lilirose

October smelled really, scarily bitter to me in the bottle- almost like bug spray- but I know better than to judge a scent before applying it to skin, so I gave it a chance anyway. The strong bitterness faded on drydown, and became the smell of leaves, smoke, and ozone. On me, the strongest, longest lasting note has the same note I've come to associate with aquatics, so I was surprised to re-read the description and notice the word "dry". I don't find October to be particularly masculine as so many other reviewers have, but at the same time, it doesn't have even the slightest hint of sweetness. It definitely creates a mood- though it's the first of October here, the leaves haven't really started to fall off the trees, but this scent seemed so autumn-y that it changed the entire feel of the day. This will make an awesome room scent- I have full intentions of using it as such- but I don't think I'll wear it again.

I don't get it. Siren turns into sort of a generic, musty incense smell on me. I can make out a slight gingery smell, but it doesn't have the "bite" I normally associate with ginger. In fact, it's downright soft- the vanilla doesn't amp like it normally does on my skin, but it apparently damps down everything else until this turns into a mishmash. I'm afraid this one's off to the swaps.

Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo has a lovely smell- not entirely unlike Van Van, but without the lemon, and more like a candy shop than a bakery. Wet, it's bright, fruity, and ultra-sweet. On drydown, it starts to have a creamy aspect along with the candy sweetness. I like the smell of this very much, though for some reason it seems a bit generic to me- there's nothing that, in my mind, really makes it stand out. I can't speak for its efficacy- I'm having an awful day and can't say it's made me feel better, but I'll definitely try it again in the future.

In the imp: Ooooh! Minty citrus goodness! On skin, wet: Fresh, bright citrus, bigtime! Can't pin it down to a single citrus note, but if I were held at knifepoint and forced to guess, I'd say grapefruit. It isn't even slightly orangey, nor is it foody. Drydown: I'm totally amazed. It's a citrus with far more throw than I ever thought a citrus could have. Very classy; clean without being soapy, bright without being overly sweet. I get hints of mint and lavender now and then but they don't dominate. Four hours later, it's still fresh, clean, and bright smelling. I wish I'd ordered a bottle instead of an imp. Definitely going on my ever-growing wish list. 4.5/5.

Whee! This one is super-sweet. I think I might have overdone it just a tad, though. In the imp: spicy-sweet, just as it should be. On skin, wet: OMG, I smell like a fresh vanilla pod, split and scraped into an ounce of honey. Way sweet. Drydown: Finally the Dragon's Blood arrives to add some depth and spice and just a tiny bit of natural "roughness". I like this very much. Eight hours after applying: Damn, this one has some major staying power. I may have over-slathered a bit (I can see that the Dragon's Blood has stained my wrists pale yellow) but even so, it's as strong now as it was an hour after I applied it. It's starting to make my head hurt a little, so I'll remember to go easy next time. And there definitely will be a next time. 4/5.

This has been on my "must try" list ever since I became interested in BPAL, and I'm glad I did! In the imp: It's strong and sweet and foody. Not having the description to hand, I thought I smelled coconut and possibly cherries (I really, really suck at picking out notes!). Wet on skin: Almonds like whoa! Very sweet, almost like almonds in honey. I totally slathered because it smelled wonderful. Drydown: The almonds hang around but become less overwhelming, and a gentle, sweet myrrh rises, giving this scent body and depth and doing away with the strong "edible almond" that dominated during the wet phase. I like Hecate very much. I think it's a fitting tribute to one of my favourite goddesses. Edited to add: eight (!!!) hours after applying Hecate to my wrists, I can still smell sweet almonds and myrrh. I don't just "like" this, I love it, and definitely must have a big bottle. 5/5

I had to have this one, absolutely could not resist it with a name like that! In the imp it was super-sweet and flowery. On my skin wet, it smelled just like it did in the bottle. On drydown, it turned green and bitter. Why oh why? I wish that I could figure out what this note is, that most people seem to perceive as sweet, that turns so bitter and sharp on me. I've run across it in a couple of other BPALs but can't pin it down to one ingredient. Several hours later, it's morphed a little, into a slightly flowery, slightly soapy, bitter-green-with-a-hint-of-sweet. It never seems to fail- the scents with names that make me want to love them don't work for me.

Bold, bright mandarin paired with the sweet, sensual earthiness of fig. Woohoo! Finally, an orangey scent that works on me!!! This reminds me of my favorite orange soda, fizz included, but at the same time, I wouldn't exactly call it foody (or "drinky" ). The fig is there along with the orange, but it seems to add depth and staying power to the orange without being overtly "omg fig newtons". Bold and bright this definitely is. I'm in a better mood just from having it on. I'm just on my way to add to my 5ml wishlist.

I've become a huge fan of most of Beth's aquatics, so I fully expected to love this. Wet, it smells like cold rain, and not much else. Dry on my skin, I smelled ozone, soap and some kind of familiar men's aftershave...maybe Polo? It seemed incredibly masculine. My husband disagrees, and says he smells soap and flowers. In any case, I can't get past the aftershave. I'm so sad. I wanted to love this. I love the description and the idea. I hate my skin chemistry.

Oh, I love this so much. I only have one little imp of it, is it truly is my preciousssss. It reminds me of Lightning, only more feminine. It has the same watery ozone note, but with a distinct chill...while Lightning is a summer storm on the ocean, Ice Queen is a blizzard in a forest. Love. Love, love, love. I guess there's no hope of finding a 5ml...maybe it'll be re-released. If it does, I am so buying more.

I have a terrible cold at the moment, and am loving me some Ice Queen (though I only have a decanted imp of it, and as was said earlier, it's a LE). I'm planning to hoard the rest of the imp until the next time I have a cold...but maybe someone else has an unloved decant?

I was honestly planning not to try Snake Oil because it's BPAL's bestseller. I like to be unique. But this was included among a huge lot of imps I bought via the forum, so I figured "Why not give it a shot?" BTW, this imp is most likely very well-aged. Oddly, I couldn't smell it at all when I first put it on. I've been having some major respiratory issues lately, though, so it may just be me. On drydown, I can smell it very clearly, thanks. It's vanilla, but not overly sweet vanilla, with spicy-sweet undertones. It reminds me a little of vanilla-scented pipe tobacco, but the "tobacco-y" part is not "OMG get it off me"-strong like I got with La Belle Dame Sans Merci, though I detect a similarity between the two. Not bad at all, though there are others I like better...I'll use up the imp but probably not buy a 5ml.

I have not tried this as a perfume, since I am aware that it's meant as a ritual blend only, and am conscientious of its sacred properties. It had been sitting in my TAL box, untouched, because I was having trouble finding the right colour candles (I know that sounds nuts, but for some reason coloured candles are nearly impossible to find in my area at this time of year!) I've been ill for a couple of weeks and have had some major blows to my confidence and feelings of security recently, so when my husband came home with three candles- orange, red, and yellow- I couldn't wait to try it. My dressed candles are burning as I write this review. It smells lovely on the burning candles- to me, it's definitely a honeyed floral. The scent is as bright as the candles I dressed with it. It's definitely lifting my spirits- this is the first time all day that I've wanted to do anything other than lay in bed feeling sorry for myself. This oil is definitely a precious one which I will treasure and use often. I have more candles on the way, and will add more to this review if I note any long-term effects. ETA: after burning the annointed candles for several hours, the house was infused with a strong festive atmosphere, similar to the feeling one has during the winter holidays. I burn a lot of candles, and don't usually experience that feeling, so I put it down to the oil.

This was one of those "accidental" applications- I got an imp, broke the top whilst trying to catch a quick sniff, and was forced to slather it all over myself as I decanted as much as I could into another bottle. Now both me and my bedroom are all Swank-y. I Swank. "Crisp" is a perfect definition. It's easy for a fruity sent to be heavy and cloying, but Swank is yet light and bright, yet still sweet and pomegranate-y enough. It only has a very slight alcoholic tang- enough to make it "pop" but not so much that it becomes boozy. I give this a 4.5/5, and will probably buy a 5ml.

I'm starting to think that Neroli just doesn't like me. I love citrusy scents, so this makes me sad. Wet on skin, Akuma is ultra bitter to my nose, like pure orange pith...the part I refused to eat as a kid because the bitterness was overwhelming to my taste buds. On drydown the bitterness calms, but enough of a hint remains to bother me. Other than that, it goes both soapy and fruity. I keep bars of soap with orange oil in my kitchen since it cleans so well, so I might be starting to form an unfair association between "orange" and "soap". Even so, it's a pithy orange. I like fruit scents that smell edible, and this isn't one of them. It occurs to me that layering this with something that is vanilla-heavy might work. I'll try it, but if that doesn't do it, it'll go into my swap pile.

Thhis smells like fresh crisp apples sprinkled lightly with cinnamon on me. As for its effiacy as a Voodoo blend...the day I wore it, I passed my driving theory test (the first step to getting my driving licence), which was wonderful! But then, within an hour, I got into a massive fight with my husband that came very close to violence on his part (he was angry and driving like a 15-year-old maniac, revving the engine, speeding in an area with tons of pedestrians, etc.). In general that sort of s**t is completely out of character for him. Now I'm not sure whether I like Blockbuster or am afraid of it!

I love the Voodoo collection. Love it. Wanted to love every single item I tried from it. This one: not so much love. In the bottle: very light floral. On skin: straight Ivory soap, with just a touch of flowers. Sniffing it repeatedly has left me with a feeling that I said a bad word and got my mouth washed out with soap. It didn't do the job I intended it to do, either, but I definitely put it on too late in the game (without going into the whole gory story). I'll try it again on a better day- but I'll be trying it for efficacy's sake, not because I like the way it smells. 2/5. (It hurts me bad to rate it this low, because did I mention that I love the Voodoo collection?)

Got this as a frimp in a swap with catsoap, who totally rocks my world! Hooray for getting to try a year-old LE as a n00b! Totally tried this on impulse, as my instinct was to hoard it. I didn't read the Lab's description before trying it or writing the first draft of this review, so I had absolutely no preconceptions. In the imp: Vanilla? Sweet and buttery? This will be a foody one. On my skin: Whoa foody, but in a good way! I love smelling like a bakery- it tends to work with a chubby chick like me. What is this? Butter all over the place, super-duper-creamy, sugar, vanilla, maybe a hint of cinnamon? Very much like Van Van without the lemon. I have to say it's slightly cloying, but that's more because I haven't eaten today, have a headache, and am starving. Now I want to eat myself. Drydown (after reading description): Huh? Where's the blackberry and booze? It's still all creamy sugar with a healthy helping of butter. Still going pretty strong after four hours. Terrific throw, and the Men Of The House say it's one of their favourites so far. 4.5/5 I wish I wasn't too late to get a bottle of this. The imp will be loved deeply but sparingly.

The last seven days have just plain sucked, especially when it comes to BPAL. First I managed to burn out my nose- all my BPALs suddenly smelled like "vague perfume". I totally lost the ability to tell them apart. I went without for two days (well, actually, it was more like a day and a half- I couldn't wait any longer) and that seemed to help. Now I'm having a different problem...all my scents are turning to soap on drydown. I tried Succubus today and it was one of the few "OMG" scents I've found so far...but within half an hour? Soap. Nothing but f*cking mildly orange-scented soap. I'm so sad. Maybe it's just because I'm in the "PMS monster" part of my cycle? Could that be it? If not...I guess I'll have to see how Succubus does in a scent locket, because dammit, I want this scent to love me like I love it!

Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose. This was a frimp with my first order. Wet: Floral like whoa, but not overly "pretty" floral- more like strong, sharp floral. Dry: Somehow I've lost the rose in this one, even though my skin usually amplifies rose. I smell something dark and resinous, mostly, with a sweeter note that must be orchid- I say that because I have no idea what orchids smell like, but I know magnolia, rose, and jasmine, and the floral I smell is none of those. Fairly decent throw, long-lasting. Even so, it's not really my thing. 3/5.

I approached this one with a bit of trepidation, because it's "Irish", and (before BPAL) my experience was that my impression of what is "Irish" is very different to the impression of someone who doesn't live here. I was pleasantly surprised. The Lab's description is perfect. In fact, Leanan Sidhe smells very much like whAt i smell when I stand in the centre of the stone circle that I got married in, shortly after it's been mowed. Very green and soft, damp herbal. It even has a "dewy" smell, to me. I like it. 4/5. Might even buy a big bottle.

Wet: Citrusy floral. I quite liked it and had high hopes for it. Dry: Soap, and nothing else. And faded totally within three hours. I'm starting to hate my body chemistry. (edited to add lab description)

In the imp: Mint. Pure mint. Wet: Still mint. I was thinking "So where are the trees?" Drydown: I think I just fell in love. It smells like a walk in an ancient wood. I expected it to be purely masculine, but it's not, and the evergreen/pine note is subtle enough to keep it from smelling like bathroom cleaner. This is another one I think I want a 5ml of, but I'm not sure I'd wear it often. It'd be great for scenting a room, if the "woodsy" notes could be coaxed out of the initial minty smell. I'll try it in a oil burner and edit this post later to report on how that works out.

Persephone: this is an odd one on me. The first day I wore it, I couldn't smell anything at all except maybe a faint hint of sweetness, despite slathering it liberally. It was almost like I wasn't wearing perfume at all. My husband said he could smell it, though. The second day, I slathered and put some in a scent locket. Now I can definitely smell it, but it seems somehow...lacking in power? Weak? I can't think of a better way to word it. It smells distinctly like roses, with a fruity sweetness underneath (which is obviously the pomegranate). *edited later in the day to add:* In my scent locket, Persephone has gotten stronger over the course of the day- now, about nine hours after loading it into the locket, it's almost overwhelming- and also almost pure rose. I can't detect it on my skin at all, though. I like it, but I don't love it. I was hoping that I would- I'm always disappointed when I don't fall in love with a new scent. I'll keep the imp, but doubt I'll buy more. 3/5.

I tried this one by accident. I was just out of the shower, and decided to sniff a couple of untried imps before applying one I'd already chosen (Persephone). After sniffing, I opened the bottle of Persephone (I thought) and swiped it across my wrist. I immediately thought "Wait a minute, this doesn't smell like rose!". I looked at the bottle and discovered that I'd actually applied Lightning! Wet, my first thought was that it was way too masculine- it smelled like some sort of aftershave. I thought about washing it off, but I decided to wait until drydown to see if it morphed at all. After drydown, it smelled exactly like rain. To be more specific, it smelled like the air smells when a thunderstorm is moving in after a long, hot, dry spell. I used to be a storm chaser in a hot, dry place, so the smell evoked a lot of memories and emotions. I put it on shortly before bedtime, and that night I dreamed of the ocean. When I woke, I could still smell the rain scent on my wrists. I'm amazed that Beth managed to capture and bottle this scent so perfectly, but even more amazed at its staying power. This is one of those scents I will always want to have on hand...but then again, I probably wouldn't actually wear it much. However, if I could find something more feminine to layer it with that would not kill its scent completely, I'd probably wear it a lot. I give it a 4/5.