It's been a rough couple of days, and a package from BPAL was just the thing to find in my mailbox this afternoon. It came with some fun swag: a small bumper sticker (actually the second I've received, though I hadn't yet gotten around to putting the first on my car), trading cards for each of the three scents in the Carnaval Diabolique series, a ticket to the Carnaval, and the usual postcards. Plus frimps, including a couple I can actually use.
Georg is away for a couple of days so I indulged myself and tried almost everything. Some quick reviews:
Theodosius: Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean. This was a bit of a disappointment. Reviews described it as smelling like Dorian only less sweet. I thought that sounded like the best thing ever. Unfortunately, I put it on and I get aftershave. I don't want to smell like aftershave. Eventually the aftershave fades away and it's a nice light vanilla. But I have other scents that dry down similarly, without going through an unpleasant aftershave phase. I'm going to give it another try; maybe it will smell better when I'm not wearing 4 other scents. And also offer it to Georg. It seems like a guy scent.
The Candy Butcher: Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone. I knew I would love this, and I was right. It's a dark chocolate, not sweet. Like Velvet, only smoother and without the sandalwood. I'm going to wear this a lot in winter.
F5: A refreshing scent! GET IT?! Aloe, white musk, lime peel, fresh mint, seaspray, verbena and green tea. This was a special limited scent for forum members only. Again I correctly guessed I would love it. In the bottle it smells just like Embalming Fluid, my favorite summer scent. On me, F5 is ... crisper. It's all lime for about 10 minutes, but sadly citrus never lasts on me. The notes that remain after the lime fades out are perfectly blended, light and subtle. It really is refreshing.
Lyonesse: Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. File this in in the "what was I thinking?" category. Heavy floral hates me. Yet I keep trying. I was seduced by the vanilla, musk, sandalwood and orris root in the description. All I get is the lily, and something powdery. Probably amber, which doesn't much like me either. At least it's just an imp.
Cockaigne: The Land of Plenty, also called Luilekkerland – the Lazy, Luscious Land: milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine. In the imp it smells cakey, with a tang that must be the wine. On me it smells wonderful, like baked goods. Reminds me of Beaver Moon. Or Monster Bait: Underpants, except without the cinnamon nastiness. (I love the smell of cinnamon, but can't stand cinnamon scents in candles, potpourri and etc. BPAL is unfortunately no exception..) Beaver Moon, Underpants, Cockaigne ... I sense a pattern here. Hmm.
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"Fougere" is one of those words I've learned to mistrust. Practically everything I've tried with that in the description smelled like shaving cream on me, and very masculine.