grashopper8

I find this to be a fruity scent. (?!) Wet, it's papaya and cucumber to my nose, with some other green freshness in the background. It smells like a juicy green smoothie. Honestly, I'd rather drink this than smell like it. As it dries, the fruit calms down a little bit, and it acquires an almost floral quality. A fruity, young scent - a little too fruity for me to hoarde, I think. I'm really amping the papaya, and I didn't expect that at all. This is reminding me a lot of the discontinued Victoria's Secret Tranquil Breezes, actually. I'm feeling a little waffley about Green Phoenix, I think it's pleasant but it's not love at first sniff for me. Ergh! I can't decide if I love this or not! It's sweeter than what I wanted it to be, I was hoping for something a little more green and grassy. It's quite pretty after it dries down, though, and it really is reminding me of the aforementioned VS:TB, one of my favorite nostalgic 'fumes. I will rock this in the springtime. 3.9 out of 5

Oh my Goodness! This is so pretty! On me, White Phoenix is a beautiful white musk scent backed up by soft, gentle white florals. The musk really stands out the most, with everything else in the background. I can't pick out any florals separately, because the bouquet is so well blended. It's pillowy soft!!! Any musk fans should try this one, it is so gorgeous! Akurarei, I have to second your comment about Snow White - I was hoping for SW to smell more like this on me. I'm so glad I have a 5mL!! This is my first BPAL musk lurve. It reminds me a little of China Musk. 4.6 out of 5

In terms of fragrance, Peace smells like a soft, citrusy lavender, with perhaps some eucalyptus. It's subdued and soothing. In terms of efficacy, I just put it on so I will add to this review later - but it imparts a sense of positive energy. It's peaceful, but doesn't make me feel like taking a nap or anything. Quite the opposite, it makes me feel like going about my day with a calm energy and lightness. Fabulous. I am in love with the TAL blends so far. They have all been gorgeous! 5 out of 5

I will edit this review in good time when I've used White Light in a more ritualistic fashion, but I have to explode with love right this second after smelling it for the first time. As a fragrance, it's absolutely perfect. It smells exactly like I hoped it would. It's just delicate, soft, gorgeous. I dabbed on my wrists (and then my palms) and it just feels so positive and peaceful. I feel very relaxed and focused. I can't wait to see how effective it is when I use it properly! 5 out of 5, for sure. Absolutely lovely, I'll use every last drop of my bottle.

Yay labbies, thanks for the frimp! I finally tried this today.... It's a cherry scent, for sure. It's got some sweet-rum sass, and some spicy cakey goodness, but the predominant note is cherry on me. The throw and wear are moderate. I like it, but I'm not obsessed. There's something about it that makes me think of scented candles, rather than perfume. It would make a wonderful room scent! I'm sure I can find a more loving home for this little guy, he has a lot of fans making grabby hands! 3 out of 5

Wow.....this is different. At first, it's a strong caramel, with some tobacco and coconut. Then, the sexy opium comes forward. Carmelized opium? Come on, now, Beth. Are you trying to kill me? Well, congrats, I've died and gone to heaven. I usually hate caramel notes, and coconut and I don't always get along. Red Lantern has made itself an exception. I freakin love opium blends, and this is such a creative twist! A rich, sexy blend. Intense. 4.6 out of 5

Wet, Ace of Hearts is a lovely rose with a pretty bouquet of fresh flowers blending together in the background. As it dries down, the rose dims to allow itself to be balanced, and the freesia, orchid, and gardenia step forward and dance. This is a very pretty, well-blended scent. I really love the freesia especially; it's a note I haven't yet smelled in a BPAL and it's very fresh and bright. This is exactly what I would expect the Ace of Hearts to smell like. Weird! I continue to be blown away by how Beth can take an image or a symbol and assign a smell to it. She's a master of her craft! A soft, springy floral. I will probably resign myself to wearing this in the springtime months. I am very picky with rose, and this is a winner. 4.6 out of 5

Wow, I didn't expect this to work on me this well! Black Lace starts out a little too strong with the cotton note; it smells a bit too much like a laundromat. I am almost relieved, because there's a little part of me that is hoping not to love something that is hard to get a hold of. Then, it starts to dry down. The softest whisper of vanilla, the swirl of sweet tobacco and musk, it's an understated, lovely, drifting scent. I knew it. I'm getting sucked in.... It reminds me of Snake Oil a little bit, because of the combination of vanilla, musk, and that hint of smoky sweetness. However, Black Lace is not so bold. It's Snake Oil's laid back, quiet but not shy, even more mysterious counterpart. If Snake Oil has matched eyes with you from the bar and looked away with a sly grin, Black Lace is behind her, face masked in shadows, with just one sexy stockinged leg draped in candlelight - luring you closer.... This is very elegantly blended. It is difficult to pick out individual notes, and my brain doesn't want to. It's balanced so well, it's like every component is complementing the others. I just want to swim in the whole experience at once and enjoy. This ends up being a very soft, sly, sweet, musky, smoky perfume. I am drawn to it strongly. It is sexy and stimulating without being in-your-face. I love the subtlety of it! So sexy! I want The Boy to come close.... 4.7 out of 5

Hrrrm. This does smell a little like Irish Spring to me. Kinda citrusy and soapy. Some musk in the background too, I think. This scent is very masculine, although it loses its 'edge' when it dries down a little bit. It reminds me of Singing Moon after the thundery crash of pharmacy-men's-cologne calms down. The grass note smells more like sweet hay on me. This is Singing Moon with more Dude in it, with my chemistry anyway. It's alright. Doesn't smell anything like a New England thunderstorm, though. 2.8 out of 5

This is a weird scent! In the imp, it smells sharp, harsh, almost woody or something. On my skin, it morphed into some kind of wildflowery scent. It smells so weird! I can not put my finger on it. Almost lilac - it's a light spring-floral kind of effect. It's like, something you stuck your face into as a child....something blooming in the neighborhood, some kind of wild blossom. Not a classic-perfumey-floral, something a little herbal but a little creamy....my brain is doing backflips inside my skull right now trying to decide what it's smelling. It makes me think of being a kid and I'm not sure why. Maybe I had dolls that smelled like this or something. It is intriguing. I don't know what to make of it. I think I like it. I'm not drawn to it as something I'd use as a perfume, but I understand the gardenia comparison....it's like, if a gardenia was softer, less intense, and just a little herbal. I do not get grape, and I do not get vetiver. All I get is brain scramblies. 3.9 out of 5

All I smell is a dry patchouli and sandalwood. It is awesome. I am not getting the subtleties of the florals out of this, the lavender is hitting my nose too similarly to the woods, I think. I really like it, though. Not necessarily a masculine scent - I've worn patch/sandalwood before many a time, it brings back a lot of memories! 4 out of 5

Wow, I think this scent totally smells AWESOME!!! I'm wearing it today, I don't care that it's a men's scent. The florals in it sweeten it up just enough for me to pull it off...I hope.... The lime smells incredible with the lavender. Just perfect. It's like they were meant to be together. The musk emulsifies the blend into perfection. The only gripe I have is that it doesn't last long enough. It smells beyond awesome at the beginning, and then some of the notes fade and it turns into a nice skin scent. This is a great blend, Beth is so awesome for concocting it. It smells the way men's cologne should, without harshness and fakeness and 'ugh, dude take a bath, it's cheaper!' Just a clean, fresh scent. I'm an instant fan. I am making a BPAL gift pack for my dad for Christmas, and I think this may be his favorite in the bunch. Enabling I go!

In the bottle, this smells very foody and almondy. On my skin, it softens out immediately. It's almond, backed closely by soft jasmine/honeysuckle, then light honey. It dries down to a nice honey skin scent. It is gentle, not to sweet, feminine, and pretty. A treasure! I knew I'd love it, and I do! A keeper to age, too....I'm sure I'll reach for this in years to come. 4.8 out of 5

In the imp, I smell cool, sweet violets. On my skin, it turns green right away. Then, as it develops a bit more, it's back to violets but with some other notes in the backround. I can smell the dark chrysanthemum and the gardenia-esque creaminess of wisteria. It does get a little powdery, but I have to really concentrate on Powder to notice it. I don't get any banana, but I have to agree with pinkpepper in that Queen Gertrude makes me think of being about 5 years old. It smells like sweet, sparkly youth. I don't know why. Maybe because there were violets in my backyard every spring? It's totally awesome, just my style. I'll slather today and think about it more, but I'm giving it: 4.5 out of 5

This massage oil is fantastic! It is not greasy or heavy, it moisturizes thoroughly and my skin just sucks it up. It literally healed a week of chapped, red, abused hands overnight. The scent of Aquae is lovely, it smells like a spa or something. I was thinking citrus/bergamot, a hint of lavender, a hint of vetiver....and then I read the notes and realized my nose is certainly still unsophisticated It's absolutely gorgeous. Many thanks to Delphinine for the decant, and I plan to buy bottles of all four elemental oils as soon as I can! 5 out of 5 - absolute perfection.

I love the texture of this oil, first and foremost. It moisturizes and then absorbs into your skin like it belonged there in the first place. It doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy or soppy - rather, it just sinks in and leaves your skin ultra-soft and soothed. My hands have been drier this week than they've been in my entire life. They were chapped, red, sore....I used Aquae last night and Terrae this morning and they're back to normal. I've been using other lotions and balms all week and nothing helped; this stuff is like a miracle! I got decants of Aquae and Terrae from the lovely Delphinine at a Meet & Sniff, and I can't wait to order bottles of all four elemental scents. The scent of Terrae is true to form. It is very earthy and grounded. I sense patchouli, but also sage, and something that reminds me of clove. I can't really pick things out, partially because I'm not all that familiar with some of the notes, but it is a lovely earth scent. It's comforting and warm, a bit masculine but not exclusively so. It smells familiar because of the patchouli, but the earthy woodiness is something I've never quite experienced before. It is quite perfect. 5 out of 5.

Wow you guys are all awesome, thanks for all the helpful suggestions! I can't wait to try them all!

I got a sample of this perfume oil, and it's intoxicating, but wickedly expensive. (Like, $300 for 8mLs!) Is there a BPAL that compares? The notes are: Bay Rum, Massoia, Pavarti Sandalwood, Sheer Musk, Vanilla, Earth, Fig It smells incredible. On me, it's an elegant vanilla sandalwood musk with a hint of the earth and a bit of coconutty sweetness from the fig. It's insane. Please tell me Beth has come up with something similar! I also have heard that massoia can be a skin irritant, and can cause rashes and such. It doesn't happen to me, but I know it's happened to some. (Svadhinapatika had massoia in it, and people were complaining about being allergic. Also, July '07's 13 and Black Moon '06 had massoia in it.)

A piney scent where the pine/juniper note does not sharply dominate. Never smelled something like this before, very interesting. I'm also getting a very warm sandalwood, it's almost creamy. A dry woods smell....people who have the "pencil shavings" problem shouldn't try this. Thankfully, I don't, and this works with my chemistry. There's something sweet way in the background, too. I can't put a finger on it, but it's like there's some floral or fruit in there that is making Jupiter much more complex than it was wet in the imp. I like this a lot, and think it's a very masculine blend. A very earthy woman could pull this off, as long as she wanted to smell like dry woods and creamy sandalwood oil! With that hint of sweetness...what the heck IS that?? : -D It comes out more and more as it dries down further....this may not be as masculine as I initially thought. I will still pass this on to a guy so I can see what happens on da men. I think it will be glorious! 4.4 out of 5

Sweet, mandarin oranges with herby florals and a hint of incense. It's bright and sunshiney, but a little too much so for me to wear. Very fruity (someone said Froot Loops cereal, haha now that's all I can think of). It's a very young, fresh scent, and I can see why so many people like it. Just ain't my thang. 3 out of 5

I get rose, citrus, and herbs....smells like a tea party! This perfume lives up to what it's dreamed up to be. It's a nice rose blend, but not one I would wear again (I am extreeemely picky with rose, and not in a sophisticated way, I'm sure). 3.5 out of 5

This is heavenly! I'm a huge jasmine fan, and when I read the list of notes for Melisande, I knew I had to try her out. I bought a bottle unsniffed off ebay, and I have not been disappointed! I would definitely call this a powdery floral, but I'll chime in saying it's not a baby-powder scent. The violet burns off pretty quickly, but the jasmine sticks around. It took a little drydown for the mimosa to come out, and it is super-soft and gentle. Just lovely! I don't get much vanilla or musk, but I'm sure they're working to balance this blend and smooth it out. Honestly, there's something about this scent that is making me think "incense." It's just a shade dark, I guess. I knew it would be impossible for me to be anything less than thrilled about Melisande. Great floral blend, right up my alley! 4.7 out of 5 ETA: Melisande has squeezed her way into my BPAL top ten...and is making a good case for landing in my top five. Exquisite. Every note is a favorite of mine, and they blend together like the intense harmony of a perfectly tuned orchestra. I swear it makes my bones vibrate. I don't know if one bottle will be enough...

This scent is primarily apricots and pomegranate on me. There are cool lilies in the background, and orchid. I am not picking out rose or musk. This one is too juicy and fruity for me, but if you like fruity florals, this will be right up your alley. 2.5 out of 5

This is a soft, fruity blend that's not too juicy or intense - just soft and sweet! The mandarin oranges are gentle and not sour or tangy in the slightest. Some people have mentioned orange candy, which is a valid comparison. The fig is super-soft and subdued. It doesn't go coconutty on me like fig always does; rather, it goes as far as having a fruity smell and stops there. It's almost a berry note to my nose. It almost smells fizzy, like it could be soda or a tasty mixed drink. Very candy-like, but not exactly sugary. It's a happy, childlike scent, and is putting me in a good mood on this gloomy winter day. I didn't think I would like Carnal from the reviews, because I don't always like fruity scents, but this one will be slathered and keeping my spirits up today! 4.2 out of 5

The imp I got of this is aged, 'cause it has the old kind of label on it. The combination of notes ends up smelling like evergreens on me. It's almost like juniper berries or something. I can't pick out lavender at all. It's definitely 'charged,' it's got ozone in it for sure, which is smelling a bit like men's cologne to me. I really can't get past the piney impression! It smells like a christmas tree in a room where a mulberry candle is burning. I can't wear this as a perfume, but I will pass it on to my dad to see what he thinks of it. I find it to be a masculine scent. Nice, but not for a girl like me! 3.3 out of 5