steffanina

The Music of Erich Zahn-

In Bottle: That bone-dry, cruel scent of vetiver.

Wet: Yup, vetiver. I like vetiver plain to sniff, and I like vetiver in many blends on me, but I'm not sure if this will be a good blend on me.

Dry: This remains that really, really dry vetiver and there's a bit of cloying something here, resin-like. It might be the musk. The cloy of it puts me off.

Overall: Not for me.

Port-au-prince-

In Bottle: Almond. Totally Jergens cherry-almond lotion scent.

Wet: Sweet almond, still that Jergens thing going on. --And the clove starts to show itself a bit.

Dry: The clove remains subtle, even though it becomes the dominant note--I can see this as a really yummy fall scent! I'm not getting any rum from it but that's okay, this is still a nice foodie scent. --And the very end of this seems to reinforce a buttered almond smell. So nice!

Overall: Very nice! I could love this one!

Monster Bait: BiggerCritters-

In Bottle: A sweet fruity rich smell, but also a little rotting-meat, plastic-diaper smell underneath. Is that the jasmine, is that what gives me that impression so often? Oh dear, if that's so. Odd that I haven't figured that out before this, in trying nearly five hundred scents.

Wet: Oh, that is much nicer initially on--something foody and sweet, and that rotting-meat whiff seems to be not nearly so prominent. Let's see how this dries down.

Dry: It dries down to something that can't be denied is a little rot-whiff jasmine; if I hadn't bought a 5ml of this unsniffed, I'd probably be saying, "Eh, not for me." But I want to like this, darn it, so I'll keep sniffing at my wrists and see if I like it as we go further. --I'm not sure I do. I'll have to try it again and see if it grows on me. Some of these "maybe" scents, or scents I wish I liked, do grow on me, like Smut and Snake Oil.

Overall: Not sure. Will try again.

Villain-

In Bottle: Spicy. OH. This is a much more delicious take on lavender than I am used to! I wonder if it'll hold up on my skin?

Wet: Just a little bit powdery, and definitely masculine and spicy but without the "insect repellent" smell of men's cologne. Oh, my. There's a very wicked man in leather gloves menacing me, I can smell it in this scent.

Dry: Oh, geez, this will be one of those highly specialized scents, as in, not something I'll wear often, but I really will have to keep this around because, god, i would love to be consensually molested by this scent, I really would. The spice and the powder--I'm not sure I can separate the citrus (lime) in this but it's there, and this is easily my favorite lavender blend of BPAL to date.

Overall: Specialized but I love.

Pink Phoenix-

In Bottle: Sweeeeet juicy cherry-strawberry musk. Smells like a sweet young thing in heat!

Wet: Same thing on my skin, highly strawberry-fruity with underlying musk.

Dry: Yummy! This stays very much the same from bottle to dry-down, and the whole impression I get is sweet, yummy, and a scent I very much like to wear on my skin, it isn't just about candy and fruit (though I like candy and fruit lots).

Overall: I love!

Stardust (2005)-

In Bottle: Whoa, I really do smell hair spray. That ozone-smoke smell. I happen to like hair spray, but I wonder what it will smell like on my skin.

Wet: Amazingly hairspray-ish. There's flowers to promote that scent, underneath.

Dry: What an interesting dry-down--it dries down to a perfumey, hot flower scent that seems like it would appeal to those who like traditional spicy perfumes. I do like it; I don't think it's one of my favorites but I can see I how I wouldn't want to do without this one in my collection. It could get addictive.

Overall: I do like.

Anathema-

In Bottle: Something floral and heavy, like a humid day. There's a hint of cherry-almond like Jergens lotion.

Wet: So very HEAVY. Hard to explain! Floral, yes. Rich, yes.

Dry: I like this in the same way that I like Black Lily--because it is floral but it is creamy and heavy and does not go sour in the way a lot of florals do. I think I like this one!

Overall: Not bad!

Glitter 2006-

In Bottle: Fruit-scented champagne. Almost like sangria!

Wet: Bubblegum and champagne. Remarkably sweet and delicious!

Dry: This is so sweet and lovely. It smells just like the way I'd want a fun-filled evening to smell.

Overall: I love.

The Bow and Crown of Conquest-

In Bottle: Hello, I am a sharp masculine cologne that is reminiscent of insect repellent.

Wet: Not nearly so obtrusive once it's on, kind of spicy.

Dry: Well, I'm not so fond of this one, but I can see where it would smell interesting on a man. Not a bad scent but I don't care for it myself.

Overall: Not for me.

Nemesis-

In Bottle: Resinous and spicy, hard to pin down!

Wet: A little cedar, continued spice; this is interesting!

Dry: It fades down to something sour-floral spicy, not very obtrusive, but not all that fascinating for me.

Overall: Interesting but not for me.

Eclipse-

In Bottle: Almond is the most obvious, and the vanilla tempers it nicely. The cinnamon is hinted at too.

Wet: Deliciously foodie, like almond-vanilla soap.

Dry: Fast fader, too bad; it fades to something soapy and vanilla, a little baby-powderish. Pleasant, but I wish the almond lasted longer.

Overall: Pleasant but a fast fader.

The Death of Sardanapal-

In Bottle: Cinnamon and wine, really cloying, yipe.

Wet: Still cloying like cinnamon and wine.

Dry: This is very resinous-incensey and it's just too cloying for me to be able to enjoy it. Too bad!

Overall: Not for me.

King Cobra-

In Bottle: Resinous and spicy.

Wet: Wood and resin, the scent of Snake Oil is only hinted at beneath it. Sweetly resinous.

Dry: It's sweet and almost fruity, this spicy-resinous smell! Very nice and has a great dry-down. Not floral but sweet and fruity-foody.

Overall: I like!

Habu-

In Bottle: Sharp and eye-opening, the insect-repellant smell I dislike in many men's colognes.

Wet: Much fruitier and juicier on! The insect repellant smell is not present at all.

Dry: Wow, what a difference from the bottle! This dries down to a floral-fruity-spicy version of Snake Oil, which I find I even prefer to the original Snake Oil. I didn't think I was going to like this one, but I do!

Overall: I like!

Green Tree Viper-

In Bottle: Mm, minty. At first soft and vanilla minty but after sniffing longer the mint is icier.

Wet: Helllooo tea tree oil. Minty and creamy.

Dry: This one doesn't last all that long on me! Pity, because it's lovely while it is there. I might have to see how it compares with the duration for Snowblind, since that's in such limited quantity. It'd be nice to have something less rare to compensate.

Overall: Lovely but doesn't last long.

Death Adder-

In Bottle: Ooh, dry and bitter like a desert. And I mean that in a good way.

Wet: The coconut and the vetiver complement each other beautifully! That tiny hint of sweet-and-dry.

Dry: I LOVE this. Dry and coconut-yummy and so very, very interesting. A little masculine but I'd much rather wear it on myself than smell it on a guy. What a beautiful blend of dry-and-sweet.

Overall: I love.

Cottonmouth-

In Bottle: Floral, a little citrusy.

Wet: Very bright floral with some citrus.

Dry: This is not a bad scent at all, but I am not as excited about florals to be in love with it. But it's nice for being a floral! I think it's the Snake Oil that does make it feel like that.

Overall: Nice. Not as exciting for me personally.

Coral Snake-

In Bottle: Wow, the apple is huge! In the bottle it's the nicest apple scent I've smelled.

Wet: Apple, and something flowery, and something candy-like. Candied apple with flowers!

Dry: This is beautiful, fruit-flowery without ever becoming sour floral on me. Rich and spicy with apple dominating.

Overall: I love.

Boomslang-

In Bottle: Spicy and musky, as close to the original Snake Oil as I can imagine.

Wet: The chocolate blooms quickly, quite nice! It's overwhelming any other scent, this chocolate.

Dry: The chocolate recedes; I find that what remains smells simply like Snake Oil. Not that that's bad, but after that first chocolaty smell the novelty is over. Again, not a tragedy, as one's left with pleasant Snake Oil.

Overall: Nice, like Snake Oil.

Banded Sea Snake-

In Bottle: Herbal-sweet. And there is some rich creaminess in there too; it smells a lot like Dorian!

Wet: Whoa, it's that same sugary tea smell of Dorian! I mean, it seems almost identical. Fortunately I adore Dorian.

Dry: I can't get over how much this smells like a rich version of Dorian, with the underlying creaminess beneath the light sugared tea smell. I could eat this up.

Overall: I love.

Australian Copperhead-

In Bottle: Ooh, a huge delicious berry scent on this.

Wet: Berry, flowers, and something almost mentholated.

Dry: I hardly smell Snake Oil at all in this! This is just remarkable--the dry-down is all rich berries, and I wouldn't even know there's Snake Oil here; it's like a canvas, where there's this gorgeous picture and you can't see any white in it, except that you had to start with a bare white canvas to get this gorgeous picture. That's the richness of the Snake Oil making it a rich scent.

Overall: Remarkable!

Asp Viper-

In Bottle: Mmm, almond sweetness, and richness underneath.

Wet: Strong almond.

Dry: The almond sweetness recedes and leaves around the cleanness of new Snake Oil, but that's no bad thing. The impression I get is of sweet Snake Oil upon the depths of the dry down. I really like this blend.

Overall: Delicious!

Mandrake-

In Bottle: Wood-and-chocolate. Cedar-ish.

Wet: Less cedar-ish once it's on, but still woody. Still a pencil-shaving smell, and something like Play-Doh.

Dry: Cedar wood is still the dominant note. Not my favorite, as it reminds me of hamster cages.

Overall: Not for me.

Bilquis-

In Bottle: Honey and almond, right away!

Wet: Honeyed almond and wood and something floral.

Dry: I love the complexity of this scent. It's impossible to classify, except as something rich and sweet.

Overall: I like!

Hell's Belle-

In Bottle: Mm, something floral-sweet like honeysuckle. That must be the magnolia.

Wet: Spicy, with the florals underlying.

Dry: Hmm, after a while it's just unremarkably floral, quite warm, but not really anything that works for me.

Overall: Not for me, though a nice scent in its own right.