violetblue

Bourbon vanilla and 10-year aged frankincense. I had no idea what to expect out of this but I was still unprepared for it - I swear, it's Lush's American Cream scent in oil form. Drove me nuts for a few mins because I knew I knew the scent - and that's exactly what it is on me! I'm so curious to hear other reviews now. ETA I stink at notes but I swear am getting benzoin like mad from this blend and it's not listed.... Reminds me a bit of Lilith Vs the Giant Crab without the sweet fruit. Realllly not my thing. I ended up selling my bottle.

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. This smells so amazing!!!! I am so glad I listened to the WC reviews! I spritzed a little too much leaving me a little greasy, so I think I will use it on wet hair after I wash it. Got some on my hands and they smell awesome too! Worth the money, get you some!!!

The Orgy, William Hogarth. A dissolute fougere with wet honey musk, distilled spirits, rose water, white lead powder, Venetian ceruse, and Spanish leather beauty marks stained with port wine. Even after 8 years I am horrible at notes, but this is awesome! Very sweet and wine-y, with that incense scent I love so much. What I was hoping for - not getting the leather really, which is a good thing for me! (on reapplying - a peek of leather sneaks out but it's not the leather I am used to, probably sweetened by the honey, which is winning and not musty like some honeys go on me.)

One of the Alkyonides, the seven daughters of Alcyoneus. Blueberry and tangerine for the bright plumage of the kingfisher, limned with frozen flower petals. I have to say, this is just what I hoped it would be light! Fresh light and frozen come to mind. I don't know why but I thought of Skadi when I smelled it. Sometimes Lunacies are too aquatic or ozone-y for me, so I don't buy them often anymore, but not this one. The fruits are strong and realistic (the blueberry is great not synthetic) wet, though I don't smell tangerine alone, then it morphs into cold frozen, sweet musky petals on me. I like it better first applied, but it's def. a keeper.

PINK LACE A sweet prelude to grief: delicate tea rose and strawberry-laced vanilla stained by tobacco, champaca incense, and white cognac. This is just stunning! No amping linen note thank goodness and just the gentlest champaca. Gorgeously sweet and reminds me of the same strawberry sugar in L'ESSENCE DE L'ENGOUEMENT without the orange blossom sharpness. Barely smell the rose, which is a good thing as I can amp that to the point of nausea. Love! ETA: OK, this is just ODD. I just tested again, and I am getting whiffs of pickles! I don't know if it's because I have tried a million things on my arms tonight or what, so I'd love to know if this happens to anyone else!

Last winter, we took Lilith to New York for the first time. We were en route to the march in Washington, DC, with our friends, and made a few pit stops on the way. This photo was taken a split second before I got snowballed in the face at the East 72nd Street Playground. The handsome devil in the background is one of Liliths best friends in the world, Kyle. Snowballs and vanilla ice cream. This is a freezing cold scent for sure! Cool mint, ozone, and vanilla. A perfect winter scent in a bottle. I think of icy vanilla kissed with minty snow when I smell it.

At night, just before we start our bedtime ritual, Lilith climbs onto my lap, and we snuggle while we watch a little tv. She leans her head back onto me and settles in, and all I know in that instant is the warmth of my love for her. Her hair smells like soap and lavender, her skin smells like honey and sunshine, and everything is touched by the scent of the strawberries she's always eating. There are few moments in my life where I find myself completely at peace: this one of them. Very little can compare with the simple pleasure of holding my daughter. My Lilith, you have turned my world upside-down in the strangest and most wonderful of ways. There are no words that can describe moments like this, and there are no words that can truly capture how much I love you. Happy birthday, baby. This smells like gorgeous high end shampoo, clean and sweet. It isn't something I'd wear often (I go for more dirty patchouli/musk scents, which would not make sense when doing a Lilith scent, obviously) but I can see others loving it.

This vamp's secret to eternal youth: red musk, black patchouli, rose milk, and sugar blossom. This is dark, patchouli HEAVEN. Reminds me a little of Spellbound (roses), but heavy on the patch. Oil is dark and it smells strong, which I like. I can smell it faintly on my skin and hour after the bath. I may have to get more of this!!! I smell good and feel very relaxed after have used it! Of all the bath oils I have tried with patchouli, I think I like this one the best! ETA Weird, I used this again last night and the red musk dominated - either way, I love it!

LUCY, KISSED There was a long spell of silence, big, aching, void, and then from the Professor a keen "S-s-s-s!" He pointed, and far down the avenue of yews we saw a white figure advance, a dim white figure, which held something dark at its breast. The figure stopped, and at the moment a ray of moonlight fell upon the masses of driving clouds, and showed in startling prominence a dark-haired woman, dressed in the cerements of the grave. We could not see the face, for it was bent down over what we saw to be a fair-haired child. There was a pause and a sharp little cry, such as a child gives in sleep, or a dog as it lies before the fire and dreams. We were starting forward, but the Professor's warning hand, seen by us as he stood behind a yew tree, kept us back. And then as we looked the white figure moved forwards again. It was now near enough for us to see clearly, and the moonlight still held. My own heart grew cold as ice, and I could hear the gasp of Arthur, as we recognized the features of Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed. The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness. Van Helsing stepped out, and obedient to his gesture, we all advanced too. The four of us ranged in a line before the door of the tomb. Van Helsing raised his lantern and drew the slide. By the concentrated light that fell on Lucy's face we could see that the lips were crimson with fresh blood, and that the stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death-robe. Diabolical voluptuousness, a siren song from the grave: juniper and yew brushing against blackened violets and funeral roses, red musk and hot blood, veined white marble and icy, brittle musk, all pulsing with the sinister, hypnotic scent of patchouli, amber, oude, and cubeb. Wow, I am first!!! Received it today and it immediately reminded me of Spellbound - has to be a close relative for sure! Just a little dab will do ya, this doesn't warrant slathering! Just a bit and the throw was great, not too strong, not too light. I don't pick out single notes, just a heavenly, incensey/musky rosy blend. It's dark without being musty or evil! I adore it and will love wearing it for a night out on the town - definitely an evening/night scent - a bit too heavy I think for warm weather during the day...

We’re running out of room at the Lab, and it’s been a long, long time since we’ve had a trunk show. When Brian and I were rifling through the prototype and snafu shelves a few weeks ago, we dug up two busticated Snake Oils – one that was a mispour of Lemon Scented Sticky Bat, and another involved an Aggravated Vanilla Incident – and we unearthed the very first Samhain prototype from 2002. We don’t have time to do a full-blown trunk show right now, so we’re offering these three for sale. They’re in very, very limited quantity. Fastest delivery ever! I snatched two of these the minute I saw the link up. I got them today and immediately tested fully. I am really scratching my head though. I don't know if my sniffer is off but I am not smelling the vanilla/cream soda like I had hoped. This is a sharper snake oil to me without the powdery, almost too sweet/cloying dry down I can get if I put too much on. Maybe there's some added carbonation dryness in this to make one think of soda pop, but this was not at all what I was expecting and shame on me because I should have known the lab would never make something that smelled so simple/one note (unless released as one of course!) For a minute I even wondered if I got the lemon sticky bat snake oil instead by mistake due to the sharpness/almost medicinal scent, so I tested my 2nd bottle and it still smelled the same on me. The odd thing is, if you just sniff the oil in the bottle, you def. can smell sweet vanilla/cream soda-ish oil! On I get snake oil, dryer, with a bit of a sassafras note and more stable, consistent dry down. I prefer new Snake oil to aged snake oil so I will probably keep using this and possibly swap the 2nd bottle to someone who maybe didn't have a chance to snatch this up and wants to have one. I can't wait for more reviews!

Game Over is amazing and I just ordered a 2nd one with a few snakes a bit ago. I have bought a LOT of BPAL over the years and I have never smelled anything like Game Over. It makes me happy and somehow reminds me of Christmas and clove cigarettes yet doesn't have that generic potpourri holiday scent. I wish I had a better way to describe it, so def. look at the review above mine, because it's perfect. One I definitely have enjoyed slathering. As rich and thick as it is, it doesn't seem to last long on me.

A rotting, cracked mahogany balustrade smeared with bloody handprints frames a cascading Imperial staircase that rises unsteadily into oppressive, suffocating shadows. I knew this would be a winner, so I am happy to have gotten one unsniffed! Luscious musk with a touch of wood. I think this one will be popular!

CORAZON Proceeds go to Safe Haven For Donkeys in the Holy Land. The scent of divine mercy, pulsating and throbbing through the heart of every living creature. Glorious red musk and a halo of golden amber with a touch of wet mango, lavender, and purple sage. I can't believe I am the first to review this one. It is truly breathtaking, and I will be getting a 5ml of it next order - I am kicking myself for only getting an imp of it. At first sniff, I was reminded a bit of Red Moon, which made me swoon. The red musk and amber mesh together amazingly well and the sweetness to it is to die for. Sophisticated and complex, I see this becoming a signature scent for me. Beth outdid herself once again.

L'ESSENCE DE L'ENGOUEMENT French vanilla, pink candies, strawberry sugar, and orange blossom. This is everything I had wanted and expected Celeste to be! First applied it's all sweet, pink, gentle strawberry sugar (and not fake smelling to me at all)! The orange blossom is fairly strong and has an odd, tiny sourish note but somehow, it works on me and I keep sniffing my wrists. I can detect the vanilla, faint, but it's there. I really like this, and depending on the staying power, I may consider an additional bottle.

Our vegetal musk blend that emulates the scent of Siberian musk deer gland secretions. The description doesn't sound sexy, but the scent sure is. This is a vegan, cruelty-free perfume. No animals were harmed, fondled, squeezed, prodded, or in any way violated in the making of this accord. Wow, am I the first??! This is delicious. It is Snake Oil to me without the sharpness I tend to experience from that blend. This is smooth, silky sexy musk. I am waffling on buying more, it's just that GOOD. The throw is great without being too too much, and I bet this would mix well with a lot of other BPALs I wear. I want to roll around in this!

I want to BATHE in this. I think I probably smell like I did as I just got my hands on some and slathered away. This is probably my favorite BPAL ever and that says a lot after 14 yrs trying tons.

On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded. Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind. That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion. I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart. - Rabindranath Tagore The Sacred Lotus represents spiritual illumination, boundless creative regeneration, the mysteries of the cosmos, infinite consciousness, divine love, and purity of spirit, mind, and body. I don't know why, but I was expecting a sweet/bubblegum type scent. On the wrist, I get Calvin Klein's Eternity perfume from this one. It's really clean and nice, and seriously, a dupe for Eternity on me. Bizarre! Can't wait to read more reviews!

OH MY GOD! That's what I said when I sniffed this. I can't WAIT to use it tonight. I only smelled it, but the creaminess was just the best ever, with more understated, natural blueberry, totally so HAPPY I ordered this after waffling on which one to buy!

First applied, it reminds me of The Gorroble. Then is changes to a soft foody vanilla, reminiscent of the Vanilla Chaos Theories....pretty, but I have a lot of similar blends...`I do wish I had had the original to compare!

The smallest of Jupiter’s Inner Moons. This is a maternal perfume: warm, comforting, and protective. Goat’s milk accord, white honey, cacao-dusted amber, white coconut, white rose, and benzoin. The honey is really amping on me and I'm getting musty musky honey -no coconut, rose, etc. This is fresh from mailbox, so will retest and revisit this post!

Just tried this for first time, finding a big decant untouched I bought back when this was released! How was this not more popular?? It is glorious! It reminds me more of sandalwood than patchouli - maybe the aging? The coconut is lovely and this reminds a bit of the beach. Amazing!

White roses, white almond, and white tea leaf saturated with dragon’s blood resin. This is lovely, the almond is prominent on first application, then the rose peeks out softly and the tea tones it and the dragon's blood down - to an almost creamy but potent blend. Lovely!

I ordered 2 at once of this one, unsniffed, because candy scents lately are the ones I reach for and love the most. I've worn this several times now and have wanted to review it, but am really having a hard time with notes - the jellybeans one, anyways! If anyone is into Lush, this makes me think of the "Rockstar" soap scent but not totally. I love that the sugar cookie crumbs do not take over and make this foody/bakery-ish as those scents can be cloying on me, even if delicious. The jellybeans note is some kind of fruit but not orange yellow black or green....maybe red or purple. Kinda like the purple jelly beans that are nondescript, have a sweet flavor, almost floral at times?? I like this scent a lot and do get the cotton candy but not so much frosting or cookie. LOVE!

Sorry to say, glad I started with a decant with this one. Sadly, I've had the same reaction as several other reviews - not really any cotton candy - more like a strange mesh of dragon's blood, carnation, with some sweetness, but on me it's still dry and kind of sharp. Not what I was hoping for but not horrible. I was really hoping more for something like Pink Wig Spray.

First sniff, there is an amazing blast of yes, I concur ZZ, black cherry, that slips away quickly to be replaced with a musky Midway (from Carnival Noir)-ish scent just bordering on play-dough but not reaching the edge, that I'd like more if it stayed a bit sweeter. Even though meringues have no scent to me (but I adore the taste and texture of them, having a mom with a European background who had great tastes in desserts and all the ones she exposed me to as a child. Meringues were a special treat from the bakery when I was little!), I imagine them when I sniff this. But I'm not complaining, it's delicious the short time it lasts on the skin.