Iceblink

Butterscotch! I was a wee bit worried that the rum in this would make it too boozy for wearing out and about it polite society (heh) but although it's present it's not dominant. This reminds me a bit of a rum cake my grandma used to make, and there's definitely an ice-creaminess about it (I also am reminded a bit of Destestable Putrescence). Weirdly it doesn't smell like Beaver Moon to me at all and you'd think with the cheesecake, it would. Butterscotch, rum, and ice cream are what I get, and it's absolutely delicious! A winner.

BPAL fig is almost always great to my nose, and it definitely is here! This is a very earthy/clean dirt note with fig...not like Gomorrah but the patchouli underneath comes out as it dries and makes this richer and less overtly "dirt"-y. There is a faint mustiness to it that I associate with mushrooms, but it's not unpleasant. Really nice and I'll be giving this another try for sure.

I'm not getting a beer vibe from this either--it's grassy (almost too green, really), grainy and herbal, but not alcoholic. Fresh and clean. Something in it makes me think of dandelions a bit. Not something I'd wear but it's pleasant and light.

A chilly ozone that on my skin comes across as dryer sheets immediately. I'm just not one for these icy blends! Alas.

This is that perfect BPAL black musk note that I love. And the rum is mercifully weak here. The vetiver gives this an earthiness that I really like too. The only problem is the bay leaves--they are quite prominent and I'm not a big fan of bay...*has flashbacks of testing Nero*. I'm going to let this age for a few weeks and see if the bay fades with time, because that black musk and vetiver together are really sexy and deep and I think I could love this if the bay behaves.

Mahogany, musk, faint tobacco, leaves, oakmoss--there is as others have said something slighly smoky here too. It's very atmospheric and evocative but I think it would smell better on a guy.

Strong lavender that made me recoil a bit when wet--but the drydown of Odd Portents is beautiful! I smell amber, rose, a faint black currant, and musky myrrh, but it's all blended smoothly and it's wonderfully "perfumey". A little bit on the powdery side. I'll definitely test this again.

Pomegranate and a TON of thyme. I don't think I've ever sniffed a blend where the thyme was so dominant. I get zero red musk here, weirdly, and I had a hard time getting even my little decant blended so the cocoa may not be representing here like it should. Mostly it's just fruit and thyme. I do like the pom note here though.

The citrus notes here are bright and crisp when this is freshly applied--lots of grapefruit and lime! Once this dries it's all strong, almost overripe pomegranate and cloying white musk, though--too sweet and oddly heavy for a scent with such light notes. Too much for me.

Starts off as sharp, medicinal, slightly headache-inducing lavender and clove. The pomegranate isn't very strong here at all but lends a sweet softness to that herbal lavender as this dries. The woods and myrrh come out to give this more depth. For such a complex scent, though, this is very light and has little throw.

Nothing but soap/shampoo on me. That bridal bouquet may be long dead but those soapy flowers overpower everything else!

Aquatic and masculine. The drydown of October is much more pleasant than the wet stage, though, with a dry leafiness coming forward. But it's still way too manly on my skin.

YUM--crisp, tart apples sweetened with cranberries! These are definitely the apples of a cool autumn orchard. I love that this doesn't make me think of generic apple spice candles, too--it's fresh and light and smells very realistically fruity.

Very sweet cherry/almond/amaretto with a hint of coconut--but this fades very fast! I do like the coconut here; it smells like macaroons. I'll give this another shot to see if the staying power improves after it settles a bit more.

Strong incense when fresh, but as this dries the cake underneath blooms and makes this more interesting. It's not at all foody, though--more of a light, sweet incense thanks to that cakeyness! Really unusual and I'll need to try this again for sure.

Oddly watery and masculine to my nose. I do get a hint of rose, but this mostly just smells like a generic man's cologne to me, with a hint of smoke.

*sob*

Golletes begins as light pink cake/frosting but very quickly turns to that plasticky note that some cake blends have on my skin. WOE. It was so pretty while it lasted!

Sweet red musk. I'm one of those who loves the BPAL red musk note so this is wonderful to my nose! The honey comes out more and more the longer this dries, and the musk isn't rubbery like it is in fresh Smut. Very nice and of course this will age magnificently.

I love the Lab's white tea note but have never really found a blend that I truly like with it--but this just might be it! White tea sweetened with light violet--it's simple and beautiful, and has nice throw and staying power for such an ethereal scent. Love!

I've got Sugar Skulls 2005-2008 and have always found them all fairly similar. 2010 is as well except that it's...*lighter*. SS has always been a very strong fragrance on me with crazy throw and 2010 is airier and less in-your-face. This could be a good thing since I'm sometimes hesitant to wear SS for fear of sugaring up a whole room! I'll give this another whirl in a few days and see how long it lasts.

Raw pumpkin with a lot of cinnamony spice. I'd love my kitchen to smell like this. But NOT my arm. I do get a little blackberry on the drydown but the pumpkin overpowers all.

I tried a decant of Snow White back in 2006 (I'm not sure which vintage it was) and got nothing but plastic air from it, yet I kept thinking I *must* be missing something since it's always so popular. After seeing Tiki Princess (which I love!) get compared to Snow White by so many I jumped at the chance to try her again. This is the 2009 version, and I can actually smell something from it this time! It's almost all almond at first but I am getting more and more of a chilly lily/cold note emerging the longer it dries. Very pretty! Almond notes can go funny on me, so I'll give this another run to be sure, but if it stays as nice as it is now I'll be rooting for it to come back for Yule 2010.

Very watery on me at first, with a hint of violets. Then I get a LOT of white sandalwood, which always is a little soapy (in a good way, mind), and a lot of magnolia. Oddly enough I don't get much musk here and I'm someone who usually amps up white musk to eleven. I agree that magnolia lovers will really like this. Me, I'm not so sure yet, although I do love the mental image this creates--it's very "white" and does make me think of moonlight!

Hard to describe! I'm not a fan of Black Hellebore on its own; it's far too herbal for me, but I don't get much of an herbal note from this, although there is a green-ness about it. It dries down to something a bit like...soapy O. A little floral, a lot of honey...and that green note is probably what's turning to soap. I still like it better than plain Black Hellebore, though.

This one is really green and planty on me, a little too much so. The wet stage is aggressively vegetal, with the honey only coming out after 30 minutes or so. It's much less sweet than some of the other honey blends because of this so this might work for those who find the Lab's honey to be too overpowering...but that plantiness is strong!