zillah37

In the bottle: This is a warm, spiced mead with a strong hint of honeysuckle. Wet: Mead! And honey. Almost overpowering honey actually. As it dries it becomes softer, more herbally, but it quickly turns back to mead and honey. It morphs repeatedly on my skin back and forth between the lighter more herbal scent and the strong mead/honey. I like both actually, so I'm pretty happy with it. This gets an B+ from me.

In the bottle: Warm, heavy, sexy musk with a hint of something fizzy and sweet. Mmm. It's a very comforting scent to sniff. On my skin: Wow, this is neat. It's a lot lighter than in the bottle and reminds me of Snake Oil, but lighter and absent of vanilla. I would definitely bet this is in that blend. It's also kind of powdery and amber-scented as well. God, this is just so gorgeous! By far, this is the most wearable of the single notes I've tried. This one gets two very big thumbs up!

Sexual Energy is a very strong cinnamon and clove scent on me. It burns a little when applied, but it goes away fast. It clings to my skin and carries this heavy, sexy scent that is alternately musk and cinnamon. Little background: I've been with my boy for 4 years now and I've had libido issues the entire time. Today was our anniversary and there was no way I wasn't going to be having fun so Sexual Energy came out tonight. I applied it to my cleavage and right behind my ears, putting it on before going out to dinner for my anniversary. The scent kept me intrigued and interested all night. The boy gnawed happily at the spots behind my ears and both of us were very ... happy. Sexual Energy gets two thumbs up from me!

I got this bottle as a complete surprise in an Ebay win. Someone out there totally and completely rocks as it was on my TAL wishlist. In the bottle it smells a lot like Red Phoenix and Bengal. It's cinnamony and dark and mysterious. I think there's definitely patchouli in this and wow does it smell good! On my skin, it's actually warm. I'm sure that's the cinnamon in it. Scentwise it's very sexy. It's not nearly as strong on my skin as it is in the bottle, but it's definitely mysterious and sexy. There's a bit of a powdery undertone which totally works for me. God, I love this and can't wait to use this for nefarious sexing purposes.

Whew. This is strong. In the vial it's kind of a sharp, minty scent. But on my skin it smells exactly like Lemonheads taste. And it kind of makes me a little dizzy when I sniff to deeply. Yeah, this isn't a scent for me, but it's oddly enough the best lemon bpal scent I've smelled on my skin. I wish it didn't make me dizzy.

Maenad is a very sweet, flirty scent to me. It's strawberries and orange with the hint of darkness to it. I got an imp of it and immediately fell for it, thinking it would be a great spring scent. I just got my big bottle of it today and I was right. It's 75 out, sunny, beautiful, and I feel all ready for spring with my sweet Maenad on.

Obatala: In the bottle, it's pure coconut milk! *drools* Part of me just wants to down this bottle, but I remember the warning on Lick It and I'm sure that goes double for Obatala. On my skin, I get the coconut, milk, and butter. It's a very soft, clean scent that does make me smile. God, this is really, really pretty. I would catagorize this as foody, but it's drink foody, not food foody. This is so, so pretty. Gah. I can't stop sniffing this. Verdict: Coconut and milk! Gorgeous, light, clean, and beautiful. This is a summer scent to me because I want to drink pina coladas now. And it does make me smile. I'm so glad I bought a bottle of this unsniffed!

Sheol: Okay, so I got this totally because it has labdanum and tonka. I wasn't that keen on the idea of the flowers, but I got it anyway. Plus it's Sheol! The Hebrew Underworld! In the bottle, it is floral, but it's floral and amber. I always get amber from labdanum which is not a bad thing at all. On my skin, it's really a soft floral that's dominated by the labdanum. It's a floral Snake Charmer actually. *drools* This is really a very complex, beautiful blend. It's feminine, but it's got this edge to it. Sheol is not your mother's floral perfume. The iris in this - mmm. So pretty. Iris and labdanum and tonka. The verdict, this is really pretty. It's definitely a women's scent, but it's not light and super-flowery. However, it's starting to stuff me up and trigger a bit of a hayfever like feeling. Darn. I'm not giving up on Sheol though! It's too pretty to let a little thing like allergies get in the way!

Ozymandius: In the bottle, it's a little sweet and a little dry. Kind of like a dry white wine actually, but without the alcoholic hint. It smells yummy in the bottle! On my skin, it turns out to be soap automatically. That lasted for about fifteen minutes before it softened just a little and stopped being so soapy. I'm not sure it's something I really like and I can't quite place what it is that I'm smelling. But about ten minutes after that it becomes a very faint, soft scent that is very reminiscent of blowing sand and wins. The longer I wear this the more I like it. It's becoming something totally different from the initial soapy smell. It's definitely the afterthought of incense, not burning incense. There's a hint of golden sun and the windblown sand. The verdict: I'm going to have to test this one a few times because it's not like anything I've smelled on my wrist. It's definitely very pretty, very light, and very evocative of the poem.

Frumious Bandersnatch: I couldn't *not* order this. Just like Mock Turtle's Lessons. In the imp, this is very similar to Queen of Spades actually, just not as dark as that one. It's plum. Shiny plum. On my skin, I'm definitely getting the plum, but it's got this floral thing and this spiciness. I'm guessing that's the bandersnatch musk acting up. But it's light and pretty and man, this is another winner. Yeah. It's starting to smell a little like a candle shop. Like my Shiraz Yankee candle. That's not a bad thing. That's one of my favourite candles ever. The verdict, I need a bottle of this. Seriously. This is so wonderful. Wow. Just ... this is another winner. Yeah.

The Mock Turtle's Lessons: In the imp, it smells like red kool-aid (what? red's a flavour!) or maybe fruit punch Gatorade. It's very sweet and apple to my nose. I'm not getting any aquatics in the vial at least. On my skin, I'm getting mint, but a very light mint. Nothing sharp like Tulzcha. It's softening up pretty quickly. It kind of smells like a shower gel, but not soapy at all. I'm still getting a light hint of apple and lime. It's definitely not red at all anymore and it actually smells like a pale green. It's a confused scent. And frankly, it's nothing like I would usually wear, but I'm liking it a lot. The verdict: I don't get the usual aquatic effect from this at all. No soap, no ozone, nothing. It's a very light, minty fruit scent to me. It kind of smells like a mojito to me. Mmm...mojito.

Death Cap: In the imp, dirt. It's wet, moist dirt. It's got a bit of a green undertone to it though. On my skin, it's not as dirty as I would expect. It's dirt, yes. But it's got this clean, almost minty undertone. Wow. This isn't anything like I expected at all. The dirt fades fast and it becomes this gorgeous sweet, warm scent. I can't get over how much it changes. The verdict, I think I want a bottle of this one. I'm surprised by that, but wow. This is just an amazing scent.

Oh Montresor! *sighs* Honestly, I felt drawn to you. It wasn't because of 'The Cask of Amontillado' though I do love that story. It was the black fruit and vanilla oaken notes that Beth decided to infuse you with. But yet I worried because people said you were boozy. And I'm not a huge, huge fan of boozy. But Montresor, you are not boozy. Not on me. *sniffs wrist* You are fruity and lovely with a hint of vanilla around the edges. At first you are so bright and fruity you almost smell like passionfruit or melons. But you soften up and become cherries and grapes and *wine*, but not booze. You smell like a lovely Shiraz with hints of vanilla and a woody aftertaste. And then as you dry, you become a soft, warm vanilla that's not overpowering at all. Montresor... I think I love you. Signed, Me

In the bottle: This smells so *red* which is fitting since it's Mars. There's a hint of cherry to it that gives it a bit of a cough syrup scent. It smells exactly like something I can't put my finger on. I want to say Robitussin, but I'm not sure. Oddly enough, this doesn't bother me. I like the smell of Robitussin. Yes, I'm strange. On my skin: There's something very animalistic. It's smells vaguely like a light version of civet on my skin. Civet minus cat pee plus menthalyptus plus cherry = Mars. It's not spicy at all. It's almost like a light, flowery, watery scent. Dude, is there lilac in this? The longer it's on, the more civet it becomes. And I'm fairly certain it's civet. Hmm. It's not a bad civet scent, but I usually can't handle civet for that long. It's already starting to give me a bit of a headache.

In the bottle: Sharp and woody. Definitely feels like a dark forest. Slightly similar to EOM in the woody sense. On my skin: Ugh. No. It's turned sickly sweet. Like rotting woods. That hint of mustiness that goes along with something rotting. The rotting scent calms down rather quickly and pretty much stays woody after that. It's not for me though. But it's a nice scent. Maybe I'll put it on the boy or dog to see how it works on them.

In the bottle: This is very light and sweet. There's nothing offensive about this and it's a very pretty, perfumey scent. I really like this one. On my skin: Again, light and sweet. The plum blossom and ginger smell wonderful together. It's a faint scent though, with very little throw and it fades quickly. This is a scent locket type of scent. But wow, I really, really like this. It's not like anything else I have and it's so not me, but I want to wear this. I want to wear this a lot.

In the vial: Oh my. Flowers and dirt. Wow. This smells like I've been digging my hands in the dirt in early spring when the flowers are just starting to pop up. Mmm. So interesting. On my skin: Um. What's this? It smells like dirty licorice. Something dirty. I'm not getting any of the orchid which is a light scent on it's on, so I'm not surprised the dirt is all I'm getting. I have to press my nose against my skin to smell any of it. Really, in the end, it smells like fertilizer. Which I'm not so much about. The verdict: Thumbs down on my skin. In the vial it's awesome. On my skin, not so much.

In the vial: Flowers. And something minty? More menthol than mint though. This kind of smells like the frangipani single note with something mixed in. Something limey maybe? It's not lemons and it's not orange or grapefruit. Maybe lime? On my skin: *wrinkles nose* There's something very sour here. I'm definitely going with a lime scent in this. No flowers at all on my skin, but a lot of something lime-like and something faintly musky that's going sour on my skin. But it's intriguing. I can't seem to stop sniffing my wrist even though I don't really like what I'm smelling. Oh. Hey, there's the frangipani again. It's almost an absence of scent. I keep expecting something and it smells like ... sanitized air. The verdict: I think this is a no. But it's really interesting. It's not something I would ever wear, but wow it's a really interesting scent.

In the vial: This is so light. I can't pick out a single scent in this, but it's just there. It's not flowers, citrus, musk, sandlewood, fruit... the list goes on and on. It's just there. On my skin: Bamboo? There's something here that reminds me of both Holiday and Budding Moon. There is a bit of a citrus hint to it on my skin which isn't a surprise. If there's any citrus in the scent, my skin will amp it up. Again, like Nihil, this is almost an absence of scent. It's like citrus scented dryer sheets. Yeah. That's exactly what it smells like to me. The verdict: Interesting, but not me at all.

In the vial: This smells like fresh lilies, just cut. There's something very similar to the freshness of Rose Red about it. But underneath all of that, there's a creaminess to it. It's beautiful in the vial. On the skin: Whoa. That's strong. It's definitely lilies, but there's something dark to it. I keep sniffing it because it really reminds me of something. Not something entirely pleasant either. But nothing terrible. The creaminess that I sniffed in the vial is starting to show up the longer it's on my skin. The longer I wear it, the more beautiful it becomes. The verdict: This is a really beautiful scent and I'm surprised by how much I like it. I'm not a really flowery girl most of the time, but maybe once in awhile I'd like to smell like beautiful, creamy lilies. I would definitely snag a bottle of this when it shows up for sale. The longer this is on, the more I like it. I want this. Lots of this.

In the vial: Uh oh. Lemons. Something citrusy at least. But there's something else there as well. Something soft. It smells like lemon meringue. On my skin: Holy lemons, batman! Poop. It's doing the Pledge thing on my skin that almost every single lemon BPAL scent has done. But on the other hand, there's something pretty about it as well. It's not a soft scent like I thought it was in the vial. It's actually sharp and a bit harsh to my nose. The brief pretty bit is gone and it's back to Pledge. The verdict: Not for me. Lemons and I do not mix.

Menacing, bewitching and darkly sexual. A blend of myrrh, amber and lilac. At first this is all powder on me with something slightly ... bubbly underneath. It reminds me of soda when the bubbles hit your nose. It's soft and soothing in a strange way. I'm not really getting any of the lilac which is not a bad thing for me. I'm much more an amber and myrrh kinda gal than a lilac one. As it dries down, it because amber, but a dark amber because of the myrrh. The bubbly scent has become something sharp and dark almost like vetiver. It's compelling and fun to sniff. I really wish I had more than an imp of this. It's *gorgeous*!

In the vial, Lump of Coal is pure chocolate bliss. It's warm, fudgy brownies. I'm not usually a chocolate person, especially Beth's chocolate scents, but Lump of Coal is just pure bliss. It's a gorgeous chocolate scent on my skin and it stays that way. It's got a decent throw, but it's not overpowering. I did manage to get a bottle of this and I'm so very, very happy that I did.

In the vial, Spanked is leather and cinnamon and bourban. It's lovely and sexy and strong. On my skin, it's spicy and a little musty almost. I think that's the leather. I seem to have problems with leather scents. Then it gets weirdly sweet and almost smells a little like booze-drenched strawberries. Yeah, I can't explain that one. Spanked is a really complex scent and I think it's beautiful in the vial, but it really hates my skin. Ah well.

In the vial, Fee is pure melon - honeydew, I think. That's the first thing that I smell when it hits my skin. I normally don't get along well with fruit scents, but this is just so beautiful and light and subtle. The tea and vanilla soften the honeydew to something just delicious. God, I wish I could get a bottle of this so I could just drench myself in it. This is the first tea scent that hasn't gone weird on me AND the first melon scent that actually stayed melon. I love it and will treasure my lone imp.