First, is anyone else unable to get into Gmail, or is that just me?

Anyway, tried my first LJ comm swaps the other week. I feel all adventurous. For the occasion: a new icon. The Mucha painting base is courtesy of troyswann. And for those who didn't see it, sophia_helix has put together a wonderful BPAL newbies FAQ.

(scapeartist, I forgot that I'd swapped for the first one.)



Lolita
Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon verbena. (Love Potions)

In the bottle: Heliotrope, apparently, is a floral. I dunno. I get a heaping dose of the honeysuckle and a dash of orange blossom.

Wet: More of the orange blossom, and something else that's probably the lemon verbana. Floral, no doubt of that, but one that's not at all bad.

Drydown: It doesn't really change for the first hour, but than the floral note eases off and it goes mostly sweet and...honeyoragnelemony.

Unfortunately, I don't know if it's the way the floral sticks around or something else, but it's got very good throw and not long after that first hour I go lightheaded, and my throat starts feeling raw. It feels like I'm getting a cold, but I tried this on two days -- several days apart -- and got the same reaction both times, while feeling fine when I didn't have it on. So Lolita gives me a cold. Weird.

SA, I hope it turns out better for you.


Seraglio
In long-ago Arabia, harem girls rubbed an herbal poultice formed from a blend of sensual, luxuriant herbs and oils onto their bodies to prepare themselves for the Sultan's pleasure. This lush, indulgent perfume is based on that ancient formula. Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel. (Love Potions)

In the bottle: Oooh. Almond first, concentrated, like Queen of Sheba, but then the sharp orange peel. And then nutmeg. My mouth is watering.

Wet: More almond. Clove. A litte of the rose, maybe.

Drydown: In the first few minutes, the rose definitely comes to the forefront. Not in a big puff. Then the nutmeg and clove make an appearance again, but it's lost that initial sweetness.

Well, crap. It goes completely to rose about half an hour in. And shortly thereafter I get lightheaded. What the hell? Is it the florals again? That's the only thing the two have in common... At least I didn't get the raw throat, and this was a test on a completely different day than the Lolita, so there wasn't any holdover.