taramarie

Ladon on me is plumeria (because of the dragon's blood) and apple blossom. I'm not getting any of the other notes. It's light and very pretty. I'm hoping age will bring out more notes.

On me, dragon's blood smells like plumeria, so Dragon's Tears smells like plumeria and saltwater. It's like I'm wearing a plumeria lei at the beach. I'll definitely keep this one around.

In the imp and wet on my skin, Dragon's Reverie smells like sweetened incense resin. As it dried, it took on a hazy, airy quality. For a short time, it smelled like baby powder, but now it's back to the sweet haziness. This would be great for lazy summer days.

The Ars Draconis line has been full of surprises. The first one I tried was a frimp of Dragon's Musk back in June. I didn't think I'd like it since I'm picky about musk, but I love it. Dragon's Blood smells like plumeria, which I was not expecting. Dragon's Milk burned, and since I'm not sensitive to DB, honey, or vanilla, I was definitely not expecting that either. I think it must have clove in it, or something smiliar that's not listed.

A truly fae nectar! Dragon’s blood resin and honeyed vanilla. In the imp and wet on my skin, Dragon's Milk smells like a honey vanilla floral. Unfortunately, it started to burn as it dried so I had to wash it off. I'm not sensitive to any of the listed notes, so I'm really confused. But I'm sure someone else will love it.

I don't get any lilac or galbanum from Dragon's Eye. What I do get is lily of the valley and plumeria, which is what dragon's blood smells like on me. The two flowers work very well together. I may get a bottle of this.

I've tried three DB blends previously (Blood, Blood Lotus, and Dragon's Musk) but this is my first time trying Dragon's Blood itself. The oil reminds me of cough syrup. But the smell is divine! A sweet, spicy floral, definitely not what I was expecting but a very pleasant surprise. I want a bottle of this as soon as possible.

In the imp, I smell mostly the musk and carnation. Bathsheba smells the same wet on my skin. The two notes work together beautifully. Dry on my skin, the plum starts to come through. As lovely as Bathsheba is, I won't get a bottle, but I'll always have an imp on hand.

My 8-17 order should come today! I ordered three imp packs because things were really stressful. That's a good reason, right? The first imp pack is 6 Ars Draconis scents: Dragon's Blood, Dragon's Eye, Dragon's Milk, Dragon's Reverie, Dragon's Tears, and Ladon. I've only tried one AD scent so far and that's Dragon's Musk, which I love. Dragons are my favorite fantasy creatures, so the AD category is one I'm very interested in. The other two imp packs are scents I want because they remind me of Neil Gaiman's Endless: Death -- Dance of Death, Twilight Delirium -- Delirium, Mania Desire -- Desire, Hunger Despair -- Ode on Melancholy Destiny -- Miskatonic University Destruction -- The Great Sword of War, Antony Dream -- Languor, Oneiroi I hope I like all of them. I was going to wear The Sportive Sun today since it's the last day of August but I decided against it since it's an LE and I only have one bottle. So, I'm wearing Faith.

I wasn't sure how Othello would mix with my skin chemistry -- the spices had me convinced it would burn. Instead, it turned to floral soap. If I were looking for a floral soap scent, this would be great. Unfortunately, I'm not so I'll pass it on to someone else.

9. I shouldn't buy a GC bottle until I've finished the imp. 10. I should try a note before I dismiss it altogether. Just because some people hate _____, that doesn't necessarily mean that I will. 11. For any blend with more than three notes, my skin will usually eat half of them. Most likely the ones I'm really interested in. 12. Just because a blend is considered masculine, that doesn't automatically mean it won't work on me.

I've been part of this forum since March so it's about time I had a BPAL blog. I still consider myself a BPAL newbie -- I've only been wearing BPAL for 5 months. I've tried over 100 blends and I'm still exploring what works for me and what doesn't. What I know now that I didn't know in March: 1. I need to stay away from anything with clove, cinnamon, and mint since these burn. 2. My skin chemistry morphs lotus to bubblegum, so I can't wear anything with lotus in it either. 3. I love vetiver. 4. BPAL rose notes rock, but tea rose can overpower everything else. 5. If I'm on the fence about a GC blend, it's better to not get it. I can always try it later. 6. If I'm on the fence about a LE blend, it's better to get it then pass it on if it doesn't work. 7. Ordering as soon as I see the update is great, but waiting and deciding when I'm not as excited is better. 8. Any obsession is better when there are people to share it with. Anyway, I ordered twelve bottles yesterday morning -- October's lunacy Hunter Moon, it's companion Aeaea, and eleven Halloweenies: bottles All Souls '07, Bonfire Night, Dia De Los Muertos '07, October, Sugar Skull '07, and Pumkins I - V, and the imp of A Murder of Crows. I still can't believe I ordered a dozen bottles at once. I blame it on this being my first BPAL Halloween -- I got too excited. Well, whatever doesn't work for me will be appreciated by others, I'm sure. My best friend is already wanting October, but that and Pumpkin III are the ones I'm really interested in, so she may have to fight me for it.

At first, all I could get from Uruk was almond and what I think was patchouli. Just as it started to get interesting, my skin turned red so I had to wash it off. Still, it might make a nice room scent.

Thank you to the Lab for this frimp! What I get from Dee is mostly the woods and a little incense. I think the leather's back there too. This is gorgeous and while definitely a masculine scent, it is a scent women can wear as well. Dee's going right on my wishlist.

On me, Moscow is just florals and musk, with none of the florals really standing out. It's a pretty blend, but I expected something a bit more from it. I'll keep it around, though.

All I get from Paris is lotus, and once again my skin chemistry has morphed that to bubblegum. So instead of "sophisticated city," I get "ditzy heiress." Off it goes.

Unfortunately, all I could get from Eclipse was a little bit of floral before the cinnamon started to irritate my skin. One more for the "do not keep" pile.

Sundew is a very light, bright floral. It's a little too light and simple for me but I'm glad I got to try it. I'll keep this imp but I won't get a bottle.

On me, Aureus smells like almonds and incense resins. It's like a less-complex Cleopatra Testing Poisons. I like it but I don't need a bottle of this.

As strange as it sounds, when I first put Midnight on, it smelled like mustard. Yeah, no idea where that came from. Thankfully, that smell went away, but now it smells like light floral and eucalyptus. I don't know where the eucalyptus is coming from, since it's not listed. Midnight's not bad, but I won't be getting a bottle of this.

Darkness is gorgeous on me. I think I'm getting a lot of narcissus and some myrrh. I wouldn't recognize opium if I smelled it, but this scent is definitely heady. Sophisticated too -- this would be a good recommendation for someone new to BPAL. On me though, Darkness doesn't live up to it's name. It's too bright and warm for that. But I like it just the same.

I don't know why, but Wanton wet smells an awful lot like R'lyeh, which I definitely don't like. But just as Wanton was starting to smell more distinctive, it also started to burn, so I had to wash it off. I'll pass this on to someone else.

Terpsichore smells absolutely lovely. I tried it on before looking at the description -- the notes I got were fruit and white musk, but musk isn't listed. Unfortunately, it started to burn a bit so I had to wash it off. But I highly recommend it for anyone without sensitive skin who likes fruity, feminine blends.

Strangely enough, all I got from Calliope was Lemon Pledge. Then the mint burned and I had to wash it off. Hopefully, it'll work better on someone else's skin.

All I get from Thalassa is the salty ocean spray. It's a nice smell, don't get me wrong, but I was hoping for more than that. I'll pass this one on and stick with Selkie.