Penance

First sniff: Gingersnaps it is! Quite similar to Gingerbread Poppet to my nose, only more intense and less cozy smelling somehow. It's a strange combination of sweetness and deliciously evil ginger goodness and so far I like it. Wet on skin: Lemon and gingersnaps. The lemon is most likely the ginger in this since my nose confuses fresh ginger and lemon for some reason. I'm not a lemon fan even if it isn't really lemon, which is a shame since I really wanted to like this. I'm not having very good luck with the SIA scents for some reason, but I was hoping this might be an exception. Dry down: Still lemony gingersnaps...like lemonade and a plate of crunchy cookies. I love lemonade but I don't want to smell like it, unfortunately. I have no idea why the SIA scents seem to hate me, but this one doesn't seem to be an exception like I'd hoped. The bottom line: I wanted to love this, but I just can't. Lemon is not my friend, even if it's ginger in the guise of lemon.

First sniff: Somewhat sweet, somewhat floral and somewhat light, sweet and woodsy. I'm thinking this will be too floral for me in spite of the lovely wood notes, but I won't know until I try. Wet on skin: Floral and citrusy (must be the bergamot I'm smelling). This is one of those semi-sweet, super heady floral blends, at least to a floral averse person such as myself, and it's definitely not me. I'm having the worst luck with the SIA scents and that really breaks my heart because I wanted to love them all. Dry down: Lots of sweet, heady almost polleny flowers. I can feel my sinuses gearing up for a full-out floral induced headache, which unfortunately means this needs to be washed off before I get another Migraine From Hell. The bottom line: Another SIA scent that hates me. Hopefully its new owner will love it more than I can.

Origin: Lagniappe from BPTP. First sniff: This is so familiar; it's right on the tip of my tongue. I keep thinking "herbs" when I smell this, like maybe rosemary or basil (I'm drawing a blank on this one for some reason), but there's something almost floral in the background, too. It's herbal and a little smoky and ever-so-slightly floral. Interesting, but I'm not quite sure if I like it. Wet on skin: I know this reminds me of something. I hate it when this happens. It's developing an odd sort of sassafras sweetness to it now that wasn't present in the vial and now I'm starting to think I really don't care for The Magician. Herbs are fine and so are sassafras-like notes, but together on me it's...odd, and now really my cup of tea. Dry down: Smells more like anise than anything now. Unfortunately, I hate anise, so that's not an improvement. It looks as though The Magician just isn't meant for me. The bottom line: I'm not having very good luck with the majority of the Tarot blends and The Magician is another strike-out (for me, anyway). Something in here just doesn't go well with...me, I guess.

Origin: Mini sample from the lovely Diana. Preconceived notions: I don't see there being any chance of my truly liking this. I may find it okay and pretty enough, but the chances of it being "me" are very small since I'm not a floral fan. First sniff: Yep, not me but nice enough in its own way. Florals normally equal "instant headache" for me, but so far Flower Moon is innocuous if generically floral to my nose (most flowers smell too much alike to distinguish between them to my nose). This is a bright, young, cheerful floral scent. One that screams flowers in tousled hair and tan legs showing under flirty skirts. Wet on skin: If I had to wear a floral blend (i.e. a floral scent other than, say, pure lilac), this might be it. It's not matronly or headache inducing or aloof and even though I don't do florals, I can see why this could appeal to someone. Miles away from my preferances, but very well done. Dry down: Sweet, heady florals, all tumbling over one another. I'm starting to get a vicious headache now, though, so it appears it's time to end this experiment. The bottom line: I'm not disappointed with Flower Moon; in fact, I'm slightly surprised by the fact that it's rather pretty to my flower-averse nose.

Chaos Theory XV Origin: 5mL courtesy of LunaSea. Preconceived notions: According to Luna, this is some sort of wood, so I'm expecting something...well, woodsy. First sniff: Smells herbal...somewhat like my "Ricola" Chaos, but different - less sweet and more woody smelling with a medicinal overtone. I've come across this medicinal note before, but I don't know what it is. Wet on skin: The medicinal note isn't as strong now, which is good because I was getting a headache from it. Now the wood that Luna mentioned is coming out. Smells like...oak to me. I'ts definitely not cedar, pine, balsam, rosewood, cypress or redwood (the wood notes I tend to see most often in BPAL scents) and it's too heavy to be birch. Smells just like a towering oak tree to me...the smell of rough bark and sun-warmed branches; no leaves, just comforting, solid wood. Dry down: There's a very faint herbal note here, but mainly it's just oak...like a living tree, not lumber. Very smooth and steady and comforting. Very simple, but I really like it and this stuff lasts. We're talking 12 hours or more with only a small application. The bottom line: Simple but comforting. Smells like childhood days spent perched in my neighbor's gnarled old oak tree. Love it!

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Chaos Theory CLVII (157) Origin: 5mL courtesy of mobilejessie. Preconceived notions: According to Jessie, this smells like either pine and rum or pine and vanilla, either one of which sounds damn good. First sniff: Ho-ly shit...this smells almost identical to my precious (original) Hellfire! :icon_eek: Just to be sure, I got out my Grog (buttered rum, just to compare) and my Hellfire and, sure enough, this could be Hellfire's twin. It's not butterscotch sweet like Grog, it's buttery like Hellfire although it doesn't have that slight cream note that Hellfire has. I can't tell for sure at the moment if this is rum or bourbon, but I'm in love. I definitely wasn't expecting this at all. There's the faintest hint of something that could be pine in the far, far background, but I barely notice it even when I'm looking for it. If this stays true to the bottled scent I'm going to pee my pants, I swear. Wet on skin: Oh my God, if I didn't know this wasn't Hellfire I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference! I'm not sure if it's skin chemistry or luck or divine intervention, but there's no pine to be found at this stage, just delicious buttery bourbon (I'm almost positive it's bourbon - it's not sweet enough or non-smoky anough to be rum). I may be hallucinating, but I swear I smell cream, too. Just a tiny dab, but beautiful. Dry down: Now there's an itty bit of pine, but the rest is a pure Hellfire doppelganger. Think The Hellfire Club meets a very sophisticated hunting club - a bunch of well-dressed gentlemen in frock coats sipping buttered bourbon and lounging around in a posh hunting lodge. I really like this. If I don't wear it directly on my skin, it's damn near identical to my beloved Hellfire and if I do wear it directly on my skin, it's a gorgeous variation on that theme. The bottom line: "The Hellfire Hunting Lodge and Debauchery Club." Words can't describe how thrilled I am right now. If I can't have a never-ending supply of Hellfire, at least I've got a full 5mL of this gorgeous blend to make up for it. I am in love. Previously reviewed by mobilejessie.

Chaos Theory CDLXXIV (494) Origin: A wonderful wedding surprise from the lovely Allamanda, who treats me far better than I deserve. First sniff: Fruit...I'm thinking pomegranate. In fact, I'm almost positive that that's what this is. It's not a note I was familiar with before BPAL but one I've gotten to know fairly well since I tried Swank, Persephone and Queen of Clubs. Deep and rich and fruity and beautiful. Wet on skin: Oh yeah, that's pomegranate and it doesn't smell like gummy bears (long story)! I think there may be a light incense note in here, too, because there's a subtle resinous smokiness in the background that's giving depth to the fruit. It reminds me of Queen of Spades in a way - lush fruit and incense. Dry down: First the pomegranate disappears completely, leaving just a very nice almost buttery incense note (probably myrrh since it tends to smell a tiny bit buttery to me) and then the pomegranate comes back in moderation and this Chaos blend returns to the "sort of like Queen of Spades" phase that it was in when it was wet. This is beautiful! This surprise just made my day. The bottom line: Gorgeous! Just when I'd given up hope of getting a Chaos blend that was me by pure chance (rather than knowingly swapping for it) along comes this little gem. I feel so lucky and loved right now.

I'd be interested. My hubby could do it (computer whiz that he is), but he's lazy and overworked as it is. So, yeah, if he doesn't mind your sharing, I'd be interested.

I don't think this has been reviewed yet, but this one is in a standard Lab-sized and shaped amber bottle. Origin: 5mL from the wonderful Pranashakti. Preconceived notions: Pranashakti informs me that this smells like molasses which sounds wonderful. Molasses is quite possibly my strongest foody scent weakness (and one of the only foody scents I'll wear and genuinely love), so I'm really looking forward to trying this - plus it's experimental! How fun is that? First sniff: Ooooh, that is molasses and maybe ginger, too. It smells like the Gingeroo (I think that's how it's spelled) cookies from Trader Joe's that taste so good. It's sweet and dark and heavy and indulgent smelling but not too foody for me. I'd compare it to Snake Oil in that it has that same heavy sweetness to it without being truly foody foody. Wet on skin: The oil is a light amber color and very thin, which I found out when I dumped far more than I'd planned on onto my wrists (I hate reducers). Pure molasses, I swear I don't smell anything else. This is that pure, heavy scent that seems to be either a "love it" or "hate it" note. Since I love it, I couldn't be happier. This reminds me of a cross between that raw sugar you find in organic food stores (which is basically dehydrated molasses) and the thick molasses syrup I use when I make gingerbread cookies. Dark and heavy and sticky smelling and delicious! Dry down: ::Insert drumroll here:: Molasses! This is extremely stable in terms of scent. There really hasn't been any change at all in this one. I'd love to know if there's anything in here aside from molasses (or something that smells exactly like molasses) because that's all I can smell. I've been trying to figure out if this was perhaps a prototype for something but I can't think of anything that even remotely fits the bill, so I guess this is pretty unique. The bottom line: I'd definitely buy this if it were a catalogue scent. I can see it not being for everyone (molasses seems to be an aquired taste - no pun intended), but I love it. EDIT: Grammar SNAFU. Edited to add the world's most belated update on a scent review: It's been over 5 years since I got this beauty and I've just rediscovered it. It's changed completely from what it once was into something equally spectacular, if not more awesome. When I pulled this out of my armoire (and figured out what it was, after having a breakdown trying to figure out which of my two unlabeled bottles was the experimental blend and which was the Chaos that lost its label; knowing that this had a reducer would have saved me a lot of trouble since the other bottle doesn't, but I didn't think to dredge up my review at the time) and sniffed it, I had a moment of "What is that?! It smells so familiar, but I just can't figure out what it is." Then it hit me. LUSH (ironically enough). Ruby Red Slippers/Potion. It's almost a dead ringer for it now! This is full on, super spicy carnation. I don't normally do carnation (or florals in general), but this is really, really good. It's sexy and unusual and really bold. Love it!

Chaos Theory CCXCV (295) Preconceived notions: My preliminary sniffing notes say "spearmint" and I remember this smelling like spearmint Lifesavers, which isn't a bad thing at all, so I'm hoping this will work since this is the last of my original CT2's. First sniff: Pure spearmint and nothing else (at least not to my nose). I love spearmint (it ranks with wintergreen as my favorite mint note) so that's fine by me. It's minty but not too sharp like peppermint can be. More soothing and peaceful smelling, although that may just be me being sentimental. Wet on skin: Sweet spearmint. This reminds me of my trip to Morocco when I was 13 - the first time I'd ever smelled or tasted mint tea and how delicious it was and how wonderful it smelled. This is that smell to my - sugared mint tea. Delicious! Dry down: Sweet spearmint and a touch of soft florals. This isn't terribly different than the bottle or wet stages, surprisingly. I was expecting another morpher based on my other Chaos blends, but this one's remarkably stable. This is the most appealing of all my original Chaos blends (at least to my nose) although I don't see myself wearing this terribly often. The bottom line: Very pretty, but I'd never use up the whole bottle, so I'm decanting myself an imp's worth and swapping the rest for something more "me."

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Chaos Theory CCLIII (253) Preconceived notions: The notes I have from my preliminary Chaos sniffing say "Flowers???" with (literally) that many question marks, so I really don't know what to expect. First sniff: No wonder there's so many question marks; this one's a toughie. It definitely strikes me as floral, but not in a sweet/heady/powdery way...more like an...ever-so-slightly bitter floral. I'm absolutely incompetent at identifying most floral notes (aside from rose, lilac, honeysuckle and a handful of others), so I can't really nail this one. Wet on skin: Eww, flowers! I mean really strong, heady, girly florals. I think there's rose in here...oh, yeah, that's rose and a whole army of other headache inducing (for me, mind you) flower notes. I don't like florals, and especially not rose. Dry down: There's definitely heavy rose in this and probably amber because this is behaving (and smelling) very similarly to the other BPAL rose/amber (think Spellbound) blends I've tried. Unfortuantely, that's not a good thing for me. Definitely not a floral girl. The bottom line: Strike three. This is absolutely, without a doubt, not me.

Chaos Theory XVII (17) Preconceived notions: My notes I made when I got my Chaos blends and gave them a quick sniff say "Ricola coughdrops, but sweeter." I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, to tell the truth. First sniff: This does remind me of Ricola coughdrops - sort of herbal/medicinal with something sweet in the background. This is really different than any of the other BPAL scents I've tried. Wet on skin: Whoa! Talk about quick change...now the Ricola note is gone and I get something rather foody smelling. Almost like caramel with an overtone of something sugary. This reminds me of another BPAL scent now, but I can't place it. This is so different on me than in the bottle. These new Chaos blends are real morphers. :icon_eek: Dry down: I wish I could pin this scent down. I know I recognize it, but I just can't put the name to it. On me, this is sweet and almost cookie-like with a dollop of caramel and a very faint herbal note in the background. I really don't like sweet scents, unfortunately, so I think this one's another swapper. The bottom line: This is a really surprising scent. I'm not sure if I really like it yet, but it takes the prize for the biggest about face I've encountered yet.

Preconceived notions: I'm a bit nervous about QoC. I love earth notes, myrrh and incense and I like red currant and vanilla (and amber if it doesn't turn into sour milk on me), but the pomegranate and rose worry me. I'm not particularly fond of either one with the exception of the rose note in Rose Red. First sniff: Mmm, dirt! Specifically, loamy dirt with a bit of incense, currant and vanilla in the far background. It's like Graveyard Dirt with the moss replaced by incense smoke and crushed red berries. This is gorgeous! Now if only I could be sure that it won't morph on me. Wet on skin: No real change yet, which is a good sign. The only difference I note is that the earth note is less intense and the vanilla is showing some strong throw now. This really is beautiful and if it stays like this, then I've got nothing to worry about. I never would have thought dirt and vanilla would go together, but that just goes to show that I shouldn't doubt Beth (as if I ever really would). Dry down: Now QoC smells like Zombi with a bit of vanilla and berry. It's got Zombi's faint, faint rose note rather than the full-blown, in-your-face rose that I was worried about and the pomegranate seems to be non-existant on me since I don't smell like gummy bears. This is beautiful. I'm regretting only getting one bottle of it now. The bottom line: Love at first sniff. This is so perfect for me. Now if only I had another bottle so I could wear it with abandon. ETA: After several hours of wear (4 or 5, probably), QoC suddenly turns into nothing but powdery rose on me, which is not a good thing. I think I jinxed myself by saying how much I liked it. Oh well, I guess one bottle will do me now.

Chaos Theory XXXII (32) Preconceived notions: When I first opened my CT2's, the impression I wrote down for this one was "burnt toffee" which doesn't sound particularly promising given my experiences with Gluttony and Hellcat (have I mentioned how much I hate those blends lately?), but I'm hoping it'll change for the better once I wear it. First sniff: Something in here is very similar to both Hellcat and Gluttony to my nose. "Burnt toffee" is absolutely right if I'm to judge. There's also a hint of something ever-so-slightly creamy in the far, far background that I can barely smell, even with my nose right up to the bottle. Wet on skin: Much less burnt smelling now, but still toffee. There's something slightly sharp in here, too, but I don't know what it is. Overall, this has the same effect as both Gluttony and Hellcat (for me, mind you): a sort of general ickiness that seems to be brought about my sticky sweet scents. Dry down: No real change from when it was wet, which is surprising. Burnt toffee and something slightly sharp and a tiny bit herbal, although I have a feeling that it's my skin chemistry bringing that note out since it only shows up once I put it on. The bottom line: Strike one. This is definitely not for me, unfortunately. This one's getting swapped.

Preconceived notions: There's almost zero chance of my not loving this one. I love tobacco and rum (and sugar in conjunction with rum) and I'm pretty fond of coconut, so I fully expect to love Elegba. First sniff: Good God, is that gorgeous! I assumed I'd really like Elegba (hence my buying a 10mL unsniffed), but...wow. Just wow. Sweet rum reminiscent of Grog, but with coconut instead of butter. I don't smell any tobacco yet, so I'm hoping it shows up once I put this on, but even as is, it's gorgeous. Wet on skin: Oh. My. God. I'm in love, pure and simple. I thought I adored Grog, but Elegba...oh my. The first thing I smell (and the strongest note) is sweet, sweet rum but the tobacco is starting to put in an appearance, too. This is so beautiful and exactly what I'd envisioned when I first read the description of this one. Perfect! Dry down: The super sweetness has died away leaving a slightly sugary rum and tobacco scent with just a tiny hint of coconut. This has some similarities to both Grog and Spooky, but it's definitely its own scent. This smells so good. None of the notes are overpowering and even the coconut manages to be present without making me smell like I'm slathered in suntan lotion. Elegba is perfectly balanced and perfectly delicious. The bottom line: I'm in love, pure and simple. Elegba is gorgeous and just what I'd envisioned.

I'd like to cast my vote in for Hexennacht, even if it does honor a non-autumnal day. Very similar to Samhain and so wonderfully "autumn" smelling.

If you ask me, Hurricane and Storm Moon couldn't be more different. Yes, they're both aquatics, but they're miles apart for me. I love Storm Moon, but Hurricane is really not my kind of scent anymore. Storm Moon (as I'm sure you know) is almost pure ozone. Very metallic and crisp smelling, like the air after a thunderstorm. To me, there's none of the "aquatic" kind of note I get from a lot of BPAL's other aquatic type scents. It's just pure, zingy ozone and that's why I love it. Hurricane is murky and smells of standing water and slightly rotting vegetation. That's not a bad thing, mind you, it's actually quite nice in its own way, but it's got none of Storm Moon's super-clean ozoney goodness. It's very much the smell of what a beach after a hurricane might smell like. They really are night and day for me, but if you like a very humid, murky kind of aquatic smell, Hurricane is definitely a good choice.

Preconceived notions: Wolf's Heart is one of a handful of voodoo blends that have been sitting around my armoire, collecting dust and waiting for the right moment to be used and it looks like Wolf's Heart is ready to be used. I don't remember a thing anyone has said about what it smells like, so this is going to be purely conjecture on my part, although I'm pretty confident in my nose lately. First sniff: Dragon's blood and jasmine? That's certainly what it smells like. It's got a strong jasmine component that's almost overtaking the dragon's blood and making it somewhat soapy and floral and very headache inducing for me (I'm sensitive to a lot of florals and soapy ones in particular). It's not what I would expect from something with a name like Wolf's Heart - I was thinking strong and fiery and powerful smelling, but I get something almost feminine and soft. Wet on skin: Whoa, jasmine! I don't particularly care for jasmine, but it looks like I'm going to have to deal with it if I intend to actually see if Wolf's Heart lives up to it's description. I put this on the back of my neck because I knew I wouldn't want to be smelling it very intensely during the day, but it's wafting around and definitely making itself known. This reminds me of one of the Tarot blends, but I'm drawing a blank on which one it is...The Tower, maybe? I can't remember, but it was something with a dragon's blood/jasmine kind of feel to it. Dry down: All I can smell is jasmine. The dragon's blood note seems to have completely disappeared, but I don't think that its being around would have actually made me really enjoy the smell of this anyway, so it's not that big of a deal. Scent wise, this is too girly and headache inducing for me, but efficacy wise it's another story. Wolf's Heart definitely works. I don't think I've ever gone into a stressful situation where I was scared half to death and come through it so well and so easily. I'm not a dominant person by nature and I tend to shrink from having to assert myself, which is where Wolf's Heart comes in for me. It seems to be giving me that extra boost of confidence and assertiveness that I need to be able to be effective as "the person in control." The bottom line: I don't care for the smell (but, then, that's true of most of the Voodoo Blends) but I love how well Wolf's Heart works. This one's a definite winner!

Oh my God, that Midway label is gorgeous! I can't wait to see the others. I have a feeling that I'll keep my bottles even if the scent doesn't like me just because they're so beautiful.

You're very welcome!

It refers to the old-style imp tags made from parchment and sinew as opposed to the new sticky tags. Try this thread for more info... Tarted and other BPAL vocabulary!

They are fairly similar. White Rabbit has some ginger, pepper and tea, but the base is that same heavy cream smell. The two really are very close, with White Rabbit being slightly more complex.

First sniff: Mmm, this is the note I loved in Chaste Moon, the creamy, buttery note that I couldn't quite pin down (it smelled like butter mints, but I wasn't sure what it was since there was no butter listed in the notes). It's heavy cream and I recognize it now in Milk Moon. I didn't expect to like this, but I ordered it after my surprise infatuation with Chaste Moon and it looks like I made a good choice. I'm not positive I'm in love with the honey note in here (I don't care for honey scents, generally speaking) but so far I like this quite a bit. Wet on skin: Now this smells more like milk rather than heavy cream. It's lost the buttery note that good cream has and smells weaker but still creamy. It actually has a bit of a powdered milk vibe to it rather than smelling like regular garden variety liquid milk. There's something else here, too, that has to be the lunar oils, even if I don't know what they are exactly. I can't even really say what they smell like aside from saying that there's more to this than milk and honey. Dry down: The heavy cream/butter note is back again and I'm loving this! This is like Chaste Moon only better, which makes me sad since I only bought one bottle thinking I wouldn't like it. The honey note doesn't even make an appearance on me once Milk Moon dries. This is pure heavy cream and it reminds me of growing up in the country and drinking warm milk fresh from the cow (hey, it may be disgusting to some people, but to me it's childhood in a bottle), complete with the layer of heavy cream floating on the top. The bottom line: Gorgeous! I didn't really expect to like this, but I'm glad I ordered this because it's love, pure and simple. I always thought I hated milky scents, but I'm really learning that I love scents with heavy cream as one of the notes.

They don't smell alike *at all* to me what notes do they share in common? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> They don't smell alike to me either, but maybe it's the honey in O? Lughnasadh smelled honey-ish to me.

Indeed and it was perfect! I'm not a floral girl. At all. But I have to say it was a wonderful choice. It really went with the whole look and feel of the wedding, so I'm definitely happy with the choice. I also dabbed on some Fiery Wall of Protection to get me through the day without anyone killing anyone else and everything went off without a hitch. The groom was going to wear Coyote but, umm...someone forgot to give it to him since she forgot it at home so he wore nothing...err, no scent I mean, not nothing although that would have been fun...