edenssixthday

Copulating Mice - Lavender is my nemesis, bergamot rarely smells good to me, clove can go either way, and nutty scents are generally pretty awful on my skin, so I didn't have high hopes for this scent, and I'm glad. While I can't smell the lavender at all (?!?!?!) or the bergamot (?!?!?!), the hazelnut and pecan absolutely blast out of this scent like horses out of the starting gate. It's all warm, creamy nuts all the time... with just the faintest hint of thyme in the far, far background, which is actually a really nice, fresh touch and compliments the nuts nicely, if they were more well-behaved and didn't amp to high heaven on my skin. I can see how with the right skin chemistry, the fresh, almost crispness of the thyme could really balance out the rich, deep nuttiness of the pecan and hazelnut. Anyway, on me, it's just not great. I think I wouldn't mind this in a room spray, but I don't like scents this foody and rich and on my skin, as I find them cloying and unpleasant.

Aphrogenes - Very pretty in the bottle. It smells like iris and coconut. When I put it on, the orris becomes the dominant note. Now, I love orris' dry powdery scent, but blended with the iris and coconut (which are both soft and slightly powdery on me), it's almost too powdery, and I can't smell any of the other notes at all. When it dries down, it becomes an incredibly subtle scent, and about two hours into wear time, I realize that I can actually smell the faintest trace of white sandalwood, but at this point, it's accompanied only by the orris. At no point do I ever smell cherry blossom or honey. I think people who like coconut, orris, and subtle fragrances may enjoy this one a lot. I agree with the first reviewer that it's reminiscent of Black Pearl, so if you like that one, you'll likely like this one, as well.

Apatouros - It's too bad that aldercy doesn't have my skin chemistry, because on me, this is most definitely a "smoky carnation resinfest." It opens up with the strong, spicy scent of carnation and the smokiness of myrrh, with a hint of spicy nutmeg and just the faintest drop of vetiver. The vetiver dries really nicely on my skin, leaving a soft, gritty, smokiness behind and the myrrh, carnation and vetiver work together to keep the fig from being too strong on me, although I can still smell it and it's not my favorite note (it rarely works on me). I don't smell the green tea at all. If it weren't for the fig, which I dislike in general, I'd probably buy a bottle of this, as it's a gorgeous "smoky resinfest" that could be super awesome (without the fig).

Antheia - Jasmine haters beware! This is an incredibly strong jasmine scent. There's nothing soft or subtle about the jasmine in this blend. In fact, when I opened the box for my decant group, as I was pulling out the bubble-wrapped bottles, I came across this one and even with the cap screwed on tight and the bubble wrap around it and the fact that it was a good 18-24" away from my nose, I knew without a doubt there was jasmine in the bottle. It's very, very strong. And it's very very pretty. This is a really lovely jasmine blend. While jasmine does amp on my skin, this one doesn't amp as much as I would have expected, considering how strong it is in the bottle, but a little still goes a very long way with this blend. The ylang ylang blends beautifully with the jasmine (amazing, since I don't like ylang ylang!) and really brightens it up and keeps it from being too heady and cloying. I don't smell the rose or apple blossom, and the gardenia is very faint, enough that for me, it doesn't ruin the blend (although I'd still prefer this scent without the gardenia). The amber is soft and subtle and rather than being a dominant force in this blend, it provides a nice base for the florals. This is a really lovely scent, and I think it's yet another Lupercalia that's perfect for spring/summer. (The Lupers are putting me in such the mood for warm spring days!!!)

I really like that you guys are going to be doing updates like this. It's so helpful! Thanks for taking the time to keep us informed.

Springtime Playfulness - When this is wet, I absolutely adore it. It's fresh and bright and fruity and has tons of green musk (a very favorite note of mine) -- the lemongrass and cranberry are also quite dominant. There's something fairly powdery in it, and I can't help but wonder if it has a bit of orris in it, too. As it warms up on my skin, I can also smell the coconut husk, sandalwood, and brown musk, and it's really pretty -- the woody scents compliment the other bright, juicy notes perfectly. Once it dries down completely, the throw fades significantly, and the brightness also dissipates, and there's another note that's kind of strange and flat and weird on my skin. I didn't recognize it and couldn't identify it for the life of me, so when I had the chance to look up the scent description, I realized it must be the squash. Whatever it is, it's odd on my skin, almost rancid. However, that initial wet burst of sweet green musk, lemongrass, and cranberry is so awesome that I'm going to hang on to this and use it in my scent locket. It's going to be perfect for spring and summer wear.

Gods of Intercourse - This is a lovely fruity-floral..It's sweetly peachy with a bit of juicy red currant and soft, sweet musk. Gardenia is far from my favorite note, but it's blended with perfect balance in this scent and I actually like the overall result, which is amazing for a gardenia scent! I don't smell any rose geranium. It's such a pretty scent as it is that I don't think I'd change anything about it (okay, maybe slightly less gardenia and more rose geranium.) It has really, really strong throw when first applied, and after drydown, the throw is still above average, but settles down after about an hour on my skin. It's very pretty and absolutely perfect for spring.

The Arbor - I thought I was going to :heart: this... and I almost do. It's really lovely. It's a dark, woody, dirty red musk scent that's so close to being pretty, but the gardenia gives it a weird, bitter, soapiness on me that just isn't going to work for me. So sad!

Couple Engaged in Lovemaking - The oil is almost fluorescent yellow. It's a really fun color. Anyway, as for the scent, it's bright and crisp, very strong on the lemongrass and ginger, but the grains note smells like bitter hops and it's quite strong, giving the overall scent a weird, bitter vibe about it that just doesn't smell quite right to me whether it's in the bottle, wet on my skin, or dried down on my skin.

Time Does Not Bring Relief - This opens up with a hint of Egyptian musk along with tons of violet, and orange blossom. And then it turns to powder, powder, and more powder. None of the other notes ever the first chance with all that powder, not even my long-time nemesis, lavender. Rather, the powdery musk, powdery violet, and powdery orange blossom turn on the powder power and blow everything else away. Huge disappointment, as I was really excited for another rare Egyptian musk blend.

Dancing Koi - This is just soooooo nice! I've been looking for the perfect sandalwood scent for years, and I finally found it. It's predominantly sandalwood that smells a little dry and raspy when I first apply it, but as the blend dries on my skin, the brown musk and champaca work together to really warm up the sandalwood until it reaches absolute perfection on my skin. The brown musk lends a bit of sweetness to the blend. While the leather is noticeable when I first apply it, once it dries down, it blends so well with the other notes that it's virtually indistinguishable from the other background notes. This is a beautiful scent that's quite well-blended and will likely just get better with age. I'm going to need to buy at least one backup bottle of it!

Red Lantern 2011 - In past years, I've found this scent to be simply ghastly on my skin entirely as a result of the caramel in it. However, I recently tried a blend or two that had caramel in them that actually smelled good on me, so I really, really wanted to try Red Lantern again this year. While the recipe may be entirely the same as in previous years, to my nose, it seemed like there was a lot less caramel in it and a lot more amber, so I was pretty psyched to smell it. When I first put it on, I was super excited because it smelled the caramel wasn't going to ruin it and it was going to be a rich, warm, deliciously exotic blend that I could finally enjoy along with everyone else. And then.... and then the scent "turned" on me and that pesky caramel note, while not as strong as it's been in past iterations of Red Lantern, still managed to go off and start smelling like burnt-sugar-and-sick. It's light, not as cloying and unpleasant as my past experiences of it, but enough that I can't wear it on my skin. However, because the caramel in it is so light compared to previous years (again, to my nose, that is!) this may be one I can pull off wearing in a scent locket. I'm so glad Red Lantern is much more palatable to me this year and I hope by the time it's released again that either the caramel will be gone or my skin chemistry will have changed enough that I can wear it and love it, because I really, really want to love this blend, since everything else about it is really awesome.

Sleeping Nymph and Satyrs - On me, this is mostly dry woods (is that sandalwood?) that's blended beautifully with a touch of rose and a touch of vanilla. Despite the dryness of the woods, there's a warmth about the scent that I attribute to the ambergris and vanilla (and maybe the honey?). Unfortunately, there's something about this scent that's "not quite right", and I'm almost positive it's got to be the balsam note, as that's one that doesn't tend to work well on me and whatever's not working for me in this blend reminds me way too much of the Mutter Museum U scent, which went horribly awry on my skin, something I attributed to the balsam in that blend. So, if you like rose and vanilla in moderation along with beautiful, dry woods, and can get along well with balsam, I recommend this scent a lot. It definitely has the potential to be profoundly gorgeous with the right skin chemistry.

Womb Furie 2011- I liked the 2010 version, but not enough to keep my bottle of it, although I've sometimes wondered if I made a mistake in getting rid of that bottle. So I was excited that Womb Furie was released again this year, and out of all 54 blends from this update, it was the first one I decided to put on. Almost as soon as it hit my skin it took on a really strong plasticky vibe, much worse than the 2010 version did, and it had that sweet, powdery, cloying quality that I associate with the honey in O. It made me wonder if my skin chemistry has changed or if there's a different type of honey being used in this year's Womb Furie. I have no idea, I just know that I don't like it. However, after reading pixiedoo's review above, I am tempted to hold on to it and set it aside for a year and check it out again around this time in 2012. For reference, here's my review of Womb Furie 2010.

Young Pine Saplings - Now, I love Playing With A Loaded Gun and Mother Ginger and more often than not, I enjoy clove scents, so this is the scent from the Luper update that I was the most excited about. Sadly, it's horrible on me! The ginger has the potential to be a sweet and pretty ginger on me, but the clove note is extremely powerful and, when blended with the ginger, gives the ginger the same vibe as the super strong, bitter and fiery red ginger note that's found in blends like Saw-Scaled Viper. The cream tempers the overwhelmingness of the spiciness a bit, but not enough for me. I don't smell the honey in this at all, but that's probably because that clovey-gingery spiciness pretty much takes over the entire scent. It's extremely powerful when I first put it on, but once it dries down, it has pretty low throw and it fades very, very quickly.

Nymphia - I think this was, for me, the surprise hit of the Lupercalia update. I didn't expect to like it because neither lavender nor apple blossom works for me, and it's only the very, very rare case when I can tolerate either of them. I was amazed at how delicious this scent is, despite the obvious lavender in it. It opens up as a super sweet sugary scent, so heavy on the spun sugar that it reminded me of last summer's Rosy Maple. Behind the spun sugar is the coconut and lavender, and those three notes take center stage in this blend, but with the addition of the florals and the fresh sweetness of the cucumber, the coconut doesn't take over and the lavender behaves amazingly wonderfully. There's a hint of a tropical sweetness about this scent from the mango, but more than anything, it's a fresh, clean, super-sugary fruity-floral that's going to be absolutely perfect for late-spring and summertime wear.

Victorian Virgin with Cherubs - I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! This is my favorite bath oil ever in the entire history of the universe! It's one of my all-time favorite BPAL blends. This is an incredibly well-blended mixture of amber, white mint, hellebore, and white chocolate. I never, ever smell the honeysuckle, which is awesome because I can't stand honeysuckle. I use this in the tub and I use it after a bath/shower directly on my skin as a moisturizer. I find I am not remotely as interested in my other BPAL perfume oils now that I know I can smell like this every day -- it melds with my skin chemistry in a way that it smells like natural me, only better. The amber gives it a resiny earthiness and the mint lifts it up and makes it slightly invigorating, while the white chocolate is what melds so beautifully with my skin, making it impossible to figure out where I stop and this scent begins -- which is part of what amazes me, since I don't usually wear chocolates well, but this one is just soooo pretty! The hellebore gives it the slightest bit of a floral edge, but it's grounded and tempered by the amber so it doesn't become an out-of-control floral. When I apply this directly to my skin in the morning (or blended with a bit of kukui oil for additional moisture), the scent not only lasts all day long, but it has amazing throw all day long. I'll be in the middle of doing something and catch a whiff of something that smells really, really swoon-worthy, and then am just thrilled the moment I realize it's me that I'm smelling! This scent layers well with The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair, Okayaki, and A Cold, Clear Winter's Day. I only have a 1 oz decant, but with my next BPTP order, I'm buying at least one full bottle of this. I just can't get enough of it. It's one of the best scents ever!!!

Rubedo v4 - This is definitely a keeper! It opens up as bright, red rose and strong, aromatic herbs. It smells a lot like a scent that would be part of the Voodoo or Chakra line of blends, but it could be because a certain quality of the herbs reminds me of Sahasrara, and a certain quality of the herbs reminds me of Lobban. It's got the best parts of Venus, Sahasrara, and Lobban. After about 20-30 minutes on my skin, the strength of the opening notes fades just enough that I pick up a sweet, candy-pink note. I have no idea what it is, but it smells kind of like a cherry Jolly Rancher, only... softer. This is a lovely scent and people who like rose and herbal blends will probably find this one is is quite lovely.

CT2: LXXXVI - This smells like sweet, delicious Hawaiian Punch Fruit Punch..,red and sweet and sticky. Yummy yummy yummy!!!! Once it's on my skin, something just the slightest bit soapy is there, but I don't smell it unless I'm sniffing my wrists up close. I would guess it's some sort of floral note mixed in with the Hawaiian Punch. Despite the up-close soapiness, I still love it.

Ops - Something in this comes across as "woods" more than "cake" to my nose. But it's earthy and spicy. Tons of cardamom, yum! I don't smell much spicy cinnamon, but perhaps a hint of cinnamon bark. There's nutmeg, ginger (gingerbread?), and pure yumminess. Most foody scents "turn" on my skin, but this one doesn't. It stays pure and true to its yummy spicy, slightly woody deliciousness. Mmm.

The Kingdom of Sweets - I love this!!! It's sugary in a sticky-fingers kind of way. It makes me think of a bowl of lollipops or Jolly Ranchers or Dum-Dums or other super sweet, fruity, sugar candy. The peppermint makes for a kind of weird addition to the sweet, fruity-sugar notes, but it's not bad, just strange. Fortunately, the peppermint doesn't overwhelm, and hours after I apply this, I still smell like sticky, sugary candy, and I absolutely love it. I can't help but wonder how awesome this would smell when blended with Bon Vivant. I'm not usually one for the ultra-sweet and foody scents, but I can't get past how much I adore this one.

Changing the Shadows - This opens up as a sweet, complex vanilla scent, and it reminds me right away of the type of scent that has the potential to be very popular. It's creamy and has a really nice level of orange blossom that's not powdery at all, just slightly floral. The other note I smell the most is the tea, which compliments the orange and vanilla quite nicely. When it dries down, something in this blend turns flat and almost dusty on me, which is a huge bummer because it smells so good when it's wet.

The Waltz of the Flowers - Evil Lily takes over this blend from beginning to end, only allowing the tiniest hint of almost-as-evil ylang ylang through. I'm wishing I smelled the jasmine sambac and clove! Instead, all I get is heavy, heady lily and the occasional burst of citrus-like ylang ylang. This is unpleasant and needs to be washed off now.

The Last of the Spirits - Myrrh is one of my favorite notes. Vetiver, once it dries down, does amazingly lovely things on my skin. Black currant smells like cat pee 95+% of the time. So I was curious how this blend would shake out on me. Turns out, it's remarkably ... boring. The myrrh isn't warm and sweet and spicy as it typically is on me. The vetiver isn't nearly as warm and earthy as it tends to be on me. And the black currant does not turn to cat pee, oddly enough, but neither does it lend a juicy depth that I expected. The scent is just kind of dusty and dull on my skin. It's definitely got more of a masculine vibe to it than I expected, but it's not one I would want to smell on my husband, because it just doesn't have that intrigue about it that makes you love (or hate!) a BPAL. It's just really dull and bland.

An Altar to Cold, Rigid, Dreadful Death - I typically really like frankincense and dust is a no-no and cedar is in-between, so I was curious how this would pan out. The frankincense and cedar are both just too dry to blend well with the dust note and have it appeal to me. To my nose, it's extremely dry and dusty, and makes me think of an ossuary.