cranberry

Tombstone - Wanderlust

Notes: vanilla, balsam, sassafras, cedar

Wow – a tarted imp! This is the first one that I’ve come across (courtesy of the GC swap and Ancilla!) so this is rather exciting.

In the imp: cedar, sassafras, sweetness

On the skin: cedar & sassafras, sweetened with vanilla.

I’ve only tried this scent once or twice, so it’s good to try it again. I don’t know if the age of the imp is affecting this any, but this is wonderful. I’m going to have to try a more recent imp to compare. But back to the review, initially this was most strongly cedar with an undercurrent of sassafras. The sassafras is not overwhelming but nicely supports the cedar and vanilla.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed Tombstone. It’s warm, sexy, yummy & spicy. Very nice!

Bakeneko – A Little Lunacy

Notes: Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon

In the bottle: warm spice and amber

On the skin: Wet, I smell anise, other spices, and amber. As it dries, the anise sent disappears and it’s all spiced, warm tea. This is just beautiful and I absolutely adore this scent. I don’t get much tangerine, more musk, amber, and spice. Yum! I enjoy cats and this scent is no exception. It stays close but it does make me wish I’d gotten another bottle.

Overall: Beautiful – warm, spicy, musk. This scent reminds me just how much I adore amber musk. This scent is just wonderful.

Reviewed 2-19-07

Tisiphone – Excolo

Notes: oleander with black patchouli, ylang ylang, and neroli.

This oil smells dark, slightly floral. Wet, I can smell the patchouli, but there’s the richness of flowers. It smells like incense to me, despite it not having any traditional incense notes. As it wears the patchouli melds really well with the other notes while still being present and quite prominent. I’m not sure what oleander smells like, and I’m having a hard time trying to describe this scent or link it to the listed ingredients. The best way I can describe it, once dry, is that it’s slightly sweet, heady, rich, dark, and softly floral. A fine layer of powder is present and adds an old fashioned air to this scent. The dark oils almost smell hot. This is an unusual scent and one that I’m glad to have tried.

Viola – Illyria

Notes: tea rose, lilac, calla lily, somalian rose, amber, spanish moss, red sandalwood, rosewood, myrrh, mandarin

In the imp: rose, flowers, but tempered and softened

On the skin: mainly a soft rose mixed with some other flowers. The resins and woods soften and moderate the flowers, adding a richness and sensuality to the blend. It’s a quiet scent and it stays close to the skin. This is really pretty scent, soft and gentle. I doubt that I’d wear it much but I’ve enjoyed trying it.

Lucy’s Kiss – Love Potions

Notes: rose, victorian spices

In the imp: weak, watery rose

On the skin: smells like a weak tea rose on me. There’s only about 3 BPAL rose blends that I can do and this is not one of them. I find this to be weak, watery, with a slight chemical tang. The spices are there but they do not compliment the rose well on my skin nor to my nose.

Smelled while outside (it’s so cold here, -2*F), my hand smells good, especially from a distance. The rose was nice, sweet, pretty. I didn’t get that weak chemical smell. And after washing my hands, Lucy’s Kiss is still sticking around – now the rose is taking on a powdery aspect and the rose scent has smoothed out. I think that I prefer this scent in smaller doses. Not enough to want a bottle but maybe enough to keep an imp.

Black Pearl – Bewitching Brews

Notes: coconut, florentine iris, hazlenut, opalescent white musk

In the imp: mostly iris

On the skin: Iris, a touch of coconut. This is a light, beautiful scent. I really like iris and a smidge of coconut is a wonderful compliment to the iris. The white musk provides a sexy base to the iris. It reminds me of my memory of Morella – iris and musk similarities, but I think this one is a bit sweeter, but I can’t swear to that. I’m not getting any hazelnut, which is ok with me as I’m not a huge fan.

As it wears, the iris remains strong and takes on that powdery note that iris often gets. This is just a wonderful scent – very soothing, refined, soft, sweet and pretty.

I’m wondering how old this imp is (it’s part of the GC swap) – looking over the reviews it’s interesting how there’s a clear split, either coconut and hazelnut, or iris and musk. I really like this version so it's cool with me!

Anubis – Excolo

Notes: myrrh, storax, balsam, and embalming herbs.

In the imp: herbs, honey & slightly fruity

On the skin: this smells like fruity honey. I never would have thought that based one the listed notes. Hmmm. I’m not too fond of honey so we’ll see how this goes. There could be a touch of resins back there but the honey and fruitiness completely overpower any other scents and I just can’t get past that impression. The honey scent is overwhelming this for me.

After it’s been on a while, the honey scent begins to fade a small bit, and I’m liking this more, but not enough to hang onto any imps that come my way. After it’s been on about an hr, it takes on a bit of dusty tone, but the honey and herbs are still going strong.

Well, I just looked at some of the reviews for this scent, a lot folks have smelled a strong honey from this scent – when I first smelled it, I was really surprised!

Hellcat - Diabous

Notes: hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum, sweet almond

In the imp: almond, honey

On the skin: almond & honey while wet. Super sweet, maybe a bit too sweet for me. The almond has a cherry edge to it. As it dries, I’m liking this one better. It’s not so sweet and seems more gourmand and familiar.

Oh my god, I just had a realization! It’s the burnt sugar from Sugar Skull that I smell. There’s a touch of almond, but this is so very similar to Sugar Skull, and on me, once it’s dry, an excellent replacement once my bottles run dry. I never would have thought it but I am so thrilled to discover this!

Blood Amber - Bewitching Brews

Notes: dragon's blood, golden amber

I have a bottle of this but eventually sold it away, I just wasn’t using it much. But I’m looking forward to retrying this one.

In the imp, most strongly, I smell dragon’s blood.

On the skin, dragon’s blood with sweet amber, just as I remembered. This is a lovely scent and I see why I liked it so much to buy a bottle. It’s a great combination – and I still like it.

I remember it taking on a dusty feel as I wore it, and being fairly dry. So far that hasn’t happened but I’ll test it out and see if it happens again.

Now, had I come across this imp, I don’t know that I would have been compelled to buy a bottle, but I will keep any imps that come my way.

Flower Moon - A Little Lunacy

Notes: tulip, daffodil, violet, dewdrop, rhododendron, iris, daisy, and a mix of California wildflowers

In the bottle, sweet, wild, flowers. These are not the big name florals; no these are the less showy flowers. Wild flowers on a sunny, breezy day. There’s a little sharpness when it first goes on, but it’s not too bad and it softens. There’s a slight berry scent here and I’m getting a whiff of citrus too, which is a surprise. After it’s been on a while, the sharpness is gone and this is a soft, pretty floral scent that is like being surrounded by wildflowers – just beautiful. This is a strong scent though. It has serious throw and too much can be overpowering, so a light touch is required.

reviewed 1-14-07

Wolf Moon 2007

Notes: Winter air, Terebinth pine, juniper berry, dusty orris, deep amber, white sandalwood, black musk, blue cedar, and tonka

In the Bottle: predominantly pine and an airy sweetness

On the skin: this smell much like it did in the bottle, pine, juniper with an airy sweetness. I have a problem differentiating the Labs snowy blends – they all smell pretty much alike. That being said, this one is quite nice. While it is similar to Snow Moon, Snow Bunny and Talvikuu, it’s also similar to Golden Priaprus, which love. I think it’s somewhere in between, due to the amber, tonka and sandalwood which add a sweetness and warmth to the blend. From the snow blends, I this is one of my favorites. As it wears, the amber, sandalwood and tonka come forward, balancing the pine and juniper. In this respect it’s a lot like GP, with amber and sandalwood instead of vanilla. I wasn’t sure if I should order this but I’m glad that I did.

reviewed 1-14-07

Casanova - Love Potions

Notes: leather, anise, lavender, bergamot, amber, tonka, lemon peel, patchouli

Imp: lavender, bergamot, leather

On the skin: this smells masculine – mainly lavender. It has a slight cologne tang to it, because these scents are traditionally found in men’s cologne. As it wears, the amber, tonka and leather come out, adding a sensuous note. The patchouli too. This is wonderful. The lavender and bergamot provide a bit of an edge to this scent. I’m not getting lemon peel or anise, which is good as I don’t generally care for those notes. This really is a sexy man kinda scent, confident, strong, sexy. It has a similar vibe to me as Doc Constantine, except there’s a herbal edge rather than a smoky one. Delicious!

Budding Moon - A little lunacy

Notes: Plum blossom, peony, lotus root, Chinese musk and a hint of white ginger.

Not a formal review as I swapped or sold this oil when I got it and didn't review it. Basically, it was a strong, screeching floral that made my eyes ache. Way too strong for me.

Notations 1-14-07

Peony Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: Peony, plum blossom, water reeds and soft Asian woods.

Peony Moon is a very pretty spring floral. To my nose in the bottle it's very sweet, a bit soft, overall very nice floral.

I too see similarities to Budding Moon, which has similar components. As it dries down, the pretty soft floral changes and becomes a bit sharp. I'm not liking this part of it. The sharpness stays with me as I wear it. Is this a bad reaction to the woods and reeds? I hope not but I'm not getting those, just a sharp floral. ah well, I've got some great florals already that work with my chemistry.

reviewed 4-17-06

Milk Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: cream and warm honey soften our traditional blend of lunar oils

In the Bottle: Honey and milk

On the Skin: Honey, milk and mint. As it dries, the honey comes out on me, but I'm not much a fan for honey. The cream stays very true. It does remind me a lot of White Rabbit! It's a sweet, warm, soft scent, pretty but I'm not sure that it's me. The lunar oils add a bit of smoothness and bring to mind the color light, pale mint green.

Overall Impression: Milk Moon is nicely done but it's not me. I'm more a woods, leather and incense kinda gal. While this is soft and comforting, it's not something that I'd ever wear on a regular basis, or reach for much at all. So far it's sat in the dark for months. So that says something. For milk scents, I think that the spicy carnation of Alice makes the milk a lot more interesting. Ah well, I'm glad that I got to try it.

reviewed 10-16-05

Honey Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: five different honeys, ranging from pale and sweet to deep and heady, with hints of jasmine, white gardenia, Hawaiian white ginger and thyme..

In the Imp: not bad. smells pretty good - honey that's tempered a bit - must be the ginger and thyme.

On the skin: pretty good. I was a bit hesitant to order this one, as I wasn't sure how honey and I get along. going along ok - smells like fresh honey, golden and clear and sticky.

Over time the darker honeys come out. the drydown is quite similar to O, which I really didn't care for. I prefer the wet/fresh phase over they drydown.

this lasts a LONG time. if you like honey, if you like O, I think you'll really dig Honey Moon. as for me, maybe as my nose evolves I'll appreciate it more. at this point, however, there's so many other amazing scents to enjoy that this falls well down on my list.

Holiday Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: Bamboo pulp and oude with green and white tea

This is a beautiful, fresh green fragrance to me. It is very refreshing and spring-like. I get predominantly bamboo and tea, the oude is not present much so I’m sure that its presence here in the blend is for grounding and fixing the lighter notes. It’s almost floral but not quite, and I do get a touch of lemon. I’m usually avoided the lighter GC (and LE for that matter!) blends so I don’t have oil to compare it to…

As it wears it softens and the oude makes itself known. Just lovely!

reviewed 4-22-06

Buck Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: musk, forest herbs, a hint of clear, warm evening air and a crystalline spark of lunar oil

Buck Moon is so beautiful. It is a very light scent that stays close.

In the bottle it's a bit cool and a bit citrusy, maybe grapefruit.

On the skin, it's very different. I'm not getting forest herbs. Instead, the citrus changes to a sweet mild slightly almond smell. And a warm clean musk.

On drydown, the almond become a bit more vanilla, a bit of spicy warmth all underlain with a clean glorious musk. This is very beautiful. I wish it were a bit stronger - the only way I can smell it is with my nose plastered to my wrist. As time goes on, it becomes an amazing skin scent - slightly sweet & spicy, musky.

reviewed 9-25-05

Beaver Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: cheesecake and cupcakes

In the bottle - strong, sweet, edible goodness. Mainly cheesecake.

On the Skin - initial - sweet cheesecake, but then it morphs pretty quick and I get plastic. It's similar to the initial note I get in Midway (I get plastic there too) but much much sweeter. It's a very strong scent and the throw is tremendous.

After about 20 minutes or so - the plastic note burns off and I get edible goodness, the tanginess of cheesecake, maybe a touch of crust.

Overall - I didn't think that it could be done but Beth did a hell of a job capturing these scents. It's pretty phenomenal really. The beginning and ending are great, but the getting there is not good. Is it a keeper? I'm not sure, but it does have some yummy phases.

reviewed 12-26-05

Strawberry Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: strawberries and cream with light, dry lotus, soft ylang ylang and a touch of green tea and sage

I saw a note here on the forums that someone’s bottle of Strawberry Moon wasn’t aging well. I thought to myself, well I better go test my bottle and see if I need to make lotion or body wash with it. I’m glad to say that on me, it’s is still going strong, and it seems that it’s gotten even juicier than when I first got it.

Resniffing the bottle, hmmm, maybe I do detect a touch of change from when I first got it. It does smell a bit like acetone as opposed to when I first got it, which, if memory serves, was a lot more like fresh strawberries. Maybe the sage is doing that. In the bottle is not a great smell.

But on the skin, wet, this is all juicy strawberries, red, plump, bursting. It’s pretty sweet but still strawberries. Maybe it’s not as fresh berry as it was when it was fresh from the lab, it’s hard for me to say for sure. I do remember more sage than I’m getting now.

As it wears, the fresh strawberry scent remains and I smell delicious and edible.

It lasted a good while on me. My skin usually eats BPAL for lunch but by mid-day I could smell it, a virtual record. As it wore, the sweet, juicy strawberry scent remained true.

Lovely. Now do I take my chances….?

reviewed 10-20-06

Kindly Moon - a Little Lunacy

Notes: moonflower, lotus root, white gardenia, beeswax, peach blossom, blue musk, stargazer lily, golden osmanthus, ti, sandalwood, hyacinth, ylang ylang, and a touch of vanilla bean

I mainly bought a bottle of this because it’s my birth month, and you have to get your birth month. But I really wasn’t sure – all of the florals had me a bit scared. But, it was my birth month, plus reading Beth’s comment that it was velvety had me sold.

In the bottle, it’s a sweet floral, slightly fruity.

Once applied, oh my God, this is beautiful. It’s a slightly watery scent, a soft, sweet, gentle floral. It’s very soothing and comforting. Kindly is such an appropriate name for this moon.

The combination of sandalwood and blue musk with the stargazer lily, moonflower and other elements in this scent takes it well beyond the standard floral scent. This is soft, and glowing , watery without going aquatic. If blue musk is responsible, then I may just follow blue musk to the ends of the earth, it’s that beautiful. Velvety is an apt description. I’m so glad that I got 2 bottles of this.

reviewed 11-21-06

Hungry Ghost Moon: A Little Lunacy

Notes: ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost’s perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins

In the imp, this smells sweet, fresh, juicy, fruit and tart

On the skin, this is tart and sweet, almost like a sweet glass of limeade but with a different citrus fruit. It’s juicy, fresh and such a perfect scent for summer. There’s hints of green and clean, clear musk. It has a bit of a fizzy quality to it. It’s complex and hard for me to describe, other than I love this scent and I think it’s really one of the most unique blends. There’s a touch of spice which must be the ginger.

After its been on a while, the sandalwood becomes a bit more distinct, mixing wonderfully with the vanilla, sugar and citrus. It gets deeper as it wears, while remaining sweet and fresh. And such a happy smelling scent.

It’s an amazing combination of scents and they all meld so well. Fantastic.

Reviewed 11-21-06

Baku - Somnium (reviewed 10-5-05)

Notes: none listed

Initially it is very strong eucalyptus. I also get lavender and fennel or maybe anise. Maybe a drop of jasmine. As time passes, the fennel/anise scent grows stronger and it gets sweeter. It smells almost edible, like licorice herby candy. As a scent, I like it better than Somnus. But I still think that Oneroi smells the best of the Somnium oils (and is amazing effective).

Haunted - Funereal Oils - reviewed 10-1-05)

Notes: amber, black musk

Well I definitely know that some ambers are not my friend. Haunted proves it. I wasn't quite sure before. Haunted was not what I was expecting. I think I expected something like the Lion with a blast of musk. Not what I got at all.

In the Imp, I was surprised by its smell, not too musky but a dry, not-sweet amber. It reminds me of some kinda food that I can't place right now.

On the Skin, that dry smell continues. As I wear it, I get the Play-Dough scent. Uggg. Not good. And that this weird almost foody scent continues. For the life of me I can't think of it - some sort of dessert it must be.

Final Thought, Haunted is not for me. There's plenty of other BPAL to love.

Van Sans Retour - Unreleased (reviewed 2-18-06)

Part of the Unreleased sniffing circle...

In the Imp: light, clean, fresh, lemony

On the Skin, Initial impression: On the skin, it's as in the imp - lovely, lemony fresh, light smelling. Very clean smelling and crisp. When I first put it on, I thought that I got whiffs of something wild and grassy, but that could have been suggestion...

Dry: As it dries, a piney, juniper scent emerges. It also changes into more of an herbal, green scent instead of citrusy, as would be expected by the emergence of evergreen.

Overall: It's a nice scent, but not really what I would ever reach for and it has no lasting power on me at all. After about a ½ hr, it’s gone. But, I'm glad that I got an opportunity to try it.