clover

It's interesting reading the preceding reviews - on me, this is anything but dark or heavy. I was a little bit scared to try this out, the description sounded so dark and masculine and mean. But sniffing from the imp, I noticed right away that it didn't smell nearly as dark as the description sounded. I tested a bit out, and sure enough, on me, it's all almond and orange with a really light hit of cinnamon. The balsam of peru has a sweet, smooth effect - and to me the vetiver and "earth" are nowhere to be found. It's kind of...foody? But not in a phony dessert kind of way. Perhaps the vetiver is coming out slightly - but vetiver always smells like warm, golden grain on me. I really like this scent, although I have to admit that when I close my eyes, the image of Mad Meg isn't what I see. On me, it's more like Breughel's paintings of the harvest - golden and autumnal and sun-dappled. Vaguely reminiscent of Dana O'Shee, actually. Good stuff!

Oh my GAWD - another gorgeous one from the new Salon. When I first put this on the dominant note was lavender. Not a kick-you-in-the-head lavender, but a gentle herbal lavender. Lavender is a note I find really hard to pull off in perfumes - it generally either smells very masculine to me or very medicinal. It's hardly a subtle scent. But in this perfume, it just works beautifully. After a few minutes a few of the other notes start to come into play - notably the tobacco - and this turns into an insanely addictive and sensual scent. It's so soft and yet pungent, dark and juicy. The kind of scent that makes you want to keep burying your nose in your wrist. I also think it's a scent that could work equally well on a man or woman.

This is one of my very favorites from the new Salon series, as well. Appropriate, as it's one of my favorite paintings ever. It's a difficult scent to desribe, because all of the notes blend together so seamlessly. If I really concentrate, I can say "Oh yeah! That's a hint of juniper!" or "Oh, that spiciness must be the carnation" or "the gray amber must be giving it that smooth base"...but if I didn't have the list of notes, I wouldn't be able to pick a single one of those out. I don't know if I would even classify it as floral, or resiny or sweet. It's just golden and smooth and a little bit bright. The juniper and cypress really do an amazing job of just brightening up the scent without overwhelming it. Really, really lovely and beautifully composed - I can see this being a new favorite.

Wow. I was not expecting to like this one at all, but when I tore into my Salon imp pack it was the one that jumped out at me the most from the vial. This perfume is truly gorgeous, and really surprising. I don't get even a hint of patchouli (yay!), and the dominant notes are a strong-but-not-foody clove and black musk. I'm a huge black musk fan - I love the powdery sweetness - and it smells great in this blend. I was expecting a very earthy, dark and gothy perfume...but this reminds me of a very, very traditionally beautiful, French scent. Straight out of the 1930s or 40s. Powdery, warm, slightly fizzy and sensual. Much love.

His Station and Four Aces Sniffing from the imp: Lilac! Upon application: Lilac is a scent that I love (what's better than walking past a lilac bush in the spring and getting whiffs of it's fragrance? Nothing.)...but generally doesn't agree with me. It tends to go a little bit sharp. But in this fragrance, it's not going sharp at all. I'm not sure if that's because it's a lilac fougere (I always equate fougere with fuzzy and soft), or if it's the sweet leather and musk that are tempering the lilac. After a bit: I love the combo of leather & flowers (I think it works beautifully in Les Infortunes de la Vertu, too, which is a scent that gives me a similar vibe to this one), and when the soft sweetness of white musk starts to come through, this scent turns downright heavenly. Conclusion: *love*

New Year's Eve in Dogville Sniffing from the bottle: I get the "flirty perfume" and "classic cologne" vibe. Upon application: When this scent hits my skin it starts to morph immediately. It gets sweeter and juicier, which must be the champagne coming out. This sort of surprises me, because champagne is not a scent that generally wears well on me. After a little while: The dry-down on this is just lovely, and not really what I was expecting. It's softly sparkly, lightly musky and sweet in a not-overwhelming way. Conclusion: I would describe this scent as a slightly fruity vanilla musk - like a sparkly, flirty Antique Lace. I think it's really, really beautiful. The Dogs are really agreeing with me!

One to Tie, Two to Win I love the scent of fresh grass. Living in the city I don't get to smell it nearly enough, but it's truly one of my very favorite things. I'm always slightly disappointed in "grass" scented products, because they always smell too day-glo green, slightly bitter and sharp to me. Not this one. It's *lovely*. Slightly sweet, slightly earthy, and oh so green. It's very much, to me, the scent of childhood. Sniffing from the bottle I smell sweet, sweet, fresh green grass and flowers (Like the poem: What is green? The grass is green/With little flowers in between). And strangely, I also smell really fresh...cassia bark? Not like the cassia oil you usually smell in perfumes, but the fresh sweetness of putting a piece of cinnamon bark up to your nose. (I thought this was odd, so I googled cassia and it turns out that part of what cassia it's fragrance is coumarin, which is the same thing that gives grass & hay their scent. Isn't that interesting? I never made the connection before. Anyhoo... ) The floral component is just strong enough to make this really wearable as a perfume, which is an added bonus. Like shelldoo, I wasn't positive I was going to like this as a perfume, but I wanted to order it because of the grassiness...and I'm really pleasantly surprised that it smells wonderful on me. Yay!

I decided today was the perfect day to use the Bitch bomb that I've had sitting around for a little while. I've loved all of the Trading Post bombs that I've used, but I think that may be my favorite so far. When I put the bomb in the bath, the fragrance wasn't overwhelming, but it was very gentle and pleasant. It reminded me of soothing wildflowers and herbs. The scent was strong enough to notice, but not enough to give me a headache, or nauseate me. Side note: I'm *very* picky about bath products, and can't tolerate the cloying, plasticness of fragrance oils at all, I hate the way they smell, and I hate the way they linger for hours if not days with their synthetic stench...which is why I was so excited that the Trading Post was using all natural ingredients. The texture of the bath was just perfect, very moisturizing and soft, but not greasy. I was planning to take a quick bath before work this morning, but there was something completely hypnotic about this bomb. I did NOT want to get out of the bath. It was so soothing and soft and gentle. Heavenly. And, so far, no one has called me a bitch today, so hey! It must have worked a bit.

Sniffing from the bottle: Sweet, smooth pear. Sometimes pear can be nausea-inducing to me, but this isn't at all. It's almost a pear syrup kind of smell, with the flowers tempering the sweetness. Upon application: It's funny that Heavenlyrabbit mentioned a wedding bouquet, because that's the first thing that popped into my mind, as well. Actually, the *very* first thing that popped into my mind was "Havisham". It's been quite a while since I've worn Havisham (like, years), and yet my first thought when I put this on was: Oooh, Havisham lovers are gonna go wild. It's got that same vintage, white, rose-y bouquet feeling, without the iciness. This is a little bit softer, a little bit more gentle, not quite as bitter, but still wistful. Drydown: I don't get much of the violet, the rose is definitely the strongest floral of the bunch. It combines really beautifully with the pear, and the other sweet florals. Conclusion: Really lovely. I have to admit, along with the Ecstasy of Passion, this was the Inquisition scent that caught my eye immediately, and I'm really pleased that it works on me.

Books finished (3) Anansi Boys - I finally made it through a Neil Gaiman book. Enjoyed it, but there were definite rough patches. Loved the first 3/4, got bogged down a bit around page 200. I think I liked the idea more than the actual story. Was surprised by the humor, though, I laughed out loud many, many times. Heat - A good, but slow, read. I think it should have kept my attention more than it did, considering it was about cooking, and all. Am about to start The Memory Keeper's Daughter for book club. The description sounds vaugely Oprah-esque, so I can't say I'm realllly looking forward to it, but hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. I am reading slowly this year.

Sheol is in the Funereal Oils category - you can find the review thread here.

I'm a little suprised by Anaconda. I had read the reviews and was expecting an uber-sweet, sugary scent. But on me, Anaconda is not at all sweetl. My first impression is nutty - hazelnut is what I'm thinking. Maybe coconut. Is coconut a nut? I don't know, but hazelnut and coconut always strike me as sort of similar. And then, after a little while, I get the tobacco vibe that andrabell mentioned. A ton of tobacco, actually. Which makes it not very sweet at all, almost bitter. It's definitely got bite. I don't pick up any Snake Oil at all, at the moment

Hey Labbies! Have I told you lately that I love you? I woke up with a splitting headache this morning, and so I decided it was a great time to try that little impie of GRR that I've had sitting around for a week or two. This is what I decided to do: I filled the bathroom sink up with steaming water (like you would do if you were giving yourself a facial) and then dumped the imp of GRR in, and then covered my head with a towel and steamed. Let me tell you, after about 30 seconds the steam + peppermint oil mixture went right into my sinuses...and you know that feeling you get when you put peppermint oil on your skin? Like it freezes the spot immediately? That's what it did to my whole skull, inside and out. Everything just went all tingly and froze. And when it wore off, my headache was gone. I can imagine that this will be especially effective for tension headaches. Fan-flipping-tastic.

Confession: I am terrified of ginger. I was traumatized by an imp of Red Ginger single note early in my BPAL career, and I've never looked at ginger in the same way since. So, what smacks me over the head like a caveman when I open this bottle? The scent of Red Ginger. And I'm scared. Really and truly. Don't want to try it out, at all. So I let it sit for a few days, eyeing it ever so often...and then try it on first thing this morning, thinking I'll be hopping in the shower in a little while and if it's scary, I'll wash it right off. But it's not scary at all! Almost as soon as it hits my skin the cinnamon & cassia take over (truth be told, I'm not sure I can separate the two, so I'm just claiming both), and it turns into Cinnamon Snake Oil. The heavenly cinnamon snake oil that I've dreamt about. True, like all of the other Snake Pit scents, it takes a while for the "Snake Oil spices" to show their stuff...but it's completely worth the wait. It's a triumph! A triumph of cinnamon! Take that, wicked ginger!

Unfortunately, this is the first of the Snake Pit scents that doesn't work on me. But, seriously: acai berrry? What the heck was I thinking? I hate berries. Actually, I love to eat them, but they are the very last thing I want to smell like. I think I was seduced by the prospect of smoked vanilla. But no, this is predominantly a berry scent on me. C'est la vie. I know that it will have masses and masses of adoring fans out there, I just can't be one of them.

Plumeria, what? Gardenia, really? Lemon peel and blood orange? Surely not. To me, this is just a big, ripe, juicy apple. It's apple all of the way...until about half of an hour into the wearing, when I start to get those smooth Snake Oil vibes peeking out from underneath. Now, I *love* the scent of apples (one of the few fruit scents I can bear to wear), and I really do enjoy that stage of the process, but when the Snake Oil starts to peek out is when the magic happens. That's what I was hoping for from this scent. Another big Snake Pit winner....and again, I just KNOW that by the time next fall rolls around, this is going to be heaven in a bottle.

Sniffing from the bottle: Sweet and soft. I have to double check the ingredients to even pick out a note, but as soon as I do, I recognize the almond. That's right, that's what that scent is! On application: This is lovely - like Snake Oil in a kinder, gentler version. Almonds always strike me as earthy - well, not exactly earthy-in-a-dirt-kind-of-way, but organic and natural. And myrrh is just a soft, sweet hug of a scent. There's something slightly maternal and warm about this scent. Even though it's a snake. After a while: Asp Viper is also the Snake Oil-iest of any of the Snake Pit scents I've tried. It's like Snake Oil, but softer. If Snake Oil is the scent I wear when I want to go out and attract attention, Asp Viper would be the scent I would wear when I want to stay home and be comforted. Sit in front of the fire. Do some cooking. Feel cozy. I love it. It is perhaps a little bit fleeting on me, but I know it will strengthen with time.

Books finished (1) Finished The Call of the Wild. I guess it's one of those books I should have read years ago, but somehow never did. For whatever reason, I find that I get more emotionally involved with animal characters in books that I ever do with human characters. So when, after being used and abused and beaten and bruised, Buck finds true love in John Thornton...I wanted to get out of chair and cheer. (Never mind John Thornton's eventual fate, I hadn't gotten that far yet.) "But love that was feverish and burning, that was adoration, that was madness, it had taken John Thornton to arouse. This man had saved his life, which was something; but, further, he was the ideal master....He had a way of taking Buck's head roughly between his hands, and resting his own head upon Buck's, of shaking him back and forth, the while calling him ill names that to Buck were love names. Buck knew no greater joy than that rough embrace and the sound of murmured oaths, and at each jerk back and forth it seemed that his heart would be shaken out of his body so great was his ecstasy." I circled that passage while I was reading the book...and now it doesn't seem as powerful as it did when I read it. But when I was in the midst of the story, it almost made me cry. It just reminded me of that unconditional love that pets have for their owners, and why animals are so freaking awesome. I'm still thinking of reading White Fang next, but first I have to do a quick re-read/scan of In Cold Blood. I read it years ago (Truman Capote is one of my all-time favorite writers, although In Cold Blood is not my favorite of his writings)...but it's the book my book club chose this month. Nothing says Happy New Year like a book about a multiple murder.

Ok, so I'm going to do my best to keep track of what I'm reading this year. I'm one of those readers who starts a million books but only finishes a portion of them, and I wish I wasn't like that, at least not quite as much as I am. So I'm sort of hoping that by listing what I'm reading here, it will give me a little impetus to actually get through the books. I'm going to number them, too, because I'm a Virgo. 1) Earthly Joys, Philippa Gregory - I mooched this book on Bookmooch. Yay for mooching! I just started it a couple of nights ago...go through the first couple of chapters, and then got distracted (by book number 2). However, the first couple of chapters were good, in that mindless, historical fiction kind of way. I really enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl, so I will definitely go back to reading this one. 2) The Call of the Wild, Jack London - Saw it sitting on my shelf yesterday morning, and thought it would be a great book to read in the middle of January. Loving it so far, but I'm finding it a little emotionally wretching. I love animals, and the fact that some of these dogs die heartbreaking deaths is a little tough to read. But it's a great book, I can barely put it down. My volume includes White Fang, too, and I may read that next.

Oooh, Jacob's Ladder, Jacob's Ladder!!! Smells very 1930s to me - I think that every time I wear it. A few of the salons might work, too. I think most of them have that slightly more complex, traditional-perfumey vibe to them. You might look for perfumes with amber & iris or orris, those are notes that always make me think "vintage".

Milk & Honey lotion smells primarily of coconut oil to me, with just a little milky sweetness. I think Obatala is a pretty good match.

I would love love love to know this too! It's not easy to get alas. Jacob's Ladder always reminds me of Vol de Nuit. It's slightly more golden and less melancholy, but I think they're similar. Lucretia is in the same family, as well.

I think Sundew & Beltane are both good choices...I would also add Ides of March & Asphodel (which, while it's named after the ghostly flowers of Hades, I find to be like sunshine in a bottle). Maybe Eos, as well.

My first thought would be Mad Hatter. And, since Dracul is all about that gorgeous black musk on me, I would try a few other black musk blends, like Black Forest or Haunted.

I think Queen is predominantly vetiver, so yeah, I would guess that's your culprit.