Blogs

Tiki Queen

Monoi de Tahiti, vanilla, white coconut, tuberose, ylang ylang, white musk, red hibiscus, and neroli. Reviewed: 07/08/2008 In the imp: Flowers and...pixy stix? Wet: Still flowers and pixy stix. What a strange combination, but it works so far. Drydown: The candy scent has completely faded out, and left a bouquet of tropical flowers behind. I don't get any coconut or vanilla, just pure, fresh florals. It's not my usual style, but it's pretty and I can see myself wearing it out often. Good throw and wearlength.

July 9, 2008

Pumpkin III, Pumpkin Patch 2007

Pumpkin with white chocolate, caramel, pomegranate, and cream. Reviewed: 07/08/2008 In the imp: Caramel, then an undertone of something bitter that I can't identify but makes me wrinkle my nose. Wet: That bitter undertone I noticed in the imp rears its ugly head again, but smooths out pretty quickly as the caramel and cream take over. Drydown: The caramel is gone, and that bitter note (which I'm assuming is the pomegranate, but it isn't like any of the other pomegranate notes I've tried from BPAL) hasn't come back. This has settled into a spiced cake with a hint of chocolate. I don't get actual pumpkin, but more like the spices you use for pumpkin pie. Not a huge throw. This would be wonderful in the fall, but it's a bit overwhelming for these hotter months.

July 9, 2008

meeow712's Blog

Swadhisthana: Sacral

Swadhisthana: Sacral: The Glory of Vishnu, The House of Varuna, One’s Own Abode The Six-Petaled Lotus. The unconscious, the sweetness of life, desire, pleasure, sexuality, procreation, emotion. Swadhisthana is the manifestation of passion, the reconciliation, balance and union of the masculine and feminine within ourselves. In Swadhisthana, we learn to give and receive pleasure. It is the stimulation of the life force, the basis for life itself, and our force on the physical plane. In this chakra, our samskaras are cloistered, and in this chakra they find expression. Because of the highly sexual identification of this chakra, many find its temptations and trials very difficult to overcome. **This is the first Chakra that I've tried, and WOW! I need to try more of them. In the bottle: A deliciously dark incense blend, very sensual and unique. The reviews say floral and/or citrus? But I got none of either one. I did get a bit of an iodine type of smell too. On me: Whoa. Well, it works, it is very sexual! On me this was a very sensual incensey blend with a sharp something that my nose couldn't identify (the iodine-ish type smell, but not in a bad way). At one point (once the chakra started working...), it turned into waffles with a super strong throw, and then went back to being incensey without any waffle traces. I'll have to reserve this one for special occasions.

meeow712

July 8, 2008

Nanshe

The Babylonian Goddess of Dreams, who bestows the power of Oneiromancy onto her priests. This blend opens up psychic sensitivity during sleep and aids in the understanding and correct interpretation of portents and symbols. Reviewed: 07/07/2008 In the imp: Sharp lavender, bright citrus. Very strong. Wet: Crisp, bright lemon, with something spicy lingering underneath. It's still very strong. Drydown: The lavender has been completely overpowered, and it's a spicy, bright lemon. This has one of the strongest throws I've ever found. Since I have to wear a CPAP mask that covers my face while I sleep I can't speak to any dream properties, but it's quite lovely anyway.

July 8, 2008

Magdalene

A stirring yet gentle perfume. The scent of love and devotion mingled with an undercurrent of heart-rending sorrow. A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid. Reviewed: 07/07/2008 In the imp: Sharp, strong florals. Wet: Sharp floral, an undertone of something soft and powdery. Drydown: The sharpness has faded, and only the soft florals remain. This is pretty and feminine; it 'feels' very gentle and spring-ish. It has decent throw but fades relatively quickly. I think it would be interesting to put it in a scent locket and my skin at the same time, so that the locket would retain the sharpness but it could take on the softer scent on my skin.

July 8, 2008

TP'd Trees

TP'd Trees! -- Cypress, oak, and pine covered in 2-ply! Reviewed: 07/06/2008 In the imp: It's not the pine scent I expected. It smells like something labeled "mountain spring fresh" rather than anything piney or woody. Wet: Wow, is this subtle. Not at all what I expected. It's aquatic and light, slightly powdery. Drydown: Still very subtle. Not much throw, but it lasted a decently long time. There's a skin-musk-and-powder scent here that reminds me a lot of Enraged Bunny Musk. I've been putting off testing this one because wood notes are so awful on me, but I really, really like this. It's very light and fresh and cool, a perfect scent for the dog days of summer.

July 7, 2008

Rozpustnica

Blue and white musks, moonflower, rose, magnolia, lemon verbena, and lychee. Reviewed: 07/06/2008 In the imp: Very sharp. I can definitely smell the lemon verbena and lychee. Wet: I'm not just clean, I'm Zestfully clean! This smells just like Zest soap. Drydown: I'm getting a bit of rose now, and a small amount of that citrus freshness that lychee gives, but it's overlaid with a strong soap scent. This is definitely not for me.

July 7, 2008

Smut 2008

Smut! Smut! Smut! Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. Reviewed 07/05/2008 In the imp: MUSK! Wet: Wait, where did it go?? There's nothing, literally no scent at all. Did my skin eat it in the 15 seconds it took me to swipe, cap the imp, and sniff? How *weird*. Drydown: Powdery, faintly spicy musk, with absolutely no throw. What little I do get smells like it could be very sexy but it disappears the moment it touches my skin no matter how much I slather. I have to practically drown myself in it to get a whiff of anything at all, and used nearly 1/3 of the imp just to properly test it. This has the potential to be really wonderful, but my skin drinks it down faster than someone guzzling water in the desert.

July 6, 2008

Titania

A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon. Reviewed 07/05/2008 In the imp: Pear and sweet pea, fairly strong. More floral that fruity. Wet: Grape juice, a hint of peach and floral. The floral notes take a back seat to the fruits. Drydown: Refreshing, clean, girlish and innocent. This is very well-blended, no one note takes over although I can definitely smell sweet pea, which happens to be my birthflower. This is a very different pear than the Haunted House '07 scents; those turned into play-doh on my skin, while this stays sparkling and fresh. I see this becoming a favorite summer scent. Medium wear length and it clings close to the skin with little throw, so the sweetness doesn't become overpowering on hot, sticky days.

July 6, 2008

Mead Moon 2008

Golden mead, fermented with gruit, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger root, sweet-briar, rosemary, and lemon. Reviewed 07/04/2008 In the bottle: Honey, lemon, and a hint of ginger. On my skin: This quickly becomes vaguely-honey-scented baby powder. WAHHH. It has good throw and lasts for EVER, so I think I'll let it age for a few months and test it again.

July 4, 2008

Hay Moon 2008

Hay absolute, tall grasses, dry honey, mallow, cardamom, amber, and wheat. Reviewed 07/04/2008 In the bottle: This screams 'perfume'. I almost didn't want to try it. On my skin: My grandfather. I can't even sniff for notes because this smells EXACTLY like my grandfather, the unique combination of his aftershave, soap, hair stuff, cologne, and tanned skin. When I smell this I see his face, it is *dead on*. My partner thinks this smells amazingly yummy and would love me to wear it all the time. It's lovely, but I don't think it's something I can wear because it makes me all teary.

BPAL and Dragons Living in Harmony

July 4, 2008

Abner's Dragon Book

Abner was my very first dragon. His name means "father of light", and he represents my total descent into dragon madness. His egg theft, hatching, growth statistics and official adult portrait are viewable at: Abner's Page on Dragon Cave Like any fond mother, I have collected some baby pictures. I'll be adding them at a later date. Abner is the head of our entire brood.

Peaches 2

July 3, 2008

Crossroads

Category: Wanderlust It's a strong, pungeant, incensey scent on me...sort of like frankinsence, maybe. Something very woody and cedar-y. Unfortunately, incense just does not seem to love my skin. There's also a sweet note, or pack of them, lurking underneath the smokey, dust-covered surface of it all; and though sometimes the sweetness comes out to assert itself, it never quite reveals just what the heck it is. Could be florals, could be herbs, I really can't tell. While redolant and persistant, it's just not doing anything for me. Off to a home that will appreciate you, little imp.

July 3, 2008

Fruit of Paradise

Category: Limited Editions: Yule 2007 I didn't really get any tartness from this; sweetness, yes, but never shrill or sickly...it had a nice, full body to it. I think my only complaint about it would be that it doesn't throw quite as far or last as long as I would like. But it's quite a lovely scent, and sensual in its own way (which I suppose is appropriate...)

July 3, 2008

Cobra Lily

Category: Rappacini's Garden In the imp, it is a very moist, almost dewy green scent, one one might expect to find in the stem or bulb of a plant, rather than nestled between its petals, although there is also a faint, sugary sort of note as well. Once on, it gets a bit of tartness and bite to it. As if one has plucked it from its watery nesting place, crushing the stem in the process; it is pungeantly sweet, like oranges, and yet when I place my nose close against my wrist, I can smell the peppery tartness of clove, the serpent's bite amidst its strangely-configured petals. Oddly enough, the edge to it never gets horribly overwhelming. It is very tantalizing, in fact. This also had a fairly strong throw, and lasted throughout the day. Very nice. I'm finding I like the Garden scents quite a lot, and this one wants to edge into my favorites.

July 3, 2008

Cheshire Cat

Category: Mad Tea Party Mmmm, yummy, I like the Cheshire Cat. It smells of sugared grapefruit, as others have mentioned, and I believe that there is a plump, moist note from the current, with the herbal notes at the very background of things. It's quite lovely. It has a decent throw and staying power, too...a nice scent for summertime, definitely. I like how the tartness of the grapefruit is mellowed by the other notes to create a very creamy scent.