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Arachnae

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About Arachnae

  • Rank
    evil enabler
  • Birthday 10/31/1991

BPAL

  • BPAL of the Day
    Blood Countess
  • Favorite Scents
    Blood Countess Lady Lucille Sharpe Drink Me O Mouse Circus Love and Sleep The Black Temple Burlesque Troupe October The Vampire Bride The Ghastly Garden

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  • Pronouns
    Female
  • Mood
    Tired

Location

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    Ireland

Astrology

  • Chinese Zodiac Sign
    Ram
  • Western Zodiac Sign
    Scorpio

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  1. Arachnae

    Yemaya

    In the imp, syrupy melon mocktail! Yummy and tropical. Once on the skin, more juicy and sweet melon and I can pick out a hint of cool green grape as well, but the florals come out to play and kind of take over. Along with the sea moss, those florals cut through the syrupy sweetness in the imp and lend the scent a fresh and delicate aquatic quality. However after about 15 mins, once the scent has settled into my skin, the perfume-y florals calm down and allow the sweet melon to come to the foreground again. Throughout the drydown I was trying to remember what this scent reminded me of and it finally came to me; in the 90's my mother used to use this watermelon scented sun screen from The Body Shop that I absolutely loved the smell of and this scent is a dead ringer for that. Very pretty, very tropical, and very Summery. Medium throw with low staying power, so a second or third application throughout the day may be necessary but for a scent this gorgeous and nostalgic for me, I don't mind. A 5ml bottle is in my future!
  2. Arachnae

    Overprotective Possessed Talking Doll

    In the bottle, super SUPER sweet strawberry candy. Like if it was an actual candy and you were chewing on it it would make your teeth hurt, it's that sweet. I'd definitely say it borders on sickly but for a sinister doll scent I think it's perfect! Once on my skin the mimosa kicks in and instead of just saccharine strawberry candy I get sour sugary strawberry candy. Like those fizzy strawberry laces. I don't get the slightest whiff of floral, but on the drydown the whole thing becomes a tad powdery and, as someone else said above, chalky. It's definitely a lot more wearable than the tooth-rotting sugary candy scent in the bottle. I've been craving more strawberry and peach scents recently (maybe because Summer is imminent?) and this partly fills the great big strawberry shaped hole in my bpal collection, so I am happy to have a bottle. And it goes without saying the name is one of the best in bpal history!
  3. Arachnae

    When your favorite GC blends are discontinued

    I've never smelled it, but just based on note, The Witch Queen shares a few - Wild plum, red musk, tuberose, calla lily, heliotrope, pimento, ylang ylang and beeswax beneath a dark haze of sinister purple-hued incense smoke. Maybe The Waltz of the Flowers? White musk, Madonna lily, jasmine sambac, ylang ylang, bourbon vanilla, and clove. It has the lily, jasmine and ylang ylang in common. What are the most dominant notes on you? That may help in narrowing down something else that could be close... Thank you for your suggestions, The Witch Queen has been on my radar for quite a while and it will probably be in my next lab order! I've never actually tried Suspiro, but plummy florals are my jam and every note in there is perfection to me. Orchid, jasmine, lily and ylang ylang are some of my favourite florals, and now I'm a bit obsessed with this perfect sounding scent with all my favourite notes in it.. And of course it is DC'd and hard to find!
  4. Arachnae

    When your favorite GC blends are discontinued

    Anyone have any recs for a scent similar to Suspiro (Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley)?
  5. Arachnae

    La Prostitution et la Folie Dominent le Monde

    Of all the Lupers I blind-bottled, this was the one I was most looking forward to. The 'drop of star anise' gave me pause initially, but seeing as I have a thing for jasmine, the thoughts of a sweet, creamy jasmine scent was too tempting to pass up on. In the bottle, ahhhhh it's beautiful! Jasmine heavy, yes, not a problem for a jasmine lover like me, but this jasmine is so soft I think even those that are afraid of the 'cat-pee' aspect that I personally have never experienced might be able to appreciate this. It's like jasmine scented cupcake frosting, super sweet and super creamy. I could weep tears of actual joy! Once on my skin, more beautifully creamy jasmine, but the so-called 'drop' of star anise is stomping all over it. This is a problem for me, and exactly the thing that I feared, as anise/licorice of any kind tends to turn my stomach when it is strong. And for a little drop, this is STRONG. It's upsetting for about 5 minutes, and then miraculously, the anise backs allllll the way up and disappears. And I'm left with exactly what I dreamed of, a gorgeous, sweet creamy jasmine. Is it worth tolerating the nauseating first 5 mins?? Completely. It's perfect and heavenly and I am kicking myself for not getting a back-up. As with most jasmine blends, throw and staying power are both crazy strong. LOVE. ETA: Looking back at my review that I wrote when I really should've been asleep, I'm not sure that I mentioned the fact that this jasmine is sweet and creamy enough, so: this jasmine is sweet. And it is also creamy. /sarcasm.
  6. Arachnae

    White Chocolate and Asian Pear

    In the bottle, this is just pure chocolate. I'm not getting anything 'white' about it, it just smells like straight up milk chocolate which has me worried as I was so looking forward to the Labs glorious glorious white choc note. And no pear! Just milk chocolate. Yep. On my skin, ahhh there's the white chocolate! And the pear! The white chocolate is lovely and creamy, with those strong hints of milk and vanilla that enables me to distinguish the fact that it is indeed white chocolate that I can now smell. It's adding a slightly powdery/dusty quality which I personally like. And it doesn't overpower the pear at all, both notes are balanced beautifully. The pear is deliciously sweet and fresh, combined with the white choc note, this blend is seriously mouth-watering! Definitely one for the foodies with a sweet tooth. After the initial concern at the bottle sniff, this turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for, and it's currently wrestling with The Perilous Parlour for the title of My Top Pear Scent (PP has held the title for a loooong time). Throw is surprisingly strong, medium staying power.
  7. Arachnae

    Alcie

    I'm going to preface this by saying that I usually steer well clear of anything citrus-y, as it amps to the high heavens and turns into headache-inducing bathroom cleaning product on me. HOWEVER. I was gifted a tester of Alcie and seeing as all of the notes in this except for the nectarine are notes that I love (especially oakmoss) I threw caution to the wind and found out that this particular citrus note behaves on me. Hallelujah! So naturally I bought a big bottle. In the bottle, very nectarine dominant, with a lush green backdrop. Very sweet, and very mossy. On my skin, the nectarine becomes less dominant, and like I said, for once stays nice and juicy instead of turning chemical and giving me a headache. You have no idea how happy I am about this! I think the honey is in part to thank for this, for although it is quiet, it is definitely there, amounting to a light, almost nectar like sweetness that I suspect is stopping the nectarine from turning nauseating on me. Oakmoss is one of my absolute favourite notes and it is really really beautiful here. Together with the green musk and sea buckthorn berry, it lends the scent a cool, green aquatic quality. This is one of the prettiest aquatics I've ever smelled. Whereas most aquatics tend to err on the masculine side, this stands out as gorgeously feminine to me, perhaps due to the juicy nectarine and sweet honey. I love mermaid/selkie/siren folklore and have a section in my perfume oil collection that consists of scents that I feel would be evocative of those creatures, and Alcie definitely fits that bill. In the end, the longest lingering notes I get are soft honeyed nectarine, intoxicating oakmoss and green musk. Medium throw and staying power. I can see myself reaching for it a lot in the coming summer months.
  8. Arachnae

    Pink Moon 2017

    Having not tried any of the previous incarnations of Pink Moon (or necessarily been aware of them, I only got into bpal in late 2012), this is the first time I've been moved to buy a lunacy as soon as the lab has put it up. All those gorgeous spring florals, sugary sweet stuff AND strawberries? The thoughts of it all kind of sent me into a rose-coloured daze and before I knew it, I'd made an order. In the bottle, damn that is PINK. So many pretty florals that my nose can't discern one from the other at this point, with a strong background of thick honey, and the slightest hint of something tart and green. Once on my skin, I'm able to start making out some of the florals, mainly the spicy carnation and peony. I'm also getting a whisper of something waxy, which someone above guessed might be the daffodil, though I have exactly 0% experience with daffodil so idk. And all the while there is super sweet, pink cotton candy fighting for my attention. I guess pink sugar + honey + bourbon vanilla = cotton candy on my skin, and I ain't mad about it. At all. It is candy sweet on me, yes, but like, an expensive artisan floral candy, not childish at all. I love it! I don't get strawberry at any stage, which I am sad about, though it's entirely possible that it is there, just quietly adding to the pinkness. Medium throw and staying power. I'm so happy that this turned out to be exactly what I imagined when I first read the notes; a very pink sugared floral. I'm so glad I have a bottle and I can definitely see myself reaching for it a lot in the coming spring/summer months!
  9. Arachnae

    Cave of Treasures

    Sniffing from the bottle, it's a very sweet and perfume-y honeyed lilac. Pretty! On my skin, the sweetness dissipates very quickly but the lilac becomes beautifully creamy and soft, and the teensiest hint of spicy cardamom appears. The lilac is indeed strong with this one, which is not what I was expecting when I first read the notes. As an amber and honey fiend I was rooting for those two notes to be strong contenders in this blend, which, on me at least, they are not. This lilac is so stunning that I can forgive all that though. It ends up a slightly dry, slightly spicy, creamy lilac, absolutely gorgeous, and perfect for this time of year! Throw is fairly low, and rather unfortunately, it seems to be one of those scents that my skin just eats up because it all but disappears after a couple of hours. I will be interested to see whether a bit of aging will deepen the amber and honey, and increase the longevity, because I do so want this gorgeous scent to stick around!
  10. Arachnae

    If your top 5 scents are... Then try these!

    Thank you VetchVesper! I've had Obsidian Widow and Morgause on my to-try list for ages now, should definitely get round to purchasing some imps of those two. Wanda is one I have tried, unfortunately leather and I don't get along and the leather is strong in that one! Wow, lots to research in that thread, don't know how I missed it! Thanks again!
  11. Arachnae

    If your top 5 scents are... Then try these!

    Ooo I'd appreciate some recs right now! My current top 5 in order: Blood Countess Lady Lucille Sharpe Drink Me O Love and Sleep I'm especially interested in recs for Blood Countess and Lucille, I need more femme-fatale type florals
  12. Arachnae

    Vampiric scents / gothic heroine scents

    These scents are evocative of beautiful vampire ladies for me, and incidentally are among my all-time fave bpals: Blood Countess Corrupted black plum, smoky opium and crumbling dead roses covered by a deceptive veil of Hungarian lilac, white gardenia and wild berry. Lady Lucille Sharpe Faded red roses and a glimmer of garnet with black lily, ylang ylang, smoky plum musk and black amber. The Vampire Bride Icy skin touched by a perfume of violet leaf, white tea, olibanum, elemi, myrrh, wormwood, crypt dust, and saffron with a dribble of blood red musk. Penny Dreadful Soft perfume evocative of noir heroines over rich red grave loam. And as for a running-away-from-a-haunted-castle-in-a-nightgown scent, the one I think of most is Edith Cushing Pearlescent vanilla musk with white sandalwood, grey amber, white patchouli, ambrette seed, and oudh.
  13. Arachnae

    Oakmoss

    I only discovered how much I love oakmoss when I bought Lucille's Room atmo ~ Lilac water, fossilized black amber, lily of the valley, violet leaf, and oakmoss. While I also get the musky amber and subtle violet from it, the strongest and most lingering note I get is the oakmoss, and I. Frickin. Love. It. I was devastated to miss out on the super limited Crimson Peak atmofumes (the Posts CP atmos turned into perfume oils) a while back because having it in perfume form would have meant I could die happy.. I really hope the Oakmoss SN returns someday!
  14. Arachnae

    Smell like a Greenhouse

    Love Makes Monsters of Us All (soil and rot and the heat of rage, blood-smeared musk and sharp decay) has a wonderfully fresh soil note that layers beautifully with The Ghastly Garden (overgrown oleander, marshy water hemlock, the sugared nectar of carnivorous blooms, putrefying wet greenery, oozing sap, crushed rosary peas, withered climbing roses, and nightshade berries), which I think may be kind of what you're looking for. Ghastly Garden is one of my all time BPAL faves and when I tried LMMOUA I immediately thought of how good the soil note would be with it. The combo just screams 'evil greenhouse' to me...
  15. Arachnae

    Imp and Bottle Cap Issues (breakage, leakage)

    I had this happen with an imp I ordered mid January, the top broke off in one slice but left the little stick part still stuck firmly inside the imp. I just left it as I didn't know what to do other than try to get the bit left out and maybe steal a cap from an unloved imp even though it would pain me to do so! I had only opened it once previously to sniff, I wouldn't mind if only it wasn't a scent I liked and wanted to skin test properly, I may just end up getting a big bottle eventually anyways!
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