Red_Hot_Mama

Congratulations! Doin' the happy

When Sofie was little I wore light fragrances; usually lavender, rose geranium & citrusy blends. I hadn't discovered BPAL until my girl was 6.

Snake Charmer, my love, I'm so glad to finally find you once more! Before you think, "OK, she's completely off her rocker." let me explain. Not quite a year ago, Kimmer sent me a particularly DIVINE blend that I promptly fell in lust with. I had to have more! Alas, it was an experimental blend of Beth's from the LUSH Forum & not to be had anywhere. Kimmer, goddess that she is, decanted more of the yummy blend & sent it to me. Imagine my surprise when I test Snake Charmer! This is it in all it's glory. That deep, rich, sexy smell. The amber, musk & exotic spices are in the forefront. Next juicy black plum & vanilla/ambrette blend beautifully to intensify the lushness of this blend. (It makes me salivate, just thinnking about this!) The black coconut is the last to make it's appearance. Overall, if you can purchase only one CN scent before they are gone forever, Snake Charmer gets my vote! Finally, I know from personal experience that this blend is magnificent when aged.

I love the drydown on this one; sweet clove & divine frankincense. There's an initial blast of lime & grasses when first applied but that phase doesn't last very long. This would be wonderful on a guy. Different chemistries will most certainly pull out a variey of notes. Torture King is one I think will get deeper & richer with age. A keeper, definitely!

The bottle of Snake Charmer that I have is entirely citrus/perfumey/aquatic. No resemblance to Snake Oil whatsoever & no coconut. I ordered this when the CN scents first went up. Update: Turns out my bottle is really House of Mirrors. I'll pay more attention to this blend & update my review; now that the lab has confirmed this is HOM. EDIT: This is really House of Mirrors --Shollin

I love Skadi & as paperdoll has already said, "this is Skadi's summer sister." Coulrophobe also "nailed it" with her description of "happy little unicorns or maybe Smurfs." This really does evoke those images. On me, Arkham Revisited smells like a "marine/ozone" blend. There's nothing remotely like that listed in AR, so I chock it up to my chemistry. It's really lovely but I had to wash it off because I was getting a migraine. I don't think AR caused it but wearing any fragrance bothers me right now. I'm keeping this to try again, sometime when it's not so hot.

Unfortunately, this one is not for me. My chemistry latches on to the thyme & refuses to allow anything else to develope. Normally, anything with florals & ginger are outrageously beautiful on me. Here, I can't even smell them. (Weird, I know.) Honey was a note that I didn't have any experience with, so Honey Moon was definitely worth a try. I get a few moments of lucious honey & then nothing but thyme. Honey Moon was a big disappointment. Since "aged" BPAL blends work much better on me, I may save this one & try it again at a later time.

Perversion would be good. I love the leather in that one!

Czernobog This was a frimp with my last order. Interesting color, dark & deep brown. Sure makes it stand out from the other Imps. Guess I need to try this. The first scent to "hit" me is the mullein. I had no idea what mullein smells like. I just knew I caught a wiff of something which remined me of eucalyptus. Turns out, you can distill an methanol extract from mullein. Ok...makes sense. Once the mullein fades, the musks & vetivert "kick" in. Never did smell the myrrh. Ultimately, this is powerful, musky MALE. Czernobog is one of those oils you just need to experience. Let yourself get past the menthol stage & don't apply too much. It's worth it!

High John the Conqueror before I got Ace of Hearts. Now it's one of these two.

Hear that? That "banging", furniture rattling noise. That's me. That's me! Jumping up and down. With JOY! THE BPAL rosy scent of my dreams is here! Ace of Hearts goes on a light bulgarian rose and gets better & better. My skin amplifies the white & bulgarian rose. Until Ace of Hearts, nothing "hit" just the perfect balance. This does. The picture of the Gray's Anatomy style heart on the label is so apropos. My heart will be ripped when this is gone. Forum members have my permisssion to pm me regarding arranging a swap for more Ace of Hearts.

Dunwich I've been sooo looking forward to this blend! My skin loves aquatics & lilies, so this was a no brainer. Surprise! Dunwich goes on stunningly beautiful. Wet, lush but in the end it reached out & me over the head. I felt like the personification of the little cartoon guy who inhales deeply & is lifted off the ground, little feet fluttering. Then he turns stiff as a board, falls over & is shown clasping a bunch of lilies. Oh well, perhaps I can swap it for Kingsport.

Bottle CCCLXXXIV (384) This smells wonderful, lasts a very long time (18 hours plus) but I don't have a clue as to how best to describe it. It's a bit gourmande but not quite "foody". A bit flora but not really floral. There's GOT to be some resins in here 'cause it lasts so long. I've never been so stumped. It's an enigma & I it. Update 7/23/05: After a bit more wearing, I'm convinced that this has blackberries & a hint of amber. CT2 - 384 is utterly magnificent!

I was lucky enough to get to try Yemaya, thanks to the circular swap. This is a wonderfully refreshing, complex blend. Yemaya smells primarily of watermelon but with so much more! This is an empowering blend, grounding, strengthing and ultra feminine. Now that I've tried it, I NEED to get a bottle for me & one for my sister. There were five females in my house when this bottle arrived and every single one of them LOVED Yemaya...just from sniffing the bottle! Congratulations Beth! Fantastic!

Although I only smelled this from Beth's bottle at the NYC Mad Tea Party, I do recall that it was floral. That was my first & foremost impression. Now, if it was a white floral, I couldn't say for sure but it didn't "hit" me one. Fire Eater was more red/pink/orangey....IMO.

I love Severin. However, ours was a troubled, if not dysfunctional relationship. To be quite blunt, his "staying power" was just "meh". I tried to say it didn't matter but after straying once too often, I realized that it did. I asked my BPAL sisters & brothers for advice. "Severin is my love but how can I get him to "last" longer?" I tried a few but with less than satifactory results. The scent locket put me over the edge. It kept my beloved close but we were not actually touching. That drove me crazy. I needed him to be touching me! The all to wispy scent of bergamot & leather was enticing, but so elusive. A woman can only stand to be teased so much before she either walks away or submits to insanity. I submitted.

I was at the NYC Mad Tea Party when Beth brought out "the lovelies", my term, not hers. Oyo was one of them. We politely passed it around sniffing the cap or, if you were one of the braver ones, smelling from the bottle. This was Beth's prototype after all. We weren't going to slosh it all over ourselves or go all frenzied, maniac smell fiends right in front of her. (Well, I thought about it.) We do have a shred of diginity, after all. Much to our surprise & delight, Beth left the bottle with our hostess; MuppetK kindly sent me an Imp to try. I've worn this a couple of times & I am still having a hard time thinking of the "proper" way to describe it. There isn't a proper way to describe this. So, I just jump in. Oyo is marvelously complex, perhaps even a bit "odd" but in an "Oh, my God, WHAT IS THAT???!!!" kind of way. It's sweet, I "get" a tiny bit of cherry but it's the juicy, fresh fruit kind. I picture full lips & glistening teeth biting into the fruit. Funny, I didn't notice how "pointed" those teeth were. And , here, let me help you. You've got cherry juice dripping down the corner of your mouth. Moves closer with white damask napkin. My....don't you smell good! Kind of spicy & warm. And your eyes, I never noticed how the light plays off the colors. Dabs cloth on very lickable lips. Cloth is stained but it's not cherry juice, as our dear readers have most likely guessed.

My husband, he-who-rarely-likes-anything, told me he likes La Belle Au Bois Dormant...once. He also responded "well" to Antique Lace.

Milk Moon is one of the most original creations of our dear lab goddess! And THAT'S saying something, as you all know. Milk Moon reminds me of breast feeding my daughter, without the frustration factor. It's a real memory trigger scent for me, in the most positive way. Milk Moon goes on creamy goodness and stays that way. No mint, no coconut, no suntan oil (thank goodness) just cream & vanilla in it's most wonderful manifestation. The "throw" of this one is fantastic & it lasts a very long (over 12 hours with one application) time. One of THE best BPAL blend! I will wear this alone & in a wide variety of combinations. It blends beautifully with Flower Moon, as has been said already. I find that it blend really well with most florals. A "keeper" for sure! (PS: My experience with Milk Moon is closest to Scylla & jj_j's.)

I am a fan of white florals. The description of Flower Moon intrigued me: "a bouquet of vivid, sexy blooms… tulip, daffodil, violet, dewdrop, rhododendron, iris, daisy, and a mix of California wildflowers." Flower Moon is unlike any other floral fragrance I've ever smelled. I think it's the combination of the more "wild flower" blooms that make it so unique. It's not what I expected but it doesn't make it any less beautiful. Flower Moon goes on "strong" in the "wet" phase but dries to a soft floral. Not a lot of "throw" to be found on me. I think I'll try mixing it with Milk Moon & see what happens.

Here's what I got on the Lab's website when I did an advanced search for jasmine and citrus: Love Potions Muse A light, invigorating floral and citrus blend. Tuberose, lotus and jasmine with a hint of lime. Wanderlust Santa Eulària Des Riu Piquant citrus tempered by jasmine, soft Mediterranean herbs, lavender and orange blossom.

Do not buy Shill. I want it ALL FOR ME!!!!!! Ladies & Gents, I have major plans for this blend! The notes are very straightforward: popcorn.....butter. Land O Lakes butter, I think Brian & Belladonnastrap said. That's what I smelled at the Tea Party. No one actually tried some on their skin; it was Beth's own bottle after all. A few of the many uses of Shill: Need to add a buttery note to your favorite body lotion? Add a little Shill. Want to "bump up" the gourmande factor in that bottle you were just a tiny bit dissappointed in? Add a little Shill. Selling your house or condo? Use Shill as a room spray or use in an oil burner. Having a children's birthday party? Use Shill in melt and pour soaps for unique party favors. However...... Since I'm married to a fellow who loves popcorn with butter, I'm going to add a little "salt" & have fun!

You might also try Lear & Anthony. I'm thinking of sage, without the florals. I Tombstone myself!

I absolutely love this! I don't get any almond or cherries at all, that's a good thing for me. Bastet is liquid amber, warm musk, myrrh & golden lotus on my skin. One Fabulous combination! Bastet has excellent sillage & stays "true" to it's original "wet" phase for many glorious hours. Definitely in my Top 10 & multi-seasonal, as another forumite mentioned.

Jasmine perfumes & I are old friends, rose perfumes & I are not. Don't get me wrong....I love roses, fresh, old fashioned garden roses. That's why I have 17, yep I bought another one, rose bushes in my yard. I've tried Moon Rose, Kostnice, Persephone, Rose Red, The Lovers (my favorite of this group) and The Empress. I liked them OK but not enough to keep them in my collection. Two, five and Seven may be the rose scent I have been searching for. Here are a few of my observations: Wet: Crazy jumble of bazillion rose petals falling on my head. Hey, that's what it smells like to me. In between: Fresh cut grass & roses, lots of them. This is powerful stuff! Dry: 1 hour, great throw & I am beginning to notice the individual rose oils. I wanted something that smelled like my garden in the spring. My roses are just now beginning to open, so I will expand my review in a few days.