Miss Lynx

Ooh, nice! I am a sucker for incensey scents, and this is one of the better ones. It's got that definite ritual/church incense feel, similar to Cathedral, Midnight Mass, The Pit & the Pendulum and Al Azif, but it's a bit lighter and more ethereal than most of those, with a light herbal/spicy overtone - a bit like Meskhenet the Vulture Maiden in that respect - and also has a touch of an almost fruity sweetness that complements the resins beautifully. Maybe that's the lemon balm? The honey/beeswax element also recalls Anubis, and there are times when it's a bit reminiscent of Jacob's Ladder as well. All in all, this is a really beautifully balanced, evocative scent, though much lighter and gentler than its inspiration would suggest. It does come across as a touch masculine at times, but never to the extent that I wouldn't want to wear it. It does smell more like a magical workshop than an engine of any sort, but I suppose that's appropriate to the 93 in the name. The only down side is that it doesn't seem to last very long... I wore it for an evening out last night, and I think I ended up re-applying it three times. Well, if I keep using it up at that rate, I'm definitely going to need a bottle! Grade: A

I think I had this one in blue (meaning lowest priority) on my wishlist for quite a while, until it finally showed up as a frimp with my most recent Lab order. With the listed ingredients, I was a bit worried it would have that men's cologne feel - a fougere is a type of men's scent, I think. But while a guy could certainly wear this, and smell damn good, I'd class it more as gender-neutral. It's basically a complex, interesting herbal-incense type of scent, with an element of coldness to it, probably from the lemon and lavender, though there's also some underlying warmth from the frankincense and labdanum contrasting with that. It is definitely a little on the dark side, but not too heavy -- the thin and shadowy elements of the description definitely suit. In fact, in an odd way it's almost reminiscent of a more complex version of Shadow. I think ultimately it's not entirely my type of scent, but it's definitely a really interesting and well-formulated one. I have so much BPAL by now that I usually don't keep scents I try any more unless I really, really like them, but I'm glad I got the chance to try this one. Grade: B P.S. By way of added creepiness: the same day I got the order this was in, a friend of mine posted in his LJ the exact same verse the description of this starts with, as a link to a news story about rationing of food basics in certain parts of the US. Gave me a bit of a shudder...

The surprise winner of this year's Lupercalia scents, at least for me. It's funny -- out of that whole huge update, so many of them sounded really good, but very few of them actually worked on me once I tried them. But this one really did. This one has been around for Lupercalias past, and never caught my attention before because I saw rose and immediately wrote it off -- I actually do like the scent of rose, but my skin has a tendency to amp it to extremes, so any scent in which rose is a dominant note tends to become hellish rose overkill on me. And yet... I keep on secretly hoping to find the perfect exception to that rule. And rose plus resins had potential -- sure, Rose Cross turned into single-note rose on me, and Spellbound didn't work until I found an imp that looked like it had been aged a couple of years, but you never know. So this time, I finally ordered a decant of this one. And wow -- I think I really did just find a rose scent that works on me! It skates pretty close to the edge of becoming too rosy, but never quite goes over. The rose note in here is a really gentle one, and very well-balanced with the incense resins. So the overall effect is a sort of soft rose incense, never overpowering even on my rose-amping skin. It's actually highly reminiscent of All Souls, without the soul cakes -- I was reasonably certain that one had a bit of white rose in it, and this pretty much confirms it, at least to my nose. In face, if I didn't already have a bottle of All Souls, I'd have had to get a bottle of this. As it is, I'll enjoy the imp, and who knows, if it makes a comeback next Lupercalia, I might have to get a bottle after all. Grade: B+

From the listed notes, I knew this could be very good or very bad, depending on proportions. Amber and patchouli with a little bit of florals sounds fine -- but my skin tends to amp florals a lot, so even with the amber and patchouli something like this could turn into Screaming Floral Death on me. As it turns out, the florals are indeed pretty strong -- I can only smell the barest trace of the amber and patchouli, though there is a noticeable element of dry tartness from the tea. It's not quite in the SFD category, but it's definitely pretty damn floral. I left on for a while to see if it would settle down to something more likable, but it really doesn't. The floral blast does eventually fade a bit, but it ends smelling kind of bittersweet in a not-entirely-appealling way. So, no love... Grade: C

As I've mentioned in other reviews, rose tends to amp dreadfully on my skin, so I'm always a little wary of rose-based scents. And yet, I do actually like the scent of rose, so I keep trying them anyway. And every now and then I find one that's not too bad... Most recently, the Parlement of Foules. But anyway: I got this one as a frimp in my latest Lab order, and of course I had to try it despite the rose-induced sense of impending doom. And indeed, the rose in it has been amped up by my skin... But it's not all that bad. More rosey than I'd wear voluntarily, other than maybe in extreme moderation, but it's a very interesting sort of rose. I do definitely get the darkness from the description - don't know if it's a specific type of rose giving it that sense, or if there's a bit of myrrh or something added. And tere is something that smells sort of old and dusty in it, and slight resinous undertones. Very evocative... If my skin didn't crank the rose up so much, I'd love this. A lot. As it is, I can smell just enough of the other notes to get a sense of what this could be like on someone else. But even so, for a rose scent, it's not that bad, even on me. And as it wears over time and the rose overkill diminishes, it starts getting positively pleasant... I may actually hang onto this one. I found with Spellbound that aging it helped balance the notes, maybe it will with this one too. Grade: B

This is one I'd been meaning to try for a long time, but didn't get around to until recently. And it definitely lives up to its name -- it smells much more like a magical/ritual oil, or maybe an aromatherapy blend, than a perfume in any ordinary sense. On first contact, the sharp, sweet lemon-candy scent of the verbena dominates it, as it can be counted on to do with just about any scent it's in. But like most aggressive top notes, it fades down in a short while, lettin the other notes out to play. Lavender is the most noticeable component of the next stage, with a sharp herbal undercurrent from the rosemary. Very aromatherapy-ish at this stage. But that too fades, and it settles down into being a really nice, warm herbal-incense scent that smells like an occult shop, and lasts for a long time. So all in all, pretty good. I'm not crazy about the initial verbena stage, but where it eventually goes is good. It's not going to be a top favourite, but I'll hang onto the imp because there are definitely days when smelling like Eau de Occult Shop is exactly what I want. Grade: B

Wow -- this is a really unusual and interesting scent. Looking at the notes, it was hard to imagine what it would smell like -- they're all so different! But they actually blend together really nicely. It's a musky scent more than anything else, but it's nowhere near as earthy as that might imply -- the "spectral" aspect of the description seems quite appropriate. It manages to be both sexy and kind of ethereal at the same time. The mint does add a touch of coldness to it, and there's a slightly dark herbal undercurrent from the sage. It does smell a touch more masculine than feminine, and would probably be great on a guy, but it's certainly not overwhelmingly so, and I have no doubt some women could easily wear it too. It's a fairly gentle scent, not at all overpowering. The one note in it that kind of throws it off a bit for me is the caramel. Caramel has killed several other otherwise likable scents for me (Red Lantern, Tiresias, and at least one Salon scent), because on my skin it somehow smells kind of like rancid movie-theatre popcorn butter, with an added edge of cloying sweetness. In this blend, it's not as strong as it could be, which is a mercy, but it still keeps me from being able to like it as much as I otherwise might. Still, for someone who could wear caramel, this could be great. On me... Not so much. Grade: B-

At the last Toronto meet'n'sniff I got a few TAL decants in a swap, and one of them was White Light. Yesterday I got to try it out for the first time. As I've posted elsewhere in these forums, I'm currently dealing with the end of my marriage, and while initially I felt like I was coping OK, a few days ago my emotional balance gradually went all to hell. It may have been partly PMS and partly overwork/sleep deprivation contributing to it, but whatever the cause, I was really falling apart. I was hyperfocussing on the question of whether to find a new apartment on my own or get a roommate to share the current one with me when Kettu moves out, and had managed to work both options into full-on worst-case disaster scenarios in my head, where if I gave notice on the apartment, then I wouldn't be able to find a new one that I could afford and that would allow my pets and want me as a tenant, and if I stayed and tried to find a roommate, then I either wouldn't be able to find one at all and would be stuck trying to pay for the whole apartment by myself or would end up living with someone horrible. It was getting to the point where every little thing was making me cry, and I could not focus on work any more at all, despite having a huge web project that was a day away from going live. Then I remembered I had a decant of White Light, and I checked the description and sure enough, it seemed pretty much tailor-made for this sort of situation. I put it on as recommended, palms and chakra points, and did some counted-breath meditation, cupping my hands in front of my face when inhaling so as to breathe in as much of the scent as possible. The scent definitely wasn't something I would have worn as a perfume, but it wasn't unpleasant either -- kind of a combination of floral, resinous and medicinal. And after a few repetitions of the counted-breath cycle, I really did begin to feel a lot calmer. By about ten minutes later, I was able to have a pleasant conversation with Kettu, make myself a cup of tea, and get back to work. I wouldn't say I was entirely back to normal emotionally, but it certainly seemed to help a lot in bringing the emotions down to a more manageable level. I think there may be a bottle of this one in my very near future, especially with what I'm going through right now -- though since I've got several other TALs from this category on order via a decant circle, I should probably wait until I can try them all, because there may be more than one I'll want to order.

I wanted to like this one but I was pretty sure it would be trouble. It's a Yeats poem, so that made me like it on general principle, but at the same time, four different florals? With two of them being jasmine and rose, both of which my skin tends to amp brutally? Still, pine and juniper and benzoin and all the rest might mellow them out... When I first applied it, I really did like it. It smelled complex and interesting, like a forest full of wildflowers, with the florals balanced by the bite of the evergreens and the mellowness of vanilla and benzoin. It was a little reminiscent of Dublin (appropriately enough for its inspiration), only better. But then my skin began to crank up the florals, and the balance was lost -- or should I say, "Things fall apart -- the centre cannot hold." It starts to smell very, very perfumey, in a not-so-good way. And yet, even then, it doesn't entirely lose the other elements. There's still a faint whiff of pine in the background, and the fruitiness of the bergamot and plumeria is a little bit in evidence too (yes, I know plumeria is a flower, but it has a slightly fruity scent). I keep finding myself almost liking it... But not quite. So, not for me. But anyone who was a fan of Dublin and misses it should definitely try to get hold of this one. Grade: C+/B-

What a strange and confusing scent... As much as Lunar Eclipse, if not more so! When first applied it was very warm and spicy, pretty much as you'd expect from the first set of notes (up until the "luminescent, space-addled coating"). But as it settles in, the other half begins to come out. It seems like two scents in one. It was mainly on the strength of the first one that I ordered a decant, but the second one isn't all bad... It really smells like a nose-confusing contradiction, though! But in a mostly good way. Eventually as it settles in, the two sides do sort of meld together. I think the first one is a little more dominant, as notes like myrrh and amber and clove tend to be a lot longer lasting than citrus and other lighter scents, but you do still get a trace of the lighter side. All in all, I really like this. I think. Grade: B+

Whoa... A very, very interesting and complex scent. At first sniff, my nose has no idea what to think of this. It's a wildly complex, paradoxical scent, and really hard to tell which way it'll go as it settles in. It's also hardly sweet at all, despite the various floral and fruity notes. It seems more herbal than anything, with slightly sweet overtones but also a very strong dark undercurrent. The sort of scent you'd associate with some sort of possibly unsavoury magic. And there's a coldness to it as well, that definitely lends it a lunar feel -- though strangely, despite the fact that I usually really dislike the sort of cold, sharp, sweet scents that are traditionally regarded as lunar, I find myself kind of liking this one, or at least not hating it. It's also got a faintly aquatic feel, though again, I don't usually do well with aquatics, but this one's different. Every time I sniff it, I get something different -- I can generalize that it's a dark scent and kind of bittersweet, but beyond that it varies wildly. Sometimes it's warm and sometimes cold, sometimes I get poisonous underworld fruit from it and sometimes dark florals and sometimes medicinal herbs and sometimes musky incense, or more commonly strange random mixtures of all of the above. Definitely one of the most unusual and fascinating scents BPAL's ever created! I don't know that it's quite as pleasant as some -- some of the notes in it are a little bit bitter -- but it's definitely unique. It's next to impossible for me to give this one a grade, because sometimes I love it and sometimes the bitterness is just too much. So I think it will have to get a range instead.... Grade(s): D to A+ and back again, from one moment to the next

A lot of people seem to be excited about this one, but me not as much so, because while I love saffron, vanilla is hit-and-miss on me, and attempts to capture things like "cream" in a scent usually just end up smelling cloyingly synthetic to me. Still, I figured it would be worth a try... Unfortunately, that plasticky/synthetic edge that both fake-food notes and vanilla often have on me is really strong here. Not happy-making, at all. We'll see how it settles in, but unless there's major improvement, or Kettu likes it, this one is going into the swaps. But a couple of hours later, it's a bit fainter but still pretty much the same. Oh well. Now, interestingly, it does eventually get to a stage I really like -- after about six hours! Yummy saffrony goodness. But who wants to wait that long? Grade: C+

I wanted to love this one (and Harikata) just for the inspiration -- I mean, how often does BPAL make overtly lesbian-themed scents? Of the two, I think I like this one more. Harikata is considerably too girly for me -- this one smells a little more androgynous. There are elements in it that smell almost, but not quite, like a men's cologne -- maybe the tonka, since that comes into a lot of men's scents? But at the same time, there's a sweetness (probably mainly the muguet) that keep it from going too far in that direction. The end result is sort of feminine, but atypically so, which gives it that appropriate element of queerness that Harikata hasn't got. It's less earthy than you would expect something with myrrh and oakmoss to be -- those notes have definitely been added with a light hand. There's an element to it that's almost a bit reminiscent of Lyonesse, but less heady and intoxicating than that one is. As it evolves, it goes through a phase that's almost too sweet, where my skin seems to be amping the muguet, but then that passes and it settles down to a soft, earthy/resinous, just slightly sweet skin-scent. Quite nice. So it looks like even if the classical Japanese lesbians didn't work for me, I still get to maintain some dyke cred by liking this one. It takes long enough to get to the stage that I like that it is like rather than love, but I'll at least keep the imp, even though I don't think I need a bottle. Grade: B

It's funny - several of the scents in the massive Lupercalia update that I was sure I'd love turned out not to be so great on me. But this one I thought might work, might not, hard to tell... And it's really nice. When first applied, the bay rum kind of jumps out and makes it smell like a men's cologne. But then it settles in a little and turns into this warm, beautiful, musky spicy scent that, while definitely not traditionally feminine, isn't necessarily strictly masculine either. This could work on either gender. Trouble is, I'm very back and forth about whether it works on me. It's a lovely scent, but there's something about it that's a bit... not-me. Maybe it is that masculine edge from the bay rum, I don't know. When I first tried it (which is when I wrote the first part of this review), I thought "Bottle! Now!" But on repeated tries, I wasn't so sure. There's just that slight disconnect that keeps from being entirely at home with it... Still, definitely a good one, and makes me wish my male partner were a little more interested in BPAL... Grade: B

Well, this is a bit of a surprise... It sounded pleasant enough from the description, but it's actually much nicer than expected. Contrary to the rest of the Lupecalia update, which has mostly disappointed me so far. This one is light and sweet, with a faintly aquatic feel, but also a bit of warmth. "Skin musk" seems to the light, powdery feminine sort of white musk, like the Body Shop sells. So even with the presence of earthy oakmoss, it's a very delicate scent. But the ingredients are perfectly balanced - a little fruity, a little musky, a little earthy, and for some reason a little watery. Sweet, but not too sweet. Delicate, but still with character. It's also got that gently uplifting feel that certain scents like Kuang Shi and Fae have for me, which makes them excellent mood-boosters. I could see this being a wonderful choice to brighten up grey days. All in all, probably my favourite from the Lupercalia update thus far. None of them have been instant love the way I was hoping some would be, but this one's at least a case of pretty strong like. Very tempted to order a bottle, but there's enough similarity between it and both the above two that I'm not entirely sure... Guess I better decide within the next hour or two, as the Lupercalias are going down very soon! Grade: B+

I wanted to love this one (and Sapphics) just for the inspiration - I mean, how often does BPAL make overtly lesbian-themed scents? But while not bad, it's not really my type of scent. It's very light and perfumey, super-feminine... A bit like Tamamo-no-Mae, but more floral and less musky, which means not so good for me. There's also something in it that seems very aquatic, but from the listed notes I'm not sure what that would be. It does definitely have that certain feel to it that a lot of BPAL's Asian-themed scents have, in particular Hungry Ghost Moon. It's less complex than that scent, but fans of HGM and similar scents will definitely want to try this. It's not really for me, but I could definitely see it attracting a lot of fans. Grade: B-

Wow -- at first sniff, this smells surprisingly... edible. The amber in it has a very vanilla-y feel, unless maybe that's the cream accord. It's a very warm, creamy scent, with a bit of a dark undertone from the teak. The lotus, thankfully, is very soft and doesn't overpower it at all. Unfortunately, as it settles in, it takes on a bit of that Play-Doh-like feel that vanilla sometimes can on me. There's something in it that just smells a bit... plastic. Which is too bad because the rest of the scent is very nice. It's just that one element that throws it off for me. Grade: B-

This, along with Anactoria, was what I was most looking forward to in this update. And yet, like Anactoria, I didn't end up liking it as much as I expected to. I don't dislike it, by any means, but it's just not the greatness I was expecting. It smells a bit like an oil or incense you'd find in an Indian clothing store, which is generally a good thing to me, but in this case not quite so much. There's a sort of green edge to it that's not working so well for me, and a little bit of... harshness I guess? I expected spicy incensey goodness, and instead I have a slightly jarring cross between Indian clothing store and medicinal aromatherapy blend. It does occur to me that that harshness is the sort of thing that might be able to be mellowed by aging - possibly putting it away in a dark place for a few months might improve it. It does smell like there's the potential for it to be lovely; it's just got this certain raw, harsh edge, that maybe time will temper. On that hope, I've optimistically sprung for a bottle -- I guess we'll see how it fares. Grade: B

This was one of the scents I was most looking forward to in the Lupercalia update, in hopes that might be similar to last year's Svadhinoapatika, which I foolishly neglected to buy a bottle of. But sadly, I don't like it as much as I expected to. It's just a little more... perfumey than I would have expected from the description. Which is generally not good thing, given that I dislike most conventional perfumes. It's way sweeter than I thought it would be -- sniffing it, at least when freshly applied, I would swear there was some kind of floral in here, and maybe even my nemesis, ozone. After it settles in for a little while, that pseudo-floral edge seems to have faded, thankfully, and the other notes come out to play a bit more. There's a more resinous feel to it, and I can also pick up the sweetness of the currant. Much nicer like this. But that perfumey edge -- maybe it's the dragon's blood? I think that's what daemonorops is, anyway -- does seem to keep creeping back from time to time. There's something in here that smells just a little too sweet and slightly synthetic, and is keeping me from enjoying it as much as I'd thought I would from the description. I don't dislike this scent -- I just don't like it as much as I'd thought I would. The eventual drydown, after a couple of hours, is actually quite nice, and indeed a bit reminiscent of Svadhinoapatika, as I'd hoped it might be. But it takes an awfully long time to get there. Grade: B

Namaste would be a good choice, I think. Tushnamatay also has very much a temple-like ambiance, but it's more sandalwoody and less floral than it sounds like you want. Also - this might seem like an odd pick, but The Clod & Pebble, from the Lupercalia update, smells kind of like Indian floral incense to me. The rose is a bit harsh right now, but I think with a bit of aging it could be lovely...

Wasn't at all sure I'd like this one, but it does have some notes I enjoy, so I thought it was worth a try. And really, it's not too bad -- nowhere near as heavy or bitter as the description makes it sound. When freshly applied, it smells a bit medicinal, but once it settles in for a few minutes it mellows out considerably. It's an earthy, foresty and slightly spicy scent. The pine, coupled with cloves, actually gives it an almost... dare I say Christmas-y feel? And there's a sweetness and softness to it that help to tone down some of the earthier notes. I suspect that's the musk -- if "troll musk" means dark musk, as I suspect, that would explain it, because that particular note tends to really sweeten up on my skin, thus giving some men's scents a definite gender change. It eventually fades down into a soft, spicy musk, a bit like a lighter version of Umbra, and lasts a reasonably long time. All in all, not bad, though I don't much like the very earliest stage. Probably not a keeper, since I have lots of spicy musks, but still a pleasant surprise. Grade: B

This one looked equal parts promising and scary, from the description. Lots of fruit notes, including some I know I particularly like, like pomegranate and plum, plus some wood notes to ground them, but... five different florals? Including three gardenias? Florals tend to amp a lot on my skin, especially really sweet ones. Plumeria (a.k.a frangipani) is usually OK, and rose can be all right in moderation, but gardenia tends to be... a little overpowering. And yet... Thus far, it's not too bad. Maybe the gardenia's only present in small quantity? I can certainly smell the floral notes, but they're not dominating it as much as I'd feared. It's a pretty gentle scent, all in all. A little too... perfumey for my tastes, though. It's not a bad scent at all, and someone who liked classic perfumes more would probably love it, but it's not really my thing. Grade: B-

Oh, Gods... Love. LOVE. Why is this so hard to find, and so damn good? I tried a bit at a meet'n'sniff a while back, and that little exposure was enough for me to put it as a top-priority scent on my wishlist. And then I managed to score a half-imp of my own at the most recent Toronto meet'n'sniff. And not only is it every bit as wonderful as I remembered, if anything it's better. Warm, ambery, incensey, spicy, with an intoxicating depth to it. It's kind of like the love-child of The Lion and Schwarzer Mond, with the former's sunny warmth, and the latter's resinous depth. It just doesn't get much better than this. *sigh* I used to say I would never be one of those people who stalked eBay auctions looking for a chance to spend an exessive amount of money on a rare scent... But I think I may be doing just that for this one. Grade: A+

Mmmm, nice -- I was a bit worried that the vetiver would pull its playground bully act and beat the other notes into submission, but it's just a background presence, adding a bit of darkness and depth to what is otherwise a rather soft, pretty scent. (Although looking at the other reviews, this does not seem to be everyone's experience!) It's not too sweet -- the neroli does sweeten it some, and make it fairly feminine on my skin, but I think a guy could probably wear it too, as the sandalwood and vetiver keep it more incensey/oriental than floral. It wears down nicely and becomes a soft, just slightly sweet, skin-scent. Never really a bad moment in its entire development. Don't think it's bottle-worthy, as I'm getting pickier these days (due to already having more BPAL than I'll probably ever have a chance to wear), but the imp's definitely a keeper. Grade: B+

This one is odd -- not unpleasant, but not exactly what I was expecting, either. The rose, thankfully, does not overpower it, and neither does the patchouli, though both those notes and easily dominate a scent completely. It's sweet, but more green than anything -- I think I'm getting a lot of petitgrain (bitter orange leaf, kind of a greener version of neroli). There's definitely a bit of fruity sweetness from the the cassis (a.k.a. blackcurrant), and benzoin, which is always pretty subtle, sort of smooths and balances it. It's not bad at all, but there's a slightly harsh edge in there somewhere that's throwing it off a bit for me. It's a bit like the way some natural essential oils have a slightly medicinal edge -- maybe it's essential petitgrain or something. So probably not a keeper after all... Grade: B-