hlinspjalda

In the bottle: Air, metal, citrus. Wet: Lemony, a touch of metal and some bright herb. It is very refreshing, cheering. Half an hour: There's something perhaps like white musk in this. I'm getting the faint crittery note. The last time or two I had that, it wasn't so intense as some of the early times. It does always seem to appear in scents with a lemony note; I wonder if there is a connection there. One hour: The crittery note is stronger now. I'd say it's vying for supremacy with the citrusy note, and the metal notes are right behind. This is still refreshing, but there's an element in it that makes me stop, look back, and reassess. Two hours: Still that crittery impression with ozone, metal, bright herb, and citrus. I like it, and it's very eye-opening, but I'm still uneasy with that crittery note. Wish I could figure out once and for all what that note is! Three hours: Very metallic/ozone now. This is not a realm where I do well, but it's still managing to be wearable. The citrus and bright herb are there still, which is probably what makes the difference on my skin. Four hours: The crittery note has calmed down, and the edge is off the metallic/ozone. What's left is more like hyssop than anything else, i.e., a slightly bitter green herbal note. I never did get much in the way of tonka on this one.

In the bottle: Warm metallic with lavender. Wet: Very offbeat. It's skirting headache territory for me, but hopefully I'll get a grip on it. I get a lot of lavender, the slightly unsettling elemi note, and a strongly perfumy note I can't quite identify yet. Maybe something in the ozone-aquatic range? Yet the whole thing is perversely warm, somehow, even though it's full of white notes. Half an hour: Very unusual, very mysterious. If I sniffed this without reading the label, I'd expect it to be something from the Steamworks line, with its hints of metal, machine oil, and airy herb. One hour: This has become much more resinous over the last half hour. It's even a bit spicy. It still has that Steamworks impression, which is of course entirely fitting to this scent. Two hours: This is just at the far edge of tolerable for me, still a Steamworks lab experiment with just enough resinous warmth to turn it from hypothetical to empirical. It has worked out much better than I feared it would based on the notes, many of which are unfriendly to me. Three hours: More resinous now. It's as if the machinery is well-warmed now; I get a trace of spicy mechanical smoke and more of that unusual motor-oil kind of note. No recognizable notes, though, except it's starting to smell a bit like the Kinnabari prototype. Four and a half hours: Yup, still steampunk/alchemical. There's no way around it: this one smells like a lab. I am captivated! What a perfect, evocative Mercurius scent this is!

Of all the alchemical phoenix offerings this year, this is the one I feared most. It has two of my (generally) death notes in it! In the bottle: Ethereal pear over floral. Wet: This is very unusual. It is light, definitely silvery-white in impression. Normally I get headaches from this kind of scent, but this one isn't bothering me yet. The pear note is exquisite, floral rather than juicy. There's also something rich and substantial in there that isn't accounted for by the notes listing, something resinous maybe. Half an hour: Oh, delicious! I feared for the orris in this one, but I'm getting very little of that. Instead, I'm getting a gorgeous floral pear note and some grassy base. I was so afraid this would be mega-fail on me, I'm thrilled it's working out this well! One hour: Wow, this is unexpected. A death note and a trouble note have still not managed to keep me from loving this one! I don't get any juniper, no recognizable mugwort, or for that matter any recognizable note save the pear. It's just floral-ish pear over a complex of herbal notes, light, a bit grassy, beautiful. Two hours: There is definitely a violet-like aura to it now, I suppose from the orris. It's sharpened everything up a bit more than I expected for a scent that I'm already two hours into. But it's not turning the scent into something I can't wear, and the pear note is still beautiful. Three hours: More violet still, and suddenly there's a sugary note, as if the violets were candied. But it still reads as light and silvery, and the pear note is hanging in there. Usually the pear note, while lovely, is fugitive on me. I'm thrilled with the behavior of this one! Four and a half hours: Still gentle sweet violet and floral pear. Very light, but still quite true to itself, not tired or morphing. This one was the big surprise for me; usually I can't wear silvery scents at all because of the high floral notes. I'm really impressed by this one!

In the bottle: Deep fruity honey with touches of rose and patchouli. Wet: A very well balanced patchouli-amber with a strong secondary honey note. There's also fruity spice. I love this one; I hope it stays nice on me! Half an hour: This is very well blended on my skin. Since it's composed of a number of notes of love, that's fine by me. The only thing I fear is the red sandalwood, which tends to sour on me. So far, though, this is fine and I like it a lot. One hour: Still very much in my zone; I'm getting honey-sweetened orange over amber and patchouli. The amber has begun to powder up a bit, though. Two hours: Very little change, very consistent. This is sweet, orange, honey, powdery amber, and just enough patchouli to counteract the sweetness. Right in my zone for happy days. Three hours: Still much the same, although the balance has shifted toward the patchouli and away from the orange. Four and a half hours: Mostly patchouli-amber now, with some sweetness from the honey. I liked this quite a lot. It wasn't a home run on me, but it's nice enough that I'll keep and use the bottle.

In the bottle: Warm citrusy metallic with verbena. Wet: Gorgeous verbena, but more orange than verbena usually is. The heliotrope I feared is behaving well, for the moment at least. Half an hour: Still citrusy metallic, but with resin. This scent is oddly familiar to me, as if it something from my distant past. Still not having any trouble with the heliotrope note, for which I'm grateful. One hour: I don't get amber from this at all; I continue to get citrus with a metallic tinge. But it's working. There's an herbal note in there, not angelica though. Not recognizing heliotrope, either, thank goodness, and the verbena has of course burned off by now. I expect that if it's made it this far on my skin the scent will begin to trend toward frankincense next. Two hours: Still citrusy metal. It is staying fairly true to itself, just lightening up as it goes. Not as much frankincense involvement as I expected, though. Three hours: Much lighter now. It still doesn't smell ambery to me, much more in the metal and citrus zone. I do not think I'm going to be able to love this one, but it came off better on my skin than I anticipated. Four and a half hours: The metallic note has gone away almost entirely, leaving behind the impression of yuzu, heliotrope, and maybe a bit of frankincense. I liked this better than Sol Invictus as a solar scent, but it's not quite friendly enough on my skin to be really spectacular. Am surprised the amber wasn't more evident; usually my skin loves amber. But the bright gold metal note was surprisingly cooperative.

In the vial: Wine and something baked-goodish, like maybe tonka. Wet: Floral, kind of a dragon's blood impression only the oil's not red. Lots of wood, though, light wood like sandalwood or cedar. Half an hour: Oh, my. I get sandalwood and wine, with something menthol like maybe patchouli or possibly balsam. This is really nice. One hour: Wow, I really love this. It's blended so nicely, though, that I can't make out any individual notes. It seems like it still has a rounded patchouli-esque note, and some wood, probably cedar. It's resonant, just a touch on the dry side, and not at all sweet or spicy. Two and a half hours: I still really love this, and it still reads like patchouli and cedar to me, only very delicately and tastefully so. I don't get anything like the previous reviewers; chalk it up to my weird chemistry, I guess.

I purchased this one-ounce decant. In the bottle it doesn't smell like much at all to me, maybe a touch of dry wood. As soon as it got wet, though, there was a surge of resinous herby green, very soothing yet stimulating. After drying on my skin it's mostly very dry sandalwood and a little bit of dusty calamus, with hints of green. It's brighter than just sage, though, so I think that's the palmarosa. It is very subtle, quite dry. I could see wanting this after a sweaty day. I don't love it enough for a bottle, but I'm definitely keeping my decant; we'll see whether it grows on me.

I ordered a decant of this from a circle because it looked like I was going to love it. The only note that's iffy for me is the palmarosa. In the bottle: Jasmine, vetiver, and very dark patchouli, with a touch of ylang-ylang. When I used this as a moisturizer, it went to a very strange place. I'm very very good with most of the notes in this, but they somehow came together in a way that didn't particularly work for me. I get jasmine and patchouli and vetiver and ylang-ylang, and for an instant I can even smell the chocolate, but it's a much more brooding and less sweet-spicy blend than it should be on my skin. Many of the notes never even showed up on my skin, to my great surprise. Fortunately, my love of Lupanar from the same release made up for not loving Incendia as much as I'd hoped I would. And there are so many other BPTP bath oils that I do love, I am okay with not loving this one.

I picked up a decant of this from a circle. In the bottle: Delicate orange, honey, evergreen, and something grassy. I'm wary of the orange blossom note, since it often doesn't work well on me. On my skin it was almost entirely sweet lemon and light lavender. This isn't lemon juice or peel, it's more like lemon with a touch of sugar. (I kept re-reading the ingredients, wondering why this smelled so much like lemon when the list said grapefruit.) The lavender, not often a good note for me, behaves beautifully in this with just a touch of woody stemminess. The overall impression is so cheerful and stimulating, right on the money for an Air scent. I just wanted to huff it! It's long-lasting too; I can still smell pleasant grapefruitiness 18 hours later. And like the other massage oils, it feels great and makes my skin very happy indeed. I could easily see using this as my default massage oil.

I get much more of an herbal vibe than I expected, with a mild beeswax-resin undertone. Not much in the way of floral, or at least that's how it seems to me. Which is probably just as well, because champaca usually gives me headaches. This spray didn't give me headaches, but I was disappointed that I didn't love it as much as I thought I would based on the majority of the listed notes.

I only got a decant of this, and I wish I'd gotten a whole bottle! To me it smells most like Hetairae: rich, thick, golden, and unbelievably sultry. I get honey and ylang ylang off it. This is the one I like to use when I'm planning a tryst with my spouse. It wafts through the whole house and lasts for many hours.

I acquired a decant of this for the sage, myrrh, patchouli, and cedar. But what I got on my skin was homemade molasses cookies with cinnamon sugar on top. Later it developed a grassy note but retained its strongly foody character. Since I'm not into foody scents, I re-homed it.

In the bottle: This smells intoxicatingly of beeswax and peaches to me. If I leave the door of my bathroom cabinet open, it scents the whole bathroom. Once on my skin, it's more in the amber-carnation range. It fizzes in the bath! It also works nicely as a moisturizer used at the end of a shower. I acquired nearly two 4-oz bottles of this; it's fabulous and really long-lasting on my skin. Always on the lookout for more; it's my favorite bath oil evar. This layers well with Blockbuster (Conjure Bag) or Eisheth Zenunim.

In the vial, a touch of lemon, mint, gardenia. It goes on springy, all lemon and mint. On my skin, the gardenia blossomed immediately. But after rinsing there's a mix of florals in which the gardenia is only one of several well blended notes. The plum blossom in particular comes out nicely. There's also mint, citrus, and something I guess is the sandalwood. It is gentler and more complex than I expected. This layers particularly nicely with Faiza, the Black Mamba.

I originally encountered a frimp of this and it smelled so good I purchased a decant. In the bottle: Lovely citrusy blend with jasmine. It reminds me of Hua Mulan, only brighter and more green, with touches of slightly spicy floral. On my skin: A huge burst of green! It's mostly lime but there's floral in it too. I can make out the jasmine. Looking for the myrtle, not detecting it, which saddens me, but wow! Is this green!!! It's refreshing, head clearing, and I love it even though it's not as subtle as it was in the bottle. It seems to be the freshest lime rind ever squeezed, with some floral in it. Afterwards: As I rinsed (I use the oils in a shower, usually), suddenly the tea note rang out. Still very green, but now the green of summer iced tea with lime. On my dry skin it's a very gentle but focused citrus, more grapefruit peel than anything else yet with a touch of some floral. I don't think it's orange blossom or jasmine, it's warmer and sweeter than those. This is so fabulous, I'm going to get a bottle and use it all summer long.

I was frimped a tester of this, to my great joy. In the vial: Rich red wine and myrrh, then a hint of rose. This smells very sexy, almost vampirish to me. Wet: Sweeter and warmer right away, almost as if cinnamon were involved. The tang of the wine has disappeared, leaving only the grapey sweetness. Oh, I am loving this. If it winds up smelling better than its descendant The Obsidian Widow on me, I'm going to be very unhappy, because I don't have nearly enough of this to feed the habit that would develop! Hour and a half: This is quite delicious, and the red wine note is behaving beautifully. The red sandalwood hasn't even soured on me the way it usually does, although it is a little more woody than I recall The Obsidian Widow being. Overall it's a slightly woody floral with fruity notes. I don't really get any of the patchouli, but the myrrh is down there at the base anchoring the scent. Three hours: Still delicious, and definitely a sandalwood-first scent on me although it is extremely well balanced with the floral and grapey notes. I really love this one. Four and a half hours: A gentle sandalwood-patchouli-floral now.

This is extraordinary. I was a little reluctant to acquire some of this, since lavender and geranium didn't sound all that friendly to me. Ignis is very much my style, and I was happy with my bottle of that. But I grabbed an opportunity for a decant of Aquae (being a water sign, I felt obligated), and am I glad I did! In the bottle I get mostly geranium and lavender. The dominant scents on my skin are the geranium with a deep, resonant underlayer of chamomile. It smells unutterably sweet yet at the same time somewhat bitter and green. There's an unusual, slightly pungent note in it; it must be the immortelle, which seems familiar from my bottle of Judith and Holofernes. After several hours, the frankincense is stronger than the geranium, and so it's a warmer and richer scent, less green. But it's no less wonderful. The first time my husband used this oil on my skin, it made me want to cry; it had the curious effect of both stirring up and completely reassuring me about old memories that I couldn't even recall clearly. That's one of the most intense emotional reactions I have ever had to a BPAL fragrance. The scent lasted all night when I tried it on my arms as a moisturizer before bed, and the skin was still happy 12 hours later. The texture of the oil is really great, and my skin just loves it.

In the bottle: Wow, I like this: warm, sweet, almost earthy. It smells to me like Schwarzer Mond light, minus the sweet note. Wet: More vanilla than in the bottle, but still with that base. It's warm, with a patchouli-resin vibe over a nice musk. There's an unexpected almost citrusy tart note, very well blended though, maybe something green. Twenty minutes: The musk has taken an unexpected turn; it smells a little more crittery on me than most musks. I'm also getting a definite impression of chile pepper. There's no skin irritation, but I smell something like New Mexican red chiles. There's still resin and a touch of vanilla, even a breath of nutmeg to warm things up. This is a fascinating scent! One hour: This is delightful. It's warm, dark, a touch smoky, yet somehow nurturing. The crittery impression was fleeting, and it's long over now. There's a bright near-sweetness to this scent. I could see wearing this one a lot in cold weather. Two and a half hours: Still loving this. It really is like a daytime, everyday alternative to my beloved Schwarzer Mond, although it's muskier. This scent doesn't give me feathers at all; it gives me something more all-encompassing, like the Mother herself embracing me. It doesn't have a lot of throw on me, but it lasts for many hours. I took a chance on this one unsniffed, and that was clearly the right thing to do.

In the vial: Baby powder, the kind with floral overtones, and something a little bit flintier. Wet: More piercingly floral, but still with that Johnson's Baby Powder scent from the 1970s. And there's something else in there, something both sweet and acrid. It does kind of remind me of what I got off Brimstone. Half an hour: Softly and very pleasantly floral with a brimstone base. Hour and a half: Much more floral than brimstone. This is a bit like Stinky, only much more in my zone. Two and a half hours: Still sweet, an inoffensive honey-sweet floralish baby powder. But then again, the brimstone note works nicely on me, so perhaps I'm not getting the full devilish effect!

In the vial: I get metal, salt, musk, and a touch of weiners. Wet: Definitely the coppery note, the same one I got in Hell-Gate of Ireland. There's also some really black vetiver in here, and some musk. Fortunately, the weiner note seems to have been overcome by the others. Half an hour: Vetiver and weiner. Still get the musk and metal, though. Hour and a half: Now it's more metal and vetiver, with a salty musk note beneath. Two and a half hours: Salty leather and vetiver. I think it's on its way down; it's losing complexity now. Four hours: This turned into a very pleasant, light, musky, spicy blend, not at all like the earlier scent. Seven hours: After holding stable for a couple hours, this one slowly began to sour; maybe there is a leather note in there after all, since that's what many of the leather notes do on me.

In the vial: Fruity. Is that banana I'm getting? This reminds me very much of Shango, which I like a lot. Wet: Fruit and vanilla with a touch of something cinnamony; smells like cake, like pineapple upside-down cake without the brown sugar and butter. Cinnamon intensifying as I sniff. Half an hour: Not pineapple upside-down cake: strawberry shortcake, on an old-fashioned egg-rich crumbly cake! Maybe with a little rum in it, too, or some kind of booze, and there's vanilla in the whipped cream. One hour: Yup, definitely homemade strawberry shortcake. My daughter approved of it too. Three hours: Very long-lasting. This one made me smile all day long, the only successful strawberry note on me other than Strawberry Moon 2009.

In the vial: Pungent floral, maybe jasmine? Also some very incisive evergreen note. Wet: Wisteria or lilac, or is it jasmine? Sweet floral, anyway. A little pungent, sharper than some. Half an hour: Jasmine and something a little sappy, or stemmy. Still rather sharp, though. One hour: Mostly floral at this point. Three hours: This behaved reasonably well for a fleshy floral, but after a while it withered on me. I think if I use it again I'll reapply after every couple of hours.

Brings a rush of good luck, lifts the spirit, and helps alleviate depression. In the vial: Tangy like vetiver. But if that's vetiver, it's the best behaved version I think I've ever encountered! Also some floral, unidentifiable. Wet: Sweet fleshy floral and white clover. Half an hour: Wow, that's a hardcore clover scent, but there's another floral in there too. There's a strong impression of grass, too, like being in a huge field with a lot of clover. And there's something almost menthol about it, ethereal like lavender but with more of a lightly minty impression. One hour: The other floral has taken over control from the clover. It's extremely pungent, probably jasmine, but not one of the ones that's good on me. This one has a very high-pitched note and is a little overwhelming on me. The base and middle notes are great, though, very deliciously clovery. Three hours: The strong floral dominated the clover for hours, then finally died off leaving just the clover behind. I love the white clover note, so I'll keep this but save it for times when I really need it. That other floral is almost, but not quite, out of control on my skin.

In the vial: Tart, pungent, sharp, piercing like vetiver. Wet: Sweeter right away, but still with that leathery vetiver-like note. There's a very powerful herbal impression, but the dominant scent is a woody yet extremely sweet note. Half an hour: It smells utterly mysterious and completely familiar all at the same time. It's almost sugary sweet over a sharp and woody base with some smoke that smells like burning herbs. Wow. I shouldn't like this, but I do despite myself. One hour: Incense, sweet herbs, and that sugary note, almost like burning sugar -- not caramel, which has a milky scent, but pure sugar smoking. I like this very much. Three hours: I think that sweet scent is a floral, one that goes into the making of honey. Because what I seem to be smelling here is honey with a musky note plus one or two herbal notes and just a hint of tannic base. Delicious. This is how weaseljuice Frumious Bandersnatch ought to smell! Four hours: Sugar and tobacco smoke, mostly. I still think it's some kind of honey-sweet floral, rather like Chuparosa, but I'm damned if I can think of what it is. I still like this one. Five hours: Ever so faintly, the sugary note is dying back in favor of something that seems more like an ordinary floral. But which one? I have no idea. Still like it, though. Seven hours: Still there, I still like it. That musky note is stronger now, almost strong enough to balance the sweet. Definitely in more of a weaseljuice (ferret musk) territory than before, spicy sweet and musky all at once.

In the vial: Watery bluish smelling floral, with a touch of something invigorating. Wet: Aquatic floral with something that smells like vanilla? Half an hour: Creamy hand-milled French lavender soap. Very elegant. One hour: Still good quality lavender soap. There is something slightly unusual about it, though, an almost citrusy note, not lemon or orange but somehow partaking of citrus. Three hours: Long since gone. It was a beautiful, light, pale pastel blue-violet color on me, but it didn't last at all.