stellans

 

I knew when I bought this bottle unsniffed from a fellow BPALer via eBay I was going to love it, and I was right. Patchouli is one of my 10 ten notes, and I love vetiver and pomegranate and sometimes carnation too. Black musk and ginger can both play tricks with me, but not in Great He Goat!

At first sniff, the patchouli is all whoa! Love me, I command you! Then the vetiver stands up to be counted, and makes patchouli share my nose: let's call it a draw between the two. I never really get to meet pomegranate or carnation in this blend, but the amber and musk temper the two big guns in this blend to a sexy combination that just doesn't stop, and I mean that seriously. It has great throw and fantastic stay: my scent wafted to me gently from my wrists or my locket (but never overpoweringly), and I didn't have to reapply all day long; plus the q-tip tip in my Cheshire Cat locket is still going strong. Patchouli-vetiver strong, but the amber/musk is there too, just more subtlly.

4 of 5 stars for Great He Goat; if the pomegranate had come out to play, I think the 5th star would have been won.

 

I've waited till now to write this review, because this blend reacted a bit differently to my skin today than it has in the past; there was an underlying watery note that I hadn't perceived before, though this might be an aging thing? Anyway, my prior notes when worn last indicated lovely grass and herbs, slight floral, which all hold true today...but then there's the water. Granted, the official description does start 'damp grass,' but this is more water-logged than damp!

 

But I like it. I like how it smells like my garden after a short spring shower; after the grass is mowed; and after I bury my face in my little herb pots. This is a gorgeous blend, even if it did shift on me since last time I wore it, and I love it. I just wish it had more throw and a better lasting time, because to smell it at all I have to bury my nose into my skin and it wears off super-fast. It didn't last much longer in my Forbidden Brides scent locket, either.

Bottom line, though, is I love it while it lasts, even if it's not for long. 2 stars out of 5.

Today, a bright not-too-warm sunshine-y day, was a perfect day for this blend! The lightness, the green and the lilac of it provided the perfect accompaniment, and I love it on me and in my scent locket (Three Daggers today). I don't get any cherry at all (thank goodness), and the musk isn't terribly prominent either. What I smell mostly are the lilac, bamboo and green tea incense notes, and they are wonderful separately...but together they are amazing! The throw isn't very much, as I must bury my nose in my wrist or raise my locket to my nose to really smell it, but Mr. Stellans asked what I was wearing this morning when he kissed me goodbye, so the throw is just fine for my purposes! The staying power is pretty phenomenal; I didn't reapply until just a few minutes ago, and I first put it on this morning around 6:00. That's pretty impressive, IMO. Very happy to have a bottle of this, I'm giving it 3 stars out of 5 possible. Yum!

a whole lot of nothin’ -- indiscriminate floral-type notes, with a hint of the Orient, but nothing really jumps out at me, and the combination is unremarkable. At least, that’s how it is today. This will be another ‘put up and test again sometime’ bottle. What IS it with the Salon’s imp/bottle differentiation?

On first sniff, it's all lovely violets with a darker undernote of iris, which is exactly what I was hoping for! I love violet, especially the Lab's not-commercially-oversweet version, and iris has long been a favorite. I was worried about the amber, which has a tendency to go either plastic or powder on me. Luckily, Lucretia does neither but stays true to the violet and iris for the whole time I have it on. The vanilla musk is really not so much in evidence, though the wood note does begin to come through upon drydown, I get no citrus at all, and only the slightest whisper of sage. I like this blend, and wish I had more than 3 decants collected in a rollerball bottle.

Light and girly, a touch cologne-ish, but not too much. It's very nice, especially for a warm day. I really rather like this blend, but I identify it too solidly with my older daughter, as she's claimed it as her 'signature scent.' I think I'll cede this bottle to her, and call it a day.

When I tried my imp of this Salon blend, it was pure love: I got a fresh cold balsam-like scent (the opoponax?), backed by myrrh, and a hint of frosty earth. This morning from my bottle? Pine-Sol! I couldn't believe the change, so I am chalking this one up to skin chemistry playing tricks on me, and hoping for a better result on a later date. If not, then this will appear on my sales page at some point, I guess.

The clean, pure scent of rosemary and fresh white florals with a sliver of ozone characterize Parsifal on my skin. I wish I'd worn this scent on a warmer day, because I think the coolness didn't showcase this blend as well as a warm day might have. In any case, I enjoyed wearing it, the ozone didn't rear up and give me a headache, and the florals kept nicely grounded by the rosemary. I'm glad I have a bottle of this one.

Right off, I smell pear. Lots and lots of pear, with a bit of citrusy-bamboo and a little green, but the pear is what takes over and reigns supreme. This is all right with me, as I adore pear notes, but I must admit Pear Single Note isn't what I expected in a Salon blend, LOL! I was really hoping for a bit more violet in this blend, and well, more <i>anything</i> than just pear, to be honest. Oh well -- I do love it enough to wear it, so it's good I have a bottle.

This is one of the prettier of BPAL's aquatic style blends, because the choice of floral notes is so wonderful. I was also surprised at how strong the violet note is, as well, because I love violets and totally expected the other notes (lotus, water lily, peony) to overshadow it. In any case, this blend works wonderfully with my skin chemistry, and doesn't turn into aftershave as so many aquatics do. Love, and I give it 3 stars.

wonderful incense blend, lighter than the Midnight Mass blends, but still with the smoky incense that I love. It starts out a little 'fresh' on my skin but quickly warms up to the smoky incense goodness, the kind one might like to enjoy during the day. It's not somber, but lively; not dark, but light; and finally, not cold, but warm.

With my luck lately, I was fully prepared this morning for the sourness of jasmine to overwhelm me and discover that yet another of my ‘private collection’ of the Retail Exclusive line hated me.

 

WRONG!

 

The beatuy of peach led the way for the smoothly blended glory of the florals in this perfume, and the smooth ness of cream was the base for it all. The only floral note I could pick out separately was Lily of the Valley; the rest are just there to help out. I also don’t get much of the tangerine or grape, but am perfectly happy with the peach. Oh yes, I am...I love peach!

oh, I don't understand this! When this was tried in a decant, it was pure sandalwood love on me, but now...now, it's <gasp> aftershave! I blame the amber... or maybe the oakmoss... or even the ginger. I just don't know. But I do know I'm putting this bottle away to try again another day.

 

ETA 8/09: nope, still can't wear it. It's outta here!

A patchouli nutcase am I, and Lucifer definitely adds to the craziness! The sweetness of the fig does not in any way detract from the sexiness of the patchouli, nor does the amber -- and amber is not one of my favorite notes, because it usually will turn a blend to a nasty plastic mess. Not Lucifer! I love the underlying wood notes, which serve to make the patchouli more refined and even more welcome to my nose, and staying power is phenomenal.

 

This is not your headshop patchouli; it is far smoother, far sexier, and far better than that! And I give this amazing patchouli blend 3 of 5 stars.

I ordered 2 bottles of this blend right out of the chute because I knew it was going to be big. And it is! It's taken me a while to get around to enjoying it (other than opening a bottle to sniff and test from a cap the day it arrived), so it's had a month or so of aging. The blend, IMO, has changed even in that short time -- it's also my opinion that this is one of those blends which, like fine wine, will get better and better with age.

The berries, fig and cream seem to be uppermost to me, until it has a chance to meld with my own skin chemistry; then, the leather comes out, and there's a slight boozy note which must be the cognac. I don't get any of the 'brown paper bag,' but it's really not missed by me at all. If the leather hadn't shown up, I would have reviewed this as a very nice fruit blend, and sold my extra bottle. But the leather! the leather! It makes this blend special, I tell you! Insolent, domineering, and supple: the leather note is what makes this blend hoard-worthy.

Last night was my first wearing of Planting Moon, and it was wonderful! As others have said before, and far better than I, this is wonderfully green, garden-y, and with a sweet, moist dirt note which is enough to make you close your eyes and dream of being outside in the coolness of a late spring/early summer night.

 

I wear a Lunacy every night, in alphabetical rotation, to fall asleep by, and I've kept a dream journal of sorts for quite some time now. It's interesting to note that different Lunacies tend to lead to different dreaming. Last night, I dreamt of my Great-grandmother's garden, in west Texas, a garden she got to enjoy for only a few short months every spring before the summer heat killed pretty much all of it. But she planted anew every spring anyway, for those few short months of enjoyment, and shared the love of it with me as well. This scent brings all of this back to me, and I dreamt of my Mom Beane last night, and woke up with tears in my eyes. But they were good tears.

 

Never would I have thought a tomato plant, nor squash, nor pole beans, nor dirt for that matter would be components in a perfume blend I would so love. But so it is. This is such an extraordinary blend I almost regret only buying 2 bottles, and barely restraining my urge to hunt down and buy more just for hoarding. Really. I love it that much. Except for Snow and Singing Moons, I don't think I've had such a reaction to a Lunacy, though I have loved many others. This one is special, and I am grateful to have the chance to enjoy it. Thank you, Beth, thank you so much.

CCXI = 211

Not much Dorian-like at all (at least at first), but a musky melon scent...cool and refreshing. This is a deeper, more complicated melon blend than say, Yemaya, and is utterly lovely. There's also a bit of florals going on, but deep in the background, and not any sweet white florals, but something deeper and a bit darker. After a while, the Dorian creamy vanilla tea notes come forward a bit, but still the melony-musky-deep florals hold sway. I love this blend, love it so much! I wish the GC Dorian was this blend...

Previously reviewed by OneTheyCallLuna.

It's taken me all day to think about this review. I love rose blends, with very few exceptions, and I was looking forward to this one today. I was therefore a bit blind-sided when I applied a bit of Two, Five & Seven first thing this morning and caught a hint of something that hinted at...candy cigarettes? That is just SO wrong!

 

Later, the rose scents came out a bit more aggressively, but with a slight juicy note underneath that was a little fruity rather than roses. This one is a puzzler, and I think I will have to retry it again someday for a more comprehensive review. For now, I'm leaving this as undecided.

LXXXVII = 87
I am a Snake Oil fan, so of course I wanted to try a bottle of this Chaos Theory; and I was well-rewarded for my leap of faith: this blend is amazing! Wet, I get leather, wood, and Snake Oil, which all stay just as wonderful as dry-down occurs. This is like Spanked married Snake Oil then had a wooden baby, which turned into my bottle of good smells. I can't wait to try this again in a year, because I bet it's going to age like whoa.

I loved this blend at first sniff when it first came out in 2007, but it just keeps getting better with age. I'm a big lover of resins, and this is a superior example of the darker resins skillfully blended with other notes to bring out the best in all components. I agree with other assessments of this blend as a 'deeper big brother to Schwarzer Mond,' and actually like this blend better! Unlike some other reviewers, I get no powdery notes at all, only deep and lasting sexy myrrh, musk and galbanum. Balsam sometimes adds almost a minty note in some blends to my nose, but thankfully not in this one. The May Suspiciendo Despicio release of Taurus had an abominable mint note, so I was happy that the Minotaur did not and wear it to commemorate the Sun's arrival in Taurus, which is my Rising Sign. Four stars!

I was a little leery of the cherry note in this blend, because I tend to amp cherry to an unbearable sweetness (think Luden’s Cherry Cough Drops). However, that doesn’t happen in this bottle, nope, not at all.

 

When first applied, the cocoa note is uppermost, but this lasts only a surprisingly short time. And it’s the dry straight cocoa, no sugar or vanilla or cream adulterates this note. But soon, the warmth of the skin brings forth some amazingly good smells: musk, spice, wood, bamboo and more. These notes swirl together, making one feel lucky to have a nose able to partake of such rich goodness!

 

This blend is probably my favorite of all the 13s to date, and I’m glad I have 2 bottles. Four stars!

At the end of my Poe week, I saved a old favorite for last: Premature Burial, the original release. This has aged wonderfully: in the bottle, one still gets the strong orchid with only a hint of the graveyard, and upon application, the orchid steps back to let the patchouli and dirt come forward. I really love this scent, because it smells to me more like what the floor of a deep dark forest smells like, when you dig it up a little. The deep, sweet loam, the slight wildflowers, the herbal resiny patchouli: it's all there, and it smells wonderful in my locket as well.

mine arrived in yesterday's mail as well, and I love the layered smell of them!

When first applied, there is none of the cedar pencil shavings, though a definite wood note pops out when wearing the original release of this blend; and if the bottle is lightly shaken before application, one gets a definite black pepper note, which adds commensurate darkness to this blend. However, as the oil blends with one's personal skin chemistry, lots and lots of resinous, incense-y goodness comes out to play, with the tiniest touch of sweetness to keep it from being too much like Midnight Mass or Cathedral.

 

When I first sniffed this from a decant a couple of years or so ago, I knew it would be a keeper, so I bought a bottle. Age has shown me how right I was to buy this and keep it around because, age has enhanced the goodness of the incense notes, always welcome to my nose. Surprisingly for a resin-based blend, this has plenty of throw but not nearly the staying power I usually receive with resin blends. Still love it -- I just have to reapply more than normal.

 

I wonder if my bottle of the re-release (Dark Delicacies Poe line) has aged as well?

Anyone knows how the Black Lace bottle looks like i'm gonna get a bottle but dont have it now just wanted to see the label ^^

 

I have a picture in my Flickr BPAL gallery.

 

It's a little fuzzy -- my camera didn't want to focus on it. *grumble*

Once again, I want to thank TwilightEyes for the wonderful resource she provides with her flickr gallery of BPAL pictures!