sarahmarie

Silk Road doesn't need my review, but...I love it, so I feel like reviewing it anyway. I wasn't sure about this blend when I read the description - as wonderful as it sounded in theory, I was afraid it would be strong, and I'm often overwhelmed by incensey, musky oils and florals too. But to my suprise, Silk Road remains very light - so light, in fact, that I had to keep reapplying as it faded away fairly frequently. It wears very close to the skin on me - I seem to lack throw most of the time, actually. The lightness is probably my only real complaint! When I first put it on, it's all spicy and warm, with a little incense in the background. As it dries, ginger and florals come out to play, but in the most surprising, nice, light way. It's a very evocative scent, and smelling it makes me think of...I'm not sure. Something I can't put my finger on. Its incense isn't at all overpowering, and the whole warm, spicy, smoky combonation is very sexy. I am joining the throngs of Silk Road lovers and putting a bottle on my wishlist ASAP. Yay for Silk Road!

I love that Midway is so sweet and so foody, but so light and soft at the same time. I was worried that it would make me ill, but it doesn't do that at all! In the bottle, I smell cotton candy, and a lot of other sweet things that don't really identify themselves. But on my skin, I can pick out cotton candy, fried dough, a hint of caramel, and the salt water taffy, which smells sort of like it tastes. I think fried dough and sugar are the two most identifiably smells for me, on my skin. I'm really looking forward to wearing this to the fair next month, and smelling better than the midway there. If happy, soft, and sugary sounds good to you, go for Midway. You may need to reapply a lot if you like a stronger smell, but it will be worth it. And even if you get no throw, you *will* have delicious, edible-smelling skin. Mmmm.

In the bottle, I smell balsam, mostly. There's a hint of the rosewood and a lemony scent too, but the balsam is the most identifiable. On my skin, the balsam drops away (awww!) and the lemon scent and the rosewood come out full force. It's very clean, but it's heading towards soapy, and I hope that stops. I wanted this to be more balsam-heavy than it is wearing on my skin. It's wearing very sharp and soapy at the moment...I'll give it a little more time, though. (About an hour and a half later) Now I can smell a soft base of darker notes, and it's nice. It's toned down a lot, and it's still clean-smelling, but not as sharp. However, it's not quite enough to counter the way my skin has pushed the lemon-rosiness so loudly to the top. Overall, I think this is a really cool blend. It's medicinal in a very different way (not herby or eucalyptus, which is what I often think of when people say something smells medicinal). It's also very mysterious, with a nice mix of masculine and feminine tones. If my skin can refrain from pushing the notes that feel feminine on me straight to the top with such force that the rest of the blend is hidden, I might like it...but I suspect my skin isn't going to behave. I'll give it one more try, though, I think.

I really thought I reviewed this! But I guess not. Hmm. I wore this during my evening yoga just now. It was a brief exercise, just for some stretching, but it felt particularly good. The aroma wafting up from my hands felt warm and meditative, and made me feel more in tune with the tradition of what I was doing, even though I'm only a yoga dabbler who does some poses from Om Yoga books every day. It's a warm, peaceful scent. The Coiled Serpent smells like patchouli, yes - but I normally hate patchouli, and I like this. It has a sweet, golden sort of note in it too - something warm and soft. I think that's frankicense. There's a spiciness as well, perhaps pepper? And possibly sandalwood, though I could be making that up. Altogether, it forms a warm, spicy, deep blend. I picture golden honey (though without the honey smell!) over a dark, dirty-like base (the patchouli). I don't like patchouli and I can't normally wear blends like this because they are usually too heavy and bother my head. But I like this oil. I would wear it for limited amounts of time, I think - during my yoga, and for a while afterwards - but not all day due to my sensitivity. But the fact that I want to wear a blend that contains patchouli and frankincese? Quite a feat.

Rose, and something green/herby -maybe the geranium some people mentioned. I don't get any cinnamon in this, which is odd because cinnamon usually leaps right up my nose when I put it on. My spouse said it reminded him of the roses that grow near the ocean in southern Maine, and I can see that. I like the lightness of the rose, but the herby quality is slightly off-putting for me (much less so than some other VooDoo oils though). I won't be buying a bottle, but I will use up my imp.

I love the fruits in this - they do smell like melons in a very candy-like way. They're tart and delicious smelling. In the imp, the fruits and the spice are evident. On my skin, the fruits remain, but the deep musky, animal smell that others have mentioned also arises. I say musk, but I can't really pinpoint what I'm smelling - it just smells animalistic and sinister to me. It's a interesting and unusual pairing, but I fear it would give me a headache if I wore it. So, off to the swaps it goes.

Oof - whoa, mega-grape! I can see why people like this oil - it's definitely flashy and fruity. But it's way too sweet and loud for me - the grape and what I think is the lotus just knock me over. Lotus always goes super sweet on me, though, so I'm not really surprised. Chalk this one up to adventures with skin chemistry, but Glitter must find a new home.

Tart, tropical, and almost effervescent. Mi-Go started out kind of frighteningly floral on my skin, but then the kiwi comes out, and all is well. I can't identify specific notes other than the kiwi and some floweryness, but tart, tropical, and effervescent describes it. It's summery and peppy, and while it's not as "me" as, say, Miskatonic University is, I think I'll be hanging onto and enjoying this oil. Plus, who can resist squishy, mi-go brains?

This is *good* stuff. In the bottle, it smells strongly of irish coffee. Lots of cream, lots of booze. You could mistake it for the real thing, so watch out. On my skin, it softens and a teeny tiny hint of the wood/mustiness comes out. But the Irish coffee smell is still spot on. It's not as boozy on my arm as it is in the bottle, which is nice, actually - it becomes a softer, creamier scent (though it is still clearly spiked. ) I love Miskatonic University and I am tempted to buy a second bottle.

I echo everyone's sentiments about the complexity of this oil. It's beautiful, and reading the description makes it all the more evocative and interesting. When I first put it on, this oil surprised me. I expected an immediate rush of flowers, but that's not what happened - instead I got a scent full of so many different things, blended so well, that I couldn't tell what I was smelling. It was good, just not identifiable. Hints of fruit or flowers would appear from time to time. As I wore this oil, it became more floral. It's still an oil I like a lot, but it's not very me, somehow. It's too bad, because I love the concept, and even the oil in many ways. But it's just not a scent that feels right for me. My spouse said, "You don't smell like you - you smell good, but you smell like someone else." And that's kind of how it feels for me. I can't decide if I want to keep it and feel like someone else sometimes, or if it feels too weird or unsettling. I thought it was an interesting reaction, though!

Oooh. This is so fresh and green and sparkley! At first, all I smell are leaves and mint - I say leaves because it's sort of an indiscriminate weeding-the-garden-crushed-leaves-all-over sort of smell at first, amazingly so. It's completely refreshing and invigorating, and it reminds me of pulling up handfuls of grass and herbs (but without the sneezy feeling ). I've been wearing it a few minutes now, and the lavender and lime seem to be appearing slowly, with the mint still going strong. I will report back if it does anything wacky, but right now I love this oil and will have to add it to the big bottle list. Envy is good stuff.

So, I've discovered something interesting about tea scents and my skin. Tea comes off very...floralesque when I wear it. I guess it turns kind of soapy. I'm not sure how else to describe it. If I didn't know it was tea, I would think it was floral. And it doesn't work very well for me. The tea issue aside, this is a beautiful scent in the imp - creamy and light, with ginger and a touch of sweetness (but no distinct honey scent, which is good because honey is generally too sweet a scent for me and makes my spouse kind of ill). On my skin, I smell the pepper and the ginger, and a hint of the linen, I think. It smells clean and light. But then, the weird tea-floral/soap thing happens, and I don't like it anymore. Too bad my skin chemistry messes this up, because it is a very nice, clean, happy scent.

Whoa, clove! I love it! The clove is the dominant note on me, but as it wears it develops a nice apricot background to sweeten it up. I love the spiciness of this scent. It keeps the apricot from being too sweet and balances it very well. This is a simple, warm spicy scent on me. I like it a lot!

I get some lavendar in this, but mostly, I get the spicy lemony scent - it's not lemon though, it's lemongrass or lemon verbena. I'm thinking verbena, but I'm not sure. It's very familiar to me, though I don't know why. I tried a little bit of this last night and fell asleep very quickly, so I didn't have a lot of time to reflect on it - but I know it's good stuff! I remembered my dreams better than usual, though they weren't terribly important-seeming dreams (I was pretending to be a sort of statue that attached to shopping carts in the grocery store, and Xander from Buffy (who was Xander but also my spouse, Ryan) was carrying me home in the rain (because I was still pretending to be a statue)). Anyway. I like Nanshe quite a bit and will probably be getting a bottle of it eventually. It's got similar qualities to the other sleep oils I've tried, but this one is definitely unique - it's green and spicy, and also sort of...quieter, I guess, than Baku or Somnus. I think I am going to like all of the sleep oils! Soon my ritual of applying oils before bed will be even longer, and I will run out of places to put all the different oils.

In the bottle, this is definitely very, very sweet and pink. I get a light creaminess and a springy floral scent as well, but not much berry - maybe just a touch. The flowers are different, and as I said, very springy and happy - but they are a bit sharp to my nose in the bottle, and it made me nervous at first. On my skin, the cream drops out, the florals kick up for a few minutes, and then the strawberry appears. This was a threatening transition for me, but it only lasted a few minutes. After that, it settled down into a very nice strawberry scent, sweet, but with a tartness that keeps it from being sickening. It has the happiness and effervescence of Bon Vivant. but without the weird headache-inducing plastic that that oil turned into on my skin. I'm still aware of the flowers, but they are much tamer and more agreeable. In the end, I don't like it as much as I love Chaste Moon, but I do like it. I think it's a pretty, happy, hopeful spring scent, and I will be wearing it whenever I can tear myself away from Chaste Moon this spring.

Wow...this is very pretty. It has a light flowerly scent with a slightly earthy, definitely spicier note - that's probably the sage and/or thyme. There's a lemony aspect too, and I think I can pick out the honeysuckle sometimes. This does smell very much like a garden on a warm night - again, a floral that surprised me quite a bit. I think I will use up the imp...and it's possible that this will warrant bottle status if it's still around next time I can afford some. Mmm. Even if you don't like florals, I say give this a shot. It's very light and not "perfumey" (I think the lemony note helps with that), and it has a nice grounding note with the sage and thyme.

I am really surprised by how much I like Chaste Moon. It has flowers, and I like it! Oh my! The flowers are just so soft, and combined so nicely with the creaminess...mmm. It's a very soft and gentle scent, with a cheerful, hopeful feeling. I'd say it's a fluffy sort of feeling - it makes me think of little flowers and cotton puffs or something. But it is definitely very first-buds-of-spring. I get the buttery scent when I sniff the bottle too. When I heard people say it was buttery, that made me nervous - I've had a really hard time with buttery scents in the past. But this is a delicious butterscotch scent, not quite as outright buttery (not as sharp/salty/rich?) as the butteriness in Gluttony and Jack. It's a smoother, softer butter. On my skin, the butter settles down a lot, and the creaminess comes up, along with the very light, unusual scent of flowers. I don't do florals - I have strong icky reactions to them sometimes - but this is just really nice. It's too soft and light to hurt me, and it smells fabulous with the creamy aspect of this oil. I think I smell something else too - maybe the "lunar oils" - but it's blended so well it's really hard to tell. I tried to describe all the aspects of the scent, but on my skin it really is blended into one soft, delicious fragrance that I can't really describe well. I'm surprised and really pleased. It's such a pretty scent! Thank you Beth!

I have scent sensitivity and migraines too. I can wear BPAL, I just had to figure out what works for me. What scents work for you is completely dependant on you, but here's what I've figured out about me: - musky scents, particularly dark musks and patchouli, are a big no-no - foody scents are usually fine, better if they are spicy and not too sweet - fruit is generally safe - light scents are usually safe -woody scents are usually safe - florals vary wildly, but are usually risky - all things in moderation...I have to apply very sparingly, a little on a wrist to start, and sometimes a touch behind the ears if it's a scent I know tends to work well for me.

If you're still looking, check out the university scent under "Springtime in Arkham". Books and wood and coffee, mmm!

This scent was much better on my skin than I expected - I was afraid of the metallic, ozone aspect in the description. But it comes out on me as a very light, clean, soapy-in-a-nice-way scent - lightly floral, lightly fruity. It's delicate and light, and very pretty. I'm not sure if it's me, but it is definitely very pleasant and clean smelling.

I really like Spooky! I really wasn't sure I would - sweet scents tend to make me ill, and I was afraid of the mint being overpowering. But this isn't terribly sweet, the mint isn't strong on me at all, and it isn't as foody as I imagined. It's creamy but lively - a large dose of coconut (yay!) with undertones of mint and chocolate. I don't get the rum or much of a vanilla, but that's largely a good thing (I've had bad luck with both in the past.) The mint is cool, but not cold - it's not a freezing scent, it's just sort of reminiscent of a chilly wind blowing outside while you eat something really delcious inside. Spooky surpassed my expectations. Thanks to Beth for bringing it back! I'm really glad to have a bottle.

I am always a little nervous about trying the Voodoo blends, because some of them have something in them that really bothers me. I'm not sure what it is...but All Night Long doesn't seem to have it. I put just a teeny tiny bit on my forearm, just to get a sense of what it smelled like - and it was definitely noticeable. A little goes a long way! It's reminiscent of a headshop - but it's beyond that, too, in a very soft, warm, relaxing way. Over the headshoppy scent (I don't know what it is, I just know what it reminds me of) is the warm, spicy cinnamon. I normally can't wear anything musky, and there is a muskiness to this - but it's very warm and soft, not animalistic at all... and it feels fuzzy rather than sharp, if that makes sense. I think I may really like this. Just be aware - a teeny bit goes a very long way - that touch on my arm was plenty, and it didn't wash off easily in the shower.

Corazon is *beautiful*. It's all sunshine and heat and juicy fruit, with the muskiness underneath. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can wear it, because of the amber - it jumps right out on me and amber is, sadly, sometimes a migraine trigger for me. But I may have to try, because this blend is so lovely. I can't even really describe it, but it really suprised me. And this makes me think that I would love to smell the mango in something I knew I could wear - it's really delicious.

Perversion - the number one sexiest scent ever, to me (at least so far). It's sort of a mix of classy and elegant with dirty and dangerous. And it is truly awesome.

b-pal!