emzebel

Reviewed as part of TAL Circular Swap: There is something very familiar about the scent of this blend, but at first I couldn't quite place it. On me, this is sweet, fruity red wine, wich normally is immediately headache inducing in catalogue blends. Amazingly a tiny dab of this, while extremely strong, did not give me a headaches and was actually pretty pleasant (but then again, if there is civet in the blend, I seem to get along with it, so there you go).

Antique Lace is a very very pretty vanilla on me. Completely inoffensive, but without much...omph. It smells like a very nice pretty vanilla, some dried flowers - like a bouquet that has been dried and then wrapped in tissue and put in a cedar chest (basically how my 8 year-old wedding bouquet probably smells about now), and not much else. I wish that I got more musk from this, but I don't. I like it, but I cannot see myself buying a bottle, to be honest.

I received this as a frimp from the ever generous lab... Wet on my skin, it is almost not even there...it is very much a skin scent on me and clings like a frightened baby bird. I have had a very hard time picking notes from this blend, but mostly, I get a hit of orange and vanilla, which must be the neroli and a bit of musk. Not much floral, not much sandalwood. Neither of which saddens me. This is an interesting scent that I want to play with a bit more...

Velvet saved the concept of a chocolate note perfume for me, and has me further convinced that cocoa is fine, but chocolate is not. I like this more than any other predominantly chocolatey blend that I've tried, because while the cocoa note is strong in this one, the myrrh, and the sandalwood and the vanilla make this so much more - a complex sexy blend that does not feel like wearing a candy bar.

I tried Scarecrow at a meet & sniff and loved it so much that I ran out and ordered a 5 ml. And I like what is in the bottle, although it is very hard to describe...close your eyes. You are standing between two cornfields after the corn has been cut. The wind is blowing from the west, dust of thick black dirt is beginning to rise, the air is still a tad warm, but only just, and the threat of true winter chill is in the air. That is what Scarecrow smells like to me. It is the kind of scent that I only wear on those cresting autumn days, sometimes with a touch of Jack, and it is just perfect for those moments.

Regan started out very very pretty, but so much so that she was almost headed for the swap pile on the grounds of being too perfumy floral for me to actually wear, loveliness aside. Then the vanilla came out. Wow, did the vanilla come out, along with a touch of herbiness that turns this into something that is similar to Alice for me - one of the prettiest perfumes that I could ever hope to want to wear.

I had to try Roadhouse because of the description and the juxtaposition of notes. Tobacco wears well on me and the rest, well, with my back woods roots how could I not... On me, Roadhouse is heavy on the booze, although I've never specifically identified it as hops, but it is a lighter note than some of Beth's other "booze" scents. And the dandelion really makes a forceful balance - this is definitely not a work scent, or a playgroup with the toddler scent, but it could be a summer bbq scent, and definitely a take on vacation scent.

I am going to go with the contingent pulling that this is more G&T than martini- there is an effervescent citrusy note in this that is more evocative of the former's sweetness than of a dry gin-soaked olive. Then again, I do prefer vodka martini's to gin, so perhaps that's my bias. But I adore a good gin and tonic, so I'm not complaining. This is a fabulous going out on the town having fun light refreshing blend. I probably won't be wearing it to, say, the office, or a job interview, because there is a definitely alcoholic clink to this scent, but it is great for an evening out, and I think it will be a fabulous summer scent. I cannot wait to drink a tanq and tonic while wearing Twenty-One.

This blend goes on very dark on me. The first time I tried it I had a hard time picking notes, other than to strongly suspect vetiver just because of the overwhelming *darkness*. Wearing this more though, with a very light touch, so as not to potentially be overwhelmed, I realize that it actually dissapates very quickly. I am noticing this with vetiver and my chemistry generally, actually - it leaps in there for a bit and then dashes off and lets the other notes play. I think that I will need to apply this with a heavy hand to get much throw or staying power. This is a blend of deprevation, after all. I can see the similarity to Lenore in this - the lemon and the herbs, combined with the dark muskiness. And when by bottle of that is gone, then a bottle of this will be needed. Until then, though, I can probably live with the imp.

A bow of spicy wood, a crown of golden vanilla and musk. This blend has conqured my senses. Before I refreshed my memory of the actual notes of this blend, I would have sworn that it was woods (the cedar, clearly, and possibly the sage and carnation and even the leather), tonka and amber (the vanilla, and probably the musk and that leather again, if I had to guess). It is very evocative of both Tombstone and Golden Priapus, two which I like quite a bit, but this is much more complex to me...a darker, more evocative blend, which tells me a story as I wear it. I cannot wait to smell this one on the hubby, too, as the two scents above are both divine...

Some literary visions of death are very singular. Some envision that all people and beings receive a Death of their own vision, tailored to their own beliefs and views and the specific situation and station of their passing. So, it would seem, is Death on a Pale Horse. For what I smell from this would appear to be very different from those that have reviewed before me. My Death is one of crystalline relief - a blessed escape from the horsemen that have come before, from War, Famine and Pestilence (this is not a comment on these oils, which I've enjoyed quite thoroughly, actually, but on the story and concept itself). For me, this is a lavender fugue. A raising of the spirit, through herbs - the lavender primarily, with hints of the lime and mint with the other notes as a somber back drop. I cannot smell the patchouli in this at all, the sandalwood, musk and vetiver are soft and tamed. This is very similar to Old Scratch to my nose, but more interesting and complex. I like this Death and can see myself welcoming a bottle of him into my home.

At first the scent on this one is very similar to Joy Mojo - very vanilla blended with herbals. Then, and I seem to be quite alone in this, I get a very strong conifer note - Horn of Plenty goes to the pine forest and really seriously stays there. I get no almond, no cherry, nada. It's not a bad scent, but wow, chemistry is weird. Anyway, I've only worn this for intent once, and if I want anything to come of it, clearly need to put more effort into my thinking, as what I was *hoping* for didn't happen. Then again, in retrospect, that may have been good in and of itself.

The first time I wore this, I loved it - my scent impressions were that it was a bright vanilla combined with something fresh and fruity with the undercurrent of the herbs that seem to underly a lot of the Voodoo and ritual blends. The vanilla was a lasting scent, which alone was enough to bring me some joy. Alas, on subsequent wearings, this scent didn't really agree with me much which effected the overall effect of the blend.

I can only wear a tiny bit of Has No Hanna at a time, as it is way too floral and something I cannot put my finger on but that's not terribly pleasant, for me to actually wear for scent's sake. Which means that it has really not had much of a mood effect for me, which is part of why I bought it. I have, however, worn it in combination with other scents to a couple of job interviews. The interviewd themselves went very well, however I've yet to receive an offer, which makes me wonder if perhaps this blend and I are just not meant to be...

I first wore Black Cat on a day a while back when I generally wanted to give myself a boost and bring some goodness into my life - it was the sort of day when you just need some help getting through. The scent itself doesn't appeal to me overmuch - I definitely do not get chocolate mint out of this - more of a soapy herbal scent that is common through a lot of the voodoo and TAL blends that I've tried. It is not the best smelling perfume for me, but it rounds out to a nice enough herbal, non-floral smell that is not unpleasant to the nose and that can blend with other things that I like more from a purely aesthetic sense. Because Black Cat is a working kitty in my collection - every time I have worn her, I have been...cheerful. Not in a zoMYGODTHEWORLDISFABULOUS sort of way, out in a getting joy out of simple pleasures sort of way, which I believe is the point. Which reminds me, I should really get a bottle of this, so that I wil actually *wear* it.

Testing this before I knew the notes, my first impression was mmm, a soft fruity floral. The fruit must have been the sweetness of the lotus. Very quickly, this becomes a powdery flowery perfumy scent on me though - very pretty to be sure, but not something I can see myself choosing over the other oils in my collection.

How else to describe it, but rich and loamy? I smell dirt. It is a rich dirt, like dark, mineral-rich mid-western farmland with a lot of moss growing in... I am really glad that I tried this, but it is really not so much my thing.

I was quite surprised that I liked this one, as I have been having some problms with sandalwood lately, but, like PP5, this is a nice woody blend, however, this is a deeper, spicier version. I really like these savory combinations as they are so unexpected and the sweet buttery pumpkin really adds something different.

This is the BPAL cocoa that I adore - not sweet chocolate, but almost like unsweetened cocoa powder - a cocoa bean scent that adds the scent of the chocolate without unbearing sweetness. The pumpkin and the nuts add sweets and flavor and this is a nice, almost savory blend - not at all the candy I was afraid it might be. A very nice surprise and one of my favorites from the series!

This is the PP blend that everyone just knew that they were going to adore, and it is wonderfully perfectly autumn, warm and juicy and appley, without going overboard. There is almost a little too much butter in here for me and I doubt I will use up more than my decant, but it is a lovely blend, so long as it behaves (I could use a tad more spice, too, but that could just be me...).

I think that this might be my favorite of the PP blends - the pom is so fresh and juicy that it brightens the rich buttery note of the pumpkin that threatens to turn on me. This is something that I can see myself wearing beyond the fall, which is nice too.

Pumpkin Patch 5 is amazingly neat in that it is really not at all foody - the woody-ivy notes really give this interesting depth that take it beyond the realm of a halloween pumpkin scent and into a full on autumn perfume. There is a slight almost plastic edge to the pumpkin note in all of these though, which I think might be part of the hazards of over exposure from decanting, as while I like this scent a lot, I'm not sure that I can actually wear it much...

I tried this at the DC Meet Up over the summer and was surprised that it was not more powerful - it was very light and not at all *hot* like I expected it to be. It is a sort of warm floral with a hint of vanilla and maybe a touch of warm spice, but really not my thing.

For some reason I got it in my head early in my BPAL explorations that I really wanted to try Puck. Part of it was the character association and the fact that Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my favorite plays. And part of it was this odd idea that it might actually smell nice, reviews notwithstanding. So I was very excited to see that it was making another appearance for the BPALIversary and jumped on a bottle. And you know what? Sometimes gut feelings are right. I really do like this one. I don't smell anything offensive, just herby, musky grape. It might not be an everyday scent, and since it seems that others may be, erm, put out, it's something I will likely save for weekends, but I am perfectly happy to have a bottle. Thank you, Beth, for bringing this back for the, oh, five of us who wanted to try it.

At first Red Phoenix was so similar to Blood Moon in the bottle and wet on my skin that I was sondering if there was any point to owning both. Then I gave it some time. Red Phoneix dries to a soft warm sophistocation on my wrist that is unlike much of what I've tried from the Lab - the tobacco and plum make this warm and familiar, and patchouli is similar to the one in Samhain, I think, but this is a very womanly blend, with none of the feral iron tinged bloodyness that Blood Moon had now that it's dry. This is a really beautiful scent.