hypatia

Penitence smells like incense, first and foremost. I could swear there's a bit of leather and a bit of cedar in there somewhere, but maybe frankincense turns into wood/leather on me. It has quite a bit of throw, and lasts for a good long while. I'm not really sold on it, but it's kind of nice in an incense-y way.

I like vetiver, but the Lab's vetiver is sometimes too strong for my chemistry, and makes me smell like scorched earth. Countenance is strong dark vetiver with patchouli around the edges, and for the first 15 minutes or so it's kind of scary. Then it settles down into something less grim and more "tall, dark, and sinister": vetiver with its harsh edges toned down by the blood orange, which is bright and cheerful in contrast with the other notes. I can't really detect the ylang ylang, and the patchouli is very subtle compared to some of the more patchouli-heavy scents I've tried. Overall impression: Yay! A vetiver I can actually wear!

My first sniff of October reminded me very much of Oborot -- there's a strange, sweet, herbal/medicinal note that I think they both share. Oborot didn't really work out for me, so I was initially nervous that October would turn out to be just like it. But October is one of those morphing scents. After the initial impression of thick green plant sap and the Oborot-esque note, the next thing to come out is a kind of cologne-y "fresh" note. I think that's supposed to be the cold air. Ozone scents don't always smell like ozone on me, and this one is no exception; I get the cologne effect that lots of other people have gotten. But there's a little bit of smoke as well, almost like the candle smoke note in Gypsy Queen, and the sap scent doesn't go away when the ozone comes out. It fades, but it doesn't disappear right away, and the drydown is the best part: ozone in the background, and warm dry sweet-smelling leaves in the foreground. It really does smell remarkably like the piles of fallen leaves I used to jump in as a child. Verdict: Glad I ordered it! I think I've found my "fall" scent.

I think Dana O'Shee has finally broken down the last of my resistance to foody scents. It's straight-up milk and honey (with some almond popping up while it first dries down), but it manages not to smell cloying or heavy. Instead, it's very light and subtle, and wears close to the skin. I don't think I've ever sniffed Lush's Snowcake, but what this reminds me of is Burt's Bees Milk & Honey lotion. Only less heavily sweet. It's really nice -- just the thing to wear when one needs calming down.

At first, I could have sworn there was a citrus note in Kumiho. Then I realized that what I thought was lemon or lemongrass was really just the white tea. This is a very light, clean-smelling blend; the tea note is clearer and milder than the Lab's black-tea note, and the ginger is more subdued than it is in some of the other gingery blends like Shub-Niggurath or Vixen. Those smell foody on me, but Kumiho doesn't. It's very pleasant and summery, but alas, it doesn't last very long at all; it fades away after a few hours. I still like it quite a bit, though.

I got this as a frimp, and tried it on before I knew what was in it. My first impression was "Oh, this is a lot like Lust, but with some roses or something on top of the red musk." Turned out my nose was right on-target. Spellbound dries down to mostly red musk on me; the roses don't seem to last too long. It's not one of my favorites, but there's still something quintessentially BPAL-ish about it, something that would make it very hard for me (at least) to confuse it with a perfume from any other source. Probably it's the musk, which I associate so strongly with a bunch of the Lab's scents. Pleasant, seductive, and sweet -- I'll keep the imp for when I want to feel all femme-y.

I wanted to order this one as soon as I saw the mention of the Orkneys in the description (I've never been there, but they're high on the list of Places I Want to See), and I'm so glad I did. This is one of the best green/aquatic Lab scents I've tried yet. I got the same slightly fruity, sweet, green, juicy note everyone else did at first. Then, after a little while, the aquatic/ozone note came out. I was a bit worried, because it smelled like the ozone note in Lightning, which didn't work on me at all -- but then it receded into the background and I ended up with light greenery, faintly sweet, with a hint of seaweed and salt water underneath. It's a bit like Pool of Tears, only with green grasses instead of florals. It somehow manages to be both warm and cool simultaneously. What a great blend for this time of year!

This is floral like whoa. My skin seems to amplify the florals. I definitely get violets from it, but I could have sworn there was rose in there as well, or maybe orchid. I'm not that much of a floral person, but Queen Gertrude is very pretty. It reminded me a little bit of Lush's Bathos bubble bath (violet and rose), so much so that I tried pouring part of my imp in the tub. It made for a splendidly girly violet-scented bath!

I love Thomas Hardy's poems, so I had to try this one. In the bottle it smells very violet; just on, there are violets and a strong, sweet note -- almost an artificial-sweetener kind of sweet (with a lurking almost-bitterness underneath it). The first time I tried it, I put on a little too much, and found the sweetness rather off-putting. It died down after a while, but I was worried this blend and I wouldn't get along. But when I apply it more sparingly, it's easier to tell the notes apart, and there's that fascinating slushy note, almost minty (as others have said), under and around the florals. It makes the violet and orris more interesting. At the end of the day, what's left is a creamy amber with a few hints of the florals and the slightest aquatic edge to it. Turns out the Darkling Thrush and I get along just fine, after all. I also tried a few drops of it in a bath, and it was fantastic -- it made the water smell somehow more watery, with a lovely faint hint of violets.

Right out of the bottle: Gingerbread! Warm gingerbread made with molasses. Wow, you wouldn't think this was a Lovecraft scent; it's so domestic. (The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young bakes cookies? Who knew?) Half an hour to an hour later: oh, there's the resin. I think I'm getting a bit of cardamom or clove, too. A couple of hours later: it's faded down to ginger-and-resin, darker than before, but getting very faint. Verdict: Nice! It doesn't seem to have much staying power on me, but I suspect it would make a good combination with something else.

I've never smelled Lush's Icon fragrance, but Masquerade definitely reminds me of Karma -- it almost smells like Karma's twin. I grabbed my Karma shampoo bar out of the shower to compare, and decided that Masquerade is a bit less "perfumey" and more straight-up orange and patchouli. But the earthiness and the sweet citrus quality of Karma are definitely there. Very nice -- it's a citrus scent that's not too fresh or aquatic, which, I'm starting to realize, is what I look for in a citrus scent.

In the bottle: Hello, eucalyptus! Just on: Eucalyptus and evergreens (I can't tell the cypress and juniper apart). After a while: The cool evergreen notes start to warm up, and something ginger-y comes out. I think it's the galangal, which (Wikipedia tells me) is related to ginger but tastes more earthy and piney. The warmer spicier note changes the whole blend; I like the forest greens, but I like this stage even better. It's as if the wolf came in from outdoors and curled up in front of the hearth. Eventually: Mellow woods with whiffs of evergreen in the background. This is perfect on me: cool and atmospheric and refreshing to start with, then almost edible when the galangal (?) takes over, and finally a nice subtle woodsy scent. It would be even more perfect if my skin didn't completely swallow it up after a few hours, but still, I may get a big bottle. So far I've loved Fenris Wolf, Luperci, and now Loup Garou. I'm really digging the Lab's werewolf blends so far. Aroo!

I like a good martini. But apparently I don't like to smell like one, because Twenty-One is one of only a very few BPALs I've had to scrub off my wrist. On me, it turns into something that smells like tonic water (or maybe I'm thinking that because of the gin and tonic associations) with a sickly-sweet lemon note on top of it. I left it on for about half an hour, hoping it would morph, but eventually I gave in and washed it off because I couldn't take it anymore. I wish I got the juniper note that other people get! Oh well. There are still plenty of other juniper blends to try.

Carceri d'Invenzione was my very first Salon scent. I had to order it when I saw the name (I love those Piranesi engravings) and the description (I also love the sandalwood-and-spice blends). On me it's really, really light, with very little throw. I've been experimenting with wearing it to work because it's so subtle, and therefore unlikely to make any coworkers sneeze or raise their eyebrows, even if I slather it on. But I have to stick my nose right onto my wrist to smell it. I don't get any one single note from it until the end, when the tobacco peeks out. It's like a milder, more sedate version of Hellfire, without the booze and debauchery -- perfect, actually, for when you don't want to smell too debauched, but you still want the warm wood-and-tobacco atmosphere. I like it, even though I wish it were a bit stronger.

Before Miskatonic University came back, I got to sniff a bottle of it at a meet-n-sniff. It was as described: very much Irish coffee, complete with the creaminess and the slight booziness and the coffee. "Nice!" I said to the owner, "but I just can't quite see myself wearing it, you know?" "Neither did I," she said, "but it grows on you." So I ordered a bottle and, lo, it does. It's all Irish coffee when initially applied, but the sweetness fades a little and a nice wood note takes over after a while. It dries down to a warm wood scent with coffee overtones and a hint of sweetness. It's fantastically evocative: totally like a coffee room in an old university building. I wish I got the old books note that's supposed to be in there, but the others work so well I don't care. I always seem to reach for it on the days when I'm wearing my softest, warmest sweater -- it's exactly right for fall and winter.

Samhain '06 is my very first Samhain blend. Initially I get a big whoosh of pine and fallen leaves. Then the pumpkin comes out, briefly, then the mulled-cider spices and apples. I thought at first it would be a little too sweet and foody for my tastes, but then I realized what the drydown reminds me of: it smells very much like the baked apples my mother used to make when I was growing up, which always left the most delicious caramel-apple-juice liquid in the baking dish because she made them with brown sugar and a dab of butter. (Now I want a baked apple!) It's not an everyday scent, but it's great for a day like today (cold, sunny, lots of fallen leaves everywhere).

Gypsy Queen is a lighter, more delicate scent than I was expecting from the description; it wears close to the skin, and it doesn't last as long as some BPALs I've tried. But its subtlety is a very good thing. It's a light, sweet floral in the bottle, which morphs into floral-smokiness on my skin. The "candle smoke" note is amazing -- I don't know how Beth manages to bottle that, but that's exactly what it smells like at first: a candle that's just been blown out. I also get little whiffs of whatever component gives La Petite Mort its "skin scent" quality, and a little fruitiness from the bergamot, and some incense in the background. The floral and incense and smoky notes all come in and out of focus while I'm wearing it. The incense keeps it from getting too sweet and flowery. Verdict: Gorgeous. I'm so glad I went with my instinct and ordered this!

I like the concept of aquatics, but they don't always work on me (I get the "fabric softener" effect with some of the BPAL aquatics I've tried so far). Ode on Melancholy is probably the closest I've gotten so far, and I think that's partly because the floral notes in it predominate. But the Pool of Tears is an aquatic that works! I'm very pleased to find one at last. Pretty much like the description says, it's a rosey floral with a lot of salt water in it. The salt tames the rose and keeps it from taking over; the rose gives some depth to the salt-water notes. I think it works on me because there doesn't seem to be an ozone component, or anything else that strongly suggests the sea: just clear water and salt and flowers. Very nice. The Pool of Tears stays more or less constant on me, and is light but long-lasting. Now I'll have to try an imp of Alice to compare the original scent and the "drowned in tears" version.

Wow, this one is a morpher! Straight out of the imp, it smells like kumquat (very definitely kumquat: there's that screw-your-face-up sour edge that kumquats have when you bite through the skin) and, bizarrely, something like hot buttered popcorn. I have no idea where the hot buttered popcorn note comes from. I think my nose must be misinterpreting the pepper or something. Before long, the kumquat dries down to a much softer, sweeter orange, and the weird popcorn note goes away. I'm left with sweet orange/orange blossom, with a tiny edge of kumquat-sourness. Tweedledee probably won't end up being a big bottle scent for me, but I'll certainly keep the imp.

I get plums (or plum jam, more like) with cinnamon and cloves from this. The drydown is less plum, more spices. I can't quite detect chrysanthemum, but I'll try again and see if it's anywhere in the mix. I'm not really a fan of fruity scents, though, and this is a bit too plummy for my tastes. I like the spices, though, so I wish I were one of the people whose skin absorbs the plum and lets the other components come out!

I've never been to Egypt, but I went through a crazy wannabe-archaeologist Egyptophile phase when I was a kid, and I adore that Shelley sonnet, so of course I had to order an imp of this. I would have had no idea how to translate this poem into olfactory terms, but Ozymandias is really evocative. It's dry, for one thing: nothing aquatic about it, and nothing plant-like either: no florals or fruits or greenness. It's all amber and spices. I can see where all the "classic perfume" comparisons in other people's reviews are coming from; it makes me think of something a 1940s movie star would wear, but at the same time, it manages to suggest arid empty desert. I like!

Yarrrr! Avast! Well blow me down! (Okay, I had to get the pirate-speak out of my system first. Sorry. ) I could have sworn there's red musk in this, but I just re-checked the description and there's none. Which is odd, because in the imp this reminds me of Scherezade minus the saffron, and the drydown has a musky quality to it. Once applied, though, Anne Bonny goes all dark woods, settling down to almost pure sandalwood. Then the resin starts coming out. I dabbed some on this morning around 8:00; at noon a co-worker sniffed the air and said "Hey, something smells like incense in here!" Six or seven hours later, I was still getting little gusts of warm sandalwood. This is very long-lasting, with good but not overwhelming throw. It does have a rather swashbuckling quality to it. The frankincense gives it an "I mean business!" edge and the sandalwood makes it exotic and warm. It's a little more femme-y than Fenris Wolf, which it also reminds me of, but not much -- a good scent for women looking to get in touch with their dashing and dangerous side. I like it a lot so far. This may end up as another candidate for the 5ml list.

Disclaimer: I've only once had a mint julep, and it was so many years ago I've forgotten what it smelled like. So I can't say whether Juke Joint smells like one or not. That said, on me it's more or less like this: Initial application: Booooooze! And something sweet. After a while: Still boozy. Whatever the alcohol-esque note in Hellfire is, I think it's in this one as well. Oddly, I get hardly any mint. Maybe I have mint-suppressing skin chemistry. Drydown: Like Hellfire without the smokiness. I like Hellfire better, on the whole.

In the imp: Orange. I could swear there's orange blossom in there somewhere. Just applied: The orange note is still there, but the woods are coming out. Rosewood, I think. And there's a bit of patchouli earthing it up. On drydown: The lavender comes out, and it ends lavender-herbal. I don't get the parchment note at all, but maybe I'll try again on a day when my allergies aren't acting up and see if I can detect it. Overall: This is a nice "thinky" sort of scent. I don't think I'll get a big bottle, but it'll be good to wear to work.

Just on: Incense and wood. This stage lasts for a few minutes, then goes away. Just as well, because it's a little too distractingly incense-y to wear as perfume. After a few minutes: it's sort of herbal with a lemon-verbena quality (even though there's no lemon verbena in it), and it reminds me of citronella candles. But in a good way; it's light and evocative. After several hours: the lily makes an appearance. I thought it was wisteria until I looked at the ingredient list again. Ordinarily white florals are too heavy on me, but this is just right. Verdict: not my usual style, but a good warm-weather scent. I don't get "cathedral" from it, but that may be because I've never been much of a churchgoer. To my nose, it smells like a warm summer evening with a breeze blowing.