lamenteuse

My bit of Bonfire Night came from a decant circle run by evilmistressoftoast (who is a really lovely decanter...decantress?)

I normally do a whole "in the bottle, wet, dry, verdict" with my reviews, but this one smelt basically the same throughout, so for this review, I'm holding off from my normal format.

Bonfire Night, to me, smells like Toffee and Fireworks. Mostly toffee in the bottle, and a 50/50 mixture of the both when on my skin. I'm assuming my body really amped up the tar scent, because I was really hoping for more woodsmoke.

evilmistressoftoast had a (wonderful) decant circle and i asked for the emoty of Dia de los Muertos. There was a wee bit left over, so I was able to try it out.

in the bottle: A good whiff of floral is predominant, but there's also this secondary scent of spicy and chocolate

wet: spicy floral. Actually, i hate floral scents and this one isn't bad at all. Whatever "the candies" is supposed to be, is coming out on top.

dry: spice, floral, candy, and every now and then, a little chocolate.

verdict: 4 out of 5 I'm not a big fan of floral; i avoid them at all cost, but this scent really works for me. Still, I wish the secondary scents were stronger.

edit: trying this again and again, I really grew to love the floral scent. It's a bit much in the bottle, but on me it really morphed into this sensual mixture of everything in the description. the florals are still on top, but the incense, tobacco, food, and candies play wonderfully against my skin. simply amazing.

in the bottle: tangy air?

wet and dry: normally, i separate these subjects, but it was completely the same smell for both. bug spray. i don't know why, but it just smelt like bug spray to me.

verdict: 1 out of 5. i liked the wet scent, but the bug spray was just awful. maybe as a simmering room scent, it will work?

in the bottle: I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Light, powdery and a bit of musk

on (wet): um, like a thin red wine and baby powder...

on (dry): almost all powder but with a hint of a simple musk. sort of reminds me of warm blankets, in a way.

verdict: 3 out of 5. I thought this was going to be an amazing, deep autumnal scent, and what I got wasn't that. It's nice, but not great. something good for when it's raining and cold and i want to stay inside and cuddle. not really "autumn" in my mind, more cozy.

Samhain 2007

in the bottle: Mmmmm, apples. Not sweet, but more apples and a mixture of spices.

on (wet): Like wearing a warm spicy, drink of cider and rum. However, it BURNS on certain spots (my neck is really sensitive). I developed what I call the BPAL rash.

on (dry): Perfect, the scent is still going strong (I woke up the next morning and could still smell it), and hasn't changed much from the bottle.

verdict: 5 out of 5. I love love love this scent. It's spicy and warm and perfect for the autumn weather. It's not overly sweet, and it really hangs there and sort of envelopes you in this wonderful warming smell. BUT be careful if you have tender skin, because this one will burn.

in the bottle: It smells gooey. Like those cheapo and overly sweet candies you get at Halloween

on (wet): it just smells...sweet. Really really sweet; like some kind of cream and toffee monstrosity.

on (dry): leaning in to kiss me, my boyfriend instantly recoiled, wrinkled his nose and stated, "you smell like breakfast." I have to agree; wearing this I smelt like waffles and syrup. No rum smell on me what so ever.

verdict: 0 out of 5 I can't explain how repelled I was by this scent. It's just too sweet and sticky smelling for me. Maybe other's with different skin chemistry will have better reactions, but for me...blegh.

in the bottle: Not as strong and powerful as I had hoped. I can smell the musk, and the spice, and it's warm and kind of sexy. I like it!

on (wet): the spice starts dying instantly....I wonder....

on (dry): bah! powder! what a waste.

verdict: I wanted to wear this and love this, but i cannot. i guess this has to end up in the swap pile. If it worked, I would worn this all the time. it smells wonderful in the bottle.

in the bottle: It reminds me of a tobacco shop. Sweet, but this smokey dark scent. Almost a little too manly for me.

on (wet): I honestly don't smell the fig at all. But I completely love this smell. It's a dark, and I guess people would term that "black herbs" but I would find it spicy actually. It's got a note of sweetness behind it, though.

on (dry): Still the same and still really really good. Think "Woodsy, fruit tart, with spices."

verdict: This scent is love! Literally, I was all "OMG! BEST SCENT EVER!" I love to wear it alone or pair it with a sweeter smell to mellow it out a bit. It's just perfect for me! 5 out of 5!!!!!!!!!!

try manila!

it's fruity smelling, but (on me, at least), and a nice mellow spice note.

I just got this bottle yesterday, and I was so excited to see the package when I came home from work, I literally threw everything down so I could get my hands on the box and tear it open.

in the bottle: It smells like a chocolate port drink my boyfriend makes. Sweetness and fruit hidden under a dense chocolate scent.

on (wet): Chocolate, yes, but a little more of the sweet smells the peach and honey are really coming out now. there's this whole other smell i can't identify as well, which is a sweet scent and I assume that's the massoia bark because there is a hint of coconut around it.

on (dry): Chocolate and honey. A lot of honey, actually. There's also that hint of fruit again that pops out every now and then, and again I think that's the massoia bark, as well as the starfruit that finally came out. It smells a lot like something I would want to eat!

verdict: This scent is wonderful. I wore it on a hot and humid night and it really hung in the air. I found it to be very alluring, and though it has sweet notes, it's not that sticky sweet scent that over powers and makes me feel ill. I think this would be wonderful in the winter time. I'll have to use this sparingly because it's becoming one of my favorite blends!

in the bottle: It smells like.....triple sec. Sticky sweet. yuck.

on (wet): Triple sec still. A little tart, though? Like a Sweet Tart!

on (dry): Sweet cranberry and vodka. There's no more of that triple sec smell, and that sticky sweetness has faded a bit. It's still a little too sweet for me, but not unpleasant.

verdict: 2 out of 5. Not the worst sweet smell I've ever had, but really not for me. I actually bought this hoping for an airy, tart smell, and it almost delivers it, but it's just an overpowering sweet smell. I would wear this to a child's birthday party. Sweet, bright, and hinting of booze (just like me!). I might mix in a little of the ocean scented oils to make this a bit more Hamptons-ish for me.

in the bottle: fruity with a scent of sweet flowers. Not what I wanted at all. Thankfully, to me, it didn't smell overly banana-ish.

on (wet): still fruity, with less of a flower scent now. There's a hint of spice and wood in the background, but still too sweet for me

on (dry): Tropical spice! With a nice splash of a savory flower scent (not too sweet). Actually rather enjoyable. It does have a bit of a tropical feel, but more of a sultry nights in Brazil feeling to me than an afternoon in Hawaii (sadly, I really wanted this for a Hawaii craving I have right now). Enjoyable, but didn't last long. In a few hours it was barely there.

verdict: EDIT I orginally gave this a 3.5 out of 5, but after wearing the scent a few more times, I've grown to love it. It's much more spicier now and perfect to wear on a hot, humid day because the scent stays on you and really punches out. And a side benefit to wearing this scent, my boyfriend seems to love it on me. I sat down by him on the couch and he nearly broke my ribs when he pounced on me. 4.5 out of 5!

Thank you for the recommendations, everyone!!!! You've all been a big help, especially since I am very new to the boards and BPAL in general.

Willowtreeling, I have a coffee scrub that I could use in the bath, and then pair it with one of the suggested tropical scents, so thanks for the idea! I'm not sure if the coffee scent will last long enough, though, but it will smell nice for a bit.

Since a few of you did seem interested, I will suggest Kauai as a Wanderlust oil; it would be nice to have an oil that is simply "Kauai-esque"

portalkat: I think that caliban would be a good base, thank you for the suggestion!

Ahania: You probably right, mixing the scents might not work, but applying oils to different points might. thank you!

willowtreeling: pele sounds good, but I'm afraid it might be too floral (for me, at least, i can't really do too flowery scents), but maybe as a light, added note?

Please, keep the ideas coming!

My boyfriend's mother lives on Kauai, one of the islands of Hawaii. I visited her (obviously along with my boyfriend) this past December and I fell in love with the island.

You step off of the airplane and your surrounded with this wonderful scent. It smells like fresh greens, pavement after rainstorms, tropical fruits, a hint of flowers, salt water, and warm sand.

But then, as you travel around the island, you can smell the sugar plantation, which fills the air with molasses and grass, and the coffee plantation, which smells like dirt and just brewed coffee. It's everywhere in the air, and it's just unbelievably enchanting.

Maybe I will have to mix two or three oils for this?

I HAVE regarded other posts, but many seem involved in the idea of the fruity smell. I don't want something overly fruity, and I would love to get something with the fresh forest scent and that hint of coffee and molasses in there. it's hard to describe, but the wikipedia entry on Kauai has two photographs of the island that I feel describes the scent I want.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a...i_Panorama1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f...auai-valley.jpg

Thanks for any advice!

PS: I walked along top of those mountains! incredibly terrifying/thrilling. there's about an 8 ft wide trail and then a sheer drop to the ocean.