pekeana

This reminds me of some of the other solar blends (Sol, Solar Phoenix, Civil Twilight) in that it has that bright amber-citrus hit with frankincense and other solar oils before it dries down with a more aquatic resin finish.

This is a delicious rich blend, sparkling and effervescent champagne on the top and warm earthy sandalwood and musk on the bottom.

I get none of the fruits in this, just amber, a light floral, a slight sweetness from the honey, and a smoky wooden note that dominates everything else. (Go rosewood!) My skin will amp up any wood and amber notes now and go to town, so ymmv (and it definitely will in this case).

Roman chamomile is one of my death notes. It almost invariably despises my skin.

 

Solar Phoenix is the only exception to this rule.

 

I get the warmth of the frankincense and cinnamon, the juicy smokiness of the pineapple (for the Lab's pineapple notes all invariably go smoky on my skin), and the sweet floral depths of the rose and heliotrope. I can smell all of the notes individually (even the chamomile), but the scent as a whole works as one of deep knowledge, understanding, and comfort with one's self.

 

I'm so very glad I took a chance and got a bottle of this because it really speaks to me.

I never would have picked this for myself to test, so I thank the Labbies for chucking a squirt into my last order.

 

I was kind of all like, "OMG WHUT" in the bottle, then I sprayed it on my pillow and waited about 10 minutes and went straight to sleep. Which is not normal for me. I'm usually a toss & turner for hours before I finally sleep kind of a girl. So... yay?

 

The scent is extremely strong, dark leather with a depth borne of tobacco and smoke notes. I don't get any whiskey or alochol or sweet to it (but my sinuses are blocked and my ability to smell sweet is usually impaired at this point), so it's just strong, potent leather and tobacco smoke. It's not my favorite thing to smell, but I can't stop myself from smelling my pillow. Or wanting to go back under the pillows and sleep for another 14 hours.

So, I bought this without reading the reviews because I saw it up on the BPAL Etsy shop and giggled at the name. Because I'm 30something going on 12. (Pecker. ) I know, worst reason ever to buy a perfume, but what the heck, right?

 

I wasn't expecting this level of heinously diabolical deliciousness. I really wasn't. When I open the bottle and take a big, deep whiff, I get all kinds of warm, dry woods and a deeply "berryish" dragons blood. (Normally when I smell dragons blood, I get more of the lilac-resin end of things.) It could be off-putting if I wasn't already familiar with BPAL and the fact that the bottle + the skin = totally different.

 

Duuuuuuuuuude. There's a hint of golden musk in here somewhere, and, to be honest, once it hits my skin, it smells like Aureus + dragons blood + golden musk + a touch of cedar. I know there's some patchouli and some sandalwood, maybe hinoki wood or teak?, and the cedar. But definitely one of the musks from Dorian is in here at the very bottom holding it glued together - my skin is amping that and the dragons blood.

 

The end result is heaaaaavenly. Apparently, woods are beginning to like me more - and who can complain about that? Smelling like a Dragon's Pecker is awesome.

In the bottle, this is all radishes, flax, incense and dirt to me. Which is great!

 

On my skin, it smells like the worst possible BO ever. There's cumin in here somewhere and that's the culprit - cumin smells like the worst kind of working-up-a-sweat-not-showering-for-a-month kind of death on me.

So, the moment I saw Leo Stellium on the Etsy site, I was all, "zOMG, sounds amazing!" As someone who has a deeply abiding love of Beth's solar oils, I knew it would be perfect. And you have no idea how perfect it is.

 

When I open the bottle and sniff it, I get whiffs of solar resins and rose geranium and lemon balm along with other things I can't identify - but it is a deeply complex warm citrus and resin scent with a touch of floral and... oh, forget it. It just smells like blissful happiness. It really does. Pure, utter bliss.

 

I use it two-fold: I feed my solar amulet with Leo Stellium and Sol, and it helps me sleep. But when I wear it on my skin? It stays all warm and sunny for a couple of hours, then fades to a deep, close-to-the-skin resin (I want to say amber, but it would have to be some really DAMN good amber not to go powdery on me) scent. And it has the side effect of making me utterly and completely calm, collected, and chill. Forget spurring me into action, it takes me from that place of overwhelming panic and fast-paced insanity and drops me into the middle of a field of "everybody stand back - I've got this". Maybe that's not what was intended by this triple conjunction, but I will take it as a blessing. (And buy more. Oh, wait, I already did.)

So, yeah... Lich's Laboratory smells like crazy mad scientist on a bender. I smell decaying plants, dirt, and the barest hint of incense. It's very overwhelmingly dark and dank, just like I'd imagine a stone dungeon to be. Not exactly the best scent for bedtime spritzing, but interesting nonetheless.

So, like many other people have said, it smells like aged Morocco. (Because, well, yeah, it probably is scented with aged Morocco. *salute to Captain Obvious*)

 

So, my review will focus on the actual application of the gloss, etc.

 

I have baby fine, medium-thickness hair, that has a touch of natural curl to it and which generally does its own thing no matter what I try to make it do. So I spend a lot of time with it up in a ponytail.

 

There is a marked difference between application of the hair gloss on my hair while wet v. while dry. Dry, it goes on oily and tends to clump up in one spot, which leads to random patches of, y'know, slightly more oily, straighter hair. Wet, it glides through my hair evenly. (So, wet application is better for fine hair!) Some days, I can get away with one pump of oil, others (if my hair feels particularly tangled or dry) two pumps will do me fine. The gloss does not weigh my hair down that much when applied wet - it absorbs in and actually helps define my curls/waves when they dry in. (For example? Just washed my hair and applied my gloss, and I randomly have a few perfect banana curls appearing as my hair dries. They'll go away as soon as I run a brush through, but...)

 

The longetivity of the scent of the Morocco gloss is debatable. I have a rough time keeping scent in my hair, but this lasts about 12-14 hours in mine, then disappears completely. However, when it does stay, I will turn my head and get a snappy whiff of delight. I don't find it to be overpowering to my other perfume (since my hair eats the fragrance), but your mileage may vary.

 

Verdict: definitely lives up to expectations. Works as well as my (now former) conditioner to keep my hair soft and moisturized.

I sprayed this on my pillow last night (trying different ways to help knock myself out), and it actually kept me awake longer instead of lulling me into rest. It should be soothing and simple, but it actually is invigorating to me. Tea and a slightly bitter sake edge with cherry blossom... it's nice, fairly generic, and exactly what I thought it would be. (Just no more trying to sleep with it.)

Mmmm, reminds me a little like a cross between Bengal and Plunder, but with amber and warm resins instead of tea. SO much love. Like, seriously. Spices make me happy.

So... yes. Wererats and sewers, oh my!

I smell stagnancy and leather and something green and slimy. Not in a bad way, mind you. It's a very warm, if slightly disquieting, scent.

In the bottle it's all pumpkin and mango - I barely smell any spice or anything else, just PUMPKIN and MANGO!!! And when I put it on my skin, it's all mango for the first ten minutes, then settles into a nice buttery pumpkin-mango combo with some spice and a slightly sour milk note. After about 4 hours, the sour milk note vanishes and the coconut suddenly comes out to play. 13 hours after application, I'm left with dusky cardamom and coconut.

OMG OMG OMG OMG, YOU GUYS, OMG. You know what Goldenrod Crab Spider reminds me of? (And this is going to date me as a BPALer...) Tarot: The Star. Yes, you heard that correctly - Goldenrod Crab Spider reminds me of Tarot: The Star. Where The Star was bright and crisp and cold coconut and lime, Goldenrod Crab Spider is warm, lush, and sexy coconut and lime - with just a hint of champaca that reminds me of Temple Viper from the Snake Pit. <3 I'm so happy with this bottle of happy goodness, I just don't even. <3

Mmm, I tested this on a piece of paper and then on my wrist - on the paper, it's very foody and warm, but on my wrist, it picks up a lot of wood notes and something kind of dusty. There's something mead/winey in the background and something nutty in the foreground, but some delicious woods going on.

Oak moss usually doesn't do so well on my skin, so I was surprised by Banded Sea Snake. I get a lot of salty, briny green-ness out of it before the green notes disappear entirely and I'm left with salty Snake Oil with a hint of seaweed (if you squint and close your eyes and only smell with one nostril for just a fleeting second) and a touch of something vaguely linen-ish.

I never tried Herr Drosselmeyer because, well, I'm clearly an idiot. But I acquired a bottle of 2005 vintage, and, well, let's just say that I'm an idiot.

 

It's like a warm blanket of sweet and slightly spicy things married with woods and leather. It wears high on my skin and wafts the sweet notes really well (while keeping the deeper notes close to the skin and giving it longevity). Not sure how the newer ones would wear, but if you have any problems? Just age it and try again.

This one is all kinds of, "WTF is that?" in the bottle, and if asked, I would never have said any of the things that's in it. (For instance, I caught a whiff of cherry blossom and I want to spork my brain for that one.)

 

On the skin, it's all kinds of woody and resinous with a hint of black pepper and super smoky honey. <3

So, basically, the only things in this perfume that *should* work with my skin chemistry are the myrrh, crystal musk, and the patchouli. My skin has gotten finicky over the years, and almost instantly rejects most florals.

 

I opened the bottle and took a deep breath. Oh yeah, hello, patchouli and myrrh - and unidentifiable florals (that normally spell disaster). Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

 

Imagine my shock and delight when I applied Black Moon to my skin and it turned into a deliciously warm, spicy, close to the skin scent. It's very intimate and sensual, but still retains enough floral spark to take it over the edge into depravity. It's just another case of something that absolutely should not work for me surprising the heck out of me!

I was gifted an almost full bottle of Mistletoe 2007 by a dear friend who I vacationed with and I'm just now getting a chance to try it out.

 

HOLY PINEY STUFF, BATMAN. This is the scent of that evergreen that's going to smack the crap out of you as you lose control of your sled and go under the pine tree and get needles up your never-you-minds. It's almost overwhelming, but picks up a light wood note as it dries down - holy freaking pine tree, Batman.

 

And now I'm having sledding accident trauma flashbacks. Thank you, Mistletoe! lol

So, I travel with a 5 year old 10ml bottle of Snake Oil in my purse, but I finally had occasion to break it out and use it.

 

After 5 years, it smells like this deep, dark patchouli-spice syrup with just enough vanilla to keep it from being "OMG WHUT?" On the skin, I pick up more of the musk notes, then a deep, warm patchouli-spice mixture, and the vanilla actually fades to the background, just adding an interesting afterthought to the whole process.

 

While I like both new and old Snake Oil, the aged was definitely more appropriate for a funeral. New Snake Oil would've been too willy-nilly and uppity, in your face kind of a scent, whereas this was refined, mature, and somber. <3 And it's back in my purse pocket for emergency use only.

In the bottle, Pussy is almost herbal with a hint of sweet spiciness to it. On me, it's mostly brown sugar and saffron with just a hint of honey and the barest breath of orange blossom. Quite frankly, my dear, I doth love it! It's really not sweet, which is astounding, considering it's *brown sugar* of all things.

Butter Arsenic:

 

I really didn't care for this scent at all, which made me sad upon receiving it. I got a bright herbal scent overwhelmed by leather and resins. It pretty much stayed the same on my skin (except it took on a weird, funky house with an unshowered person kind of a tone after 8 hours) and people at work kept asking me what was wrong with my perfume. Alas, not my cuppa.

Eat Me v6:

 

The released version of Eat Me is always on my "reach for" list (even when I should wear something else), so it was natural that I'd snatch up a prototype if I could.

 

v6 is less sweet than the released, drier, almost with a bitter edge. It's the unrefined take you out back and smack the tar out of you version of Eat Me. It's less complex, with only a couple of cake notes (a nut cake and, yes, the currant cake), and has a bitter berry tone to it that is out of keeping with the released version. On me, it dries down to a snarky little hint of cake and nuts with just a hint of vanilla sugar that keeps it from being too overwhelmingly bitter.