minnalavender

The moment before the ruin, frozen. The scent of captured glory, of glowing pearls and rubies, of golden sunlit joy and regal grandeur: red rose, Tunisian amber, blood orange, toasted vanilla, heliotrope, gardenia and red musk. Oh, my freaking Gawd. This is the most beautiful scent on me yet. Wet: Orange/neroli blossom, amber, red musk - they all blend into the most gorgeous melange of cheerful deliciousness EVAR. Then the drydown is just glorious, spicy and powdery roses and vanilla and yum. This kind of bpal is why people tell me DAMN you smell good! WHY IS THIS AN LE FROM LONG AGO???? WHY?????? lol Must I hock my firstborn yet again for a whole bottle of this lovliness? She's getting awfully tired of being in hock. lol! Maybe I should hock my son this time... So. Effing. Beautiful. I'm in looooooove and must find a bottle!

Ooooooooooooooooh. Another magnificent scent! In the bottle and wet on my skin: all light florals, but not the migrainey kind. Oh no! These are like wildflowers in the spring here in NorCal! During the drydown I get a faint candy note, but it's still mostly faint, wild florals - no chocolate at all. After a while I smell a faint tobacco fragrance, but I get more pipe tobacco from Sugar Skull and it's not even a listed note. In fact, if I had to choose names for these scents, I would have switched SS and DdlM. I get far more of a dark, peek-through-the-veil vibe from SS! DdlM is as sweet and light as the sugar skulls on the ofrenda. Sweet, light, close to the skin and fresh as rain. Goddess, I love it. I can wear this all year 'round! A huge round of applause and thanks to Beth et al for creating such incredibly evocative, mood lifting, wonderful scents for the rest of us to enjoy.

I have two bottles of SS I acquired on eBay last winter - no idea of the vintage on either of them, but they are absolutely magnificent - so I was eager to try the newest model too! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. *blissful grin* Oh... nosegasm. lol! This is lighter and spicier than the versions I have, with a lot less throw. This is a GOOD thing, as my older SS has a tendency to belt out its presence like the perfume version of Mariah Carey or something - you're great, but damn girl! Keep it down! lol I don't smell any fruit at all, but rather the same rich pipe tobacco note I smell in my other bottles - is that fruit and smoke, maybe? Whatever it is, it's fantastic. If you liked the first two, you'll like this one too. I had only planned a one bottle order this month but once again the Labbies will be parting me from my cash.

I bought this Lunacy back in March - it was actually one of the first bottles of bpal I purchased, and not from the Lab. I had no idea it was an LE. I didn't know from LEs. lol I just knew I'd love it because of the notes and the reviews I read here. Lavender means so much to me because of its aromatheraputic qualities, yet the scent of lavender itself is also lovely in a purely aesthetic way. When I saw "Sleepy" and "lavender" I went "Oh goodie - aromatherapy and perfume in one!" Strangely enough, on my skin it's not one of the notes I detect. I smell bamboo, incense, sandalwood - everything but lavender! It's really like what I WISH incense smelled like because incense always gives me a headache and Sleepy Moon cures them. That's how I know lavender is in the blend. Whether or not my nose can detect it, it's doing its magic in the background. This is a calming, serene scent. Sometimes when I smell it I visualize the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park in SF, the ornate pagodas rising above the fog, the cold, damp air fragrant with cherry blossoms. I hoarde this oil and use it sparingly. It has a strong throw and it's somehow almost like a TAL oil, like it should be used with respect. Perfectly lovely on my skin and also a favorite for running a dab through my hair or wearing in a scent locket.

White Moon is my natal moon, so I really wanted to love it! However, I was afraid that with "white" in the name, it would contain floral notes which hurt my head. Thank goodness it doesn't! White Moon is an absolutely beautiful yet kind lunar scent, crisp, pale and clear. I am terrible at picking out different floral notes other than the common ones, so I'm not even going to try. But I would like to say that if "pale flower" scents normally trigger migraines for you, this probably - PROBABLY - will not. lol They are def. triggers for me, yet this gorgeous scent loves me and my wonky head. White Moon hides in the bottle. Wet on my skin, it smells clean and fresh and intensely floral - if there are any other notes besides flowers in it I can't detect their presence. To me, it isn't a seductive, musky floral, nor a matronly one - it's as clear and white as the moon after which it was named. There's nothing "spring" or "summery" about it. I don't know how Beth does it, but the scent truly is evocative of gazing up at the moon's clear white glow in a pitch black winter sky. It's a very chaste, austere scent, something Diana would wear. It's a serious scent, if that's possible. As it dries down, it warms and becomes sweet, but that could just be my skin chemistry. The throw is fairly strong even on my scent-eating skin, so a little will probably go a long way. It's not a slathery kind of scent. It whispers. So, so pretty. I will treasure this and wear it often.

This was a case of love at first sniff. This smells INCREDIBLE on me - like Smut, if Smut had a faint golden peach note! It's beautiful, too - the oil is dark cherry colored and viscous, and instead of absorbing immediately into my skin it sits and glistens on the surface for a little while. In the imp I can detect the fruit, but once it hits my skin it's all dark, sweet musks and spicy patchouli. I LOVE this. Medium throw and if it's like Smut, I'll be able to smell it even after I shower tonight. I'm so getting a 5ml bottle of this! I it. Did I mention that I love it? lol!

Oh. This is Tahiti in a little sample bottle, tiare tahiti. In the imp and wet on the skin: The gardenia, jasmine, and vanilla are indescribably scrummy together - tea rose is inundated with the scent of the tropics and carried helplessly off to disappear. The throw is medium and it lasts a good long time on me, the florals anchored by the vanilla. Drydown is incredibly sweet vanilla, not the kind you use in baking but rather the whole pod macerating in a bottle of tiare oil half buried in the hot sand. This would be a perfect oil for a sultry summer afternoon, or during the winter when you've almost forgotten what the summer feels like.

When I was looking up different Mad Tea Party scents and read the reviews of this one, I had to try it! I tend to like the more gender neutral/"masculine" blends a lot - also, rose, red musk, and lavender are three of my favorite notes. In the imp, the King is another immediate blast from the past - this is a dead ringer for some perfume I used when I was a teen! I couldn't remember the name if you paid me, but like faces, I never forget a scent. I can smell the cherry, lavender, and musk all mixed together, the combination as sweet as candy. At first application, my skin amps the lavender and musk, and I can detect hints of the other notes as well. The throw is non-existant but it's okay, because it's the kind of scent that smells best close-up. I keep sniffing my wrists! It's a very difficult scent to classify, I think because of the lavender. It's not an herbal lavender - def. flowery - but it keeps the King from smelling completely like a girl. It's not jarring, nor uncomplementary, and blends so beautifully with the musks! But it gives the scent a gender-neutral kick. And I must have the oddest body chemistry Evar. Six hours later I can still smell the musks on my skin, as soft and powdery as a baby's butt. Loves Baby Soft? lol Maybe that's what I remember! I really enjoy it, regardless. I want to slather it, if just to revel in the musky drydown.

All the suggestions have been spot-on, but I'd add Panacea VII: Safari to the list. It is purest, softest lavender to my nose. MMmmmmmmm...

I hadn't planned to review this scent, but upon opening I discovered I had been a victim of the Evil Imp Caps of Doom. One good yank and a quarter of the imp's ear went flying. lol As I am now drenched in Sea of Glass, I think it would behoove me to review it! In the vial I mostly smell grapefruit and sea salt. As I adore grapefruit, I'm now much happier that the Sea has inundated me. On my skin and clothes, all kinds of florals emerge! The grapefruit disappears on one wrist and emerges on the other. The scent now puts me in mind of sea salts dissolved into a pampering theraputic whirlpool bath at an upscale spa. It's very luxurious and relaxing. I would use SoG as an aromatherapy blend when I needed to feel pampered. It would also make an amazing bedtime bath oil, or something to spritz on pillowcases. This would be wonderful to take with me when we go to Monterey or Santa Cruz for an ogle-the-surfers weekend at the beach. Soft, beautiful Sea has almost no throw and has disappeared from my clothing in less than an hour, which also recommends it as a nighttime or bath blend. A faint aroma lingers on my skin, but for the most part my skin drank it right down. VERY yummy stuff! Now I want to hunt down the practical jokester Imps in charge of defective caps and smack their behinds - this shouldn't have been wasted! Guess I'll just have to get a 5 ml bottle...

The Raven was a lovely frimp. Why are so many florals sad on me? In the bottle: there's something wistful and nostalgic in this scent. I think that as a child I must have had perfume with violets, maybe for Easter. I can picture little white gloves, lacy sox, and patent leather Mary Janes, my white vinyl puse with the silk flowers on it... But I had a happy childhood! lol The Raven remains sweet, pure violets on my skin from first application to drydown. Because the throw is tiny, I would give this to a very feminine little girl to wear. I might even wear it myself out of appreciation for its beauty, even though it makes me sigh.

This is soo beautiful. Oh. Oh. Another blend with white florals that I can wear without getting a migraine! The patchouli, red ginger, and red musk must keep them from going awry on my skin. In the bottle, it's spicy and I can def. smell the black leather and musk - rawrrr! Sexy like whoa. But I think the scent itself is a trick, because rather than being "A double-dose of seedy that oozes rough-and-tumble sexuality while promoting vice-driven profitability!" it has a strangely sweet and almost innocent fragrance once it hits my skin. Maybe because my skin amps florals...? Strong, pale florals immediately emerge, drowning all the leather and spice. The honeysuckle and magnolia remind me of Ode on Melancholy, but in a sweet, southern way. On me, Trick #1 smells like something Scarlett O'Hara might wear on her lace hankie, after Rhett dumped her stupid ass and she FINALLY realized that she didn't really love Ashley because he was a gallant gentlemanly fool. Not exactly a courtesan's scent, although Scarlett's family and friends might disagree - she was awfully good at landing on her feet and keeping a roof over everyone's head by fair means or foul. lol After a few minutes the ginger and florals fade and the vanilla and musk peek out over the patchouli. YUM. The drydown is pure, lovely skin musk and vanilla. So soft and sweet. I LOVE this. It's so me, even though on me it's nothing like the concept! That fits too, I think. I will also treasure my bottle.

I frimps. To me, Envy is another scent like Dirty, where the fragrance embodies the opposite qualities of its name. I can't even explain the complexity of this scent. In the vial it's a blend of mints and herbs that puts me in mind of a mint Julep. I don't smell any lime, but lavender is there in the background as pure herbal, no floral in it whatsoever. It's bracing and clean but very feminine. On my skin it suddenly morphs into the scent of herb garden gone to seed and flower. So incredibly sweet! It's nothing like it was wet - I couldn't identify any notes in it if I had to guess. Unique! Envy smells really good on me, cold and innocent (there's some childhood association with this fragrance but I don't know why) and fresh and clean. Unfortunately, my thirsty skin just drinks Envy. (What does that say about my character, I wonder...?) The scent is totally worthy of frequent reapplication, though! I think I'm going to splurge on a 5 ml of this one next summer.

Frimped this on last order - oh, looooove. An instant new favorite! As was previously mentioned, this will layer beautifully with Lush Figs n Leaves, as well as their new Sultana of Soap. In the bottle: dark, smoky, ripe fruits and herbs. Mmmmmm. There's something mildly astringent, too. If this smells half this good on my skin I'm one lucky mama. On my skin: Whoa. This is just beautiful. At first the fig reminds me of my beloved Freak Show, but as it settles down it somehow puts me in mind of Carnal, very sweet and spicy and relaxing. The smoky, spicy note stays more pronounced on my inner wrists, elbows and cleavage, adding depth and a sultry aura in all the fun places. Drydown: Gahhhh. Lovely. My son, who is notoriously scentophobic, made me decant him some Carnal to sniff when he feels sad because it smells like me. He said this smells like me, too. Big bottle here I come!

Black Moon is so beautiful - a special oil for a special Lunacy. It morphs so quickly and completely on my skin, going from one phase to another just like the real moon. In the bottle: tart and fruity. I really smell the pear, cucumber, and I think, the jonquil. I'm ashamed to admit that rather than conjure up the absence of light, in the bottle for me this scent embodies it. Yum. It's perfect for this warm weather. On my skin: the fruit quickly recedes and the florals amp up, and there's something - the musk? the attar? - that is slightly chill and shadowy. It's incredibly light and feminine in the way I've come to expect from many of Beth's creations. The drydown is amazing. It's all gone to spice and faint musk now, incensy and gorgeous. Unfortunately, it's gone on my skin in a couple of hours. I wonder if this is because it's brand new? Many of the oils I have with strong throw are several years old. I bet if Black Moon is stored it will last longer and have a stronger throw without lots of slathering... not that I mind slathering! I really, REALLY wish I'd ordered two bottles of this - one to wear and enjoy now, and one to age. I'm learning, though. EDIT: I love this more every time I wear it. Thank goodness I found another bottle! And as others have said, wearing this layered w/Schwarzer is absolutely heavenly.

Oh man... I'm gonna be so broooooke by the time the Carnival rolls out of town... My favorite sweet tea scent yet - better than Dorian, White Rabbit, any of them on me. In the bottle, the mint really pops, but on my skin it vanishes quickly, leaving the sweet honey lemony tea goodness. Mmmmmmm. Another "compulsively sniffing wrists" blend! This is crisp, fresh, classic, perfect for daytime wear, esp. in the summer. Unfortunately I slathered it on and it went away completely after only an hour! My skin eats certain gentle notes, damn skin. So I'm def. getting a 5ml bottle to decant into a rollerbottle and slather myself with the teatime goodness of Gennivre, because she's too beautiful to miss out on (and I'll burn through this decant like Sherman went through Georgia).

I love Mme. Moriarty not just because it's so beautiful, but because it marks the first time in my short BPAL addiction that I knew a scent would work perfectly me on me due to the notes listed. I can identify some notes!! *ahem* Sorry, but I think that's cool. I knew the Mme. would be beautiful, and she is. Oh. If my beloved Snake Charmer had a lovechild with Smut, it would be this scent - except she's lighter and more plum/fruity than either of her parents. As in Schwarzer Mond, the patchouli is wonderfully understated and rich. This is a multiple-bottle hoarder, for sure.

Schwarzer Mond is a keeper. Mmmm. To my untrained nose, no one note stands out on my skin. I agree with the reviewers who have noted pepper in the blend - maybe it's the way the antique patchouli reacts with my skin on first contact? This patchouli is a revelation to me, so sweet and subtle, not the kind you smell on unwashed people at music festivals. I don't detect amber as a distinct note so much as knowing it's keeping the resinous scents nice and sweet without going all powdery. This scent is very gender-neutral. It would smell equally as good on the right man as it would on the right woman. It's dark and sexy, spicy and mysterious, and very subtle. Not a huge throw, which is good - this is one you want someone to have to get close to you to detect. I think it will also age beautifully, as do all the Lab's oils. Wish I'd bought more than one bottle, but I will treasure this one.

Ode on Melancholy was the first BPAL scent I ever smelled, so it has a special place in my heart. Wet in the bottle: Lavender predominates, but with wisteria crowding right up behind her and white rose clinging to an arbor. They combine to form a beautiful, old-fashioned garden behind a picket fence, in spring. Wet on my skin: very true to the bottle. It has medium throw, which doesn't surprise me, knowing how the three floral notes amp on my skin. Ode on Melancholy is the ONLY "white" scent my head and nose can tolerate. Maybe it's that lavender loves me and counteracts the headachy aspects of the white flowers, sandalwood, and musk..? However, it's the sandalwood and musk that anchor it to my skin, and they're the notes that linger for 8+ hours - the flowers are long gone. Drydown: it's the garden at twilight in winter, all the flowers long dead. There's nothing left of the roses but the bare canes. The coldness is so sad. What a beautiful, haunting fragrance. I'm glad I can wear and enjoy it!

Frumious Bandersnatch is Carnal's older sister... sweet and silly in the bottle and spicy mulled fruit on my skin. In the bottle I don't smell the plum as much as I do when on. Like Montresor, the fruit is winey and dignified. I can't wait to layer this with Potion! This will be the PERFECT holiday scent, and I'll use it as a room scent all winter, too. I'm really glad I have it!

Body chemistry is an odd, odd thing. Chrysanthemum Moon is the first Lunacy I've tried that hasn't worked on me, and much in the same way that O doesn't work on me - it ends up smelling like musky honey, but not in a good way. It just smells... off. Cloyingly sweet. It's why I don't love a lot of the food scents. I love florals and Mum smells intensely floral in the bottle - but once on, all the floral goes bye-bye on me and my skin amps some weird Hostess Honeybun that no one likes on me. I wanted to love her - she is beautiful. But off she will go to one of the lucky summumabidges upon whom she will work her magic.

How in the hell did I miss this scent?? I received it as a gift from dear Sandra today, and of course I fell in love with it. It reminds me very much of the only commercial cologne I've ever loved, Calyx by Prescriptives. Mmm grapefruity citrusy goodness. Both in the bottle and wet on my skin the yuzu/grapefruit in Aizen-Myoo is gorgeous, crisp and tart, but underneath it the cherry blossom gives it smoky depth. It becomes more sweet and ethereal on the drydown, and for a citrus scent it's long-lasting and has good throw on my skin. Every stage of this is perfect. I want to bathe in Aizen-Myoo. srsly

I bought both Antique Lace and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale at the same time, unsniffed. One thing I've learned the past six months is NOT to do that unless I'm really sure of the notes! Vanilla is sweet enough to appeal to me, but I don't want to smell like a room freshener. However, I am really glad I gambled with these two. VANILLA. Creamy, soft, sweet, confectionary vanilla, not at all like the horrid Body Shop vanilla my oldest girl slathers herself in! This is wedding cake vanilla. Lick myself vanilla. It plasters a blissful smile on my face. In the bottle: I could barely smell the Mouse! I was practically snorting it. Damned if I could detect any one note clearly, either! I thought he was shy, and I'd have to search for him once I let him out. Wet on my skin: WHOA!! This is not the hidey kind of mouse; this is the kind of mouse that not only invades your pantry, it runs around in your kitchen with a hunk of cheese from the mousetrap, flipping off the cats. The throw is amazingly good compared to how faint it was before! The first thing I detect is the vanilla... *melts*... but then the other notes come out to play. I love the way the sandalwood behaves in this blend, keeping the two sweet notes from taking over the show. I can't believe how amazingly lucky I am. Three of my five favorite bpals are GCs! I definitely include MLaST in that group. I can see myself wearing this all the time, layering it with Smut and Snake Charmer, maybe even Sugar Skull and other thick, spicy scents, just for fun. I love it. Edited to add: when I originally did this review MLaST was fresh from the Lab. It has aged sooooo beautifully! All of the notes have deepened, and in the bottle it's a floral/amber dream, very assertive. The throw is wider and it lasts at least 12 hours on my skin. I want to get another bottle just to age, now.

A strange, disconcerting embrace… to some, alarming, and to some, intimately familiar: fig, pomegranate and cocoa bean with lemon, bergamot, vanilla, mellow honey musk, calamus and tonka. I was a little nervous about Freak Show. I traded 13 earlier in the year because it just didn't do anything for me. I'm not much of a dessert-type foody scent lover, which is bizarre as I love to eat baked goods, and chocolate in all its guises - mole rojo here I come! I just don't want to smell like it that much. However, the other notes in Freak Show were too delicious to pass by. In the bottle: chocolate fruit. Mmmm... but I'm not sure about the chocolate. Once it touches my skin it starts to morph. The chocolate nearly disappears, and I think it's the tonka that smells so peppery. The fruits and musk then begin to appear. By drydown I smell so good I want to lick myself. I'm so glad I took a chance on the notes I love. This is a perfect fragrance for late summer/early autumn, rich and spicy and fruity - very reminiscent of Carnal (lovely fig), but with a smokier note. Mmmmmm. This and Montressor are going to be in heavy rotation during October and November! Freak Show has incredible lasting power on my skin, and I'm a slatherer with other scents so it's an important positive feature for me. Ten hours later it still sends lovely wafts of cocoa, vanilla musk, spicy goodness up to my nose.

God/dess, I adore the trading cards and admission tickets!!! *ahem* In the bottle: this smells good enough to drink. It's musky sweet, light, and perhaps it's the Earl Grey that gives the blend a hint of citrus. So clean and fresh to my nose! Wet on my skin: true to the bottle at first application. After a few minutes my skin is amping vanilla, musk, and the citrus note. Oh jeez, this smells so good!! This reminds me so much of my CTIII blends - I guess they contain more "masculine" notes than floral, "feminine" ones, yet it doesn't smell like I'm wearing my husband's aftershave - it's more like I've put on a tuxedo with the white shirt open to my cleavage and a corset instead of a cummerbund, kept my hair long and tousled and have on dark pink, shiny lip gloss and fuck-me black patent leather pumps. lol! Or Eddie Izzard - I could smell this on him when he's wearing a satin Cheongsam and heels. It's close to the skin, but I can detect it from my wrists down on the keyboard. The drydown is luscious, musky vanilla tea, sweet, clean and crisp but still sexy. It's kind of a combination of Dirty and Xiuhtecuhtli on me. I wasn't so sure about the white fougere as the pale flowers don't love me, but I think they're keeping this from becoming heavy. Maybe this is supposed to be a "men's" blend, but I'm going to wear my bottle myself - and keep it away from my husband! He stole my first CTIII for himself.