Lycanthrope

The Mikado Saloon and Bordello, run by Pearl “21” Thompson, was a small, intimate establishment: well-worn leather with bourbon vanilla, dark musk, and ambergris accord. Sweet, sweet on the skin off the bat. Vanilla leather. This is a deeper more fleshy leather. Then, very rich black musk. I amp black musk on my skin. I can tell this would be a very potent, musky leather cloud around my hair. I am terrible at identifying ambergris in any scent (even the ones with it like listed as the third ingredient of three items), but I guess that would add a waxy richness and slight saltiness (I do get that but it's not bad). In the end, a rich, black musk vanilla with maybe a twist of spanked leather and sweat-salt. I could probably as a guy get away with this but I would feel like this would go on a more ravishing gentleman than mild-mannered me.

[No additional description given.] So, fiber optics have a special place in my heart because I've always had a little crow in me - love sparkly things, shiny things. And now I do flow arts, many of which glow and sparkle. The bottle is adorbs, with the red BPAL icon struggling to peek over the giant paragraph of text in the name. Wet, it's definitely a pine, spruce-y type of scent. I'm trying to detect if there are other notes, nothing is abjectly metallic or tin-like, so not detecting the 'iron note'. On my skin, this is not exactly straight up pine, because I'm getting a... strange tiny edge of like sparkliness. Good god, I'm terrible at this hah hah! But it's certainly not like a cacophony of fruits, or other 'bright' notes that will occasionally represent multiple colors in the BPALverse. Drydown, it stays a lovely Christmas pine scent, without much deviation. Mild throw, so you won't destroy coworkers. If you love pine and spruce notes, this is a straightforward, but wearable, pleasant scent.

Crystalline azure musk, orange blossom, water lily, hinoki wood, Texas cedar, and night-blooming jasmine. Was super interested in this melange of scents all together. I have no idea what to expect. Wet and in bottle, it's a weird mix of orange blossom and... maybe the sweetness of blue musk? Applied to the skin, it's a very strong thrwoosh of something very similar to fabric softener? Maybe it's the orange blossom. As it has a bit more time to settle down on the skin... I'm getting the two florals mixing together - orange blossom and water lily. Definitely getting a very beachy aquatic floral vibe. The jasmine is adding a little bit of ferocity in the background, a bit of depth, however the floral stays a... um, Mediterranean floral? Crisp/clear, and high. The blue musk kind of evens everything out and it's a little sugary. Hinoki and cedar really aren't too apparent. There may be a little 'sandiness' or 'woodsiness' at the base, but it's definitely not cedar-shavings/pencil cedar. Very subtle. It keeps this from being purely a floral scent. I'd say this is one of the more surprisingly 'beachy' scents. Light, airy, and somehow a little 'salty' without having the salt note (which on me turns into tortillas). I like this one a lot!

“Cursed, cursed creator! Why did I live? Why, in that instant, did I not extinguish the spark of existence which you had so wantonly bestowed? I know not; despair had not yet taken possession of me; my feelings were those of rage and revenge. I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery. “When night came I quitted my retreat and wandered in the wood; and now, no longer restrained by the fear of discovery, I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howlings. I was like a wild beast that had broken the toils, destroying the objects that obstructed me and ranging through the wood with a staglike swiftness. Oh! What a miserable night I passed! The cold stars shone in mockery, and the bare trees waved their branches above me; now and then the sweet voice of a bird burst forth amidst the universal stillness. All, save I, were at rest or in enjoyment; I, like the arch-fiend, bore a hell within me, and finding myself unsympathized with, wished to tear up the trees, spread havoc and destruction around me, and then to have sat down and enjoyed the ruin. “But this was a luxury of sensation that could not endure; I became fatigued with excess of bodily exertion and sank on the damp grass in the sick impotence of despair. There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No; from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery. Insupportable misery: violet leaf, saffron, gunpowder tea, bruised lilac, and despairing lavender. Misery is a stark, biting scent. Shrill, and appropriately so, it conjures a keening emotion. The combination of elements here all come together to produce a singularly frightening effect. I mostly get the lemony tang of tea, and the topnote of lilac. The violet leaf is mostly the gritty pungent leaf (no petals here!) and the lavender is contributing mostly the balsamic woodsy part, an herbal chomp. Yowza!

Television static made manifest, with a glimpse of perversions hidden beneath: benzoin, black pepper, white sandalwood, olibanum, ambergris accord, galbanum, and O3. So, definitely not what I was expecting, this starts off very sappy and green, the galbanum coming the the forefront. There is not a very strong push towards 'aquatic/ozonic/O3' and definitely no mint or slush notes (I think the snow refers more to television static more than any kind of atmospheric suggestion, my bad). The scent also has a strong resinous feel to it, and it becomes a very spiky, spicy resinous and deep scent on my skin. It has a strong kiss of woodsiness. I kind of think of a classic 50s TV made of walnut or some type of polished wood with the fuzzy sound of static in the background. Starts off really strong but then becomes a mild inobtrusive background scent. Just like channel static!

BLUE LOLLIPOPS Preschool graduation celebration! Blueberry-swirled blue lollipops! Wet and in the bottle: Sticky sweet, refined white sugar crystals. Hint of the fruity sweet wet blueberry note, reminds me a lot of the note in Blue Flasher (I think? That was the buttefly one with lilacs and blueberry). On my skin, it blossoms into something like Sticky Pillowcase (YUM!) and definitely goes towards the boppy, fruity, sugary, tween-y scent. This not a bad thing! While wet, the fruity scent also brings to mind the stickiness of taffy, and I can even taste it a little bit as I'm smelling it. Lasting power is fair, but it's definitely a little bit of a nostalgia rush. There's even a flash or so of something I read as 'Bubble Yum' bubble gum, like big tubs of chewy super fruity gum. I'm not sure I have to get more, but it's fun, delightful, and totally full of blue tongues. Incidentally, my happiest patients usually have eaten of the blue candies in my waiting area and when I ask them to say aah, you can see the blue all over their tongues and their guilty yet very pleased looks. This scent (minus the hairy tongue, of course), is that scent of happy blue tongues.

Serpentine green musk with fiery red ginger, sweet basil, alder leaf, white patchouli, cistus, and mistletoe. Quite an interesting scent. The oil itself is tinged with green, and is a murky, thick beast. I really had no idea what to expect, since the notes are kind of all over the place. In the end, I would describe this as a smooooooth light patchouli, with less herb and spice than I would have thought from the description. Predominantly patchouli, but a brighter one. I don't recall that butterfly scent with 'white' patchouli, but this is reminding me strongly of LUSH's Jungle conditioner, if only for the style of delicious non-gritty patchouli that product has. I will say, the ginger is present but not terribly strong, and the basil is NOT super herby, so I do not smell like food in that respect. Not a morpher on me, but worthy of a try if you like patchouli, and it is very complex! Loki's laughter is not expected, smooth, a little fiery, and cool-ly malevolent.

Sapphire-blue musk alight with a white fire of chamomile, styrax, iced honey, saffron, and castoreum accord. Starts off smelling a little bit of a sweet, sugary musk, with a small hint of something almost a bit caramelized. This turns out to be somewhat darker around the edges as the castoreum accord brings in a little grittiness. It's overall a sweet, slightly honey scent (!) with only a touch of shadow from the castoreum.

Snake Oil and threads of pale lavender with shadowy oudh, sweet oakmoss, violet leaf, and rose geranium. Wet, gritty, deep lavender. On skin, immediately the deep, husky oudh is apparent, over a very purple cloud of lavender. With a bit of time, the dark oudh deepens, even, getting a touch of that feral quality. Mostly getting a dark green, velvety leaf from the oakmoss/violet leaf combination that is not terribly overbearing. Generally rose geranium shrieks on me, but I'm not getting much of that character at all. The Snake Oil languishes in the background as a bit of exotic sweet, but it's primarily a rich lavender-oudh. It's so... very potent, this is a scent that does not take prisoners. Over even more time, it fuses into a very smooth, velvety blanket of deep oudh.

Monastery in the Mountains, Nicholas Roerich. Snow-capped mountain air, rich sandalwood incense, and deodar - the Tree of God. This is really brightly minty, slushy, Beth's snow note for sure. This reminds me of parts of Nuclear Winter and Kumari Kandam but being less sweet and breezy (in case of Nuclear Winter - less aquatic) and less floral (compared to Kumari). It's definitely snow-capped mountains. It has a pretty straightforward development on me - I don't get too much distinct sandalwood nor do I get deodar (haven't smelled it alone) as any separate note. It's pleasant but I have so many things like it already that I don't know if I'll need to get more.

Divine ecstasy and divine madness. Ambivalence and absolute faith. Frankincense and lemon peel drifting on a cloud of lemongrass, white coconut, sandalwood, and vanilla absolute. In the bottle, this is surprisingly less citrus than I would have guessed from the notes. It's mostly a whiff of a lemon kiss gliding over the meat of a coconut. The lemon like notes then veer more towards lemongrass, but it's subtle and not super sharp, as that note can be. With a little more time and heat from my skin, the coconut becomes more apparent, deepening, and then kissed and brushed with dusty medium brown sandalwood (a sweet, not super sharp, but just thrummy enough woodsiness to ground the higher notes)... and there's a bit of gourmand from the vanilla. Certainly not truly foody, but having elements of both the resinous citrus and yet creamy spice variety. With even more time, the lemon notes deepen and I can swear that the spritz of a lemon rind is now more apparent. On me, the scent does become quite subtle, and mostly a tasty buttery lemon-coconut.

Claude Monet A tiny shadow on the snow: black currant, sandalwood, and violet leaf against a white winter backdrop. This is surprisingly foody on me - more so like the vanilla-snow note (Kind of like Waltz of the Snowflakes), mixed with a hint of berry. The currant is not strong, but the overall scent does read a bit as 'soft snow berry tart,' which is wonderful. I think the sandalwood is adding the kind of crusty note that makes me think of pie. The violet leaf is not strong. This is soft and close to the skin, but would be great for anyone who enjoyed the soft vanilla-snow type note Beth uses.

In 2014, we had the great pleasure of collaborating with Jim Jarmusch on our line inspired by Only Lovers Left Alive. It is impossible to put into words what a great pleasure it was to translate this film and its soundtrack into scent. In the process of creating the series, I sat behind Henry Rollins at the press screening and, a few nights later, watched as he interviewed Tilda Swinton at the screening at LACMA. The first scents in our Kabuki line for David Mack were introduced, and this year gave birth to our Pretty Deadly series for wise, witty, radiant Kelly-Sue DeConnick and Emma Rios, and our first Clive Barker series, the Forbidden. Chic vampires, Old West death parables, Moroccan spices, and futuristic assassins: gleaming black leather and dusty brown leather, chthonic smoke, and cold, gleaming metal meandering through a labyrinthine souk. Oooh! Smells like Brom Bones (cold, musky leather) right on cold sniff. I'm excited. I kind of had a bit of a 'Firefly?' moment when I read the description, so, of course, in it went to the cart. Wet, on me, it's like you can see the leather note kind of... separate... like there's a distinct cold thread spiraling away while this warmer, spicier leather (with lambs-wool, warm, fluffy, worn, loved) emerges, with a hint of incense and spice. But the incense and spice is not overwhelming, and it veers back towards a leather scent just touched with a throb of warmth. I can get a bit of the chrome note (think Katiniya, Torture Queen) underneath everything all, just kind of little neck studs glinting through the leather. There's a bit of smoke in the background, which has a bit of mossiness to it. Overall very well blended. A sexy, kind of edgy western leather scent. Stays close to the skin. It's fabulous!

A vibrant green chypre with orange blossom, pine needles, and violet leaf. Oh, my. This is 'sweet green' wet to my nose, and goes on with a jade-green smoothness, like a bunch of mosses, kissed with orange blossom. It's even a little cooling on the skin. Then, sitting present on the skin, pine needles emerge! It's a touch of fir. Dangerously close to a Yule moment for a bit, but instead of going full christmas tree mode, the pine needles remain present, under the glowy haze of orange blossom. I don't get any violet petals (it's all just violet leaf, I take it), which keeps this more 'noonday mountain fir' as opposed to 'Santa's Here!' Pretty gender neutral although I take it the pine does make it a bit more masculine. Straddles the line as the chypre and pine move it more 'masculine' but the orange blossom still flirts about to blur the strength of the green.

Let the wind blow kindly In the sail of your dreams And the moonlight your journey And bring you to me We can’t live in the mountains We can’t live out at sea Where oh, where oh, my lover Shall I come to thee? Moonflower and iris root with French lavender, tuberose, white sandalwood, night-blooming gardenia, vanilla orchid, and moss. From the bottle this is a soft, unobtrusive, downy lavender. On the skin it immediately blooms with a bit of woods, and a little grittiness from the moss. By no means is this very powerful in terms of grassy or herbal. The orris is probably keeping this mix dry, as it dries I can get a little bit more of the lavender returning as like those fresh crushed florets between the fingers... like a hint of green, spike lavender, or something... With time the lavender settles and then this whole mix of 'white night florals' sidles up all like 'hey, babe. I'm a hot chick in a wedding dress. It's all like, sultry and stuff. Even though you're in a onesie pajama, let's do this.' So I get a slightly woodsy, rich, dry and moderately dusty sweet lavender supported by a chorus of white floral. It's nice! I'll have to try this as a sleep blend. It's very relaxing and reads like a Somnus blend. ETA: Over time I get a really weird association with LUSH's Alkmaar line. No clue why.

Several years ago, I went to Stonehenge for the very first time. Walking through the center of the stones was transformative, and watching the sun set behind the stones stole my breath like a cold dagger of joy plunged into my heart. Teddy and I wanted to share that moment – the feel of the place, the enigmatic majesty of the stones, the mist-shrouded history – with Lilith, so we took her there last March. I cannot put into words what it felt like to watch her run and laugh through the standing stones, to watch her skip and laugh and dance through the shadows and sunsets of thousands upon thousands of years. Wiltshire’s burnt-tip orchids, a scattering of dandelions, crushed grass, wild daffodil, and chips of fog-wet bluestone. Smells like wet grass in the bottle. Oh, and then on, there's the dandelion sap, milky, blending with the grass to lend the immediacy of FIELD: VERSION SPRING, WET. Wow, this is like, catch a football, have terrible grass-stains, realistic. The florals are probably quietly present lending a hint of sweetness to the leafiness. This is not like, heady orchid floral, but just a subtle background mellow kiss of something light and pollen-y. The stone is not terribly potent, so not like mineral 'Black Opal' strength, but likely present lending a bit of stoic base to the overall scent. This is like a more leaf/grass-forward 'Summoning Stone Play Structure.' Excellent if you love grass and field and natural notes. So very green! I'd whip this one out in early summer to run around with.

Pop While in London this year, Lilith learned how to blow bubbles with her bubblegum. It may not sound like a big deal, but I really do think that blowing bubbles is one of childhood’s great milestones. It’s a momentous occasion to a 6-year old, and is certainly deserving of commemoration! This is the scent of the bubbles that she popped all over the city: strawberry bubblegum against a backdrop of chilly wind. This is similar to Jailbait and 'Lilith's Bubblegum and Roses' but has a much more fruit-forward tone to it. Definitely the top impressions are a wet, juicy, genuine Bazooka Joe like bubblegum. I think there's maybe a touch of a strawberry feel to it but I mostly get the uber-pink type, and I'm not getting much of the fleshy drydown in things like Strawberry Moon(s) of past. This has a little less spice to it but it still has the traditional bubblegum/tutti-frutti mild cinnamon vibe, but I don't think it's true cinnamon. Not getting burning. I'm really looking for wind or ozone, but I'm not finding it very prominent in Pop!. This is a magnificent candy/gum scent, and I love the picture (I wonder who the lady next to Lil is... she has been immortalized onto perfume!). I'll be satisfied with my stash of Lilith's Bubblegum and Roses, but this is also a charming alternative.

A ruthless, temperamental, passionate woman cloaked in an austere, elegant, and bookish exterior: bourbon vanilla chypre and peach-gilded jasmine with may rose, tobacco leaf, and bergamot. Sweet this is nectar-sweet, peach-juice drippy peach. After it is applied to my skin, the vanilla creeps up to make the peach more foody and dessert-y. I do get a touch more of the rose as the rest of the blend starts to solidify and back off from PEACHFACE'D to a fruity, floral scent. I can't always yank bergamot out of a crowd, but this is still very 'orange' in scent. I am a jasmine amper, but I can't really detect the usual flashy, takes no prisoners jasmine that is in some other jasmine blends I have (Corinna I'm looking at you). I have to say the tobacco is not terribly apparent. Over time, this remains mostly fruity, with light floral support, and maybe a touch of rindy bergamot citrus. Dominantly smooth, vanilla-kissed peaches.

The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea: black amber and shimmering moonflower blackened by opoponax, khus attar, smoked oudh, and myrrh and all swallowed by the fathomless depths of a lightless ocean. So, this is a very interesting, drippingly thick scent. It's almost pitch black and thick as a mofo when decanting. The immediate feel is R'Lyeh, that similar murky citrus salt scent with a hint of seaweed and decay, except that this is a little more sweet, less citrussy, and it is feeling much more complex. The amber is not the same as the ones in like, La Lugubre, but it is definitely a sweet resin. I get the multiple smokey components as a thrill of incense smoke running over the predominantly sweet-ish environmental oceanic, and while I get a touch of bitter from the khus it is not terribly overpowering. The moonflower is probably in there somewhere, making sure this doesn't get too muddy, but I honestly can't find it as a dominant note. I would get this if you like R'Lyeh, and other deep oceanics, and want to try an artistic variation. I have to retest this one maybe in the dark of night.

Aw man. There's always one blend that catches me by description, and likely the one with violet... this is definitely sweet, deep blue-violet, and sultry. I would call this a bit like The Stranger but a smidge fruitier (the plum is quite juicy in this), but also like a mix of night flowers and incense. The wetness / petrichor is not a blazingly wet rain note, but perhaps there's a very subtle kiss of a dirt or dust note, definitely not super forward, but this grounds it a bit into evocative rather than lush night garden. Again top wet, this is vacillating between plum and sweet violet petals, which I am totally ok with, in the end the plum seems to dominate, and the osmanthus lends a bit of a fleshy sweet citrus-like floral note, I think the lavender is present but very subtle, adding that kind of subtle, roof of the nose tickling aura that it can do, without dominating or making the blend herbal (at all). Again the petrichor is just a glaze of wet slick, not oily or excessively marine. There's some incense swirling in the background, maybe from churches or rituals, but it's far in the distance. What is in the forefront is a sweet, smooth, violet-plum aura with a touch of relaxing lavender buzz. I like this a lot. It reminds me a smidge of Stealthily, Stealthily but deffo fruitier and a bit smokier.

Buttery cake and chocolate Andes mints fresh on, with a bit of true Lick It! like peppermint candy coming to the forefront. The Andes mint chocolate fades pretty quick, perhaps that's the white chocolate angle, and then it gets some of the buttery vanilla ice cream notes like Detestable Putrescence, but then it settles and still gives me a strong Andes mint vibe. Weirdly, after the initial whoosh of the ice cream richness, it goes a bit dark chocolate dry again and then... Oh, yes, this is Thin Mints. Oh maaaaaaan <review ends abruptly>

This is very environmental. Reminds me a bit of Halloween: New Orleans (the Atmo Spray). In the bottle it's all grassy oak, like the smell of dirt under a big tree in a park. On me, it gets a bit of the dustiness from the orris root, and the osmanthus and/or olive blossom, kind of like the Panacea Succor... very calming, and a bit potent on the olive floral note. It's a very distinctive, grounding sweet, slightly savory aroma. It reminds me a lot of 'The Olive Blossom' mushy green soap from LUSH (which is amazing!). The oak is still in the background being all oaky, and then with a bit more time, the olive blossom recedes a smidge to let the scent of Spanish Moss peek through, draping over the oak, which persists at grounding this in a very wearable, but still quite environmental fragrance.

Huh. Though the 'saltwater note' is not listed, something about the combination of these notes brings to mind the somewhat (on my skin) tortilla-chip like salt note that is in some of Beth's oceany offerings. I have no clue what's doing this! Maybe a combination of the snappy carnation, or the benzoin rich resinousness, mixed with that slight high pitch indole of ylang-ylang. Regardless initially it's a bit distracting but may be my own skin chemistry. With a bit of time, on me at least it still keeps that same smush of salt, which may actually be what happens when I get a lot of lush petals of the rose and carnation type together. It's sidling a bit adjacent over time to me like a tamer Peacock Queen, or Pink Snowballs - all dewy, but then the dewy floral veers into vanilla, but then I smell only the buttery part - oh, that's it - I'm getting a bit confused with the interplay between slight foodiness, probably brought up stronger by the benzoin which is making it detour out of the road of foody and into the road-adjacent resin incense vendor. But only slightly. We still have the flowers from before. They still read mostly as carnation, but the ylang gives a more indolic exotic bite on top. Clearly this perfume has a lot to say! It is also complicated. Over time it goes more towards floral than vanilla, and is definitely not sugary syrupy sweet, but maybe the pink part is tea roses. I think with more wear, this most resembles the Yule Pink Snowballs, but with added oomph with the carnation pepperiness and the ylang.

Ok, so I definitely love the color of the hair, and I adore Beth's takes on 'green.' With so many notes, I had no idea where this would go - would it be tropical, like a jungle, right velvety leaves and wet dampness? Would it be fruity from the apple and neroli? Or could it go herbal with the coriander? Sweet with the amber? This is a bit of a morpher. Splashed on it is immediately a bit apple juice-like, wet and bursting with an almost top note of cider fruitiness. Afterwards I get a bit of the coconut and palm leaves - a smidge in scents like Black Pearl or other nautical scents, and then a kiss of fig leaf. The whole thing then cools a smidge, with a very simple mint. I can feel the cooling on my skin but this is not wintery. It's, breezy, for lack of a better term. The tea leaf brings to mind Holiday Moon, although this still stays very much smooth, slight apple, mint. The labdanum and amber are not supremely forward, but something has to be grounding this, and it is definitely not just a series of top notes. I think it's like... a bunch of light pastel and bright yellow green balloons, swirling in the breeze. It has pretty light life on me, but it's very pleasant. The cooling is a nice touch. It dries down to a light granny smith apple touch with maybe a hint of crushed herbs and the velvety part of a leaf.

Coconut foam, Siamese benzoin, Himalayan cedar, translucent petals, lilac milk, and mallow. From the bottle, this smells buttery, coconut, marshmallow. I'm excited. Fresh on, this is milk, chewy, syrupy coconut milk, with the benzoin adding a bit more depth to the foodiness. I'm really looking for the lilac or petals... but am not really finding either. It's settling into a very rich, dense, marshmallow/vanilla resin scent, with a little sprinkling of coconut. Hrm. Either the flowers are so well blended that they're hard to find, or perhaps this is more about the foodier notes. It's still very potent, and would please coconut lovers and marshmallow lovers.