tarotgirl99

This is a sophisticated lily scent with a very slight grassy edgenote. It makes me think of old black and white movies and women in elegant dresses with cigarette holders. And upswept hair. And even though I'd rather wear jeans and a t-shirt, I love this scent. It makes even me feel glamorous and a little dangerous. Read this review in a throaty Betty Bacall voice and you'll get the drift, even if you don't whistle.

In the bottle, this smells like Japanese incense...complex and lightly sweet. Wet: Chinese peach is definitely more soft and more retiring than Beth's typical peach note. I get a hint of the musk, which is also very different and also more subtle than typical musk notes. It does not impact me positively or negatively. Drydown: The cranberry comes out stronger, and the peach disappears completely...the musk remains a subtle constant. Throw: Medium. Result: Underwhelmed.

About 30 years ago, I found a divine pear essence perfume that I wore until it disappeared. It smelled like a juicy pear. I didn't realize how much I mourned it until The Vine came along and brought me back to that time...but better. Spiced juicy pear FTW. It's a skin scent, so I have to keep bringing nose to wrist, but it lasts for ages...I put it on at noon and I could still smell it on my wrists at 2 a.m. when I went to sleep. It makes me gloriously happy. Glad I snagged a second bottle.

I don't know what I was expecting...but it wasn't this. On me, Pink Moon 2012 starts out like a milky white chocolate...with a hint of strawberry and a more diaphanous hint of flowers hiding beneath. It seems to have the milk note that the original Milk Moon had. But it's much lighter and softer, a total skin scent. It lasts a long time, but everything seems to have disappeared but the milk. I think this is going to Swaps.

Edited for note correction.

I have always been a rose fan, but lately it seems the reverse isn't true. Blooming Rose smells exquisite in the bottle--so sweet and pure, it's perfect for evoking angels. On my skin, it gets a little plasticky, esp. at the beginning. Too sweet. But the later drydown is SOOO gorgeous. The Rice Flower smooths everything out until I just want to huff my wrist.

This is really pretty and light! I get sweetest grapefruit (fig-sweetened?) resting on a gentle bouquet of mixed florals. It's not too sweet, not particularly tangy, and it's a perfect summer perfume. EXCEPT it disappears so quickly...this involves frequent and stronger-than-usual reapplications. I think it's worth it.

A perfect scent for breakfast out (which was today's beginning). On me, this smells like a sweet breakfast bread of some kind, possibly a cinnamon bun. It was en pointe but not a scent for me...I rarely breakfast out Like, not love...and I have too many scents I love already.

A friend of mine surprised me with three BPAL scents for Christmas--without knowing my taste in perfume. Cloth of Gold was one of them, and I'd never have picked this out for myself. The heavy snow scent that I associate with Snow White that always gives me a migraine abounds in Cloth of Gold. As it melts, an indistinguishable flower scent peeps through. Swaps/Sales, here you come.

I normally dislike champagne scents but I love peach ones. So I was unsure how I would feel about Peach Champagne. Silly me. The champagne is there, but the peach is sweet enough to blunt its innate acridity. It's like a couple of not-exactly opposites who complement each other brilliantly. The champagne adds sophistication and blunts the potential oversugariness of peach. It is the smell of an expensive, frothy and delectable cocktail. I want to wear it to glamourous parties, though constantly sniffing myself will take many cool points away.

Oh my. This is absolutely beautiful. On my skin, the orange flower is prominent and creamy and I am reminded of a less-sharp, slightly floral and more complex Chimera. It is sophisticated and feminine in an absolutely adult way. This will be divine on summer nights.

I am not a bottle enthusiast in general--I am all about the scent--but the Weeping Branches Moon is the most exquisite BPAL bottle ever. Happily, the quality of the scent matches the beauty of the bottle. It first reminds me, oddly, of the original Blue Moon--it has that ethereal watery thing going on, but the plum sweet-tarts it up a bit. On dry-down, I get a flash of soap that disappears quickly, settling into a plum blossom on moon water. It's almost a skin-scent with a minimum amount of throw, but it mellows me when I sniff it. Almost like a TAL in its gentling effect. Very happy to have a bottle of this.

Even before I open the bottle, I can smell violet. It reminds me of the violet candies my Great Uncle Morris used to bring me. I don't like the scent of violet. In the bottle, the violet is almost medicinal. On me, this is the prettiest violet scent EVAH. Unlike most violets, it's warm, not cold. I can't explain why, but it blooms on the skin, making me think of violets in the warm summer misting, not a cool spring rain. It's not-too-sweet, definitely not medicinal...there's a delicate sprinkling of sugar. It is truly lovely. Sadly, I don't like the scent of violet. Even this one, which is the best violet I've ever smelled. Good throw, average wear length.

I was sure I would love this scent beyond all others. I am a devout XCDL13 lover...and I had high hopes that this would be akin. It's not. It has a floral note with the vanilla that makes the vanilla go kind of plastic-y on me. Amazing throw, medium lasting-ness, but not for me. Super-thankful that I didn't sell my first born (I don't have one) to get it. Even more thankful to the generous person who sent me an imp.

I second Cheshire Cat. This is Beaver Moon 05, with better throw. Yum to the yummiest.

A wonderful BPAL'er sent me a tester of this. Thank you so much! I get honey and a soft wildflower floral. This is so light and ethereal. Perfectly named! I feel elfin when I put it on. I will have to slather, but I like it.

I was expecting to love this...and wet, it was lip-smackingly delicious. Sugary lemon yum with awesome throw. But within a short time, it was less sugary and turned, appropriately, I guess, into Chiroptera, which I decided I didn't love after all. The awesome throw turned into way too much throw. Heartbreaking.

For me this is similar to Tetramorph (which I love)...but I also get a chemical plastic smell. Not for me, even if it improves vastly on drydown. The chemical plastic thingy is too off-putting, esp. when I have Tetramorph to call my own.

On me this is the ultimate scent of clean. Cotton and powdery, especially for the first few hours when it reminds me a bit of Love's Baby Soft, of which I was never much of a fan. It eventually dries down to something subtle and pleasant. I will keep the imp, but...

This was the only chocolate Luper I purchased an imp of...I like chocolate scents, but prefer them mixed with coffee...and very strong. I had high hopes because I am a big fig and tamarind fan. Sadly, this is just meh on me. It's light and somewhat pretty, but there's no zip. In fact, after a while it almost becomes aquatic! Where's the fig? Sad. It's nothing to write home about. Or buy a bottle for. And that's the last sentence I'll end with a preposition OR a proposition. Update after aging process (12/10/11): OMG--LOVE this!!! The drydown is subtle but so pretty. I have been wearing it non-stop and just bought a bottle.

I think Burning Vulva is an apt name for this scent, especially on initial application. On my skin, the red ginger smells like red musk, only more insistent. After a half hour or so it mellows into a very earthy headshop smell. Not unpleasant, but definitely not me.

Like Sybil, the initial application is beyond my wildest dreams...Biwa is spring in a bottle, blasting tangerine drizzled with honey. But within 15 minutes, like Sybil it goes from FAVORITE SCENT EVER to very nice. Throw slows from 100 mph to 30, and the electric rush is gone, gone, gone. But I still love it very much. I wish it were stronger, but I will learn to slather and reapply for Biwa. Bottle-worthy for me for sure.

Young Pine Saplings is la yum on me. Much like a less sweet Gingerbread Poppet on me, with fabulous throw and longevity. It would be bottle-worthy if I didn't have plenty of the Poppet. As it is, I will enjoy this imp and consider snagging a partial bottle if I can.

In the bottle, this reminded me of a lighter, less bracing and creamy Her Voice. Jasmine for me is iffy and Ylang Ylang almost always a deal breaker. Sadly, on me Antheia radiated both, esp. la Ylang, for the first few hours. When it finally stopped having a hissy fit on my wrist, the floral blend was more meh than anything else.

I second Filigree Shadow's review. To the T(ea and cooklies).