Gemini noir

A venerable New England university, whose vast library holds many rare, diabolical and obscure arcane works, including one of the few surviving legitimate copies of the Necronomicon. Home to innumerable scholars of the esoteric and the occult, and the notorious Dr. Herbert West. The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls. The Springtime in Arkham scents have gorgeous labels -- most of them, this one included, have the the name of the scent labeled in English ... and a very cool design, featuring a otherworldly-looking star, with an eye in the center. The label is kind of a very pale rose colour. In the bottle, Miskatonic University smells like Irish Coffee. On my skin the oakwood scent soon emerges, which is really nice. I don't smell dust, near as I can tell, but I can at least imagine that I smell books ... it's such an evocative image ... oakwood floors, Irish coffee, and a library filled with old books ... The oakwood note mingles really nicely with the Irish coffee; it's like Irish coffee spilled on oakwood ... mmmm ... and I can tell there's something else playing in there too, though I can't quite put my finger (nose) on it. Must be the books. I really enjoy this ... the Irish coffee/oakwood combo is yummy, and I love the concept. This is so well-done, and I'm happy to have it. Edited: Because some folks have been asking what Irish coffee smells like. Basically: Irish whiskey, coffee, and sugar (recipes vary a bit. Some call for espresso instead of coffee, brown or raw sugar; some call for whipped cream. But those three ingredients give you the gist of it).

Pink Moon Limited Edition: A Little Lunacy 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. In the bottle: pretty flowers. Soon after application: It smells pink! It's cheerful and sort of cottoncandyish and girly ... I could smell the phlox (my mom grows a ton of phlox) and the pink sugar note most strongly ... definitely not too much strawberry, which is good, because I find single-note strawberry too sweet. As time goes on: the cottoncandy aspect faded somewhat, and it deepened more ... bit like a darkening pink moon? I saw it written and I saw it say Pink moon is on its way And none of you stand so tall Pink moon gonna get you all It's a pink moon It's a pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon. - "Pink Moon," Nick Drake Interesting ... The cheery pink turns to a darker pink. Barbie goes on Prozac? Not that bleak, but it's very interesting how such a bubbly pink gets an edge to it ... A pretty floral, but with an undercurrent of something darker ...

Wet: the lemongrass, jasmine, and rose are strongest... but not overwhelming. It smells so lovely! The next 20 minutes or so, Namaste is gentle, and, again, lovely... I don't notice any of the cedar. The lemongrass is still very prominent, and pleasant. I like Namaste best during its first 20 minutes; if I could just freeze the scent then, it would be perfect. I like it after that, too, but not as much. It grows somewhat less sweet. Either the cedar emerges then, and tones down the sweetness of the floral blend, or the patchouli amps up, and the impact is the same. Unfortunately, I can't make Namaste stay at the first-20-minutes stage. It leaves me with a newfound appreciation for lemongrass.

I'm not a big fan of apple, but I am a big fan of lime. I hadn't worn The Mock Turtle's Lesson's since I first bought it, but recently wore it a couple days in a row, once without refreshing my memory about the lab description, once after reading it. Day one: Lime! A light scent -- at first it smelled like a "lime aquatic" scent, then it veered into green, lime cocktail with a big sprig of mint territory (that is too a territory.) Day two: Read the description. Apple? Humorous, *Wah-wah* music plays. Now I might smell apple even if it wasn't included in my imp as part of a really odd practical joke. *Applied The Mock Turtle's Lessons*. Oh, yeah, there's the apple. I still got a big lovely jolt of lime first, but this time with wholesome tart apple stirred in. Well, not entirely wholesome since it smelled like a lime-tart apple alcoholic drink, but more wholesome than it smelled on day one when I didn't think it included the kind of treat suck-ups bring for Teacher. The effect wasn't unpleasant, though. It probably helps that there's a lot more lime scent than apple... as though the apple knows its place as a lesser scent. Good for it! My skin at least, the lime and mint are much stronger than the apple, so I'm left with a lovely lime-mint cocktail scent with the apple adding (I admit it) a nice little touch of tartness. The loveliness, though, is fairly fleeting. It didn't seem like this one lasted very long (nor did I feel like it had loads of throw). This is a good candidate for ye olde scent locket.

Those are awesome! I made another prostitution pack (BPAL has a lot of scents that would work with this theme Prostitution Party Pack #2: Bordello, Carnal, Smut, Wanton, #20 Love Oil, Dirty. With black garter and stockings (for when she's working) and a t-shirt defending Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton (for when she's not). Dirty is also probably for when she's not working. More, non-idea-copying packs later.

It's sad the Tarot Oils are going; this beautiful scent alone is such a loss. Maybe if the oils are resurrected in 5 ml versions with info about the major notes, more people will buy them... They're a bit difficult to review... The Sun is decidedly a warm scent. (See? Rather obvious, that.) It's also a happy, golden scent. It's sweet (more so than Leo) and has a lovely moderately-light feeling to it -- neither heavy nor lighter-than-air. It's not a hot sun, just a warm inviting one. Heliotrope? Oh, yes, I'd say so. It's a heliotrope lover's dream. Oceandessa may well be on to something with honeysuckle. (I think she was the first to mention it.) I don't smell that distinctive BPAL honey scent, but it is sweet. She also mentioned jasmine, and that seems possible. I don't smell any cinnamon at all in The Sun, or detect any overtly spicy or incense-like notes. If there's cinnamon it's just a touch. Any spicy notes are either subtle or hidden when applied to my skin.

Dusky lemonade. I like lemons but I'm probably not so down with the dusky part and that's why June Gloom is not up my lemon-strewn alley. (I hope that was mixed enough.)

Flower Moon is a very beautiful spring floral. If it wasn't a Lunacy scent it could have been called Spring Fling - like a Spring fling, it's short-lived, but sweet. (There's also that bit about "unrestrained bliss" & energy. *wink, nudge* Plus, there's the reference to "sexy blooms". So there ya go. ) I noticed violets, irises, daffodils, and tulips. The violets don't dominate, but they don't take a backseat either. I like violets a lot, so that's good by me. It feels like a creamy purple or a purple/cream. A wonderful blend!

It's with Bayou that I've realized I might love moss. I started looking into what other BPAL blends contain it and found one/more moss(es) in more blends than I realized, including some BPALs I like a lot. There should be more moss blends because it's wonderful stuff! My predisposition toward the stuff is now fully disclosed. I've read a few of the Bayou reviews and was surprised it was described as masculine. It isn't "pink-girly" but I found it very green-lush-feminine. The difference in reaction is likely at least partially due to chemistry, as well as scent preferences/differences in what's perceived as feminine. The green-mossy-floral feels happy and relaxing. It impacts me rather like sunshine impacts a cat, causing closed eyes, a smile, and a good stretch.

This is the only voodoo blend I bought a 10 ml bottle of (when they were still available) so that says something right off the bat (other than it sure took me a long time to review it.) Less than an imp's worth is left in the bottle, so that says something too. Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo has a slightly dusky cotton candy scent, mixed with a sort of carmelized sugar, and perhaps a slight hint of berry. It is indeed a cheering little scent, and one of those that inspire much self-sniffage. I also like it as a room scent, in an oil burner. That way you can force an improved mood upon others.

Turned fairly quickly from a dark aquatic to heavily perfumey grapefruit to dark, moderately spicy, and slightly citrusy perfume. Stayed quite dark for about half an hour, gave me a bit of a headache. Got less murky, but not really more pleasant. For a while it was "Spicy murkiness" then it became murky and a bit "Hey, did my roommate leave a grapefruit lying around before he went out of town five days ago?" Then... just heavily murky. Like a fog of murk. And... the headache didn't go away. This one is not for me.

A perfect peppermint candy cane. A delightful, sweet, delicious smell. Not everyone wants to smell like a candy cane. Lick It was the lotion I've made for my mom that she's rejected; she said it was "too sweet" (I've also made her lotions from BPAL's single note Vanilla, single note Coconut, and Gingerbread Poppet.) I think it's just right. I think magikalcrab was the first person in this thread to mention how well Lick It blends with Bliss, so props are in order, as it does indeed blend beautifully with Bliss. And on its own... it's pretty wonderful too!

Glitter, v. 1.0 Sweet. Really sweet. At first it's predominantly heliotrope and grape -- I know that must be the "white wine", but it smells like grape to me. It's very grape-y. It turns too sweet and stays that way. "Sweet" is good, but this is too much of a good thing... Eventually the sweetness is tamed somewhat by a lotus note, and that's welcome but it's just a toddler step in the right direction, and that first stage is too much for me.

A very evocative scent indeed! It's initially a very salty floral, as though, well, yes, a flood of tears has covered a floral perfume. The saltiness tones down moderately after a little while. It's as though the tears aren't gone, not by a longshot, but the crying is no longer nonstop. In general, when someone stops crying after having sobbed for a while, it doesn't necessarily mean things are looking a little rosier. Crying may slow down a bit simply due to physical and/or emotional exhaustion. So, yeah... I think of this as a sad/angsty scent, and a cathartic one. Reached for it last night during an emotionally trying evening. I wanted something simple and pretty and "Pool" fit the bill nicely even though I didn't cry a pool a la Alice (I felt like being distracted by funny things.) Not at all sure what flowers are in Alice's perfume, but it's really pretty! I love the smell of the ocean, so I'm predisposed to like the very salty water poured over that perfume, even if it's "tears". "Pool" lasts a moderate amount of time on me, and I quite like it (even when I'm not stressed out).

Euterpe works really well on me; it lasts a long time and smells so pretty and happy the whole while. It's a very white, moderately sparkly scent (not quite sparkly enough to tip it over to "fizzy".) Early on, the iris and lemon notes are apparent. The honeysuckle soon emerges. I never noticed the carnation. Once the scent has settled in, it stays fairly true - and lovely - for hours.

A lovely, sweet, creamy, scent. Picture a tear-stained woman holding the back of her wrist to her forehead melodramatically, and frowning, but beautifully. She slowly lifts her other hand, bringing a bouquet of flowers to her nose. The bouquet is over-stuffed with flowers, which are lush, but you wonder for how much longer? The bouquet is tied too tightly with browning lace. It's difficult to discern most of Eternal's notes at first. It's like the rush of flowers you get when walking into a florist's; it takes a moment for the nose to acclimate so you can try to pick out individual flowers from the bunch. (That is, if you wanted to do that at a florist's without actually going over to flowers to smell them.) During the first stage, (my beloved) heliotrope and jasmine were most noticeable. "Creamy" kept coming to mind to describe the scent. After roughly a half hour, a sort of rose/gardenia blend peeked out. I wish it hadn't because I liked Eternal better before those notes emerged, but it was still pretty. All in all, it's a very well-blended, evocative (clearly), and pretty scent. It's definitely not one I'd wear on a date, though. It's way too in-your-face floral for that.

Beth's Experimental Blend #1 (Fruity) Beautiful! It's a red-orange blend that lasts for ages, without using much. On first applying it, I mostly noticed cinnamon and the rather-Snake-Oil-like-patchouli. It's around the time of drydown that a fruity quality emerges. That part reminded me of blackberries. There's a berry/purple quality to it. For a moment "grape" peeked out then went away. It's a spicy, warm, (and to my nose) somewhat berryish take on Snake Oil.

At first this is a luscious, sweet honey scent that immediately radiates warmth. A little while later the scent evolves and turns a bit smoky... the sweet, golden stage and sexy, smoky stage (that lasts and lasts and lasts) are both great. The smokiness increases a little more over time (though at times it also seems it seems to - sorry - "wax" and wane). It's not quite like a honey incense perfume but it's not a pure golden honey either. This falls somewhere in between. It really is a very sexy, captivating scent, to say the least very wearable on its own.

Almost crisply pine, but a slight mellowness keeps it just short of that crispness. Slobbering Pine had a distinct "Pine cleanser" scent on me from the get-go. It wasn't unpleasant, but neither was it something I really want to smell, or smell like. Mistletoe, on the other hand, is a pine scent I'm happy to smell like. After about 10-15 minutes, it grew more complex. Beneath that pine surface simmered a more complex scent. I have no idea what notes may be responsible for this change. Unfortunately, I can't properly appreciate it because it takes place beneath a slightly icky soup skin too reiminscent of pine cleanser for me. Thanks to the wackiness of skin chemistry, this icky soup skin could be my own skin. (Yeah, I know. I blew my own mind with that soup analogy too. It helps to write reviews whilst hungry.)

It's a chemistry thing, methinks. I usually love amber! Rose is hit-and-miss for me. I guess the same is true for musk, though on me the musk in Black Rose pulls such a disappearing act for a while I thought I might have imagined it in my first sniff of the scent, where I'd detected a light musk, a slightly heavier amber, and a heady floral base. Before long, the musk seemed to disappear, and the scent turned into a heavily ambered floral. The amber wasn't the rich amber I love in blends like Jacob's Ladder. It smelled lighter, and sweeter in a somewhat cloying way. I thought the musk was entirely gone until I walked around maybe 10 minutes later and smelled it lightly wafting around me. It's still very subtle, and was undetectable again a short time later. I didn't get "rose" from this scent, just that kinda cloying ambered floral. Going to chalk that up to body chemistry, and my reaction to amber and musk... your mileage may vary.

I'm very happy to have a bottle of BPAL's wonderful single-note Violet. It's very sweet and girly-smelling and quite long-lasting. If you're at all partial to sweet/chocolate scents, I highly recommend blending it with Bliss. Milk chocolate roses -- mmm...

For me, Blood Countess starts off a beautiful, lush blend of berries, plums, and roses. A smokiness brought by the opium soon emerges, and begins to mix with the other notes... At that stage it's just perfect -- so sexy. Spicy berry-plum roses. It's gorgeous. I don't like to think of it as a thick-smelling scent, say, as thick as the blood of virgins mixed with roses into some sort of congealed bath stew, because, ew, I am not down with the slaughter of virgins or even trampy chicks (everyone knows women only come in those two types). But for the sake of providing an accurate review, this does "smell thick", and I don't know what the blood of murdered virgins mixed with roses and fruit smells like.) Within 15 minutes, the scent becomes incredibly muted. I think it's because the other flowers have watered down the other notes. The rose and berries all-but disappear, leaving behind there's a vaguely-flowered (white gardenia-rose?) slightly-spicy plum... that's generic. After about 10 more minutes, I wonder whether I smell musty. It's a shame, because I love the beginning of this scent. Opium+berry+roses+plum = yum.

I'm sorry. I can't speak to Dove's Heart, but I'd recommend Water of Notre Dame (another Voodoo Blend) -- Brings peace to the spirit, a sense of calm and fulfillment, and attracts the aid of beneficial spirits. I find it soothing and centering. It's rosy, so if that's not your thing, you might not find it so reassuring. I also think Dragon's Milk might be helpful. It's another blend I find very soothing. It's sweet and warm and sort of envelops you, like a hug.

Urania seems glittery and effervescent.. I visualize night sky and champagne bubbles. It's a fun, lighthearted scent blackfelicula thinks of it as a less-perfume-y Nuit, and I think she's hit the nail pretty well with that description. They both include jasmine and white musk, but Nuit (which I also really like) is a weightier scent and Urania is lighter. Nuit is more grown-up. Urania is younger and sparklier.

Lucked into a Fire Pig decant after loving the description. The first time I wore it, I was too busy to pay proper attention to the scent and just (happily) thought "spicy tangerines." Paying closer attention: it's immediately a crisp fruity scent -- with tangerines in the mix, but it is noticeably a mix. It turns sweet and juicier a moment later. I detected peony and plum blossom roundabout when the perfume is drying, and at some point my beloved narcissus must kick in, to help create the lovely spiciness. I don't know what some of the other notes smell like alone, but they work here! It's a beautiful and happy scent. Alas, it doesn't last long. The next tangerine/citrus-type perfumes should last ages, because that's probably very feasible and would be easy to accomplish.