forspecial_plate

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.

When I tried this today I smelled mostly honey. I don't like to smell like honey, so this wasn't good. After about an hour, the sweetness backed off some, and it was more of a spicy, warm scent that I liked a lot. I heard a rumor that this gets better with age, so I'll hold onto my imp and try it again. I was expecting a lot more almond, so it's weird that it smells like honey (almost typed hiney!! ). I guess it's the myrrh and/or musk that's playing tricks on me. Bastet does have some potential to be something I like.

My first thought was this smells a lot like the more recent Blue Moon, with some minor differences. Lady of Shallot doesn't have the wood note/s that Blue Moon has. There's some note floating around in the background that made me think of plumeria for some reason, although I really don't know what plumeria smells like. Now, reading the notes, I think it was the ginger. This is a very pretty, aquatic floral scent. The ginger might give it a roundness, I think. I will probably use this for enabling because I think it would be good for that purpose. I personally don't need this because to me, it's so close to Blue Moon which I already have. edit: I agree with dorothy humbird that there is a linen-like note in this. It reminded me of Dirty, a little bit.

When I tried this I didn't have the description handy, so it was a total guess as far as what notes were in it. I thought it smelled like a creamy, musky floral with something tart. I guessed jasmine (I see now that I was wrong...), and honestly Endymion reminded me a lot of Unheavenly City. I don't remember smelling pear at all! It was a nice scent, pretty....just not something I would wear very often.

Today I wore Midnight On The Midway and it reminded me a lot of nag champa.

When I wore this, I thought 'almond' much more than 'cinnamon'. I found it nice and warm, spicy, and kind of like bread or pastry (which in this case was a good thing). Reading over the description, I was startled to see some of the notes....honeysuckle? Where was that? Copal I could understand. I will definitely wear this again. It's kind of a golden, spicy, bakery scent for me, which I do like. Yum.

I got this as an extra in a recent swap (thanks, this machine!). I love this scent, more than the other 2 that I actually swapped for. I need more! Very deep, somewhat dark, wine and fruit, hints of wood, deep vanilla. Just like the description says. I don't get 'grape' specifically. For so long I avoided this and most other wine scents. I can't remember what but some other bpal scent gave me a bad experience with wine. Well, I'm so glad I put this on my wish list, because it's wonderful. I can really imagine wearing this on a chilly autumn night. The warm vanilla balances with the other notes, beautifully. A real winner, this one.

I thought this was vaguely fruity, and somewhat spicy and/or herbal. I did think 'berries' when I wore it. I didn't have the description with me, now I want to try it again because I can't remember if I smelled the amber or not (or iris....although I'm not even sure what iris smells like). So, yeah.....somewhat spicy berry scent, medium throw and duration, not a bad scent. I've been exploring fruity/berry/wine scents lately, giving them more of a chance. This one didn't quite work for me, even though it's not offensive. Just not exciting me much. I will most likely try it one more time because of the amber.

I think this scent is delightful. Light, green, sweet and springy. Apple stands out, with little hints of mint dancing around the edges. Wears very light on me, which can be perfect when I'm in the mood for that.

I was starting to think that anything 'mist'-y was going to turn soapy on me. Then I got to try Fairy Market (thanks moonarcana!), which I actually really like. I didn't have the description around me when I tried it, so these impressions are just that....impressions. It was a light, springy, and definitely 'green' scent at first. I thought it smelled good, but not extraordinary. I already knew that sweet notes can be really strong on my skin (or maybe they just stand out to my nose), but in this case it's a good thing. As the Fairy Market dries, the exotic sugared candies basically dominate the scent for me, with some springy green-ness swirling behind. It's like a lighter, springy Sugar Skull, almost. I really like it although it's a bit feminine to wear out and about....but in the right setting, could be an absolutely fun scent for me to wear.

This scent smelled bright and sweet at first, aquatic and floral as the description suggests. May be a touch too sweet for me. Then as it dries the woods come out more strongly. They remind me of some other bpal scents like 51 and Calico Jack, I think.....slightly light and soft woods. This is a pretty scent, I'll have to try it again at least once to decide if I want to hold onto it. It seems to be almost but not quite soapy on my skin.

This came to me by way of the lovely filigree_shadow. I was excited to try it, being so recently discontinued..... The general vibe of the scent was somewhat similar to the new Blue Moon, to me. Slightly soapy floral, with kind of a blue, crystalline wetness about it. Like Miseraya, I was reminded of Dirty.....there is some note far in the background here, some floral, that reminds me of Dirty. Above average throw and wear length.....this has impressive staying power, unlike the new Blue Moon. I'm glad I got to try this, but I'm not sure I would wear it with any regularity. I'm starting to get an idea of scents that are going to smell soapy to me, so this was useful in that regard.

Ripe berries and fir, crisp and lush at the same time. Ever so slightly spicy....and I mean just a *hint* of spicy on me, not any particular spice either. Frosty and chilly, too. Very, very pretty scent that I really like. To me, yeah...I get the candle resemblance....but I think it's better than 'just' a candle. I will definitely wear Yuletide this winter.

Thanks so much to growwild for giving me a very testable amount of this! : ) Forgive me but my very first thought was "Why, this is Shub Light!"....blasphemy, I know....but it's a compliment, because I love Shub-Niggurath a whole lot. And this really did strike me as a much lighter version of that. Just a first impression. As it warmed up, I started to get the complexity of it. More pumpkin spices for me than actual pumpkin. Honestly, I'm not sure my nose is savvy enough to pick apart individual spices....perhaps ginger, clove, nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon maybe?...and possibly black pepper. In the early stages there is some kind of beeswax thing going on....something waxy, not sure what that's coming from. But it fades after a while. At this point (after the waxy fades), I was guessing this is what Three Witches must smell like. Many subtle layers of spiciness. Then about 3 hours later, I picked up on some kind of resin, I thought....or possibly musk. Some golden note that reminded me of Minotaur....so I'm guessing benzoin, light myrrh, or maybe copal? Or possibly a soft, dark musk....but not powdery at all. The spices were still there, now with a diffused golden light kind of feeling. Overall, Pumpkin King is much lighter than I was expecting, but very very good, golden autumn-y, complex and spicy, resinous and warm. It's something I would definitely wear, but I have to say I don't see what makes this so much more special than other LE scents that have been produced. I like Snake Charmer just as much......(not to be a party pooper, but that's my opinion!).* *Edit.....who am I kidding.....I would dearly love a whole bottle of this. I have half a decant left and it's the only oil in my whole collection that I hold back from wearing, because I don't want to run out, ever!

I think I mostly smelled lily and rose geranium. I haven't learned to recognize rosewood. I wouldn't have guessed there was frankincense in this. Now, reading the other reviews, I want to try it again for the frankincense. Mostly what I smelled was a kind of golden, glittery floral scent. Not like roses at all. Now that I think about it, maybe the frankincense was contributing. Struck me as slightly soapy. Not at all what I would expect, reading the description and other reviews! ADDED Jan. 5: Kostnice…..sharp, bright floral that quickly starts turning soapy. The soap aspect seems to grow exponentially, and very quickly this was so soapy that it nearly knocked me over. I could wait it out, see if the frankincense comes out with time………but, I have other frankincense blends that work right away, so this one’s just not for me! I think lily was the soapy culprit.

When I smell Burial I get more cool earth and juniper....but if I think about it, the patchouli is there too.....at first I loved Burial, then I went through an anti-juniper phase (which I'm now thankfully over), now I love it again. I know that patchouli ages well....I have a 15ml bottle of patchouli essential oil that's a few months old, and I can already smell a difference. Brand new patchouli smells greener and 'new', and as it ages it gets smoother, more mellow.....or so I've heard (and it seems to be true). Malediction is very heavy on patchouli and vetiver IMO, and I have one imp that I tucked away to age for a while. I may have to pull it out and find out how it's doing. : ) It's at least 6 months old now.... I always wonder if there's a big difference between Beth's patchouli oils and patchouli essential oil. Are they the same thing? I realize she uses accords for some blends....not actual essential oils. I always get a little confused on the subject (and I know there are other discussions here about that...).

This smells really good.....deep and somewhat fruity, but incense-y at the same time. It smells complex, like there are a lot of notes that I just can't identify. I remembered something about raisins when I read about kyphi, so maybe that's why I almost smell raisins or currants mixed in here. Later as it dries/warms up, I smell roses drifting in and out of the mix. Overall, it's a nice strong scent, long lasting, incense-y, and somewhat bolder than Philosopher In Meditation (which also has kyphi, I think?). I like this, but it's not shouting at me to get a whole bottle.