lady_pandora

I agree with others that this is a grounded kind of determination, not a wired kind. Very Capricorn. This is the determination to plod ahead with something you're not excited about. It won't make you excited about it, but you'll get it done. I got a giant pile of prep work done for a department meeting while wearing this--more than we had time to cover in the meeting. I did get occasionally distracted by the usual internet culprits, but it was a lot easier to tear my attention back away from them and refocus. The scent is mainly vetiver to me, but it's agreeable enough that I think there's a "silent partner" mellowing it out a bit. It's not as softened as the vetiver in Sloth, but then you wouldn't want your determination to be as soft as your sloth. I suspect there's a resin in here, but one that doesn't have a scent as strong as myrrh, maybe an amber. I applied only a tiny bit--an imp-wand drop on one palm and then rubbed them together. I'd be curious to see if a larger amount might make me even more efficient, but the scent might get overpowering if I put on too much more of it.

Lucy's Kiss goes on pretty much straight rose, and I think it's tea rose, because it reminds me a lot of Fox Sisters. I don't like it quite as much as Fox Sisters, as it's a little more tart and a little more dusty, but it's a perfectly fine rose scent for about the first hour and 20 minutes. And then. Ack. Suddenly, along with the rose, I get something burnt and something dryer-sheetsy. I have no idea what spices might be doing this. It's not doing it for me, though, and the Sisters keep their rosy throne. (ETA: Dryer sheets effect might be from this morning's Talvikuu. WIll retest. Burnt thing still annoying though.)

Scentwise, White Light has three main notes on me. One of them is a white floral that I think is gardenia; it's the first to emerge. The second smells like Dove soap, and I think it's a type of lily that smells like Dove? The third note is sort of incense-dusty-wood, and I think it's the same note that's in Practical Occultism that I couldn't decide if it was cassia or sage. (I know they smell nothing alike in theory, but skin chemistry doth make fools of us all.) They emerge in that order, but once they've all made their appearance, any of them can rise to the top at any time. So I'd be sitting there having smelled predominantly incense-dusty-wood for a while and then I'd have Dove or gardenia again. The Dove is what finally "wins" and is the note that sticks around well into the evening. I decided to try White Light when I was anticipating a stressful day at work. I first noticed its effects on my bus commute. At that point I wasn't really feeling centered or anything of that sort; I was more "Squirrel!" There were just too many thoughts going through my head for the stress to get any purchase. I'd be thinking "stressy thing...Hmm I wonder about the etymology of some word...oooh look the sunrise is pretty...I think I want to go to the hallmark store after work." My muscles also felt really relaxed. Later, once I got to work, I felt calm and centered during crazy phone calls, a meeting I'd been worried about, and a lunch with a higher-up. I got complimented a couple of times on something I'd been worrying I was messing up. Then in the late afternoon, with all the major events of the day over, I had a period of euphoria. It felt like the oil and I had both done our jobs and could take a breath and enjoy the rest of the day. At that point, I was again a little distractible. It didn't matter since most of the office had left, but I'll have to keep it in mind for next time, that eventually it does loop back around to "Squirrel!" for me, and I might not want to use it if I want to still be really focused 8 hours after applying. I'd say this is another success for TAL! Edit, 2/27/15: Last night I couldn't sleep because my brain was running a mile a minute and catastrophizing about something. So I applied White Light in the hopes of stopping myself from obsessing about this thing. It worked--and again in about the same way--it seemed to refract my thoughts into a million random directions, like a prism turning a beam of light into a rainbow, so I started thinking about unrelated harmless things until I actually dropped off. I actually still didn't sleep well in the end, but that's because a physical issue (GERD) reared its head in the middle of the night. White Light worked for getting me to relax and de-obsess, though.

This starts out honey and vetiver on me, with the two notes kind of at war. Honey works well on me, and its lovely sweetness is competing with the vetiver, which kind of smells like basement. The musk joins the party a little later, and it kind of ties it all together. Like TTP, I was reminded a bit of Smut by the way the musk smelled here, and also like TTP, I found the throw better than the skin scent. It smells like honey and Smut and also kind of like basement. And it's somehow kinda sexy anyway? I'm a little baffled by Qandisa, but I think I'm keeping her for now.

This starts out as a combo of leather and what I can best describe as men's grooming products made of spiced rum. Like...I don't think I actually know what bay rum smells like, but this is what it smells like in my imagination when I read about it. It's a little boozy to me, but in a way that also kind of smells like aftershave, and definitely spices and leather. I don't know exactly why this rum effect is happening, but I like it. It morphs to mostly leather and wood, and then gradually a bit of patchouli comes out too, and I think I might smell a little light musk. I can see why people are mentioning Coyote. This is masculine but really really nice. Giving it to the boyfriend. I already gave him Druid--wonder how they'd go together?

The enemy of God smells really nice! This starts out orange/clove/cinnamon on me, then morphs to mostly clove/cinnamon but with the peach hanging around as a soft sweet mist to keep the spices from getting out of hand. Then as it wears on, earthy patchouli rises from the deep and grounds it all really nicely. I like this a lot, though it was not very strong in my initial test. Hopefully that was just from transit in the cold, because this smells quite good and I'd love for it to be stronger. Also, I haven't previously sought out peach scents on purpose, but between this and how well Les Bijoux works on me, I have high hopes for Mare Nectaris!

I recently had the chance to try a sample of Venus, and am quite impressed with it. I'll definitely be buying a bottle. Scentwise, it starts out with the lotus note The_Merf mentions; this lotus note is almost fruity and I actually mistook it for apple at first (which would also make sense in a Venus oil). It quickly becomes more recognizably lotus, but this note fades quickly, and when the scent stabilizes on me, it's a blend of (I think) violet and maybe some kind of lily. It's a fresh, clean floral, a little soapy but in a good way, pretty, and subtle. It could go "undercover" as a regular perfume in any situation where you need a boost of Venus energy. Wearing it while alone, I found that it enhanced self-love and self-esteem; I liked what I saw in the mirror better than I do without it, and felt confident in myself. Wearing it while spending time with my partner, I thought it helped enhance both open communication and a romantic sort of playfulness. ETA: ETA: There seems to be a batch variation on this one. The scent I describe above is from my decant. I ordered a bottle, and the scent from the bottle has rose, and I can't smell lotus in it; the lily and violet are about the same. I like rose and am happy with this.

Disclaimer: I haven't actually smelled either of these things, but a couple of people have compared Psychodynamic Discharge to Loviatar. It's an LE but still up. (black leather and red musk with aged black patchouli, Chinese rose, black pepper, coconut meat, Haitian vetiver, and igneous red ginger.)

I've tested this twice, once a few hours after it arrived in the mail, and once the following night. It did the same thing both times, so I don't think it's a settling issue--it's just being weird. A Rosy Colour starts out with a citrusy, slightly rosy, soapy scent.Then, it moves to mostly rose, but it's rose with a sharp tang that reminds me of an alcohol-based perfume. I'm always comparing things to perfumes I last wore twenty years ago, but this is going to kind of a Xi'a Xi'ang place on me. This is my favorite stage of it, though, despite the sharpness; it's kind of decadent and opulent. Then, after that, it does kind of a weird toasty thing. I have no idea what note is causing this. It's kind of a muddle, with the stages not seeming to really go together. My hope is that as it ages, red musk will ride over the horizon and restore order. Right now I can't smell the musk at all, but we all know it comes out more as it ages, and I tend to amp it, so hopefully once it emerges, it'll all hang together better. For now, though, for my rose/geranium/vanilla needs, Fox Sisters works much better on me.

I don't know if rose-infused amber is a technical term that means something different than just rose with amber, but I can't second this recommendation more. Spellbound is amazeballs.

I'm apparently an amper of the cedar in this; Lear is Woody McWooderson on me, with an undertone of green herbs. This Lear is definitely out wandering in the wild now, rather than reigning in his castle. The wood is a little pencily on me, and the whole thing is more traditionally masculine than I prefer, so it's not for me. It's not unpleasant, though, and it's very stable on me--it smells pretty much the same the whole time it's on.

I find the Dormouse similar to Empyreal Mist.

Alas, Talvikuu's old. You can search the For Sale section to see if anybody's unloading any, though.

I first tried this on New Year's Eve, and liked it, though I knew I wasn't really "testing" it in any real way, since I was smelling it in a crowd of other people wearing their perfume, and in a house full of food smells, and while slightly sloshed. That time, it smelled like raisiny myrrh. The next time I tested it, it was kind of dry and dusty. The two results were so different that I figured I'd give it one more test. So today, it started out with the raisiny myrrh scent. Frankincense joins the party a little later. The dry thing hangs around a little in the background; I can't identify it, but I've read that cassia can give that impression. There's also occasionally a whiff of an ashen burnt-herbs scent that I think may be the sage. Later in the day, one wrist is mostly frankincense and the other is raisiny myrrh with frankincense. It's a heavier kyphi than Cairo, and it's also different in that Cairo mostly unfolds for me in stages, with one note dominating and then another, while the notes in Practical Occultism hang together more. As for skin reactions, I get none on my wrists, but it does make my neck red for a little while after it's first applied. It's quite nice! Incense fans should try it. I haven't decided yet if I need a bottle; it'll probably depend on finances and how Lupers shake out. Midnight Mass is more evocative to me among my Yules--which is odd, as I'm not Catholic and never have been--but it's true, I get more of the "ancient sacred vibe" from it. But I do like Practical Occultism and will definitely hang on to the decant.

I put this on and, no lie, sorry Lab, it was horrible. Like why the hell did I put this on my skin horrible. It smelled like vetiver and vegetables and sharp sweet indistinct perfume all at once, and just smelled wrong, like this combination was just not a smell that should happen. The best comparison I can make is that it smelled like something went bad in the fridge, and then someone dumped perfume on it to boot. The nope was strong. The good news was, it had little to no throw, so I told myself I could get through ten minutes of it if I didn't sniff my arm in the interim. So I waited ten minutes and then sniffed again. Whew. Apparently the vegetal thing burns off quick. It had turned to light leathery musk and vetiver, which left me meh but at least smelled like a wearable perfume. Eventually, it dries down to a vetiver/leather combo that's actually quite nice if you like that sort of thing. It's a little heavier on the vetiver than I tend to like, but it might work for layering--and if you're a big vetiver fan, you should definitely try it. I haven't decided whether to keep this imp or not. The first stage, though it only lasts a few minutes, is just incomprehensibly awful on my body chemistry, and I'm not sure I'll want to brave it again.

The cigarette thing may just be a quirk of vetiver on me. Now that you mention it, yeah, it's worth at least trying the imp.

Queen Gertrude is a straightforward floral that doesn't morph much. I smell violet for sure, and at least one other flower, which I think is maybe the wisteria, but don't hold me to that. It gives the impression of a powdery floral floating on the surface of a more nectary floral. It's like violet mixed with something similar to the way I remember Shadow Witch Orchid. Definitely upright and dignified. Not really my thing at the present time, but I think it's doing what it's meant to do.

Djinn is pretty heavily smoky, and to me it does have some moments of smelling cigarettey. I like it, though it's outside my usual wheelhouse, but it might be a little strong for school IMO. As for scents for teens, at that age I was very into berry and red fruit scents; I wasn't into BPAL then (I don't think it existed), but I probably would have liked scents like Bewitched, Akuma, Persephone. I like them now too, but not as much as I would have then. I was also into vanilla and probably would have liked Morocco, O (though some people find it more sexual than I do), that kind of thing. But your mileage may vary. Are there any non-BPAL perfumes you like? It could give a jumping-off point.

This is mostly a sweet musk with hints of Sprite and of a wood note that's registering more as incense-made-of-wood than the tree itself. It's really comfortable and snuggly. But I think this one may be going to the boyfriend, because this is the same musk that's in Coyote that smells like "that's nice" on me and "hubba HUBBA!" on him.

I had to try Mari Lwyd because I've always been drawn to the story of Rhiannon and to a sort of "wandering mother" archetype in general. This starts out with a burst of buttery, boozy cake. The lavender comes out a few minutes later to balance it out. It works really well--the lavender keeps the cake from being cloying; the cake keeps the lavender from being medicinal. It settles down to smell like bread baked with lavender. Mmmm. I think the ale note is registering as bread instead. I don't know if I want to smell like this, but I certainly wish I could eat it. It smells like wonderful hippie bread that someone might bring to a ritual. Then it starts doing that burnt smell I always get from the buttery/cakey scents. Dammit, skin, this is why we can't have nice things. I get it. No more cake scents. The throw gets beerier on me, too, and I don't care for the smell of beer that much unless I'm actually drinking it. This would be really great on someone else, though. (ETA: I too can smell a resemblance to Stygian Nougat. But SN works better on me because of the lack of cake.) (ETA II: Later it turns into kind of an indistinct somewhat bready cloud. Not unpleasant, but not blowing me away.)

Sweet, soft snow. This starts out mint with a soft creamy element, but one that isn't a milk note, just gives an impression of white creaminess in some way I can't pin down. It reminds me of toothpaste. The toothpaste thing calms down quickly and pine begins to overtake the mint. I also think I smell eucalyptus, but I'm totally cheating off other people's paper because I didn't identify it until someone mentioned it, and then I thought "Oh! That's what that is." A little creaminess is still in the background. There's a brief amazing stage where it smells like tinkling sleigh bells would smell if they were a scent. But the green stuff then becomes way dominant on me: the pine and eucalyptus-y thing and a note I always think of as celeryish. It's a little room-scenty to my nose. There's not much throw. The creamy note occasionally reasserts itself. Eventually I get mostly eucalyptus and the "celery" thing (dang it, what is it that smells like that to me?) and what I think is a light musk, kind of powdery. Occasionally a little of the cream thing too. I think I may amp this type of musk more than I'd like. On the upside, I don't get ozone, which is great because it means I don't have a headache. This is soft and pretty but I don't need a bottle. ETA Lab description.

This is beautiful. Definitely try it if you like incense. It smells like frankincense and myrrh and something that seems almost...edible; I think maybe this is a beeswax note, which would make total sense. Gradually I also get a note that reminds me of dragon's blood, but not BPAL's dragon's blood, which is sweeter and fruitier. This is like a different dragon's blood that an old crush of mine used to wear, a spicy, woody sort of scent. I wonder if this is something like a red sandalwood that I'm not recognizing when combined with this much incense. Anyway, it's gorgeous. Definitely considering a bottle. ETA, 3/30/2018: The more I wear this over the years, the more I'm sure this contains beeswax and pine in addition to the church incense. Beautiful scent--so soothing I used it as a sleep scent for a while.

This is mostly powdery cocoa on me--like smelling the just-opened cocoa tin, rather than the finished drink. There's a bitter roasty hint from the coffee, and I think maybe a tiny dash of hot pepper? The undertone is vanilla, which comes out more as it dries down, and adds a creaminess to it. This is really comforting, like a nice warm hug in winter.

Starts out smelling exactly like the name made me think it would; while I've never actually had hot buttered rum, it did remind me of what Harry Potter's Butterbeer smelled like in my head when I was reading the books. It dries down to being buttery, syrupy, toasted nuts. Think the filling of baklava more than any alcoholic drink. When I get really close, I get some of the burnt-cookies note my skin often gets from foody blends. I haven't pinned it down, but think it's probably related to a butter or cream accord. It's generally isn't a dealbreaker, but I kind of wish it weren't there. It does fade out though. But now I definitely want to try hot buttered rum, the drink. If there's booze that tastes anything like baklava, it should be in my pie hole immediately.

It's another episode of My Little Smellie: Resin is Magic! I originally ordered a decant of Christougenniatiko Dentrophobia figuring it might smell good on my boyfriend. Then, when I put it on to test it, I was hit first with a combination of aftershave and tobacco; that is, my grandfather. And I decided neither of us was wearing it. But then, a few minutes later, it started morphing and I realized: sorry, Boyfriend, I love you, but I'm wearing this one. So like I said, it starts out too masculine for my taste for just a few minutes, with a combo of the tobacco and the initial sharp blast of the evergreen notes. But immediately afterwards, it blooms beautifully, first becoming a big green glorious Christmas tree with a little sweet resiny opoponax rounding it out. Then, gradually, the opoponax becomes dominant with pine in a supporting role, and something almost minty bringing up the rear, and a bit of smokiness. This reminds me of nothing so much as the Sloth phenomenon, where the myrrh rounds out the vetiver note so it's softer and less macho than it sometimes is in other blends. The opoponax in Christou tones down the pine in the same way. This is so much more wearable to me than a lot of other "tree" blends. I'm really glad I gave this a chance. ETA: I just figured out what this reminds me of. It's when you burn pine tree boughs and it smells sweet and amazing. I can't call that exact scent to mind to be sure if it really smells like that or not, but that's the vibe.