Clavis

Now that it's had a couple years to age... This starts as a dry-ish orange, not a sweet juicy orange. As it dries a dusty sandalwood comes out with a trace of patchouli warming and spicing it up. The patch isn't dirty, just a warm spice. The tobacco and musk lurkg in the background and giving it a base although they peek out a bit more as it ages on your skin. Overall the scent is a bit dusty and dry but NOT powdery. I like this! It's dark and heady, yet still fresh enough for spring and summer. Many of the BPAL scents work in specific seasons and not so well in others. This one would work well in ANY season. A true year-round scent.

I've been wearing an aged imp of this for the past two days. Yummy! Its soft, sexy, decadent, and warm. Even though this is an amber blend it smells more like a musk with wood and a touch of chocolate after it dries. Yet it doesn't have the cloying sweetness or oily note of a musk. Likewise, there's no powder of an amber. I want to know where the chocolate comes from because its NOT listed. Yet clearly its there since Im not the only one noticing. Perhaps its the combo of the patch, wood, and cinnamon when it ages. I wish I had a whole bottle of this. Alas, I do not, and I suspect a fresh bottle won't have the smoothness or the chocolaty note. A fresher imp I have, while certainly the same perfume, is noticeably less smooth and doesn't have that chocolatiness in the background. Sigh. Guess I'll have to get a bottle and wait 5 years...

13 Hours is definitely an interesting one. I really like this one! I don't get any nastiness or roses. It's quite astringent/dry actually. In a good way. It's primary note on me is halfway between the aloe note in Mr Ibis and the linen note in Medical Procedure. All three are fantastic for hot weather BTW.

My go-tos for summer: Cathode Zephyr *Autumn and Winter (applied lightly) *Bat (The Salon) Sea of Glass Lightning *Little Bird *The Ides of March *Frost at Midnight *Garden Path with Chickens *Sunrise with Sea Monsters 13 Hours *Archangel Winter Harvest Moon (any year) House of Night *Winter Havens *Sunlower * = LE I know... several of these are Yule scents, but they work really well on me in summer.

Lavendar doesn't always play nice with me. It tends to turn acidic, but this time it was perfect. Alot of people had the lavendar play center stage but for me it was more of a supporting role. It lended an herbal astringency that gave complexity to the sweet incense smell of the oudh and benzoin (something else that can be problematic on me) gave it sweetness and depth. This dried down to a sweet warm fuzzy scent like a cashmere shawl. Very close to the skin and really sexy in a candlelight and skin-to-skin massage kind of way. A bit sleepy and relaxed. It is a touch masculine but I find that the masculine scents work very well on me (I wear Dee, The Red Rider, and Dracul regularly). I really liked this one. Its a cool weather scent but s sublte enough and playsclose to the skin enough to wear in August too (which is why this review is being postedin August :-) ).

I found that this one isn't straight patchouli on me. It's equal parts patchouli and red rose with a touch of cinnamon. I didn't see anyone else mention the rose or cinnamon but it's very apparent on me. I DO amp rose enormously and cinnamon a bit less so, so that may be it. These are accords after all so they are all a mix despite being a "single note" Having said that, I love this. The rose doesn't override the patchouli and helps bring a floral nose and point up the spicyness of the cinnamon. This one works really well on me, more than plain old patch does (which tends to take on an unwashed socks note on me after awhile). Love it!

This oil is a lovely deep rose in color. Haven't seen this color in an oil before. Wet: soft and woody floral. Dry: this is so well blended that I can't identify particular notes. This is beautiful. Later, this is a very light perfume, but stays the same, no mutability. I think I'm going to need a 2nd bottle of this. Later: my other half sniffed and said "you smell good.. like you only better". Definitely need a 2nd bottle.. and maybe a 3rd.

I got a bottle of this from the lab's Etsy site. It had a week to settle down before I tried it... then I fell in love I saw a lot of reviews likening this to tobacco smoke and ashtrays. On me, this is anything but! In fact, I went back to Etsy and got another bottle of it since I can't be sure I'll get another chance. On me, this is smoky leaves and apples with a whisper of spice drifting through. Its not fruity despite the apples. It's not spicy despite the spice. Its not woody and yet... It's July here in Seattle and we just had a big thunderstorm roll through (Thunder and lightning are very rare here) ands the rain has laid down all the dust and pollution. The air is cool, soft, and smells new. And somehow it all reminds me of this perfume. Soft, wrapping around you and making you feel comfortable with a hint of sweetness from the apple. I can see this one is going to be a favorite for awhile. 5 out of 5.

Drinks: Beer from the Marsh Woman's Brewery, Tavern of Hell, Drink Me, Juke-Joint, Grog, Twenty-One Snakes: The Coiled Serpent, Snake Oil, Serpent's Kiss, Le Serpent Qui Danse, Cobra Lily, Ouroboros Water: The Pool of Tears, Water of Notre Dame, Undertow, Sea of Glass, The Sea Foams Blood, The Sea Foams Milk Light: twilight, ultraviolet, The Lights of Men's Lives, Lightning , Aureus, Event Horizon Air: Windward passage, Zephyr, Smokestack, Bread-and-Butter-Fly , Hurricane, Ehecatl Classic Monsters: Troll, Zombi, The Ghost, Nosferatu, Loup Garou, Goblin

What gets to me most is carrot seed. First showed up on me with L'Ecole des Filles. I had tested it on the inside of my wrist, half an hour later I had blisters and itched like mad. Took a week of cortizone cream for it to go away. It was easy to spot the offender because I had had everything else in that one except the carrot seed without any problems. It was confirmed when I tried Gathering Wild Mushrooms. I didn't spot the carrot seed in the list until after I had the reaction. Ick. The only other thing I react to is Orris. It makes me sneeze. Alot. Unfortunately, there's this lady in my office that likes to wear Chantilly, which is loaded with the stuff. I've asked her not to wear it it because I'm allergic but she keeps on wearing it. I'd be happy to open my store of BPAL to her so she can find something else she likes because otherwise she's a very nice lady and I like her... but she's a bit of a bitch about it. Says she wouldn't wear anything "concocted by someone so steeped in the word of Satan". First I knew that she was a thumper. Oh well.

Everyone talks about "citrus" and "aquatic" with this one... I don't get that at all. What I get is four o'clocks. When I smell it I remember being a child. We had a big bunch of four o'clocks by our front door and I would go out on summer evenings to watch the hummingbird moths buzzing around them. I remember picking some of the flowers and sucking the nectar out. The memory is so strong when I smell this. I can even taste the nectar. I had forgotten this among all of the bad memories from my childhood. It's nice to have a good childhood memory back. Thank you Beth!

Bottle: Vetiver & ginger. Very sharp! Wet: smells the same. The Pepper is making an appearance as it warms. Even sharper! Dry: The vetiver backs down a bit and the neroli, opoponax, tobacco and myrrh come out as it dries and sweetens the mix. In the end, this turns into an unusual but nice man's cologne but it doesn't smell like it would work on the boy... Not for me either unfortunately. Into the trade pile.

Well, never having tried Skadi I have no idea how they match up so all I can do is give my own impressions... Wet: A bit of eucalyptus gives the chilliness and makes the pine seem a bit rough at first. The pine itself is very light. As it warms on the skin, a sweet berry/floral comes out, perhaps that's a touch of rooibos? It bears a certain similarity. Dry: The eucalyptus fades and a light musk comes out touched with vanilla so the scent warms a bit. The vanilla with the berry/floral is lovely! Overall: Beautiful! Well blended and balanced. The scent is strongest in the first 15 minutes, after that it calms down and stays close to the skin. Rather addictive!

Okay... evidently my skin chemistry is pretty wonky because what I get is TOTALLY different than anyone else's experience. Wet: brown sugar and spice. Like I'm mixing something up for Christmas cookies... Dry: very much the same. Brown sugar/caramel and spice. None of the spices stand out, they all just meld together. Much later a soapy note comes out (the rose otto) but melds well with the rest. I like this one! However, it smells very much like some others on me and I put it in the same class as Egg Nog 2010, Gypsy, Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil, Mama-Ji, & Bad Luck Woman Blues.

Wet: green (violet leaf), pikake, a touch of lily at the back. Overall it gives a cool metallic impression Dry: The green fades into the background and it turns into something my grandmother could have worn. Perfumey but understated. Definitely floral. Rather nice actually. I keep sniffing at it. The amber and agave gives it a warm sweet base for the florals. I didn't notice any honeysuckle at all. Overall, I rather like it but I'm not sure it's for me.... But I'll keep it around for layering and linen spray. Lovely.

I admit I was kinda leery of trying this one since coffee goes horribly wrong on me.. But the Lab accidentally sent me Atlas instead of the Brahmin I ordered and it DID smell wonderful in the bottle... So I tried a little bit of it. WOW! I'm shocked. It smells more like caramel and chocolate on me than coffee. Except that I can't wear chocolate either and this smells good! On ME. Wow! Wet: Chocolate with a touch of caramel like Dilletante's Ephemere sauce with a nice smooth woody base. Dry: Not much different except that it smooths out even more, sweetens up a bit, and I get a faint hint of green? Way in the back. Kind of like the out of focus leaves in the background of a photo. There, but not really noticeable and certainly not the subject of the photo. But you would miss them if they weren't there. I suspect that mallow is part of where the Lab gets it's lovely caramel scent from... Definite similarity.

Wet: Strong white floral. Can't quite pin it down as I tend to stay away from florals (so many of them go wrong on me), but I KNOW this scent! It is very familiar, I just can't place it. There IS a sweetness, but not from honey or freesia. Dry: doesn't change much, just toned down a little and a little of that same sweet green/wateryness that I get from Olokun comes out. I Love this scent . So many florals go so very very wrong on me so I tend to stay away from them. THIS ONE, I would buy a bottle of. I've never gotten compliments from a floral perfume. Smokey, spicy, woody; yes. But never a floral... until now. Admittedly, it does smell a little old fashioned. Like something my grandmother would wear, but the old lady had excellent taste and I think she would have liked this. I certainly do. Beth... when are you going to get around to releasing this one? Soon? Please? :beg: - with a on top? I've only got the one little imp... how can you possibly expect me to make it last all summer long? Or longer?

Okay... this one must be VERY dependent on your chemistry because what I got from it is NOT what's described in previous reviews... Bottle: not much. A touch of musk. Wet: WOW! Strong sweet musk. There's the caramel! With bits of tonka, orchid, sandalwood and frankincense peeking around the edges. Dry: Doesn't change much, except the musk & caramel fades off a bit so its all balanced. Smooth, warm and sexy. Very nice! Is that a faint touch of leather? Yummmmm Much Later: The musk and florals fade away leaving caramel, tonka and sandalwood. I know from previous experience with other scents this has happened to that those notes will stick around on me for up to 36 hours... I'll give it 5/5. If this is what the courtesans are like, I'll have to get more of them... Clavis

I found by accident that the sweet smokey scents work VERY well on me so I went looking. Here are the ones I found worked best on me... The first three are lighter than the next three. Dracul (Diabolus) - Sweet smoky amber & orange (got a bottle of this one!) Incantation (Bewitching Brews) - smokey sandalwood with a touch of lemon Black Tower (Bewitching Brews) - Complex, but with smokey notes to it. Mostly woods and amber.(another bottle...) Rumpelstilzchen (Marchen) - campfire, spices, tonka and myrrh (yet another bottle) Smokestack (Steamworks) - smells rather like clove cigarettes. (yup, you guessed it - bottle) Mad Meg (Salon) - fire, spice, and balsam (do I even have to say it? Some others you might want to check out are Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil (Salon) - bourbon and brown sugar with spice, Santo Domingo (Wanderlust) sweet tobacco and flowers, & Olokun (Excolo) - sweet green/marine. I was surprised by the Olokun, I don't generally wear marine scents, but this one works on me. Clavis

This one is interesting... Wet: A lot of cedar with a bit of pine, vanilla and honey. BUT... the pine, vanilla, and honey combine to smell rather like tobacco. Maybe a touch of rose in there too. Dry: this is a lot like the wet phase but smoother and warmer with a bit of spice added. Very well blended! I'll give it 5/5. So far I haven't hit a single dud in the Lupercalia scents... I still have Dancing Koi and Burning Vulva to try but I can already tell from their reviews that they're good. I just have to wonder it they can measure up to Manilus Hurled from the Rock and Sleeping Nymph and Satyrs... I look forward to finding out.

Bottle: Leather. Wet: leather, a floral greeness from the violet leaf, & lots of cedar.Smells almost like fresh Juniper. Emphasis on fresh. Dry: The leather and that juniper-ish scent soften and the sandalwood and spice come out and merge with the rest. Lovely!! I'll give this one a full 5/5. Maybe I'll get a second bottle. I'll second Drarra's comment. This isn't like anything else I wear... But that's all part of the BPAL experience isn't it?

Wow... this stuff is absolutely divine on me which is wierd because fruit and I tend not to get along. My other half doesn't much go for perfume, but he goes "Hey, that's really nice!" (although he will admit that Kroenen from the Hellboy series is "chick magnet awesomesauce" on him) Anyway, it starts off pretty fruity, but not sweet fruity. Its like a fruity scent without the fruit.. And then there's that dry leaf scent as it dries... Haunting in a way but with decent throw and it lasts forever... I put it on 24 hours ago and I can still smell it, although what it smells of now (quite clearly) is a very slightly sweet tobacco so I suspect that's what a good part of that dry leaf scent was. I got this as a tester from coffeewithjack (THANK YOU!) and I've already ordered a big bottle. I wonder if it will be enough... Clavis

Not pickles... spanish green olives. It stays Spanish olives for a while. I was almost ready to wash it off and write it off as a bad deal when some of the other notes came out to play. Something musky and woody with just a hint of black pepper and the merest hint of honey lurking at the back to tickle the nose. After about 30-40 minutes, the brined olive note disappears and its just a faintly sweet wood with a bit of ticklish resin and dry spice... It stays quite close to the skin. It actually smells rather like a really good men's cologne. I wonder how it will go on the boy...

Okay.. this is odd. Everyone talks about the smoke and mineral quality to this and I don't get that at all. On me this is spice and brandy and molasses with a big chunk of exotic wood and a touch of resin. Dark and warm and sexy as hell... but NOT mineral or smoke. It was sweet enough on me that I layered it with The Red Rider. Wow! I wanted to throw my honey on the bed and have my way with him. Twice. At least. Definitely something I'll have to go easy on. Addition: 12/12/10 - Okay... I hit the PMS phase of my cycle and NOW I'm getting the smoke. Its woodsmoke and tobacco with a bit of clove now... Lovely. Gonna have to get a 5ml of this.

All of these comments on caramel and vanilla and that's not really what I get... On me, this is bourbon and brown sugar. Mostly bourbon. GOOD bourbon. But not overly sweet despite the brown sugar. The sandalwood dries it out, the carnation adds spice, and the patchouly does both while adding a firm foundation. A tiny bit of vanilla adds to the spice, but not much. This one isn't so much foody as boozy. I never did get the iris but at least it didn't turn to baby powder on me the way Iris and orris usually do. Perhaps it added to that "deep-deep sniff" attraction. I ended up with my nose glues to my wrist for hours with this one and its LOVELY on a cold day! But not at work... if I wear it there I get some odd looks. The bourbon.