birdiefu

Wow, this wasn't what I was expecting- those are some minty mountains!! A ton of mint first on, but as it dries the mint mellows a bit. The mint is still the major note, but not overwhelming, and sweet berries are buried under the mint. There is a hint of pine in the background, and overall I do like this scent. It gives me the feeling of high, cold mountains in winter with red berries on a snow-covered tree.

It seemed very vetiver-like to me when first on. Dry it is almost metallic dragon's blood with some dry spices, along with a creamy, almost sweet note to it. Very nice scent .

Okay wow, the Order of the Dragon floral blends are amazing me! I was scared of Lucy, it looked packed full of flowers along with my dreaded jasmine. But I don't smell any jasmine at all (how did that happen??), this is mostly a creamy orange over a hint of florals (not really rose, it must be the iris and magnolia) with frankincense backing it up. Another wonderful blend for a person who calls herself anti-floral . Argh, my list of bottles to buy before the deadline is getting too big!

I mostly get rose from this, but a nice rose rathen than the usual rotten smell I get from it a lot. The rose is grounded by darker elements, and I love resins and musk! I can't really pick those out individually, but it really makes this rose beautiful. I usually don't like floral blends, but I think this is the first floral that I really like! It also stays true and doesn't go soapy or powdery on me- excellent blend!

Very dry, herby/woody. This smells *exactly* like when I bought huge amounts of roots, barks, and various herbs and after I mailed the box back to myself- this smell was in it! Makes me think of mandrake mostly. A very earthy scent.

Wow, super lemon!! The verbena takes over on me, though I can catch just a tiny bit of tea as well. Sadly, I'm not a big fan of lemon.

This is a nice blend- the dragon's blood isn't too sweet and the leather isn't too sharp. Together it's a wonderful spicey, smokey scent that in't too strong. Interestingly enough, my hubby thinks this smells just like hyacinth and loves it on me.

Antique Lace smells *exactly* as I expected it to! Softly sweet vanilla, powdery, with the florals so light you almost can't pick them out. The scent doesn't morph on me as it dries at all. It is a sophisticated perfume and while I can see the 'matronly' association, I think of it more as a scent that a young woman would have worn decades ago (making her old now...if that makes any difference). It's not exactly my style but it might get some wear at times, and I had to try it just because it's such a classic. My hubby sniffed it and first said 'ooooh, nice!', then followed up with, 'but sorta old ladyish'.

I really, really liked this scent when first applied. It is very sweet but not quite foody, with a hint of smoke. As it dries, it gets a little odd on me. The sweetness tones down and a touch of floral comes out under the smoke. The floral begins to turn into a long-dead flower and I think it may be rose as that often gets a decaying smell on me. Fully dry, the bit of sweetness mixes with the dead flower scent and smoke into something that isn't quite enjoyable to me. I do like the smell wet and might try aging this to see if the dead flowers go away.

In the bottle: Boozy sweetness Wet: Hmm, sweet and foody cake. Not quite what I was expecting. Dry: Cake with some light spices- cloves and a touch of cinnamon? Deep red wine is in the background and some sort of earthyness. Overall: Foodier than I usually like, but once it drys a lot it's not too bad. Right on my foody threshold and I might wear it once in a while. I'm dissapointed that I don't get any chocolate, though .

Wisteria is in the now-up lunar, White Moon.

Luperci is honeyed earth on me, yummy!

I was a little wary of Black Moon with the plethora of florals, but it's pretty nice! Wet- Dark, sad florals that aren't too overwhelming. I get a taste of a jasmine-esque flower, but not as sharp or overpowering as jasmine usually gets. Dry- The pear comes out and mingles with the flowers. The florals aren't very apparent and I wouldn't classify this as a predominantly floral blend at this point. There is some sort of supporting base below the fruit and florals which must be the musk and to my nose some smooth light resins. Overall- Very nice! I am pleasantly surprised by this blend as it is definitely wearable for me even though it has a lot of florals.

Wet- Very dark feel, with syrupy resins. The hit of patchouli is so different from the usual patchouli- smooth and ancient. Dry- Opoponax comes to the front- yum! The patchouli is still a major player, and there is a woodsy feel keeping the resins company. I get a boozy kick from this scent also, a mild smokey sweetness, also a slight spicyness here. This scent is so complex and wonderful, and there are other nuances to it that I can't quite describe. Overall- Super scent! Dark, languid, syrupy resin love

2006 Bottle- Smokey pumpkin Wet- Smoke on the air, boozy sweetness, and spices galore! Dry- The nutmeg, cloves, and allspice smells float over the scent of smokey woods. There is just the tiniest hint of apple if I concentrate, and the patchouli just gives it a little depth. Hint of booziness is still there- this is very Halloweenie! This is similar feel of Pumpkin Queen to me in that PQ is the holiday season spent indoors with cider and pumpkin pie, while Samhain is the outdoor equivalent. Makes me think of sitting around a bonfire in the woods with mulled wine. It also smells very similar to Devil's Night 05 minus a lot of the sweetness.

As I was trying to sniff from my Red Phoenix bottle, I accidently got too close and my nose smooshed on the rim. Twice. I'm usually not allergic or sensitive to anything, but about 15 minutes later I rubbed my nose and I guess some of the oil got onto the mucus membrane area and OUCH!! My poor nose was burning up inside and rinsing didn't help much. So I took some kleenex dipped in oil and 'washed' out my nose with that, which actually helped a good deal. So I guess the moral of this embarrasing story is that even for those who aren't allergic to anything, you should still be careful with the harsher oils in sensitive areas. And that carrier oil dilutes the oils better than water.

One I haven't seen mentioned yet is The High Priest Not To Be Described- Monastic incense, blood musk, black leather, cypress, pimento, white pepper, and Roman chamomile. I got cassia from this too, though it's not listed and on me it smelled like musky, spicy incense with a touch of leather. A couple other darker/musky spicy scents I ran across were Blood Moon, Red Phoenix, and Tintagel. Eclipse and Silk Road were mostly pure spice on me with no other grounding notes coming out. And you might want to try Blood Kiss- though it isn't mega spicy like some other blends, it's a musky, earthy, slightly sweet scent dusted with cloves.

Mmmm Lampades . I'll say first off that Hollywood Babylon is one of my top scents ever, so I was happy this was in the same vein. Wet, it's dark and tart cranberries over deep musk, very sensual. As it dries, very faint spices show up along with something earthy. The 'fake wax fruit' stage that all BPAL fruits do on me as they dry is thankfully short, leaving a beautifully blended dark and juicy scent. The musk here is fabulous, the berries not too sweet, and the earth and spice make this sex in a bottle. Throw some patchouli in and this would smell like MME Moriarty on me. Definitely a top scent in my book, but I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle as I still have a 10 ml of Hollywood Babylon to get through and these are very similar.

Trying Dana O'Shee reminds me why I need to read reviews before ordering scents. But at least I got this as a frimp before I ended up ordering it. Imp- Vague and light sweetness. Wet- Almonds? That's not in the description! Argh...almonds and milk. However, it is a very light almond and not too overwhelming, but the almond note is almost always sickly to me. Dry- I can smell the sweet grains now, but it's still mostly almonds and milk. Very faint scent with minimal throw. Overall- If the honey would replace the almonds I would really love this scent despite it being so light. I've been looking for something to come close to my beloved Milk Moon, alas this isn't it.

Wow, President B...I mean Azathoth (sorry- the blind, idiot god part confused me! ) is very unique. Bottle- Tangerine and saffron Wet- A second of tangerine, then HELLO vetiver!! Quite the dichotomy, but it oddly works. Dry- This quiets down quickly on me. The vetiver receeds and the saffron and cedar emerge. All of the notes mingle together in a dance of chaos and I never know which I will smell first when I go to sniff myself again. Overall- This scent does encompass dark and light and things in between. For some reason it is a comforting scent to me and really hits in the reptile brain area. I like each of these individual notes anyway, but I don't think this would work well with those who don't like vetiver as that note isn't as subtle as it could be in this blend.

This is an interesting light pink clear oil. Bottle- Smells a little smokey/spicey Wet- I smell smokey cassia, though cassia isn't a listed note. It's a very light scent even when wet. Dry- Spicey incense- I still get that cassia note, which I guess must be the pepper but it definitely has that cinnamon-like vibe to it. Deep bloody musk grounds this scent and there must be myrrh as part of the incense, too. There is a smack of leather, but it's very well-behaved and not sharp as leather often gets on me. I don't get any chamomile, but this scent is well-blended and it could be a supporting note on me. There is something that gives this a touch of sweetness in a dark way- dragon's blood? Overall- Very nice dark scent! The strength on my skin is light, but still has decent wafting ability. This smells like Tintagel's evil cousin .

My beloved honey, where are you? My experience with this scent is about the same as what slave1 wrote. Bottle: Feminine florals and light musk Wet: Predominantly light florals that have a soapy vibe. I'm guessing this is the osmanthus as I don't think I've smelled it before. Dry: Fades quickly! I get a very light and bright skin musk under the florals, and some very soft amber. Not really any spices, and I like 'eastern spices' . I'm also very sad that the honey doesn't come out for me, as I love BPAL's honey! Overall- a very pretty and feminine floral scent. The florals are very light and not headache-inducing (like jasmine and her friends) but very much there. Not really my style as I was hoping for more spices, sandalwood, and honey, but I could see someone else falling in love with this. Short length of wear and throw.

I loved All Saints, so I had to get this as it's buddy. I was a bit scared of the cake part, but hoped the incense would keep it from being too foody. In the bottle: Lightly sweet incense, a little on the foody side. Wet: Sugared roses with light resins. Dry: Soft and light incense. Some rose, but not overpoweringly floral, and there is a touch of amber and bit of sandalwood. There are some spices here that I can't quite put my finger on, but they are light and blend well into the incense. Lightly sugared currants add a bit of fruity sweetness, but this scent is still mostly incense. It is almost going powdery, but is still beautiful. I don't get any cakes (yay!). This is like All Saints lite- a softer and sweeter incense blend. Not a lot of throw but still very nice.

In the bottle: Very Jack-esque, which scared me as I run far away from Jack! Sweet, buttery pumpkin Wet: Initially sweet, buttery pumpkin but within 30 seconds that tones down and the other notes appear. A spicey, almost cidery note comes up which I think is a combo of the ginger, cardamom, orange/mandarin, and what I swear is a touch of cloves. With the pumpkiny note, this is pumpkin pie with a glass of hot cider. Dry: The pumpkin hangs out in the background, not in-your-face but not totally gone either. Delightfully spicey in a holiday sort of way- like drinking hot hard cider after a Thanksgiving feast with the smell of the pumpkin pie still wafting about the house. I didn't realize how much I would love Pumpkin Queen! It has foody elements, but is not a sweet foody that I usually dislike. This is the epitome of a Thanksgiving scent to me and very well blended!

Hmm, I guess I wasn't expecting Misk U to be a foody sweet scent. I was expecting dusty old tomes, oak, and coffee, but I guess the cream and sugar from the coffee is all that came out on me. Bottle: Sweet! Wet: Milk & Honey and very foody sweetness (like Cockaigne). Dry: Creamy, sweet, honeyed foodiness- cakey? No coffee, no oak, no old tomes. A lot of foody throw that is slightly sickening to me. This smells so not like I expected, that I'm wondering if I got a mislabeled imp (though I doubt it). I will have to compare this side-by-side with Cockaigne as it really makes me think of that scent.