PersephonesChild

Yay yay yay, this scent is awesome! In the imp, it smelled very pine-y and cold to me, though actually slightly generic (for bpal.) I had also gotten decants of several other wintery blends, like Frau Holle and Nuclear Winter, and I was worried that this one would end up being reduntant with those. Immediately on my skin, the snow and pine opens up beautifully, reminding me of why I went so crazy for winter blends this year. It smelled very nice, but I still wondered if maybe I should have stuck with just my other snow scents. Then, after about 15-30 minutes, something amazing happened: that promise of "youthful, girly perfume" was fulfilled, and it was fun! And flirty! And playful! And snowy! And not too sweet! I think I can sum it up as "ice + icing", which it turns out it amazing-- the pine and ice and snow do a wonderful job of balancing what might be too much of a sugar rush otherwise. This scent is awesome. Super awesome.

Beautiful! What a haunting, cold lady this blend is! The snow and musk notes are present, but they're very subtle-- in general, the feel of the blend is floral, and as a lover of florals, I'm a huge fan already. It's familiar-- I can't quite place what it reminds me of. I think it bears a subtle resemblance to Beltane 2008 and to the Mock Turtle's Lessons, and yet I don't think either of those is what I'm reaching for. I'm stumped, but I think the key note is the iris-- there's some violet, but the iris is stronger, and that's one of the few familiar notes in this exotic blend! I think it's safe to describe the bouquet as "white floral", somewhat dry, not too sweet. I think that, as a collector of florals, I'm glad to have this particular one-- it's definitely distinct enough from my other florals, it's a beautiful blend, and I love the name! ETA: it may be that it reminds me of Villainess Frostbite.

I got a lot of decants from the Yule update, and this is the one I decided to skin-test first after sniffing it. Why? Because I'm going out tonight, and in the imp this smelled-- "trendy". A spicy oriental of a more conformist flavor than BPAL usually offers, but it seemed like nice variety. Once it hit my skin, the berry kind of popped out and took over-- funny, because in the imp I smelled no berry at all. After a few minutes of drying, it smells slightly like a Christmas candle, but more like old man cologne. Ick. Well, that'll teach me to slather before skin-testing.

I can be pretty brief: Ick! Ack! Uck! It's my ex-boyfriend in a bottle! Run away! Run away!

My boyfriend thought this smelled like chocolate-- I see where he's coming from, as it's very rich and creamy, from the pumpkin and tonka, and with a dark edge, from the leather. I wondered if the other notes would overpower the pumpkin in this, but really, they just blend together quite well. The leather smells very real, especially once it gets out of the bottle ( I find leather notes always take some time to open up.) The black musk is neither strong nor powdery. I quite like it, though I'm starting to feel like all the pumpkin blends are too similar for me to keep multiples...

I got a sample of he new Versace for women fragrance, which smells to me exactly like Sturgeon Moon!

Today I decided to wear Violet Ray, which I've barely worn and haven't smelled in a while. I'm also thinking of trying to enable a friend with it, so I decided to remind myself of the notes, so I'd be able to tell her about them. I was amazed to rediscover this scent and it's exquisite balance-- it's violet that isn't piercing, but instead, lightly humming. This blend contains mint! And sandalwood! And I never would have guessed either one, but when I think about it, they're there, but so well placed in the blend as a whole that they become part of the overall atmosphere! Finally, lavender moss? Lavender usually jumps straight out of a blend, up my nose, and into my brain, where a series of neuronal reactions makes me go "Blech!" and put the scent down. But here? I suppose it's part of the purple air of this blend, I suppose it adds to the misty, herby feel but it certainly isn't center stage, and it certainly isn't ruining this gem for me! In summary, what I find most incredible about this blend is that it encompasses multiple heavy, stage-hogging notes, and yet they don't fight, nor do they even take turns stealing the spotlight-- they manage to work as a brilliant ensemble cast.

I will add myself to the ever-growing list of fans who can do nothing but sing the praises of Fearful Pleasure. I would classify this scent as primarily a spicy blend, more than a fruity blend, despite the presence of apples/oranges. What surprises me is that I just checked the listed notes, and there's not a spice among them! No matter-- this comes off as a cinnamon/nutmeg extravaganza, with a wonderful earthy background to it. I get a faint "feeling" of wood, rather than an overt smell of it, and no oak moss. What impresses me most is the way it makes me overcome my fear of smelling like a craft store. Perhaps I do smell like a craft store when I wear it-- but it's so yummy, I don't care! This is exactly the way Fall should smell.

I am in love with this! I wore it yesterday for the first time, and was kind of uncertain based on how it smelled in the imp-- it came across as very woody, in a way that I thought might be too masculine for me. I hadn't reckoned on the lilac, rose, and osmanthus, though! The florals opened up on my skin, and gave a wonderfully sweet and airy overtone to one of the richest wood bases I've smelled. The overall scent is kind of dusty, I must admit-- the flowers smell dried to me, the woods old, but I'm very much still into it. I could imagine that this is one of those scents that many people read as "old lady scented"; to me, however, it has a gothic Victorian feel to it, too old for old lady and old enough to be considered a precious antique. I ended up reapplying it a few times yesterday-- something I almost never do, since I tend to change my scent throughout the day. At this rate, I'll be finishing the imp and buying a bottle within a month! Also, I'd like to note that it reminds me a lot of the retail exclusive salon Autumn, which I also have a bottle of, though Ouija is generally richer.

My rain scent is Asphodel. Something about it reminds me of the gray and the ozone in the air after rain...

I swapped for this from AmyW, who said ti was too sweet on her. After reading all the other reviews comparing it to Alice, it seems that my skin chemistry is the odd one out-- I smell orange blossoms and pepper! It's faintly spicy and a little sharp, and not a bit sweet, although it does seem to be layered over a creamy base. I love that the orange blossom doesn't smell like air freshener, and that the carnation doesn't smell like... well, like carnation usually does: spicy, certainly, but over a slathered slice of sugar. This is pricking, instead! Definitely more sociopathic than soft on me... and I quite like it that way!

I have CCXVI, or 216. Like other people have mentioned, my bottle is so full it's practically over-flowing! In the bottle, you're hit *wham!* by fruitiness-- not citrus, but perhaps strawberry and pineapple. There's a tiny hint of something creamy-- like a very light vanilla-- and in the throw, there's also a fermented, boozy note, like wine. When I put this on my skin, a sugary, custard sort of scent emerges-- I trouble putting my finger on it at first, but it's definitely custard. The fruitiness is almost completely gone. I'm just chillin' with the custard. A few minutes later, something edges in that deepens and darkens the scent ever-so-slightly-- I want to say some kind of musk, but a very natural and gentle one. Then, faintly, the fruit returns-- but just barely-- along with that tiny edge of wine. So, in summary, we have fruit, custard, and wine. I really like this scent. Fruity wine? Bring it on! Custard? Ok, I'll take that too! Ahh, CTs, how I love them.

Well, Marguerite has helped clear up something once and for all-- ylang-ylang and me do not get along-along I had to get this blend because I love rose and I ADORE red sandalwood, I've been lusting after tuberose, and I can even manage gardenia. I think I did realize, however, that this is something of an updated version of Silentium Amoris, which didn't work at all on me. Actually, on my skin, they smell frighteningly the same-- ylang-ylang and a mild hint of my least-favorite kind of rose. I don't smell a single whiff of sandalwood. So, it seems I amp ylang-ylang-- good to know. I will be avoiding it like the plague from now on.

Oh, Bayou might be up your alley, as well as Manila, Ile de la Tortue, Niflheim, and possibly the Isles of Demons. A few of them are a little darker and heavier, but I don't think any of them smell like dirt. In general, the Wanderlust category would be a good place to look.

Did someone already say Hand of Glory? I've never smelled anything like it before. And I LOVE it, in small doses. I was going to say Queen Alice, but I wasn't sure how weird other people think it is! It's the ink that I really find bizarre-- and I totally smell ink!

Pele's got that tropical rainforest feell, although it's predominantly floral. Also consider Sundew-- it's more of a singular plant than multiple ones, but it's sweet, humid, and definitely somewhat tropical feeling.

Dyan Moon reminds me of Juliet.

Everything except the golden mead note in this appealed to me-- particularly the sweet-briar. I had a premonition that this scent wouldn't be more me, but I'd pledged to get a decant of Hay Moon (what with the horse connection and all) so I decided I might as well get Mead Moon as well. Premonition? Totally on the mark. I took one sniff of this in the imp, and got that icky sticky plastic-honey smell that I get from so many bpal honey scents. I couldn't smell a thing beyond that-- not even a boozy note. This one promptly hit the swap pile.

Sturgeon Moon reminds me a lot of Danube.

It's definitely floral plus mint. This one actually reminds me more of the early parts of spring, with leaves and blossoms just beginning to poke through. It also reminds me quite a bit of Beltane 2008, minus the smoke. The scent really lasts-- granted, I think I put a little too much in my water the first time (I came out kinda greasy ) but I could smell it on my skin the next morning. This has definitely made me very excited to try the other BPTP bath oils.

I have to say, I was surprised to check the notes and find that this didn't have the sugar cane that's present in the bath oil! It smells a lot like a faintly sugared floral to me-- a distant cousin of Sugar Moon, which is a favorite of mine. Actually, come to think of it, it might be the violet leaf that the two have in common that's making me think of that connection. The jasmine is wonderfully subtle, the citrus splashes on the florals, but this isn't a battle between fruits and flowers, but a very complex blend that fuses this two elements into something else entirely. I love it. Really, it's going to quickly become one of my favorites.

I got a bottle of this from a swap recently, along with a whole mess o' imps, and then went on vacation immediately afterwards and forgot about the bottle completely. When I returned from my vacation, my orders for the Dyan Moon/CD decant circles had arrived, so I busied myself with sniffing those. I think I would have completely overlooked that I even had this bottle of October, if it weren't for the fact that tonight I was hanging out in my room naked, and was to lazy to put on clothes to trek to the other room where my new decants are. Instead, I decided to pick over my bottle collection, and what should come to my hand but my bottle of October! I opened and sniffed (which I almost surely must have done when I first received it) and then realized I'd never skin-tested it! While, will or no, this had to be tested immediately! I was a little concerned about the scent-- for some reason, I'd never really thought of dry leaves as being a "me" kind of scent, but my boyfriend really dug Autumn when he first smelled it, so I thought I'd let him check out October. But what's amazing is how much this scent really meant for me-- not him, no, not at all, because on my skin, this smells exactly like going for a walk in the mountains of North Carolina in the Fall. The leaves have a slight spiciness to them, and there's a hint of spruce, some smoke from a nearby wood stove-- incredible! I don't think my city-dwelling boyfriend will be nearly as moved by this as I am. Wow.

Seconded. I love meadows/wildflowers, and if it weren't for the fact that this dries down a little too sweetly on me, it'd be perfect-- the clover in it is amazing.

I bought this at Whole Foods, and it's a scent I'd completely ignored by the description. It was interesting buying it without seeing the notes in front of me but instead purchasing it based on the smell, as I think I have an entirely different impression of the scent than the notes would have given me. This blend is very spicy, resiny, smoky, but primarily spicy-- when I first sniffed it, I thought for sure there was black pepper in it, and rather than being turned off like I ordinarily would, I loved it! It's entirely unlike any other scent I own, and it's very evocative of the painting. It's striking and gothic, and the rose is super subtle but romance-laden. Oh, I adore this scent!

Well, I also love sandalwood. I recommend (because I always recommend it!) my favorite blend, Belle Epoque: Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. I think it might be slightly less floral than Dolce & Gabbana, though. You might also try Venice (lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf) though on me it's very lemony-- a very full-bodied, glamorous lemon, though, not a cleaning solution lemon.