suki

in the imp:straight violet wet on skin: same. dry down: same! in all: i get no other notes from this, which suits me fine, as violet is my favorite floral. i was hoping to see what a dark amber would be like with such a bracing flower note, but i'll be content with this being what it is.

in the imp: red apple. wet on skin: fake red apple, like a glade room spray. dry down: same, only stronger. much stronger. in all: the apple in Snow Glass Apples was beautiful, true and real. this, on the other hand, is more the apple of a cheap candle in a drug store. i'm sad.

Benzoin, cassis bud, patchouli, rose otto, and petitgrain. in the imp: unfortunately, my immediate impression of this is a dirty ashtray. let's hope it gets better. wet on skin: nope. the same, but with a dying, wilted rose near the dirty ashtray. dry down: same. in all: pretty horrendous. i don't know what went wrong, as there are no "deal breakers" listed in the notes. but the combination on me is simply dreadful.

in the imp: red musk and sexy, sexy saffron! wet on skin: same. mmmmmmm dry down: the musk is so red it emits an under note that's almost a dark rose. overlayed with this are an array of spices that remind me of being in Little India-rich, flavorful cumin, coriander and cardamom in equal measure, with a heavy ration of beautiful saffron sitting right on top. in all: i can't BELIEVE i've gone so long without this oil in my life. if you havent done so already, this is the one to buy a bottle of- NOW. ADDED 1/14/10: in the bottle: a bit of saffron, LOTS of champa, the red musk of Smut behind it all. good start! wet on skin: those three notes all still present, but switching order slightly, with the saffron taking the back seat. dry down: still mostly champa. in all: i have a feeling that this might dramatically improve with age, ala Snake Oil, so i'm going to see what happens. there's a lot of promise here, as champa is a great incense note. i just want more than what essentially seems like a single note at present. but Red Musk, i'm totally rooting for you!

in the imp: lots of almond, and a slight breath of patchouli. wet on skin: pretty much the same, thought i detect an undernote of black cherry bark. dry down: the above, only now there's a hint of spice thrown in for good measure. in all: not necessarily an oil i would wear just for the scent, it's certainly not terrible, either. i will keep my imp and do some spell work with it. hopefully, it will bring some funds into my very meager bank account!

in the imp: sweet caramel, and a hint of tobacco. wet on skin: a little mint is coming through, just a hair-just enough to temper the SWEET of the caramel. i don't get anything else at this stage. dry down: the mint has actually gained momentum, which i wasn't expecting. but it's at odds, not in harmony, with the caramel. in all: a strange cross of a Mint Julip and "Pinched With Four Aces". it doesnt meld, though, and that's it's downfall.

in the imp: sweet green fruit candy. wet on skin: same, with a bit of distinct mango. but only a bit. dry down: the fruit has faded and i'm left with something that smells like a sort-of sweet soap, like a body wash or a nice mid-level shampoo. in all: with so many BPAL scents that are gorgeous and riveting and complex, this one can be skipped over.

in the imp: sweet light amber and something slightly powdery that i cant identify. wet on skin: the amber lightens more and a slight whiff of vetiver comes in, but very faint. dry down: sadly, a note o refer to as "wet cardboard" has entered the mix. this note is also present in several of the Tarot oils and a few others. i think it's a spice note gone wrong. in all: a bland, vaguely sweet scent. powdery, inoffensive. not particularly interesting. off to swap.

in the imp: a green, fresh floral. wet on skin: same, with a hint of ylang ylang in the mix. dry down: yup. that's honeyed lilies alright! in all: although a little too sweet for me, this is a really lovely blend of honey and lilies. if you like both of those notes, you will adore this blend, i promise.

in the imp: sweet candy-like floral. wet on skin: i'm getting the candy-like quality i usually associate with gardenia, but i think it might be the pear. it's juicy, but more floral than it was in, say, the Perilous Parlor. dry down: i get hints of CatHouse in here, but whereas that scent took florals and made them sext in a Southern Belle kind of way, this is not sexy to me in the slightest. in all: not offensive, but the sort of thing my kindly widowed 1st grade teacher would have worn. *shrugs*

in the imp: i don't know how to say this, except to say it's like sniffing Dragon's Blood in the summertime- the sweetness of DB and the warm round scent of a summer night. it's lovely. wet on skin: much the same. i get what people are saying about picking up a "dragon's tears" note happening, but it's not really an aqua- which is good, because i mostly dont like those. dry down: the same as in the vial. in all: i don't get the "magically potent" thing that i usually get from oils belonging to The Conjure Bag, but i definitely get a bit o' friskiness about me and it's a light, sweet, almost fae scent- i could see wearing this on summer date nights for sure!

in the imp: this reads as more citrus than floral to me, at least in the vial. like a lemon pie. yummy, but not a lily per se. wet on skin: ok, now it's morphing. still not lily exactly, but a more *fruity* pie, like currant, maybe. dry down: a spiced, fake carnation. in all: i didn't have any particular expectations for this scent, so i'm not terribly disappointed. but it seems to miss the mark of what it's supposed to be, at least with *my* skin chemistry...

in the imp: black cherry and lavender. wet on skin: i don't know WHAT that note is, but it's the same one in Pruno that smelled like Mister Clean to me- floor cleaner and cherries. dry down: more of the same- but with less cherry. in all: all these notes work on me individually, so it must have something to do with the combination. whatever it is, this is a TOTAL pass for me.

now, i'm not an aquatic fan. but there are always exceptions. for me, it's Water Phoenix. there're others, but they are few and far between. this is not one of them. in all fairness, i couldn't bring myself to actually put this on my skin. for all i know, if i'd been brave, perhaps it would've changed my life in some fabulous way. but as it stands, i couldn't do it. take all the worst elements of an aqua-based scent and quadruple them and you have an idea of what i smelled when i opened this vial. on top of it, my sense of smell was SO taken over by this brief liason that i have a weird TASTE of it in my mouth now! as with all BPAL scents, one lady's nightmare is another's heaven, so i'm sure there are those who adore this scent and worship the section of Lab it's made on. but for me, there has never been a scent so completely hellish. ever.

in the imp: thick pine resin, tomato and a touch of tart and sweet berries. wet on skin: the pine in this is more of a sweet juniper note than, say, a "black forest" sort of pine. it's really nice, and doesn't remind me of the Holiday Season at all- total plus! the cranberry is holding it's own at this point too, but not in a foodie way, just adding a bit of fruity splash somehow. dry down: all pine resin and cranberry. lovely. in all: not a scent that i could personally see myself wearing, i'm still glad i got to try this one. i love New Jersey in a passionate protective way and i was fearful about how that state would be represented. but i had nothing to worry about- this is all sweet and good.

just got the 2008 blend and wanted to compare with my experience of the 2006 variety. in the bottle: frankincense and myrrh, in equal amount. wet on skin: there's low morph at this stage-i'm getting much the same as what i encountered in the bottle. dry down: the frankincense is far more prominent now. so much so, that i'm a bit surprised. in all: this is one of those instances where aging can really make a difference. so far as i know, all the components are the same as the 2006 variety i reviewed earlier. this batch, however, seems far less complex and mysterious than the other, older one. don't get me wrong- this is still a lovely incense scent. but i'm definitely going to let this age for a while before wearing it again.

i seem to be having some sort of love/hate relationship with this oil. in the bottle, the banana was strong, but very natural-like sniffing a real, over-ripe fruit. once on the skin, the banana takes a back seat to the overwhelming patchouli. now, i love patchouli, and have wonderful associations with it. but something about this blend became so off-putting that after a few minutes i had to run to the sink to scrub it off. even after using black soap (which usually takes all traces of BPAL away), the scent is still present, but is at least in a bearable amount. mind you, i only put a *drop* on my hand to test. in all, i like both main components, i'm just not sure if they work in this blend. i'm going to age it for a month and try again. hopefully it'll mellow on it's own. otherwise, it's off to swap!

i got frimped a generous decant of this from the luvly Wikkidraven in a recent swap, and i'm glad i had a chance to try it out. in the vial, it's a soft sweet floral musk. very delicate, and quite sweet but not cloying. wet on the skin it's a mixture of gardenia, jasmine and a light swirl of spun sugar. mmmm! on the drydown, the sugar amps up a bit, but the gardenia holds it's own. this reminds me quite a lot of Unheavenly City, but the gardenia in this blend doesnt have the "candy" aspect that Unheavenly has. in all: a lovely sweet crossover floral, i will love my decant for all it's worth, but i don't think i'll try to track down more.

in the bottle: gooey marshmallow fluff with a dollop of cream on it! wet on the skin and drydown are consistent with each other- the creaminess has faded a bit, but the person who said there's a coconut note i think is spot on- that's definitely what my skin is picking up, though not in an amp-y sort of way, just like what you get when you have a big ole marshmallow that has a thin coating of coconut on it. the sugar element is NOT amping, a first for me! in all:just perfect! SO glad i have some now! :D

in the bottle and wet on my skin, Miskatonic U. is a coffee lover's dream come true. yummy, yummy Irish Cream notes are strong, though the dusty books are certainly adding balance to the affair. dry down, it all goes horribly wrong on my skin, and becomes just a pile of dust. not even the books, JUST the dust. as a note mixed in the other things, i really liked the dust note for lending complexity. on it's own, however, it's just bad news. in all: oh, MU, i had such high hopes. but i shall transfer to a different school of higher learning at once.

in the vial: chocolate and champagne dominate. let's see where the sex is being had... wet on skin: the two notes are in a tussle, but the champagne is turning all ginger ale on me, the way it did with the Cigars. hmmm. dry down:chocolate is nearly gone, all i'm getting is the ginger ale champagne. in all: sadly, none of the Champagne scents have worked out on me. it was pretty yummy in Bon Vivant, but these blends are all sharper, more pungent, than the gentle fizz of BV. i am so grateful i got to try them all, but equally grateful i didn't buy bottles of any of them. oh well- win some, lose some... ps it's making me sneeze, and giving me a headache. ohhhhhhhh.

in the vial: yup- that's booze and cigars, alright! wet on skin: the champagne note, as it did in Champagne and Roses, is sharp and very much like ginger ale. the cigar, at this point, is nowhere to be found. dry down: the cigar has totally vanished, leaving that bubbly, boozy ginger-ale-like champagne. in all: not for me, but i'm glad i got to try it.

in the vial: i get the Pepsi reference straight away but after that, it's all bubbly (YES_bubbly) champagne and a hint of rose. wet on skin: the champagne is morphine into ginger ale, and the rose is there, but waaaaayyyy in the back. dry down: yup- ginger ale and faint rose. in all: i'm really glad i got to try this out (thanks, GoldenRubee!!!) but it's SO not for me- a relief, as it seems to be rather hard to obtain!

this is for the Resurrected Blend, NOT the original in the vial: i'm getting the plum and something that smells like black cherry (is there a black cherry note is the list? can't remember) wet on skin: i can see what people are saying about it being similar to Snake Oil, but interestingly, it smells only like *aged* Snake Oil at this point, not the fresh stuff- all musky and dark and sexy. i'm hopeful... dry down: yes, it's like a combination of Mme. Moriarty, Snake Oil *and* the Charmer itself. i came into my bottle of the original only within the last 6 months, so obviously it's well aged. i am not, therefore, terribly concerned with the ways this smells different from that. i have a feeling that with proper aging, this batch will shine just as brightly as the original. ADDED Jan. 12: this is for the 2008 resurrected version. in the bottle: sweet, musky, spicy and warm- a lighter version, at this stage, of the original. wet on skin: a tangy note is making it's way to the fore. reminds me a bit of copal, but without the citrus, if you can imagine such a thing. dry down: more vanilla, less musk, than the original. it's closer to Snake Oil in this incarnate. in all: having only started exploring BPAL in late 2007, i missed the original release of Snake Charmer. and while i have a bottle of it, purchased for a princely sum last year, it means i don't really know what it smelled like when it was fresh from the Lab- i have the benefit of having gotten it already aged. From what i can tell, it seems like all the necessary components are present in this blend, there just needs to be some time for the aging process to happen in order for it to reach the swoon-worthy levels of it's originator. as a result, i'm putting a bottle of this newbie away to age along with my original and i'm going to give them both a side-by-side comparison a few months down the line. i have a feeling it's only going up from here.

in the vial: cherries and the wet, rich dirt found in Graveyard Dirt. wet on skin:tobacco note is making it's presence known now. dry down: the dirt note is heavy, but this is far more complex that GD. the tobacco is adding a rich back ground note, and the cherry is natural and a little smoky, like cherry bark-rather than cherry candy. in all: i first checked this out at EC Will Call and i thought it was another version of GD. i see now that it's far more layered and complex. i agree with those that say this batch of Phoenixes is really special. they are all heady, and deep and complex. well done as usual, Beth!