zankoku_zen

The Berlin wall was a startling and scary reminder of how cruel humans can be. Beth and I sat near this piece of the wall trying to explain to Lilith that in this very spot, there was a wall that separated a country and families from each other. Lilith listened quietly to us and did not say a word. I hope she understood. To lighten the mood, I pretend to be on the wrong side of the wall. Rain-splashed strawberries.  Strawberries and aquatics. I definitely get a strong strawberry note on wet, and then it dries to what I would consider a strawberry tinged aquatic. Definitely river water (not salt water though). Very cool in atmosphere. Low throw, medium wear length.

A woody, feral blanket of agarwood draped in gurjum balsam, black vegetal musk, Spanish moss, and vetiver. Aquatic wood with a touch of moss, vetiver and musk. This one smells sort of green, aquatic, and out there. Very gender neutral.

Night-black pomegranate juice and shards of glittering amber.

The unbounded soul: a vibrant, airy, uplifted amber with smoked vanilla and coconut, tuberose, orange blossom, wildflower honey, and sheer musk.

My two favorite spectres, haunting the apartments of Paris: white musk, graceful lavender, blackcurrant, teakwood, and cacao.  Lavender, white musk, and touches of teakwood and cacao. This one end up as a very clean blend on me (thanks white musk), and it smells almost austere. Medium throw and wear length.

Tying in with our experimental work in fear: we have screamed into our Snake Oil… and we can’t stop sniffing ourselves! BPAL’s signature scent — deep, rich earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, and dark spices — has been polluted by the funnel cake frenzy that is our Please Scream Inside Your Heart perfume blend. The results are so comforting, we almost forgot why we started screaming in the first place. (Almost.)

Sugar and spice and… an aluminum baseball bat. There was no context for her outfit, so there’s no context for this scent: spun sugar, vanilla marshmallows, cardamom, and cake batter.

A dribble of apple cider spilled onto a cream-colored angora sweater.

No additional scent description.

Inky black pomegranate, blackcurrant, cassis, red sandalwood, ambrette seed and fossilized amber, pink peppercorn, and guiaicwood

No additional scent description.

Unbelievably sticky.

With a dash of anise.


I'm three-quarters gone!
 Gingerbread fougere, with hints of lilac, lime, and citrus musk. Well, DAMN. This one is a manly cologne, sophisticated with the spicy gingerbread in complete balance with the lime/citrus which give it a sophisticated lightness, but at the base there's a smouldering spicyness. This actually smells like a commercial man's cologne (the name of which escapes me at the moment, but I sort of want to point the finger at Dior's Pour Homme, whichever the superspicy version is). This is the manly, spicy cologne version of gingerbread. AND IT SMELLS EPICALLY DELICIOUS, AND SEXY. It's DROOLWORTHY. In fact, the tagline should read "ALL GONE", because... well, you really just want to swallow this gingerbread man whole. (and yes, all the innuendo there is FOR A REASON LADIES). [here's to fingers crossed that this smells as good on mr. zee_zee as it does on me]

White ginger, green mandarin, ti leaf, cedarwood, chocolate mint, bergamot, and sweet vetiver.

I smiled, — for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search — search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim.

 A jubilant and deranged lime absinthe. The lime is particularly prominent on wet, and it reminds me to the limes you find in margarita mixes, and then you get the same absinthe note that you get in Pumpkin Spice Absinthe. This is a very lime Absinthe, and I LOVE IT. For all of you that love absinthe-based blends, gives this a whirl. It's like absinthe decided to go to Mexico and adopted limes as a component. Medium throw and wear length.

This one was available from the Dark Delicacies Cobweb event back in 2011, and recently most seen in the Lab's etsy shop. No clue that this is a reference to. I get a whiff of lilac, creamy white florals, and frankincense or maybe its olibanum? There's an oily resin here. Medium throw and wear length.

No additional scent description.

An autumn hooch scent that even the most devoted teetotaler might love: pumpkin spice syrup poured over bourbon with a twist of orange zest and cinnamon clove rimming sugar.

A pleather jacket and a swirl of autumn leaves.

Wild plum, fig, and blackcurrant pumpkin floss! Plum, pumpkin and a touch of fig. This one is an odd pumpkin to me. It's got a heady dark plum note, and then you get the buttery pumpkin underneath. Low throw and wear length.

These mountain-dwelling cutie pies roost in caves, mines, and rocky outcrops, and love to munch on moths that they catch mid-flight. A fuzzy moth scent, dappled grey and delicious: rosehips and sandalwood with a touch of tobacco flower. Rosehips, sandalwood, and a whiff of flowers. This is a very delicate rosy blend. Low throw and wear length on me.

A blend of 17th century grooming products and some Sexy Virgo Philosopher Leather Action: lavender pomade, a splash of Carmelite water, tonka bean, and a well-worn strop.

A dramatic and doleful scent: black oud and vetiver with burgundy pitch, guiac wood, opoponax, velvet black cacao absolute, and incense smoke.

Darkwood Victorian parquet floorboards faded with age, cracked and splintered, stained with the memory of spilled black tea, a cigarette burn, and blood.