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In the Vial: Wow, this is nothing like the New Orleans blend. It's rather light and crisp, and aquatic - as the description says, the scent of the Mississippi. I'm also getting a lot of lemon, somehow. The olive and Spanish moss are very subtle, giving the blend a soft, sweet, and slightly green background.

Wet: The aquatic note goes immediately soapy, then powdery. The sweetness disappears altogether, but then drifts back in, though it's now more subtle than before. That green note is getting stronger, and mixed with the lemon, it's making this smell like Mr. Clean, or lemon Pledge. Nooooo!

Dry: Very soapy, but thankfully less household cleaner now. It's soapy in the way that rose notes go soapy on me. It's clean, but earthy at the same time. The olive is really coming out now, too, and is the nicest part of the blend, to my nose. This scent makes me think of sitting by a river and watching a red-sky sunset.

An Hour Later: I kept smelling something lovely wafting around me, but when I sniffed my hand again, it wasn't the oil. I finally realized that it was my hair. As for Halloween: New Orleans, the olive has surpassed the lemon, but the blend is just edging into rancid butter territory. Yay.

Overall: Don't let the rancid butter thing scare you - that's just my messed up skin chemistry. Otherwise, this is a great blend for those who like clean, crisp scents. Unfortunately, that is not me in the least. I did quite like the sweet olive, though, and will keep my eyes peeled for other blends with that note that might work better on me.

In the Vial: Warm wood right out of the gate - I love this already. I'm getting more spice than rum, and a hint of the salty sea air. It's reminding me a bit of dragon's blood.

Wet: Goes a little sweet and floral - I suppose that's the prostitute's perfume. That ebbs quickly, though, and that spicy woodsiness comes out more. And there's the rum. They're right about the hint of salty sea air - it truly is just a hint, subtly blending into the background.

Dry: GAH, SO GOOD. Very warm and sexy. That wood is just gorgeous! The rum has left the building, and the general spiciness is taking on more of a cinnamon smell now. One second I think the ozone note is flaring up, but then the next it's gone. In any case, I keep smelling my hand and going, "MMMMM." If this keeps on as it is, I can see it becoming a favorite.

An Hour Later: Happily, it held up really well! It stayed mainly the same, only getting a little more smoky and musky, and slightly less sweet.

Overall: Love it, love it, love it. I kind of wish the rum had stuck around, but I am so glad the salty ozone note is as subtle as it is in this blend. Those who dislike ozone notes, like I do, will be surprised as how soft and unoffensive it is in Port Royal. I'll likely be getting a bottle of this at some point, unless I find a wood blend I like even more.

In the Vial: It's kind of nice, but... it's like Pine Sol mixed with Mr. Clean. I have no idea what's doing that. It's quite woodsy and smoky, but there's something sharp and stringent and citrus there, too. I don't think I've ever smelled black vanilla before, but I'd definitely call this black - it's a dark and dirty but subtly sweet vanilla.

Wet: It's quite faint on my skin, not something I'd expect from such a strong blend. It's smelling more woodsy, the vanilla is getting sweeter, and the tobacco stronger. That phantom citrus note is fading, thankfully.

Dry: Mmm, this is getting much better. It's very woodsy now, and dark, but soft, and smoky, and... very nice. I know this has similar notes to Perversion, and a lot of the reviews compare it to Perversion, but I'm not really seeing the similarity at all.

An Hour Later: The vanilla has all but disappeared, only barely softening the blend. Otherwise, it hasn't changed. Beautifully woodsy, smoky, and toasted. It makes me think of curling up in front of the woodstove in my cottage.

Overall: I really like it. Probably not enough for a bottle, but I'll defintely be using the imp up. This would make a great scent for guys, or for girls who don't typically like feminine scents.

In the Vial: Sweet, warm, woodsy, and fruity. And oh, so good! This is very, very sexy. A lot of the reviews say this is an extremely foody blend, but I'm getting more of a woodsy feel than a foody one.

Wet: The vanilla goes powdery right away, and the ginger finally comes out. On the drydown, it gets smokier, woodsier, and the date becomes much more pronounced. This is definitely a red scent - sexy, sophisticated, and mysterious.

Dry: Not much of a change once it's fully dry. Maybe a little sweeter and a little less tart. God, I love how warm and woodsy this is! I'm already on the forums searching for a bottle.

An Hour Later: It has turned completely into that rancid butter smell that so many blends do on me. WHY, GOD, WHY? I put some on the back of my hand as well, to compare, and it's holding up fairly well, but still has a hint of the rancid butter smell.

Overall: I am sick and tired of amazing blends turning into this disgusting smell. I'm going to test this again in a few weeks to see if there's any change.

ETA: Happily, it works just fine when applied to my neck and cleavage, staying that sweet, woodsy, sexy scent. I just have to remember not to let it touch my wrists!

In the Vial: Wow. It's rare that I can pick out every single individual note in a blend, but I can with Knockout Drops! The vanilla is strongest at first, but then the lemon, mint, and absinthe come roaring out, while the white chocolate chills out in the background. I'm not sure if I can really distinguish the bourbon except that it gives the entire blend a slight boozy feel. This is yummy and naughty all at once.

Wet: The lemon and vanilla mingle perfectly for a few seconds before the mint and absinthe flare up, making it more herbal than foody. I can just barely still smell the white chocolate and bourbon. Overall, it's got a more sinister feel than before - it's poisoned lemon meringue pie. It's stinging my eyes a little bit!

Dry: Wow, this one takes a long time to dry. Along the way, the vanilla kept shying away, then peeking out, then hiding again. It's really strange - if I smell my wrist at one angle, I get the vanilla, but at another angle, it's not there. What the heck? In any case, the lemon, mint, and absinthe are still the stars of the show, and the white chocolate has exited stage right.

An Hour Later: Hmm. That strange different angle, different smell thing is still happening. It's a nice, creamy lemon vanilla one way, but the other way it's sharper and less sweet and... it's got a hint of that phantom rancid butter note my skin likes to invent out of nowhere. Great. Plus, all the other notes have disappeared.

Overall: I liked this much better in the imp, when it was very complex and delicious. It's sort of bland on my skin. Plus there's the problem of the phantom rancid butter note, which isn't nearly as pronounced as it usually is, but still worrisome. However, I love the notes in this blend enough to retest it in a few weeks before deciding its fate.

I haven't tried Lights of Men's Lives yet, though it's on my wishlist. I think I'll bump it up to a Top Priority blend. Thanks, guys!

In the Vial: This is a sharp, heavy floral blend. I'm not familiar enough with the individual notes to pick them out, but suffice it to say, this is a dark, dewy bouquet fresh from the garden, with the leaves still attached. I'm also getting the smokiness of the opium on top of it all.

Wet: It goes powdery very fast. I know tuberose isn't actually a rose, but I am smelling roses in this. But it still smells primarily green. And that smoke is still there, enveloping everything.

Dry: It's gotten quite pretty. The in-your-face floral notes have calmed down, and that phantom rose has mostly backed off. It isn't as green as before, but even more powdery.

An Hour Later: Wow. It went from being OMG FLORAL! to a very light and slightly sweet floral. Still powdery, and a little soapy. At least it's still nice and smoky.

Overall: Not what I was expecting, nor exactly what I would imagine "languor" to smell like. Though it does give me the image of a lovely woman lounging around on a setee in her nightgown on a summer morning... so I guess languor kind of fits? Anyway, this is nice but not quite for me.

I don't think so. I did see some talk about it earlier in this thread, so I'll check that out again and perhaps put one or two on my wishlist!

(Edited because I'm dumb and can't read. Haha.)

Am I the only one that finds dragon's blood incredibly sexy? Mainly the darker blends, like Dragon's Heart (which I'd probably consider my signature scent), Dragon's Musk, and Dragon's Hide. Maybe it's just the personal associations I have with it, but it's pure sexuality to me. I feel sexy, confident, and even a little badass when I wear it. And it has gotten positive reactions from the male species!

Hey guys, hope you can help me out with my conundrum!

I was heavily obsessed with BPAL several years ago. I'd tried about 150 blends, and every single one that had a honey note went bad on me. This was very unfortunate as I do like the scent of honey, and a lot of the blends that didn't work for me sounded fantastic in theory. Needless to say, I learned quickly to stay away from Evil Honey.

Now, I'm getting back into BPAL, and as I put together a list of both old and new blends to try, I left out everything with Evil Honey. However, I did get an imp of No. 93 Engine, thinking the beeswax note might be safe and not actually the Evil Honey note. And lo and behold... I love it! It has a very definite scent of beeswax (which reminded me of church candles - so lovely), with a very slight hint of honey that, miraculously, didn't turn sour on me!

So my question is this: what other blends have beeswax, but not necessarily honey (or very little of it)?

And a follow-up question: what blends have light, subtle honey notes? I'd like to see if my skin chemistry has changed enough so that Evil Honey is no longer Evil on me... but I'm not sure I want to jump right into a big, thick vat of it.

Thanks for your help!

In the Vial: Oh, my beloved dragon's blood! How I've missed you so! This is gorgeous dragon's blood with something darker and smokier behind it.

Wet: It lightens up right away, and goes sweet and floral in a way that reminds me of Dragon's Eye. On the drydown, it gets a bit spicier.

Dry: Yep, still a lot like Dragon's Eye, but slightly spicy and powdery.

An Hour Later: Still the same! Fairly soft, though; dragon's blood blends are usually stronger on me.

Overall: I love pretty much all dragon's blood blends, but I prefer the darker, muskier ones, like Blood Amber had been in the imp. It wears a little too sweet and pretty for my liking.

In the Vial: I have to admit that after reading the reviews, I was a little scared to try this blend, but as a huge horror freak, I can't not try it! The most prominent scent in Gore-Shock is salt. This is extremely salty, so much so that it leaves a salty aftertaste in the back of my throat. I definitely get something meaty and pork-like from this, along with a whiff of fire and smoke that I always associate with brimstone. And the rusted machinery is there, too. The entire effect makes me think of the pig-grinding room in Saw III.

Wet: Wow, for a second it almost smells good! Then the salt kicks back in. Oh, wait, it's waning again, and it's getting a little sweeter. This is a lot warmer on my skin, very spicy and musky. I'm getting more of the smoke, rust, and metal than I am of flesh and blood. It's honestly not that bad!

Dry: I'm kind of getting the ham scent that others have mentioned now. It's still salty and tangy on top, but if I breathe deeply I get that spicy, musky warmth that is quite pleasant. If I could just get rid of the saltiness, I think I'd really like this.

An Hour Later: Oh, damn. The salt has kicked that nice warm musk in the balls and taken over the show. It honestly smells more like murky saltwater than meat or blood to me.

Overall: I'm very disappointed that this ended up being so salty! I was shocked to find that I kind of liked it on the drydown, and if it weren't for that pesky salt note, I could see this being something I'd actually wear. I'm also surprised that I didn't find this as nearly disgusting as I'd been expecting - though that's my usual reaction to even the goriest horror films, so I suppose it fits!

ETA: Now that I know what vetiver smells like, I can say with great confidence: there is vetiver in this. A lot of it.

In the Vial: The shea is lovely and light, but backed by the sturdiness of herbs and woods. The forest herbs make this smell a lot like Verdandi, but without the apples. This is Verdandi's younger, innocent sister.

Wet: It goes a little tart on my skin, but then mellows out and grows sweeter and warmer. The herbs and woods take a backseat to bright florals. This is a very cuddly, comforting scent.

Dry: I can't decide if this is an earthy scent or a tropical scent; it has qualities of both! The herbs and woods are shy, but still there grounding the blend, while the shea makes it sunny and beachy and tropical. This is so pretty!

An Hour Later: I kept sniffing my hand the entire hour, and for the longest time it was a pretty, summery scent. However, now it's getting that odd buttery smell that my weird skin chemistry likes to give so many blends.

Overall: I'll have to pass on this one for the phantom butter note. Even without it, this would likely have been too light and pretty for me, but I can definitely see this being a superb summer scent for others.

In the Vial: I got an empty bottle of this as a sniffy, and am I ever glad I did! I am already in love. The tea is wondrously strong, and backed by a spicy note that screams Oriental to me, though I can't figure out what it actually is... maybe the golden amber? The peach and mandarin are peeking through just enough to give this a light, tart feel.

Wet: Miraculously, I managed to get a good drop of oil after letting the bottle sit upside-down for five minutes! There's a brief flash of citrus tartness, but it quickly calms down and dries out. One second I think I smell the vanilla, but then it's gone. Sadly, the spiciness is fading.

Dry: The mandarin is growing stronger, but I can still smell the peach, too. The tea is still there, but very subtle - I keep forgetting about it! And I think I'm finally getting the lotus root, because there's definitely a floral quality to this now. I just wish the vanilla would come out to play! It's there if I breathe reeeeeeeally deeply, but only just.

An Hour Later: The bright citrus has mellowed out into a light, sweet, fruity, and ever-so-slightly spicy scent.

Overall: I wish that spicy Oriental feel lasted longer than it did, but nonetheless, I love this. It's lighter and prettier than what I usually like to wear, but I think I'll really enjoy this in the summer. I'll definitely be hunting down decants to fill up my empty bottle!

In the Vial: I smell pretty much everything listed: dried roses, leaves, moss, and soil. The soil is the most surprising part - it's so nice! It gives a nice earthiness to the roses, which usually don't impress me. This smells like shopping in a gardening center at the start of summer.

Wet: Oh, no. The roses are doing their usual thing - blocking out every other scent while turning into a powdery soap. I can just barely still smell the soil.

Dry: Rose, rose, rose, rose, rose. Oh, and rose. It is a little darker than most rose blends I've tried, though. So I'll give it that.

An Hour Later: Yep, pure, soapy, powdery rose.

Overall: So I guess my skin's penchance for amping rose notes hasn't gone away over the past five years. Good to know. Goodbye, Zombi! How I wish I could have loved you.

In the Vial: After the disappointing outcome of Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener yesterday, I was extremely excited to get another sassafras blend in the mail today! However, I get mostly brown sugar and clove from the imp... and a hint of tartness in the background from the plum. It actually reminds me a lot of Jack!

Wet: Immediately gets warmer and spicier, and then very pleasantly woodsy. The root beer scent of the sassafras is very slowly edging out, bringing a very strong sweetness with it.

Dry: The sweetness has calmed down a bit, and now it reminds me more of Samhain than Jack, more woodsy-spicy than foody. This is a very dry, hot autumn scent. I wish the plum was more noticeable - I can't really pick it out at all except for that hint of tartness.

An Hour Later: It's so weird how this blend has smells like so many other blends at different stages. It's totally Gingerbread Poppet now! The sweetness has come back (though thankfully not as in-your-face as before) and the woodsiness has ebbed away.

Overall: Very nice and a lovely autumn scent. However, I'm not sure I'll keep this as Samhain and Gingerbread Poppet are two of my favorites, and I probably don't need another blend that's similar to them. I really wish the sassafras and plum had been more prominent in this!

In the Vial: The pennyroyal is the first to charge out, followed closely by a creamy lemon and lavender, and you can kind of see the black musk way in the background if you squint really hard. This is an extremely bright scent, and makes me think of vivid, loud colors - great for Tim Burton's Wonderland.

Wet: It softens a little, and the lavender becomes more pronounced.

Dry: It's gotten much more herbal, and lost that nice creaminess I had associated with the lemon. This makes me sad. As time goes on the musk warms up and takes away some of the sharp coldness. Surprisingly, this is making me like it even less. It's a mix between household cleaner and bug spray.

An Hour Later: Where'd it go? It's almost completely vanished! I can just barely get a hint of lemon and lavender, but that's it.

Overall: Definitely not for me. I liked it in the imp and I wish it would have worn the same way on me, but alas!

In the Vial: Very wet, green, and cold. I'm definitely getting the pine, but what this really reminds me of is the vegetable aisle of a supermarket: green beans, lettuce, parsley, and all manner of green vegetables and fresh herbs. Where on earth is the vanilla, and the amber?

Wet: My skin warms it up, and it gets darker and murkier, but... it's still largely vegetables.

Dry: I think the vanilla is finally making an appearance, because it's getting sweeter. And maybe that's the amber making it spicy. And the pine is getting stronger, and... turning it into bathroom cleaner. But... nicer. Bathroom cleaner with vanilla. This is weird. One minute I hate it, but the next I like it.

An Hour Later: Is this the same blend?! It is nothing at all like it was in the vial, or even wet on my skin. It's now a slightly more masculine version of Snake Oil.

Overall: A very interesting blend and quite nice when it dries, but ultimately not for me.

In the vial: I don't know what half of the notes in the blend are supposed to smell like so I'm not going to try to pick them out! I'm getting a dark smokiness that reminds me of brimstone (but is likely the frankincense), something very herbal and medicinal (probably the balsam), and something zingy and metallic. This is a sharp scent!

Wet: That sharpness immediately mellows out and the blend becomes more smoky, dry, and woodsy. But it's still very bright - I think that's the lemon balm I'm smelling. The benzoin is also sneaking out to sweeten it all up a bit. This smells much nicer on than it did in the imp!

Dry: I can smell the beeswax now, but thankfully no honey - honey and I do not get along. This blend makes me think of church - smoky incense paired with the sharp bite of lemon cleanser and freshly waxed pews. As time goes on, it's getting pleasantly warmer.

An hour later: Oh, wow! This has gotten so lovely! It's very warm, soft, and sweet now. And very comforting. The beeswax is much more prominent, and I'm finally smelling a bit of honey... and it's beautiful! This may be the first time a honey note has ever worked on me!

Overall: I love the end result, but I'm not quite sure yet that I want to put up with the sharp, zingy beginning in order to wear this very often.

In the Vial: Chocolate! Very, very chocolate. I'm also getting the pistachio, a tiny bit of mint, and a general woodsiness in the background. This is yummy but not entirely in a foody way.

Wet: Oh! There's the vanilla, sweetening it all up quite nicely. The cedar is also coming out now. Still mainly chocolate and pistachio. The pistachio is unexpectedly lovely! This strongly reminds me of something, but as usual, I can't pinpoint what.

Dry: It's getting better and better as it dries. Sweeter, creamier, and almost milky. The vanilla is taking a backseat in this blend, only present in the sweetness of it all. And the mint is just a faint suggestion. Somehow, there's something musky and animalistic about it... is that the oakmoss and cedar playing tricks on me?

An Hour Later: It really hasn't changed much since the beginning. Still sweet and creamy, and full of chocolate and pistachio. It has gotten the slightest bit powdery, though, and that makes it smell more like a lotion than a perfume.

Overall: It's such a strange scent (pistachio?! I still can't get over that), but I really like it and am considering a bottle with my next order.

Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener smells exactly like Givenchy Pi on my chest - but only there. It smells differently on my wrist and hand. Can't figure out why.

Also, Hellboy reminds me a lot of Old Spice, but it's nicer!

I've just tried Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener for the first time, and it's an immediate favorite that I will be ordering a bottle of ASAP! It's gotten me wanting to try anything and everything with sassafras, which I can see becoming a favorite note.

So, what blends have sassafras? Tombstone is already high on my wishlist. I also know that Laudanum and Port au Prince have sassafras; Laudanum's going on the wishlist, but I recall Port au Prince being super buttery on me. Are there any others I should try?

ETA: It figures - the butter note in SSS has gone rancid on my skin, like butter usually does. No bottle for me after all. Now I'm even more keen to find blends with sassafras - particularly without butter!

Most of the blends I find nutty don't even have any kind of nuts in them, but my nose still smells nuts!

How Doth the Little Crocodile: Chocolate peppermint, mint-soaked vanilla, pistachio, oakmoss, and green cedar. I get mostly chocolate and pistachio out of this, and the pistachio is unexpectedly lovely.

Black Pearl: Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk. I know others have said they didn't smell the hazlenut in this, but I definitely did.

Shub-Niggurath: Ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices. Smells very peanut-buttery to me.

Seraglio: Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel. Smells like nutty carrot cake to me.

Devil's Night: This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk. In my review, I described this as "a very nutty scent" and "nutty, nutty, nutty!"

Hellboy: Aftershave, candy wrappers, brimstone, and cat. It was very nutty to me at first, but ended up being a nice dry, sweet aftershave.

Queen of Sheba: Golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices. I got a lot of almond in this, and also described it as "sweet, nutty bread."

I am resurrecting this dead thread to say that Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener is exactly what I imagine Butterbeer should smell like: sweet, warm, buttery root beer!

In the Vial: My immediate reaction was: "OH WOW." Right off the bat, I think I'll need a bottle of this. The vanilla is strong, but it's so different from regular old vanilla because of how well the other notes blend with it. The sassafras and oak leaf give it a slightly spicy, woodsy, smoky feel. It's a delicious root beer float! I am a little wary of the butter note, though - my skin amps butter like mad.

Wet: It's quite faint on my skin even though I slathered the hell out of this. It's a little sweeter and creamier. And... yes, the butter is coming up now. Please, butter, please do not ruin this blend for me!

Dry: I don't know if it's dry yet because I can't tear my nose away from my wrist to check. IT IS SO GOOD I WANT TO CRY. It's still a sweet, creamy, spicy, woodsy root beer float. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but the butter is playing nicely so far. This is exactly what Butterbeer should smell like!

An Hour Later: The butter is doing it's "LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME I'M BUTTER" thing now, but it hasn't completely taken over, which is probably the best I can hope for with my stupid skin chemistry. It doesn't smell like root beer as much as it did before, but the vanilla is still going strong.

Overall: Despite the butter issue, I'm ordering a bottle of this ASAP. This is unbelievably gorgeous. Other reviewers have mentioned trying it on their men, which I will absolutely do, though I suspect he'll find it too feminine. A pity, because I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off a guy who smelled like this!

ETA: NOOOOOOO! The butter has officially ruined it. I tried applying it to the back of my hand and my chest to see if it fared any better there, but no. The butter wreaks it's rancid vengeance on my hand just as much as my wrist, and the entire blend turns to Givency Pi on my chest - which was my ex's cologne, so I'm not sure I'd want my current boyfriend to wear this after all. FML!