Indigo78

I loved the idea of the Grindhouse SO much, that I figured every woman under the canopy would love me, & I'd love them all right back! 'Twasn't meant to be, I'm afraid. In the imp this is nutty nuts & softly buttered something... Then, abruptly, (no less than thirty seconds after applying) she almost immediately turned sharp on me, to the point that I actually reapplied on the inside of the other arm. I just couldn't believe how much difference there was from imp to arm. How the...? The drydown is steadily sharp & slightly bitter. This Carnation doesn't soak into my skin correctly, and it isn't just hormones or skn chem (although I haven't ruled out my weird taste in scents). Well, hopefully someone else will love her more than I ever could.

Sybaris was a Lab frimp. Wet, this is the faintest Violet I've smelled in a BPAL, so far. Otherwise it is very anisey-clovey, and reminds me of these Italian pastilles di liquoriza. You can get 'em with Violet in it, so that is probably why I make the association. The middle stage is sweet colves on my skin, with almost no trace of the Violet at all. The drydown is Root Beer or Sasparilla, and while not unpleasant, its just wildly different than what I expected. Also reminds me a little of Versace's Metal Jeans, a long time favorite. All in all, a yummy keeper.

Vetivert in the imp, and wet on my skn that all there is. It doesn't last- Vertiverts is interrupted by the Mimosa and Tamarind...Of course I think I detect Cinnamon - because whenever warmm spices come jogging into the picture I impulsively yell "cinnamon!" like we're playing Jeopardy. This is a warm yet morbid scent. Strangely, through all this morbidity it doesn't smell "old" in the least. It shares that dusty, ancient quality with some of the feminine Ars Moriendi blends of Beth's. I can see it more easily on a dark, mercurial person who shifts from sweet to serious in a flash - 'cause this blend does.

First review of the ladies I recieved from a decant circle, and mmmmm this is such a gorgeous one to initiate my reviews with. Wet on the skin, this is sun ripened Fig, with a tart edge that must be Sweet Orange. The Black Musk is not too prominent on my skin, but I suspect that with Amber's help its what keeps this from doing the fruit-nasty on me. Myrrh comes out holding hands with the Redwood about fifteen minutes in. One of them is doing the soap routine, which is f'n heartbreaking. Bug spray and soap seem to be happening with a lot of blends today, so hopefully that'll resolve itself hormonally or whatever El-soon-o. I like the initial stages of Aeronwen enough to wait and find out! EDIT: Retested this seven months later to see how it has aged. It now has a distinct bitter feel, much more *serious* than before. I think the fig has been tamed a little by the musk, and everything melds together. Whereas before the fruits seemed to be battling the other components, everything has since settled and found it's niche. The orange is now much more orange rind rather than the orange flesh. It is still bitter compared to what I usually seek in a scent, but I'm a freak for the garrish, cavity-inducing, spun-sugar-sweet-tooth blends - so make of that what you will.

Wet on my skin the woods, oddly, seem to appear first. Within seconds I get the Roses (screaming ones) and Lilacs (trying like the dickens to be noticed). Together everything is quite sharp and somewhat aldehyde. The drydown is dusty and softly rosey...not too much of anything. This resembles some of the Ars Moriendi blends to me - there's an element of sadness and memories that are no longer remembered. Not a full bottle purchase, but I will keep the imp for a point of reference. It also seems to have changed between now and the time I first tried it - may come back to revise this if I notice a difference the next time I try it!

Wet on my skin this is Orange and really - - hoppy? It smells like orange cereal and beer. This only lasts a moment, and the Cassia and Cardomom erupt. No cherries, yet... I am not sure what I thought this would do on my skin, but it wasn't this! What a weird wet stage. This balances rreally well once Cassia and Cinnamon calm down and the Verbena comes to life. Nicely blended, great for someone who doesn't amp spices, because on me they are kind of taking away from these earthy, ripe black cherries I can smell right underneath. Something about the drydown reminds me of a spicier Illustrated Woman - Phantom Calliope is so almost foody, but never really gets there (a good thing, IMO). This is a starry, sweet, sorta nocturnal blend. Nice.

A latecomer to the Carnivale, it is hard to decide which blends to try first, since my odds of trying them all before it leaves are slim. The combination of notes lured me in with Blood Garden. Leather? Blood? Wine? How could I not? In the imp I get syrupy wine, it does invoke Urd..which is great for me. On my skin a darker note gives this an almost waxy/paraffin scent that blends seamlessly with the grapes. Drying pools of spilled sweet wine mingled with candle drippings. The resins are just right, creating a seductive aural haze of gah-gah sexaliciousness on me. Getting a bottle, pronto. ETA: Not long after posting this, I realized that the wine Blood Garden was not quite "the thing" on my skin. I never did get a bottle, and swapped my original decant months ago. Will update again if I get a chance to try it before the Carnaval leaves, but right now it isn't a bottle for me.

Opened this imp and almost fell over from the sweet concentration of Butterscotch. There are hints of Coconut floating around, but the tropical feel is really secondary to the Butterscotch. Don't know why, but I really thought this would be closer to Captain Morgan. On the skin it is vocal butterscotch, procaliming it's butterscotchiness to anyone who'l listen (or inhale). Eeks. Not my style, but I haven't smelled another BPAL that even remotely resembles this one... Now I know what all the fuss is about!

While I love Leather, Lavander and I have had issues in the past. Serious ones. The in-bottle scent is frighteningly Lavander and not much else. Mediciney and herbal. Too medicinal, too herbal... I was hoping for a truer leather scent. Swap.

In the imp - KAPOW Sage! It smells like Pine cleaner, and I don't realize it is Sage until I look at the notes. Wet on my skin its Vapo Rub and Pine, with something kind of sweet just beneath those. I can smell the oiled metals, bright and in full working order. I like this one quite a bit. Its unconventional and makes me think of a sexy mechanic's shop.

Wet on the skin, this is sugared oranges. Almost like those orange slice jelly candies, but with a slightly dark, floral undertone. I do not get anything musty or incensey or otherwise. There is almost no change from start to finish. If Succubus had a personality on my skin, I would describe it as "timid". Not enough of anything to sustain my nose, but I'll try it again after a bit and see if my chemistry does something else with it another day.

This is a male scent IMO, exclusively. If you are a fan of heady 1950s-style musks, this might be for you. As another reviewer put it, it smells like an aging friend in their Sunday best. There is an element to this that makes me think of wood-paneling and poorly circulated office building air. Weird visual, but yeah. I chose this one for the lilacs and leather. Alongside the white musk they become overtly masculine, fuzzy, comforting and warm. Not so much me, but glad I got to test it. Shirt wear length, stays close to the skin.

Impwise, I smell you Cassia, yes I do. The spicy family is no good to my nose/skin, but I lurrrve Dragon's Blood for certain occasions. Worth a try. On my skin the Cinnamon goes *boom*, as though Jokey Smurf gave me a "present" full of red hots. A friend of Djinn, are we Tanin'iver? This one's smoky and bright red, and slightly floral on me - the Mimosa maybe. The drydown gets less and less Cinnamony, becoming a nondescript sorta spicy on me. Short throw, average wearlength (weirdly, right now my skin's drinking e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g I put on, so "average" means 2 hours or so).

In the imp this is Wine and Roses - Sharp and herbal. Wet on my skin the first note to pop out is Attar of Rose, followed by Myrrh's blackness draped over everything else. This is superbly blended: I have to concentrate to untangle the notes in here. Jasmine is turned into an unfamiliar scent for me here. I can smell it, but she''s totally different than in most other blends. This is a perfect manifestation of the dark, glittering, mechanical arachnoid...many will enjoy this one.

Need to start off by emphasizing that the "warm" scents don't "go" for me... The Lemon in this saves it from being a spicy, warm fuzzy disaster for me. In the imp I smell spices at first, then after another deep whiff or two I get Lemon. About fifteen minutes later I can't shake this association with Ogun (minus the Melon note). The Citrus, peppery bite, & overall yuminess of it....If you're skin & nose are like mine, No. 93 is a stronger, "honied" version of Ogun - with a slight metallic finish. Significantly different from what I expected, but mechnically sweet & sexy. ETA: Loonnnnng wearlength, average throw.

Bon Vivant is dry, dry, dry champagne with fresh Strawberry garnish. Really, there isn't much sweetness here - at least not to my nose oron my skin. If you like sweet blends, I think this could be heavenly layered with Sugar Moon or even Eat Me. Yeah...Champagne & Cake! If not, I think it's fine on it's own. I love dry scents, and this is definitely dry - nearly tart but not quite. It has a super-long wearlength (for me, anyway...a few hours) and moderate throw.

This was another frimp..one I never would have chosen as a bottle straight out of the gate, but one I have eyed as an imp possibility nonetheless. I know the Vetivert story when it comes to my skin, which is usually just Win or Lose. In the imp this is wrong to me, simply put. I can't stand the heavy Vetivert note. It hurts my face. Everything is SO green and pungent, with hints of pickles. Same wet on the skin: the Violets don't even show up to wave hello. I am just getting a musty, cumbersome scent, and the drydown is better only because the notes fade. I never get the lush, heady Violets descibed by others. The throw is above average, and I'm not sure of the wearlength. This one just isn't meant for my nose, nor my chemistry. No sir-ee.

This was a kindly given frimp from a sweet forumite. I get a mishmash of alllllll of the listed notes initially...This is so well blended that I can't pick out the individual elements. Early on my skin it is sweet and dark: The fruits are ripe and on the cusp of overripeness and perfection. There is fig, pomegranate, and a heady dark note that I later recognize as Sandalwood. The drydown is gorgeous, and for a couple of hours I could not shake that deja vu sense of "where have I smelled this before?" Then I relaize that it is closely resembles a perfume I adored as a pre-adolescent called "Les Fleurs". I don't think it was a particularly "high end" fragrance (I grew up in a small town with one Walgreens - and that's where I bought Les Fleurs). I have tried to find it online since then, but I don't think it's available anymore. So, the verdict is that Hymn to Proserpine is highly evocative enough for me to hunt down a big bottle. I was drawn to the name every time I visit the Lab's page, but never knew why. Now I do - Thanks Amber - and really, Thanks Beth! So glad this is GC... Wear length = Long - - - - Throw = 10a.m. shadow-ish (perfect)

The bottle-scent of this is nothing like the skin scent..nothing at all. Very medicinal. On the skin this becomes so, sooo rich and spicy...and thick. I get the Snake Oil references. It dries down to a soft, darkened room scent. I really don't get haunted by patchouli here...In fact, the blend is really sweet and plummy and very close to being just foody on me. *sigh* Confusing chemistry 'o mine. Don't know yet: With so many who love this scent, I won't give up just yet: for now it goes to the "age and see" box.

This is initially seemed to be the cave scent I've been coveting to no end... When I first opened the bottle I got that damp subterrenean scent and *swooooned* I hoped it would be just the same on my skin. It is, for a brief moment, but then a spiciness develops and the scent definitely sweetens. The smoky vanilla mixes with the Indian resins; the end result is beautiful, (although I can't help but be a little sad that the gorgeous "in the bottle" scent disppears). The wear length is average, as well as the throw.

Pennyroyal the herb is minty - like Chamomile. The essential oil (don't know if that's what is used in this) is very, very toxic if taken internally. I had no idea what the oil smelled like, and yeah...ouch. Lavender isn't really perceptible to me here. I just get this very sharp, astringent note that is screaming in my nostrils. This would be an ideal "Leave Me Alone" scent. I can't speak for it's headache-reducing qualities, but will keep my imp around to test it.

This was a decanted frimp. *Brrrr!* On the skin wet this is a cooling, summery bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Or a grasshopper with dark chocolate shavings. I do not like minty foods..so I'm surprised this is going over so well as a scent. Great summer blend, this is the first literally "cooling" Vanilla I've ever tried! Long wear length & average throw.

Sweet, sticky staining cherry candy with just the perfect amount of puckering tart. Like the best cherry candy you've ever wanted to taste...Wet on the skin Bloody mary makes my mouth water. I put some on the little one sometimes, & he says "It makes me eat sugar candy!". So...uhm..he thinks it's very evocative, as well This dries down to a slightly more conservative version of itself, becoming softer, creamier and more sophisticated as a touch of almond peeks through. Good throw and wearlength - the fruit notes are sturdy in this blend. It's a teensy bit medicinal, but only when your nose is up right up against it (which it will be, believe me). Can't really say enough about this. Completely bottle-worthy - no questions asked.

This was a frimp decant from a forumite...Tonka? Yes! Cherry Tobacco? Hell to the yes! Hops? Umm...We'll see. Imp-wise: Wild Turkey Bourbon &..err..a certain chemical sustance. Skin-wise: Here come the hops & cherry tobacco. Spilled beer, all the way. This is the smell of a dive-bar in Vegas, replete with old guys, cracked vinyl stools, and low-end cigars. Definitely an evocative scent, but the Hops go pretty awful on my skin and/or to my nose. Sadly, this is no good for me.

In the imp this is sharp Amber, and the Bergamot makes it flash green to my nose. Wet on the skin the sharpness subsides pretty quickly, and the other notes emerge one by one. The first I notice is Nutmeg, followd by a Bulgar Rose's whisper...not amping this one at all. The Mandarin is also barely there, but detectable if you are sniffing for it. The drydown has this tomb-dust, "aged finery" quality I notice in some of the Ars Moriendi blends. Still deciding whether or not this is a bottle for me, but it is really beautiful. Wears close to my skin, with short-average wear length.