ravenfeathers

i was scared to try this, it being my first serious BPAL cinnamon experience. i've read so many tales of welts that i tested too sparingly. i had to go back afterward and slather a little to get the idea of the scent. in the bottle my least favourite phase. it's like gingerbread poppet with a serious attitude problem and some personal hygiene issues, too. sour, spicy, and too, too dry. wet on skin the cinnamon and cassia are so dry! it's like whiffing straight bark. the ginger blooms upward, though, as it warms and softens the whole thing without taking over. this is the phase that is pure evil bakery products. dry on skin the dryness recedes a bit more, although this stays very hot and very dry. i never really get even a smidge of snake oil in this except in the wet phase. throw is immense, wearlength is moreso. i have non-sensitive skin and this didn't leave burns or welts on my wrists, cleavage, throat, or earlobes.

in the bottle soft, damp mint and tea. just like my beloved moroccan mint tea (which i've been unable to find in a decaf blend that tastes good; i can't have caffeine anymore ) wet on skin the honey rises up and sweetens this and the mint tea is gorgeous! dry on skin this doesn't morph at all, staying pretty constant in notes and intensity. after about five hours, though, the orange blossom is lurking around, trying to pick a fight. i loathe orange blossom and hoped that it was being held down tightly enough by the other notes. it's not in my face, but it's there. at least it hasn't gone plastic. the throw is very light, which is a real shame. eta the orange blossom decided to go ahead and kill this for me. i passed it along to my mother, who was coveting it.

i actually got this bottle for my 9 year old daughters, not myself, which is fine since lavender and i are enemies of old. my problem with lavender is that i used it for many years as a headache remedy so now i associate the smell of it with pain. i didn't try it on myself, but them. actually, i just gave them the bottle and then sniffed them every once in a while to see how they were cooking. in the bottle lavender! only, capslocked: LAVENDER! wet on skin it's a sweet, true lavender, like EO for medical use. dry on skin the biting, almost menthol-like lavender is softened by the... orchid, maybe? it's a dark floral now with a lot of warmth. very pretty.

in the bottle holy swoon! boozy, effervescent apple, like apple jack or hard cider. i need... at least a gallon of this. wet on skin a thick, yet tart apple, maybe a cooking type apple that's gone a bit overripe. in a totally good way! i get a grain-y undertone that's a bit like oats. even with the apple 'n' oats, this isn't foody, but quite perfumey. dry on skin oh. chrysanthemum. and... plum. and that's all. i really like the mum and plum, but i was crazy for that soft, punky, luminous apple from the bottle. curse my great love of top notes. a gorgeous and autumnal scent, definitely a keeper and a slatherer, but not a hoarder for me.

i'm still working out my love/hate relationship with snake oil, the oil. i got a bar of this while i was in a love phase. dry softer, creamier, and more incense-y than snake oil with nary a patchouli (yay!) and a good helping of vanilla (yay!) in the shower this is the softest, mildest BPTP soap i've tried so far and the scent is outstanding. it smells exactly as it did in the wrapper and i wish snake oil was as sweet. after shower this leaves almost no scent, much like the carnal soap, just a lingering sweetness. this is my pre-smut soap, as the musky sweetness makes an outstanding base for smut, with just a tiny hint of incense that only i can smell.

like other reviewers here, i have to talk about my great love of carnal, which is sooo underappreciated by the community in general. to me, carnal is bedroom eyes in a bottle (or bar, in this case), so understated and sexy. the one problem i have with carnal is that it has almost no throw; it's a scent for yourself or those who get very, very close to you. as a single woman, i'm the only one who gets to enjoy my carnal, but that's okay. dry the mandarin is strong but the whole effect is kind of dusty, powdery, which makes me nervous. in the shower magnifique! the soap is slightly less bright overall than the oil is, but a bit headier, too, and the shower area is pure, steamy orgasmaphoria. after shower true to its parent oil, this has little to no throw and just exists as slight sweetness on the skin. i think carnal soap with a follow-up moisturizing carnal blend (lotion or oil) would be my in-for-the-night happy place.

i never thought of reviewing the soaps, but dur. dry very apple-y samhain, more apple-y than the apple-y-er oil blend this year as opposed to previous years. as apple is my favourite bit of samhain, this is excellent. in the shower ouch! scrubby! i usually use soap directly on skin, but this is much to scrubby for that and i do not have sensitive skin at all. this actually left a patina of circular scratches all over me. the rule for this one on me is washcloth only. (ouch!) after shower the fir needle bit sticks around most of the day as a gentle waft that only i can smell. paired with the oil? this is my personal paradise.

in the bottle inoffensive and sinuous aquatic wet on skin a touch of evergreen, a touch of herbs, a touch of flowers. lots of aquatic. dry on skin because i'm fairly new to BPAL, a lot of my comparisons are backward. for instance, crow moon smells a lot like singing moon to me and evokes the same chilliness but without the saline quality that singing moon has in buckets. and it has a slight bite of sweet mint, which is a welcome addition. the mint with the evergreen make it a kinder, gentler version of old moon, as well. i actually only purchased this bottle for the artwork and couldn't find an empty, so i've had it for some time without doing more than sniffing the bottle and deciding it wasn't really me. i'm not even sure what prompted me to put it on this morning, but it's an interesting experience. i may decant out the oil for swapping and just keep a smidge with the bottle.

in the bottle sort of a sharp, dry sandalwood wet on skin this is initially kind of icky on me. the amber, lily of the valley, and sandalwood are duking it out like there's only room in this town for one of them. as it dries, sandalwood wins, but the lily sticks around to sulk and, occasionally shout. normally, lily of the valley is a note i like a lot, but it really continues to clash with some of the other notes for me. dry on skin the lily of the valley mostly slinks away, leaving a warm, golden, sweet, fluid and very, very dry scent of sandalwood, vanilla, and ginger (in that order) that has a light, airy quality, rather than a spicy incensey smell. the apricot, i think, a high, golden note, is keeping it floating. this is essential, because it's tending toward slightly too sour and a bit too dry and stark otherwise. it has a very definite woody smell, like a varnished chest full of old resins and dried fruit with some dusty flower petals. this bottle was a gamble for me, as i'm not a huge fan of most of the notes. i had to try to figure out in my head whether the apricot, lily of the valley, and vanilla would make up for the amber and oak. i actually found the drydown quite appealing, though well out of my normal scent comfort range. i need to test this one more and maybe let it settle and age for a bit before i decide how i feel about it. eta well, i've tested haloes a few more times and here are my thoughts: my mother says it smells like a bakery on me, but in a good way my kids always ask if i'm wearing midway when i wear this, i guess because of the bakery phenomenon i tend to sweeten everything put on my skin, which isn't necessarily a good thing with haloes; i sort of crave the oak it's incredibly soft, sweet, and girly; i actually think it's beautiful, but i always feel like it's just not me when i'm wearing it. i am a scent imposter!

in the bottle dry, dusty, light floral with a little twang of ginger wet on skin it's floral, but it's... hm, it's interesting. i am not a floral person, but this has a dry luminescence that is very appealing. it really reminds me of et lux fuit, not because of the notes, but because of the overall pleasant perfuminess. it's heady and somewhat cheerful. dry on skin it doesn't change much, although the ginger fades somewhat after an hour or so. it's so tightly blended that the ginger note is the only one that really jumps out and says anything, so once it's gone, i'm left with a unobtrusive, sweet, feminine cologne smell.

in the bottle kind of a thick, turgid cherry with something murky wet on skin evil bubblegum? it's sort of bazooka joe with the devil inside. dry on skin well, this is fascinating. after a brief foray into red hots candy, it settled down into a dark, fruity, spicy blend of pure love. the cherry is softer and less blackly ripe than MB: bloody mary, more like the bright cherry of queen of hearts. i think it's the verbena that brightens it, although it could be the cassis. both, mebbe. however, the spicy cardamom note drags it back down to the darkness and creates this incredibly well-rounded scent that is so evocative and sexy. with all those food notes, you'd think it'd smell edible, but this is far too evil to want to eat. i bought this on a lark. it was an add-on to another bottle i bought from a forum member. it's fabulous and now i think i might need to hoard it a little. this and zarita have also gotten me more interested in the CD in general, which could be very bad for my wallet. eta i wore this to work today and one of my coworkers now wants to add a bottle of it to my next order for herself. enabling, ahoy!

in the bottle very soft and musky with a rich, pungent spiciness. a lot of reviewers said they smelled pickles in this and i can see where that's coming from, but it doesn't smell pickley to me at all. there's a certain sourness, but it's not unpleasant and is very perfume-y. wet on skin the musk heats up and this is second cousin to hunter moon 07 with its rich, autumnal muskiness but without the headiness of wine. dry on skin this remains a softer and slightly more wicked relative of hunter moon 07. it's dry and dark and sweet and cool and, yes, a little bit fuzzy. really.

in the bottle wow! now that is a beautiful rose. sweet, fragrant, and a little saucy. LOVE! (this also has the pretty label instead of the parchment labels, which are cool, but only when they're not compared to the picture labels.) it really does smell like a big bunch of roses with stems and leaves and all run through a shredder. wet on skin this has a soft, syrupy character that's quite beguiling. the surface is so rose, but the sugary quality draws you for a deeper whiff. it's like a big bowl full of sugared rose petals. dry on skin rose red stays sweet, but greens up a lot on drydown. no longer rose petals in sugar, it's a whole rose sprinkled liberally, dusted with white, crystalline sugar.

2007 version in the bottle dry red rose. eep. it smells a bit like cheap bath salts wet on skin same dry on skin same wow. i think that's the shortest review ever. let me just say that the peacock queen is a fine, standard rose and it does seem mature and almost haughty next to the sweetness of rose red. it's an elegant red rose, all ready to bloom and, woof! does it have some throw! take it easy with the queen; a little dab'll do ya. it's just not to my taste at all. of the mirror, mirror pack, the only winner has been rose red and what a winner it is. i feel sad that i couldn't love the peacock queen and snow white as well.

in the bottle holy astringency, batman. my eyes are watering. that said, it's kind of a nice scent, if a little menthol-y. wet on skin it remains astringent, but there's a certain sweet appeal to it. it's not soft and cool like old moon, but dark and sharp and a little... suspicious. isn't that odd? i feel like it's glaring at me. dry on skin it sweetens more as it dries, drowning out some of the sharp menthol note. it remains dark and chilly and sharp. it's extremely evocative and a wonderful scent for the darkest days of winter. not a bottle purchase, mostly because i've got old moon which i find a bit kinder, but i will absolutely use my imp.

got this as a lab frimp and then? discontinuing! rats! in the bottle spicy and cold. cold? weird. wet on skin there's honey and resins and a load of spices. it's golden and exotic, but dry and very detached. dry on skin it gets spicier and spicier in the drydown until it reminds me a little of something purely spicy, like gingerbread poppet, but with that faint golden glow from the other components. it never manages to be warm, though. it's aloof, grand, and a little haughty. it's soon-to-be discontinued and that's a shame. it's really a beautiful blend. i'm glad i got a chance to try it before it disappeared.

in the bottle very soft evergreen with something pale, cool, and luminous in the background. very nice! it's like cold, cold winter in the forest at night. with snow in. wet on skin spruce, spearmint, and some dark, astringent, yet sweet berry, not unlike juniper, but fruitier. dry on skin i love this. it has a vaguely candle-like smell; i think it's the berry that gives it a sweet waxiness. the evergreens are dry, cold, and heady and stay true throughout the drydown. my only complaint is that it gets eaten up pretty quickly, but the sweetness carries on much longer. a superb blend and i'm pleased i took a chance on it. i never would've thought i liked it except that jabberwocky introduced me to the possibility of really enjoying evergreen scents.

omg, fruitcake frimp!! in the bottle*cough* whoa *cough cough* boozy. *cough* wet on skin oh! mmmmm!!!! sweet, syrupy, luscious! dried cherries and spice and cake! *drools all over self* dry on skin it fades a bit, which is a shame, but is just lovely. i want a bottle! *does not whine*

i had unreasonably high expectations for snow white, the one that everyone raved about, the most wonderful, most coveted scent ever, it seemed like. well. in the bottle sweet Raid®. ew! (that's nasty bug-killing stuff for those who aren't stateside.) wet on skin gah, yuck! still Raid®! dry on skin it's like dana o'shee and... Raid®. bleurgh. :D i have a very bad association with Raid®, which doesn't smell horribly awfully bad, but makes my windpipe close up. this has the smell without the windpipe closing. this is easily the second more horrible BPAL on me in the history of ever.

CXVI (116) i got this on eBay a few months ago and haven't worn it much due to massive updates this fall and new smellies. the bottle is frighteningly full, though! in the bottle strawberry bubblegum. the lotus is strong with this one. wet on skin it's sweet, but not cloying. no, it's light and fresh and really beautiful. dry on skin no morphing at all with this from bottle to drydown. it's unfortunately so light that the throw is negligible and the wear length is abysmally short. it's actually one of my favourite bottles, though, in its own way, so i'll save it to wear before bed.

in the bottle no doubt about the cucumber here. it's a big, violent cucumber, possibly with a large stick. wet on skin there's something very soft and saline lurking under the knobbly cucumber skin smell. it smells almost exactly like heirloom picklers with the skin still on sliced, salted, and peppered. brilliant! dry on skin the drydown strips away a lot of the cucumberness and the amazing saline scent. what's left is pale green and sweet and floral, smelling for all the world like lily of the valley. brilliant x2. i got this in october and just wasn't in the mood, so didn't test it 'til december. it's not something i want to wear right now at all, far too evocative of warm weather and i'm in a snowbelt of the northeastern US. i can envision, though, this being a completely amazing spring and summer choice, so i'm going to hold onto it 'til then.

resurrected version a caveat: this oil does freeze and mine did in my mailbox . i tested this a couple hours after it had fully thawed, but it was probably still fairly volatile. in the bottle i think funnel cake is something like fried dough and, yep, that's it! it's flaky, buttery dough fried to a crisp, golden crust, then doused in melted butter and dusted liberally with powdered sugar. wet on skin the taffy surfaces as a faint whiff of something sweet and sticky and possibly pink. dry on skin this has a moment of ick right after it dries when it smells just the tiniest bit plasticky. the plastic with all the sugary sweetness and organic foodiness gives it a funny, mushroomy smell. that dissipates very quickly, though, and it relaxes into mostly powdered sugar. i think i really need to give this further testing. if it's as nice later as it was when it was shaken and newly thawed, this is one that i might consider a back-up bottle of.

in the bottle cloying, perfumey, and sweet, horribly sweet! wet on skin honeysuckle and jasmine buried in a pot full of honey. it's a sophisticated floral with the thick sweetness of fig, but completely overshadowed by honey. the honey is identical to the note in bilquis, which is sexy, but somehow dark and brooding. dry on skin the sweetness of this blend almost sticks in the throat. it's powerful, for sure. once the florals settle down (and they do), the honey really shines with an almost waxen, sticky throw. the throw, by the way, is incredible. and it lasts and lasts and lasts. i put some on before i went to bed, woke up and took a shower, put on carnal, and by midafternoon, the carnal had faded and all i could smell was honey! eta unfortunately, the jasmine has taken out any fun in this there was to be had. *sigh* i actually don't mind jasmine, really, except that the mental association i have for the scent is ferret. while i enjoy ferrets a lot, i don't really want to smell like one.

this review is for the 2006 version i accidentally put on samhainophobia the other night when i was reaching for samhain. oops! the weird thing is, they're similar enough that i didn't notice at first. in the bottle dry and spicy with a tang of wet asphalt. wet on skin the spiciness really amps up and has almost an evergreen scent, but not quite. this is about the time when samhain starts to go really warm and apple-y, but this gets darker and cooler instead. dry on skin it doesn't morph much. there's still that sting of tar and pine and something darkly spicy. throw is so-so and wear length is medium long. samhain is probably my favourite BPAL ever, so this was a fun little foray into a variation. i'm not sure it'll get much, if any, wear, though.

in the bottle sweet and earthy. wet on skin there's something that's just a little spicy, although i'm not sure what, looking at the notes. it's almost nutmeg. dry on skin ha! it's sugar cookies! it smells just like some kind of pale, sugar sprinkled cookie. very nice. i tested this on my daughter; now i have to retest it on myself. she has a tendency to dry out most notes.