BPAL Reviews 151 - 175
Continuing reviews of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL) scents. I DO NOT HAVE AN ADDICTION >_> Some general info: reviews are broken up into groups of 25 per post and I update posts frequently with new reviews. I will post a separate update to my journal when I add new reviews. Blends are noted as LE or GC (and occasionally prototype or special); LE = Limited Edition, GC = General Catalogue. GC scents are available as "imps", which are tester-sized vials of the oils. For more info regarding BPAL and imps, click the respective links.
Review #151: Boomslang (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk."
In the bottle: The darkest, blackest oil I have ever seen o.O It smells of amazing cocoa.
Immediately after application: Non-foody, bittersweet cocoa with a hint of teak backed up by the now-familiar touch of Snake Oil.
Warming up: My skin loves cocoa as much as I do and sucked it all up. I'm left with woodsy SO. OH WOE WHATEVER SHALL I DO? /sarcasm /slather
Fading: Mostly SO with a slight sweetness (that's not the vanilla) I think might be the rice milk.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: YUMYUMYUM. I do wish the cocoa had held out a little longer but perhaps aging will give it more staying power.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #152: Ashlultum (GC)
Website Description: "Babylonian musk, vanilla tea, tonka, tobacco, coconut, hyssop, and lilac."
In the bottle: Vanilla tea, tonka, tobacco. Oh YUM.
Immediately after application: Same as above but with lilac. Oh I LIKE this one *happy face*
Warming up: The lilac has taken over for now with wafts of vanilla and tobacco.
Fading: Sweet vanilla.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: This is a beautiful blend, like my adored Perversion but with lilac (and minus the booze) and so less smutty and more feminine. I'll definitely want a bottle.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #153: Dionysia (GC)
Website Description: "Wild plum, pomegranate, raspberry, Siamese benzoin, plum blossom, patchouli, frankincense, and mahogany."
In the bottle: Patchouli and mahogany with a fruity background.
Immediately after application: OH WOW. Patch, frankincense, mahogany, sweet/tart fruit. I want to lick my arm, but I'm not sure if it's in a sexual way or yummy want-to-nom way. I smell delicious!
Warming up: The complexity is swallowed by the raspberries. It smells just like the B&BW raspberry scent. Damn.
Fading: Raspberry.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I was disappointed by the raspberry. It smelled really amazing wet and had so much potential.
Rating: 2/5.
Review #154: Inez (GC)
Website Description: "Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood."
In the bottle: Amber, myrrh, cedar, carnation. Woodsy yet warm and bright.
Immediately after application: Oh wow, this is beautiful. I'm getting all the notes melding into a warm resiny, woodsy, slightly musky blend with hints of carnation.
Warming up: Beautiful woodsy notes with the vanilla musk. Yum.
Fading: Woodsy, musky vanilla.
Faded: Light throw, average wear.
Overall: LOVE. Well, pretty much anything that has woodsy, musky vanilla will be love for me. Unless a NOTE OF DEATH ruins it, that is. All of the notes here are wonderful on me though. BOTTLE NAO.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #155: Gwyneth (GC)
Website Description: "Rose otto, tonka, orchid, Calla lily, skin musk, coconut, and Spanish sage."
In the bottle: Rose, tonka, a hint of coconut.
Immediately after application: The coconut and tonka are the strongest notes. I catch some rose, orchid, and lily that are discernible as more than just "floral". Another blend I like at first sniff. The rose isn't overpowering nor are the other florals.
Warming up: Damn, turned into dusty, powdery rose. Where did my pretty coconut go? D:
Fading: N/A
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: Boo rose.
Rating: 1/5.
Review #156: Marcilla (GC)
Website Description: "Blue lilac, lily of the valley, golden musk, beeswax, white ginger, bergamot, green tea, and nectarine."
In the bottle: Lilac, ginger, tea, nectarine.
Immediately after application: Soft lilac and nectarine. Some of the bergamot too.
Warming up: Too florally.
Fading: Fades pretty quickly and I get musk and beeswax at this point.
Faded: Little throw, average to short wear.
Overall: Not for me, sadly.
Rating: 1/5.
Review #157: Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht (GC)
Website Description: "Amber, cream accord, white honey, apple blossom, skin musk, caramel, and teak."
In the bottle: Caramel!
Immediately after application: Apple and caramel. Rather Creepy-ish atm.
Warming up: Still similar to Creepy with less apple and some honey and musk.
Fading: The honey is going a little weird. I think I'll stick to Creepy.
Faded: Light throw, average wear.
Overall: Very heavy caramel at first, then the apple blossom added a Creepy vibe. As it warmed I got honey and a touch of musk but sadly the honey went weird on me. I'll stick to Creepy for my caramel apple needs.
Rating: 2/5.
Review #158: The Blood Garden (GC)
Website Description: "Blood accord, bitter clove, English ivy, Tempranillo grape, red currant, oak, leather, blackberry leaf, and ginger lily."
In the bottle: Fruity, blackberry and grape.
Immediately after application: Much more complex on my skin. I catch the clove, grape, blackberry and hints of oak and leather.
Warming up: Oak, leather, fruit notes. Something smells musky which may be the blood accord. I like!
Fading: Leathery, woodsy, faint fruit.
Faded: Average throw, long wear.
Overall: Yum yum. I could still smell it when I woke up this morning. Definitely need a bottle.
Rating: 4/5.
Review #159: Temple Viper (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with sugar cane, frankincense, champaca, opoponax, labdanum, and hyssop."
In the bottle: Heavy on the frankincense.
Immediately after application: Frankincense with what I'm beginning to be able to identify as Snake Oil. It almost has a hint of cola right now.
Warming up: Vanilla-y Snake Oil with hints of the frankincense and sugar.
Fading: Mostly Snake Oil with a bit of frankincense.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: Didn't last well but it smelled amazing while it did. Yum, Snake Oil!
Rating: 4/5.
Review #160: Western Diamondback (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with leather, tonka bean, red sandalwood, and sage."
In the bottle: Sandalwood and sage.
Immediately after application: Dusty sage, sandalwood, and smooth leather. This smells gorgeous and is very evocative of its namesake.
Warming up: Warm leather and Snake Oil.
Fading: Soft vanilla and spice over leather.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I love leather notes especially when paired with vanilla. And the vanilla from Snake Oil is a particularly lovely one with leather. Bottle!
Rating: 5/5.
Review #161: Green Tree Viper (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with four mints, bergamot, and green tea."
In the bottle: Yummy mint.
Immediately after application: Mint, bergamot, a smidge of tea, and Snake Oil lurking far underneath.
Warming up: The mint is slurped up by my skin and I'm left with a lovely bergamot and tea mix with the lightest hint of vanilla from the SO.
Fading: The SO is much stronger now and the vanilla is lending its usual yumminess to the tea and smelling really good. This one was a pretty decent morpher.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I liked all of the morphing it did, though I do wish those pesky mints would hang around for once.
Rating: 4/5.
Review #162: Habu (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo."
In the bottle: Juicy and almost sweet.
Immediately after application: I definitely get the bamboo, which smells really nice! This blend almost smells like it's got ginger in it, fresh ginger. It definitely has an Asian feel to me.
Warming up: Still sweet, probably from the SO. I can smell the ho wood and teak with a smidge of the musk.
Fading: Faded to just the SO.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I liked this one as well, but I've liked all the Snake Pit scents. Clearly I like me some Snake Oil XD
Rating: 4/5.
Review #162: Death Adder (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with vetiver, black coconut, vanilla, and opoponax."
In the bottle: Vetiver with vanilla underneath.
Immediately after application: DELICIOUS non-sweet coconut, vanilla, and the smokiness of vetiver without it being overwhelming.
Warming up: A bit more vetiver poking out but still lovely vanilla and coconut.
Fading: Wafts of burly vetiver but mostly delicious vanilla and coconut. The SO is adding its own vanilla and I am drowning in vanilla-coconut with touches of vetiver and spices.
Faded: Good throw, average to long wear.
Overall: I loved this blend! The vetiver behaved and added to the blend rather than overpowering it.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #163: Coral Snake (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with blood orange, red apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and gardenia."
In the bottle: Apple and maybe the blood orange.
Immediately after application: Mostly crisp apple but I also get some plumeria and gardenia, two florals I actually LIKE.
Warming up: The florals are stronger than the fruit notes but it's a very pleasant scent.
Fading: Soft floral and fruit, no SO detectable in this one.
Faded: Little throw, short wear.
Overall: Not one of my favorites from the Snake Pit.
Rating: 3/5.
Review #164: Pomegranate IV (LE)
Website Description: "Pomegranate, cognac, red musk, cocoa, tobacco absolute, star anise, and thyme."
In the bottle: Definitely star anise on top of pomegranate, musk, and cognac.
Immediately after application: Heavily star anise. A bit of the tart pom.
Warming up: The star anise is melding into the red musk and cognac. Ooh there's some thyme and tobacco as well! Thyme always fades so fast on me though, hopefully it'll last. It'll be interesting to see how this one morphs the longer it's on.
Fading: Musky pomegranate.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I liked this one quite a bit. Bottle!
Rating: 4/5.
Review #165: Dungeon Crawl (special)
Website Description: "Wet stone corridors, gobs of candle wax, crusty abbatoirs, rusted caltrops, nefarious necromancer incense, kobold musk, and dragon droppings."
In the bottle: Something smells like leather. Leather and metallic perhaps? It's definitely reminiscent of a dungeon!
Immediately after application: I still get leather from this though it's not listed as a note. Metallic and ooh there's the wet stone! DAMMIT I HAVE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS DON'T I?
Warming up: All I can smell now is the wet stone and rust. It's not a pretty smell but it's extremely evocative. I can picture my hunter slogging through a dank underground dungeon. Awesome.
Fading: Dungeon :D
Faded: Light throw, long wear.
Overall: It's not particularly attractive as a perfume but I absolutely adore it for the RPG tie-in. It's nothing so pedestrian as a musty basement, it's absolutely the smell of a damp, dank dungeon. It reminds me of the exploring my husband and I did in the Mont Saint-Michel when we went to France. The feel of old, damp stone with a story to tell. I would love to find a bottle just because I'm certain I can find uses for it.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #166: Dia de los Natitas 2010 (LE)
Website Description: "Hydrangea blossoms and rose petals, cigarette smoke, cocoa leaves, and chichi."
In the bottle: Florals.
Immediately after application: Rose and hydrangea. I like hydrangea apparently. Probably because it's actually fighting the rose for dominance.
Warming up: All I can smell are the florals.
Fading: Floral and going a bit soapy.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: Not me at all. No smoke or cocoa that I could tell. Ah well, that leaves space for another bottle. Of something else ^_^
Rating: 1/5.
Review #167: Sugar Skull 2010 (LE)
Website Description: "A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits."
In the bottle: Sugary and boozy?
Immediately after application: SUGAR HIGH YAY. A smidge boozy. I wonder what that's from? I've loved previous years of this so I expect this will be a bottle purchase.
Warming up: Burnt crust on a creme brulee. Mmmm.
Fading: Yummy sugar.
Faded: Light throw, average wear
Overall: I wonder if that booziness is just because it's new. The older version I tried was smooth, sweet sugar. In any case, I'll be buying a bottle and probably letting it age a bit.
Rating: 4/5.
Review #168: Venice (GC)
Website Description: "Lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf."
In the bottle: Jasmine.
Immediately after application: Jasmine.
Warming up: Jasmine.
Fading: Jasmine.
Faded: Jasmine.
Overall: Jasmine. Do we sense a theme?
Rating: 0/5.
Review #169: Paramatman (GC)
Website Description: "Orange blossom, East Indian sandalwood, and champaca."
In the bottle: Sandalwood.
Immediately after application: Sandalwood and I get a hit of the champaca. Not a hint of the orange blossom though.
Warming up: Sandalwood and magnolia.
Fading: Lovely soft sandalwood and magnolia.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: A pretty nice sandalwood/champaca scent. Not hugely in love enough for a bottle, but pretty.
Rating: 2/5.
Review #170: Eve (GC)
Website Description: "Apple blossom, rose, ylang ylang and golden honey."
In the bottle: Apple with a touch of rose.
Immediately after application: Fresh, crisp apple and some rose under that.
Warming up: Rose.
Fading: Rose.
Faded: Light throw, average wear.
Overall: Godzilla rose again.
Rating: 1/5.
Review #151: Boomslang (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk."
In the bottle: The darkest, blackest oil I have ever seen o.O It smells of amazing cocoa.
Immediately after application: Non-foody, bittersweet cocoa with a hint of teak backed up by the now-familiar touch of Snake Oil.
Warming up: My skin loves cocoa as much as I do and sucked it all up. I'm left with woodsy SO. OH WOE WHATEVER SHALL I DO? /sarcasm /slather
Fading: Mostly SO with a slight sweetness (that's not the vanilla) I think might be the rice milk.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: YUMYUMYUM. I do wish the cocoa had held out a little longer but perhaps aging will give it more staying power.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #152: Ashlultum (GC)
Website Description: "Babylonian musk, vanilla tea, tonka, tobacco, coconut, hyssop, and lilac."
In the bottle: Vanilla tea, tonka, tobacco. Oh YUM.
Immediately after application: Same as above but with lilac. Oh I LIKE this one *happy face*
Warming up: The lilac has taken over for now with wafts of vanilla and tobacco.
Fading: Sweet vanilla.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: This is a beautiful blend, like my adored Perversion but with lilac (and minus the booze) and so less smutty and more feminine. I'll definitely want a bottle.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #153: Dionysia (GC)
Website Description: "Wild plum, pomegranate, raspberry, Siamese benzoin, plum blossom, patchouli, frankincense, and mahogany."
In the bottle: Patchouli and mahogany with a fruity background.
Immediately after application: OH WOW. Patch, frankincense, mahogany, sweet/tart fruit. I want to lick my arm, but I'm not sure if it's in a sexual way or yummy want-to-nom way. I smell delicious!
Warming up: The complexity is swallowed by the raspberries. It smells just like the B&BW raspberry scent. Damn.
Fading: Raspberry.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I was disappointed by the raspberry. It smelled really amazing wet and had so much potential.
Rating: 2/5.
Review #154: Inez (GC)
Website Description: "Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood."
In the bottle: Amber, myrrh, cedar, carnation. Woodsy yet warm and bright.
Immediately after application: Oh wow, this is beautiful. I'm getting all the notes melding into a warm resiny, woodsy, slightly musky blend with hints of carnation.
Warming up: Beautiful woodsy notes with the vanilla musk. Yum.
Fading: Woodsy, musky vanilla.
Faded: Light throw, average wear.
Overall: LOVE. Well, pretty much anything that has woodsy, musky vanilla will be love for me. Unless a NOTE OF DEATH ruins it, that is. All of the notes here are wonderful on me though. BOTTLE NAO.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #155: Gwyneth (GC)
Website Description: "Rose otto, tonka, orchid, Calla lily, skin musk, coconut, and Spanish sage."
In the bottle: Rose, tonka, a hint of coconut.
Immediately after application: The coconut and tonka are the strongest notes. I catch some rose, orchid, and lily that are discernible as more than just "floral". Another blend I like at first sniff. The rose isn't overpowering nor are the other florals.
Warming up: Damn, turned into dusty, powdery rose. Where did my pretty coconut go? D:
Fading: N/A
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: Boo rose.
Rating: 1/5.
Review #156: Marcilla (GC)
Website Description: "Blue lilac, lily of the valley, golden musk, beeswax, white ginger, bergamot, green tea, and nectarine."
In the bottle: Lilac, ginger, tea, nectarine.
Immediately after application: Soft lilac and nectarine. Some of the bergamot too.
Warming up: Too florally.
Fading: Fades pretty quickly and I get musk and beeswax at this point.
Faded: Little throw, average to short wear.
Overall: Not for me, sadly.
Rating: 1/5.
Review #157: Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht (GC)
Website Description: "Amber, cream accord, white honey, apple blossom, skin musk, caramel, and teak."
In the bottle: Caramel!
Immediately after application: Apple and caramel. Rather Creepy-ish atm.
Warming up: Still similar to Creepy with less apple and some honey and musk.
Fading: The honey is going a little weird. I think I'll stick to Creepy.
Faded: Light throw, average wear.
Overall: Very heavy caramel at first, then the apple blossom added a Creepy vibe. As it warmed I got honey and a touch of musk but sadly the honey went weird on me. I'll stick to Creepy for my caramel apple needs.
Rating: 2/5.
Review #158: The Blood Garden (GC)
Website Description: "Blood accord, bitter clove, English ivy, Tempranillo grape, red currant, oak, leather, blackberry leaf, and ginger lily."
In the bottle: Fruity, blackberry and grape.
Immediately after application: Much more complex on my skin. I catch the clove, grape, blackberry and hints of oak and leather.
Warming up: Oak, leather, fruit notes. Something smells musky which may be the blood accord. I like!
Fading: Leathery, woodsy, faint fruit.
Faded: Average throw, long wear.
Overall: Yum yum. I could still smell it when I woke up this morning. Definitely need a bottle.
Rating: 4/5.
Review #159: Temple Viper (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with sugar cane, frankincense, champaca, opoponax, labdanum, and hyssop."
In the bottle: Heavy on the frankincense.
Immediately after application: Frankincense with what I'm beginning to be able to identify as Snake Oil. It almost has a hint of cola right now.
Warming up: Vanilla-y Snake Oil with hints of the frankincense and sugar.
Fading: Mostly Snake Oil with a bit of frankincense.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: Didn't last well but it smelled amazing while it did. Yum, Snake Oil!
Rating: 4/5.
Review #160: Western Diamondback (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with leather, tonka bean, red sandalwood, and sage."
In the bottle: Sandalwood and sage.
Immediately after application: Dusty sage, sandalwood, and smooth leather. This smells gorgeous and is very evocative of its namesake.
Warming up: Warm leather and Snake Oil.
Fading: Soft vanilla and spice over leather.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I love leather notes especially when paired with vanilla. And the vanilla from Snake Oil is a particularly lovely one with leather. Bottle!
Rating: 5/5.
Review #161: Green Tree Viper (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with four mints, bergamot, and green tea."
In the bottle: Yummy mint.
Immediately after application: Mint, bergamot, a smidge of tea, and Snake Oil lurking far underneath.
Warming up: The mint is slurped up by my skin and I'm left with a lovely bergamot and tea mix with the lightest hint of vanilla from the SO.
Fading: The SO is much stronger now and the vanilla is lending its usual yumminess to the tea and smelling really good. This one was a pretty decent morpher.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I liked all of the morphing it did, though I do wish those pesky mints would hang around for once.
Rating: 4/5.
Review #162: Habu (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo."
In the bottle: Juicy and almost sweet.
Immediately after application: I definitely get the bamboo, which smells really nice! This blend almost smells like it's got ginger in it, fresh ginger. It definitely has an Asian feel to me.
Warming up: Still sweet, probably from the SO. I can smell the ho wood and teak with a smidge of the musk.
Fading: Faded to just the SO.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I liked this one as well, but I've liked all the Snake Pit scents. Clearly I like me some Snake Oil XD
Rating: 4/5.
Review #162: Death Adder (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with vetiver, black coconut, vanilla, and opoponax."
In the bottle: Vetiver with vanilla underneath.
Immediately after application: DELICIOUS non-sweet coconut, vanilla, and the smokiness of vetiver without it being overwhelming.
Warming up: A bit more vetiver poking out but still lovely vanilla and coconut.
Fading: Wafts of burly vetiver but mostly delicious vanilla and coconut. The SO is adding its own vanilla and I am drowning in vanilla-coconut with touches of vetiver and spices.
Faded: Good throw, average to long wear.
Overall: I loved this blend! The vetiver behaved and added to the blend rather than overpowering it.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #163: Coral Snake (GC)
Website Description: "Snake Oil with blood orange, red apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and gardenia."
In the bottle: Apple and maybe the blood orange.
Immediately after application: Mostly crisp apple but I also get some plumeria and gardenia, two florals I actually LIKE.
Warming up: The florals are stronger than the fruit notes but it's a very pleasant scent.
Fading: Soft floral and fruit, no SO detectable in this one.
Faded: Little throw, short wear.
Overall: Not one of my favorites from the Snake Pit.
Rating: 3/5.
Review #164: Pomegranate IV (LE)
Website Description: "Pomegranate, cognac, red musk, cocoa, tobacco absolute, star anise, and thyme."
In the bottle: Definitely star anise on top of pomegranate, musk, and cognac.
Immediately after application: Heavily star anise. A bit of the tart pom.
Warming up: The star anise is melding into the red musk and cognac. Ooh there's some thyme and tobacco as well! Thyme always fades so fast on me though, hopefully it'll last. It'll be interesting to see how this one morphs the longer it's on.
Fading: Musky pomegranate.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: I liked this one quite a bit. Bottle!
Rating: 4/5.
Review #165: Dungeon Crawl (special)
Website Description: "Wet stone corridors, gobs of candle wax, crusty abbatoirs, rusted caltrops, nefarious necromancer incense, kobold musk, and dragon droppings."
In the bottle: Something smells like leather. Leather and metallic perhaps? It's definitely reminiscent of a dungeon!
Immediately after application: I still get leather from this though it's not listed as a note. Metallic and ooh there's the wet stone! DAMMIT I HAVE TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS DON'T I?
Warming up: All I can smell now is the wet stone and rust. It's not a pretty smell but it's extremely evocative. I can picture my hunter slogging through a dank underground dungeon. Awesome.
Fading: Dungeon :D
Faded: Light throw, long wear.
Overall: It's not particularly attractive as a perfume but I absolutely adore it for the RPG tie-in. It's nothing so pedestrian as a musty basement, it's absolutely the smell of a damp, dank dungeon. It reminds me of the exploring my husband and I did in the Mont Saint-Michel when we went to France. The feel of old, damp stone with a story to tell. I would love to find a bottle just because I'm certain I can find uses for it.
Rating: 5/5.
Review #166: Dia de los Natitas 2010 (LE)
Website Description: "Hydrangea blossoms and rose petals, cigarette smoke, cocoa leaves, and chichi."
In the bottle: Florals.
Immediately after application: Rose and hydrangea. I like hydrangea apparently. Probably because it's actually fighting the rose for dominance.
Warming up: All I can smell are the florals.
Fading: Floral and going a bit soapy.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: Not me at all. No smoke or cocoa that I could tell. Ah well, that leaves space for another bottle. Of something else ^_^
Rating: 1/5.
Review #167: Sugar Skull 2010 (LE)
Website Description: "A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits."
In the bottle: Sugary and boozy?
Immediately after application: SUGAR HIGH YAY. A smidge boozy. I wonder what that's from? I've loved previous years of this so I expect this will be a bottle purchase.
Warming up: Burnt crust on a creme brulee. Mmmm.
Fading: Yummy sugar.
Faded: Light throw, average wear
Overall: I wonder if that booziness is just because it's new. The older version I tried was smooth, sweet sugar. In any case, I'll be buying a bottle and probably letting it age a bit.
Rating: 4/5.
Review #168: Venice (GC)
Website Description: "Lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf."
In the bottle: Jasmine.
Immediately after application: Jasmine.
Warming up: Jasmine.
Fading: Jasmine.
Faded: Jasmine.
Overall: Jasmine. Do we sense a theme?
Rating: 0/5.
Review #169: Paramatman (GC)
Website Description: "Orange blossom, East Indian sandalwood, and champaca."
In the bottle: Sandalwood.
Immediately after application: Sandalwood and I get a hit of the champaca. Not a hint of the orange blossom though.
Warming up: Sandalwood and magnolia.
Fading: Lovely soft sandalwood and magnolia.
Faded: Average throw, average wear.
Overall: A pretty nice sandalwood/champaca scent. Not hugely in love enough for a bottle, but pretty.
Rating: 2/5.
Review #170: Eve (GC)
Website Description: "Apple blossom, rose, ylang ylang and golden honey."
In the bottle: Apple with a touch of rose.
Immediately after application: Fresh, crisp apple and some rose under that.
Warming up: Rose.
Fading: Rose.
Faded: Light throw, average wear.
Overall: Godzilla rose again.
Rating: 1/5.