Belladonnastrap
-
Content Count
4,858 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Belladonnastrap
-
-
Midnight Kiss is full of notes that hate me. Patchouli, Red Musk & Cocoa. Naturally I expected it to absolutely hate me and I could go along my merry way.
WRONG. Oh this is lovely. I don't get any of the dreaded three at all but what I do get (and a lot of) is wine. It actually reminds me a lot of Queen of Spades for some reason. I can definitely make out the patchouli but it's not dirty hippie patchouli but more of a creamier subtle version. I get no cocoa and no red musk at all. It's a very red sort of scent and absolutely fitting with the theme. I'm in LOVE.
-
October smells like the Autumn Lord. Deep dark woods, a bonfire and a chill of winter in the air.
Go to a forest with the sweetest smelling man you can find. Take some dry twigs and light a fire and sit reaaaaaaaaallly close to him. Make sure the day is foggy. Take a deep breath.
That's October.
-
She was sprawled, awkwardly, beneath the hazel tree, and she gazed up at Tristran with a scowl of complete unfriendliness.
She hefted another clod of mud at him, menacingly, but did not throw it.
Her eyes were red and raw. Her hair was so fair it was almost white, her dress was of blue silk which shimmered in the candlelight. She glittered as she sat there.
The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia.
The first Neil Gaiman book I ever read was Stardust. I was at Gen Con & my ex boyfriend was in one of the game rooms playing Bob, Overlord of Evil. I decided to go sit outside and read this book called Stardust that was written by the guy who wrote Sandman. I liked Sandman so I figured the book would be pretty cool. I sat for about...maybe 5 hours in the bright Wisconsin sun, enthralled. I had always liked fairy tales and this was a fairy tale..but done with bite. There was humor and lust and laughter and creepiness. It was about two people who fell in love almost accidently and it quickly became my favourite book of all time
So imagine my shout of joy when I found out that there were gonna be BPAL scents based on it!
First sniff:
Effervescent with bite. The lavender isn't really prominent on me (unlike say Oneiroi) and I can barely smell the magnolia. Its a very cool sort of scent, very fitting.
Wet
Awful sweet now and it reminds me a lot of Urania (hah!). I was really worried Yvaine would turn into a floral sort of mess but it's very very subtle yet sweet with a sharp tang to it.
Drydown
Maybe it's me, maybe it's this heat but Yvaine completely disappears on me in strongness...yet if I turn my head I get faint wisps of it. It's not a balls in your face scent (well in the beginning it is. Fitting again since Yvaine pretty much gets all up in your grill) but very subtle and fleeting and..twilightish. Completely and utterly on the ball.
Buy if if you're a fan of Moon Rose, The Unicorn, Urania and all the lovely twilight ethereal scents Beth does. -
Mmm!
First Sniff:
Snake Oil drowned in the bottom of the sea.
Wet:
While orginial Snake Oil doesn't really work for me, the Snake Pit does (well parts of it)! Banded Sea Snake smells more aquatic wet then Snake Oil, although there is just that tinge of Vanilla at first.
Dry:
Ah there is the snake oil! It's much wetter though (does that make sense?) and the oakmoss really really comes out to play. I must be the only person in the world who loves the smell of Oakmoss. Mayhap it's because I'm a virgo and we dig teh earth?
Aftermath:
Another solid winner! If Snake Oil on it's own hates you then try the Snake Pit! The combination of Snake Oil + other really changes the dynamic. Banded Sea Snake is an excellent aquatic for those who hate aquatics as the Snake Oil element prevents it from becoming too seaish
-
When I tried this, the cinnamon really really amped in my skin and caused a bit of an reaction so I had to wash it off
However in the bottle it smells like a spicier snake pit with a bit more headiness.
-
Oh man, I really really wanted to love this but it turned into a complicated floral that was way too sweet on me
It was too fruity floral for me and I got no vanilla whatsoever 
Definitely try it if you're a fan of fruity florals. -
Sooooo.
Habu for me is sort of like Buck Moon, Holiday Moon and Snake Oil's bad parts rolled into one with a jolt of bamboo. And oddly enough it works!
It's snake oil only deeper and woody. Very very sensual, I'm surprised.
-
Let it be known that orginial snake oil? Not so much a fan. It's way too incensey for me. So I was leery about the Snake Pit but OMG! I totally shouldn't have been
Austrailan Copperhead was my first try because I was hoping the amber and berry would amp down the incensey smell I get and I was completely right! The berry really comes out for me (I amp berry like whoa though) and makes the snake oil scent more..lively and rich.
-
Wow
First Sniff:
Apple fields & smoke. The first apple harvest with the grain in the air and the smokiness of a newly lit bonfire. This is the scent of cooler nights, freshly baked bread and apple pie.
Wet:
Apples & smoke. The apples are fairly strong but the smoke prevents it from being too cloying. It could be the lovechild of Wildfire & Mabon, it has the rich smokiness of the former but the lovely apples and spice of the latter.
Drydown:
On drydown I get that same faint smell that I associate with all of the lunacies but more spicy. I can't really quite put my finger on it but it's GOOD. Definitely more apple now though.
Aftermath:
SOLD. Compared to last years Harvest Moon (which was more earthy) this years is an apple fest in a bottle! I lurve it. Fantastic staying power too.
-
First Sniff
Fruity bubbly sort of green kind of mannish scent. It's weird. I get nothing of the usual scents I get with the other lunar oils.
Wet
There is this male cologne called Azzaro Chrome that literally makes me want to devour a man when he wears it. HGM smells EXACTLY like that. Probably one of the most green scents I've ever smelled from BPAL, it reminds me of a very fresh rainstorm. I'm getting none of the vanilla/candied fruits that others seem to get. Maybe my body chemistry is just weird. I get a little hint of ginger but not much at all.
Drydown
TBD
-
In Imperial China, the Dragon was the symbol of the Emperor's power, and to this day, the concept and the image of the Dragon is considered sacrosanct. The Dragon is a symbol of power, the Lord of weather and water. The Dragon Moon celebrates the glory and vigor of Springtime: dragon's blood resin, tea leaf, bamboo reed, sandalwood and cherry blossom.
First Sniff:
Holiday Moon + Dragon's Blood. More specifically the tea leaf pops out more then anything. I can barely make out the sandalwood and the cherry blossom is non existant.
Wet:
Oh my. Dragon's Blood is REALLY strong on me, it almost overpowers everything else. There's a hint of tea (or something else green) but I just get this strong smell of dragon's blood that completely obliterates everything else.
Drydown:
WOW. The other scents are coming together to fight for dominance,it's like there's an epic battle on my wrist. WHO WILL WIN? THE OTHER NOTES OR THE DRAGON?! It's very green on me right now with a hazy tinge of red. It reminds me a lot of Neo-Tokyo actually, must be the shared note of Cherry Blossom.
Aftermath:
The asian moons have been hit and miss for me (mostly miss) but if you can deal with the inital blast of Dragon's Blood I think you might enjoy this particular moon. I definitely wasn't expecting it to drydown into this dragonteafloral but it did and its lovely. -
I have lived long enough, having seen one thing, that love hath an end;
Goddess and maiden and queen, be near me now and befriend.
Thou art more than the day or the morrow, the seasons that laugh or that weep;
For these give joy and sorrow; but thou, Proserpina, sleep.
Sweet is the treading of wine, and sweet the feet of the dove;
But a goodlier gift is thine than foam of the grapes or love.
Yea, is not even Apollo, with hair and harpstring of gold,
A bitter God to follow, a beautiful God to behold?
I am sick of singing; the bays burn deep and chafe: I am fain
To rest a little from praise and grievous pleasure and pain.
For the Gods we know not of, who give us our daily breath,
We know they are cruel as love or life, and lovely as death.
O Gods dethroned and deceased, cast forth, wiped out in a day!
From your wrath is the world released, redeemed from your chains, men say.
New Gods are crowned in the city; their flowers have broken your rods;
They are merciful, clothed with pity, the young compassionate Gods.
But for me their new device is barren, the days are bare;
Things long past over suffice, and men forgotten that were.
Time and the Gods are at strife; ye dwell in the midst thereof,
Draining a little life from the barren breasts of love.
I say to you, cease, take rest; yea, I say to you all, be at peace,
Till the bitter milk of her breast and the barren bosom shall cease.
Wilt thou yet take all, Galilean? but these thou shalt not take,
The laurel, the palms and the paean, the breasts of the nymphs in the brake;
Breasts more soft than a dove's, that tremble with tenderer breath;
And all the wings of the Loves, and all the joy before death;
All the feet of the hours that sound as a single lyre,
Dropped and deep in the flowers, with strings that flicker like fire.
More than these wilt thou give, things fairer than all these things?
Nay, for a little we live, and life hath mutable wings.
A little while and we die; shall life not thrive as it may?
For no man under the sky lives twice, outliving his day.
And grief is a grievous thing, and a man hath enough of his tears:
Why should he labour, and bring fresh grief to blacken his years?
Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath;
We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death.
Laurel is green for a season, and love is sweet for a day;
But love grows bitter with treason, and laurel outlives not May.
Sleep, shall we sleep after all? for the world is not sweet in the end;
For the old faiths loosen and fall, the new years ruin and rend.
Fate is a sea without shore, and the soul is a rock that abides;
But her ears are vexed with the roar and her face with the foam of the tides.
O lips that the live blood faints in, the leavings of racks and rods!
O ghastly glories of saints, dead limbs of gibbeted Gods!
Though all men abase them before you in spirit, and all knees bend,
I kneel not neither adore you, but standing, look to the end.
All delicate days and pleasant, all spirits and sorrows are cast
Far out with the foam of the present that sweeps to the surf of the past:
Where beyond the extreme sea-wall, and between the remote sea-gates,
Waste water washes, and tall ships founder, and deep death waits:
Where, mighty with deepening sides, clad about with the seas as with wings,
And impelled of invisible tides, and fulfilled of unspeakable things,
White-eyed and poisonous-finned, shark-toothed and serpentine-curled,
Rolls, under the whitening wind of the future, the wave of the world.
The depths stand naked in sunder behind it, the storms flee away;
In the hollow before it the thunder is taken and snared as a prey;
In its sides is the north-wind bound; and its salt is of all men's tears;
With light of ruin, and sound of changes, and pulse of years:
With travail of day after day, and with trouble of hour upon hour;
And bitter as blood is the spray; and the crests are as fangs that devour:
And its vapour and storm of its steam as the sighing of spirits to be;
And its noise as the noise in a dream; and its depth as the roots of the sea:
And the height of its heads as the height of the utmost stars of the air:
And the ends of the earth at the might thereof tremble, and time is made bare.
Will ye bridle the deep sea with reins, will ye chasten the high sea with rods?
Will ye take her to chain her with chains, who is older than all ye Gods?
All ye as a wind shall go by, as a fire shall ye pass and be past;
Ye are Gods, and behold, ye shall die, and the waves be upon you at last.
In the darkness of time, in the deeps of the years, in the changes of things,
Ye shall sleep as a slain man sleeps, and the world shall forget you for kings.
Though the feet of thine high priests tread where thy lords and our forefathers trod,
Though these that were Gods are dead, and thou being dead art a God,
Though before thee the throned Cytherean be fallen, and hidden her head,
Yet thy kingdom shall pass, Galilean, thy dead shall go down to thee dead.
Of the maiden thy mother men sing as a goddess with grace clad around;
Thou art throned where another was king; where another was queen she is crowned.
Yea, once we had sight of another: but now she is queen, say these.
Not as thine, not as thine was our mother, a blossom of flowering seas,
Clothed round with the world's desire as with raiment, and fair as the foam,
And fleeter than kindled fire, and a goddess, and mother of Rome.
For thine came pale and a maiden, and sister to sorrow; but ours,
Her deep hair heavily laden with odour and colour of flowers,
White rose of the rose-white water, a silver splendour, a flame,
Bent down unto us that besought her, and earth grew sweet with her name.
For thine came weeping, a slave among slaves, and rejected; but she
Came flushed from the full-flushed wave, and imperial, her foot on the sea.
And the wonderful waters knew her, the winds and the viewless ways,
And the roses grew rosier, and bluer the sea-blue stream of the bays.
Ye are fallen, our lords, by what token? we wise that ye should not fall.
Ye were all so fair that are broken; and one more fair than ye all.
But I turn to her still, having seen she shall surely abide in the end;
Goddess and maiden and queen, be near me now and befriend.
O daughter of earth, of my mother, her crown and blossom of birth,
I am also, I also, thy brother; I go as I came unto earth.
In the night where thine eyes are as moons are in heaven, the night where thou art,
Where the silence is more than all tunes, where sleep overflows from the heart,
Where the poppies are sweet as the rose in our world, and the red rose is white,
And the wind falls faint as it blows with the fume of the flowers of the night,
And the murmur of spirits that sleep in the shadow of Gods from afar
Grows dim in thine ears and deep as the deep dim soul of a star,
In the sweet low light of thy face, under heavens untrod by the sun,
Let my soul with their souls find place, and forget what is done and undone.
Thou art more than the Gods who number the days of our temporal breath;
Let these give labour and slumber; but thou, Proserpina, death.
Therefore now at thy feet I abide for a season in silence. I know
I shall die as my fathers died, and sleep as they sleep; even so.
For the glass of the years is brittle wherein we gaze for a span;
A little soul for a little bears up this corpse which is man.
So long I endure, no longer; and laugh not again, neither weep.
For there is no God found stronger than death; and death is a sleep.
The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine.
I quoted the entire poem because Swinburne = YAY.
First sniff:
Amber fruits. At first sniff it reminds me a lot of a warmer Morocco with hints of the Pomegrante I get in Persephone.
Wet:
It's pomegrantes dipped in amber buffed with the warmth of the earth and the last rays of a spring day. I don't know if there is pomegrante in this but it's what my body is amping up the most. I also get a bit of sandalwood but it's not the usual cloying I get when I wear sandalwood, it more anchors the scent firmly in the earth. At least it SMELLS like sandalwood, whether or not that's in the perfume is anyone's guess. The amber is of a sweet nature, not overpowering but just the right hint to push the scent into pure warmth.
Drydown:
The amber comes out more and also I get a hint of baby powder, no clue where that is coming from. It also turns into a bit of a warm floral on me. It sort of reminds me of a cross between morocco and bearded lady actually. Not necessarily because there's vanilla (cause I don't smell any) but the nice warm drydown I get from B.L. is a lot like this. Think Morocco's more sensual older sister.
Aftermath:
HELL YES
-
There's a sweetass monster in my pants.
First Sniff: It reminds me a lot of Bearded Lady with more booze and musk. That sweet vanilla that makes Bearded Lady so delicious.
Wet: Ohh. It's like Antique Lace's more naughty, alcoholic sister.
Drydown: Mmm. Antique Lace and Bearded Lady's bastard redheaded stepchild.
Aftermath: It's a NICE foody scent that goes a wee bit floral but I have a couple of other scents that mimic this and would rather have it go to a home where someone would enjoy it more. If you adore vanilla florals though hunt down underpants!
-
No descriptionThe Loas (from the French, 'lois,' law) are the 'deities' of Vodoun. Similar to (and sometimes identical to) the Orishas of Santeria, they are considered not gods unto themselves, but emanations of a supreme being, as well as evolved spirits of the dead. As a pantheon, the Lwas are similar in many ways to the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Some of the Loas were Kings or other notable citizens.
Let me start off by saying that I'm not a very good person when it comes to picking out specific notes and whatnot...but I don't really think that's the purpose of this oil anyway. However for the sake of the review and the fact that I haven't had an oppertunity to USE this yet I'll use the normal format.
First Sniff:
This smells like a tropical rose. Maybe rose tinged with mango?
Wet:
More tropical and actually a bit musky. It reminds me a lot of what I imagine the romantized carribbean would smell like. A woman with caramel colored skin drssed in brightly colored clothes with a flower in her hair and a basket full of mangos balanced on the top of her head walks down the street and if you listen closely you can hear the men chanting to the seductive beat of a drum. There's a slight breeze in the air that brings the scents of heated skin, fruits, flowers and the sweet tangyness of the ocean to your nose.
EDIT: Add some Jasmine to the mix now.
Purpose:
I'm actually not quite sure how this would be used as I've never worked with the Loas before but I have a few ideas and plan on reporting back
-
Graveyard Dirt was well...dirt.
Gluttony smells like a candy shoppe.
-
I would email answers @ blackphoenixalchemylab.com and see what Sara says
-
A carnivorous enchantress: diverse, lovely and graceful, emitting a sticky, glowing golden, sweet and terminally inviting scent. Its dew is believed to grant eternal beauty and longevity, and restore vitality and vigor to the magician.
First sniff: Like laying in a field of wet flowers watching the sunrise. I know it sounds funny but it's just...oh. Oh.
Wet: I'm probably going to be flogged for this but it reminds me a lot of the smell of sunwashed linen. When you wash it and hang it out to dry on a nice ripe breezy sunny day. It reminds me a lot of Daffodil mixed in with the soft aquatic I get from Kingsport. You can tell it's a very sort of yellow scent if that makes sense but it's not cloying.
Dry: Oh its a soft muted floral now that reminds me of a daydream...sweet and subtle. Fleeting but very memorable. The staying power seems to be pretty good as well, not as strong as it was when I first tried it but still very much there. Lovely, it's like a lovely spring morning in a bottle. -
First Sniff: Blue Moon x Kingsport + Lotus/Plum.
Wet: This reminds me a lot of Fee. That floral semi fruity mixture it has going on. The plum seems to be overpowering the lotus (actually it overpowers everything but that's me...I amp plum) and whatever whacked out oceanic scent I orginially got.
Drydown: A little of this goes a LONG way on me. The drydown settles into this soft scent evocative of the first spring. It's actually quite lovely.
-
First Sniff: It's as if Midway and Elegba had a love child.
Wet: Ooh. Coconut and Caramel and Tobacco. Have any of you ever read Delta of Venus by Anais Nin? There is a story in there called "The Basque and Bijiou" and in it the character Bijou visits this 'clairvoyant' who basically has sex with her. ANYWAY the rambling is because I imagine this is what the room smelled like...heady and sweet and musky.
Drydown This is going to sound really weird, but the drydown reminds me of Virgo's drydown...woodsy and spicy. Tobacco tends to be a bit hit or miss with me and in this its very very much a hit.
I LOVE it.
-
Snow Angel is what I wanted Snow Bunny to be on me. It's sort of like taking Ice Queen and Skadi from last year, throwing them into a blender, adding some florals and a light dusting of snow and hitting PUREE.
-
Normally I'm not a fan of huge mints in my parfum (I think Undertow is the only exception I can think of) but I LOVE the vanilla mint that is Snowblind. It's not an overly coying mint and it's not very subtle either. It reminds me a lot of Lick It's more subdued but still fun brother.
-
Smelling Fee makes me smile. It's the scent of laughter, white and yellow flowers and sun. Theres a bit of vanilla, a bit of melon and just something bubbly that makes me grin everytime I wear it. A joyful scent most definitely and one to try if you're afraid of florals.
-
-
Snow Bunny
in Yules
At frist sniff it's a more sedate and sweeter Skadi. As time went on the pine smell mellowed out on me and I just got a whiff of gree. Unfortunately the staying power of this was next to nothing on me so while I'm a fan of the scent it has to go as it has no...whats the word ya'll use? Oh yeah. Throw.
Oh and the label? ADORABLE.
Marshmallow Poof
in Black Phoenix Trading Post
Posted · Report reply
For me Marshmallow Poof smells like...soap. Dove soap to be completely honest. At first sniff I can totally and completely smell the sweetness but once I drop it on my skin it just turns into straight up Dove with a slightly creamy base. It's a damn shame because cold sniff it's this beautiful white fluffy cloud :/