ellebelle

Orange blossom + mint = DOOM. Holy crap, this is astringent. Like, almost burns my nostrils astringent. Off to scrub scrub scrub.

in the bottle: I too get an almost neutral, cologne-like scent. wet: This is the best stage. It is dark and kind of peppery. There is definitely some kind of resin in this .... I'm not sure on the wood specifically, as those normally amp on me - plus some kind of citrus - perhaps tangerine? The citrus reminds me of Lillith v. the Giant Crab. drydown: soap soap soapy soap. There must be some kind of aloe or "stems" or "clean" or something in this as those scents always finish like soap for me. verdict: This is the first prototype that I've gotten the chance to try and I was excited for it - excited enough to let the oil settle and try again. But if it continues to be soapy soap, this will have to go to the swap stack.

Barrel-aged whiskey and oak. When I put this on, it smelled so astringent and so much like grain alcohol, I almost scrubbed it out without letting it mellow and dry. The first whiffs were eye scrunchingly terrible. Now that it has been drying for a while, it smells like old wood and sweet whiskey. It's not bad, it reminds me a bit of Kill-Devil in its foody/boozy-ness. But I will never wear this again. ETA: Tried it on my boyfriend and it is this sexy, smoky sweet scent. Those looking for men's options, this would definitely fit the bill.

Golden amber, hyssop, North African patchouli, and embalming spices. In general, the American Gods and Anasi boys scents have been a great big FAIL for me. The exception is Mr Jacqel. I love this, LOVE this. On me, it is all sweet, spicy, resinous amber. It's like The Lion, only more complex. The hyssop (I think?) adds a glorious edge of sweetness to this. There is nothing in this blend that doesn't like me.

This is very incense-y and very floral to my nose. I was hoping for a warmer scent, it is definitely more on the floral side. Cardamom, where are you?!!? As it dries down, there is more spice and less OMGFLOWER, but this is still not really for me. Sigh.

It's a little astringent - the citrus is strong and with the vetiver it makes it a little cleaner-like. I like the scent of it better in the bottle - in the bottle is smells so fresh and clean. My boyfriend said it smells like a band-aid wrapper, which is almost exactly right.

Bottle: sugary almond cirus Wet: It smells like orange-y almonds to me wet, though I see where the bubble yum references come from. I get a coconut undertone - and thank god, because the caramel note from BPAL can easily go towards plastic on me. Drydown: Sweet, sugar encrusted fruit. I think the "dustiness" is from the violet note. The violet note is not strong though, as that is typically a note of doom for me when it is the predominant note in the scent. Verdict: I like it! But I typically prefer scents that are a little more sophisticated and have a little more depth to them. This to me is more of a spring/summer scent when I want to feel light and playful. I'll keep my decant, but there are other yules that are a priority for me to order for bottles.

in the bottle: eggnog, eggnog, eggnog wet: I get eggnog in the first millisecond and then it goes away. There is a brief stage where the coffee comes to the front and I thought that it was going to be end of this blend for me. For whatever reason, the coffee/chocolate notes in BPAL do NOT work for me. But then the coffee fades and it replaced with a lovely spice blend. drydown: Creamy caramel spice. This final dry down is reminiscent of Boo from the Halloweenies this year, but with a more gingery note to it. It's as if Boo and Flesh Eating Reindeer from Uranus had a love child in my little imp box. I haven't tried Eggnog Latte so I can't speak to the similar between this and that. All in all, I like it! Bottle for sure. ETA: Holy crap, my skin eats this. I am a slatherer and it is already pretty much gone an hour after posting this review. This would be one that required multiple applications.

in the imp: I get something herbal and aquatic. I definitely get the hit of lime that other have been discussing. Yum yum. wet: The wet stage is my least favorite stage. On me, the wet stage is ALL incense - dark, almost cloying incense. It is remininscent of these incense sticks that the guys who lived next door to me my freshman year of college used to burn to cover up the smell of the pot they were smoking. Isn't it odd how certain scents bring back absolutely specific memories? drydown: This is when it gets really good. True to form, the cloying sweetness of the incense wears off for me fairly quickly and gives way for the lichen notes. There is definitely something earthy, but still tempered with something a little sweet - I agree with the person who likened it to the linen note, or even the cream note. Creamy herbal dirt. And I love it. FWIW, I do not get fruit salad or bubblegum either, OR lime even though I definitely smell it in the bottle. This is odd since I normally amp citrus, so maybe it isn't actually lime that I am smelling but some kind of sweet aquatic herb. Either way, this is definitely THE surprise hit of the Yules!

This one smells like a cleaning product on me. The yuzu and the bergamot and the freesia (I think?) combine to make a scent that is remininscent of the "snow" or ozone scents. I do not like this and it is not for me. If you like the light herbal scents, you might like this. I also think that night-blooming jasmine might be a note of do0m for me, so take that for what it's worth.

This one smells better wet and in the bottle than it does on my skin. The first wet notes are sweet, shimmering deliciousness. I DO get apricots and almonds and it is fabulous. Unlike a lot of the other reveiwers, I don't get much cherry. As it dries down, the almond starts to smell a little artificial and there is an odd floral that seems to come to the surface. All in all, I am keeping my decant, but it's for the oil burner. No need to buy a bottle of this one for me.

In a way, this reminds me of Thalia. It's a combination of lush fruit and sparkling florals. Definitely a spring/summer scent and in my "to buy" pile.

I love honey scents. Giant Vulva? Win for me. Defututa? Awesome. O was a little sweet for me, but worth holding onto my imp. But this? Oh Crib Girls, you have broken my heart. I was certain, certain that this was going to be the best of my lot of decants that I got with the Yules. It was the scent I was most looking forward to. But it smells like lemon balm. It's a soft, sweet lemon - not like the lemon verbena scents. But it is still just .... lemon. Ultimately, the lemon fades and the generic honey scent is leftover. Massive lose, off to the swap pile, I'm going to go cry in my beer now.

This smells very much like the snow note, with a little less mint - which I think agrees with me. The snow is less brittle, if that makes sense. There is a floral that comes out and seems to temper the "cold". The pepper is strong in the imp, but less strong on my skin, though I think the pepper anchors this scent a little. I love it, and it is worth a full trial wear.

Oh lemon verbena of doom, why do you hate me so? There are so many beautiful notes in this, but all I get is lemon verbena. That is it. Nothing else. And as it dries? MORE LEMON VERBENA. Lemon is not my friend and this goes into the swap pile.

Cinnamon. All I smell is cinnamon. Maybe a little bit of honey. Oh, but where is the beeswax? Where is the olive blossom? Oh why, oh why cinnamon? Note to self: cinnamon may be a note of DOOM. Even as it dries, cinnamon is the predominant scent on my skin. I wanted to love this so much.

I smell mostly the cirtusy things - I get the guava, the mandarin, the honeydew. I even get the freesia. I don't get the salty, woodiness which is too bad since that it what this scent needs for me to take it out of the realm of soapiness. Oh well.

This smells like sweet beeswax, as noted by others. I don't really get vanilla, I get more of a ... honeyish note? It is definitely a close to the skin scent. I love it and I could easily imagine wearing this often. Then again, the beeswax note on me is one of pure WIN. I don't know what it is, but the wax note loves me. This is remininscent of Hanerot Halalu or Giant Vulva (both of which I liked). It's sweeter than Hanerot Halalu but lacks the honey note of Giant Vulva. I love love love it.

Am I the only one who smells peach Bath and Body Works, circa 1992? This reminds me of that SO strongly, it is uncanny. I like the smell, but I don't want to smell like it.

I thought I was going to love this. At the beginning, I get the tangerine creamy scent that the other reviews have talked about, but then I don't know what happens! I think my skin amps to benzoin and sandalwood and eats away the delicious citrus. I am left with this smelling a little bit like candle wax. It reminds me a lot of Summer's Last Will and Testament which I also thought I was going to love, but ended up not working on me. Sigh, off to the swaps.

in the bottle: this is very musky in the bottle. Basically, the musk is just about the only note I smell. wet: Musk and resins. As noted by some of the previous reviewers, if you are into resinous scents, you should like it. drydown: The musk backs off a little as does the intense first resinous scent. It becomes more balanced into a spiced resin. I was really hoping for more vanilla in this, but I don't really smell the vanilla at all. It reminds me a little of Fascinum and Azathoth. verdict: I'll try it one more time, just to be sure, but I think this is going off to the swap pile.

Voodoo Lily to me is a slightly more floral version of Flesh-Eating Reindeer (DD).

I was wondering if anyone found similarities between The Girl and any GC scents. The Girl is probably my favorite BPAL scent that I have come across and I am trying to pin down the note in it that makes me love it so much. On me, it is not floral at all - more of a vanilla muskiness to it.

Stupid lemon/lime. I wanted to love this, but it is all citrus on me. I get no moss, no cedar, no vanilla, no snake oil. Just lemon and lime and maybe a hint of something herbal making this smell even more like cleanser. I let it dry for a while in the hopes that it would morph, but it stays very lemony on me even on the dry down. I eventually got frustrated and pulled out my imp of snake oil and slathered it OVER this blend, which did help a little. Really what I am missing is the vanilla. I'd love to layer this with Antique Lace, but I am conserving that. I'm going to give it a little time to settle and I'll try again. But the first impression is not favorable.

2009 Version This smells like a darker musk and mulling spices to me. When I first put it on, I got a little of the apple, but that went away rapidly. Unfortunately, I don't really know what the dry down would smell like as this is the very first BPAL oil that has ever given me a rash. I don't have particularly sensitive skin, and I don't know what note it was, but I had to shower it off. Too bad, because I was loving it. If you have sensitive skin, I would test lightly first.