monocainsheresy

They mean it when they say this scent is disorienting. It is BIZARRE. It's all jiggly yellows and goopy browns. Opium opium opium! A tiny bit of opoponax. This is not resiny. This is not smoky. This is the feeling of sticking your hand in ooblek. It's not a bad scent, it's just so utterly bizarre. I've hung onto it for years just because...what is this? What is this?

Brooding, yet electric: the scent of buried secrets, roiling nightmares, the essence of the Crawling Chaos, the Father of Knives and Locusts, the Hunter in the Dark. This is the blackest of ritual incenses charged with flashes of ozone. I got a bit scared because this smells like vetiver in the imp, but ooooh yes I like this one. Incense and ozone are two of my favorite things, and two things I would never think to put together. But I can't really describe what this smells like. It's definitely what it says - ozone and DARK incense. This is not frankincense. Opoponax and copal maybe? The overall impression is all shadows and sparks. I agree with tinyvulture's statement - "camping out in the woods during a storm."

I've been wrestling with this one for months - it's such an out-there combination of notes, but it's also strangely, stunningly beautiful. The most impressive part is the first few seconds on the skin. It's gingery cranberry on the wand but as soon as it hits my skin it warms up rapidly and there's a wave of musk, which retreats just as quickly as it arrived. The memory of floral-spice incense in the background. This settles down to dark, but not juicy, cranberry on a bed of warm, long abandoned flowers and spices. This evokes so much imagery - dark, sensual, primal, magical imagery.

Sugary MANGO and cinnamon - smells like super sweet fruity syrup. As it dries the musk and woodsy notes start to peek out.

The most beautiful lavender fougere on this planet, very lightly underscored citrus and the barest hint of musk. Smells like shaving cream! One of my all-time favorites

Musky vetiver + myrrh - very simple

Mostly carnation and plum - a sophisticated juicy floral. In the imp the musk fooled me into thinking there was honey - definitely a sweet golden musk. Very lovely, but not my style.

Musky pine and squished juniper. Smells like the Adirondacks. A simple, lovely scent, but my fear of pine turning into bathroom cleaner is going to ward me off from getting a big bottle.

This is so many of my favorite things - I love love love this scent! Starts out with sandalwood + cinnamon, and a wee bit of hippie patchouli. The "musky sweat" that Lucretia mentioned is actually one of my favorite notes, and it's mostly from the cinnamon, with the patchouli helping it along. This is not a dry cinnamon - it's bright and wet and almost smells like dragon's blood sap. Murky liquid amber in the background lends a beautiful note of gold.

This is a thicker, oomphier foodie than Alice, thought the two are very similar. LOTS of very dense vanilla cake, spotted with currant juice. Super yummy and sticky.

My favorite dusty musty frankincense smoke over a pool of the freshest, juiciest rose. I was hoping for a powdery rose, but this is a magnificent scent nonetheless. Best appreciated from a distance - this is a sneeze inducer.

Right out of the imp this reminds me of Disrespect For Established Authority - my first thoughts are leather + incense. That fades very quickly and this turns into a blanket of vanilla, oudh, and saffron. Amber is not the star here, but it's hanging out in the background with the golden musk. Overall it's a warm, cozy scent with a bit of a boozy tang from the cognac. A beautiful, delicate scent.

I've been dying to try this, and I was lucky enough to get a frimp from Little Bird - and it is everything I hoped it would be. Cream cheese frosting, gooey almond, fluffy cake, covered in sugar and spice. Oddly reminiscent of Jack - it has that same craft-store-in-autumn vibe, when they get all the foody candles in stock. I need to get my grimy little hands on a bottle of this ASAP

Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk. This is not something I would ever expect to love, but I do. Foodie-floral coconut. Sweet, warm, musky.

Morbidly romantic, thick with murky melodrama, untouched by the centuries, and dust-rimed: Byzantine incense, benzoin, myrrh, bitter clove, spikenard, oud, and ancient balsam.  The lovechild of Forgive Us Our Virtues, Forgive Us and OLLA Eve Sharp incense softened by powdered clove and resins, a very faint hint of rose, all over a base of sleek oud and balsam. Definitely the scent of a gorgeous gothic heroine lost in the dusty ruins of an ancient castle.

I need a full bottle of this stuff. Now. Deep, lush black musk which is almost the scent of leather, powdered herbs, and a dusting of heather and sage. The moss comes out as it dries. Incredible scent. Nails the concept.

I'm generally viciously anti-opium, but this - THIS I can get behind. Heady, sensual florals - mostly lily - and a teensy bit of opium smoke which gives the scent a medicinal flavor which highly complements the florals. Almost a spa scent, but a little naughty.

Cream cheese and red velvet cake... a delicious foodie scent. A bit of cinnamon. A Christmassy kind of scent. I would probably try and hunt down a full bottle of this if it weren't for the fact that I can smell the cocoa in the red velvet. Being allergic to chocolate I absolutely despise the smell of it, plus the fact that I keep checking my skin to make sure I'm not having a reaction even though the cocoa scent is so slight it would be nigh impossible for me to have one. But if that wasn't an issue, this would definitely be full-bottle worthy.

A very bright, fresh scent, but definitely not for me. The citrus and pine remind me too much of bathroom cleaner.

Starts out VERY strong with condensed milk - extremely reminiscent of the first stages of Ghost Faced Bat. About five minutes later it suddenly softens and develops a powdery-soft edge, again very similar to Ghost Faced Bat. Honestly I can't exactly tell the difference between the two beyond White Larry being a bit buttery. I think I'd have to say I prefer White Larry just because it gets out of the stinky milk phase faster. If you can deal with the condensed milk in the wet stage, this calms down into a very soft, powdery, skin-hugging scent which is lightly foodie. A nice bedtime scent.

Fresh on the skin this is jasmine and CANDY (no idea where that's coming from, maybe the rose). A tiny bit of the cedarwood and lemongrass. As it dries the sandalwood and patch come out. A smoky, woody blend lightened by lemongrass.

A juicy, candy-floral dragon's blood. Not my favorite dragon's blood note - I prefer the smokier, dustier variety - but this is still full bottle worthy. A brighter, almost lemony DB that I would recommend to people who are wary of resins/incenses. A "clean boy" smell.

Incensy cedar - kinda rootbeer-esque. Very reminiscent of Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener. Super nostalgic, stays warm and close to the skin. If you're afraid of BPAL's usual incense note, try this one out. It's very gentle and like none of their other incenses that I've tried.

A sparkly, batty little scent: green tea, melon, mint, lime rind, and champagne grape with lemon balm, mullein, and toadflax. Yup, sparkly. Fizzy, citrusy champagne - would be great for very hot days.

VERY rosey - pink pink pink! A tiny bit of green in the background. A beautiful scent, but not something I'd personally wear.