Honor

Whilst I was just bemoaning I missed out on Crypt Queen, a kind forumite swapped me it. So here goes:

In Bottle/Wet: Is reminiscent of juicy, wet, "red" fruits... berries, and blood red juices, with a hint of earthy patchouli underneath. I couldn't help but make a comparasion to the fresh, wet red blood of life, but with the hint and promise of decay simmering underneath.

On Skin/Dry Down: The morphs down into a beautiful, but subtle "dusty" scent of musky dry woods, and dried florals. The florals are reminsicent of fall (to me, anyway) and it all blends together nicely, while each component still gets it's due.

Overall Effect: I agree with others that the throw is moderate at best, and despite the patchouli, seems to fade easily. Still, I am quickly becoming enamored with her. While some BPAL blends evoke imagery in me, others do nothing more then smell nice on me. Crypt Queen however quickly embraces one and captivates not only with her scent, but her meaning as well. Definitely will be using this for creativity purposes.

Am SO glad I was able to get a hold of her.

In the bottle, all I smell is cocoa vanilla. This is a good sign for me as sandalwood tends to go nuts on my skin. Not smelling it in the bottle means it may not be strong on me.

On skin: Still cocoa, but not so much a cocoa vanilla as just a smooth "milk chocolate" scent. Similar, but different. There's also a waft of sandalwood, which seems to be completely seperate from the chocolate. Hard to describe, but the two aren't blended at all, rather I get a waft of milk chocolate, and then a seperate scent of sandalwood. The sandalwood is threatening to become strong and pencil shaving like...but upon dry down it settles into the soft sandalwood smell that I adore, but can rarely get on my skin. This is the very first scent so far from BPAL w/ sandalwood in it, wherein it doesn't take over and smell like pencil shavings, or worse on me. I was always sad that for some reason BPALs sandalwood didn't like my skin, but finally something works.

Throughout the day I get sniffs of chocolate and soft sandalwood, again, the two don't seem to blend, but come seperately, complimenting each other. I was surprised also with the lasting power on this. The throw wasn't great (had to be close to me to smell it, and I couldnt' smell it unless I put my arm to my nose) but it was still evident to some degree on me after being on for 6 hours.

I'm sort of not supposed to be on the forums right now, due to time and energy constraints, but could not resist reviewing this today... since this 13 has turned out to be both lucky and unlucky, and the most magical of them all.

This was NOT supposed to work on me. Clove and Honey, in ANY amounts amp on me. Clove amps like mad, and honey turns into baby powder.... for that reason, I only got a decant... and now I am mournful, because for some reason, both clove and honey behaved themselves.

In Bottle: Fruity Wet Cocoa. YUM. I can get whiffs of the peach and starfruit, but can't tell whether the chocolate is white or milk.

On Skin: A drier cocoa smell, and more fruity. A hint of floral and spice (the ginger) comes through on occasion. There is a HINT of powder, which is undoubtedly from the honey. While I normally despise this powdery smell, it is morphed from it's usual form and subdued, so that not only can I stand it, I kind of like it.

Dry down: Same as before but more faint. I can tell this will not have a great lasting power or throw, but is average.

Overall: OMFG, I need a bottle.

This may or may not help, as it's a slightly different situation,

but whenever I go out to my "goth" club (which is rare nowadays) I usually wear either: Whip(w/ a touch extra of De Sade), Smut, Sin, or Dorian.

Probably b/c of the musk, but all of these scents smell great on me throughout the night, to the end, maintaining through smoke, (including clove smoke), sweat (and mine is quite acidic), leather, and whatever else the night throws at me.

I always get a multiude of compliments through the night, so even through the smoke, and stench of the crowd, the scent of these blends maintains, and doesn't morph.

The only thing I can think of is to mix something tropical (I love Xiuhtecuhtli!- it's very green and jungly, but with a nice fruity note) with a tiny bit of Misk U, but that sounds pretty disgusting. Maybe put them at different points- Xiuhtechutli on your wrists, and Misk U behind your knees, so you just get little whiffs?

I had this idea as well... perhaps misk U and Pele?

Oh maybe even Pele alone.

Minus the coffee note, Enraged Orangutang Musk (Forum Only LE unfortunetly) and/or [ele may have that green, tropical scent you want.

Perhaps, mixing one of those w/ Mata Hari? Which has a touch of coffee, but also florals - unlike Misk U, and will clash less w/ the other scents?

Also, based on the description, I for one would LOVE to see this place have it's own scent in Wanderlust. Perhaps you should put it in the suggestions thread as well

got this as a frimp from the lab and hadn't even looked up the description until after I wore it...

In bottle: Sharp but sweet florals. I've smelled lilies once and this is similar to what I remember.

On skin: Soft, feminine, powdery warm floral scent.

Dry: Same. Little morphing. Throw is medium

Objectively, it is a pretty scent, and I usually intensely dislike powder-y scents. I didn't realize there was honey in this, and that is a major deal-breaker for me. Always, always, always turns to powder on me. But while it's not a scent for me personally, I can see how others would love it.

Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I now feel equipped to venture into the foodier side of BPAL, and actually made a modest GC order today, which included some recommended items. If this goes horribly wrong, I know who to blame.

 

However, I get the feeling I'm going to find a lot of new goodies to love. I always do.

 

Thanks again!

But now I want to know what you ordered!

I can't believe I've never reviewed this before as it's one of my favorites, but it's so complex, it's hard to describe.

In Bottle: Red. Musk. Mostly this, w/ what I think is amber coming through and an overall "Spicey" smell, but nothing discernible.

On Skin: I've heard others say there's patchouli in this, but I'm not smelling any (thankfully,as it amps on me)

Again, strongly red musk, but with a creamy, warm quality to it...saffron definitely comes through, as well as cinnamon and again, a plethora of spices that I can't name but are just, "spice"

Dry: Warm, creamy spicey musk. Pure and simple, but not. This is so complex I can't pick out individual notes, but it smells DIVINE. Whenever I wear this, I get looks from boys...no matter what I look like.

In response to Extispex

Dorian. DorianDorianDorianDorian. Most. Beautiful. Scent. EVER. or maybe that's just me

Seriously though, the musk and tea tamp down the vanilla sugar, so it's a complex, musky warm sugar scent that's not really "sugar cookie" to me, but absolutely warm and gorgeous.

Also, one of the "13" blends..although they smell like orange chocolate shortbread in the bottle, it turns out to be creamy vanilla orange on my skin.

When I want to smell "Sweet" I'm a big fan of scents with fig in them... Eden is an especial favorite of mine... a touch of creamy coconut, warm fig and a bit of greeness. Maybe not "foody" but sweet, w/out being "bakery fresh" I see you mentioned fig as well, so I say definitely try Eden.

I'll also second Tezcatlipoca , but that's based solely on the description. Haven't tried it myself yet (though I want to)

Hey, I have a sexy-scent question.

I've noticed that a lot of the blends that people consider sexy include and in fact draw their general sexiness from notes that I don't like, like dragon's blood, patchouli, or amber. So... are there notes besides these that people consider sexy? Are there sexy blends that don't include any of them?

Others may have said this but *Musk*. Musk is the ESSENCE of sexy, in my book. (andon a biological level, it really is) Others have mentioned Dorian and I'll back that up.

There are so many musks too,....red, white, black, skin... that you should find one that suits you. I'd try a few scents with musk in them.

In imp/wet: Slightly spicey, sharp and slightly sweet. It induced an instant sinus headache

On Skin wet: Still sharp with more sweetness, and a muted floral quality. I swear there's still a hint of spice (I'm so weird)

On Skin dry: Still sweet and the generic "floral" that was present wet, has become ZOMG!Honeysuckle! and I hate it. There's a hint of muskyness that might save it, but the honeysuckle overpowers, and there's a touch of powdery-ness to it. The "spice" note I was getting is gone.

Throw: Low/Moderate. After about hour, I could catch whiffs of it occasionally, but otherwise had to be close to where I applied it to smell.

Overall: I can see how others may like this (really!) but it's more head-ache inducing for me.

Bottle: Bubblegum (??) I'm so weird. I figured this would smell alot like Lut Ex Fuit, but all I'm getting is fruity bubblegum. And no citrus whatsoever

Wet: More fruity bubblegum with cherry and a hint of orange. Not getting the "warm" feeling I get from Et Lux.

Dry: Less bubblegum, and more just general fruity, with a hint of herbs/greens behind it. Sweet, fruity, and pretty overall. I just wish I could pick out individual notes better.

In Bottle: Strong mint and slightly aquatic w/ a hint of sweetness, maybe vanilla?

On skin wet: A wintergreen mint, not peppermint... with a touch of herbal "green", more minty/herbal then mint/aquatic now and definetly a touch of vanilla.

Dry: Muted wintergreen and herbs, with vanilla. Not much morphing on this one. I like it, surprisingly. Maybe not enough to wear often, but every now and then in winter

In Bottle: Strong, Minty, slightly smoky and a hint of...licorice? I'm strange, I know

On skin wet: Still minty, but less so. The smoky smell gets stronger, and there's something else that I can't identify but stings the nose a bit.

Drydown: It's softened a bit on drydown, and there's a powdery sweet mint quality to it, but still a strong, smoky, and -to me-some what unpleasant quality hanging about it, that my nose isn't digging.

Overall: true to life, I think! And interesting scent, and I'm glad I got to smell it, but def. not for me I think

BPAL and electronics:

So I know this is primarily an "allergy/body reaction" thread, but I was given the OK to post this here as it's still technically a reaction. That said...

Has anyone had the following (or anything similar) happen?...

I was testing some new imps out at my computer desk, so I could write down my notes and do the reviews right there. I'm really bad about doing reviews and wanted to get better so I thought testing my imps at the computer would help insure I do the review right there.

While opening one of the imps, a few tiny drops/spray of oil gets on the keys. Nothing big..like itty bitty pin dots on a few keys. I'm not concerned about it, I sniff the oil, get a few thoughts in my head and type my review. Afterwards, I still see the tiny bubbles and go to wipe them off...only to realize that bubbles, where the oil *was* are raised bubbles of keyboard plastic. It was similar to a blister but...plastic. But I still think that CAN'T be true so I physically wipe it, to have the plastic actually come off.

So the long and short of it is: a few accidental splatters/drops of a BPAL oil, gave my *keyboard* "blisters" and caused the plastic to melt/come off

(I bolded that so folks could find my point among my ramblings. I'm not very good at being succinct)

Has anyone has anything like this happen??

I didn't even think such a thing was possible because this stuff goes on your *skin*...but I guess plastics like essential oils alot less then human tissues do.

I'm kind of annoyed(in general) because I LOVE this keyboard and it was quite expensive. They don't make it anymore, so I'd have to get a new one from ebay or settle for something else I don't quite like. I'm not going to get a new one now, or even soon...but I'm worried this will cause the deterioration of the keys to happen much faster.

Of course, now my keyboard smells good.

In interesting blend

Bottle: The thick sweet smell of what must be caramel and the musk, but with a bit of aquatic grassiness (perhaps the cypress, vetiver andmoss?)

On Skin(wet): The sticky sweetness of caramel has reduced, but is still present, but all the mossy/grassy notes are coming through stronger, in what is amount to a very strange, conflicted smell. Sometimes I get sweetness, sometimes I get a whiff of aquatic grassiness.

Dry: Similar to wet, but the caramel is all but gone (I get occassional sniffs of it though), the lime has made a small presence, and there's an herbal smell to it but overall it's more aquatic and "clean".

Overall, a deceptive blend! Both sweet, but clean, earthy and aquatic. I'm not very good at picking out notes, so this is the best description I could give. But, like many of Beths scents, all the individual notes blend into something that is all together more then the sum of the individual notes and not definable by any single one of them.

I got this despite there not being any notes I'm in love with...because it's my sign and I can be very quintessential Aries, and was maybe hoping it would work out anyway.

Bottle: Honeysuckle and Dragons Blood mingling into something my nose really isn't digging. Can't describe it any better then that...it's a peculiar smell that I can't place.

On Skin: Pepper comes out a bit and the honey suckle dries down. The DB comes out more and there's a plastic-y sweetness to present, which I have to wonder if it's the oppopanax.

Dry/Overall: Once fully dry, all other notes except that plastic sweetness, with a touch of the ginger.

Not really my cup of tea, which makes me sad. Off to swap this.

Nothing I can add that hasn't been said. This seems to be a very "true" scent, with little changing due to skin chemistry, as it smells pretty much like all the reviews here so far.

In bottle: Definetly boozy, with an aquatic herbal quality too it, and a touch of something citrus

On Skin: The herbal quality comes out strongly and gathers the juniper smell everyone talks about. I can swear it smells like alcohol too, but not in a bad way...or it could be my imagination. The citrus kick I was getting in the bottle is gone though.

Overall/Dry: Herbal, Piney(Juniper) Aquatic. A strange smell, but addicting to me. I keep sniffing the spot I dabbed it on, although I don't know if would wear it often. Definetly keeping the imp, but not getting a bottle.

I was excited to wear this after smelling it in the bottle, and being in a hurry didn't test it on my skin before throwing alot on me and running out the door.

Ooops.

In Bottle: Sweet and floral, with a fruity undertone. Maybe a touch of wood here, but light. Overall really pretty.

On skin: sweet at first, and then.... #$%@! Sandalwood?? There wasn't supposed to be sandalwood in this. *looks* Cedar.

Sandalwood and cedar (although, more sandalwood then anything) do the following to me:

In the wet, drying down stage I *swear* I smell of BO and cheap head-shop incense. As it dries down more, the BO stink is gone, but the woodsy head shop incense remains. When it's finally dry, all you really smell is incense-y wood, almost like pencil shavings on me.

No one else smells the BO type smell that I do (thank god) but it's unpleasant to me.

In the end, the sandalwood amps and takes over every single note and that's all I smell like all day.

I thought only sandalwood did this to me, but there's none listed, and cedar doesn't like me either, so it must be that.

So if you're like me and sandalwood/cedar amp up on you, this may be a no go.

Disappointed, but not all hope is lost. Will let this age and try an alcohol based spray to see if that helps bring out other notes.

ETA: Nope. Same result.

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody

 

I ordered 2 imp packs, including some "Dark" scents such as Centzon Totochtin and Burial. Mainly I just wanted to know for future reference, since I enjoy writing short horror stories and whatnot.

 

Sloth sounds interesting.. Some of the reviews mentioned it smelling like a musty basement, and oddly enough that appeals to me.

 

Someone mentioned Niflheim.. Yeah, it doesn't seem dark per se (due to the florals/reviews) but the name of it alone is enough to make me buy it. Especially since one of my favorite songs by Therion is called Niflheim, and I love norse mythology.

 

Ok, I'm finished rambling.

I can't help the hijack, even if it gets me in trouble.

(Although I was attracted to this thread because I too am looking for some "dark" scents for writing and just evil moods)

Therion? *perk*

[/hijack]

just an idea, (since I'm not as familiar with those scents mentioned) you could try doing a search on the BPAL site (use advanced search) with some of the notes listed...maybe one each from the bottom, middle and top lists...and see what comes up...trying different combinations

for example if I put in Bergamont, (White) Rose, Amber, Sandalwood and Vanilla (ok I cheated with the last three, but they seem paramount to the scent) I don't get anything... but searching for amber sandalwood and vanilla (in the format: +amber +sandalwood +vanilla) yields two results: Tamora and Khajuraho .

So play with the search function and see what you get.

Good luck!

I thought the Hocus Pocus and Abracadabra were two different scents from party lite?

OK now I'm seriously excited!!! Thanks all of ya! Erm, this click n ship thing, does it appear in your private messages? Or have I got that wrong....

 

Roll on payday! Hurry hurry hurry!

Click and ships are sent to the email address you entered when you paid.

Since this forum is technically independent of the lab, any information regarding your order won't be sent to your forum account, but whatever email address you supply the lab with when you order/enquire.

in bottle:

chocolate orange shortbread cookies. This is not a bad thing.

on skin:

immediately:

creamier orange, more like orange vanilla with chocolate...

after 5 mins on skin:

still creamy orange vanilla with another note emerging I think the sandalwood and lavendar and some other scents behind it my nose is not sophisticated enough to detect

now it's creamy vanilla sandalwood with touches of orange, and a warm, musky smell that I can't exactly place behind it all...but it's absolutly LOVERLY. *grin*

I am SO very sorry I only got a decant of this. And for those who wonder, it is different (to me anyway) from last years 13.

ditto on the "Vicomte" /Drakaar thing. My dad used to wear Drakaar (which kind of freaks me out because I really love that scent, and fell in love *before* dad started wearing it, so no freudian funny business here!)

and when I had him smell Vicomte, the first words out of his mouth were "Smells like Drakaar". In fact, I gave him my imp of Vicomte cause my boy ain't gonna wear it.

When fall's over I'm putting my yankee MidSummer Night's dream tarts out.