Browneyes

(thanks delicate_fangs! )

 

Short review: Sensual and warm red musk

 

In depth: On me the main player in this oil is definately red musk, of the same kind as that one in Scherezade. To me, this is a Good Thing. The orange peel, herbs and floral notes are faint, but they are subtly present, adding a sweet and golden haze to the red musk. The Dragon's blood resin and amber notes are surprisingly quiet on me.

Red musk tends to be kind of sweet, incense-y and candy-like on me, and this one is no exception, but I love the smell, so I definately love this blend. It is a warm and womanly scent

Short description: sweet and green

 

In depth: it's funny, I also thought of White Light when I first applied this. Maybe they share a note or something? In any case, this is light and sweet and green. Very smooth and soothing. A bit powdery on me, which could indicate a pale ambery note. I like it alot

Short description: sweet cinnamon & patchouli

 

In depth: sweet cinnamon & patchouli. i can't detect much else really. maybe it is sweeter because of the other notes, but basically this smells like a cinnamon roll over an earthy/woody base. Or a sweet cinnamon incense or oil. I love it, but didn't expect the poem to smell like this.

Short review: Sweet spring bouquet

 

In depth: (I'm not sure which version this is)

So pretty. Lots of floral, but not overpowering. Some of the floral notes are fresh smelling while other notes are more heady. I can detect freesia in here I think. Blended together with some wet green notes, as well as something almost spicy-woody - this is pure and happy springtime. And I'm not a huge floral person even, but this is really lovely.

(thanks delicate_fangs!)

 

Short review: clean and light

 

In depth: Before reading the notes I tried this on, and felt like it immediately reminded me of something I have tried before. I think it may be Elizabeth Arden's green tea line?

Unfortunately, I get none of the lime or mint, maybe it's because they have faded completely from the oil by now. I do get a sweet and pale musky green tea, with extra green-ness from the aloe. It's quite lovely. Not as refreshing as I would expect, but since the lime and mint aren't there for me, I guess that makes sense.

My only doubt is that it smells alot like something else - possibly Elizabeth Arden - and that makes me feel like it is somewhat generic perfumey. Really glad to have tried it though!

(thanks delicate_fangs!)

 

Short review: vintage pretty

 

In depth: I'm not terribly familiar with peonies, but this is a lovely soft and feminine scent. It's quite sweet, and I feel like it could be a candy flavour, because somehow the floral translates as fruity to me. (probably just my nose/inexperience, or perhaps the plum blossom?) I did recognise a green-ness and a watery-ness even before I had read the notes, but they are more behind, adding a calm haze over the sugary floral aspects of the scent.

All in all very pretty. It makes me want to don a vintage flowery tea dress and a floppy straw hat, and go for a walk in a garden

2005 version

 

Short review: Pumpkin pie in a log cabin in the dark woods on Halloween night

 

In depth: Ok, maybe this is my favourite patch after all. (Damn, why isn't the new patch like the 2005 one? Or why wasn't I around and savvy in 2005??) It's dark, woody and leafy, a chilly autumn scent. Is it the ivy? Combined with the pumpkin, which gives it a rich, foody, spicy base. Pure LOVE!!

2005 version

 

Short description: Foody woody floral

 

In depth: Really like this one! The pumpkin is like a soft pie/cake scent, but the orris and sandalwood balance that perfectly It is kind of incensy and definately rich and rounded, but with a green and earthy note behind. The orris later becomes almost perfumey-floral, but never too much. A very balanced scent.

2005 version

 

Short review: positively edible!

 

In depth: Wow. Just smells delicious. Bitter cocoa, nuts, and the warm buttery pumpkin note. Wafts too, and it's as if there is a touch of spice and liquer. Not sure that I will wear this as a personal fragrance alot, but I definately like the smell

2005 version

 

Short review: fruity pumpkin (surprise)

 

In depth: My first impression was "Fruity Misk U?" but I think that was just the pumpkin being tricksy with me. Besides, I can't pretend to be a big pumpkin connoisseur, this is my first try actually. The pumpkin is not buttery in scent as I had feared, the butteryness is more like a feeling. Sort of a rich, foody - but-not-too-foody, scent. The pomegranate is a nice and subtle fruity touch. I really like this pumpkin and I'm glad to have a bit of it!

Short review: Applelicious

 

In depth: What a lovely apple scent! It is a crisp, sweet, juicy and really realistic autumn apple! The cranberry and cider elements of the scent seemed more apparent in the imp, I guess they are backing notes.

Gorgeous, fun and feminine! A must-try for apple lovers

Short review: Tropical femme fatale

 

In depth: This is one of the select few tropical BPALs that I like. First impression is : OMG mangos! and steamy waxy dark green leaves! It slowly becomes more heady and "thick" smelling as the oil dries and the heavy florals come out. The end result is a luscious, tropical scent - more sweet and floral heavy for a while, but after drying, that amazing initial blast of steamy green comes back. all in all, a great tropical oil to be used occasionally on balmy, sleepless nights

Short review: sweet earthy resins, but fresh (definately salt-water-breeze like)

 

In depth: I think I might be amping the frankincense, because the patch and sandalwood are more like a gritty background to the sweet incense scent. The pirate inspiration is evident, and though the scent is very earthy, and sweet, it has the freshness one would expect of a pirate scent It's bold and feminine and I really love this, so I might have to get more someday! At the moment, I seem to have alot of resin perfume, so I'm not desperate.

Short review: Clove-y and clean

In depth: This scent is kind of hard to pin down on me. It sometimes reminds me of a spicy soap or cologne (though not in an objectionable way to me), sometimes reminds me of Christmas (because we do clove-studded oranges and bake alot with cloves, not that it smells like orange or cake though), sometimes I get the smoky clove cigarette scent, sometimes it's more musky, sometimes more woody. It doesn't seem to morph in stages, but rather it flits back and forth from one impression to the other, much like a fast-moving little spider
The spice is bitter and dry, not sweet and luscious like some other BPAL spicy scents. The scent is quite strong to begin with, but fades away gently. It is a somewhat masculine or at least gender-neutral scent.
I do like it alot, but it's very different from what I expected. I look forward to wearing it in colder weather, and I have a good feeling about letting it age for a few months, I think that might round it out and make it richer perhaps. Just a hunch. Glad to have the bottle!

(edited to add lab description)

evilmistressoftoast - your husband takes really good pictures! ALL the Stardust labels are just gorgeous, the style of the artwork is really lovely. I kind of want a bottle just for the label now

Forest and wood scents are some of my very favourites!!

 

I've liked Jersey Devil and Black Forest alot, but Yggdrasil was awful on me.

 

From the LE's Hexennacht was lovely, but more musky/sweet than woody, Samhain and Samhainophobia have that lovely "autumn leaves" scent that conjure images of forest outskirts in the fall, and I love and always associate vetiver as a forest-bed/earth smell, so I love Saturnalia for that.

 

My ultimate "summery evergreen forest and woodsmoke" scent is the LE Dogs Playing Poker scent:

 

Stranger in Camp

 

It is unbelievable

In anticipation of the Halloween update, I find myself worrying/wondering about pumpkin! I have never tried a pumpkin scent, and I really don't know if I would like it. But I'm soo curious about it now, especially after the "Revolutionary Pumpkin patch" ideas in the speculation thread in the BPAL Chatter section of the forum.

 

Upthread sarada mentions that pumpkin smells like pure melted butter to/on her, which makes me go:

I really really can't do overwhelming foodies like Drink Me, though I do adore some foodie blends (like Shub and Misk U, to the extent that those can be considered foody at all - I guess I like foody elements in combination with something resinous/woody/dusty??). My absolute maximum in terms of foody scents is Eat Me, and even so, vanilla does sometimes go plasticky on me. And I don't think I can do dairy, i.e. milky, perfumes very well

 

Soo... my point is, I'm worried about the foody level of pumpkin scents. Do you have to be a hard-core foody? Does the pumpkin smell "buttery", in the sense of real butter?

 

(Unfortunately, I won't afford to place an order before the Halloween update at all, so I can't try out Jack. )

 

Thanks

A Stranger in Camp starts out as juicy evergreen on me, but morphs into campfire smoke after about ten minutes.

I have to agree, the smokiness of Stranger in Camp is fantastic. On me the evergreen lingers for maybe a bit more, and there is always a green freshness to the smokiness. Very much a summer campfire scent

Sacred Whore of Babylon = spicy gardenias

(for summer)

Yup I agree that Harlot is a really good summer cinnamon blend.

 

(Hand of Hermes would be a lovely summer scent too (cinnamon-lavender) - but it's intended for ritual use only.)

SATURNALIA.

 

I love Saturnalia. I have an aged bottle and it smells divine (for someone who likes vetiver). It's extremely earthy, dark and gritty.

Argh I'm moving country too.. I'm planning to wrap all the bottles up in bubble wrap, secure them in my bottle box (wooden), pack that into my luggage and hope for the best.

Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon verbena.

Imp: Lemon and... BBQ (ok probably just my nose being weird)

Wet: Sweet citrus and florals.

Dry: Definately a girly and "swelling" citrus. Very very sweet too, because of the honeysuckle I guess. It's pretty. (oh, and the BBQ disappeared thankfully!)

 

edited to add description

Imp: Lemon lollipop

Wet: Lovely sparkling citrus... over some sort of woody smoothness

Dry: Soft and smooth citrus cologny type scent. Very nice. I like it

Imp: hmm... sweet heady floral but it strikes me as somewhat soapy

Wet: I also get the honeyish sweetness. quite nice at this stage!

Dry: Well, this becomes stronger and develops a very heady and still soapy scent. It's got a sharpness. So I think it's too much on/for me...