Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!
Post-Update: Forum Issues

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • 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
    • 7,041 views
Lili's Blog
 

More stuff

Today my mail included a non-BPAL package that is nearly (but not quite) as exciting as one from BPAL...   I got this locket, with the intention of using it as a scent locket. I'm wearing it now...it looks great and smells better!   I also got two big bottles of fractionated coconut oil, which I'll be mixing with some of my imps to put into rollerballs. I'm not sure exactly which imps to mix, though...the thought of diluting the precious (even a little) is painful, but some of them are very strong on me and I want them to last as long as possible.   Finally, I attempted using Caliph's Beloved yesterday to lure my husband into being somewhat less of an asshole...unfortunately, it didn't work, and in fact we had a gigantic fight at bedtime because I laid in bed waiting for him, in lingerie and TAL, for two-and-a-half hours before he finally turned his computer off and came upstairs...and even after he got in bed he ignored me so he could read a book and eat crackers. Jerk. What's that old saying- "I wouldn't kick him out of my bed for eating crackers", right? Well how ironic it is that the crackers were the straw that broke the camel's back!   I'm blaming his utter obliviousness and thick-headedness rather than the TAL- he said I seemed "unapproachable" even though I practically threw myself at him! I now am even more certain that trying to fix our marriage is beating a dead horse. I'll save the sexy oils for others, then! (Don't freak, we're poly and my husband knows I'm seeing other people.)
lilirose

lilirose

0
Indigo's Blog
 

*sigh* Let's try this again

Due to a couple charges hitting later rather than earlier, and my transfer of funds not hitting as planned, I ended up extremely, extremely overdrawn. I've fixed it, but paying the overdraft plus the damned fees for being overdrafted cost me money I was planning to spend on Dragon*Con, and other stuff.   So I'm wearing Foundation of Fortune again.   I would really like it if the universe could help me out on this one.
Indigo

Indigo

0
Nia's Blog
 

list-making is sometimes hard

I'm giving myself scheherezade because I just sent my advisor a very long email detailing my dissertation's chapter division, each chapter's subdivision, and how much progress I've made in each. It is harder than it looks.
Nia

Nia

0
Diplomatka
 

Why I can't blog

Ethiopia has the lowest number of cell phone subscribers in Africa.   The country where my husband is has the lowest number of internet subscribers. While what is wrong with Liberia might be easily explained by years of war that decimated the infrastructure, Ethiopia (besides a few skirmishes with Eritrea) has not seen the conflict on the scale of say, Sierra Leone. No, the situation in Abyssinia comes down to three letters: ETC. Ethiopia Telecom will not allow competition--all of the telecommunications systems go through the government. This is why it took four months for my employer to take pity on me and give me the "consultant" SIM card (the whole time I was in country there were none available and ETC refused to issue new ones) and why, as I write now, I am on a slow dial-up.   The government shut down Skype, blogspot.com, and streaming video seems at least three decades away.   Last week the internet, cell phones and land lines shut down for the whole day. My Ethiopian colleagues thought Somalia had invaded. After living in Afghanistan, I believed them.   So, as you all know, Somalia did not invade. However, after this post I this blog might be shut down.
Confection

Confection

0
Indigo's Blog
 

Review: Follow Me Boy

In the imp: Mmm, sweet and rich.   Wet: Ack. Musk. Heavy musk. Overwhelming. Endure. Endure. It must get better.   Dry down: Oh, yeah. There it is. Spicy. Mmm. Yeah.   Much later: A coworker thought it smelled babypowdery. I can smell that underneath, but it's all sexyspicy on top. And the name made her crack up laughing.   So glad I got a bottle of this.
Indigo

Indigo

0
Lili's Blog
 

Wheeee!

Two lovely packages from the Labs today- both my BPAL imps and my TAL 5mls.   I got two frimps with the imp order- Black Dahlia and Venice.   Of course I've sniffed every last one, but am forcing myself to wear only one per day until I've gone through all of them and can decide what works and what doesn't. Today is Queen (from the Voodoo collection). It's working really well on me. My husband and my son both like it, also. I'll probably write a review later on, when (if?) I discover how long it takes to fade out.  
lilirose

lilirose

1
Welcome to the Abatoir
 

Some Salvation

Today I felt really good about everyone around me at work. They were all complementing me and telling me how good of a job I was doing today. I really appreciated the kind words, after all everyone has been giving me this feeling like I'm the lowest on the toem pole lately. One of the fellow assistants told my supervisor I was "Working my butt off" and I was flattered that she noticed how hard I was trying to do a good job. My supervisor even talked with me about the other assistant whom took the posistion of part time tech, which upset me, and she explained that she was thinking in terms of the fact that I'm in school and can't work certain days that it would be inconvenient. I felt better after she told me the reasons ans also that it honestly never dawned on anyone to mention it to me because they all thought everyone new we were replacing the old girl. Today has made me feel so much more comfortable with the people I work with and I felt a twinge of nostalgia from the old days when I still felt repsected and I realized that today, I finally got the respect I'd been waiting for and I finally got some justice towards the uncontrolable stresses that have been weighing on my mind. What a wonderful feeling.
Meshuganah

Meshuganah

0
Lili's Blog
 

Home from the holiday

I had a wonderful time in Scotland, and better yet, only minutes before I left, I got six imps that I'd purchased from another forum member!   I was in a rush, and wasn't thinking straight, so for some reason I only brought two imps with me and left the others. I took Dragon's Heart and La Belle Dame Sans Merci. The former was a winner, and almost certainly will be a 5m purchase, but unfortunately the latter turned out awful on me. I put more detailed descriptions in the reviews section.   Today I'm wearing Ephemera, and I really like it a lot. Have also added a review for that one.   Best yet, there were two CnS e-mails waiting when I got home! Today is a bank holiday in Ireland so the postman didn't come, but hopefully tomorrow will be full of TAL and BPAL goodness!   Edited to add: as I catch up on the forums I am too tempted by some of the new swaps...someone stop me, I need to at least try the stuff I've ordered before I get more!
lilirose

lilirose

0
Nia's Blog
 

Plans

These are my rewards for the next five units:   Unit 26: Masquerade. DONE Unit 27: Morgause. DONE Unit 30: Ode on Melancholy   I'm skipping some because the missing units are likely to change when the school year begins.
Nia

Nia

0
Nia's Blog
 

On the second TAL bottle

I've managed to stay away from the computer quite well this weekend. I'm awarding myself 2/5 of a bottle, let's see if I derserve the third ml today!   I'm giving myself other 2/5 because I have been working like crazy in the garden.
Nia

Nia

0
Scents and Sensibility
 

The quest begins!

This is the first post under the category "Quest for Chocolate." As noted in this post, I am looking for one or more really true, strong, lasting chocolate (and/or cocoa) based scents. A worthy quest!   So far I have tried the following BPAL scents, all of which are supposed to have chocolate and/or cocoa notes: Vice (smelled like chocolate covered cherries until it dried, then became just candied cherries from that point onward), Gluttony (no chocolate scent was detected at any point), The Candy Butcher (smelled like chocolate cream until dry, then just smelled like cream), Enraged Groundhog Musk (fruity and spicy but alas, no chocolate detected) and Centzon Totochtin (nice but no chocolate).   A bottle of 13 (July 2007) has just arrived, and it does smell like cocoa just sniffing the bottle... have yet to try it (waiting to see where I can get wand caps before using the bottles). Imps of Bliss and Boomslang are on the way, as well as an imp of Intrigue and a couple other editions of 13. So let's hope that at least one of those turns out to be a good chocolate scent on me.   Widening the search, I ordered a few samples from DSH Perfumes based on a recommendation in this thread, and those will arrive within the next couple of days. Meanwhile I have Grog on one wrist and Irish coffee (i.e. Miskatonic U.) on the other to get me through the evening. Hooray for comfort scents!
Vanille

Vanille

0
Scents and Sensibility
 

Testing, testing!

Apparently this blog layout was designed without cross-browser compatibility in mind, because the nav strip parks itself firmly over part of my entry and the controls (including, presumably, the "edit" button). Not pretty. Maybe if I put a bunch of line breaks in the entry I can force it down below the nav strip so I can find edit buttons? Let's find out!   [Edit] Yay, sure enough it forced the entry down below that nav bar, and now it is editable. Weird workaround, but it's easier than getting them to re-code the design to work in all browsers.   [Edit weeks later] Well, I finally discovered other skins. It turns out that if you don't use the graphically-hefty default "seasonal" skin you can actually see your editing buttons and other nice things. Otherwise, many things are obscured by the weird way that the page loads. So... if there is anything you can't read here, choose a better skin like one of the "Kiss" skins and you will be able to view the entire entry.   Anyway, this weblog is a place for me to review scents without stuffing up the forums with my opinions. By now most of the scents I am trying have been out for a very long time, and I doubt that anyone will be reading to the end of the topic to view any new reviews -- nor is it likely that my opinion would contribute much at this point.   But hey! It's nice to have a place to discuss my impressions in any case. Viva the blog!
Vanille

Vanille

0
a stargirl's addiction
 

Second order from the Lab

After completely falling in love with so many of the scents from my first order, I was very quick to make a second order - this time, going a bit more adventurous and as well as several imp packs, ordering some of the 5ml bottles as well.   5ml Bottles:   ELIXIR II: SUCCOR: Relaxation, calm, finding center ELIXIR X: GRR: Headache relief MANIPURA: THE SOLAR PLEXUS: Dynamic energy, willpower, autonomy, self-esteem, self-expression, ambition, analytical thought, intellectual activity, astral force, the fire of the spirit, assertiveness, laughter, rage Dragon's Milk     Imps:   Fae: A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss Algaea:Three golden ambers, bright musk, peach wine and myrtle Aureus: True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent Bewitched: Deep, luscious green and berry scents that evoke images of woodland witchcraft and the raw power of nature: blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk Black Forest:Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress Black Pearl: Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk   Bon Vivant: An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry Hamadryad: . Seven dry woods with mossy lichen and a gentle breeze of forest flowers The Hesperides: sturdy oak bark, dew-kissed leaves, twilight mist and crisp apple Blood Kiss: Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk Leanan Sidhe: a crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew Sudha Segara: Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia   Ulalume: Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note Zephyr: A gentle white scent, breezes laced with the scent of springtime blooms and citrus. Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla Les Fleurs du Mal: The scents of the blossoms of darkness, condensed into one perfume. Features a rose base, softened with lilac and wisteria Midnight: An ethereal bouquet of night-blooming flowers Fallen: Cherubic white sandalwood and golden musk with a dark halo of amber, a breath of imperial florals, unbending woods, and the shadow cast by vetiver and violet Euphrosyne: Gardenia, tea rose, vanilla and jasmine   Sophia: A solemn, deeply profound draught of lavender, soft musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, and gentle spice Thaleia: A vivacious, dazzling, merry scent: honey, ylang ylang, apricot, ciste, blood orange and gardenia with earthy, warm tonka Kyoto: A gentle, soothing blend of cherry blossom, white sandalwood and star anise Imp: Devilishly playful: white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli Hermia: Pink pepper, golden amber, honeysuckle, and passion flower Titania: A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon   Block Buster: Used to open up options in your life, overcome obstacles, and create opportunities. This blend increases your potential for success, inspires creativity and quick thinking, and helps you to be more flexible, adaptable and open to change Has No Hanna: Brings a rush of good luck, lifts the spirit, and helps alleviate depression High John the Conqueror: A fast-acting, powerful scent used to overcome adversity through positive means Water of Notre Dame: Brings peace to the spirit, a sense of calm and fulfillment, and attracts the aid of beneficial spirits The Dormouse: A dizzying eddy of four teas brushed with light herbs and a breath of peony   (Ordered: 19-July, CnS: 2-August, Received: 8-August)
crushedstars

crushedstars

0
a stargirl's addiction
 

My first order from the Lab

I made my first order from the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab at the end of June, after weeks of pouring through the descriptions, and trying to narrow down my choices. I had actually heard about BPAL a few years ago, from a few livejournal friends, but the range of scents slightly overwhelmed me, and I just didn't know where to start. But I finally decided to bite the bullet, and dive in - and I'm so glad I did! Imagine - I could have been addicted to this stuff years ago! Well, my credit card is glad I wasn't anyway.   The first order I made was naturally, all imps. Future posts will have some reviews or thoughts about some of the oils, but for the time being, just a list.   Ophelia: Wistful and vulnerable: lotus, water blossom ivy, stargazer lily and white rose Juliet: Sweet pea with stargazer lily, calla lily, heliotrope, honeysuckle, white musk and a touch of fresh pear Helena: Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose Pontarlier: The legendary birthplace of the Green Fairy. Swiss ferns, lilac, blackcurrant, Gallic rose and lavender with a dollop of sugar and absinthe Alice: Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot Eat Me: Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants Mouse's Long and Sad Tale: Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood The Queen of Hearts: Lily of the Valley, Calla Lily, stephanotis and a drop of cherry Tiger Lily: A feisty bouquet of golden, warm, gently honeyed lilies Two, Five and Seven: A huge bouquet of squished rose petals: Bulgarian rose, Somalian rose, Turkish rose, Damascus rose, red and white rose, tea rose, wine rose, shrub roses, rose, rose, rose… …and just an itty bitty bit of green grass The Unicorn: A misty, almost luminous perfume: wispy linden blossoms, white flowers, and a touch of sweet herbs Moon rose: A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew Dragon's Milk: A truly fae nectar! Dragon's blood resin and honeyed vanilla Magdalene: A stirring yet gentle perfume. The scent of love and devotion mingled with an undercurrent of heart-rending sorrow. A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid Brisingamen: A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle, and carnation Endymion: A sweet, wistful blend of d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk The Lady of Shallott: The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger Eve: The spirit of temptation, the essence of lost innocence. Apple blossom, rose, ylang ylang and golden honey Iambe: Her scent is one of comfort, beauty and joy: Sudanese amber, patchouli, rose, gardenia, gladiola and white tea Kali: This perfume is a blend of the sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey Kurukulla: The Tibetan goddess of love and wealth. Her scent is a harmonious, sweet, enchanting blend of three lotus blooms and three roses Nuit: Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower Pannychis: Night-blooming jasmine, moonflower, cardamom, sandalwood, black currant, ylang ylang, frankincense and lily Calliope: Hers is the scent of creative inspiration, and it is a boon to writers, poets and arbitrators: lavender and bright mint with bergamot, verbena, thyme and a touch of sweet orange and warm almond   (Ordered: 22-June, CnS: 30-June, Received: 10-July)
crushedstars

crushedstars

0
a stargirl's addiction
 

BPAL blog

I decided to take advantage of the fact we can have blogs on here, and use this for my BPAL related ramblings; after all, who best can understand my quickly-growing addiction, than a whole community dedicated to this amazing range of oils! I have been making orders like crazy, and I keep a little notebook with the descriptions of each oil I have, and my notes on whether I like it, what it reminds me of, seasons to wear them in, and whether I'll be reordering. I'm sure my boyfriend thinks I'm nuts... but at least he agrees I smell good! Hopefully I can use this blog to do a similar thing, and also read other people's thoughts (bpal or not!)   Love xx
crushedstars

crushedstars

0
Squash Soup
 

HAEE Halloween Scents OH MY!

Bolded ones are the ones I want to try.   All Hallows Eve - Mysore Sandalwood, Night Blooming Jasmine, Cassia, Anise, Starfruit and Hinokiwood   Superstitious 2007 - Burning Chapel Incense, White Musk, Golden Sandalwood, Clovebud, Cyclamen, Cocoa Absolute and Taratahi Lilac   Hallowed Ground - Burning Leaves, Forest Loam, Cedar Accord, Dried Flowers, Mosses and Rain   All Souls - Licorice, Cassia, Black Amber, Patchouli, Lavender Wood, Clove, Violet Leaf Absolute and Myrrh Resin   Tortured Pumpkin - Toasted Pumpkin, Toasted Marshmallow, Toasted Maple Sugar, Toasted Vanilla Sugar, Toasted Brown Sugar   Rattled Chains - Black Currant, Black Vanilla, Black Patchouli, Opoponax, Resin, Toasted Hazelnut, Fig Lychee, Butter Co2 and Vanilla Bourbon   Restless - Bitter Chocolate, Peppermint, Caramel, Green Apple, Cinnamon Leaf and Pumpkin   Ghouls Dessert - Bitter Chocolate, Marshmallow, Toasted Maple, Graham Crackers, Cheesecake, Deep Fried Banana and a drizzle of Caramel   Premonition - Tibetan Amber, White Tea, Ginger, Amaryllis, Clementine and Pink Grapefruit   Samhain - Irish Soda Bread, Apples, Currants and a drizzle of Irish Cream. Dedicated to the Irish, where Halloween began.   Autumn Equinox - Jasmine, Sandalwood, Rose, Patchouli, Vanilla, Ylang Ylang, Vetiver, and Mimosa   Higan no Chu-Nichi - Bamboo, Freesia, Cherry Blossom, Rice Flower, Red Bean Paste (Sweet) and Incense notes   Oh who am I kidding, I might need them ALL! I wonder if they will offer samples. I hope so or this is going to get expensive!!
jessiesquash

jessiesquash

0
Abstract Associations
 

Undertow

The Dark Side of Water: clean and purifying, yet menacing -- lotus and juniper with a hint of mint. A scent dragged up from the depths to the Stygian shore   Reviewed 08/02/2007   I love the way that this starts off. It's a burst of mint when wet, and when it dries it settles into a light, bouncy mint that's grounded by a dash of gin-y juniper. I couldn't smell any florals at all, which is odd because lotus usually gets very sweet on me. Sadly, this was gone in about an hour and left me with a pounding headache. I felt like I'd been drinking gin instead of sniffing it. I may give this another try at a different time of the month, but right now it's just not working for me.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

Cthulhu

If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings... It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence...A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.   Reviewed 08/02/2007   Where are my aquatics? Where are my green notes? Why does my skin hate me?   Soap. Strong, masculine-smelling soap. I smell like my grandpa. The good part is that this faded really quickly and is almost completely gone two hours after applying it, so at least I don't have to smell it all day. Maybe I'll try this one on the boy.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

The Candy Butcher

An exquisite, enigmatic woman sidles up to you, bearing a tray of strange, dusty curios, chocolate creatures, serpentine taffy, and candied skulls. Her skin is dusky, her eyes are heavy-lidded and sensual, her hair is the fine, soft white of spun sugar, and her skin is softly scented with cocoa. She holds a shrunken head aloft, and beckons. Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.   Reviewed 08/01/2007   I have been wanting to try this since the moment I read the description. I wore this to work today, untested, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Thick, sweet, dark chocolate while wet, it settled into a lovely, more subtle chocolate swirled with vanilla cream upon drydown. The throw was perfect; I could smell it without lifting my wrist to my nose, but it didn't knock down everyone who came within three feet of me either. The only drawback to this oil is that it makes me crave really good, really expensive chocolates like woah; I think if I wore this every day I would gain a ton and a half of weight.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

Forbidden Fruit

As light and innocent as your first time should have been. The fresh scent of lotus hidden behind lightly scented flowers, amber, and citrus.   Reviewed: 08/01/2007   Forbidden Fruit was Juicy Fruit gum with a bottom note of cat pee on me. On munchkin, it was gorgeous, sparkling citrusy-floral with just the right amount of sweetness. I'm sensing a trend here: scents that I really want to try wind up smelling awful on me and disgustingly good on my kid. *Definitely* time to sell her to the circus.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

Dana O'Shee

In Irish folklore the Dana O'Shee are a fae, elven people that live in a realm of beauty, their nobility akin to our that own Age of Chivalry, eternally beautiful and eternally young. They surround themselves with the pleasures of the Arts, they live for the hunt, and to this day can be seen riding in procession through the Irish countryside at twilight, led by their King and Queen. However, the Dana O'Shee are not benevolent creatures, despite what their unearthly beauty may imply. They are vengeful and treacherous and possess a streak of mischievous malice, and many have whispered that their true home lies deep in the shadowed groves of the Realm of the Dead. Hearing even a single chord of their otherworldly music leaves one stunned and lost to the mortal realms for ever, finding themselves prey to the Dana O'Shee's hunt or enslaved in their Court as servants or playthings. Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name.   Reviewed 07/31/2007   When I first put this on, there's a burst of dark, juicy, almost overripe cherry that fades almost immediately; if I don't raise my wrist to my nose immediately, I completely miss the phase. After the momentary cherry phase, it immediately settles into a warm, creamy milk and honey scent that is grounded with just a touch of oatmeal. It's not a terribly strong throw, but when I move my hands you can definitely smell it in the air and it seems to last for ages on my skin...I wore this for ten hours without a single re-application. This is the first scent that someone else has noticed on me (without me pointing it out), and I was complimented three different times while wearing it at work today. I would love this as a room scent, too, and I'm seriously thinking of going out and buying an oil burner just for that. It just has a very inviting, comforting, calming feel to it. It's official, Tokyo Stomp now has some stiff competition for the top spot in my growing arsenal.
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

Blood Countess

Elizabeth Báthory, also called Erzsébet Báthory in Hungarian and Alžbeta Bátoriová-Nádašdy in Slovak, was the Bloody Lady of Hungary. In order to preserve her youth and loveliness, the brutal and incomparably savage countess captured, tortured and slaughtered innumerable young women and bathed in their blood as part of her beauty regimen. Ah, vanity. Corrupted black plum, smoky opium and crumbling dead roses covered by a deceptive veil of Hungarian lilac, white gardenia and wild berry.   Reviewed 07/30/2007   In the imp I smelled mostly the juicy plum and berry notes that everyone mentioned. On my skin, it went VERY floral almost immediately, and I nearly ran for the bathroom. Heavy carnation or gardenia scents make me gag, and I'm not sure why I stuck this out but I'm so glad I did. The floral stage lasted about 15-20 minutes and then disappeared almost entirely to be replaced with lighter berries, dark, lusty spiciness, and a faint hint of opium and flowers swirling up every so often. And my SO's opinion, well, let's just say that's not appropriate for a PG (or even PG-13) forum! I'm going to assume that means he likes it, too. Oh yes, this is definitely going to be a 5mL purchase. It's so incredibly sensual and sexy!
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
Abstract Associations
 

Faith

A huge crowd mills in front of the next stage. You hear the din of their voices, chattering in a Babel’s fall of languages, laughing and buzzing with a strange anticipation. As you get closer, you notice that they are wearing a motley mix of clothing from ages past… all rotting, all in shreds. In the sea of faces, all bearing a similar chalky pallor, some stand out: there is a woman in a threadbare Burgundian gown, a young man in torn breeches and sagging slops, a maiden in a dagged-sleeve houppelande that is splattered with cruor, a snarling Victorian rogue with a battered silk top hat, and a vacant-eyed man in a shredded Confederate uniform. As you make your way through the crowd, you feel cold fingers pluck at your clothing, and the hard, almost glassy skin that you brush against radiates an unnatural cold. You hear tittering sighs as you push through the gathering, and your skin prickles as you feel icy breath upon your neck. Abruptly, someone cries out, and the strange congregation begins clapping a steady rhythm. Their voices rise in a tintamar of ghastly cheers as torches flare to life on the stage. The firelight illuminates a gargantuan, shining black stake in the center of the stage. It is festooned with black ribbons, drooping moss, and viciously-colored poisonous blooms in a playful, grotesque mockery of a Maypole. Two women, clutched tightly in a brutal embrace, spin onto the stage, shaking a tambourine and clacking a hembra in time with the clapping. One is clad in violet, with violet tresses to match; the other is a vision of swirling rose. Their long, waving hair whips in manic arcs as they twirl, stomp, and pirouette around the onyx shaft. The crowd becomes more and more frenzied as the dance reaches a mad crescendo, and suddenly you realize that the two are one: they are conjoined, identical twins, bound eternally at the ribs. The violet sister, caught in the throes of the ritual’s passion, throws her head back and moans. She bares a set of gleaming white fangs and bites deeply into her sister's neck. The rose maiden screams in joy, and returns her sister’s violent kiss as the crowd explodes into Corybantic mayhem. Simplicity and innocence, gleefully despoiled! Hope is sugared rose, Faith is sugared violet. The sisters are inseparable, and may only be purchased together.   Reviewed 07/30/2007   In the bottle this was so yummy and perfect: candied violets and thick powdered sugar icing, innocent and youthful but somehow entirely adult, and I loved it. It started off gorgeous wet, too, but when it dried it turned horribly wrong. It smelled like a Hug-A-Jug, one of those awful pure-sugar drinks, with a faint note of hand soap underneath. I sniff this on my skin and immediately think of Little League games from my childhood. Not something I want to smell like at work or out for the evening.   I passed this one off to the munchkin. If anyone can pull off a childishly sweet scent it's an eight year old, right? Imagine my surprise when she tried it on and the violets deepened, the sugar faded to a bare hint, and she was left with the gorgeous, delicate scent I originally fell in love with. Little monster, I'm sending her out to work to fund her own BPAL habit! *LOL*
Rovylern

Rovylern

0
×