Lotions/ Creams -Crabtree & Evelyn - La Source Hand Therapy
helarctos 6/22/2005 1:28:00 AM
I love this product for hands. The consistency is perfect, and contrary to other reviewers I find the scent gentle and unobtrusive. I have mixed feelings about the metal tube packaging -- I don't like the crinkly look the tube gets when it's been used, but somehow this product doesn't seem suited to a plastic tube.
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Scrubs -Queen Helene - Mint Julep Natural Facial Scrub
helarctos 6/8/2005 12:16:00 AM
This is my absolute favorite face scrub. I'd say it is too strong for everyday use, but I could use this more than once a week. The scrub granules are almost sandlike in texture, yet not too abrasive for my sensitive skin. Love it! Wish it had a flip cap instead of a screw-on cap though.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Sacred Whore of Babylon
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:54:00 PM
Upon initial application: Strong scent of fruits, very sweet. No, wait -- maybe a floral scent mixed with something that smells like licorice (?) I keep second-guessing myself and taking another whiff off my wrist, and I keep getting that faint licorice smell. After awhile, I think I can detect cinnamon. The fruitiness wears off, on me, but that licorice whiff stays. A much more edible-type scent than I expected.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Unseelie
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:50:00 PM
I once had a bottle of VERY well-aged Youth Dew, and Unseelie straight out of the imp smells much like that did, although Unseelie mellows better. Doesn't have much staying power, either. After three hours it is mostly gone.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Jack
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:49:00 PM
Jack is an experience! In the vial it smells of salty buttered popcorn, with a sweet whiff that reminds me of Buttered Popcorn flavored Jelly Bellies. Once on, the sweetness deepens, and becomes a note that I can only describe as "perfumey." Beneath this note the candy carnival continues, deepening to something like candy corn. It's the quintessential scent of Halloween!
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Spellbound
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:48:00 PM
Spellbound was predominantly rose on me -- but the kind of rose that could prick your finger and send you into 100 years' sleep. A languorous scent -- not good for workdays.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Alice
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:47:00 PM
Carnations and cream -- but I have to practically smash my nose against my wrist to detect it. This imp came fresh from the Lab -- maybe it needed to age? I don't get the usual BPAL-honey scent from it at all. Very, very light scent. It's as though I were keeping a carnation in a bud vase near my desk.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Tamora
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:46:00 PM
"Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean." On me Tamora smells like heavy potpourri -- like the smell you get when you walk into a craft store like Michaels. (Well, not Michaels at Christmastime, but you get the idea.) That must be the vanilla and the peach. The peach manages both to be the loudest note and to smell almost unpeach-like, at least on me. If normal peach scents could be envisioned as a pastel color, think bright loud nectarine-colored peach for Tamora. The amber whispers beneath the peach yell. I can't smell any sandalwood, though.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Old Venice
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:45:00 PM
On me, the jasmine and lemon in Venice just seem to curdle one another. They smelled almost like neroli, which is terrible on me. Hours wore away the strength of that scent and left an unremarkable floral blend. This one's not for me.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Dragon's Milk
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:44:00 PM
On me, no honey or vanilla in Dragon's Milk. Just very strong cherries with a hint of cinnamon.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Dana O'Shee
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:43:00 PM
Oh, my -- it's the perfect marzipan! I only get a whiff of cherry-like strong almond from the vial; on my skin the milky notes diffuse through the almonds to mellow them and bring out the sweetness. I'm not a fan of foody scents as a general rule, and I probably won't aim for a big bottle of Dana O'Shee, but I can definitely see why this is a perennial favorite, and it was a delight to try. Honey seems to come out nasty on me more often than not. It didn't in Dana O'Shee, and in fact I only perceived it as "sweetness," not as a honey odor. So people who can't normally wear BPAL honey notes might still have success with Dana.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Snake Oil
helarctos 6/2/2005 12:41:00 PM
Sadly, Snake Oil on me smells like harsh grocery-store vanilla extract. I can still smell it after trying to wash it off.
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Fragrances -L'Aromarine - Cola
helarctos 5/21/2005 12:24:00 PM
This is the best cola fragrance I've found yet. I wouldn't call it a true Coke or Pepsi -- it smells more like a Coca-Cola flavored Slurpee, if you've ever had one of those -- but the lightness that comes with this is refreshing. I love this fragrance!
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Lotions/ Creams -Bath and Body Works - Body Cream
helarctos 5/21/2005 12:15:00 PM
As a "body cream", Bath and Body Works's product isn't anything to write home about. I find it moderately moisturizing -- good enough to rub onto my hands after a handwashing, but not something I'd use on the rest of my body. The product is well-fragranced (mine is Rice Flower and Shea) -- not overwhelmingly strong, but detectable.
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Masks -Queen Helene - Mint Julep Masque
helarctos 5/15/2005 3:21:00 PM
The Holy Grail of facial masks, with an unbeatable price. Besides its recommended use, also try leaving a dab on a blemish overnight to dry it out -- works more often than you'd think.
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