melia

well, when I first read the description for tokyo stomp, I immediately ordered 2 bottles. I've been on a lick it again kick -- the clean bright mint gets me -- and I love vanilla, so I thought this would be a perfect scent for me. now I'm not so sure. in the bottle, and when first applied, I get a lot of butter (?!). the mint is there in the background, but it really is slathered in land o' lakes. that's not good for me. in fact, that's the reason I ran screaming from hearth. after 15 minutes, the mint is coming more to the forefront, but I really need the butter to cease and desist! maybe it's just a calendar-related reaction, if you know what I mean. perhaps, in a week, the scent will be totally different on me. but if not...CURSES!

I am happy to report that Priala is all I had hoped for and more. The cinnamon is a hot but dusty scent, not nearly as fearsome as in Saw-scaled Viper and Three Witches Revisited. It is very much the smell of cinnamon bark, and it holds the same scent hours after application. The smoke was the note that truly had me worried, since that was what put me off Hearth so badly. But this is really just a curl, like it claims in the description, and it grounds the cinnamon bark nicely. And the myrrh gives a mysterious twist to the oil's scent overall. Yep, I'm a fan of Priala.

I bought an imp of this off tramp, because everyone was just gushing about it... okay, I like boomslang. BUT the cocoa in it goes away very quickly on me and leaves just snake oil behind. that's fine, 'cuz I love me some snake oil, but then why would I pay extra for this? maybe just for the label art? the cocoa scent, when wet, is lovely. to me, it's definitely dry sweet cocoa and not thick chocolate like with candy butcher or lump of coal. but after 15 - 20 minutes that scent disappears. oh well. I like it but I prefer the snakes with more variation on the oil theme (australian, death adder, temple).

this is my favorite from the pit so far. the coconut is not sweet and cloying like I find it to be in elegba, nor as nutty and delicious like in spooky (one of my all-time faves), but it brings a needed levity to the oil. the vetiver makes this a dark and dangerous scent, and having just discovered my love for opoponax (thanks to the fabulous schwarzer mond), I knew death adder would be a definite keeper for me.

the acai berry is brightly fruity, but the blend with amber (mmm, I love amber) and vanilla makes this a great snake from the get-go. much sparkier and less languid than the hit I usually get from snake oil -- really the energy from the acai is terrific.

I think I need to let this one age a while. in the bottle, it smells AWFUL (to me!). like meat or something that I just don't want to put on my skin. but I did anyway. that bad scent stays for quite a while, and when the drydown finally happens, it becomes a bearable, but not fantastic, scent. I was hoping that the cassia would remind me of monsterbait: underbed, but something ain't right. maybe the way it works with the cinnamon? or maybe I can blame this all on the red ginger, which I have no experience with. after it dries, I can start to smell the snake oil, but really it's buried under the other red scents. please let time heal this particular wound!

... Wine grapes, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes. I bought a bottle off the lovely angharad. sniffed straight from the bottle, I thought "oh, this is this year's sugar cookie!" it was so buttery and sweet, and I was psyched, because I love me some sugar. but then I put it on. I've never had a bpal that morphed so much from the bottle to the skin. the instant it hit my skin, I could smell mulled wine -- all those interesting spices! I don't think the notes are really there, but I was thinking of cloves and cinnamon, and the butter was completely gone! then after about ten minutes the baked aspect came wandering back, but this time it was definitely the cakes mentioned in the description. but dry cakes, not too sweet. haloa is a very interesting blend, and its complexity is intriguing. I do love it, but I think this is the first bpal I love because of its mystery and changeability. sorry if that doesn't make sense...but I keep sniffing my wrist, and its because I want to know what haloa smells like at this moment, because I know it will be different from the last time I checked.

hi you fab corset-rocker, besides smut, which I find works wonders, the boys seem to really perk up when I wear the following: spellbound (roses, amber, and musk), juke joint (bourbon, sugar, and mint), perversion (rum, tobacco, leather, chardonnay, and tonka), house of mirrors (amber again! with crystal and glass notes), and spanked (leather, cardomom, patchouli, and bourbon). the last two were limited editions, but if you haunt the swap forum long enough you can find anything! it appears that amber, musk, or booze notes in my scents equal sex to the gents. good luck in your very worthy quest!

this is a fabulous scent. I usually have a hard time with chocolates (I traded away my Lump of Coal immediately -- it just gave me such a headache!), but like Velvet, the chocolate here is warm and gentle. the cassia adds a tiny sharp bite of spice, which plays nicely with the beachy coconut. are you starting to get that I love this one? I think the cassia keeps this scent from being too sweet (I didn't even know what cassia was until now). and best of all -- this scent lasts and lasts! huzzah, since my heart was broken by closet's quick departure from my skin. I am thrilled that I have a second bottle of both monsters (missed out on underpants -- ah well!), but I have to say that underbed is my fave of the two.

I haven't noticed anyone else getting this hit, but at an early point in the drydown, I smell something nutty and wonderful. Maybe hazelnut? It's such a warm, rich scent, but after about an hour it goes away, to be overtaken by the berries and bourbon. And I'm fine with those smells -- certainly MB:C is a fantastic scent! I just wish that nut phantom lingered longer... ETA: okay, I wish it all lasted longer! Like many other reviewers, I find that Closet disappears from my skin pretty quickly. *sigh* Luckily, I have a backup bottle, so I can just slather at will!

yes, I love my underbed. I agree with all the good stuff being said here about the scent, and only wanted to burst in with this one comment -- it lasts FOREVER! which is a good thing, you know. here it is 24 hours after I applied, and I can smell the sweet buttery coconut on my wrist. yum...

this was a freebie from the lab goddesses. from the moment I smelled it, I thought it would be perfect for a gorgeous chunk of man-meat. lucky me, I happened to have the perfect subject -- my tall, dark and handsome, torrid affair marine. he's got everything this scent calls to mind -- a manly chest of hair, darkly blue fierce eyes, wicked sharp and white teeth, big strong muscles, and an impressive pairing of insatiability and endurance. he also has a tendency to slather himself in a scent before we get together, and I've often mentioned to him that I'd rather smell his own scent and sweat, but he didn't go for it. when I offered satyr, though, he went for it. girls, this is everything I hoped for in a scent. without getting too graphic, feeling the weight and heat of my man while enveloped in satyr makes me woozy. I get all sex-drunk, I swear! there's a slight hint of vanilla to the musks that make me want to nuzzle into his chest for hours. woo! a big thumbs up from this roll-in-the-hay girl!

first, I have to offer condolences to all the addicts who are experiencing evil peanut butter notes. what a heart-breaker that must be. but I thankfully don't get that hit at all from smut. it is naughty musk and sweet booze on me. I want to attack myself when wearing it! experiences so far: a male coworker who knows my bpal tendencies and likes to sample my daily scent walked by the office door, stopped, came back in and asked if he could smell me. after a deep sniff, he gave me a wicked smile and said "yeah. that one's hot." mm-hmm. that's what I think too. then I had an awful accident where I dropped my bottle on my desk! gah! luckily, I was able to herd most of it back into a paper cup and decant back into the bottle, but yikes! however, now my office smells wonderful -- though a bit "den of iniquity"-ish. this is a heady, sexy scent. be careful in the application, tho. it can be powerful. and for those off you who enjoy the animal magnetism of this scent, may I recommend a roll with someone wearing satyr?

well, I recieved my red lantern yesterday and managed to hold off a whole 24 hours before tearing into it. from just sniffing the bottle, and during the initial application, it smells just like my urban decay caramel body dust, and that's a good thing. but I was hoping for more than just sticky sweet goodness from this scent, and it delivers. the tobacco and amber rose up within half an hour of putting on the lantern, giving the high sugar a lovely base on which to rest. I really like the tobacco notes I've come across in different bpal blends -- I had a terrible preconcieved notion that it would smell like old cigarette ash (in a perfume? certainly not) and I was so relieved to experience it firsthand. I'm also getting hints at fruit, which must be the currant, but can't pick out the coconut. overall, this is delicious. I thought it might be too foody, because I have more than my fair share of the food scents, but the other notes thrown in offset the caramel and coconut enough so that I don't just feel like a big baked good. the multiple layers of scent make this a wonderful, mysterious experience. I guess like the opium den it's supposed to evoke. well done! by the way, I've snagged a second bottle off the boards already...

Velvet came as a frimp with my Smut and Red Lantern order. After eagerly sniffing the two LES, I decided to test this first (who can explain it? maybe I like the gentle tease of anticipation...). Anyway, just off the wand I was worried. Velvet is so strongly chocolate when wet -- I had flashbacks to my bad experience with Lump of Coal, which was too powerful and gave me an immediate and tenacious headache. But after reading the other reviews here, I decided to give Velvet the benefit of the doubt. During the first 10+ minutes of wearing, I was getting clear images of Nutella -- very creamy chocolatey/nutty. Then the sandalwood came through and, for me at least, saved the day. While I love foody scents, too much chocolate doesn't work for me. But the spicy tinge of sandalwood grounded Velvet and gave it a pleasant earthiness that separates it from similar blends (Bliss, Vice). This has an unusual complexity to it that makes me eager to try it in public. I can't wait to see how others like it. Thanks to the Lab for this freebie, and to creating yet another scent that takes off in directions I never saw coming!