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BPAL Madness!

Carolyn

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Everything posted by Carolyn

  1. Carolyn

    Smut

    I wouldn't have ordered this except that I saw in a thread that Beth loved it. How can you not buy something that Ms. Bpaler herself adores? But the whole "swoozy, sugared booze" thing worried me. I did not like Juke Joint, and I was afraid this would be like that. Then I saw that people were comparing it to Snake Charmer, which worried me as well. Thank God I didn't listen to my gut. This is a keeper for me. In fact, it's second bottle worthy. On me, Smut is a combination of Snake Oil and Dorian. Interestingly enough, Dorian didn't really work for me. But this does. Go figure. And yeah, I also smell that rootbeer thing. The drydown is also a bit--oh dear, cover your eyes, please--POWDERY in the most old-lady-ish kind of way. Again, this is not a problem for me. Obviously I'm the only one getting that powdery-old-lady thing. This does not smell like Smut to me. It smells more like Grandma's Purse. I don't think Grandma's Purse is a very good name for a fragrance, though, so I'll just call it Smut. AGAIN, this is not a bad thing for me! And obviously no one else has noticed it, so please don't worry your pretty little heads about it. It will be a popular blend, that's for sure. ETA: This actually reminds me quite a bit of Gomorrah, which I also swapped away. And yet I keep this bottle. 2 bottles, as a matter of fact. What gives? I still love it, though, and have been slathering it like mad. ETAA: I just tried Sin, and I think they are almost identical twins. Very similar. If you've just emptied your bottle you should try replacing it with Sin. I know I will.
  2. Carolyn

    Anything similar to Sage Machado "Onyx" ?

    Perversion came immediately to mind for me, too. Also, if you can get a hold of a bottle of Red Lantern on the swap board, that might do it for you, too.
  3. Carolyn

    Red Lantern

    Crikey. I guess I'm the odd woman out here. I smell overwhelmingly like...celery. Celery with a dash of smokey caramel. I think it's the spices--did I read that that particular blend of spices might have fennel? I guess I'm picking up that note above all others. I do get traces of Perversion, which I never liked, and Elega, which I never liked. Drat. I was so ready for a swoony kind of caramel scent.
  4. Carolyn

    Donna Karan and DKNY scents

    Hey Hightech! Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I hope we get to go to another perfume event soon! BTW, I love Black Cashmere. I also love Snake Oil. I don't think the two are similar, except that BC has a vanilla-ish drydown on me. I do think Cathedral is a bit like BC. At least its top notes are. I wonder how Snake Oil would be layered with BC? Snake Oil layers beautifully. Hope this helps somewhat.
  5. Carolyn

    Sugar Cookie

    This and Lick It were the only two Yule blends that worked for me. The others I tried seemed to be All Pine, All the Time. But boy, did this one ever work for me. Please, please, PLEASE try this with Snake Oil! I'm begging you! So so so so SO good!!
  6. Carolyn

    Beaver Moon 2005

    I've swapped away most of the moons except Chaste and Milk, which make me swoon. Beaver is another Swooner. I get the cupcake, then the cinnamon, and then... ...bananas. Yes, bananas. More like banana cream pie, really. It reminds me of CSP's Vanille Banane. Foody Girl Alert--pick up a bottle asap!
  7. Carolyn

    Lick It

    I actually got this by mistake. A great mistake, mind you. The lab was supposed to send me a 5 ml. of Sugar Cookie, but I got this instead. I was kind of freaked out by that, because after reading the reviews I was wishing that I had gotten the Lick It. Now I have it. Yay! (Someone out there is probably getting my Sugar Cookie instead of their Lick It, though, and I do feel sorry for them.) Yes, this is very minty. I was worried it would be too much like Spooky at first, but there is no chocolate in this at all. It's been replaced by vanilla. I like both equally. I wonder how they'd be mixed together? Hmmm. The drydown--well, it's what I love the most so far. It's.... Drumroll please... BABY POWDER. I know many of you will start shaking in your very fashionable boots right now. I have read more than one review where the reviewer freaked out about the baby powderiness of a certain scent. Well, I'm just here to say that I Love Baby Powder Scents! Bring 'em on, baby! I have not smelled Black Opal, but if it has a baby powder thang going on, well, I'm just going to have to order it.
  8. Carolyn

    People of the Labyrinth - Luctor et Emergo

    I luuuuvvv POTL, and have made what I think is a pretty good dupe. I layer O with Dana O'Shee. The Dana gives it that marzipan note that I love so much, while the O gives it that nice vanilla-y amber. I also think that Snake Oil is slightly reminiscent of it. I wonder if layering it with Dana would give it that POTL yumminess??
  9. Carolyn

    Tombstone

    Why does this only have four pages of reviews? Why, why? It's perfection. Love it so much it hurts. A lovely warm, cedary vanilla. Fans of L'Artisan should note that this is very similar to Bois Farine. Not the top notes, mind you, but the base notes are nearly identical. This is AWESOME. Five stars.
  10. Carolyn

    Whitechapel

    Oooooh, myyyy. Love love love. Is this really considered a *masculine* scent? I'm not sure I entirely understand that. It feels very neutral to me. At first it's too lemony. The top notes are serious lemon power. But then, after just a few minutes, it dries down to an absolutely lovely warm, deep, white musky thang. I swear I smell vanilla or amber. Not sure which. I can't get enough of this scent. One of my top five, for sure. It rocks hard.
  11. Carolyn

    Trick or Treat

    ACK! I cannot tell the difference between Sugar Skull and Trick or Treat! I got home after a long day, ripped open my package, and slathered both on. Now, well, my wrists smell the same! Both smell like maple syrup. My husband seems to like the effect, although for the life of me I don't know which one he's responding to. Maybe both. Is there a big difference in the drydown? If so, I don't smell it. I know that Trick or Treat smelled sort of weird and vegetable-y in the bottle, but on it was just sugary. Burnt sugar, actually. Burnt sugar with maple syrup. Oddly enough, I like it. This could be Sugar Skull, of course. I have no idea. Must find Inner Control Button when opening new BPAL packages.
  12. Carolyn

    Tezcatlipoca

    I get CEDAR from this. Lots and lots of cedar. I don't get patchouli at all. Smooth cocoa and cedar at first, which then fades into cedar and...mint? The cocoa is nearly all gone, and I've had it on for only about a half hour. It's minty and woody. Cool, not warm and cozy. Nice, but just not for me.
  13. Carolyn

    Czernobog

    Well, I didn't get feces or cat urine or diaper pail from this. I did get a decaying, bad breath odor, though. I'm not sure anyone else picked up that particular note, but it's a doozie. I agree with others, I'm not even sure it's fair to swap this sucker.
  14. Carolyn

    Jezebel

    I'm feeling very much like the odd duck here, but I have to state this once and for all: I LOVE BABY POWDER SCENTS. Yes, I am ashamed to admit this since they seem like the bane of this board, but I love love love love them all and really have a hard time understanding why they are so hated here. I am thinking that many people have had Bad Baby Powder Incidents, and that those have led them to despise the stuff. Perhaps they were powdered too much as babies, or not enough, or in the wrong places, or...? Me, I think this one is a dead ringer for the very popular Keiko Mecheri KM Loukhoum, which is all baby powder, honey and roses. It's also roughly a million dollars for a bottle. Okay, maybe not a million. Maybe 80.00. But still, you get a very similar thing with Jezebel for much less. The funny thing about this scent is that I normally don't like Beth's rose scents at all, but I like this one. Oh, yes indeedy, I do.
  15. To me, Milk Moon smells very nutty. Salty, sweet, buttery, warm and gooey. I wear this one to bed every night. Not sure what makes it smell nutty to me, but it does.
  16. Carolyn

    Peitho

    I was nervous about this one. I don't like Kali at all and I don't like the perfume Ysatsis, so I was shaking in my boots when I tried this sucker on. God, do I love it! This is a very grown-up perfume. Nothing casual about it. On me it's a formal, dressy kind of scent that is laden with lily and jasmine. Many BPAL blends remind me of other BPAL blends. This isn't bad, since I adore BPAL. But this blend is unlike any other BPAL I've ever tried, and I've tried many! Rich, opulent, heady. Nothing at all like Love's Baby Soft on me, although I was kind of sad about that. I loved Love's Baby Soft! Still, this one's a stunner.
  17. Carolyn

    Red Devil

    Starts out orangey cinnamon on me and then morphs into what I thought was violets--which I love--but maybe it's jasmine. It might be jasmine, as so many others are saying that. I like the soapy sweetness of Beth's jasmine, so this is wonderful on me. Still, it *could* be violets.... I was surprised by the floral in the drydown since it started out as such an orangey/cinnamony thang. Very nice in all of its stages.
  18. Carolyn

    Goneril

    Love love love this one and have ordered a big bottle. Alas, I think it's perfect for summer, but by the time I get it.... Oh well. On me this smells clean without being a dryer sheet kind of clean. (I'm not fond of that dryer sheet smell.) I would have thought there was citrus and musk in there, since that's what's coming to mind when I wear it. That and cedar. Interestingly enough, this seems like an everyday, jeans and a t-shirt kind of smell. Something I'd splash on before I go to the beach. I don't get that grand, big night out thing from it at all.
  19. Carolyn

    Thirteen (13)

    The day I received my 13 our phones went dead and I couldn't get on the internet. Someone had cut the phone lines in our town, and half of the town was without phones or e-mail for two days. Coincidence? I think not. Since I am all about luck--both good and bad--I would have tried this scent even if it didn't have such lovely notes. Starts out with a tangy orange chocolate, then moves into.... baby lotion. Johnson's Baby Lotion. Wait, it's Johnson's Baby lotion with a touch of chocolate, tangerine, and Johnson's baby powder. I happen to love that combo. Go figure. It's like O has been dipped in chocolate and tangerine powder. I am one happy unlucky girl these days.
  20. Carolyn

    Velvet

    This started off as a minty, cool, refreshing chocolate. Then the sandalwood moves in, and I immediately thought, "This is Sage's Pearl! Only it's about 30.00 cheaper than Pearl!" I love it when I can find dupes of some of my favorite scents less expensively. Pearl is a sandalwood and vanilla scent that is 45.00, I think, for a 1/4 oz. This is just as good! I'm getting a 5 ml. as soon as I can. ETA: This smells sooo much like Tombstone! Almost too much. I'm not sure I need both. Velvet is a little more chocolatey and perhaps has more cedar, but still, they are VERY much alike. I love both!
  21. I found Dorian and Fae to be similar. Unfortunately, neither one worked for me, but whatevah.
  22. Carolyn

    The Hanging Gardens

    YEEEOW. Love love love this scent! Oh, how I love it. It is a tropical fruity fragrance that is so summery and fun. I smell the quince, I do I do! I wear this one with Pele for a tropical drink kind of fragrance. Stick a tiny umbrella in me and I'm done. Yay! I'm so glad I have this. In the top ten, for sure.
  23. Carolyn

    Horn of Plenty

    Earthy, almost medicinal cherry cough syrup at first, then drying down to a sweet cherry vanilla. Oh yeah, I have finally realized that this is my beloved Blood Kiss! Almost to the T on me. Can't see buying it because I have plenty of Blood Kiss, but I will use it every now and then when I need some extra dough-re-mi. Others may find this different enough from Blood Kiss to warrant a purchase, but I don't. If you are a Blood Kiss Fan, as I am, it is worth a try.
  24. Carolyn

    Hellfire

    Hmm, only one other person had the same reaction I did. Sour nailpolish--exactly! Then it morphed into pipe smoke and Doublemint gum. I think liquor and smoke scents are not for me. Perhaps because I'm a smoking liquor drinker. Or a liquored up smoker. Or whatever. But they have simply not worked for me. Mwah.
  25. Carolyn

    When your favorite GC blends are discontinued

    Lissa, Anathema is all honeysuckle, all the time on me. I love it. Doesn't have a tea note, though... I worried when I first got Le Serpent Qui Danse that it was too similar to Eternal. They are both very similar with their rather sharp gardenia top note, but the drydowns are different enough to warrent owning both, natch. The Serpent gets much more violet and vanilla in the drydown and keeps the gardenia at bay. Still, I'd think that if you like one you'd like the other. Serpent is softer, Eternal is va-va-voom.
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