Penance

Got an imp of this from Witch's Dagger. First sniff: Incense with a soft floral undertone. I was a little bit leary of this one because of the floral notes (I don't like floral perfumes), but it's lovely! It smells like Penitence with a floral background to me. Wet on skin: The flowers really pick up once it hits my skin, drowning out the incense and putting me in mind of Easter Mass in a sunlit cathedral, the incense smoke wafting in the air almost overpowered by the Easter flowers decorating the altar. Where Penitence and Cathedral are dark and contemplative, Kostnice is light and full of hope. It reminds me of the celebration of life that always comes in an Easter Mass and I really enjoy the association. Dry down: The incense has returned, fighting for dominance with the flowers. The result is quite like that of The Caterpillar only more pious. It's light and hopeful and full of the promise of life even in the face of death. It's lovely. The bottom line: While Penitence is dry and calming in the manner of a clean soul after confession, Kostnice is light and airy and full of hope and, by extension, peace. The two are cousins, in my mind, each with their own atmosphere and implications and each lovely in its own way. While I still prefer Cathedral and Penitence, Kostnice is a definite keeper.

Just in case anyone who wished me well on the midterm is interested, I got a 98%! ~ Penance

First sniff: Woody and earthy and incensey at the same time. Very dark and oppressive smelling. Just my type of scent! Wet on skin: I smell patchouli and something that smells like incense in the most general way. This is a very dark scent, I feel like someone is sitting on my chest when I wear it. It's not an unpleasant sensation necessarily, just unusual for a perfume. I like this, though, it's got all the things I love in a perfume. Dry down: It's settled down into a cross between spice and incense with a hint of dirt. It's spicy and resiny and earthy all at once, but it's also fading very quickly on me. I wore this on the inside of my elbows and I can barely smell it now after having had it on for less than an hour. The bottom line: Beautiful and very dark but I wish it lasted longer. I'll be sad to see this one go, but it won't be as big a loss as my beloved Capricorn.

I'm going to miss this one so much...it's so gorgeously earthy! Goodbye, Typhon, may you rest in peace. First sniff: Earthy...very earthy. I smell patchouli and vetiver very strongly. It reminds me a lot of Capricorn only with the addition of sandalwood. It reminds me of a Buddhist temple in the middle of the deep forest. I love this sort of scent! Wet on skin: The earthiness really picks up once it hits my skin, but the sandalwood is becoming more prominent, too, lightening the scent and making it not quite so stifling. In the bottle, it was like being buried alive...dark and heavy and loamy, on the skin it's lighter, like the forest after the rain. The impression of a Buddhist temple also increases with the amplification of the sandalwood. This is just the sort of thing I love in a perfume. Dry down: Slowly the earthiness fades away, leaving a light sandalwood. The whole process takes several hours, but all the stages in between are absolutely lovely. I'm an avid fan of earthy scents and Typhon didn't disappoint. This went from a very earthy scent (something I adore) to a light incense type scent (something I also adore). The bottom line: I'm so sad to see this one going away. It's the perfect incense/earth combination for me. I'll cherish my imp and my 10mL while they last.

Okay, my precious Damnation is gone (may it rest in peace) and I need a close replacement. So far the only things I can come up with (that aren't also discontinued) are falling short in one way or another: 1) Cathedral - No cedar or vetiver (that I know of) and no sandalwood either, but it is incensey and that counts for something. 2) Old Kathmandu - No frankincense or vetiver. It smells cedary, though, which is very good. 3) Tushnamatay - No frankincense or vetiver again. It smells like cedar and sandalwood to me, though, so it's half right. Anyone have any suggestions? I could list everything I've tried, but it'd take forever to go through the list, so any suggestions would be welcome. ~ Penance

I think it was the carnation that did it, now that I think about it. There's something vaguely nauseating about carnation, too. Carnations are starting to make me kind of queasy these days, too. Not as bad as almonds, but still enough to make me want to avoid them. Heh, I've got a list a mile long of scents that don't work for me... ~ Penance

Got an imp of this from ChupaChup... First sniff: Cedar and something sweet, like creme soda spilled on sawdust. I know that doesn't sound appealing, but I really like the combination! Wet on skin: Both the cedar and the sweetness have increased in intensity, and it's a very interesting combination. I love cedar with a passion, so this is a very good thing. The "something sweet" I smelled seems to be turning into...root beer? That'd be the sassafras, which I also adore. This is a really interesting combination, not one I would have thought would work, but the result is beautiful! It's reminding me of the old Indian General Store in my home town where I used to buy wintergreen candies, root beer and mocassins. It has that same sweetness and wood combination that I loved when I was little. Dry down: Cedar and root beer! This is a really happy, carefree kind of scent for me. I love the combination, it's woody without being too dry and it's sweet without being cloying. The two balance each other out perfectly and the result is beautiful. The bottom line: Oh, yes, this is a winner. I tend to shy away from sweet scents, but the cedar in this has tempered it so that it's a lovely combination of...well, sawdust and root beer. I know that doesn't sound appetizing, but it's really a beautiful combination and one that hold a lot of good memories for me.

I came by a 5mL of this lovely scent quite unexpectedly in a swap, so I'm quite excited. It didn't have a reducer cap and I ended up dousing my hand, but that just let me smell it a little better, or something... First sniff: Flowers and something that smells like a cross between incense and sweet pipe smoke. This is exactly what I would imagine The Caterpillar's abode to smell like! On a side note, my mom says it smells like "outdoors," which, for her, translates to flowers and grass and fresh air. Wet on skin: The incense smell picks up as soon as it hits my skin, overlaying the flowers and turning them into the backdrop rather than the foreground. While I liked this in the bottle, this is infinitely better for me because I adore incense and don't generally care for floral scents. It's a very soft incense, though, like a brasier lit in a meadow rather than the strong, dry, resiny smell of something like Cathedral. This puts me in mind of nature rather than a church. Dry down: This has settled down into a very light, comforting incense smell that's perfectly entwined with the floral notes lurking under the surface. It reminds me of the jasmine-sandalwood incense I used to burn in high school - very light and airy and calming. This is the perfect olfactory accompaniment to the mental image I have of The Caterpillar smoking his hookah pipe in the middle of the forest. The bottom line: I was worried about the flowers in the description, but this is gorgeous. It's incensey without being overpowering or musty as some blends are and it's floral without being distractingly flowery, ass odd as that sounds. This is a very happy scent for me, I'm so happy I got a 5mL of this instead of an imp!

I agree that Scherezade seems to be like Old Morocco without the carnation. They aren't exactly the same, but they're close cousins in my opinion. ~ Penance

I think it's official that I can add Alice to the list of ones that I can't stand. I know there's no almond in it, but god dammit, it smelled almondy! I'm beginning to think carnations are something else I need to really steer clear of for whatever reason. For some reason everything I've tried with carnations in it has caused a bad reaction for me lately. So, let's see...now I can't stand almond, anise or carnation. And I just plain don't like citrus unless it's grapefruit. I'm a mess. ~ Penance

Preconceived notions: Earthy: wet dirt, flowers and maybe grass? First sniff: Juniper? And maybe a hint of pine? It reminds me quite a bit of Loup Garou straight out of the bottle; loamy and piney (or is it junipery?) at the same time. It's oddly refreshing for a scent with a name like Burial. It's also very woodsy instead of earthy as I would have expected. This is looking very promising! Wet on skin: This, just like Loup Garou, is pure heaven for me. I could sit here and smell my wrists all day it's so good. It's woodsy and feral smelling like the deep forest, untouched and wild. I can close my eyes and imagine myself deep in a pine forest, hundreds of miles from civilization. This is absolutely wonderful. I'm in love! Dry down: It's settled down into a true woodsy scent. Rich, loamy diry underlying towering pine trees with a wash of juniper berries. This is gorgeous! Like Loup Garou, this is everything I could possibly want in a perfume and more. The bottom line: Gorgeous. Woodsy. Calming. I'm getting a 10mL bottle of this in my next order!

A scent that captures a meeting of the serenity and elegance of ancient Japan, the vibrant, shining, neon-lit and ultra-modern splendor of today's Tokyo and the fantastic electric fantasyland of post-modern manga fantasy. Urban metallics and an ozone-tinged breath of electric light mingled with reedy bamboo, crisp mountain air, cherry blossoms, delicate orchid and a splash of playful, wet fruits. First sniff: Very clean. It smells like bamboo and...something metallic? I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's very fresh smelling. Wet on skin: The bamboo is very strong. It smells very clean and unobtrusively green and somehow reminds me of raw sugar cane without the sweetness. The scent combination reminds me of what the Garden Botanika store in our local mall used to smell like. It's looking very promising so far! Dry down: Still getting mostly bamboo, which is wonderful. It reminds me of fresh cut green wood, very clean and fresh and natural smelling if that makes sense. There's also a light floral beginning to peek out, but since I don't know daffodils from snapdragon's, I couldn't even begin to try and identify it. I'm thinking it's likely the orchid the description mentions. Whatever it is, it's not at all offputting like florals usually are for me. The bottom line: I tried this on a whim (and apparently I was meant to as I've gotten two more freebie imps of it with some recent swaps) and I really like it! I feel like I'm not even wearing perfume with this on, more like I'm fresh out of the shower and standing outside in the spring air. It's floral, but in a very understated way. It's green without being masculine. It's light and airy and, above all, fresh. A surprise winner!

Preconceived notions: Herbs, sharp smelling, slightly bitter like chewing grass. First sniff: Herbal and very green. Woodsy in a first leaves of spring kind of way. It's actually very pretty and not nearly as herbal as I had imagined it would be, more softly woodsy. Wet on skin: The green leaf smell picks up and it's naggingly familiar. I'm sure it's something I came into contact with a lot as a child because I'm getting the distinct impression that it's something I was very familiar with when I was younger. It's so familiar, it's...walnut leaves! We had a black walnut tree in our front yard when I was growing up and Belladonna's wet stage has the same smell as its leaves - green and slightly bitter smelling, a very unique scent that I can't quite put into words but that I know very well. I really like this for all the happy memories it brings back. Dry down: Belladonna has shapeshifted on me again. The walnut leaves are gone, replaced by a soft, vaguely sweet green smell that once again reminds me of the first leaves of spring, tender and fragile and bursting with new life. It's quite pretty although I prefer a more wood-based woodsy scent. I'll definitely be finishing the imp, although I probably won't buy more.

I was afraid to try this for fear of almond-induced nausea, but I tried it on a whim (mainly because, apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment) and (holy hell, how did this happen?!) I love it! First sniff: Sweet and spicy and cozy smelling. It reminds me of Christmas for some reason. I can't put my finger on the individual notes, but it's beautiful! Wet on Skin: Cinnamon sticks! It reminds me of hot apple cider with rum and a cinnamon stick stirrer, even though I don't smell anything resembling apples in here. I can almost taste it on my tongue. It's spicy and comforting, but almost potpurri-like somehow. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it is unexpected. Dry down: It's settled down into a combination of cinnamon cookies and cinnamon stick potpurri. I can also smell the rum more strongly now that it's dried. This would make a really nice room fragrance, especially since a little goes a very long way with this oil. The bottom line: Unusual, spicy and warm smelling. It puts me in mind of winter and Christmas cookies. This would make a great winter fragrance. I probably won't buy anymore, but I will finish the imp.

Tintagel didn't work out on me, it went all wonky and fruity the second it touched my skin, but I haven't tried Kweku Anansi yet, might have to check that one out. Thanks for the heads up! ~ Penance

Tried Wolfsbane and it's lovely and piney! Yum! Also tried Burial today and I'm in love! It's like juniper and pine and dirt...I'm in heaven. ~ Penance

C'est la vie, eh? I've learned to live with it. I make it up by loving the things so many other people hate: patchouli, cedar, oakmoss...all the dirty, woodsy, manly type smells. I guess it balances out in the end, plus it gives me plenty of trading fodder. ~ Penance

Well, there're some that I would prefer not to try because they have lemon or anise in them, but they're not on my "avoid like the plague" list. The only things on there are almond scents. Apparently there're a lot of BPAL scents with almonds in them. ~ Penance

Gee, I wonder what little birdie that might have been? I hadn't even considered Golden Priapus. Gonna have to go look at the reviews now...I'm all giddy with excitement. Nummy woodsy scents! Yay! ~ Penance

I have Belladonna but haven't gotten around to trying it yet. I'll have to move it to the front of the line and try it out in the next couple of days. ~ Penance

I definitely will. I've had my fair share of being sick as a dog as a result of smelling certain oils (*cough* Baron Samedi *cough*), so I'm planning on staying way the hell away from everything else on that list unless there's a damn good reason for trying them...or unless I'm really drunk and feeling reckless. ~ Penance

Ooh, might have to check Aquarius out. Thanks for the heads up! I pine! ~ Penance

That's okay, hon. You've helped enough with the almond issue. I really need to get a big bottle of Loup Garou and one of Capricorn. I'm so sad they're discontinuing the celestial oils. ~ Penance

Will do! Thankies! I think my "avoid like the plague list" is now officially longer than my wishlist. ~ Penance

Well, damn, I knew there was a reason for it! ~ Penance