fiddlehead

Anne Bonny broke me heart. I wanted to smell all the different woods and whatnot. I wanted to be transported to a pirate ship, darn it! All I got was pure, unadulterated Sandalwood. No Patchouli, no frankinscense, no heaving deck, sea spray or pirate treasure. Just sandalwood. But I'm glad I got to try it.

I tried this a few months ago and got nothing but Wintergreen. Nose-hurty levels of Wintergreen. OMG that's Ben Gay Wintergreen! I came over to read the reviews to see what others got and was relieved to find I wasn't completely off my rocker. Today, I got up the nerve to try it again. Still Wintergreen. After 20 minutes...Wintergreen. Okay okay!! I get it! No woodsy cinnamon for me

Ullalume This starts out with a rush of soil and soft evergreen of some sort. Then the lillies come up and join in. The aquatic scent seems to come through later. Beautiful. I can still catch hints of the soil, which I love. Something about this reminds me of Nocnitsa (a favorite) but it isn't as strong, and Zombi (another favorite) and Penny Dreadful (ditto). So, it's a winner for me. I will say that the first time I smelled this a few months ago, I didn't like it. I think that my nose has become more educated and able to actually pick out the individual notes better. Thank goodness I tried it again!

Smells *just* like rum and butter and sugar and...geez, I could almost get drunk just smelling this! It made me giggle I can't figure out when I would wear it as a scent, though. Maybe before I go out with friends for drinks, just to set the mood It's soooo rich smelling, so yummy. Gave me a craving for hot buttered rum, with Captain Morgan, of course. Avast, ye poxy seadogs!

Jack Whoa, butter! followed by pumpkin, a hint of fruit and a little spice. Nice! Not a perfume I'd wear but would be an interesting scent for an oil burner. I was impressed by the authenticity of the butter scent!

Tombstone is a luscious blend of things that I didn't think would work together. Vanilla is the strongest note, but it's kept from being boring old vanilla by the cedar, balsam and sassafras. Those notes sort of weave in and out of the vanilla and make it interesting. I like this better than any of the other vanilla scents I've tried except for O. I suppose it could be said to be a bit masculine, but the vanilla tempers that for me. To me, vanilla = female blend, no matter what else is in it! Silly, I know. This will probably eventually be a 5ml purchase for when I want to smell of vanilla without the sexual vibe of O

I would also be interested in a GC scent similiar to Lenore. I have 2 bottles now, but I like it more each time I wear it and would love to experiment with scents that are like it.

This reminds me of Arcana, one of my favorite oils. But it also has a little Nyarlathotep vibe going on but not as strong with the "dryer sheet" scent. Lavender and incense is mostly what I get. I don't get any tobacco, unfortunately. This is really nice. I'll have to wear it some more and see if it changes. It probably would be great on the husband. Still, not the dark blend I was expecting given the description of the deity

I can't pick out any individual notes in this oil unless I *really* concentrate. Amber and something spicy but dusty. Something that might be cinnamon. And even then I'm not sure. But that's okay because out of the bottle, wet on my skin and dry, it gives me an instant mental image of fields of dry, sweet grasses and dust. Warm and comforting, I can almost feel the intense summer sun on my skin. I can see how some people get a tea note out of this. That's okay because I like the smell of tea. This may be a candidate for a 5ml, or at least another imp.

This was another last minute order for me. Like, after the scents were supposed to have disappeared and then got extended I kept changing my mind and getting put off by the muguet which I don't like *at all*. But I'm really happy with it. It's another really unique blend like Lenore and doesn't remind me of anything I've ever smelled before. It's a rich blend of spice and dirt and wood with some sweet flowers and hmm, not getting orange but maybe some Angelica. After a couple of hours it's mostly dirt/wood/spice with a faint hint of sweetness. Very nice. It's very strange, but on my wrists it disappears quickly and leaves behind only faint sweetness. But in my cleavage it's a spicy, woody, scent with a hint of flowers I don't get any cinnamon, though.

Another amazing scent journey courtesy of BPAL I put this on and was immediately transported to a shop I used to go to in Berkeley. They sold stuff from India, little boxes, incense and jewelry, those colorful skirts and dresses and Spiritual Sky oils. I'd wander around and wish I'd been born just a *bit* earlier so I could have been a hippie I still have a wooden box I bought from there, which I used to store some homemade runes. I swear I smelled Sandalwood in this, but I don't see it listed. This is a gorgeous smelling oil and very comforting and warm. I'm glad I got to try it! ETA This seems more and more masculine to me as I wear it. In fact, it reminds me of a classic men's scent but darned if I can remember which one. I'm going to try it on the husband.

Graveyard Dirt This is everything I hoped it would be. The honest and true smell of healthy, fertile soil. I can't really add anything to the descriptions. If this gets released again it will be my first multiple bottle purchase, no question. The layering possibilities boggle my mind

When wet I think all I'm smelling is the vetiver. Having never *smelled* vetiver before this is a guess, but I'm pretty sure I'd recognize the other notes. Whatever it is, it's strong! As it dries I get the lemon peel and thyme and smoke. Not sure about the rest of it, but I guess the dirt note I'm getting more and more is the patchouli. Each time I wear it, it seems to be a little calmer, not so screamingly strong. And I get more of the dirt note also, which I like. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ages because it seems to be morphing pretty quickly. And it lingers and wafts unexpectedly all day long. This is by far one of the strangest scents I've come across in buying BPAL. After the second wearing it went into the "probably sell/swap" pile. But I couldn't leave it alone and now it's developing into something I really like. And I don't even write poetry. Maybe it's a scent to wear while committing somber Irish fiddle tunes, as well

I was really looking forward to this one because I love Zombi and want to try all of the scents with dirt/moss notes. Wet: That's dirt, alright! Different from the Zombi dirt but I really like it. Mixing with the dirt is something sweet. Flowers of some sort or is it a vanilla? It is a bit spicy as well, but not hot spicy. That must be the ginger note people mention. Dry Down: I really like this. Sweet and dirty at the same time. And it lasts well without being overwhelming. The dirt becomes a bit less obvious and the sweetness comes forward over time, but it's still grounded by the dirt. Heh. Might have to get a 5ml of this.

I changed my mind several times on whether or not to order this. It didn't sound like my cuppa, but some of the reviews sounded really good. Whoever said this was similiar to Clio was correct, at least on my skin. Unfortunately, I got a frimp of Clio *after* I caved and ordered Rat King. Rats! Because I'm not fond of Clio, either. But this is very much like it minus the citrus and plus a very sharp smell. Almost ammonia-ish. As if this wasn't enough it goes really perfumy/cologne on me very quickly. I'll try it on my husband, but I have a feeling this may be the first LE I have to get rid of. Note to self: pay attention to your first instincts!

I have no idea which flowers I'm smelling in Asphodel. But the first burst of them on my skin made me smile. A beautiful, moist smelling Spring bouquet of...I have no idea. Clean, transparent, lovely. I had a brief mental image of a patch of wildflowers. I *think* there might be violet hiding in this, because the drydown is very different than the early stage and has that slightly blue and powdery feel that violets give me. A nice change of pace from Jasmine and Rose heavy blends!

First on wet, I get lots of lemongrass and some cedar. Later on I can catch a bit of Jasmine. At the dry down stages it's mostly lemongrass and sandalwood, now slowly fading into mostly sandalwood. Nice enough, but I get my lemon-and-other-stuff fix from Arcana so I doubt I will wear this much. I somehow expected this to smell more exotic!

Mmmm, Night Blooming Jasmine. I can catch the scent of Rose underneath but I'm not sure what the myrrh smells like. When a NBJ plant I used to have bloomed outside my window it was kind of like breathing flower syrup. If you like that sort of thing, this is heaven. This is a really heady blend, all flowers all the time. The rose seems to be coming out more as it drys. Yep, definitely more rose coming out. Dang. I like rose, but I was hoping the Jasmine would stick around!

This is the first of the Ars Draconis I've tried. I love Blood Amber and Red Phoenix, though. As soon as I put it on it reminds me strongly of something very familiar. I can smell the DB, and some of the musks when I concentrate. I keep thinking I smell something like vanilla. Then it hit me. This reminds me of Johnsons Baby Oil, which we used to slather all over ourselves in the Summer in order to bake in the sun. This was back in the 60's before we had sunblock That smell was always soooo yummy to me. Reminds me of summer, and slathering it all over the BF as well as myself Another winner! I'll be interested to see how it wears over a whole day. ETA It lasted until the next morning and was still quite strong. Wow!

On me this starts out with a definite green note, pine or some kind of other evergreen. That disappears fast and I smell....violets? Some kind of dark floral, anyway. Nice, but they only hang around for about 20 minutes. Then it's all gone, leaving the barest trace of powdery floral. I see where the Samhain comparison comes from but that stage is also very fleeting on me. I'll hang on to this and see how it ages. I was hoping for more greenery! ETA Tried this again and this time the later stages of the drydown are very much like Samhain, only not as intense. I still want to say I'm smelling violets, but there's something else in there too. Anyway, it'll be a good decent substitute for Samhain if I should run out. Just not as complex.

This was the first scent I tried with Dragon's Blood in it. I had never smelled DB before but reading some people's experience with it I was worried I'd get cherries, which I love to eat but do not want to smell like. I was pleasantly shocked when I put it on. No wonder they call it Dragon's Blood! I get a hot rush of something that has the same feel to me as cinnamon or cassia but also manages to smell like some sort of sweet wood. Makes sense as it's a resin! I can smell the Amber sort of mixed in with it, maybe mellowing it? It stays pretty much the same on me all day, giving me little wafts of deliciousness. Not too sweet and very natural smelling. A 5ml bottle is on it's way to me! And I'm planning on adding other DB scents to my list to try

Nosferatu. One day I hope I will put it on and I will smell the dirt, the grave loam, the herbs with the wine. But all I've ever gotten is the red wine. Like I spilled some on myself. It wafts all day and isn't unpleasant, but it isn't something I want to smell like, most days. However, it does evoke a sense of eerie discomfort and almost despair, if I let it. So I might be picking up something besides the wine and just not being able to catch it consciously. I bought Shadow of the Vampire so I could watch it again and certainly I can imagine Dafoe's character smelling like this, but with more soil. And a tinge of blood. Going to try layering this with Zombi. Maybe even with Brimstone. Something to tone the wine note down with.

Okaaaay. I just got a weird taste in my mouth from two different oils today. First, Lenore. Then I took a shower and put on Talvikuu. Same thing. Maybe I won't put oil on my pulse points in some cases. Cuz this isn't making me sick but it is a bit worrying Could it be that it isn't being absorbed through the skin so much as through the nose and back of the throat, then the mouth? I'm not a slatherer but maybe I need to be even more careful with some of these. No skin reactions except for Bengal, I think because of the cinnamon. But then Chimera is fine. Go figure.

Talvikuu....Ohhhhhh yeah! When I ordered this I was thinking that it was silly to get another forest scent when I already loved Nocnitsa. But the reviews finally convinced me (okay, I was doomed at the "Cthulhu pops" comment because I'm a Lovecraft geek, mmkay?). This isn't like Nocnitsa, that's for sure. I can smell pine at first and then a sweeter scent that I guess might be the Birch. The aquatic/slushy notes are very apparent as well. I think this might also work on my husband. Though I don't find it particularly masculine I can see where some people would. Seems like there might be some kind of light musk or something in here as well. This probably won't bump Nocnitsa out of my favorites but it's very nice. It seems to be fading faster than Nocnitsa on me. EDIT Yep, it was gone in an hour, except for a faint sort of musky smell. Still, lovely while it lasted

We used to have two pet goats. Hybrids between the mini-goats and regular size ones. I am not kidding when I say that this smells VERY close to what they smelled like when it first goes on. The were both neutered but there was still a definite goat smell. This oil is the smell of them when I brushed them or petted them. Another amazing feat of scent re-creation from the lab. I'm getting clean goat, with some sweet smelling hay in the background, like the lean-to where they slept. It's getting softer and warmer as time goes on. Can't wait to try this on my husband I thought people were exaggerating in the reviews. For that, I apologize I think that wearing this perfume will be great for confusing the holy hell out of people. Heh. Also great for getting in touch with your feral side. It's a little scary, like Black Annis. Thumbs up to this one!