Invidiana

I initially get an herbal burst of clary sage and violet leaf from this, but they take a backseat as it dries down and allow the beeswax, woods and resins to take center stage. I do get some lovely beeswax from this, much like that in The Lights of Men's Lives, and I do like the shadowy resinous backdrop. However, the Bony Moon-esque white sandalwood is the decisive factor in keeping this from being bottleworthy; I amp it considerably, and it's just much too dry for me.

I thought this would be much boozier than it actually came out on me--the drydown on my skin was actually pretty herbal. I like it much better wet because I got that nice boozy rum on top of rich deep woods, but for some reason as it dried the rum and woods faded considerably, overshadowed by bay and thyme with a little citrusy orange peel. It's alright, and for once the cedar doesn't go to cedar of death on my skin, but for booze and wood I think I'll stick to my Banned in Boston.

This is predominantly black tea and anise on me; I have to really strain to pick up the goji berry and oakmoss and anything floral. I imagine it would be great for someone who prefers black tea as a dominant note--it' a very true licorice-infused black tea with a bit of an earthy undertone from the oakmoss--but not really my thing.

This is not the black musk from Storyville or The Deserted Village or Enraged Groundhog Musk that hates me with the vengeance of an angry god. This isn't even the black musk from Black Temple Burlesque Troupe that I had to age the hell out of before the dry powderiness got toned down. There's a new black musk scent in town, and it's sexy as fuuuuuu I honestly thought this wouldn't work. I mean, I amp cinnamon to hell and, as you can see, don't exactly have the best history with black musk. However, this scent has turned that notion on its head and made it do the Electric Slide. This black musk is slightly powdery, yes, but not the chalky powdery or plastic powdery types that have failed on me before. This is a soft and sensual type of powdery like--dare I say it?--Unseelie, though the cinnamon makes it decidedly more sensual than Unseelie. The cinnamon here is like no other I've smelled. It's not nostril-piercing spice or red hots or even the bakery sort of cinnamon that is the only one of the three I tolerate; this is a different animal in itself. It has a spicy edge, yes, but a tamed spicy edge that is closer to the heat of a warm musk (especially red) than a cinnamon stick. It must be the type of cinnamon. I am not just surprised, I am floored. Must have a bottle!

I thought this would just be another grapefruit-dominant blend, but was I ever wrong. It's prominent wet but actually becomes very faint in the drydown and allows an array of heady, sensual notes to shine through. I get a lot of gorgeous ylang ylang and muguet mingling with warm fig on an ethereal bed of white musk, with the softest hint of ginger. I think the ambergris contributes to the warmth and sensuality while the jonquil, not a terribly strong scent, melds with the other florals smoothly. Khus is actually an alternate name for vetiver but I can't sense much of it, maybe just a slight woody undertone. I would put this in the same scent family as Blue Morpho and Beanman & Beanwoman. Gorgeous and turning into a bottle.

I can detect some lovely citrus and tuberose here--that is, if I get under the yerba mate of doom. The first (and last) time I tried yerba mate tea I promptly spit it out, and while I had hope for the other elements to rise above it here, it pretty much stomps all over them much like lemon verbena with what dries down to a soapy undertone. Sigh.

This is mostly sweet-tart cranberry and red musk on me, with a bit of peach in the background. It starts off very much like SweetTarts before becoming a more realistic fruit scent on the drydown but still wiht a bit of an uplifting, almost effervescent quality from the cranberry. I can detect the slightest tinge of coconut if I concentrate hard enough. Pretty inoffensive, but I don't think this is going to be a bottle for me.

I expected this to be primarily incensey, but it has an unexpectedly delicious bite. The warm , even sensual, woods here recieve a moderately sweet (but cloying) coating of amber and get a comforting bready feel from the grains and hops. There is something of a slight lemony undertone, from what exactly I'm not sure, but I think it will mellow with aging. Overall this is like the smell of fresh-baked bread taken to new heights, like grown-up French toast. Bottle for me, definitely.

On my skin this actually reminds me of a cooler version of Street Festival. The passion flower in this smells very similar, maybe a tinge more floral, than the passionfruit in that, and amps miles over the other notes. I barely get any peach at all though I do sense something vaguely musky. It's not unpleasant, but I was really hoping for more cherry blossom and tuberose.

I am admittedly picky with rose, but the more this keeps drying down, the more I am loving it. The pink rose is gentle and not overy dry or dominant, balanced with the feminine pink peony I recognize from Lady in Speckled Pink Kimono and a springy touch of lilac, all pleasantly sweetened by the white honey and given a certain soft creaminess by the rice flower. Bottle for sure.

The linen note here reminds me of The Coldest Evening of the Year, which I love, so I initially had high hopes for this. However, I feel the white sandalwood ultimately ends up too dry on my skin, like that same bone-dry white sandalwood in Bony Moon, and amps much too much to allow the nicotiana and dragonsblood to shine through. I think I'll stick to Coldest Evening for now.

This wasn't one of the Shungas I was expecting to be bottleworthy, mainly because of the honeysuckle, but it's beautiful. I think it's the type of honeysuckle here, maybe because of its combination with some other element, or maybe because of its own nature, that seems to come off like white honey rather than that detestable flower that reminds me of hornets and wasps. The pear lends a mellow fruitiness, not at all candylike, and may also be responsible for the "honeyed" feel of this. The sandalwood musk doesn't make it warm as sandalwood and musk often tend to do but complements the cool elements and gives them something of an ethereal sensuality. There is also a hint of pleasant floral powderiness that I personally enjoy. Yes, this is definitely turning into a bottle.

This one is very fresh and uplifting, much like being at an outdoor festival in the springtime. It doesn't go off on me, but my skin ends up mostly amping the passionfruit with the grapefruit a close second, with a hint of blackcurrant and a very small tinge of violet. I really wanted more play from the other various elements, especially the plum honey, benzoin, vanilla and tobacco, rather than a mostly passionfruit/grapefruit scent, but I guess my chemistry isn't allowing for that.

I've never smelled an actual kudzu vine before, but after being told by Izile it smelled something like grape candy, that was what I came into this expecting. However, the moment I put this on I get a rush of vetiver (or something that smells much like it) instead. As it dries down the vetiver calms to my relief, but just when I think the coast was clear for honey and ginger cream the rest of the way through, the gingergrass asserts itself much like lemongrass does on my skin, except more gingery. The honey and ginger cream fight for dominance but ultimately can't slay the gingergrass dragon. I think without the gingergrass it could have been a win on me. Sad.

I very nearly got a bottle of this unsniffed, but ultimately backed off because of the cardamom and cumin. Despite all the elements here that appear like they'll equal a win on me, the damned cumin is not cooperating with my chemistry. I can definitely pick it out like the cumin in Mexican food (which is the one and only reason I avoid Mexican places when going out to dinner), and I also think it's corrupting the other elements by making them smell like--believe it--printer ink (!) on me rather than thick glorious resins and honey. I thought I'd squeak by the cumin here like I did with Pallas Athene, but it wasn't meant to be.

I amp cinnamon. To hell. Which is why it's not much of a surprise that despite all the wonderful warm, sensual elements I can detect in the wet stage of this--most notably the patchouli and red musk backed by thick resins--it ultimately dries down to cinnamon gum with a tinge of red musk. Damn my skin chemistry.

Eanach Dhuin. Dead ringer for Irish Spring, on my skin at least. Lincoln Tunnel Vortex wasn't too far off either.

I definitely see the similarity to The Arabian Dance here, especially with the leather and coffee which are the two dominant notes on me. Surprisingly this isn't very carnationy on my skin, and I often tend to amp the unholy carnation of doom but it manages to stay subdued. At first I thought it was that which was adding a bit of sweetness, but then realized it was the tobacco, most kinds of which manage to take on an almost caramelly quality on my skin, but there mustn't be that much of it because it's only a tinge of sweetness under the leather and coffee. This isn't unpleasant but I much prefer The Arabian Dance for its additional sweet elements which tone down the masculinity of the leather and coffee that really amps in this one.

When I first sniffed this I could have sworn there was red musk in it but now I'm surmising that the combination of blood orange and pomegrante imparted a similar feel at first. It started out juicy and citrusy and red-orange, and I almost thought it would be a win until it took a wrong turn. I think I would have loved this without the geranium and gingergrass. I simply could not ignore the sharp edge they gave the other elements on the drydown, which effectively ruined this scent for me. Eh, I'm not much of an afternoon person anyhow.

This is downright beautiful on me and I normally hate honeysuckle. Most all BPAL honeysuckle scents dry down to screaming honeysuckle on me, and taken that I have a scent memory association with honeysuckle and huge wasps that is not a good thing. I think it's a combination of the type of honeysuckle used plus its proportion in comparison to the other notes and the way it blends with them that makes this scent decidedly un-honeysuckle on my skin. It's really more of that beautiful indigo musk also in Nightmare plus the black iris and night-blooming (read: non-cat pee!) jasmine that are swirled together for a dark yet somehow crystalline scent like a clear midnight sky sparkling with stars. This actually isn't much of an orrisy scent on me; the orris does contribute to its softness, and the rosewood is just a background element to anchor and not overwhelming. This and Dusk are the two winning phoenixes for me this year.

Aptly named. This is a wonderfully cool and clear scent with lots of ethereal white musk and heady champaca flower at the fore, supported by something not quite ozonic but still fresh and clean (but not soapy) that makes me think of breathing in the crisp air on a winter morning. There are hints of fir that stay in the background to contribute to the wintry feeling (though this is by no means a pine scent) and the papyrus may be contributing to the clean feeling along with the gray amber. Evocative and beautiful.

Peach is not often my friend, and even mixed in with champagne it still isn't. This starts out fizzy but ends up cloyingly sweet and candylike, reminding me of these peach gummies which I remember trying and thinking they definitely needed a roll in those sour crystals to balance out all the sugar. Skin fail.

This smells very true to the real thing; I really do feel like I'm sticking my nose in a glass of sangria, only with champagne fizz bubbling up. I can smell all the red fruit and sparkling citrus typical of sangria too, with lots of boozy red wine. However, the wine note in this goes slightly sour on me on the drydown, so I'm going to stick with Spiked Punch.

I agree with the others that there is a fizzy quality to this scent, almost like one of the Atomic Luau Lounge blends but softer. It is a rather lively grapefruit-based floral with the floral elements playing nicely. I do wish there was more vanilla, apricot and white patchouli evident as I could just barely smell them--mostly the grapefruit with a bloral backdrop. This does embody the renewal of dawn, but I really think Dusk and Midnight are more my speed personally.

It saddens me that bluebell isn't a note present in many perfumes out there because this one is so enchanting. Forutnately the jasmine tea here is the kind of jasmine that likes my skin and doens't have that much of a presence to begin wtih. It's really the bluebell and other florals along with the redcurrant that comprise the most prominent scents here, drying down to cool airy florals over bittersweet redcurrant. There is a bit of mint and thyme evident in the wet stage but they aren't really bracing or herbal, but just add to the cool "windy" feeling overall. I will definitely be needing a bottle of this for the upcoming months.