PeshaRocha

This is a lovely scent, but not what I was expecting. To me, it smells like a white floral with some sharp notes thrown in. Beautiful, but more of a tropical garden than lightning or marine notes. What I really wanted was the ozone and marine notes, so I was disappointed. However, I found exactly what I wanted in Tempest --its description doesn't say anything about marine notes, but that's exactly what it smells like to me. On me, Lightning is a beautiful white floral with a bit of tang to round it out, so if that's what you're looking for, try this.

I've been trying to find my perfect fuity floral, but this one isn't it. It's wonderful in the bottle and wet, but on drydown, my skin absorbs all the blackberry scent and leaves just the heather. It's a nice floral, which reminds me of roses. It doesn't smell like a rose, but it has the same dry, powdery quality that many rose scents have. I envy those who continue to smell the blackberry when they wear this scent, but on me, it's just another nice floral, nothing outstanding.

In the bottle -- Juicy and tangy fruit, light rose On me -- All of the pomegranate juiciness and tang disappear completely on me, leaving only the scent of rose. I like rose, but I wanted the scent I smelled in the bottle, which is gorgeous and perfectly balanced. Apparently my skin absorbs all the pomegranate and leaves none to be scented, very selfish of it. If your skin leaves the pomegranate scent to do it's thing, this would be a fabulous scent for you, nicely balanced, not too sweet or powdery, just right.

Wow! Perfect! I have a lovely piece of sea shell that I polished and use as a pendant. It's a memento of the wonderous day I spent at the beach in Delaware when there was a whole slew of dolphins playing in the surf not 10 yards off shore. Even after polishing it, my shell smells like that day at the ocean beach, but the scent is now very faint. I've been trying forever to find a perfume with that exact scent, and finally I have. Hallelujah! Tempest smells exactly, 100% like my sea shell -- fresh, tangy, salty, warm, inviting, nostalgic. I absolutely love it! And I do not smell any of the flower, laundry, or citrus notes that others have mentioned, just the smell of a refreshing day at the ocean. The rain connection does make sense to me though, because I hate hot weather and avoid beaches in the summer. I love beaches in spring and fall, when the weather is often cloudy and cool. Tempest is not a baking-in-the-sun scent, thank goodness! Very clean and refreshing. I have an imp of this, so the only question is whether I'm going to buy a 5ml or a 10ml of Tempest. I give this scent a perfect 10!

I love this scent! Of all the BPAL oils I've tried so far, this is my favorite. It is warm, comforting, and nourishing, sweet without being cloying or sickening as some of Beth's sweet oils seem to me. Definitely foody but also a little bit sharp, perhaps the lunar oils. I myself don't smell the peppermint that others have mentioned, although I wouldn't be shocked if this contains a spice of some sort, such as cinnamon or cardamom. I hadn't noticed any coconut, until I read others' reviews: yes, it is there, but it doesn't obtrude. On me, this starts with strong throw for about half an hour, reduces to medium throw for the next two hours, and then fades to light throw. However, if I get my wrists anywhere near my face, I can still spell this after almost 24 hours (haven't taken my morning shower yet). Altogether lovely, a truly wonderful scent.

Wet -- Over-ripe fruit and sweet flowers, rather overpowering. This reminds me of being a little girl, when I had a "make your own perfume blends" kit for kids. No matter which scents you mixed together, it always smelled exactly like this! Even as a kid, I thought it was too sweet and slightly sickening. Drydown -- Whew, what a relief! The sickly sweet part tempers down, but is still too much for me, with a strong throw. After 15 minutes -- It's quite lovely now; slightly fruity, quietly floral, a touch powdery. Amazingly, after that little-kid start, it becomes rather sophisticated. This isn't my perfect scent, but I'm very happy with it now. You just have to endure that first 10-15 minutes until it reaches adulthood! Oddly, after being overpoweringly strong to start with, it fades pretty quickly down to barely perceptible, but somehow comforting.

A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters. Another amazing scent, so well balanced. To me, it smells too civilized and smooth to represent Cthulu, but/because it is lovely. It doesn't seem wet to me, more airy, sharp, and flowery, but not too sweet. I agree that it is gender neutral. Sadly, however, I'm allergic to one of the oils in it and can't stop sneezing. *sigh* I'd best go wash this off now. But if you don't have a million silly alleriges like me, you should try this one.

... He is a Hermetic Magician's hero for the ages, and his scent is an elegant, timeless, truly refined cologne, bold yet classic: gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses. Wow, this is an amazing scent! It is comforting and yet provocative, like a warm, strong, intelligent man who also has a hidden undertow of wildness. Not earthy enough to be Heathcliff, more like Wesley Windham-Price after he was tricked into kidnapping baby Connor and got involved with Lila. That said, I find it too masculine to wear myself, although I do wear some other men's scents. And unfortunately, my hubby refuses to wear scents at all. But if you wear masculine scents or have a honey who does, you have to try this!

Oddly, this smells not the least bit angry, hot, or spicey on me. Instead, it smells like an icky-sweet mixture of cheap bubblegum and too-flowery soap: not a felicitous combo. I'm guessing that the sticky sweetness is the dragon's blood, and the "artificial flavor" uckiness may arise from the pepper. I can't detect any cinnamon or clove, which is a shame. I've never tried dragon's blood before, and if this is an example of what it does, I definitely don't get along well with it. I was hoping for dry and spicy, but all I'm getting is chemical, soap, powder, and way-too-sweet. It's odd that I hate the sweetness in this so much, because I usually like sweet food or fruit scents, but this doesn't even approximate food, fruit, or anything desirable to me. This is definitely going back into the swap pile.

Thank you for your wonderful replies! I'll just be persistent, then, and keep careful track as you suggested. I've found in the past that with a scent I like and have only a mild allergy to, I do fine if I put the fragrance on my clothing and away from my face. But when I have a strong reaction, even that is too much. I decided to try Gluttony as a room fragrance, because I like it as a faint whiff and am not too allergic to it, just a bit. I put a drop or two on a cotton ball and left it near my computer. That worked pretty well, although I did start sneezing eventually. Next time, I'll try putting it farther away from me. I ordered Ginger Poppet and Sugar Cookie since I posted before. I've had pretty good luck with "bakery" smells in the past with other products, and I like them. Thanks again for your help.

I always get a soapy or metallic taste in my mouth when I breathe in scents I'm allergic to. It happens even faster than I start sneezing, itching, swelling, etc., so when that happens I immediately wash off or walk away from the offending scent. (You should see me run past the laundry aisle at the supermarket while holding my breath--those fabric dryer scents do me in!)

I am new to BPAL and am awaiting my first order from the lab, but I got some imps and 5 mls through eBay: Gluttony, Nosferatu, Venus, New Orleans, Incantation, and Depraved. I had a strong allergic reaction to all of them! For some of them, I didn't even have to open the bottle before I started sneezing, burning, itching, getting a soapy taste in my mouth,and swelling in my sinuses and throat. And that's despite the fact that I always take antihistamine every day (and also nasal spray). I know I'm allergic to many fragrances, so I ordered tons of imps in hopes that I can find at least one that I both like and am not allergic to. But now that I've reacted so badly to the varied, albeit small, selection I now have, I'm scared that I won't be able to use any of BPAL's scents. What a waste of a couple of hundred dollars that would be! I expect to get contact dermatitis from many oils, too, but I can work around that. Unfortunately, I can't avoid breathing! Has anyone else managed to find a usable BPAL scent after having allergic reactions to a whole passel of 'em? I think some of my allergies are resins, some flowers, some spices, some woods, and some musks. But some flowers and spices are fine, and so far, I think fruits are okay.

I love florals and had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, on me it turns to almost pure violet and has just taught me that I'm allergic to violets! Sneezing up a storm, even after washing my wrist three times. So sad, as I love roses and muguet, chamomile, geranium, and lily.

My very first BPAL! I love foody scents, especially vanilla, chocolate, and spices, so I thought I'd be enraptured by this. But oddly, I can't smell the vanilla or chocolate. In fact, it almost doesn't smell foody at all to me. It's like walking into a smoke-filled coffeehouse where someone let a pot of nut-flavored coffee get burnt and where someone else spilled a jug of spoiled molasses on the floor. Strong, smoky, bitter and too-too sweet, all at the same time. And yet... I can't stop sniffing it! Very addicting, somehow. Oh, and contrary to what others have experienced, this makes me NOT want to eat -- fragrance-induced anorexia?! And sadly, it's now making me sneeze (in addition to making my teeth hurt). I think I'll give it a try as a room fragrance, and see how that does. It's very strange how it both pulls me in and puts me off. I guess that's sin for you!