sarada

In nature, my favorite flowers are lilac, wisteria, and rose...but I know that in perfumes they mostly turn into bathroom spray and baby powder. Still, I've had a few work out for me... This is a very humid and languorous white floral at first, and I think first about walking through Pere Lachaise cemetery in the spring -- okay, I don't remember if there were actually any flowers like this there, but it's appropriate, oui? They are cloyingly sweet and a tad powdery but it still smells somewhat natural. Every day that I can, I walk in the woods behind the place where I work for a little while, where wisteria and lilacs are in bloom right now, and the scent wafts down the trails when you enter the woods. This captures that smell -- though only for a moment. It wants to turn to bathroom spray on me, but I do enjoy it in the bottle and I enjoy it while it is drying. This would be very nice to scent things with -- lotion, or body spray perhaps, a locket or a doilie in your dresser drawer. It is a very romantic, Victorian scent but with a touch of the corrupt and decadent...it's a bouquet of pale flowers in a funeral parlor, and the heady aroma of spring flowers in a cemetery.

I keep thinking this is called "Dragon's Kiss" because of the dragon's blood in it, and the color...but I finally remembered where to look for it to review it. I really like dragon's blood in certain blends (Bone, Heart, seem to be the ones that I get along with) and vetiver is one of my very favorite scents when used in small doses and blended with other woods, but cinnamon is one of my enemies. Nonetheless the description of "spices" is vague enough to entice me, since other spicy blends (Silk Road and Scherezade, namely) where the cinnamony smell is not heavy or dominating, are among my favorites. This is very similar to Wrath on me though, the spiciness is the dominant note and although I get the pleasant dragon's blood (which does come across vaguely like lilacs to me) I don't get any woody vetiver. The cinnamon smell is strong at first but gradually it calms down and is mostly dragon's blood...which is typical for me, that note always lingers longer than any other in a blend when it's present. And I like it, so that's not a bad thing! If you like cinnamony scents this would be absolutely wonderful. On me it does go through a long "craft store potpourri" phase, though, like anything with that cinnamon/cassia note does. But I am really glad that I got to try it and I like having another dragon's blood variation to play with!

Undeniably ylang ylang! I like ylang ylang in blends but it's always been a bit overwhelming as a dominant note...still, this is for aromatherapy, not casual wearing. In blends like Tisiphone it is somewhat muted and softened but it is very strong here -- it brings to mind a very strong impression of a yellow-orange color for me, or a soft earth color, something radiant and softly glowing, like damp skin by candlelight or heady blossoms lolling their heads in the heat of summer. I think this would also work best in an oil burner to create atmosphere for me, personally, as ylang ylang can become an almost chemical smell if I use too much on my skin, and this has a lot of throw. It's simmering, sultry, and actually feels warm on my skin -- if ylang ylang is a fragrance that works on you, I'd say this would make a good sensual massage oil as well, diluted in a carrier oil. I kind of feel like lying down and waiting for someone to come along and kiss me all over....

I was very curious about this, given the decription and the reviews...and I'm still at a loss for how to describe the scent, but it is a very familiar, and grounding scent. In the vial, it actually smells a little like green olives to me. It comes across as slightly resinous, a bit of a smoky herbal or perhaps a damp, burnt wood. That fleeting impression I have of something pickled, like olives, burns off very quickly. It immediately brings me into the moment and makes me feel, well, somewhat grounded. I tried this on my skin...it begins to sweeten somewhat. This reminds me of something from childhood. I think it's similar to an incense my mom might have burned when she was doing yoga when I was little. It could be any combination of things though -- herbal tea, moth balls from the wooden chest she kept her yoga mat in, cedar chips, sage -- but overall a sweet resinous quality begins to emerge from this and it becomes even more comforting. Kind of appropriate that whatever it is, it reminds me of my mom. I think this would work well in an oil burner to create an atmosphere of calm. It is a very grounding scent and I feel very still when I smell it as it warms on my skin. This is undeniably a scent with therapeutic properties. You probably would not want to wear it as a perfume but it is definitely a calming blend -- not the kind of calm that lavender might bring, but more of a nostalgic calm...it brings me back to myself.

Oh, lord, I LOVE this! Thanks to queenb for an imp! This pairs the thick smoke and flame of Djinn with the earthy vetiver of Death, Damnation, Capricorn, damn near every damn dark and earthy scent that I love! There's probably something else like cedar or patchouli in there but vetiver is always strongest on me...I'm going to venture a guess and say something cedary but I'm not sure. Whatever the wood is, it's scorched, blackened, on FIRE! The only problem is that whenever I sniff it I get a little tickle in my nose and feel a little bit like I might sneeze. I CANNOT stop sniffing it though so I'm just going to have to alternate sniffs with blowing my nose. It's odd, because Djinn didn't make me sneezy but I would swear this is the exact same smoke note that is in that -- it's like you stuck your face too close to the campfire -- but in a good way! I think if I can keep myself from sticking my face directly in it though it shouldn't be a problem. I MUST have a bottle of this as soon as possible. It's very close to Death but more intended for wearing, I think -- it has more throw and none of the metallic tinge of Death. This is incredible and I wish I had tried it sooner! I just hope that this sneezy thing is temporary and more related to the dust that is circulating in the air right now, or spring, or something -- either way nothing will keep me from wearing it! This is so smoky it might very well set off the fire alarm if I walk by it!

When I first sniff this, I get a very strong honey-lemon cut through with methol-eucalyptus...close to, but not exactly honey-lemon tea, unless it is the kind specially formulated to clear out your sinuses. And wow, does this ever! This shoots straight up to my brain. There's no doubt that this is an aromatherapy blend. It freezes me in my tracks and I want to just sit down and breathe deeply for a little while. My mind feels as though it has been washed clean and I can suddenly think with clarity and focus. I tested a couple of drops in an oil burner, not enough to get the full effect, but the pleasing lemon-ginger smell seemed to clear the air a little. This would be a tremendous aid to study and concentration, I think. A drop on my skin developed slightly differently, as I inhaled it to continue to enjoy that mind-clearing effect. I felt at though I could sit down and make lists, get things done, start fresh. The clutter in my head from the day seemed to lift. I can actually distincting taste this when I smell it. The piercing mentholated lemon-honey is simultaneously stimulating and soothing. The aromatherapy blends are incredible -- I would definitely not mistake these for perfume, they start working on you immediately and demand your full attention. A bottle of this will be essential for whenever I feel that I need to have a clear head and a fresh start, and wipe the slate clean.

Yep -- it's Red Hots. I've been "burned" several times recently b cinnamon blends on my skin so I'm not going to test this on my skin, I'm just sniffing it. I never thought of Uranus as a cinnamony planet but then again, I haven't really studied this planet very much. I'd better steer clear of this one! I don't like cinnamon to begin with, but if you are working with the planet Uranus and enjoy cinnamon, you're in luck!

This was actually one of the first couple dozen BPAL scents that I ever tried, and at the time I passed on it because of the pepper. I love the lab's frankincense -- LOVE it -- but the pepper kicks this into a sharp, hot category that doesn't work well for me with the sweet, dark resin. It is a little hot on my skin, as well, because of the pepper -- the frankincense is so gorgeous that it almost overrides it, but ultimately I can't stomach the sharp, high, hot scent of ginger and pepper overriding the sweet polished wood resin of frankincense and I have to wash it off and put Penitence on in its place. I have Aries rising, moon and in Mars, and my mom is an Aries, so this is a scent that I would very much like to bond with, but I can only deal with the frankincense portion of it. I do like ginger in other blends but I think there must be a lot of it in this, as it pierces my sinuses along with the pepper.

It's probably worth noting that I'm a Scorpio. I would have gotten this while it was available but since so many of the reviews mentioned spiciness I didn't, as I don't often care for spicy scents (except Silk Road, as it turns out) and have bad skin reactions to some of them. Now that I have sampled some of this courtesy of the Celestial swap I am very upset that I didn't snatch some up sooner! This is a very, very familiar scent. What it is?....Violet! I get a lot of violet and a touch of mint, rather like the Choward's Violet Mints that I love so much (chalky, square little breath mints). This is also what happens when I wear myrrh so it could actually be a very sneaky myrrh. There's a touch of something spicy underneath, maybe clove. I don't get the tingle on my skin that means cinnamon, but it could be in there very light. Actually, since myrrh comes across as a spicy violet on me, there's some more evidence for my theory. But I mainly get a deep, strong violet. The best violet I have ever smelled from the lab, as most violet seems to turn to immediate soapy powder on me. I really wonder what is in this. Well, I will put my guess in at some kind of myrrh, but if not, then violets, mint and clove. Whatever it is, this screams Scorpio to me -- I wish I had picked up a 10 ml. The drydown reminds me a little of my beloved Dance of Death though so I might be able to live without tracking down a bottle...but it will be a life of constant longing!

I'm been wary of using CCNow because of those kinds of anomalies, I am sure the lab will be able to correct the problems though! On my very first order that I placed myself, it was when CCNow randomly canceled dozens of payments one day. So I have used Paypal ever since, even though I'm afraid that I'm going to do the math wrong or write down the wrong name of what I want...but so far, so good!

Pluto smells like deep space. No, well, it smells like eucalyptus, too -- a very strong, medicinal, menthol smell -- but it reminds me of the faraway blackness of distant outer space. I feel like this is what the quantum physics scents will smell like -- there's a cold, clinical distance in this, a sort of ozone behind the menthol. Now that I look at the other reviews after writing down my impressions, I agree with the descriptions of it as being cold and metallic. The methol smell becomes less strong with time, into a more cold and glossy mint. I see dark, dark metallic green in my mind when I smell this, or dark hematite. I probably wouldn't wear this if I had more of it, but I can see being in the dark of night under a moonless sky and using this for something profoundly introspective, or for some sort of banishing, or work with outer planetary aspects. But since I just use oils as perfumes right now, I probably wouldn't use it. I am anxious to see what some of the astronomical/physics inspired scents will smell like now, though, because I think this is a brilliant use of scent to convey something so very distant, alien and cold. Also -- it clears the sinuses!

The unmistakable colour and scent of dragon's blood, along with a spice of some sort...clove perhaps? Cinnamon tends to make me all burny (see also: my review of Mercury) but this doesn't, so perhaps clove is stronger in this. This is very appropriate for Mars, I wouldn't wear it but I can see anointing a candle with this for the right purpose. Actually, it makes me feel a little queasy, much like Sol did....cinnamon also has the unfortunate effect of making me feel a little sick to my stomach. Clove doesn't, but cinnamon does. Going to have to wash it off, even though I like the way that dragon's blood seems to dominate as it dries down. It's not the kind of smell that I like (I like dragon's blood in other blends though) but I can definitely see where someone might want to anoint red candles with it!

Yes, it's rose and mint -- something like the rose from the Empress, but the mint wafts by very gently, like someone with pink lips and minty breath has just given you a kiss. Soft, comforting and very feminine -- this is the kind of rose that becomes sweet powder on me. My cat wants to lick this off of me...it must be the mint. This is also the kind of rose that tends to give me a headache, but it mellows after awhile. I'm learning, with trying the Celestial blends that these are definitely not necessarily meant for wearing like normal perfumes. The emotions that each brings forth when I try them gets confusing after awhile, they all seem very directed toward their purpose and can be overwhelming at times. I can't imagine wearing many of these but I can definitely imagine using them in other ways, if I was inclined to do so. For this I imagine it would go well with pink and green candles and some rose petals when one wanted to send out good Venus vibes. I do wish that I had a complete set of these at least as imps, for whenever I needed to spend some time on a particular planet. Venus would be a nice place to visit!

Wow, I wrote down my impressions of this scent before I looked at the other reviews but it seems we mostly got the same impressions. When I first sniff it: Lavender! And oh dear, something that makes my skin tingle and burn. There's only one thing that does that: cinnamon. It burns! That's fairly brief though and I don't get any redness, just a passing tingle and a lingering feeling as though I might have spilled hot tea on myself recently. Even if I can't smell cinnamon I can always feel it -- and that's why I always avoid it! I definitely smell lavender more than anything else at first though -- mixed into a tangle of spicy sweet herbal scents that gradually develop. I thought Mercury would be some sort of citrus or spice, but it's more of a spiced lavender -- I wonder if there's a resin or wood in here as well? It reminds me after drying for awhile, of Nanshe, with cinnamon blended deeply into it. I like Mercury, it is very complex, and I would use it in an oil burner or possibly diluted on my skin if I had more, especially since I can use the influence of Mercury in my line of work (journalism=communications, right?) Wow, moments after writing this, the Simpsons is on in the background and they spray Homer with a perfume on his wrist and he says "It burns, it burns!" Synchronicity, anyone?? Is "Predict Simpsons Episode" my new super power?

Pure jasmine. Iit's reminding me of the Tarot: The Moon scent at first, rather than one of the lunar blends. Possibly night-blooming, given the inspiration for the scent. A light, mellow jasmine tea is the only impression I get from this -- not the sharp jasmine that sometimes bothers me in blends. Perhaps there's honeysuckle in there as well, as it dries down. This is probably the nicest jasmine I've ever encountered, and I'm not fond of jasmine in wearable scents. It's as peaceful and soothing as the sight of a full moon over a field of white flowers.

A very hot, very red, spicy scent -- almost like an Old Spice sort of aftershave scent at first. I'm not big on cinnamon but I do like other spices so there must be a variety of hot spices in here -- along with possible something like sage or bay, some "hot" herb. I'm not a sun person at all but with this on one hand and Leo on the other, I went out and spent the afternoon sitting on a hill in the sun for a long time (not facing the sun though -- my skin is too fair!) and I couldn't seem to get enough light. A very effective way to honor Sol, though not a scent I could otherwise wear. This is more of a red sun than a golden sun -- a scorching masculine scent.

From the Celestials swap circle! I went right for Leo when I got this package. I have been dying to try this. The notes listed above: lime / heliotrope / juniper / orange / sandalwood are very intriguing to me, a strange mixture of fruits and wood that I can't help but want to try. I have a thing for Leos, see. I know I should know better by now (no offense, Leos), but I can't resist them. Maybe it's their hair -- those thick golden manes that they toss around so carelessly. Robert Plant's a Leo -- I've always had a thing for him. The way they strut around like they own the place and then make a joke and give you a wink. God, Leos are hot. Even when I know they're bad for me, I can't stop looking at them. Even though I know they're going to say, "Hey baby, I love you, but..." I have to hang around them and stroke their hair and listen to their jokes just like a wide-eyed groupie. Fortunately I don't know any right now, or my bf would be pretty upset with me! But back to the oil...this is a very compelling fragrance. In the vial, I can't stop sniffing it -- the lime and orange and that glistening golden cherry-like glitter of heliotrope give it a bright, jewel-like first impression. I can see a garden of bright green, orange, golden and red jewels when I smell this. It begins to soften into what smells very much like copal, to me. I LOVE copal. It doesn't quite go powdery on me, it's a very golden, soft wood, slightly resinous smell. I don't know if it's in here but I feel like it is...it could be the sandalwood having that effect. There's just the slightest hint of spice as well. I can see where this might go powdery on others, and it fades pretty quickly, but it is gorgeous and unique. The drydown does remind me a little of the drydown on Greed -- at least the heliotrope and copal part of it. Leo is a little lighter and there's a slight lingering hint of citrus and green. This is one of the best things I've ever smelled! I'd do anything to get a bottle. Anything, I tell you!! Why oh why wasn't I paying attention when these were available?

This is one of the only ones on my desperate-to-try list that I haven't tried yet...and now I have tried it! In the vial I really can't get a handle on what direction this is going to go in -- it's dry, slightly perfume/cologney, a little bit spicy, a little bitter. There's a phantom of an orangey smell but that might just be because I'm looking for it. As it dries the massive swirling of scents calms down and it settles into something decidedly like a perfume or cologne, very masculine but also a little reminiscent of my grandmother's perfume drawer that I remember from childhood. Still, it's not overwhelmingly floral, it's just...busy. I keep thinking, based on the name, that this is a Japanese blend because I can easily imagine a Japanese fairy tale involving a mysterious ghostly grandmother figure that unleashes a fury of spirits upon the unsuspecting, when her place of rest is disturbed. The components even make me think of Japan -- the peony, mandarin and pepper all seem decidedly Asian to me (maybe more Chinese than Japanese). I guess I should read up on the actual inspiration of this scent, but I do enjoy my version too! Okay, back to the scent, though -- It dries into a very nice wood scent, with a slight peppery orangey kick. I like the wood drydown a lot. I wish the sandalwood was stronger, of course, but I can never seem to find a sandalwood strong enough for me. It actually makes me think of driftwood in this stage, or of grey wooden sunbleached houses along the shore. There's a slightly salty-peppery tang to it, and an almost sandy quality. I can see using the imp but I don't think I'd go for a bottle -- it's a lovely blend though and well worth experiencing!

Mad Hatter was one of the first freebie imps I ever received, over a year ago, and at the time I had no idea what to expect from BPAL -- the dark minty scent from this imp (they were all tarted) was so strong that I thought they all smelled like this! The mintiness was strong enough to adhere to the tarted tags and twine, so the whole batch smelled like Mad Hatter to me until I took them out individually some time later and got to know them, one by one. I didn't know much about imp storage at the time, so my Hatter leaked on them, you see. I never really got a chance to test it properly because of that. Now that I have been able to try it again, I get this wonderful nostalgia for my first BPAL experience! I was surprised to see that cocoa or chocolate were not mentioned in the ingredients list -- if this doesn't smell just like mint chocolate I don't know what does! Even moreso than Spooky did, to my nose, because Spooky was somewhat derailed by coconut. Like the oil Pain, this does contain lavender and pennyroyal, but it doesn't have the sharp smack and tingle of Pain, this is a much more warm, soothing blend (probably because of the musk). I don't think of it as a men's cologne type smell though, just a generally warm and comforting dark mint. Fans of Cathode and the non-coconutty parts of Spooky should like it!

I tested this once and while I was very impressed with it I decided to pass on it...there are very few light, airy scents that I can wear and I think I probably have more than enough right now. My first impressions were that it was light, airy, crisp and clean -- almost like a less perfumey Leanan Sidhe, but more lush and warm. It is one of the rare light florals that I do like -- most smell like nothing to me, fade instantly and leave little impression. It did not turn to powder and did not give me a perfume headache, which is also a very unusual feat! It deepens with wear a little -- I couldn't identify any individual floral notes though there was a passing resemblance to something in Vinland or ... well, anything floral pretty much all smells the same to me unless I can pick out a strong rose note, or a headache-inducing stab of jasmine, and I didn't get either of those from this. Gorgeous, but it's a rare floral that I can actually wear for more than a test run so Beltane will be on its merry way!

Oh my, this is incredible!! I don't like sweet scents normally, but the hint of strawberry makes this just fruity enough to override my general dislike of florals and sugary scents -- this is wonderful! So far I have not kept any of the Lunacy blends. I think I might try to hang on to most of this, though...it just brings a big smile to my face. In the bottle this is very strong, and a little bit creamy or cidery -- I have to stop myself before I try to drink it. It's a raucous pink party with fizzy drinks and sticky treats. I want a big fat slice of strawberry pie. And I want to go to a carnival and stick my face in a big web of pink cotton candy. But this is a natural sweetness, not an artificial, candylike one, to me. I love when this happens, and a blend that doesn't have any notes in it that I normally like, somehow comes together into something marvellous! I can't pick out any of the flower notes, but it's like a garden party in the spring with strawberry tarts laid out on a picnic blanket and colorful flowers in bloom all around. I honestly don't know that I'll wear it a whole lot, but it definitely brightens my mood to smell it. Maybe I will use some for a lotion, this would be fantastic for an after-bath lotion. I don't think I own any pink clothing that I could coordinate with a scent like this, though! This would be great with a Sweet Lolita (EGL) outfit though! ETA: This was fading on my arm when I got home today and my bf said, "It smells like an ice cream store in here!" I always enjoy his impressions of what I'm wearing, I think that's pretty much on target!

Say hello to my new favourite blend. I knew by the description that this would be love at first sniff...it is everything I hoped for. I am weeping that I didn't order more than one bottle -- I KNEW I'd love it this much but I never make a dent in my bottles, it seems...oh but I will use this enough to justify more, I just know it! You have the dark, sweet bonfire smoke of Samhain, the fir and pine smells of Nocnitsa, and so many subtle shades of green herbs and brown wood intermingled that I think my head might explode. It also reminds me of that sweet smoky smell I get in House of Night, but without the florals in the background. Pure sweet burning evergreen wood with a sprinkling of ritual herbs on a spring night. It reminds me of Beltane fires with smudge sticks smouldering and rich earth covered in pine needles. More please? Pretty please? This is definitely my new favourite scent. I don't usually go for the LEs, I'm too afraid to have my heart broken, but I'm in love for good this time. ETA: I was told when I wore this at work that a pleasing scent of pipe tobacco lingered around me. The people around me said it came across at first as sort of sweet and cherry-like, almost spicy, and gradually became more like a warm, woody tobacco. Oh yes, and I got a second bottle.

This scent is making me re-evaluate how I feel about florals...usually florals smell like nothing to me, or they make me sneeze, or they make my head hurt. But there are a few that make me very, very happy. This is one of those. There is a heavy, brooding, enveloping dark sweetness about these flowers. I don't know how I feel about lotus, but stargazer lily was one of my favorite Yankee Candle scents, and white rose might be one of the ingredients in Dublin that makes it so impossibly gorgeous. No powdery scent, no headache...layers of sweet smokiness and crisp succulence that mesh perfectly. This makes me wonder if I might enjoy some other "white" florals, like Ghost, which has some similar notes in it. If you don't like florals, give this one a try anyway -- if I had more of this I would consider using it as a room scent in the spring and summer, or scent candles or lotions with it. As a perfume, I will definitely use the imp. This would be equally beautiful for a wedding or a funeral, strangely enough. I can see both radiant white hope, and dark melancholy in this blend, depending on how I approach it. It's just SO beautiful. And on a beautiful spring day like today....I want to wreathe myself in flowers and go lie down in a stream, inhaling their scent.

I went with an imp of Hades rather than a bottle -- I was attracted by the resinous and unusual notes (onycha??) but was not sure how I would like the black narcissus if it dominated. On the one hand I was expecting murky, dark, incensy gloom but this actually crackles with an almost effervescent quality. I keep comparing things to Medea, but I noticed that this does share several notes with that blend: cypress and labdanum. Perhaps that accounts for the light, sparkling resinous quality, completely different from the resins that I'm used to (frankincense, myrrh, etc.). It grows stronger as it dries, and the sharpness mellows somewhat but it is still a very high-pitched scent. I'm not sure what black narcissus smells like on its own but it must be dominating in this blend, along with the slightly sour, bubbly tang that I also get in Medea. I'm not sure if I'll wear this -- it's unique, but not really a scent that I can see wanting to have wafting around me. But it's so unusual that it probably deserves a couple more chances for it to really click with me. Plus, I'm testing like three fragrances in different places today! I may need to spend some time alone with this to get a better feel for its personality. Incidentally, here's some background on onycha that I found when I decided to look it up online. It is listed as an ingredient in a sacred incense in the Bible: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha and galbanum, these sweet spices together with pure frankincense of each shall there be a like weight." As for what onycha is in this blend, I'm not sure -- it's sometimes described as a mollusc, and there are some resins that apparently substitute for it, so that will be a mystery of the lab for now I guess! Spikenard, labdanum and clove are all listed on one site as possibilities for what the onycha of the Bible was referring to. I have no idea, but there's a unique note in this that I can't place...something slightly salty, a little sour, and I wonder if that is the onycha.

Sweet, scorched wood -- a log left on a fireplace, crumbling and blackened but wisps of smoke still escape when you stir the ashes. This is a very dry scent to me, delicious dark wood -- almost certainly some vetiver in there, as dark as Malediction but as woodily sweet as Capricorn. It's more like long lost Damnation actually, but a bit sootier and smokier and...sweeter. I've been wanting to try this for a long time, and it's everything I had hoped for -- and very much like the aforementioned discontinued scents. But it definitely gives me the impression of something that was created for its properties, rather than specifically as a perfume. If the dark, brittle, crumbling wood represents that which is gone, then the lingering bouquet of slightly sweet smoke is the hope of change in the future -- the phoenix rising from the flames, if you like! Definitely my favorite of the Tarot oils I've tried so far. I would like to keep their properties in mind as I wear them but I might just turn to it for its fragrance, more often than not!