puck_nc

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: While I like honey in small doses and I like cake in some blends, this was a bit of a shot in the dark as far as two kind-of-good scents together with no other players. But I love Alice in Wonderland so that tipped the scales into trying it. In the Bottle: Rich, in-your-face honey with a bit of cake in the undertone. I agree that it smells different from the cake in Eat Me, less vanilla. Wet: Very honey. Very, very honey. With a bit of cake. Something in here had my husband complaining that I made him sneeze, but that could have been the just-sprayed state more than the notes. Dry: Once dry, the scent calms down a lot and is much more subtle on me than I would have thought. I think this will definitely be wearable for work. Verdict: I definitely like it and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of honey.

UNDER THE HARVEST MOON Under the harvest moon, When the soft silver Drips shimmering Over the garden nights, Death, the gray mocker, Comes and whispers to you As a beautiful friend Who remembers. Under the summer roses When the flagrant crimson Lurks in the dusk Of the wild red leaves, Love, with little hands, Comes and touches you With a thousand memories, And asks you Beautiful, unanswerable questions. Blue and white musk, summer roses, wild crimson leaves, grey amber, carnation, lavender bud, and vanilla bean. Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: Blue and white musks tend to play nicely and not amp horribly on my skin. I love carnation and vanilla bean and lavender. Roses are iffy and I'm not sure if grey amber will be better on me than just amber. I figured it was worth a shot. In the Bottle: Rich amber and musk, almost smoky-sweet vanilla, with plenty of carnation spicing it up. It does have an autumn's-coming feel to it without being a full-blown autumn scent. Wet: After an initial blast of musk that had me worried for a second, it settles down quickly. There's plenty of musky carnation, a bit of vanilla, a bit of lavender. I'm not getting much of the roses, leaves or amber that I can tell. Drydown: As it dries on me, it loses some of the shifting dimension it had while wet. I still get carnation and musk with a sweet undertone and a bit of an herbal edge, but it's not quite as vibrant as before. Verdict: I like it, but I'm not bowled over by the dry stage. I'll have to play with this one a bit, do a side-by-side test with Bathsheba and see if it grows on me before I give it up. I'll definitely put a little in a scent locket.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: I do love me some vanilla. In the Bottle: Extremely vanilla. Very sweet. Playing a bit with a plasticky edge - my initial impression was of a candle or some such scented with vanilla. Wet: The vanilla seems to hide a bit. It's now a more generic sweet dessert. I guess it's custard - I'm not sure I could identify custard by the scent. Drydown: The vanilla comes back and this time it's reminding me of a soap or bath product I've run across. There's no actual "soap" to this, but I'm remembering lathering up as I smell it. Verdict: I'm not sure it works on me as a standalone, but I definitely want to try a little layering with some of my scents that maybe would like an added level of sweet vanilla.

Velvety star-touched indigo musk with star jasmine, white patchouli, vanilla orchid, moonflower, night-blooming cereus, olibanum, and a drop of Ceylon cinnamon. In the bottle: a lovely dark floral musk, a little sweet and a little cool, with a trace of spice. Wet: Dark and smoky, enough to have me re-reading the note list for something related to tobacco. Drydown: The musk emerges, as usual when it comes to my skin. The flowers are there, but muted at the moment, which makes me sad since star jasmine is a favorite of mine. I’m not getting a lot of the cinnamon - anyone who hesitated about this because of a sensitivity is probably okay as long as they’re not super-sensitive to it. Later drydown: The musk has backed off, which is good. Indigo musk will not amp and mow down everything else in its path like red/brown/black. The florals are a bit stronger, but no one note of them is standing out. I’m getting that persistent impression of wood/smoke…perhaps it’s the olibanum. I’d forgotten that that was another name for frankincense, a note I usually avoid because of amping issues. Verdict: I’ll try it again to be sure, but this isn’t the floral treasure I’d hoped for. May be passing it on.

Origin: Straight from the Lab Initial Thoughts: This was one of only a couple of Crimson Peak scents that didn't have a deal-breaking note and did have a lot of scents I like. I love lavender, gardenia, and vanilla orchid. I can do sandalwood when it's white. I'm not as on board with the other notes, but I think I have BPAL scents with them that work for me. In the Bottle: A high, somewhat sharp aristocratic floral. Very lavender. Wet: The lavender starts out dominant on my skin, with the sandalwood right behind it. Then the other florals start to develop a bit. Drydown: Gradually the gardenia emerges and takes over, with just enough of the other notes to give it a cool crispness rather than an overpowering sweetness. Verdict: I could see myself wearing this. It's on the elegant side and fairly subtle.

Sandalwood, tiare, white oudh, and white amber. Origin: Straight from the Post Original Thoughts: I love tiare. I like the idea of sandalwood, though it often amps on my skin. Amber is in that family of frankincense/musk/patchouli notes that amp massively on me if they're dark but can work if they're light. I haven't seen white amber listed as a note and definitely not white oudh before. In the Bottle: Rich and evocative sweet sandalwood and amber with a thread of tiare. Applying: All the sandalwood and amber. But they are light rather than heavy. Very like the smoke in the name. Drying: The tiare develops and blends beautifully with the other notes. It's a bit more amber than sandalwood now. Wearing: This doesn't seem to have a lot of throw, which is okay with me since I like wearing my hair glosses to work. It's very subtle but really sexy. Verdict: I cannot stop sniffing my hair. This suggests that I might need a backup bottle or two, especially with an amber scent I can wear without amping.

Origin: Won a 2005 bottle on eBay Initial Thoughts: I love hunting for "snow" scents among the wintry/Yule BPAL offerings. I have no objection to the idea of youthful girlie perfume. This has been on my want-to-try list ever since I got into BPAL. In the Bottle: The first sniffs are very pine/evergreen with a hint of sweetness, but the pine lingers in the nostrils and tilts toward household cleaner pine. Wet: Very pine at first, but very quickly softens with an upsurge of that sweetness. Now the "household" impression is being kept away. Drydown: The sweetness backs off but isn't quite going away. If Beth ever chose to make a Winter Lilith, this would be pretty close. Verdict: I'm definitely glad I got to try this after so long. I may play with it side-by-side with Skadi and other winter favorites to see if it should stay.

Origin: Obtained in a swap Initial Thoughts: I found BPAL mere weeks after the original selection of single notes was discontinued and have been lucky enough to collect a small selection of sniffies/decants/imps over the years. Honeysuckle has long been a treasured note of mine and finally getting to sample this one, an original tarted imp, is a little dream come true. In the Vial: Heady sweet honeysuckle, just like burying my face into a pile of blossoms. Wet: A touch of green comes in, which was the only thing needed to make this smell like fresh-on-the-vine honeysuckle. Drydown: The green warms up and it goes a bit soapy-clean, but is still bright honeysuckle. Verdict: While it is a bit soapy on me, I am very glad to have this rare gem.

Origin: Bottle obtained in a swap Initial Thoughts: I don't remember if I simply didn't have money at the time or saw the incense and immediately said "nope". As a rule, incense amps badly on me and eats up the other notes. But when negotiating the swap, my swap partner said that the incense was truly light, letting it be a nice floral. And I love all the florals involved. In the Bottle: Gardenia and tiare and oh, so sweet! Richly floral with just a thread of incense. Wet: And here comes the incense, charging up. But it's not so strong that it drowns out everything else. There's still quite a bit of floral, mostly gardenia, making its presence felt. Drydown: The gardenia cools off and the incense is the strong note for me. But the florals are still there, making this an incense with a tropical feel. It is indeed a light enough incense that I can wear it. Verdict: This definitely works on my skin and I'm glad I had the chance to try it. We'll see how much play it gets.

Ivy-green crème. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I just grabbed all the Lupers. I wasn't quite sure how a green ended up in a Valentine collection, but got it anyway. In the Bottle: Leaf-petal green, as advertised. One coat: This is a pretty thin formula. One coat just sort of stained my nail grass-green. Two coats: Getting there, but still awfully sheer. Shiny, though. Three coats: That's more like it. A smooth and satiny green that evokes springtime rather than Christmas. Verdict: I'll have to think about this one. It's a lovely formula and a pretty green, but I already have Faunalia for a shiny (if darker) green and Titan Toadstools for my spring green in a glitterbomb. We'll have to see if I reach for this one.

Origin: Bought at Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: The original Morocco played reasonably well on my skin despite the red sandalwood, which usually amps on me. I was curious to see what my hair would do to it, as I have found that some deal-breaker notes are not deal-breakers once in my hair. In the Bottle: Pretty much the same as the oil. Some musk, some sandalwood, a bit of carnation and spices and that odd creamy vanilla impression that makes no sense from the notes list. Applying on Wet Hair: The sandalwood comes out strong at this point. Blow-dried Hair: For a while it stays very woodsy, but gradually shifts to a quieter musk and the spices come out to play a very little. I get no carnation impression at all. Verdict: The throw is very, very light - I would have no trouble wearing this to work. This would be a good starter for anyone who has been afraid of trying the hair glosses because they didn't want the scent to overpower.

Origin: Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: I didn't go for this when they were introduced since key lime is my husband's favorite pie. I tried Apple and Peach instead. But at the will call, I took a sniff out of curiosity and got a very strong lime zing that I thought would be wonderful for warm weather. In the Bottle: Fresh lime, graham cracker crust, and sweet cream. In Wet Hair: The pastry aspects charge forward, with the lime hanging around in the background. Blow-dried Hair: As I dried my hair, the crust and cream settled and let the lime come back out to play. Verdict: 100% foody, but light and with that zing of lime to make this a good summer scent. Not a huge amount of throw, so also a good scent for work or being around people.

Origin: Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: While I adore strawberries, I held off on ordering this from the Post because I already had Enveloped in Silk from the 2016 Lupers as a yummy strawberry scent. But then I started seeing reviews and chatter and regretted it mightily. When it turned out a few bottles were sent to DSWC, I jumped at the chance. In the Bottle: Stand over the selection of fresh, sweet berries at a farmer's market, leaves and hulls still in place for a strong thread of green. That's this scent. In Wet Hair: The strawberry gets even stronger and skates toward candyland, but doesn't go artificial or plastic-y for me. Blow-dried Hair: For me the sugary characteristic fades and I'm back to fresh strawberries. The grass-green aspect fades a bit. Verdict: Am I ever glad I got to try this one! It doesn't have a lot of throw to bother other people but I can pull my hair to my face and get a lovely whiff of strawberry. This is going to be a great hot-weather gloss.

Origin: drive-by test at Dirty South Will Call Initial Thoughts: Iced lavender sounded brilliant, but not necessarily iron and ocean. In the Bottle: Cold lavender and iron. Wet: Cold lavender and a mild impression of ocean. Drydown: Eventually it goes pretty much to a quiet oudh on me.

Origin: Lucky to get a bottle from the 2nd round at Etsy Initial Thoughts: Sweet pea and vanilla sugar are total wins for me. I don't think I've ever tried a BPAL with pink musk, but hopefully it'll be light enough not to amp a lot. In the Bottle: Musk seems to be the dominant note in the bottle. It's sweet and light and pretty musk, but I get musk first and sweet pea second. A very girly perfume. Wet: Sugary sweet pea. Very pink and feminine. Drydown: The musk steps up, but isn't screaming MUSK!!!!!, so that's good. Still floral, still sweet, still light and lovely. Verdict: I am very glad I was able to land a bottle!

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I didn't jump on this one at first because I was much more intrigued by Departing Like Smoke and wasn't sure I wanted strawberry-cream hair. Then the reviews started rolling in and I figured I should at least try it. In the Bottle: Super-sweet strawberries dripping with cream. I can maybe catch the faintest thread of an earthy note if I try. Application on Wet Hair: It's a cloud of strawberry goodness, with a bit more in the way of earthy orris. Drydown: The candy-sweet fades into a more fresh strawberry, recently picked from the garden. And later the musk is the main player, gentle and light, with a whiff of strawberry running through it. Verdict: I'm glad I nabbed this one. It's possible I'll nab another bottle if the Lupers overlap with the next thing.

Plutonium-silver iridescent chunky glitter. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I loved Pumpkin Spice Everything from the Weenies with its explosion of glitter. I have bought other silvery glitter-laden polishes on a regular basis. This was a no-brainer. In the bottle: Colorful Christmas lights against the ice and snow. One coat: A more glittery effect than the Crimson Peak Socialite but it has that nice layer of sparkle over one's nail. Two coats: Full coverage and glitter everywhere! It is a very rough surface - I recommend a top coat to smooth it over. Verdict: Definitely buying more of this before Yules go away.

The daydreams of flowers: honey and nectar gleaming like dew on delicate petals. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I have discovered in the last couple of years that floral and sweet are frequently a winning combo for me. As long as the delicate petals aren't rose or violet, this should be good. In the Bottle: Heady honey on a bed of pale springlike florals. On my Skin: Airier and more balanced between the sweet and the floral. I can't identify any one floral other than there's almost certainly no rose or violet to go skanky. None of the florals are going high or sharp on me, so I suspect that there's no jasmine or lily either, but I could be wrong. Verdict: A lovely soft floral, one I feel confident I could use in the shower before work. Glad I bought it.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: When it first shows up on the website, I didn't think much about it because I wasn't interested in making my hair smell like winter. Then I started reading the reviews that compared it to Skadi, one of my favorite winter scents of all time. And I bought a bottle. In the Bottle: First sniff, chilly pine forest. Second sniff, after reading the notes, I can tell I'm smelling mint and eucalyptus. Refreshing and cool and amazingly forest-like given that there's not a single "woodsy" note in the list. Applying: All the eucalyptus! Drying: It calms down as it dries, but remains very strongly mint and eucalyptus. I am not getting any identifiable trace of the lemon peel or orange blossom. I suppose I'm getting a bit of the ice, but not the honeycomb. Wearing: This has a strong enough throw as to be distracting - I spent the morning getting prominent whiffs of Christmas. I fully expect that when in the shower tomorrow my wet hair will still have this scent clinging to it. Verdict: I am unsure. It is a scent I love. I'm just not sure it's a scent I want in my hair. I may need to find a better home for this one.

A crème the color of deep plum velvet; vile machinations cloaked in whispered promises and shadowed embraces. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I like purples. In the bottle: So purple it's almost black. One coat: Someone with a good hand might make it in one coat. A very deep purple with a hint of red. Two coats: Full coverage. Almost exactly like the bottle in color. Verdict: It's a great formula, but I'm not sure I'll keep it since it is so very dark.

The bright cerulean of a cradle-song. Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: There were so many shades of blue among the Crimson Peak colors to try! In the bottle: This is sort of close to Carolina (UNC) blue, but with a tilt toward green/teal. One coat: Almost but not quite enough. A shiny greenish blue. Two coats: Full coverage. Not quite as green, but still more green than official Carolina blue. Verdict: Between this one and Moth Shadow and Allure I would probably go for Moth Shadow. I like my blues on the purple end of the scale. But if you like pale blues with a touch of green, try it.

An enflamed fuchsia glitterbomb! Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I just grabbed all the Lupers. The prospect of a bright pink version of Pumpkin Spice Everything or Nuclear Winter was a no-brainer. In the Bottle: PINK! And GLITTER! One coat: Oh, that's rather pathetic. I had forgotten how the glitterbombs needed the layers. Two coats: Starting to get the sparkly going. This seems to be a bit smoother on the surface than the other glitterbomb Claw Polishes. Three coats: There we go. Pink and popping! Verdict: Sold and almost certainly sold again. I'm gonna need a backup bottle.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: Every one of these notes is a win for me other than the honey, which is hit-or-miss. Had to try this. In the Bottle: Sweet and sugary peach floral. On my Skin: Sweet vanilla and peony. After a short while the peach emerges to add more sweetness. I can get hints of the carnation, but it's a dash rather than a main player. Verdict: I am going to love using this as a moisturizer and a homemade scrub.

Origin: Straight from the Post In the Jar: Sugary-sweet but light, lots of pomegranate. I'm not getting a lot of rose. In the Shower: It's delightfully scrubby. People with sensitive skin should be gentle with it. Mostly I'm getting the vanilla, maybe a bit of rose. After the Shower: I didn't use a huge amount when scrubbing, but I am getting very little scent afterward. For me that's potentially to the good since rose and I have a dubious relationship. But my skin is satiny-smooth now. Verdict: The scrub part is a winner. The scent is mild for me, though. I'll certainly use up this jar, but I don't think I need to buy more.

Origin: Straight from the Post Initial Thoughts: I just grabbed all the Lupers. I wasn't sure how different this one might be from Socialite in the Crimson Peak collection. In the Bottle: This strikes me as paler than toe-shoe pink personally. It's the palest seashell pink with a fascinating blue shimmer. One coat: Like Socialite, this is probably meant to be one coat if you can apply it neatly and evenly enough. It took me a few tries to get the hang of it. I'll try again with this one, because I think it's with that one semi-sheer coat that you've got the best chance of the blue shimmer emerging. Two coats: Super-delicate and sheer and definitely milky. Verdict: Maybe, if I can get the hang of applying just the one coat.