Alannah

I pulled this out of my imp pile to wear today, as I couldn't remember having tried it before. If I had read the description ahead of time, I definitely wouldn't have tried this as a regular day scent. Wet, Baku is YEGADS ALL ANISE. I have to say that started me off on the wrong foot since I despise anything that smells or tastes like licorice or anise. This overpowering note lasts for about 15 minutes and I just feel like I STINK of it and then wham, nothing. Dry, there is the faintest hint of lavender (another note I despise, unfortunately), but really it all but disappears on me after the anise phase. I've already applied it twice after only a couple of hours on. I can see how people who find lavender comforting would like this, or how it would be a good nighttime scent. For me, however, it's getting sent away. I can't see ever using this one again.

So it's already been pretty consistently in the 70s here and I guess I have to say goodbye to my favourite spicy/heavy BPALs until the cooler weather comes back. I've been trying out a bunch of new aquatics lately--today I'm wearing Sea of Glass. I have to say, many of them smell pretty similar. I guess I should sniff them side by side so I can make better comparisons. I like them all about equally so far (with the exceptions of Numb and Storm Moon, neither of which did much for me) but I'm trying to find one that I LOVE. I've got Hurricane and Undertow on the way with my next order, so we'll see how those check out!

Dragon's Moon Enraged Bunny Musk Pluto Neptune Imp pack #1: Eat Me, King of Hearts, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, The Pool of Tears, Tweedledum, Tweedledee Imp pack #2: Baobhan Sith, Cheshire Cat, Phobos, Shattered, Hurricane, Undertow

I am ordering all of the Celestials, and I never read the reviews before I try each oil, so I had no idea what to expect from Mercury, but I figured it'd be an in-your-face kind of scent. In the bottle, I got weird herby wetness. I didn't even really want to try it based on that. Once on, though, WHAM, helloooo cinnamon! I felt an enormous warming sensation and my whole neck was lit up with bright redness like a sunburn (strangely, my wrists had no reaction, and they usually do with Bengal or other cinnamons). There are herby undertones that definitely remind me of Sol, so I'm assuming they share some elements (which makes sense if you think about Mercury and Sol!). For that reason I definitely see why several people have said they find it comforting. I agree, and that's the same thing I found with Sol. I really love it, and the warming sensation has stayed with me even though I can't even smell the cinnamon that strongly now unless I sniff my wrist. The redness on my neck only lasted for 30-45 minutes and it never got to the itchy or welt stage, thankfully. I am really happy with this one!

This is the first BPAL rose blend I've tried that hasn't worked for me. In fact, I was shocked to read the description after I tried it because I can't detect any roses! This oil stays consistent on me, from wet to dry. I get no coffee whatsoever, or rose. All I can detect is the jasmine and what I'm guessing is fig. It's almost juicy and very sweet, in an aggressive old-lady-with-too-much-perfume-on way. I wished I hadn't put so much on because it was overpowering. I wish the wood and coffee would come out to balance things a bit, but no such luck.

They might as well have named this oil "Alannah" because it's almost like I told them what I wanted and they made it for me. In the bottle, it was not exactly what I expected but somehow even better. Not sweet (thankfully), but there is definitely something soft in there balancing with the hot spiciness of the cinnamon (it has to be the honey). I could smell the pepper right away--my nose tingled a little bit when I sniffed it. When I tried it on, I was terrified that my skin would react to the cinnamon (I've never tried such a strongly spicy oil!), and I did get a little redness where I'd applied it but nothing else happened (YAY). It stayed pretty consistent scent-wise from the bottle to my skin. It's mostly cinnamon, pepper in the background, and honey blended well to balance all the spice. I don't really notice any ginger, and I definitely don't get the "vanilla" that some people in this thread seem to get. It went on a bit softer than I'd expected--I thought it would have MONSTER throw--so I was worried it would fade quickly, but it's still going strong 4 hours after application. I'll be buying gallons of this. <3

This scent is definitely unique. It does really go right up your nose at first (for lack of a better way to describe it)--very pungent. I love it wet... it walks kind of a fine line between ozone and air freshener because it's so strong and almost chemical-smelling, but after it dries down, it goes strange on me. I get a kind of smell I can only describe as "dirty"--it almost smells like I've rubbed pencil lead on my wrists, as there's a hint of metallic something in there. After the dirty phase, it fades completely. I really wanted to love this but I don't think I can make it work on me! Too bad.

This is a very green scent! I didn't know what was in this blend before I tried it (I hadn't even sniffed it in the bottle), and my first thought when I put it on was "garden". I was surprised that dandelion was the floral component in this because I didn't really think I knew what that smelled like, but after I read the description it made sense! I think this is what I expected Beltane to smell like. I've had it on for about 3 hours and I'm not getting anything boozy or even tobacco-y but I'm interested to see if that'll come out more later. This is the first catalog scent that I'm in love with. I think I'll be buying a big bottle!

I received this as a bonus in a trade, and it was something I definitely had thought I'd like but wasn't going to order for quite a while. In the bottle, the smell made me queasy. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to try it on my skin, but some accidentally got on me. It was just a teeny bit (on my leg, no less) but I could smell it all day and it didn't get any better. I couldn't really detect anything but butter, although it was obviously more complex than that, but overall it just made me feel ill. My reaction to Grog made me decide against ordering Shill, which had sounded amazing. This is the first BPAL oil that I absolutely hated.

In an effort to create a pleasing environment during a surprise trip to Yuggoth, we have created a soothing yet stimulating blend of pink pepper, peony, jasmine, mango, kiwi, pomegranate, pineapple, white ginger, serene white tea and light musks. Bon voyage! This smells beautiful in the bottle, and when I first apply, but barely more than an hour or so after application it's like I didn't put anything on. I can't even get a sense of what it smells like dry on my skin since it just won't last. This happened both times I've tried it so I'm passing it on to someone who will hopefully be able to wear it! I was surprised at how it managed to be 'sweet' without being over the top. Very nice florals with a tinge of fruitiness, and I could just smell the pink pepper. I'm quite disappointed since I liked it much better than Pink Moon, scent-wise. Sigh.

I am mystified by the bubble gum and/or cola comparisons. I've had this on for a few hours now and I smell nothing like either of those. I am struggling to name the notes I smell. I don't get anything as obvious as cinnamon, but there's a strong spiciness in there. There's a hint of vanilla and possibly some jasmine but I don't get the smokiness that people have described in this thread either. I agree that this wouldn't be an everyday scent, but I'm not sure I feel that it's particularly powerful as far as the name implies. I do get a way stronger spice smell than sweet, so it's powerful in that regard. Overall I'm not quite sure what to make of it but I think I like it more than dislike it. I'll definitely have to try it multiple times.

It's a really pretty light orangey-red in the bottle. I first thought I smelled a very light coconut and something was reminding me of apple, but I knew that couldn't be right because it was mustier. Then I read the description, and it said apricot! Yep, that's it. I really like it. The one complaint I have is that it's too light on me. I totally went crazy slathering it on and I can barely smell it now, just a few hours later. The apricot is definitely the strongest on me. I barely get any jasmine or vanilla, but it does all blend together into a nice smell. Feminine but not girly. I just wish it was stronger! A number of hours later, I was thinking "who has doughnuts?" and realised the smell was coming from me! The vanilla came out really strongly much later apparently. I would've never ordered this (it was in with my last order), but I think I love it!

My first review! This scent was thrown in with my order, and I'm so glad I had the chance to try it. In the bottle, I got a water-scent impression (maybe I was influenced by the name), but I was sniffing a bunch of stuff so I think my nose was confused. On, it was totally different... all cherries and cinnamon. Really different than anything I've smelled. I loved it instantly! As it dried, I got more of the almond and clove along with the cinnamon--it's a very golden scent. I was surprised that so many people in this thread said it was too masculine because I definitely don't get masculine from this scent. In fact, because of its sweetness, I find it very feminine. It softened as I wore it and almost got a bit powdery. I can't imagine my boyfriend wearing this! I think I'm going to buy a 5ml of this one!