Laurel the Woodfairy

Wow, this is one of the most unusual BPALs I have *ever* tried, and that's saying something! The honey is really strong and sweet in the topnotes, but there's a sharp herbal edge like Brian's spice cabinet. I'm amazed at how *strong* it is. I don't think I can wear it, but I love the fact that it does somehow smell foreign, like a scent you would discover traveling through an ancient land...

Just swapped for la Belle, as I noticed that her notes might be perfect for spring. Whew, she's a sweet one! Heady and sweet, not in an icky way (as there's no jasmine to yuck it up on my skin), but still a little much for me. The tuberose is prominent, as is the plumeria. The pear is in there, but I much prefer the *crisp* pear in Titania; this is a pear dripping in syrup. I agree that this would be adorable for a little girl--I wish I had had some as a child (I would have wanted Alice, Snow White, and this--basically all the ones that remind me of Disney! ). I think it's too sweet for grownup me, though.

I think this is a wonderfully clever interpretation of the theme, much better than having it smell like rats and a dungeon. I haven't tried Midnight Mass, but Cathedral remains my #1 incense blend--Pit/Pendulum is a little milder and sweeter than Cathedral on me, but similar. As others have said, there's a creamy touch of myrrh. I don't think I would wear it, but it'd be a great room scent--it smells similar to some of my incense sticks but without the smoke.

Fortunato is bright sherry-gold in the vial, like the best Amontillado. On me, it's sweet berries--not as annoyingly sweet as Jester, but still sweeter than I like. There's an interesting sense of floral underneath, even though this isn't a floral blend--somehow, the rose hip and orange combine to read as orange-blossom. Overall: a sweet, fruity blend. Not very "me", but I'm glad I tried it.

Black Rose was one of my original 6 imps, and I still have the almost-empty imp for posterity. That was back before I starting reviewing, so I'm filling in some of those gaps now. It's similar to Spellbound (which I actually wear more often), but just a little sharper. Black Rose was exactly what I hoped for--strong rose with a deep, dark edge to it. I always want to pass imps out to the Goth girls at Hot Topic so they will quit wearing whatever crap it is they wear and embrace the true Gothic Beauty.

I must be losing my mind--I have no record of ever reviewing Snake Oil. Maybe it was just too obvious--I mean, Snake Oil! What hardcore BPALer doesn't love it? We have to have some on hand at all times, since it's the one blend Brian and I use equally often. There are no imitators. Smut smelled way too harsh and sharp next to Snake Oil, and other scents that remind me of it are never quite as perfect. And it only gets better with age--vanilla and musk and rich-spicy-yumminess. Foody but not, sweet but not too sweet, perfect for all seasons and genders, day or evening wear. Snake Oil just *IS* the scent that says BPAL more than any other. Heaven in a bottle.

I swapped my Seance quite awhile ago because I decided I prefer Ouija, but if you like one you should try the other. Both have rosewood and a "dusty" quality that is actually very evocative and Victorian. Good stuff.

I guess neither Brian nor I ever reviewed this, although it's been in his imp box for a couple of years now! Basically, Jolly Roger is a (salt)watered-down version of Port-au-Prince. PaP brings out the rum so much more richly that even though Roger is a nice, fresh, salty-dog of a pirate, he seldom gets worn.

The scent of warm, glowing jack o’lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove. Jack is another one I could've sworn I reviewed but apparently didn't, even though I've had both the old and new formulations. In a nutshell, the old Jack was smokier and the new is more buttery, but they are both super-pumpkin and make me smile with their perfect Halloweeniness. I don't wear Jack on myself, but it's a must in the oil burner in autumn.

Incredibly enough, I never reviewed this, even though it was one of my first imps--I discovered this whilst updating my spreadsheet tonight. Well, I liked it well enough to get another imp since the original--it's clean, fresh, and unexpected, with the anise and lemon to balance the herbals. It completely evokes its name. Great for parties and hot summer days. However, I must say that I love La Fee Verte a billion times more--I like Absinthe but would never have thought of layering it with honey and spices, but the combo is TO DIE FOR on me.

... This perfume embodies her gentler, benign aspect as the capricious Goddess of Dance: muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms. Pele shocked me by being very much a *white* floral, whereas I was expecting something more bold and hothouse. Gentle and pretty; smells like lilies of the valley and powder. I'm not really getting ginger, which is a shame. Luckily, I have Sudha Segara ( ) to fill that niche. Don't think I really need Pele, so off to swap.

A Lab frimp; thank you, Labbies! I'm a little wary of the vetiver, but I like peach and some florals, so here goes: La Marquise is a whew strong peach! There's just a hint of amber, but the other notes mainly manifest as a startlingly cold quality; a chilly, bitchy peach. I love how original and evocative this is, but Titania remains my fruit blend standard, and I can't wear this one nearly so well. Off to swap!

I understand why people are comparing this with Samhain--it has the dark earthen notes topped with spice. However, it has none of the luscious apples and pumpkins, etc. Instead there's a faintly sickly floral, reminiscent of how Bayou acted on my skin. Not bad, but not great. I'll swap it and continue to hoard my preciousssss bottles of Samhain. ETA: maybe it's the power of suggestion, but it *did* seem like I got a whiff of apple after 15 mins. or so. Huh. Well, I'm still swapping it, but I guess it does have more of Samhain's notes than any other GC I've found. Interesting.

A Lab frimp. All Night Long is *hardcore* cinnamon. Really strong. And it works, too! I dabbed it on and then a few minutes later found myself thinking, "hmm, sex. Yeah, that'd be nice" just out of nowhere. The drydown is a sweetish patchouli; I don't love it on me but on Brian it's very nice, so this is going to live with the boy-imps in his box. I think he finds the name inspiring.

Had to try this, just because it sounds so damn sexy, although Teh Smut ended up being too bitter on me and Sed sounds like the same "family". OMG, I can totally understand the "peanut butter" reviews. There's a crunchy, nutty topnote happening here, really quite weird. The basenote definitely has the "swarthy" musk of Smut, but softer and not bitter at all--must be the influence of the honey and florals, although I don't smell them distinctly. Eh, it's all right on me, but it can't compete with O, my secksay scent of choice. *swoon*

(recreating a review lost during the recent crash) It is ridiculous that I've only just now gotten some London--I think it was so overdetermined that it slipped past my radar. Let's see, will a Victorianist who loves rose blends above all other BPALs like a Victorian tea-rose blend named for London? Duh. I absolutely love London. It smells, not just of tea-rose, but also of tea itself--like Dormouse with rose instead of peony. It will also be a quite passable GC replacement when my beloved Havisham runs out (rue the day). I wish it were still called "Old London"--I love the city as it is now, but this is the scent of afternoon tea in a Victorian parlor, poured out for you by a lady who has chosen the gentle tea-rose as her scent. Beautiful and winsome; I just love it!

The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls. My review was "eaten" in the recent crash, so I'll try to recreate it: Miskatonic U. is hazelnut coffee on me, with a surprisingly butterynote--almost like Midway with coffee instead of candy. I find it delicious! However, others sniffing it on me have detected "the dreaded Play-Doh note", whatever that is. It is very possible that my career goal of becoming tenured faculty at Misk U. has clouded my judgment. Go, Flying Cephalopods!

Rich red in the vial, and I love the intention for it! On me: smells like dragon's blood, a good spicy scent with strong connotations. Sullied with the hated jasmine. Once "jasmine" pops up, you know my review is about over. Luckily, this one belongs to my sister and I was just trying it. Jasmine makes me feel pissy rather than brave.

Very pleased to swap for this one, as it's been on the To-Try list for ages but didn't seem quite "me" enough to order from the Lab. Hey, now, it's the tea note from The Dormouse, which I just love! Lemon instead of peony, though. After a minute the tea fades to the background and something murky comes out--it's the fig, which I have recently found doesn't like me much. Well, it almost worked, but I'll stick to The Dormouse and White Rabbit for my tea for now.

I wouldn't have picked this for myself (jasmine! gaaah!) but it was a generous frimp with a swap, which I really appreciate--so here goes nothing! In the imp: Jasmine. This is really all I need to know, but... *deep breath* On me: The vanilla and sandalwood undertones here are actually quite nice, but there's still no getting around the horrid, soapy, old-lady thing that jasmine does on my skin. I'll re-frimp this with my next swap and share the love; it'll find the right home sooner or later!

Equally scarce, but if you stumble across Ingenue I'm told it had melon...and if you do, tell me where to stumble cuz I've been looking for it for ages!

I'm finally wearing this today because it is 50 degrees out and I can almost believe it may be spring before too long... (watch, a huge snow storm will probably arrive tomorrow!). I can definitely understand comparing Budding Moon with Titania--cool, crisp floral-fruity. That's plum, not pear, though, and it does make a difference on me. I wish the peony were more distinct; I looooooove peony and the only scent in which I can smell it strongly is Dormouse. There is a nice floral background to the plum, but I wouldn't have guessed which floral. This is a good early-spring scent, just as you would expect. It's delicate but bright, like the first flowers popping up in the sun.

Yay! So happy to have some in plenty of time for *next* Friday the 13th. OMG, this smells so good I may wear it on the 13th of every month to get more use out of it! Scrumptious topnotes of chocolate and tangerine; clean papery floral (must be the iris) and a touch of spice adding depth and keeping it from being too foody. Good throw. Chocolate + citrus...yum. Fun and unexpected! This is a great, whimsical blend.

These notes sound good enough to eat; let's hope they like me! Wow, this is complex! Sandalwood is very prominent, but so is honey and some sort of sweet floral. However...it's a bit too sweet for me. Reminds me of Delight, with its cloying frangipani. I can see it being beautiful on the right person, but--as I've said in many reviews--I tend to like "cold" florals, ideally rose with something non-floral to complement it. Khajurajo smells like a super-exotic candy, but it's just not "me".

Hey, I just noticed that this is discontinued! It's a generous frimp with my decant circle imps, and I'm so pleased to be able to try it, since I see the magic word "rose" in the description. This is nice--like my sweetgrass massage bar; that's a note I haven't noticed in other BPALs, and I quite like it. There's the tiniest edge of citrus to it. Juniper appears for the first two seconds only, then vanishes. I don't really get the rose or the other florals, which is odd considering how florals usually love me. They appear only as extra sweetness under the grass, with just a hint of rose in the final drydown. Completely unexpected, based on the other reviews! I like it; it'll be nice for summer especially--it's a lazing-in-the-sun scent. I have the weirdest chemistry; I thought this would be cold and sad, but it's quite the opposite!