yewberry

Pure apple shampoo. A little inky-ness in the dry down (really does remind me of the tinny smell of spilled ball point pen ink).

Sharp pine and...awapuhi?

In the decant: cucumber sandalwood. I'm intrigued. Wet: the same immediate blast of cucumber sandalwood...but then the florals creep in. Dry: florals overpowering the sandalwood and the green cuke. It's all flowers now. Very pretty, but very not me. Off to the swap box with you!

BPAL's dirt mixed with leather, something sweet and grainy, and a sharp herbal note in the background that's definitely not hops. I knows me some Styrian Goldings, and I can't smell a solitary whiff. The dry-down smells like my Grandpa Teddy's hair tonic. He never carried an axe.

Honey rose anise. Freaking YUMMY. I should try a honey rose glaze on my Pan de Muertos...

Nice tonka and tamarind. A little amber and patchouli in the dry-down. Reminds me of Chicken-Legged Hut without the nuttiness.

Of course I'd fall hopelessly in love with a rare. Nymphes de Pave smells like my very favorite candy, Abbaye de Flavigny Rose Pastilles. Sweet and foody, but also pretty and floral. The scent description is, as far as I can tell, completely accurate.

Pretty like Rakshasa, but without the plastic patchouli! Wheee!!

What is this? Strange, sharp, herbal, almost bitter...with the hint of nutty/grainy/maple. It reminds me a touch of eating a maple doughnut and candied pecans while showering with a bar of Irish Spring. The oddest damned thing!

Oh, I'm falling in love with this scent. It took a few tries, but especially in the dry down (when it lingers on and on...I love scents with staying power). There's definitely a tiny bit of vetiver in there. I think that's the electricity scarring mentioned in the description. But it's tempered nicely with the ozone, cypress, and blood notes. In the end it reminds me of a kinder, gentler Agnes Nutter.

It must be the musk and honey, but it smells a lot to me like a sweeter, less resinous Bien Loin d'Ici. Really pretty and sexy. I'll wear this a lot when I'm fancied-up.

This Charming Man. A very attractive men's cologne. I can kinda tell he's not really into me, though.

This one's so very my cuppa. It feels almost like the masculine twin of Bien Loin d'Ici. There's clove and patchouli at first, but they faded quickly on me. The vetiver is indeed martial as others have mentioned, which is matched sniff-for-sniff with the sharp pepper note. The champaca is the grace and beauty in this one, though. Keeps drifting in and out, sometimes obvious, and sometimes nearly undetectable. A strange, morphing enigma of a fragrance. Fascinating...

Looks like my experience with this fragrance is a little unusual. I don't find it intense at all, but warm and surprisingly fresh. Leather at the front, pine winding its way throughout. A little warm spice and patchouli in supporting roles. Ah, and there's the copal in the dry-down. The oakmoss really ties it all together, melding it into one unique whole. Overall a gorgeous, surprisingly airy, unisex-tipping-toward-masculine scent on me. So glad I bought a bottle!

Gorgeous. Bright, fruity pear at first, drying down to warm honey/beeswax and creamy vanilla. Very much like Ichabod Crane, only fruitier and sweeter. Definitely bottle-worthy for me!

Had high hopes for this one, but right out of the vial I could tell it wouldn't work with my skin chemistry. I can't really pick out any of the individual notes once it's on, and after five minutes it smells exactly like a fresh squirt of Aqua Net. Off you go to swaps...

Pretty. Really, really pretty. And (thankfully) not in a floral way. Something (the oakmoss, I'm thinking) is giving it a warm, slightly musky foundation that keeps it from drifting off into space. I'm pleasantly reminded of Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden...except warmer, more grounded, and generally more grown-up. This is a fragrance for Beltane, and I look forward to wearing it on the first sunny day of spring.

I'm finding this one endlessly intriguing. Definitely getting the sharp cumin note (reminds me a bit of Dracul), but it calms down a while after application. Warm, muted patchouli is hot on its heals. I think some of this muting is the result of the honey/beeswax note that adds roundness. And finally the cardamom comes out with its typical Pepsi-like fruitiness. The overall result is mysterious and masculine. I'm not sure I'll wear it much, but it's so unusual and beautiful I'll definitely hang on to it...

Have I never reviewed The Coiled Serpent? Well, then it's high time: Strangely ethereal cedar (normally delightfully sour and grounding...is it sandalwood that's making it float?). Patchouli (decidedly earthbound). And something almost flowery. I adore this fragrance. I need to wear it more often. Definitely helps get things moving in the old brainpan.

Deliciously well-blended. My first whiff brought one word to mind: classy. This is an elegant evening fragrance with just a touch of the exotic. I don't see myself having occasion to wear it much (none of the above adjectives describe me), but I gotta give this one props for its genuine, lasting beauty.

On me? This is Lightning with a warm, delicious honey dry-down. Very pretty and surprisingly nice on me (pretty and I don't usually get along).

Tutti-fruiti in the bottle, to the extent my husband cried "Whoa, FRUIT" from three feet away. Sadly, like most of BPAL's apple, this one turns sour on me. The honeyed layers really are rich, deep, and gorgeous, though.

Rootbeer and men's cologne. Would have preferred more of the former, markedly less of the latter. Sadly, this one's a bust with my skin chemistry...

As others have mentioned, it's a bit like Blue Fire, except more juniper and citrus on me.

Bland, amberish men's soap on me. Bleh. I would have loved the sweetgrass.