Violaine

I wish I could have kept this on my skin long enough to maybe experience what everyone else is. Alas, my nose smelled nothing but sickly sweet plum blossom and something akin to... alcohol. I didn't get a bit of depth, nothing at all like vanilla or sandalwood or wonderful nutmeg or rice. Even completely dry, this was just... hairspray to me. I mourn.

...WAT??

You cannot be serious. The amber, the musk, and the cardamom IMMEDIATELY tell me that I cannot wear this scent. That it will be horrible, awful, powdery old lady perfume on me. But, as I make myself do with every single BPAL oil I am frimped, I tried it on.

This is an absolute gem of a GC. At first, wet, it's almond. Then as it starts to dry, this creamy, almost vanilla backdrop starts to form and everything starts to gently meld together. It's fast and I simply can't tell the notes apart. There's faint spice, faint powder, but in a brilliant and warm sort of way. This is a skin scent, something you could easily smell like on the hottest day of summer... exotic, comforting, and delicious.

I can't believe I'm pulling this off. It will be all I can do not to slather my entire imp gone before I can order a bottle. Don't let the notes scare you off, even if you're sure you can't wear one, or even two! Try it. God, it's gorgeous.

I'll start by saying that I don't get "green" from Eden at all. I'm not quite sure what I get, but I totally see the figs and honey when I put it on. It's a gloriously rich and warm scent, and one that I love smelling close to my skin. It's earthy and sweet and musky, something I just want to SLATHER.

As it dries it does go a bit powdery and incensey on me, which I'm going to assume is the sandalwood... and on certain places on my skin, in the late stages, it's positively sour and perfumey. I wish so much that it wouldn't go powdery, but its not enough powder to make me dislike Eden. Oh no. This is definitely a favorite of mine and one that I will wear often. Just... carefully.

There isn't too awfully much that I can say here what hasn't already been said. Nocnitsa is a gorgeous scent, all loamy, moist dirt and pine. It's a transporting scent, one that sends you straight into a dark forest when you close your eyes. Slightly cold and oddly comforting at the same time, despite the folklore behind it.

However, after a while something in the blend goes sweet. I see why people say they smell berry in here and honestly, I wish the sweetness would stay out of it. I also which I knew which note it was that was going sweet! I'm really intrigued by this blend - it's not something I would normally wear, but I find I'm quite liking it. Perhaps not a bottle buy, but I am definitely going to keep and use my imp.

ETA: Aaaaaand 3 hours later? I might be wrong about this one not being a bottle buy. Such a lovely scent.

This is an absolutely AMAZING scent, and one that I think is HIGHLY overlooked and underestimated.

There's definitely a bitter undertone to it... while you're sniffing wonderful honeyed lilacs you get this gentle bite of something underneath... something almost eucalyptus-y. It blends together beautifully and as a whole it's sweet and green and lush and biting. I agree with sirensea in that it's very evocative of a freshly snapped twig.

I'd love to wear this blend on a day when I'm feeling acerbic and irritated yet very satisfied and comfortable with myself. It's utterly gorgeous in its sharpness. Rawr.

Ladon really surprised me. I got it as a frimp and I sniffed it without any knowledge of what was in it. I though "ooh, this is pretty, I'll totally have to try this out". Then I looked it up. Dragon's blood? On me? Nooooooooooooo sir. No dragon's blood for me, thanks. It's my one deal-breaker note.

But... Ladon is so pretty in the imp. Appley and bright and perfumey and wonderful. So I woke up this morning in quite the good mood and I thought "Ladon. I'm going to try it out."

I'm soooooo glad I did! The dragon's blood in this must be quite light, because while I smell it, it's definitely not the main scent. While it's wet, the apple is CRAZY strong, but not off-putting. As it's drying it gets so complex and I can smell each and every note in there. Once it's dry, it's a little more dragon's blood-ish than I would like, and it threatens to turn into that awful sour-sweet perfume I hate so much... but it never does. It just stays complex and interesting and I found myself constantly sniffing my wrist to get a better handle on exactly what vibe it gives me.

It's strong, too, it stays on my skin for quite a long while. I think I'm going to reapply, though, because I totally want to smell like this all day! Hooray, Ladon!

Yesterday I wore Boo during the day, and then my '05 bottle of Trick Or Treat during the evening while my husband handed out candy, haha! Neither of them are really scents that I'd wear throughout the year, but they're so neat to have for holidays like that!

I tried this on this morning and forced myself not to look at the scent description until after it had dried on my skin. Before I saw what was in it, just on blind smell alone, I was telling myself coconut and apple. It smelled then (and still does now) like a tanning salon and that was the closest approximation I could come up with.

However, I have no idea what olive blossom or champaca smell like. I never got cinnamon from this, nor did I smell the jasmine, though I suspect that the jasmine was what caused the oil to go ever so slightly soapy/powdery on me. It could perhaps be the honey as well, as I don't have great luck with BPAL honey, but I can't be certain.

So... I like this. I don't believe it's a bottle buy, which kind of makes me sad, because the notes and the description are just heavenly. It still smells a lot like a tanning salon to me, warm and almost tropical, but in a very sensual, forbidden way. If it weren't for that touch of soapiness, I think I might be sold. I'm definitely keeping my imp, though, and trying it on again in a couple of weeks.

Cupid and Venus are a gorgeous pair, that's for sure.

This oil, while sweet and fruity yes, is an absolute skin scent to me. I can smell the apple, the peach, the fig, the honey... all against a warm backdrop of sandalwood. I don't get the thyme at all, but I don't think that's entirely a bad thing. The blend isn't cloying, it's not too young, and it isn't over the top. It's golden and ripe and juicy and it clings to my skin like I'm perspiring sweet goodness.

I think the bottom line is if you feel like you're going to love this scent from reading the notes? If you feel like it's going to be right up your alley? IT IS. God, it's just glittering and gorgeous.

I feel enveloped and caressed by this scent, and it's absolutely not wearing me. It's just a spot-on win for me and I need a bottle ASAP.

This was a scent that I very much wanted to love. I'm trying to branch out from my usual slightly-foody love, and my comfort with vanilla. I've had a couple ambers and musks work well on me, so I thought this would be a logical choice.

However... Whoso List To Hunt is very... perfumey to me. It's a thick, heady, sharp, old, warm perfume and - I hate to say it - something my grandmother would have worn. Maybe it's the amber, maybe it's the rose, I don't know. I wish I could give you more of a beautiful, poetic description and tell you that this note or that note stuck out, but it's just a sickly mess on me. I'll be scrubbing this one off.

In the imp: This is not something I'd ever even really try on had I not read the description and reviews first. I ordered this imp straight from the lab, so there must have been a reason for my madness, yes?

Wet on skin: Yes. I smell like the bath fizzy section at Lush. The ginger is predominant and it tingles your nose. It almost clears my head in a very effervescent way.

Dry on skin: More of the same. I'm liking it quite a bit. There's a creaminess underneath, and a heat as well.

And as weird as this sounds, it almost makes my mouth water! There's almost a.... a salty note that makes me want to lick the back of my hand where I applied it. Yet... this isn't foody to me, not at all. It's still screaming LUSH STORE to me! And that, my friends, is a very good thing.

Hahaha, I don't know that I can say anything that hasn't already been said! This is a wonderfully accurate cucumber scent. It's cool and crisp and watery and... well, cucumbery! I absolutely love it! Definitely a great scent for hot days when you want to feel refreshed. Mmmm, it's wonderful!

Wow. I've found my absolute favorite lunar oil thus far.

White Moon is everything a lilac scent should be and nothing it shouldn't. It's real, it's crisp, and it's positively luminous. I can close my eyes when I sniff it and I see sharp blades of grass and huge stems of perfect white lilacs wavering in the spring breeze. There's never been another BPAL scent that has conjured up such a clear image in my mind and transported me into it. I love this scent SO MUCH.

That being said... if you do not like the smell of lilacs, do not even bother with this scent. Yes, it has other things in it, but on me at least, this is nearly 100% pure lilac. I don't know how much of a review this really was, but hey, I wanted to babble.

...I think I need another bottle.

Victoria's Secret Pink = Mi-Go Brain Canister. *nods sagely*

Glitter was one of those scents that I just knew I'd love. Anything "alcoholic" tends to do very well on my skin, be it a wine note, champagne note, or flat out booze note. Not to mention that I love fruity scents AND lotus! Unfortunately...

This was just as a couple of other people had said. Public restroom air freshener. Very chemically fake sweet smell. In the bottle, I also smelled the bubblegum that a lot of others detected. And while it's not really bad, it's just not something that I like on my skin. I can definitely see why people would love this scent, though! I'm just so sad that it doesn't work for me. I wanted to love it!

Adieu, Glitter! ;__;

Okay, I have to know. How do you pronounce Jólasveinar?

I've been looking at a chart for Icelandic pronunciation, and what I managed to come up with is "yo-lass-vay-nar". Does anyone know for certain how to properly say it, and what syllable is stressed?

Thanks so much!

I have to say that most people's reviews of this scent just completely baffled me. I didn't get "fruity" out of Mi-Go at all!

To me, Mi-Go is a gorgeous floral, the petals floating in a glass of champagne, and sprinkled with pepper! It tingles my nose and makes me smile. This is a great substitution for Victoria's Secret's perfume Pink! Pink was once my favorite perfume, and now that slot has been taken by Mi-Go Brain Canister!

If you're looking for something flirty and different, Mi-Go is definitely a scent you should try.

There are just not enough wonderful things I can say about this scent, really and truly. The first test of it turned a little candley on my skin, but I applied it very lightly. After going back and slathering about a week later, it's just.... GOD, it's this wonderfully deep combination of cherry and pineapple and BUTTER, ohhhhh the butter is heaven. I can just smell and see a glistening turkey when I close my eyes and sniff this off my wrist.

Drink Me is probably the most exquisite blend I've tried, and I honestly don't know if I can wait for 3 weeks for a 5mL bottle to arrive!! I know my imp isn't going to last!

I want to also say this... Drink Me is the only scent I own that I constantly smell on me. It's not overpowering, but no matter what I'm doing, I smell that faint cloud of it around me. It's just divine. *swoons*

I. Cannot. Get. Enough.

Cockaigne is this wonderful, heady, sickly sweet, dizzying scent that I want to drown in. It smells like someone dropped you from an airplane into a huge lake of mushy, buttery, creamy cake and wine. Butter, butter, milk, and more butter, with that sweet cakey icing, and an absolutely delirious smear of drunken red wine.

I can die happy now. *slathers*

Mmmm, Jailbait, how I love you so...

I described this to a friend as such: Imagine taking that first bite into a cherry Charms Blowpop, right when the candy cherry shell is thin and crackling over the bubble gum. You get that mouthful of uber-sweet, cherry-bubblegum juice exploding against your tongue, right? But there's something else to this blend. Something akin to lighting up a clove cigarette as you chew on that glop of sugar. Mmmmmm.....

I really think I'm going to have to buy a bottle of this stuff.

I'm afraid that there's nothing that I can really add to this topic, other than reiterating everything everyone else has said. This is the perfect, buttery caramel apple scent! It stays true on my skin, but grows a little more complex, which is definitely nice.

I'm so happy I have a bottle of it!

Eech. I think the problem I'm having with this blend is that it reminds me terribly of something my aunt or grandmother wore at some point in my life... and for a long time. That little factoid is just blinding me to anything else in this blend. I don't really smell berries, sage, tea... nothing but "my aunt's perfume".

Mrrrr, I really and truly wanted to like this.

Yup, that's the right address.

 

Did you get a receipt from Paypal? That's all the confirmation you need to have.

I did indeed! Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

Here's a Paypal question for you guys...

I'm seeing throughout this thread that there are different addresses listed for sending the money to the lab. On the welcome page it says to pay paypal @ blackphoenixalchemylab, but I wanted to make sure that's the correct one... especially since I placed an order with them five days ago, but never received any sort of confirmation.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything properly. Thanks!

This is the third BPAL oil I've tried, and since the first two hated me, I was really hoping that Baneberry would be wonderful. And it was! ...But only for a little while. I'm starting to think I have problem-skin.

The scent in the bottle was heady and crisp, and I could definitely smell the berry and greenery, like everyone else has said. It was right up my alley. I put it on, and alternately I could smell that fresh, intoxicating berry, then the green underneath. I was really soooooo excited. But then about ten minutes into it, it all started to go terribly soapy. Within the hour, that's all it was. And awful, terrible soap.

Bleh.