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And There Was A Great Cry in Egypt is gorgeous! It gets better and better with age, too. (the notes are dark myrrh, white sandalwood, amber, hyssop, frankincense, honey, cypress, red musk, cardamom and saffron.) ........ I have to agree on this one.....it is so wonderful! Honey is often a deal-breaker for me, but it doesn't ruin Great Cry In Egypt. It does come out a little strong in the dry-down but I still love wearing this stuff. Honestly, I want a bigger bottle, but I can't decide between this and Carceri d'Invenzione, and I think they smell a little too much alike to get both. [same with Cloister Graveyard and Death Of The Grave Digger] So, I continue to be undecided. : ( And I end up collecting decants instead. : D But yeah, back on topic......the red musk in Great Cry In Egypt is definitely there, but it doesn't bully the other notes like it can do in some blends. It's just enough of a spicy musk presence to add warmth and sultry-ness to the scent as a whole.

I thought this scent had an interesting list of notes, so I wanted to try it. I used to have some China Musk from Scentiment's, and I loved it, but I don't know what happened to it. I can't really pick out the same scent in Zephyr. I would kill for a chance to try a China Musk single note from bpal, if there is one. Anyway....I really like Zephyr! Perhaps not enough to get a whole bottle, because I would have to be in a certain mood to wear it. But it's light and fresh, like a sweet breeze, not very much a citrus scent, which surprised me. The combination of notes reminds me of a marshmallow sweetness, and I kept thinking of Midnight On The Midway, except Zephyr is definitely more of a daytime scent. I really can't pick out individual notes, it's just all blended together in a slightly sweet, white scent. But it's not powdery or overbearingly sweet on me. I would call this gender neutral, veering towards feminine, but I could definitely wear it. In fact when I wore it, I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist.

Thanks, ivyandpeony! I guess a lot of times sandalwood is a subtle backing note. I did try Sin today, and I do like it! For some reason it reminds me of red musk single note, though. I guess the sandalwood there is more spicy and or woody. I do like Great Cry In Egypt a lot, and just got another decant of it. When it comes down to a larger bottle purchase I would choose Carceri d'Invenzione, just because I can smell the honey in Great Cry....although it's one of the few honey blends I actually enjoy! I like Tamamo-No-Mae a lot....might be more on the feminine side, but I love the soft sandalwood aspect. I guess what I'm really drooling over is the sandalwood essential oil on naturesgift.com, but at $70 for 5ml, it's a little steep.....maybe some day I'll splurge and treat myself to that, and hopefully that would last a long time. I have a small sniffie of it and really like it, and I think it would be great to layer with some bpal scents to emphasize the sandalwood a little more. I like Monsterbait Underpants, even though it's a little on the sweet side. I totally forgot that Zephyr and The Ifrit had sandalwood, I've been wanting to try the latter for a while, and I might have an imp of Zephyr hanging around somewhere....I'll look for it when I get home!

Bumping this topic because I've been in the mood for a nice sandalwood lately. I did a search on the Lab's site and it brought up 146 results! It's in so many blends that I often sort of skip over it when I read the descriptions. For example, I forgot that The Black Tower and Dr. John Seward both have sandalwood. Anyway, I've been digging Carceri d'Invenzione a lot. I think I like red sandalwood better than the white variety.

I second Hellcat....I thought of it right away when I saw the topic of the title. You probably have to like almond too, though. : )

My Coral Snake is nearly 2 years old, and I barely smell the Snake Oil part of it. On the other hand, I wore Habu yesterday (same vintage), and it's very very much like Snake Oil, with some juicy bamboo and woods/musk.

I want to like this, I really do. I want all the beautiful things some other people got from this scent. But it just doesn't quite appeal to me. I find it very rich, almost buttery, when I first apply. Then the drier woods take hold, and balance it a little. Still, something about it is just a little off for me. It's rich and dry at the same time, if that's possible, reminding me of some amber accords that I've tried (Eden Botanicals, I think), without really smelling like amber. I do like vanilla, but I have to be careful because sometimes it's too sweet or rich (Love's Philosophy). There is almost a hint of plastic in the early wet stage of this perfume. Overall, it's worth holding onto the imp to try again in a few weeks or months, but I just wasn't drawn to it in a big way. I can definitely understand how it's just "Wow" for other people, though.

It took a couple different tries over a period of weeks to even get a grasp on this one, and I still can barely describe it. Mostly I smell kind of a sweet, honeyed floral scent, veering dangerously towards hairspray (I still have no idea which note does this, but I've noticed it in other scents too...maybe it's the sugared lily). It reminds me a little of the Faces of the Heroines LE series from a while back. I can't recognize a single note, to tell the truth. What I smell is basically the smell of all these notes blended together, so balanced and nuanced that nothing stands out clearly. For a while there was a hint of effervescent citrus, but that didn't really play out, it just sort of danced around for a while then faded back into the mix. The overall effect is not something I would really wear, but I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist just because the scent was so interesting.

I'm really enjoying Carceri D'Invenzione lately, not that I ever stopped liking it, but I did sort of rediscover it. There's something about this scent that seems cozy and snuggly with the chill in the air and falling leaves. Warm, soft woods, sweet and spicy.

It took a few tries, but I've decided I like this scent. The problem is that it's so faint I can barely smell it, unless I sniff up close. But that's not always a bad thing. Here and there I get just the lightest wafts, teasing and tantalizing, but dark. The first time I tried it, I thought of Pit And The Pendulum right away, but much softer. I still smell the woods and incense, but this is actually different from Pit And Pendulum, and most other incensey oils. I think what I'm smelling is the same opoponax that's in Ligur, underneath sophisticated woods. It's kind of a classy scent, and makes me think of formal occasions. One thing is for sure....if I decide that I really like it, I'm going to need more than just a decant. Like I said, it's extremely faint on my skin, so I have to decide if it would be worth it. It's a little stronger than Heavenly Love And Earthly Love (which, although beautiful, was so faint there's no point in me even wearing it), but not by much. Edit: I forgot to mention that 'chill air'. It's definitely there, but I don't think of ozone. If so, it's so masterfully blended that it's nearly undectable.....just enough to lend a swirl of chilly air. This scent is elegant and dark.

This scent is superbly blended, and none of the notes really stands out, but there are hints of everything listed. Somehow when I wear this, I'm reminded strongly of Djinn, although the Scarab is more polished and less smokey/firey. It's kind of glossy and shiny. It took me a few tries to accept this scent, but once I did, there was no turning back. I like it!

Totally not what I expected. This scent is bright green and fresh, with just a little 'bite' that makes me think of a hint of frost on leaves. The woods are very elusive. I do understand the soap and cologne comparisons. Overall, I really like this, although usually the viney green scents are not that exciting to me. I feel like I want more than a decant, except the scent vanishes from my skin in about 3 or 4 hours. Still no sandalwood to be found, I guess it's there and I'm just not picking up on it. I may want some more of this....at least another decant. edit to add, this has become a big favorite. It does last a long time, and over time more of the complexity comes out. I think I can even detect the burnt wood note. In the earlier stages there seems to be a slight touch of mint or snow. Overall, a really great scent that turned me back on to green viney blends.

Decants/imps would be perfect, even if they're not completely full. And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt The Chapel Isaac, The Living Skeleton Knucklebones Three Gorgons

This is one of my favorites of all the Pumpkin patch's that I've tried. It reminds me of the others, but I really like the supporting notes in this. Aside from the familiar buttery pumpkin note, I smell mostly woods and tonka, and just a hint of leather. Somehow the woods smell earthy, and in fact, this is close to what I wanted Shattered Pumpkin to smell like. This is a winner!

I'm afraid I made the wrong choice in going straight for 5ml of this. It just doesn't work for my nose. I really thought I was all about darker scents, but this is just too rooty. I smell a big galbanum component, which isn't listed, but it really stands out and smells a lot like galbanum essential oil. It's a rooty, dark brown and green kind of scent that lasts and lasts, and doesn't seem to lose much strength, until I'm just not interested in wearing it any more. I do get the comparisons to Death Of Autumn, but I far prefer that blend. This one will most likely have to find a new home!

It actually took a few months for the patchouli to settle down enough....for a long time, I didn't think I'd be liking this scent. The patchouli was just a little too sour and woody, and combined with the rose, kind of turned me off. But I tried Frederic today and found it to be a very pleasant ambery/woody/musky scent. It was the promise of amber musk that drew me to this scent in the first place, and I think it's a blend that overall is going to age well. My only complaint is that I have several other "masculine" (if you call this masculine, which I do) blends that stand out more, and have more originality. But this is nice enough to keep around, even if I end up decanting some out to swap.

I got to try this recently, and I think it's a real winner. Very golden, musky, amber....spicy. I get a big hit of pine, and not much cedar at all when I wore it. It's pretty strong, and lasted for hours on my skin, which eventually made me a little weary of it. I think applied more lightly it would be a perfect scent, and I wouldn't really need a big bottle. An imp would be just right.

Bolded the ones available as imps, straight from the lab: Bow And Crown Of Conquest Snake Oil (depending on who you ask) Pickled Imp (currently limited edition, in the Carnaval Diabolique section) Golden Priapus (doesn't get much more macho than that, at least as far as concept) Blood Kiss (dries down to a satisfying dude-fume) Voodoo (see Blood Kiss) Death Adder (also LE from the Carnaval) Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller (not exactly macho, but not sweet by any means) Wulric The Wolfman (also from the Carnaval, looks like you might want to search for some decants) Snake Charmer (good luck) Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener (if you like root beer!) Crowley (not available as an imp, but an excellent masculine/not sweet scent....I forgot it had vanilla until I did a search) Hellhound On My Trail (again, good luck....but this is a good one) Quincey Morris (mostly leather, glorious, soft, not exactly sweet, and also good luck finding this one) Tombstone (haven't actually tried this myself, but it's legendary among the bpal dude-fumes) I mostly mentioned the ones I like, and I didn't even put tonka into the search, which is a vanilla-like note that would bring up more results. Anyway you might also check out Theodosius from the Carnaval, although I find this to be on the sweeter side. I'm sure others will have even more suggestions!

I only have the green Oblivion. However....I thought I was the only one that got sweetness out of it! After it has been on my skin for a while, this marshmallow-like note comes out, which I thought very odd. Not really fruity, but who knows.....

From the description and other reviews (especially tartchef's, since I sometimes feel that she's a scent twin!), I thought for sure I would like this, but not so. Hastur really, really didn't work for me at all. I found it very dark, oppressive and cloying, not in a sweet way but in a chemical way. It reminds me of some kind of harsh chemical cleaner......or something familiar, that I just couldn't pinpoint....but not good, either way. Usually I do like dark scents, but not in this case. I left it on for a long time, too, thinking it couldn't stay that horrible for the whole time, but it really didn't change at all. Just not a scent for me, I guess! Maybe I'll have better luck with Ligur.

I'm glad I got this, although it's a little hard to describe, and it changes as I wear it. It seems brighter and more tart than the older Blood Moon, with some sweetness, but also dry, if that makes sense at all. There is something floral deep in the mix that turns slightly soapy, but not so much that it ruins the scent. I also smell something that's in Sagittarius from last year, maybe they share an herbal note? But mostly it's musk, lunar oils, and I guess incense, but this doesn't strike me as an incense-focused blend. It's a bright red night-time scent, tinged with blood. It does fade kind of fast on my skin but overall, I like it! Oh and I agree that somehow it's similar to last year's Hunter Moon, but more red, and more of a night scent. I would call it neutral, not really masc. or feminine.

I had the exact opposite experience, with Samhain being very sweet, but Fearful Pleasure being balanced just right with the oakmoss and smokey notes! Really, Fearful Pleasure smells just like simmering spicy apple cider (which is one of my favorite smells in the world), and now that it's been on my skin for a while, I can pick out the oakmoss and woods just a little bit. A truly amazing scent, and I will need some of this! And thanks, moonarcana, for letting me try yours!

So now I'm kicking myself, because I just tried Brom Bones, and holy-mother-of-pearl......this is beyond sexy. I'm definitely going to need a whole bottle of this, rather than a puny decant. I already loved Quincey Morris, and this is close but even better. Just incredible. This should have been my bottle choice, rather than Chant D'Autumne (which I like, but nothing like B. Bones......).

This is just wonderful. Just the right balance between the different notes. Not too metallic, but it's there. I love vetiver, and it's there too. I smell the moss, too, but not so much the sandalwood. I was slightly worried that the white sandalwood would be papery, but it's not at all. I love this scent!!

The Shattered Pumpkin is another one of those uniquely odd scents. I've never smelled anything like it in a perfume! (unfortunately, this wasn't in a good way at all for me, but I can imagine others liking it a lot)