it out. I don't get churros like everyone else. To me, this is fried dough that leans towards overly-sweet honey. Honey usually amps on me, so it's not exactly honey. It just leans that way as far as being overly-sweet. To me, this smells more like a honey bun, those Little Debbie snacks, more than anything else. It seems pretty single note on me, as well: sweet, fried dough. I have to breath real deep to get just a hint of cinnamon. After it settles, the fermenting part goes away, and it smells more like a snack you'd like to eat. It really takes a while for the cinnamon to make an appearance, and it's tiny, too. I can see the churro comparison now, but it's faint, and I feel like it's misleading. In any case, I definitely recommend giving this a shot to see if you like it.

I feel like the previous poster nails it. This feels like going to an incense shop while eating a snickerdoodle cookie, while maybe wearing Strawberry Dragon HG that is faintly sticking around.

I don't get the coffee, mocha, or caramel that others mentioned. This feels very similar Candy Corn Pumpkin Floss or the Candy Corn Snake Oil. The candy corn note is the same, and it doesn't morph much on me. I think the smut adds a slight depth that I don't get with the others, so it feels more adult, but it's not oozing anything other than yummy sweet candy. I think my nose is too simplistic when it comes to these sweet gourmand scents. Anyway, if you're a candy corn nut, I'd say to get it. If you're waffling because you already have Snake Oil version, I think it's safe to pass.

I can't believe i haven't written a review yet. I've been using this as my sleepytime scent lately, so I assumed I'd written one. Wet, it's like cheap milk chocolate with a bit of "wet something", I suppose paper, and possibly surrounded by some cheap candle wax. Admittedly, it's not great when it first goes on. It's also somehow easy for my nose to transmute the "wet something" to hazelnuts. I usually put it on my chest for something comforting to wear before bed. Right now, I'm testing it on my hand, and purposefully smelling it closely. Like, it's weird, up close, it's not very pleasant to my nose. A foot from my nose, where it can waft up, it smells divine. It's like a comfortable chocolate backed up by musky hazelnuts. For the record, the "sweater" note in this doesn't show up the same way that the more recent "cosy sweater" notes do. To me, those smell like artificial yarn with a hint of perfumey laundry detergent. I wouldn't say that I get any "sweater" note from this, but there is something musky, so I think I'm perceiving it differently. The leather shows up later, but it's such a whisper, I don't notice. The funny thing about the book...I got it in my order. I think it was something like "Mr. Murder" or something equally frightening. I was soooo puzzled why they would throw in a well-worn copy of a book with such a ominous title. I was like "Are they trying to tell me something? Is Puddin' saying that I'm killing him with too many orders that year or something?" Then I forgot about it. It wasn't until I brought it up with another BPALer, who asked which book I got, then helped me piece it together. I never read the entire description of this scent. I just saw chocolate, and added it to my cart.