butcherbaby

this is a lovely little scent! i love pretty much every musk scent i have tried so far from the lab and this is no exception. i can see how this one might smell masculine or commercial to some, but i don't get that feel- it actually is pretty light on me, a nice change from some of the heavier musks i usually love. the poppy gives it a light sweetness that makes me think of candy, somehow, even though this is not nearly as sweet as ivanushka or even chernobog on my skin. to me it is a lightly bronzed golden scent. i'm not sure of throw or weartime yet -i seem to be having issues with both this week no matter what scent i apply, so it's probably hormones or medication. i'm going to play with this a little more before i add it to the big bottle list, though i will say it is a strong contender.

wow...so far the snake pits hate me. three out of three have been total misses. out of king cobra, asp viper, and death adder, DA is so far the only one that i even get a hint of snake oil from, and it's the only one my skin hasn't sucked right up. not that this is a GOOD thing. the predominant scent is of grass that is both burnt and rotten...it must be the effect of the bitter smelling black coconut on the vetiver, which usually works well on my skin. my husband might fare better with this, but for me, it's a definate PASS. thankfully, i only have a decant to worry about.

i initially got an imp of this for my husband to try, since he really likes scents that are piney, earthy, woodsy, leafy, etc. besides i've always liked the way ol' czerno is depicted in fantasia. hubby tried a dab and said it was too "regular man cologne"-ish on him. *snuff* yup, he's right. soooo i try a little dab too :-) WOW!!!! i am immediately struck by how GORGEOUS this is!it's heavy, for sure, but sweeter than i can possibly describe. not foody or sugary though- it's a deep incense sweetness (is that myrrh?) that just gets dreamier and sweeter as it dries down. i can totally see the snake oil connection, though SO is vanilla sweet where czerno is just the musk & myrrh sweetness of incense. i think titus andronicus may be somewhere in the family tree too. the hint of green i'm getting must be the vetiver. it's so lovely that i count myself lucky to have such the perfect skin chemistry for this! and i cannot stress this enough- it goes in resiny and SWEET and the sweetness just gets deeper, smokier, and SWEET SWEET SWEETER! and it is somewhow also bright and even refreshing! i don't get even the slightest whiff of the rank scents that some people have described (poo, BO, bad breath, urine, motor oil etc.) belatedly sniffing the bottle, i can clearly pick out what must be the mullein mixing with the vetiver- piney yet not, menthol yet not, minty yet (thankfully*) not. other reveiwers have said antiseptic, pine cleanser, or air freshener (like those tacky little tree ones, to me) and i get those connections to, but not in a detrimental way at all. i'm the mullein/vetiver interaction must be the refreshing, uplifting note i keep gettng waft after waft. i've given this a try at various times of the month which doesn't seem to affect it at all. it goes on strong, quickly settles into it's yummy groove and stays that way til it fades, many hours later. this is a new favorite and is already on the big bottle list. :-) *i hate/loathe/despise the scent or flavor of most mint with a PASSION. yes, it does make finding toothpaste rather difficult. i pretty much stick to tom's of maine fennel flavor.

wow. i though this one would be perfect. the description is awesome, i love th labs patchouli, and musks and honeysuckle! in the imp it smells delicious & musky with just a little spice. i can't wait to try it! on the skin- PHEW!!! something just not right here...in fact that something smells pretty RANK- kind of like decaying greenery. SPICY decaying greenery. i don't know if it's the ginger, or the black spices, or both, but something is amping up like crazy to cover all th pretty musky smells that were in the imp and it does not smell good. from reading other reviews i can only think that this is how vetiver or civet must smell to someone who doesn't like them- heavy, rank, and kind of rotten. an hour or more later i am getting *tiniest* whiff of the sweeter scent but it is quickly drowned out by the strong weird spices. eeccchhh. i am really disappointed about this one :-( i tried to cover up the scent with a dab of czernebog, but the spicy yuck is overpowering even THAT scent. i guess i need to go wash. guess my imp and a 1/2 are going to better homes!

Still being really new to BPAL when this came out, i was really hesitant to buy a bottle unsniffed. then, when i finally made up my mind, i realized it was too late- DOH! got to get used to these things only being available for a few days! got a 1/2 imp on ebay, to try. sniffed in the bottle, i wasn't too sure....it smells really earthy, kind of green, and peppery...not notes i do well with. wet on the skin, i am even more wary...i have no other way to put this- IT STINKS. whatever is peppery about it is amped to high heaven, and the earth & green just reek like a smelly swamp, or a rotten wet weedy ditch. i love the smell of fresh hemp (i always ask my 'smoker' friends for sniffs of their stashes) but i don't get anything like that pleasant scent. it's just, ugh! still.....i leave it on to give it a chance..... then i notice it changing...the spicy notes are settling down, the green is less prominent. still smells weird though. i wonder what the heck they were thinking when they made this. then ALL OF A SUDDEN everything just seems to come together and bloom into this WONDERFUL fragrance- it's sweet, creamy & spicy, warm & golden all at once. it's HEAVENLY, and i am in love! and totally amazed at the transformation. i get that same kind of 'yuk' to 'yum' with 'haunted' too...i wonder if it's my skin, or if the oils just need time to age & blend? either way, i realize that beth is a genius, and has come up with a piscean scent that isn't wet and wishy washy, but bold and grounding....just what this fish needs! i want to marinate myself in this, even though i don't need to- the throw and wear length are both fabulous. i have a bottle of this on the way from a forumite, and i think i'd like one or two more eventually- especially if my husband (also a pisces) ends up discovering it too. he'll have to put up a good fight to get this out of my hands!

yee GODS, this is DELICIOUS!!!! three simple notes yet such a full and heady scent! in the bottle, it is sweet and very green.....not grassy or woodsy but like a big lettuce-y salad....um, huh? is that the vetiver maybe? i don't really know what vetiver smells like on it's own, but it does work well on my skin in most of the blends i've tried (i even love czernobog), and it's the same here. on my skin i get a huge BURST of sweet honeysuckle- one of my FAVORITE notes, and best when it's really strong like this. i am a slatherer, and this packs a real punch, i can tell you- go easy if you like your scents light! the opium is a great backdrop for the floral scent, giving it a distinct deepness and richness that the SN honeysuckle oils i've tried don't have. and for some reason it reminds me of 'hypnotic poison' (which i love), even though they don't share any of the same notes. i might have to try layering them! i don't know what the vetiver is doing back there but it seems to be getting along nicely with everything else. throw on this is great, though haven't worn it long enough to guess at wear length, it smells so awesome i'm putting it on the big bottle wish list anyway.

wow...just...WOW! I LOOOOOVE THIS!!!!! in the bottle it is sweet and a little unidentifiably fruity. first swipe...hmm i dont really smellmuch. needs more i think. second swipe....oh theres the honey, but it seems pretty light hmmm third swipe i mean SLATHER.... oh YEAH that's the ticket! it's like an explosion in a beehive...ooodles and oodles of PURE DELICIOUS HONEY!! really, the honey is all i can detect, in glistening waves of scent every time i move my arms i catch a whiff of the divine! this is my HOLY GRAIL and it runneth over with sweet, sensual, dripping honey! i can't really catch the other notes....they just seem like the supporting actors that keep the star on her pedestal so she can be worshiped as she deserves. great throw and one of the longest wear times yet....i put it on at about noon and it was still going strong HOURS later, in fact, i could still smell it the next morning when i got up. the 'must have big bottle' list is getting shuffled right now so this is first :-D i absolutely adore the scent of honey and can so seldom find as true a representation as beth has brewed here. only the wonderful honey shower gel i bought at traders joes came close. after they discontinued it, i found it at the DOLLAR store and of course bought an assload......now sadly ling since used. at least i can get my honey fix with this now! :-D

got a decant imp of this as part of a lot bought on ebay. in the bottle, it smells pretty good...very strong caramel with a smoky undertone. once on my skin however, this turns HORRID. as in an ashtray full of wet stale cigarette butts & burnt caramel nasty. on the left wrist i had an extra added bonus scent of cheap mens cologne/deoderant (like axe). it was nauseating and actually gave me heartburn just smelling it. i couldn't wash it off fast enough. i've only had a few really yucky reactions to BPAL, this is by far the worst of the lot...if not the worst perfume i've ever smelled. i am glad so many people like it though, at least i know it will eventually go to a good home!

wow...this scent is *amazing*! i haven't tried one yet that morphed through so many stages as this. my first sniff of the imp was a little disconcerting...i could swear i smelled something minty and astringent. i don't like the smell of mint at all, and i wondered where it came from. perhaps my nose is just badly misinterpreting the lavender? first impression on the skin was the same- mediciney mint. but i was getting small whiffs of something that was definately sweeter so i hung in there with it. a few minutes later the astringent smell was turning into something very green...still not a favorite but definately better than before. and the sweet smell was becoming stronger. to my utter delight, the green then morphed into something resembling...root beer! in the best way possible...this is not a cheap sugar laden canned soda root beer, but something home brewed from real roots, potent and inviting. i've had it on for about forty minutes, and i just love it. it's gorgeously floral and heady with sweet incensy smells, yet i still get that delicious root beer flavour, with the lavender peeking it's head out to say hi every now and then before it goes back to quietly blending with the other scents. the throw is powerful on this, but that's good, it means my skin's not sucking it up. if the staying power is anything like i think it will be, it'll be going on the big bottle list for sure. beth is a genius! this scent is unusual and gorgeous and i can't stop sniffing my wrists....a definate winner!

after reading all the reviews, i was very eager to try this, though hesitant to try a full bottle. luckily, i was able to get an imp in a lot on ebay. this smells even BETTER than i expected it to! it's rocketed up to the top of my list of big bottles to purchase, and i'll probably actually get two or three before it's goes away. in the bottle and on my skin it smells much the same...i've had it on about an hour and it hasn't morphed at all. what i get is a very 'perfume'-y scent, but one that veers from the mundane with it's very distinctive 'incense' note- similar to nag champa (my FAVORITE), though not identical. flowers and incense...i can't pick out any individual notes because it's blended so well, but i can imagine this is what it would smell like to be burning a lot of nag & green champa in a riotously blooming garden of night flowers. not really my idea of a midway at all, unless you are standing right outside the hoochie-coochie dancers tent :-D it is a strong scent, which is fine with me as lighter scents get eaten by my skin really fast. i'll have to comment on the lasting power later, but it is such a lovely fragrance that i don't mind if i have to re-apply and slather, slather, slather. on a scale of 1-5, this is a definate *10*!

got this as a frimp with something else i purchased on ebay. i love frimps, and gift imps- they are a great way to try oils i might have overlooked on my own. this makes three favorites i have found that way! this starts out as a fairly routine heavy oriental spicy floral but after a short while develops a strong extra "oomph" that just keeps me sniffing. i don't know what it is....perhaps the jasmine? the scents are very well blended and hard for me to distinguish between. whatever it is has moved this fragrance immediately into my 'big bottle list'. it has good staying power, and was extra charged when i retouched halfway through the day. i'd say if you like such scents as 'opium' and need something your skin won't eat up in a trice, to try this right away! i think i'm going to have to add 'jasmine' to my must try list. i love the scent of the flower itself, and i think that may be the magic ingrediant here. just one way to find out! (my bank account groans....)

just got a bottle of sugar skull 2007 from ebay. i haven't had good luck with some of the scents that have really awesome names, for some reason, so i bought this with my fingers crossed. i'm happy to say it broke the bad scent streak! i absolutely LOVE this scent. previously, i have never smelled a 'food-y' scent that wasn't repellant to me- beth and bpal have changed all that! even the scents that don't work on my skin smell great in the bottle. i'll say it again...I LOVE THIS SCENT! in the bottle, it smells delicious....like some spicy, fruity cake smothered in syrup. i don't get maple, maybe brown sugar, and something that i can't place...maybe raisins? i can't quite tell, but whatever it is lends a dark, smoky, and almost unpleasant note, but it's exactly that off-kilterness that balances all the sugar syrup & spicy fruit and keeps it from being cloying. this is the smell of a kitchen full of warm baked goods, but the heavy, filling kinds, not cookies & angel cakes. the throw is great, and it lasts for hours. it's strong, but i like that, as my skin tends to suck up the lighter scents way too fast. i keep getting wafts of that delicious spicy syrup, and the maddening raisin-like scent if i sniff it close. after being out for awhile, i come home, dab a bit of 'snake oil' over it, and revel in the heavenly combination it makes. read some of the previous reviews of SS - and realize what my nose kept interpreting as 'raisins' is actually 'burnt sugar'. i go back & sniff the bottle- yep, it's burnt sugar all right! how odd that i thought it was fruit, but what a perfect note it is in this blend. not only will i be keeping this bottle, i'm going to be searching for other years blends to compare, and purchasing 2008 if/when it arrives :-D

i was very interested in trying this oil, after reading so many good reviews, so when a friend offered me an imp, i jumped at the chance. in the bottle it is very thick and syrupy, and a beautiful deep orange red. i get a very spicy scent, with a touch of sweetness. the vanilla is subtle, and it smells very incensey, which is awesome- those are my favorite types of scents! on my skin it's still a bit spicy, but the vanilla is coming out very strongly. it's almost too sweet now, and the other scents temper the vanilla, not the other way around. it's vanilla incense, not insence with a touch of vanilla. foo. if this was body wash i'd be thrilled, but as perfume....mmm not so sure. it lasts a good while, but what i smell most strongly is the vanilla, all day. it's a smells quite pretty but doesn't make me jump up and shout. until......i tried putting just a *drop* on after whatever scent i tried that day had started to fade. it was like magic! it recharged the older fragrance while adding it's own twist, and the vanilla is kept under control. i keep experimenting- snake oil over "wicked", snake oil over "sugar skull" (pure heaven). i've found it's place! for me, this is a 'blending' scent....not spectacular on it's own but adding a delicious extra warmth, sweetness, spice, and depth to whatever else i am wearing. i'll probably get a 5 ml after i use up my imp. EDITED TO ADD: i tried it again tonight- 2 1/2 weeks later. the scent is not quite so overpowering and super vanilla this time. i think i can wear it on it's own now! big bottle to be bought shortly, and i'm dying to try some of the 'snake pits' now. it's interesting that this has patchouli in it and i LIKE it....patchouli usually smells like funky BO to me, and reminds me of all the unwashed hippies i met in olympia, WA who were using it to cover up their weeks old stinky bodies. many KUDOS to beth for that one!

this was a frimp, and not something i would have picked myself. in the bottle it smells, light, sweet, and fruity. very much like candied fruit. i don't get so much of a citrus scent as i do sweeter fruits- apples, berries maybe. first application- still very fruity, and sweet. i can already tell this scent will be too light for me. dry, the lotus and other floral are coming through very nicely and blending with the fruit to form a light and very sweet scent, fresh, cheerful, sunny. i can't detect the amber at all, unless it's just tempering the other scents. this is a *lovely* scent. i don't get the 'bubblegum' smell that some people have mentioned, nor does it smell at all childish or even too youthful. it's perfect for a spring day, or anyone that wants something sweet and not too heavy. that said, it's not one i'd wear again. it is far too light for my chemistry and fruit scents are not really my style. it is a beautiful blend though, and i'd highly recommend it for anyone who loves the smell of a flowering orchard on a warm spring day.

i am a huge fan of rose scent, so i have been trying as many of the BPAL rose blends as i can. most i have been a little disappointed in, as the rose scent tends to a sharpness that is almost too pungent. or, they don't last. but not this one~! this is the PERFECT rose scent. the amber & musk temper the sharpness of the rose and leave it dark, velvety, yet still strong and steadily *rose*. the scent settles in quickly and stays strong for hours without being overwhelming. it's exactly what i had hoped for! it's going to the top of my 'big bottle' list and i actually think i'm going to order it right NOW :-)

wow- the description of this sounded yummy, and i was really hoping it woud work for me. it kind of did int he end, but i'll get to that. in the bottle, i could smell the fruit very strongly. orange and peach are two scents i love, and orange usually works well on me. i could smell both in here quite clearly, spiced up with the other scents. i could not WAIt to try something this yummy! upon application- oh, my nose! very....bitter, and spicy. well, some of the oils smell wierd at first and then mellow out. i give it some more time. an hour later, it's still no dice. all i can smell are the clove and the cinammon, and it's not pretty. aftr a long, long wear the spice finally dulls enough to let the sweet fruits and inesnce notes through. it's not worth the wait, as by that time they are very faint. i am sad- this smelled so good in the bottle. but wait! i have a 1 oz bottle of single note rose oil from belle star, which is lovely but lacks...something. i dump the whole imp of al-shairan into it....it's a PERFECT blend! the spice warms it up and the fruit adds just the right amount of faint sweetness, in the bottle and on the skin. so a little alchemy of my own saved the day in the end.

got a frimp of this as a gift with a BPAL i purchased on ebay. it is a lovely scent- i get 'oriental mixed floral' from it...can't really pick out the individual scents as they all belnd together very nicely, like a bouquet. it doesn't last long on me however, and is not really a standout- i have other mass produced oriental floral scents that i like better. i do see a lot of people on here who love it though, so it's into the swap/sell pile and i hope it goes to a good home.

i really wanted to like this scent.....the name is awesome and the scent list sounded like it should be lovely. alas, it just smells like some kind of vaguely woodsy cleanser on me, and by the time any of the other scents come out they are weak and fading. and it was hard to wash off. i ran it by my husband who generally likes earth and forest scents and they usually work on him, but he just gets the soap/cleanser thing as well....oh well, into the swap pile! it was a frimp so i'm not too sad.

this is a gorgeous scent, but i almost thought it wasn't going to work at first. in the bottle the scent is delicious- very floral with a warm spiciness. rose and jasmine are two of my favorite scents, and the mixture, plus the spiciness of the myrrh, makes for a heady combination. some other people have mentioned this scent is strong. it is, and without realizing how strong it actually IS, i slathered on my usual generous imp-testing amount. strong is an understatement- oh my dear god- this packs a WALLOP. this is a scent that needs to worn in moderation! as i said, i *love* rose fraagrances, but for some reason the most of the bpal blends i've tried tend to go very sharp and a little too pungent on me. this started out the same, but SO strong it was overwhelming. this kept warring with the bitterness of the myrrh, which just smelled off & wrong. after 1/2 hour i couldn't take it anymore and had to wipe off as much as i could with a babywipe (i was in the car with no access to soap and water). i figured this was going to end up a house scent or in the swap pile. after an hour, suddenly everything melded together and this scent turned into *heaven*! the rose is clear, dark & velvety, sweetened by the jasmine and warmed by the myrrh. everything is a perfect blend, each scent distinct and perfectly complementing each other. since i wiped so much off, the scent faded quicker than expected, so five hours after first applying i retouched it with just a tiny dab this time. perfect! it's not too much and it's mellowing and blending much faster this time. some people have said it's too "old lady", but those types of smells suit me well and i like them so i have no complaints there. i'm definately keeping this one, though with the strength of the scent i don't know if i'll need more than an imp at a time. it'll be perfect for wearing to clubs where a more subtle scent might be drowned out. i've also scented some old dolls and a few other items in my house to see how it lasts and throws that way. all in all, if worn carefully, this scent is a total winner!

what a lovely surprise i got with this scent! my husband loves earthy, foresty, piney scents so i bought an imp of this for *him* to try. when i got it, it smelled so nice i thought i'd sample it first. i am glad i did! he's going to have to fight me for this one...or i am just going to have to buy each of us a big bottle. this one is a nice strong scent that i could smell even outside the imp. lots of pine, but sweetness too. on first application, the piney scent is very strong, but so very sweet it smells like incense. in fact, EXACTLY like an indian pine incense i used to buy in the 80s. it was very strong and filled the house with a heavy, sweet pine scent that made most people gag, but i LOVED it. i've never found a scent that was quite like it, until now. an hour later, i am still loving it. most earthy scents don't work for me at all, but this is perfect. it has earth, and green, and heavy sweetness all in the right balance. it is described as the scent of a "cold, moonless night" but i find it to be very warm smelling indeed...perhaps it's the warmth of the forest animal in the musk and ambergris. the inital burst is powerful (might be too much for some) but it has settled down to a strong, steady scent that seems like it will stick for awhile. and it's definately on my list of big bottle to purchase.

2006 version i was eagerly awaiting a bottle of this that i purchased on ebay- the combination sounded wonderful, and it got so many good reviews! something in my body chemistry does not like this scent, however. in the bottle it is delicious- i can smell the warm chocolate, almost cherry-ish, lots of sweetness and a sharp, almost booze-y tang. on my skin: UGH- this has turned into...vegetable soup. yep, with lots of celery. in fact that's almost all i can smell for at least an hour. i love celery, but i don't want to smell like one. after an hour the other scents are starting to come out, but up close, on the skin, it is still....cooked celery. after two hours i am about to wash it off, as the vegetable smell is almost nauseating, but it has finally disappeared. i can smell the chocolate, the smokiness, and the incense....very warm and pleasant now but all very faint and fading. in another hour it is gone altogether. i don't know what exactly caused the off note in this but i won't be trying it again. in fact i have already found it a very good home! i hope it is loved and cherished by it's new owner.

yes, as do i....ilove ylang ylang too and have found it a hard scent to get right. but dragons reverie does it for me.