Poenari

Wow this is not at all what I hoped/expected. It goes very sickeningly sweet on me, with an initial blast that is not pleasant. I hate to say it, but it smells like pink urinal cakes on me. I have always liked apple and fig, but this is like a fermented mash and overly sugary. After drydown, it settles down and something spicy arises, probably from the amber. Unfortunately this remains too sweet for me to enjoy.  I'm really glad I tried it though.

I never tried Psionicist either, and tbh mint, eucalyptus, and even blue and white musks aren't usually my thing. But then I remembered how good Green Tea Viper is, and jumped on buying a bottle as soon as this went live. I wanted it to work and branch out a bit from my wheelhouse, and this is absolutely perfect for that!

Upon application, the mint and eucalyptus are there, but they are not overpowering at all. Then there is the musk, and the Snake Oil. Overall, this scent feels green and fresh and sexy all at once. I love this and it's going to get a lot of wear on hot summer days. 

Beth if you see this, please try to make more! Your happy little accident is making me happy too, and I would love to see others have the chance to enjoy this!

My decant traveled around for over a month while it disappeared from the USPS tracking system, so it is already slightly aged and the notes settled. This is a lovely fresh springtime floral. It definitely reminds me of the old B&BW Cherry Blossom scent I wore decades ago, only BPALed, so far better. The plum, honeysuckle, and gardenia add to the overall springtime floral vibe. It is not at all a lush heady floral. I could see me wearing this a lot. Bottle worthy.

My decant traveled around for over a month while it disappeared from the USPS tracking system, so it is already slightly aged and the notes settled. When my package finally arrived, this was the one I had to test first! 

My initial reaction was  . Those who have been raving about it were right! I get an initial blast of red musk, because I always detect that first in a blend. However this is truly the sum of its parts and after the initial waft, I can't separate the notes from one another. It is super dark, super rich, red, fruity, resiny, intense, and I love it. Yes I definitely need a bottle.

My decant traveled around for over a month while it disappeared from the USPS tracking system, so it is already slightly aged and the notes settled.  This is a very syrupy peachy apricot scent. I don't catch any of the other notes at first, but that isn't a bad thing. Then after drydown, I can catch the cardamom. Nice! If I didn't already have several other bottles of peach scents I would definitely upgrade this to a bottle. As it is, I really like it and will enjoy what I have.

So Fae is an oldie but goodie that I apparently never reviewed in here! I was in the mood for something light and fruity today, and no lie, a lonely imp of aged Fae was somehow sitting in my little imp case full of Snake Oils, Dragon's Milk, and other old favorites! It was meant to be today! 

Freshly applied, a very powdery musk... usually white musk goes sharp on me, but this one has a depth to it that I love, probably due to the age. I can't even distinguish the rest of the notes individually. It's a blend of musky fruit, yes more leaning to the peach side, but not specifically a peach note. All together this is so lovely, not ethereal as expected, and perfect for today's mood! 

A little bit of dragons blood with some warm spice and a hint of golden amber. I don't really get metallic from this, but it is lovely.

2020 Version:

Giving my blind bottle of 2020 Samhain a full wear today. I have several previous years of it, as well as the hair gloss and atmo spray, so I knew what to expect, other than that this year has cardamom listed as a note. This is the first one that has really given me the scent of apples! I never seem to get that from it. Finally an apple-y Samhain for me! Also, the menthol scent is much lighter than in my previous versions. This one is also sweeter.

And a couple of hours later, I added a dab of the Cinnamon and Clove duet to it. That didn't really change it other than to remove the rest of the menthol note I always get from it. Great layering combo.

Lovely sweet cake with vanilla, buttercream, and lavender. Reminds me of a more grown up version of Sprinklecake, with lavender added. I bought this to wear around my 5 year old grandson and to let him wear. He loves it. Sadly, my daughter does not. He told me "mommy said the one with lavender is stinky." Well I disagree and will enjoy wearing this lovely scent.

I have had my bottle of Lorraine Cross since its first release in 2016 and forgot to review it. So my bottle has some nice aging on it. There isn't a lot to say other than that I've been getting so many hits on the rose scents that I have chosen lately, after thinking that all rose would turn to dreadful soap on me for years upon years of BPAL. LC is a lovely rose, powdery from the myrrh, but not in an old-fashioned way. Pretty sure that's the sandalwood keeping the dreaded soap at bay. This is gentler than I had expected, and won't shriek anyone's head off. Slightly sweet, gentle resins with velvety rose petals. Very happy to have this!!

Sticky sweet'n'sour citrus musk..that's all I get. Citrus isn't my thing, but at least this fades quickly.

I was certain that I had reviewed this years ago. Several of my reviews seem to have disappeared in the Great 2014 Forum Crash. As I pull out a bottle to wear and come across a scent that is missing my review, I'm trying to review again. 

So this is for my very well-aged bottle of Panther Moon. OMG it is so thick, sticky, and syrupy! Super throw too! Very thick sweet smelling black musk and nag champa blend. That's what I get! All the other notes simply melted into these two. I love it even more than when it was new! Long lasting too! 

No one has mentioned cinnamon?! Well I get a strong cinnamon Smut from this! The red candy coating is made from cinnamon candies, and it is poured over a layer of Smut. That's it. Deliciously Smutty cinnamon candy, no apple.  I really like it!

Received my frottle as a gift from a wonderful BPALer. This scent is a big surprise to me! Typically I don't care for almond as a note in my perfume, and I am always cautious about rose.  This has them both right out of the bottle! On my skin, they blend and merge into a lovely gentle sweet rose, similar in fact to the rose in my beloved Rose Quartz Bedroom. I can tell there is myrrh here, as it's powder also swirls gently in and out of the rose. I typically amp cassia and opium tar, and yet I don't even get them as individual notes here! I really love this scent and will wear it for spring. It's very comforting and is suitable for wearing in company, if that being around people ever happens again. This perfume is another example of why you shouldn't rule out a BPAL solely based on the notes. Always give a skin test! 

I've had my bottle since '07 and wore it today for the first time in a long while. I've been on a clove kick lately, with many newer scents that have clove. I looked this up to recall my review and didn't find one! Time to remedy that!

Yes, this is clove. Also patchouli and sandalwood, with some sweetness. I knew I loved this, and I wore it a lot when I first bought my bottle, then as so often happens, I slowed down so as not to run out. Now that I know I have other gorgeous clove-forward BPALs, I'm going to wear this more often and so be it if I use it up. You only live once!

I received a frottle of Krampuslaufen with my recent order. Thank you Labbies!! In the bottle, I get something sour, fermented, and musty. Freshly applied, oh there is definitely red musk in here! The rusty chains seem to be made from the same red musk as in my beloved Krampus. I can smell a hint of mint, and then whoosh that's gone. It morphs on my skin as it dries down. I can't detect individual notes other than red musk. It's definitely got the feel of a Yule scent. It is like Krampus' sweet sister, minus the leather in Krampus. I like this and will definitely wear it a lot!  

Testing a sample gifted by a friend. At first, super strong maraschino cherries, a little dizzy. Strong, syrupy, and sweet. It dries down quickly to a gentle cherry note on my skin, and stays very close to the skin. I don't mind the drydown, but overall I don't really like to wear cherry or almond scents. I'm going to try this on my grandson and see what he thinks! It might be perfect for him!

I somehow forgot to review this, and it's one of the OLLA scents that I even needed a backup bottle of! The teakwood is present and the cedar doesn't turn to pencil shavings. The rose is tempered and deepened by the woods and the oudh, and the overall scent is elegant and absolutely gorgeous.

I completely forgot to review this when I got it all those long years ago with my autographed copy of the book! OMG it's been over 10 years now. BPAL time flies too.

Bocal de Sang is another terrific vampire scent. I get blood, dark wine, cloves, honey, and maybe a hint of tobacco. It's dark and syrupy and I love it. If this came in a bottle, I would buy it.

Well this is as advertised, all Dorian in a hair gloss. The vanilla is a bit more prominent than the perfume, but it is still Dorian. So glad I bought this long ago and forgot to review it, now that there is a Dorian drought. Certainly hoping it returns! 

This is lovely! It is like a more clove-forward version of my beloved Vampire Red hair gloss. Patchouli, clove, incense scented. Might need a backup bottle. 

This decant has the least "dead leaves" note out of the multitudes of dead leaves scents I own and love! It's definitely a wine scent, with the oudh coming out on the drydown. Barely a hint of leaves.  The overall feeling is autumnal, as if I'm sitting near a pile of raked leaves, drinking a glass of merlot. Nice, but I prefer more dead leaves in my dead leaves scents. 

Reviewing this when worn as a body spray. This is a great Sandalwood blend! I also get the wine note, but it isn't boozy or overpowering. The cinnamon and copal come out on the drydown. I really like this a lot. Pairs very well with several of my wine-based Poe scents, especially Prospero, The Mask, and Montresor.

This one is very unusual, but not in a bad way. I get smoke followed by tart pomegranate, powdery myrrh, and a titch of cassia, all swirled together. It makes me think of a swirl of smoke drifting up into the air, softly swirling into a curling wisp that smells faintly of incense, tart and sweet fruits, but not a fruity scent. Olibanum is another term for frankincense, but this is so subtle. Each of the resins in this scent mingle together and give it that incense base, without overpowering the pomegranate and currant. I think people who are uncertain about wearing incense or resin based scents should give this one a whirl! It's lovely, gender neutral, stays close to the skin. 

Honey-sweetened biscotti with a hint of lavender. No beer or ale detected when wet or even after drydown, which makes me happy. Usually I amp that note, and I dislike the taste of beer. It doesn't put me off wearing scents with it, but I usually have to apply very lightly so I don't smell like someone spilled beer on me.  This is a nice scent for foodies.