Penance

Origin: Aged 5mL from Midnight Aeval (from when the Snake Pit was released). Preconceived notions: I never planned to try all of the Snake Pit blends, but I'm getting there. There are only 4 that I haven't tried at this point, including Coral Snake. I originally passed Coral Snake up because I'm not a huge apple fan and I hate lemon and florals. But I read the reviews and saw people comparing this to apple cider and that did me in. I love the smell of apple cider. Fearful Pleasure is a year-round favorite of mine, so I'm hoping for something similar from this. First sniff: Definitely apple. Red, juicy apple. Not a Red Delicious; similar to a Macintosh, but not quite. It does sort of scream autumn straight out of the bottle, but it would be the early part of autumn, when it's still warm and the days are sunny. I don't smell any Snake Oil (although I do get some faint spices that are almost definitely part of it), lemon or florals. Wet on skin: I don't know if my skin is eating scents today or if Coral Snake is just fainter on the skin than in the bottle, because it loses a couple of notches in its scent throw as soon as it hits my skin. Instead of pure, juicy apple and a touch of spice, it turns into soft red apple, a touch of Snake Oil and a very faint hint of sweet florals (I'm guessing it's the plumeria, because it doesn't have the headiness of gardenia to my nose). Dry down: I think this is one of those scents that smells better in the bottle than on me. Actually, that's not necessarily true. The drydown is actually quite pretty, but it's not "me." As Coral Snake dries, the florals come out more until I'm left with a pretty, feminine scent that's part sweetness with a hint of faint fruitiness, part gentle hothouse flowers (not heady or headache-inducing, they're softer and sweeter...more like honeysuckle than gardenia) and part faint orange. The bottom line: Honestly, I think Coral Snake would be quite pretty on someone else (assuming the drydown was the same on them, of course). It's pretty on me, for that matter. It's just not the sort of scent that I enjoy wearing. I do like it in the bottle, though, so I'll probably be wearing it a scent locket.

Origin: 5mL from Midnight Aeval. Preconceived notions: I've been looking for this one for a long time. I love all things incensey, so PX23 was a must-have proto for me. I'm expecting dry incense, amber and linen, based on reviews. First sniff: I'm not sure of how strong PX23 is right out of the bottle, truth be told. The first time I smelled it, when it was fresh out of the mailbox (and hot, thanks to my being away from home all day and the summer weather we're having at the moment) it was pretty strong, but the second time (when I went to test it after it had cooled down) it was very faint and I almost couldn't smell it. It's entirely possible that my nose is just fatigued since my allergies are acting up, though. Scent-wise, this is lovely. Definitely an incense blend. Dry but slightly sweet. Not church incense, exactly. It makes me think more of deserts and pyramids for some reason. I can see this being an Egyptian themed Excolo scent, maybe. Wet on skin: I'm still having trouble smelling this, but what I do smell is very pretty. There's definitely amber here. It's soft and slightly sweet, a bit like aged Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, but drier and very slightly powdery. There are also some lovely resins here, but I couldn't tell you exactly what they are. Sandalwood, most likely, maybe a touch of myrrh? Dry down: Still very soft, but it seems a little more noticeable than when it was wet. The drydown is soft and slightly sweet, but dry. It reminds me of a sandalwood incense I used to burn when I was in high school, but there's more to it than just sandalwood. I get amber and unidentified resins. I don't get any linen or wood from this, but it is rather ancient smelling somehow. The bottom line: I really like this and I'm glad I manage to finally track down a bottle. I'd prefer it if it were stronger, but I'm more than willing to wear it as is. After all, I don't need a super strong scent every day. And, who knows, maybe my nose is just on the blink and I'll be able to smell it more strongly again soon.

Origin: 5mL from a wonderful pickup angel. Preconceived notions: I had to have this the moment I read the description. I've got a bit of a thing for the accouterments of the fetish scene, oddly enough, plus the notes sounded perfect. I love resins and I usually like leather. The only thing I'm even remotely unsure about is the latex. I'm not sure what I'm going to think of it or whether it's going to be too chemical, but I'm willing to take the chance. First sniff: Wow, this smells nothing like I'd expected, but it smells so good, anyway. I was expecting leather and latex with the resins in the background, but instead, this is all resins, all the time. I get a hint of sweet spiciness, too, which is probably the opoponax, since there's no cardamom or clove listed in the notes. Wet on skin: Fetish.Goth smells like a church to my nose. Wildly inappropriate, but it's beautiful. I get wonderful, deep, sweet incense and just a touch of spiciness. Dry down: No change. I was expecting the leather to come peeking out at some point (because I've never known leather to be bashful on my skin; I don't amp it but it doesn't disappear on me, either), but it never does put in an appearance. Instead it's just gorgeous, sweet, spicy incense. It's like someone's been smoking clove cigarettes inside a Catholic church. And that appeals to me on multiple levels. The bottom line: I can't say I'm disappointed by Fetish.Goth (far from it), but it's definitely not what I expected from the description. I actually love the way it smells, though. I'm a huge fan of church incense and this is another beautiful one for my collection. I can always layer it with Rivet.Goth or another leather blend to get something closer to what I was envisioning.

Origin: 5mL bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: I'm really excited about this one. I love Panther Moon, but I find Fledgling Raptor Moon just...okay. Nothing special. I'm also not a fan of any nut notes, but everything else sounds awesome. First sniff: Definitely a relative of Fledgling Raptor Moon. I get the same toasted sandalwood note that FRM has, but mixed with what smells like some sort of spice (cardamom, maybe...something in that family) and musk. Wet on skin: Same as in the bottle. It's a powdery, spicy, dry toasted sandalwood, musk and spice scent on me. I was hoping for something smoother and more resinous. This isn't bad, but it's not quite what I had in mind, either. Dry down: This is pretty, but still not what I was envisioning. It stays mostly true to the bottle scent, but smooths out some on the drydown. In the end, it's fairly smooth toasted sandalwood, spice, musk and maybe tonka. If this were darker and less prickly smelling (the toasted sandalwood is the culprit there, I think; I love sandalwood, but I find the toasted variety a little rough). The bottom line: I'll be keeping my bottle and I do like it, but I don't absolutely love it the way I thought I would. I think maybe I just hyped it up in my mind and it couldn't live up to the imagein my head. It's still a really nice scent.

Origin: Aged 5mL bought on LJ (about 1 1/2 years old when I bought it). Preconceived notions: This is one of those scents that didn't grab my attention the first few times I read the description. It sounded fine but not like something that would be amazing for me, especially since I find pine so hit or miss. But when I fell in love with the pine pitch in Troll and reread The Illustrated Woman's description, I knew I had to try it. Theoretically, everything here should be good. Honey can be iffy (O smells simultaneously like sour vomit and cloying sweetness, for example, but The Infernal Lover is gorgeous on me) and I don't know what particular resins are in the "Indian resins," but as a resin lover, I'm sure they'll be fine. First sniff: Piney. Piney, piney, pine pine. Did I mention the pine? There's some sweetness here, too (the honey and vanilla) and a touch of muskiness, but the pine is taking center stage. Wet on skin: Still mainly pine, but the other notes are starting to peek out. I'm getting smoked vanilla and a bit of musk. It's like a more feminine version of Troll at this point, weirdly enough. That's not a bad thing since I really like Troll, but it's unexpected. Dry down: I've only tried one other pine-heavy scent that's changed so thoroughly as The Illustrated Woman has. That would be Stranger in Camp, which goes from all pine, all the time to a creamy, spicy, sweet wood scent. The Illustrated Woman undergoes a pretty similar transformation, but in this case, the notes that suddenly come barreling out are ones that are actually listed in the notes. The pine disappears pretty quickly and I'm left with a smoky, sultry, musky vanilla and honey scent with a touch of tobacco. It's feminine, but not girly (in the sense that it's neither floral-heavy blend nor super sweet, both things that I associate with "girly" scents). It's sultry and a bit mysterious smelling, like so many of the Carnival Diabolique ladies are. The bottom line: I really like The Illustrated Woman. The bottle scent is a little too intensely piney to be something I'd wear all the time, but the drydown is beautiful. It's similar in some ways to Inez on me (but darker and more sultry, rather than haunting and delicate), but it doesn't trigger a migraine the way Inez does.

Origin: Lagniappe from mxtine. Preconceived notions: I haven't thought to try this one yet because there are some very iffy notes in this. I hate florals for the most part, and bergamot and black currant aren't really favorite notes of mine, either. Patchouli and red musk are made of win for me, though. Lotus root...well, I'm not sure. Lotus flowers smell like bubblegum to me and I can't stand the smell of bubblegum. I don't think I've ever smelled lotus root before. If it smelled rooty, I'd like it, but if it smelled like the flowers, I wouldn't. First sniff: Yummy aged red musk and patchouli. It's in the same vein as Lust v7, but they're not dupes of one another. Marianne is dark, rich and seductive smelling. She smells like a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to take it. I'm not that assertive, but I do love a strong scent. Wet on skin: About the same as in the imp. Rich, heady, almost incense-like red musk and patchouli. There's a very light touch of orchid here, but it's faint, and so is the bergamot. They give the scent some depth, but they're not intense enough to bother me. Dry down: This is a beautiful scent. The drydown reminds me of Scherezade meets Lust v7. It's musky, rich with red musk, and slightly incense-like with faint, exotic florals just barely wafting around the edges. This is about the only way that I can wear florals. They have to be very faint and mixed in with strong, assertive notes that I love the smell of and that's exactly the case here. The bottom line: I love this. It makes me sad that it was introduced and discontinued before I could lay my hands on a bottle, although I wouldn't have bought it unsniffed, anyway, because of the florals. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for a bottle of this beauty.

Origin: Partial 5mL bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: I've had the worst case of BPAL lust for The Crumpet Rebellion. Normally, I'm not a big fan of foody scents, but I've got this fantasy in my head of a dark berry (blackberry or black raspberry) version of March Hare. Whether Crumpet has any chance of living up to that fantasy remains to be seen, but that's what it would smell like if I ruled the world. First sniff: Hmm...well, that's not quite what I had in mind. This reminds me strongly of the taste of frozen blackberries cooked into a cobbler. I know, that sounds bizarre and it's hard for me to explain. It's got a sort of slightly sour, slightly "off" smell to it that's the olfactory equivalent of the way that those berries taste. Mixed with the berries is a pie crust sort of scent. It's somewhat like the pastry note I get from March Hare (which isn't listed in the notes, but really shows up with age), but drier and less buttery. Wet on skin: Same as in the bottle. I feel like there's some orange zest in here, plus the dark berries (blackberries, maybe even a touch of mulberry). There's a certain sweet, citrusy zing to it that I also get from Hexahedraon v3. Dry down: Still the same. I was hoping that things might improve once Crumpet had a chance to work the kinks out on my skin, but it's still a slightly "off"/sour dark berry note mixed with sweet orange zest and pie crust. It's somewhat like The Knave of Hearts without the rose and with extra berry added. The bottom line: Not quite what I'd envisioned, but it's not bad. It just didn't fulfill the fantasy I had in my head, which happens sometimes. You get an idea in your head of what something is going to be like and then it turns out that reality doesn't quite live up to the fantasy. I'm keeping my partial bottle (I got it for a good price and I don't regret grabbing it), but I won't need to track down any more of this one. Which is good because I'm already in love with enough HTF scents as it is.

Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean. Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: Everything but the jasmine sounds good to me. I've seen the comparisons to Dorian, so I'm expecting something similar from Theodosius in spite of the notes sounding different to me. First sniff: Dorian, indeed. If you replaced some of the tea in Dorian with a bergamot-heavy Earl Grey and toned down the vanilla, you'd have Theodosius. It's more citrusy and a little brighter and sharper than Dorian, although I imagine that it would soften up the way Dorian does with some age. Wet on skin: Vanilla Earl Grey tea, heavy on the bergamot, with a touch of musk. It's very much like Dorian, but Theodosius doesn't quite work for me as well as Dorian does. I think it's the bergamot that makes the difference. I've always wanted a touch more tea from Dorian, but instead of more tea, I'm getting more citrus from Theodosius. Dry down: This one's no morpher. It stays virtually the same from bottle to drydown. If you like Dorian and you like citrus scents, then Theodosius will probably be right up your alley. The bottom line: I like Theodosius, but I really don't need this and Dorian in my collection. Of the two, I prefer Dorian because I'm not a big bergamot fan (in spite of loving the smell of Earl Grey). Normally, I wouldn't mind having two (or more) similar scents in my collection, but when they're this close and one of them falls short of the other, it's easy to let one go. Theodosius has moved onto a new town, where he'll hopefully find a more enthusiastic audience. ETA: Added the description. Didn't notice I was the first reviewer on a new page.

Origin: 5mL from a forumite (bought with some age to it, but I don't know how old it is). Preconceived notions: I want to love this. I really, really do, because it sounds beautiful. Carnation has me worried, though. I'm not a carnation fan and it has the potential to turn my stomach a little if it's strong. First sniff: Oh, this is so pretty. Feminine and pretty without going the route of floral-overload-of-DOOM. I get sweet, almost syrupy amber (like Amaterasu v3), vanilla musk and a very faint touch of sandalwood and myrrh. No carnation at this point (and no cedar, either, which I would be disappointed about if this didn't smell so nice as is). Wet on skin: Sweet, golden and musky with a faint undertone of spiciness and resins. I don't usually gravitate towards truly feminine blends, but this manages to slip through the same loophole that Amaterasu v3 does. It's feminine but it's not your textbook, floral-heavy feminine blend. Dry down: About the same as when it was wet. It's a beautiful scent, but it triggers a wicked migraine within about 15 minutes of putting it on, which is breaking my heart. I've tried it several times, hoping it was just a fluke, but no such luck. I have no idea what's the culprit here. Everything should be safe (in that I've never had an issue with any of the listed notes giving me a migraine before). All I can think is that it's my issue with carnation rearing its head in a new and (not-so) exciting way, even if I can't really smell the carnation here. The bottom line: Inez breaks my heart. I can't seem to get rid of my bottle because it's just such a pretty scent, but I can't wear it, either. At least not without taking a prophylactic dose of pain medication to try to head off the migraine that's sure to follow.

Origin: Lagniappe. From a forumite, I think? I don't remember, honestly. Preconceived notions: This is almost guaranteed not to work on me. The only things here that I like are sandalwood and honey (and honey is iffy). Rose and orange blossom are almost uniformly death notes for me. So...I don't expect this to work and you may want to keep in mind my prejudices regarding florals (and rose in particular) and throw my opinion out the window if you're a floral fan. First sniff: Feminine, floral and slightly sweet. It's got some powderiness to it (the rose, I think...it smells like tea rose to me, but I'm nowhere near being an expert on different flowers, so I could be wrong), too. It's a mature, womanly scent to my nose. Not old lady perfume. Just grown up. Wet on skin: This isn't horrible. I know, that doesn't sound like high praise, but most rose blends are horrible to my nose. I wouldn't say I like this, but it's not awful, either. It's a little more powdery than in the imp and the honey's starting to come out now. It's adding just a touch of golden sweetness. This makes me think of classic perfumes, but without the alcohol and harshness of traditional perfume. Dry down: All rose, all the time. Okay, maybe there's some orange blossom here, too, but the rose is dominating everything. It's intensely rosy and powdery. It makes me think of rose-scented dusting powder and vintage clothing from the 20's for some reason. This is the sort of scent my mom would like. My mother-in-law, too, actually. Their age has nothing to do with it, so I'm not implying that it's a scent suited to older women (just clarifying, since I'm sure that could come off the wrong way). They're just the type that enjoy rose and classic perfumes. The bottom line: I knew this wouldn't work for me, so I'm not disappointed. If you're into grown-up, womanly, vintage-smelling floral blends, Jezebel is probably up your alley. But for me, it's not even in my hemisphere. Maybe not even on the same planet I'm on. I've actually got a bottle of this coming my way, but only because I wanted the actual bottle itself for my collection (it's one of the old-school inkwell/squat bottles). I may decant out the oil and give it to my mom or MIL, so it'll be loved and appreciated.

Origin: 5mL's from various people. Preconceived notions: I thought for sure I'd reviewed this, but I guess not. This is one of those scents that sounds very close to perfect but could be ruined by one little note. Pomegranate smells like gummy bears on me 99% of the time. That wouldn't be a bad thing if I actually wanted to smell like gummy bears, but I don't. Everything else here sounds wonderful, though. First sniff: I have bottles of Mme. Moriarty that are different ages, so I'm going to have to split this up between fresh(ish), aged (2 years) and very aged (4 years and a few months). Fresh: Lighter than I would expect from the notes. It's in the same vein as Snake Charmer, but it's not even remotely close to being a dupe of it. This smells like soft red musk, vanilla and plum. It's feminine and sexy, although I'd prefer a darker, heavier scent. Aged: Much better. Everything has darkened and deepend. This is a dark, mysterious scent. It makes me think of deep purple and red velvet curtains, black candles and curling incense smoke. This is very much a (mis)fortune teller's sort of scent. Very aged: I didn't expect this to be too different than my 2 year old bottle, but the difference is noticeable. At this point, the fruity aspects have become more subtle and the strongest notes are the patchouli, red musk and vanilla. There's still plum and pomegranate here, but they're lurking under a dark, velvety blanket of earthy muskiness. Wet on skin: Fresh: This smells fantastic for about 10 seconds and then does something funky and turns into a strange, plastic musk sort of scent with an "off" (sort of curdled) smell to it. Weirdly enough, Snake Charmer used to do the same thing, but it's stopped. I don't know if that's thanks to aging or my skin chemistry changing (which would mean that Mme. Moriarty doing the same thing would be a fluke or the result of a different note than the one that gave me trouble in Snake Charmer). Aged: More or less the same issue. So either Mme. Moriarty needs to be seriously aged to not do that or it's just going to happen with this scent no matter how long I let it mature. Very aged: The funky stage is no more! Apparently it's something that does go away, but it takes quite a bit of aging to get there. It's similar to the bottle scent, but with even less fruit. There's still something deep purple-red here that has to be the plum and pomegranate, but I wouldn't call it fruity by any means. Dry down: Fresh: The funky curdled plastic note of doom disappears and I'm left with a light but mysterious dark purple/red musk, fruit and vanilla scent. I really like this, but I'd prefer a heavier, more intense scent. Aged: Same as fresh, the "offness" goes away and I get a dark, sensual musk, vanilla, patchouli and plum scent. It smells like a really high class occult store mixed with a headshop, which I love. I don't mean to imply that it's a hippie scent. It just makes me think of dim lighting, flickering candles, incense smoke and musky skin. Very aged: Similar to the scent of my 2 year old bottle, but darker, deeper and less plummy. The plum is still there, but it adds a synesthetic sense of deep purpleness rather than an actual fruit scent. I love the richness of this. The patchouli and musk have aged beautifully. The bottom line: This is a beautiful scent, fresh or aged, but I prefer it with some age to it (and it looks like I'm not alone in that). I feel sexy and mysterious when I wear Mme. Moriarty, but it also brings back happy memories of occult bookstores and shopping at Rocky Mudd's (a headshop near where I live), so it's a winner on two fronts. ETA: Got my 4+ year old bottle in, so the review's been updated with my impressions of it.

Origin: Tester from sunshinedaisybliss. Preconceived notions: Somehow this proto flew under my radar until the lovely lady I got my tester from sent some my way. I love woods, patchouli, resins and I like spicy scents, so this should be right up my alley. First sniff: Mmm, that does smell good! It's in the same sort of vein as Jupiter--a spicy wood/resin scent--but lighter, creamier and sweeter. Very pretty. Wet on skin: More of the same. I've never tried Glowing Vulva (not my type of scent, I don't think, plus I hate lotus), so I can't say whether Osiris is similar or not. I'd say the wood in here is almost definitely teak...could be some mahogany, maybe. The spices are dry and mysterious, not foody. I'm thinking there's some vanilla here, too. Something is lending a creamy sweetness to the scent. Dry down: I think there's patchouli in this, too. As it dries, it stays mostly the same (a creamy, spicy resinous wood scent), but something very much like black patchouli is swirling around in here. It adds a musky earthiness. The bottom line: I really like this one. I don't know why I didn't think to try it sooner, but I'm glad I ended up testing it because it's a definite winner.

Origin: Lagniappe from the Lab. Preconceived notions: Fruity blends aren't generally my thing and neither are bright, summery scents, but I've been curious about the Atomic Luau scents. So far I've tried a few and none have appealed to me, but Red Tide is a little more promising than most. I've been waffling on ordering an imp to try and couldn't seem to justify doing it. Luckily, the Lab sent one my way as lagniappe with one of my orders. I like raspberry, cranberry and mango, although they aren't necessarily things I want to smell like (raspberry would be the exception if it was black raspberry instead of red). Gin is the most worrying note because I find the smell of it really unpleasant and astringent. First sniff: Whoo, that is one red scent. It's bright, almost garish, which is an adjective I've never considered describing a scent with before. This is in-your-face red. Lots of bright, tart raspberry and cranberry and something boozy underneath. It has that tropical cocktail sort of thing going on and it makes me think of a drink that you'd buy at some over-priced tourist-marketed beach bar. This definitely lives up to the concept, but it's not doing much of anything for me. Wet on skin: Raspberry Kool Aid. For serious. The booziness and the incredible tartness has disappeared and I've got raspberry Kool Aid on my arm. It's slightly sweet but still intensely colorful smelling. This smells like summer, but in a whole different way than it did before. It's gone from beach bar to kid's birthday party. Dry down: Still raspberry Kool Aid, but with some chunks of actual fruit floating in it, like a kiddie version of sangria. I don't get any mint at all and the gin disappears somewhere between the imp and my skin, which is good, but it wouldn't really matter if it did because this isn't really something I see myself wearing. The bottom line: Red Tide is a fun scent, but not for me (in the imp or on my skin). I'm glad I got to try it before the Atomic Luau scents rode off into the sunset, though.

Rogue + Ranger (again with the dual-class scent combinations, I know, I know) The verdict: - I did a roughly 60/40 mix here because I wanted more Rogue than Ranger to let the leather shine through. I love this. It's similar to Fighter + Ranger, but with the hemp adding a slightly sweet greenness to the mix. I think I may actually prefer this to Fighter + Ranger. Theoretically, I should be trying Neutral, Good, Elf and Ranger together to get "my" combination, but I don't see it happening. I find that Good clashes with Ranger and I don't even have Elf to try. But I'm having fun mixing up other combos. I was never into layering before, but it's kind of fun to play mad scientist, even if I do love the scents as stand-alones. ETA: Typo. Just now noticing it.

Origin: Decant in a bottle from filigree_shadow. Preconceived notions: I've been waffling on trying this one for a while. My first instinct when I read the notes is to think that it sounds amazing and that I have to have it. But then I remember that pine can go all sorts of wrong on me (if it's the wrong type of pine; I find some very harsh and astringent), which brings me back to reality. But it's going to drive me nuts not knowing how I feel about Stranger in Camp. The possibility that it's as amazing as my brain wants it to be is too much to ignore, so I'm giving it a try. First sniff: Whoa, pine! This is like standing in an extremely densely packed pine/evergreen forest. It's super strong and reminds me a bit of Nocnitsa. I don't really smell anything other than pine and/or evergreen at this point. Wet on skin: Much less intense. It's a bit like Hexennacht and a bit like Nocnitsa, but there's some spice here, too. I don't know where it's coming from. Maybe the birch bark? I don't think of birch bark as having a spicy smell, but birch beer smells somewhat similar. This is like drinking birch beer in the deep woods. Strange as that sounds, it's pretty. Dry down: Crazy skin chemistry strikes again! This smells nothing like the bottle scent and only partially like the wet scent. Once Stranger in Camp is dry, I get soft, creamy spice and a hint of tobacco and wood. It actually reminds me of Pinched with Four Aces (although I'm positive that it's my skin chemistry causing the similar scent, because they've got basically nothing in common), which is completely inexplicable but a welcome outcome, in spite of the strangeness. The bottom line: I don't know what is going on with my skin chemistry doing bizarre things to scents lately. The weirdest part is that none of the scents I already know and love have started smelling different on me. I guess it's been dumb luck lately that's to blame for my having found three scents in the last week that morph completely on the drydown. At any rate, I really like the (unexpected) way that Stranger in Camp smells on me. I really like Pinched with Four Aces but can't seem to track any down, so Stranger smelling similar is okay by me. Now, the only problem is that I've only got a tiny bit of this one and I need a bottle (or three).

Origin: 5mL from mistressfizz. Preconceived notions: I thought about trying Habu when I first came back after my BPAL hiatus but was put off by the bamboo. I can tolerate bamboo in some scents (Neo-Tokyo, for example), but it's not one of my favorite notes. I find it to bright and sharp. The rest of the notes sound great, though, and when I found a mostly full bottle at a good price, I had to give it a shot. First sniff: WTF? Apples? Seriously, I get what smells like pink lady apples straight out of the bottle. There's a hint of Snake Oil here, too, but it's mainly a sweet, juicy apple scent. I see from reading reviews that I'm not the only one smelling apple in here. I guess the general consensus is that the phantom apple is bamboo, but I've never misread bamboo as apple before. First time for everything, I guess. Wet on skin: Still apples. It's sweet, juicy and softly fruity. I find it hard to believe that this is bamboo I'm smelling, but I guess it must be. Dry down: The Snake Oil has started to come out now and I get a very soft layer of dark wood, but it's sweet, fruity dark wood, like a teak cutting board that's been used to slice up a very juicy apple. The bottom line: This is nothing at all like what I'd imagined based on the notes. I was dreading Snake Oil + bright, sharp bamboo and hoping for Snake Oil + dark, rich wood and didn't get either one. The actual smell of Habu is completely out of left field, but I like it.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I really want to love this one, but the rose and the other florals have me worried. I'm not a floral fan (at all), so I'm hoping that the other notes overpower the floral evil. Fingers crossed! First sniff: Okay, well...that's not what I expected. I expected either a resinous scent or a floral scent right out of the bottle. I didn't expect a peppery scent, but that's what I'm getting. I'm guessing it's the Peru balsam that's the offender here, but I'm not positive about that. Behind the pepper, I get lovely church incense thanks to the frankincense and myrrh. I don't smell any florals, but they could be hiding behind the peppery scent. Wet on skin: More of the same. I was hoping the pepperiness might let up once I put this on, but no such luck. Dry down: This one's no morpher. Oddly enough, the florals don't come screeching to the front like they so often do on my skin. Cleric ends up as it starts. Peppery wood and a background of church incense-style resins. I could love this if the Peru balsam or whatever it is I'm smelling in the pepperiness wasn't here. At least I've got Paladin to satisfy my appetite for a churchy, resinous RPG scent. The bottom line: This went all wrong for me, and not in the way I expected it to. I would say it's a skin chemistry thing, but it smells the same on me as it does in the bottle. There's just evidently something in here that I don't like.

Does anyone know if the RPG scents have more than one label per scent? Just wondering because I was looking at the artwork on the site and some of my bottles don't match up to it. For example, both my bottles of Rogue have a woman on them and my bottle of Ranger has a man, when the site shows a man and a woman respectively. I didn't get multiples of anything except for Rogue right off the bat and both those labels are the same, so I'm not sure if it's just a matter of the website artwork differing from the bottles or if there are male and female variants of some or all of the scents' labels. ETA: Answered my own question! I just got my backup bottles of Paladin in and I've got 2 males and 1 female now, so the class ones evidently do come in both male and female version. ETA again: Answered my other question, too. The race scents do seem to come in male/female versions. I have a male Halfling bottle rather than the female one shown on the site. My Dwarf bottle has the male label shown on the site. I've got Elf and Half-Elf coming, so I'm looking forward to seeing which ones I get on those.

Dark Alice read my mind. Neutral was next on my list of layering additions. More layering combination reviews: Paladin + Neutral: I love Paladin on its own but I find Neutral a little bit on the sharp and powdery side. I'm curious to see how they play together. The verdict: Not bad, but not a combination I see myself repeating. Neutral just doesn't really add much of anything to the mix, but it does tone down the vanilla. I like Paladin better on its own. --- Fighter + Neutral.: Same as Paladin. I love Fighter on its own and in combination with Ranger. I don't think it needs any skin musk added, but it's worth a shot. The verdict: Again, Neutral doesn't seem to add much of anything. Especially since Fighter already has musk in it. I don't think I'll be repeating this one. --- Ranger + Neutral: The verdict: Oddly enough, Neutral actually does add something here. The musk tones down the intensity of the pine in Ranger. It's a subtle change but I like it enough that I would repeat it. I think I may like Ranger better with Neutral than on its own. --- Fighter + Ranger + Neutral: The verdict: This one's a winner, too, although the difference between this and just Fighter + Ranger isn't very noticeable. I get soft leather, deep woods and clean skin. I may or may not actually wear them like this.

I'm not the layering type, but since these are meant to be layered, I figured I may as well try it. My first experiment: Fighter + Ranger. Yes, I know, that would be a dual-class character and I don't have an affiliation at all. But I'm not a gamer, so I don't care. Verdict: This smells awesome. I was hoping for some noticeable leather in Ranger, but didn't get more than a light touch of it, so adding Fighter to the mix fixes that problem. I end up with a soft leather and woods scent that blends seamlessly. I tend to like the combination with a little more Fighter than Ranger, so it's not an equal mix. Maybe 60/40 instead of 50/50. My second experiment: Fighter + Ranger + Good. I didn't really think I was going to love it because (for me) the sweet, delicate honey in Good just doesn't seem like it would work with the intense woodsiness of Ranger. Verdict: I'm not liking this, although I can see it working for someone else. It just clashes to my nose. Something about the femininity of Good combined with the gender neutral/masculineness of Ranger and Fighter just doesn't mesh for me. It's like wearing honey-vanilla-floral perfume in the woods while wearing a broken in leather jacket. If that's your thing, then you'll like this combination. But it's not for me. I'll try more combinations soon. This is fun, although I'm not sure I'd layer these routinely just because I'm lazy.

I don't see any reviews of this, but it could be that someone else has already reviewed it under a different name. Standard issue amber bottle. This came to me with a label (obviously made by a previous owner) that said "Snake in the Grass." Deep amber oil, fairly thin in spite of its age. Origin: 5mL from The_Witching_Hour. Preconceived notions: This was described to me as the lovechild of Snake Oil and Ranger v5, heavy on the Snake Oil and subtle on the other notes (and only on the drydown). I love Snake Oil and I love Ranger v5 (except for its tendency to turn peppery on me late in the drydown), so I'm really looking forward to trying this. First sniff: Unlike my other experimental blend (which I'd be hard pressed to find the Snake Oil in), this smells like pure Snake Oil. Very nicely aged Snake Oil at that, since it's from 2004 at the latest. Wet on skin: I'm starting to get a touch of woodsiness in addition to the Snake Oil now, but only if I apply the oil more heavily than I usually do for an initial test. If I just dab a little on, it smells like regular aged Snake Oil. Dry down: This is definitely a subtly woody version of Snake Oil. I can't quite identify what sort of wood I'm smelling here. It could be oak (only the wood, no leaves; I don't get anything green from this blend in spite of its previous name). It's not pine, cedar or redwood and it's too light to be mahogany or teak. It's a medium to light wood, not a dark hardwood and it's very faint. I think that if you didn't know there was something other than Snake Oil in here, you might miss the other notes because they're blended so seamlessly. I'm not sure if this is a case of different areas of my body having different skin chemistry, a matter of the amount of oil applied or an issue of body temperature (arms vs. wrists), but I swiped my wrist against the opposite arm to get some of the extra oil off before I smeared it all over my keyboard while I wrote the review and the scent on that arm is a creamy vanilla-wood scent, heavy on the vanilla. It doesn't even smell like Snake Oil, but it's beautiful. I'm evidently going to have to experiment with the amount of oil I'm wearing and where I'm applying it. The bottom line: I really like this, although I'm wishing the wood was just a little bit stronger. The difference between this and regular aged Snake Oil is subtle, but it's there. It would fit nicely in with the Snake Pit series. And on that note, I took the old label off and put my own on. Snake in the Grass is now Black Ratsnake. Why? Because I liked the idea of continuing the Lab's example of naming the Snake Pit blends and when I think of snakes that live in the woods, I think of black ratsnakes, which I saw all the time when I was growing up and have a bit of a nostalgic soft spot for. Plus, I don't think Snake in the Grass is all that accurate since there's nothing green about this blend.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: This is one of the iffier blends I ordered from the RPG collection. Leather and musk should both be good (at least right now since leather is hitting rather than missing most of the time these days), but blood and steel could go very wrong. First sniff: This reminds me a little bit of Rogue, oddly enough. I think it must be the leather that's fairly similar because that's the only note they share. I don't smell any blood or anything metallic here. It's just musky leather. Wet on skin: Okay, my skin chemistry just flipped out, evidently, because this smells exactly like nori (the dried seaweed they wrap sushi in). I don't particularly want to smell like sushi. This is not good. Dry down: Phew, the inexplicable seaweed of doom has disappeared and I'm really enjoying Fighter now. It's dried into a nice musky brown leather scent. It doesn't remind me of Rogue in the slightest now. Instead it's more like Dead Man's Hand (what I remember it smelling like, anyway; keep in mind that it's been years since I've smelled it, so I'm relying on my memory here) or the leather in Paladin v3, but not as sharp and pungent. I haven't tried Brom Bones, so I can't comment on that. The blood and steel never do put in an appearance which is just fine by me. The bottom line: Thankfully, the weird nori scent of the wet stage doesn't last long or I'd probably never wear Fighter. But luckily it disappears quickly and I really like the drydown. I think I may actually like this a little more than I like Paladin v3, which is awesome news since I'm having such a hard time tracking down a backup bottle.

Origin: 5mL from tartchef Preconceived notions: This sounds perfect for me. I love wood, spices and resins. First sniff: Sweet, resinous and woody. There could be some tobacco here, too. It's in the same general scent family as Anne Bonny, but sweeter. Wet on skin: Sweeter still. Not in a foody way, though. It's sweet but resinous. I'm thinking there must be some frankincense or something similar here. Dry down: This has to be one of the most bizarre and unexpected scent morphs I've come across. I put a dab of A'Arab on to test right before I started reorganizing my BPAL cabinet. I kept smelling something sweet and unusual but oddly familiar and couldn't figure out what I was smelling. I sniffed around and it turns out it was A'Arab and it smelled exactly like a perfume I wore in high school called Angel Water. No idea what was in it and I'm not turning up any results on the interweb for the specific brand I wore. It was a weird, mostly opaque white perfume that came in a round bottle with a silver triangle label. It was supposed to be made from holy water of some sort and it had a scent that's practically impossible for me to describe. It was sweet, ethereal, slightly resinous. It smelled white in some weird, synesthetic way and it really did make me think of what an angel might smell like. So needless to say, I would never in a million years have expected A'Arab to smell similar on me. The concepts are polar opposites, but that's the wonders of body chemistry for you, apparently. The bottom line: Totally different than I would have imagined based on reviews and the scent in the bottle, but I'm positive that my skin chemistry is doing something crazy with A'Arab. Luckily, the out of left field scent I get from it is one I like, so it all works out. It's kind of nice to have a BPAL version of a nostalgic scent.

Origin: Partial 5mL bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: I honestly don't know why I decided to buy this. Well, I do and I don't. Lemon isn't a good note for me (neither is citrus in general), although I like cake scents, so P013 should send me running in the opposite direction, but I had one of those moments of inexplicable lust for a scent that shouldn't work. Generally, those weird impulsive cravings result in my finding scents that shouldn't work but do. So hopefully P013 will end up being another dark horse. First sniff: This smells like it could easily be part of the original Monster Bait series. I get lemon chiffon cake (which, if you've never smelled it, has a light, sweet lemon scent rather than a bright, tart bite to it) and buttercream frosting. Oddly enough, I'm really liking it. Wet on skin: A bit like lemon poundcake now, but more or less the same as in the bottle. Dry down: I have to admit, this smells really good. It's sweet and foody, but overwhelming "OMGWTFBBQ, look at me, I smell like a bakery!" It's soft lemon chiffon cake and buttercream frosting. I still think this would be right at home in the original MB series, although it's lighter and with less throw than either Closet or Underbed. The bottom line: Another "against the odds" winner. This is why I trust my impulses when it comes to scents like this. P013 would be a perfect spring or summer scent if you're into wearing "seasonal" perfumes. Me? I'll be wearing this year-round.

Origin: 5mL bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: I had to have this as soon as I saw the previous review. Heavy woods? Cognac? Dark chocolate? Cigar smoke? Yes, please! This sounds like an instant favorite. So excited I managed to snag a bottle. First sniff: Vetiver?! I suppose it could also be whatever type of myrrh is in Priala that smells like vetiver to me. In the bottle, this is dark and smoky/ashy. There are some deep, dark woods lurking in the background, too. I would guess mahogany or possibly even redwood, although redwood wouldn't make much sense in a blend like this. It's a bit like the original (non-LE) version of Capricorn. I happen to love Capricorn, so that's not a bad thing. Wet on skin: The vetiver (or myrrh or whatever it is) scales back quite a bit when it hits my skin and I get dark woods (I'm going to say that it's mahogany, it's not pulpy enough to be redwood) with a touch of what smells like tobacco. Dry down: Yum. Ennui evidently needs to settle on my skin to get the full effect. Once it dries, I'm left with a gorgeous scent that I absolutely love. Mahogany, tobacco, spice (clove, maybe cinnamon) and a touch of something similar to Dark Chocolate, Whiskey and Cognac Truffle wafting around in the background. The bottom line: I love this! It combines my favorite parts of several other scents into one awesome package. ETA: The vetiver (or myrrh) has come back in full force now that it's had a few hours to sit and it's chased out everything but the mahogany. I like vetiver, but it's not a note I want to wear every day and Ennui is so much nicer without it. I still really like this, just not as much as I did without the in-your-face vetiver.