olympia301

Until now, all of the dragon's blood scents just stay as dragon's blood on my skin. Nothing at all comes out beside...dragon's blood. I swear, if Beth mixed tear gas with dragon's blood, it would smell entirely of dragon's blood on me. However, of all the dragon's blood mixtures this one has the best chance of being more than (guess what) on my skin. That is due to the blessed mixture of red musk along with the dragon's blood. Perhaps red musk is the St. George of dragon's blood additives but it combines beautifully with DB and takes it to new and comforting heights. I can smell a tiny bit of fig in here, too. I am very glad that the Lab sent me this imp of Dragon's Heart, it is my favorite of all the DB scents and is more than just DB...Beth got that strong, nice, but obdurate scent to roll over and do a few tricks. That takes real talent, and Dragon's Heart shows what a bit of skill, creativity, and persistence can do. Nice blend! The icon is a desecration of a fabulous St. George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello, one of the greatest and least appreciated painters of the Italian Renaissance.

Neat concept but this one does nothing on my skin except turn into mid-range hotel soap. I would love to say something else, but alas there is some magic chemistry here which keeps me and Al-Shairan away from each other. If it does the cinncamon/clove/orange/peach for you...great. With my skin I have to go for Ravenous on that score (minus the cinnamon) and try to find Al-Shairan a better home.

God, Andrabell, what a great suggestion! One of my friends decided to mix in Alice with a non scented body butter base and swore it was scrumptious. I thought that Alice would have been too weak to stand up to that but she insists that it worked great. You might want to try the experiment on a small scale. Failing that, try Ravenous, Hunger, or Hollywood Babylon if you go for the resiny types. Snake Oil would be slinky, too.

I like Dragon's Blood, but aquatics and I don't get along. So, my assessment of Dragon's Tears was doomed from the beginning. Sorry, but neither componant worked on my skin or in my head, so I can only say "aquatic Dragon's Blood" and leave it at that. This would be a great blend for you if you were someone who liked both of the notes, but leave it alone if you are not. Sorry to be so blunt about it, but since this blend is what it is and there is nothing hidden about it...then this is the sort of review which fits. The icon is a medieval stone dragon munching on some poor man whose tongue is sticking out of his head. The dragon is crying for joy. He's hungry.

This is another of Beth's first blends on the site (January 2004) and again it's a good scent for a more innocent time. Lemony, a bit floral for my taste, I don't get the patchouli but the sandalwood and lemon come out pretty strong. Again, I have to say that Shadow is what it is...a nice, basic scent which is at home in a coffee house and in 8:00 Poetry 102, but thinking about the scents that seem to have been on the trail at the time, Shadow is indestinct in comparison, without very much personality and overshadowed by the likes of Severin (if you are looking for Lemon), and Velvet (if you want to talk about sandalwood). So, I am happy I got to try this one but I will not add Shadow to my list of lovies, but I can say I tried it.

I smell the jasmine and the ginger, too, but here comes a civety component and I guess I am the only person who smells it because it doesn't look like anyone else mentions that. It is very animalic and appears and disappears in the sweetness of apricots and jasmine. It is tres sexy and does actually go away within the first couple of minutes. Siren is an interesting blend, I think it is one of the original blends, and looking at the first post in the reviews, January 2004 does qualify. It is pretty but Beth has come so much further than Siren, I feel it is necessary to point out that siren was one of the first in the collection. Siren, for all its sexiness is kind of an innocent blend, and though likable lacks the sophistication that some of Beth's first scents had (like Snake Oil).

OK, more Ignorant Science: I think the likelihood of glass breaking when going from cold to warm temps has a lot to do with: the type of glass it is, how thick it is, how disparate the temps are, whether it gets shaken or treated gently. I bet that most small glass bottles which are fairly thick are pretty resistant to breaking after being in the cold. How's that for a definitive statement. I'm not a scientist, but I have a Bachelor's Degree in Science which makes me pure B.S.

Hmmm, ok...here's the $64,000 question: if BPAl is an oil, and it freezes at much lower temps than water then--what about the expansion? The reason why I ask is that the problems of breakage come in when the contents freeze and expand and break the container. That is a problem. It seems to me (from emperical evidence*) that fats and oils "freeze" that is become solid, but they don't seem to expand like water based things do. If the oils don't degrade during the freeze/thaw cycle, no harm is done. Am I right, or am I wrong. I am curious, that's for sure. *aka What I Have Seen

Yeah, I can't see it freezing as it's oil in an oil which is hard to freeze. I think it gets thick but does not actually freeze solid. I think it would have to be made of water to have that happen. High school kitchen physics.

Black Opal and Antique Lace. Both of those are really worth giving up a chunk of your soul for if you like musk+vanilla. Be damned, but smell good! or

This is a straaaaaaaaaange smell indeed. It almost defies description. It reminds me of the smell of some fabrics and I can't really say it smells like any flowers or resins or herbs I have ever sniffed. It's kind of like an old perfume, and I mean that in a good way, then it sort of reminds me of perfume on someone else's skin. It's very warm smelling, I would not say it's exactly cozy. For all its oddness, it's nice but I would use it as a ritual oil and not try to get an alluring "good smell" out of it. Some people have said it's soapy, I can see that...it smells like some liquid base soaps I have sniffed. Does it work? I would say that I haven't taken it on a road test, and frankly I am not looking for anyone. But this one smells like it could be some powerful ju-ju.

Deep, dark, musky-down and manly, Czernobog is for strong hearted men only. It is a BIG dose of musk and vetiver, a big jolt of red musk right in the middle, I detect a civety edge here and a whiff of menthol or some sort; a little will go a long way. It makes you smell warm and sexy all right, and dear God this stuff lasts. So proceed with caution but without trepidation. It's a wonderful scent and I would love to smell this on a guy. I'm a bit too fem for it, but that's just me. In this case I would rather recieve than give, and I think of it as Hyper Snake Oil for guys. It's yummy.

Plum is the first scent to catch my attention, followed closely by jasmine. another beautiful floral scent delicate but long lasting. I would again recommend this one to the flower lovers out there. It puts you in the frame of mind of the fox woman who goes about performing dastardly deeds on unsuspecting gentlemen. It is bright and attractively assuming but it isn't my scent so I will have to let this one go. Could be my chemistry or my sniffiness regarding florals but I am sure it will be popular with other BPALers out there and not languish from lack of admirers.

A frimp from the Lab. A very floral mix dominated by gardenia on my skin. One I would recommend to the flower lover BPAL fan. I would say white flowers, but in such a mix that it is hard to pick out the single flower notes in Eternal other than the gardenia. This seems to be one of Beth's earlier blends, I say that because the first review was from March of 2004. I find this a simple scent and one that would fit with a virginal type of woman or, on the other end of the spectrum, one who was a real Goth type with a predeliction to the funereal aspect of their lifestyle. In my own tastes, I think the the Lab has evolved way past Eternal in their approach to scent but I have to say that Eternal is indeed a good blend in the journey to the place where we are now.

Whoever said that Ravenous reminded them of Hunger, I second that emotion. Really close but gorgeous in their own way, like Hollywood Babylon is to Snake Oil. Ravenous might be billed as feral, but I take Hunger as the more feral of the two owing to the Black Narcissus in it. That is sort of stinky and civety. Ravenous doesn't have that stinky edge (which is pervertedly lovely by the way) but it does keep the deep sweetness owing to the grand red musk and perhaps patchouli. Orange really shines in Ravenous like it can't in Hunger. I love this blend. It would be an excellent Hunger in the summer, but it's not bad in the winter. It lasts very well and I think it's next in line for a 5ml order. Thanks to the lab for sending me this sweet treat. To Follow Up: After dabbing Ravenous on last night and going to bed with it on and waking up still able to smell that gorgeous fabulous enticing scent, I am in mad passionate irrational degrading love with Ravenous. I adore it. I would happily lie face down in the gutter reeking of Ravenous, but I don't think that will be necessary. I love this blend. And Furthermore... Funny that some people would talk about Ravenous and Karma (Lush) together. I see Ravenous as what Karma should have been. To me Karma always reminded me of the soap at Motel 6. I have been gifted with it by a multiplicity of kind hearted Lushies, always to privately think "Motel 6" every time I smell the damned stuff. I had to end up throwing away the soap sample I got because I was scared that I would look out the bathroom window and see Big Rigs parked outside in a field of weeds and a big honking highway full of fast travelling cars and that LONELY feeling you get when you are in the motel room. It's when you start thinking you hear the crunch of the ice machine and smell the bleach in the background that it's time to throw away that soap...it's driving you to road rage, girlfriend.

Pinier and less aquatic than Nuclear Winter, the two share a chilly background of mint-like notes which I think have more to do with fir than fur here in Snow Bunny. If Nuclear Winter was ultimately solemn, Snow Bunny is as giddy as its name. More of an upbeat Skadi with a big smile plastered to its face, I sort of smell candy in the background, the kind of peppermint and sugar which we all sneak at this time of year.Maybe there is a hint of orange or tangerine peel, this is the time for good citrus and good times. Snow Bunny delivers both to my nose. I really like this wintery scent and I'm not much on fir or mintiness and I go slow on orangy things, but Beth has brought them together so well that I have to say I'm glad I went in for this frivolous Yule treat. I'd also like to say that there is a pleasantly perfumy note to Snow Bunny which keeps it from being too Herbal Earth Shack, so it's something you would wear rather than just keep and look at. Nice stuff.

I agree with slave1. This is one for the rose lover only. It's a cross between the dry classic rose of London and the to-the-wall strength of Rose Red. Long lasting and heady, diluted by nothing and pure as an aspect of Love, Peacock Queen is wonderful. It radiates, is long lasting, and just plain gorgeous. Not overwhelming as Rose Red can be but with more throw than London usually gives. I smell greenery down in the depths of the blend, and that is what gives it a personality. I am glad I got this one for Yule.

A strange perfumy minty-like scent with quite a few florals and very aquatic. I can't sign up entirely for mint such as: peppermint, spearmint, catmint. It's more of a member of the mint family here to my nose, a pennyroyal or some kind of medicinal smelling lavender rather than suck-on-a-candy-cane mint. Then there is the huge aquatic note with its attendent perfume edge. I think I remember this from Yog-Sothoth. I get that green component (could that be green radioactivity?) mmm, green glowing snow! Don't eat it, and stay away from the yellow snow, too. This paints a good picture of a nuclear winter, frigid and barren with things growing from anothe part of the spectrum or a parrallel universe pushing weeds over to our side. I think it's a good performance peice, I don't think that anyone can paint a portrait in scent as well as Beth can. Sorry that this one isn't for me, but I am very happy I got to try it and it made for a facinating Yule package.

This stuff should be illegal! Straight out of the bottle it is so powerful it will melt your nasal cartilage. It is the most concentrated rose scent on earth and you MUST give it room and air space to settle in or you risk a heart attack on the spot. Once dry it radiates like roses in a greenhouse, the scent captured by still air, and the greenery surrounding it mixing with the smell of the blossoms. This is a buxom rose, one which has reached its maximum powers of allurement, full of enchantment, beguiling and almost heart stopping.

One of the prettiest and driest of the dragon's blood scents, orris is the perfect compliment and unexpected. I would never have thought to put the two together, but they should have been a force long ago. This blend stays for hours on your skin and makes dragon's blood sophisticated and sexy rather than that obvious component in the blend. If you like dragon's blood, try this blend out.

Well, pirates, this one is a fair representation of seafaring wenches. I smell the creosote and salt spray in here, and a waft of wickedness upon the high seas. Patchouli from India, a sort of stony scent, aquatics. It adds up to a hearty exotic blend which will have you thinking of head shops and the fun you had therein. It's a good scent, and for the earthy folk on the forum, I can certainly see how it has won a place in hearts. It isn't for me, but I would recommend it with vigor for those who want to put in at Hispaniola. Arrrr.

Lots of jasmine, very aquatic (how fitting), calm, a bit sentimental, this is like a horoscope reading in scent. Though it's not me, I can see how the hopeless romantic, with the easily broken heart, a fine psi ability, and the uncanny gift of picking up on other people's thoughts could love this one forever.

The king is my favorite of the entire card royalty. He reminds me a great deal of Perversion, but he isn't as pungent and doesn't try to impress you with coconut, though it is definitely in there. I can't see the vanilla, though it may be overwhelmed by the rest of the strong scent in this one, but I can get woods from The King, and that makes it a most attractive blend. He is much more attractive and suave than the Queen, and I wasn't expecting that. This one is a real keeper. There is something in turns grapey and green about this scent which leaves it in the masculine territory, though not so much as would cause me not to buy it if it ever came up again.

I wanted to love this one as I love the name and the concept. Alas, it was not to be. Redolent with jasmine, with a bitter almond fanfare announcing the entrance of that jasmine. Oh, at first I thought I would really like Luna. what a neat combination, so rarely done! But then tragedy struck, it turned on my skin like a snake and that wasn't good for my head. I would recommend this to jasmine fans, aquatic fans, and those who are hopelss romantics. This could be your Holy Grail. That almond opener is just inspired, and it's still original as it can be. My loss.

Jasmine for the most part in the mix, along with the juniper berry, and the rose geranium, and I get an impression of lavender in it all.It smells very "home made" to me. That can be charming, but I prefer the scents that say "I was made by a pro" rather than something that reminds me of my own best attempts on the kitchen table. Somehow I always always got lavender when I tried to mix scents myself. Sad to say, that has become the Scent of Chagrin to me. Means I didn't do it right, and I am sorry to say that association is rubbing off on Ligeia. Please excuse the icon name misspelling. I got an imp to try from a kind forumite and they misspelled the name of this blend on the label. I didn't catch it until I had made up the icon and was searching the forum for the reviews of this scent. I would go back to fix it but I doubt that it will get much comment, so I am letting myself off the hook. There is a butterfly with the name of Ligea, hence the icon.