Monster

In the bottle: Burnt sugar, moss and strawberries.

 

Wet: Yikes. The moss and the molasses is mixing together creating a new scent I've never smelled before...unfortunately it's making me feel kind sick Underneath it all I can smell the red current (which is showing up as a strawberry note on my skin) and vanilla cream.

 

Dry: The moss is outta control! I can't get past this weird moss and molasses pairing on my skin.

 

Overall: Earthy, sweet, wacky, weird...just like a Lawn Gnome. This smells exactly as described and does a good job illustrating a funny little guy in a red hat sitting in a garden somewhere. Unfortunately this perfume just doesn't work on my skin. Oh well. I'm sure I will find someone else who loves it

This one was such a disappointment for me!

 

In the bottle this is mostly blueberry. Smells good so far!

 

...and then I put it on my skin... dun dun duuunnnnn!

 

 

The berries quickly fade to the background leaving a mild honey musk scent.

 

The final dry down smells like sour berries and light musk.

 

I wonder what will happen to the berry notes over time. I'm gonna keep this around to see what happens as it ages. I was REALLY looking forward to this scent and it's just not working out on my skin.

 

ETA: After a while the orange blossom comes out to play. That's the most pleasant thing about this. I get a faint whiff of the same type of orange blossom used in Lady Lilith. I wish there was more of this in Berry Moon! Oh well.

TP46 - [no description]

 

In the bottle this smells like dark and smoky vetiver. Could this be a prototype for Moai? It smells very smililar. I'm already in love with this

 

On my skin this is vetiver, patchouli (?? maybe the slightest amount), and a powdery note (possibly amber or orris??). "Powdery vetiver" is the first thing that comes to mind as I'm sniffing this on on arm.

 

10 minutes dry and the powder note amps up on my skin while the vetiver quiets down a bit.

 

After about an hour dry what's left is a very strange, dirty powder scent. This is where TP46 goes wrong. It's still very similar to Moai (just without the "green" notes I detected in that one).

I really loved this when it was wet on my skin and just dried. It was such a nice, rich vetiver scent (and boy do I love vetiver!)

 

I'm gonna keep this around for a while and see how it ages. Maybe if I layer it with something else the final drydown won't smell so wonky on me.

In the bottle this smells like pale lemons, tangerine and club soda.

 

On my skin this is a very light citrus scent. It sort of reminds me of Kunstkammer...just fizzier and brighter.

 

The dry down is similar to Golden Wave on me, very subdued, gentle citrus notes. I'm also detecting a possible floral note in this as it dries? Possibly jasmine? The longer this is on my skin the more the citrus notes begin to fade and I can pick out the other notes a lot easier. Maybe a bit of ginger? Jasmine? and...amber (the kind that was in House of Mirrors)?

 

Cirtinitas is really nice! This is a really pretty, light summer scent on my skin

I tend to like more "masculine" scents myself. My husband and I even share oils.

 

Some of my favorite masculines are...

 

- Brimstone

- Moai

- Death of Autumn

- Goblin Rider

- De Sade

- Tombstone

- Rumpelstiltskin

- Frederic

- Port Royal

Arkham has a dogwood note.

 

Ahh yes...I LOVE Arkham. Great recommendation! It's very green, woodsy and slightly floral

The first thing that comes to my mind is HEMLOCK...the oil color is even green I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for but it's the greenest of the green scents I've come across A definite favorite of mine

 

 

I tested this one out last night and couldn't stop sniffing my arm.

 

Czernobog is very odd...this is Snake Oil + lime on me. Weird! (but lovely)

I love vetiver (and my skin usually amps it up) however, I never sniffed any in this at all.

 

Yup. This is just Snake Oil + lime.

In the imp: Sharp, almost masculine smelling sasparilla and bay rum.

 

Wet: Whew! I like masculine scents but this is very sharp and MANLY MAN to me. There isn't any bay rum in this but I think the "watered down rum" is mixing with the aquatic notes creating that effect. This is sharp and a bit headache inducing for me :'(

 

Dry: As this dries the leather note comes out a lot more. This is still sharp and harsh on me.

 

Overall: Not a fan of this one unfortunately. I need to wash it off since it's giving me a headache.

In the imp: Soapy clean.

 

Wet: Balmy aquatic...not a cool aquatic but a warm one. This is very clean and soapy smelling. It almost reminds me of doing car washes as a kid in the summertime. A big bucket of suds, cool water underneath the hot hot sun.

 

Dry: This dries into a sudsy, soapy residue. A nice clean, almost herbal dry down.

 

Overall: For an aquatic, I like this one a lot. It's not something I will wear but more of something I can appreciate. I never get any eucalyptus from this wet but the herbal smell I'm detecting from the dry down just may be that. Very nice

In the bottle: Warm, sunny lilies. Reminds me a bit of a more floral L'Estate.

 

Wet: You know, I'm not usually a fan of floral perfumes but Ive started to realize I love the Labs lily notes and this is just about as perfect and true as it gets. This is a warm, sunny lily, not a stinky diaper floral at all. Tiger Lily isn't headache inducing and it doesn't make me sneeze. This is warm, gentle, round and bright. I'm really getting a L'Estate vibe here.

 

Dry: As Tiger Lily dries I'm sniffing more of a honey note. This is probably one of the best floral scents I have ever tried. Gorgeous!

 

Overall: Love this! I'm really happy I snagged a bottle before it was discontinued and lost forever. I'll cherish my bottle.

In the imp: Sweet and dusty honey. I dunno how she does it

 

Wet: Ohhhhh boy...instant love This is honey with herbal tea. The background is a nice, dusty musk. This is sweet and summery. If you love the Labs honey note, you really need to try this.

 

Dry: This dries down to a clean and balmy honey scent. There's a sort of dusty, musky feel about this as well...it's very light, sweet and absolutely gorgeous!

 

Overall: Mad Tea Party is my favorite GC section and so far, I'm REALLY loving all of the new scents from the July update. So far, Against Idleness and Mischief is my favorite. This is something I can see myself wearing on a daily basis. It's gentle enough for the office and would probably be great for layering as well. I just love this stuff. I'll certainly be picking up a 5ml bottle of this. Another fine example of Beths talent.

Can I just say how much I loe the art for this series?

The scent is also pretty fantastic....

 

Gothic Horror is pretty much a perfect incense scent. This is dark and melancholy. The resins in this are light and dusty smelling...very reminiscent of an old cathedral.

I'm not getting any rose in this blend...or clove. This is just pure incense and resin on my skin. I love this

Dry, this is slightly powdery...but still very incensy. Gorgeous!

 

This is SO FREAKIN' GOOD!

 

Alien Invasion goes on as a grapefruit, starfruit and/or yuzu musk on me. This is fresh, bright and clean feeling. There's a gentle background of floral notes (just the teeniest bit) with a nice base of musk.

 

BRIGHT is the first word that comes to mind when sniffing this. it's a perfect, refreshing scent for summer. I just love this.

 

Must...get...hold..of...more...decants...!!

In the imp: Sandalwood and rose (fresh, dewy rose).

 

Wet: BIG rose! This is the dewy, fresh rose note that was in Rose Red from the Yule scents. I can't smell any of the other notes, rose pretty much dominates this blend. I am detecting a bit of sweetness which could be the plum.

 

Dry: As Snooty Rose dries the sandalwood becomes more apparent. Sometimes rose can smell like play dough on my skin (or wilted flowers) but the sandalwood is keeping the rose note true and fresh. I wouldn't say this is rose incense (like I was hoping for) but more of a true rose scent with just a hint of sweetness. Dry, the plum is even MORE apparent as the rose steps back just bit. Very pretty!

 

Overall: I really like this one. Rose lovers shouldn't miss out on Snooty Rose. This is delicate, light and pretty. I bet this is going to age really well. I shall keep my imp to find out!

In the imp: Sweet tarts, bubble gum, delicious fruity candies! Yum

 

Wet: Ohhhh boy. This just might be the best fruity scent the Lab as put out since Fruit Moon This is a big mash-up of juicy, fruity candies...heavy on the watermelon and strawberry. The gardenia is just barely there...it's floating in the background greating almost a sort of grassy smell.

 

Dry: Pretty much the same from top to bottom. The musk is more present as this settles into my skin. It provides a nice base for the fruit notes to sit on (so my skin doesn't no nom them up.) Dry, this is all yummy Sweet Tart candies, watermelon Jolly Ranchers and a gentle base of sweet musk.

 

Overall: I love it! This reminds me of Fruit Moon...light. Such a delicious, fun smelling perfume. I will be using ALL of this imp and most likely picking up a larger bottle in the future. Yummeh!

A virgin Blue Fire + Hawaiian Punch & club soda!

 

Fizzy, fruity, sparkling...delicious!

 

Fruit lovers should NOT miss out on this one!

In the bottle: Opium...light floral notes and red musk.

 

Wet: This reminds me of a gentle, more floral version of the Medicine Show. I can't stop sniffing my hand. Chrysanthemum Moon is really light, airy feeling, like incense dancing through the night air in some exotic far away place. This is exactly how I thought the Fairy Market should've smelled (based on the description in the book). I already love this!

 

Dry: As this dries the red musk and ginger are more apparent. Wonderful! Wow. This is complex, exotic and just...stunning.

 

Overall: Chrysanthemum Moon is a complex, light floral incense scent on me. It's mildly spicy has a light throw and lasts quite some time on my skin. I'm so happy I tracked down a bottle of this. Like I said, it's exactly how I imagined the Fairy Market in Stardust to smell. An instant favorite!

In the imp this has A LOT more of a sweet berry smell than the bath oil. Yummy!

On my skin this is all peppery berries with sweet golden honey drizzled over them. There's also a fresh quality to this (that same "clean" smell I was getting from the bath oil).

This dries into an almost pure honey scent on my skin...lightly dusted with current and a base of gentle amber (which isn't going powdery on me at all).
The perfume smells beautiful mixed with the bath oil. I can see why this one is so popular

I was gifted this by a super sweet and generous forum member today.

 

In the bottle this is honey, currents and something else...something floral maybe?

 

On my skin this is mostly honey mixed with a teeny teeny bit of currents. I'm still smelling something floral in this. How strange!

Tomoe Gozen bath oil is very sweet, yummy and clean smelling. I wasn't expecting this at all! I was imagining a more juicy berry scent with golden honey, instead this is a floral honey smell with just a squish of berry.

It's not what I was expecting but it is still gorgeous and delicious. I will happily slather away and surely use up this entire decant.

I love the way this smells in the imp...sweet musk.

 

On my skin this is mostly musk with a bitter, spicy edge of wormwood. I'm not getting any dragons blood from this at all. If I am, it's only contributing to the resinous, smoky feel of the oil.

 

This dries into a thick, black resinous incense scent on my skin. I REALLY love the way this smells. The wormwood is more apparent as the perfume settles into my skin...like smoky absinthe.

 

A winner! I'll have to test out my imp a few times more to see if it's worth hunting down a full-sized bottle of this but, right now it's lookin' good!

In this imp this is alll vetiver. A glorious, smoky vetiver. Love!

 

On my skin this is just perfect...it sort of reminds me of Moai (just without the hints of green). Brimstone is black and smokey all right! If you love vetiver scents this one is for you.

I think I might also detect sage in this somewhere...not sure though. This dries down to a pure, perfect vetiver perfume on my skin.

I will be using all of this imp and purchasing a bottle.

Brimstone =

This is a really pretty, light yellow oil. I love the way this looks in the vial

 

In the imp this is a sharp, astringent scent, LOTS of rosemary. It clears my sinuses right out!

 

On my skin it still has that sinus-clearning, astringent quality to it just a bit more melow and balmy smelling now. I'm not detecting any lemon.

 

This dries into the smell that's left over on my skin the morning I wake-up from going to bed with Vicks VapoRub on my chest. It's a light, balmy medicinal smell.

I wouldn't wear this as a perfume, it's just a bit weird for me. However, I really did enjoy testing out the imp. Very unique!

In the imp this smells rich and animalistic...with a strange plastic note. Hmmm...

 

On my skin this is STRONG, very heady, dark, musky and animalistic. I can't get past the strange plastic note I'm smelling. So strange. I bet it's the civet. I remember smelling something similar to this at my Grandmothers house when I was a kid. Something in her bathroom along her vanity.

 

This dries into a powdery classic smelling perfume on my skin mixed with that weeeiirrdd plastic/animal note. This is (I think) the first BPAL perfume I've sniffed with civet in it. I'll have to do a bit more exploring with that note to see if it's the culprit here but, I think it is.

 

Oh well. Off to swaps!

I just finished taking photos. You can see them on my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_twilight/

 

Convergence bottles, Berry Moon, the most recent Vintages and Prototypes from Cobwebs 3, a few Atmospheric Spray prototype bottles, some of the teaser cards for Sunbird and 15 Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot, as well as a few assorted bottles of other things.

 

I have to say, I really appreciate all of the great photos you post of your oils. What I wouldn't give to site for a few hours with you and sniff your collection!