batsy

I got a imp of this as a freebie, perfectly timed to a test I had to take. Plus, having spent the entire winter in a deep depression I've just come out of, I hoped it'd remind me of the good days. Boy did it ever! This is a spicy blend -- it reminds me a tad of Toture King, only far more spicy -- and honestly I can say this is what I always though voodoo rituals to smell like. (Even though I've never been party to one, and never set foot in NOLA; I've got a crazy imagination.) The throw is spicy, almost a burning my nose and throat, but when I sniff my wrists real close it's roses and floral, very sweet. It's hard to say; depending on how close up on it you are it's either really girly or really manly. I honestly have *zero* idea what could be in this. It did start out incense-y, like this record store I used to go in, but moved quickly into the spicy sassy scent and it's still strong hours later! God I need a bottle.

Vial: old rose. That's the best I can describe. Skin: There's a distinct smell to geraniums, and you either love it or hate it. Yeah. Cut with the rosewood and lily, it's very adult, very sophisticated. The backnote of frankincense deepens it and ages it. I'm particular about rose scents and this just isn't me. But very a lovely scent.

Vial: Eucalyptus-minty-burn? Ow... my nose... Skin: Wow, awake now! This is very medicinal to me, almost like one of those natural eyemasks with lavender you'd use to fall asleep. Something akin to that. The eucalyptus is very very strong and I can pick out the pine. No orange at all for me. It would probably work best in a diffuser for me, to make me wide awake in the morning, but as perfume, no.

Vial: ...booze? And nuts. Skin: Yes there's very much a bite to this. The rum and the almond are most strong for me, followed by the hazelnut. Oregon has a lot of hazelnut farms and you distinctly know hazelnut. It's very much a foody scent, that's for sure! I like it, but it'd be one I wouldn't wear often -- very opposite my main staples. But it sure makes you hungry!

In the vial: apricot-y! On the skin: I'm very much a fan of clove, so that was pretty much why I went for this. Apricot wasn't really given much thought -- oddly I got Grand Guignol shortly before this and fell in love with it! -- then promptly forgot I was getting March Hare. Oy. It's a really strange mix but it works. Seriously. It will change. One minute you think you're smelling cloves, the next it's apricot. Very much a keeper for me!

For some reason aquatics don't like me. (I wonder if it's because I'm such a serious Earth sign?) There seems to be a hint of citrus, a lot of salt, and something I can't place in this. Anyway, it's not going to work for me.

In the vial: manly! Salty sweet. On the skin: For some reason, I just don't have luck with most rum scents. The salt aquatics too, they just don't agree with me. This one isn't doing anything for me. Bleh.

In the vial: nutmeg and clove, spicy pumpkin pie! On the skin: Pretty much the same. It's a warm foody scent that reminds me of that whole period of time between Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving. A bit over powering at first, but it's quite tasty to keep smelling.

In the vial: really really sweet, like ripe fruit On the skin: It's a lot like cherry candies, that sickening sweet smell. It's honestly not bad at all. The lillies are very nice.

I'm not sure exactly what caused it, but I sniffed this and it smelled like a cheap perfume gone bad. Needless to say, it's going to the swaps.

At first it was just ginger and honey with white pepper. Not notes I'm normally a fan of or wear much of. But as it's dried down, the sweetness is tinged with spicy and it honestly smells good. A huge departure from what I'd wear. I was totally sure at first I wouldn't end up liking it at all, but it's grown on me.

In the vial: musky, heady, darkness. On the skin: After the intial "omg NO!" because I knocked the imp over (saved it just before it spilled, luckily) now I have a ton on my hands. I was afraid I'd hate it, but now that I'm getting an over abundance of it... I'm lucky I don't. It's actually powdery as it's drying down. The myrrh and musks blend wonderfully together and you almost can imagine being in the dark with Czernobog in a daper suit from the 30's, smiling charmingly at you. I'd actually honestly wear this! All right, the gods speak in strange ways... I get the hint!

In the vial: rosemary orange mint... hmm... On the skin: This is a crisp scent... quite a mix of notes really. Strong rosemary for a long time. A very "wide awake now!" mix. It wouldn't be something I'd normally wear, but I can almost imagine Queen Elizabeth I's court being obsessed with this scent!

All right, I started into BPAL back in February... it's nearly April and I've already managed to try 57 scents. I must be on a roll. I've got about 32 I liked/loved. 25 that didn't work/I liked but not enough to keep. Which I assume is a good ratio. I've honestly only kept about 20-25 of the ones I liked, which will probably go down again because I need to really be ruthless. Gluttony... good god that stuff is killing me. I only tried a tiny bit!! Guess I'll go recull my keep box.

In the vial: spicy vanilla. Oh lord, my mom's going to steal this. On the skin: I can almost understand why everyone ages this one. It's one of those exotic vanilla scents. I like vanilla, but it's just not me. I like Snake Oil though -- it's one of those "classics" I can see using once in a while for a change. In terms of the vanillas I've tried, this is #2, after Tombstone. Excellent!

In the vial: apricot booze! Yes! On the skin: Now this is a sophisticated clubbing scent! Oh yeah baby! I don't know why I passed this over before -- considering I love Swank and Juke Joint, you'd think I'd be all over the booze ones... this is, like I said, sophisticated. The upper crust cousin of Swank. It's sweet but dark, sensual. Oh yeah, this is a keeper!

In the vial: cherry and wine, lots of wine On the skin: It's really funny how scent triggers memory. This one triggered my childhood trips to the pet store. No, I can't explain that at all. I'm assuming the musk and cherries did it. I'm just not big on cherry. Oh well, it was worth trying though!

In the vial: spicy On the skin: I was worried, since I read a lot about "cherries" because I really hate cherry... but this wasn't really "cherry" to me. It's very Egyptian-like, especially with the myrrh, but I love the amber so it works. It's a plesant surprise, really!

In the vial: Yeah, that's lily... On the skin: I've been having so much trouble with finding the right lily. Everything that has lily that I've tried either has something in it I can't stand or goes wrong. But this is a lily that works. It's warm and not too chloying, sweet and simple. Oh yes, the MTP wins another victory for me!

In the vial: holy crow, sugar sweets... I can feel my teeth rotting! On the skin: I'm amused that this was the first of the SDS I've gotten to try. It's exactly as the notes listed. A glut of almost choking you sweetness. The toffee and hazelnut really stand out for me. I really like the smell, but it's almost something I wouldn't wear... just more like to smell when I'm hungry. It's exactly as described. Wow. I woder how it'd mix with Shill and Midway...

In the vial: hrm, vanilla cedar wood. On the skin: This is foody. You can totally smell vanilla and sassafras. I like vanilla sometimes, but it has to be a right combo to capture me. This I think would work for once in a while, when I wanted something different than my normal staples. It's a rugged vanilla, if that makes any sense. I like Cedar anyway.

This was a frimp from the Lab -- the honeysuckle and carnation made this sickly sweet/sour combo for me. Honeysuckle and I do not get along. I'm sure there was a hint of iris, but the honeysuckle... Thankfully, my friend liked it!

And so, I basically open this blog (which just gives me yet another place to write, yipes) with a list of what I've tried and if I like/didn't like it. I'm trying to keep track, and this seems pretty much the logical place to do so, yes? Like 13, Absinthe, Beaver Moon, Black Opal, Black Lotus, Brimstone, Brisingamen, Chiroptera, Coyote, Devil's Night '05, Dublin, Fallen, Grog, Hades, Hunger, Jazz Funeral, Juke Joint, Lady MacBeth, Lampades, The Lion, Lilith, London, Midway, Shill, Swank, Two Five & Seven Didn't Like Akuma, Amsterdam, Baron Samedi, Bayou, Casanova, Crossroads, Dragon's Musk, Dragon's Tears, Eden, Euterpe, Hell's Belle, Hellfire, Juliet, Kyoto, Languor, Lightning, Lolita, Loralei, Lucy's Kiss, New Orleans, Santo Domingo, Shanghi, Suspiro, The Coiled Serpent, Vice -- Next up: revamping the wish list based on what I've tried. Lord, that'll take forever. Might as well ask -- can anyone please recommend things based on my "Likes" list? I just get overwhelmed trying to find stuff based on notes... Oh yeah, I just got in on a decant of Monster Bait: Closet! Woo! Hopefully it'll come in before my birthday; I need to know if I want it before 5/1, and my birthday is 5/5 so guess who's ordering in April...!

In the bottle: Burned tobacco and incense, almost like a "clean" scent... On the skin: This is very manly to me. It's almost sweet with the tang of tobacco, and the musk deepens it. I like the smell -- it's almost a grandfatherly scent for me, but it's not something I'd wear.

I really like the rum scents I've tried (Grog coming to mind here) but the florals in this one didn't agree with me. It might have partially been the tobacco too -- it's a heady scent, sticky sweet and bitter.