patina

People keep saying "mint." I don't get that. True, there's some deep herbal funkiness, but mostly this smells of roses to me. Very perfumy roses, with maybe patcholi at the bottom? Also: I've found it's not a good idea to put this in an oil diffuser- allergies! I've been wearing this with a focus on getting unstuck in my life. The first two times I've tried this, I got a friend of mine calling me to suggest I come for a visit. Both times fell through though. Being asked on a trip was a little more literal than I had in mind- perhaps this is a sign I need to do more work before I can get unstuck. But it's a pleasant enough scent, even though it's more perfumy than my normal choices.

I got a faint apple, a lot like a fruit salad. Also, this smells like bubblegum. Pink bubblegum with powdered sugar. Occasionally there are hints at something deeper, some underlying reisen. The colors I get from this are the same as on the lable- bright florescent pink edged with florescent blue. (The lable art is extremely awesome.) This is a light, clean, pretty fruit oil. I like it far more than I'd expect from a bubblegum-esque scent.

Sniffing the bottle: Caramel Popcorn! Weird. Dried down, this is cookies. Spicy cookies. Not very hot spice, but there's nutmeg in there, some cloves. You know, I think I'll pass this on. I'm not a big pure-foodie fan. Later: Accidently layered with Black Annis this was much more interesting. But I don't see any reason to keep something just to layer it. Much, Much later: You know, eventually the cookies disappear for me and I get a lovely vanilla and spice. Still, I don't know if this is worth more than a decant for a non-foodie fan.

Whoa. Based on just smell alone I think this is one of my very favorites, if not my favorite perfume. It smells of white pepper (not hot), with very subtle white flowers (ginger lillies?) and pencil shavings. This isn't a bad thing at all. Applying it, I feel instantly calmer and cleared of whatever torment I happened to be going through at the time. This is a surprisingly strong effect. There's a chrystaline calm, (which to some people might feel disturbingly like being distant from the world). I'd use this whenever serenity is called for. I also suspect this might be good for people that have poor boundaries and soak up too much. People who are feeling alienated, maybe not so much? It makes me feel clean inside.

As the other reviewers have said, this smells like non-foody Samhain. Or maybe Voo-doo. In any case "bracing" is a good word for it. It's both grounding and bracing. I'm wearing this, close to my Saturn Return, to remind myself that I'm grownup now, need to take responsibility. As for the effects, I don't get any kind of immediate emotional reaction that I get from blends like White Light. It's subtle, serious and maybe a little calming. Since wearing it, I've had a few realizations that might have something to do with the scent. Edit: Recently I've taken to avoiding it since it reminds me of rather depressing thoughts.

At first I get Vetiver. But then the scent calms down. What I mainly notice is the leather, a lot like DeSade, but not as harshly leather as that. I think the reisens calm this scent down. There's something (the metal-myrrh combination?) that smells like medicinal aftershave. This should be on a guy, so I'm gonna trade it off. The picture I get is this man who wears leather armor and is horribly burned underneath. There's not any charred smell left over, but there is disinfectant ointment under there. As stated before, I'm sure this would smell better on a guy! EDIT: As it dries, this smooths out some. Resolve...weakening. I may hold onto this for a while.

Out of the imp: This is mushrooms! Straight-up mushrooms! On skin: Dirt. Exactly damp dirt with bits of bone-chips in it. Drydown- Flowers come out. Something lily-like I assume is Angel's Trumpet. But the flowers play nice- they're not loud and shrieking. And there's some lovely, lovely spice mixed in. I suppose this could smell a little sour on certain people, but it's not on me. The only thing that makes me sad about this is that it becomes very faint. I have to sniff my wrists. Which is good- who wants to amp dirt? But this is so lovely, cool and damp I hope it doesn't just disappear.

I don't like plumeria. I don't like citrus. I'm not crazy about vanilla (this smells like vanilla somehow.) But copal. Oh, I love you, well-aged copal. Copal totally makes up for it. This isn't for people who can't wear florals at all. The plumaria/ jasmine-like tropical blooms amp up, but with my chemistry, at least the copal sits on them- a rich cross between amber and pine. I swear, it smells like vanilla. Rich, non-foody vanilla with orange and aforementioned blooms. This is sweet, womanly and very pretty.

At first my nose was puzzled. I thought "vetiver?" Then I was sure there was a reisen in it somewhere, but no, it's the black narcissius I recognize from Hades. It's musky and clean and just good. I agree that it's not foody or super sweet- I think it falls into the "femme-cologne" category. And yes, slinky.

... This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk. Hmm, this smells a bit like The Hell-Gate of Ireland, except not as spicy. The musk, reisen and smoke are nice, but I'm not sure about the Beer!beerbeerbeerbeer! smell going on. Overall, it's smoky and sweet- not candy sweet, but yeasty sweet. This would be good on a guy.

I love it! No, I don't like it. Yes, I love it! No... The reisens, patcholi and vanilla and musk are wonderful. It's soft and spicy. But something in here smells like cough medicine just a tiny bit. Too sharp, in a choking perfume sort of way. I think the pomegranite is responsible. I'll have to come back to this one later. EDIT: I should have waited longer. It's smoothed out something wonderful. Why are there so many temptations, why?

I had a bizarre scent memory from this one. There's some kind of unusual cleaning fluid that smells like something in this. Maybe the heather. Also it made me think of pizza. I'm not kidding. It must be the sage meeting spicy anise that turns into oregono. And of course, it's green and herbally. EDIT: Trying this a second time, in sleightly cooler weather, this is more pleasant and the elements blend together well. It's a soothing, relaxing smell, but I still don't think I'll get a bottle. EDIT: Great in cold weather. It smells so crisp, like something that should be worn with a button-down shirt. Deep, lovely herbs.

I love cloves and laubidanum, though the musk and brimstone initially worried me, they only serve to give the scent some depth and darkness. It has pretty good throw so far- a winter and fall scent. It's almost sweet enough to smell like spice cakes, though it's not foody. This is what I thought the Smiling Spider would be. The Spider was just a bit too woody and masculine for me, so this is perfect.

I didn't think I'd like this one. Having smelled it, I can see the point of people who say this is a generic apple/fall scent. I did have a shampoo that smelled like it too. But- I love this anyway. It's so juicy, rich, and complicated. Like sitting alone on a cool fall evening with candles burning and a glass of really great cider. The only problem is that it tends to get faint. It seems to come and go. Yes. I bought a bottle. It's also excellent layered with The Hellgate of Ireland. I think I need to try Lamb's Wool now, so I can compare it. EDIT: Many people have complained about this fading quickly. I did notice that the smell came and went, but after slathering I still smelled this eight hours later.

In bottle and beginning of drydown: Ugh. Soap. Pure soap. Then: Chestnuts! With a green scent in the background that bears a sleight resembalance to soap. It's comforting and soothing, in a way, though I don't think I'd use a bottle. Also, the smell's making me want to eat chestnuts.

I got an aged imp of this- wow, I wasn't expecting it to be so sweet. Something's lovely and reiseny: Labdanum! I don't actually smell the brimstone most of the time (though there are a couple worrisome moments when it peeks out and smells of burnt hair in a beauty shop). Most of the time the other elements keep it in line and I only get a faint taste in the back of my throat when I breathe in deeply. Tobacco often smells like a public restroom on me. It happened in Tabella and in The Antikythera Mechanism. Not here, though. I don't get "miserable and lurking" but I do get chill autumn and winter, dead leaves, and huddling around a gas heater. Not a summer perfume at all. I don't think I'll get a bottle, but keeping the decant sounds good right now.

You know what this reminds me of? Ultraviolet, with Lavender instead of violet. Very sweet lavender, almost sugary when first applied. I keep thinking I smell vanilla musk too. I can picture a sweet-tempered, sleightly unhinged Victorian gentleman. Or I could see Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka wearing this. The musk makes it sleightly more masculine than feminine to me, though a dignified grown-up woman could pull it off too. Minty creamy musky lavender-vanilla-y with a tiny hint of citrus. Some people may find the sleight taint of "medicinal" unpleasant, but I think it's bracing, like Ultraviolet.

In the bottle it smelled a lot like cherry syrup with vicks vap-o-rub, but I know better than to pay attention to bottle smells. On- wow. Smoke, pungent musky smoke, with some wee plums and cherries hiding behind it. what is in here? Leather? Trace amounts of vetiver? Probably Sage. Oya is definately a war Goddess on me. This is a butch perfume. Similar to Morganuse but without the screaming! jasmine. This may have jasmine, but it's not loud. Also, Morganeuse's smoke is kind of sweet on me, more inscence than musk. Here, something is definately bitter. Almost like smudge smoke. I haven't tried Carnival Diabolique's Stormclouds over the Midway yet, nor Blood Countess, but when I do I'll have to come back here to compare.

We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines. I know everyone's reviewed this already, but this has to be one of the weirdest things I've ever experienced from BPAL. When I got the shiny new imp, fresh from the lab, I put it on. I wanted to like it- I could tell there was a lot going on and I like wine smells. But in addition to wine and gritty dirt, it also smelled like rotten chocolate and laundry detergent. The soapy smell wasn't bad, but combined with the wine and the chocolatishness, it was nauseating. In addition there was a herby, grassy note that was loud and bitter. It felt like I'd poked a sharp piece of dry grass up my nose. Allergic reaction! I had to lie down and try not to throw up. A month or so later, I decided to try it again. Yes, I am crazy. The sharp grass had calmed waay down. The herbs were still very bitter, but they receded into the background eventually- now it's a much better herb, wine, and dirt scent. Still not sure if I'm going to get a 5ml, but if you really like earthy smells or wine, you might want to give this one a second chance. Edit: Second chance, this smells a bit like a wine spill in a janitor's closet. Meh.