fairnymph

Smells very much like Beaver Moon 05 to me, also a little like Closet. Definitely getting the cake and the frosting - very foody, sweet, and creamy but not overwhelming or cloying. Deeper and more complex - I get the Dorian and Snake Oil now, though lightly, and something a little piney and smoky - maybe the Doc Constantine? It's very different and much more sophisticated on my skin, though still very sweet, still foody, and quite heavy in feel. On my skin the Dorian is the strongest of the backdrops, then DC, then SO. This is good because I dislike SO. Fading very very rapidly and I accidentally overslathered this one. I have to nearly shove my nose into my arm to get much of anything at all. Less sweet and foody, and more resiny. I'm getting that strong vanilla note distinct to Snake Oil and a bit of that red musk/resin feel from same, but lightly. Dorian sugared vanilla tea is still going strong. Eeek. The cake note in this is going a bit musty/plastic on me, although the good news is that I can smell the cream cheese frosting more now - I think it's amped by the vanillas & sweetness from the SO and Dorian. Definitely the best & most specific 'cream cheese frosting' blend I've smelled. If only the cake note were more present. Snake Oil slowly, insiduously amping over time - this is almost not even foody anymore, and seems to be constantly morphing on my skin. Yeah...not my cup of tea.

Very pale greenish yellow oil. Wow, interesting - strong orange blossom, much fruitier and less sharp and soapy than usual, lots of tropical coconut milk (especially in combo with the fruitiness), a little sweet-tart skin musk and musky ambergris, a fair bit of heady ylang ylang, with bright, surprisingly strong, cologney white amber. Lighter and smoother and just - less heavy, sharp, intense, jumbled. The orange blossom is still lovely, but the coconut milk has settled down a bit as has the ylang ylang, though I still find both notes 'too much' for me. The skin musk and white amber here are gorgeous; bright, feminine, clean - and the amount of ambergris here is just right - it adds an almost oceanic touch and a bit of depth and sexiness but it's subtle. This scent continues to coalesce - it's also fading quite a bit from its initial immense throw in the imp - the notes are balancing each other nicely. The coconut note has lightened to the soft, sweetly creamy note from Mme Lilith, Fortune Teller which is the nicest coconut note in BPAL, IMO. The orange blossom is delicate and a perfect balance of orange fruit and fragrant blossom - so different from the typical orange blossom note. Ambergris, musk and amber have all merged into beautiful skin scent - it's bright and sexy and soft and feminine. The ylang ylang has either blended its way into something nice, or disappeared entirely. The vibe here - soft, pink, lightly sweet and creamy and definitely tropical - totally reminds me of Mme Lilith. The coconut fades to a faint creaminess that's almost wearable (and this from a die-hard coconut hater - in perfume, that is). The orange blossom is now mostly a tart and juicy fruit with a little delicate blossom, and the creamy-musky base is so incredibly well-blended I can no longer pick it apart - it's just a smooth, sexy, youthful and feminine skin scent. A young woman who's just come into her own sexuality and is strolling on a warm, breezy evening somewhere in the Caribbean with a bit of sea breeze in the air. What a very pleasant surprise. I may have to break my coconut rule and get a bottle of this! Shungas, you are SO very good to me.

Very pale yellow oil. Rich, heavy, cloying cocoa buttery, creamy white chocolate with a teensy bit of candied, jammy strawberry. No apparent white pepper. Much more fruit, and a little fresher - like ripe strawberries mushed together with sugary preserves. I get a little bit of white pepper kick, very light and very pleasant. White pepper seems to work on me - it doesn't register as pepper or spice, I group it more with ginger as a 'fresh' note that brightens blends. The white chocolate is less dominating and much more bearable, less cloying and buttery. Crazy strong throw - to the point of interfering with stuff I'm testing on my other arm. The white pepper has amped up to the point where I can identify it clearly as such - but I still like it! Strawberry jam and cheap, artificially flavoured white chocolate are battling for dominance. The lab's white chocolate always goes gross on my skin, but this year it seems to be a bit improved - it's only a little bit fake, and there is some pleasant creaminess to it. Mostly I think it's just not something I'd want to smell like, ever. I just scratched half the perfume off the testing spot. I think that happened with the other WC blend from this year, too. Apparently my skin doesn't like WC? Sniffing what remains, it appears that also as with the other WC blend, the fruit one the battle against WC. So this is mostly a lovely jammy strawberry note - a note which is unique in BPAL - it's not the 'fake' strawberry that goes plastic from older blends (like Strawberry Moon 05), or the fresh, 'wild' and juicy strawberry note of recent blends (like Strawberry Moon 09) - it's delicious strawberry JAM with a bit of puree blended in. I am shocked by how much I like the final drydown - it's strawberry jam with a touch of sweetened cream and some strawberry coulis - basically, a 'strawberries & cream' scent, which can never be wrong - and I don't own anything like this scent, and I really love this particular strawberry note. The white pepper keeps it fresh and interesting but blends indistinctly after a few hours. The throw is strong at first but my skin seems to eat this up. Still, I think a bottle or two is in order.

This was the scent I most looked forward to from the update based on the notes. In the bottle i smell soapy-clean, almost aquatic greenery with ozone and yes, 'night air' - I don't know how Beth does these things! There's some definite sweetness, a little grassiness, some herbalness...it's a bit soapier and more herbal than the previous March green scents (Passionate Shepherd, Host of Air). Sweeter - and definitely berryish, but a unique fruit note to my nose, something between cranberry and ligonberry - and also a bit soapy. Still very herbal in a slightly dry-sharp & medicinal way - like sage, thyme or oregano freshly crushed, not that I get any of those specifically. I'm assuming that's the butterwort and thistle, with which I am not familiar. The meadowgrass is sweeter and milder, but also soapier - verging now on too soapy - than 'regular' grass. The marigold is the note I can pick out most clearly, and it adds a certain distinctive brightness and a slight spiciness, as well as a velvety, tactile aspect. The has come together much more as a blend, with the berry note, marigold, and night air (which reminds me very much of the note in Nowhere in Particular) in the fore over still soapy but less strongly so base of mixed greenery. It's outdoorsy and rustic and yet has a luminous - I suppose that's the air and ozone - quality - less green than I'd expected though it's still green. But it's not really 'wowing me' - I guess I wish it were a little fresher and grassier? I'll keep my partial bottle, but I think it will suffice. Good throw and great longevity.

Sweet, spicy, warm, woody with a bit of tangy brightness from the tagetes. The tiare (i.e. gardenia) is surprisingly light - still bright and white - but more lush than overpowering. The amber strikes me as the 'perfumey' sort, and the sandalwood is strong and dry, a bit sawdusty. Combined with the vanilla, the latter two elements remind me a bit of Ü. Sweeter and smoother - much more amber and vanilla (a rich, bourbon vanilla bean extract type), and the dry, hot edge of the cardamom has become richly warm and exotic. The tagetes is lighter, and its sourness clashes oddly with the other notes on my skin - even though it's usually a note I love, right now it's not meshing. The sandalwood is warmer and muskier and less drily woody. The gardenia amps, as most florals do on my skin, and it's a little TOO bright, but just barely - it's by no means dominating. I'd say this blend is pretty well balanced, but not yet cohesive. This is a powerful one, throw-wise - I keep geting heady wafts of it. The gardenia (very white and very bright, but still behaving), amber (heavy and rich but not at all powdery), tagetes (tangy and velvety) and cardamom (spicy and sexy in a gourmand way) have all amped up quite a bit, while the sandalwood has smoothed out, become more musky, and lost its dry sawdust edge. Likewise, the vanilla, while no stronger - is better - it's not just sweet, in fact it's a little less sweet - but it's deeper and more complex a note, with a boozy edge. This blend has finally come together, and beautifully so. It reminds me of a more complex (more herbal, more floral) less sweet and less vanillic Lamia. Intense throw and fanastic longevity, too. Not at all my style, but one I predict will be very popular. ETA: I layered Lamia with Dreadful Lies, and got something VERY similar. I knew there was another blend Harp reminded me of! And DL is definitely it, much more so than Lamia. It's 80% DL and 15% Lamia with 5% Other.

Light and fresh, herbal-green and a little juicy-fruity but with a deep sharpness, maybe some leather, or a certain herb or resin? This is a bit of a contradictory and jumbled scent. Warmer, drier - dusty, in fact - with almost no trace of that fruity sweetness from the bottle. Very much dry, dark herbs and incense. Definitely some myrrh, and maybe a little frankincense - and I get whatever that incense note is from Black Lace, that goes soapy on my skin when unaged. Actually, this scent's base on the whole reminds me remarkably of BL - some of the vanilla and tobacco notes, but faint here. Going sweeter, that Black Lace base is amping, but there's still quite a bit of other incense as noted earlier. I no longer get any greeness or fruity notes at all. Now leather - it's possible. A light be of slick, powdery-sharp De Sade style? But I usually amp leather and if there's leather here, it's not amping. It could be a dry wood instead...there's definite woodiness here, but it blends with the incensey base. This is a scent that's clearly BPAL - it has that general BPAL vibe & smell - but is not quite like anything else I've tested. The drydown is dark herbs & dry wood over dark incense; myrrh, smoky-sweet frankincense and loads of that Black Lace incense, with some of its vanilla and tobacco - these latter two do amp and sweetened considerably over time on my skin. I think there is some benzoin here as well. This is a serious, complex, and sophisticated scent - very theme appropriate, but not personally appropriate at all. Low throw but great longevity. Black Lace romps in a dark and dangerous forest. ETA: I tested this blind, without knowledge of the notes. With this knowledge, I can definitely pick out the sandalwood (a dry sort), iris (faintly powdery), and nicotiana (a big part of the Black Lace vibe). I don't know what life everlasting smells like, and other than a general 'dark green' feel, I cannot pick out the juniper - it's not GIN HELLO I'M GINNY GINNY JUNIPER as it so often is. ETA2: After several hours and a failed attempt to wash this off (great longevity!), an intense sandalwood-musky vanilla with fainter soft feminine white florals remains on my skin - in fact, it reminds of Jingo-Kogo. I may need to buy a bottle for myself to slather, then shower lightly so I can smell like this amazing late drydown! Definitely the same fantastic sandalwood note from J-K.

Rich, old leather - Dead Man's Hand style, not De Sade style as the description suggests, with a little sweet, almost fruity pipe tobacco, ground stone, and a suggestion of dark, sweet resins very faintly in the background. Rich, glorious leather still firmly in command, but the herbs have come out suddenly and strongly, adding a dry, masculine edge - these smell like dried herbs with medicinal qualities. Sweeter overall, with more distinct pipe tobacco - a little cherry-ish and reminscent of Hearth 2005 - still lots of stone dust, but I get some other sort of powder too - I think it's the chemical sort of leather, the leather note I DON'T like - that's here, too. Not happy. This has crazy strong throw, the old leather note in particular. I'm being (happily) smothered by fresh suede! There is still a medicinal sharpness if I sniff more closely, with almost an anise-like tang, but not quite that...maybe sassafras? It's mentholic and sharp-sweet and really not my thing. I get a bit of the soil note now, but I have to search for it so dirt-fearers - this is worth a shot, bc there's barely any dirt. I wish I could pick out more herbs - all I can say is that they are dark and dry. Maybe some sage? It does remind me a bit of Western Diamondback, but that could just be the shared leather note. Not a morpher really - the briefly present herbal notes dissipate entirely. This dries down to rich old leather with a hint of sweetness from the pipe tobacco (which definitely verges towards 'gourmand' as tobacco can) and stony dust, but mostly it's rich old leather. Nearly identical to Dead Man's Hand, with similarly FANTASTIC, intense throw and longevity. I love it and will be getting several bottles. THANK YOU Beth for all the blends lately with this leather note!

Soft, sweet, light, green. Planty, a little dewy - like rain on new green leaves. Some stemminess too, and a floral that's velvety and light spicy - I'm guessing white carnation, and some slightly sweet, delicate florals - maybe linden? I don't get any cream or it's incredibly faint. This is radically different from Chaste Moon 2005 which was a very foody, cloying honey and buttery cream blend, and I couldn't be more pleasantly surprised! Stronger overall - I don't have to sniff with so much effort - and more florals bloom instantly on my skin, including a fantastic, creamy rich and bright daffodil note - almost definitely the same one from Kitsune-Tsuki, a blend I adore. It immediately assumes command, but I get other florals, too. Definitely a little linden, the sweetness here is the same delicate, slightly citrus & floral sweetness that I get from the Unicorn. The hint of spice is fainter, and I'm doubting carnation's presence now - if it's here, it's very faint, and more stems than blossoms. The stemmy note has a pleasantly bitter edge and is likely dandelion. This is slow to dry, but not slow to explode with incredible complexity that belies the brief note information provided. It's true there are milky blossoms - also bright blossoms and sweet blossoms - lots of blossoms overall. However, I do now fear that I'm getting a bit of gardenia - it's not the sour type, or the headache-inducing one - I think it's the same note from T'is the Voice of the Lobster. Right now it's dueling with daffodil for first place. Meanwhile something in here has gone a little bit soapy, still tolerably, and thank there's no powder. The dandelion note has amped a bit, but it's rather overwhelmed still by the florals. I whipped out some oils for comparison. It reminds me the most of The Unicorn, so there's definitely some linden, but The Unicorn is sweeter and CM is more herbal/green. In addition to a light gardenia (definitely smells like the one in Lobster!), I get some magnolia when comparing to Yvaine - and the blends are similar too since Yvaine as well has that herbal edge and a very similar feel. And I do think there are shared notes with Egle - the hyacinth which contributes sweetness, and the same fir note which is gives the greenery - the fir here serves a similar role to the lavender in Yvaine - a grounding herbal counterpart to the bright white floral(s). Oddly, Kitsune is the least similar - probably because it's so much more intense and sweet, and CM is faint and only barely sweet at all - but I still think this has daffodil. I would agree the florals in here a white and have a bit of a creamy feel to them, but only vaguely (I actually fine Yvaine to be quite a creamy blend bc of its particular magnolia note, and the same applies here though the magnolia is much less distinct and strong), and I don't get actual cream or milk at any point on my skin. I also feel the crystalline vibe other reviewers noted, and some musks are emerging gradually as this dries - I get fresh, almost astringent skin musk almost definitely with maybe some white and/or vanilla musks.. I'm struggling to identify the note in here that provides the spicy/fresh kick. Carnation? White ginger? Phlox? I know it, but I can't place it. The greenery in this blend holds and sets it apart from those blends I compared it to as an utterly unique blend. The fir/evergreen note adds an almost snowy coolness to this, too. Back to some bottle comparisons - the greenery here reminds me greatly of both Passionate Shepherd and Host of Air, and smelling my Dandelion SN confirms a strong dandelion presence. I'm also positive about clover and I think carnation remains a possibility. Comparing this to Pink Moon 2005 (which has a clear phlox note), I'm betting the 'kick' here is from phlox. So in the final drydown - this settles after 1-2 hours at most - daffodil, hyacinth, linden, phlox, magnolia and possibly a bit of white carnation and subtle gardenia, in descending order of dominance, glimmer softly over a base of fresh greenery including dandelion & fir, smoothed over by a shimmering blend of light musks, heavy on the skin musk but with a little white, too, for depth. It is a little soapy, it's definitely floral and I'd like a bit more sweetness - but these are minor quibbles if even quibbles at all. I love the simple, clean and yet elegant quality - this is the first early stages of Spring in a bottle, and I don't have anything like it. I'll be needing two bottles of this one, and since I assumed it'd be like the earlier version I didn't order myself any!

Pale gold oil. This does not at all smell like what I thought it did. It must smell very different in blends or on my skin, or else it's just a different from what Beth generally uses these days. It's sour and soapy and not really very floral - it's floral, but faintly - and there's only a hint of the golden, glowing loveliness I've always associated with heliotrope. Shocking! Less sour and more soapy and quite powdery on my skin, with still a sort of - tang, I guess - a brightness, if it were nicer, is what I'd call it. It smells rather ambery to me, but with some soapy & sour rose mixed in. It also reminds me strongly of the older lab blends and DC'ed oils - it SMELLS old, and it has that same general sour-soapy-floral-powdery quality that so many of those blends do. I do get some of the golden glowing quality but it's not any stronger on my skin; the other qualities are definitely smothering it a bit. I am sad. Morphing. This is smoothing out, becoming less sour - though there is still a fair bit of soap and powder - and the golden quality is amping, finally! It has an almost...oiliness to it, but in a fantastic way - it reminds me of ambrette or olive oil and olive blossom notes -it's like being slicked up with high quality massage oil. This has also become much more complex - I can smell some stemmy greenery, a little bit of floral spiciness (somewhere between daisy and carnation), a lot more brightness overall. It actually smells floral now, but like a whole flower that's been smushed. I'm getting a hint of sweetness now - slightly honeyed, but more resiny - I think it's a very faint benzoin note mixed with a gentle sweet musk - I'm betting on vanilla musk. However, it's hard to pick much of anything out at this point because while in blends heliotrope seems to have good longevity, this has faded noticeabley on my skin - perhaps due to its age? I do get more amber, and while the blend is still a bit unpleasantly soapy and powdery, the amber here is quite nice - a light, warm, golden type that boosts the hint of golden floral brightness. This evolves well on my skin, becoming more lovely over time; it's amazing how this goes from unpleasantly sour to almost honeyed sweet over a few hours. Still, I'm not sure this works well as a SN on my skin, even though I always adore heliotrope in blends. In the final drydown, a lightly sweet, smooth and slick, golden-bright floral note eventually comes to dominate - there's only a bit of sour soap and musty powder in the background, tempered by some lovely, sweet vanilla musk and warm, rounded golden amber that doesn't go at all powdery on me. An impressive yet sneaky morpher with lower throw but good longevity. The late drydown is great, and I'm very curious to see how it'd behaved layered with other blends, so I'm going to keep my bottle for now, but I'm not totally in love...yet. I rarely reach for blends which take hours to turn into something good on my skin.

Extremely pale nearly colourless yellow-gold oil. Strong and sharp - a little solventy (the paint, etc?) but mostly this is GREEN - like lots of crushed green stems, grass, leaves and vines - there's definitely a strong ivy note, a bit of grass, and some lighter/softer more dewy aquatic greenery, some clover and cucumber, maybe? Also something a little spicy (phlox? nasturtium?), and some daisy and maybe some other wildflowers. It's in the same vein of Passionate Shepherd and Garden Path With Chickens, especially. Apparently 'musty and dilapidated' means gorgeous greenery, bc the description/smell mismatch reminds me of my experience with Julia Stone (which I adore). Softer, gentler, more aquatic (in a dewy, rain-on-leaves, very green way - not soapy, not a classic rain note and definitely not oceanic). I do get a bit of a murkiness that reminds me of Faeu Boulanger - the swamp gas note, presumably - which mars the blend a bit for me, but barely. This is still intensely stemmy, but it's a little sweeter - more cucumber - and while the spicy green-floral note and the wildflowers have held, the ivy which was so strong and bitter and practically leaping down my throat in the imp is much faded here. It's a far more blended scent now, very evocative of damp spring greenery, fresh and outdoorsy. The sweetness and the grass note here remind me of the Nameless City Drive-In Theatre, too. I am absolutely loving this, and it's blossomed on my skin gorgeously. Now it's turned sharper again - or maybe woody?And it's become a lot more musty, really actually smelling like an old abandoned rotting house - well, not rotting, but close. It's still not an unpleasant scent, but I am not entirely enthused by this change. The ivy is really strong again and I get some soil, and a bit of that mustiness from Erik but much more strongly (and thus possibly unwearably) here. I also feel like I get a lot of the crushed stone note that I get from Sarah and Julia Stone, both of which this scent has a very similar vibe to, though this is more masculine. It has the greenery of Julia Stone and the sharpness of Sarah and the stoniness of both. Final drydown is a bit softer again - this does faded considerably, but there's still a good bit of throw - it's much more about the stone and a dry, yet rounded sort of worn wood note (oak?) and the velvet curtains - really, it reminds me VERY much of how Erik smells in its earlier stages - with a lot of the crushed stone and muskiness of Sarah's drydown, though this trends towards masculine, it's reasonably unisex. I think some of the powder/dusty velvet could be due to violet, which is a slightly sweet, gentle Victorian note in this blend. A lot of the greenery and especially the fresher notes don't survive long, but ivy, cucumber, grass and what's probably some type of moss do - it's still an outdoorsy sent but more like - dried grass and withered ivy over crumbling, lichen-covered stone. I want a bottle for my future dream man. Great throw that fades to good throw and holds. A very pleasant surprise though I should have guessed from Erik and Julia Stone not to be so dismissive. A sleeper hit, for sure!

Light amber/deep goldenrod oil. Sweet, light honey with a bit of musky depth below - this is 90% honey and 10% snake oil to my nose, what a wonderful surprise (as I dislike SO)! Sniffing more closely I can pick out the different types of honey - delicate white honey, syrupy-rich SN-style honey, and the boozy, fermented mead-like honey from Mead Moon. I get a bit of musky, spicy, warm vanilla depth - but not SO distinctly. Much the same, although the Mead Moon-type honey jumps to the fore and is by far the strongest note here - this blend reminds me A LOT of Mead Moon. But now I do get a bit more Snake Oil, and I'm one of those crazy folks who thinks it's nicer (but still not my thing) fresh - it is a little powdery and band-aid-y, but it's more mentholic, almost medicinal. There is an almost herbal edge to this blend, which I think is a big part of why it reminds me of MM so much, and it also makes this feel a bit medicinal - like honey-sweetened herbal cough syrup, but nicer than that. The red musk presence here is extremely faint - I'm not sure I'd pick it out blind. Here comes the Snake Oil! Quite a change, but one that occurred smoothly despite its speed - SO is definitely a major player now, just 10 minutes or so later - but it's not dominating - the honeys are just as present (with the mead-like note still strongest), and overall this is very well balanced. It's smoother and well-blended, and the sharper medicinal, slightly plastic and powdery aspects have mostly dissipated, though there is still a mentholic,characteristic SO quality. But I like this much more than I like any other blend I've tested with Snake Oil in it - with the possible exception of Boomslang - and I've tested them all. Gahhh apparently I amp Snake Oil - but also honey, though not as much - in the final drydown the Snake Oil definitely dominates and has become more plastic and mentholic and all the unpleasantness that I generally associate with SO - I take back my earlier comments. I also agree with other reviewers that one of the honey notes here is from O, a blend I REALLY abor - and that honey note seems to have amped the most, so it's sickly sweet and also plastic/fake. So basically this blend is mostly cloyingly sweet plastic honey and medicinal SO - epic fail as I expected. INTENSE throw, too. This does make me a bit furious...furiously scrubbing to get it off my skin!

Pale gold oil. I get a lot of fresh, invigorating ginger and super creamy yet delicate and not at all buttery cream right off the bat - yay! - with not really any leather, only a bit of orris root (and it's definitely 'rooty'), something sort of citrusy-woody (the asuhi?), and unfortunately I do get the frankincense which muddles and darkens the blend, but it's not THAT strong. Delicious, glorious ginger cream is still ruling - I love this mix of ginger and cream, it's genius - with the cream even stronger and more creamy on my skin, in fact, I think it's the best cream note I've ever smelled in a BPAL blend. The citrusy wood note is a bit stronger, and it reminds me of oude and bamboo - it's a rather light, refreshing, green sort of wood note but with a drier edge. I get a bit of powder now from the orris and it's still unpleasantly rooty, but that aspect is light enough to be tolerable. I actually like how the powder aspect blends with the cream, though. The frankincense is less distinct with the ginger, cream, wood, and orris amped - no leather at all. This dries almost instantly on my skin, and I quickly start to get a little leather, but it's not the type I fear and loathe - the De Sade chemical-powder-sharp sort - but a rougher, more textural, suedey, and drier sort - it reminds me of the type in Western Diamondback, Sacrifice, and Ü - this is a leather note that DOES work on me, not as lovely as Dead Man's Hand 'worn' leather note, but still nice. This blend feels a lot more masculine now that the leather's emerged, and the ginger has really amped even further and without any sweetness in this blend, it has a fairly masculine tone to it as well. The wood is also stronger and still bright and fresh - which describes this blend overall - I am pleasantly surprised! More and more leathery (with a bit of the harsh De Sade style edge), and more and more woody - this just gets all the more masculine. The cream and orris have nearly completely vanished, while the frankincense has amped a bit, though it smells almost more like myrrh here - musty and dusty and dark, but not as smoky, woody, or sweet as I typically find it. Plenty of ginger still, but I find it's turned sort of sharp and harsh. Actually, sniffing closely I can still find the cream clearly, but it's very close to the skin, hiding - the orris I don't feel I can clearly pick out anymore but the blend does have its powdery edge still. This has faded a lot. It never had strong throw, but it was clear enough when I brought my arm to my face - now I have to almost put my nose to my skin.The final drydown is slightly sharp ginger, slightly dry and citrusy-turned-sour wood with dusty incense and dry, rough, manly leather. The cream is lovely but extremely faint, and the orris completely evaporates. I think this could be lovely on the right skin chemistry, but it doesn't quite work for me; I've yet to find any blend with frankincense that does, alas. Low throw and poor longevity. Sadness! But I'm not that disappointed because I expected as much, and the leather was in fact NOT bad as I feared. Those who fear cream and leather - don't! They are not overpowering notes here, nor are they the typical BPAL cream and leather notes.

Hmm. This reminds me of cheap teen perfumes, like designer knock-offs you'd buy at Hot Topic or this other store that I used to sometimes go into that sold like $5 trendy skirts made of cheap material. Same, a little sweeter, a little cleaner (more cologney?) - overall more complex and pleasant, less 'cheap' smelling. Kind of reminds me of CK One, but way more musky. I don't know that I would have pegged this as a SN tesing blind, but this is indeed extremely musky. I get an almost metallic tang too, sort of on the 'finish' as one would say, that reminds me of Torture Queen. This has amped quite a bit on me. It has strong throw to begin with, but I definitely feel like it has amped even more. It's gone almost a little sickly-sweet, and the cheap feeling has returned in full - it reminds me of Isaac the Living Skeleton, like the female version. It's lost some complexity, or else that cheap sweet musk aspect is just overwhelming the other nuances. It doesn't morph beyond in the initial wet stage, but as I rather suspected - this is not really a scent for me. I've always been a bit iffy about it as a note in blends, though I can usually tolerate it or even enjoy it if it's not a major player. But as a SN I find it rather fetid, and frankly a little nauseating. I amp musks in general and this one is no exception. Strong throw and insane longevity.

Dark, heady and heavy florals with a incense and spice. Resinous, deep purple-black, a little sweet. A sophisticated and mature womanly scent. Instantly more spice and resin - much less fruit/sweetness (plum almost gone), and little less floral. Although the florals I get are more powdery now - more lily of the valley and a bit of soapiness from the jasmine and rose. A bit bitter from the myrrh, but the opponox is really ruling this with clove just behind, deep and spicy. Hella strong throw and amping like crazy on my skin. This is not the cat-pee sort of jasmine - star jasmine tends to be much better on my skin than other BPAL jasmines, and it's behaving okay, though it's still too heady for my personal tastes. The clove is amping as many clove notes do and in that way that usually ends very badly. This is a real morpher! The throw has faded back down tremendously, and the notes have merged into a now-seamless blend. It's sweeter now and quite musky, in slightly 'traditional' (high class designer perfume) way. Also, a little dusty - I get the image of old velvet drapes. The clove and opponox still dominate, but not too forcefully, and the clove never turned evil. Meh. Glad I don't like this one!

Pale yellow oil. A light, clean, cologney sort of scent. I definitely get the musks, the slightly soapy grey amber, the lavender (reminds me a lot of the note in Yvaine), and a touch each of spicy carnation and sweet vanilla. Not much different, but the roses come out a little - they're subtle roses though, not the I AM ROSE AND I TAKE OVER BLENDS sort. More lavender and vanilla, in an almost TKO-like sort of way, and a bit more carnation - this a velvety, very textural carnation note that adds both depth and that edge of spice. Amped musks, already. This is melding together so beautifully! Usually grey amber goes soapy, but here it's only lightly so - yes, there is a touch of generic dryer sheet, but everything else is so lovely that I don't mind too much. The musks, lavender, soft roses, carnation and rich vanilla (almost too rich, it's a very heavy and intense vanilla) complement each other so well. I find this to be feminine, because of the sweetness of the vanilla, but men who like sweet could wear this. Doesn't morph. Relaxing and rich and sort of autumnal yet without being dry or spicy - it's so lovely and definitely nocturnal in feel. My one problem with it is the vanilla bean is very strong and amps heavily on me as most vanillas do, and it's *almost* too sweet and rich for me. Strong throw and longevity. I'm glad to have a bottle.

Rich golden oil. Herbs, flowers, a little soapy - definitely reminds me of many of the original Tarot blends. Similar herbal, slightly medicinal feel. Woody too. Drier, much more woody. Sandalwood and CEDAR. The herbs are a little bitter and also feel dried, not wet and green, but brownish and crumbly. Maybe some yarrow? I don't think this is actually floral, it's more that some herbs are giving a vague soapiness I associate with flowers. Wow, lots of morphing. The bitter and medicinal herbal aspects have burned off, and the sandalwood (red? I think based on the warmth and it reminds me of the note in Morocco) and cedar have melded into a beautiful sauna-esque woodiness. Something sweet and rich, almost honeyed but not quite, has emerge - I think some benzoin, and there's definitely some musk in here, too. A dramatic morphing. Final drydown is a musky, golden, woodsy scent and a lovely smoke note has appeared, somewhere between high quality incense and a fireplace, or woodsmoke in the Winter. Possibly some frankincense, and definitely some benzoin and/or tonka to sweeten things up. Something about this blend really reminds me of Pinched With Four Aces - it's that same smoky-woodsy quality. Very complex and seamless, unisex to masculine. Low throw but great longevity.

Fresh, green, rosy floral. It reminds me of expensive perfume, generally. Less green, sweeter (purple fruit?), rosier. Deep sexy musk and maybe something with warmth, a light amber? There is heady floral, quite possibly a touch of jasmine, maybe gardenia? Something white. Definitely regal and velvety as others have said. I'm getting a hint of spice, which I suspect is carnation. Powdery drydown, violet perhaps. Still some gardenia and a LOT of musk, and perhaps some amber. The rose goes increasingly to soap, but until then this blend isn't bad for a powdery floral.

Light lemon-yellow oil. Foody, buttery-sweet pumpkin with a strong sensation of warmth (probably red sandalwood) and a hint of something lemony-green, probably the tea rose? Much rosier - tea rose galore! Lovely fresh, sweet-tart, green rosey note, not unlike my beloved Peacock Queen or more aptly, the GC The Rose. This instantly takes over the buttery pumpkin note, thank god. Still, lots of warmth and a sense of odd richness which clashes with the fresh floral-greenery of the rose. Not really much morphing other than the rose more firmly taking command- the pumpkin is still staying around in its faded, more tolerable form, and the red sandalwood still provides warmth without making itself distinctly known. I will say that it's starting to meld more - it's less convoluted. WHY HELLO THERE ROSE. Definitely The Rose's rose note, but it's either stronger here or my chemistry at the moment is amping it unusually. I can detect the red sandalwood more now because it's gone a bit dry and it really reminds me greatly of the RS note in Morocco. Most of the pumpkin is now gone. It's a nice tea rose blend, but I have many rose blends already that I prefer, and this is just too warm, rich, and slightly foody/pumpkiny for me. Fantastic throw and longevity. Feminine.

2009 version Pale pink oil! The only other oil I've seen this colour was Egg'd Mailbox. Very complex and indeed autumnal. Crisp-sweet apple and lighter pumpkin hit first, then the spices, then the woods and earthy notes. A lot going on, but in a synergistic way. Much more woods and patchouli and spice on my skin; the apple is immediately much fainter which reveals more of the pumpkin, that is now a little buttery. Patchouli, very earthy but not quite dirty or rooty, lots and lots of fir and other woods and a walloping dose of dark, smoky vetiver (this also give a touch of soapy cologne, paradoxically). Actually spicy now, real heat, without any one spice dominating. Not much morping at all! Patchouli and vetiver and woods dominate with the spices just behind, but I do get a little of the mullein now and the pumpkin is holding, adding a rich buttery warmth but not much sweetness - this is only very delicately and softly sweet, and I would definitely consider this a masculine scent. Strong throw & longevity. Earthier, darker, more masculine than earlier blends I've tried.

2009 version Colourless oil. Sweet and foody and candy - this is candy corn, but it has more cakey and honeyed overtones - it's a more complex bunch of candies and goodies than the previous version which was straight candy corn. Honey and butter and cake! It reminds of a very rich decant yellow cake soaked in honey-sugar syrup. But now there's a hint of something else, something darker and a little spicy, either a spice or an incense note or a wood or all of those, off in the distance. The sweetness is quickly fading down, though this is still definitely candy, it's turning darker, more caramelised - I feel like I get a bit of the brown sugar/molasses note from Sugar Skull. There is a woody sort of clove note that's not too overwhelming - it's there but it's not dominating this blend. Smoky! It's sort of like...toasted woody clove or like some woodsmoke on top of the bitter clove with the brown sugar note and some honey-buttered corn. Really interesting morphing and substantially different and more complex from the prior version. It's only lightly sweet on later drydown - a man could wear this. Strong throw & longevity.

Light golden oil. Green, herbal, spicy! A little dark and a little grassy, too. Reminds me a bit of Garden Path with Chickens - similar type of nasturtium-spiciness. The anise and sage are faint and the thistle and heather are what stand out to me - I'm not familiar with the other notes. Spicier, grassier, more vibrant. Very fresh and garden-y and outdoorsy. Still a little herbal/medicinal but less so than it was in the bottle. Maybe a touch of a soapy sort of floral, I'm guessing the snapdragon? The heather note here is really lovely, just like the one in Glasgow. Definitely a unisex blend at this point. Actually...now this is reminding me sort of the Host of the Air. Still very spicy-green, grassy and fresh with that slightly soapy (but pleasantly) floral note, a little bitter and darker from the ivy that's emerged. Overall faded a bit, alas, but that fading seems to have taken away the slight harshness of the wet stage. Not a morpher after initial drying, other than going a bit musky and woody - it's a deeper, rounder scent after a couple hours, and more cologney, more masculine. Well balanced fresh, green, grassy scent with those floral and spicy hints holding - clean and classic, if somewhat generic. I like it, but it's a tad too masculine and maybe a wee bit too soapy. Lower throw but great longevity.

Beigey-golden oil. Sweet, rich, a tad floral. Heavy, slightly sharp orange blossom and piney cypress, a bit of creamy sweet coconut and sugar, and some of that myrtle with an incense base below. Sweet, softer. More coconut and sugar and a little pomegranate peeks out. Much less cypress, and while the orange blossom is still sharp, it's more bearable. The honey myrtle is coming out quite quickly in force - it's lovely and green. Wow...this has become quite nice! By far the best coconut blend I've tried. It's very light and soft and creamy, not nutty or too richly foody, and the sugar note here is similarly light and realistic without being too sweet or heavy. Muskier now, and faded orange blossom. Also, the cypress and myrtle have completely vanished. Roommate says it smells like 'surf wax', and it does remind me (in a really nice way) of suntan lotion a bit. The coconut and how creamy it is definitely imparts a beachy feel. Orange blossom completely gone after an hour or so - YAY - and the pomegranate and sugar notes are holding nicely. Only faint cypress and myrtle at this point.

Deep reddish brown, root-beer coloured but with a winier tint. Dark, intense, HEAVY. Lots of incensy/resiny notes and strong woods - not like forest pine, but like evil piney woods. A bit sour/sharp and astringent from the oude and cubeb. Definitely some red musk - not getting any florals. Sharper, more sour, more piney with a very dirty and rooty sort of patchouli note dominating along with the woods. And then a bit of powder - must be the florals combined with the amber. But really this is almost sort of masculine. Really not that much red musk, or it's just overwhelmed at this stage. More and more sour/sharp with now an old lady floral soap presenting strongly, and then dirty patchouli and sickly heavy red musk - god, could more things be wrong with this blend? Cubeb and yew are so, so strong here. More red musk now than wet, not surprisingly given my tendency to amp musks.

Cola-coloured deep brownish oil. Sharp, dark, intense. Slick-plasticky-chemically-harsh leather, piercing chrome (the one note I like here), and bitter, heavy, slightly sour resins. This one smacks you in the face! Very earthy, there has got to be a rooty sort of pathchouli in here , and the myrrh is SO strong, perhaps the strongest I've ever smelled it in any blend. The leather is a bit more complex now, both plastic-De-Sade like/powdery but there is also a rawer, more 'old' leather, suedey note. Reminds me kind of like the note in Sacrifice, actually - though not exactly. Dusty, musty, powdery, harsh, evil. The leather note in this has become utterly disgusting. I dislike myrrh when it's light, but here with this bad leather note I'm overwhelmed by nastiness. Definitely an utterly masculine scent.

Golden oil.Very fresh and cologney in an almost sparkling way, with a beautiful astringent-green bay note. Slighty soapy and smoky/incensey - but distantly, faintly. Same, perhaps a little more bay? There is a really lovely sort of aquatic-green sweetness, maybe cucumber? The bay is almost piney, in a GOOD way, woodsy, like cypress at its best, or maybe spruce. Incense is no stronger, still only on deep sniffing, and I'm not getting anything booklike. More and more bay and cypress as it dries - my roommate notes that it smells almost citrusy - and I also get a slightly sharp dry note, which I wouldn't peg as books or paper, but is probably representing those. Sadly, a bit more incensey, in a rather generic way. It's definitely turned from unisex to masculine.