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BPAL Madness!

jj_j

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Everything posted by jj_j

  1. jj_j

    Haunted

    No exorcists needed here! Haunted is really lovely - warm with balsam(?) under the amber and bit of spice. Not Christmas-in-a-can, mind you ... sensual without being heavy; like a lover you retired who pops into your head one day and you can't stop thinking about them. This one lasted all day and just got warmer and more velvety as it went on.
  2. jj_j

    Endymion

    Sweet, crisp, pebbly pear, with just the slightest touch of soapy Lily of the Valley. During drydown, I almost think I can smell the rosy brown of the bois de rose, but it's so fleeting I'm not sure if it's really there. The white musk comes out after a bit, and makes this a clean, warm, and oh-so-soft envelope around me. Enchanting!
  3. jj_j

    Aureus

    Cedar, sandalwood, and amber - golden in the sense of sticky, warm, and sparkling sap running oh-so-slowly down the trunk of a tree. In the late spring or early summer, when it rains for just a few minutes without the sun ever hiding itself, the weathered cedar siding on my parents' house and the red Oklahoma clay combine with the moisture to fill the air with this very smell.
  4. jj_j

    Maiden

    Damask rose, with that mossy-ness I always smell under it, is a favorite. I'm not usually fond of carnations, but this is such a true carnation scent - dry, spicy, and beautifully interwoven with the rose. The white tea doesn't come out on me until this has been on for a while, and it's an interesting counterpoint to the carnation. Suddenly, this becomes a bright, fresh, sparkling mossy rose with carnations, and it's absolutely stunning.
  5. jj_j

    Lilith

    I sniffed the bottle and thought for a second I'd found more of that rancid Juicy Fruit note I get out of Carnivale. I try every one of Beth's creations that come my way, though, and I'm so glad I did! Within 30 seconds, the red wine takes over, and the myrrh makes this absolutely sumptuous. Attar of rose adds a faint mossy note, and isn't a rose smell as much as it is the silky, sexy feel of a rose petal. The black musk doesn't cover everything else up, and stays very subdued throughout the drydown. Luxe. Lush. Sensual. Opulent.
  6. jj_j

    Kitsune-Tsuki

    It's amazing to me how intertwined the plum, orchid, and daffodil are in Kitsune-Tsuki; they're almost indistinguishable from one another. Typically, a scent leans one way or the other, but this one is equally floral and fruity without really being either one. Stays light, stays fresh, and is sweetly floral - kind of like a tulip scent Bath and Body Works used to make - and is distinctive enough to stand out in a crowd. Fades quickly on me, so this would require layering. Lush and light enough to be a perfect spring scent.
  7. jj_j

    Circe

    This went on so overpoweringly I was tempted to run and wash myself with Dawn dishsoap to get it off quickly, but I stuck it out. The ylang-ylang is absolutely piercing for a while, and I've pinpointed the source of my occasional BPAL headaches - strong ylang-ylang. Eventually, this softens up, and it goes sweeter, oddly enough - but in a much better way. It becomes a more tropical, flowing scent, and even seems to have a touch of banana in it - that dratted ylang-ylang again! - while being somewhat "perfum-y." I'd say this is most like the over-the-top white florals that you sometimes get at the department store, but concentrated and lacking the chemical, astringent feel they often give off. Not something I can wear, between the headache and the pungency level.
  8. jj_j

    Glasya

    Okay. I tried it, even though I knew the civet was going to be a problem on me. Glasya surprised me, though; it stayed crisp and fiery with the myrrh and dragon's blood - spicy, almost cinnamon-y, - and softly, sexily floral, which has to be the ylang-ylang. Rose never makes its way out of the mix on me, and the red patchouli, while there, stays mellow and ties down the other notes. Doesn't get too animalistic, which civet seems to do on me, and stays hot and full of passion. I won't be able to wear this one, unfortunately. I can't take more than about five minutes without a piercing headache planting itself firmly behind my eyes; I wish I knew which note did that, as I rarely have this problem with BPALs.
  9. jj_j

    Katharina

    Frankly, I like this one. I'm not usually a fan of mostly-fruity scents, but the apricot and white musk are so lovely in this! The orange blossom pulls the scent from deep and mellow to a more sparkling and light scent, and never gets too floral-sweet. The only downside to this one: when I asked a co-worker what she thought, she said that only teenagers should wear fruity smells - which is part of my usual issue with fruit scents. The catch is, she's twenty, and thought Katharina would be too "young" on her, even. I'm going to have to keep thinking about the impression this one leaves, I suppose. Final verdict - If I had to pick just one (and thank goodness Beth doesn't make me!) apricot-toned scent, I'd go with Tamora. Katharina runs a close, but sweeter, second place.
  10. jj_j

    Tamora

    Definitely soft, smooth, and sexy-sweet. Enough vanilla and amber to keep this warm and lush, while the peach dries down without being sticky. Heliotrope doesn't come out much on me, but this still has great depth. Will be wearing regularly this winter, as it's not too bright or fruity for the time of year.
  11. jj_j

    good enough for now

    Thank you to everyone who works so hard on all the pieces of this and who worked with the previous site - I appreciate your time and effort so much! By the way, you've pleased me no end with the purple, ShriekingViolet - I feel right at home! Beautifully done all around.
  12. jj_j

    Glitter

    Definitely fruity in a bubble-gum flavored sno-cone sort of way. Not sweet in a jam/jelly way; sweet in a candy flavoring sense, like the powdery, fruity texture inside a Everlasting Gobstopper you crunch into as soon as you pop it into your mouth. I can see how the scent could be interpreted as boozy, although it didn't quite make it to that stage with my chemistry.
  13. jj_j

    La Belle Dame Sans Merci

    This is immediately green with an underlying sharp-edged floral that doesn't present itself as rose to me until much, much later. No cinnamon, either. Lightly aquatic, plenty of green ivy, and some sharp and bitter leafy green - almost like the stalk of a plant you'd pull from the flowerbed if it didn't have such nasty thorns on it. The underlying soapy herb that's in some of the Voodoo blends is here, too. La Belle Dame sans Merci, though, has a very different sort of strength than those - this is pride, bitterness, anger, and a biting viciousness all in one. Hard and brittle, although I hadn't thought of green scents as cold before this, and certainly not those with a minimal rose note. Even with wear, this isn't a soft scent. It's never overpowering or icky, mind you, it's just that this isn't a scent to wear if you worry about what other people feel or think. When they get close enough to you to smell this, they'll get a feeling of distance and a wall between the two of you. Regal, aloof, and full of disdain.
  14. Gluttony isn't a dark chocolate scent. It's got all sorts of other sweet scents, along with just a touch of gingerbread for spice. Bliss would be a chocolate scent, although not a bitter, dark chocolate.
  15. jj_j

    Springtime scents

    <singing off key> Younger than springtime, are you; gayer than laughter, are you; warmer than winds of June are the gentle lips you gave me ... Sorry - my father used to sing this to my mother when the weather was warm enough to roll down the windows on drives. I remember how she always blushed and smiled at him - so I never asked, and have always just supposed it was some special part of their courtship. Scents for spring moments like these? The Apothecary Old Shanghai Cordelia Phantasm Old Glasgow Tears Endymion
  16. jj_j

    Hiring.

    Yes, tell me what I can do long-distance! You'll be a multi-state, if not nationwide, enterprise if you utilize all of us who are willing to help from afar.
  17. jj_j

    Hiring.

    It'd be quite a commute, but I'd think about it!
  18. jj_j

    Fae

    For me, Fae started out with a touch of peach and heavy on the white musk, with the bergamot more moderate. This dries down to a sparkling, green and light fruity-floral - the peach and heliotrope really wrap around each other and are held together with the white musk and oakmoss underneath it all. The pungence of the bergamot makes it stand out from other fruity-floral scents Really nice - I may wear this one enough to purchase an additional bottle, come spring.
  19. jj_j

    Wrath

    Hot, hot, hot - cinnamon and subtle black pepper, which makes this a very sexy sort of angry. The clove didn't come out at first, so I thought I might be able to wear this, but ... the clove appeared about five minutes in, and gave me an instant headache, so no-go.
  20. jj_j

    Ace of Swords

    I get the lavender and neroli, but no sandalwood. Maybe just a drop of eucalyptus, as the lavender is sharper than usual. Very airy and cloud-like. Probably the easiest of the Aces for my nose to "read" and understand.
  21. jj_j

    Ace of Wands

    Ditto. The series of Aces, in particular, has been difficult for me, because they don't ... resonate? ... with my senses like the others do. The Ace of Wands has that peculiar not-quite pepto-bismol scent that's also in the Wheel of Fortune - I've yet to place that scent, but it's very light and almost like something electric or perhaps melted by heat.
  22. jj_j

    Ace of Cups

    This went on me in a sticky-sweet cloud, but it did mellow into a soft, fluffy, enveloping sweetness after a few minutes. I don't get much of an impression from the Aces - certainly not like I do from the Major Arcana.
  23. jj_j

    Ace of Pentacles

    Definitely dirt and timber. I like the forest path analogy, as it's more of what my nose smells - some crushed pine needles in there. Not an overwhelming smell at all, and in fact, the Ace of Pentacles faded very quickly on me.
  24. jj_j

    Morocco

    Definitely dry and exotic. Just on, I smell saffron and white pepper, but not in overwhelming quantities - they offset the white musk and keep this light and sunny. Drying down does indeed bring out the softer, more carmelized and toasted-type feel, which blend with the saffron and musk in a fashion I wouldn't have expected. I bypassed this on my recent order, but I'll be adding it into the next. Perfect for fall or winter, if you're a seasonal scent kind of person.
  25. jj_j

    Ravenous

    Orange, but just barely. More of a creamsicle kind of orange, which I would detest if the red sandalwood didn't grab the reins and pull it back into the blend pretty quickly. The two combine and even out pretty well, but this isn't something I'd wear. Edited to add: Ordered several Imps for friends to try, and went back through some of them that I didn't care for originally. This one passed the re-testing of re-tested scents ... so soft and warm, with the orange keeping it light and smooth. I'm ordering this after all!
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