helarctos

Cold Moon is divine. I'm glad I felt greedy the day it came out, and ordered two bottles. It definitely captures the essence of chill. The sweetness is reminiscent of Skadi, I agree with other posters; but whereas Skadi smelled almost pineapple-like on me, Cold Moon is strongly floral and doesn't allow the fruit scents to get syrupy sweet. There is a note of greenery in it. One of my absolute favorites.

I was all ready for Kweku Anansi to smell like pepper. I'd read the reviews. In the vial, it did smell like pepper to me. Then I put it on and asked my husband to sniff my perfumed wrist. He took a whiff and I was expecting him to say it smelled like pepper. Instead, he thought for a moment, then said, "You know, that smells like poinsettias." And I sniffed it, and sure enough, it did. (There were no poinsettias around to influence this, either -- it was the Kweku Anansi only, for sure.) Odd result. I never thought poinsettias had much of a scent to them, either, fwiw. ETA: I wonder if this particular imp needs to age longer. Will re-try in a few months.

In the bottle, it smelled like a strong but standard winter mix of pine and berries. Don't give up yet! When I put it on, a warm sweet scent developed. The closest thing to which I can liken this addition is pineapple, of all things. Stays yummy all day, too.

I just got my first taste of Tears from an eBayer, and now that I've experienced it, I'm really sad that it's been discontinued. On me it does smell aquatic, but not ocean-y, and not green. It has a warm floral undertone that grounds the scent and recalls the mourner to the living world. This would be in the running for my signature scent if it weren't discontinued.

On me, Empyreal Mist smells like a spring bouquet, with an added fruity note. We can't place the fruit; the closest guess so far is my husband's suggestion of honeydew melon. Unlike some other forum members I don't get a whiff of lemon from Empyreal Mist, which is an unexpected pleasant surprise since the other lemony scents I have tried so far (Eidolon, Namaste) have fairly screamed lemon on me. I may need a big bottle of this one.

Spellbound was predominantly rose on me -- but the kind of rose that could prick your finger and send you into 100 years' sleep. A languorous scent -- not good for workdays.

Titania is overwhelmingly sweet and fruity. It smells the way that a newly opened carton of juice concentrate smells. The strength of the fruit scent combines with the floral notes to make this a surprisingly heavy perfume. Too strong for me.

Roses upon roses, with an undertone that is either earthy or woody -- it's hard to tell among all the roses. The Empress is mature and confident. The earthy/woody component keeps the scent from becoming a swoon of floral romance; the blend as a whole is very grounded. It also keeps the rose scent from turning to baby powder on my skin, which other rose scents tend to do.

Strength -- Initially, a green, spicy floral. It puzzles the nose. Dries down to a sweet amber. The lion on the front of the bottle reminds me of the lion in Iwein (Middle High German translation of Chretien de Troyes's Yvain) -- the lion becomes Iwein's companion, always has his back in a fight, and at one point almost commits suicide when he thinks Iwein has fallen dead. This oil Strength carries me like the lion, bringing me through trials (in today's case, an exam!). I'm so glad to have a big bottle of this oil.

So. So. Lemony. It smells like lemon Trix cereal on me. Not what I was expecting from the name of the scent. It took a while to be able to smell the cedar, but the lemon remains overpowering. ETA: I have now learned that the Lab's verbena invariably turns to an artificial-lemon scent on me. It's just the curse of my skin chemistry.

On me, Greed smells divine. I don't get the metallic or the acrid scents that some others have mentioned in this thread. The patchouli submits to the copal and oakmoss; the heliotrope blends it all together for a lingering sweetness. It's the first BPAL scent that has led my husband to ask "What's that scent you're wearing?" When I told him it was Greed, he said that was an odd name for it. It didn't smell like greed at all to him. I think the oakmoss may be what makes this smell very good for me. There is a Meditation blend made by Dynamo House that I love, which has oakmoss in it.

On me, the jasmine and lemon in Venice just seem to curdle one another. They smelled almost like neroli, which is terrible on me. Hours wore away the strength of that scent and left an unremarkable floral blend. This one's not for me.

On me Tamora smells like heavy potpourri -- like the smell you get when you walk into a craft store like Michaels. (Well, not Michaels at Christmastime, but you get the idea.) That must be the vanilla and the peach. The peach manages both to be the loudest note and to smell almost unpeach-like, at least on me. If normal peach scents could be envisioned as a pastel color, think bright loud nectarine-colored peach for Tamora. The amber whispers beneath the peach yell. I can't smell any sandalwood, though. My husband likes this one, but I think it's going into the swap pile.

When I first put this on, it smelled like fruit snacks ! Then I smelled something like jasmine or honeysuckle, which developed more clearly into lotus. The fruit snacks phase didn't last very long. After a few hours, what remains is still delicious, and predominantly lotus.

Upon initial application: Strong scent of fruits, very sweet. No, wait -- maybe a floral scent mixed with something that smells like licorice (?) I keep second-guessing myself and taking another whiff off my wrist, and I keep getting that faint licorice smell. After awhile, I think I can detect cinnamon. The fruitiness wears off, on me, but that licorice whiff stays. A much more edible-type scent than I expected. I'm going to send this imp off to a friend who used to style herself the Scarlet Whore of Babylon, and see if it works differently with her skin

The initial scent is a blast of lemon zest. The lemon recedes into light woods, but never really goes away. The wood scents are not sweet on me, at all, so the scent is not cloying once that first shout of lemon fades, It smells like a Hindu monk has been polishing some wooden icons. On me, I am afraid it smells too much like I've been polishing floors. ETA: Now that I've read the other reviews in this thread, I think I ought to note that the floral smells that others have noted aren't coming out in Namaste for me. Just the lemon and the wood.

I really, really like Machu Picchu. Its first impression is the sweet smell of heavily ripe tropical fruits -- I think mango, papaya? maybe others. Soon a smoky incense mingles with the fruit scents. My preferred use for Machu Picchu thus far is to mix it up with baking soda a la andrabell's lazy girl bath soak recipe and retreat to the tub with a CD of Andean pipe music (mine is Kusicuna). A scent to be suffused in. If Machu Picchu were an animal, it would be a golden lion tamarin.

On my skin, Hemlock is a jumble of green scents: pine, lime, something tingly that I can't decide whether to call eucalyptus or mint. There seems to be a mellow undertone beneath the strong green scents -- something maybe floral? It doesn't smell as bitter as one would imagine Socrates' drink. I'd be most inclined to use this as a room spray rather than on my body.