Penance

Origin: 5mL from OlfactoryMaven bought on LJ Preconceived notions: The idea of this scent intrigued me when it was announced, but I didn't want to deal with the hullabaloo of finding an angel to get me a bottle and wrote it off as something I didn't need under the circumstances. I kept thinking about it, though. I read the reviews later and saw how many people either disliked it or didn't find it wearable and should have been put off, but decided to take a gamble anyway, because that's how I roll with BPAL a lot of the time. First sniff: I definitely see where the reviews are coming from. This is acrid and a little industrial, but definitely inky and a little resinous. I can see why people find this off-putting, but I keep coming back for another sniff. Strange. Wet on skin: Not acrid, but still somewhat harsh. Very true ink scent with hints of what smells like cumin and frankincense. It sounds like a bizarre scent and it kind of is, but it's honestly not as strange in person as it is "on paper" (which conjures up images of a pen and ink illustrator eating curry in a church). Dry down: Ink for sure. Not ballpoint pen ink, either, and not copier toner. It's been so long since I've smelled real india ink that I can't quite remember exactly what it smells like, but this definitely isn't your "standard" everyday ink. The cumin has eased up noticeably, but it's still there and the resinous vibe has gotten slightly heavier with parchment (or some sort of heavy stock drawing paper, maybe, not printer/copier paper) in the background. The bottom line: Completely unique and strangely awesome in that "only the Lab could pull this off" sort of way. My mom hated this (although she did agree that it was very unique and that it smelled like some sort of art ink), but I actually really like it. It's definitely not a crowd-pleaser of a scent, but neither is Rivet.Goth and it's a winner for me, too. I wear perfume for me, not for anyone else, so I'll happily wear India Ink even though I may not be popular for doing it.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab (eBay) and a decant (the basis for my review) from...somewhere. Keep in mind that both were well-aged by the time I got them, so my review isn't of the fresh-from-the-Lab scent. Preconceived notions: I've had a decant of this one for quite a while and it took me a long time to get around to testing it. not entirely sure why. Maybe because leather (in perfume) and I have a complicated history (it's always had the tendency to be awesome or make me nauseous and that's even more the case since I went vegan a few years ago) or maybe because of the herbs and gravel mentioned in the description. I'm not a big fan of herb scents and gravel/rocks really don't work for me in Lab scents. There's something harsh about them to my nose and they tend to ruin otherwise awesome scents. I'm hoping to love this because the Lab's leather is a hit more often than it's a miss and I love pipe tobacco and resins. Hopefully the pros will outweigh the cons. First sniff: Somewhat sharp leather, like polished but beaten up shoes, complete with a little bit of shoe polish (which is undoubtedly the chemical note that so many of us get from some of the Lab's leather scents), with hints of herbs and tobacco. So far, so good, although I hope the sharpness dies down. Wet on skin: Softer leather mixed with pipe tobacco and resins. I'm not sure what resins are here. It smells a bit like copal. There's a sweetness to the scent, but it's not just coming from the resins, it's in the tobacco, too. I'm not getting any dust or gravel, which is fine because I'm not a fan of either. Dry down: The Traveller dries down into the most beautiful leather/resin/tobacco scent. Seriously, so good! It's masculine, but most definitely not unwearable for the ladies (in case that's not obvious since I'm wearing it and loving it). It makes me think more of Victorian smoking rooms than weary travelers with dusty shoes. It's soft, musky, leathery, resinous, sweet and a little smoky. Definitely a winner. I only wish that I'd not been on my BPAL hiatus when this came out so that I could have bought a couple of backup bottles (assuming I'd been brave enough to try it in spite of the gravel, dust and herbs and the possibility that it would have been too sharp for me when it was freshly made). I'm just glad I managed to find a bottle because my decant won't last long.

A faded snapshot of patchouli-stained peasant blouses, soft suede boots, and smoke. Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: There were a handful of ParaNorman scents I wanted to try when they were released, but had to narrow it down to one for budget reasons. Hippie Ghost sounded right up my alley. I love patchouli, suede and smoke. The only thing concerning me here is the "peasant blouse" part. Linen (I assume it's probably a linen-type note) and I don't always get along so well. It can be too harsh to my nose, so I'm hoping it's a soft, background note and not a main one. First sniff: Lighter than I expected, but I guess I should have anticipated that from a "ghost" scent! I'm getting everything here. Soft, worn linen (not harsh at all and not super clean, either...sort of a musty linen, but not in a bad way), patchouli (not the super dirty kind, but definitely patchouli all the same), a bit of suede and a tiny touch of smoke. It's a nostgalic sort of scent. More antique store than headshop. Wet on skin: My skin loves linen (even when I don't) and it's staying true to form here, amping up the peasant blouse note immediately and making this all about the fabric as soon as it hits my skin. Usually, that tones down quickly, though, so I'm not too worried. I'm still getting hints of the other notes, but this is screamingly linen-like right now. Drydown: Mmm, better. The linen really dies down (and pretty quickly, too) and I'm left with a really evocative scent. It's soft, ethereal and smoky with an earthiness from the patchouli and a little bit of soft suede. It still makes me think antique store (although I suppose it should be a vintage clothing store, it has that antique store smell to me) and not headshop, but I'm really liking it. The smoke is just a tiny bit harsh at times, but it comes and goes and I really can't complain. The bottom line: Ideally, I would have loved something more headshop-ish and more intense (although I should have expected what I got since it is a "ghost" scent), but I really like Hippie Ghost anyway. It's subtle and should go over well with people who don't normally love patchouli scents.

Origin: 2 x 5mL from the Lab. Thought I only ordered one (trying to be good in spite of my long-running history of immediately ordering at least 2 of any LE that sounds good), but apparently old habits are hard to break and I actually ordered two. Preconceived notions: I'm so glad the single notes have made a comeback! I've been waiting, hoping that something my alley would make an appearance. I've got bottles of Sweet Clove, Redwood, Red Mysore Sandalwood and Blue Lilac from the first go-round and love them. I only wish I'd gotten a few other scents before they disappeared, so I'm glad I've got another chance to try some more out. There was a time when I would have hated this. I can say that without even smelling it, sad as that is. I used to hate musk. And I do mean hate. Not as much as I hate almond or lotus or bubblegum or (most) flowers, but hate is still the right word. But I've learned to love musk and this sounds awesome even though I'm not sure what to expect. I'm a huge fan of red musk, so I'm hoping Siberian musk is similar, but it should be a hit regardless. There are very few types of musk that I don't care for, so this should be a safe choice. First sniff: Yum! Definitely on the more animalic side (which would have sent me running back when I was first getting into BPAL many moons ago), but still very wearable. It doesn't have that cat pee smell that puts me off civet, but it's still got a wildness to it. I'd say this is in the same family as red musk, although the two are different. This is like a less sweet, more "animal" version of red musk. I can tell a little is going to go a long way. Wet on skin: Pretty true to the bottle scent. No sudden "Hey, I'm cat pee!" vibe coming out of left field, which is a relief. My skin sometimes likes to do things like that. I only put on a tiny dab to test and I can easily smell it wafting up from my inner elbow! Dry down: Sexy, sweaty, dirty musky goodness. This is a down and dirty scent. It stays pretty stable from bottle to drydown, although it looses a bit of its pungency as it dries. That's not a bad thing, though. It's still a dirty musk, but it's not quite so aggressive as it is when its wet. There's something about this that puts me in mind of Snake Oil (minus the vanilla and spices I get from SO, particularly once its aged), so I'm with the people who suspect that this is one of the secret ingredients. The bottom line: I'm glad I accidentally got two bottles of this because I love it! I'm happy to wear a single note as perfume on its own, so Siberian Musk will be getting plenty of wear that way, but I can also see it layering beautifully. Snake Oil would be a natural partner for Siberian Musk, but I think there are going to be quite a few other scents in my (admittedly massive) collection that it would play nicely with.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I immediately put Uncle Matt on my "to try" list as soon as I read the ingredients. There was a time where I never would have tried this since I hated both chocolate and (most) fruit scents, but since my taste in scents has expanded, Uncle Matt was sounding pretty good. I've never smelled quince but I like fig and pear. Dark chocolate is my favorite type of chocolate as perfume and vanilla is usually a winner. I'm hopeful that this one's going to work, especially since I jumped right into a bottle instead of tracking down a decant. First sniff: Chocolatey in that rich, cocoa-ish dark chocolate way. I also get the vanilla, which adds a gentle sweetness and hints of the fig (rich, dark, bordering on cloying, but not in a bad way) and pear (sweet, light and subtle). I think maybe I smell the quince, but it could just be the pear. There's something almost like a cross between pear and apple lurking somewhere in there. Quince, is that you? Wet on skin: Uncle Matt smells the same on me as in the bottle for about 5 seconds and then starts to change rapidly. I'm guessing what I start smelling has to be the quince, because it's not any of the other notes. It has a sort of cough syrup smell to it (weirdly enough, it smells like prescription cough syrup, not the over the counter variety...I can't described the difference, but to me they're not the same creature), which I wasn't anticipating. I have a feeling it's my skin chemistry doing strange things to either the quince or some combination of the other notes. Dry down: Thankfully, the cough syrup phase doesn't last very long. Once it disappears, I'm left with a surprisingly soft chocolate and vanilla scent (comforting and sweet without being truly foody to my nose) with sweet, soft fruits in the background. Most of the fig disappears and it turns into a sort of golden apple/pear scent with only a tiny bit of the fig haging around in the far background. The bottom line: I like this one. It's not quite what I was anticipating (I was thinking it would be more like the box of chocolates scents; foody in an unexpected way), but it's nice all the same. I'm actually more apt to wear this than if it was a genuinely foody scent since I'm not a big gourmand fan (with some exceptions), so I can't complain about it going a different direction.

Origin: 5mL bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: I'm beyond excited about La Mano del Destino. I adore patchouli, love tobacco and like virtually every other note here. The only things I'm unsure about are the unknowns that I've never smelled before: copaiba and pao d'arco. I did a little bit of reading online and it looks like both of those should work for me, though, so I've got very high hopes for this one. First sniff: Dark, earthy patchouli and something that smells almost like redwood mixed with cedar, which must be the copaiba. There's a faint hint of chocolate here, too, but it's not foody. It just adds a little mode depth to the scent. So far, so good! Wet on skin: Pretty much the same as in the bottle, only now I get a tiny touch of cinnamon in addition to the patchouli, wood and cacao. It's a dark, gender neutral scent. Dry down: Love! Earthy patchouli, rich wood, tobacco (it smells like a cigar box with the combination of wood and tobacco) and hints of cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla. It's not foody in the slightest, but the chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla add some depth and complexity to the patchouli, wood and tobacco. The bottom line: I absolutely love this, although I can see patchouli-haters...well...hating this. It's definitely heavy on the patchouli (and on the copaiba). Luckily, that's very much my sort of thing, so I'm thrilled with this one and I'll definitely be getting backups before La Mano del Destino disappears. This is what I think of as an "old school BPAL" scent because it makes me think of the scents I tried when I was first getting into BPAL in 2004. It's got that "BPAL Smell™" to it, which I love.

Origin: Partial 5mL bought on LiveJournal. I originally had a bottle I received in the Inquisition but sold it years ago, so this is a retest of an aged bottle. Preconceived notions: I can't believe I haven't reviewed this, but evidently I haven't. In all honesty, I don't remember what Trick #2 smells like, just that I liked it back in 2006, but not enough to keep my bottle, even though it was the scent I wanted the most of the four possibilities. There are good notes and bad notes here, but for the most part, Trick #2 is right up my alley. I love patchouli and tobacco and I like vanilla, pink pepper (in moderation), oak and pine pitch. The berries and pomegranate could go either way. Pomegranate tends to smell like gummy bears on me, but I can wear Mme. Moriarty without a problem, so since Trick #2 has some similar notes, I'm hoping that it'll go the same way. First sniff: Dark, woody and slightly sweet. I'm getting the oak first and foremost, then tobacco and vanilla and a hint of dark red fruit. It's a dark, foreboding sort of scent. And that's just the sort of thing I like. Wet on skin: Trick #2 goes through a very short stage where it goes slightly funky on me, just like Mme. Moriarty does (although Mme. Moriarty stops doing that with a few years aging and Trick is more than a few years old at this point), but then it steers itself back on track and I get a very autumnal scent that makes me think of burning leaves, oak trees and the faint scent of the last of the year's fruits wafting on a breeze. Dry down: Honestly, this is what I want Samhain to smell like, as weird as that is, considering that they don't share many notes. Trick #2 is one of the Halloween-iest Halloween scents I've come across, which I wouldn't have expected from the notes. It's slightly sinister smelling, an weirdly atmospheric. It's like bobbing for pomegranates in a spooky forest mixed with dark, rich, non-foody vanilla. The bottom line: I really like Trick #2 and I'm glad I gave it another try. Now I'm wishing I hadn't gotten rid of my first bottle because I'm a slatherer and I hate having to ration scents I love.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: This is one of those scents that got me more and more excited as I read my way through the notes. I was almost dreading a death note towards the end, but at the same time I was mentally screaming "Yes! Yes! YES!" All but one note in here is something that I either like or flat out love. The only thing I'm concerned about here is the hylichrysum. I don't generally do florals, but I've never tried sunflower and somehow I've got this idea in my head that it's going to be golden and lovely and somehow work for me. It's not going to ruin Hygeia for me. I know it. First sniff: Love in a bottle. This is like a softer, gentler version of aged Scherezade to my nose. It's got the sort of incensey red musk vibe that I get from Scherezade, but more rounded smelling somehow. I'm definitely getting the red musk, amber, sandalwood and incense and it seems like everything else is sort of swirling around in the background. Wet on skin: Lovely. Soft, musky and incensey. This is one of those "made for me" scents that the Lab does oh so well. I don't get any florals here, so they're apparently meshing seamlessly with the other notes instead of standing out on their own. Dry down: This is going in the favorites box. Yes, it's similar to Scherezade, but that's never stopped me before and it won't stop me now. Hygeia is a gorgeous, golden-amber-red scent that smells exotic and sensual, but down to earth. I love it. The bottom line: I'll be buying multiples of this one. No question. It's definitely in the same family as Scherezade, but less assertive and much smoother smeling. And the fact that the proceeds are going to a good cause is the icing on the cake.

I'm having a similar issue, findaghost, but with another scent. I've recently gotten two frimps of Tamora from the Lab (in two separate orders a couple of weeks apart). I was planning on ordering a bottle after receiving my first one, but now I'm waffling because they're noticeably different. One (the first one I received and the one I really like) is a medium-deep amber color and smells like sweet vanilla amber with a touch of fruity florals. The other is a pale gold color and smells much stronger on the peach blossom. I remember that I wasn't thrilled with Tamora the first time I tried it (years ago), but I don't remember why. I had assumed it was because amber wasn't one of my favorite notes back then (it turned sour), but maybe it was because I got one of the golden/fruity imps instead of the darker/amber-vanilla imps. Could it be an aging issue? Maybe, if the Lab happened to throw in a well-aged imp the first time around and a fresh one the second time. I tend to think it's more likely to be a batch variation, but I obviously don't know that for a fact. I'm nervous about ordering a bottle now.

I agree that they're not very similar at all. Red Lace was a light, generically sweet, powdery red fruit scent with cotton and Mme. Moriarty is darker (it starts out relatively light, but still darker than Red Lace, and then gets much richer and deeper as it ages) and deeper. I didn't get any patchouli at all from Red Lace and I don't really get an identifiable patchouli note, but it does add a darkness to the scent and I can tell its there.

Origin: 5mL bought second-hand. I don't remember who I got it from, but I do know that I got it very cheap, which is why I took a chance on it. Preconceived notions: I bought this before finding out that Battenberg cake has almond in it. Unfortunately, I loathe the smell of almond. Almond oil in perfume makes me horribly nauseous, so I'm nervous about trying this one out, although I've been told that the almond in this is virtually non-existent. I'm hoping that's the case. Everything else sounds...well, interesting. I'm not really going to say it sounds good, because I can't really imagine a perfume that smells like cucumber sandwiches and Earl Grey tea. It doesn't sound bad, either. Definitely interesting. First sniff: Foody, but not in an overpowering or cloying way. Teatime in Roswell is very mild. I get soft, faint cucumber, light cake and just a touch of tea. It's almost clean smelling in the way that cucumber-melon scents smell clean, not in a soapy way. Wet on skin: Uh-oh, is that almond I smell? I do believe it is. It's faint and it's on the marzipan end of the spectrum (which means it's more tolerable than flat-out, in-your-face almond, but still not something I'm going to enjoy smelling), but it's there. I don't get cucumber or tea at this point. Instead, it's all light, white cake with marzipan filling. It's still a mild, gentle scent. I can see this being a great scent for a child or for an adult who can't or doesn't want to wear a strong scent but wants to smell nice. Dry down: Thank God, the almond has faded quite a bit. It's still there, but it's a lot like the pseudo-marzipan note in Snow White. It adds a touch of marzipan-like sweetness without crossing the line into true almond territory. Mainly, what I'm getting is a mishmosh of buttered bread (which is like a lighter version of Bread-And-Butterfly), cucumber (adding a light, watery greenness) and a touch of white cake. It's a very pastel scent. Pale green, yellow and white. The tea is nowhere to be seen. This tea party is all about the food, not the drinks. The bottom line: This isn't the sort of scent I typically wear and it's not something I would wear everyday, but I have to say that I actually like it once it dries completely. I could do without the wet stage, but it doesn't last long and (thankfully) it doesn't trigger my nausea the way strong almond scents to. It's just not a scent I enjoy at that stage. This isn't bad in the end, though. It somehow belongs in the same mental category as TKO for me. They both have a sort of "little girl's fantasy land" sort of thing going on, although I'm not sure how many little girls fantasize about eating cucumber sandwiches at their tea parties.

This is my (not so) "short" list of favorite BPAL scents. Things get moved in and out now and then, so this list is constantly in a state of flux, although most of the older scents are perma-faves. Bolded scents are ones I would wear any day, regardless of the sort of mood I'm in, without hesitation. I love the other scents, but not everything is something that I always feel like wearing. Anne Bonny Aureus Badger The Black Rider Black Temple Burlesque Troupe Bloodlust Brom Bones The Buggre Alle This Bible Captain Cully Cathedral CD023 The Coiled Serpent Coyote Dancing Koi Dark Chocolate, Whiskey and Cognac Truffle Eat Me Fenris Wolf Fighter 51 The Forbidding Foyer Gothabilly Hellion The Infernal Lover (red musk) The Infernal Lover (no red musk) Invasion of the Flesh-Eating Reindeer from Uranus Ivanushka Tarot: Judgement Lump of Coal Lust v7 Madame Moriarty, Misfortune Teller Mad Sweeney March Hare Mole Monster Bait: Closet Mouse's Long and Sad Tale (very aged) Mr. Jacquel Nonae Caprotina #OCCUPYWALLSTREET Paladin Panther Moon Penitence Pinched with Four Aces Quincy Morris Rivet.Goth Rogue Scherezade Sin Snake Charmer Snake Oil Storyville Troll Tushnamatay Typhon Umbra Velvet Bandito Voodoo Queen Western Diamondback White Chocolate, Black Raspberry and Apricot Cordial Truffle White Peacock The second string favorites: (A lot of these would be in my main favorites box if I had more room. Some are in here because they're too similar to other favorites already in The Box of Awesome and others are here because I really like them, but have to be in the right mood to wear them. Still others are just ones that I wear often enough to want them to be a little more accessible than the scents in my BPAL cabinet are.) Blue Moon 2004 Boomslang Calaveras CD: Misfortune Teller v3 Chaos Theory VI: Recursive Self-Similarity V7 #36 Damnation Dorian Elf Elf v4 Event Horizon The Forbidding Foyer Half-Elf Herr Drosselmeyer King of Spades La Mano del Destino The Lion Magic, Do as You Will Marianne MB: Underbed v1 Miskatonic University v3 Pancake Breakfast Phyllocrania Paradoxica v1 Phyllocrania Paradoxica v3 Queen Mab Queen of Spades Raven Moon The Red Rider SAQQARA v2 Stranger in Camp Tamora

Bold = I own at least one bottle (or at least a partial bottle in a couple cases) of this scent Italics = I own an empty/tester/very low level bottle Waiting to be tried: Aeval Alice's Evidence Alien Invasion All in the Golden Afternoon Andreiphontes The Apple of Sodom Arcana Baghdad Baku Baneberry Bathsheba Bensiabel The Black Apple of Saturn Black Heart Black Hellebore Black Lily The Black Swan Bleeding Heart Blood Moon 2008 Blue Phoenix v2 Boadicea BRAII (tester) Cabaret.Goth (sniffie) Caligula CD: The Geek Show (unreleased prototype; tester) Champagne and Party Hats (tester) Chaotic (unreleased prototype version; tester) The Chilling Cellar Chintamani-Dhupa Cobra Lily Cockaigne Cordelia Couple Consulting an Enpon (sniffie) Croquet The Curator Danube Dead Man's Hand v8 (tester) The Death-Horse Deadly Nightshade Honey Deep in Earth The Deep Ones Defututa Delousing Powder Detox Dia Diwali (tester) Dragon's Reverie Elegy IX: The Autumnal Envy Epitaph Erato Eros Ether Evening Cicadas and Red Peppers Evil (unreleased prototype version; tester) Expressive Head Faeu Boulanger Faunalia The Festival of Anuket The Forest Reverie Frumious Bandersnatch The Ghastly Garden Golden Wave The Gorobble Hairy Toad Lily Halloween: New Orleans Haloes Hi'iaka Horreur Sympathique Hymn to Proserpine (or Prosperpine...that's what my imp says!) Iambe Ichabod Crane The Ides of March 2010 Illuminati Cotillion The Isles of Demons Jerusalem Cherry Infused Honey Jólasveinar 2010 Khandita Kitsune-Tsuki Kubla Khan Kumari Kandam Lamia Languor La Primavera Leather Phoenix Les Bijoux Les Fleurs du Mal Liberty Libra 2007 Love-Lies-Bleeding Lulu (unreleased prototype version) Lyonesse Mag Mell The Mandrake Charm Manhattan Mania Manipura Marquis de Carabas Masquerade Mead Moon (sniffie) Miaiphonos Mictecacihuatl Molly Grue Monarch Moscow Motley The Music of Erich Zahn MVJHL Bake Sale v3 (tester) Niflheim The Night Hag Visiting the Lapland Witches Noisome Clockwork Tin Locomotive Odd Portents Ode on Melancholy Ogygia Old Demons of the First Class The Old Goblin Olokun Oneiroi Parthenope The Phantom Wooer Philologus Phobos The Phoenix in Winter Phoenix Steamworks The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (tester) Pollution Pontarlier Pothon Meter Prurience Queen Alice The Reaper and the Flowers Roses, Pearls and Diamonds Rozpustnica Sanctus The Sea Foams Milk Sed Non Satiata Sekhmet v5 Shanghai Shattered Shill v1 (tester) Shoggoth Silenti (sniffie) Slobbering Pine The Sluggard Smokestack Smoky Moon 2009: Tristesses de la Lune Snap-Dragon-Fly Soothing System v1 Sticky Pillowcase Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener Strawberry Moon 2009 Suspiro Symmakhia Tabula Smaragdina Terpsichore Toad Toad Hall To a Woman The Torture Queen The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil Trinket The Triumph of Death Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat Uncle Travelling Matt Unveiled Velvet Clown Velvet Unicorn Verdandi The Vine Violet Ray White Chocolate Mango Buttercream Whoso List to Hunt The Wild Swans at Coole The Witch's Garden Yürei On the way: Dark chocolate with merlot-infused black cherries and star anise French Tobacco Mayan chocolate with annatto seed, Anaheim pepper, cinnamon and vanilla bean Sic Erit Voyeuristic Monkey

The first part of this list can be found here! I had to split it up because it was getting cut off otherwise. Purple = love this scent (these are my absolute favorites, the best of the best) Green = like this scent (there's a lot of variation here, I may like it--even like it a lot--but just don't absolutely love it or I might think it's nice enough but not the kind of scent I enjoy wearing) Orange = this scent is just okay (I try not to lump scents into this category if I think they're nice but not for me; these are mainly the scents that I don't hate, but can't see a lot of appeal in, on me or on someone else) Red = don't like this scent (I rarely actively hate a BPAL scent...these are the scents that provoke an immediate "Get it away from me!" reaction for some reason, often because they have almond or rose in them, but those two notes aren't automatic qualifiers for inclusion) Bold = I own at least one bottle (or at least a partial bottle in a couple cases) of this scent Italics = I own an empty/tester/very low level bottle BOOM! Studios: Bette Noir Diabolus: Akuma Baobhan Sith Black Annis Black Phoenix Black Widow Blood Countess Bloodlust Bluebeard Catherine Deimos Dracul Ekhidna Fenris Wolf Goblin Hellcat Hell's Belle Incubus Kuang Shi Kumiho Loup Garou Maenad Malice Marquise de Merteuil Masabakes Medea Nephilim Nocnitsa Noir Nosferatu Phantom Queen Phobos Rage Serpent's Kiss Szepasszony Troll Typhon Unseelie Venom Villain The District: Countess Willie Crib Girls Josie Doc Constantine’s Pharmacopoeia: Bruised Violet Compound Excolo: Aglaea Aizen-Myoo Alecto Al-Shairan Anubis Bastet Baron Samedi Centzon Totochtin Clio Coyote Czernobog Elegba Eos Euphrosyne Eve Gaueko Grandmother of Ghosts Hades Hecate Kali Kurukulla Lilith Loviatar Nemesis Nyx Obatala Ochosi Odin Ogun Old Scratch Oya Peithos Pele Persephone Polyhymnia Queen Mab Sacred Whore of Babylon Santa Muerte Shango Skuld Tezcatlipoca Thalia Thanatos Urania Urd Xiuhtecuhtli Yemaya Gris Grimly: Detestable Putrescence Hideous Heart Hellboy: Kroenen Liz Illyria: Antony The Apothecary Caliban Desdemona Goneril Iago Jester Juliet Katharina Lady Macbeth Lear Oberon Ophelia Othello Queen Gertrude Robin Goodfellow Rosalind Tamora Three Witches Titania Titus Andronicus The Last Unicorn: Arachne of Lydia Captain Cully Elli's Song Hagsgate The King's Daughter Magic, Do as You Will The Midnight Carnival ParaNorman: Hippie Ghost The Mad Tea Party: Alice Bread-and-Butterfly The Caterpillar Cheshire Cat The Dodo The Dormouse Drink Me Eat Me How Doth the Little Crocodile Jabberwocky The King of Hearts The Knave of Hearts The Lion Mad Hatter March Hare The Mock Turtle's Lessons Mouse's Long and Sad Tale (I only love this when it's very aged, otherwise it's a like, not a love) The Pool of Tears The Queen of Hearts The Red Queen Rocking-Horse-Fly Snooty Rose Tiger-Lily 'Tis the Voice of the Lobster Tweedledee Tweedledum White Rabbit Marchen: Baba Yaga (GC version) Beer From the Marsh Woman's Brewery Belle Vinu The Black Rider The Chicken-Legged Hut Egle The Grave-Pig Grief The Light of Men's Lives The Little Sparrow The Little Wooden Doll (not so great on my skin, but pretty in the bottle or a scent locket) Moonshine and Mist The Night-Raven Prunella The Red Rider The Rose Rumpelstilzchen The Sea Foams Blood Serpents with Glittering Eyes and Forky Tongues (kind of in between; I like it but it's bordering on being just okay) Vasilissa The White Rider The Witch's Repast Neil Gaiman: Aziraphale The Buggre Alle This Bible Crowley Hunter The Ifrit (tester) Ligur Famine Hastur Mad Sweeney I. The Magician Mr. Ibis Mr. Jacquel The Potters' Field Shadwell Sunbird (LE) The Velvets War Panaceas: Lustration Moxie Quietude Safari Seduction Succor TKO Phoenix Steamworks: The Antikythera Mechanism (I'm ambivalent about this one) No. 93 Engine The Robotic Scarab (in between liking it and feeling meh about it) A Picnic in Arkham: Al-Azif Arkham Azathoth Brown Jenkins Cthulu Miskatonic University Nyarlathotep R'Lyeh Shub-Niggurath Rappaccini's Garden: Belladonna Black Hellebore Honey Black Rose Blood Lotus Blood Rose Bohun Upas Death Cap Destroying Angel Devil's Claw Dian's Bud Hemlock Hemlock Honey Love-in-Idleness Mandrake Mantis Moon Rose Shadow Witch Orchid Strangler Fig Tobacco Honey Wolfsbane Yellow Jessamine Honey Yew-Trees RPG: Chaotic Cleric Dwarf Evil Elf Fighter Gnome Good Half Elf Halfling Lawful Mage Neutral Orc Paladin Ranger Rogue The Salon: And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt Carceri d'Invenzione Cloister Graveyard in the Snow Death of the Grave Digger Garden Path with Chickens The Isle of the Dead The Smiling Spider Two Monsters Sin & Salvation: Anathema Black Dahlia The Bow and Crown of Conquest Cathedral Damnation Death on a Pale Horse Dorian Fallen Faustus Gluttony The Great Sword of War Greed Hellfire (original) Hellfire (new) Hymn Jailbait Laudanum Lex Talionis Lust Magdalene Malediction Nero Oblivion Paramatman Penitence Roadhouse Rose Cross The Scales of Deprivation Sea of Glass Seraphim Sin Sloth Tzadikim Nistarim Vice Wrath Somnium: Nanshe Somnus Temple of Dreams Vampires Don't Sleep Alone: Tombeur VILF (the wet stage and early drydown are made of fail, but the later drydown is nice enough) Wanderlust: 51 Amsterdam Athens Bayou Bengal Cairo Crossroads Delphi Dublin Eden Florence Glasgow Gomorrah The Hamptons The Hanging Gardens Hollywood Babylon Ile de la Tortue (tester) Kathmandu Kostnice Kyoto London Machu Picchu Manila Morocco New Orleans Paris Port-au-Prince Port Royal Rome Santo Domingo Silk Road Sri Lanka Sybaris Tenochtitlan Tintagel Tombstone Uruk Venice Vinland Whitechapel Yerevan

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I was so excited to see that the Lab had a cicada scent. I love cicacadas! The notes sound intriguing. I love the smell of tree sap, amber and moss) and I like hemp and rice milk, but hay is touch and go and I don't know how I'm going to feel about the acorn (that note in particular has me very curious), corn stalks (I love the smell of actual corn stalks, but I'm not sure how well it's going to translate into perfume for me) and almond blossoms (I despise almond; the scent of almond oil makes me nauseous, but I'm not sure about almond blossom). But, the Will Call reviews have me worried. I don't want a foody scent and I don't want lots of almond. I want something plant-like and sappy. I have a feeling that I might regret buying this one, but I had to try it for myself since the notes sound so interesting and I love the idea of a cicada scent. First sniff: Uh-oh. Do not want. I sniffed this when I first got it in, recoiled and set it aside, thinking maybe it needed to settle. Opened it up to sniff it again today after giving it 10 days to rest and it's still the same. I'm not even entirely sure how to describe this. Nutty hay mixed with something weirdly cookie-like would be the best I can describe it, I think. Wet on skin: No better than in the bottle. In fact, I think I might like it even less at this point. There's something coming out that smells like hay only greener. I suppose it could be the corn stalks, but it doesn't smell like actual corn stalks to me. This is such a weird scent. Now, I don't have a problem with weird scents, but this one's weird in a way that makes my stomach turn a little. Dry down: I really should have listened to the Will Call reviews, but I've been known to turn scents that other people don't like into something pretty awesome, so I had to take the gamble. Plus, the whole cicadas thing. Can't forget that. Brood XIX is actually pretty nice smelling once it dries down (it loses most of the weirdness along the way), but it's just not my kind of scent. In the end, it reminds me a bit of The Chicken-Legged Hut mixed with some of the porridge from Halfling (but without the berry note I get from Halfling). It smells kind of like cookies, kind of like nutty grains and kind of like hay. It's definitely on the foody side on me, but it's not entirely foody. The bottom line: I so wanted to love this and I'm tempted to keep it for the concept, but I'm trying to break myself of the habit of buying/keeping oils that don't work for me just because I like the name, concept or label art. I just don't like this sort of foody scent, so I guess it's going to find a new home.