wikkidraven

when i first applied this, i was reminded of my beloved Lush snowcake. i don't know why, it just smelled incredibly almondy. then the sweet pea and amber chimed in, and i started getting that baby powder note that i'm so terrified of.

 

right now it's hovering between the two...this isn't quite what i expected. i'll probably give it another go and then swap it if the mouse doesn't behave.

i never thought i'd lay eyes on venom, but now that i have i'm in love!

 

the berry tames the jasmine note, making this wearable for me...and i do like the lime thrown in. i have a feeling that the incredible age of this imp is what makes it great, as in so many other bpal scents. gorgeous...like all the other blends i love that are no longer

i got this in a lovely swap, and immediately picked up on the coconut from obatala in the blend. obatala is one of my favourite GC scents, so paired with snake oil this is a stunner.

 

i'm off to see if i can recreate it, using my new 10ml of aged snake oil!

sparkling peach, lemon, with a splash of sugar. the citrus makes this a heady blend for me, but it's sweet enough that i like it. citrus usually plays havoc on my skin, it's nice to find something simple that works.

 

too bad it's not made anymore. just my luck.

i got a lovely bottle from princessbeena after winning a queen of spades auction--thank you!

 

that said, havisham hates me. to my nose, this is antique lace drenched in lime and herbs. it's GREENGREENGREEN, so much it's almost blinding white, an acidic and astringent smell, that slowly begins to morph into a faded rose.

 

then turns to soap. what a strange ride.

oh no! red lantern broke my heart.

 

it was all buttery caramel and meaty coconut when first we met...the ultimate for a foody scent lover like me. but somehow in the drydown, tobacco is becoming far too prominent and it has morphed into a stale cigarette. fickle red lantern

this seems to be a more floral addition to the snake oil-ish family...it's nice, and i do like the meaty coconut, but like snake oil, i think this one is going to be better when tried aged.

 

*puts away for later slathering*

whoa, spanish moss.

 

too masculine for me, but i'm thinking it will be lovely on the boy. this just screams MALE at me...spicy yet aquatic. what a strange mix.

my first thought on this was blue moon. crisp, and clean...without the cucumber note that i get from blue moon. kataniya's floral notes seem fresher and sweeter. this would probably benefit with a little age, and summer use.

this is extremely 'perfumey' when wet...not at all to my liking. it does bounce back a bit in the drydown, becoming muskier with patchouli, but i think the poppies and lillies are throwing me off.

 

next.

loveLOVEloveLOVE LOVE!

 

originally was simply red hots, but dried down into a subtle, musky blend. the myrrh really comes out and makes this a beautiful blend with the cinnamon. mmm!

 

i think priala will end up being my favourite carny.

faiza has my vote for strangest act III blend---she does some amazing tricks. i was so overwhelmed with mossy, damp GREEN when i put it on, i could taste the stuff. not cool. faiza is strong, it almost smelled like men's cologne...aspen or something horrible comes to mind.

 

on the drydown though, i get honey and ginger, still with that tinge of greenery, but a lot more pleasant. i believe during faiza's morphing stages you can smell every note that was used. superb blending, so much that even if i won't wear her often, i may keep her after all.

out of the bottle--wow! sugary rose, just what i was hoping for...please don't dry down into old lady rose...PLEASE don't dry down into old lady rose!

dry--old lady rose. like those bath cubes wrapped in tissue paper. damn.

i wish the foody zarita had emerged on MY skin...as it is, it's so soapy that i can almost TASTE the soap. not pleasant...a very sharp citrus.

 

bad skin chemistry. bad!

wet: burnt caramel and wet tobacco

dry: burnt caramel

 

i am hoping that this one does better on my boyfriend...tiresias hates me.

 

i'm speechless. it's THAT GOOD.

 

WHY? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THIS GOOD!

i wasn't brave enough to try the living skeleton myself, because i'm not very good with the more masculine blends, especially if they contain tobacco or leather. so this one is based on what's coming off my boyfriend, who despite a moment of hesitation in regard to smelling like 'booze and fags' slathered himself in the stuff willingly enough.

 

and indeed, it IS booze and cigarettes...LOTS of booze. this one is very interesting, but faded pretty fast. i'm thinking with a lot of the new scents that i have, a little aging will go a long way.

whoa! violets!

 

i sat huffing my violet self for a bit, then my boyfriend, who slathered himself with my Isaac the Living Skeleton, told me that I smelled like 'parma violets...or old lady bubble bath'.

 

bummer.

oh snake oil, how i've missed you!

 

my friend was generous enough to give me a couple of aged imps until my 10ml arrives...snake oil was in the pack of imps i got when i was first introduced to bpal, but the lid was faulty and, despite my best efforts, it spilled during my move. snake oil is amber, vanilla, and gorgeous spice rolled up into one of my favourite bpal blends...i hope that after a bit of time, all of the snake pits will be as lovely.

honey and vanilla sweetness, that dries into baby powder. honey is still a bit detectable, this isn't as bad a powder as la fee verte took on my skin, but the changing room smell is still there.

 

i'll have to try this instead in different places than the wrist...maybe hair or even elbows.

I get straight up peaches and patchouli from this...and I agree with Slave1, it's the dirty hippie patchouli. My boyfriend seems to like this in the drydown, there is something in there that sweetens the blend, but to my nose I still smell like an incense stick.

 

I hope my decants arrive soon, now I'm very curious about the other valentine's blends.

This one is very citrusy from the moment you crack open the bottle...I could smell it immediately. I'm not the biggest citrus fan anyway, but this smelled pleasant enough on the skin when wet. I had high hopes, but unfortunately it faded to nothing in literally minutes.

 

Oh well. Better luck next time!

Juke joint to me is the wallflower sibling of spooky...it's nice enough, but not nearly as impressive. I had high hopes for the boozy mintiness, but it's just boring on my skin somehow. I chalk it up to my weird skin chemistry, and will put this one up for swaps.

while i always have high hopes for the true foody scents...for some reason they go sour on my skin sometimes. this is another case of that...sour, and almost burnt blackberries and booze.

 

not pleasant.

chimera smells...weird in the bottle to me. i had an imp of this and remember that i wasn't too impressed, cause i swapped it away. now i'm glad i bought a partial bottle to check it out again--this hits on all my scent loves! cinnamon and honey, with a sexy kick. love.