Small CH and BI orders

I was so pleased with Lena's new holiday scents I got myself a couple of gift packs, including an EdP in Who Likes Marshmallow, butters in Pineapple Buttercream Cupcake, Gingerbread Marshmallow Man, Lemon Meringue (gift for one of my mom's friends who loves lemon scents), Santa's Sugar Mug, and a scrub in Caramel Chews. I also ordered some gifts from Bathed and Infused for the lovely Lipglossina as part of her Christmas present, but of course needed to throw in a few goodies for myself! So here are some reviews.

CH:

Caramel Chews - This is so divine in the scrub I'm tempted to throw caution to the wind and get full sizes in a butter and EdP. It reminds me a bit of caramel popcorn (it has just the tiniest hint of saltiness) but not artificial or off, and no weird maple syrup notes that I get with so many caramel scents. Loving this.

Santa's Sugar Mug - very heavy on the rum but yummy. You can definitely smell the coconut-vanilla cream, but not the caramel so much. On me it was just musty rum so I ended up smelling like a very old alcoholic. :P

Bathed and Infused:

Caramel - Sadly this isn't working for me. It sort of resembles caramel, but definitely has that weird maple thing going on, and not as rich or sweet as I would expect a caramel scent to be. It's awful on me so I will not be ordering this again, even in a scrub, especially now that I've found CH's Caramel Chews.

Cinnamon Buns - This is lovely in the body mist. Finally, a not-too-spicy Cinnamon Buns scent! I think Philosophy's Cinnamon Buns 3 in 1/souffle is the best cinnamon bun scent I've ever tried, but the souffle really isn't all that moisturizing. So next year I will get BI's in the fluff and a perfume. :)

CH Holiday scents!

I was so excited to see all of Lena's new scents for the holidays! I ordered in mid-November and got a couple sample packs in the body butters and a perfume sample pack, all of which arrived less than a week after I placed my order. Most of them are really excellent, not to mention unique. Lena has outdone herself!

Butters:
Caramel Gingerbread Cupcake - Mmmm! I don't really get much of a cupcake note from this, but the caramel balances out the spiciness of the gingerbread perfectly. It's so sweet and yummy! On my skin though it dried down to a vague sweet scent, so I won't be purchasing in a full size, but I still highly recommend it.

Eggnog Marshmallow Fluff - Again, an equal blend of eggnog and marshmallow, but the eggnog seemed a bit off to me as it did with Eggnog Float and Eggnog Cupcake (from last season's holiday scents.) I smell mostly spicy and no creamy notes. Even though the marshmallow component is terrific, it's not enough to salvage the weird eggnog. On my skin, as with Caramel Gingerbread Cupcake, it just turned to a generic sweet scent.

Gingerbread Caramello Latte - Really yummy. I love how you can smell all three notes with none overpowering another. Unfortunately my chemistry only picked up the gingerbread, not the caramel or coffee. Oh well.

Gingerbread Marshmallow Man - My fave of the new holiday scents. It's equal parts gingerbread and marshmallow and amazingly, it doesn't turn on me. I would prefer more marshmallow but I'm planning on layering it with Who Likes Marshmallow? EdP so that'll take care of my craving.

Gingerbread Sugar Cookie - This was a little too spicy for me in the container - I didn't really get any sugar cookie - and on my skin it was all spice. Oh well. I think CH's Gingerbread Man is the best gingerbread cookie scent on the menu.

Pineapple Buttercream Cupcake - Not a holiday scent but I've been wanting to try this for a while. Totally delicious. On my skin it's identical to my beloved CSP Vanille Pineapple perfume, so now I've found the perfect scent to layer with it!

Perfumes:
House of Gingerbread - I think this is surpassing Gingerbread Man as my go-to gingerbread scent on CH's scent list. It really is like soft gingerbread and not a gingerbread cookie. It's spicy but definitely tempered with something else - maybe the honey note? In any case, it's an amazing gingerbread scent and not overly spicy, which is always an issue with me and my chemistry!

Marshmallow Stuffing - To my nose this was very similar to Gingerbread Marshmallow Man, so I don't think anyone would need both. On my skin this was actually more gingerbread than marshmallow. Overall it's not a remarkable scent - good, but not all that unique.

Who Likes Marshmallow? - A delicious and true marshmallow scent without the toasted note. It's very light on my skin but so good. I've already ordered a full size!

A word about all the scents with gingerbread notes - these need time to cure! I sniffed everything the day my order arrived and everything just smelled like gingerbread. Within a few days, however, all of the other notes appeared, and a few weeks later I think the scents were fully developed. So don't be upset if you get your order and all you smell is gingerbread. ;)

Another small IoE order

I ordered 3 roll-ons from IoE back in early September. TAT was under 2 months, but just barely. :P I finally got around to reviewing these:

Caramel Beach - Still on the fence with this. It's definitely more on the summery than foody side, but there's something a little musty about it. On my skin it just smells like musty maple syrup. Oh well.

Grand Staircase Apparition - for some reason pineapple and chocolate really appealed to me when I ordered, but it's not such a great blend. I mean neither note is off, it's just that together they're nothing special.

Tan Lines - very generic floral/marine/coconut scent, like an air freshener. It reminded me a tiny bit of BBW Bombshell perfume from this past summer but not as good.

Alexa also kindly included a 5 oz. scrub in Red Satin Buttercream. Since I don't like cherry scents this didn't do anything for me, but it's a nice blend of cherry and buttercream.

CYS and some miscellaneous scents

Whew, it's been a while! I just haven't been placing many orders. But now that new fall and holiday scents are here I will be ordering more! (I'm plotting TBDS and CH orders as I write this post!)

CYS

Buttery Caramel (roll-on) - This didn't smell like caramel to me, more like maple syrup. On my skin it was awful, the same sort of medicinal scent that CYS Eggnog produced. Oh well.

Harvest Sugar (soy cream) - Judy was kind enough to include this as a sample. It's a very nice scent but not for me. I can't really describe the notes - I think it's mostly pumpkin and vanilla, but I'm not entirely sure and there's no scent description for it at the web site.

Key Lime Marshmallow Cream (body cream) - Mmm, I think this is my favorite of all the fruit/marshmallow cream combinations. I was amazed to find that the lime actually comes out on my skin whereas with the Lemon Marshmallow it was mostly marshmallow. I think I'm going to get an EDP in this!

Pineapple Caramel Buttercream (roll-on) - Still on the fence for this one. In the container it's a lovely pineapple caramel scent (don't get much buttercream) without being overly sweet. On my skin it's not great...sort of smells more like maple syrup. I'll have to test it a few more times and maybe try layering it with CH Pineapple Slices.

Pink Lemonade - Eek, way too sweet. To my nose it's identical to SDE's Pink Lemonade.

Toasted Marshmallow (scrub) - This is totally delicious and true, I think I'm going to order it in the body cream and EDP!

Wedding Cake (scrub) - Another sample from Judy and it's wonderful. I may have to get full sizes of everything in it!

I just realized Judy has a wedding cake/marshmallow scent. I'm adding CYS to my growing list of plotted orders!

On to some other miscellaneous scents. Lipglossina sent me another enormous RAOK which I'm very excited about! She included a full size scrub from Soap and Glory (a new line from the creator of Bliss) which is pretty good. It's a bit too strongly scented and not scrubby enough for me, but I'll definitely finish it. She also remembered that I'm on a caramel kick and included AR Caramel Vanilla body cream, which sadly goes a bit musty on me. Although that might be a good thing, as lipglossina has alerted me to the fact that AR has closed. :(

Small IoE order

Another really horrific turnaround time (over 2 months) so if I order again I'm going to do an Express order. :P That said, so far I'm liking what I got:

A Clockwork Tangerine (roll-on) - Ooh, this is good. It's actually a very fresh orange/tangerine scent with a bit of vanilla. Unfortunately it goes sour on my skin.

Kiwi Midori Sparkler (dream cream and roll-on) - I'm liking this better than Aquamarine Dream. It's a bit more alcohol-y and sweeter, whereas Aquamarine Dream is a simpler melon scent. Too bad it's dc'ed.

Latest CH order

I'm still obsessed with getting the perfect pink lemonade scent in a perfume thanks to Philosophy's delicious new 3 in 1 and body butter, so that was really the catalyst for another CH order.

Shea creme samples:
Boy Crush - This was just eh for me. Another generic fruit scent.

Tropical Sno Cone - This is so yummy in the container - very fruity and icy, it really does smell like a water ice! Unfortunately on me it went to plastic candy. Ick.

Turtle Island Breezer - So delicious! It's a lovely blend of lime and coconut and something else that I can't put my finger on, but it's a nice tropical fruity scent.

Souffle samples (note: I normally don't get anything in the souffle but Paypal screwed up and my message to Lena didn't go through in the "notes" section, so I ended up with souffles. Bah.)

Lava Flow - I'm liking this so far, it's a nice mix of sweet banana and some other kind of tart fruit. I'll have to get it in either the creme or the butter to see if it works on my skin.

Melon Ball Fruit Cup - Very plastic-y and fake to my nose. I didn't even try it on.

Perfume samples:

Fuzzy Peach - Way too sweet and artificial. It was very candy-ish on my skin.

Lemonade Twister - Had such high hopes for this but it didn't work. It's definitely less sweet and more lemony than CH's Pink Lemonade, but on my skin it was all sugar. Still, if you're looking for a lemonade scent that's somewhere between a pink lemonade and a regular lemonade, this is perfect.

Ruby Red Grapefruit - This wasn't so great. Almost identical to CH Pink Grapefruit. On my skin it was awful.

Since mists were on sale I got one in Turtle Island Breezer and Pink Lemonade. Pink Lemonade wasn't as sickly sweet as SDE's version, but still too sweet for me. On my skin it was entirely too sweet and sugary.

RAOK!!

Lipglossina sent me a huge RAOK just because! How sweet of her! :D While some of the scents didn't work out for me I always love trying new scents, and she picked out ones that were right up my alley! And some autumn-ish scents so I can start planning my fall scent wardrobe!

CH
Almond Coconut - shea creme sample. To be honest I didn't smell any coconut, just almond, so I wasn't crazy about this. On my skin it was pure amaretto. Oh well.

Mojito - samples in the shea creme and perfume. This is a dead-on mojito scent, I was reminded of slurping these down at a Cuban restaurant in Miami. Unfortunately it went to powdery lime on me. Not a bad smell but not what it was in the container.

MMU
Frozen Strawberry Daquiri - To my nose this smells like fresh strawberry ice cream. Too bad it went to creamy plastic on me.

Coco Pearfection - This is so nice in the container, true coconut and pear. My skin, however, didn't like one of the notes (not sure which was the culprit, the pear or the coconut) and turned the scent to rancid coconut. :(

BI (lotion samples)
Cremasse - I can see why this is one of BI's best-selling scents. It's nice and creamy but not overly sweet, and there's something very comforting about it. On me though it smelled like sour milk, blech!

Halo-Halo - This was really nice, reminded me a little of CH's Cocolotus - creamy, sweet and tropical. Too bad it had a weird nutty undertone on my skin.

Vanilla Pumpkin - This smelled a bit off to me. I could smell the vanilla and the pumpkin but there was that weird nutty undertone again. So strange.

Wedding Cake - I've actually tried this before and couldn't smell anything. It was a tiny bit more noticeable this time around but still very faint. It's a nice cakey scent, but since it's so faint I wouldn't order full sizes.

There was also a sample of CYS Pomegranate Lime bath whip. I think the pomegranate made it go a bit sour. Oh well. And lipglossina included a nice-sized bottle of CYS Vanilla Marshmallow Cream. Alas, it didn't work in EdP form on me either (she had previously given me this scent in an emollient). All in all it was a lovely and generous RAOK, and the fact that some scents didn't work in no way diminishes the thoughtfulness of the package! I've already sent my retaliation, haha! ;)

First IoE order

IT FINALLY CAME! I'm pleased with my order but I must admit that TAT was truly awful. It took 2 months to get my package. Plus I had no idea if it even shipped and found out it was arriving via FedEx only after I e-mailed Alexa to find out where it was. I have to say though that the scents are FABULOUS. I loved everything I got even though some turned on me. So I think it was worth the wait. Sadly most of these scents are now dc'ed but I wanted to post some reviews anyway. :)

Roll-ons
Ain't Misbehavin': (dc'ed, from the Bubbles and Baubles collection) Still on the fence with this. It smells delicious in the container, like sugary strawberries and champagne. It didn't totally turn on me but I'm not sure how crazy I am about it on my skin. Don't feel bad if you missed this one - I think Strawberry and Pink Sugar (which is on the regular scent list) is very similar.

Flirtini: (This will make an appearance in the "back by popular demand" scents at some point but is currently unavailable.) Lovely blend of pineapple and champagne. It turned to a very strange bubblegum/floral on my skin though so I wouldn't reorder, but in the container it's great. Definitely a must-try if you like pineapple.

Pink Pina Colada Punch: (dc'ed, from the Bubbles and Baubles collection) This was a true pina colada scent with some added sweetness. Normally I don't like anything "pink" but this was great - the sweet part didn't overpower the pina colada. It wasn't great on my skin but I'll use it up. I think it'll layer nicely over BBW Tropical Colada.

Dream Creams
I'm not crazy about the formula of these, I wish they were a bit thicker and not so chemical (texturewise they remind me a bit of Suds Featherlite souffles), but if the scents are good I'd definitely get them again.

Afterburn: (dc'ed, from the South of the Tropics collection) Sooooo sad Alexa dc'ed this one!! It's an amazing caramel scent with just a hint of sweet coconut. I bet this would be great layered with CSP's Caramel Sunset. Best of all it doesn't turn on me. I love that it's a rich caramel but not too sweet or candy-ish. Just perfect!

Aquamarine Dream: (dc'ed, from the South of the Tropics collection) I had high hopes for this and it didn't disappoint! It's a true melon scent with a light candy note, very similar to a Midori sour. Actually it is a bit sour in the container and on my skin, but I'm guessing after it cures it'll be even better. Definitely one of the best melon scents I've come across.

Tangerine Hotpants: On cold sniff this smells almost identical to CYS's State of Grace - tangy orange with sweet creamy vanilla.

Finally, I got a body mist in The Green Coconut (this is also temporarily dc'ed but will be in the "back by popular demand" collection at some point.) It is truly fabulous. When I first spray it on I get a very sharp lime, but then the coconut comes through and it dries down to a clean but still tropical scent. I'm curious to see if CH's Da Lime in Da Coconut is similar. It's a good excuse to make another CH order!

Small BI order

BI was having a free shipping sale a while back so I took advantage! These were mostly misses but I still love trying new scents. :)

Banana Colada - This is lovely in the container, a nice mix of banana and coconut, but on me I'm pretty sure it's just banana bubblegum. I need to test it a few more times.

Nectarine - Smells very similar to Summer Peaches, which I wasn't thrilled with. On my skin all I can smell is the base.

Passiontini Punch - Ick. I was hoping if I let this cure it would turn to a nice fruity scent, but all I got was Sweet Tarts and a strong amaretto note. I didn't even bother trying it on.

Thai Coconut - I got this in a scrub. It's not a tropical coconut like I was hoping for - it's a heavier coconut and actually smells almost identical to AR's Rum Coco Nilla to my nose. I get a lot of rum, not so much coconut. I'll use it up in the winter months but I won't reorder.

BI included lotion samples of Agent Provacateur and Blue Sugar. I haven't sniffed either of the originals so I don't know how they compare, but I'm really liking the Agent Provacateur. It's fresh but a little musky at the same time, and not overly floral. It sort of reminds me of my beloved Tocca Florence lotion (when is an e-tailer going to make a dupe of that??) in terms of sexiness. ;) Blue Sugar is okay but not for me - too masculine which I guess makes sense since it's a men's scent!

CH order - grand reopening!

I was so happy to see CH reopening back in April. Lena put all perfumes on sale for $9 so there was a feeding frenzy which caused a very long turnaround time - I waited a month to get my order, which is much longer than I've ever had to wait for CH. Still, I didn't mind as the quality is great and I was just so thrilled to see one of my favorite e-tailers open again after such a long hibernation!
I got all of these samples in the butter:
Calypso Crush - To my nose this smelled just like Tropical Fruit Slices, which I'm not fond of. Just a generic candy fruit scent, like Smarties candies. It was even worse on my skin.

Diamond Coconut - This is divine in the container - a perfect mix of a beachy, sandy coconut and a slightly more fresh one. Too bad it turned to Play-doh on me. :(

Strawberry Blonde - I smelled a nice mix of lime and strawberry in this, but on me it was strawberry-lime plastic. Oh well.

Surf Bunny - I've been letting this cure for a while now and it's still an off-chocolate scent to my nose. I'll hang onto it for a few more weeks but if it doesn't magically turn into a suntan lotion scent by then, up for swap it goes.

Tahitian Honeymoon - Eh, wasn't thrilled with this. Just a generic fruit scent with a weird banana undertone. On my skin it smelled like sour tea. :P

Tidal Wave Cooler - Disappointed in this too. On my skin it was fruity plastic.

I got a perfume sample pack:
Banana Jungle Daquiri - Really fresh and delicious in the vial and terrible on me, as usual. :P It was like old banana bread on me, LOL. It's what I would imagine a banana daquiri to smell like (I've never had one so I can't say so for sure), a mix of banana and coconut with a fruity background.

Butt Naked - Lipglossina kindly bestowed a full-size scrub in this scent and I wanted to try it in the perfume. I can't pick out any individual notes but it's sweet and fruity and tropical. I'm trying to hold off ordering this in full size creme and EdP!

Lime Freeze - Disappointed in this. It was a cleaner-ish scent with a bit of creamy fizz.

Lena kindly included samples of Hawaiian Melon Fizz (perfume) and Mango Mimosa Slushie (shea creme.) Hawaiian Melon Fizz killed me - it was a lovely fruity melony drink scent without being too sweet, but on me it turned to a weird candy scent. Definitely try this out thought if you like fruity melon scents that aren't TOO melony (I'm talking to you, BBW Melon Cooler.) Mango Mimosa Slushie was also great and it actually worked on me, so I'm debating whether to get a full size of the creme and an EdP. I smell mango but there are some other fruity/drink notes in there that make it fresher and prevent it from being plain old mango. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that it didn't resemble Sea Foam Slushie in the slightest.
Then there are some other random CH things I had lying around and finally got a chance to test out, LOL. Lipglossina had given me a sample of Cocolotus in the shea body creme a while back and it's really good! Much better than the original H2O, plus it doesn't turn on me. I don't get a lot of coconut but more of a sweet, desserty type scent with some floral. I think it may be too heavy for me though, at least in the summer, so I'll probably hold off on ordering full size. Turtle Island Breezer is sooooo good - I smell a creamy coconut with some sharp lime. Unfortunately it turned on me but I suspect it's because the sample I had is in the souffle formula, which never works on me. I'm willing to take a chance on this in the shea creme or body butter.

Another swap!

So here's the latest from my swap with lipglossina. :) It was another hugely generous swap so it took me a while to test out everything, but I think I got it all!

CYS
Carina (emollient) This is such a nice true buttercream frosting scent but on me it went musty. Definitely way better than other buttercreams I've tried (BBW, Philosophy) so give this a try if you're looking for a buttercream scent.

Lemon Marshmallow Cream (cream) - This scent makes me smile - it reminds me of Easter and going on egg hunts when I was little. You can really smell both the marshmallow and the lemon, and one doesn't overpower the other. Best of all it doesn't turn on me. I'll probably order a full size of this in the cream next year as well as an EdP! It's perfect for transitioning from winter to spring.

Coconut Marshmallow Cream (cream) Lipglossina was right - this is way better in the cream than in the emollient. It's a nice toasted coconut scent. I wouldn't get a full size though because it just went straight to marshmallow on me, and I want to try CYS's Toasted Marshmallow to see how it compares.

Coconut Marshmallow Cream (emollient) I smell the coconut more in this one, it's definitely musty and not a nice sweet coconut like it is in the cream. I can't smell the marshmallow at all so I wouldn't recommend this in the emollient.

Grapefruit Fresa (emollient) Blech. I didn't smell grapefruit or strawberry, just an off sour smell. Maybe it's better in the cream formula but in the emollient it was awful.

Vanilla Marshmallow Cream (emollient) This is lovely. I thought it was going to be too sweet (vanilla AND marshmallow!) but it's very nice. Unfortunately the vanilla turned on me and it was just an off, sickly sweet scent. :P

Lipglossina was kind enough to part with her Auntie Rhubarb Lemon Cake body cream since she knows how much I love the texture of the body creams. Oddly enough it smells very similar to CYS's Lemon Marshmallow Cream, but it has a generic sweet note instead of marshmallow. It's a lovely sweet dessert-y lemon scent. It's not as nice on my skin as the CYS but I'll definitely use it up. She also passed along a sample of IoE Can't Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me! scrub. It was just meh for me, since it smelled like strawberry shortcake and the strawberry was very artificial to my nose. Overall it just smelled very juvenile to me - I see this as a scent for kids. Still, I'm not worried about my upcoming IoE order, I'm sure I'll like it more than that scrub. Finally, I got samples of MMU Pineapple Slices in both the Babe Cakes body icing and Body Custard formulas. I think it's a bit fresher in the body custard but there wasn't a huge difference. Also, the scent is pretty much identical to CH's Pineapple Slices, which is good to know in case, heaven forbid, CH closes!

BI swap

I was able to swap for some BI goodies. I tried a body mist in Limeade, which was okay but not great. On my skin it went straight to a cleaner scent, and in the container was pretty similar to CH's Wild Lime. Nowhere near as good as my beloved MMU Key Lime, so I wouldn't recommend this. The swapper threw in some nice samples too - body lotions of the Playwright and Pistachio Lime. Neither of these are my type of scent, but I think if you like woodsy scents you'd be disappointed in the Playwright - I got none of the teak or cedar notes listed in the scent description, just a generic musk with the tiniest bit of smokiness. Pistachio Lime is very strange. It's not nutty at all but rather has a weird amaretto note with a tiny bit of lime.
Anyway, another swapper gave me some more BI samples as extras. Comfort smells off to me, almost like a licorice (?!) version of Cremasse with some laundry detergent thrown in. I have no idea what it's supposed to be as I can't seem to find it on the scent menu. :P Seattle isn't great either, I was expecting a nice green scent but it smelled just like a car air freshener, a very generic floral. Finally, a while ago I swapped for Summer Peaches in the body wash. This just smelled really off to me, I don't think it was old or anything, but it just wasn't the peach I was looking for - kind of fake and overly tart. Philosophy's Peach 3 in 1 is much better.
All in all I've had quite a few misses with BI recently, but I'm planning on ordering Banana Colada, Passiontini Punch and Thai Coconut so we'll see what happens with those!

CYS, BI and miscellaneous

I definitely didn't order as much e-tailer stuff for the winter as I did last season! I did place two big orders with BI and CYS though since they were having such good sales. And my dear friend lipglossina also gave me an amazingly generous birthday gift of mostly bath and body stuff and tons of samples here and there, so lots to review! I've decided that any e-tailers that are listed in MUA's brand list in productville will not be reviewed here - I'll do reviews of them on MUA instead. :)

Bathed and Infused (all fluffs)
Cool Beans - LOVE this! At first the coffee was really strong, but once I let it cure it was great. And it doesn't turn on my skin - it actually smells like a Peppermint Mocha latte from Starbucks on me. Yummy!

Mint Chocolate Marshmallows - I like layering it with Philosophy's Mint Chocolate chip ice cream 3 in 1, but for some reason I can't really smell the chocolate. I get a creamy mint scent. Which isn't bad but I wanted something more mint-chocolatey.

Snowflake Cocktail - This was just eh for me in the container. I smelled mostly amaretto at first, then for some odd reason, graham crackers. On my skin it smelled like unflavored oatmeal, yuck! Up for swap it went.

I also got body mists in Hot Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie and Gingerbread Creme and a body scrub in Gingerbread Creme. Since I love the Pumpkin Pie and Gingerbread Creme in the fluffs I was pretty sure they'd work in the mists, and they do! So yummy. I had never tried Hot Cocoa in any form but I really love it. It's more chocolatey and less creamy than CH's Melting Marshmallow Hot Chocolate, and it layers well with both that and the Wickedly Hot Chocolate lotion from BBW. Next year I may get it in a fluff rather than my usual CH! My only complaint about the body mists is that they don't last too long, I literally can't smell them after about half an hour. Oh well, guess that's what the perfumes are for! The new whipped sugar scrub is great too, nice and scrubby and not oily, just how I like my scrubs. :D

I also tried lotion samples of Wedding Cake and Hayride. Hayride is a nice green woodsy scent and no, it doesn't smell like hay! Just an outdoorsy kind of scent without being too masculine. It's nice but I'm not into those types of scents. Wedding Cake was non-existent. I mean I had my nose in the container and couldn't smell anything! I think after sniffing it a few times I did get a faint sweet smell, but that was it. There are plenty of e-tailers who do great wedding cake scents so I'd skip BI's version.

CYS (emollients)
Birthday Cake - smells delicious in the container. It's not great on me but it's not bad either so I'm hanging onto it until I find something better.

Cioccolato e Cocco - I had such high hopes for this but I didn't even try it on - it's just a weird spicy chocolate scent.

Coffee Mocha - Basic coffee scent, I didn't smell any chocolate. It wasn't horrid on me but not good enough for me to hang onto since I have and love SDE's Caramel Latte. I wouldn't recommend getting it though since while it was okay, it was nothing outstanding.

Frangelico Streusel - I thought this would be more of a hazelnut blend, but all I get is straight hazelnut.

One Accord - This was a LE holiday blend of chocolate and mint. I didn't even bother to try it on as the mint seemed really off to me.

Then I got all of these in the perfumes:

Eggnog - yikes! I don't know if it's my nose or what, but this isn't good. In the bottle it sort of resembles eggnog but smells more like spicy pancakes - I got a weird, very off, maple note in it. On my skin it was positively gross, it went medicinal/plastic on me. Ugh.

Joyful Heart - Still on the fence with this. I think the coconut goes a bit musty on me - it's not nearly as nice on me as it is on lipglossina! Sigh. I'll have to try it a few more times though.

State of Grace - so wonderful in the bottle and not great on me. The orange is just too sweet or something. I had the same problem with CYS's plain Blood Orange scent so I should have known better, but I was so hoping this would work on me.

Vanilla Bean Noel - This is great. It's one of the only vanilla scents that works on me and so much better than BBW's version. However, I mistakenly thought I could layer this over all foody scents. I put it on over BI's Cool Beans and it was truly disgusting. So take note: don't mix this with coffee scents!

I also got a white sugar scrub in Yellow Cake. I have no idea why it's so plastic-y but it is. :( I swapped for the emollient in it too, which I have yet to try on, but I'm betting that won't be great either. Oh well. Lipglossina gave me a sample of the Behomoth scrub in Cafe Dacquoise, which I really liked. I may have to try that in an emollient/cream next year. She also passed along a sample of the emollient in Toasted Marshmallow, which is really yummy and I most likely will order that next year too.

So those were my two big winter orders thus far. But my fellow bath and body fiend passed along so many goodies my way and I finally got around to trying some of them! I was so happy to get Wylde Ivy's Sugar Cake in both lotion and EDP form as part of my Christmas present. It smells like a nice vanilla cake in the container. On me it smells almost identical to CYS's VBN, like a clean vanilla. While I'm still hunting for the perfect foody cake scent, this is great to layer with Philosophy's Vanilla Birthday Cake 3 in 1. For my b-day she got me Chocolate Fatale scrub to go with Phil. Double Rich Hot Cocoa and my various hot chocolate moisturizers, which I love. Next year I may try BI's scrub in Hot Cocoa, but this one is really delicious! It's a different texture too, it's like a paste rather than sugar, but it exfoliates well and isn't greasy. She also got me Chocolate Mint Creme scrub. This does smell like mint chocolate but there seems to be some kind of strange nutty undertone that I don't get with the Chocolate Fatale. Still, it's pretty good and I want to try this in a moisturizer. More birthday presents were Auntie Rhubarb Rum Coco-Nilla scrub and full size (!) jar of lotion. I'm in love with both and was so sad when one morning, due to extreme lack of sleep, I managed to knock the entire container of scrub from my bathroom shelf into the toilet. Now there was nothing in the toilet at the time, mind you, and the container was shut tight, but that just grossed me out so much I immediately tossed the whole thing. I was sooooo sad. :( Fortunately I keep my moisturizers in the master closet so there's no chance I'll drop those into the toilet. Anyway, in the scrub Rum Coco-Nilla smells like vanilla extract with a hint of coconut, totally delicious. In the lotion it smells the same in the container, but on my skin the coconut really comes out and it smells just like CH's Coconut Milk/Vanilla Cream blend or CSP's Coco Extreme perfume, both of which I love. The lotion itself is amazing - lightweight but incredibly moisturizing and not greasy. I must try more Auntie Rhubarb scents in the lotion since I love the formula so much!

CH, ET and MMU orders

Finally got around to testing out my latest CH and MMU orders! I also placed a small Earthen Treasures order a while back. :)

I got all the following scents from MMU in various body butter/cream formulas. Alas, none were winners for me:

Chocolate Cream Strawberry Tini - This was very heavy on the chocolate (which was too sweet and artificial in my opinion) and light on the strawberry, and overall it just smelled off to me. On my skin it was absolutely dreadful. Would not recommend to anyone, unfortunately.

Creamy Coconut and Vanilla Bean - This was just eh to me. It wasn't bad but nothing outstanding either. Just kind of a musty coconut with an almost undetectable hint of vanilla.

Jolly Green Apple - This was okay, but nothing spectacular. It was a slightly sweet and candyish apple which was nice in the jar but on my skin it just smelled like soap. I have no idea why. It's also a very light scent and fades really quickly. I'd stick with MMU's regular green apple scent.

Madagascar Vanilla - It's a very nice clean vanilla with the tiniest floral note. I like it but not enough to order a full size.

Mexican Chocolate - While in the jar this is a nice creamy chocolate with a hint of spice, on my skin it's all clove. :P Give it a shot though if you like complex chocolate scents.

Pomegranate - This didn't smell remotely like pomegranate to my nose. In the jar it was sour and a tiny bit floral and on my skin, for whatever reason, ended up smelling like Victoria's Secret Pear Glacé. Since I'm not fond of that scent this was a miss for me.

Serendipitious - Spot-on dupe of the fragrance, but it's just not for me. I don't smell any chocolate on my skin, just a vague vanilla wafer/bakery scent. If Serenidipity works on you though give this a try.

Tahitian Vanilla and Blood Orange - The scent is a nice blend in the container, although a bit heavier on the Tahitian Vanilla than the orange, but you can still detect both. Unfortunately something in MMU's Tahitian Vanilla (the tiare? or the rum?) goes wacky on my skin and it smelled truly awful. If most vanillas work on you then try this, otherwise get a custom blend of blood orange and a plainer vanilla.

Nancy kindly included a sample of Crepe Suzette, which is a very nice foody scent. Too foody for my liking but very good if you like fruity/foody scents.

Onto CH. I got all of the following in the body butter:

Beach Bum - Disappointed with this, I couldn't smell any of the individual notes listed in the scent description. It was just an off, slightly fruity scent. On my skin it turned to musty fruit. Ugh.

Hawaiian Honeymoon Cake - Still debating this. I think it may be a bit too sweet for me but it's really a lovely scent in the jar - a nice pineapple and cake blend.

Honolulu Juicer - Two words: plastic banana. Enough said.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa - This broke my heart. It's easily the best mint chocolate blend I've tried. You can really smell both the mint and the cocoa and there aren't any weird undertones. On my skin though the mint totally turned. My quest for a mint-chocolate that doesn't turn on me continues. :(

Pineapple Ice Cream Foster - So delicious, a mouth-watering blend of pineapple and caramel. Unfortunately I discovered that CH's caramel doesn't work on my skin. So sad.

Tahitian Dessert Vanilla - I was hoping this would smell like vanilla extract but it didn't - just an off scent with a hint of vanilla. I'd try other vanillas from CH's scent menu before going with this one.

I also got a perfume sample pack:

Blackberry - Keep going back and forth on this. Some days I like it, some days I think it's too strong/perfumey. But it's definitely the best blackberry scent I've tried, and it's delicious in a scrub.

Lush Island Retreat - This is a nice peach scent with some floral notes. I don't think it's anything outstanding so I wouldn't order again, but if you like light fruity florals give it a try.

Virgin Coconut - This is a nice basic coconut. It's not unusual enough for me to order it in a perfume again, but it would make a great scrub. Currently my go-to coconut scrub that works with every coconut scent I have is Coconut Milk, but I think this would be excellent to layer with all coconut scents too.

I've also tried some other CH scents courtesy of my e-tailer partner-in-crime, who passed along a ton of samples to me! Here they are:

Coconut Love Nectar - lipglossina had said that she dubbed this "coconut break-up potion" since that's how bad it was on her, but knew I wanted to try it anyway so she graciously passed a big jar of it onto me. It was also "coconut break-up potion" on me, but also with a very unpleasant cat pee note. This body chemistry of mine...

Coconut Milk and Vanilla Cream - Very pleased with this. In the jar I smell more vanilla than coconut, but on my skin it's more coconut, which I have no problem with! :) It also smells very similar to CSP's Coco Extreme, which I happen to love, so I'm thinking of getting a full size body butter and scrub to layer.

Vanilla Dreams - unfortunately didn't work on me despite being a delicious foody vanilla in the jar. Onto more CH vanilla scents for me.

I also placed a very small Earthen Treasures order a while back, a small jar of body cream and a perfume sample in MacIntosh apple. It's not as good as Philosophy's Red Apple body wash (which is what I was hoping for) but pretty good. I don't think I'd order full size, I'd try some other red apple scents first, but for now I'm happy with it.

Aloha Coconut, CH and MMU orders

Much to catch up on! My first order at Aloha Coconut was great customer service-wise. Jessica included a 2 oz. Tropic Tan body frosting - she wrote in a little postcard that normally she includes a sample jar with every order, but she had run out of those so she was giving me a full size instead! How nice is that? And the turnaround time was superfast, my order shipped the day after I placed it. Scentwise not much worked out for me but I'm still on the fence about a couple scents. I got all of the following samples in either the body frosting or body cream:

Chocolate Raspberry Cream - Lovely but the raspberry went weird on me. This is a nice scent though so if you don't have chemistry issues with raspberry, try it.

Fresh Peaches - I think I should just abandon my quest for a peach scent. They just don't work on my skin! This is really nice though, very true peach.

Iced Pineapple and Pineapple Princess - Wasn't thrilled with either of these, both were artificial and too sweet. I know I should just stick with CH's Pineapple Slices but I do love trying all things pineapple so I couldn't resist!

Life's a Beach - Great scent but I'm still debating if it works on me. I like it better than the Tropic Tan, it's fresher than that, but I fear it still goes a tiny bit plastic on me.

New York Appletini - Liking this one a lot but still trying to see if it turns on me. Some days it smells great, other times not so much. It's not a pure apple scent, more like an apple Jolly Rancher, but it's very good - not overly sweet or cloying at all.

Tropic Tan - This is a more authentic tanning oil scent than CH's Surf Bunny (which I was disappointed in) but still not an exact replica of Hawaiian Tropic. It went totally plastic/musty on me. Still, give it a shot if you're looking for this type of scent.

Two Pina Coladas - This is a great pina colada scent. If only it didn't go plastic on me! (And if only I didn't already have about 4 backups of BBW Tropical Colada, LOL.) Definitely try this if you're looking for a pina colada, it's perfectly balanced between the pineapple and coconut.

Onto MMU. Turnaround time is very long but to me it's worth it! I had only ordered from MMU once before and wasn't thrilled with the scents or the textures so I was wary of ordering again, but the scent list was calling my name! I think they reformulated most of their body butters and creams, everything is a ton better than it was when I first ordered (September 2005). Let's see, I got a variety of creams and butters - Body Custard, Babe Cakes Body Icing, Shea Body Souffle, In the Pudding, Place of Comfort - all are excellent and very moisturizing. Here are the scents:

Blood Orange - Absolutely amazing orange scent. Smells exactly like 100% Pure Blood Orange but with better staying power. Finally I've found the perfect orange!

Clementine - This was a miss for me, too sweet and somewhat artificial. And not very citrusy either. Just kind of an off, fake orange.

Coconanas - If you like Bathed and Infused's Junebug get this! It smells almost exactly like it but not as heavy on the banana. I liked this one a lot but it turned on me.

Flip Flops in Hawaii - This reminded me of another BI scent, Island Oasis. Sort of a fruity coconut. It wasn't great on me though so I won't be ordering that again.

Freshly Squeezed Orange - This was better than the Clementine but not nearly as nice as the Blood Orange. Still, if you want a more sweet and less citrusy/tart orange, try it.

Georgia's a Peach - Such a lovely peach scent but my chemistry does not like peach. Definitely order this though if you want a straight, true peach.

Island Colada - This just smelled off to me. Very generic and the coconut was plasticky.

Raspberry - I tried this on the day after I got my order and almost put it up for swap. It was awful both in the jar and on me. Then I thought I better let it sit and see if it got better. After a month it still was totally off so up for swap it went.

Tahitian Coconut - This was somewhat musty in the jar but still smelled good enough to try on. I should have known it would go completely musty on my skin! If you don't have issues with coconut scents this is nice, but be warned that there is a slight sandy/musty note in this.

I also ordered two perfume samples, one in Wild Lime and one in Key Lime. The Wild Lime was quite nice, it's not as sharp as CH's Wild Lime and is a very true lime. I'd order it again if it weren't for the absolute fabulousness of the Key Lime! Wild Lime is great but Key Lime knocked my socks off. It smells just like my beloved 100% Pure Lime stuff, not too tart but definitely not too sweet either, just a beautiful lime. Finally my search for the perfect lime is over!

Nancy was kind enough to include a sample of Strawberry Lane (very artificial to my nose) and
Raspberry Dipped Lemon Souffle. This one was a very nice blend of raspberry, lemon and cake, great if you like foody. I'm picky about foody scents though so this wasn't one of my faves.

Finally, CH. Turnaround time was less than a week! I got all of these in the body butter:

Babcock Peach - Very light but true peach. Too bad it turned on me.

Blue Dolphin Breezer - Not one of Lena's best, just a very generic fruit scent. I couldn't really smell any of the individual fruit notes in it.

Granny Smith Apple - I keep going back and forth on this. Like the apple one from Aloha Coconut, one day it seems fine and not so good the next. In the jar though it's a great tart green apple scent, plus unlike other apple scents I can't smell the base. If you're looking for a true green apple, you must try this!

Pineapple Heat Wave Margarita - This to my nose was a more tart version of Pineapple Slices, like pineapple with a zing! Lovely in the jar, unfortunately the "zing" didn't agree with me.

Polynesian Pear Dacquiri - This was really nice if you like pear. I've never had a pear dacquiri but this is what I'd imagine it would smell like! I do love pear scents but they don't love me (as usual!) - this was rancid pear on me. :( Definitely try this though if pear works on you.

Tangerine Dreams - I need to stop ordering tangerine scents, they're always so artificial and cloying to my nose and this one was no exception.

Wild Lime - I got this in the perfume. I like it a lot but it seems to wear off fairly quickly. Plus now that I've found MMU's Key Lime I probably won't get this again. Still, a very nice lime scent and I'll definitely use it up!

Lena included some lovely samples as usual. She put in White Sangria Punch which was very nice but it went sour on me. Still it was a great fruity scent with just a touch of booziness to it to make it interesting.

I think that's all for now! I just received another MMU order and I have a couple of other miscellaneous small orders to report on, but I still need to test everything out!

BI and Suds

So much to catch up on! Wow, now that I think about it I haven't been having great luck with scents lately. I'm hoping my upcoming CH and MMU orders will turn things around!

First, Bathed and Infused.

Clementine body spray - Totally delicious when I first sprayed it, but then turned to a clean smell. It wasn't bad by any means, but not citrusy and orangey like I wanted. Definitely worth checking out though if you love true fresh orange scents - not cleaner-ish at all.

Mango Lime Fiesta wash - This smelled mostly like a margarita lime to me, I couldn't really smell the mango. It's a nice lime but nothing that unusual.

I also got body lotions in Gidget and Island Oasis (they were out of the fluffs!) Gidget is a nice fresh fruity scent. I'll use up the container but overall I think I still prefer BBW Tahiti Sweetie. Gidget isn't as sharp as Tahiti Sweetie, it's more sweet. Very nice fun scent for summer. Island Oasis I'm still debating. It's a great fruity coconut in the bottle but I think it turned slightly on me. I'll have to test it out again but for now I think I'll stick to other coconut scents. The body lotion itself is really nice, thick but not greasy and great for summer.

Now onto Suds. I got all of these in the featherlite souffle.

Black Coconut and Coconut Bubble - Ugh. These were truly awful even after I let them cure. I don't know if I got a bad batch of each one or what but they were totally off. Rotten, plasticky coconut was all I got.

Lethal Kiss - I was so excited to try this after hearing all the raves at the b and b board, but I really didn't care for the scent at all. I didn't smell pineapple, just an off strawberry scent. It was even worse on my skin.

Pineapple Salad - To me this smells just like plain pineapple. I like it but for the ultimate fresh pineapple scent CH Pineapple Slices is still the best.

Summer Berries - Another total miss. It smelled like bad potpourri. I didn't even bother trying it on.

Michelle kindly included samples of Pink Lime and Cleopatra. Pink Lime is really tart and sharp, I didn't get much of a "pink" note from it, but on me it was a very strong cleaner smell. Still worth trying out though if you like lime. I can't really describe Cleopatra but I will try - kind of a powdery floral. I liked it but it's not my type of scent.

CH order

Ack, I need to update more! Okay, I ordered a while ago from CH. Turnaround time was superfast again. Unfortunately none of the scents I ordered really worked for me. :( I got all of these in the body butter.

California Navel Orange - So nice in the container, true juicy orange and air freshener on me. Grrr.

Frozen Pineapple Cosmopolitan - To me this smelled exactly like Poipu Beach, only muted. Very strange.

Mango Lime Party Punch - Smelled very close to Seafoam Slushie, but maybe with a tad more lime and less creamy. It's a nice fruity scent but not really what I was looking for.

Peach Frost Mimosa - This was a great scent - true peach with some sweet fruitiness thrown in, not candy or creamy. Unfortunately it turned cloyingly sweet on me.

Raspberry Sherbert - Again, very nice in the container but awful on me. I wanted a nice tart raspberry. This is a creamy raspberry and smells tart enough for me in the jar, but once on it turned way too sweet.

White Grapefruit - Very true grapefruit, but almost too sharp for my nose. I definitely liked it better than Wai Nui grapefruit and Pink Grapefruit - this is the truest of those three. Still there was something a bit off about it and it only got worse with my chemistry.

I got some very generous samples in this order too:

Island Tiki Umbrella Drink - Darnit, why does everything smell like Seafoam Slushie to me? LOL. Not really a very unusual scent, just kind of generic fruit. It was somewhat lime-y in the vial but on me turned sweet.

Lemon Sponge Sherbert Roll - Great foody lemon scent. Since I'm not into those types of scents I wouldn't get it, but definitely check it out if you like them.

Pink Raspberry Fizzy Pop - Artificial and overly sweet to my nose. I couldn't smell any raspberry at all.

Pink Tangelo Rock Candy - This is actually quite nice and I normally hate pink sugar scents. It was lovely in the jar, fresh and sweet at the same time. But on me it was like rancid candy. Sigh.

Strawberry Pucker Mousse Cake - A little too sweet for me but good if you like a very sweet cake with just the tiniest hint of strawberry.

I also received a sample of Cranberry Pineapple Spritzer. I don't even know what it smelled like since I couldn't smell either the cranberry or the pineapple. Just generic. Oh well. I have another order on the way so we'll see if those scents are any better!

Tons of new goodies!

As of now my latest obsession is pineapple. I discovered Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Pineapple and ever since then I've been trying to find great vanilla-pineapple scents to layer with it. Of course, my love for more fruity, less sweet pineapple has not faded, but has only gotten stronger now that the weather is warmer. Will be breaking out the L'Artisan Ananas Fizz soon!

BI
I got all of the following scents in the fluff.

Blue Hawaiian - Generic fruit scent to my nose, couldn't pick up any individual notes. The drydown on me was surprisingly nice and not plastic, but it still was somewhat artificial.

Fresh Strawberries - Not quite the strawberry scent I was looking for, very sweet. It smelled very close to SDE's Strawberries & Cream, which, while a very nice scent, I was looking for something more fruity and fresh rather than sweet.

Pina Colada - At first I got a strong amaretto note, but after I let it sit for a week it was a very true pina colada scent, rivaling CH's. Too bad it turned on me. :(

Junebug - Nice combination of fresh fruit, sweet banana and the tiniest hint of coconut. However, on me it was all banana. While I love eating bananas I'm not big into smelling like them. :P

I also swapped for Orange Neroli and I'm so glad I did - it's divine! Similar to Bobbi Brown's beach fragrance, but with a touch of citrus to make it fresher and a tiny bit less sweet. Nicole was kind enough to include sample jars of Green and Foule et Furie. Foule et Furie was way too floral and strong for my nose, but if you're into those types of scents it might be nice for you. The same thing with Green - not my type of scent (not into green, herbal, spa scents) but if that's what you're after it's great.

Okay, onto SDE! Love the quality of all of Marliss' products but these scents just didn't work for me. :( I got all of these in the Satin Scentations body butter.

Blackberry Bliss - Sadly this smelled like potpourri to my nose, and it got even more floral, almost spicy when I tried it on. It doesn't smell anything like blackberry or any berry for that matter, at least to me.

Key Lime - Was so excited about this since not many e-tailers carry a plain lime scent (not margarita, lime sherbert, etc., just a straight lime) but this didn't work. In the jar it's a nice tart fruity scent (a tiny bit off of a true lime) but on me it smelled like bathroom cleaner. As it faded it definitely got better, it developed into more of a soapy scent, but still not lime. My search for a lime that smells just like L'Atelier du Savon Citron Vert continues.

Strawberry Fields - Still on the fence about this. At first it smelled like burnt sugar to me, but I let it sit for a week and I got more of a strawberry scent out of it. Still, it smells very sweet and not really a fresh true strawberry, more of a sugary fruit scent.

Tangerine Sensation - So sad about this! Smells delicious in the container, a sharp citrusy scent, but on me it was almost vomit-like. I have no idea why my body chemistry torments me so. If you like citrusy scents and don't have a weird chemistry like mine, I highly recommend this.

Lipglossina gave me big samples of Coconut Frosting Oasis, which is totally scrumptious, and Raspberry Sorbet Bermuda Beach Smoother, also delicious. I'm debating to order both of those in body creams!

Coconut Hut
I ordered my beloved Pineapple Slices body butter and scrub, as well as scrubs in Pina Colada and Coconut Milk. Love all of these in scrubs! For samples, I ordered the following scents in the Big Kahuna body butter.

Blackberry - I was amazed at how much this grew on me. I sniffed it, didn't like it, and let it sit for a week. I tried it on again and it smelled much better. Then I tried it on after using Philosophy's Blackberry 3 in 1, and it smelled even better. So I think next time I may order the full size of butter and a scrub! It smells like a very true blackberry to my nose, very sharp and tart but not overpowering. Great fruity scent for summer!

Pina Colada - This works for me in a scrub but alas, not in a butter. It turned to plastic. While I tried this on last year in the souffle, I figured I might have a better chance with it not turning if I got it in a butter. No such luck. Still, it's definitely the truest Pina Colada scent I've sniffed.

Waikiki Coconut - Similar to Pina Colada, but much more plasticky to me.

Coconut Kanantik - This just smelled like a slightly sweet coconut. Nothing earth-shattering in my opinion, and it was total plastic when I put it on. If you're going to go with a slightly sweet coconut from CH, try Beached Coconut instead.

Coconut Gelato - Nice in the container, but horrible on me. The coconut is very light and it smelled mostly like sweet cake to me, but when I put it on it was sweet plastic.

Tropical Paradise - This was nothing special to me. I couldn't pick out any of the individual notes listed in the scent description, it was just an off fruity smell. I didn't even bother trying it on.

Lena also included samples of Honolulu Hot Pants and Polynesian Ruby Pomegranate. Honolulu Hot Pants smelled almost identical to Sea Foam Slushie to me (which I'm not a huge fan of), just stronger. Polynesian Ruby Pomegranate is a nice fruity scent and you can definitely get a good pomegranate note from it, but I think the scent would work best in a scrub. Still, it's not awful on me so I'll use up the jar.

Suds and Light
This was my first order from Suds and overall I was really pleased! Michelle's blends are really nice and for the most part they didn't turn on me, which is very important! I got all of the following scents in the Featherlite souffle. The Featherlite texture is nice for summer, but I think in winter I'm going to need a heavier cream - these are much lighter than CH's body butters or BI fluffs.

Caribbean - Nice blend of coconut and pineapple. I think it turns slightly plastic on me, but like Coconut Milk (see review below), it seems to be different every time I wear it.

Coconut Milk - Argh, I keep going back and forth on this one. One day is smells like the most perfect coconut (like my beloved Bumble and Bumble creme de coco shampoo) but the next it's plastic. I'll have to keep trying it and see what happens. In the jar though it's definitely a very nice true coconut, so if you like coconut definitely get this, it's one of the best ones I've come across.

Island Pineapple - This was just okay for me as far as pineapple scents go. I found it to be a little sweet and artificial, so I think I may try her Pineapple Slices and Pineapple Salad next time to see if those are better on me. If you like pineapple scents though it's worth trying out.

Speckled Strawberry - Alas, this smelled just like SDE's Strawberries 'n' Cream on me. Nice scent but not what I was looking for.

Tropicana - Lovely blend of Vanilla Bean Noel and pineapple. I asked Michelle to go heavier on the pineapple, but I think if I ordered it in equal parts like she normally blends it, it's going to be a great dupe of the CSP Vanille Pineapple. Definitely my fave scent from this order!

Cleanse Your Soul
I also ventured into CYS recently. While I can't say the scents I ordered worked for me, the quality of the emollients is fantastic!

Full of Grace - Really nice blend, but too heavy on the vanilla for me. On me all I could smell was vanilla with just the tiniest hint of raspberry. Great scent but not what I was looking for.

Pineapple Blossom - I couldn't smell any pineapple in this, just a stuffy floral scent. Oh well.

Pineapple Supreme - Was so looking forward to this, pineapple fiend that I am, and was so disappointed. It was an overly sweet cloying pineapple, and so artificial it only barely resembled a pineapple scent.

Summer Strawberries - This smelled so sugary to me in the container, and on me it turned so horribly sweet I couldn't even smell the strawberry. Still, if you're looking for a sweet but not creamy strawberry scent give it a try.

Tequila Lime - Disappointed in this, thought it would be much more tart. It smelled like sugared lime to me, not like jello, but more like lime candy. On me, as with Summer Strawberries, it was super sweet and I couldn't smell any lime. But if you like lime scents in general it might be nice.

I also procured samples of Joyful Heart, Veil of Grace, and State of Grace! Veil of Grace is lemon and Vanilla Bean Noel. It's a nice scent but it didn't knock my socks off. I think with lemon scents I prefer a nice tart lemon as opposed to one mixed with something sweet. State of Grace is really nice, orange and VBN mixed. I'm still trying to decide on whether to order it in an emollient. Joyful Heart is a lovely blend of coconut and VBN, I'm also debating whether to order it.

All over the place...

I can't believe how long it's been since we've written! These are mostly reviews of scents I ordered for the holiday/winter season, but there are some regular ones in there too. I'm already looking forward to spring! The quest for 1. a body cream that smells exactly like Bumble and Bumble's Creme de Coco shampoo and conditioner, 2. a fresh true strawberry scent and 3. a fresh true pineapple scent are my biggest challenges, so I'm already looking around. :)

My very first order from The Body Dessert Shop (http://www.thebodydessertshop.com) finally came! I have to say turnaround time was really slow so I'd be hesitant to order again, but the products were very good quality and I found a scent I loved. :) The texture of the shea body butter seems identical to B&I's body fluff, which I adore.

Birthday Cake: Very true cake scent complete with icing, not overly sweet. It does go a little too sweet on me so I'm not sure if I'd get a full size, but it's really a nice scent.

Black Raspberry Vanilla: I'm in love with this scent and I didn't even order it! Colleen threw in a tiny sample and I'm so glad she did. I can't smell vanilla at all which is perfect for me, since no vanilla scents have worked on me. This sounds very strange but it's kind of an artificial raspberry but still fresh and clean, I can almost smell soap in it. Just a lovely tart fresh raspberry scent. I have to buy the full size now!

Eggnog Cream: Finally a true eggnog scent, a little spicier than I would have liked and not as creamy as Philosophy's 3 in 1, but nice. I'm not sure I'd order it again though and I may not even use it this season as I'm overloaded with winter scents!

Fresh Vanilla (BBW dupe): I'm not sure how close this is to the BBW version but this is a great vanilla scent. I'm not really into vanilla since every one I've tried has turned on me, but this is excellent as far as vanillas go - not too sweet, not too creamy and not too much like extract.

Peppermint Cocoa: Nice blend but smells very similar to Bissy's Boutique's version. I'm pretty sure it's going to turn on me.

Pink Buttercream Frosting: This was also a sample Colleen threw in, very nice foody scent, but not for me. A little too sweet.

Pumpkin Blizzard: I'm not sure what to think about this. Right now on cold sniff it's a very sour pumpkin. But the gals at the bath and body board told me to let it sit for a week or two and it'll get better. So we'll see what happens.

Warm Vanilla Gingerbread: Really delicious and true gingerbread scent. I think it was a little too spicy on me but you can smell both the vanilla and the gingerbread.

Coconut Hut (all are souffles or butters unless noted)
Apple Torta Sabiosa: Lena was kind enough to include a small sample of this but it wasn't for me. I guess if you like foody scents it may be nice, but there was something really off about it.

Blue Ribbon Pumpkin Pie: Nice pumpkin pie scent but mostly I could only smell pie crust. If you like your pumpkin pie scent to be heavy on the pie crust, go for it. I prefer CH's Pumpkin Pie a la Mode.

Frosted Hawaiian Mimosa: Sadly this was very artificial and slightly plastic-y. I couldn't smell any of the individual notes, just an overly sweet candy smell.

Kissing on the Beach: This is great if you love coconut and vanilla. Not overly sweet or coconutty. Unfortunately it turned on me. Sigh.

Mai Tai: This had promise in the jar, a nice fun fruity scent. On me it was truly awful though.

Mango Lassi: This did not smell remotely like mango to me, it was very generic with a really odd base. Just smelled totally off.

Melting Marshmallow Hot Chocolate: Totally delicious blend of chocolate and marshmallow. It's much heavier on the chocolate but it's not overly sweet or strong. Best of all it doesn't turn on me!

Polynesian Ruby Pomegranate: Another gift from my gal pal! Still on the fence with this. Lovely tropical fruity scent but I can't tell if it's too candy-ish or not.

Summer Lemonade: I love this in the scrub but not in a butter. It was a strong floral lemon scent, not a fresh slightly sweet lemonade at all. Looks like I'll be sticking with SDE's Fresh Lemonade.

Tropical Fruit Slices: Not one of the best CH scents - very artificial, like fruit candy, and has a strange drydown. Overly sweet and not all that fruity.

Bathed & Infused (all fluffs/lotions unless noted)
Bali: I was disappointed in this, couldn't pick out any individual scents, just a really generic slightly fruity scent. Not one of B&I's best.

Cocomania (Lush Trichomania dupe): I can't compare this to the Lush original but this didn't smell all that coconutty to me. It was more of a plain nut, almost like TBS nut body butter.

Coconut Beach: I thought I was crazy for a while, but there is indeed a very strong amaretto note. Not coconutty at all to my nose.

Eggnog Poundcake: Too foody for me, I don't like sweet cakey scents and couldn't smell much eggnog in this. If you love poundcake with a twist though, go for it.

Gingerbread Creme: Truly amazing and true gingerbread scent, not too sweet and not too spicy. Will definitely repurchase next holiday season. :)

Ivory Rose: Such a lovely blend, you could smell both the Ivory and a soft rose. But it turned on me, it was like a musty old rose. :(

MacIntosh Apple: very fresh and true but turned on me. :(

Mint Chocolate Marshmallows: Admittedly I don't get much mint and no marshmallow from this, I mostly smell a sweet chocolate. It's a nice chocolate with just a touch of mint.

St. Lucia: This is a great blend, it's a creamy but clean coconut. Really fresh and pretty. Unfortunately it turned on me.

Sunset Beach: Lovely but smelled like air freshener on me. It's like Bobbi Brown's Beach but just a tad creamier.

There was also a sample of Luv Luv (dupe of the Moschino fragrance) which was way too strong and floral. I'm not sure how close it is to the original but it definitely wasn't for me.

Some other random things that didn't work for me (these are just some notes to myself!): SDA Lime Margarita, Pineapple Jasmine, Blackberry Bubbles, Pumpkins on Parade and Summer Lovin'; Auntie Rhubarb Coconut Creme Pie; Bissy's Boutique Gingerbread Applesauce, Pina Colada, Hawaiian Hula and Pumpkin Pie Filling.

As for retailer bath and body items, I've found some great stuff recently: 100% Pure Blood Orange shea butter, Philosophy Cinnamon Buns and BBW Gingerbread 3 in 1.

Another CH order, also my B&I order

I got my CH order and it's one of the best ones I've ever gotten. Super-fast turnaround and shipping too - I ordered on a Thursday and received my package Monday. Go Lena! Ditto for Bathed and Infused (http://www.bathedandinfused.com) I ordered on a Monday, it shipped that same day and I got it Thursday.

Okay, here's CH (all are souffles unless otherwise noted):

Gingerbread Man: Loving this. In the container it's a lovely sweet gingerbread. On me most of the sweetness disappears, but for some reason it's not overly spicy. It smells just like when I take the gingerbread cookies out of the oven, before I add the icing. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a gift pack of this that includes a scrub and souffle.

Lemon Pumpkin Jelly Roll: I didn't care very much for this one, just too much going on.

Mocha-licious: If you like coffee scents I'd give this a try. Nice mix of chocolate and coffee. But it just smelled like dirt on me! I didn't get any coffee notes at all.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Ice Cream: Lena included a sample of this in the body butter, it's really nice on cold sniff. Great mix of gingerbread and vanilla. Unfortunately on me it was all spice.

Pumpkin Pie a la Mode: This is delicious, plain and simple. On me it's a little spicier than it is in the container, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to order a full size of either this or the Sweet Pumpkin Chai Latte. You can really smell the vanilla and pumpkin pie on cold sniff.

Raspberry Truffle Chocolate Cake: I sniffed this side by side with Raspberry Zinger, they smell almost identical. I didn't get any chocolate notes from this, it was just a little sweeter than the Raspberry Zinger, but not much different.

Sticky Peppermint Snowball: Nice sweet minty scent. Too bad it turned sour on me. But if you're looking for a unique mint scent for the winter, try this.

Sweet Pumpkin Chai Latte: I think this one was my favorite from this order, at least on cold sniff. It smells just like a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte. On me it smells very similar to Pumpkin Pie a la mode, but as it dries down a bit more I get the coffee notes. It seems to take a while for them to show up on my skin. Who knows, maybe I'll get both this and the Pumpkin Pie a la Mode!

Winter Wonderland Cake: This was so sad. It smells great in the container and lousy on me. It's mint mixed with a fresh baked cake, crisp but also sweet. But it was truly nauseating on me. Damn body chemistry.

BI
Pumpkin Pie: Delicious! Perfect pumpkin pie. On my skin the pie crust note comes out more but it's still lovely and not overly spicy. Will definitely reorder.

Pizzelle Cookies: This killed me - smelled very close to pizzelles, but on me, as I had feared, it was all anise. I don't particularly care for that scent so I'm getting rid of this.

Samples of lotions in Pumpkin Pancakes and Sweet and Nutty were included with my order. Pumpkin Pancakes is excellent in the container but had the worst drydown on me. Sweet and Nutty just didn't appeal to me at all so I didn't even try it on, not a big nut scent fan.