lady_pandora

There are oranges and then there are oranges. This one and Akuma both list blood orange, but while Akuma is a light, Dreamsicle/Bubblicious sort of orange that's perfect for summer, the first sensation I get from the Haunted Palace is spiced orange, candied in honey and booze perhaps? This spiced orange is absolutely sublime. It smells like Christmas somehow, and like that scene in "The Eve of St. Agnes" when Porphyro sets out all the goodies for Madeline. Perfect for a hothouse touch of summer in the middle of winter. After about an hour, my skin amps the amber to the starring role. The orange is still around, but I have to really sniff for it. A casual sniff is reminiscent of Brisingamen; I have to put wrist to nose to pick out Palace's orange vs. Brisingamen's apple. But still yummy, as amber is great on me. As this is no longer available, I think I'll save it for special occasions; Brisingamen is more readily available and after about an hour theyre both Amber McAmberness. But Palace's first hour is enough to make me weep.

This is pretty much all jasmine, all the time, from start to finish. That's a good thing for me, as I love jasmine and don't get the "soap of d00m" effect some BPALers seem to get. I think you have to like jasmine to like this one.

Oooh, now this is quite nice! I can't pick out all thirteen notes, but what I am getting is white chocolate mixed with booze for the first fifteen minutes or so, then the booze vanishes and leaves a sweet white chocolate. It's subtle, and there's a hint of floral underneath, so it isn't as foody as it sounds. But it's very, very nice, if you like white chocolate at all. I love this one! ETA: I forgot I'd reviewed this back in the day! Anyway, aged 10 years, this original 13 starts out kind of cloying for a few minutes and then turns into pleasant white chocolate over orangey citrus. I was going to guess blood orange, but apparently not! Gradually, over the course of the day, the white chocolate recedes and it gets more citrusy. By afternoon, this is Iulia's sister. I can't actually pick out the tea note in either, but I'm guessing it's adding to the similarity along with the citrus notes. I really like this!

Unfortunately, on me, the Garden seems to have burned down. I was hoping for some sandalwood (yum), some fig, maybe some coconut. I was actually expecting the coconut to play a starring role, because my skin tends to find the sweetest note of any blend and amp the living hell out of it. However, all I'm really getting is a mixture of a smoky scent, a tobacco scent, and a sort of woodsy scent. Overall it smells kind of "burnt" and also a bit too masculine. Once in a while, a honeyish note politely raises its hand, but is quickly smacked back down by the tobacco. I think this one is not for me. EDIT: It's several months later, and I decided tonight to give Eden one last chance before giving it away. WTF?!? Suddenly this smells good! I don't get any almond, but I can pick out the sandalwood and some greenery, some fig, and some toasted coconut that still has a hint of "burnt" but somehow isn't as troublesome as it was the first time. I have no idea what quirk of body chemistry or menstrual cycle is kicking in here, but I ought to remember that I can wear Eden at least SOME of the time!

Honey and...rose? Seriously, this starts out honey and rose, then turns into a sort of light musky rose a la Psyche, but without the baby-powder stuffiness I got from Psyche. It gets a little incensier as the day wears on; I think it's the myrrh coming out, and is quite nice.

Wet: Mint. Mint, mint, and more mint. Minty McMintiness. Drydown: As Undertow started to dry, an herby note, almost medicinal but not in a bad way, began to emerge. This is probably the juniper. I also got a tantalizing hint of something sweetish hinding underneath the mint and herbal, but only a hint. Dry: The sweetish undertone comes out to play, and boy does it ever. I'm actually embarrassed that I didn't immediately recognize it as lotus. I love lotus. On me, it's this delicious almost-foody-but-not-quite sweetness. Eventually, Undertow becomes all lotus, with a sweet note close to my wrist, and the throw smelling (not unpleasantly) a bit like fabric softener. It remains like this for the rest of the day. This is a very relaxing scent. This will be a good one for when I'm stressing or sick or having trouble sleeping. Pretty.

Candy corn. I do like candy corn, so that's not an insult really. It's just...well, it smells like candy corn and not much else on me. It makes me want to eat some. Edited to add: I tried the 2004 version. Sounds like the new one is different.

Cerberus makes me feel like I'm wrapped up in a blanket drinking hot cocoa, which always helps.

A friend of mine bought this. It smelled OK on her, if a bit overpowering. But it gave her a headache, so she had me try it on. On me: Ew, ew, ew. Way too strong and aftershave-ish. I don't think I like vetiver. Also, my SO hates patchouli, so even if I could get over the vetiver, I couldn't wear this scent around him! I got a headache, too. So my friend gave it away to a male friend of ours. The next day, we asked him what he was wearing that made him smell so deliciously woodsy and satyr-ish. He replied that it was the very same Malediction that my friend and I had so disliked on ourselves. So my limited anecdotal evidence would suggest that this scent is overpowering and heavy on a woman, but OMG delicious on a man. On a man this is a sexy, sensual oil that makes the guy smell great without making him smell perfumey or girly.

Every girl needs to be a Jezebel sometimes... Seriously, the other night I tried on a boatload of my friend's BPALs and this was the standout. I really, really, really need to buy myself a bottle of this. The predominant note of this, on me, is the honey note, which didn't surprise me at all because the honey in O is very strong on me as well. However, while O is mostly honey on me and sort of innocent, Jezebel has this musky undertone that's sexy as hell. This is a lovely, warm scent, and quite sultry. If O, Snake Oil, and other warm sweet scents work well on you, do give this one a try. Yum!

I'm doubly disappointed to have discovered BPAL just after Cerberus was discontinued. First, because it was for a very good cause, and second, because it turns out that I really like this scent. Fortunately, a friend was generous enough to decant me an imp of it. Yay! I just wish I could have bought it from the lab and benefited the doggies. This smells like cough syrup in the vial. It didn't worry me much--I've come to realize that almost all berry BPALs smell like cough syrup to me in the vial, just like the amber ones tend to smell like baby powder in the vial. I put it on and the first note was cherry, not an annoying cough-syrup or cleaning-product cherry, but a subtle and very yummy cherry. Underneath that was a note of honey. After wearing it for 2 or 3 hours, the cherry fades and leaves it smelling mostly like honey for about an hour. For that hour, it reminds me a lot of O. Then the honey begins to gradually give way to a chocolate note. This is a subtle chocolate note, more like hot cocoa than like a big hunk of chocolate. It creeps in over the honey so quietly you barely notice it at first, and then after a while it's all hot cocoa scent. It stays that way the rest of the day, on me. This is a very warm and comfortable scent. I need to remember to ration it so I have some left in the winter--something tells me I'll love this even more when it's cold outside. And, amusingly enough, my dog loves this scent.

The heck with spiritual purity! This one is very sexy on me. I can't really pick out which notes I'm smelling; it's more of an overall effect, warm and incensey with a bit of floral. It's very "second skin" on me and had me sniffing my wrist all night. My friend said I smelled "like angels". LOL.

Brisingamen starts out sort of baby-powderish right out of the bottle. From my previous experience with O, and the comments of other BPALers, I've concluded that this is just something amber does. Fortunately, the baby-powder stage doesn't last long on me, and the amber settles into warm incensey goodness. I would say this blend is mostly amber--but every time I thought the amber was just a little too strong, apple would appear out of nowhere and add a crisp, clean, almost tart note to the scent. I never would have even thought of mixing amber and apple, but it works so well! I like this one. It's a warm, comfortable blend, with just a hint of refreshing fruitiness. Sensual without being in-your-face sexual. My significant other, who dislikes most perfume, actually gave this one a "not bad".

I was worried about how Blood Lotus would work on my skin, because so many other BPALers say it turns to bubble gum on them. So, I am thrilled to find that apparently I am one of those who *can* wear lotus! I really like this scent. The lotus is very sweet on me. Sweet in a floral way, not a foody way, if that makes any sense. The "blood" note--is it dragon's blood?--balances the sweetness of the lotus perfectly, keeping it from getting too sweet, adding a warm, almost spicy quality. The overall effect is both sexy and mystical.

This went very head shop/patchouli on me. I'm not sure which note came out smelling like patchouli. Unfortunately, this means I can't wear it. My significant other loathes patchouli, so there will be no Delight if I wear this! ADDED March 30: I reviewed this a long time ago, but for whatever reason, it struck me as being sort of heavy and patchouli-ish at the time. My impression of it now is vastly different. I think maybe my tastes have changed after a year of BPAL assimilation. I like Delight a lot. It's a floral blend, mostly, though I can't necessarily pick out the individual floral notes in it. Complementing the floral is a slight scent of exotic incense. Neither the flowers nor the incense is overpowering; this is a light scent. More "flirty" than overtly "sexy", if that makes sense.

I remember some people saying Lilith smelled like grape juice. However, it was very, very myrrhy and musky on me, so I can't really tell you whether it'll smell like grape juice on you. *shrug*

I really like Marie. It has violet and rose--the rose is very subtle. The best word I know to describe it is "flirty".

I haven't tried any Demeter scents, but I got a lot of great responses to my post about my quest for a spring rain scent. This may help? http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=13508

All right, I give up--it has to be Szepasszony! I was considering getting that anyway, and it being suggested here is a fun bit of synchronicity. And I never object to people quoting Cavafy, either. I'm not very familiar with him, but all that I've seen is haunting.

In bottle: cough syrup. Wet: cough syrup at first, fading to a generally boozy note, with the roses and myrrh starting to appear. Drydown: The rose and myrrh continue to play off each other beautifully, the myrrh keeping the rose from becoming sweet, and the rose keeping the myrrh from mustiness. About 30 minutes later, the musk begins to rise up, and the scent begins to "throw". The throw is mainly musk on me. If I put my wrist to my nose, I smell myrrh and rose and booze. If I put my hands at my sides and just let it waft up, I smell musk. This is a beautiful blend, a little complex, with all the notes working perfectly together, and is a great testimonial to Beth's genius. But I don't think it's for me. Oddly, I just don't feel somehow *old* enough to wear this. Lilith is quite heavy and wants to be on a middle-aged seductress. I'd need to be Mrs. Robinson--or at least Stifler's Mom--to pull this one off. Instead I just feel like a little girl playing dress-up in a grown woman's perfume. And I'm pushing thirty. I was also hoping this would be a good going-out-dancing scent. But I think it's too languid for that. This one isn't for dancing; it's for reclining on your red velvet chaise longue while hunky slave-boys feed you grapes. ETA: icon. ETA2: This is now one of my favorites. I gave away my first imp and a few months later started longing for it--so I bought more, and have been going through it like it was going out of style. I guess my nose must have changed, because this is now one of my all-purpose sexy scents.

Chose this on a whim to round out a pack of imps. I didn't really expect to fall in love with it; I mostly picked it because I've had a mild obsession with Marie Antoinette since I was a little girl. However, Marie really agrees with me, and I like it muchly. This one doesn't change much on me from bottle to wet to dry. Pure violet, with the rose sneaking up slowly throughout the hours. A lovely, flirty floral for spring, without being obnoxiously innocent. ETA: icon.

Free imp from the lab. This is almost viciously sharp in the vial, but once I put it on, it settled down to a mixture of orange and floral. I was hoping the raspberry would come out to play--I love raspberry, but instead the floral vanished, leaving only: Orange orange orange orange orange. I smelled like SweetTarts. I don't dislike citrus, but it's not really "me". This is way too orange for me, and alas, I never detected the raspberry. ETA: I like Akuma much better now that it's ludicrously hot! A few days ago, it got up to 90 and I found myself thinking, "Gee, I'd love to be wearing Akuma right now." So I did, and enjoyed it muchly. It is still 90% orange on me, but when it's hot, I don't mind all the citrus, as it reminds me of dreamsicles and orange sherbet and other refreshing fruity things. After about 8 hours, it turns into something that smells a lot like a very faint Persephone. It's probably the raspberry coming out--I've been told that Persephone smells like raspberries on me.

This went on smelling like roses and pears, but after ten minutes, something sweet and cloying and vaguely foody rose to the surface and took over. It almost smells coconutty. Way too sweet even for me, and way too innocent. ETA: Tried leaving it on a little longer. The sweet note--maybe it was the magnolia?--passes after a while, and the plumeria comes out and smacks me upside the nose. I liked the original roses and pears--and the too-sweet note--better, as I do not like plumeria much due to personal associations. Alas. I probably wouldn't have ordered la Belle had I noticed it had plumeria, but I was too busy being thrilled that there was a BPAL named after the Sleeping Beauty.

When I first put this on, I thought, "Yum, it smells like O except with roses." A few minutes later, I realized it really didn't smell like O at all, but that it did have a warm musky note in it that reminded me vaguely of O. A few minutes later, something sweet and fruity, sort of berryish, appeared to complement the rose nicely, with the musky note continuing to warm it up from underneath. However, the fruity note vanished as swiftly as it had come, and left Psyche smelling like roses, baby powder, and musk. It reminded me of my grandmother. I don't mean it smells old-ladyish; I mean it literally smells like my actual grandmother. She's always worn Chantilly, so I thought maybe they had notes in common. I looked up Chantilly: "This fine fragrance contains lemon, neroli, carnation and is accented with vanilla, leather and tonka musk making CHANTILLY is considered a classic fragrance." I think it may be the floral/musk combo that makes me think of Chantilly. This reminds me too much of my grandmother for me to wear it; I love her to death but don't want to smell like her. Seriously considering mailing my imp to her, actually.

OK, so imagine it's March or April, and green is starting to replace winter's grays and browns. It's raining. The whole world smells like fresh rain and green growing things. The sky is gray, but it only serves to make the green grass, the pink redbuds, and the white dogwoods stand out brighter than they would against a blue sky. You're feeling exhilarated and have the sudden urge to go dancing madly in the rain. If this feeling came in a bottle--which BPAL would it be?