emzebel

In the vial, I get lavender and something sharp - not citrus really, just astringent. Lavender is a so so sort of scent for me. I can handle very natural blends with lavender, but solo, it can actually be a migraine trigger for me. Quietude doesn't quite come up to that level because it is such a natural blend, but it is such a sharp, astringent blend on me that it cannot serve its purpose and has found a home with a true lover of lavender. I will have to stick to the creamy blends for my quiet time...

I'm the nutter who bought Anmorata's full set of lunacy decants as a Buy It Now, so you can expect a range of Lunacy reviews coming up from me... I have just a tiny little bit of this oil, but I am so glad to have the opportunity to try it, because I would never have hunted it down on its own, and it is abcolutely beautiful. I am not even going to try to identify specific notes, because there is no way that I could do it justice, but this is probably the most "perfumey" scent you will ever smell me wear, and wear it I will. It is so absolutely perfect for a summer evening...light and breezy and so warm and watery...I could just swim in this for hours. I wich I could ahve gotten a bottle of this. But, as it is, while I love it, I am not so in love with it wo be crushed that I can only have this little sliver of it, and I feel lucky to have gotten to try it.

Ouch. Evidentially my center is painful, because this blend actually hurts my nose. It is sharp and acrid and is the only BPAL I've tried of close to 50 imps now that has started to raise welts on my skin. Perhaps I am just a troubled soul. The end result is that I honestly cannot even begin to start to identify notes. I really wish that I could, so that I could avoid them, but while something in Succor is familiar to me, I cannot sniff it long enough to place it (it might be what folks are identifying as the "olive" note, but I love olives...then again, perhaps not rubbed on my arm! ) I'm always a little sad when a blend just jumps up and says "No, I hate you!", but alas, that is what Succor did for me.

I acquired an imp of Judgement from a forumite, based on a combination of reviews (fruity/incensy sounded good to me) and it is a card I am drawn to and it just seems appropriate for a lawyer (as does Justice, and I will get around to that one eventually, I am sure). Unfortunately, this was before I knew that "fruity/incensy" translates largely to a red wine sort of note a la Bachanalia and Madrid for me - I would highly recommend this to anyone lamenting the passing of the former blend, as it smells very similar to me. My nose really really enjoys the actual smell of this scent - it is a very winey note with hints of cherries and musk and incense to me, both in the vial and on my skin. Unfortunately that is a combination my brain chemistry just does not want me to enjoy.

I got this imp as an extra in a swap (thanks Gin!). It is not something that I probably would ever have gotten around to ordering on my own, but it is a really nice scent. In the vial, it is very fresh and simple. It appears to be very much the base note of White Rabbit, which I adore, and any floral notes I pick up are of the afternoon in the garden, not of the wow, we are in a big flower! kind... So, liking the scent in the vial, somewhat appropriately, I think, I decided to try Dirty after indulging in a bit of, er, afternoon delight, with my hubby. It was a very appropriate "pick-me-up" scent in that situation, particularly on a hot summer day, and it stays true to my impression in the vial on my skin. But it is just a little too much of a good thing, I think. It is almost like a linen single note, and while I like the scent overall, I like it better blended with other things to temper it (did I mention White Rabbit). At the end of the day, I am glad that I tried it, but will probably pay this one forward to some other good soul when I finally get around to swapping some stuff.

A couple of things that you might have noticed if you've read a few of my reviews - 1. I often just buy things in swaps on whims based on the description and maybe a review or two and 2. I shy away from not knowing notes. But I tried Black Phoenix, because, well, how could I not? In the vial, this smelled absolutely edible in the vial...a sordid, dark twisted sour fruity kind of edible, but quite yummy...someone mentioned irresistable poisoned fruit? Something like that. Unfortunately on my skin it quickly transformed through three stages - a similar fruity stage, which was okay, but which quickly gave way to a sour musk, which was slightly less okay, then to baby powder which is not okay. Phooey.

Kweku Anansi is one of those scents that I almost have to love just because of the name. Because it is so dark and masculine smelling in the vial, this is actually the first BPAL that my huspand tried before I did and he *loves* this scent - I think in part because he can actuall smell it (he has a very bad sense of smell which results in a lot of "That smells nice" and "That smells like Old Spice" around our house). So this will be a three part review: In the vial, this smells like earth to me - very deep, mossy and dark. It smells like what Shelob's cavern must have smelled like in LOTR. It is an apt, appropriate smell. On my husband, the mossy forest notes come out more, as well as a small like dark ash - not a cigar or cigarette kind of ash, but like a ritual burning kind of ash. It has a dark, almost evil tinge to it. This is not fireplace or burning candle or pipe smoke...it is the smell of burning darkness. What hell might smell like when the fires go out. It is not a nice smell, but it smells good on him, if that makes any sense. On me, the overall smells are similar, except that the throw is more intense. My skin holds oils like there is no tomorrow, or rather like they really want to be around tomorrow, and the smell of burning darkness starts to give me a headache after awhile. And, frankly, there are enough lovely scents out there that take precedence over spelling like the ashes of hell for me. If this is ever released, we will probably buy a 5ml for the husband though, because it really does smell good on him in the oddest sort of way.

I love sweet red wine, but sadly, because of my migraines, I cannot drink it all that often, so I loved the description of this scent, hoping it might be an aromatic substitute of sorts. Unfortunately, as lovely as Bacchanalia smells in the vial, and it is a heady, very thick wine scent to me - I don't get much musk, and wouldn't know civit if it bit me, so I'm not sure there - there seems to be something about the grape/wine note that affects me much the same as too much red wine would and I quickly start to get "Danger Will Robinson!" warning signals from my brain that this scent must be removed from my body post haste, lest my brain make me regret it all day. I blame the wine, because the scent and the reaction are quite similar to the reaction I had to Madrid, thought I suppose it could be something else. I should also note that my imp of this is clearly very old and the oils are beginning to separate, so I am not sure how true of a scent I am getting from this one or whether the beginnings of the disintegration of the oil could be causing some of the negative physical reaction. At any rate, it is clear that this puppy needs to not be on me again.

I would highly recommend this scent as a starter for those like myself who profess not to like florals. It is so fresh and light. I suppose that an affinity for Central American Indian culture could help (the name and the cactus was why I snagged this on a total whim), but this is really a lovely, light summer scent. I like the way the notes are not overwhelming and it is mostly just sweet and clean. Another for the long-term bottle list.

Swarthy and vibrant! An elegant, full-bodied scent that ignites all the darkest passions. Bold red wine, mimosa, and a trickle of clove. This was part of my very first imp order from the Lab and was one I was extremely excited to try. I love Spain and was really hoping for a scent filled with notes I love and evocative of sangria and languid Spanish evenings. In the vial, it smelled quite strong, but quite yummy. It was sweet and familiar and fruity - in retrospect, kind of grape Kool-Aid-y, but deeper, spicier. I really liked it and couldn't wait to try it on. On my skin the fruity/wine note faded quicky and the clove exploded. We are not talking clove, we are talking CLOVE!!!!!!!, which is not a bad thing per se, as I like clove. What is a bad thing is when the sides of my head start thumping and my vision starts to blur. That's when I need to go scrub down my wrists, because my brain has objections that it has not learned how to express in socially acceptable ways. Ah well. Come to think of it, Madrid is also where I was told that I have the eyes of the devil, so perhaps this was just channeling the wrong Spanish train of thought...

In the bottle, like a lot of people, I got almost pure almond - it smelled a lot like a spicier Dana O'Shee in a way. It was a yummy yummy smell, but not at all what I was expecting Port-Au-Prince to small like and not really evocative of Haiti to me... The second, and I meann the absolute instant that the oil hit my skin -> transformation. The spicy, rummy notes shot out like a cannon shot almost completely overwhelming the almond. On drydown, the almond fought its way back into the mix, though. This is a really yummy blend and something that I will almost certainly be keeping around in come form or another. My only real disappointment is that it is one of the few blends that actually faded quickly on my skin. Al well. Can't have everything.

I am not even sure how to express how much I really am loving the smell of this scent on my wrists. Let's start with the fact that I usually like sweet, spicy darker scents. I am quite open about my floralphobia. But sometimes our guts tell us to do things that seem not to make much sense, so my love of tea and like of herbs overcame my fear of the peony and I acquired an imp of this in a swap. This is a truly dizzying scent to me. It makes me want to twirl around like a little girl. I love the way the tea (which I can smell, but faintly) plays off the swee green flowery herbs and the actual floral smell that doesn't smell "perfumey" to me. There is a fruity edge that draws me in, but it really is the tea and peony that keeps me here. I almost certainly will need a bottle of this one...

I absolutely adore this scent, but for none of the reasons I thought that I would. I received a frimp of Dirty in a swap which helped me identify that the linen is the predominant note that I smell both in the bottle and on my skin. The tea, milk, honey, pepper - they are there, but in the background - spilled across the tablecloth by a careless tea party guest. I bought this imp for all of those other notes, and I love them, but mostly I love the lightness of this scent - someone else mentioned the similarity to my beloved Sudha Segara - this is the lighter, more...airy cousin. Where Sudha is a sea of milk and honey, White Rabbit is a tea drenched splash. I love them both for amazingly different moods.

This is definitely one for the fruity lovers among us - I get barely any clove both in the bottle and on my skin, but boy does that apricot smell yummy! It is sweet and ripe and just a little cooked into the tart. This is a scent that stays true on me from bottle through drydown until it fades. It is not a scent I would want for everyday, but it is definitely a yummy fun spring/summer scent for playtime!

There is absolutely nothing for me not to like about this blend...the name is perfect, the notes are fabulous, the way they combine is lovely and so very true to their natures... Oh yeah...it's discontinued...that's definitely not to love. And at the end of the day, I am not entirely sure that I want to smell like a spice cabinet all day long, but it really is a lovely scent - one that I would love in a candle or as a room scent and that I will save up for crisp autumn days and that I will probably layer sparingly with some other things that I think need more kick. And I am so so happy that I got to try some before the coven fled this world for good! Edited to add throughts re Ressurected version: I decided to order a bottle of the resurrected blend in the hopes that I would somehow fall madly in love with it a second time around. Alas, I still smell like a Yankee Candle when I wear this. Sob. I so want to love it. I really really do, but it just does not love me back.

I really really thought that I would like this one based on the notes, especially the vanilla, almond, lime and clove. I snagged an imp on a whim based on notes alone in a forum purchase and even going through the reviews, nothing prepared me for the fact that on me this blend is all patchouli. Not just patchouli...PATCHOULI!!!!!!! I'm not getting *any* of the other notes, except maybe as deep background and I have to sniff way too deeply to get them. I don't mind patchouli per se...it is a nice backdrop to, say, Hetiaere (sp?), but I cannot handle the full bore you-smell-like-you-did-in-your-high-school-hippy-chick-days feeling of what is an almost uncut patchouli scent on my skin. (The background being that I used to drench myself in pure patchouli oil during a brief period in high school - I had actually forgotten what it smelled like. Now I remember but good.) I need to go wash my wrists off in the work bathroom now, because sadly it's giving me a headache - cursed brain. Watch for Voodoo coming to a swap post near you.

I was so happy to acquire an imp of this, because I was just absolutely sure I would love it - I love sweet scents, I love brown sugar specifically, and maple sugar...for the longest time the only scent I could wear was Fresh's Sugar and I just love the whole idea of a scent based on, well, Sugar Skulls... And I'm really on the fence with this one...I kinda like it, but I don't lovelovelove it the way I thought I would. It is nice, but it just doesn't sing on me... I may have to think about this one for a while...or save it for a rainy day swap for something I want desparately or something...I'm just not sure. Although first, I will try layering it with Dia de los Muertos...

berry-berry-bo-berry-me-mi-mo-merry-fee-fi-fo-ferry-BERRY! Oh, sorry, forgot myself for a minute there. I am trying not to review scents before I've been wearing them for at least 6-8 hours or so, since so many times hidden notes will pop out at me while I am driving home, or putting my son to bed and the like, but I just can't help myself - Bewitched is just such a fun and happy scent that I need to share my joy with the world now! I keep wanting to run up to people and stick my wrist under their noses and say "I smell like berries today!" and run away giggling! So, yeah, I'm getting berries - mostly blackberries, very evocative of picking fresh ones at my grandparents' farm in Oklahoma growing up, and a little apple, and some other wild berry in there too. As the day wears on (keeping in mind that I put this on abour 6:30 this morning, so it has been almost 4 hours already), I can get little hints of the musk and the sage and the tea...definitely the tea, but the berries are the reason why I would put this on in the morning. This is a great summer scent. It will be fun to layer this I think - with honeybody products and SN, maybe with Sudha Segara or Milk Moon, even with White Rabbit or another tea scent for something with a little more kick or with something very dark that could maybe use a little more fruit...we will see. In the meantime, this scent makes me want to giggle - I picture a group of little girls playing witch in the blackberry brambles, kicking up some herbs and maybe running across a dead thing or two and making their own brand of the summer magic of children - that is Bewitched to me.

This was laganappe if my very first lab order and if they were hoping to give me something very different from everything else, boydigidy! I have sworn to myself that I will at least try everything that somes my eay, even if when I read the description, my reaction is *whoo-boy, way too floral - Pass*. So I gave Leanan a whirl, for my beloved Irish poets, if nothing else. Whoo-boy, way to floral. Pass. Honestly, I wish I could past that stage, into the herbs and the fruit!?!, but my chemistry (both brain and body) simply will not cooperate. But, the upshot is that I have gifted a coworker with my imp and thus begun the initiation of yet another convert into the cult of BPAL and she has been getting compliments right and left! So there you go...

Just when I was coming to the conclusion that wine and rum were my limits on the alcohol scents (which still leaves quite a bit open, to be sure), along comes Juke Joint. When I first read the description, I found it very appealing, but thought that perhaps it was not necessarily aptly named, in that I do not really associate Mint Julips with what I think of as juke joints. Burbon? Sure. Mint? Not so much. Mint Julips are a Kentucky Derby kind of drink, a big flowery hat wearing, lounging on a sun porch cocktail. Juke joints are the kind of place where the folks who make and serve the julips go to unwind with cheap burbon straight up or mixed with Coke at the end of the day...but I digress. Ultimately, I think this is a very aptly named blend, because it doesn't really smell of mint julip to me. In the vial, it is very strong - it is a stiff drink in there. A man's pour, as they say. There is some sweet and some minty herb, kind of like being in my backyard (which has been taken over by peppermint plants) after a storm. On my skin, it goes from being *whoo-deamon-alcohol* to something more complex - I can smell all of the notes, but they way that they blend together creates something much more refreshing...it is hard to describe, actually. I may have to come back and edit this when I am actually wearing Juke Joint. It is not an edible scent...it is...earthy on me - it is that fresh unwashed mint, mingling with other plants. Suffice to say that I will be ordering more of this, size to be determined.

In the vial, this was all...something sharp and astringent that I cannot quite put my finger on. It was not terribly pleasant, to tell you the truth, so I put off trying this scent, even though it was among those that I was excited enough to try that it was part of my first order. On, it immediately transformed into...Absinthe! It really does smell exactly like absinthe. It never ceases to amaze me how Beth can nail these things right on the head like that. Unfortunately, while the scent is dead on, at the end of the day, I don't think that this is a scent tat I really want to smell like all day long. It is a very fresh scent, and it has a very herbal, masculine core, which I like, but when it comes down to it, I think that Absinthe (the beverage) both smells and tastes kind of like herbal mouthwash. I'm not getting any of the anise, or the lemon, which is too bad, because if it was minty, anisy lemon, I would be all over it. But, my loss will be someone elses gain, unless the man falls in love with this one on himself...

For some reason when I read the description and reviews of this, I just knew I was going to love it. Mango, sage, amber, red musk...some of my favorite scents and lavender's not so bad either. Somehow, this blend is amazingly everyhing I imagined and nothing I imagined all at once. Some of the blends I've tried so far are solid - they smell like what they are in the bottle and I put them on and that is what they smell like all day. Others dance around and change and morph in the most amazing ways - Corazon is a dancer. A damn fine one. In the bottle and wet on my skin it is juicy and sharp. I can smell all of the notes and they are playing well with others. About an hour later, my wrists smelt of turkey - Thanksgiving Turkey rubbed with juice and *SAGE* - for about two hours I was afraid that the purple sage was going to be my unduing. I love the scent, but that was *all* I could smell for wnat seemed like forever. Then, I sniffed my wrist and it was...Mango! The mango, interlaces with the herbs and the amber, oh, it was wonderful... And then, just when I thought Corazon had beaten it's last transformative beat, about 6:30 this evening, almost 12 hours after I slathered myself this morning and long after most of the scent had faded, there was my friend red musk, slipping out from behind his desert rock for an evening stroll. This is really a breathtaking blend and I am so happy to have laid hands on a bottle (which is lovely in itself)...

I got my swappy imp of Skadi in the post the same day as my very first order of imps from the lab - that order was mostly heavy, spicy, hink sirts of stuff, like Blood and Szherezade and Madrid. It was a hot night - still probably over 80 even at 9 pm. The first thing I thought of when I opened Skadi was cold and clean - like snow when it has first fallen. Like the blue that virtually always represents January on a calendar. I have a very hard time picking out the notes in Skadi, and I like that. The pine doesn't jump out at me - it blends in with the berries and the chilly aquatics and makes this a very fresh scent. I love the hint of sweetness, from the berries, I suppose, although something about this makes me think of the divinity candy that my grandmother used to make every December. I know there is already an "Ice Queen" oil, but to me, Skadi is my Ice Queen. If there were a series based on The Lion, the Which and the Wardrobe, Skadi would be the Winter Queen - cold as ice, but with a hint of Turkish delight. To be sure, I've not had this scent in winter, and if there is any left, I am sure that I will love wearing her as the chill of December decends, but for now, she is a welcome breath of winter on a sweltering summer day.

My first sniff of this in the bottle, I was not so sure about - it was very sharp, and I could not really smell the fruity notes at all. On my wrist though, this is very similar to Blood Kiss, but...thinner - the non-fruit foody notes round out Blood Kiss for me, where as this is a starker perfume. Unfortunately, I'm not so good at picking out individual notes, so I'm not entirely sure where the Dragon's Blood leaves off and the musks begin, but this is definately a deep rich scent and one that I might keep an imp of around, but I still think that BK will get the big bottle...

OMG...this is the first lunal oil I've tried and it is the most absolutely amazing scent... like a couple of others above I got a teensy little taste of this as laganappe from Shay in an eBay auction (which is so amazingly cool, might I add...). I missed out on the April lunar order, but thank goodness I already have an imp lined up from a swap, because I am going to need something to hold me until I can snag a bottle(s) here, because this scent is incredible... In the vial, it is a decadent, creamy, buttery potion...on my skin, it lightens just enough to not feel *heavy* on a hot summer day. I can still smell the cream, but the butter lifts and the light mint (like fresh mint in a garden, as opposed to the sweet peppermint smell of Spooky) and coconut start to come out. It reminds me a bit of a coconut cake I make with coconut milk as the only liquid - it has that same rich denseness about it. Every time I catch a whif of this, it gives me little shivers of delight. Oh how I want more...