Lycanthrope

Rose is one of my archnemeses, always guaranteed to amp the heck out of itself and overpower any blend I wear that has it in it. The ironic thing is I love roses in vivo, but as a personal perfume I now know to avoid it. Of course, that didn't stop me from nabbing Marguerite, because, well, hope springs eternal?

Wet, in the vial, Marge is a glowy green translucent color. I smell dewy roses. The rose note is similar to the wet/damp dew note that Rose Red presented to me, and I'd say it most links with the roses experienced in Libertine/Two, Five, and Seven. On my skin, there's a huge mishmash of Rose +. That is, to say, it is definitely rose, and the other florals and floral-like oils in this complement and push the rose forward. There's a distinct herbal bitterness, a tang, that I've come to associate with palmarosa, and over time, Marguerite calms down just a tad so that I can experience the scent as a rose scent with an undercurrent of waxy petals underneath (must be gardenia, tuberose). The overall effect is very complex, yet not. Hard to describe. Me? I currently smell like a rose, all the time, yet this is a very complicated, richly layered blend.

I'm probably going to keep the decant for very specific times.

Dood! This is so awesome!

This smells like a white carnation to me. Why white? I dunno - it's as sweet and sultry as a carnation traditionally is but it's smooth, not pink around the edges, there's some bite to it, and the best part is that once she's settled on your skin the black pepper keeps ruffling the edges to let you know this isn't your everyday carnation. It plays on me similarly to Maiden, but without the sharper, brighter tea astringency that blend has.

Must hoard. Excuse me.

Just 'cause someone said Wolf. Aroooooooo!

I haven't tried Alice yet, but I have the Potion solid perfume and love it so much it makes my mouth water. Can someone who has tried both please tell me how Alice compares with the Potion solid?

Maiden is more tea-y than potion but I recall it has a similar 'bright carnationsy-rose' feel.

Check in a well lit mirror:

Is the change in your skin purely dry skin (xerosis)? Is it just peeling, a little rough looking, but without redness?

Or... is there a well-marked, associated area of redness, or 'stinging/smarting' at the site, followed by the flaking of skin?

In the second case, that could be early irritant contact dermatitis / allergic contact dermatitis starting. Do a small patch test of the oil on different areas of your skin, in an inconspicuous place. If it starts looking like the other spots, you may be sensitive to an ingredient in the oils and I'd use caution when applying.

I received a generous sample of this with my latest eBay shenanigans. It smells very cedary, rich, earthy from the imp. Similar dark junipery-ness of blends like Nocnitsa, Omen, Black Forest. On, it has that same piney, sappy snap, but then here comes that sweet, sort of almost fetid (in the good way - like how tuberose and neroli smell almost rotten sweet... I'm not making sense...) civet note, and it rises up and bypasses the woods, and now it's all civet all the time on my skin.

I have to be honest, this does not meld well with my skin chemistry, although I really love about a few minutes after application when I can still smell the dry woodsiness from the cedar and other woods. The drydown is gummy, sticky, resinous, civetty, and unlike in other civet blends like Morella, there is not a balance here for my chemistry, and it's too much. It's a dark, deep, sweet musk.

I do extend a hearty 'thank you!' to my generous frimper for letting me have a go at a blend that was d/c'ed way before I got into this smelly situation, I'm glad though I don't have to seek out a hard to find bottle, however.

Does anyone ever play the 'can I guess what BPAL I randomly picked' game?

I do it when I'm bored at night before bed, I have a box of GC 5 mLs and I will run my fingers over them, randomly pick up a bottle, not look at the top where I've labeled it and cover the label, dab some on, and then try to figure it out. I sometimes also do this with my decantz and imps.

It's kinda cool, and helps me revisit old stashed favorites I may not have worn otherwise, and also gives me an out 'I'm going to bed!' in case I end up slathering on some boozy thing before work or the gym.

Oh no.

I loved this wet and from my imp decant, it smelled dry, fiery, sweetly musky, with a tiny kick of spice (just enough it seemed to make me salivate). What is the drydown on me? Baby powder. I guess the scent's a little bit deceptive, akin to the character, but well... it's very sweetly powdery musk and not much else, which makes me sad. I was looking forwards to the aroma, because, well, Ifrit = gay cab driver = ftw.

Well, I'll keep trying this. I want it to work, I really do.

Ketchup? Tomatoes? What? This is a cacophony of scents, herbal, woodsy, and there's that bite of smoke that is probably what is giving me this... very 'mesquite' feel to the scent. There appears to be a sweeter, resinous note that is emerging the more that I am wearing this, and that first barbeque impression that I got is giving way to a very complex, rich and evocative scent. It's dusty, it's very strongly herbal (chervil?) with a dry leafiness (nettle?), and a hint of sweetness, though the apple blossom does not come out too strongly. This is a rich, wood and spices aroma, just like you'd imagine that little thatched cottage to smell like, complete with hay, grass, stone, and that curlique of smoke emerging from the slightly off-kilter chimney.

And agree with Tramp above. This evolves on skin beautifully. I keep sniffing at my fingers and getting wafts from my neck.

Hrumph! Petitgrain and Neroli team up together to create a potent opening that turns... into a mildly spiced aquatic. Like a cup of spiced, hot ocean. I loved the initial floral blast but now the scent is clinging to my skin quite softly. Not very obtrusive. A soft oceanic.

Lunar Eclipse, stalking the wild BPAL.

Brushing the fronds away from my face I'm intrigued by the slightly toasted fruit gums, sticky sweet but dark and delectable, emanating from the clearing ahead of me. I take in another sniff before meeting the beast itself, detecting the spikier, sharper scents on the wind of moss and vetiver adding a menacing chill to the stage. I push through some more brush to get closer to the wild bottle, which is pawing and stamping at the ground before us, its screwtop lid ajar and bouncing in fury. Time to wrassle! *WHAM* I hold the rare Eclipse beast to the ground and touch against its sleek cobalt blue skin, and a rush of notes flurries up about me, and I'm confused, and overwhelmed, and I have to try to sort out what I'm experiencing. There is a nose-cooling fluster of spice, sitting on a dry base of red moss, myrrh... the red musk can be seen as a menacing red glow in the beast's eyes, but the interesting thing is that the animal mostly smells like deep, squishy, evil currants, with enough spiky and ferocious orchid to add a keening wail and growl to the mix. The bottle is again looking menacing, and I think I've had enough of this adventure, running full clip back through the brush to escape the spiky, ferocious, smoky creature in hot pursuit.

Wha? Fishes smell like flowers.

My mother is a Pisces, but she also does not like perfume, and the scent of roses really, really scares her. But I digress.

Fish oil time. The oil on wet bottle sniff is very light, not terrifically potent, sort of an airy, crisp, almost acidic vinegary scent with a hint, and I do mean a hint, of light florals. These are flowers of the tulip, gladioli, wet, frilly bulby flowers that are charged with dew and breathy exudations rather than drippy nectars or auras of glowing pop, like that diva jasmine. The flowers don't stick around much though, they step back into this hard to describe melange of smoot, there's the light floral above the main central part of the aroma, I'm getting a deeper thrumming snap from something... else, that is creeping to the front, and the entire blend has that kind of sweetness I've come to associate with Beth's poppy. There is also that cool, quasi-iciness in the back of my nose that signals the presence of poppy, as in Sleepy Moon, that is here. What a bizarre fish.

So, overall, the blend starts off in familiar floral territory, then those notes fizzle up and underneath it all there's one queen floral saying 'HAI I RULEZ and AI BE POPPY,' sitting on a tuft of dry grassy things that give the scent a touch more brightness.

Actually, I'm still scratching my head over this one.

Fishes confuse me.

And as I did not get L'Autunno, here is my last soap review, L'Inverno.

The soap is wrapped in a very pretty label, with a sort of nunnish (is that an adjective?) gal. She is quite demure, not quite as orgiastatic as the Estate gal, wrapped in a nunshawl and acting all like LOLWUT, ITZ INVERNO, I'Z WAITIN FOR BPALZ. The soap itself is an off-white bar, slightly more ivory in color with a hint of tan instead of Primavera which actually had more light green.

Cold, the soap smells quite creamy, and there is just the faintest hint of pine. I am surprised that this is not more foresty, and at first was a touch disappointed as Inverno was the soap I was most looking forwards to, being a winter/slushfiend. It reminds me a touch of bayberry candles, and I'd say this smells like Winter smells... inside. Does that make sense? It's the scent of general ambiance around winter, boughs of pine and burning candles, a bit of the extinguished smoke hanging around for good measure. But it doesn't smell like 'Christmastime' in that it's not hugely evergreen, or orange spicy, or turkey (which I suppose is good, who doesn't want a nun that smells like carved meat?).

Wet, oh, there is the pine. Oh, there's the crisp additional touch of bough and it's WONDERFUL. The fruit probably does contribute to the overall scent but it's mostly ambiance for me, no juicy fruits or sharp neroli. It's very subtle. Oh, this is the holidays for me. Yes. Lathering is the same as the other soaps, maybe a little more? It's also remarkably soft, softer than the other two soaps. The scent is not whomping me on the nose, but it's there. It is also very transient and it's wisped off my skin afterwards.

Want Inverno Oil Plz!

Next up in the soap reviews is... L'Estate.

Has a golden orange, slightly marbled peach tan appearance. Solid color. Wrapped similarly to Primavera with a gloriously pretty 'summer girl' I suppose half-reclining, arching her back, surrounded by furls of orange, gold and a little royal blue material. She looks really happy. She probably got BPAL recently.

Cold, the soap... really smells like soap. Has a soft, creamy tone to it, a glowing resin note. It is definitely spicy, but not spicy in the husky dry spices or spiked baked goods spicy, but it's sultry, glowing warm. It's hard to describe the scent in terms of any one note that comes out over another. I'd have to say this is mostly a light, sweet amber. Maybe the spice is the carnation, but I don't grab the floral note per se as an independent note.

Wet, also great lather, also great meltingness, not huge lather. The spiciness is more apparent with use. I'd say the scent does not digress much and I would call it a spicy sweet skin scent. Glowing, but not WHAMfloral or WHAMber. It's pleasant, and does recall the glowiness of summer, my birthseason. The pretty girl on the soap wrapper is definitely apropos.

Seeing as it is May, I wanted to start with Primavera.

Appearance - it's wrapped like Silk Road soaps, a fancy paper label with swirly petally things, sticker'd with black ribbon around it. It's fairly easy to open. The inside has writing about each run made in small batches, wrapped, and that imperfections and color variations are part and parcel of handmade soap. It also has the Phoenix with alchemical symbols in its pelt. The soap itself is an off-white, with gray green uniformly throughout.

Scent: Waxy, petally. It smells like neroli and waxy petals, and a little honey sweet snap (also probably related to orange blossom. The soap itself is firm, a little squidgy to pressure. There's almost a note like fermented tea leaf at the very base of this - it's not all floral, there's stemminess too. Very bright.

Using: The chunk I cut off lathers very well, also appears to be a soft textured soap that will probably melt a bit faster than commercial soaps, lather is light, not excessively luxurious but there. The scent expands a bit more when wet but is not super strong. It's definitely a blend of petal florals, with that leafy snap coming up while washing. Drydown on my skin is orange blossom, and with a touch more time the moss note that may be seen in blends like: Thanatos, The Apothecary, Tupapau.

This blend is soporific in a way different from the Somnius blends and also from the traditional 'haloo lavender' blends existing out there. Sleepy Moon 06 is very soft and gentle, and extremely characteristic. While I first got this a long time ago, and have now recently repulled it to see how well it works now that I'm low on Somnus, I'm quite pleasantly surprised.

The initial scent to me while wet is sweetly twangy, and on my skin a green powdery bamboo of sorts. If there is lavender, it is the top breath of lavender without the dry, balsamic snap of the drydown of fierce oil. No, there's just that twist of green, squishy soft florals balancing on top of a calming, soothing herbal base. The florals, if present, are all drowse-inducing ones, maybe just enough ylang and poppy to pull one's eyes shut.

Sweet. Back in the day I got two bottles, and as I'm gradually eatin' up one, the other will be very, very appreciated.

Cedary, dry, incensy... bookish incense, like the abramelin type in a few of Beth's other blends. Not terribly smokey but with plenty of bright resins. Underneath is a very clean, very unisex soft musk. The musk plays secondary to the paperbacks.

This is terrifically sexy but also very understated.

Mr. Ibis is sweet and very unassuming on my skin. I was expecting sharper, dustier paper notes, but even those don't show up with my wearing of the oil. Breathing in the vapors off the bottle I get maybe a little bit of an astringent dryness, and then directly on my skin I do get a tiny snap of smell you get when you break an aloe leaf in twain. The oil then just goes sweeter on me, with a hint of vanilla, and rests there. I'm mostly surprised by how much of a non-scentity this oil is. Great for wearing around casually for work or at gatherings but doesn't strike me as potent or standing out from the crowd.

Quiet. Reserved. Sweet. Functional.

Crowley - what every man hopes is inside, waiting to burst onto the scene as a smokin' hot, predatory fiend.

Bottle: I smell the sweet musks over the top of the bottle, with maybe a tiny teaser of something like leather or smoke underneath. It smells promising... wet on the skin, this is blooming rapidly with sweet musks, and the thwap of black leather against a table (you'll lean up against there when I say you do.)... it's almost like Loviatar but sweeter, more of a darker musk, sugary musk, than in that blend. I think the spot that I dabbed Crowley onto my hand has now dominated the rest of my other hand, it's made it its sub! Like rawr!

Spicy, but sweet musks accentuated with the kiss of leather, but just enough... sweetness from a hint, a dab of vanilla. Mostly this is an amazingly feral, animalistic, grab you and goooooo scent. Holy carp.

Wear this if you're feeling frisky.

I have no idea what I'm really supposed to be, but I was born a Leo (although I was six or so weeks premature, so I think I was supposed to be a Virgo - though I tried that one and it was decidedly Not Me and I ended up frottling the thing to my friend, a true Virgo, who adores how fieldy and fresh it is. But I digress.)

This is a beautiful bottle, with a ferocious lion reared up and pawin' on the front, done in a beautiful graphic design style.

Sniffing from the bottle, the note is decidedly woodsy, and reminds me very much of that initial sweet nutmeat scent I got from Cerberus, a kind of sticky sweet. Wet on me it's initially still very light, and now I've dabbed it around on my knuckle some with my fingers. The scent immediately richens, the color I get is a definitely russet-brownish gold, and this is now exotic musk, spicy, not quite as sweet as The Lion but complex and sparkling, gilded with gold. The components of the blend meld together very smoothly, and I think what is giving me the sweetness is the frankincense, as it adds a swirly white smoke element to the ambery base. Over time it dries down to a peaceful, skin scent, light against the skin. This I'd classify more as 'personal perfume experience' rather than something I'd wear to attract attention to myself or as a perfume perfume.

Gold kitty, yes, my very own gold kitty. I think it complements me well, as truly deep down I have a diva cat, although I'm quiet and unassuming on the outside (save the cloud of perfume). Like described upthread quite nicely as a 'Leo Child' developing over time, the scent starts off simply, sweetly, and as it dries the components make themselves known without any of them dominating. If our true astrologic signs were defined by BPAL, I'm most certainly a Leo fan moreso than a Virgo. So perhaps I really am a lion. Mew? No, ROAR!!!

Anyone have any problems getting sensitized to Balsam of Peru? I was just dabbing on and rereviewing the notes in A Farewell to False Love and noted it was listed as an ingredient. Regarding allergic contact dermatitis and common sensitizers, Balsam of Peru is among the top 10 offenders for new ACD (along with nickel... which I doubt is in perfume).

Mostly just to sate my curiosity.

I'll weigh in that something in Bengal and Arachnina gives me the burny skin something fierce, and I can't figure out what it is.

I wore this once after I got the pumpkin patch but I think I had too many of those on, and didn't give it a fair trial. The imp is very cute, with stylized cartoon crows sitting on pumpkins being all 'lolrawr, we be crowzzzz.' Oil color tends towards light blonde straw.

Wet this is a very light, rooty aroma, definitely a touch violet almost, or that could be the iris/orris, earthier floral playing tricks on me. As I let it dry it transitions from that moist rootiness towards squishy, wet, velvety petals. Oh, and there's the resin, gummy, sweet, kind of snappy, it really does remind me of benzoin or copal.

This reminds me of The Raven, in that similar deep glossy wing feel, but Murder of Crows has more of a floral, less violaceous tone to it. I thankfully do not get too much verbena, as lemons/verbenas tend to go crazy on my skin. The drydown is more amber than the initial iris, although I can still get that purply petal feel on top of it. A win, but I'll enjoy my imp.

Now how the heck did I of all forumites not review this?

I have two bottles, mostly motivated by the fact this buddy's a werewolf. Even so, unlike other lycanthropic blends Beth's pulled from her magic cloak, Wulric really does strike me as friendly, soft and sweet. Initially on me the notes I pull are an immediate tie between lavender and deep cocoa absolute. The smokier essences, vetiver/birch tar do not really seem to pull forwards, perhaps the bourbon vetiver is a different, less smokey and bitter type? There is a definite richness under the entire blend which may be a combination of the vanilla, musk and cistus. Clary sage is said to have soothing properties and I was scanning for its sharper, brighter floral notes but also could not find them.

Overall Wulric is a sweet, deep gooey chocolate aroma with the slightly spiky ouevre of crushed lavender. Do not be scared by the vetiver, it doesn't dominate.

Hmm... cooler full of BPAL. As opposed to alcoholic drinks.

The fratboys who find my cooler will be sorely disappointed, unless they're 'family.'

Is it too premature to start worrying about moving my sizeable stash in one year from now? I'm going from IL to CO, likely in my hatchback (2B!) and while I'd love to make sure everything is absolutely safe, I shouldn't sacrifice space for necessities in my car for, say, perfoom. I'm also concerned that I'll be traveling in late May in the middle of the country, where it could get warm - boiled BPAL is likely Not a Good Thing.

I was thinking of getting lots of bubble wrap and boxes from Uline before I go, but I don't know if I even have too much stuff to require using 25 boxes . Mostly dry medical textbooks, a computer, and way too many smelly things.

In addition to the topic of security, they totally are random. One time they took my toothpaste, LUSH face cream, and sunblock (you do not take a future dermatologist's sunblock!!!), not because of size restrictions, but because I decided to use my opaque Aveda bag instead of the ziplock baggies they want you to use. That would have been nice to know, say, going into the line, and, well, providing said bags for customers instead of nabbing your stuff at the check-in. I did lose some replaceable imps, and The Lion survived by wedging into the very corner of my bag under the seam line. Cowardly The Lion ftw.

I've traveled with checked imps in my luggage fine, in a chocolate mint altoids tin. They escaped during one trip, though, luckily no breakage, but I'm still looking for one or two of my Salon decants. I HATE TRAVEL.