Gateau

When I want to cuddle my children I go for Lyonesse, Lilith Victoria, Morocco, Spanish Red Carnation, Bliss or Sugar Plum Fairy.

Sad to report I am of the "this turns plastic" school. I like the sweet pear note, indeed very much like The Vine, but there is something to this one that makes it a little screechy and cologney, and then the vanilla kicks in and turns into plastic modeling clay. I had high hopes, but I'll have to stick with The Vine for that pear.

I went apple picking with my kids the day after I picked up a bottle of this at NYCC (my 6 year old son requested a room spray that smelled of apples!), so I tested it with the smell of a real apple orchard fresh in my memory and man, it is dead on. This smells like that fresh apple you bite into right off the tree with wafts of the fallen apples on the ground, a touch of earth and wood mingling with it.

I've always been intrigued by Harvest Moon, because it has so many notes I love, but a few I find hard to wear (mostly the woods and the plum). In the bottle it's very strong on the maple leaf and ale, but on my skin it warms into a lovely fruity and woodsy scent with nothing sharp or metallic (my problem with plum) in it. It really does capture the autumn air, abundance of the earth's good things to eat and drink, and a feeling of a nice warm house after you've taken a good walk in the fall woods.

This is deliciously spicy pumpkin, backed by dark currant and a hint of licorice and slightly smoky maple. I get pumpkin when wet and mostly spice when dry. Really delicious, foodie without being too sweet. Perfect for going apple and pumpkin picking today!

Two-barred Flasher from this summer's Metamorphsis is a blueberry-orris floral, creamy and lovely.

Try Manhattan too. Orchid, lemon, leather, mint.

Like Really Zeb I'm getting all table scraps and not the slightest hint of grassiness. Sad, because I was really hoping for a grassy one.

Monday speaks for me--this goes from heavy pot smoke to soapy blouse with tinges of patchouli and marijuana. I guess it's what a hippie ghost would smell like! But not for me.

I don't Generally love buttery foodie scents unless they have something smoky or boozy going on at e same time, but the golden wood and the promise of vanilla made me want to try this.

It smells like Cracker Jack! I get the sugared popcorn tpwith that touch of caramel, and something a little nutty from the woods. It's not really strikingly vanilla to my nose. I wore it to take my kids to the zoo, and it was the perfect pick for that. If I were a kindergarten teacher I'd wear it every day.

It only lasts a couple hours on me, which s a real downside.

Oh great tip, thanks!

Any other lavender lovers with great ideas, I am all ears!

Dammit, I KNEW I should have gone for that!

I was applying a little lavender body oil this morning and realized that, though I love lavender, it's in many of my bath products, and I sleep every night with TKO, I rarely wear it during the day. I think that's because it's either a little simple (like the pure lavender body oil) or knocks me out. I'm trying to think if there are any sophisticated blends where lavender is a key player. Sadly, I can't do jasmine, lotus, or most musks, and if there are woods in the blend they do have a tendency to amp on me. Combing through this topic, but in case anyone has thoughts on this, I'd love to hear!

Boo hoo, tea rose never works on me, becomes soapy, and this is no exception. There is a nice fresh green stem scent in this at first, but it slowly converts over to soap as I wear it.

This smells a lot like a mixture of Boober's clean laundry and a bit of single-note Apple Blossom. It's soapy and clean, and I don't get much of anything else, like ink. Surprisingly good throw for something so clean, but it didn't last all that long. It's a little generic, as Absinthetics says, and I don't think I need to own it.

This is an oceanic floral on me, very smooth, slightly salty, rather green. Long wear on this, and lots of throw. While the seamoss and sea buckthorn berry, and maybe the green musk were really groovy for a few hours, eventually it took on more of a perfumey note (probably the sandalwood, which is what it does on me) that started to bother me, so I won't be keeping this one.

I think I amp the BPAL apricot note, which is fortunate as it's one of my favorites. This scent was all apricot on me for the first hour or so, and I couldn't make out much at all of any of the other notes, just something sweet and lightly floral. Unfortunately, later on the other notes, probably white musk and honey, conspired to create a plasticky or Play-Dohy sort of note that ruined the blend for me.

Oh I hope there is a SW! Did my first last year and absolutely loved it. I loved giving and didn't hurt in the receiving department either! Such a great spirit to it on the forum.

This one is a crazy morpher on me!

Wet and the first couple hours: Pure cedar, and practically nothing else. If I wave my arm around I can get a faint hint of vanilla and root beer, and there is something nutty to it that reminds me of The Antikythera Mechanism and somewhat Tree of Life.

Next phase: I get a plastic or Play-Doh sort of vanilla. The cedar is still there when I put my nose closer. There is also a whiff of something sweaty. I don't like it, but I think it might be delicious on my husband.

5 hours later: vanilla ice cream! With maybe a hint of root beer or the wood floors of the saloon. Pretty tasty!

Not really a scent for me, I don't think, but might give it a go on my husband.

I received a low partial of this from a kind BPALer as a freebie, so sweet!

Was very excited about this one, as so many of the listed notes are win for me, and the whole thing overall sounds very warm, sunny, and upbeat. It didn't do that much for me, though. It's very orange blossom-dominant on me, with the other florals adding a slightly bitter soapiness. I don't get any juiciness from the tangerine, warmth from the amber and frankincense, or anything that adds a lot of depth.

Oh well, I'm glad I got to try it, and if you like orange blossom, it may work well for you.

This smells like a shampoo to me. It's green apple, and fresh smelling, but there is a somewhat plastic or chemical note that pulls it towards soap. Oh well.

I didn't think I was much into carnation until I got a bit of this to try. it starts out with that damp green fresh-cut feeling that others described, but then quickly dries to a lightly spicy, gently creamy rich floral. It's utterly sniffable and there is something almost foodie to it without smelling like food, if you know what I mean. I didn't think I needed this, but now it's clear that a bottle must be mine.

This has to be chock full of plum, because I am getting the telltale metallic fruit that I only get with plum. A shame, because in the initial stages this is resiny and warmly spicy, with a little fruitiness. Lots of warmth, in a very intimate and welcoming way. But after it's worn for an hour or two, it's simply plum, which I can't wear.

I absolutely love this idea.

I loved the early phase of this--sweet almond and spicy cinnamon, with neroli creaminess, like Eclipse but wilder. Then it went all cinnamon candy on me and lost that almond. Within minutes I got the red, itchy, burning irritation that so many others described. This is the only cinnamon sensitivity I've ever had. It really is a strong one, no joke.

Grassy, herbal, hay, wildflower. I don't really pick up the purple ( it's not violet or plum). As others have said, it's got a quality that would make for a very nice scented soap.