mistressfizz

Honey is the strongest note here, like a heavy glaze over fresh peach juice. The white tea and neroli almost sparkle, adding some much needed astringency to cut through the honey and peach. As it dries, though, it loses some of the brightness and has a more concentrated sweetness. Overall, the notes play nicely together and this is very fruity and pretty, a good summer scent.

Not getting much peach from this one. It's mostly incense, heavy and dense, with hints of woods. Very warm and settled, with a tiny trace of sweetness. It gets powdery over time, and there's a sickly sour note that emerges, which kind of ruins it for me. I really like the way this one starts, but alas, the drydown was not meant for me.

Sniff: Bright florals, the freesia stands out to me, with a layer of spices underneath. Definitely a feminine scent. Wet: Bring on the flowers! These are brilliant blooms, vibrant and fresh, without getting heady. Freesia is still the strongest to me, but I definitely detect a sweet rose and hint of musky jasmine. Dry: The florals mellow and this scent melts into a lovely vanilla musk, with a soft earthy touch. Very lovely and pretty!

This scent is eating homemade strawberry ice cream out of a fresh waffle cone, while sitting in a patch of spring grass dotted with weeds and wildflowers. Yup.

Wow, this is exactly as advertised: Crisp apples (I agree with other reviews, most definitely of the tart green variety), sparkly fizz with a slight champagne sweetness, and a layer of soft white musk. Starts off sharp and delicious, dries powdery and delicious.

Dirt and smoke, gracefully lifted by a fresh clear breeze and just a smidge of spice. This is a wonderful mix of delicate notes and darker earthy tones. It's light and smells clean and comforting. Sadly, it doesn't last long on my skin.

Sniff: Big rush of freesia and cloyingly sweet peaches. It kind of smells like brand name lotion, thick and dense and bordering on heady Wet: The juicy sweetness of the peach is still apparent, but now the florals are coming through. I'm still getting a lot of freesia, but also a soft backdrop of velvety carnation and slightly spicy peony. It mellows on the skin, losing a bit of the headiness, becoming more rounded. Dry: Amber kicks in, giving just the right amount of powder as the peaches calm down and get taken over by flowers. After an hour or so, this is pleasantly floral with just a hint of fruit, very pretty and soft.

Wet on my skin, this smells like eastern incense, slightly spicy and powdery, very soft and gentle. It's a light incense, airy and fresh and herbal, not smoky or resinous. As this dries, I detect the plum, faint and slightly sweet, with just a tiny touch of mint. Overall, this is mostly sandalwood incense with the plum and mint making minor appearances. It's pleasant, but a tad too mild for me.

Fresh, newly cut woods, very green and slightly wet, with a powdery feel, like sawdust. Then the clove emerges, a mixture of spice and smoke, almost savory. This smells like the kind of wooden plank that I want to grill fish over.

I wanted to love this scent: it's the softest, cleanest baby powder infused with golden sunlight. But unfortunately, something sour and salty lurks beneath all the radiant warmth, kind of like stale sweat, and ruins it for me. I think it might be the ambergris. This could have been a big win, but alas, my skin chemistry just doesn't cooperate.

Much more mellow than I thought it would be! Patchouli is dominant, earthy and scratchy, but tempered by a slightly herbal, gentle red musk and warm woodsy amber. It's got a subdued tone, calm and hazy. Given that patchouli and red musk can be diva notes, it's nice to see them playing softer roles in this blend. As this dries, the geranium comes out, a bit sharp and sour. It starts getting powdery as well. The soft earthy notes from the wet phase are not as apparent, which is too bad. I like the beginning, but the powder finish means this is not a keeper for me.

Pale, mauve rose, distilled through sleet with a thin coil of incense. It's very delicate and floral, velvety and soft. It's an interesting take on rose, with the mixture of ozone and water framing the flowery notes quite nicely. I wish it would stay this way on my skin, but unfortunately as this dries, it gets more powdery and a bit sour, more dense as the myrrh and resiny components settle in, overpowering the rose and rain. If this had not morphed so much on me, I would have liked it much more.

This smells like a man who once frequented sophisticated circles, but has retired from that scene to a quiet life in the woods. On the surface, he seems reflective and wise, but underneath there's a glint of mystery and an exciting youth. I get a distinct aftershave note, the oudh and cedar are sharp when initially applied, with notes of moss and leather lurking beneath, and an earthy vetiver base. Oudh is usually a death note for me, but the heavier elements here seem to soften it. As this dries, it develops a pleasant warm musk, the juniper and currant lend an herbal quality which becomes stronger. Overall, this is complex and leans masculine, although I think a woman could pull it off too.

Pumpkin beer! It smells like a mix of spiced oatmeal, beer mash and raw pumpkin. Nutty, thick, mealy, with a lovely sweetness lurking underneath. There isn't any alcohol burn or fizz and there isn't the sharpness I often associate with ginger or cinnamon. Instead, it has a rooty earthy feel, and the spice is more like fennel or licorice. Very evocative and flavorful!

Very light woods supporting a sharp leather, with just a hint of spice. The leather borders on chemical. It has a definite cologne feel on me, but it's rather tame, not too strong and overall muted. I could not resist layering this with Rogue. The worn leather in Rogue tempers the cologne sharpness, but I find this Rosin blend also brings out a nice musky base and softens the intensity of Rogue. They are very similar in nature and the shared elements are enhanced - soft woods and the presence of comforting leather.

Normally, water inspired blends don't work on me, but I was pleasantly surprised by this! It definitely has a hint of the classic BPAL aquatic note, but it's not so high pitched here. It actually doesn't smell wet to me. Instead, it's soft, cool and fresh, with a hint of cucumber and a slight fizz. This reminds me of pale green stems and flowing white robes, and clouds reflected in a sparkling stream.

Honey dominates this one for me, the dark amber kind, almost like maple syrup. It's thick and sweet, with a swirl of musky vanilla. It actually has a slightly nutty note, which might be the woods. Overall it's warm and inviting. As it dries, I do get more of the rum, a high pitched spice that's almost a bit sour, weaving into the dense honey.

This is lighter than I expected, green and cool, with an almost aquatic pitch. There are hints of moss and earth, but mostly I get a sense of clean, fresh greenery. As it dries, it settles into a dusty soft scent, like dry branches covered in grass.

This is beautifully blended, like a delicious high quality bread filled with nuts, fruit and a tart glaze, served over a river of golden amber flowing through earth and dirt. It's rich and warm, with just the right touch of sweet, a celebratory scent, exotic yet comforting.

I don't really smell pomegranate or plum, this seems mostly florals, bathed in a muted honey haze. There's a dusty resiny sweetness which I attribute to the myrrh. This is a very soft dreamlike scent, sweet honey and faraway fields of flowers.

Delicate white musk, an ethereal airy feel. The violets are sweet and light, and the tea note lends some herbal astringency. Very ghostly and wispy, reminds me of white sheets and lace and a spring breeze. However, there's a weird rubbery vinyl note that creeps in as it dries. I think that's the vanilla orchid turning to plastic on my skin. Unfortunately, it lingers over the pretty delicate notes, so this one isn't a keeper for me.

Mixed spice, rosewater, and black tea. Whoa, this starts with a blast of black tea, thick, earthy and dark, freshly brewed from whole leaves. It's quite strong, no sugar or cream to soften this cup! Then as it settles, the spices come out, peppery and sharp like ginger or chicory. I can't really detect any rose, this is all savory dark spices simmering in pure black tea.

Chilled, bright fruits, mostly lemon and tangerine. Definitely more on the tart side and not overtly sweet. There's a hint of light musk and snow, slightly minty. Overall, I get a pale orange vibe, almost pastel. It dries dusty with an undercurrent of sour fruit juice.

2012 Version: Wow, this one is amazing. No surprises here, the notes are spot on: a rich red musk swirling with leather, woods and musty linen. It's strong, a little dab goes a long way on me, and everything smells so natural! The leather is worn, supple and has an almost fuzzy feel. The woods are rather resinous, warm and earthy, and there's a softness almost like cotton, mixed into the blend. The overall effect is smooth and sexy. It stays true when dry, becoming just a bit more dusty but retaining the heady mix of notes. A definite bottle purchase for me!

2012 Version: A very dark scent, inky black, gloomy and deep. Not the darkness of a cave, but the darkness found under thick trees on a moonless midnight. Clove dominates the blend on me, rich and dense, followed by pine and tar. The pine is not sharp, it's more like sap, kind of sticky and sweet under the spice. A very atmospheric scent, something I think would work better for the room than on my skin.