Alethia

I wasn't quick enough to purchase this last year but when it popped up on the Post's Etsy I snapped up a bottle. And thank goodness for that because this is glorious! When I tested the perfume oil in 2012, there was a weird lemony note that I didn't like. I'm happy to report that the bath oil doesn't have that weird note and is pure creamy vanilla and cotton. The cotton keeps it from being too sweet, which is good because this has quickly become one of my favorite vanilla scents.

The oil itself is exceptionally moisturizing. It also gives better throw and lasts longer than the perfume oil: I've had three compliments from coworkers on how great I smell, which never happens when I wear just an oil.

Verdict: Hoarding!

Thoughts before testing: I'm hoping that this will be my perfect sugar/cotton candy scent!

Wet: Snow White with a BLAST of mint.

Dry down: Play doh?!

Dry: Play doh.

Thoughts before testing: I adore Snow White and have never gotten play doh from it, but this is nothing but play doh on my skin

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I love each of these notes separately, but I'm worried that it will be too sweet.

Wet: Creamy sweet pea, sugar overload.

Dry down: The cream is more prominent and the whole thing is quite lovely but it's still tooth achingly sweet on my skin.

Dry: Sweet!sweet pea and cream. Pretty, but too sweet for me.

Final thoughts: I would have liked more cherry blossom but I don't know if that could have saved this for me. I like sweeter perfumes but they have to have a backbone of something not so sweet in order for me to want to wear it. This one is missing that and despite how pretty and girly it is I know that I won't wear it.

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Aah, you guys are great! Thank you so much for all the recommendations!

Thank you, everyone! My list just keeps on growing I'm definitely going to track down a bottle of Boo and Mouse Circus and then tackle the rest. You guys are great!

2010 and 2011 vintages

Thoughts before testing: I loooooove Snake Oil and I loooooove honey, so I'm not sure what's kept me from trying Womb Furie for so long I was recently given the opportunity to test both the 2010 and 2011 vintages of Womb Furie and so here we go!

Wet: Immediately the 2011 version is much sweeter than the 2010. Both have a beautiful backbone of aged Snake Oil and the honey in both is silken and creamy and fabulous.

Dry down: Still more honey in the 2011 version, the 2010 version is a little drier and spicier.

Dry: Eight hours later, the 2011 version still has more noticeable honey than 2010 but really both vintages are fabulous. Snake Oil and honey for the win!

Final thoughts: If I had to pick, I'd probably choose the 2011 version. Really though, both years were amazing and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to try them! Both years had J's stamp of approval and he even went so far as to request that I wear one of them on our next date night. Both were also incredibly long lasting. They made it through an entire work day and I went to bed still smelling delicious.

Verdict: I'll be hunting out a bottle of the 2011 version and possible picking up the 2014 vintage as well

Thoughts before testing: I've never smelled Roman chamomile before, but vanilla bean and bourbon vanilla are two of my love muffin notes, so we'll see what happens!

Wet: Pretty vanilla with a green floral tinge.

Dry down: The smoky vanilla comes out to play and elevates the whole scent to a fabulous level. The greenness calms down and becomes a little more floral, and the whole thing is just lovely.

Dry: That smoky vanilla is still the star player here and works beautifully with the floral chamomile. Phenomenal.

Final thoughts: I do believe I've found a new favorite. I'm a sucker for vanilla scents, and this one is very different than anything I have in my collection currently. The staying power is decent (around 5 hours), the throw is low. Love this!

Verdict: Keeping, potential backup bottle.

Thanks Elka! I didn't even think of High Strung Daisies! But that's too bad about Mouse Circus

Thoughts before testing: I hate the way grapefruit tastes, so I can't imagine that I'll like the way it smells in perfume form. Everything else here (minus the rice wine, which I've never smelled before) is a winner though, so maybe the combined other notes will overpower the grapefruit? One can hope

Wet: GRAPEFRUIT!!! Complete with spotlight and confetti and jazz hands. And shockingly, I like the way it smells! It's sweet and citrusy and quite pretty.

Dry down: Boozy grapefruit with a hefty splash of vanilla. The grapefruit isn't sharp or pithy, it's just fresh and clean. The rice wine is also surprisingly nice; most of the booze notes turn to vomit on my skin, but this is fresh and slightly boozy without being overpowering. Lovely.

Dry: Clean, fresh rice wine and vanilla with a whisper of grapefruit.

Final thoughts: This didn't last terribly long on my skin (around 4 hours), but it was shockingly pretty on my skin and so don't mind reapplying.

Verdict: Keeping, and on the lookout for more grapefruit perfumes!

Thoughts before testing: This is made up of nothing but excellent notes for my skin. So much so that I'm not sure how it took me so long to try this!

Wet: Musky floral vanilla with a little kick (from the ginger? Maybe?). Lovely!

Dry down: The floral-ness of the osmanthus dies now a little, and the golden musk/ginger/honey is the star here. So pretty! It's warm and inviting and definitely sexy.

Dry: Lovely, lovely, lovely. Musky vanilla with a hint of florals and spice from the ginger. This is fabulous!

Final thoughts: This was just as beautiful as I was hoping it would be. Musky/vanilla/floral perfumes are probably my favorite, and this is definitely one of the prettiest ones I've come across. I love this, and it'll be going into heavy rotation.

Verdict: Keeping!

Hello lovely forumites! I've recently developed a hankering for sweet, sugary, cotton candy type scents and would love to hear your opinions on what the best blends are!

I have a bottle of Go to Sleep, Darlings from this year's Yules on the way to me. I'm also considering Mouse Circus, but the popcorn note (that several reviewers liken to peanut butter?!) scares me. And what about Boo? Would that fit in this category?

And perhaps most importantly, oh great hive mind of BPAL-dom, what scents have I missed?

Thoughts before testing: I've noticed lately that the snow notes (with the exception of the one that's in Snow White) turns to pure dryer sheets on my skin. My hopes are not high for the legendary Skadi

Wet: Ozone-y snow with a hint of mint and berries. This is hinting at beautiful things, but it's mostly dryer sheets.

Dry down: Dryer sheets covering holly berries. Damnations.

Dry: After about an hour, I'm left with nothing but faint dryer sheets. Double damnation.

Final thoughts: I think that I'm staying away from the snow notes from now one.

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: This is the Anniversary blend I was most looking forward to. I love vanilla of all types and amber generally plays nice on my skin, but oudh can sometimes go wonky.

Wet: Oh yeah this is pretty. Pretty amber (slightly dry) with a sweet backbone of vanilla. Lovely.

Dry down: The vanilla warms up the amber and I'm not getting a lot of oudh. This is reminding me of a much more sophisticated and wearable O, and I like this a lot better.

Dry: Turns much sweeter on the far dry down, beautiful combination.

Final thoughts: This is a winner! It's the amber-vanilla combination I've been searching for. To die for beautiful, and I'm so happy to have this one in my collection!

Verdict: Keeping

I'm also getting a lot of the cakey vanilla with more mint on the dry down, but I definitely don't mind. This is fantastic! It's unobtrusive and the perfect balance of perfumey/foody. This will be perfect for my office: it's not sexy like a lot of my atmo sprays and just smells pleasant. It hangs around for a decent time, and I'm betting it's going to be fantastic on my sheets and couches. This one is going to be a big bottle and my decant is going to live at my office

Dorian is one of my top ten favorite perfumes of all time and I used to wear it in my hair on a regular basis until I realized that the perfume oil was damaging my hair. So when Puddin released it as a hair gloss this winter I was thrilled to pieces!

Needless to say, this does not disappoint. It smells like aged Dorian, which is to say it smells FABULOUS. Sweet tea with lemon and a dash of vanilla and it's perfect. The hair glosses are my favorite product from the Post because they make my hair look *and* smell fantastic. You'll have to pry this one out of my cold dead hands

This is my favorite patchouli scent, even more than Banshee Beat. The patch is perfect and sweet and light and not earthy, and the sugar is perfect and sweet and not caramelized. There's a little burst of citrus at the beginning that just ties everything together. Seriously this is not only my favorite hair gloss, but one of my favorite scents of all time. Perfection, bravo Puddin!

Thoughts before testing: I had to wait to order Sylvia until recently (I was out of work all summer), but I would have ordered this one right away as the notes are absolutely perfect. I'm a little worried about the pine taking over, but my hopes are high for this lady!

Wet: HOLY SHIT THIS IS GOOD. Spicy, beautiful carnation and spicy clove with a fabulous warm brown musk (snuggly is the best word for it) and just a hint of pine. Seriously this is good.

Dry down: Still fabulously spicy carnation and clove with that warm musk. I get just a hint of leather, just a touch of pine. This is warm and spicy and phenomenal.

Dry: Carnation, clove, and musk finish it out. Spicy, warm, beautiful, and perfect for a werewolf!

Final thoughts: Beth and Ted knocked it out of the park with this one! Seriously, this is absolutely fantastic and I'm considering getting a second bottle before the Wenches come down.

Verdict: Hoarding.

Thoughts before testing: This sounds right up my alley, although I'm a little worried that the blood musk will have dragon's blood which typically doesn't work on my skin.

Wet: Strong, lovely red patchouli and a hint of cacao.

Dry down: The tobacco makes an appearance and mingles with the patch beautifully. The cacao stays in the background mostly, and I can smell the myrrh faintly.

Dry: Still a lot of patchouli, but the myrrh is much stronger now and elevates the patch into a sexy, sexy scent.

Final thoughts: I wish there was more musk and benzoin, but I'm willing to bet that they'll show up with a little aging. This is a dirty sexy scent and I'm so glad to have it in my collection! This is also Boy Approved as he's requested I wear this on our next date night.

Verdict: Keeping!

Thoughts before testing: I've never tried a 13 before because I don't like chocolate in my perfume. But this was released on my birthday last year, and even though I initially passed I immediately regretted it. My lovely mother gifted me with a bottle this Monday, so here we are! I'm not really expecting this to work due to the cacao and the long list of notes (the BPALs that work best on me are the ones with shorter note lists), but let's see what happens!

Wet: Strong chocolate and dragon's blood resin; it's like being in The Heart of the Dragon (a local metaphysical shop where they burn DBR incense) and eating a really good strong dark chocolate bar. Quite lovely actually.

Dry down: The patchouli and amber make more of an appearance and it changes from the foody wet stage to a really sophisticated, dark, smooth scent. I'm really surprised at how much I like the cacao here.

Dry: This dries down to a really lovely, smooth scent. The cacao is completely in the background after about 90 minutes and I get a strong smooth vanilla mixed with the DBR (which is surprisingly amazing here) and just a touch of honey with a lovely backing of resins. Smooth, dark, and absolutely beautiful.

Final thoughts: I never thought I would like a blend with chocolate/cacao, but this is wonderful. It's complex and sticks close to my skin. This will definitely be getting a lot of love from me this fall/winter!

Verdict: Keeping

Thoughts before testing: Everything listed here is a win except for the white musk. Pink pepper especially is fantastic on my skin, so I'm excited to see how this turns out!

Wet: Strong juicy apricot with a hint of honeycomb. It's sweet but not tooth-achingly so and is quite pretty.

Dry down: The apricot all but disappears and leaves a lovely orange blossom drenched honeycomb with a nice kick from the pink pepper. It's really lush and pretty.

Dry: It settles down into a sweet floral honeycomb with a hint of pepper.

Final thoughts: This is really pretty, but I don't know if it's bottle-worthy. It's maybe just a little too sweet for me. But if you're a fan of pepper or honeycomb, definitely give Pandy a try!

Verdict: Pass

Thoughts before testing: I've heard such great things about The Girl that I had to test it when a decant came my way. It doesn't sound like something I'd like, and the star jasmine worries me as it tends to go very strongly of cat pee on my skin.

Wet: Stunning. It's silvery and beautiful.

Dry down: And the jasmine turns everything into a stinky mess.

Dry: Nothing but cat urine

Verdict: Pass

Thoughts before testing: I love lavender and benzoin, but oudh can go wonky on my skin so I'm curious to see how this turns out.

Wet: Whoof, that is some STRONG lavender. It's very medicinal and sharp and kind of stings my nose when I sniff it.

Dry down: Still nothing but strong lavender, although the sharpness disappears after about 10 minutes. This is exceptionally masculine to my nose.

Dry: Pretty much a single note lavender on my skin, but I can imagine that this is lovely on a man.

Final thoughts: I have other lavenders I like better, and this is far too masculine for this girly girl to pull off.

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: When I saw the note list for this, I immediately put a bottle in my cart. This sounds like it was made for me.

Wet: Delicate floral mish-mash (most strongly of tuberose, but really too well blended to pick anything else out) and a fantastic, amazing patchouli. It's not rooty or earthy or "dirty hippy" it's sophisticated and refined.

Dry down: Still that fabulous patchouli and beautiful florals. This smells beautiful and sophisticated and like Serious Perfume.

Dry: I definitely get the Flowerbomb comparisons, but this is so,so much better. This is one of the best patchoulis I've ever smelled, and the florals are made of nothing but win.

Final thoughts: You know how in the Switch Witch questionnaire, one of the question is always "If Beth created a perfume for you, what would the notes be?" Butterflies, Flowers, and Jewels attending is my answer. It's everything I've ever wanted in a perfume. When I wear this, it feels like the very best version of me. This is pretty and feminine, but not girly or saccharine, and smells expensive and refined. This is embarrassingly gushy, but I'm so in love with this it's not even funny. I can count on one hand the number of blends I have backups of, and this one just made the list. I'll be getting at least two more bottles before they go down next month.

Verdict: Hoarding

Thoughts before testing: After the stunning beauty of Our Lady of Pain's lavender last spring, I've been on the lookout for more lavender heavy blends. But I also love the rest of the notes listed here, so I have high hopes for this one!

Wet: Beautiful sweet rich lavender with a strong dollop of beautiful, sweet vanilla. Stunning.

Dry down: That amazing lavender is still going strong, and the honey starts making an appearance. It's a creamy, vanilla-drenched honey. This is really incredibly pretty.

Dry: After several hours, the lavender eventually bows out and I'm left with a vanilla/honey musk that's really pretty.

Final thoughts: I was hoping for a little more Dorian, but I'm in no way disappointed. This is so pretty, and I can't wait to see how it ages!

Verdict: Keeping the bottle.

Thoughts before testing: Lunacies almost never work on me, but I just had to try this one! I love rose and I love the Lab's leaf note, so I'm hoping for a win here!

Wet: Juicy deep roses and a lot of fresh leaves. This honestly smells exactly like my mother's rosebushes' final bloom. Beautiful!

Dry down: The rose starts to turn slightly powdery, but it's just barely. The leaves are still beautiful and crisp.

Dry: The leaves fade away and I'm left with a beautiful rose note.

Final thoughts: I really like this, but I have other rose blends I love more (namely Peacock Queen). If you're a rose freak, this is for you.

Verdict: Keeping for now.