lilacea

Wowsers, wet this is so bright and startling. The ho wood adds a camphorous, almost citrus like note, juicy bamboo lifts this right up there as well, the snake oil is barely detectable at this point. But the dry down on this is the best, the snake oil is there, the musk just amping it a little, and all those wonderful top notes have lifted it just slightly. It's pretty, but still sexy. A touch fruity (which I'm not too keen on).

I'm really surprised at how noticable the aloe is to others, I barely sense it at all on the skin, and only barely in the bottle. What I do get is a fresh, clean papyrus, vanilla, blue musk and light sandalwood. There's a hint of a floral element (this might be the vanilla flower, which I'm a little confused by, not ever having had the chance to smell a real vanilla orchid, they just don't grow where I live, dammit. And even if they did, the flower only lasts one day, so I imagine it would be something quite special smelling). All up, this has a fresh feel, light and airy and almost effervesent, with lovely grounding notes. Very low throw, but I love how every now and again you get these gorgeous wiffs of something delightful.

Resinous, sweet incense sums this one up nicely. Frankincense is tempered with a tiny touch of beeswax, possibly a teensy touch of myrrh just for that smoky feel and an incredibly dark red smelling, sticky resin which stands out above all else. I have no idea what it is, but it's a very baked dark red berry like smell, but unmistakenly resinous. For all it's sweetness, it works quite nicely on my skin. Al Azif comparisons are noted! Edited: There is definitely some black pepper here, it's subtle, but I have been noticing it since I wrote this review, so I thought it might be worth mentioning.

I've hesitated to try this one on my skin for so long because wet, it's just so astrigent and medicinal. There's a wintergreen-ish sort of note present here too. But dry on the skin, this warms and becomes something else. Lovely soft green grassy notes and a touch of green citrus. The lavender isn't terribly apparent on my skin, nor the mint (I'm yet to have a BPAL mint actually stay on my skin for more than a few seconds, and seeing as this was a very light mint, there wasn't much hope). I can't really pick what the green herbs are, but they do make for a lovely and smooth dry down

On me this is mostly aloe and white musk, with a green background. The lime peel is remarkably sweet (this may be because of the combination with the green tea, which usually turns sweet on my skin). Not even a hint of mint sadly to my nose, and given that verbena normally amps like crazy on my skin, it's doing a good job at staying very subtle here, so much so that if it wasn't listed in the notes, I may never have picked it out. It's a very fresh, green scent overall.

I just rediscovered my decant of this, and the aging process has really done this oil justice. Papyrus, light sandalwood and light cedar are joined by warm, rich, almost fruity musk. It really blooms now and has a richness it didn't posses the last time I tried it. There's a slight hint of powdery dust, but this is really close to the skin.

Slightly sweet, very simple, understated blend this one is. Pretty and soft tea rose, with frankincense lending a slight camphorous, almost lemony quality on the initial application, and a hint of that sweet note that appears in BPAL's incensy blends. The dry down is not all that far removed from the initial application, the rose does take over just a little, becomes softly powdered around the edges, but mostly stays true. Feminine, simple, soft, light throw.

This is a stunningly gorgeous masculine scent. The clove stands out upon first application, but once dry it mingles to reveal the slightest hint of neroli, just a touch of leather and some musk to bind it all. The tonka lends a rounder feel to the whole blend, adding a slight vanillin sweetness to counter act all those bitter notes. Can't detect the cinnamon in this, it is very subtle. It's spicy, warm and the teensiet bit creamy.

If I had not seen vetiver listed in the notes, I would not have picked it in this blend. It's a soft, cold, icy floral with not a hint of vetiver to my nose, although it does have an ever so slight touch of smokeyness, which must be the vetiver playing nicely with me for a change. Wet, this has traces of clear mint and some sort of pine/spruce/fir note at the front. As it dries, out come the florals. There's a touch of soapy violet, and something that smells like camellia. I get hints of citrus and light musk before this really blooms on my skin. I'm generally not a big floral fan, but this is soft and subdued and just a touch aquatic. Pleasant.

I pick predominately lavender and rose from this blend, it's a very soft, loving rose. I used as directed and annointed the soles of my feet, temples, and other areas as specified. Fell asleep as normal, but man, the dreams! I don't often reach the third and forth stages of sleep due to a medical condition, so I rarely dream, but this night it was dreams a go go! Crazy, wacky, dreams, one running into the other, for what seemed like ages. I've been a little hesitant to use this again lest it's another wacky dream filled night for me.

Wet: potent lavender with a leather undercurrent. As it warms on the skin there's a hint of something almost like lilac. Nowhere do I see the lime though. Dry: this is leather, leather, leather! It's missing that pine-y note I usually detect in BPAL leather, so it's all leather and nothing more. The lavender has faded by this point, leaving this dominant, pure leather. It has a gorgeous gray, polished feeling about it.

Thanks for the suggestions, some of the cocoa ones are on my to try list, even though cocoa tends to disappear pretty fast on me. Mianjo, I bought an imp of Freak Show off you a few weeks ago! Lovely stuff, comes out nice and tangy. I think it's the rice milk I think that has me most intrigued, I love that nutty creaminess, haven't seen it listed in any other oils yet. Thanks all for your help.

I'm loving the cocoa, ricemilk and teakwood notes from Boomslang, but am not so keen on the Snake Oil being there as it tends to go super sweet on me. I'm looking for something with the warm light creamy woodiness, but with out the sweetness. Got any Recommendations?

Thanks bloody sore, I shall do that. I've been actively avoiding carnation anyway, so I'd like to know if that was the culprit for sure, or if there's some other oil at fault.

I seem to be having a reaction to carnation in BPAL. Pink Moon and Morocco both gave me itchy read, sore spots where I applied it. Lurid Library is now doing that to me. I seem to remember having a mild reation to Misk U a long time ago, so I've come to two conclusions: Lurid Library had carnation in it (possible) Lurid Library has something Misk U has (more than likely, given they are both "library" scents) What's the best way of finding out exactly what this might be, so I can avoid it in future if necessary?

Wet: Light, fresh lemony black tea. Dry down: the bergamot pops out to create a more Earl Grey like tea, the leather sits under this comfortably. Then I get a very distinctive field mushroom vibe taking over once it's had a bit of time. Field mushroom and bergamot .

Wet: this reminds me some what of champagne. Perhaps that's the grapefruit? Wearing: Initially I'm getting rose and the faintest trace of jasmine. It warms just slightly to release a lemongrass smell, and maybe a touch of eucalyptus? Behind these are floral notes I can't pick. This is a cool scent; high, bright and clear.

First sniff: This one starts off with light green mint leaves and a little soul (must be the bourbon note I'm smelling). Wearing: This morphed. A lot. First few minutes it turned from the green mint to a heady pink musk. Once this settled, out came something deeper, an almost herbal smell. Took me a while to figure it out, but it was a sugary aniseed. Then shifted to a distinctive champhor like scent. But through all these stages, it stayed mellow. No note jumped out too far, it stayed pretty well balanced through all this. All in all, this is one mellow cool cat. Unfortunately it didn't last quite as long as I would have liked, but this just means I get to put more on

This is a scent that conjures up those hot, sticky sweltering summer nights spent outdoors. First sniff in the vial, I immediately notice the jasmine, then white flowers and the vanilla. On my skin, it's the vanilla that stands out above any other note. It's a beautiful, natural vanilla bean smell, not cloying sweet, very muted.

Wet- this is sharp to my nose, rosemary and frankincense, a green woody fragrance Dry- Lime, lots of lime on my skin, but with a bit of body. Smells a little something like Koola cordial or Lads Love herb.