thecaitycat

In the bottle

I get the same jolt of blueberry that I did from Lilith's Blue Unicorn Moon, minus the bubblegum note and plus something else. This is sweet!

 

Wet on skin

The blueberry note is still the most dominant, but the tangerine note also comes out and it's a little bit like a delicious popsicle. A grown-up popsicle like you might find at a farmers market. Very fruit-forward but not juvenile or one-trick.

 

Dry after 30 minutes

This stays fruit-forward on my skin, but gets a nice, icy floral edge to it, which helps this retain that grown-up popsicle appeal. It doesn't smell alcoholic at all, don't get me wrong! But it smells fruity and summery without smelling innocent or juvenile. The blueberry also really meshes well with the tangerine to keep this from being a mostly citrus-based scent.

 

Thoughts

This has pretty good staying power on me without having enormous throw, which I appreciate. I'm probably going to hunt for another bottle somewhere, because this is something I could absolutely wear to work without smelling like I'm obviously wearing perfume or overpowering anyone's nostrils. If you are curious about this but are a little leery of citrus, this might be a good one for you.

In the bottle

This is hard to describe in the bottle. It's a little sweet, but not candy-like at all. There's a tiny a hint of licorice in it that I like. Neither of these notes is in the description, but Beth is magical like that. The amber cream is making this soft, but not too soft.

 

Wet on skin

At first, almost like honeydew melon in the same way that Harikata (lovelovelovelove) is melon-y on my skin. Within about a minute, the neroli and vanilla start to blossom along with that fruitiness. After another minute or two, this gets a little sweeter and sharper.'

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

The champaca and oudh make this less fruity and more complex the longer this remains on my skin.

 

Thoughts

It's difficult to pin down what the dominant note is for this one, because it's ever-morphing. I think it's the amber that holds everything together. This was the first of Saturn's moons for me, and I'm thoroughly enjoying her. Telesto has a medium throw, so after the first hour or so I get a whiff when I move my hands but it's not a constant presence.

In the bottle

This is almost straight up Lily of the Valley with a hint of something sweeter behind it. Like, when I was a kid and picked Lily of the Valley from my neighbor's garden without permission and smelled it up close? A lot like that.

 

Wet on skin

Still Lily of the Valley, primarily, but I do get something a wee bit citrus blossomy along with it. It's almost tropical Lily of the Valley, which I suppose is from the Rose of Sharon.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

This is less heady and in-your-face, a bit more complex, but still very much a Lily of the Valley based scent. I'm not getting any soapiness.

 

Thoughts

Lily of the Valley was one of the first flowers that I was able to identify as a favorite, and I really love this perfume. It's heady, tropical, sweet, bloomy, and both thick and delicate at the same time. It's something I would wear judiciously, as this has a LOT of throw on my skin.

In the bottle
The first thing I get is strong hazelnut. Strong, sweet, delicious hazelnut, but not quite gourmand. If I sniff more deeply I can also get fig, especially as I breathe out through my nose.

Wet on skin
I still get more hazelnut than anything else, and I'm not sad about that. I spent 15 years living in Oregon, I love hazelnuts. But this is more complex than simply hazelnut, thanks to the fig, and there's some other nuttiness in there too.

Dry on skin after 30 minutes
As this dries, it still retains a nutty base but there's something almost floral that peeks out from behind - not quite rosy, but close, and not sweet like a red or pink rose. Hazelnut is still dominant but warmer, less sharp. The fig ties everything together without making it sweet. It's almost spicy, but I can't detect anything specific.

Thoughts
This was the wildcard bottle out of the five that I purchased. I don't think I own any other hazelnut BPAL blends, and I didn't know what to expect with the other notes, especially the rahat lokum/Turkish Delight. But this is really lovely. When I was a little kid (as in preschool age), I lived overseas in the middle east and traveled to Thailand, and somehow this makes me think of traveling to far away places. This is warm and deep without being gourmand or buttery.

In the bottle

Fruity! Coconut, peach, and cranberry. But not like a juicy, tasty fruity, more like a deliciously smelly fruity that you'd want in a bubble bath. It's also a little bit spicy, which might be the carnation. It's hard to tell.

 

Wet on skin

The bergamot is a lot more apparent as soon as this touches my skin without turning this into a citrus scent. It's still very fruity. The coconut is a smooth, creamy coconut, not a suntan lotion coconut or a cake frosting coconut. I can also smell a bit of red musk, which is one of my very favorite notes ever.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

The cranberry comes forward a lot more as this dries down. Every time I get a whiff, the first note that hits my nose is cranberry. But the other notes follow closely. The coconut has mostly faded, but the peach, amber, and musk are still very much in play. I can't pare this down to just those notes, however, as the other notes are adding extra complexity without me being able to detect them on their own.

 

Thoughts

I didn't get to smell this when it first came out, but I will presume that it has aged beautifully. This is a lovely, sensual, fruity, cranberry-amber scent that agrees magnificently with my skin chemistry. It's got a nice amount of throw without being overwhelming, seems to last about 3-4 hours before I have to sniff my wrists up close.

In the bottle
It's almost like sour lemon candy in the bottle, I think owing to the verbena and frankincense. Like Lemonheads!

Wet on skin
It's still a very candy-like scent but not as much so. I can smell a little bit of rose, but the frankincense and verbena still dominate. It's not what I was expecting, but it is pretty. It's a happy scent.

Dry on skin after 30 minutes
Once this has a chance to sit for about ten minutes, a bit more rose peeks out, and the rose continues to peek out rather than come forward and say "Hello!". It's not a citrusy scent, but the verbena and frankincense continue to give this that lemon candy edge without being overly sweet or, well, citrusy. Sophisticated herbal lemonheads, if there were such a thing. I like it.

Thoughts
I thought this would be much more rose-forward, but it ended up being more verbena-forward. This is not a scent meant for seriousness! This is a lot of fun and a blind bottle I don't regret buying.

There's no honey, but I'm getting my rose/apple fix from The Fox Sisters. I haven't smelled Eve in quite a long time but at least on my skin, the Fox Sisters is both apple and rose dominant. The bourbon vanilla gives it a little sweetness. It's my favorite 2017 Yule aside from Blackcurrant Sufganiyot.

In the bottle

Something about this smells sharp. Not unpleasantly so, but a little sharp. I think it's the musk. In the bottle this is the hardest one of my 2018 Shungas to pinpoint as distinctly floral, resiny, musky, etc.

 

Wet on skin

The sharpness softens a bit and the fruitiness of the peach blossom comes out. Not purely floral, but just enough to soften the musk without getting rid of the musk altogether, because the musk here is really pretty.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

As this dries, the amber is more pronounced and the whole blend becomes creamier and more sophisticated. I know there is almond cream in this, but I don't detect it specifically. I think it's more of a tie-everything-together note because I definitely can pinpoint the peach blossom and the amber and the musk.

 

Thoughts

LOVE. Out of the four 2018 Shungas I tried, Cat Chasing Butterflies and Hojojutsu are tied for the very best. They are two very different blends, to my nose and skin chemistry, but equally beautiful. This is also one of my husband's favorites on me, which was surprising. This has really good throw for the first couple of hours, and then becomes more of a close-in wrist sniffer.

In the imp
Great. Christmas tree. :/

Wet on skin
Soapy Christmas tree. Awesome. Why? Out of all of the beautiful notes, why am I smelling soapy Christmas tree? This makes me a sad kitty.

Dry on skin after 30 minutes
See, NOW this smells like a melange of wild berries, violet, some forest plants, a bit of amber, and even a bit of something creamy. This is what I was waiting for. This is gorgeous. Even the slight remaining conifer note works here.

Final thoughts
This confuses me because in the imp, I hate it. But it's Elf! It's my character! It has so many glorious notes! So I'm really glad I gave this a try and let it dry. Once I was 15 minutes in, this was amazing. Now to wait for it to come back into stock.

 

Edited to add: Holy moly, try this with a little bit of Chaotic layered with it.

In the bottle

The first thing I get is slightly herbal lilac, with some blueberry in the background. This is a very "blue" and wet scent. Really pretty.

 

Wet on skin

When first applied to my skin, the florals are a lot stronger than anything else. The lilac still takes center stage, here, and a bright blue lilac is what comes to mind. It's tempered a little with something else so it's not a sweet lilac, but still very blue. This has really good throw while wet.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

Lilac is still the most prominent note, but the drydown is more complex and a bit softer. I can get a bit of the blueberry.

 

Thoughts

Definitely not what I was expecting! I thought this would be heavier on the blueberry, but my skin is amping up the lilac. It's still really pretty and I will be keeping the bottle. No regrets. I enjoy it.

It's happening. My much loved last bottle of The Hamptons is almost gone, and I need to find something similar. The original description is "the scent of a cosmopolitan cocktail" and it's very true. It's fruity, a little berry-toned, a little citrusy without getting too much so, and sparkly. I swear there is some pineapple in there somehow. Out of all of my blends it's one of the longest lasting and one of my most loved. Any thoughts?

In the bottle

A sweet cigar, peaches, and something boozy.

 

Wet on skin

This is so, so gorgeous. It isn't a sticky sweet peach, more like whiskey or bourbon mixed with some peach juice, and a cigar to finish things off.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

This gets more complex and more mellow as it dries down. Still boozy but not sharp at all, and the tobacco is sweet and warm, not ashy. The fruits are still there but the overall effect is kind of hazy.

 

Thoughts

My favorite of the 15th anniversary scents, by a mile. I just ordered a backup bottle in the nick of time. Definitely good if your skin amps tobacco and you enjoy it.

In the bottle

This smells like the color blue. At first sniff it's like a blueberry when it's not quite ripe and still really tart. Then once I give it a few seconds it's far more complex between the flowers, woods, and herbs. It's hard to pick anything out in particular but this smells like the color blue and it's really, really beautiful.

 

Wet on skin

The floral notes are more pronounced once this hits my skin, and some herbal notes come out as well. I don't get any juniper but I do get the vegetable notes of cucumber and some other greens, which work really beautifully with the flowers and woods. On my skin it has a lot of throw.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

Less tart, more mellow, still pretty good throw on my skin. This isn't wholly floral or herbal or woodsy, and the resins are also coming through. Still reminds me of a tart-not-sweet blueberry. Maybe because of the iris? I can also smell more of the lilac.

 

Thoughts

This is an interesting one. As I said before, it's very Blue. It's very dense. Like I'm a magical night fairy going camping in a forest nearby, and I brought wild blueberries to snack on and there's a hot spring to relax in nearby. Glad I decided to spring for a bottle of this. I can't be the only person who thinks of blueberries with this one, right?

In the bottle
Juicy, tart red currant with the almond blossom note to keep it from getting overly fruity. We're off to a really good start. The tea isn't obvious but it's there.

 

Wet on skin
This softens almost immediately and is less tart, but more lush. I can actually smell something a bit like rice, which is delightful mixed in with the currant and almond blossom. Again, the tea is there but it takes a back seat.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes
This morphs from fruity to subtly floral as it dries, and the tea note becomes more prominent. I can detect each note, but the sum of them is so much more than their parts.

 

Thoughts
This is stunning. Will be ordering another nottle. The throw is average, so it won't overpower but it won't fade into the background either. Definitely a win if you like currant and tea!

In the bottle

It's like orange juice, and marshmallows, but then there's pepper, and then something else? It's weird. And delightful.

 

Wet on skin

This gets more citrusy and alcoholic when it first goes onto my skin, like vodka and orange juice. When first applied to the skin, it's not as sweet as when it's in the bottle.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

Orange creamsicles, along with gin to keep it from getting sickly sweet. I can detect the black pepper, too, and it tickles the nostrils. This sweetens up a bit with the drydown.

 

Thoughts

I'm reviewing this well after buying it. This was one of those blends I knew I'd be into as soon as I read the description (both the story and the scent). The idea of putting black pepper, creamsicles, and gin into a shot glass doesn't seem it would taste great (I mean, I'd probably try it though), but this sure does smell great! I will order a backup bottle of this. One of my top 10, easily.

In the bottle

Darkly sweet, like fruity, boozy cough syrup but not gross. The kind of cough syrup you can't give to kids. Also, I like cough syrup, so...

 

Wet on skin

SUPER STRONG with lots of throw. Less fruity, but still dark and sweet. And the pomegranate comes right through, but in a sinister kind of way. There's a little evergreen/conifer in this, which I knew about when I read the description and bought the bottle, but I was hoping my skin wouldn't amp it up too much. Cautiously optimistic. Still slightly cough syrupy.

 

Dry on skin after 30 minutes

The Snake Oil is more pronounced the longer it sits on my skin, but the pomegranate tempers it to make it less spicy and more fruity. The coniferous note is either gone or masked by everything else, and this is turning fruity again, much to my delight. Pomegranate is still the most prominent fruit note but I also detect currant and something sparkly, which is probably the pomelo. Overall this is also a bit softer now, so if I were to wear it to work I would put it on as I did my makeup so that by the time I got to work, it wouldn't go "HELLO COWORKERS!"

 

Thoughts

An enjoyable blend! This is a boozy, grandma's-adult-cough-medicine-wink-wink type of pomegranate/currant concoction that played well with my skin chemistry. The strongest part of this lasted about four hours on me, but there were little remainders here and there for a while longer. I don't know that I need a backup bottle, but I will happily wear the bottle I bought. A little goes a long way so I expect this to last quite a while.

The Hamptons is a fizzy, fruity scent. It's crafted after a Cosmopolitan (one of my favorite girly drinks) and it induces happy feelings when I wear it.

In the bottle: Sharp musk and patchouli. This makes me nervous, because my skin tends to amp these up to the point where I can't smell anything else. However, this was a thoughtful gift from someone, and I'm determined to like this. We'll try it!

 

Wet on skin: Still musk and patchouli. Not as sharp, though.

 

Dry on skin: I'm glad I didn't wash this off, because while I still smell musk and patchouli, I also smell something floral peeking out. This softens a lot without being soft. If that makes any sense.

 

After an hour: Wow! This is a lot more complex than it was wet or in the bottle. Musk and patchouli are still strong, but so is the poppy and currant.

 

Overall: I don't think I would have bought my own bottle, but I'm very glad it was a gift. I will definitely wear it. It takes a while to morph into something I like, but the wait is worth it. I give it an 8/10.

I adore the "Hoarfrost" scent, which is only available through the Soap Box Co. unfortunately. Here's the scent description:

 

"Summer’s late berry harvest - raspberries, blueberries, currants and strawberries - bittersweet with vanilla and arrested by an icy touch of eucalyptus and peppermint."

 

So, berries, vanilla, eucalyptus and peppermint. Does anyone have BPAL suggestions? This scent smells like I could eat it in candy or ice cream.

In the bottle: This is supposed to be fruity-floral, but I'm getting more floral than fruity here. The notes here are really pretty, especially the cherry blossom and plum blossom.

 

Wet on skin: The cherry blossom dominates everything else to the point where it's sometimes all I can smell. If I try, I can also smell the plum blossom and the sake.

 

Dry on skin: The cherry blossom has softened, but it's still the dominant note.

 

Verdict: Well... Not the best scent from my last order, but overall I like it. I'm glad it's not as strong dry as it is wet.

In the bottle: Very, very green, but more of a sweet, soft green. I can smell the clover in this.

 

Wet on skin: Not much different from in the bottle. Very very STRONG on me!

 

Dry on skin: Still very strong, still very green! The clover is still the prominent note here.

 

Verdict: This was a huge gamble, because though I love the poem, I normally dislike green scents. The gamble proved to be a lucky one, because I really like this! My skin is amping up the clover, which is nice and sweet without being sickly.

In the bottle: Oof, I can't tell what the most dominant note here is! The smells like honey and flowers and is almost melony (!?). But in a good way.

 

Wet on skin: Much less floral now, and more vanilla and honey with a floral tinge. I can also detect some ginger if I concentrate.

 

Dry on skin: My skin is really amping up the honey and osmanthus, and the combination of the two is just lovely. It also has GREAT throw.

 

Verdict: This is going in my top 10! I washed the dishes and got my arms all wet, and I can still smell this very strongly on my wrists. This is definitely something to dab on, not slather, as it's very strong on me.

Aaah, one of my first true BPAL loves...

 

In the bottle - This smells like it could be an alcoholic drink, minus the alcoholic bite. I smell amaretto and plum. It's what I like to imagine a cocktail of amaretto and black currant vodka tastes like. It's incredible!

 

Wet on skin - Still edible. It smells like something I could lick off of my wrist. The amaretto and plum are both very strong, but they complement each other beautifully. They don't fight for the spotlight; they share it.

 

Dry on skin - The only real difference is that it's fainter dry than wet.

 

Verdict - LOVE LOVE LOVE this scent! It makes me feel powerful and sexy without the sadistic edge that Wanda gives me.

In the bottle - ROSE! I smell a sweet rose, tempered with something vaguely vanilla.

 

Wet on skin - More complex rose. The vanilla musk is more apparent, though.

 

Dry on skin - The rose is still the dominant note, but the vanilla musk is much more obvious, especially if I sniff my wrist up close. I also smell something else floral, but it's hidden in the background.

 

Verdict - I love this! It's definitely a rose scent, but it's sophisticated and smells close to edible once it's dry on the skin.

In the bottle: Oh wow, this is dark! Wine and musk with some fruity florals in the background.

 

Wet on skin: Still dark (yay!). The musk is noticeable but no so heavy that it overpowers whatever it accompanies. I can definitely smell the wine. There's a sweet, non-fruity quality to this as well, along with some fruitiness. Very complex.

 

Dry on skin: This doesn't morph a whole lot on drydown. However, it mellows out a bit; the musk isn't as heavy and everything is a little sweeter.

 

Verdict: This is a very "me" scent. Dark, sweet, and sexy (like I wish I were, haha). There's something powerful behind it.