oakmoss

This one (LVII, 57) is a true shapeshifter. Cherry cola in the bottle, then delicious fresh fruitiness on my skin... melon, peach, maybe a bit of pineapple, just a yummy fruit salad without being overwhelmingly sweet or syrupy or cloying in any way. Now, after about an hour, there's very faint amber-vanilla undertone, warming the fruit and making it richer -- hey, it's the buttery crust! There's a fruit tart on my wrist!

When I was growing up in Southern California, my mother had a rose garden in our backyard, with 100 different rose bushes. One of these was always much smaller than the rest, a single silvery lavender rose with the most profoundly perfect rose scent on its rare blooms, only one or two at a time. Two Five & Seven is lying on the grass and burying my face in a bouquet from all those rose bushes, with just one of the intense lavender roses nestled among them. Not overpoweringly rose-scented or powdery or headachey or sneezy -- just velvety petals against my face and the grass and the birdsong and the empty hours of childhood...... and maybe a game of croquet later when it cools off.....

I usually can't wear the sharper scents, as they become too "perfume strip" harsh on my skin, but I keep trying them, and I'm so glad I did! The Apothecary is so fresh and green, like cut grass at first, then gentle herbal notes, with a very faint sweetness -- not really floral, but with enough of that softness to temper the sharper elements. This is a very cooling and refreshing blend, a good scent for summer. I'm definitely getting a big bottle!

I tried this last night as a dream oil after my bath. On my way to bed I kept smelling my wrists, this dry warm dragon-sweetness so delicious and rich, and as I drifted off to sleep I had the thought that this scent is like the world's best baby powder -- the baby powder they use in heaven, the baby powder infant goddesses are sprinkled with, the powder used on baby dragons.... I adore this blend.

(And my dreams were vivid and full of portents too....)

I've been playing with the Tarot of Prague recently, so I was especially interested in this scent, though the individual notes had me a bit worried. But I really like this blend. It's a deliciously light floral with a cool watery feeling, like a garden by a deep river or an ancient stone fountain. A beautiful perfume for summer and for days when I want to soothe my spirits in a quiet way.

Even though they have no notes in common as far as I know, my first thought upon smelling this on my skin is that this is like Alice's older sister. The same curious spiciness overlaying earthy sweetness, but with more of an edge, more heat, less light. While I generally wear Alice to put me in a better mood, I think I'd be more likely to wear Masabakes when I'm in a bad mood and don't give a damn.

A warm dry scent, with a whiff of sweet cedar like the inside of a very old cigar box, and incense amber underneath. There's also a feeling of earthiness, rather like a pinch of Graveyard Dirt is in the mix. I wanted to choose something sunny and golden for summer solstice today, but this is a deeper gold, meditative and quietly powerful.

This is a lovely blend. It starts out rather bolder, more spicy-flowery, then dries down into a more powdery softness that is quite comforting. It's like walking through a Moroccan marketplace in the heat of the day, smelling all the spices and blossoms, then settling down for a luxurious long nap with warm breezes blowing through the open windows... it's like that....

I had a really hard time smelling ANYthing on this one, either in the imp or on my skin. I kept applying more and more, as I wanted to wear it to bed, and... nothing. The very faintest scent of lettuce, softly green and cool. I thought maybe I was just stuffed up, but when I applied some Baku it was as strong as usual, so... I think I got one of the special invisible rabbits -- or perhaps he was so very very late (oh, my ears and whiskers!) that he zoomed off before I had a chance to smell him. I'll try again later, or perhaps with a new imp from the lab.

I'm surprised no one mentioned it, but The Red Queen was ALL cherries and almonds on me.

You know, there are some astrological theorists who perscribe to the belief of 12 celestials for 12 signs... meaning that two of them haven't been found yet.  Yes, I'm guilty of reading Linda Goodman.  Maybe I just don't *want* to see Virgo share a scatalogical planet with Gemini. 

 

I remember reading somewhere that the planet for Virgo is actually the asteroid belt... meaning the planet is nonexistant!  Oh phoo!

Another theory about the planet for Virgo (and I'll preface this by saying that the theory predates Star Trek ) is that Virgo's ruling planet is Vulcan. When Vulcan is discovered and comes more into our planetary consciousness, Virgo will lose some of the more hyper-picky perfectionism (which comes from a speedy, nervous planet like Mercury ruling a sign that naturally tends toward more depth and wisdom) and realize its full potential. Soooo, you think we're superior and smug NOW? Watch out!

I've liked all the woodsy blends I've tried so far (Black Forest, Mistletoe, etc.), but this one tops them all. There is a depth and magic to the tree-essence here, appropriate for the World Tree, which reaches as far below the ground as above, connecting the worlds. I was reminded of elves -- this is a scent that would be right at home in Rivendell. If you know Mermade Magical Arts incenses, this also reminded me of Druid's Grove -- a blend of oak, willow, juniper, mistletoe, fir, cypress, pine, cedar, birch, and some other oils and resins. I'm definitely getting many bottles of this.

I really really wanted to love this -- the name, the concept, everyone's reviews all made me excited to finally try it. In the bottle, deliciously fresh and aquatic, peaceful, a really beautiful scent. It stayed that way for a few seconds on my skin and then morphed into a very unpleasant sort of rotted floral smell, very much like when you leave stems in a vase too long! And of course, I had slathered myself with it in the first moments of infatuation.

I was on my way to bed, so I decided to let it continue to evolve and see if that rotting scent would morph again. Restless anxious dreams for a couple of hours, then wide awake at 2am, the scent having morphed into a very strong white floral -- tuberose? -- with that undercurrent of decay. I'm going to try it again on a locket or something, because chemically we are not a good mix! I almost didn't post this, but I was curious if anyone else got that bad-vase-water reaction.

Strong cocoa in the bottle, but that changed on my skin almost instantly to sort of a generic nutty-foody scent, like nougat, which made me go "ick ick" -- and then it morphed again into very spicy darkness, not coffee or cocoa, but evocative of them. I can see the association with the Day of the Dead that some have mentioned here -- it does feel like an offering for the ancestors. I'm not quite sure if it's me yet -- I think I'll try it again in the autumn.

Thanks, everyone! I'm going to ask the moderators to pull this post now. I appreciate your help!

(Moderators, please delete this if it's not appropriate here -- I did go sniffing around for a better place to put it! )

I just got two 5ml bottles from the Arkham collection. One of them is full about halfway up the neck (where the little ledge is) and the other is full to just below the "shoulder." Is that normal, or did the lesser bottle maybe not get as much as it was supposed to? The only reason I care is because this is one I'm 99% sure I want to trade for another LE, and even though I haven't tested it, it rather looks like I did, at least to me. I've only gotten bottles on eBay or in a forum swap before, when I knew they had been tested. What is the normal fullness for a brand-new lab-sent bottle?

Try this: Penitence dried down for about half an hour, then add Marie on top of it. Penitence cuts the rose in Marie, leaving you with a very rich violet with a hint of myrrh underneath. Delicious!

I love the resin-based spicy scents -- they are so dark and rich and steady. Very little change between the bottle, first application, and drydown. The warmth is already there, and the warmth of my skin only seems to intensify this blend's throw, which is considerable! It wafts up like incense is smoldering on my wrists. A very calming, comfortingly spiritual scent, soothing to the heart and mind. I can see this being used ritually or at bedtime for peaceful sleep.

I've used this a few more times now.  I don't know if I'm imagining it but it seems like as soon as I put this on I get a little dizzy. 

Yes! That happened to me too. The initial impression in the bottle was that the scent was so light and ephemeral that I would need to use a bit more than usual to get me through the night, so I applied it to wrists, temples, and fifth chakra (where dreams originate, according to some traditions). I often have anxious dreams and occasionally full-blown nightmares, and since I started using the BPAL oils at night I've noticed a definite change, so I was looking forward to trying the sleep blends.

I didn't get the anise/fennel connection, but the lavender was there, along with a floral I couldn't identify -- linden, maybe? I invoked as suggested: "Baku, please eat my bad dreams!" When I woke in the night for the second time after major anxiety dreams, I had the thought that if you weren't having nightmares in the first place, Baku starts munching on your head! I think I will tuck this one in the nightstand drawer in case of nightmares, rather than taking it as a preventive dose, and see if that makes a difference!

I wonder if Beth reads through these reviews and chuckles at all the guesses about what's in these mystery perfumes?

In the bottle, just light, flowery, beckoning... nothing specific. But in the first moment it touched my skin, LILAC, like burying my face in a dew-damp branch of the spring's first lilac. Alas, that lasted for a few fleeting moments, and now it's morphed into more of a mixed bouquet, sharper and somewhat powdery. It's nice, but I don't love it yet, perhaps because I'm just disappointed the lovely lilacs went away!

Hexennacht being directly across the Wheel of the Year from Samhain, it's like the veil parted and let a smoky whiff of those autumn fires through, losing the fruitiness in favor of a faint undertone of spring flowers. It's so dark and rich and mysterious. I am utterly in love with this scent. Of all the BPAL perfumes I've tried so far, this is my favorite and the one that feels most like me. Must find a big bottle! Five big bottles! How, oh how, did I miss the LE when it was offered? Beth, please bring this one back!

I was just thinking about this today too, doing an imp pack for my 18-year-old niece. Velvet is a great scent in the "foody' category, with just enough chocolate to make you go yum but not enough to make someone ask, Are you eating chocolate?

I think I'd pay attention to names of scents for a newcomer, and not choose things like Embalming Fluid, or other names that provoke an ewwww response or worse.

Tintagel is another one I would probably include.

I've been craving violet scents for a few days and have been focusing on all my imps that have violet, which led me back to the Raven, after a day and night spent with Marie. While Marie seems like violets in an ancient French garden, the Raven is more like violets at twilight, darker, more complex and less definitely violet. This scent reminds me (in a good way) of Chanel No. 22, though less powdery. It has the complex floral scent of a classic perfume. And very evocative, like the mystical messenger the Raven is supposed to be.

YOW! This scent really packs a punch... dark, spicy, sort of growly, if that makes any sense. I could see Worf wearing this one. I don't get the gingerbread flavor that others are getting, unless it's a very dark molasses-rich gingerbread without much sweetening. The undertone of some rich wood is there, like an old sandalwood box that hasn't been opened in a long time... a box that once held cloves... This would be a great winter scent, I think, very warming.

I tried this one for the first time last night before bed, but in sorting the imps I got a bit of Miskatonic Unversity on my fingers first, which may have been the reason that when I applied Arkham Revisited, I couldn't smell it at all. I mean, at ALL. The deep gooey coffee-caramel goodness of Misk. U. masked it completely. Trying it again today...

This is a very soft, green gathering of flowers, an airy scent, with a hint of sweet fruitiness underneath. There is a certain faerie quality, elusiveness -- that first impression of *nothing there* may have been prophetic in terms of its essence. It's like food offered in the faery realm -- it vanishes as you bring it to your lips, leaving only the faint scent of the most delicious fruit you never quite tasted....

I need more!