cranberry

I had the same reaction wtih Hexennacht. Started out amazing and then it turns all musk. I'm still trying to figure out which musks I react badly to so what works for me that has musk may not work for you.

But, have you tried Coyote? It's a warm, ambery non-floral that lists musk in the ingredients but the musk seems to say pretty quiet on me. I would stay away from Yddgrissal (sp all wrong) - I got the same musk there that I did with Hexennacht. I was pretty surpised by that one!

I was so looking forward to trying Hexennacht and couldn't wait for my order to arrive.

at first whiff, Wow! like nothing that I'd smelled before - fir and incense and maybe slight touch of cider - amazing!

on the skin - I'm in love. this is so beautiful! the smoke really seemed to come out and melds with the evergreen and incense. this is my favorite stage and it's this sexy dark wild scent and I can see dancing and celebrations in the evergreen forest.

drydown - oh no. the musk has made it's appearance and not a musk that always gets along with me either. seems to depend more on my cycle, but it can turn this really off, yucky, icky, moldy chocolate- far far from a sexy warm skin scent and not a pleasant scent at all.

hmmm. not sure if I'll keep it. I really love the beginning and middle stages - but the ending can go terribly wrong on me. maybe layering the ending stage with Nocnitsa or relayering Hexennacht - I'll do some experiments and then decide. gotta say, I'm a bit envious of those that it remains the same from begining to end.

Thanks to the generosity of the Lab I got the opportunity to try Blood Lotus. From the idea (lotus) to first sniff I really wasn't sure I'd like this, I tend to steer away from florals.

But once I put it on I was pleasantly suprised - I really like this! It's a dark sweet floral resiny scent - I love sandalwood, myrrh and amber so I should have known that this scent would suit me. It has great sillage - most of BPALs that I've tried have stayed close - but not Blood Lotus (a good thing).

I never got any bubblegum scent - thank God! The floral doesn't last too long on me but instead melds to become this dark, sweet, resiny sexy scent wafting gently around me. Definately a keeper.

When I first got my SIA box and was going through and smelling everything, when I got to this bottle, I said to myself "what is this amazing smell?" and immediately rubbed it on my wrists, neck, collar and cleavage.

I still don't know what that smell is but I do recognize it. Somewhere, in the back of my brain.

Al Azif is a very sweet, sugary scent that really doesn't change a whole lot on me. I usually go into sugar shock with very sweet scents but I really like this one. I get hints of resin and incense. I dont' get cedar. Maybe sandalwood way way underneath. It brings to mind sticky resins and light sweet smoke even though it is a very smooth scent.

Now why did I only get one bottle? **kicking myself**

Wow - this is just beautiful. I adore sandalwood. This is a very light creamy sandalwood - maybe with a touch of carnation to add a bit of spice and slight floral sweetness. It stays pretty true from initial application - the carnation comes out as it dries.

This is a very light close scent on me and disappears pretty quickly. It reminded me to Diptyque's Tam Dao when I first smelled it - they both have that creamy quality to the sandalwood. Overall, I love it and it's risen to the top of my list of bottles to get.

mmmmmmm. I LOVE Coyote. At first I thought that it was pretty similar to the Lion - mainly lots of amber-y warmth. So I tested them - one on each arm.

Compared to the Lion, Coyote is not so spicy and a little lighter. I still get loads of amber but also either a slight dirt note with dry grass. The dry grassy notes remind me a bit of Hamadryad, which is weird since Hamadryad is a lot more lush to me. The musk stays quiet on me - thank goodness as musks sometimes go funky on me. Not sure that I get any suede. Overall it is a warm smooth dry scent. It makes me imagine lazing in the sun in a area that hasn't had a lot of rain so things are pretty dry and crispy.

Coyote stays pretty close - not a lot of sillage (have to experiment with slathering once I get a big bottle). It is beautiful scent that I need to get a 10 ml of. Right away!

I've tested Succor a few times and figured I'd chime in and post a review. So far I've only used this at night when I need to sleep. I've only tried one of the Sominum blends but Succor gives Somonus a run for it's money.

Like many of the others, I get a strong whiff of green olives. Something ambery or incensy or resiny is underneath and nicely supports the sharp tangy olive smell. The olives are fairly longlasting to me - and remain the prominent note but blend pretty well with the amber/resins.

I've not stayed awake long enough after applying to see how Succor changes over an extended period of time but overall very nice. I wouldn't use as a perfume - I don't want to go around smelling like sharp green olives!

I do find it to be very calming and soothing. I imagine that when I'm going through a stressful time and I need to be calmed Succor would be perfect.

This is beautiful! Tried it for the first time this morning - so far I've been wearing it for about 3 hrs and it's going strong. As the day goes on I may come back and add a bit more to this.

In the bottle, I smelled pure cedar and patchouli. Not much else. A very dry woody scent.

On the skin:

Stayed pretty true to the initial sniff - very woody, dry, mainly cedar and patchouli. I do catch a whiff of salt - while I don't in Annie Bonnie - interesting. As it wears on and blends, I catch a bit of smoke - it does remind me of Diptyque's Essence of John Galliano Room Spray! Which I love and have 2 bottles of at home!

Overall impression - LOVE it.

I'm going to have to get a big big bottle of this - I can see using it for me and as a room scent. Good staying power, not sure about sillage/throw, but overall very warm, dry, and brings to mind a dark golden color.

Warm, slighly spicy, beautiful amber - this image I get is warm and glowing. The Lion stays very close to me - a bit closer than I want (as I imagine I would feel with a real lion) but it's a very beautiful scent. I adore amber and I love this scent, but I wish it were a bit stronger. I definately don't get ferocious from it. Unfortunately, it's very fleeting and disappears quickly. It's a sleepy, lazy scent, slightly sweet and dry. I can believe there's a touch, just a touch of cardamon in here, along with loads of amber.

If it stayed with me a bit longer and bit stonger, I'd definately go for a bigger bottle. Now I'm a bit torn but I love it just the same.

WOW! I am in love. Sin made me find BPal and was my very first BPal purchase (5ml) - totally unsniffed but I knew I would love it. Was I right.

First smell: incense, a little headshoppy (my nose was unprepared I think).

Wet: Amazing. Warm, very well blended, having a problem picking out specific notes. Rich dark sandalwood, very slight patchouli. Spicy.

Drydown: Truly amazing. Warm, spicy, yummy - just wonderful! Sin has a very rich, warm deep sandalwood smell. I can't stop smelling my wrists and want to slather Sin all over.

Sin has gotten me compliments on how good I smell! I like it better and better the more that I wear it. I definately have to get a big bottle of this.