Altaira

Something in this smells like bad breath on my skin. I get touches of the pine and fruit trying to break out, but the main smell is gross. I was really hoping this would work on me.

Smells a bit rotten when wet. I let it dry, but the wine mixed with the extreme buttery cake makes me queasy and I washed off after a few minutes.

Full disclosure: pomegranate scents hate me and almost always either disappear or go weird on my skin.

When wet, this smells very much like World of Fools and Snap-Dragon-Fly. They all have that same pudding/holly thing going on. Second of Three Spirits differs in that citrus comes out as it dries. But there is something off for me - maybe the chestnuts?- that smells a bit like dirty stale sweat. It's like I can smell the street urchins under his robes...

I played violin as a child, and while wet I mostly smell rosin and wood with a bit of something sharp and sour in the background.

As it dries, the spices of the mince pie try and fight their way to the top, but the rosin and wood scents are just too strong. The sour note stays in the background. I recognize it more as the beer now. Considering how hard it is to get more of this, I'm glad it didn't work for me.

Pomegranate hates my skin. It fades extremely fast and tends to take the rest of the scent with it. At first I thought H&C would be the exception to this, but alas it is not to be.

When wet it is high and sharp. A happy scent with the bright fruits highlighted with citrus. The vanilla is there, but somehow separate from the rest. Like it is beside the fruits, not bended with them.

As it dries, the fruits all go away (I am blaming the pomegranate) and it turns somewhat cologne-like (balsam and cedar?). Not for me.

(2010 version)

When wet, this has an overwhelming butter scent that makes me gag a bit. Similar to the butter scent in other BPAL foody blends, but much stronger. Luckily this goes away quickly after application. Sharp cinnamon and ginger then come out. And stay out. This is practically a cinnamon single note on me Off to the swaps...

(2010 version)

Smells exactly like egg nog, and is WAY too sweet for me. Foody scents this sweet go cloying and sickening on me. In that way it reminds me of much of Mother Shub's bakery items from last year. Ironically, her egg nog type scent (Spiced Lait de Chèvre) was the one from last year that wasn't too sweet for me.

If you like egg nog and you like very sweet foody scents, you should like this. It's just too much for me.

(2010 version)

This is very faint on me. I get the cocoa and a bit of what is probably the amber, but it is so hard to smell! Maybe it's just that I have tested too many decants this morning... I'll have to retest with fewer competing scents around.

From what I can tell, it is true to the description.

This matches scent description well. It isn't cold like the snow scents, more the promise of cold just around the corner. Dry and melancholy, the changing of the seasons. I'm not getting much currant, just leaves, wind, and darkness.

Although it is not something I would typically wear, I really like it. Although I worry as it reminds me a bit of BPTP Autumn Grove atmo spray and my husband had a really bad (respiratory) allergic reaction to that.

Wet: cherry cordial. I'm sure the cherry is actually almond, though.

As it dries, a bit of dry cakeyness comes out from the other elements of marzipan. I'm glad my skin didn't turn the almond - it usually goes rancid and/or bitter on me. But still: overall this is a boozy cherry scent on me with a bit of cake. I'm going to have to death-match it against Red Queen to see if I need a bottle; they have similar qualities to me.

Very similar to last year's Joulumuori, but with orange peel. I like how the sharp, dry orange cuts the sweetness of the cooked milky puddings. Not sure I'd want to wear it as perfume, but it might be good to scent my pillow with.

This is... not at all what I was expecting.

It is bright, a bit like ginger ale and very light on me. Reminds me of Atomic Luau scents - like Blue Fire but with faint maraschino cherry instead of blueberry. I don't get any fire or wood at all. No cake or food either. Just vaguely effervescent beverage. Rather like a Shirley Temple.

Just tried "A World of Fools" from this years Yules (Figgy pudding with a stake of holly through its heart) and it is very similar to "Snap-Dragon-Fly" (Plum pudding, holly, and brandy-soaked raisin with frumenty, mince pie, and a hint of suet) but sweeter and without the suet.

When wet this has the strong butter scent that is common in many BPAL foody blends. It reminds me strongly of Snap-Dragon-Fly, but sweeter and without the suet. There is a nuttiness to the blend, sweeter than walnuts - maybe pecans? As it dries, a sharp scent almost like pine (probably the holly) comes out and balances the sweet foodyness. This is a sweet blend, but not cloying. It relies in the sweetness of the fruits, not on added sugar.

I rally like this, but I just bought a bottle of Snap-Dragon-Fly and they are really close. I'm going to have to death-match them to see if I need a bottle of this too.

Are there any scents even close to Gothabilly in the GC line? I received a sniffy and it smells so good but I don't want to use it on my skin and have no more I love the strong cherry liqueur scent the most that comes out of the imp when I open it so that is the main scent I'm interested in, the vanilla not fussed so much. Are there any GCs close?

I haven't tried Gothabilly, but for "cherry liqueur" you might like The Red Queen: "Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant." I find it smells like cough syrup right out of the bottle, but quickly fades to a really great raspberry squares type scent. It's one of my favorites.

Also, from this year's Yules you might like A Game Called Yes and No: "Mulled wine and marzipan." It reminded me quite a bit of cherry cordials. I'm actually planning on death matching it against Red Queen before I decide if I need a bottle.

the only two I linked to you that can't buy from the lab site are the two Wolf Moons.

Worth noting: Wolf Moon 2011 was just a couple of weeks ago, so bottles should be appearing in the swaps/sales sections soon from people it didn't work out on.

This does smell like root beer while wet; unfortunately, it turns to baby powder on my skin.

Loud, screaming floral. Gross.

Very floral, not for me. It reminds me of a perfume my sister wore in the early '80s. Maybe by Estée Lauder?

This is a sweet, almost floral pine. It gave me a headache so I didn't test it for very long.

This smells of fresh flowers, sweet and juicy. There is a dry grassyness in the background. I didn't test for too long because my husband has a lily allergy.

Hemlock is rather medicinal, with a faint sweetness keeping the pine from smelling like cleaner. It fades very fast on me.

A very light, dusty apple that disappears on my skin.

I can barely smell this. If I really concentrate there is something light and clean, but it is pretty much non-existent on me. I wonder if there is pomegranate in this, because pom makes things disappear on me...

I wouldn't call this tranquil, deceptive or otherwise. It is quite bold: fruity and dark. I like it but it doesn't really stand out from the pack; there are may others that smell similar to me. After an hour or so it fades into a very generic perfume. My cat likes it though, he keeps trying to bite my hand.