Teaotter

Preconceptions: Ginger and vetiver are both my friends -- my worries are the clove and jasmine, which frequently stomp all over everything and frighten the other notes into running away. In the imp: Ginger! And not much else, actually. Wet: Ginger and pepper, with something sweeter behind it. A hint of carnation. Dry: This is a lovely, almost-foody ginger, held back a bit by the floral notes. I get a whiff of vetiver here and there, but more as a fleeting warmth than as actual smokiness. I don't really get the clove *or* the jasmine, which makes me happy. As it goes on, I notice that there is vetiver in the throw -- the throw it a cloud of lovely greenish-smoky/reddish-ginger with just enough floral sweetness to drag it out of foody territory.

Rose! It smells like nasty scented soap, amps like mad, and drowns out everything in any blend. I've tried every color rose there is, rosewater, rose-infused, even tearose, and they all do it. Until I tried Dream, which pairs white rose and oudh. Those two notes together work for me, both in Dream and in Delight and Consternation. They have a soft, fluffy, non-soapy rose note that plays well with others. Yay!

Strictly from the notes -- I haven't smelled it myself -- you might want to try: Symmakhia - Vanilla, heliotrope, red sandalwood, pear, black lily, white wine grape, and white rose. or Kubla Khan - opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine. Kubla Khan has the benefit of being GC, while Symmahkia is an LE. (If you want to go searching through the catalog yourself, you can search by notes at BPAL.org/search.)

The closest I've come to Banshee Beat is Tezcatlipoca (Deep cocoa laced with patchouli, leather armor, ritual incense, and a touch of Xochiquetzal’s flowers) layered with the Tonka SN. If you can wear other vanillas, it would probably work with something other than the SN -- I just have trouble with almost every other BPAL vanilla *except* in Banshee Beat.

I got a tester of this is a PIF from Caper -- apparently originally from Allidavie, so if you're reading this, know that your testers are still making the rounds! Opening the imp, my first thought was that *this* was the gingerbread scent I've been waiting for! LOL. Seriously, sweet spicy thick syrupy cake. On my skin, it bloomed. The tobacco came out alone briefly, then faded back into the luscious vanilla rum cake. But calling it cake is just not doing it justice -- there is definitely musk and cocoa here, too. But the whole thing blends into this amazing scent that wafts up from my wrist. This is what I wish other BPAL baked goods scents smelled like on me. Um. I really wanted to hate this, y'know? Beth is a fucking genius. I'm glad I got to try this, even if I'll never hold a bottle in my hands.

Update 5/2/13: This is still one of my favorites! Over the last couple of months, the vanilla custard has deepened. The throw is now more of a vanilla-cocoa cloud, with the oud, rose, and lemon blossom playing back-up. Original review: No sludge at all for me! On the other hand, the chocolate/cocoa smell is pretty strong when I open the bottle, so I don't think I'm missing anything. Oh, and I should mention that I usually amp rose so loudly I can't wear it, but I found the white rose/oudh combo in Dream to be very wearable, so I'm hoping this one will have the same effect. In the bottle: Vanilla and cocoa. Wet: My nose gets really confused at first. There's a jumble of notes, a flare of custardy creaminess, then a blast of the kind of floral-shampoo smell I usually associate with certain kinds of amber. o.O Dry: If I put my nose against my skin, I can identify all the notes. But I'm mostly just blown away by the gorgeous cloud of scent wafting around me, which is incredibly well blended. Sweet, not at all gourmand, a gentle creamy-floral with a woody backbone. Overall: The vanilla isn't as strong as I expected it to be, it's more of a background player in this. The cocoa does that woody thing I like so much, the oudh keeps the rose from amping. I get no citrus out of this at all.

In the bottle: red musk, ginger, and something that smells fiery to me but I can't quite place the scent. Wet: This is incredibly well blended. I don't get the blast of red musk I was expecting. Instead, it's this soft but somehow seething scent of musky-sweet-spiciness. Not a lot of throw. Drydown: Stays pretty similar. Dry: A hot musky smell, with some spice to it, but mostly this sense of heat, like sun coming off hot sand. I can't really pick out the individual notes. This is a soft skin scent, but it lingers for several hours. I expected something completely different, reading the notes. Red musk and dragon's blood usually amp on me, but this time, they're blending nicely. The Lab's sand note is one that I can't smell -- scents with it disappear entirely to my nose (though not necessarily to the people around me!) so I was expecting this one to go away, as well. But though it's soft, it is definitely present.

Re: My search for a replacement for The Montauk Project: Yggdrasil definitely has the mixed-wood notes; the drydown reminds me a lot of TMP. The hickory isn't as strong, and it needs a sassafras note layered into it, I think, but it's a good start.

in the bottle: milky and grainy, almost like oatmeal. Wet: a blast of creamed corn, followed by fresh soy milk. Drydown: It splits into two levels during the drydown: A warm creamy softly spiced tone, and something thinner and greener. There is definitely something about the second smell that reminds me of fresh soymilk -- kind of green and bean-smelling. Dry: It settles down eventually into a single warm, sweet smell. It is definitely still a warm, creamy liquid, but I can't pick out whether it's a grainy drink or a nutty one. But it's comforting and mildly vegetative, with just the faintest hint of something almost like marshmallow in the distance. ETA; In the late drydown, the amber starts to powder and amps over the rest, but it still works for me.

Ooh, thank you! I'll add them to the search list!

Wet: The softest, fluffiest, most comforting floral I've ever smelled. Hmm. That wasn't what I was expecting at all. Drydown: The lavender sinks in, making this a little brighter, but it's still soft and fluffy and comforting. The rose is not doing the soapy thing it almost always does on me. Dry: This is utterly gorgeous! The musk comes out at last, grounding the rest of the scent. It has a hint of clean dryer sheets if I stick my nose right up against it, but the throw is pure comfort and softness. There is a bit of spiciness and a bit of herbiness balancing out the floral notes. All in all, it blends incredibly well and just smells amazing. Verdict: I expected this to go very badly -- rose usually turns to soap on me, and lavender can get screechingly high-pitched. But they both work here, enough that I just want to roll up in it like a blanket. The throw is moderate without being overpowering.

I have only half an imp of The Montauk Project, and apparently, it's not popular -- I can only find a couple of imps for sales, and even then, they're usually half-imps. The notes are: shagbark hickory, sassafras, black gum, bald cypress, pine, dogwood, wild comfrey, swamp sunflower, and trumpet creeper. I tried searching the catalog on the various notes and can't find anything that seems similar. Any suggestions?

Wet: There's a brief tussle between the leather and tobacco before they meld into a sweet, woody scent with just a hint of the honey. Drydown: The woodiness pulls back and the honey comes through. Strangely enough, when I stick my nose right next to the skin I get a sourness that reminds me of ambrette seed. But the throw is all honey at this point. Dry: Eventually, this settles into a gorgeous honey-tobacco. The ambrette sourness sticks around, but as I said, it's only right next to the skin. The throw is very light; I get whiffs of it off and on, rather than a constant cloud of scent. Much later: The sourness burns off somewhere in hour three, but the honey just keeps going. Eventually, this is a creamy amber-honey on me that lasts all day as a skin scent. I never got any of the myrrh, which I usually amp. I'm puzzled by this one, but I like it. I wonder what it's going to age into.

Fuzzy brown tonka bean, golden amber, bergamot, and petitgrain. Note: I think this is a very aged tester; the oil is quite thick. Wet: This is very light. I'm barely smelling something spicy, maybe cinnamon. Reading the notes now, I'm confused about there that came from, but it definitely smells like cinnamon to me. Weird skin chemistry, I guess. Drydown: This takes a while to bloom on me, but gradually, the vanilla/tonka comes out, along with the bitterness that bergamot usually has on my skin. It still smells like cinnamon to me, strangely enough. Dry: This has a throw that is a gorgeous cinnamon-vanilla that reminds me a great deal of Chimera, but closer to the skin I get the resinous amber and the vague floral that bergamot eventually turns into on me. Right up against my skin, I can smell the odd metallic bitterness of the petitgrain, but if it's in the throw, it's only as a hint of complexity under the cinnamon-vanilla I'm getting. The throw is very low, but utterly delicious.

I haven't worked out a system yet for keeping track of changes. Right now: #occupywallstreet 13 (February 2009) (x2 PIF) Aelopile Atlas Moth Banshee Beat Boadicea Belladonna (PIF; partial, in non-Lab bottle) Chaos Theory III: DCLXIV Chimera (partial, in non-Lab bottle) Copulating Mice Egg Nog 2007 Elf Forbidding Foyer (PIF) Haloa 2006 Haloa 2007 (whoops; I thought it was the same year) Hay Moon Inextinguishable Hatred Interfector Leo 2007 Lycaon (full plus partial) The Magi Osiris v4 (x2) Phantom Calliope (partial) Priala (partial) Prosperity of a Country Satyr (partial, in non-Lab bottle) Snake Oil (partial) Sugar Skull 2008 Tabella Tezcatlipoca Tombeur (partial) WILF Wulric (partial) Conjure: Something Under the Stairs Haunt: Shapeshifter Haunt: Winchester ZOMG: Ariel's Fancy-Pants Birthday Pie So that's 2 shungas, 5 yules, 3 carnival, and 2 vampires dsa. Along with 7 GCs. Other GC favorites I have enough imps to make a bottle: Dracul, No. 93 Engine. Incoming: UOH34 Meskhenet the Vulture Maiden Conjure: We Three Kings Sale/trade box: Expressive Head (partial) The Harpy Celaeno Havana The Mandrake Charm (partial) Moai The Triumph of Death (partial) The Winter of Our Dicontent Wood Phoenix

Wet: Citrus! Strong, in-your-face lemon verbena and another citrus note I can't place. Drydown: The amber and labdanum come out in a lovely, smooth resinous wave. There is something almost powdery-feeling about the amber. There is a faint bitter note, probably from the oud, that keeps this from being sweet. Instead, it's this complex golden, spicy, resinous mix. Verdict: This reminds me a great deal of my beloved Leo 2007 (notes: Egyptian amber, walnut bark, chamomile, frankincense, and saffron) in the amber and spiciness, but Aelopile has an additional citrus tang. The throw is moderate, and it lasts well on me. Another winner in the Steamworks category for me! Edited for html coding fail.

In the imp: varnish remover. Yikes! Wet: The sharp, chemical smell passes very quickly and sweetens up enormously. Drydown: My overwhelming impression was of drinking ginger ale while wearing Priala. There is that same sweet, smoky myrrh, along with the ginger. I think the almost-effervescence is actually the pepper? Maybe? The ginger fades in a couple of hours, but the lovely myrrh lingers much longer. I love Priala, and I think I will love this one, too.

Some of it will depend on your tastes and body chemistry, but I've done it myself a few times, so here's what worked on me: Elf - added a lot of sweetness and some freshness Belladonna - This went to spicy and medicinal, which I love but may not be your cup of tea Snake Oil - honestly, it mostly smelled like Snake Oil with just a hint of the camphor in the background I would assume O might work, too, but it never worked on me by itself so I didn't try it. I also tried Chimera (which usually goes with everything for me) and Sugar Skull (for sweetness), but those went really weird with the leftover Tiger Balm smell and really didn't work. Good luck!

Wet: black cherry and lots and lots of booze Drydown: Sweet, almost candied cherries floating on a cloud of spices. There is something in all three of the puddin' blends that smells soft and fuzzy to me, somewhere between orris and angelica -- this one has the least of it to my nose, or possibly the cherry is just that loud, but it's still there softening up the candy edge. Dry: The amaretto finally makes an appearance, with a sweet caramel-like undertone (I amp caramel, so it's either something else or used very very sparingly in this blend). Of the three, this one smells most like a dessert to me -- the cherries stay food-like, the amaretto and spices blend with that soft note, and there's just a hint of booze around the edges. The throw is softer than the other puddin' blends, too.

Wet: sugary vanilla. Very promising, considering my skin chemistry turns a lot of vanillas into plastic or something equally nasty. Drydown: The coconut bark comes out swinging, giving this a slightly nauseating smell that reminds me of young coconut juice, which I hate, or possibly just rancid lotion of some sort. This is *much* less promising. Dry: The coconut bark pulls back, but I'm still left with something that smells like a faintly vanilla lotion. Darn my skin chemistry!

I swapped for Alterosen's bottle -- #62. In the bottle: Sweet, syrupy cherries. Wet: A loud burst of floral. I'd guess carnation, but I'm not very familiar with florals, so it could be any number of them. It has a warm fuzziness to it. Drydown: Gradually, the fruitiness comes out from under the floral, or maybe the floral drops back. At this point, it smells lighter than carnation usually does on me, and isn't going soapy, which is often a problem with florals. The fruit is dark, possibly black cherry. There is still a syrupy quality, but also something almost smoky. Eventually, this has a smoky, metallic edge under the fruit and floral notes. It settles into a softer scent that I would have thought, almost a skin scent, then lingers a long time.

Dark chocolate, and a woody note I would've sworn was patchouli. It's probably the oudh and the sandalwood playing tricks on me. There is some fuzzy musk in there, but it stays in the background with the other notes. This one stays true all the way through on me. Throw is pretty mild.

Wet: A brief blast of cookies, then nutmeg and evergreens. Drydown: Lots of nutmeg and evergreens. A very dry sandalwood starts to peek out, and a note that's almost black pepper mixes with the nutmeg. Dry: This comes together very suddenly. Between one sniff and the next, the nutmeg settled in, the frankincense came out (and I'd swear there was myrrh in here, too), and it unifies into a sweet spicy incense. Lovely!

This is sweeter than I was expecting it to be! There is a blast of something sharp and herby when I first put it on. But it settles into something almost fruity, something that reminded me of citrus candy. Yeah, I don't know either. Sweet herbs on top of something a little sour. Several hours later, it's mostly myrrh with some herbs.

For me, the best bet is Famine: Sleek black tea, tobacco leaf, frankincense, lilac, and white musk. The lilac and musk give it a sort of Victorian-gentleman edge. Also, The Buggre Alle This Bible (Crumbling paper and ancient cracked leather with a touch of tobacco leaf and incense) or Parliament of Monsters (Dust, incense, wet tobacco, and a curl of opium smoke).