voodoobaby

OK, this is going to sound weird, but I looove the smell of Big Red gum. I want to smell like it, but even weirder, I hate the taste. Are there any BPAL scents that have that artificial cinnamon scent (read: not cinnamon stick or potpourri)?

In the vial: Yeah, I do kind of get the cough syrup thing, but I also get bubble gum. Fresh, candy coated Double Bubble bubble gum. This is, I think, due to the clove, as I got the same thing from Blood. It's not an unpleasant smell at all, though. Wearing: Alright, cough syrup is gone. Now I'm left with lovely clove and a lot of sweetness, which is probably the mimosa. Very oddly, I get no wine--odd because that note usually really, really dominates on me. This is a scent that, to me, reminds me of air in a humid area with lots of fruit trees. I can almost feel a cool breeze cut through the hot air when I sniff this. Fruity, for sure, but in a candy way. I'm almost sure that there's cherry here. Later: This stays pretty consistent, the only changes being that it gets a little greener and gets progressively sweeter with wear. Overall: This is a nice scent, but it strikes me as kind of generic. Doesn't particularly wow me, so I'll probably swap it off.

In the vial: Spicy, earthy rose. Very light and lovely, but not ditzy, if that makes sense. Wearing: Wow! OK, let's get one thing straight: I am not a floral fan. It takes a lot--a LOT--to get me to like a floral scent. This blend, however, has it. Gorgeous! The rose is first in command here, light pink with the long green stem still attached. Still spicy and exotic from the carnation, and the white tea balances it out and keeps it grounded. It's also quite creamy. I imagine this would be lovely in a bath. Later: Ah. This has turned oddly foody, but absolutely delicious. Again, I'm not typically one that loves foody scents, but again, this is an exception. At this stage it smells like a fancy dessert--creamy, spicy (I swear there's clove here), and sugary. Yes, sugar. There's something in here that smells suspiciously of powdered sugar. Mmm. Overall: Love it! It embodies everything beautiful about feminine sophistication. Charming, kind, gentle, yet level headed. I could see a young Victorian lady wearing this. With all the deep leather and incensey scents in my collection, I could use something light and innocent to add a little balance. Definitely keeping the imp; I might even contemplate a big bottle.

In the vial: Dragon's blood. Yup, dragon's blood. Floral, spicy, fruity, and sweet. Did I mention dragon's blood? Wearing: Same. It does seem to go less floral and strong than most dragon's blood I've tried, and it's tarter and almost metallic. After a few minutes the amber comes out as the dragon's blood note fades, thankfully. Later: Darn, the amber went away again! Now I'm left with the spicy floral again. This is, on me, generic. I will probably swap it out.

In the bottle: Sharp, green and woody! Also, am I crazy, or is there something tart and almost fruity here? Wearing: OK, there's definitely a little fruitiness here. It's very sour, yet juicy, and...lime? Is that it? Whatever, it's a lovely complement to the woodiness. It does indeed smell like I just walked into a forest, with grasses and all sorts of plants around. I definitely smell some sort of evergreen, but I don't think it's fir or pine or even cypress. It's something that doesn't go metallic on me. Also, mint? Something very cool smelling. And a slight hint of floral. Incredibly clean, almost soapy in an Irish Springs way. Later: OK, now I know there were flowers in this. It's done that weird sour powder thing that florals do on my skin, but this still isn't bad. Overall: Oh, I dig it, alright. This is, like others might have said, everything I wanted Hamadryad to be and more. A keeper!

In the bottle: Sharp sassafras, only much darker. Evil root beer! Wearing: There's a definite woodiness here--nutmeg? I can definitely smell the regular, almost-lemony nutmeg scent, but this is a lot deeper than what I had expected. No poppy here. As for the myrrh, it and sassafras have always smelled quite similar to me anyway, so it's hard to differentiate the two. Later: Very smooth. At first. Then once you're used to the smoothness, it catches you off-guard and there's a big spicy, woody bite. Overall: I like! I definitely don't mind smelling like root beer, especially if it's evil and spicy.

In the vial: A green floral. Wearing: Woo, sage! Fresh sage, to be exact. The sweet pea is trailing just behind it. It smells like a field of pretty pink flowers and tall grass. Simple and natural. Later: The tonka comes in just barely enough to smooth the blend out, but I can't smell it directly. No musk, sadly. Overall: Lovely, but definitely not me. Will swap it out.

In the vial: Aye. A little heavy on the vetiver. This tingles with evil. Wearing: Within seconds the overpowering vetiver fades off, leaving a very dark scent indeed. I don't know what I'm smelling; it smells almost of pine. And then, a few seconds later, LEATHER! Oh, the beautiful leather! In fact, it's almost a single note leather, quite reminiscent of De Sade or even Hellfire. Mmm. Later: Still mainly leather, but the musk comes out as well and gives it an almost incensey and, comparatively, kind of sweet feel. It smells hot and almost scorched, but just faintly. Overall: Very nice. I would have liked a little more musk, but this is good as is. I could see it layered over Czernobog nicely.

In the vial: Sharp evergreen. Odd, I don't remember cypress oil smelling like this. It smells less like the woody scent I smelled and more like a Christmas tree sap/leaves kind of thing. Anyway, there's something lingering underneath here that I can't quite put my finger on. Wearing: WOW! A sweet, earthy, almost floral scent comes out. Where did that come from? I definitely smell the oakmoss. It smells like the moss smell in Kweku Anansi, and I swear I smell the black pepper from that blend as well. It's tempered by that slightly floral scent, though. Dark, yet fresh. Gorgeous! Later: It's mostly cypress now. There's a little oakmoss still, and some spiciness, and an almost creamy scent. It reminds me of a fir and nutmeg bath bomb I had once. Not as good as it was when it was first on my skin, but still nice. Will keep the imp.

In the bottle: Oooh. Musky, spicy, and exotic. It's not so much vanilla as it is musk. Wearing: Hmm. Becomes a bit cleaner and very, very sugary. The vanilla in this reminds me a lot of that almost sickeningly sweet smell of O, and...Play-Doh! No matter, I love the smell of Play-Doh! It's the sugary smell that bothers me, as it kind of gives me a stomach ache. Later: This has turned very, very baby powder and kind of smells like a bathroom cleaner...but for some reason I like it. It's still exotic and spicy (though not in a hot spicy way), just slightly chemical. Way later it gets very creamy, which is lovely. I'm just glad the super sugary smell went away. Overall: I don't know what to think of this. It's nice, but the baby powder phase kind of turns me off. I will keep it, as it seems like the kind of thing that would really grow on me.

In the bottle: Mmm. This is that deep peach smell that I love so much. It's layered over something darker, but is mostly peach. Wearing: Hmm. Still very peach, but also smells of something deeply resinous. There is a slight amber mustiness that combines with that resin smell to make something entirely indescribable. It's...sweet and earthy, I guess, but very deep. I don't really get the florals, luckily. It does smell kind of cruel, but I guess you could call it a sincere cruelty? That makes no sense, but it's the impression I get. This is indeed a good companion to Imp, which I loved to begin with. Later: The peach kind of goes ditzy, which is odd. The resin smell fades away and I'm left with a very faint smell of a soft air freshener. Like walking into a fancy ladies restroom that is well kept up, with a few scented candles. I don't care for this too much, but considering it's so faint at this point, it doesn't bother me. Overall: An interesting blend. Very lovely for the first couple of hours. Will keep the imp.

In the bottle: Very strongly myrrh. Certain types of myrrh smell like soda to me; this is no exception, but it's more of a Mr. Pibb smell than Pepsi. There's also a slight chemical smell that, while surprising for BPAL, is not horribly unpleasant. Wearing: Musk! Wow! This is...very sexy. Holy crap. Later: Still mostly musk, but very little myrrh, and a certain biting spice. I can't really put my finger on it. It's quite sharp, but not in a vetiver-y way. Just...spicy and sharp. With musk. Mmm. Still incredibly sexy. Overall: Love it! By far one of the darkest scents I've tried so far, which is a very good thing for me. Very much a keeper. EDIT: OK. I tried this one again and...ugh! I don't know if the above review was a fluke or if I was just having an off day recently, but it smelled awful--almost like BO, but not quite. I put it on before school thinking I loved it, but it just took an awful turn and I had to get some alcohol swabs to get it off ASAP. It was so bad that I ended up swapping it off. And I liked it so much before.

In the vial: Oh wow. This is so complex! And deep! It's tangy, but very earthy, with something lending a vague sweetness to it. Almost fruity, but not like something you would eat, per se. The first thing I noticed was the kind of green bite that smells like a leaf that you've torn open. Fresh and crisp, but definitely not light. Wearing: *blinks* This is incredible. It's definitely kind of fruity, and maybe even floral (smells like it could be rose or jasmine or something like that, only light), but at the same time neither of the two. It does strike me as being a little foody, but...still not. I would call it exotic in a way, like nothing I've ever smelled before. This might be because I'm not familiar with most of the notes, though. Oh, and amazingly enough with my skin chemistry, I don't get straight frankincense. I do, however, get a general incensey smell. Later: The longer I wear it the sweeter it gets. It smells sugary--in fact, as I sniff the air around me, I can almost taste powdered sugar in my throat. That said, it doesn't smell powdery at all. At the same time, it's so deep and earthy and serenely beautiful. Feminine, for sure. Overall: I can't do this scent justice in words. It's something that needs to be experienced. I would recommend this to anyone, as I think it has a little something for every taste. A new favorite of mine.

In the vial: The first impression I get is much woodiness. As I sniff, I realize that the red musk is actually the prominent note. Spicy and sweet and...fizzy? Wearing: Hello, musk! This is a more masculine Scherezade--maybe what would happen if it and Coyote had a scent child (um...you know what I mean). Oddly, though, it's spicier and less creamy than Scherezade. I get a hint of rose wafting around every now and then. Overall, I'd say it smells hot. Very, very red indeed. Later: Sandalwood and musk. I was kind of hoping for more amber, but this is still nice. Has good throw and decent lasting power. I like this a lot and will keep the imp for sure.

In the bottle: Smells pretty much like dirt, but also has the strong plasticky smell of new computer parts. Which I like. The dirt smell is incredibly dusty--which is good, as I was kind of wondering if this would smell too similar to the moist potting soil smell of Zombi. Wearing: OK, this is beginning to smell more like the real thing now. And let me tell you, this is the creepiest dirt I've ever smelled. I've never had a scent creep me out before, but this does. There's nothing sweet about it at all, it's completely bitter, and it really smells (conceptually, not literally) dead. Wow. Later: Oh. Oh my. This is that same damp, dirty smell I got after a few hours of wearing Dead Man's Hand. Pretty darn sexy. It's kind of weird when a dirt scent becomes a "second skin scent", but this really does. The smell I'm getting right now is impossible to describe, I think you'd have to try it and find out. Overall: Very nice. The stale, bitter scent is not what I expected, but I love it anyway. I will wear it alone, I'm sure, but due to the stale and bitter qualities I think I'll more often than not layer it. With everything. I like!

In the bottle: Um. Call me crazy, but...wine? Yes, wine. The same wine smell in Hunter Moon, but with a little more depth and incense. In fact, I thought the lab had accidently sent me a mislabeled bottle of Hunter Moon at first. Wearing: Yup, wine. And patchouli. There's a definite earthiness to this, but mostly, it's very tart and kind of sweet. I get no fir--maybe a dash of woodiness, but no actual evergreen smell. I don't get any bonfire smell either, which was a major disappointment. I guess it's reminiscent of a bonfire, and it smells smokey, but it doesn't actually smell like bonfire smoke. Definitely like incense smoke, though. An hour later: The earthiness has left, leaving behind the smell of a commercial perfume my mother had, sans the fake alcoholic smell. I think maybe it was either Sun Moon and Stars or Givenchy? It's kind of creamy and very sweet now, but not floral, thankfully. Way later: Everything else is gone but a honey/amber scent (mostly honey, I think), which I think is the skin scent. It's the same skin scent as in La Petit Mort, but definitely not ylang ylang because it doesn't smell rancid on me. This is very pretty, but I'm kind of sad that it doesn't have better throw in this stage. Overall: I was a bit disappointed by this one. It smells lovely, don't get me wrong, and though I like it a lot better than I do Hunter Moon, it smells too similar for me to feel that my excitement over this was justified. I will keep the bottle, however. Edit: Wow! OK, this is definitely one of those scents that changes drastically as it ages. It smells a lot grittier now that's it's been sitting for a few weeks, a lot more like the bonfire smoke. It's also a lot herbier and sharp. I like it much more now. Yay!

In the bottle: Oh. my. goodness. Somehow Beth always manages to make her fruit scents complex, deep, and kind of dark. This is no exception. It's not dark, per se, just incredibly deep and strong. I think it might be the wood giving it the depth. I want to drink this! Wearing: Ah, very nice. Smells just like an apple, sliced into quarters, when you lean over and take a big whiff of the soft, white, juicy flesh inside. This is the kind of apple that comes from an actual non-commercial orchard--neither red nor golden, but streaked with the two colors. I can smell a very, very faint whiff of a white floral, along with the wood and some greenery. Mmm. Later: OK, now this is weird. I can actually smell the dew and mist. It gives off a kind of aquatic scent, but not a salty aquatic a la Bayou or Tempest. This is the smell of fresh water, or the smell of the air on a chilly, moist night--yet at the same time, it evokes the smell of late summer perfectly. The main note is still apple, but the mist smell is remarkable. Beth, how do you do it? Overall: Very, very impressive. There's something inspiring about this blend. I think I like the smell in the bottle a little better than actually wearing it, but...man, this is beautiful. A definite keeper.

I'm also a big sandalwood fan. I would definitely go for Anne Bonny, Velvet, and Kathmandu (the latter being one of my very favorites). There's also Gaueko, which I love, but most people really don't like.

In the bottle: Ooh. Musky and spicy and...anise-y. Again. My nose really likes to make things smell like anise. Not a bad thing, though. I do get the woodsmoke note. The smell of an autumn night, with the light from nearby bonfires casting an orange glow on everything. This is sexy. Wearing: Mmhmm. This is the same wine note in Mabon (and Bordello, to a lesser degree) that makes it smell like gummi worms and popsicles. Definitely very berry, very sweet, but woodsy. Nice combination. Later: And...all berry/wine now. Darn. I like the first hour of scent, so I'll probably keep it.

In the bottle: Erm. Smells like soda? My friend says it smells like Tom's of Maine toothpaste due to the myrrh, so obviously, this is the strongest note here. Also, I could have sworn I reviewed this before...odd. Anyway... Wearing: Oh goodness, this stinks! I really hate to say it, but it does. It smells rotten. I think it's the ylang-ylang, considering I've had trouble with it before. 5 minutes later: OK, big change. Very big change. Now it's spicy as all heck. Spicy and strong and...yikes. Not yikes in a bad way at all--I quite like it now--just yikes in a "meep" way. I smell a major honey note, but then again, my skin loves honey. 45 minutes and on: Still spicy, still honey-ish, but now...wow, this is like a skin scent. I want to say it's a light, feminine musk, but it's not even really musky. Just a warm skin scent. Very interesting. I've never smelled anything like it, and I don't know how Beth did it. Overall: Hmm. I'm still not sure what to think of this. I wouldn't call this sexual, per se, just passionate in general. I'm not sure how often I will wear this, but I'll keep it just because it's such an intriguing blend.

Come hither? Anathema strikes me as very, very sexy, at least on my skin. However, Blood Kiss is kind of sexy, and seems a little more appropriate for the event.

Oh, a Miriam scent! That would be awesome. I might be forced to buy something like that. Silvertree, I will try to PM you later tonight. I'm kind of in a rush right now, and I'd hate to give you a big explanation of my beliefs when I can't think straight.

Gah, I never was good at explaining these things. Basically, we see the religion represented in the Bible as one, rather than two separate entities (Christianity and Judaism). In the outside world, they are two very different things, yes. But, well, think of it as old-time Christianity: Jesus came and started a following that was an off-branch of Judaism. He said to follow the law of Moses, and that's what we do, except like Orthodox Christianity (or rather, unorthodox ) we believe that he is the Messiah. We keep the festivals and eat kosher and all the rest of those things, but we are considered "born again". And for the record, most (or at least many) of us are what would be normally considered converts. To me it makes perfect sense--it's just a unification of all the teachings in the Bible--but I could see how it could be confusing to someone else, especially on the ethnicity part. You might call us posers, which is understandable; however, I just call us Biblical followers. But like I said, I don't really label myself as far as religion goes (aside from, well, the Biblical follower part). I know what I believe, and really, no word is powerful enough to express what that entails. However, my friend Linda is a lot better at explaining this than me, mostly because she's been into this far longer than I have (there's at least a 20-year age difference). If you're still curious and not offended (I hope not ), I'm sure she would be glad to give you the low-down on our beliefs. If you want to get in contact with her, just drop me a PM and we'll work it out. And...should this be split into a new thread? It is getting a bit off-topic.

No probalo! The Messianic tradition is similar to what your sister said. I, along with the people I do Seder with, follow the basic Jewish traditions, but we believe in Yeshua as the Messiah. Passover for us is indeed closely tied with Easter in that the lamb represents Yeshua (which is why my first suggestion for a scent was Blood, because of the whole redemption thing). Of course, I'm in the other side of the same boat as you; I'm not really versed in Orthodox Judaism, mostly because I'm not ethnically Jewish. So really, I don't know how this compares to Orthodox traditions. A lot of people think it's a cult, but really, we're just big prophesy geeks who see major parallels between events in the Old and New Testament, and follow both them equally. Personally, I find the faith very liberating, and I even hesitate to label myself Messianic. Like I said in one of the other forums, when it comes right down to it I consider myself an eclectic Theist who happens to find the whole Bible inspiring. I also consider myself "born again", so Messianic is more of a descriptive word for my faith than a label. That's not the case with some, but for me it is.

Oh wow, that would be wonderful. I'll keep a lookout for those recipes. My boyfriend's birthday is three days after mine, and I'll probably be making a cheesecake for him. BPAL Seder! I'll bring the special, extra hot horseradish! I have interesting horseradish stories. ETA: Haha, I missed the part in your post about the Hillel sandwich. My suggestion was for plain Haroseth. Mmm! I would buy a bottle of either one in a heartbeat.