edenssixthday

The Sailor's Den, Félicien Rops.Orris, bay rum, palm, coconut meat, oak wood, tobacco, linen, blue lilac, and leather. When I look at the painting that inspired this scent and when I conceptualize a sailor's "den," I think of something more boisterous, rough-and-tumble, drunken, bawdy and tawdry than this blend. The Sailor's Den is a very soft scent that is slightly floral, slightly boozy, slightly outdoorsy-fresh, and mostly elegantly refined. The strongest notes on my skin are the coconut and leather, which 's one of the most fascinating and unexpectedly pleasant combinations I’ve encountered. The linen note is next in line, and is very crisp and fresh, reminding me a lot of Dirty. This is an impeccably blended scent, and I find it very interesting how different it is from what I would have expected based on the name and the subject. Beth never ceases to surprise me. As with most Salon scents, this one is fairly subtle on my skin. It has moments where the linen scent seems to really jump out at me, but otherwise, it sticks fairly close to my skin.

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun, William Blake.Daemonorops, vanilla, Indian sandalwood, Mexican copal, hyssop, muguet, sweet pea, amber, hazelwood, galbanum, hiba wood, and orchid. The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun - Wow, this is gorgeous! It’s a very sweet, woody-floral. I’m surprised there's no cocoa in this scent, because that is my very first impression of this scent. I suppose I must be smelling the vanilla and woods blending together to create a dry, warm, cocoa-like scent. Simply amazing! As the blend warms up on my skin, the bittersweet florals become the top note, and the sweet woods become a backdrop for the powerfully aromatic orchid and hyssop and I'm reminded of what might be the olfactory effects of trying to blend Hawaii and Mexico in a single vial. Sadly, this is also the point when I begin to smell the sweet pea, which does what sweet pea always does to me, and takes on a soapy edge, which gets stronger and stronger the longer this blend is on my skin. Without that sweet pea note, I think this would be an absolutely gorgeous fragrance, and very unique.

Three Gorgons, Gustav Klimt.Detail of the Beethoven Frieze. Egyptian amber, mandarin, tangerine, black pepper, tobacco, and vetiver. Three Gorgons - The very first note I detect is the strong, sharp, sweet scent of citrus spray - tangerine, in particular. It's interesting that two scents so similar can be distinguished in this blend – the mandarin is the sweeter of the two and the tangerine is the stronger, tangier of the two citrus scents. Immediately behind them is the drop-dead gorgeous scent of warm Egyptian amber. It's mind-blowing how good the amber and citrus notes blend together, and then it just gets better as the black pepper note begins to unfold, lending a scratchy sharpness to the blend. Beneath that, and much more subtle, is the tiniest drop of gritty tobacco and vetiver that serve to tone down the bright splash of the citrus and make this an earthy fruit scent. I knew when I first sniffed this vial that I was going to like this scent, I just had no idea how much I was going to like it. I am delighted that this scent seems to stay on my skin longer than most citrus blends (thanks to the vetiver grounding it, I'm guessing) and has a moderate level of throw, which is also surprising for a Salon blend. I'm in love with it!

Judith Victorious, Lucas Cranach the Elder.Chestnut blossom, lily of the valley, King mandarin, French magnolia, and golden musk. Judith Victorious – What an interesting scent. Even though "chestnut blossom" is the first note listed, I distinctly smell chestnuts and the scent of lily of the valley immediately behind it. The mandarin is very soft, but lends a subtle touch of bright sweetness to the scent, and the magnolia's fragrance is present, but barely discernible. The golden musk must be the warm, golden scent that envelopes all the rest of the notes, pulling them together and making them actually work together. This is an incredibly strong scent – very fragrant, aromatic, and with a touch of warm goodness that comes from the chestnut note. While it's really not my type of fragrance, it’s definitely an interesting one that is very androgynous and quite unique. The sillage is incredibly strong, as is the staying power.

By God, what floats in this ghastly jar? Cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and pine sap. Pickled Imp - I don't tend to like cinnamon blends, but this one rocks really, really hard. Every single note stands out in this blend and each is perfectly complimentary of all the others. The vanilla sweetens up the spicy cinnamon and clove but the pine sap gives it depth without making it too dark or sticky. It's been three hours since I left Will Call where I had applied this scent, and it's just as strong as it was when I first applied it. I really love it. I'm anxiously looking forward to the CD scents arriving on my doorstep and I'm very excited to wear it again.

Rubbed sage, ti leaf, osmanthus, immortelle, patchouli, amber, and mandarin. Festival Mask - This is a pretty scent. It's mostly amber and patchouli on me, but the patchouli isn't a strong, heavy, dirty patchouli, it's balanced very nicely by the sage and ti leaf. The immortelle, like the sage, gives this blend a bit of a dry, herbal scent, and blends beautifully with the other notes. The mandarin is present initially, but it wicks off my skin fairly quickly, and is barely discernible upon drydown. Overall, this is a pretty, dry, asian scent.

You hear a clatter on the ground, and a small bleached bone smacks against your foot. Cloaked in shadows between the tents, three men crouch playing knucklebones. Distress clouds the face of one of the men, while another bursts into a wicked smile and the last one sighs in relief. Scooping up his winnings and shaking his head, the victor makes a soft 'tsk' noise as he reaches towards the loser's chest, positioning his hand over the man's heart. Pressing forward, his hand moves through cloth, flesh, muscle, and bone to extract the beating organ. Tossing the heart onto the ground, he says to you, "Mind handing me those bones, buddy? I've got a game to run here." Black musk, bay rum, lime fougere, orange blossom water, gin, and tobacco. Knucklebones - Of the huge number of scents I tested at Will Call, this was my second-favorite of all of them. My first reaction when I sniffed this in the bottle is tht it's effervescent and fizzy. When I tried it on, the booze notes were definitely the strongest, backed up by the lime note. It's remarkable how it can be a fizzy, effervescent scent at the same time that it is kind of dark masculine. It strikes me as the masculine equivalent of Bon Vivant in its overall feeling. It's masculine, but not something a woman couldn't wear - God knows when I get my latest CD order in the mail, I will enjoy wearing this one very much! The scent is very long-lasting on my skin and just soo incredibly sexy.

TWO LOVES I dreamed I stood upon a little hill, And at my feet there lay a ground, that seemed Like a waste garden, flowering at its will With buds and blossoms. There were pools that dreamed Black and unruffled; there were white lilies A few, and crocuses, and violets Purple or pale, snake-like fritillaries Scarce seen for the rank grass, and through green nets Blue eyes of shy peryenche winked in the sun. And there were curious flowers, before unknown, Flowers that were stained with moonlight, or with shades Of Nature's willful moods; and here a one That had drunk in the transitory tone Of one brief moment in a sunset; blades Of grass that in an hundred springs had been Slowly but exquisitely nurtured by the stars, And watered with the scented dew long cupped In lilies, that for rays of sun had seen Only God's glory, for never a sunrise mars The luminous air of Heaven. Beyond, abrupt, A grey stone wall. o'ergrown with velvet moss Uprose; and gazing I stood long, all mazed To see a place so strange, so sweet, so fair. And as I stood and marvelled, lo! across The garden came a youth; one hand he raised To shield him from the sun, his wind-tossed hair Was twined with flowers, and in his hand he bore A purple bunch of bursting grapes, his eyes Were clear as crystal, naked all was he, White as the snow on pathless mountains frore, Red were his lips as red wine-spilith that dyes A marble floor, his brow chalcedony. And he came near me, with his lips uncurled And kind, and caught my hand and kissed my mouth, And gave me grapes to eat, and said, 'Sweet friend, Come I will show thee shadows of the world And images of life. See from the South Comes the pale pageant that hath never an end.' And lo! within the garden of my dream I saw two walking on a shining plain Of golden light. The one did joyous seem And fair and blooming, and a sweet refrain Came from his lips; he sang of pretty maids And joyous love of comely girl and boy, His eyes were bright, and 'mid the dancing blades Of golden grass his feet did trip for joy; And in his hand he held an ivory lute With strings of gold that were as maidens' hair, And sang with voice as tuneful as a flute, And round his neck three chains of roses were. But he that was his comrade walked aside; He was full sad and sweet, and his large eyes Were strange with wondrous brightness, staring wide With gazing; and he sighed with many sighs That moved me, and his cheeks were wan and white Like pallid lilies, and his lips were red Like poppies, and his hands he clenched tight, And yet again unclenched, and his head Was wreathed with moon-flowers pale as lips of death. A purple robe he wore, o'erwrought in gold With the device of a great snake, whose breath Was fiery flame: which when I did behold I fell a-weeping, and I cried, 'Sweet youth, Tell me why, sad and sighing, thou dost rove These pleasent realms? I pray thee speak me sooth What is thy name?' He said, 'My name is Love.' Then straight the first did turn himself to me And cried, 'He lieth, for his name is Shame, But I am Love, and I was wont to be Alone in this fair garden, till he came Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.' Then sighing, said the other, 'Have thy will, I am the love that dare not speak its name.' Love beyond reach: sunset tones of amber, red musk, and blood orange with three chains of roses, velvet moss, white lilies, crocuses, violets, poppies, blue musk, neroli, angel's trumpet, frankincense, benzoin, and night-blooming flowers. Two Loves - With the exception of angel's trumpet, which I've never smelled, and possibly the white lilies, everything in this list of ingredients should have been a total and complete WIN!!! for me. Sadly, this scent was a huge, giant F.A.I.L. from beginning to end. It went on floral and soapy, and then the blue musk and violets and rose tried really, really hard to come out, but the soapiness won and in the end, for several hours, it was nothing but icky old lady floral soap on my skin. So sad, because it had so much potential!

BOGLE A garish shellycoat: red currant, Spanish mandarin, pumpkin, quince, wild blueberry, and ginger with green tea, vanilla bean, frankincense, tonka, and vetiver. Bogle - Oh wow, this is awesome! It's like this big mixed-up, mish-mashy, jumble of rowdy, boisterous scents. As I'm reading the scent descriptions, I keep thinking, yep, I smell that one, and that one, and that one... and so on. Every single note listed is present and accounted for. As it dries on my skin, the vetiver, tonka, and frankincense, give it a nice warm depth, and the rest of the notes swirl around each other creating this amazing amalgamation of scents that are unique and distinct, yet together they create something that's so warm and delicious -- foody, but not really in a gourmand way, but more like the way you would pick up multiple scents in the air all at the same time wafting your way from different corners of the farmer's market and rather than thinking, oh those don't belong together, the scents blend perfectly to become the scent you identify as the farmer's market fragrance. That's what this is like, only the individual, unique scents all come together to create Bogle, which is like no other BPAL I've smelled before. It's phenomenal!

Electric jolts of mania: a salt-crusted coffin bobbing through tumultuous ocean waves. This is another proto/preview (? - not sure which) that was out for testing at the Cobwebs III/Convergence events. It's very fresh and outdoorsy in a Victorian garden kind of way. It's grassy, warm, and herbal, with maybe a hint of wildflowers. This one makes me think of an artist setting up an easel in the countryside, taking off his coat so his suspenders are revealed, unbuttoning his shirt, rolling up his sleeves, and spending a sunny afternoon crazily splashing paints on a canvas in a desperate attempt to catch the beauty of the scenery around him/her. It's too grassy for my personal preference, but it's quite evocative and those who enjoy grassy and outdoory scents will love this one. I see it being potentially unisex for it's lack of overt florals.

VALSE FINALE ET APOTHÉOSE The return journey: three honeys, white mint, and apple blossom. Valse Finale et Apotheose - Well, this one surprised me. I didn't expect much from this at all, as apple blossom tends to go soapy and some honeys turn to poopy diaper on me. White mint is one of the only mints I can wear, but otherwise, it just didn't appeal to me. I was quite pleasantly surprised when I first applied it and it smelled... pretty?! Totally not what I expected! I smell gorgeous, sweet, smooth honey and a bit of white mint and the faintest trace of a floral that doesn't turn soapy and disappears completely upon drydown. The mint also disappears not long after drydown, leaving behind the subtle scent of honey on my skin. This is definitely a scent that stays very close to the skin, but when its wet, it's particularly pretty. I may try this in a scent locket to keep that "wet" scent going throughout the day.

The Ecstacy of St. Theresa, Gianlorenzo Bernini.Frankincense, iris, white gardenia, Roman chamomile, amber, and agarwood. I was very excited about this blend because I'm a nut about a good frankincense blend, and the other notes looked like they would blend gorgeously with frankincense. Sure enough, it's a lovely blend. The gardenia is the only note that frightened me a bit, and while it's present, it's so soft and so subtle that I wouldn’t even guess it was gardenia if I didn't know better. The chamomile is probably the most dominant note, but it doesn’t have the soporific herbal quality that chamomile often has when it is a dominant note in blends; rather, it simply blends beautifully with the frankincense, tempering the huskiness of the frankincense with it's smooth, soothing qualities. The sweet soapy-fresh-in-a-good-way scent of iris is slightly noticeable, as is a very tiny sliver of woodiness. Overall, this is an incredibly gorgeous scent that is very classical in inspiration, quality, and design. It's very subtle, but oh-so-pretty and feminine. It's quite lovely and would be a beautiful wedding day scent.

Melancholia, Albrecht Dürer. Blue lilac, white sandalwood, stargazer lily, paperwhite narcissus, ylang ylang, delphinium, and cypress. I'm instantly surrounded by the heavy, thick, sweet scent of blue lilac. Close behind it is the strong and sweet scent of stargazer lily, one of my most favorite single notes. They smell gorgeous and fragrant and heady for the first few minutes, but that's when the ylang ylang butts in and in typical ylang ylang fashion, gives an overall acrid odor to the blend, making it smell almost chemically, like there are more than a few drops of acetone in the blend. The cypress also becomes evident at this point, adding its pungent greenery to the overall scent, which in turn creates an even greater sense of olfactory cacophony in this blend. The notes don't blend well on my skin at all. They clash and they clang and they seem to be in a constant shoving match to determine who's going to be the dominant note. Surprisingly, the stargazer lily wins the battle, becoming the dominant note, but the ylang ylang is still spouting its chemical-smelling nastiness into the mix, which ultimately ruins the blend for me. It's a heavy, heady, thick floral, and I would hazard a guess that only those who are hardcore floral fans would care for this one.

HOLIDAY JOY Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough. - Emily Dickinson Clary sage, peppermint, blood orange, lavender, geranium, juniper berry, bay laurel, King mandarin, and opoponax. Almond oil, refined rice bran oil, fractionated coconut, rosehip seed oil, Citrus aurantium subspecies amara, Pelargonium graveolens, Lavandula angustifolia, Salvia sclarea, Juniperus communis, evening primrose, vitamin E, and our Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume blend. I had a massage scheduled on Saturday, so when my bottle of this arrived on Thursday, I knew I'd be bringing it in with me. My massage therapist and I both agreed that it smells phenomenal. On me, it's mostly clary sage, geranium, juniper berry with some citrus to brighten it up. It's an extremely therapeutic scent -- very joyful in a calming and relaxing sort of way. I could smell the scent on my skin a good 9-10 hours after application. It's a very herbal scent that I would put in a similar category as Bitch or Holiday Stress Relief Elixir. It's just wonderful and I'm bringing it with me to my next massage, as well.

ARAW NG MGA PATAY The first half of Undas, this is the Day of the Dead in the Philippines. It is a time to remember those who have passed before you, and to do honor to your ancestors. Crypts are whitewashed, cemetery plots are weeded, cleaned, groomed, and decorated with bushels of bright flowers. Offerings of sweets are made to the departed and shared with the living, and toasts are made in remembrance. A cheerful, raucous celebration of life and death: bouquets overflowing with gerbera daisies, waling waling, sampaguita, ylang ylang, hibiscus, night-blooming dama de noche, santan, and everlasting flower with piles upon piles of bibingka, ube halaya, rice muffins, champorado, purple yam cake, and turon, and plates of gooey kalabasa leche flan. Araw Ng Mga Patay - In the bottle, this smells like boozy banana and flan and rice cakes and all sorts of deliciousness. I couldn't believe it didn't seem to be more popular, because it's so foody and sweet and delicious. However, the moment I put it on my skin, another note comes out that I can't smell in the bottle. It's sour and bitter and I've never smelled anything like it before. As it warms up on my skin, that bitter sourness gets stronger and stronger until it has completely overwhelmed every other note in the scent. I have no idea what it is, as there are so many exotic ingredients I've never heard of before. Whatever it is, it smells almost sweetly rancid, like decaying flesh, and it makes me gag. I'm so sorry the first review of this scent couldn't be more positive, but it's just a terribly foul scent on my skin. I washed it off after about 45 minutes because I just couldn't stand it any more.

Sol Niger v2 - On my skin, this is heavy, heavy frankincense. There may be something else resinous in there (a hint of myrrh?), but really, it's about as close to a frankincense single note as you can get. Granted, my skin loves frankincense (so do I!) and amps it to the Nth degree. Any other notes are completely drowned out the by the heavy, dark, grittiness of the frankincense. I actually really love it, I just wish I could smell something else in there, too! It has amazing staying power, but again, my skin loves frankincense and clings to it all day long.

The next morning the old horse was found without his saddle, and with the bridle under his feet, soberly cropping the grass at his master's gate. Ichabod did not make his appearance at breakfast-dinner-hour came, but no Ichabod. The boys assembled at the schoolhouse, and strolled idly about the banks of the brook; but no school-master. Hans Van Ripper now began to feel some uneasiness about the fate of poor Ichabod, and his saddle. An inquiry was set on foot, and after diligent investigation they came upon his traces. In one part of the road leading to the church was found the saddle trampled in the dirt; the tracks of horses' hoofs deeply dented in the road, and evidently at furious speed, were traced to the bridge, beyond which, on the bank of a broad part of the brook, where the water ran deep and black, was found the hat of the unfortunate Ichabod, and close beside it a shattered pumpkin. Soil-covered crushed pumpkin, water-weeds, saddle-leather, and pine pitch. The Shattered Pumpkin - I don't like dirt scents at all, and pumpkin is an iffy scent on me, so I had the lowest of low expectations for this scent. I'm kind of surprised I went ahead and tested it, but I'm glad I did. It's truly amazing what Beth has done with this blend! The dirt and pumpkin notes are the dominant scents when sniffing in the bottle and when I apply it to my skin. They are in perfect balance and I can't get over how the pumpkin picks up the sweetness of the earth scent but the part of the earth scent that I don't like is pushed into the background. The longer it's on my skin, it takes on an almost effervescent sweetness, and then it starts to smell like cinnamon red hots. I double-check the scent description and am surprised that there's no cinnamon in it. After it's been on my skin for an hour, the dirt scent is completely gone, the pumpkin is present, and there's also a hint of leather and the faintest hint of green plants. This is a spectacular fragrance and I can't believe that I like it and I'm so glad I decided not to skip over this one! Edited to insert the Halloweenie subtitle

LOLA: HER BATH Pomegranate, red carnation, pimento berry, blackcurrant, red plum, rose otto, patchouli, and Indonesian clove. I'm not generally a fan of bath salts -- they just don't provide an edifying bathtub experience for me the way bath oils do. However, this is BPAL, so of course I couldn't resist! I got decants of all of the Courtesan bath salts and this was the first one I tried. The salts are different sizes and very oily. The decantress I used said they arrived double-bagged from the Lab, and even so, some of the second bags were starting to leak. She double-bagged all of mine, and there was oil in the 2nd bag, so Ziploc bagging these oils is not the ideal way to ship them. The Lab should spend the extra dough on putting these salts in containers. They can be ordered at a very reasonable cost at many places online. Anyway, I used my entire 3 oz decant, but I probably could have made do with half as much. The scent is lovely -- every note is discernible and identifiable, except for the clove, which I don't smell at all. The pomegranate, pimento berry, and plum are really bright and juicy, and they're deepend by the black currant (which does smell a little sour to my nose, as it always does to me), the carnation and the patchouli. The rose adds a nice touch of sensuality to the blend. There's a light sheen of oil on top of the water in the tub, and I can feel it moisturizing my skin, but not as heavily as the bath oils do. Several hours after my bath (about 3), I can still smell the faintest trace of scent pimento, carnation, and patchouli on my skin. But it's really light. It definitely layers really well with the Lola perfume oil. As for the salts, most of them dissolve within the first five minutes, but I spent quite a while lounging around in the hot waters of my bath this morning, and after 20-25 minutes, there was a still a fine layer of gritty salt on the bottom of the tub. Not all of the salts dissolve, apparently. It wasn't uncomfortable, it just felt gritty and silty. Still, I'm looking forward to my next bathtime with one of the other Courtesan salts. I still prefer bath oils, but this makes for a nice change of pace -- mixin' it up a bit in the tub.

THE SHADOWY AND THE SUBLIME Meanwhile, the deep impression made by this unknown tormentor, the monk, and especially by his prediction of the death of Bianchi, remained upon his mind, and he once more determined to ascertain, if possible, the true nature of the portentous visitant, and what were the motives which induced him thus to haunt his footsteps and interrupt his peace. He was awed by the circumstances which had attended the visitations of the monk, if monk it was; by the suddenness of his appearance, and departure; by the truth of his prophecies; and, above all, by the solemn event which had verified his last warning; and his imagination, thus elevated by wonder and painful curiosity, was prepared for something above the reach of common conjecture, and beyond the accomplishment of human agency. His understanding was sufficiently clear and strong to teach him to detect many errors of opinion, that prevailed around him, as well as to despise the common superstitions of his country, and in the usual state of his mind, he probably would not have paused for a moment on the subject before him; but his passions were not interested, and his fancy awakened, and, though he was unconscious of this propensity, he would, perhaps, have been somewhat disappointed, to have suddenly from the region of fearful sublimity to which he had soared —the world of terrible shadows— to the earth, on which he daily walked, and to an explanation simply natural. —The Italian, Ann Radcliffe A sudden and shocking insight into the vast, ineffable, overwhelming power of Nature, stirred by a vision or experience of perfected beauty and perfected terror, that changes the soul irretrievably. An epiphany: Moroccan amber, wisteria, ambergris accord, white rose, magnolia, white mint, angelica, bergamot, and myrrh. The Shadowy And The Sublime - Every time there's a big update, there's always one scent that I think I'll actually dislike, but which ends up being the biggest hit of the bunch. For the 2010 Weenies, this was the surprise winner. It has magnolia, bergamot, and wisteria, all of which are "iffy" notes that generally lean to the "no" side of the spectrum. But, it also has some of my favorites - amber, white rose, myrrh. When I sniffed it in the bottle the first time, it didn't do much for me, but the moment I applied it, those resins just blossomed with my skin chemistry, and I was surrounded by a swirl of myrrh and amber and ambergris, which are bolstered by the other notes -- the earthy angelica, the sweet mint, and the florals. The florals are not fully present in their own right, but they seem to boost the resin notes and make them bigger, better, deeper, stronger, and amplify their scent. The overall result on my particular skin is something that is strongly reminiscent of an opium-based perfume oil. (Or maybe there's just opium smoke/tar in this that's not on the ingredient list?) All of these notes blending together definitely leave an overall impression of a scent that I would categorize with my other favorite opium scents. I love this so much. It has amazing throw (a little goes a long way!) and above average staying power. (It's hard to get around to testing the other Weenies because I love this one so much I don't want to give up any skin time to things I don't think I'd like as much!)

Pissed Off Skeeters v2 - Lavender. Lavender, lavender, lavender. Oh, and did I mention there's a ton of LAVENDER in this? This is actually a very herbal scent beneath the massively huge blast of lavender. It's not the pretty, light lavender from Yvaine and TKO -- it's the heavier lavender generally used in the GC blends like Dove's Heart and Paris. My friend who picked this up described it as "bright, glowy." There actually is something bright and glowy beneath the lavender, but the lavender is amped so loudly on me that I can't for the life of me figure out what it is I'm smelling, except that it's very herbal, like something you'd smell in the natural remedies section of Whole Foods. My guesses as to what else is in here: rose geranium, pennyroyal, lemongrass...and hey, wait, do I smell a little dash of peppermint...or is that just the pennyroyal playing games with my nose? I feel like I can almost identify each of those notes in this blend, but I could be wrong. Anyway, if it weren't for my nemesis lavender, I think I'd probably like this blend, since I love this type of natural, herbal-remedy-smelling blend, and in fact, the longer I wear it, the more the lavender settles down and the more I really do like it... a lot! Edited because I haz teh dumb!

Tilt A' Whirl - I believe this is a prototype from an upcoming Carnaval Diabolique act called "The Rides" (at least that's the rumor I heard). Anyway, it's pure, sweet, pink sugar, cotton candy and, on me at least, nothing else. It's 100% cotton candy, and it's uber-sweet and yummy. Unlike Midway, which is the only other cotton candy BPAL scent I can think of, this one doesn't turn to plastic on me. It stays sweet and true and positively delicious. You're going to have a hard time not licking your arms when you're wearing this one!

Nigredo v7 - Dude, this is AWESOME!!! Vetiver/smoke/ash lovers are going to go nuts over this one. It's farging GORGEOUS!!! Wet in the bottle it smells like stanky wet vetiver, but fortunately for me, as much as vetiver stinks when it's wet, when it dries down on my skin, magical things start to happen. As it dries down, I can smell other notes beside the vetiver, and this is chock full of smoke, ash, and molten rock, along with the odd sweetness of sulfur, and everything that's dirty, gritty, grimy, heavy, dark, menacing and foreboding. This scent is sinister and uber-sexy. It was so tempting to pass it by when I sniffed it wet in the bottle, but I'm sure glad I remembered that my skin does good things with vetiver, because this is one of the most hardcore and awesome vetiver blends I've ever encountered. Move over Determination and Three Jacks -- Mama's got a new favorite vetiver scent!

The Ghosts of the Arroyo Seco Bridge - I think this may be my favorite of the C15 exclusives. I don't know what I expected, but I think I expected something a little more spectral and cement-like, since it's named after this famous California "Suicide Bridge." But it's a pretty, bright floral, possibly lilies, (although lilies don't usually work on me, so I can't imagine that's what it actually is), fresh greenery that reminds me of the iceplant that grows along many hillsides in California to mitigate mudslides, and there is a slight spectral quality about this blend, but it's not ethereal, if that makes any sense. It's ghost-like, but like a ghost you can almost touch, as opposed to a ghost you only see out of the corner of your eye, but which has faded into the most by the time you look at the exact spot where you thought you saw it. I really love this blend. Floral haters probably won't like it, but it's one of the prettier florals I've encountered in a very long while. The throw is really strong, especially when first applied, and the scent lasts and lasts.

Snappy-quick PMS relief. I have to say, my bottle of Bitch arrived just in time. It arrived not as I was suffering from pre-menstrual malaise, but mid-menstrual malaise, and let me tell you, it works for that, too. Yay! The scent is very different from the other Panacea blends. I am having a really difficult time identifying the individual notes, but it's highly herbal, and there is something in it that reminds me of camphor or eucalyptus, without the sinus-clearing quality that camphor and eucalyptus scents usually seem to have. I think there is a touch of citrus in this blend, but I can't for the life of me figure out which one, as it's very subtle, and a background note. I keep thinking I might be smelling some lavender, but as soon as I think I smell it, it is overwhelmed by the herbal quality of the blend, and I'm unsure if lavender is an herb used in this blend. Overall, it's not a pretty scent, and definitely not something I'd ever wear as a perfume. It's a very natural and organic scent. It reminds me of the wellness section of Wild Oats with the scent of all the organic and herbal blends floating around you. There is one herbal note in particular that is really strong, and I'm hoping that someone else will be able to pick it out because it's driving me crazy enough that I'm tempted to head over to Wild Oats and start sniffing things until I figure out what that herbal note is! This blend initially has amazing throw when it's wet, and as it wafts around me, I find the scent very calming and soothing. While I can't speak to its effectiveness against menstrual cramps, I can say that with respect to moodiness, irritability, and the general feelings of languor that often accompany my cycle, it is particularly effective. I don't feel nearly as sluggish, my temperament seems a bit more calm and relaxed, and in general, I just feel better. I definitely recommend this. I definitely will keep using this. I definitely wish I knew what that specific note is that I can't quite place.

La Mort Qui Danse, Félicien Rops. Black pepper, white ginger, Calla lily, and lily of the valley. This is An incredibly strong, floral scent. The slightly pungent and green notes of the lily of the valley are the strongest with the soft, gentle sweetness of the Calla lily backing it up and tempering the lily of the valley. The white ginger smells less like ginger root and more like soft ginger flower. The black pepper never becomes fully discernible, yet it’s obvious that it’s behind the florals, giving a touch of sharpness to the blend that it would have otherwise. This is a very strong, very white floral scent and if it were to be in any other BPAL category, it would most definitely be found in the Funereal Oil section due to the nature of this scent. If you tend to like strong, white florals, this may be a good one for you.