Soupy Twist

2010 version. An almost painful, hyper-realistic juniper tree single note. I wish I was getting some of the Lab's snow! I can't quite decide if I like this.

Well, now I know: The Lab's "caramelized" or French Tobacco note does not work with me. Smoke and chewy tobacco in the bottle. Goes on as smoke and snow. The smoke briefly overpowers everything, but then dries to burned tobacco. The burned note dissipates as the snow returns, leaving a blend of snow and deep caramelized or already smoked tobacco. I already have like five bottles with the Lab's snow note, and the deep tobacco is not my thing. I love the high sweet tobacco of Sherlock Holmes, but this ain't it. Very sad, because I was so looking forward to this. If you are into the heavy, chewy tobacco or French Tobacco in any way, this is your jam.

A clean, soapy grass in the bottle, which is intriguing — kind of like some of the less-exotic Lupers. Goes on as the same clean green bamboo-like note, which continues as it dries, but then the ozone edge comes in and eventually blots out the grass. A perfect execution of the concept; not something I'd wear. If I could get just the "potions" part I'd love it for spring.

Very hard to pin down. Lemon cleaning product in the bottle? with mint? Goes on as a crème de menthe note which rounds into a cozy vanilla, although there's definitely an alcohol note in there somewhere. This quickly becomes a lemon drop, but that only lasts another few seconds. Once it dries, it cycles between lemon Lysol and mint toothpaste. Not for me. I have Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat for the lemon drop note.

Gingered Chocolate Soufflé turned into pure gin on me. It's like a mirror of 21. I happen to love 21 so that's not a hardship, but there was no ginger or chocolate in it on my skin.

There's a thread for Non-BPAL companies where you can also ask for suggestions, Other Perfumes You Love.

I found Jack to be a nice nutmeg/clove combination and never got any pumpkin. Bengal is a cidery spice with honey. Alice's Evidence is prune juice and cider, which is much nicer than it sounds. Pumpkin #5 from the 2007 Weenies is pumpkin, bourbon vanilla, coffee, and ginger. Pumpkin Latte (I tried 2010 and 11 Weenies) are heavy on the spice and light on the pumpkin and coffee.

Spicy dry orange peel in the bottle and on application. The dried fig note comes in shortly, although it's reasonably fresh for a "dried" fig. This continues into a fig note with potpourri and orange peel, becoming more artificial and Tang-like as it dries. I'm sort of shocked at how long the orange is lasting on my skin, though; BPAL citrus tends to vaporize on me. The Tang eventually turns to soap.

Apple Jolly Rancher in the bottle. Goes on as caramel and candy apple, drying to an artificial (and not particularly pleasant) caramel and apple. I'm sort of relieved because the name squicks me out, and I'd hate to fall in love with something I don't want to discuss.

A floral grass in the bottle and on application, which turns more aquatic as it dries. This is lovely! Great for spring.

If you really love the scent, you can try it in a locket. I have to wear Lick It Again and Inferno in a locket to save my skin. (Oddly, I don't have to wear any of the other Lick It series in a locket, and I've tried all but one.)

Many people have skin issues with cinnamon and peppermint, but those cause burning and welts rather than hives. What was your reaction?

2007 decant. If you ever sniffed the Lab's lovely combination of hyper-realistic pine and sweet berries which make up scents like Skadi and Almond Blossom and then thought "Alas, if only this had a layer of cedar pencil shavings!" then this is the blend for you.

The Lab's lovely brûlée note and fresh apple juice in the bottle, but only the apple juice on application. This fades on the drydown and the brûlée comes back, until it's a dead ringer for Sugar Skull. No cookie notes at all. If I didn't have Sugar Skull I'd be snapping up a bottle of this, but I'm not getting any apple, caramel (which is not the same as crystallized burnt sugar), or cookie.

2016 version: All I get is the gin note from Twenty-One, maybe sweetened with the berry note from Skadi or Almond Blossom. I love Twenty-One — it's one of my all-time favorites — but I already have a bottle, plus last year's Gingered Chocolate Soufflé oddly reduces to just the gin note from Twenty-One on my skin and I have a bottle of that too, so I won't need this. But lovely to try.

Cherry cordial in the bottle and on application. mmmmmm cherry cordial After a few minutes the cherry recedes and the berry note comes forward. Then it's more like a triple-berry ice cream, or a black cherry ice cream with some berry sauce on top. And after a few more minutes, my skin starts doing the vanilla-plastic thing. Not as bad as French Vanilla; this is more like a "Strawberry Shortcake doll" kind of scented plastic. Why must my nose fall in love with notes my skin hates?

holy crap. I tried this fresh out of the mailbox and I was hoping it would settle a bit but I was very wrong. Sour marigold in the bottle. Goes on as an eye-watering sour "deadhead" kind of marigold scent. Turned my stomach; had to wash it off immediately. Off to someone who will appreciate it more!

Seconding Sherlock Holmes. A beautiful high tobacco note.

Meh. dried apricots. I don't even get the bite of booze. Pass.

This is just gorgeous. Sweet apple juice (other posters above are right; it's a honeycrisp) in the bottle and on application. It's a very light and floral honey, almost perfumy but in a good way. It's definitely not a beeswax kind of right-out-of-the-comb honey (I like the Lab's beeswax note, but this is not it). The apple juice and floral honey notes cycle with each other as it dries down. The mix is wonderful. A perfect "warm September day" scent. Six or seven hours later, this is still a rich but not cloying floral honey, with lots of staying power. I can't stop huffing my arm. holy cats. ETA I had put on a jacket about half an hour after applying it, and two days later the jacket is still faintly scented. So glad I managed to snag a bottle.

A generic, vaguely pretty floral, kind of reminiscent of TAL's White Light. Absolutely not marigold in any way, shape, or form. And it's gone in 45 minutes.

Candy cane in the bottle, not too sharp. Burns immediately on application, although it reduces after a moment. I see why this is "Discreetly"; it's a subdued candy cane. The sugar drops away as it dries, leaving a too-strong single note of peppermint oil. Never any vanilla at all in this one. The entire thing is nearly gone after half an hour, with just a little burn as a reminder.

Just cucumber. That's it. Almost too much. No tea (not a surprise) or mint (which is). I might death-match this with Squirting Cucumber, although I think that's DC too now. Fades quickly.

An uncomfortably strange blend for me. Cocoa and nuts in the bottle — I have high hopes. Goes on as cocoa and pine, which soon start to battle for dominance. It becomes... a sweet pine? It's weird. It starts to turn "perfumy," and not in a good way. I like all the notes in this, but wow, did it not work for me. The "touches" overwhelmed whatever else was supposed to be in it, and those two notes don't play well together on my skin.

This is just "Tag at the Tobacconist's" on me. Heavy tobacco leaves in the bottle and on application, like the French Tobacco single note (which I did not care for). That's pretty much it. A little smoke, a two-second juicy currant note, but primarily heavy, monotone tobacco leaves. Maybe I just amp tobacco, or this particular tobacco formulation, to the exclusion of everything else. Thank the gods above and below for decanters.