mxtine

Beautiful label art! Rose is an iffy note for me. It works beautifully with resins and dark musks, but becomes overwhelming in floral blends. I took a chance on 2 bottles of this because all of the other notes sounded beautiful. In the bottle, this is a bright pink, sweet tropical floral. On my skin, it's really pretty, I love the tropical feel of this with frangipani and coconut. I can smell the rose, but it's nowhere near as strong as Rose Red or Peacock Queen. The sandalwood, frankincense and vanilla musk are reigning it in. This is still light tropical rose-floral on the dry down, but musk and sandalwood have taken over. I can see myself wearing this sometimes, but I won't need 2 bottles. I might give my sister the other bottle, after the baby is born. She loves rose scents.

If it's a new bottle, let it age. Trust me Banshee Beat's vanilla stands out after it's a few months old. Also, Tombstone has a cedar note when it's fresh, but that ages away leaving the vanilla more prominent.

I'd have to agree. I've been wearing the Banshee all Summer. Banshee Beat + heat = magic

Another vote for Tombeur and WILF (forum only scent) if you like dark scents. Which reminds me...I need backups of these ASAP. Old Demons of the First Class is another winner for me, I think it's under Marchen?

I'm always on the prowl for sinister, dark & sexy scents, so I had to have this. The only note that was questionable was mandarin, but there's mandarin in Velvet Panther and it works so I wasn't too worried. Wait...vetiver scares me too, because there's a fine line between good and bad with vetiver. When I opened the bottle to sniff, I was smacked in the face with a murky vetiver single note. It almost has a rotting wood smell to me, and its she same vetiver that scared me away from Blood Kiss until it aged...and this bottle is 2 yrs old. Since I've learned to not immediately dismiss this note of evil, I apply it to my skin. This is when the magic happens--now it's rich, dark, incensey and sweet. It reminds me a lot of all the other "black" scents I love...Panther Moon, Velvet Panther, Black Lace, and Butter Arsenic...but different. I can totally agree with the Obsession similarities, which is a perfume I haven't smelled in years. I love opium but it can have a hairspray-ish smell, but the frankincense and tonka really smooth and sweeten this magnificently. Silas Ruthyn started out really iffy, but has become an instant favorite!

Tiki Queen was my holy grail tropical coconut scent. It wasn't easy for me to find but definitely post an ISO--It's lovely.

Imaginepageant, I you for that list!!! Truly... I was thinking Ivanushka for James and Harry Potter as well, and Hellhound on My Trail for Padfoot/Sirius Black. Dorian is most definitely a Malfoy scent. I'll always think of Snape when I wear Hexennact '05 , and I wanted to add Black Forest for The Forbidden Forest. ETA...as a matter of fact, I'm wearing Ivanushka and Black Forest today. Oooh!!! Banshee Beat for Dementors!

My first time testing RPGs. Half-Elf and Elf didn't work out for me, but I love Ranger, Paladin, Good and Evil. So far I've tried: Paladin + Good Pollen/beeswaxy honey white musk. White musk usually smells clean, but the beeswax is giving this a naughty vibe. Paladin + Evil Evil was dark powdery opium, which I love, but Paladin makes it smell less powdery and lends some sexy leather to this combo. Paladin + Evil + Ranger Same as above, with a balsam note. Ranger + Good Honey in the forest. I don't know how else to describe it, but it works!

Paladin is not as strong as I would have expected. It was so light in the imp and wet on my skin. I smelled the same bourbon vanilla from Gypsy, but it was lightened by a white musk. I don't get anything metallic but I do get a bit of white leather. It's a very clean (without being aquatic) scent. I definitely want a bottle of this to blend with Good and other semi-sweet scents.

Wet, Elf is all pine, and incredibly soapy pine because of violet. I was hoping this would be another forest love for me but the combination of pine or aspen or whatever, plus violet and honeycomb is getting sour on my skin. I...can't.

Initially, this smelled like a leafy white musk. Then it all went horribly wrong. I don't know what "urban musk" is supposed to smell like, but it's like a chemical leather smell on me. This doesn't seem anything like a Half-Elf to me, I prefer the prototype.

Opium tar always reminds me of Dior's Opium. Evil is dark powdery incense, almost like Romanti.Goth, but it's not as cloying. This also has a sweet plum that keeps it smelling less "old lady" and more fresh. I don't think it's really evil, but definitely dark and mysterious.

I never wanted to try this because I didn't think I'd like woody-pine scents, but after falling in love with Black Forest and Hexennacht '05, I wanted to try it. Ranger is a mossy evergreen winter forest with a soft leather like the one I smell in Fetish.Goth. I just picture a majestic buck walking through the forest with snowflakes on it's fur.

Shimmering celestial musk with vanilla, white honey, acacia, and sugar cane. I knew this would be a winner from the scent description. Good is a clean, slightly beeswaxy honey musk that reminds me of the honey note in the Half Elf proto and Lady Una. I love perfumes like this and I could wear this alone.

Luna Negra is kind of a better version of Lampades, which was straight-up berry candle on me. It smells like a fruity Schwarzer Mond in the bottle, and on my skin it's dark berries, light musk and amber. I'm also getting a bit of Red Lace/Smut from this, which makes me love it more.

I find that Amaterasu v3 has a light sugared vanilla smell on the dry down. I never noticed it before but it's lovely. I find that the prototype XCDL13 has a Madagascar vanilla extract smell to me. It's dang near impossible to find though.

Banshee Beat is my signature scent, so I wanted to see what the prototype smelled like. I didn't think it could top the awesomeness that is BB, and I was right. Right from first sniff, I knew I was dealing with some really dirty patchouli, which isn't scary but once it hits my skin it turns into a dirty hippie's wet hemp poncho...and plastic. Is that the hemp??? Patchouli never gives me a "dirty" smell no matter how strong it is. This isn't even like Goblin to me because Goblin is sweetened by coconut and benzoin. The dry down is more bearable and it grows on me a bit. The hemp died down and blended with my skin to become a sweetened dirty patchouli. I don't know if it's worth going through filthy wet hippie phase to get to this one. Plus, it doesn't last long. I much prefer the tried and true Banshee Beat, which is a winner all around because each note is perfectly balanced and it's throw and lasting power is bar none.

I'm ecstatic to have been frimped a generous sample of this by samarablackcat! Snow White is a scent that I wasn't sold on in the beginning. I thought it was too soapy, but after awhile it's virginal, cool creamy coconut "soapiness" grew on me. I always thought it would smell lovely in a room, and I was right. It smells just like the perfume, but there's an earthy, mossy element to this that the perfume does not have. It's like Snow White lost in a forest. Love this, and hope it's resurrected someday.

I was frimped a generous sample size of this spray by samarablackcat. I never knew this one existed. It's not something I'd buy from reading the reviews, since I'm not very fond of "green" scents because I'm afraid of aquatics. This, however, is one sweet, juicy green and lively scent! It really evokes a humid greenhouse full of tropical plants and moist soil. It's like sitting in this greenhouse drinking iced cucumber water and fresh-cut honeydew melon. It's lovely for the bathroom or any room on a breezy Spring day. I'd buy this in a heartbeat!

Good god, this is amazing!! I can smell the resemblance between Osiris v4 and Glowing Vulva + The Antikythera Mechanism because of the wood note, which I believe to be teak. Maybe it's a darker wood, like mahogany? It might be the opoponax's cola-like smell and a very refined black patchouli that's making it darker and sweeter wood than GV and TAM. There's also some spicy clove in this, which makes me think it's Saqqara's sexy older brother. What a magnificent blend, I want more.

Event Horizon A disconcerting scent, heavy and oppressive, through which no light, no matter, and no spirit can escape. Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin. Mircalla Languid, melancholy fire: red musk, purple orchid, frankincense, smoky vanilla, Styrian herbs, peru balsam, tonka, Zanzibar clove, and patchouli. (LE--but you may still find it on sale/swap pages) Eshe Embalming herbs, black myrrh, white sandalwood, black orchid, paperwhites, tomb dust, and Moroccan jasmine (Since the CD is dark, you may be able to find a decant around here) Lamia Deadly elegance: pale orchid, vanilla amber, black currant, white peach, champaca, coconut, Arabian myrrh, Burmese vetiver, and oude

I skin tested this when I received a carded imp from a sale or swap awhile back. I probably didn't review it at the time because I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I had to go through. I recognize the sweet vanilla orchid from Celeste, but it's not beating me over the head. This is a softer, smokier orchid with coconut, hints of young peach, and a beautiful smooth Arabian myrrh. Like the reviewer above, I get a plasticky note here and there, and I know it's the peach. Peach always does that to me. I don't believe it's the coconut, because the Lab's coconut and I get along very well together. The dry down is a yummy black currant amber with some sweetness from the orchid and champaca. I'm not getting any vetiver, but maybe it's such a small amount that it pulls everything together. Either way, this dark tropical floral makes me happy.

I tried one of the Somnium blends before, and it was sharp lavender which bothered me so bad I had to wash it off. This was a frimp from the Lab I think. It smells like lemongrass and fresh lavender in the imp. I also get Fruit Loops. Its a sugary lemongrass, lavender, bergamot and ginger blend. I keep the imp on my nightstand and dab on my pillow. I usually fall asleep quickly when I use the oil but as usual, I don't remember my dreams.

The oil unites the energies of the two Benefics with Mercury, resulting in an oil of movement, adaptability, expansion, optimism, creativity, confidence, attraction, and inspiration. It holds the qualities of positive fearlessness, expansive courage, and helps to bolster the spirit so barriers that we have erected for ourselves in the past can finally be overcome. I have no idea how to use a TAL oil, but I bought this because I couldn't resist the description of what it's supposed to help with. I was concerned by the reviews of it being rose + lavender + lemony floral, because rose with florals give me an ice-pick like headache and the usual BPAL lavender smells like diapers to me. When I smelled the oil, it wasn't rosy at all. I suppose there's a drop of rose and a bit of lavender, but mostly I get a soothing and sweet lemon balm. I'm surprised the lavender smells very "real" here. It's very uplifting yet calming. The dry down is a sweet lemon-vanilla that I didn't notice the first times I tested it...I'm smelling it on my wrist now and it's unmistakably vanilla. I find myself putting this on more than I thought I would. I know TALs aren't supposed to be "perfume", but this one really works on me, smells pretty, and makes me feel good. Hopefully that positive outlook can help open doors.

I also really enjoy Sinner. I'm not sure if any bpal scent really has the same feel for me, but you might try: *Eclipse (Bewitching Brews) - "A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon." Kinda has a similar dark, sweet, spiced vanilla quality. *Sin (Sin & Salvation) - "Thouroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon." If you liked the spicy-earthy-sweet aspects of Sinner, this is like the cinnamon and patchouli amped up. *Mme Moriarty (not currently available, but I'd definitely recommend picking up a bottle of this when the Carnaval collection is back up and running) - "Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum." The vanilla really stands out a lot for me in Sinner. If you like the vanilla-y qualities, look into these blends: *The Antikythera Mechanism (Steamworks) - "Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco." *Black Opal (Bewitching Brews) - "A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire." *Dorian (Sin & Salvation) - "A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea." *Hunger (Ars Amatoria) - "Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla." *Lyonesse (Wanderlust) - "Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss." You're awesome! I have some of those imps on the way I am really wanting some of the Mme Moriarty! I'm going to be adding these to my wishlist. I tried Sinner on today while I was in Sephora. It's definitely a dark fruity vanilla perfume. I would also recommend Mme Moriarty, although she has more patchouli (which I love). Another one I thought of was Hymn to Proserpine-The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine. I just skin tested it and it's very similar to the dry down of Sinner.