TheOneTheyCallLuna

Hey Saw Scaled Viper, where you been all my life? I am totally crushing hard on SSV right now...I like this blend more than twelve year old girls liked Scott Baio circa 1983. I like Saw Scaled Viper more than Madonna likes Pilates. It's just nuts how swoonworthy I find this blend. The lab is getting reaaaallly good at what they do now. Too good, according to my checking account balance. I had only just found my all time fav BPAL in the Carnaval Diabolique series, when lo and behold, that smoldering slithery Saw Scaled Viper secretly slipped in and staged a sneak attack!! In the bottle it smells like whole cinnamon sticks...slightly bitter, and it's hot like whoa! I literally see sparks in my mind when I smell it, and in my book that is a veerrrry good thing indeed! It's the cassia, though, and that lends a richness and depth that could never lower itself to cinnamon's usual cheap red hot candy olfactory tricks, and adds an almost chocolatey aroma. When I smelled Gennivre, I thought it smelled like this minty Ginko tea that I drink after I've squeezed my fresh lemon and agave syrup into it, and I remarked that I wished BPAL would make a blend that recreated my favorite YOGI tea - Kava Stress Relief. Well, the very same afternoon this snakey shows up on my doorstep reeking of chocolatey spiced goodness. Granted, SSV is far spicier than my Kava tea (like I took said chocolatey kava tea and spiced it up with some cayenne pepper - yum!) but it has the same rich chocolate-esque note in it that is seriously super scrumptious (ok enough with the s alliteration, I swear!) My boyfriend seconds the yogi tea kava stress relief + cayenne pepper comparison. In the bottle the snake oil is present, but in the most organic and inoffensive way possible (I'm one of those for whom new snake oil's vanilla note can read plastic), and I detect a very promising hint of uber luscious and highly coveted red sandalwood. On the skin this one loses the hardest edge of cassia bitterness (thank goddess! It was the only element that threatened to hold this blend back from greatness!) but it also turns the spice dial up to eleven! The snake oil becomes more prominent, too, but to me it smells like only really fantastically aged snake oil can smell. Then the red sandalwood steps into center stage and I am utterly destroyed by ecstasy. This is sublime! It's glittering, smoldering, hot and more than any of the other snakepits, it's dead sexy as hell. This blend has longer than usual throw, and an extended wear time. The drydown is really slow and gradual and I keep getting visuals of a large fire slowly burning out as shimmering embers send sparks flying through the air. The remnants of the fire are every bit as radiant and glowing as the fire itself as ten hours after applying SSV my wrist smelled of the most delectable high-quality rich red sandalwood money can buy. This is an absolute must for fellow spice lovers. This is my favorite blend of all time now, and I will be requiring a bottle or eleventy-billion before the carnaval departs. 1-5 rating: this blend just turned it up to eleven! Long live BPAL!

At first, I was totally prepared to love this scent in a signature fragrance all-time top five desert island kind of a way, that is, based on the description from the lab and the earlier reviews here. I LOVE woodsy-ish smells and generally agree with all the individual fragrances listed in this blend. Plus I AM an illustrated woman! Tattoos have been an immensely important part of my life, and I have been patiently waiting for what feels like FOREVER for the lab to come out with a tattoo themed fragrance. That this one is an ode to a tattooed woman is even better. In the imp, I was VERY concerned about this smell and whether or not it was going to agree with me. The aroma perfectly evoked that particular strange artichoke-y smell of a steam room with a vague hint of gorgeous honeyed incense underneath that did not seem to be enough to save it from artichoke strangulation. I even put it directly into my swap pile for several days, until I was going through some old BPAL imps I hadn't smelled in a while and realized that some of the scents I had once written off as being totally gross had now really grown on me. So I decided to go ahead and try Illustrated Woman on, though I was still totally prepared for disappointment... On my skin, however, the scent really blooms...the weird note from before develops into a rich woodsiness and drops nicely to the background to provide a sturdy base for the complex and rich honeyed incense to take center stage. I get mostly vanilla honey with some musk for depth, a good dose of those "indian resins" contributing a lovely swirl of exotic incense smoke, and the faintest whiff of tobacco/pine/patchouli gently pulls this blend back from the brink of becoming excessively sweet. Of course, now this blend has earned it's rightful place in my top five list and on my skin. In the end, it's everything I ever hoped it would be and more. It really suits my personality and tastes quite well. Plus...I. CANNOT. STOP. SMELLING. MYSELF. NOW!! A big bottle must have for me! :love!:

In the imp: Men's gel deodorant. Wet, on the skin: Cologne and cleaning products. Drydown: Salty sea air, spices, leather...The salty aquatics do bring back lovely memories from growing up in Seattle - going down to the waterfront and the Ivar's Pier to throw french fries to sea gulls. This smells so yummy, but it's a bit too masculine of an aquatic rendition for me. I would love this on a man, though, and you can bet I'll be slathering it all over mine!

I got this in the mail last night, and woke up wondering why I had that song stuck in my head?!? (Blue mooooon, I saw you standing alooooone...) Oh my, this is a beautiful scent! I can hardly tell the notes from each other, but the cucumber does leap out at me, along with the clary sage and ylang ylang! This is utterly feminine (as a lunar blend should be) and very peaceful! A lovely spring or summer scent. So complex and mysterious! But then of course I'm going to love it - coming from a girl named Luna! Gorgeous, absolutely divine! More, please! ETA: this is now on my top ten LE list!!

Hello, pretty rose! I think this scent suits the description very well. It is a bit somber and melancholy. I really like it. The honeyed rose is swimming around in a lot of other notes...all of which are a touch hard to pick out from the blend. Certainly the vanilla flower, benzoin, and tonka are in there with some nondesript florals...I think the black plum is giving this the slightest splash of tanginess. This one's clear, and pretty. If it were a color it'd be indigo blue! I'll be getting lots of wear out of this one! I like it more and more the longer I wear it! It really sets itself apart from the traditional rose category. 5/5

Oh my, this is gorgeous! Reminds me of mid-to-late summer, when the blackberries are starting to ripen, maybe just before a summer storm when the sky is ready to burst. A very pretty and peaceful combo between the heather and the berries. This one will be getting a lot of wear this summer.

Mmmmmmm! Apricots and cloves! Cloves and apricots! This is scrumptious! Oh my! Just a touch of spice with apricot jam...this is so pretty! I'm going to need more come springtime! Oh god this is gorgeous! I have Bakeneko, Minotaur, Snow White, and Red PHoenix on my arms right now along with this one, and it can clearly hold its own with the best of em. 5/5

Oh yum! This is magnificent! Creamy, orange tea with spice and sweetness and little cherry blossoms floating around in it! Oh heavens! I am so glad that I got this one...Now I need MORE!!! This is such a shnuggly, warm, comfy scent! I'm in love!!! This is going straight to my top ten list! CAN'T. STOP. SNIFFING! This one must be brought back!!! I might not ever wash my arm again...

This blend starts off HOT, HOT, HOT! An almost bitter spice - like cinnamon sticks, not big red gum. It's really an amazingly fiery smell...I can't detect the patchouli, nor tobacco individually, though they may simply be too well blended into the background spices. The musk, tonka, mandarin, benzoin, and plum bring some sweetness to the fire and some added depth. This is a hot and complex blend on me, one of my favorite spice blends, and I am a BPAL spice connoisseur! My only caveat with this one is that after an hour or two the sweetness starts dominating the spice and transforming it into something a bit more lukewarm. I think I'd have liked it better had it stayed true to its original fire - though that could just be because my decant is aged! I still plan on getting a great deal of wear out of this one! Very well done!

At first whiff a note jumps out at me that is a little like Demeter's Angel Food Cake...except it's a little more pineapple upside down cake really, if you wanna get specific . Then I get a cold breeze and the scent of snow. This one doesn't morph too much for me from bottle to skin, and stays pretty true to the soft, slightly foody, snow scent. This has become one of my favorite winter scents, and I can't wait for it to start snowing because this scent would be truly complementary! Definitely getting me in the winter spirit! I'll be needing more of this real soon! 5/5

I used to play this Labyrinth board game with my family when I was a little kid, and the Minotaur was always my fave! Anyway, this scent is amazing. It's spicy and rich, decadent and dark...yum! In the vial, it smells like something my Mom would wear (and I say that in the most complimentary way because my Mom's perfumes are really nice. She's a classy lady.) Once it hits my skin it just smells divine, and like it is a perfume I would "borrow" from my Mom a little too often. It smells somehow familiar...Oh, it reminds me of an old perfume I used to wear from the long defunct Body Scent in Seattle, and I grew up on those (along with Minotaurs and mythology). This blend, of course, is far superior to that one in its complexity. The drydown mellows this blend from its nostrils steaming outta the gate running quality, but it stays true throughout to its name and its strength. Gonna get lots o love outta this blend it's really exquisite! ETA: after having bonded a little while longer with Minotaur, I have realized that this scent belongs to the special catgeory of BPAL that will need to, at some future date, be pried from my cold, dead fingers. This is approaching some number one BPAL ever territory!! I don't think that before tonight I have ever smelled my wrist this many times in one hour. I'm breaking world records, people!

Whoo, I finally got my paws on a decant of this scent!! I am so glad that I did! In the imp this smells...well, there are no words to describe how amazing it smells. I can't pick out any of the notes but lime, salty sea smell, and wood...the rest of it just blends into yum! I slathered this time, knowing that the first time I only put on a tiny touch and discovered that this blend is very subtle and soft. Slathering definitely paid off big time here! Wet on the skin all of the notes rush forward to announce their appearance: hello coconut palm, hey there balsam, date, musk and grass! Welcome to the party! As it's drying it is soooo beautiful...This is going to sound corny but eff it anyways - this stage reminds me of that last scene in Goonies, when One Eyed Willy's pirate ship sets sail again on the open seas and everyone on the beach is all "Oooh" and "Ahhhhh", cue the cheesy melodramatic music, cheesy melodramatic resolution to the plot, and then everyone has a party on the beach with baby ruth and domino's pizza, cuz product placement was unabashedly celebrated in the 80's! What was I talking about, oh yeah...the drydown of this blend is majestic. Annnnyywaaays, this just turns into the softest, most sensual, exquisite blend ever! It might be my favorite BPAL evah, and in any case I will definitely require truckloads more! This is a pirate ship at sunset. A romanticized pirate ship of my innermost role-playing fantasies...er, I mean it's kinda dreamy, uh, you know maybe, I guess.

I smelled this in the imp and instantly squeed myself! Soooooo goooood! This is chocolate with depth. This is a very different scent from that of Bliss or Vice. This is...rich and creamy, thick cocoa. The initial wet on skin phase is a tad troubling, but this awkward (like Miskatonic U's fugly cousin! ) stage passes within only a few seconds, thankfully. The scent that this develops into is purely orgasmic, I tell you. Rich cocoa, a slight whiff of coffee, and cinnamon. At first the cinnamon overpowers the coffee almost entirely, but after a few seconds more the blend settles into a lovely balance between all three notes. The cinnamon makes this blend a bit arid in the drydown, but overall this is a scrumptious warm winter treat! 4.5/5

This is SO swoon-worthy! At first it smells like apple blossoms and ginger. As it dries it turns into a glowing, radiant amber-licious white-hot ginger scent with a background of light florals. I know that there's not supposed to be ginger in it - but that is what I get from it on my skin! If it is just the carnation performing this function alone - this is the spiciest, most magnificent carnation I have ever encountered! This scent is absolutely magnetic, and I can see why it is a love potion! This is destined to become a true all-time favorite of mine. And to think, I didn't even believe it would work for me based on the listed notes in the description. Just goes to show that Beth works in mysterious ways! Oh, it also has awesome throw and lasts quite a while. The only caveat is a familiar one to amber blends - the amber does get a touch powdery on the drydown, but the five-star carnation in this recipe prevents it from being anywhere near conventional. Genius! 5/5

I'm in love with this scent! First of all, it has throw for days and lasts forever!! It smells so wonderful and is reminiscent of being out on the open seas! From the listed notes alone I was a little worried that this wouldn't work....well, I was so wrong! This is AMAZING! A sexy, unique, complex pirate scent. This one smells so feminine and luscious. The blood and snake oil stay in the background providing warmth and spicy sweetness. The lime, sea air, and wood stay front and center and are more calming and feminine than one might imagine! I detected the gunpowder in the beginning, and it was not at all unpleasant, but by the time this dries down it is barely detectable, adding to the complexity of the blend. This has become my "go-to" pirate scent! Yaarrrrr!

Ahhhh, Verdandi! How I love thee, let me count the ways... In the imp and fresh on the skin: fresh, crisp, juicy apple that has just had a bite taken out of it. Yum! Then the amber and spices emerge and this morphs into the most warm, glowing, spicy, and radiant apple smell ever! This is my favorite BPAL apple scent so far! I think it transcends simple fruity apple territory into gorgeous applelicious perfume heaven! It's spicy, sensual, and crisp!! I LLUUUUURRRRVVVE this one! It's to die for! More plz, kthnx! 1-5=eleventybillion! An all-time favorite here - and this is from someone who tends to not go for fruity scents!!

In the imp: Berries, icy fresh air, a hint of maple...stark woods On the skin: Something vaguely sharp and bitter, that disappears after a few seconds, and becomes a lovely woodsiness. Berries...and I keep getting this wine scent! No idea where that's coming from, but it smells like aged crushed grapes. Then the rose begins to softly appear. After a minute this one reaaallly starts to step up to the plate. It's complexity and lushness really start to become prevalent. I cannot identify ninety-nine percent of the notes in this blend, and reading the description only verifies this fact for me. But, it smells sweet and cold and northern...just like where the Vikings would have lived. Once it gets to this final stage, I cannot stop sniffing at myself. This is one gorgeous blend and will get a ton of wear. Big bottle please! Rating one to ten = ten!

This is one that morphs a lot! In the imp: Wint-o-green certs and Peppermint Schnapps? First on the skin: Wint-o-green certs, cedar, and something vaguely foody... After a minute: The certs scent begins transforming into something almost scentless, but which conveys the experience of inhaling cold, fresh, air. The woods really start to emerge to the forefront at this stage....There is just a subtle hint of spice, still I find it to be more along the fresh, woodsy, and herbal category...and this is not a bad thing! After about ten minutes this has bloomed into the most exquisite tree scent! It's like being in an oldgrowth forest in the heart of winter! Underneath all the iciness, there is something warm and life-affirming. When it dries down all the way, it does get just a tiny touch cologne-ish, but this is such a gorgeous scent overall that I don't mind a bit! Big bottle must-have!!

Seaweed, kelp, salty ocean spray, bitter almond, night-blooming jasmine, frankincense, and benzoin. Oh wow, this is one of my new favorites! It smells like....underwater, and....fun! Seriously, I don't know how BPAL captures the scent of underwater and makes it beautiful, but they have hit the nail on the head here. Also, there is something light and playful about it....it brings back memories from childhood of going to Wild Waves waterpark and playing in the wave pool!?! It also has these similar night-blooming flower notes from Midnight on the Midway, that are sooooo soft, feminine, calming, and pretty. I only have 1/4 of an imp bestowed upon me by a lovely forumite, and I am going to try very hard to save it for summer when I will really be wanting to wear this all the time....however, this will prove challenging, as I already want to wear it all the time, even though it is freezing and stormy outside! 5/5

Can I really not have reviewed this yet?? It hardly seems possible as this is one of my all time faves! A very heady blend of exotic saffron and swirling incense with warm musk and spices...this is so unbelievably sexy and unique! I'm like the pied piper of hot guys when I wear this scent, because they just follow me down the street. I'm serious, I get asked out a lot more when I wear this one! (Someone said that the patchouli bothered them, but for peeps who hate patchouli like me, rest assured - I don't even think that there is a drop of patchouli in this one at all. I'm super sensitive to it and can almost always sniff it out of any blend, but I don't detect it here even remotely.) Scherezade is all sexiness and allure. This should be a love potion. Definitely in my top five BPALs ever! Rating out of ten: this blend just turned it up to eleven!

In the imp and fresh on: bright, crisp, crunchy, juicy apples! Drying: Now the cranberries and cider spices are coming out just a touch, bringing some zing, spice, and extra sweetness to this blend. As time goes on the cranberries come out more and more, and that is not a bad thing at all. In the end, all three mingle together in perfect harmony. I could wear this everyday of fall and winter. It has decent throw and duration as well. I am going to require a big bottle of this one the next time it comes around!!

This one is so sexy. I totally get the "warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion" from this...amazing! It is slightly powdery at first, but it is that way in the most uber sexy way imaginable, I think. After a few minutes the powder disappears on me and the notes become more clear and less fuzzy around the edges. I smell honey and ylang ylang...I can detect the myrrh in there just barely, giving this blend some heat. This is a soft sensual second skin scent that is pure sex. I love this one!

I didn't want to try this one, I thought that champagne and strawberries, while being delicious in real life would be gross in a body scent. Boy, was I wrong! Now I am bummed because I only have a tiny sniffy a kind forumite sent to me, and I will definitely need a bottle's worth because this is that good! I don't know how this smells so effervescent in the imp??!!? It is bright, bubbly, fruity and sweet! Completely unique and wonderful. Fresh strawberries and expensive bubbly. The sparkling quality prevents it from totally resembling the Strawberry Shortcake brand bubble bath I had as a kid. The vague nostalgic connection is still there, but not enough to bother me, or prevent me from wearing this scent as an adult. I'll wear this on those occasions when I feel bubbly and girly...a must have for new year's!

In the vial: berries and mulling spices. On the skin: I don't know, but it's reeeaaaalllyyy good! Mulled wine comes to the forefront, berries still going strong. Yet, there's some other smells intermingling now...soft, lush misty forests and yes a "magical tingle" of dragon's blood as well. This is a rich, spicy scent rife with an air of royalty. This is a keeper! 5/5

Mmmmmm...wet this is the almondy marzipan smell of Dana O'Shee with spices and dark resiny incense. A smoky, sweet, and smoldering smell. This is a perfect combination. The almonds do mainly disappear to the background once it dries, and what is left is dark incense smoke and fiery embers. This is a classy evening scent. Smooth and streamlined. Exceptionally complex. I can see why this is the signature scent of BPAL. A new all time favorite!!