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.
The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. - Mark Twain
The Fool is many things, but rarely is he foolish. He is the inscrutable zero, he is innocence perfected, and he is the nothing from which all things are created. It is the Fool that reveals truth and brings wisdom to King Lear, and it is the Fool that finally finds the Holy Grail.
Huckleberry, white rose, tangerine, nicotiana, lemon blossom, and Fool's Parsley.
Reviewed 04/27/2008
Wet: Wow, that's a sharp herbal. Yikes.
Drydown: I'm getting the rose now, a hint of citrus, and a sweetness I'm guessing is the huckleberry. It's still grounded by a green herbal I'm assuming is the parsley, but it's lost that knife-sharp edge that I was getting before. This is definitely not what I was expecting, but it's very pretty and it lasts a really long time.
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.
In Irish folklore the Dana O'Shee are a fae, elven people that live in a realm of beauty, their nobility akin to our that own Age of Chivalry, eternally beautiful and eternally young. They surround themselves with the pleasures of the Arts, they live for the hunt, and to this day can be seen riding in procession through the Irish countryside at twilight, led by their King and Queen. However, the Dana O'Shee are not benevolent creatures, despite what their unearthly beauty may imply. They are vengeful and treacherous and possess a streak of mischievous malice, and many have whispered that their true home lies deep in the shadowed groves of the Realm of the Dead. Hearing even a single chord of their otherworldly music leaves one stunned and lost to the mortal realms for ever, finding themselves prey to the Dana O'Shee's hunt or enslaved in their Court as servants or playthings. Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name.
Reviewed 07/31/2007
When I first put this on, there's a burst of dark, juicy, almost overripe cherry that fades almost immediately; if I don't raise my wrist to my nose immediately, I completely miss the phase. After the momentary cherry phase, it immediately settles into a warm, creamy milk and honey scent that is grounded with just a touch of oatmeal. It's not a terribly strong throw, but when I move my hands you can definitely smell it in the air and it seems to last for ages on my skin...I wore this for ten hours without a single re-application. This is the first scent that someone else has noticed on me (without me pointing it out), and I was complimented three different times while wearing it at work today. I would love this as a room scent, too, and I'm seriously thinking of going out and buying an oil burner just for that. It just has a very inviting, comforting, calming feel to it. It's official, Tokyo Stomp now has some stiff competition for the top spot in my growing arsenal.
The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood.
Reviewed: 01/21/2008
In the imp: COFFEE!
Wet: COFFEE! It's screaming. I'm picturing someone hyped up on 15 espresso shots chanting coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee. It's nothing but coffee. If I liked coffee it would be wonderful, but I don't drink it and I'm not a big fan.
Drydown: This is still screaming COFFEE! at me. It's very in-your-face. Every now and then a swirl of booziness will bubble up, like someone trying to sober up after a long night, but only rarely. This would be perfect for the teacher my kid had last year who adored coffee and was a wine connoisseur, and I think I may pass this on to her for her birthday. It's very well done, it has a good throw and it lasts a long time, but it's just not for me.
Edited to fix spelling. Apparently, I need some of the caffeine from the coffee in this perfume. *L*
Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk.
Reviewed 03/26/2008
I didn't sniff the imp of this, because I was nervous after reading the notes and didn't want to pre-judge it. I didn't read the reviews either. The teak note makes me nervous, wood goes to sawdust on me normally, and I've never smelled Snake Oil so I can't compare it with that.
Wet: No sawdust yet, thank goodness. It's mostly dark cocoa, with a hint of something like caramel. It's not sweet or foody though. It's complex, I can smell some other, spicy notes floating around but I can't identify them.
Drydown: This stained my skin where I put it on for a test patch. After about half an hour a sandalwood-like note came up and became very prominent, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else. It's very strong, and I'm not really fond of it. At the same time, a pounding headache came on. I'm not sure if they're related, but I had to go wash it off anyway. I'll have to test it again to see if the headache returns, but right now I'm not fond of this one.
A huge crowd mills in front of the next stage. You hear the din of their voices, chattering in a Babel’s fall of languages, laughing and buzzing with a strange anticipation. As you get closer, you notice that they are wearing a motley mix of clothing from ages past… all rotting, all in shreds. In the sea of faces, all bearing a similar chalky pallor, some stand out: there is a woman in a threadbare Burgundian gown, a young man in torn breeches and sagging slops, a maiden in a dagged-sleeve houppelande that is splattered with cruor, a snarling Victorian rogue with a battered silk top hat, and a vacant-eyed man in a shredded Confederate uniform. As you make your way through the crowd, you feel cold fingers pluck at your clothing, and the hard, almost glassy skin that you brush against radiates an unnatural cold. You hear tittering sighs as you push through the gathering, and your skin prickles as you feel icy breath upon your neck. Abruptly, someone cries out, and the strange congregation begins clapping a steady rhythm. Their voices rise in a tintamar of ghastly cheers as torches flare to life on the stage. The firelight illuminates a gargantuan, shining black stake in the center of the stage. It is festooned with black ribbons, drooping moss, and viciously-colored poisonous blooms in a playful, grotesque mockery of a Maypole. Two women, clutched tightly in a brutal embrace, spin onto the stage, shaking a tambourine and clacking a hembra in time with the clapping. One is clad in violet, with violet tresses to match; the other is a vision of swirling rose. Their long, waving hair whips in manic arcs as they twirl, stomp, and pirouette around the onyx shaft. The crowd becomes more and more frenzied as the dance reaches a mad crescendo, and suddenly you realize that the two are one: they are conjoined, identical twins, bound eternally at the ribs. The violet sister, caught in the throes of the ritual’s passion, throws her head back and moans. She bares a set of gleaming white fangs and bites deeply into her sister's neck. The rose maiden screams in joy, and returns her sister’s violent kiss as the crowd explodes into Corybantic mayhem. Simplicity and innocence, gleefully despoiled! Hope is sugared rose, Faith is sugared violet. The sisters are inseparable, and may only be purchased together.
Reviewed 07/30/2007
In the bottle this was so yummy and perfect: candied violets and thick powdered sugar icing, innocent and youthful but somehow entirely adult, and I loved it. It started off gorgeous wet, too, but when it dried it turned horribly wrong. It smelled like a Hug-A-Jug, one of those awful pure-sugar drinks, with a faint note of hand soap underneath. I sniff this on my skin and immediately think of Little League games from my childhood. Not something I want to smell like at work or out for the evening.
I passed this one off to the munchkin. If anyone can pull off a childishly sweet scent it's an eight year old, right? Imagine my surprise when she tried it on and the violets deepened, the sugar faded to a bare hint, and she was left with the gorgeous, delicate scent I originally fell in love with. Little monster, I'm sending her out to work to fund her own BPAL habit! *LOL*
Unreleased scent, no description
Reviewed 03/08/2008
I really wanted this to work on me because I love the concept. I don't know what my skin chemistry is doing, but it turned into cinnamon-spiced celery! What the heck?
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.
Electric ozone, opaline notes, moonflower, white amber, beeswax, and three roses.
Reviewed 03/20/2008
In the imp: Is there something in there? I can't smell anything. How weird.
Wet: Powder, but not baby powder. There's something swirling around underneath that is threatening to turn evil on my skin.
Drydown: Powder, but a creamy powder. I'm not getting any floral notes at all. This is pretty, but it's not something I'll wear often at all. I wanted so badly to hoard this one because of the name, but I think I'll just stick with my imp.
As light and innocent as your first time should have been. The fresh scent of lotus hidden behind lightly scented flowers, amber, and citrus.
Reviewed: 08/01/2007
Forbidden Fruit was Juicy Fruit gum with a bottom note of cat pee on me. On munchkin, it was gorgeous, sparkling citrusy-floral with just the right amount of sweetness. I'm sensing a trend here: scents that I really want to try wind up smelling awful on me and disgustingly good on my kid. *Definitely* time to sell her to the circus.
Strawberry moon is a blending of strawberries and cream with light, dry lotus and soft ylang ylang and a touch of green tea and sage to bring it closer to Earth.
Reviewed 01/04/2008
This is absolutely beautiful. It's very true-to-life, like a bowl full of fresh strawberries and homemade cream. I don't get the plastic, fake note that other people have mentioned, but I also don't get any hint of tea or anything green at all. This is very fresh and summery and delicious, and it breaks my heart that I adore it so much because I know I'll never be able to afford a bottle of it!
A super-sweet, glittering mountain of crushed hard candy: watermelon, pink lime, lemon, strawberry and piles upon piles of crystalline sugar.
Reviewed 03/08/2008
This is absolute silliness in a bottle, and I adore it. A mountain of hard candy is the perfect description for this. I don't get much watermelon, but there's tons of lemon and lime with a dash of strawberry thrown in, with a few pounds of sugar piled on top. It smells like rock candy. I think what I love most about this scent is that it's impossible to sniff it without smiling, you just can't be sad if you're wearing it.
As sweet as death, as deep as the grave: pomegranate, raspberry, gardenia, plum, and rose with patchouli, black pepper, rose musk, and a hint of blood accord.
Reviewed 09/09/2007
I am really torn about this one. I absolutely love the subtle florals and juicy, dark berries. In the bottle, it is absolutely perfect. But on my skin there is an odd smell that comes out, I'm not sure what it is but it makes my nose tickle like a whiff of Vicks Vap-o-rub does. Maybe the pepper? It's not horribly strong but it doesn't fade away. I'm going to give it a few more tries and see how it does around other people, and if they notice that same weird scent when I wear it I may try aging it for a while before trying again.
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 sticky sweet scent of candy corn!
Reviewed 02/11/2008
In the bottle: Buttered corn. Not candy corn, real corn.
Wet: Creamed corn. Eek!
Drydown: Butter and sugar, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon? The spicy part smells like a bottle of pumpkin pie spice. Thank *goodness* the real corn scent faded! It doesn't really smell like candy corn on me, but it does smell good. It has a very definite fall feel to it. I don't get any of the booziness that some reviews have mentioned, and that makes me happy as most of the Lab's booze notes don't work well on me. This is foody but not overly so; it doesn't scream "Eat me!" in your face the way something like El Dia de Reyes does. I think it would be wearable even for people who don't tend to like foody scents.
If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings... It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence...A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters.
Reviewed 08/02/2007
Where are my aquatics? Where are my green notes? Why does my skin hate me?
Soap. Strong, masculine-smelling soap. I smell like my grandpa. The good part is that this faded really quickly and is almost completely gone two hours after applying it, so at least I don't have to smell it all day. Maybe I'll try this one on the boy.
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.
The NIGHTMARE TERROR of TEENAGE love gone GRISLY!
She's HELL-BENT on romance, THRILL-CRAZED, and HUNGRY!
There's NO ESCAPE from her clutches!
A deranged darling, sweet and sociopathic! Clotted vanilla cream, pink pepper, grapefruit, blood lily, red ginger, English pear, and lemon-squeezed candyfloss!
Reviewed 02/09/2008
In the bottle: Vanilla cake, a hint of something cherry-ish. Very foody.
Wet: Again, something cherry-ish, but that fades quickly. The grapefruit and lemon are in the forefront, with creamy vanilla swirling underneath.
Drydown: Sparkling, happy citrus. There is a bit of spice to keep it from going into the cleaning product smell. The cream seems to have blended in so well that I can't pick it out as a separate note but there is still a creamy feel. There's a short time when the pear note gives it a hint of play-doh, but thankfully it doesn't stay very long.
The pear in this gave me pause, but I still ordered two bottles unsniffed. I'm glad that I did, because it's fabulous. This is definitely screaming "Hoard me!"
The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns.
In the imp: Something about this reminds me of one of those "After The Rain" air fresheners.
Wet: Yep, definitely an air freshener. It's very green and fresh, but something about it comes off artificial and chemical to my nose.
Drydown: Wait, where did it go? This was completely gone after only 35 minutes. I put more on, and it disappeared again. I applied it a third time, very heavily, and again it vanished. Apparently I am not meant to smell this for more than half an hour. How very odd.
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*
Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.
Reviewed 01/22/2008
In the imp: Cherries! Is this finally the so-juicy-it-makes-me-thirsty scent I've been dying to find?
Wet: Yummy, juicy, ripe to bursting cherries. Oh yes!
Drydown: Wait, what is this? I smell like...sawdust? Freshly cut wood and sawdust. It's very interesting, and quite well blended, but sawdust isn't really on my top ten lists of things to smell like.
A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire.
Reviewed 08/11/2007
I don't get any floral or greenery from this at all, just creamy tonka, soft musk, and something I can't identify but, oddly, brings to mind the sound of a mountain stream bubbling over rocks.
This is a scent of seduction. Not much throw on my skin; it clings very close and getting a whiff makes you want to get closer. A tiny bit lasts for quite a while, too; six hours and still going as strong as when I first applied it.
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.
