HappyLoveJoy

Right off the bat this conjures an image of a pond filled with pale blue sugar water infused with tiny blue flowers with the moonlight reflected on it. I'm getting a sweet and buttery vanilla musk blended with a variety of flowers, grasses and herbs. I know I've mentioned sweetness already, but I have to say that this becomes even sweeter as I wear it. It's velvety and not at all sharp and also has something in common with Chaste Moon, though I don't know what it is exactly. To me, Buck Moon is Chaste Moon's little brother. I love this so much!

O is _the_ ultimate sexy scent. It's like honey and smooth creamy coconut cream drizzled with sweet amber syrup. Somehow the vanilla comes across as coconut to me. This is warm, sweet, intoxicating and incredibly aphrodesiacal. It has incredible throw that emanates from me like honeyed steam infused with pheromones. And let me not forget to mention that this smells like s-e-x. I love it so much, but it makes me a little self-conscious when I wear it in public because I feel like I'm naked and everyone can see my intimate soul. I think wearing "O" can cause others to mistakenly assume that I've just had, you guessed it, sex.

I have been fooling myself by thinking that I could live without a bottle of Gomorrah and just have an imp on hand. Gomorrah is so much more beautiful on me than Intrigue though they're somewhat similar. Gomorrah is a rich and full bodied fig with a pleasantly dark and sweet smokiness. I get something woody or peppery also, I'm guessing it's the black herbs and they add a lovely sweet earthiness. It has amazing throw and seems to get stronger and richer as time goes on. There is something so fresh and clean among this dark, ripe fruit; an almost lemon creaminess which is most likely the black currant. Mysteriously sexy and both rich and deep, fresh and bright.

Nocnitsa would be worth trying. It goes on very pine-y at first and then dries down very quickly to a sweet and fruity pine. It becomes a much softer pine but it's still quite nice. Skadi would definitely be wonderful too.

Chaste Moon. It's an instant mood lifter for me.

In the bottle, Chaste moon smells like a watery caramel with a tart candy sniff as well as a touch of mint. When I put it on it explodes into a most beautiful floral that has a creaminess as well as something tart that reminds me of Smarties candies; not any particular fruit scent but just that general tart candy smell. The mint disappears entirely. I am left with this bright yet creamy floral that is also tart and sweet. Up to this point I honestly have never smelled anything so gorgeous in my life. It has incredible staying power and even though it'll eventually fade, every stage of it is a beautiful as the first. Bravo Beth!

Tarot Oil: The Star- Smells like Junior Mints with a vanilla cream center. I'm getting none of the coconut I've read about, though I wish I did. This starts off like a medicinal mint---like a teeny tiny touch of Listerine. Then it goes to sweet peppermint, a cocoa mint and lastly a soft, sweet vanilla mint. This is a very pretty mint. Doesn't last long on me. The name makes me envision a bright star-like mint on a dark cocoa sky that fades with the morning light.

 

P.S. I tried mixing this with Velvet and absolutely love the earthy chocolate mint results! To me, these are even better together.

P.P.S. Now that I have Spooky, I think it and The Star smell very similar.

Yerevan Very apricot-y and nice at first. It reminded me of March Hare so much that I considered getting a bottle of Yerevan instead. It develops into more of a floral, which is still beautiful, tart and fruity. For me, the simplicity of March Hare is preferred over Yerevan, but some may like Yerevan more for it's multilayered personality.

White Rabbit There's something about White Rabbit that makes me feel sick to my stomach. I'll blame it on the milk because all those other notes sound like they'd be lovely together. It reminded me of Alice----Evil Alice!

Venom-

Darkly seductive and lethally compelling: sinuous opponax, galbanum, dark wild berries, a drop of lush jasmine and a sliver of lime.

 

I'm only familiar with jasmine lime and berries so I can't comment on the galbanum or opponax. Over all it smells like dark grape, even though there isn't any. This just may be the combination of the berries and lime. It's a very sophisticated floral that reminds me of Dior's Poison with a more voluptuous edge. Very pretty.

Velvet- (sandalwood, cocoa, vanilla, myrrh) Oh, how I wish the cocoa would stay on top. it's awesome right from the vial. a rich, two-dimensional chocolate that smells like so much more. The myrrh makes it earthy, the vanilla keeps it sweet and creamy and the sandalwood nudges the cocoa to the side, which is too bad for me. I really like this one a lot. Velvet really _is_ velvety.

 

ETA: Looking back I didn't do Velvet justice with my review. I love it so much I now have a small bottle and will be getting the big bottle when it's time to re-order. On me it has amazing staying power. It's so rich, dark and creamy and when I first put it on I sometimes think I smell coconut too. A deep toasted coconut. When it dries down it is such a beautiful sandalwood scent that still has the ghosts of the cocoa and vanilla hanging around. It's perfect for me. Heck, if I were a BPAL oil I'd be Velvet.

Tiger Lily - I don't know the scent of a tiger lily, but having the honey single note, I can definitely smell the honey in this. It's a rounded scent with no sharp bite. A sweet yellow flower swaying in the sunshine.

Thalia

It's a perfect blend of fruit and floral that for a fleeting moment reminded me of a cross between Lush's Amandopondo and Creamy Candy bubble bars. Bright, tartly sweet and joyful. I can't tell if the pear is what I smell most or the plumeria. They seem to be able to hide within one another like two playful children taking turns with hide-and-seek. They're paired perfectly because plumeria has a sort of fruity essence. Cheerful indeed.

Regan- (A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis.) There's a soft candy tartness at first and then it becomes a suculent white flower whose petals a plump with vanilla honey creme. The floral doesn't last too long for me. Maybe the initial tartness is the stephanotis. This becomes more and more of a voluptuous vanilla that seems touched with BPAL's honey note. Sweet, rich and somewhat powdery. Beautiful and unique.

Morocco- this is gorgeous right out of the vial. I immediately thought of a musk body spray I used to use many years ago but I can't recall the name.This is very powdery, soft and beautiful. It makes me think of snow that has been formed from the most fresh and pure water and has the sun shining on it. Everything works so well together that all I can smell is a bright musk wrapped in sweet, cotton-flannel softness.

Maiden This is such a lovely feminine floral and probably one of the few rose scents that I can wear well. It's tempered by the carnation in such a way that it smells like a fresh-cut rose. The carnation in no way shies into the background, but instead shares a dainty cup of white tea equally with the rose.

Machu Piccu The mood of this scent is just as it says. The tropical fruit I think I'm smelling is unripe banana (could it be banana leaf?), still slightly green and tart. There may be pineapple and there's something that reminds me of citrus. It's fresh and green-smelling which makes me think of lime. Can't figure out the blossoms but Plumeria would fit in nicely here. This is a great scent for hot Summer. An earthy floral it seems to be.

The Lion This goes on medicinal and not so pretty at first. As time goes on it does become pretty and warm. There's no mention of fruit but I think I smell some sweet apple. The spices are not very pronounced but I can mentally subtract the amber and sense them. Unfortunately this ends on that same not-so-pretty note, only lighter.

Lampades This starts off nice. Bright, tart cranberry that reminds me of the same fruitiness of Carnivale and Hollywood Babylon. This one starts to become like the scent of a holiday candle that has yet to be lit. Not liking this as much as I'd expected. All I'm getting is a plasticky or waxy fruit smell.

Intrigue This is deep and rich and right off the bat I smell the scent of dark wood. This is smooth and powdery with just enough fig to break the monotony of it's dark personality. Like cracking the door of a dark room to let in just a sliver of light. A beautiful and mysterious scent.

The Caterpillar This one is everchanging and it just hit me that that's what caterpillars do. Just when I think this oil is dark and smoky it becomes softer and sweeter. I can't pick out the notes but to me it smells like a smoky-sweet floral. A beautiful butterfly marked with memories if it's earthbound beginnings.

Baobhan Sith- Initially it's like peeling a grapefruit and inhaling the mist of fine citrus oil from it's skin. It turns soapy and clean while retaining it's fresh citrus note. Sorry my review is so simple. I just don't get anything complex. It's very pretty.

Umbra-

I imagine a dark cave filled with warmth and moisture to smell like this. One that has the remnants of a campfire still warm with tiny embers. It's earthy, smoky, salty and warm. I don't consider this a pretty scent and I can't say I like it even a little bit. It's like witnessing a natural disaster; I respect it's existence, but I'm fearful of it. (my mom said it smelled like a wet brick )

Severin Lemon drops at the onset, moving to lemon-lime. I smell the leather quite pleasantly after 10 minutes and I realize I've smelled this before because it makes me feel strong emotions. It's the way my husband smells after shaving with Edge gel shaving cream and I hug him close and smell his face. The leather represents the embodiment of him because leather once contained life. This is truly a love potion for me.

Scarecrow There's something that reminds me of fruit-scented finger nail polish remover. I can picture it being poured over dry straw and set afire. The fruit I think I'm detecting is like a green apple. It becomes lighter, soapier and fresher. Like someone's laundry being dried in the dryer and the scent randomly finding your nose like finding a needle in a haystack. A sweet breeze on a golden hot day with a little earthiness in a good way.