THE FLOWER SONG
Unknown, Written during Egypt's New Kingdom
To hear your voice is pomegranate wine to me:
I draw life from hearing it.
Could I see you with every glance,
It would be better for me
Than to eat or to drink.
Pomegranate wine, lotus root, river reeds, hyssop, and barley.
Reviewed 02/25/2008
Imp: Very sweet, sugary. A touch of something fruity, but very little.
Wet: Sugar and pomegranate. There's no wine or booze note at all. There's an undercurrent of something spicy, like Juicy Fruit gum, as my skin amps the lotus.
Drydown: Lotus sometimes has a tendency to turn to cat pee on me, but this doesn't. I never get any wine notes at all, nothing aquatic or herbal that suggest the river reeds or hyssop, nothing earthy or grainy for the barley. This is all lotus and pomegranate, all the time, and the combination of the two is beautiful. It clings close to my skin but lasts forever; ten hours after I applied the first test patch I could still smell it if I sniffed the back of my hand. I can't wait to try this in my scent locket; this is definitely going to be a multi-bottle purchase for me.
Ok, fine. It isn't really a lump of coal, but brownies and coal are vaguely similar in color! -- and you know you could never be naughty enough for us to really toss a coal at you! After all, we specialize in sin at Black Phoenix. This is the truly sinful scent of a sticky, thick, dark and rich fudge brownie.
Reviewed 02/22/2008
I'll cut to the chase with this one: there is no morph, no difference between imp and wet and drydown, it is pure chocolate decadence. It is spot-on in capturing the scent of a pan of brownies, fresh out of the oven, with the edges a bit crispy and the middle still gooey and sticky. YUM.
A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers.
Reviewed 02/18/2008
In the bottle: Mmm, berries.
Wet: Luscious, juicy berries. I don't know plum well enough to know if it's plum specifically, but it's wonderful.
Drydown: Still very juicy. The berries are on top, but there is something underneath that makes it feel cold to my nose. It's an actual sensation; the insides of my nostrils feel cold if I bring my hand to my nose and sniff closely. I really love this. It did make me itch for a short time, but it didn't last and didn't make the skin red at all. It's got a good wear time, but the throw isn't as strong as I'd like.
The name of this moon refers to the color of wild ground phlox, a primary component of this Lunacy Blend, which is one of the most widespread floral signposts of springtime in North America. This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season.
Reviewed 02/11/2008
Pink Moon 2007 didn't work on me at all, so I was nervous about trying the earlier version. Needlessly worried, I discovered. This is beautiful!
In the imp: Sweet and floral, but not overpowering Avon-ish floral.
Wet: Sugared flowers, the kind you see used to decorate cakes.
Drydown: Flowers and a sweetness that might be sugar or honey or even a hint of strawberry. It's very delicate and feminine. It sings Spring to me, and I need that at this time of year. I want to slather this all over the next time the temperature dips below freezing so I can daydream about little pink flowers and budding greenery. It has a surprisingly good weartime for such a delicate scent.
The sticky sweet scent of candy corn!
Reviewed 02/11/2008
In the bottle: Buttered corn. Not candy corn, real corn.
Wet: Creamed corn. Eek!
Drydown: Butter and sugar, maybe nutmeg and cinnamon? The spicy part smells like a bottle of pumpkin pie spice. Thank *goodness* the real corn scent faded! It doesn't really smell like candy corn on me, but it does smell good. It has a very definite fall feel to it. I don't get any of the booziness that some reviews have mentioned, and that makes me happy as most of the Lab's booze notes don't work well on me. This is foody but not overly so; it doesn't scream "Eat me!" in your face the way something like El Dia de Reyes does. I think it would be wearable even for people who don't tend to like foody scents.
The NIGHTMARE TERROR of TEENAGE love gone GRISLY!
She's HELL-BENT on romance, THRILL-CRAZED, and HUNGRY!
There's NO ESCAPE from her clutches!
A deranged darling, sweet and sociopathic! Clotted vanilla cream, pink pepper, grapefruit, blood lily, red ginger, English pear, and lemon-squeezed candyfloss!
Reviewed 02/09/2008
In the bottle: Vanilla cake, a hint of something cherry-ish. Very foody.
Wet: Again, something cherry-ish, but that fades quickly. The grapefruit and lemon are in the forefront, with creamy vanilla swirling underneath.
Drydown: Sparkling, happy citrus. There is a bit of spice to keep it from going into the cleaning product smell. The cream seems to have blended in so well that I can't pick it out as a separate note but there is still a creamy feel. There's a short time when the pear note gives it a hint of play-doh, but thankfully it doesn't stay very long.
The pear in this gave me pause, but I still ordered two bottles unsniffed. I'm glad that I did, because it's fabulous. This is definitely screaming "Hoard me!"
Silliness in the extreme. Vanilla bean, honeycomb, sugared pear, sweet pea and a dribble of strawberry.
Reviewed 01/30/2008
This seems to be very iffy on me. Sometimes it's very sweet, a sugar overload with hints of strawberry, vanilla, and flowers floating in the background. Other times, the pear note that hates me comes forward and it becomes sugary play-doh. Very very strange, since it doesn't seem to be a skin chemistry issue because it can happen all in the same day. I adore the way it smells when the play-doh stays away, so I'll keep wearing it and hoping for the good application. *L*
The Master of Lightning's ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane.
Reviewed 01/26/2008
I got this as a lab frimp. It's been on my "things I might want to try, but has a scary note so there are other things I want more at the moment" list for a few months now, so I was glad for a chance to try it out.
Wet: OMGFRUIT. Banana, coconut, pineapple, apples, I can pick out each one. I adore really juicy fruit scents, the kind that make you thirsty for some fresh juice when you sniff them, and this seems to be one of those.
Drydown: This isn't something I can stick my nose in and inhale, the chili pepper makes sure of that (if I try, my nose starts to twitch, heh). It's got a good throw, though, so I don't have to. I was nervous about the chili, but it didn't irritate the skin on my wrist at all. It did burn my face where I accidentally touched the test spot to my cheek, so I think it's a wrist-only scent for me. It only lasted a few hours, but I know that my skin drinks oils up and very few last longer than that. I will definitely be nabbing a bottle of this in the future.
While Persephone visited the realm of Hades, she tasted one single pomegranate seed, an act which compelled her to remain connected to the Land of the Dead for all eternity. Demeter's grief over her beloved daughter's absence that brings on the bleakness and barrenness of the winter months.
The Fruit of Paradise, the Nectar of Death: bittersweet pomegranate.
Reviewed 01/22/2008
I was a bit nervous when I first put this on. I got a hint of the Vicks-ish note that makes Crypt Queen awful on me, but thankfully it faded after a few moments. It became a gorgeous, juicy fruit scent, just tart enough to make things interesting. I'm so in love. I wish it had more throw, and it fades out very very quickly, but it's so beautiful that it's worth hoarding so that I can slather myself in it repeatedly without guilt.
Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.
Reviewed 01/22/2008
In the imp: Cherries! Is this finally the so-juicy-it-makes-me-thirsty scent I've been dying to find?
Wet: Yummy, juicy, ripe to bursting cherries. Oh yes!
Drydown: Wait, what is this? I smell like...sawdust? Freshly cut wood and sawdust. It's very interesting, and quite well blended, but sawdust isn't really on my top ten lists of things to smell like.
The Day of Kings, the Celebration of the Magi. In Mexico, on January 6th, children place their shoes by their windows. If they have been good during the previous year, the Wise Men tuck gifts into their shoes during the night.
Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar.
Reviewed 01/22/2008
In the bottle: Chocolate, lots and lots of it.
Wet: This smells just like hot chocolate. Not the powder stuff that gets mixed with water, but the real stuff. YUM. It's incredibly rich, decadent, and lifelike.
Drydown: Now I'm getting hints of cinnamon teasing me through the chocolate. There is no coffee, just sweet, thick chocolate and swirls of cinnamon. I am enthralled by this perfume, it's absolutely gorgeous. It's definitely a winter scent, I can't even imagine wearing something this warm and thick during the summer months. Like Midway, this is best described as NOMNOMNOM. The absolute best, most true-to-life chocolate scent I've ever tried.
The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood.
Reviewed: 01/21/2008
In the imp: COFFEE!
Wet: COFFEE! It's screaming. I'm picturing someone hyped up on 15 espresso shots chanting coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee. It's nothing but coffee. If I liked coffee it would be wonderful, but I don't drink it and I'm not a big fan.
Drydown: This is still screaming COFFEE! at me. It's very in-your-face. Every now and then a swirl of booziness will bubble up, like someone trying to sober up after a long night, but only rarely. This would be perfect for the teacher my kid had last year who adored coffee and was a wine connoisseur, and I think I may pass this on to her for her birthday. It's very well done, it has a good throw and it lasts a long time, but it's just not for me.
Edited to fix spelling. Apparently, I need some of the caffeine from the coffee in this perfume. *L*
A bombardment of edible carnival indulgences. Funnel cake, caramel apple, cotton candy, salt water taffy and sugar tart.
Reviewed 01/21/2008
In the bottle I get mostly sugar, a touch of something tangy, and a hint of coconut suntan lotion.
Wet: It's hovering on the edge of that plastic, playdoh scent Beaver Moon '05 gave me. NOOOOOO!
Dry: My skin eats every other note and leaves funnel cake, dusted generously with powdered sugar. NOMNOMNOM is the perfect description for this. I don't get any apple at all, which is a shame, because I love caramel apple and was hoping for some of that to come out. It doesn't have much throw, and fades out quickly, but it's worth the repeated slathering. I'm glad I nabbed two bottles of this while it was up, and I'm sure I'll be on the hunt for more.
A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.
Reviewed 01/09/2008
Wet, this is basically an almond single note on my skin. There isn't even a hint of floral.
As it dries, well, it's still almond, but with a hint of something sweeter. Since I'm a foody to the core, that works perfectly well for me and I may try layering it. It doesn't feel cold to me at all, it has more of a spring feel. I only wish it had more throw; apparently, Snow White is quite a shy girl because it's so light that I could miss it entirely if I didn't have my nose pressed against my hand.
It's not what I was expecting, but still definitely a winner.
Cardinal air: the essence of balance.
Rose, black cherry, carnation, fig, honey, plum, and black currant.
Reviewed 01/09/2008
In the imp I smell lots of fruit; the cherry and currant dominate. It's very sweet and very juicy. That's really what I was looking for when I sought this one out. On my skin, however, it's a sweet, spicy, almost overblown rose. It took me a few minutes to place it, but finally I put my finger on it: this smells JUST like the rose character from the Rose Petal Place dolls produced in the eighties. It takes me back to some very fond memories of my childhood and it's a beautiful blend, but it has a very young feel so I don't think that I will wear it often.
A sweet and silly compliment to the first breath of Spring! Sugared carnation and phlox!
Reviewed 01/07/2008
I admit, I've been prejudiced against carnations. I found that I like some blends with carnations, though, so I was willing to give Pink Moon a try.
I really enjoyed the spiciness that I've come to recognize as BPAL's carnation note, but after that initial yummy spice it turned into pure play-doh on me the way Beaver Moon '05 did. One odd note about this one: my cats went crazy over it. Completely and utterly bonkers. They were fighting each other to get to the spot I applied it and wouldn't stop sniffing and licking it. I've never seen anything like it!
Evil was the hour that she saw, and loved, the painter. Gentle beauty and innocent devotion: honeysuckle, carnation, stargazer lily, bluebonnet, vanilla musk, and rice flower.
Reviewed 01/07/2008
My first impression is HELLO FLOWERS! Heh. It's almost overwhelmingly floral. There's an undernote of something tangy that makes the corners of my mouth pucker, something sharp and almost citrus-y. That fades out at about the same time the flowers begin to be tempered by the musk. I don't get much vanilla out of it, though I normally amp vanilla; it smells more like a skin musk on me. This is very feminine and adult, not like my normal foody inclinations but very wearable and pretty. I'm not sure I could use an entire bottle of this, but I might get another imp or two of it.
Though March marks the end of the desolation and chill of winter, it is not yet Spring, the time of rebirth, fertility and the Earth's fecundity. March's Full Moon is a Virgin's Moon, pure, youthful, unsullied and innocent. This is the Moon of the Child, and the scent is as soft and gentle as a baby's breath: milky blossoms and soft cream touch the last buds of winter, coupled with crystalline, bright traditional Lunar oils.
Reviewed 01/07/2008
I have been coveting this for months, ever since I was frimped a sniffie of it, and it was everything I was hoping it would be. It's spicy, with a base of sweet creaminess, and it blows me away. It stayed true, with no plastic or fake-ness in the undertones. It clings very close to the skin, with very little throw, the kind of scent you dab behind your ears and on the back of your neck before you meet a significant other and you want to draw them in close. Unfortunately, something in this makes me itch like nobody's business on every body part I tried it on, even places that I rarely react (like the back of my hand)!
Strawberry moon is a blending of strawberries and cream with light, dry lotus and soft ylang ylang and a touch of green tea and sage to bring it closer to Earth.
Reviewed 01/04/2008
This is absolutely beautiful. It's very true-to-life, like a bowl full of fresh strawberries and homemade cream. I don't get the plastic, fake note that other people have mentioned, but I also don't get any hint of tea or anything green at all. This is very fresh and summery and delicious, and it breaks my heart that I adore it so much because I know I'll never be able to afford a bottle of it!
Eternal desire, unquenchable passion: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, and blood wine.
Reviewed 01/04/2008
One of my resolutions for the new year is to be more on top of testing and reviewing my BPAL, especially the approximately 100 untried imps sitting in my imp box. So I've started randomly grabbing two each night and testing them out, whether I thought I would like the notes or not.
Wet and Initial Drydown: Ew. EWW. I smell like BO and something flowery. Normally musks work with my skin, so maybe it's the nicotiana or the patchouli.
Complete Drydown: Oh yes. This is finally coming together and smells wonderful. Now I get the cherry cola-ish scent that people mention. It's dark, but sparkling and not overpowering. I'm in awe, the lab made something that is dark and light at the same time. It's very sexy, in a commanding way. I think that I could get past the initial funky stage and wear this, but it's definitely not an office scent.
She is the Goddess of the Sky, one of the Ennead, daughter of the air [shu] and water [Tefnut], lover of Geb and Hadit, the Eternal Mother, and the Receiver, Reviver and Protector of the Dead, whose loving, divine embrace shields our souls from annihilation. She is love, rapture, splendor, continuous and eternal birth and rebirth, infinite space, and the “the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night”. Nuit is Earth’s guardian, and shields her lover and her mortal children from the primeval chaos that threatens Existence. Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower.
Reviewed 01/03/2008
Gorgeous. Florals aren't my normal favorites, but this is beautiful and calming. It's pure, feminine, floral. I rarely get a color feeling from a scent, but this 'feels' midnight blue to me. While sniffing I had an undeniable urge to just close my eyes and breathe very slowly and deeply, and I actually almost fell asleep. I think this would be amazing as a meditation oil or a sleep aid, maybe on an eye mask or a pillow. The throw is medium and it has a long wear time.
Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage.
Reviewed 01/03/2008
I got this as a frimp from the lab, so I decided to try it without looking at the notes beforehand.
This, on me, smells like vomit and cigar smoke. My arm smells like a bar bathroom at closing time. I don't know what happened between this and my body chemistry but oh, my dear gods. This is definitely going in the swap pile.
Hony mone, a term proverbially applied to such as be newly married, which will not fall out at the first, but th'one loveth the other at the beginning excedingly, the likelyhood of their exceadinge love appearing to aswage, ye which time the vulgar people call the hony mone.
Three honeys blended with seven fruits, flowers, and herbs of passion, pleasure, and joy: honeysuckle, fig, carnation, apricot, jasmine, tonka, and almond.
Reviewed 12/19/2007
In the bottle, bright golden honey with an undertone of almond and just the faintest hint of flowers in the background. I put it on and BAM. Pretty much instantly it became cat pee. I waited a while, hoping it would change again, but the only morph I got was overripe, almost rotting floral. Oh skin chemistry, how I loathe thee! I love honey scents so I will save one bottle and see if I can age the pee out of it, but I think the extra bottle I got may be swapped out.
Lick It:
What else could possibly be more lickable at Yuletide? This is a candy cane perfume, minty, sweet and sugared.
Lick It Again:
Every holiday season should be full of lewd suggestions and filthy double entendres, right? This is a new take on last year's Lick It -- a peppermint candy cane with an extra jolt of sugar.
Lick It One More Time:
Every holiday season should be full of lewd suggestions and filthy double entendres, right? This is a new take on Lick It and Lick It Again -- a peppermint candy cane with a flash of vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar.
Reviewed 11/23/2007
I realized that I have never reviewed any of the Lick It line when my bottles of One More Time came. So what else was there to do but put all three on and do some comparisons?
Bottle:
The original '05 Lick It is a very sharp, intense peppermint in the bottle, with just a hint of something sweet underneath. The '06 version is much more mellow to my nose, but '07 is very close to the '05 version.
Wet:
On application, all three go on very strong.
'05 is immediately very sweet while still maintaining the sharpness of the mint.
'06 softens as soon as it touches my skin, with the vanilla and sugar pushing the mint into the background.
'07 reminds me of the original again, the peppermint staying strong as the sweetness swirls up, just like smelling a real candy cane.
Drydown:
The best wear comes from '05. It mellows considerably and has very little throw, but it lasts for hours if I bring my wrist to my nose. Smelling it is like licking your lips an hour after you've eaten a candy cane, a minty memory on your tongue.
'06 has very little throw as well. The mint tends to fade out after a few hours, but the soft vanilla sugar lingers on my skin for much longer. There's something seductive about it, and it reminds me a bit of Snowblind.
My skin drinks '07 like water. After less than an hour it is completely gone, with only a faint dusty smell left like I've been carrying around old books. Even the vanilla, which my skin normally holds on to for dear life, disappears without a trace. It's the closest to '05 in scent...while it's there. I love it enough to keep it and just slather it on every hour, but I'm wondering if the aging of the original is a factor in how well it stays so I'll be tucking a bottle away in a dark corner to see if it helps. If not, there's always a scent locket, right?
As sweet as death, as deep as the grave: pomegranate, raspberry, gardenia, plum, and rose with patchouli, black pepper, rose musk, and a hint of blood accord.
Originally reviewed 09/09/2007, revisited 11/02/2007
I tried this for the first time back in September, and got a strange Vicks Vap-o-rub scent from it. I decided to give it another try tonight, just to see if there was any reason for me to keep it sitting around in my BPAL box.
I'm still getting a strong Vicks scent from this. I can smell the berries swirling around under the surface, but whatever is going Vicks-ish on me is way too dominant. Unfortunately, it just does not fade away completely. With the exception of that one note, I love this blend...but that one note is so strong and lasting that I can't get past it.
