Rovylern

Hay absolute, tall grasses, dry honey, mallow, cardamom, amber, and wheat. Reviewed 07/04/2008 In the bottle: This screams 'perfume'. I almost didn't want to try it. On my skin: My grandfather. I can't even sniff for notes because this smells EXACTLY like my grandfather, the unique combination of his aftershave, soap, hair stuff, cologne, and tanned skin. When I smell this I see his face, it is *dead on*. My partner thinks this smells amazingly yummy and would love me to wear it all the time. It's lovely, but I don't think it's something I can wear because it makes me all teary.

In the bottle: This screams 'perfume'. I almost didn't want to try it. On my skin: My grandfather. I can't even sniff for notes because this smells EXACTLY like my grandfather, the unique combination of his aftershave, soap, hair stuff, cologne, and tanned skin. When I smell this I see his face, it is *dead on*. My partner thinks this smells amazingly yummy and would love me to wear it all the time. It's lovely, but I don't think it's something I can wear because it makes me all teary.

I got more compliments yesterday when I was wearing Blue Fire than I have ever gotten before. I've had a few people comment about Beaver Moon '07, The Candy Butcher, Treat #1, and Parlement of Foules '08, but Blue Fire had everyone coming up to sniff and ask what I was wearing.

In the bottle: Sugary sweet fruit, lots of gin. Wet: A hint of sharpness from the gin, but mostly this is syrupy, over-sweet blueberries. Drydown: I'm all about the sweet foody scents, but this was overkill while it was wet. Thankfully it calmed down as it dried, becoming lighter and less cloying. It's like a blue raspberry slushy, with a dash of gin, some fizzy club soda, and a twist of lemon. This scent is very summery and so much fun, and I got more compliments wearing it today than any other I've tried. It's got great throw, and it lasted all day long without needing to be reapplied.

Papaya, blueberry, lemongrass, and gin. Reviewed 05/02/2008 In the bottle: Sugary sweet fruit, lots of gin. Wet: A hint of sharpness from the gin, but mostly this is syrupy, over-sweet blueberries. Drydown: I'm all about the sweet foody scents, but this was overkill while it was wet. Thankfully it calmed down as it dried, becoming lighter and less cloying. It's like a blue raspberry slushy, with a dash of gin, some fizzy club soda, and a twist of lemon. This scent is very summery and so much fun, and I got more compliments wearing it today than any other I've tried. It's got great throw, and it lasted all day long without needing to be reapplied.

Wet: Wow, that's a sharp herbal. Yikes. Drydown: I'm getting the rose now, a hint of citrus, and a sweetness I'm guessing is the huckleberry. It's still grounded by a green herbal I'm assuming is the parsley, but it's lost that knife-sharp edge that I was getting before. This is definitely not what I was expecting, but it's very pretty and it lasts a really long time.

The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. - Mark Twain The Fool is many things, but rarely is he foolish. He is the inscrutable zero, he is innocence perfected, and he is the nothing from which all things are created. It is the Fool that reveals truth and brings wisdom to King Lear, and it is the Fool that finally finds the Holy Grail. Huckleberry, white rose, tangerine, nicotiana, lemon blossom, and Fool's Parsley. Reviewed 04/27/2008 Wet: Wow, that's a sharp herbal. Yikes. Drydown: I'm getting the rose now, a hint of citrus, and a sweetness I'm guessing is the huckleberry. It's still grounded by a green herbal I'm assuming is the parsley, but it's lost that knife-sharp edge that I was getting before. This is definitely not what I was expecting, but it's very pretty and it lasts a really long time.

I posted this yesterday, but somehow in the forum weirdness it was lost. In the bottle: Hot, dripping-with-butter popcorn. Wet: Buttery popcorn, and a hint of sweetness coming out. Drydown: The popcorn settles down and sweet caramel comes forward. I'm not getting anything peanut-y at all. The caramel note is amazingly real, and combined with the lingering butter it reminds me of fresh, homemade caramels being pressed into a buttered pan. Fairly low throw, but decent wear length; I couldn't wait to get home and slathered some on right there in the post office after I picked up the package. That was about three hours ago, and it hasn't faded much at all despite the fact that my skin drinks oils for breakfast. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket tomorrow!

Glowing liquid passes through the fogged retorts of ancient alembics, sparks fly from behind a massive workbench, and a cloud of thick incense smoke hangs low, all casting strange and surreal flashes of light and shadow on tall bolted-steel walls. The chug and hum of gargantuan machines echo through the chamber. Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage. Reviewed 04/21/2008 I can't remember exactly what I wrote last night, since it got lost in the forum burp. But I do remember that this smelled exactly like a perfume I had as a child called Topaz. It came in a bottle shaped like a lamb, and I'm not sure who made it. I probably won't ever wear this, but I'll sniff it every once in a while to go back to that innocent time in my life.

Since 1928, Mother Shub and her brood have been providing the snack shacks of the Miskatonic Valley with a bevy of otherworldly sweets and baked treats. This year, Mother Shub has created a promotional perfume oil that embodies the scent of her famous Peanut Brittle Caramel Popcorn. Iä! Shub-Niggurath! Thank you for an eon of community support! Reviewed 4/22/2008 In the bottle: Hot, dripping-with-butter popcorn. Wet: Buttery popcorn, and a hint of sweetness coming out. Drydown: The popcorn settles down and sweet caramel comes forward. I'm not getting anything peanut-y at all. The caramel note is amazingly real, and combined with the lingering butter it reminds me of fresh, homemade caramels being pressed into a buttered pan. Fairly low throw, but decent wear length; I couldn't wait to get home and slathered some on right there in the post office after I picked up the package. That was about three hours ago, and it hasn't faded much at all despite the fact that my skin drinks oils for breakfast. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket tomorrow!

I can't pick out individual notes in this, but it smells exactly like a bottle of perfume I had as a child. It came in a bottle shaped like a lamb and it was called Topaz. No idea who made it, but this is an exact dupe for it. I'm not sure how often I'll wear it, but this really takes me back.

Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk. Reviewed 03/26/2008 I didn't sniff the imp of this, because I was nervous after reading the notes and didn't want to pre-judge it. I didn't read the reviews either. The teak note makes me nervous, wood goes to sawdust on me normally, and I've never smelled Snake Oil so I can't compare it with that. Wet: No sawdust yet, thank goodness. It's mostly dark cocoa, with a hint of something like caramel. It's not sweet or foody though. It's complex, I can smell some other, spicy notes floating around but I can't identify them. Drydown: This stained my skin where I put it on for a test patch. After about half an hour a sandalwood-like note came up and became very prominent, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else. It's very strong, and I'm not really fond of it. At the same time, a pounding headache came on. I'm not sure if they're related, but I had to go wash it off anyway. I'll have to test it again to see if the headache returns, but right now I'm not fond of this one.

Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints. Reviewed 03/21/2008 In the imp: Minty, but a different mint than the other minty BPAL scents I like (Snowblind, Tokyo Stomp, etc.) Wet: This is a spicier mint than I'm used to, and it is amazing. I love this. YUM. Drydown: This kept the spicy mint scent, but a tiny bit of greenness has come out under it, like the first little sprouts of grass peeking up through the snow. I want buckets of this, gallons and gallons of it so I can bathe in it. It feels so cool and fresh. I wish it had a bit more throw, but that might be my oil-drinking skin.

In the imp: Minty, but a different mint than the other minty BPAL scents I like (Snowblind, Tokyo Stomp, etc.) Wet: This is a spicier mint than I'm used to, and it is amazing. I love this. YUM. Drydown: This kept the spicy mint scent, but a tiny bit of greenness has come out under it, like the first little sprouts of grass peeking up through the snow. I want buckets of this, gallons and gallons of it so I can bathe in it. It feels so cool and fresh. I wish it had a bit more throw, but that might be my oil-drinking skin.

In the imp: This is an exact dupe for Zest soap! And it's strong, too. Wet: This is an eye opener. It still has that Zest soap smell, and if I sniff it too closely it makes my eyes water. Drydown: That strong soap smell never really leaves. I might wear this if I was dragging and had to wake myself up, but I can't picture myself reaching for this very often. I may try it on my SO to see if it smells better on him.

Seaweed, honey, white mint, and ambergris. Reviewed 03/20/2008 In the imp: This is an exact dupe for Zest soap! And it's strong, too. Wet: This is an eye opener. It still has that Zest soap smell, and if I sniff it too closely it makes my eyes water. Drydown: That strong soap smell never really leaves. I might wear this if I was dragging and had to wake myself up, but I can't picture myself reaching for this very often. I may try it on my SO to see if it smells better on him.

In the imp: I have no idea what I'm smelling, but it 'feels' golden. It doesn't smell particularly musky or floral or spicy or sweet. Wet: Now there's floral notes. Something is making my nose twitch if I sniff too closely, maybe the ginger? Drydown: I have such hit-or-miss luck with honey notes. Sometimes it's gorgeous, sometimes it turns into cat pee. Sadly, this is the latter kind. I really enjoyed this scent until about 45-60 minutes into the weartime, and then it turned bad. I probably won't be ordering a bottle of this before it comes down, but I'll hang onto my imp for use in my scent locket.

Osmanthus, honey, golden musk, vanilla flower, and ginger. Reviewed 03/20/2008 In the imp: I have no idea what I'm smelling, but it 'feels' golden. It doesn't smell particularly musky or floral or spicy or sweet. Wet: Now there's floral notes. Something is making my nose twitch if I sniff too closely, maybe the ginger? Drydown: I have such hit-or-miss luck with honey notes. Sometimes it's gorgeous, sometimes it turns into cat pee. Sadly, this is the latter kind. I really enjoyed this scent until about 45-60 minutes into the weartime, and then it turned bad. I probably won't be ordering a bottle of this before it comes down, but I'll hang onto my imp for use in my scent locket.

Medieval romance and courtly love. White rose and soft resins. Reviewed 03/20/2008 In the imp: Flowers, but not roses specifically, and a hint of incense. Wet: Now it's rose, a light, tangy rose with fresh greenery. There's nothing that says resin or incense anymore. Drydown: This is my perfect rose scent. Not a touch of powder the way many roses go on my skin, light and fresh, simply gorgeous, never overpowering. It has a long wear time and a decent throw, which surprised me since it's such a light scent. I *love* this one, and I think it will become a mainstay of my spring scent wardrobe.

In the imp: Flowers, but not roses specifically, and a hint of incense. Wet: Now it's rose, a light, tangy rose with fresh greenery. There's nothing that says resin or incense anymore. Drydown: This is my perfect rose scent. Not a touch of powder the way many roses go on my skin, light and fresh, simply gorgeous, never overpowering. It has a long wear time and a decent throw, which surprised me since it's such a light scent. I *love* this one, and I think it will become a mainstay of my spring scent wardrobe.

Electric ozone, opaline notes, moonflower, white amber, beeswax, and three roses. Reviewed 03/20/2008 In the imp: Is there something in there? I can't smell anything. How weird. Wet: Powder, but not baby powder. There's something swirling around underneath that is threatening to turn evil on my skin. Drydown: Powder, but a creamy powder. I'm not getting any floral notes at all. This is pretty, but it's not something I'll wear often at all. I wanted so badly to hoard this one because of the name, but I think I'll just stick with my imp.

In the imp: Is there something in there? I can't smell anything. How weird. Wet: Powder, but not baby powder. There's something swirling around underneath that is threatening to turn evil on my skin. Drydown: Powder, but a creamy powder. I'm not getting any floral notes at all. This is pretty, but it's not something I'll wear often at all. I wanted so badly to hoard this one because of the name, but I think I'll just stick with my imp.

This was the All-Cassia-Channel on my skin. I like cassia, so that didn't bother me, but I wish I could have gotten some other notes from it. I didn't get to give it a fair trial, though, because I started to get burning, itching welts after only a few minutes. I tested it on the back of my hand, which is one of my least reactive zones, so this is definitely a no-go for me.

Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood. This was the All-Cassia-Channel on my skin. I like cassia, so that didn't bother me, but I wish I could have gotten some other notes from it. I didn't get to give it a fair trial, though, because I started to get burning, itching welts after only a few minutes. I tested it on the back of my hand, which is one of my least reactive zones, so this is definitely a no-go for me.

In the imp: Something about this reminds me of one of those "After The Rain" air fresheners. Wet: Yep, definitely an air freshener. It's very green and fresh, but something about it comes off artificial and chemical to my nose. Drydown: Wait, where did it go? This was completely gone after only 35 minutes. I put more on, and it disappeared again. I applied it a third time, very heavily, and again it vanished. Apparently I am not meant to smell this for more than half an hour. How very odd.