edenssixthday

The Phoenix in Spring - This is such a pretty scent -- full of cherry blossoms and the grassy wildness of dandelions. I don't smell the myrrh at all. It's a really pretty, feminine, light scent perfect for spring, but on my skin, something in it turns and starts to smell flat and almost plasticky, so ultimately it's not for me.

Schwarzer Mond: Brian's Creation (2011) - My tastes have changed a lot over the years. This is my review of the original 2006 version. Apparently I indicated I was going to get rid of my bottle. I didn't, and a year or two later, I tested it out and fell so head-over-heels in love, that I tracked down a backup bottle. It doesn't look like I reviewed 2008, but I remember smelling it and not being impressed. But I still loved my 2006. It just got better with age. This year's Schwarzer Mond didn't impress me either at first. But it's now been a couple of months since I received it, and I have to say, I'm liking it more! I think what this pattern shows is I like aged SM! The aged SM 2011 smells warm and woody, husky and kind of spicy, and musky and patchouli-ish, and just really sexy. I still have my bottle of 2006 and while I don't wear it often, when I'm in the mood for this scent, I'm sooo glad I have one that's so well-aged!

Milk Chocolate, Raw Ginger, and Butterscotch - Despite my general dislike of butterscotch and chocolate scents , this scent smells heavenly! It's soft, melty milk chocolate with spicy ginger and sweet butterscotch. My skin amps the ginger and it's really spicy, but amazingly, it doesn't turn the butterscotch into burnt ick on my skin and the milk chocolate doesn't turn into dust. This is one I'd wear in a scent locket so I could smell deliciousness all day long!

Touched Twice - This is a super strong rose scent. Tons and tons of rose rose rose, with a bit of frankincense dryness and coconut creaminess far, far beneath the rose. It's pretty much all rose all the time, and while I tend to really like a lot of BPAL rose scents, this one's just a tad too cloying for my taste. It was almost a wearable scent, but in the end, I realized I'd never reach for it over other favorite rose scents.

The King's Daughter - On my skin, all I get is sandalwood, elemi, and oakmoss, with the faintest hint of sweet pea. It's warm, woody, sweet from the florals (but not cloying), and very pretty. It's a really nice scent, but doesn't have much throw on me.

Lady Amalthea - This smells like a soapy floral, and once it goes on my skin, it turns 100% entirely soapy. It smells like strong laundry detergent, and I can't smell any of the notes over the soap, which amps to high heaven on my skin.

Touched Twice - This is a very pretty scent, but probably not something for those who don't love rose! On me, it's predominantly sweet and ethereal vanilla musk with the floral sweetness of frangipani (!!! ) and rose. There's a hint of creamy coconut, and a layer of dry, gritty frankincense that keeps the scent from floating into the ether. It's really pretty, but honestly, I have other pretty floral scents that I love more, and am not sure how often I'd reach for this one.

Naiad v4 - When I first put this on, it's lavender and nothing but lavender, which happens to be a BPAL nemesis note for me. Fortunately, the lavender quickly softens and something else starts to come out that's really bright and pretty. The released Naiad had lotus, lavender, and neroli. I don't think that has lotus, as there's none of the ultra-sweet bubblegumminess of lotus flower about this scent. Also, neroli tends to go either pretty and powdery or strong and bitter on me, and this scent doesn't do either on me. It's a very pretty, soft, floral (the previous reviewer may be right about the ginger flower) over a sweet aquatic base. Once the lavender dissipates, it's very pretty, and I'm really glad I had the chance to try it out.

Éclat - Tested it at Dark Delicacies. It's a very bright, green, perfumey scent with a hint of herbal lemon. It's simple and pretty and I would probably wear it if I had some, but it doesn't blow my mind and leave me yearning for more.

Tree of Life - There are not enough words to describe how beautiful this scent is. For those of you who recently tried Atlas from the Metamorphosis series, there is definitely a similarity in the woods and sweetness, and I thought I loved Atlas, but Tree of Life blows it out of the water. Tree of life is very woody, but has an almost vanillic-sweet scent about it. It's rich and deep and earthy and sweet. I was concerned about the cocoa absolute note, as chocolate never works out on me, but apparently cocoa absolute is much different from chocolate, and it does not turn on my skin, and simply adds to the rich, sweet, earthiness of the scent. The clary sage is an amazing addition to this scent and adds the faintest herbal quality, but is, I think, what makes this such a soothing, comfort-type scent for me. It's so hard to describe because it's such a rich and complex scent that is incredibly well-blended. The only negative is the price. I love it, but can't really afford splurge on a backup bottle, and I know this one's going to be in high demand after it goes down, so it'll be hard to find a bottle later when I have the dinero for it. I'll just be happy with what I have, I suppose.

Pallas Athene - I put a little of this on before going to dinner last night, and immediately wondered if I'd made a mistake. It came off as a really heavy, men's-type cologne. I was not impressed. However, as I was sitting at the restaurant, waiting for my order to arrive, I caught a whiff of something that smelled really good, so held my wrist up to my nose, and yep, it was me! Pallas Athene had settled down into something slightly powdery (the amber and saffron, most likely), woody (cedar), warmly sweet (myrrh and cinnamon bark), and simply gorgeous. It's a really stunning, elegant scent, and I am so very glad I didn't wash it off immediately after applying! This is the perfect example of why I always want to test everything, because sometimes first sniffs can be deceiving!

Goliath Birdwing - This goes on with a nice blast of herbal lemon and sage, but the musk immediately jumps in and makes it smell a bit weird on me. After it dries down, it smells like the Murphy's Oil Soap I use to wash my floors.

Redoul Honey - Juicy blackberries, a bit of bright greenery, and sweet honey. As it dries down, I smell a hint of something spicy, too. And amazingly, the blackberry does not take on the scent of cat pee on my skin and the honey does not turn to poopy diaper. This is a dream-scent for me. Possibly bottle-worthy.

Chokecherry Honey - There are TONS of chokecherry's in this region of the country, and their blossoms are so stunningly beautiful that I couldn't wait to try this. It smells amazing in the vial. It smells like cherry blossoms and the tiniest hint of sweet cherry juice, plus tons of honey. In fact, the first time I tried it, it smelled so amazing that I slathered it all over. As soon as it touched my skin, it morphed into Tide soap. I REEKED of Tide. And then it morphed again into ... cannibis? My husband came upstairs and said, "It smells like pot up here," and I knew exactly why, because I smelled it all over me. And then it started to settle down and the honey came out more, but when I sniff up close, it definitely smells like a pot/honey scent. I kind of like it in weird way that's nostalgic of my youth, but it's definitely not what I was expecting.

Atlas - I didn't think I could wear this scent due to the mallow, which doesn't work well with my skin chemistry; however, Atlas turned out to be my favorite of all of the metamorphosis scents. I adore this scent! It's warm and woody, has the faintest trace of smokiness (from the khus perhaps?), and the coffee doesn't smell much like fresh-brewed coffee, but rather like a warm, earthy spice. The mallow sweetens and softens the scent, giving it an almost vanilla-like feel about it. I positively adore this scent!

Purple Spotted Swallowtail - The top notes are definitely the plum, deliciously sexy opium, opoponax, and something that smells like it's going to go a bit soapy on me, which could be the castoreum, and a thin sliver of lime that's been squeezed into the mix. The scent is dark, but not heavy, sweet and juicy, deep, warm, and very, very, very pretty. The scent lasts several hours on me, which for my dry skin, is really good. There's something about this that makes me wonder what it would be like when layered with Mourning Shroud. Another amazing keeper!

Pussy - G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S!!!!! This scent surprised the heck out of me because I shouldn't have liked it - honey and saffron are both "iffy" notes on me and I'm absolutely never able to wear anything with brown sugar in it! I guess with BPAL, there's always an exception to the rule. The orange blossom honey is the strongest note, and amazingly, it really doesn't smell like plain honey, but has a definite orange blossom facet about it that reminds me of the orange blossom in Jezebel. The saffron spices it up in a way that is reminiscent of MB: Underpants. The tonka gives the scent a bit more warmth and the tobacco leaf grounds, but absolutely does not overwhelm the scent. I don't smell the brown sugar at all, which for me is absolutely thrilling. On me, it is sweet and subtle and I'd put it in the same category as Sara Pezzini. I just can't get over how much I love this scent -- it makes me feel so pretty, and is a perfect, soft, mostly-skin scent. It will be a great scent for wearing to the office -- subtle and natural enough not to annoy anyone, yet strong enough and pretty enough to keep me silently swooning for hours.

Mourning Shroud - The strongest note is the incredibly gorgeous opoponax, which is given a solid base by the woods, sweetened by the cocoa butter, almond milk and beeswax, and has a flash of herbal brightness from the verbena. This is a really gorgeous scent. It's a bit powdery in the way that resins can sometimes be, which gives the overall scent a very pretty sort-of-dusty finish. It's unique, pretty, and borders on sexy.

Brood XIX - Anyone who knows me can tell you that cicadas are one of my very favorite things -- I experienced my first periodic emergence when I was 17, then flew back East again 17 years later to see the same brood emerge again, and was beyond tickled pink when my a family reunion this year took me right into the middle of the Brood XIX emergence. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the Lab released a cicada scent!!! This blend is warm and dry, and is an absolutely perfect representation of an emerging brood of cicadas! On me, it's mostly warm, dry hay and corn stalks, the sweetness of almond, the resinous depth of golden amber, and the faintest trace of sweet, smooth rice milk. It really can't get over how dead-on it is for an aromatic representation of this adorable little bug. It's not really the type of scent I typically wear, but I'll hang on to it and wear it for the sentimental value, and of course I'll be wearing it the next time I go back to the East/South to see the cicadas again!

Thirteen (13): May 2011 - Only one 13 has ever worked on me, but that one (10/06) was so amazing that I keep trying them when they come out "just in case". This one is definitely different from most of the other 13s I've tried: it's not nearly as foody and gourmand sweet. Also, I totally get what absinthetics means about the similarities to Storyville. I would imagine Storyville lovers who also like chocolate could possibly dig this scent. On me, it's mostly chocolate, honey, ginger, cardamom, red sandalwood, and a hint of the weird sweet rooty oddness of carrot and bitterness of caraway. Overall, there's a weirdness about it that I think is coming from the carrot and caraway, that makes me unable to stop sniffing my skin, but certain that I'll never try to wear it in public. It's intriguing in its uniqueness, but also, to me, not wearable as a personal fragrance due to that carroty/caraway oddness about it. And yet, I can't stop sniffing my skin. I need to figure out some way to experience this weird scent, even if it's not on my body as perfume.

Moon of Horses - Like the reviewer before me, I smell grape and hay. Maybe a hint of the olive leaf, but mostly warm, sweet grape (like a real grape, not artificial candy-grape) and dry, dusty hay. Or maybe that's the frankincense that my nose is interpreting as "hay" since this is a "horse" scent and when I think of horses, I think of hay, because I'm allergic to both. Anyway, I like the scent wet, but when it dries down, the sweet, juicy grape dissipates and I'm left with mostly a dry hay scent. It's too warm and earthy for my taste, I'm afraid.

Dank Tarn of Auber Bath Oil - I agree 100% with the previous reviewer. This is nothing like what I expected. It reminds me a lot of Spanked without the leather. I haven't used it in the tub so far, but used it as a body moisturizer. The scent lasted all day, and it was warm and rich and absolutely amazing. I can't reconcile the scent listing with the fragrance I smell at all -- I don't smell much in the way of florals. I smell tons of oakmoss, patchouli, and some spicy notes, along with something a bit heavier, almost mossy. It layers gorgeously with Fetish.Goth and with Spanked. I can't wait to use it in a bath.

Ghoul-Haunted Woodland of Weir Atmosphere Spray - OMG - this is AWESOME! It's dark and woody, almost resinous, rich, heavy, and lush. The pine is almost pitchy and the oak gives this blend an incredible warmth that it's a really comforting, wonderful scent -- nothing "chilling" about it all in my experience!

This is a really clean, sophisticated scent. The engine grease is clean and fresh and the aftershave is crisp and gentlemanly. The brass is the least dominant note, but gives the scent a nice, clean hint of a metallic edge, but not sharp-metallic, more rounded-metallic. It's a really nice scent that fits the inspiration quite well.

Cabaret.Goth - This is an amazing scent. If I had more than one bottle, I would make it my signature scent. It's sweet and slighty on the foody-ish side of things, without being a gourmand or bakery type scent. The amber is the strongest note, sweetened up by the deliciously yummy spices, and the gardenia, which I thought would ruin the whole thing for me, somehow manages to improve the scent in a rich and heady way. God, I'm so in love with this scent. It's very strong, and a little goes a long way, so hopefully my bottle will last a long time because this is the kind of scent that makes me think I could easily give up at least half of my collection in lieu of this once fragrance. True love.