kashmira

Luxuria+ Madame Moriarty Silky Bat+ Dolly Kei

Yeah, I was charged $23 as well. I emailed the Lab with a copy of my receipt. I'm sure it will all be straightened out.

A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate. Hands down, Bliss Smooch is a fantastic scrub. Bliss itself is pure, decadent milk chocolate -- perfect for when you need to pamper yourself. This morning in the shower I was surrounded in clouds of yummy milk chocolate and once the scrub did its magic, my skin with left with a silken texture. I was very pleased that the scrub wasn't too rough to my skin and the light oil in it wasn't too heavy -- it was just the right combination of scrubbing and silky-smoothness. Before this, I had never tried any of Villainess's Smooches. I am now hooked and eagerly hope for more BPAL scented ones!

At long last, beloved Eldritch Dark has returned, this time as a perfume oil! The leather comes up very strong, almost overpowering all of the other notes. However, red musk is not a note that is to be trifled with and soon rises up above the leather, singing a glorious song with the rose. Compared to the bath oil last year, the leather is much more dominant, but this makes the perfume even more seductive and dare I say, even more hoard worthy. I see many bottles in my future.

CcNow was sold to a foreign company earlier this year and started charging foreign transaction fees.

I *love* this scent, LOVE it. On me, it turns into this deep "black/red" incense with tons of throw and lasting power. Myrrh+beeswax+frankincense = total win on my skin. Like Mellifluous said, I can't detect the vetiver at all. Normally vetiver does terrible things on me, but it is non-existent in this blend on me. Somehow I have a feeling I'm going to need at least 3 more bottles of this one.

Oh what a year does to this scent! Last year when I first bought it, it had a nice musky, incense smell to it, but it wasn't amazing. The notes didn't harmonise completely together and the wood aspect seemed to be especially prominent. Now, a year later, it has aged beautifully. It now has a much more 'rounded' smell to it and all of the notes work in beautiful harmony. Best of all, the patchouli behaves in this one, keeping it from becoming pencil shaving on my skin. As a fan of all things red musk, I love this one. I'm so glad I found a backup bottle because I see myself wearing this one a lot.

This is all leather and balsam on me, with no hint of cinnamon. I like brown leather and balsam, but this one doesn't seem to have any other contrasting scents to counterbalance it. On the positive side, this does have massive throw and seems to last pretty long on my skin. To me, Hatta has more of a 'masculine' feel to it, though I could see it being unisex to some noses. I think this one may work much better on my husband than me, so he is going to be gifted with this bottle.

To my nose, the Morocco and the Pumpkin blend so well together that it is difficult to tease the individual notes apart. To me, this is slightly buttery spicy fresh-out-of-the-oven goodness. Unfortunately, it tends to disappear *very quickly* on my skin and within 2 hours, I have to apply more in order to smell it. This definitely is a winner -- I just wish it lasted longer.

Originally, I bought this because I am a fan of a band, Current 93, and am quite aware of the spiritual significance of the number 93 in general. I figured the notes might work on me, but I was rolling the dice. In the bottle, I found it to have a sharp green mentholated top note that made me wary to put it on my skin. However, once I applied, it became Orthodox Church in a bottle. Seriously, on my skin, this is an Orthodox Church: candles, incense, iconostasis, etc. It is uncanny how closely the scent matches my memories. This is one of my top 10 scents, hands down.

This is still one of my favourite GC scents. Though its scent is not as complex as some of the other oils I wear, its simplicity makes it a winner. Every time I wear it, it continually morphs into leather, then rose, then leather, then rose, ad infinitum. Among other places, I wear it to gay bars, where I never fail to have someone who leans into my neck, takes a great big whiff and smiles broadly. Even the bears(who otherwise wouldn't give me an ounce of attention) usually pay me a compliment before turning back to their conversations. For leather and rose fans, this is a scent not to be missed.

I find it fascinating that this one turns into a liquorice/anise tea. It started off sweet and lovely, but in a few minutes, it turns into the familiar smell of anise. If I sniff really hard, I can pick up a bit of a "red" note, but by far and large, the dominant note is liquorice. It's not unpleasant per se, but it is definitely something I'm going to let age for a long time.

I know you mentioned you weren't fond of foody scents, but I have found Gelt (a fairly often reoccurring one) to be mostly amber heavy, with a touch of dry chocolate. My Gelt 2010 has aged really nicely over the years and is mostly amber. I've seen Yule pop up a couple times -- its notes aren't to my liking, but they do include holly berry, mistletoe and evergreen. Also, Channukiyah has showed up a few times too and overall, it has been pretty nice as well -- lots of olive and beeswax on me, but others say it goes foody on them. I also want to chime in that Peacock Queen has really been a fantastic rose year after year -- if it shows up again this year, I definitely recommend that you try to get it!

KHAJURAHO The fabled Khajuraho temples of India are shrines of love in all its myriad forms. They are a celebration of love itself – transcendental, spiritual and erotic. This is a rejection of sorrow, spiritual ennui and despair. The sexual motifs that adorn the temples, and the temples themselves, are monuments to ecstasy and to passion, and through that, they are also monuments to spiritual fulfillment. It is believed that the realization of moksha by dedicating oneself to adhyatma and dharma can be attained only by first experiencing sexual satisfaction. In the midst of the drudgery and struggle that we sometimes endure during the course of our Earthly lives, it is vitally important that we remember the joy found in kama, and that in kama we can achieve transformation of the body and soul. This is a blissful, euphoric blend based on an ancient Indian love potion: honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower. This is one of my favourite candles to have next to me while taking a nice long soak in the bath. It has a light to medium throw that is comprised of mostly sweet honey with wafts of amber and sandalwood. Just like the scent description mentions, it does have a certain euphoria about it and dare I say, a sexual overtone. But don't be misled -- this is not a "one night quickie" type of scent or candle. Instead, it represents a long joyous celebration of love that allows true understanding the world and its beauty through both physical and spiritual journeys. It reminds us that we can become truly fulfilled even when the world seems to pull us down.

Since photos were requested, here are some of the Weenies! All Souls and Dia Snakes and Moroccan Pumpkin New 13!

Never in a million years would I have guessed that not one but 2 scents with vetiver actually work on my skin. This is simply lovely -- slightly resinous, slightly sweet, with an undertone of something dark and ever so sharp.

If this has vetiver like others have referenced, then it is the first scent with vetiver that my skin can handle without turning into a stinky, terrible mess. To me, this reminds me of being out in the woods after a fresh rain -- there is a 'cleanness' about it that makes it refreshing. It also has a nice sweetness that rounds out the green aspect nicely. Overall, a pretty scent. I won't be looking for a bottle, but I will definitely keep the imp.

Got my bottle from my very kind fairy. This is simply one of the best sweet and spicy food scents I've found. The ginger+brown sugar+clove simply sing perfectly in harmony. The bourbon vanilla likes to be a bit loud at first, but it eventually finds its place in the choir. I don't get much musk, but its possible that it just needs time. As far as longevity, I'm rather pleased with this one as food scents tend to get gobbled up by my skin. Instead, this one seems to stick around for more than a couple hours. Definitely a winner in my book!

This is by far the best atmosphere spray I have tried. Pure wonderful exotic incense type smell. This is utterly amazing. I'm ever so grateful that a certain fairy was able to get this one for me

This is such an interesting blend. In the bottle and wet on skin, it is deep rich coffee -- no cream, no sugar, just black thick coffee. Soon it begins to morph and the rose peeks out. It is not your typical flowery rose -- it is definitely an exotic, mysterious rose. I wouldn't call this a 'foody' scent nor would I call it flowery -- it has a life of its own. I can't detect much cardamon, so I'll be curious to see how this ages. I'm hoping the cardamon will come out and further deepen the scent.

I adore this hair gloss. The frankincense isn't too heavy, the amber smells perfectly golden and most importantly, my hair looks fabulous. Total win.

I got this as an imp about 2 years ago. When I tried it then, I hated it(too much sandalwood) and swapped it away. Flash forward to today when I got an aged bottle(circa 2005ish)and oh my lord, what an amazing difference! It ages beautifully and becomes a wonderful, incense-like scent where the cocoa and sandalwood and myrrh simply sing in harmony together. While I normally amp sandalwood to high heaven, this is very restrained in its scent. It smells like something a sophisticated yet savvy woman might wear for a night out with a tall handsome gentleman. I simply love it.

I was a bit hesitant of this scent by its note descriptions, as cedar can be iffy on me. However, I am pleased to say the cedar behaves itself in this one. From the bottle, I could smell a bit of sweetness, but cedar and musk definitely are the predominant notes. On me, the cedar and musk start to get a bit aggressive but are shortly tempered by the honey. The honey becomes the predominant note, but it is more of a "dark honey" -- the benzoin and musk keep it from turning into a sickly sweet scent. I'm happy to say this scent lasts on me all day -- I get whiffs of sweetness that are warm and comforting. The Cat reminds me of what a dark brown/almost black cat might smell like if they decided to wander through a sugar factory -- it is a dark, mysterious, furry, sweet scent.

I have always felt very powerful with The Phoenix at Midday. Good luck and hang in there.

Though it is Dc'd, Thalassa the Galapagos Mermaid is a salty, aquatic scent I've found that manages to be airy, light and slightly floral at the same time. It is definitely different, if nothing else.