dronzeka

Okay, I have to admit that in the bottle I think this smells TERRIBLE. All I get is a harsh, pungent pepper and something that smells a little bit like - yuk - burning tires?? Thankfully, it's much better once it goes on. Initially, as others have said, there is a blast of pepper (but not so much the tires, hooray). As it dries, the pepper backs down so it's just a hint rather than overwhelming. I can smell the underlying sweetness of honeysuckle, and also of dragon's blood (which tends to go lily-lilac on me), but what I primarily get is the ginger, which smells to me just like the ginger in Sudha Segara (without the milk, of course). Unfortunately, I'm not fond of this kind of ginger - it has a weird soapy tang to me. But if you like that ginger, you should like this. It definitely captures its description of "cardinal fire" - it's extremely fiery! (Without being burning or at all irritating like cinnamon or cassia can be.) The longer it's on, the more the ginger and sweet underlying scents mingle, and it's really very intriguing. Sadly, that ginger's just not for me.

Wow, this was interesting. I get an almost bitter citrus scent, like citrus rind - quite bright and energizing. After it dried, I also got the distinctive TAL herbal smell, as well, and it became more medicinal-y smelling - kind of lemongrass-y. In any case, I put some on this morning (ahem, afternoon), because I'd slept really late and I wanted to get going and accomplish stuff today. In any case, I did indeed feel energized for the rest of the afternoon - almost jittery, but not in an unpleasant way; a little antsy. This would be great, I think, if you needed energy for big, labor-intensive tasks, like working out, or raking leaves, or cleaning out a closet. It's not the greatest for fine-motor-skills tasks - I was packing up some imps and kept dropping stuff and knocked over my soda once! But I was really impressed by how well this worked.

Sadly, not for me. I was doubtful, since foody scents aren't really my thing, but thought I'd give it a whirl. This doesn't quite go cinnamon SN on me, but really all I get of it is overwhelming dry, almost harsh cinnamonness - I'm presuming that's cassia. No caramel, no cherries, only the faintest hint of cocoa initially that quickly fades. It's strongly cassia for a while, and reminds me of Saw-Scaled Viper (which was spectacularly bad on me). After a bit, it calms down but fades into a kind of dry dusty spice and then in about an hour is completely gone. Oh well! It's a lovely idea.

I find Milk Moon really soft and comforting - very reassuring.

I do get lovely spices from this, especially as it dries down - initially there's a slightly generic floral-ness, but that goes away as the spices warm up. It's beautifully blended and it's growing on me the longer I have it on - it's kind of weird, on the one hand I don't think I like it, but on the other, I keep sniffing my wrist! I think the waft hasn't quite caught up with the morphing on my skin, is what's going on. As I wait even longer, more of those lovely spices are rising. This really is an intriguing scent. I think I will have to try it in a more representative place (it's on the top of my wrist because that was what was convenient, but I never get the best sense of a scent from there). I'm not sure it's me - it's a little dry and a little deep, and I tend to like light, fresh and girlie stuff. But it's really amazingly done!

Hmmm. There's something in this wet - both in the bottle and on me - that just does NOT work for me - something kind of dry and bitter. I'm not sure if it's the almond? it makes me think a little of bitter almond. It might be myrrh, and it might be a bad reaction with the apple, which doesn't work on me at all. I'm not getting ANY honey, rose otto, lily, or fig - it's just a strange bitter apple almond resin. As it dries, the bitterness is fading a little and if I sniff really hard, I can get a little honey. But it's not anything especially wonderful on me. However, there could be a chemistry issue right now, so I may hold on to it and try it again. ETA: okay, even later the weird ugly bitterness really has vanished, and I'm getting some lily of the valley. Which is an improvement, though I'm still not sure what I think of it. ETA yet again: what a morpher! now this has turned into a lovely lovely lily and honey scent! Too strange. Now, this, I like! I'll have to see if I can live with the wait to get here.

I tested this for the first time today and I, too, get a kind of herbal vanilla-minty scent. It has the distinctive Voodoo Blend herbiness, and then some kind of sweetness and freshness. It was like this for quite a while, but now that it's been on for a few hours, it's morphed into - well - something pungent and BO-like?? Though only if I really huff my wrist (it was a very quite scent overall, not a great deal of throw). Not quite sure what to make of it, so I'll have to try it again sometime. (I can't comment on the effects, because I've been alone in my apartment all day!)

Seaweed, kelp, salty ocean spray, bitter almond, night-blooming jasmine, frankincense, and benzoin. I find this quite lovely. For me, it's a classic aquatic - salt-sprayed green freshness. It reminds me a LOT of Y'ha-Nthlei, although that may be because that was the first BPAL aquatic I've tried; for me it's not as salty as Sea of Glass. It is a little brighter or fresher than Y'ha-Nthlei (which I find fairly dark), maybe because of the jasmine? I think I can get a hint of the jasmine in this (which works for me, as it's a note I enjoy), but I don't get any almond or frankincense particularly. But it's an incredibly well-blended scent, so that doesn't surprise me. If you like aquatics, you'll like this (unless jasmine hates you, I guess!). I like it, and wouldn't turn down a bottle if it was offered to me, though I'm not sure it's "me" enough to seek one out on my own.

In the imp: CARAMEL. This is what caramel SHOULD smell like (and on me, never does): rich, thick, sweet but not sickly. On me: CARAMEL! But I think I get a little wee bit of tobacco, too, which is still sort of sweet, but a different sweetness from the caramel. Sadly, as always, the caramel isn't quite as sublime on me as it is in the imp. The other notes are so far keeping it from going completely off, but it just doesn't like me very much. It's primarily caramel, but if I huff hard I think I can smell the cinnamon leaf as well. Very intriguing. Later: okay, the caramel has turned into hazelnut as it normally does. It's not as bad in Tiresias as it is in scents like Gluttony (or Misk U), because there are enough other notes that the hazelnut is not as dominating or sickly. I can especially smell the tobacco; am not really getting any of the muguet or even the patchouli (I think). But it's still not really for me, since that caramel note is so strong and just doesn't really work. If you like BPAL's caramel note, you'll LOVE this. I have to say that this really does smell androgynous to me, which is kind of funny given how sweet it is, but it's not an especially feminine sweetness. It's intriguing, and I'm glad I got to try it, but off to the swaps.

I kept looking at the notes when I tried this, and it's so well blended, I couldn't tell you what any of them were - this combines into something seamless and glorious and unique. It's kind of green, and kind of bronze, and rich, spicy, and deep floral. Very very gorgeous - dark without being heavy. MUST get a bottle!

Okay, so this is the first oil I've had any skin reaction to - it's not red, but it does feel a little tingly/burning/itchy. Which, honestly, is just as well, as to me this smells absolutely horrid. Seriously, it's one of the worst things I've ever smelled on me. It was VERY sharp and bitter on the imp - but you know, try everything once; and nope, it's still sharp and bitter on me. I'm not sure whether it's cassia or ginger, but something in here smells like burnt Indian food. In fact, I'm going to have to go wash this off, because the burning is uncomfortable and not at all redeemed by the smell! (So glad this works for some of you - a neat concept - but wow, I can't wear it. It's a Saw-Scaled snake indeed!)

I think what I have to say is going to echo what a LOT of people say, but here goes: In the imp, this smells like wonderful, deep, dark, rich chocolate - not too sweet, but VERY chocolatey. On me, there is an initial burst of chocolate (and it's a wonderful chocolate that works on me, unlike Bliss, which was horrible on me), but it doesn't last long, and then it seems primarily to turn to Snake Oil. And it's quite fresh Snake Oil (unsurprisingly), fresher than my imp, and it does get a little play-doh-y on me, though that's fading the longer it dries. Right now, this doesn't do an awful lot for me (I'm a little "meh" about straight Snake Oil), but like many, I'm thinking that if I put it away for a while it might turn into something glorious. (Of course, being greedy, I might swap it for something else before then...)

Okay, finally an Inquisition that works on me! This is quite lovely. Initially, I get quite a bit of the lemon and lime rind - and it's distinctly the rind, citrus-y but not juicy like the fruit itself. Then there's a little period where the patchouli seems to be undecided about whether it will smell like petrol or not, but thankfully, this passes quickly. I'm left with a lovely blackberry-sage scent with maybe just a little hint of citrus (if you know it's there). If I whiff really hard, close to the skin, I get a tiny bit of patchouli-going-wrong, but overall, it ends up sweet and warm. I don't feel compelled to get a bottle, but I'm glad I have the imp!

Oy. This was lovely for about half a second, and now all I get is patchouli. Which is not my favorite. Very sort of burnt-smoky smelling. Sadly not for me!

Sigh. I had SUCH high hopes for this one - it sounds full of things that I just love. And it's just how everyone describes it - light, pretty, cheery, fresh, all that kind of thing. But there is something in here that smells just like soap to me. It's not even that it's turning to soap on my skin - I think there's a note in here that I associate with a soap or shampoo or something. I get that soapy taste in the back of my throat. Oh well. It's just as well, since I just have the imp - now I don't have to worry about tracking down a bottle! (And I am VERY glad I got to try it.)

Okay, this is probably not the most helpful review, but: on me, Fruit Moon smells like lollipops! Strong, sweet, fruity, and candy-like. I love it! It's kind of mouthwateringly juicy. Very cheerful and bright - great on days when I want to smell like something hot pink.

Now, I thought I'd love this, because I've never had a problem with violets before, and sugar? hey, even better. But on, I find this really really REALLY sweet. I guess unadulterated violet isn't quite for me, even sugared up as these violets are. It dries down to something a bit softer and sweet with a touch of vanilla - it's a very very pretty scent. But I think that for me, Faith is a little much - I'll stick with her lovely sister.

This is just lovely. It's exactly as described - sugared roses. The roses are sweet, and the sugar is creamy, and it dries down into a sweet sugary vanilla-ish rose. It's not an especially complex scent, but beautifully done. There's decent throw on this one, too. I may have to get a bottle of this!!

Oh dear, this doesn't work at all on me, and I'm so sad, because I love the concept! (I love the concept because my husband and I live/work in different cities, so I really liked the idea of having a perfume that embodied that misery.) I love lilac, bergamot, and lily, and frankincense usually works on me, too. Unfortunately, it turns out that I amp those bulb-type plants (hyacinth, narcissus), and all I get here is a very very sharp and pungent snowdrop. It's so sharp and pungent that I'm getting almost a gas/oil/petroleum smell. And then the cedar comes out, which doesn't help, because it turns to ick on me. The longer it's on, the more the pungency fades and I start to smell the lilac, and if I whiff hard, I think I get some bergamot. The drydown is much nicer than where it started, but it's still nothing of great interest to me - not worth waitin through the gas spill I get initially. So sad!

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I love lavender, but sometimes the Lab's lavender goes really sharp and overly-herbal on me, and initially that's the case here. And fruits are dodgy on me - either lovely, or nasty. While I'm not sure that blackberry goes entirely cat pee on me as it does on some people, it's not especially nice on me to start either. At the drydown, though, I get some of the lovely honey coming out, and suddenly everything is much nicer - golden-sweet with a dark purple fruity edge. I don't know what dianthus smells like, but in the end it's primarily honey and blackberry, maybe with a little bit of a floral to bridge the two - no lavender, though. Problem is, I'm testing other stuff tonight, too, and I think it's confusing my. So I think I have to try this again to see if it's something I want more of before the Lupercalia scents go away, but it's growing on me.

oooh, this is so lovely! I get wonderful carnation, spicy and sweet, and the sweetness of the sugared cream, which makes me think of Alice - it's like Alice without the bergamot, and with the florals instead - the iris and orange blossom blend together sweetly and deepen the carnation and cream. It's like a more sophisticated Alice - an evening Alice. It is very sweet and innocent with a wicked little edge (perhaps from the orange blossom?). I like it! It makes me think of cream satin bedclothes gleaming in candlelight. I may have to get a bottle of this!

This is lovely in a very quiet, fresh way. In the bottle, I get mostly a very cool kind of sweetness. On, I get primarily verbena (I think that's what vervain is?), a kind of cool citrus underlain by mint - not peppermint, something greener. I agree with everyone who says this is a dark green scent - it makes me think of cold damp woods, green with pine and just about to bloom in the spring (though it doesn't smell like dirt or anything). There are florals here, but I can't really tell the notes apart. And there's a tiny hint of cedar, but thankfully, it's very very faint (cedar usually turns to ick on me instantly). I really like that this is cool but not cold - the Lab's snow notes usually turn to after-shave on me, but this is fresh and crisp. Very early springtime - when the ground is dark and wet and snow still lies in the shade, but snowdrops are poking out of the earth for the first time.

Wow, I really like this - it has a kind of heady perfume-y-ness that I'm beginning to associate with the Salon blends (thinking of Lucretia and Penitent Madgalene). I can smell the apple blossom, which has a hint of apple-y flavor but thankfully is NOT apple, because apple goes nasty on me. The honey wafts up in a beautiful curl of scent, but especially when I sniff my wrist, I can get some of the fig. The peach is lovely, and in evidence without being too foody-fruity - it's a very perfume-y peach (which works for me, as fruit-y peach can be too much). Sandalwood often amps on me and turns unpleasant, but here the sandalwood and thyme just add a little savory grounding to what is otherwise a very sweet and heady blend. This is so lovely! If you like the sweet complex headiness of Lucretia and the Penitent Magdalene, you'll like this.

Okay, so this confirms that apples just do NOT work on me. In the imp, I smell apples, and they smell lovely - juicy, crisp, tart; I might as well have been holding an apple under my nose. On me, however, apples turn to a sharp fake-fruit smell, and sadly this is no exception. I don't initially get any Snake Oil in this, although I suppose there might be a little vanilla lurking round the edges. After the fake apples, I get a VERY strong floral (plumeria? well, that or gardenia! ) which seems somehow wrong with the very foody apple opening. After a little while of this, the floral suddenly backs off and everything blends together a little more smoothly - now I can smell the spiciness of the Snake Oil. This stage is nicer - in fact, it's growing on me - but it's not very distinctive. It's perhaps a little unfair to review this since I know apples work so badly on me, but I find this an odd scent - to me, the flowers sit very uncomfortably next to the apples, and I never get any blood orange or lemon peel, which might blend them more happily. It does eventually come together, but I'm not sure I want to go through the rest of it to get here when I'm just as happy with plain old Snake Oil. If apples do work on you, however, you probably want to try this!

Oh, damn, I REALLY like this. I swapped recently for an imp (thanks, djnevermore!), and it's so lovely and soft and comforting, that now I want more! It's a very very light but warm scent, sweet milkiness with a hint of soft peppermint. I also recently tried Arcana's Layering Note Sweet Milk, and that was like spoiled rice pudding on me. THIS is milky without smelling like food - just a sweet creaminess. The only downside I can find is that it's not very strong - what I really want to do is SLATHER, but - hey, my only imp of Milk Moon! *off to haunt the sales page for more....* (edited to credit the right swapper!)