oceandessa

I think Beth has outdone herself with the latest selections in Rappacini's Garden. Like Shadow Witch Orchid, Cobra Lily and Blood Lotus, this is very unique. In the imp, it is a cool green - not a sharp evergreen, not herbal green, but a liquid teal-tinged green. The peony note wafts in and out but never quite settles. Absolutely wonderful! I think it's my favorite BPAL peony scent.

This is breathtaking! This is not an orchid that I have ever smelled before. It's musty yet airy, kinda dry. It has a very similar biting quality to Pele and Al-Araaf, even though they have no common ingredients. If you asked me what colour this scent is I would say a translucent pink-heathered grey. A very gentle floral, one that lets your skin shine through it. I love it!

I made a mental note to seek this out just a few weeks before the lab generously threw this in as a frimp. I had just started to appreciate the beauty of lotus (Al-Araaf) when I decided that it would be the perfect foil for dragon's blood, which tends to dominate blends on my skin and turn them into soap. My instinct prooved me right! Blood Lotuns is perfectly balanced between lotus and dragon's blood. A perfect sweet resiny blend. Smells like bubble gum in the vial, but is very well grounded on the skin. My only complaint is that it fades a bit too fast. For those who can't wear either lotus or dragon's blood on their own, but who secretly long to be able to wear them, this is a very good scent to try. Ironic and somewhat scary but there you have it.

I am completely in love with Cobra Lily. It is miraculous that a bright orange lily-based scent should work so amazingly on my skin but it does! Imagine the rich bottom heavy note in Tiger Lily overlaid by something spicy and thick and salty. I would be surprised if this had orange in it because orange notes turn into powder on my skin, and this remains very juicy and relatively stable. It's definitely predatory and overtly sexy, but surprisingly close to the skin. It makes me want to prance around in gold bangles and a luxurious shawl. Excellent for those days when I need a dollop of bright haughty confidence. I love it!

I have a swoony mad crush on the King of Spades. I recieved my first imp from the lovely Penance, and within two seconds was in love love love. It starts off greenish, crunchy and somewhat sweet, but also deep and balanced. After a while, the greeness disappears into a gentle whiff, and the deep round sweetness of the scent emerges to perfection. A complex yet harmonious collection of smells. This scent is really a miracle too: it has scents that amy body chemistry usually destroys (vetiver, coconut, fruit, oakmoss), but in combination smell wonderful on me! I think this proves that Beth is God. I sadly missed out on getting a bottle; I would have loved to have a nice KoS bottle to enshrine next to my KoD bottle. I have had wonderful luck with the Kings so far, and the fact that they come in beautiful bottles is gravy. I can't wait for the KoC! I will just have to resist the urge to bathe in the KoS and use my imp only for special occasions. This will be brutally difficult. I don't use emoticons very much, but this scent deserves this

Once again the lab's intuition is astounding. I love roses, and I love frankinscence, and what do I get as a freebie in my Chaste Moon order? Yep, Rose Cross. I am absolutely thrilled with this scent. Rose Cross is the Holy Virgin to the whore that is Spellbound, and Spellbound is my favorite sex-drenched, night-time BPAL scent. A gorgeous, pure oil. The frankinscence provides the scent with a high nose, wet note that is absolutely magical. The rose is fluttery and sweet. Rose Cross stays true to its in-the-bottle scent when it's on the skin, and it lasts for a very long time. It has the same throw as Spellbound, the same quality, but this would work much better for a day scent than Spellbound does. I love it!

This is one of the most gorgeous scents I have ever tried. It's a smokey green scent that is identical to the base of Samhain without any of the almost-cloying sweetness. Wearing it on a summery day feels wrong because of the strong autumnal association. But my goodness, is it ever lovely. In the bottle it is sharp green, and once it hits the skin it turns into that smokey green base and pretty much stays like this for hours. It is very similar to Hunter Moon, but whereas I hated Hunter Moon, I absolutely love this. I don't really get any vetiver from it at all. I can see a very large layering potential with this scent. With O, with Samhain (to cut down the sweetness), and with any cloying rose scent (like Tarot: The Empress, or Rose Cross). I plan to layer it with Harvest Moon in the fall because I think the autumnal roses of Harvet Moon need a strong woody base to stand on. I can also imagine wearing it with Hellfire. Oh yes, I am going to have a lot of fun wearing this scent. Hexennacht is a work of art. Absolutely wonderful! Well done Beth!

Hey there internationals, Has anyone gotten any orders from around Feb 24th?

The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. Rose Red is the perfume love of my life. So much so that I have multiple bottles from 2003 and 2004. I love how green this scent is - the roseness is in the backround, kind of like a blush that eventually takes over long after the scent dries down. It's also a bit of a chameleon - sometimes, when I am in certain parts of my cycle, the rose comes out stronger than the green, and the scent emerges as a bitter rosy scent, which is also very nice. This is also my favorite room scent ever (hence multiple bottles ). It pairs divinely with hellfire in the burner.

This is so lovely, like a masculine version of Snow White. A cold musky smell much like the dry down of Cheshire Cat, only a bit sweeter without the florals. Work of art, this is. And much like the Queen, this is an all-year-long scent, though a nice wintery smell for sure. I am very glad my implusiveness won over my logic and that I ordered a bottle of this. It is very light, so I will have to apply heavily. Should have ordered a second bottle.

This is A LOT sweeter than I expected, and I certainly did not expect the cherry wood to smell so much like cherries. It goes a little craft store on me, but I love the tobacco note. Perhaps I will try it again tomorrow when I am not wearing 500 other perfumes on my arm because I simply cannot pace myself. Another thing, this did not change very much on my skin, and it has been almost four hours.

I am completely and utterly in love with Skadi. Not much left unsaid except that it really surprised me. I did not expect to like this scent as much as I do. Just as Samhain is fall in a bottle, this is a frosty winter in a bottle. Love it, it's like nothing I have tried before.

I don't get any aquatic notes from the Queen. Only citrusy light florals. This is a very cold scent, that I will love wearing all year long. Very lovely.

Hi again - I just sent a similar email to Beth and Nella but thought to post it here as well. I was wondering if the inetrnationals can get an update on the status of halloween orders before you guys leave today. It doesn't have to be specific - just a general email saying whether they have been shipped or not. Thanks!

the official word from canada post: http://www.canadapost.ca/business/corporat...e.asp?prid=1026

hey guys, i emailed nella to see whether it would be possible to have a fedex option for canadian orders.

i would also second black rose and othello. i wish i didn't try them in the summer, because both morphed into something really heavy on me. but i have the feeling they would both be delightful in the winter. also, if you can get your hands on some red rose, i would recommend that too. it's a very green rose - a cool scent perhaps more suited for winter than fall.

My Bottle is CXVII It strats off being really green and minty, kind of like Envy without the lavender. After 30 mins or so, it mellows out to a green-white scent very similar to Morella. The mintiness terns into sage. The bottom notes are sweet, white florals - perhaps lotus? It's a really beautiful scent, but it is not me, though i adore the colour green. I am acually thinking of selling it. I love the concept behind this LE. I would definitely play again

this is a summer's afternoon in a bottle. grapefruit, honey, jasmine/honeysuckle. there's a resiny underbelly that keeps it strong, but not over-bearing. it surrounds me like a golden halo. i love it so much, i can't even begin to tell you. it's very comforting to me. it smells lovely layered with O.

take care of yourself and your vagina........ drink lots of liquids and watch absolutely fabulous. it is great for vagina-related woes. i speak from experience. (((elizabeth)))

gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! a much better version of anis anis, one of my mother's favorite perfumes. the jasmine in this blend is a lust whore. it begs for attention, screams sex. the rose reins it in, makes it classy, alluring. i can smell a faint sweetness from the mandarins. i agree with shollin - this is afterglow. if there wasn't a rose note, the jasmine would fully dominate, and the scent would be more explicitly sexual, almost intolerably so. it's the rose that gives it the calming afterglowy feel. the scent is very similar to old venice, from which i make my favorite bath salts. but rapture is more wearable because it is a more simple floral combination.

yes, many many many roses. a beautiful scent. a bit sweeter than i personally like my rose scents, but it does have a slightly bitter undertone, which is what gives it that garden feel. it strikes me as a perfect day scent for an alluring woman in her middle-age; it is a very feminine, wise scent, rosy without being too girly, or too dressy.

i completely agree with S.V on this scent. it is not one i would wear, EVER because i had a bad experience with the death card a few years ago. in fact, until this day i am not sure why i ordered it, but i did and it sat on my shelf untried for a really long time. the night i finally tried it, i was insmonic and contemplative. it felt right to try it. i applied some on my wrist: the scent went from a bitter loud note to a milder grassy note. then, about 3-4 hrs later......sweetness. on my it was a very floral sweetness. i think the success of this oil is not wearability but the fact that it captures the meaning of the death card so amazingly well. edited to add: autumn24 has an amazing review of this scent in the bust archives. she describes it so much better than i do.

on me, Black Rose is very dark and thick, and definitely sweeter than i like my roses. while wearing this scent, i had the odd feeling that i was a fraud, trying to pull off something i couldn't. perhaps the scent was too dark and mature for the flakey day i was having, perhaps i would like it if i was more composed (read: after graduate school), or if i had worn it during the evening than during the day. i love roses too, but i am not too sure about this one. i think i need to experiment with it more.

directly from the bottle, the scent of lilies is accompanied by a darker, smokier slightly borwn scent. i am guessing it is the frankinscence, though it smells nothing like it to my nose. on my skin, the lilies dominate and i can smell nothing else. this is a very strong scent, but not in a perfumy way. it is more loud than strong; i feel so self-conscious wearing it i might as well be yelling "hey...yoohoo...i am wearing lilies...can you smell the lilies i am wearing?!" i agree with autumn24 - this is a very sacred scent. perhaps a little too sacred for the likes of me to wear, but definitely sacred enough to be used in ritual.