Lycanthrope

I consider Yggdrasil to be a less dark, less pine-forest and woods aroma than Wolfsbane, although they definitely both share that woodsy, bark and leaf aroma. Yggdrasil begins on me slightly spicy, definitely green with a streak of mint. Like most mints, this fades quickly and I'm left with a light, grassy green aroma with a kiss of floral and maybe a touch of spearmint's sweet mintiness. Over time, this turns to a delicate cedar and pine, but it's still mostly like delicate forest air more than Wolfsbane, which is the essence of the woods asserting themselves. Pleasant, but has little to no staying power or throw on me.

In the vial, this is initially a sort of woodsy, wet grapefruit - definitely an aquatic citrus, but not a really bright aquatic like Sea of Glass, but more of a sultry citrus. It starts off with a burst of something damp and floral, but that fades into a dark, amber-like note with salty overtones, and just a touch of floating driftwood or sandalwood. Over time, it fades relatively quickly but leaves behind a definite seashore/saltspray aroma, what with the salty air, slight sweetness of the seaspray, and pieces of lumber worn smooth by the ocean and time. I love you, R'Lyeh!

In the bottle smells almost like nothing, a little whiff of sweetness, a suggestion of cotton candy and dough, but not much else. Reminds me of a french cruller, an eggy, slightly floury aroma brushed with sugar glaze. On skin, it's definitely funnel cake! It gets butterier (word?) and butterier over time, and then all of a sudden turns a touch salty and sugar sweet at once, much like a blend of cotton candy and popcorn salt. Speaking of popcorn, the blend has gone butter-kernal on me, which freaks me out in a good way. In the end, it becomes a non-gauzy vanilla on me (hoo-hah!) with a delectable butter base. Sweet and salty! Mmm. This is the fair in a vial, it just takes some time to develop.

I'm going to be really bad at this, because, well, this smells very much like Snake Oil to me, but... 'different,' which I hope to be able to get across. In general, I love this scent much more than Snake Oil, because the vanilla in SO turns to gauze on me. In the vial, it's amazingly resinous, sweet and ambery, without any strong vanilla aroma which makes me quite happy. There's a hit of strong spiciness, the same kind of spices I love in Snake Oil that I have to fight the vanilla for to enjoy... But, there's definitely a darker, sharper and sweet coconut musk aroma in addition to all this (the 'ambrette' mixing with coconut?) that sets this apart from Snake Oil, in that it lends a sweet bite to the spicy, amber goodness. The scent feels warm, sultry, and edible, and a tiny drop lasts forever. I want more.

In the bottle, this is definitely a strong cocoa scent spiked with a citrus, orange perhaps, with an undercurrent of sharp and tart fruits as well, probably lemon and the pomegranate. It's also one of the thinnest BPAL oils I've ever come across, just like water! It's an odd orange-bronze color as well. On skin, this is immediately chocolate oranges on me, and stays that way for a good twenty minutes... Over time, the oranges fade and are replaced with a sort of mysterious, creeping figgy fruit blended with a milky, powdery chocolate. This isn't Centzon's dark chocolate, but a creamy chocolate. Haven't tried Bliss yet, so no comparison with that available. After about an hour, there's definitely pomegranate, mixed with a brush of fig. The cocoa/chocolate has become a basenote, quite soft and not obtrusive. As complicated, foody and tasty-sounding as this scent is, it just doesn't... mesh with me all that well. I do like it, and will use it, but it's definitely chaotic, unconventional, and as such I won't find myself reaching for it often.

From my first official CN order! In the vial, House of Mirrors reminded me very strongly of that same citrus/grapefruit aquatic that is used in Sea of Glass. Applied, it retains that same slightly tart, bright aquatic note, but unfortunately to me, seems to be so similar that I don't see House of Mirrors as being that uniquely different. On skin over time the citrus doesn't really fade much, which is the same reaction I had with Sea of Glass, and there may be a hint of sweet amber, but it's not very dark, deep, or sultry, which I was hoping for. A bright scent, perhaps a less floral Sea of Glass. Like it, but don't love it.

I actually can't stop thinking 'The Body Shop' when I smell this. I think it's because it's a blend of tart red fruit and a very potent, strong sweeping alcoholic base which reminds me always of that little pot of fragrance oil they have diffusing outside their store (bad business practice IMHO since no one seems to appreciate getting whomped by cranberry-matazz or whatever it is). This is too strong on me, and reminds me more of that same diffusing aroma, which I have negative associations with due to working near one of their stores chronically. Oh well, we can't win them all!

Whippoorwill. Besides being hard to type and spell, it's a marvelous fragrance, and my first LE, ever. I stumbled across BPAL right as Springtime in Arkham was wrapping up, read the description of Whippoorwill, and tagged the foreboding birds onto Fenris Wolf. I'm glad I did! In the bottle, this is a very spicy melange of green, woods, and definitely a potent spicy pepper or ginger. On my skin, it immediately does a Hamadryad-esque shift to cinnamon, but thankfully it sweetens almost right afterwards and it steers away from one-dimensional cinnamon. I definitely get a whiff of damp moss, but it's all lightened by the sparkling spicy notes whirling above. This is a tumultous, very spicy scent that actually irritates the skin around my neck. But on my arm, this is very tasty. Drying down, it adopts a mild ginger-cookie aroma which is surprisingly foody, but that passes as well and Whippoorwill settles on my skin a pleasantly spicy, ginger-cardamom mossy green. Mmm.

Wolf's Heart goes through several phases for me, all within thirty minutes from application. I'll try my best to sort through them, I've sort of abandoned my usual format for this oil. In the vial, Wolf's Heart is definitely a mix of sweet resins and a bunch of floral and herbal notes, each of which will play on my skin one by one, as I soon found out. First Phase: Lavender, a touch of something green, and something sour and a touch buttery-acrid, which wasn't necessarily pleasant but perked me to attention. It's a touch spicy at this point, too. I think it's Dragon's Blood. Second Phase: Jasmine! Yup, that's jasmine all right. For a good ten minutes this shrieked its jasminesong with some backup singers in Dragon's Blood, that same sweet-sour resin that I detected under the lavender. Third Phase: Neroli and fennel. The jasmine actually drops back, a surprise in my experience. On my skin, jasmine is usually a diva with top billing, and drowns out everything else. Here, it's a pleasant mix of my favorite floral essential oil with a very unconventional drop of fennel or perhaps benzoin, a sharp and pungent hit. Fourth Phase and Longterm: Very, very soft neroli and orange blossom that sits near my skin. There's a touch of sweet resin still, so Wolf's Heart eventually has turned into a beautiful warm, orange-gold scent. I like it a lot! I don't have any situational testing of the oil's effectiveness, but perhaps in a few weeks. I'll update if it causes any major changes.

I seem to have general around-the-neck irritation, but just like mentioned above, it's much worse after a shower. Probably that pore thing. I used to use a lot of Bath and Body Works Splashes after showering, and then BAM stinging pain of death around my neck. A similar thing happened with me and Sybaris the other night, but elsewhere I was fine, so I'm thinking it was just oils on open pores. Also, spicier oils tend to do that to me more than not. My friend has peanut allergies and eczema, but I was looking for a good perfume to get him (it'll last him the rest of his life, I'm certain - he only needs the one!) but I am concerned about nut extracts... versus nut meat. He can eat things cooked in peanut oil, oddly enough, but he can't touch anything with actual nutmeat. Hrrrrm.

I think I must be insane. That, or my chemistry twisted this into something it's not. Or both, which isn't completely out of the question. My skin never mutates amber, though, so I don't know what's up with this. Yes, this is a lion resting on a rock, lifting his head in the cinnamon-scented, dry dusty grass... and then you notice, he's chewing on something... Juicy Fruit bubble gum. I kid you not, The Lion goes on my skin like Bubble Tape, a amber-y, bright and cacophonous pink fruity scent, even with that brush of powder they apply to keep the gum from sticking together. After letting it rest on my skin, it smells more akin to Juicy Fruit, still surprisingly sweet. Longterm drydown? That Lion's still got his chewing gum. How odd.

I admit I'm partial to this scent off the bat, as it's a wolf. And not just any wolf, a friggin' apocalyptic wolf! It's also precisely up my alley in terms of fragrance and element, as I'm a Leo. In the Bottle or Imp: Strong whiff of sandalwood, sharper woods, definitely. Also immediately there is a potent, smooth musk and sweet amber supporting and grounding the woods. The scent drips 'red.' I immediately think of very thick, resinous myrrh and amber essence simmering in an oil warmer, giving off a sharp yet sweet vapor. Wet, on Skin: A sharp bite of cedar and sandalwood accompanied with the honey pull of amber. There's definitely a touch of floral here, but it seems to be a quiet floral as opposed to blooms and blossoms. This is a subdued floral. Drying/Drydown: Dries down on my skin to a sandalwood and amber combination, warm and very sultry. This fragrance feels angry, but not in a fiery way. This is more of a simmering, resentful and cold anger. Over Time/Longterm: Stays remarkably true to the start, except that it tapers away to being more sharply sandalwood on my skin, which I don't mind. Final Verdict? I bought it unsniffed as a 10 mL and am glad I did. ETA: About the fading issue - I think that the scent melds so well with me that I stop being able to detect it as well much faster than other BPAL scents, but I definitely got a few intrigued glances in elevators and the like today. Woof!

On me, Bloodlust starts out as a very potent dark amber with a strong, strong whiff of vetiver and patchouli. Wet, it continues to express its vetiveracious (?) nature, a slightly bitter, touch corrupted wood over a rich, red aroma. This scent isn't fooling around. After about an hour, Bloodlust has sort of reigned back and becomes in my opinion just like Fenris Wolf without quite as much dry snap of sandalwood and still with a potent heat. Whereas to me Fenris Wolf feels like it simmers, slightly angry but still possessing a streak of cool, Bloodlust to me is always warm or hot, although the two are quite familiar on drydown.

So, my first lab order ever came with reducer caps (Fenris Wolf and Whippoorwill), and I've been having a dog of a time trying to figure out the best way to apply. I've tried dropping onto my wrist (huge drop! Too much Fenris!), ... rolling the edge of the reducer outside ring along my wrist (works well, but for how long?) ... tipping my finger against the central reducer opening and getting some from there (apparently the oil reservoir around the central doohickey retains oil, because I got a slathering there ... and most recently, pressing the top cap (!) on my wrist because I found out oil gets caught inside the screw-part of the bottle and cap. If anyone with reducers knows the best way to control oil dispersion I'd really appreciate it... I'm still on the fence on reducers vs. nubblies and am going to make a huge bottle order in about two weeks, so I'm driving myself nuts trying to decide if I want to have them reduced or leave them with the nubblies. Personally myself I would feel more nervous applying from the polyseal bottles, as I am a klutz.

I was fortunate, through the generosity of a forumite, to get ahold of an imp of Bed of Nails, hence breaking me into the world of Carnaval Noir. Many thanks to you, you know who you are So, down to business. In the imp, I immediately get a big whiff of a sweetly citrus, grapefruit like aroma with something grassy or woody anchoring it. The reviewer that mentioned bright, shiny nails is right on - this aroma brings to mind cold bright light (not fire!) glinting off of new, metal spikes. Wet on skin, it's still mostly grapefruit and citrus, but as it dries it starts to adopt a sweet, lightly minty aroma similar to Incantation. It's a fresh, basil-herb aroma that sweetens and becomes lightly powdery over time. So far, Bed of Nails is a bright, but cold fragrance to me. Over time, I get a hint of something metallic (how does she do that?) layered over dry, dry and subtle woods and herbs. Over an hour or so, it stays subtly on my skin a definitely cool, gray-green scent. As much as this is a very unique shapechanging scent (from brightness, to herbal freshness, to slightly tangy woods), it's not something I envision needing a bottle of. I will definitely enjoy the imp!

Sacred Whore of Babylon is a very spicy, but very 'white floral' blend on me. What I pull out of this mad cacophony of floral is gardenia, jasmine, tuberose, bright roses, lilies, tulips and daffodils. Of course, this means that I'm rushing straight to get this off me because it's united three of my floral archnemeses under one oil... And yes, I smell like a florist who specializes in roses, lilies and gardenia. Yikes!

This is pretty much a spearmint peppermint blend on me. However, after application, the sweet minty spearmint heads for the hills because this is peppermint's day. And... afternoon. And evening, and night. Peppermint. It's the real deal, too, since this is remarkably cooling. After a long time, I can detect some grapefruit, but it's still mostly just mint to me...

In the Bottle or Imp: Yuzu. Grapefruit. Bright citruses that my skin amps to forever and beyond. I also get a nice little anise bite, just like that tickling at the back of your throat after you've downed a shot of good ouzo. Wet, on Skin: Grapefruit, definitely, but now I'm picking up on a blend of fruity notes, apricots and peaches, mixed with a new green herbal freshness, a dry bamboo essence. Drying/Drydown: Anise rises more here, but doesn't stay for long. The entire fragrance has sweetened and is very fruity at this point, and now I get a faint creamy apple. Over Time/Longterm: This reminds me of Garnier Fructis, in that it's a medley of sparkling fruit essences, apples, apricots, pears and pineapple, over a green and slightly bitter base, with a creamy floral over it all. Final Verdict? Not my style. Too bright and fruity for this wolf.

I don't know about this one. It's either the notes not agreeing with me, or the fact that I don't associate myself as a 'sun' person... it's just not my personality. In the Bottle or Imp: Faint light floral notes with a hint of frankincense. It's a sparkly, yellow wildflower fragrance. Wet, on Skin: Benzoin? I smell more sweet resins, and sweet woods, playing base to chamomile and maybe a hint of jasmine. Drying/Drydown: Sweet incense, with vanilla and guiaicwood. Over Time/Longterm: Fades fast. Gone in an hour. Final Verdict? Short staying time, and too light for my tastes. But, may be useful for brighter days out on the town.

In the Bottle or Imp: Deep, dark myrrh, very soft florals, moody and wet ones, too... an undercurrent of other resins that do sparkle, but are also malicious and moody. Wet, on Skin: Patchouli pops up, a spicy and dark mysterious floral, like jasmine but not as pungent... I can't quite place it. It's wet and powdery but not in a bad way! Drying/Drydown: Sandalwood, dry pepper, myrrh and that mystery floral. Over Time/Longterm: Very incensy, sweetens as it dries down. Final Verdict? Reminds me of an Aveda Chakra-type perfume called Mizan, in that it has that sensual spiciness blended with sparkling floral notes of jasmine, rose, and ... other less well known flowers This is very nice. Not a big bottle, but I'll enjoy the imp.

In the Bottle or Imp: Pine and balsamic notes mixed with a sweet amber. Wet, on Skin: Sharp, sweetened pine with vanilla and spice. Very golden feeling, but golden light breaking over a rolling pine forest. Drying/Drydown: Vanilla-pine, with a musky amber base. Very unique. Over Time/Longterm: Vanilla amber musk. Final Verdict? The pine makes the blend masculine, but it also to me makes it slightly disconcerting - I'm used to my pine being in green, herbal blends, not with such a sweet vanilla amber blend. It makes this blend feel... holiday-ish... if that makes sense. Keeping the imp, but it's not a big 'un.

In the Bottle or Imp: Cherry, fruity florals and a hint of musk, sweet resins. Wet, on Skin: Sharp, citrus florals... neroli? I detect jasmine and other white florals as well. Drying/Drydown: Gardenia, Tuberose, Jasmine and a light citrussy musk. Under it all is a very... rich brocade of resins and amber. Over Time/Longterm: Sharp as a whip, still a bright, sweet white floral. Final Verdict? Refined, elegant, and complex. But not something I can get away with. Keeping the imp for diffusion use.

In the Bottle or Imp: I really get a lot of ginger, pine, and musk coming straight out of the imp. Wet, on Skin: There's a pungent note, I've smelt it before in Czernobog, so this must also have a civet bouquet. Not entirely pleasant, but, yes, it does conjure an image of a virile goat-man. It has a touch of medicinal pine. Drying/Drydown: Civet, vanilla. The blend is sweetening now, while still maintaining the pine. Over Time/Longterm: Vanilla, musky civet. Final Verdict? Not my thing. Too strong, but it could be used in the right mood.

In the Bottle or Imp: A very rotten, waterlogged aroma struck me immediately on opening the imp. Very damp, mildewy, not pleasant in the least. But, I'll give it a chance. On it goes. Wet, on Skin: Still sort of cauliflowery, but there's shades of aquatic peeking through, thank goodness. It pulls the dankness away from the vetiver, and it's starting to smell more like trees pummelled by rain and thrown to the ground. Drying/Drydown: Yikes. Salty water and rotten wood. This is North Carolina after a batterin'. Over Time/Longterm: Dirty, murky water. Fallen trees and busted up lumber. Clay mud swirling around, mixed with liquid and slushing around your toes. A feeling of shock. Final Verdict? How do you bottle an event, Beth? Whoa. I can't wear this as a perfume, but... wow. This is crazy go nuts mad cool.

In the Bottle or Imp: Very interesting. A sweet, honey tea with a touch of herbs. Wet, on Skin: Deep fleshy fruits, perfumey, figgy honey. A drydown of said crushed herbs... Drying/Drydown: Vaguely reminds me of LUSH's Jungle conditioner, and is very sweet and perfumey. Florals and feminine, which may not work so well with me. Over Time/Longterm: Ends up very faintly floral, mostly figs and honey. Kind of like a fruit leather smells like... Final Verdict? Pleasant, but I don't think this makes my list of favorites.