Pika

These notes looked perfect for me, especially if the daemonorops behaved as it did in Anactoria (also with honey and currant), rather than as its cousin, regular Dragon's Blood, which hates me.

On me though, Man with Phallus Head is a strangely dry, spicy, and almost powdery scent. It's lighter than I imagined, perkier and brighter underneath the usually heavy sandalwood, musk, and tonka. I get very little honey, and almost none of the currant. As it dries, it gets creamier, and the sandalwood stays around pleasantly, in a more complex way than a traditional incense-sandalwood scent. It's definitely not a darker version of Anactoria, and I agree with the comparison with Jacob's Ladder in some aspects.

Overall, I agree with Gwydion - I'm underwhelmed, though it's mostly pleasant.

The website's still got everything it says on it, and in addition, there are "unreleased" TALs available. The list is here. You can purchase all of them, just request them in your PayPal comments like you would any other oil. Hope that helps!

ETA: Heehee, lilirose beat me to it!

Wow, I love this one! I got a lot of bright, playful spice over the gorgeous red musk. I think it must be partly the citrus bergamot really playing out nicely over the woods/musk base. I really didn't get overpowered by the flowers either, which is a relief. Wish I had tried this one sooner, it might be a new fave!

First applied, it was a lovely, cool, light conifer scent. Sweet and refreshing. I kept sniffing really hard for the skin musk, and may have smelled it briefly, when I got a sense of a kind of intimacy in the cool woods. In that moment, I think I smelled what the scent *should* be like.

After that, it became all ozone-air-freshener on me. I really wanted to love this one, it sounded so perfect, and it just turned into gross dryer sheet nastiness. Arg!

I got a lot of straight-up violet too, with the dirty musky scent that doesn't really play well with my skin. As it faded, it got sweeter and kept reminding me of Parma violets, and not much else.

Very herbal, and almost medicinal. Very dry too. It's kind of got an "old" scent profile to my nose... like something I would have smelled in my grandparent's house. I don't really get the plum at all, and the lilac is somehow tainted by the herbs.

I'm not a fan of this one, unfortunately.

Very much vetiver, but also a mixture of smoky woods. I actually kind of like this, but it's very strong, and I have a feeling I won't wear it around too much because I'm worried it would bother others. It strikes me as deep, mysterious, and earthy. I agree with plunderparlour, it's got a masculine vibe, too, one I wouldn't mind snuggling up to. I may keep my imp for private wear, though I don't think I could do a bottle justice.

Lovely, spicy musk in the imp. I couldn't really smell the dragon's blood too strongly (good), and the sweet tobacco note I enjoy was floating around in there too. Unfortunately, it turned to powder on my wrists. Not even the usual cherry cough syrup that dragon's blood can sometimes do, but just a faint cinnamony powder. Too bad.

Aww, so disappointed. This is my first plastic BPAL experience. Totally weird, plasticky odor coming from my wrists after the first 5 minutes.

And this was such a beautiful scent in the bottle and in my anticipatory mind.

This goes straight to bland, slightly florally soap on me. The musk and balsam notes listed had me hoping, but this was really a dud when it hit my stupid chemistry. I think I agree with the ozone noted by others when sniffed from the fresh imp, which is also a nemesis of mine.

I found this mostly a fresh, slightly floral, sweet scent. I didn't get a whole lot of fruitiness, which is fine by me. I'm having a hard time with this one, because I'm so not in the mindset for a fresh scent that it just reminds me of shampoos and bland product fragrancer. It doesn't have a lot of character on my skin. I think I'll pass on this one, and keep it in the back of my mind for next spring, when maybe it will appeal more.

Wow, I've been sitting on this oil for way too long. Finally got around to trying it, and I love it. I was scared of the heavy florals (especially ylang ylang) but it's really gorgeous on my skin. It's got a cool, fresh feeling to me, strangely enough. Very confident and elegant. The incense is lovely, and doesn't smell overly smoky and burnt. My skin really ate it up, though, so I think I'll have to find alternative ways to wear it so it lasts longer.

Based on the notes, this scent could have been designed for me. Yummy honey musk, blackberry, greenness/teaness, spices.

In actuality, this is a very subtle scent, that while very lovely, doesn't last very long on my skin and doesn't pack much punch. It's understated, reminds me quite a bit of Bewitched, just sweeter and smoother.

I think I was hoping for a more complex, bold Bewitched, which this isn't quite. Actually someone told me this resembles The Oblation, minus the lavender, which I agree with to some extent, but I also feel it lacks something compared to that scent.

HOWEVER, this is a lovely scent in it's own right, and I'm not at all sorry I found my partial bottle. I can slather it on, and enjoy a lovely scent for at least a little while before it fades.

A very lovely scent. Sweet, sweet floral incense, with little sparkles of interest. Very fresh, and at the same time misty. It is a bit magical. I really love it.

Plus, this one got a compliment from a friend who usually doesn't give them, which prompted the gifting of a homemade body spritz to her, which she loves.

This is very much a lavender scent. I'm hit or miss with lavender, and this is quite pretty, though I don't think it'll be a frequent perfume for me. On the dry down, I actually get a scent that reminds me of one of my favorites, Anactoria. I can't explain what it is, something I always attributed to the honey musk, but that doesn't seem likely based on the listed notes.

On the downside, this also reminds me of the smell of your typical bath and body products, not a perfume. On the upside, I'd love to add this to a lotion and smear it on from time to time. On the downside, I don't work with lavender very well. On the upside, I know some people who will love this scent as a bedtime soother!

Aww... heavy on the sugary rum, a little on the pineapple, and not much else. I was really hoping for the raspberry to win on me. It's not bad, but it's kind of one-dimensional, and not what I'd hoped for.

This strikes me as one of the more "perfumey" BPALs I've smelled recently. But, for this scent, I say that in a good way!

It really had a "traditional" scent feel to me, and that always makes me nervous that others will consider it "old lady". I really felt womanly wearing it, however, in an empowered kind of way. Elegant, really.

It's a complex scent, very well blended, and I really had a hard time distinguishing the notes without going back to the scent description. All I can say is it has a muted, fruit-y feel, but is very much not "fruity". I think it's the fig and orange, but it's totally grounded by the myrrh and black musk. And the drydown doesn't go overboard on the muskiness. I felt it really came on strong on my skin, and I'll prolly apply less next time.

I really like this scent. I totally get the windswept, reserved, elegant vibe from the beautiful artwork, although it's not nearly as dark as I was expecting. I think there could be a bottle in my future for this one, and that's the first of this round of CDs I can say that for!

moonarcana, I LOVE the Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll packs!!! Fabulous!

My contributions...

ANIMAL SPIRITS

Bastet

Fenris Wolf

Coyote

The Lion

The Dormouse

The Raven

MYTHICAL CRITTERS

The Unicorn

Chimera

Ladon (or your favorite Ars Draconis)

Black Phoenix

Imp

Goblin

GEOLOGICAL

Black Pearl

Black Opal

Blood Amber

Brimstone

Obsidian Widow

Tombstone

This is too much fun!

I really love this one. A total winner, in my book.

I get a VERY smooth woody, resinous, lightly-floral, red-musky scent. I'm actually not convinced that it's all that "purple". When I think purple, I think Morgause, or even Lady Macbeth, with a bright, fruity, sultry kick. It is sweet, but it's almost a near-red brown to my nose; drier, darker, smoother, subtler.

Regardless of "color", it's a beautiful perfume. It hung close to my skin, and leaned a little toward cologne-y, but still made me feel ultra-feminine. Sexy.

For those who worry about lavender, I didn't get any. [ETA: actually I did on a third test, but it was NOT overpowering and bad... pleasantly herbal. I also got a little more pomegranate, which was subtle and lovely] And the black amber didn't go powdery on me, although amber and I usually get along pretty well anyway.And while I appear to be outnumbered by those who found this "purple", if that's not a color that appeals to you, try this one anyway. It's truly gorgeous.

Penumbra!

I got a LOT of red currant and blueberry initially, candy-like, but as it settled down on my skin, I got a much tamer, almost grassy scent coming out too. I think it must be the tea, and maybe the spices +/- benzoin. It dried down further to an even "drier" scent than I expected, not so juicy, but still sweet and spicy, which was really quite nice. I am not overpowered by vanilla, which can dominate in many BPALs I've tried, and the red musk doesn't dominate either. (even though I like red musk, I feel like I have enough of it).

I would say it's still a little bit fruity for my daily wear, but I do think it's a beautiful scent. And blueberry is fun! I only tested a tiny bit on the crook of my elbow too, so I think I may retest with more on various other parts and see if it develops any differently.

ETA: This scent does really well on me for about 4 hours. Really gorgeous. Then something shifts, and I get a really cloying, sickly drydown. Not sure what to do about this.

So, I was a very good girl and didn't order this one because the word "lemon" appears in the description, even though everything else looked beautiful... Why does there have be an exception to prove the rule??

My decant of Tiki King DOES smell sharp and lemony in the vial. Wet on my skin, it does indeed tend toward the evil lemon pledge. But... then it's gone! *POOF*

And magically it's a beautiful, dark, husky coconut. With a nice velvety-soft musk underneath. Quite dry, a little bitter. Definitely no Hawaiian Tropic here! (yay)

The throw in general is much less than I'd hope for, meaning I'd have to really slather to get the best effect. (sad with my little imp!) But it's very lovely. I Tiki King.

This is almost all sugared rum on me. At the beginning, the tobacco is really there, and to me it really smells like gritty smoke of tobacco, rather than a floral or packed-pipe smell. This really smelled like a tropical bar floor at the beginning!

As it dried, it became more caramelly rum. I'll second that it smells like a less complex Red Lantern, and it also reminded me of Hellcat a little. The sad part is that I really wanted this for the sweet coconut scent I've heard people rave about. I got no coconut. Aw, skin, why can't you play along?

Initially, this was a truly lovely scent on my skin. Musky, sweet, but smoky and woodsy. Almost a unisex blend, reminded me a little of Theodosius, but was truly delicious.

After about an hour though, it degraded away to a sweet, generic kind of conifer-y smell. I know it says pine, but I smelled douglas-fir, that "traditional" Christmas tree-y kind of smell. I happen to love douglas-fir scent on it's own, especially in the winter, but The Illustrated Woman kind of went to a generic cardboard-tree air freshener for me. I think the lingering vanilla and musk conspired to sweeten and corrupt the fir/pine, and the honey/tobacco just went away. Not sure what to do with this one, because it was so beautiful initially. Maybe a scent locket candidate or something.

I'd forgotten the scent description, so when I opened the imp and honey wafted out, I was pleasantly surprised!

Wet on my skin, this was a deliciously sweet, non-foody, and well blended honey-floral.

Then the orange started to poke out in a subtle way, which was lovely. I went back and read there is rose in this blend, but it's behaving as well. The honey is perhaps beating them into submission? But the honey isn't in-your-face either.

It seems to be fading fast on my skin, but it's really a beautiful blend. This is another scent I've had on my wishlist from the beginning, yet never tried! It's definitely a keeper imp, and maybe with time, I'll even want a bottle!

This reminds me of Theodosius in the beginning, kind of a pleasant, cologne-y scent. Nice, unobtrusive, safe, enjoyable. (Really? for The Nanny?)

As it's drying on me, however, I'm getting a lovely mix of leather and wood. No more traditional perfume/cologne scent. (Yay!) For some reason, this isn't at all what I expected. I guess because anything that says berries tends to be just that on me, and honey amps as well. And I was kind of looking forward to the Middle Eastern flowers and honey, but they're not here at all!

Yet, it really is quite beautiful. I find it "gentler" than I would expect, subtle but dominant. I'm reminded of mahogany, and I don't know if that's it I'm smelling, but I love it. It's not as in-your-face leather as Western Diamondback (one of the few other leather blends I've tried so far), very much more blended with the wood. And I can see some brilliant layering potential with this as well!

Yes, I think it's decided. I really love this blend! It's a surprise winner!