filigree_shadow

This is one of my hubby's favorite GC oils -- he tried an imp of it a few months ago and then immediately bought a 10mL. It really is a great cologne, it smells wonderful. I can definitely smell a clean, crisp lavender in it, and it's just very slightly herby. The bergamot is a nice touch. Very gentlemanly, but not necessarily in a prim way. To my nose there is no mistaking this for a woman's perfume because it smells very much like a traditional cologne. But that could be because my hubby wears it all the time.

pink.owl #7 package Dana O'Shee, Santa Muerte, Satyr, Thalia, Venice, Wilde. Dana O'Shee - Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name. Smells like cherries and honey at first. Then it gets milkier and sweeter and the cherry scent fades out almost entirely. I have a feeling that this would be a lovely scent if it weren't for my skin chemistry making the honey smell like play-doh. It's done the exact same thing all three times I've tried Dana O'Shee over a span of several months, so I'm pretty much giving up hope at this point. I'm glad this smells great on other people, but it's never going to work for me. Santa Muerte - A deep, resonant scent, both comforting and soft: lovers’ roses, solemn chrysanthemum, dark vetiver and dazzling cactus flowers. Disclaimer: I love vetiver. Santa Muerte is lovely. Gentle and cozy. Like cuddling up with a good book under your favorite blanket on your favorite comfy chair. It does kinda smell a little bit like cocoa at first, and then it smells a bit like cleaning products, but that's just the wet phase. It's pretty without being aggressively floral, soft and lilting. Santa Muerte was one of the first 5mL bottles I bought from the Lab. It was great to wear in the springtime. Satyr - Unleash the bawdy, unrestrained passion of the satyr! A ferociously masculine scent: sexual, vigorous, and truly wild. Yummy yum. To me this smells mostly like Scherezade with clove when it's wet -- kind of like an aggressive Scherezade. And it's a really dark brownish-red color, so of course I'm going to like it. There's nothing soft or gentle about this scent. But even though it's dark, it's not a brooding darkness. It's kind of playful. If there is civet in this, that's okay with me because the Lab's civet note smells pretty good on me. Nothing like poo at all. I ashamed to admit that I have about 4 imps of Satyr and I haven't given a single one to my husband yet. I just let him try it a few minutes ago for the first time, and it smells fabulous on him! Even better than on me. Rats. I guess he gets the imps. Thalia - Good cheer. Plumeria, pear and white champagne. Hmm. Plumeria, is it? I thought that scent was gardenia until I looked at the notes. This is a very yellow oil, and it smells like a very yellow flower. The pear gives it a nice crispness, and the champagne gives it a bit of a sparkle. Over all I like it, it's just a little more flowery than what I usually wear. This is one of the BPAL blends that doesn't suit me personally but that I find quite pretty. I also think it would be nice layered with one of the grapefruit scents. Venice - A complex, voluptuous scent that captures the robust beauty and of the Italian Renaissance: lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf. It smells lush; I don't know how she did that. It's also slightly sweet, but it's kind of a fruity sweet, not what I'd consider a floral sweet. It doesn't have as much jasmine as I was afraid of, and the tiny amount of lemon I can smell doesn't bother me as much as lemon usually does. It's a pretty floral that smells rather grown-up. It gets slightly heady when it's dry, but not offensively so. However... even though it's nice at first, after about an hour I don't like it. It smells like pretty floral soap. So this is one for swaps after all. Wilde - A sophisticated traditional gentleman's cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli's passion, tonka bean's decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss' cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme. This is one of my hubby's favorite GC oils -- he tried an imp of it a few months ago and then immediately bought a 10mL. It really is a great cologne, it smells wonderful. I can definitely smell a clean, crisp lavender in it, and it's just very slightly herby. The bergamot is a nice touch. Very gentlemanly, but not necessarily in a prim way. To my nose there is no mistaking this for a woman's perfume because it smells very much like a traditional cologne. But that could be because my hubby wears it all the time.

From the number of reviews in this thread, it looks like sooner or later everybody tries Dana O'Shee. The description does sound great, and I can see why it's highly recommended, but unfortunately it just doesn't work on me. It smells like cherries and honey at first, and then it gets milkier and sweeter and the cherry scent fades out almost entirely. I have a feeling that this would be a lovely scent if it weren't for my skin chemistry making the honey smell like play-doh. It's done the exact same thing all three times I've tried Dana O'Shee over a span of several months, so I'm pretty much giving up hope at this point. I'm glad this smells great on other people, but it's never going to work for me. ETA: I just asked my hubby what he thought Dana O'Shee smelled like on me, and he said cherry-flavored play-doh. So now I know for sure it's not my nose, it's definitely my skin.

Disclaimer: I love vetiver. Santa Muerte is lovely. Gentle and cozy. Like cuddling up with a good book under your favorite blanket on your favorite comfy chair. It does kinda smell a little bit like cocoa at first, and then it smells a bit like cleaning products, but that's just the wet phase. It's pretty without being aggressively floral, soft and lilting. Santa Muerte was one of the first 5mL bottles I bought from the Lab. It was great to wear in the springtime.

At first it smells lush; I don't know how she did that. It's also slightly sweet, but it's kind of a fruity sweet, not what I'd consider a floral sweet. It doesn't have as much jasmine as I was afraid of, and the tiny amount of lemon I can smell doesn't bother me as much as lemon usually does. It's a pretty floral that smells rather grown-up. It gets slightly heady when it's dry, but not offensively so. However... even though it's nice at first, after about an hour I don't like it. It smells like pretty floral soap. So this is one for swaps after all.

Yummy yum. To me this smells mostly like Scherezade with clove when it's wet -- kind of like an aggressive Scherezade. And it's a really dark brownish-red color, so of course I'm going to like it. There's nothing soft or gentle about this scent. But even though it's dark, it's not a brooding darkness. It's kind of playful. If there is civet in this, that's okay with me because the Lab's civet note smells pretty good on me. Nothing like poo at all. I ashamed to admit that I have about 4 imps of Satyr and I haven't given a single one to my husband yet because I like it so much. I just let him try it a few minutes ago for the first time, and it smells fabulous on him! Even better than on me. Rats. I guess he gets the imps.

Also Voodoo has both vanilla and patchouli in it... although it might not be sweet enough overall for what you're looking for.

Some other reviewers described this as a cold aquatic floral -- I think it's chilly but I wouldn't call it cold. It smelled a little bit minty at first, but that didn't last long. It's kind of breezy and aquatic, with some pretty white flowers. It smells fresh and clean to me, totally inoffensive. A little bit like soap, but often the aquatic scents smell a little like soap to me. This is perfect for a day like today, when it's 91 degrees but the RealFeelTM is 102. Ugh.

Initially it kind of smelled like a burnt orange. It's not nearly as dark as I thought it would be, but it smells a little bitter. It's an interesting scent... just not the hot fiery scent I was envisioning. Also it doesn't seem to be very strong. It's ending up smelling kind of floral, but in a farty way. I don't think this one is going to work for me...

I will second Oro on the Dirty recommendation. I have it on right now, and it smells clean, fresh, and crisp. I agree with Blood onmy hands about the Pool of Tears, too. Also you might look at reviews for White Rabbit, if you're looking for a crisp tea scent.

Smells like a crisp white floral. Lily? Quite breezy too -- it seems like it's floating. A very clean, pretty scent. Not overpowering, either. Nice! (After reading the reviews, I see what people mean about the laundry detergent scent. It does smell like that.)

I expected Nuit to be beautiful and captivating. What I got out of it was a snootful first of jasmine and then rose. The problem is that jasmine and rose are two of my least favorite floral notes because they tend to be quite strong on my skin. Nuit does start to seem musky after the rose phase, but not enough to make this something I'd want to wear. This just isn't the sort of floral that I like. I am testing Dirty at the same time as Nuit, and I like Dirty about 10x better.

I am not a person who can wear the dirt scents. This smells like pretty dirt, because of the roses, but still dirt. Fresh, earthy, black, fertile dirt. I find the scent interesting and intriguing, and I wouldn't mind burning a candle that smelled like this. But as a personal perfume it's not for me at all. It's all right after about an hour (mostly just roses), but it's still not something I'd choose over other BPAL blends. I will say in Zombi's favor that I find this scent infinitely more appealing than Graveyard Dirt. And the dirt scent in this blend is not as overpowering here as it usually is on me. I think Zombi is my favorite of all the BPAL blends that have that earth note.

Yay, Grand Guignol! I like it a lot! It smells to me a bit like an apricot tart. It reminds me a bit of peach cobbler, one of my very favorite desserts of all time. The brandy really warms up when the perfume oil is on my skin, too. I like this one mostly because the fruit note doesn't smell artificial on me (as fruit notes sometimes do), and it's also not overpowering. It's almost a delicate scent... which is how I like fruity blends. I don't want to walk around smelling like a giant piece of fruit, I just want to have a vaguely sweet and pleasant aura.

What I got straight away was cinnamon and vetiver. Then the cinnamon burned off (fortunately!), and the scent brightened up a little. I could smell the dragon's blood and vetiver most strongly. Then the red musk. It definitely smells red to me, dark red. It settles into a lovely dark musky blend... heavy and sweet. I really like it when it's dry. After several hours it's practically like a dragon's blood single note -- that's the only thing left. Powdery and sweet. The thing that really irritates me about this blend is that I really don't like it at first -- which surprised me. Red musk is my favorite musk, and I love dragon's blood, patchouli, and vetiver. But for the first ten minutes, it's nose-crinkly to me. I bought a 5ml of it several months ago and I don't think I've ever even opened it. The thought of going through the first 10 minutes is unpleasant enough that I don't wear the oil at all, even though the dry stage is fabulous. I think I'm going to have to try harder to remind myself of how much I like it when it's dry, to distract myself from remembering the wet stage.

cordia #3 package Bloodlust, Dirty, Grand Guignol, Nuit, Rage, Szepasszony, and Zombi Bloodlust - Dragon's blood essence, heavy red musk, Indonesian patchouli and swarthy vetiver with a drop of cinnamon. What I got straight away was cinnamon and vetiver. Then the cinnamon burned off (fortunately!), and the scent brightened up a little. I could smell the dragon's blood and vetiver most strongly. Then the red musk. It definitely smells red to me, dark red. It settles into a lovely dark musky blend... heavy and sweet. I really like it when it's dry. The thing that really irritates me about this blend is that I really don't like it at first -- which surprised me. Red musk is my favorite musk, and I love dragon's blood, patchouli, and vetiver. But for the first ten minutes, it's nose-crinkly to me. I bought a 5ml of it several months ago and I don't think I've ever even opened it. The thought of going through the first 10 minutes is unpleasant enough that I don't wear the oil at all, even though the dry stage is fabulous. I think I'm going to have to try harder to remind myself of how much I like it when it's dry, to distract myself from remembering the wet stage. Dirty - A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy. Smells like a crisp white floral. Lily? Extremely feminine. Quite breezy too -- it seems like it's floating. A very clean, pretty scent. Not overpowering, either. Nice! Grand Guignol - Our Grand Guignol perfume is a shot of sweet apricot brandy; just enough to settle your nerves after a ghoulish, gory brush with the macabre. Yay, Grand Guignol! I like it a lot! It smells to me a bit like an apricot tart. It reminds me a bit of peach cobbler, one of my very favorite desserts of all time. The brandy really warms up when the perfume oil is on my skin, too. I like this one mostly because the fruit note doesn't smell artificial on me (as fruit notes sometimes do), and it's also not overpowering. It's almost a delicate scent... which is how I like fruity blends. I don't want to walk around smelling like a giant piece of fruit, I just want to have a vaguely sweet and pleasant aura. Nuit - Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower. I expected Nuit to be beautiful and captivating. What I got out of it was a snootful first of jasmine and then rose. The problem is that jasmine and rose are two of my least favorite floral notes because they tend to be quite strong on my skin. Nuit does start to seem musky after the rose phase, but not enough to make this something I'd want to wear. This just isn't the sort of floral that I like. Rage - Black amber erupting with a dark volcanic surge of fiery dragon's blood and a burst of melati, rose geranium, mandarin and black currant. Initially it kind of smelled like a burnt orange. It's not nearly as dark as I thought it would be, but it smells a little bitter. It's an interesting scent... just not the hot fiery scent I was envisioning. Also it doesn't seem to be very strong. It's ending up smelling kind of farty. I don't think this one is going to work for me... Szepasszony - A chilly, tempestuous whirlwind of clear, airy notes, slashing rain, and a thin undercurrent of white flowers. Other reviewers described this as a cold aquatic floral -- I think it's chilly but I wouldn't call it cold. It smelled a little bit minty at first, but that didn't last long. It's kind of breezy and aquatic, with some pretty white flowers. It smells fresh and clean to me, totally inoffensive. A little bit like soap, but often the aquatic scents smell a little like soap to me. This is perfect for a day like today, when it's 91 degrees but the RealFeel is 102. Ugh. Zombi - Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth. I tried this a long time ago and hated it. I tried it again as part of the Entire GC circular swap, and now I realize it's not as bad as I thought. I am not a person who can wear the dirt scents. This smells like pretty dirt, because of the roses, but still dirt. Fresh, earthy, black, fertile dirt. I find the scent interesting and intriguing, and I wouldn't mind burning a candle that smelled like this. But as a personal perfume it's not for me at all. It's all right after about an hour (more rose than dirt), but it's still not something I'd choose over other BPAL blends. I will say in Zombi's favor that I find this scent infinitely more appealing than Graveyard Dirt. And the dirt scent in this blend is not as overpowering here as it usually is on me. I think Zombi is my favorite of all the BPAL blends that have that earth note.

Let me preface my review by saying this: Generally speaking, the darker the oil color, the more I'll like it. Czernobog is DARK. Like Satyr and Smut, both of which I also like a lot. Oh, and: Red musk is one of my favorite notes ever. I also like civet. Czernobog is everything I like about wearing perfume. It smells naughty and unusual and wearing it makes me feel like I'm not like everyone else. It also just plain smells good, and when I wear it I sniff my wrists a lot. However I am fairly particular about where I wear it because I know that it's not the type of scent that everyone would appreciate. I had to look up mullein because I didn't know what it was. Apparently it's supposed to smell a bit like cedarwood. That must be what the sort of weird pine/mint scent is at the very beginning. It smells a bit like cleaning products, but it fades on drying. What's left is a wonderful musky, dark, feral scent. Extremely dark. Almost frightening. I really like Czernobog a lot. Reading through the previous reviews, I've been in a panic thinking "Oh no! Everyone hates it! They'll discontinue it for sure!" I hope it sticks around for a long time. Plus I like saying the name.

Definitely ginger. The lemony scent I could do without. And after it dries it becomes very spicy... something that reminds me of cinnamon. That kind of spice. Honestly, I prefer Gingerbread Poppet. I think this scent is okay, but it's definitely not a scent I'm in love with.

I'm only going to comment on the scent here: The first time I tried it I didn't like it at all. It smelled like a very sweet resiny wood scent, and then when it warmed up it smelled a bit like sweat. In a funky way, not in a good way. It also smelled just like the plastic wrappers around my dogs' treats -- that plastic-with-residual-beef-jerky smell. The second time I tried it I liked it a little better, but not a whole lot. There's something oddly sweet about it -- but it's a fake sweet, but a lush sweet. Artificial-smelling. After about 30 minutes it is far too overly sweet for me. I'm sure it's not meant to be used as perfume, but I don't know how to use it.

When I first got into BPAL for some reason I kept getting imps of Malice. I got several frimps from the Lab, and I got frimps in swaps too. At one point I had six imps of Malice -- and my entire collection was only about 70 imps at that point. I keep giving away Malice and it keeps coming back... I just wish I liked it more than I do. As much as I like patchouli, red patchouli doesn't seem to work on me very well. It smells a little sour. I do like the sweetness of Malice, and it's definitely not in the "must swap now" category, but it's also not in the "must get bottle" category. It's pretty much sitting solidly in the "meh" camp, with a couple of plus points for the myrrh.

One of the first BPAL oils I fell in love with. (Awwwww.) Normally I don't like pine, but I think it's perfect in this blend. It gives the whole scent a very grounded, earthy, and clean quality. I'm pretty much always going to like myrrh, patchouli, and vetiver in everything -- and all three in one blend is a definite sure-fire win for me. I'm really surprised that I can smell the vanilla at all in this, but I sure can. It provides just enough light creaminess to save the scent from being too dark. I think Voodoo is a masterpiece. I can't say enough good about it. It's a must-try for anyone who likes patchouli.

Try Two Monsters!!!!! It's like a headshop in the ritziest and most exclusive neighborhood in town. Also I love it. It's one of my new favorites.

Mostly a slightly sweet floral with wood undertones. I'm not usually a floral fan, but I like this one. The pepper makes it a little bit spicy, and the white musk is pretty. I would only be able to tell there was mandarin in this by knowing that note was in it ahead of time -- there does seem to be a fruit in there, but I wouldn't have guessed mandarin. Overall a floaty sort of pretty flowery blend with a little spicy kick to it. It doesn't have a tremendous amount of throw, but for this particular scent I would say that's a benefit. I think this could be a bit overwhelming if it were stronger. Very nice! It does smell more like regular perfume than most BPAL oils do, but it smells like a really good perfume.

In the bottle: Very green. On my wrist: Green floral. Soapy. Not sure what the culprit is in this blend, but something is making this oil smell like soap on me. Like Irish Spring. I think only about 5 or so BPAL oils have made me think of soap, but I don't know if they have any common notes. But yeah, definitely soap here. As it dries it gets a lot more floral (unfortunately not the kind of floral that I like), and then I can really smell the lavender (also not a favorite), but the soap part never goes away. Ah well. I guess The Salon was bound to have one scent that didn't work for me.

In the bottle: Green. Woodsy. On my wrist: Woodsy. Watery. These particular notes are usually not my favorites, although I have to admit that the combination of the wood and water is interesting. This is the kind of scent I usually hand straight over to my hubby because it doesn't fit me very well. I think this will smell good on him, though.