Teggy

Ohhhh...that's amber I'm detecting. *smacks forehead* Haunted to me smells oddly similar to All Saints (2004 at least which is the only one I've tried). At first It was like a softer version, but now I see that it's amber. Duh. Soft and sweet. Almost a powedery, muted floral.

Bleck. No no no...it's just all wrong! What is it with BPAL "cakey" scents? They all smell like dry cake to me. Cockaigne, as much as I was looking forward to it was both super dry and not sweet at all. It was like eating a sugar-free, flavorless, blah cake. You keep thinking it's supposed to be good, but it's just not. It was wrong-cake! Like someone tossed a boullion cube into the batter. Bah! I have no luck with cake.

Hades was surprisingly fresh in the bottle and wet on my skin. The best way I could describe it is as a "cold fresh carrot with the skin still on." Then shortly after application, it turned to plastic on me so I can't really share anything more.

Grog actually reminded me a bit of MiskU...but...different. It had that Irish coffee minus the coffee kind of feel to it. It was sweet, buttery, boozy and rather cheerful. It's certainly potent, so definately not for the non-foody wussies. This is how I expect the "butterbeer" from Harry Potter to smell. Reading over these reviews, I think I got lucky with the body chemistry...for once!

I ended up using some almond oil onlywith something non-BPAL and it honestly doesn't spray well. Mixed fine. I got a bottle when it was on clearance at Bath and Bodyworks, and it has virtually no scent of its own. I'm going to try diluting some Rose Red into it so I can use it in my oil ring on my lamp.

Fae was very light on me and I could barely smell is. Tamora is nice too, but it's much more complex than just peach blossom. I recently tried Algea and with my body chemistry, the peach wine note was very prominent. Plus it had good throw and lasting power.

I'd guess it was pronounced almost how it was written: Shwar-zer

I tried Rose Red '05 in an oil ring last night. Oh... Mah... Gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhwwwwwwwd. (Actually I think I need to dilute it in some carrier oil. It was really darn strong!)

Oh my...I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do! Um...wow? This is really neat stuff and stays very true on my skin. The coffee is very creamy, making is soft and faintly spicy. I can tell there's something woody under it all, but it doesn't overwhelm the other notes that I often get from other blends. This one is intigrated so smoothly that it makes the blend really come together as a cohesive whole. This would smell wonderful on either a man or a woman...or in an oil burner!

It went from no to yes then back to no. I'm not sure if it was the spruce, but it was a bit tangy for me when I first put this on. A little too much like cologne. Then at drydown, it became much more balanced with the wood and herbs. A nice and soft forrest scent. I didn't detect any shea. Then a while later it started to get really sweet and just wasn't a happy woods scent anymore. Oh well.

Well now this is interesting. Loviator is mega-leather on me, but not quite the leather that I love to sniff at a Wilsons. It was leather with a twist, but I'm not really sure what other notes I was detecting. I don't think I would wear it regularly myself, but I bet I would adore this on a man!

Ooh! Definately peach wine. Peach is one of my favorite notes, but this is a little more adult and complex than peach alone. I don't really get ambers and musk (and I have no clue what myrtle is supposed to smell like). I like this one as a peach scent more than Tamora. I might consider a bottle, but I'm going to play with my imp some more.

Yup, this was pretty much how I expected Antique Lace to smell. On me, it's very soft and powdery...a little creamy. Almost....amber? But it doesn't have that KAPOW I'M AMBER AND I'M IN YOUR FACE feel too it. It's very soft and subtle. It's delicate and femenine, but I'm not sure I'd actually buy a bottle of it. It kind of makes me think that an "antique lady" would wear this, but it's definately a sophisticated and special occasion kind of scent.

I tried this on at will-call and decided to purchase the bottle. I like it a lot and I could definately tell there was a resemblance to Snake Charmer, especially the perfume spray I made which tends to make the top notes pop. So I wore them both today for a side-by-side comparison. It seemed like the only logical thing to do. No, they are not alike, but I would definately call them cousins. MM has the vanilla/patchouli quality of Snake Oil, with the fruitiness of Snake Charmer. Wearing them at the same time, MM leaned greatly to the fruity side where SC tends to be more balanced on my skin, note wise. I'm liking it because it's a femenine scent without being floral, and I have a tough time finding such things. I wish it was a little more balanced towards the vanilla/patchouli on me, but I can still enjoy it for what it is.

I tried on The Castle at will call tonight and wasn't too impressed at first. It had a certain "empty" quality that Schwarzer Mond had (no, it doesn't smell like Schwarzer Mond). I didn't really pay attention to it until I was on the bus home and gave it another sniff. Hmm...something familiar... *sniff* I know this...I know I know this...vanillia ice cream? No not quite...Ah ha! Green tea ice cream. I mean the real stuff you get at a Japanese restaurant. Stop laughing! I'm serious! It has the grassiness and creaminess of green tea ice cream. I like it more now, but it's faded after 3 hours. I'll consider buying this one. Edit: Meanwhile, back at the bank (read: 3 weeks later), I ordered a bottle and tried it again. It still had that nice, light green quality to it, but I think it might need a little aging to bring out the creaminess I got from the will-call bottle. I still like it though.

I received some Rose Red '05 in a swap today. In the bottle and wet it was that very fresh rose that wasn't too sweet like Blood Rose or woody like Seance. Mmm...fresh ro--wait...no...no! Stop! No please! Don't go soapy on me.... Dammit. Why must rose do this to me? This might end up being a scent-locket-only oil, but I might convert it into a parfum spray and see what happens. Ninja Edit!: Last night I decided to try this in the oil ring for my lamp and almost instantly my living room was filled with the scent of fresh roses. Absolutely beautiful! I might try to dilute it in some carrier oil since it was really strong. I'm just ecstatic that I found a use for it so I can enjoy it's splendour.

This is definately one of the most interesting scents I've ever worn. Creepy constantly morphs on my skin, and I really like every version of it. In the bottle it's, "Yup, that's butterscotch-kissed, caramel apple." It was like that going on wet too. Some people already said they didn't smell the coconut rum at all, and for the first little while I thought, "Where's the rum gone?!" It took a while, but then it suddenly morphed into just coconut rum. Please note that it's not "coconut." It's "coconut RUM." There is a distinct difference. A few hours later, I noticed that it changed again back into just caramel. Then again, my body chemistry was quite out of whack yesterday and I'm wondering if stress made any difference in how it morphed. So yeah, you should get every single note that's mentioned in the description, but it might not all be at the same time! Overall, I find this a very fun scent. Definately a pick-me-up-when-I'm-feeling-blue. NEW!: I'm wearing it in my scent locket, and it's quite impressive. It retains a very true "caramel apple" scent that's just delightful. It's very potent and has a lot of throw. It's overwhelming the Spooky I have on my skin. It's not slam you in the face throw like with MB: Closet, but it's definately there. One more thing.....

Wow! Am I the first to report on Sugar Skull '06? Neato! My first impression was "It's AzureGreen's Alter oil." O.o This was not at all what I expected. I think I was expecting something more like a powdery sugar or the scent of the sugar coated muffin I'm having for breakfast right now. What I got was spicy maple syrup. I had this on my wrist with my three other Halloweenies yesterday and it reminded me of my cat in the morning. Sugar Skull: *bat bat* Pay attention to me! Teggy: Mrugh... Sugar Skull: *bat bat* I'm here! Don't pay attention to those other perfumes. Look at me, Teggy! MEEEEEEEEE!!!! Needless to say, this baby's got THROW! Phew! You really have to be in the mood to wear this scent, otherwise it'll annoy the heck out of you. I'm going to give it another shot next week when my body chemistry goes back to normal. I might have to dilute it to make it wearable on me. I love strong scents and all, but this one will give me a black eye.

Light pretty florals...Teggy is not a light pretty florals kind of gal. Lovely scent of white, elegant flowers that fortunately didn't have that sickly tangy note that makes me sick to my stomach. If I liked florals, would love this, but I don't so I don't. Though I do wonder how it would smell if layered with Snake Oil. But just because it didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you. I do reccomend this as a floral scent, but it's not for those of us on the foody side of the Force.

First impression: Tacos? No seriously, my first few whiffs smelled like the spices on a taco shell. It went on wet like that, but changed after a few minutes. I too got the impression that it was an Eat Me cousin, but it wasn't as dry. I describe Eat Me as dry cake, but I wouldn't say All Aouls was moist cake either. It wasn't a foody scent as I expected it to be. It really reminded me of a sweet inscence (pre-burning, not smokey), but not "inscence, cakes, and currants." I'm not in love with it, but I'll give it another shot next week when my body chemistry goes back to normal.

In the bottle, it actually smelled a little like CocaCola. Yeah, I know, I'm wierd. On me it's definately resiny. Dark, resin, amber, herbal. This evokes thoughts of emptiness. Like I'm smelling a cup of smokey black tea, but the tea isn't actually there. Masculine, but in that sense, it reminds me of a Ken doll. This is how Ken would smell. Just a hint plasticy on me. I have no idea when or where I would wear this. I'm not sure if this is a keeper for me, but I have a feeling it won't be. It's a nice scent, but just not for me. I'm really glad I tried it though. It ended up lasting for several hours with lots of throw, so wearing sparingly. I actually feel a little bad writing this up cause I don't want to hurt Brian's feelings. for Brian. (Note: It's already been swapped, so don't ask. )

Strawberries & Cream then......PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHLASTIC! Super. <.< Already sold.

Discovering notes is like dating. It's a numbers game; you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince, etc. I guess you might want to start making your selections by category: Foody, floral, woody, musky, etc. Reading reviews on the forums also help. When I first started with BPAL, I was looking for a "red sexy scent" and went through 12 imps and never found it. I kept trying to find dark scents and most turned out icky on me. Eventually I discovered that I prefer foody scents and don't really care for florals and woody scents (most BPAL woods smell identical on me). I discovered that I can't stand tobacco or cinnamon on my skin. BPAL chocolates and strawberries go wonky on me, but if it's a coconut or vanilla blend, it's a winner. What I'm getting at is to start broad and work your way down to notes. The great thing about the BPAL community is that you can always swap or sell to try out new scents. Within a few months, you'll be a wiz. You just gotta keep trying new things.

It really depends on your body chemisty. Sudha Segara vanishes on me almost instantly, but Snake Oil lasts a good 8 hours. I find that the heavier scents tend to stick around longer than the lighter fruity/florals. I also highly reccomend scent lockets for a quick sniffie-pick-me-up. You don't want to be wearing it during sports of course, but you might find it very refreshing to put it back on when you're done. There's nothing like sniffing some fresh Doormouse when I feel gross.

I'm going to reccomend Baobahn Sith, Snake Oil, and Obatala. They're very different scents, but they're each comforting in their own way. Baobahn Sith is grapefruity and doesn't go funky on me. It's a very refreshing scent if you're looking to steer clear of teas and florals. Snake Oil has more of a "warm foody" quality to it. Vanilla is a great base in comfort scents. It's also something you can wear on any occasion; work, a day out, or a night on the town. It's a sexy scent, and when you feel sexy, it's a great confidence booster. As for Obatala, I'm not a huge fan, but coconut and shea butter are very comforting and the oil reminds me of clean skin. There's just something soothing about that.