Astarte

This is really weird, I cant pick out any note specifically =o It just smells tropical to me, its very smooth though. This would be a wonderful holiday scent. ^^!

My first reaction to this is "Antithesis in coconut", at first the lime is the first and foremost note I can smell directly to the area I apply it to, whilst an aura of coconut surrounds me. The lime dies down after a while and the coconut shines through, it becomes sweeter after a few hours. Very nice, bit strong at first and then settles into a perfect summer scent.

I had a whole one minute where I could smell the combo of Snake Oil and O (it smelt so promising) and then it turned into a strong powdery smell. However O has never really worked on my skin, either.

Initially in the bottle all I can smell is coffee, and once you put it on for the first minute, it dies down to a floral rose scent with the heady jasmine twinge to it. On me the vanilla/tonka hasn't had a chance to come out yet (after an hour), but its a very nice floral blend.

This is one of my holy grail single notes, this is akin to the vanilla/sweetness of Dana O'Shee. This is also the vanilla in Snake Oil without the spiciness. A very pure creamy vanilla, as mentioned by previous reviewers the possibilities of using this note with others are endless. A must have in the sweet lovers world of BPAL.

This is absolutely divine, all the tartness and juiciness of cranberry tempered by a low spicy note, tinged by a luscious musk. Very fruity and is akin to Titiana as mentioned in the juiciness stakes but the spices and musk give it a good grounding to keep one of Lampades delicate feet definitely in the earth. Very glad I have a 5ml of this.

I love cool white scents and this is no exception, it settles extremely well on me. I can smell white roses (first flower to spring to mind), with lemon and lime as the perfect accord to settle that bundle on. This is a perfume not to be triffled with.

I have the pleasure of having Chaos Theory XXVI, my imediate thought on opening the bottle was "Crap I've just spent $19 on a bottle of Olbas Oil". So I dubiously put some on and prayed to God something miraculous would happen, and it did! It passed through three stages, firstly was the Eucalyptis stage, then it went through into a sharp white floral and finally settled into the most perfect and true white musk scent a person could ever wish for, being ultra clean from the minute traces of eucalyptis oil present with a underlying white floral. Only this morning I was thinking that the one thing I would love to see more of in Black Phoenix are more white musk scents which aren't foody or fruity (they always make me feel a little nauseous) and I got my wish Damn you Chaos Theory! [edited 1 hour on: Wow, this has settled down into a slightly sweet white musk (not warm/fooody but sweet), this is exactly how I pictured Snow White before trying it, this chaos theory has been such a journey!]

This is so wonderful and vivid, the first note I could detect was one of the florals, amd the dragons resin, for me it's a cross between fruity and floral, I can pick out the marigolds straight away. I dont detect the orange peel but it must be somewhere in there hiding away Normally scents with Amber are either a hit or miss, but this was definitely a hit! There are so many elements in this one which I love, the dragons blood, heliotrope and the flowers, I am very glad I have a bottle.

I had an impression of it smelling more of a grounded floral, but its quite sophisticated, my initial impression is wow, green and sharp. I cant detect any lemon as others have. It must be the bamboo I can smell initially, its a foreign note to my nose. Blended behind it are a floral backdrop, if you strain to look between the notes, I can detect a faint sweet note which I presume is the cherry blossom. Very clean and sophisticated, I can see this being a perfect work/interview blend.

The only other imp I could possibly thing of is Tarot: The Fool and thats quite bubbly and fruity, though it does come with a slight mint effect initially. Hmmn, I just tried my 5ml of Vice, could it just be that you're smelling Vice without the chocolate, as my skin absorbs the chocolate note a bit more, so I end up with a candy bubblegum effect too, I cant even smell the orange blossom here, how does the note evolve after a while?

This is very unlike any other BPAL I've tried, its a skin warmed chilled scent, to me it smells a little of white musk/vanilla with the tiniest twinge of pineapple behind it, with an underlying floral peeking out. If you concentrate hard enough, you can pick out the edges of a gentle mint there. This is a very soft and sensous scent and I hope very much that one day Beth will bring it back.

Could it be the Mad Hatter maybe? They're both in the same group and with the same initials it could have easier got mixed up.

This is fantastic, initially it smells like big juicy vibrant berries, which are sweet enough in itself. In the same way Persephone smells like the most juiciest rose, these red (definitely red) berries are dripping with the same lushness and freshness. Although the berries themselves arent sweet (foody sweet I mean), their dew ready state gives them that air of slight sweetness, it is magnificant. Underlying the berries is the perfect base, an incredibly light, very cool, almost a breeze of ice cool florals. To smell it you really have to "poke" through the berries, but they make the most amazing combination on drydown. I cant believe how wonderful this scent is and how it evokes such vivaciness, but if you're looking for the most feel good scent's out there, you wont go wrong with this one.

This is divine, initially you can smell that watery newess of the flower begining to come into its own. One minute later and the rose uncurls delicately and rewards you with the most delicious scent of victorious red rose petals. This would have to be termed as the quintessential rose scent, delicious and bursting with promise.

This is crazy! In the bottle I can smell just mint. Initially when I put it on me I can smell more of a gentle chocolate mint note. The buttery rum I can smell as a thin layer over that. Then after a few minutes I can smell an incredibly faint eucalyptis note behind everything. However the scent as a whole is very soft, and decadent is definitely the one word I would use to describe this scent.

Having tried Samhain but a day ago, I can certainly see where the comparisons are coming from. However I found this to have a similar base to Samhain but to smell more of cherries to me. While Samhain is more striking with the mulled spiced apples, this oil is subtler with the promise of luscious berries spilling out onto ones skin. Initially this smelt of cinamon and spice, the next time I tried it I could smell more of the berry notes (cherry). This is absolutely gorgeous and well worth a smell.

I found the single note of Gardenia very hot and heavy But you might dig that

At long last I've been able to test the fabled Samhain! Everything you've heard about how wonderful this scent is, is true! Initially I can smell the deepest reddest apples you could possibly imagine, being gently cooked with delicious spices but it doesn't smell as contrived, sweet and "foody" as you might wonder. This is quite possibly perfect. After a little while the smokiness deepens to give it a 3d edge as the time goes by. This is positively divine.

This on me is unwittingly like a lighter version of Desire, which I love dearly. I dont know how that comparison comes to me as they dont share any of the notes but there you are! It does turn slightly baby powder on me but I love that type of scent in any shape or form. As a mood I would definitely have to say it is a very sweet sorrow tempered with a darkness skimming the scent as a whole. I can smell the rose initially but then theres a sweetness to it which I just cant place, the incredibly faint resinous note gives it that cohesion and dark edge so that Beth's masterful blending skills shines through.

This is very chaotic, definitely can smell the mint, gardenia and lotus in this scent but they swirl together very innocently unaware of the chaos. Much like the mischevious child who hides the final piece of a jigsaw and then watches who next plays with it, smiling encouragingly. Defintely an experience to be had.

Initially the spiciness is all I can smell, and I think uh oh, but then after a few minutes the golden almonds and honey comes through and it's like "Ace! Amped up Dana O'Shee" (whom I love and adore) combined with the spiciness of Snake Oil. Its a gorgeous mix and its definitely like the older sister to Dana O'Shee who's been around the world and found a home in one of the eastern continents. Worldly, tanned, sexy and spiced, this is full of promise. Definitely glad I took a risk on buying a 10ml unsniffed from the description alone

Initially I get a really strong hit of Lemon and after that dies down I get a hint of rainbow coloured flowers, glistening damply on the table. It really evokes some strong childhood memories of mine which is terrific when a scent has the power to do that.

The wood notes come out most prominent on me with this one which is a pity as I cant deal with strong earthen oils. I can smell a citrus note in the background of the wood to give it a feeling of vitality behind the static trees. Its very gentle and lilting, this would be a winner if I liked eathern scents more.

The most prominent note on me initially is definitely carnation but this dies down within a minute to a gorgeous milk and honey scent. I cant detect the rose as of yet but its lovely and definitely the most innocent of all the BPAL I've tried.