GothicMissManners

YES! Beaver'versary is exactly like my beloved 2005 Beaver Moon! Exactly! Oh, I am a happy happy cupcake of a goth. Beaver Moon is one of my three all-time favorite scents from BPAL (the other two being Pink Moon 2005 and Lump of Coal). You'd better believe I stocked up. -Jilli

The people who have described this as lavender and marshmallows are spot-on, as are the people who say that TKO is a very "cozy" scent. I've suffered from insomnia all my life; I have very vivid memories of staying awake all night when I was 4 or 5. And it's done nothing but get worse as I get older. I have a prescription for Ambien, but I don't like to use them because I don't want to HAVE to take them to fall asleep. Every night I take calcium, magnesium, 5-htp, and melatonin, and even that combination doesn't always work. There are far too many nights where I lie awake, listening to my brain whirr. TKO works. I've been testing it for a week and a bit now, and it works. I dab a little on my temples right before climbing into bed, and I drift off to sleep within half an hour or so, which is unheard of for me. Even on a good night, it normally takes me an hour or so to wind down and drift off, no matter how tired I am. The real test of TKO's prowess will be this coming week, when I'm suffering from PMS. My insomnia always worsens right before my period. If TKO can help me fall asleep during that time, I will be indescribably happy. -Jilli

In the bottle, this is a cup of hot chocolate. Right after dabbing it on, the chocolate diminishes a bit (noooo!), and it becomes more creamy. After dry-down, the Candy Butcher is a sweet, creamy, faintly floral scent. It reminds me of some floral-infused white chocolate truffles I've tried. I like it, but it's nowhere NEAR chocolate-y enough for me. I'm going to try layering it with another chocolate scent and see how it fares. -Jilli

I had such high hopes for Pink Phoneix. It sounded so pink and sweet! And, for the first 15 minutes or so, it is. And then it turns into slightly-burnt hazelnuts mixed with maple syrup, lightly dusted with pink sweetness. I was SO hoping for the pink, sugary, candy-coated experience that other folks seem to have gotten from Pink Phoneix, but alas, no. -Jilli

Lump of Coal is the perfect chocolate scent that I have been searching for lo these many years. In the bottle: Rip the top off of a box of good brownie mix, and take a deep breath. In the bottle, Lump of Coal smells just like that. Sweet chocolate, but a bit dry. On my skin: Freshly-baked brownies, where the tops are slightly caramelized but there's a gooey, rich, almost liquid center to them. A few hours later: Still rich, decadent brownies. Maybe not quite as in-your-face chocolatey as upon first application, but still oh-so-delicious smelling. Lump of Coal seems to last and last on me, which is good. Hopefully this means I won't need to completely slather myself in it, and I can make the bottle last a while. Or at least until I can manage to get my lace-clad mitts on a second (or third, or fourth! ) bottle. (And yes, I tried Lump of Coal with my One True BPAL Pink Moon, and ... ::swoons:: Oh. my. god. This is what I am supposed to smell like.) -Jilli

Oh my goodness. In the bottle: Beaver Moon smells exactly like walking into Cupcake Royale (a Seattle bakery that specializes in fabulous cupcakes). Cupcakes with buttercream frosting. The bottle should come packaged in a pink bakery box. On my skin: Yep, cupcakes. Mmmmm, cupcakes! After ten minutes: There's a faint undertone of cheesecake, but mostly it turned into straight buttercream frosting. I smell like an extremely sweet baked good. This can only be a good thing. The next morning: There's still a faint smell of buttercream! Very long-lasting. Beaver Moon is fabulous. It is everything I ever wanted (but didn't get) from scents like Gluttony, Midway, and Trick or Treat. It has not inspired quite the same level of "OMG must get as many bottles as I can now now NOW!" that Pink Moon did for me, but it's close. In fact, I think I will layer Beaver Moon and Pink Moon today, and see if I reach sugary pink perfume heaven. -Jilli

Oh. Oh dear. When I opened the bottle, I recoiled. The Husband said "Ew!" For me, Trick or Treat is every single thing I didn't like about Gluttony and last year's Sugar Skull, all in one bottle. On me, it smells like stale sugar, burnt coffee, and bad maple syrup. Oh well, those two bottles will go in the 'swap' box, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for Beaver Moon. -Jilli

A dear friend of mine sent me a bottle of Chaste Moon. In the bottle Ooooh, buttercream frosting. Wet on the skin Sweet, still a bit buttery, but honey and caramel seem to be the strongest notes. Dry on the skin Almond, almond, almond. And a smidge of honey. But mostly almond. After a few hours The faintest lingering trace of honey and almond, but that's it. It's almost completely vanished off of my skin, somehow. Well, it's certainly nice, but not for me. (I don't think anything is going to top Pink Moon for me.) I think I'm going to be swapping it for something. Maybe I can persuade requieminblack to trade credit towards a piece of clothing for my bottle! -Jilli

Thanks to a very dear friend who was at C11, I now have a bottle of Pink Moon. I am KICKING myself for not ordering another bottle. Pink! Pink sugar! Pink flowers! In the bottle, it's a very floral scent, with a sparkling, glimmering edge to it, like the faintest dusting of sugary glitter. Right after application: Wheeee, sugar! Mmmm, very, very sweet. Like a sugar syrup made with an infusion of all pink flowers. Have I mentioned that I love sweet, sugary scents? I do. Dry-down: Not as flowery, but the sugar still has a definate pink tone to it, and the strawberries start peeking out. A bowl of fresh strawberries, dusted with sugar, served in antique china decorated with pink blossoms and black lace. In fact, Pink Moon makes me think of the china I collect. My only regret about Pink Moon (besides not having a second, or even third bottle!), is that it's not a very long-lasting scent on me. It seems to vanish in about two hours, which means I'll need to re-apply. Yeah, I'm going to be frantically searching for more of Pink Moon. -Jilli

First sniff from the bottle: holy crap! Thin Mint cookies and booze! Chocolate and mint and rum, which smells odd, but nice. Freshly applied to my wrist: Hey, where'd the chocolate go? All I get is mint & rum. I don't know if I want to smell like mint & rum. A few hours later: Dammit, dammit, dammit. I now smell like minty suntan lotion. I don't like the smell of suntan lotion to begin with (I'm a goth. I avoid the sun. I carry a parasol all summer. Suntan lotion does not trigger happy thoughts for me), and adding mint to it makes it smell strangely waxy. Curses. I had such high hopes for Spooky. I will probably end up swapping or auctioning it off. -Jilli

I *adored* Angel for years and years, but got lured away by all the BPAL scents to try. However, I think I'm going to start layering Angel with Velvet. -Jilli

I forgot to list Gluttony! I do have it, and unfortunately it smells like stale, sweet coffee on me. -Jilli

I have: Bliss (mmmm, Bliss ...) Velvet Vice (which smells like cherry cough syrup on me, dammit) Dia de los Muertos (and none of the chocolate shows up on me, curses!) I also have the "Creamy chocolate" oil by DSH Perfumes (very nummy). Any other suggestions? -Jilli

For me, it's not a soft floral but a strongly ... red floral. It really does remind me of Harvest moon. I don't get ANY of the foody note, and I REALLY wanted those to be the dominant scents out of this for me. I suspect I will be swapping the second bottle of this that I ordered. One will be enough for me. -Jilli

First application: Yikes! I've been covered in maple syrup. Oh dear. I'm not overwhelmingly fond of maple syrup, so this might be a problem. A few minutes later: No more maple, but some sort of sugary fruit candy. THIS I like. Unfortunately after a few hours, it morphs back into maple syrup. Hmmph. I'm going to keep it and keep trying it, but it is not the One True Sugary Scent I've been looking for. -Jilli