stellans

I love the notes of this blend so much I could hardly wait to try it, and it did not disappoint. Surprisingly, the patchouli (which I love, and usually amp) didn't take over this blend at all: the pepper is stronger than anything else! That is so unusual and so awesome that it makes up for how this blend has no staying power. But, since I am adding this to my Lunacy Rotation to wear at bed time, it only has to last long enough to accompany me to Dreamland, and it does. The pepper is uppermost, as mentioned previously, but I can also smell the holly berry, the myrrh, and a little bit of ylang-ylang. I wish the patchouli would step up a bit, but I love this oil anyway. I have to use quite a bit, more than usual, to be able to smell it without having to sleep with my wrist under my nose, and as I said, it doesn't really last very long, but it's a lovely, lovely blend. 3 of 5 stars.

I'm agreeing with the previous reviews that this blend is a morpher, and one which will pay for aging. On me, much like Mme Moriarty, the red musk is predominant at first but the other notes make their debut in rapid succession, finishing after about an hour or so upon a lovely incense blend. I'm liking this now, and believe it will be knee-shakingly beautiful in another year. 3 of 5 stars from me for this blend, but I think after aging my rating will go up, possibly to a 5.

woo-hoo! Here's a picture of the 2 WILF labels (one male, one female), the Wolf Moon 2011, and Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse labels:

ITA, sunshinedaisybliss... this 'behind the scenes' look was fascinating, and I'm very excited by all the feedback changes coming. Like you, though, I'm so looking forward to the Reviews section changes! Thanks, QS, for everything!

I second the ScentBase recommendation!

Here's a slightly better picture; maybe you can make out that it's a pine cone on the Wildfire label from this. ETA: And on the Mabon label it's a bunch of grapes.

This isn't a very good picture, but here's Wildfire, Mabon and Harvest Moon 2010:

I know this is LE for LE, but if you long for Twisted Oak Tree and can't find it, look for a bottle of Oborot...they smell remarkably similar, and I think Oborot may be easier to find. Haven't found a comparable GC though.

This is a new love come late to me. I had avoided even trying this blend because wine notes historically just do not work for me; they turn sour and old, and smell like bar floors on me. So no, I was quite happy with the later release of Hunter Moon 2007, thank you very much. Then...oh, then! I was frimped with a bit of this Lunacy (and I wish I could remember who so I could thank (and maybe curse them, just a little) for enabling me to what is an increasingly hard to find scent. This is amazing on me; where a wine note once soured, it settles in nicely in rounded sweet bliss on my arm. The herbs keep it from cloying, and the application of a single pass of my rollerball bottle at the beginning of the night lasts until I wake the next morning, when sniffing my wrist brings back memories of the woods I dreamt of during the darkness. I love this blend, and will have to make the bit I have last, because I haven't seen it offered for sale. 4 of 5 stars..

This blend is a long-standing favorite since my first days on the forum, so I don't know why it's taken me so long to review it, but I am remedying that oversight immediately! In the bottle, the lemon is definitely there but so is the tea. I get little or no aloe and musk. However, once the oil is on my skin the lemon moves a bit more to the back, leaving the tea to dance gaily with the aloe and musk, which are more present now. This blend has a lot of throw; it doesn't take too much to keep getting whiffs of it as the day progresses, and I didn't need to reapply for more than 4 hours. My rollerball bottle is full of carefully-collected imps, and will likely last quite a while, as for some reason this lovely scent gets forgotten when the weather goes from hot to cool.

The Hearth '04 I had was purchased from a forumite I trust implicitly, and unfortunately I sold it along without realizing it wasn't what it was supposed to be. I just thought it wasn't right for me.

That happened to me too. I heartily dislike Hearth 2005.

According to my spreadsheet notes, there are about 4 other blends which call Twisted Oak Tree to mind; unfortunately, they're LEs too (well, Erik is still available at Dark Delicacies, I think): Crow Moon Erik Meditation in Autumn Oborot: Therianthropic

I love TOT too...it's one of my Top 10, AAMOF, and I don't think I've ever found its equivalent. I hope someone else can help us both, LOL! Hey stellans! It might be a bit of wishful thinking on my part, but I just got a frimp of The Black Tower today and it's the closest thing in the GC I've found to Twisted Oak tree. I believe it's the same prominent english ivy note with similar-ish dark/woodsy companion notes. I'm curious if anyone else smells a similarity here or if it's just me unfortunately for me, the red wine note in Black Tower amps to such a pitch it messes up the whole blend for me.

yes, they do! Rappaccini's Garden have a lovely 'herbal' looking label (see Miss Twilight's flickr account GC bottle pictures for example). Many (if not all, especially the later issues) of the Ars Draconis labels are also special, as are the Phoenix Steamworks, Doc Constantine's Pharmacopeia, A Picnic in Arkham, the Lab's signature scent Black Phoenix, Snake Oil, and the Panacea line. Oh, and of course, the Salon lines. If I missed any, I know someone will jump in... I did forget the "Come and See" section of the Sin and Salvation line, D'oh! And I also see I am late to the answer party!

Try him on Bow & Crown of Conquest. The leather in it is so smoothly wonderful, and there's the lavender which isn't floral at all. He also might like Black Rider. At least with those 2 you can usually either find an imp for sale on the forum, or order it from the lab.

:rofl: I love the way you put that!

That looks really nice! If I were using a MAC I'd consider spending those 49 dollars, too. D'OH! I'm so sorry; I'm so used to Macs being the 'ported to' platform I didn't realize Bento hadn't been released for PCs.

I had most of the problems you had when I was using Appleworks. I resisted changing for the longest time because I really did like the integrated DB/WP/SS aspect of Appleworks, and didn't feel like starting all over again with some other program. BUT... I got sick of losing data, major page loading delays, etc. After doing a little research, I settled on Bento as the program which would do what I wanted, plus it would import all my data, solving my major procrastination reason of not wanting to retype everything. Plus, Bento wasn't too spendy, which was another worry point. If I hadn't been able to find another program I could use without retyping, I would have used ScentBase, because it really is a great resource and if I was going to retype everything, why not do it there? But it's a moot point; Bento works for me, and it holds all the data I want + the icons I create to boot (Appleworks didn't do that!).

My scent tastes tend to more resins, more incenses, things of that sort. There are some floral blends I love, and Gossamer has joined that list. This is a lovely, ethereal, light-but-staying blend, and to my nose, lily-of-the-valley, white musk, and maybe moonflower notes. I smell no jasmine whatsoever (thank goodness), and this scent only gets better as it warms with my body heat. Unlike many white floral blends, this does not go soapy on me, and doesn't fade away quickly either, but lasts with a crystalline quality which is amazing. Lovely, just lovely. The icon I made with the Loony Tunes character really doesn't do this pretty scent justice, but it makes me smile so I'm keeping it. 3 of 5 stars.

This is by far the best nag champa blend I've smelled so far from BPAL. I love how it blends so seamlessly with the musk and champaca, and how the star anise doesn't stand out but I know it's there. I'm a huge fan of resinous, incense-y blends, and Panther Moon is certainly one of those. As others have mentioned, the notes might put one in mind of Raven Moon, but it's really quite a different blend. This is what I really expected from Velvet Panther, but more. So much more. Rawr! Mr. Stellans was quite impressed with this scent as well, commenting on how good it smelled. It's not often a scent will elicit a comment from him, so when it happens I take notice! It only took a drop on either wrist to last me all night; the deep, luscious scent accompanied me deep into sleep, and the dreams which came were wild and feral. There was still just enough left to remind me of a good night's sleep when I woke up this morning. I love this Lunacy, and so very happy to add it to my monthly Lunacy rotation. 5 of 5 stars!

I love TOT too...it's one of my Top 10, AAMOF, and I don't think I've ever found its equivalent. I hope someone else can help us both, LOL!

When this arrived, it didn't impress me right out of the box, but after reading the reviews, I let it rest before giving it a true test. And it certainly paid to let it 'settle' before a real test! Cinnamon, and something slightly medicinal was how it struck me upon first application. It seemed to have quite a good bit of throw as well, so I didn't put on but just a bit. I was slightly nervous about applying more anyway, since cinnamon and cassia both tend to irritate my skin if overly used. I like many other blends containing either which I just can't wear due to painful welts, etc. Luckily for me, no welts nor even any redness developed at all! And the slight medicinal smell quickly melted away, leaving behind one of the loveliest rich spicy frankincense blends I've smelled to date. This is really quite amazing, and the only thing is it faded away a little less than 2 hours after application. That actually isn't a problem, because I wear Lunacies at night, at bedtime, and as long as the scent lasts at least until I fall asleep, it's all good. The cinnamon and cassia are still there, but it's the frankincense which is the star of this show on my skin, and that makes me smile... hopefully, it will make my dreams rich as well. Four of 5 stars.

oh, those are darling labels! Well done, Alicia! And thanks for posting the picture, Midnight Aeval!

Strong vetiver right out of the bottle, but this quickly settles down into a truly lovely deep smoky patchouli with a bit of musk and sandalwood hiding in the corners. I would wear this blend when I want to feel powerfully sexy, and when wearing my leather boots. It's the sort of scent which makes me feel like striding through the world and taking no prisoners.