Invidiana

Half the notes made me cross my fingers they'd be victorious, and the other half, well....unfortunately that was the half that ended up winning. To my nose this is all bitter GERANIUM wet followed closely by tomato leaf and pimento. It's only the drydown that I get some lovely beeswax and honey in the background, but sadly not enough to take over the geranium and tomato leaf of death. Reminds me a lot of Jerusalem Cherry Honey, actually, that same standing-in-a-tomato-patch scent. Fans of that type of stuff will love this, but it's not really my thing.

I had high hopes for this, and the sparkle of citrus at the beginning helped contribute to that, but unfortunately I just amp the petitgrain too much to enjoy it. I think this scent would have worked well on me without it; bright, sunny citrus perfect for summer. However, the extent to which I ended up amping the petitgrain just gave it a bitter herbal edge that was hard to ignore.

Here comes the deathly kind of lemon to haunt me again. I tend to amp lemon peel notes as opposed to the juice and I definitely do here. I think, however, it's the cilantro that really does me in. I don't like to eat it or smell it, and unforunately it just doesn't go away. I can pick up traces of the other notes but the lemon and cilantro are just too kitchen-prep for me.

I'm afraid there is just way too much juniper and cypress here for me. Surprisingly not much cucumber comes out, but it might be because I amp the juniper and musk the most. I actually like the musk, and while I can do hints of juniper or cypress here and there I just can't wear something this dominant in those notes. I had hope for the orchid, but can barely smell it. Oh well.

I was really hoping the coffee, coconut, opium and tobacco flower would end up being the primary players here, but unfortunately the first thing I get is a blast of lemongrass and cedar. These do fade gradually on the drydown, and I can pick out the other notes here and there but my favorite ones don't end up coming out as strongly as I'd like and the lemongrass/cedar dominance that remains is just impossible to ignore. I really do want to give it one more shot though.

Carnation is another one of those notes that can be hit or miss on me, but this one is absolutely perfect. It smells exactly, exactly like a fresh-picked carnation, a bit stronger than the white and pink ones I'm used to, but an absolute dead ringer for the flower. I could swear there's even a bit of dewiness to it. Since fresh carnations also remind me of that old-fashioned Christmas candy that comes in all different colors, that was one of the first things I thought sniffing it. Floral but not cloying, a touch sweet, a touch spicy, and a huge surprise. I'm glad I took the chance!

I haven't always had the best realtionship with apple blossom. Sometimes it's worked, sometimes it hasn't. I turned Eve v5 into cheap cloying floral soap, but got on very well with Valse Finale et Apotheose. Naturally I hoped this would be like the apple blossom in the latter, and it was.

This is the perfect fresh, clean floral. It's a bit more appley wet, reminding me a bit of the Suave apple shampoo I used to use in junior high, but quickly dries down to a cool floral skin scent. The clean aspect isn't the floral guest soap I got in Eve v5, just fresh and clean like just-washed skin and the scent of spring flowers on a cool breeze. It's perfect for warmer weaterh as well as those days I don't feel like wearing anything heavy. I am so glad Beth is bringing single notes back, and can't wait to see what's next!

I second the Weeping Branches Moon comparison, and I'll add that it's a cousin to Hanami and Sakura spray as well, except with tuberose instead of cherry blossom. Wisteria and tuberose are the first notes to make themselves evident, and what was unmistakably honey, which reminded me of the Honey hair gloss; this must be one of the honeys from there. It's a lighter honey to my nose rather than the really thick dark type, but really pretty all the same. The wisteria, honey and tuberose are really at the forefront of this on my skin, with whispers of jasmine backed softly by the wood and moss. Much love to my wonderful Anime Expo fairy for grabbing a bottle of this for me.

This one is an unsung hero(ine?) of BPAL the orchid family:

Lune Noire: black orchid, jonquil, white pear, white amber, gardenia, olibanum, champaca, sweet clove, tonka, oakmoss, and blue musk.

If it likes your skin, it is truly an otherworldly scent. Also, Beth's Black Moon from last year:

Black Moon: black orchid, motia attar, mugwort, English pear, jonquil, violet leaf, myrrh, opoponax, crystal musk, ylang ylang, and 5-year aged patchouli.

I know the myrrh and resins may make it sound heavy, but they're more of a mysterious veil in the backdrop. It's a much more ethereal scent than the note listing might suggest.

I love this. I adore this. I had a hard time doing much more than swooning when I tried it on my wrist. It's a bit more rosy wet, but still like the petals of the most voluptous Damask roses doused in smooth vanilla cream--and drying down on the skin, the cream seems to soak through the rose even more, making this an interplay of sweet creamy innocence shot through with a pulsating crimson heart. It's a scent of red intermingling with white but was clearly not intended to be a "pink" scent. Guilelessness and corruption in a bottle. Amazing.

This one is all lush, and dewy hothouse orchids entwined with tendrils of incense. It seems every color of orchid has been incorporated into here somehow, from white to dark purple, making this a gorgeous exotic floral with a mysterious, almost smoky finish from the incense. It makes me think of all the exotic things blooming around the Mayfairs' Garden District house in Anne Rice's The Witching Hour.

This one is a very sophisticated and surprisingly sexy bat. There is a lot of white sandalwood in the wet stage, and I'm momentarily afraid that's all that will show up on me, but it becomes less prominent as the other notes emerge. Some sage makes itself known wet but quickly recedes. The balsam must be the main thing that sweetens it on the drydown, probably along with the frankincense as resins tend to sweeten on my skin, and the muguet adds a slightly sweet and almost creamy undertone. Meanwhile the underlying patchouli contributes a certain mystery and sensuality to the whole scent. It really is quite beautiful. Sometimes white sandalwood ends up overly dry on me, but here it's the furthest thing possible from that.

Evil chocolate. Evil EVIL chocolate. This is not a foody scent, but the cacao is evident from the wet stage and remains at the top throughout. For a moment the patchouli and mahogany wrestle with it for dominance. I was afraid at that point it would end up being all masculine patch and wood, but the cacao then reasserts itself with the other two close behind, gradually sweetened by the tonka, sarsaparilla and balsam in the background. The dark musks add that final sexy finish that gives a new meaning to "dark" chocolate. An enormous thank you to my Bats' Day fairy for picking up goodies for me, because I'm loving every one!

I knew this would be my favorite bat (and did I mention how adorable the label batty is?) It's not a fizzy scent on me, not for more than a couple seconds anyway; then the vanilla cream, sarsaparilla and fig only keep getting better and better with the warmth of saffron in the background. The barest hint of lime remains on the drydown, but it's actually a pleasant tangy counter to the sweetness. It ends up as a golden vanilla cream, if you can put up with my synaesthesia, with sticky fig, a hint of warm spice that isn't "spicy" in the stereotypical sense, and a shot of sarsaparilla that reminds me a bit of Spicebush Swallowtail. Actually this is very much like a Spicebush Swallowtail and cream sundae, come to think of it. Love!

At first I actaully get a lot of woodiness from the cedar and pepper, but after about a minute those take a backseat to the softer, "silvery" notes of amber, ambergris and benzoin backbed by balsam and oude for a mildly sweet yet substantial depth. Seconding the spun-sugar feel of this once it dries down; I think the benzoin, which I amp, is behind that, giving it a vanillic undertone. The cedar and pepper don't budge from where they are and just meld into the undertones, letting the notes that have risen to the top command the show. One of the few BPALs with cedar I can do!

Now this is what I wanted Strawberry Moon 09, which sadly turned to grass clippings on me, to smell like. This is lovely honeyed, vanilla-kissed strawberry that really does smell like wild strawberries and isn't cloying or candylike. As it dries down I also get a hint of dandelion sap like that in Plastic Pink Flamingo and the tiniest hint of soft grasses blowing in the breeze, but nothing like the overwhelming grass clippings I got from 09. This is the Strawberry Moon I've been waiting for.

On me this is almost a dead ringer for Honey hair gloss. I was a little leery of the gingergrass and turmeric, but they are barely detectable. It's just a lovely golden honey scent tinged with vanilla and gardenia and the tiniest bit of dragon's blood for depth. I positively can't wait to wear it along with the hair gloss.

At first this is very much a wood and patchouli scent, not calling to mind the white butterfly that is its namesake. However, as with others in this series, I get a real surprise on the drydown. The woods and patchouli soften and allow the vanilla, tonka and musk to really shine through. I don't really get any spikenard, which for me is a good thing as spikenard can be iffy. Several minutes after letting this dry down I almost didn't recognize it from the wet stage, as the vanilla really got a chance to bloom. So pretty.

Blueberry and lilac seems like such an odd pairing of notes at first, but it's actually a winning combo. This scent is such a departure from the norm but so dreamy and relaxing. Blueberry is obviously the first thing to jump out at me wet, but then the soft florals of lilac and orris put it on fluffy clouds that make think of a blue sky in June. Love it.

I almost thought I wasn't going to like this, because in the wet stage it was just a sharp blasting confusion of bergamot and violet leaf, but something amazing happens after a couple minutes. The bergamot and violet leaf all but completely disappear, and taking their place is the most wonderful lily of the valley backed by soft patchouli and an uplifting spark of that chocolate peppermint. The resins and tobacco waft up through the background to add a summery warmth. What I assumed I was going to completely disagree with turned out to be love.

This is like the most luxe chocolate orange ever. The cacao and orange are prominent from the beginning, exactly like orange-infused dark chocolate, but as it dries down something magical happens with the smokiness of the coffee, tobacco and wood that elevate it from foody to sensuous. I only wish Vosges made truffles like this.

For all that grandiflorum jasmine ends up as cat piss on me, night-blooming jasmine works. The two most prominent notes here from the beginning are the blood orange and jasmine, but as it dries down I get some lovely vanilla and wood coming through, which together blend into a warm smoky vanilla, and that dark richness of the oude. Another uncommon win for my skin and jasmine!

I had hope for the honey and musk in this, but no such luck. This is the spitting image of Fee on me: all honeydew, all the time. No musk, no honey, just honeydew. Honeydew that amps to cloying melon rolled in Sweet 'N Low. We will never be friends.

I had no idea what gingko nut smelled like, but apparently it complements the almond in this really well, because at least on me this one smells like cherry-flavored marzipan. I would think I get the cherry-ish tinge from the persimmon. The musk warms it up and gives it another dimension, but it's still foody deliciousness on me and I need a bottle.

This 13 is so different from any of the others, and I am really liking it. It's all honeyed wildflowers on a creamy soft base. I pick out random flowers here and there, especially the chamomile blossom (a little strong in the beginning but calms down eventually) and champaca, but they all harmonize into something really pretty and even soothing on the drydown. Some of the 13s have been too sharp and herbal for me, but this one is a winner!