Amaranthus

I love love love Yvaine! Yvaine is a shimmering lavender musk with a creamy undercurrent of magnolia blossoms. It smells like everything perfect and wonderful about a starry midsummer night. The scent makes my brain glittery with joy.

This smells like cold vanilla-mint-lilies! Very clean and refreshing.

This smells like sugared black currant and velvety musks. Wet, the perfume smells like Bath and Body Works Black Currant Vanilla lotion. I love the sugar note in this. It smells like white sugar crystals. Smut dries down to a luxurious musk. This is so nice. Nothing like the stale sheets and booze smell I feared it would be.

This starts off as salty clean ocean spray, and blooms into a light, almost fruity floral. As it warms up a note comes out that must be "seashell accord," it is warm and soft, like lightly vanillic powder. It's much sexier than I would have expected from an aquatic floral blend. The smell makes me imagine the colors aquamarine and gold. I love it!

I received this as a free sample and I love it. It smells like lavender and lemongrass. I've been slathering this on my pillow before I go to bed. Smelling Nanshe I can feel the tension draining out of my body. I enjoy a few minutes of warm, blissful relaxation before drifting off into a sound sleep.

I told her the moon was a magical thing, that it shone gold in the winter, and silver in the spring... This has the cutest label art ever. I loves the little winged piggy! When I first opened it, the perfume smelled very sharply of frankincense and bitter herbs, to the exclusion of any other notes. I have figured out that it's best to let these oils sit for a few days before judging them. I opened it again the night before the blue moon and it was like a completely different perfume. It has a cool, smooth blue note running through rich woods, and a faint glimmer of herbal tea. On my skin there is a beautiful white floral note that gives way to the smell of hot green tea. Very nice! There is a lot gong on in this oil. At different points I can pick out woods, orchid, lavender, lemon, and who knows what else. It seems I'm always finding something new. The perfume dries down to a light sparkling musk that lingers for a very long time. I wore this on the night of the full moon as I was out driving far away from civilization, and the moon was huge and white-gold, and the whole sky was perfect azure blue. It was beautiful, and it felt like this perfume was made to capture just that moment.

This is amazing. I would never have tried this on my own, since I'm cautious of heady floral blends, but an imp of it was included in my last order (thank you!!). This smells like purple and gold. Initially Venice has a fuzzy texture- one I usually find with patchouli or blackberry leaf- in this instance I suppose it's violet leaf. Wet, this is a rich floral perfume with a tinge of plum. It smells like a mature rose dipped in a red wine with strong plum notes. It slowly morphs into a sparkling, regal citrus-floral perfume. The citrus performs an olfactory crescendo-decrescendo, growing stronger and more golden, then backing off and fading into a glowing background. Next, jasmine emerges as the main note, lending the perfume a cool, watery character. It took me a moment to identify this note as jasmine, my first impression was of water. Rich, smooth red sandalwood appears next, softened by a glorious floral bouquet. This is so lovely, and again, not at all something I would have expected to like. This smells how I imagine the palace at Versailles would have looked in its heyday. I know that Versailles is not Venice, () but it conjured the image of Versailles in my imagination. The exception is the jasmine stage, when it did make me think of watery Venice. I can't wait to pass this on to some friends, who I am confident will love it. I think it's time I tried out more of the Wanderlust oils, since I only ever get them as freebies and they are consistently amazing.

All of the notes in Now Winter Nights Enlarge blend into one warm, earthy-sweet scent. No one note is stronger than any other. It's beautiful! A few hours into wearing it, the ylang ylang comes out more. The patchouli is more prominent too, but the vanilla and red musk soften it. At this stage Now Winter Nights Enlarge smells like a gourmand version of Lust. I love the bottle art, too.

Wearing this makes me think of swimming in a sea of clean, warm bathwater. The initial smell is of salty, clean water. The fruity notes develop quickly, they smells like plum colored flowers against an aqua-green matcha background. As the perfume dries down some of the initial saltiness goes away, leaving a blend of fruits and florals. It makes me think of an expensive plum flavored candy. I bought this perfume hoping that it would evoke the mood of the piece by Yoshitoshi. It does! I like to wear Kiyohime Changes From A Serpent on days I wake up too late to take a wake-up shower, as it has the same invigorating effect as if I had taken the time to wash and dry my hair and put on brand new clothes. I've had this bottle for about a year, and I'm barely halfway through it. It's a strong, long lasting scent. This perfume is atypical for me, but I love it. I will buy more when I've used it up.

!! I almost doused my laptop with a stream of Gluhwein shooting out of my nose when I saw the label art for Sleipnir. That is the best thing ever.

Ahhhhh.... This oil is all smoke and cinnamon in the bottle. On the skin, it is an smouldering blend of cinnamon and myrrh. Late in the dry down a there is a whisper of smoke. Priala stays close to the skin and lingers for about four hours. I read a review early in this thread that said that this perfume is more like glowing embers than like a full blown conflagration, and that is an excellent description. This smell reminds me of the archetype of the femme fatale of film noir, a gorgeous raven haired woman dressed in red silk! Or it's something to keep you warm on a cold, wet day.

I was in a bookstore early this week and a lady asked what perfume I was wearing. I showed her the little imp of this and she shrieked “YAA! SHUB NIGGURATH!!!” What an odd person! I think I’m in love. Anyway… In the imp this has a spicy smell with something greenish black lurking beneath the surface. I can’t place what that smell is- my imagination conjures images of decaying plant life. The smell is unsettling…perfect for a perfume inspired by Lovecraft! I’m not sure I would enjoy feeling that way all day, though. The lurking doom note does not show up on my skin, thankfully. Instead it smells like happy, spicy ginger incense! The ginger scent stays true throughout the wear of the perfume, but the incense smell gradually becomes the scent of cookies. Delicious doom cookies! I wore this when it snowed last week and felt happy and comfortable, like having a fuzzy orange blanket to wrap around myself all day. The Black Goat of the Woods is a nurturing and kind mother. YAAAA!!!

This is one of the more intricate BPAL blends I’ve tried. On my skin it starts off as a floral bouquet. I don’t know what flowers are in there, it smells like cactus blossom, jasmine, or some other night blooming flowers. There is also a spicy floral note that makes me think of chrysanthemums or marigolds. The floral notes slowly fade into the background as the scent of incense and crisp leaves emerges. At this stage it becomes a warm autumnal scent. To give you an idea by way of comparison: It is similar to the smell of crisp leaves in Falling Leaf Moon, minus the sparkly oak moss. It’s like a lighter, prettier version of Samhain. The floral notes are still there, but they are not the dominant scent. I don’t notice a lot of gourmand notes, but every now and then a dry semi-sweet chocolate note will emerge for a few seconds before blending back into the perfume. The first time I noticed this I literally sighed with pleasure. It was so nice! There is a light pastry scent that I notice every now and then. On my wrists the incense and leaves are strongest, with the occasional hint of chocolate and light pastry, and a backdrop of flowers. Behind my ears (where it is warmer, I suppose) the scent is night blooming flowers with a faint touch of incense. When I took off the hat I was wearing today I could smell fresh tobacco. That is the only time I’ve noticed tobacco from this blend. I liked it. Way into the dry down the primary smell is of chocolate-vanilla sweetness. While I have outlined the general idea of how the perfume plays out on my skin, a neat thing about this scent it that sometimes the flowers will come back and be the main smell. Sometimes it’s the incense. As the scent wears on, sometimes it’s a gourmand scent- candy like, but not fruity. It’s a mercurial blend that suits my varied tastes! This is my favorite of any of the Halloween scents I have tried. I am glad I tried Dia de los Meurtos, because I was convinced that this would be the Halloween scent I liked least (I thought the flowers might be headache inducingly sharp). Instead I find myself wanting to stock up so I won’t ever be without it.

In the bottle I smell burnt sugar and cotton. On my skin it's a sour milk scent for about ten seconds. Then it morphs before my very nose into the most beautiful vanilla cream ever! There's just a hint of cotton in the background. Ahhh, I can't stop sniffing myself. Strangers are staring...but f&@% 'em. Mmmmm...

A return of 2006's Ridiculous Scent! As creepy as Spooky was spooky, this is the scent of butterscotch-kissed, caramel-smothered red apples spiked with a blast of coconut rum. Creepy 2009 I'm so sad! This does not smell good on me! It smells promising in the bottle, a crisp apple sweetness with hints of warm gooey caramel. But on my skin it smells just like Suave Green Apple shampoo. When the apple relaxes a bit, it smells not like a candied apple, but like one of those red apple flavored lollipops that are coated in caramel and left to fossilize in the bottom of the trick or treat bag. I don't get any rum or coconut, although I think that that is not the apple alone but the combination of apple and rum on my skin that isn't working out. It may be that I need to let the bottle settle for a week or so and try it again, but I may pass this on to someone who can wear it to better effect. Too bad, too, I love the cute little picture on the bottle- makes me want to listen to The Misfits (Danzig era, duh). I am off to console myself with Legacy of Brutality. I sure hope my skin will decide to cooperate on this one. Update- I tried this again recently, after leaving it to sit in a drawer for nearly a year, and it smells much better now! The apple shampoo-ness has calmed down, so I can smell all the notes! The combination of coconut, caramel, and apple is delicious.

I love this perfume! It's so warm and cuddly! The dragon's blood is fresh and slightly green. The vanilla and honey blend together seamlessly, and never become cloying. As the perfume dries down, the incensy aspects of the dragon's blood comes out more. Hours after the perfume has faded there is a "my skin, only better" scent left behind. This is a perfume I would wear year round- it is not too heavy or obtrusive for hot weather, and it's comforting to wear in cool weather. Yay!

This was an extra imp in one of my orders. I was happy to receive it because it's one that I had wanted to try, and put it on before anything else. In the imp and on my skin, it didn't smell like anything! It sort of smelled like a watery dragon's blood, no musks, fig, or currants. Awww, suck! Maybe it was just me, because a stranger told me I smelled nice that day. Today I tried it before deciding whether to give the imp away, and it smells wonderful. The description of this is dead on, listing the notes in the exact order of precedence they take in the blend. The main note is dragon's blood. I became familiar with dragon's blood resin through cheap incense sticks and oils I used as a teenager, so it is a lovely surprise to experience BPAL's dragon's blood note, which smells resinous, fresh, and green all at once! The musks add some extra sexiness and depth. They smell like they belong alongside dragon's blood. The fruits are just hinted at in the background. They add a little bit of juicy sweetness, but at least on my skin, they fade fast. They do seem to leave behind an idea of fruitiness, even though I can't pick them out from the other notes anymore. I like this one much more than my first experience with it would have lead me to believe. It's warm, red, and sexy. I'm glad to have it to wear in cool fall weather.

In the bottle this smells like red musk and patchouli. Upon application, there is a flash of juniper and yew. The florals develop quickly. I smell a rich rose note, but the violet is more pronounced. This is a pleasant surprise- I love violet perfumes but they rarely turn out on my skin. The amber provides a lovely backdrop for the florals. After the floral stage a note emerges that smells like a chill down my spine. That must be the icy brittle musk mentioned in the description. It smells...icy. And brittle. The red musk is right there throughout the wear of the perfume. The patchouli is there, but faintly. At some point the notes blend together in a generally purpley-red smell. On the dry down the florals and amber come back, only softer. There are flashes of juniper. The musk is still there in the background, but with a slightly more golden, resinous quality. The perfume lingers for hours. Eight hours after I put this on I can faintly smell a resinous rosy musk on my wrist. Edited to add: I dabbed some of Lucy, Kissed on the collar of a new winter jacket, and buried my face in the thick faux fur to experience scent off my skin. My exact thoughts were "Mmmm....musk....roses....violets.....BLOOD?!" I distinctly smelled fresh, wet blood! I am impressed! I wonder if I imagined it? 10/15

Yaaaay! I love this! This is exactly what I hoped it would smell like! The honey isn't too sweet. It has the same smell as honey dust. You know, the kind that comes in a canister with a feather duster and you are supposed to have your lover lick it off your body? The orange blossom note isn't white flowers with an orangey tinge, it's the smell of neroli oil. I love this smell! Not only is the scent perfect, but the bath oil itself is nice! I poured a small amount into my bath tonight and I could smell beautiful perfume wafting off the water. This is a welcome departure from other bath products I've tried that smell nice in the bottle but have little or no scent once in the water. The scent lasted all through my bath (and I was in there for a long time). When I stepped out of the tub my skin felt so soft! The nicest part was that I could still detect the perfume lingering on my skin for an hour or so afterward. One more thing- the label art is neat. The central art piece looks like an Harry Clarke's illustration of The Little Mermaid with the Sea Witch. Very nice! I'm so pleased.

I received this as a free sample with my most recent order. The first time I wore this: In the bottle it smelled like vetiver, but on my skin it turned into a well balanced blend of rose and gardenia, with a hint of jasmine. Sweet florals! The scent of leather prevented it from becoming too sweet, the way florals sometimes do on my skin. The second time: The vetiver stayed throughout the wear of the perfume, with the leather behind it, and the florals in the background. Still nice, but more traditionally masculine. This is a unisex blend. It smells good on me, but I think I would like it even better on a guy.

This starts off as a rain note that is just like Demeter Fragrance's Rain. It turns into a crisp resinous perfume with a touch of patchouli. I can still smell rain in the background. The combination of the rain note with resins is unusual, but pretty. Falling Leaf Moon has a sparkly olfactory texture (?!) similar to Fae, which must be due to their common note of oakmoss. Although I can't bring to mind the smell of fallen leaves to compare this to, this perfume does remind me of the golden brown color and crispness of autumn leaves. I like that this scent omits the (lovely) scents that I usually associate with fall (clove, ginger, cinnamon etc.) while still capturing the essence of the season.

In the bottle I smell smoky patchouli and fir needles. On my skin the patchouli and the fir are the dominant notes, at first. As the oil warms it smells sweeter and sweeter until it transforms into the scent of apple cider! The scent of clove unfolds, melding with the apples. I love the clove in this blend, it smells the way a clove cigarette tastes on my lips. There is a hint of the patchouli and fir in the background. I can smell a comforting pumpkin note. This is my favorite stage of the perfume. On the dry down the warm pumpkin note comes to the forefront, with a touch of sweet cloves, fir, and the tiniest bit of patchouli in the background. This is a warm, sweet, happy scent. It's sweeter than I expected, but in a warm earthy way. It is not cloying or candy-like. It captures my favorite aspects of the season, so that the first day I wore it I was teary eyed with nostalgia for Octobers past. This perfume has good staying power. It is strong, but not overpowering if sparingly applied. Bonus: I love the way this oil smells on the lining of my leather jacket. So warm and cozy! Maybe they should consider a version of this perfume with an added leather note.

The scent evokes a late summer twilight with a hint of chill that foreshadows Autumn. It combines cool elements of carnation and lavender with warmer notes of vanilla bean, soft musk, and amber. In the bottle, Under the Harvest Moon smells like a light vanilla musk rounded with lavender. As it hits my skin there is a burst of roses that it settles into vanilla musk. This warms up to a light creamy floral blend dominated by carnation. Every now and then there is a little burst of rose or lavender. As it dries down further a cool crisp amber emerges, with a subtle shimmer of musks in the background. This is a smooth dusky perfume that that is soft enough to wear to work, but with enough depth and complexity that I enjoy it.