herkissofshame

Of the sea. Bergamot and French lavender. Am I really the first? Ooh! When I sniffed this straight out of the bottle, it hit me over the head with BIG BOLD SMELLY LAVENDER. This ain't no twinkly fae TKO lavender, this is LAVENDER, medicinal and swarthy. I was just a little scared. I'm a lavender lover, but this smelled like Somnus-style take-no-prisoners lavender. I put some on and prayed for a skin transformation, or, if I may put on my Shakespeare hat, a sea-change. And what a sea-change it was. Within moments, the OMFGLAVENDER began to back down, and in its place rose a slowly blooming citrus scent. You know that sweet, immediate scent you get when someone near you peels back the skin of an orange? It's that scent, slow to show at first but once it takes root, it becomes an airy and crystalline blend, fresh and breezy. Pontia is never sweet, so those looking for a sugary lavender blend might want to look elsewhere, but it's not bitter thanks to the presence of that juicy bergamot. It reminds me a little of Yvaine, but where Yvaine was a cold, twinkling lavender, this is a warm one, bringing visions of walking in the late afternoon sunshine on a small-town beach in France. Its delight left quickly, nay it was gone completely in a matter of three hours, so I'd advise slathering. It's simple, gorgeous, and evocative.

The first time I sniffed this, my confused brain went "Rose? Violets?" And after wearing it for a while, I'm still getting both flowers, but it's like they've been laced in the softest cream with almond flakes. It's foody to me but with floral accents. And it's STRONG! And long-lasting! I have to be in the mood for this, but I'm in the mood for it now, and boy, it smells divine. Expensive, even. I can see this being a couture fragrance quite easily; it's quirky and has a lot going for it for both floral fans and foody fans.

There are only a few scents in the BPAL roster that register as "INSTANT FAIL" with my skin chemistry. Unfortunately, Sarah is one of them. While Sarah smells innocuous enough in the bottle (sweet, vaguely woody and atmospheric), on my skin? "OZOOOOOONE. OZOOOONE. HI HI HI I'M OZONE OZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE." ...and unfortunately, that's all she wrote.

XLVI Okay, so I wound up with two WONDERFUL Chaos theories. This Snake Oil variant is like all the things I love most about Crowley and Bow and Crown of Conquest rolled up into one. I can't quite tell what's in it, other than a burst of low-key citrus in the beginning and a LOT of leather... but it's mild, sweet, mellow, and OMG so much sex. Lovely. Just lovely.

IV I feel like I've won the lottery with both my Chaos scents. This, my friends, is the perfect lemon tea. Not a hot tea - no, this is a tea to drink on a hot summer's day on a wraparound porch. It's fresh and sugary, cool, refreshing, with a dab of honey to sweeten it. It's everything I wanted Dorian to be, and so much more. I'm still in shock. This is the lightest, most refreshing version of O I could have imagined.

SADNESS. This smells great in the bottle - all complex plumnutmegcream goodness. I slather it on and bask for a nice while... and then bam! Plum takes over completely. This isn't the first time this has happened to me (plum amps like crazy on my skin) but unfortunately, it makes any perfume with plum a bit of a generic single-note. Sigh. I'm going to try this one in a scent locket and then if that doesn't work put it up for swaps.

I have no idea how I feel about this blend. That's not a bad thing! I bought this blend for the cream and the leather, and instead, all I get is... ripe berries and paper bag! I should have known that I amp berries like crazy (oh my god, do I *ever*), but who knew that I amped paper bag?! That dry, dusty scent comes across SO CLEARLY on my skin; it's like someone dropped fresh berries into a paper bag and I'm inhaling deep. I get no leather. No cream. No cognac. But... while this isn't what I wanted to get from Miller Vs. California, what I *do* get is nice. I've worn it about three times in the past week, which is a LOT of repeats for me. It's a low-key sexy scent, calm enough that it's work appropriate, but versatile in both hot and cold weather. I think that this is just an example of wonky skin chemistry though, so your mileage may vary on that. Again! I have no idea. But it sure is nice. <3 Edited: Aaaand I finally found the cognac! About three hours after application, I got a rich, creamy cognac that made me faint with delight. Now if only the berries-n'-bag scent would combine with the cognac-sex scent! Mayhaps some aging, with this one...

Frau Holle is a delicate little fairy of a winter scent. It smells cold, certainly, but it's also welcoming. I feel like I'm being hugged by a friendly goddess when I'm wearing this scent! She starts out very mild and sweet in the bottle. I get the pine, but like others have said, it's very sweet. Almost vanilla-laced. She stays very true to vanilla-laced most of the day, reminding me of a kinder, sweeter Dublin... ...and then goes to pure soap. To the scent locket with this one! It's worth it, though, Frau Holle is delicate and gorgeous before she turns soapy. Try this one if you wanted to give Dublin a whirl. They're really quite similar after drydown to my nose.

I had high hopes for this one! I loved the concept behind the oil and I really wanted a nice, snowy, berry oil to really mark the holiday for me. Alas, I wasn't to get it here! Wet: Citrus-y and fresh. Mint, cedar, with some ozone and a tinge of cold berries. 15 minutes in: Whoa. Not at ALL what I expected. The cedar's very cold, which is lovely, but mint! I hardly knew thee! The mint's gone, as is the "cold" sensation. Right now, I've got musk and citrus ruling this fragrance with an iron fist. 1 hour in: Sadness. My chemistry hates me! This is an extremely generic perfume-y smell on me. No cedar. No balsam fir. No berries. No mint. Just a well-blended, cologne smell that's strangely masculine. I blame the ozone! It is mine enemy over the years. Oh well, I'll always have 'On Darkness'!

I was sooo excited about SGA, because a) I love apples, I love the story it accompanies. Sadly, the oil just doesn't work on me. It smells GLORIOUS in the bottle, but about five minutes after I put it on, all trace of apples has disappeared on my skin, leaving me with pretty, cold white flowers. If the apples stuck around, then I might like it more, but unfortunately I'm just left with a fairly generic perfume. HOWEVER... I'm pretty sure it's gone to a loving home, so all's well that ends well!

Awesome, I haven't tried either of those. I like lemon, so I think I'm good for both. Thank you!

I'm dealing with an emotional fallout from a sexual assault. I just want something warm and comforting. Not necessarily happy so much as something that'll make me feel loved and safe. "Jacob's Ladder" used to do that for me but I've used up my bottle. Do you guys have any recommendations? They don't necessarily have to smell like Jacob's Ladder. I'm writing down "White Light" and a few of the Panacea. Thanks you guys.

I'm beginning to really hate my skin chemistry with pumpkin. In The Bottle: Cocoa and pumpkin, very much like pumpkin pie with dark chocolate chips throughout. TOTALLY YUM. Wet On Skin: The chocolate's going away a little, and turning to hazelnut... wait, chocolate, come back! Come back! Dry: ....and all that's left is this super-concentrated sugary spice smell. It's nice, but totally not what I was going for. *sigh* I'm going to put this in my hair and hope the chocolate sticks around. Why couldn't I get pumpkin brownies?!!

I'm very sad about this one. It smelled WONDERFUL in the bottle - thick, rich, dark chocolate - but when I put it on my skin, it morphed very quickly into this floral, powdery chocolate. Don't get me wrong - it still smells lovely - but I was hoping for more of a straight up chocolate. I'm going to try it again before I call it quits. Le sigh! It's WONDERFUL in the bottle, at any rate!