bodegaselkie

I was looking forwarding to trying Ligeia since I have a longtime association with the name and story. Like others' experiences, on me it is almost pure jasmine, which is too bad, as I love juniper for its sharpness and rose geranium as well. I wonder if there's any way to convince Beth to reformulate it so that the notes are more balanced? Or maybe she tried that and it smelled bad. I trust her judgment.

I had forgotten about the oak note in Hesperides, so when I put it on this morning I was wondering what the buttery-earthy note in the scent was. On me, this is very much apple-oak; the apple was neither too sweet nor too tart, and the earthy oak fades off. Unfortunately, Hesperides doesn't last long -- it faded within a few hours. But it's lovely.

I had been looking forward to trying Lucy's Kiss. Her character is one I'm really fond of from Stoker's book. While I liked the perfume idea in theory, I'm not sure I like how it plays out in practice. This rose scent is *very* old-fashioned, almost powdery or like a rose-spice potpourri. I was hoping the rose scent would stay clean and fresh, and the spices more sharp and pungent, but instead this is more sweet-powdery on me.

In the bottle: buttery pumpkin. On skin, wet: Synthy pumpkin, like pumpkin-candle scent, with something a bit plastic in the background. Over time, though, it fades and mellows. It's still a bit too sweet and synthetic, though, and so Jack is probably not a keeper for me. I'm glad I got to try it, though.

MMmmmmm, underpants. Monster Bait: Underpants is very sweet on me, with a lot of the sharpness of sugar I got from Sudha Segara. In this case, it's tempered by the creamy vanilla and caramelly-rich odors, as well as the saffron and sandalwood, rather than being sharpened more by the ginger in S.S. After many hours wearing this, it fades down but is still present, mellow and lovely. It reminds me of a really expensive cocktail made of liqueurs. Bonus: I think this review will earn me my 69th reward point. *smirk*

De Sade is leather, indeed. It goes on leathery and pretty much stays true. There's a touch of tobacco in what I'm scenting here. It's awfully sexy and tough and all those things, but sadly, not very me. It's wonderful, though.

Jolly Roger is one of those scents I could almost write poems about, but I'm not in a poem-writing mood today, so I'll spare you. I am reminded of standing on the deck of a small boat, smelling the sea air -- which is warm from the sun, but with a cool biting wind. I'm not getting any of the rum note, which makes me happy since rum often turns weird on me. Like some others have mentioned, there's also kind of fabric softener scent wafting through, giving it a very clean, sharp edge. Oddly, Jolly Roger doesn't turn sweet on me -- and my skin turns _everything_ sweet! I like this a lot.

Erato came as a free imp with my most recent order. I'd tried most of the other muses, so I was glad enough to give her a whirl. On me, Erato is almost identical to Eve without the tanginess of the apple blossom -- it's all fresh young rose, sweetened and warmed by the ylang ylang. It's gentle and pretty enough, but almost cloyingly warm and sweet in that way only ylang ylang can be. I suppose that can be erotic, in the sense that it's like being close and naked with someone who smells flowery... but it's not the deep fiery passionate sexuality that drives my erotica inspiration.

Opium poppy begins floral and sweet on me, very heavy and sleepy as others here have suggested. It may have been sleep deprivation or the perfume, but driving to work this morning after putting it on was quite somnolent, as though in slow-motion. Over the hours, this faded, growing more and more powdery until it was mostly old-lady perfume; sweet and pleasant, but still old-ladyish. Also, it made me sneeze.

Got The Caterpillar free with my order, and I'm glad it was free, because ew. It smells earthy/floral in the bottle. On me, it smells like sickly-sweet rotting poo, which someone tried to cover by spraying the room with air freshener and then burning a bunch of cheap incense. Oh, god, The Caterpillar is awful on me. Stunningly awful.

Darnit, I was hoping this would smell like fungi, really. In the imp it's a bit earthy and wet. On me, almost immediately, it's a coconut musk! I hate coconut musk! It's morphing still, though -- I scent the vanilla and woodsy resiny notes other people have mentioned. I'm worried that the 'resin' will turn out to be frankincense, which takes over any blend I put on my skin. It does remind me a tad of Tombstone, minus the acrid/sour note that made me have to get rid of my Tombstone imp. Maybe this will be worth another try... but it's also fading fast...

In the bottle, this is almost entirely fresh peony scent, but on me it morphs into mostly plum blossom, and it's a wee bit too fruity for me, particularly because it reminds me of some shampoo scents I don't much like. I'll give it another try. I wish it stayed the same on me as it smells in the bottle, because the peony scent is gorgeous.

Hmm. A bit like how myrrh blends go mostly-myrrh on me, this one goes mostly-frankincense, but I like the mostly-frankincense a LOT more. I can still smell touches of lavendar and white sage, although I only applied this 20--25 minutes ago, which doesn't bode well for The Scales of Deprivation. But I have to wonder what Beth was thinking when she made this -- this goes pretty girly on me. It's lovely, but I wouldn't say it has no trace of comfort. This is a very warm, slightly sweet, pretty scent.

I had high hopes for The Great Sword of War (it's got one of the best BPAL names *ever*!), but putting it on, the perfume was overly... cologney, as I often say. It was strong and jumbled, though the phrases "warm" and "orangey" came to mind. Over several hours it faded down to something that gave me a sore throat and wouldn't wash off hours later. I think it was mainly the mandarin and tobacco that remained, with the tobacco reminding me of some of Beth's "leather" scents. I wanted to like this one -- but alas, no.

Kyoto is lovely -- it went on sweet and creamy, and the cherry scent is not overpowering as it has been in other blends. (I was not even willing to apply Kabuki to my skin!) Given that I can't tolerate cherry in other blends, I'm quite pleased at how pretty this is, and how well-rounded. The sandalwood and anise are lingering in the background, giving the scent fullness. It's not a "me" scent by any means but I'm glad I got to experience it.

Polyhymnia was a big disappointment because of the myrrh. Don't get me wrong -- I love myrrh, but it seems like when it's in one of the BPAL blends, that's all I can smell. It even happened with Penitence, which turned into pure myrrh. So rather than getting all the nice complex scents everyone else mentioned in Polyhymnia -- or, cripes, even a lemony smell, this went all myrrh-y and a little spicy from the moment I put it on. I never got to smell the other notes. *frown*

Mmmm. I've only been wearing Dragon's Tears for half an hour, but I'm really enjoying it. I liked the aquatics in Undertow but disliked its lack of staying power... and Tears was a wee bit too floral for me, but this one has the staying power, thanks to the DB, and the resins tones down the floral a bit. (Admittedly, I also liked the super-floral tones in Dragon's Eye, so maybe it's just that I like florals more with Dragon's Blood in the mix). This isn't too sweet on me, which is a nice change from my other DB favorite, Dragon's Milk -- although it is beginning to sweeten up as I wear it. This is really lovely, but I think it's so unique and potent that I might get tired of wearing it after a half-day. Edited to add: I wore this again today (1/6), and it continued to morph throughout the day, much like I remember Tears doing (before it was discontinued - *lament*). It faded and faded, but is still here, many hours later. I really really like this one.

Melpomene smells almost entirely soapy in the imp... and even moreso when I put it on. It isn't unpleasant, but none of the actual notes come out, it just smells sharply soapy. It makes me sad and feel tragic about it, but probably not in the way the Lab intended. *smirk*

Something about Clio didn't work for me -- one of the woods, perhaps, but it came off way too cologney for me, and the amber/orange didn't really come through at all. The parchment didn't smell like parchment, though it did impart a dryness to the back of my throat when I sniffed it. ETA: Some months later, I'm growing rather fond of Clio, which is good because I am prone to bouts of epic and heroic writing. It's still quite woodsy, and much less cologney than at first try. It sweetens as it fades. I like it as a private scent, but it has almost NO throw and it fades quickly, so it's not something I'd wear hoping other people would notice!

I had a lot of hope for Thaleia, given how much I love honey, apricot and tonka, but the orange (which is also nice) overpowers all the others, so I come off smelling like a super-sweet orange with this one. I may have to try it again in a week or so to give body chemistry a chance to change... but so far the only muse that's working well for me is Calliope. ADDED 11/17/07: Thaleia was included as a free imp in my most recent order, and I'm glad it was because, while I'd tried several of the muse scents and liked a couple of them (Calliope and Cleo), I shied away from Thaleia because of the fruit scents. Fruits don't tend to work on me, though that's much less true of apricot (I love Depraved). At any rate, the fruits stay in the background when I apply this one -- they're there but not overpowering, and the apricot and blood orange blend together in a lovely, light way. Honey and ylang are dominant, with the tonka adding depth and stability to the sweetness. Very nice.

Wow.. Blood Pearl is sweet. Way too sweet for my skin! I don't get a coconut scent, just super sweet pink-tinged marshmallowy sweetness, sweeter than Dragon's Milk. After wearing it a little while it fades down and gets more musky, and I like it, but it's quite faint. Blood Pearl is probably not for me. Edited to add: I tried this again today (2/7) and ... wow, my opinion has entirely changed. This time I put it in my cleavage, and rather than staying sweet it immediately morphed into an orris-red musk loveliness with the orris definitely in the foreground. It's slightly powdery, slightly sharp, still a bit sweet and very feminine. I *adore* Blood Pearl, and if it continues to be this beautiful on me I'll definitely be getting a big bottle. Yum.

Sugar Skull 05 Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. I was so happy Sugar Skull was coming back after getting to sniff (but not try) 2004's version and wishing I'd been able to get a bottle. In the bottle and wet, Sugar Skull mostly smells like boozy maple syrup on me, with an undertone of burnt/brown sugar -- the undertone being the part I wish were prominent. As it dries, it warms up, and on my skin smells quite good -- a blend of sugars and a bit of fruitiness and spice, a lot like a holiday candle. I'm not sure I want to smell like this, but it certainly warms up well on me. It also reminds me a lot of Hearth, which was so strongly sweet and fruity that I had to wash it off after an hour. But after a few hours, Sugar Skull goes really sour on me -- it honestly smells a little like vomit, or at least something fermenting. I had to check it a second time to make sure it was the scent and not something else I'd sat near to make it smell that way, and no, it was the perfume. It's OK as I was on the fence about it from the beginning, but I have to say I am disappointed. I wish I could try the 2004.

Severin was included as a free imp in my last lab order, and I'm happy that it was because I seem to have good success with the love potions and I really liked Embalming Fluid (but my partner didn't, so I gave it to a friend) and ALMOST liked Dorian (too sweet, too musky) and ALMOST liked Perversion (the wine note just doesn't work on me). I like tea scents a lot (heck, I like tea a lot), and this combination of tea, bergamot and leather is just beautiful. I, like others, wish it had more staying power -- on me it's already fading after an hour. But it's lovely. I suppose I'll keep re-applying today and decide whether it's worth that kind of effort.

Blood Moon smells, in the bottle and on me, like musk and spice. It's very strong, very cologney, and a little reminiscent of Old Spice (or rather, what I remember Old Spice smelling like years ago, which is the last time I smelled any). As it dries down, it gets softer and creamier but never loses that cologney aspect, which is a bummer. In some ways it's quite a sexy scent, but not one I want to smell like, and it becomes very difficult to wash the musk off when I get tired of it as well. Add to all this the fact that my skin turned red where I applied it, and I'm going to have to say that I don't think Blood Moon is for me.

New Orleans was thrown in with my order (which included an imp of Jazz Funeral). I was surprised I hadn't thought to try it before. I liked the scent of New Orleans at first, though I didn't get any of the decay/spice. On me it was all honeysuckle and jasmine. At first I liked it a lot, and it reminded me a lot of Has No Hanna, but after several hours it had turned sharper and was making my head ache. Nice, but not as nice as HNH on me.