surlygurl

I decided to put this on today as a counterpoint to the rain. Fresh on, I smell the saffron. LOTS of saffron. Then the amber & (I think) sunny heliotrope. It smells like a perfumed person just spent the afternoon cooking saffron-based foods. Aaah! There it is! The saffron finally begins to release it's iron grip and some sweetness (frangipani? frankincense?) comes slowly into the mix. The citrus doesn't break through but sits shyly in the background, allowing the amber-saffron to call the shots. "You! Frangipani! Over there!" "You! Frankincense! Quit clowning & stand by the wall!" "Citrus! Get back to where you were!" Eventually, the other elements of this scent realize they they outnumber saffron-amber and stage a coup. Frankincense lifts up the citrus; frangipani & heliotrope come together & bring sweetness. Amber is kept around to do the heavy lifting and saffron is allowed to stay in the background and give occasional press releases (wouldn't want saffron to become a martyr, would we?). After about an hour, this becomes a softly pretty golden scent, warm & sweet. But Damn! What it has to go through to get there! Then it fades away.........

How odd. A while back I wore a bit of Death Adder to work, and my officemate asked "what smells like playdoh?" I was crushed . But I still wear it . The only scent that goes crazy playdoh on me is Madam Moriarty. Extreme red musk funky playdoh. (No other red musk blend does this). Snow White goes through a playdoh phase, but that doesn't last long.

If it's saffron you're looking for, try to hunt down a decant of Sol Invictus: "A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom" I get a crazy dark orange saffron smell. Not floral. Not resiny. Just orange-saffron. Lots of saffron.

How about Scales of Deprivation? "Thin, dark, and shadowed. A scent that offers no sustenance, comfort or satiety: lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum" I mostly get sage & lemon, and it is a strangely hollow scent. And beautiful.

Oh yummy yum yum!! I smell like ginger ale! This is so much fun! At first on my skin: "Oh! It smells like 7-up, but spicy!" It keeps that clean crisp scent throughout while adding just a dash of sweet soil & herbs - not enough to notice, but enough to ground the effervescence. But mostly it's a clean crisp ginger beer. Pretty!

This scent is a whole lot different than what I expected. I expected darkness and strong incense like the inside of a church, but what I got was the 3 wise men riding through the clear night with bright stars above them. The cola fizz would be the shimmering stars, while the "gifts" and the herbs add a sweetness & joy to the occasion. You know what it really reminds me of? If Knucklebones had a (somewhat) innocent younger sister who still believed in the mysteries, this would be her scent.

Oh yum! This is lovely! (The 'candle' description above makes me hesitate, but it's still lovely ) In the vial: Interesting, if a little masculine. Fresh on skin: There's the masculine, but it's surrounded by deep purpley-red spices, like a sweet Port Royal. Wait? What is that? Berries!? No.....Yes!....Noooo..... Huh. Must be sea buckthorn berries. Drydown: As it dries, it retains the sweet & spice, but the 'ships wood' and the musk join in. I don't smell seaweed (thankfully) and I don't know what ambergris smells like. And the berry is really the only thing I can identify. Later on, the berries get less sweet as the incense comes out. Overall, a sweetly spiced musk. When I first tested this, it went on my Bottle list. Now I can't stop thinking about Bayberry candles. Hopefully the scent will age away from that, because I really do want a bottle of Sea Rat.

Fresh on skin: Orange (the color) with a citrus that isn't orange (the fruit). Earthy brown from the patchouli, but it doesn't smell like patchouli (or earth). It more gives the impression of soil and tree trunks. A bit of dark green. I get a picture of an abandoned field with a few old pine trees on either side, the sun slowly rising up from the earth. Drydown: the picture is broken by the threat of the cosmic cleaning lady & her bottle of lemon pledge. She hovers & threatens, but eventually a deal is struck and the lemon pledge fades into a part of the whole. Dry: something goes to powder and takes the rest of the scent along with it. Which, for this scent, is a good thing. Sweet & earthy, a touch of sharpness through the powder. Not bad. Interesting. This needs to be tested a few more times, mostly because it's so strange.

I purchased this decant as a traveling companion to a scent I *really* wanted (which was icky on me). I got lucky with this scent In the vial - kinda incensy, but mostly "rain" On my skin - Rain. Sweet cleansing rain. Bright but not cheery, if that makes sense. As it dried, it all but disappears. I think "Oh damn. Well, it was lovely while it lasted". But then I fanned the area towards me, and I smelled something...... unique. Incense. But not heavy permeate-your-clothes kind of incense. Distant wisps of incense carried on the sweet rain. Very pretty. Still, it's not long lasting and it doesn't have alot of throw. But it is very pretty. Is it bottle worthy? Maybe.

Fresh on my skin: spicy spicy golden love! Gentle spices, softly sweet cookie - warm & playful. Drydown: "Hey! This smells familiar!" Spices. Rum. Spices. Rum. Where'd the cookie go? Verdict: On me, this is Upa Upa without the tropical drink treatment. It may be a layering scent, or one used in an oil burner, but Upa Upa gone stateside wasn't what I was looking for.

These are all good suggestions. I've been testing out bpals, and even thinking of layering. Shadow Witch Orchid on a base of Glowing Vulva? Vixen (which is gorgeous on me, but a tad too sweet for the occasion) and something to darken it? Maybe I should take a couple days off work & just play with bpal You're hired!

Can you give them both a test run? Go shopping or to the movies (be amongst strangers) with one on, the next day the other. See how many heads you turn

I just found this thread and was hoping you all had some advice. I'm going to a wedding next month - an upscale, 4pm, little black cocktail dress kind of wedding. I have the dress & minimal jewelry, but I have to be scented. What is the "little black cocktail dress" of bpal scents? I can't wear red musk, but I'll consider most everything else. In the meantime, I'll re-read the thread & test the suggested scents. *bookmarking*

I must be an absolute freak, because I smell..... Tiki King. Right down to the coconut . I've only had it on for 15 minutes or so, but so far I'm astounded at the similarity. I may edit this if it changes. Tonight when I get home I'll do a comparison. eta 1/7/10: Now that it's aged a year, I get coconut (hence the tiki king vibe) and resins. Its quite sweet. No rose, no copal. Sweet myrrh (I guess) is the big player. Also a little bit of green. I like it much better aged eta 11/9/11: Now I get myrrh+coconut and gentle rose. It turns right to coconut on my wrists, but in my hair, it's a drop dead gorgeous blend.

Dusty black wool, tea with cream, black pepper, muguet, and beeswax candle drippings. This is one of those blends that I got a decant of, thinking "Oh, it'll probably be weird & I'll swap it. But I should try it first". And I'm glad I did! Wet, its sour and sharp. Not offensively so, but still really weird. If it had stayed like that, it would've been a swap. But as it dried, the sour went away and was replaced by cream and sugar - not a White Rabbit cream, but a Glowing Vulva cream. Very light florals peek out every now and then. I think I can smell the beeswax, but it isn't strong - just a hint to ground & round out the sweetness. I never get the tea or the pepper, but what I do get is soft, sweet (but not 'OMG sugar!!') and absolutely lovely. On my skin, it's Glowing Vulva's littlest sister who has spent some time in Victorian England. Or something This may be a bottle purchase

When I put this on I was expecting lots of dry leaves and some nuts with a touch of fruit. What I got instead was a more mature, mellowed, slightly serious (poppy?) punkie night. The apple was there, spices, but none of the candy sweetness. The galangal (I think) gave it it's spicy bite and something in it gave it a feel similar to samhain, though not as severe. As it dried, I got what has been described as Almost Cocoa - probably the nutmeat. That grounded it more & made it less samhain-ish. It's not a light fun scent, but it's not dark, either. It's a very nice scent. Definitely keeping the decant.

What a difference skin chemistry makes! Fresh on me, it smells like smoky fruit. I don't know where the fruit comes from - maybe tobacco? The vertiver isn't nearly as powerful as it is in some other blends. It does throw a blanket over the other scents (except the smoke). Drying down it smells less smoky and more.... warm and sexy. Tobacco, dry leaves, vertiver and something sweet. As time goes on I realize the sweet is dragon's blood. Normally db is loud on me, but in this blend it just tells the vetiver "Hey! Lighten up already!!", which it does. Overall, this is a very different halloween scent. Sexy red autumn, the color of red fall leaves at sundown. eta: HA! I didn't even see the "setting sun" part of the lab's description! How does Beth do it?

This was a standout when I was testing all my lovely decants, so I decided to wear it to work today. Wet, it has a soft rose - almost rose water - smell, mixing in with white sandalwood. Other florals come out, but I can't identify them. As it dries, I smell the florals (w/ rose mixed in). The beeswax and cocoa leaves ground the scent. At this point, I can't tell what it is supposed to be - floral? resin? Light? Dark? Ummm... I never get the tobacco or frankincense (which would have lightened this up a lot). Dry, Something has gone wrong . The florals have turned on me. I don't know what it is, or if it's just the wrong mix of florals, but it's making the back of my throat itch. I'll keep the decant and continue to test, but I don't think there's a bottle in my future.

A highly respected Afro-Caribbean blend used for blessing and banishing This blend, of all the purification blends, jumped out at me. I have no experience in afro-carribean religions, but I do trust my instincts. So I bought a bottle and used it last night for the first time. After spending the day cleaning my apartment & moving things about (including energy), I sat down to meditate. I grounded any foreign / past time energy out of my apartment, asked for blessings, then decided to use Obeah. (According to a google search, Obeah is used to anoint the doors of voodoo churches.) I dissolved some sea salt (purification) in warm water and added a couple drops of Obeah. Then, using a clean cloth wet with the mixture, I wiped down all doorways, window sills, even vents to the outside - all while focusing on blessing my home. (Scent: Very medicinal and pungent. Astringent/herbal. Definitely NOT a perfume. Very astringent & cleansing). Ever since then, every time I enter my place, I feel the need to stop, ground, and center myself before entering. My home space now vibrates at 'sacred' instead of 'dumping ground for weird energy'. Another winning blend from the Lab!

I've been hearing people say that the new Schwarzer Mond is the same, but thinner. I didn't know what they meant, but I purchased a bottle of SM along with Priala before SM went away. I've never smelled SM before, but I do have a decant of Priala, which is (and has always been) resiny & gorgeous. The bottle that arrived with SM? Thin. Almost as though the lab cleans their machine with a solvent between batches & I got the dregs. Hopefully the scents will "thicken up" as they age. Can anybody put my mind at ease?

This imp just came to me yesterday with my order, so it may smell different on me in a few months. *Opening the imp* Hmmm. huh? Buttered popcorn. And a touch of caramel? Ok. On my skin it stays buttered popcorn & caramel for a few minutes, then something reddish purple comes out that cuts the foodiness and tries to make the scent.... I dunno.....serious(?). But fails. Its still having fun on my arm, but with stern parents watching closely. Eventually the conflicting scents meld together to become one big happy well-behaved family. Alas, it's not for me.

Whenever I see bay rum as a scent component, I have to keep myself from buying a bottle. "At least try it first!" Ahhh memories.... Anyway, wet on the skin this is bay rum all right. Oddly sweet (tobacco?) and with a touch of citrus. Sniffing up close this is powerful stuff, but the throw is YUM. Sweet, spicy, “fizzy”, and just a touch citrusy. As it dries, it gets a bit sharp. The sweetness fades a bit and the black musk comes out. The citrus fades as well, leaving bay rum musk. Dark musk tends to go a bit powdery on me, which is fine. (No, really). Dry, this is as masculine as it gets, which isn't very much. Like a musky bay rum body powder. A definite bottle.

I got coconut from Upa Upa - sort of candied-spiced-rum coconut. Fun girly drink smell. Tiki King was grounded coconut - light musk & coconut with lemon rind. Almost a grounded ozone / not ozone, if that makes sense. But the best coconut blend is Obatala, IMHO

In the imp this smelled like glowing cream, so I put just a touch on my wrists & chest yesterday before going out, hoping it wouldn't turn to plastic. Wet, this is CREAM. There is something earthy & grounding (amber? Teak?) in there, but mostly cream. Let's hope it morphs... Drydown: Sweet cream and woods? Fresh cut woods, like a carpentry shop. Oh No!!! At this point, it disappears into my skin, and I'm thankful. Dry: Something smells really pretty... it's me! The sharp woods are gone and the sweet cream has mellowed considerably. Now its glowing. The teak smells like some kind of fruit and the cream cuts any sharpness that maybe left. The amber bolsters it and makes the "fruity" teak note glow. This is really a beautiful scent. It disappears, only to waft up gently when I move just the right way. Even though I only applied a tiny bit, it lasted all day. The throw wasn't that great, but I only put a tiny bit on (I wouldn't dare slather this). Besides, I could smell it, and that's what counts

Port-au-Prince is spicy, buttery, slightly boozy goodness. It's slightly masculine (but I love it on me in small quantities). Port Royal is more feminine IMHO, but could be great on the right guy. And Mr. Jacquel is golden & smooth with soft spices. Very nice.