lady_pandora

This was a frimp from the Lab. Thanks Lab! During the first few minutes, I can't make out the notes in this at all. I mean, I can smell it, but I can't pick out and recognize anything. Old Scratch then dries down to something that reminds me of spice cookies. Did you know that the Devil smelled like spice cookies? "Come to the dark side. We have cookies." A little while later, the amber appears, in its baby-powder incarnation. Which is weird, because usually amber doesn't go all baby-powderish on me. There's also something vaguely citrusy. The evil cookies also stick around. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this one. I think it's one to try again at another time.

My skin is on crack. I'm getting orange. The orange starts out sharp and sour and then mellows down and becomes sweeter. Jasmine appears then, along with something vaguely incensey. The overall effect is a very close sibling to Forbidden Fruit. This is one to save for the summertime. Update, October 23, 2007 I'm currently on a mission to retry my underappreciated imps, which is about the only thing that appeases me when I'm waiting for a new order. Today, it was Siren's turn for a second chance. I don't know if it's the aging of the oil, a change in my nose, or what, but I'm not getting the oranginess or sourness I got last year. I'm definitely getting apricot as the dominant note, and it's so true and so juicy that I can almost feel the flesh of the fruit breaking between my teeth. Vanilla lurks just below the surface to round it out and tip it over to the "warm" side rather than the "cool." Ginger adds a bit of spice. Surprisingly, I can't really smell jasmine. Usually jasmine amps on me, but here it isn't making much of an appearance at all. Overall, this is quite lovely, reminiscent of spiced fruit, and much more "autumnal" than my first impression indicated. I'm also curious how it would layer with Bengal. I like this more and more as the day wears on. It might almost console me for being nearly out of my favorite spiced-fruit scent (Haunted Palace). It don't know that it really says "siren" to me (a cold, aquatic scent would fit the name more, in my head), but it definitely says YUMMMMMMM.

Right out of the bottle this is straight grape kool-aid, with violet following shortly on its heels. Over the next few minutes, the grape calms down to a more realistic, natural grapey scent. It never gets "winey" in the way that, say, Lilith or Black Tower does. It's definitely still grapes! As it dries, the impression I get is of the violet and the grape rolling over and over each other. It feels like the good fairies from Sleeping Beauty are standing over my arm saying, "Make it grape!" "Make it violet!" I wish I'd gotten some myrrh out of Purple Phoenix, but I do like this scent. The grape adds a juiciness to the violet, which can often seem dry to me. The blend works very well and I agree with the reviewers who have called it sensual. I get the mental picture of a regal woman lounging on an elegant sofa, dressed in purple satin PJs and enjoying a glass of wine and a good book. ETA: This is another one of those that seems more complex a few days later, when my "Squee! I have new BPAL" mood wears off and I'm not trying to test 10 scents at once. Wore it all by itself for the first time yesterday, and it's even better than I'd thought it was. And yes, Virginia, there is myrrh! The dominant notes at first *are* the grape and violet notes, with myrrh underneath and surfacing more as time passes, until about six hours later myrrh is dominant with the other two notes hanging around in the background. This is definitely regal. I'm thinking of ancient queens--Cleopatra, Dido, Semiramis. This is lovely.

Persephone/Proserpine is my patron goddess, I love this poem, I love most amber blends, so I definitely got my hopes up into the stratosphere for this one. As I awaited its arrival, I decided that there was no way it could live up to how good I thought it would be. I was sure that, whatever it smelled like, I would be disappointed. I was WRONG. Oh, sweet Goddess, I was wrong! *weeps for joy* Everything blends so well in this that I'm having trouble picking out notes. The amber doesn't dominate the blend like I'm used to; it cooperates with the other notes and gives a golden warmth to the blend. The fruits are lovely--there's a little wine I think, and a little bit of something almost candyish, which is probably pomegranate. Pomegranate is often kind of candyish on me. There's also a bizarre resemblance to Monster Bait: Underpants in the background, which says to me that sandalwood lurks somewhere hereabouts. That's what sandalwood usually does on me: it never amps to the point that I can actually pick it out, just adds an extra dose of warmth and golden richness to the proceedings. It doesn't change much over time; it loses a bit of the candy note and gains a slight powderiness, but not in a bad way. Elegant, womanly, sensual as all hell. If Persephone (the oil) is Persephone (the goddess) in her Maiden aspect, HtP is Persephone as Queen. And if she smells like this, no wonder Pluto carried her off. OMG. This is seriously perfect. I have about 8 oils dotted up and down my arms, in various stages of drydown, and I still keep sticking my nose back into Hymn to Proserpine. This is beautiful and it's in love with my skin and it's me and I could really see this becoming a signature scent for me. I think if I made a Top Ten list right now, I'd put HtP in the first five slots and let the rest of the oils duke it out for the other 5. Seriously. The image that comes to mind is kind of odd, but here it is: I picture an attic, maybe a little dusty, with late afternoon sunlight glancing through a small high window, with the dust motes dancing in the beam. I've found an antique gown up there, dusty rose, and it belonged to some long-forgotten ancestress of mine. I put it on and it fits perfectly. (I have an overactive imagination, what can I say?) I feel beautiful and sophisticated and timeless in this oil. I love it. Its only flaw is that it doesn't have a lot of throw. Big bottle. Stat. Because there will be slathering. Oh, yes, there will be slathering. ETA: There's more sandalwood a few hours after applying. And I am not complaining at all. Have I mentioned that I adore this scent? ETA #2: I tried to wear this every day for the first week after my order arrived, and every single time, I got a splitting headache. I even had a headache the first time I tried it, but I chalked it up to sensory overload; I'd tried a lot of oils that day and figured I'd worn out my poor head! But the headache has happened enough times now that it can't be a coincidence. This sucks. I loved this oil so much.

Hamadryad, on me, smells like licking stamps. Over the course of an hour, it morphs from stamp glue to spearmint gum. My friend's bottle of this smells delightfully autumnal and not at all like stamp glue. The verdict: Age it and see what happens.

It's funny how BPAL oils have a way of finding you just when you need them. I'd actually tried Aeval before and been left with a bland, not-very-memorable impression--then again, I'd had about 8 other oils on my arm at the time. And if I've learned anything about BPAL over the last year and a half, it's that if you have 9 oils on your arm, you can't necessarily get an accurate impression of any of them... Fast forward to yesterday. I'd been angsting all week. Long story, but suffice it to say that I was pondering how to successfully integrate my sexual self with the part of myself that demands respect and dignity. I went to a party and gave two imps to a male friend, and he gifted me with an imp of Aeval. I hadn't actually expected this guy to give me anything. So I was thrilled about the freebie, naturally, and also thought Aeval was an excellent concept for me at the moment, considering the myth behind it. So I decided to give it another chance. Wet, Aeval is pretty much all sweet pea. It's very girly and sort of a clean, nice-body-wash sort of scent. After about an hour, musk rises to the surface, and I get a sexier vibe from it as the warm musk balances out the light girliness of the sweet pea. It takes about another hour for tonka to appear. When it does, it brings a lovely vanilla-esque aroma to the blend. It does mostly drown out the musk, but blends so well with the sweet pea that I don't mind much. The mixture of floral and vanilla is similar (though different, as it's different flowers) to the effect pf Le Serpent qui Danse on me, with the added bonus that unlike Le Serpent it lasts more than fifteen minutes. The scent continues as a warm, sensual, but not-overpowering sweet pea/tonka blend for about six hours on me. Throw is moderate. Then, just before it vanishes, it's all sweet pea again for one last second wind. I really like this one. It works well for the faery queen of the same name, I think, with the ethereal quality of the floral and the earthy, sexy quality of the musk and tonka. It's delicate yet dignified, sensual without being in-your-face. I think I'll wear it in spring, and whenever I feel the urge to get my regal temptress vibe on.

I concur that Forbidden Fruit is not at all apple-y. It's more orangey and lotusy. I do like it, but it's utterly apple-free. I haven't found a really appley scent yet, sorry! Brisingamen is kind of appley on me, but it's apple blossom, and the amber dominates it anyway.

I used to have very long hair, and when I did, I had a reputation for having the best-smelling hair in my circle of acquaintances. My secret: I'd braid it damp for work, then unbraid it after work, and it would release this lovely cloud of shampoo-smell into the general vicinity. How is this relevant? Because Baba Yaga smells exactly like fresh, clean, shampoo-y hair for about the first hour on me. It's amazing. Such a refreshing and "damp" scent, perfect for warmer weather. And the image is apt, because aren't witches supposed to be able to call up storms by unbraiding their hair? So, yay for the hair-unplaiting imagery I'm getting here. After about an hour, I think i'm getting vetiver. Uh-oh. Though I must say, this is the best-behaved vetiver I've ever met. It doesn't smell bad, really, just kind of heavy and dark and, well, vetiver-y. (Maybe vetiver needs its partner in crime, black patchouli, to reach its full potential for icky badness on my skin, lol.) Unfortunately, however, within a few minutes of vetiver's appearance, it completely drowns out the shampoo smell. It isn't bad but it's not "me," and I wish the shampoo would come back. It's just as well that I didn't fall in love with this one, I guess, seeing as how I only got to try it because someone was nice enough to let me play with her imp of it!

I can't pick out exactly what notes I'm smelling here, but the Apothecary gives me the mental picture of a garden wet with rain. I ought to order some of this before spring comes; it would be perfect for then. Lovely, fresh, and subtle.

From the bottle to my arm, from wet to dry, Yemaya is pretty much 100% watermelon bubble gum on my skin. I think it would make an excellent scent for the dog days of summer.

Rome makes me think of a house built of golden-yellow stone, with roses climbing the walls, lit by warm sunlight. This is just very, very lovely. The rose is the only note that jumps out and says "Hi, my name is Rose!" The other notes just sort of create a golden glow in the background, warm and comfortable and just plain happy. It fades quickly, as rose often does on me, but I don't mind reapplying! I need to get some of this at some point, methinks.

Oh, and The Apothecary! It's a very fresh green scent that makes me feel like I'm in a garden right after a rain.

Wow, this scent and my chemistry just do not get along. Wet, this reminded me a lot of an expensive department store perfume. It felt a little like something I might envision on an older woman, but not bad. About ten minutes after putting it on, it was more of an expensive department store men's perfume. I think this was the vetiver coming out to play; every time I sniff my wrist and think "Eau de Man!," vetiver is the culprit. And my skin is amping it like crazy, drowning out the rest of the notes. It's not as aftershavey as vetiver sometimes goes on me, but still pretty masculine, and my skin is amping it way too much. Ten minutes later, I smell like expensive men's cologne plus CIGARETTE SMOKE. I was expecting to see tobacco among the listed notes, and thought Beth had made a bit of an olfactory pun (smoking=death), but I can't find it in the list, so I'm guessing this is yet another unfortunate thing that vetiver does on my skin. Occasionally, I can deal with smoke in a perfume if I like the other notes enough, but in this case the smokiness is smothering the rest of the perfume as my skin amps it beyond all reason. It's kind of icking me out and giving me a headache, and it's so strong on me that I'm having trouble getting it off. I think this would smell pretty good on a man, or on someone who liked vetiver or had skin that didn't amp vetiver as much.

I was craving a wintry scent, and a friend graciously decanted me an imp of Talvikuu! Wet, this is PINE PINE PINEY PINE. Actually. kind of too much pine and kind of smells like a men's aftershave. I decided to wait it out and see what happened next. Over the next hour or so, a minty note slowly crept in next to the pine. Then, the oddest thing happened--my skin somehow found a warm, second skin note, almost a musk, somewhere in the oil. It never quite surfaces above the pine and mint, just sort of lurks there, but it's a very comforting scent. The second skin note is only evident right next to my wrist. The throw is mostly green, chilly pine and mint. My caveat is that the throw is "corrupted" a little by the fact that I still have the last vestiges of Cerberus on from this morning. And they mingle better than I might have expected. It's weird. Cerberus is my warm-blanket-and-cocoa scent and Talvikuu is the cold itself, but they're not really fighting each other and I kind of like the effect. The Patented Pandora Ozone Headache never shows up, despite the fact that reviews indicate that ozone is an ingredient in this oil. Maybe I've finally found an ozone I can wear. Then again, maybe it's because I'm only wearing a little bit and I'm not wearing it behind my ears or on my neck, but (literally) at arm's length Either way, though, I'm not complaining about the lack of headache. This scent kind of reminds me of road-tripping through the Rockies in winter, with al the evergreens draped with snow. It does fall on the masculine side of the spectrum, more so than my most-loved oils, and so I doubt I'll wear it frequently. But part of what I like about Talvikuu, paradoxically, is that it's so different from my usual BPALs and so it has a niche to fill, as it were. I think I'll wear this from time to time when I really want to embrace the cold rather than insulate myself from it with my usual warm ambers and stuff. As I write this, we're getting our first big snow of the year. It's supposed to be 6-12 inches by tomorrow morning. Seems quite fitting that I have this on.

I've heard that Lyonesse is close. Which is why I'm coveting Lyonesse at the moment.

I recommend Empyreal Mist for your damp green plant needs. I've also heard good things about Dublin. Megaera was bizarrely green and wet on me, but I think that was a chemistry fluke.

Le Serpent was given to me by a friend as a gift. I like violet (especially when I'm in a light, flirty, girly mood) and vanilla is usually a good bet with my skin, so while I'd never thought of combining the two, I figured Le Serpent would agree quite nicely with my skin. I wasn't disappointed. I can't really pick out the gardenia--I think it's blending in with the creaminess of the vanilla--but this is a lovely blend. The vanilla adds a rich roundness to the violet, making it softer and more mellow than other violet scents, like Marie. The only trouble is that it has little throw and little staying power on me.

Megaera is really, really green on me. I'm looking at the notes, and I'm trying to figure out how my skin conjured up this greenness from these notes, especially since I'm usually an amber amping machine. I'm guessing it must be orris. I'm not that familiar with the scent of orris; if I recall correctly, it's an iris root? *scratches head* Anyway, it smells pretty good, if a touch medicinal in a soothing sort of way, like an aloe lotion you put on when you have a sunburn or something. And the "green" quality works well with Meg being the Jealous One. I'm just not sure it's *me*... I get the idea it might be, like Undertow, the kind of scent I could wear when I had a headache.

This is a lovely, mellow, girly scent. I think it's perfect for the Lady in question. My skin loves honey, so that's the predominant note that comes out on me. I also get a whiff of rose and some other flowers I can't identify, and it also smells sort of milky, but thankfully without the mysterious ick I got from Milk Moon. Lovely, peaceful, and sweet.

*reads notes* OK, no wonder this smells like Sed Non Satiata. My skin amps dark musks and honey, so I'd get a big whammy of those out of both scents. This scent? Is love. Wet, I get mostly cinnamon, with a mellow but undefinable sort of sweetness underneath it keeping it from smelling like Red Hots. As this dries down, cinnamon stays around, but I also get ginger, and the yummy dark musk/honey combo that loves, loves, loves my skin. It's a lot like SNS, like I said, with the difference being that SNS has patchouli and Bengal has the spices, but the musk and honey are similar, and I get the same sort of yummy "nuttiness" from Bengal as I did from SNS as well. A definite keeper! It does go mostly honey after a few hours, but I can always reapply it!!!

Beth manages again to concoct a blend that smells good on me despite the presence of my No. 4 nemesis, black patchouli. (Nos. 1-3 being ozone, vetiver, and lemon, lol.) Wet, this smells "green." I can't pick out any notes; it just smells...planty. Herby. If that makes any sense. I'd resigned myself to thinking it was sort of "eh..."--then I smelled my wrist again ten minutes later. Oh. My. God. Again, I can't seem to pick out the notes and tell you exactly what is so amazing on me, but this is spicy and earthy and sexy as hell. I could have just sniffed my wrist all night long. I love, love, love this. Edit, six years later. I've had the wildest range of experiences wearing Desire, from my initial swoony reaction to the time I made the mistake of trying to wear it during my monthly and the patchouli acted up and made me want to yak. I felt like I'd finally gotten enough distance from both extreme reactions that I could retry the scent and see if it was worth keeping around. Desire starts out with a beautiful, sexy combination of the neroli and patchouli, with what smells like spices accenting it. I love it. It's a "compulsive wrist-sniffing scent." ...For about an hour. And then something in it turns to powder and wipes out the rest of the notes. I can't tell what note is going powdery. Maybe it's the musk? The powdery effect is most noticeable at my wrists, and not even just my mousepad wrist, but both of them. It stays truer at the neck, and over the next few hours I would occasionally get a waft of the neroli/patch combo if I turned my neck. That was nice. But to combat the powder at the wrists, I found myself reapplying it often to get back that sexy effect, and the constant reapplying got a little annoying. My overall impression of Desire is that it's like filmy, diaphanous lingerie that's really only meant to last long enough to be torn off. It's a great sexy pick-me-up to put on just before jumping the boyfriend. But it doesn't have the durability to be worn all day as an everyday item.

This one did not work on me at all. I got rotten fruit and cigarette smoke. I had to wash it right off. Sorry, lab! I guess I was just not meant to be Depraved...

In the bottle: Cinnamon madness! Wet: Red Hots, or Big Red gum. 100% cinnamon. Drydown: The cinnamon remained strong, but the musk note began to gradually rise to the surface. Dry: Musk and cinnamon, and they blended pretty well. My friend M. said it smelled great on me; I insisted it smelled like my grandmother. It's a weird quirk of some musk notes; they interact with my skin chemistry and smell just like my grandmother's perfume, which contained a lot of musk. M. insisted that it smelled good, but alas, smelling like my grandmother just doesn't make me feel sexy. I mean, she was a wonderful lady, but it doesn't mean I want to smell like her. I ought to get over this; it stands to reason that she and I would have similar body chemistry, seeing as we were related and I take after her a great deal. *sigh*

For a dark, rich orange scent, see if you can score some Haunted Palace via sale or swap. I love that stuff.

Lorelei would probably be good--haven't tried the others on your list, but Lorelei is a very fresh and green blend to me, and has lots of ylang ylang in it. I actually thought I hated ylang ylang until I tried Lorelei; I was more familiar with cheap drugstore ylang ylang, which smells awful. Lorelei introduced me to the joys of real, quality YY. She might also like Pannychis, if she can deal with the jasmine.