forspecial_plate

We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines. I thought this was definitely earthy and dry. It didn't strike me as 'dusty', at least not as much as Krampus....which really did have a dust-rag note in it, at least to my nose. This is more like the dirt note in Zombi. Anyway....underneath the earth is a deep, red, fruity wine note. There's a weird wetness here, but not humid. Even though it reminded me of Zombi, because both have an earth note with other stuff underneath....Nosferatu is different. It's much drier for one thing, even with that wet redness. LOL....I see now that this scent is hard to pin down. How is it dry and wet at the same time?? I don't know, but it is! Also this is more subtle and 'quiet' than Zombi. The throw is light and disappears to almost nothing after a couple hours or less. edit: After re-reading the description for Zombi, it makes a little more sense. That scent has oakmoss, which I'm sure makes Zombi more of a humid scent. Nosferatu is drier in that sense, but still has that wetness of wine and red fruit.

Blue Moon does smell really good to me, however....it's not what I was expecting, only because of a skin chemistry issue I think. Something in here smells like a very soapy, sharp floral, and it's kind of drowning out the other notes. Maybe it's iris that I'm smelling. I can't believe I can't smell juniper at all! Or cucumber, or a few of the other notes. But what I do smell is a sharp and rather soapy scent, but still fantastic. There is some complexity lurking behind the soapiness, mostly just a hint of woods. Medium to light throw. I feel like I really don't want to give up on this, I can't imagine swapping it away, at least not right away. Edit: I have to say that in the few weeks that I've had this, the soapy/sharpness has settled down quite a bit, and I'm much happier with Blue Moon now. I'm really glad I held onto it to try again. It's cool and refreshing, light, a great companion to Red Moon. My only complaint is it doesn't have a lot of lasting power, but I still like it.

The other reviews described this pretty well....it's soft and sweet, a little tartness, but deep. It does smell fruity but I'm getting a bit of a dry smokey feeling from it, too. Not a whole lot of throw, this is more of a quiet scent. It is somewhat feminine, but I think as a guy I could wear this too, in the right circumstances. I just like how it smells on me. I had been thinking about getting a larger amount of Hungry Ghost Moon, but if I decide to keep TNM, I won't need a bottle of both because they are very similar.

"Sweet and crisp vanilla mint" is exactly what this smells like. No more, no less. I have not tried Lick It, Lick It Again, Snowblind, or really anything else this has been compared to, except Spooky. Spooky was plasticky and not very good on my skin. Tokyo Stomp agrees with me much more. It has a medium or slightly stronger throw and staying power. It smells good and I can really understand the 'Thin Mint' comparisons. There is only the slightest hint of something plasticky in this scent, but not enough to turn me off. That said......Hmmmm. For some reason it's just not that exciting to me! I don't know why, because it smells good to me. It's just not something I personally want to smell like. Green Tree Viper is a minty scent that I do like a lot, so I'll probably just stick with that.

When I first got this, I tried it right away, and it was a complete disaster. Milk Moon+My skin=Candied Sour Milk Moon. It was a very sour, heavy and curdled scent. SO.....I put it away in the closet for a couple weeks and tried again. It's not quite as bad this time. Still has more of a yogurt feel than milk to my nose, and the sweetness of the grape is turning me off. I really wanted more of the fig and pomegranate, but that's not what I get from this scent. It's really just not working for me. I will add that this has amazing endurance. The first time I wore it, I tried washing it off, and could still detect it something like 12 hours later, on my skin where I applied it.

House of Night, on my skin: Starts out with a blast of gardenia and greenery. After about 20 minutes, *boom* Samhain comes out. Some of the reviewers of HoN noticed the same thing so I guess I'm not crazy! If I tried this in a blind test I would be *positive* that it was some springy Samhain spin-off. I don't know how long the Samhain-ness lasts, because I'm wearing it right now and I had to rush over to this thread to report what I found. I'll edit this post if there are any shocking developments.

This starts out very potent, salty and cologney, like a blast of sea spray in my face. As with many aquatic/sea scents, the initial sharp blast fades pretty quickly, the intensity fades a lot, and the other notes come out more strongly. I recognize the woods from other scents. I like how this smells, but I'm not sure I would reach for it real often. I think I really wanted to try it because of the musk and woods, and just the description in general sounded great. I'm glad I tried it, but I know I don't need a whole 5ml bottle of it. Edit: Um, hello.......this scent is really wonderful! It's a fabulous mix of bright green woodsy notes with something salty.....I do stand by my 'sea spray in my face' impression......but for whatever reason, this scent is knocking my socks off right now. I'm so, so glad I didn't get rid of this Imp..... : )

Pretty strong cedar here, and some incense-y woods behind it adding some sweetness. In theory I should really like this, but somehow it's not exciting me much. It is like a slightly dustier and sweeter counterpart to Cathedral. This could be worth putting away for a while and trying again at a later date. The cedar just wants to take over.

I layered CB's Burning Leaves with Satan and Death With Sin Intervening....well, put them on different spots on my arms, not actually layered....anyway I smell fantastic.

Such a great scent...very characteristic 'bpal' scent. I don't really get the notes listed, except for the wine. It's a deep, musky and smokey purple scent with wine. Wine and grape notes rarely work on me but this is wonderful, a great exception to that rule. It's a nighttime scent. Makes me think of tree branches blowing in the wind, just before a late spring storm (although there's no ozone or even strong woods to my nose....that's just the mood of the scent, the way it makes me feel). This decant will hold a special place in my collection.

Sharp ozone and aquatics are what I smell. Maybe a little citrus, but that could be the power of suggestion since I read some other reviews mention it. Possibly something floral in there somewhere. Medium strength and throw, and over time it doesn't do any morphing. This smells good. I can see why people get 'dryer sheets' from ozone, and I get that a little, but it doesn't ruin it for me. However...ultimately this just isn't something I would reach for very often. I think I like ozone more when it's a supporting note, like in Cloister Graveyard or Kingsport.

Sharp and herbal, minty eucalyptus at first. Then the lavender comes out pretty strongly, which I like. I'm not sure I would wear this with any regularity, not because it smells bad (it doesn't), it's just not really my thing. Although it has lavender, I think this would wake me up like a sharp little pinch.

Incense and woods. At first I feared it was too much like Al-Azif, which was too rich for me. Later the woods come out and I find that I like this after all. Polished woods, incense, and almost smells like it has leather. This is 'cologney' more than 'perfumey' to me. Reminds me just a little bit of a more mellow Les Infortunes Des de la Vertu.

Tweedledum is a very appealing scent, fruity but not like candy....deep, tart, and a little earthy from the patchouli. Quite a nice scent, not a whole lot of throw, but up close it's really good. Kind of reminds me of Xanthe the Clown. A lot of fruit scents turn into candy on me, so I don't really seek them out, but this is a good one.

My 13 is clear in the bottle. No layer of cocoa absolute that I can see. 13 is like a scent journey. Most of the throw is dry, spicy cocoa. It's when I sniff up close that other notes come out to play. This goes through a few different stages. It starts out, like I said, dry cocoa with spices. Up close I can smell the spices more strongly. After a few minutes, there is a sweet, almost watery tea-like note, which I would guess is the chamomile and/or rice flower combined with the sweetness of fig. Later, the spices, especially clove, are getting stronger. For a while it reminds me of Christmas spices. Also, I think the chamomile and catnip are getting stronger. This is probably the longest 'stage' of the scent. Much later, it's all herbs and flowers. At this point it's just a little.....stale, I guess. My skin just doesn't like the long drying stage of the scent. I would call this a jovial or cheerful scent. In that long middle stage the spices threaten to become too strong. I will have to try this one or two more times to really decide if I want to keep a whole bottle. I do like it! It reminds me a little of Hungry Ghost Moon with a shot of cocoa. Edit....after about a year, this scent has settled down a lot. I get very little chocolate or cocoa. It's mostly subdued herbs and some fruit or tea. In fact, no one note stands out....not even the clove. I still like this and will probably enjoy wearing it from time to time, if I don't end up swapping it.

Bloody Mary is tart and sweet, cherries and sugar, very appealing to me. It's a deep scent, too....with substantial throw and endurance. I am picking up just a hint of something darker or spicy way down in the scent. I didn't really smell the cream accord, unless it's just melding with the powdered sugar. I have no idea where or when I would wear this since I'm a guy....I guess wherever I feel like! I think this might be great layered with some kind of deep, dark musk, and I have CBMusk on the way so maybe I'll try that. Also, I think this would be an awesome scent with a Count Dracula costume, for some reason, even better than the actual Count Dracula scent (although I love that scent, anytime, anywhere!). And finally, on its own, I found it strangely a comforting scent, in much the way that Sugar Skull is comforting to me. It would be a nice scent to just relax with after a rough shift at work (which is exactly what I did today).

It took me a couple tries to really love Red Phoenix, but I do. Cassia dominates, which it usually does, but the other notes get to slowly come forward, especially the tobacco. It's definitely a Red scent. As it wears, it remains a dry and spicy scent, but it has that characteristic 'bpal' feel which reminds me of incense. It's something akin to Hellion, or a much drier Snake Charmer, both of which are great. And this is, too.

Note, 2009/January: Skip to bottom for final edit I have some mixed feelings about BLWB. It took a whole day of wearing it to figure out that I do really like it. See, I absolutely love Mr. Nancy, and I can't help thinking of BLWB as Mr. Nancy Deluxe. They are so similar to me, I guess because my skin is emphasizing the sugary notes of both scents. So I was a little sad, because at first I thought, 'I should have just bought Mr. Nancy instead!'. Anyway, the throw is almost all sugar. Up close, I can smell the other notes. Moss that smells almost mildewy, but not in a bad way. Spices and herbs start coming out later. I can tell that other notes are there, supporting the scent. But really, it's so complex that not many notes stand out on their own, except the caramel accord which is very strong for me. This scent is a winner, and now I don't really have to get a bottle of Mr. Nancy for a while (I still want to eventually). Although, I bet if I tested them side by side, they differ more than they seem to in my mind. Edit (nearly a year later) I'm wearing this tonight and it has aged into something incredible.....still caramel-sweet, but the lime is more pronounced, and as a whole the blend is just drop-dead sexy! I am so glad I didn't get rid of my bottle! Final Edit! This scent has become one of my favorites, from my whole collection. It has aged incredibly well. It's mostly moss, herbs, caramel, and lime. Caramel can be too sweet for me to wear, but in this blend it fits so well. It's balanced and complimented weirdly by the other notes. I guess it took some aging for it to come into its own, or maybe my sense of smell is just more educated now. Whatever the reason, I love this one so, so much~!

The reviews before mine are pretty accurate. I personally don't know the difference between grass and dandelions. However, I can smell the resemblance to Garden Path With Chickens. There is something a little sweet and billowy floating behind the sharp, green grassy smell. The scent has medium throw and barely changes at all as I wear it. The only change I noticed is a little bit of soapiness starts to come out after a while. The soapy note doesn't ever become strong. For some reason I'm just not excited about this. It's not a scent that I love. I prefer the complexity of Garden Path. However, this is a great evocative scent, conjuring images like the other reviews pointed out.

This starts out mainly coffee, and that's coffee with a fair amount of sugar....sweeter than I thought it would be. At first, I can't tell if I'm going to like it enough. I love the smell of coffee, but it doesn't excite me that much as a perfume note. There is one coffee blend that I love and that's Possets' Ribbands, and Pinched does remind me of that at first. The throw is medium, not real strong but I can tell it's there. Later, though, it seems the scent gets stronger, and the woods come out a lot, and the cinnamon a little. I love woods in certain cases and this is a great woody scent. At this point, I'm so glad I put it on today, because it's dreary and a little cool outside, cloudy, and this is a great contemplative scent for this kind of day. The coffee is still there but I think the woods have nearly overcome most of the sweetness that was there in the beginning. I love this now, and this is another that maybe I should have bought a whole bottle. edit: I wore this again yesterday, and my perceptions have changed a little bit. I really like this and I will cherish my decant. What smelled woody to me before, now comes across a little different. It seems to have a sweet cream note that comes forward in the dry-down, very pure and slightly sugary. This lasts and lasts, for hours, and even through a shower. I'm glad a little goes a long way, so I know my decant will last for a long time!

I was expecting this to be sort of faint, based on previous reviews, but it still surprised me just a little, just how subtle it really is. I was also expecting it to be more on the powdery side from the musk, but it’s not powdery in the slightest for me. I think the leather helps with that. Actually I’m not sure I can identify the other 2 notes, but I can tell there’s leather here. So, yeah…..soft, sweet, beautiful, definitely androgynous, this is a real winner and I may regret not getting a whole bottle. It seems to be the more civilized brother or cousin of Doc Constantine, and that's the biggest reason I didn't order a whole bottle, since I already have a bottle of Doc, and like that just a bit more than this. Both are great, though.

A Bold Bluff smells like sweet tobacco, and I forgot it was cherry tobacco until I re-read the notes. Now that I know, I can smell just a faint suggestion of cherry. I’m glad I don’t smell hops because actual dried hops smell a little vomity to me (maybe the hops here are fresher). This is a touch more powdery than I thought it would be. I think the hops combined with tobacco are giving it a sweet, slightly powdery feel. Usually I avoid most things powdery but it doesn't ruin this scent. It's a comforting scent that I do like and will wear again.

Ooh, this rubbed me the wrong way. I could tell immediately that it's not for me. Very soapy and sharp. I wasn't expecting this sharpness, I thought with the wool it would something softer. And I like wood so I had hopes that this might work. I've had it on for almost half an hour now, and there's no need for me to keep it on any longer....I can tell with certainty that it's not my thing. Piercing, soapy and floral.

Right away I can tell this isn't going to work. The lilac is too strong and piercing for me. I can smell the leather, and I was hoping after a bit the musk would soften the blend. After over an hour, it's still not a scent I really like. Just not my kind of floral. Very clean smelling, almost soapy, but not quite. It has a kind of dewy quality. I think maybe I don't like fougeres in general, although I do like Theodosius a whole lot.

This is an absolutely great scent on me.....at first I smell red musk big time, like some other people have already said. Whether or not it's actually in this blend I don't know, but if it's not, that's a great trick! And at first there is just a dash of cinnamon, but the cinnamon gets stronger and stronger, until it's threatening to take over. This bums me out just a little bit because I want more sandalwood, more amber. None of the other notes really stand out, and I never would have picked out patchouli. It's still good, though, and after a while the cinnamon does back off a little and behave itself. The mood of the scent is definitely 'sin', and I bet this will smell even better after a few weeks or even months, so I may add this to my bottle wish list.