clover

These are the similarities I see: Snow White = Szepasszony Midwinter's Eve = Bordello Egg Nog = Vanilla Bean Hearth = Cerberus Mistletoe = Old Dublin Red Moon = Ra Queen of Spades/King of Spades = Venice (can't remember which one!) June Gloom = Phantasm Wildfire = Dragon's Bone and for some reason Rose Red always reminds me of The Apothecary!

Oh my, this is truly, truly gorgeous! Upon first application: On me, it's overwhelming vanilla, with just a hint of spices...a little cinnamon and a little clove. And call me crazy, in that very few first seconds I get just a hint of (dare I say it) civet. Or something animal-y. But it's gone immediately. I've tried it two or three times and every time there's that animal flash at the begining. After a few minutes: It's still very much the same, very vanilla-sweet and slightly spicy, but I think I'm getting a slight bit of pumpkin. (Or else I'm just assuming there's pumpkin there, because of the name). But I think that I sense something that smells like buttery eucalyptus, which is how pupmkin smells on me. It's really light though. I'm afraid I'm not doing this justice, because it is really terribly, terribly yummy. Oh, how I hope that it is more readily available in the future!

Mmmm, just what I was going to suggest! Love Me smells very vanilla-y on me, and is really, really good layered with single note vanilla.

Ravenous! Ravenous!!

Incantation Note to the Lab: If you're going to send out oils this darn sexy, you're really going to have to start sending a man with them. Really. First sniff: Holy mother of god! *Fans herself* Upon first application: "Unfathomably dark". How I like the sound of that. Like others have said, this is very woodsy and the vetiver is really strong. After a few minutes: This is pretty masculine, so I don't think I would wear it as a perfume while I was out and about very often. But it's also indescribably yummy and comforting, so it's a perfect at home scent. Conclusion: I thought Iago was the scent that all of the men of the world should wear. Well, they should, but they should also wear Incantation. Wow.

Oh man, Spooky may be single-handedly responsible for me breaking down and buying a scent locket. Sniffing from the vial: Yum! This smells like extra-special Girl Scout cookies. (Thin Mints, I think they're called?) All chocolate and cookie and mint. Upon application: Yum! Now the coconut jumps out at me. Coconut cookies dipped in peppermint hot chocolate. After a few minutes: Yum! Coconut cookies. But the coconut has taken over and all but obliterated the cocoa and rum and peppermint. Like coconut always does to me. Conclusion: Well, I tried this on a piece of fabric and it stays much truer to that yummy choclatey/pepperminty/cookie goodness. So I think I will have to use my delicious imp either in a scent locket or on my clothing and not directly on my skin. So happy to have this!

Ahathoor: Upon first application: Pungent...citrussy. Maybe grapefruit? After a few seconds: Oh, wait...not so pungent anymore. It's softer, a creamy mellow citrus. And definitely a hint of yellow flower, though I'm not sure what kind of flower. I just know that to me it seems yellow. After a few minutes: Like the other Stations of the Sun, I definitely detect an incensy/resiny base. But it's not as strong in Ahathoor as the others. I'm wodering if I'm detecting the tiniest little bit of civet, too? Conclusion: Just double checked, and this is the mid-day sun. Holy crap...these stations of the sun are just blowing me away! They are just so spot-on...so incredibly well executed! Which, of course, is hardly a surprise. This one is beautiful...

Tum Upon first application: Wow, this is pure grape juice! After a few seconds: But it immediately mophs into something more. It starts to sparkle. Really, it does. Wow, that's seriously completely glorious. It's like a glittery purpley-magenta scent on my skin. In the background is the incense/resin scent that all of the Stations of the Sun seem to have. After a few minutes: Suddenly it turns just a little bit cinnamony. And maybe a tiny little bit floral. A few minutes after that: When I was trying this out I couldn't remember what station of the sun Tum was. But now that I've checked and discovered that it's the setting sun, I'm just amazed. It's amazing how on me the purple/grape/sparkly incense scent coexists with the slightly spicy cinnamon scent and the two don't mix at all. It's honestly reminiscent of a sunset-streaked sky, and a complete triumph.

Blood Kiss First impressions: Oh, I was hoping that "the honey of the sweetest kiss" was a metaphor, or just a really lovely turn of phrase. Apparently not. Upon first application: #%@& honey! My mortal enemy. It just jumps right out at me and taunts me, saying "Haha! I'm going to stand here and just let enough of the rest of this scent through to taunt you with how beautiful and sweet and earthy it is....but I'm not moving." Sigh. It's so sad...I had such high hopes for this scent, and I feel like it's just out of my grasp. Conclusion: Well, it dries down to a musky, sweet, but musty/sensual & glorious scent. Unfortunately it took an hour or so for the honey to wear off. Just like "O" on me, sadly.

I keep forgetting we have to drop the "Old" now! You know, it might not be any single note in Queen Mab, but a combination of notes. For example, I adore the smell of Queen Mab in the bottle...I think it's sweet and gorgeous. But on me it smells like curry, almost immediately. I know there's no curry in there, but it just happens. I think it's the combination of orchid and sandalwood that does it to me.

Have you tried Old Venice, tart? That seems like a very purpley-red/rich floral to me. Or maybe Kitsune-Tsuki. I think they are similar actually.

Another one of my experimental bottles from Beth: Sniffing from the bottle: Juniper! Pure juniper. Oh how I love juniper! Upon application: Well, it's deinitely junipery, but it's a little warmer. After a few minutes: A-ha! It appears to be Snake Oil made with juniper instead of vanilla. How very, very lovely. Conclusion: This is absolutely perfect for me, because there are certain times that, as much as I loooovve Snake Oil, the vanilla in it cranks up to 11. My stupid girlie chemistry. So, now, when that happens, I will have another option. Yay! How wonderful.

Beautiful, beautiful Old Dublin. First impression: I'm not sure what alderleaf is, but this smells gorgeous! Upon first application: Very green, and sweet. I would've sworn there was a little bit of berry in here to sweeten up the greens. I can't detect any rose at all. Thank goodness, because 90% of the time rose goes all soapy on me. After a few minutes: This is just so beautiful! I'm absolutely in love again. I adore pine and evergreen and all scents of that nature, but I'm afraid they smell too masculine a lot of the time. But this is the perfect sweet, gentle evergreen scent. Just like a forest. Thank you Lab! With Old Dublin you're allowing me to indulge my love for all things coniferous while still being soft and feminine. And that's a little bit of a miracle as far as I'm concerned!

Every bottle I got is absolutely gorgeous! They're all really different, too...one is ambery, one is junipery, one is fruity, etc... However, one of the bottle that I got stands out above all of the others. Ever since I discovered BPAL I have been looking for a perfect apple scent, and now I have it. I was unpacking my box and discovered that there was one little green bottle that I hadn't noticed at first. I opened it up and was struck right away by the appliness. I thought I might just die. I LOVE the smell of apples. And when I tried it on, I realized that it was predominently apple, but with just a hint of vanilla, or maybe even Snake Oil. But it doesn't turn the apple sweet at all, like The Hesperides, it just seems to stabilize it, so that it lasts longer than a fruit scent normally would. I can only describe it as pure golden apple cider, and I absolutely love, love, love it! I'm so lucky...

*kicks postman in *ss* Huge hugs to quinkel for sending Spooky to me!! You rock!

Unless I have Samhain in my greedy little hands, I will probably wear Sin. It's all I want to wear lately...the earthy spiciness seems like it was made for the fall. Oh, unless the little imp of Spooky that I swapped for arrives by then! That would be perfect.

Black Forest smells like a big ol' Christmas Tree! Yum...

You know, the only time I have ever had a reaction to a BPAL oil was one morning when I slathered on some Kabuki right after I got out of the shower. The same thing happened to me as what you descibed. It was especially odd because I wear Kabuki all of the time...it's one of my favorites. I have a feeling it had to do with the fact that I had just gotten out of the shower, and maybe my pores were still open and thus more sensitive?? (Just a theory). Anyway, now I wait half an hour or so after I bathe before applying the oil.

Maybe Blood Amber?

Chaos Theory CVII (but the cool thing is that because of the lines on the label, the cvll on the label looks like "evil". Hehe. ) Upon opening the bottle: Huh - it appears that I have a mislabeled bottle of Blue Moon. On first application: Ok, mix that Blue Moon up with some tropical fruits....coconut, banana, pineapple, cherry. Very interesting... After a few minutes: Yup, it's a slightly fruitier, warmer version of Blue Moon alright. It's tropical, but with that cool as a cucumber, pale floral base. A few minutes after that: Ooh, it's rounding out...I think it's a little bit of the beloved musk. Don't you just love how musk really pulls a scent together and softens it up? Oh, and there's something boozy there, too!?! Conclusion: It's nice. It's definitely not something that I would normally pick out...but I have a feeling that it's one of those scents that others will like on me more than I like it on myself. I'll definitely be looking to trade a couple of imps, though! Edited for missing letters!

I love Yuletide. Love it. It's my favorite out of all of the Yule2003 scents that I've tried (which is, I guess, all of them except Spooky). It's pure holly berry, but what a beautiful scent that is. Every year, when I was growing up, my mom would buy my sister and me candles for Advent...I would get holly berry and my sister would get bayberry. And this is exactly what they smelled like. It just brings back wonderful memories of many Christmases. I wish I could describe it more accurately, but it's one of those scents that, to me, goes on and stays completely true. I will say that it works beautifully as a perfume, on me, not just as a room scent. Yay for Yuletide!

Wow, I never thought that I would like a rose scent this much.... In the vial: More green than floral. It's got an almost Apothecary-like herby greeness to it. Upon first application: Definitely green, but the rose is much more prominent. This is so, so pretty. After a few minutes: A very sweet, innocent, pure rose. This is the rose scent I would give a five year old girl to wear when she is playing dress-up. Absolutely beautiful.

On first application: Oh my, what is that funky smell?? It's the same funky smell that I get the first couple of minutes of wearing Brimstone...which I guess kind of makes sense. After a few minutes: Thank goodness, the funkiness went away in the first couple of minutes. Now the overhwelming scent to me is dragon's blood resin. And some sort of spicy floral, too. It almost reminds me of Love Me except redder and smoother. A few minutes after that: This is much sweeter than I thought it was going to be...I think there may be some sort of wood, like rosewood, and maybe even some anise?? Once I get past the first minute or two I really like it. Maybe even enough to buy a larger bottle. (Especially since those Tarot labels are so freakin' cool.)

It's funny, I've tried a handful of the Celestial oils, and this is by far my favorite. I must be a pretty typical Virgo. On first application: This reminds me a lot of Ravenous (which is a very, very good thing.) I guess it's because the patchouli is pretty strong at the beginning. But while I think of Ravenous as a very sharp orangey patchouli, this is a very yellow/green patchouli. It's a chartreuse patchouli. And it's just a little bit salty, if a perfume can be called salty. It's funny, even though I think Ravenous and Virgo are so similar, they have completely different effect on me. While Ravenous I find sexy to the point of distraction, Virgo is comforting, and makes me want to go for a walk in the woods. After a few minutes: It's staying very true. I can't detect the apple or rose at all - and just the tiniest bit of narcissus and oakmoss. I have a feeling it's the white musk that is rounding the whole thing out, blending everything else together so nicely. Conclusion: Beautiful, and comforting. A must for all Virgos...

I can't make up my mind about Katharina. Sometimes I put it on and it's all apricot, and I can't really deal with that. And then sometimes it's all orange blossom and musk, and then it's just really, really pretty. Which is interesting, because I usually don't like fruity florals at all. But there's something about the sharp bitterness of orange blossom and neroli that appeals to me. I feel like I can't really post an accurate review of Katharina, because it can manifest in such different ways on my skin. But I will say that there are times when it is absolutely lovely. And I can see where she would be pure happiness and light on the right person...unfortunately, I just can't trust her.