GreenSpine

The struggle of man against metaphor: these movies symbolize man's conflict with the destruction he wreaks on the environment. The antagonists in Creature Features are usually victims of radiation, pollution, or experiments gone awry - monsters created by the folly of men. Examples: Creature From the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Gorgo, Destroy All Monsters, Them! Giant Monster Musk! This is very well-blended, and it's hard to pick out the notes. I'll give it my best try, but am probably way off. Wet in the bottle, this reminds me very slightly of Green Phoenix. I am getting cucumber and a dash of lime (though my roommate doesn't get lime at all). There is also a slight hint of resin, possibly frankincense? Wet, I also get a very, very faint hint of something creamy and sweet. This is definitely a morpher. Wet on my skin, yep - musk. A little lime peeking out behind greenish musk. And I think the creatures breathe fire, because I got a strong flash of something very smoky while it was drying down. The smoke mostly clears, and on drydown the scent settles into a very lovely, soft musk - nowhere near as strong as the Lab's red or dark musks. A little sweet, a little smoky. It definitely reads as "green" to me. This is exactly what I'd hoped for - I can't wait to see how it settles/ages.

Japanese horror films are tense, elliptical, psychologically chilling experiences, most often inspired by Japanese folklore and Kaidan, or supernatural tales, and are woven tightly with themes of retribution and vengeance. Examples: Ringu, Jigoku, Ugetsu, The Ghost Story of Yotsuya. This scent is spectral, draped in funeral white, and surges with otherworldly, malevolent rage: stargazer lily, white sandalwood, chrysanthemum, and shincha, with white mint, eucalyptus, licorice bark, and blood orange. J-Horror is a very white scent. In the bottle, it smells fresh and bright. The mint and eucalyptus are very mild, though - brightening but not taking center stage. The orange stands out, and a faint whiff of sandalwood. As it dries, the lily and sandalwood are dominant at first, but then the orange and tea step up to round it out. The lily is fades to the background and the eucalyptus steps forward during drydown. Sadly, I'm not getting the chrysanthemum at all. And I'm guessing that licorice bark does not smell like licorice, but is instead blending in with the sandalwood. The throw is pretty light. This would be a great, clean scent to wear to the office.

Fairly HTF, but Voyeurs Among the Cherry Blossoms is this for me. For a GC, I recommend Shadwell. It may not sound like it from the description, but I find it extremely comforting/snuggly.

Seconding (or thirding?) Peacock Queen - it's my favorite BPAL rose. I also like Two, Five and Seven quite a bit.

It's hard to find, but Snow, Glass, Apples is amazing! Moon of the Terrible is very similar on my skin, and might be a bit easier to track down.

This is a really tough one to review. The rosewood is strong and gorgeous, but I can't really pick out any of the other notes in the scent individually. Incense, definitely, but there's something very smooth about it and an underlying, subtle sweetness that I don't normally associate with incense scents. It doesn't have a very strong throw, at least not yet. It does vaguely remind me of going to church when I was younger, more of sitting in one of the wooden confessionals than of an actual mass. I'm not sure yet whether I like this one or love it.

At the risk of being completely unhelpful... I LOVE THIS AND NEED LIKE, A MILLION BOTTLES! (Seriously, it's perfectly grounded by the resins and patch. The musk is gorgeous, the vanilla subtle and darkly velvety, and the pepper is hot but not screaming. It's already love, and age can only make it better.)

I get no ozone or smoke from this. October perfectly captures the scent of newly fallen leaves on a forest floor, with a slight hint of warm musk beneath. It was lovely both in the bottle and on my skin when it was fresh, but now that it's had time to age, it's mellowed out and become much stronger and more long-lasting. It's like walking through the woods on a sunny autumn day.

I've developed extremely strong holiday associations to a few scents - wearing anything else would feel strange. The biggest ones are: Halloween: Sugar Skull Christmas: Fruitcake Easter: The Oval Portrait I suspect Leipreachan will become that for St. Patrick's Day. The surprise seasonal imps are my favorite BPAL treats.

I'd swear this has both cinnamon and clove - neither of which work on me at all. For the first minute or so, it's overwhelming candy red-hots and clove. Thankfully, it doesn't irritate my skin the way cinnamon blends usually do. Possibly it isn't actually cinnamon? That phase passes very quickly. What's left behind is warm and herbal musk, resins and spices. It's on the verge of being too spicy without crossing the line, although there's a faint edge of sweetness I'd rather wasn't there (probably due to skin chemistry). The longer it wears, more lovely it is. On complete drydown, the throw is a lot lighter than I would've expected, more like feeling the sun than consciously picking up a scent. My roommate said it reminded her of incense in an occult bookshop. Interestingly, the bottle arrived just after I'd applied Silas Ruthyn for the day. I skin tested Sunbird on the back of my hand - and the combined throw of the two was to die for. ETA: After aging, the cinnamon (which I guess is cinnamon leaf?) and clove has happily mellowed down completely. The sweetness I used to get has also disappeared, and this scent is gorgeous. I find myself reaching for it often.

This reminds me very strongly of the kind of smoke that comes out of a fog machine - it doesn't actually smell the same, but that's the image I'm getting. It just borders on powdery on my skin, and at first I wasn't sure whether I liked it, but it's one of those scents I can't seem to stop sniffing.

I get very little heliotrope or chamomile, but I can't complain because this scent is incredible. It definitely evokes the concept of an eclipse. On my skin, the amber and frankincense are perfectly balanced against each other. From the beginning through well into drydown, a fantastic herbal (artemisias?) that reminds me a little bit (but not too much) of vetiver dominates. As the day goes on, the herbal note recedes and the saffron comes out. Serious love for this - it will likely end up in my top ten.

Huge thanks to the lovely TwilightEyes for picking this up for me at Cobwebs! I love copper, adore the Lab's metallic blends, and was very excited to see this listed. In bottle: Metallic and - I agree with the reviewers above - almost earthy, with a citrus edge. On, wet: Sadly, I amp lemon and not in a good way. When first applied, all I get is a blast of Pledge. As it dries, the lemon starts to fade and a much less chemical orange starts to step up, eventually taking over. On, dry: The barest hint of something metallic, but still almost entirely swallowed up by the citrus, which is now almost entirely orange and oddly slightly sweet. I never get any lime or patchouli or anything else. The extreme drydown is kind of nice, if not what I was hoping for from the blend. My chemistry does not do this blend any favors at all, but I am very glad to have had the chance to try it. Plus, it's a prototype, which means someday there could be another version that would be more wearable for me.

I get primarily white musk, patchouli, vetiver, and lime, with lavender leading the flowers in the background. It's complicated - sharp and soft all at the same time. It definitely evokes the concept for me. It needs a little bit of age - my fresh bottle was a big disappointment after finishing my imp, but after a few weeks/month, the new bottle became just as lovely. This is one of my favorite and most reached-for blends in hot weather, and one of my top ten scents overall.

Another here who didn't expect to love this, but I really, really do. It's a kind of like Midway meets Marshmallow Poof meets Beaver Moon '07. Must get more!

I amp clove, so after about one minute on my skin, clove is all I am getting. Which is really sad because those first few seconds were wonderful.

Wet on my skin, this does have a strong citrus-like feel to it - though to me more lemon than lime. Maybe it's the combination of the anise, mandarin, and vetiver? That phase does not last very long. As it dries, the musk and black vanilla come out, and they take the lead, while vetiver moves to the background and anise almost disappears. The woods are a thought at the back of the scent, always on the verge of coming out but they never really do. I like this. I'm a big fan of dark musk, and this scent features it beautifully.

The pear leads this one for me, too - it's an amazing note, definitely golden. The musk, metallic and patchouli notes are also very prominent, with amber lurking in the background. Overall, it's definitely fruity, but I wouldn't call it a foody blend. I didn't expect to like this one so much. It's got my nose completely glued to my wrist and I'm sniffing myself in public. But I suppose if I'm going to smell like a fool, might as well look like one too.

This is a very alert, energizing scent to me - it's got a good bite to it, and a flash of mint over tea with a hint of an unusual kind of citrus over lurking greens. I'm getting very little of the resins, but hopefully they will come out a bit more with age. What makes me sad is that this has little throw and fades very quickly. I really love it while it lasts, though. This would be a good one to put in a locket.

I definitely get a strong cake note that smells exactly like angel food cake: light and sweet and not heavy or rich. A tart grapefruit note sits on top of the cake, not strong enough to overpower, but very easy to pick out. The florals - especially the cherry blossom - are what make this blend for me. They're so unexpected and perfect. The poster above who said this smells pink and yellow nailed it.

The first fifteen minutes of this one are sharp and a bit overwhelming - not horrible, but not good either. But once it settles down it's more than amazing enough to make the wait worthwhile. It's dark, unusual, powerful, and sexy.

Smoky musk and honey are the two strongest notes I get from this, followed by daemondrops, with a smidge of currant. The tonka, ambergris and sandalwood don't stand out on my skin, but if I really look for them, I can catch a hint. What makes me love this is the musk note. As it wears throughout the day, it gets deeper and smokier and more delicious. It helps to give this scent a different enough feel from Anactoria* that I went for a bottle. *It's also much smoother, missing the fantastic kush note in Anactoria.

LXXV (75) This is incredibly wonderful, fresh and lovely. The resins are present and form the perfect base, but they don't overwhelm the rest of the scent. There is a fairly strong musk note (though I tend to amp musk) that smells more like the lab's blue musk to me than anything else. Light, soft white florals are at the top; I'm not entirely certain which ones, although I think I can pick out a little bit of white rose. It's not at all soapy - the florals are very fresh. On drydown, a mild sweetness begins to rise, maybe vanilla bean or tonka - it's not as in-your-face as the vanilla in Snake Oil or Dorian. It's a cool but beautifully grounded scent. If I could, I'd be hoarding this like mad.

This smells lovely in the bottle, grounded and sweet. Unfortunately, on my skin something turns it very sour and dank. I can see why the villagers left.

My skin chemistry does something very odd with this one. In the bottle, it smells like cherries - a little like cough syrup, but not overmuch. On, it becomes a fruity-but-not-overly-sweet-or-foody, bright pink perfume scent. If I try, I can get both a bit of cherry and even a little dark chocolate lurking at the very edges, but if I weren't looking for it, I'm not sure I'd be able to pick that out at all. The strange thing is that despite not being at all what it's supposed to be on my skin, it's really wonderful. I've already gotten compliments wearing it. My only complaint is that the wear length is on the short side; it disappears completely after 2-3 hours.