sarada

RE: Shiny labels, I think Enraged Bunny Musk and its companions around that update last year were the first to have them. I don't know how I lived without shiny labels! The current bottle style they're using seems to be the most durable for shipping in the mail and carrying around and general all-around use. The blue bottles used to always arrive with cracked lips. I've never had a problem with the amber ones. They are the best!

Oh, man, is this beautiful. I didn't think that the queen of the Snake Pit would be so light, floral and fruity, but there is an underlying, pulsating strength beneath these gentle fragrances that makes them just writhe around my skin. The layers of herbal, wood, fruit and rich, lush flowers shift back and forth, making a constantly-rearranging palette of green, golden and orange colors that adjusts to the temperature and mood with every moment. Some of my favorites are here: a crisp, pungent sandalwood, warm green moss, the incomparable beauty of honey paired with blackberry (see also the Oblation for how much I love that combo), but brought back from the edge of sweetness with the bitter tang of bergamot, ginger and ti leaf. It surprises me the way Bitter Moon surprised me: how can these disparate elements work together so beautifully? Meanwhile, dark amber and musk anchor everything and give it a lot of throw and staying power since those are really good notes for me. The flowers add their touches of color and lightness without ever being overpowering. I had no idea I would love this so much but I do...this has got to be a bottle, and preferably in the summertime. Gor-gee-ous!

The thing about verbena is that if it's in a blend, that's all I can smell. For hours! All verbena blends smell pretty much the same to me. I can see from the other reviews that many are similarly afflicted. Unfortunately, same scenario here, but only at first...as it dries some other layers come out. I was expecting a lot of anisey scent, something slightly like licorice, but this is more slightly herbal/medicinal. Verbena has the potential to be very lovely, with its refreshing lemony lilt, a touch of crisp yellow-green herbal greenery, but it's so hard to wear! When this dries I can better appreciate the other layers, and it's a nice herbal-floral middle ground that's not quite like any other BPAL but the verbena is still the lead singer in this band and it's just a wee bit too loud.

I tried this about a month ago and was completely blown away by how amazing it is. Just when you think you've tried everything, another incredible scent comes along to knock your socks off... This is a lush, thick, smoky spicy incense on me. Oh wow, the review right above me says almost the same thing! But it's true! The musk comes to life on my skin and it absolutely burns and wafts this incredible dark, sulty spiciness. I can smell spices that are not listed in this, I swear! It's almost clovey, really. But a sultry, slow burn, not a sharp flash of heat. When I put this in my cleavage I just want to lean forward and bury my face in it, but that's a bit weird, so I just slather it and catch as much of this as I can. As it dries down, the initial blast is tempered by an almost medicinal, calm, soothing fragrance, like something that might burn while you're getting a nice massage, or in the oil they're using to relax your muscles. Ahh, but it's got just enough heat in it to make it a sensual massage... I came very close to buying a bottle of this but just didn't have the money at the time. I will probably try to track one down eventually.

Anne Bonny and Malediction are probably the strongest to my nose...I am a big patchouli fan but I find that BPAL blends are so well blended that it tends not to dominate too much. Oh and Depraved too! And Greed and Aureus. I honestly don't smell it at all in Snake Oil, which is mainly vanilla and -- something else -- to me, though it's probably patchouli....but the vanilla just dominates so much!

I grudgingly passed on a bottle of this one, since Spanish moss has been a headache culprit for me in the past, bog water doesn't sound very appealing and the floral notes sound like they might be a little pungent. But wouldn't you know it...it turns out I like it! It's actually a bit resiny -- it makes me think at first of some incense I had a long time ago. One of the slightly perfumey, Airs incenses, though I'm not sure which one. The cypress and hickory wood must really be taking over for me, because I like that sort of deep green scent and I am getting that much more than the swamp water and flowers that I feared. I had also thought this might be a bit like Ulalume, which I like, but it's a fair bit different. The initial perfumey hint of flowers is quickly drawn under by rich, wet woods and deep green moss. Oh dear, I think I might like this quite a bit. Especially on a wet spring day where it's just a little on the warm side and you're walking through the woods alongside a creek or brook after the rain. Yeah... I don't think I'm going to be missing out on any of the Therianthropic blends again. They are all winners!

Wow, I'm really behind on my reviews! The description for Oborot was one of the most tantalizing things I've ever seen. I just LOVE woody, green, earthy scents and I love resins. This has everything! The 'ocean spray' was the only thing that I was a little put off by in the description, since I'm not wild about aquatics, but how could I ever resist deep black earth, pine, dark mosses, fir sap and frankincense? I think I was losing sleep in anticipation of this one! It took me a couple of wearings to really find my groove with Oborot, since the sea spray does make this a bit lighter than I was expecting. I don't smell the deep earth, and overall it's a bit more green and fresh than the deep, dark mossy earthy incense I was expecting. In fact, it reminded me a bit of the fresh Greenhouse candle I was burning yesterday. As I tried this over the past month, it really started to groove with the seasonal changes though. It is a refreshing, early spring scent of greenery sweeping over the cold earthen landscape, and brushed with cleansing rains. Vibrant, deep green touched with resins, but not quite the smoky, churchy ones you might expect. I wound up reapplying this constantly the other day to enjoy a constant flow of this fresh, woodsy green scent. There are actually enough Lunacy blends now that I have a Top Ten lunacy list going mentally and this is definitely on it!

I've had this for a week and have been at a loss for how to describe it! I ordered a bottle unsniffed because I love love LOVE sage, and patchouli, and I also like many citrusy fruits. The words "pink lime" are so evocative to me I could scream. I also love flamingoes, going back to an old childhood fixation I had on them, and Alice in Wonderland as well. I thought this might resemble some of the recent Agony/Ecstasy blends with its unusual combination of patcholi, herbs and fruit, as that seems to be a theme that ran through the Inquisition last time. It's definitely got the feel of a Mad Tea Party scent though, most resembling Cheshire Cat because of the grapefruit. There's so much more to this, though -- the soft musk really reminds me of Buck Moon, for example. That soft, musky scent touched with herbs, is oddly comforting, while the bright citrus notes are stimulating and joyful. When I put this on today my DH remarked on my extreme fruitiness and wanted to know what it was. He was also perplexed and fascinated by the idea of "pink lime" and quizzed me about it for some time until I said "Google it!" and had to leave for work. At any rate, this is a spring scent if ever there was a spring scent. Just enough of that soft musky warmth to brace you against the occasional chill breeze and to make the scent last on fickle skin...a squirt of exotic fruit that dances playfully in the warming air...the crush of herbs and faint earthiness to put you in the mind of gardening and frolicking on the lawn. I'm really glad I got a bottle of this, I needed another solid spring scent that sticks to my skin! (Also lovely in the locket, by the way, though it doesn't morph quite as much in there)

I had written this off as something I'd never want to try, since I don't like chocolate blends and I especially don't like anything with the word "milk" within five miles of it. So I'm surprised that I don't dislike this after all. It reminds me more of something along the lines of Tezcatlipoca, with absolutely no trace of the dreaded milk. The oil itself is slightly separated, which is fun to look at, though I mix it up well before trying it to make sure I'm getting a good dose of Boomslang (!). Yes, very much like Tez at first. Snake Oil simmers beneath. Thank goodness there's teakwood in this, that evens everything out for me, and gives me a raft to grab onto in this chocolatey sea. Now the really surprising part: the chocolate disappears and I just have a really nice, deep, dark, strong Snake Oil with the barest whisper of that Tez-esque cocoa in the background. Probably not something I'd need a lot of, but I'm pleasantly surprised. And I can already tell this would be a big hit if I wore it around other people, rather than just sniffing it by myself on a Satuday night.

Australian Copperhead hasn't really established itself in my mind yet, despite several tests...it is surprisingly juicy, considering that I keep forgetting acai berry is an ingredient. I don't know what that smells like on its own, but it seems like a juicy, sweet and slightly sour berry. The amber takes it almost into citrusy/orange territory, but maybe that's just because the color impression I have of this scent is a golden throbbing orange. Oh wait, it has neroli in it as well...that would explain the flash of oranginess. Snake Oil itself again plays it quiet in this blend. It is simlar in feel to Coral Snake, but not quite as fruity. This is the only Snake blend in which the sort of doughy clay-like scent comes out on me -- regular Snake Oil always inspires people around me to exclaim "play-doh!", making me wince. This has just enough warm, ambery berry juice in it to appeal to me, but it never quite kicks my ass in the way I like to have it kicked. I don't think I'll want a bottle, but I don't mind sniffing it now and then.

I love every note in this so I almost ordered a bottle unsniffed, but I had to take it for a ride first... Ahh, it smells just like Quincey Morris actually, once I test it. Very strong leather with some...other things in the background, but nothing really stands out. Snake Oil is nowhere to be found! As I wear it, it's still a strong leather in the Quincey Morris tradition but sage makes an appearance, happily. I love sage. A LOT. Dry, herbal sage backed up with some vanilla-ish sweetness is the next stage, and that's about as far as it goes. All that said I think I need to wear it around on its own some time to get a full feel for it. It would be good to wear on a walk in the woods, where all of the sage and buried sandalwood scents could come to the forefront. In the meantime, Quincey satisfies any interest in leather I could have, and this isn't at the top of my to-buy list.

Habu is first on my list of the next Snake Pit scent I want a bottle of. I'm not about to perish from desire, but I do really like it. At first sniff it reminds me of a favorite Ganesh incense when you sniff it from the box. I think it's the "herbs and flowers" one. How odd! When first applied, it's a super-powered Holiday Moon. I loved that bamboo note, but it just didn't last on me. The Snake Oil is the key, apparently! It really adds power to the bamboo and throws it crazily around the room. Fruity-green wood is how someone described it upthread and I completely agree with that. Add a touch of a syrupy vanilla backdrop and just a touch of pale greenish white bark pulp and you've got it. I really want a bottle of this! Maybe in time for summer, the bamboo would be very refreshing.

Another Snake scent that I couldn't imagine until I smelled it. Can flowers and Snake Oil truly co-exist? Indeed they can! I can't take flowers on their own usually unless they're roses, but the Snake Oil is just enough to lift them up in a sweetened, ambery bouquet, amplifying the delicate florals without drowning them out. The SO component must be fairly light in blends like this, just enough to add a shade of slithering exotic spices and sweets. The florals themselves remind me a bit of Phantom Queen, one of the only floral blends that I really really like, though I don't think it has any notes in common with this...still, the impression is a spray of white and pale purple and yellow flowers, in my mind. In this case, the flowers are scattered over an exotic oriental rug, with a stick of incense burning in the background. I could see adding this to my Snake collection, but probably not until the very end of its run.

I couldn't skin test this because of the almond, but thought I'd post my thoughts just for those other people who can't abide almond, that this is very strong on it, and I had to put it away after one sniff. If you have a strong dislike or negative reaction to almond, this would probably be one to stay away from. It might die down as it dries down, but I can't make it that long to find out! Alas...I'd like to see how myrrh works with Snake Oil. It's kind of a relief that not all of the Snake Pit scents work for me, because I can't afford the whole menagerie!

Although I like mossy scents, I couldn't imagine it working well against a Snake Oil backdrop. I was, of course, wrong! This is mostly a gentle, sweet moss on me, and Snake Oil is an afterthought. It only lends a little sweetness and throw, but overall is a powdery, mellow, gentle green moss grounded in an earthen vanilla. This is different enough from the other Snake Pit scents that I've accumulated bottles of that I think it might warrant its own, eventually. Most mossy scents are very sharp and green, but this is is warm and soft. It would probably work well in a combo with something like RM Renfield, for a taste of both the sharp and soft sides of moss.

This is SO beautiful. I didn't order this because it seemed very simple and very much like things I have in many other blends. I never expected something to wow me quite as much as this has! The honey is a perfect, sparkling, nectar-like honey that just hangs in a golden buzzing cloud around you. This reminds me a bit of Honey Moon, the blend that made me love honey. The lavender -- well I love lavender so it's not hard to sell me on it. It's a gentle lavender, not harsh and herbal the way it can be sometimes. The blackberry -- ahh, kind of like the fruitiness in Bitter Moon. I absolutely love the hint of berry in that blend. It's just the right combination of sweet and tart. This is the perfect combination of notes that I love on their own, but only occasionally like in blends. All of them can become very flat and uninteresting to me in the wrong combinations. But something about the sweetness, herbal/floral and tart berry just meld perfectly in The Oblation. I think it's definitely for people who are lavender fans to begin with, but wow...I'm so grateful for this. This will carry me through the spring and summer very well. I can see this really topping my list for spring/summer blends to wear this year.

When I first tested Brown Jenkins it seemed a bit strong on coconut for me (I don't like to smell like coconut) but on second wear, it's much more resiny. (Why don't I like to smell like coconut? Imagine: driving back from the shore in an un-air-conditioned station wagon as a child, greasy sunblock drying on your skin and sand stuck to your rear end, feeling nauseous from too much salt water and sunlight and there's just nothing but the overpowering scent of coconut-scented sunblock wafting from the front seat. That's why I don't like to smell like coconut.) However, it is keeping its distance in this blend. It might be because I just baked a coconut cake that I'm not noticing it as much in the perfume, but it strikes me as very resiny. Kind of like Midnight Mass, but a bit lighter and dryer, and with that sweetness in it. It's a bit of a cousin to Al Azif as well. I don't see myself getting a bottle since most of my collection is a dragon's hoard of resins and woods, and this is very similar to those but with that slight whiff of coconut, that I can live without... Though I still like it very much! I might want to just get all the Arkham scents in bottles some day to paw over while I read my HPL again and again...

I was undecided on this for so long but finally bought a bottle from someone because I couldn't wait to try it any longer! I love fruits -- even though they don't last on my skin I can't resist trying something with a lot of fruit notes dancing around in it. The only fruits I'm "eh" on in this are the orangey ones. I actually made a list of what notes in this do and don't work for me, while I was debating over it: Love: Bamboo, lychee, pine resin, kumquat, quince, peach blossom Feel optimistic about: Peony, pussy willow, plum blosson, dragon's blood Dubious of: orange, narcissus, tangerine That said, Fire Pig sounded to me like it would be an amalgam of almost all of the Lunacy blends last year. Bamboo from Holiday Moon, Plum blossom from Budding Moon, Peony from...well, Peony Moon, dragon's blood from Dragon's Moon and so on. And lo and behold, that's how it does smell on me! All of the best parts of a lot of the Lunacy blends from 2006 that I didn't wind up keeping bottles of, because they were too light or not strong enough to keep up with my incense-burning skin. There are so many shades and colors in this blend: the biting tart pale green of bamboo, the bubbling orange and golden fruits, the bite of citrus and the soft mellow sweetness of peach. It's all swimming in the flickering reddish-orange warmth of dragon's blood that adds a faint cherry tinge to the mixture. Oddly, it also smells a lot like melon on me: honeydew and cantaloupe. So for that, it also reminds me of Fruit Moon, which was too light for me to wear. This, however, has a lot more staying power and works especially well in the locket, though it doesn't morph as much in there. I think this will occupy a unique place in my scent wardrobe, and I will reach for it a lot when it finally freaking warms up outside! Oh, and my DH said it smelled like strawberry, which he thought was just fabulous. A coworker said I smell like a craft store, but I don't think that was meant to be a criticism.

I can't believe I never reviewed this...I've had an imp of Redwood for ages and guard it with my life! I open the vial to sniff it for comfort, really. Fortunately, this note is so strong in Carceri D'Invenzione, that having a bottle of that is almost like having a bottle of this! A light, pulpy white wood, very natural and fresh smelling. When I'm walking in the woods I go up to trees and press my nose against the bark -- or if some bark is stripped away I try to smell the white wood pulp, I'm that crazy for tree scents. Yes, it's also a little like pencil shavings and a little mossy. Dry and dusty, but not in a musty, forgotten corner of the attic sort of way. More like fresh wood dust falling on a forest floor. If you want to bottle the scent of the woods, this is it -- the "light brown" part of the woods, as opposed to the green part. But definitely try Carceri if you want to get an idea of Redwood!

I knew looking at the notes there was no way this could be anything but fantastic. And of course it is, in fact, fantastic! Very much like Luperci, with a hint of Anubis. It's a little bit more spicy than either, but a very subtle, understated spice. It is dark golden, faintly honeyed, rich and earthy, glistening and resiny. Like its cousin Luperci, I feel as though I have to put a ton of it on to smell it, but that's just because I love it so much I feel like I want to be completely immersed in it. The deep, spicy resin scent of my dreams...beautiful both on skin and in locket, though I seem to need to reapply frequently to get that constant fix of the Luperci-like sweet earthiness. I'm so delighted!

There are certain violet things that I love -- violet ice cream (not that I can find that anywhere, but still...), and yes the Choward's violet mints -- violet candles and incense, as well. But violet in perfumes is so faint and powdery that I tend to avoid it. Not so for Faith. She is a perfect violet! The sugaring in this blend is a lot stronger than her sister, I find -- and yes it does remind me a bit of Antique Lace plus violets. I found AL to be a little too plain on me, but this has that lovely smoky sugared scent with the violet candy frosted over it. I wore this behind my ear, so it would get in my hair, and it has a lot of staying power that way. With Hope in the other ear, whispering in chorus. I'd say that I like these equally, but since this blend made me like a note I usually don't like in perfume (violet) it gets a special place of honor and respect. I identify with Hope and Faith a bit too since I'm a redhead (Hope) but have dyed my hair purple on numerous occasions (Faith)!

My relationship with florals is a complex one. I love rose, but I don't always like it in perfumes unless there is something wood, resin or musky backing it up -- or it is such a perfect pure rose that nothing detracts from it. This is one of the most sweet, wine-like roses from BPAL, and a rose that I'd compare to Parlement of Foules actually. The sweetness folds into the rose perfectly, and seems a part of its natural sweetness. Not syrupy or vanilla, but also not a crystalline powdered sugar. Just a real lovely natural sweetness that helps to give the rose a lot more throw and staying power. I put it behind my ear, so it catches on my hair and wafts around me. I think it would be lovely in a locket as well. I'm wearing her sister on my other side and together it's a perfect duet. The sugaring in this one is slightly different than the one in Faith. The rose takes center stage.

Kalahantarika might be my favorite of this series, because it is so unique among the BPAL that I have tried and so very very herbal and resiny. Its closest cousin in the GC might be Arcana, but this is slightly more complex and multilayered, with a different scent on the skin than it has in the bottle...and a different scent still in the air as it hangs around me. The scent of lavender is strong, but it is as if lavender were a deep, dark green instead of a pale violet color. Medicinal, but then it takes a slightly sweeter, resiny turn. It is an apothecary shop scent; what might greet you in a dark room full of wooden shelves and murky glass bottles; bunches of leafy greens hanging from the rafters, dusty but pungent. There are not a lot of BPAL blends that are this purely herbal so I think I really want a bottle of this, so I have something for those herbal moods. It smells as though it should be used in ritual or magick or aromatherapy or healing but I don't know exactly what for...I just think I want to have it around...

Abhisarika is one of only three Heroine scents that doesn't work on me, but it's still very lovely. It is very perfumey -- in a classic floral perfume kind of way. Pungent with a lot of throw -- it's amazing that this is a natural perfume, it smells like something right off a very expensive department store counter. Which is not something I go for, but it's impressive nonetheless. The cream sweetens the flowers, the musk gives it power, and all in all it's a very classic and dignified scent...really lives up to what it promises, a tall stately woman moving purposefully toward the object of her desire.

There's something I really like in this. And then again there's something I really don't like. Let's look at the notes... Ahhh, mystery solved. That sweet, earthy scent -- almost like some sort of cola or maybe root beer -- that's the one that I like. Of course it's vetiver! Spiked with honeysuckle, which I also love. A perfectly sweetened vetiver, pale and slender white petals of honeysuckle ground into the dirt. But there's something hazy lingering over all of it that makes me slightly queasy, a breath of a dusty, chemical haze, like someone is spraying their hair or ... I don't know, developing film ... and kind of taking me out of my earthy reverie. That would be the black opium. One of those notes that can just kill any blend for me. But you know, I like the good parts of this enough that I think for a change I might hang onto this imp and give it a chance. On my skin long enough, I think that just the vetiver will hang around, and I can never get enough of that.