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  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 7,413 views
Abstract Associations
 

Phoenix Steamworks

Glowing liquid passes through the fogged retorts of ancient alembics, sparks fly from behind a massive workbench, and a cloud of thick incense smoke hangs low, all casting strange and surreal flashes of light and shadow on tall bolted-steel walls. The chug and hum of gargantuan machines echo through the chamber.   Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage.   Reviewed 04/21/2008   I can't remember exactly what I wrote last night, since it got lost in the forum burp. But I do remember that this smelled exactly like a perfume I had as a child called Topaz. It came in a bottle shaped like a lamb, and I'm not sure who made it. I probably won't ever wear this, but I'll sniff it every once in a while to go back to that innocent time in my life.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

Spring Training 2008

Since 1928, Mother Shub and her brood have been providing the snack shacks of the Miskatonic Valley with a bevy of otherworldly sweets and baked treats. This year, Mother Shub has created a promotional perfume oil that embodies the scent of her famous Peanut Brittle Caramel Popcorn. Iä! Shub-Niggurath! Thank you for an eon of community support!   Reviewed 4/22/2008   In the bottle: Hot, dripping-with-butter popcorn.   Wet: Buttery popcorn, and a hint of sweetness coming out.   Drydown: The popcorn settles down and sweet caramel comes forward. I'm not getting anything peanut-y at all. The caramel note is amazingly real, and combined with the lingering butter it reminds me of fresh, homemade caramels being pressed into a buttered pan. Fairly low throw, but decent wear length; I couldn't wait to get home and slathered some on right there in the post office after I picked up the package. That was about three hours ago, and it hasn't faded much at all despite the fact that my skin drinks oils for breakfast. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket tomorrow!
Rovylern

Rovylern

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ramblings of an art chick...
 

Goodness!

Two things:   One: Blood Kiss was just tainted by the Loviatar under it - it does NOT turn to baby powder! YAY! Mmmm.   Two: Random post told me to put it on my collar bone, and jawline, and now I'm feeling sooooo good.   I LOVE YOU GUYS.   and BPAL.   and this place.   and everything but the snow outside. grr.
lacyjae

lacyjae

0
meeow712's Blog
 

The Flower Song

The Flower Song: Pomegranate wine, lotus root, river reeds, hyssop, and barley.   In the bottle: Not floral, as the title would suggest. I get sweet pomegranite and lotus, with something else I can't identify (I don't know what hyssop and barley smell like).   On me: Oh this scent was made for me! The predominant notes are pomegranate and plum (no plum listed, but it smells like plum to me), with deliciously sweet lotus root and river reeds right behind them. I'm sure the hyssop and barley are there, I just don't know how to find them. This is exquisitely blended, and works wonderfully on me. This was a last minute, unsniffed add on a whim even though most of the Lupercalias didn't do much for me. I'm so glad this fell into my shopping cart!
meeow712

meeow712

0
Winterwind's Blog
 

Dragon Moon update - thoughts

THE BUGGRE ALLE THIS BIBLE: Crumbling paper and ancient cracked leather with a touch of tobacco leaf and incense. As much as I love the concept (and that part of GO), this isn't gonna work for me.   JASMINE COTTAGE: Camellia, jasmine, heather, orange blossom, osmanthus, wisteria, thyme, angelica, freesia, granny’s nightcap, and English wildflowers. Floral death. Nope.   NANNY ASHTORETH: Middle Eastern flowers, amber, honey, blood red-berries, whip leather, and polished paddle wood. Torn. 4/6 notes are great, but flowers are iffy, and leather has yet to work for me.   PEPPER: Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium. I tried a prototype of this at ECWC at Thanksgiving, and I really liked it. I have no idea what the relation between that and this is; the notes list is frighteningly floral.   WENSLEYDALE: An immaculately clean scent: well-scrubbed soapy skin and fresh cotton. I also tried a prototype of this. I thought it was horribly floral.   ++ AMERICAN GODS   THE IFRIT: Desert sand, red musk, blackened ginger, dragon’s blood resin, black pepper, cinnamon, and tobacco. I want to like this. Tobacco is not my friend, however. If the good notes overwhelm the tobacco, it could be awesome.   THE NORNS’ FARMHOUSE: Dusty, ancient wood, horehound, and sage, with viper’s bugloss, mugwort, chamomile, nettle, apple blossom, chervil, and ashes. Dust? Ashes? Pass.   ++ STARDUST   THE EAST: The scent of the winds beyond the wall: bluebonnet, passion flower, freesia, jasmine tea, mint, thyme, and redcurrant. Too much floral.   THE STORMHOLD: Creeping moss, slick granite, murky vetiver, lightning-charged ozone, and icy rain. Tried a prototype of this, too. Ick. It gets all those images from the passage, but ... so very not for me.   ++ DOC CONSTANTINE'S PHARMACOPOEIA   BRUISED VIOLET COMPOUND: Crushed violets, red currant, patchouli root, and Spanish moss. Violets = no. Moss isn't very good for me, either.   NOSTRUM REMEDIUM: Black tea leaf, invigorating wasabi extract, sweetened by honey. Intriguing. This could be a tea scent that smells like tea on me...   SLIPPERY POPPY TINCTURE: Poppy flowers, acai berry, and honey. Pass? No idea what poppy flowers smell like.   STIMULATING SASSAFRAS STRENGTHENER: Sassafras, vanilla extract, oak leaf, CO2 butter extract, and onycha. Sniffed a prototype of this. Liked. Would try again.   ++ PHOENIX STEAMWORKS AND RESEARCH FACILITY   PHOENIX STEAMWORKS: Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage. Not a big fan of metallic scents, and I've got Philosopher in Meditation for my Abramelin needs.   AELOPILE: Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud. ? I like amber, citrus, verbena, and cedar, not sure for labdanum & oud.   THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM: Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco. Again with the tobacco...   THE COIL: Ozone, eucalyptus and mint with purple orchid, passionflower, white ginger, and purple lotus. No - ozone, mint.   ETHER: Translucent blooms, ethereal white resins, and davana. Doubtful. Sounds like a headache in a bottle.   GALVANIC GOGGLES: Metallic notes with Indian musk, tobacco flower, and African balsam. Tobacco flower is different than tobacco, but metallic? Meh.   NO. 93 ENGINE: Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage. Balm of Gilead might be eucalyptus. Frankincense is iffy. Benzoin is nice. Hard to say...   THE OBSIDIAN WIDOW: Pinot noir, dark myrrh, red sandalwood, black patchouli, night-blooming jasmine, and attar of rose. Jasmine + rose = hell no.   THE ROBOTIC SCARAB: Polished metallic notes, glossy leather, frankincense, star anise, and thin lubricating oils. Again with the metals...   SMOKESTACK: Creosote, coal, and industrial waste. I'm sure there's someone who finds this idea appealing, but that person is not me.   VIOLET RAY: White mint, purple musk, violet, lilac, ylang ylang, lavender moss, and sandalwood. Intriguing, but no.
akiko

akiko

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meeow712's Blog
 

Beltane 08

Beltane 08: Mugwort, French rose, Lily of the Valley, broom, frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, foxglove, woodruff, rowan wood, ivy, sandalwood, spring mint, thyme, iris, copal, and night blooming jasmine.   In the bottle: Green!! This is a deliciously green Spring scent. I definitely get mint, but it blends in really well with the herbs and greens I'm smellling. I don't get any flowers out of this, but I'm sure they're hiding there somewhere.   On me: It was deliciously minty for about 10 seconds, and then the mint lost its sweetness and turned bitter. And then I began smelling like some sort of scented cleaning product. NOT good. No mint, no herbs, no flowers, only cleaning product. Hours later, it faded into a very faint floral but that's it.   Unfortunately, this totally bombed on me. And it smelled soooo good in the bottle.
meeow712

meeow712

0
vultureguy's Blog
 

Wow but this sucks

We had some bad news at work today. It makes us sound like dogs...oooh boy we get to be retrained. Nothing is final yet and it sounds like everything is up in the air because they haven't made any decisions, but it sounds like most of our 'redeployment' options are going to be customer-facing jobs. I don't want to do customer-facing. It isn't my cup of tea when it comes to the banking industry. Yeah, let's get a job where we have to push credit cards and accounts at customers. Um, no. I don't do selling.   My Western Diamondback got a work out today. It's my #1 comfort scent and one of 3 roller imps I've got at work. We had the announcement. I took a short break and slathered WDB when I got back to my desk around 11. I refreshed it around 2 and again when we got home tonight.   Yeah, no BPALz for us at this point. No, I'm not out of a job like some of the unfortunate people at other companies who were told today their jobs were going overseas. But it's possibly the same thing if the alternatives are things I don't want to do. I already can't stand my job. This is going to make getting a new one harder, especially since I'd considered changing over to another area which is one of the areas that is affected.   I had already wanted to cut back BPAL (and other) spending because I want to work harder at getting a house and with about $1500 in savings far from enough to be a down for a house. Then I'd really like to get some medical stuff taken care of. I found out one of 2 things I want/need done costs approx $12kNZ. I have no idea on the 2nd thing but I'm guessing it's going to be at least the same, if not more. And beyond the 2 there is another major thing which would probably cost about $50kNZ.   I have a lot of scents I enjoy. So does my wife. I'll sit back and read the updates, do some swaps and maybe order the odd bottle for each of us. But no more big orders.  
vultureguy

vultureguy

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ramblings of an art chick...
 

Boo.

So, I've been into this thing for.. well, long enough to amass something like 50 imps with far too many more on the way. It's taking time to get through them all but I love smelling them to pick one to wear, and seeing how they smell.   In any case, I'm finding that no matter what, my body chemistry changes everything to baby powder, or possibly soap, during "that time of the month." Grrrr. It's tough!   I haven't tried enough, but so far only Blood Kiss is any good on me at this time of the month.     The search goes on! I keep noting which ones aren't, at least.
lacyjae

lacyjae

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meeow712's Blog
 

Tiresias, the Androgyne

Tiresias, the Androgyne: Dark, moody, and bittersweet: black currant, patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon leaf, caramel, muguet, and red sandalwood.   In the imp: It smells totally foody, I get A LOT of sweet caramel. No sign of patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon, or sandalwood. Maybe a bit of currant.   On me: OMG it is heavenly!! And it morphs. The throw smells all foody and caramelly. When I put my nose up to my wrist to sniff (which I've been doing very frequently), it's a completely different scent. I get a caramel sweetened black currant with a fair amount of red sandalwood to balance it out and make it non-foody. I LOVE THIS!!! It has very good throw and medium wear time. I wish I would have brought some with me to work to reapply. A bottle of this is definitely needed.
meeow712

meeow712

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meeow712's Blog
 

Zarita, the Doll Girl

Zarita, the Doll Girl: Soft, yet sociopathic: white carnation, iris, orange blossom, and sugared cream.   In the imp: A floral-ish cream? Yum!!   On me: a nice sweetened floral blend, but I think I need to wear this again before deciding on whether or not I need a bottle.
meeow712

meeow712

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meeow712's Blog
 

Lucretia

Lucretia, Albrecht Dürer: Iris, black amber, sage, Kashmir wood, vanilla musk, mandarin and violet.   In the bottle: There was something funky in here that my nose didn't like, it might have been the Kashmir wood but I'm not sure.   On me: This totally transformed into a delicious spiked violet/sage with a little amber in the background scent. Wow! I sniffed at the test site all night, really enjoying this one. What a change from bottle to skin. This may very well be on its way to becoming a favorite.   Violets: I didn't think violets were my thing, but I think I've been converted into a violet lover between Lucretia and Faith.
meeow712

meeow712

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meeow712's Blog
 

Valentine of Rome

Valentine of Rome: Ecclesiastical incense, Roman flora, and the fruits of martyrdom: cypress, olive blossom, frankincense, myrrh, and blood accord.   In the bottle: I got incense, but with something harsh in there. Maybe it was vetiver, even though it's not listed? Vetiver and I have a love/hate relationship, but it usually ends up being hate.   On me: The vetiver-ish note toned down some, but there was something ash-like that I really wasn't enjoying. There was incese too, but not enough to overpower the vetiver/ash thing going on.
meeow712

meeow712

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meeow712's Blog
 

Chokmah

Chokmah: The Primordial Point of Creation, Mazloth, Being Out of Nothingness, the Origin of Thought and the source of the 32 Ways of Wisdom.   In the bottle: It smelled a bit medicinal, maybe like iodine?   On me: Firstly, it stained my skin just like iodine. And then it deifnitely smelled like iodine on me. After about an hour it softened up a bit to a kind of incensey iodine? Not good.
meeow712

meeow712

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meeow712's Blog
 

Bigger Critter

Bigger Critter: A deceptively sweet scent; just like the Critters themselves, the perfume is fluffy, poofy, soft, snuggly, and googly! Five vanillas with Moroccan jasmine, white gardenia, and pink grapefruit. The bottles that accompany the Critters have a grr-specially kyoot label, designed by Jennifer Williamson.   In the bottle: I want to eat this!!! It's vanilla grapefruity yuminess.   On me: It smells like VOMIT. I tried the teeniest swatch on me, and smelling it was making me nauseous. And no matter how hard I scrubbed I couldn't get the scent off. Very very gross.
meeow712

meeow712

0
meeow712's Blog
 

Kataniya, the Clockwork Woman

Kataniya, the Clockwork Woman: Gentle flowers over hot metal, shocked to life with electricity.   In the imp: a nice, non-overpowering floral.   On me: a sharp almost-metallic floral. Unfortunately it didn't have much throw or wear time. As it faded it lost the sharp metallic smell and became a soft floral. But it did smell VERY good on me while it lasted!
meeow712

meeow712

0
Argentwolf's Blog
 

Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo

Category: Bewitching Blends -- The Conjure Bag   In the imp, it had an almost licorice-like quality to it, with lemondrops mixed in.   Wet, it smelled like bubblegum -- fresh, pink, juicy sugary gum.   Oddly enough, as it dried, there was a sort of...flowery note to it...or perhaps an herbal one...rather powdery and faint and intriguing, after that straight-up sacchirine candy goodness...almost as if Aunt Caroline is revealing her true talents behind that candy-coated mask! Unfortunately, as time went on, it turned plasticky. Very disappointing...   Had it stayed in the candy stages, I probably would have liked it a lot more. It does have a soothing quality to it, but quite frankly, *all* the BPAL scents do that for me. If I encounter a bad smell or am having a bad moment, I'll sniff at my wrists and feel better for a bit.
Argentwolf

Argentwolf

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Argentwolf's Blog
 

Athens

Category: Wanderlust   Initially, I smelled the myrrh and wine, with perhaps the honey thrown in...it had a very sticky, tart, juicy sap-like quality to it.   As it went on, the stickiness of it went away...just becoming myrrh and wine, with perhaps an herbal tint around the edges.   I'm thinking that myrrh is going to be one of those hit-and-miss things with me. This time, it was a miss, and I think it was the wine note that did it...the blend had a sourness to it that did not appeal to me. So, nope, not for me.   I liked Anubis better than this, and I'm guessing it's because of the mixture of herbs that was in it...the wine note couldn't come out and outright trash things like it did in Athens.
Argentwolf

Argentwolf

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meeow712's Blog
 

Meskhenet, The Vulture Maiden

Meskhenet, The Vulture Maiden: Frankincense, hyssop, hibiscus, river reeds, orris root, palm frond, and olibanum.   In the imp: A sweet floral - definitely liking this!   On me: A deliciously sharp hibiscus with a little something sweet and something else I can't place as I don't know what most of these notes smell like. But this totally works and smells absolutely delicious on me. I definitely need a bottle!
meeow712

meeow712

0
meeow712's Blog
 

Isaac, The Living Skeleton

Isaac, The Living Skeleton: Bourbon, tobacco, dry bone, bay rum aftershave, and sleazy cologne.   In the imp: a blend of aftershave and cologne, definitely masculine.   On me: I was scared of the tobacco, but thankfully I got NO tobacco at all. I got a touch of bourbon when I first applied it, but that faded away very quickly. And I ended up smelling like masculine incense, which isn't a bad thing. But I smell no bourbon, tobacco, aftershave, OR cologne. Weird. My skin seems to like turning perfume into incense. I would have liked to smell like the imp smelled. Oh well.
meeow712

meeow712

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Review Round-up!
 

Juliet

In the imp: Sweet, sweet pear, and some kind of glaringly bright, almost chemical floral.   On wet: Icky sweet pea (which, for whatever reason, hates me), and something that reminds me of my beloved Sleepy Moon! Unexpected and interesting!   Drydown: There's something powdery in here - it's doing the same itchy-dusty thing to my nose that most orchid scents do. Aside from that...this is a really hard scent for me to pin down! I'm still getting the sickly sweet pea (if a flower could go "off" the way food does, that would be how I'd describe my nose's interpretation of that note), and I think the lilies and honeysuckle have banded together with it to form this gang of icky, overwhelming floral-ness. Can't tell if the heliotrope has jumped into the mix - my nose is being pummeled and robbed as I speak...er, type. I can tell you what I'm *not* smelling, though - white musk and pear! The two notes I was *hoping* to get a good dose of. Ain't that always the way?   Overall: Another "not a good scent for me" blend. The florals are too sharp, too cloying, and none of them seem to like me very much. I was kinda hoping for the lilies, pear, and musk to dominate, but that simply was not to be. I'm not particularly surprised, though - sweet pea is one of my absolute ick notes, and honeysuckle isn't far behind, so I had reservations from the get-go - but the white musk fan in me had to at least give this scent a shot. Which I now have. 2/5
furygrrl

furygrrl

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Review Round-up!
 

Epitaph

In the imp: Sharp, almost bitter perfume - the kind you'd expect little old church ladies to wear.   On wet: It's sweetened up slightly - I can smell the lilies and the lightest brush of rose...but there's still a sour/bitter edge running underneath.   Drydown: Wow, this is *definitely* not my cup of tea - it reminds me of scented garbage bags. There's this weird burnt-plasticky scent clinging to my skin, and a layer of sharp, generic floral perfume sitting on top of it - the overall result is so sharp, it's almost acrid.   Overall: Traditional, intensely floral blends don't seem to work very well for me, and this one is, unfortunately, no exception. It started out unpleasant, and didn't morph much beyond a cloying floral sheet pulled over hot erasers. Aside from that tiny glimpse of roses and lilies in the wet stage, I wasn't able to pick out distinct flowers at any point. Not a good scent for my chemistry. 2/5
furygrrl

furygrrl

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meeow712's Blog
 

The Parliament of Monsters

The Parliament of Monsters: Dust, incense, wet tobacco, and a curl of opium smoke.   I decided to wear it today for the first time, sniffed and wore it without looking at the notes. This makes the review a bit more amusing.   In the imp: Delicious sweet incense with a touch of opium. Totally a Mia scent.   On me: Wet, I got sweet opium incense. As it started drying though, another note became very prominent. It was familiar but I couldn't figure it out, other than it smelled kind of boozey. As I was driving to work I figured it probably wasn't good that I was going to show up smelling like booze, but it was already too late. The first thing I did when I got in was check the notes - tobacco! I've been smelling tobacco! By this time, I smell like tobacco and that's it: no dust, definitely no incense, no opium. It's a sweet wet tobacco thankfully, and not tobacco smoke....so it doesn't smell bad, but its definitely not something I want to smell like. Especially not when I'm a 3 hour meeting with people who were probably very confused at my scent..... Several hours later the tobacco has thankfully faded away and I now smell incense and opium again.   This is definitely not a scent for me.
meeow712

meeow712

0
What ever happened to Generation X?
 

Two years

Two years ago today, my mother died.   I guess I'm getting used to her not being here. But I don't know how, or if, I'll ever get over the pain of knowing I can never talk to her again.   Even though our relationship was, at times, bumpy and dysfunctional, she was my mother. She loved me. I will never have another mother. It is a feeling of grief without any cure, without any remedy.
parrot_suspect

parrot_suspect

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