Akurarei

Xmvlzencab Soap This soap was very smooth and silky, just as advertised. I loved the sweet honeyed ginger scent, but was suprised on how faint the scent was - I think I expected a stronger ginger throw. Lovely soap that felt great on the skin, just not potent in the scent department for me.

I find that putting some BPAL on two fingertips (preferably index & thumb) then putting the BPAL in thin strands of my hair works best for both keeping the scent from reacting with my PH and allowing faint scents to stay stronger, longer. A beautiful scent locket from the Post works great too

Black Pearl In the Imp: Evil Coconuts On my Skin, Wet: Slightly boozy/musky coconuts I don't notice anything else in this stage. I don't know where the faint booziness is coming from, maybe the iris? On my Skin, Dry: Coconuts, a hint of sea water (I have no idea how Beth does it! but it's great!) and the musk makes a distinct appearance in this stage. Verdict: I will probably get a bottle in the next order or two. I really like this for a summery blend that isn't all florals all the time - it's soft without being powdery or too sutble. good work Labbies!

Enlightenment of the Courtesan Jigokudayu In the Bottle: sugary sweetness! On my Skin, Wet: Sugary Juicy Pears - plus something akin to Wisteria...I don't think Wisteria is a note in this! On my Skin, Dry: Sweet Pears & Soft florals; gentle whiffs of carnation Verdict: A soft, lovely spring scent. It does make my nose itch just a little bit ETA: This is a definite scent locket blend! I think my skin amps something that makes my nose itch, haha!

BIWA In the Bottle: Definitely gives an orange impression On my Skin, Wet: TANGERINE! Very pungent & juicy tangerine! On my Skin, Dry: Tangerine, honey & the whiff of marigolds. the tangerine has calmed down, but is nicely tempered by the honey & marigold. Verdict: This is a great citrus blend! I'm glad that there is honey in this blend or the tangerine might have been too overpowering. This smells like a spring garden where the gardener wanted only to have orange flowers and citrus trees - there is a honeybee hive nearby, and I can smell the sweetness of the honey they are making. very evocative of spring!

In the Bottle: Red Florals On my Skin, Wet: A brief burst of peach, then it dries to a recognizable magnolia note. On my Skin, Dry: The magnolia fades, then it just becomes a generic floral blend. Verdict: I was hoping for a predominently peach scent. The florals are not overpowering, but not what I was looking for from this blend.

In the Bottle: Coconut & Anise - strange but pleasant combo. On my Skin, Wet: Suntan lotion coconut.... (ETA 4.14.2011 - suntan lotion phase is mostly gone, now it's the same as the 'in the bottle' phase) then a strong anise emerges....and lingers between suntan lotion coconut & a strong anise. On my Skin, Dry: Soft, toasted coconut and a whiff of anise. I get a very mild buttery note too, maybe the hazelnut? Verdict: I expected to love this one, but I don't. It's unusual, and I do like the toasted coconut that I get, but the wet anise stage borders on being too much for a while. I'll let this one sit for a few days and revisit....maybe I'll get a different result after the scent has 'settled'

Shunga TEA smells like a cross between a green & black tea to me, but the part that I love is the sweet honey with a touch of lemon to it! Tea lovers, you should not pass up Shunga's TEA. (I am buying multiples )

This is a honeyed lemon sugar tea on me - absolutely gorgeous & backup bottle worthy!

Bon Vivant not sure if I've ever reviewed this one before - if this is a double, my apologies! In the Frimp: Sharp Fizziness with a sweet sugary undertone On my Skin, Wet: Sharp clear musk - no fizz, no sugar On my Skin, Dry: Clear musk with a touch of sweet red fruit. It does not smell like strawberries to me, just a sort of generic red candy. Verdict: While it's not a morpher, it's quite interesting as it dries down and settles on the skin. it does have a festive feel to it but there's no occassion associated with it. I like the fact that it's a mellow, little-throw musk with some sweetness. if I smelled this at random, I would never think 'champagne' - maybe soda water with a drizzle of red fruity flavor. not for me, but the frimp will get used up when I want a subtle musk.

Congratulations! I don't know what your tastes are, but I don't think wedding days can go wrong with a clean / woodsy scent. (seductive scents are for later that night ) I debated wearing Szepasszony, Tempest, The Dormouse, The Raven, Peony Moon, Titania, and Snow Moon for the ceremony & reception. Ended up wearing Peony Moon & now everytime I wear it, the wedding day seems like it just happened Hope that helps a little bit - and you could always just wear what feels right that day, too

Stormclouds Over The Midway I really thought I had reviewed this one already! In the Bottle: Purple smoke & an underlying clean note. On my Skin, Wet: The smoke amps and becomes more like incense, I get the slight plum note here. Ozone makes a subtle appearance but fades quickly in this stage. I get some woody lemon too. On my Skin, Dry: Plumy incense and lemon woods Verdict: not my usual fare, but this is really smooth & I love plum & wood notes...the lemon actuallly enhances the woods for me here. very nice blend, and conveys the spooky image well too

Red Lace In the Bottle: Deep, smoldering scent - I detect red musk & some little bits of vanilla On my Skin, Wet: RED MUSK, some sweet vanilla & a bright, cheerful patchouli On my Skin, Dry: Red musk, vanilla that has dried out & is no longer sweet. The patchouli has faded somewhat and turned a little dirty & moody. I can pick out a very small amount of the cotton note. it's adding a soft element to this scent. Verdict: a very nice Valentine scent indeed! I think this will age wonderfully, but I am on the fence about getting a backup (the dirty patchouli is my one concern) Perhaps letting it sit a few weeks will be helpful in making that decision

Herr Drosselmeyer 2010 In the Bottle: stale mint - yep. on my Skin, Wet: STALE MINT! AMPED! this stage is pretty gross IMO, but there seem to be hints of something else under the icky mint. which is a weird surprise, BTW. On my Skin, Dry: mint has fallen by the wayside. I now get the leather & woods & pipe smoke. not familiar enough with BPAL's linen note to ID it here. Verdict: I really dislike the wet phase - stale mint = gross BUT the dry phase is interesting and encapsulates the toymaker very nicely. I finally get leathers that play nice on my skin, so this is a nice, dark version of leather....if I can hold my breath past the stale mint part. interesting morphology!

LOL - this truly smells like gingerbread out of the oven! smooth lather, gently scented skin after use. very nice soap - I can see why people like the BPAL version of this scent so much!

It does smell like cookies! I don't get any cranberry, but I do get the two chocolates & shortbread. very festive & foody.

The Phoenix in Winter In the Bottle: snow & musk something tart lingering underneath On my Skin, Wet: musky snow and tart dark red cherries On my Skin, Dry: ditto from wet phase Verdict: pretty! a little heavy on the surprise musk, but I love the snow & cherry combo! Happy Anniversary BPAL!

The Soldier In the Bottle: lots of red musk and something sweet in the background On my Skin, Wet: Pie (some kind of buttery sweetness, no nuts or discernable fruit/veggie) a faint hint of leather & LOTS of red musk On my Skin, Dry: still lots of red musk, and honestly, I can't tell the difference between The Soldier & Mme. Moriarty from Carnaval Diabolique at all. Verdict: interesting wet phase, but dissappointed that the dry down is so similar to another BPAL out there. ETA(3.29.2011) OK, this is nothing like the previous review now. I get the black pepper note, no pie crust, and a heck of a lot more leather now. This is what I imagined Spanked would smell like! this is now it's own blend and not a Mme. Moriarty dupe anymore! Yay!

Woods in Winter In the Bottle: Cedar and some kind of lemon note. also eminates 'cold' impression. On my Skin, Wet: yep - there's definitely some Cedar in this, according to my nose. Still getting a lemon note, with a slight waxy quality to it somehow. I'm liking the cold impression - like frozen pine needles or something green that has been encased in ice. On my Skin, Dry: lemon note dissipates somewhat - much less of that waxy quality too. still cold, encased greenery with a nice balance of Cedar and Evergreen notes. some snowy notes are trying to make an appearance, but they're definitely in the background. Probably won't overcome the trees though. Verdict: I love the Lab's imagery of this scent from the description. I was taken by surprise by the lemon/waxy note. Luckily those notes aren't the dominant notes and don't last very long. The encased greenery is beautiful, and does a great job of capturing the feeling of iced over trees. Beautiful - and a more masculine version of Archangel Winter, IMO.

A Cold, Clear Winter Day In the Bottle: Cold - it smells just like 40F degree weather! it doesn't so much have a scent as gives an impression. On my Skin, Wet: Cold, but with some minty undertones. It's reminiscent of Nuclear Winter without the herbs. very simple blend right now. On my Skin, Dry: Cold but dissipating the same way it does once you are back inside a warm house. so there's that cold feeling, but it starts to fall away as you stand inside. I don't get any florals out of this blend. the minty undertones also dissipate in the dry phase. Verdict: an atmospheric blend, gives a great impression of a very cold day! the minty undertones are not overpowering, and imbue a clean tone to the scent. I did not ever get florals from this blend, which I was kinda hoping for but I really like how simple and impressionistic this blend is of a winter day.

HECATE - Lab Frimp Review In the Imp: pungent & sharp - I can't say that I like it, but I'll do a skin test to be sure. On my Skin, Wet: more sharpness & bitter impression. ALMOND IS THAT YOU? *checks notes* yep, almond On my Skin, Dry: the sharpness has dissipated but i'm starting to smell myrrh now. myrrh has not been my friend lately, but seems to be taking away the almond sharpness and not going all weird either. Verdict: not for me. the sharpness eventually goes away, which I am thankful for, and the myrrh doesn't turn into whatever weird scent it has been doing for me lately. after about 15 minutes I go get a buttery note, which is a surprise! despite all the odds against this perfume, it actually evens out into a nice earthy scent, but it just isn't my style.

In the Bottle: VANILLA BUTTERCREAM ICING! On my Skin, Wet: very delectable vanilla buttercream icing - seriously good. On my Skin, Dry: still icing, but drier. vanilla is definitely a prominent note, and it is still surprisingly sugary sweet. I don't get any pine notes from this, which I am totally ok with since the vanilla buttercream icing is so out of this world awesome! Verdict: getting backups! I am completely blow away by this one, I LOVE IT! 10 of 10 ranking! eta - spelling fail!

my bottle of Whoop smells very strongly of pine, cold and spices. then it disappears for the most part, only to leave traces of pie crust.

White tea and violet leaf. The Unsteady Governess In the Bottle: TEA!!! and something green. in the bottle this smells quite similar to Holiday Moon On my Skin, Wet: a blast of white tea, then it smells just like Holiday Moon for about 30 seconds. as it settles, there is a very potent green vegetation note. It smells like a very strong type of grass that used to be found in the stables when I was a kid. alfalfa maybe? after another minute or so the green-ness dissipates. nothing about this seems to have any violet notes to it for me...not sure if that's a good thing or not at this point. On my Skin, Dry: A mixture of strong tea - which no longer seems white, but maybe a mixture of green & white. definitely some green-ness still lingering but not as overwhelmingly strong. still no violet tones emerging. Verdict: it's a great tea scent - the only other scent that comes close to the level of tea notes is Holiday Moon, but the overall vibe to The Unsteady Governess is more unsettling. I'm a little dissappointed that the green note goes ballistic for a little while, but it's not really a detriment overall. I'm on the fence about whether or not violet's absence bothers me or not. The only scent that I really remember having a potent violet note was NUMB, and that one gave me a screeching, pounding headache instantly. Overall, this scent is greater than the sum of it's parts. it's a weird mixture of freshness, femininity, and menace. despite the luke-warm breakdown above I do like this scent quite a bit. it's the evil twin to Holiday Moon in some regards. so it's nice to alternate between 'good' tea and 'bad' tea Thanks Labbies! 8 of 10 Ranking!

In the bottle: fresh cut grass On my Skin, Wet: BANANAS!? WTF? it bursts with bananas, mangos, & something coconut like On my Skin, Dry: still somewaht smoothie-like but the amber is coming out more now, and the green 'grass' smell is also coming out but definitely is slowly turning into fresh leaves Verdict: very weird opening on my skin - the drydown is pretty but also fairly sutble. 4 of 10 Ranking!