Penance

Origin: Astrobabe gifted me with an imp of this. First sniff: I smell dragon's blood very strongly in this. It's almost cherry-like but definitely dragon's blood. I don't really smell anything else in here although I can tell there's more to it, somehow. Wet on skin: Dragon's blood is still the dominant note, but there's definitely something else here, too...it's vaguely woody, although I'm not sure that it is wood of any kind. It could very well be something else entirely that just has a woody quality to it if that makes sense. The initial cherry sweetness has died down, which is good because cherries remind me of almonds and almonds are my arch-nemesis. Dry down: Wow, that's...different. Now I'm getting dragon's blood and what smells like basil, which is a little weird. For some reason, this reminds me of Temple of Dreams with dragon's blood added. The longer this sets on my skin, the more prominent the herbal note (whatever it may be) becomes, until it's the dominating note. The bottom line: I'm not sure how much I like this, but I'm going to hang onto it for a while and give it another shot before I make a final decision.

Preconceived notions: I've been dying to try this since I saw it on the list of up-and-coming scents and when it went live and I saw the description I was even more desperate to get my hands on it because it sounded perfect for me. Nocnitsa has practically everything I love in a perfume (sans the resin notes I love) and I love the story behind it (morbid girl that I am), so I just know that I'm going to love this. First sniff: So much lighter and less oppressive than I'd imagined, but so beautiful! I normally wear very dark forest scents and I've learned that most people around me don't care for them (that's the nice way of saying they think I stink ), which means I end up feeling like a leper ( ), but Nocnitsa is different. It's certainly a forest scent and it definitely smells of towering pines, fallen pine needles, damp mosses and the forest floor, but it's so much lighter and more wearable than something of that nature would normally be. This is gorgeous! Wet on skin: As soon as it hits my skin, the fir mellows immediately, making it less astringent and much more subdued. The only way I can explain it is to say that if Nocnitsa in the bottle is a fir forest by day, then Nocnitsa on my skin is a fir forest by night. It's got an almost spicy earthiness to it now, mixed with a much more mellow version of the pine that was so prominent in the bottle, but it manages to pull off the transition to a darker blend (although I wouldn't classify it as being a truly dark blend even now) without becoming too dark or too oppressive. Dry down: Lots of lovely earth and moss with a touch of pine that makes it lighter and more wearable. This is absolutely gorgeous. I loved BPAL's forest blends before, but none of them (not even my beloved Loup Garou) can hold a candle to Nocnitsa. It manages to combine all the best parts of BPAL's other forest scents without having any of their weaknesses. I almost get the feeling that Nocnitsa is the result of a process of Darwinian selection and that really appeals to the science geek in me. The bottom line: Nocnitsa is gorgeous. I knew I would like this, but I had no idea I'd love it this much. This is definitely in the top 5 of all the BPAL scents I've tried. I'm definitely going to need another bottle...or 10.

I just got an imp of Scherezade as lagniappe and whoa, mama is it different than the old one I have! My old one is yellow and smells mostly like saffron with a hint of musk. My new one is dark, dark red-brown to the point of being almost black and it smells extremely musky. I like them both, but that it was a pretty big surprise to see how different they looked and then smelling them.

Whoa, that's nifty! Even if I hate the scent I might keep mine for the label.

What the heck? I only typed that in once... ::Whistles Twilight Zone music:: That's downright bizarre.

Living Flame has a special label? Ooh, I want to see it! What's it look like? EDIT: The forum is possessed, apparently.

Hmm...I don't think there is, but I could be wrong. Getting prototypes is a fairly common occurance, though, so you might get one. I just got one in my last order, but it's one I've tried before and that makes he horribly sick because it has almonds in it (Decadence).

Aww, I know that feeling. We were all neophytes once. Every now and then there'll be reviews for a newly released scent, but only if people had received the prototype version and reviewed it before it was released (like what happened with The Lion).

Then you're out of luck until people start receiving it and reviewing it. That's one of the unfortunate things about new scents...no reviews.

Chaos Theory XXXII Origin: I got an imp of this from kmasden. Preconceived notions: I believe this was described as fruity and floral with some sandalwood, so I'm curious to see if I like it or not since I love sandalwood but don't normally go for fruit or florals. First sniff: Pears! This smells absolutely, 100% like the pears that the people down the street used to grow when I was little. I get a sudden image of trying to fnd fallen pears that hadn't already been claimed by the wasps and yellowjackets because I couldn't reach to pick it. This is really pretty even though I don't normally like fruit scents. Wet on skin: Hmm, this isn't all pear now...there's definitely some sort of florals in here, too, although I'm at a total loss to name them. Florals aren't my forte, unfortunately. It's not too floral, which is good, but it's just enough to keep this blend from being one-dimensional. I like this a lot, surprisingly. Dry down: The pear is the dominant note again, with the florals taking a far backseat. I'm starting to smell what could very well be the sandalwood I was hoping for, although it's not quite clear yet...if I had to say what kind of sandalwood, I would say the white variety without hesitation. This definitely isn't red mysore sandalwood. I have a feeling that it's going to get stronger the longer it's on my skin. The bottom line: Another gorgeous Chaos blend. I haven't tried a single one yet that I didn't love. Previously reviewed by quantum spice, inkstone, kimmer and Jasminepearls.

Origin: jj_j was kind enough to gift me with a 5mL of this for my wedding. Thank you, hon; you saved the day! My impressions: Opening the bottle is instant nostalgia. I'm 5 years old again, climbing the lilac trees (and they were trees, too, not bushes) in our backyard. This is so perfect I can't even begin to describe it. There are so many happy memories attached to this scent and I'm almost on the verge of (happy) tears from the memories its bringing back. I thought I'd smelled realistic lilac perfumes before, but jj's mother is right, they really do pale in comparison. All those other scents I've been amazed by really are just perfume, but this...this is like closing my eyes and being back in my old backyard, whiling the day away perched in our lilac trees. I can't even begin to describe how happy this makes me. I know this is the perfect scent for my wedding.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I've considered buying an imp of this more than once, so I'm glad I get a chance to try it...I'm terrible about waffling on scents that I'm not sure about. My family is mainly Scottish, so I've been curious, plus I love blackberries although I'm not sure I want to smell like them. First sniff: Good God is that gorgeous! Glasgow isn't anywhere near as fruity as I'd feared. It's more like heather with a faint touch of true blackberry - none of that artificial BBW blackberry here. This smells like the real thing wafting over fields of heather. I'm so glad I tried this one! Wet on skin: The blackberry is still taking a backseat to the heather, which is just fine by me. I love the way this smells. It's very calming and clean in the same way that Oisin is clean. I have a feeling this would smell gorgeous on a guy, too, although you might have to resort to pretending there's no fruit in it to get it on them. Dry down: Glasgow is remarkably stable. It smells pretty much the same from imp to dry down: heather with a light touch of true blackberry. On me, this is similar to Oisin, but with the musk replaced with blackberry. I really like this a lot. The bottom line: This is really very wearable without my having to worry about smelling like I was attacked by a giant piece of fruit. I'm definitely getting a bottle of this at the next update.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: This smells similar to Somnus to my nose. Lavender and spice but no lotus, which is good. I really expected something more...lotusy from this, I think...maybe something vaguely bubblegum like with a hint of herbs and spices, but this is almost strictly herbs and a hint of spice. Wet on skin: Now Paris smells more like Temple of Dreams...very similar, in fact. I don't now what spices are in this, but to me it smells like basil, which could very well be my imagination running wild since spices normally means something like cinnamon or clove or fennel. Either way, this smells quite nice in the same way that Temple of Dreams smells nice. Dry down: Paris is almost identical to Temple of Dreams on me. I happen to really like Temple of Dreams, but that's sort of the kiss of death for Paris, unfortunately. I'm trying to cut down on extremely similar scents because my collection is getting out of control, so Paris would have stood a better chance if it had been a little more unique. The bottom line: This is practically identical to Temple of Dreams on me, so while I like it, it's going to have to find a new home since I don't need two almost identical scents right now with my collection expanding at an exponential rate.

Origin: Astroabe kindly gifted me with an imp of this. First sniff: I can't remember what everyone else has said about this, but for me The Heirophant is soft and warm and comforting smelling. I smell cinnamon and maybe cloves...warm, cozy spices at any rate. This is so gorgeous. It's familiar somehow, too, but I don't know why... Wet on skin: I know why this smells so familiar now. It's smells like a very close relative of Three Witches. I never really got the pepper note from Three Witches, so it was just cinnamon and clove on me and that's almost exactly what The Heirophant smells like on me. Dry down: If I didn't know better, I'd swear I was wearing Three Witches. This is extremely close on my skin although there's something else here, too, something slightly woody smelling, although I can't pin it down. I love this and I like it even more since it's a damn good stand-in for my beloved Three Witches. The bottom line: I need a bottle of this, pure and simple. This would make a great winter scent for curling up with a good book in front of a fire. Gorgeous; just gorgeous.

Origin: I got an imp of this from Harlequin. First sniff: This is beautiful and extremely familiar but I can't quite place it. It smells vaguely like pineapple upside down cake and some sort of incense wiht maybe a sweet wood note, but I'm not sure about any of that. It's one of those scents that I know I recognize but just can't quite place...I'm sure if someone told me what was in this it would be instant recognition, but for the moment my impressions will have to do. Wet on skin: I'm almost positive that's pineapple although it seems a little incongruent (to me, anyway) with the namesake of this particular scent. There's something else here that's wavering between a floral and a sweet smelling wood note and a hint of incense in the background, but I could be mistaken since it's so far back and so covered by the other notes. Dry down: This is so familiar! Why can't I remember this? It's like having a name right on the tip of my tongue...it's not so fruity anymore and the (supposed) resin note has gotten stronger, but it's still naggingly familiar. The best way I can describe it without getting into specifics is as a slightly fruity (pineapple) resiny/wood blend with maybe a hint of pear and possibly some florals. I'm really curious about what's actually in this because it's gorgeous. The bottom line: I can't wait for Baba Yaga to be released. This is beautiful (if elusive)!

Origin: I got a 5mL of this from Astrobabe, who kindly picked it up for me from the Lab. First sniff: Oh, boy...is that civet I smell? If not, it's a darker musk of some sort. It's very similar to Satyr to my nose which is, admittedly, not the best at deciphering animalistic notes. It certainly smells a lot like civet to me, though, and not much else. I don't know if I'll be able to wear this or not. Wet on skin: Well, it's not cat pee on my skin, which is good. It's definitely a musk of some sort, but maybe it's not civet after all. This is definitely more wearable than I'd anticipated it being from the way it smelled in the bottle. I don't normally go for strong musky scents, but there's something sexy about this, strangely enough. I think it might be working on me. Dry down: Musk of some sort and definitely not the scent of skin but sexy and sensual smelling, somehow. There's a bit of cognitive dissonance going on here, too...my nose is saying "This is dangerously close to smelling like cat pee" (my normal reaction to dark musks and civet in particular) but my body's got another, more favorable, opinion of Flame of Desire. I think I may just have to learn to live with smelling a little bit like I've been peed on by a tomcat because I feel good wearing this. The bottom line: More evidence that the Voodoo Blends (and BB Exclusives) aren't really about smelling good...this one's a keeper in spite of the fact that I don't like the way it smells.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: Hmm, interesting...Goneril seems to be equal parts of cedar and flowers and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I love cedar to the point of obsession but flowers and I don't generally get along, so I'm up in the air about this one right at the moment. Wet on skin: Pretty much the same as in the imp. The only floral I recognize is the geranium because we used to have pots of them all over our front porch when I was growing up and I would pluck the petals to use to draw on the steps with. It's not an overpoweringly floral blend, but I'm not sure if the flowers are really subtle enough for me to be able to really wear this. Dry down: I wanted to like this because of my love for cedar, but Goneril and I just aren't getting along. Somehow the geranium just isn't appealing to my nose. At all. I don't know what it is about it but I just can't quite make myself like it, unfortunately. The bottom line: Another potentially great blend ruined by flowers. Goneril is going to be finding a new home.

Origin: I got an imp of this from kmasden. Preconceived notions: Let me start off by saying that I have no idea what possessed me to try this. Florals are (as anyone who knows my taste in perfume knows) not my thing and I don't normally wear fruit, but I wanted to try this (for whatever reason) and try it I shall. First sniff: Huh, I'm not quite sure what to make of this. The musk and spice and mandarin are htere, no doubt, but there's an almost syrupy sweet, vaguely floral note in the background that I'm not so sure about. Somehow this smells very southern to me, like cornbread and molasses, as strange as that sounds. Wet on skin: So far, Hell's Belle is holding steady. If anything, it's a tiny bit more floral now than before, but I still get that initial impression I got before. I have no idea where it came from, but it's unshakeable. If I had to pick out notes in this I'd be hard pressed to do it. All I can say is that I smell syrupy sweet florals and musk of some sort and a hint of spice. This really is much nicer than I'd imagined, but I'm not sure it's me. Dry down: Nothing new to report. Hell's Belle is a very steady scent, not a quick change artist like some BPAL scents I've tried. I'm still standing on my previous impressions on this one, as odd as they may be. The bottom line: I'm going to have this give this one some thought before I decide if I want to keep my imp or not.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: Pear is the first thing I smell, but it's a floral pear, somehow...it's not pears and florals, it's a floral pear, like one note, which is kind of odd but rather pretty. If I had to say which floral note this is, I'd say lily of the valley, but it's so well blended with the pear that it's somewhat difficult to tell for sure. Wet on skin: This is almost identical to the most recent Chaos blend I've tried (XXXII). It's soft and unoffensively fruity/floral and realistic to the point that I can almost taste it. This really isn't bad at all at this point, in spite of my floral aversion. Dry down: The rose is coming out now, which is unfortunate because I realy don't care for rose. Something about this is just too...aggressively girly, I guess, even though it's namesake is male. I'm not a rose kind of girl, unfortunately, so Endymion's going to be finding a new home. The bottom line: Endymion as actually alright right up until the point where the roses staged their coup d'etat, but it was downhill from there.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Fist sniff: I'll be damned...is that spicy note I smell what people are talking about when they say "spicy carnation"? I've never encountered spicy carnation in anything before, so that's a surprise. I'm not particularly optimistic about this one, though, since I really don't care for rose and carnation has a nasty habit of making me sick if I'm around it for any length of time. In this I smell the tea and the spiciness that has to be the carnation (and which is quite nice provided it doesn't make me nauseous). Wet on skin: Spice, spice and more spice...this smells like cloves, actually, and if I didn't know better I'd swear that was what I was smelling. I think that the spicy variety of carnation may be alright since I don't feel sick yet. The only thing I don't like about this is the rose underneath it all. I don't like rose and especially not powdery rose, which is what's in Maiden. Dry down: I still smell cloves (they're related to carnations, aren't they?) and baby powder. If it weren't for the rose, there's a good chance I would really like this, I think, but unfortunately the rose ruins it. The bottom line: Maiden was actually a rather nice surprise, even if the rose keeps me from really liking it.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: I didn't expect to like this since I'm not a rose fan, but this is nice. I smell the wine most prominently right now, then the dragon's blood and finally the rose. It's a very dark red kind of scent, both in feel and in color and I actually like it. Wet on skin: Dammit. As usual my skin has decided that Blood Rose is nothing but rose. For some reason, my skin really amplifies florals, especially rose, which is unfortunate because I really don't particularly care for the smell of roses. Dry down: Slightly sour smelling roses, which must be the roses wreaking havoc with the red wine note. I wnated to like this in spite of my rose aversion, but nothing doing, apparently. The bottom line: Another good scent ruined by roses. I'm sure someone else will love this, but it's definitely not for me.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: This one sounds a bit confusing to me. I think dark and maybe dusty when I think of this one's namesake, but the description sounds very light and almost springtime-like. First sniff: Yep, definitely light and flowery. I smell powdery violets and a bit of sandalwood and iris. I don't get any of the musk or neroli yet and if I'm lucky the neroli won't make an appearance at all since it hates me and I hate it. Right now I don't see this being me. I can't smell violets without thinking of violet mints and I don't want to smell like them, to be honest. Wet on skin: Aha, The Raven has pulled a quick change on me. The musk has come out somewhat and (unfortunately) the neroli is putting in an appearance, too. It's much darker and less flowery than before, but it's still not a dark scent by any stretch of the imagination. Dry down: Neroli and baby powder, which is most likely the violets which tend to go quite overzealously powdery on me. This is definitely not me. At all. The bottom line: I really didn't think this would be for me, so it's not really a disappointment that I don't like it. I'm glad I got to give it a shot, though.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: This was on my wishlist at one point, but since then I've learned that vetiver is hit or miss and I don't particularly like gardenias, roses or jasmine, so I'm not really sure this will work for me. First sniff: No florals, thankfully, just lots of vetiver and some cinnamon and leather. This smells fairly masculine to my nose, but I tend to prefer gender neutral or masculine scents, so that's not a bad thing in my book. Wet on skin: Much less intense in the vetiver department, which is good since it can be overpowering. There's some vague florals here, too, mainly jasmine, but mainly it's vetiver, cinnamon and leather. This is really sexy smelling and I'm sure it would smell fantastic on a guy. I may test that theory on the boy if I decide I don't mind sharing. Dry down: Mmm, this smells good. I smell a little bit of everything now and even the flowers are sexy. The leather's quickly becoming more and more prominent and dragging the cinnamon along for the ride and I really like this. It's not too masculine for most women, I wouldn't think, it's just aggressive smelling and not for the sugar and spice kind of girls. The bottom line: Much sexier than I'd imagined. I was worried about this one, but I really, genuinely like this. Kudos to the Lab for throwing this in with my order!

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I already know I don't like Glitter (it was one of the first BPAL scents I tried, mainly out of curiosity), but since I haven't reviewed it and I've got another imp on hand, I figure I may as well give it a shot and report what I think of it. First sniff: Lotus, that's why I don't like Glitter, I remember now. To me, lotus smells like bubblegum and I can't tolerate the smell of bubblegum. That's really all I'm getting from Glitter right out of the imp. It actually smells quite similar to Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo to me right at the moment. Wet on skin: Bubblegum and white wine. This is what Lolita should have been like - grown up but innocent and childish all at once. Unfortunately, this really isn't my kind of scent, the same way Jailbait wasn't. This is way too bubblegum sweet for me. Dry down: Bubblegum and a tiny hint of pear. I might like this if it weren't for the lotus/bubblegum note. I'm really starting to learn that I should avoid any blend with lotus in it, including Kathmandu which I used to love and now can't wear because the bubblegum note is more prominent to my nose now. The bottom line: Glitter is sadly not for me, but maybe on someone else it would be gorgeous. It's going to have to find a new home.

No reducers on my most recently received orders, either. I just tip the bottle up against my wrist and then rub my wrists together and run them down my neck. Screw contamination, it's the easiest way to get it on heavy enough.