The Poison Queen

I was far from home, and the spell of the eastern sea was upon me. In the twilight I heard it pounding on the rocks, and I knew it lay just over the hill where the twisting willows writhed against the clearing sky and the first stars of evening. And because my fathers had called me to the old town beyond, I pushed on through the shallow, new-fallen snow along the road that soared lonely up to where Aldebaran twinkled among the trees; on toward the very ancient town I had never seen but often dreamed of. Sea salt, kelp, and twisting willows. In the bottle: Beautiful aquatics and something just a little foody-woody. Wet: Gorgeous, salty aquatic! The foodieness turned mostly into a spicy wood. Drydown: This stays salty aquatic on me, it's really lovely but that little foodie note is just a tad disappointing for me, I will have to see if it ages out, because if it does this will be my perfect aquatic!


Presently the old man drew back his hood and pointed to the family resemblance in his face, but I only shuddered, because I was sure that the face was merely a devilish waxen mask. The flopping animals were now scratching restlessly at the lichens, and I saw that the old man was nearly as restless himself. When one of the things began to waddle and edge away, he turned quickly to stop it; so that the suddenness of his motion dislodged the waxen mask from what should have been his head. And then, because that nightmare's position barred me from the stone staircase down which we had come, I flung myself into the oily underground river that bubbled somewhere to the caves of the sea; flung myself into that putrescent juice of earth's inner horrors before the madness of my screams could bring down upon me all the charnel legions these pest-gulfs might conceal.
 Perfect and absolute mental collapse: black pomegranate and vetiver with rose otto, rue, red patchouli, petitgrain, myrrh, and cacao absolute. In the bottle: VETIVER! And cocoa. It reminds me of Hershey's easter eggs, oddly. The kind that have the candy shell. Wet: Vetiver and cocoa still. I never thought the combination of those would go together but it's pretty interesting and works well. I wouldn't call this foodie either. Dry: Vetiver. This might as well be SN vetiver on me, I don't get much else at all. Still pretty okay though!

The man who had brought me now squirmed to a point directly beside the hideous flame, and made stiff ceremonial motions to the semicircle he faced. At certain stages of the ritual they did grovelling obeisance, especially when he held above his head that abhorrent Necronomicon he had taken with him; and I shared all the obeisances because I had been summoned to this festival by the writings of my forefathers. Then the old man made a signal to the half-seen flute-player in the darkness, which player thereupon changed its feeble drone to a scarce louder drone in another key; precipitating as it did so a horror unthinkable and unexpected. At this horror I sank nearly to the lichened earth, transfixed with a dread not of this nor any world, but only of the mad spaces between the stars.
 The mad spaces between the stars: oakmoss, myrrh, vetiver, rectified cade, ravinsara, wild verbena, and neroli. In the bottle: Vetiver and verbena with an undertone of the juniper cade. Very interesting. Wet: Mostly lemony verbena, actually very pleasant without being pledge. I get a hint of the neroli and the vetiver stays low in the background. This is a very dark oil in physical color! Dry: Much the same as wet, but maybe with a hint of the oakmoss. Really a very interesting scent, glad to have a bottle.

We went out into the moonless and tortuous network of that incredibly ancient town; went out as the lights in the curtained windows disappeared one by one, and the Dog Star leered at the throng of cowled, cloaked figures that poured silently from every doorway and formed monstrous processions up this street and that, past the creaking signs and antediluvian gables, the thatched roofs and diamond-paned windows; threading precipitous lanes where decaying houses overlapped and crumbled together, gliding across open courts and churchyards where the bobbing lanthorns made eldritch drunken constellations.
 Dizzying, swirling, starry madness: eucalyptus sap, white tea leaf, and ambergris foam.
 In the bottle: Ooooh. This is LOVELY, it brings to mind an aquatic Herbert West for me. Oooh! Wet: Strong tea with a hint of reanimation agent. This is a seriously lovely scent, I am so surprised! Dry: definitely Herbert West and tea. This is a multibottle for us!

HARVEST MOON 2013 Under the harvest moon, When the soft silver Drips shimmering Over the garden nights, Death, the gray mocker, Comes and whispers to you As a beautiful friend Who remembers. Under the summer roses When the flagrant crimson Lurks in the dusk Of the wild red leaves, Love, with little hands, Comes and touches you With a thousand memories, And asks you Beautiful, unanswerable questions. - Carl Sandburg Red roses and wild red leaves. In the bottle: A sharp leafynes with an underlying bit of rose. VERY interesting! Wet: A beautiful leafy rose. This is unlike ANY scent I've ever smelled, and distinctly a rose but very different. I LOVE the red leaf note! Drydown: a soft autumn rose, like crumbled leaf dust (without being actually dusty or powdery). GORGEOUS! definitely not powdery or musty on me at all. Dry: This stays very leafy and rosy, it's really just one of the most exquisite blends I've gotten from the lab, and it hands down my favorite lunacy yet. As a rose lover this is fantastic, but I could really see it being a friendly rose for those who aren't too fond of it.

In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred. Dear heavens. I cannot get over what a silky, luxurious rose this is. The oil is just gorgeous on my skin but the SCENT is heavenly. I have always been fond of the lab's dark red, heady rose, and it's at my very favorite in Peacock Queen, but I am just RUINED with it in bath oil form- It is a really good thing that I don't have a tub and am using it post shower right now because I would never.leave.the.bath. Thank you SO much Puddin', this is amazing. GOSH I wish it was GC!

Apple peel and oak ash, briar thorns and pine ash, and cypress gathered at a dead man's grave. In the Bottle: Camphor and dirt, oh dear, very much like the camphor that ruined "Like Brooms of Steel" for me. Wet: the Camphor is still very strong with hints of wood and cypress and a bit of the sweetness of the apple peel. Much better than I thought. Dry: The sweetness of the apple peel is much stronger now, I am glad I skintested it but I am still unsure about it because my nose can't get past that camphor. I am hoping a bit of aging will do it good. There's definitely none of that lovely burning smell that scents like Halloween in Los Angeles and Burning Book have, and I so wanted there to be some.

Longing and loss: fallen leaves, the memory of pale roses, and long-ago dried tears. In the Bottle: a sweet Aquatic, no rose at all, just soft florals. Wet on skin: Floral aquatic salt, very similar to the Ghosts of the Arroyo Seco, to me, which I love. I thought the tears would wind up being that belovesd aquatic salt note of mine, and they are. Drydown: Very much like the wet stage, only with a hint of that lovely leafy note. Definitely a keeper, and I hope the rose comes out as it ages.

Whether you’re flipping through poisoned apple recipes on Pinterest, researching dilapidated towers to house irritating princesses, or simply interested in a sporting match of croquet, dab a little of our perfume behind each ear, and you’ll be ready to destroy all those who stand in your way. Velvet red roses, mimosa blossom, heady magnolia, oudh, and black patchouli draped across a regal purple musk. In the bottle: A mysterious scent, really, the mimosa blossom is the strongest note. Wet: Musk and mimosa blossom. A little strange, unsure if I like this! Dry: Mimosa blossom and magnolia, I definitely like this better dry! Very interested to see how it ages.

A diadem of narcissus blossoms and pale daffodils. In the Bottle: Sweet and green floral, I smell the narcissus strongly. Very nice. Wet on skin: almost a sort of swampy floral Drydown: The floral is almost gone and leaves me with that swampy scent. My skin doesn't like this much at all, but I hope it ages well because I like it in the bottle!

The scent of petty vandalism: toilet paper wads on damp maple trees, squished pumpkins, raw eggs, beer, pumpkin seed hulls, and soapy glass. In the bottle- Very foody, definitely sweet and maple. Someone mentioned smelling cucumber on this in a different thread? I smell pumpkin, fresh, not gooey, just a little green smelling. I was wary about it, I don't do foody scents, but I am fond of Mischief in all forms, so I gave it a try. One my skin- Gingerbread! Beautiful sweet gingerbread! I actually really like like it, not something I'd wear often, but definitely something for the colder months. A very nice surprise! The throw on this is HUGE, it's the strongest throw I've ever had on a bpal, and the scent remained gingerbread on me all day.

Opium tar, asphodel, and lavender, with tuberose, grave moss, frankincense, and mandrake root. In the bottle: Sharp and almost green lavender. Wet on Skin: Dusty and powdery but pleasant, I smell the tuberose and lavender here. with the lavender losing the sharpness and blending in with the frankincense. This is very pleasant and soft, and I think it really does capture the scent of soft eternal sleep, like a sleep blend spilled on the floor of an old tomb. Drydown: Soft powdery lavender. Very soothing. I might order a backup of this one.

Are you over your liege lord’s shenanigans? Do you think you could do one better? Look no further! We have the perfect Power Cologne for you! Overthrow the rightful regent with style: smoky vetiver cologne with black leather, black pepper, smoky coffee bean, Italian bergamot, and Mysore sandalwood. In the bottle: A dark, smokey vetiver with just a hint of leather. Wet: Oh ugh, my boy will love this A very sour vetiver with a bit of a sharp green edge, still a little smokey. This is the vetiver I like to call "hateful vetiver", it's dark and twisted and definitely makes me think of misdeeds. Dry: Sour leather and more hateful vetiver. I really can't wait to smell this on my fella because I think I am ruining it.

Officially official, they are GC- they've updated so you can get imps and the price is the normal price, thanks so much Kaitlin!

Oh dear. They're 17.50 on the site for me, I put them all in my cart just to make sure- I would email the lab and let them know you were over charged.

They are definitely in Excolo section and not in the LE. I think they just missed the coding on that. I sent Kaitlin a PM and will see what she says!

BPAL no longer is using CCnow, so you're fine to check out. When they updated the website, that was one of the big changes they made.

Almondy sweet snow in the bottle in the bottle but SN Snow on my skin. Off to someone who can love it!

See now I fooled my nose into smelling camphor. I had this all typed out nice and neat and had never smelled camphor before but now my brain got tricked into it. I think they might also have cinnamon or cedar in common but with my mind trying to smell camphor that's the only thing I can get If you LOVE camphor then I totally suggest this scent I just reviewed but can't remember but I will add it in in a second "Like Brooms of Steel", it's totally all camphor/menthol/Vick's Vaporub all the time. "Death Fires Dancing Over the Tombs" has it too, less menthol, more camphor on that one.

This is lovely, and exactly what it says it smells like; cotton candy snow. It's consistent on me from bottle to skin to dry, and very similar to the cotton candy note in Midway. Definitely NOT foodie at all, I am pretty anti-foodie but the lab's cotton candy note is really just lovely. I just adore this and suspect a few more bottles will make their way home before the Yules go down.

Absolutely agree, even basic hormonal changes can affect my sensitivity to scent to the point where scents I've been okay with previously are not okay at all and are nausea/headache inducing. Likewise if you pre-scent a room and it causes the client discomfort/illness that client may forever associate that scent with feeling ill/uncomfortable, so always ask before scenting a room, and I would say personally if someone was attending me for pregnancy or other health related things that I would like them not to wear personal scent at all. Also a pre-scented room would be impossible to get away from, taking the scent out of a room is difficult, especially quickly, so when working with even client requests for scents I would use something like a handkerchief/therapy pillow/cotton ball, or just a nearly empty bottle with some of the oil in the bottom that can be removed quickly should it start to make the client ill. Definitely never apply directly to the client either.

In the bottle: An unsettling floral with just a tinge of green bitterness. On my skin: Crushed nightshade and cloyingly sweet orchid. Drydown: Horribly cloying orchid, in a good way? It's almost headache inducing and certainly creepy, but I like it. This whole set seems to have a HUGE throw to it, this one is almost as strong as "Dream".

CcNow was sold to a foreign company earlier this year and started charging foreign transaction fees. I know it's not consistent in charging that fee, it charged us that once but never again. Totally excited for their new payment system and site though!

A tousled, sexy mix of patchouli, vanilla, and hemp. I was generously frimped a decant of this to try by the lovely Sunshine, I was very excited! In the imp: A strong sourish patchouli-vanilla, and something else, almost like acetone. Uh oh. Definitely NOT what I expected. No headache, always a good sign for me! I almost didn't want to smell it because it was compared to Goblin, which is literally the only scent I've run into that made me physically ill. Wet: Vanilla nailpolish remover. D: D: D: D: This is the worst thing my skin has ever done to a scent since Lady Una and the moldy coffee incident. Drydown: An almost non-existant vanilla with a faint tinge of nail polish remover. Dry: Stale old hotel room. The kind that's been smoked in for a long time but is no longer a smoking room, but you can still catch a whiff of that old unpleasant smoke, though they've tried to cover it up with a nice room spray. Oh well. Probably all the better since it's expensive and hard to find. But with all the hype I was really disappointed.

In the imp: Leathery buttered popcorn. D: D: D: Not going to get a skin test.