sophia_helix

Sagey, soapy men's cologne. I kind of smell like my grandpa. Even my husband wouldn't try this.

Tenochtitlan, you confuse me so.

First you are a perfect dupe of Sundew, which naturally has no notes listed. I have no idea what is making that creamy, planty smell in both oils, but I think it might be the opium tulip, since it's sweet and fresh. I like you now, because Sundew is a top-ten favorite.

Then... you are Block Buster. Yes, the same juicy, green, baking-spices deliciousness that puts that one into my top-ten favorites. And now I don't feel so crazy for insisting to people that Block Buster made me think of a wet cactus, because hah! Tenochtitlan has prickly pear in it.

Either way, you make me happy, although it's kind of weird to have two of my favorites in the same oil. Plus sage.

Dublin all the way. I had to buy a 10ml because my husband loves wearing it too, even though it's got the slight sweetness of white rose. It's like a fresh early morning walk in wet woods.

Hmm. I like the dark plum in this, but there is too much rich, headache-inducing spicy/herbiness in this scent for me. It reminds me a little of the Masque, because there's something smoky in this, but it's too sweet.

Dammit, nope. No real honey, just super-sweet powder, maybe some rose, maybe some herbs. It's cloyingly, piercingly sweet for the first half hour, and then it calms down to something more bearable. It's still just sort of a generic, rich sweet scent, and not at all me.

At first, I had high hopes that this would be similar to the honeydew and cantaloupe of Fee, but it seems to be lacking that sweet/oily basenote of vanilla sunflower that I like so much. It's more straight-up, watery melon, and now I know what that dominant note in Fruit Moon is on me.

It's nice, but so similar to Fruit Moon that I think I will pass it along.

This was utter, manly heaven on my husband for at least fifteen minutes. Golden amber, resinous pine, a hint of sweet vanilla... I wanted to eat his neck. Then something in the vanilla and pine conspired to smell plasticky-sweet, and now it smells like my mother's Christmas box, with the scent of pine needles and plastic decorations from the 70s. That's actually kind of a comforting scent, but not exactly what I want in a sexy-man oil!

This one is hard to describe. Very woody and astringent at first, then that sweet, almost musky/leathery note that reminds me of Buck Moon, now that I see other people mentioning it. I'm getting that sweet, foresty, meadowy vibe too, although there's more than a hint of soap. For about five minutes I was in total adoration, then later, not so sure. I will make my husband try it, because it's certainly masculine.

Waaaah, delicious coconut for two minutes, then the minty-milky note from Milk Moon that I dislike so much. It wavered between the coconut and the milk for most of the evening, but it danced on the edge of sour so I will have to give this up. Whyyy does my skin hate cream so?

This one certainly lives up to its name. Strong, rich, overpowering at first, with all the notes on blazing display -- the jasmine is actually OK on me, floral instead of waxy, and the lime adds that extra little twist. It reminded me a little of Muse, except not powdery and way more kickass. I'm another one this raised welts on, and it even made the pulse pound in my wrists!

This was fairly long-lasting on me, and while it calmed down a little, it was still an incredibly heady scent. Not for everyday wear by any means, but I think I'll pull this out when I need to smell like I feel more sexual and powerful than I actually do.

At first sniff, fruity watery bubblegum with hints of potpourri. After checking the notes, that makes sense.

I can get all the individual notes, even the trace of spices, but they just don't add up to something I like. It's all a little too cloying and fake, more like a cranberry candle, so not for me.

I took Couscous's bottle off her hands, and I'm not quite sure what to make of this scent.

At first, it was the green/fresh scent of Holiday Moon and other Asian-inspired BPALs. Strongly bamboo, a very planty scent, and a bit of cherryish dragon's blood, but not too much, which is good.

Weirdly, the drydown had a strong incense kick, which I now realize was sandalwood. Not just spicy, but the smoky scent of actual burning incense. The next morning all I can smell is dragon's blood and sandalwood, kind of like the residue of an incense burner after the cone has burned down.

I think I will probably be passing this bottle onto its third owner, though, as I'm just not crazy about any of the scent combinations. Interesting, but not me.

Fresh and lemony in the bottle, then hoo-boy-baby-powder on my skin, much like Brisingamen. I don't usually like rose, but this almost works, except the apple gives a sort of rotten, off-note that turns my stomach. Too weird for me.

A very fresh, fruity scent. I'd agree with the poster who thinks it smells like shampoo, though; there's a very "bath products" quality about the scent. After a few minutes it gets sharper and more generically "fruity." I wish I could pick out individual notes better, because the overall scent is just sort of "eh." I like Beth's more complex blends better.

A pretty, spicy-sweet floral at first, when it's just sweet pea and carnation. Then water lily takes over, and I really don't like that note (in general or on my skin). Too soapy, too watery, not for me.

Gah, musk from hell in this. I smell like cheap men's shaving cream or cologne. There was a hint of yummy spice at the beginning, but it took off immediately.

I know better than to try musk scents, but stupid me, I was hopeful.

Oh, this is really fantastic. Very powdery and vanilla, which would normally be the anti-scent for me (I hated Antique Lace), but it works somehow, probably because it's very rich and deep. At first it reminded me strongly of Tiger Lily's sweetness, but as time went on it moved away from that sort of honey/lily sweetness and into something much more sophisticated and complex. It smells... dangerous, almost, something a sexy villainess would wear. Not bad for the name.

I'm glad I decided to try this, after determining months ago it "wasn't my type." Proof that you should really try every BPAL scent that comes your way!

This smells incredibly similar to Frost Moon, to the point that I had to check I hadn't mixed up the imps. It's not in the piney/woodsy Skadi/Talvikku family of BPAL winter scents, but more fruity, almost lotus-like, with a strong hit of what smells like eucalyptus or mint to me. After a long time, I could smell some sweeter florals in the mix, and I wish they'd jumped up sooner.

Interesting. I'll wear it again to see if I can pick out the notes better, because it does smell like a lot of the other "cold" scents to me at the moment.

Wet:

My brain goes "gaaaah, graaape" even though I know it's the redcurrant. I do not like grape.

Drydown:

Winey berries, kind of like Fortunato or Montresor. Not grabbing me. For purple-berry scents, I prefer the hint of sage in Bewitched.

This was just heavenly for the first five minutes, in an indescribable way. Sweet, spicy, herbal, earthy... I wish like hell I could pick out the notes, although I do think someone earlier in the thread was right about oakmoss and carnation. Then it started to get a sort of lily/aquatic thing that was reminiscent of Bayou and Dunwich, and neither of those scents worked at all on me. And then, alas, the gardenia from hell reared its ugly head, and made this sickening.

I will try this in a burner or locket, because I am determined to make it work. The initial scent of this was the best new-to-me BPAL scent I've smelled in absolute ages.

A Lab frimp, since I haven't had a breakup recently.

At first this is almost exactly like Somnus, due to the strong, strong lavender. After a little while, some florals creep in, of the very sweet, white, waxy type like gardenia, lily, or jasmine (I'm rotten at differentiating before those). It's pretty, a wee bit soapy, but still rather comforting and soothing. I think I'd like to try this in an oil burner, just to see how it makes the room smell.

Pure Snake Charmer crossed with Snake Oil -- one is spicy and musky, the other is more sweet and golden. I don't actually like Snake Oil very much, although I have a beloved bottle of Snake Charmer, so I'm undecided on this one. The heavier, sexier scents are not usually my bag, though, so I suspect I'll be passing this imp along.

An imp from the wonderful LupaWolf. Thanks again!

The first ten minutes of this is all sweet, watery cucumber, with a hint of a mint topnote. It reminds me of Tulzscha, but more floral and none with the hot-chlorine scent that I didn't like in that one.

Juniper and bay show up after a while, giving this a more astringent scent. Still lovely.

Then it turns into... Storm Moon??

Yes. This smells like "BPAL" in my brain, because Storm Moon was the first scent I ever tried and liked enough to go hunt down on Ebay, thanks to a rummage through Loligo's box. I think what I'm getting is the straight-up lunar oils, which I don't notice much except in Storm and Strawberry Moons -- it's an herbal scent, almost dusty, but still sweet and magical-smelling. Because I associate it with the very first oils I tried, I love it.

Thanks to LupaWolf for the imp!

At first this reminded me a lot of the Somnium blends -- the lavendar and chamomile were soothing and herbal. Alas, it turned pretty soapy after about five minutes, which I think was the influence of the ylang ylang. Glad I got to try it, and that my instincts were right about not getting a bottle.

Last year's Beltane was too sweet for me, so I tried an imp of the '06 vintage. And alas -- still too sweet, not enough of the new "herbal" scent, although at least it didn't go soapy. But I don't find it different enough that it works for me, damn.