Lycanthrope

This is rich and velvety. I get a very nice, smooth vanilla sandalwood mostly, with the roundness of musk. The lotus is just a tiny kiss. By the name I was expecting something very luminescent, bright, citrussy, floral, but this is like... what ivory would smell like, very bright ivory, with a hint of the green spark. It's very nice. I like.

AUTUMN GROVE Black oak bark and fallen acorns on a bed of dry leaves. Definitely a very leafy scent, with a fresh wet leafy green sappiness. The scent is similar to the dry twigs and a faint dirt scent like in Down the Rabbit Hole, but definitely strong on the musty crackling leaves. In my car, I smell like I have a leaf pile sitting next to me, all like 'how you doin'?' It's very authentic, and not a traditional perfume! Quite organic.

WHEN THY WILL STUNG THE WORLD INTO STRIFE Dost thou dream, in a respite of slumber, In a lull of the fires of thy life, Of the days without name, without number, When thy will stung the world into strife; When, a goddess, the pulse of thy passion Smote kings as they revelled in Rome; And they hailed thee re-risen, O Thalassian, Foam-white, from the foam? Dragon's blood resin, red ginger, bourbon geranium, thorny rosemary, red sandalwood, pink pepper, and green coffee bean. Herbal, spicy, dry. I forgot that this has geranium in it - which is an amping note. The geranium and rosemary together make this into a more 'therapeutic' smelling herbal blend. After it is on the skin for a little while, the pepper and ginger lend it a cool but spicy heat, which is a hint sweet. This does not have much 'coffee' note, nor is it a very strong dragon's blood. I think the sandalwood is grounding a few otherwise flighty, airy notes. I would say this is a scent that represents a 'sting' beautifully! I'm going to have to try it a few more times.

On my skin at least, this starts off a bit sage-y (chaparral), and then veers right into a very pretty Hetairae variant. It turns into a lightly spiced carnation fig in the drydown, hints of the reddish Spanish Carnation note keep wafting up to me. It's very good, and at least for me this is a very 'fall' type of fragrance. Surprisingly, I am not amping honey or caramel (both of which can be problems). The honey is light, and not at all overpowering. I will nab a backup or two.

This is very light, but very atmospheric, and I think probably more true to the idea of Autumn than any other scent I have run across. It is predominantly a slightly dry, woodsy maple leaf, with maybe a hint of frost (so, not frankly mint, although there is some coolness, maybe a mist note like in Leanan Sidhe but not as aquatic, a very slight brush of smoke, but not so much as to be dominant like bonfire). I don't know how else to phrase it, but it has the idea of October and November without being In-Your-Face-Leaf-Pile like October, and much much less snow/slush than November. It really does bridge multiple components of the end of the year. Similarly to Wanderbyy, this is one of the softest throws I have ever experienced with BPAL - I have to work to find it even after five large swaths over both wrists, neck, sternal notch. And it is pretty much gone and needing refreshment in an hour. Like it, but will use only intermittently.

So, interestingly, this strikes me as a less resinous, more reedy La Lugubre Gondola, probably because of the strong golden amber note. This has a sweet, nice and spicy drydown but is less rich, and more leafy (pepper, bay and cedar?). That being said, I definitely think of leaves and cold air when I wear this. I will get a single backup probably.

So, I have had this for a few days and I wore it to work today. I smell very strongly of that cherry-pink cake at this moment. However, since I am an old person and have been wearing BPAL for a long time I definitely get a strong nostalgia link to 'I Fell in Love with a Floating Brain' from Dark Delicacies... um, 2008? There are some differences but the basic idea is very similar and I think it is because of the 'cake' and 'strawberry' together. Very Pink Surprise Cake has the same strong berry fruit note, but it is not quite as spicy floral (minus carnation) and I definitely don't get the rindy grapefruit I get from IFILWAFB. That being said, this is nice, but for me, not hoardworthy as I may have a few brains in my closet already. If you liked IFILWAFB or missed it, this is definitely a nice supporting player.

To me this reads really smooth foodie, like an iris cookie covered with vanilla buttercream. It is very exquisite. I have two of these atmos, probably won't need more but one extra may make its way in to my cart...

I see that this is sold out on the page as of my review. I am on the fence about this one. It definitely is a 'more acceptable' patchouli, in that I can tell there is patchouli in this but it's not a very potent, or pungent form. That's mostly what I smell with this wet on my skin. Throw is moderate, less than I expected. It goes sweet and towards an inobtrusive vanilla over several minutes. There's a touch of spiciness but it's not like a huge amount of pepper as in like a black pepper EO. It's truly a bit more dry, subtle. I don't get nearly as much champaca as Khajuraho (which is like, my favorite thing ever), but near very distant drydown this reads more like a deeper, vanilla-champaca. Still quite light. I would say this is... comparable to Laughter of Loki, although LoL is a bit more leafy and to me more smooth. There's a little disconnect in the dark elements and light elements to me here, in that the scent is bouncing between the two for me. Mostly I get the vanilla-champaca a bit further away from my wrist, more even patchouli when closer. Strange. Although I may want to pick up a spare bottle, this would be a great cold weather or autumn scent.

Right, so this is not 'the weirdest' BPAL that I have ever tried (I think that belongs to Licwiglunga (sp?)), but is certainly super strange. So super fruity. But mostly yuzu rind. I do get a high pitched touch of thyme, and it has a rosemary-like top note, that veers towards... sharp, high pitched woods. Then the mandarin comes out and it's like CITRUUUUS (rind), even with the touch of bitterness when you bite into the wrong part of a grapefruit. Since I amp citrus, this runs away into the lime-orange-yuzu field. I vaguely remember ordering this but am not sure why, since I know what citrus oils do on me. I think I was hoping I would get more 'red' or 'purple' but the overarching color I get from this is 'light yellow' or 'orange yellow.' /doge So sunny, so fruity, much citrus.

I was very excited about Little Metalmark, and overall it's not a wow on me. I was particularly interested in Nagarmotha (Cypriol), which is described as vetiver-like, woodsy. In the bottle and wet this smells sweet, so I can detect the 'sweet musk.' It reminds me a little bit of smoke, sweetgrass incense smoke. On my skin, the musk pops for maybe about five minutes before being gobbled up completely by a vetiver-like, very smoky woodsiness. The wood is dry feeling, crackly, like a smoother cedar, but without the sharp shavings-like aroma (no pencils!) The smoke continues to amp, so this gets more gritty over time. It does kind of dry down to a slightly sweet, rounded, complicated dry wood, not terribly powdery, and not as deep or thrummy as sandalwood... but similar. I don't think I will need more than this bottle, since throw and longevity is quite good. I would say if you like Cathedral, anything of Beth's that is woodsy or atmospheric, or a more natural scent, you should try Little Metalmark. I am, however, curious now about getting some pure Nagarmotha EO.

HERODOTUS’ PHOENIX They have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen, except in pictures. Indeed it is a great rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of Heliopolis) once in five hundred years, when the old phoenix dies. Its size and appearance, if it is like the pictures, are as follow:- The plumage is partly red, partly golden, while the general make and size are almost exactly that of the eagle. They tell a story of what this bird does, which does not seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings the parent bird, all plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and there buries the body. In order to bring him, they say, he first forms a ball of myrrh as big as he finds that he can carry; then he hollows out the ball, and puts his parent inside, after which he covers over the opening with fresh myrrh, and the ball is then of exactly the same weight as at first; so he brings it to Egypt, plastered over as I have said, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun. Such is the story they tell of the doings of this bird. - Herodotus, Histories A fragrant shroud: myrrh from Yemen, Oman, and West Africa with a touch of copal and frankincense. These came in record time. Phoenixes in my mailbox! Wet, this is a sweet, rich and complicated myrrh. Almost like the SN Myrrh topnote. Immediately on the skin, it does not disappoint as a swirl of deep, chewy, brown-singed sweet sticky myrrh heading more on the side of smoky rather than sweet or pungent, arises from the tiniest drop on the back of my hand. Over time, it starts to lighten just a touch but is not really heavy on the copal or frankincense. I think both of these sweeter resins give a touch of levity and an even, slightly bright high resin note to what would be a murky, mysterious, excessively but wonderfully dark swirl of myrrh. It's magnificently striking and I like this more then Penitence. All things considered, however, I would probably not need more than one bottle of this, as a tiny spot has refrickudiculous throw! This is a touch more complex than the myrrh SN but any and all myrrh lovers must try this!

Holy fargle! This is so spicy! And it reminds me of... (showing my age)... Three Witches. It's sweet-ish, and a bit more musky, but has a beautiful dry, spicy scent. It's in the family of Wrath without being so sweet, and is a husky, very raw aroma. It's not pretty, but it is spicy, and it is made of cocks! Ok, talking about cocks distracted me from describing the scent further. Rich, red, kind of... red-orange in color, smells peppery (pimento?), and the ginger and cubeb I would say are much more potent than the resin amber. I don't get much floral at all from this. Clove is really pretty. Skin scent, but spicy enough that I could probably NOT get away with this at work. I think I need to buy... TWENTY SEVEN COCKS.

What an interesting scent. High resins and deep sparkly pepper are in the forefront. Drying, it goes both ways - the sweetness of the tuberose but the sharp downturn and lushness of lily petal. Black pepper continues to provide a bit of a dry, scruffy base at the bottom of the whole fragrance. Melds together into something that reads to me as 'gold-orange.' The petals remain fairly strong so drydown leads me towards spicy stargazer lily. Very interesting. Keeping my bottle.

It's hoppy, but... maybe Beer from the Marsh Woman's Brewery?

Seeking shelter from an evening rainstorm. Lilium speciosum, rice wine, white grapefruit, lotus root, bourbon vanilla, and vanilla orchid. Wet and bottle, grapefruit, grapefruit, grapefruit, rinds, and even the pulp, smash a pip between your fingers, grapefruit. Given time to calm down, the grapefruit segues and mixes with the topnote of the lily, which is a heady, casablanca type, reminds me of LUSH's Lily Savon/Ghost, touch of dry from the wine, dry burnt sugar, and then the other supporting agents are probably there but very quietly in the background. Citrus Lily, with good throw. Fairly complex.

Whurps! Then I just paid an LE bottle for a GC bottle. Oh well, still sounds magnificent.

I think the new additions are general catalog (they say they are entering Excolo), but they have only the option for bottles at this time. After further thought I ended up just getting a single bottle of the mayan deity, but... it was much more confusing than usual.

I cannot figure out for the life of me how to do a custom imp order on some new GCs - in fact everything is an 'imp pack' and I can't split a new GC into just a single 4.00 imp. Help!

The fruit is very strong in this. It's a tropical myrrh resin, although pretty quiet on the myrrh. There is a floral background but it doesn't really strike me as a violet scent. On me this starts going really weird, but I blame the passionflower, as this goes the way of most tropical scents on me - delicious initially and then kind of funky after a long drydown. Hours later this is still a touch fruity, but more like, orange rind, or the memory thereof. I don't... really get science out of this, unless the scientist is clearly on a tropical beach.

I also am wearing Snow White on the other arm... and... that's all I get is the creamy almond-snow Snowcake like scent. Don't think I need more as I have plenty of vintage Snow White.

Camphorous, dusty, corrupted apples and ash. Yiiiikes.

On my skin, this is a fabulous snow note. Starts off even citruss-y sweet, like an orange-flower citrus, burns off quickly. Then goes right into classic territory of things like Talvikuu, Nuclear Winter, Skadi (but more floral). I don't actually picture flowers when I wear this. But, on me at least, it goes into DELICIOUS SLUSH territory. And I like me some DELICIOUS SLUSH. Have to wear versus Skadi to see which one gets my love this year. Two paws up! Yay whore frost!

Preface: Mugwort smells a little like stanky-stank on me. I get mostly a strong mugwort (that gummy, resinous stinkiness/herbalness), which is like a burnt sage leaf to my nose, a bit gummy, sticky, and dry. I get little mandarin or orange/like, and then a very gentle blue musk. The rockrose/costus is definitely adding a hint of sweet, but I am not getting a lot of iciness or even Beth's snow note. It's very narcotic. I think this may be a good bedtime scent if I can get through the strong initial burst of muggle-wart. With drying down the musk moves to the forefront and the whole scent does even out a tone. I love the concept, but I see this being less 'bright' and more 'gentle night.'

I get a huge hit of camphorous, eucalyptoid mint, rapidly decaying into a sharp lavender, with a very bizarre, slightly sweet 'round' drydown. It's pretty bracing and fresh. Herbal, and actually, if you like lavender, you'll probably enjoy this. I get... um, as a color association, a speckled gray-black. It does bring to mind labradorite, for some reason. Hrm. I like.