ljaylh

 

I just got a frimp of this with a bottle purchase - I didn't realise it was discontinued in Jan '08, so I guess the oil I'm testing must be over 12 months old.

 

I can see how this blend could be invigorating - it's very bright and fresh, bordering on sharp but not quite going there. My skin is totally ignoring everything but the verbena.. I'm getting a really strong and slightly mint/herbal lemon and that's about all.

 

I wish there was more than just " a touch" of the sweet orange and warm almond.. that may have mellowed things out and softened that sharpness, but sadly this is all just lemon on me - my skin just amps it up over everything else. Happened the same way with Lolita

 

Since other people had much better reactions to this, I'll be adding it to my swaps pile because I don't think it's for me.

 

Wow.. not many reviews for this one, that seems strange? Well, maybe it's a bit of a secret, but I'm glad I discovered it! And the reviews that are here are very mixed, which I find interesting. So here's how it went with me.

 

When it first goes on.. very VERY orange/mandarin but not sweet at all.. it's a dark, deep and rich orange that's very lush and heady. I get a faint whiff of something almost menthol for just a few seconds, but that disappeared.

 

After it's been on for a little while, the violet comes out more - so at that stage the orange melds in with the violet so that I can't quite tell which is which.. I can distinguish both notes, but only if I try real hard - they're blended beautifully. I can smell the nectarine now too - it's sweetened things up just a little bit. The amber is also there, giving everything a golden softness and keeping it on the orange rather than purple side. No hint of the patchouli yet.

 

One hour later - still no patchouli.. well, that's weird! But actually I'm not complaining because I love this just the way it is.. that lovely deep dark orange is still there, the violet and amber are still there, not sure about the nectarine, and oh yeah.. ylang-ylang - did that ever show up? I'm not sure it did. The violet is coming out stronger than the orange now though, which is a bit of a shame because I liked that middle stage this went through when the orange was balanced more evenly with the violet.

 

Two hours later - hmm.. pretty much just violet left, with a hint of amber. The orange is *just* there, but very faint.

 

Overall - a nice blend, lots of interesting layers and stages to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally! I found one of the Aphrodites that works for me!

 

Mmmm.. this is rich and velvety, the plum and the burgundy wine is gorgeous - just the right blend of fruit and sweet. The sandalwood gives it all a beautiful warmth and creaminess, and the champaca adds just a bit of heat to the mix.

 

My only issue is that it fades quite a bit once it's dried down.. that lush, heady plum that was present when it was wet mellows out a lot. But another little dab soon fixes that.. and I'm finding that a little dab is all I need, it's got a pretty decent throw. A lovely blend for anyone who enjoys things from the plum/burgundy family.

 

 

 

 

Hmm.. mixed feelings about this - I was really keen to try it, because of the purple musk and sandalwood, but unfortunately I'm not getting a lot of that coming through here.. it's mostly the mint, violet and moss that I can smell.

 

It's not sweet, and not really floral.. so I think the musk and sandalwood are doing their job, but there's nothing really spectacular here for me - it's a *nice* scent, but too much of the violet and lilac to suit my skin. Bummer, my search for the perfect purple musk continues..

 

 

Hoooooooo boy, this is freakin delicious, and absolutely sinful and lusty. This one gets my senses tingling

 

So what's in it? Err.. I dunno, I'm guessing something like dragon's blood, and a red musk of some kind. I think there could be maybe some violet or jasmine in there, but all the red bits are keeping those florals away.. which I'm pleased about, since jasmine turns into poopy nappy smell on me.

 

If this were an outfit, it would be your highest black stilettos with a tight black pencil skirt and a low-cut red slinky top. And black lacy undies too, of course.

 

I got a bit excited about this when I first dabbed it.. while wet, the strongest notes on my skin are the mint (this has almost an aniseed tone to it) and the sandalwood, with a very slight hint of rose. The violet doesn't seem to be present at this stage.

 

Sadly, after a 30-minute dry-down, all I get is the rose.. with a faint hint of the violet still there.

 

Rose, you are a fiend. You spoiled this for me

 

 

Hmm.. lilac? Some sweet pea too, maybe? Possibly even some honeysuckle? There's something very sweet and rich in here.. I'm picking orange flowers, rather than white or yellow, it reminds me of that California Poppy hair oil (is that even still around??). This definitely has an 'old-fashioned' feel to it, it's very nice but I would only recommend it for those who like rich florals.

 

Another lab frimp for me!

 

This is a very refreshing, light blend.. it definitely has a 'green' feel to it, but that would be a pale mint-shade green, not a dark earthy green. I can smell the tea in there at the base, but I'm guessing it's the peony that's giving this the overlay of sweetness. After a short while, it dries down to a very soft and powdery almost citrus smell. I'd say this would be perfect for wearing with a pretty summer dress whilst walking barefoot through long grass.

Got this as a lab frimp!

 

I almost didn't try it, because.. roses.. nuh uh, not for me.

 

But I gave it a shot. When it first goes on, it had a strong baby shampoo-like smell to me, but then the rose came out. I'd say this is a dark pink rose.. not quite the lush red rose type of smell. More a powdery rose.

 

However, as is always the case for me, all I end up getting is rose. A nice sweet and feminine rose, yes, but.. just rose.

 

 

 

I totally agree with the recommendations for Monsterbait Underbed.. it may be a bit difficult to find a bottle, but decants appear fairly regularly on the sales thread - it's very VERY yummy

 

 

Oh my, this is gorgeous. I just got an imp today as part of a swap and I'm completely wowed by it.. although somewhat disappointed in myself to have not noticed this lovely lady before, sitting there in the Carnaval line-up.

 

I think the peach is the most obvious note, but it's a lovely creamy velvety musky kind of peach - not a sweet, artificial smell at all. I can "sense" the other notes, but can't really pick them out individually (not even the patchouli, which is usually so obvious) - this is one of those masterpiece blends where everything has melded together perfectly to create a beautiful synergy of fragrance. It's sticking close to my skin, but that's OK because this is a "snuggling" sort of scent, not something I want wafting all around the room, it has an intimate feel to it.

 

Reading the other reviews here, it seems people have had very mixed reactions to this one - I guess for once I lucked out in the skin chemistry department. If you're reading this and having trouble making up your mind, I'd say go for it - it's definitely worth a try and if you don't love it, share it with a friend because on the right skin this is really something special.

 

I'm absolutely overjoyed to have discovered Eisheth Zenunim, I can see it becoming one of my all time favourites.

 

 

Black Rose has amber, black musk, roses.

Santa Muerte has lovers’ roses, solemn chrysanthemum, dark vetiver and dazzling cactus flowers.

 

Hmm.. interesting! None of the notes in either of those are the usual culprits for the dreaded "hairspray" smell, so perhaps it's just the combination of notes in those or the way your skin handles rose? My skin amps rose ridiculously to the point where that's all I can smell in any blend with rose, but I don't get the hairspray thing from it. My hairspray trigger notes are champagne and poppy, and sometimes white musk.

 

I would suspect perhaps it's the chrysanthemum in the Santa Muerte, but I have no clue what it could be in the Black Rose. Out of curiosity - I just did a quick dab from my imp of Black Rose and there's definitely no hairspray coming from it for me.

 

You might need to try a process of elimination - do you have any other blends with notes in common with these two? Maybe by trying a few others, you may be able to identify what's causing the hairspray problem. Good luck finding out!

 

Siren has the unfortunate honour of being only the second ever BPAL I've had to wash off my skin. Jasmine, you smell so pretty in my garden but you're a foul beast of evil stench on my skin.

 

I put a dab of Siren on, took a big whiff, and nearly keeled over. Mmmm... the lovely aroma of poopy baby's nappy. Nice!

 

So then I walk over to my friend and slap some on her arm, and take a big whiff. Mmmm.. the lovely aroma of spicy vanilla and apricots. She's there inhaling her arm in a dreamy state making squee noises - it smelt fantastic on her.

 

Then I say to my friend "smell my arm" and I wish I had taken a photo of her face at that exact moment when her nose got close to my skin.. yup, there it was - right in her face - poopy baby's nappy. She was amazed that it could smell so nice on her but so foul on me. So unfortunately, there will be no further applications of Siren to my skin. But my friend now has her very first BPAL imp

 

I think all the previous reviewers have done a fantastic job of reviewing Blue Phoenix, considering there's no note list to go by.

 

For me, it's definitely blueberries, but not a "genuine" blueberry (as in the real smell of a real blueberry), it's kind of an "enhanced" blueberry in a bubble-gum kinda way, more like how you'd expect blueberry candy to smell. Violet Beauregarde would be impressed!

 

As well as the blueberry, I also get a faint vanilla and also the hint of something green (moss?) lurking in the background, which I think is doing a great job of stopping this from being too sickly sweet. I agree with nursekins - once it's dried down on my skin, it gets a wine-ish feel, the initial candy sweetness dies down and I'm also getting a hint of musk.

 

Unfortunately it's not lasting long on my skin, but I haven't had a good slather yet.. I'll try that tomorrow on clean skin and see how it goes for lasting power.

 

This is to blue what Pink Phoenix is to pink.. the two are very very similar to my nose (except of course one is pink and one is blue and they actually smell completely different, but they feel the same if that makes sense). My concern is that Blue Phoenix may reveal that nasty plastic note that Pink Phoenix sometimes gives me.. I really hope it doesn't, because this is lovely and quite unlike any other BPAL that I have, so I'm absolutely thrilled to have been lucky enough to get hold of a bottle.

 

 

I would recommend Love's Philosophy.. vanilla, saffron, and cream

 

The vanilla is sweet and bold, but the cream softens it up so that it's rich and velvety rather than being too sickly. The saffron adds just a hint of exotic spice, which stops it from being "just" vanilla. Some reviewers report a "green" or "herbal" note from Love's Philosophy - personally I don't get that on my skin, but I suspect that the saffron plays up/down depending on your skin chemistry.

 

It is an LE, but it comes up fairly regularly on the sales/swap threads so it's not impossible to find.. and definitely worth a try if you love your vanilla to be velvety and creamy soft.

 

 

 

On me, this starts off quite rich with the gardenia and honey but lightens up very quickly to end up being a kind of baby shampoo scent. After being on for half an hour, it's very very faint - a clean and slightly honey-ish fragrance which is very pretty but easily forgettable... an hour later, it's hardly there at all. It's nice, but just not enough OOMPH for me.

 

Gosh.. I just got an imp of this via a sale, I had no idea it dated back as far as it did.. I've never really heard it mentioned amongst all the LE swooning around here!

 

What a crazy blend this is.. on me, it started out quite bitter with an almost lemon tang with a very strong fig top - so that must be the "fierce and feral" stage. But as it dries down, the chocolate comes out and that 'bitter' feel goes away.. it goes very dry and musky but in a warm and slightly sweet way - so that must be the "warm, soft and cozy" bit.

 

It keeps changing! That lemon comes back, then goes away. What is THAT about? Lemon's not even mentioned as a note - could it be the juniper berry giving it that 'lemon' flavor? I actually prefer the chocolate-y/musk stage, but that also comes and goes.

 

Anyway - this is fabulous.. very unique, and definitely worth a try if you can find some!

 

Ayup.. chocolate fudge brownies. Goes on that way, stays on that way... for aaaaaaaaaages.

 

YUM

 

This was a frimp from the lovely KateW.. and to be honest, I possibly never would have tried it because although I love dragon's blood resin, myrrh and cherry, I'm terrified of clove being too strong because my skin tends to amp anything spicey. But I am so glad I got to try this, because it is abso-freakin-lutely divine!

 

In the imp, it's a stunning deep copper colour that almost shines. When it first goes on.. the main notes to hit me are the dragon's blood and the clove but neither of them are whoooooaaaaaaa strong.. more a velvety rich warmness, the balance of the two in this blend must have been quite challenging, but to my nose it's absolutely perfect. Then up pops the cherry, sweetening things up a bit, and about five minutes later when I take a deep huff again.. there's the myrrh, which I suspect is where that warmness I first felt is coming from.

 

This is really gorgeous - it's sweet without being sickly, resinous without being sticky, and smokey without smelling like smoke. It's.. sexy, yeah - that's what it is.. if I snuggled up to the side of someone's neck and discovered they smelt like this, I wouldn't be leaving for a very VERY long time.

 

I love it when surprise frimps knock my socks off like this just has. I'm gonna have to get a bottle of this, for sure!

 

I totally took a chance on this, because I was scared about the lily of the valley.. but every other note sounded perfect so I grabbed a bottle from a sale here on the forum - so glad I did!!

 

The ginger is definitely sparkly at first, but the apricot is stopping it from being too spicy - together, they're the perfect combination of warm loveliness. Then the vanilla shows up, and ohhh my this is a lovely creamy vanilla. The oak and tonka seem to ground all that sweetness perfectly - yes, this is a "sweet" blend but I wouldn't class it as foody because it definitely has an organic feel to it.

 

It wore down quite a bit after about half an hour on my skin, leaving me with mostly a gorgeous soft woody vanilla but I can definitely still smell the other notes there, particularly the sandalwood which made a late appearance. I'm not sure that the lily of the valley ever showed up.. it's obviously in there somewhere but thankfully it's not pushing itself in front of all the others. This stayed good for about 3 hours, but I only put a tiny dab on so I think that's a good wear time out of one dab.

 

This is only my second experience with the Travelling Salons (the other being Wezwanie/Hold) - are they all this beautiful? Haloes is really something special - it's kinda like bits of all my favourite BPALs mixed in together, very multi-layered and complex. I am definitely going hunting for more!

 

I love love LOVE honeys in my BPALs, especially the waxy/creamy kind. The thing about the honey note though is that what works on one person may not on another.. however having said that, quite a few have worked beautifully for me but my skin amps honey big time.

 

I would highly recommend No. 93 Engine (Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage) - for me, it's very honey but with an almost musky tone - and a definite waxy feel (like you've dipped your fingers into the warm wax from a honey-scented candle).

 

I've also just got a bottle of Wezwanie/Hold, and that is WHOOAAAAAAA honey - very golden and very rich - probably the strongest honey I've tried so far, but nicely warmed by amber and myrrh... it's exquisite.

 

Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht also has a nice honey tone, on me it's not a rich/golden honey but it does have a nice creaminess to it.

 

Giant Vulva might also be worth a try, I found it quite subtle but many of the reviews posted so far mention a nice rich honey note.

 

I also second dzurlady's recommendation of Mead Moon for that lovely organic hot honey feel.

 

In reference to other suggestions posted, and again based only on how my skin worked with them.. both Dana O'Shee and O are more marzipan/nutty than honey, Honey Mone is more "green" than honey, and Alice was all rose - sadly no honey or cream at all.

 

I admit it, I'm a honey fiend

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh.. I waited for ages to get hold of a bottle of this, since the Salon didn't travel down to this part of the world. My bonus for being so patient is that the bottle I've now got is probably at least a year old, which I think has probably worked in its favor because this is riiiiiiiiich.

 

Coming out of the bottle, the oil is all thick and a beautiful golden colour - it actually made me pull back a little when I first put a dab on my skin... it's that strong. First whiff when wet on my skin is definitely the hazelnut, vanilla and sandalwood.

 

After about 10 minutes on my skin, that initial nutty wood thing has settled down and it's is all amber, myrrh and honey. Actually, this is perhaps the richest amber I've encountered so far in my BPAL travels, and the honey/myrrh combo is also very rich. It's kinda like No. 93 Engine after it's been turbocharged, but without the wax, and way more everything than No. 93, but the similarity is there in its honeyness.

 

Half an hour later, it's definitely softened down a lot from its initial HEY I'M HERE presence.. now the nutty feel has come back a bit, and the vanilla has also reappeared.. finally everything seems in perfect balance. What a clever and multi-layered blend this is, it really shows how skillful Beth is at her craft.

 

I'm just loving it, and so is everyone within 20 feet of me.. even when dried down completely, it still wafts around a lot. Note to self: just a couple of drops will be fine, do not slather!! Lovely. LOVELY. Golden, warm, rich and sumptuous. I think this would be a love/hate blend for many people, so if you're not sure then I'd encourage you to at least grab a decant.. hopefully you'll be just as impressed as I am

 

 

 

 

Nothing much new to add here.. the cherry blossom is really nice when it first goes on (and not at all like that sometimes cough-syrup thing I get with regular cherry), and sticks around for about 10 minutes on my skin. After that, everything turns into a white musk haze that borders on smelling like hair spray. After an hour or so, I'm left with very faint remnants of a white floral scent on my skin. It's a very light and delicate fragrance, probably apt for voyeurs who don't want to be caught out hiding in the cherry blossoms.

 

Lesson learnt - vanilla musk is NOT vanilla.

 

I think the success of this one is going to very much depend on your skin/body chemistry. Alas, mine does not agree with it.

 

I'm on my second day of trying this, to make sure I gave it a good run. Yesterday I only applied a few dabs, and today I put a good semi-slather on.. lesson learnt, better to apply a few dabs every couple of hours - this goes on quite strong and lasts for a long time on my skin.

 

I get the weirdest sensation from this.. it has a very waxy feel to it - like I've dipped my fingers in warm vanilla/honey scented candle wax. It reminds me very much of No. 93 Engine, which does the same waxy thing. But uhmm.. there's no honey or even beeswax in this, so I have no idea where that feeling comes from - maybe it's just a fluke of the vanilla mixed with all those other very organic-type notes that makes it that way, or maybe it's just a skin chemistry thing. I'm not complaining though - it's lovely! I want to attach my nose to my arm because it's so yummy to inhale, it makes me go mmmmmmmmm.

 

I've realised I tend to waffle on about how a blend *feels* rather than smells when I write these reviews. So what does it smell like? Well, I mentioned the honey (which I think is a trick of the vanilla & ginger combination) - that's really the main smell I get. Oud is just stunning, and that's definitely making an appearance. The oakmoss (which I was a little concerned about) is behaving itself, as is the palm date. So for me - it's all about the gorgeous creaminess of the vanilla, ginger and oud.

 

This is my favourite Shunga so far.. while I love many BPALs because they just smell so damn good, I especially love the ones that give me a warm and comforting feeling and Lovers with Rutting Cats definitely goes into that category. Oh, and the label art is fabulous too

 

I only just discovered this through the sales thread and decided to take a chance on it.

 

Now I'm a cocoa kinda gal all the way - the mere mention of a chocolate or cocoa note and I'm unable to resist. So imagine my surprise when Midnight Kiss turns into a musky grape/berry bubblegum on my skin! Yep - bubblegum, but the purple kind rather than the pink, so that's the blood wine? Maybe?

 

So bearing in mind that I'm getting grape bubblegum which is vastly different to what the previous reviewers have said.. I can still sense the musk, amber and sandalwood - they're lurking like men in trench coats in the darkened back corner of a smoky bar, intimidating the bubble gum blonde who wants to get up and dance on the table but holds herself back.

 

Patchouli seems completely absent, and I'm really not sure what nicotiana smells like so I'm not sure if it's present. But either way, I love this - just the perfect blend of sweet and smokey - it stays on my skin for ages and wafts around beautifully.