Alethia

Vampire Bride 2012!

I have no scent recommendations, but thank you for trying to foster him. This is a wonderful thing you're doing.

I've never smelled vetiver before, and I jumped at the chance to educate my nose! Wet, this is very smokey, deep, and slightly astringent/medicinal. But as it dries, the astringency goes away and it's just this lovely smoke scent. I don't know how often I'll be wearing this by itself, but I'm willing to let it age and do some layering experiments!

Thoughts before testing: I read the description for this one and literally squeaked with excitement. Everything here is a win and I'm really hoping that this will be as beautiful as I'm imagining!

 

Wet: Unnf. I'm going to have to find my bottle of Banshee Beat and double check, but the patchouli here reminds me a lot of the patch in Banshee Beat. This is so freaking good. Wet, it's a strong blast of sweet patchouli to the exclusion of the other notes, but that's ok by me!

 

Dry down: I start to get more of the leather and it's amazing with the patchouli. The leather here is soft and sweet and I'm in heaven. I can detect just a tiny hint of vanilla at the very end but no honeysuckle or sarsaparilla at this point.

 

Dry: I die. Seriously, this is wonderful. The patch and leather are delicious, and I can finally detect the sarsaparilla mingling with the vanilla in the background.

 

Final thoughts: Badgers is crazy good and just rocketed into my top 10. This is definitely my favorite leather blend so far.

 

Verdict: Hoarding!

 

ETA a HUGE times a billion thank you to my wonderful pick up fairy!

I couldn't even make it through a regular test for this one This was STRONG jasmine and vanilla on my skin and it made me sick to my stomach. But a big thank you to my pick up fairy for the chance to smell this!

Thoughts before testing: Peony can overwhelm the other notes, and amber has been going funky on me lately. Everything else is a win though so let's see how this turns out!

 

Wet: Candy sweet peony and sweet peach. This is overwhelmingly sweet when wet.

 

Dry down: The peony and peach tone down the sweetness and mellow out. I get just the tiniest hint of carnation in the background. This is pretty.

 

Dry: Still mostly the peony and peach show.

 

Final thoughts: This is pretty and soft, but not me I think. I like the peony in Blossoms in Springtimes and the peach in Josie better, and the overall feel of this isn't right for me. Maybe if I had gotten more of the carnation or woods it'd be different, but thank goodness this is headed to a much more appreciative home!

 

Verdict: Off to a better home!

 

ETA a big HUGE thank you to my lovely pick up fairy!

Thoughts before testing: I want this to work so badly, but amber has become a note of fail lately. I'm not hopeful.

 

Wet: Sweet almond and musk. Very warm and soft. No amber yet!

 

Dry down: Egyptian musk is my favorite, and the cardamom and saffron are to die for here. This is really lovely actually. I don't get a lot of the almond now, which is not a bad thing.

 

Dry: This is a very warm and protective feeling blend. Amber isn't doing it's usual thing, and this is just beautiful.

 

Final thoughts:

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, getting a bottle!

Thoughts before testing: This was a frimp in my most recent Lab order, and I was excited to try it despite the armor note. Leather is a forever win note and I love vanilla, so let's see what happens!

 

Wet: Sweet soft leather and frankincense. This is ridiculously good.

 

Dry down: Sweet leather and vanilla. The frankincense starts to take a backseat, but this is pure amazingness on my skin.

 

Dry: Sweet vanilla, soft leather. LOVE.

 

Final thoughts: This smells to me like a much less sweet CC: Female. I am head over heels in love with this. The leather note is perfect, the vanilla is perfect, the frankincense is perfect. LOVE.

 

Verdict: Keeping the imp, getting a bottle!

Thoughts before testing: I love violet leaf and white tea and the rest of the notes are pretty good so I'm hoping for a win!

 

Wet: Violet leaf and amazing! This is crisp and lovely.

 

Dry down: Ooh, violet leaf and tea, I love you! This actually smells very similar to The Unsteady Governess on my skin. I’m not getting a lot of, well, anything else.

 

Dry: Still just a beautiful blend of violet leaf and tea.

 

Final thoughts: I'm not disappointed by the lack of other notes in this. I love the way this smells (I've been hunting for a bottle of The Unsteady Governess), and I love that the oil is pink

 

Verdict: Keeping the decant, getting a bottle!

Thoughts before testing: This is for the 2012 version. I loved the previous Perilous Parlor, so let's see how this compares!

 

Wet: Sweet pear vanilla ice cream. This is delicious and identical to the 2007 version.

 

Dry down: Total disappearing act! Seriously I can't smell anything 15 minutes later.

 

Dry: Gone

 

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I love cream and cotton, but I'm afraid that the sugar will turn this too sweet for me.

 

Wet: Sugar and cream oh my! Slightly lemony, maybe the cotton? The lemon note is gone within the first two minutes though, so I'm not sure what that was about.

 

Dry down: This smells almost like sweet suntan lotion to my nose. I have no idea how.

 

Dry: Just a gentle sweet scent is left now.

 

Final thoughts: This is pretty, but very not me.

 

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I just had to try this to see what all the fuss was about, but I'm thinking this will be too sweet for me.

 

Wet: Fruity sugar, no hint of burnt sugar.

 

Dry down: Sweet mellow sugar.

 

Dry: Sweet sugar.

 

Final thoughts: I don't get a lot of fruit, just a lot of sugar. This is a little too one dimensional and too sweet for me.

 

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I've never tried a BPAL pumpkin before and I have a feeling that this is going to go terribly bad on my skin.

 

Wet: Wow! Fizzy and bright and lemony! Awesome!

 

Dry down: Still very fizzy and lemony, but I'm definitely detecting the ginger ale. I'm not getting any pumpkin or really anything else, but I'm definitely liking this so far.

 

Dry: The fizz finally calms down and mellows out into this really pretty ginger ale scent.

 

Final thoughts: I am so surprised by how much I like this and how pretty it is! It's not really foody, it's just a light and fun scent.

 

Verdict: Keeping!

Thoughts before testing: Out of all the Weenies I decanted, I was the most excited to try this one. It sounds like it should be made of complete win!

Wet: Sweet red musk, patchouli, and just a hint of woods. This is really pretty wet.

Dry down: The red musk does a KO on all the other notes, and Third Charm turns into a red musk single note.

Dry: Yep, still just red musk. Pretty red musk, but not what I was hoping for.

Final thoughts: This might be a hormonal issue, because this week everything I've tried with red musk in it has turned into a red musk SN. More testing is needed!

Edited to add: Even after nearly a year of aging, the red musk still overpowers everything else on my skin.

Verdict: Off to the sales.

Thoughts before testing: I'm almost afraid to try this, as I'm pretty certain this will be much too heavy for me.

 

Wet: Strong woods and patchouli, but it's gorgeous

 

Dry down: Teak is usually terrible on me, but it's working here. It's not too high pitched and instead is just pretty. The patchouli is smooth and lovely. The tobacco flower is finally making an appearance and turns the whole blend more polished.

 

Dry: This is a beautiful, well blended perfume and I can't believe how good it smells.

 

Final thoughts: This was a surprise stunner, and that'll teach me to judge a BPAL by it's cover

 

Verdict: Keeping!

Thoughts before testing: The strawberry here scares me as it rarely turns out well on my skin, but everything else is a win!

 

Wet: Sweet strawberries and honey, but it's not artificial or candy-like. I smell like I just rolled around in a pile of strawberries.

 

Dry down: The strawberries are doing their thing and turning into Pez candies The lavender shows up about 20 minutes in and mixes with the honey in a really beautiful way that kind of reminds me of Beaver Moon 2011.

 

Dry: And it's all Pez candies, all the time.

 

Final thoughts: I should really learn to stay away from strawberry scents!

 

Verdict: Off to a better home!

I totally did a muppet flail this morning when I saw all of the SW chatter. I can't wait and am already practicing my stalking mode!

EnchantedMoon, Switch Witch is only the most awesome thing ever and one of the best ways to make connections with other fabulous BPAListas! This post will explain it much better than I can

I have it on good authority that there be a Switch Witch Halloween round... stay tuned.....

 

Thoughts before testing: I'm kind of collecting all of the single notes to educate my nose. That said, two months ago I wouldn't have touched Siberian Musk with a ten foot pole (I was a very floral/spicy girl until Snake Oil showed me the error of my ways!), but I'm excited to try it now!

 

Wet: This smells exactly like Snake Oil to me without the sugar and vanilla to temper the sharpness of the musk.

 

Dry down: Yup, SO. It's getting sharper as it dries, and I'm really missing the calming effect of the sweet in SO.

 

Dry: After about two and a half hours, Siberian Musk is so sharp it stings my nose when I smell it.

 

Final thoughts: I love fresh Snake Oil, but I'm not crazy about fresh Siberian Musk. But I have a feeling that with a little aging, this will be fabulous. And who knows, maybe a single note will be released that I can pair with this to mellow it out and make it more wearable right now

 

Verdict: Keeping the bottle, but on the lookout for something to pair it with and mellow it out.

Thoughts before testing: Dorian is one of my all-time top ten BPALs, and when I heard rumors that Jareth was Dorian + leather, I was sold!

 

Wet: Oh shit. This is Dorian wrapped up in a sexy well worn leather bike jacket. I am in serious trouble. Seriously. It's not as sweet as Dorian on my skin, and the leather is very soft and not harsh at all.

 

Dry down: I'm swooning over here, Jareth is that good. As it dries, it gets a little deeper and more full-bodied if that makes sense at all. It definitely blossoms the more it dries.

 

Dry: The final dry down of this is much, much less sweet than Dorian is on me. And the leather in this is definitely my favorite leather ever in a blend.

 

Final thoughts: This is a terrific unisex blend; I definitely don't think it's too masculine for a woman to wear. I never got any lilac which is good because it would have wrecked this for me I think. It also lasts insanely long on my skin. I'm wearing it even in the dreadful heat and humidity now, but I can't wait for fall/winter so that I can scent all my scarves with Jareth. If you're waffling on this one, just go for it. This is truly a beautiful blend.

 

Verdict: :love!: You'd have to pry the bottle out of my cold dead hands, and I'm seriously considering a backup (to put this into perspective, out of all the oils I own, I only have 2 backups. This is serious business).

Thoughts before testing: I have a terrible track record with the Lunacies, but this one just sounded too perfect to resist!

 

Wet: Sharp pine and sage and a hint of jasmine.

 

Dry down: I'm amping the jasmine in this like nobody's business. All I can smell is the dirty diaper of jasmine.

 

Dry: Yup. Nothing but dirty jasmine for me

 

Final thoughts: Officially, I'm declaring jasmine to be an enemy of my state. I'm sure that this is beautiful, but sadly very much not for me.

 

Verdict: Away with thee!!!

Thoughts before testing: I don't think I've ever smelled violet leaf before, but I do love the Lab's white tea note and I tend to do best with perfumes that only have a few notes. I'm cautiously optimistic!

 

Wet: Sharp tea and green; this is slightly spicy and surprisingly awesome. Very fresh and pretty.

 

Dry down: This is one of the prettiest white tea blends I've ever smelled, and the violet leaf is awesome. It's fresh and clean smelling without being soapy.

 

Dry: It turns slightly citrusy after a few hours, but still stays fresh and clean.

 

Final thoughts: This is beautiful and perfect for the hot sticky weather that's still hanging around.

 

Verdict: The imp is staying, but I probably don't need a bottle.

Thoughts before testing: Amber almost always goes straight to a sharp powder on my skin and obliterates everything else in the blend. My hopes are not high for this one.

 

Wet: This smells like walking into a craft store, which is maybe better than sharp powder?

 

Dry down: Generic craft store spice.

 

Dry: No change.

 

Final thoughts: I'm glad that it wasn't powdery, but I have no desire to smell like Michaels or Hobby Lobby

 

Verdict: Off to the sales!

Thoughts before testing: I absolutely adore the way cinnamon smells, but I've only ever found one perfume (Harlot )that didn't turn to immediate Red Hots or cinnamon buns on my skin. Copal and honeysuckle don't usually work for me, but I'm testing everything that comes my way these days. So here goes!

 

Wet: Beautiful smooth cinnamon, sweet but not foody. It also doesn't burn my skin like a lot of blends with cinnamon do.

 

Dry down: Still mostly a cinnamon single note on me, but it's sweet and has a lot of depth.

 

Dry: Still sweet, deep cinnamon.

 

Final thoughts: I love cinnamon, and so I love the way this smells. I'm glad that everything else managed to stay in the background because this is the cinnamon perfume I've been looking for!

 

Verdict: Immediate bottle purchase.