Imbrium

I was very surprised last week to come home to a bottle of this that my wonderful boyfriend purchased for me. Wow. Okay. As far as the scent goes, this is nice. Floral, aquatic. I think I smell lilac. On to the use of the scent. I use Temple Celtic for three main purposes: meditation, tarot reading, and ritual work. I find it wonderful to use in meditation or yoga simply because it is such a calming scent, and I won't go into detail about how I've used it ritualistically, aside from saying that I certianly did feel somehow more connected with what I was doing. However, I've found it the most appropriate, I think, for working with my usual tarot deck - the watercolor Legend Arthurian deck - as it is very rooted in Celtic and British mythology. I usually use this deck because I have always, from the first moment I picked it up, gotten very good readings, but in the last week, they have been uncannily accurate, and while I've always felt very connected with this deck (Arthurian mythology is a part of my field, and I've been interested in it since I was a child), I had never quite felt so in tune with the deck. Words cannot describe how it felt. So, aside from the fact that it smells very nice (though nothing like Blue Moon, to my nose), if you have any interest at all in celtic mythology, or do any work with any celtic dieties, I cannot recommend this highly enough. I will use this all the time.

I recently swapped for an imp of this after resisting trying to find it - I figured florals were always a gamble with my skin, so why pay a lot for a scent that might not work, or get attached to one that's hard to find. Silly me, I tried it any way, and I'm in love. Between the bottle and my skin, Havisham changes very little - it starts out rosey and aquatic, and it stays rosey and aquatic. The first time I tried it out, I did notice that there was an odd "warm" sort of scent to it, which threw me off a bit since I wasn't expecting anything like it. What strikes me is the rose in this blend. I want to call it white rose, in part, I think, because it's such a light and cold scent, but I really have nothing else to base that on. Regardless, it's a very interesting rose scent, and unlike any I'm familiar with. Hours upon hours after application, Havisham is still there, though far fainter. When I sniff my wrist, I get a rose and warm skin scent. Overall - I'm kicking myself. Why didn't I try this gorgeous scent sooner?

Wow, I can't believe I'd never reviewed this one. After trying an imp, I picked up a bottle a short while before it was discontinued. This admittedly is from my notes I took while trying on the imp. In the bottle, and immediately on my skin, this is very, very cinnamon-y - it smells, as others have mentioned, very much like red hots. Sadly, for me, even as Three Witches dries, I don't get the other spicy notes; it remains very strong cinnamon. For what it's worth, this has amazing throw, and it lasts for hours and hours. Overall - I like this, but I'm not sure it's what I would have hoped for. In general, I love spicy blends, and they love me, but this one is so very strong that I'm afraid of oppressing others around me (though admittedly, they'd be oppressed with glorious cinnamon).

I have little to add to the other reviews stating that this smells exactly like lilacs. That's because it really, really does. However, I did want to add this: When I first applied Blue Lilac, there was something odd about it on my skin. It did smell like lilac, but there was a dark and oddly sweet scent behind it. My skin chemistry tends to react that way with a lot of florals. Still, I was determined that this would work for me, because I absolutely adore lilacs, and am a bit nostalgic for my parents' place, with their giant 12 year old lilac bush. So, I persevered, and within an hour, the "off" sort of smel had dried completely away. The moral of the story, I suppose, is not to give up on Blue Lilac, and it will love you for it! I'm certainly glad I didn't.

In the bottle: Very dark and mysterious - this one's hard for me to pin down. On: Wet, the Queen smells very, very earthy on me, with a hint of sweet fruit in the background. I like the presence of the fruity notes, as it makes this more wearable for me than a straight earth scent like Graveyard Dirt would have been. As this dries, the earth notes fade, and lo, The Queen, she be a morpher. I get predominately pomegranate and currant, followed by more mellow fruits with a touch of something warm - amber? - followed by predominately amber, with a fruity base. Then, out of nowhere, there's the creamy presence of vanilla. There's never any rose on me, nor do I get the myrrh and dark incense notes. Overall: Complex, and very interesting, and somehow, not too heavy for warm weather. Absolutely fabulous, and I'm so glad I took a chance on this one.

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Yay, Chaos Theory! First, Chaos Theory 2: CX (110). In the bottle, this is somewhat astringent. It has a very herbal smell, with a bit of something I can't quite put my finger on - musk, perhaps? Possibly civet? In any case, it has a bit of an animalistic edge to it. On: First on, this is primarily green and herbal. It loses its astringency, and has a very nice clean feel to it. As it dries, however, the darker note emerges, and while it still smells herbal, it's more similar to what I smelled in the bottle - very dark and feral. Now, with the admission that I'm not terribly fond of most animalistic smells, I still think this one could work for me - I just need to try it when I'm not too exhausted to work that "Grrrrr" vibe. On to Chaos Theory 2: CCCXVII (317). Dear sweet gods above, this is so beautiful I could cry. In the bottle: Minty! I was initially a little worried, as all non-Spooky mints have smelled like dentist on me. However, there's an edge of something spicy lurking behind the mint. On: Wet, it's still primarily mint. In fact, the spiciness is almost gone; someitmes I think I smell it, and sometimes I wonder if I'm just imagining I smell it there because I love that autumnal spice kind of thing. However! As this dries, it becomes so incredibly complex. It's still minty, but there's a kind of creamy base to this, and better still, the spices have reappeared. The more this dries, the more primarily cinnamon it becomes, until now, after three hours and a nap, I smell primarily like cinnamon and maybe nutmeg, with a creamy, minty background. This is so beautiful, and so perfect for me - it's like the mint I've been searching for had some sort of naughty liason with my favorite autumnal scents, and I got the end result. Yay! So, thank you, Beth, for creating these scents, and thank you, physics, for letting them come to me.

First of all, thank you so much to Brumbjorn, for letting me sniff this one. In the Bottle: Definately a clean smell, definately an eye-opener. It's hard for me to identify anything particular right out of the bottle, but my first impressions are that it's a rather masculine scent. It's crisp, and reminds me very much of a classic cologne. Wet on Skin: Slightly astringent and very woodsy. Clean, with a little bit of something underneath it that smells slightly sweet to my nose. Drying: This fades a bit on my skin, and smells nothing like I expected. It's light musk, with a sort of spicy wood smell. It doesn't smell piney, nor does it smell like sandalwood to me, but beyond that it's hard to say what sort of wood note this is. Dry on Skin: Though I slathered this on, it's faded quite a bit on me, into a sort of warm, spicy second-skin scent. You know when you'll pull on a guy's shirt, and when you take it off later, you've got a hint of his cologne surrounding you: light and spicy, and it makes you feel incredibly sexy? That's Naked Singularity. So once again, thank you, Brumbjorn, for letting me sniff and review this. I doubt I would ever have bought it on my own, for anything other than the awesome name, and I really love it.

In the bottle: This smells wonderful already - floral, but very light. I'm struck by how similar it smells to Amsterdam, which is one of my absolute favorites. On: Beltane starts out very much as it smells in the bottle. Among the flowers in this blend, I know I smell tulips, and something aquatic - it's very green. Unfortunately for me, one of the floral notes in this blend is one of the ones that doesn't agree with my skin. It turns sickly sweet, and slightly powdery, which is slightly depressing, given how divine it smells in the bottle. I think this may well be the first Bpal that I try as a room scent - I hate to give up on it when it's so pretty away from my skin. Besides - regardless of how it smells on me, I know I'm going to want some come next Beltane.

First sniff from the bottle: Fruity, herbal - I definately smell ivy. On: This is predominately green - ivy and sage, with a bit of fruit. There's something with a bite in the background, which I would guess comes from the hops; I get something similar out of Roadhouse. Drying, the fruit becomes more prominent in Mabon, and it's much more appley than blackberry on me. I can still smell ivy, but the sage is gone. Dry, Mabon is all apples and greenery - mostly ivy. I love this; it's beautiful and distinctive without being overly heavy.

In the bottle: Holy crap - that's the lemoniest thing I've ever smelled. On: This smells like lemongrass to me - in fact, when I try June Gloom, I get this odd craving for Thai food. I smell no morning rain or mist; it's just very strong lemongrass. Overall: While I love lemongrass, and woul dcurrently kill someone for a bowl of Tom Yum soup, I'm not personally very invested in the idea of smelling like my favorite Thai restaurant. My skin seems to really play up citrus, and June Gloom is no exception to the rule.

In the bottle, on my skin, Rose Red doesn't change at all - it just dries to a softer, more subtle version of its bottle self. That said - it's beautiful. It's perfect. I have no idea how Beth created this scent, it's so amazing. I was at dinner the other night, at a restaurant with fresh cut roses on the table, and I spent a good 15 minutes wondering, "Who here could be wearing Rose Red?" before I figured out what was going on. I smell the flower, with a hint of the stem and leaves; it's very clean and light. I normally don't like most rose blends, but I will treasure my bottle of Rose Red.

I'm sitting here with Miskatonic U on one arm, and an old library book in the other hand, and comparing the two. In the bottle: Irish Coffee, without a doubt. That's quite an eye-opener. On: At first, all I really smell is the Irish coffee - creamy, and very alcoholic. I want to lick my arm. As this dries, though, I smell a new note that smells so much like old books, it's not even funny. At least, it's frighteningly similar to the copy of Medieval Canon Law in my other hand. It doesn't really smell dusty to me, at least, not in a sneeze-inducing sort of way, so much as it smells like old, well cared for paper in leather bindings. The alcoholic smell fades away, and I'm left with coffee and books, which is delicious. This is such a "me" scent that it scares me. It smells like all nighters in school, and the dozens of old library books that take up all the space in my apartment. I adore this; I might even have to pick up another bottle before June 1. Scratch that - I'm definately buying another bottle. Boyfriend all but demanded another one, he loves it so much.

Ooh, Cthulhu. I've been anticipating this one most eagerly, since I saw it up on the "to be released" list. In the bottle: Cthulhu is very masculine; it's aquatic, but in a manly sort of way. On: Salt water, and lots of ozone. For me, this is the classic masculine aquatic; it smells like the ocean and the boyfriend after he's shaved. Very sexy. This does get a bit soapy as it dries, but then, I like that; I'm a great lover of clean and masculine scents, and this is the loveliest one I've smelled so far. Dry: The slightly soapy, manly smell disappears, and it's more a cool, less-ozoney aquatic with a bit of a bite to it, a dark background note. Maybe that's the seaweed? Overall: It's manly, it's sexy. and it sticks around. I am most definately putting this on the SO, and I'm so glad I finally have a bottle of the almighty Cthulhu.

So this is what air and darkness smell like. In the bottle: Clean, a little powdery, and slightly reminiscent of the lineny smell of Dirty. Actually, this smells like my grandmother did when I was little, which is a good thing; she always smelled like clean laundry and fresh air. On: I'm having such a hard time trying to describe this scent, I have to agree with AlecoNox. It's not fruity, not floral, and not aquatic. It smells like fresh air, with a hint of something powdery in it, and it has a very empty feel to it, for lack of a better word. Overall: From wet to dry, this doesn't change a lot on my skin. It's light, it's gorgeous, and, to me, it's very nostalgic. It's a very clean, airy smell, and has been on for almost four hours now without fading in the slightest. I imagine, too, that this would be another one of those great scents to introduce people who are fond of commercial perfumes to Beth's blends. Something in it is reminiscent of expensive department store perfumes, but at the same time, it's unique, and amazingly beautiful. If Yog-Sothoth doesn't turn people into BPAL fans, then they're lost causes.

Mmmm ... braaaains... In the bottle: Fruity! I smell kiwi and mango more than anything, with a bi of pineapple and the ginger and tea in the background. On: The fruit dries away a bit, and though this is sad, as I love fruity smells, Mi-Go still smells wonderful, so I cant really complain. Floral - definately Jasmine, but not enough to give me a headache - and sometimes I think I smell the white tea and ginger more than I did sniffing it out of the bottle. I'm in the same boat as the other reviewers who aren't sure what pink pepper smells like, and while this isn't spicy on me at all, there is a note that I can't really place - perhaps it's pink pepper. Overall: More floral than fruity on me, but a light floral, so it's one I can wear. It does seem to get a bit fruitier as it continues drying, so here's hoping I get a lot more fruit at the end of the day. This doesn't last too long on my skin, but that's okay; I like it enough that I'd reapply all day if I had to. I feel a bit like a zombi, getting this excited over brains. Also, I made the squishy brain walk down my computer screen as I wrote this. It's awesome!

First, thank you to Quantum_Spice, for letting me try this one. Onward! In the bottle: It's foody and sweet - funnel cake and cotton candy, and an almost coconutty smell, and a bit salty. On: Oh, this is good. It's more cotton candy on me than it was in the bottle, very sweet, but somehow not toothache inspiring. I really like Macha's description of the cartoon genie finger - it's dead on. Dry, the coconutty sort of smell that I get is gone, and it's not as buttery as I would have guessed, based on reviews. It's very light and sweet, and it blends so well that the more prominent notes that I could pick out at the beginning - the doughy smell, the cotton candy, the sort of saltiness - all melt together. This is oh so beautiful - if the rest of the series is as delicious as this, I'm going to be broke for a long, long time. P.S. Midway remains awesome!

In the bottle: Spice, and buttery pumpkin. Yay! On: Wet, this is buttery, pumpkiny and spicy. As it dries, however, the peach comes out more, and while I love peach, I'm not sure how well I enjoy it mixed with pumpkin. Dry, the peach is almost gone, but the pumpkin has also faded a bit. Overall: I do like this. It's not quite what I was hoping it would be, but then, I was spoiled by smelling Pumpkin King before I got to Jack. I've been layering Jack with Three Witches, and it smells lovely.

In the bottle: I barely smell the pomegranate, though it is very martini-esque. (Vodka, for the record, as I don't smell the juniper-gin scent). On: ooh, fruity! This is amazing, sweet and juicy. It doesn't change much from wet to dry, the pomegranate really the dominant not throughtout. I'd be tempted to say that I smell nothing but pomegranate, but there's a sort of background scent that makes it differ from the pomegranate single note; it helps balance out Swank's fruitiness.

In the bottle: Green, woodsy, and slightly aquatic. On: Wet, this is very reminiscent of Skadi, minus the berry note. As it dries, however, Dublin grows very different, to my nose. The sort of spicy aspect that's also very prominent in Skadi disappears, and it smells very green and - as the description says - damp. I know I smell pine. Overall: I'm tempted to agree with other reviewers who've said it smells just like a forest on a rainy day. Unfortunately, I live in the desert, and can barely remember what a rainy forest smells like. However, this does smell like nothing around me, unless I were to head up into the mountains on the rare occasion of a storm, so I suspect they're right. Regardless, this is very nice.

In the bottle: More sage than anything, very pleasant. On: As soon as this hits my skin, it's nothing but sweet pea. Oh boy. I like sweet pea, but this is so incredibly strong and sweet, though not the foody sort of sweetness that I love. After a half an hour or so, the sweet pea isn't as strong, and I can smell a the sage again, which helps balance out the sweet pea. At times, as this continues to dry, I think I can smell the tonka, but it's not very prominent at all. Too bad - I was hoping for very much tonka. Overall: I was afraid, based on the way this smelled when first applied, that Aeval was very much not going to work on my skin. I do, however, like what it dries to, as eventually I get sage, and more tonka - it's sweet and spicy, and more wearable than its sweet pea stage. And, it has tons of throw.

I ordered a bottle of this unsniffed - how could anyone resist that description? In the bottle: this does have the sort of generic department store perfume scent that a few other reviewers have mentioned, which made me a bit nervous. On: The generic perfume-y scent disappears as it dries, hooray! What's left is lovely - soft and green. It doesn't smell particularly floral to me, just green and slightly aquatic, very much a softer version of Dublin. The first time I wore this, it faded within a few hours, but I've had this on for awhile now, and I can still smell it, so I'm hoping it will last.

In the Bottle: I have to agree with everyone's comments about the complexity of this one - everything is so well blended that it's hard to pick out individual notes. On: Wet, this smells the way it does in the bottle - that is to say, there aren't any individual notes that strike me as particularly prominent, except that it starts more floral, to my nose. As it dries, I smell more fruit, particularly the pear. However, the first time I tried this, it dried to a sweet floral pomegranate. I have the feeling that, because of the complexity of this blend, it will be something different every time I wear it, and I love that Beth has created something that can do that - it's incredible.

In the Bottle: It's mainly orange, though I can smell a bit of the fig. On: Figgy fig! I get little to no orange, but it's alright, because Beth's fig is beautiful. Sweet and spicy - I want to bite my arm. As this is drying, it goes through a phase that smells almost berry-like to me - think Skadi - but that dries away, and it's all fig. This is delicious, and as juicy as a perfume oil can get. I'm so happy I have a big bottle.

In the Bottle: A very green, almost astringent herbal. On: I have to agree with Isyche - this is green and herbal, but somehow a warm scent as well. It very quickly dries to something less green and more spicy, and I don't get any lemon out of it. This turns a bit too "men's cologne" for me, but I'll wear it on occasion, as it is nice, particularly in the earlier stages.

I have to admit that even had I not liked the sound of all the notes in this one, I would have ordered it anyway - the Safe Haven for Donkeys' website made me cry. In the Bottle: Herbal, with red musk. On: Oh, fruity! The mango is really prominent in this one; it's by far the dominant note, and I love it. I can still smell the kind of herbal, green smell from the bottle, which smells less like lavendar and more like the giant sage bushes outside my parents' house. What I love about Beth's sage is that the real plant gives me a horrendous headache, but this is just beautiful and painfree. As it dries, I can smell something warm in the background, which could be musk, amber or both, I can't tell - it's still lovely, though.