forspecial_plate

I seem to remember, when I first tried this, it reminded me of Samhain....especially in the dry-down stage. But I tried it again yesterday, and it was a very faint, sweet floral that reminded me faintly of marshmallows. The throw was next to nothing on my skin. It's a pretty scent but not one that I would wear with regularity.

What an odd scent! When first applied the musty/moldy smell is strong. It lightens up a lot as it dries, and I also get a hint of something nearly minty for some reason. The wood is soft and I don't get a lot of the cognac note. Just a dry, sweet, light woody scent. I'm kind of on the fence about this one. It's not grabbing me in a big way, but I do keep sniffing it just because it's so interesting and different. My decant is kind of beat-up looking because of a stained label so I'll probably keep it around for a while, and try it again from time to time. I think it could grow on me. Edit: I still have never decided if I really like this. It's old, old wood....dry with a layer of dust. The wood holds the long-ago traces of some kind of minty polish or wax. Very true-to-life scent. It's oddly comforting on a day like today, dreary and cold outside with a steady, light rain.....but warm and cozy inside, maybe reading a good book. This scent definitely has its place.

Right away I thought of Snake Oil. I get the same 'play-doh' note that I pick up from Snake Oil, which I guess is the amber, perhaps? And by the way, it doesn't turn me off the scent. I actually like that note. Anyway, I don't get much peach from this scent, just a hint of it. I mostly smell the amber, vanilla, and soft sandalwood, with the suggestion of fruit. This is one to hold on to.

Thank you, salixnoir! I think that you are absolutely correct after looking at the wikipedia articles on the two different plants/flowers. I was wondering how I could have missed the fact that there are actually two plants with different names and qualities - I'm far from an authority on all things perfume, but this was the sort of thing where I felt like I must have learned it incorrectly and it stuck with me (do you know that feeling?) Lo and behold, a little googling and I saw that the venerable Mandy Aftel uses the terms champa and champaca interchangeably in her book Essence and Alchemy. I am pretty sure that's where I must have read it. (That link should take you to page 114 of the Google preview of the book.) That in turn made me wonder - have I been thinking that nag champa and champaca smell alike only because I was operating under a misconception? Then I found this article by a natural perfumer, who mentions that a lot of people find them similar because one of the resins used in nag champa smells similar to champaca flower. So at least I feel like a justifiable idiot I think I still have a little sample of champaca absolute form Nature's Gift.....it's really different from the traditional nag champa incense that I'm used to. Midnight On The Midway is probably my favorite nag champa scent. It's absolutely wonderful!

This is a great scent, because it seems lots of folks get different impressions of it. I would call it gender neutral, because I'm a guy and I feel I could definitely pull it off. The list of notes is nearly useless, because I really don't detect a lot of those ingredients. I mostly smell soft vanilla and almost powdery woods. Juniper is usually a berry/fruity wood to my nose but I can't smell the juniper here at all. And lily often turns sharp and soapy but there is no hint of it here. So, I'm smelling a soft, sweet, woody vanilla scent. No rose, no juniper, no jasmine. It reminds me a lot of the newer Hunter Moon, without the smoky aspect. And even more I'm reminded of Glowing Vulva, just a little less sweet, somewhat more woodsy, and less powdery. The scent hasn't morphed at all in the last 3 hours. I'm particularly surprised that I can't smell rose, even when I sniff up close.

This scent is kind of shifty for me.....not in a bad way. When I first tried it, I thought it was the other octopus scent....because I swore it smelled minty. Not sure where the hint of mint was coming from. But this is an attractive scent. To be honest, it reminds me of shampoo, but a really nice, high quality shampoo. It's somewhat similar to 'Sunrise With Sea Monster', which I also like a lot. Somewhat aquatic. I personally don't get a strong fruity vibe from the apricot, it's just a sweet hint. Come to think of it, none of the notes really stand out, it's more of a nice blend of notes. I like it!

Men Ringing Bell With Penises reminds me of Aveda products in general. It reminds me of citrus and mint just a little, somewhat herbal, a clean smell. It has a weird quality of smelling kind of classic and modern at the same time. It took me a few tries but I think I like it more and more everytime I wear it.

Random thoughts..... Josh, I still 'owe' you some decants, I haven't forgotten, but school and work sort of got in the way. I do have some stuff you'll like or at least enjoy trying. I would say that around 75-80% of the bpal scents I've tried could very well be worn by a man or woman. There are quite a few that are very feminine, but if I like the description or theme of a scent, I usually give it a try, whether it's floral, candy, sugary, girly, what have you....and I've found a lot of favorites this way! I love Sugar Skull, Midnight On The Midway, Rose Red (I don't wear this often but I love how it smells...), Glowing Vulva, and many others that could possibly slip by someone's radar, if they are only looking for 'masculine' scents. As a matter of fact, I prefer the more 'neutral' scents and have found a few that were TOO masculine for me (Dee is one of those...I think it would work great for some guys but it's too manly for me). Basically if I like how something smells, I'm not going to worry about the gender aspect. As for applying....tonight I put on 3 teensy weensy dabs of Snake Charmer, one on each hand and one on my neck......and it was waaaaay too much!! I had to rinse a little bit because it was just too intense. Edit: Meant to add.......I recommend Ile de la Tortue for guys, as long as you're open to a floral scent......it's a big, bright floral but gender neutral in my book....and a new favorite of mine.

I usually apply right where my sleeve or neck of shirt ends. That way it's exposed to air but I'm not rubbing my scent everywhere, on objects and/or people. So for long sleeves, wrists or back of hands. Short sleeves, I apply on my inner elbows or even upper arms. As for the neck I usually put it right under my adam's apple, or on the back of my neck just below my hair. Sometimes on the sides of my neck, below the ears. And if I get it on my fingers I rub the excess in my hair.

Valentine Of Rome is a must-try for lovers of frankinense!

I'm used to thinking of coriander for baking sweets, to add some spice. When I think of cilantro I think of the fresh leaves (dried cilantro is nearly useless to me), chopped and sprinkled over Indian food or in burritos and/or salsa. I love the taste of fresh cilantro, and I'd be intrigued if it came up in a scented oil. Personally, I think the taste is stronger than the actual scent. I agree with whoever suggested Garden Path With Chickens....it's the first thing I thought of. While it may not smell like actual cilantro, it does have that zingy green herbal scent. Edit: Some people refer to cilantro (the leaf) as 'Italian parsley', but I don't know if that's actually the same plant or 2 different ones.

This smells like very moist soil, and little else. The dampness almost makes me think of a compost heap which I'm not crazy about. Sometimes I get a hint of something peppery in there. I wanted to smell more of the moss. There's something almost decaying about the scent, which seems appropriate. It stays very close to my skin, with almost no throw. So far I've only worn it 2 or 3 times and I look forward to exploring it some more. I do really like earthy scents from time to time. Edit to elaborate some more, in light of the re-release....... I just can't get past a certain very moist aspect of this scent. It reminds me of a freshly turned stone on a damp forest floor. There is a discussion elsewhere about speculating what notes are in what blend. Someone mentioned beets in relation to the dirt note, and when I read that, I thought.....YES.....that's what Graveyard Dirt reminds me of. Dirt and beets. Now I love borscht on occasion, but this just doesn't work for me as a scent. I do, however, love Burial and Premature Burial. Go figure.

Even though it's pretty hard to find, Corazon is worth mentioning. It has sage and lavender, but it's the softest, warmest herbal scent I think I've tried. The red musk and fruit give it a glowing sunset quality, and the herbs just blend in the most gentle way, not sharp or anything. At least....that's how it behaves on my skin. And I got some so it's not impossible to find!

This is all sweet, golden amber backed by vanilla-kissed cream. What makes it for me is the teak running through it, so masterfully blended with the other notes. It took me a couple tries to start really liking this, because at first I thought it was borderline powdery and too sweet. But now.....it reminds me of a golden-vanilla cousin of Boomslang (which is a good thing), without the cocoa. I'm glad I sprung for half a bottle, I'll enjoy wearing this from time to time.

If you love frankincense, run don't walk and get Valentine Of Rome while it's available! For me it's nearly frankincense single note, with lots of loveliness backing it up.

This is so clean and very very light! I know benzoin is a light resin. This scent just teases my nose with little wisps of clean and slightly soapiness (not in a bad screeching piercing way). It's lovely and light, and I could wear this to work because it's so subtle. Not much to say about the individual notes. I smelled the citrus at first but that faded pretty quickly. Now it's mainly light floral with a hint of warmth from the resin and tonka. I really like this.

*sigh* Lily strikes again! This started as a very interesting, perfumey almond scent (I like almond so this is a good thing). Just a few minutes later, it turns very soapy (or what I think of as soapy). Piercing and unappealing. I'm almost positive lily is the culprit because on my skin, some lily notes stomp down all the other notes and shout, "I'm gonna SOAP YOU UP!!!". This blend isn't quite that bad....I can smell the other notes trying to come forward....but it's not working. Oh, well.

Vanilla, saffron, and cream. Completely revising my review......I never was quite happy with my first review of this scent. Ultimately, I just don't get along well with Love's Philosophy. I think it smells good briefly, but when I wear it on my skin, it is too strong, and lasts and lasts for hours (and won't wash off). It's sweet, creamy vanilla, with a little bite from the saffron, which I think is disagreeing with my nose, because it keeps reminding me of something plastic or medicinal.....or both? It still reminds me a bit of Snow White, which also lasts forever on my skin. I can appreciate the love for Love's Philosophy, but it's just not a scent for me.

My guess is the honey note is actually the storax, or maybe storax and myrrh pretending to be honey. At first I thought I hated this, because I don't like honey scents very much, and this seemed to be mostly honey. Give it a few moments, and it shifts slightly into glowing resins. Reminds me a lot of Minotaur, actually, only not as dark as that scent. And if I didn't already have a whole bottle of Minotaur, I would probably want to wear this. Even though I don't love this, I think it's a really interesting scent, and worth holding onto the imp just to break it out every once in a while and see how those resins are aging. Or for enabling another incense lover like me (one who likes the sweeter resins a little more than I do).

Interesting.....for the first 5 minutes or so, this had that 'cola' smell that we talk about from time to time. I thought it was opoponax that did that, but maybe not. At any rate, this very quickly turned powdery for me, unfortunately. I wonder what makes it powdery. I'm guessing it's one of the spices or herbs, because Silk Road does the same thing and that has 'herbs' in the description. I liked the very beginning 'cola' scent, but when it turned powdery I knew this one wasn't going to work for me.

I can't even imagine that. My usual application goes like this......roll the bottle, tip it upside down, take the cap and apply from the little knob inside the cap, tip it one more time and apply again. And that's it. For some scents even that is too much (Snake Oil). My bottles that are getting low are only because I decanted out of them. My favorite scent, Djinn, is still nearly full, and I do wear it! And that bottle is from August of '06. Obviously, these days I go for a full bottle only if I'm reeeally excited about a scent. I worry all the time that these oils will fade before I can even put any kind of dent in them. And I have about a million imps and decants.

I've never tried the scent you mentioned, but it sounds nice! I do have a couple rec's..... Mr. Jacquel.....you can't buy an imp but might find someone selling a decant. "Golden amber, hyssop, North African patchouli, and embalming spices." A warm, golden and spicy amber scent.....but restrained, too. Very calm on my skin. I've been meaning to get more of this for a while. Baron Samedi......bpal's spin on traditional bay rum. A spicy almond scent, also warm, stronger than Mr. Jacquel. You can buy this one in an imp.

Oddly enough I can't smell the champaca either! Usually that's a note that comes out real strong on my skin. Anyway, I do like this scent. Wine and fruit blends can be touch and go for me, but when they're right, they can be oh-so-right. This is a good one. It does veer a little towards candy grape, but not terribly so. It is deep, somewhat dark, but I think the white musk is giving it a refined quality that saves it in the end. Almost like Montresor but cooler, and slightly more.....austere, maybe? The wine stands out above the other notes for me. I think the amber just supports the overall blend in a beautiful way, and doesn't stick out a lot.

At first I got a little rush of what I thought was rose, but someone else said that might be peony so maybe that's what I smelled. I really loved this scent for the first 10 minutes or so. Then, it starts to become soapy, which I was afraid of....I have a bit of history with some lily notes....but this isn't the sharp unbearable soap that some lily brings. I think what I'm smelling mostly is violet leaf and some of the lily, but the moss is valiantly holding its own. It's a wonderful and evocative scent, just not my kind of thing. Something is reminding me of Ostara a lot, I guess the violet leaf. I'm glad I got to try this! Edit: Credit where credit is due...I wanted to say what I DID like about the scent. In the opening stage it's crisp and aquatic, with as I said a rose-like floral element that's airy and ethereal, although there is some darkness here like others said. There's an overall mysterious quality, much like the painting depicts. I also love how so many people amped on different aspects of the scent, judging from the other reviews.

This might be a bit of a stretch, but Blood Moon came to mind for the 'bread scent, even though you said you can't do musks. Blood Moon's description: "... The feral scent of the heat of the chase, deep woods, undulating musks, brushed by forest herbs, crushed grains, and touched by blood-dimmed lunar oils." To me it's a dry and spicy scent with cinnamon and/or cassia, that stops just short of foody, but the 'crushed grains' give it just a touch of foodiness to my nose. Definitely not sweet or cakey, though. Might be worth tracking down a decant or sniffy. I totally second Monsterbait: Closet for the buttercream scent. Yummy stuff!