Penance

The last time I reviewed this, I had tried the prototype, this time I'm reviewing the current version. Origin: I got an imp of this from Evil Kitten. Preconceived notions: This has been low on my list of imps I still needed to test (since I'd already tried the prototype) until people started comparing this to Skadi and Mistletoe. Since I absolutely adore both of those, this immediately jumped to the top of my list. If this really does smell like Skadi or Mistletoe, I'll be a very happy girl. First sniff: Amazing! If I didn't know better, I'd swear I was smelling Skadi! Maybe it's because I was expecting it, but Dublin smells almost exactly like Skadi does in the bottle, right down to the slushy snow and berries. I have absolutely no clue what in Dublin could possibly be replicating those notes, but I'll be damned if this isn't almost identical to my beloved Skadi! Wet on skin: I smell pine, but it's a slightly musky smelling pine and much darker than the prototype was. I don't get any rose out of Dublin now, just a faint powderiness in the background that lets me know it's there. Mainly, I get damp pine trees and a hint of something vaguely musky/sweet that I can't place. Wet, this isn't quite identical to Skadi (it's a tiny bit more powdery), but it's close enough to be an extremely good replacement. Dry down: Misty pine forests with the slightest hint of something snowy smelling and a bit of musky sweetness. I think I like this better than the prototype, but only because I like a stronger, bolder scent to something more subdued and feminine. I can see this being the perfect replacement for Skadi once I run out of it. The bottom line: Skadi's long-lost twin. The two aren't quite identical, but they're extremely similar and Dublin is every bit as gorgeous as Skadi is.

Origin: I got an imp of this from Eoywin. Preconceived notions: When I think of "chypre," I think of woodsy, so I'm hoping this is at least somewhat woodsy. I'm guessing there'll be some sort of citrus in here, too, to compliment the Queen. I think this one's going to be hit or miss, what with the citrus (assuming there is citrus in this) and all. First sniff: This is pretty much what I expected. To me, this smells like oakmoss, musk and some sort of citrus. I don't think it's lemon...it may be orange or white grapefruit or both, it's hard to tell for some reason. I'm not sure I'm going to like this. I think the citrus may be too prominent for me, unfortunately. Wet on skin: This is a lot less citrusy once it's on me, but now it smells like generic men's cologne rather than the slightly woodsy citrus I got out of the imp. This has overtones of both Vicomte de Valmont and Villain for me. They all seem to share a sort of generic, vaguely citrusy smell and I don't really love any of them. I just would rather not smell like generic men's cologne is all. Dry down: This is very similar to Vicomte de Valmont on me. It's pretty non-descript smelling in the same way that most commercial men's colognes are non-descript to me. This isn't a bad scent, just definitely not me. The bottom line: I'm glad I didn't buy a bottle of this. It's not unpleasant by any means, it's just too generic smelling for my tastes, unfortunately.

OMFG, you guys were right! I tried Dublin again today (the current version this time, not the prototype like last time) and OMFGWTFBBQ, it smells almost exactly like Skadi! I'm in awe. Absolutely amazing. I'm a very happy girl right now!

Dammit, now I want my Hemlock back! I need to compare them again...I loves me some Mistletoe. Oh, and Centzon Totochtin is like the bastard child of Dia De Los Muertos and Grog. It's not as close as Kali, but it is similar.

Blood Countess and Queen of Spades are damn near identical to my nose. Also, Centzon Totochtin smelled like the bastard child of Grog and Dia De Los Muertos on me.

I'm going to have to second: Cathedral Penitence The Caterpillar Aureus The Coiled Serpent Gaueko Of those, I absolutely adore Cathedral, Penitence, Aureus and The Coiled Serpent and like the rest and I'm a certified incense-scent addict. Anne Bonny is my personal favorite, but I know you've already tried it.

You know, that's odd. I didn't get pine from Dublin the last time I tried it...maybe it's time to give it a whirl again. (I love pine, too.)

First sniff: This reminds me of a combinatin of Dia De Los Muertos and Grog. I smell strong bittersweet cocoa and rum right out of the imp...this isn't a sweet chocolate scent by any means, it's like burying your nose in a canister of pure cocoa powder and inhaling, complete with the tickling sensation. I have a feeling I'm either going to love this one or hate it. Wet on skin: The cocoa is a lot less overpowering now and I smell rum and red wine most prominently. It's boozy smelling but with an underlying bitterness from the cocoa. This isn't a wallflower kind of chocolate scent, it grabs you by the collar and shakes you - Centzon Totochtin is aggressive and rowdy-smelling and not at all bashful - just the sort of thing I love in a scent. Dry down: Now that it's dry, Centzon Totochtin has mellowed some. The cocoa has lost its edge and the rum and wine have combined to form a sort of rich, boozy foreground that's not quite rum and not quite wine, but something in between. This reminds me of a more jaded version of Dia De Los Muertos. I was worried about how strong the cocoa was initially in this one (I hate chocolate), but I really like the dry down. The bottom line: A grown-up's chocolate scent. There's nothing sweet or innocent about Centzon Totochtin; it's bawdy and brash and sophisticated all at once and it's definitely a winner in my book.

First sniff: Oh God, I'm going to be ordering a 10mL of this...I can tell already. This is beautiful; herbal and woodsy, but not overpoweringly so. I love this kind of scent, so I'm really looking forward to trying this one! Wet on skin: This reminds me of summer camp so strongly that it's scary...I always loved the smell of the woods - the dirt and leaves and wood and fresh air - and Yggdrasil is that smell in a bottle but very subdued and not at all overpowering. Dry down: Dry wood and dusty herbs. This is the woods in autumn, when all the trees are shedding their leaves and the ground is dry and dusty. Yggdrasil is so much more beautiful than I ever could have hoped for...I'm absolutely, utterly in love with this one. The bottom line: This is going to be an immediate 10mL buy, no doubt about it. I love this one!

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: Rose is the first thing that jumps out at me when I smell Eve straight out of the bottle, which is surprising since I figured that, given the name, the apple blossom would be the most prominent note. The next thing that I smell is the ylang-ylang and then the honey. So far, this is too floral for my tastes in spite of my love of honey scents, but I'll still give Eve a try. Wet on skin: Now the apple blossom is the most prominent note, followed by the honey and then the rose and finally the ylang-ylang. I definitely prefer the way Eve smells on my skin to the way it smelled in the bottle, but I still don't think she's for me. Eve is very feminine and innocent smelling...this must be Eve before the Fall. It smells pure and natural somehow. Dry down: Very soft and almost creamy smelling. If this scent had a color, it would be white. White for clean...white for innocent...white for creamy white flowers brushed with honey. It's actually a beautiful scent, but, unfortunately, it's just not me. I can't seem to do this kind of scent no matter how much I may like it. The bottom line: Gorgeous but definitely not me, no matter how much I may like it in principle. I just can't pull off this kind of scent, so Eve is going to be finding a new home.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: I have no clue what kind of musk this is (I'm not very knowledgeable about animalistic notes) but I like this in spite of how strongly musky it is. This is smooth musky, not sharp the way Haunted and Hunter Moon were...it almost smells warm, like burying your nose in a fur rug. I'm sure that sounds stupid, but it's the best way I can think of to explain Satyr's scent. Wet on skin: Satyr smells exactly the same when it's wet as it does in the bottle. It's a warm, sexual musk...I'm thinking there may be civet in this one because now that it's starting to dry it's getting that "cat pee" smell (I'm sorry, but there's just no other way to describe what civet does on my skin) that civet and my body chemistry love to create. Dry down: If there's not civet in this, then there's another kind of musk that I dont know about that reacts the same way on my skin because, now that Satyr is dry, I'm getting Eau de Cat Pee and nothing else. I think that reaction's pretty much killed this scent for me, so I'm not even going to test it on the boy. The bottom line: Sadly, my body chemistry has turned Satyr into Eau de Cat Pee. I'm sure this could be gorgeous on someone else with less finicky body chemistry, so, in that spirit, it's going up for swaps.

Origin: I got an imp of this from SilverAngel. First sniff: This reminds me of Queen of Spades...it must be the plum. Plum is really all I can clearly pick out in this, although there's something resinous in the background that must be the opium. I'm hoping Blood Countess stays true to the way it smells in the vial once it's on because this is absolutely gorgeous! Wet on skin: I smell plums when I inhale and gardenia when I exhale. This reminds me very strongly of Queen of Spades almost to the point where I can barely tell them apart. I was worried this would be too floral, but the plum and opium caught my eye and I'm very glad I tried this one! This smells fantastic! Dry down: This is still a damn near dead-on duplicate of Queen of Spades, at least on me. It's fruity and purple but smoky and mysterious and I love it! I love Queen of Spades, too, so it's nice to know I have a replacement for when I run out of the Queen. The bottom line: The Countess is the Queen of Spade's long-lost twin. The two are almost identical, at least on me, and, like the Queen, the Countess is gorgeous!

Origin: I got an imp of this from SilverAngel. First sniff: I smell myrrh first, then honey and then red wine. This reminds me of another BPAL scent, but I can't put my finger on what it is right now...maybe it'll come to me later, but right now it's driving me crazy. Wet on skin: I'm thinking it's the wet stage of F54 that this is reminding me of. They're not identical, but there is a similarity that I never would have expected or even believed if I weren't smelling it myself. The honey and red wine are the strongest notes, followed by the myrrh and a hint of florals. I decided to try this one on a whim and, so far, I'm quite glad I decided to! Dry down: The myrrh is the dominant note now, with the honey and wine lingering in the background. This doesn't smell like F54 anymore, but it's lovely in its own right. I'm developing an all new appreciation for wine and honey scents and Athens is just more fuel for that fire. This is lovely and subdued smelling...vaguely sweet, a little like wine and softly resinous. The bottom line: I quite like Athens. It's resiny without smelling like a headshop, sweet without smelling like a bakery and smells of wine without smelling boozy. Beautifully balanced and subdued.

Preconceived notions: According to Pekeana, Gingerbread Poppet is even better than Villainess' Ginger Snapped smooch, which smells so good I have to stop myself from eating it, so I'm really looking forward to trying this one. First sniff: If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was Ginger Snapped! This smells almost identical to it. It's a gorgeous soft gingerbread cookie smell, heavy on the cinnamon and cloves. This smells so unbelieveably good...I could sit here and smell it all day. I don't normally care for foody scents, but Gingerbread Poppet is pure olfactory bliss. Wet on skin: I smell the "cookie" portion of Gingerbread Poppet now. Whereas in the bottle it was more spices than cookie, when it's wet on my skin, it's more cookie than spices. I smell nutmeg very strongly now, too, especially when I put my nose right up against my wrist. It's that dry, spicy, almost bitter smell that I know so well from helping my mom bake cookies when I was little. Dry down: Mmm, all I smell are the spices now. The cookie portion of the scent seems to have disappeared, which is fine because I love spicy scents as much as I love the smell of gingerbread. Gingerbread Poppet smells like my kitchen does when I'm making gingerbread cookies...like the cinnamon and nutmeg and clove when all the containers are open and their smells are mixing together. This is a very warm, cozy smell that I can easily see myself wearing all year-round. The bottom line: This is gorgeous in all its stages from bottle to dry-down. I can definitely see myself wearing this regardless of the season.

I found Blood Countess to be very similar to Queen of Spades. And that's a damn good thing because I love the Queen.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: Dragon's blood and vetiver...this is a really odd combination for my nose and I'm not sure I like it. I love dragon's blood and I like vetiver, but I'm not sure I like them together. The vetiver is a little strong for my tastes right at the moment, so I'm hoping it dies down once this is on. Wet on skin: Dragon's blood and spice (cinnamon?) with a background of vetiver. Right at the moment, I don't particularly like this combination, there's something about the vetiver - too strong, I suppose - that's turning my stomach. It may just be that I'm coming down with something and vetiver is just triggering it, but I can't see myself wearing this if I have to wait it out every time. Dry down: Dragon's blood and cinnamon red hots with vetiver in the background. The vetiver has softened, but not nearly enough for me to like this right now. I seem to be developing an intolerance for it and, while I never used to mind it, it's not something I can really wear in anything but small amounts right now, so Serpent's Kiss doesn't appear to be up my alley. I love the dragon's blood and spiced, but the vetiver isn't for me. At least not right now at any rate. The bottom line: Serpent's Kiss is another unfortunate victim of my burgeoning intolerance for vetiver in anything but small doses. This one's going to have to find a new home.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: Musk and vetiver...I don't smell any leather yet, which is a bit of a disappointment as I'm just now learning that I adore the smell of leather in a perfume. I've been looking forward to trying Iago, though, so I'm glad that the Lab chose to gift me with this one! Wet on skin: Very musky with a background of vetiver. I don't dislike vetiver at all, but lately I can only tolerate it in small doses, so I'm starting to worry that Iago might be a little too strong on the vetiver for me to be able to wear it...or for my boy to be able to wear it for that matter. I'm beginning to get the leather smell, but this mainly reminds me of Satyr with vetiver added at this stage. Dry down: Strong musk with a bit of leather. I think this one might be too musky for me and my boy. I don't mind musk at all as long as it's not overpowering, but too much invariably makes me think of the smell of unwashed dogs. It doesn't smell like that, but it makes me think of that, which is pretty unfortunate since I really like musk in small amounts. The bottom line: Too musky for me, unfortunately. I'm going to have to look elsewhere for the perfect leather scent for my boy. Off to swaps with it!

You're welcome! I hope you find something you like! I know I almost cried when I found Scarecrow, it was so perfect for me. It was everything I missed about growing up in the country and then some.

Ooh, yes, Baron Samedi was a stubborn little bugger, you can be sure of that. I could smell it for days afterward in spite of several hot showers and rubbing alcohol. And I only tried a tiny bit.

Frost Moon reminds me of Blue Moon + mint. ETA: I know they're both LE's, but Frost Moon is newer and probably easier to get right about now.

I've been meaning to review this one for ages and it kept slipping my mind, but there's no time like the present, eh? Origin: 1/3 oz from the Lab, 1 dram from supervillainess and imps from NorthernMinx and Fairywingmaker. First sniff: The cognac is extremely strong right out of the bottle. It has a very distinctive cheryish brandy kind of smell to it that I'm sure must be what everyone is smelling when they say they get cherries from F54. I can just barely smell a bit of musk and clove under the cognac and, all together, they make one very dark, sexy, sophisticated, expensive smelling perfume. I feel elegant just smelling this. The strange thing is that I initially had no interest at all in trying this one because of the rose and the price involved in trying something that might not work, but I got an imp from NorthernMinx and it as love at first sniff and I got lucky enough to snag the last bottle the Lab had. Wet on skin: Cognac is still the predominant note here, but the slight cherry edge to it is disappearing almost immediately and letting through the tobacco flower and musk. This, to me, smells like a high-end nightclub where a woman in black is sitting in a dark corner, sipping brandy and smoking French cigarettes with red-smudged lips. This is so grown-up smelling and sophisticated that it just floors me. This is totally unlike any other scent I've ever worn. Dry down: This is cognac with a sprinkling of tobacco and clove over a bed of deep black rose petals. Everything about this blend screams debauched sophistication in the best possible way. I feel elegant but not untouchable in this, like I could start the evening perfectly coiffed and made up and end the night with my hair and clothes in disarray with black-ringed eyes and smell the part from start to finish and that is absolutely amazing to me. This is so gorgeous on so many levels. F54 mellows as it dries, getting deeper and richer, like the cognac it smells of and does it absolutely beautifully. The bottom line: F54 manages to be both sophisticated and debased, elegant but not untouchable, at the same time. Everything about it screams debauched sophistication and, strangely enough, makes me feel beautiful in a way that something more untouchable and pristine couldn't. This is sophistication that's been brought to its knees and made even more beautiful through its imperfection. It feels real in a way that so many of my other sophisticated scents don't and even a tiny bit lasts for ages. A masterpiece and one of my most well-loved BPAL scents.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I actually ordered an imp of Whip about a week before I got an imp of it in my latest order from the Lab. I love leather scents, so I was pretty curious about this one even though I don't really care for rose. I'm hoping the leather in this is strong and the rose is reasonably soft. First sniff: Wow, that's rose alright. This smells almost identical to (Old) London right out of the imp...almost pure rose, but not the powdery variety, the kind that smells like a fresh-cut rosey rose if that makes any sense at all. I don't mind this sort of rose as much as the powdery variety, so this isn't too bad, although I'd prefer the lather to be much stronger. Wet on skin: The rose is still predominant, but I'm starting to smell the leather now, hiding in the background. I'm sure it's just hte name of this one combining with the rose scent, but I can't help but think of those beautiful but not terribly functional rosebud floggers when I smell this. It's an odd combination of sweetly feminine and no-nonsense aggression that I like a lot in principle, although I'm not sure I can tolerate this since the rose in this is so strong. Dry down: The leather is coming out a little more now although it's still not as strong as I'd like. I'm actually starting to really like this. I definitely wouldn't wear this every day or even very often, but this could be a good scent for those rare moments when I indulge my inner Dominatrix. The bottom line: Although the rose in this is much stronger than I'd like ideally and the leather isn't near strong enough for my tastes, I'll be keeping this one for special occasions and may try to layer it with De Sade to amp up the leather note.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: This is not going to work for me, no matter how I may wish it would. It's got amber, lavender and carnation, but I'll try it because it's new and I'm curious. First sniff: Amber is the first thing that jumps out at me, which is a bad sign since amber hates me, as much as I may love it in the bottle. This reminds me a lot of Xiuhtecuhtli, somewhat. I also get a bit of carnation and some moss in the background. I'd prefer if this were woodsier and darker, but it's really surprisingly light. Wet on skin: Amber and lavender are most prominent. I don't smell the carnation, which is good, but I also don't smell the moss which makes me sad since I love a good mossy scent. This still reminds me of Xiuhtecuhtli...maybe "Xiuhtecuhtli For Men," although it's not an overtly masculine scent, either. Dry down: I smell amber and carnation with a hint of moss. It's spicy and slightly sweet/resiny but with an undertone of green. I can definitely see a classy gentlemen-type wearing this one. It's sophisticated smelling and would probably work equally well on a woman as well as a man. The bottom line: I seem to have avoided both smelling like sour milk from the amber and carnation-induced nausea, but I just don't care for this scent terribly much. I really prefer something darker than this, unfortunately.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. First sniff: Wow, this is complex smelling...it's spicy and fruity and floral and vaguely resiny all at once. I can definitely smell the dragon's blood, geranium and mandarin in this and maybe a hint of the amber. This one's really hard to pin down; I don't normally have anywhere near this much trouble picking out individual notes. Wet on skin: Dragon's Blood is the first thing I smell in this, but the amber is lurking under the surface, making this smell a little like baby powder. There's also a vague fruitiness that I can't pin down. It could be the dragon's blood I'm smelling again or it could be the mandarin or the black currant, I honestly can't tell for some reason. Dry down: The amber has turned this into dragon's blood scented baby powder, which I'm sure would be lovely on, say, a baby, but on me it's a no-go. I hate smelling like a baby's butt and thanks to my wonky body chemistry, it looks like that's what Rage is going to do to me. The bottom line: My evil skin chemistry has struck again, turning Rage into dragon's blood scented baby powder. Off to swaps with ye!

Dia De Los Muertos :: Kali I don't think Old Dublin is similar to either Mistletoe or Skadi, personally. I think those two are pretty unique among BPAL, unfortunately. That's just my opinion, though.