Leopard403

Something is very grassy-green at first, but this quickly turns into a honeysuckle cream.

I’m having a very different experience with Hope. It’s a surprisingly fusty scent, like sniffing a long-lost box of cigars.

I didn’t know tulips had a scent until grad school, when I worked at a Wicks N Sticks in my spare time. Our biggest seller was Yankee Candles, and there was a tulip blend that was shockingly fragrant for such a simple little flower. Unfortunately that stuck with me, and while I love the smell I have to be wary of it because it often eats everything else. And yeah, it kinda does that here too. Hmph.

It’s funny what the mind clings to. This blend goes on beautifully...and the there are several minutes of something unpleasant.* Things mellow out again into something very nice but I really suffered there for a bit. Bummer. *The something unpleasant:

Oh dang. I like this. At first it’s all green grass on my skin, but then there is coconut that isn’t suntan lotion-y in the least but is probably made overt by that vanilla and amber base. I get maybe one quick whiff of sweet fig if I reeeeeally hunt for it, and at least to my nose any delicate orange blossom is eaten up by the rest. The name is perfect and precisely evocative. Might need to get more of this one.

Looking at so many floral notes, I was shocked at how juicy this blend turned out to be when it hit my skin. Sadly, that gardenia and white amber quickly take over and this turns into soap. Finely milled expensive French soap, but still. I’ll keep wearing it until my decant is gone, but I don’t need a bottle. Update: OMG this is a morpher. I had to come back and edit because after a while the juicy note (the strawberry, I guess) comes back. Whaaaaaat? And now, several hours later, what is lingering smells like SJP Lovely, (which I once tramped all over NYC to find only to realize it wasn’t considered high market enough to be in any of the super-fancy stores and I ended up purchasing it in the Orlando airport. Also, a warning: Lovely and Elon Karanishiki do not appear to have ANYTHING in common note-wise, so don’t try to make sense of that, mmmkay?). So it has enough nostalgia to it that I might buy more after all.

The cherry fades. The rose stays. - A poem by Leopard403

Holy crap, more people need to be talking about this. I was wary of the bergamot because it can be so overwhelming on my skin, and when I first applied this scent that’s all I got. But then a few minutes later I got the most gorgeous, juicy, fruity whiff of that unexpected blackberry. UMPFFFFF. SO GOOD. There’s something a bit creamy and wistful that helps center the berry, but oh yeah, those berries are the star. Great wear length on me, as well. Bottleworthy!

Around here, people seem to feel very strongly about fig, and that’s the reason I bought this. Just to see... And now I get it. Give me ALL FIG ALL THE TIME. *swoon* There’s a whiff of cherry here when the scent is wet, but it’s gone quickly and I’m left with Deep Fig Perfection (new band name, I called it!).

This is so pretty when I sniff it straight from the decant: All notes are right there. Sadly, that cream gets me every time and turns salty on my skin. I plan to try this in a scent locket next...

Oh, this is lovely. The sweetness balances that herbal astringency so that this blend feels spoon-thick, like a lavender honeycomb pudding. Yaaasssssss.

Lots of cinnamon spice potpourri.

Surprisingly perfumey on me; I don’t get the creamy notes others are mentioning and there is no warmth to it, rather this is all high-pitched on my skin.

Partly, I wasn't paying attention. But also, everywhere I can see (including here in this review thread as well as on the BPAL main site), this is just listed as Sour Gummi. NOT Sour Gummi Snake Oil. Yes, on the main site it is in the section with the other SO Weenie varieties... but I kinda got overly excited and missed that. The others are clearly Blood Squib Snake Oil or Popcorn Ball Snake Oil or Red Hot Snake Oil. So somewhere along the line my brain seized on the lack of SO in the name and got fixated on Sour Gummi. JUST Sour Gummi. So sadly, I was quite disappointed when I sniffed this and realized the sad, sad truth. I mean, in the end, yeah, I like it quite a lot actually, and I do think it will get even better with age, but it is not at all what I was expecting and my brain can't get over that hump. Phooey.

This is such a weird, wonderful scent. Sniffing my wrist up close there was something almost bitter about it and I thought I’d have to sell my decant. But I kept getting whiffs of something lovely. But no, close up it’s off-putting... but from a bit of distance it’s lovely. WTAF here? So I’ve decided I’m buying a bottle and I just won’t smell it up close. I mean, who does that, right? *looks around at everyone else here who also does that* LOL Anyway: Yes, there is something sparkling and a bit dainty about this. Very sophisticated. No overt identifiable notes but rather an ethereal blend. And the test patch lasted through a shower, so dang.