theshapeshifter

CLIO Majestic Clio touched her silver wire,And through time's lengthened vista moved a train, In dignity sublime; -- the patriot's fire Kindled its torch in heaven's resplendent ray, And 'mid contention rose to Heaven again. The Proclaimer is the Muse of Historic and Heroic Poetry. Clio holds a scroll or set of tablets in her hands, and is surrounded by a veritable wall of books. She is credited with introducing the Phonecian alphabet to the Greeks. As a consequence of her teasing, barbed sense of humor, she was cursed by Aphrodite: she fell in love with a mortal, Pierus, the King of Macedonia. Clio bore two sons, one by Bacchus and one by Pierus: Hymenaeus, the God of Marriage Ceremonies and Wedding Feasts, and the doomed Hyacinth. She is the patron of historians, epic poets, biographers and all those who wish for fame, reknown, and celebrity status. Her scent is the warm, dry parchment of scrolls, lavender for critical thought and analysis, the solidity of heavy woods, ornery patchouli and glib benzoin, and superstar-splashed orange and amber. I've never been first before! Oh, the pressure. In the imp: Bright and herbal - my immediate thought was that "this is more of a spring than winter scent". Initial application: The lavender and orange are the first things to jump out - it's quite a tart orange, initially almost coming off more like grapefruit. It's quite bright, almost astringent. Drydown: After a few minutes, the patchouli and woods are making their presence felt; the initial 'kick' of the orange has faded after just a couple of minutes, giving way to a sort of incensey-woody-lavender. (As a note - lavender can often overpower a scent for me, but it's behaving quite nicely here so far) I'm not getting a really overt sense of the benzoin and amber, but I think they may be what's slightly sweetening up the blend and helping keep the lavender from going too medicinal. I haven't had this on very long, but knew people might be waiting for a review. If it changes dramatically after a while, I'll update. So far, it's not super-strong, but quite fresh; seems like a nice down-to-business reserved daytime kind of scent. Maybe the Muses concept is influencing my perception, but I feel like I'd wear this to do research.

A Witches Luck The fortune of a nasty woman: patchouli and pomegranate rind with vetiver, red oudh, tonka bean, green cognac, and honey. Am I first? Fortuna Praecantatrix arrived today (along with a few others, but this was the one I was keenest to try). In the bottle: Smells like an occult shop. Which feels very on-brand for the scent theme! Wet: Complicated. I get the patchouli and a hint of the vetiver right away, with something else that's woodsy/musky that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm assuming that's the oudh, as it's not a scent I'm super-familiar with picking out. Drydown: Even more complicated. It's quite fascinating. It's very rich and dark and not exactly sweet, but sort of (definitely a honey in the background, not sugary), and then the pomegranate comes in as a fruity edge - and at moments the throw almost has a hint of aquatic. Overall, at a quick sniff it's still fairly true to my initial 'occult shop' impression - all the different incenses and other smells melding together into something quite unique - but this is a Fancy Upscale Occult Shop, not your around-the-corner one. I hesitated over buying this, as I already have a lot of patchouli-vetiver blends, but this is very different from anything else I have. Win!

In the bottle, I got a really weird, almost chemically smell from this (maybe what someone upthread described as magic markers?), but as soon as it hit skin it was SUGARY CLOVE with a backing band of patchouli, just a hint of the cocoa and vanilla - and no rose, which is fine by me. It pretty much stayed the same through the drydown and the rest of the evening. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist - definitely a hit! Very intrigued to see how this will age, too.

White sandalwood and white leather, bourbon vanilla and bourbon vetiver. Am I first? (apologies to the mods if I get the protocol wrong) In the bottle: Sinister vanilla. Wet on skin: The vanilla and vetiver predominate - I was curious about this combination, but I LOVE IT. The vetiver is more smoky than green/murky as it can sometimes be (maybe this is the difference with 'bourbon vetiver?) 15 minutes in: The sandalwood is coming out a little more; the leather is still sort of lurking in the background. The sandalwood is giving the scent a dry, powdery (not baby powder!) character now. I will update if it changes significantly with further wear. I'm hoping it doesn't go *too* powdery, because so far it's very sexy. I'm surprised I'm the first to review it! Update: It did not go any more powdery, I'm happy to report. It was interesting, because after several (10?) hours The Mark was quite faint if I deliberately tried to sniff my wrist, but it was still mysteriously hovering around me. This scent is not as in-your-face as one might expect with a leather/vetiver combo - very wearable and not 'too sexy for work'. It will be interesting to see how this one ages. I like it a lot!

Lovely resins. It was sweeter (maybe the liquidambar?) and softer on than I expected. I need to give this one another try and slather a bit more generously.

Wet: Aggressively pine. Staying *just* this side of 'pine cleaner'. Can't really make out any other notes. Drydown: About half an hour in, it went through a cedar shavings phase where it reminded me a fair bit of Disappointing Pencil. However, further on the patchouli started coming out and now it's a lovely dry earthy evergreen forest smell, like being in a sun-warmed cabin in the woods. If I really huff my wrist I get just a hint of the honey. I'm not getting the tobacco at all - which is okay with me, as tobacco is usually a note that gives me pause about ordering a scent.

Honeyed black tea, rich mahogany leather, and a tuft of chocolate truffle. Oh! Am I first? I was desperate to try Tea and Music, since my highlights of 2016 have been spending a lot of time with my favourite band, and long chats over tea (often about said band) with some of my closest friends. So when they came together in a scent, I had to have it. At first sniff, it's so well-blended that I can't pick out individual notes, but my first impression is that it's evocative of being wrapped up in a completely innocent hug with a hot guy (not to say it's a 'masculine' scent, it's quite neutral). That is literally the image that came to find in the first second or two of sniffing the bottle. On skin, I start to be able to pick out the honey and chocolate - the leather is there, but as a kind of background warmth and depth. I can't really single out tea in the same way I can with, say, Theodosius, but I suspect it's contributing to the 'just can't quite put my finger on something here' mystery of this scent. It'll be interesting to see how this one evolves with aging. I find this very soft in the drydown - but I LOVE it, so it will be slathered!

Based on the smell in the bottle, I was worried that the caramel would be super-aggressive, but on me it completely chilled out and just gave a lovely sweetness to the chocolate. The whisky and spice stayed in the background, giving it some depth and mystery. Overall this comes off like a very grownup, smooth, expensive dark chocolate.

Yep. Snake Oil and leather! It was very leathery - reminded me of Dead Man's Hand from my early BPAL days - in the bottle, but the Snake Oil sweet dark vanilla comes out immediately on skin. The leather balances it out perfectly, as I find straight-up Snake Oil can sometimes do a slightly powdery thing on me. (In fairness, my bottle of Snake Oil is ancient.) I think this is going to become one of those all-time classics.

Had to try this almost immediately after opening my package from the Lab! In the bottle: VETIVER. Doing that funky, smoky, swampy-vegetal thing that it does in Highwayman. Wet: Vetiver is still predominating, though the greenness goes away and it starts to smell more lush. This is very strong. Drydown: I was a little concerned that it might be overpowering, but after about 20-30 minutes the vetiver calmed right down and let the patchouli (super smooth) and wood notes come out to play. It's now a really lovely deep dark skin scent - this must be the shadow musk bringing the other notes together. I would love to smell this on a man... I have yet to convince my husband to try BPAL but maybe I should ask again.

Definitely a poppy-opium type of scent, but different than other 'poppy' notes I've encountered before - very much a YELLOW poppy rather than red. It's like someone took a classic sultry opium and took it out in the sunshine. I will have to try this one again after I get over this cold, to see what other subtleties I can pick out, but it feels not so much like a winter scent to me, as the first cold-but-sunny hint of spring.

Caveat: I do have a bit of a cold, so I will have to retest this when I'm healthier. However, it's a hit so far! Initially I got a whiff of something like vetiver, but it disappeared almost right away, as did the orange (citrus is usually pretty fleeting on my skin). I'm mostly getting a warm, powdery amber backed with dusty leather and just a hint of musk very much in the background - the combo is almost evoking sandalwood. ETA: A later test, now that it's sat for about a month and I no longer have that cold. Not getting anything like vetiver this time, and the citrus stuck around longer. It's reminding me a bit of Red Devil, or a favourite 'spiced orange' incense, except with some leather mixed in. It didn't knock my socks off the first time, but I love it now!

This is more leathery than I'd expected, but that is not at all a bad thing! It is definitely the leather of an old library, warm (I guess that's the wax coming through) and with a hint of chocolate. After wearing for a few hours, the chocolate and parchment come more to the forefront. I will wear this a LOT. It came with a reprint of 'The Voodoo Queen', a 1950s-era fictionalized account of Marie Laveau's life. I'm about halfway through and it's fascinating!

I'm afraid it's something like 45 days for us internationals... Fingers crossed it'll start moving again very soon! That's what I figured. I'll keep an eye on it and hope for the best! Edited to add: After sitting in limbo for 17 days, it seems to be on the move again - taking a circuitous route, but hopefully it'll be here soon!

Hmm. When I look at tracking for my latest order, it's been stuck on "arrived at facility" (in LA) for a week now. Whereas my Trading Post order that shipped several days later has gone through the facility and is "enroute to destination". At what point should I get worried that my Lab package is lost somewhere in the bowels of the US Post facility?

My hope for this one was that the rose really would just be the "barest fleck" and that the other notes would take precedence. Alas, I will amp rose forever. In the bottle it was very rose-y, and for the first half-hour on skin, it was pretty much DRIED ROSE with a whisper of wax and resin. About 15 minutes in, it briefly veered into headache territory, but after about half an hour the rose settled down enough that I could pick out the other things. Alas, later that night the rose took over again. When the rose calmed down, I liked the scent, so I'm willing to give it some aging and try again - although I think I've learned my lesson on roses and my skin chemistry for the future!

As other people have found, I got straight green apple in the bottle. On skin, it's apple - perhaps more of a red apple? - and clove, with a subtle background of vanilla. Over time, it became more earthy, and I had to go reread the scent notes because I was almost getting just a hint of patchouli. It's not as strong as some fall/Halloween scents (like my beloved Samhain 2005, which I can't wear around the scent-sensitive), so I foresee it being a very everyday-wearable choice for this time of year.

I had hoped to be first to review this one, but third is cool too! Honestly, this was the Halloween scent I was most excited for - partly because I literally burst out laughing when I first saw the name in the update. As soon as my package arrived today, I had to try it. In the bottle: It really IS a pencil! Cedar shavings and a waft of eraser. On skin: Pure cedar shavings at first. After a little while, I swear a hint of graphite comes in - it's like the contents of a pencil sharpener. Nostalgic and delightful. After a couple of hours: Warm cedar, and just a hint of vanilla-type sweetness wafting through. Modest throw, not overpowering. A really nice, friendly scent. Definitely 'pencil', but not disappointing in the least!

Got a bottle of this from the Lab's Etsy shop, and was puzzled when it arrived. It smelled so overwhelming foody in the bottle that I had to re-look-up the description not once, but twice, to convince myself why I'd decided to order it. (Not that I don't like foody scents, but it was unexpected.) However, on the skin it changed almost instantly - at first to a sort of earthy men's cologne type scent, but within maybe 15 minutes a gentler, warmer musky/amber-y scent prevailed and stuck around most of the day. 14 hours later, I can just baaaaarely smell it if I mash my nose into my wrist. I really, really like this, and kept finding excuses to sniff myself all day. (Okay, and admittedly, it's my first new scent in literally years, but this one is definitely a keeper.)

Seconding the pirate costume + Pirate Moon love!

I'm not sure if it's the 'saltiness', but alas, this amped right to men's deodorant on me. Off to swaps!

This is so well blended, I couldn't really pick out individual notes, and like a previous reviewer, I had to come back and check the note list to refresh my memory. It's wonderfully sexy - my first thought was 'it's Two Monsters gone to sea' - and not at all 'cologney', as some ocean-type scents can be. This is definitely the scent of a pirate ship - if it's the sort of ship captained by Johnny Depp in eyeliner. I'm glad I gambled on this one!

In the bottle, it was almost exactly like Sugar Skull. However, on applying, it's got a personality all its own. It's a white, syrupy sugar at first, then the honey (similar to the honey in Honey Moon) and wood come in to give it an amazing roundness and richness. I absolutely adore this, and I'm glad that (for the first time in 2.5 years of BPAL-ing) I bought a GC 5ml unsniffed! You definitely have to like the sugar note, but those who like it will like this a LOT.

For dark, my new discovery is A Countenance Forboding Evil. It's VERY well-named.

I think this may become one of the great 'love it or hate it' BPAL blends. Personally - I LOVE this. I'm a major vetiver and patchouli fan, and these are definitely the star players here. I don't particularly notice the blood orange or ylang ylang, except that they perhaps add to the 'roundness' of the blend. It's earthy and definitely dark - 'forboding' is certainly the right word. This is a strong candidate to get upgraded to a 5ml!