ellebelle

The smells like what I wanted Blackberry Jam and Scones to smell like. It has the warm bakery feel, but the addition of the rose stops this from being too unbearably foody. This isn't something I would reach for all the time, but it is definitely something I would like to have in my collection.

 

Oh dear, I need another box.

In the bottle: Smells like a slightly woody grapefruit with a little floral tossed in there. Since there is no grapefruit in this, I have to assume that is the melding of all of the fruit scents - or perhaps the lychee?

Wet: Lychee, lychee and more lychee. Maybe some orange and tangerine tossed in there. Wet, this is a very bright citrus scent. No sign of the florals, the woods, or the dragon's blood resin.

drydown: I start to smell the peach a little more, but this is a still predominantly a light, fruity scent. The grapefruity sharpness wears off on the original drydown and Some of the more floral notes ground it a bit. I do not get any dragon's blood resin, so for those scared of this note, it might still be worth trying this.

verdict: If you liked Hungry Ghost Moon, I think you'd like this. They are definitely in the same scent family. Also reminds me a bit of Boabhan Sith (with the grapefruit sharpness).

On me, Liz = Hanae Mori. Like it's eerie, and I couldn't place the smell, and then I did a side by side test. Hanae Mori (my old, every day wear perfume) is a little ... richer smelling, but the dry down is almost identical.

I love this. Do you hear me? LOVE THIS.

 

For me, the pomegranate is not overpowering, but rather soft and lovely. There is a definitely backing of pine and the "minty" snow note (as opposed to the coconut/plastic one of Snow White). It is a crystalline scent and very beautiful.

 

If I put this on directly after a shower (as I used it with moisturizer as well), it sticks with me for at least 1/2 of the day.

in the bottle: Orange!

 

wet: a splash of bright orange citrus with something slightly spiced backing it. There is definitely a floral in here - something that has the tendency to be a little "old lady-ish" on me. Definitely some amber and musk as well.

 

drydown: the citrus fades fast leaving a dusty, musky smell. This one definitely smells very "perfume-y" to me, but I kind of like that.

 

verdict: I think this is a keeper.

This smells like inhaling a suede vest, or a new pair of shoes. I too admire Beth's genius, but this imp is going to the swap box.

This is a surprising win for me. It has the BPAL snow note - not the snow white note, but the more "icy" note. It's a slightly minty note one me with a background of light, sweet flowers. I think this might be a bottle!

'09

 

Wow, this one smells almost odorless in the vial, maybe a faint scent of flowers. On, this smells like doll plastic. It dries down to doll plastic. I don't get cream or coconut or flowers or anything - just plastic.

Tobacco-chocolate FAIL. The chocolate smells like a scratch and sniff sticker and the tobacco overwhelms the other two notes until the drydown.

I get ozone. Lots and lots and lots of ozone. It smells really sharp and astringent on me.

 

Beneath the ozone, there is a sweetness there that is probably the lily of the valley and the plumeria. I get almost no musk and no amber.

 

I would love this scent if it weren't so sharp, but it kind of tickles my nose as it is. I'll keep the decant to see if it mellows over time, but I can't justify looking for a bottle when there are other blends I love more.

In the bottle: It smells almost ... clean. I don't really smell any of the individual notes in it. It smells green and woodly.

 

wet: It smells very much like it does in the bottle. It almost smells like wet dirt. As it dries down, it gets woodier and woodier - this is definitely a "salty" aquatic rather than a floral aquatic

 

drydown: This goes through a brief stage where it smells almost exactly like Jolly Roger to me, and then the herbs start to emerge from the aquatic-ness. As it dries, it becomes more and more herbal and the sort of woodiness is gone, or fades to the background. I'm not sure which herbs are in this, though I would agree that there is a minty quality to them.

 

verdict: I'll have to think about this one. If you like Jolly Roger and A Fit of Artistic Enthusiasm (which I do), you'll probably like this scent - it's a dirtier, more herbal version of those scents. I will definitely keep the decant, but I'm not sure this is worthy of a bottle since I own both of the scents I just mentioned.

 

ETA: The more this dries, the more is smells like the wet earth by a riverbank. I am impressed with Beth's ability to perfectly match a scent to its name, but I don't really want to smell like dirt.

Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers - there is not a trace of pine in there, at least not to my nose! I am not so big on the pine-y scents, which makes my relationship with the BPAL snow scents difficult. But I love me some Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers.

I get verbena, and that is it - but I amp verbena like crazy. I do not get any amber at all. In the final stages of the drydown, I get verbena herbs, which gives the scent an almost metallic twang. Sadly, not for me.

in the bottle: it smells like soap.

 

wet: The initial wet stage is very, very soapy for me, which scared me a little. The soap goes away rather quickly though, and is replaced with a luminous floral scent. This is a lush, darkly floral scent, and I like it.

 

dry down: Goes a bit powdery, but retains its character. The throw is super low - it sticks very close to the skin.

 

Verdict: Truthfully, this reminds me a powdery version of The Girl. And since I love The Girl and have two bottles, I can't imagine myself buying a bottle of this I will hold onto my decant though.

 

The boyfriend said it smelled like, "Cherry 7-up". I told him to smell again and he smelled and looked thoughtful and said, "Cherry 7-up layered with trees."

 

Sigh.

 

ETA: After 2 hours, goes back to soapy. Boo.

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.

 

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.

 

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.