abejita

On me, this is primarily a honeycomb, currant, and gardenia blend. It's a very good mix. It reminds me a bit of Sacred Whore of Babylon. It's pretty, very feminine, and playful, maybe a little whimsical. I don't really get the connection between the scent and the painting, but I like it nonetheless.

In the vial, I was a little worried because it seemed bitter and woody. But on my skin it's so warm and rich. I agree with a lot of the other reviewers in that there's food notes to this, but it's not a foody blend at all. I'm surprised that I don't get the apricot, really, since that note usualy amps on me to dizzying heights. It's a golden woody and warm tonka/vanilla scent on me and very evocative of its namesake.

This smells exactly like a liqueur I drank a lot in Spain: Crema Catalana. It's sort of a creamy egg liqueur with a touch of warm spice to it. It's light and a little rich at the same time, and very pleasant to wear.

For me, this is all light, puffy, and sweet. I like it, it's very much a marshmallow poof, but it just isn't me. I guess I prefer my marshmallow toasted. It reminds me very much of Midway, and I traded that one away as well. Off to the swaps.

Even though this blend is highly touted as one of the classics, I never got around to trying it. It was the leather and chardonnay that put me off. I'm not into leather and wine notes. On testing it, though, I'm finding out why it's so well loved. The leather and tonka blend into something thick, warm, and sexy. The chardonnay stays a bit grape-y in my locket, but on my skin it just adds some complementary sweetness. The rum gives it more depth, there's something very sugar cane-y, rather than just boozy. I've tried it, and now I get why it's so popular. Very, very sexy.

I don't know why I haven't reviewed this yet. It was one of my first bottles, and remains one of my best loved. I have the first version, so it's nicely aged. Basically, the blend is a mixture of several of my all-time favorite notes. White opium, Sudanese coconut, amber, spice. They mix and meld beautifully into a rich haze. I've read other reviews that say something to the effect that this is a non-foody foody, and I can see that. The caramel, currant, and black coconut do that, but the resins and tobacco scale it back considerably. It's very much evocative of it's name. I love this blend and hope it continues to be released every year.

I got ahold of this in my quest to try everything with Egyptian amber (one of my all time favorite bpal notes). This is what I wanted Hymn To Proserpine to smell like. I get the dark fruits, but the strawberry is bright as well. The Egyptian amber is deliciously resiny, almost edible. I think I like my Egyptian amber best with spices and resins, but this is still a fun, effervescent, bouncy kind of blend.

In the bottle: Sweet honey, flowers, fruit. Indistinct. Wet on skin: Rich rose, honey, and a jumble of dark, ripe fruits. Plum and figgy goodness seem to be at the forefront. Dry: I am happy to say that this is exactly what I thought it would be. When I read the notes, I just knew what this would be like, and that's what I got. So, yeah, it's very true to the description. I can detect a wee bit of everything listed, but, as another reviewer commented, it's very balanced and blends together nicely, like a Libra should. Rose is often hit or miss with me, and in this case it is working well with the fruits and honey. The feel of the blend is dark, deep red-purple. It's not a blend I'd categorize as sexy, it's more elegant and classy, somehow. The whole zodiac series has been all over the place for me, but this is one I'll hold on to.

My first impression, in the vial, was patchouli plus. Patchouli, but there's definitely something else there. On my skin, that "something else" opened up into a really lovely scent. The benzoin and coconut do something wonderful to that patchouli. Every time I inhale, I'm struck by the feeling of texture I get from the blend. It's an interesting bit of synesthesia, the blend is the olfactory equivalent of nubby, raw, undyed silk. Coconut-haters, take heart! There is no trace of suntan oil or plastic in this blend, at least for me. And, to the haters of patchouli, this blend has a very different feel than most patchouli blends. No one hates benzoin, so I guess there's no qualifier there. I predict this will creep its way into a lot of top tens, and end up as one of those beloved GC blends that everyone snaps up any time an imp or bottle makes its way to a sales list. I am definitely planning on a bottle and can't wait to see how this one ages. Thank you, Beth, for making it a GC blend!

I am really surprised at how much I like this scent. When I saw the notes listed, I was on the fence about even trying it. The last five notes were what gave me pause. Any one of them in a blend would have been okay, but all together, I thought it would just make it an herbal/floral/cedar fest. Instead, this is a study of balance and blending. The scent is a lovely, dusky purple. Very beautiful.

Dammit. I have never had this problem with cedar before. I usually have a policy with bpal, that even if something smells repulsive to me in the vial, I will still try it on skin and let it dry down. We all know how bpal goes through radical changes on the skin. But with this one, I opened the vial and smelled a sharp, dry, abrasive cedar. I applied a tiny bit, but I couldn't make it through to dry-down. This has never, ever happened to me before, even with a cedar-y oil. I didn't like Monster Bait: Ventriloquest's Dummy for all its too dry woody notes, but at least I could tolerate the oil in my presence. But the Sportive Sun? No. Washed it off before it could dry.

I generally refuse anything with an outright pine note. I wanted so badly to like the Organ Grinder, but the pine made me gag. What was even worse was that, behind the pine, I smelled deliciousness. It's the same thing with Voodoo. I love every note in this, but I can't get past the pine. I have no idea if the pine dissipates on drydown, because I can't even make it that long. Damn you, pine!

What was going so off for me in this one? I love rosewood, oak, and teak. And nothing in this blend should smell so blatantly awful on my skin, not that I know of. I don't have any issue with rose, but this rose smells rotten to me. And there is something really bitter, too. I thought I'd like this one (I love Teresina and Pulcinella), but this is one of my rare outright dislikes.

I think I just need to accept that these kinds of scents are simply not for me. It's salty, aquatic, leathery, which isn't at all surprising. The "ocean" type scents smell almost all alike to my nose. I'm sure they'd smell great on the right person, but I just get cologne. Ah, well. I like the idea of it more than the reality.

Honey and musk rarely fail to do it for me. Add in the cherries, clove, and vanilla and I'm sold. This is a great blend. It alternates, through the day, between a dark cherry to a spiced honey, with the vanilla, poppy, and vetivert balancing everything so beautifully. It's very dark, raw, and overtly sexual. I think a bottle may be in my future.

I don't understand why I'm not into this one. I like all the components. Dragon's blood tends to amp on me, but not horrendously so. But something about this blend just turns really indistinct on my skin. It's a touch of fig, a log of dragon's blood, a little of this, a little of that. But... not a blend, if that makes sense. It really does nothing for me, and I've tried it several times, and even tried aging it. I wanted to like this one, but it's just not for me.

This is one of the few BPAL scents that I absolutely disliked. In the imp, all I could think of was rotting, squisy grapefruit. On my skin, it was more intensely rotting citrus. Definitely not for me.

In the vial: Hrm. Sharp lavender. Medicinal and scratchy. I'm not so sure about this. On my skin wet: Lavender, stop chewing on my ass, please. I usually dig the lavender, but STOP ALREADY. Dry: Whoa. This IS Yvaine. I can see it (smell it) now, finally. The magnolia is creamy, sweet, and pure. The lavender has scaled back and gives a twilight feel to the blend. There is a crystalline, airy feel to this, without being fabric softener or anything like that. How does she do that?

I've liked all the other 13 blends, but none of them have really been "me," so they've found other homes. I think this one, however, may be a keeper. It starts out as straight up, bittersweet dry cocoa. On my skin, however, it blooms into a beautiful honeyed fruit blend. I usually can't do the fruity ones, especially peach. Peach and peach blossom tend to amp all the way to 11 on my skin. I totally get the starfruit, too, which is a pleasant surprise. The orchid and the massoia bark make everything round and rich. This is a honey golden scent and I like it a lot. I was expecting it to be all chocolate, but it really isn't on me. It's a gourmand without being cloying or childish. Very, very nice.

Carnival Diabolique! Love it!

Punkie Night! It's mischief and apple-y fun. That's my vote.

I like this one a lot. It's very simple, sweet, and girlie. It's to rose what Pink Moon 07 is to carnation.

I homebrew, and to me this smells like orange wine in primary fermentation (I've made orange wine), when the yeast is gorging rapidly and you can hear it bubbling from across the room. It's fruity, fizzy, sweet, and pleasant. A nice summery scent.

I didn't think I'd like this one much, but apparently I underestimated the sheer ick factor. In the vial, it's bitter, white-green smelling. On my skin, it's still bitter, almost hairspray-ish. I can get a little of the floral, but there is this horrible, blaring high note I can't get past. I am going to scrub this off.

Milk, cream, warm honey-- very true to its description. It is much like the 2007 version, just minus the fruits. I also see the comparison to Obatala, its the same milky note. I like it a lot, but I'll be content with Obatala and MM '07.