k00kaburra

In bottle: Jasmine/rose, and the voodoo herbs that seem to be in every Voodoo blend. Oddly enough I'm not really getting the patchouli note the early posters mention. On me: Herby and voodoo green. Hints of what is probably pine, judging from what others say. It does smell a bit to me like cleaning fluid.

In bottle: Very masculine and herbal, this fragance clears my senses with one sniff. The rosemary is the strongest, then the citruses and the iris/narcissus, and the whole scent strikes me as very much a men's aftershave. On me: Very clean and green, with a bit of zest. It warms up with the skin's heat, morphing slightly - the medicinal aspects fade and the simply green of it becomes much stronger and spicier. I need a man to slather this on! It does make me think of Julius Caesar - this is definitely a fragrance he would wear. A man in a position of power should always smell this good.

In bottle: Odd. I don't know how to describe this. Smoky floral? It's almost like vetiver and lilies. It's just so...odd. On me: Thank goodness this is much better on the skin. The lilies are much stronger, but whatever was 'smoky' is gone. There's a light spicy floral, although I'm not sure what it is, and hints of green. I still wouldn't call this fruity, but there's a definite sweetness to it. What a complicated fragrance; it isn't for me but I would definitely recommend it to newbies when they're asking for scents that make BPAL unique.

In bottle: Peppermint and spearmint. I cannot detect ambergris or spanish moss in the bottle. Mint is always so powerful though; it's not really a surprise. Let's see what it does on my skin. On me: It's rather like a mint tea on me. The rich selection of mints blend together with some aquatic notes and the dusty green moss to provide an electrifying cold. I sniff this and shiver, but it is nice. Mint doesn't last very long on me; so I'll wait until it's all dried before finishing with my final review. Just kidding. This scent stayed minty for quite a long time! That was a lovely little surprise.

I had an imp of this before, but did not review it. Since I couldn't recall specifically why I didn't like it, I swapped for another imp of it. In bottle: Smoky incense and tropical blooms - the plumeria is by far the most prominant amongst these...possibly because this is the only note I know quite well. On me: It's very pretty. The incense isn't heavy and overbearing; this is a light and delicate over the bouquet of florals. I don't normally wear incense - it just doesn't suit me for day-to-day wear - so that must be why I got rid of it, but this is definitely beautiful and I'm so glad I tried it.

I've had this imp before but I swapped it away because I didn't care for it again. It arrived as a freebie and I know I ought to make a proper review, so here goes. In bottle: Very green and herbally, but I haven't a clue what is in it. It has the same definite herbal undernotes that all the Voodoo blends seem to share. My mind wants to say "Wormwood and licorice!" as to the contents; but I doubt that's accurate. It is what the fragrance makes me think, tho'. On me: Still quite herbally after one hour. People keep saying it changes to something powdery so I'm waiting and waiting but so far...nada. I'll keep it around a few more days to test for effects, but I don't care for the scent at all.

In bottle: Very crisp and zingy. There's the juiciness of the pomegranate fruit and the cool alcohol note. It triggers the memory of peach fruit roll-ups, tho'. Odd. On me: Uplifting is a good word for this. It's very refreshing - the alcohol note is almost ozone-y, which really makes this crisp and gives it a nice bite. The pomegranate is so fruity and delightful - not cloyingly sweet, but quite tart and hints of sourness. Perfect for a bouncy day!

In bottle: Dried roses and assorted mosses combine to form...apples? Man, my scent association is mad-crazy today. After the initial sniff my nose works again and the sense of apples is no more. Just dried rose petals sprinkled on the ground, probably over a grave. Mmmm. Disturbingly nice. On me: I really like the way the rose scent changes when it's dried. There's a sweetness and a crispness that doesn't come through in the same way in fresh or wet roses. Meanwhile, the oakmosses and earth give this such a unique scent - floral, but not at all typical. Almost a bit spicy - there's a hint of some sort of tartness, a bit of something extra in the way oakmoss blends in with the rest. I don't care to wear this, but I do appreciate the blend.

This'll be a bit of a gamble. Sometimes rose is delightful on me - Rose Red, for example - and other times it's simply terrible. Which will it be today? In bottle: Three roses? They're a bit light so far. The red musk is by far the dominant note, and the sweet amber is strong too. On me: Odd. I remember trying this before, and thinking I liked it then, but right now it's so faint I'm not at all sure. Again I can't detect any sort of rose at all - but the musk is certainly there. Hmmm. I may have to try this one again in a few weeks.

In bottle: Eh - banana? No, it's gone. Just a faint whiff of something that smelled like a soft, sweet, slightly overripe banana. I smell sticks now - thin young trees with light grey bark and pale green leaves. I know there's a couple of different wooden notes in here; I wonder which one is bringing this image forward? On me: Wow, I really like this one. Slightly floral, slightly wood, very green, almost fruity - it's a hard one to describe! Apparently it's quite a tricky blend - we've got a wide range of descriptions here. Hmmm...it's a bit of a chilly fragrance, like when spring is starting to bloom after the first thaw and there's still ice, dripping as it melts in the fresh sunlight.

Since this is known as Beth's favorite blend, it's got quite a reputation. I can't wiat to see how it lives up to it. In bottle: White bright vanilla, in which swims exotic spices and incense. Sandalwood? This is such a sweet spicy blend; I can't wait to see how it goes on. On me: It's spicy, but light - it isn't full of the darkness and heaviness I usually associate with spicy fragrances. I wish I wish I WISH I knew what specific spice notes were in this - I feel so silly repeating 'spicy' and 'spices' over and over. I just love how the vanilla sweetens the entire blend, and keeps it from being just another 'spice market' fragrance.

In bottle: Cream and ambrosia? Ah, wait. It is rich thick cream blended with spicy ginger. Tasty - it makes me lick my lips. On me: I can't really smell the honey. The ginger, softened and sweetened by cream and whatever 'ambrosia' is - I'm ashamed to admit I don't know how that would smell - is delightful. I expected this to be far more like Dana O'Shee - cream and honey dominating - but I really like this better. I love it when Beth's blends disagree with your imagination and surprise you like this!

In bottle: Mmmmm, banana. Synthetic banana, but for some odd reason I'm fond of that fragrance so it's all good. This is such a colorful, fruity scent - I can't wait to slather it on. On me: The banana becomes greener, more like a banana leaf. This is still definitely fruity, but much more subdued, like walking through a green garden with tropical fruits growing on the vine, just before they're fully ripened - rather than rich and overripe. That initial blast of fruit is fading away, being replaced with incense and wood. Faint tropical florals, but mostly this is wet rainforest wood - a good earthy-green scent for those who are a fan of those. Me, I'm a fruit freak, and wish the initial fragrance could have stayed.

In bottle: That patchouli and musk could just knock me over. This is an incredibly strong fragrance, muddy brown in appearance and dark and fearsome as I open the bottle. No wonder the gods fled Typhon - if this is how he smelled, I don't kow how anyone could come near. Not that this is necessarily a bad smell, it's just so overwhelmingly strong. On me: Patchouli and sandalwood; such a heavy incense smell. I can't even make out the vetiver; it's crushed under all these other spices. I think this might even be pleasant if it wasn't so strong. But it's just too much, far too heavy for me.

In bottle: Oh wow, what a weird fragrance. Green and bitter, like grass and grated lemon peel. Cinnamon and cloves waft up as well; spicy and bitterly green. On me: It goes oddly metallic on me. I had oral surgery last week and for some reason, this scent is triggering memories of the blood-soaked padding that covered my gums while they healed. The scent itself doesn't smell bloody, so I don't know why these memories are brought back so strongly. The scent itself is like metal and cloves. Either way, it's an unpleasant experience, influencial people drawn in or not.

In bottle: Smoky cedarwood and white sandalwood. Thank goodness for the sandalwood - it tempers the vetiver and keeps it from shrieking out of control. In my mind I am transported to a clearing in a dark, old forest, where the trees rise so tall and stretch their branches so wide that even though the ground is clear, the sky and sun are blocked by the trees' massive folliage. This clearing is the perfect setting for a Black Mass. On me: More of the same. Fans of smoky and wooden fragrances, rejoice! This one is for you.

In bottle: There's one bright note amongst a flood of murky, dark notes. The brief brightness is the orange and the bergamot, shining orange balls floating in the muck of ambergis and civet. On me: Everything becomes very subtle and well-blended as the oils fuse with my skin's chemistry. It is faded and muted, but sweet. The animalistic civet greatly sweetened by orange and bergamot makes this something I would not describe with 'dread.' It is almost like candy, but it's so masculine that candy doesn't seem right at all. Hmm. Very, very difficult to describe..

In bottle: White sandalwood and bergamot. I don't know what the technical difference between white sandalwood and regular sandalwood is, but this smells drier and lighter than normal sandalwood. It's such a dry fragrance; it makes me think of dusty bones and dried orange peels. On me: It's a bit sharper on the skin than in the bottle, at least initially. It's an unusual scent, but I like it quite a bit. It is feminine, but it doesn't scream "I AM PERFUME" to everyone in the room. It's a subtle scent, the sort that you smell and think "Oh, she smells nice" instead of "Oh, she's wearing a nice-smelling perfume."

In bottle: Eucalyptus. Spearmint. Grapefruit or neroli. This is a chilling fragrance, eerie as a shriek in the fog. On me: Fades to almost nothing instantly. The citrus notes remain - they seem more like lemon now - but the fragrance has sweetened and become candy-like. That was unexpected.

In bottle: Much foodier than I imagined it would be. I smell warm brown sugar. There are hints of flowers beneath it, light delicate blossoms. I am not familiar enough with the florals in this blend to indentify them individually. On me: Once it hits the skin the flower buds blossom and the strawberries peek out from between the petals. Ooo, tulips! It wasn't quite pink in the bottle, at least in my mind - but now that it's on me there is no other way to describe it. This is an explosion of color, bright pink, screaming out of the bottle. The sugar is dusted on top, but it isn't heavy or syrupy as before. It is light and beautiful - like the fragrance.

In bottle: Iris and civet. It's amazing how one drop of civet can take over a whole bottle. That stuff is something powerful, I tell ya. On me: It smells green and herby. The civet is still pretty strong, but the other notes are tempering it and blending with it. Later: ...blending with it to a powdery scent. It's very light - this fades quickly - but it's quite soapy now.

In bottle: Jasmine and juniper. Rather sweet and pretty. It makes me think of jasmine blossoms pouring over the edge of a tomb's entrance. Much brighter scent than I was anticipating. On me: This is nearly pure jasmine. Jasmine with hints of something green - again, probably the juniper - hiding in the back. All in all, this seems a bit generic to me.

In bottle: Dark cherries. Deep dark cherries and something almost menthol-y. On me: I stuck this on my boyfriend while he was sleeping - is that cheating? It's the only way I would've gotten him to try a perfume oil. After a few minutes the cherries faded and it became rather leathery. Leather + cherry = odd, but not unpleasant. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a love oil for him or for me, but he was snoring away rather than reacting, and I certainly didn't feel any more passionate than usual. So I curled up beside him and went to sleep.

In bottle: Whoa - quite spicy. The bay and vetiver are quite potent. No creamy gardenia do I yet find. On me: This is a very deep scent. It speaks of age, of ancient buildings with creaking wood beams, deep dark earth in the depths of forest. Again, the gardenia hasn't made an appearance, but the bay and vetiver are quite strong.

In bottle: Very sharp. It reminds me somewhat of paint remover. On me: Honestly I can barely smell this. Faint citrus and a lot of wildflowers springing up in a green field. It's definitely much stronger as a floral on me.