roesmoker

I'm assuming this is a love oil of some kind just based on the name. I asked Forest for a description and/or suggestion for ritual use and will update this post with her response. So at this time I'm testing for scent only, I don't want to focus energy open-ended not knowing how it will be channeled. As far as scent is concerned, on me it's a perfume-y floral much like Blinding Glory of Love. Pleasant enough but not 'me'. If it turns out to have a ritual application I can use, I will keep an imp. I'll decant the rest out to share with others. ETA interesting. It's getting sweeter as the day goes on. I put it on about 9:45 and in the last 20 minutes or so it's gotten quite amber-y, much more to my liking. I'll likely keep an imp after all unless it's got a terrible magical effect. ETA 2: Rozilla reminds me that I never reported back about Forest's reply - yes, she did answer me, here is what she said: Son of ETA: Alseides reminds me that I didn't say what it's magical effect was - sadly, I did not notice any aphrodisiacal effects. I did end up swapping the last of my decants away, because the wet phase wasn't that great on me. I hope someone else reviews it someday, though!

Gloriously innocent and guileless: pure buttered popcorn! Upcoming - going to be released on Weds as part of the Carnaval Noir series. The NYC Tea Party got a sneak preview in the form of a bottle passed around when Beth was there. Pure. Buttered. Popcorn. Some people said they got a caramel whiff from it as well, but I got nothing but buttery popcorn. Delicious, and the tiniest bit sickening. Very foody. I liked it, but I can't see myself wearing it as a perfume.

A glowing red and flickering scent: warm, lurid, seductive. Another scent from Carnaval Noir - I got an imp of this, but I haven't tried it again yet (I did swipe my wrist yesterday but I had about 50 other scents on my hand & arm, so it's hard to remember much about any individual scent). Plus I am crap at identifying notes. So this is not so much a "review" as a starting point for discussion. I will come back and post more in a little bit. Anyway, I got a pretty, slightly perfume-y floral, kind of along the lines of Endymion or Zephyr. Kind of ironic with a name like Fire Eater. Lovely but I don't think it's my type. ETA I tried it again yesterday, and wet on me it was citrus/clean, then eventually dried down to floral.

Tyche's Kiss reminds me very much of Road Opener, and they both smell minty - I think I'm getting pennyroyal from one or both. Haven't experienced any magickal effects yet but will report back if I do. I could really use some good luck right now - and faith in my ability to have luck, as Proginoskes so astutely puts it above.

Wow, Delousing Powder. I got this on eBay just out of sheer curiosity, and am surprised to find it's not bad! There is a Lemon Pledge wet phase that I don't love, but it quickly mellows out into a lovely sweet powder that's quite yummy. Reminds me of the cake-like drydown I used to get from my beloved French Creole before my chemistry did a 180. *shakes tiny fists at cruel universe* Hey, maybe that's the Sweet Clove someone mentioned earlier? FC wet is like Clove single note, so it's entirely possible that DP has some. I'll have to try it again though because I still get periodic wafts of Lemon Pledge and it may end up not working for me. But kudos to Beth for making something called Delousing Powder smell so great! This highly unoriginal review brought to you by the time of 3:37 a.m.

I get all floral with this, it's very interesting - maybe I'm amping the orris? I don't get any incense or resins, more's the pity.

I wanted to like DA so much, and I'm in search of the perfect coconut blend, but the vetiver just ruined it for me. I got about 4 hours of scary, blasting single-note vetiver (which on me expresses itself as herbal/medicinal/grass) and then 2 hours of faint metallic coconut.

I love Zazzle!! The smell is so beautifully cocoa, better than Bliss I think because Bliss is too much milk chocolate, at least for me, while Zazzle is just pure cocoa. And it was extremely moisturizing, I felt a lot of oil in the bath - but then as an eczema sufferer I crave oil in the wintertime - and it was soothing and wonderful. I wasn't too fond of the brown color of the water, but it helps to think of hot chocolate!

Drive-by reviews of the scents from CT III sniffing circle, package #2: DCLXXVI (676) - Wet: almond. On the dry-down, it got better, more like apple or some other soft fruit. MCCCXXXVIII (1338) - Wet: some kind of industrial cleaning fluid, which probably means a breed of floral (night-blooming florals turn to cleaning fluid on me). Pretty much stayed the same through the drydown. MXCIV (1094) - Wet: some kind of kitchen herb, it smells very familiar but I do not know what it's like. Dried down slightly creamy. CDVII (407) - Wet: rancid apples. This reminds me of High John but sort of a rotten overlay. Dried down considerably better, but still not me. (Previously reviewed by zenvodunista.) MXIV (1014) - Wet: almond again. Dried down into nothingness. CXCV (195) - Wet: very, very faint coconut or vanilla. I like it, but I can barely smell it! Reminds me of a cross between Obatala and Snow White. This would be awesome if it were only stronger. (Previously reviewed by mandragora.) DCCCXXVI (826) - Wet: soap, which means floral, probably rose, or sandalwood. Stayed the same as it dried.

Origin: a frimp from the Lab. I'd almost given up on ever liking a BPAL patchouli blend nearly as much as I like Karma. But Ravenous has restored my faith! Red patchouli is my friend, it's black patchouli that hates me. Wet: very sweet, like orange candy. Dry-down: still foody, now it smells almost cake-like. Like a cross between cake and incense - kind of like what I thought All Souls would smell like from the description. It's the sweet powdery yum I get from the dry-down in Van Van, French Creole and Black Forest. Verdict: I absolutely LOVE this - a big bottle for sure!! I'll test again to make sure, though, because at certain times of the month my skin makes everything super-sweet.

OK, here are my scattershot "reviews" of the many CTs I tried recently. From the CT 3 sniffing circle: CDII (402) Wet: Pear? Cologne? There's something oddly foody & familiar about it, but I can't figure out what it is. Basil? Sage? Reminds me a little of Madrid, Rome or Antony. Previously reviewed by olympia301. MV (1005) Wet: OMG it really does smell like a Sharpie. I am getting a sort of chemical almond/cherry scent. Dry-down is nice, soft and sweet. Last reviewed by Reedsong. CCCXLVIII (348) Floral? It's a little like my 894, sort of soft rubber on me, which usually means night-blooming florals. Last reviewed by edenssixthday. CCLXXIX (279) Cleaning fluid. That probably means it's got patchouli - lots of GC blends w/ patchouli turn to cleaning fluid on me. MLXXXI (1081) Something extremely familiar, but I can't figure out what it is. I know I've smelled this note before. Some kind of moss? Lichen? Or maybe it's lotus - it's getting a little bubblegummy on the dry-down. MCCCIX (1309) Wet: Smells just like Snowblind, but less buttery. I love it!! There's some coconut in this too - it's like vanilla-coconut. God, it's fabulous. DCXCVII (697) In the bottle: Gross, almond! On: It calmed down a LOT and got sort of metallic-sweet. It's drying down almost potpurri-like. Finally ended up nice, incensey. MCCLII (1252) Wet - clove? Yummy. Dry: it also smells familiar, maybe it's amber? sort of a golden resiny scent. Very faint. Previously reviewed by Xiabelle. CCXCV (295) A VERY familiar kitchen herb of some kind - thyme? It's not bad, but too foody for me. non-sniffing circle: MXCIII (1093) Ew, cleaning fluid. Again, probably patchouli. Previously reviewed by Sofia Blackthorne. MCXV (1115) Heliotrope? Something golden, sweet and almost creamy. Mmm, I love heliotrope. Previously reviewed by slave1.

God, I wish I got chocolate or hazelnut from this! Wet it's a blast of almond - in retrospect I can map this to Dragon's Blood - which nearly made me wash it off (cherry/almond makes me seriously nauseous). Then it settled down into a greeny, plant sort of scent that doesn't offend me, but I don't particularly like either. Waaah, off to swaps with you!

Chaos Theory II: CLXXII (172) I'm getting a lovely combination of suntan-oil coconut and plastic. I can see why inkstone was reminded of Snow White - these are the notes in SW that eventually came to disagree with me so much I could no longer wear her anymore. I'm sure this would be beautiful on someone who can wear it. previously reviewed by inkstone

I agree with sophia_helix, both times I've worn Determination I felt like I was being driven to finish whatever I had to do, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. That's okay though - sort of what I thought "determination" would feel like. I didn't particularly notice the scent the last time I wore it, but today I put High John on my neck & ears (because when I wear High John I feel like kicking ass and taking names), and Determination on my wrists. Wet it smelled absolutely terrible (maybe that was the vetiver? I've tried so many scents and I still don't know what vetiver actually smells like!), sort of herbally cleaning fluid, but the dry-down was gorgeous incensy resin goodness. I would have sworn up and down that this had red musk in it - on me it smells a lot like Binah or Arabian Nights (both of which smell like Red Musk SN on me), but I guess that could be the patchouli others are getting. I really like the dry phase of Determination as a scent. I think next time I wear it I will follow the example of some of the other reviewers and make a very specific list of tasks I wish to accomplish, and also give myself permission to stop after a certain amount of time - to avoid staying up all night working, which is what happened the first time I wore it!

In the bottle, this smelled a lot like French Creole to me - must be the clove. But for some reason it dries down to Yankee Candle Company holiday soap on me! Why?? I can't figure out what the note or combination of notes it is that doesn't like me. I know leather and I don't get along. I've never tried black musk but it's possible that's the culprit. Where's the cinnamon and ginger?

While I LOVE the concept of Misk U., I was saddened by the fact that it didn't really work on me. Wet and in the bottle, it smelled exactly as described - coffee, oak and dust, almost scarily exact. On me it dried down to dusty maple syrup, which didn't float my boat at all.

Wow, I get a much more foody smell from TKO than you guys are reporting - on me it's more like a vanilla-flavored sugar bun of some kind. It reminds me quite a bit of Eat Me, in fact. In terms of aromatherapy/effectiveness, I think Nocturne works better, but TKO smells so wonderful I love wearing it anyway. Haven't yet tried it in the daytime though, I'm afraid it might make me sleepy.

THANK YOU LAB - and HALLELUJAH! Fourth time appears to be the charm - MCC (1200). I am in ! I can't for the life of me figure out what this is, but DAMN do I love it. Throwing out everything I know about notes that work on me or what I usually like (i.e., preconceived notions), here is what I smell: Apple pie without the dough. Just sweet delicate apples dusted with powdered baking sugar and maybe a little vanilla - but somehow it's not cloying or overly foody or too tart. Maybe it's like some kind of incredibly fancy apple tartlet. This is the wet stage. The drydown's not that foody at all - it's almost more incensy or some kind of musk note, like red musk. How the hell these two things work together is one of the magical miracles of BPAL. Normally I don't even care for fruit! My world is turning upside down!

I can't resist trying the forum-only's even though I knew there was no way F5 would work on me. But the name was so cute! And the "old-skool" price, adorable. Sadly, I was right - F5 smells like a really nice men's deodorant on me, through and through. It's wicked strong, too. The other thing it reminds me of is CK One. Definitely masculine, probably some girls could wear it but not me .

DCCCLXXXII (882) - This one reminds me very faintly of Bordello, except a little less cherry and more pomegranate, or red wine. It's not awful, but not my style. DCCCXCIV (894) - This has got to have some kind of night-blooming floral in it, possibly the dreaded jasmine, because it goes to eau de gas station - rubber, exhaust & gasoline - on me. Reminds me of Nyx, because that's what Nyx smelled like on my skin. I'm sure this would be beautiful on someone with different chemistry. Off to swaps you go, my lovelies! I have one more CT in the mail, c'mon baby!

I can't believe I haven't reviewed AL yet! I got hooked on BPAL right after AL was discontinued, so for a long time it was just a legend. Then it came back and I ordered a 10ml unsniffed, I just had a feeling it would work on me from reading the reviews. Thank God I was so right! AL is one of my all-time favorites, a classic that I come back to again and again. It's the one I wear when it's disgustingly hot out and I need something cool & creamy to keep from melting into a puddle of sweat. It's the one I wear when I'm in a foul mood and nothing will please me. It stays the same from the first wet swipe to the very last fading whiff, wafts like a mother and makes me smell like a delicious marshmallow/vanilla frosting all day long - even through a shower! I you, Antique Lace - don't ever change. ETA - that is a terrible review. But I don't know what I can add that hasn't already been said. The vanilla in Snake Oil made me nauseous. Same with the buttery cream note in Chaste Moon. There's sort of an orchid musk similarity to Snow White, which worked on me for a while until it too started making me feel ill. AL somehow manages to be the ultimate sweet & vanilla soft-as-a-cloud scent without being sickeningly foody. Maybe it's because there's no butter note. But it's also a vanilla for those who can't do most of the other BPAL vanilla notes. And I also don't know how the light musk works when the White Musk SN went to hairspray on me and then vanished within minutes.

Finally scored an imp of this in an auction. Wet/in the imp it was boozy but in a good way. Drying down it reminds me of my beloved French Creole - I don't know if it's the cloves or tobacco or what but this is lovely. Exactly the sort of sweet musk-ish almost incensy scent I adore. Thank GOD I don't get any cherry or bubblegum, that would turn me off so fast. I'm torn about wanting this to come back, because on the one hand, I want a bottle and don't want to pay an arm and a leg, but on the other, I kind of like the specialness of a truly one-off forum LE that never gets brought back.

I got an imp of the '04 version in an auction on eBay, as part of a lot containing another scent I really wanted. But when I tried GP I fell in love! This is what I wanted Shub to be - ginger, spice, sweet and clove-y. It dries down to a gorgeous yummy almost musky sweetness. *wants bottle* There's a "bready" element in Love Me, Dixie Love Perfume and Shub that I'm not very fond of, and happily GP doesn't have it. It's all the notes in gingerbread I love and none of the ones that turn me off.

CCXXII (222) My CTs so far have always had great numbers, but sadly haven't worked as scents on me. This one is a white floral, maybe honeysuckle. On me it just goes soapy. I'll imp it out to see what others think - my CT2: CXXVII (128) turned out to be loved by some people a lot, so here's hoping! I'm getting at LEAST two more bottles, in the hopes that one of them will be "me". ADDED Sept. 20: CCXXII (222) - A white floral - I have no idea which one because pretty much all florals turn into soap on me. If I absolutely had to guess I'd say it's something like Oisin - so maybe it's really white musk I'm smelling. It's too bad it's so utterly wrong for me, because I love the number!

A perennial favorite among gamblers! Brings financial success in all aspects, but especially for those who take risks. For gambling purposes, rub the oil onto the palms of your hands vigorously prior to gaming. Works best in games of chance in which you come into direct physical contact with the gaming implements, such as playing cards of dice. I don't think this is the same as the discountinued perfume oil of the same name. I won an imp of this on eBay from the lovely Brownbear, who bought it at the Black Broom last November. Her post describing it (not a review, but general provenance) is here. Here is a picture of the bottle (from the eBay auction): There is also some question about whether the name is spelled correctly. Brownbear says Forest told her when she bought it that one of the bottles was misspelled and this seems a likely candidate. (Can't find the post ATM.) Anyway, the reason I care so much is because I LOVE this blend. And the note description of the discontinued BB blend (violet, neroli, lavender and white musk) doesn't make sense with what I'm getting off of it. Violet does not work on me at all (for example, Numb), neroli is hit or miss depending on the other notes, I love lavender but it tends to overpower everything else and white musk definitely has been very bad on me (in Oisín, Whitechapel, Zephyr, Endymion, Juliet, Embalming Fluid, Grandmother of Ghosts, Bluebeard, Fae and Black Pearl). Here's what I do get - a vaguely alcoholic wet/in the bottle phase, drying down to a gorgeous sweet, powdery finish with an incredible throw and longevity of up to 24 hours. The dry-down reminds me a lot of those of Black Forest (maybe it's ambergris?), CT 399, Van Van and even Shub. I need to find out what this mysterious note is that they have in common. I have not tried this blend for its ritual/magickal purposes yet, but I definitely intend to as I have recently gotten into playing poker. Between this and Three Jacks, I'll be unbeatable! EDIT: Beth has confirmed that this oil is spelled Chypre, and the current labels are misspelled. It's not the same as the Bewitching Brews scent that was discontinued in October 2004. If you're looking for that one, the reviews are here. --Shollin