clover

Scorpio

Thanks to the lovely Heavenlyrabbit for sending me an imp or this to try!

First impression: Whoa, violets!

Upon application: Violet is the first note that jumps out at me, but there's something stronger, too, that I can't quite place. I think maybe it's magnolia...it's got that bite to it.

After a few minutes: Now I'm thinking the bite is pine. It's interesting though, considering the dominant notes seem to me to be violet & pine - this scent seems really rather red. There's something sweet, red & spicy changing the general character.

Conclusion: It's defnitely got an empowering, kick-you-upside-the-head kind of strength to it. I love the scent, but I wonder if I can get away with it...

I'm intrigued to find out if the Qliphoth have special labels. Anyone know?

Shango

First impression: Tropical fruit lifesavers.

Upon application: Upon application it's the tart apple that is the most noticable note. None of the other fruits jump out at me, but they blend to give the impression of a bevy of spices - a la Lampades. Really lovely, earthy and bold.

A few minutes later: There seems to be a slight crystalizing sugariness to it, as well.

A while later: Shango surprises me by turning just a little bit watery. Not heavily aquatic, but defnitely a little bit...watery. It's really, really nice.

Conclusion: I was wary of a few of the tropical notes in this one, but it turns out to be a big winner.

Sniffing from the bottle: A very perfumey perfume. Sort of reminiscent of a power scent from the 1980s. It's got that fuzziness to it.

Upon application: Defnitely floral...but not what I would normally think of as orchid. I generally think of orchid as sweet and vaguely curry-esque...but this is a clear, piercing kind of floral. With a black earthiness surrounding it, that I have to think is black patchouli.

After a few minutes: My general impression is sweaty white hot-house florals in a haze of pot smoke.

Conclusion: A lovely, evocative scent - but not for every day. I'd save it for special occasions. Perfect for a night out.

Sniffing from the bottle: Slightly sweet, yellow, springlike.

Upon application: Definitely spring florals - there's a note I recognize from both Ides of March & Beltane, which I think is narcissus. Ides of March and Beltane are two of my very favorite scents, so this is very good news indeed.

After a few minutes: I get a slightly sweet note - possibly melon? It's not very strong, at least not strong enough to be distracting to this melon-hater. But it's defnitely there.

Conclusion: Sundew is sunshine in a bottle. Perfect for spring, I absolutely love it.

A review based only on scent...

Sniffing from the bottle: Oh, so very, very heavenly. It glows.

Upon application: I think I smell gardenia & maybe jasmine. Sweet, creamy florals anyway. And vanilla...and either cassia or cinnamon. And maybe orange?

After a few minutes: Maybe a hint of patchouli. I loooooove this.

A bit later: And, omigod...if it wasn't good enough already - a base of musk.

All day long at work I kept looking around trying to figure out what smelled so good...and then realizing it was me. Absolutely gorgeous. Vaguely reminiscent of Love Me...but with some sort of light shining through it. I could wear it every day of the year.

Sniffing from the bottle: Candy-like, heavenly musk. It musk be the amber & orange that are sweetening it up.

Upon application: The sweetness disappears up close and all I get is nutty musk. Surprisingly, it's not animalistic at all - just nutty and...*searches for appropriate word*...musky. However, I can tell I'm leaving a vaguely sweet scent trail wherever I go.

After a few minutes: It turns just slightly green. Just a tiny, tiny bit.

After a few hours: Gorgeous, but doesn't stick around quite as long as I would expect it to. A heavier dose tomorrow!

Conclusion: Enraged Orangutan Musk could not be more wonderful on me. Love it, love it, love it. True, musky love.

I think Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo is extremely melon-y!

Sin, baby!

Sin & Faustus are the two that I think are closest to Blue Skies. I loooooove Blue Skies!

Smut

Sniffing from the bottle: Oh, glorious Snake Oily musks. With a sprinkling of fruity sugars.

Upon application: Earthier upon application, and less sweet. Nothing at all like Devil's Night, yay!

After a few minutes: Bloody hell, it's like Snake Oil, but better.

Conclusion, to keep it short: As others have said - seriously, get some. Right now. Stop reading this review and go order it...

Sniffing from the bottle: The apple peel jumps out at me right away...which just about thrills me right out of my seat.

Upon application: Sweet tart fruits (mostly apple!) with just the slightest hint of jasmine. Juicy and lovely.

After a few minutes: The jasmine starts to peek out more, as does the myrhh. Usually I'm not a fan of myrhh, but this myrhh is SO soft and sweet and gentle that it's really just a nice complement to the fruity jasmine. It just smooths it out.

A few minutes after that: Interestingly the jasmine just about disappears. I'm used to jasmine being an overpowering note, but it's not in this blend. I would say that the two dominant notes (on me) are apple and myrhh....although I can tell that they're wrapped up in a soft musk hug.

Conclusion: Sweet and soft like a cloud. Surprisingly innocent. Romantic and lovely.

You might try Vechernyaya!

I'm not sure if I'm crazy or not - but I think Blood Moon smells exactly like Snowcake. Actually, it smells exactkt like Snowcake with just a tiny hit of Snake Oil. Which is freakin' awesome.

Peitho

I'll say right off the bat that this is not my first date with Peitho. Oh no - we've been engaged in a raging love affair for the past six months or so.

Sniffing from the bottle: Jasmine and vanilla

Upon application: I'm not sure what myrtle smells like, but there's a bolder, fuller floral here than just the jasmine. Mixed with a huge, heaping dose of warm vanilla. I'm not sure if it's the addition of the bourbon and clove or not - but this vanilla is gorgeous...nothing like the thin sweet vanilla in Black Opal or Antique Lace.

After a few minutes: One of the things I love about Peitho is that it doesn't change on me. At all. The scent stays true from begining to end. Oddly, I don't notice the musk in this at all - and I love musk.

Conclusion: Peitho is one of those blends that leaves me tongue-tied. I can't quite describe how it makes me feel, or how much I adore it. As I mentioned before - I've had Peitho for about six months and I have to virtually restrain myself from wearing it every single day. It's that good. And even though I also reach for it now, during the winter - it's truly the embodiment of a warm summer night to me. A warn night in, like, Charleston, or Savannah or New Orleans - some place with history and culture as opposed to a warm night on the beach - if that makes sense. It's definitely a top five scent for me. Possibly top three. I could wear it every day for the rest of my life and be very happy indeed.

Lick It smells EXACTLY like Black Opal + mint on me. And the mint disappears pretty quickly.

Me too. Lick It & Black Opal & Antique Lace all smelled pretty much identical on me, after about 10 minutes.

Another vote for Beltane, it's the essense of spring in a bottle to me. Fae is a good spring time scent too, peach and light florals.

I was going to vote for Beltane and Fae, too. RainyDayGrey, you're like, a genius, man.

Fae lasts forever on me, too - it's got that nice base of white musk so it keeps going and going.

I agree that Eos is also a wonderful spring scent, I just ordered a bottle last weeek in preparation!

I don't really think I've run into any BPAL scents that smell purely like green grass. The closest I've run into is Ides of March - which doesn't necessarily smell like grass, but is really fresh and green and sweet...and always reminds me of being in a field or meadow.

As far as hay - the single note Sweet Grass smells pretty much exactly like freshly mown hay, but it's rather hard to find.

Beltane

I've had this bottle since it was first released, but never got around to reviewing it...but recently I've fallen SO in love with Beltane, that I figured it was about time for a review.

Sniffing from the bottle: A regal yet fresh floral.

Upon application: The first thing that jumps out at me is a bouquet of spring florals - I'm pretty sure I sniff jonquil, maybe buttercups, hyacinths. Pretty spring flowers. And a hint of greenery.

After a few minutes: A sweetness starts to appear - I think maybe it's benzoin? And the freshness fades, which makes me happy because I'm not really a "fresh scent" kind of girl. The dominant notes are a beautiful floral (I think it's jonquil), a light wood and maybe a hint of light musk. It's just wonderful.

Conclusion: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Beltane has climbed into my top ten!

Beaver Moon

Well, dang, I was just sure I wasn't going to like Beaver Moon. Positive, in fact - and so I didn't order a bottle.

I'm SUCH a moron.

Wet: Hmm, it's familiar, but it doesn't smell like cupcakes to me - it's not that sweet.

Upon application: Lots of vanilla. With something that's keeping it from being too sweet. Probably the vinegary note that people have mentioned.

After a few mintutes: Pow! Cinnamon! Strong cinnamon with a hint of vanilla. I know what it's reminding me of now - Chimera.

I wasn't expecting the cinnamon at all. And the cinnamon is what's making me fall in love with this blend. That - and it's lasting forever, too. Yum.

Zombi is that blend for me.

I remember someone mentioning that either Beth or Brian had told her to rub some on her palms and then hold their hands together in a loose clasp and hold them up to their nose and inhale. Does that make sense?

Sometimes I just dot the Panaceas beneath or on the tip of my nose. Especially Quietude.

I think people wear them as perfumes, too - but I can't imagine they would last very long!

Snowblind

Snowblind is softer than I expected. Sniffing from the bottle the butteriness knocks me over the head, but it breaks up pretty quickly on my skin. It dries down strongly vanilla-y, with a light mint background. Goes through a phase that smells pretty Play-Doughy, so I wonder if there's not a hint of almond in there. Although it could be a milk note, too - as it sort of reminds me of Dana O'Shee. The end result is a sweet, soft milky-vanilla mint. I like it! I didn't really think I would, but I do. I would definitely order a bottle, if I had a chance.

I think there are a bunch of explanations. (And since I'm sitting here at work doing nothing, I will list them all!)

1) I know the Lab does their best to get things out in chronological order, but to ask them to look at *what time* of day an order was placed may be just a little too much. In my opinion. I know I've heard lots of people say "but I ordered first thing in the morning!". To be that strict would be enough to drive one batty.

2) They're always looking at ways to speed up delivery times - so if they have all of the items of an order that was placed on Sept. 10 at the ready, while a Sept. 5 order may need a bottle of Intrigue mixed up, it's probably in their best interest to get that Sept. 10 order out the door.

3) It's certainly possbile (virtually guaranteed!) that there's more than one person filling orders. Perhaps Jim is able to pack the orders slightly more quickly than John , and if they are both given piles of orders to fill from the same day, that could be another explanation.

4) We (and of course I mean, me, too) are SO glued to the Click'n'Ship thread. I can't think of any other company who's shipping activities are monitored so closely. We wonder why orders get sent out out-of-order, but we also wonder why the shipping times aren't speeding up. I think that if the Lab were to pack orders STRICTLY in the order they came in, the shipping times would drop again. And we don't want that!

LaFlamme

I am told that this Twilight oil is to be used as a perfume, as well as as a magickal oil.

Sniffing from the bottle: Orange, but a really red orange. Maybe a hint of rose. Maybe a touch of clove. Perhaps a smidge of cinnamon.

Upon application: The orange sticks around, but is very soon overwhelmed by bold, sweet wonderful red musk. Hot damn! I loooove red musk.

After a few minutes: Womanly in the extreme. Red, red, red.

Conclusion: I've not tested this in public yet, but I can only imagine that with this much sexy musk floating around you, just about anything is possible.