BPAL Reviews
Nov. 12th, 2007 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arianhwyvarTamamo no Mae (soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo soke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha) : In vial -- surprisingly sweet. Wet -- a lovely soft scent, slightly sweet, with hints of tea and rice-something -- rice paper? rice dough? An 'Asian' smell. Remained pleasant, though very light. (4)
Squirting Cucumber (A spurt of wet, grassy greenness) : In vial -- wet, green, cucumber! Wet -- same, but with a less fresh undertone coming in. After an hour or so this went a bit staler/woody. I really like the fresh cucumber smell, but it just doesn't last. (3)
Wicked (rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose) : In vial -- oof! Floral to the face. Almost alcoholic. Wet -- weirdly, I was reminded of alcohol/tobacco notes (which I generally like, but wasn't expecting here at all). The rose note I don't like was in there too. Then, ugh, it changed to peanut butter-rose. (I think some resins combined with florals give me this peanut butter impression.) A rather overwhelming floral, fairly thick/heavy. I didn't like the rose, though it calmed down gradually. (2)
Santo Domingo (An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms) : In vial -- tobacco? And perfume. Wet -- a bit soapy? Very light skin alchemy? This developed into a slightly stronger scent, an odd combination of skin alchemy scent and soap. The soapiness eventually went away, and this scent was ok, a little smokey. (2.5)
Chaste Moon (milky blossoms and soft cream touch the last buds of winter, coupled with crystalline, bright traditional Lunar oils) : In vial and wet -- a lovely light scent, with a hint of something interesting underneath, sweet and almost but not quite foody. As it dried it became faded and not quite as absolutely lovely, but still pretty pleasant. While this was nice on me, it wasn't as amazing as for some other people, so I passed it on. (3.5)
Blood Rose (voluptuous red rose bursting with lascivious red wine and sultry dragon's blood resin) : In vial -- strong not-so-nice wine/fruit. Wet -- strong wine/dragon's blood. The rose came in quickly and the other notes faded back some. The rose wasn't too bad to begin with, though the slight sweetness in the blend verged on sickly. Gradually the rose turned into something I disliked more, and overall this blend was too sickly sweet and rose-filled for me. (2)
Dragon's Hide (Dragon’s blood, leather and a hint of smoke) : (second try) Wet -- strong dragon's blood. Leather and smoke scents came in quickly. I rather like the leather/smoke, but I don't think I'd wear this. I'd like a leather/smoke scent, but I don't think this is it. (3)
Shadow Witch Orchid (a dusky orchid, subdued and ethereal) : Wet -- sweetish pleasant floral. I actually felt like this reminded me of someone else's specific perfume, though I can't think of who. It remained pleasant, but not so exciting that I felt I had to hold on to it. I have other sweet pleasant florals I'm still holding onto, like Sundew. (3)
Black Phoenix: (second try) Wet -- almondy marzipan goodness! Some skin alchemy. Maybe a touch soapy. Ok, but there are other skin alchemy ones I like better, I think, like Haunted (which I need to try again to see if it's actually as nice as I remember). (3)
Queen of Sheba (a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices) : (second try) This one wasn't as good as when I first tried it. Wet, it briefly had that lovely marzipan smell (that I so wish would stick around longer -- I should probably try an almond scent in a scent locket), but then changed, bizarrely to buttered popcorn! And ended up stalish and eh. (2.5)
Saint-germain (gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses) : (second try) Hm...I think lavender is just one that doesn't do it for me. It has to be very subdued to not take over a blend and make it smell bad to me (though I don't dislike lavender scent in general). wet, this was pungently herby, almost mentholated, which I think was the lavender, and then softened some. Unfortunately the lavender stayed the most prominent as it faded, though I could tell there was some other stuff in there if only the lavender would let it out. (2.5)
Dee (soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods) : (take 2) (second try) This one was actually better than the first time I tried it, when it didn't really interact with my skin at all. This time, it was surprisingly sweet when I applied it. There was a little staleness, but then it mellowed and became actually fairly nice. It had a long, pleasant dry stage which I quite liked. (3.5)
Himerus (A passion-rousing blend of juniper, sandalwood, rosewood, red musk, orchid, bergamot and lilac) : In vial -- woods. Sandalwood? Wet -- nice wood, sandalwood plus a slight fruity sweetness -- bergamot? Slight floral, slight evergreen. Fruit + evergreen made a slightly cloying note I wasn't sure I liked. Nice rosewood, though. And suddenly ugh, it turned into cough syrup on my right wrist. After a little while longer, it was warm wood, with a trace of a note I didn't like -- maybe the red musk? It was definitely still interacting with my skin, but a bit too cloying. (2.5)
Port Royal (Spiced rum and ship’s wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute’s perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down) : In vial -- salt, and a fresh scent. Wet -- salt, maybe a bit of wood, spices coming up. After a while: salt, spice (clove?). The throw was salt and a little spice. Dried into being faded and woody. Not bad, but not something I need. (3)
Prague (Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies) : In vial -- very sweet floral. Wet -- an incredibly sweet floral, but calming down, at least on my right wrist. While I generally like at least some sweetness in a blend, this sweet note stayed overly sweet for me. Then a weird note I didn't like came in, almost peanut buttery. I have no idea why some blends smell like peanut butter to me, especially one that's entirely made of floral. This then faded without improving. (2)
Maenad (sweet strawberry and orange blossom distorted by carnation, black poppy and hibiscus) : In vial -- artificial strawberry, floral. Wet -- medium-light florals, a bit of sweet strawberry, maybe a bit of orange. This was too sweet, meh. I don't think bpal's strawberry note works well for me. (2)
Somnus: All the dream blends have lavender, and it just doesn't seem to work well for me in any of them. In vial, this was lavender. Wet -- lavender. A little bit of that diaper edge I get from lavender in bpal sometimes, but not awful. Turned into lavender and floral. Thoroughly eh. Lavender not overpowering, but not good. (2)
Urd (Muscadine, black and red patchouli, cereus and nag champa) : In vial -- ugh, patchouli! Strong and attacking. Wet -- a thick, dirty smell. Earth, gritty mud. And patchouli, or maybe ucky red musk. The whole thing got a touch lighter and sweeter, and generally more palatable as it dried, but I wasn't willing to put up with it for too much longer. (1.5)
Bayou (Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms) : This was a surprise win. I had been avoiding it for some time because I thought it would be a floral punch to the face, and I've had cypress I think be bad in the past. However, this was actually something I'd like to wear. In vial -- fresh, floral. Wet -- juicy floral, slightly but not overly sweet. It did smell 'blue-green'. Nice. The juciness was a bit like punch, or tropical fruit, but not sickening or cloying. Rather like Amsterdam, but a bit darker/fully. Pleasantly aquatic as it dried, like Olukun. (4)
October 2007 (Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air) : In vial -- leaves, not in a bad way. Wet -- a bracing, almost alcohol smell, like the wild lettuce toner I once had. I can see this as cold fresh air, turned but not dead leaves. Trees closing down for winter but still very alive. I kept sniffing it. A bit of smoke. A new note that I maybe didn't like as much -- maybe dead leaves. Faded down quickly, within an hour, but was still light but present hours later. (3.5)
Croquet (Pink lime, pink grapefruit, white nectarine, wild rose, sage, woody patchouli, bergamot, and ornery hedgehog musk) : In vial -- overly sweet grapefruit? Wet -- light citrus. Became a little stronger and sweeter, but then faded again quickly to not much -- maybe a slight woody herbiness. (2)
The Isles of Demons (wet, dark greenery, carnivorous flowers, volcanic gas, and hot black musk) : In vial -- perfume/greenery. Wet -- it really was kind of a green smell, almost evergreen, made thicker by musk. Hard to identify exactly what it smelled like. Not bad/not great. It really was like 'hot black musk'. An ok black musk drydown, though not the best; perfectly nice 'standard good drydown' smell when dry. Not bad, but not something I'd wear. (2.5)
Bonfire Night 2007 (Beer, woodsmoke, tar, and treacle) : In vial -- smoke, sweet, tar. Seriously! Wet -- strong smoke, a bit tarry, a little sweet, maybe some beer-y hop-iness. I wouldn't want to wear it, but it's certainly interesting. After a while, it became sort of stle smoke with a touch of an eh note -- like your clothes next day after being in a club with smokers. Sweetened/warmed a bit. Faded to not much after a couple hours. (Actually, wore a bit of this at the Guy Fawkes Ball, and it was pretty nice.) (3)
The Twisted Oak Tree (Blackened, rotted oak wood blanketed in moss and choked by a cloak of grasping ivy) : In vial -- wood followed immediately by a scent I don't like. Wet -- Gah! Rotting wood, dirt, attacking me. Foul. Moderated quickly to be less foul, but still a dirt smell, with a touch of green/brown. After a little while, was a dirt smell rather like Zombi, with a little sweetness. Sort of a perfumy sweetness, coming out a little more as the dirt faded down. (1.5)
Endymion (A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk) : Rose, I don't like you. You have moved from my list of 'eh, not good not bad' notes solidly onto the list of bad notes. In vial -- floral! Wet -- slightly sickly floral. Stale rose and some other floral I didn't much like. Maybe a whisper of ok pear. Too floral, sickly rose. Rose beat out everything else that might have been there. I eventually washed this one off. (1.5)
The Dodo (Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood) : In vial -- lemon, sugar, cinnamon. Wet -- some note I really didn't like, plus bits of cinnamon (cassia -- the cinnmon that doesn't turn everything into bath-of-redhots), mango, wood. The note I'm not fond of is warm and red -- probably the red musk. This was an odd mix of sugar/spice/citrus/wood, weird but not bad, except for the sickly note I didn't like. Sort of settled on sickly-lemon-cinnamon. (2)
Samhain 2007 (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein) : Win! It's a scent with patchouli that's actually good! In vial -- evergreen and sweet. Wet -- strong nice evergreen, but broad, warm, and complex. Bits of nice spices underneath. I thought I could detect the clove, nutmeg, allspice. It started to fade down fast but stayed ok and became a little smokey. A bit of apple came in, and it turned into sweet spiced apple, quite pleasant. It seemed to last pretty well and stay nice. (4)
All Souls 2007 (An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes) : In vial -- delicious foody sugar. Wet -- sweet cake (but not horribly cakey) morphing swiftly into drier, less sweet smoke/perfume. The cake swiftly was all gone, and this became a more generic, though ok, smell, with a touch of skin alchemy. Maybe verged on a touch soapy? Fairly standard pleasant drydown, nicer on the right wrist. Ok, but I don't need to keep it. (3)
Burial (The Dark Side of Earth: deep, brooding forest scents, including juniper and patchouli. The scent of upturned cemetary loam mingling with floral offerings to the dead) : In vial -- ugh, patchouli and earth. Wet -- UGH, garbagey patchouli earth. Headache-inducing. The garbagey smell faded fairly quickly, though the scent remained intensely patchouli dirt -- oh, it must be the juniper that is the intense smell I don't like. After a little while this was better; the juniper/evergreen wasn't as overpowering or gross. Lighter but still eh juniper. (1.5)
Rakshasa (Sandalwood with rose and patchouli) : In vial -- sweetish almost orange smell. Wet -- fairly nice orange/sandalwood(?) smell, and rose-I-don't-like coming in quickly. Better than I would have expected given the patchouli, though the rose wasn't good. Warmed up some, almost as if a cinnamon note was coming in. Too much rose, with a bit of nice spice behind it. Dried into lighter but still eh rose. (2)
Suspiro (Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley) : In vial -- medium floral. Wet -- fairly strong floral, though not hideous. Lightened/brightened some, but then faded fast into mostly stale slight woodiness within an hour. There was a little floral still there, but it wasn't very interesting. (2.5)
The Pool of Tears (A sea of salty tears drowning out Alice's light floral perfume) : In vial -- light floral, salt. Wet -- floral and salt. Interesting, though there was some floral? note I wasn't so fond of, like overblown flowers. Dried into a salty light floral; ok, but I don't need it. (3)
Mandrake: Wet -- woody, almost like cedar, but a little lighter/more papery. Became lighter, and very slightly sweeter. Stayed a relatively pleasant light woody scent. (3)
Phantom (Myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose and ylang ylang) : Wet -- very powdery but in a pleasant way. Rose, eh. Ugh -- a strong resinous note that I didn't like in combination with the other notes. On my right wrist, it was more unpleasant, sharp and bitter. On my left, there was perhaps a bit of skin alchemy. The resin note -- the myrrh? -- started to blend better, and the rose wasn't very prominent. By about an hour later, the scent was going a little staler and meh. For the most part it remained ok myrrh, though, gradually fading. (2)
Desdemona (Innocent, soft and pure: sweet pea, carnation and water lily) : In vial -- light floral. Wet -- stronger floral, but still 'pitched high', fairly light. Almost sliiiightly soapy? This was ok, not bad, not great. After a few hours it was faint and not very interesting. (2.5)
Kumari Kandam (Thick incense, clay, stone, and hothouse blooms with a spike of frost, a hint of decay, and heavy, dolorous aquatic notes) : This was one of those that I wouldn't wear, but goes through an interesting entire narrative of changes, like Singing Moon. In vial -- stone, clay, incense, a bit of floral. (Seriously.) Wet -- mostly floral but a bit of clay/stone, a bit of a cold smell. A hint of sweetness. Nicer than I expected -- the aquatics? I wanted to keep sniffing it in this stage. It became stronger salty aquatics, much less floral, with still some sweetness -- the incense? After another little while, stronger clay/stone -- this is what a golem ought to smell like. A bit of decay? Like damp rock with vegetation growing on it, and musty clay. After a few hours, this was light stone/clay. (2.5)
Ephemera (sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves) : In vial -- floral perfume. Wet -- floral, not too heavy. Became heavier, then lighter again. Not too interesting. (2)
Yemaya (a bounty of melons and grapes, strewn with the petals of the flowers of motherhood, draped with sea mosses) : In vial -- melon! Wet -- strong melon, changing swiftly to be less fruity, as a slight sea-smell came in. The throw was big on this -- my coworker mentioned smelling it (and liking the melon scent). The throw stayed melon-y. A less fresh note came in that I didn't like -- almost an old cheese smell. That unpleasant note went away, but the whole scent got drier/woodier/staler, with still a bit of melon. (2)
The Ghastly Garden (Overgrown oleander, marshy water hemlock, the sugared nectar of carnivorous blooms, putrefying wet greenery, oozing sap, crushed rosary peas, withered climbing roses, and nightshade berries) : Another surprise win. In vial -- soft, light, green. Wet -- green, fresh, lightly floral, with a bit of depth and richness. Nice. A little sweetness that kept pleasantly surprising me when I sniffed it. There was a scent that *was* like 'putrefying greenery', but in a good way. No, really. Got softer but stayed pleasant. (4)
The Lurid Library (The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants) : In vial -- spice perfume. Wet -- spice, paper/books. Then getting a bit soapy. My coworker thought it smelled like baby powder or detergent, so I guess it was even more soapy from a little distance. After a short time this was very faded and uninteresting. Sad; no lurid libraries for me. (2)
The Temptation (attar of rose, calla lily, palmarosa, peach blossom, wisteria, rice flower, and black musk) : Wet, this was an interesting, delicate floral, with a pleasant floral note I couldn't identify -- rice flower? peach blossom? it faded without really doing much on my skin, though. (2.5)
Juliet (Sweet pea with stargazer lily, calla lily, heliotrope, honeysuckle, white musk and a touch of fresh pear) : In vial -- frest/fruity floral. Wet -- mellowing quickly. Briefly almost a honey note. A hint of pear in the throw. Swifted faded/became woodier (my skin was very dry, which probably had a lot to do with it). I could still smell a bit of pear and floral in the throw. I thought maybe it was getting a touch soapy, and it dried into woody/soapy. (2.5)
Bon Vivant (An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry) : In vial -- ugh, too-sweet strawberry! Wet -- oversweet strawberry, but with something warming/broadening it. Oddly, it this really did start smelling like a fizzy champagne smell. Odd but not bad. The strawberry calmed down some. It really did smell fizzy, and almost spicy. Dried into eh light strawberry. (2)
Nephilim (Holy frankincense and hyssop in union with earthy fig, defiled by black patchouli and vetiver, with a chaotic infusion of lavender, cardamom, tamarind, rosemary, oakmoss and cypress) : In vial -- patchouli, bleh. Wet -- also bleh patchouli. And bleh lavender. Sort of mentholated. Perhaps a bit of rosemary. Maybe bleh cypress? A bit of fig coming through the bleh. And dirt smell -- oakmoss? Figgy dirt. Over time, became a touch sweeter and less dirtful. (1.5)
Pirate Moon (Red musk, ambergris, coconut palm, red sandalwood, balsam, date, warm leather, tobacco, ebony, lingum vitae wood, pandanus grass, an' a touch o' lime) : In vial -- salt, light lime. Wet -- light warm leather, maybe lime, light grass/palm? Pleasant but light, hard to make out notes. This became more wetly grassy on onet wrist, while fading dryly on the other. It was pretty much gone after 2 hours. This was perfectly pleasant, but I don't know that it's distinctive enough for me to want to keep it. (3.5)
Privilege (Armoise, tuberose, white citrus, rose absolute, oakmoss, tiare, tuberose, vanilla, linden, and lemon tree blossom) : In vial -- floral, with some floral note I'm not fond of. Wet -- lighter pleasanter floral, though then that stronger note came up a bit. A bit of vanilla. This actually wasn't bad. It *is* sort of an empty smell, green/floral with a bit of vanilla-stale. Like everything else I tried that day of crazy dry skin, faded super fast. Dry, it was a little citrusy. (3)
Temple of Dreams (For use when working with the many Gods of Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares) : I think I have sometimes liked lavender in the past, so maybe it's just bpal's lavender I don't like? In lavender and wet, this scent was pungent lavender, verging on bleh. Big throw, almost a urine-y edge. Remained an almost-nasty lavender, fading down gradually. (1.5)
Eris (wet fruits and sharp mimosa with Martial spices and a deceptive flash of floral) : In vial -- fruit and a note I don't like at all. Wet -- meh strawberry. Something filling it out that's better, but also another note I don't like. Stronger strawberry, blech spices. There's a note here I've smelled before, maybe in Succubus -- the mimosa? Faded into a light faint strawberry. (2)
Aeaea (A dark ocean breeze, electric with adrenaline, magic, and fear, clashing with the thick scent of poisoned berries and spiny aloe, against a backdrop of snowdrop, cedar, and cypress) : In vial -- slight floral. Wet -- slight floral, some aquatic. Quite light. Drying out fast. A touch of aloe freshness? A touch of sweetness? Mostly dry; a little aloe-y, a touch of woods? Cedar came out more when dry. Ok but not that distinctive. (3)
Libra 2007 (Rose, black cherry, carnation, fig, honey, plum, and black currant) : In vial -- black cherry, which is nice. Wet -- almond (must be the cherry), rose coming up. Turning plasticky? Rose bad, skin alchemy good, some plastic still there. Dried into mostly light rose. Curse you rose; I was hoping this one would have a honey drydown. (2.5)
Allison Gross (Witch-herbs, crushed golden flowers, and a man-made-dragon's surly musk lightened by the scent of the blossoms and unearthly incense that clings to the Faerie Queen's hair. Dragon's blood musk, ambergris, sunflower, chrysanthemum, muguet, and rue, with gingered lily, moonflower, bluebell, peony, nightwort, and white rose) : In vial -- herbs/flowers/rose. Wet -- light herbs and flowers. Delicate but present. A grassy floral with some staler note I don't like as much but don't hate. Nice throw, a little unique -- I was pleasantly suprised whenever I caught a breath of it. Maybe try this one again. (3.5)
Beaver Moon (wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry) : In vial -- oh, so deliciously cherry vanilla cream foody. Wet -- cherry cream, but getting cakier, like strawberry shortcake. Or a pound cake with strawberry and vanilla frosting. As time went by, this got almost a little spicy, esp. on the right wrist, while still being a little creamier on the left. It swiftly became mostly cakey, with a bit of sweetness still -- I would get whiffs of something that smelled like sweet cherry cake. Surprisingly nice standard good drydown. This actually worked pretty well on me I think, though I don't think I would want to wear something much that makes me smell like cake. (3.5)
Bakeneko (Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon) : Oh cinnamon, why do I even bother to try you? The notes on this look so very lovely, and yet: In vial -- cinnamon. Wet -- yep, cinnamon. Smelled like there might be other stuff behind the cinnamon, but I couldn't make it out. As it dried, was gradually fading cinnamon. Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon. Curses. (2)
Yvain (The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia) : Lavender. Lavender lavender lavender. In vial and wet -- lavender with a hint of something else -- magnolia? Too much lavender, but not overpoweringly stinky. Maybe a touch of that diaper edge I don't like, though in general this was a less offensive lavender than many. Still too lavender, though. (2)
Squirting Cucumber (A spurt of wet, grassy greenness) : In vial -- wet, green, cucumber! Wet -- same, but with a less fresh undertone coming in. After an hour or so this went a bit staler/woody. I really like the fresh cucumber smell, but it just doesn't last. (3)
Wicked (rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose) : In vial -- oof! Floral to the face. Almost alcoholic. Wet -- weirdly, I was reminded of alcohol/tobacco notes (which I generally like, but wasn't expecting here at all). The rose note I don't like was in there too. Then, ugh, it changed to peanut butter-rose. (I think some resins combined with florals give me this peanut butter impression.) A rather overwhelming floral, fairly thick/heavy. I didn't like the rose, though it calmed down gradually. (2)
Santo Domingo (An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms) : In vial -- tobacco? And perfume. Wet -- a bit soapy? Very light skin alchemy? This developed into a slightly stronger scent, an odd combination of skin alchemy scent and soap. The soapiness eventually went away, and this scent was ok, a little smokey. (2.5)
Chaste Moon (milky blossoms and soft cream touch the last buds of winter, coupled with crystalline, bright traditional Lunar oils) : In vial and wet -- a lovely light scent, with a hint of something interesting underneath, sweet and almost but not quite foody. As it dried it became faded and not quite as absolutely lovely, but still pretty pleasant. While this was nice on me, it wasn't as amazing as for some other people, so I passed it on. (3.5)
Blood Rose (voluptuous red rose bursting with lascivious red wine and sultry dragon's blood resin) : In vial -- strong not-so-nice wine/fruit. Wet -- strong wine/dragon's blood. The rose came in quickly and the other notes faded back some. The rose wasn't too bad to begin with, though the slight sweetness in the blend verged on sickly. Gradually the rose turned into something I disliked more, and overall this blend was too sickly sweet and rose-filled for me. (2)
Dragon's Hide (Dragon’s blood, leather and a hint of smoke) : (second try) Wet -- strong dragon's blood. Leather and smoke scents came in quickly. I rather like the leather/smoke, but I don't think I'd wear this. I'd like a leather/smoke scent, but I don't think this is it. (3)
Shadow Witch Orchid (a dusky orchid, subdued and ethereal) : Wet -- sweetish pleasant floral. I actually felt like this reminded me of someone else's specific perfume, though I can't think of who. It remained pleasant, but not so exciting that I felt I had to hold on to it. I have other sweet pleasant florals I'm still holding onto, like Sundew. (3)
Black Phoenix: (second try) Wet -- almondy marzipan goodness! Some skin alchemy. Maybe a touch soapy. Ok, but there are other skin alchemy ones I like better, I think, like Haunted (which I need to try again to see if it's actually as nice as I remember). (3)
Queen of Sheba (a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices) : (second try) This one wasn't as good as when I first tried it. Wet, it briefly had that lovely marzipan smell (that I so wish would stick around longer -- I should probably try an almond scent in a scent locket), but then changed, bizarrely to buttered popcorn! And ended up stalish and eh. (2.5)
Saint-germain (gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses) : (second try) Hm...I think lavender is just one that doesn't do it for me. It has to be very subdued to not take over a blend and make it smell bad to me (though I don't dislike lavender scent in general). wet, this was pungently herby, almost mentholated, which I think was the lavender, and then softened some. Unfortunately the lavender stayed the most prominent as it faded, though I could tell there was some other stuff in there if only the lavender would let it out. (2.5)
Dee (soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods) : (take 2) (second try) This one was actually better than the first time I tried it, when it didn't really interact with my skin at all. This time, it was surprisingly sweet when I applied it. There was a little staleness, but then it mellowed and became actually fairly nice. It had a long, pleasant dry stage which I quite liked. (3.5)
Himerus (A passion-rousing blend of juniper, sandalwood, rosewood, red musk, orchid, bergamot and lilac) : In vial -- woods. Sandalwood? Wet -- nice wood, sandalwood plus a slight fruity sweetness -- bergamot? Slight floral, slight evergreen. Fruit + evergreen made a slightly cloying note I wasn't sure I liked. Nice rosewood, though. And suddenly ugh, it turned into cough syrup on my right wrist. After a little while longer, it was warm wood, with a trace of a note I didn't like -- maybe the red musk? It was definitely still interacting with my skin, but a bit too cloying. (2.5)
Port Royal (Spiced rum and ship’s wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute’s perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down) : In vial -- salt, and a fresh scent. Wet -- salt, maybe a bit of wood, spices coming up. After a while: salt, spice (clove?). The throw was salt and a little spice. Dried into being faded and woody. Not bad, but not something I need. (3)
Prague (Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies) : In vial -- very sweet floral. Wet -- an incredibly sweet floral, but calming down, at least on my right wrist. While I generally like at least some sweetness in a blend, this sweet note stayed overly sweet for me. Then a weird note I didn't like came in, almost peanut buttery. I have no idea why some blends smell like peanut butter to me, especially one that's entirely made of floral. This then faded without improving. (2)
Maenad (sweet strawberry and orange blossom distorted by carnation, black poppy and hibiscus) : In vial -- artificial strawberry, floral. Wet -- medium-light florals, a bit of sweet strawberry, maybe a bit of orange. This was too sweet, meh. I don't think bpal's strawberry note works well for me. (2)
Somnus: All the dream blends have lavender, and it just doesn't seem to work well for me in any of them. In vial, this was lavender. Wet -- lavender. A little bit of that diaper edge I get from lavender in bpal sometimes, but not awful. Turned into lavender and floral. Thoroughly eh. Lavender not overpowering, but not good. (2)
Urd (Muscadine, black and red patchouli, cereus and nag champa) : In vial -- ugh, patchouli! Strong and attacking. Wet -- a thick, dirty smell. Earth, gritty mud. And patchouli, or maybe ucky red musk. The whole thing got a touch lighter and sweeter, and generally more palatable as it dried, but I wasn't willing to put up with it for too much longer. (1.5)
Bayou (Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms) : This was a surprise win. I had been avoiding it for some time because I thought it would be a floral punch to the face, and I've had cypress I think be bad in the past. However, this was actually something I'd like to wear. In vial -- fresh, floral. Wet -- juicy floral, slightly but not overly sweet. It did smell 'blue-green'. Nice. The juciness was a bit like punch, or tropical fruit, but not sickening or cloying. Rather like Amsterdam, but a bit darker/fully. Pleasantly aquatic as it dried, like Olukun. (4)
October 2007 (Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air) : In vial -- leaves, not in a bad way. Wet -- a bracing, almost alcohol smell, like the wild lettuce toner I once had. I can see this as cold fresh air, turned but not dead leaves. Trees closing down for winter but still very alive. I kept sniffing it. A bit of smoke. A new note that I maybe didn't like as much -- maybe dead leaves. Faded down quickly, within an hour, but was still light but present hours later. (3.5)
Croquet (Pink lime, pink grapefruit, white nectarine, wild rose, sage, woody patchouli, bergamot, and ornery hedgehog musk) : In vial -- overly sweet grapefruit? Wet -- light citrus. Became a little stronger and sweeter, but then faded again quickly to not much -- maybe a slight woody herbiness. (2)
The Isles of Demons (wet, dark greenery, carnivorous flowers, volcanic gas, and hot black musk) : In vial -- perfume/greenery. Wet -- it really was kind of a green smell, almost evergreen, made thicker by musk. Hard to identify exactly what it smelled like. Not bad/not great. It really was like 'hot black musk'. An ok black musk drydown, though not the best; perfectly nice 'standard good drydown' smell when dry. Not bad, but not something I'd wear. (2.5)
Bonfire Night 2007 (Beer, woodsmoke, tar, and treacle) : In vial -- smoke, sweet, tar. Seriously! Wet -- strong smoke, a bit tarry, a little sweet, maybe some beer-y hop-iness. I wouldn't want to wear it, but it's certainly interesting. After a while, it became sort of stle smoke with a touch of an eh note -- like your clothes next day after being in a club with smokers. Sweetened/warmed a bit. Faded to not much after a couple hours. (Actually, wore a bit of this at the Guy Fawkes Ball, and it was pretty nice.) (3)
The Twisted Oak Tree (Blackened, rotted oak wood blanketed in moss and choked by a cloak of grasping ivy) : In vial -- wood followed immediately by a scent I don't like. Wet -- Gah! Rotting wood, dirt, attacking me. Foul. Moderated quickly to be less foul, but still a dirt smell, with a touch of green/brown. After a little while, was a dirt smell rather like Zombi, with a little sweetness. Sort of a perfumy sweetness, coming out a little more as the dirt faded down. (1.5)
Endymion (A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk) : Rose, I don't like you. You have moved from my list of 'eh, not good not bad' notes solidly onto the list of bad notes. In vial -- floral! Wet -- slightly sickly floral. Stale rose and some other floral I didn't much like. Maybe a whisper of ok pear. Too floral, sickly rose. Rose beat out everything else that might have been there. I eventually washed this one off. (1.5)
The Dodo (Red musk, lemon peel, sugar cane, cassia, white sandalwood, mango, and agarwood) : In vial -- lemon, sugar, cinnamon. Wet -- some note I really didn't like, plus bits of cinnamon (cassia -- the cinnmon that doesn't turn everything into bath-of-redhots), mango, wood. The note I'm not fond of is warm and red -- probably the red musk. This was an odd mix of sugar/spice/citrus/wood, weird but not bad, except for the sickly note I didn't like. Sort of settled on sickly-lemon-cinnamon. (2)
Samhain 2007 (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein) : Win! It's a scent with patchouli that's actually good! In vial -- evergreen and sweet. Wet -- strong nice evergreen, but broad, warm, and complex. Bits of nice spices underneath. I thought I could detect the clove, nutmeg, allspice. It started to fade down fast but stayed ok and became a little smokey. A bit of apple came in, and it turned into sweet spiced apple, quite pleasant. It seemed to last pretty well and stay nice. (4)
All Souls 2007 (An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes) : In vial -- delicious foody sugar. Wet -- sweet cake (but not horribly cakey) morphing swiftly into drier, less sweet smoke/perfume. The cake swiftly was all gone, and this became a more generic, though ok, smell, with a touch of skin alchemy. Maybe verged on a touch soapy? Fairly standard pleasant drydown, nicer on the right wrist. Ok, but I don't need to keep it. (3)
Burial (The Dark Side of Earth: deep, brooding forest scents, including juniper and patchouli. The scent of upturned cemetary loam mingling with floral offerings to the dead) : In vial -- ugh, patchouli and earth. Wet -- UGH, garbagey patchouli earth. Headache-inducing. The garbagey smell faded fairly quickly, though the scent remained intensely patchouli dirt -- oh, it must be the juniper that is the intense smell I don't like. After a little while this was better; the juniper/evergreen wasn't as overpowering or gross. Lighter but still eh juniper. (1.5)
Rakshasa (Sandalwood with rose and patchouli) : In vial -- sweetish almost orange smell. Wet -- fairly nice orange/sandalwood(?) smell, and rose-I-don't-like coming in quickly. Better than I would have expected given the patchouli, though the rose wasn't good. Warmed up some, almost as if a cinnamon note was coming in. Too much rose, with a bit of nice spice behind it. Dried into lighter but still eh rose. (2)
Suspiro (Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley) : In vial -- medium floral. Wet -- fairly strong floral, though not hideous. Lightened/brightened some, but then faded fast into mostly stale slight woodiness within an hour. There was a little floral still there, but it wasn't very interesting. (2.5)
The Pool of Tears (A sea of salty tears drowning out Alice's light floral perfume) : In vial -- light floral, salt. Wet -- floral and salt. Interesting, though there was some floral? note I wasn't so fond of, like overblown flowers. Dried into a salty light floral; ok, but I don't need it. (3)
Mandrake: Wet -- woody, almost like cedar, but a little lighter/more papery. Became lighter, and very slightly sweeter. Stayed a relatively pleasant light woody scent. (3)
Phantom (Myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose and ylang ylang) : Wet -- very powdery but in a pleasant way. Rose, eh. Ugh -- a strong resinous note that I didn't like in combination with the other notes. On my right wrist, it was more unpleasant, sharp and bitter. On my left, there was perhaps a bit of skin alchemy. The resin note -- the myrrh? -- started to blend better, and the rose wasn't very prominent. By about an hour later, the scent was going a little staler and meh. For the most part it remained ok myrrh, though, gradually fading. (2)
Desdemona (Innocent, soft and pure: sweet pea, carnation and water lily) : In vial -- light floral. Wet -- stronger floral, but still 'pitched high', fairly light. Almost sliiiightly soapy? This was ok, not bad, not great. After a few hours it was faint and not very interesting. (2.5)
Kumari Kandam (Thick incense, clay, stone, and hothouse blooms with a spike of frost, a hint of decay, and heavy, dolorous aquatic notes) : This was one of those that I wouldn't wear, but goes through an interesting entire narrative of changes, like Singing Moon. In vial -- stone, clay, incense, a bit of floral. (Seriously.) Wet -- mostly floral but a bit of clay/stone, a bit of a cold smell. A hint of sweetness. Nicer than I expected -- the aquatics? I wanted to keep sniffing it in this stage. It became stronger salty aquatics, much less floral, with still some sweetness -- the incense? After another little while, stronger clay/stone -- this is what a golem ought to smell like. A bit of decay? Like damp rock with vegetation growing on it, and musty clay. After a few hours, this was light stone/clay. (2.5)
Ephemera (sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves) : In vial -- floral perfume. Wet -- floral, not too heavy. Became heavier, then lighter again. Not too interesting. (2)
Yemaya (a bounty of melons and grapes, strewn with the petals of the flowers of motherhood, draped with sea mosses) : In vial -- melon! Wet -- strong melon, changing swiftly to be less fruity, as a slight sea-smell came in. The throw was big on this -- my coworker mentioned smelling it (and liking the melon scent). The throw stayed melon-y. A less fresh note came in that I didn't like -- almost an old cheese smell. That unpleasant note went away, but the whole scent got drier/woodier/staler, with still a bit of melon. (2)
The Ghastly Garden (Overgrown oleander, marshy water hemlock, the sugared nectar of carnivorous blooms, putrefying wet greenery, oozing sap, crushed rosary peas, withered climbing roses, and nightshade berries) : Another surprise win. In vial -- soft, light, green. Wet -- green, fresh, lightly floral, with a bit of depth and richness. Nice. A little sweetness that kept pleasantly surprising me when I sniffed it. There was a scent that *was* like 'putrefying greenery', but in a good way. No, really. Got softer but stayed pleasant. (4)
The Lurid Library (The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants) : In vial -- spice perfume. Wet -- spice, paper/books. Then getting a bit soapy. My coworker thought it smelled like baby powder or detergent, so I guess it was even more soapy from a little distance. After a short time this was very faded and uninteresting. Sad; no lurid libraries for me. (2)
The Temptation (attar of rose, calla lily, palmarosa, peach blossom, wisteria, rice flower, and black musk) : Wet, this was an interesting, delicate floral, with a pleasant floral note I couldn't identify -- rice flower? peach blossom? it faded without really doing much on my skin, though. (2.5)
Juliet (Sweet pea with stargazer lily, calla lily, heliotrope, honeysuckle, white musk and a touch of fresh pear) : In vial -- frest/fruity floral. Wet -- mellowing quickly. Briefly almost a honey note. A hint of pear in the throw. Swifted faded/became woodier (my skin was very dry, which probably had a lot to do with it). I could still smell a bit of pear and floral in the throw. I thought maybe it was getting a touch soapy, and it dried into woody/soapy. (2.5)
Bon Vivant (An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry) : In vial -- ugh, too-sweet strawberry! Wet -- oversweet strawberry, but with something warming/broadening it. Oddly, it this really did start smelling like a fizzy champagne smell. Odd but not bad. The strawberry calmed down some. It really did smell fizzy, and almost spicy. Dried into eh light strawberry. (2)
Nephilim (Holy frankincense and hyssop in union with earthy fig, defiled by black patchouli and vetiver, with a chaotic infusion of lavender, cardamom, tamarind, rosemary, oakmoss and cypress) : In vial -- patchouli, bleh. Wet -- also bleh patchouli. And bleh lavender. Sort of mentholated. Perhaps a bit of rosemary. Maybe bleh cypress? A bit of fig coming through the bleh. And dirt smell -- oakmoss? Figgy dirt. Over time, became a touch sweeter and less dirtful. (1.5)
Pirate Moon (Red musk, ambergris, coconut palm, red sandalwood, balsam, date, warm leather, tobacco, ebony, lingum vitae wood, pandanus grass, an' a touch o' lime) : In vial -- salt, light lime. Wet -- light warm leather, maybe lime, light grass/palm? Pleasant but light, hard to make out notes. This became more wetly grassy on onet wrist, while fading dryly on the other. It was pretty much gone after 2 hours. This was perfectly pleasant, but I don't know that it's distinctive enough for me to want to keep it. (3.5)
Privilege (Armoise, tuberose, white citrus, rose absolute, oakmoss, tiare, tuberose, vanilla, linden, and lemon tree blossom) : In vial -- floral, with some floral note I'm not fond of. Wet -- lighter pleasanter floral, though then that stronger note came up a bit. A bit of vanilla. This actually wasn't bad. It *is* sort of an empty smell, green/floral with a bit of vanilla-stale. Like everything else I tried that day of crazy dry skin, faded super fast. Dry, it was a little citrusy. (3)
Temple of Dreams (For use when working with the many Gods of Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares) : I think I have sometimes liked lavender in the past, so maybe it's just bpal's lavender I don't like? In lavender and wet, this scent was pungent lavender, verging on bleh. Big throw, almost a urine-y edge. Remained an almost-nasty lavender, fading down gradually. (1.5)
Eris (wet fruits and sharp mimosa with Martial spices and a deceptive flash of floral) : In vial -- fruit and a note I don't like at all. Wet -- meh strawberry. Something filling it out that's better, but also another note I don't like. Stronger strawberry, blech spices. There's a note here I've smelled before, maybe in Succubus -- the mimosa? Faded into a light faint strawberry. (2)
Aeaea (A dark ocean breeze, electric with adrenaline, magic, and fear, clashing with the thick scent of poisoned berries and spiny aloe, against a backdrop of snowdrop, cedar, and cypress) : In vial -- slight floral. Wet -- slight floral, some aquatic. Quite light. Drying out fast. A touch of aloe freshness? A touch of sweetness? Mostly dry; a little aloe-y, a touch of woods? Cedar came out more when dry. Ok but not that distinctive. (3)
Libra 2007 (Rose, black cherry, carnation, fig, honey, plum, and black currant) : In vial -- black cherry, which is nice. Wet -- almond (must be the cherry), rose coming up. Turning plasticky? Rose bad, skin alchemy good, some plastic still there. Dried into mostly light rose. Curse you rose; I was hoping this one would have a honey drydown. (2.5)
Allison Gross (Witch-herbs, crushed golden flowers, and a man-made-dragon's surly musk lightened by the scent of the blossoms and unearthly incense that clings to the Faerie Queen's hair. Dragon's blood musk, ambergris, sunflower, chrysanthemum, muguet, and rue, with gingered lily, moonflower, bluebell, peony, nightwort, and white rose) : In vial -- herbs/flowers/rose. Wet -- light herbs and flowers. Delicate but present. A grassy floral with some staler note I don't like as much but don't hate. Nice throw, a little unique -- I was pleasantly suprised whenever I caught a breath of it. Maybe try this one again. (3.5)
Beaver Moon (wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry) : In vial -- oh, so deliciously cherry vanilla cream foody. Wet -- cherry cream, but getting cakier, like strawberry shortcake. Or a pound cake with strawberry and vanilla frosting. As time went by, this got almost a little spicy, esp. on the right wrist, while still being a little creamier on the left. It swiftly became mostly cakey, with a bit of sweetness still -- I would get whiffs of something that smelled like sweet cherry cake. Surprisingly nice standard good drydown. This actually worked pretty well on me I think, though I don't think I would want to wear something much that makes me smell like cake. (3.5)
Bakeneko (Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon) : Oh cinnamon, why do I even bother to try you? The notes on this look so very lovely, and yet: In vial -- cinnamon. Wet -- yep, cinnamon. Smelled like there might be other stuff behind the cinnamon, but I couldn't make it out. As it dried, was gradually fading cinnamon. Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon. Curses. (2)
Yvain (The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia) : Lavender. Lavender lavender lavender. In vial and wet -- lavender with a hint of something else -- magnolia? Too much lavender, but not overpoweringly stinky. Maybe a touch of that diaper edge I don't like, though in general this was a less offensive lavender than many. Still too lavender, though. (2)
