chopchica

Chaos Theory 2: XXII

 

This one I *love*! It's a mixture of herbs - rosemary, thyme, basil, and god knows what else, all blended together perfectly with a base that makes me think of fresh sweet grass after a rain. I'd been looking for an herbal mix in addition to my beloved The Apothecary, and this one fits perfectly for those days when I want to smell a tiny bit sweeter. Wearing this makes me feel like I've spent the day picking herbs in the sunshine. I'm swapping out a few imps, so that I can try other scents, but the majority of this bottle stays with me

 

(Last reviewed by bloodpoppies.)

Chaos Theory 2: DCLXXV

 

I got an imp of this in a swap, and while it's quite lovely, it doesn't seem to jibe with my body chemistry. It's a sharply-sweet mixture of Strawberry, Cherry, and possibly some other fruit (pineapple? Remember, I suck at notes!), with a base of herbs and earthiness. I like it, but fruits tend to be too strong on me. Hopefully it'll work better on its next owner.

Cthulhu smells exactly like a masculine aftershave on me. It's nice, but not something I'd want to wear. I hope it is very happy in its new home.

Nothing beats smelling like a tasty Sugar Cookie! This was my first LE, sold to me at cost price by the amazing Diana. It was my first experience with swapping/buying from a forumite, and it was such a lovely way to start out.

 

Sugar Cookie is a tiny bit too spicy and non-sugary for me to love it, but I sure do like it, and I have major plans for it this winter.

Snow White is everything I'd hoped Milk and/or Chaste Moon would be. It's soft and creamy, comforting and full of vanilla, warming in the cold and cooling in the heat. I love love love it.

I am accepting defeat. Temple: Celtic smells like drugstore perfume on me. No hints of Dublin, no hints of Blue Moon - just generic perfume. It must be a me thing though, because nobody else seems to have that reaction.

 

I just wish I'd had a chance to try it before I purchased an entire bottle. On the positive side, I'll probably imp out my bottle and make a lot of people happy.

Dana O'Shee was the very first BPAL oil I ever tried, and what a wonderful start it was!

 

I learned right off the bat that almond is my friend. Dana makes me smell like a tasty marzipan cookie. There is no bad there. It's one of those scents I put on when I want something comforting or relaxing, and I get all distressed if it looks like I'll run out before my next fix arrives.

This was very very soapy and chemical on me, with an eventual fade into some sort of flower scent. I'd debated over buying an entire bottle back when SIA was still up, and I'm really glad I went with my gut here, because it's just really not my kind of thing.

Dublin is so perfect. I put it on out of curiousity - not really expecting it to do anything for me. A few minutes later I noticed an amazing smell wafting all around me, and when I sniffed my wrist, I noticed that it was Dublin. It shot to the very top of my "OMG NEED MORE NOW!" list and has stayed there ever since.

 

Something about Dublin blends perfectly with my body chemistry. I don't get very much pine. I don't get very much rose. What I do get is a beautiful blend that reminds me of damp, green, misty forests in a country I'd love a chance to visit.

 

Out of every single BPAL oil in stock, Dublin is the one I'm most terrified of being discontinued. And now, I'm off to put some on!

Misty and watery with just a tinge of lily and salt. Aquatics are hit or miss for me, and this one is a perfect hit. Overall it's a surprisingly fresh smelling blend, with an intriguing hint of complexity. It's cooling on hot summer days, and warming on gray rainy days (not that there are a lot of those in San Diego).

I don't know how Beth does it, but I put on Quietude, and I am *instantly* calmer - which is pretty impressive, given that I dont' really like lavender. This instantly zoomed up to the top of my "must have a bigger bottle now now NOW" list, and I'm hoarding my imps until I'm lucky enough to get my hands on some more.

 

Wearing this, burning it, spraying the room, it's all good. Whatever I try, it works like a charm.

Usually I'm not much of a red blends girl, but for some reason (maybe the dragon's blood), Red Moon has turned out to be the major exception to that rule. Red Moon works as a perfect contrast to Blue Moon for me. I wear Blue Moon when it's hot and summery and I want to cool down. I wear Red Moon when it's hot and summery, and I want to be a part of it. Something about the combination of fruity/floral/spicy/herbal just mixes perfectly, and when I wear it, I feel warm and glowy like the sun.

Hands-down, one of my favorite BPAL blends of all time. I never would've thought I'd like cucumber so much, but my god, I so do. Blue Moon is light, watery, and herbal, a perfect cooling blend in the sticky heat of summer. This holds a permanent spot in my top ten.

Never have I been so excited about a Lunacy blend, with such disappointing results. Chaste Moon was nothing but mint, mint, mint, and being that mint is my least favorite scent in the entire universe, Chaste Moon and I just weren't meant to be.

 

Between this and Milk Moon, I'm starting to wonder if some of the "traditional lunar oils" have mint in them.

From the moment I read the description of Milk Moon, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I love creamy scents, and this one sounded perfect. Mostly I was hopeful that this would make up for my experience with Chaste Moon (mint overload).

 

Sadly, Milk Moon had a minty note that I just couldn't deal with. Even a tiny hint of mint is too much for me. People adore this blend, and I wish I could share in that love, but for now, I'll stick with my Snow White.

I tend to adore herbal blends (the Apothecary is one of my favorites), and the Ides of March is no exception. The lovely Silvertree gifted me with a half-bottle, and I was in love from the very first sniff. I don't get any lemon notes (which is good, because lemon tends to smell very chemical on me), but I do get a beautiful bouquet of Rosemary and other fresh herbs. This is mostly set aside in my fall blends pile, but I take it out occasionally when I want to feel all fresh and herbal.

I think the word for this blend is "complex". I can't even identify all of the notes involved, but they come together to form a deep and mysterious blend full of strong earthy tones.

 

It's a little too fruity for my tastes, but I'm so impressed with it that I keep putting it on over and over to sniff. I'll probably swap out a few imps and keep half of the bottle for wearing. This is a blend that everybody should get a chance to try.

Florals aren't really my thing, and sadly, the Ace of Hearts follows that pattern. It's a lovely light floral, and for people who are into white florals, it'll be a perfect summer blend. My bottle is headed off to the swap pile, and hopefully it'll go to somebody who can really appreciate it the way it deserves.

Exactly like the ripest, sweetest, juiciest peach just picked off the tree during the hottest week of summer. I'm so awed and impressed with this scent, and just like I said for D'Anjou Pear, if I wore fruity scents, I'd be all over this one, but as it is, I kept a little bit for sniffing and admiring, and scent the rest off to be loved as much as it deserves.

Smells exactly like strong, black coffee - nothing more, nothing less. I was fascinated with it in terms of artistry and quality (both amazing), but really, I didn't have any desire to smell like a strong, black coffee bean. I prefer to go for Miskatonic University, which has certainly proven that coffee notes in scents can be the best things ever.

Not much to say here that hasn't been said before. A creamy vanilla bean scent that I adore, and a fair amount of staying power. Sometimes I feel like smelling like simple, uncomplicated vanilla, and this one hits the spot. Vanilla with just a twist of something darker and more complex. It's wonderful.

Broke. My. Heart.

 

Sweet Almond was my holy grail of single notes - the only one of my favorite notes that I couldn't find. I love oils with heavy almond notes (Dana O'Shee, Snow White, Bastet), and I had nothing but high hopes for this.

 

Amazingly, somebody put up a bottle on eBay, and an insane amount of money later, an entire bottle of SN Almond was mine! I waited with bated breath, and happily tore open the box the second it arrived. The first sniff was heaven - that wonderful almond smell that I love so much - and I eagerly swiped some on the back of my hand.

 

Alas, our love was not meant to be. It turned instantly plastic on me - no almond scent left at all. I tried a few more times on different body parts, and spread out over a week, but no such luck. So I decanted off an imp for myself (because a girl can always dream, plus, there are many possibilities for blending), and sent the rest off to a few good homes, where hopefully it's being enjoyed with the amount of devotion it deserves.

Smells exactly like a pear. The perfect combination of sweetness, juicyness, and syrupyness. If I ever had a need or desire to wear fruit scents, I'd horde this one like mad, but fruit scents aren't really my thing, so I kept a tiny bit for sniffing purposes, and sent the rest of it on its merry way.

Another amazing single note for my body chemistry. I wasn't sure which kind of amber was the type that worked on me since certain oils are amazing (Bastet, O), and other oils turn into a funky sharp smell on me (Brisingamen, Haunted). Luckily, this was the right kind of amber (which means that I should probably avoid the Black Amber single note). It's got throw and strength and it's just the right amount of amber without being overwhelming to wear (as opposed to something like Coffee Bean, which was fascinating to sniff, but not something I'd want to wear).

 

Amber, honey, and vanilla are my holy trinity of BPAL oils, and I'm so very glad that I've had the chance to try all three in the single note form.

Mmm, this is a lovely lovely honey on me - almost exactly the same honey note I get from O. I use this to amp up the honey level in my blended Snake Oil/O mix, and sometimes I wear it just by itself. Something about my skin really loves honey. I don't think I've found a honey yet that doesn't work on me, but this is by far the best.