edenssixthday

Ra – This scent is not one that’s pleasant on me. It’s smells strongly of citrus, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s ylang ylang in it, too. I also distinctly smell rosemary in this blend. Once it starts drying down, I am positive I smell the tiniest bit of frankincense in the background of this blend, as well. This blend has an almost bitter tang to it, and I don’t find it appealing at all. This is a fascinating scent, but not one I’d really choose to wear for fragrance. The throw is a little lighter than average and it has really good lasting power.

Khephra - This is a nice, calming scent. It’s really hard to describe – almost as hard as it was for me to decide what I thought of it. It doesn’t have much character. It’s golden like amber and has just the slightest touch of huskiness that myrrh tends to lend to blends. Other reviewers say it has lavender in it, but I can’t decide if I agree with them or not. There’s also something very softly spicy in the far background of this scent. Once the oil dries, at about the 15-20 minute point, I distinctly smell something fairly subtle that at first I think is wine, and then I decide it is grapes. It’s a strange little scent with lots of facets, but overall, I’m not impressed. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn’t grab me. I’ve been washing my hands a lot lately as I’m nursing one of my kitties back to health, and this scent has lasted through several hand-washings, so it has really good staying power!

Eris - This is a very strange fruity-floral. The fruit provides a sweet aspect to the blend, but there is something sharp, sour, and bitter clashing with the sweet fruit juices. I don’t know what note in the blend is producing that bitter note, but it doesn’t appeal to me at all. I do have to say that this blend is definitely befitting the Goddess of Discord. It doesn’t have much staying power, and I think I’ll pass it on.

Ahathoor - When first applied, the strongest note is something medicinal and astringent, and I’m convinced that I’m going to have to wash it off; however, as the oil begins to dry, the astringent tone fades, leaving a warm, sweet amber note, whose scent seems to be boosted by frankincense and perhaps even a drop of dry sandalwood. After about 30 minutes on my skin, I notice something spicy, which seems to be the lovely, warm, spicy aroma of carnation. I can’t stop sniffing my skin! This is a fabulous scent. It’s got a trace of “hippie” feeling about it, and it’s got a sense of “brightness” to it that I can’t quite identify. It’s a fabulous scent that is very long-lasting and has a lovely level of throw – enough that I often catch a waft of it and find myself smiling at how good I smell, yet I’m not overwhelmed by the fragrance. I’m hanging on to this one!

Tum is the most puzzling BPAL scent I've smelled yet. By puzzling, I mean it confuses my olfactory senses, and sniffed wet in the vial, I can't make heads nor tails of it. I can't decide if it's sweet or dark, if it's sharp or smooth, or if it's fruity or herbal, or if I like it or not. After sniffing it in the vial about 20 times over the past couple of months and always closing the vial feeling very puzzled about my reaction to this scent, I finally decided to give it a test run. Once it touches my skin, it's obvious: it's sweet, sharp and fruity. I think it's fizzy white grape juice. However, it reminds me of the cheap grape juice that’s served to pre-schoolers at snack time. In fact, this entire blend whisks me back 30+ years to my pre-school days. It distinctly reminds me of the smell of snack time –- sweet grape juice and graham crackers with the slight odor of old urine in the rug from where one of the kids had an accident. It’s overly sweet and the memories it brings back are so strange that I don’t think I can wear this blend. It does have a nice level of throw and fairly good staying power.

Czernobog - This blend is initially very juicy and sweet, which I identify almost instantly as the scent of red musk (I love how juicy red musk is on me!) Within only a few moments, a a darkness (vetiver) and huskyness (myrrh) blends with the sweet, red musk that makes for a really thick, dark, and heavy, scent that's still got a touch of juicy sweetness from the red musk. After aboug 90 minutes, the vetiver has completely disappeared and the myrrh has moved into the background of this scent, putting the red musk in center-stage again, yet due ot the myrrh, it still has a slight incense-like huskiness to it. The throw is very strong, so I have to be sure not to over-apply, and it lasts for half a day, easily. This is such a heavy scent that I wouldn't wear it to work regularly, and would never call it an "everyday" scent; rather, it seems more of a "night out" kind of scent -- something you'd wear when you want to feel strong, sexy, and make an instantly powerful first impression. This is really a spectacular blend.

Elegba - Wow, this is almost entirely coconut on me! It reminds me a lot of Mountain Ocean Skin Trip – my all-time favorite coconut moisturizer. The first time I used it, I put a tiny bit on the back of my hands, then walked into another room, and my husband walked in and said, “It smells like coconut in here! What is that?!” I fell asleep not long after, so I didn’t get to see how long it lasted. The next time I wore it, again, the entire room I was in was filled with the scent of sweet coconut, and this time, I could distinctly smell the rum in it, as well. It smells like dark rum. Yum! Unfortunately, after the dry-down period, the amazing throw dissipated and the scent stuck really close to my skin. However, I’m thrilled to have a fabulous coconut BPAL scent that actually works well on me and shows up. I have so many coconut-scented body butters, body lotions, etc., that I’m excited to have a BPAL to layer with them now. I also believe I can capture that strong scent from Elegba that I get initially if I wear it in a scent locket. This is a fabulous scent, and I’m so glad it didn’t turn into play-doh like I was afraid it would.

Thanatos is a strong, heady scent with a very "perfumey" quality. I would guess there is sandalwood and something mossy in this blend. It's dark and has just a touch of what smells like dust, which could be the incense in it. As it dries down, the myrrh notes also move to the forefront, and it’s not nearly as pleasant as it was when it was wet, but I really like the scent, which is unusual for a sandalwood and myrrh blend. This blend has really amazing throw, so a tiny bit goes a long way, and it lasts for several hours, as well.

Verdandi is an absolutely gorgeous blend! It’s a deep, resinous apple scent that I just adore. I don’t usually care for apple scents, but this one is positively delicious. It stays fairly close to my skin, but it lasts several hours, although the scent slowly begins the fading process almost as soon as I apply it.

Hecate - When I first apply this, the “deep, buttery almond” is all I can smell, and it is so incredibly sweet and yummy. It has a really high level of throw for the first 10 minutes or so, but as the oil begins to dry down, both the throw and almond scent begin to fade (as happens with the majority of almond scents I’ve tried). After it dries, I have to sniff my skin up close to detect the scent, and I can no longer detect any almond at all, although there’s still a slight “buttery” tone to the scent, but it’s very much in the background. It’s at this point that I smell something dark and musky, and it’s a musk scent that I don’t like at all, as it’s very feral. Mixed with the musk is a light smoky and/or incense scent that I don’t care for in this blend, either. I wish the opening notes would stay strong and sweet on my skin as I wear this blend. If they did, I’d give it a really great rating. This may simply be another one for the scent locket.

Aglaea - This is a lovely peach and amber scent. It's neither crisp nor cloying as many fruity scents tend to be (one or the other, or both). It's soft and mellow. The amber and peach are a gorgeous combination. I'm also impressed with its staying power. It's been almost 3.5 hours since I applied it, and it's still going strong, although it doesn't have the greatest throw and stays very close to the skin.

Shango - Sweet, tropical fruitiness! This is the type of tropical blend I've been praying for Beth to make, only I would have never thought to put chili pepper in it. She's absolutely brilliant! I adore Shango and picked up a bottle of it last weekend, and can't stop applying it now! I carry it with me everywhere. It's not a scent that morphs and changes much on me, and unfortunately, it only lasts a couple hours before it fades, but those two or so hours are heavenly! This is a scent of the richest tropical punch combined with deep, red tropical spices. It's sultry and slow, like laying in a hammock under a tree on a hot afternoon, as your sun-browned body glistens as the glaring sun beats down above you, and you sip on a juicy, fruit-sweet tropical beverage, to help keep you cool until the sun sets. (As it ages, I'm really hoping the chili pepper note will come out more!)

Tezcatlipoca - The first scent I note is a swirl of dark, dry, bitter cocoa. It’s thick and heavy and wet and reminds me of the dry cocoa I bought in Honduras many moons ago, which sent my mind reeling with memories of Central American villagers on hillsides harvesting coffee beans, and the scent of rainforest and trees as wide at the base as a cluster of 20 large men. The first time I applied Tezcatlipoca, I sat and sniffed my wrist, drawing the scent of chocolate into my lungs, closing my eyes, and remembering the Central American markets and Mayan ruins, and quiet mountain town lit up by millions of fireflies. As the scent begins to dry, the faint hint of leather becomes discernible, as does the faintest trace of dry, woody patchouli. I love how the patchouli works with the cocoa to create a sense of robust depth rather than juxtaposing itself against the cocoa, as it easily could if blended by less skilled hands. This is a gorgeous scent and one that I want to explore more, especially as to how it layers with other oils, and I also want to see how this smells on my husband. ROWR!!!

All Night Long is predominantly red sandalwood, perhaps a touch of rosewood, maybe an even smaller pinch of myrrh, and the tiniest dash of cinnamon. It’s a warm, sexy scent, but not one I would wear regularly. We were both sick and really tired when I put it on last night to test, so needless to say, it had no affect on us, but I think I might try it sometime and see if it does have an amorous affect when we’re not both sick and tired.

Queen smells exactly like what I would expect to get if I layered Snake Oil with Van Van. It has a distinctly woody, smooth, and herbal quality about it. When first applied, it's got some kick, but as it dries down, it looses its pizzazz and starts to smell just like any other herbaly voodoo blend. Upon drydown, it also obtains a slightly floral scent, but I can't for the life of me identify which flowers -- perhaps a touch of violet? Unfortunately, this scent really isn't for me.

Red Devil - The first time I sniffed this, I put it on my list of blends I had to get for myself and try out. In the vial, it was bright and fruity and sexy. I finally got an imp of it, and on my skin, it gets even better. The scent is most definitely a citrus-floral, and my guess would be that this blend contains orange, a tiny hint of lemon, and an even tinier dab of lime. As for the floral, I'm detecting the faintest hint of jasmine (thank God it's not going bonkers on me like it usually does!) and most definitely carnation, which is giving this blend a bit of overall spiciness. I am also pretty sure I smell herbs in it -- the same kind of herbs used in other Voodoo blends, specifically Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo. This is a very sweet oil, although not in the traditional foody sense. It is a really powerful perfume with terrific throw, but it fades on me after an hour or two. Unfortunately, it is at this point when the yummy scents fade that my skin starts to amp up the jasmine, rendering this an unwearable blend for me. It would be so perfect if it just didn’t have that rotten bastard, jasmine, in it.

Van Van - This is a difficult scent to describe. It’s fresh and crisp, slightly green, and almost smells like it has citrus in it – perhaps grapefruit and some lemongrass. It’s really sweet – the sweetest of the Voodoo blends I’ve tried. It lasts for hours and hours upon my skin and has just the perfect amount of throw. Van Van also has a distinct tobacco note in it that lends a really nice quality to the overall scent, but unfortunately, I appear to have issues with the tobacco because every time I wear a BPAL fragrance with tobacco in it, I start to get sickly and nauseated at about the 4 hour point. So as much as I love this fragrance for the initial few hours of wear, I can't continue to wear it and I won't be buying a bottle, as I would if I didn't have the initial adverse reaction.

Come To Me - Green, herbal, clean, and soapy. This is definitely not the kind of scent I'm typically drawn to, yet for some reason, I really like this one. I don't know about its sexual attractant qualities, but I put some on right before the lunch hour and then was going to stay in my office and take care of some personal things over the lunch hour. Within a few minutes, one of my male coworkers stopped by my office and no matter how many hints I threw his way, I couldn't get rid of him. I ended up spending my entire lunch hour chit-chatting with this guy, and not getting any of the stuff done that I'd intended. I'm guessing it was just coincidence, as this guy and are are both just friends and we're both happily in love and married to our respective spouses, but still, could it be just coincidence that I put on Come To Me and almost instantly had someone start hanging out with me that I couldn't get rid of; Who knows. Only a few more test runs will most likely tell. Oh, as a perfume, this is nice. Strange, but oddly nice. I find it attractive and I can't really figure out why. The staying power and throw are both moderate.

Fire of Love is a resinous, woody, smoky, incense scent. When I first applied it, it smelled simply of dirt and I didn't think I'd care for it at all; however, as it dried down, it gained a warmth and complexity that I found very intriguing and within about 15 minutes, it smelled like ... well, you know, that smell that lingers in the air post-sex. Fire of Love in its first opening stage is incredibly sexy and warm and sultry. After about an hour, however, the notes in Fire of Love shift, and a peculiar things happens: it begins to smell exactly like the bedroom closet of a cabin my family rented in the mountains when I was 9 years old. I couldn't first identify it, but at right about the one hour point, a distinctly woody, dusty, and cedar-like scent became predominant, and I suddenly began to flash back to the family trip we took to the snowy mountains 26 years ago. I shuffled through my memory, and remembered our family sitting around a table in the middle of the cabin, with a fire burning, while putting together a wooden puzzle. Yet, despite how similar the scent of Fire of Love was to that recollection, it wasn't exactly what it was reminding me of. As I shuffled through my memory banks a bit more, I recalled the memory of the first time we stepped foot in the cabin, and I ran to a room to claim it as my own, and I began to explore and opened up a closet in the room. An extra pillow and some blankets were stacked on a shelf in the closet and a few empty wire hangers hung on the bar in it. Otherwise, the most noticeable thing about the closet was the scent of dust and cedar. And that is exactly what Fire of Love smells like from the one hour point on. It's not a scent that I would normally wear as I tend to like sweet, fruity, and floral scents, and this one is much earthier than I normally wear. Unfortunately, the scent doesn't seem to have much throw but it does seem to last a good while. It seems to be a scent that has the potential of smelling super hot'n'sexy on a man, and I think I'm going to give my imp to husband to try out.

Has No Hanna - This scent opens up with the sweet, strong, floral scent of tuberose. As it’s beginning to dry down, I distinctly smell the bright fruity-floral scent of ylang ylang, which I don’t usually like, but which works fabulously with the tuberose. Below that, and far in the background, is a soft, barely noticeable hint of peach. This is a lovely scent, but surprisingly heavy on me. It has really good throw and a little goes a very long way. The lasting power is superb, and the scent doesn’t even remotely begin to fade for a couple of hours, which is great because on my dry skin, most scents need to reapplied every couple of hours. I haven’t noticed any of its “voodoo” effects yet, but you can be sure I’ll be looking for them the next time I wear this!

French Love - Wow, is it ever succulent and sexy! It's strong with the resinous scent of dragon's blood and the color is strawberry red, but there's something in it that rounds out the scent and makes it creamy -- perhaps toasted vanilla or toasted coconut? I think there may be a touch of amber in it, as well. As it dries down, another note peeks through -- is it lilac? Gardenia? It's hard to tell. It has the very slightest "soapy" hint to it, but I only smell it when I have my noes right up to my wrist, and that's certainly not going to stop me from using it. Otherwise, it has excellent throw and just a touch of this swaths me in a veil of the most incredibly sexy scent that definitely riles up one's senses into a frenetic frenzy. I would love to have a 5 ml bottle of this.

Love Me - This is a gorgeous blend! On my skin, it’s very warm and has sweetness from the florals and herbs in the blend, but more than anything, I notice cinnamon. It’s the smoothest cinnamon I’ve encountered, and quite possibly the only blend with cinnamon in it that I could wear without getting agitated from the scent. I can’t help but wonder if there’s a touch of vanilla in this blend that helps smooth out the spiciness of the cinnamon. I was happy to note that there doesn’t seem to be any jasmine in this blend like there usually is in voodoo love blends – or if there is, it doesn’t amp up on my skin for some reason. It’s a gorgeous blend and although the throw is light, it lasts for hours and hours and hours. I applied it around 8:00 in the morning, and at 8:30 in the evening, I could still detect it on my skin. I was testing it for scent, but now that I know how lovely the scent is the next step is to test it for intent. I’ll report back on that soon!

Dove’s Heart is a strange fragrance. It opens up with a distinctly gamey scent that surprised me, and almost nauseated me. But after the initial dry-down, it turned into a soft, melancholy scent full of lavender and white florals. It reminds me a lot of BPAL's Somnus. I have a 10 ml bottle of Somnus, and won't be needing anything this similar to it, so I won't be repurchasing.

Black Cat smells awful in the vial, and wet on my skin, it's acrid as all get-out. I thought I was going to have to wash it off, but I waited a few minutes, and the acridness faded leaving behind a soft, subtle musk mixed with crushed herbals and rose. It's incredibly subtle and stays close to the skin. Despite the initial unpleasantness of the scent, it turns into something nice. Not great. Just nice. I don't think I'll use it again when there are so many great BPAL scents that are so much better than “just nice.”

Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo – When I read the reviews for this, I anticipated a sickly sweet pink candy/bubblegum/strawberry syrup type scent. I must have really strange body chemistry, because I got none of that. On me, the scent is slightly resinous and has a ton of depth. If I hadn’t read the Lab description or the forum reviews I would have sworn there was a bit of amber in this. It smells like there may be some vanilla in it and hmmm… just guessing, but perhaps a touch of orange rind and the tiniest hint of dark fruit juice. Unfortunately, the imp I bought off someone leaked on its way to me and I only had perhaps ¼ of an imp left, and then when I threw it in my imp drawer (before I kept them upright) the rest leaked, so I wasn’t able to try it more than once. It’s a nice enough scent that if I come upon some, I’d like to give it another shot and see what I think of it and also pay more attention to the “voodoo” aspect of it.