widdershins

This is the 2010 version.

I am in love with BPAL's rose blends! Peacock Queen smells like a rose that has bloomed and been open for a while. It smells much deeper and velvety than Rose Red. There is a touch of pollen or spice at the very center of it that adds to the maturity of the rose. This is a perfume I will wear when I put on red lipstick and a little black dress with gloves. Very sophisticated and classy. You would find these roses drooping on the plant or in a vase of water, the petals heavy and lush, and slightly dry around the edges.

In the imp it is fresh and slightly soapy. It makes me think of freshly scrubbed skin that is lightly perfumed from using a special expensive soap.

On my skin the soapy aspect gets stronger into this almost detergent like feel. Nevertheless, it is delicious smelling detergent. One of those spring floral laundry soaps.

After it is dried, about 2 hours later, finally the peony, roses, and greenery peek out, close to the skin. That freshness is still lurking.

This blend surprised me at how clean/soapy it is....but I like it!

As other reviewers have stated, Eclipse starts off as an in your face pure almond extract. I almost washed it off before it got to the drydown because my head started to pound. I am so glad I didn't! In about five minutes the almond recedes and becomes softer, and vanilla cinnamon warms up the blend. It smells like a cozy bakery. Quite nice on a cold snowy day.

ETA: I didn't experience any cinnamon burning my skin and my skin is quite sensitive. I lucked out!

In the bottle and the wet stages for Pink Phoenix are identical to me. It's this overwhelmingly sweet plastic vanilla note. Like little pink plastic Barbie shoes. I started to slather this on my wrists and neck because I assumed it would have a light throw. WRONG. In a few minutes I radiated it. Thankfully after it dried it became a sweet soft skin musk. I quite like it for those childlike carefree days.

Very light and flowery in the imp. I slathered it all over because it's very subtle. I can smell a very pollen-y flower, I'm assuming its the osmanthus, and it does smell very similar to honeysuckle. The honey lends a beeswax note to my skin chemistry. Overall, it's very subtle, a refreshingly floral summer scent.

This is what the sea would smell like on The Little Mermaid movie. Colorful frothy water with strands of sea greenery. I'm not usually one for aquatics, but this is fantastic and breezy.

This is exactly what it advertises to be. Charcoal and ash, but dampened. It reminds me of a match put out in a glass of water. Smoky and ashy and wet. I don't really get anything like a palm from it, but it does smell like exotic ash.

Alright, I'm going to preface this review with a little quirk I have. To me, some flowers smell "meaty" like gardenias and honeysuckle. I don't really know how to describe it, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. They're just very cloying to my nose.

This is how Marae is. A hothouse filled with big, meaty, cloying flowers. The vanilla orchid and gardenia come out instantly, while the monoi tiare is in the background, smoothing things out. Very full-bodied and it reminds me of a lush tropical greenhouse.

Oh this is so refreshing and clean after all of the Bar scents I tested. Sweet, tangy jungle grasses. If I was a horse I would be after mouthfulls of these Boo Bam grasses. The hibiscus is steamy on top of all of the green. Mmmm I can almost smell the saltiness of the ocean.

Hrmmm. Similar to Rangoon Riptide to my sniffer. At least in the bottle.

On my skin, it smells like a butterscotch lifesaver with *spark*. I'm glad I let it dry before passing final judgment, because it becomes warm and spicy and comforting. I like it, but not enough for an entire bottle. I guess I'm not a warm and spicy kind o' gal.

In a word, Te Po= effervescent.

In the bottle, I was freaked out because it had a very strong boozy smell. On the skin it calms down immediately. I'm reminded of 7-up with a ginger-lime-cherry twist. The almond gives it some warmth--I think it would be very chilly without it. My mom loves this one!

I was wary to try this-- I think I thought the rum would turn it into a sticky sweet mess like it had in Rangoon Riptide. Fear not! It is gorgeous. Me need bottle!

Zesty, bubbly, gingery, and fresh lime burst out immediately on my skin. The apricot makes it juicy and curvy in all the right places. It's warm and bubbly cool at the same time. It is the most refreshing thing I have ever worn.

This smells like the thick syrupy glaze section of a pineapple upside down cake. I'm not a really big foodie, so I'm not too into this. It is definitely buttery and smooth...sort of like a butterscotch lifesaver with pineapple. On my skin, the pineapple peaks out a little more, but not enough to make me happy.

I wonder what it says about me that I love all my fruits smelling boozy?

Golden Wave is all juicy and I really want a sip right out of the bottle. The tangerine smells very strong in my decant, but when I put it on it melds with the passion fruit and guava deliciously. There is a decidedly liquor note I have to attribute to the gin and tonic. I want to slather myself with this and wear a sundress and big fresh flowers in my hair.

Very fruity, but not in-your-face. Maybe it's the power of suggestion, but the blueberries smell "fire-y" because of the gin. It does stay very dry-smelling. The blueberries and lemongrass come out the most strongly on my skin. Delicious!

In the bottle, Tiki Queen is lush, dripping florals.

On my skin it turns into me eating Sweet Tarts in Hawaii. The beautiful tropical flowers blend together with the sugary (I'm thinking it's the vanilla). It's very pretty, but I don't know if I need a bottle or not.

Tiki King!

Oh. my. I got my full set of decants today, so here I sit, eating fresh pineapple and sniffing Tiki King.

In the bottle it is suntan lotion and something spa-like. I can picture a darkly tanned man in a crisp linen suit with no shoes wearing this. It's gorgeous black coconut with a hint of lemon blossom. The black musk makes it complex and steamy.

I must have a bottle!

I can only wear neutral nail polishes to work (no fun at all!) and Maiden is perfect. It's a very sheer pale pink. One coat will be very glossy and see-through, and several will be slightly more opaque. I'm going to have to pick up another bottle of this soon.

In the imp, it's red shiny apples, dripping with dew.

On my skin, it's darker, a dark red, almost black apple. Dangerous. The opium and something wicked swirls beneath the apple. I can see why Snow White took a bite.

Hanami is the first BPAL I've tried that is "perfumey". It's not a bad thing, just surprising! It's a really beautiful, delicate and clean floral. I love wisteria and sakura, so this is the perfect springy scent. It's true to the bottle--doesn't morph or change like some of the trickier blends. I wear it when I'm feeling sunny and uncomplicated. The throw is really decent, too. I got whiffs of pink blossoms throughout the whole day. Very pretty.

In the bottle: Strange and sharp. It makes my mouth feel dry like I've eaten a green banana. I think it's the combination of the nicotiana and Fool's parsley. I don't know if I will like this.

On the skin: Still sharp herbally green. Blaaah. But I'm going to let it dry to see if it changes.

Later: Beautiful! This is a morpher. First the white rose comes out with the huckleberry, fruity and sweet and floral. I love it. Later the tangerine is present, rounding out the whole scent.

Final thoughts: I really really love April Fool when it dries down and morphs into the sweeter, rosier version.

Parlement of Foules didn't really impress me when I was reading the descriptions of the Lupercalia blends this year, but a generous forumite put a frimp of it in a package I swapped with her--and I fell in love . It's the perfect blend of sweet white roses and smoky resins. I love me some of Beth's resiny notes.

This is one of the few blends that doesn't really morph on me from bottle to skin. Occasionally a bit more of the rose will come through, but nothing that will smack you upside the head. I love wearing it (it's become one of my go-to oils when I can't decide what to wear). It evokes the few times I went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire--very magical.

Sniffing the bottle, it's very true to the description: vanilla-mint goodness.

It sort of reminds me of a sweet mint gum with an icy blast kicker.

On my skin, it burns/tingles. I must have really sensitive skin or something. It's not really unpleasant, and it goes away after about 20 minutes or so.

I actually don't get any chocolate notes...just icy mint vanilla. It's really refreshing when you need a pick-me up.

This was spicier than I expected. It's all warm gingery-clove-chocolate. The first couple of times it actually made my stomach feel queasy, but that could be because I usually dislike foody scents. Recently, I can't get enough of it! Whenever I get a craving for sweets late at night I dab this on my wrists and neck and it's perfect!

First impression: really really good tea with a hint of lemon and herbal sweetness.

This one didn't morph at all on me, and it was really light but had a STRONG throw! It's so bizarre because usually light scents disappear within a couple of hours, but this one stayed all day long. Even after I took a shower I swear I could smell a faint hint of it. I'm glad it wasn't a stinker

This is a very neutral scent and perfect for spring/summer.