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BPAL Madness!

303marlena

Barred from swapping
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Everything posted by 303marlena

  1. 303marlena

    Recs for a scent similiar to rice pudding!

    Dana O'Shee with Milk Moon, then a "drop" of Bengal for the spice
  2. 303marlena

    Figs and Fig Scents - alone and in combos

    Looks like its been a while since the Fig scents have been reviewed. Interestinly, most of my favorite scents have some fig in them--Cerberus and Freak Show being top LE's and I love Apothecary, Carnal, Dragon's Heart and Hetairae. Intrigue is great and I like Stangler Fig. Gomorrah and Nephilim both had something spicey in it that messed up the figaliousness, and Mata Hari smelled too much like coffee. Hanging Gardens was toooo fruity, couldn't smell the fig very well. Tweedledum I am fond of but again, the fig is drowned out by other notes. I guess I have to add King of Clubs now to the list of impossible rares I will have to collect!
  3. 303marlena

    Rose Recommendations - which blend is for me?

    I too have been trying to discern if there is a particular pattern to the origin of the rose in the oil or whether its completely random, or just due to the other oils in the mixture--but sometimes I really like the rose scents, and others I just cannot wear at all. Rose Red--is a pure, red rose, just as the description suggests. I love this one but since I only have a smidgen, haven't worn it to see if my skin chemistry kills it. The Empress--is a lovely pure rose smell with some slight greenery in the background. This one works okay. Peacock Queen--yuck! Whatever rose is in this smells like soap on my skin. hated it (in Men On voice) Persephone--Very much liking the rose in this, maybe because the Pomegranate balances it out Harlot--Get it off! Which doesn;t make sense, I love both Cinnamon and rose, so what gives??? Rose Cross--perfect, the incense balances the rose nicely, it didn't turn to soap Maiden--just meh for me. London (tearoses) smells good for me, but not as "juicy" as Rose Red. Has anyone figured out the differences between the Moroccan rose versus the Bulgarian? I seem to like the former and dislike the latter (or it dislikes me). Another thought I had was that maybe its the pure rose oil (absolute) that smells good and its the rose-geranium that isn't so great... Anyone else out there have an opinion on this???
  4. 303marlena

    The Best Mint Blends

    Gennivre. Wonderful, wonderful mint tea, with a little sugar cane. Mmmm! (I hate menthol too, so if you find other scents that you like, please to tell me? Thanks!) Tokyo Stomp! Minty and slightly foody but not cold. Mad Hatter--smells minty but its actually pennyroyal in there. Very fresh and herbal but not cold to my nose marlena
  5. Try layering Squirting Cucumber with Tokyo Stomp or Mad Hatter--the Stomp is a little too sweet but I think the Mad Hatter + Cuke is close...
  6. 303marlena

    Beaver Moon 2007

    Oh--you nailed this one right on the head! This one smells cherry candy sweet in the bottle and goes through a vanilla cupcake with cheesy icing stage that I love, but then it becomes--crunchberries! Which I kinda like but I was hoping the cheesy cupcake stage would last longer and with slightly less strawberry syrupy stuff. It does morph much! I think I will try again with a scent locket to try and stretch out that ephemeral cupcake with strawberry cream and cream cheese icing stage...
  7. 303marlena

    Scents For The Stacks

    My votes are for White Rabbit, the Dormouse, and the Unicorn. Not because I am stuck on Alice in Wonderland..I'd think they'd be what you're looking for, they are great work scents, not too sweet, not to fruity, but really good, light and clean but not too ozoney/perfumey smellin'
  8. 303marlena

    Aeaea

    This purchase was based on a love affair with the poem and the myth of Circe, rather than the notes listed--I was not sure how they would play out. I am glad I took a chance on this. The imagery of the piggie on the bottle went over my head at first, but when I finally clued in--I had to chuckle. (Circe turned all of those double-crossing Greeks into pigs to punish them) It does smell oceany (read--slight ozone, delicious saltiness) to me, like the damp spray on a tropical island. In the background I get a whiff of lush, greenery, more leaves than florals, but they are there too. I agree with the previous reviewer who characterized the florals as "green." Ater a few minutes, I get a hint of berries, like there is a patch of them over the hill and the breeze is wafting their scent to me. I really enjoyed this, and I am keeping the bottle. I probably won't get many more chances to wear this until next summer, but it will be worth the wait!
  9. 303marlena

    Swan Maiden

    I bought this on a whim, because I like the story behind it. Unfortunately, as I predicted, these white floral notes of doom do not morph well with my skin chemistry. Its sad, because I truly love Calla lily, Magnolia and Gardenia, but as usual the lilies amp on me and become soapy. The wet stage is nice, though. I can't really pick out any of the notes individually, it just smells like well blended white florals. It lasted on my wrist about 4 or 5 hours, was pretty much gone by morning after I applied the night before. To the swaps with ye.
  10. 303marlena

    Theodosius, The Legerdemain

    Yet another so-called masculine scent that I think works well on me and I have already gotten a compliment on wearing. This starts off as Earl Gray tea, the bergamot smells almost lemony but never soapy. I detect a smoky tea note as well. On the dry down it smells like smokey vanilla musky goodness. Throw is pretty good, wearlength is medium. I am really enjoying this, sometimes I reapply to get the citrus and astringent notes that evaporate quickly. I like this even better than Dorian, and thats saying a lot! I bought a bottle immedicately after smelling my decant
  11. 303marlena

    Kubla Khan

    what she said... Yummy yummy yummy, I gots love in my tummy. I don't know if I love this as much as Cerberus, Midnight Mass, or Bakeneko--but its up thar... This was delicious without being foody, vanilla without being girly, leathery without being manly, amber-y without being powdery, opium without the hairspray or headache. ITs sexy, sweet and delicious--which is how I want to smell!!!
  12. 303marlena

    Midnight Kiss

    Just got a frimp of this from the lab, and I am so glad I ordered a bottle! this was everything I had hoped it would be, and nothing I feared. This is Blood Kiss's precocious, sexy, and slightly bratty, pre teen sister . At first I get mostly cherry flavor, and it evoked memories interestingly of Junior High when we used to trade Vicks cough drops, cherry flavored, in class because you were not allowed to have candy, but you could have medicine. It does not smell like Cola at all to me, more like medicinal cough drops and not too candy-ish either, which was a fear. Its almost like Kyoto without the licorice/anise part. As it develops, I get the nicotania, patchouli, and an undercurrant of cocoa. The chocolate never overpowers, it stays nicely in the background. The former oils lend the blend a medicinal quality, but only slightly. The cherry keeps it light and sweet but never does it become too foody. Drydown is gorgeous. Amber mixed with slightly spicey sweetness with cherry and cocoa. The amber is absolutely sexy, in a losing your virginity sort of way. I loved this . I f I want to kick up the chocolate aspect, I think I will try to layer it with Boomslang or Candy Butcher and I will let you know.... If you liked Blood Kiss , this is right up your alley.
  13. 303marlena

    That Pirates of the Caribbean smell (The Disney Ride)

    Give Calico Jack a try
  14. 303marlena

    A scent like a starry night

    I am seconding the vote for Urania--this scent smells to me as the lab describes it, Urania's veil of darkness hung with stars. I also think Verchernyaya smells like a starry night and so does Black Moon
  15. 303marlena

    lovin' the moss!

    You must try Rat King. totally moss
  16. 303marlena

    Recs for Role-Playing Games (RPG), LARP and Cosplay

    I think Madame Moriarty would fit your bill--sexy, brazen, and pessismistic
  17. 303marlena

    Searching for the Perfect Vanilla?

    Antique Lace is pure, pristine vanilla. Tokyo stomp is vanilla plus mint, fresh and candy-ish to me. Dragon's Milk, I agree, is creamy, foody vanilla, love this one. Western Diamondback is vanilla plus leather plus dusky goodness . Mouse's Sad and Long Tale is a beautiful, nonfoody vanilla with sweat pea and musk. I hate to recommend a rare, but Sugar Cookies is vanilla cookie goodness!!!! those are my recs, and I stand by them
  18. 303marlena

    Milk and Cream Notes

    At the risk of sounding obvious, I would nominate Milk Moon. Many complain of its going "sour" but it does not do that to me. It has a lot of fruit notes in it as well, but its very milkly. Maybe you could try an imp first to be sure it doesn't "curdle" on you! Next I would nominate Zarita for cream scent, it is definitely my favorite for that. It also has orange blossom though, so if you do not like that--avoid it.
  19. 303marlena

    Agnes Nutter

    Hey, I hate to write what could be construed as a negative review, so if you don't want to hear unfavorable comments--HOLD UP right now, Partner. Agnes Nutter should be experienced for the sheer engeniousness of its olfactory impression. This one oil illustrates the beauty and art that the BPAL artisans display in their craft--as it singularly conveys the image of Agnes Nutter through the sensation of smell. Initially, my olfactory reaction is a jolt! In the bottle it smells like straight gunpowder. Just for the record, I am a vetivert lover, not a hater, but I cannot say I love this blend. I detect very little vetiver, as others have opined, but there is a hint of it underneath. I am a lover of incense smells, burning quality, and even metallic, but this was too harsh, even for my martial tastes (I'm an Aries). There is a sharp quality also, as the scent evolves, it smells sort of like ozone, and IMO lends the impression of a just--fired long gun, or rifle. Settling down, it does not do, does Agnes: the powder odor continues, the ozone flash fades, and then there is a smell of hot metal, like the barrel of a gun, perhaps, but I have never sniffed one directly so I have no proper frame of reference. The metallic twang is not cold steel nails, like BED OF NAILS, but more hot metal. Brilliant. But would I wear it? Not even to go hunting--it would scare off the critters! (I don't hunt really, shooting Bambi and Thumper isn't my idea of sport) This would be fabulous as a stage prop during civil war re-enactments, etc. due to the lifelike quality. Nevertheless, I don't really wish to smell like a smoking gun. To be 100% fair, I did not try it on my skin, as I had such an aversive reaction to the scent, but I smelled it spilled on my dresser and was able to appreciate the morphing it did. It might smell quite lovely on the dry-down, but I could not get past the wet phase to try it, call me a coward if you will. It was one of the very few oil I had a negative visceral reaction to, I was a little nauseated as was mentioned by another forumite. So despite my decision not to wear it, I still recommend it solely for the novelty of the experience, it should be tried at least once.
  20. 303marlena

    Les Fleurs du Mal

    I liked this one suprisingly, as it was distinctly a white floral, and these are not fave category--I tend to like the resins! Also, rose can be a real problem note for me, it can go powderly or soapy. At first, I smell the wisterias, sort of cloying, but not overmuch. The rose seems like a white variety, stays soft in the background. There is some morphing--and there was a period where it got a little soapy--I suspect that was the lilacs, since I dont usually wear them. On the dry down, it smells like a fading bouquet of white flowers, with a whiff of green, not quite herbal, grassy notes as well. There is a faint powdery smell, more like burned a long time ago incense or dust, not resin or smokey. Soft and femme with moderate throw. Wearlength wasn't long, but I can slather--I deemed it bottle worthy. I did not find it "old-ladyish" at all, but chic and sophisticated.
  21. 303marlena

    Queen

    I agree with all of the points above. I think the resiny, sweet, smokey smell folks are getting could be myrh, but I could be dead wrong. Its like DBR, chocolate and blackened cherry. I catch traces of rose and a green herbal, perhaps lavender weaving thru various stages of the morphology. Like most of the vooddoo blends, it amazes me how seemingly vast different notes can be blended so smoothly. Sexy and sweet but not cloying is the general impression. I agree that the aromatherapy aspect (voodoo vibe) is empowering--it made me want to boss folks around. Overall I liked it, possibly bottle-worthy.
  22. 303marlena

    #20 Love Oil

    This voodoo oil is another winner, in fact I am loving all of the voodoo blends. I have to agree with an earlier review, Gothabillywench: it's almost licoricey on me at first, kind of in a sickly way (like hoe Old Kyoto goes on me) but within seconds it goes freshly herby/citrus & at fist I thought "no way" But then, about 40 mins or so later, this gorgeous soft powdery feminine smell is wafting up...could it be? Yep. It was. If you don't like this one at first, wait a while, it may surprise you! Like it, but Come to Me is still the ultimate voodoo blend per moi. This one definitely morphs in a good way. The scents are odd, seem like they would be an olfactory cacaphony--but they work. And the aromatic effects are astounding, it made me feel loving alright! Powdery, almost floral, herbal in the lightest of ways, and slightly smokey, sexy femme is how it comes across. Bottle worthy--you bet
  23. 303marlena

    Red Devil

    Red Devil is one of my fave Voodoo Scents,, and the first I declared immediately--I will need a bottle. Its hard for my "nose" to distinguish particular notes, but it smells RED and looks red. I think there's some Dragon Blood Resin in there by the smell and color, and also some sweet orange or neroli. It is sexy and sweet in the extreme and immediately got my libido running in the red. Good throw and wearlength. Sweet and sexy but not overly girly or slutty. I did not find it morphed a whole lot, but I didn;t care because I liked it from the get-go.
  24. 303marlena

    All Night Long

    I am sort of on the fence about this one. It is well blended and I definitely smell the cinnamon everyone else finds, and thankfully, no celery! There is something mixed with the cinnamon I can't identify, powderly almost like amber, not quite as sweet as vanilla, not as wonderfully woody as sandalwood--but in that mood if you get me. I did find it actually more relaxing than energizing, which is something cuz usually cinnamon revs me up. I can't say it made me horny or increased amorous advances in the bedroom, but I only tried it once and we were both tired. I did sleep all night long--not sure if that was the intended affect. I will agree that it is strong, try on your wrists before you dab on the cleavage or you'll be getting lots of (unwanted?) attention!
  25. 303marlena

    Fire Eater

    We loves it precious yesssss. This smells like liquid fire. I think I pick out cassia or cinnamon and a floral, perhaps carnation and resin goodness, perhaps DBR? As it dries, I get pure fire and smoke. Like standing next to a campfire. No wood or spice. Just smoke and flame. Being a firesign, this was exactly what I was looking for. If fire has a smell, this is it! We loves it!
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