Elrianra

In the bottle, florals - pale, cool florals. Wet, the rose and gardenia hover over the other florals in a somber grey-white blend. Dry, this goes soapy almost instantly, reminding me of a solid floral soap that I used to use to wash my hands. Pleasant in a "room perfume" scent but not a personal scent for me. As it warms, the soapy nature becomes more pronounced and the floral notes fade quickly until this is just a dry white soap bar scent.

In the bottle, lavender and carnation over a bed of thick green mosses; very green and very pale. On me wet, a vague haze of amber gilded carnation with a dash of lavender and moss. Dry, the amber and lavender blend into a green honey, very sticky sweet. As it warms, the sticky wears off and leaves a pleasant golden blossoms blend that's at once mild and cheeky. It maintains a light and easy-going nature throughout it's life, gaining a mildly soapy nature just before final die-down.

In the bottle, this is wood and spilt apple juice - both sweet and disconcerting. On me wet, it's apples gone bad and a faint overtone of dried oak and moldy leaves. *sneezes* As it dries, the mildew tones fade and the apples become sickly sweet, not so much a "crisp" scent as an "over ripe" note. Once this has warmed, the apples tone to a crisper scent and the green and brown tones of leaves and bark finally begin to come out - a nice spiced apple tea or cider. Although this is nice once it has time to settle, the original application has tremendous throw and isn't at all pleasant on me. Which is really too bad because I was excited about this one.

Neroli does that to me.

I'm so glad I found this thread!!! I'm allergic to coconuts, something we didn't know about when I was younger. It's not a fatal allergy, but it's bloody annoying. I figured it out on my own after eating coconut and getting BURNS on my tongue and the inside of my cheeks for my trouble. Later on, we realized that this included the oil when I used a tanning oil that was basically just coconut oil and extract. I wound up covered in tiny blisters all over my back and upper arms and neck. I itched and ached for days (despite a near OD on benadryl). I've been careful insofar as "avoiding it if coconut is listed" with BPAL so far, but came across a Chaos Theory II blend that the previous owner listed as "green and citrus-y". Imagine my horror when I realized the green was actually sandalwood and COCONUT. I hate to waste a scent, but I know what happens to me and so I had to rush to get it off my skin before damage was incurred. Luckily, I found a loving owner for the bottle on the forum; but I was worried that coconut may exist in more oils than I previously thought. I finally sat down and searched for an allergies thread this afternoon. 3 pages in and abnout 15 minutes of perusal, and I finally found an email address to contact the lab with and ask. Now I'll be extra especially certain as to avoid coconut in all my BPAL adventures!!!

As if the name didn’t spell it out for you. This blend relieves all sexual inhibitions by simultaneously relaxing and arousing. In the bottle, I smell musk, honey and cloves. Not amber, HONEY. How strange. On me wet? Pepper, cloves and cinnamon, honey and I think jasmine with a hint of vanilla as well. Drying, it stays spicy and rather heady going right into peppery as it dries and smoothes out. After it's had time to warm up, this blend is floral and peppery with something green and damp in it as well. While I liked the initial spicy notes, after it dries, the blend becomes dull and fades rapidly on my skin.

In the bottle, this is a grand mead: golden ambers that curl and swirl like warm honey, bittersweet myrtle, tangy apple blossom and tart carnations all swell up and subside in gentle waves. On my skin, this is tart carnations and myrtle, sweetened by amber coated apple florets - sweet and tangy, very pretty and veryvery girly. As it dries, the apple blossoms and ambers sweeten this more as the carnations settle down and the myrtle acts as a brittle base note, like dried leaves ready to crinkle apart at any moment. Warm, this is smooth golden ambers with a breath of florals and herbs; sweet and pliable but with a very honey-tone to it. After a good stint of breathing and toning down, this smells vaguely spicy like cloves or fireweed honey. Delicious to the end, but altogether too foody and just plain girly for me.

In the bottle, this isn't salty, it IS salt. It smells like I put my nose into a glass of salt water with a very vague after-scent of dragon's blood resin. Wet, this turns to salty dragon's blood: sticky and sweet but salty as well, like a salt water taffee. Dry, the sticky-sweet of the dragon's blood has toned to a more spices-and-salt mix that's strangely calming. Warm, this is slightly sticky-salty like half-dried tears, the dragon's blood is cool but spiced and adds a nice depth to this however this quickly fades to spicy sweat on me and then disappears altogether in the matter of only an hour or so.

This is smoky and dry in the bottle, the florals, mosses and earth make a dusty base that the herbs lay on gently - dried herbs, nothing green in it - and the incense layors nicely over the top like a sheer covering. (Lace curtains perhaps) Once on me, this gets a little greener; the florals and herbs mix over the earth and mosses while the incense is wetter and heavier, cloying over the rest in a sheen of allure. Dry, the greens have settled - cool florals, dusty mosses, pale herbs and a thin veil of incense and smoke; this is a temple blend that also reminds me of shamans or medicine men. Warm, the herbs and incense lighten and literally warm this while the florals lighten softly from twilit to late afternoon. Very oddly, this scent lightens as though experiencing dawn and not twilight at all. After a few hours, this is just a faint florals and mosses blend that eventually just quietly slips off entirely. A very subtle and complex blend, this is heavenly.

In the bottle, this is fir wood and earth - the fir is so pungent, that it's almost menthol. Wet, there's mosses and wood and earth, overblown with a cool ozone note. As this dries, it gets sharp, tart. Very direct, the wood is green and sticky - almost a sap smell, while the earth is dusty and the mosses are a sharp clear grey-green scent and the ozone note has toned down to something vague but chill. After this has warmed, there's the scent of wet wood and moss dry earth, the combination is confusing and dizzying. As it begins to breathe, the wood comes out more and more strongly as the earth and mosses settle as a vague base for this one; the effect is stunning, like walking in a dim twilight wood. It continues to maintain a mossy-wood blend for the rest of it's life, fading eventually and leaving a last kiss of dusy leaves and lichens before disappearing completely.

Dry and tangy in the bottle, with a sweep of florals and citrus - reminds me strongly of gin and lemon zest with a few violets in the mix. Hmm. On me wet, this is citrus leaves and a sharp aqautic note that's dry and slightly salty. Like sea water and orange juice. Dry, this is tart and tangy with a sweet floral undertone that's delightfully unexpected. Once warmed, the floral fades again, leaving a medley of citrus and a light bitter aquatic note. Very light, very clear and very very delicious. After it's breathed for a bit, the scent fades and clears - very short lived but delightful even in that aspect. I've never had a martini, but after this scent, I'm dying to try one. On the very final die-down, there's a sharp pine-y note, like fresh juniper that comes out for a few minutes and then that too fades. Very strange!

In the bottle, this is musk and leather with a dark smoky note that reminds me strongly of Dragon's Hide. On me wet, the musk and leather are a hot blend that's thickened by the myrrh which adds a hazy smoke note to this. The amber is bittersweet in this, a tangy note of sticky residue like bloodied sweat. As it dries, the musk and myrrh lay out a bed off damp smoke that the amber melds with in a tangy manner that surprises me. The leather is inprecises and doesn't sit still but meanders back and forth. As it warms, the leather calms a bit, laying smooth and supple over musk while the myrrh and amber top out this heavy blend in a bitter-smoky blanket. This has a vaguely "perfume" smell to it that reminds me of something I've smelled in a mall before but I'm not sure why. Still, it's thick and naughty and very very delightfully wicked.

In the bottle, this is very herbal and floral; the rosewood, primrose and chamomile are very prominent followed by a backdraft of bergamot and musk. This is sweetly floral with an underlying naughty tone to it. Wet, the primrose and violet mix with the bergamot to create a heady overtone that is mellowed by musky chamomile. Dry, the florals are the high notes, layered over a bed of musk and woods while the bergamot has faded almost entirely from detection in a matter of minutes. The woods mix in a sweet-and-heady manner that is the perfect base for the florals; violet and primrose lay over the woods and support the distinctly herbal-floral note of chamomile. The bergamot and musk make random appearances in this but have primarily disappeared. As this breathes, the sandalwood takes a more serious place, rising slowly and seductively to the top and then slithering back down and through the other notes - when at the top, it is a very RED wood smell, reminding me strongly of cedar, but smokier - muskier - than cedar. This continues to shift and play for hours, the woods and chamomile being the obvious high notes while the primrose and musk mingle in a soft and supple manner until you can detect both or neither. At once playful and lazy, this scent is maddeningly calm in it's constant change.

In the bottle, this is smoky cinnamon and vague florals. On me wet, pale violets with a touch of frankincense in the very background. Dry, the violet is extremely prominent, floral and sweet but darkened by the frankincense - the cinnamon adds a faint spice to this but is nearly indectable. This turns faintly spicy as it warms - the cinnamon has finally begun to come out and the frankincense is now livened by that while the violets create a genteel bed for the swirl of potent spice and smoke that comes wafting up from my skin in a warm haze. This is pale and muted on me, which I wish it weren't, and while it lasts a long time, there isn't enough power in this to be detectable unless right under your nose. The violet is lovely but the frankincense and cinnamon just don't play up on my skin like they normally do.

In the bottle, this is mint and eucalyptus with a spicy low-note of neroli and a high note of violets. It literally smells like bruised petals on cold metal! On me wet, this is a blast of cool mint and eucalyptus that is frigid and lovely, the violet hints of existance but the cool frost of the mint slathers over this and encases it in ice. The neroli is spicy but chilled. As this dries, the neroli and eucalyptus take the background, the mint and violet mix in a cool wet floral tone that reminds me of a garden just after a heavy rainstorm has passed: bruised florals and clear air that makes your nostrils tingle with how clean it is. This is a still scent, not that it doesn't morph but in that it insists that if you're going to wear it, you're going to be serene and calm. The throw on this is mild - not close lying but not a self projecting scent either, which I like! Just vague enough to risk a second whiff but clear enough to be pleasant if chilled. This is a scent I'll need more of for summer, most definitely!

The first sniff of the imp is mahogany and floral with a blast of vanilla coffee following closely. On me wet, the florals and coffee and tonka mix into a thick heady blend that's reminiscent of cough syrup. The florals and fig are clearly making an entrance. By the time it's dry, this is a soapy rose and jasmine and vanilla mix with just enough fig to make it reminiscent of a holiday shower gel I had a few years ago. It stays soapy for another hour, never morphing further and thus I wash it off.

In the imp, this is green smoky-wood. There's no way I'll be able to fully decipher this one so let's just see how it goes. Once on, oh my! Green and herbal but not in the slightest unpleasant. This is very very green and herbal, the leaves keep it from going medicinal luckily. I can pick up bits and peices of scents that I know but I can't identify any of it in this fragmented blend of chaos. Mmmmm, I love this; as it dries, the woods come out a bit more, making a very green wood sort of scent, like young saplings and bruised leaves with an overtone of crushed herbs winding through it that just... there's no words to adequately explain how fractured and lovely this is all at once!!! As it warms up and starts to breathe, the woods begin to dry from a green wood to a dry white and the leaves are no longer bruised but full and lush and sun-heated while the crushed herbs are now dried and hanging and gently lending their spicy coolness to the mix. On the dry-down, this is dried woods and pale crisp leaves with a breath of the herbs but primarily woods. Utterly astounding how much life and variance this one has!!!

My first Carnival Noir scent!!! In the bottle, musk and spices. Wet on my skin, this is sweet-spicy musk like honey and cloves and sweat. There's a tinge of candlelight in this - literal olfactory candlelight. As it dries, a smoky incense comes out - possibly myrrh? Warmed up, this is spicy but mild and slightly dusty. Not at all unpleasant but vague. I have no idea what it is, but something has my wrist glued permanently under my nose with this one. YUM. I give it another half hour before I'm licking my arm here. Hmm. YUMMY. After an hour or two, this one gets more powdery, like a musky cinnamon dust - it's not exactly unpleasant but it is odd. This one surprised me with the utter change it underwent from new and wet to dry and aged on my skin. In all my BPAL experience, I've never seen a scent undergo such a dramage change. I'm absolutely stunned.

In the bottle this is marachino cherries or liquid cherry liquorice, the anise and cherries are syrup-sweet. On me wet, the musk is a sweaty backdrop over which the candy-sweet notes tangle. The best description for this is candy and sex. As it dries, the musk tones out the anise a little, leaving a powdery candy scent behind like a fundip or something. Very sweet, very foody. Warm, it's all pale cherries with a faint musk. Very air-freshener-esque. This one just doesn't like me, the cherries are either overwhelming or a sweet underscoring note that leaves me confused and giddy.

In the bottle this is nutty but sweet, possibly anise? Also musk is very prominent. It's like a cherry-less version of Kabuki in the bottle. Tres Bizarre. On me wet, it's anise and nuts with a minty aftersmell... something woody however. Possibly lemon verbena, I can't quite tell. Dry, the musk is out in full force with that citrus-y note again but I have no idea what it is. Very dusty with a smoothness to it that I can't figure out. Warmed up, this is a smoky musk that is similar to Dragon's Musk but not quite as robust or heavy. The citrus (and I think floral?) lightens this a bit. It stays smoky musk for the rest of it's life (which is admittedly shorter than I expected for a musk scent) and then turned soapy for the last half hour before fading completely.

In the bottle, this is spiced almonds - very similar to Hellcat and Inferno to me. On me wet, the vanilla comes out and tones down the almonds a bit so this is like a spicy vanilla and nuts cake; no floral or incense at all for me, just cake. As it dries, the frankincense and cinnamon mix to darken the vanilla and the almonds turn roasted. Finally the heliotrope starts to be noticable as it absorbs the vanilla and becomes a dusty floral taste that hovers somewhere in the middle of this mix. Once warmed up, this has a pleasant smoky-nuts and vanilla frosting type of smell. Amazingly foody but persistently playful at the same time. As this gets time to breath, the vanilla and frankincense become the main keys of this one - smoky smooth and warm, rather like cake batter in my mind. Or pancakes cooked over a real fire... hmm. As it dies out, it becomes vanilla incense: sweet and a little cloying but pleasant enough if that's your cup of tea.

To me, Two Five and Seven is also an incredibly green scent - it does have a rose overtone, but there is a very strong green leaves and grass scent to it to me. EDIT: I also agree with the Glasgow vote.

LXVIII (68) In the bottle, this is very herbal with a note of sandalwood and musk. Wet, I get a citrusy note that I would bet good money is vetiver that's mixing with a floral I believe is ylang ylang. The sandalwood in this is very mild and mixing with coconut. I'm not sure I should even keep this on due to my allergies with coconut, but I am a fiend for punishment and want to see how this plays out. By the dry down, my arm is starting to itch and I had to remove it, however the coconut was extremely prominent as was the sandalwood in this blend. (Previously reviewed by blackrayne.)

In the bottle this is florals, sweet sticky pink carnations. On me, it becomes pink rosebuds and pale yellow carnations with a breath of white tea to soften it just slightly... drying, it's gone to powder and it just turns into a perfumed powder as it warms. There is no die-down on this one because it literally powders up and practically brushes off my skin as though nothing at all had happened. This is the first scent I've had that has ever done this and I never believed in "powdery scents" before this.

In the bottle, this is cedarwood and vetiver... I'm not picking up the leaves at all. On me wet however, it's all green leaves; there's a sweet raspberry and oooh, the olive is just a bit paler and not quite as warm. Drying, the raspberry and vetiver take the top notch spot - creating a bitter and sweet berry grass smell - while the olive leaf hovers coolly beneath; the cedarwood is a spicy red undertone for this. Drying, the sweet fades just a tad as the olive leaf and vetiver shift around - this is a very green scent on me, green leaves that bruised against my skin and left a fresh outdoors smell on me; the cedarwood adds a nice spice to the mix but is definitely the base note and a background to this and the vetiver... well, I can smell it but it's milder than normal and very much not the forefront scent. Once this has warmed up, it's moved around quite a bit - the cedarwood and raspberry leaf are now the base notes, a very sweet hard wood smell with the olive toning this a bit bitterly along with the vetiver. Vetiver is described as being in the same family as lemongrass and palmarosa and the scent is described as "deep, earthy and woody with an almost lemony overtone and is very tenacious" (taken from wikipedia). I find that I must agree - the vetiver and oliver are bitter while the cedarwood is simply a heavy throaty dried wood - kindling being split is what I am reminded of - and the raspberry leaf is light and very playful. This hasn't got the throw I wish it did, but it is absolutely wonderful and I cannot imagine a more stunning and perfect embodyment of Alecto during the wet stages. Unfortunately, on me, once it has dried the effect is lost...