Brianne

In the bottle: Vanilla mint! On me: If you read my review of Western Diamondback, you will see that I am already enamoured of the Snake Pit scents and want to buy a thousand sets of them to last me forever. Green Tree Viper is no exception, I LOVE this blend. I mean, some of you who have been around a while may already know that I adore mint. I rarely meet a mint blend that I don't love. Gree Tree Viper is not just any mint scent though - it's mint SEX. If you like vanilla mint scents or if you like Dorian, give this a shot. I really don't think it will disappoint. It's vanilla and that creamy Snake Oil, but with bright mint and infused with a sort of smooth, masculine shot of bergamot and tea. Which is where my Dorian association comes from, it's smooth like Dorian but still holds some masculine qualities. But this is not strictly a man's scent, no not at all. After about 15 minutes that green tea comes out more and this becomes a LOT creamier. It's delicious. Final note: If you like Snake Oil and Dorian, don't be afraid of the mint, try this one anyways! ETA: After about half an hour I swear I smell something slightly fruity in there too. I cannot pick out exactly what fruit but it's in there!

In the bottle: LEATHER! On me: I have put off doing a review of this scent for days now because I can never do it justice. Western Diamondback makes me want to buy 100 bottles, pour them on the floor and then happily roll and scoot around in it like a cat in cat nip. The very thought of running out of this blend makes me panic, and I'm being completely serious. There are very few blends that make me feel that way - though I love many, only some of them have been SO wonderful to me that I don't want to think of a time where I will not have them. Western Diamondback is definitely one of them. I like the smell of leather, I think it's sexy and comforting and addicting in a strange way. I don't usually *wear* leather scents though, it's more something that I like to sniff for a bit. I love walking into leatherworking booths at our local faires to just sniff the air. This is a blend I want to wear though. I want to wear it ALL the time, it's so good. It is Snake Oil - that sweet, creamy sexy scent with slick black leather. It is not leather of the rawhide variety - that is to say, it's not that dusty light leather. It's black whip leather, that's for sure. This is sex, plain and simple. Aside from Snake Oil and that black leather, I get a slight sweetness from the tonka but that's about it. I love this scent so much. Final note: What else can I say? It's so amazing, I think Beth really outdid herself with these Snake Pit scents. Almost everyone loves Snake Oil, and to take that and add other notes to it? Success. Especially when it turns out like this. Now imagine what this is gonna smell like AGED. Heaven!

In the bottle: Slushy and green On me: If you like Embalming Fluid, you will love Holiday Moon, I'm pretty certain of that. It's clean and green and very refreshing. Makes me think both of Embalming Fluid and F5. The green tea is the strongest note in this and the bamboo pulp offers a green and slightly bitter note (not bitter in a bad way though). It's got a citrusy edge to it - makes me think of lemon or orange rind - it's sharp and zesty. After it's on for a while it actually sweetens up a little bit and becomes slightly more citrusy smelling but in a softer way. Final note: Very clean and refreshing - could work on both sexes and also work as a day scent or a night scent. Pretty and again, if you like Embalming Fluid, F5 or Dragon Moon you will probably enjoy this one

In the vial: a fruit of some kind - cherry perhaps? On me: Oooh cinnamon! How I love you! This goes on gorgeous, it's a beautiful spicey cinnamon scent backed by some kind of fruit. In the long run, it smells of a spiced tea perhaps or maybe a cider of some kind. I looooooove this. Final note: So comforting and absolutely delicious smelling. Makes me think of my cinnamon cider tea Must have a bottle! I have no idea if it's effective, but regardless, it smells fantastic hah!

In the vial: Jasmine On me: I'll be honest, once I sniffed the vial, I didn't even want to put this on my skin. And rightfully so, because on me it smells of diapers and cat piss, which is what jasmine does on me. I still get a bitter herbal quality from the lavender, but it's mostly just jasmine doing it's thing on me. It's hateful, destructive thing. Final note: If you have problems with jasmine like I do, I would steer clear. If you typically like jasmine, don't be afraid though because jasmine just does NOT work on my skin.

In the vial: Very sweet almonds On me: Oooh, yeah that's some sweet almond oil there. I really LOVE almond oil so I quite like this so far, though I wasn't expecting it! I am getting cloves also, which add a little spice and depth. There is a sort of woody and herbal quality to the background which I am assuming is the Bay Rum. It all comes together nicely and in the end doesnt smell too sweet or too much like almonds (for those that don't care for almond). It's slightly spiced, slightly woody, and a bit boozey and warm. Final note: I like it - it makes me think of Three Witches crossed with Black Phoenix only a bit more masculine. I don't think I'd have a use for a whole bottle but I will hang on to my imp

In the vial: woah lavender On me: There is no denying the lavender in this blend. It is POTENT. So potent, that it's almost all I get. In a minute or so after applying this, I start getting some orange blossom which - strangely enough - smells like fruit loops on me. That's about it from this blend. Strong lavender + fruit loops Final note: I don't have anything against either point there - I sometimes enjoy lavender and I think a fruit loops scent would be fun. But together here, this smells bitter and funky. This scent is just "off" on me

The overwhelming agony of passion crystallized into a singularly dark and magnetic blend: bittersweet neroli, black patchouli and black musk, gilded by apple, bergamot, blood red rose, teak, and vanilla. In the vial: fruity almond On me: I was surprised to note see almond in the notes, I could swear I smelled it when it was wet on my skin. That changes quickly though and I start to get a strange, powdery and yet somehow sort of sickly sweet scent. I cannot describe it and I have no idea what note - or notes - are doing that on my skin, but it's isn't very pleasant. The sickly sweetness settles down after a bit but I still have a sort of generally sweet, powdery scent from this that I don't care for. I think I smell some wood in there, which must be the teak - but other than that, I don't really get any of the other notes in particular, which is very strange. I don't usually have any trouble at least getting one or two of them in particular, but this is just sort of a strange combo that went wrong on my skin. Final note: I am sure this is just my skin reacting to one or more of the notes in this blend. I don't like it on me, but I'm sure this smells way better on people who get more of the notes!

In the vial: Clean, aftershave-y kind of smell On me: Goes on crisp and clean and foresty. A sharp pine backed by sharper eucalyptus. The juniper gives a faint crisp but fruity feel to the background. There is something a little woody in there too, but it's quite faint - must be that cypress. This is definitely appropriate for Loup Garou - it's a forest blend that's for sure. I think it's delightfully clean smelling though. Final note: Definitely masculine, but quite nice. Those that like forest scents or clean herbal scents will probably enjoy this one. I think this would make a really great soap, it's masculine but has a wonderful bite to it.

In the vial: Blech! Cough syrup! On me: This goes on awful on me. I cannot even describe what this smells like on my skin - the closest I can come is like cat pee and herbal cough syrup - it is truly horrific. Where is the honey? The wine? The incense? I keep waiting and hoping for this to get better, but I don't think I can bear to smell it again or wait any longer for this to change! ;_; Final note: Truly, truly awful. I have not had something smell so bad on me since Kathmandu (old gym socks on me!) - I am so disappointed because other people seem to be having a totally different experience!

In the vial: A strange mint On me: Just put this on and already I am thinking of Undertow, which I think smells incredibly similar. The difference between Undertow and Shattered on my skin is that Undertow was very heavy and potent and Shattered is much lighter and airer. And yet somehow they do smell strikingly similar. The mint is not the kind of mint I enjoy - it's not a bright, fresh green mint it's kind of a salty, medicinal smelling mint (which is probably the effect of combining it with the aquatic). I get that odd smell that can only be the lotus and the end result is this sort of salty mint with aquatic lotus. Final note: I didn't like Undertow - the lotus and mint and aquatics together just don't suit me and this is no different. I will give it that it is much less in-your-face than Undertow is, but still not for me.

In the vial: watery floral On me: Blue is definitely a great way to describe this scent! Even though it's a blue, watery scent it's very citrusy on me! I would say grapefruit - or probably yuzu as it's a very zesty, almost bitter citrus note. The aquatic is very calm and less ozoney than most other aquatics I've tried. The florals are soft and breezey and compliment that citrus very well. Final note: A bright, feminine blend with sharp citrus, but flowing notes. I wish I liked aquatic florals more because this is really very pretty and I love the citrus note!

In the vial: a green woodsy quality. Also, I wanted to note that the color of the oil is a kind of blue-green-grey color, one I have never seen before in any of BPAL's oils! On me: It goes on beautifully - smells very green and woodsy without being an obvious forest smell - like pine, for instance. This is very masculine and has a clean edge to it - it makes me think of a man's soap actually. Only slightly resinous, mostly woody with a mild musky undertone and a sharp cleanliness about it. It somehow manages to be both a clean smell AND a dark smell at the same time. I would absolutely LOVE to smell this on my husband, it's very sexy and masculine and makes me think of a just-showered man Final note: I really like this one - it's too masculine for me to wear myself, but I am keeping the imp and trying to convince my husband to wear it. Uber sexy! ETA: The longer I have this on, the more "woodsy" it becomes, it's really SUCH a lovely blend!

In the bottle: a green patchouli On me: I'm going to second (or third or fourth) the notion that this is a soft, fruity floral resinous blend. It's all melded so well that it doesn't seem like it specifically belongs in one category over the other. The fruit is definitely there, but it's very soft and doesn't become overpowering. Same with the florals - I get them, but it's like you're standing downwind of flowers and are just catching a whiff of them on the air. The resinous part of this blend is soft and green - kind of a mossy resin if that makes sense. The end result is that this smells like the outdoors in a romantic, forest garden kind of way. I will say that when I first put this on and even more so as it stayed on my skin - I thought of my local Ren Fest (renaissance faire). The smell is just like the smell of that place - soft florals, fruits and spices and incense carrying on the wind with the damp moss and earthiness around. It's so beautiful. It is the same kind of scent that made me love Hunter Moon. While they do not smell exactly the same, I find them to be rather similar. Final note: Finding this to be like Hunter Moon's sister on me, and finding that it conjures up great memories to boot, I love this one. It is simply a beautiful blend and I love it so much that I almost want to swap off other stuff just to get MORE. Amazing.

In the bottle: red musk and amber On me: I have to admit, I'm a little shocked that this blend has not been compared yet to two other BPAL blends - ones that are very sought after and loved to boot. I don't think it's just me, I think some other people MUST smell the similarity too, it's very distinct! When I first put this on, I immediately though of Trick 1. It smells VERY similar, but there was just one thing that wasn't just like it but it made me think of something else. Smut. The musk in this is the one in Smut (and also Sed Non Satiata). So this blend smells like Smut and Trick 1 had a love child. And I'm not saying it's just similar really, it's actually very much JUST like those two blends. If Beth had mixed those two together, I imagine this is what it would smell like. The musk is very prominent but behind it is a lovely clove note - not as strong as in some blends like Three Witches, but it's there. I would call it a soft clove. All the other notes just kind of blend together to make a golden warm background to this scent. It's smooth, musky and a little husky from the clove and ambergris. Final note: If you love Smut and/or Trick 1 you should submit to the Inquisition and try to get a bottle of this. I find them to be very similar and I think anyone who liked those scents will enjoy this one too. It's very nice!

In the bottle: Sweet caramel On me: Man, I loooooove Beth's caramel note. It is utterly delicious! For anyone who thinks this might not work on them because of the patchouli - don't worry too much, it's a barely there note. I personally love patchouli but I'm happy with this blend even though it barely peeks it's head out. Plain and simple this scent is sweet caramel and woodsy sandalwood. It's very straightforward. It's super sexy, wonderfully deep and deceptively simple. I got compliments on this every time I walked by someone in the house. Final note: This is so straightforward and such a unique combination I ADORE it. It's definitely a favorite now!!

In the bottle: vaguely floral smelling On me: I've tried this scent twice now, trying to get a better hold on how to describe it. The problem is that it ended up being VERY different than I thought it would be based on the notes. When I first apply it, I get a sort of herbal/floral smell. In fact, when it was wet I could have sworn there was lavender in there. I had my Mom smell it and she gets a floral. But there is neither lavender nor floral notes in this blend. When the scent settles on my skin it's different, but still not quite what I had imagined. It is very woody once it's settled - and remarkably light on me for being such a woody scent. The honey eventually creeps in and makes it slightly sweet but aside from that it's mostly just woody. The currant never does factor into this scent for me. I do love sandalwood but this particular blend - though smelling *mostly* of sandalwood - isn't quite doing it for me as a sandalwood blend. It's light and has very little throw, it stays close to my skin and isn't as rich as sandalwood usually is on me. And I swear there is still a sort of floral edge in the background that I just can't figure out. Final note: It's a nice enough scent, but it isn't what I expected and it sticks too close to my skin. The sandalwood is the only note that really seems to do much "talking" in this blend, though the honey is faintly there off and on and I keep getting a floral background. I don't dislike it, but I don't see myself reaching for it often either.

In the bottle: delicate florals On me: Heavenlyrabbit compared this to a wedding bouquet and I have to agree. When this first goes on, the first thing I think of is my wedding flowers (I was married in October so the memory is quite fresh!). The rose is surprisingly not headache inducing on me - and I say surprisingly because I seem to only very rarely be able to avoid rose giving me a splitting headache. This one is gentle though, and so well complimented by the soft fruity notes of the pear of the freesia. Not long ago someone was asking about freesia scents in BPAL and I said that I don't really recall any scents that smelled of freesia to me from BPAL. Well, I can take that back now because I definitely get freesia in this one. The rose and freesia and pear just meld together so beautifully and this scent is delicate and slightly sweet while maintening a very mature, sophisticated aire. Final note: I am utterly shocked that I like this one. I really and truly dislike florals - ESPECIALLY rose - and yet somehow, this is beautiful to me. And make no mistake, this is floral. There's just something about it though that makes me love it (perhaps that it does smell like my wedding bouquet). I don't wear florals, I don't really like them and I find myself debating on keeping this one instead of swapping it for another Agony anyways lol. THAT'S how pretty this is. If you don't like florals, this may very well be worth a try anyways. If you love florals, you are gonna adore this.

In the vial: dark citrus On me: I don't usually experience all of the notes in one blend all at the same time, but I definitely do here. I can rather distinctly smell ALL of them. It's very dark, earthy, masculine - with just a twinge of citrus zest. The vetiver and cedar make this dark and woody and they are definitely dominating here. It's so dark and woody that the little zest of citrus that is faintly peeking out is very welcome. I don't have anything against dark, woody blends but I think without that citrus this would be rather overwhelmingly woody and too much like some other blends. The saffron adds a wonderful spice too. It doesn't take long though for the vetiver to just eat the tangerine so what is left is basically vetiver and cedar. Final note: I wouldn't wear this as a personal scent but I like to sniff this anyways because the cedar and tangerine smell interesting together when it's wet, so I will keep the imp. Way too masculine for me to wear though.

In the bottle: powdery amber On me: I'm so jealous of all these people who are getting orange or citrus and cherry and the like. I wanted to like Bakeneko - so much so, that I've actually tried it three times now, hoping to get something different than I do. Unfortunately though, this is another case of amber going powdery and totally ruining a scent for me. It's ambery powdery + faint cardamom and that is *it*. I literally don't get anything else from this scent, no matter how much I want to. Final note: I'm going to keep Bakeneko and age it and see if it doesn't change for me. I'm hoping that if I age it for at least 6 months, I'll get something more than this wretched powdery amber.

In the bottle: Dark green and wet - strong oakmoss On me: I'm one of the people that purchased Faiza because of the notes like vanilla, blackberry, orange, etc. This is totally not what I expected based on the notes alone. When it goes on wet, it actually smells strikingly similar to another CD scent, and one of my favorites - Gennivre. The ti leaf, honey, and oakmoss end up smelling just like Gennivre. That doesn't last long though. The throw on this scent is - well, punch yourself in the nostrils and you'll have some idea of the kind of throw I'm talking about. I sniffed my skin too closely with this one and I actually *tasted* it in my throat for about 10 minutes afterwards. I had to literally "hide" my arm from myself so that the scent would not assault me while I was trying to drink my tea lol. It is very rare on me for a BPAL scent to have that kind of throw - I usually get moderate throw but this one is just wafting all over the place! When Faiza dries, it's a dark green, foresty/outdoorsy scent. It's very mossy and green and crisp. A few people mentioned that it smells "clean" and "unisex" and I would have to agree with that. There is something generally "perfumey" or commercial smelling to me about this scent. I don't mean that in a bad way, but it definitely makes me think of something I'd smell in a department store. I see this as something that would be popular with people who enjoy scents like Embalming Fluid or Wilde. Clean, crisp, green - all words I would associate with this scent. Final note: This is not really me and not quite what I was expecting. I don't see myself wearing this and yet I am debating about whether or not I should hold onto it for about 6 months to a year. I don't think I will, but I'll be curious to know how much this scent will change if aged that long. I could see this getting spicier and deeper if aged.

In the vial: Fruity booze On me: I knew I wanted to try this scent the day it was released. It has a lot of notes I love in it - like musk, tobacco, tonka, benzoin. And some notes that don't always work - like champagne. When this hits my skin it's all GRAPE! Like both red grapes and green grapes, it's just grapey and tart. The grape starts sweetening up and settling down as honey rounds it out in it's soft, powdery way. Then the musk and tobacco add another sweetness to it, different though. It's a little more mature now with those notes, not so fruity and carefree smelling. It would be hard to pick out the tonka, sugar cane and benzoin because there is already a lot of sweetness going on. But those afraid of a sweet scent, never fear! This isn't so sweet as to be candy like. The more this settles on my skin, the more it becomes a softly sweet, well blended scent. At this point (about 10-15 minutes on) it's hard to pick out notes. It's a mature scent and yet it's not heady or too serious. It has a slightly foody edge without actually *being* foody. Final note: Very glad I tried this, I think it's beautiful and I may have to consider a bottle!

In the vial: lemongrass and lavender On me: I can't say if this blend works or not for practical purposes, because I'm a frequent dreamer and always have been without any aide of any kind. But as far as scent goes, this is very herbal and pungent. I did get lemongrass in the vial, but on my skin it just smells like rosemary and lavendar. And though I wouldn't wear this as a personal scent, there is something oddly comforting about this smell. Final note: Not something I'd put on to smell pretty, but I am keeping the imp anyways because the herbal, pungent quality is comforting in a way.

In the vial: The word tang definitely comes to mind On me: It's strong, has a lot of throw, smells slightly salty and though it's reminiscent of rain, it also smells very medicinal. Whoever above me said it smelled like antiseptic is spot on. It never changes on me, it's always this antiseptic smell that makes me think of a hospital or a doctor's office. Final note: Truly unpleasant on me

In the bottle: sexy, raw, masculine On me: I bought a partial bottle from another forumite and as soon as I opened the package, I could smell like Luperci. I mean, I could smell it CLEARLY. And it hadn't leaked, it's just a very potent blend. It smells masculine to me, but not in a way that makes me feel like I couldn't wear it. Quite the opposite, I find it to be comforting, warm, sexy. Like having your husbands favorite shirt to sniff while he is away. It makes you think of him and you cannot stop sniffing it. When I first put on Luperci, I got a very strong juniper and oakmoss scent. Sort of mixed with the raw, earthy patchouli. It does settle down into something with a faint honey sweetness though. The honey is slightly powdery and doesn't get too sweet with the edgier notes like juniper keeping it down. It all works very well together to make a scent that is outdoorsy and raw without being pine and wood. It's earthy and musky, mildly sweet, slightly edgy. Just wonderful. Final note: I might normally be inclined to pass on a scent this masculine, but I find it strangely comforting and I'd like to keep it around. Definitely nice - masculine but I could see either sex wearing it anyways.