alicia_stardust

It looks like I'm the first to pick out the gin in this. It's right there at the top of the blend and quite prominent! There's a smooth dry juniper pine sort of fragrance that's a touch boozy, but not so much that you'll have to worry about where you go when you wear this. The gin sort of mellows down and out and entangles itself in the tangerine, guava, and passion fruit. It's remarkable that I can detect the three fruits individually. Something about the gin and tonic seems to ground things and keep this from becoming too girly, too fruity, or too high pitched. I still classify this as fruity and tropical, not boozy, but the latter sure adds a nice dimension here.

This is definitely rum and apricot! I don't get much in the way of pineapple, but the grapefruit and lime are there and they give this a bright, fruity, punchy, bubblegummy vibe. Then the ginger kicks in and this becomes feisty! It has a sharp bite to the fruit and a loudness to it. What a fitting name! You'll like this if you at all dig fruit blends, ginger blends, or Frumious Bandersnatch.

Hexennacht 08 is quite different from the original Hex, but I always welcome reformulations because I like to see the new ways that Beth interprets in the same concept. I smell a soft, muted fir and woods but they are brightened by the amber and skin musk. There is a strong sense of earth and forest in this. A hint of smoke and incense really accentuates the amber and glistening skin. Overall, this blend gives me a strong visual image of flickering bonfire light that casts a golden glow on forest evergreens. There is a haze of smoke that wafts up into the night air and a sense of revelry. This is a true work of art and, while different from the original, deserves just as much attention. Strong throw, long wear length. I bet it's good as a room scent, too. =)

I pegged this one as the top of my must-try list for the Flotsam blends. I am not disappointed. The monoi de tiare is most prominent at first, but as the oil starts to dry I get wafts of the vanilla orchid. Later still, the extra gardenia kicks in and adds an extra sweetness to this sultry floral and tropical blend. There is something about this that is both refreshing and sensual. It is very feminine and breezy. The incense adds just the right touch to finish this off.

It looks like I'm not the first one to think that this smells purple and green. I get the strongest sense of playfulness and summertime from this. I smell mostly huckleberry and tangerine, but the lemon just barely peeks in there to give the tangerine an extra nudge. There's definitely an edge of green in there, and I think that's what gives this such a well-rounded quality to it. Delightful!

Tiki Queen is gorgeous! It smells much more playful than I anticipated considering all the florals and white musk. It starts out with a strong, candy-like note but it is neither too sweet nor too fruity. While it is playful, as time passes this gathers an edge of refinement from the tuberose, vanilla, ylang ylang, white musk, and neroli. Something about this is very buoyant to me. It smells "red" and has an almost regal quality after the candy-like note has faded. I find that this has a strong throw and an average wear-length. I can't think of any other fragrance like this so it's definitely worth checking out.

Daphne odora is seriously my favorite floral fragrance of all time. I don't get evergreen from it, but I find it to be such a sweetly spicy, hypnotic, sensual fragrance that I would be thrilled if I could slather myself in the scent of the blooms. I'd ROLL in it! I haven't found anything in the catalogue that matches it, but maybe we can hope together that it will make an appearance at some point. =)

Beltane 2008 is beautiful. I have tried both the 2005 and 2006 versions and this new one is quite different. It retains the same frisky, springtime vibe but where the older versions are a soft, muted medley of floral/tea, this new version has more oomph to it! Beltane oomph! The spring mint is noticeable both on the bottle and as the oil dries. It's a mint that is has a gentler edge to it, and fresher; it smells as if I have rubbed my forefinger and thumb on on leaf of young, fresh mint and I am smelling the remnant that rubbed off onto my skin. There are four lovely, lovely resins in here and they give this a nice base. So what I get is a layer of resins and woods with soft mint on top and IN BETWEEN those things (like a scent sandwich) I can smell, at different times, the rose and lily and iris and the faintest whiff of jasmine and greenery and herbs. I spent time picking out notes to be able to write this review but in the end this is quite well blended and evocative. This is definitely springtime friskiness personified; it is lush and a bit heady and light and floral (but not too floral) and springy. A work of art.

This smells exactly like dirt and soil; the moist, fertile kind that is full of bits of lost and decomposed items and creepy wiggly crawly things. There are bits of spent floral blooms that are just past their prime and a touch of red fruits and blood that are ever, ever so slight. While this IS dirt, it is clean and fresh in a way. I find it absolutely delightful and it's a fun and different category of lunar oil. I'm keeping this one!

Ambergris is astonishingly gorgeous. It is warm and golden. It has a resinous edge to it, but also a muskiness and and a comforting quality to it. I don't find it masculine, but it is definitely neutral. I have always liked BPAL blends with ambergris in it, and now I know why. =)

This is sort of melancholy and has a low vibration to it. I almost get the color gray from it, but not quite. I can mostly smell a nearly medicinal chamomile and lavender mixture, with a touch of the rosewood and cypress. The rosewood is a touch sharp and it brings the sandalwood to my attention whereas I couldn't initially smell it. This blend isn't exactly "me", but I am glad to have tried it. It definitely hits the concept on the mark.

This is cool and sharp. The amber base is beautiful and lends itself to the sharp glassine notes. They are cool, hard, cutting. I get a strong sense of prismatic mirrors; shards and angles of brightly reflective mirrors and glass. These have a dual ozone/aquatic quality to them. This is pure art and an amazing execution of concept.

Something about this is so buoyant and uplifting to me. It is orange and red and pink, with a medley of notes that, in the end, meld to make a light, uplifting, juicy, orange bubblegum fragrance. This is another favorite from Carnaval Noir and one that gets me many compliments. I like to wear it whenever I need a mood boost.

Something about this smells so familiar. It is hauntingly beautiful. It is deep and dusky, purple and red, with the right touch of greenery and florals. I will miss this blend now that it's discontinued. It is so evocative.

This is beautiful! There is a French twist to the florals, a refinement. I smell mostly honeysuckle and a lush, warm jasmine. Possibly rose, or some other voluptuous flower. I also get a touch of greenery and dampness; not quite aquatic but is moist. I WANT more of this. It is so gorgeous, and it reminds me of my trip to New Orleans.

Freak Show is mostly cocoa and fig, with a touch of honey musk. The other notes add a depth and complexity to it, but those first three notes are the ones that stand out the most to me. This is really enticing, warm, and almost comforting in an odd way. Even with the cocoa bean it doesn't present as a foodie blend to me. Freak Show is another favorite of mine from Carnaval Noir.

Midway is lovely. I'm not a foodie scent lover, but I fell for this one! Midway gives me a complete sensory response: colors, sounds, sights, tastes. It is a medley of flashing lights and carnival music. It is also a smorgasboard of the best of carnival food. When wet, I smell the funnel cakes but as it dries it becomes more and more cotton candy. Pink, fluffy, sugar-spun goodness! In fact, I once spilled about 1/3 of an entire bottle of Midway down my shirt (long story) while on my way to a... carnival. The entire night, groups of people would walk past us and someone from the group would inevitably say, "Mmm, I want cotton candy."

A heavy-lidded perfume, the quintessence of beauty and power shrouded in mystery, swathed in a deep, velvet-clad cloak of dark omens: Romany incense and candle smoke mingling with an alluring, body-warmed whiff of bergamot, neroli, Bulgar rose, carnation, and amber musk. Gypsy Queen is one of my favorites from Carnaval Noir, after Snake Charmer of course. The gypsy has a very deep and alluring quality to it. It's a very dark and complex resin/incense blend to my nose; heady, smoky, dark, and sweet. I believe the sweet comes from the mix of florals in this. It doesn't present as a floral blend per se, but the florals do contribute nicely to the incensey quality. Love this so much, and it's worth tracking down!

I find this to be a highly sweet, voluptuous floral with an edge. The edge is the amber and vanilla, which sort of ground this out and deepen it. The vanilla really seems to dominate the blend but it keeps a sharpness to it. This seems to really fit the concept well.

Sugar Moon is a new favorite. It has an almost dusky candy quality when wet. As it dries, there is a phase where this reminds me strongly of The Emathides with its blue musk and dark sugar. After that passes, there is a dark fruits and sweet berry quality that seems to be dusted by white crystals of granulated sugar. The violet adds a purple duskiness, the rose adds a touch of lush floral, and the woods give this a beautiful edge. This is a must try!

Hanami is gorgeous! It is the embodiment of early springtime with a light, fresh, lilting floral quality. The wisteria lends an almost watery quality, and the ume blossom adds a touch of depth and sweetness to the dominant sakura. This will forever remind me of Portland's waterfront park, which is lined entirely with blooming sakura each springtime.

This is a fantastic blend, and it's right up my alley. It's also right up my husband's alley and he tried to pocket my bottle of Mort three times before I finally got him his own bottle. The most prominent part of this blend, both wet and dry, is the clove. It takes me back to my days of clove cigarettes and damn if I don't want one right now! But Mort de Cesar is more than just a clove cigarette. It is darkness and deception; there is musk and dark resins, blood. But to counter that there is a sweet little hint of grape wine. This blend is complex yet smooth and it is oh so sexy with a dark edge to it.

OoooOooooo! This is amazing! It has a dark, dry, almost dusty quality to it: deep red musk, dark resins, tobacco, and swarthy vetiver. Beyond that, the black currant, violet leaf, and lavender peek out from behind the stronger and more prominent aspects of this. This has a very dark and complex musky quality to it and it's such a perfect expression of a lunar eclipse. My skin doesn't like the vetiver note, but since it doesn't dominate too much of the blend, it's still wearable and it's absolutely PERFECT in a scent locket and an oil burner.

Frederic starts out as a dark, almost swarthy patchouli and wood scent. The seaspray adds a light zest to it. However, as it dries it mellows and spreads. This is the stage I like best. It becomes a gentle patchouli with soft woods and a gentle golden musk. The sea chypre adds a genteel quality to this, and I only get a hint of the tea rose to round this off. I am really excited about this blend. I don't necessarily find this to be masculine only, but it doesn't smell the greatest on me. However, it's wonderful in a scent locket and it is EXCELLENT on my guy.

Night Thoughts has a sweet floral and woodsy fragrance to it. When the oil is dry, I smell mostly cedar and blue musk, with lilac as a pale and sweet accent that blankets them. There's definitely an ozone quality to this but it's neither strong nor sharp. The neroli is also there and it adds a sharp little citrus zest; just enough, nothing more. Overall this is very evocative of a sweet, lilting lilac fragrance that is floating on the night air. There's a sensual musky wood quality that counters the sweetness of the floral. Together it makes for a beautiful, somewhat mysterious feeling fragrance.