moon_lemming

The Star is the card I always get in online tarot readings . . . I haven't done an actual reading for myself in a long time, so that's the only reference I have to go by, but it seems to vibe right for me. So I was pretty excited about trying this one out.

 

The first few minutes after I put it on, it's like a bright white and yellow and green scent, like pineapple and coconut and mint. A little too sweet, but it gets tamer as it dries. Dry, a little bit of a citrus kick -- lime, maybe -- hops on, and the mint fades back. It smells kind of like a piña colada . . . creamy but fruity and sweet and bright.

 

I like it a lot. It's more of a summer scent than a winter scent -- I'll see how much I like it in the summer before I buy a big bottle. But I think it's a pretty good rendition of The Star, and I'm definitely keeping the imp.

Thought I'd love it -- vanilla! Love! But it smells like straight-up incense once it's on, and my skin kicks up the wrong notes and gah, so bad. So, so bad. I had to wash it off. Goodbye, Snake Oil. I like incense-y smells when it comes to incense, just not as perfume. On me, anyway.

 

I'm going to give this one another chance, though, since my first imp was straight from the Lab, and I've heard Snake Oil gets better as it ages. I'll edit this review in a few months when I try it again.

Beautiful fruity scent that I couldn't quite place until I reread the description: definitely cranberries. It has a bit of a smoky scent, too, once it's on. I don't really like it on me -- it's a little too fruity for perfume, and the smoky bit bothers me a little bit -- but it would be gorgeous as a room scent.

Given my indecent love of 13, you'd think I'd want to have a gallon of Bliss. Pure chocolate. And it IS pure chocolate when I first put it on -- more like a rich cocoa powder than a chocolate bar -- but it turns after ten minutes into something awful. It reminds me of something, but I couldn't remember what it was until I saw a reviewer mention that Velvet turned to pencil shavings on her skin. Yeah, that's it, only a little bit rootier. It's just gross on me.

This is another one that keeps ghosting in on me, even when I'm not wearing it. I didn't really care about trying it -- really, linens? Not my thing. But the Lab included a frimp in my last order, and I tried it just for kicks, since everyone was excited when it came back. Dang, that's some good smelling stuff. At first, it didn't really wow me, although I loved it; it was a sweet white perfume, smelled kind of ghostly and a little grandmotherly. But it ages into this absolutely lickable creamy vanilla that makes me want to nibble my wrist. This is like the opposite of 13 for me, scent-wise. I ordered a 5ml immediately (ah, impulse buys).

I hate throwing in a purely negative review with no qualifiers, so I will say that I have very limited success with florals, making this no surprise: Sol smelled like horribleness on me. Seriously, this is why I avoid florals.

 

It's like a very warm, almost hot, floral, which makes sense, since it's Sol and all. I think it would be nice on someone whose body does not hate whatever notes are in this; it's just not for me.

Of course I had to get a couple of the "Demon in My View" scents, as a tribute to my Poe phase. I picked this one, even though the components didn't seem like my normal picks, mostly because of Macha's review, which made it sound like vanilla was one of the stand-out notes. I adore vanilla. So I tried it, and it is seriously one of the best florals I've ever worn. It's beautiful. I haven't been really concentrating on picking out notes lately, but this oil smelled warm and sunny, and fits the poem perfectly, as long as it's meant to be the glorious moment before disaster.

 

Actually, it's really creepy if you think about it that way. But god, what a gorgeous scent. I'm keeping it.

Reviewers kept calling "rum" on this one, so I was worried, because rum and my skin do not get along. I shouldn't have worried; I should have ordered a nice big bottle, because this is just warm sugary deliciousness on me. I'm going to try to find a few imps of this to fill my bottle at some point.

2005 version

Devil's Night SMELLS like a fall night. I tried it out so long ago that I can't remember many of the notes that stand out, but I do remember loving it and telling my husband that it smells like a fall night spent around a bonfire. It has a touch of apple on my skin, too. I'm keeping it, but I think I'll probly put it away until late summer/early fall.

 

2006 version

When I took out the 2005 version this year, I was saddened to find out that aging it had made it way too incense-y for my taste. The 2006 version actually seems to start out that way, oddly enough. Smoky and deep and rich -- it's not as light on me as the 2005 version was at first. It's actually too strong for me, but it smells so good that I almost don't mind.

 

Huge throw, too.

 

If it were just a little lighter, I'd probly nab a bottle, but the incense is a tad too heavy for me personally.

Snow Bunny is cute. I'm having a hard time describing it -- it starts out crisp and maybe a little green, and ends up smelling like a sweet perfume with a hint of berries. It's just . . . CUTE. I'm keeping it for those days when I feel like being, you know, cute.

(2005 version)

 

Combine the Snow White hype with the fact that my fairy-tale counterpart is Snow White, and you have a bottle that I'm willing to buy untested.

 

Wet, it smells creamy with a tiny green undertone. After it dries, I smell coconut (still creamy), and an edge that is EXACTLY the smell of snow and winter air. Yum. I'm not going to hoard many bottles of this one, but I'm definitely keeping the one I have now, and if it's out again next year, it will be my Christmas present to myself.

Lick It is the perfect candy cane scent wet and in the bottle: it's got that sweetness that keeps it from being pure peppermint -- sugary deliciousness. Once it dries, it turns into Antique Lace's candy-crunchy sister. Absolutely perfect, a vanilla with a minty edge. Love.

I came THIS CLOSE to buying a bottle without a preview sniff, because the Yule decant circle I'm in hasn't gotten here yet, and I would hate to miss out on something as glorious as everyone is finding Jacob's Ladder.

 

Luckily, someone on the alchemylab community sold me an imp, so I got to try it out and remember how much most florals hate me. It turned to detergent in minutes; luckily, it completely disappeared in about an hour. I think I'll stick with The Haunted Palace for my floral fix.

Awww, it smells so good at first, like strawberry gum with a creamy undertone, almost like I hoped Jailbait would smell. (Jailbait turned into detergent on me.)

 

But after about ten minutes it turns into plastic. Sniff. I love it so much in the imp and wet on my skin, but the goodness just doesn't last.

I bought an imp of this one just to see what it was like. I'll keep the imp, just for the novelty of the scent, but it's not a perfume scent on me. It's too foody! I didn't think there was such a thing, but there you have it. It starts out as a buttery graham cracker crust with a little buttercream thrown in, and turns into a Yankee Candle-fied version of vanilla frosting. A few hours later, it's a good, quiet vanilla, but I have enough yummy BPAL vanilla scents that don't have a Yankee Candle phase, so it's not a must have.

 

It is interesting, though. And I think it captures the campy side of Beaver Moon perfectly.

Oh my god. Okay, I can pick out some milky undertones, but I cannot pick out notes very well because I'm so blown away by this scent memory -- Chaste Moon, on me, is like BPAL's version of Sand & Sable, which was my fave perfume all through high school. I'm still fond of it, although I don't wear it anymore. Chaste Moon is less synthetic-smelling, though, and a lot softer, less brassy. It's freaking beautiful. I want a 5ml now, although I think this is one that's a little hard to come by.

 

My only problem is that it fades a little quickly -- after about an hour, it's almost gone. But its prettiness makes up for it, and it leaves a creamy floral shadow behind.

 

Really a beautiful perfume-ish blend. My favorite lunar blend so far.

In bottle: Berries and lemons. Or cherries and lemons. I know there's no lemon listed, so I think I may be misreading a floral combo as lemon. Either way, it's tangy and sweet, and I think I smell carnations underneath it all but I'm still pretty hopeless when it comes to picking out floral notes. There's some sort of floral there, though. And the musk is there, too. It definitely smells hectic and kind of like it's trying to cover up something.

 

Wet: It turns to baby powder moments after I apply it.

 

Dry: No matter how much time I give it to morph, it's staying in the baby powder stage. So I guess it's not really a stage, it's just the way my skin's disliking the scent. My skin likes to pretend to be rebellious.

 

Should it stay or should it go? No point in keeping this one. Luckily it was just an imp.

In bottle: Hmmm, it reminds me of dirt and soft perfume mixed together. I think I smell a tiny bit of ginger in the background. It's exactly right for a blend called Penny Dreadful.

 

Wet: It smells the same wet as it did in the bottle, only with more perfume and less dirt. It's morphing rather quickly, though.

 

Dry: In the first part of the dry stage (about fifteen minutes in), I can smell more ginger and a nibble of chocolate. The "dirt" smell keeps it all grounded. It's nice and spicy. I'm really enjoying it.

 

It becomes more perfume-y as time goes on, with the dirt taking the background. It seems to have stabilized after about forty-five minutes as a nice gingery perfume. Soft undertone of chocolate, tiny bit of dirt mixed in. Such a strange combination, but I think I love it. I don't have time today to let it age any further, but I don't think it will morph anymore, so I'll just grade it at this point. If, in the future, I find that long-term wear changes it, I'll edit this review.

 

Should it stay or should it go? STAY. And in the spring after all the holiday craziness has passed, I'll probably buy a 5ml. I don't love it as much as I love 13, but I do love it and all its strangeness.

In bottle: Wow, this is a hard one to describe. Fig (or what I think is fig) and citrus, and powdery and sharp at the same time. Maybe a little cocoa? It reminds me of something, an aftershave, I think, although I know that sounds bizarre. There are too many notes in here for my inexperienced nose. Freak Show leaves me feeling a little unsettled, honestly.

 

Wet: It's way too sharp on me wet. Tangy baby powder. I can wait it out, though, it's not unbearable, just strange.

 

Dry: About ten minutes in, the baby powder smell softens into a vanilla-tinged musk, and the pomegranate and lemon set up over it. There's a ghost of cocoa in the background, but it's not overtly chocolatey like 13.

 

My skin is eating this one up quickly. It's almost gone half an hour later. It smells sweet but sour -- not in a horrible way, just like a sour candy dipped in honey -- and powdery. It's okay, it's just not me. I LOVED it in the ten-minute to twenty-minute stage, but it's not working with my skin otherwise.

 

Should it stay or should it go? Freak Show deserves a more appreciative audience, I think.

Here's the short review: YESSSSS! This is the first BPAL oil that I've gone head-over-heels for (I've only tried five or six so far, so that's not saying a lot, but still). I am in love. Hee. And here's the long review:

In bottle:
Chocolate and oranges. Oranges dipped in a vat of chocolate. But the chocolate is strange . . . I think this might be the "white chocolate" scent a lot of reviewers mentioned.

Wet:
I love this wet. It still smells like citrusy white chocolate, but there's a floral note mixed in there, too. As it dries, it seems to be picking up more florals. It's weird but delicious.

Dry:
And I love it even better dry. It's a sweet floral (not obnoxiously so) coated in white chocolate. Generally, I can't pick out specific floral notes to save my life, so I'm no good there, but this is a very pretty scent. I think of the florals as small white flowers. I think I smell the white tea, too. It's another one for the "florals I'll actually wear without gagging" column. LOVE.

It only lasts about six hours on me, but that's what reapplying is for, right?

Should it stay or should it go?
13's a keeper (and one that both my nose and my skin like!), and I'm definitely on the prowl for more imps of it to decant into my partially full bottle (undecant?). Next Friday the 13th, which will arrive in January 2006, I'll be nabbing a 5ml if I have the cash.

In bottle:

I smell cherries and a bite of something familiar that I can't quite place. Maybe it's the honey? It smells a little like an old-timey candy. I should note that this oil is a dark reddish brown, so it needs to be rubbed in well or else it will probably stain.

 

Wet:

Gross. For the first few seconds after I rub it in, I smell like cherry-covered ass.

 

After a few minutes pass, it smells a lot better. The cherry smell calms down and it starts smelling more like its description. "Honeyed vanilla" is definitely accurate. And there's some warmth in the background that must be the dragon's blood. I like it, but it smells like it might give me a headache down the road. I'll give it a chance and let it dry before writing it off, though.

 

Dry:

After about two hours, it's a spicy honey/vanilla scent. The honey is a little stronger than the vanilla; I think if it were the other way around, it would be an instant hit on my skin instead of needing the drydown time before smelling decent. BUT. But it's still good, I like it a lot. Actually, this is kind of like what I was hoping Demeter's Hot Toddy fragrance would smell like (instead of smelling like new carpet on me), which is kind of weird. But good.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

I think this is one I'll keep for winter nights when I want to smell warm. I might buy an imp or two to fill the bottle (I have a partially full 5ml) if I see them around. Dragon's Milk definitely surprised me with its vanilla goodness. Oh, and it never fulfilled the headache prediction, so yay.

In bottle:

VIOLETS. I'm not very good at picking out notes yet, but for some reason (maybe because I read violets violets violets in the reviews, hehe) I recognize the floral in the mix as violets, although there's a clean, soapy scent that overpowers it a little. Numb smells like my grandma's perfume and handsoap. That sounds unpleasant, but I think it smells pretty good. It's a little strong, but that might be because I'm sniffing a vial full of it.

 

Wet:

Oh, yum. It's a clean sweet floral; there's still a broad stroke of soapiness, and it's a wee bit powdery, but not in a bad way.

 

Dry:

Dry, Numb smells fresh (and shampoo-y) with a faint floral undertone that is so clean that it's barely floral. It wouldn't be an everday perfume, but I can see myself using it when looking for something light and bright. Excellent as a summer scent or something to wear to church.

 

It fades a little too quickly but enough of it is left behind that I don't really mind.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

This baby is staying right here. And if I see a 5ml when I have cash, I might try to snatch it up to have around next summer.

In bottle:

First, can I say how much I was looking forward to this one? Sweet scents usually work well with my chemistry. This is why half of my bath and body items are the kind that are marketed toward teenagers. So I was very excited to find that, in the bottle, Jailbait smells EXACTLY like Bubble Yum. You know, that first juicy bite? The way that tastes is the way this smells. I can't really find the fruity notes or the perfume, just bubble gum.

 

Wet:

Detergent. I smell like powdered laundry detergent. All the bubble gum is gone, and what I guess is the "womanly perfume" has taken over and is way, way too strong. But it's wet, so I'm hoping it will soften up as it dries.

 

Dry:

Okay, I put this on in two spots: my wrist and the crook of my elbow. Dry, on my wrist it's just a strong flowery perfume with an undertone of laundry detergent. Near my elbow, though, it's the floral perfume scent with bubble gum underneath it. It's not horrible, it's just not my thing. I think maybe I didn't wash off all of the Elegba from last night's testing on my wrist and it's reacting weirdly in that spot, because it's not even tolerable there.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

If it had stayed smelling the way it did in the bottle, I'd keep it. I know the sweetness is not for everyone, but nine times out of ten it works for me. But the floral notes in Jailbait just don't like me.

In bottle:

Got a strong whiff of coconut as soon as I opened it, then that scent was devoured by the rum. Which is good and bad, because I love rummy scents, but they smell horrible on my skin. I think I can smell the sweet tang of the tobacco behind it all, too, although it's hard to tell if I'm just imagining it, because I'm new to picking out specific notes. But ANYWAY, overall the scent is deliciously butterscotchy in the bottle.

 

Wet:

Oh god, there's baby powder coating the back of my throat. Yerch. Baby powder and coconut. The coconut stays nice and sweet -- it reminds me of those neopolitan coconut bars you can find in candy stores -- but the baby powder is destroying all the goodness.

 

Dry:

Dry, it's not as throat-clogging, but it still smells (to me) like baby powder with a layer of sugary coconut underneath it, like I lathered up with sunscreen and then liberally dusted myself with powder. I'm pretty sure it's the "rum" scent reacting badly, since this has happened with most of the delicious butterscotchy rum scents that I've tried over the past few years. Which makes me sad because I love the buttery rum smell. This one smelled really good in the bottle, too.

 

I should note that my husband thought it smelled pretty good, so it might not be that bad. I'm glad he likes it, but I'm sure there are husband-approved scents out there that won't give me a headache. This one's going into the nay pile.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

GO. And there goes another "but it smelled so good in the bottle!"

In bottle:

Delicious; I could smell the pumpkin and spices right away, and a few seconds later the peach kicked in just a little. So good. Exactly the way I hoped it would smell.

 

Wet:

The spices stand out and the peach fades away. It smells a little like xmas potpourri without the pine, with a little sweetness thrown in. But the sweetness smells more like . . . apple, I think, than peach. It doesn't really work for me.

 

Dry:

After about an hour, the scent settles down, but it still smells a little too much like potpourri. It smells waxy, too. An hour after that, the pumpkin and clove are the only things left, and they're fading pretty fast. It's actually kind of nice; it smells warm without being new carpet-y. But I don't think my body chemistry really likes it too much.

 

Five hours or so later, it's only faintly there, but it smells like warm pumpkin. It's very subtle. I really like it, but I don't know if I like it enough to walk around smelling like Ingle's Nook for five hours.

 

Should it stay or should it go?

I'm not sure. I think I'll try it a couple more times, just because I like it so much in the bottle. Also, it's the only one I have in the house right now, so I have plenty of time to decide. Right now I'm leaning toward "go," though.

 

After the second trial: yeah, it's just not working. I might try it in an oil burner, though; I think it would be a good room scent.