diabolique

i absolutely ADORE this scent! it's one of my favorites now. it smelled like embalming fluid to me. the cleanness is there, but it's deeper and more sexual. this doesn't smell plastic, fake, or bitter to me. it's very sweet with a slight tang. while it isn't high on my priority list, i've decided that i absolutely need a big bottle of this. i can see myself using this one a lot during the summer.

this was seriously gone on me in no more than five minutes, so i didn't have much of a chance to be acquainted with it. i should keep in mind that yesterday my skin ate up pretty much anything i put on it, but it fades so quickly, either way. i had high hopes for this one because the tiger lily is my favorite flower. it's basically what everyone else said it was; warm and innocent. it's a very happy scent. this is the ONE floral that has actually worked for me; it's so simple and 'pure' that it can't be mottled by anything else and it doesn't turn into an air freshener scent on me. this is absolutely beautiful and i love it, but i'm passing it on to someone else who wants to try it. maybe i'll get another chance to try it somewhere along the line.

i got this in a swap from nevermore, and when i smelled it, the first thing i did was go, "ew, this is going in the swap pile." well, i read the reviews and i decided that i'd try it on. i grabbed it from my imp box and noticed in the lighting that the oil was separated, which is something i hadn't noticed when i first smelled it. i turned it upside down and rolled it in my palm until the oil was dispersed (it still isn't settled though-- it's just cloudy. :\) i smelled it again, and i could smell the orange and vanilla over the note that i had smelled originally, which i'm guessing is the black narcissus. honestly, i love this, but every scent i've tried with black narcissus has just turned horrible on my skin.

oh, god. i WISH that's what happened on my skin. when i smelled this in the vial, i couldn't distinguish any individual notes. they melded together and made something that, i can honestly say, i'm not particularly fond of. nevermore threw this in as a lovely, sweet freebie, but it just doesn't work for me. i put a small bit on my skin, and it just smells overly-mature and it reminds me of a chemical perfume.

i'd run out and buy either a cooler or some lunch boxes, pack them full of ice/ice packs, put a towel over them, and stick all of your oils in them.

old kathmandu wasn't sweet on me at all. personally, i would try o. imp is very fruity-sweet, not honey-sweet, but i think you might try that as well just in case o doesn't work out.

in the vial: very dry and sharpsharpsharp. it scared me off a little bit. the first five minutes of this really intimidated me. this scent really jumps out at you. queen of sheba is probably the roughest scent i've tried from BPAL. some scents, like old morocco, are smooth. this one smells rough and somewhat scalding in its abrupt sharpness. i imagine this is how dry, hot desert wind would smell. i suppose i'll keep the imp around, although this blend isn't very "me." it's too rough around the edges. i've got another imp of this on the way which i'll put up for swap.

in the vial: a soft-spoken cinnamon. it smells like the aftertaste of cinnamon candy, where the spiciness has faded away and the sugary, light cinnamon taste lingers. i'm not sure about this one. on my skin, it retains the same smell it had in the vial. the drydown is true to its scent, but the spiciness that seemed to be lost is back. after about 20 minutes, the scent arrives at a warm, fruity smell.

hah! wow, it looks like someone's surpassed my love of cinnamon!

this is extremely soothing. when i first applied it, i immediately got the rootbeer thing that seems to happen with the green scents. underneath it, i can faintly smell the lavender and rosemary sweetening this up. the rootbeer is fading, and it's becoming more herbal. i can smell a bit of lemon. there's a little bit of a tingle beneath everything, and i suppose that's what made me think of rootbeer; it's kind of a sparkly, fizzy scent.

the lovely, wonderful hypothermya sent this to me as a generous and thoughtful freebie in our swap. i expressed to her my concern that i would never order this simply because of the name, as i'm sure someone else has said in here. "hey, you smell good! what are you wearing?" "um.. embalming fluid." ".. " so, thank you hypothermya! this got some pretty funny looks when i opened up my package and went, "OH! EMBALMING FLUID!" of course, i really didn't think anything of it when i said it, but then i realized that my predictions of their reaction were true. the first thing that hit me when i opened the top was the lemon and the green tea, with the green tea hiding in the background. the more i smell it, the more i can make out the white musk, but it's very, very faint to me. sadly, when i put this on, it faded to a urinal smell within 20 minutes. i'm not sure why that is. maybe it's because i'm (too much information alert!) on my period, so i'll try it again in a couple of days. i want to save the rest to pour into an oil diffuser, though. overall, i love this one a lot. it's probably my favorite out of the "clean" smells. mmm.

damn, i'm wondering if the imp i received (from witch's dagger!) was mislabeled. i can't pinpoint any of the notes in this, but it doesn't smell similar to the description at all. i'm not sure what violet smells like, nor do i know what neroli smells like. i can't smell the sandalwood or the musk at all, which i suppose is good, because musk does not agree with my skin in large quantities. in the vial, this was one of those scents that screams, "HEY! you know me from somewhere!" and, indeed, i did. after a couple of minute's contemplation, i remembered that this smells like mr. bubbles. i'm not sure if it's still produced, but it's basically just liquid you pour into your bath to make bubbles. i keep smelling it in hope that i can label down some individual notes; i think i just caught a bit of sandalwood. i know i have more scents with neroli. i should find out what they are and compare them to this. i put this on my wrist, and it retained the mr. bubbles-esque sweetness (although it isn't soapy), but the smell slowly dried down to something that was mature, with a hint of sweetness behind it. besides the familiar bubblebath smell, i think this is quite beautiful in its own right. it makes me feel slightly nostalgic. this is marvelous layered with wanda. i'm glad to have received this in a swap. i can't imagine reaching for it too often, but i'm still happy that i had the chance to try it. to me, the raven is like a complex person who you wouldn't really give much second thought until you start to get to know them; it seems one-dimensional at first, but it slowly opens up to reveal its depth. ETA: for the record, i didn't get any baby powder of this one, just in case anyone thinks it may be a problem for their skin. my chemistry has a tendency to turn a lot of beautiful scents into baby powder, but this remained lovely.

hamadryad smells exactly like the transition between autumn and winter.

i agree, hamadryad is deeeelish. i'm not sure if i'm completely into the tarot blends. i would really like the star, though. what is scherezade like, asa?

well, considering the wide variety of oils that she uses in her available scents, i would assume that beth would use anything she thought fitting to the person.

well, i think everyone left it out because i said that's the one i've tried thus far. florals don't work on me, unfortunately, and it turned into air freshener on my skin. mmm, clove..

oh. my. hell. SWEET CLOVE?!@@#$(@#$ HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS SINGLE NOTE BEFORE?! i just saw your review of it! that and the single note cinnamon have shimmied their way onto my 5mL bottle list. oh, god. the possibilities of these two. hellcat doesn't smell anything like cinnamon on me. in fact, it kind of turns sour after a while, like curdled milk. maybe that's my warning to stay away from foody scents. ah well. so far, i think these are the recommendations you guys have given me that will be in the next few orders. bloodlust, cinnamon single note (5mL), chimera, eclipse, love me, old port-au-prince, sweet clove (5mL), three witches (5mL), umbra. old morocco's on the wishlist for a 5mL too, but it was there already. vixen will probably come in a later order, maybe sometime next year. thanks, guys! keep sending the recommendations my way, though.

i received this today in a swap from lizabet (thanks, honey!). as i don't really like the smell of dragon's blood, i'm not digging this scent. i'm obsessed with dragons, so i had really high hopes for all the dragon's blood blends, but ah well. to me, straight dragon's blood basically smells like a strange, cheap air freshener. i'm not sure what it is about it. that being said, dragon's milk smells like straight dragon's blood, but it's very powdery. i'm glad to have tried it, though. ETA: all right, my heart did a 180. i gave this another chance and OH MY HELL, I LOVE IT SO MUCH. i need more.

i just put some dragon's blood on with some bordello, and i'm definitely getting a smell that has more resin than what i'm used to with dragon's blood. i know this is somewhat off topic, but i just got curious and had to try it. it's weird how much a scent can change just by being mixed with something else. SO! yes. three witches. honestly, i think i'm just going to order a bottle of this without trying an imp. if it doesn't work out on me, i'm sure i can swap it or use it as a house scent. cordelia sounds.. strange. almost a bit too floral for me.

i have old morocco, and i'm convinced i -NEED- a big bottle of that too, but you're right, that's not really what i'm looking for here. i still adore the spices in it, though. old port-au-prince is SO on my wishlist. the reason i want eclipse is because of the booziness, if i remember correctly, but that aspect of blends seems to be very downplayed on my skin. hmmm. chimera could be worth looking into, but when i think of cinnamon, i don't necessarily associate it with sweet scents or foody scents. so, that's a maybe. three witches.. mmmm. i want that badly. i'll probably order a bottle without trying it first. ;x ETA: did someone say patchouli!? i'm so there. i must have umbra now. as i learned the hard way from my bottle of dragon's blood single note, that stuff turns straight to air freshener on me. it's completely floral on my skin, but i've heard in the blends it has a lot more resin. i've also considered love me, which sounds puuuurty good. oh shit, guys, i think i'm just going to have to order them all.

oh, god. i LOVE hamadryad. i'm pretty sure i'll eventually get a big bottle of it. i've actually got tintagel coming to me in a swap sometime. i couldn't remember why i wanted it, so thank you for refreshing my memory. teehee. if lora doesn't see this thread, i'll be sure to ask her about it.

so, all of you who can actually wear scents with cinnamon without getting red welts, what are your favorites? i'm addicted to anything that smells like cinnamon. i did a search for cinnamon on the main site, and pulled up the following blends: chimera, eclipse, umbra, inferno, bloodlust, three witches, harlot, faustus, sin, wrath, and the single note cinnamon. the only one i've tried out of those is harlot, and, although it was gorgeous, the rose didn't work on my skin, so i'm swapping it away. eclipse is already on my "MUST HAVE!" list. i'm also thinking about investing in the single note cinnamon to layer with scents, but i'm scared that my skin may have a reaction to oil that strong. i've looked at many of the reviews, but i'd really like to hear personal feedback on what everyone thinks. i'd also like to hear about any blends that are notably "spicy," regardless of whether or not they specifically have cinnamon. i'd like to hear about some more scents with clove if anyone has input! thanks in advance! <3

i got this today from the lovely scylla (thank you so much, dear)! it was a lot different than i expected when i took a whiff of it in the vial. it was a bit strong at first, but by the time my nose adjusted to it, i wanted to drink the vial. i put some on my thumb since (i just typed "scents," on accident. i think i'm warped) i'm already wearing an oil, and i WANT TO FREAKIN' BITE IT OFF. MMM. it's so warm. it smells like my thumb has been caramelized. the rum is much more prominent in the bottle than it is on my skin, as the rum seems to disappear in the drydown. now i just can't wait for the gluttony and hunger to get here! by the time i'm finished with all of these foody scents, i will eat myself. mmhm.

i could've sworn i reviewed this one. i hope i didn't put it in the wrong thread. upon wearing this, i thought, "this would be a perfect blend for autumn AND winter." the top notes lend a spiciness to this, but overall, the scent seems to retain some sort of coolness. very reminiscent of autumn air to me. i wore this today because of the weather, and numerous people told me i reminded them of christmas. go figure. i stuck my friend's (who happens to be very gay) head in my cleavage and told him, "SMELL MY BOOBS, I SMELL LIKE CHRISTMAS!" ETA: i want a big bottle.

i ordered a 5mL of this one without even trying it first, and i'm glad i have it for the cooler months ahead. i was actually very surprised by the way it smelled; i expected something much more overtly sexual, but there was a slight hint of sensuality in the creaminess (is that even the right word?) and warmth of this. i'm not quite sure how to describe it. -runs to get 5mL and takes a big whiff- since i'm not sure what ylang ylang smells like, and tygher told me myrhh smells very warm, i'm guessing that's what the warmth in this is from. surprisingly, the red musk in this DOESN'T turn my skin to crap, which is a great thing. out of the scents i've tried thus far, this probably smells the most unique to me. a couple of hours after i put it on (about 4 or so hours), my friends were telling me that "something" smelled like incense. i had them smell my arm, and lo and behold-- it was me. when i got home from school, i was in need of a pick-me-up, so i slathered on some titania over this. the warmth and creaminess of the lust was still there, but not as strong as it had been. you really don't need much of this. later, when my friend picked me up, she said, "mmm! you smell like peach incense." ;D