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BPAL Madness!

cantabile

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Everything posted by cantabile

  1. cantabile

    L'Autunno Bath Oil

    Sage, myrrh, patchouli, molasses, sweetgrass, cedar, and cinnamon sugar. Wow, am I really first? I don't think that's ever happened, and it seems unlikely to happen again any time soon. Anyway. I just got out of a lovely baff with this stuff, and it's just as fantastic as its companions. Whereas the perfume smells more like "autumn revelry/festival" and the atmospheric spray smells more like "autumn leaves and woods," this has a "harvest" feel that's really appealing. It's pretty whoa-patchouli, so that's something to keep in mind. (I'm fine with patchouli, but I'm glad it was prominent in this rather than the other L'Autunno things.) The other major notes, to my nose, are the sage and another herbalish quality that I assume is the sweetgrass. The cinnamon sugar and the molasses add a nice sweetness that lingers in the background. I think I caught faint whiffs of the cedar and myrrh, but I'll have to try it again to be sure. I'm never used the BPTP bath oils before, and I'm happy with how silky this made the bath water feel and how soft my skin felt afterwards. It did leave a slight residue that built up in my cheap-ass razor when I tried to shave my legs, so I'd advise rinsing off in the shower first before shaving. I absolutely love this. I'm pleased as punch about every bit of this Inquisition. Now I'm off to go try applying the perfume over this. edit: Okay, I told myself I wouldn't forget it this time around, and what did I do? Translation for the text on the side, as provided by Wikipedia: Celebrates the peasant, with songs and dances, The pleasure of a bountiful harvest. And fired up by Bacchus' liquor, many end their revelry in sleep.
  2. cantabile

    Block Buster

    Frimpage from the Lab. In the imp: Very strong cinnamon, with a bit of sweetness and a faint medicinal edge. Wet on skin: The cinnamon takes over and screams for attention. Drydown: It fades back and the apple-y note others have mentioned comes out. Sadly, the whole thing smells artificial on me; Kejiaron's Yankee Candle issue is what happened to me too. After a couple of hours, it softens to something a little more natural with a slightly herbal undertone, but by then the scent is almost gone. Verdict: Does not work on me, but I'd like to try this as a room scent, especially since I think it could really help with my anxiety and motivation problems. It did seem to perk me up and get the gears in my head turning. (I love me some apple cider, too.)
  3. cantabile

    Glasgow

    In the imp: Foresty and herbal. Wet: Very strongly heather, green and floral. I smell rose, too. Drydown: It takes forever for the blackberry to show up, but it does eventually, giving the blend a slight sweetness. The first time I applied it, I thought it was going funky on me after about an hour, but I decided to risk a second try and it's held up okay. Verdict: It's nice, but not bowling me over.
  4. cantabile

    Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener

    This is exactly what I hoped for: a true root beer scent. Really good root beer. It's sharper and more herbal in the imp/when freshly applied; it gets sweeter and creamier on me as time goes on, but without losing the edge of the sassafras. It even smells effervescent. I'm not picking up any butter, which is good because that note always worries me. Completely awesome. This imp might not last long.
  5. cantabile

    Eat Me

    In the imp: Straight-up cake. As others have said, it's sweet in the way cake by itself would be, but not hyper-sweet and frosted. Wet: Same thing. Drydown: There are the currants! I was hoping they wouldn't get drowned out, since I really enjoy those notes. The vanilla is there too, albeit subtly. Verdict: Delicious. Sweet without being cloying. This one's a keeper, and I'm surprised it took me this long to try it.
  6. cantabile

    Baobhan Sith

    In the imp: grapefruit like whoa. I get some apple blossom too, more fruity than floral. Wet: mega-grapefruit. Drydown: The grapefruit fades quickly, as citrus is often wont to do. I get predominantly white tea from this, with a bit of apple blossom, though this time very floral rather than fruity. Unfortunately, the whole thing just kind of smells like soap on me. Nice soap, but soap nonetheless. Also, as others have said, the scent doesn't last long. Verdict: I don't think it's for me. I'll give it another shot because I feel like it's something I should like, but it's probably off to the swaps.
  7. cantabile

    Chaos Theory VI: Recursive Self-Similarity v7

    #286 here. In the bottle: HOLY CRAP BUTTER. Some vanilla and caramel to it, but mostly butter. Smells like kettle corn. Wet on skin: HOLY CRAP LEATHER. I have no idea what just happened. Drydown: Still mostly leather, but the vanilla is back and very warm and pretty. A bit of the butter from earlier, but not strongly so. Verdict: I don't know about this one. I'll have to sleep on it.
  8. cantabile

    Chaos Theory VI: Eris' Tilt-a-Whirl

    Bottle #110. Hail Eris. In the bottle: Pine and bubblegum. No, really. I don't know how else to describe it. Wet on skin: The pine takes over. It's a very green, cold scent, a lot like how I remember Snow Moon being (and I really liked Snow Moon), but with an added sweetness. Drydown: The sweet notes come forward and the pine fades to the background. There's something sugary, and I think I smell plum. Later on, I get something floral, but I'm having trouble identifying it. There's a little spice to it which makes me think it might be carnation. Verdict: Bizarre yet oddly appealing. I'll definitely wear this, as I have a soft spot for weird things and this has a lot of notes I enjoy.
  9. cantabile

    L'Autunno Atmospheric Spray

    *clears throat* A L'Autunno Atmospheric Spray haiku. Face in pillow: smells like a childhood frolic in fresh-raked autumn leaves. *bows and exits stage left* edit for future reference: The text on the side of the bottle is, unsurprisingly, from the "L'Autunno" sonnet associated with Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." (Thank you, Wikipedia! ) A translation for those who are curious: Everyone is made to forget their cares and to sing and dance By the air which is tempered with pleasure And (by) the season that invites so many, many Out of their sweetest slumber to fine enjoyment.
  10. cantabile

    L'Autunno

    L'Autunno is literally autumn in a bottle. There's no better way to describe it. In the bottle, it smells mostly of apple and fig with some patchouli creeping up around the edges. On me, it morphs into a wonderful, smoky spiced-fruit scent. I can smell a bit of the wood and the musk underneath it all, along with the patchouli, which (thank Eris!) doesn't overpower the scent the way it did for me in Samhain. For lack of a better description, I smell like a pie picnic around an autumn bonfire. And I love it. Autumn is my favorite season for a reason.
  11. cantabile

    What smells like Irish Spring Soap?

    Nice to meet you, Greensleeves! I'll toss my recommendation in for Leanan Sidhe (even though it's already been mentioned), which smells very much like Irish Spring on me. Thankfully, I love Irish Spring and the scent has good associations for me.
  12. cantabile

    Baklava!

    So, I guess the thread title is pretty self-explanatory. Lately I'm dying to smell like baklava, which isn't too surprising considering my love for all honey/nut scents. My beloved Dana O'Shee has those elements, obviously, but I do also strongly smell the milk and grain notes stated, which make it more of a grounded sweet scent. I want noticeably sweet and a little spicy, too. I have an imp of Queen of Sheba on the way, which I have high hopes for. Any other suggestions?
  13. cantabile

    Baklava!

    Thanks again for the help, guys. Bengal and Silk Road are going high on the list of GC imps to snag, and I'll have to see if I can hunt down Chanukkiyah and Wezwanie/Hold as well.
  14. cantabile

    Baklava!

    Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. Looks like I need to update my to-be-tried list. I think Dragon's Milk is already on there (if not, it should be), but I'm not sure I would have thought of most of the others. Sadly, O is no good on me, but the rest look rad, and I'm dying to try Chanukkiyah now, yum. What set was that from? I can't find it anywhere, and search turns up nothing.
  15. cantabile

    BPAL blends with Opium

    Languor is pretty opium-y. Wasn't my thing, personally, but I'd say it's definitely worth a shot.
  16. cantabile

    Grass and Hay scents

    Amsterdam smelled exactly like a freshly mown lawn on me, very crisp and green. It wasn't my thing, but if you like grass, I think you'll adore it.
  17. cantabile

    Lemon, Lemon, Lemony Goodness

    Phantasm is more lemon verbena than lemon lemon. I love it dearly, though, so I still recommend it, but it is a bit more grounded by the flowers and tea, and not quite so whoacitrus.
  18. cantabile

    Kitsune-Tsuki

    Kitsune-Tsuki is ten times the sexy, grab-life-by-the-balls plum/floral scent I wanted Suspiro to be. Seriously, I can pick out all the individual notes when I sniff, but that seems irrelevant. This perfume is just one great big awesome. The plum is strong and juicy, the orchid and jasmine are lovely, the white musk grounds it all and warms it, and I never even knew I liked daffodil. 5ml time? Oh, I do believe so.
  19. cantabile

    Alice

    Frimp from the lab. in vial: A little girl's cup of "tea", which is to say, warm milk and honey with just a splash of the "grown-up" stuff. just applied: Very soothing; almost makes me a bit drowsy. Maybe I'll fall down a rabbit hole. drying down: The carnation and rose are present, hovering in the background. I love the way the bergamot works in this blend, for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. dry: Curiouser and curiouser. The mental image of a tea party in a garden puts a smile on my face. Definitely very evocative of the story, and the character, it's inspired by. verdict: Getting around to reviewing this has made me want to go put some on. I think Alice will grow on me more and more as time passes.
  20. cantabile

    Blood

    Frimp from the lab~ And wow, is it red. It certainly lives up to its name in appearance, at least. in vial: Spicy, husky cherries. just applied: I like the cherry note in this a lot; it strikes me as being quite realistic. This is very, very spicy, but the myrrh warms it up some, which is nice. (also: it's even red on my skin!) drying down: OH MY GOD WHAT IS WITH ALL THIS CLOVE MY SKIN IS MAKING BABIES WITH IT dry: ...I never got that far. The clove proved to be too much for me. verdict: I really don't like clove much at all, but everything's worth trying once, right? If my skin hadn't amped the clove into the stratosphere, I imagine this scent would've been a keeper for me, since I loved the first moments it was on my skin, at least. Already swapped to a loving home.
  21. cantabile

    Brisingamen

    Brisingamen is a beautiful, warm ambery floral that I loved until I realized the headaches I was getting while trying it weren't a coincidence. I like amber, it hates me. You live, you learn, but that doesn't make it less disappointing. Also, I swapped to have two imps of this before realizing the horrible truth.
  22. cantabile

    Vice

    in vial: Orange blossom, dusted with cocoa (not so much chocolate to my nose at this point). just applied: It's like one of those elaborate, experimental chocolate desserts with flowers as an ingredient that you might find at a fancy restaurant. drying down: Ooh, there's the cherry. Delish. dry: The notes blend very harmoniously. It's sweet and foody, but the bit of sharp floral gives it a kick I really enjoy. I want to lick myself. verdict: The imp is a keeper for sure, but I'm afraid to buy a bottle, as I think it might propel me into frenzies of binge eating.
  23. cantabile

    O

    Oh man, did I want to love O. Honey + sex = . I was a bit wary of the vanilla, since I'm not super-fond of it and it tends to get amped on me, but that didn't stop me. in vial: Honey! Also, something sharp that I can't quite place. A bit of amber, and I think I almost smell the sex. just applied: mmm... sexy honey... drooooooool... drying down Whoops, here comes the vanillavanillavanilla. Along with a killer migraine. dry: OW MY HEAD. Suddenly, the headache I had while wearing Brisingamen (coincidentally, I thought) makes more sense. Since testing O, I've tried Fenris Wolf, and as I'm 0 for 3 in the head-not-hurting department, I've come to the tentative conclusion that I have some sort of sensitivity to amber. IT HATES ME AND WANTS ME TO SUFFER. verdict: A learning experience, yes, but not a happy one. Already swapped away, and I was still sad to see it go, though the whoavanilla probably would've been a dealbreaker anyway.
  24. cantabile

    Witty blends?

    I second Neo-Tokyo, and add my vote for Midway, if you can get your hands on some.
  25. cantabile

    Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

    O gave me the migraine from hell. Brisingamen and Fenris Wolf have also given me headaches, although to a lesser extent. I'm thinking it's the amber. :/
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