Soupy Twist

American coffee with cinnamon in the bottle. Well, that’s already a disappointment, but pressing on. Cinnamon-heavy black coffee on application. Nutmeg and clove appear quickly. The black pepper makes an appearance as it dries, pushing out the coffee, but it’s American coffee so I don’t care. Finishes as a generic off-brand spice which turns my stomach, and I had to wash it off. Reviewing my notes, I see that the Lab's "black coffee" works on me but "coffee" doesn't. "Coffee absolute" disappears. "Fresh-brewed coffee" was fine on me in Cola di Mono, but here it didn't work at all. Alas, my quest must continue; no rest for me at this tavern.

A deliriously beautiful soft white floral, all honeysuckle and sweetness. Nothing artificial or cloying. Magnificent and sophisticated.

Peach, vanilla, and “baked goods” in the bottle and on application. Really delicious fresh peach when wet. The toasted cream and the vanilla notes start to come in as it dries, with the peach receding. The toasted cream is… okay. I really liked the peach better. The vanilla bean remains as an underlying sweetness, but the peach is gone in half an hour. I am devastated to learn that my skin disposes of the Lab’s peach the way it does citrus. A little more throw on this than the other two peach bottles. But I'm really heartbroken.

Something baked or bready in the bottle and on the wrist, but I can almost smell the peach cream being poured on as it settles on my skin. The peach advances as the baked note starts to recede slightly, but then they balance. The “peach cream” note is not as nice as the “pure peach” note from Peach and Sugared Orange Slices, and the bready/baked goods note, while I usually like it on its own, is not working well in tandem with the peach cream. The bready note does start to vanish as the whole thing dries. After about 15 minutes it does become the lovely pure peach note. After two hours I can just barely smell it if I put my wrist right up to my nose. *sob*

Peach and a bit of artificial orange in the bottle. Goes on as peach juice? with baby aspirin. As it dries, the actual peach note comes in. (Orange never lasts more than a handshake on my skin, so YMMV.) A little syrupy and heady, like peach nectar, which is where it finishes. Giddily sweet. I wish it had more throw, but it's gorgeous when I can smell it. And the whole thing is gone in under an hour.

Sherlock Holmes, definitely. I second Mad Hatter. I found Excolo to finish as a crisp masculine wood.

2007 version: Pine and moss in the bottle. Goes on as SPRUCE! woo that’ll clear your sinuses! Unfortunately this dries to a more sour pine with some other plant note — maybe the moss? the wet stage was much nicer. No florals or food.

Warm, toasty, yeasty bread in the bottle and on application. This stage is awesome! The cardamom starts to edge in as it dries, which is honestly not an improvement. It almost smells like the milk is starting to curdle. Eventually the sweet pleasant toasty note fades into a soggy bread, a lot like Bread Lumps. My skin amps cardamom so that’s still dusted on top. No anise, no almond.

ooh pretty! fresh clean blossom in the bottle. Goes on as something more grassy — is that the plum blossom? Gardenia comes in as it dries, but then it becomes more of a cream-influenced generic floral, not nearly as nice as the gardenia. No honeysuckle.

Dear Diary, Today I learned that on my skin, benzoin smells like lightning hit a plastic milk jug. This particular milk jug had orange-ginger salad dressing from my favorite Thai place in it, which was unfortunate because when the plastic caught on fire, it obliterated the salad dressing, which otherwise smelled really good. I am very sad to learn this fact. love and kisses, Soupy Twist

Sickeningly sweet fake foodie too much corn syrup honey. Off to swaps.

There’s a weird… spicy honey? in the bottle. The note disappears on application, replaced by a faint gardenia overlaid with waxy lily, but the florals are gone by the time it dries, and all that’s left is the strange dry-spice note. No vampire titty.

Lemon glaze poured over cake in the bottle and on application. The cake note quickly vanishes, leaving a dead ringer for Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat. No honey at all. (But I love LSSB, so that's not a complaint!)

Lovely minty menthol snow, which dries to sweet snow plus berries. Definitely another sister to Skadi and Almond Blossom. Throwing a bottle in my cart!

Goat’s milk tang in the bottle, which is surprising because I’ve never actually gotten goat’s milk from a BPAL blend. Goes on as the Lab’s lovely apple note, but the entire thing quickly vanishes for a minute. It returns as a woody, grassy note.