olympia301

This one is rose, all righty, with a sort of lemongrass smell underlying it all. I am such a rose snob that I should not go on about Lucy's Kiss (I love London..there I said it *sigh*). I don't get the spices under it all but the green of a lemongrass, and the lemony kick of it, I get. On the right person this would do wonders.

Very difficult blend to describe very well. I fancy I smell amber in here, and a flowerly sort of scent but it's like a hay flower, if that makes any sense.I can say herbal and perhaps there is either frankincense or myrrh. I am as much at a loss as some of my other colleagues. It reminds me more of a ritual than a perfume blend, but you wouldn't be considered freakish if you wore it to work.

This one is a pretty raucus blend, yes it would be at home in Vegas, baby. It's strong and floral, rather perfumy and ready for action. It does have a harmony in the blend that is appealing, in other words there isn't anything that smells out of place here, or like "that smells good but I don't get the note just bobbing around". I can see what some people said about hairspray, but I find that one of Stardust's most appealing parts.

I have to admit, this blend is pretty hard to pick apart, I have to call it floral and have to second the emotion that it is an '80's sort of scent: stong and full of musk, the hallmark of the "looking out for #1" sort of dame.

This one is really hard to describe. I think I am smelling neroli in the blend but it all comes together so well that you can't pick out single notes. I have smelled this sort of thing before, but can't quite put my finger on it. There is a freshness to it (perhaps a green note, but a very small one in the background). It doesn't resemble Queen Mab or Phantom Queen or Regan at all, this is an entirely different sort of an orchid. There is definitely a perfumy/soapy scent to Shadow Witch and it would do very nicely for the floral fans out there, no question.

In terms of the non-scent aspects of this one: the name is outstanding, the bottle art is absolutely wonderful (one of Macha's very best regarding: images, fonts, layout and execution), the presentation of bottle/art/and concept is a real winner. Just as an art object, it is a winner from every point of view.

The icon is a Tacca Chantrieri which is not an orchid but one of the most exotic plants you could grow. It is also known as the "bat plant" and takes over a year from planting the seed until you get a blossom like the one in the icon, IF you are a very very good gardener.

A very simple and likable blend consisting of roses, roses, roses and cinnamon. They combine very easily and I think that Beth has taken advantage of the spiciness of the classic rose here. It is a sexy smell in a drawing room way, and I appreciate an almost edible backlash to it which makes it much nicer than the average rose smell. That cinnamon also keeps it from being boring (like Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose which can cloy very quickly). This one may not be one of the Lab's newest scents, but it is a very well made presentation of an old concept...just when you thought nobody could say anything new about roses.

The icon is a piece of Hogarth's The Harlot's Progress, a cautionary tale for young ladies.

Neroli dominates this blend on me to the point that I can scarcly smell anything else in it. The carnation makes a valient attempt to get some attention but, neroli fights it back for center stage. I never got vanilla, stephanotis or anything else. Perhaps there was some sweet pea flitting around in the background but it was awfully subtle. This blend reminds me of something I smelled long ago but I can't name it. If you have a tender spot for neroli, try Terpsichore. It's very young and springlike.

The icon is the cat from the flash "film" I'm a Kitty Cat and I Dance, Dance, Dance.... Since Terpsichore is the muse of dance, I thought this was appropriate.

Very pretty and somehow subtly floral, Euterpe has been blended so well that none of her parts outshine the others. True you can smell the carnation a bit but the rest of the mix has become a new entity.This is a close to the skin variety of floral, with a somewhat silk like scent. I would highly recommend a scent locket for wearing this though it doesn't vaporize, it does tone down quite a bit and you would want to be able to smell it distinctly.

Though vanilla isn't listed as a component of Euterpe, there are parts of it that give me a creamy vanilla-like portion to this blend, and I have to say the same thing to all the cassia lovers out there....don't pass this one by if you are a fan of Red Phoenix. There may be no cassia in Euterpe but there is something which reminds me of it.

Euterpe has a bit of a girly edge to it that I find attractive, not bubble gum like, but in a profusion of flowers in harmony. I would definitely say that if you have a chance, give this new muse blend a try.

Most of the time I am indifferent to florals, but Asphodel is so well done and so tantalizingly familiar that I have to say it's sitting in my new top 10. It is beautiful and sophisticated, strong but not overpowering, persistent as the scent of flowers on the breeze, but not jammed in the drawing room.

Ok, so what does it smell like Ms. Golden Nose? Uhhh, hard to say. I liken it to lilac and lemon. The lilac is certainly not cloying. There could be some honeysuckle in here but that's debatable. Daffodil may be in here as well. Beth didn't give us any clues in the description. This one is worth the trouble to buy a bottle, and if you are pining away in the middle of winter for spring and its flowers, Asphodel is the ticket for you!

The icon is indeed an asphodel. The font I used was Asphodel, too. This particular flower was photographed on the island of Malta. The real flower isn't black, it's white but I took a bit of artistic license here. C'mon, it's supposed to be a flower from Hell...use your imagination.

This one was way too extreme for me. It did indeed remind me of 13 with the combination of chocolate and mandarin orange. Alas, there is something about that combo which does not love me. I don't even buy those sectioned orange flavored Dutch chocolate treats at Xmas time, so I am afraid, as much as I wanted to love Great Sword, it did not love me. I am sorry to say that I didn't get anything else in here either. That is a shame...wish I had.

A touch of sweet berry under fir, maybe. It's not just a hard old pine smell, it's far richer and more complex. I like it, not as a perfume but as an all around scent to remind you of the best parts of winter, that there is sweetness in the dry ice. Much much nicer than you might expect from anything having a coniferous note.

The label is so fitting and so well done, from the font to the image it is great design. Also, thanks for putting the month and year on the lunars. I am not sure that was being done before but it is so nicely reliable now and well presented.

Now I know what cassia smells like and it answers a great many of my questions. I think there was a lot of cassia floating around in many of the Chaos Theory II blends. Mine was very cassia heavy and I had no idea of what it was. With the advent of Blood Moon, now I know...

This is a cousin to cinnamon on my skin, warm yet not of this world, Blood Moon gives me a shot of musk like background but it is Cassia and I can't get around that one. I can't get notes of anything else out of here, alas I cannot pick up the sandalwood or cinnamon buns or whatever others declared is in here.

This is a great blend for conjuring up the misty and scary night, though and I am very happy I got to try it out and have fun with it.

This one is (as others have pointed out) much like Blood Moon. I am guessing the cassia which makes an appearance in both. In Red Phoenix, the red musk is in full force as well, which adds the soft background persistance to the blend. Red Phoenix strikes me as surprisingly spice and resin free despite what I just said, a fact that I'm not used to with BPAL blends. It is more of a traditional type of blend, and I mean that in a good way, and not "alternative" at all to my nose. In some odd ways, I get the feeling of Buck Moon here, please don't think I mean they resemble each other, they don't; but there is a reliance on musk in Red Phoenix, which is a bit of a departure for the Lab. Very well done and I think it will be a hit.

My favorite of the three phoenixes and it's exactly what I wanted Pink Moon to be and is in some ways. I love this piles of sugar, strawberry, a bit of bubblegum, candy, a villainous vanilla darting around in the background and nothing...I mean nothing serious or po-faced about this one. It came for the fun and it is out of this world great on me. I think I smell the pear when it's half way dry, but only if you put your nose down on it directly.

Pink Phoenix has tremendous throw on me and it lasts a fairly long time. So, I think I will put it in a scent locket as well as slathering it on. I thoroughly am enjoying this scent and I am so happy I got lots of it because it isn't coming around again. Thank you Beth for Pink Phoenix, it is just what I needed.

Wow, what a neat project, Macha! I love the inspirations you get when you are confined to such a small territory! Great use of space and detail that is delightful! I love the Rat King's claw! That was excellent. The Phoenix's, I am so happy I got red and pink, and happier too that black will have the same label as well.

I really think your artwork is adding so much to the fun and experience of BPALling. I love the ones you did that I bought. You add a great dimension to the scent, bringing in the sense of sight as well as smell.

OK, I do have one wish...I wish we could get tee shirts of our favorite labels. Yes, that is one more person adding more work to an already overworked group of people, and I don't appreciate that any more than anybody else does, but still I felt it needed to be said. Yes, Puddin' has every right to mail himself to Cincinnati, jump out of the box and punch me in the nose for even thinking that, but just put me down as the hedonist I am and let it go that I love your labels and all your artwork.

Posters? Coffee mugs? Bumper stickers? Car air fresheners?*

*Do not laugh at this last one, I did it on my own and got a big laugh out of it in the art circles. "How DARE she?" *snert*

Oh, and I did do bumper stickers, too. So far the guys in Art in America haven't contacted me to tell me that I am as crass as Jeff Koons, but they are just ignoring me; Jean Baudrillard loves his.

New Orleans is my favorite city in America. I love this place and scent was a HUGE part of my experience in NOLA. Alas, I knew that the BPAL New Orleans would not be my cup of tea but I had to try it anyway, and though my taste in perfume is what keeps me from loving New Orleans, there is a real reminder in here of the place I loved and lost.

Jasmine is the main player, coupled with honeysuckle, that will convince you of the South, no doubt about it. Floral to the limit and over the top, yes that is the scent and the city.

My problems with New Orleans stem from what I remember as its smell: osmanthus. That is the Sweet Olive tree which grows downtown and all over and blooms when you most need it, in January and the winter months. It bears tiny green 4 petaled flowers in clusters and releases the most exquisite and strong perfume you can imagine. It smells very much like what we would call "apricot" but it is glorified apricot. I know the smell well, when you step out of the airport in New Orleans in January, you are greeted by osmanthus, and I fancy its scent travels all the way from the trees downtown out to the airport (although they probably are planted at the airport). I also grow pots of osmanthus on my windowsill and it's a blooming profusion now. To me that is New Orleans, maybe it shares the spotlight with lilies but for me osmanthus is New Orleans.

Severn is MADE by the leather and lemon. Without the leather the lemon is just Pledge phffft. Combining them was an act of genius.

This one is the most "big perfume house" blends I think the Lab has ever come up with. That is a compliment. In the bottle, Jacob's Ladder is deceptivly light. You think you are going to have to bathe in it to get it to broadcast at all. Don't despair, it is getting ready. Once it touches my skin it turns into a very sophisticated blend that would be at home on the chi chi counters of Saks Fifth Avenue or anywhere else for that matter. I can't pick out the individual notes in here, just let's say it's blended with the master's hand so you are not supposed to be able to pick out the stray hairs.

I am getting a quasi menthol scent from it, or could that be a lavender type scent. The amber is adament in the depths. I am not familiar enough with the rest of the notes to say I smell them each and every one.

Jacob's Ladder is inviting, it does go to powder on me in a beautiful way and I also mean that as a compliment, too. The only thing that makes me stop for a second is it might be too masculine for me. This is an ideal man's blend. There is just something about it that says "Mr." to my nose. I think it has at least on ingredient that reminds me of Royal Copenhagen and that's where I am picking up the "man's blend" idea.

Pretty greenish, ozoney, and aquatic. Chaos Theory XI is very much like the one I got originally without the grassy notes. This is a shifting and purposefully indestinct blend which leaves you guessing as to what the heck it is. XI seems to go out of its way to avoid classification and keep you saying, "I wonder what this is?"

(Previously reviewed by zenvodunista.)

Wow, this is the personality of BPAL in a bottle. Almond start, cherry undertones, resins ooy gooey resins sliding around and doing the bidding of the master perfumer. This one is a real classic BPAL scent. I often think of resins as being cellos in the orchastra, and nobody plays them better than Beth. Really, she is the one who can make any resin sit up and do her bidding.

This is a delightful, decadant, slightly medicinal (in a thoroughly naughty way I can assure you), long lasting, dark and giddy scent. Smells particularly good when you get it as a mere whiff, too.

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).