sunlitgarden

Decant: Strawberry shortcake! On my skin: Sweet strawberry, the same sort of syrupy strawberry note as in Love. I'm starting to get some mint... it's not as much as would typically be in a Yule, though. Overall, this is sweet strawberry-vanilla with a little mint. Seasonally, I would associate it with summer. The hint of coolness from the mint is making me think of some yummy strawberry vanilla ice cream! Overall verdict is this is bottle-worthy for a sweet foodie fan.

In the decant: Yum, foody heaven! This reminds me of a Bath and Body Works candle (that's not a bad thing, I think they do foody scents really well and have quite a few of them). It smells like some yummy fall-spiced cookies are baking in the oven. On my skin: this reminds me somewhat of some of the gingerbread scents -- there's the warm cookie scent and similar spices. There is a pumpkin note here though, but it's thankfully not smelling like curry on me which certain pumpkin notes can do. I'll need to test them side by side, but the overall impression here is reminding me of Pumpkin V from 2012 in the foody pumpkin category -- but that one ended up smelling more "maple syrup"-like on me. This is more cookie-like. Now I am remembering that I haven't had a Starbucks pumpkin scone yet this year... I will definitely be enjoying my decant, and may need a bottle.

Fair warning, this decant is fresh out of the mailbox, but I can't wait to do some sniffing! In the decant: Ooh, yummy. The scent description for Apple I didn't specify a kind of apple (red/green/etc), but I think it smells more like a sweeter red apple, almost candied. On my skin: Sweet apple. It smells almost wet and juicy! It kind of reminds me of a hard boiled-sugar candy like an apple Jolly Rancher. While I was worried about the "cream" vanilla and the goat's milk, I'm not getting anything sour or dairy-like here. It might just add to the overall "candiness" of the scent by giving it a sort of creamy smoothness. It starts to become more like a caramel apple than a hard candy. Overall, this is a sweet candy apple without the spice notes that a lot of apple scents come with. I think I can smell the hay and oats more as it dries down, but they're not very strong, they just give this scent a sort of "grainy" background. Another Hobbity scent that I actually like better than the RPG Halfling! Like most apple scents, this doesn't last very long on my skin, but it's nice while it lasts.

Black Rider is one I probably wouldn't have tried just based on the description, but I tested it back at Knows Perfume and ended up loving it. While black musk isn't listed as a note, the black leather and/or "black amber" have a similar sort of scent to my nose: soft, powdery, almost lemony. On my skin, the more "bitter" notes (the opopanax and tobacco) are detectable, especially with an up-close sniff, but they aren't at all dominant. To me the leather in White Rider and Red Rider smells much newer and stronger to the point of smelling harsh. The black leather in Black Rider (and also Rogue) is much gentler, well-worn, and not harsh at all. This scent leans more towards masculine, but I don't feel misplaced or odd wearing it (which happens with a few of the more cologne-like scents). In one of the "GC Wins Again" cases, I think I actually prefer this over the similar dark-and-sexy Panther Moon.

I wasn't BPALing yet when Agape was released, but I got a bottle in a forum swap Preconceived notions: Milk and cream notes are iffy on me; they can sometimes work, but also can end up smelling like yogurt or sour milk. Apple is good on me but usually fades quickly. I like all the other notes. In the bottle, sweet vanilla cream is the dominant note to my nose, with a fruity-sweet background. It kind of makes me think of a Creamsicle, though not orangey. The fruit comes out a bit more on my skin. I'm not really distinguishing individual notes in here, but it's light and sweet with a bit of crispness from the apple. A little bit of an odd note starts to come out as it dries, though I mostly only smell it while pressing my nose directly to my wrist. It's a little bit spiced but also smells kind of stale or overly toasted. Oh, I can think of a way to describe it.... it's kind of like the smell of a computer lab or the "toasty dust" smell when you turn on a heater after it's been off all summer. I think it's the tonka, which can sometimes smell a little bit stale/overly toasted on my skin. I'm also getting a little of the sappy green stem note that I got from the Spanish Red Carnation SN. I suspect that this combination (slightly spicy, slightly sappy, slightly toasty) might be what my skin is doing to the carnation + tonka. Cream is not going sour in this one, yay! The throw is lovely: more of the creamy sweetness that I got in the bottle. Unfortunately, over time I am getting a slight bit of the Play-Doh smell. I was hoping for more fruitiness from this blend. The fruits are there, but more as just kind of a faint sweet backdrop, not dominant at all. But I do like it.

I sprang for a bottle of Peony Moon 2013 right away when it came out. The Asian-inspired scents tend to work well on me and I enjoy these types of florals (peony, lily, fruit blossoms). In the bottle: This is one of the BPALs that smells more like a "mainstream" department-store perfume to me. Smooth, pink "springy" florals, almost creamy-textured. No immediate changes on my skin. It kind of reminds me of Bath and Body Works' Velvet Tuberose (not a bad thing, I enjoyed that scent). It's a well-blended floral with no notes particularly standing out. They're springy and light florals, on the sweeter side. This swings more towards "girlish" than "mature", but I really like it.

This is a 5-year aged bottle purchased in May 2010. I'm kind of surprised I hadn't reviewed "The Rose" yet, but it was also my first rose BPAL and I didn't have much to compare it against at first. I was just like "yay! Rose!" which didn't seem like a very helpful review because, well, duh. In the bottle: an almost "watery" smelling rose On my skin, it's much the same -- a fresh, dewy rose still on the bush. This is similar to Rose Red, but I find Rose Red has even more of a "green leaves/stem" note than The Rose, which is more the flower itself.

Pretty sure this was a frimp (though I don't remember if it was from the Lab or a forum swap/sale). In the imp: lime and jasmine primarily. It's strong, but not necessarily unpleasant (though jasmine is usually a bad note on me, ranging anywhere from soap to kitty litter/bathroom). I don't really know what tuberose smells like (I have enjoyed Bath and Body Works' "Velvet Tuberose" shower gel in the past, but I'm not sure how much of what I'm smelling in that is the actual tuberose note, as it has a number of other florals also.) On my skin: The lime is tart and is actually pairing nicely with the jasmine. So far, the jasmine is behaving. It's pretty sweet (some of the sweetness might be from the lotus). After a couple minutes it starts smelling more lemony than limey. Unfortunately, the lemon and strong florals are making this kind of smell like a cleaning solution. Blegh... definitely getting some litter box as it dries. Not as potent as some scents, but it's there. Overall, this is a strong smell and I don't think it smells very good on me even though it's not as bad as I feared.

I would've tried this scent for the name/theme alone as I'm half Armenian and love the "traditional" fruits like apricot and pomegranate. Sad it was DCed, but I managed to get ahold of an imp. In the imp: Apricot with some "red" tartness, presumably the pomegranate. Whoa I just started feeling dizzy after smelling this. Not sure why. On my skin: Lightly spiced apricot. It's kind of faint, but I'm not sure of the age of this imp. As it dries more it's starting to smell almost nutty, but I've come to recognize that the Lab's pomegranate note often does that on my skin. There's a little floral in here too, but it isn't too strong. I'm also starting to smell the plum more; it's kind of like a spiced plum in blends like Spicebush Swallowtail. Unfortunately, something in this blend is still making me feel dizzy. I've never had that reaction from a BPAL before O_o

I was frimped a sniffie of this, with about a drop of oil in the bottom, enough for maybe one test. The year is not listed on the decant (which leads me to believe it's 2011, but I can't be sure.) I've had the decant for awhile so it's not the 2015 version. Preconceived notions: I sniffed the 2012 version at the Seattle Will Call and for some reason orange was the dominant note to me despite it not being listed. Violet is generally not good on me, but violet leaf seems to behave better than violet flower, and most other notes I'm neutral or positive on, so I think it's worth a try. In the decant: Hmm..I think what I was parsing as "orange" back then was the white tea and the elemi. It's a tough scent to describe... kind of resinous but in a "light" way, rather than heavy/dark. White tea always adds a sort of fresh note into any blend to me, and the elemi is also lending almost a "sunny" quality to this blend (despite it being called Vampire Bride...) On my skin, it's actually pretty sweet. It still does smell almost citrusy. Elemi is a note I've been learning about lately and I'm learning to recognize it; it's a resin that smells lemony. I'm mostly getting light, sweet white tea and elemi. There's something a little spicy in the background. It's actually a pretty nice scent but not something I would associate with vampires at all!

I was frimped a decant of this. Preconceived notions: It has a lot of worrisome notes, but I try to make a policy of testing everything at least once, because I've had some surprises before with things that I didn't think would work. Night-blooming jasmine is usually better on me than "regular" jasmine, but the vetiver and patchouli are always a concern. "Wild fruit gums" sounds interesting... no idea what to expect from that. In the decant: I definitely smell the pine sap and also the black cherry. But most of my impressions here are for the blend itself rather than individual notes in it. After I sniff it, the scent that remains in my nose is reminding me of powdered laundry detergent or something, oddly. There's also something vaguely musty and basement-like. This is making me think of doing laundry in the basement when I was staying at my grandma's house as a kid. On my skin: Cherry... I can smell the patchouli lurking in the background but it's not dominating. This black cherry note is a little boozy. With the pine + cherry, I could almost think this was a Yule scent. It's still smelling laundry soap-like overall, though. The night-blooming jasmine is being more soapy than "toilety", thankfully, but I still wouldn't call its performance here a rousing success. Quite powdery-soapy on the drydown. I don't hate this, but I wouldn't choose it to wear either.

I think this was an imp I actually ordered from the Lab rather than being a frimp; the notes sounded appealing despite it being a "masculine" blend. In the imp: Almost Yule-like, woods and evergreen (pine/juniper) needles. On my skin: It's sweeter, though still the pine needle note is dominant. Unfortunately something about the combination of notes is reminding me of bathroom deodorizer or cleaner. Thankfully, that cloying aspect doesn't last. It turns into... well, it smells kind of like a sexy Christmas tree Pine needles with some warmth and sweetness. This is a GC scent that could pass for a Yule. It actually reminds me a lot of Waltz of the Snowflakes, though that blend had more vanilla.

First off, I'm usually indifferent to label art because I store most of my bottles in a box with labeled caps, but the art for Yule Cookies is SO cute! I love octopi. <3 I just had to buy a bottle for that and because I love foody blends anyway. In the bottle, it smells sweet and buttery, with some spices. I can smell cardamom, a bit of the orange, and something that smells almost cherry-ish (but it might be almond). On my skin: Cardamom, smelling a bit dusty and bitter as it sometimes does. I smell the caraway, too, which I associate with rye bread more than a cake, but this scent is sweet. It's not sickeningly sweet, though; the more "spicy" spices are keeping it from being quite as sweet as Sugar Cookie, which is more like pure cookie dough on me. This is one of those scents that's a bit more like being in a bakery, surrounded by goodies, rather than having smeared frosting all over yourself. I like sweet cardamom scents with an element of dustiness, and this is a good one for that. But as it dries more the caraway note is adding something almost celery or parsley-like. This bakery also has savory breads and not JUST sweets. Once it's dry, most of the sweetness is gone on my skin, leaving more of a dry scent of cardamom and caraway that's more like sniffing dried spice jars than the buttery, cookie-like scent in the bottle. I preferred the bottle scent and was hoping for more sweetness in the drydown, so this may go to swaps.

Imp of unknown age. Probably received as a lab frimp. In the imp: I'm always bad at describing resiny scents like this. It smells kind of astringent and medicinal with some bitterness from the opopanax in the background. On my skin it smells... evergreen tree-like, piney, with some "dusty" smelling resins and wood. I can't smell any rose. It smells pretty masculine to me. I do like "evergreen" scents, but I prefer the Yule-type kind that have associated frosty notes or spices. This is just kind of dusty and bitter, and the pine-ish note is fading as it's drying more. Not my style, but would probably smell good on a guy.

Someone (I can't remember who, but thanks, whoever you are!) frimped me a tester of Red Lace. I'm kind of hesitant based on the notes, but I have a policy to at least try everything I can, so here goes. My preconceived notions are that the "vanilla cream cotton" has a tendency to smell sour and weird on me (like in Boo), but the other notes are worth trying it for. In the imp: smells musky and a bit boozy On my skin: Well, I had Black Lace Resurrected a few years ago, and I don't remember how it smells all that well, but I do feel like the "lace" base here is similar. It's sweet and musky though I don't really smell the usual "red musk" smell. There's a bit of a.... stale coffee? scent going on as it starts to dry. Okay, more than a bit. I do have a cup of coffee nearby but I don't think I had any on my hand... my fingers don't smell like it. Just to be sure I put another drop elsewhere on my arm and monitored it closely, same thing - smells sweet and musky at first, then starts smelling like stale coffee. If I sniff my arm very closely, I can detect how the "stale coffee" thing is, I think, how my nose/brain are parsing this set of notes but that it's actually made of separate parts, including some "red" fruits ... but I don't find it a pleasant association at all. Not for me, sadly.

I decided to try a decant of Bijoux Y'ha-Nthlei because the notes sound like they could be tropical. But I am always a bit worried about the scents that have a lot of notes because they often just smell kind of vague and muddly to/on me. In the decant: Hmm, having trouble picking anything out in here. It almost smells chocolatey in a dry, bitter cocoa powder sort of way. I think it's the oud making everything kind of dark and bitter combined with the sweeter notes. Applied a small test patch, it's kind of faint, so applied a bit more... hmm, there's something in here that's kind of burning my throat! Maybe the ginger. I'm still having trouble smelling much in this test patch. I just put on even more oil (which is a bigger application than I normally put in one area on myself) and briefly got a whiff of what could be the lime, but it was brief. Still not really sure what to make of this, it's mostly faint bitter wood that smells vaguely medicinal. Either this has weakened with age or I have some sort of olfactory "blind spot" because I'm getting no trace of most of the listed notes. Skimming other reviews, I see that some others have also found this scent to be very faint, so at least it's not just me.

I found a decant of this in my "to be reviewed/tested" box. I don't think I actually ordered this decant so I presumably received it as a freebie in a swap/sale package. I don't remember from whom, but thank you, whoever you are! The decant isn't labeled by year, but I'm pretty sure this is the 2008 version of Day of the Skulls, as I haven't been actively buying/swapping since before the 2013 Weenie season. In the decant, I mostly smell incense with a bit of florals. On my skin... it's fairly faint but I mostly smell rose with a little smokiness in the background. Perhaps it is just too aged, but I prefer Rose Cross for a rose and incense blend.

Imp of unknown age. Hmm... I've tried and reviewed blends containing Dragon's Blood before, but not just the basic Dragon's Blood itself. I did sniff it when it was carried at Knows Perfume, though. In the imp it reminds me primarily of "spicy cherry" with a backdrop that's kind of chemical; it smells a bit leathery or like wood varnish. On my skin, it smells a lot more floral. It's like a light, sweet, white flower like non-neroli orange blossom. This stage is pleasant and non-cloying but does remind me a bit of scented soap. It's very springy! As it dries more, the "spiciness" I smelled in the imp starts to return, but it's not too strong. The scent overall is still quite sweet and light. I don't smell the "chemical" smell I got in the imp.

Somehow, I skipped reviewing Mouse's Long and Sad Tale despite having used almost half a bottle of it. This is a 5 year aged bottle, purchased in July 2010. In the bottle: Sweet pea and vanilla. The sweet pea is not as forward as I remember it being when the blend was fresher. I've never smelled a scented sweet pea flower or the SN, but based on the blends I've tried so far, the sweet pea note is a candy-sweet floral that's also a little juicy in a "fruity" way. On my skin: Sweet and warm. There's a bit of a sharp green-ness at first, which I think is from the sandalwood. It fades quickly, though. This is kind of like Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea when wet (though less so now; the florals were stronger when it was newer) but with more vanilla and a stronger, warmer base. I always find the smell of Sweet Pea to be kind of melancholy in a way. I think it's probably because my grandma really liked it and it reminds me of her. I miss her. I think this is a scent that I actually preferred when it was fresher and the floral note is stronger - but worn throughout the day, the sweet pea usually faded over time anyway, leaving the warm amber/sandalwood base sweetened by vanilla. The drydown is a little bit dusty and "powdery" on me, but not in an unpleasant way. It's kind of like if B&BW Sweet Pea and Sensual Amber had a baby.

Pfefferneusse are one of my favorite Christmas cookies, so I had to try a BPAL based on them! In the decant: Spices. Dusty cardamom. Kinda smells like a bakery. On my skin it's sweeter than in the decant. Still bakery-spicy, more like mixed spices than any in particular. It's pretty "dusty" smelling as it dries. It's still spicy, but smells kind of faded and a bit stale. Has a creamy, almost coconutty, base. This decant is from 2009, though, so it might just be a bit too aged. I'd be willing to try a fresh decant if it was re-released. But I have other scents in this family I prefer currently, like Gypsy Moth.

Old Nick, the Devil himself, as seen through the eyes of Victorian New England. A jaunty, dapper scent, deceptively genteel: a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli. I'm not entirely sure where this imp came from. I think it was a frimp from the Lab. In the imp: Astringent lavender, some wood, and I can smell the patchouli in there but it isn't too dominating. Something is back-of-the-throat bitter. On my skin, it smells a bit rosy (though I know rosewood isn't the same as rose). Has kind of an airy ethereal quality to it. Out of all the odd things, it pulled a scent memory of the cafe near the Space Mountain area in Disneyland which I visited in second grade. This isn't the first time this has happened. Disney does pump atmospheric scents around and I think Disney must have had some "futuristic" or "spacey" scent in the background here, because I have no idea why I would think of that so readily otherwise when I smell this type of blend. The lavender comes out more as it starts to dry, and the lavender + wood + amber smells kind of "ethereal yet grounded" to me, and almost reminds me of a Phoenix Steamworks blend. The patchouli is not too strong in this blend. I think it's just helping to provide a warm, earthy base to the scent. I don't mind it when it's like this. I'm not getting much tonka here, at least not the same tonka used in the Rum-Soaked French Tonka SN, but there is a sweetness to the scent that it might be providing. The base notes are blended together pretty well. I wouldn't associate the scent with traditional "devil" or "Satan" imagery, but if he's trying to be charming, he's doing a pretty good job!

In the imp: This mostly smells kind of astringent and medicinal to me. On my skin, I get light florals, kind of "watery" in a freshwater way. I wouldn't call it aquatic, though. More like a pitcher of water with flowers floating in it. I'm with those who smell rose and gardenia - I don't smell jasmine at all, it's usually pretty distinct and unpleasant on me. There's a little bit of the medicinal-ness from the vial, but not too much. As far as the scent goes, it's alright but I have other floral blends I prefer. But I could always use a bit of luck Edit: Wearing this really does help my head feel "clear" of all its usual anxiety gunk. It's kind of like the way horseradish clears out your sinuses.... except for my brainz. o_O Very odd, kind of "tingly" feeling.

In the imp: Mostly smells like Irish Cream with a warm grainy/nutty note. On my skin: Still mostly Irish Cream at first, then something buttery, then it starts to get a musty wood smell. Kind of a weird combination of foody and atmospheric. I'm not getting any coffee (though Michi, from the same imp, got coffee on her skin.... go skin chemistry differences!) As it dries the sweetness fades and it's just musty-dusty. I find some scents kind of dusty or musty in a pleasant way, but I'm not really liking this one, it has a bitterness to it, like rot or mold. I had Michi sniff me and she says that there's some "weird flat vanilla" too. Meh... not a good match for me, sadly.

In the bottle this smells almost like jasmine or another really potent, stinky white floral. I think it's the narcissus - it's pretty dominant in my bottle of Leather Phoenix and it's a similar scent here. The narcissus is mostly what I smell in the bottle, but I can make out the King Mandarin in here also (I have its single note, and it's just like a juicy chunk of fruit), but compared to Metal Tiger (the other Chinese New Year scent I have) the orange is more subdued in this one. I probably wouldn't have bought it if it was just based on the bottle scent but I skin tested it at Seattle Will Call back when it came out and realized I like it on my skin much better. That potent floral combination is less overpowering on my skin. The scent on my skin is really... juicy, and kind of acidically tart, like lemon juice. It's a little bit aquatic in a freshwater sort of way. The sourness mellows out as it dries. I can imagine an aquatic snake swimming through a stream with wet dew-heavy flowers and fruits hanging above the stream. A lot of these scents that have a lot of notes end up kind of muddled on my skin. I'm not really able to pick anything out once it's dry. That strong narcissus note from the beginning is coming back out to the forefront, along with the "watery" fruits. Water Snake comes close to being too much -- too cloyingly floral, too dryer-sheety aquatic -- but doesn't quite cross the line. I like it, though I'm not sure I like it enough to keep my bottle.

I bought Kingdom of Sweets directly from the lab when it came out, but haven't reviewed it until now. Bottle: Sweet, but also a little bit tart/sour. It does smell quite a bit like walking into a mixed candy shop and smelling all the goodies. There are some sweet fruit notes (more candy-like or like artificial fruits than fresh fruits) with a sugared orange note (like orange soda) being most prominent. On my skin, the orange is still there, but I'm also getting a note that reminds me of red licorice. And something chocolatey as well - not a super strong chocolate note, more like it's there in the background. I did a comparison sniff with Violette Market's Cold Confections Cart 2010, which is kind of similar, but that blend is much more smooth and creamy with chocolate as a more prominent note. Kingdom of Sweets is all about the sugar-based candies. I'm not smelling any peppermint in here, despite "peppermint sticks" being listed as a note. I am actually getting a pretty clear mental picture of the sun dazzling off sharp-cornered structures built of hard colored sugar. As it dries, Kingdom of Sweets has a more creamy base, kind of like chocolate-vanilla fudge. I'm a fan of candy scents and this is one of my favorites from BPAL Similar blends (to my nose): Uncle Brian, Rosy Maple