cuervosueno

Here's my one word review:

Iago.

Of course I'm not that concise, so I'll add more. First, the obvious--to me this smells exactly like Iago, but as a room spray. Which I like, because in the end I gave up the perfume Iago--it was just a bit too overwhelming on me.

I might eventually feel this way about this as a room spray, but I think it is going to be ok in this form. It is INCREDIBLY strong though--one spritz will not only scent a room, but will drift into other rooms.

So yeah, this is absolutely worth the price--this will last forever!

This sounds gorgeous, like something I would really love. Teak, vanilla, how can I not love it?

But let's just say that the review I quoted below entirely sums up my experience with it:

well, that's crushing. almost everyone else gets to smell sexy and sophisticated, while i smell like a classy old man.

Yup, classy old man on me. No vanilla, do get the tobacco, and then something vaguely aquatic, which I identify with men's cologne. Maybe it is the oak, though it reminds me more of oakmoss which always screams "men's cologne" to me.

It SO does not work on me. And smells nothing like Glowing Vulva on me....luckily.

This reminds me of the creamy vanilla which underlies the mint in snowblind. So I like that, but since I have Snowblind (and two bottles of Lick It as a slightly inferior substitute) I'm not blown away by this. It's nice--but I'm not crazy about it.

I was worried about the hazelnut in this one, but wanted to try it anyway. I guess I was right to be worried. In the imp it smells like...yep!...hazelnut! But it also has a nice woody base to it.

On me, however it is super hazelnut! Some sweetness to it, and a hint of wood, but really pretty much the nuts, and I'm not crazy about that.

This absofuckinglutely gorgeous! As I knew it would be....

I knew I wanted this after reading Sarada's review, because we're scent-twins, and if she swooned over it, I would too. And it does not disappoint.

Often the Salons morph quite a bit on me. This one does not. In the bottle it is frankincense and the absolute best grade of sandalwood with the richness of teak. On me it is like that too, though when it dries on me, the sweetness of the frankincense starts to soften with myhhr and with I imagine is the ambergris accord (that note is hard for me to pick out since I only have tried one other ambergris accord--and the BPAL ambergris is not like that). But it softens on the skin, goes just to the edge of powdery without ever getting powdery. I think of it as incense powder at this stage.

Overall, this surely is the holy grail of incense scents, even truer to incense than Bien de Loin Ici which is very resinious on me. I LOVE it!

I got an imp of this at the same time I got a partial imp of Formula 54, and to me they are similiar. In that thread, I said that if Formula 54 is the sexy bad girl who has been out all night drinking, then The Unheavenly City is the same girl as a dominatrix in an S/M club. F54 has an air of dissipation, like staying out all night and drinking and smoking way too much, but there is a jolt of red musk in the Unheavenly City that pushes it further.

I get gardenia and red musk from the imp, but on my skin it blends together very well, and I get a hint of rose (not enough to scare off a rose-hater like me). It doesn't have the heavy boozy note of the F54, but the red musk is intoxicating enough (and not usually a note I enjoy). There's a spicy note that is more clove cigarettes than it is cooking spice. I don't get any dragon's blood at all (which is good because I amp that like crazy).

Anyway, overall this is pretty good. It's not a scent I would have chosen on my own, but I like it.

I got a bit of this in an imp from my very kind switchwitch CrazyRedHead. I was SO thrilled--it is, after all, the holy grail of BPAL. Interestingly, I got at it the same time I got an imp of the Unheavenly City, because I think they are definately in the same family.

First, this fits the description to the letter. It has that boozy scent that reminds me of the smell of coming home after a very very late night at a club, esp. in, say, New Orleans. Torn fishnet stockings indeed! And I get the hairspray thing...it doesn't at all smell like, that but it does evoke the scent of hairspray and booze and clove cigarettes. It is surprisingly sexy for something that is really not my style (too close to regular perfume). Still, I can see why it is so coveted.

I compared to the Unheavenly City, because they smell very similiar in some ways, though the Unheavenly City has "rougher" edge--as if Formula 54 is the sexy bombshell who has been out all night, while Unheavenly City might be the same girl as a dominatrix. Formula 54 is more refined a bad girl, but still a bad girl nonetheless.

I realize this doesn't say much about the notes. So here are few: boozy cognac in the imp with wet tobacco and cloves. The rose and tobacco flower just add a slight floral.

Nice!

I didn't order this because I didn't like the original Blue Moon (04?), as heretical as that sounds. but then I got to waffling....what if I was missing something really good? Still didn't get it. And finally recently got a decant.

And this is much more like what I wanted a blue moon scent to be: soft, silvery blue, a bit mysterious and intoxicating. It is a heavy floral (so in the end not my thing) but it is pretty. What I get mostly is ylang ylang and iris (since I'm not sure I could identify orchid), and it is as heady as moonflowers or any sweet night blooming flower. It is definately a summer night, not a winter night.

The orginal was heavy cucumber which is why I didn't like it. This doesn't have that, and actually is not acquatic at all to my nose. Again, why I DO like this one.

But not enough to keep my imp, I'm afraid.

Who said Hawaiian punch? Anyway, that is just what I get too. Like the syrup--so so sweet and red. When i put it on, it lightens up a bit, and has an interesting powdery note that makes it hawaiian punch marshmallow rather than syrup, and the powdery note is also interesting because it isn't musky powder or amber powder or baby powder, but a foody powder that gives this a dryness which is perfect for marshmallow poof.

I'm intrigued, but it is a bit odd, and I think it is beginning to give me a headache, which is the first BPAL scent ever to have done that.

so far I've had no luck with the Stardust scents and I was hoping Fairy Wine would change that, but....maybe not, which is sad because I really really wanted this one to work.

In the bottle, sweet, sweet, sweet like candy. Not honey, but some gooey red candy. Achingly sweet, in fact. When i put it on, luckily some of that sweetness disappates and I get a whiff of honey, and it is like this honey liquor I had in Poland: Miod, which is sweet and syrupy, not like the other kind of mead. I like honey, but this has none of the lightness or effervescents I expected.

After a bit, it calms down, but I don't get the dandelions When it dries down completely, it fades away, leaving only honey and berry sweetness which is more appealing than the candy stage.

I just wanted more from this, I guess.

I was hoping to get a boozy egg'd mailbox from this, and in the bottle, it seemed promising: spicy eggnog and booze. And when it is wet, is like that on me.

But as soon as it dries it turns to plastic.

Ah well, I have Egg'd mailbox, which has a nice egg nog vibe--enough for me.

I love honey scents. I love BPAL honey scents. HoneyMoon and Litha are two faves, and I loved the Honey Single Note.

So I had high hopes for this.

Alas, they were dashed.

On me, this is all jasmine, all the time.

I like Jasmine, but I wanted honey from this. I have plenty of jasmine scents, so off to swaps this one goes.

I like this quite a bit. It does have a very nice texture--light, almost thin--and it soaks into the skin well and does not leave it greasy, so I am using it as a body oil.

The scent is quite earthy (isn't that a surprise?) but oddly on me, it doesn't smell so much like patchouli as vetiver (which is fine since I like vetiver). It has that dark earthy scent of that much maligned grass. It is probably oakmoss that is adding some darkness to it, but sometimes oakmoss just smells like men's aftershave to me, and this is different.

I quite like it, and perhaps there will be a line of these? I'd live to have an incense scent in a massage oil.

I amp sweet scents too, and on me this is all TREACLE! Or what suppose is treacle, since I don't really know what that smells like. It's sweet and caramelly, but slightly more like molasses than caramel.

There is also smoke in it, which softens that sweetness after the initial blast, but the smoke isn't nearly as strong as in Death of Autumn.

It fades quickly on me.

Whoa--serious smoke! On me this begins sort of like a barbeque, and then turns to pure smoked vetiver. In that way it reminds me just slightly of the Great He-Goat, with it's mixture of vetiver and smoked ginger. This is darker, however, and very very smoky and acrid. Not like a bonfire or even a fire in a woodstove, but like burning wet leaves that are smouldering but not burning.

After about 1/2 hour, it turns to smoke with a perfumy note that I recognize as Mums.

Interesting. I might try it again before I swap my imp, but I'm not sorry I didn't get a whole bottle.

omygodomygodomygod! I got Egg'd Mailbox!

I'm squeeing with delight because it was the one I most wanted! I had, in fact, decided not to participate, but then I read the description of this and pumpkin smash again and I was thrilled, and when I went through the list, I realized I wanted them all (well, except for two).

But when I realized this might smell like custard, I swooned in anticipation. And then I got it!

So in the bottle it is love! Sweet and just slightly boozy eggnog. I love the creamy spice--I could just huff from the bottle all day!

On me, unfortunately, it doesn't smell quite is good. I've only had this on for an hour or so, so I'm not sure how it will turn out, but it starts to turn almost (but thankfully not quite) plastic on me. It does, however, soften considerably, and lose its eggnog/foody quality, which is too bad, because I love that.

That said, I like the dry down which becomes a soft, slightly floral spice. I think Halycon_Flight said it above: this turns a bit carnation. I love carnation, so I don't mind that, and yes, I adore Hod, so I do appreciate that scent quite a bit. This is less obvious then Hod--it is neither as spicy nor as sweet. On my right wrist it smells like just a whiff of carnation, as if a person passed carried very fragrant ones. On the left wrist it is just slightly foody--almost, but not quite cloves. On both it is very very soft, with little throw, and I suspect (but don't yet know) little lasting power.

I think people who don't like gourmand scents would still like this, because it isn't really foody, but it is also not in-your-face floral. Overall, it is nice and subtle, and not nearly as prankish as it's name.

I'm glad I got it, and I only want to swap some because I never go through a whole bottle and I want to try some others.

eta: I put on slathered a bit more on last night, and it smelled more like a very delicate eggnog (is there such a thing? ) or a light custard, but still with that nice spice. 12+ hours later, I can still smell if I press my nose to my wrist. so it does have lasting power--just not a ton of throw.

I LOVE this!

And I think I'm going to do something I can't afford and also NEVER do, which is submit to the inquisition again to try for a treat--I'm sure the treats are just as wonderful.

This year's Pumpkins have been very cruel to me. None of are scents I've fallen in love with, and most simply don't work, which is the case with this one. And that's sad, because this and 5 had my highest hopes pinned to them.

In the bottle, this is just what I hoped for--Pumpkins and Pears and Grapes, Oh My! I was delighted. And wet, I got the swoon-worthy tart others mentioned--a delicious fall confection, with a pot of tea on the side. I was thrilled.

Until it turned, and really it did it so quickly I barely had time to savor the first delicious wet stages. Because as it dried, it moved from a gourmet delight to pure Play-Doh. Now what note does that? i don't know. But this is play-doh for the longest time, and then finally (a couple of hours later before it fades away entirely) it is a soft, nondescript spice.

Very sad!

I was hoping this would be gorgeous, because the notes sound so wonderful. I imagined it kind of like Pumpkin incense with a kick of carnation. I was very excited by this one.

In the bottle, it is quite interesting: sweet tobacco and something warm and syrupy and a hint of pumpkin, with just a hint of an incense-like floral (which I bet is the champaca). On, it is first just wonderful--all those notes swirling up just like I imagined. As it dries, the sweet tobacco notes take over, but I still quite like it.

Then something bad happens, and it turns to play-doh. I am not at all happy with this, and thought at first it was just a fluke (or I somehow mixed 1 and 2 together, because alas, Pumpkin 1 is straight up Play-doh on me).

But no, it is Pumpkin 2. I don't know what note does it, but sadly, this is not for me.

I was worried about this one--caramel scents always overwhelm.

As did this.

When I sniff it from the bottle, it is dark chocolate and caramel, and that is pretty much what it stays on me, with just a hint of spice. No pumpkin.

My least favorite of the Plunder.

This is my second favorite of the Pumpkin Plunder.

In the bottle, I get pumpkin, but also a slightly dry spice.

On, the sweetgrass and cactus bloom. It is very desert-like, a combo of the dry landscape with a bruised cactus (ie. a green scent). I thought it would be an intriguing combo, and it is.

When it dries down completely, it soft, dry, and sweet, with just a hint of spice.

I like it and it does remind me of Tenochtilan a bit, but I'm not crazy about it. I tend to prefer heavier/spicier scents.

As it turns out, I wasn't crazy about this batch of pumpkins--I like the earlier ones better, because they smelled more heavily pumpkin to me, which was a good thing!

That said, I like Pumpkin 5 the best of the bunch.

In the bottle, it surprised me, because I got the buttery pumpkin love, but with a jolt of neroli. This worried me--I just couldn't see how they could fit together. On, I also get the lovely pumpkin of say, Pumpkin Queen, but the neroli is also there, adding a layer of complixity that is quite interesting.

This softens very quickly on me, and becomes the citrusy spicy blend others mentioned. I can see the comparisons to PQ, but on me, this is a lot less pumpkiny, and more just a soft seasonal spice.

I like it, esp. when I get the red ginger warmth in the drydown. It also last quite awhile--much longer that PQ--so I may keep this one.

October is the cruelest month.....

Not really, but this October certainly wasn't kind to me. I was worried when I read the reviews describing it as masculine, because masculine often equals cyphre to me, and this does smell of cyphre. In the bottle it smells green. Exactly as an earlier reviewer put it--the smell of crushed leaves, or leaves when you pull the veins from them (yes I did that as a child. And I peeled twigs, which gave off a similiar scent).

I kept waiting for the metamorphis other people talked of, and while some of the green fades, I'm still left with a very green smelling scent, masculine, and not at all like dry leaves to me. No smoke either.

it conjures summer rather than autumn for me.

So off it goes!

I had a feeling I wouldn't like this. I have a problem with verbena. A serious problem, second only to my problem with rose.

But A Murder of Crows? How could I not try it? And since it came with the Pumpkin bushel.....

As soon as I opened the imp, though, I knew we weren't meant for one another. I get verbena. Right away. And yes, it is glossy, but in a gilded soapy way (if that makes any sense).

Still, I put some one, unfortunately quite far up my arm, as I was out of space from trying Pumpkins.

Unfortunate because all I could smell then was the overwhelming verbena soap that wafted aggressively off my arm. I don't like verbena scents. I'm not even that crazy about the scent of the real plant (though that is bearable). I don't like soapy or "clean" scents.

I don't like this at all.

Sorry, Beth, but we'll have to agree to disagree. My crows would smell different--darker, dirtier, like the cocky birds you see eating roadkill. These crows are altogether too clean and tame for me.

Poor Devil's Claw, it seems you get little love. Or maybe I should say Poor Vetiver, which also gets little love.

Never fear, a vetiver lover is here! (whoa, I seem to be in a silly mood tonight!)

I like this. It is definately deep dark vetiver at first, but it has a sweetness to it I find appealing, and that sweetness grows as the oil dries down. There is also something green in it, so the scent I get is dark (vetiver) and yet sweet, with a green core, as if from a leaf that had been crushed. There is also a hint of moist soil that grows with the sweetness. I also got the initial smokiness people mentioned, but on me that faded fairly quickly. I get no musk at all, esp. not my nemesis red musk.

I decided to compare this side to side with malediction, since other people mentioned the similiarity. While they are similiar, Malediction is drier on me, more like wood and less like a crushed succulent green. I don't get wood in Devil's Claw but I do in Malediction.

Overall, I like it. I may keep the imp. But I also have two other vetiver blends I adore much more (Azathoth and esp. the Great He-Goat, whcih to me is pure vetiver love) so I won't order a bottle.

I wanted to try this why?

I don't like rose, and leather always overwhelms me in BPAL blends. Still, the description was so alluring I wanted to try it. Finally got it as a frimp and did.

It is all rose, wet rose, but as usual smells less like a real rose as it does rose perfume which I don't like. and yeah, some leather too, though for once I found a scent that overwhelms even leather: rose.

Too bad I don't like it.