forspecial_plate

Selkie is a scent that just doesn't work for me, unfortunately. It seems to have a sharper aquatic quality than Thunder Moon, but no ozone here. The honey sweetness of the grass reminds me of Ostara, a lot. Not sure what else to say about this scent. It's that honey sweet note that is disagreeing with me, maybe some of the florals too. Maybe it's too feminine? A little powdery, a little cloying to me. Just not something I'll get any wear out of. edit: That honey note sticks to me like CRAZY. Hours later, and after 2 showers, I could still smell it on my skin.

This does start out rather sporty and clean smelling, masculine some might say. I was expecting a blast of ozone but the ozone is actually more subtle and very much blended in with the other notes. After a few minutes, there are some soft, pretty notes coming out, the amber and flowers I guess. These notes turn this into something softer and prettier than I was expecting (a good thing), and keep this from crossing into completely masculine territory, IMO. Overall the throw is somewhat lighter than medium, and the scent has faded a lot after 2 hours, but it's definitely still there, and really hasn't morphed a whole lot. I don't think this is soapy but others might consider it soapy. I think it's just a great, fresh, bracing but also soft and subtle scent. Great for hot summer weather. Comparing it to some other aquatics......it's less salty and 'misty' than Kingsport, sweeter and prettier than Jolly Roger, a lot less ozone than Tempest, and definitely sweeter and softer than Cthulhu (I meant The Deep Ones). Also keep in mind that my skin sometimes cranks up sweet notes. And.....I don't smell much in the way of woods, or anything scorched in this scent. I was expecting something like the woods in 51 and I think it's almost there way in the background, but just barely.

I really liked this for the first 10 minutes or so.....a regal, polished sweetness atop herbal, gritty earthy notes. Then came a very sweet and heavy powdery phase that lasted way too long for me to get any wear out of this. I know my skin will rev up sweet notes like crazy sometimes, but looking at the notes I don't know what is causing the powder. Maybe amber, but I thought I could wear that. Or the musk but I like musk too. Who knows, maybe just a combination. Much later a lot of the powder wears off, and what's left is fig with a little almond. Not bad at this point but I just can't take that middle phase.

This scent tricked me at first, because it smelled exactly like the wintry Salon scents (Cloister Graveyard and/or Death of the Gravedigger). When I read the notes for Snow Angel I thought, 'Huh? This can't be right.....'. Then, as it warmed up on my skin, the sugary fruity notes did come out, and it started to make more sense. So, at first, it was a frosty sort of piney scent, then later the sugar and fruits became stronger. It's not minty, really....so I'm not sure where the chill is coming from. It lasted a long time with a decent amount of throw. Even though this does work well on my skin, it's not something I would choose to wear a whole lot. I like the aforementioned Salon scents and would tend to wear either one of those before wearing this.

Saw some posts about Cerberus earlier in this thread. It reminds me of Tezcatlipoca. Am I the only one who thinks this? I know they don't have many notes in common, but the similarity is strong to me....probably just the combination of cocoa/chocolate and non-foody notes that they both have.

What surprised me most about this was how subtle and 'quiet' it is. It doesn't disappear on my skin, but it's very subtle to me and I'm not sure the people around me could even smell it. I wore it twice this weekend to the Gay Pride festivities, and just enjoyed having it around me. It's a warm, glowing, reddish orange scent. I didn't have internet around me so I forgot what exactly was in Corazon. And really, even after reading the description, I couldn't pick out any of that. I guessed that musk was in it, and I remembered that it had mango, but nothing really stands out above the whole blend. Did I mention that I really like it? I'll definitely be wearing this again in more intimate situations. I think it would be a good 'second or third date' scent.

Yep, that's vanilla! This has a lot more 'weight' than the actual smell of vanilla beans, which to me have an ethereal quality although warm. Anyway, I recognize this from the Snake Oil family of scents, especially Snake Charmer. This single note has a LOT of strength, throw, and endurance. I tried 4 scents at once and Vanilla Bean SN definitely pushed all the others aside and outlasted them too. So yeah, it's a warm vanilla with a complexity, maybe just a hint of smoke, or maybe that's because I want it to smell smokey so my nose is making that association. Oh and the oil is *very* thick like syrup. Honestly, I wanted to try this, review it, and then maybe swap for another single note just so I could try more of them. Now, I'm not sure I want to give it up! The layering possibilities are tantalizing.

How weird.....this is another one I tried without knowing the notes in it....although I remembered something about black leather and incense. So what does it smell like? Well, on my skin, it smells mostly like bpal's cassia note....kind of a dry cinnamon smell. There is some kind of tartness just following up on the spiciness. And maybe just a hint of leather. Imagine my surprise when I read the notes and saw that there's no cassia listed! When I wore this, it smelled almost identical to the Dodo (which also had a lot of cassia, with a tartness underneath). I almost wonder if I got a mis-labelled imp, but others got cinnamon out of this too, so I guess it's the right one. Overall, I don't hate the scent, but it just didn't 'grab' me the way I wanted it to. I will put this in my 'indecisive' bin and try again later. Or it may end up in my swaps. Not sure yet. Edit: This is yet another scent that has benefitted a whole lot from just a little aging. I tried this again and was quite pleasantly surprised at how much I really like it. I think the first time, I was trying to hard to pick it apart and analyze it. When I tried it again, I think there was more of a gestalt, if I'm using that word correctly. I really picked up the overall mood and tone of the scent. It was dark and brooding, something like a relative of Count Dracula, even though they're 2 entirely different scents....the mood was similar to me. I may be getting a bottle.

This is an unusual floral scent. I had fun testing it because I didn't have the description or notes onhand, so I was just winging it. Basically I got a soft, slightly powdery floral, indistinct as far as what flowers I was smelling. I didn't guess violet, although if I wear it again, I might pick that out. There was some unusual note waaay in the background that I couldn't identify, it kept dancing away, but it may have been the grave loam. More than anything this was just well blended with no notes standing out. After a while, it reminded me just a little of hairspray. Also, it kept reminding me of one of the 'Heroines' scents, but I can't remember which one. The odd thing is, I really like how this smells on my skin, even though it's not my kind of thing at all, and even with the hairspray undertones. My wrist kept wandering back under my nose so I could smell it more. I like it but I probably will pass it along to someone who will actually wear it more than I would.

Honestly for the longest time, I didn't think I would like this. Just goes to show what I know. Also demonstrates the beauty of the Frimp. Bluebeard works really well on my skin. I can smell all the notes if I concentrate, but it's the blending and balance here that are most wonderful. It's something close to Ultraviolet, which I didn't like so much. This is so much better (for me), I think the musk and vetiver give it a fullness and roundness that I love. Lasts a long time, too. Hours after I put this on, I smell a big resemblance to Baron Samedi for some reason. I'm sure they have at least one note in common, maybe vetiver. Who knew I'd end up liking a scent with violet??

We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines. I thought this was definitely earthy and dry. It didn't strike me as 'dusty', at least not as much as Krampus....which really did have a dust-rag note in it, at least to my nose. This is more like the dirt note in Zombi. Anyway....underneath the earth is a deep, red, fruity wine note. There's a weird wetness here, but not humid. Even though it reminded me of Zombi, because both have an earth note with other stuff underneath....Nosferatu is different. It's much drier for one thing, even with that wet redness. LOL....I see now that this scent is hard to pin down. How is it dry and wet at the same time?? I don't know, but it is! Also this is more subtle and 'quiet' than Zombi. The throw is light and disappears to almost nothing after a couple hours or less. edit: After re-reading the description for Zombi, it makes a little more sense. That scent has oakmoss, which I'm sure makes Zombi more of a humid scent. Nosferatu is drier in that sense, but still has that wetness of wine and red fruit.

Blue Moon does smell really good to me, however....it's not what I was expecting, only because of a skin chemistry issue I think. Something in here smells like a very soapy, sharp floral, and it's kind of drowning out the other notes. Maybe it's iris that I'm smelling. I can't believe I can't smell juniper at all! Or cucumber, or a few of the other notes. But what I do smell is a sharp and rather soapy scent, but still fantastic. There is some complexity lurking behind the soapiness, mostly just a hint of woods. Medium to light throw. I feel like I really don't want to give up on this, I can't imagine swapping it away, at least not right away. Edit: I have to say that in the few weeks that I've had this, the soapy/sharpness has settled down quite a bit, and I'm much happier with Blue Moon now. I'm really glad I held onto it to try again. It's cool and refreshing, light, a great companion to Red Moon. My only complaint is it doesn't have a lot of lasting power, but I still like it.

The other reviews described this pretty well....it's soft and sweet, a little tartness, but deep. It does smell fruity but I'm getting a bit of a dry smokey feeling from it, too. Not a whole lot of throw, this is more of a quiet scent. It is somewhat feminine, but I think as a guy I could wear this too, in the right circumstances. I just like how it smells on me. I had been thinking about getting a larger amount of Hungry Ghost Moon, but if I decide to keep TNM, I won't need a bottle of both because they are very similar.

"Sweet and crisp vanilla mint" is exactly what this smells like. No more, no less. I have not tried Lick It, Lick It Again, Snowblind, or really anything else this has been compared to, except Spooky. Spooky was plasticky and not very good on my skin. Tokyo Stomp agrees with me much more. It has a medium or slightly stronger throw and staying power. It smells good and I can really understand the 'Thin Mint' comparisons. There is only the slightest hint of something plasticky in this scent, but not enough to turn me off. That said......Hmmmm. For some reason it's just not that exciting to me! I don't know why, because it smells good to me. It's just not something I personally want to smell like. Green Tree Viper is a minty scent that I do like a lot, so I'll probably just stick with that.

When I first got this, I tried it right away, and it was a complete disaster. Milk Moon+My skin=Candied Sour Milk Moon. It was a very sour, heavy and curdled scent. SO.....I put it away in the closet for a couple weeks and tried again. It's not quite as bad this time. Still has more of a yogurt feel than milk to my nose, and the sweetness of the grape is turning me off. I really wanted more of the fig and pomegranate, but that's not what I get from this scent. It's really just not working for me. I will add that this has amazing endurance. The first time I wore it, I tried washing it off, and could still detect it something like 12 hours later, on my skin where I applied it.

House of Night, on my skin: Starts out with a blast of gardenia and greenery. After about 20 minutes, *boom* Samhain comes out. Some of the reviewers of HoN noticed the same thing so I guess I'm not crazy! If I tried this in a blind test I would be *positive* that it was some springy Samhain spin-off. I don't know how long the Samhain-ness lasts, because I'm wearing it right now and I had to rush over to this thread to report what I found. I'll edit this post if there are any shocking developments.

This starts out very potent, salty and cologney, like a blast of sea spray in my face. As with many aquatic/sea scents, the initial sharp blast fades pretty quickly, the intensity fades a lot, and the other notes come out more strongly. I recognize the woods from other scents. I like how this smells, but I'm not sure I would reach for it real often. I think I really wanted to try it because of the musk and woods, and just the description in general sounded great. I'm glad I tried it, but I know I don't need a whole 5ml bottle of it. Edit: Um, hello.......this scent is really wonderful! It's a fabulous mix of bright green woodsy notes with something salty.....I do stand by my 'sea spray in my face' impression......but for whatever reason, this scent is knocking my socks off right now. I'm so, so glad I didn't get rid of this Imp..... : )

Pretty strong cedar here, and some incense-y woods behind it adding some sweetness. In theory I should really like this, but somehow it's not exciting me much. It is like a slightly dustier and sweeter counterpart to Cathedral. This could be worth putting away for a while and trying again at a later date. The cedar just wants to take over.

I layered CB's Burning Leaves with Satan and Death With Sin Intervening....well, put them on different spots on my arms, not actually layered....anyway I smell fantastic.

Such a great scent...very characteristic 'bpal' scent. I don't really get the notes listed, except for the wine. It's a deep, musky and smokey purple scent with wine. Wine and grape notes rarely work on me but this is wonderful, a great exception to that rule. It's a nighttime scent. Makes me think of tree branches blowing in the wind, just before a late spring storm (although there's no ozone or even strong woods to my nose....that's just the mood of the scent, the way it makes me feel). This decant will hold a special place in my collection.

Sharp ozone and aquatics are what I smell. Maybe a little citrus, but that could be the power of suggestion since I read some other reviews mention it. Possibly something floral in there somewhere. Medium strength and throw, and over time it doesn't do any morphing. This smells good. I can see why people get 'dryer sheets' from ozone, and I get that a little, but it doesn't ruin it for me. However...ultimately this just isn't something I would reach for very often. I think I like ozone more when it's a supporting note, like in Cloister Graveyard or Kingsport.

Sharp and herbal, minty eucalyptus at first. Then the lavender comes out pretty strongly, which I like. I'm not sure I would wear this with any regularity, not because it smells bad (it doesn't), it's just not really my thing. Although it has lavender, I think this would wake me up like a sharp little pinch.

Incense and woods. At first I feared it was too much like Al-Azif, which was too rich for me. Later the woods come out and I find that I like this after all. Polished woods, incense, and almost smells like it has leather. This is 'cologney' more than 'perfumey' to me. Reminds me just a little bit of a more mellow Les Infortunes Des de la Vertu.

Tweedledum is a very appealing scent, fruity but not like candy....deep, tart, and a little earthy from the patchouli. Quite a nice scent, not a whole lot of throw, but up close it's really good. Kind of reminds me of Xanthe the Clown. A lot of fruit scents turn into candy on me, so I don't really seek them out, but this is a good one.

My 13 is clear in the bottle. No layer of cocoa absolute that I can see. 13 is like a scent journey. Most of the throw is dry, spicy cocoa. It's when I sniff up close that other notes come out to play. This goes through a few different stages. It starts out, like I said, dry cocoa with spices. Up close I can smell the spices more strongly. After a few minutes, there is a sweet, almost watery tea-like note, which I would guess is the chamomile and/or rice flower combined with the sweetness of fig. Later, the spices, especially clove, are getting stronger. For a while it reminds me of Christmas spices. Also, I think the chamomile and catnip are getting stronger. This is probably the longest 'stage' of the scent. Much later, it's all herbs and flowers. At this point it's just a little.....stale, I guess. My skin just doesn't like the long drying stage of the scent. I would call this a jovial or cheerful scent. In that long middle stage the spices threaten to become too strong. I will have to try this one or two more times to really decide if I want to keep a whole bottle. I do like it! It reminds me a little of Hungry Ghost Moon with a shot of cocoa. Edit....after about a year, this scent has settled down a lot. I get very little chocolate or cocoa. It's mostly subdued herbs and some fruit or tea. In fact, no one note stands out....not even the clove. I still like this and will probably enjoy wearing it from time to time, if I don't end up swapping it.