edenssixthday

The Nutcracker - This is definitely a resin-heavy scent. It's predominantly warm, dry, husky frankincense. The galbanum gives it a bit of a musk-like softness around the edges. The fig sweetens the scent up. I also feel like I'm smelling cedar (and possibly even a hint of balsam?). I tend to not like fig much at all, but it blends nicely with the frankincense in this scent and it makes the fig surprisingly likeable for me. The longer I have it on, the more I can smell a dry, blonde wood note -- it's just got to be cedar. It's a lovely scent, but one I'd rather smell on my husband than wear myself.

The Soldier - The thought of red musk, leather, and food sounded awful to me. However, I am pleasantly -- very pleasantly -- surprised. It opens up with the sweet scent of red musk, rounded by a soft black leather. The sweet foodiness is identifiable immediately. It initially smells like cream, but as it dries down, I smell pie crust, and that concerns me because I just can't wear gourmand/bakery scents, as they all "go off" on me and turn to dust or plastic. This one doesn't turn. It stays sweet and that foodiness blends amazingly well with the leather and red musk. I also keep smelling something that I swear is sassafras, but it could just be the way the other notes are blending together. I can't stop huffing my skin because this smells so wonderful!

Sagardoa Soap - I've been mulling apple cider for the past several days, and it's got cinnamon and clove in it. This soap smells exactly like my mulled apple cider. I'm not a fan of apple scents in general, but this one is absolutely a winner. Perfect for autumn!

Treatsy Bath Oil - I think all the lemon went in someone else's bottle, because all I smell is apple -- sweet, juicy, sugary apples, and it's nice, but not what I was expecting.

White Pumpkin Extrait - This initially smells like little more than the Lab's warm, buttery pumpkin note, but soon a creamy, vanillic scent comes through. I don't think "Antique Lace" at all like several others have noted. Rather, it smells like barely spiced, sweet pumpkin pie with tons and tons and tons of vanilla-laced whipping cream on top. It's a truly delicious scent, and it's a shame it's only available in such a small size and there aren't large bottles of it available. If there were, I'd buy one.

Nut Crack Night Atmosphere Spray - This smells like warm, roasted nuts. The chestnut note is particularly strong. I don't smell the sweetness or spiciness other reviewers are picking up on. To me, it has the pure scent of warm nut meats roasted in the shell. It's delicious.

The Rat King - I really disliked the 2005 version of The Rat King and over the years, when I think of BPALs that were just awful on me, it tops the list. However, the 2010 version is pretty awesome, especially considering my previous experience with The Rat King. From the 2005 version, I got 100% dust. It was so dusty and gross. The 2010 version is almost entirely musk -- sweet, warm, animalic musk with a hint of woods... fresh, green woods. I also feel like there may be something sweetly floral in this, but that could just be the sweetness of the musk. It reminds me somewhat of another BPAL that I can't place in my memory, but if I figure it out, I'll come back and make a note of it here. The throw is strong. This is a scent that shouldn't be over-applied or the musk could become overpowering and unpleasant to those around you, but if put just a bit on your skin, I could see it being the type of scent that could be quite enchanting and attention-grabbing. My review of the original (2005) version.

Herr Drosselmeyer 2010 - This is more similar to the 2005 version than to the 2006 version. It opens up with a ton of pipe smoke, woods, and leather. As it dries down, the dominant note remains the pipe smoke, but it's not the cherry pipe tobacco o the 2006 version. Rather, there's a lemon note in this year's version that was unexpected, but it works really well. I definitely associate this scent with coziness -- it makes me want to curl up in a wool blanket in front of a fireplace and have my grandpa read fairytales to me. However, as evocative and wonderful as the scent is, it's not one I would personally choose to wear as a perfume. I prefer scents that are prettier and less masculine. My review of the 2005 version. My review of the 2006 version.

Harlequin and Columbine - This is so incredibly pretty! It opens up with a bright blast of red currant backed by the citrus notes and and juxtaposed against the sweet, bright fruit notes, the woods have almost a spiciness about them. The sage is quite strong and blends beautifully with the other notes. I can't smell the vanilla at all when I first apply it, but as the scent warms up on my skin, the almost-spice scent fades a bit and a warm, creamy vanilla comes out and helps mellow out the enthusiasm of the fruit notes. It turns into something really, really pretty, feminine, and did I mention that it's really pretty? It's got great throw while it lasts, but sadly, this doesn't last more than a couple of hours on my skin, but granted, I didn't slather, either. I've tried it twice and applied fairly lightly both times. It's just lovely -- next time, I'm gonna slather.

Großvater Tanz - This is definitely a foody scent. It's heavy on the Lebkuchen and clove. I'm not much of a foody and while this doesn't go "off" on my skin as most gourmand scents do, it's cloyingly heavy and sweet.

The Lady of Lake Ronkonkoma - This is definitely a freshwater aquatic, and reminds me of a semi-stagnant pond. It's full of murky algae, which I just love, and definitely has a reedy quality. It's also lightly floral, but that doesn't keep it from retaining a gender-neutral quality about it. There's something in it that's a bit too perfumey for my taste, and that something could very well be the balsam, as that's a note that's iffy on me. Overall, it's a nice aquatic, but not a keeper.

Joyeux Noel - This is a really gorgeous holiday scent. It's full of the scent of a fresh-cut Christmas tree -- sap and all -- and the scent of hollyberries and mistletoe. I would likely use this as a room scent in my oil burner before wearing it on my body.

Fledgling Raptor Moon - When I first apply this, the strongest notes are the bay and the woods. It's got a strange kind of scent that's a bit "off" on me. I'm pretty certain it's not going to work. But then, after it's dried down, I catch a whiff of it on my skin, and it's dried down to a scent that is to die for -- the bay is gone, and what I smell at this point is sandalwood spiced up with a drop of clove and a hint of patchouli, combined with the smooth sweetness of warm, bourbon vanilla. Once it's dry, it turns into the absolutely perfect sandalwood scent. I'm in love!

Polynesian Pop - By far the best of the Luau Lounge scents, IMO. It's sweet and fizzy. It doesn't smell boozy at all, it's mostly an orangy, fizzy, sweet scent. It stays true throughout the life of the blend on my skin. It also has a nice level of throw and lasts quite some time on me, for a sweet scent like this. It's at the top of my bottle list.

Pahoehoe - Ooh, banana! And coconut! And rum! And even a bit of sweet grenadine! It dries down to a predominantly banana scent. I love this. I'm not sure if I want to wear it as a perfume because I don't really like banana as perfume, but if it were a drink in front of me, it would already be gone. I really like it.

Aremata-Popoa - Blackberry usually tends to turn sour on me, but not always, so I was hoping this one would be an awesome tropical blackberry blend. It actually is! It's a little on the bitter side, but I think that's from the black tea more than the blackberry in this case. The brandy is the strongest of the booze notes. Overall, the impression is of a cocktail that is sweet and tasty without being a frou-frou girly drink. Very delicious and I'm tempted to get a bottle.

Red Tide - I love this. It's predominantly cranberry and gin, with a little sweetness of sun-ripened raspberries, and I absolutely love the bite the fresh mint adds to the blend -- it's not peppermint oil, it's the scent of mint clipped fresh from the plant. I don't smell the mango at all. Overall, it's a lovely red gin scent, fairly subtle, and fades pretty quickly on me. Still, I can't resist a good gin scent, so I think this is going to go on my list of bottles I'd like to buy.

Solittude w/ Pillow Book – This is really lovely. It’s not nearly as green as I anticipated from previous reviews. There’s a lot of chamomile in this, along with a bit of greenery, and something else kind of sweet that I can’t pinpoint (cherry blossom?) There may be a bit of frankincense in it, too. I really love this and wish I had more than just a tiny bit!

ICDX – This smells like cherry cordials – you know, the chocolate-covered cherry-in-a-sweet-cream-cordial that you buy in the box at Christmas time. I loooove this scent! Sadly, it goes terrible on my skin, but that’s typical for chocolate on me. Still, if I had more of this, it would make a gorgeous room spray or scent locket fragrance.

Anne Beany - This opens up with a blast of rum, but almost instantly becomes the scent of sweet, sticky, ooey-gooey butterscotch. I usually hate the butterscotch note, but this smells soooo good! The cheesecake note is pretty faint, and I can smell the melty ice cream. It's so delicious...and then it dries down and turns into the typical another sweet, foody scent on my skin, which means it smells like plastic and dust. Damn.

Mount Misery and Sweet Hollow Roads - This smells mostly like brush and dead leaves on me, with a sweetness that can be nothing but the chesnuts. The sweetness reminds me somewhat of caramel or butterscotch, but not quite as gooey and sweetly foody. It's too sweet when I first apply, but as it warms up on my skin, it's becomes a really nice autumnal scent. It's warm, earthy, and prettier than I had anticipated. The scent has about average wear-length on me, but the throw was pretty low once it dried down.

Archenemy Training Seminar & Leadership Retreat - This is an awesome scent! It's really, really pretty. It opens up with a blast of anise -- lots and lots of anise, followed by spearmint, which is a note I don't usually like, but I love it with the annis, go figure! There's something dark and juicy behind it -- dark berry fruits perhaps, but I'm not sure which ones, maybe blueberry? Definitely not blackberry or black currant because they both smell like cat pee to my nose and whatever's in this scent smells yummy. There's an herbal green quality to this, which I really like. Overall, it's just a really fantastic, uplifting scent.

Beaver Moon 2010 - Smells like Strawberry Shortcake and Peach Blush got some plastic doll kink on and made a strawberry-peach baby. And I don't mean that in a good way. It's disgustingly plasticky, artificial, and there's not one stinking drop of cheesecake in my entire bottle.

Klara - This smells so pretty in the bottle and when I apply it. It smells like beautifully dusky tea rose, powdery iris, has the brightness of mandarin (although I wouldn't have identified it as mandarin if I didn't know the ingredient list), and sweet baby powder. It's highly feminine and youthful. As it dries, the powder becomes the top note and overwhelms everything else. I can still smell the tea rose far beneath the powder, but mostly, it's just a sweet powder scent on me after drydown. It's still pretty and feminine, but probably not something I'd reach for with all that powderiness.

The Lincoln Tunnel Vortex - I think I am in LOVE. This opens up with a really high-pitched, ozoney scent that's on the verge of being gender-neutral if not all-out masculine. But as it warms up on my skin, the high-pitchedness and ozone goes away and in its place tons and tons and tons of beautiful, gorgeous, yummy green musk comes out, and it just gets better and better as time goes by. There's a bit of an asphalt note beneath the glowing green musk, and there's still a hint of ozone, but mostly it's green musk, and I love it. Love it, love it, love it. By far my favorite of the NYCC perfume oil blends.