Rheliwen

I get a really nice sandalwood from Tushnamatay. Am I crazy?

In the bottle Nefertiti smells a bit green and herbal.

 

Wet, the spices really pop right along with the iris. It sort of smell like a cardamom or another foody spice similar to the ones in Silk Road. It's actually a neat combination with the iris.

 

As it dries, Nefertiti turns a bit perfumey soap on me. The sandalwood is starting to show it's head just a tad. It lends more to the earthy feel than actually smelling like sandalwood. This one is weird because for 10 minutes it will be soapy, and then the spices will kick in and create a really nice musky floral...and then it will swtich and do it all over again.

 

I really do like Nefertiti but am still debating if it is something I would personally wear. It smells exotic and beautiful. It's the type of floral I like because it's surrounded by really great complimentary notes like the spices.

I'll add the lion as well.

I just discovered Tarot: Justice and I think it would be a perfect summer scent

In the bottle this is very tart and citrusy. It hit me high in the nose.

 

Wet, it's a bit more subtle, but all I can really detect is the lemon. Up close it's nice, sweet lemon. Far away, it smells like bug repellent.

 

As it dries, the soft florals and musks pop out, almost surpassing the lemon note, but not quite. The vanilla is there but very faint. I catch only glimpses of it from time to time. It starts to get a bit soapy as time goes on, but the musks prevent it from going too far into that territory.

 

Zephyr is a lovely, light blend that get's softer with wear. Now, most of the lemon has disappeared and the rest of the notes remain. I'm torn as I love this phase, but the beginning phase is a bit too sharp for me.

Hmmm...

 

In the vial it smells like tart dragon's blood.

 

Wet: This is weird. I definitely smell dragon's blood, but there's also this sour, bitter note there that doesn't seem quite right. I recognize it but can't place it. Oh, now that I read Penance's review, it does smell herbal...like fresh thyme or lemongrass, maybe basil. Something with a bit of tartness.

 

Dry: That note is starting to go away, but I can still smell it in the background. Now I am detecting a musk in there of medium build accompanying the dragon's blood. The herbal note is morphing a bit and I can smell sweet sage somewhere in the depths of this blend. Ah, this is much more pleasant! It gets softer and softer as time goes on...and I like it better and better at each stage.

 

It seems like chemistry is going to dictate what note is amped on your skin.

Justice initially smells citrusy with a hint of ozone/aquatic.

 

As it dries, I'm getting a faint moss, and a subtle amber laced with ozone and maybe green tea or ginger (I think these are the cause of the citrus I am smelling). It's a tart scent, bright and ready to face the day. It's light yellow-green scent to me.

 

Sea of Glass actually reminds me of a way more amped up Justice. Neo-Tokyo is another comparison, though Justice is more subdued. I also see some similarities between this and the Hermit. Creepy because they were both important cards for me last year.

 

Dry, the sweetness has faded and it's a nice, subtle green scent. It's perfect for a lounging summer day.

Wow, this is tart pomegranate juice with a hint of sparkling wine.

 

It actually reminds me of my mom's christmas potpourri a bit. It's sweet and incredibly juicy. I don't know if I'll wear this but it's dying to be applied somewhere.

Wow, I was expecting something much more rich and in-my-nose.

 

Out of the vial this is to die for! My boy said it smelled liked flowers like he always says. I said it smelled like yummy cinnamon.

 

Wet, this is really subtle. I get a tiny bit of cinnamon over the faintest hint of amber, over the faintest hint if skin. I'm straining to smell this.

 

As it dries, the cinnamon lays low a bit and a wheaty smell comes out as well as the amber. Mmm, it smells like wheat doh a bit. The Lion isn't as dry as I imagined it would be after detecting this wheat note. It's still warm, and a bit creamy.

 

This is much better than expected! Yay me!

Hm, in the bottle, this is least DBR smelling Draconis blend I've tried.

 

Wet, this is a deep, murky DBR. It's more understated than Dragon's Hide is, and I thought it would be the other way around.

 

Sometimes, darker musks can give me a headache, but in this one, I can definitely smell them, but they carry a different quality. I want to compare the dark musk to the more animalistic ones, but it really isn't. I think the DBR keeps it in check.

 

Wow, this is so much better than I could have ever expected. You get the beautiful DBR but without all the candy sweetness. In it's place you get depth and a bit of darkness.

When wet, this one smell like spicey, powdery florals.

 

As it dries, it takes on a more soapy smell (thanks to the lily and jasmine). But lingering in the background is a wonderful sweet sage with a touch of rose and dry woods (like teak). Filling in the the holes is lemon, but sweet, innocent lemon, not the in-your-face kind.

 

Initially, I really loved this. Unfortunately, it lost most of the yummy spice on the drydown...and I don't want to smell like soap, no matter how gourmet the soap is

Mmmmm!

 

Wet: This smells like berry soda. It's bright and cheery.

 

Dry: It takes on an almost white chocolate, nutty smell. The amber is rich and creamy and the spices are so yummy. Don't be fooled, this is no christmas potpourri blend. The longer it lingers, the more the berries fade into the spice so I'm left with something rich and seductive.

 

Yum, yum, yum!

From doing some searches and recalling some I've tried:

 

For Cashmere Mist:

 

Tushnamatay is a nice warm sandalwoody blend to me.

If you like woody with flowers, Ulalume is so yummy and one of my top picks.

Velvet might be nice.

Queen Mab's another nice blend.

Ave Maria Gratia Plena

Arkham Revisited is a woody/floral blend.

 

Realities:

 

Aeval

Zephyr

Rapture

Fae

Marquis de Merteuil

Tamora

Titania

I have no idea what Night Queen smells like, but Ophelia is a really nice aquatic floral.

The first note I detect from this is cinnamon. Next comes the tobacco and last is the orange. It reminds me of some of the other spicey voodoo blends.

 

As this dries, the spice from the cinnamon lingers, but the actual cinnamon itself recedes into the background. This lets the tobacco and orange pop right out.

 

It stays fairly true to form dry. I'm going to have to put this one to work. It smells powerful.

Out of the bottle this is pure liquid candy. It's similar in sweetness to Midwinter's Eve, though where ME was the berry flavor, Yemaya is the tropical one.

 

Wet, this reminds me of tropical bubbalicious gum. It's a fun scent and something I could see myself frollicking around a park with in the summer.

 

As this begins to dry, a musk starts to pop up. It's a medium musk, and isn't like many of the other musks I've tried from BPAL. It's turning this one spicey and just a tad animalistic (teeny tiny bit and it's gone in about 10 mins). I can detect fig in there somewhere as the spice reminds me of the fig in carnal.

 

This one is interesting in how it morphs. It goes from sweet and innocent to twisted and sinister.

 

ADDED April 22:

 

Candy sweet in the bottle.

 

Initially on, it continues its candy sweetness. My boy said I smelled like bubblegum and a candy store.

 

As it dries it does warm up. There's an animalistic muskiness in the background. Those musks tend to hit me high in the nose and this is what happened with Yemaya. Amazingly, the candy fruity sweetness blends really well with this musk. The sweetness reminds me a little of R'Lyeh. After about 2 hours, the musk is less abrasive and turns into a really pleasant note.

 

To me, it's like a sweet summer scent for people who like the heavier fragrances of winter. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep Yemaya, but I think I will.

I'm wondering if I got the same Chango as everyone else.

 

Mine smells like dark amber, anise and some other sharp notes. It really is something that clashes with my skin. I wish I could have smelled tropical fruits. Chango, on me, is unfortunately too strong of a musky amber and is giving me a headache. It's has great staying power though! I scrubbed my hand and I can still smell it

Wet, my initial thought was, "Christmas trees dipped in candy, lounging around in the summer months." I know, it was weird.

 

The front notes are definitely the berries, but they are not at all overwhelming. The sage and the dark musk are making me think Christmas trees. Bewtiched, though, is a rather light scent. It's for springtime, not winter. The green tea really polishes off this blend.

 

I really enjoy Bewitched and I rather think of it as a seasonless blend, although I mentioned it was more springtime. I think no matter what season you wear it, you'll be able to find a note in there that compliments the season. I just happen to being wearing it in springtime

Aeval lasted forever on me. It had the best staying power of any BPAL on me to date.

 

I wanted to add that I read a review of another blend that has sage and the person commented that it also lasted forever. My thought is that sage has good staying power.

Saint Germain might be another good one.

I had a really hard time trying to describe what Santo Domingo smelled like right after I applied it. I could barely smell the tobacco leaf, but it was definitely in there somewhere. The rum wasn't overpowering at all...not like Grog. It had a boozy quality to the smell, right along with a spicey, powdery floral.

 

This one turns to powder really, really quickly. After about 30 mins of wear I could detect the tobacco, but it faded away rather quickly and went back to powder. It's a lovely powder smell, spicey and warm, but it's still powder.

In the bottle, Sophia smells floraly with a hint of green in the background.

 

When wet, I initially smell the lavendar, but it's very gentle, not nearly as strong as it usually is in a blend. Behind it I can detect the musk and other subtle blooms. And can I say that lavendar and musk go so well together!?

 

As it dries, I begin to detect some of the other flowers in there while the lavendar is happy to blend into the background. Sophia never really turns spicey on me. I think the spice simply keeps it from getting too floraly. It seems to have the same tone and texture that Morgause does, but Sophia is a much more sublte musky/floral blend. And it has a touch of leafiness to it that makes it very pleasant and wonderful.

 

Overall, Sophia is light, doesn't have much throw, and disappears rather quickly...but it does smell wonderful while it lasts.

Hmmm, I can barely, if at all, smell leather in this one. I really have to start huffing at my wrists to get any mention of it. Whip, on me, smells like tart attar of rose. I love the way attar of rose smells and Whip is making me feel happy...but I want the leather too.

 

I received this in a swap, so maybe it has aged?

 

Ok, after about an hour, the tartness has worn of and NOW I can sort of smell the leather, though it is faint. Ahhh................

 

Overall, I like Whip

On first application, this one reminded me of moist soot. Like the way a burnt down house would smell after the fire dept finished dousing the flames.

 

As it dried, a sharp, sharp, sharp note appeared, almost out of nowhere. I thought it smelled like eucalyptus, but reading the other reviews, it could have been vetiver. And this note just got stronger and stronger as it dried.

 

It turned into too much of a medcinal smell to me. But I have to say the imagery of it is amazing. The stuff Beth can put in a bottle...

Overall, I smell a lot of almond in front of a boozey quality to the blend. I can also detect some cherry and possibly some soft amber in there as well.

Black Phoenix is a bit too tart for me, and the almond doesn't want to agree with me. But if you like this note, Black Phoenix definitely will not disappoint.