tinyvulture

the true scent of dirt, undiluted by florals or perfume as with some other BPAL “dirt” blends (I love Penny Dreadful, I’m just saying this is different). it’s like opening a bag of topsoil and taking a deep breath. if this smells like anything other than pure dirt, it would be the occasional breath of mildew or dust, and that’s about it. i’m glad this made a return appearance for halloween ‘08. it can be a spooky and evocative scent... a haunted crypt in an abandoned graveyard at midnight... of course, it also reminds me of working in my little garden on a sunny spring morning. so it can go either way.

I’d been wanting to try Ladon for some time because it sounded like a nice autumn scent, with the apple and dragon’s blood. Now that I’m wearing it, I smell mostly sweet, ripe apples, but also a strong whiff of fresh florals. Must be the hyacinth. The dragon’s blood is another strong note, but it’s on the powdery side. So, this is not what I was hoping for -- powder and florals are usually not my scene. But it’s not bad really. It would make a nice soap. It’s just a bit too floral for me to enjoy as a perfume.

often when i am reviewing an LE, it reminds me in some way of a GC. it didn't surprise me at all to find that there is already a huge thread for this! i went through my reviews this morning and here are my equivalents. the "*" notes ones that were already named in ivyandpeony's awesome comprehensive list. *All Souls = Brown Jenkins *Black Lace = The Antikythera Mechanism Blood Moon = Mr. Jacquel *Cerberus = Great Sword of War The Chilling Cellar = Centzon Totochtin The Clod and the Pebble = Sri Lanka Dionysia = Urd Frederic = Baron Samedi Giant Vulva = Kill-Devil Hexennacht ’08 = Yew Trees The House = Penny Dreadful The Illustrated Woman = Florence (to me, this is the strongest match of all of them, i can't tell them apart!!) Jacob’s Ladder = Lyonesse Krampus = Loviatar *Marae = Euphrosyne MVJBA Spring Training 2008 = Gluttony Opuhi = Sudha Segara Pirate Moon = Blood Pearl *The Pit and the Pendulum = Cathedral Priala the Human Phoenix = Chimera Saw-Scaled Viper = Vixen *Smut = Scheherezade Stranger in Camp = Nocnitsa *Sugar Skull = Kill-Devil Tabula Smaragdina = Rose Cross

this is amazing. i foolishly opted not to buy a bottle, telling myself, “you have enough chocolate blends!” after sniffing this, however, i realize there is no such thing as enough. it’s dry, powdery cocoa – the really good kind, that will make the richest, creamiest, most wonderful cup of hot chocolate you’ve ever tasted. and then there’s the unmistakable, beautiful amber, intensifying the cocoa, melting into it with its golden, liquid warmth until they are indistinguishable. please come back in ’09!

this is probably the most vanilla-riffic blend in the BPAL catalog. i have a huge bottle of non-BPAL single note vanilla, because it’s just such a handy note to blend with so many things. this almost reminds me of it, but of course it’s a bit more complex since it’s BPAL. the amber adds warmth and seems to amplify the vanilla’s innate sweetness even more. then there’s the sweet pea which, i admit, i often find insipid and boring, but it’s so gentle here, it really adds just a perfect little hint of floral. not even a hint, a suggestion. the vanilla is really the star here. it smells, to me, exactly like the vanilla in Black Lace. well, what else should i say? i always adore vanilla. this is lovely.

THIS is the scent of summer childhoods, back when kids actually played outside every day. the precisely mown front lawn that Dad has tried so hard to keep green is baking under the unforgiving sun. you pick the dandelions off the lawn and sing a song about popping their heads off. you can smell the heat in the air. it’s oppressive and muggy. the air-conditioning feels so nice when you run inside for a glass of kool-aid. but school is right around the corner, you can feel it sneaking up. so you race back outside to play some more. a dip in the pool to wash the sweat off, sounds so good. at night you sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, worn out and ready to do it again tomorrow.

when i read "clove smoke" in the description, i thought, "clove cigarettes!" but it's not really like that. there's clove and there is smoke, but it's not reminiscent of the Sampoernas i used to torment my lungs with back in college . this is a woodsy, smoky, sweet autumnal blend. the dirty, earthy vetiver is sweetened by oozing pine sap and clove, with just a hint of bitter cumin. this troll must be baking up some goodies in his forest kitchen. i can never say no to pine or vetiver -- a bottle is most likely in my future.

This combination of warm ambergris and spicy daemonorops is the first thing I notice, and it’s gorgeous. Then there’s the somehow decadent fruitiness of black currant and a musk which truly is smoky, as the description states. The only thing I don’t like is the candy sweetness of the tonka. It’s quite strong and gives a cloying edge to the scent. Oh dear, it only seems to grow stronger as time passes. Well, it was nice at first, anyway. It's just too sweet on my skin. But I’m telling you, I’d burn Man with Phallus Head incense day and night! Love that ambergris!

I like this a lot! But I gotta say it's not BEST HONEY SCENT EVER, as I suspected it might be from the scent description. It reminds me a lot of Kill-Devil, which I adore, with its honey and sugar cane notes. There's something about that sweet duo that turns almost sweet-and-sour on me, like a lemon drop. I'm also noticing the muted creaminess of the beeswax. I've noticed this is becoming a more popular note, and I always enjoy it. I'm not picking up the musk or (sadly) the copal. The vanilla flower comes out like 10 minutes after application. At this point the lemon aspect fades, and it’s a creamy honey-vanilla blend. I don't see a bottle in my future. Still, I'm happy to use up this decant until I get around to buying my Kill-Devil 5ml.

spicy florals with some oomph! after sampling the light, wispy florals of Tissue and Voyeurs…, i briefly wondered if all the Shunga blends were going to be as delicate. i was quickly shown to be wrong when i applied a few drops of this! i love the bold chrysanthemum note, combined with hot cinnamon and creamy vanilla. it’s very sweet and becomes sort of foody, but not entirely so. the funny thing is, i’m not picking up any amber, which usually amps like crazy on me. oh well, i have enough amber scents. it takes a few minutes for the marigold to appear, but then it has a definite presence. it’s strongly floral at this point, but the vanilla and cinnamon are still there in the background. hooray for spicy mums!

a delicate and romantic scent. the vanilla musk is soft and lovely, a nice complement to the light floral cherry blossoms. i was worried about the moss because it often smells like men’s cologne on me, but it’s not noticeable in this blend. and, happily, i’m not getting the soapiness that other reviewers mentioned. i wish it had more throw, but its lightness is part of its charm i suppose. i won’t need a bottle, but the decant is a keeper.

really lovely, fresh gardenias in full bloom, drizzled with droplets of sweet honey. i thought there’d be some powderiness from the rice paper but i’m not getting any. gardenia lovers, this is your scent! in spite of its prettiness, it’s too light for my taste. it stays very close to the skin and disappears too soon. oh well…i guess you can’t expect a bold, heavy scent when it’s called “tissue”

The salty, aquatic air, sweet lime, and Snake Oil make a fine combination. Fresh and crisp, yet sweet. Normally I can’t do aquatics, and citrus doesn’t like me either -- but there’s something about this that I really like! I guess it shows that I should never say never with BPAL and try every single one of them, even the ones I’m sure won’t work on me! I can’t smell the more violent elements – the gunpowder and blood! Nor are the woods making much of an appearance. I don’t know what else to say, I’m just really surprised by this one. Saltwater and lime, on me, who would have thought? Snake Oil, it truly is miraculous.

I’m just not feeling this soft, sad bouquet; it goes powdery and bitter on my skin and gives me a slight headache. I usually love spicy carnation, but here it’s overpowered by the Easter lilies, which just aren’t doing anything for me. I can’t even smell the rose or chrysanthemum. Sorry, Reaper. Off to swaps you go.

I couldn’t tell you what the floral notes are that I’m smelling. A bouquet of soft, slightly soapy flowers, not really my thing. I do like the herbal, slightly minty notes. The hemlock and ivy, I’m guessing? They make it more interesting, more mysterious. There is something witchy about it. The medicinal quality makes me think of witches’ potions and such. It’s more than just your typical floral scent, but I still don’t think I can do such a strong floral.

At first I smell green fruits, sweet and tart – mango, and perhaps also melon. These light, juicy notes are grounded by the ripe richness of fig and the dark earthiness of patchouli. This reminds me of walking into Pier One. They may make a candle that smells like this. It’s just an association that I have in my mind. It’s really a pleasant scent, fruity yet sophisticated. I’d like it as a room scent. I’m not going crazy over it, it’s not completely “me” due to the fruitiness, but I will wear it on occasion.

This is rare -- a fruity, summery blend that I actually like. Playful and cheery, Croquet is a blend of juicy nectarine, sugary grapefruit and lime. Citrus typically amps on my skin and goes all sharp and yucky, but here it’s sweet and warm, helped out by lots of wonderful musk. There’s a drop of patchouli, which never hurts. I can’t smell the sage or rose. If a perfume can be adorable, Croquet is adorable. It makes me smile. I don’t think I’ll be ordering a bottle, but the imp will certainly get used.

Nine-tailed fox demon of Korean lore who transforms into the visage of an irresistible beauty in order to seduce men and lead them to their doom. A sharp, biting blend of crisp white tea and ginger. This smells extremely citrusy on me, like grapefruit or lemon. The sharpness of ginger is vaguely noticeable, but the citrus really outdoes all other notes. It’s very clean, almost soapy. If you like a fresh, simple, lemony scent, I’d recommend this. But the end result is too much like “lemon Pledge” on me.

I hoped this would be heavier on the birch and fir, but on me, it’s all dandelions and green grass. That’s unfortunate – I learned with Roadhouse that me and dandelion don’t exactly get along. It makes me sneeze. Which is sort of a shame, because this is a pretty scent. It’s spring-turning-into-summer. A fresh breeze in the air, the sun shining on a field full of the little yellow flowers. Turns a bit soapy after a few minutes. And that’s the point where I go wash it off and blow my nose. Off to swaps!

Want a dirt scent that is somehow sweet and comforting? Look no further. Damp earth is the main note, accentuated by dry cedar, galangal, and – I think - a drop of patchouli. I love the galangal, which is in the ginger family, but more earthy. I’d describe Badger as dusty, medicinal, woodsy, rooty, spicy. That’s a lot of adjectives! This is a great scent, my new favorite dirt blend of them all.

I can tell this blend has notes in common with Monster Bait: Ventriloquist’s Dummy. There’s that same combination of dry wood shavings (sandalwood in this case, while I think Dummy contains cedar) and caramel/butterscotch. This is a little sweeter and fruitier, thanks to the currants, while Dummy is more buttery and rich. I also detect just a hint of patchouli and a wee bit of muguet. No cinnamon on me. I like it, it’s foody and complex.

... This perfume embodies her gentler, benign aspect as the capricious Goddess of Dance: muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms. I’m a fan of muguet (lily of the valley), but there’s a lot of green herbal notes and other tropical florals getting in the way, so the muguet is really faint. It comes off as an artificial, soapy, “herbal essence” shampoo scent. I’m not smelling any ginger at all. I’d like a soap like this to make me feel like I was on a tropical vacation, but as a perfume, it’s not working for me.

There’s definitely musk accenting the spicy dragon’s blood, but I think it’s mostly black musk. I’m just not picking up any red musk, which is usually so bold and unmistakable. I don’t notice any currant or fig either, so maybe my nose is broken tonight. But the dragon’s blood and black musk are a fine combination on their own. It’s a sweet, exotic, and very warm.

The boozy notes hit me first. The absinthe and whiskey are biting, alcoholic, almost harsh. The tobacco is an afterthought. As for the florals, I can pick out the lavender and that’s about it. Orange blossom, usually strong on me, is absent. Once the booze notes calm down a little, after a couple of minutes, it becomes difficult to distinguish one note from another. Overall this is a very complex blend. It’s a mélange of alcohol, tobacco, florals and woods. Not particularly masculine or feminine. It’s pretty cool, but I wish it had more staying power. It fades quickly.

A realistic cucumber note with a touch of green grass. Really sweet and refreshing; would be good on hot summer days since it seems to have a cooling effect on the senses. One of my most hated scents is Bath & Body Works cucumber lotion and I am happy to say that THIS is much better and has made me believe I would actually wear something cucumber-scented.