Mountaingrrl00

Wet: The Lab's "sour candy" note plus a hint of powdery cotton candy. Dry: The cotton candy note has gotten stronger and vaguely disturbing. It's burnt sugar and a bit of strawberry jelly. Several hours later: This is the good part! The sweetness has become a kind of powdery floral, and the lime zest lends some bitterness to round out the now-soft sweet-and-sour.

Darn skin chemistry! On me, I can hardly pick out anything but the tartness of the cranberry, and it doesn't even smell cranberry-specific, since I don't get the berry's tannic edge. It's more like the pixie stix intensity of some of the candy Yules we've had in the past. There's a tiny bit of dough and gritty fig if I press my nose to my wrist. Will have to pass this on to a more compatible home.

This arrived just when I needed it, when multiple tasks, creative projects and social opportunities coincided. Applied at the beginning of the day and handled everything with aplomb. The "expanded perspective" part happened quite literally with a piece of visual art I was working on. And while I understand that the House Blends in particular are not formulated as perfumes, this one has a scent I find inspiring, full of sweet anise like a Scandinavian bakery.

This is potent! Very strong, almost manic energy to this one. And it smells like citrus, frankincense and something a bit like root beer?

Verrrrry strong almond note after the initial dusting of cocoa. And something is reading to me as beeswax candles. The middle phase is wild! Then it's an intriguing gourmand scent, more blended. Definitely not an everyday scent, but a very cool ride. I might try wearing this to a winter party or two, see if I attract a confused stranger with a sweet tooth.

The hyper-realistic grass note scared me for a moment. I get why some have compared it to heavily scented soaps. But it calms down pretty quickly and smells more like a picnic in fancy dress. I love the cognac/opium/tobacco lace blends, and I like this herbal variation on the theme. It takes me by surprise on dry-down -- what's that gorgeous smell? Oh, it's me! Rich, smoky, just sweet enough.

A russet chypre slathered in vintage patchouli and black tea with golden amber, hiba wood, and iris root. This one feels like an instant classic, sophisticated and gorgeous. I first smell the tannin-heavy black tea, the mossy chypre and the strong wood - an earthy but somehow sparkling combination. The patchouli then comes into play, and it reminds me of rich fragrances my grandmother's generation wore before hippie patchouli existed. The amber is sweet and has almost a citrus quality, which plays back and forth with the soft dryness of the iris root. The resulting combination is an assertive, long-lasting dress-up kind of perfume. It's definitely a nose-glued-to-the-wrist one for me.

PROGRESSUS Make a purchase at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday, and receive a free imp of PROGRESSUS: a blend of Solar oils believed to generate abundance, augment success, and bestow good fortune, including golden amber, honey laurel, heliotrope, saffron, and Atlas cedar. Yum! This smells rich, appropriately enough. It's woody, resinous, and somehow metallic. The Atlas cedar is not a pencil-shavings scent, but has a real depth, anchoring the brightness of the saffron. There's a warmth from the amber and a sweetness from the heliotrope. I'm unfamiliar with the scent of honey laurel; I think it might be the sort of bay-leaf tinge I'm getting initially that contributes to the "metallic" impression. As it dries down, the resins and woods remain and I get more vanillic heliotrope, less metal. There's also something earthy that I can't identify, but love. I'm so glad I ordered when I did to get this lagniappe. It's delicious in a strong, dark-golden way.

I'm surprised I'd never reviewed this -- it's been one of my favorite BPALs for several years now. The fruity-floral aspect is breezy and sunny for sure, but there's such a lovely dark decadence underpinning it. It's tangy in the bottle -- I think that's the green cognac too -- and then as soon as it hits my skin the rich tobacco and vanilla come out and stay a good long time. The opium poppy note is faint, which is fine with me. I never knew I loved tobacco absolute so much. The way it blends in the drydown is the most gorgeous thing. I'm totally wearing this in the winter.

My favorite of this year's Weenies. It's hard to pick out individual notes, but the overall impression is of the Southwest US, the scent of canyons and the rosy colors of the rocks and the sunsets. Pretty but not sweet. Dry, airy, earthy, unisex, sophisticated, unique.

Soothes your nerves, brings calm to the household, infuses your space with a grounded tranquility. French lavender, jasmine grandiflorum, myrrh essential oil and oleoresin, rose petals and rose otto essential oil, jasmine blossoms, and frankincense tears. This smells so beautiful! It's a rich, heady floral-resin smell, so relaxing it's almost sleep-inducing, and I notice some notes in common with TAL Nocturne, but this is softer and more grounded .... a reminder to stop, smell the super-gorgeous roses, and share that softness and compassion.

Smoky-sweet-savory gourmand goodness, with mellow cognac, subtle hay-like nuances, a caramel creaminess and that super-sexy saffron-oud combo. Low to medium throw, long lasting.

Seconding the love for Sea of Glass. My other pick would be Zombi, which is such a lovely dark-roses-and-rich-earth scent.

I could swear there's sandalwood in here, the most beautiful soft musky kind. Must be the combination of other notes that creates this illusion. The rose is so pretty, like the waft from a rose bush, not at all sharp. The honey is also soft. I love this scent; it's like a warm hug from the loveliest woman.

I'm surprised by how much I like this. It smells like gardenia that's still on the tree, wafting on the air when it's warm but not hot out. Fresh, new, just sweet enough, beautifully rounded.

Globe fits this for me: A russet chypre slathered in vintage patchouli and black tea with golden amber, hiba wood, and iris root.

I'm looking for a passion fruit scent that doesn't go too sweet and syrupy. I love the tart, fresh, almost lemony facet of this fruit. Anything you'd recommend?

Surena Marie, if you can find some Paper Phoenix, I think you'd love it! A memory of Antique Lace, Formula 54’s pink pepper, and a splash of Dorian’s white tea and lavender fougere.

This does smell "alabaster" to me! It's a clear vanilla with soft floral and citrus nuances - very likable and accessible, sweet without being cloying. It seems especially well suited to springtime.

On me this is very Rose and surprisingly green. It's closest to the rose in Rose Red, with a hint of Zombi. There are resemblances to rosewater and carnation too. It takes a good long while for the apricot phase to develop, and that too has more of a romantic perfume feel than a gourmand one. I smell spicy fig leaves but not the fruit. Not at all what I was expecting, but a clean, feminine scent in its own right -- one I think will be beautiful for summer. Edited to add: Previous review was straight out of the mailbox on a cold day. Given ten days to settle, and worn on a warm day, the apricot and fig are much more recognizable and the whole scent much more to my expectation and liking. It really has a wow factor now.

Smells like a yellow-brown beeswax candle, sweet as autumn honey as first, then more of a beeswax smell coming in as it dries. I swear I get a whiff of a candle being extinguished -- I don't know how Beth does it -- and then the smokiness disappears and I'm left with a sweet, slightly incense-like beeswax. I'm not familiar with white patchouli but whatever it's doing here really works. This is a wonderfully evocative, sexy, almost single-note skin scent. Love it!

Thanks, Merun. I haven't tried Hellhound. Is the brimstone note noticeable? I've never liked the burnt smells. Siren sounds like a great suggestion - thanks!

This is rich, dark honey on me, mostly. The hazelnut gives it a foody dimension I like, but it's not overpowering. The wood and resins give it depth and make it last. It's all very yummy and sexy.

I'm going to try this again: 1. Pognophobia (mellow patchouli/honey/leather) 2. Queen of Clubs (dirt, vanilla, amber, currant, pomegranate, rose) 3. Insupportable Misery (tea, saffron, lilac, lavender) 4. Summer Lace (wisps of vanilla cream, caramelized tobacco absolute, white opium poppy, summer honeysuckle nectar, effervescent white mandarin, apple blossom, and green cognac) 5. Smut (musks, sweet boozy notes) Anyone have suggestions?

I am so, so happy to have gotten this as a PIF from the wonderful Little Bird. I'd overlooked the scent because of the CO2 of butter in the description. A lot of times when I've encountered butter and bakery scents, there's been something sickly-sweet, overbearing, even rancid. Not here! It just warms up the scent a little. The mandarin and apricot notes are so sunny and happy. It's a yummy, fun scent, not too complicated but a bit unusual, with a little bit of amber that's bubbly but a little bit grounded, too. I will treasure my bottle, especially as a winter pick-me-up.