ohshi, BPALsplosion!
May. 25th, 2006 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joiedecombatGood thing I slapped that huge list of reviews up the other day. No Dragon Moon quite yet, but a whole mess of swaps converged upon my mailbox today, including some very generous freebies from one swapper!
13
In the bottle: Ooh. Kind of a chocolate-orange scent coming from this one. Looking forward to testing it out.
On my skin: Yep, chocolate orange. Dark chocolate; it's stronger on my skin than it was in the bottle. Very cool, though, and not too foody for wear, especially after it's dried down some.
Twelve hours later edit: Lots of staying power, too.
Kathmandu
In the bottle: Maybe it's the cedar; I'm getting something almost minty from this one.
On my skin: No mint. It's pretty much pure cedar, maybe a bit of sandalwood. As previously mentioned, I do like cedar... but I don't really want to smell like I've been sleeping in the doghouse, no matter how many positive scent associations I have. Magus does it better.
Kyoto
In the bottle: The lab says cherry blossom. I smell cherry.
On my skin: Cherry... cough syrup. No, actually, that's anise leaping out, strongly reminiscent of licorice. I wasn't a big fan of this combination in Kabuki, and I'm not liking it much better now.
Dried down: It pretty much just vanished, making it a definite pass.
Pele
In the bottle: This is pretty subtle in the imp. I'm getting a whiff of ginger over maybe some floral, but it's hard to form a solid impression.
On my skin: Snf? Snf? What I can smell is nice, but it really just kind of vanished. I think I'm going to need to give it a more liberal test when I'm not already trying three other oils, and hope it doesn't pull an Amsterdam.
Second try: Oooh. Now that I've gotten a good enough amount on, this is really nice... and another one that's teasingly familiar, like I've smelled these flowers someplace. My brain insists it's a place it's putting me in mind of, but damn if I can pin in down. Anyway...! Pele ends up being dewy white flowers and sweet ginger. It's actually putting me vaguely in mind of a lighter, paler alternative to Xiuhtecuhtli if that one's smokiness just isn't your thing. Xiuhtecuhtli is big, bold scarlet and orange and purple tropical flowers with smoke wafting over them; Pele's flowers are still big and lush, but dewy and white, and the ginger is a subtler and sweeter spiciness. It's really nice.
Scherezade
In the bottle: Familiar, but hard to place. What I'm smelling is almost masculine - some kind of wood note maybe? I'd have to look at the notes again. It'll be interesting to test.
On my skin: This is reminding me strongly of some high-quality incense I've had in the past, although I can't for the life of me recall what. It is a woody scent, but the throw is surprisingly sweet (and plentiful - it throws all over the place) and not at all powdery-dry. I'm not sold on a bigger bottle just yet, but I like this more than I'd expected.
Shroud
In the bottle: Another one that's familiar but hard to place. This one's a fresher scent; a tea note maybe, or lemon verbena/lemongrass/whatever if that's supposed to be in it.
On me: I wonder if lemongrass accounts for some or all of the "grasses" mentioned in the lab description. Initially I get sandalwood and lemongrass... and then I mostly get lemongrass, or something like it. It's not entirely unlike Embalming Fluid, but it's drier and not as definitely citrusy. More of a light, dry herbal scent. I kind of like it, but I don't know that I'd want more of it. (The copious throw from Scherezade may also be tainting my perception of it some.) We'll see how it grows on me.
Tombstone
In the bottle: It must be some combination of the vanilla and more masculine notes, but I swear in the imp this smells weirdly like honeydew.
On my skin: Cedar leaps out first, but it's smoothed and sweetened a bit by vanilla underneath it, keeping it from instantly smelling like sawdust. Is there sassafrass in here too? Maybe. Or juniper. Something's adding a higher note. Hmm, interesting. I will see how it wears.
Edit to add: As it's drying down, the high note is receding. The throw from this is mostly vanilla, with traces of cedar and sassafrass. I am liking it more than I initially thought. The vanilla in Antique Lace is a little too creamy-sweet, but this is nice.
White Rabbit
In the bottle: Sweet milk with a splash of tea.
On my skin: Sweet milk and... pepper. And tea. As advertised. They do not really combine all that well. I think I will stick to keeping my tea and milk scents separate, and not peppered.
Plus spare imps of Shanghai and Namaste, which I have reviewed previously.
All reviewed now!
13
In the bottle: Ooh. Kind of a chocolate-orange scent coming from this one. Looking forward to testing it out.
On my skin: Yep, chocolate orange. Dark chocolate; it's stronger on my skin than it was in the bottle. Very cool, though, and not too foody for wear, especially after it's dried down some.
Twelve hours later edit: Lots of staying power, too.
Kathmandu
In the bottle: Maybe it's the cedar; I'm getting something almost minty from this one.
On my skin: No mint. It's pretty much pure cedar, maybe a bit of sandalwood. As previously mentioned, I do like cedar... but I don't really want to smell like I've been sleeping in the doghouse, no matter how many positive scent associations I have. Magus does it better.
Kyoto
In the bottle: The lab says cherry blossom. I smell cherry.
On my skin: Cherry... cough syrup. No, actually, that's anise leaping out, strongly reminiscent of licorice. I wasn't a big fan of this combination in Kabuki, and I'm not liking it much better now.
Dried down: It pretty much just vanished, making it a definite pass.
Pele
In the bottle: This is pretty subtle in the imp. I'm getting a whiff of ginger over maybe some floral, but it's hard to form a solid impression.
On my skin: Snf? Snf? What I can smell is nice, but it really just kind of vanished. I think I'm going to need to give it a more liberal test when I'm not already trying three other oils, and hope it doesn't pull an Amsterdam.
Second try: Oooh. Now that I've gotten a good enough amount on, this is really nice... and another one that's teasingly familiar, like I've smelled these flowers someplace. My brain insists it's a place it's putting me in mind of, but damn if I can pin in down. Anyway...! Pele ends up being dewy white flowers and sweet ginger. It's actually putting me vaguely in mind of a lighter, paler alternative to Xiuhtecuhtli if that one's smokiness just isn't your thing. Xiuhtecuhtli is big, bold scarlet and orange and purple tropical flowers with smoke wafting over them; Pele's flowers are still big and lush, but dewy and white, and the ginger is a subtler and sweeter spiciness. It's really nice.
Scherezade
In the bottle: Familiar, but hard to place. What I'm smelling is almost masculine - some kind of wood note maybe? I'd have to look at the notes again. It'll be interesting to test.
On my skin: This is reminding me strongly of some high-quality incense I've had in the past, although I can't for the life of me recall what. It is a woody scent, but the throw is surprisingly sweet (and plentiful - it throws all over the place) and not at all powdery-dry. I'm not sold on a bigger bottle just yet, but I like this more than I'd expected.
Shroud
In the bottle: Another one that's familiar but hard to place. This one's a fresher scent; a tea note maybe, or lemon verbena/lemongrass/whatever if that's supposed to be in it.
On me: I wonder if lemongrass accounts for some or all of the "grasses" mentioned in the lab description. Initially I get sandalwood and lemongrass... and then I mostly get lemongrass, or something like it. It's not entirely unlike Embalming Fluid, but it's drier and not as definitely citrusy. More of a light, dry herbal scent. I kind of like it, but I don't know that I'd want more of it. (The copious throw from Scherezade may also be tainting my perception of it some.) We'll see how it grows on me.
Tombstone
In the bottle: It must be some combination of the vanilla and more masculine notes, but I swear in the imp this smells weirdly like honeydew.
On my skin: Cedar leaps out first, but it's smoothed and sweetened a bit by vanilla underneath it, keeping it from instantly smelling like sawdust. Is there sassafrass in here too? Maybe. Or juniper. Something's adding a higher note. Hmm, interesting. I will see how it wears.
Edit to add: As it's drying down, the high note is receding. The throw from this is mostly vanilla, with traces of cedar and sassafrass. I am liking it more than I initially thought. The vanilla in Antique Lace is a little too creamy-sweet, but this is nice.
White Rabbit
In the bottle: Sweet milk with a splash of tea.
On my skin: Sweet milk and... pepper. And tea. As advertised. They do not really combine all that well. I think I will stick to keeping my tea and milk scents separate, and not peppered.
Plus spare imps of Shanghai and Namaste, which I have reviewed previously.
All reviewed now!
