Mountaingrrl00

I'd suggest sending him to the site and getting him interested in the literary descriptions of the scents. That might be a good approach with your cousins, too -- even if they like smellies, the descriptions will give them something to anchor their sense impressions once they sniff what you bring.

I'd try layering Sri Lanka with Djinn for a Lapsang Souchang effect.

I put this on today and realized I hadn't reviewed it yet. Quite an omission, as this is one of my favorites! It's not a strong or showy scent, but it's so beautiful in its subtle way. I put this on when I want to be cheered up by its sweetness and elegance. The amber here is warm but not super-thick. I like the way it blends with the benzoin to make something familiar, but a little different. The effect is resinous without being at all heavy - just a lovely, golden glow of a scent.

I've found that Jacob's Ladder is a wonderful scent for layering, as well as standing nicely on its own.

I smelled this at a meet & sniff back when it was a discontinued scent and fell tragically in love. I'm a sucker for grapefruit topnotes. When it was resurrected I bought an imp. It may not be everything I imagined from that love-at-first-sniff experience some months ago, but it's definitely an enjoyable, refreshing scent.

Cheshire Cat is sparkly at first, like a grapefruit soda with a twist of currant. The chamomile and delphinium give it a soft sweetness that's just slightly powdery. I think the lavender adds to the coolness and tartness, but its astringency is tempered by the other notes.

The soft-sweet element of CS sticks around the longest, and reminds me quite a bit of TAL Lionheart. (Does delphinium smell like heliotrope?)

Overall, this is a light, summery, fun oil that's sweet and comforting without being at all cloying.

Try Greed! The listing of notes (copal, oakmoss, patchouli, heliotrope) wouldn't lead you to think it would be an edible scent, but I find it yummy, smoky and spicy in a decidedly non-sweet, non-cinnamon way.

This is at once dry and refreshing. It's got a dry heat, like a wooden attic, but there's also a breath of flowers and herbs that makes me feel cool. There's a bit of green sharpness - thyme may be it. The sandalwood and cajeput are the most readily identifiable notes. The other notes blend well and give me an overall grassy-herbal impression. I really enjoyed wearing this on a hot, humid day. It's light, not too sweet, different and somehow just right.

Quietude and Severin are two of my favorite fresh scents. I second the recommendation on Aizen-Myoo. You might also like Cheshire Cat (grapefruit, chamomile), House of Night (smells to me like ivy, pine and night-blooming flowers) and Peony Moon, which is an LE you might find an imp of on swaps. Of the Somnium blends, I'd most recommend Temple of Dreams for a clean lavender. Oh, and definitely try Whitechapel for the lilac of Sea of Glass plus a fresh taste of citrus.

CCCXLI - 341

This could be a Panacea blend like Quietude, or a sleep blend like Nanshe. It definitely says "relaxing" and "herbal". The lemony-lavender topnote is beautiful - refreshing as well as relaxing. There's something else floral-herbal and a little deeper - geranium maybe? Something also reminds me of Val Sans Retour when the oil is dry on my skin - there's a green, almost evergreen freshness. After awhile, there's a lovely green-wood smell, like willow branches, mixed with an older-wood smell, like teak.

I'm really impressed with this blend in every phase. I'll be experimenting with its aromatherapy applications. I think I'll be keeping most of this bottle, though I might swap a decant for something really special.

ETA: On a second application, I think I can pick out bergamot, maychang (a lemony evergreen), linden and teakwood.

In the vial, Alice smells to me like milky Earl Grey with a lot of honey in it, along with a rather strong almond note. Once I apply it, my skin quickly eats the foody elements, leaving me with a soft Rose Milk lotion-smelling drydown. That evaporates pretty fast too. Maybe it's the weather, but Alice vanished on me faster than any other BPAL I've tried.

I received Blood Kiss as a frimp in my latest order. I'm glad I did. I would not have ordered this based on the description, as I generally don't like wine fragrances.

Cherry jumps out at first, along with a delicious honey smell. On me, the other elements blend to give a spicy depth to the honey. It actually reminds me a lot of Bengal, which makes sense since they share honey, skin musk and spice notes. I don't get a lot of vetiver from this blend, and I can't detect the wine at all. You know, I don't get the opium either - just a general smokiness that's probably a mix of the darker elements in this scent.

It has excellent throw and pretty good staying power. I only wish that the frimp I received had not come with a cracked cap, because now I'll feel the need to slather when a little dab'd do me. Guess I'll have to order one myself!

I thought I'd get some recs from you guys by now, but maybe I didn't give you enough info .... Anyway, I decided to go with Lionheart, Road Opener and Snow Bunny.

Lionheart smells pleasantly sweet and not particularly herbal - more like a BPAL perfume oil than a TAL oil, initially. There's the vanilla note that's in Snake Oil, the amber and heliotrope of Hollywood Babylon, something that reminds me of Coyote, and a little something almond-like. It's creamy and sweet and comforting. I want to carry this around with me just to smell!

That said, I can already tell it's helping with my courage. Since receiving Lionheart this afternoon, I've been able to accomplish some tasks I was avoiding, and my outlook on my circumstances has improved. I have a feeling I'll be back to edit this with more positive experiences.

I'm in for a weekend of intensive traveling. I don't have the obvious - Safari - on hand. What else might work? I do have a few imps that have lavender in them. I've heard that geranium and mint are good for travel. Any other components you'd recommend? Particular BPAL oils?

Intrigue and Manila have a similar humid-wood-and-fruit-thing going on. I prefer Intrigue as I'm more into fig than banana.

Umbra would be another good one, with patchouli and cinnamon.

When I sniffed this in the vial, I couldn't distinguish it from Titania - it was sort of a generic "iced fruits" scent. It really warmed up on my skin, though, and the pear scent is beautiful - ripe, autumnal, maybe even a little bit spiced. It doesn't have much throw. It just sticks around for a long time and allows me to keep sniffing my wrist and smiling.

The first couple of times I tried Hymn to Pan were pleasant enough, but nothing special happened. These times were for music performance situations.

Then I used it to anoint my studio, and I really did have a wild burst of creativity. I stayed up late working on a writing project and it turned out very interesting and different from anything I've done before. As someone else has mentioned in a review, I too woke up feeling a bit as though I had a hangover. Still, I had coffee and breakfast, dabbed a bit of Hymn to Pan on my notebook, and went back to writing. I felt more willing to experiment and work by feel rather than rules.

There's something fizzy about the aroma - I definitely get the "herbal cola" association, or possibly ginger brew. There's also a hint of flowers.

When I apply it to my palms, the scent vanishes quickly. Perhaps that's why it didn't work for me previously. Also, my experience with it so far has been on the more introverted side, which I don't associate with "rock star debauch". Personal variations aside, this works wonderfully for me, and I expect to use it more in my work and play.

I am finding Road Opener very helpful so far. It gives me a cooling sensation that's very pleasant and inspiring, even tingly. It makes me want to get out and explore. As another example of an almost-too-literal interpretation of "Road Opener", when I've used the oil I have driven down different streets and always have found new and interesting places. On one of these trips I met a fellow musician who told me about a new music equipment store that had everything I've needed and hadn't been able to find locally or affordably. The alone opens a lot of paths for me. I can think of many other uses for this terrific oil.

Oh, and as far as how it smells, for me it's strong, sinus-clearing mint. There might be some menthol and eucalyptus. I get pennyroyal, too - minty/bitter/metallic. It's strong enough to work just applied to my palms and smelled, although it does not have a great deal of staying power there. It seems to work particularly well when it's also applied to the back of my neck, where I can feel a skin-tingling push.

The red musk is *very* strong at first - in the vial, I smell nothing but. Once it hits my skin, though, the spices start wafting, and I'm in love. I don't get individual notes so much as a general sense of spice heightening the sexiness of the musk. It's spicy without being at all foody. It's very dark and rich and deep, with good staying power. It sweetens a bit, but keeps the saffron savoriness I adore. I'm a big fan of Oblivion, Smut, Sed Non Satiata and Morocco, and I see these as variations on a musky-spicy theme. Scherezade's on the less-sweet end of this spectrum, but without the woodiness of Oblivion. A new favorite.

This reminds me a lot of a scent I used to order from the Underground Scent Plant called Red Clay. Penny Dreadful is better, though. The earth note is softer than what's in Zombi, Graveyard Dirt, etc. I like those sharp dirt smells, but sometimes it's nice to have something a little subtler. The red-clay smell blends smoothly with the sweet ginger for a light, everyday scent that's quiet while being spicy and interestingly different.

To me, this doesn't have the sharpness of lemongrass - I'd guess lemon balm, actually. It's bright, but with a soft honey-floral sweetness that draws me in. I find it very refreshing, like cool, clean sheets. As it happens, it is all over my sheets because of a cracked imp cap. I'm going to have to get more of this. I slept pleasantly with this, and I could actually see wearing it during the day, too.

Well, darn. I sniffed this at a meet & sniff and was smitten by the lovely citrus topnote. I ordered an imp. Again, it was lovely in the vial. On my skin, though, it becomes boozy-sweet, with that same bubblegum note from Jailbait - which makes sense, conceptually, but I was hoping for something different. I may try this one again at another phase of my cycle, in case there's a possibility it can work with my skin chemistry. Otherwise, it looks like Lolita has a lot of fans I can swap her to.

I love the resin-wood-musky smell. If I hadn't purchased Charisma with specific intentions, I'd be tempted to wear this as an all-around perfume.

I applied this to my chakras this evening before going to an open mike where I'd be performing - and mingling when I wasn't onstage. I also decanted an imp to bring with me and reapplied to my throat chakra just before going on. The energy I felt from the ritual was relaxed while being more interested in the actions I was doing and the people in my midst. I felt confident enough to debut two songs I hadn't put on my set list.

Not only did I get compliments all night on my music, I got into a bunch of enjoyable conversations, and got offers of help in advancing my career and a couple social invitations. It was a fun, successful night, for sure.

ETA: I got a second bottle of this recently and this bottle smells sweeter, more honeyed. It's still very effective. This has become my favorite oil to wear when I perform.

It smells mostly of jasmine to me, then lavender. I don't really get the other notes, which might come out after I've fallen asleep. I did sleep well, and long, with Oneiroi - more so than with the other Somnium blends I've tried so far.

This came as a freebie in my latest order.

At first I thought I smelled the same cherry note that's in Hollywood Babylon. There's a similar amber at first, too - very juicy! Come to think of it, Hollywood Babylon's rather a trickster of a scent, so the similarity is fitting.

On my skin, that bright sweetness mellows, and I get more of the dry grass and a soft musk.

What I like best is the way Coyote smells when it's been dry awhile. It really does smell like clean fur and the outdoors, and a nuzzly musk. It stays close to my skin, but I think it would be very inviting to someone who was close enough to smell it.