Rheliwen

Silk Road is a good one.

No, it doesn't have the spiciness Snake Oil does, but it has the same feel to me. I think a better comparison might be Chimera.

To me Haunted is like Snake Oil meets The Lion. I hate O and love Haunted.

hahaha and so that is a cat on her avatar! for some reason, it kept looking like a seal to my eyes. I think it's because the whiskers are so long and with the cat's head bent and out of sight, the neck looks like a muzzle!

I think it's a seal/sea lion (I can never remember which is which). If it's a cat, it isn't a domestic one

Yes, in the bottle it smells like powdered rose. Fortunately, the rose doesn't really appear on my skin. I'm a bit tired of rose as of late

Anyway. Beatrice starts off a bit sharp and biting. It's a very tangy floral when wet. I don't really like this stage because it verges on turning into a very strong soapy scent.

Dry, it softens out a lot. I can now sort of see where the vanilla references are coming from. There is a soft, muted creaminess in the background. As for the florals, I sort of smell lily and rest are like golden blossoms. There is a bit of a spicey bite in there somewhere, but it's not coming from carnation. At this point it's a bit powdery.

Ok, now I need to revise a bit: About 15 minutes of wear, the vanilla creaminess is gone and the tartness is back. It's rose. But, not the Love in the Asylum rose, it's closer to the Rose Red type, or like a little tea rose. It's a very fresh rose, with a backdrop of spicey perfume.

I need to sit with this one a bit to decide whether I like it or not. Of all the recent florals that have been coming out, Beatrice is definitely the queen of the lot though.

DAMN, I love my Shill! I don't know what it is with me and popcorn. Buttered popcorn is my favorite flavor in Jelly Bellies

This is sweet, toasted popcorn (kernel and all) with a nice coating of butter and a tad bit of salt. It can be a bit sweet sometimes, almost verging on kettle corn.

When my boyfriend smelled it he said, "How can they make it smell just like the real thing? Now you can smell like you work at a movie theater." Haha, I told him it would be a room scent, but I kind of like wearing it, lol.

I have to add: everytime I am in a happy content place at home I always have the urge to put on Shill. It just makes me even happier! It's not a leave the house perfume, but I love it because it always puts a smile on my face

Ulalume: aquatic and earthy!

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but Crossroads is like Queen of Clubs to me...with a little more rosey floral thrown in.

This reminds me of home...

Fresh pikake blooming on the bushes lining my back yard. Gardenia flowers in my neighbor's front yard. Fresh hawaiian ginger. It smells like a lot of the touristy perfume they sell...but Pele is, of course, purer and more true to the notes in the blend.

I've never been a fan of pikake perfume, but pick them off the plant and they are like heaven! Same with gardenia. I like the way this smells but it's not me. I might keep it around to remind me of my childhood, but that's it.

Fruit Moon is a more vibrant, juicy Mi-Go.

It's missing the subtle bite Mi-Go has, but it has those crystal lunar notes in the background Mi-Go does not.

This is very candy sweet, but it settles down to a musky fruit scent. Peach, mango, papaya, grapefruit, you name it, I can smell it.

This is a wonderful fruity scent.

Numb smells like a sharper Yog-Sothoth. They are practically identical on my skin. Numb is a sharper, but more subdued purple to me though.

As it dries, I get powdery white florals swimming in tangy ozone.

Hollywood Babylon is the only cherry oil I can stand...I actually really like it too.

I hate cherry with a passion, so that surprised me

Wolfsbane to me, is similar to Hemlock...but without that citrusy sweetness Hemlock can often have.

Ides of March is such a fresh green scent. It makes me happy just thinking about it. Because she likes mint and a little spice, I think she'd adore this scent. I'm sure you can find it in the swaps somewhere.

This ones starts off very similar to 13 from the bottle to the wet stage. I've never tried velvet, but I can possibly see a comparison in that I really smelled sandalwood and chocolate in the wet stage.

Dry, this is a darker w/a woodsy undertone, tarter (the pomegranate), slightly more spicey/honey-ish Carnal. That fig really likes my skin.

Take Intrigue, marry it with Carnal and Freak Show will be their love spawn.

This is light, ligher than expected. But is it similar to Snake Oil, in my opinion.

I get vanilla (assuming this is the tonka and benzoin), a tiny bit of coconut (nothing that will keep coconut haters away) and something deep and slightly herbal. The musk is so beautiful!! I love these eastern musks! It definitely feels like resin lite to me.

I hope I'm not the only one that sees Snake Charmer more like what was expected of it. Snake Oil is heavy and dense. Snake Charmer is the light, summery version. I was so afraid of getting this based on the reviews, but it has totally lived up to my expectations and then some. I want another bottle.

In the vial this smells like a very potent floral.

Wet: I am definitely getting jasmine from this. It's mingling with something hot and strong. This stage is a bit soapy...but spicey soap. Now, I'm not too keen on the soapy jasmine smells, but for some reason, Fire Eater is really working. Both this and Peitho are making me re-evaluate my dislike for jasmine.

Dry: The soap is gone! Now it smells like red hots and a soft undercurrent of jasmine. It really smells fiery without having noticeable cinnamon in it. It's definitely a floral blend but with a nice kick. Believe it or not, it really reminds me of a fiery Alice. Alice is pink, Fire Eater is red...but they both smell similar to me. I suspect this must have carnation in it, but who really knows.

Verdict: A surprise victory! Please don't let this go just because of the jasmine reviews. If you like spicey florals, try this one out. It really is a beautiful blend!

This one smells really weird out of the bottle. Incensey and floral.

It's pretty strong when first applied. It smells like grape koolaid and dragon's blood resin. It has a bitter edge to it that is both appealling and slightly off. I was on the fence because of that. I really don't smell the coconut in this stage.

Once this one dries, it really smoothes out. The blood musk is really beautiful. It's musky dragon's blood (but not at all like Dragon's Musk). I have no idea what orris smells like but Blood Pearl does have a heavy foral edge to it that is smooth and subtle...a backdrop, if you will. The coconut isn't terribly strong to my nose, but I think the creaminess is coming from it.

The drydown is so beautiful. I wasn't sure about Blood Pearl at first, but now I want a big bottle. It still has that grape koolaid thing going on, but the presence of the coconut really keeps it from getting too tart.

Oh yum!

This is boozy sweet/sugary rum with a hint of coconut. Less sweet than grog though, which gave me tooth decay. The rum is VERY similar to Perversion's, but not quite as dark.

If you wanted to like Perversion but found the leather and smokey notes ruined it for you, Elegba is for you! It's like Captain Morgan's meets Malibu Rum.

In the bottle this is creamy red and bitter green.

Wet: I'm getting fresh leaves and the almond milk. There's definitely an almond tinge to it, but it isn't almondy (I'm making great sense today!). It's making the blend a bit bitter and bakery-ish.

Dry: As it dries the *toasted* coconut starts to come out. I'm actually surprised that the fig has been so shy. Oh wait there she is! It's staying a bit bitter, but has also gotten warm, rich and fruity. The sandalwood is definitely grounding everthing, not very noticeable, just warm and a little earthy.

Eden is a bit different than I expected. The coconut isn't terribly prominent, it's more of an accent note. I notice the leaf and almond milk the most. It does smell lovely, but not quite the figgy blend I was expecting. My overall impression is that it's an alive, bright, vibrant scent. I'm glad I have a big bottle.

I wanted to add that after about an hour on, it seriously reminds me of Arkham Revisted and The Living Flame.

In the bottle it smells similar to a lot of masculine oils, namely Fenris Wolf.

Wet: Oh...wow! Cedar, patchouli, incense and something sweet. It sort of reminds me of Anne Bonny's twin brother. I just tried it on the beau, and it turns really sweet on him.

Dry: It's starting to get sweeter now. The cedar in this is much moister than the other cedar blends I've tried (like Tombstone). The incense is really smooth and nice. It smells good enough to eat!

I think you earth girls are going to love this!

On first sniff, I expected this to be another white, cloying floral blend. Fortunately, when applied, unfolds a deep, sensous personality.

Immediately on impact I smell the clove, sweet, sweet clove...mixed with the musk (which seems red to me). They are such a great combo! They are even balancing out the jasmine. Did you hear that!? The jasmine has been detained my friends!

Rounding out the rich creaminess of the drydown is the wonderful vanilla. Vanilla does such great things for blends. It isn't terribly apparent so you vanilla haters might still like Peitho. It simply grounds the sharper, more wild notes in the blend.

It starts to get a bit sharp as it dries, and I have feeling the jasmine might make a security breach. Let's hope Beth trained the other notes well though! That does seem to be the case, though you gotta give the jasmine props for trying.

I'm going to have to give this one a go a couple more times before I decide on a big bottle or not. Right now it's teetering on the fence--one side the beautiful spicey side, the other, jasmine as supreme dictator.

I will say though: if you like jasmine, but really find it much too overpowering in a blend, give Peitho a try.

Yum yum yum!

In the bottle: hot chocolate powder mix...less chocolate, more white chocolate though (if that makes any sense )

Wet: White chocolate mized with a hint of cocoa. I say this to mean that it doesn't quite smell like chocolate, but it does have a tiny quality of it somewhere. As it begins to dry I definitely smell the chocolate orange thing going on.

Dry: This is the best part! It's sort of like a soapy orange/berry creamsicle. I mean soapy in a good way, fortunately. The tea does make it similar to Dorian...almost like his chocolate cousin. 13 is way more complex though. Underneath all this is an almost woody background. :swoon:

I was a bit worried based on the early reviews...but this one is awesome! The drydown is so soothing and beautiful.

I'll Add March Hare to the mix. The clove really pulls in the warm autumn feeling.

And, like clover, I didn't get apple cider from Block Buster...but I can sort of see how they have similar feelings.

In the bottle: Sweetened dirt.

Initially on: Definitely a lot like Zombi, but much smoother (probably the vanilla). The dirt is prominent with a red, tart background.

Drying: As it does, the dirt gets sifted into the rest of the notes. I definitely smell the pomegranate.

Dry: Pomegranate, amber and vanilla picnicing on soil moist from last night's rain. It's so well blended and smooth. A great almost fall scent.

You know, I think the dirt oils smells awesome, but aren't something I would wear. This one though, is so sensual, so familiar. It's one of the few blends that I feel is the long lost best friend of my skin. They feel so comfortable together.

When I shoved the bottle under the boy's nose I told him it smelled like dirt...and now he can't get past that association. I don't care, I like it.

Hours later: The pomegranate is starting to turn sour on me . It's doing the same thing The Living Flame did, which makes me suspsect that there is pomegranate in that as well. But I love the first couple of hours so I don't care.

Chaos Theory CCII (202)

I have no idea what mine smells like. All I know is it smells drastically different in the drydown than it does in the bottle.

Bottle: Cocoa, a little cookie-ish, teeny tiny hint of spearmint. I died when I smelled this!

Wet: Smells exactly like in the bottle. It's a bit creamy and a tiny bit foody without actually being foody. It sort of reminds me of a sharper intrigue (which, on me, was all woods and cocoa).

Dry: Hmm, it's starting to get a little sharp. Now, it's sort of like a sour Al Azif. I think it's coming from a white-ish floral though...surrounded in brown sugar and something like subtle pepper.

This one is weird, weird, weird! It's very subtle. I'd put it more into the resin category than anything else. No fruits or noticeable florals in here.

Initial reaction: hell yeah!

Secondary: hmm, I'm not so sure...

trying it again: ok maybe

later on: weird but nice

It's different than most of the BPAL I've tried. I'm going to keep this one unless it decides to get all rotty on me. It does teeter on that thin line right when it starts to dry.

ETA: I opened it up this morning to sniff it again (it smells so good in the bottle), and when I put it back I got suntan oil and a big whiff of toasted coconut. Whoopie!