Nepthys

This has one of the greatest arcs from imp to dry-down of any BPAL I've tried - right next to Hecate. My first sniff left me very disappointed, because the description was so tantalizing - it was an off-putting astringent blend of the geranium and what I would swear was orange. But I tried it and holy cow, it dried down to a subtle warmth of patchouli, myrrh and musk that is very sexy. It reminds me of a more sophisticated version of my old junior high perfume, Bonne Bell's Skin. That might sound awful, but this is really very nice.

I almost ordered this based on the name - my favorite Plath poem is "The Moon and the Yew Tree" - but the notes didn't appeal. What a fool I was! I got this as a frimp and what a surprise it is. I really, really like this. Luckily my experience has differed from the other reviews - there's no astringency here. This goes on and stays on as a lovely pale green chilliness, a refreshing whiff of snow and pine trees on one of those perfect winter days that is just cold enough to make you feel alive. It's actually the most holiday-ish of everything in my Yule order, and I'm really enjoying the illusion of a walk in the winter woods, since I'm actually in a sunny desert. Gorgeous scent.

On me this smells straight-up like Kali. Which is one of my BPAL favorites, so I don't mind, but I was hoping for a little differentiation... and after a few minutes it comes in the form of rose. Rose always likes to dominate on me and while I don't care for rose, here it's likeable. For a while it stays as a boozy leather and rose, with that whole drinking in a bar skin-warmth, and then it suddenly turns unexpectedly sophisticated as the wine emerges. I like all of the stages, but the final stage is the prettiest and most womanly - at that point, Kali seems much more complex and a little dirty (in a good way) where this seems more like Kali's respectable mother. I think this is a good scent to enable people to BPAL, because it's quite beautiful but not too out there.

My chemistry first ruined this, then locked it down and kept it strong through 2 washings. It smelled lovely in the bottle - on me there was a ghost of an aquatic note, and then a roaring fruity rose came through and blotted everything else out. This wound up being quite stiff and old-fashioned and strong on me - and horror of horrors, a colleague actually walked into my office an hour after I tested just one drop, and waved her hand as if to wave the scent away. I was mortified. Oh well.

An immediate new BPAL love. After being half-hearted about so many famed cinnamon scents on here like Eclipse and Three Witches, Bengal truly rocked my world. The honey and cinnamon come through the strongest, but the ginger is audible enough to amp up the heat and save it from being too sweet. Oddly I got an aquatic note for the first minute before it dried down into glorious, blazing fiery spice. This is sexy, exotic and zestful, and probably one of the most perfect scents for me I've ever had the pleasure of trying.

Last year's reviews described this as smelling like a snickerdoodle; to me that is one of the best scents on earth, so I was hoping this year would be similar. In fact this smells exactly like sugar-coated rumballs - boozy, sweet and heavy, the kind of treat that tastes like heaven but leaves you feeling glutted and sick 10 minutes later. I like it but it's definitely a cozy cold-weather scent; in warm weather this would be way too cloying and heavy. This is more of a snuggly oil for cold mornings.

I want to love this. At first whiff it did smell like cheesecake with a syrupy note. But then it morphed into an old candy scent that is exactly - I mean, with unerring and chilling accuracy - the scent of my favorite video store, a dusty old shop stacked to the ceiling with ancient videotapes and candy. It's a scent that's always struck me as a little musty and creepy, like Miss Havisham's video shop, so I've had a hard time striking that association from this scent. I did discover that if I layer this with Gingerbread, it smells more authentically like a warm kitchen of freshly baked goodies so I may just not wear it alone.

How I've lived without this for so long is a mystery. It is so good. The "dry woods" in the description put me off, suggesting Cathedral or some other woody scent that just didn't work, but this is perfect: cinnamon and nutmeg on top with just a hint of tree bark and flowers. Divine. It goes on with the perfect mix of sweetness and dryness and then warms up and gets even better. An immediate big bottle on my next order.

I don't get any beer in this at all - or any sleaze. This is a childhood smell of dandelions and hot sun.... later a heavy rose (????) comes out and casts an old-lady pall over the original brightness, and somehow the combination is just very weird and disturbing. I wound up washing it off, not because the scent itself was unbearable, but because it was somehow emotionally upsetting.

Color me disappointed. The 2004 DDLM has been one of my top 3 BPAL scents and it somehow didn't occur to me that the 2005 version could be terribly different. On me at least, this is. That festival candy-sweetness is gone and dominating in its place is that dry cactus note that comes out in Santa Muerte and 13. When I first sniffed it and put it on, I couldn't even recognize it as a cousin of the old DDLM. But as it dried down, it did take on the old scent - albeit quite a bit drier and more subtle. This is the wry & quiet ghost of last year's louder, more insouciant blend. While I do like it, I'm not smitten as with last year's.

I'm so glad we were given such a long window to order the Halloween LE's, because now that I've tried this and fallen in love, I need another bottle. This is bewitchingly gorgeous. I don't get the boozy note others have; instead this comes out of the bottle smelling like cinnamon fried cake and then dries down to add an autumn night/burning leaf smell. Oh, it is so beautiful. If I was a billionaire, I'd order it for everyone. Funny, while Samhain reminds me of autumn itself, this is a much more Halloweenish scent.

Mmmm. I really like this and never even noticed it in the catalogue. It was a frimp and a very nice one at that. On me the violet comes right out - and I like violet so I was pleased. Then it turned powdery and began to smell like a mix of lavender baby powder and bubble bath. That might sound sickeningly girly, but it was actually very enjoyable, perhaps because the sandalwood gave it a little depth and saved it from being too over the top feminine. This makes me think of angora sweaters, pearls, soft and girly things. Quite nice.

I've worn this every day since I got it, because it's just stunningly beautiful. Unfortunately allergies have impaired my sense of smell, so I got used to it before I could really experience the full impact of it... That said, on me this begins as a wet, tart apple with a quieter note of pear, almost bitter; then a sugar-floral sweetens it up and then gradually, a deeper wine scent warms and finalizes it as the very best autumn scent ever. To die for. Holy Grail of nostalgic fall utopia scents. However, and I don't think this is my nose being wonky, the potency of this really varies. Some days just a dab is more than enough, other days multiple dabs fade into the woodwork. I accidentally doused myself in this one night and left scent trails that had people commenting, "Something smells beautiful..."

I'm afraid this doesn't work for me. First off it smells like regular Snake Oil laced heavily with dragon's blood, of all things - then as it dries down, the coconut comes through, and finally the plum. A more exotic spicy note comes through after about twenty minutes, but it doesn't save it; that heavy dragon's blood scent overrides it and weighs this down. I can see where other people would love this but somehow on me it's musty and heavy.

This is a very pretty scent, light and not candy-sweet, though it is sweet. On me it was just a vanilla-peach with maybe a jot of amber; eventually it gained a little more gravitas through a woody note, which must have been the sandalwood, though it didn't exactly smell like it. It's a bit too girly for me; also, I'm still haunted by a bad night of peach schnapps at 14 that makes any peach scent a bit dicey for me. But that's not Tamora's fault and overall it's a lovely scent.

On me this was straight dragon's blood. Eventually it dried down to emit a hint of a fusty sweetness and it ended up being kind of old-ladyish on me. I'll stick to using it for candle dressings from now on, as the Lab has too many other love scents I prefer.

On me this is very close to Lush's Karma - not a dead ringer, but a sibling. The orange and neroli are quite strong and attractive in an odd, unconventionally way, but it's a sharp enough scent that I prefer the vaguer throw to sniffing it directly - then it's a bit too much. I'll use my imp but I don't think this is a big bottle for me.

This is lovely, but definitely more suited for the oil burner than my skin. This is the scent of a rich shadowy bedroom, complete with canopy bed and antique furniture, in an old mansion; luxurious and stately and very classic. And that's how it smells on me for about 20 minutes, before the rose hijacks everything but the sandalwood, and turns this into a rose-dominated Cathedral. Rose and I don't get along, so I'll pass on this.

At first sniff, this reminded me of a cross between Vice and Fresh's Chocolate-Orange shea butter - but better. The tangerine definitely works with the chocolate, better than other fruits I think, and for a while this smells as buoyant as a holiday, the tartness of the citrus offsetting the sweetness of the chocolate. Then something odd happens. What I could swear is a dry cactus note comes out. This begins to smell distinctly like Santa Muerte. what could cause that? I can't tell. I just know that the lovely chocolate-tangerine recedes under the dryness and that sage/cactus note holds sway for a good half hour. At last the chocolate-citrus returns, along with a muted floral, and this changes yet again into a very complex scent that is such an odd blend of sweetness, tartness and dryness that I could never begin to break it down. It's very pretty but I do prefer the wet scent to the dry.

Oh, I am so in love with this. I don't get all the complex mutations that other reviewers have gotten - this goes on me like sweet almond milk and coconut, with some fresh green sharpening the edges. Then slowly the honey creeps out with what I think is the fig. No sandalwood, though. It stays as that persistent warm green almond milk/coconut, and it has great throw as well. Very aptly named - this is the lush green scent of an innocent paradise. Definitely a big bottle.

The good: I agree that the jasmine in this is tolerable - for jasmine. Peitho is a light, feminine scent that's a breezy floral. I totally get the Love's Baby Soft association and it's a nice one. This isn't a top 10 for me but it's definitely pleasant. Now the bad: I really don't care for jasmine and am disappointed that it (once again) trumped all these other tantalizing notes. What does warm musk and bourbon vanilla smell like? I'll never know. That damned jasmine drowns it all out.

I don't have much to add that other reviewers haven't noted - this is a clean, green soapy scent and I love to wear it in hot weather. I like just-showered scents and this is a great one - in addition to doing exactly as it promises.

Hmmm, not too sure about this one. Straight up it smells like wet tulips, grass and earth. But gradually some less pleasant floral, something a little more old-ladyish, comes out and takes the overall effect from a joyful outdoor garden scent to the smell of a rather fussy, old-fashioned perfume. It definitely smells better off my skin than on it, so I may use this as more of a house/car scent.

This was a freebie and I had no idea what notes were in it, so I tried to guess. I was only half-right; I thought it was pear and some kind of wood, maybe rosewood. I don't get the champagne note at all, though now that I know it's there, I do smell the plumeria at the edges. But on the whole this is a bright pear scent, a very summer day type of perfume. I'll use my imp but it's probably not a big bottle scent for me.

This is quite nice but regrettably none of the amber showed up on me. Instead it came off as an aquatic citris scent, and reminded me of a fresh breeze after a rainfall on a muggy summer day. This is a great scent to perk up with in hot weather .