filigree_shadow

Mostly rose. Kind of an herby, woody, rose. To be honest I think this smells really nice. It's pretty and light. I don't usually wear rose blends as a personal fragrance... but maybe I should. Beth's rose notes smell so good and very true on me, even if the rose scent itself isn't my own fave. My skin seems to like it a lot.

Almond powder. That's what it smells like on me at first. And then it smells like hair-styling products. I smell this and all I can think of is an old lady with her hair in those pink rollers and a hairnet, standing there in a housecoat and fuzzy slippers. So, um, no. This will go to the swap pile.

I was put off by the reviews of Puck, and I'm just now getting around to trying it. I Puck! In the imp it smells like grapes to me, and on my skin it smells like grapes at first. But then it settles into a really sexy, stinging, intoxicating scent. A glue-nose-to-wrist scent. Seriously, this smells fantastic on my skin. I smell like I'm on the prowl (and I feel like being on the prowl, wearing this.) Since swiping my wrist with it the first time, I have now applied it to both wrists, neck, insides of elbows, and cleavage. I can't get enough of it! Damn its discontinuedness! I hope that the people who hated it still have it for sale or swap...

This oils smells wonderful. The cranberry doesn't smell like a candle like I was worried it would, it smells lovely and round. I'm a sucker for musk and spices, and they blend fabulously with the cranberry. Over time it gets pretty fruity, but it stays a dark delicious fruit. Lampades is one of my favorites -- it does seem like a winter scent, but I'm wearing it in June and loving it.

Thought I'd hate this, and I don't. It is pungent, but in the good way. A bit piercing, but I like it. I thought it would smell good on my hubby, but he didn't like it. He thought it smelled "funky." He said, "It's not bad, but it's not my fave." To be honest, I think this smells better on me than it does on him. ETA: I forgot to mention, when it's dry it has a really lovely powdery lavender scent to it. I'm not usually a lavender fan, but it smells so clean and pretty in this blend.

Hmm... cedar. A bit too much cedar at first. Cathedral-esque. It smells warm and comforting. Very woody, but after 30 minutes or so the frankincense comes out and makes it sweet. I like it, but it's quite faint, a bit wispy. ADDED August 16: I read frankincense and cedar in the notes and thought I wasn't going to like Magus. I'm surprised to find that I do like it. It's in the same vein as Aureus and Cathedral, but it doesn't smell as much like a pencil box as either of those do. The frankincense doesn't get overly sweet on me like it usually does, and the cedar doesn't smell quite as peppery as usual. This is kind of comforting and soft. I like this one better than Cathedral.

Woah! Nostril-curling floral. Sickly sweet heady flowers with some kind of camphor-like scent underneath it. Phew. No, this isn't going to work for me.

Bright, fruity, and flowery. More fruits than flowers, at first, but then flowers come out. A bit more floral that Kitsune-Tsuki, but to my nose it's in the same vein. This is a great springtime scent, and I wish I'd had a bottle of this for spring this year. I might get a bottle anyway... I like it a lot. It smells cheerful and playful.

I guess Phantom isn't all that popular, judging by the number of reviews compared to others. But I like it a lot. I can barely smell the rose (which is a good thing for me), the yling ylang is strong and gives it an edge, and the musk is nice. This is a sensual blend, quite mysterious. I really like myrrh and dark musks, and this is very well done. It gets very slightly powdery on me after an hour or so, but I don't mind it. I'm putting this on the list of bottles I would like to get.

First try: I like the berries, and it smells wispy with the heather. I like this one. Second try: Not as much berries this time. It actually smells a little bit musky, a light soft musk scent that reminds me very slightly of Enraged Bunny Musk. I still like it on this try. I don't have an old-lady scent or soap reaction from this, like other reviewers have. It's pretty, light, and a bit sweet. But the scent is quite faint after an hour, so this won't be a bottle order for me. If it were stronger, I would consider it.

First try: Smells like Fruit Loops. I like it. Coconut and honey is a nice combination. Second try: Yep, still like Fruit Loops, but that's just at first. Over time it turns into a sweet nutty honey blend... gets especially sweet after about an hour or so. I wish the fig was a little stronger because I love fig. But I'm really happy that the honey is behaving itself in this blend -- there aren't many BPAL oils with honey that I can wear. This is a warm, sweet, happy scent on my skin. I find nothing at all objectionable about it, and yet it doesn't make me want to rush to the Lab's website and buy a bottle. It's nice but... well, nice. It's not bowling me over.

I am surprised to discover that I haven't written a review for Bathsheba yet. I had an imp of it and liked the plum note, so I got a bottle. Somehow, the oil in the bottle that I got smells about 50 times as lovely as the oil in the imp. Maybe it's just because I feel free to put more on my skin, since I have a whole bottle. I'm not sure. But I'm glad I got the bottle. It is breathtakingly lovely -- just like the description says -- sensual, too. The plum is great, the carnation is not too bitter, and I don't get too much musk. Very nice, and well-blended. This is an oil that I feel like I can wear anywhere, to the office, to school, to my in-laws' house, out with friends... it makes me feel pretty and womanly. It's an inviting scent, too -- I feel like people sit closer to me when I'm wearing it. Bathsheba is one of my favorites from the GC.

That orange blossom is very nice. It's quite sweet. When it's drying it reminds me more than a little of baby aspirin, that sort of chalky fruity scent. When it's dry the rose is more prominent, but not overly so. The first time I tried it I loved it at first, and then it went baby powder. The second time it went to roses. Neither is what I usually look for in an oil, but somehow this seems to work. I liked it both times I tried it. I don't like it well enough for a bottle, but I'm surprised that I like it as much as I do. From the notes I didn't think it would work at all.

Tried this as part of the GC swap. Juniper and rose are the prominent notes on my skin, but mostly rose. It smells like a woody rose (as opposed to a watery rose or a bright rose, etc.), which appeals to me more than other rose blends. But rose and juniper are two of my least favorite notes, so this isn't gonna work for me. I like the chamomile, though.

Cross-posting to Reviews forum and my LJ journal. I got the package from moonarcana, which incldues Bathsheba, Eden, Glasgow, Jezebel, Persephone, Phantom, Rome, Titania, and Wanda. Here are my reviews [just a placeholder right now, until I fill them in -- the notes here are just what I wrote in my spreadsheet]. Bathsheba - Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk. It is breathtakingly lovely -- sensual, too. This oil is one of my favorites from the GC, and I already have a bottle of it. The plum is great, the carnation is not too bitter, and I don't get too much musk. Very nice. Eden - This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Evil: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood. Smells like Fruit Loops. I like it. Coconut and honey is a nice combination. On second try: Yep, still like Fruit Loops, but that's mostly just at first. Overy time it turns into a sweet nutty honey blend... I wish the fig was a little stronger because I love fig. But I'm really happy that the honey is behaving itself in this blend -- there aren't many BPAL oils with honey that I can wear. Glasgow - The rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather. I like the berries, and it smells wispy with the heather. I like this one. On second try: Not as much berries this time. It actually smells a little bit musky, reminding me very slightly of Enraged Bunny Musk. I still like it. Jezebel - A gloriously decadent blend of honey, roses, orange blossom and sandalwood. That orange blossom is very nice. Loved it at first, then it went baby powder. Still a nice scent though. It's quite sweet. It reminds me more than a little of baby aspirin. That sort of chalky fruity scent. Persephone - Pomegranate and rose. The pomegranate is loud at first. Then the roses come up. Uh-oh. Too sharp, I think. I usually can only wear watery roses, and this isn't watery at all. No, this isn't going to work on me. Phantom - Myrrh, dark musk, attar of rose and ylang ylang. A rose I like! I can barely smell the rose, the yling ylang is strong and gives it an edge, and the musk is nice. This is a sensual blend, quite mysterious. I really like myrrh and dark musks, and this is very well done. Rome - Refined, austere and graceful. A recipe gleaned from Classical Rome: cypress, juniper, chamomile and rose. Juniper and rose are the prominent notes on my skin, but mostly rose. It smells like a woody rose (as opposed to a watery rose or a bright rose, etc.), which appeals to me more than other rose blends. But rose and juniper are two of my least favorite notes, so this isn't gonna work for me. I like the chamomile, though. Titania - A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon. Bright, fruity, and flowery. More fruits than flowers, at first, but then flowers come out. A bit more floral that Kitsune-Tsuki, but it's in the same vein. This is a great springtime scent, and I wish I'd had a bottle of this for spring this year. I might get a bottle anyway... I like this a lot. Wanda - Her scent is a deep red merlot with a faint hint of leather, sexual musk and body heat over crushed roses, violets and myrtle. The first time I tried it, it smelled exactly like red wine on me, and pretty much nothing else. The next time, it was more floral at first -- the dry red wine is still obvious, but I like it better with the florals. They make it sweeter and rounder. But it ended up being entirely red wine again after about 15 minutes. The scent is quite lovely, I just can't picture when I'd want to smell like a bottle of wine. It's strong, too.

I can smell dirt in this (maybe oakmoss?), which seems appropriate. There’s also a musky odor to it, it smells a bit animalistic. It’s actually not a bad scent, even though it’s not something I’d wear as a perfume. I kind of like it. It smells musty, kind of like a basement.

Fruity. Reminds me a bit of Juicy Fruit gum, but there’s a creaminess behind it. It’s a sweet scent. There’s a floral scent to it as well, but I don’t know which one.

Lavender and herby. Lots of lavender, actually. Slightly sour-smelling.

This is a bright red oil, and it smells fiery. It smells like it has something in common with Pain, whatever that menthol-like note is. It also has some wood behind it, but it’s hard to detect behind the strong Vick’s Inhaler scent.

The violet scent was a bit strong at first. However... the melon makes it sweet and interesting. And after 20 minutes or so I can't even really smell that violet any more, and now I can mostly smell rose. It's a soft, pretty rose with a little bit of a woody scent underneath it, and just a hint of something watery. I like this a lot. It's really too bad this is discontinued -- I'd probably buy a bottle of it if it were available.

In the imp this smells... well, icky. I don't care for it. On, at first it smells very minty. Exactly like wintergreen mints that you eat. But that fades out pretty fast, and underneath it is some kind of resiny scent. This just isn't going to be something I will like. Which is too bad, because it's The World.

In the imp, it smells bright and cheery. On my skin it also smells bright and cheery. Maybe there's some orange blossom in there. Sweet and pretty. Sparkly. Very fitting for The Sun card.

The oil is red, which usually means two things to me: 1) It has dragon's blood in it; 2) I will like it. I do like it. I like it a lot. It is deep, woody, sweet darkness. It's smoky -- the kind of smoky I like -- which usually means vetiver. This is exactly the type of blend that sinks into my skin and makes me feel mysterious and powerful. I don't like the Tower card. At all. But I love this oil.

In the imp, it smells kind of woody. On, it smells a bit medicinal. Also kind of like Good & Plenty candy. This is not at all the kind of scent I usually wear, but this is the sort of oil that smells good on my husband. When my friend and I were going through all the Tarot oils, she picked this one out specifically and said "The Magician would be a good one for [my husband]." Then she sniffed it, and said, "Yep, I think so." So I can see this being masculine.

Phew. What is that? Gardenia? Holy smokes that's strong stuff. I'm not good at picking out floral notes so I can't say for sure what it is -- but whatever it is, it's extraordinarily strong. I find this scent rather repellent. There's something slightly fruity-smelling underneath it, but to be honest I don't relish the thought of spending any amount of time with my nose near this oil trying to pick out what's in it. Not liking this one too much.