milo

I was worried about the hazelnut, but there was no need to be:). Lots of red musk, dark fruits, leather and patch. I would be all over this one, it is the kind of blend that is waaaay up my alley, but it is very similar to other 'dark' blends that bpal puts out. This mostly reminds me of Krampus with a bit of Crowley and a touch of Mme Moriarty or even Crypt Queen thrown in. I adore this one and if I didn't have all four of the above, I'd be ordering this one. (but I wouldn't complain if a bottle miraculously landed on my lap! A lovely dark, special blend.

Green in a reedy kind of way. I'm getting a bit of citrus here, or something fresh. I don't like the reedy-ness of this blend, it reminds me of that museum vanilla blend, which name escapes me atm.

OK, I'm not a foody, but I love cardamon, so I had to try this. Yup, cardamon, and delicious cake. Damn, I may need to update my preferences, as this is GOOD! It does remind me of Gypsy Moth, somewhat, but this is more foody. Simple and quite lovely. I may have to upgrade to a bottle...

This one ended up being a little dryer than I was expecting. I'm getting mostly sandalwood with musk and a touch of cool vanilla. It's very unique, and I do like it, just is not a 'love' at this point. I'm going to cellar her for a bit to see if the vanilla comes out a bit more.

 

eta: This is soooo much more better with a touch of French Vanilla SN. It cuts the dryness and adds a bit of sweet to the blend.

This is basically a single note astringent lavender on me, which is OK, but I was really hoping for more amber here. After a bit, there is a whisper of amber, but the lavender is definitely the star player. I find this is a bit more masculine than other lavender blends, so maybe that is how the amber is contributing? I will always keep a lavender blend, I like it for sleep, so this bottle will not go to waste. I may age it a bit to see if the amber comes out a bit more.

I love sarsaparilla, and Tombstone is one of my favourite GC's, (AGED), so I had to get this. This is Tombstone's child, basically. Creamy rootbeer, slightly musky with a touch of leather. This is pretty foody, but I still like this, it's a fun blend but has the edge of leather that makes it interesting. I may need more than my half bottle, but the downside is that I'm craving a Woody's Sarsparilla now.

 

ETA: This blend also reminds me of Banshee Beat, but without the patchouli. I'm going to try and layer it with a patch to see what happens.

I have loved previous incarnations of Samhain in decant form. In the bottle, not so lucky. This years, is a non-sweet apple, evergreens and patchouli on me. It is much more wearer friendly than last year, which I described as "cheap floral musk cologne". I'm not that keen on apple, but it seems to blend nicely here with the other notes. A couple people in the checkout line said "what smells like apple cider?" and I said "must be me", and they said that I smelled "really good". I do hope the apple tones down a bit, and the other notes come out. It may be better as a room scent, but I do rather enjoy this one.

This is a gorgeous blend, very pale but not in strength, it just has the impression of being light and pale. I'm getting the beeswax and incense mostly, but maybe the other notes will come out later. It's like nothing I own, which is quite a feat in itself. I like this, but it's not a love at this point. I'm going to age this and see if it becomes more blended. I'd like a little less incense and a bit more sweetness and patch to come out. Still a beautiful scent, and I'm glad I went straight to bottle.

Mod Note: Slight difference in notes from previous Devil's Night releases (soot-crusted musk) merits a new review topic.

Wow first?! Just a bit of background. I loved Devil's Night 08 and REALLY regret swapping it away when it was just under half. I found it to be a slightly sweetened musk, very Storyville-esque, a sophisticated foody and not sure what I was thinking when I swapped it. Ever since then, I've been ordering decants and last year broke down and got a bottle, hoping it would be the same. Of course, the decants and bottle never measured up. Not even close. Last years was a disaster of sour musk if I remember correctly. THIS year, I'm happy to report is AMAZING!! It is sweet cookied musk with a touch of smoke to make it interesting. It's like eating skor cookies by the fire with musky leaves in the background. It is reminiscent of Storyville with a bit of smoke. LOVE, and it will only get better with age, folks. Backup worthy, another bottle for sure.

I'm a lavender fiend, but was afraid of the asphalt note, which didn't work for me in Summer Phoenix or Phoenix in Summer, can't remember:). No need to worry, this is a beautiful blend, and the asphalt (which is more like stone to me) melds nicely with the lavender. Think Night's Bridge with lavender. I really like this, it's a warmer weather lavender to me, but definitely wearing it tonight!

This is rather soapy at first. After a bit, more fruit comes out, and it's more of a fruity soap, not unlike The Body Shop fruit soaps that you can get.

Errgghhh. The notes sounded great on paper, but this one ends up being too masculine for me. It kind of reminds me of Antikythera Mechanism, though there's more of a sourness of this blend that is very off putting for me. Maybe this one needs time, or layering will something sweet may temper the sour woods. So disappointed, but will hang on to this unicorn for a bit to see if she changes.

Gothic blend indeed! I'm getting rose and incense, but it's so well blended that no one note really dominates. After a bit, there's a touch of vanilla thrown in, though that note is not listed. The whole blend is sweet, spicy, incensy rose. I'm hoping the clove comes out later. This reminds me of Red Rose from the Unity set from a few years back, though better. I do regret swapping that away....This may layer well with De Vos, which is a white rose blend to me.

I'm getting mostly a white rose, not unlike the Unity White Rose from a few years back. I like this, (I kind of regretted swapping White Rose), but I wish the other notes were more prominent. After awhile, I detect the mallow, so it's a soft rose mallow. I think I'll keep this one, and hope it may change a bit with time.

 

eta: I am kind of glad that peony is not in the forefront, as that was my main deterrent from getting this blend. I find it much too strong of a floral.

Not getting the anise here. It does remind me of Love's Philosophy vanilla, it's fluffy and non-foody, as smooth as silk. I'm not really getting the custard vibe either, it's just a lovely pouffy vanilla.

eta: Day 3. This smells like a cross between Tombstone and Love's Philosophy vanillas. WIN!

This one starts out like puffs of sweet iris. Iris always smells ethereal and somewhat powdery, so the best way to describe it is a light purple pouffy marshmallow. On me anyways. This blend reminds me of Faith and TKO, and perhaps other silver, otherworldly blends like Staged Moon Landing. The air around me smells lovely, cuddly and feminine with the mallow and touch of floral ,and up close its more of a sugary floral. WIN!

 

Eta: I'm getting no amber or smokiness whatsoever. Maybe it will come out with age? I do like it fine the way it is, but I imagine the amber would ground this blend more. Will check back in a week or so!

Resiny, dark blend, just how I like them! I'm surprised there's no black musk here, as I was quite sure I got that vibe. This would be more suited to a guy, but it's nice to wear around the house when I'm in a dark space:)

Lovely crimp from the lab. Stupid auto-correct. Anyhow, this one is quite fruity, but honey dusted, as some have mentioned, and I do get a kind of waxy quality, but it's more like beeswax rather than was to me. Tart and bright, but sweet in it's own way. I'm not much of a fruity girl anymore, but damn, I can wear this one:)

This is like a 'fresh' pink blend. Feminine, with a bit of pinkish musk and sweet pea (which kind of smells like a fresh, outdoorsy floral), and vanilla. This is very nice, but not sure it's 'me'. It smells quite young to me, and reminds me of a very popular mainstream perfume out there that my daughter loves. Not sure I'll pass it on to her though, I'll give it a bit of time, and see if it grows on me. It does not remind me of A Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, though, that one I love, it's more creamy and vanilla heavy.

A lovely frimp that I haven't tried!! In the imp, vetiver. Yuck. It doesn't seem to be changing, unfortunately, and it's stinky vetiver, and it's getting another scent in there thats really unpleasant on me. So, a fail.

I wasn't as fond of the original BSS as I was the other snakes, I found it too masculine. This is kind of soapy, but in a good way, like a clean man just out of the shower. I found the original a bit too aquatic for my liking, but this one is softer, kind of powdery, but in a good way. I think the half bottle will do me just find for when I'm in the mood for something clean smelling.

I used to be crazy over the original AC, that was back in the day when berries were my forté. I will have to do a side by side, but there is not really much of a difference between this one and the original. Maybe the berries are not as pronounced, which is a good thing. I'm getting bright red berries, and a touch of snake oil. This one is bright and happy, and I love how it dries to smoky, slightly fruity Snake Oil. I think I'm falling in love all over again.

I wasn't a huge fan of the French Tobacco single note. I always associated good tobacco to be like pipe tobacco, chewy and delicious. The only blends I find that has that particular note is Perversion and Mr. Nancy. This falls somewhere in between. At first, rich and chewy tobacco, the kind you may find in European cigar shops. It then gets kind of smoky, which some people love, I do not. So it ends up being a smoky, rich tobacco blend, it kind of reminds me of the smokiness of Liz. This would layer amazingly well with a strong vanilla or even Snake Oil, to make a smoky snake. However, I really don't think this baby is for me. It came close, but I'm not fond of the smoke. Mr. Nancy without the lime is what I was looking for.

 

eta: This one has really grown on me, surprisingly. I keep reaching for it, and I love the tobacco sweetness of it. I think I'll keep this baby...

Sigh, I had big hopes for this one judging by the reviews, but this one is pretty much SN Magnolia on me. Yes, it is creamy, but I'm just not getting the fluffy vanilla clouds and sweet honey musk that I was hoping for. I'll keep it for awhile to see if age helps, but for now it is a 'no'.

I love love love my 2006 Cottonmouth, it is a lovely balance of soft florals and Snake Oil, but so well blended it's hard to tell where one starts and ends. I was so sad when it was discontinued even before the Carnival finished its first run. This. is. nothing. compared to the previous version, though I didn't think there was any note change. Screaming white florals and cheap musk. I am soooo sad, and will hoard my half bottle of the previous version. I really hope age will take care of this, but I remember liking Cottonmouth the moment I tried her back in the day. Ergghh

 

eta: A year has almost passed, and I was just about to list this baby and decided to try her one last time. It HAS changed for the better. Not quite where I want it, but with enough promise I'm confident that she will only get better. YAY aging really does make a difference where bpal is concerned!