couscous

Wow. Talk about a surprise! I was running late this morning when I'd heard that New York was FINALLY going to get spring sunshine for more than one isolated day in a row, so I was frantic to find a floral scent for the occasion. I don't own many, being a resin girl, but I spotted the imp of Machu Picchu, which came as a gift in my recent order. Two unsniffed seconds later it was on me. I metaphorically crossed my fingers and hoped it wasn't so sickening that I'd get a migraine at work. Not only did I not get a headache, but I also didn't get "sensory overload" like I do with a lot of florals. In fact, I could smell this one for hours on end! It's one of the nicest scents Beth has ever done. Honestly- it's creamy and so, so slightly fruity (green melons and watermelon?), with a bit of green grass and that lovely, lovely amber base. I got a compliment on it right off the bat, and my subway trip in hasn't been such an olfactory orgasm since the very first days of discovering bpal. It doesn't last too long, which is a real shame, but I can live with that. It's just so pretty. I love this one. I'm going to have to buy a bottle right away (and before spring ends, since this one is highly seasonal). I might have known this one would be good- the wanderlusts always are for me. Highly recommended for nearly everyone.

This one wasn't too boozy on my skin, actually. It was rather syrupy, a little spicy- but not very rum-like. Oh, well. I wasn't hoping for that, anyway. Truth be told, I was hoping for a more complicated Obatala, since Obatala is my Gold Standard for coconuts, and I'm always going to be on the lookout for something similar but more strongly concentrated. I thought for sure that UpaUpa would fill that niche. It didn't, of course- but only upa Upa is too different to be compared. It's got a lot of elements from scents you may know and love, of course (I can totally see the Elegba comparison), but it's very clearly a "new" scent. It's got coconut, spices, and just a hint of pineapple on me, but the combined effect is very butterscotch, very...grog. yep. A spicier Grog. As it dries (and it's got insanely long lasting power, by the way), the spices come out more and more, as is to be expected. Now it actually smells more colada-like, as the sweetness gets tamed and overtaken a bit. The coconut in this is not watery and refreshing like in Obatala, and it's not decadent and meaty like in Eden, but it's very candy-coated and happy and fun, and it makes my skin smell like a million different desserts- all of which I wanted to seek out and devour while wearing it. Upa Upa may not be good for the diet, but it's so perfect for the beginning of summer, and I love it. If you've spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out a way to stick a paper umbrella into your morning coffee without being made fun of by your coworkers, then ....you really need to run out and hunt some of this down NOW.

This one really is heavy on the juniper, so be prepared. In my case, I'm thankful that it is, because the juniper in this has given me an earth scent I can wear and love- my very first! I can't wear pine-y scents at all, and a lot of bpal's "earth" notes end up too loamy on my skin, so I've been locked out of a lot of otherwise amazing creations. This is perfect for me- medicinal, harsh, and yet comforting all at the same time. Something you hold up to another person's nose, and they hate it, and you laugh and wear it anyway because you adore the way you smell and feel. That's what this is like- a scent you wear for you and you alone. I almost smell like a eucalyptus plant, but I mean that in the best, most compulsively-arm-sniffing way. It dries down to a slightly pine (slight enough that i still love it) patchouli blend, with spice. A masterpiece of suggestion. You can't NOT think of earth when you wear this one!

I think Hurricane completes my BPAL vetiver collection. What a wonderful road it has been, but I'm sad that this wonderful scent was so far down on my list of priorities. I think I was scared off by the "China Rain" notes. China Rain was a popular car air freshener scent in my neighborhood growing up Wet: A bit of cucumber-like sweetness, a bit of baby powder, some sandalwood maybe? oh, and of course- vetiver's signature motor oil smell. So awesome. As it dries, vetiver does its usual morph into sweet dry wood, and the baby powder turns into a very light rain smell. All four of these guys (Hurricane, Burial, Undertow, and Inferno) are highly evocative, and they hit their respective targets dead-center. One of Beth's great early creations, not to be missed!

Masquerade has one of the most perfect scent names. You can't smell this without immediately thinking "festive"! It's sparkling, almost effervescent orange and neroli, with spicy carnations and deep patchouli backing it and giving it depth. Very fruit punch and incense, almost like an infinitely more wearable Fortunato. I'll be wearing this one around holiday time- if beth had made this into a yule LE, she wouldn't be able to keep it in stock .

How could I have not reviewed this one? Bad couscous! Blood Amber was one of my earliest BPAL loves. It will be some time before I can wear it again, but I'll always, ALWAYS love it. I had just gotten into the obsession, and I was extremely enthusiastic. I adored the Dragon's Blood series (still do), and Blood Amber was simple, syrupy sweet in the best possible way, and drop dead sexy when it dried. It was one of the scents I'd suggest for newbies who are trying to identify notes and figure out what they like, since Blood Amber's listed notes are surprisingly easy to identify, and it was one of my first 10ml purchases. I loved Blood Amber. I love it so much, in fact, that I almost stopped working through thre bpal catalouge right then and there, convinced that I'd found my signature scent.I wore this everywhere. With many applications. Many heavy handed applications. Within a month or so, my nose had gotten so used to Blood Amber that I needed to bathe in it just to get my "fix". I went through a 10ml in about a month, applied it 4 times a day, must have reeked to High heaven, and have been too saturated to go back to it since. Heed my warning. Keep a light hand with this one, but enjoy it! It's such a wonderful addition to the DBR family.

A bit of a disclaimer: If you know you hate ozone or mints, or even masculine scents in general, then this underrated scent doesn't really have much of an advantage going out of the gate. Cathode has moss and three mints listed in the notes section. Did anyone NOT expect this one to be at least a little reminiscent of shaving products? If you find this association completely repulsive, I’m afraid there's only a slim-but-definite chance that Cathode will be the exception to the rule. If you're like me, however, and don't mind an exceptionally clean, bordering-on-medicinal herbal to break up an endless parade of vanilla variations, you're in for a nice surprise. Cathode goes on very lemony and minty at first- very "clean", with an unidentified ozone quality. I say "quality" because Beth’s pure ozones go almost universally fabric-softener on me, and this one does not. It keeps the airy feeling, but no fabric softener so far. I also don't get any medicinal impressions, but I can see how some might with the rioght chemistry. On me, however, it remains a bracingly cool mint for a good hour or so (think The Fool from Beth's tarot series), while the moss mercifully behaves and doesn’t turn it too tweedy As it dries, Cathode's natural sweetness comes through more and more. It's a very light sweetness - is there lotus in here somewhere, or is this that sweet ambergris base? Very nice, very much like Green Tree Viper with respect to the sweet mint quality. Subtle and, actually, very pretty. Cathode doesn't dry masculine on me at all! It's very delicate. If you liked Green Tree Viper, The Fool, are a fan of herbals (particularly Beth's Saint Germain), or a fan of expensive soap, don't be afraid to try Cathode. It's lovely, and perfect for the summer season!

YUM! Bay rum and a Tobacco that I can actually wear and love for hours! No headaches! Santo Domingo is wearable but highly masculine cologne, a sharp and spicy salt blend. If there are flowers in here, they don't want to come hang out with me. I'm getting all bay rum and ocean salt, with an almost impreceptible spicy backdrop of pipe smoke. It may smell a bit old-fashioned at times- very "perfume", but this is a good thing in my book. I like perfumes that smell like perfume- like someone took the time and acquired the expertise to colbie elements- and I love men's fragrances on women, so Santo Domingo and I are going to get along fine. Santo Domingo will work on anyone who loved Old Spice as a kid, or anyone who hears the review "too soapy" and wonders how smelling like soap could EVER be a bad thing. I really enjoyed it.

I like myrrh well enough, and I like Jasmine, too- but this was a bit too much. It smells pretty- dark and church-like- but it gave me a headache like I haven't experienced since the earliest days of trying too much BPAL at once. I agree with those who say that it reminds them of Penitence- it really does, except it has a double-shot of florals that is just too, too much for me. Like Youth Dew, but BATHING in Youth Dew. If this scent behaves on you, it's going to smell gorgeous and sophisticated and very "different" considering what's currently selling in commercial perfumes- but Nyx is very picky about who can wear her, apparently- and she will make your life miserable if you can't!

I am almost ready to cower in shame about this because I have declared my hatred for the genre in the past, but...I think I may really like fruity scents! At least...i really like Beth's fruity scents. I loved Fire Pig, and I love Earth Rat, too- even though both are some of the most unabashedly fruity concoctions I've ever worn. They are the scents of celebration, all right- youthful gourmands with just enough exotic appeal to bring them out of the realm of shampoos. Fire Pig was very much lychee on me, with a bit of dragon's blood. The effect was refreshing and tart, and I miss that from this year's outing. Earth Rat doesn't have a lot of sharp edges, and is probably less of an "interesting" scent than the wonderful Fire Pig. However, what Earth Rat lacks in complexity is balanced by what it has in spades- wearability. It's almost all melon- instantly recognizable to both the wearer and the people around them, and it fades to...softer melon, with maybe a bit of coconut, soft as the taste of shaved ice. I get NO sweet headache from it, but it's got serious throw and quite a bit of lasting power, too! I couldn't wear this every day, because I suspect i'd get bored and oversaturated quickly, but it's a really wonderful surprise- and, truly, a lovely scent. I don't think people will need to hoard 4 or 5 bottles of this stuff, but nearly everyone should try and hunt down one.

I'm an insane fan of vetiver, so there's the rub here. If you hate vetiver and always have, this scent won't change your mind. Don't even buy it or try it. However, if you LOVE Beth's vetiver the way I do- or even tolerate it- this scent is flippin' fantastic. It goes on (from a combination of vetiver and leater, I suspect) smelling like pure motor oil-totally dirty in the way you'd imagine Anchorman's "sex panther" to be. As it dries, however, it becomes almost unbearably sexy and, yes, feral. In fact, I can't think of a time when I've smelled so aggressively sexed. This scent is hyper-masculine on its own, but the effect on female chemistry produces hyper-femininity instead. I could live in this scent. Wonderful job, Beth!!

The first thing that hits you about EDdR is how strongly cocoa it is. I didn't get anything else from the first twenty minutes of wear except the chocolate note, and that chocolate has got some serious throw. I put on my normal amount and immediately felt horrible for my family, because you could smell nothing else but me from about 30 paces around!! Super strong, really long-lasting stuff. Luckily, I loved this cocoa stage, so I didn't mind at all. Unfortunately, the coffee note came out after about two hours and took OVER- and the scent was still going strong! The coffee read as sickening sweetened hazelnut flavored creamer on my skin, and it became so heady that I actually felt ill. In the blink of an eye, I got TOO much of a good thing, and I couldn't escape. There was a cloud of El Dia De Reyes following me around all morning, without letting up for a split second! Not good for me at all, and this is why I can't really wear foody scents too often. They just get to be too much. Too sweet, too thick...just too much. Still, don't be afraid of this one if you're on the fence about it. If you are interested in El Dia de Reyes, you probably already know that chocolate and coffee are going to work on you, so you shouldn't have any problems, right? Just use a muchlighter hand if you're a slatherer, and you should be good to go. If you know by the notes listed that this will probably NOT be good on you, however, don't kid yourself and think that Beth added some magical mystery X factor that will suddenly make this one instance of (insert problem note here) work on you. This is a straightforward, true-to-life gourmand, and it delivers exactly what it promises. Chocolate, Cinnamon, Coffee, in that order. Prepare to get foodified!

Ivanushka smells like Buck Moon and White Light's little baby boy! The scent, which you can barely smell until you put it on your skin, has inherited White Light's unidentified, effervescent floral note- kind of lilac, kind of cotton blossom, but neither one of those- and pairs it with an extremely sheer musk (which you can only identify as such because you smell something kind of skin-like). The main top is rounded out by the slightest- and I mean slightest- touch of snow slush. If you just "checked out" when you read my mention of snow slush- don't! Trust me! I don't like the pine slush notes, and I love Ivanushka . It smells light, pure, and virtuous, and I got compliments on it as soon as I put it on. Beth, this was such an unexpected treat! Thank you so much!! P.S.- As an added aside, this bottle has the most beautiful doe artwork I've ever seen. Gorgeous.

I don't like Rose notes. At all. I'm not sure why, but I suspect it has to do with the fact that my mother let me play with a bottle of Tea Rose perfume when I was a kid, and the house smelled like a Cloying Bouquet of Doom for what seemed like months afterward. Since then, it always seems too heady, too cloying, and much, much too old. However, I'm a libra, and you can't really "do" Libra without rose. It's in the archetype. I expected it, so it doesn't bother me at all that Libra keeps that rose as the overpowering front-runner through the entire lengtth of wear. I figure I'll suck it up and wear it to honor my birth sign, even if I don't really like it. Other people who smell it on me seem to like rose quite a bit, so what the hell do I know, right? Still- if you absolutely cannot do rose- particularly this powdery (honeyed?) rose instead of something greener and sharper- then don't even consider tracking Libra down. If you can stand rose, however, Libra has some nice little surprises tucked away for you, like a genuinely lush and not-at-all medicinal cherry opener, and that unmistakable hint of carnation towards the end, with more than a nod in Alice's general direction to close. Libra is a sweet floral, unabashedly feminine and pretty, and it moves into a linear direction of top-middle-drydown. If you want to track changes in a scent over time but have found it too difficult for your nose, Libra lays it all out for you. Very clear stages for the sign of equality and balance. I'm a huge fan of carnation (that poor, underappreciated little fower!), so i would have liked more of that note up front. I am also slightly surprised that Beth didn't make more of an effort to keep Libra gender-neutral, seeing as how one of the most famous labbies is a libra male. Still, this is all beauty and luxury, and it feels very, very Venusian. Well done!

October opens up smelling just like the Rat King, then it starts smelling exactly like Irish Spring soap with a touch of smoke. I'm not joking- get a bar and see for yourself! After about an hour, you can almost smell something twig-like- but you have to try hard and know to look for it, and that doesn't really count. If the suggestion of Red Leaves and sap were meant to be here, they did not translate over at all. Maybe this needed something to weigh it down-make it feel a little heavier? Maybe something remotely chilly to duplicate the change in the air? I'm disappointed by the fact that this smells far too generic to be worthy of such an amazing month- or to live up to its wonderful copy. Having said that, though, I actually like masculine scents quite a bit, and I like October, too. I'm not going to swap it, and I'll wear it happily and often. It feels clean and warm, and it doesn't suffer from the craft-store plague that so many autumnal scents (not Beth's, usually) seem to have these days. I'm always annoyed to discover that the candles and body products of my favorite season always smell like cheap and cloying pie spice . Kudos to Beth for going in another direction entirely, but this needed something more. Buy this if you liked Rat King, obviously, but also if you liked some of the pirate aquatics. October is not an aquatic, but it keeps the clean and soapy feel of one.

I don't know whether I like this one or not. It's certainly fruity- peachy and strong lychee fruit, mostly- and, normally, this would fall under the heading of "too much of a good thing" for me. In fact, when I smell it in the bottle, I ask myself: "why am i wearing this , YET AGAIN? I don't even really like it that much!" Then I slather some more on without a second thought I nearly went through my bottle in record time on this one for two main reasons: One: Fire Pig has a pronounced "bitter rind" smell to go along with the fruit (or maybe it's Yuzu?) , and I find the scent completely fascinating because of it; and Two: Fire Pig is unbelievably festive, so perfect for Chinese New Year, and so quintessentially "Asian" without using any bamboo or tea notes. I can't resist. It's just too damned dead-on. File this one under triumph of evocation. It's exotic, cheery, and perhaps overly ripe at times- but that just adds to its charm. I really, really liked Fire Pig, and I hope Beth liked it enough to keep the idea going for next year. This one was a joy to wear.

This one, while boasting some of the best artwork ever, was a huge miss in terms of scent. Imagine snowblind with an incredibly amped up vanilla, to the point of being nearly butterscotch, and you have a fair idea of how this one smells. Snowblind can hardly be improved upon in my book, and it would be an understatement to say that I am oversaturated on vanilla, so I was sort-of doomed to dislike this one by the sheer power of scent memory alone. In fact, the only thing I could have possibly asked for in a "snowblind sister" was a more generous helping of cool mint- much like the fantastic LickIt. Unfortunately, Tokyo Stomp went in the other direction and amped up the candy aspects instead of the mintiness, and it became much too cloying. It's super strong, too, and I felt ridiculous wearing it. It's just... too sweet for me. The sweetness will be a wonderful thing for many people, though-and for ultra-foody lovers, Tokyo Stomp is a must-try. Personally, I'll stick with Eat Me for my gourmand fix, and LickIt for my mint rush- at least until snowblind comes back around

A couple of boos and hisses for this Red Moon. Too much orange...blossom (where's my orange peel??), and way way WAY too much amber and heliotrope -on my skin, anyway. What a disaster, because this one...this is the one I REALLY REALLY REALLY thought was going to be 100 percent "me". My body had other plans. I smelled nearly nothing in the vial, got a few precious seconds of dragon's blood at the beginning and that lovely, unmistakable BPAL red musk on the drydown, but everything in between was sickening orange creamsicle and baby powder. It smelled waaaay too thin and sweet- and quite cheap. I'm a bit bummed that both Red Moon and Dragon Moon's DBR notes were tempered and watered down so horribly by lesser components. So frustrating for a fan of the single note! This blend lost the essence of the resin and gave little in return- nothing sharp and unexpected, no grounding warmth, no life. The tart orange would have been a huge help if it came out on me, as would the marigold or other dusty/spicy flowers, but...what can I say? None of them showed at my party. Thankfully, even though BPAL's "Fire" and "Sun" themed scents are almost universally terrible on me thanks to either heliotrope or cassis, there are plenty of scents in the GC to give me that "Red" feeling. If Red Moon doesn't work for you, either, all is not lost. Try the awesome Ars Draconis line, the wonderful red musk in Spellbound, any of Beth's fantastic "Blood" scents...or, better still, hunt down the criminally underrated Litha for a sophisticated take on a fire theme.

Well...this is an easy enough review to write! STRAIGHT WHISKEY. It does, eventually, dry down to a hazelnut coffee-type loveliness, but there are no other surprises here. It is exactly what it claims to be. As for whether he works as a perfume or not- I think Sweeney is the best of the carousel I've tried so far. I love it straight, and I'm sure I'll love it layered, too. I smell like an Irish pub, but without the vomit. Who wouldn't adore smelling like that? Mad Sweeney is a slightly depraved, slightly elegant, and infinitely original perfume, and I'm sure I'll be getting a second bottle at some point. Love it, love it, love it.

I doubt very much that one exists, at least in the GC, but today I smelled the most amazing toasted sesame seed smell coming from... an unidentified source. It was definitely a perfume and not a massage oil, because a massage oil couldn't possibly have that much throw- could it? In any case, it smelled woody and clean and just gorgeous overall, and so I'm curious to see if Beth has ever created a seed-like smell, intentionally or otherwise. If not, she definitely should- this was dead sexy.

Thanks all! I figured I would have run into a "sesalicious" blend by now if one existed. I wish I knew which anonymous person in the office smelled so good, or had the balls to ask around so I could figure out what they were wearing. If I smell it again, I'll be sure to find out *shakes fist* In the meantime, I'm going to look into the massage oil thing- and keep it refrigerated, of course. Thanks so much!

Midnight Mass and Sesame sounds WONDERFUL!!!

This is all light fruit and amber on me- very simple, very beautiful, in every sense of the word. Not too cloying, not too resinous, but very sweet and just a tiny, tiny bit dark. Persephone never worked on me, so I'm thrilled that Proserpine seems to be a more amicable sort. The only problem with this is that it stays all of 30 minutes on my skin. Come back! Come back!

I only got a bit of cinnamon out of this, if at all. In the vial, it smells like one of the worst BPALs you could ever imagine- almost exactly like barbecue sauce. No; I'm not kidding. You have to be extraordinarily brave to put this on your skin at any time other than a day when you know you'll be staying in, because if the color doesn't turn you off (this has got to be the most saturated red in the catalouge), the initial smell will. Peppered to the extreme. Like to the beginning stages, which are so vetiver-intense that even I, a staunch defender of the note, have a bit of trouble sticking it out. A bit of patience, though- about 20 minutes- and I'm left with that gorgeous, light lilac dragon's blood note combined with woody, earthy, wonderfully gritty vetiver. It's so refreshing, because there's nothing sticky sweet, chemically "fresh n' fruity", or decadently "foody" about this one. Serpent's Kiss is straight ahead warmth and dirt, and what a welcome change it is. I never bought a 5ml of this oil, because it bears a strong-ish resemblance to Bloodlust and blood kiss (to a lesser extent), and I already had blood kiss. I wouldn't start out on this one if you don't already know how vetiver behaves on you- but if you enjoyed either bloodlust or blood kiss, plus tintagel or three witches or another spicy scent, give this one a try. Serpent's Kiss calms down quite nicely!

Carceri smelled in the imp of pepper and powdery sweetness- almost a cassia-like sweetness, or perhaps an herbal blend along the lines of Anubis. On the skin, the pepper bite fades quickly, and I'm left with a frankincense and red sandalwood blend- one dry and one sweet playing around with each other and switching up the driver's seat. In the air surrounding me, it's very "church-like" rather than true forest wood- Penitence, Cathedral, and Midnight Mass fans (I count myself among you) know this general quality quite well and can imagine it without any trouble. It's only when I press my nose right up against my wrist that I smell the elusive fruitiness others have spoken of. I don't know what it is, though- maybe pomegranate, or Shango's deep red apple? Perhaps it's a very cleverly placed amber that reads as fruit? When it dries, after about an hour, I smell a tobacco that hasn't been used in any other tobacco blend I've tried. I recognize it because I still have nightmares over Dia de Los Muertos, and this blend has that pleasant smoke quality I liked so much in DDLM without the terrible, splitting headache I had to endure to be able to have it on my skin. YAAAAAY! It's a variation on the stronger, dominant BPAL pipe smoke I'm used to, and it's so much easier to wear. This is a lovely blend. The only real drawbacks for me include a slightly waxy quality I can't really pin down, and the fact that I have this scent niche already well-represented in my collection. Still, fans of the "genre" should absolutely try this one for an enjoyable, surprisingly light variation on classic resins.