aedes

Hah! Even though I'm not a big fan of chocolate, something about the Lab's chocolate scents always grab me. They just smell so unexpected and unique! 13 is no exception. In the bottle it smells, well, kinda gross. Musty and mildewy and something that makes me think there's patchouli. But on, straight up chocolate oranges. It mellows out to really bring out the iris, which makes for a bizarre, but very warm and comforting scent. I'd say if you like Freak Show, Velvet, and/or Intrigue, you'll really like 13.

I think I did a disservice to this scent for trying on the same night (different arm) from the floral Lupercalia scents, which are big, bold, bright, and lush.

Budding Moon is a different kind of scent than that. It smells pallid in comparison, but perhaps that's kind of the point. I definitely get the ghostly white lunar top note, with graceful, light floral notes lying on a soft bed of musk. I was unimpressed with it at first, smelling a bit too green and underdone. But it's blossoming on my arm as I type to be a mysterious, ghostly, but full floral scent. Don't scrub this one off! Let it have its say.

This reminds me of a geisha in a pale kimono standing in the snow under a plum tree on a moonlit night, practically the essence of Yin. I think I'm going to keep this one around.

I got it for the myrrh, but this really is quite a sweet and fruity blend! I get almost a bubblegum smell at first sniff, but it quickly warms and incorporates the jasmine very nicely with the apple, citron, and honey smells. The myrrh comes out more in the final drying stages, where it reminds me of a sweeter, more day-wearing version of Darkness. It's quite a unique, unexpected, but lovely blend. Nothing is stealing the show, this is magnificently balanced and an utter delight to smell. I had a feeling that this was going to be my favorite of the Lupercalias, and I think I was correct in that. Thank you, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab!

I'm blown away by the beauty of this scent. It's a complex, rapturous work that comes in stages. I agree that the initial smell is, I think, sandalwood and heady white flowers, then sweetness emerges, pink and golden flowers bloom, evolving into the lasting aroma of vanilla, honey, and a symphony of blossoms. It can be heady in its initial stages, but as it dries, this really becomes what I think Paradise would smell like. The vanilla also doesn't hog the stage, which is unusual for me. It plays nicely with the other scents and doesn't smell like I doused myself in vanilla extract. For this and Perfumed Garden especially, I really have to congraulate Beth.

PS - I love the bottle designs, too! They're just gorgeous!

I'm a total myrrh junkie, too, though I like some florals. Hades is my main throb. It's got black narcissus, I think, and stephanotis, which is a particular kind of jasmine, though I don't think it smells like a floral scent.

But if anything with petals is a no-go for ya, I should also recommend Danse Macabre, Anubis, Lear for the cedar-y goodness along with the others that have been recommended.

There are (thank g-d!) a lot of BPAL scents with myrrh, so I say get sniffing! You know you won't feel satisfied until you've tried them all, anyway.

I would give them all a try first before buying bottles of them, that's for certain. I found a lot of the Tarot and Voodoo imps to be surprising. Strength smells like orange spicy goodness to me, for example. The World smells slightly aquatic, I think, with sandalwood and a buncha stuff. The Sun is nice and warm and comforting, though I think there might be others that do the same job better.

I know that, when I need some chutzpah, I just go for the scent I'm most comfortable in. No second-guessing during the day over whether or not it's turned funky, whether it works with the outfit, whether my coworkers like it. Nope. F- 'em all. I also tend to go for more masculine scents at times like that.

My faves for strength and confidence are Hades, The Lion (it really does smell... Lion-y!), maybe Iago (some people might get the same mileage out of Wanda or De Sade), oh and speaking of chutzpah, Moxie! Though I do find the TAL blends to be touch-and-go in terms of aesthetics, they are trying to do a job first and foremost. But if you like how it smells, baby do your thing!

I have to say that this spreadsheet has probably been one of the best additions to my life since my boyfriend. And my boyfriend is pretty damn handy.

Is there any way I can download the updates while still keeping all the notes and such that I added to my previous one?

Hm, another light, girly floral on me. I wish my nose is better so I could tell them apart. But I think if you're a fan of Arachne, Maiden, and a lot of the female Illyria scents, you'll like this one. It's just too light and whimpering for me.

I thought I would hate all foody scents, but this one isn't too bad for me, strangely enough. I think I get queasy when it's foody mixed with something else. But this is straight-up butterscotch candy. Well, maybe butterscotch with an evil twist. It still just ain't my bag, I don't like smelling like food items, but it's not a terrible experience like I feared it would be.

Lavender!

Lavender!

Lavender...and....something else....?

Ooooh! Lavender and spices! Mmmmmm

Edit: After a few months, this has become my good luck BPAL. I wear it religiously every time I game, and with good effect. It's probably psychosomatic, but I feel a lot cleverer and more lucky when I put this on. And the fellas I game with like it a lot. My incredible misfortune that it's not coming back! Ah, well, time to get my begging shoes on...

I'm so happy I took the chance with Holiday Moon. This is rather different than other scents I like, but I'm loving it!

At first I get a very clear sense of the tea, I can smell it right there as tea, which is surprising because no tea scent has done that for me before. There's also a bold, distinctive spiciness there as well. I don't get the bright, happy smell everyone else seems to get. Mine smells sharp and dark, well, a combination of light and dark, it's really a whole panorama, along with a mossy, woodsy feel. Especially when wet, this smells like a marvelously unique man's cologne. It even smells a little soapy on me.

But it dries down wonderfully, as well, leaving a scent that's both rich and refreshing and not nearly so masculine. I don't know if I want a second bottle of this, but I'm really enjoying it. Thank you, lab!

This probably isn't exactly what you're looking for. But I found that London is a subtle but stone-cold scent. It's feminine and certainly rose, but heartless. I think it's a scent that a sexy female mob boss would wear.

I was surprised when I didn't see patchouli on the list of ingredients, because this has all the bitter, pungent earthiness I've come to take as my patchouli alarm. It smells just like the dirt note in Burial while in the imp, and the patchouli smell keeps on ticking the whole length of the drydown. There's a woody and herbal background to it that isn't unpleasant. But woof! That grittiness! It must me the cedar that's doing the patchouli imitation on me. I just can't handle it, as much as I love the concept of smelling like cedar.

These roses smell a lot like honey to me. Very sweet and golden with a floral scent. About an hour later I think I can recognize it as a rose smell, with only the tiniest bit of cinnamon working behind the scenes. What an interesting concept for a scent! Rose oils and cinnamon. But I think it works well. I like it!

Smells like a hot tub! Heh, I can't quite pick out why. I think it's the violet or the clove, but it smells like bath salts and steamy, bubbling, perhaps slightly chlorinated water. At first I thought "no way" but I'm sort of enjoying the spa smell. Now to figure out how to make bath salts with it...

The honeysuckle and jasmine must have combined in such a way that I could swear I smelled lavender at first. But as it dries it becomes more clearly honeysuckle. It's a hot, muggy, sweet scent, maybe a bit too heady for me. And that alkaline, medicinal sort of tinge that made me think lavender still lingers on. But it's good to know that some jasmine as such can behave on my skin.

I thought Black Cat was wonderfully quirky and tricksy, though the guy hated it. I bet Imp and Hetairae will fit the bill though I haven't tried them myself. I also think Jabberwocky is decidedly loopy and wry. Snicker snack, indeed!

What a chameleon! Wet, this smelled yummy somehow, but I could put my finger on it. Like citrus and chocolate. As it dried, I got more and more of a husky but astringent note, almost minty but not quite. Like pennyroyal. Maybe it's the rosemary. Whatever it is has totally taken over and now it smells like being sick - Vick's and Riccola. Bnech!

I was worried that this would be too fruity, but I love peony and pepper. This isn't too fruity for me. It doesn't smell "OMG _ " for any particular fruit. Smells clean, green but sweet like honeydew, and generally quite soothing and happy. This would be excellent for bath products.

To me, this smells like tight, pink, tea rose buds and held-back tears. The ylang ylang is sharp and sweet, but with I think an alkaline tinge. Pining, sad, young love. Way too... simpering and girly for yours truly.

This smells more herbal to me than I thought it would. I could swear I smell cypress in there. Reminds me a bit of Nero, actually, especially wet. It warms and "browns" so to speak as it dries down. The guy really likes it, more for himself than for something I would wear. Smells quite basic and maybe more suited to a guy's pH. Very nice!

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Absolutely exquisite! A lab classic that I think everyone should try. I think you could wear this all year round.

Jasmine and I have such a dysfunctional relationship. Just when I think she loves me, she turns around and goes all haughty and stinky on me. I desperately wanted to try this because I love myrrh, I love rose, and I usually can get along with jasmine. But noooo. Jasmine just had to go and be overpowering on me this time. So sorry, Wicked! To the swaps with ye!

I've loved rosewood in other blends, but I could barely smell anything from this imp. Maybe I got an old (or young) imp. But I got the faintest, tiniest hint of roses and then nothing. Odd, Ouija did the same thing for me. I'd try it again to make sure, but sadly I don't think this one will work on me.

Wow, civet is like musk times ten, isn't it? This has a seriously heady perfume smell as well as a very animalistic one. Way too gritty and "stinky" for me, but I can imagine it would work well on a woman with a lot of... chutzpah.