Penance

This scent is pure nostaglia for me in the best possible way.

First sniff:

Wow! Rich, sweet and sinfully, tooth-rottingly delicious smelling. It smells exactly like the rum glaze my mom used to make for rum rolls when I was little...it was basically brown sugar, butter and rum extract. It had the most delicious, rot-your-teeth smell to it and it tasted even better. I was worried about the fruit in this one, but I don't smell any at all.

Wet on skin:

Carmelized brown sugar...I'm addicted to the smell of brown sugar so this is a very good thing. I don't normally go for foody or overly sweet scents, but for some reason this one's pushing all my buttons in just the right way.

Dry down:

Back to the rum glaze again! Hurrah! This smells so good to me, my teeth are almost aching just from the pure sugary heaven of it! I'm definitely glad I got two bottles of this one.

The bottom line:

Bottled childhood happiness. This brings back so many good memories (and makes me hungry for rum rolls, I might add). I love it! Kudos to Beth and the Lab for the happy memories!

I think Zombi's a hit or miss scent for rose fans. On me, there's absolutely no rose at all, which is fantastic since I hate rose. I know, blasphemy, right?

Okay, I've never tried O, so I can't say if this is a close cousin or not, but...

First sniff:

Honey and ylang-ylang maybe? There's something that smells like honey and something spicy and floral at the same time, which I'm guessing is the ylang-ylang. I could be wrong, though. It wouldn't surprise me.

Wet on skin:

Very almondy for some reason. I'm sorely tempted to wash it off because of my infamous almond phobia, but I'll wait it out since it smelled quite nice in the vial.

Dry down:

There we go. No more almonds of doom. Now it smells like honey and spice/florals again. There's a smidgen more spice now than there was in the beginning and I'm finding I really like this. I'm not sure if it's me or not, though.

The bottom line:

I think this one's going to need a couple more tries before I can decide for sure and certain whether or not it's for me. I like it on one whiff, love it on another and feel kind of queasy on a third, so time shall tell whether or not this one will be a success or a failure.

First sniff:

Mmm, earthy and resiny at the same time. I definitely smell patchouli in here which is wonderful since I love patchouli with a passion.

Wet on skin:

The earthiness drowns out the resin notes, leaving an almost pure patchouli smell that I absolutely adore. I love resins, too, but patchouli is my first love and the one that I pick over all other smells. This is fantastic.

Dry down:

Very earthy and musty. I don't smell any resin notes anymore, only patchouli. This is so wonderful. I never would have expected it to be so earthy from the description. To me, it's not golden, it's a dark, earthy brown, very grounded and calm smelling.

The bottom line:

An instant favorite. This is definitely going on the big bottle wishlist immediately!

This is one of my all-time favorite scents. I don't know why I ordered a 5mL bottle and not a 10mL one, but I think I'm getting another bottle in my next order.

First sniff:

Incense and cinnamon. Oh, God, this has my name written all over it. This is so beautiful and smoky and spicy and just...perfect.

Wet on skin:

Sweet incense smoke, like the inside of a Cathedral on Christmas Eve. This is so beautiful I can't even begin to describe it. It's like this was created just for me. It's resiny without being headache inducing (for those around me, not for me, resins never give me a headache) and it's spicy without smelling like a bakery. In short, this is pure perfection.

Dry down:

A light waft of sweet incense, like the smell that's left on your clothes after you've been to Mass. This is so beautiful, an instant favorite. I can't believe I waited to long to review it.

The bottom line:

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. It's so beautiful and calming and peaceful smelling to me. I love this even more than I love Cathedral and I adore Cathedral.

Got an imp of this from SoapyRN.

First sniff:

Fig and...cocoa? I don't know where in the hell that's coming from. There's also something that smells like crushed grape leaves (not sure what that is, either) and something very earthy which is probably the patchouli.

Wet on skin:

Dried figs and cocoa (what in the hell is that?!). There's also an undertone of crushed greens and earthiness. I was worried I wouldn't like this, but this is fantastic! I get the distinct impression of a trampled path in the forest, beautiful but ruined at the same time.

Dry down:

Nephilim dries down to a very light scent on me. It turns into very light dried figs and something vaguely sweet (maybe the tamarind?). This is beautiful in all its stages, although I wish it would stay stronger since I like a strong scent.

The bottom line:

I tried this on a whim and I'm thrilled with the result! This is really beautiful; it's fruity without being too fruity (a huge plus for me), it's earthy (I love earthy) and it's woodsy (I love woodsy, too) all at once. A definite winner.

I got an imp of Chaos Theory XCIX from grrrlennyl.

First sniff:

Pine and...cinnamon maybe? I smell something spicy underneath the pine topnote. I'm guessing it's cinnamon, which is fine by me because I love cinnamon.

Wet on skin:

The pine really amplifies as soon as it hits my skin, but the cinnamon (I'm sure it's cinnamon now) starts popping up again within seconds. The result is surprisingly beautiful...it almost reminds me of Hamadryad in that it's spicy and woodsy at the same time. Very interesting!

Dry down:

Both the pine and cinnamon are at about equal intensity now. It's very Christmasy smelling, actually, like a pine wreath hanging in a kitchen where cinnamon cookies are baking.

The bottom line:

I really like this! I love cinnamon and pine, so this is a definite, hands-down winner for me.

I really like this one...let's just leave it at that for now.

First sniff:

Cinnamon? There's something else there, too, but I'm getting a very distinct impression of cinnamon. I love cinnamon so that's fine by me.

Wet on skin:

Cinnamon red hots! Wow, that's pretty freaky, but wonderful because I love that smell even if I don't like the taste.

Dry down:

Cinnamon red hots and a vague powdery undertone. Does it work? I think I can answer that with an emphatic yes. I'll leave it at that for now, since I don't want to go offending anyone with the details, so...uh...yeah. "

The bottom line:

I wouldn't care what it smelled like as long as it works, but I got a bonus in this one in that it smells fantastic and it works! And I do mean works.

This was part of my very first BPAL order and I thought I'd love it, but I've since learned aquatics are not my friend.

First sniff:

Aquatic but almost sweet at the same time. I was expecting something salty like...well, like tears, but I got something that smelled vaguely like slightly salty water mixed with some sort of sweet syrup. It's an odd combination and not at all what I expected. Maybe my nose is out of whack, since no one else seems to have gotten this, but I'm just calling it as I see it...or, in this case, smell it.

Wet on skin:

This reminds me of Bayou only without the floral notes. It's aquatic and vaguely salty but almost floral at the same time. The sweetness seems to have disappeared leaving me with a pure aquatic note. I'm having a somewhat unsettling reaction to this one and I'm not sure why. It's not that it reminds me of anything troubling, it just makes me feel a little uncomfortable for no apparent reason.

Dry down:

Pretty much the same as wet. It reminds me of the smell of dried tears on my cheeks after I've been crying and I really don't feel comfortable wearing it. It's not because it brings back bad memories, it just makes me feel a little creeped out for some reason. I wanted to like this, but apparently it doesn't like me.

The bottom line:

Another aquatic scent that doesn't get along with me. This one really made me feel uncomfortable and a little creeped out, so I'm going to get rid of it.

Got this as a freebie in my first Halloween order and I was thrilled because it was on my wishlist and I thought I'd love it, but...things didn't quite work out...

First sniff:

Minty and aquatic. I've never smelled lotus on its own, so I'm guessing that's what's causing the aquatic vibe I'm picking up. I don't smell any juniper, which is a shame because I love juniper. All I'm getting it mint and something that smells almost like salt water but slightly...sour? I'm no good at describing aquatic scents, so bear with me.

Wet on skin:

The mint disappears as soon as it hits my skin, leaving an aquatic, almost floral, note behind. It's an odd aquatic note, almost impossible to describe, and it's threatening to turn into something that smells like toilet bowl cleaner on me. I'm thinking it's the lotus doing this, since Blood Lotus did the same thing on my skin.

Dry down:

The toilet bowl cleaner stage is gone and I'm left with a slightly minty aquatic/floral note again. I really don't know where to begin in describing this scent, which I suppose must be the lotus. It's aquatic but almost sour (which I'm sure is the result of my body chemistry and not the scent) and vaguely floral at the same time.

The bottom line:

This is definitely not for me. I really don't think aquatic notes get along too well with my skin chemistry since most of the ones I've tried have turned sour and bordered on crossing into toilet bowl cleaner territory. I guess it's time to give up the ghost on aquatics.

Off to swaps with it; I'm sure someone out there will be able to wear it and make it smell beautiful.

I'd say March Hare might be a good choice, it's not too grown up smelling although I, personally, wear it quite often. It's very pretty and I could see a little girl wearing it.

I'd also say Bon Vivant would probably be a good choice even though I hate it (it smells too much like strawberry lipgloss to me and brings back some bad memories).

Alice would also be a good choice, even though (once again) I don't like it.

I get horrible migraines, too, and I'll back up what's been said about mint and migraines...mint makes me horribly nauseous when I have a migraine (I learned it the hard way trying to brush my teeth when I had one, not fun).

Although I have heard that peppermint oil is fantastic for headaches, I don't think it works for me.

Kumiho's a little on the sharp side for me when I have a headache, so I personally avoid it at times like that.

Pele would probably be a good choice, nice and light and calming. I've found it's very benign when it comes to wearing perfume during a headache, it's light enough not to make it worse and very pretty and calming smelling.

Just my two cents, though.

This is, without a doubt, one of my absolute favorite BPAL scents ever. I'm so sad to see it go and even sadder to know that I never got a bottle of it because I never expected to see it go.

First sniff:

Cedar, extremely strong cedar. I adore cedar, so this is a very good thing. I can also smell something resiny underneath the cedar and looking at the description, it must be hte frankincense. I've never been good at identifying frankincense or myrrh on their own, so it's no surprise that I couldn't pinpoint them in Damnation. I don't smell the vetiver, but that's probably because the cedar is so overwhelming.

Wet on skin:

This does smell like a darker version of Cathedral! It doesn't strike an "evil" cord with me, it's actually very comforting smelling. It smells like a Cathedral built out of old, worn cedar and filled with the smell of incense smoke, the smoke working its way into the wood and being trapped inside. This is absolutely gorgeous.

Dry down:

It's lightened up considerably, but the cedar is still prominent, overpowering the smell of incense but not covering it up entirely. This is so beautiful and so comforting to me. I could see myself wearing this every day if it hadn't been discontinued. Now I'll have to ration it, but I'll cherish it for as long as I have it. Absolutely gorgeous.

The bottom line:

Dark, deep and cedary, like an church in the forest built out of rough-hewn cedar and imprinted with the smell of incense smoke. This is at the very top of my favorite BPAL scents list. I love it.

Got an imp of this in a swap hoping I'd love it since I love patchouli and ginger (on their own at any rate).

First sniff:

Patchouli underscored with a sweetness (the ginger?) and a floral note (the orange blossom). I love patchouli and all earthy scents, but, frankly, I'm worried that this one's going to be too sickly sweet for me. I don't do sweet and I don't normally do girly scents, so this might have been a bad choice. I'll try it, though, because you never know what some of these might turn into once they hit your skin.

Wet on skin:

An almost candy-like sweetness, like candied orange peels, covering a base of earthy patchouli. This one's wavering between earthy and cloying sweetness on me and it's not looking good.

Dry down:

No change, unfortunately. I love patchouli on its own and I like ginger, but somehow the two together seem to have morphed into some sort of ubersweet liquer with candied orange peel in it.

The bottom line:

Definitely not for me. I prefer earthy/woodsy scents and this is just not cutting it. Off to swaps with it. Hopefully someone else will be able to put it to some use.

First sniff:

Wow...did I get a mislabeled imp? This smells exactly like Queen of Spades. I smell dark purple fruits; plums most prominently and some blackberry behind it. The only difference I can smell between this and the Queen is there's no incense notes here.

Wet on skin:

Fruity but not too fruity. This smells like Queen of Spades without the incense notes. As soon as it hits my skin, the blackberry amplifies, which is fine by me because I love blackberries. I don't normally go for fruity scents, but this is gorgeous. It's dark and rich and deep smelling and not too feminine like most fruit blends are. I really like the way it smells on me.

Dry down:

Deep, juicy blackberry with a hint of plum. If I sniff deep enough, I can barely smell the tiniest hint of coconut. It's a gorgeous blend, dark and mysterious and elegant. The perfect compliment to the Queen.

The bottom line:

Elegant, sophisticated, dark and mysterious. To my nose, it smells like a darker, less resiny Queen of Spades. This is definitely one of my favorite blends.

Nope, I'm the baby of the family. I've got an older brother...9 years older, to be exact, so I guess I may as well be the only child.

The best part is I don't have to pay her back. She never takes the money when I try to, she just says to keep it and spend it on something nice. She's a real marvel sometimes. I always tell her I want to be like her when I grow up...although it's a little late for that now seeing as how I'm 22 and kind of grown up as it is.

First sniff:

Dark, very dark. I smell, let's see...tobacco most prominently, followed by bittersweet chocolate and then the faintest hint of incense. This smells exactly the way I imagined it would! It's a very comforting scent for me for some reason, perhaps because of the association it has for me of seeing death in a positive light. I'm dealing with a couple of losses myself right now and that viewpoint is a welcome one right at the moment.

Wet on skin:

Tobacco very strongly, the moist, rich kind that my grandfather used to smoke in his pipe. The chocolate is still there, too, deepening the tobacco and making it sweet and rich. I can't smell the incense now that it's on my skin and that's a shame, but it still smells beautiful. I don't smell any flowers either, which is just fine by me because I don't like floral perfumes.

Dry down:

Sweet, but not in a cloying way, and rich. It smells like pipe tobacco mixed with chocolate with the slightest hint of incense. This is absolutely gorgeous, I think I like it even more than Samhain!

The bottom line:

This exceeeded my expectations. It's everything I could want in an autumnal perfume and more! Everything blends so wonderfully that it just paints the most wonderful mental image of an altar to the dead, piled high with sweets and tobacco and drinks and waiting for the those who have passed on. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

This was a generous freebie from the Lab and one I probably wouldn't have picked out on my own.

First sniff:

Very clean and sharp, almost to the point of being biting. In spite of the fact that there's no lemon listed in the description, it smells very lemony to me. There's also a very clear, sharp ginger component underneath it. This is almost aggressively clean unlike something like, say, Neo-Tokyo which is tranquilly clean. I'll give it a shot, but I don't know that it will work for me since I prefer darker scents and don't care for lemon.

Wet on skin:

Lemony and very clean. It's actually not an unpleasant lemon even though I don't care for citrus scents as a general rule. The ginger is still there, too, making this scent even more biting and sharp. This isn't a soft, clean scent, it's hard-edged and dangerous; it's almost aggressively bright. I didn't think such a clean scent could smell so aggressive.

Dry down:

This one fades quite quickly on me, leaving a faint lemon and ginger scent that nevertheless manages to be no-nonsense. It reminds me of a hotshot female lawyer for some reason: perfectly coiffed and hard as nails. While it's not my normal kind of scent (I prefer darker, earthier scents), I think I'm going to keep it because it just screams feminine power to me.

The bottom line:

Clean, aggressive, hard-edged and biting. This is a no-nonsense, powerful clean scent that makes me feel like I could take on the world if I just put my mind to it. Not my usual cup of tea, but a nice change of pace, to be sure.

Yep, I already ordered 2 of Ice Queen and Gingerbread Poppet and 1 of Snow White, Hearth, Frost Moon and Midwinter's Eve.

My mom's too good to me. She really is, God bless her. She's such a great lady.

Okay, I did this scent without having the description handy, so maybe it shows and maybe not.

First sniff:

Sweet, spicy, floral and powdery all at once. I'm at a loss to truly classify it. The only note I can clearly pick out is carnation, This really does remind me of the time I spent in Morocco my freshman year of high school.

Wet on skin:

Powdery and spicy. I can smell the carnation quite clearly, but the other notes are a muddle to my nose. I'm becoming leary of this one because carnation has about a 50/50 chance of making me nauseous the way almond does. This is pretty, but I'm not sure it's me.

Dry down:

The scent has almost disappeared, leaving behind a faint spicy carnation scent mixed with something that reminds me almost exactly of honey butter.

The bottom line:

Pretty, but not for me. I'm nervous about the carnation, so I doubt I'd wear this one often enough to warrant keeping it. Off to the swap pile with it. Hopefully someone else will be able to put it to some use.

Wow, this one was a real shocker! Not at all what I had expected, but in a good way.

First sniff:

Buttery pumpkin, allspice, clove and something that smells vaguely like a bonfire. This a really autumnal smelling scent. I really like this so far!

Wet on skin:

Dry leaves at first and something that smells somewhat like a bonfire then it threatens to turn into cleaning solution for some reason, but, thankfully, it's shortlived. I can already smell it beginning to change again on me.

Dry down:

It smells like pipe tobacco! I couldn't put my finger on it at first, but it smells exactly like the inside of a pipe to me, not smoky, but sweet and rich like the tobacco itself. There's also something that smells vaguely like dry leaves and buttery pumpkin, but they're so faint that they're almost unnoticeable. This is a real surprise!

The bottom line:

Not at all what I expected, but gorgeous! I really love this one.

I'm buying another 5mL of Hearth today, I think, but it's going on my mom's credit card since I'm still flat broke (I literally have $0.44 in my bank account). But I did pay CtrlFreak back, so I'm in the clear on that.

Got an imp of this from Tempete.

First sniff:

Frankincense, very strong frankincense and a hint of cinnamon. This is like Penitence's spicier, softer sister. I don't smell any violet yet, but that's fine because I love the way it smells as is.

Wet on skin:

The frankincense immediately disappears as soon as this hits my skin and it turns into violets dipped in cinnamon sugar. Very powdery and softly spicy at the same time. I don't normally care for floral scents, but this is beautiful. The spiciness of the cinnamon keeps this from becoming headache inducing and the floral notes keep it from smelling like a bakery.

Dry down:

More powdery and slightly less spicy. The frankincense still hasn't made a reappearance, but I find that I'm not really missing it. This is so beautiful just the way it is that I don't think I'd want to chance ruining it by adding it into the mix. I really like this one!

The bottom line:

This one's a real shapeshifter. It goes from resiny and spicy to powdery and spicy in the space of seconds and both ends of the spectrum are just gorgeous. I really like this one.

Well, seeing as how I get about 5 wears out of an imp (I guess that classifies me as a slatherer, eh?), I'd say a 5mL would last me about a month if I wore it every day. I've never actually used an entire 5mL so that's just my quasi-scientific estimation.

Got an imp of this from BrownBat.

First sniff:

Sassafras and something spicy. I'm guessing it's the nutmeg. I'm a self-admitted sassafras addict, so this is wonderful. It's one of the only foody scents I can tolerate as a perfume and I wear it with total abandon.

Wet on skin:

Sassafras...strong sassafras. The nutmeg is also becoming somewhat more prominent and there's a growing smokiness to it that's absolutely gorgeous. This is a really unusual combination of notes, but it works so well! I'm in love with this one already.

Dry down:

The smokiness and sassafras are fighting for dominance and the result is gorgeous. It's not too sweet or foody and not too smoky and headache inducing. The two blend perfectly.

The bottom line:

I really love this one! I can't believe I didn't try it sooner.