phantasmmysteria

Oh my goodness, this was a suprise hit for me. When I dabbed a bit of my decant on yesterday, the first thing that popped into my mind was that this was what Coco Mademoiselle would smell like if it weren't so full of chemicals! When I tried it again today, the association wasn't quite as strong, but it definitely reminds me of Mademoiselle's best qualities. It starts off beautifully fruity, all blood orange and nectarine. But that quickly to a lovely floral with a bit of woods. There's something bright and effervescent to this blend. I think it might be the olive blossom, but I'm not certain. Also, wonder of wonders: The honey behaves itself in this blend (i'm not sure if I should thank the florals or the patchouli)! It gives the blend just enough of a powdery sort of sweetness that makes Angeronalia just beautiful. On my skin, this has slightly above average throw and above average wearlength. I'm not sure how often I will wear this scent, but it sings so prettily on my skin I think it requires a bottle.

It's soooo unfortunate that, after regretting missing out on this Lunacry and tracking down TWO bottles, this scent just doesn't play well with my chemistry. In the bottle: Sweet flowers. The smell is familiar, but I can't put my finger on it in recognition. Wet: This scent is best when just a teensy bit is dabbed on. It starts out with the sweetness from the bottle, but it flares up brightly as it touches my skin. I don't think this blend contains white musk because my skin tends to love that... but this blend quickly turns to POWDER. The only thing I get besides powderyness on the drydown is a little bit of evergreen or the night chill in the background. Dry: This eventually mellows out into a soft sweetness, but it just doesn't sing on my skin. It's such a shame, but c'est la vie.

I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner: what about coconut oil? The stuff is a soft solid at room temperature, and melts at 76 degrees. It's also very good at discouraging rancidity, though I don't know about the smell of it.

Vitamin E oil can actually be added to carrier oils that can go rancid (such as the aforementioned sweet almond oil) to prolong its shelf life, so I can't see why it wouldn't be acceptable to use it as a carrier oil. What I do not know, however, is whether or not Vitamin E oil would interact with perfume oils and cause a change in scent.

Gingerbread Poppet is the perfect foody scent for people who don't like foody scents. On my skin, it isn't sweet at all -- it's pure, delicious spices. Only the tiniest dab is needed for me to get great wafts of cinnamony goodness to my nose. On drydown, I do notice something slightly fruity -- fig, perhaps? I can only smell it when I huff at my wrist, but I think it does add a richness to the "feel" of gingerbread in the throw. Yum. Lune already mentioned it was a straightforward scent, but it's one that I find incredibly comforting (and perfect for a cold day)!

2007 version I was actually prepared to not like this scent (I'm not a cold scent kinda girl), but I had to try it. Besides being such a highly coveted BPAL scent, I'm often told I resemble this fairy-tale princess. I was pleasantly suprised by Snow White, as I don't find her very cold at all! It is floral, but there's an added chill sweetness to the blend that makes it so heavenly. If the flower in this blend is not night-blooming jasmine, then my nose is completely crazy because that's what it smells like! This blend threatens to go a little plasticy upon drydown, but it eventually settles into this beautifully creamy-sweet floral. It's never too strong or overpowering, but it seems to have good throw for such a delicate scent This is such a unique and beautiful blend, I can totally see why there's such hype surrounding it! I am going to stock up on this one for certain.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this scent yet! After hearing how similar Tamamo-No-Mae (my first BPAL love) was to this blend, I tracked down a bottle. I am so glad I did, as I actually prefer this to TNM (though they're close!). In the bottle: Predominantly woods, but also ginger, citrus, and just a touch of sweetness. Wet: LOTS of grapefruit and ginger! The citrus hits me full force at first, but quickly calms down. The ginger is gorgeously spicy and blends well with the citrus note, and after a while I can smell the sandalwood in the background (fortunately, it never gets too sharp). The throw of HGM is the most gorgeous sugared ginger and vanilla that I can imagine. Drydown: This doesn't change much during drydown for me, except to become even softer and more lovely. The woods, sugar, and ginger all sort of blend together and make me smell oh-so-good. The throw for me is above average, and I continue to get whiffs of that fantastic throw long into the wear. This scent gets heavy rotation from me, and with good reason-- it makes me smell fabulous.

Where's the emoticon for my eyes rolling back in my head?? After coveting this stuff since I found BPAL to talking myself out of not really needing or wanting it because it was so rare and back again, I finally was able to get a partial bottle of this awesome scent. It really suprised me with the fact that it's not all that foody until long into the drydown, but that phase of lingering vanilla buttercream is the best vanilla scent I have ever smelled. It is so good to smell like frosting! From the bottle to wet on the skin, though, this scent is very different. I only get a pinch of anything remotely foody, and a lot of warm, sweet sandalwood. I think I can just barely make out the saffron, but it doesn't make very much of an appearance at all. At drydown, this sadly gets a little sour-smelling, which has been my experience with every Monsterbait I've tried. I'm fairly certain it was the sandalwood in this particular blend that's the culprit (as I recognize the sour woody smell I've gotten from other sandalwoods), though from my experience with other MB's perhaps it's actually the alcoholic note interacting with the sandalwood on my skin. Thankfully, this unpleasant note hangs close to the skin; the throw at this stage is that fabulous buttercream frosting smell. After a good 9 hours of wear, this heavenly vanilla is all that's left of the perfume, but Gods is it good. I would be happy to just tape my wrist to my nose, but that would make typing a little awkward. I may never be able to get any more, but this bottle will certainly get a little lovin' here at my house!

You win the forum! That's so awesome

The reviews of Crumpet Rebellion often mention buttery patries, but if you managed to get your hands on that LE I don't think you'd dare use it for room fragrance. Sugar Skull is pretty much all burnt sugar to my nose, and I get some butteryness in Beaver Moon. Sadly, these are also both LE's! The only GC that would have a similar effect in my mind would be Eat Me -- the sugary vanilla is nicely balanced by the tart currants. It could very well be a good substitute!

I almost started basically this same thread this morning. I wore a pirate costume to work today. I figured a Halloween pirate might smell a little like Eastern spices, incense, and candy -- so I wore July's 13 mixed with Hungry Ghost Moon!

In looking for the perfect blackberry scent, I managed to acquire a bottle of The Oblation. Unfortunately, it's not exactly happy with my skin chemistry. In the bottle: LAVENDER. Lots and lots of it. Wet: Lavender is RIGHT THERE in the forefront of this while wet, but very gradually something damp and green starts to shift forward. It smells like fresh leaves -- could it be the dianthus? For a while, all I get is this greenery and lavender Drydown: Here comes the blackberry. Unfortunately, it's turned quite sour with the addition of the honey. Blackberries are quite tart to begin with, but honey sadly goes even more sour on my skin, and these two scents amp together considerably. After a while, it all settles down into a slightly sweet, nondescript floral. Overall: This blend induces either unpleasantness or apathy. It's unfortunate, but I'm hoping I can find it a happy home with someone else!

I was soooo hoping for custard from this scent! If Beth ever mades a Creme Brulee scent, I will do all sorts of shameful things to ensure I can afford to buy it in gallons Egg'd Mailbox, sadly, is a pleasantly musky floral and not much else. I don't get anything foody from this blend, except maybe a bit of vanilla in the bottle. It's pretty, but just not what I was hoping for.

This is my favorite Inquisition so far! It is such an incredibly fun, giggly scent to me. In the bottle and wet, this smells like Hunch Punch! I can smell the syrupy, Kool-Aid sweetness underneath, but my nose is mostly being assaulted by the strong alcohol scent. That note (thankfully!) burns off only minutes after touching my skin, leaving behind a very fun, tart grape candy scent. It reminds me of Flinstones Vitamins, or Nerds (one of my favorite childhood candies)! This what I wanted Jailbait to be Sadly, the scent doesn't last more than a couple of hours on my skin, but that's okay. It brings out the little girl in me -- that little girl happens to be a mischevious brat, but I never said I was an angel.

Hungry Ghost Moon smells uncannily similar to HM by Hanae Mori.

I was browsing through the Bathos store the other day, and I picked up some of their Pulp soap. I'm generally not one for scents that lean toward the masculine, but this stuff smells SO GOOD. I was wondering if anyone might have some other suggestions for what would be a good fragrance to layer with it (I'm afraid I can't get to the Lab's search engine from work, sorry ). From the website, it looks like the following ingredients give the soap its scent: "cinnamon leaf essential oil, sweet orange essential oil, paprika, evening primrose oil." I think there might be more to the scent than that, however -- it smells very earthy after I get out of the bath, like there might also be some patchouli in there. If anyone has any recommendations that would be great!

AUSTRALIAN COPPERHEAD. I have tried every Snake which had notes I thought would be interesting, and after everything Copperhead was the only one I even like, let alone adore. In the interest of full discolsure, however, I don't much care for Snake Oil (new or aged) -- it simply does not suit my chemistry. The acai berry really makes Copperhead sing on my skin, though.

I am so happy to be able to try this scent (and can't wait to compare it to the new version). In the imp: Vanilla frosting. YUM. Wet: This turns quickly sharp, just like a few other foody blends (Eat Me and MB: Closet for starters). Beaver Moon is more pleasant to my nose during this phase, perhaps because it's less fruit and more sugary vanilla goodness. Dry: Tangy buttercream frosting, freshly spread on a warm vanilla cupcake. This stuff lasts ages on my skin, and it's great.

Thanks for that input! I have another question about this same bottle of Kunstkammer, which has to do with what appears to be the oils separating (the top layer is not quite as milky as the bottom layer). Is this still not something I should be concerned about? I have searched for this, but I didn't find any other mention of this occurring.

There's not a lot of lychee in BPAL blends, but it's very prominent for me in Fire Pig! Due to the number of ingredients in that blend though, YMMV.

Either I completely missed it, or no one's mentioned Morgause yet! Soooo pretty.... dark, purple incense and drying florals. I love it, but because it's a little heavy it always makes me wish for cooler weather.

Ihave a question about a bottle of Kunstkammer I obtained a few months ago. The oil was clear when I received it, but it looks quite cloudy in the bottle now. From what I can tell it smells the same, and it's been stored in a totally dark box in my bedroom. Should I be concerned?

I second that! I find golden amber to be the closest to a skin scent that you mentioned, which is what is in Aglaea (along with a nice mix of peach).

I ordered this scent on impulse, and I was fully prepared for rose hell and gardenia migraines. I experienced neither -- this scent is really beautiful. In the bottle: Sour fruit. All the fruits in this bled are right in your face. I really can't smell anything else from the vial. Dabbed on: Watch out, we've got a morpher! The fruit starts backing off immediately and the florals start to blend in with it (though the fruit stays fairly prominent upon my skin even upon drydown). As it dries I can begin to detect the warmth of the patchouli, while the pepper (and perhaps the musk) are what's giving it the dusty feel. This settles into a slightly sweet, floral, and dusty perfume... it is very evocative of dried flowers in a mausoleum. When I tried this on straight from the shipping box last night, I could not stop sniffing my wrist all through the homeowner's association meeting I went to right after (which I'm sure attracted plenty of funny looks from neighbors ). It's just so different from what I usually gravitate toward, and it thrills me that the rose in this blend is tempered by the other notes. While the fruit sticks around on me for the life of the scent, on a coworker who tried it there was significantly more pepper and patchouli -- it smelled altogether different upon her. I am very happy with this scent, and even happier that I've managed to swap for a backup bottle!

This was the first result of my ToT Inquisition orders! It's not one I was hoping for, but I was happy to take it for a test drive anyway. In the Bottle: It smells exactly like a fresh-dipped caramel apple, with the caramel being the most predominant note Wet: I dab just a bit on one hand (and believe me, a little dab'll do ya!), and instantly it's like someone took a bite out of their apple; the juices explode and the scent of red apple is right there at your nose, fresh and crisp. This phase lasts only a couple of minutes on my skin before the caramel starts revving up full throttle. Dry: Caramel SN. This stuff has incredible staying power, and just keeps amping for about an hour or so before the scent mellows to more of a brown sugar note. This stage is the prettiest to my nose, but the scent itself is not one I particularly care to wear. Overall, it's not my brand of OMGMUSTHOARD scent. But it is very fun, and very festive!