Heavenlyrabbit

Green branches and Honey.

This smells like Mint/Rose/Honey

Tiki Princess is Perfection. And apparently I"m not the only one using that adjective. Summertime, tropical femininity.

My experience was apparently not the norm- I get creamy Vanilla coupled with a Narcissus. It's so dense. Not a whiff of Orris or Violet Leaf. The Vanilla and Narcissus work together to make a sort of Uber-Vanilla. I am reminded of the scent of Paper Whites blooming. Like an 80's bridal gown with big hair. Beautiful but way too much.

Sign me up for the Hypothermia Fan-Girl list! Yes, it's in the Snow White vein but it has more character and actually works on me.

The Cherry note is why I got a decant and having sampled this it lives up (or down) to my low expectations. The Lab's Cherry note always comes across as medicinal, alcoholic and chemical on me and this is no exception. I get the rest of the lovely notes but the Cherry is overbearing and wrong.

This is lots of Honey with what must be the Cubeb's fruity and aromatic tang. There is no trace of Lemon but it's probably what I would have guessed without the notes being listed in the description.

This was a gigantic FAIL of epic proportions on me. It was sickening and I could not get to the sink to scrub it off fast enough. Something in this reacted horribly with my skin chemistry. Wish I knew what it was so I could assiduously avoid it for the rest of my life.

Dark, almost smoky undertones are what make this special. So there is a reason Beth put "glowing hearth" in the scent description. This is a more meditative and magical version of BPAL's two Hearth blends from Yules past. But then, Finland is further North and wilder. For me, this version of Mrs. Claus does indeed remember when Santa was a shaman. In my imagination, this Grandmother Yule may live in one place in a house with an oven but she remembers when the people lived and moved together as one with the reindeer. Here is a Youtube featuring some Joikers:

If only it were possible to get a 25ml bottle of this and make a full line of soap, moisturizer and perfume of this. This is the sort of scent a lot of companies aspire to make but don't quite nail. Perfection in a bottle. It is delicious, pretty, sexy, comforting and nostalgic all at once. Haven't been this jazzed up about a BPAL since Lawn Gnome. There are a number of BPAL scents that one could obviously compare this to but IMO, Spiced Lait de Chèvre is the culmination of quite a few of them.

Without the notes my observation was "Ripe Fruit and Full-Bodied Florals". Apparently, Winter In My Room means daydreaming about warm tropical climates, pouring through travel leaflets for Hawaii and watching South Pacific. I was a bit surprised to find out the fruit notes were yuzu and grapefruit as they are fairly reliable for me. I'd guessed Melon which is probably due to the assertive, sweet and creamy embrace of the Tuberose/Peony combo mixing with the Pikaki. I do like this but am finding it doesn't quite reach its full potential with my skin chemisty. Perhaps if I was younger or going on a cruise this Winter and needed a perfume to go with my new sarong.

My experience pretty much like Hillary's- PURE CARAMEL. Not unlike Red Lantern. This doesn't mean its a bad thing. In fact, it's pretty darned addictive. And okay, okay, it's not pure Caramel. There are some other elements that bravely try to get noticed. But on me they never manage to assert themselves but do end up making the Caramel sexy. Sexy Caramel.

My guess without having notes to go on was Rhododendron but I'm happy to defer to to Mint. This is a beautiful perfume that evokes cool December morning as the sun begins to slowly warm up the Mums outside in your garden as you peek out the window of your kitchen as the coffee starts to perk. Not the most complex perfume ever but it is stunning in its simplicity. I don't get anything Aquatic, though. Just the gentle coolness of the green, the woody sweet of the mums and an underlying bit of warm familiarity of the amber.

This is a colorful bowl of sugared fruit on a glass table as a centerpiece. Martha Stewart comes to Miskatonic Valley I think Screeching Parrot and the Pet Magah Bird would have a great time together. Screeching Parrot would bring the alcohol and Magah Bird would look all innocent when the humans got home and found the mess later on and then convince them the dog did it with the kicker being not that the humans buy Magah's story but that they don't even HAVE a dog.

PFEFFERNEUSSE! I have been waiting for this scent all my BPAL life It smells like the cookies without being cloying, overly sweet or heavily spicey. The spices do come out more pronounced after a while but they are still being agreeable. Edit for Lamentations- after about an hour this goes South on my skin chemistry. Am tempted to keep and use in my Clocket or as room scent. Hmmm It's not the Cookie part, not the Spice part. I am going to guess there is perhaps a Nut oil in here that goes off on me. Update- it was, in fact, THE CARDAMOM.

Honestly, this is a very grown-up and mature perfume on me. It is a workable version of Mme Moriarity. Where the Carnaval blend was a bust on me, this works very nicely. But it doesn't come across as anything remotely little girl on my skin.

Well, I briefly got the lovely Cake in the beginning but it wears off and I'm left with the underlying amalgam of Snakeoil, Dorian and Doc Constantine. For me, this is not really good.

This goes from Orange Creamsicle to strong Aquatic that verges on household cleaners but then finally develops into what reminds me of several Shunga blends. It must be the Tangerine and Ambergris leading me to that comparison. Very nice, ultimately after a lot of morphing. It's a little weird comparing this to a Shunga blend though

The Girl gives me the same impression as Regan whose description reads 'sweet orchid vanilla'. Both are innocent with a full bodied sweetness. This is a bit less "young" than Regan and more wearable for me. Very much what I imagine what a Flower Fairy's wedding scent would smell like... if she were around my age I am also reminded of Delight which is an unabashed 'girly' floral that just works somehow despite my misadventures with Jasmine. The Star Jasmine in this had me kind of worried by it is just so pretty. Also keep thinking I smell Honeysuckle, actually. Later on I do find the Birch, so maybe this is partially the scent of a Forest Fairy, too.

I get a clean, green and somewhat juicy experience from Julia Stone. She clears my head too. My first stab at finding something similar in the BPAL lexicon is THAT! THE TERROR FROM OVER THERE! Seeing other reviews mentioning Velvet Cthulhu certainly works with that observation. I think there's a citric Fruit note. And Wasabi?

OH CHRISTINA! How lovely you are. You smell like Chestnuts mixed with Incense and enticing Florals that cling to your undead body. I lean my face into my skin where you waft off it and sigh. How could I have doubted you?

Had to rush onto this Forum to review this, it's so wonderful. It's a gentle whisp of a long-ago spicy Rose perfume. It's a quietly sexy Rose perfume that could drive men insane. It's been a long time since a Rose perfume has worked this well for me.

Gorgeous but ultimately the Clove takes over. Yes, it warms this up. It also overshadows all the other notes, for me.

There is an entire Forum especially for BPAL Recommendations here: http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showforum=10 And an entire thread in that forum for Newbies here: http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=10948 Have Fun!

Ohhhhh, the Almond has a strong presence in this one. It throws up a roadblock to all the other notes. Will have to retry again. Several weeks later- this ends up being a favorite of the bunch! I never do get that much of any sort of foody, but then my skin tends to burn through all but the most heavy foody scents. What this ends up being is a very pretty Floral/Almond which I've been enjoying immensely.