forspecial_plate

Lysander is fantastic. Basically I agree with the other reviews on this one. A little sweet, almost foody but not quite. Someone mentioned 'salty' and I get that too, just slightly. And someone else got leather.....me too...I kept thinking there was leather in this, and was surprised when I saw that there isn't. However, leather sometimes takes over a scent, but nothing in Lysander takes over....it's extremely well balanced and blended. This smells fresh and clean to me at first, then it shifts slightly after a quick period of time (less than 10 minutes), and a woodier, more rugged side comes out. I really love that first burst of freshness, I think it's due to the lime partly. I would be afraid to get a bigger bottle of Lysander, because I think there may be some delicate components and I wouldn't use it up fast enough. And I found it hard to believe I was enjoying a scent with lilac and violet! Amazing! Usually I don't like either of those, Bluebeard being the exception for violet. Also.....this kind of reminds me of a Possets scent......it seems to straddle the line between 'modern' and 'classic'. I can see what people mean when they say it's old-fashioned, but I also get a real modern vibe from it. Gender-neutral to my nose, and wonderfully so.

I posted an ISO for 10ml bottles, and already I've got 3 coming to me! Well, 2 partials and one empty, but that's okay.....I can decant into the empty one (Morocco), if I get some imps or even a bottle (if I like it a lot, which I can barely remember what it smells like.......but I remember I liked it). The other 2 are Bloodlust which I've never tried, but looks promising, and Urd, which I do like, and have never really had an imp of my own....now I'll have plenty. So, that was more of a response than I was expecting! : )

More scent blogging because I'm boooored...... The one good thing about doing laundry is, it's a good place to test scents. It's good because it takes a couple hours, my mind kind of wanders, and with the movement of my hands there is plenty of wafting so I get a good idea of 'throw'. So as my mind is wandering, I might forget what scent I put on, until it wafts up at me again. And the whole process has a little bit of zen that I enjoy. Other than that......I hate doing laundry. : )

I'm still learning. Now I think some bpal scents are too masculine (Dee, I'm looking at you), and I really lean towards the truly gender-neutral ones. Death Of Autumn is my new favorite gender-neutral blend....I really love it! I also love October, and I do consider it pretty masculine although from the reviews, some of the girls really like it too.

I went camping this weekend (well, I was in a cabin at a camp-site), and didn't bring any scent at all! I just figured, what's the point. I did bring my pillow and blanket. So I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into my cabin after a few hours and smelled......Snake Oil! Just the remnants that rubbed off my skin were enough to scent the whole cabin, not really strongly but enough that I knew it was from Snake Oil or the variations that I wear. Cool! As for the inquisition, I think I got the one I wanted most. I may swap a decant or two to try some of the other ones. I'm mostly interested in Egg'd Mailbox and maybe Pumpkin Smash. We'll see. I am so antsy to get my hands on my Halloween decants! Gimme! The CnS came yesterday. Now I'm worrying that Bonfire Night is going to be too sweet, based on the reviews so far. And still am up in the air about Sugar Skull. I really don't wear it that much, even though I love how it smells. Do I really need a whole bottle? And finally, the Possets Halloween update is enormous, even bigger than I thought it would be. There is one scent that I feel like came from a suggestion I made in the Possets forum, so obviously I need to get that one. And of course 7 or 8 others that sound tantalizing. I like how Fabienne doesn't list the notes for us. For me that makes it more fun when the scents are actually in my hands, and there's more anticipation, wondering what the hell is this going to smell like (Infernal Bar-B-Que, anyone??). So, I think I'll make a smallish order first, then read reviews, and make one more larger order in a couple weeks. I could wait and order everything at once, and get free shipping, but I really don't think I can wait that long. I really want to know what Bat Fur Cloak smells like, among others.

My review straight out of the mailbox...... At first this is very buttery on me. It's the same buttery pumpkin note that I recognize from Pumpkin Queen and Jack. That strong buttery-ness fades back a lot after about 15 minutes (which is the same thing it does in PQ and Jack), and the other notes start coming out. So delicious! The hype is all true.....basically, if you think you'll like this, you most likely will. I can smell the creamy cheesecake component, sweet and slightly spicey pumpkin, and I think I can even smell that graham cracker crust part, too (unless that's just the power of suggestion!). This scent is very rich, just like the dessert itself, with a strong throw.....and lasts for hours. Really nothing more to add, except that this probably fills my desire for a good Pumpkin scent quite nicely! I most likely don't need bottles of the Pumpkin Patch scents now, although I will enjoy my decants that are coming. Edit: I meant to say also, Pumpkin Cheesecake kept reminding me of Flossing, the Possets scent. I'm not sure why.....maybe there's some vanilla, and quite possibly some ginger, in PC.

I'm resisting the urge to order another Trick Or Treat Inquisition scent. I keep telling myself, just wait....because I don't even know which scent I'll get with my first order, because Possets' fall update is at the end of the week, because bpal may or may not have an update coming soon....not to mention the other bpal Halloween scents that I want, that I still haven't ordered yet.....all very good reasons, but I want another Trick Or Treat order pending, dammit!

[from my 2006 bottle] I knew there was a reason I waited months and months to review Samhainophobia. I tested it a few times, and just didn't get it. I read the reviews. I read the description. What I had didn't match up with any of that. No patchouli, no vetiver......in fact, none of the notes listed, as far as I could tell. To me, Samhainophobia smelled almost exactly like Samhain, with just a smidge of sharpness on top. [i should mention, when I wear Samhain, I mostly get the sweet apple note, almost like honey, and very little woods or patchouli or anything else like that. Samhainophobia is the same way.] Well, I wore it again today, and it finally 'clicked' for me. It still smells sweet, like Samhain's apple note. But there is a chill, like autumn woods at night, that just reached out for me this time. It's reminiscent of bpal's snowy blends, but definitely different.....this is an autumn chill, with the slightly spicy sweetness behind it. I think I finally just gave in and accepted the scent as it is, and found that I really like it. And since autumn is my favorite season, I'll be wearing this again, for sure.

I have so many different perfumes now, that sometimes wearing just one isn't enough. I get too impatient to try something else. So I end up smelling like 2 or 3 different ones, and it kind of turns into perfume overload. Like they all just get lost in a cloud of too much smelliness. I'm getting better lately, though, and trying to be patient and just wear one for a while before trying another one. I still have quite a few new scents that I haven't reviewed or even tried yet. It's a little out of control, and when I look at my wish list, I kind of think to myself "you're kidding, right? you need MORE??". On a different note....I already knew that I like fall scents year-round, including in the heat of summer. Lately, though, I've noticed that I don't reach for the 'red' summer scents, now that I'm in a fall mood. Red Moon and Corazon are two examples, I just haven't felt like wearing them at all lately. Maybe that's because I'm sooo hyped about the fall scents right now. I do sometimes like the winter scents in different seasons. I wore Jolasveinar and Midnight Mass a few times over the summer. Speaking of fall scents, I'm starting to wonder just a little about my decants. I've bought from this gal before so I'm not too worried, I'm just wondering what stage we're at......has the CnS come yet? Has she actually got the package yet? Are they on the way to us (doubt it)?? I'm just so impatient for these, so I can go ahead and place another order. Also, when I look at which Pumpkin Patch decants I ordered, I kind of wonder what I was thinking. I ordered 2, 4 and 5. Now I wish I could try 3 also. I'm pretty sure without sniffing that I'll like 3 and 5. I think I ordered 2 just to see how the champaca or champa plays out in it. It's a note that I like but it sometimes takes over a scent for me. I'm also really really excited about the Possets fall update, coming soon. One more week! I know I need to set aside at least $50 or $60 for that, probably more..... *sigh*

This smelled like aquatic, white floral, and white musk to me. A little powdery, and the familiar 'mist' note that I remember from other bpal scents......it became more powdery as it dried/faded on my skin. It reminds me very much of some perfume that my stepmom wears, but I don't know which one that is. It also reminded me of Empyreal Mist, a little bit, if I remember correctly. This is another scent that I could use for enabling, I think my stepmom might like it. I personally won't get much wear out of it, though.

The first thing I thought of was Gypsy Queen: "A heavy-lidded perfume, the quintessence of beauty and power shrouded in mystery, swathed in a deep, velvet-clad cloak of dark omens: Romany incense and candle smoke mingling with an alluring, body-warmed whiff of bergamot, neroli, Bulgar rose, carnation, and amber musk." For me it's more floral than anything, but it has a lot of throw. When you described your costume it seemed to fit. (oh and it's LE from Carnaval Noir)

I've worn this a few times now, and still can't tell if I'm going to like it enough to wear a lot. It's much sweeter and.....brighter than I expected it to be, greener somehow. Basically the other reviews before mine are accurate. There does seem to be musk here, and it reminds me a lot of Devil's Night. Both scents are musky and sweet on my skin, and light on the booze notes. In Hunter Moon the wine is hard to pick out. Comparing it to the old Hunter Moon, from my decant......very different scent. That could also be because of aging, though. But I like my old-school, dark, incense and woodsy (also heavier on the wine note) Hunter Moon more than this one. This actually reminds me more of Buck Moon (which I've only tried once, but I think someone else mentioned the resemblance and I agree) than the older Hunter Moon. I've had good results with this when I apply very lightly. Too much of it becomes cloying but that's often a problem for me. Oh and as long as I'm comparing, Hunter Moon '07 reminds me a lot of Thunder Moon, like this could be its fall companion.

For some reason Umbra rubbed me the wrong way. I like many dark scents and this seemed like one of the darkest. I love patchouli and vetiver, and cinnamon sounded good here too....generally I like it in moderation. So what happened? At first I got strong, 'new' patchouli, and lots of it. Then as it dried the other notes came in. Something began to smell borderline powdery, and somehow the scent as a whole just didn't work for me. It was woody and earthy with a faint undertone that was high and sweet....a little cloying, almost like decay. Basically, just not for me. This scent reminds me of Typhon, but I love Typhon. Oh well, there are plenty of other scents to love. Edit....I'm holding onto my imp because I know that patchouli and vetiver can both age beautifully, and become smoother. Still pretty sharp today but no powder so far. Yay!

First impressions, straight out of the mailbox: This goes back and forth from realistic damp leaves to more traditional, but light, cologne or perfume. I agree that you could call it masculine. There is a hint of peppery bite at the top, from the leaves I think. Underneath the leaves, this scent has a 'golden light' mood or tone that reminds me of Minotaur and even Pumpkin King, a little (yeah, I said it!). I think there is some kind of soft, subtle resin at work here, like copaiba balsam or something....that must be the 'sap in the air'. The hint of smoke has echoes of Djinn. But mostly this is golden autumn light dancing on falling leaves. In fact, if there was ever going to be a Falling Leaf Moon like someone speculated, I think it would smell like this. Much later, as October dries, that peppery bite seems to gain intensity until I'm getting almost a cedar vibe from the scent. Woodsy now and spicy. October is light, and I don't think it has a whole lot of throw. Still, I am drawn back to my wrist over and over to sniff. I could wear this year round but I'm weird like that. In other words, I love it. I'm already resisting the urge to hoard another bottle (and I've never even finished an entire imp or decant of anything). [edited to remove clunkiness]

Ooooh, Hunter Moon looks very pretty! Can't wait to smell it too!

Ginger is a hit-or-miss note for me. I love Shub-Niggurath, but I don't like the ginger note in Saw Scaled Viper and War. I like Sudha Segara, but I don't love it, and I'm not sure I can smell the ginger in it. It smells more like sparkly lemon and lime to me. I have a wee sample of ginger essential oil from Nature's Gift, and I really like how it smells. Oh and I do like Pumpkin Queen, but I don't love it (wait.....PQ does have ginger, doesn't it?). I was reading reviews for Shub-Niggurath and couldn't believe all the variations people are smelling. I don't smell lemon at all when I wear it. And were there really different 'versions' of Shub? I always wonder if that's true or if it's just people's different perceptions of the same scent. I have a decant of pre-resurrection Shub, and also a bottle of the resurrected Shub, and they smell exactly alike to me. Of course, I don't know how old the decant is.

For some reason I expected this to smell like Dragon's Milk, but it doesn't. It reminds me of a Possets scent, Elixer of Heartlessness....but I bet if I tried them side by side, they're quite different. This smells 'perfumey' to me (I know, lame description), and I think I finally know what orris smells like. Doesn't one of the Snake Pit scents contain orris? Now I want to try that one again. The coconut here just barely peeks in and out. I do like this, but perhaps not enough to wear often. I'm not sure yet.

Okay, I found the gardenia thread. I'm adding Euphrosyne to the list, and maybe Pele. I absolutely cannot imagine giving my stepmom something called The Sacred Whore of Babylon, though. Maybe a decant with just 'Babylon' on the label. I wonder....if she ended up liking it, and I told her what it's called, would she still wear it?

I'm starting this because I have 2 livejournal accounts, but I really don't participate in the bpal communities on lj. I used to be a member of a couple of them, but decided that my lj is not the place for my bpal trading. I still write about bpal stuff but I get the feeling that many people on my friends list probably don't care about bpal. So here I am. Friday I had dinner with my dad and stepmom, and told them a little bit about my perfume obsession. Actually, I told them about Fabienne and Possets. They both expressed interest, and they might go to a Final Friday where Fabienne opens her studio to the public (along with many other artists at the Pendleton Art Center). My point, and I do have one, is that I would like to make lists of imp packs for my dad and stepmom, sort of a bpal introductory selection of scents. My stepmom says she likes gardenia, so I did a search on the lab's site and came up with a few possibilities. The one that stuck out most was Le Serpent Qui Danse. I think she might like Antique Lace, although I myself have never tried it. She works for Clinique and would probably like the more traditional-smelling bpal perfumes, at least to start out. Other than that I have no idea what her tastes might be, so I'd like to come up with a range of styles for her to try. As for my dad, I would go for more masculine blends, obviously. The first one I thought of was Casanova. Maybe Whitechapel, Calico Jack, possibly Dracul. For both of them I'm going to stay away from limited edition scents, so in case they end up loving a particular scent we can definitely get more. That said, I would probably let them try some of my LE's, particularly from Carnaval Diabolique. Bonnie (my stepmom) might possibly like Midnight On The Midway, and heck, my dad could like it too (I love it, and I'm a guy). So for the next couple months I'll be keeping my eyes open for possibilities, and I think there are at least a couple recommendation discussions I'm going to peruse also.

I haven't tried the L'Occitane scent you're talking about. However, bpal's Spider (from the Carousel) has notes of "White ginger, artemesia, vetiver, nutmeg, King mandarin, bergamot, and lime". Might be worth tracking down a decant.

Our local big Playhouse is starting the season with Dracula. I am so excited!! I'm already deciding what bpal scent to wear (unless I go with Possets...). I think Count Dracula is a little obvious. I'm thinking Devil's Night or October (and I haven't even smelled it yet!). If I decide on Possets it would be Ribbands, Merlin's Mistress, or Over The Rhine. More choices: Montresor Pumpkin King Typhon Mme. Moriarty

One of my new favorite scents is Montresor...."The black fruit and vanilla oaken notes of fine Medoc and De Grâve, but not a hint of the elusive Amontillado". I love deep, somewhat dark scents and this sure is that, and the vanilla is fairly prominent on my skin. It's LE but doesn't seem all that hard to find....I found a 5ml fairly quickly on ebay. This from another guy who sometimes amps sweet notes, which can sometimes ruin a scent for me (unless I want a really sweet scent, like Sugar Skull).

Hmm, right away I thought of 3 from the Salon.....Orpheus, Garden Path With Chickens, and Les Anges Dechus all smell very 'herbal' to me. Antony is another herbal scent, and you could even get a sample of that one (the Salon samples come in sets only). Now when you talk about specific herbs, it might be easier to just do a search on the Lab's website. For example, a search for bergamot turned up no less than 26 results! Lavender would probably bring a lot of results, pennyroyal at least a couple (Mad Hatter is a good one, smells kind of minty with lavender and musk), ginger is in quite a few (Shub-Niggurath is a must try for ginger fans if you ask me) and the list goes on.... Hope that helps a little, I know the lab's catalogue can seem daunting at first!

I was pleasantly surprised by Cathode. I was expecting a lot of bright mint, more of a high-pitched crystalline scent. Instead I am getting mostly moss I think, with the mint kind of dancing around the top. I was also afraid of it smelling like spearmint which I hate, but I really don't smell that at all. In fact, I don't really smell peppermint either....it's more like a minty feeling. It goes through a long middle stage where it reminds me of a spice cabinet, some kind of savory herbs....not sage or basil, but something. Then long after that (I put it on 5 hours ago and it's still there), I think what I'm smelling is mostly the ambergris, although I don't really know what that smells like. It's not musty like moss can sometimes be on me. It's a little sweet, somewhat herbal. Basically I'm thinking 'masculine' when I wear this, along the lines of Antony. It's a really good scent that works well on my skin. I will continue to wear it and consider a bigger amount than my imp.

I'm always on the lookout for the perfect 'red' scent.........red musk, incense, spicy, smokey, that general category.....there are a few that I really like.....Fenris Wolf, Sin, Lust, Blood, Mme. Moriarty, of course Red Moon, and Crowley, which sort of falls into that. The list goes on and on! Oh yeah and Hellion, perhaps.