Poenari

I had read that the OLLA, Funnel of Love, is close in spirit to the Crypt Queen. "The whole feeling of this blend is rather like Crypt Queen, but with less fruit." Thanks I'll check that out! Crypt Queen is one of my top 10 of all time scents! I also love Funnel of Love, but it is nothing like CQ to me. In fact, there has never been anything that I've found to be a spot-on match, although I have tried over the years. But I would recommend Beautiful Death from Dark Delicacies. Even though it doesn't share the notes of Crypt Queen, it reminds me of a lighter member of the family. "A tragedy in one act: pale sandalwood threaded with a vanilla filigree, bitter green cognac, white tobacco, and Roman chamomile, stained by a splash of black tea and the deceptively sweet juice of belladonna berries.". Beth said that she created it for herself because she wanted something "corpse-y and bittersweet for spring.". I have one bottle and have considered a backup to really age for a few years.

Ashes, glowing embers, and tobacco absolute. This smells just like a cozy wood fire burning in the fireplace. It is a smoky-sweet scent, with the tobacco adding a touch of sweetness, like from a chewy sweet cigar. It lingers just long enough to leave a warm cozy scent in the room, as if your blankets have absorbed the woodsmoke. It's just beautiful and not overpowering. If you don't have a fireplace and wish you did, then this spray is for you! As a comparison, Bonfire Smoke Home & Linen Spray is the smell of an outdoor bonfire with autumn leaves burning and a slightly acrid ash smoke. They are different enough from each other than I'm happy to have both.

I love original Snake Charmer perfume as well as Snake Charmer Res, so this was a no-brainer of a purchase for me, regardless of how many other bottles of hair gloss I own. I instabought 3 bottles of this to have on hand, because I expect it to age beautifully, but also plan to apply liberally. I also started wearing my Snake Charmer perfume for a few days to get ready and remind myself of the scent. My bottles arrived today, and I jumped into the shower to wash my hair and apply my fresh but warm from the mailbox Snake Charmer HG. I did shake it up first, since I know how the hair glosses can separate, and this one has a Snake Oil type of base, which definitely separates. On damp towel dried hair, a few sprays into my palm, and YESSSS! This is definitely my beloved SC. After a light blow dry, I sprayed a bit on top to shine up the dry curly hair that I have. I am posting this review 7 hours later, and I can smell it wafting around me. Snake Oil similarity, but the plum and coconut add a summery vibe. The plum in Snake Charmer has always reminded me of Mme. Moriarty, and this does the same, but again, a lighter version. But don't confuse "lighter version" with lack of throw. It is beautiful, and I think I'm going to apply a spray before bed every night so that I can have it kind of soak into my pillowcase too. I am going to have sweet dreams for sure!

Black pine pitch, oakmoss, Spanish moss, myrrh, and violet leaf. At first sniff, I can smell a powdery myrhh, and there is a "greenish" scent to this from the mosses. The pine pitch isn't as dark as it often is, and the violet leaf gives a soft sweetness. OK, so basically a soft, powdery mossy scent with only the barest hint of floral. This is very pretty, and not my usual kind of scent. I don't need a bottle, but am happy for my decant.

I am really excited for Vicomte de Valmont now because it sounds gorgeous from the recs (and has rosemary like The Gentlemen, which is a pretty rare bpal note)! Yeah, unfortunately for me, Jareth is a near dupe for Dorian on me, both in the bottle and on (lots of sugar and some musk). I get none of the leather or lilac. That being said, chemistry is a fickle thing, so you should definitely get a imp and check it out! I hope you like Dracul, it's one that I like a lot. I don't really have any good recs for Count Dracula (which sounds lovely) but you may want to try, if Dracul is up your alley and if you get a chance, Troll or Iago for that sort of dark, swirly, musky scent. I hope you like Vicomte de Valmont! It is head and shoulders above the rest on me- I absolutely love it. Immediate love. I'm not sure he can be dethroned. On me it comes off as really well blended. If the rosemary is doing anything, it's not foody- it would probably be lending a stabilizing green note. It feels wonderfully classical and old world and I can't stop smelling it when it's on. It's the first one where I knew that I was going to get a bottle for sure. I think I miiighhtt amp leather, so I am interested to see what Jareth does on me. I just had an imp of Dracul come in along with some scents that are supposed to be similar to the good Vicomte (Or so I hope!). I'm excited to try Dracul as I think it shares some notes with Count Dracula? I'm afraid I may not be able to find a substitute for the teeny vial of the Count I have. Count Dracula was the most snuggly, velvety, woody, dried-floral, clovey thing on me- really comfy and so effortless with leathery edges and man oh man. Maybe Dracul will work out... Here's to hoping... I don't find Dracul anything like Count Dracula. Dracul has so much pine and mint. However, I've been trying to remember to layer Hatta with Mort de César and see how that turns out. It would certainly bring out the leather and clove notes of the Count! (Although my bottle of Count Dracula is more snuggly clove and little to no leather, which is just fine by me.) I'll report my results in the layering thread if I can remind myself to do this tomorrow!

Something about this called to me when the Etsy shop returned to active status, so I went ahead and bought a bottle. I haven't tried it on my husband yet, so even though it's meant for a man, my impressions are based on me wearing it. Wet, there is a very strong cherry almond scent, followed by a blast of anise. It's very sweet, but it dries down fairly quickly to a softer sweet red licorice scent, like those cherry pull-aparts. so it doesn't stay "in your face" the way it starts out. I do get the syrupy cola comparison too. This isn't a "burly masculine" scent, but I can see how it would wear nicely on a hot guy in a tropical setting. If only I had one of those hanging around.

Here is another fairly recent thread: http://www.bpal.org/topic/86808-the-perfect-patchouli/?do=findComment&comment=2526090 But if you want a thorough education on BPAL patchouli, go here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/21428-bpal-patchouli/?do=findComment&comment=40522

I tried this once a few years ago, and recall that it didn't work for me so I gave away my frimp in a swap. I received another frimp in a Trading Post order recently, so I thought I should try it out again. Nope! Once again, this scent is not for me. I love the smell of good coffee, and I love to drink flavored coffees, but I have yet to find any coffee scent that works on my skin. Usually any hint of coffee turns to burnt coffee on my skin. This one is too sweet, and is giving me a headache. Have to wash this off.

The Wooden Bullet smells like so much more than the notes. This is woods warmed by a golden sunset, slightly sweet and not too masculine, exotic and rich. I'm so happy I bought a bottle and just might need a backup. It's not like any other woody or woodsy scents in my collection.

I am sure that I reviewed Snake Charmer ages ago, but this thread indicates that I didn't, so in honor of the hair gloss coming out, I decided to wear and review my bottle. Actually, I have bottles of the original as well as the resurrected Snake Charmer, so I retested both of them. In actuality, they smell and wear the same on my skin. I adore Snake Oil and this is my favorite variant on it. Snake Oil is a heavily vanillic incense on me, and the plum and coconut in Snake Charmer add more sweetness to that vanilla incense. I can smell the plum, but the coconut has never stood out as a distinct note. However, together, this is just heavenly. It is also extremely long-wearing on my skin. I would love it if this reappeared as part of the new Carnival Diabolique, whenever that returns.

On my skin, this is a perfume version of Fae Forest room spray. It's lighter than Black Forest, but very much in the same family. I definitely would never wear this during the day but this is the kind of scent that I periodically like to use as a sleep scent. Going to drop this one into the nightstand drawer.

Trying out a frimp from a Lab or Post order that has been sitting in my imp stash for who knows how long. Well, this is very foodie! It reminds me of the smell of hot Cream of Wheat cereal, with milk and sugar on top, the way my mom served it when we were kids. Unfortunately, I dislike Cream of Wheat and milk, so this is a no-go. I always had Cocoa Wheats cereal instead, without milk.

I ordered decants of the entire OLLA set immediately after they went live last year. When they arrived, I tested them and put up mini-reviews on the Lab's FB group since the forums were down, but then I lost those when the FB group went away. So here we are, nearly a year later, and I'm re-testing the ones that I didn't immediately buy bottles of after testing. I remember testing Diamond Star, because my impression hasn't changed a bit! On my skin, this is identical to the early 1970's original Bonne Bell Skin Musk perfume oil that I wore all through high school. Soft, slightly sweet skin musk scent, the original one in this bottle, not the crap that they sell now. I can't believe I haven't ordered a bottle of Diamond Star because I need this for old time's sake and because I love how it smells on me.

Dracul is also a nice masculine scent that has just enough fir to give it a hint of forest. It smells wonderful on my husband. "Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom."

Freshly applied to wrist, I get BLASTED with super-sweet cherry almond scent. This reminds me of the pink Breck Crème Rinse that my mother used to use on my hair as a child of the 60's. You had to mix it with water before pouring it over your hair. So pink! So sweet! And no tangles! And then the sweet almond disappears and this turns into cumin. Not soft spices, but bitter and nose-wrinkly. Oh, my Queen, you stink.

This is the One.True.Spray. Banshee Beat in a room spray. Sweet patchouli, vanilla, just a touch of hemp. Several years ago we went to Disney World during the holiday season. I was so struck by how they incorporated smell into the attractions and parades to create a total sensory experience. Well, I want the whole world to smell like this.

For me, I haven't quit them per se--in fact, getting into BPAL has given me a greater appreciation for how "regular" perfume also evolves throughout a day--but I just have so much BPAL now that I forget to ever wear the other stuff! I often recommend to people who aren't used to wearing oils that it can be helpful to give up alcohol based perfumes for a while in the beginning, so that your nose gets used to the notes on your skin without the alcohol. Alcohol based perfumes are intended to be stable enough to smell pretty nearly the same on everyone, making them recognizable (and marketable) when you smell them on someone. If you give them up while testing out oils, your nose will learn to pick out the notes, and more importantly, differentiate how they smell on your skin while wet, drydown, and during hormonal changes. As for me, I stopped buying or asking for alcohol based perfumes after getting into BPAL. I still have some of my old favorites that I wear on occasion, or I pack them when going on trips so I don't have to worry about losing my Preciousss. But mostly I find that I just prefer to wear BPAL because then I don't smell like anyone else!

I love champa and wine scents, so I decided to take a chance on this one based on reviews, hoping I would just get a hint of rose petals. I was not disappointed! This is a beautiful incensed soft rose wine scent, that's pretty much all I can say. I love it and will wear it a lot this spring and summer. It goes great with Blood Rose, Zombi, and other softer rose scents.

This is the perfect companion to the bath oil and atmo spray. Sweet vanilla'd patchouli with a hint of hemp. Long-lasting in my hair, and even though my hair is short, I can get wafts of it. I applied it yesterday to freshly shampooed hair (a bit to damp hair to comb through and a bit more run through my curls after my hair was dry for extra shine and scent.). I could smell it on my pillowcase this morning! Definitely grabbing a backup bottle (even with my huge stash of hair glosses) because I need this in my life. Amber & Patchouli hair gloss has been my favorite of all the glosses, and this equals it. Instead of the semi-sweet amber with the patchouli, RR is sweeter due to the vanilla, and the patchouli is also sweeter and more wearable around those who don't like patchouli. It is also sweeter than my well-aged (5 years) Banshee Beat, but it's the same scent, just without the aging.

I am a major patchouli lover, and I have several bottles of Banshee Beat purchased from UO back in the day, so RR was an instabuy in every format. The only question is how many bottles of each to hoard? I use my bath oils as after shower moisturizers, so fresh from the mailbox I applied some RR to my hands like a lotion. It definitely smells like Banshee Beat! I couldn't wear any scent that day due to a dentist appointment, so I had to wash it off. But I pulled out my bottle of perfume for a bottle-sniff comparison. The main difference is the aging factor. My bottle of perfume is initially stronger on the patchouli and the vanilla stays in the background, whereas the bath oil initially comes off as a sweet vanilla scent with a hit of patchouli. But if I recall correctly, the perfume was sweeter initially as well, with the vanilla initially more prominent. Full on body test the next day, and this is just fabulous! It is a sweet vanilla'd patchouli scent, just a hint of the hemp to give it a dried greenery note, like those rope/straw bracelets made from hemp. This is definitely hoard-worthy, and I'm sure it will age fabulously, since patchouli usually does so. It's still sweeter than my bottle of BB perfume, but that makes it more wearable in situations where you might need to tone down the patchouli. But going for broke and applying perfume on top of the bath oil (and adding the hair gloss) makes this unfuckingbelievable. I seriously hope this becomes GC so I don't have to buy all my bottles at once and can spread out the finances as well as the aging process.

Interfector is a sweet, chewy tobacco scent with a hint of woods and resin. This reminds me of a pipe tobacco that my dad used to use. It smells like that smelled in the pouch, not during or after smoking it. It's very nice and although I like it, my decant will suffice.

In the decant, I initially don't detect anything! What on earth, is my nose blind to this? After applying to my wrist, the complete opposite happens. Lavender blasts off my wrist and into my nose! It's so strong that it gives off a medicinal fume that I can feel in my eyes. I'm not certain that I can ride this one out until drydown, but I force myself to wait. After 30 minutes, the fumes and medicinal smell has faded into that familiar herbal lavender that is good for a sleep-scent. The magnolia has arrived! Just a hint of floral gives this some sweetness, but it's still primarily lavender to me. I really don't detect any of the other notes in this. Misericordia is mostly miserable on me, and not my type of vampire.

Whew! White lily to the max! This is extremely sweet, a very white floral scent on my skin, with no frankincense (which I usually amp). If you love florals, definitely check this one out. It is very pretty and feminine. This one is not for me, however, as I prefer my vampires to be dark, sexy, and bloodthirsty.

A grounded, earthy scent, evocative of the soul’s finer qualities: patchouli, clove, neroli, night-blooming jasmine, sage, and iris. Decant from azurephoenix' circle. I'm finally getting to try out the rest of this line of scents besides my long-beloved Tombeur, one per day. In the decant, my initial reaction is good. This is a spicy incense blend. On skin, oh hello clove! And welcome to my wrist, patchouli! There is a slight sage note on the drydown, and hallelujah no jasmine! Actually, I get no florals from this at all. After 30 minutes, Vespillo has become a softer, gentler version of Clemence: all patchouli and clove. I really like it, but my decant will suffice because I love Clemence even more. Vespillo is much too kindly of a vampire for me. I guess it has to be, to assist with human acceptance. But if I'm going to wear patch and clove, I want it to be INYOURFACE the way Clemence wears on me .

Decant from azurephoenix' circle. I'm finally getting to try out the rest of this line of scents besides my long-beloved Tombeur. OK, this is not at all what I expected. I applied to my wrists before reading the notes and sniffed. Wet, dry, and after 30 minutes this is a generic rose cologne. Nothing like described, not unpleasant or soapy, but not special enough to invest in a bottle. Uh-oh, and now while typing it's starting to give me a headache.