Thaleia

What a great freakin' word. BPAL LOVES TEH SMUT! Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. BPAL loves teh smut! I know Beth warned us about this one, that it'd smell a bit aggressive in the bottle but is positively wonderful once on. I haven't smelt Sed Non Satiata yet, which is the scent Beth said this is a lot like, so I have no basis for comparison there. Sorry, guys? In the bottle, yes, it's definitely aggressive. It almost smells like Robitussin cough syrup - that same boozy, quasi-fruity medicinal quality. It has the potential to be sexy, though, I can definitely see/smell that. Smut immediately sweetens when it hits my skin. It's pretty much musky sugar sweetness after a few drinks, precisely what the description says. There's no more medicinal smell to be had, but it's definitely warmer - do I smell vanilla? Very sophisticated and womanly, almost reminiscent of Jean-Paul Gaultier, only without the headache J-P gives me. A seductive, sophisticated, heady, little-black-dress-and-stilettos, 'take me now' scent. I love teh smut. If you haven't already, GET SOME. 9/10. P.S. Throw is amazingly good.

For the Valentine's Day purists. For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his mate. Medieval romance and courtly love. White rose and soft resins. As a medievalist and a girl who likes roses, I was especially excited for this one, and am so glad and honoured (!) that I get to be the first to review. I'm doing this really fast for those of you who want to put in a last-minute order, so forgive me if this seems a bit rushed, but I'll edit it later. In the bottle, heavenly roses warmed by resins. It's exactly what's in the description ... and yet, so much more than that. White roses, I guess, are lighter than those of any other colour, less rich and opulently scented, but softer and more innocent, and yet a bit sharper. (Macha, wonderful label art on this one. I love it!) Oh, that white rose is sharp! This scent isn't too floral because of the resins keeping it in check, and it positively blooms on my skin. This is traditional courtship in an English rose garden at the height of rose season with a feudal manor in the distance. Parlement of Foules dries down to a warm, soft rose, unobtrusive, not overly floral, and positively beautiful. This is courtly love at its best, immortalised in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower, and now this small amber bottle sitting on my desk. I love this. I'm so glad I've got another bottle of this on its way to me. I guess this means I'm in love with love. 10/10.

Budding Moon shines as Spring moves with its first breath, and this scent expresses that burst of life-affirming joy through an olfactory interpretation of Huang Quan's flower-and-bird paintings. Plum blossom, peony, lotus root, Chinese musk and a hint of white ginger. No, I am not amused that IE decided to eat my review instead of post it. However, I do love this scent. I am so relieved that this is lotus root instead of lotus flower. Plum blossom (well, plum really) and peony are the first things I smell out of the bottle. This is a softer, less sinister Blood Countess, and evokes feelings of innocence and hope rather than Blood Countess' feeling of being jaded. This is a scent that calls to mind 'Easter Sunday'. Once on, Budding Moon is a fruity floral! Plum, peony, and spring flowers with a teeny touch of musk. Beth said, I think, that lotus root smells more like orris, and it kinda does ... but there's still a bit of pesky lotus sweetness lurking around somewhere, but I can definitely get past that. No ginger, just a lavender-pink floral. Throw is pretty good, so not much is needed to produce desired 'dancing in a field of flowers' effect. Lovely spring floral, not too girly or innocent, but not too heavy-floral either. This may very well become a favourite. 9/10.

Thick, creamy cheesecake with thyme, lemon zest, and sugared pear. (Wow - it's been a long time since I've done a first review!) I've always loved the Beaver Moon scents (it all started with Beaver Moon 2005, as I'm sure it did for many of us ...) and this does not disappoint. In the bottle, it smells like butter rum with a sharp green overtone to it from the thyme and lemon. I don't get much of the pear at this point. Once I put it on, though, the lemon comes out right away and I get a creamy lemon meringue/sugar scent with only a whisper of green. It's not until it dries down that I get any hint of pear, the same juicy sweet pear as in The Perilous Parlor. It dries down to a creamy sugared lemon meringue dessert (not quite a pie, or a cake, but not quite a cheesecake either - the cheesecake scent is there, but it underlies everything else) with an side of pear juiciness. All the different notes (some of which I wouldn't immediately think to blend together) come together so well. It wears pretty close to the skin for me. For a lemon scent, which I usually associate with warmer weather, this is surprisingly good for fall. Very uplifting for the shorter days coming up - and just in time for the Daylight Savings time change!

This scent is what I wanted both Silentium Amoris and The Reaper and the Flowers to be. I have a ton of SA from last year's anniversary, and don’t know what to do with it all now that I’ve found this. SA is definitely more assertive, and a little of that goes a very long way (it actually burns if I put on too much - skin doesn't seem to like ylang ylang as a main note in a scent). R&F was really sharp and green, grassy, and bitter, while this one’s gentler, probably from the addition of the ‘numinous mist’ note I love from The Unicorn and Leanan Sidhe. Of course I get lots of roses, because I always do (skin chemistry and all that), but they’re tempered by the mist and the faint addition of lily. A gentle, melancholy scent - so beautiful.

After everything I'd heard about everyone's beloved Shub, I was so excited to get it when it came back to stay. I've had this particular bottle for a while now, which I've tested more times than I'd care to admit in the pursuit of trying to convince myself that I like this blend - but every single time I've tried it, I get sharp ginger and nothing else. A little goes a very long way, and even then, it's so strong and very nearly headache-inducing, and actually drowns out all of the other scents I've got on (when I'm trying other things and reviewing), or whatever else is in the immediate vicinity. The drydown is actually kind of okay, but everything leading up to it ... Sigh. I say this every single time I pull out my bottle of Shub, but 'maybe next time it'll work on me'?

Like Hermia, I too am short and brunette, so of course I had to get her first of all the new MND scents. This blend has got to be something like the lovechild of Pink Moon 2007 and Hymn to Proserpine, which are, incidentally, two of my favourite scents. It's not as heavy on the amber as HTP, nor as dark purple; the floral isn't straightforwardly 'happy' like Pink Moon, though the hint of peppery spiciness plus the simple clean floral smells almost like a carnation note to me. If I were to assign this scent a colour, it would be a rose-pink dusted with gold. Yes, Hermia is a warm, assertive floral, with a fieriness tempered by warmth, whose beauty lies in the simplicity of the individual notes and the complexity of the way the notes come together. She's definitely a girl who can make all of the boys fall in love with her. And the girls, too, apparently - she's joining my list of favourite blends.

First of all, I love the label art. Very apropos. It starts out very sharp and green, light and rather empty ITB and initially on, but that thankfully fades away quickly, as I think I'd have gotten a headache if it'd stayed like that any longer. It blooms into a sweet, light, creamy floral that's quite lovely. The vanilla both sweetens and warms the floral, and that's what I think makes this blend. This scent is - dare I say it - so hott.

I should not be as amused by this scent as I am. This isn't your standard prison-issue moonshine; it smells classier than that. Rather, it's a sparkling sweet citrusy drink with a hint of apple underneath. The citrus recedes and the apple comes out more on drydown, and it ends up smelling like an apple-champagne type cocktail drink with a shot of sugar as a sort of pick-me-up. What would that be called, I wonder? Whatever it is, it's really good and I LIKE it.

I've recently fallen hard for Beth's carnation note, so I reached into my box o' 5ml love and gave this a try again after a few months. It came as no surprise, then, that I just about died when I tried it just now, and I can't really remember what it was that left my poor bottle unnoticed for so long. I've always been a fan of wild berry, and I have loved the amber note since I figured out what the note smelled like. Musk works for me in most blends, but there's the odd blend where I prefer it weren't there. Anyway, carnation comes out on top, followed by wild berry, and warmed by amber on the drydown. The musk is hardly noticeable at all, though I get whiffs of it now and again. I know the carnation is listed as 'spicy' here, as in Frumious Bandersnatch (which is another scent I've got to re-try, possibly tomorrow), but it's not, really. Whatever spiciness the carnation is supposed to have is tempered by the sweetness of the wild berries (and, I'd imagine, the musk that's hiding) and the warm amber. LOVE. I so don't know why I haven't used this more.

How exactly does one represent the rage of a groundhog who's allowed to go back to bed for another six weeks? Heck, if I were allowed to go back to bed for another six weeks, I'd be happy, but I suppose I wouldn't be so happy about having to wake up to check if I could sleep more. I'd settle back in bed with a huge cup of chocolate chai tea. I don't get much cherry, but if I do, it's in the background. It's mainly chocolate, caramel, and cardamom ITB and initially, and the musk and spiciness comes later. The cardamom turns into a cinnamon-esque spice that makes me want to sneeze, but thankfully it goes away after a while (wish it would go away more quickly, though). It dries down to a warm chai scent, which is nice, but I could do without the spicy cinnamony thing in the intermediate stages. Makes a nice room scent, too.

Humid and frosty at the same time: an aquatic floral with hints of Lurid’s ozone and Ozymandias’ stone ruins. Not as humid as New Orleans or Bayou, because of the spike of frost and aquatic notes and that hint of decay, and it actually is very nice. One part Lurid, one part Ozymandias, and a dash of hothouse blooms from the antebellum Deep South and you’ve got Kumari Kandam.

Already ITB I can tell this will be a LOT better than the previous formulation. A lot less Tootsie-Roll chocolate and a lot more Terry’s Chocolate Orange, which is what a lot of people seemed to have gotten from the previous versions. I’m so glad that this one is much better for me – sweet chocolate oranges in the cool, crisp English afternoon tea air. This is a perfect foody chocolate scent, which I haven’t been able get from Beth’s other chocolate blends. Subtle and refined, yet fun and sexy as hell. The drydown is a perfect, perfect creamy rich milk chocolate with a sweet, delicate vanilla undertone. Rawr! Beth better not change A DAMN THING before April 13, 2007!

I was really impressed by the near-universal accolades for this scent, and that definitely helped me to decide to get a bottle once it was made GC. It smells gorgeous ITB – so far I wasn’t disappointed. When I tried it on, though, I was disappointed to find that it smelled fake and plasticky and weird. It could be any of the following: a. hormones, b. I had scented lotion on, or c. I’m one of the very few unlucky people for whom this scent does not work at all. I washed my hands, tried it on again, then put it on as my scent for the day, and NOW I’m getting what everyone else has been talking about. This is a dusky, shadowed lily, stately and elegant, who knows she’s better than you, but feminine and sexy at the same time. I'm probably one of the few who's getting the hint of darkness, and after a few seconds I get a bit of the creamy vanilla that other people have mentioned. It's mostly lilies until the drydown, when the vanilla comes out and sweetens the whole blend. It takes a while for the sharp floral scent of lily to calm down and for the vanilla to come out, but when it does, it’s totally worth the wait. I wonder if aging this would make the notes blend together better. Regan, for example, is another vanilla floral that gets better with age. I hope it's the same for Black Lily, because it's good now, but I'd imagine that it'll be great later. Yes, I'm definitely enjoying it now.

Black musk and calla lily first, then everything else comes afterward. I can see how this can be a sex kitten scent for those moments where you want to feel sexy, beautiful, and naughty all at the same time. Once the other notes come out, I definitely smell peach blossom and wisteria topping the musk and lilies, which I love. It’s almost reminiscent of Kindly Moon, what with the peach blossom and wisteria, but headier and more sexy while KM is sweeter, innocent, and nostalgic. This dries down to a pretty, soft peachy floral. Peach is the note that stays on me the longest. It’s less musky and sweet than Katharina, and less floral on the final drydown than Kindly Moon. I love it!

I have never been able to wear dragon's blood resin in large amounts, because it sweetens every blend that’s in it way too much for me. This blend is primarily the golden apples of the Hesperides, sweetened with DB, white musk, and hyacinth. I can definitely tell that the DB is there, because this is sweeter than other apple blends (Creepy, Punkie Night) that I love, but for a scent that contains DB, it’s really nice. I thought that Beth’s apple was completely lost to me after The Hesperides went all wrong on me, but it turns out that maybe it was just everything else in TH because I’m doing fine with apple blends now. Drydown: it smells like sweet apple juice – not quite apple cider, because it’s not spicy enough, but more like the apple juice I used to drink as a kid. I’m definitely keeping the imp, and am debating a bottle, but I’m not sure yet.

When I first smelled this at a MNS back in June, I was so underwhelmed because it was not what I expected at all. Maybe I was having smell overload or something at the time, because I didn't smell much of anything ITB. When I put it on, I got a kind of weird incensey smoke and dry desert sand, but there was also a weird something else I couldn’t place. Now that I have an imp of my own, which I received in a swap today, I’m getting a very fresh, clean just-out-of-the-shower scent. This is not the cinnamon I’ve gotten from other ‘dry desert sand’ scents. This one has the ozone note in Lurid that I love so much and I’ve spent the entire morning huffing my arm. Seriously. Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair. This scent is fit for a king.

I got an imp of this in a swap, even though my bottle's set to arrive on Monday, because I just could NOT wait. And I was not disappointed at all! All I've got to say is this: BEAVER MOON LOVERS, REJOICE. No joke, on me this is exactly like Beaver Moon. There's a very slight difference initially (Beaver Moon is a smidge sweeter while Cockaigne is more foody and a bit spicier), but the drydown is EXACTLY THE SAME. Another plus is that it has better staying power and throw than Beaver Moon. I am so not kidding. If you liked Beaver Moon, you'll like this. Maybe it's just me, but wow. *huffs wrist* I think I've found myself another favourite.

Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants. Seriously, who can’t resist a scent called “Eat Me”? I had some seriously high expectations for this one, and maybe my expectations were a little too high for a foody, cakey GC scent … anyway, there’s a tartness behind the sweet cake and frosting – probably the currants, but currant doesn’t smell like that on me in other blends. There's something funny about this one, which must be an ingredient in common with The Great Sword of War (which made me dizzy), which doesn’t go away until the complete drydown. However, after full drydown it's fantastic buttery cakey goodness. Eat Me is not your straightforward, rich, diabetic shock cake like Beaver Moon or MB: Closet, the way I like it, but it’s still pretty damn good for a GC scent. And I'm glad I like this scent so I can get away with saying "Eat Me" to people who ask what I'm wearing.

Wow, that's some sinus-clearing Lemon Pledge right there. Eventually, the blend is sweetened by the white musk, which I like about it, since white musk is a note I like. But, I think that the overpowering citrus notes might be a bit much for me. The initial Lemon Pledge-ness eventually gives way to something akin to Lemonheads sour lemon candy, but I still get whiffs of wood spray. The grapefruit, which I like in other blends (e.g. Baobhan Sith and Cheshire Cat) sharpens Phobos to the point where it's too sharp, what with the lemon elements. I hoped that on the drydown it’d let up a bit, but it just doesn’t give up.

I got Xanthe and Gennivre in the same order, and I've got to admit that this one didn't get the same first reaction from the first sniff ITB as from Gennivre. Sweet and fruity, and while it might have the potential to get cloying on a warm day, it’s lovely in the small amount I swatched on my wrist. Tropical and sugary, and I love Beth's spun sugar note. When swatched in greater amounts, it does get too sweet for me, and reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum or similar bubblegum scent from my younger days. The drydown (which takes a while) is a nice sweet, juicy fruity scent that's mild and sweet and very yummy - but I don’t think I’ll actually wear it as often as other scents, since I have to go through the bubblegum-sweet initial wet stage before the full drydown. Not quite like candyfloss, maybe a bit sweeter, and I think that this will probably turn out to be persistently supersweet like Mi-Go after being aged a while. It does actually remind me a bit of Mi-Go already as it is. It's definitely a cute scent, though.

Oh gosh. I was drawn to this scent because I liked the idea of the jasmine sambac (being Filipino) and because 'Melisande' is very similar to my own name, but wow. The jasmine and violet take turns hitting me over the head out of this bottle. Which leads me to believe that a little goes a long way, because my skin seems to like jasmine to the point of making it overpower everything else within ten feet of my person. BUT. Put a little bit on (very sparingly) and it's actually heady and elegant, good for a night out if you're trying to impress. It's a sharp, musky violet which morphs very quickly into shadowed, heady jasmine with an underlying violet, warmed by vanilla. Exotic and seductive, heady and wanton, sexy and strong. It’s less strong and cloying than Le Serpent Qui Danse, and more sophisticated. I fear this is something I won’t be reaching for as often as others, but it’s good to have around for those moments where you want to be a femme fatale. It makes me feel almost Lady Macbeth-like. I can tell that a little bit goes a long way with this one.

The first words out of my mouth when I opened the bottle were, “OH, MY GOD!!” So very light and sharp – a perfect cup of sweet mint tea. It starts out very fresh and green, like F5 or Shanghai with added mint, and then sweetens up as Shanghai does with the honeysuckle note, only this time it’s sugar cane and orange blossom. The drydown isn’t as sweet and comforting and second-skin as Shanghai or F5, because the mint keeps it sharp, and while I prefer the aloe note in F5 (and Berenice, come to that), it’s still definitely a great scent. Full drydown: sweet orange blossom, sugar cane, and honey with a backdrop of mint tea. Love. Lucky Macha to have a fantastic scent like this made in her honour.

A darker, more complex Parlement of Foules. PoF is one of my favourite scents from earlier this year's Lupercalia set, so I'm glad to have found something similar. This is definitely more resiny and less rosey than PoF, and smokier. DB resin is hit-or-miss with me, and I'm glad to say that this one actually works on me, and isn't really too cloying or in-your-face. I've swatched Miss Mina against PoF and I must say they really are quite similar, and now that I sniff them against each other I can tell that Mina's got the sharpness of sandalwood added to the floral/resiny combination ... and if it's possible, since PoF tickled my medievalist's heart so much - I'm actually preferring Mina. This is a very Victorian scent, very evocative of the Dracula legend and what I imagined Lucy's Kiss to be like, but this is taken about ten steps further. I’m seeing flashes of Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman enacting the passage quoted for this scent. And let me tell you, it’s hot. I am going to ignore the sort of antiseptic scent I get initially on, because I love the idea behind this and it smells so good ITB and after drydown. It doesn’t take long at all for the myrrh and dark musk to calm down, leaving a heady, Victorian blend of rose-dominated florals. So sophisticated and womanly. I’m definitely keeping this, and I think this is one of those scents that, for me, a little bit will go a long way.

To sum up Bliss in four words, I'd have to say this is death by chocolate, bottled. It’s actually quite refreshing not to have the complexity of Hellcat or Gluttony or Grog in this one, but just pure, unadulterated chocolate. I like it fine, though it's a bit too sweet for my taste, and my dog keeps trying to lick me. I'm sure that it would make a nice room scent if you wanted your house to smell like you've just baked. For all you Harry Potter fans out there, I'm sure this scent would make Remus Lupin proud. 7/10.