Penance

Origin: 2-year-old 5mL from Wolfie79 Preconceived notions: The Snake Pit blends are generally winners for me, but I've been putting off trying this one because I was worried it would be aquatic because of the name, and the sea moss, which I don't think I've ever tried in anything. I'm not a fan of aquatic scents, so that's a big concern for me. But curiosity eventually got the better of me, especially since I love the idea of a mossy version of Snake Oil. First sniff: Mmm, nice! I can really smell the Snake Oil in this one (unlike some of the other Snake Pit blends), but it's covering a base of soft, dry moss. The oakmoss is definitely putting in an appearance. I'm not entirely sure what sea moss smells like, but I gather it's a type of algae, so it should have a seaweed-type smell, which I'm not getting from this (yet, anyway). Wet on skin: Mossy Snake Oil. It's sweet, but dry and green from the oakmoss. There's a little bit of something that smells a tiny bit like seaweed here, but mainly it's a dry, mossy vanilla-musk-spice scent. Dry down: This has to be one of the most unusual Snake Pit blends I've tried. The spiced vanilla musk of Snake Oil is still putting in a strong appearance, but there's an almost equally strong layer of various shades of green. Crumbly, dry grey-green from the oakmoss, a brighter, springier green from the olive leaf (just a touch, it's very subtle) and an even subtler hint of what could be damp seaweed. I wouldn't call this an aquatic scent, personally. Instead, it's like Snake Oil had a baby with Mole and raised it on a wooded cliff overlooking an ocean tidepool. It sounds strange, but it works. The bottom line: I really like this. It's unusual, no doubt about it. I have a feeling that this is one of the Snake Pit blends that works best when it's got some age to it (although I haven't tried it fresh, so that's just a guess) so that the richness of the vanilla, musk and spices in the Snake Oil can smooth over and pull together the other notes.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: Evil was one of the scents that jumped out at me as something I absolutely had to order. Most everything in it is something I love (opium tar, tobacco, black plum), something I like (kush, ambergris, ambrette seed) or something that should be okay (costus root). The only iffy note is the green tea. I love the smell of real green tea, but I find the Lab's not to be too harsh and lemony. I'm guessing that the tea won't put in too much of an appearance, though, with all these other heavy notes to weigh it down. First sniff: Not good. This smells nothing like what I'd imagined. Instead of a delicious, dark scent, I get super strong, powdery, sharp old lady perfume. The only other scent I've had this sort of a reaction to is Romanti.Goth, which also has opium tar and plum together but doesn't share any other notes. There's no reason why plum and opium tar together should combine to create this sort of a scent, so I don't think they're the culprit. I've got no idea what the deal is with Evil. Wet on skin: Still the same. Super sharp, powdery and perfumey. I was hoping for something dark and smokey and resinous and...evil. This isn't it. Dry down: More of the same. I'm thinking that the green tea is part of what's giving me fits here. Evil's sharpness does remind me of the way that the Lab's other strong green tea scents smell, although it's much more complicated than most. Maybe my nose is broken, but I think that this must just be a case of personal scent preference (with a lot of the blame going to the intense green tea note) since the previous reviewer obviously loves Evil. The bottom line: Not for me, sadly, but it's moving on to a new home with someone who loves it, so everything works out in the end. I'll stick to Silas Ruthyn for my evil opium tar scent cravings.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I was excited to try Captain Cully based on the Will Call reviews. When it went live on the site, I immediately ordered a bottle even though the porter worries me. I'm not much of a fan of the smell of beer, although I gather that dark beers like porter have a different smell to them, so I'm open-minded. First sniff: It has to be the porter I'm smelling. Like I said before, I've never smelled it (the real thing or as a note in perfume), but somehow it's immediately recognizable. It's a sweet, dark brown scent. Not really boozy or alcoholic, instead it's got a sort of malted scent to it. I also get a tiny bit of wood and leather, but it's mainly porter. Wet on skin: The leather shows up more at this point. That tends to happen when I wear leather scents with other strong notes. It doesn't show up in the bottle, spikes when it hits my skin and then dies back down, so I'm expecting it to fade again. At this point, it's a worn, brown leather scent with sweet, malty porter (I think the tonka may be blending with it and amping the sweetness a bit). Dry down: I actually love this. A lot. The leather has died back down again and I'm left with a smooth, sweet, malty, musky brown scent. It's got hints of wood and leather, but everything blends together so well that it's hard to pick out individual notes. The bottom line: I'm glad I took a chance on this in spite of the porter. Evidently, I actually like the smell of dark beer. Captain Cully is bordering on making its way into my favorites box and it may end up in there at some point.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I almost didn't order this one because of the "shining armor." Metallics aren't my thing at all, but everything else sounded so good that I couldn't pass it up. I'm hoping to get leather, incense, vanilla and musk without much (or, even better, any) armor. First sniff: Mmm, I like this. In the bottle, it's an incense and musk scent with some soft sweetness. The frankincense base really reminds me of Penitence, but there's more to Paladin. Wet on skin: Basically the same as in the bottle, but slightly sweeter. Frankincense tends to sweeten up just a little bit when it hits my skin, so that might be the case here. Dry down: I'm happy to say there's no metal to be found here (for me, anyway). I absolutely love this. I'm a big fan of church incense scents, and Paladin definitely falls into that category. I don't really get any leather. Just sweet frankincense and a touch of vanilla and musk. The bottom line: I never would have expected this to be my favorite of the RPG scents I ordered, but it is. Paladin is downright beautiful and if I didn't already have several church incense blends in my favorites box, it would have gone in immediately. Edit: Grammar fail.

Origin: 5mL bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: This was a complete and utter impulse buy. I love the whole idea of the CD line and I'm up for trying most any of the prototypes. I'm hoping Alley of Games v6 will work for me. I love the smell of grass and I like cotton candy. The idea of water balloons and beer is kind of iffy, though. First sniff: Sweet grass. It does smell a bit like sweetgrass, but also like regular grass with something sweet laid over top (cotton candy, most likely). It's a little bit like Plastic Pink Flamingo, but with grass instead of dandelion and more cotton candy than marshmallow. They're in the same vein although they're definitely not dupes of one another. Wet on skin: Grass (definitely plain old green grass now) and cotton candy, no doubt about it. It really does smell like being at a carnival, with the scent of fresh cotton candy and trampled grass around you. I also get a hint of what could be beer. Dry down: There has to be beer in this. The longer Alley of Games sits on my skin, the more it comes out. Once it's dried down completely, I get faint green grass, soft cotton candy and beer. Normally, I'm not a fan of the smell of beer, but it works here. It's very slightly sour and a tiny bit pungent, just like the real thing. Somehow this makes me think of Roadhouse (with grass instead of dandelions) meets Midway (minus the caramel apple). It sounds like a weird mixture, but somehow it's not. It's very evocative. This is definitely not a carnival that's just for the kiddies. The bottom line: This is a strange, evocative scent. It would fit in perfectly with the rest of the Carnival Diabolique line. I'm not sure how often I'm going to wear this since it's not my usual style, but I do like it and it's going to be staying in my collection.

Origin: Tested from Scrappy. Preconceived notions: I really like Dorian (it's earned a spot in my favorites box and will probably live there indefinitely), so I'm excited to try the prototype versions. Based on reviews, I'm expecting Dorian + lavender and coconut. First sniff: The previous reviewers are spot-on. This is Dorian plus lavender and coconut. It has less coconut than v3, but there's still a tropical creaminess to it. The lavender is relatively soft and not too herbal. Wet on skin: This is more like TKO than it is the released version of Dorian. I get the vanilla tea from Dorian, but the overall impression of v2 is more of a Victorian gentleman's cologne. Sort of a foppish scent, with the sweetness of the vanilla and tea and the classic smell of the lavender. Dry down: Dorian v3 a little more gentlemanly and a little less foppish than v2 to my nose, thanks to the lavender, but it's still very much a gender neutral sort of scent. I can easily imagine Dorian Gray wearing this. The bottom line: Of the three versions of Dorian (the released version, v2 and v3), my favorite is still the released version. Of the two prototype versions, I have to say that I prefer v3. This version has a little too much lavender for my tastes, although I do like this. I think that if v2 had a stronger Dorian base to it, I'd like it more. It's nice as it is, but it's not something I'll need to track down a bottle of.

Origin: 5mL from Reedsong. Preconceived notions: I love dirt scents. I keep telling myself that I've got enough of them and that there's only so much variation you can achieve when it comes to dirt blends, but more of them keep finding their way into my collection. I'm telling myself that Taphophobia is going to be different because it's got both dirt and clay (according to reviews) and maybe even some resins and booze (which I also love). Plus I love the name. Who wouldn't want a perfume based on a phobia of being buried alive? First sniff: Maybe it's just my imagination, but I do believe this really is unique. Just like Badger, it's not "just another dirt blend." While Badger has a nice rooty vibe to it, Taphophobia v2 seems to have some soft red clay and, yes, black amber and possibly some other resins. It's ever-so-slightly sweet and resinous, but the main player here is the dirt. Heavier and darker than Badger's earth note, but not as loamy as Graveyard Dirt. Wet on skin: This is fantastic. Well, if you love scents that smell like dirt, anyway. There's no real change from in the bottle at this point. I personally think that Taphophobia, like Badger, is a very wearable dirt blend. As much as I love Graveyard Dirt, it's not the sort of thing I would wear every day. I love the scent of thick, loamy dirt, but not everyone else does and, while I wear perfume for me, I don't want to wear something so overpoweringly dirty that it puts other people off. So I save Graveyard Dirt for occasions where I'm not going to be around strangers or people who I know are bothered by something so intensely earthy smelling. Dry down: I can see where some people are getting booze from this, but I don't think it's actually booze. I'm leaning toward it being a combination of resins. On the drydown, Taphophobia v2 is soft but dark dirt, a touch of red clay, black amber and possibly some other resins and a touch of some sort of deep musk (black, maybe). It's a dark blend, but, in spite of the name, I don't think it's oppressively dark. The bottom line: I really like this and I'm glad I gave in and added Taphophobia v2 to my collection. It's not "just another dirt scent." Like Badger, it's got its own unique character. Definitely not the sort of scent that you're going to enjoy if you don't like smelling like dirt, but well worth tracking down if you're a fan of that sort of thing, like I am.

Origin: Tester from Scrappy. Preconceived notions: I'm not a fan of the released version of Morocco. I'm not a fan of carnation and it tends to ruin blends for me, otherwise I think that Morocco and I could be friends. I hadn't read the reviews of v2 before trying this, so I went into it expecting something roughly similar, sort of a spicy, musky floral blend. First sniff: My first impression on sniffing this in the imp is that it smells like TKO but with amber added, which is totally unexpected (I notice, reading reviews now, that other people have noticed the same similarity, so I guess it's not just me). I get lavender, amber and vanilla in more or less equal proportions. Wet on skin: This is really pretty. If you took TKO and added smooth, sweet amber (it reminds me of the amber in Mouse's Long and Sad Tale once it's had a long time to age and mellow), it would smell very much like Morocco v2. Dry down: If TKO is the quintessential little girl's fantasy scent (all pale purple, marshmallow-vanilla sugar), then Morocco v2 is that little girl all grown up. The amber tempers the intense fluffiness of the lavender and vanilla and the marshmallow vibe that's so prominent in TKO is missing, but it's still a very comfortable, inviting sort of scent. The kind of perfume that you want to wrap around yourself like a cozy blanket. The bottom line: I wasn't expecting anything even remotely like this based on the released version of Morocco, but I love this. I'm a fan of TKO and of resins, so a scent that combines the fluffy loveliness of TKO with sweet, rich amber makes me happy.

Origin: Tester from Scrappy. Preconceived notions: I'm not sure if this is a scent I would have sought out on my own, but I'm really glad I get to try it. The reviews sound interesting, although I'm not sure if Half Elf v5 sounds like it's something that I'd really like or not. I'm waffling here. Beeswax and honey can miss the mark on me, sometimes by a wide margin. But vanilla and wood are almost always good. First sniff: This reminds me of another scent, but I can't quite place it. Maybe it's a combination of a couple scents. I think possibly it's reminding me of The Light of Men's Lives mixed with something I can't put my finger on. There definitely seems to be beeswax here (it has that creamy, sweet waxiness to it that I associate with the Lab's beeswax note), but there's also something with an odd tanginess here I'm thinking it's some sort of honey. I haven't tried Glowing Vulva, but this is more or less what I imagine it smelling like. Wet on skin: Even more tangy than in the imp. I also start to get some of the wood that other reviewers have noted. It's faint, but it's there. I can't identify what sort of wood it is, but it smells like some sort of blonde wood. Something with a gentle, almost feminine scent, rather than the intense woodiness of something like cedar or mahogany. Dry down: Definitely beeswax (creamy, almost silky smelling), tangy honey and light, pale woods. There could be some sort of white florals here but I can't pin it down any more than that (since I'm not a floral fan and I tend to be at a loss to identify anything other than rose, lilac and honeysuckle). The bottom line: Half Elf v5 is delicate and feminine but not your standard florals and vanilla sort of "girly" scent. It's pretty, but not really my style. I am glad I got to try it, though and I can see why other people like this one. I think part of the issue here is that I love the smell of real beeswax, but (for some reason) the Lab's beeswax note never seems to work for me. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me and it borders on turning my stomach. I'm also not a huge fan of the tanginess of the honey in this. If I'm going to wear a honey scent, it needs to be a soft, sweet honey rather than the almost citrusy type that's in blends like this. ADDED May 19: Origin: Tester from Scrappy. Preconceived notions: I actually didn't read the reviews before trying Half-Elf v5, so I didn't really have any preconceived notions about it. I would expect something at least somewhat ethereal and delicate (the Elf part), but other than that, I've got no idea. Sometimes blind adventures are fun. First sniff: Hmm...tangy but sweet at the same time. Weirdly enough, it makes me think of a gourmet take on an orange cremesicle. That's probably not even remotely helpful, but that's what I get from it at this point. Wet on skin: Okay, this is definitely honey. The first time I tried it on my skin, it was very similar to the scent in the decant, but now that it's had time to recover from its trip through the mail system, it's settled down. Now it's a slightly tangy honey scent with a hint of musk and maybe a very light touch of some sort of blonde wood. It reminds me a bit of the honey blends from the Rappacini's Apiary line. It's not your standard, simple honey scent. It's still fairly simple, but it's not just a sweet glob of scent. It could be some sort of wildflower honey, maybe mixed with honey from some sort of citrus tree. Dry down: Soft, slightly musky honey. Still a bit tangy and with maybe a touch of very light florals. It's delicate and ethereal, just like I'd imagined. The bottom line: Half-Elf v5 is a pretty scent, no doubt. It's not my usual sort of thing, but I like it. I think it would probably layer fairly nicely with some of the released RPG scents.

Origin: Lagniappe in a swap. Preconceived notions: Leather is hit or miss with me. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I could take it or leave it and sometimes it outright turns my stomach. But as soon as I read the reviews, I had to try this. I love the idea of a smoky leather and wood scent. First sniff: Intense leather. It's a bit like what I remember Dead Man's Hand smelling like (although the last time I smelled DMH was years ago, so I could be remembering wrong), but with an added layer of woodsmoke. If you took heavily-scented brown leather and left it next to a fire where it could absorb some of the wood smoke, it would smell like this. Wet on skin: Even more like Dead Man's Hand (again, what I remember it smelling like, anyway). The smokiness disappears and I'm left with a strong, oiled brown leather scent. More "Old West" than "holy knight," but that's fine by me. Dry down: Now the wood's coming out. I think I smell oak here in addition to the leather. There's a slight woodsmoke scent here again, almost like smoked hickory. It doesn't smell like burning. It smells like leather that's been near a crackling fire. There's a very faint sweetness here, too. It's noticeable, but it blends so seamlessly with the leather that it's hard to pin down. I agree that it could be a sweet resin, which would be appropriate. The bottom line: This isn't quite what comes to mind when I think of what a paladin would smell like (I envision more metal armor, church incense and clean musk...basically the sort of notes in the released version), but that's not a bad thing. I really love the proto version. Paladin v3 is definitely on the masculine side and the leather is intense, so if that's not your thing, you might want to thank your lucky stars you don't need to try to track this one down.

Origin: #36 5mL from evanescence. Preconceived notions: This was described to me as vanilla and light honeydew melon (or green melon of some sort). While I hate eating honeydew (and most other types of melon except for watermelon), I'm learning that I really love the smell of it in BPAL blends. I've never had fantastic luck with Chaos blends. There have been ones I've liked (both received from the Lab and bought with a general idea of the notes), but none have ever been OMG-amazing on me. I'm almost hoping I don't love this because I'm a slatherer and a hoarder and it's rough knowing I've only got one bottle of something I love. But the description of this sounds so pretty that I couldn't pass up trying it and risking falling in love. First sniff: Sweet, sugary melon (like melon syrup or very ripe fresh melon) and vanilla. I think it is honeydew, but the vanilla's sweetening it up to where it seems like it could be a mix of honeydew and another type of melon, something light pink, but not quite watermelon. I really like this so far. Wet on skin: Melon balls rolled in vanilla sugar. I get a little bit more fresh fruit than syrup now and it's lovely. This one seems to fall into the same rule-breaking category for me as 51 does. It's feminine and pretty and not my normal style, but I love it. Dry down: Fresh, sweet, juicy honeydew sprinkled liberally with vanilla sugar. This is actually pretty close to what I imagined Fée would smell like (in spite of all the florals) and somewhat like I remember it smelling like when it was fresh (my decants of Fee have turned into super strong watermelon Jolly Ranchers as they've aged, weirdly enough), but without the light florals. The bottom line: I've officially fallen in love with a Chaos blend for the first time. #36 smells whimsical, which I'm really enjoying. I don't have enough fun, light-hearted scents in my collection since my normal tastes run more toward the dark side, so I'm glad to have this to balance things out a little.

I'm thinking that tomorrow is a CD023 day. It's fun, sweet and pastel smelling, so it's perfect for Easter.

Origin: Frimpage! Preconceived notions: Leather is hit or miss on me, but it's been hitting the mark lately. Balsam is also hit or miss, but it usually works with leather. I don't think I've ever tried anything with red moss, so I'm not sure what to expect there, but I do love moss scents in general. I absolutely love The Black Rider and I like The White Rider, so hopefully this one's a winner, too. First sniff: When I first smelled this, it smelled like an (extemely strongly scented and extremely realistic) leather shop and not much else. Now, that's great if you like that sort of thing, but I don't. It's just too much leather for me. I let it set for probably about a month before trying it again and evidently it just needed to settle, because it smells amazing now. I get old, worn-in leather (I'm not sure what red leather would smell like, but I would say this smells more like brown leather than black) and something that smells like a dry, woody red musk even though it's not listed in the notes. Wet on skin: So good! No real change in the notes, but everything is sort of warming up and blooming on my skin. I get delicious worn-in leather and woody red musk (which I'm guessing is probably a quirk of the red leather...or maybe red leather is regular leather plus red musk?). Dry down: Still the same, although the notes are less distinct now. The Red Rider dries down into a sexy, almost rugged (but still unisex) leather and musk blend. I don't get any moss (unless the moss is what I'm smelling as red musk) and definitely no balsam. This is like the leathery cousin of Tarot: Judgement, which makes me very happy. The bottom line: I absolutely love this and I'm going to be needing a bottle (or bottles) immediately. At first, I thought it was going to be one of those eerily realistic scents that I keep around and wear now and then as a sort of novelty, but I was completely wrong. This is gorgeous.

Origin: Testable sniffy from a generous forumite. Preconceived notions: I actually tried Elf v4 before reading the reviews, so I didn't really go into it expecting anything in particular, other than my own mental image of what an elf would smell like. And what would an elf smell like, you ask? Ethereal and delicate. Vanilla, soft musk (probably skin musk), maybe some gentle blonde woods and/or light florals, possibly even some amber. And while that's not my usual style, it sounded awesome in my head. First sniff: Similar to Antique Lace, but with stronger vanilla. Yes, I know, it seems like every vanilla proto there is gets compared to Antique Lace, but this really is in the same vein. Wet on skin: No change at all. A soft, smooth vanilla. It's not foody, particularly, but it is sweet. There seems to be some sort of super gentle skin musk here, too. This is basically what I imagined Celeste to be based on the initial reviews of the prototype (only vanilla instead of cotton candy). This is so pretty; definitely ethereal and elfin. Dry down: Elf v4 is no morpher, that's for sure. Very linear. Once it dries, I get a little wafting cloud of soft, airy vanilla (I don't know enough about vanilla to differentiate between types, so I'll leave that to the other reviewers) and skin musk. Simple and pretty. I think I would have been a little worried about the fact that most other reviewers are mentioning florals if I'd read the reviews before testing this, but it wouldn't have needed to, because I don't get any florals at all from this. That doesn't mean that they're not there. They could be, but they must be extremely well-blended and light if they're in here. The bottom line: Elf v4 is a thing of beauty. I can see why this was the standout of the trunk show protos. This is one of those scents that manage to lure me away from my love of dark woods, resins, dirt and patchouli for a little tryst with something more feminine and delicate.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I passed over this scent for the longest time, even after reading reviews, mainly because of the mention of florals. I hate florals (with very few exceptions), even when they're blended with other notes, and they have the real potential to ruin a scent for me. But Amaterasu v3 gets so many rave reviews that I ended up caving. I figure if it doesn't work for me, I can get rid of it pretty easily. Plus amber and resins/incense are almost always winners and I like leather a lot of the time. First sniff: Sweet, sweet golden amber. Everything else is hiding behind the amber, but I'm thinking there's some vanilla and some resins of some sort here. Maybe a touch of some sort of golden wood, possibly even a very light touch of cedar. Wet on skin: This goes even sweeter on my skin and then suddenly gets very faint. I have to stick my nose up close to get a good sniff of it. Inez does the same thing, only nowhere near as much as Amaterasu. I think my skin eats amber to a certain degree, because I get a bit of fading with most amber-heavy scents. Dry down: As Amaterasu v3 dries, the scent strengthens a bit again, but it's not a strong scent by any means (on me, anyway). I get sweet amber (so sweet and rich that it smells almost like vanilla, but not foody), a light touch of what seems to be some sort of ultra-soft, supple golden leather and some light musk (skin musk, probably, but maybe even honey musk). There could be some very faint, gentle florals here, but if they're here, they're so well-blended that they don't stand out to my nose (which is what usually happens with florals, no matter how subtle they are). The bottom line: This is really pretty and beautifully feminine. It's a golden, almost glowing scent; soft, sweet and warm. It borders on being too sweet for me at some stages, but it settles into something really lovely as it dries.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I really like Madame Moriarty. It has a tendency to go through a slightly funky stage on me before settling into something amazing, though, so I'm kind of hoping that this version might avoid that issue. Everything about v3 sounds great from the reviews, so I've got pretty high hopes. First sniff: Lovely. This reminds me of Snake Charmer mixed with Madame Moriarty, which is good because I love both. It's sweet but not in a foody way. I get rich, sweet amber, smoky vanilla and dark plum. Wet on skin: Basically the same as in the bottle, but with some musk now. It's probably red musk, but it's not as strong as the musk in the released version. Dry down: Sweet, resinous amber, smoked vanilla, black plum and dark, mysterious musk (it's hard to say what kind exactly, but I'm thinking it's a mixture). This is lighter than Madame Moriarty and sweeter, too, without the deep patchouli. It also doesn't go through the funky phase that the released version does on my skin. This is like Madame Moriarty's younger sister who's just getting started in the fortune telling business, building up her mysterious image along with her collection of velvet dresses and smoky eyeliners. The bottom line: If you find Mme. Moriarty too heavy or intense, this will probably be right up your alley. Likewise if you're a fan of Snake Charmer. I really like Misfortune Teller v3 and I'm very glad I got a bottle, although if I had to pick either the released version or V3, I'd go with the released version. I tend to wear darker, stronger scents and I love the patchouli in the released version. Both are beautiful, though, and both will be staying in my collection.

Origin: 5mL from Scrappy. Preconceived notions: I had to try one when I saw it being described as vanilla musk. Something about that combination is really appealing to me, plus I love weird bugs. I'm not sure about the other notes being mentioned. Sassafras is generally okay and amber and sandalwood are good, but balsam is hit or miss. And I hate powdery scents. But I have a feeling this was going to work for some reason, so I splurged on a bottle unsniffed. Hopefully it was the right decision. First sniff: Vanilla musk and sassafras with something almost herbal. That could just be the sassafras doing strange things in combination with everything else, though. I don't get any balsam from this at all. Wet on skin: Same as in the bottle. It's not bad, but it's not great, either. Dry down: Now I like this. I can see why people are calling this powdery, because it leaning in that direction, but for me it's more creamy than powdery. I haven't tried The Anti-Saloon League to compare this to, but I can see the resemblance based on the review I've read of ASL. Dried, Phyllocrania Paradoxa v1 is creamy, non-foody vanilla, slightly powdery musk (not a dark musk and definitely not red...I'm leaning more towards either skin or white, probably skin musk), a very slight hint of sassafras and a tiny bit of something herbal (that, again, could just be the sassafras). In some ways, it's a cousin to Celeste, but with sassafras instead of saffron and without the sugariness. The bottom line: This is lovely. It's feminine and soft and gentle and doesn't smell at all like I would think something named after the ghost mantis would smell like (I'm not sure what it would smell like in my mind, but I think it would be something more woodsy and brown, although I can see this being a "ghost" sort of scent). From what I've heard, the other versions of Phyllocrania are very different than this, so maybe I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

Origin: Tester from a lovely forumite. Preconceived notions: I'm curious about Gothabilly (and I'm glad I get to try it) but I don't really expect it to work for me. Cherry is one of those notes that essentially never works for me. I like the smell of cherries, I just don't generally want to wear them as perfume, plus they can smell like almond to me. I hate almond. I'm also not overly fond of black vanilla in spite of liking most other types. About the only "safe" thing here is Egyptian musk. First sniff: Sweet, dark, almost velvety cherry and dark vanilla. It's sweet but not quite syrupy. This really shouldn't appeal to me, but I'm kind of liking it, strangely enough. Wet on skin: Same as in the tester, with maybe a little more vanilla. Dry down: Apparently Gothabilly is one of those rule-breaker BPAL scents, the ones that shouldn't work but do anyway, because I'm really liking this. Once it dries, I end up with black cherry liquer (it doesn't smell boozy exactly, but it has that almost syrupy quality that liquers tend to have, without being cloying), smooth, dark vanilla and a touch of musk. I smell edible in a sexy way. This isn't an innnocent, fun gourmand scent. It's grown-up and a little dark and more sensual than it is foody. This is a strong scent on me. I put on a little dab and went outside to get the mail and could smell it wafting up from my wrist when a breeze hit it. Which is good since it means that my tester will last longer than it would otherwise. The bottom line: A surprise winner. I've never encountered a cherry scent that worked on me before. Combine that with the fact that there's black vanilla here and there's plenty of reasons why I should dislike Gothabilly. But it works. It's not something I'd wear every day, but I feel sexy in this and there's definitely a place in my collection for something like that.

Origin: 5mL bought on LiveJournal. Preconceived notions: I've been thinking about trying Creature Feature for quite a while now. There was a point where I didn't like musk scents at all. Sometime during my BPAL hiatus, that changed drastically and now I love musk scents, as long as they don't go powdery or pungent on me. I've seen comparisons of Creature Feature to Ivanushka (which I love), so I'm I get something similar. I'd also love to get the resins that other people have mentioned. But the idea of there being lime in this scares me a bit. I don't like citrus scents at all and lime heads the list of "do not want" citrus notes. So I'm not sure which way this one's going to go, hence the reason I've been putting off trying it. First sniff: Creamy musk (it does remind me of Ivanushka; Raven Moon, too, for some reason) with...lime. Definitely lime to my nose. It's got an green juiciness to it on top of all that beautiful musk. This isn't a good start. Wet on skin: A bit of lime, but mainly creamy musk. I also get a little bit of what could very well be resins. They're soft and subtle but I love the effect they add to the musk. Now if the lime would just disappear everything would be great. Dry down: The lime's gone! It takes a while, but it does disappear on me and I'm left with gorgeous Ivanushka-esque musk mixed with what definitely seems to be smooth resins of some sort. It's almost velvety smelling, like Ivanushka and Raven Moon, and I'm loving it. The bottom line: If I had more space in my favorites box or didn't already have Ivanushka and Raven Moon in it, Creature Feature would be finding a new home in it. I love this one in spite of the touch-and-go lime stage. The drydown is beautiful.

Origin: 5mL of #47 bought on LJ. Preconceived notions: This was described to me as pear. Nothing else, just pear. But since everyone's nose and skin chemistry is unique, I'm sure there'll be more to it than that once I actually try this. First sniff: Pear for sure. And gummy bears? It has a sweet, candy fruitiness that makes me think of the smell of cherry/pineapple gummy worms. Kind of strange, but that's what I'm getting. Wet on skin: No gummy bears. Just intense, juicy, candy-like pear. This isn't the delicate pear of Juliet or Quincy Morris. It's mega pear. In-your-face pear. Dry down: This is really nice. It reminds me a little bit of The Perilous Parlor, only nowhere near as sweet and vanillic. Instead it's as if someone took some of the vanilla out of The Perilous Parlor, amped up the pear and then added a little bit of some sort of creamy, fluffy musk to it. The bottom line: Love this! The wet stage isn't really for me (too intensely fruity), but the drydown is very pretty. Glad I took a chance on this one. Chaos blends tend to be hit or miss with me and I've never had one that I really loved everything about, so this is a first.

Origin: 5mL bought on LiveJournal. Preconceived notions: I was attracted to Trachelophorus Giraffe from the get-go just because of the name, plus I love strange bugs, so I had to try this no matter what it smelled like. But it sounds good to me. I like green scents. Not sure what type of green to expect, but I'm expecting to like this. First sniff: What a weird scent. Definitely sweet (not in a candy sort of way, more like nectar of some sort) and green (a bit like fresh-cut grass, a bit like the way tree leaves taste (if that makes sense to anyone but me). It almost has a hint of sweet fruitiness like peach juice to it, too, but that could be the mysterious sweet note playing tricks with me. Wet on skin: Whoa, bitter! This goes from sweet and green to pungently bitter with a soapy cleanness to it, which I don't like. I'm thinking that there's a very good chance that this either has dandelion in it or something very similar (which would make more sense since I don't think dandelions would really go with a scent named after a weevil from Madagascar). I'm assuming that because the same thing (sudden, overwhelming bitterness in a green scent) happens when I put on One to Tie, Two to Win. It seems to be a skin chemistry thing and it usually goes away. Dry down: Just like One to Tie, Trachelophorus Giraffe (I love the name, so fun to say) calms down after a little while, so it's definitely a skin chemistry thing. In the end, I get a really unique sweet green scent. It's not as sweet as in the bottle, but it's pretty close. It makes me think of sweetgrass more than nectar at this point. It's a fairly soft scent, too, once it dries. The bottom line: Honestly, I'm not sure what's in this, but it's one of the most unique BPAL scents I've tried. All I know, coming out of testing this is that: (1) It's a sweet, green scent that's not quite like any other BPAL blend I can think of. (2) There's something in here that my skin chemistry reacts to the way it does the dandelion in One to Tie, Two to Win, but the time for the Evil Bitterness of Doom to disappear is much shorter in Trachelophorus, so I can (thankfully) wear it on my skin instead of relegating it to a locket. (3) I love the name and the inspiration for this one (who wouldn't love a freaky looking weevil with a giraffe neck?) and for that reason alone I'm glad I ended up with a bottle. I wasn't sure this was going to work when I smelled it out of the bottle, and I really didn't think it was going to work during the wet stage, but the drydown is actually really nice.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I originally bought this with only the first review to go by, so I was just expecting a soft leather scent. Now that I've seen cfrancesca's review, I'm expecting something even more awesome, because I love red musk and patchouli. First sniff: Very strong red musk. I have a feeling that CBBOB1 didn't smell so strongly of red musk when it was available at the trunk show (I'm basing that on my experience with red musk getting much stronger as it ages), hence the reason it wasn't mentioned in the first review. I also get a hint of leather here, but it's mainly a red musk blend. It reminds me in some ways of Lust v7 and Tarot: Judgement (both favorites of mine), but CBBOB1 is definitely not a dupe for either, more like a distant relative. Wet on skin: Red musk and soft leather with just a touch of what could be patchouli. It's very slightly earthy and smoky, but mainly CBBOB1 is red musk with a soft backing of leather. And it smells really good. Dry down: This one's a hard one to pin down. On one hand, it reminds me somewhat of Krampus without the rags and switches. On the other hand, it is somewhat like Spanked + red musk. They're very different scents, but somehow this reminds me of both (Krampus in the early drydown and Spanked in the late drydown). There's an awkward stage during the drydown where CBBOB1 goes a bit harsh and chemically (oddly, Krampus has started doing the same thing after the first few times I wore it, which makes me think that it's a skin chemistry thing reacting with a certain kind of red musk) before settling back down. It takes a while for the leather note to finally soften up and settle down but it does, given enough time, although it never quite reaches the softness of the leather note in Spanked. In the end, I wind up with the soft scent of (broken-in) black leather, red musk (somewhat masculine rather than the round, rich version I get from most BPAL red musk blends) and a touch of something smoky. There could be some patchouli hiding in here, because I get a touch of the musty, slightly earthiness that makes me think of black patchouli, but it's definitely not a major player. At least not on me. The bottom line: I wish that the drydown was the same as either the bottle scent or the wet stage. Or that I could avoid the awkward stage in the middle), because I like the actual "final scent" quite a bit. It's just not the amazing, instant favorite scent that it has the potential to be thanks to my skin chemistry. I'll be keeping mine, but I may wear it in one of my scent lockets or only wear it on days where I've got plenty of time to let it work out the kinks in the drydown (and try to avoid smelling myself in the meantime).

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: I've never tried the released version of Cake Smash. I was on my BPAL hiatus when it was released and I'm not sure I would have tried it anyway. Somehow the idea of food + other BPAL scents combined doesn't sound particularly awesome to me, plus I don't really like Doc Constantine. I may have tried it, though. Hard to say either way. Anyway, I'm not a huge foody scent fan. There are some that I genuinely love and there are some that I absolutely despise and can't get far enough away from. But cake scents tend to work fairly well for me (MB: Closet is a favorite of mine and so is Eat Me), so I'm hopeful that Cake Smash v6 will follow the same pattern. First sniff: Big blast of cream cheese frosting. Sniffing the bottle is like sticking my nose right into a tub of frosting and taking a bit snoot-full. Very sweet, very sugary and very foody. I like the smell of frosting, but I don't want to smell like it. At least not on its own. Give me some cake to go with it and it should be fine. Wet on skin: Now the cake is coming out. I can see the comparisons to cake mix, but it seems somewhere in between cake mix and actual cake (yellow cake, to be exact) to my nose. I still get frosting, but it's toned down and it seems to be a mix of cream cheese and buttercream. Could just be particularly sweet cream cheese frosting, though, since I'm not sure that two types of frosting notes would be mixed in a scent like this. Dry down: Very slightly spicy cake (like a yellow cake and a spice cake had a baby), with sugary frosting (buttercream now that it's dry). Very foody and very sweet. It's in the same vein as MB: Closet and I'm actually really enjoying it in spite of my hit or miss record with gourmand scents. The bottom line: I'm glad I got a bottle of this. It's not the sort of scent I'd wear every day, but it's going to be fun to wear when I'm in the mood for something fun and foody.

Origin: 5mL from the Lab. Preconceived notions: Full disclosure: I hate lemon scents. And I'm not too fond of blueberry scents, either. Pie crust and hemlock can go either way. This is one of those scents that really shouldn't work for me but that I just had to buy anyway, this time because I love the label art. I hate clowns and so, of course (thanks to my twisted attitude towards things like this), I'm drawn to the idea of the Coulrophobia line and this one in particular, with its creepy, man-eating clown label. First sniff: Lemon pie filling and graham cracker crust. Maybe a touch of whipped cream and meringue. Very foody and I'm kind of enjoying the lemon note, amazingly enough. I wouldn't say I love it, but it's certainly not bad. I think that maybe it's the fact that it's a sweet, sugary lemon that's keeping me from being repelled by it. Wet on skin: As soon as Bones Trombone hits my skin, the lemon goes momentarily crazy and amps up, getting more sour and more fruity as it goes. Then it calms back down, although it's got a tiny bit of a lemon Pledge sort of vibe to it at this point. I don't really smell anything other than lemon at this stage. Dry down: Aaaaaand, we're back. Once Bones Trombone dries, it reverts back to something almost identical to the bottle scent. I get sugary lemon pie filling, pie crust that smells somewhere between a graham cracker crust and a standard pastry crust and a light, fluffy touch of meringue. The hemlock and blueberry never put in an appearance, which is fine by me, because I could take or leave either one. The bottom line: Bones Trombone isn't my favorite scent. It's not even my favorite Monster Bait scent (Closet gets that honor). But it is one that's probably going to stick around in my collection, although I don't know how often I'll end up wearing it.

Silas Ruthyn. It's dark, sweet and intense. Very mysterious smelling.