sarada

I can't believe I never reviewed this...I've had an imp of Redwood for ages and guard it with my life! I open the vial to sniff it for comfort, really. Fortunately, this note is so strong in Carceri D'Invenzione, that having a bottle of that is almost like having a bottle of this! A light, pulpy white wood, very natural and fresh smelling. When I'm walking in the woods I go up to trees and press my nose against the bark -- or if some bark is stripped away I try to smell the white wood pulp, I'm that crazy for tree scents.

Yes, it's also a little like pencil shavings and a little mossy. Dry and dusty, but not in a musty, forgotten corner of the attic sort of way. More like fresh wood dust falling on a forest floor.

If you want to bottle the scent of the woods, this is it -- the "light brown" part of the woods, as opposed to the green part. But definitely try Carceri if you want to get an idea of Redwood!

I knew looking at the notes there was no way this could be anything but fantastic. And of course it is, in fact, fantastic!

Very much like Luperci, with a hint of Anubis. It's a little bit more spicy than either, but a very subtle, understated spice. It is dark golden, faintly honeyed, rich and earthy, glistening and resiny.

Like its cousin Luperci, I feel as though I have to put a ton of it on to smell it, but that's just because I love it so much I feel like I want to be completely immersed in it.

The deep, spicy resin scent of my dreams...beautiful both on skin and in locket, though I seem to need to reapply frequently to get that constant fix of the Luperci-like sweet earthiness. I'm so delighted!

There are certain violet things that I love -- violet ice cream (not that I can find that anywhere, but still...), and yes the Choward's violet mints -- violet candles and incense, as well. But violet in perfumes is so faint and powdery that I tend to avoid it.

Not so for Faith. She is a perfect violet! The sugaring in this blend is a lot stronger than her sister, I find -- and yes it does remind me a bit of Antique Lace plus violets. I found AL to be a little too plain on me, but this has that lovely smoky sugared scent with the violet candy frosted over it. I wore this behind my ear, so it would get in my hair, and it has a lot of staying power that way. With Hope in the other ear, whispering in chorus.

I'd say that I like these equally, but since this blend made me like a note I usually don't like in perfume (violet) it gets a special place of honor and respect.

I identify with Hope and Faith a bit too since I'm a redhead (Hope) but have dyed my hair purple on numerous occasions (Faith)!

My relationship with florals is a complex one. I love rose, but I don't always like it in perfumes unless there is something wood, resin or musky backing it up -- or it is such a perfect pure rose that nothing detracts from it.

This is one of the most sweet, wine-like roses from BPAL, and a rose that I'd compare to Parlement of Foules actually. The sweetness folds into the rose perfectly, and seems a part of its natural sweetness. Not syrupy or vanilla, but also not a crystalline powdered sugar. Just a real lovely natural sweetness that helps to give the rose a lot more throw and staying power.

I put it behind my ear, so it catches on my hair and wafts around me. I think it would be lovely in a locket as well.

I'm wearing her sister on my other side and together it's a perfect duet. The sugaring in this one is slightly different than the one in Faith. The rose takes center stage.

Kalahantarika might be my favorite of this series, because it is so unique among the BPAL that I have tried and so very very herbal and resiny. Its closest cousin in the GC might be Arcana, but this is slightly more complex and multilayered, with a different scent on the skin than it has in the bottle...and a different scent still in the air as it hangs around me.

The scent of lavender is strong, but it is as if lavender were a deep, dark green instead of a pale violet color. Medicinal, but then it takes a slightly sweeter, resiny turn. It is an apothecary shop scent; what might greet you in a dark room full of wooden shelves and murky glass bottles; bunches of leafy greens hanging from the rafters, dusty but pungent.

There are not a lot of BPAL blends that are this purely herbal so I think I really want a bottle of this, so I have something for those herbal moods. It smells as though it should be used in ritual or magick or aromatherapy or healing but I don't know exactly what for...I just think I want to have it around...

Abhisarika is one of only three Heroine scents that doesn't work on me, but it's still very lovely.

It is very perfumey -- in a classic floral perfume kind of way. Pungent with a lot of throw -- it's amazing that this is a natural perfume, it smells like something right off a very expensive department store counter. Which is not something I go for, but it's impressive nonetheless.

The cream sweetens the flowers, the musk gives it power, and all in all it's a very classic and dignified scent...really lives up to what it promises, a tall stately woman moving purposefully toward the object of her desire.

There's something I really like in this. And then again there's something I really don't like.

Let's look at the notes...

Ahhh, mystery solved.

That sweet, earthy scent -- almost like some sort of cola or maybe root beer -- that's the one that I like. Of course it's vetiver! Spiked with honeysuckle, which I also love. A perfectly sweetened vetiver, pale and slender white petals of honeysuckle ground into the dirt.

But there's something hazy lingering over all of it that makes me slightly queasy, a breath of a dusty, chemical haze, like someone is spraying their hair or ... I don't know, developing film ... and kind of taking me out of my earthy reverie.

That would be the black opium. One of those notes that can just kill any blend for me.

But you know, I like the good parts of this enough that I think for a change I might hang onto this imp and give it a chance. On my skin long enough, I think that just the vetiver will hang around, and I can never get enough of that.

I've tried this a zillion times over the years and never quite clicked with it. It has things I should love: plum, wine and black currant; and one that I should hate: amaretto.

But it's really just a light, fizzy berry scent to me. A little like Jester. While I love purply fruits, they seem to need a little something extra to anchor them, or they just float away after a few minutes.

Bordello is one of those floaty scents on me -- a little too light and insubstantial. It needs something like a musk or other amplifying agent to make it do anything, and it's not the kind of thing I'd wear in a locket either. If it was a hand lotion or shampoo we'd be in business but it's just not bawdy enough for me!

Ever have an imp just totally sneak up on you?

I have probably had this come by as a frimp a few times over the past couple of years and never stopped to pay attention before.

Then I tested a frimp today and ... wow. What is that? Hmm. I always thought this was going to be one of those almondy messes that I can't wear.

But it's so sweet, and has just the right balance of spicy floral and fruity sweetness. It's very familiar.

Looking at the notes, now, of course -- it has the same sort of family of ingredients as Frumious Bandersnatch, one of my favorites!

Carnation once again asserts itself as one of the most magnificent florals, because it never really smells like just "flowers." It's a little musty, a little spicy, and packs quite a whallop.

Plum, as always, is one of my favorite fruits. So juicy, and just a tiny bit tart. It's not a deep, bloody, purple plum like Bandersnatch, it's much more light and playful. The musk, also, just serves to whip this all into shape and keep it from fading too quickly.

This moves into the permanent imp box, and I'll have to try to remember that it might play well with the Bandersnatch.

Shub is the strongest of the three soaps that I ordered -- smelled it right out of the box, and it's the only one that I can really clearly smell through the (beautiful, dragon-themed) wrapping.

It smells just like you'd expect Shub, a little lighter and creamier because of the additional soap ingredients, but very true to Shub without the lemony ginger notes.

It feels like it would probably vanish in the shower very quickly if it wasn't properly maintained by keeping it out of the water blast, and setting it on a little soap altar afterward.

The bathroom smells like Shub for a long time after I take a shower, though my skin doesn't absorb the smell for very long, BUT my skin is SO soft. Every day after I shower (in the evening) my skin is impossibly dry. I have to slather myself in lotion. But guess what? After I use this, my skin is soft and glowing.

These soaps will probably become my staples for that reason, in particular, as most soaps dry my skin very badly. Highly recommended!

Fresh out of the bottle this is mind-blowing! I love sage, and this is a gorgeous one -- so fresh, herbal, earthy and green. The sweetness of the fruits, particularly the berry (blackberry and sage:always a winning combination), grounded by my beloved earthy sweet dirty patchouli.

This is mucking around in the garden on a warm spring or pleasant summer day, the sun warming the rich earth as your hands, stained with berry juice, fumble with the soft, leathery sage leaves.

The sense of elation that I get from the early stages probably has a lot to do with that sharp, eye-opening citrus, combining with the bubbly, fruity qualities. It would be far too fleeting if not for the grounding patchouli. Another absolute winner. I have managed to line up about a half a bottle's worth of this so far and it will serve me well into the warm months! This is a sage-lover's dream -- provided you also like a bit of fruit and dirt!

Oh yes, this is the one for me, all right!

I swapped for True Love since the imps gave me Infatuation, but this is definitely the true love for me out of the Inquisition blends.

It reminds me a bit of the GC scent Masquerade, but a deepened, amped up, more complex version. My favorite earthy rich dark brown gritty patchouli, moistened by juicy, appetizing peach and orange blossom. I love incensey blends and this reminds me of burning some very high quality patchouli and orange blossom incense, but more than that, it is rolling around on the ground in the summer with your own true love, in an orange grove or a peach orchard.

And the carnation -- oh, the carnation!! Patchouli, carnation and orange together are brilliant. The carnation adds its strange gritty-floral deep red spice, and underneath it all there's the sweet liquid resin frankincense carrying it all forward and amping it up.

This is definitely a true love for me. I had a feeling this might be my perfect match: earth, resin, fruit and a touch of spicy floral. Oh god yes!

In the imp, this has a bit of a chemical smell to me -- I get the clove, but there's something in there that makes me think of ... well, a perfume counter! I think it's the top notes, there's a chemical sort of smell that comes off of galbanum and ambergris to my nose.

On my skin it instantly transforms. I'd swear there was honey in this, I get a lush, honeyed clove, not dissimilar from my beloved Masque, but lacking the carnation and gritty earth tones.

Every note in this is something that reacts very well on my skin -- it unfolds in a dozen different directions on my skin, sweet and resiny helped along by the musk, that lends some muscle to the blend. I'd swear there was a sweet, lilting honey-sweet floral in there but it all calms down to a simmering, sultry clove in the end.

I would have loved to get a bottle of this, but I am very happy with the one that I did end up with. I will have to just try to find ways to hoard this wherever I can find it, but ultimately I think Masque is my favorite clovey scent.

I'll get to see the Crow Moon and Oborot labels myself tomorrow when I get my package but has anyone posted a Fire Pig yet?...

It's been ages since I last tried Ulalume, and I'm very pleased to be able to give it another shot. With cypress and oak notes, it's got to have something I like. I remember when I first tried it in 2004 thinking "mossy floral". That is still true but there's so much more to it.

The lilies have that wonderful, pale, succulent sweetness that I so love in lilies in certain blends. They are very light in the blend but hang over it like dolorous funeral blooms. The main stage is all dark green moss submerged in darkest, murky water with a faint whiff of damp wood and roots winding their way into the pond.

It is a really perfect scent for a rainy spring day, I think, and I will wear it when I go for one of my early spring walks in the wood after rainfall. It also reminds me quite a bit of The Premature Burial, but without the strong earthy notes, and with a slightly different scattering of flower petals.

I love vetiver, but I hate coconut, so this was a hard choice for me whether to launch straight into a bottle or go for a decant. I went for a decant first. And now...I need a bottle!

I love the sweet, brown, earthiness of vetiver and this is my favorite kind. It reminds me a bit of Death Cap -- rich, thick humus-like earth, sweet and crumbly. But the Snake Oil layer transforms it utterly, and it is not simply an earthy scent intermingled with the complex thick tangle of spices, oils and vanilla that Snake Oil represents.

I don't really smell the coconut, which is a good thing, but I think that other people might be able to pick it out on me. This is a lot like Death Cap layered over Snake Oil might be, I think, but with an added but of earthy sweetness and a touch of smoke.

I'll be going back for a bottle of this, ASAP. How is it that I was never wild about Snake Oil, but these variants are just soundly kicking my ass!

I love smoky lavender (Old Scratch, Gaueko, etc.) so I'm very pleased to have this one, particularly because the sandalwood takes it into an even woodier and more incensy territory.

I'm put in the mind of my old college dorm room, burning lavender incense while an undercurrent of other, woodier, smoky incenses still lingers in the air and I gaze wistfully out the window at a rainy day.

Not sure of what armoise or awapuhi smell like but there's also a touch of something slightly sweet mixed in here, a bit of white floral nectar in the background.

Smoky lavender loves my skin and twirls around me in a heady, herbal incensy haze. This is quite splendid for me!

ETA: I reapplied this yesterday to continue enjoying it, and it really is the epitome of the sort of herbal, smoky lavender that I love with a woody, incensy base. Definitely seek this out if you like things like Old Scratch. Or even Bitter Moon -- it reminds me of the refreshing, herbal qualities of that blend with the same feeling of fragrant smoke on a grey, cold day. The woods are subtle but gorgeous: I can sense the deep green-tinged cedar and the dusty dry sandalwood beneath the pale purple-green herbs.

There are only a handful of scents that I'd put in this category of smoky, herbal, incensy lavender but it is a marvelous combo and absolutely perfect for solitary contemplation and quiet, cloudy days.

This is a really beautiful fruity grapefruit and cherry scent with a hit of ginger that lifts the spirits and brings a soft pinkish-gold glow to a cold, snowy day.

It does have a similarity to Hungry Ghost Moon, which is one of my three favorite Lunacy scents, though lacking the wood and resin base it fades rather quickly on me.

The cherry is not heavy and almondy the way cherries sometimes go, it remains very natural, though at times I'm reminded of having a mouth full of hard candy, glistening, wet and jewel-like.

My skin really absorbs scents like this without the wood or resin floating in the background to anchor it though so I will likely try to swap it for something more suited to my incense-lovin' skin.

ETA: After wearing this for awhile and taking some more sniffs of it, Infatuation really is an apt name because it's really weaving a spell around me. It's such a rich, deep, sparkling fruit. Not the glittering frosted sugar of Treat #1, this is a much deeper and juicier fruit, with the florals interweaving beautifully. Now I'm finally getting some of the darker grape notes beneath the bright pink grapefruit, blood-red cherry and a touch of that pale yellow verbena. It's really hard to stop sniffing this. I wish it lasted longer....maybe in a locket?

My first whiff of this is a dreamy breath of a light, sweet resin and curled pale wood chips. I think of wood shop, actually -- white wood raising a cloud of powdery pale dust and the faint aroma of burning.

As it dries on my skin it sweetens though and the note I recognize clearly from Dr. John Seward comes out...that must be the opium smoke. It smells for a bit just like Seward, actually, but the pale woods and clear resinous smell kicks back in. I'm not sure exactly what blonde tobacco smells like but I feel like that must be the kind in this because all I can think about are the palest golden woods.

I'm imagining monsters gathered in an old library poring over stacks of books, spectacles poised on the ends of beaks and proboscises, pipes hanging loosely between fangs as coils of smoke laze through the room.

Arachnina boasts my favorite bottle art in the bunch -- a redheaded spider with a thing for PVC? I can't wear heels, but I identify with the rest! I had to get this for that image, and for the black currant, red/black musk and patchouli. I was hoping that it would be deep, thick red earthy berry scent with a rush of incensy musk.

Of course, I was aware that poppy and lilies are the two-headed beast of perfume headache on me and that is in fact what I get upon first opening the bottle. Very perfumey, with the floral and musk doing twin guitar solos while the deeper notes play bass solemnly in the background. I braved the perfumey rush though and as it dries down, the currant and patchouli do come out a bit, and the currant raises its voice in a surprisingly upbeat song. It ends up as a berry-like perfume with a slight grit to it in the background...kind of like how in Death on a Pale Horse, the patchouli becomes the dark soil at the bottom of a clear stream.

Arachnina is honestly a bit too feminine and reminiscent of traditional perfume for me but I can see wearing her with a red, black and white outfit -- maybe with the buckle and strappy corsety PVC thing I just bought. I might have to keep her around for those occasions.

The artwork on this one just delights me so much -- it smells just like it looks! I imagine a clearing in a dark jungle, with these laughing, tattooed figures leaping over flames. While it doesn't smell like the GC scent Jezirat al Tennyn, it reminds me of it with the way it combines the forces of heat/flame with humid, dark greenery, the impression of hot stones and tropical flora.

In the bottle it is deep and swirling, with clove throbbing in the foreground among a heady blast of Spanish moss and a rich mixture of woods. If you've smelled the single note, you'll recognize its heady, damp aroma -- it tends to give me a bit of a headache so I have to go easy on this one.

On my skin, it's like a horde of cackling little demons have been let loose and are running up and down my arm. Strong clove and a blast of pepper are almost too much for my sinuses, so I think I put a little too much on. But it is tempered by the smooth sweetness of amber and grounded by patchouli, which does not step out on its own but just gently calms things down in the background with its earthy tones.

It's a bit on the masculine side, in that woody-spicy way, but I mostly wear masculine scents so that works...this is something that, if someone else were wearing it, I'd want to get closer to them. It smells a little dangerous, but inviting. If I went out I'd say it would be good to wear to a club, but for my purposes it's a nice warming scent on a cold winter night.

Oh and also the red-skinned figures with horns and tails remind me of Hellboy, so I'd better keep this one around to wear when the next movie comes out!

My standard disclaimer, as always, is that Snake Oil normally does not work on me. Play-doh city. With that in mind, Temple Viper is phenomenal. There is none of the plasticky clay scent that regular SO inspires on my flesh, it's just pure, gorgeous, sweet resins. Glittering globs of amber- and tea-colored incense crystals, dusted with sugar and glistening by candlelight.

I can smell frankincense and champaca right off the bat, with a marvellous crystalline sugar coating. The shadows of Snake Oil in the background are all of the elements that DO work on me and none of the ones that don't. It's not hippie store incense, it's not new age store, it's...a tent in a marketplace shrouded in smoke pouring out of bronze censers, piles of golden silks and goblets of rich, thick spicy amber liquid.

I wish this was in incense form actually but I think that on my skin it will have the same effect, without the smoke. This is what I always wished Snake Oil could be on me and now I have it!

This is so freaking good. Do you have any idea how freaking good this it? It's really freaking good.

As I will probably mention in all of my Snake Pit reviews, I am not a big fan of Snake Oil. But I really don't smell much of it in this -- just the most strong, delicious, sweet mint I have ever smelled. It's utter bliss. This isn't the toothpastey mint that seems to plague me in other blends...this is a strong, sweet, bold blast of fresh mint touched with a splash of green earl grey. It goes right up your sinuses and does a little green dance.

The Snake Oil element simply makes this bold, sweet and long-lasting. People around me can't get enough of it. There's a similarity to mint chocolate chip or thin mints, but without the chocolate. The sweetness is still there, but it's not a cloying, sticky foody sort of sweetness.

This is my favorite mint scent ever, and bodes well for the rest of the Snake Pit. As it dries, the mint calms down and the tea/bergamot comes out a little bit, but it dries down much like other vanilla blends do on my skin, which is a little sweet and a little spicy.

Also, I love the green snake on the bottle!

The softest, sweet, pale dusty sandalwood, sprinkled with flower petals and warmed with honey. Powdered incense at first, but it grows in strength in minutes as soon as it hits my skin.

For a little while it reminds me of Lotus Moon without the lotus -- in other words, that faintly sweet dry woody pine and amber with a touch of a sandalwoody rose. But then the powdered honey note kicks in and sends this into the stratosphere.

It becomes a gorgeous, pale woody honey incense, shot through with a hint of incensy floral. Very pure, quiet and calming -- I would think soft incense was burning in the room if I walked past someone wearing this. I don't know what the individual notes are, from reading the description, but I imagine pale and fragrant woods, with sandalwood taking the center stage, and maybe a touch of resin (I thought I smelled something like frankincense for a moment).

With just a few minutes' wear I can already see this heading for my favorites list!

eta: Drydown hours later, sandalwood and resins seem to be lingering beautifully...I would swear one of my favorite resins is in there, maybe frankincense but a little lighter. I keep getting wafts of it and it just keeps getting better!

The Great He-Goat!

I like dark scents and I love vetiver, so I love that one -- but of the "dark" scents that I find unsettling I'd say Czernobog is the darkest.