ChupaChup

I'll bet the next Chaos Theory labels have butterflies on them .

Thanks for the great picture, Shell! Oh boy oh boy, I can't wait to get mine now, that is beyond cute !

Those notes sound really good! I don't think there's an exact match here, but you might want to give these a try: Casanova: A rakish blend of leather, anise, lavender, bergamot and amber with tonka, lemon peel and lusty patchouli. Dorian: A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.

I was afraid that Ides of March would be too masculine so I didn't get a bottle when it came out and instead waited to swap for an imp. The ingredients intrigued me, especially the cardamom. It's very green and herbal when I first put it on but the spiciness of the cardamom is definitely noticeable. I love it wet and for the first fifteen minutes. But once it dries down completely, it turns a little sour on me. I've swapped mine away .

Muscadine, black and red patchouli, cereus and nag champa. Urd smelled great in the vial, that lovely red patchouli of Snake Oil. When I put it on, I got grape (must be the muscadine), patchouli and cedar. The cedar really toned down the grape smell so that it wasn't too fruity and I thought I was going to love Urd. After about fifteen minutes, I could detect the nag champa and Urd began to smell like my favorite metaphysical bookstore, very comforting. At that point, I thought I was going to get a lot of use out of this imp. But half an hour in, all the lovely notes were gone and I was left with very dry cedar backed up by something "off" that smells suspiciously like lotus to my nose. I wish either the wet or the 15-minutes-in phase had stuck around, this one is getting swapped.

Two, Five, & Seven smelled so good in the imp, I thought I was going to love it. It does smell like a little girl's perfume, very rosy with a tiny bit of green. But when I put it on, it didn't smell right, I can't quite say why but my boyfriend said it smelled like soap. I could smell many different rose notes and kept an open mind, knowing how BPAL can morph into something wonderful. The longer I had it on, the worse it got. There was kind of a Jolly Rancher, fruity candy smell wafting up from my wrists. And then my boyfriend said I smelled like his grandma . Oh well, I won't mind swapping this one, I've had too many keepers lately anyway!

I got an imp of Dirty in a swap with Gin . I had been curious to find out if it was a linen note similar to the one in the sadly discontinued Antique Lace. Actually, it is, though quite a bit stronger by itself. Fresh on my skin, I was afraid it was a little too heavy on the ozone, ala Storm Moon, and maybe a little too much of a laundry detergent kind of smell. But it settled right down into a lovely sun-warmed, clean cotton aroma. It's just what you need to feel cool and fresh on a hot summer's day. This one lasts for many hours, not really a wafter after about 30 minutes but a nice clean skin scent. And a dab layered with a vanilla single note smells just like Antique Lace .

Gin kindly gifted me with an imp of The Dormouse in a swap . Before I found BPAL, tea scents, specifically Bulgari White and Green tea perfumes, were among my very favorites. But after discovering BPAL, I became enamoured of the heavier, muskier, spicy or foody scents and never really bothered to explore the lighter tea blends. I'm so glad Gin sent me this or I never would have tried it and it's beautiful. I mostly get green and white tea, with some sugar and a tiny bit of lemon. The Earl Grey type of tea, with bergamot, never really shows up. After about an hour, I can pick out a floral note which must be peony, though I'm not familiar with it it's lovely. The scent doesn't last long but it's so pretty and refreshing I will gladly carry the imp around . Perfect blend for hot summer days, it's so breezy and cool.

I love a lot of the amber scents. A beautiful one that hasn't been mentioned yet is Bastet. Like golden sunshine.

Sin is really nice. At first, it's mostly sandalwood, a little dry. But then it becomes a lovely blend of soft patchouli and cinnamon. Nothing about this is aggressive, not even the cinnamon, it all blends harmoniously and is very yummy. Eventually, a little amber/vanilla smell emerges but then the scent disappears. Wish it lasted longer because I like it quite a bit. It's probably the amber, stealing my BPAL as usual.

Beltane is gorgeous. It's great in the bottle, great wet and great dry. In fact, it doesn't change much at all on me, except to get yummier as it wears on (and on, it lasts forever). I honestly can't identify any of the florals in this but is smells like hundreds of springtime flowers rolled into one. I'm not getting any green at all, it's just flower petals with no leaves, stems or grass. No herbs either! About the only flower I would chance to guess is daffodil. I'm not getting any of the stock, heavier flowers used in a lot of BPAL florals, like jasmine, gardenia or rose, nothing heavy and cloying. This is light and refreshing, pink, white and yellow flowers. And there is has to be fruit in this, something white-fleshed and juicy, like pear or cherimoya. No citrus. I love it. Love love love. Wearing this gives me a sense of tranquil joy, like watching a baby deer sipping at a stream in the springtime.

Lunar oils don't work on me so you might want to just skip this review . Pink Moon smells yummylicious in the bottle, pure pink sugar cotton candy. As soon as it hits my skin, the sugar vanishes. I'm left with a slightly bitter stawberry, more like the wild ones than the cultivated ones. It smells a little bubble gum-y with some spices in the background. It's ok but not great for about fifteen minutes, then the dirty diaper smell appears and it just gets worse from there. I'll spare you the details. It sounds like the sugar stage lasts on others and this is one popular blend. Judging how quickly it was snapped up on the swap board (under a minute) I predict a very bright future for Pink Moon. I'm glad my cute little bottle is going off to someone who already knows she loves it .

When Beth released the description of Hexennacht I thought it might be like Samhain with the fir and pine needles and the smoke and I was hoping the "warm skin" would be reminiscent of Voodoo. Well, maybe it's just the power of suggestion, but Hexennacht, as soon as it hits my skin, is like a combination of both (and they are two of my favorite blends). In the bottle, Hexennacht smells dark, cool and a little scary, just like a deep forest at midnight. On my skin, it explodes with a warm flame and has a certain roundness that Samhain does not have. It's smoky and a little sweet with just a hint of earthiness. I really got a sense of gleeful pleasure as soon as I put this on. It wears for hours and hours and gets warmer and softer the longer it is on. After about eight hours, I am left with a lovely honey mead that lasts until the next day. For comparison, it really is very similar to Samhain. It seems to be a little less gritty, probably not as much patchouli or it's red patchouli instead of black. I can't detect the apples and pumpkin of Samhain but I do get that same honey sweetness. It's a warmer version, probably to represent summer campfires, but I am going to be loving this in the fall as well. Another masterpiece from Beth, this will be one of the "legend" blends.

Cairo has a grape note that gets even stronger as the oil ages. But it also has honey and resins so may not be exactly what you are looking for.

I had a hard time with sandalwood and decided to avoid it for a while, it was too dry and woody on me. But I found a couple of scents that are just lovely, Jezebel and Rakshasa. Jezebel is definitely on the sweeter side, with the strong honey note. Rakshasa is dryer, but not too dry, and has an exotic spiciness to it.

I just got Dragon's Musk today in a swap from cricketshay I think this may knock Dragon's Milk out of first place among dragon's blood scents for me. When I first put it on, it was actually a little too heavy on the dragon's blood but within minutes, the musks came to the rescue. Oh my, they make this blend absolutely gorgeous. I too can pick up red and Siberian musks and maybe a tiny bit of the powderyness of black musk. I almost get a hint of vanilla from this, but I don't think there is really any vanilla in here, it's just the way the notes all combine. I think I like it more than Dragon's Milk because Dragon's Milk can sometimes be a bit much, a little sickeningly sweet some days but Dragon's Musk is just perfect. Anyone who loves Snake Oil should also give this a try, it's got a similar swoon effect to it without the spices.

I've tried all three (Haunted, Ravenous and Vixen) and Haunted is by far the closest to Shalimar (and I have a bottle of Shalimar for comparison). It's funny, because when you read the notes listed for Haunted it doesn't sound like Shalimar's notes. But Haunted does have something slightly citrus and the oriental musk and amber base of Shalimar. Vixen is also a wonderful oil, so try it anyway! And Ravenous is somewhat like Vixen but tamer - not as much musk, no ginger and a lot more candy-like orange.

Almost all my favorite BPALs fall into the foodie category (check my profile) and I find them very comforting, I wonder if it's a seratonin thing? I wouldn't say they are very uplifting or energizing, except for maybe the ones with a little patchouli in them, like Voodoo, Samhain or Desire. Unless I want to have a good cry (that helps sometimes, huh?), I stay away from blends with frankincense in them, so that might be something for you to watch out for. There are some gorgeous BPAL blends with frankincense, like Hymn and Tzadikim Nistarim, they have such a "pure" sense about them that they make me sad. I love them but I don't wear them much. Actually, the best oil I can recommend for depression is cod liver oil, and I'm not joking! The DHA/EPA and vitamin D work wonders for mood. But don't wear it, ok? I'm sorry to hear you are going through something like this, I hope you find some comfort here on the forum.

Fenris Wolf is a really beautiful scent, I'm surprised it doesn't get more press. It has the red musk which can be iffy on me, but I love it in Snake Oil and Vixen and it's great in this blend too. I adore rosewood, it's always a very creamy, soft and sweet wood on me. And there is so little sandalwood in this, it doesn't go too dry on me. In fact, this blend sweetens as it dries down, probably from the amber. Unfortunately, amber is a robber note on my skin and Fenris Wolf disappears too quickly. If it weren't for that, this would be a real keeper. It seems quite unisex to me.

Considering I don't like lotus, Kurukulla is a really nice blend. The rose in this is gorgeous, it's a little tangy and almost saves this for me. Eventually though, the lotus gets a little too strong for my taste. But if you like lotus and want to try a toned down rose, give this lovely blend a try.

Anathema was a very strong floral at first and was actually very pretty. But as it dried down, something turned it quite bitter and unpleasant. I think it was the opium, it has a tendency to do that on me. It may have been the vetivert, but I've read on the board that vetiverT is different from vetiver and it certainly didn't smell like vetiver to me. This ends up more of an incensy blend and not floral at all. Swaps.

Zephyr is a lovely, light citrus on me. I was hoping for more vanilla, something that would stick around a little longer but this blend went poof in less that 15 minutes . At least the sandalwood didn't make it too dry...

Le Serpent Qui Danse is not one I would ever expect to work on me because of the violet and gardenia and it didn't, so I wasn't disappointed . The vanilla in it is very nice and if you like those florals, this is a good one to try.

Wow, I waited way too long to try Desire! This one really is a OMGWTFBPAL scent for me. I was worried about the black patchouli and apple in this but the notes in this are so well blended, I can't pick any of them out separately. I do get the snuggly soft note from Antique Lace that joseybird mentions, the luscious vanilla, but it's a backdrop and not the main effect of the blend. It's smoky, a little sweet, and incredibly complex. It really reminds me a lot of the late drydown of Samhain, that dried, crushed leaves smell with something sweet like cider. I got this imp from a friend and have another one on the way in an order, bottle order coming next.

I held off trying Rakshasa for a long time because sandalwood usually doesn't work on me, it sucks all the sweetness out of a blend. And patchouli can be a little scary if it's the black variety . But I had good luck with Jezebel, which has sandalwood, and Samhain and Desire, which have black patchouli, so I finally got an imp of Rakshasa. Strangely enough, the sandalwood is the strongest note in this blend on me and I like it . Eventually, a little rose comes out and I could swear there is some orange blossom in here as well. It's a very nice warm, spicy, long-lasting blend. I actually wish the patchouli were a little stronger, I can't pick it out by itself but I assume that is what is adding the warmth and spice to the blend. I don't think I would ever get a bottle of this but I'll enjoy the imp.