byrdie

Le whee! 13 ~ I took a risk buying the first release as a 5ml and have never, ever regretted it. I rarely smell anything from it but milk chocolate, though. Freak Show ~ delightfully fruity, I wouldn't have pegged this for a chocolate scent Gluttony ~ absolutely alarming by itself, but excellent as a mixer. review. Lump of Coal ~ I got to sniff this recently, and I agree with people who get fudge brownie out of it. Wowzers. Pumpkin Patch #2 Cocoa, Hazelnut, & Walnut ~ like pretty much everyone else, this is one of my favorites of the Pumpkin Patch series. Not big-bottle worthy, but fun. Spooky ~ there's chocolate in this? Wow, all I smell is mint and coconut. Le suck! Cerberus ~ cherry scented bandages. review. Dia de los Muertos ~ I really wanted to like this from the name, but it was a little more harsh than I wanted to deal with. Intrigue ~ not my thing, but I gave it to receptionist who said it reminded him pleasantly of his childhood in Scotland. review. Kali ~ a nice collection of ingredients gone horribly wrong on me. The Great Sword of War ~ I think this one was a little too incensy for me, but I'm not sure. I didn't like it, though. Velvet ~ the chocolate descriptions intrigued me, but I mainly remember it smelling like the fabric.

Smut ~ he actually backed up and wrinkled his nose Red Lantern ~ rather liked it Elegba ~ yummy

To get a message posted on this board, I should either press the Publish button or just have that set as a default status for posts.

Notes of mine grabbed from the Lush forum for future use. In other news, I'm trying Gingerbread Poppet in my scent locket today. Um, I learned something important: just because I could tip my imp of Imp and have to scoop the oil out with the wand does not mean that the same would have been true for G.P. I smell like a riot in the Keebler factory. Bewitched ~ very, very sweet blackberries. If it's too sweet on you, I recommend Baneberry, which has a little greenery to cut some of the sweetness. Dragon's Milk ~ one of the few of the Ars Draconis line that I can tolerate, if I remember correctly. Dana O' Shee ~ whee! sweet! Often compared to Snowcake soap. Eclipse ~ I smell HIWTK from this. Snake Oil ~ took a while to grow on me, and now I'm considering a 5ml bottle. Black Pearl ~ a sweet, creamy coconut scent. Imp ~ my "hi, i'm a large, unstable thing of indeterminate gender walking alone at night" scent. Embalming Fluid ~ a very bright citrus. White Rabbit ~ my frimp of it shattered in the box. Smelled sweet and lovely, though. Tombstone ~ before it ages, it actually smells sweeter than Snake Oil. Dorian ~ for Anita Blake fans, my standing comment is: This is what Nathaniel's hair my smell like. Laudanum ~ hoohoo. Herbal, and a great sleepy-time oil. review Hecate ~ very strongly floral to my nose. Queen of Sheba ~ spiced, honeyed almonds Antique Lace ~ after reading people's reviews, I was surprised by how dry and dusty a floral this is. O ~ powdery and very much like cocoa butter on warm skin. Snowblind ~ A perfect, light, sparkling mint blend. Milk Moon ~ somewhere between sweet-n-creamy to "damn, I forgot to finish this glass of milk" Smut ~ falls a bit flat on its own, but has potential if it's layered with O.

Aureus ~ my first wonderful experience with amber. review Bastet ~ spiced almonds, if I remember correctly. review Black Lotus ~ review Bruja (discontinued) ~ related to Snake Oil, but dampened down with dark chocolate. review Carnivàle ~ didn't love it. Maybe it contained cherry. review Corazon (LE) ~ very much a red wine scent. review Haunted ~ a very smooth smelling oil. review Hollywood Babylon ~ not as sweet as I later remembered it being, oddly enough. review Imp ~ I really like this oil: a sweet incense that I can wear! It's my "I'm feeling borderline psychotic right now, perhaps I'll go walk out in the dark alone" scent. Loviatar ~ my "Come here and worship me" dancing oil. O ~ my "Really, I'm perfectly harmless" dancing oil. review Red Lantern (LE) ~ smells like the aftermath of licking caramel sauce off a lover's body. Red Moon (LE) ~ dragon's blood resin. meh. Saint-germain ~ too floral Sin ~ cooling cinnamon pastries. review The Lion ~ this is probably what the lion from the Kenya animation smells like.

So, I've been getting my boyfriend into BPAL slowly but surely. First, it involved gifting him with decants of Cthulhu and Kingsport early on in our relationship. Then, after finding out what some of his favorite scents were, I added a decant of Graveyard Dirt, which he adores. Later, I started holding out scents to him to see what he'd think. In order: Sugar Skull 13 Talvikuu Dana O'Shee Sugar Cookie Elegba After receiving Chumley's Sniffie Box, I asked my boyfriend how he'd like to smell to others. He mentioned "chocolate and raspberry," so I made him his own custom scent. hee. Because he owns blacksmithing equipment and wants to get into the local Iron Worker's Union, I'm aware that dragons are a mascot of blacksmiths (fire, armor plating, etc). So, when I ended up with a couple of Ars Draconis scents as frimps, I handed them to him. He was particularly taken with Dragon's Hide, which has leather, and told me that he'd be interested in any other of the Lab's leather, Norse and Celtic scents. Based on a bit more he's mentioned, I've got some others in mind, too. He now owns 20+ imps, thanks to me. It was so cute, listening to him call himself a "BPAL scent whore." If I remember correctly, he's got: Graveyard Dirt - 5ml His custom scent, ala Chumley Temple: Celtic - decant Temple Norse - decant Dragon's Blood Dragon's Heart Dragon's Hide Dragon's Milk Dragon's Tears Antony Casanova DeSade Dracul Geek Hearth `04 Hearth `05 Hellfire Herr Drosselmeyer Iago Les Infortunes De La Vertu Severin Tezcatlipoca Tintagel Torture King Wanda Whip Black Annis Black Lotus Black Pearl Sudha Segara Yemaya Cthulhu Kingsport Given his interests, I figure that I should collect the following for him: Leather Black Tower, The Dead Man's Hand Dee Highwayman Jolly Roger Loviatar Perversion *Spanked - have a sniffie, but he didn't like it Smithing Dragon Moon - Lunacy blend Dragon's Eye Dragon's Musk Dragon's Teeth - up and coming Ogun Celtic & Norse Brisingamen Odin Phantom Queen Favorite Color Black Cat Black Dahlia Black Forest Black Hellebore Black Opal Black Phoenix Black Rose Black Widow Additional Master - Twilight Alchemy Lab Ogun Old Scratch Olokun Oneiroi R'leyh Sea of Glass Shango Undertow Water of Notre Dame And perhaps a nice, gun-metal grey ammo case to keep them all in. *whistle*

-- and it's geekified. I didn't seen the Trading Post option in the list of codes to use in the I Got My Order thread. Turns out, while mods have been asked to keep C-n-S's seperate, the one I spoke with had no idea as to whether the same went for received orders. She let me post my announcement in the general thread anyway, but wasn't able to tell me what the code was. However, I figured it out on my own: Black Phoenix Trading Post Order! Black Phoenix Trading Post colorspost good news here Some days, I manage.

Note ~ This was apparently a limited edition single note because it's rather rare. I received an imp decant of it as an extra gift during a swap with the marvelous lavinia, a enthusiast of my reviews who wanted to see what I would say about this one. Vial ~ Cold, alien tropical fruit. Wet ~ I wasn't already familiar with the flower, so all i got off my first sniffs were "an acceptable floral. I guess this is what black narcissus smells like." Drying ~ It's turned sweet, almost fruity on me. It's definitely a floral, but I find it's falling into a musky-fruity category. It's also light, airy and a little cold-smelling. Drydown ~ I've been wanting to nickname it Follow Me Boy; despite the fact that said name is taken. This scent is quite sexy, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if black narcissus was one of the notes in the discontinued French Creole blend. Dry ~ It's pretty much staying as is, which makes me happy. I still can't get over how cold a scent this is, though - I wouldn't have expected that from the name. Fade ~ It starts to turn a bit sharp and incensy, and then blunts into something almost plastic, but not quite. After about three hours it turns into rather a non-entity -- something happened on my skin and left a residual impression, but nothing substantial. In the meantime, my skin in starting to prickle. Final thoughts ~ Since this is a single note, I suspect that I'll have a prayer of tracking down a version of comparable enough quality for my nose. However, I'd also be curious about oils where black narcissus is the only or primary floral - they should prove interesting.

vial ~ a sweetness that only super-sugared Hawaiian Punch could produce. woofah. wet ~ still sweet, but there's that incense-like mustiness beneath it that I tend to get from the Lab's Voodoo Oils. As a matter of fact, I'm tempted to say that this is a calmer version of Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo. drying ~ Huh. It's almost like this super-sweet oil was cut with something similar to strawberry incense: the earthiness gives it a desperately needed base, but it's not trying to argue with the sweet top note. drydown ~ still nearly bubblegum sweet (huh, it reminds me a bit of fig -- but I just read the description and there's no fig in this), but more powdery than anything else. dry ~ the sweetness and the powderiness are combining into a girly perfumed powder. There's still some berry in it, but this is becoming the sweet of wine rather than candy. fade ~ yep, girly perfume powder. 5ml ~ Naah. I'll keep the imp, but this isn't making me smell scrummy.

vial ~ a perfumed powder. wet ~ a soft powder with cocoa butter in it. drying ~ i think that there's a sweet floral trying to come through. Lotus, perhaps? Indeed, it's almost completely eclipsed the powder. drydown ~ its fluctuating. Now its back to being soft powder with cocoa butter in it. dry ~ its like the memory of cocoa butter on my skin. fade ~ sweet, soft, warm cocoa butter, all the way down. 5ml ~ someday.

Vial ~ Buttered rum or scotch. Thus far, my favorite of the Excolo line. Wet ~ Spiced candy. Butterscotch with an edge. Play with an intent behind it. Frivolity for the practical, yet fiery. Drying ~ There's a dusty, almost wood like undertone to this. I wish that Anne Bonny, Jolly Roger or Grog smelled like Elegba on me. It's like being in a shack of sea blown lumber while sipping a warm, sweet drink. Drydown ~ The sweetness has come back. I'm not familiar with the scent of buttered rum, but I'm betting that this is it. It's deeper, not as bright as before. I'm liking it, though I think it;d overpower me if I slathered it for anything other than ritual purposes. And even for that, I'd want good ventilation. Dry ~ Throughout an eight hour workday, the sweetness faded and the wood-spice foundation became more and more apparent. Fade ~ I generally avoid the woody scents, but this is a wonderful formula for me. It smells now of after a birthday or Christmas, treats and revelry gone but not forgotten. Summary ~ In the right workings, this scent would be perfect for ritual. It starts off rather bright and anticipatory, morphs with its own ups and downs and crawls off to rest: tired and giggly, but satisfied. 5ml ~ oooo, child, yes! It's not often that a scent so obviously cries out "ritual" to me: usually that decision is a compromise for being stuck with an oil that smells bad enough to distract from rather than add to a working. I'm not sure I'd think to wear this casually, but I'd reach for it during preparations without a second thought.

Note ~ this came as part of a payoff I had coming for being bumbjorn's decant beeyotch: helping with the labels and the actual decanting when I can. This was about a half-full imp, which is just fine with me. TMI ~ At the time of this writing, my period was just turning heavy. Vial ~ Woody, spicy and somewhat ... effervescent? Tingly? Whatever the actual term, it feels as though its trying to bubble up my nose. Wet ~ This is sweet the way a middling dry wine can be "a little sweet." Mainly, the wood and the spice are battling it out. Drying ~ Something similar to vetiver may be creeping into the gray. The fizzy quality is merging with the dry grass to create an almost -- but not quite -- alcoholic-perfume-like experience. Drydown ~ At this point, the oil is a warm, spicy vetiver. Yep, the evil of the Old Ones can reach us through the Lab. yeech. Dry ~ Whether there's actually vetiver in the oil or not, it still smells like it, all the way down. The spice is pretty much gone. Fade ~ A dusty, powdery, somewhat dry and grassy undertone. Summary ~ I think this oil is helping me to understand why I don't like vetiver: it lends a rancid, cheap, store-bought perfume edge to these oils. I'm not a fan of perfumes that use alcohol as a carrier anyway, and I think that there's something about the dry grass that triggers the connection for me. 5ml ~ Heck, no. Postscript ~ Oh, crap. I was resting my wrists on my journal as I took these notes. Now my bound journal smells like vetiver. The unknowable horror keeps making itself known.

Note ~ An imp from my Halloweenie Lab order. TMI ~ Aunt Flow is starting to call other relatives to make sure that they clean for her arrival. Vial ~ Storebought cologne, somewhat sweet. Wet ~ ugh. I can smell the fumes rising off of my skin. It's like something off my parents' dressing table. Drying ~ I assume that the base is red musk and spice, and the top layer is sweet flowers. It's turning lighter and more powdery as it dries. Drydown ~ The ingredients have all recombined into a powdery sweetness layered over an ... economical cologne. Dry ~ oofah. The same, but with a slight vinegar-ish twinge to it. It's an odd, nosey, round odor that's been added to the overall scent. Fade ~ The vinegar seems to have run off, leaving the same sweet-over-cheap cologne scent I had before. Final thoughts ~ For people who wish to mix commonly available perfumes and colognes into lotions and bath products, this could be an oil to experiment with. 5ml ~ It's not my thing, no.

Note ~ I got this decant from Brumbjorn, I believe. TMI ~ My period starts next week. Vial ~ Lavender, perhaps, with a sharp citrus behind it. Wet ~ Like liquid lavender soap: there's a round, antiseptic note that's -- oddly enough -- merging to sharpen the lavender. Drying ~ Somehow, I think there's something similar to sour grapefruit behind the lavender and soap scent. The lavender is dulling down a bit -- actually, it's fading at an alarming rate -- and a light, but bitter, citrus is coming through. Drydown ~ Wow. This is now like sniffing a delicate citrus soap that has a teeny bit of lavender to give it backbone. The citrus is neither bright and perky nor sweet and creamy -- it's a little like orange rind, but not sharp and biting. Dry ~ It's reached a powdery stage, and enough of the lavender has returned that this is reminding me that lavender is as much a flower as it is an herb. The orange rind -- and the bitterness thereof -- keeps fading in and out. Fade ~ A soft, powdery citrus soap memory. Final thoughts ~ I tried this oil to ensure that I'd sleep well after a full but low-sleep weekend. I started to feel droopy after about half an hour after application, and couldn't keep up my end of a phone conversation an hour later. It could have just been exhaustion, but I think those few big sniffs of lavender may have helped, too. 5ml ~ It's nice, but I'm not in love with it. So, no.

TMI ~ This is the second day of my period. Aunt Flo has been taking her vitamins, let me tell you. vial ~ A muted citrus under a heavy floral. Oh, rapture. wet ~ Oh, crap. There's a rose in here. Tea rose? There might also be lotus, or some other aquatic flower. drying ~ The rose is receding a bit, and giving more time to the other florals. It's going rater musty, which is usually a late stage of aquatics for me. This is like a late-stage Water of Notre over a strong floral. Yeech. drydown ~ Um. The murk has won, and is turning into a musty powder. I can barely smell the florals now. Wow. dry ~ Ugh. No. They came back, and it's now a less murky, strong, mixed floral. blech. fade ~ The fade on this one is consistent: a light powder with a strong floral content. summary ~ What the frack happened to the aquatic note? Did Aunt Flo chase it away, or what? waah! 5ml ~ Gods, no. This one was already going to be swapped pending review. There's nothing stopping it now!

Oooh. Excellent list. In addition, I'd offer up: Eden ~ "Go forth, multiply and don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out." - Yaweh, paraphrased. Eve ~ The first woman per the Bible, mother of the Jews. High John the Conqueror ~ a male virility assistant. Jupiter ~ His Greek counterpart, Zeus, was responsible for a lot of god-mortal pregnancies - discontinued

I was just thinking that as I was reading this thread. The sun sign is supposed to symbolize our public faces, while the moon sign is more about how we view ourselves. (I think.) Sun: Libra Moon: Cancer Rising: Scorpio Well. That certainly explains why I do so well with aquatics. However, I've noticed that Beth's watery scents tend to ride more on citrus than (yeech) florals. I find some smoky and amber scents pleasing, like Tombstone and The Lion. They have to be very sweet, though. I guess I'll have to do more research to figure out why I went ga-ga over Graveyard Dirt.

Note ~ A decant from Hedgie_Lover. Vial ~ Mango or papaya nectar, possibly the heavy syrup that peaches come in. Wet ~ I think I want to have this oils' babies. For those who watch the show, consider the theme song to Red Dwarf: I want to lie shipwrecked and comatose drinking fresh mango juice gold fish shoals nibbling at my toes fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun That is exactly what the first blast of this on my skin feels like: being outside on a warm day under an umbrella, drinking mango juice as a fresh breeze passes. Oh, baby. Drying ~ There's a teeny, weenie incense note coming into this one, but the mango is still very much present. As it dries, the incense is turning into a resin and leaning towards the plastic side of things. The mango note is starting to mute a bit, but not horribly. Gosh, one might be tempted to slather to keep this at the wet stage. The horror. Drydown ~ Mmmm. The components have merged together into giving the muted mango some backbone. Not much, though: it's not leaping off my skin as much as it was initially, alas. It reminds me a little of the drydowns of Midwinter's Eve, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo and Hollywood Babylon; except it's not a red or purple scent. Dry ~ The incense note is returning. It's managing to turn the fading mango into something piercing even though it's simultaneously light. Indeed, I wouldn't be shocked if the piercing note was actually jasmine, one of my floral nemeses. Fade ~ The slightly sweet memory of a mango boogied on my arm, then went away. This all happened within a couple of hours, tops. Final thoughts ~ Well, I've just slathered myself with this oil twice in the past hour since I wrote a description of how it fades. At its most harsh, it's like peach Jolly Ranchers. But then the breezy quality sets in and ... oooh.

TMI ~ I think my egg wandered off to start its own flock. I swear, I'd lose my own head if it weren't fastened on properly. Note ~ A decant from Hedgie_Lover! Vial ~ Fruit bunch darkened with rum or some other thick liqueur. Wet ~ Various wet, juicy fruits laid over a bouquet of fragrant flowers. Drying ~ A jasmine tea and Hawaiian Punch cooler. Drydown ~ It's thickened and deepened into something that's rapidly losing most of its juicy sweetness. It's as if the jasmine and the fruit battled it out until its down to one jasmine flower and one random piece of fruit, both kinda tuckered out from the battle. They've kinda collapsed onto each other and are letting their vegetative sweats mingle. Dry ~ This is fading at an alarming rate. A muted sweetness is present, and my skin isn't dragging out so much jasmine as to be obnoxious. I may even be sensing some pepper. It's okay, but not really me. However, after some determinedly hot days in Seattle, trying this was necessary in the face of a rainy Tuesday (and after a stunning holiday weekend, too!). Fade ~ Over eight hours later, a memory of sweetness -- not quite pastry quality -- over a plastic amber. Final thoughts ~ I'm glad that I got to try this oil, but it's not quite my thing. However, it's a potential jasmine scent for jasmine-haters, depending on skin chemistry and sweet tolerance. 5ml ~ Nah. I can even do without the squishy brain.

TMI ~ I may drop an egg at any moment now. Note ~ This came in a batch of imps I bought from Gin. Vial ~ Super-sweet marzipan. Wet ~ Starts out the same, almost piercing. It starts to deepen into a sweet, perfume-like scent. Gracious. I'm almost starting to develop a headache. Maybe I should have gone for an aquatic today, instead? Or maybe I should just have some water. Drying ~ Okay, after some water I've decided that part of the headache may be coming from the rather aromatic gentleman on the bus who is sipping beer as a quick breakfast. Hrm. Though maybe I did pick the wrong time of the month to review this oil. It's taking a sharp, talcum-powder turn that I'm not fond of. ugh. Drydown ~ Wow. This has turned very incense-like. Based on my earlier tries, this is not what I signed up for. It's not bad for incense, but I don't like wearing such oils. Maybe it's my allergies, but I always want to open a window. Dry ~ This is a high, sharp, sweet powder combined with spice. It's still unpleasantly perfume-like. Gah. My head is starting to swim. What happened to the spicy nookie scent? Fade ~ The sharpness and most of the spice has left, and now it's mainly sweet powder with a light undertone of incense. It's quite a letdown for me. Final thoughts ~ I tried this a few times and got "spicy nookie," which I really liked. I tried it a few more times and got spiced talc. This is a very skim chemistry sensitive oil, and that annoys me. Though it's also a great theme for organizing oils: by what smells the best at certain times of the month. I’ll probably do a few more experiments to see if I can recreate the stages I really liked, but if not this one is almost certainly going on the swaps pile. Though I guess it'd make a fascinating house scent with the sweetness. Hmmm.

TMI ~ I could drop an egg at any moment. Note ~ This came as a frimp in my Pink Moon order. Vial ~ A smoky incense, possibly backed with some sort of booze. Wet ~ Woo. The alcohol may have been a resin. It's cutting sharply through the incense and is turning into plastic on me. Drying ~ The smoke component is fading a bit. I think there's cedar in here. I'm not finding this oil in the least bit attractive on me. Drydown ~ Cedar incense. Gosh, hold me back, y'all. I'm a sex machine. Woo, I say, woo-hoo. *cough* Am I failing to understand an obvious connection here? Is smelling wood supposed to inspire others to emulate it? Dry ~ I think the booze came back, and there's probably a musk in here, too. Maybe this is supposed to promise drunken nookie by a fire? Hrm. It seems that this was just a flare-up. All the scents are mellowing back down tot he point where cedar incense is the dominant note again. This could be yet another oil that affects me as the wearer differently than it does those around me. Fade ~ Weird. This is taking a turn towards being sweet and smoky, like a low-grade Snake Oil. I've had it on for an hour and a half by now. Final thoughts ~ I don't think I'm cut out for the Voodoo Blends as a category. My skin tends to highlight the incense note, which distracts me from whatever invigorating properties the oils are supposed to have. If it wasn't for Water of Notre Dame, I'd think the entire line existed just to taunt me. As one of my older sisters once pointed out, I can be too literal at times. If the scent of an oil doesn't leave me feeling sexy, powerful or lighthearted, I'm not going to care what the name on the label is or what the description says. It's like wearing sexy clothing: if I don't feel comfortable in it, I don't care how sexy the cloth is -- I'm not going to be convincing enough in it to carry it well. That's pretty much the way I feel about the Voodoo Blends : they don't affect me well enough to allow me to affect the outside world as planned.

TMI ~ Aunt Flo is now visiting with Ultraviolet. Note ~ This one was recommended to me, so I added it to my Pink Moon order. Vial ~ A lemony citrus with a mint backbone. Wet ~ A clear, almost stinging candied-lemon. It's verging on the Pledge-like, but something is coming in after it -- a white musk -- to give it backbone again. Drying ~ Wow. This is starting to remind me of Dorian, but with citrus. There's a creamy component coming in, too. Huh. You know, I think this is how Dorian smelled on the off day, when I was expecting Nathaniel's hair (Anita Blake reference) and got something else. I wonder if, on an off day, Whitechapel would end up smelling like Dorian? Drydown ~ It's still creamy, but it's softening down. White musk, lime, lilac and citron. Huh. It must be the musk-lilac combination that's creating the thickness, because generally citrus stands up and tap dances on me. Hrm. After a SpicyBrains search, I see that most lilac scents are combined with notes I hate. The only one I really adored was the discontinued Bruja. Alas. Dry ~ This is so close to Dorian on me that it's frightening, considering that all the have in common notewise is white/light musk. Whitechapel is a little less masculine than Dorian, but only by a degree. Fade ~ Alas, it fades so well and quickly that I'm getting hints of Highwayman from last night. There's something pleasant, but very thin, over it -- and that's the only saving grace. Crud. Final thoughts ~ I'm going to have to do a wrist showdown between Dorian and Whitechapel when they can both be at their prime on my skin, because this is just freaky. I wonder how they'd layer? If anything, Whitechapel is making me consider forgiving Dorian for not staying consistent throughout my cycle. I think both make excellent spring scents: they're quite light and innocent, despite the creaminess and the names. Pretty-boy scents, both. 5ml ~ Maybe. First, the showdown!

I adore O for feeling sexy, and depending on my skin chemistry Bastet is also great ("spicy nookie"). Loviatar is good a commanding yet sexy feeling. Though, actually, I've gotten a barrista to sniff me while I was wearing Laudanum (which he liked and commented on later) and have gotten compliments when my hair smells like Spooky. So, there seems to be a difference between what builds my sexual confidence and what others find attractive on me. Go figure.

Note ~ Perhaps because I stated that I wouldn't touch this oil with a very large pole, it was included as a frimp along with the imp I'd purchased specifically for a friend. drat. Vial ~ The wood note I'm smelling must be the leather. as to the rest: "the horror! the horror!" Wet ~ guaaagh! The jasmine and gardenia have combined into something mere mortals should not know. Oh, help! Just smelling it has coated the back of my throat. Crap! I wonder if I have any coffee beans? Ugh. My tongue! *cough* Drying ~ mother. Okay, that stage is over with. It's calmed down into something sweeter, which I suspect is just an excuse to lure me in for another close-contact sniff. When I do, my nostril hairs try to climb down my throat. This is amazing: I cannot take my usual snort of my wrist for fear of doing myself trauma. But I digress. Drydown ~ It's turning from chalky to powdery, which is a blessing because that means it's softening a bit. For now. I think the cinnamon (sweet) and leather (base) have ridden into my rescue. I can only assume that the vetiver was involved in the initial assault, but I was too distracted by misery to tell. Dry ~ Uh-oh. I think the vetiver heard me and is sneaking back out to bully me. There's an odd, dusty-green note that's taking advantage of the powdery floral stage. Great, now I'm coughing again. It's morphing into a random but strong, dusty, powdery floral. Fade ~ It's fluctuating between a powdery floral and a dusty-dry green note. Final thoughts ~ I shoulda just used the pole. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but this was as bad or worse than I expected. Indeed, it pretty much justifies my avoidance of strong florals -- or, at least -- the strong ones with which my skin assaults my nose. I don't like jasmine tea, and I don't like jasmine oil. I don't like gardenia in Lush products, and I don't like it in BPAL either. Vetiver may actually cause me breathing problems. Rose tends to trump almost any other ingredient in an oil applied to my skin and just gets boring after a while. Together, they're the nectar of the damned. 5ml ~ Gods why?

Vial ~ The scent of detergent on freshly laundered sheets. Wet ~ Maybe I smelled vodka from teh man who just pased the bus stop. Occasionally I get flashes of citrus, but this mainly smells like the detergent aisle at the grocery store. Drying ~ Sort of a generic conditioner scent, like someone on the bus to work who has freshly shampooed hair might smell. Drydown ~ Wow! This is fading fast. For a while, I was wondering if this was BPAL's answer to Clean, which I thought was quite acceptable for a commercial perfume. Wait! It's flaring up again. Pear and champagne, I think. I like this stage: it's a little sweet and fizzy on me. Dry ~ Verrry light, a little sweet. It's starting to turn and merge the detergent back in, though not quite as sharply. It's turning powdery but giving strength to the fruit note. This oil smells like a faerie humped my arm. Fade ~ It's moving from pear-scented laundry detergent to a slightly sweet powder. I think I put two swipes on each arm less than two hours ago as of this writing. (Later.) The last time I sniffed my wrist before the movie started, I smelled the beginnings of an aquatic. It made me wonder if there's citrus in this oil. The clean, clear smell of water was in here, without the detergent. Odd. Now, hours later, one wrist still smells a little powdery, while the other smells somewhat as if there'd been a sturdy aquatic on it that had kept its watery edge. Final thoughts ~ This isn't me. Even at the pear and champagne stage, it wasn't me. It has moments, but this is another oil that I can't see becoming something I'd really like at other times of the month. 5ml ~ No.