Diana

I made some fake Spanked! a couple of imps of De Sade, about a 1/2-3/4 imp of Bengal, and a tiny dribble of Sin. Pretty close, I think. Spicy and leathery!

I got scared when I read a lot of "aquatic + lily" type of reviews. Thankfully that is not how it wears on me (I dislike lilies and most aquatic notes).

This goes on sweet. Not like candy or honey or sugar, but just not heavy or brooding or overly floral... with something else lurking. I think mainly on me this is a musk blend with just a hint of sweet frankinscense resin. It is sweet to the point that the musk smells more like the Egyptian variety rather than the White type. I'm sure there are flowers in here, but I'm not really picking them up at all (yay!).

This is cool and fresh and a surprise for me! I can see how someone would call this "aquatic," but it's more in the way it reminds me of water rather than how it smells. If that makes any sense!

For me this is mostly white rose. Just a touch of the resin ever comes through. This lasts all day and has average-good throw. If you're not a fan of rose, this is not for you.

The overall effect is that of sitting in an old medieval chapel filled with white, translucent roses in which the smell of incense lingers on every surface and cold stone wall.

It is mighty pretty. It's sweet & innocent, much like the concept of courtly love.

This one is very evocative. Like a past memory or life or something.

It's a honey-sweetened patchouli with just a hint of woodsy juniper. I can actually smell the beeswax at times. Sweetish, herbally. It's pretty and I am just not very eloquent today.

If you like the more "masculine" bpal scents, you should really give this a try.

Spicy Leather.

On me this is pretty much straight up cardamom and leather. I don't get bourbon. The patchouli is minimal. This is like Alone, but leather instead of dirt.

It doesn't seem to have much throw, nor does it seem to be particularly long lasting, which is a shame, because I like this. I love my 5mL and I will keep it, and hopefully with time the ingredients will strengthen and become longer-lasting.

I think I'm going to make a ghetto version of this with some DeSade & Sin in a rollerball in the meantime. Hahah.

In the bottle, it smells Nag Champa-ish. Resiny.

Wet, the sandalwood is the prominent note.

As it dries, it smells like spicy sandalwood incense. Just a touch of floral notes in the background. I love this blend!

This is similar to Snake Oil, but different enough. To me, Snake Charmer & Oil are almost identical. This has something more different.

Wet, it's like Snake Oil on a bender. Sweet, sexy, sugary, boozey.

Initial dry: something goes weird plastic-sour-playdoh. Gah. I put more on to cover it up.

More dry: ok MUCH better. It's the sweet, musky quality of Snake Oil with a lighter, fresher top note. I think as this ages, it's just going to get better and better. I'm stocking the hell up.

Graveyard Dirt = Dirty Dirt. It was a LE from last year, so kind of hard to get.

Zombi: Rosey Dirt

Alone (available until Friday): Spicy Dirt. Cardamom & Patchouli and dirt. This is one of my favorites.

Penny Dreadful: Gingery Dirt. I didn't like this one as much, but I think the ginger was off on me.

Burial: Piney Dirt.

Gluttony, definitely, and I'll second Red Lantern. It's SO YUMMY.

I was a bit scared of this one. Aside from having fantastic notes, it has opium in it. That note turns into screaming hell on me. But now that I've been wearing it all day, I can say with confidence that I'm SO SO SO glad this package got here before the Lupercalia scents went away, because I need another bottle of this STAT.

In the bottle: sweet & spicy. I can tell that there's caramel in there, but there's something sharper in the background, sort of perfumey-like.

Wet, on: HOLY HONKYBISCUITS. Rich, sweet caramel, luscious coconut and just a touch of the amber + tobacco notes. This is so sweet and sexy and naughty and yummy and I just want to drink it.

Initial dry: The caramel & coconut are still there, the tobacco gets a bit stronger and slightly overtakes the sweeter notes.

Drydown: just a hint of the drier golden notes and a wee tiny bit of sweetness. Absofuckinglutely beautiful!

Wet: Cinnamon & lavender. Weird combination, and not something I'd think of putting together.

Initial dry: still very lavendery with a hint of cinnamon.

Drydown: the cinnamon stays on as the prominent note, getting warmer & sweeter as it dries. The lavender fades away slowly, giving an overall clean-ish scent. It's oddly comforting and lovely. I could see this one getting a lot of wear.

Wet, this smells promising. Like there's a citrus-herbal base. Then it dries. It's jasmine. Not that I don't like jasmine in blends or in small amounts, but that's pretty much all I get out of this. In very large quantities. Ow.

Wet, this is mostly a cacophony of melons. Cantaloupe is strongest, and there is just the teensiest hint that there are other fruits in this.

As it wears, the other fruits come out to play. This is so sweet and juicy and fun and cute that it's like rolling around in a vat of Tropical Fruit Skittles. Smell the rainbow of fruit flavor!

YUM.

Let me start off by saying I was raised Catholic. I did 12 years of Catholic School. I'm familiar with the Swingin' Censor of Doom. Church never had it this good.

This is a warm, amazing resiny blend. This frankinsence (which I'm picking up as the main component here) is golden, almost sap-like. There's a nice sweetness to it, good throw, and all-day stamina.

This is nothing like the OMG I'M CHOKING DEAR JESUS HELP ME stuff they use at church. IT'S MUCH BETTER. Maybe if they used something closer to this, I'd still be Catholic!

This is a hard one to describe.

It reminds me a lot of pefumes my mom loves. I think I'm going to have to get her a bottle of this.

Going on, it does smell like a mineral of some sort; a cool stone-like quality.

It is sweet, but dry and fairly faint. I think there's sandalwood, musk, tonka and violet in this. But not sugary or foody. Musky and soft. Very feminine & pretty.

I'm at a loss for words today. If you've ever smelled Bill Blass Nude before, it reminds me a great deal of that. Skin, but better.

This is an unusual one.

It starts off slightly sweet with a slight touch of ozone, and something dark and mysterious and deep and brooding in the background. As it wears on, the dark note must be a resin (galbanum, I'm guessing!), with just a touch of the wood + ambergris. It's almost burnt smelling, but not in a bad way. Just something dark and foreboding, lurking. The sweet note, which is most likely the wine, doesn't totally disappear, but blends in more and more with the other notes as the day goes on. The ozone is almost undetectable now.

This is really hard to describe. It is really unusual, and slightly reminiscent of Lurid because of the ozone & sweet notes, but Lurid gone wrong. Beautifully done.

Hi wonderful forumites,

 

I'm hoping to find and oil to help me get through a rocky time. I'm not feeling sure of myself, not grounded or self-confident, and although I know an oil can't solve all my issues, I'm looking for something to help with my mind and emotions as I figure out how to get back on track. Something for strength, inner peace, confidence, or any combination of the three.

 

I am considering ordering, but haven't smelled yet:

High John the Conquerer

Tarot: Strength

Queen

White Light, when I'm able to get my hands on a TAL oil!

Queen made me feel super confident. It seemed to be mostly vetiver, which is not something I really enjoy, but it worked for me regardless. I like Water of Notre Dame as a calming potion. Plenty of the Voodoo oils seem to be for calming or fortification; grab a couple and experiment. They are easy enough to get in imps that you should be able to narrow down one that you find works the way you'd like it to.

White Light is an oil that really does require specific actions to be taken for it to work. It's not a "use as perfume and be swell" kind of oil. Most, if not all of the TALs are in the category of "magical use" not "perfume." If that still seems up your alley, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, if you can track some down!

You may also look into the Panacea blends. They are aromatherapy blends; use them by applying them and inhaling them, not necessarily wearing them as perfume, but you could do that. Moxie is great for confidence, Lustration or Succor might help with inner peace.

Some of my scents faves so far are: Snake Charmer and Snake Oil, Devil's Night, Hetairae, Morocco, Midway, Sudha Segara, Kumiho, Spirits of the Dead.

Wearing something that you love and treasure and you find to be a very "you" scent is also a great way to go! If it makes you smell good and that in turn lifts your spirit, I think that kind of achieves what you want.

Good luck!

This is one of those scents that just doesn't change much on my skin all day, other than fading over the course of several hours.

Apricot. The brandy is there, but it's mostly apricot. But the apricot is nice and sweet, but light. It's not syrupy, cloying or overpowering. It's lighter and more delicate than March Hare, which was a bit TOO fruity, if that's possible. The alcohol note makes it a little perfumey and almost drinkable. I can't drink this, right?

I think this is another keeper!

Are there any BPAL scents that smell like Pina Colada's - I got the urge to get something that smells like this the other day and wondered if BPAL did anything pinapple/coconutty!

 

Any ideas?

There isn't any one oil that has both pineapple & coconut in it, but Elegba might be a good one to try. It has coconut + rum.

So, what scent should I wear?

Heh. What have you got?

Something nice and elegant like Rose Red could work, if that's the statement you're looking to make.

Unless you want to be controversial and wear something like Shill.

I think it's really going to depend on your nose and your chemistry.

I totally agree with that sentiment!

On me, musk-based scents (Dorian, Snow White, Scherezade, Snake Oil, etc) tend to be the strongest & longest lasting. A lot of the spice/resin/woodsy scents are similar too (Lust, Sin, etc) in that regard.

#2/300

In the bottle & wet, I think the first thing I notice is the smell of Melissa. Very sharp lemony herbal smell. I love. There is an overlayer of sugar to this, it's almost like lemon wedges dipped in sugar, or like the wet stage of Spirits of the Dead: a very powdery lemon tea mix. There are a few herbal notes, which probably comprises the Dittany & angelica. I'm not getting any wormwood that I can tell. There is a soft underlayer of vanilla musk which reminds me greatly of Antique Lace/Morocco.

As it dries, the melissa becomes a little less evident, and there is more of a generic herbal undertone mixed with a vague honey smell. Now it smells like a triplet to Antique Lace & Morocco. The vanilla musk is really taking off at this point and it's hard not to see the resemblance. At least for me.

This is really quite lovely. Of course, I'd always say I wish the melissa/lemon note lasted longer, but that's the nature of a top note.

Time for Diana's wild stabs in the dark!

Does anyone know of a GC that's similar to Snow Moon? I am in love with Snow Moon and am tring to track down more bottles, but I would appreciate any GC reccomendations!

That's a tough one. The piney note in that I really only associate with other LEs like Skadi and Snow Bunny.

Thanatopsis is heavy on the piney, but it's not quite the same note, and the drydown is totally different. But it is very lovely! ;D

Someone absolutely loved the bottle of Flower Moon I gave them as a gift. Now they're asking me to point them towards something similar, but I'm stumped.

Flower Moon lists: tulip, daffodil, violet, dewdrop, rhododendron, iris, daisy, and a mix of California wildflowers. There aren't really any with quite this same combination, though.

Tulip: try Amsterdam

Eos to me smells like tulips + daffodils

Maybe Veil? A quiet scent, soft, calm and enigmatic. A perfume of mystery, of whispers, and of secrets behind secrets. White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang.

I'll have to sniff my bottle again and see if it reminds me of anything.

#2/300!

OH HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. <--- that pretty much sums up my entire review.

Wet; this smells dizzyingly fruity & incensey & spicy and even vaguely leathery, though there is no leather note. I swear it smells like cinnamon + cherry incense. klfdshag!

Drying: ok it's not cherry it's plum, DUH. The scent becomes a little less outstading. The sandalwood & floral notes come up to the foreground. It's a sweetened sandalwood, slightly flowery (not bad AT ALL), slightly dusty and powdery.

This is sexy sandalwood with a spicy kick. It is so beautiful and right up my alley. I'm glad this came in a 10mL bottle, and now I'm contemplating another!

I spilled. So might as well review it. I've got Holiday Moon on one arm and Fee on the other.

Wet: mmmm. melon. Honeydew, fresh, wet, succulent, juicy. Holy crap this smells so REAL.

Drydown: the melon note dies down a lot but doesn't entirely go away. It picks up a sugary, creamy smell. Almost like a very light caramel. This is my childhood summers, sitting on the porch after being in the pool, eating melons in the sun. Not flowery at all. Just sweet and yummy.

This is total perfection. PLEASE BRING THIS BACK.