CiaoBonefish

Ohh I want to play! My top five are probably...

1. Samhain

2. Hand of Glory

3. Tristran

4. Mag Mell

5. Zombi

Hey Izile, is the spreadsheet in your soggy the most recent?

It looks to be the most recent, just without the latest Plague update! It's really a fantastic spreadsheet! I'm currently using it to compile a separate spreadsheet that is a little more organized for myself with separated tabs for Yules, Lupers, Weenies, Retail Exclusive and Event Exclusive, GC, GC Unimpable, etc. It's taking a while, but once I'm finished it is going to be so great to actually be able to see everything in neat categories

Wet on Skin: This starts off pretty strong with the beeswax. It is golden and warm and sweet, sweeter than just plain beeswax like in the Lights of Men's Lives. It feels like it may have something heavier rounding it out. I can't really smell the wood, leather, and ash, but they seem to give the scent a bit of weight and a ton of throw. This was really strong!

Dry: When this first dries it is still that round golden beeswax scent with a ton of throw. At this point it is a little nondescript and perhaps a little much. After an hour or so, however, the musk, wood, and leather really begin to make an appearance. They give the scent a hint of dryness and smoke to it. It has an almost parchment quality to it mingling with the sweet beeswax. It is far more to my taste now and is less sweet and less powerful. It sticks a little closer to the skin.

Overall: I adore this scent, and if you like beeswax heavy scents this one will really appeal to you. The reason I tried this initially was because it has beeswax and leather. This is a favorite combination of mine because of Hand of Glory, and I was hoping it would smell similar. It does smell a little similar though this one doesn't have much leather in it, just a tad. In the wet stages the two aren't similar, but as it dries and sits on the skin I see more and more similarities. I love this scent! If you are looking for a sweet golden beeswax scent that has hints of musky smokiness and leather grounding it, this one is for you. I bought a bottle

Wet: This is predominantly coconut and saffron. The combination is almost chocolate like which is interesting. It is very smooth and creamy, and if this scent had a color it would be white.

Process of Drying: This seems to get more nondescript as it dries on me. The chocolate note is gone now and it is more sweet and papery in a way. It's like the scent has dried up a little and isn't creamy. I can also smell the coconut more now and less of the saffron.

Drydown: STOP RUINING ALL THE PRETTY LUPER SCENTS FOR ME COCONUT! I'm amping the coconut like crazy and all I'm left with is dry sugar coconut, very nondescript.

Overall: It was revenge of the coconut on my wrist today. First with Ivory Vulva and now with this one! Alas, the coconut in them just amps on me and because of such they are just not for me. I've noticed other reviews being similar to mine about the dusty coconut, but since the scent started out with this interesting chocolate and milk and saffron kinda vibe I'm chalking up the fail to my skin chemistry.

Wet: This is pretty foodie when wet. Oddly enough I feel like I'm getting a not-sweet rice pudding type note with a hint of spice and may be some milt creaminess. I think the amber is giving it that almost spicy quality to it, but honestly the spiciness smells like really nice subtle cardamom to me. This smells kind of like a middle eastern (Pakistani or Indian) dessert right now! Yum!

Process of Drying: This smells kind of like Kheer which is a Pakistani rice pudding type of dessert. It is sweet, but not quite as sweet as it was when I initially applied it. The notes are melted better together and it has a very warm toasted quality to everything. It also has a hint of nuttiness with the macadamia milk and the amber, but it isn't bad. Normally I can't stand nutty scents, but this one is nice because of how dessert like it is. I will warn you, however, that the coconut note in this is now a little dry and is trying to take over everything. Stop it coconut, just stop it. Behave!

Dry: I hate you coconut. You've taken over everything. Just stop it! Yes, I like smelling like coconut, but I wanted to smell more like that gorgeous rice pudding spicy nutty toasted coconut dessert that you were at first. Sigh.

Overall: My skin chemistry is really finicky with coconut. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it just takes over. In this scent it really just took over and I'm left with a nondescript dry sugary coconut scent. You had so much potential Ivory Vulva, but clearly we were just not meant to be.

Wet: Sweet sweet florals. These are gorgeous sparkling sweet florals that aren't heady but are fresh and joyful and so effervescent! I'm not getting any honey which is good because honey tends to go really weird on me.

Dry: This scent dries extremely quickly! This scent isn't quite so in your face now. The sweetness has mellowed out a bit, but it is still predominantly sweet wildflowers and meadows. It is a really gorgeous floral scent. It is robust without being heady and floral without being refined. It has this almost untamed quality to it that is so appealing and pretty. I can feel the honey adding a tint of golden sweetness to everything at this point, but it isn't going weird on me which is really good! It just adds another layer of prettiness to everything if you know what I mean.

Overall: I liked this scent. I think the wet stages and the initial dry down are when this scent is at its best. As time goes on, this scent gets closer and closer to being heady and loses some of its youthful tone. After a while it is just too much for me. I wish it had a bit more softness and subtly to it, but it is still lovely. I don't think I could wear this for prolonged periods of time because the florals are pretty sweet and I don't think I could take it, but if you are looking for a wildflower scent, this is really the one to try! It has a really lovely fresh sweet quality that is pretty unique compared to other florals I've tried. The florals ended up turning a little powdery and heady on me after a while, but that is probably just my skin chemistry. Regardless, I'm happy with my decant and will not be needing a bottle.

Wet and in Decant: This starts off very bright, grassy, and springy! This scent is almost effervescent! It reminds me a lot of Mag Mell at this point actually because it has a similar tone to it. I almost feel like this has a bit of gingery bite to it. I'm not really getting any honey here and the scent has a touch of sweetness, but hardly any really.

As it Dries: As this dries the grass and the musk become more prominent. It isn't as bright as before, but is instead more herbal feeling. I think that this is even less sweet than before, but it feels a little more mellow.

Fully Dry: The grass and musky notes have mellowed down and are no longer sharp at all. The scent also has a delicate sweetness to it. It isn't as rich as honey, but it is almost airy and like wisps of honeycomb. I'm also not getting much ginger any more, and it is smooth and really quite pretty.

Overall: I know I said initially that this reminded me of Mag Mell, and that wet stage really did, but as this dries down it turns into something else. The dry down isn't smooth and warm like Mag Mell, instead it is sweet and green and musky while still feeling bright and fresh. It's a very pretty scent! I'm not sure if this one will be a bottle purchase, but the more it wears on me the more I like it!

In the Decant: Wet cool and slightly minty, not the peppermint kind but more of a fresh snowy mint if that makes any sense. I also detect a hint of something floral, it isn't lavender though, something slightly warmer than that. Right now this watery mint note is dominant.

Wet on Skin: The mint immediately dissipates into more of a cool snow scent which is clean and ozone-esque. There is something slightly musky about this, a green or blue sparkling kind of musk, may be white musk in combination with something else or may be some kind of blue/indigo musk that Lycanthrope mentioned above? This warms up considerably on my skin and the floral note is far more prominent now, it is kind of like a soft warm floral. A white warm floral? It is sparkly and musky with whips of clean floral and now after a while right before this dries down completely the mint is making more of an appearance.

Dry Down: Weird. Toothpaste. Inky blue musky kinda thing with may be a hint of papery dry floral. This one does not like my skin apparently.

Overall: This isn't for me. My skin doesn't like it and the floral and toothpaste is just not doing it for me which is so sad because for a while this seemed promising and the musk is pretty, but that toothpaste mint is just not going to work.

All Souls 2013

Wet on Skin: This starts off very food and bread like with a fruity edge. Pretty much, it smells like Eat Me, but the fruit here is a bit more robust and tart. Once this begins to dry I detect the incense a lot more. It is a pretty incense with a sweet edge to it, almost sugared, not unlike the one in Midnight on the Midway (the two scents have very different feels to them by the way, not dupes, just saying). I'm losing the fruit now and am mainly getting sweet slightly sugared incense with a hint of a food cake-like edge.

On the Way to Drydown: This is such a morpher! Now I can definitely smell the currant more and the incense is definitely sugared. The foodiness is definitely on the side now, barely noticeable.

Dry on Skin: This is all sugared incense all day every day, the same sugared incense from Midnight on the Midway and Fairy Market. There is a soft currant scent mingled with the sugared incense which gives everything a bit more of a juicy feel, but I don't get any more foody cake like notes whatsoever.

Overall: I am surprised by how much this scent did a one eighty. I was hoping for sugared incense + currants + cake/Eat Me, but instead I got an almost purely sugared incense scent. Now, don't get me wrong, I love sugared incense, but I have other scents I love more with the note like Midnight on the Midway and Fairy Market. I don't think I'll pick up a bottle of this, but I would be very tempted if I didn't have either of those scents mentioned above. The sugared incense note is very beautiful, I just wish there was more cake in this! I may try layering this with Eat Me though, and if that combination proves amazing, I may actually pick up a bottle of this..

The Weenies this year, man, they're killing me. So many amazing bottle-worthy ones!

Wet on Skin: Initially this is all vetiver all the time. I find vetiver to be very deep, earthy, and even slightly smoky with a hint of nuttiness about it. I am getting a hint of woods, the balsams I think which are smoothing the edges slightly and making the vetiver a little less feral. I don't get a hint of clove at all which is great because I'm not a fan of clove at all. This vetiver is surprisingly alright so far because usually I find vetiver heavy scents too overbearing.

Dry on Skin: As this dries the vetiver deeps into the background and relinquishes some of its nuttiness. I'm surprised by how much the patch and the balsams and the oak moss are coming out now! It smells like a lovely combination of deep leafy woods and vetiver. It is a rich warm scent without much dryness at all. I think the most prominent note is the patchouli on me with vetiver coming in second and hints of balsam peaking through here and there.

Overall: Wow! I love this more than I thought. It reminds me of Samhain without the apple and with added vetiver and woods. Samhain but deeper and more eerie, more feral. I don't think I will pick up a bottle of this, but I do enjoy it quite a lot, far more than I expected. In all honesty, any kind of variation of Samhain can do no long in my opinion, but nothing will ever beat the original Samhain!

Wet on Skin: Oh this is so pretty! I didn't even realize I would love this so much! I am getting a milky vanilla with some rose and pumpkin. I feel like there is carnation helping to blend the rose and the pumpkin together better, but wow. So pretty! Also I detect cinnamon, but it is more like a cinnamon sugar and I don't really smell any other spices. I'm getting an almost sparkly quality from this scent.

Dry on Skin: The carnation is much more prominent now and what I'm getting full on Alice with this slightly food slightly bready pumpkin. The pumpkin is really subtle and is more of a food tinge really, but it gives so much depth to the milk, rose, carnation, sparkle combination that I love so much in Alice. The rose, carnation, pumpkin combination is more beautiful than I expected.

Overall: Oh, I love this. I didn't think I would love this as much as I do, but I think it may surpass Moroccan Pumpkin Patch as my favorite Pumpkin Patch of the year! I think I may need a bottle. I often wear Alice to sleep and this to me is definitely a day time Alice to wear while out and about!

Wet on Skin: Like a softer Samhain with a bit of extra pumpkin. It is far warmer than the original and less patchouli heavy. I am finding that the spices-quality in the scents is becoming more apparent in this pumpkin patch version. Also, this one is slightly sweeter than the original Samhain.

Dry on Skin: The patchouli blooms more on my skin as it tends to do with my skin chemistry and now this smells almost exactly like Samhain, but only slightly slightly softer. Almost like Samhain which has been aged for a few months.

Overall: Well, on me this smells almost exactly like Samhain. I think if you found the original Samhain to be too harsh, then I would suggest giving this a go. As for me, I always get a bottle of Samhain every year because it is my all time favorite scent (I go through about half a bottle of it each winter/fall which is really crazy for me) so I won't be needing a bottle of this! I'll keep a hold of the decant though just because it is Samhain

Wet: Sweet robust pumpkin with a hint of cinnamon and wax in the background. This is sweet and glowing and so round smelling if that makes any sense. There is an almost sparkly quality to this scent and I find that the wax gets more and more beeswax and prominent as it starts to dry. I'm really surprised about how sugary sweet this is becoming!

Dry: Pretty much the same as wet except everything is far better blended together now and I don't get that sparkly quality to it as I did before and it isn't really super sweet at all anymore which is surprising because I kind of liked the sugary quality to it. It is mainly pumpkin and beeswax with a hint of cinnamon and spices. It is all very smooth and not as glowy as before.

Overall: I thought I would love this more than some of the other pumpkin scents from the Halloweenies, but something about this is just too mellow. I hoped for a bit more sweetness and I got it initially, but after a while it just dried down to the almost typical cinnamon pumpkin scent with only a tiny bit of beeswax. Overall I found it to be underwhelming, but I think it may be my skin chemistry. My decant will be more than enough!

Wet: Something food and spicy with a hint of pumpkin layered over the top of this. The food quality of this is very bread in nature with a sprinkling of cinnamon layered over everything. If I concentrate on the smell I can differentiate which parts of the scent are Morocco and which are pumpkin, but all together it is food bread cinnamon spicy pumpkin so far. Yum!

Dry: When dry the dense foodiness and breadiness of the scent mellows a little bit and I get more of the vanilla note which I find so apparent in Morocco. The cinnamon also calms down slightly and I'm left with a really pretty slightly food combination of bread, warm eastern spices, airy vanilla, cinnamon, and a hint of dry pumpkin.

Overall: This is absolutely amazing. I think this is probably my favorite of the Pumpkin Patches this year. I love the spiced vanilla aspect of this with the food bread quality about it all. I don't find the pumpkin in this to be very strong, but I'm ok with that because the resulting scent is so much better than I thought it would be. I am especially surprised about how different this is from Morocco. I really want a bottle of this!

Wet: This starts off with the crisp scent of leaves. I find that the bpal leaves note is crisp, dry, papery, with a hint of pepper running through it. Sometimes the leaves note can be a bit sharp, but in this blend it isn't sharp only pleasantly crisp. Kind of like the crispness some of the snow scents have but without the snow.

Dry: As this dries the sharpness, crispness, and pepperiness of the leaves fade into something more mellow but still very autumnal. It is hard to describe because to me this doesn't really smell like leaves, more like an autumn day with leaves blowing about in the wind. I've tried October and La Calavera Catrina, and both I find to be very peppery and sharp and almost cologne-esque leaf scents, but this one is much more mellow, and when the scent is almost dry I begin getting hints of soft woods and a hint of sweet maple. It becomes almost smoky and that paper quality returns. Throughout everything though there is a current of crisp autumn air, kind if like a sweet ozone if that makes any sense.

Overall: This scent is so atmospheric! It reminds me slightly of scents like Snow-Flakes because it has this cool crisp autumn/winter air quality about everything. The leaves note is mellow but has a dose of pepper and paper added to the mix while the maple give everything a sweet tinge along with something pretty and woodsy. It is so unique! I love it! I really think this will end up being a bottle purchase for me because I absolutely adore these kinds of scents

I'm just updating on how my traveling went with my bottles! I ended up bringing 9 bottles with me, 5 of which were in reducer caps (not BPAL bottles) which traveled perfectly fine but I used plumbers tape on the outside of the bottles just in case. The other 4 bottles were BPAL and I ended up swapping out their wand caps for the normal bottle caps (I found some lying around that I hadn't thrown out and cleaned them really well before swapping them with the wand caps). I made sure the caps were on very tightly and wrapped the exterior with plumbers tape tightly. Finally I separated the bottles into groups of three and put them in three separate zip lock bags and secured those well. Finally I put the three packets into my quart sized ziplock bag to carry on with me. I arrived in Ireland with no spills or leaks or anything

Hmmmm. Do you guys know of any good place to purchase normal bottle caps for BPAL bottles? I'm considering purchasing caps without wands for travel purposes because I will be gone for over three months and I do want to bring a couple of bottles with me. Last time, I traveled with Lambs-Wool 2009 and the oil got over a lot of random things I had in my clear liquids bag, and I have not been able to wear it since because it reminds me of traveling and airplanes and just overall exhaustion. I'd rather not that happen again! Thanks again for everyone's feedback. I really appreciate it!

Ciaobonefish-

Wandcapped bottles do tend to leak. Perhaps you could try using the plumbers tape the way the plumber does. Wrap a bit on the bottle thread while the cap is off prior to screwing the lid on tightly. Then a little more plumbers tape afterwards? I actually prefer using electrical tape, but that'd be too thick to wrap the thread. Be careful removing the lid so that no little stringy bits fall in the bottle. I've received leak-free decants of massage oil from decanters who did it that way.

 

I hope your stay in Ireland is amazing!!!

Oh, thanks for the tip! I didn't think of using plumber's tape that way! I'm probably going to try to only bring a few bottles with me, and probably GCs so I don't have to fret too much about leaking bottles and messy labels. I'm super excited about Ireland and thanks for the well wishes

Hello! I am planning on studying abroad in Ireland this coming semester and want to bring some bottles with me for the few months I will be there. However, I have traveled by plane in the past year and brought a bottle with a wand cap along with me and even though I used plumber's tape it definitely leaked in it's ziploc bag. Do any of you have tips for transporting bottles with wand caps? Nearly all of my bottles have wand caps and I really don't want them to leak if I travel with them. For reference I had my bottle in my hand luggage with my liquids. Thanks everyone!

My favorites are...

The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa - Black tea, cherry blossom, ho wood, calla lily, rice wine, and white mint.

It is sweet, woodsy, refreshing, and slightly floral and ghostly. This could work in the summer because of the refreshing mint and the winter because of the gorgeous deep ho wood. It makes me feel pretty when I wear it.

Sunflower - Sunflower bouquet, black amber, creeping black moss, wilted greenery, and scorched, dry stems.

With only two review pages, I can see this isn't a favorite from the salon, but I adore it. In my opinion, if you liked High Strung Daisies or any kind of sugary sweet floral you must try this. This is a hot summer sunflower floral. Not cloying, but sweet and slightly sugared. It isn't dewey or when like spring florals but dry, like the heat of summer. Sweet sunflowers, dry grasses, and a touch of deep amber is what I get and I absolutely adore it.

Cloister Graveyard in the Snow - Three white musks, ozone, frankincense, mint.

Crisp snow that dries down to reveal a lovely frankincense note. The combination is solemn and slightly sinister, but also refreshing, beautiful, and has this snowy crystalline feeling. I loved this being GC because I haven't really found any cool, crisp, snowy GC blends that work on me.

I also really liked Death and Life Completed though not enough to keep my bottle! Based on these do you have any recommendations for Salon blends I would like or should try before they are gone?

My favorites for summer from the GC would have to be...

Endymion - My absolute favorite, it just feels so refreshing and sweet and pretty

Lyonesse - Vanilla and salty aquatic smells wonderful, especially if you are going to be on the water for the day

Black Opal - Sadly discontinued but so refreshing

The Rose - Juicy rose, yum

Tamora - Another I really only wear during the summer. The heat makes the amber and peach in this super delicious

Rumpelstilzchen - The heat makes this one just glow, love it though I would also wear it in the fall and winter

Elf - All RPGs are great for the summer apart from make be Half-Elf which is a bit too sandalwood esque for the summer

Rogue

Ranger

Neutral

No. 93 Engine - Summer makes this scent just glow as well

Mag Mell - Bright zingy and like sunshine!

Tristran - The mint in this is very refreshing and I love the herbal quality about it

Sunflower - Summery and hot floral, it just feels like summer if you know what I mean

Aizen-Myoo - Juicy cherry blossom, kind of like the Rose but with cherry blossom

The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa - refreshing, but still a bit woodsy with the ho wood which makes it a scent I can wear all year

Favorite summer scents from LE...

Snow White

Snow-Flakes

Metal Rabbit

Paduan Killer Swarm

The Passionate Shepherd to his Love

Love's Philosophy

Hungry Ghost Moon

Hand of Glory

Tarot: The Star

Ok anyone have any recommendations for ICE CREAM SODA type blends? I suppose I just want elements of sparkling fizziness, sweetness (think sugary and may be a little syrupy but not nauseating), creamy (doesn't have to be quite like ice cream but a nice heavy cream or milk would be lovely, like the milk in Alice even?), and may be even a bit ethereal?

 

I know right? In my dreams, but may be something with at least a few of those characteristics? Help would be great!

 

The Anti-Saloon League is supposed to be like a root beer float. I've never managed to try it myself, though; it's pretty hard to find.

I ended up finding a bottle of Love's Philosophy and that is nearly the perfect cream soda type blend! Its not as ethereal as I originally wanted but its creamy vanilla sugary and zingy in an almost bubbly kind of way! I love it thanks for the info about Anti-Saloon League... I may need to find it now bc I love root beer. But idk if I want to smell like it

Resurrecting this thread because I have a question!

 

Does anyone know what makes blends smell fizzy, since they're not actually carbonated? Does it have anything to do with juniper, or am I just cray-cray today?

I also think white musk tends to make scents rather fizzy but in more of a sparkly kind of way. They are almost zingy! Ehecatl has that quality a lot on me! Very sparkly lime!

If anyone is looking for a possible alternative to The Fairies which was recently released, I find Ladon is extremely similar due to the beautiful apple blossom. I think Ladon has a little more depth to it because of the dragon's blood resin and overall seems fuller with a stronger throw. The Fairies on the other hand is a touch more fruity and airy with less throw and a more green feel to it, but they are similar enough to my nose! I personally prefer Ladon though

In Bottle: This is all ozone with a touch of icy mint/snow. The ozone is actually quite pleasant and not electrifying but more along the lines of a white musk without the sparkly-ness I associate with white musk. The ice note is actually quite nice as well, very evocative and I don't think I am smelling any lichen really so far.

Wet on Skin: On skin the icy mint comes out in blasts and the ozone retreats way into the back. This reminds me of Cloister Graveyard in the Snow now minus the frankincense, which is awesome because I LOVE Cloister Graveyard! So icy, cooling, a touch sweet, and overall a beautiful icy mint airy ozone-esque blend.

Dry: Drat. Something in this doesn't agree with me, I suspect it may be the ozone which can go kinda soapy on me. Now the scent smells like fresh powdery laundry detergent, nice laundry detergent but still laundry detergent. Meh. That was rather sad, but since I have one decant in this bottle I will keep it. I wasn't sure if this would work but because I took an english class that was very focused on Shelley's Frankenstein I had to get at least one bottle for the artwork, so this will be it. It is a pity my skin chemistry just didn't want to cooperate.