fairnymph

Rich golden oil. Fresh, but also sharp, and very manly. A bit cologney but with lots of intense, dark and smoky vetiver. Maybe some leather lurking...and definitely some metal - that same 'steel' note from the Bloody Sword. This has some spice to it, too. Overall complex and intriguing being both cologney/bright/fresh and dark/spicy/smoky. Vetiver galore, definitely in command - possibly two types of vetiver, the slightly soapy, light, cologney sort and the dark, smoky, gritty Brimstone/Djinn sort. There's also a bright white-green, slightly sharp floral that I'm almost positive is jonquil, and I think there is a little narcissus here, too. Also, some sweet and fruity that really helps balance this blend - papaya? Or green mango? It's slightly tart, and seem sort of tropical or exotic - I know for sure I've smelled this in another BPAL blend. This somehow reminds me of Green Phoenix and that could be why. The fruit is really amping on me, sweet and tart but also oddly bitter, in a good way, like its not fully ripe, still green, and with pith and peel - the whole fruit - I suspect multiple fruits because I also get more intense fruity sweetness - kiwi, maybe? And now I'm getting a sort of raspberry note, a little plastic or artificial, like it's blue raspberry slushy - then again raspberry is often plastic on my skin. The vetiver has lightened a lot but there's still a tremendous dark depth to this scent, and while also lighter, I still get the steel note. Definitely kiwi - I'm reminded of That! The Terror...but this is sweeter, riper - ah, it's MELON! I'm pretty decided on the papaya. The candied, almost dusky sort of fruit blend overall reminds me a bit of Candy Phoenix, too. This is going musky one me, and it's green musk, and overall this scent is beginning to remind me of I Married a Vampire from Planet X. A strong clove note is amping on me. Vetiver has faded further, but there's still some grit and smoke. Green musk and something that's gone a bit powdery - maybe some black musk as well, or some black amber. Still lots of sweet, exotic fruit - kiwi and papaya and MELON and I still think raspberry - and the fake plasticky artificial, syrupy edge increases over time, much like how Candy Phoenix dries down on me. The clove remains strong, adding to the sharpness of the plastic, but it doesn't amp after its initial emergence. Vetiver and steel remain dark, masculine elements in the background, but this really becomes all about the musky fruit - a total morpher. Not quite my style, but an impressive evolution that I think will vary greatly depending on individual skin chemistry with the potential for great yumminess.

The black cherry note definitely leaps out of the bottle, but I can tell that it is the type that will settle down nicely shortly - on my skin, at least. I could smell the richness of the creamy, very creamy vanilla and super sexy, roll-around lustful musk, and depth of the liqueur (though surprisingly NOT boozy), and this one is a scent that despite its somewhat dark tinge vibewise, may be something I end up liking. Skin testing greatly anticipated!

Daaaaaaaaaaaark. Really, really dark, resiny, incensey, smoky, rich, heady and intense - everything I don't want in a scent. This one scared me in the bottle. I couldn't get much plum or musk, notes I DO like, it was all resins, incense, and OPIUM most of all. I am sure this will be popular, but I didn't like it at all myself.

I only smelled this on a friend's skin on later drydown, but I was shocked by how not-too-sweet this was. I like all the notes in theory, but white peach typically goes to awful cloying sweetness on me, so we shall see. The wild strawberry note remind me of Strawberry Moon 2009, which is the strawberry note I CAN wear, so this all depends on the white peach behaving. A lovely, softly musky feminine, not too sweet but definitely pink, frilly, and girly scent.

I only sniffed this, but it reminded me A LOT of Amp energy drink - lemon-lime, at little artificial, very fizzy, even that WAY TOO MANY SUPPLEMENTS aftertaste - it was all there in the bottle, but also light and fresh, too. I am hopeful for this one considering my love of all things fizzy and citrus. Btw, I found this more like Mountain Dew - at least in the bottle - than Sprite.

I haven't skin tested this yet, but based on sniffing the bottle I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I hate Wisteria above all other things except CILANTRO, and I could barely get any of that note. It was shockingly light, fresh, and floral - much more delicate than I anticipated, without a lot of headiness or darkness or too much richness as I fear the frankincense, lilac, amber would provide. Nor did I get soap or powder. I'm on edge for my bottles to arrive so I can skin test this one!

RED MUSK. LOTS OF AND LOTS OF RED MUSK! That is pretty much all I could get out of the bottle and as an enemy of red musk, the limited available skin was not worth marring to skin test this one.

Terrifying, in a word. Like being clobbered with vetiver (the dark, gritty, sooty sort) and maybe some woods and spices and a WHOLE LOT of 'musk' that to me smells like the stench of an unappealing man. this one was an instant-wipe off, bc it literally made me feel nauseated within seconds.

This was my absolute FAVOURITE of all the Bat's Day scents, to my total surprise. I was expecting the De Sade/Spanked style leather, and instead it was my beloved old, worn, sueded Dead Man's Hand/The Traveller style! It's primarily that leather note, which I amp, with a bit of salty, salty rusty metal and an understated sexy musk beneath it all tying the blend together. I suspect the saltiness may be the 'machine oil' and will review more thoroughly later.

In Reilig Oran - you can click on the pic too to zoom in further. It's a GORGEOUS label!

Surprisingly light, soft and yet fresh and bright from the slightly grass herbs which jump out most strongly to me (also, something a little minty - hyssop or basil?) - but that's quickly followed by a tremendous amount of heavy, dark, smoky, woody and slightly sweet resins and incense - myrrh, frankincense, and black patchouli. Plenty of dust, and loads of spice, too; definitely some black pepper (probably one of the main contributors to the dustiness), and I think some clove, the dark sharp kind that I amp, and something more unusual like nutmeg and/or cumin. Definitely dark and 'malevolent' in feel! Sweeter, spicier with more bitterness from the myrrh and also some herbal bitterness. Much more powdery and dusty - definite black pepper but I think some orris, too, the very rooty sort - it adds a bit of sweetness, as does the cinnamon note that has appeared. I am more sure about the cumin now, which adds an odd savoury tone to the blend, and I'm pretty sure there is some bay here as one of the herbs, contributing to the sharpness, it's slightly sharp. I get some mentholic-medicinal red musk, and the frankincense has become sweeter. The myrrh really gives this a musty feel, appropriate for an ancient feel. The clove is amping on me as I predicted and adding an almost plastic or chemical sort of unpleasant sharpness. Sweeter and spicier! This one really amps in my skin and has a lot of throw and a feel of intense power. I'm sure about the basil and bay, and the cumin especially as it has amped. Something in this has also turned a bit sour-sharp, like certain black currants do - but I think it's the cumin here, bc this blend so far most reminds me of Mr. Hyde (or Dr. Jekyll? whichever is the one with the loads of cumin). Except that this is sweeter and red-muskier and far, far sweeter. The cinnamon and clove have amped further, and the resins remain strong but can't quite stand up to the spices (other than the frankincense which is potent presence here). The black pepper, oh yeah, that has amped too. This is in every way not my type of scent and filled with dealbreaker notes. Worst of all - there's a strange soapy edge whose source I can't identify. Eek! This becomes dustier, drier, spicier and woodier - with loads of accompany woods to provide much of the dryness and loads of warmth in addition to that from the spices. It reminds me of churches - wooden pews and incense hanging in the air and swirling dust. The cinnamon may be cassia, considering its warmth and the fact that it DOESN'T turn into Red Hots and amp crazily as cinnamon nearly always does - or if it is cinnamon it's sparingly used here. The cinnamon/cassia, black pepper (THAT just amps and amps and really is VERY dusty), myrrh, frankincense (sweeter and woodier over time) and a late emergence of strong rosewood with maybe a dab of cedar dominate in final drydown. The clove has faded and softened into a sweeter note without much medicinal sharpness, the cumin has nearly all faded away. The patchouli remains a light earthy grounding note, and I can still pick out the slightly bitter, drily herbal bay leaf but it's faded substantially. The orris - powdery white and sweet with an almost creamy aspect, as well as the glowing-golden (as in L'Estate) but also faintly sour amber and the other notes that have also amped in terms of sweetness makes this a very unisex. Good throw and FANTASTIC longevity. This is never a scent I would wear given it's not my style at all - in fact is is the antithesis of my tastes! - but I'm impressed by how it morphs over time into something not that bad when earlier I thought I'd have to wash it off. It's complex and evocative and I found it very fascinating to test.

A bit like roast chicken and bit like tonka - odd and unpleasant on me, a convoluted and sickeningly rich blend of savoury and sweet greasiness. I am not a fan...but eventually I will work up the courage to skin test and provide a more in-depth review.

Richly sweet and foody, both sugary in a crystallized sugar syrup past sort of way, and buttery due to a definite strong tonka presence. I'm not sure that I would peg biscuits blind, but I feel like I can detect a hint of baking powder tang, and I definitely get some cake. The Earl Grey is smooth and delicious, perfectly brewed, but with not enough bergamot for my tastes - but then the lab's bergamot note is rarely strong and frequently absent to my nose. Sadly, I get only an extremely faint hint of fresh juicy cucumber. Both the tea and cucumber, the notes I love the most, are just strongly overwhelmed by the foody notes. Much fainter on my skin - jeez, so far all of this line is really faint. The good news is that much of sweet and buttery cakey/foody notes dissipate instantly, while the cucumber and tea amp strongly (or as strongly as they can considering the weakness of this blend). It is a dramatic and very sudden, abrupt switch from the scent I got in the bottle, but I'm very pleased. Unfortunately, the butteriness seems to hold better than the sugary note, which I actually kind of liked, and I really dislike butteriness, so now I'm reminded of a very faint and much less buttery Bread-and-Butterfly - white lightly buttered bread. Maybe it's just the cucucumber SANDWICH aspect coming out. The tea is sharper, more tannic and brighter and actually has a bit more bergamot, shockingly! I *think* I a very faint hint of green musk, and I get a definite honedew melon note, so overall, this scent has become a bit neon and definitely green in feel, in a cool luminous way. This dries virtually instantly, within a few seconds, even slathered. Nonetheless it definitely morphs after a few minutes of sitting on my skin; the buttery and foody notes fade almost to oblivion, while the cucumber note holds - and I'll note that it has a dark green tone, it's a little more bitter and vegetal, more peel than flesh, not the juicy note of Squirting Cucumber. The green musk has amped enough for me to positive of its existence and seems to be overlapping with the citrusy-bright earl grey tea, so that in combination with the even more amped melon note, I'm reminded strongly of 51. I even get 51's vaguely 'white floral' traditional perfumey feel, totally unexpected, but quite pleasant. I'm very pleased that the notes I disliked have died down while those I love have amped, but this remains a very faint scent that I would have to slather heavily, and I really have to get close to be able to smell this scent - it's very demure. But then, I adore 51... The late drydown is very much like 51's, basically, slightly sharp, green musk and a slightly bitter hint of dark green cucumber rind. More vaguely I get traces of the now sticky-sweet but faintly juice honeydew melon, and the baked goods have gone to that odd almost dusty, musty powderiness that many such BPAL foody blends dry down to on me. The lovely earl grey tea is completely gone after a couple of hours or less. Overall, it's much, much better on my skin than the bottle smell would indicate, but it's a weak scent that requires a lot of slathering and still has almost no throw and fades quickly. Nice, but it doesn't make the cut for me. Another mediocre scent, so far I'm 0/4, and this one most appealed. I'm devastated that this line just isn't working for me.

Lovely, light & delicate feminine perfume with a cologney edge - I will probably get a bottle of this one, but was too rushed to get one at the time of testing. Totally not what I'd expected from the notes - a sleeper hit.

White flowers? What white flowers? This is ALL INCENSE ALL THE TIME, resulting in major sadness and EPIC FAIL for me personally. This was very smoky and dark and dusty, I got a $#*&ton of myrrh especially. Another great disappointment as most of the notes sounded so lovely, but all I got in the bottle - I haven't yet worked up the courage to skin test - was dark, smoky, gritty VETIVER a la Brimstone and Djinn, with a bunch of myrrh as stated and I'm positive other incensey, dark stuff, too. I don't get even the faintest hint of the other listed notes. I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Surprisingly pretty great, but not quite my thing - booze and fruit, but with a dark feel - not like the Tikis. Well-balanced, definitely boozy but not like a drunken bum - sophisticated cocktail feel, rather. The lemon isn't too strong, not at all Pledge, but true lemon, bright and tart, and it's the perfect counterpart to the syrupy-sweetness of the very realist pineapple (HOW does Beth do that?!). The sherry is what makes this a little too dark and heavy for me, but the rye is a really interesting note, like a smooth, rounded whiskey without the alcoholic harshness. Utterly unique and fascinating scent! I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Huge - no, MASSIVE - disappoinment *cry*. This has soft (white, not cloying, the type for those who hate honey normally) honey & subtly sexy musk, and is overall lovely and subtle, except the leather is the kind that I HATE - the sharp, powdery, chemically kind as in De Sade, CC Female, Severin, Spanked etc - i.e. the one most common in BPAL blends with leather. I just can't do that leather AT ALL but I adore the 'worn' leather note (as in Dead Man's Hand and Olisbos, etc) and basically I was praying it would have that...but it didn't. This one really devastated me bc it would be SO PERFECT if it had the right leather note or simply no leather. I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Only heavy incense in the late drydown (i.e. all the 'amber-laded incense' notes that are listedlast); otherwise it's all the gorgeous bright notes. The first three sweet-tart fruity, creamy and feminine notes dominate in the bottle and on my skin for the first hour or so, so much that I got a bottle of it post-haste for myself. The lovely sweet-tart bright fruit & fruity blossom over a base of creamy sandalwood is as fantastic as it hopes, though sadly it turns to incense rather rapidly on me (as those former top notes are so volatile and evanescent) - so I will wear it in my clocket, unless I don't intend to wear it for long. :\ mixed with I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE this. Essentially rich, golden, musky - simple yet complex, a very PURE scent - Honey SN on me - prompting me to get a bottle for myself immediately. I got some faint herbal and floral overtones the way that raw wildflower honey has that complexity which includes the faint flowers and greenery of the meadows which the bees harvested their pollen from. This is simple, elegant and perfect - exactly what I'd hoped for. The notes and description delivered, and this is probably my favourite of all the new releases and scents I tried at the con. It's classic. Btw, I amp honey generally and this amped with fantastic throw and longevity! I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

JASMINE STOMPITY STOMP; a lot of complexity below, but I only sniffed this and the jasmine was clearly the unpleasant bullying sort. And my hatred for the fascist type of jasmine and lack of skin space meant this was one I didn't skin test at the con. Note: my skin amps jasmine. I'm a bit afraid to try this for that reason, too. I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Awesome metallic cologne but unisex enough to be wearable on me at least, grabbed a bottle for myself. Torture Queen without the white amber and gardenia. This was another favourite, after Door and Sky City (Before) that I immediately loved both in the bottle and on my skin. Gleaming, polished, clean, bright, and with that sort of engine oil note from Toad, and a bit of a steampunk/Phoenix Steamworks feel. I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Tart and mentholic in the bottle! I don't get any apparent lime - BPAL citrus often is so weak I don't even get it in the bottle, and if I do, it vanishes within milliseconds 99% of the time immediately upon skin contact. But definitely the eucalyptus, appropriately shocking, but there's a sweeter, softer edge to that note or something else in this blend is softening the eucalyptus note so that it's not truly medicinal or harsh. I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Too dark for me in the bottle, but complex and lovely, I expect great popularity. I only sniffed this, but sniffed, I got very little of the fruit - it was all smothered by the heavier darker notes. Why, why WHY must blood orange - one of my all-time favourite notes - ALWAYS be blended with such dark hateful notes? *whines* I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.

Clean, fresh, bright and airy. I get a ton of dandelion - by far the prevailing note - some fresh green grass, some ozone, a hint of chrome and a subtle sweetness that's almost fruity. I don't get any asphalt, but I think I get the stone/marble note, very faintly - it's the same note from Sarah, I think. But this is dandelion, fresh cut grass, and ozone mostly. A little sharper and more bitter, both from the ozone which has more of its almost-chemical edge, and the grass and dandelion which have more bitterness, and more of stemmy note. Still, very fresh and and light, and not overly harsh, though I liked this more in the bottle. To me, the hint of sweetness - lighter now - reminds me a lot of the cloudberry note in the Host of the Air. But it's very hard to pick out bc the dandelion is amping majorly on me, so it could even be a sweet floral. I am getting more of the metal now, which adds a sort of masculine feel, and I think I get a hint of asphalt. It's a lot more complex on my skin. Faintly, but not unpleasantly soapy. I also get a scent that reminds me of dried leaves in autumnal blends. The marble note holds steadily. Relatively slow to dry, but I'm getting more and more of the notes that were faint or absent in the bottle, namely the stone, asphalt, and metal. I get MUCH more of an urban feel now, but the dandelion and green grass are still going strong and the mystery sweet note holds, too. There is a cologney feel to this, doubtless in large part due to the ozone, but I think that a musk of some sort may be the source of sweetness, a subtle musk like skin or vanilla musk. But I think this is what makes this scent more than just a nice smell and into something truly wearable, more classically 'perfume' despite all the untraditional notes. But it all really works, with the notes balancing and contrasting beautifully. This has blended into something nearly seamless - it's now difficult to pick out individual notes, but I can definitely get the dandelion (more rounded now, with only a pleasantly bitter edge), grass (fresh and green with a hint of soap), loads of marble, a fair bit of chrome, and the ozone is holding really well, as is the gravelly asphalt. This seems like it would be a unisex scent, but it's so bright and on me, has that touch of sweetness that makes it just verge toward feminine. I love all the different aspects of this scent and how they merge together so well and remain light, fresh, and airy. This is definitely my favourite 'green' scent, overtaking Passionate Shepherd. This has good throw and longevity, and doesn't seem to fade much my skin. By far my favourite of the C2E2 exclusives!

Dark and sort of flat, very disappointing, nothing at all like the proto. I didn't get any of the sweet, creamy, fruity or floral notes sniffed in the bottle - just dull incense and dusty black myrrh. I hope when I skin test this it's different, bc relative to the prototype I'm deeply saddened by how this scent has been deadened. I shall update this review as I properly test all the new releases over the next 7-10 days, just an FYI.