dawndie

Wet: sharp alcohol hairspray

 

On skin: water, clear with chlorine, and dirt -- "perfumed earth"

 

Half-hour later: something more cologney and masculine has popped in, juniper-like

 

In conclusion: this is the most evocative of the C13 blends, in that I really feel like I'm underground -- I smell water and earth and plants. Not something I want to walk around smelling like, but what an experience!

Wet: slightly musky dragon's blood

 

On skin: more dragon's blood, which is a heady sweet floral on me, bordering on bubblegum

 

Half-hour later: something sugary has sweetened this up, so it's more like bubblegum Kool-Aid

 

In conclusion: very sweet for something as dark-sounding as The Unheavenly City, which sounds like the capital of Hell. Potent and long-lasting too, glad I got to try it!

Wet: blackberries and cake

 

On skin: yum, dark fruit and booze, my favorite combo!

 

Half-hour later: still dark and sweet. Others have mentioned the burnt-sugar smell, which I happen to enjoy

 

In conclusion: a really nice boozy blend, not as foody as others got. Hmm, maybe a combo of Monster Bait: Closet and Sugar Skull would equate this for me? I'm really glad I got to try this

Wet: soapy white florals

 

On skin: jumble of flowers. I picture a big magnolia bush with giant white blossoms

 

Half-hour later: there's distinctive jasmine, but it's not overpowering like in other blends

 

In conclusion: this is a nice floral, and I'm glad it didn't go all fancy-soap on me. Nothing special though, there are a lot of GC florals that are just as pretty. I'm glad I got to try it though!

In bottle: sweet ginger candy

 

On skin: I'm getting the Hungry Ghost Moon vibe too. Lots of sweet sugary ginger and rice candy

 

Half-hour later: a bit more floral (lotus? nothing distinct) plus there's a light sweet musk that makes this more "grown-up" than HGM, which was all sugary sweet Japanese candy on me

 

In conclusion: while this starts out with lots of candy, it ends up snooty and sophisticated, like something a rich aunt would wear. Beautiful and inspiring!

In bottle: light foofy roses

 

On skin: light roses with other flowers floating around in the background

 

Half-hour later: the other florals have come to the forefront, making this more perfumey and powdery. I have an imp of the Blue Lilac SN which is a beautiful sophisticated "powder," like something in a starlet's 1920s boudoir.

 

In conclusion: I knew I had to have a Lunacy blend called Rose Moon because I love the BPAL Roses. While Rose Red is a wallop of rose, this is more of a jumble of florals with a prominent rose note, plus I'm so pleased that sophisticated blue lilac is in this. Very pretty!

In bottle: dusty rose

 

On skin: nice light rose, fresh and perky

 

Half-hour later: still lots of light rose with a mellow sweetness at the edges. The black plum and tonka are a great base for this

 

In conclusion: I'm a huge fan of the BPAL Roses, but this isn't the smack-about-the-head wallop of Rose Red (which I love, don't get me wrong). This is a lighter rose nicely blended with the other florals, very sweet and girly, with a darker base that keeps the flowers from flitting away or giving me a headache. I'm really enjoying this one

In bottle: pleasant musty patchouli

 

On skin: oof, this bowls me over with very strong wood mixing with the patchouli. The combination reminds me of wood that's been marinating in soy sauce, then lit. My eyes are almost watering

 

Half-hour later: of course, because I'm amping the wood so hard, this stage is lasting forever. No apricot, no nice creamy-foody-yummy base of caramel goop, ugh

 

In conclusion: Finally, after 3 hours or so, it sweetens a bit, but holy cow. I'm really hoping the wood and patchouli are so strong because this is brand-new from the Lab. I'll be eyeing this one suspiciously until that combo calms down.

Ooh, creepy label!

 

In bottle: cherry punch

 

On skin: lots of sweet dark cherry right away, fruity fruit fruit!

 

Half-hour later: there's a creamier base, but not enough to curdle the delicious dark fruit

 

In conclusion: the cream accord was my biggest concern in the blend, but good for me it's no match for the giant stomping fruits, raaarr! This one had the least hang-around time of the recent Monster Baits, only a couple of hours, but well worth a bottle.

In bottle: vanilla ice cream

 

On skin: tingly mint, very sparkly like Lick It

 

Half-hour later: this sweetens up nicely with the vanilla, nothing plasticky or fake (which some vanillas become on me)

 

In conclusion: Tokyo Stomp ends as a nice creamy mint, reminiscent of Snow White and Snow-Flakes. It has a shorter duration, maybe 3 hours, and of course I want it to last longer. Worth slathering and enjoying!

First off, this is the darkest thickest oil I've ever seen!

 

In bottle: cocoa

 

On skin: cocoa with pretty mellow Snake Oil, which I imagine as amber, glittering resins, sitting on a little pile of brown raw sugar. Fresh Snake Oil smells kinda chemical and harsh, and this is more aged and smooth

 

Half-hour later: very nice sweetened Snake Oil

 

In conclusion: of the Snake Pit blends tried so far, this is what I was hoping for. I was looking forward to Snake Oil with delicious variations of added vanilla or cocoa or berries. This is amazing straight from the Lab, and I'm sure will become orgasmic as it ages.

In bottle: fruit explosion!

 

On skin: fizzy grapefruit blast, lots and lots of citrus

 

Half-hour later: this calmed down a lot with some additional florals. Dragon's Blood will overpower a blend on me but it's behaving in this one

 

In conclusion: a nice peppy blend that comes on very strong with the fruits, but mellows out later with the florals. I'm really enjoying this one and will wear often in the summer.

In bottle: watery leather

 

On skin: mmm, warm Dead Man's Hand leather, one of my favorites, with a bit of sweet brown sugar

 

Half-hour later: the resins of Snake Oil are middling about, but it's still all about the leather

 

In conclusion: I'm completely biased towards loving this one, as I the warm dusty leather of Dead Man's Hand and Quincy Morris. I ordered hoping it would be the same, and it was! Yay! Just like Australian Copperhead, the Snake Oil isn't as strong as I'd like, but I bet it's only because the blend is brand-new from the Lab and needs to age. I'll look forward to loving it more and more

In bottle: really perfumey red wine

 

On skin: musty incense, then more floral

 

Half-hour later: Lots of clove and incense with the florals (rose and carnation). The carnation is behaving, probably beaten into submission by all the other ingredients

 

In conclusion: this is a busy blend; there are a lot of ingredients and they all seem to be jostling with each other. Clove, carnation and dusty incense are the big players here. Nice when I'm in the mood for something dark, snooty and sophisticated.

In bottle: butter and cream

 

On skin: blast of butter, then lots of slightly sweet cream

 

Half-hour later: yum, stronger sugar mixing nicely with the cream, like a fancy holiday nog

 

In conclusion: while I love foody scents, some of the creamier foody BPAL blends (Midway, Misk U, Obatala) go a bit plastic on me. Milk Moon was even worse, that "turned" and went sour on me. This, however, stays true: creamy and sweet and luscious. Very nice!

In bottle: sweet strong peppermint

On skin: brrr! Lots of peppermint with a cooling sensation. There's a definite boozy undertone with this one, like peppermint schnapps or Rumple Minze

Half-hour later: this sweetens up nicely with the peppermint and booze

In conclusion: I swapped for this bottle on a whim, and liked it a whole lot more than I thought I would. Although I haven't tried Lick It Again, the "extra jolt" of sugar might be superfluous. This is a nicely sweet, refreshing blend that's wearable year-round.

This is a 2005 bottle.

 

In bottle: sharp perfumey alcohol

 

On skin: lots of sticky thick resins

 

Half-hour later: not much change, other than a smoky incense appearing that melds with the resins

 

In conclusion: this is a favorite incense blend of mine, without being too hippie head-shoppy. Others mention Cathedral which ended up pencil-shaving woody on me, while this stays true to the description. Serene and beautiful!

In bottle: candied floral

 

On skin: orangey citrus (neroli) which reminds me of Shub. This doesn't last long; quickly the rose and carnation take over

 

Half-hour later: creamy roses like Alice, but slightly spicier from the carnation. Carnation will amp on me, but it's behaving with the rose. Not much incense, which would be nice

 

In conclusion: this is a sophisticated Carny Lady: a sweet, creamy, spicy floral.

In bottle: sparkly melon

 

On skin: blast of fruit salad, woo! Lots of sharp citrus and apple especially

 

Half-hour later: more dark fruit emerges, like plum, and the clean "lunar oils" keep the fruit anchored

 

In conclusion: I had issues with other Lunacies in that the lunar oils made every blend end up a bit soapy. However, these strong fruits balance the lunar oils and keeps the blend from going into detergent territory. Long-lasting and fun!

In bottle: watery fruit

 

On skin: roses! Roses with a watery tinge, which the "dirt" notes sometimes translate into for me

 

Half-hour later: the dark fruit makes an appearance, lots of juicy pomegranate that balances the rose

 

In conclusion: this is a wonderful fruity rose scent -- I love the "clear water" note, I love the way the rose melds with the dark fruit and that one doesn't overpower the other. Beautiful!

As a scent, this is lots of green melon with an extra green herbal something underneath. Long-lasting and great for summer.

 

The last time I used it with a purpose was job-hunting in November and December. I had 4 different interviews and wore Yemaya every time. I was confident in my qualifications, but I needed to project that confidence. I ended up returning to a previous job, plus they offered me a raise over what I was making when I left!

In bottle: sharp perfume, like Stardust

 

On skin: lots of light, dusty resins and a bit of wood

 

Half-hour later: the honey blooms and mingles with the resins very sweetly and demurely

 

In conclusion: in contrast to the "dark incensey" blends that are favorites of mine, this is lighter and more sophisticated. Instead of club-hopping with Perversion, I'm going to an art gallery with this one. Nice!

In bottle: dusty flowers

 

On skin: nice champaca-like floral, then dusty wood amps up. Amber comes out dusty on me, and while I like amber it tends to disappear if it's not anchored to something strong (like with musk in Haunted)

 

Half-hour later: mm, the honey is coming out now, mixing nicely with the woody flowers

 

In conclusion: this is a nice sexy floral with the honey shimmying throughout. My only beef is that I wish it were stronger or lasted longer, as the amber disappeared and should have hung around for the pending menage

In bottle: creamy coca

On skin: blast of cocoa, then spicy cinnamon warms up. I’m not a big cinnamon fan, but this is more sweet and boozy like cinnamon schnapps

Half-hour later: still lots of sweetened cinnamon

In conclusion: where’s the caramel? Where are the chocolate-covered cherries? The groundhog must have eaten them on the way, because all I got was lots of cinnamon. This may be appropriate as a February LE because they do remind me of the heart-shaped cinnamon candies you'd get as a kid with your Valentines.

Pshaw, I bought this bottle new last year and never reviewed? I'm a flake

 

In bottle: rose soaps

 

On skin: lots of roses, but not the wallop that Rose Red packs (in a good way! )

 

Half-hour later: dusty rose

 

In conclusion: this blend is simple and straightforward. I am a devoted fan of the BPAL Roses and this does not disappoint. The dry, musty resins are a beautiful complement to the roses.