cinderfallen

I was very impressed by Silence as a concept scent. I applied and bent down to take a sniff--to find something like blankness. Absolutely nothing jumped out at me for a second; it felt like a blank canvas of pale blue florals, very light. When I tried to discern the scent, this felt like the base for Schlafende Baigneuse, before the eye-catching cream musk, rose, or nose-tingling sweet-citrusness is added to it. It's way too faint on me to use as a perfume, but as I said, very interesting execution.

Sadly, this blend reminds me of potpourri. The plum and opium is most prominent, but they don't blend as they ought to; the fruit is fresh but the opium is dense and the twain don't quite meet.

This is like Belle Epoque without the high pitched lily--strangely, Languor has three lilies compared to Belle Epoque's one, but it's more subdued and blended. It's creamy. The opium is apparent enough to make a pleasurable dent, but only enough to give the scent some depth and mystery. Slight musk that clings to the skin--very sexy. I really like this.

This is perfume. It smells expensive, refined, feminine, and *pretty.* I have no problems with the scent dying on my skin; actually, if I applied more than a swipe across each wrist, I'm sure there'd be hella sillage. It's a floral that smells fresh, tart and sweet combining effortlessly over a base of slightly rounded creaminess. I think this is the same rose used in Knave of Hearts, and blended with the other flowers smell freshly picked--not specifically rose at all. A special occasion scent, or for everyday when you want to feel cosmopolitan and gorgeous. This smells like I should have paid a hundred more dollars than I actually did. ETA: As I thought, throw is very strong and lasts for a very long time on me. For the days I want to feel like a pretty pretty princess.

This scent encapsulates the character quite well, I thought. Usually, the descriptions are hit or miss for me, but I could see it perfectly this time. The perfumes opens with notes of lavender, and it's a cold, high note; as the description says, crystalline. It smells like that whiff of cold night air. Then the perfume almost abruptly softens, and the magnolia comes into the mix on drydown; it smells almost completely different: softer and more feminine, sweet, almost aquatic with the slightest sugar. It almost smells fruity/citrus(!) and reminds me a bit of Chance by Chanel. Huh. I quite like this. Edited to add that on subsequent wears, this shot to my absolute favorite list, along with Black Lace, Mme. Moriarty, and Belle Epoque. This is lavender for the lavender-doubters, floral for the floral-fearers. It smells expensive and multi-faceted, and I adore it. PPS!: I was cooking today, and I realized that hey--the opening top notes smells exactly, exactly like crushed basil: that slightly high, crisp note, the underlying, slightly watery sweetness, that crunch of herbalness.... I feel a little weird now knowing I love the scent of basil as a perfume. *g*

This is what the Black Broom smelled like, and it epitomizes the scent of BPAL for me. It seemed like a lot of the early blends I tried smelled like this for some reason, especially considering the fact that BPAL has come a long way. It instantly smacks me of incense and artificial fruit, but slightly creamy, too. I seem to get the slightest tinge of sandalwood. Wearing this while incense hunting on Venice Beach wouldn't be wholly out of place.

I love the scent, but it turns into pure baby powder on me. Johnson and Johnson, here's your endorsement. Honey, rose. Which one of you is the culprit? ETA: NEITHER! It turned out to be YOU, orange blossom!

It's a musky jasmine with the smoothness of violet, and the familiar vanilla sweet note from Khajuraho. Very similar in overall tone, in fact. Smells like edible creamy flowers, and more of what I expected Faith (violet twin, yes?) to smell like. And just figured out why it smells edible: violet candies and jasmine tea candy, slightly darkened. That's what this perfume smells like. On drydown, the violet takes over quite a bit, tempered by the mimosa. It's almost a dry scent in comparison to it in its wet stage.

This has the amazing quality to be cooling on a hot summer day and warm and cozy in a bitterly cold night. Having tried it on either continental coast, Hell's Belle has shot to the top of my list due to its versatility. The citrus is a top note, along with what's probably the magnolia, a flower that bridges the top and bottom notes with its lush quality. The musk holds everything down, and the spices are almost foody. A really good blend. ETA: Got a big bottle of this. Fresh, there's a strong undercurrent of red musk that gives that voluptuous tone to this blend.

By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla. For the longest time, Snake Oil was all medicinal herbs on me, with no hint of vanilla. (HUUUHHH, right?) But my chemistry changed and it's quite amazing what the scent has turned into. It's true vanilla, like the best vanilla ice cream or the high quality extract, supported by musk and spice. The spice isn't really headshop; at first, it's like the heat of a spicy pepper--the scent of spiciness, which softens on drydown. This is one of the scents I tried at the Black Broom when I first got into BPAL and rejected for smelling "too hippy incense." I realize now it was just my untrained nose, so I'm happy to revisit this. ETA: I've figured out this dries down pretty much pure amber on me. But I think the main notes are: vanilla, maybe tonka, black patchouli, a bit of red ginger, red musk, amber.

It's a little toxic when wet, (cacophany of clove and lime and whathaveyou, and reminds me of smoke), but on drydown, it's a creamy, muted blend. It's sweet from the vanilla with just a hint of pine and lime that gives this blend flavor. The vetiver is redolent in the background along with the vanilla, giving this a darker undertone. Overall, a darker, slightly more masculine version of Blood Kiss.

I feel almost dumb suggesting this, but have you tried Snake Oil? It's the definitive spicy vanilla with patchouli. People have also recommended Vixen which has a similar feel but doesn't have vanilla as one of the listed notes (orange blossom, patchouli, ginger).

Muse. Citrus gives it brightness and cuts sweetness while the rose and lotus makes the scent just pop with juiciness.

I was actually hoping for a bit more incense to balance out the sweet floral, but it's nigh indistinguishable in the blend. It's slightly creamy, and it almost smells like peaches. Reminds me of shampoo scents, actually; very neutral, sweet, nice. ADDED 10/19/09: I get the grasses, the flowers, and the tiniest smidge of golden incense for a few minutes as this very fresh-smelling light floral way. It smells like nice shampoo. And then it turns into ordinary shampoo, vaguely fresh-smelling and sweet. The grass is still distinct, but the rest is just a muddled generic blah.

The Native American Creator / Trickster God of Chaos and Change. The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk. It's surprisingly green in the vial. On, grassland sweet with a hint of floral and crushed greens. It's all bound down by the amber and comforting musk. Overall, the scent is light and gender neutral to feminine. Quite nice. ADDED 11/1/09: This smells like a night in the woods, young trees, warm night air. I love the musk in this blend; it's so soft and snuggly in a way that never approaches something domestic and home-like, but rather something that belong outside, yet is still sweet. I love the grasses that come out, which are not green or herbal, but more living. The almost citrus feel of this makes me think this might be black musk. Second skin kind of scent. Yeap, I want more of this.

This is the perfect summer scent. It smells wet and voluptuous, and the musk is crystalline. Touch of exotic fruit makes this fun.

It's a fairly balanced scent. The rose is lush and rounds out the sandalwood, with the patchouli serving as a light anchor to the blend.

Seems more suited for aromatherapy or spa uses than for perfume. A little sharp, thin scent.

It was a miasma of lily and high citrus before it calmed down to the heady opium and sandalwood, sweetened by the vanilla and brightened by the light touch of citrus and lily. I think I detect minute traces of the same vanilla used in Antique Lace. It reminds me of a very light version of Red Lantern, one I could wear. I like that the lily is a very light touch in this blend--though who knows if I'll still like this time next week when my body chemistry might turn on me regarding the death lily. ETA: I grew to absolutely adore this. I bought a bottle which is superficially very different from the imp I had. My imp was a lot of lily and opium, a little piercing at first, but dried down really nicely, with an emphasis on bold lily. <3 the opium bouquet in this. The bottle is very soft and pretty in comparison: it reminds me of orange creamsicle on first application, drying down to the familiar, but gentler opium/lily/sandalwood/touch of citrus concoction I love.

My hormones must be having an off day: a non-dreadful lily?! The scent is very much a twining of lily and cherry, white floral and flirty red fruit (cherry juice), which makes this an interesting, if slightly disconcerting test. I'm not much in love with the weighty presence of the waxy lily, which I recognize from too many disaster amapage occurences, but it would certainly strike the right person. Personally, I think it an off-putting balance.

I seem to amp the champaca, and Temple Viper ends up smelling a lot like Khajuraho. It's less sweet, but considering that Khajuraho has ingredients like dates and vanilla, that isn't to say Temple Viper is anything approaching dry and fully resinous. It's definitely restrained in comparison, though. I want to get more Snake Oil and resins out of the blend to ground the sweeter aspects, so I'm thinking of holding onto my imp. However, I wouldn't mind swapping for a bottle for my experiment, either. I do quite like both Temple Viper and Khajuraho. I can also see where people are making their Snake Charmer comparisons. It's the juicier, champaca sweet version.

Went sour. Nail polish remover....

It's a very clear, crystalline scent of fruit gums and poisonous sweet flowers; it does feel a little dark and grounded by a slight musk and what smells like the same green, tea-like patchouli leaf of Mme. Moriarty.

I get plum and coconut with the backlay of the Egyptian amber that I recognize from Pumpkin Queen. I notice that with aged Snake Charmer, the coconut fades out, and becomes more resinous than fruity. But either way, I think this is a really lovely blend, smooth and softly spiced and rounded scent. No sharpness at all.

Night-Gaunt reminds me of Love Spell, especially once the citrus burns off and the florals take over.