surf-tormented

I only got a sniffie of this in a swap, so I put the few drops of it on my skin. I get iron, the clear scent of the metal. I usually amp up any BPAL lemon note and I don't get lemon here at all. I get iron with an almost fresh note. It reminds one a lot of clean machinery...well, at least me. Like clear gears turning. Yet the metal is grey, worn from years of service, just like Marley! It does conjure up a Victorian Christmas Past, in a dangerous 1880's industrial London sort of way! All metal and soot yet ethereal. The soot being the vetiver smoke that plays nice at the end and etherial from the blooms of ozone to clean off the worn metal grime. I like this. I am unsure if I need a bottle, but it is nice and it a metal/ozone scent that doesn't go weirdly lemon dish soap on me. As I finished the vial off, I realized it reminds me of Smokestack. The two perfumes are really close.

Holy perfume, Batman! This a LOUD perfume blend, slapping you across the face with its traditional perfume pedigree. I swear this has perfume alcohol in it. Feral musk, indeed! Feral musk running all over my body, trying to eat my face!! It's not very rat to me, more predator animal, like a wolf or cougar. It has a classic 70's perfume vibe. Overpowering sexy musk. I only used a drop of it on the wrist and it's STRONG. This is like what I thought Sex Panther in the movie Anchorman would smell like, wild crazy musk! Growl! And it is sure to clear out the room!!! As it dries, I get the dust note and less sharp perfume. Or else, it just destroyed my ability to smell. I feel King Rat just had his way with me and I need a cigarette. And it is still strong. This one would make my boyfriend leave the room, because he is not enough man for this. I am not sure how long this will last. I think I may wake up smelling like this and so will my bed and my boyfriend. 15 minutes later, it is still one of the strongest BPALs I have ever tried and I have tried hundreds of them. Recommended if you are an Alpha Male or like Alpha Males, the 70's, chest hair, discos, Anchorman, Sex Panther or plain 'ol animal magnetism. This doesn't remind me of any other BPAL perfume, which is an oddity. This is a perfume who will tell you to get it a beer and the remote control while unhooking your bra with his eyes. I like this link as well: http://www.sex-panther.com The Rat King should be marketed like this.

This is review of Snow White 2010. I like this, yet I don't like this. It's a nice cool vanilla type winter snow, but then something invades it. It is probably coconut. Or maybe it could be almond. It's not kind to my nose. It isn't so bad I need to wash it off, but I prefer more mint based snow then foody based snow. It does remind me more of a summer scent, like others have said. It doesn't make me think of Snow White at all. I would think a Snow White perfume would have an apple note, fresh snow and maybe light sweet flowers in it.

I stepped into a garden of carrots and chamomile. With the patchouli, orris root and myrrh making a sweetish dirt background. Wow, this is really different. I like it. It's herbal, but not in a green way. More like you walked into an occult store and all their herbs are hung up on the wall. It's a bit like hay and dried mystic herbs. Very yellow smelling, slightly dry and dead, yet pretty in its own odd mix. Later on, the yellow herbs are follow by a smokiness and tiny bit of wood, like the herbs came out of a wooden box before they were hung up. My skin morphs no Raid note, only a yellow orange mix of herbs and carrot seed. It reminds me a lot of late summer or fall, harvest time. Like being on a hay ride going through dead corn fields, except the corn is gone and weedy herbs have grown up in its wake. As it ends, it becomes more like a perfume. I am note sure what note is making it more sophisticated. But it an hour, it starts becoming a more standard perfume with a resiny base. If you like Witch's Garden, Ghastly Garden, Garden Path with Chickens or Blue Moon 09 (Beth's), you will probably like this.

Wet: It reminds me of Graveyard Dirt and A Blade of Grass if the two perfumes were mixed together. It also reminds me of Death of the Grave Digger, but that one has a bit of mint come up on my skin. This one has more of a fresh ice note in the back of it. Drying: The menthol greenness comes out to play. Piney juniper and hemlock. As it dries, the perfume gets thicker. Not like a liquid, thick like a woods you can't see through, as opposed to the dirt and grass of a field when it is first put on. Conclusion: A keeper. At first, it reminded me a lot of perfumes I own, like Graveyard Dirt, but this gets sophisticated and lush as it morphs into my skin. It doesn't last super long on me but I do enjoy the feeling of being in a cold woods it invokes.

When it first touches my skin, it is a lemony floral. Not lemon cleaner or anything bad, just a nice floral with a citrus edge. It reminds me of similar perfumes by BPAL: Embalming Fluid, Whitechapel, Phobos, Shanghai. If you like any of these, this perfume has the same feeling to it. It's a warm lemon floral, but more like the citrus is part of the flower, not lemon itself. Exotic in a way and heady, like a magnolia or gardenia. Now I am getting a bit of Sacred Whore of Babylon in this! It never goes candy lemon on my skin like a lot of BPAL's perfumes with lemon in it do. It stays balanced as a citrus floral with a bit of sultry heat to it. I like it. It smells warm and comfortable.

This is the Bay of San Francisco in a bottle. Rainy days by the water and the green saltines of the ocean, yet I feel I can smell the urban parts of SF in it too! It's a bit like Leaf-Strewn Couch but more salt and aquatics. A bit like Bayou too, but I like this much better than Bayou. I would recommend it to people who like their autumn scents a bit wetter than the typical dead leaves/wet grass/dirt/spices scent a lot of autumn perfumes have.

Strangely enough, I also live in San Diego. Look at last post! Yeah, you look outside one day in October 2003 and you think there is snow on the ground. But it isn't snow, it is ash and the sky is a crazy orange black color in a mess of dirty clouds. It looks like the world is ending. Amusing that this blend was released on a year that San Diego and Southern Cali have had cooler temps and a lot of rain, so not many fires. Which is fine by me! This blend doesn't bring up those feelings of scary fires to me. It reminds me of happy scents I love that are like it: Wildfire, Brimstone, Djinn, Troll, Parliament of Monsters. I truly am a burning smoke sort of girl. The perfume it reminds me most of is Violette Market's Hesta, which smells like it is on fire. Halloween: Los Angeles is a bit more woodsy than Hestia, but I get the same vibe from it. It's reminds me of a bonfire in the desert. Smoke, sage and a whole lot of desert land. Perhaps even a slight windy coolness from the desert night. I love this blend because it is the outside version of Hestia.

Out of the bottle, this smells a lot like Arcana's Winternights, a scent I love. The only difference is that Waltz has a nice green note to it upon putting it on wet. As it dries however, it gets a sugar cookie note I can't stand. Maybe it is the frosting note others have talked about smelling. It's a bit too baked good for me and reminds me of when I was disappointed at Le Pere Fouettard for the same thing. Waltz is such a nice perfume in its beginning stages, I wish it would stay there and not venture into foodyville. But it does, so the sniffie that a friend of mine gave me is all I really needed to try.

It's really icky on me. But to be truthful, I don't like almond or coconut notes as a rule. I was pretty sure this was a no-go on me. It was. All sunscreen and tropical smelliness with the added annoyance of strong stale nut. I am not really sure why people go crazy over this. I can't even put a drop of this on myself without rushing to clean it off ten minutes later.

It reminds me, of what another reviewer said, BBW's Midnight Pomegranate. Really close. Must be the similar notes of anise, tobacco, musk and of course, pomegranate. The scent is nice, but I already have some of the MP perfume, so I would buy a bottle of this. If I want a chocolate note, I can use a single note and layer it with MP. It also doesn't last long on my skin. It quickly fades into a fresh herbal soap. MP lasts longer on me.

It reminds me of Death of the Grave Digger from BPAL's Salon series, except a bit more boozy and a hint of something that smells minty on my skin. Then it fades into a weedy earth scent. Just like you went outside on a cool day and your clothes sucked in the smells of the house's gardens in your neighborhood. It's a winner and could be worn during Halloween and well into winter.

It's a strong herbal on me that reminds me of anise or fennel once it dries. It's a tiny bit buttery but spicy. Not hot in a cinnamon type way, but yummy spicy tea type spice. I put this on, but didn't have any intense love reaction from my boyfriend.

I got a sniffie sample of this from winning one of those fairies on S&S. It smells a lot like orange Pez . Sort of a powdery sugary candy orange. It doesn't morph much from that state. It has about a two hour life on my wrist.

It starts our fresh apple on me, which I really like...then morphs into a gross coconut suntan oil scent. It reminds me a tiny bit of Arcana's Grasshopper, but that one isn't as suntan lotion on me. It also lasts about an hour on my skin and then disappears. I personally don't like it at all. But, if you like suntan lotion smell or tropical coconut type perfumes, then this one might be for you! It is mainly a creamy coconut scent.

The bright citrus notes of this eclipse the other notes on my skin. It reminds me a lot of Cheshire Moon or Croquet. Perhaps I will try it again for sometimes my chemistry changes and brings out the bottom notes of blends. I still like this, even if I only get the top notes. The label is cute. Too bad BPAL couldn't have "alive" and "dead" versions of this, if that isn't too morbid, then they could check off which one it is. Or the Cat could just not be able to be opened and therefore one could only guess at the contents within.

The Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie start of this scent, makes me think of my deceased mom and how she loved those cookies. The chocolate and mint smell very natural, not like a fake candle, so I love sniffing my wrist and remembering. Soon, the top notes calm and I am greeted with a most luxurious non-foody mix of chocolate, cedar, oakmoss and pistachio. It's a real grown up chocolate that blends very well with the green cedar. I limit my foody perfumes to cocoa and some sugar now and then, but this is a magical mixture. Good to wear at work and it has a good throw on me and lasts. Other people have said it, but it is like eating chocolate mint cookies in a forest wetland. It's a good clash of the sweet and sinister, innocence and sophistication. Someone sent me an imp of this for free and I've almost gobbled it up, so I just ordered a bottle of it. Highly recommended to those who like the idea of a chocolate scent, but don't try them because they are too foody or sugary. This is a dry mint chocolate, devoid of sugar and milk, mixed with dry woods, moss and a slight nuttiness (but again the pistachio comes off as part of the wood more than a food note). The cedar is the prime note on me and remains so until the end of its run. It's earthy, yet has chocolate in it and the chocolate doesn't overrule. Finally a BPAL chocolate blend that doesn't go too sweet or nutty on me! The chocolate works with the cedar as part of the earth note. On top of this...this scent makes me happy. It brings on the charm. I probably shouldn't smile at it..but oh well, I am!

Mmmm...metal. METAL. Very metal. Not comes a touch of lemon. It's a bit like Empyreal Mist or just the top notes of Aelopile before it becomes cedary. The lemon then overruns the place like usual. Lemon Pledge. Ick.

It's snowy on me, like icy mint with a hint of peppery ginger in there. Sort of like a spicy Embalming Fluid, but better with a snow note and less citrus. I'm not getting any floral in this, just minty ice, a touch of ginger spice and citrus that isn't too strong, which is how I like it. On my skin it has a decent throw and lasts long without much change in the blend.

It smells clean and fresh in the bottle. On my skin, wet, it bears an initial similarity to Ghastly Garden, but not for long. Then some spicy goodness comes it and reminds me a lot of Hermia, one of my favorite BPAL blends. It smells like there is pink peppercorn in it, though it isn't listed in the notes. As it dries, it smells almost like a vanilla root beer, high on the anise or maybe that's angelica. Then fig and the frankincense come in, giving it a quick feel of a Valentine of Rome type blend. This it indeed a morpher with a good throw and it is long lasting. It it really nice and complex, being resiny, herbal, foody and fresh all at once. It ages well too.

I liked this though I swapped my bottle of it. Pure dirty leather, like worn boots. Unfortunately I have a lot of leather blends and currently have a Demeter spray that smells like De Sade once did, so I don't need more of the same. I would say this is earthy brown and smoking cigar leather over De Sade's glossy clean leather at the S&M club.

This ends up a very pleasant tea blend on me. The sugar note I thought I wouldn't like hides in the back of lime, mint, tea and a peppery note, which I think is the thyme and carnation. The pear here isn't very sweet, which is great. The musk appears later and grounds the blend. I actually got a "you smell good" compliment from this, the first time that has happened with a BPAL blend. I am almost thinking about getting a bottle on that alone. The only problem is that it fades really quick on my wrists. It's better behind the ears or in the décolletage. And it's best in the hot heat of Arizona where the 90 degree plus weather helped it along. If you aren't having good luck with this, try to dilute it in a carrier oil or perfumer's alcohol. The other notes come out and last longer.

I love this blend. LOVE. It smells like fields of grain in the summer and I am wearing it as such. It's a clean outdoorsy sort of scent and it is extremely long lasting. I only used a couple drops during the afternoon and smelled it the next morning on me. This smells like no other BPAL I have tried and I've been looking for something like this for a long time to use as a Lammas/Mabon oil. Very happy with it and recommend it to people who like garden notes or wheat/corn based perfumes, which there seem to be very few. There is a very slight fresh note in this once it dries down as well.

In vial: gross hairspray scent On skin, wet: hairspray and coconut, wow, this is really gross...here comes some sickeningly sweet note to make it tanning oil in extremis On skin, dry: smells vaguely of a bakery and garbage with an almost plastic under note, even more tanning lotion smell, and ick, rotting maple syrup... Overall: so happy this doesn't last too long on me...it's really a disaster...but in its defense, most of the butterflies and moths contained notes that go all grosstastic on me, it smells like someone is eating a rotting stack of pancakes on a melting plastic plate while putting way too much tanning oil on...this might have to be washed off soon, it's giving me a horrible headache!

It reminds me of an used bookstore. I get a suede leather and incense of out this. The almond note is bitter for all of a second, then joins the book staff. I think it is the jasmine BPAL note that mixes with certain notes in blends (mainly tea, but this doesn't have tea) that creates the yummy bookstore scent. It is almost stale yet lovely. Hard to explain. I'm not sure what to compare it to. Bastet to me was way too almond and buttery for my skin and Uruk isn't like that at all. The flowers are almost bookish in a way and aren't overpowering this perfume. Rakshasa could be a relative of this blend since it has the same vibe. Uruk's regal and reminds me of a temple as well as a bookstore. Inanna's Own Bookstore and Temple. I'd probably buy a bottle of this once my imp burns out. It reminds me of ancient scroll, worn leather and belly dancers. I could see a belly dancer wearing this blend. It's exotic and sensual. And it does morph from bookstore scent, to temple scent, to flower garden. It's fun that way.