Gemini noir

The packaging is so elegant; the soaps would make lovely presents. I only got the softest of smells from the wrapped bar, but accidentally leaving it overnight in the closed storage compartment of my car's center console led to a strong, beautiful scent when I opened it during my "where the hell did I put the soap after Will Call?" Quest For Soap. I don't know whether using a bar to scent a drawer would be a good idea, leading to similar creamy, sweet-smelling goodness or overkill as applied to underthings. The soap is smooth and very creamy, about the color of a very light mocha latte... it lathers well and is nicely moisturizing. The scent is so lovely, but it doesn't smell quite like Snake Oil to me, more like a creamier Snake Oil hybrid with less patchouli. I wouldn't mind if it was a bit more heavily perfumed (if it wouldn't screw with the soap's overall loveliness), but I don't mind it smelling like a Snake Oil hybrid at all. It's a creamy, sweet (but not excessively sweet), vanilla scent, with a bit of spiciness. I forgot to use perfume before I went out for the night only remembering when I leaned to whisper to someone and caught the scent of my soap (vanilla spice). My thoughts were like a clichéd commercial moment: "Aw, I forgot perfume... " *sniff* "Oh, it's okay, I used Snake Oil Soap."

Madrid has "bold red wine" that I find pretty grape-juice-like when wet, but then it does get a bit more grown up after drydown. But it's still grapey. 'Cause ... wine. Okay, that's all I got.

Tempest smells like lime rain. I'll second Dublin as a beautiful green scent ... I don't get "rain" specifically from it, but I love it.

Awesome, good luck!

I lurve cinnamon. Besides Harlot I love/like: Hamadryad - which has a ton of cinnamon Tarot: The Lovers - sweetly, gently cinnamony Gingerbread Poppet - of course this has loads of cinnamon and I adore it. Three Witches - I have only sniffed, and sadly it's of course discontinued, but it smelled wonderful and strongly of ... you know. Chimera - Also only sniffed this one. Very cinnamony ... just asked Macha about it yesterday and she said it turned on her. Ah, the cruelty of a note that doesn't work on you in a blend you would otherwise like. Haven't tried it but I thought Hellfire was cinnamony ... it isn't listed as a note in the description, though. Then again, it isn't listed in Hamadryad's description either! Hrmm ... a couple of Hellfire's reviews mention cinnamon, but most don't ... so maybe it isn't very cinnamony at least... It has been reformulated as well, so all bets are off...

I like this more than I thought I would, though it's probably not enough of a "me" scent for me to want a big bottle of it. For a while, it was a combination of grassy, dusty, and earthy in a rather dry way (makes sense for "Coyote"). After about 20 minutes a sweetness emerged, which sort of softened the scent and made me like it more ... made it feel more like something I would really want to wear. I'd like to try this more ... an interesting scent and very unlike something I would usually choose. I did enjoy wearing it and it had a nice staying power on me.

I find The Lovers pretty cinnamony but not strongly, overpoweringly so. It's a gentle and sweet scent, and very lovely. Not sure what else lurks within this scent, seems like there could be a floral presence as well as some herbal notes. It doesn't last a very long time on me, but it's worth reapplying and I plan on eventually getting the 10 ml bottle.

The Ars Draconis scents amaze me. I smell Dragon's Hide and think, "Yes, that is what dragon's hide smells like." Not that I had ever thought about it before, but I suddenly realize that particular scent smells exactly right. Same thing with Dragon's Tears, etc ... the scents are just an awesome achievement. So the line, including Dragon's Hide, is impressive. As for this scent, I think it smells like Dragon's Hide. It's some combination of Dragon's Blood with a sense of what a dragon's skin would be like ... they have scales, but underneath that, their skin would be tough and thick, like a layer of armour. Leathery maybe, but like, oh ... enchanted leather. ( at self, but I like the idea of there being a touch of magic in here ... and anyone wearing something that smells of Dragon's Hide shouldn't mind a bit of enchanted-type talk). Dragon's blood, smoky-enchanted-magic-leather ... very nice ... this would also be great on a guy.

Also there's these Voodoo Oils ... maybe one of them is appropriate for you. BLOCK BUSTER Used to open up options in your life, overcome obstacles, and create opportunities. This blend increases your potential for success, inspires creativity and quick thinking, and helps you to be more flexible, adaptable and open to change. and WOLF'S HEART Grants courage under extreme conditions, helps overcome fear of death, and strengthens the fortitude of artists and businessmen, enabling them to further their goals. If you feel like you could benefit from a boost of energy, at least when you've got work to do, you might want to look for an oil with a citrus and/or mint (peppermint, spearmint) component. Cinnamon and eucalyptus are also thought to be stimulating. Those citrus notes are also thought to be good for concentration ... lemon, orange, grapefruit, bergamot, and lemongrass. The BPAL search engine is great for looking for a scent with one/more certain notes. The BPAL FAQ gives some good info about its perfume oil, but this thread is right spot on target about your essential oil question (in case you did want to find out about that ).

I expect it'll be the usual Lab label. Maybe with a pink border! ETA: I see Gemini noir responded in the other thread: And there is indeed a pink border, Gin ...

Yemayá is wonderful. It immediately smells like watermelon candy on me, which is great. After a few minutes, the scent starts to warm. It's still like watermelon candy but the warmth makes it even better, and kind of comforting. Which is appropriate, it turned out, as Yemayá is associated with providing comfort. I did a little web research into Yemayá, after I wore and loved it (and found it comforting, really!). Yay, Google -- there is a lot of interesting info out there about her -- I won't try to sum it all up here, and I've only read a small amount of what's out there; I'm so not an expert. I think a smidgen of info about Yemayá is on-topic, though, and hopefully of interest. (And hopefully I won't mess anything up!). Yemayá is the mother of all the Orishas, and rules the surface of oceans, seas, and lakes. She provided comfort to African slaves in ships traveling to the New World (!), and they gave thanks to her for surviving the trip. She is often depicted as a mermaid, or a beautiful woman standing among waves. One of the foods associated with her is watermelon, luckily for us. The other foods associated with her are molasses, black-eyed peas and fried pork rinds. Think we can be pretty confident there are no fried pork rinds in here. Molasses? Maybe so ... Either way, I love Yemayá ... it smells like warm watermelon candy and is such a lovely feel-good scent.

I don't think of myself as liking patchouli at all. But I do like this. It helps that the patchouli is so well-blended with yummy myrrh and orris, and that on my skin, those notes really come out to play, with the black musk (and I suppose the patchouli ) adding a nice dark base. I didn't find it at all heavy though (despite the "dark"). It's pretty and yes, dark at first, but not overwhelming ... the green element emerged after about 20 minutes. Chalk me up as another one who thought she smelled violets -- I only thought I smelled them for a short time after I first put it on. I think "dark green scent" is a very good description ... it's a dark green, spicy scent. Very pretty.

If O screams "sex," La Petite Mort softly moans it. This is a softer, sweeter version of O on me ... It still smells like sex, but it's a bit more polite about it. It's still very sexy, which is perhaps why I've used some variation of the word "sex" four times in three sentences. Okay, so to summarize: it smells like afterglow and quite lovely.

At first this smells sort of like spicy apples on me ... not "apple pie" spicy. I suppose it's soft myrtle/myrtle spicy. It's warm and rather lovely. After about 40 minutes, it turned ... it started to smell like sour apples. Not sure which particular note might be the troublemaker ... my skin has problems with single-note carnation, but is generally a-okay with it in blends. Maybe it's the apple blossom ... Weirdly, the "sour apples" phase was temporary, I think. Not sure of the exact timespan ... I was out shopping ... ... I think it lasted not longer than an hour or two. However, my nose might have just acclimated to the sour apples. Thereafter the scent was subtle but pretty ... apples without the sourness, I think! Or I just got used to it. Not for me just because of my skin chemistry, though it would still smell lovely in a scent locket or oil burner.

At first: a strong impression of tangerine and lush carnations (the rose maybe adding to the lushness but I don't smell a rose note), with the amber more in the background. And gorgeous! A couple minutes later, the jasmine emerges, and maybe the lily of the valley, I'm not familiar enough with their scent to be sure. The scent grows more exotic. The tangerine starts to fade at this point ... You could walk through the market stalls in Moscow and smell these scents ... all the flowers, amber incense, jasmine and bergamot tea, tangerines. If you purchased wisely, you could achieve this smell, but the BPAL way seems a lot easier. Twenty minutes later, and it's harder to pick out the notes ... the jasmine is there, but while it doesn't dominate too much, it's hard to pick out other notes. I still get carnation I think ... Otherwise there's mostly a general impression of exotic prettiness. The tangerine note was so lovely, and it would have been nice if it could have lasted longer, but this is still a winner. Evocative and lovely.

It is so fucking beaufiful. The narcissus and black poppy give this an incredible spiciness that makes it so ... well, intoxicating. Without that, it would have a lovely, smooth, sort of creamy floral scent. With it, it's a just such a perfectly-blended spicy floral. The narcissus must be a powerful note, at least in Beth's hands ... I can almost see how one might lose interest in others smelling like this. I can barely tear myself away from smelling my wrist to write this. I would just love to bask in this scent ... It is so gorgeous, and I just love it ... creamy, spicy, perfectly-blended ... what I don't know yet is how long it lasts, and whether it changes over a long time ...

Beth's plumeria is the first plumeria scent I've bought since vacationing in Hawaii as a kid oh so long ago. Back then I fell in lurve with the scents of both plumeria and tuberose and bought little solid and liquid perfume versions of both. Didn't try to recapture that Hawaiian flower magic in adulthood until BPAL. (I think I had the vague idea that the magic could only be found in Hawaii and just didn't think of looking for it elsewhere) Basically ... yep, it's plumeria in its pretty floral glory. Creamy is a good word for the scent ... almost a coconutty quality to it, and it lingers for a decent amount of time too, which is a lovely bonus.

Wet, Carnivàle smelled like fruit punch, which can be a good thing. Dry, the berry scent grew brighter and more full-bodied ... This is a lighthearted, fun blend, but not cloying or too sweet. It does make me want to go frolic about merrily though. I didn't order an imp until it was announced that it was discontinued and I only tried it pretty recently. Bummer, this was a really lovely one ... a happy scent, and it lasted a good long time.

When I first applied Hunger there was a lovely sort of spicy-chocolate-orange stage (I want to say spicy chocolate orange cake because I'm literally hungry but really it was indeed like one of those candy oranges, only spicier). At that point I thought it might be too sweet -- Is there such a thing, I wondered?! Thought it might mellow a bit, and if not, okay ... this is just supposed to be for when you want to feel edible then. Alas ... while I was grooving on this stage of the teetering-on-the-edge-of-almost-too-sweet-but-still-tasty scent of Hunger, Smoky came out to play. And he brought his friend Mr. Incense. Of whom I'm not usually overly fond, but I try to be tolerant. I found myself wondering whether in this case the blend's name referred to my skin's hunger for orange blossoms and vanilla, 'cause baby they were gone. Narcissus remained, and actually the spicy/incensey warmth of the scent got nicer as time went on, and the smokiness died down. I did miss the yummy sweetness of Hunger though ... Just don't think this one works with my body chemistry.

In the bottle: whoa, is that boozy! On application: yes, it is! 5-10 minutes later: the alcohol settled down, and the other notes started to emerge, and mmmm ... as has been noted it's eggnog alright! It's just like the description: truth in advertising. At this point I noticed the nutmeg, and then the sweet creamy goodness. 15 minutes later: perfect: not too boozy or spicy or sweet. Just perfectly blended eggnog, and perfectly wonderful. I forgot to take note of just how long it lasted on me but it didn't fade quickly at all, though it didn't last as long as Gingerbread Poppet either.

This is an absolutely gorgeous and slightly decadent, sexy floral. It's sophisticated but still fun and free-spirited ... and maybe a bit wanton. I kept thinking about Belle Epoque the next day. I did a lousy job at remembering what notes were in it, or being able to pick them out, I just knew I loved whatever they were. An instant favourite.

This is really lovely. Blood Amber is such a pretty light red colour, and it smells even better (as long as your chemistry cooperates). The first time I wore it, warm and sweet were the words that came to mind. It stayed pretty strong for about an hour and then grew more mild, but lasted, and stayed consistent for over six hours. When I wore Blood Amber a second time, I immediately noticed the spiciness. Not sure why I didn't notice it the first time ... But I officially amend how-I-think of Blood Amber to warm, spicy, and sweet. I won't rush to buy a bottle, but I think when I start to run low, I might well order an imp. Don't like the thought of not having any on hand.

Mmmm ... On application, it immediately (and pleasantly) smelled like buttery rum. It made me think of sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold winter night with a nice mug of something yummy. After about 25-30 minutes the buttery element mellowed down ... it still smelled like buttered rum, but the "butter" note was milder and the rum came more to the forefront. This might be a chemistry thing, since it sounds like on some of us the butter element gets stronger, and on some of us it gets weaker. I like both stages: the more-buttery Grog and the less-buttery Grog are both quite tasty. This would be pretty yummy on a guy too.

My first review ... eek! On application, I get a strong lemon scent which pretty quickly fades into a lovely lemon/green scent. I've smelled lemon verbena but not recently enough to make a decent comparison. It's a crisp, fresh, "happy" scent. A sort of energetic scent ... it gives me a bit of get up and go. It isn't terribly long-lasting, as has been noted ... gone by three hours for me too. I don't mind. This is a lovely scent.