taramarie

On my skin, Meskhenet started out as floral with a hint of green. Drying, there's a definite wood smell. Sandalwood, maybe? I think she's fading, which is a pity since she smells so good. I hope aging will make her stronger.

Wearing King Cobra, I get an image of a cobra slithering on the stone floor of a temple after dark, with burning incense and an offering of flowers on a nearby altar.

On me, this Snake Pit denizen has bite, but only slight compared to Boomslang and Coral Snake. If I didn't put on my usual amount (close to slathering), it probably wouldn't burn at all.

This one's definitely a keeper.

Nefertiti on me starts off as just iris then the other notes show as it dries. It's lighter than I expected, but I do feel like there's a perfumed mist surrounding me. I like it, though I wish it was a bit stronger.

In the bottle and wet on my skin, Cleopatra Testing Poisons smelled like chocolate and herbs, like a weaker April '07 13. Dry, it smells like slightly bitter flowers. I like it and I'll keep the bottle, but I don't think I'll wear it often.

If anyone's looking for a GC equivalent of Poisson d'Avril, try Love-In-Idleness. On me, they have a nearly identical mixed spring flowers smell.

ETA

On me, Cleopatra Testing Poisons On Those Condemned To Death smells a lot like the April '07 13. Both chocolate/herbal goodness, which is weird since there are no chocolate or cocoa notes listed for Cleopatra Testing Poisons.

I understand that the name Love-In-Idleness refers to the pansy, but this smells like an assorted bouquet of just-picked flowers. It's a very yellow and green scent. On me, it's almost a dead ringer for Poisson d'Avril, which I love. I'll definitely put a bottle of this on my wishlist.

Croquet is definitely light, sparkly, and pink. The citrus comes through first, then the rose comes out to play as it dries. Then the musk joins the party.

I'm not sure if it's me, but I do like it.

Ozymandias is absolutely gorgeous! I can see the comparison to Chanel No. 5 and I get the sense of ruins in the desert. Only Beth could make a blend like this possible. I've just found a new favorite.

On my skin, Cairo started out as sweet, sugary, pink bubblegum and now smells like that and lemon Pledge. I'll give it one more try because I really love the city.

In the imp, Carnal smells like orange with a hint of fig. On my skin, all I can smell is orange candy. I like it, but I was really hoping for the fig to show as well. I'll keep Carnal around and see if the fig appears next time.

I probably never would've bought Dragon's Musk myself, so thank you to the Lab for this frimp.

I'm always a little wary of any musk blends other than ones that have only white musk. Dragon's Musk surprised me -- the various musks work well together and with the sweet dragon's blood that's floating just above them. It's strong and heady and I love it.

I have a few that could be HP appropriate:

Bewitched

Magus

The Red Queen

Asphodel

Yew Trees

London

I'll probably go with Bewitched.

In the imp and wet on my skin, Lysander is very green and earthy. Dry, he turns into more of a vanilla scent. Lysander's very light, even barely there. I may have to let him age a little before I try him again.

In the imp, Oberon is just juniper. Wet on my skin, the orchid and white musk come through and they play very well with the juniper. Whether or not Oberon is gender neutral or masculine probably depends on a person's taste and body chemistry. To me, it's neutral bordering on feminine.

I love this scent! It's so fresh and different. I definitely need a bottle of this.

In the imp: Hello, tea rose! On my skin: It's like tea rose is the desperate, determined side of Helena and has beat all the rival notes back in persuit of my nose, its Demetrius. I'm hoping aging will make the other notes strong enough to fight back (c'mon, lilies!), otherwise Helena will have to go.

Bumped because this is fun.

I wore Robin Goodfellow for Midsummer yesterday. For Independence Day, I'm wearing Yemaya because it smells like watermelon Jolly Ranchers on me and I figured that would be appropriate.

In the imp, Titania smells of the three fruits. Wet on my skin, I could smell the fruits and the flowers. They were all blended together, nothing really stood out. If a scent could be called bright and sparkly, Titania's it. As it dried, the fruits warmed up and deepened, especially the grape. Now, an hour after applying, Titania smells like fruit-flavored Pez candy, not that I'm complaining.

In the imp, Robin Goodfellow smells strongly (but pleasantly) of wood and green plants. On my skin, I get the same, but with enough musk to balance out the blend. While Robin's not really my usual kind of scent (I prefer florals and food, mostly), I do like him and I'll put a bottle on my wishlist.

This scent is definitely gender neutral.

Hermia's definitely a spicy floral, but on my skin, the spice is cinnamon instead of pink pepper and the floral is just passionflower, no honeysuckle. She started out very light initially (and I slathered), but she's gotten a little stronger now that it's been an hour. I really like the combination of cinnamon and passionflower, but I wish the passionflower was stronger. If Hermia weren't a MND scent, I pass her on but since she is, I'm willing to keep her around and see if she gets stronger with age.

On my skin, Selkie starts off as strictly aquatic, then green and floral come through. Not surprisingly, my skin chemistry loves the floral notes the most. Selkie's lovely and I can definitely see myself wearing it often.

I love Ancient Egypt, so I probably would've bought Eshe no matter what the notes were.

In the bottle, I get straight herbal. Wet on my skin, there's a whiff of dust, but after that, Eshe is just floral. In fact, on me it smells almost exactly like Poisson d'Avril (they're even the same color), though from what I can tell, they have no notes in common. Don't get me wrong, I love Poisson d'Avril, but I don't really need two bottles of it. I'm hoping that aging this will bring out more of Eshe's notes.

Fae is gorgeous! On me, it's mostly peach with a little bit of citrus, a little bit of musk, and a hint of floral in the beginning. It's a good scent and one I think even non-BPAL fans would like.

In the imp, Antique Lace smells like vanilla and sugar. To be specific, it smells really close to Vanilla Fields, which was my signature scent before I discovered BPAL. Wet on my skin, it wavers between sugared vanilla and coconut. Drying, the coconut is going away (thank goodness!) and sugared florals start to peek through the vanilla. Specifically, violets.

In other words, Antique Lace on my skin smells like Faith and vanilla. I'll definitely be glad to have this when the Carnaval Diabolique leaves town.

In the bottle and wet on my skin, I get what I assume is ozone (I've never smelled that note before) and rain. Thunder Moon is a very fresh aquatic. I know there's a commercial men's cologne out there with a similar smell, but I can't remember which one. Dry on my skin, I'm getting hints of grass and a tiny bit of flowers. I'd say Thunder Moon is gender neutral, bordering on masculine. I like it and I'm glad I have the bottle, but I can't see myself wearing this often.

Port Royal is definitely not one I would've bought myself, so I'm grateful to the Lab for this frimp.

In the imp and wet on my skin, I could smell the woods. There was a single whiff of nuts, but sun-warmed cedar is what came through the strongest. Now that it's drying, the rum's spices (though not the rum itself) is coming through. I'm fairly certain there's cinnamon in this, but not enough to irritate my skin. There was also a whiff of vanilla, which I guess is the perfume. I'm not getting any sea air, but I'm not complaining -- Port Royal is gorgeous without it. I think it's a gender neutral scent.

I definitely need a bottle of this!