k00kaburra

Castitas is a gentle, soft fragrance. Very comforting - that must be the vanilla. It makes me think of fluffy feather pillows, or perhaps this is how I imagine those big puffy clouds on a brilliant blue summer day must smell. So, in the bath it is extremely relaxing.

Like all of BPAL's oils, it also leaves my skin feel soft and silky, without leaving an oil slick behind on the walls of the tub.

I re-tested Hemlock for the first time in several years today; the initial fragrance was so sharp and pine-filled that I doubted I would ever want to wear it. I forgot about the scent for a while as I went about my business.

A few minutes ago, I was sitting here trying to figure out where the heck a smell of Christmas potpourri was coming from. It turns out that it's the Hemlock! Very interesting...I don't know if it's because this oil has been aged for /years/ or if it's because reacting differently to my skin than the last time I tried it, but this is nothing like I expected.

The candle smells beautiful sitting on the table beside me. The distinctive spicy floral scent of carnation is heavenly! I missed out on the single note perfume, so I was so glad to experience the fragrance in candle form.

It's a very light fragrance with little throw; I usually can't smell it when the candle is actually burning. Weird, right?

The frosted glass and old-fashioned label look really lovely. I don't know if I'd keep the glass after the wax is all burned away (but then, I've got a thin layer of wax clinging to the sides instead of a 100% clean burn) but it sure looks nice when the flame's steadily burning inside.

In bottle: Fiercely animalistic. It is extremely musky, but there are hints of something sweet too. It is surprisingly sweet.

On me: On the skin, the amber emerges. It is still a musk fragrance, but it is a beautifully feminine musk. It doesn't scream ANIMAL! anymore. It is very mellow. Unfortunately it is also a bit plastic-like on my skin, so I won't be keeping it. ***

In bottle: Super-pine with the smoke of aged wood. To me it smells the way half-rotted timbers underground should smell, ancient beams precariously holding back the earth.

On me: Mostly pine, but it goes somewhat powdery on the skin. It has a VERY strong throw - my mother can smell it from across the room. Al-Azif was a lot sweeter to me, but there are similarities between the two blends. I think that I am not getting any resins out of this blend, and maybe that's what isn't making this a real winner to me. It's just powdery instead of slightly sweet.

In bottle: Sparkling is the word. It's deliciously fruity. Lemon zest sprinkled over peach and melon - with a bit of soda water perhaps.

On me: The tea is much more potent on the skin. Lemon and sugar sparkle, and the peach is so sweet. It really is a 'nice' fragrance. It makes me feel giggly like a little girl who has been running around all day, playing in the snow and sticking her nose in Christmas food.

In bottle: Rich dark chocolate - nearly black as coal! This is far more delicious, however. It's very rich and if it was food, you just know it'd be warm and gooey.

On me: Chocolate brownie extraordinaire. *****

In bottle: Very decadent and fattening - a naughty holiday treat. Rich cream, like buttercream frosting. In fact, it's so buttery that at very first whiff it made me think of popcorn.

On me: It turns to near-pure butter on my skin; the popcorn comparison pops up again with much more to back it up. It is like buttery movie popcorn, but not as shrilly so as Shill. There's still a creamy aspect, and the definite carmel note. Carmelized popcorn, perhaps.

In bottle: Red. Wet. Cinnamon. It definitely doesn't seem firey - almost more like damp earth. I think there's some patchouli in here.

On me: Huh. On the skin, it vanishes. No staying power at all. Seriously, it's been all of five minutes, and it looks like I won't be able to do any sort of comment on the fragrance. BUMMER.

In bottle: Crystal-clear aquatics, but then vetiver rises up in a smoky wave that I didn't expect.

On me: Since I got this through Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, I'm assuming it is safe for use on the skin. I really feel like I've been in a creative rut lately and I've got a long work shift today, so I am putting this in my hair (because I'm paranoid about applying perfumes to my face) to encourage tranquility and empathy for my customers, and healing and imagination for my artistic pursuits. I admit, I don't have a specific ritual, but I'm hoping the fragrance will influence my mood and help me focus.

Murky, mystical, and aquatic. It's a very light fragrance, and I expect that it'll be gone by the time I get to work today. I can't really detect any white florals that others mention, except for whatever makes the aquatic note that turns this from a smoky vetiver and patchouli blend into water with a bit of algae swirled in.

In bottle: Faint strains of blackberry waft over thick, fatty buttercream and cake. Yum.

On me: This is just perfect. Heavily berried, this is a rich bourbon and blackberry concoction. The velvet cake is definitely strong, but it is the buttercream and bourbon that really make this fragrance stand out in hedonistic delight. Delicious! Monsters, come hither! (Doesn't it make sense that a fashionista clothes horse would need monsters in her closet?) *****

In bottle: Mmmm. Rich coconut cake slathered with chocolate. Man, does this ever make me hungry!

On me: It is still richly coconutty, but I find that the cocoa is so dusty that it makes the cake seem rather stale. It lacks the moisture of a cake fragrance - it seems more a cookie. It just isn't the same delicious brew as in the bottle. Pity.

In bottle: Snow-covered boughs of fir or pine. The floral notes make this almost fruity in the bottle. I can't detect any of them specifically, only the bouquet as a whole.

On me: It's almost purely pine - a sweet pine, and for the first tem minutes ago it was chilled with some floral components. But my skin amplifies wood (so I really ought to learn to like it) and it's overwhelmingly evergreen now.

In bottle: Sweet and sparkling and bright. It is plum and dusty roots. The sharpness of white ginger is greatly mellowed, but present.

On me: Gem-like. Plum and peony are so beautiful together. It is very similar to Peony Moon, except that it is missing the bark undertones. It is crisp but still watery - and I love it. *****

In bottle: Lavender. Chamomile. The stuff of which dreams are made of - or at least, the ingredients that lull you to sleep so that the dreams can run about in your head. Sandalwood. Bamboo pulp - or at least, something that makes the fragrance a little bit fresh and green amidst the sleepy purple and moon-yellow.

On me: Very light on my skin, and very mellow, Sleepy Moon is chamomile and white sandalwood with poppy providing the slightest spiciness. It definitely makes me think of silver tree bark in a moonlit forest.

In bottle: It is such a sweet, delicate floral. It is big pink blossoms arranged in an elegant glass vase - they are fresh and cool, absolutely lovely, and you can smell the water in the vase beneath them.

On me: Very true to the bottle - the fragrance intensifies on the skin, but it definitely doesn't go away. It is ultimate feminine - peony petals scattered in a bath or on bedsheets. It's so soft and lovely; it is a happy little girl sort of smell. Very clean, but not in a soapy or astringent way. *****

In bottle: Beautifully green - a light green, a yellow-green. Bamboo definitely springs to mind - it has such a fresh fragrance, like if it was bamboo, the stalk was just snapped open. The astrigency of the tea really adds to the blend. It is spring and new growth!

On me: Wow, this fragrance has really great throw. It is so fresh and green, like the grass, but again not like grass at all. It is like thick fresh stalks of bamboo with the cool leaves brushing against your cheek. It is even slightly lemon-y to me. *****

it's a bit funny, but the combination of sandalwood and rose makes me really woozy with minimal effort. if you get a chance, try it!

In bottle: It's almost plasticky - it smells so artificial to me. Vanilla and strawberries, with sugary honey and amped-up pear mingling into a super-fruity, frou frou fragrance.

On me: Pink musk. In the end, everything blends into that! Whatever the musk is in Snow White - I smell it here, but it is completely 'pinked' out with a sugary, strawberry fruity plastic.

In bottle: Spicy and slightly fruity. The patchouli is faint, but something like cinnamon tickles my nose. It is a red, red, red fragrance. It is a bit musky, but to my nose overwhelmingly the chinese cassia.

On me: It smells like cinnamon potpourri to me. I've tried rolling the bottle to mix the oils further and reapplying, and that's still all I detect, but with hints of smoky patchouli and red musk. It's definitely a scent that reminds me of a Chinese herbalist's shop, but it's not a perfume for me.

In bottle: Love it. The soft purity of a white rose is just gorgeous, and this one is amplified and crafted to perfection by the addition of little background notes. There's a heavy innocence in this.

On me: This is just getting better and better. The rose is crisp and blooming bright - fresh and new as a first impression. The innocence I associate to this fragrance is so strong that I immediately think of arranged marriages, of two children meeting their betrothed for the first time and not really knowing what to do with each other. It's just gorgeous. (I said that already.) *****

In bottle: Patchouli and musk. It's got quite a bit of wood, too, and not in a forest's way. It's not deep and dark, but it sure is down 'n' dirty.

On me: Patchouli hippy sex. Raunchy and racy and oh-so-much-fun! It's the dusty patchouli draped over the sweetness of honey. The wooden smell is still largely present, but it is more of a background to other activities in the foreground. It's like doing the nasty in the sun, only a few yards from a often-used trail with only a small thicket of trees seperating yourselves from the traffic. ****

In bottle: Lots and lots of florals, but none of them distinctive enough for me to identify. It's like sitting in a garden (duh) with an incense burner filtering fragrance into the air with your lover as the sun sets in the west, and feeling just a little bit overwhelmed by it all.

On me: Man, jasmine overpowers again. It's weird - the BPAL jasmine rarely ever works for me, but I don't have half the problems I hve with it anywhere else. It's a pretty jasmine but it just takes over the blend and forces anything else to vamoose! This is a fast-fading fragrance, too; I only just applied it five minutes or so ago and it's already nearly disappeared from my skin.

In bottle: Rich creamy, sticky caramel with coconut shreds and golden amber. Distant puffs of smokiness and a slight hint of black currant waft up amidst the candy.

On me: So pretty! Smoky opium and glorious coconut, which is greatly sweetened by caramel and currant. It's deliciously spicy, and perfectly blended. The tobacco really gives it a certain edge that I don't think would be possible otherwise! I really like this one, which surprises me, because Red Lantern was the one fragrance I really had my doubts about.

A very, very complex fragrance. ****

In bottle: Sweetly sugared and dirtily musked at first whiff, Smut quickly manifests itself as a bawdy, boozy delight.

On me: The musks don't like me. This goes rather sour and heavy - I was hoping for a giggling "SEX! DRUGS! ROCK 'N' ROLL!" sort of fragrance, but on my skin it becomes more of a "MONKEY SEX! BEER! BACK SEAT OF A CAR!" and that just isn't quite what I was looking for. Also there's a slight hint of "rubberlatexcondom" that wafts up now and again, and I really don't want that in my perfume.

No Snake Oil to be found.