forspecial_plate

Hi! I've been reading the reviews and it seems they are all over the place. Some of them seem to fall outside their category. So - if your taste is across the board, you are in luck because you can't really be sure of what you're going to get. There's no way to pick exactly what your Chaos Theory is going to smell like. For me, that's the whole point and that's the fun of it! But not everyone wants to gamble. I went with Animalic and Floral. If these had come out a year or two ago, I definitely would have gone for Woods and Oriental first. But I feel like over time, my tastes have changed and I also have a little bit of a better understanding of what works for me. Both of mine are great, really interesting and unusual. I want to get a Gourmand one because so many of my favorite scents have some kind of gourmand element. And I think I want another Animalic, that category just intrigues me. Floral is more of a gamble for me but there's the possibility that it could be something I really like (and I do like the one I got). I don't know - I guess it's more of a gut feeling, reading the descriptions and thinking about the scents I already have that I love, and going with my instinct on the categories. Then the rest is up to chance. It's a fun experience. edit to add: Also, there's a whole discussion in Bpal Chatter about the recent Chaos Theory update, where people talk all about the different categories and give mini-reviews of the ones they got - follow this link: http://www.bpal.org/topic/86879-the-golden-apple-has-been-thrown-lacus-bonitatis-chaos-theory-vii-are-live/

CLVI Another cool, herbal scent, a little earthy, smells 'grey' to me. I can't guess what herbs or what on earth is in this. It reminds me somewhat of Iris Silver Mist, and someone else mentioned a 'rooty' aspect, which I agree with. So maybe it has orris root. There are a couple other reviews of this but I am not sure how to link to them. But.....I didn't like this very much at first. I've had it for quite a while. But now, I can sort of see myself wearing it on a cool rainy day. It's kind of meditative. Like another Chaos Theory that I have, this smells more like an aromatherapy blend than a perfume. That other one is more stoney but this is more rooty. Maybe they would smell good together?

184 Papery white amber, just a hint of saltiness. This has to have the same white amber that's in Court of Honor, and maybe white sandalwood too. It's very light, so it's hard to tell what's in it. For all I know, it could be white amber single note. White amber, maybe some very light wood, and who knows what else. Thumbs up. It's a low-level partial, so that means I got it from another forum member, but I can't remember anything about buying it (like if there was a description).

146 Cool grey herbs. Not mentholated, not minty, but still somehow cool, like damp stone or something. It's almost like sassafras but that's not it. There might be a little grey amber in this. And there might be a little iris or orris. It smells more like an aromatherapy blend than a perfume.

142 Cedar and crayons. It's very woody with some incense, but I always think 'cedar and crayons' when I put it on, so that's what it is to me. It's in the same family as Aureus and Cathedral, there might be some patchouli but it's hard to tell behind all the cedar. I like it.

136 I bought this from another forum member, but I don't remember the description they gave, or if they gave one. I just found this bottle and had forgotten about it. Anyway....in the very beginning there's an almond note that comes and flies off in a flash. What's left is very soft spice and frankincense. I am thinking cassia and clove, but very light and airy. Maybe there's white myrrh or some really light resin (other than the frankincense), because I keep thinking of Egg Moon and Midnight Mass......but it's also like Eclipse or Eve. This smells sooooo good, and I'm glad the bottle is really full because I honestly forgot all about this and I want to wear it a lot! Egg Moon has always been hard for me to wear, and this is more like what I wanted from Egg Moon, so I love it. It's going to be really nice and snuggly in cold weather.

Interesting how there can be so many leafy scents that smell so different......this one shifts around quite a bit and seems hard to pin down. I agree with what I've read, from the other reviewers. Leaves, fruit, sweetness. For the first few minutes it's kind of sharp and green. Then it softens a lot. The first couple times I wore this, I kept thinking of amber. But I could be wrong about that. I agree there is a nonspecific fruit thing going on. It's hard to say apple or berry or anything like that, it's just a general "fruit" aspect that is mixed in with the other notes. I also smell honey, a little bit. When I wore it today, I kept thinking, if there was a 'honey musk' it would smell something like this. So....I get the musk part other people mentioned, a little powdery, and a little honey but I could be wrong about the honey. I don't know......it's leafy and sweet, kind of like Oak Moon but different. I like it but October is still the leafy scent for me!

Hello ladies and gents - went fragrance shopping with my boyfriend and he fell for Wit by Parfums DelRae. It is supposedly centered around the flower daphne: "Daphne is one of the first flowers to bloom in early spring. Its delicious lemony, neroli scent is such a surprise and delight in the chill and gray of winter. Such a bright and spirited presence" List of notes: "Meyer lemon, Green mandarin, Angelica, Laurel nobile, Daphne, Jasmine, Narcissus, Mimosa, Ylang ylang, Amber crystals, Madagascar vanilla, Velvet musk" It's a very springy floral with dewy green notes, and reviews mention mimosa, jasmine, vanilla, and white florals. I don't think the citrus is strong in this one, or at least it doesn't stand out. I don't know what daphne smells like on its own but to me, this scent isn't overly powdery or soapy. I don't even know where to start with this one, I'm not all that familiar with the bpal floral category, so I thought I'd throw it out here and see what comes up. Bpal would certainly be more affordable and probably nicer if we can find the right one! : )

I finally gave in to Smut! And I like it a lot. Very comfortable and wearable. It's musky and I guess a little boozy, as expected. I would guess red musk is in it, but I have no idea what other musks.....I don't smell black musk. And I really don't know what booze notes are used here. The sugary part is really nice and smooth. I was expecting something like Infernal Lover, but it's reminding me more of The Soldier. Kind of root-beery to me. My old decant is very similar. Edit: it's the 2015 version that I'm reviewing here

Well...I thought I would like this....and I gave it a shot. It reminded of one or a couple of the Butterfly scents that I tried from a couple years ago (I haven't tried the more recent ones). I can't say which one specifically but it's the same feeling. Gypsy or the Witch one maybe?? I can't remember. It wasn't unpleasant but not something that I would wear. I can't even think of how to describe it. Sorry. : ( It's maybe a little sweet and dry at the same time, and I really don't smell anything floral. It smells clean, I can say that. I wouldn't guess there is Egyptian musk in this. The vanilla goes kind of flat like it does sometimes. I dunno.....just not my thing.

This was my second-favorite of the Anniversary oils that I tried today (after Living). A close second. This smells very 'natural' to me, like it was made of essential oils. That's the impression I got. It was not as floral as I expected and I really couldn't even pick out the rose. I definitely smelled clove - actually forgot it was in there, but when I smelled it I said 'smells like clove'. And myrrh. It's almost powdery but not quite. I'm not sure I would really wear this but I liked trying it. I can't smell any patchouli at all but I hardly ever can pick out that note (probably because I like patchouli so I don't notice it). Sweet, resinous, spicy, 'natural', whatever that means. : )

Thanks to moonarcana, I got to sniff a few of these today, and actually tried 3 on my skin. This was my favorite! The other 2 people there thought it was too soapy. I actually thought it was not quite as soapy as I expected. It's very clean and somewhat like a bath product, but the lemon is rather juicy and I think the 'clear water' part is very much to my liking. To be honest I was afraid of the rose and lily, but I needn't have worried - everything is nicely balanced and I really couldn't pick out the florals. It did turn rather powdery but I pretty much expected that. I would actually wear this on days I wanted to feel clean and fresh. Wow - a lily scent I can wear! You just never know!

I want to share this somewhere but I'm not sure of the best topic. Maybe this one is appropriate. Single Note: Pile of Fallen Leaves....put it on and wait a couple hours......and it smells just like Rive Gauche pour Homme. It's a really close match (in my opinion). This is based on the older formula of Rive Gauche in the metal container, I haven't tried any more recent bottles, and there has been talk of reformulation.

Try Blood....often dragon's blood is too floral and not in a good way, but Blood is the perfect balance of spice and incense IMO.

I'm a tiny bit worried about how much amber shows up on this list, and a few of the more unisex blends have rose notes (roses tend to do The Rose Thing on me, which is actually the same as The Amber Thing -- overtake everything and make it all smell like stale, cheap crayons. I have no idea why rose of all notes tends to do this, but I have a 50% success rate with BPAL roses [black Rose and Whip work well]), so I'll just have to hope that the cheap crayons don't strike again. A lot of these are leather based or wood based, and pretty much the rest of the masculine ones are described as being traditional men's cologne. I also remembered that I'm allergic to something in Viola, and I hope it isn't the moss. I guess I'll find out soon enough whether it's the moss or something else! I'll post my results on exactly how manly I smell once I receive all these. Bram Stoker is a great choice, I was going to suggest it.

Djinn is not exactly like woodsmoke, but I think it would be worth a try for you. There's a sweetness that I notice comes out over time.

Ok, I'm putting it out there...... I really love Nightscape by Ulrich Lang: http://www.luckyscent.com/product/16904/nightscape-by-ulrich-lang-new-york "Bergamot, Sappy Green Accord, Jasmine, Geranium, Cedarwood, Soft Leather, Musk, Amber, Tonka Bean, Patchouli" It is a patchouli-centered fragrance but it's so not typically patchouli, it is modern and clean, and I would say on the masculine side. Not that I have anything against patchouli at all.....in fact I love it.....but this is almost like the anti-patchouli patchouli scent IMO. So I have a renewed interest in bpal patchouli scents now, I'm wearing Goblin today and this isn't quite it. Honestly from what I remember, Manhattan is more like the mood I'm looking for, even though it doesn't actually have patchouli, it does have the leather, amber, and wood and floral aspects, so I think I'm going to try it again (I had an imp when it first came out but haven't tried it since then). Any other ideas? Clean and masculine, with maybe patchouli? I know the lab's website makes it super easy to narrow down by note, and I tried that with patchouli, but I thought I'd ask here as well. Thanks!

I tried on Eau Lente by Diptyque today (Opopanax, Indian Spices, Cinnamon)......after it dries down for a while, it smells a lot like Golgothan Myrrh single note. And that makes sense since opoponax is sweet myrrh, and a lot of Eau Lente reviews say that it's like a myrrh single note.

VICTORIAN VIRGIN WITH CHERUBSBlack Phoenix is thrilled to present our first Salon bath oil. Inspired by Albert Beck Wenzell's painting. Ángelus Dómini nuntiávit Maríæ. Et concépit de Spíritu Sancto. Ecce ancílla Dómini. Fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum. Et Verbum caro factum est. Et habitávit in nobis. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix. Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi. Gilded amber, white mint, white chocolate, Christmas rose, and honeysuckle. Shea oil, olive oil, apricot kernel oil, fractionated coconut oil, rosehip seed, evening primrose oil, vitamin E, isopropyl myristate, glycereth-7-cocoate (derived from coconut), oleth 3, and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume blends. Short version: minty amber/floral (not rose) with white chocolate, hints of evergreen from the hellebore and mint. Strong enough to wear on its own, but will also layer beautifully with other Yule scents. Read on for the long version. I took a bath with Victorian Virgin, and then rubbed it along my collarbones after the bath. I wanted the full-on double-rainbow all the way experience. I loved how the oil felt on my skin. My hair does get oily so I did shampoo and rinse off after the bath, and it did leave a slippery film on the tub, so be careful not to fall if you use it in the bath. On to the scent...... First of all, if you didn’t already know, Christmas rose isn’t really rose, it’s hellebore. This isn’t a rose scent at all. If you remember Christmas Rose, the Yule scent from 2 or 3 years ago, you might recognize it in this scent. It’s a sweet, greenish floral scent, and combined with the mint, it goes high up in my nose and reminds me a little bit of evergreen. But don’t let that scare you, I don’t think anyone is going to smell this and think, “Pine!!”. I never did pick out honeysuckle, so maybe it’s combining with the Christmas rose or just supporting the other notes. Overall, this is a minty amber scent, with a big shot of the aforementioned hellebore, and I can smell the white chocolate, too. I’m not a big fan of chocolate or cocoa in my perfume (with a couple exceptions), and the white chocolate here is different. The amber/floral combination makes me think of another Yule scent from the past, When The Winter Chrysanthemums Go. It also reminds me a bit of Cloister Graveyard, which makes sense. I think this bath oil can layer really wonderfully with a lot of different Yule scents. On its own, it lasts at least a couple hours, maybe 3 or 4, but it's not quite as strong as a perfume oil. It’s still pretty strong, though. This is a great interpretation, through scent, of the painting. I love the lab’s Salon scents and I hope we see more bath oils of this nature!

Koito and Sashichi Green tea, tobacco absolute, and agarwood I think this is the one for me, based on reviews......maybe buying a bottle before they go down. I realized today that except for F5, there is a serious lack of fresh green tea scents in my collection. I couldn't even find imps of Embalming Fluid or Shanghai. This must be remedied!

I recommend The Black Tower

COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ (Dracula's Guest, the omitted introduction to Bram Stoker's Dracula) Now and again, through the black mass of drifting cloud, came a straggling ray of moonlight, which lit up the expanse, and showed me that I was at the edge of a dense mass of cypress and yew trees. As the snow had ceased to fall, I walked out from the shelter and began to investigate more closely. It appeared to me that, amongst so many old foundations as I had passed, there might be still standing a house in which, though in ruins, I could find some sort of shelter for a while. As I skirted the edge of the copse, I found that a low wall encircled it, and following this I presently found an opening. Here the cypresses formed an alley leading up to a square mass of some kind of building. Just as I caught sight of this, however, the drifting clouds obscured the moon, and I passed up the path in darkness. The wind must have grown colder, for I felt myself shiver as I walked; but there was hope of shelter, and I groped my way blindly on. I stopped, for there was a sudden stillness. The storm had passed; and, perhaps in sympathy with nature's silence, my heart seemed to cease to beat. But this was only momentarily; for suddenly the moonlight broke through the clouds, showing me that I was in a graveyard, and that the square object before me was a great massive tomb of marble, as white as the snow that lay on and all around it. With the moonlight there came a fierce sigh of the storm, which appeared to resume its course with a long, low howl, as of many dogs or wolves. I was awed and shocked, and felt the cold perceptibly grow upon me till it seemed to grip me by the heart. Then while the flood of moonlight still fell on the marble tomb, the storm gave further evidence of renewing, as though it was returning on its track. Impelled by some sort of fascination, I approached the sepulchre to see what it was, and why such a thing stood alone in such a place. I walked around it, and read, over the Doric door, in German: COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ IN STYRIA SOUGHT AND FOUND DEATH 1801 On the top of the tomb, seemingly driven through the solid marble-for the structure was composed of a few vast blocks of stone-was a great iron spike or stake. On going to the back I saw, graven in great Russian letters: 'The dead travel fast.' There was something so weird and uncanny about the whole thing that it gave me a turn and made me feel quite faint. I began to wish, for the first time, that I had taken Johann's advice. Here a thought struck me, which came under almost mysterious circumstances and with a terrible shock. This was Walpurgis Night! Walpurgis Night, when, according to the belief of millions of people, the devil was abroad-when the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. When all evil things of earth and air and water held revel. This very place the driver had specially shunned. This was the depopulated village of centuries ago. This was where the suicide lay; and this was the place where I was alone-unmanned, shivering with cold in a shroud of snow with a wild storm gathering again upon me! It took all my philosophy, all the religion I had been taught, all my courage, not to collapse in a paroxysm of fright. And now a perfect tornado burst upon me. The ground shook as though thousands of horses thundered across it; and this time the storm bore on its icy wings, not snow, but great hailstones which drove with such violence that they might have come from the thongs of Balearic slingers-hailstones that beat down leaf and branch and made the shelter of the cypresses of no more avail than though their stems were standing-corn. At the first I had rushed to the nearest tree; but I was soon fain to leave it and seek the only spot that seemed to afford refuge, the deep Doric doorway of the marble tomb. There, crouching against the massive bronze door, I gained a certain amount of protection from the beating of the hailstones, for now they only drove against me as they ricocheted from the ground and the side of the marble. As I leaned against the door, it moved slightly and opened inwards. The shelter of even a tomb was welcome in that pitiless tempest, and I was about to enter it when there came a flash of forked-lightning that lit up the whole expanse of the heavens. In the instant, as I am a living man, I saw, as my eyes were turned into the darkness of the tomb, a beautiful woman, with rounded cheeks and red lips, seemingly sleeping on a bier. As the thunder broke overhead, I was grasped as by the hand of a giant and hurled out into the storm. The whole thing was so sudden that, before I could realise the shock, moral as well as physical, I found the hailstones beating me down. At the same time I had a strange, dominating feeling that I was not alone. I looked towards the tomb. Just then there came another blinding flash, which seemed to strike the iron stake that surmounted the tomb and to pour through to the earth, blasting and crumbling the marble, as in a burst of flame. The dead woman rose for a moment of agony, while she was lapped in the flame, and her bitter scream of pain was drowned in the thundercrash. The last thing I heard was this mingling of dreadful sound, as again I was seized in the giant-grasp and dragged away, while the hailstones beat on me, and the air around seemed reverberant with the howling of wolves. The last sight that I remembered was a vague, white, moving mass, as if all the graves around me had sent out the phantoms of their sheeted-dead, and that they were closing in on me through the white cloudiness of the driving hail. Hailstone-pounded cypress boughs, olibanum, and an ozone blast of lightning. First of all, as you can tell from the description, this does indeed have a big shot of ozone! I've never had a problem with ozone, but if you do, you probably already know this scent isn't for you. Okay.....with that out of the way, this scent will be very familiar if you like the Lab's aquatic and wintery scents, especially Archangel Winter*, but the olibanum does set this apart. I guess olibanum is frankincense, and it brings a little more richness to this scent. And then as the scent dries, the cypress starts to come out, just adding a slight woody element. It's very ozone and icy, fierce winds blowing hail through the tree-tops, and sweet in that slightly fruity way that the fresh-water aquatics can be. So.....no real surprises for me here, but definitely something I can wear, since I love this kind of scent. My only problem with aquatics is that they can be hard to tell apart, but that just makes it more fun to try them all! This one is somewhere between Archangel Winter and Eanach Duin, maybe with a touch of Death Of The Gravedigger. *Edit: After some comparison/testing, this definitely does not smell like Archangel Winter and I'm sorry if I misled anyone. Maybe it was the Snow Storm that I'm thinking of, I tend to get them confused. The Countess has a lot more wood than Archangel Winter (which has no wood at all that I can smell).

I think this is beautiful.....I think it's interesting how there are so many aquatic scents that are different, and I'm glad Beth doesn't get tired of making them! This is best when I first put it on and it hasn't dried yet, it's this elegant, arcane, mysterious incense-y aquatic. I get just a hint of something like hazelnut, too....only in the very first opening stage. Sounds weird and it is weird, but it is so good, I wish it stayed like this forever..... After a while it dries and ozone comes forward, a pretty strong ozone component that almost tips the balance but not quite. Watch out if you amp ozone because that could be a problem here (not a problem for me). I was wondering how this compares to Kingsport and I think it's clearly related, but also different. It is less sweet and I don't pick up on any citrus or anything fruity (like I get from Kingsport). It's colder and drier, definitely a night-time scent. I'm picturing a beautiful woman with jet black hair, pale skin, stepping out of an old black limo, in a dark green fur coat with a few snowflakes landing on the fur coat. I don't know where she got a dark green fur coat but that's what she's wearing. Lol!

I smell mostly vetiver but for a vetiver-heavy scent this isn't like Death Adder, or Great He-Goat. It's not that earthy rooty vetiver, this seems to be more of a grassy, smooth vetiver, which I feel like I've smelled before, but I can't think of where. I get hints of chocolate in the very beginning when it's still wet, and I think that comes from the vetiver, I've encountered that before. I wasn't sure I liked it in the first 10 minutes or so, but then it really smooths out when it warms up and starts to dry on the skin. The smooth, smooth vetiver connects with the hay and overall this is very dry, even with the bergamot. And even though the vetiver is strong, the other notes are blended very smoothly and in the end, nothing really stands out, they connect so well. I'm sorry, I'm trying to describe this but having trouble. When I wear this I think of a couple GC scents, Incantation and Scarecrow come to mind, but don't get me wrong, this is entirely its own thing. Very very nice for a man, but I think some of the girls will like this too. I'm holding off on a bottle because I want to see what else comes along in this category, but I could easily wear this quite often and I have found myself wanting to revisit it a few times lately.

Jolasveinar has been around a few times..... "Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries" it's a great snowy, woodsy scent.....there's a hint of pastries but just a hint in my opinion, not enough to make this a cakey scent. It's one of my favorite Yule scents.