Little Bird

I'm not sure what it is about the lab's amber notes, but they almost always turn to a powdery/dusty smell on me. Egyptian Amber is a smoky, warm, spicy amber with a drydown that goes to pure baby powder on me. It starts off more resinous on me, where Black Amber is dry and sort of a woodsy amber. It's very light on me (lighter than the Egyptian musk)... and, after about five minutes, starts to morph into a dusty note with hints of powder I've had good luck with amber in other perfumes, but the lab's ambers seem to hate my skin chemistry.

I almost wonder if my wee half-imp decant of this has gone bad or something. It has a strangely sour bitterness to it. Smoky almond, smoky cedar, perhaps some vetiver, and a generally unpleasant sour note. In the drydown it takes on a musty quality that makes me think of damp, moldy wood. This is strong and has a lot of throw... but I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing in this case. The smell is making me a bit nauseous. The sweet almond mixed with the heavy earthiness of the vetiver and the charred woods note is not working for me at all. I won't be scrambling to find more of this any time soon, lol.

Musks make me nervous... when they're good, they're amazing... when they're bad, they give me vicious migraines. I wasn't sure quite what to expect from Red Musk singlenote. This is really very lovely though. It's a warm, earthy sort of musk on me. It actually strikes me as very resinous, and more like incense than musk. In the drydown it has an earthiness that reminds me a bit of patchouli (I love patchouli); a sort of dry, warm, earthy patchouli. Spicy, exotic and rather sexy smelling. My boy is actually fond of this one. Most of the blends that list red musk haven't worked out so well on my skin, but I love this in singlenote form

I was so excited to try this new Harvest Moon. '05 is one of my very favorite BPAL blends; and the label art for '06 is my favorite label artwork ever. My expectations for this one are pretty high though I don't know what to expect from a lot of the listed notes. In the bottle, this smells like fall harvest festivals to me. Sweet, tart fruits, chilled air, dying fields and grasses, and some sort of spicy goodness. On me at first, the green tea leaf and bamboo add a very refreshing and clean element to this scent. They're mingling with tart fruits (I can definitely pick out the yummy black cherry) and an almost edible sort of woods note. It's a bit more green and fresh/clean smelling than I would have liked initially, but the 'fresh' element thankfully fades within 5 minutes on me. In the drydown, I am in love with this . I adore fall scents, and this is just such a perfect harvest time and crisp fall air fragrance. It really does have a dusty wheat and fields smell to it, with some sugary sweetness and a creamy note to it. This isn't as spicy as '05, but it does have a light spiciness underneath a creamy sweetness. The fruitiness has faded to the background and I catch hints of a berry or plum every once in a while. This is wonderfully sweet on me, without being really foodie or fake smelling. I keep smelling this one around me and it transports me to the forests where I grew up, around fall harvest when everything was fading away for winter. It's just beautiful and serene in that way that only fall can be. Harvest Moon '06 manages to smell both exotic and familiar at the same time. It's blends like these that make me love BPAL so much. I'm so glad that I grabbed two bottles of this one

I wish that tuberose were sweet, creamy, or candy-like on me as it is on other people. Tuberose on me doesn't even smell like rose, though, it actually smells more like opium poppy to me than anything else On me, tuberose is a glaringly sharp white floral. In blends, it reminds me of the sharp chemical twang that is in cheap hairspray... but, in singlenote form, this has a bit of a soapy edge to it. Any creaminess or sweetness is smothered by this strangely sharp and perfumey edge. I just can't wear this floral note at all

Everyone that I've ever tried to enable has absolutely adored Snow White. So that would be my one pick LE, if I had to pick one. For the General Catalogue... Antique Lace, Dorian, Snake Oil, and Alice always seem to be really popular. Velvet is another one that a lot of newbies seem attracted to. If I had to pick twelve for a newbie friend (female), I'd pick: *Aglaea *Alice *Antique Lace *Dorian *Dragon's Milk *Embalming Fluid *O *Phantom Queen *Sacred Whore of Babylon *Snake Oil *Velvet *Voodoo ...Which would be a safe pick for me because those are all pretty popular scents and there is a good variety among them. And I actually just sent my male cousin a couple imp packs, and included: *Bow & Crown of Conquest *Cathedral *Golden Priapus *Jabberwocky *Mad Hatter *Magus *Perversion *Satyr *Tweedledum *Villain *Whitechapel *Wilde For LEs I sent him Usher and Torture King...

STFU smells delightfully of chilly pine notes in the bottle, but morphs into something headache-inducing on my skin. On me this seems to have that ozone/aquatic note that smells sharply of dryer sheets and laundry detergent on me. Soapy. And there seems to be some sort of powdery floral note hiding in here as well. If I try to wear this, it gives me a soapy headache... in an oil burner, this is a nicely chilly, powdery pine and mountain air sort of scent. I've been using this in my handy oil burner when I do my therapy charts... just to have a sort of routine for completing them. Whenever someone upsets me, I have a chart that I work through to see if their negativity/issue with me is justified and how to work through it. The charts are very helpful and keep me from taking other people's problems as my personal faults; and I've been enjoying having an oil that sort of fits the routine

Veils & Mist has a really gorgeous fragrance to it. It smells like a bouquet of real lilies, but it's a spicier floral than most of the lily blends that I've smelled, not as soft and subdued as usual. It also has a misty, fresh, watery quality to it. I'm really enjoying it as a perfume, though it's not something that I would typically wear (I'm not a perfumey floral lover). Anyhow. I wore this the other night when I was really upset about something, but didn't want to talk about it. Whenever I'm upset and on the verge of crying, a few people in my family follow me around and keep asking me what's wrong... even if I say that I'm not talking about it. I pretty much just wanted everyone to ignore me. Strangely, Veils & Mist seemed to attract my family members, as everyone in my house complimented me on the 'new perfume.' But they didn't notice that I was upset, and didn't ask me any questions. Maybe Veils & Mist's charm is that it smells so nice that people notice it and not the person wearing it, lol.

Ghagiel is one of those blends that reminds me of why I tend to dislike florals. I don't really like floral perfumes when I can't pick out what sort of flower I think they smell like. This is like a mish-mash of white florals with a soapy bite to them. It doesn't remind me of any flower in particular, just smells like that cliche floral perfume fragrance that I find so unappealing when I walk through department stores in the mall. Ghagiel gives me a headache

Samael smells a bit like a more perfumey version of Phantom Queen on me at first, in that fruity-floral sort of way. As it dries down a bit, the perfumey note stays and begins to take on a powdery musk sort of feel. After 15 minutes, I'm getting something like honey musk that others have mentioned. Now this is a bit like powdery lilies and honey musk on me. It's more something that smells clasically floral to me, but with a sweeter edge... and it's probably not something that I would wear a lot.

This is orange citrus and spice to my nose. I find it works better as a room scent than a personal one. Orange + cinnamon/clove always makes me think of potpourri. It's very warm and pleasant in an oil burner.

I tried out Wolf's Heart after reading filigree_shadow's review of how it helped in getting to sleep. I suffer from post traumatic stress disorder that causes me to have some issues with insomnia. I've been prescribed all sorts of sleep medications and none of them have worked (though some of them caused me to have hallucinations, which in turn made me even more anxious). I have serious problems with hypervigilance. On a bad night (like the last two weeks), every little noise or shadow causes me to feel threatened and anxious. Wolf's Heart smells rather pleasant and happy to me. Sort of like watered down orange juice and an herbal, almost metallic note. It almost smells a bit like eucalyptus on me at times as well, with a soapy edge. This isn't something that I'd wear as a perfume with the sole purpose of making myself smell appealing, but it isn't an awful smell either. And I did manage to fall to sleep the night that I wore this. A very deep sleep for a few hours. Though I'm not sure if it was from the feeling of comfort that Wolf's Heart gave me or the fact that I'm just flatout exhausted from not sleeping well for weeks beforehand. I woke up after four hours during the middle of a thunderstorm feeling pretty hysterical, but I managed to fall back to sleep after the wind calmed down. I'll try this out over a few more nights and see if it helps me to have some anxiety-free sleep as well...

Middle Pillar doesn't have a great fragrance (at least to my nose). It has a strong shot of eucalyptus/menthol on me at first, and something like a powdery/dry cedar note. In the drydown, it smells a bit like sweet woods layered over powdery florals. Sweet, powdery, and very dry. I do get a hint of the mentioned cinnamon in the drydown as well. It's not an awful or off-putting smell at all, it just isn't something that I'd wear as a personal fragrance. It makes a beautiful room scent in an oil burner though, as it's very calming and warm. I enjoyed using Middle Pillar as a room fragrance to calm me down, make me feel at ease, and ground me as I was taking some time out for prayer. And it worked very well for that purpose

I'm definitely going to have to swap away Temple: Polynesian. I know that some people don't care about the fragrance of the TAL blends, but the way that something smells plays a major factor in whether or not I will ever be able to use it or wear it. Temple: Polynesian has a very strong opium poppy note to it. That painfully sharp, white, hairspray-ish sort of note that gives me an instant, horrible migraine. In the imp it smells like opium poppy with a background of tropical fruits. On me, pure opium poppy. I couldn't use or wear this one

I have not used this for any real purpose yet, so this will be a review only of the scent itself. On me, Temple: Rosicrucian smells like a mixture of tomato leaf and tea rose. It's interesting and rather pretty, and evokes a pleasant garden picture to my mind. Leafy green, but with the sweetness of the tea rose and the spiciness that comes from the tomato leaves. The tomato leaf is more prevalent at first, but the drydown is more tea rose with a hint of greenery in the background. I like this one a lot.

You might want to try Shango. It was a very cool, crisp, clean apple scent on me at first, and then morphed into something of a chilled fruit salad smell after a few hours. It's clean, crisp, and fruity. "The Master of Lightning’s ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane." It's not as sweet or artificially fruity as it sounds. At least, it isn't on me, lol. The Pool of Tears is an interesting aquatic. Sort of a salt water and florals blend. "A sea of salty tears drowning out Alice's light floral perfume." And I'd recommend The Mock Turtle for a clean/fresh scent, "Not quite Turtle Soup: blurry aquatic notes, with a confusing, contrary splort of iris, ambrette, green apple, vodka, white mint and a squish of lime." You might also want to try out Sundew. It was all bright lemony sugar and greenery on me. A nice, refreshing, uplifting sort of scent. And Ochosi has a cheery, warm herbal/green sort of smell to it that reminds me a bit of the herbal in The Dormouse. And Aizen-Myoo is "yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea." More floral and fresh... Off of your current list... Dublin, Dorian, and Envy don't really strike me as clean/fresh scents at all. Dorian is a sugared vanilla tea (sweet and lovely), Dublin was like those foresty air freshener trees on me, and Envy was more of an herbal mint.

Strawberry singlenote is very sticky sweet on me. It does smell like real strawberries, but with some sugar added. We used to have a half acre strawberry garden when I was little, so I remember picking them and my mother turning them into everything that you can possibly turn a strawberry into (jams and sugary pastes for strawberry shortcake being her favorite). This singlenote smells like sliced up, ripe strawberries that were mixed with sugar. Juicy and sweet. I don't love fruity scents normally, but I might want a full bottle of this one if I ever got the chance to purchase it

I've been on a sandalwood spree lately, so I was excited to try out the Red Mysor Sandalwood. Plus, I've had good luck with the red sandalwood in blends. On me, this is a very warm and spicy sandalwood. The sort of spicy that makes me think of cassia. A very woodsy, slightly powdery cassia, with a background that reminds me of dry cedar chests. When I wear this, my brain will flip between thinking that it smells like cassia and cedar before settling on the realization that it's a beautifully warm sandalwood. If that makes any sense... I'd get a big bottle of this one if I could.

Bergamot singlenote is not a winner on my skin. I don't think that I could ever wear this one alone. It's a very tart, sharp citrus (neither lemon nor orange, but somehow reminiscent of both) on me, with some herbal undertones. This is the sort of citrus that makes me cringe, as it's almost bitter or chemical smelling on me, lacking any sweetness that I'd enjoy. Reminds me of some sort of harsh cleaning fluid...

Florentine Iris starts out rather sharp and soapy on my skin. A rather harsh, slightly aquatic, floral fragrance. In the drydown, if I didn't know what I was wearing, I would have guessed that this was a violet blend. It smells like a dark, bruised little floral. A hint soapy, a bit powdery, and purple. This one becomes more and more powdery on me over time, getting lighter and fading away entirely within 2 hours. I feel very 'meh' about this one. Florentine Iris is not my sort of floral.

Tweedledee is the purest orange blossom scent on me (and the only one where orange blossom really works on me as a sweet floral and doesn't smell like oddly burnt citrus). It winds up smelling like a beautiful orange blossom singlenote on me in the drydown. I highly recommend Masquerade was the strongest patchouli for me out of the three that you listed. Vixen had a very noticeable patchouli on me, and the orange blossom smelled sharply burnt, but they were more of equal strength. I don't get any patchouli at all from Ravenous... it actually smells more like an orange creamsicle on me (orange blossom and vanilla).

Vetiver has ruined a lot of blends for me... but it's also in a few blends that I really love, and lends a dark, earthy background to some of them. I like it if it lingers lightly in the background. By itself, oh Lord. This is strong and EARTHY. It kind of reminds me of the smell of decaying leaves, roots, and soil... but with a more pungent bite. Woodsy, but insanely deep and dark. I only used the tiniest drop of this on one of my fingertips, and it's almost overpowering on me. It goes a bit powdery and sweeter on me after about a half hour, and I actually like it more then. I could never wear this alone as a perfume. I'm not really sure what I would layer it with either, so I think I'll leave that up to Beth, lol. Vetiver singlenote is a frightening thing.

Ylang ylang is one of my most feared notes, and it has ruined quite a few blends for me. In the vial it actually didn't smell so bad, it was a cheerful, sunny-yellow sort of floral. It was tricking me into trying it on. On me... ylang ylang is so viciously sharp and acrid. It makes me think of the way my hands smell (and taste) after handling dirty coins. That metallic bite that I always associate with ylang ylang. I washed this one off after about a half hour, and it was still clinging to my skin after repeated hand washings, smelling like sharp, dirty metal

I don't like Sweet Grass much when I first dab it on, it has a sharp lemony citrus bite to it that I find unpleasant. However, in the drydown, this is really quite lovely. It's not as strong and darkly green as the fresh cut grass smell, but it does smell grassy. Sweet Grass on me almost smells like a field of wildflowers, minus the flowers. It has a green and fresh quality to it, but not dark green, and it's slightly more herbal. I'd get a bottle of this one if I could

I've been playing around with my wee imp of Siberian Musk over the last several weeks, trying it out on myself and my boy. It smells very off on my skin, but not as bad on him. Siberian Musk might be the note that I hated in Snake Oil. It has a nauseating sort of sweetness on me that reminds me of the way that greasy hair smells. Oily and slightly powdery. It's so strong on me and makes me kind of sick. The boy said, "This makes you smell dirty... in a bad way." On the boy, this is much better. It clings close and has a hint of sweetness, a hint of powder, and a darkly sensual muskiness. Unfortunately, it's not his cup of tea either. Perhaps we just aren't musk people, lol.