Philosopher in Meditation: Smoldering woodfire embers, Galen’s Kyphi, and Abramelin incense.
In the imp: Hot - fire hot and incense smoking. I'm not familiar with Galen's Kyphi so I'm not sure what I'm smelling.
On me: Incense!!! Deep, dark, delicous incense!! It is sweetened up by something that I can't quite figure out, and smells so very lovely.
If I smell like incense, I am happy, and this is no exception. It's a unique incense, different from the other incenses that I've tried.
Methinks a bottle is needed.
Oya: Oya’s ofrenda is a Nigerian potion of love and war, sweetened by darkest plum. Oya winiwini!
In the bottle: Sweet plum and a little woodsy undertone?
On me: Wet it was a sweet plummy incense. When it began to dry down a bit it lost its sweetness and turned into a very dry woody scent that I couldn't place, which was disappointing. Then 10-15 minutes later the plummy sweetness came back to mix with the woody scent and I have a very sweet incense. I am loving the plum in this. And the way it morphs on my skin, which is loving it.
This is a very purple scent (I'll have to resesarch Oya and see if purple is one of her colors).
Mr. Nancy: Sugar cookies with bay rum, tobacco, and lime.
In the imp: Sweet cookie yumminess!!!
On me: Where did the cookie go? I smell like bread dough with a whole ton of cinnamon in it. No cinnamon in the notes, could it be the bay rum? Only bay rum usually doesn't smell like cinnamon to me though. Very strange. This will be a pass.
Moon of Ice: The Moon of Ice shines its pale white light on snow-blanketed hills and barren fields. Icicles dangle from skeletal branches, and the desperate howl of starving men and beasts echo through the darkness.
Frost-crusted winter flowers, white pine, eucalyptus, and traditional lunar oils.
In the bottle it reminded me a bit of Zest soap. It definitely has a good "splash you awake" feeling to it.
It was cold today (weird for Miami), so I decided that Moon of Ice was appropriate. I am loving the combination of scents in this. The flowers, pine, and eucalyptus blend together and I can't really pick out any specific notes, they just all create a cold wintery fresh scent. It's got a pretty strong throw, and I'm definitely doing a lot of self-sniffing.
From smelling this in the bottle I didn't think it would work on me, but it has! Yay.
A funny note, two friends of mine said I smell like incense. I didn't really get an incensey feel from this, and I would have squeed if I had because I love incensey smells. But....yeah....I smell like incense to unindoctrinated noses.
Meskhenet, The Vulture Maiden: Frankincense, hyssop, hibiscus, river reeds, orris root, palm frond, and olibanum.
In the imp: A sweet floral - definitely liking this!
On me: A deliciously sharp hibiscus with a little something sweet and something else I can't place as I don't know what most of these notes smell like. But this totally works and smells absolutely delicious on me. I definitely need a bottle!
Marianne: Red musk, bergamot, black currant, mimosa, orchid, patchouli, and lotus root.
In the imp: Fruity sweet musk! A dark scent, just like I like them.
On me: (I picked it this morning without checking out the notes - after sniffing and HAVING to look them up I she was made for me). These notes blend so beautifully on me. Lotus root is the base, giving the blend a delicious lotus sweetness that is absolutely heavenly. The orchid, black currant, and bergamot blend into a delicious sweet fruity gorgeousness and the musk brings everything together to make it drop dead lusty. Wow.
Marcilla: Blue lilac, lily of the valley, golden musk, beeswax, white ginger, bergamot, green tea, and nectarine.
In the imp: Beeswax! A beautiful glowing scent, a lot of delicious bergamot and nectarine, but so well blended that I couldn't pick the notes apart.
On me: Bergamot is definitely in the forefront for me, and the musk just makes it more spectacular. It is beautifully blended, so I can't pick out the other notes, I can only say that this is a gorgeous sunny yellow scent. Bottle is a must.
Lucretia, Albrecht Dürer:
Iris, black amber, sage, Kashmir wood, vanilla musk, mandarin and violet.
In the bottle: There was something funky in here that my nose didn't like, it might have been the Kashmir wood but I'm not sure.
On me: This totally transformed into a delicious spiked violet/sage with a little amber in the background scent. Wow! I sniffed at the test site all night, really enjoying this one. What a change from bottle to skin. This may very well be on its way to becoming a favorite.
Violets: I didn't think violets were my thing, but I think I've been converted into a violet lover between Lucretia and Faith.
Lucretia: Iris, black amber, sage, Kashmir wood, vanilla musk, mandarin and violet.
In the bottle: Yuck - pure iris! I almost didn't even test it, but thankfully I did.
On me: A sharp violet! The iris hides, thankfully. The violet blooms and definitely takes the forefront, its beauty is accentuated by the amber, sage, and vanilla musk. They blend beautifully to de-floralize the violet while still keeping a strong violet presence (confusing, but I don't know how else to describe it).
This is a gorgeous scent.
Lady Una:Honey musk, green tea leaf, blackberry leaf, vanilla bean, and fae spices.
In the imp: Deliciously honey musky blackberry. Yummy!! What are fae spices?
On me: I am getting a lot of honey musk and peach, even though peach isn't listed in the notes. Everything else ran and hid - I'm thinking I smell the fae spices but I can't pinpoint that. It's very faint, not a lot of throw or staying power.
It smells good, but it's not my kind of scent. I was hoping for a honey-berry-vanilla scent, and this was definitely not that.
L 'Heure Verte: Spilled absinthe, scorched sugar cubes, opium smoke, lilac blossoms, and rose water.
In the imp: Not sure about this one, it smells a bit like licorice.
On me: I still get some licorice, but it gets rounded some out by the opium and lilac. An interesting scent, but not memorable or extraordinary.
Knucklebones: Black musk, bay rum, lime fougere, orange blossom water, gin, and tobacco.
In the imp: light and fresh? Huh? Good for hangovers, I think.
On me: Oh this is lovely!! Bay rum works so well with my skin chemistry!! Citrus usually ends up sour on me, but not this one. I get a lovely bay rum/lime mix and a bit of musk in there too. This is not at all what I expected this scent to be, but I am loving it!! It's also got a pretty good throw and awesome staying power. I've had it on all day and have not needed to reapply.
King Cobra: Snake Oil with orris, frankincense, and copal.
In the imp: A very resiney Snake Oil
On me: Snake Oil with incese!!! A dryer incense, not like Temple Viper at all but still very good. After several hours it smells mostly just like snake oil, but that's what reapplying is for.
Verdict: Yum! I wouldn't mind swapping for a bottle of this too.
Kataniya, the Clockwork Woman: Gentle flowers over hot metal, shocked to life with electricity.
In the imp: a nice, non-overpowering floral.
On me: a sharp almost-metallic floral. Unfortunately it didn't have much throw or wear time. As it faded it lost the sharp metallic smell and became a soft floral. But it did smell VERY good on me while it lasted!
Isaac, The Living Skeleton: Bourbon, tobacco, dry bone, bay rum aftershave, and sleazy cologne.
In the imp: a blend of aftershave and cologne, definitely masculine.
On me: I was scared of the tobacco, but thankfully I got NO tobacco at all. I got a touch of bourbon when I first applied it, but that faded away very quickly. And I ended up smelling like masculine incense, which isn't a bad thing. But I smell no bourbon, tobacco, aftershave, OR cologne. Weird. My skin seems to like turning perfume into incense.
I would have liked to smell like the imp smelled. Oh well.
Inez: Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood.
In the imp: Vanilla amer-y goodness, with a touch of carnation.
On me: On the carnation!!! The carnation is the most prominent note, deepened a bit by the amber and the musk. There's a touch of cedar and sandalwood adding to the spiciness of the carnation, helping it stay promiment. This is absolutely gorgeous.
Another MUST have.
I think this is going to be one of my favorite categories!!
Madonna: Hyssop, pomegranate, Angel’s Trumpet, Indonesian patchouli, iris, white orchid, and frankincense.
OMFG I need buckets of this!!!!!! The white orchid dominates, but is balanced out by the pomegranite to make this a very sweet beautiful orchid. The hyssop (I think) sweetens it up nicely, and the frankincense makes it resiney enough to give a bit of an incense feel. This is heaven!!!!
Bottle - yes, must have bottle.
Love and Pain: Lavender, Balkan tobacco, black musk, dark vanilla, and golden copaifera.
This is the most beautiuful lavender blend!!! The tobacco keeps it from getting overly floral, but didn't stand out on its own (thankfully, because I amp it like crazy). The dark vanilla and black musk work beautifully to turn the lavender into a very dark purple type of scent, very sensual.
Bottle is definitely needed!!
Death and Life Completed: Grey amber, carnation, lemon balm, hydrangea, Chinese peony, white sandalwood, cypress, juniper, cedar, hibiscus, and African daisy.
Peony!! This is what I wanted peony moon to smell like. For me it's mostly peopny and hibiscus, no amber anywhere unfortunately. The sandalwood and cedar complement the florals very niceley and give it a bit of a woodsey feel.
Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Those Condemned to Death: Accords of peach kernel, hemlock, aconite, and belladonna, with bitter almond, saffron, honey, myrrh, hyssop, frankincense, and palm.
It's hard to tell what I'm smelling specifically, but the honey in this is amped A LOT! I think it's the honey/almond combination. This is so well blended that I can't pick out the notes.
It smells very good, but it's not "me" so I'll probably pass on this one.
Hope: Hope is sugared rose
I'll start off with: I don't like rose. I have never liked rose-scented anything. It always always smelled like cheap $2 perfume to me. No rose in creams, sprays, anything scented. So, yes, I avoid rose. But, I gave this a shot and got a decant.
In the bottle: I like rose? What? It was very sweet, which changed what I don't like about the rose smell into something yummy. I could like it!
On me: I am so very confused. It's still rose, but that sweet rose that was awesome in the imp. It's much sweeter than regular rose, which makes me like it. I'm trying to tell my brain that not all rose is bad, and that this is good. Because it is good. But right now the nose and brain are at odds. I might have to wear this a few times before deciding on a bottle. But I really really liked Faith in the imp so if it's good on me.....
ETA: I've since worn this several times and it is a beautiful rose scent that I *do* enjoy! I have to be in the mood for it, but when I am it is lovely. Bottle - oh yes.
Hand of Glory: Beeswax, dry leather, black pepper, saltpeter, nutmeg, Mysore sandalwood, and oak bark.
In the Imp: A very light incensey type blend? I couldn't pick out any specific notes.
On me: A very dirty vanilla, as if vanilla were in a mud fight and just got down and dirty with it. It is very dry, and there's a resin in this that I can't place, but that might be the sandalwood. It's not the usual sandalwood note, however. Now that I look at the notes, I am also detecting the dry leather.
This is a very strange scent, not an every day scent, but it is very different from anything else that I've smelled - in a good way. Methinks a bottle is a yes please.
Habu: Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo.
In the imp: Sweet snake oil! I think it is the bamboo making it sweet. Something a little woodsy, but no musk to be sniffed.
On me: This blended so well onto my skin. It was subtle, but very good smelling. Again, the snake oil is there, but as a bottom layer. On top of it was delicious sweet bamboo, a tiny bit of ho wood, and a bit of musk.
This worked really well on me.
Gwyneth: Rose otto, tonka, orchid, Calla lily, skin musk, coconut, and Spanish sage.
In the imp: A delicious blend of sweet orchid, tonka, and a bit of musk.
On me: Oh dear. Rose! A sweet rose (not as sweet as Hope) and not much else. A few hours later a bit of orchid and musk started peeking out, and maybe a bit of sage but barely. Unfortunately this is way too rosey for me. I will stick with Hope for a sweet rose.
Faith: Sugared Violets
In the imp: A very sweet sharp violet softened by delicious sugar
On me: True to the imp, smells much like it did in the imp. Soft and sweet, yet still sharp and deliciously violet. I definitely need to get Hope & Faith bottles!
Fae: A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss.
In the imp: sweet and peachy.
On me: The white musk and peach have blended beautifully on my skin!! In the background I smell a floral green, which I think is the heliotrope and oakmoss. It smells very meadowy and I can almost see the fairies.
On me, it reminds me of Ebisu Making Love as Two Octopuses Look on. This is a great thing because I opted not to buy it, and instead got Dream of the Fisherman's Wife. Now that there's a GC scent that smells like it, I'm going to be all over it!! And it's $15 vs $27.50 - pretty big difference.
Eshe, A Vision of Life-In-Death: The perfume of life-in-death: embalming herbs, black myrrh, white sandalwood, black orchid, paperwhites, tomb dust, and Moroccan jasmine.
In the bottle: A sweet deep floral.
On me: This is a very elegant, dress-up kind of scent. It's almost too perfumey, but the sandalwood seems to balance it out. The black orchid and jasmine stand out the most on me, and there is mutual love between us. The sandalwood seems to round out the scent so that it isn't floral overkill. This has amazing throw and lasts all day, always good. Plus the boy loved it, which says a lot because he is usually neutral about my perfume.
This is definitely something to wear when you're dressed up. I felt very mismatched wearing it with my Wicked baseball t-shirt.
Dragon Moon '08: Our Dragon Moon represents the forces of rebirth and the vigor that springtime brings: dragon's blood resin, galbanum, blue sage, lavender, peppermint, sweetgrass, frankincense, moonglow magnolia, bergamot, and green cedar.
In the bottle: A delicious herbal blend of mainly sage, sweetgrass, bergamont, and a bit of cedar. Where is the dragon's blood?
On me: This is deliciously sweet herbal. I'm getting a lot of sage, frankincense, and cedar. The other notes are there, but blended so well that I can't pick them out. I like this very much, and it is very different from all the other BPAL I have.
