Blood onmy hands

I fell in love with frankincense when I first tried Kostnice & Cathedral. That spicy, dill pickle-ish sort of scent. The singlenote is very strong and has a lot of throw. This is a bit spicier and has more of a woodsy bite than Kostnice, but the two are very similar. I love both of them. As an odd sidenote, my mother smelled this and started rambling about how she wanted a hamburger. It’s a disturbing comparison. Still, this is one of my favorite singlenotes.

The first words out of my mouth when I applied this were, "Oh crap." It was pure perfumey musk. That cheap hairspray smell. Thankfully, it quickly morphs. The neroli and bergamot are dominant, making this a zesty citrus scent on my skin. Also sort of reminds me of the fruity sweetness of gummi bears. Then it gets darker in the drydown. It smells like a rich, spicy men's cologne with a squeeze of citrus over it. The sharp citrus mellows out into a more powdery sweet scent. I like this one a lot after it has sat on my skin for about ten minutes. It's the kind of fragrance that drives me crazy on a guy, but that I would also enjoy wearing myself. Very spicy and sexy in the drydown.

Review for the unreleased prototype version of Baba Yaga: First on this smelled a bit perfumey to me, sort of a creamy vanilla musk scent. After a few minutes, I'm getting the canned pineapple scent that others have mentioned. Sweet, yellow, and syrupy. Within a half hour I am getting a definite floral and soap smell from this. Perhaps jasmine? It's not overly strong though, so it's not giving me a headache. The fruitiness is the main note. Baba Yaga, on me, smells like a nice tropical scented soap. Sweet pineapple and sweet exotic florals. It's nice... I'm not sure that it's really me though. Review for the released version with notes of: "Spell-soaked herbs and flowers, cold iron, broom twigs, bundles of moss and patchouli root, and moth dust." In the imp, this smells like potpourri and immediately turned me off. On my skin, yup, this is cheap potpourri. It's like that dry bagged mix potpourri that people put out in little dishes around their homes. It smells oddly spicy, like cinnamon + kitchen herbs (maybe some type of pepper in here as well). There's a little bit of floral perfume and dry, dusty smelling wood underneath the spiciness too. It reminds me of Mama-Ji, but a paler, cheaper, not as spicy version. The overall feel is cheap potpourri, and it gives me a vicious headache. I'll pass on both versions of Baba Yaga.

This is a very pretty blend, but not one of my favorites. It is too floral for me, and gets a bit too soapy in the drydown for my preferences. It makes me think of a white rose encased in melting ice, with the green stem glittering with frost. It's a bit herbal and floral, with a shell of icy aquatic. In the drydown... just soap

First on this is very menthol and cold. Juniper? Most likely eucalyptus. There's also something that smells slightly peppery in the background. In the drydown I'm getting lavender soap, and perhaps some florals. I don't love this one... it's pretty bland on me.

Oh wow. I will never know what took me so long to try this. This is the most beautiful and appealing aquatic fragrance that I have ever smelled before in my life. I'm in love with this and I normally don't even like aquatics. First on it is very chilly. Like standing on the top of a cliff and watching waves slam violently against the rocks. A salty spray is on a chilly breeze, whipping all around you. In the drydown, this gets a bit warmer. It's like being underwater and watching rays of sunlight shimmer off of all of the greens and blues. LOVE I'll be getting a 10 ml of this for me and a 10 ml for the boy.

This is very dry, slightly earthy, and slightly sweet. It makes me think of almond shells stamped into dusty soil. On my skin, there's a slight whisper of spice that's very subtle and not really foodie or cinnamon-spicy at all. The overall scent reminds me of Morocco a bit, but better and more complex. Almond notes usually smell like cherry on me, and I don't get that here. This smells dry and like real almonds, toasted and with shells & all. Nutty, earthy, warmth with a bit of sexy, sharp spice and a powdery edge. It's sweet enough to be appealing to me, but not sweet enough to really be considered foodie. It's like a nutty, darker, more complex Morocco on my skin.

I figured that I would love this, with my preference towards foodie scents, but it really didn't work well on me. First on, boozy cherryish almonds. Also something like candied orange peel mingling with the almond scent. It's too much fruit and too much almond. It makes me feel a bit sick. In the drydown, a lot of sharp cinnamon starts to come out. It's not a fresh cinnamon or a foodie cinnamon on me, it smells like cheap cinnamon potpourri. Giving me a vicious headache. There is still a cherry smell underneath the cinnamon, but overall this smells really sharp on me.

I really need to stop playing around with the single notes. It makes me so depressed that they're no longer available for purchase. I, the floral hater, completely love violet single note. It's ever so slightly powdery, but it's mostly the best floral that I've ever tried before in my life. Perfect scent of bruised little flowers. They smell dark yet innocent. The troubled child of the floral world. This would be my ultimate girlie perfume if I could get more of it. Girlie with a sad edge. Or maybe I'm just sad because I'm almost out of this lovely fragrance.

I expected this to be dark, woodsy, and masculine. On me, it's intensely soapy florals. In the drydown it gets a bit more aquatic, but the overall scent reminds me of wet laundry. I'm trying to think of something else to say about this one, but nothing is coming to mind. I've tested it out twice, two weeks apart, to see if there was any difference. Nothing. The Emperor is a bar of generic soap.

Ugh. Oisin turns horribly on my skin. It's definitely a very clean musk. The white musk ends up smelling way too perfumey on me though, reminiscent of cheap hairspray. There's a sort of herbal soapy scent in the background as well. This isn't a horribly strong fragrance, but it's strong enough to give me a headache.

This one confuses me... it doesn't smell dry, dusty, or woodsy as the description would suggest. I thought that perhaps my imp of it was mislabeled, but I've since tested out 2 different Seance imps and they smelled the same on me. Fresh, wet rose. It goes a bit soapy on me too, so the overall impression is of a blooming clean rose. It is also a bit sugary sweet in the background. The drydown does get a bit drier and more powdery. It actually smells very much like the rose dusting powder that my grandmother used to wear. Still no woods though... and it isn't something that I would call a dry scent.

Wow. This morphs into several different foodie confections on me. First on it is like candied oranges and strawberry bubblegum. But it's also a bit powdery, like sweet tarts. The boy said that I smell like a candy shop. I take that as a compliment. That's just the sort of thing that I aspire to smell like, lol. In the drydown this starts to remind me more of cookies, almost a light gingerbread scent. I'm also getting the fruity cotton candy that others have mentioned. This is highly sugary, and I love it. After several hours this has left a warm vanilla and sugar cookies scent lingering on my skin. I can easily see myself getting a full bottle of this one

Other than agreeing that Dorian, Tamora, and Antique Lace are good ideas... I would also suggest Black Opal. It smelled very creamy/foodie/musky to me.

I’m not sure why, but the Raspberry single note makes me very ill. It smells like a cross between raspberry jelly (super sweet) and the smoky way that jasmine turns on my skin. I would almost swear that this does have jasmine in it. It gives me a vicious migraine. This isn’t fresh berries on me at all. Smoky, headache inducing raspberry jam. And it’s SO strong on me. This is probably the worst of the singlenotes that I've tried so far. My skin chemistry kills it.

I have recently started experimenting with the fruity single notes and I'm surprised by how much I actually love them. Grapefruit pretty much never works for me in BPAL blends, it always smells sour and dirty. This singlenote is so good that it literally makes my mouth water. It smells like the ripe pink grapefruit sprinkled with sugar that I enjoy so often for breakfast. It’s so sweet and delicious. It gets more sugary in the drydown, which I love. I wish that I could get a full bottle of this.

This is one of my favorite singlenotes. First on, I can smell the comparison that others have made in saying that this smells a bit like nailpolish remover. The drydown is so sweet and lovely though. It is reminiscent of black cherry Kool-Aid powder. After about 15 minutes it loses that tart powdery stage and becomes a wonderful sweet cherry. It smells like a dark rich purple. I usually don't care for fruity scents, but I love this. It's one that I would actually wear alone.

I don't think that I've ever been able to pick out this singlenote in any of the blends that I've tried. I was surprised that this one was so strong and had so much throw, I was expecting a more whispy/delicate floral. That said, I actually sort of like this. It smells almost waxy and crisp. Slightly green, slightly wet, and slightly sunny. I don't know if I'd ever wear this one that much, with my dislike for florals, but I'll keep my imp around. I enjoy the singlenote florals a lot more than I've enjoyed most of the floral blends.

Queen of Diamonds is the perfect example of why I do not like florals With all of the mention of grapefruit, mandarin, and lemon I thought that this would be a very citrussy blend. Yet I don't really smell much citrus at all. Every once in a while, I think I can smell a bit of grapefruit, but this is primarily floral. Highly perfumey florals. This one gives me a vicious headache when I try to wear it. I'm happily giving away my decant.

Honey and florals are not really my thing, but Al-Araaf is actually very nice. It doesn't go soapy and it's not overpoweringly floral at all. This starts out smelling slightly wet and almost pear-like, if the pear were to be very watery. Watery pears and white flowers. It has a clean, delicate smell in this stage. In the drydown this takes on a more powdery edge. It's very floral, but it's such a light scent that it's not bothering me at all. There's a yummy sweetness underneath the flowers too. The description of 'honeyed lilies' is proving very accurate for me. It's a soft honey that's lingering in the background. Maybe also a creamy vanilla coming through. As for staying power... I kept thinking that this one had disappeared on me, but then I would catch surprising whiffs of it over the 5 hours that I wore it. I'll actually keep my bottle and be wearing this one when I want a subtle floral perfume. It's so rare that florals don't give me a headache, so I have to appreciate this one

I loved the dandelion note in Roadhouse. The singlenote is that same smell, but minus Roadhouse's awful boozy quality. This is fresh dandelions. Very green, slightly bitter, and crisp. It starts out a bit perfumey and off putting, but the drydown is just perfect. It smells like playing in a field of yellow dandelions and has a childlike, innocent sort of quality to it. I wish that I could get a bottle of this one.

This is quite possibly my least favorite of all of the limited edition blends that I've tried. It doesn't start off so bad. It smells of dry woods and juniper berry. Sort of cold, dry, and forested. However, after only about five minutes on my skin, this one starts to get intensely soapy. There is a mingling of bitter rose and metallic dragon's blood that is really making me sick here. Soap. Bitter, metallic soap. Wildfire just doesn't work with my skin chemistry at.all.

This and Cerberus are my favorites of the Oblation blends. The mango in this is so lovely. Mango and pepper. It does remind me a bit of Mi-Go, only Mi-Go had more fruits swirling around and less spice. I'm glad that the sage never really comes out much on me, because sage usually smells dirty and awful on me. The drydown of this is lovely. I normally don't like musk, but this is a very creamy musk. The juiciness of the mango lingers in the background and the golden amber comes out. Juicy, ambery, and a bit spicy.

First on, this smells like lemon and something green & herbal. It isn't a tart or overly sharp lemon though, almost a creamy sort of citrus. I can smell a sort of floral smell underneath the lemon after a few minutes. They smell like little white flowers. In the drydown this is sweet honeysuckle with creamy lemon. I was really enjoying this one, which is odd considering the fact that I don't like florals or lemon. It just had such a bright/creamy edge to it. Unfortunately, after about a half hour, this one goes to pure soap on me

Yay. I was excited to try this one so I can see how it compares to the new formulation of Hearth. First on, does this have almond in it? I’m getting that weird boozy cherries smell that I usually get from almond. This smells almost like nighttime cherry cough syrup. These are not good cherries on me. After about 10 minutes I start smelling maple syrup. No leather or tobacco or anything in the description. Just buttery maple syrup. 3 hours later... still buttery maple syrup. I find it odd that I’m not smelling any leather or tobacco. I might smell a bit of woodsmoke, or I might just be imagining it. Hm. I definitely don’t love this one. It’s sickeningly sweet and syrupy. I hope that the 2005 version is better than this one was on my skin.