Akurarei

Punkie Night 2010 In the Bottle: smells like a fresh leafy apple orchard! on my Skin, Wet: YANKEE CANDLES!! no apples, no cranberries, just waxy overly artificial perfumed candles On my Skin, Dry: Ok, the candles scent has gone away now. it's become kind of spicy somehow, but I am getting the cranberries and some apples at this point. Verdict: this might have been the blend I was wanting to try the most for 2010, but the candle phase turned me off somewhat. I was planning on getting another bottle of this one, but I think I'll pass. ETA: 7.29.2011 After almost a full year, this is now gorgeous & lost it's 'candle' note. I get crisp apples, and a general autumn feel from this scent now. It's very evocative of the season and I would definitely pick up a new bottle if released in 2011.

Tricksy Bath Oil Thank you all for mentioning how potent the patchouli is in this bath oil! Just used a little bit and it's definitely POW! patchouli! thankfully it's not a 'dirty' patchouli, but it's still pretty overpowering. I decided to add the oil to the tub before adding any water. I used a quarter sized amount and it was just right! it will layer REALLY well with Gula or something chocolatety!

Mabon 2010 I wasn't around for the original Mabon so I can't provide a comparison. it's a lovely grape scent to me. I don't think grape is listed as a note, but that's what I smell. Like the best fresh squeezed sugared grape juice ever! I thankfully don't smell the myrrh, which recently has decided to amp up on me. evocative of fall and bounty. beautiful, even if it doesn't smell like anything but enchanted grapes to me.

The Wild Swans at Coole this is a lovely soft aquatic. I get the autumn leaves imagery when I apply, then the water note becomes prominant and lasts and lasts. very serene. beautiful blend Beth!

Halloween in San Francisco Salty, rainy & overcast - in a bottle! this scent encapsulates a rainy, dreary day beautifully! I don't smell any greenery/leaves...just salty rain.

Golletes Smells like a cream-less Beaver Moon 2007 in the bottle. then I put it on & I get sweet juicy cherries, sugar & something faint in the background...maybe the 'pastries; but I can't really tell. After a few hours its cherries dipped in sugar. really simple & beautiful foody scent! 10 of 10 Ranking! this years releases that work are doing very well on me!

Odd Portents I don't smell much of anything, in any stage, except myrrh. which isn't playing nice on my skin this time

Tombeur I was really worried about the patchouli & clove; neither really suit me. In the Bottle: Musk, Vanilla & something kind of dry On my Skin, Wet: Patchouli! NOOO!! after a couple of minutes, the patchouli goes away to be replaced with red musk, deep dark vanilla, and extra sugary Snake Oil! On my Skin, Dry: no patchouli anywhere, just that glorious musk, vanilla & SO combo. this is great! I don't even detect the questionable clove which tends to appear in the dry phase. Verdict: a wonderful scent - I really love it! buying one or more backups prior to 2011 10 of 10 Ranking!

A Howl in the Darkness In the Bottle: Minty with something underneath; not dissernable to my poor nose. On my Skin, Wet: A blast of musk, then a blast of vanilla, then both settle down onto a sweet & cool mint base On my Skin, Dry: this is like a musky version of Tokyo Stomp. I like this a lot! very interesting, though it doesn't remind me of being in the woods, sadly. great scent for the fall & cooler weather. 8 of 10 Ranking

Pumpkin Latte In the Bottle: little to no scent, but the little bit that is there smells buttery on my Skin, Wet: Cinnamon! everywhere! really strong cinnamon too - took me by surprise! after about 10 minutes of CINNAMON!!!! it starts to smell like El Dia de Reyes with some coffee & cocoa notes On my Skin, Dry: smells much more like Gluttony now. Heavy chocolate, cream & other decadent sweets. then, after 2 hours, it smells like Gluttony plus sweet pumpkin pie. Verdict: pretty strong cinnamon note, then some good coffee & hot chocolate, then some deadly sin with dessert on the side. probably the most evocative of the fall scents I've tried this release so far. I'm hoping that all the others are equally interesting. 8 of 10 ranking!

So is anything backordered that just hasn't been updated to the Backordered thread? With the Weenies in progress, Anniversaries & Yules all coming up, maybe there just hasn't been a thread update? I placed my order 8/23/2010, the funds were taken on 9/1/2010 & still no CnS ETA: of course shortly after I post this I get an email from customer service about the status of my order! ::egg on face::

Lotus Moon 2010 In the Bottle: Resin & Dark Fruits - not specific On my Skin, Wet:: blossoming dark fruits, lotus, & deep resins. Very 'morning dew' impression to me. the dark fruit could be pomegranate, but to my nose it could also be black cherry or very dark red raspberries. the lotus seems dewy at this stage - not bubblegum. I can't specify any resins at this stage On my Skin, Dry: not a dewy fresh fragrance anymore. this has become rather dry - almost parched of all gentle welcoming scents. the resin has turned to incense the lotus is now a potpourri and the fruits have turned to dried versions of their former lush selves. not a bad smell, but the dryness of it is a little bizarre Verdict: pretty but not something that holds my attention 4 of 10 ranking

Common Jezebel In the Bottle: Vetiver, Sugar & airy fruits On my Skin, Wet: A blast of sugary fruits, then the smoky vetiver. it smells dark but clean to me. On my Skin, Dry: Vetiver dominates in this stage, but I am getting wafts of lemons & a touch of sugar. it has an overall 'juicy' impression - which can be the apricot & red currants from other blends I have tried that have those notes. Still kind of a strange dark but clean impression but now with a slightly smoky undertone. Verdict: interesting blend - I love the initial blast of sugary fruits with the undertone of the vetiver when I first apply this, but I'm not sure how I like the role reversal once dry. as far as aging goes, I suspect this blend will eventually be all vetiver all the time. if it turns out to be anything other than vetiver I'll be pleasantly surprised. 4 of 10 ranking

#369 In the bottle: there's definitely vanilla in the bottle and it generally smells like I'm standing between a bakery (which happens to use gallons of vanilla) and a florist shop. On my Skin, Wet: still the same smell from the bottle, just AMPED - because I amp vanilla On my Skin, Dry: now this is interesting! It's a swirl of vanilla, floral (nose is telling me carnation since the Lab's carnation makes me sneezy for a bit), and a vague 'cakey' smell. It almost smells like warm cupcakes waiting to be frosted, and the frosting is being made nearby. There *might* be amber in this blend as well. Once in a while I get a resin whiff for a brief instant. After More Time: Vanilla, Carnation, 'bakery smells' & Amber or Golden Musk Verdict: for a Chaos blend, I couldn't be happier with the outcome! aside from the carnation (which makes me sneezy) I probably would have made this scent myself! I love the vanilla base and the ambery-golden musk makes a nice balance to the sugary baked goods smells. this is great! certainly makes up for my poor Edge of Chaos bottle! 6 of 10!

WitchBlade: WitchBlade All the notes sound good! (even the ones that I've never heard of!) In the Bottle: Rich red musk! and Amber! it smells like a clean & warm red musk - I'll attribute the 'sacred metal' as the clean portion of the mixture. On my Skin, Wet: A burst of potent red musk - slowly softening with the metal note(s) and the amber just keeps this blend kind of warm and cozy. On my Skin, Dry: Red musk, sacred metal and a very small trace of the warm amber. This is my favorite blend with red musk ever! I love the intensity of the red musk but not the 'muskiness' of it for more than a couple of hours. This blend is a clean version of red musk, and I can wear it all day long without having that muskiness take over after a while. Verdict: Outstanding! Gorgeous! This does layer well with WB: Sara Pezzini - completely complementary & seamless. I have been wearing this blend alone as well, and I just can't go wrong with it! (even running a little in my hair just before bed- it's just that gorgeous!) 10 of 10 Ranking!! Great job Beth & Labbies! Thank you so much for not only creating this series of scents, but also making it a charitable effort! you guys are the best!

GOBLIN I tried this one yesterday from a Lab frimp. I definitely like the black coconut & benzoin components from this one - but alas the patchouli was too much for me after about an hour. I kept it on for an additional 2 or 3 hours even though I *hate* patchouli to see if the coconut & benzoin do something interesting that drown out the patchouli. They did not so Goblin is definitely not a winner in my book

Witchblade: Sara Pezzini I love this comic and was tremendously excited to see BPAL making these scents! In the bottle: leather & muskiness/sweat... I have to say that the idea of wearing something that smells like sweat isn't too appealing. On my skin, Wet: Sweat & Leather. I haven't had any luck with the Lab's leather note to date - they always go soapy on me. This one seems to be grounded by the sweat and is smelling like oiled leather to my nose. On my skin, Dry: Leather, honey & skin <-- (that looks really morbid & strange, but it's not bad at all!) hooray! a BPAL leather that does *not* turn to soap for me! ::happy dance!:: honey tends to amp on me so it's not really a surprise that this note appears in the dry phase. the sweat note dissipated to a 'skin' note; unusual to say the least, but it's actually kindof comforting. it smells like sun warmed skin - if that makes sense. Verdict: This scent was a gamble, but it just shows that gambles can pay off once in a while! I don't think I'll be wearing this scent by itself, the leather note and sweat at the beginning is a little bit sharp - but I do love it layered with the Witchblade scent. on it's own, I'll rate this one 6 of 10 with the Witchblade scent it gets an 8 of 10 ranking thank you BPAL for making a line of scents to go with this comic! ::love:: ETA (5.24.2010): This just keeps growing on me and I think I'm bumping this rating from a 6 to a 10 out of 10. In addition, I have been wearing this alone and I get nothing but compliments. Plus, since this is the only leather note that has worked on my skin I'm really enjoying what I've been missing from other blends with leather like Loviatar, DeSade, Depraved, Whip, etc. ETA (5.25.2010): Depraved has patchouli, not leather - oops! Definitely buying more bottles of Sara Pezzini!

Naughty! I get the cream note, the golden musk and a berrylicious tea no chocolate or cake for me!

PEACH MOON In the Bottle: Peachy goodness - it smells like freshly sliced sweet peaches On my Skin, Wet: Peaches and Sugary Blossoms! It's like peach slices served with candied rose petals or candied lilies (which don't actually exist IIRC); all while sitting under a blossoming tree warmed by the sun on an early Spring day. On my Skin, Dry: Fades quite a bit, but the scent doesn't morph very much. The dewey-ness from the wet stage goes away but I still smell like fresh peaches with a hint of sugary florals. Verdict: One of the most delicate & juiciest blends I've ever tried from BPAL. 8 of 10 Ranking (only because of the drastic fade - probably solved in a scent locket) This was a beautiful & suprising December Lunacy; I'm very pleased! Thank you Labbies & Beth for the peachy treat ETA: In the bottle this reminds me very strongly of a heavily peached Holiday Moon; could be the tea note that I missed earlier.

In the bottle this doesn't smell much different to me than Fruit Moon. On, it's almost identical to Fruit Moon but with a sprig of Juniper. Both are really good scents on me though, so that's a plus

BOO 2009 (I'll do a proper review later) I put this on a while ago, and initially it was all sugar. now that a couple of hours have past, it smells very soft, creamy, and clean. it's a very comforting scent.

Fire Phoenix: Anniversary Blend In the Bottle: Very musky, I think I was expecting lots of smoke & cinnamon, but there's definitely neither one of those notes present. For a 'fire' scent, it's very calm and borderline cool smelling. Maybe it's just my nose? On my Skin, Wet: SPICY & MUSKY! yeow! that's pungent! I don't like scents that envelop me this much. It's almost all musk with the kitchen cabinet full of spices, like all the spice bottles are open and being fanned into my face. On my Skin, Dry: Musky still but not nearly as intense, thank goodness! It's developing a nice soda-ish undertone that is fizzy and jubilant. I guess that's the sasparilla I don't smell the spices as much anymore, though I keep smelling something that reminds me of coriander. I wish that the tobacco would appear as I love the Lab's tobacco note (strangely enough!) Cubeb berry, what & where are you? I would like to meet you! Please!? Verdict: A very nice & unexpected interpretation of 'fire' I don't care much for the initial wet phase, it's *really* strong. the dry down is very soothing and really rather comforting. 6 of 10 rating!

Wood Phoenix: BPAL Anniversary 2008 In the Bottle: Woods and a deep purple berry - but it's definitely heavy on the woods On my Skin, Wet: Woods and the fig are prominent - I don't think I've ever tried anything with a walnut note in it, so I can't tell if it's playing some part in amping the woods. The woods are not dry though, so maybe the walnut 'oil' (as in real life nut oil) makes the woods extra lush instead of that generic "processed pine/lumber" feel to some of the lab's wood notes. On my Skin, Dry: Surprisingly faint - I tend to amp cedar all over creation, so I guess there is either no cedar in this or something else is eating the cedar up entirely. The fig smells very much like Acai Berry to me once it's dry. That's a first - normally fig smells bitter or sour to me, but not this time...just sweet and subtle. In the Scent Locket: OH MY!! Wood Phoenix definitely belongs in the scent locket for me! It's become Australian Copperhead + deep, dark, lushious woods! LOVE IT!! Buying another bottle!! HOORAY! 10 of 10 Ranking!! GORGEOUS!

Moon of Small Spirits: What hkhm said, exactly

Sybaris I finally tried this one last night. And it was awful on my skin! The violets were soggy and dead - very putred. and they were mixed with spices. very disappointing