darkitysnark

... just giving you a virtual geeky high five (which would be us attempting one and comically missing by a mile) on the XTC shout out. Sure the song's stuck in my head now, but I love this song!

Ack! Franken-stir-fry reminds me of a recent pizza catastrophe over at Chez Snark: regular pizza crust, mashed roasted root veggies (parsnips, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic), a think layer of sour cream, basil pesto, black olives, green olives stuffed with feta cheese, mozzerella, parmesean, and cotija cheese on top. It was... weird. Too sweet. Loaded down. The Mister hated it so much he refused to eat more than the 1.5 pieces he had (and yes, it was his idea to put all the regular pizza stuff on top of the roast root veggie base... the sour cream was his idea as a sort of "fat barrier" between the mash and the pesto). Being my mother's daughter, I had to eat all the leftovers. Some things just should NOT be on pizzas.

How about aspiring lingerie divas? As The Mister only has a mild preference to va-va-VOOM wear over white cotton grannie panties, any frothy/frilly/fun purchase of the underthings variety is done soley for my own benefit -- much like the whole BPAL thing (he swears everything smells like band aids on me. The horror!) I am interested in seeing how your choice of BPAL influences clothing choice. My own wardrobe is often limited to "what can I cram into my bag" followed by a fairly random romp through the imp box. Since I am at high risk for developing breast cancer (my mother has had it twice) I had my first mammogram yesterday. It wasn't fun, I even got a little emotional, but it feels good to have my "baseline" taken care of. As much as I love my girls (and I do, I really do! They're so perky and tiny and "if I don't want to wear a bra today, I don't have to - so long as it doesn't get cold" petite) I wish they had been a wee bit larger to avoid the awkward taffy pull action of getting them between those two plastic plates, though. Anyways, I digress. I'll be following your sartorial/scent experiments with interest!

She's like everybody else - she's completely unique. There are minor variations that skew her off center from the norm, but it's a large, comfortable demographic with ample wiggle room. The hated but apropos "slackerdom" is inherent (why else a "high-concept" blog crafted during the work day?) as is the vague uneasiness that often accompanies the under-utilized, over-educated, filled-with-potential-but-not-going-anywhere intelligence that wishes it could live long enough to become wisdom. She has recently discovered concrete proof of her own mortality - first in the endodontist's chair, tears streaming back into her hair; and again in the surprisingly warm and comfortable imaging room during her first mammogram. Her world sharpened into finite days. Now anything done without mindfulness is shameful, offensive, a waste. Which is horrifying as her entire life, save for a few accidental miracles, is one shameful, offensive waste after another. She's waited so long - too long? - she needs to do something. The need is a physical ache in her palms, a perma-frown, unbearable restlesness. She grabs her imp of Danse Macabre. The drydown will bring back old friends and that night spent saying timid goodbyes. Making eye contact for the first and last time. Her last dance with that great old group of freaks. Green hope wafts from her drying wrists. She settles down to type, and to wait out her memories.

Blogs abound. Snarky regularly rocks three (count 'em, three!) of her own (the prerequisite LJ discourse, the demographically behooved knitblog, and a fairly young SparkPeople weightloss rumination), so why another one? Because this is so. Damn. Cool. But, Snarky has to make it interesting, different, somehow equally relevant to the other virtual dumping grounds to her massive ego. Ergo, this experiment. Once upon a time, she had delusions of literary grandeur. Through some overworked and convoluted logic, the BPAL Blog is going to be The Writing Blog. And if the Hat Trick of "Snarky-Centric Script", "Aspirations of Artistry", and "Grabby Gimmick" is to be acheived.... well, ya gotta have a gimmick if ya wanna have a chance. Snarky is going for the time-tested, Bob Dole approved method of third person narration. Also possibly horrible grammer, passive (aggressive) sentence structure, and major conjunctivitis (in this case, swelling and overuse of conjunctions... not pink eye). But not dangling participles! That is something up with which Snarky will not put! Finally, depending on mood, your humble narrator might be "Darkity" or "Snarky" or just plain little Miss Universal "S/he®". So. All of this, plus the occasional mention of smellies to keep the blog relevant to its gracious host-body. Groovy.

Snarky forgot to mention that she is also unashamedly yoinking the whole third person shebang from Rock Chick's knit blog. RC recently made the leap to first person, so this is a sort of posthumous homage. Despite her moniker, Snarky sincerely hopes you are entertained by any future musings as well!

Oh wow. My impressions while testing (during the forum down time, so my recall is imperfect) had nothing to do with the actual notes. This started out, for lack of a better word, "manly" on me, a sharp flare of astringent cologne. But it dried down and warmed to a really lovely, creamy, almost ambery feeling. Much like QueenFae's phantom Snake Oil reaction, I'm picking up implied notes that just aren't there. But I like it.

Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper. Straight up dirty musk slap. Ka POW. And that's.... pretty much it. I've gotta try this again, but my first reaction was just a back peddaling "no no no no NO!".

This single note lives up to the hype. Thanks to my AwesomeSuperFantastic Winter Switch Witch, minilux () I have this to hoard and use and love and gaaaah! This seems to be short-lived on me; however, please keep in mind that I am being beyond sparing in my application. I should just suck it up and douse myself once (OK, let's not get crazy, I'll step back to "slather") because this? Is perfection. Warm, sweet, comforting, just a bit spicey. All the clovey goodness you expect without tipping over into abject foodiness. This is... heaven. And it layers so well with everything I have (namely earthy, resiny, slightly manly blends). And it just goes well with me. Ah. If I had known how wonderful this is.... I would've ordered Multiple Bottles (a huge friggin' deal for a BPAL skinflint such as m'self) prior to discontinuation. So glad I got to experience this. My effusive thanks will never be enough!

Sublime, in the compelling/scary sort of way. This started out gritty mortar 'n pestle cocoa bean with a sharp green bite. The sweetness of the figs helps this out, but there's still a sharp woody, pencil shavings sort of zinger at the back of my throat. Definitely masculine in the way that compels and repels at exactly the same time. I'll sniff this again, but if I get the same "run away! jump my bones!" I might have to gimp elsewhere.

Heh. Stardust.

A swap from hepkitten. Hm. Love the frankincense, but boy howdy this is nothin' but le frank for a good long while. Frankincense and a weird, feral sharp after-smell that hurts my nose and makes me want to run to my mamma! (Maybe it was rabid cinnamon? Otherwise, I didn't get what I usually consider cinnamon.) Hours later, though, and this is just all powerful ego. Very forceful. This really helped my little pow wow with my boss just now. I was able to interrupt his rambling digressions and get to the point already, puny hu-man. And now, finally, a hint of violet. Very nice. I'd like to layer this with the LUSH Skinny Dip buttercreme I got (and use only for special smellin' occasions). I strongly recommend a light hand on application. I was and still am wafting like a egomaniacal mofo. Edited to note: what a difference a couple months makes! Not sure if it's aging the oil, or changing of me, or just the season changing or what... but now I'm getting mostly spicy dark violets, and not so much the frankincense. If there's cinnamon, it's definitely in a supporting role. This has become the Signature Scent of Chez Snark.

A gimp from the generous, and crafty, SevenSins! This is like a Hellfire cake with Herr Drosselmeyer cream cheese frosting on top! There's that same strange fight/flight reaction I get with leather (like the bad boy you can't help but lust after, even though he's clearly Up to No Good), and a very foodie almond/cherry/vanilla tobacco thing going on. I slathered a little too heavily and this is quite overwhelming! A little goes a l-o-n-g way with this, I'm wafting and throwing my cake all over the place. Definitely a "when I'm in the mood" type scent that must be used sparingly. Woo.

A generous gimp from SevenSins! Love the resins, love the incense. This is the pious older brother to Danse Macabre for me. More ethereal, cooler somehow, but they both have the same hours-later effect. Wonderful.

Huh. I got the pine in the bottle, but it was POOF! gone the minute it hit my wrists. Mostly I got powdery, somewhat aggressive sweet girliness. Course, me + berries is never a good match, so that might explain the meh-ness.

Clio A marvelous gimp from the gifted SevenSins! Wow. I'm not getting any citrus out of this. Interesting. In fact, I've pretty much amped the patchouli with a small showing of woods and parchment in the background. And the surprising thing is... I like it. Me? The anti-patchouli girl? Liking patchouli?! Zounds! Wet and during drydown I got a more herbal quality, probably from the lavender, even though it didn't come off as straight lavender (it was less floral, more green and astringent). Sort of a cologney herbalist sort of a smell. But since then? This lovely soft patchouli touched with deeper, rounder things. I have been very calm, alert, and present today, which is completely the opposite of what I was yesterday. Can this be attributed to Clio?

Teh Smut! Lovely, just... lovely. I was able to try from tempete's vial and lemme tell ya. This is beyootiful. This started out in the red musk, sharply boozy side of things and quickly warmed and blossomed open into a full, rich, yum scent. Like a foodie's idea of sex. It's not a foodie smell per say, but it feels like the ol factory bridge between tummy hunger and... the other kind of hunger. It's been about eight hours and I can still smell a vanilla-ed, sugary muskiness close to my wrist. The throw is pretty much gone at this point, but I still have a cocky, come-hither swagger.

Centzon Totochtin I sooo wanted to use the in all sincerity, alas, at least for now, it is a . This started off very promising - a gritty, dark, bitter-but-not-whangy cocoa floating on the delicate surface tension of some luscious sacrificial wine. Then it hit my skin. Grape koolaid, y'all. I'm gonna give my body a few weeks to work its hormonal kinks out (ooooh, sounds nasty!) and try again, because at first? So lovely. But this right now is just too sweet and grapey and where did all that nummy bitter chocolate go?! Sigh. Thanks to hepkitten for swapping with me!

Jacob's Ladder A swap with hepkitten . Sweet. Spicy. Whoa SPICY! Some flowers, an intense moment of "high-end store perfume" and then... mmmmm. The hours later scent is glowing skin numminess. I want to slink up to people and whisper "I am a Golden God". I would have enjoyed more costus and less rockrose (not entirely famliar with galbanum and benzoin... but I think they and the tonka and ambrette are all blending with the golden amber here) during the morphy part, but in all this is a scent to rival my usual private happy place scents (Tombstone, Queen of Sheba).

Three Witches, resurrected A decanted swap from ketalady :bowdown:, thanks lady! I love all three notes going in to this, though I've had burning issues with another company's cinnamon perfume oil... so I slathered medium to light and only on my wrists (the neck flesh, she is tres sensitive, no?). There was a warning tingle, and a sudden flash like magnesium flares, but then just as quickly it was gone. On me this is a short lived blend. I think my skin ate it. While it was with me for those few scant hours, I got a full, round cinnamon with a warm, dry clove bottom and just a dash of pepper. Also a very heavy generic "baking" smell. Even though all of the components are classified as "foodie" it was much foodier than I expected. In general I'm OK with this. I think it would be better as a room scent for me. If I get brave later, I might try it behind my ears.

Stardust Kindly swapped from ketalady. This is an Alter Ego scent. One that I would use to transform myself for an evening out. In the imp this is pure Aqua-net, so much so that I had a very vivid flashback to ballet recitals. The feel of dippity-do and hairspray thick in the (h)air, the foam tower bristling with carnations the owners of the ballet studio always bought so that none of the girls would feel left out, and lots and lots of stage makeup. The hairspray smell dissipate very quickly and is replaced with brilliant florals. Ylang ylang and tuberose I think. Hours later this is still a great scent. Maybe not a LOOK AT ME scent like I thought it might be... but definately a come closer if you like whatchoo see sort of a firtatious dancefloor kind of vibe. There is a smoky, musky, stale champagne undertone, but this is mostly florals. Oddly enough, and maybe it's just the David Bowie suggestion doing this, it's a very androgynous floral. I'd probably wear this if I went clubbing in drag.

Moscow A swap with ketalady! I'm summoning my inner Scoobie Doo to let you know on my skin, this is pure RASMINE! More descriptively, from the get-go this smelled like a big ol' fistful of JASMINE with a few crushed rose petals to change it up a bit. There's the hint of spicy carnation to dial the overall sweetness down. Hours later it's almost gone save for a rasmine ghost spotted through lily-shaped glasses. This one was all flowers. I would have liked to pick out some tangerine, amber, bergamot, or musk, but it's not gonna happen with this one. Rut row!

Hamadryad (from my Autumn Switch Witch kmasden!) maewitch is spot on: this is WEIRD. I will note before my bizarre journey into What-the-Heckland that even when the blends and my skin do not get along, the blends are spectacular in their failure. I have been breaking out of my "in the bottle/wet/drydown/later" review stages lately, but I have to go back to "in the bottle" for this one because the scent was so overpoweringly evocative of Nekko Conversation Hearts. I could almost taste the sweet, chalky, vaguely flavored (is it fruit? what is it?) essence of that nostalgic candy in my mouth when I smelled this in the imp. Immediately after application I got a physcial WHOOSH sensation (all York Peppermint Patty like) and was hit HARD with that mystery wintergreen note. Since then she's been fading very quickly on my wrists. She's now a soft, somewhat floral, mostly soapy scent. Very light, airly, clean, and just not me. But wow. What a ride!

Dia de lost Muertos 2005 A swap from ketalady, who was kind enough to decant an imp even though this is one of her faves :bowdown:. Short 'n' sweet: Candied desert flowers. To elaborate: My first impression was very strong florals, which in my uneducated nose came across as JASMINE. My skin amps all kinds of florals, so I got this quasi-JASMINE for quite a while. But... There was something undeniably edible about the blend. Those candied fruit slices (with peel included) come to mind very strongly. Candied, but also tart. And still this tough, succulent floral on top. I believe the tobacco and incense are in there for me as well, providing a much-needed grounding for all this high, light, sweetness. I will carefully use and love this imp until it is dry. Medium throw, lovely waft... excellent staying power.

Yggdrasil A swap with ketalady! This is the most aquatic "woods" blend I've ever tried. It's bright, fresh, and green -- albeit a budding spring green, not the hard, shiny dark green of leaves that have toughened up for summer. In fact, this almost veered into the fabric softener zone where most traditionally aquatic blends go on my skin... but it just missed it. Just. This is very light, with low to no throw and very little staying power. I have to sniff directly from my wrist to really pick up anything. What little waft I have is the bright clean mystery scent while straight from the skin it is drier and more "woodsy". This reminds me of the non-pumpkin effect of the ivy/wood/galangal pumpkin patch blend. Perhaps this could be a spring scent?