edenssixthday

Port Royal Soap - The soap itself has a smooth, luxurious lather. I love Villainess soaps. However, this soap has no scent that I can find. This is my problem with many of Villainess' soaps -- they're so lightly scented that all I smell is soap base. This is definitely a bummer that I can't smell it at all, but I was half-expecting it since I've had that experience with many other Villainess soaps. I'll still finish the bar -- it works perfectl well for a soap, but I won't spend $8.50 again on a soap I can't smell.

Staged Moon Landing - This smells exactly like I anticipated it would smell based on the ingredient list. I agree with the other reviewers that it's reminiscent of Silver Phoenix, but it's drier than Silver Phoenix and not quite as sweet. The orris, white sandalwood, and vanilla are the strongest notes and they work together to create a scent that's very dry, dusty, yet subtly sweet and very pretty. I do love this. I thought it would be my favorite of all the Black Helicopters, and it's not my favorite, but it's still in the Top Three.

Teatime in Roswell - Oh, I LOVE white cake scents - Love 'em to death! They're the only foody scents I can really wear and wear well. This one smells AMAZING in the bottle -- it smells like cake and tea and it's soooooo delicious I I think I started salivating the moment I caught my first whiff of it. When I put it on, I get the strong, distinct scent of the bread note in Bread-and-Butterfly and as the scent wafts around me, I realize I'd put this in the very same category as Bread-and-Butterfly...only this one's better because it also has CAKE and yummy creamy TEA and the oddest hint of CUCUMBER that doesn't fit the scent at all, and yet it still works, oddly enough. I wore this blend this afternoon and spent much of my day outside, and every time a breeze blew past me, it picked up this scent and swirled it around me, and I swooned and salivated all over again. It's a truly awesome scent and on my skin, it smells exactly like it does in the bottle. It doesn't have the best staying power on me, but for my skin, that's pretty typical for a non-resinous BPAL.

Skytyping with Chemtrails - This is BY FAR my favorite of the Black Helicopter scents -- and I didn't think I was going to like it at all, so I didn't even get a decant for myself... fortunately, this scent didn't fill up in my decant group, which means the leftovers are ALL MINE. This smells like the summertime, lemonade version of Boo. It's all lemonade and cotton candy on me. Soooo delicious. Yummmm! Unlike Boo, it plays very nicely on my skin. I'm going to wear this A LOT this summer. A LOT!!!

Shirafuji Genta With a Kappa - This definitely has a strong Asian feel to it. It's predominantly a dry, blonde wood scent with the sweet powderiness of ricer and the crisp bite of juniper berry. I don't smell the lavender at all, which surprises me since I can usually smell lavender from a mile away (and I don't like it at all). There's a soft sweetness about this scent, and even though it's a dry wood scent, it's not as dry and reminiscent of pencil shavings as most cedar scents tend to be. I do like it, but considering my typical scent preferences, I'm not sure if I'd reach for this very often. .

Fuwu Bansaku in Ruined Temple With Black Monster on Umbrella - This is gorgeous. Just stunningly beautiful. It's a dark and smoky wood scent that's kept soft and slightly creamy by the coconut. The coconut is heavy and meaty, and doesn't remotely make me think of Hawaiian Tropics. Black currant always turns to revolting cat pee on my skin...but not in this blend! It's really beautiful, has a gorgeous presence on my skin that feels very earthy and natural. I really love it.

I don't have a picture, but I just pulled out my bottle, and the numbers were written in the dark space between "RECURSIVE SELF-SIMILARITY" and "THE SNAKE OIL SERIES." There was probably a number on there -- in the past tense. The pen used to number the labels rubbed off extremely easily, so unless you wrote the number on a sticker for the top of the bottle as soon as you received it directly from the Lab, chances are high the number would rub off, even with minimal handling. My guess is that you just got a bottle that had the number rubbed off through normal handling, not an unnumbered bottle (as a side note, my barely-handled bottles have lost their numbers, too, although I did write them on cap labels). After seeing photos of the labels, I can definitely see where the number should be. I can't tell if there was ever a number written there or not. I received the bottle second-hand, and have no idea if that owner got it from the Lab or from someone else. Anyway, I was just curious. It's actually an amazing scent (Snake Oil, roses, and leather... mmmm!), and I'll be keeping it and giving it my own name -- Snake Whip or something like that.

Does anyone have a photo of a Chaos Theory V Snake Oil series bottle? I have one, but there's no number on it and I can't figure out where the number is supposed to be if there is one. I'm hoping seeing a photo might help me figure out if I just got an oddly un-numbered one. Thanks!

J-Horror - In the vial, this smells gorgeous -- it's almost entirely blood orange and white mint to my nose, with a hint of high-pitched floral and the dry raspiness of white sandalwood. As soon as it touches my skin, the blood orange really blossoms and it smells positively amazing and delicious. And then.... 30 second later, it's become soap. All soap. Entirely soap. Soapy soap with a bit of a bright citrus edge, but mostly sudsy, soapy soap. Blah. How sad. An hour after I apply it, the soapiness is still there, but the citrus edge is gone, and what's left is a creamy licorice scent in its place. It's actually really pretty, although very faint. If that creamy licorice could take over the soap, it would be beautifully wearable. And sure enough, as the soap starts to fade, the creamy licorice note becomes even more evident, and it turns into something really pretty and surprisingly foody. So this is an odd scent for me. I love it once the soapiness fades, but getting to that point isn't the most pleasant experience. Not sure if I'll keep wearing this one or not.

NGAGLS - If there's cherry in this, it's more of the cherry cordial scent used in Monster Baid: Bloody Mary than the bright, almond-like cherry used in scents like Kabuki. This is a super-sugary, tropical-fruity scent. It reminds me of drinking a fruity mai-tai in Hawaii...without the booze. It's just loaded with sugar and sweet tropical fruits, possibly banana, pineapple, guava, and a hint of that cherry cordial or cherry creme note. It's positively delicious and oddly enough for a sweet, sugary scent, it stays true on my skin and it lasts several hours. Love it!

Red Rose - Well, shoot. Why did this one have to come out when I was in my "I need to save money and not buy BPAL!" phase last year? It's GORGEOUS. On me, it's mostly rose, clove, and fir, but the amber, musk, and tobacco are there in a more subtle way providing a nice base for the first three notes. I usually amp clove, but I don't with this blend. It's the perfect amount of clove to spice up the scent. Overall, it's an absolutely stunningly gorgeous, warm, spicy, super sexy rose scent. I love it and am bummed I didn't get a bottle of this back when I had the chance.

The Traveller - When first applied, this has the horrible scent of burnt rubber tires. Not pleasant. But once it dries down, it becomes the scent of well-worn, well-travelled, dirty leather boots. To me, the scent is highly evocative of what it represents, but it's not something I would ever wear -- the dusty/dirty aspect of it is just too unpleasant for me. But I imagine on the right person, particularly those drawn to masculine scents, it could smell really earthy and nice.

Dragon Pecker v2 - Thank you to my wonderful friend in the Ze Easter Bunny Wishing Depot who gifted me with a tester of this. ( you!) This smells wonderful -- the dragon's blood in it is the light dragon's blood used in Red Moon 2004. There's also the distinct, dry, rooty scent of orris and the dry wood of cedar. I also smell a trace of something distinctly green and herbal, similar to the scent of crushed grass or maybe even a more bitter flower like marigold. Overall, I think it's an awesome dragon's blood scent and I'm glad I had the opportunity to give it a test run!

Patientia Bath Oil - This is the lovely scent of spicy cardamom and herbal greenery against the very solid backdrop of a lovely sandalwood base. Very woody, herbal, outdoorsy, and organic smelling. Love it!

B-Horror - Many thanks to sunshinedaisybliss for gifting me with a decant of this. The peanut butter initially scared me away, which is why I didn't bother to try it until now. Happily, I smell virtually no peanut butter in this, although I do perhaps smell a little warm nuttiness. This mostly smells like a cordial cherry -- heavy, thick, syrupy cherry covered in a carnauba wax-heavy chocolate. I actually really like it. Definitely makes me think of the boxes of cherry cordials you see everywhere during the Holidays.

Sue's Great Old Puppet Show - I love this. At first whiff, I was transported in my mind back to about 1981. The memory this scent provoked was that of me, at age 10 or 11, sitting in front of my sticker album, playing with my scratch-n-sniff stickers. That's exactly what this reminds me of -- a "fake" chocolate scent, that's delicious in it's own plastic-like right. It smells awesomely chocolatey in a fake, plastic kind of way, just like my childhood scratch-and-sniff-stickers. Love it!

Idea of March 2010 - I haven't smelled the 2009 version, but this is very different from the 2005 version, which was highly floral (in a gender neutral way!) on me. This opens with the scent of dark musk and herbs and smells slightly masculine in a cologney sort of way, but within minutes, that masculine cologne scent dissipates, and what's left is a gorgeous herbal scent that's slightly dark and yet perfect for springtime. The only note that really stands out on its own is the cardamom, which is one of those scents that just loooooves my skin (and I love it in return ). It's surrounded by a really well-blended dark herbal and faintly floral loveliness. This is really pretty. It's a winner!

Liz - This is the most beautiful scent -- definitely worth a bottle, or maybe even two. It's the perfect balance of sweet (but not foody) vanilla and black leather. There's a swirl of smoke in the background -- not scary and murderous like smoke monster from LOST, but more subtle, like stepping outdoors and smelling the scent of a fireplace going somewhere in the nearby neighborhood. It's so lovely, and is really strong. A little tiny bit goes a long way. I thought Clockwork Couture: Female was going to be the best ever vanilla/leather scent, but I'm afraid this one beats CC: Female by a mile. I'm definitely tacking on a bottle to my next order.

The Little Bird - This scent is very green, crystalline clear, and floral, but more of a wildflower way than an arranged bouquet kind of way. It's a little high-pitched when I first put it on, but that settles down within a few minutes, which is when the greenery really becomes evident. Sadly, it has virtually no throw at all after drydown, and doesn't last on me at all. I put it on before I left for work and by the time I got to work (30 minutes later), I couldn't smell it at all on my skin. So I reapplied, and had the same experience.

Chaste Moon 2010 - This opens up with a slightly creamy, crystal-clear, soft floral scent, but the creaminess fades very quickly. As it warms up on me, the florals stay soft and the lunar oils become very evident, with a hint of something slightly herbal in the background. When I first put it on, before I read the scent description, I thought to myself, "I bet this has the word 'crystalline' in the scent description" -- and it does. That's definitely the overall feeling of this scent -- crystalline, pure, simple, innocent, and softly floral.

Epistrophia - What's not to love about this one? It's full of lovely notes! It's definitely a purple floral, but the frankincense gives it a bit of dryness that keeps it from being too sweetly or sharply floral. The violet is just the tiniest bit powdery, but mostly sweet and lovely. Overall, it's predominantly a violet/iris/frankincense fragrance on me, with the other notes pretty far in the background. I'm glad I finally got around to trying this one!

The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair - I've been looking for years for the perfect vanilla-sandalwood scent. I have finally found it. There's the slightest bit of soapiness to this scent when sniffed up close, so I just won't sniff up close! Otherwise, it's a gorgeous GORGEOUS GORGEOUS vanilla-sandalwood with a warm touch of spicy cardamom and the fainest breath of amber. It's positively divine.

Roses, Pearls, and Diamonds - Oh my goodness, this is lovely! The rose -- a fresh, red rose -- is definitely the strongest on me, with the orris right behind it. I love how the orris works in this scent, with its quality of dry-root whiteness against the lush red of the rose. I can't smell the coconut at all. It's a very lovely and calming scent, very feminine.

Ekhidna - The oil is thick and dark, and the scent is thick, dark, and heavy. I love about half the notes in this blend and am iffy on the other half, so I was really curious about it. When I first put it on I can distinctly smell, in order of prominence, the pimento, tobacco, black pepper, and hint of dark myrrh, and a trace of clove. The longer it's on my skin, the more the clove becomes the top note, but it never amps on me as clove tends to do. This is definitely a scent for people who like heavier, darker scents. It's got the potential for extreme sexiness on the right person or in the right context. On me, sitting in my living room on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, it's less sexy and more of a warm, comforting scent. As for what I think of it overall ... I like it, but don't love it. This is one scent that will almost certainly age well, and since I like it now, maybe I'll love it in 6-12 months.

Rocking-Horse-Fly - This goes on very green and woody and very, very strong. As it dries, it becomes mostly a sawdust scent with a thick layer of sweet, spring sap.