fairnymph

In the bottle: Blackberry, green tea, wild strawberries. Fruity, but not too sweet, with a smooth herbal undertone. Wet: Fruity-tart berries and green tea, with a faint hint of light sage, and sexy musk slowly emerging. Something lightly floral and clean, almost soapy, too. Dry: Dries rapidly, abandoning much of the fruit and becoming increasingly floral-soap. The berries are still there, but faint and they lie close to the skin. Summary: Dark musk with light wild berries and faint herbs. All soapiness has vanished. Decent throw, but fades rather quickly. One to retry!

In the bottle: Soap, flowers, and herbs with a hint of sweetness. Wet: Similar, but less sweet and more floral. It has a classic 'perfumey' feminine smell. Very clean, soapy. Dry: Strong flowers (wildflowers and heady white classic) and soap. Summary: Floral soap. The florals are lovely, but rather generic, and I can't deal with soap.

In the bottle: Ozone, soapy fresh aquatic notes, and flowers. Wet: Sweeter, softer - the amber I think. Also sorta piney-woodsy-grassy, in a yummy outdoorsy way. VERY classic masculine scent. The ozone is lighter, but still there. This is not going too soapy, but still has a fresh, clean feel. Dry: Some sort of heady floral - but then I amp florals - and the amber has amped too. Really, really strong throw. Summary: Heady white flowers and sweet warm amber and woods. Powerful throw and permanence. It morphs from a distinctly masculine to a somewhat feminine scent.

In the bottle: Patchouli, frankincense, mandarin. Sweet and earthy. Wet: Lighter, cleaner, less sweet; frankincense and patchouli still reign, though. The spicy carnation appears, as do the delicate peach blossom and dulcet honeysuckle. Dry: Err, this is making my hand itch - that's a first with ANY BPAL oil ever, and I've tried about 200 at this point. It's spicy patchouli-carnation-frankincense. The mandarin has completely evanesced. Some faint honeysuckle if I really strain and stick my nose to my skin. Summary: Spicy, dirty patchouli. Strong throw and good lasting power. Alas (or perhaps thank god?), I am not in love with this.

In the bottle: Light citrus and black cherry. Not overly strong or sweet. Wet: Still very similar, but the citrus is clearly grapefruit, and I can smell hints of musk, grape, and tropical floral. Very low throw - tis a slatherer. A little sweeter on my skin. Faintest drop of spicy-fresh ginger. Dry: Wait! I'm channeling a spirit...ooh, it's the spirit of Lovers' Parodies of Sumo Holds. This is is like the multifruit, fresher-lighter daughter of LPoSH. It's gotta be that citrus-pikaki combo. The ginger is also brighter and more apparent in dry down. Overall, it's more floral and less fruity now. Summary: Such low throw and lasting power, sigh. Faintly fruity, citrusy, lightly spicy, ginger-fresh tropical floral with an underlying sexy, feminine musk. The plumeria eventually emerges and mingles beautifully with the other notes. This leaves me craving more...much like an infatuation! Try this if you like: Lovers' Parodies of Sumo Holds, Baobhan Sith

In the bottle: Soapy fresh, green, salty, ozone. Wet: More green-aquatic (ivy!), less soapy and salty. I'm getting a hint of violet. Much lighter, both in sharpness and throw, on my skin. Dry: Light, mossy woods have emerged. The violets have amped and the ivies stay strong. Unfortunately, this is still rather soapy on me and a flaring my rosacea a bit. Summary: Soapy, ivy-green, lightly woody violets. Low throw, and fades quickly.

Plumeria, pear and white champagne. In the bottle: Sweet, delicate floral with an underlying greenness. I like the champagne scent - it's not boozy. Wet: More floral, less sweet, greener, fresher. Also, oddly comforting despite its freshness. I can smell the pear now, but it's not overwhelmingly pear-y. The plumeria is wonderful. Dry: It's less fresh and floral, revealing more sweetness again. Weird! Summary: I quite like this, but it fades fairly quickly, and it's a bit on the sweet side for me.

In the bottle: Really strong ozone, eucalyptus, and lavender. Wet: Same. Very herbal, astringent, and masculine. Definitely a bold, eye-opening and sinus-cleansing scent. Dry: A little gentler, more floral (vaguely so - I can only identify lavender). Eucalyptus fades thankfully, exposing more ozone. Summary: Clean, masculine lavender-ozone over brash eucalyptus with faint floral hints. Very strong throw and lasting power. I never get even the slightest bit of citrus.

In the bottle: Warm, slightly sweet, resiny rose. Wet: Similar, but the spices are now apparent (though not individually distinct, and quite light). The rose is the powdery sort. And there is something a bit a citrusy-fresh. Still, that powder....ugh, not the rose that works on me. Dry: Sweet, mildly citrusy-spicy, powdery rose. Summary: I love the citrus note (geranium?) and the spices are gentle enough, but I don't do powdery rose.

In the bottle: Gardenia, ripe dark red fruit, and spicy pepper. Wet: Surprisingly light - gardenia especially, has calmed down. The pepper makes my nose tingle and the earthy patchouli has emerged. Dry: This is the first gardenia blend that hasn't gone into gardenia-overdrive on me, such that I can enjoy that floral note without being overwhelmed by it. The deep fruits balance the floral nicely. I can totally smell the blood accord - it must be what that note is - it's sort of tangy and well, bloody. Amazing. Lots of musk and patchouli and pepper. Summary: Pepper, patchouli, and blood accord over raspberry. Strange drydown, and I don't think I like black pepper. Decent throw and good lasting power.

In the bottle: Slightly sweet, fresh, cologne-y. Nice light mint, some citrus. Wet: Minty tea and musk, with lighter underlying citrus and fruit, and herbal notes. I love this! So fresh and clean and sexy. Usually I like more feminine stuff, but this is just pure YUM, like I've just hopped out of a shower and straight into a clean bed with a sexy man. That's what it totally evokes for me. Dry: Okay, so it's pretty masculine. But I just love it anyway - delicious, sexy, clean and fresh. I'll pretend to be man! Or just imagine one is with me. In the end, this evens out to a really clean sexy tea-tinged musk - the musk amps and amps over time, or else seems to as the mint fades somewhat. Summary: An OCD sexathon.

In the bottle: Floral-herbal;fresh, slightly sweet. Wet: Similar. The orchid stands out the most, being quite heady. The apple blossom is lighter but present. The clover is also distinct - sweetly, gently green. There's also something soapy here (irish moss maybe?) and something almost spicy, like cinnamon. Dry: Ooh, a really nice herbal note - thyme-y - has emerged, and the orchid is backing down. Sadly, so is the apple blossom. The clover remains, as does the unfortunate spice note. Summary: Faintly sweet, herbal-floral. The apple blossom returns, the clover and hawthorn rule, and those soapy and spicy notes dissipate. The orchid is still a bit heady, but bearable. This reminds me a fair deal of Blue Moon '07.

In the bottle: Lemon verbena. Wet: Lemon verbena, and a hint of green tea and wisp of neroli. Dry: Amazingly, the neroli still has yet to go soapy. The verbena is definitely bullying as it often does, but it's not as overwhelming as it often is. The green tea provides a lovely herbal counterpoint, and the neroli adds a faintly bitter floral tinge. Summary: Lemon verbena, with touches of green tea and neroli. A very straightforward, simple blend. I never get any jasmine. Good throw, great lasting power.

In the bottle: Clean ozone, hints of soap, musk, floral and maybe a wee bit of citrus. Wet: Virtually the same. Very very fresh. Definitely both aquatic and airy. A little salty, a little soapy. Unisex verging on masculine. Dry: Huh, a slightly sweet note - maybe grapefruit? - has emerged. The ozone is still very strong and tingly-fresh, the musk is very very faint. And the salty note still. Summary: Sort of a salty version of Archangel Winter (fresh, clean ozone), though there is some weird note in this I don't quite like, that's a little plasticky-chemically in the final drydown.

In the bottle: Jasmine, rose, and amber. Heady and floral. Wet: A tiny, tiny hint of grapefruit emerges, but is so utterly overwhelmed by the jasmine and amber, and it's gone in a flash, how unfortunate! Dry: Jasmine turning soapy, as it often does. The rose is the powdery sort, or maybe it's just that way in combo with the vilely strong jasmine. The amber is like a dry, warm, gust whipping along the jasmine. Summary: The rose does become a bit more apparent, but the domineering jasmine goes so completely powdery-soap on me, and on top of the dry, dusty amber, it's just not something I can wear. I never got any musk, but it may have been bullied out of existence.

In the bottle: Fresh, cold green apple. Tart and fruity. Potent. Wet: A little minty - must be partly responsible for the coldness. Still extremely strong and tartly apple, without being at all sweet. Amazing throw. I think a little bit of evergreen of some sort too, something vaguely piney; astringent and mentholic. Dry: This is really tremendously strong. I think I'm getting a bit of ozone, now, and there's something about this oil that recalls Snow White (appropriately enough!). Sadly, the apple has faded quite a bit. It's still there, but no longer in dominance, and it lies close to the skin. A cold, evergreen-mint scent is clearly now in charge. Summary: Oh, this does morph noticeably. Some dark but faint musk emerges, and the menthol wears off. What remains is a sort of a cool, minty, herbal scent over musk and a very faint hint of barely ripe apple. Sadly short wearlength - a few hours or so. If the apple note persisted in the final hours, the mentholic phase were absent, and the wearlength were better, this would be bottleworthy. ETA: I absolutely agree that the mentholic note is eucalyptus as The_Witching_Hour so accurately observed, and I don't like it. I'd greatly prefer a different cool-herbal note. So maybe a wee bit of mint, and something herbal like thyme? And then ozone, more ozone. I think ozone, thyme, mint, and apples would be perfect. *fantasizes*

In the bottle: Tart-sweet orange citrus, ylang-ylang and violet. Wet: Whoa, ylang ylang amping! The citrus amps a little too - I'm mostly getting mandarin. Faintly, there's some blood orange and nectarine. The violet is present still, and I can detect warm amber in the background. No patchouli. Dry: Mildly sweet fruit, soft violet and ylang ylang, sunny amber, and finally a hint of light, spicy patchouli. A very warm, orange-gold scent. Summary: Womanly, complex, sophisticated. Slightly spicy, somewhat heady floral with hints of delicate patchouli, dry amber and orange fruits. Divinely blended. Sexy. Not my style, but I admire it, ya know?

In the bottle: Citrus, sharp greenness, spicy patchouli and strong resin. Wet: Sour-bright citrusy petitgrain leads the way. The patchouli and benzoin are just behind, and quickly cassis joins. But the rose is very faint. Dry: The benzoin and cassis bud dominate now, although the petitgrain and earthy patchouli are still strong notes. The rose remains woefully distant. I'm getting a sexy masculine vibe. Summary: In order of dominance: patchouli, then benzoin, with cassis and petitgrain following closely. It's a deep, spicy, slightly sour-fresh, herbal-earthy blend. Moderate throw, great lasting power.

In the bottle: Potent carnation, some clover, and hints of other green things. A slightly sharp, very green-fresh scent. Wet: Very similar. Quite aquatic in feel. The sweet heather emerges, and the ivy too I think. Dry: Carnation recedes a bit and turns spicy, yum. That's giving a Garden Path with Chickens type feel - the ivy has definitely amped. Heather and clover persist, and the clover has amped. I cannot detect any rose or moss. Summary: Carnation in the fore over clover and heather, with a touch of ivy. Strong throw, good lasting power. A beautiful fresh, green, rolling hills scent. I got two bottles. No rose on my skin, and I usually AMP tea rose.

This is a review of the 2008 version. In the bottle: Rose - slightly sweet and spicy. Wet: Stronger overall, but the resin especially is more distinct. It's sweet and a little powdery. Dry: It's a little less powdery. The rose is beautifully fragrant and reminiscent of Peacock Queen. A smidgen of oakmoss emerges faintly after a few hours. Summary: Delicious, full-bloom rose and sweet, mildly herbal resins. Still a tiny bit powdery, and a bit dry and warm for me. Strong throw and good lasting power.

In the bottle: In order of potency: caramel-beeswax, ozone, and a hint of rose. Wet: Same, but I can detect a bit of amber too. The moonflower is a bit soapy, as usual, but it's thankfully faint. Dry: The ozone has faded a bit, and the roses have amped slightly, but the beeswax remains in the fore. The amber is a constant but distant dry-warm note in the background. Summary: Ooh, some musk came out. An intriguing blend of caramel-beeswax, summery rose, sexy musk and warm amber. The moonflower and ozone dissipate, leaving it seductive, golden, and foody-floral. I predict this will be a very popular blend, but it's too foody-sweet and amber-dry for my tastes.

In the bottle: Whoa! Sharp, herbal. A little green and salty. Clean. Wet: Sigh, as usual the ambergris turns instantly soapy, and bullies the hell out of this blend. The seaweed note is distinct (and nicely salty) but close to the skin. A sliver of mint. No honey at all. Dry: If I strain, I can detect some honey, I think, but the ambergris still won't let go of the reins. My rosacea also hates BPAL's ambergris. Really not good! Summary: So after like an hour the honey finally emerges fully, and with the mint and seaweed it's lovely, but the ambergris utterly dominates as sharp soap. I find this less 'complex' than the other Shunga blends. Very strong throw and wearlength.

In the bottle: Delicious juicy pomegranate and a hint of bubblegum-sweet lotus. Wet: Very similar, but the lotus has amped and is totally grape bubblegum. Herbal and woody notes very faintly in the background. Very sweet. Dry: I can detect the barley note now, and it's nutty and a little waxy - really interesting! The other herbs and woods I can't pinpoint, as they are still very faint, but grounding. Sadly, the lotus is still being a bully. Summary: The lotus calms down enough to allow the pomegranate - which has great lasting power, it's just hidden for a while - to emerge. It's sort of nutty-spicy-herbal too, with the barley distinct. Very sweet with the strong lotus. Good throw and lasting power. Yeah, lotus does not work on me.

In the bottle: Sweet, dark boozy musk! Wet: Less boozy, still quite sweet, and muskier. Earthy too - patchouli? Dry: A little sassafras might be emerging. It's not medicinal, and only a little foody. Just sort of a hint of herbal-root beer. Summary: Mildly sweet, herbal-licorice, dark musk, patchouli. Good throw and amazing lasting power. Much gentler and yet sexier than in the bottle. Not my style, but I can see the appeal.

Sweet and bubblegummy. More fruity, and more floral on my skin, but still extremely sweet. Definitely plummy.