Since 1928, Mother Shub and her brood have been providing the snack shacks of the Miskatonic Valley with a bevy of otherworldly sweets and baked treats. This year, Mother Shub has created a promotional perfume oil that embodies the scent of her famous Peanut Brittle Caramel Popcorn. Iä! Shub-Niggurath! Thank you for an eon of community support!
Reviewed 4/22/2008
In the bottle: Hot, dripping-with-butter popcorn.
Wet: Buttery popcorn, and a hint of sweetness coming out.
Drydown: The popcorn settles down and sweet caramel comes forward. I'm not getting anything peanut-y at all. The caramel note is amazingly real, and combined with the lingering butter it reminds me of fresh, homemade caramels being pressed into a buttered pan.
Fairly low throw, but decent wear length; I couldn't wait to get home and slathered some on right there in the post office after I picked up the package. That was about three hours ago, and it hasn't faded much at all despite the fact that my skin drinks oils for breakfast. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket tomorrow!
The perfect vanilla mint.
Reviewed 10/27/2007
This is so very different from other vanilla mint scents like Tokyo Stomp, Lick It, and Lick It Again. The only way I can describe this is as a WARM mint. It is utterly gorgeous and delicious the way the lab's mints always are, but it doesn't have that chilly cold feel that most of the mint scents do. Something in the combination of vanilla and butter in this blend make it feel like mint wrapped in a blanket in front of the fireplace, and I love it so much.
The radiance and desolation of winter.
Reviewed 08/26/2007
I don't get any of the mint I expected from this. It's a light, cold, watery floral. It has almost no throw and clings very close to my skin. After a five or six hours it turns very sweet, almost vanilla-ish.
I absolutely love wearing this right now, because it has been insanely hot and muggy lately and sniffing this makes me feel cool even when I'm sweating to death.
A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.
Reviewed 01/09/2008
Wet, this is basically an almond single note on my skin. There isn't even a hint of floral.
As it dries, well, it's still almond, but with a hint of something sweeter. Since I'm a foody to the core, that works perfectly well for me and I may try layering it. It doesn't feel cold to me at all, it has more of a spring feel. I only wish it had more throw; apparently, Snow White is quite a shy girl because it's so light that I could miss it entirely if I didn't have my nose pressed against my hand.
It's not what I was expecting, but still definitely a winner.
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.
The Master of Lightning's ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane.
Reviewed 01/26/2008
I got this as a lab frimp. It's been on my "things I might want to try, but has a scary note so there are other things I want more at the moment" list for a few months now, so I was glad for a chance to try it out.
Wet: OMGFRUIT. Banana, coconut, pineapple, apples, I can pick out each one. I adore really juicy fruit scents, the kind that make you thirsty for some fresh juice when you sniff them, and this seems to be one of those.
Drydown: This isn't something I can stick my nose in and inhale, the chili pepper makes sure of that (if I try, my nose starts to twitch, heh). It's got a good throw, though, so I don't have to. I was nervous about the chili, but it didn't irritate the skin on my wrist at all. It did burn my face where I accidentally touched the test spot to my cheek, so I think it's a wrist-only scent for me. It only lasted a few hours, but I know that my skin drinks oils up and very few last longer than that. I will definitely be nabbing a bottle of this in the future.
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.
Lick It:
What else could possibly be more lickable at Yuletide? This is a candy cane perfume, minty, sweet and sugared.
Lick It Again:
Every holiday season should be full of lewd suggestions and filthy double entendres, right? This is a new take on last year's Lick It -- a peppermint candy cane with an extra jolt of sugar.
Lick It One More Time:
Every holiday season should be full of lewd suggestions and filthy double entendres, right? This is a new take on Lick It and Lick It Again -- a peppermint candy cane with a flash of vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar.
Reviewed 11/23/2007
I realized that I have never reviewed any of the Lick It line when my bottles of One More Time came. So what else was there to do but put all three on and do some comparisons?
Bottle:
The original '05 Lick It is a very sharp, intense peppermint in the bottle, with just a hint of something sweet underneath. The '06 version is much more mellow to my nose, but '07 is very close to the '05 version.
Wet:
On application, all three go on very strong.
'05 is immediately very sweet while still maintaining the sharpness of the mint.
'06 softens as soon as it touches my skin, with the vanilla and sugar pushing the mint into the background.
'07 reminds me of the original again, the peppermint staying strong as the sweetness swirls up, just like smelling a real candy cane.
Drydown:
The best wear comes from '05. It mellows considerably and has very little throw, but it lasts for hours if I bring my wrist to my nose. Smelling it is like licking your lips an hour after you've eaten a candy cane, a minty memory on your tongue.
'06 has very little throw as well. The mint tends to fade out after a few hours, but the soft vanilla sugar lingers on my skin for much longer. There's something seductive about it, and it reminds me a bit of Snowblind.
My skin drinks '07 like water. After less than an hour it is completely gone, with only a faint dusty smell left like I've been carrying around old books. Even the vanilla, which my skin normally holds on to for dear life, disappears without a trace. It's the closest to '05 in scent...while it's there. I love it enough to keep it and just slather it on every hour, but I'm wondering if the aging of the original is a factor in how well it stays so I'll be tucking a bottle away in a dark corner to see if it helps. If not, there's always a scent locket, right?
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.
Dark, decadent and incomparably exotic: the rich scent of buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras.
Reviewed 07/28/2007
In the bottle and wet I loved this: spicy, strong notes of cloves and cinnamon with something buttery and creamy under it. Intoxicating, sexy, confident...and then it dried. *sigh* Dry, it turned into old-lady soap (or maybe old Avon perfume) with a hint of Big Red gum. It smelled like the inside of my great-grandmother's purse. The throw was strong enough that when it went old-lady on me I had to go scrub it off because it was giving me a headache. I tested this on my inner elbow, so maybe this will be different on my wrists or at another time of the month.
I tried it on my mister, and wet it was all cherry syrup. As it dried the spiciness came out, but the cherries held their own. Does this have a peppery note in it? It gave me a pepper feel. The butter rum never manifested. The throw wasn't nearly as strong on him, I noticed. Even if this stays Avon-ish on me, it'll be good for the rare times I can convince the boy to wear scent.
Silliness in the extreme. Vanilla bean, honeycomb, sugared pear, sweet pea and a dribble of strawberry.
Reviewed 01/30/2008
This seems to be very iffy on me. Sometimes it's very sweet, a sugar overload with hints of strawberry, vanilla, and flowers floating in the background. Other times, the pear note that hates me comes forward and it becomes sugary play-doh. Very very strange, since it doesn't seem to be a skin chemistry issue because it can happen all in the same day. I adore the way it smells when the play-doh stays away, so I'll keep wearing it and hoping for the good application. *L*
A sweet and silly compliment to the first breath of Spring! Sugared carnation and phlox!
Reviewed 01/07/2008
I admit, I've been prejudiced against carnations. I found that I like some blends with carnations, though, so I was willing to give Pink Moon a try.
I really enjoyed the spiciness that I've come to recognize as BPAL's carnation note, but after that initial yummy spice it turned into pure play-doh on me the way Beaver Moon '05 did. One odd note about this one: my cats went crazy over it. Completely and utterly bonkers. They were fighting each other to get to the spot I applied it and wouldn't stop sniffing and licking it. I've never seen anything like it!
The name of this moon refers to the color of wild ground phlox, a primary component of this Lunacy Blend, which is one of the most widespread floral signposts of springtime in North America. This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season.
Reviewed 02/11/2008
Pink Moon 2007 didn't work on me at all, so I was nervous about trying the earlier version. Needlessly worried, I discovered. This is beautiful!
In the imp: Sweet and floral, but not overpowering Avon-ish floral.
Wet: Sugared flowers, the kind you see used to decorate cakes.
Drydown: Flowers and a sweetness that might be sugar or honey or even a hint of strawberry. It's very delicate and feminine. It sings Spring to me, and I need that at this time of year. I want to slather this all over the next time the temperature dips below freezing so I can daydream about little pink flowers and budding greenery. It has a surprisingly good weartime for such a delicate scent.
Glowing liquid passes through the fogged retorts of ancient alembics, sparks fly from behind a massive workbench, and a cloud of thick incense smoke hangs low, all casting strange and surreal flashes of light and shadow on tall bolted-steel walls. The chug and hum of gargantuan machines echo through the chamber.
Burnished gold and oiled bronze notes with Abramelin incense and sage.
Reviewed 04/21/2008
I can't remember exactly what I wrote last night, since it got lost in the forum burp. But I do remember that this smelled exactly like a perfume I had as a child called Topaz. It came in a bottle shaped like a lamb, and I'm not sure who made it. I probably won't ever wear this, but I'll sniff it every once in a while to go back to that innocent time in my life.
Medieval romance and courtly love. White rose and soft resins.
Reviewed 03/20/2008
In the imp: Flowers, but not roses specifically, and a hint of incense.
Wet: Now it's rose, a light, tangy rose with fresh greenery. There's nothing that says resin or incense anymore.
Drydown: This is my perfect rose scent. Not a touch of powder the way many roses go on my skin, light and fresh, simply gorgeous, never overpowering. It has a long wear time and a decent throw, which surprised me since it's such a light scent. I *love* this one, and I think it will become a mainstay of my spring scent wardrobe.
She is the Goddess of the Sky, one of the Ennead, daughter of the air [shu] and water [Tefnut], lover of Geb and Hadit, the Eternal Mother, and the Receiver, Reviver and Protector of the Dead, whose loving, divine embrace shields our souls from annihilation. She is love, rapture, splendor, continuous and eternal birth and rebirth, infinite space, and the “the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night”. Nuit is Earth’s guardian, and shields her lover and her mortal children from the primeval chaos that threatens Existence. Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower.
Reviewed 01/03/2008
Gorgeous. Florals aren't my normal favorites, but this is beautiful and calming. It's pure, feminine, floral. I rarely get a color feeling from a scent, but this 'feels' midnight blue to me. While sniffing I had an undeniable urge to just close my eyes and breathe very slowly and deeply, and I actually almost fell asleep. I think this would be amazing as a meditation oil or a sleep aid, maybe on an eye mask or a pillow. The throw is medium and it has a long wear time.
Annihilation. The ice, desolation and barrenness of nuclear devastation shot through by a beam of radioactive mints.
Reviewed 03/21/2008
In the imp: Minty, but a different mint than the other minty BPAL scents I like (Snowblind, Tokyo Stomp, etc.)
Wet: This is a spicier mint than I'm used to, and it is amazing. I love this. YUM.
Drydown: This kept the spicy mint scent, but a tiny bit of greenness has come out under it, like the first little sprouts of grass peeking up through the snow. I want buckets of this, gallons and gallons of it so I can bathe in it. It feels so cool and fresh. I wish it had a bit more throw, but that might be my oil-drinking skin.
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.
A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew.
Reviewed 03/07/2008
IIn the imp: This reminds me of an Avon perfume my great-grandmother drenched herself in. It's making me really hesitant to try this, but here goes...
Wet: Subtle floral, something fresh and green. Not nearly as strong as I thought it would be, thankfully.
Drydown: Very pretty and feminine. I scanned some of the previous reviews and saw a lot of people describing this as a pink rose, but in my mind it's pure white, a rosebud just beginning to unfurl. It was on the verge of soapy for a while, but it never quite went over. It smells very fresh and clean, very cool, and it's not overpowering at all. In fact, it's very very light and fades away quickly.
The Moon of Ice shines its pale white light on snow-blanketed hills and barren fields. Icicles dangle from skeletal branches, and the desperate howl of starving men and beasts echo through the darkness.
Frost-crusted winter flowers, white pine, eucalyptus, and traditional lunar oils.
Reviewed 03/12/2008
In the bottle: I can't pinpoint what I'm smelling, but it smells like something I used to use to mop my floors. Very cleaning-fluidish.
Wet: This is so sharp and cold it almost hurts! I can definitely pinpoint the eucalyptus and something else herbal.
Drydown: After a few minutes this settles into something that reminds me of Jabberwocky. It's citrus, almost creamy, with a hint of flowers lingering in the background and a tang of eucalyptus giving it all an edge. It's got a light throw, but it lasts a long time. 12 hours and multiple hand-washings after I put this on I could still get whiffs of it if I lifted my hand to my nose.
I really didn't expect to like this, but I *really* do. I wish I'd gotten more than one bottle while it was up.
A sweet reward for a worthy deed: caramelized sugar and sweet cream.
Reviewed 07/21/2008
In the bottle: Butter creamed together with sugar and vanilla. Cue Homer-ish drooling now.
Wet: Butter and vanilla, strongly. It's verging on that plastic, play-doh note of Beaver Moon '05, which makes me nervous.
Drydown: This dries down to creamy, soft, sugared vanilla. It's lingering close to my skin, but it has lasted for hours and hours. It came very close to that play-doh note for a while, but backed down and stayed lovely. A foody dream come true.
May marks the apex of the year's fertility, expresses the reawakening of the sexuality of the Earth and her inhabitants, and May's full moon celebrates both the fecundity of the creatures and flora of this world and the vibrancy, rejuvenation and life-affirming energy of Spring. Milk Moon is Flower Moon's warmer, gentler cousin; it is a scent that emulates the closeness of child and mother. In it, cream and warm honey soften our traditional blend of lunar oils.
Reviewed 03/08/2008
In the bottle: It smells like a certain milk candy I used to eat when I was young.
Wet: Milk, but it's barely there. It reminds me a bit of Chaste Moon. I put on quite a bit, just this short of slathering, and I still have to put my wrist all the way to my nose to smell anything.
Drydown: It gets a bit minty, and then suddenly it turns into sour milk and cat pee. Oh skin chemistry, you have failed me once again. *sigh*
A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers.
Reviewed 02/18/2008
In the bottle: Mmm, berries.
Wet: Luscious, juicy berries. I don't know plum well enough to know if it's plum specifically, but it's wonderful.
Drydown: Still very juicy. The berries are on top, but there is something underneath that makes it feel cold to my nose. It's an actual sensation; the insides of my nostrils feel cold if I bring my hand to my nose and sniff closely. I really love this. It did make me itch for a short time, but it didn't last and didn't make the skin red at all. It's got a good wear time, but the throw isn't as strong as I'd like.
A bombardment of edible carnival indulgences. Funnel cake, caramel apple, cotton candy, salt water taffy and sugar tart.
Reviewed 01/21/2008
In the bottle I get mostly sugar, a touch of something tangy, and a hint of coconut suntan lotion.
Wet: It's hovering on the edge of that plastic, playdoh scent Beaver Moon '05 gave me. NOOOOOO!
Dry: My skin eats every other note and leaves funnel cake, dusted generously with powdered sugar. NOMNOMNOM is the perfect description for this. I don't get any apple at all, which is a shame, because I love caramel apple and was hoping for some of that to come out. It doesn't have much throw, and fades out quickly, but it's worth the repeated slathering. I'm glad I nabbed two bottles of this while it was up, and I'm sure I'll be on the hunt for more.
Eternal desire, unquenchable passion: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, and blood wine.
Reviewed 01/04/2008
One of my resolutions for the new year is to be more on top of testing and reviewing my BPAL, especially the approximately 100 untried imps sitting in my imp box. So I've started randomly grabbing two each night and testing them out, whether I thought I would like the notes or not.
Wet and Initial Drydown: Ew. EWW. I smell like BO and something flowery. Normally musks work with my skin, so maybe it's the nicotiana or the patchouli.
Complete Drydown: Oh yes. This is finally coming together and smells wonderful. Now I get the cherry cola-ish scent that people mention. It's dark, but sparkling and not overpowering. I'm in awe, the lab made something that is dark and light at the same time. It's very sexy, in a commanding way. I think that I could get past the initial funky stage and wear this, but it's definitely not an office scent.
