forspecial_plate

I love the incense-y vibe of this scent. Seems well balanced, and the notes that usually get out of control on me, dragon's blood resin and clove, are very well behaved here. Overall it's a nice moody scent, I seem to get along well with a lot of the 'red' themed scents. There seems to be just a hint of musk in this. The only thing that bothers me is much later, on the dry-down, something heavily sweet dominates the scent. My guess is the cherry because none of the other notes usually do that to me. It's kind of too much after a while, so I guess I won't get a bottle after all, but I will keep my imp.

For me this smells close to a few other bpal scents, mostly from the red musk I think. However, this has a big flourish of ylang ylang at the beginning. After that backs off, the red musk glows, with a bit of dirty gritty feel, probably emphasized by the patchouli. A few people mentioned incense and I agree this has that feel, probably helped along by the myrrh. Smells really good, and I like wearing this. I may want a bottle of either Lust or Sin, and I can't decide which one or both. They have big differences but they are similar in some ways. I like them both a whole lot. I think red musk works best on me, out of red, white, and black (although I do wear white and black musks too, in some scents). I agree, red musk does smell lusty (I think it was filigree_shadow who said it upthread). And of course I love patchouli so this one was pretty much a no-brainer. Edit to add....shortly after I wrote this, I started to think Lust might have a drop of civet. Kind of getting that 'dirty' vibe from it. I still like it.

When I wear this, hmmm.....it smells good and does work on my skin. I kept thinking of The Hamptons but this is different.....seems to have more depth, and there's a little bit that could be the fizziness everyone's talking about. It could also be something a touch spicy, maybe? It's more than the candy orange, fruity sweetness of The Hamptons. Deeper, a little darker, and also more perfumey.....and I'm not sure what's making it more perfumey. For some reason I was expecting something more like Sugar Skull but it's not like that scent. This is more fruity, tart, slightly sweet but really deep scent. I honestly can't decide if I would wear this, even though it smells good to me.

This is one of those scents I really 'should' like, but don't. When I wear it, it just doesn't cooperate with my skin chemistry (or vice versa, maybe). I can smell the notes I like, patchouli for example, but they're just not working together for me. I even put it away for a few months, tried it again, and that didn't help. It reminds me somewhat of Aureus, but dirtier. The good news is that Aureus works out much better and I have a whole bottle of that, so I'm still happy.

Torture King is dominated by citrus and leather when I wear it. It's fairly strong and long lasting. It's also brighter and fruitier than I expected. This is going to sound horrible but it reminds me of leather and Fruit Loops cereal. But I like it! It has complexity and I can tell the other notes are there, supporting. As it dries I think more of the notes are coming out, especially frankincense. (I just noticed at least one other person thought "Fruit Loops", so I don't feel so bad) This smells really good and I will probably be wearing it again. I'm glad I got my decant!

This is another one of those scents that after I tried it, I read the description, saw the notes, and thought 'All that is in this??' In other words, it's extremely well blended. I smell a subtle sweetness, recognize the fougere, and get little flashes of mint on top of it here and there. I smell hints of sweet citrus, too. It's very light on my skin and doesn't last a long time.....I really thought my sense of smell was back after a cold I had, but this scent made me wonder......starts to turn slightly powdery before fading away almost entirely. It actually smells good, but I'm not big on the fougere scents for me personally. I would rather wear something like Dorian, Theodosius, or maybe F5. I'm glad I got to try this, though. Edit: I keep reaching for this, so apparently I like it more than I first thought! I've been wearing it to work. It's nice, light and sweet, very subtle on my skin.

Interesting.....is that what carnation smells like? This smells mildly spicy to me, but not like ginger or cinnamon or anything....slightly creamy, as others have said. Not really a floral scent to my nose, but not neatly falling into any other category either. It just smells good! Right now, hours later and after a shower, I can still smell it, and it reminds me a little of Snake Oil. I honestly have a hard time describing this scent! It's somewhere between foody, amber-y, and perhaps slightly floral....not sharp or powdery. Medium throw, and lasts a long time on my skin.

Geburah is mostly about leather, as others have already said. At first it's leather with a 'clean' note, but I'm not sure exactly what the 'clean' is coming from. Then as it dries it reminds me a lot of Geek, without the bells and whistles of that scent. A little smokey, maybe a little spicy, and I picked up some musk once or twice. It's a good scent that I'll enjoy wearing! It's kind of a quiet scent but it sticks around for a long time. Will definitely fit my mood at some point, I'm sure.

I wanted to try this for a long time (thanks evilmistressoftoast, for giving me the chance!). Sometimes I'm not sure if I want to smell like chocolate or cocoa, but I do love sandalwood and myrrh does often work well for me. And I like Wulric a lot, so cocoa absolute seems to agree with me. I'm not sure what the distinction 'cocoa vanilla' means.....but I might be over-analyzing. Just try the dang thing! Velvet was kind of a disappointment somehow, even though it smells pretty much like I thought it would. I don't know why it's not knocking my socks off......something about it is a little too powdery (myrrh does that to me sometimes), a little dusty and dry, just not 'wow'-ing me. It's not terrible, though, and I'm glad I read the 'aging bpal' discussion, because now I want to hold onto this and try it again in a few months. It is very smoothly blended and I couldn't tell the notes apart really, except the sandalwood seemed to emerge more as the scent dried and faded. So....a rather inconclusive review I'm afraid. I can see why people like this a lot. And I could see it growing on me. But I won't be hunting down a bottle.....at least, not right away.

Ugh....I just lost the review I wrote for this!! I'll try again. Just got Red Moon today, and I can already tell I really like it. It's a warm, dry, and somewhat spicy scent to me, subtle, and stays pretty close to my skin. [Caveat: I had a cold recently and lost my sense of smell for a couple weeks, but I still think this is just a subtle scent on my skin.] The dragon's blood resin, and maybe orange peel, lend the scent a touch of sweet fruitiness. The dbr does not take over...it's really pretty restrained on my skin, which is unusual for me. Here it is very, um, well behaved. I am glad I got this. It reminds me somewhat of Corazon just because they both have this subtle quality while still being strong in a quiet way, if that makes any sense. Even moreso, it reminds me of The Great Red Dragon from the Salon, but not as woody as that scent, and not as sweetly floral (I think the Great Red Dragon has sweet pea if I remember correctly....). But the amber warmth is there. Red Moon also has a spicy feel almost like cinnamon, but without really smelling like cinnamon. That could be coming from the amber too. I will enjoy wearing this!

I found this scent very light on my skin. I didn't think 'almond' when I smelled it, and if I hadn't read the reviews, I'm not sure I would have thought of almond at all. I really didn't recognize any other notes. Even though it was super light, it lasted a long time. There was a faint element in there that reminded me of rubber or maybe leather, for some reason. Weird, I know.... This wasn't a very descriptive review. The scent is light, sort of sweet and slightly nutty, a little 'clean'. It didn't smell bad at all, but also didn't really grab me as something I want to wear a lot.

Speaking of 51, I found Incantation and 51 to be in the same scent family. Incantation is like the handsome brooding older brother and 51 is like the young pretty sister. To me the wood element is very similar in these scents.

Can it have a floral element? At the last meet 'n sniff that I went to, Knave of Hearts was a big favorite.

I think I've made more Kingsport comparisons than any other bpal scent.....and I'm afraid I'm about to do it again. But this really does remind me of Kingsport. It's like a brighter, lighter, slightly more feminine counterpart to Kingsport. This has less ozone and more 'yellow-ness', which I guess is pretty obvious looking at the painting and reading the notes. But there ya go. Really I can't describe it any better than the other reviews. I pick up a bracing sort of sea spray, bright and sweet, and a little fruity. Not so sweet that I can't wear it, and not too feminine, either, even with the breezy floral notes. I could definitely wear this, and will! Edit to add.....this scent lasts and lasts, for hours. I'm going on hour 8 now, and it's still going. I keep getting this warm, slightly sweet note or notes that reminds me of vanilla. I suppose that could be the amber and/or pear coming out. Really good stuff.

It was very interesting for me to try this and then read the reviews. I'm totally with those that got a big 'masculine' vibe from this. It starts out with a big flourish of lavender, which is a note I've always got along well with. But that does back off pretty quickly, and the other notes come forward. It's all blended together so I really couldn't pick apart the notes....and I didn't have the description with me, so I didn't know what notes were there anyway, except I remembered there was tobacco in it. Kind of a suffused golden and smokey scent, elegant, almost. Makes me think of couples slow dancing in a smokey lounge, to sultry jazz music. The extended drying stage of this totally reminded me of a classic, almost old fashioned men's after-shave. After reading the reviews I can't wait to try it again, and see if my opinion changes at all, and if I get any 'feminine' feeling from it. It's something I would enjoy wearing when in certain moods, but not all the time, and probably don't need a whole bottle of. But it is quite interesting and as usual, I love experiencing Beth's interperetations of the art. Edit: You know....something about this scent reminds me of a used ashtray. I think it's the golden resin, because copal sometimes goes out of control when I wear it, and tobacco doesn't usually have this effect on me. I don't think I can wear this any more. : (

I also get strong clove from The Smiling Spider, above all else. I can just detect the black musk, and couldn't really smell patchouli at all. The clove really dominates and lasts for hours on my skin, to the point of making me slightly queasy. In those long-ago times that I actually smoked clove cigarettes, they made me feel the same way, so maybe I'm just not a clove kind of guy. I really wanted to love this scent! I even made an iron-on tshirt with the painting. Oh well, 'twas not meant to be. I definitely understand the Count Dracula comparisons, and I love that scent, so I'll stick with him. I may keep the imp and try it again in a few weeks or even months, though. quick edit: I want to let this age for a few weeks or even months, just because I know patchouli can get better with age. I want more patchouli out of this scent, and maybe could even layer it with something else. Basically I don't want to give up on it.

I wanted to try this for a long time.....I thought I might like it. Unfortunately something about it really disagrees with me. Maybe it's the almond milk because it's the same sour-milk note in Milk Moon, which made that scent unwearable for me. It's a little more bearable here, because after a while I can smell the other notes teasing me from the background.....pine.....a little bit of something smokey.....but nothing can break through that heavy, sour, milky note. Just not something I can really enjoy wearing! Edit: Something told me to try this again the other day, and I'm so glad I did! This is yet another one of those oils that did an about face on my skin, and became something that I really like. I almost feel like revising my review completely, but I'll leave the first review up there as an example....this tends to happen sometimes with oils that don't work for me....all of a sudden they work for whatever reason. I think what I was smelling before was the almond milk combined with some of the other notes, and it came off as sour. When I tried it more recently, it came across as something deep, somewhat smokey, rich and almost creamy, strong but very calm and mellow. I think I'm actually getting the scent as it was intended this time, and I think I really love it. I may actually end up getting a whole bottle of this! I really am not picking up on sarsaparilla or patchouli, I think they just quietly contribute to the scent as a whole.

After reading the other reviews, I want to try this again....except I already knew I wanted to wear it again! Voodoo Lily smelled toasty and spicy to me, with some floral sweetness. It reminded me somewhat of the lab's Dragon's Blood, with toasty spices. Way back when this was introduced, someone mentioned that they smelled it or a prototype at the lab, and it reminded them of Djinn (if I remember correctly)*. I knew right then I had to try it, but after a while it sort of fell off my radar. I happened upon a frimp of it, and I have to say I really like it! I can see the comparison to Djinn a little bit, although this is sweeter and obviously more floral than that scent. My experience with lily is that it reminds me of bubble gum a little bit. This lily scent has the least amount of 'bubble gum' of any other lily I've tried from the lab (I think I've tried Black Lily and Cobra Lily). It's there, but just in little flashes, very brief, few and far between. I just like it! There is some powder that comes in, far into the dry stage. This could keep me from wearing it a lot but I'll definitely try it again. *Edit: Come to think of it, I think it was Devil's Claw that someone compared to Djinn, not Voodoo Lily. I have an imp of Devil's Claw on the way so I'll try it and see.

Very unusual scent. When I tried this I didn't have the description handy so I had absolutely no idea what I was smelling. All I knew was that it was sweet and slightly foody, almost a marshmallow fluff smell at first. Then as it warmed up, I finally decided it smelled like sweet wine and maybe some herbs. Honey? I had not a clue. It sure wasn't the honey note that I was used to smelling. I decided it was reminiscent of some Possets scents, so I gave the imp to Olympia301. She seemed to like it. Osun actually smelled good to me, and I kept sniffing my wrist trying to decide what it smelled like.....just not my thing, really, and not something I would wear.

The candy-fruity-fizziness of Pruno reminds me a bit of the Hamptons. I think the Hamptons is sweeter and lighter, and Pruno has a little more depth, and a hint of darkness.

Wow...reading the other reviews, I was interested in all the bpal comparisons other people got from this. I'll get to mine in a minute. After reading about Kyphi I was a little worried that this would be too fruity or raisiny or something. I needn't have worried. This scent is very, very good, and pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. Sweet smoldering wood. Dark, golden, contemplative. The fruity notes just add to the scent as a whole. The scent is subtle but does have a lot of strength. I think I put on too much yesterday so I'll remember that for future reference. But I just love it. For me, after a few minutes, I realized this reminded me strongly of Hunter Moon. After my mind made that association, it started to smell exactly like Hunter Moon to me. I had to actually put on some Hunter Moon for a comparison. While they are two different scents, the tone and 'feel' of the scents is remarkably similar to me. Hunter Moon has a deeper wine note, while Philosopher is more about woods. The fruit in Philosopher is sweeter. As the two scents dry they diverge a lot more. Philosopher ends up sweeter and slightly powdery. It's a wonderful scent I'll be wearing again, definitely.

Mad Meg. I love this scent. LOVE it. I was expecting a whole bunch of vetive like the Great He-Goat. Not the case. The whole scent is very smooth and subtle. Up close I can smell the earthy vetiver, and sweet orange. The throw however is something special. Enigmatic. It darts around and reminds me of things, elusive and hard to pin down. It kept reminding me of another bpal and I couldn't think of what. Then I realized it was reminding me of Mad Hatter. Why?? I don't know! But there it is. It's a great scent. Spicy, sweet and earthy. Very smooth and much lighter than I was expecting. Really fantastic. edit: I wanted to add that this lasted a really long time, and I kept getting little hints of that 'scorched' note in the throw....really fascinating the way this scent presents different facets of itself. Definitely worthy of a bottle purchase!!

I love the character in the book so I did want to try this. Smells weird in the vial. On my skin, though, a nice spicy scent comes forward. I almost smell cake or baked goods. Smells womanly to me, and strikes me as appropriate for the character. Very nice! Reading over the description, I don't think I smelled many of those notes. Very well balanced and blended scent.

This just about knocked me over with rose and nothing but rose. Tart rose. Extremely strong on my skin with tons of throw. I don't think I smelled any of the other notes. The rose started to turn sour and never did back off, until unfortunately I just had to wash it off. Just not a scent for me!

Sparkly wine or champagne at the start. Often I don't like wine or booze notes but this is very skillfully blended. Either that or Beth found an exquisite cognac note that just works well on me. Thinking back, I didn't smell clove, but did smell musk. Much later the scent took on an incense quality. I think tobacco sometimes reminds me of incense, so maybe it's the tobacco flower that made me think of incense. This smells very good and I'm glad I got to test it thanks to Olympia301. It's not something that I would wear often though.