Brianne

Holy crap that is some seriously salty ozone. I knew I was risking this scent but I was hoping that the blood and lime and Snake Oil would dominate more than the salt water. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It's not a bad scent at all, but aquatics really aren't my thing. I think I'll hold onto this bottle and see how it ages, but I have a feeling this will remain not for me (while aquatic lovers will really enjoy this one!)

Now THIS is delicious. I have to say that I didn't care for the original Beaver Moon (*dodges bricks*) - I know people loved it, but on me it was just a sort of nutty vanilla. THIS Beaver Moon though, is everything I had hoped for. Foody, delicious and tangy vanilla frosting with softly sweet strawberries and cherries. It smells like a cherry cupcake - the fruit isn't really "fruity" per se - the whole scent smells foody and dessert like to me.

This one goes on very strong but ends up quite light. Someone above me actually compared it to Anne Bonny and I have to agree! It's a muskier Anne Bonny in my opinion I don't think it's quite what I was expecting, in that it's a generally pleasing scent but not quite stand out-ish to me. The musk is lovely (as Beth's red musk blends always are!) and it smells nice on me but on the other hand, I do not get coconut, leather or lime in this. When it's dry, it smells of sandalwood and red musk. My final verdict is that this is a really pleasant scent, but if you didn't get your hands on one I sort of think that Anne Bonny is close enough to compare to this somewhat. I'll be keeping mine though!

This started off nice enough - lightly sweet floral. Reminded me of sweet pea actually. But then it turned into stinky jasmine and heady rose

Oh rose You are too strong and headache inducing on me. I get a little jasmine in there too, which combines to something awful on me. I get a tiny little bit of citrus and something powdery as well, but mostly that rose and jasmine are just overwhelming on me. I could see how this would smell very mature and sort of regal and pretty on someone else though!

Oooh definitely almond there. And I know some people don't care for it, but I LOVE almond. When it hits my skin though, that warm sweetness starts to subside and a more soft/airy floral takes over. NOT jasmine thankfully (which is behaving itself). The patchouli adds a depth to this and really works well - it all comes together to make me think of the local Renaissance Festival - incense and flowers and mild sweetness. It's so pretty!

Despite the lack of cherry in it's description, I think Midnight Kiss smells remarkably like Bloody Mary AND Blood Kiss. The three of them on me smell nearly identical. Sweet cherries, vanilla and warm musk with a slight patchouli bite. It's very lovely (Blood Kiss and Bloody Mary are two favorites of mine so this IS right up my alley) though it is very similar to blends I already own. I already ordered a bottle though (before I got the free imp), but I don't regret it because it will surely get used

The Lurid Library is a musky, woody scent. Thankfully, I don't get paper or dust in this one (ala Misk U, which was a papery, dusty mess on me). It actually smells VERY similar to Mme Moriarty on me. Only a tinge of sweetness, and the rest is all woody musky goodness

I ended up buying a decant of this, rather than springing for a bottle because several of the notes had me a bit worried (rose >>. I'm really glad I made that decision, because this is really floral indeed, and as mentioned in the review above me - it's quite heady. I can definitely see how this fits with the "Ghastly Garden" though - instead of it smelling like a Spring garden (airy florals, bright and lightly sweet) this garden is dark, dank, thick and ripe with all sorts of dangerous things. It even has a bit of zinginess to it - one of the florals is a little citrusy in vibe or that could be the berries. The whole overtone of the scent is ozoney though. I get that ozone scent of tangy air above all the heavy, dark florals. I like the overall vibe of this scent, it's just not something I would reach for. I even think that the ozone and zesty fruit in this balance out the florals enough for me to even wear this one now and then. If you like florals or if you enjoy scents like Jazz Funeral (because for some reason, that's what it makes me think of), give this a shot!

This is one of those scents that is really very straight forward on me. It doesn't go through any wierd morphing stage or periods where one note is stronger than the other. It goes on like a softly sweet vanilla musk, and that's how it stays. It actually reminds me a great deal of Antique Lace. This stays close to the skin also - it sticks around but doesn't have a lot of throw. Definitely a skin scent. Beautiful though - simple and pleasant. Definitely need a bottle

I wish I had more to say about this one, but rose really tends to dominate on me and so this blend ends up being rose + pear. A really nice combo and one that I am sure smells lovely on many people. Just not me. It's very heady rose on my skin with a touch of pear sweetness. If you like rose, definitely try this though it's an interesting take on a rose blend!

This is the one I was most excited about - benzoin and bourbon vanilla are favorites of mine. this goes on very fruity - like Jack does, buttery and yet tartly fruity at the same time. But it's apparent that in this blend the fruits are citrus, as it has the citrusy zing to it. There is a little bit of gingery spice to it and the pumpkin is, of course, definitely there. When it dries, it really comes off like spiced lemon cake with pumpkin frosting or something. Very foody and nice.

Goes on strongly of carnation - soft, pink and slightly sweet (in terms of floral). Then the champa flower shows up with some spiced quality - very incensey and yet floral. This is possibly the first pumpkin blend ever where pumpkin was not completely evident in the blend. I can smell it, but it's just not as strong as in other pumpkin blends I've tried. It all comes together in a sort of floral incense blend - it's softly floral but I would definitely say that's a prominent aspect of the blend. Slightly sweet, slightly incensy and a little spicy-ness from the tobacco. Very beautiful and unexpected, but it fades very quickly from me (I could barely smell it on me after 15 minutes).

I had to get this one, because for some reason, the combination of Pomegranate and Pumpkin really appeals to me (I've seen it together in other places a handful of times, and it's always pleasant). Plus, white chocolate and caramel and cream? Yes please. It goes on like white chocolate (smells just like the original 13 at first, because it's like white chocolate as a single note). But pretty much right away I start getting pomegranate and pumpkin - which is really nice - a kind of tart and fruity note with pumpkin and a chocolate base. It does smell a little "nutty" but I think that's just the pumpkin, because I've noticed that a lot of BPAL's pumpkin blends have a sort of hazelnut like note in them. In the drydown, the cream note and chocolate are most prominent, so the end result is like Candy Butcher + pumpkin. I definitely like it though, smells "home-y".

In the bottle: green, wet and leafy On me: My expectations of this scent were pretty high - I wanted something that smelled like an October night for me - burning leaves and crisp Autumn air. So, it was definitely not what I was expecting when it went on my skin and I smelled green trees - not pine, but possibly fir? It's definitely a "cold" airy scent with touches of green, and just a tiny hint of sweetness that might be interpreted as smoke, but comes off as musk to me. In the dry down, this is actually very similar to The Carpathian Mountains, only without the minty note. It's a bit masculine, but appealing and airy and clean. Final note: Not what I was expecting, but it's still a nice scent - possibly too masculine for me though.

In the bottle: hazelnut On me: Am I seriously the only one getting hazelnut from this? It's very strongly hazelnut on me. In the background I get something tar like - it's dark and acrid. But even in the dry down, this is pretty much hazelnut on my skin. Final note: Just isn't right for my chemistry I guess, which is too bad because I was looking forward to this one the most of the Halloween blends. It is just too acrid and nutty for me :/

In the bottle: smells like a bbq to me, I swear lol On me: Oh vetiver. You tricked me, I really thought you would not be so demanding here This is VERY dark and bitter, and vetiver lovers will enjoy it, because - it's mostly vetiver. It does have a sort of smokey Autumn quality, and it is sort of evocative of the season, it's just too dark for me. Once it settles a bit, I detect something green in the background - kind of an ivy-ish smell, and the vetiver backs off a bit. It becomes slightly sweeter (just a tad, this isn't a sweet scent) and it becomes more like smoke now and less like a vetiver attack. Final note: That vetiver is a little off putting, but once it settles in it's not too bad. It reminds me of Samhainophobia, it's similar in vibe and darkness. I enjoy it more in it's later stages, but I'm just not certain if I need to keep it or not. I'll have to try this again another day.

In the vial: Smokey On me: I'm lucky enough to own a bottle of the original Hunter Moon (it was one of the first BPAL blends I ever fell in love with) and I can say that the two versions are similar in a way, and yet totally different. Both of them have a smokey outdoors vibe, but Hunter Moon original is MORE outdoorsy to me than this version, which is much more sweet and spicy. It does have a smokey quality to it, but where the original is leafy and floral with incense and smoke, this one is smokey in a spiced, sweet incense way. In fact, it makes me think a little of Three Witches (another favorite) because the spices are so dominant on my skin. It's backed by a sweetness that makes me think of the "cakes" note in All Souls. Final note: Definitely a new one to add to faves, I adore this. I love it in a different way than I love the original, the two are pretty different in the long run. If you like All Souls, Three Witches, or Monster Bait: Underpants - give this one a try (I find it to be similar to all three of those in it's own way).

In the vial: very heady patchouli On me: When I read the description for Goblin, it sounded like it was made for me. I wanted to get a bottle without even sniffing it, but money didn't allow so I have an imp instead (an imp of Goblin? heh). It goes on like down and dirty patchouli, so patchouli haters beware! I happen to love patchouli though (which is funny, because I started off feeling very meh about it before) and so far, so good. Then the vanilla kicks in and sweetens things up a bit. The coconut is pretty subtle in this, it's very much in the background behind the patchouli and vanilla. This comes off as woody and warm, deep and just a tiny bit sweet. Final note: VERY woody, so wood and patchouli haters watch out, this one is not for you. I love how earthy and ... well, dirty it is lol. It's VERY similar to Death Adder on me, so I will probably hold off on a bottle. The difference between Goblin and Death Adder on my skin is that Goblin is definitely woodier. Love it though!

Light florals with a white and purple "tone" - smells like lily and gardenia in there to me, which are soapy and too heady on me, respectively. I want to like this one, but like most florals, it just doesn't work with my chemistry or tastes. It unfortunately goes a bit bitter green on me in the drydown also.

I don't know why I'm getting this, but it smells like nail polish with spices. It's very bitter smelling. After wearing it for a while, it settles into a sort of generic cologney smell - Ra just is not working out for me!

Goes on very citrusy (orange or lemon? I'm honestly not sure in this case, possibly both) and dries into a vaguely fruit loopy smell. That fruit loop smell is a little odd on me though, there is something a little "off" underneath it on me.

In the vial: Sugary sweet iris On me: The iris goes on super sweet like it's sugared. It quickly settles into a more golden, warm sweetness though. There is a definite spice here but it's hard to pinpoint - works beautifully with the iris though. But then the amber kicks in and starts making this powdery and very amber-like in general. Final note: This is really very nice - definitely will keep the imp but I think it goes a little too powdery for me to buy a bottle of it. Very pretty though!

Very pretty and feminine - the honey is softly sweet and any soapiness that would normally be present with lilies is totally gone for me in this blend (thankfully). It's the kind of scent that I think would be great for Spring when you want something light and airy and a bit girly. I don't even care for florals and I think I may need a bottle of this!

Another quickie review! This goes on smelling quite a lot like black tea leaves to me actually. Which I really like - it's very potent though. As it settles on my skin, that tea vibe is still very much there, but now with a bit of myrrh also. It is a bit "perfumey" in vibe though - very strong, a little...I dunno, acrid? I am getting a little dust too, but this comes off as a kind of incense/tea oil, heavy on the incense. It's nice, not quite for me but it has a certain appeal to it.