Lust
Category: Sin And Salvation
Quantity: sample
Description:
LUST
Uncontrollable passion and insatiable sexual desire: red musk, patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh.
Review:
In the bottle: Ew, it smells like old incense... More precisely, like a mix of musk and patchouli.
Wet: Surprisingly, it actually turns sweet and spicy on my skin!
Dry: ...And right back to the musky incense.
Verdict: No, this one is definitively not for me. Too bad, I liked the name.
More reviews: Sin And Salvation: Lust
Lucy's Kiss
Category: Ars Amatoria
Quantity: sample
Description:
LUCY'S KISS
Created to represent the essence of Bram Stoker's tragic heroine, Lucy Westenra. Seductive, wanton and deadly, but underscored with a soft, wistful innocense. The gentle scent of rose and a blend of Victorian spices
Review:
In the bottle: It’s a delicate rose, with a touch of sour spices.
Wet: At first, it’s a bittersweet rose; it’s soft and vulnerable. However, don’t be fooled by it, for it quickly turns into a spicy blend. Interesting…
Dry: Still spicy, with a bitter rose underneath. Hours later, the rose is completely gone, and all that remains is the sour blend of spices. I still can’t figure out which spices are in it though.
Verdict: I have to admit this one is interesting. It respects its concept from beginning to end. However, those spices annoy me after a while, so it’s probably not for me.
More reviews: Ars Amatoria: Lucy's Kiss
Love Me
Category: Bewitching Brews
Quantity: sample
Description:
LOVE ME
A commanding, dominant oil that increases sexual magnetism, creates an intense and irresistible air of attraction, and amplifies potency.
Review:
In the bottle: I smell patchouli, citrus, something floral (maybe jasmine); overall, it reminds me of Faustus.
Wet: Spicy cinnamon and bright orange. It’s fragrant and warm.
Dry: Now, it’s just patchouli, sweetened by oranges...
Verdict: It’s not bad, but it didn’t work for me. I should try it again someday over another soap, it might change my perception of it.
More reviews: Bewitching Brews: Love Me
London
Category: Wanderlust
Quantity: sample
Description:
LONDON
Venerable Victorian Tea Rose… twisted, blackened and emboldened with wickedness.
Review:
In the bottle: Roses, yet dried, sour, bitter and intoxicated.
Wet: A sweet and elegant rose, but still dark and bitter.
Dry: Same, with subtlety. It blends well with my skin and becomes quite sweet. However, it doesn’t last very long (at least on me).
Verdict: It’s very elegant and womanly, with an interesting wicked twist. Unfortunately, this perfume smells older than I am. It’s something I’ll want to try again in a few years.
More reviews: Wanderlust: London
Lolita
Category: Ars Amatoria
Quantity: sample
Description:
LOLITA
Bright, sweet and youthful, but swelling with a poisonous sexuality. Glittering heliotrope, honeysuckle, orange blossom and lemon verbena.
Review:
In the bottle: It smells like lemony soap. It’s quite sweet actually.
Wet: I don’t know… Flowers and herbs bathing in lemon juice? On me, it’s a bitter-sweet poison, with a soapy scent underneath.
Dry: Probably my strangest association so far: do you remember the nasty old neighbour of your childhood, who used to burst open every ball that had the unfortunate luck of falling on her yard? Well, it smells like her.
Verdict: Poor Lolita… She fell into the claws of a pedophile and must have started to hate the world afterwards, or at least that’s what her perfume suggests. Honestly, if I get another sample of this one for free, I’ll throw it down the drain. (Note: I hate to waste, so I'll try to turn the sample I have into soap, or something like that.)
More reviews: Ars Amatoria: Lolita
L'École Des Filles
Category: Ars Amatoria
Quantity: sample
Description:
L’ÉCOLE DES FILLES
We sang till almost night, and drank my good store of wine; and then they parted and I to my chamber, where I did read through L'Ecole des Filles; a lewd book, but what doth me no wrong to read for imagination's sake… and after I had done it, I burned it, that it might not be among my books to my shame.
Published around 1655, this is considered to be the origin of modern pornography in France. It is a discourse between two young ladies, the elder instructing the younger in the ways of passion.
This is a libertine's celebration of decadence, debauchery, and sexual freedom: orange blossom, ambergris, orris root, white rose, lemon balm, jonquil, carrot seed, and benzoin.
Review:
In the bottle: It’s hard to identify exactly what it is... It’s lemony and floral, bitter and sweet.
Wet: I smell orange blossom, lemon, benzoin, and florals (jonquil?). It’s relatively strong and masculine-neutral.
Dry: It gets softer after a while. It becomes floral, sweet and feminine.
Verdict: Honnestly, I wasn’t sure I would like this one at first, but I do! It turns into something so soft and delicate. I still hesitate to buy a bottle, I think it might make an ideal scent for my soap making hobby.
More reviews: Ars Amatoria: L'École Des Filles
Kumiho
Category: Diabolus
Quantity: sample
Description:
KUMIHO
Nine-tailed fox demon of Korean lore who transforms into the visage of an irresistible beauty in order to seduce men and lead them to their doom. A sharp, biting blend of crisp white tea and ginger.
Review:
In the bottle: I can smell the white tea, slightly lemony/herbal.
Wet: It reminds me of Unicorn, very floral, white and sharp.
Dry: Now, I get more of the ginger, spicy and warm, but not overwhelming.
Verdict: It's subtle, delicate, and pretty. I wouldn't have expected that for a "foxy demon", but it's nice.
More reviews: Diabolus: Kumiho
Kabuki
Category: Ars Amatoria
Quantity: sample
Description:
KABUKI
Compelling, complex, and utterly enigmatic: a luxuriant, exotic blend of cherry, red musk, and star anise.
Review:
In the bottle: Eww, it smells like cherry-scented play-dough... However, if I pay attention, I can also smell anise and some musk.
Wet: At first, I get a lot of anise, but I also smell something sweet, like candy, and cherry.
Dry: Cherry and anise candy, literally. I also get a very faint note of musk. It gets better and better as hours go by.
Verdict: At first, I tought it smelled too much like licorice; but now, I really like it. It turned into something feminine and sensual.
More reviews: Ars Amatoria: Kabuki
Jolly Roger
Category: Bewitching Brews
Quantity: sample
Description:
JOLLY ROGER
Sea spray with an undercurrent of leather, Bay Rum, and salty, dry woods.
Review:
In the bottle: It does smell like the sea, in a very salty way; yet, it’s woody, with an under-note of sweetness.
Wet: It’s still very aquatic. I get some of the wood, washed by the sea, but it’s still definitively aquatic.
Dry: As it dries, it starts to smell like an old pirate leather hat, with a splash of rhum. (Yarr...)
Verdict: It’s an interesting aquatic after-shave perfume, with an old pirate twist to it.
More reviews: Bewitching Brews: Jolly Roger
Hurricane
Category: Bewitching Brews
Quantity: sample
Description:
HURRICANE
The Dark Side of Air: a high pitched, tangy, clear scent -- light China rain deepened by murky vetivert.
Review:
In the bottle: It smells delightfully fresh and herbal, with a strong note of bright vetivert.
Wet: It’s still very herbal, but it turns almost floral (that might be my skin chemistry acting funny again). It smells like rain falling on fragrant herbs.
Dry: It becomes warmer as it dries, the murky, almost smoky, aspect becomes more obvious.
Verdict: It smells very masculine, fresh and clean. I think this might be a good suggestion for men who don’t like a cologne or perfume that smells “too much”.
More reviews: Bewitching Brews: Hurricane
Herbert West
Category: Picnic in Arkham
Quantity: sample
Description:
HERBERT WEST
Of Herbert West, who was my friend in college and in after life, I can speak only with extreme terror. This terror is not due altogether to the sinister manner of his recent disappearance, but was engendered by the whole nature of his life-work, and first gained its acute form more than seventeen years ago, when we were in the third year of our course at the Miskatonic University Medical School in Arkham. While he was with me, the wonder and diabolism of his experiments fascinated me utterly, and I was his closest companion. Now that he is gone and the spell is broken, the actual fear is greater. Memories and possibilities are ever more hideous than realities.
Aftershave, embalming fluid, and splatterings from a panoply of reanimation reagents.
Review:
In the bottle: Indeed, aftershave and citrus (or lemon). It’s definitively for men, but I’m curious enough to try it on.
Wet: Still a good dose of aftershave, lemon, as well as tea and/or something herbal and fresh.
Dry: Not so much aftershave anymore, but a refreshing lemony herbal scent.
Verdict: I don’t doubt this would smell different on a man (my skin chemistry tends to make everything turn sweet); however, whenever a perfume changes during drydown, a part of my brain says “make soap!” This psychological problem aside, I really liked it, the smell is clean and clear, and not as sinister as I thought it would be.
More reviews: Picnic in Arkham: Herbert West
Hairy Toad Lily
Category: Rappaccini's Garden
Quantity: sample
Description:
HAIRY TOAD LILY
Spotty, hairy, purple, sweet!
Review:
In the bottle: At first, it's as sweet as candy, yet a bit lemony in the background.
Wet: Still sweet and cute, but definitively more floral and herbal.
Dry: It turned so subtle that I can't review it. I'm left with a powdered deodorant smell.
Verdict: Overall, this is a very light, delicate perfume... So light, in fact, that it disappears! Oops.
More reviews: Rappaccini's Garden: Hairy Toad Lily
Follow Me Boy
Category: Bewitching Brews
Quantity: sample
Description:
FOLLOW ME BOY
A houdoun recipe dating back almost 150 years. This blend is favored by prostitutes, exotic dancers and others in the sex industry for its power to attract, seduce, and enthrall. Ensures financial gain and increased profits.
Review:
In the bottle: Contrarily to my fellow reviewers, I don’t get any jasmine (in my memories, jasmine smells better than that), but something bitter, maybe lemon, and a strong floral smell, either rose or patchouli.
Wet: I still smell citrus, but sweeter, such as orange, mixed with honey, rose, and baby powder.
Dry: It gets better after a while. I now smell honeysuckle, vanilla, powder, and something spicy. It’s still very floral, but it goes through a nice evolution.
Verdict: It’s ok, but honestly, it’s not something I will keep.
More reviews: Bewitching Brews: Follow Me Boy
Faustus
Category: Sin & Salvation
Quantity: sample
Description:
FAUSTUS
An infusion of incalculable power and irresistible temptation. Truly an exercise in megalomania and self-gratification: frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet.
Review:
In the bottle: What I smell is mostly frankincense, with a little bit of violet, and a drop of cinnamon.
Wet: My skin has just been attacked by frankincense in big quantities… And some dark violets are pushing from underneath.
Dry: It settled down to a mix of cinnamon and violet. It’s spicy, and a little bittersweet.
Verdict: I have to admit spicy cinnamon is very sensual and playful; but man, do I dislike frankincense on me… Also, it’s quite different from my usual feminine perfume oils, but it certainly is empowering and self-gratifying! It’s somewhat masculine, but I think it would fit better on a young man, filled with sexual energy; or as a neutral scent for a woman with an aura of power. When my mother smelled this on me, last December, she asked me where she could buy “a gallon of that stuff”, so I know to whom I can give my sample.
More reviews: Sin & Salvation: Faustus
Eat Me
Category: Mad Tea Party
Quantity: sample
Description:
EAT ME
Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words 'EAT ME' were beautifully marked in currants.
'Well, I'll eat it,' said Alice, 'and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way I'll get into the garden, and I don't care which happens!'
She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, 'Which way? Which way?', holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.
Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants.
BPAL’s Eat Me is not for eating. Please use common sense, and remember: perfume oils are for external use only.
Review:
In the bottle: Oh my! What a sugary, creamy, decadent cake!
Wet: A soft, moist vanilla cake. I still hesitate between comparing it to a white wedding cake or a pound cake; but either way, it smells yummy.
Dry: Now I get a little bit of currant to balance the rich sweetness of the cake. However, it still smells like something I would eat...
Verdict: Ok, I admit it, I have a weakness for foody scents... I might be biased, but I think this perfume is adorable. In fact, it makes me want to bake a batch of cupcakes.
More reviews: Mad Tea Party: Eat Me
Dana O'Shee
Category: Bewitching Brews
Quantity: sample
Description:
DANA O'SHEE
In Irish folklore the Dana O'Shee are a fae, elven people that live in a realm of beauty, their nobility akin to our that own Age of Chivalry, eternally beautiful and eternally young. They surround themselves with the pleasures of the Arts, they live for the hunt, and to this day can be seen riding in procession through the Irish countryside at twilight, led by their King and Queen. However, the Dana O'Shee are not benevolent creatures, despite what their unearthly beauty may imply. They are vengeful and treacherous and possess a streak of mischievous malice, and many have whispered that their true home lies deep in the shadowed groves of the Realm of the Dead. Hearing even a single chord of their otherworldly music leaves one stunned and lost to the mortal realms for ever, finding themselves prey to the Dana O'Shee's hunt or enslaved in their Court as servants or playthings. Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name.
Review:
In the bottle: At first, it’s mostly creamy honey, with a sweet cereal scent (oat?). I do smell a cherry or wild berry scent as well; but I wonder if I’m not hallucinating it, because it’s far behind.
Wet: Wow, this is sweet and delicious, with a touch of almond. It smells like it’s almost edible.
Dry: It’s still sweet, and it still smells like honey; but it’s much softer.
Verdict: I love it! I love foody scents, and Dana O’Shee seems perfect for all those occasions when a strong perfume might be overwhelming. I will probably buy a bottle of this one.
More reviews: Bewitching Brews: Dana O'Shee
All Night Long
Category: Bewitching Brews
Quantity: sample
Description:
ALL NIGHT LONG
As if the name didn't spell it out for you. This blend relieves all sexual
inhibitions by simultaneously relaxing and arousing.
Review:
In the bottle: Wow, this blend is thick! It's spicy, with a lot of cinnamon, and something lemony and floral behind. I also smell clove or pepper.
Wet: That definitively smells like clove to me! It's very spicy, in a hot, exotic way. I smell warm vanilla in the background. It's dark, mysterious and sweet.
Dry: Still spicy vanilla and clove. If you give it a few hours to fully blend with your skin, it really feels warm and sensual.
Verdict: Well, I have yet to test its properties at night, but it definitively smells good! Now, I have to get that song out of my head...
More reviews: Bewitching Brews: All Night Long
Alice
Category: Mad Tea Party
Quantity: sample
Description:
ALICE
Curiouser and curiouser. Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot.
Review:
In the bottle: It’s sweet and flowery. What I smell the most is a mix of milk and honey.
Wet: Initially, Alice is sweetened milk and flowers. I do smell a bit of carnation and bergamot, but not so much rose.
Dry: It’s still sweet and creamy flowers, but a tiny bit spicy (now that’s curious!). There is a little bit of rose hidden underneath the carnation, but it’s really not as strong as I thought it would be from the description.
Verdict: Alice is young and fresh, with a nice feminine touch. Because it reminds me of something edible (tea and cakes, how appropriate…), it’s tempting to describe it as the cousin of Dana O’Shee; or Katrina Van Tassel made better, thanks to carnation and bergamot. Either way, I like it, it will be perfect for spring.
More reviews: Mad Tea Party: Alice
