missnix

Hmm. I may need to let this settle more and re-test in a few days, because right now this smells a lot like Liz from the Hellboy line to me. Like, I wish I still had my bottle to compare because it's that similar. It's smoky, feminine vanilla florals, lacking the leather I suppose (I dislike the Lab's leather note though, so that's a win as far as I'm concerned). It's beautiful, just threw me off when I recognized it and then had to spend an hour thinking about why. Maybe I'm going crazy, or maybe my bottle was mislabeled. Who knows!

So, if you had asked me if I would like to smell like the raspberry filling in a doughnut, I probably would have looked at you strangely and replied "No?" Well, joke's on me, because it turns out that apparently I do love smelling like the raspberry filling of a doughnut Raspberry Sufganiyot is an uncannily perfect recreation of that scent. It's sweet, tart, jammy, and completely crave-inducing. I might seriously be getting myself a raspberry-filled doughnut to eat for lunch today. So far, I really haven't detected a yeasty or bread like note - it's been all about the raspberry filling, which is fine by me. Where I applied this to my wrists, it got a little bit plasticky, but in the crooks of my arms (which tend to stay warmer and also rub off a bit on my sleeves) it has avoided that and stayed a true delicious raspberry scent. This has made me curious to try the Strawberry Sufganiyot blend from last year, but I suspect I will still prefer the Raspberry version because the tartness in it is such a wonderful contrast to the sweetness overload. Also, I have never had a strawberry-filled doughnut, while raspberry-filled ones are quite common in my area bakeries, so this year's blend is that much more evocative for me.

Foodie blends, especially cake, can often be too rich for my tastes and upset my stomach. The cardamom is actually a great counter-balance for me in My Little Grotesque; it's spicy, a tad dry, and really helps reel back in the sweet cake note. The cake is still very much present - and I am continually amazed by how realistic the lab's cake note is - it's moist, sweet, and definitely a yellow cake as others have noted. This blend has made me realize that cardamom is one of (if not the) trademark note that I associate with the smell of chai tea. So, to me at least, this basically smells like a glorious chai-spiced cake

I'm not too familiar with the Lab's red wine note, but in general like the smell of actual red wine and I'm still mourning that Haus of Gloi discontinued their Glogg scent, which was basically red wine + mulling spices. So when I remembered that the Liliths were coming down, I put in a last-minute order for a few bottles, including this one, and I'm so glad I did! Lilith and Sekhmet opens as a wonderfully fruity red wine. And it doesn't really change that much as time goes on. The fruity opening blast does fade, and the sweet, warm amber note asserts itself more, but it is definitely all about the red wine from start to finish. And that's ok because it smells so good! The amber also helps make it smell just a touch "perfumey" (in the best way) so that you don't simply smell like you spilled red wine all over yourself. Very glad to have this, and will place it next to what remains of my cherished bottle of Glogg

Miss Lizzie is gorgeous, and my unexpected favorite of the NYCC scents I have tried so far A sweet, creamy, and spicy carnation-forward blend. I actually can't really pick out the honey and red fruits all that well, I think they are just adding to the overall creamy sweetness. And even though it's not listed, I swear there is a soft tobacco note grounding everything together. To me, this really does evoke the concept; a playful, alluring sweet scent over a tobacco-like base that calls to mind refined Western saloons and boarding houses.

Another enlightened tobacco-fiend here! I think it was actually TF's Tobacco Vanille that first made me realize I -love- the smell of Tobacco (leaves) and that it smells nothing like cigarette smoke, which I dislike and my husband absolutely despises (his mother has gone through at least a pack a day for as long as he can remember, so he has especially bad memory associations with the scent and has flat out told me that if I ever took up smoking he would leave me ) so the fact that he doesn't think my tobacco perfumes smell like cigarette smoke is all the proof I will ever need. How did I miss Brown Thrasher? That sounds lovely! I will have to hunt down a decant or bottle of that. My favorite BPAL tobacco scents are definitely Eastern Comma (juicy orange and french tobacco, omg), Dead Leaves & Tobacco (lovely and autumnal, a more unisex scent), and the SN French Tobacco which is admittedly hard to get a hold of. I liked Mrs. Bunce, but on me at least she was more musk than tobacco. Conversely, I swear Miss Lizzie has a soft heart note of tobacco even though tobacco is not listed in the notes. It's also a drop-dead gorgeous carnation, if that's your thing!

In the bottle and on my skin, it's a blast of tart, fruity (sort of artificial) sweetness that was driving me crazy because it reminded me of something. And then it came to me; Candy Phoenix smells exactly like Red Vines (an off-brand US red licorice candy)! I actually love eating Red Vines, but don't necessarily want to smell like them.

A lot of BPALers seem to love this scent, so I scooped up a decant when I got the chance. Fortunately, given how sought-after and expensive The Girl can be, I don't really care for her at all! On me, it was sharp and vaguely masculine. It immediately called to mind an unfortunate scent memory; my mom and me would occasionally receive (and both despise) cheap bath / spa type gift baskets for Christmas from well-meaning friends or family members. We both have sensitive skin (excema, adult acne, nickel allergies, etc) and more often than not, these gifts would have something in them that would set our skin off. An especially egregious example that sticks out in my mind was a lavender-themed suite of products that gave us both especially bad rashes. I was not really fond of the smell of lavender before that episode, and it absolutely cemented my enduring dislike. For some reason, even though lavender is not listed, The Girl smells almost exactly like that lavender shower gel that caused me so much misery. I'm sure on others it can be a gorgeous scent, but I am not one of those people.

I bought a bottle of the '09 version from the Lab's Etsy site and it has become my all-time favorite BPAL apple blend (and I make a point to try to collect and try all their apple blends). As much as I love the scent of apple, it often seems to dominate blends to the point that it's all I end up smelling, and my brain translates that to "apple shampoo". But not this one. This is complex and glorious; it's actually more about the spices (that don't make my skin burn!) and the creaminess from the milk (that doesn't go rancid on me like straight "cream" notes sometimes do!) with mashed baked apple in a strong supporting role. To me, it smells exactly like the homemade applesauce my mom used to make in a little saucepan on the stove; heavy on the nutmeg and clove, with a tiny dollop of butter and a splash of half and half, yet it's not too rich or gourmand to be nauseating.

I'm not really sure why I ordered this; patchouli, incense and honey are always iffy for me. However - this works and is beautiful! First of all, I don't really get honey at all - it's definitely, as advertised, a slightly sweet beeswax. It doesn't turn powdery or "off" like honey sometimes does. The incense is pale and beautiful, lending a suggestion of smoke and perfume that makes this blend really cozy to my nose. I don't get much patchouli, and am fairly unfamiliar with ambergris, but I assume they are playing supporting parts. All in all, this is a sophisticated and well-blended scent; slightly sweet, dry, cozy, and warm!

Right out of the gate, this is in-your-face spicy/sweet pumpkin on me! No overt butter note, which is good news for me. It's so spicy and sweet in fact, that there's an aspect of it that almost reminds me of candies like red hots / cinnamon imperials / hot tamales. Usually I'm sensitive to the lab's cinnamon or cassia note and will get red welts when I apply a blend that contains them, but so far with this my skin is fine! Phew. As times goes on, the pumpkin fades a bit and this becomes more about the sugar and spices. It's quite strong and wonderfully evocative of the season, glad I scored a bottle! ETA: The longer this wears, the more it reminds me of Moroccan Pumpkin Patch, which is probably my all-time favorite BPAL pumpkin scent!!

I recently re-tested this while considering selling it. I'm so glad I did, because it has aged beautifully and behaves much better on my skin now. Stekk is amazing (even my husband agrees, and that is pretty rare). The perfumed quality that others have noted was tugging at my brain for the longest time before I placed where I had smelled it before; Liz! This is like a sweet, snuggly version of her; she's shed her smoky leather jacket and is getting cozy in bed - all that's left is her fading vanilla perfume and a faintly musky skin scent. Once made, the association is so strong for me (and I prefer this softer variation) that I may now actually consider selling my bottle of Liz instead! We shall see

I'm not particularly a gourmand fan, but this scent is amazing. I'm wary of butter notes (they make me nauseous) but there's none to be found here. It starts off smelling like a bearclaw from Panera - slivered almonds, icing, pastry, and that wonderful little layer of cinnamon filling. There's also sweet, juicy cherries nearby, though they fade away quickly. As time goes on, this becomes more and more about the cinnamon. I can't really pick out the pecans, which is a shame because I love eating them, but I realize I don't necessarily have a clear bead on what they actually smell like, so that may be why I can't find them. This is a beautiful scent; sweet, a little spicy, and so cozy. I'm glad I ordered a bottle, it will be getting much use during the colder months! Edit: Updating to add that as the day goes on, I'm noticing more caramel, that earlier I simply wrote off as "sweetness". It's becoming a darker and richer sweetness as times passes <3

Damn, this is gorgeous! I never got to try the original, so can't compare, but this has definitely shot up into my top 10 BPAL scents. It's very fruity, but in a rich and complex way, not sugary and shallow. Red musk is not a favorite of mine, but here it's subdued and difficult for me to detect, honestly. This actually reminds me of another perfume I sampled recently, but I can't think of what it was (maybe the new, nothing-like-the-original Black Opium?). It reminds me of the term "fruit-chouli" that gets thrown around, usually with negative connotations, but this is so lovely. It's sweet, but not too sweet; dark but not difficult to wear. It's also strong and seems to have good lasting power; I've gotten compliments all day from co-workers, which tells me that I definitely don't need to apply as much as I am used to (I don't actually like my perfume to be detectable by others, especially when I'm in the office). I'm debating if I need a backup bottle, and I've only ever bought a single other backup before, so you know it's good!

I can't believe I've never tried this before, it is awesome!! I have an aversion to rose, and I think I may have made the (incorrect) assumption that all scents with Alice in the name include a rose of some variety. First applied, I get a wave of wonderful, spicy carnations. I -love- carnations, easily one of my favorite floral notes. There's also a juicy, fruity aspect that I guessed was either cherries or pomegranates before checking the notes. I'm guessing it's the wine I'm smelling and my nose was translating it into "red fruits". Anyway, it's a luscious and sweet wine note. Sometimes wine can be over-powering on me, not so in this case. The sweet boozy-ness does remind me a bit of Sugar Skull. I can't really pick out the treacle or amber, but I'm sure they're playing their part. I was worried when other reviews mentioned "cake" because I despise buttery / baked notes almost without exception. Luckily, there's no cake to be found here for me, phew!! As time goes on, it loses some of its juicy and boozy qualities and becomes a dry, spicy scent on me. Very lovely and I think I'll have to pick up a bottle.

I was looking forward to this scent, but on my skin the vanilla, cinnamon, and orange blossom never appear... It opens with a sharp, strong blast of something that smells almost camphorous (bug spray) to me. That dissipates quickly and then it's a lot of tobacco and a bit of myrrh. I like tobacco, but not as the focal point of a scent - I generally like it paired with something lighter and sweet, like vanilla or the delicious orange in Eastern Comma. Sadly, I may have to put my bottle of this up for swap or sale. Three different tests yielded the same results each time. I wish I amped cinnamon and vanilla!!

This has been my surprise favorite of the two Metas I ordered (the other being Question Mark). It starts with a very sweet, juicy orange that has impressive longevity for a citrus note. The tobacco blossoms shortly afterwards, and I sometimes have a problem with tobacco being too heavy / dark for me, but this is just lovely. It complements the orange nicely. I can't pick out the hay distinctly, but there's a definite soft, warm, and fuzzy aspect to this that is probably courtesy of that. No dusty or dirty smell that I feared might be part of a hay note. I'm not a synaesthetic, but some BPAL blends have an obvious color in my mind, and this is definitely a vivid, ripe orange / fuzzy dark brown. I love this scent quite a lot

I'm glad I read the reviews of this before trying Avenger out, because they're all dead on. In the bottle, Avenger smells interesting and beautiful. It's almost like a ploy to lure you into a false sense of security, because the instant you apply her; watch out. The florals were all I could smell at first; angry, piercing notes that have that sour/stinky sweet smell I associate with bad jasmine. But if you can outlast her temper tantrum, Avenger is eventually subdued back into a semblance of that beautiful smell from the bottle; warm, spicy, woodsy vanilla. Given how many good perfumes there are (from start to finish) I didn't previously believe that anyone should put up with a horrible wet stage for the sake of a gorgeous drydown. Well, Avenger has converted me because she is so worth the wait.

I've been realizing I like vanilla in a lot of my perfumes, so I blind ordered a bottle of this. Unfortunately, it started out with a big kick of nauseating butter (I am not a fan of butter notes in perfume). Thankfully the butter dissipated fairly quickly, but what was left behind was an overly sweet, creamy vanilla that my stomach and nose were not fans of. In the drydown, the cream note became more and more pronounced - and also plasticky. I wonder if something in here is also in Snow White, because by the end the synthetic plastic smell strongly reminded me of how Snow White fails on my skin.