la-roja

Shattered is a really neat scent, it is very strongly mint with a menthol flavor and some other unidentifiable but appealing things going on. I was surprised that this appealed to me as much as it did because I’m not a big mint or menthol fan. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to really get to like Shattered because it had faded to unsmellable within minutes of applying it. Literally minutes. I *feel* like it was gone in about 5 minutes but I didn’t time it so I don’t know for sure. It had faded to undetectable by 15 minutes at the very most. Final verdict: This is a really great smell while it lasts but it fades so fast it is completely impractical as a perfume. It may work as a room scent.

I couldn’t identify any of the single notes in Djinn. It is a very powerful, strong, acrid, sharp, dangerous, and unfriendly smell. This is not a come hither scent; it is the scent of raw, feral, and probably hostile power. Very, very deep down I got some hints of sweetness but I’m not sure that was Djinn, it could have been the moisturizer I applied 5 hours or so before trying Djinn. I don’t care for this scent aesthetically nor am I interested in putting out that kind of scent message. I can see this being really sexy on the right kind of man or a really rare woman but it isn’t for me. ~Roja

The wet version of this is well, stinky. I don’t like it, at all. It is strong, sharp, and unpleasant. Once it dries it morphs into a much softer, sweeter scent, with a strong powder aspect. The sharpness never completely fades though, it is there hanging out in the background. I can see where people are getting the sexy, leather, smoke, and dominatrix images from but this oil simply doesn’t evoke the same response from me. The older it gets the nicer and sexier it smells, in fact it is quite sexy in the end but the final product would have to be the most amazing smell I had ever smelled to endure the aging process. Obviously I don’t think it is. ~Roja

When wet this was an extremely strange smell. Not bad but very hard to pin down. It was very, very peppery. There seemed to be other unusual spice scents going on beneath the pepper but I couldn’t ID them. Over all it made me feel as if I had walked into an ethnic grocery full of bins of unfamiliar but potentially tasty things. As it dries it takes on a sweeter, fruitier scent but the spice never completely goes away. I like it quite a lot but not quite enough to buy a big bottle. I’m trying to limit myself to scents that I like all the stages of and the wet stage of this is just too powerfully peppery for me. ~Roja

This is a very feminine scent, not girly mind you but irrevocably feminine. It is sweet, warm, spicy, juicy, and floral without being flowery. I don't get any chocolate notes on my skin. It reminds me of Malibu Musk which was an inexpensive drug store perfume popular when I was a young adolescent that I completely adored. It reminds Amberbreathing of the smell of the girl’s locker room at our old high school (in a good way). I wouldn't pin an age on this scent though, I think it would be as nice on a mature woman as it would be on a teenager. It is just so *female* that I think it would transcend age to accent different things on women in different life stages. This scent really isn't my style (it is more overt than I normally wear) but I find that I can't stop sniffing the wrist I put it on to review it. I'm definitely going to have to keep it around for a while before deciding whether to buy or to swap. ~Roja

Since this oil is about to be discontinued and I just got an imp in my order of doom I figured I would review it first. Wet and on the dry down this is sweet dark patchouli over laced with florals and touch of wine. Dark and elegant. Dry this morphs into something slightly sharp that hurts my frontal sinuses and has a soapy undercurrent. This scent is obviously not for me but it would be fabulous on someone with a different chemistry. ~Roja

Beth-- This is slightly off topic but since you mentioned the trouble you are having moving away from CCnow I thought I would mention it here. Have you looked into going through Costco? I don't know what the requirements are but I know several small business people (craftspersons and con/SCA vendors) who are using Costco's credit card service because it is the cheapest thing around and they can actually afford it. I don't know if the service availability or charges vary from state to state (I'm in Washington) but it is worth looking into if you haven't already. ~Roja

I know next to nothing about the aspects/powers attributed to the planets so I cannot comment on the appropriateness of this oil. I can tell you what it smells like and on me this is primarily wood combined with a strong green scent (dill maybe?). It gives the overwhelming impression of an old wooden pickle barrel. In and of itself that is a really neat trick but needless to say is not something I want to smell like. ~Roja

Thanks! That info is going to make everything much easier. ~Roja

I love, love, love this scent. I really don't have anything new to add to the other reviews but I am so taken by the oil that I wanted to post anyway. It is indeed warm, uplifting, and light but with a strong presence. It definitely has a bubbly quality to it that I have smelled in a couple other oils. I wish I knew what ingredient does that. I can smell cinnamon or something like it and maybe grapefruit? I’m not sure what scent category to put this in, it doesn’t seem to quite fit in any of them…so how about wonderful? ~Roja

I want to make a nice comfy home for my growing BPAL collection. I have ordered both 5ml and 10ml bottles but they are not here yet. Would someone be kind enough to measure their bottles for me so that I can have the new house ready for them when they get here? I am looking for the diameter and height of both bottle sizes. Thanks! ~Roja

Oberon on my skin is a nearly perfect match to how my boyfriend smells after he has shaved. It is so uncanny that I tested out his shaving cream last night and it isn't the shaving cream alone, it is actually the combo of the shaving cream and his natural scent. As you can imagine wearing Oberon did strange things to my mental state. I prefer to be able to tell the difference between him and me. I couldn't really pick out individual scent components, every time I tried my brain just replied back "Scot" (my boyfriend's name). I won't be keeping Oberon because neither I nor Scot really needs a scent to make us smell like Scot. ~Roja

Jester on me was sweet, bright, bouncy, fun and smelled like artificial fruit flavored candy. I think it would make an excellent first perfume for a young girl.

Old Shanghai reminds me very strongly of a really good smelling shampoo. I like the smell quite a lot. It is a pure, herbal, green smell. However, if I want to smell like shampoo I will wash my hair. It might be a good scent to wear when you don't have time for a shower but want to give the impression of being clean.

Amberbreathing let me try some of her imp. To me this is a white floral with green tones that keep it from being too flowery. It is very pretty and feminine. White and green scents just aren't me so I won't be getting a big bottle but it is a lovely scent.

Wet and during the dry down this was a very, very nice chocolate and orange blend. It was fast making its way onto my list of favorites. Unfortunately once it dried the cherry came out and gave it a top note I just didn't like. Then it faded completely. I can only smell it now if I put my nose on my wrist and breathe very deeply. It is essentially gone and I applied it about 1/2 an hour ago. I was willing to give it a second chance to see how I really felt about the cherry but I simply can't apply perfume every half an hour. Vice goes on my swap list.

This is an amazing chocolate scent. Very, very chocolaty but with a hint of something else, maybe vanilla? Definitely a food smell. It makes me hungry and reminds me of all of the hours I've spent in the kitchen laboring over chocolate delights. I love it. It is nice and strong and it lasts a long time.

On me Jack was spicy and sweet but with a note that I couldn't quite pin down. I think it was the pumpkin, but raw, warm pumpkin not pumpkin pie pumpkin. If it had been cooked pumpkin I think I would have liked it more. The raw edge did not agree with my stomach and turned what would have been a lovely edible scent into an unpleasant and definitely not edible experience.

This was nothing but cinnamon on me. I kept waiting for it to morph into something else but it never did. All cinnamon, all the time. It was quite strong and it lasted for a long time. It was a nice cinnamon smell but cinnamon just isn't me.

So far Velvet is my absolute favorite and I can't get enough of it. I'm looking for other scents I will love just as much. In general I like: warm, wood, smooth, spice, vanilla, chocolate, a little sweet but not too much, and of course sex. I do not like perfumey, soap (I seem to interpret most green smells as shampoo), or powder smells. I only like floral notes if there is a whole lot going on besides the flowers. Rose is my favorite floral. I have already tried: Tombstone, Burial, Cathedral, Anne Bonny, The Empress, Vice, Bliss, Snake Oil, and O. Any Suggestions? Thanks in advance! ~Roja

I absolutely adore Velvet! It is my favorite BPAL scent so far (that isn't saying a whole lot, I've only tried 7 or so). I like it so much that I actually have a hard time convincing myself not to wear it so that I can try out my other imps. It doesn't last as long as I would like but the wet scent is so different from the dry scent that I don't mind reapplying just to get that few minutes of wet power. It dries to a light, soft scent that you have to get close to smell but that is how I prefer to wear my scents. IMHO if someone outside of my personal space can smell me I'm wearing way too much perfume. Wet: Strongly cocoa, not chocolate--there is no milky smoothness that the cocoa butter brings to chocolate--just pure, high quality cocoa. The cocoa isn't bitter smelling though; it is smoothed out by the vanilla. You can't really smell the vanilla unless you concentrate but it is there, tempering and evening out the cocoa. The sandalwood and myrrh are strong as well, not quite as strong as the cocoa but well balanced. Drying: The cocoa starts to fade and the sandalwood comes to the front with the cocoa and myrrh not too far behind. The vanilla is a bit stronger but still doesn't assert itself, just hangs out in the back smoothing over the rough edges. Dry: There is a strong sandalwood top note with a cocoa midground and vanilla weaving its way through sweetening and mellowing everything. The scent takes on a spicy/peppery quality. I'm not sure where the myrrh went. This is not an edible smell. It is very sexy and it doesn't read as a perfume. More like a combination of my normal scent and a day spent dishing up bulk cocoa, vanilla beans, and spices. I can't get enough of it.

This is my first review! I'm all excited and stuff. Unfortunately it isn't going to be a positive review. Wet: This is strongly floral on me right out of the bottle, lots of jasmine with musk/civet undertones. Drying: The floral and the musk/civet are well balanced in this phase and this is where the trouble starts. Since I have very little exposure to BPAL I'm not sure if it is the civet or the musk but one of the two goes straight to my frontal sinuses and immediately turns into a sharp headache. Not pleasant. Dry: Once it is dry the civet and musk take over the smell and the floral can only be found lurking about in the far shadows. It is very musky it really screams animal sex, sweet, and spicy with a physical kick. The headache effect goes away once it is completely dry (but only if I don't smell it too deeply) and leaves in its place a kind of acridness that I can feel in the back of my throat that hits at the very edge of my soft palate. When the scent is very old and dying out it goes softer and takes on a powdery quality. But the physical kick is still there. This smell lingers for a loooong time. It is hard to get rid of completely. In summery I don't care for the smell and I don't care for the headache. ~Roja