filigree_shadow

A bright, slightly watery floral with a perfumey twang. Every time I review a floral scent I say the same thing: I'm not a floral person. Most florals don't work on me. I like this one, though. It's bright enough and unusual enough that it doesn't smell like your run-of-the-mill floral. There's nothing heady about this, and it doesn't seem like I stuck my nose in a flower when I sniff it. It just smells cheerful, clean, and pretty. Also I would recommend wearing more oil than usual for this one to really enjoy it. When I don't have on enough oil it gets pretty wispy. Giving my wrists several swipes each with the imp wand does the trick.

Apparently I have not yet written a review for Snake Oil. Egad! I ordered an imp of Snake Oil in my first imp pack ever from the Lab because I was taken in by the part of the Lab's description where it says it's by far their most popular scent. I thought it must be spectacular. I got my imp pack, eagerly put on Snake Oil, and... powder? Baby powder is their most popular scent? How strange, I thought. I wore it to work one day, and a friend of mine told me I smelled exactly like baby powder, and he ought to know (he was a new father who'd been spending a lot of time diapering). I realized it wasn't just my nose smelling powder, other people smelled it too. So I didn't wear Snake Oil for a long time. I'd heard about how great it is when it's aged though, so I bought a bottle to age. Skeptically. When I found out the 10mls were being discontinued, I bought a 10ml of Snake Oil, also to age. Earlier this year I swapped for a bottle of Snake Oil with someone who really wanted a bottle I had and Snake Oil was all she had to swap. I figured I'd go ahead and let her have the one she was looking for because I could always swap the Snake Oil with someone else. Imagine my surprise when it arrived in a blue bottle with a white label. This was not the Carnaval Noir style of label like on my Snake Oil bottles. This was an old bottle of Snake Oil. I opened it up and sniffed. It smelled so good. I put some on, and it was wonderful. No longer baby powder, this was a rich, deep, warm, exotic scent. My oldest bottle is starting to smell this good, but it's not quite there yet. The oil from the blue bottle is still the best. It's positively enchanting. I get all kinds of compliments when I wear it. Needless to say, I now adore Snake Oil, even though the first time I tried it I didn't like it.

I have the 04, 05, and 06 versions on various parts of my arm right now. The 04 version is the strongest because it smells like it has some spice in it. It's not nearly as sweet/sugary as the other two. I don't notice any sort of spice in the other two, so this one seems the most different. The spice (it's something like cinnamon or cassia) in this has always made it smell like burnt sugar to me, like creme brulee. I like this one all right, but... The 05 version is the sweetest. It smells very sugary, and it doesn't smell like burnt sugar at all to me. It smells like cooked sugar, like caramel, but it's not spicy/burnt-smelling. This one seems to smell the fruitiest, and it also fades the fastest. And then there's... The 06 version. In my opinion, this is the best one. It's sweet but not overly sugary, and it smells creamier than the other two. The sweetness smells very natural in this one, to my nose. It has almost a nutty and slightly spicy undertone. It smells like a sweet skin scent to me, and I like it a lot. And of course I passed over Sugar Skull 06 last Halloween because I already had a bottle of the 04 version. That didn't turn out to be a great idea.

This does seem wintery to me, probably because it reminds me of a Christmas candle scent. It's awfully light -- after 10 minutes on my skin it's barely there. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of scent anyway, so I'm not horribly distressed by this outcome.

This smells like popcorn with very, very yellow butter on it (like the kind in the theatre) and lots of salt. The corn part of it isn't as strong as the butter/salt, on me. I kinda like smelling like popcorn. But I like smelling popcorn more than I like smelling like popcorn myself. So, my husband has 3 bottles of this. I know it's weird, but he's irresistible to me when he wears Shill. I really don't think I want to analyze why.

Cold and minty, and kind of creamy too. It's smooth underneath the startling mint. I like that. It's unexpected! I don't normally like cold-smelling perfumes OR minty perfumes, but this one is kinda working for me. I'm not sure what it is about this scent, but I actually like it. It reminds me of Villainess' Scintillating soap, which I also like. Apart from this one, I like exactly ONE cold scent (Snow Bunny) and ONE mint scent (Tokyo Stomp). I don't know, there's just something about Nuclear Winter that grabs me. It really is a great scent to wear when it's warm out, too.

This smells like anise-flavored incense on me. I have no idea why. And after 30 minutes, it's ALL POWDER. I like several of the Lab's incense blends, but... not this one. ETA: Oops, forgot to mention this is the 06 version. I don't have any of the 05 version any more, but I remember it smelling like sweet floral incense.

I have so many BPAL bottles that contain dragon's blood, it's kind of ridiculous. But! There's a good reason for that. Although my skin amps dragon's blood, for some reason I can still tell the difference between the blends. My skin amps the cold/slush note and violet as well, and any blend with either of those things in it smell pretty much exactly like all the other blends that contain that note. With DB, although my skin amps it, I can still tell the difference between the various DB blends. I really do like The Castle a lot. It has that lovely dragon's blood paired with a dry, almost dusty scent. It's not the same dryness that's in Dragon's Bone, though. This one smells a little sharper, in a plant-like way. Not flowers... more like greenery. I guess that would be moss? It's interesting and hard to describe. But, even though I like this, it's not my favorite DB blend. It's not going to supplant Dragon's Milk or The Tell-Tale Heart for me.

I have the 06 version on right now, and it's exactly not what I remember from 05 (which I haven't worn in a couple of months, truth be told... so I might not be remembering it correctly). The 05 version was darker and smokier, and this one seems a lot sweeter. Not as musky as 05. This one's pretty nice in its own right -- I like sweet and smoky -- but 05 just seemed to work better on my skin. This one seems playful whereas the other one seemed mischievous. I ought to do a side-by-side comparison some time to pinpoint the difference.

When this was wet I thought it was a little too masculine for me. It smelled kind of cologne-y. When it's dry, the woods and tobacco combine to make a dry, almost sweet scent, and the pepper gives it a little spark. Although I do like the scent, this is the type of scent my husband wears a lot (he likes woods and tobacco scents), so I can't really think of it as anything but masculine. Also, quite a few of the Salon blends have been soft and rather faint on my skin. Although they last a long time, they stick close. Carceri d'Invenzione broadcasts. It's not faint at all.

This mostly smells like an elegant white floral on me, and it's very pretty. My problem with it is that for some reason it's very faint on my skin. Even if I put on a lot I can barely smell it. So, I'll stick with White Moon as my white floral BPAL fave. Bat-Woman smells much more perfumey than White Moon due to the amber and "nighttime air," and I like that aspect, but it's just not quite strong enough for me.

I bought a bottle of this because although I'm not a floral person, I do like the scent of spring flowers and wildflowers. I like their soft scent, rather than the full heady scent of summer blooms. Well, the first time I tried it on I just thought it was too floral for me after all, so I stuck it in the back of my BPAL box, where it has remained, forgotten, for months. Recently I decided to put it on my sales post, so I thought I'd better test it again and write a review before it flies off to a new home. Guess what it smells like this time? MELON. It smells like a less-bright version of Fee, with a floral overtone. I tried it twice, and there's no mistaking it; it definitely smells like melon on me. Now it's a gorgeous and wonderful summertime scent, and it's not on my sales post.

It smells cold and slushy, like pretty much all of the BPAL cold blends smell on me. (My skin amps that coldness like you wouldn't believe.) However... this one has a smoothness underneath it. It doesn't smell stark and bitterly cold, it smells the way a blanket of snow looks. Soft like that. Chilly but inviting. I don't usually go for the cold blends, but I like this one. Strangely, I think it's the mint in this that's most captivating, and I normally can't stand mint! Weird. Once again, something that shouldn't work on me does work. I love finding these surprise blends that break the rules.

The "sugared cream" in this is pretty strong on my skin; it overpowers the floral notes. Mind you, I'm not complaining about that. The florals are kind of wispy, and very sweet. The white carnation is really nice in this, and not I'm usually fond of carnation. I think Zarita is pretty. Not the kind of scent I usually wear, but I like it.

Well, it's a little too much rose for me, sadly. But I'm not usually a rose fan, so that's not too surprising. I like the "sugared" aspect of it, though, and this is a very pretty rose. Doesn't smell soapy on me at all. Just sweet, and kind of pink. Perhaps Faith will work a little better for me.

I tried a decant of Beaver Moon a long time ago, and I thought it smelled like burnt sugar on me. I liked Midway better than the burnt sugar scent, so I figured I'd give up on Beaver Moon. However, I was lured back into trying it because I really wanted to smell the cheesecake/cupcake scent, so I tried a different decant, months later. I liked it the second time. A lot. When I first put it on it smells quite cakey, and then it goes through a weird cinnamon stage, and then it settles back into the scent of vanilla-frosted cupcakes. It doesn't quite give up that spice (cinnamon? cassia? I'm not sure), but when it's dry the cake part is stronger than the spice part. When I sniff my wrist up close, I kinda don't like it that much. It's too spicy. But if I don't have my nose right next to my wrist and I'm just getting wafts of scent from time to time, I enjoy it a lot. I don't wear foody scents now nearly as much as I did a year ago, but I still wear this one. It smells so yummy I can't resist.

Curses! Too many herbs in this for me. I was afraid that would be the case, but I wanted to try it anyway because I really liked the Oct 06 version of 13. This one smells rather masculine on me. Not foody at all. It's not a bad scent, I'm just not a fan of the herby scents, personally. This has a really nice spice to it though, and I'm sure that lots of people will adore this version.

The first scent I smelled in this oil was rose. It was prominent enough that I felt a little disappointed because rose is probably my least favorite note that was listed in the description. However... when it's dry, the scent warms up. It's not quite so rosy after all. The vanilla flower and tonka combine to give it a very soft undertone, like rose petals. The florals in this aren't green at all; they're soft and plush. The benzoin and plum give it a depth that I can't remember smelling in a rose scent before. A lot of times rose scents turn into kind of soapy-smelling scents on me, but not this one. This one is very much on the perfume end rather than the soap end. It's quite feminine and very beautiful. I'm really careful about rose scents, but this is one I'll wear.

Aaaah, lovely. Yes, it reminds me of a classic perfume, but it also has a classic BPAL slant. If you're not a rose person, don't be put off by the rose water in the description. I'm very careful about roses, but I like the floral aspect to this scent a lot. It smells upscale and elegant. Warm and rich. These Dogs Playing Poker blends have been outrageously good on me. I don't think any other BPAL series has worked this well for me. I've liked all four that I've tried so far, and that never happens. I wish these were going to be sticking around in the GC. I also wish $250 would magically appear in my bank account so I could have a nice little stash of the Dogs.

A fertile scent, generous, life-affirming, and swelling with a sense of triumph, warmth, and abundance: sweet milk, golden honey, fig fruit, pomegranate, dates, and white grape. Do white grape and pomegranate together smell kinda like pineapples? This smells like a little bit of some tropical fruit and honey in the bottle. It smells good on my skin for 5 seconds and then POW! Sour milk. I was all set to be thrilled with this because Milk Moon 05 is fabulous and is one of my favorite Lunacy oils. But 07 doesn't smell warm or glowing or like buttery milkiness on me at all. It doesn't smell like milk that's gone bad or anything, it's not pee-yoo, but it's not pleasant, either. It just smells... off. Not right. Stupid skin. I should have known better than to get my hopes up for something that had both milk and honey in it, two of my no-no notes. I'll just continue to be happy that Milk Moon 05 breaks all the rules and does smell good on me.

Funny you should mention this... Saw-Scaled Viper smelled a lot like cinnamon toast on me after the ginger died down. It's the only BPAL oil I've ever described as reminding me of cinnamon toast. But the ginger in it at the beginning doesn't smell cinnamon toasty at all.

More Than This, by The Cure For a second of your life Tell me that it's true Waiting for a sign It's all I want of you Your heart hides a secret A promise of what is Of something more than this Just a second of your time Any one will do A taste of any other Is all I want from you Offer me the world And how can I resist Something more than this? Make-believe in magic Make-believe in dreams Make-believe -- Impossible Nothing as it seems See, touch, taste, smell, hear But never know if it's real (But never know if it's real) For a second of your life Tell me if it's true Anywhere we are Is all I want of you On your lips lies a secret A promise of a kiss Of something more than this Just a second of your time Any one will do To know from any other Is all I want from you You've given me the world You know I can't resist Something more than this Make-believe in magic Make-believe in dreams Make-believe -- Impossible Nothing as it seems Never really understand What anything means (What anything means) Another second of my life Not knowing if it's true Make-believe in nothing Is all I want of you Whispering the secret Whispering there is Always something other Something more than this ------------------------------- I've been listening to this song a lot lately. There was a time in my life when the emotion/longing described in this song was at the forefront of my mind all the time, and I listened to this song a lot then too. One of the reasons I've always loved The Cure so much is that a lot of their songs really resonate with me. Not too deep but not too shallow either, and there's a heart-on-your-sleeve quality to a lot of them in addition to a rawness, which I generally think of as intrinsic characteristics of passion. I also love The Cure because Robert Smith is a hottie. Oh, right, and also a genius. But, yeah. A hottie. He looks like he'd be ready to cuddle and take a nap at any moment, and he has a killer smile that he sort of saves up and suddenly unleashes when you're not expecting it. My kind of guy.

Ahhh. This smells good. See, now why can't all blends with flowers in them smell this good? I really don't like the lilting or heady florals at all -- I like the ones that have depth and richness to them. In this one, the lilac is very obviously there, but it smells deep and solid. I think this smells intriguing and mysterious. I can imagine it being at home on the right man, but on my skin the lilac is strong enough that it really seems more feminine to me. Also, this scent is nice and strong. There's nothing timid or shy about this one. All in all, I like it a lot.

This smells mainly like leather to me when it's wet. As it dries, it starts getting muskier and drier. I'm not entirely sold on the cigar tobacco, I think. The scent has become so dry it's kinda powdery. It's also very light. The other two Dogs Playing Poker scents I've tried (Riding the Goat & His Station and Four Aces) were both quite strong. This one wears more like a skin scent. I'm going to have to give this one a few more trials before I make up my mind, I think.

I bought a bottle of this one as a present for my husband, but I couldn't resist trying some on before I gave it to him. I think it smells wonderful. The woods aren't dry, they smell rich and full. Sweet, too. Maybe the sweetness is mostly from the pipe smoke; it's hard to tell. The incense isn't dry either, it's also sweet, but not that sort of piercingly sweetness that I usually get from frankincense. When I was trying to figure out what I thought this scent smelled like, the word "foody" came to mind. However, it's not foody -- it just has that smooth quality to it that many foody scents have. This scent smells, in a word, expensive. It's really beautiful. I kinda wish I hadn't given i to my husband. If he doesn't start wearing it, I'm taking it back. ETA: He tried it on, and we both agreed that it smells better on ME! HA! For once something smells better on me than on He of the Disgustingly Perfect Skin Chemistry. So I took it!