edenssixthday

BTCS - Smells like Nutella and plasticky butterscotch. I can't wear any of the dominant notes in this blend, so it's an utter fail on me, but one that foodies will likely love to bits and pieces.

Eve v5 - Fresh, crisp, juicy, green apples. This is the same note that's in Snow Glass Apples. It's the one apple note I don't just tolerate, but actually like. If there's apple blossom in this blend, it would be the one time ever that apple blossom doesn't turn to soap on me. I'm more inclined to go with the white rose guess that a couple other reviewers had. I also think there may be a hint of golden amber to ground the scent, as there seems to be something a bit heavier and earthier in this blend keeping the fruit and florals from floating away. Overall, it's a very pretty scent, but sadly, it doesn't last long on my skin at all, and within 3 hours, I can't smell a thing. I'm so glad I got a chance to try this.

Miskatonic University v3 - This is way better than the released version -- it has none of the dusty quality of the released version, and it has none of the Irish cream from the released version that turns plasticky on my skin. Rather, this smells like the "snickerdoodle" coffee I make, where I mix cinnamon powder and a bit of sugar in with freshly ground coffee beans. It's strong on the cinnamon, strong on the black coffee, and light on the sweetness. If I were drinking it, I'd add some milk or cream to it, but for wearing it, it's absolutely gorgeously perfect the way it is. It's among the best coffee blends I've encountered.

The Festival of Anuket - This is a crisp, clean-smelling, metallic aquatic scent. It's really cologney, but it's not unpleasant. I wouldn't mind smelling it on my husband, but it's not my type of fragrance. It also fast ultra-fast on me.

Creature Feature - This is an AWESOME scent! I avoided it because a lot of musks scare me, but whatever this one is, it's awesome. It reminds me of the soft, velvety musk from Faunalia. It's soft, fuzzy, slightly (just barely) powdery, and warm. There are definitely resins in this blend, too, but I can't identify which ones...all I know is they're the darker, woodier, grittier types of resins...perhaps amber? All I know is this is a freaking GORGEOUS blend and it has a really nice level of throw and lasts on the skin for ages. I really love it. I may have to get a bottle.

Humanitas Bath Oil - This is delicious! It's in the same family (in my opinion) as Hollywood Babylon -- very similar, but without the heavy red musk. This scent is predominantly heavy, dark cherries, a bit of strawberry, a splash of gritty frankincense and spicy carnation, and then waaaay underneath is something sweet and foody (in a non-fruity way) that I'm guessing must be the helichrysum, which I've never smelled before, but a Google search said it can smell like a cross between burnt sugar and ham. I don't think this scent is hammy at all, but I do smell something in here reminiscent of burnt sugar, but thankfully it's not, since burnt sugar is a bad, bad note on me. Anyway, I kind of digress... overall, this is a delicious, fruity scent. The black cherry reminds me a lot of Gothabilly -- this bath oil would layer well -- again, in my opinion -- with both Hollywood Babylon and Gothabilly. It's really delightful!

Snow White v2 - This is definitely a minty scent. It's got an aspect of it that's heavy, minty snow over vanilla, but there's still the pretty, soft, delicate, light floral far beneath the vanilla-mint notes, too. It's really beautiful, and will be very loved this coming winter. The throw and wear length are much stronger and longer on me than the released version of Snow White, too.

Tiki Princess v3 - I totally agree with the Starburst assessment above. This smells like a big bowl of tropical Starburst candy chews. It's super tropical, sweet, and sticky, and there's nothing about it that I can pin down as a particular scent because it's all so syrupy-sweet and artificial-smelling. It also does something that fruit notes never do by themselves, which is take on a horrible dusty quality on my skin. The sweetness of it and the dustiness of it reminds me a lot of the blends that have a sweet fake cherry and/or bubblegum note in them. I really, really love the way tropical candy sweetness of this scent when it's wet and fresh. It's so bright and girly, but the way it turns on me is pretty bad. Even after it turns, I can still smell the fruitiness beneath the dust note of doom, so I know it's not the fruit that's turning, it's some other note that's sweetening up the whole thing. Bummer... but good thing I can still wear it in a scent locket!

Pissed Off Skeeters v2 - Lavender. Lavender, lavender, lavender. Oh, and did I mention there's a ton of LAVENDER in this? This is actually a very herbal scent beneath the massively huge blast of lavender. It's not the pretty, light lavender from Yvaine and TKO -- it's the heavier lavender generally used in the GC blends like Dove's Heart and Paris. My friend who picked this up described it as "bright, glowy." There actually is something bright and glowy beneath the lavender, but the lavender is amped so loudly on me that I can't for the life of me figure out what it is I'm smelling, except that it's very herbal, like something you'd smell in the natural remedies section of Whole Foods. My guesses as to what else is in here: rose geranium, pennyroyal, lemongrass...and hey, wait, do I smell a little dash of peppermint...or is that just the pennyroyal playing games with my nose? I feel like I can almost identify each of those notes in this blend, but I could be wrong. Anyway, if it weren't for my nemesis lavender, I think I'd probably like this blend, since I love this type of natural, herbal-remedy-smelling blend, and in fact, the longer I wear it, the more the lavender settles down and the more I really do like it... a lot!

 

 

Edited because I haz teh dumb!

Dido v1 - If there's fruit in this, I don't smell it at all! It's very much a delicate floral scent, in the same category as the prototype Gossamer v3, as well as the GC The Unicorn. It's wispy and ethereal, and hard to pin down. Nope, try as I might, I can't identify one single specific note in this. Sorry guys, I know that's not much help... all I can say is it's a light, wispy floral, and would fit in nicely with the funereal blends.

CD: Fire Dancer v9 - This opens up on my skin with a burst of bright, hot cinnamon, but quickly, the oozey scent of honey-sweet opium becomes evident, and as it warms up on my skin, the cinnamon settles down and it becomes mostly a smoky, sweet, heavy opium scent that's bolstered by splashes of fire-hot cinnamon, and something else in the far background -- possibly dark myrrh (?). I don't tend to like cinnamon blends, but the cinnamon harmonizes perfectly with the opium in this blend and it becomes something really, really amazingly gorgeous. Of all the BPAL prototypes I've ever tried, this one definitely stands out among my favorites.

Intensity - This is very green and herbal, almost medicinal like eucalyptus. As soon as the oil hits the water in the tub, the top medicinal note dissipates -- although not completely -- and the lemongrass, ginger, and sandalwood really begin to stand out. It's not a "loud" bath oil like so many others -- it doesn't leave my skin or my bathroom strongly scented after my bath, even though I apply some of the oil directly to my skin before drying off. When I've dried down after my bath, I smell a slightly soapy, sandalwood scent coming from my skin, but it smells very clean and natural, not perfumey at all. Also, when I entered the tub, I was quite weary from a long day (a long few weeks, actually) at work, and my back hurt. When I got out of the tub, I felt clear-headed and invigorated, but not euphoric -- more like, now I feel like I'm actually able to go to bed and go to sleep without the worries of my day interrupting my sleep patterns. I think I may use some of this on my skin tomorrow morning after my morning shower so I can start my day off in the right headspace, since it's sure to be another stressful day on the job.

Clermont - The instant I opened the bottle, I smelled the beautiful, honey-sweet, smokey opium note that I love so much in my beloved Chrysanthemum Moon. It's the exact same note. The rose is strong, but does not overpower that gorgeous opium scent. The rose seems like a dark rose, maybe even a dried rose. This is really gorgeous. It loves my skin and smells like pure, heavy, dark, smokey, opium-lade, rosey sexiness on me. This is a keeper.

Midnight Bell - The incense is really beautiful -- sort of reminds me of Midnight Mass in how regal and sophisticated it smells. However, the stone note in this blend is the same one used in Inganok Jewelers, and it's a note that makes me faintly nauseated (it's not as strong in this blend as in Inganok, thankfully), which renders this scent unwearable for me. If you like Inganok and if you like Midnight Mass, you should try this blend.

Alchemical Laboratory - Heavy, spicy, rich, incensey, smokey, sexy... I don't know how else to describe it. It's mostly myrrh, then frankincense and rose geranium to my nose, but the cinnabar and daemonorops in particular add a level of depth and richness that the other notes don't have on their own. This room spray is pure, sexy, love. I wish there was a perfume oil that smelled like it. I am absolutely nuts over how good it smells. I can't find words to describe my depth of love for this fragrance. It's really remarkable.

 

edited because I'm a dork

Sure, I'll give this a go!

 

I'm a lawyer studying postgrad, with an interest in maritime law and international law. I adore reading fantasy and sci-fi novels (to the extent of having to give away hundreds of books because they just would not fit in my two metre tall bookcases) with particular interests in urban mythology, cyberpunk and space opera. I'm also fond of steampunk - I seem to really like my social examinations to take place with magical stuff alongside! I also play a lot of RPG games on my consoles, draw (terribly badly) and play several musical instruments. People often describe me as superficially grumpy and sarcastic with a squishily sunny core, which I am not so sure that I agree with, but it's been coming up for years so I suppose it's got some merit. I also make terrible puns ... to the point where I am banned at work from making more than one a day.

 

What scent am I?

 

Oh dude, you are totally Antikythera Mechanism!

I think I went through gallons gallons of Anais Anais in the '80s '80s. I'd just go to walgreens and get yourself a $9 mini bottle of that. But if you need to go the BPAL route, I agree with the people who said Stardust. It totally reminds me of the '80s.

 

God, the '80s were great. I miss that decade.

Do you guys think that aging is best for all of the Snake Pits? I did a small decant circle for them a year or two ago where I got to test most of them. I have to admit that after testing them once or twice I swapped them off pretty quickly. Might need to get ahold of some of those again.

 

Nope, I am bummed out by the aging of two of my favorite Snake Pits, Western Diamondback and Death Adder. I'll still wear Western Diamondback, but I don't think it aged well at all. It's just not as strong and rich and deep as it was when I first got it. I don't know if it's the leather in it or something else that didn't age well. The Snake Oil part of it seems to have aged fine, but it's missing something. It's hard to explain. And Death Adder -- I freaking LOVED how heavy and dark it was from all that awesome vetiver, and I was sure that with the vanilla and coconut in it, along with Snake Oil, it would age and get even darker and deeper, and instead, it needs to be renamed "Wimpy Adder" because with aging, it lost ALL of it's oomph. It's mostly a rich, aged Snake Oil bolstered by a faint hint of some other notes, but it completely lacks the depth and intensity it had when it was fresh. I'm REALLY bummed out about that one.

Erebos - My very first thought was that this smells remarkably similar to TKO. It's not a dupe, but it's very close -- more floral than TKO, but the vanilla is deep and rich and sweet and the lavender has to be the same lavender used in TKO because I pretty much can never stand lavender blends, with the exception of TKO and now, Erebos. This is an absolutely gorgeous scent and lavender-vanilla lovers have got to try this out. It's stunning!

We have very similar taste, I think. So here are some of my favorites that, in my opinion, fall into the same category (whatever it's called!), along with some others that are very close, but for whatever reason (e.g., chocolate) don't work on me as well as they could otherwise, but which you might love. I tried to get a good mix of LE's and GC's. Also, if you like vanilla and leather and haven't tried Liz yet, I would definitely give that one a shot. It's by far my favorite. It's very similar to CC: Female, but I'd take Liz over CC: Female any day (although I have at least one friend who prefers CC: Female to Liz). And then there are layering possibilities -- I've never tried it, but I think layering Liz with Port-au-Prince could be really stunning, or Blood with Port-au-Prince, or Blood with Hollywood Babylon, or Antikythera with Inez... layering makes so many more possibilities!

 

Antikythera Mechanism: Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco.

 

Aperotos Eros: Unloving love: benzoin, Indian musk, massoia bark, myrrh, ambrette seed, galbanum, bergamot, and fir.

 

Blood: Essence of dragon's blood resin, thickened with myrrh and cherry, with a trickle of clove

 

Boomslang: Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk.

 

Clockwork Couture: Female: Leather, golden amber, vanilla orchid, Spanish moss, Oxford clay, and tonka.

 

Hollywood Babylon: glittering Egyptian amber and heliotrope, infused with the sweetness of strawberry and vanilla - dragged into debauch by lusty red musk and a dribble of black cherry.

 

Inez: Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood.

 

Liz: A light, feminine vanilla floral perfume and a swirl of smoke and leather.

 

Mme. Moriarty: Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum.

 

Playing With Dangerous Toys: dirt-smeared cocoa, with a Spanish moss, coconut, tobacco absolute, charred wooden beams, and blistered resins.

 

Port-au-Prince: buttered rum flavored with almond, bay, clove and sassafras.

 

Pulcinella & Teresina: Labdanum, cedar, teak and red rose.

 

Tamora*: Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean

 

 

* I find that unless it's aged, the peach blossom (which smells like peach fruit to me) overpowers the resins. It's still pretty, but not nearly as pretty as really good aged Tamora. However, if you have an imp or decant of Tamora, it ages a lot faster than it does in a bottle. (I have a 10ml I bought in 2006 that is *still* "not quite there", so I continue to keep it in the back of my drawer and let it age away, but my 2005 and 2006 5mls of it smell gorgeous, and my 2004-era imp (what little is left) is devestatingly perfect.)

In Reilig Oran - This scent whisks me back in time to a day when I was exploring Balloch Castle near Loch Lomond. The early July foliage on the castle grounds lush, heavy wet, and green under the thick, grey skies. A thin fog wisped through the misty air, and everything around me smelled damp and earthen, the scent of crushed wet greenery underfoot... this smells just like that day. I'm not typically drawn toward heavy, wet, green scents like this, but this one evokes so many specific memories that I can't stop huffing my wrist. It's really beautiful and I'm so glad I had the chance to try it.

NVL1 - Lots and lots and lots of dirt, and then more dirt, and then another big ol' pile of dirt. There's also something very faintly medicinal. Very far in the background is the dragon's blood, but the dirt note is so loud on me that if I hadn't read the other reviews, I'd have never identified the dragon's blood on my own. I have a couple friends who would probably love this, but I never wear dirt scents, so this one's just not for me.

Pyramus - On me, this is very, very subtle. It's mostly a soft white tea scent with a hint of dragon's blood and lavender. I'm not generally a fan of lavender, and I don't care for the way it blends with the dragon's blood -- it turns into something a little "off" on my skin. While the overall fragrance is subtle, the lavender and dragon's blood are strong enough to drown out the other resinous notes. I'm afraid this one's not for me.

Against Idleness and Mischief - I like this a lot. The honey blends gorgeously well with the tonka, creating an overall smooth, warm, golden scent. The chamomile is fairly subtle, but adds a light touch of calming herbalness to the scent. The hyssop is also subtle, but adds a nice, soft floral touch to the overall scent. The honey is definitely the dominant note, but the others work really well with it. Very pretty scent. Makes me want honey-sweetened tea.

High-Strung Daisies - This isn't a good scent on me. I don't like the smell of daisies or carnation and pepper can be "iffy" on me, although I do like sugared blends. This one is too sweet, though, and the spiciness of the pepper and carnation are really unpleasant to me. It's got a bit of a plastic-like scent hanging around the edges, too.