redward

Strawberry Moon 09 My first lunacy purchase! in the imp: Very first whiff is strawberry candy. It makes me think of an actual candy I have had that was not too sweet. It had a soft chewy centre that I would always bite through the candy to get to, rather than wait for the candy to dissolve. Wow, I can really taste that! Yup, that is what I get, the strawberry candy from my past. Ah, I'm not the only one. Someone up thread made the same candy connection. The ones wrapped in strawberry printed foil. wet: The green grass and vanilla start to come out and the green sharpens things up a bit. But just a bit, tempering the sweet. Wow, the berry smells ever better now. It is making me drool. This is just gorgeous and it is taking me to my happy place. dry: I get the dandelion as it dries. Now, offhand, I would not think that dandelion would be a desirable scent. But the way it blends in with the strawberry, vanilla and grass is so subtle and lovely. These notes are all win on me. I don't find it at all syrupy or cloying. I can see how it could tip that way, but the other things in the blend are keeping the sweet in line. The throw is quite good for me and my perfume-eating skin. I had it on earlier while reading and kept getting lovely sniffs when I turned the pages. I got a decant from a circle, since I was so new to BPAL that I had no idea what might work on me. The reviews sounded so good I snapped up the remaining 2 decants in the circle. I am now off in search of a bottle...

Azathoth in the imp:Well, I'm not really to sure what I smell. I know what vetiver smells like in theory, but not in actual fact. I get the tangerine, but it is not a bright, fruity citrus. It is rounded out and darkened by the other notes I guess. My nose isn't trained enough to tell the other notes apart. This is masculine and somewhat fresh, not dark smoky/incense like I was expecting. wet: The citrus is pretty much gone. Geez, does my skin ever eat scent. Everyone else is saying how strong this is and I am sticking my nose right up to my wrist to smell it. So, warm, a very little bit of smokiness. I'm not really able to distinguish the different notes. I thought there might be some spice based on the description, but it isn't spicy at all. dry: It seems to have sweetened up some and is sticking very close to my skin. It's not really doing much for me. Smells nice, but not really my thing, I think. It might be better in the winter. I think this will go into my swap bag. A man-scent for sure. Warm and woody, the DH smells the spice, but my nose isn't getting it.

Smoky Moon 2009 I was reading the other reviews and realized I don't know what orris smells like. So, I googled it - and got a bunch of results for Chuck Norris. In the bottle: This is my first BPAL bottle purchase, so I can actually say bottle instead of imp! Hmmm, this is soft and kind of sweet. It makes me think of Ivanushka in the way it is soft and comforting. Musk, a little bit of sandalwood and some floral. I only really know what nicotianna smells like, so I can't really say which floral(s) I smell. A little bit of something green. Wet: Gorgeous. A sharper almost spicy floral comes out- I think this may be the orris based on what I read. Still with the musk and sandalwood. It is quite light, I have my nose pretty much touching my wrist. Light, but rich, too. Drying: Velvety, round and soft. A bit of woody tang, like a green wood. The florals are of the darker sort. I lose the sweetness as it dries on my skin. Dry: This is positively dreamy, such a good match with the Baudelaire poem. This seems quite complex and well-blended to my neophyte nose. I agree with the others who have pegged this as a sultry summer night scent. It doesn't smell like smoke, but is a little incensey with just the faintest hint that there may have been some smoke floating around somewhere in the vicinity. Very close to the skin. if you are afraid of heavy, smoky incense smells, this would be a good one to try out. You get the incense, but it is light and tempered by the florals.

Zombi My first BPAL fail, so of course, I just spilled the imp on my mouse pad. In the imp: dirt and roses wet: roses dry: roses Why is this a fail? The rose smells like rotting things to me. Like the sickly sweet fruit rot smell. I love rose, but not this one. I shall have to watch out for other blends with this particular rose note in them and then avoid them!

in the imp: lavender and citrus - yummy. It is definitely astringent and I think there might just be some basil in the somewhere. A very slight hint of the sweet floral from jasmine. Wet: The citrus seems like a peel to me and it dominates at first. The lavender is taking a back seat and the herbals are coming along. I still think there is basil in here. I really happen to like basil in a perfume and I am liking this. Dry: As it dries, the citrus mellows out some. The jasmine is coming along now and sweetening things up, but not too much. The lavender has retreated to where it is now part of the herbals. I suspect this will fade quite quickly on me (as many BPALs seem to do). I am a slatherer, not by nature, but by necessity. Yes, yes, I am liking this one. Great for a summer day with a pretty dress and sandals. I am still quite fascinated by how the oils change on my skin. I like all the stages this one went through. Although I do wish things wouldn't lose the brightness when they get on my skin. Perhaps this one would be good in a locket to keep the citrus up front. Mmm, I just applied more on top of what had dried and the wet and dry together are great!

I agree with the other reviewers that this is not just peppermint. I smell some basil and I think there is other stuff, but I am somewhat stuffed up because of the flu right now. Given that this is for headaches, I would have expected some lavender. It might be in there, but I'm not picking it up right now. I am using it to combat the nausea the flu is causing and it helps (as I knew the peppermint would). For tension headaches, I would try putting this on the muscles that are tense. It does give a lovely cool tingly sensation that should help. Especially if your jaw muscles are tense. I will need to get a bottle of this for certain.

In the imp: An herbal floral, kind of lame, I know, but that is what I get. It has a sharpness or crispness to it and I wonder if there might be some citrus in there somewhere. It is a floral blend - rose and something white, like lily of the valley or jasmine. Wet: Pretty much the same as in the imp, but the nice crispness disappears right away. Dry: It has warmed up some on my skin, but it has also gone soapy. It is just a slightly soapy rose. I am disappointed by how it dried on me. I liked it in the imp better. But, even in the imp, it just made me think, "hmm, that's kind of nice." Why bother with it when there are ones that make me think, "OMG I LOVE THIS."

Succor I put this in my oil burner the other day when I was going for a nap, so I can't say how it is on my skin. Green olives and a little bit of smoke. I woke up and sniffed the air at one point. It made me think of when I am doing a show and sometimes take a spoonful of extra-virgin olive oil to sooth my throat. It really smelled just like that - extra-virgin olive oil. It even smelled oily, not really sure how that works. It is not an unpleasant smell, but it is not exactly pleasant either. I don't think I will get more after I use up the imp I have. I find lavender much more effective in the calming department.

Morgause I kind of wish I had the impulse to do the lovely poetic reviews that some others do, but alas, my scientific mind just doesn't go that way. In the imp: The night-blooming white flowers - jasmine for sure, not sure what else. A lovely purple fruitiness that is sweet and juicy. The violet is not too sweet, but I am not getting any incense. This is purple and white. Wet: I think the fruit might be grape. This is a fairly complex blend, a little bit of incense coming out now, but not much. Dry: It loses some of the sweetness and juiciness as it dries and it smells better in the crook of my elbow than on my wrist! It doesn't seem to be as strong on me as on some of the other reviewers. The floral and fruit is very well blended on me. What incense is there is very subtle. The violet has tempered down from how it smells in the imp. I am really liking the way the fruit balances out the floral. A night time scent to be sure, very smooth and round and dare I say, velvety. Morgause and I get along just fine. As I work my way through trying my vials, I have noticed that dabbing vs slathering makes a difference on how things smell on me. I seem to have perfume eating skin and I sometimes get a different balance of notes depending on how much I have applied. Weird. Hee, hee, I have a web feed of an eagle nest running while I am doing this. One of the baby eagles just sneezed!

Sophia Ah, lavender, how do I love you? I am currently counting the ways by how many BPAL blends I have with you in it. In the imp: Lavender, a very little bit of musk, and something that is slightly bubblegum to my nose. I think it is the jasmine, based on other jasmine blends I have. I'm not able to pick out the rose or delphinium at this point. The lavender isn't as sharp as in Somnus, but is is definitely there. I had a citrus moment, which may be the lavender. Wet: Pretty much the same as in the imp, but I may be imagining some of the spice. Dry down: As usual, musks warm up on my skin and I am still getting the bubblegum sweetness. I really need to compare my jasmine blends and see if that is what it is. I get the same thing from TKO and Oneiroi. The spice reminds me of the way carnation is spicy. Dry: The very faint citrus impression I had is back, but it is very faint. It has dried down so that the lavender and jasmine are well balanced, the musk is really only apparent in the warmth I get from it. The spice is very nice, not too much. I'm not really detecting the rose or delphinium, but I am sure they are in the mix. A lovely, not too sweet, slightly spicy floral. Oh, after wearing it for a while, the rose starts to come out. Now I like this even better! If you are afraid of the lavender, wait until it dries. The other things in the blend temper it very nicely. Also, if you fear jasmine, it is very well behaved (at least on my skin).

Nuit Must begin by saying that I am a jasmine lover. In the imp: All floral - rose and jasmine balanced. Not getting the musk or incense just yet. Sweet, but not cloying. Wet: Pretty much all jasmine. It immediately starts to warm up and lose the sweetness on my skin. As it dries: I think the incense is coming out, but just a little peek. Lost the rose when it was wet, but it seems to be coming back. No real sign of the musks. Dry: Really lovely, soft, not at all overpowering. The musk comes out but really just seems to warm up the jasmine. The musk and incense is very subtle. I can see how it might go powdery perfumey on some people, but happily, it doesn't on me. I just reapplied, well, slathered, and the incense and musk is stronger now. This would be good if you want a floral without sweet smack-you-in-the-face flower smell. The musk and incense is telling the jasmine to behave.

Pannychis. My first BPAL review! I am sitting here huffing my wrist while listening to Loreena McKennitt and blissing out. In the imp: Sharp jasmine with something round and sweet in the background. Not sure if it is the moonflower, ylang ylang or the lily, but something is combining with the currant. It is a wet smell, not powdery floral. wet and drydonw: It immediately starts to warm up on my skin and the sweetness drops off. It is still all about the jasmine, but the black currant is coming out with a little bit of spice. Yup, getting some of the cardamon. dry: I completely adore this. The fruit shuffles off to the background and the warm resin comes out. Not sure if that is the sandalwood or the frankincense, but it really seems to ground the jasmine. It settles into a lovely warm floral - mostly jasmine. The other flowers stay in the background with little peeks of the fruit and spice. All these notes seem to be win on my skin. No powder or soap for me! Off I go to bliss out some more.

Yes, yes, Labyrinthine! You hit the nail on the head. It seems to me that BPAL is a great way to have some experience of the world without it leaving you tired, hurting, etc. Just to have more pleasure in ones life is therapeutic, I figure. I can picture having one of those horrible days where everything is crap, but I can still pull out some oil and just enjoy the pretty smellies. I was thinking just the other day how some of the hobbies I used to enjoy so much now just cause more pain than the benefit of doing it. I reckon my body can handle smelling perfume. Eagerly awaiting my first imps! ETA - they arrived this afternoon! I will be going to bed with TKO tonight (I hope hubby doesn't mind me taking someone else to bed) Cheers, Ruthanne

Awesome strategy! :lol: :lol:

Thanks ivyandpeony I will get looking at those threads post haste. Even just the fact that you have listed them here all together is very helpful. One of the symptoms I didn't mention is fibrofog aka brain farts! Things in one place is great. Cheers, Ruthanne