zenvodunista

Holy Moly - I CAN WEAR THIS!!!

Usually, as soon as "leaves" enter the picture, I cannot wear the blend. I can't wear Samhain or Samhainophobia because of this. Also, on me, apples=bad potpurri, and usually pumpkin=butter - but I keep trying anyway.

So, I didn't have high hopes. But we got it with the BFs Big Weenie Order ( ) and it WORKS on me! On me, it's a softly spiced scent, with wafts of the occasional dry leaf, or burning bonfire, but mostly it's cozy spices.

Happy Autumn, all!

N.

Weird....

This smells like chocolate on me and the BF. To the point where I'm wondering if we got the right thing! It's like an herbal chocolate blend like one of the 13s or something....

I'm....

confused.....

N.

This is simply *divine* in the bottle - but my skin HATES wood with a mighty passion and this patchouli is WAY woody. Not in the bottle - where it is smooth and gorgeous and incredibly well blended, falling in the camp of my favorite scents: Snake Charmer (benzoin!) Perversion (tonka which is like coconut) and Tezcatlipoca (smoooooothe patchouli).

But sadly, my skin chemistry takes this particular patchouli and turns it in a no.2 pencil. With a lot of toothmarks on it.

This Goblin hates me and that makes me so very sad

N.

Crypt Queen arrived today! YAY!

The coffin is really nice. Heavy, which I wasn't expecting. I definitely feel like I got my money's worth. I may keep my imps for MnS in it. Not sure yet.

Anyway, heavy, and nice, and I love spanish moss as it makes me think of living in NOLA.

I could smell the tiniest whiff of the Queen coming through the box!

I opened her up and got a bit worried as I smelled the Mme Moriarty patchouli. For some reason, even with aging, Mme. Moriarty hates my skin. It's entirely the wrong kind of patchouli, and it smells awful on me, despite me and other patchoulis getting along quite well. My heart sank a bit.

The rest of it was plummy and sweeeeeeeeet.

Put it on and... WHAM. It reminds me heavily of my first perfume love - Poison by Christan Dior. The other BPAL that makes me think of Poison is Dark Delicacies. CQ makes me think of DD too, but it's heavier, plummier, and deeper than DD. DD I can wear to work - this? Probably not.

Crypt Queen is full juicy in the way one says a good wine is "jammy" and "full of fruit" - it's sweet but not SWEET, if that makes sense. Thank Everything, the patchouli is behaving and giving this blend the darkness I crave. My heart was broken by Mme.Moriarty, and so I'm thrilled that I at least have Crypt Queen. So, yeah, darkly juicy, wine like, some tannins - enough for a good backbone. Spices. Musk.

I love this. This is so up my alley.

Thank you, Beth & Co for this gorgeousness!!

:applause:

N.

My favorite everyday scent is Demeter's Dirt, which "has crisp green notes and a mossy woody base". I couldn't find any better description than that when looking for the notes. I love it because it smells exactly like clean dirt, kind of like when you're walking through the woods in the fall and kick up some leaves and dirt, but with none of the decay. The only thing I don't like is that the scent doesn't have much staying power.

 

If I want to be sexy or go out in the evening, I use solid Amber Butter, which is warm and spicy on me.

Demeter's Dirt was my BF's favorite scent. Of course, it's gone now. But, he wears BPAL's Zombie and ADORES it. He also wears Premature Burial, but that is an LE from awhile back. Also try Destorying Angel which is very heavy on the soil notes, and Burial (dark loam).

As for "warm and spicy", I've never smelled Amber Butter, but Snake Oil is my definition of "warm and spicy". If Amber Butter is very ambery, try getting an imp of the Lion too. It's a gorgeous warm musky amber.

N.

My boy is one who wears Antique Lace - but if your boy amps sweet, it might be too sweet.

Strangely enough, I've heard Black Opal described as "mineralistic vanilla" so maybe try an imp of that.

Tombstone, again, is a woody, rugged, vanilla. Good stuff. No sweetness there at all.

I also would recommend Shadwell. It seems to do really different things on different people's skin. On me, the rainwater takes over. Other people get lots of tobacco with a hint of cream, others get lots of cream or lots of tea. Try it, and see what happens.

Dee with the tonka, not vanilla would be good. Try Perversion too. I adore that scent and find it to be fairly gender neutral. The vanilla-like tonka is to die for, and hints of leather and wine bowl me over every time.

Also, try Snake Oil. So many of us girls wear it that we think of it as feminine, but I think it's quite gender neutral. On my BF it's much more spicy than it is on me. On me it's more musky. But give it a try.

Also, for some reason, not vanilla related, I want to say that he should try the puppets from the CD set. For some reason I think they might work on him, they are so woody and lovely.

N.

PS: Old Scratch smells super sexy on my BF. He also loves Hellfire.

Fruit salad plate in an upscale restaurant, drizzled with honey and chocolate ganache.

Not my thing (I prefer sugar cookies with lime zest, rum, and bad karaoke) but I'd pick bits off your plate!

N.

I'm wondering if the patchouli in this is black patchouli. Black patchouli always smells very head shop to me, while red patchouli is warm and delicious. War, oddly enough, smells like a head shop that has a big tie dyed purple peace sign banner hanging in the window. Whoops!

I'm going to age this one a bit and see what happens because there are interesting things happening here - a dark sort of fruit that reminds me of black plums, and thick musk. I think some time to mellow and mingle will help this oil come into her own.

N.

Shadwell is rather comforting. I can't smell the tea or tobacco, this is all sweet milk and rainwater. I dont' like aquatics, but I kind of like this one, oddly enough.

N.

Death Adder

Zombi

Tezcatlipoca

Santa Muerte

Those are my heaviest scents. Zombi & Santa Muerte are all about the earth note too. The Tez is super rich and heavy and dark. And Death Adder is just delish

N.

Hey, just tried Croquet for the first time, and it is a less kicky version of Mi Go Brain Cannister to my nose. Good stuff!

N.

To my nose, Croquet is really really really similar to the LE blend Mi-Go Brain Cannister. It's a little less punchy because it's missing the pink pepper, and the anchoring drop of civet which makes it last forever, but it's really similar otherwise - at least to my nose it is! It is, at the very least, in the same family as that scent. They are definitely first cousins, possibly siblings, though not identical twins. Maybe fraternal twins

I still have 1.5 bottles of Mi Go left, but when I do run out - which is bound to happen someday - I'll be replacing it happily with Croquet.

If you liked Mi Go but couldn't wear it because you amp civet or jasmine, give this one a try. If you got to smell Mi Go and liked it but never got a bottle, give this a try.

It's absolutely perfect for summer.

Wonderful work, Beth!

N.

Wow.

This is really.... vapid. Wow.

That's impressive. To make a perfume that smells like a vapid whore.

I'm sort of overwhelmed at the accurateness of this scent. I'll never wear it. But, wow, is it ever accurate.

It's ... empty. But not in a zen way, just a ....

Wow.

I'm sorry I can't say more. Its just.... It's so totally Paris Hilton that it's almost creepy. In fact, it is creepy. I'm sort of bowled over. I can't say what exactly it smells like other than an empty headed bitch who thinks she's hotter than she really is. It smells like... it smells like 15 minutes of fame and an empty head and a clogged nostril full of cocaine. It smells like expensive soap and a lack of vocabulary. I think sniffing brought my IQ down by 10 points.

I really am impressed. But I won't be wearing it because it creeps me out!

N.

Some boozy BPALs love me. Like Smut. Smut loves me.

Pruno? Pruno HATES me. With a burning passion.

You know how in those descriptions of Pruno, not the perfume, the actual hootch, people talk about there being a bit of a puke smell? Well, a lot of a puke smell?

Pruno smells like pruno on me.

Kinda pukey and boozy and rotten fruity.

Hoo boy.

Then again, Devil's Night smelled like sweaty pukey frat boy on me, and the Imp of the Perverse also smelled like puke on me.

There's some booze thing that hates me.

And it's in Pruno. Hating me. With a firey burning passion.

This one goes right into the swap pile

N.

Kali

Tezcatlipoca

Velvet

maybe Bien Loin D'ici

I have similar tastes, and LOVE Tezcatlipoca. It's not foody in the slightest. Also try Centzon Totochitn. Oh, and you might like Dorian - some people find it has a trace of sugar cookie on their skin, though I don't find it to be that way for me. You also like fruits, so check out a number of the Excolo loa scents like Obatala, Shango, and Elegba. Sadly I can't wear it, but The Hanging Gardens is gorgeous too - lots of ripe fruit. Oh, and another set I can't wear but is good is Misk U. with it's hit of coffee in the Arkham series, and Shub Niggaruth with it's crazy gingerbread. It doesn't smell like gingerbread on me though - that's a skin chemistry thing, I think.

What I think you are looking for is "gourmand" scents, which have food in them but aren't "foody", if that makes sense. A numbero f my favorites are not generally available in imps, but can be found in swaps.... Try to find decants of Mr.Nancy and Boomslang.

Good luck!

N.

How about Qliphoth Nahemoth? I read it resembled Snake Charmer and Smut, I ordered it for that reason. I figured if I love it 10ml will still give me plenty of wear, and if I don't, I can always swap with someone who forgot to get it.

OOOO.

Who wrote that? I'll go look. I skimmed most of the reviews...

N.

Re: Poison

While I never thought Spellbound smelled like Poison, I never had a chance to try Venom. However, Dark Delicacies is very similar to Poison to my nose.

Poison:

orange blossom, honey, cinnamon, coriander, pepper, plum, rosewood, rose, tuberose, wild berries, cistus labdanum, carnation, jasmine, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, musk, vanilla, heliotrope and opopanax

Dark Delicacies:

a heady and darkly romantic blend of devil’s trumpet accord, black orchid, tonka, coconut meat, fruit gums, osmanthus, smoky resin, myrtle, and Indonesian patchouli

To my nose, the devil's trumepet and black orchid take over for the orange blossom, tuberrose, rose, and jasmine. The Tonka does double duty ofor musk and vanilla. coconut meat hits the opponax. Who knows what those resins and fruit gums are in DD, and the indian patchouli getts all the wood notes.

And Dark Delicacies is still available!

Beth always has something wonderful up her sleeve!

Cool bean, HeavenlyRabbit I'm totally willing to be dis-enabled!

Can't wait for the next update!

N.

I'm interested in having a favorite BPAL for each day of the week. Sunday is the day of the Sun. Hence, its perfume should be warm, bright, life-giving, and healthful. Any ideas?

LITHA!!! The midsummer perfume, full of honey and dandelions and summer motes of light! Also, Chickens on the Garden Path, and of course, SOL if you can find it. And "The Sun" in the Tarot set before it goes away. White Light might be good too.

What would the perfect Monday scent be? Monday is the Moon's day. It's scent should be mysterious, intuitive, fuzzy or foggy, and feminine.

Black Moon

Blue Moon

Luna

The Moon - Tarot

Tuesday is a day for getting things done! Ruled by Mars, Tuesday should have an aggressive, fierce, masculine scent. One that keeps you moving forward and helps you perform great deeds.

Mars, of course, but also High John the Conquerer, Stregnth from the Tarots, the Apothecary (it's full of lovely things that make you concentrate), and Whip to whip you forward Shango would be great as well. He's sooo fierce!

Wednesday is Odin's day. It's a day for tricksters, glib tongues, and swift changes. What BPALS are best suited for wearing on Wednesdays?

Mr.Nancy, Coyote and Elegba Oya would be good as well.

Thor's Day. Expansive, encompassing. A day for big things and openness. How could I best embody the spirit of this day with BPAL?

WHen I think "encompassing" I think Yemaya, all the way. Obatala would be nice here too.

Friday is always a day for families and friends and lovers. Love, in all its myriad forms. What BPALS make you feel most loving?

Yemaya, again. Also, Lyonesse makes me feel very loved and cared for, when I wear it.

O, golly, how could I forget Saturday? What BPAL scents embody the spirit of Saturday?

SMUT!!!!

N.

So, it's a group I always meant to get around to smelling, but never did.

Which of the Sephiroth should I get before they go.

My favorite BPALS are:

LE:

Snake Charmer

Storyville

Smut

Tireseas

GC:

Lyonesse

Snake Oil

Mr. Nancy

Perversion

As you can see, I lean towards the heady "orientals". Lots of musk, tobacco and booze. Gimme the decadance! Very occasionally I like florals like Dark Delicacies, and honeyed oils like Litha. I wear Snow White because the boy likes it, and less for me.

So, what do you think? Hit me!

N.

I love vanilla, I love jasmine, I like gardenia, and I love grapefruit, so I was happy to get a bottle of BC.

Interestingly enough, I get a really green jasmine scent out of this. In the bottle and in the sillage, there's plenty of vanilla, but against my skin - and when it's wet - I get a crushed-stems note that's really strong. Like I've been pruning the jasmine, and the smell of the cut stems and twigs is mixing with a lighter smell of jasmine.

It's really not what I was expecting! But I think that the greeness of it will allow me to wear this all summer without overwhelming my office mates or putting me to sleep. There's something awfully "warm weather" and happy about this. Vanilla often goes to "comforting" to me, but the florals and grapefruit combining to this bright green sap scent, backed up by soft jasmine, keeps the vanilla from going all cuddly/sleepy on me. I'm looking forward to this one for the summer.

N.

A soft skin leather scent. I'm going to age it and see if it gets stronger. I may pass it to the Boy. It might be perfect for him!

N.

I'm sad! I keep looking for a champagne scent that will work on me, and they never do. This one is no exception. Not a hint of champagne on my skin = mostly a very elegant old fashioned perfume. If you are one who loves to dress as though you lived pre-1940, this is a great perfume for you.

N.

In the bottle this smelled like caramel and rich humus to me. On, it first was all wood, then moss, then dirt... And it was way too much of those things.

I went off and made dinner and recently sniffed again: Oh! Now it's a rich, dark, spicy, EARTHY, caramel. Sweet but dark. Whoa.

It's really lovely now - but I'm worried about that drydown. I will be letting mellow a bit, and then I'll take it out for another drive.

EDIT:

It's been a few months now of BLWB aging in my closet.

When I apply it, it's first a very mossy scent. Kind of overwhelming. I've yet to wear it out, because I keep testing it, and wondering if it's going to stay mossy, forgetting that an hour later it smells absolutely beguiling. The drydown reminds me a lot of Tireseas's caramel/tobacco drydown. Once the moss settles down, it keeps the caramel from being too sweet. The notes blend, and the dry down is dark, sexy, sweet, sinful and rich.

It makes me think of that saying about coffee, "Black as night, and sweet as sin."

No coffee on the nose, but that sentiment describes the scent perfectly.

Black as night, sweet as sin: Bad Luck Woman Blues.

I keep meaning to swap it, but I don't think I will.

N.

So I took this out for a tiny test drive - a drop on the hand - tonight. I was really pleasantly surprised! A mellow honeyed rose that was really rich while being sweet. It was also very much a Rose, without ever getting soapy (a problem for me). It smelled very.... vital. Alive. Marvelous throw.

I'm looking forward to taking this one out at full slather.

N.