Scylla

Of the scents mentioned, I've tried Fae, Tamora, Depraved, Yerevan, Jack and March Hare. I'd have to say that March Hare is my favorite of those. It's fruity-licious apricot, with a spicy clove kick.

If O was too foody for you, I think Dana O'Shee will NOT be a good choice, because in my opinion it is a "foodier" version of O. If you don't like vanilla, I don't think Dragon's Milk or Snake Oil would be good for you, either. They are both very vanilla-y on me. I agree with velvet that Velvet would be a great choice. It is very different--it has sandalwood, myrrh and chocolate, but it's not foody. Definitely worth a try. I agree with clover (and everyone else who agreed) that each oil will smell differently to each person and ON each person, depending on their chemistry. (This was especially evident at the Chicago BPAL gathering. We all smelled the same bottle of Helping Hand and all smelled different predominant notes! And some loved it, some hated it!) Good luck on your search for the perfect BPAL oil! You'll become an addict like the rest of us soon. Resistance is futile!

It's an anti-depressant in an imp vial! You can't possibly be in a bad mood while wearing this oil. Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo is like a carefree, happy childhood memory. It's fruity and candy sweet--kind of a cross between Jailbait, Bordello and The Star, in my opinion. I haven't had good luck with the Voodoo blends before--until now! Clover was kind enough to decant an imp of this for me at the Chicago BPAL gathering and I'm definitely going to buy a bottle.

In the vial: Craft store / cinnamon broom! Wet, on my skin: Reminds me of Sugar Cookie, but with more oomph and less sweetness. On drydown: Still very cinnamony in a craft store kinda way, but I smell something metallic in the background.

In the vial: Ha! Apple Jacks cereal! (Which really is a cinnamon/nutmeg smell and is not apple-y at all) Wet, on my skin: Cinnamon, nutmeg and leather On drydown: Leather and wood with spices and light florals in the background. This is such a complex, wonderful scent. I wish I had discovered it in early autumn instead of January--I would have worn it all fall and winter long! To me, it's definitely a "cool weather / get cozy" scent.

In the vial: I can definitely smell the comparisons to Embalming Fluid. Wet, on my skin: Once on, it doesn't smell anything like Embalming Fluid on my skin. Very sharp, tangy grapefruit with ginger right behind and a light floral (I assume it's the apple blossom) in the background. On drydown: Ah, apple blossom time! When I wore this yesterday for the first time, I kept thinking it smelled like White Linen. And then when I went to post this review just now I looked at the other reviews and, sure enough, others smelled it too! I it! At first it's very citrusy, which I love, and then it morphs into a livelier, more youthful version of White Linen (which used to be a big favorite in my pre-BPAL days). Gonna be buying a big bottle of Baobhan Sith at the next full moon update, I know that for sure! I was going to get some Phantasm, but now Baobhan Sith has replaced Phantasm as my spring fragrance du jour.

In the bottle: I was looking forward to something Skadi-esque, since there have been so many comparisons to Skadi (which is one of my very favorite BPAL oils) but I don't get the similiarity. When I first sniffed this, my first impression was, "Wow, that's a dark blue scent." I don't get any pine, but I do get an aquatic note, a crisp, clean woodsy note and maybe some moss and flowers in the background. Wet, on my skin: It's definitely a damp, dark aquatic and there is definitely some musk in there. Not too feral, thank goodness! This smells foresty, but not PINE foresty. On drydown: The florals come out as this dries down. I'm not usually a huge floral fan, but these flowers are not the "attack of the 50 foot bouquet" variety as was the case with Harvest Moon. These are gentle, clean, fresh smelling flowers. On drydown, I think it smells quite a bit like Dirty.

In the vial: That usual, herbal "voodoo blend" smell Wet, on my skin: I'm not sure what about it I didn't like at first, but once it actually hit my skin I sort of recoiled and thought, "What have I done?" It smelled sharp and feral at first. I fought the urge to go wash it off! But, as someone else posted, it did change. It lightened up considerably and became sort of a creamy, clean rose. On drydown, it smells exactly like Dove soap on my skin.

First, I'd like to thank quantum spice for letting me try this in the Travels of the Pumpkin King circular swap. Second, I'm starting to think my nose is malfunctioning! Either that or my body chemistry is really whacked! (which, incidentally, I have suspected before!) I am not getting ANY creaminess, or pumpkin goodness. Or mulled cider. At first, I get something dark and incensey. Then it changes, and it gets spicy like Chai. Then the two elements blend, and the final product ends up smelling like Chai mixed with BPAL's Scarecrow. As with Scarecrow, I think this would smell great on a man!

I have not tried Carnal, Nephelim, Dragon's Heart or The Apothecary, but I have tried Nemesis, Intrigue, Mata Hari and Cerberus, and the most figgy (on me) was Cerberus, followed by Intrigue. I didn't detect ANY fig in Nemesis or Mata Hari. Go figure!

Very well said, judas_kiss. Belladonnastrap--I don't think anyone was "slamming" Marty, but I think many of us got on the defensive for the Lab when she said she would appreciate "a full list of oils used in each blend." It seemed like asking Mrs. Fields' or KFC to disclose their secret recipes in case someone might be allergic to one of the ingredients--not very likely! The Lab is more likely to respond when asked in the way judas_kiss mentioned, rather than having someone asking for a list of components in each blend.

Actually, it's not that simple. The labbies wouldn't have anything to do with connecting a person to it. The lovely and talented quantum spice is the one who created the search engine, and she doesn't work for the Lab.

Gluttony smells very similar to Harvest to my nose. There also used to be a Yankee scent called "Chocolate Truffle" that was very similar to Bliss, but I just looked at their site and apparently it's been discontinued.

Jasmine and rose are horrible on me also! You can also add amber to my trilogy of terrible notes. My body chemistry does something horrific to them! That said, some of your favorites are also some of my favorites: Dragon's Milk and Embalming Fluid. I tried Tamora, but that was when I was a BPAL newbie--I thought it was too sweet and swapped it away. Haven't tried Kuang-shi or Neo-Tokyo. I recommend that you try these: Dana O'Shee, Morocco, Dia de los Muertos (if you can get your hands on it--it was a LE) and Bewitched. If you are into REALLY spicy scents, Three Witches is my favorite. Chimera was not cinnamony enough for me--mostly just sweet. Also, if you love Embalming Fluid, try Phantasm and Old Shanghai.

Water of Notre Dame has lots of throw, also. The strongest, longest lasting BPAL oil I've tried.

One that I didn't see mentioned that smells very incensey to me is Maenad. It's incensey and fruity at the same time.

Phantasm is definitely on my short list of bottles I am buying this spring!

I have been anxiously awaiting receipt of Ice Queen that I purchased from another forumite. I received it today. In the vial: Oooh! Melon, pine and berries. Very interesting and refreshing! Wet, on my skin: Gah! Melon and musk. The musk quickly takes over and makes Ice Queen smell very, um, animalistic. I keep imagining a fox skulking around in a watermelon field. On drydown: The musk fades, thankfully, but then a strong floral comes to the forefront. Not my thing, unfortunately. I had thought that she might give Skadi a run for her money, but it turns out that Ice Queen has nothing on my beloved Skadi.

This was a lovely extra included in a swap from finny. Thanks again, finny! In the vial: A lemony, honeyed floral Wet, on my skin: Ack. A funky, musky note is coming out---civet, perhaps? Whatever it is it's turning the lovely honeyed scent into something that smells like a scented diaper--Luvs, to be exact. (And I should know! I have a child in diapers.) Not a DIRTY diaper---just the way scented diapers smell. It's not a BAD smell, just not something I'd want to smell like. I think I'll try this one in my oil burner since I like the smell in the vial.

I received this as a surprise extra imp in a swap with diabolique (thank you again!) In the vial: Uh oh. Reminds me of Blood Amber, which was atrocious with my body chemistry. But I put some on anyway. Wet, on my skin: Very musky and feral--must be the musk and vetiver combination. Must resist the temptation to wash it off! On drydown: AH! There we go! Much better! Now I don't smell the vetiver at all and the musk is in the background. The predominant notes now are honey, something fruity (but not necessarily cherry-ish), and a definite wine note with vanilla way in the background. A very warm, sexy scent. So glad I got to try it!

At first sniff, Black Pearl reminds me of a cross between Chloe and Sand & Sable. Actually, reminds me a LOT of Sand & Sable, which I wore and adored for many years while I was a poor college student on a "ramen noodles & Kraft dinner" budget! While wet on my skin, the predominant notes are the coconut and hazelnut. I think this is my favorite stage because I am a lover of foody, gourmand scents. On drydown, the coconut and hazelnut fade into the background and the iris jumps out and stays there with the musk second in command. I've only worn Black Pearl twice, and it is already on my top 10!

In the bottle: fresh, clean, cool aquatic floral. Where's the mint? Wet, on my skin: The predominant notes are floral and aquatic on my skin. I can smell only a tiny bit of mint, which is kind of disappointing because I love minty scents. Definitely a fresh, clean scent. On drydown: Really doesn't change much from application. It remains the same fresh, clean, cool scent from when it was first applied. Not as frosty cold or as minty as I was expecting, but lovely nonetheless! Pretty decent staying power, also. Lasted at least 4 hours without needing reapplication.

The first few minutes this was on Queen of Sheba was VERY strong and didn't smell very good. I resisted washing it off, and it did get better. BUT, it reminded me of a middle eastern grocery store, as someone else had mentioned. I smelled mostly of honey and saffron. Must be my body chemistry because so many others really love it!

In the vial: Light, fresh and fruity Wet, on my skin: I smell peach, musk and bergamot, I think. It's light and ethereal. On drydown: The musk and the oak moss become the more prominent notes and the peach takes a step back. I think I will be buying a 5 ml of this in the spring. It strikes me as one of those perfect "spring" scents.

In the bottle, Hearth did smell exactly like I thought it would. Cherry pipe tobacco, fireplace smoke and leather--and maybe a little brandy or something boozy like that. Definitely a very cozy and warm scent. But, once it hit my skin the cherry note took over--a bit too much! It became a hyper strong cherry pipe tobacco. Which I like the smell of, but don't want to smell LIKE!