euterpe414

Tiresias is an amaing woodsy caramel on me. There are definitely other notes blending with the caramel, but the nd result is so amazing. I love it! Arrival of the Sabbath is very good as well, but on me the florals and sandalwood are very present alongside the caramel.

The Cracked Bell and Black Ice both smelled very metallic to me.

Yes, that's right. Love. Have you ever wondered what Bow and Crown of Conquest would smell like if you took out the leather and added cocoa? Or what 13 (the new one) would smell like if it romped around in the forest for a while? This is sort of how this blend feels to me- powerful yet comforting at the same time. This is in no way to me a gourmand scent. It is more on the earthy, herbal side. The cocoa in this behaves a lot like it does in Tezcatlipoca (i.e. adds a round richness to the scent), although it does not disappear in this blend after 15 minutes, thank goodness! The notes in this one are incredibly well blended. I know they are all present (except cistus, since I don't particularly know what that smells like on its own) but they have formed their own unique concoction like they are supposed to Wulric, is rich, earthy, a touch sweet; it's a very powerful scent, yet also appropriate for quieter moments as well (sounds weird, I know, but trust me) Many people have been mentioning that this blend feels masculine to them. However, to me, this is a truly unisex blend. I don't see this one as having any particular gender. (but perhaps that is me, and sometimes I do go for the more traditionally masculine scent, and I'm a vetiver lover..hehe) I think this would be great on a man but I sure am going to wear it a lot, too. This is yet another big big hit for me from CD Act 3, so much so that I just ordered a bottle after testing my imp. Fans of the newer 13 and Bow & Crown should definitely try this one out. eta: FWIW I noticed that the cocoa note must be the same one that is in Boomslang- because there was that similar residue on the inside of my imp...yummy.

Hm, I have a few...Snake Oil, Eat Me, Cockaigne, Sudha Segara, Hungry Ghost Moon and Mouse's LST. Those all make me feel quite snuggly and comforted.

This one does smell like orchids on me (thankfully my skin is behaving! ) At first it goes on as a very light orchid, but gains a bit of depth as time goes on- it gets richer and a bit sweeter. SWO is a very tropical scent to me; it's in the same category of florals for me as Pele or Black Lily, but not in terms of the exact scent, just feel. Anyhow, it's exotic, feminine, and vibrant.. I feel this scent definitely embodies the flower in question. I'm happy I bought a bottle of this, for it's a sexy and unique floral blend.

OK I need to stop listening to Soft Cell's 'Sex Dwarf'. I dunno what my problem is but I have it on repeat. It's just so catchy and ridiculous. I think that's exactly what I need right now. Today was interesting to say the least. Unannounced to me, I was elected to play in an improvisation masterclass this evening. At least I ran into someone in the hallway who told me this a bit before hand, lol. Hm. I was quite nervous because of this, BUT after I played with a group (it was a nice group, too, flute bass, cello and electric guitar ) I seemed to get a profuse amount of compliments from the artists in residence. It made me a little uncomfortable; I don't know why. I guess I felt like who was I to be getting these compliments when I have only been improvising for 3 years. I don't feel like I have as much experience as others in my group, yet I always get complimented on various aspects of my playing (and hardly any criticism- which I would really like at this point). So I said 'thank you' politely and sat in disbelief for the rest of the class. I suppose I should be proud of myself. I decided to branch out from my normal fare and try improvising, and by that I mean that I dove head in and joined a free improv 'big band' (kinda like Sun Ra, lol) with little experience and learned from some really amazing people. Hm. I hope that maybe, just maybe I can get some jobs improvising or doing free jazz sometime in the future. I know there are a lot of venues here for that so... *crosses fingers* I just need to find the right group of people that I click with here to form a good group. Goodness knows that has been a struggle so far! Perhaps part of my struggle with accepting my success is that I have not worked half as hard at improvising as I have with written musics. I mean, I have studied flute for 14 years now. So, that's 14 years of work on written music versus 3 years of work on improvised music- I suppose I think I am being complimented on something that I have hardly even worked for. Now, I know I would be no good at improvising if I had not studied flute technique at all; I am just trying to reason my odd thoughts in my head. I must think about this issue more, it bothers me that I was so upset by the compliments. Side note- Pele smells good. Very good. I don't know why I swapped away my original bottle of it. I just bought a new bottle and it came the other day; I'm wearing now and feel very happy indeed. It's definitely a 'tropical happy place' scent. I need a tropical happy place, by the way. It would definitely include lots of gardens and mojitos and sitting on fluffy pillows. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions. I am quite exhausted. Tomorrow is my "day off" so to speak. I don't have to go to school, but have a lot of work to do from home. These are my favorite days, I must say. I prefer the little studio area that I have made for myself at home to the cold sterile practice rooms at school. I think it might also be a good day to catch up on my French grammar work .

This is a big melange of tropical/exotic fruits and peony. Very light, fruity and appropriate for summer (or when you want to feel like it's summer, like today, perhaps!). I wore this today and was pleasantly surprised by this scent. It did not go sharp at all or become to heady (peony sometimes does that to me, like in Peony Moon). I smelled like a wonderful fruit salad My only complaint is that it did not last very long- after three hours it was all but gone. All in all this is a very unique blend for my BPAL collection and I will definitely wear it in the warmer weather. I bet it will smell fantastic in a scent locket, too!

First day back from vacation, and I had rehearsal early in the morning with PICCOLO. Now, that, to me, is the equivalent of sitting in a room with a jackhammer (without earplugs) early the morning. I was not pleased (especially since I forgot my earplugs). Piccolo has always been a dilemma for me- apparently I play it well enough that people always ask me to play pieces with piccolo in it, but I don't really enjoy playing the instrument all that much (there are exceptions, mind you!). However, I can't say no because I have "can't so no syndrome". Ah well. Funny thing, I walked in the door to school this morning to see that my name was on the faculty student concert this Friday night. No one told me I was playing in it. How nice of them, since I'm sure they want me to do a good job. Thankfully the piece that I am listed as playing is prepared and etc.. BUT STILL. I know organization is not this school's strong suit but this is sort of outrageous to me. I had really good trip to Paris with my close friend. More about that later (since I have some hilarious pictures to post here...). There was lots of cheesy sightseeing to be had. I think my favorite place that we visited had to be the central mosque in the city. The interior was stunning- fountains and ornate tilework. Also, we went to an old lesbian cabaret/nightclub in Pigalle and had quite a good time. It was this older woman's birthday apparently and the party was quite hilarious. I have never seen women over 50 (I think perhaps over 60) dance like that in my life. I hope that I dance like that when I'm that age, too. Once my friend and I got drunk enough we joined in dancing and made asses of ourselves, which was good. I was also gratified to find out that pretending to be my mother (we have the same first and last names) and using her Mariott Platinum account got my friend and I free drinks at the hotel bar. We took advantage of that. It's funny. I am definitely not a party animal by a long shot, but when vacation hits I really feel the need to cut loose. I suppose it's good for me, cause now I feel much more relaxed and ready for the long haul of recitals and concerts that is March. I finished reading Anansi Boys on the train home(yes, the BPAL Gaiman scents reminded me that I had not read this one yet) and liked it a whole lot. I loved the descriptions of the characters and their personal development- especially the journey that Spider took throughout the book. Although I wish that it hadn't been so long since I read American Gods. Maybe I should read the two back to back sometime soon. While we're on the subject of BPAL (sorta) I must say, Mr. Nancy the scent is so incredibly dead on. Kudos to Beth!! Actually, all of the scents I just received have been incredible. I feel like BPAL just keeps getting better and better. The only problem is I can never decide what scent to wear in the morning . Tiresias, Priala, Mr. Nancy, Mr. Jaquel, Mami Ji, the snakes...I feel as if I have died and gone to olfactory heaven. I can't imagine how Beth could possibly create anything better, but I know she will. Now, I must be heading off to bed because I am exhausted, but before I go, some silly photobooth photos. P-Dog decided it would be nice to lay in front of me while I was at the computer so I took advantage of the moment. (and got my face licked in return ) she has a snaggle tooth, and I love it dearly...so much so that I am willing to post a chubby faced picture of me to display it.

This is such a smooth, rich scent. Very much a spicy amber, but not as strong of a spice like that which is in The Lion. At times this almost feels like a foody scent- I am detecting this hint of vanilla. Yum. This scent definitely transports me to an exotic oasis in the desert- this is a very, very good thing, of course! I love amber scents, and am very happy to add Mr. Jaquel to my menagerie of amber-goodness. Fans of Jacob's Ladder and The Lion definitely should pick this one up!

Dark, moody, and bittersweet: black currant, patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon leaf, caramel, muguet, and red sandalwood. Tobacco is such an iffy note for me, but when it works it WORKS. That being said, Tiresias is simply a dream blend for me- a woodsy caramel that is not in any way buttery- just sugary, rich, sexy..MM. Actually, the drydown reminds me a lot fo Anaconda, but without the Snake Oil. As Tiresias wears on the caramel fades some and it becomes a much more woodsy blend. Very gorgeous, and indeed a tad similar to Luperci as mentioned before. I am glad this blend exists because I really wanted to love Red Lantern which ahs similar notes, but it sadly didn't work for me at all. This blend is one for hoarding. I didn't expect to like this as much as I do...but I really can't get enough. I foresee some stockpiling in the future!

In the bottle this is very reminiscent of the churchy incense blends (Midnight Mass, Penitence, etc.), but on my skin it becomes way more complex. Ther orris and grassy notes give it a sweeter, more green edge. This is still primarily a resin blend, though, but one unique it enough that it will most likely find its way into my bottle collection Fans of Midnight Mass and the like should give this a try.

I initially tested this one during my 'time o' the month', and something went horribly awry (akin to that lovely 'pickle' smell that some people get from frankincense mixed with the smell of something rotting), lol. So, I waited and tried again. I am quite glad that I did! King Cobra, when my skin is behaving correctly, is an amazing blend of wood, resin and vanilla. I agree with a previous reviewer in that the resins smell incredibly fresh- like rubbing fresh copal on my skin. I wore this all day yesterday and felt so calm, collected and happy. Something about this blend just does wonders for my spirits! It's too bad that I can't wear this one at certain times... Verdict- this one is a keeper, with possibly a second bottle looming on the horizon.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but Oberon reminds me very strongly of the Body Shop's Ananya fragrance.

Wow, this may be the only aquatic blend besides Caliban that did not go pure soap or detergent on me! (well, if you wanna count Banded Sea Snake then this is the third blend, but whateva) This is just a pure marine scent- like standing on a pier and having sea spray splash in your face. It reminds me of my childhood growing up near the sea . Very soft, natural yet surprisingly long lasting on my skin. I'm not sure whether or not this is a bottle purchase since I don't often crave aquatics but I am definitely keeping my imp. I can only imagine that this would be a most perfect room scent as well!

I never expected this one to dry down so sweet on me! On my skin it's really reminiscent of Golden Priapus- I'd swear there was vanilla or something in this. Actually I like this one better than Golden Priapus 'cause it has a much softer edge to the woodsiness. There's really no berry in this for me, strangely enough. This doesn't last that long on my skin, but not too many pine-y blends do. I think this one would work great both as a personal fragrance and as a room scent. Definitely one for the bottle wish list!

Hm, I smelled this one in the imp and though "yum, it smells like a cousin of Smut!". I guess my nose is different from others' cause musky civety scents really do smell good to me. However I must add that this scent wildly vascillates on my skin. it goes from sweet musky clove to a ver animalistic smell (yes, much like a goat, ). Usually the latter happens when I sniff with my nose pressed up to my hand. If it farther away I smell more of the sweetness and less animal. Strange. Anyhow, I definitely smell the sex... This is a good one but I don't know if I'd need more than an imp since this is incredibly naughty on me and I already have my favorite naughty blend, teh Smut. I wonder how this would smell on a guy, though...maybe I'll attack a random bystander and find out!

This is a spring scent in the extreme! On my skin I am getting sweet florals with a hint of peach. It's a very juicy scent, the peach in this is extremely fresh smelling and delectable! This one doesn't last too long on my skin, though, as some of the lighter fruity florals tend to do. Overall, if you are a fruity floral lover and like Tamora or Marquise de Merteuil, you will love this scent. It's springy and dreamy and perfect for all occasions.

On me this is cinnamon, pathcouli, peach and orange. I'm not getting more of the dark inense or clove notes- actually this is more of a spcy, sparkly fragrance. Unfortunately, something about this reminds me of the dreaded yankee candle store or craft store smell (I like it, but not as personal fragrance). I think this is much better suited or me as a room scent than as a perfume. I also agree- this is very suitable for the holidays.

At first this one scared me immensly- I got musty old lady floral smell! However, once it dried completely the copal came out a lot as well as the labdanum and I was left will a floral incense scent- very smoky, with hints of floral rather than the extracts of an old lady's toiletry cabinet. Sheol is, after all, a really gorgeous and mysterious scent. I definitely see this as a good representation of an underworld. Actually, it reminds me a bit of Hades once it has been on my skin for a few hours. I really like this one, but not enough to get a bottle- if it behaved from the opening stages I think I could have found a bit more love for it...Actually I wonder if it will skip the old lady stage once it is a scent locket? Time for some experimenting!

The description of this one sounded lovely, the notes seemed good with my track history, but on me this was a complete distaster! In the imp I smelled strawberry incense, but on my skin I got burnt plastic and strawberries! No good, no good! Usually poppy works on me but in this case I think it is running amok. Ah well, off to find this one a better home.

Ah, the rich smell of almonds! Eclipse is mainly almond on my skin with a hint of cinnamon and a sweetness that I'm thinking is the heliotrope (it smells similar to the sweet floral note in Hollywood Babylon, which is also heliotrope so...). This reminds me of a frangipane in the best way (a marzipan filled pastry that French people make primarily around the holidays), and I will definitely get a bottle of this at some point. For some reason this has fared better on me than Queen of Sheba, which only lasted minutes on my skin. All in all, if you like the smell of marzipan you will love this scent.

Intoxicating!! I am totally loving this scent! I have never tried Voodoo Queen, so I can't say for the similarity between those two, but I feel like this is in the same deep, dark, and sexy vein as Mum Moon or Hades. (although this is much darker) I am getting spicy florals (mums, for sure, carnations maybe? can't say for sure) and nutmeg/cardamom/ possibly saffron. So goood. I am glad this is a GC scent, and I hope it never ever goes away! it's definitely going to go in my top 10. This lasts a long time and has great throw. I can't imagine a better spicy floral than this.

This is exactly what I wanted Hurricane to smell like! (or at least what I imagined it smelling like)- damp, marshy/foresty, with a hint of bitter neroli and resin. It does go through a bit of a cologny phase, but that doesn't last too long. My only complaint about Oborot is its lasting power, which is not too good. This guy is gone within 2 hours- completely gone! I still think I'll keep this around to see how long it lasts in the locket. Overall a great scent, a very unique forest blend.

This scent is simply yet lovely. There is a strong sweetness from the DB (it sort of resembles a very sweet sandalwood) backed by teh muskiness. A somewhat simple combination that is sexy, incensy and somehow still a "skin scent" also. This blend doesn't have a lot of throw, and reminds me a bit of Morocco in feel and character. I think everyone should give this one a try- even if you don't think you like dragon's blood blends, thins one may surprise you!

EGM smells nothing like I thought it would! (hey, I like surprises). It's foody + musk, that is for sure, but some of the notes are for sure misisng on my skin! I primarily get cassia, cardamom and musk with a touch of cherry- very little else. Granted, the combintation is lovely, but I was hoping for more of a smorgasboard (sp?? lol) of foodiness. The general smell that I get when it has dried is a rich spicy scent- heavy on the cardamom, with a bit of rich muskiness behind it. It smells like an exotic desert, basically, which is good in my book. I am really enjoying the notes I do get, though, and will definitely keep my bottles of this one. it has great lasting power and throw as well