Imbrium

Wow - this came out beautifully. It's quite a bit softer than I expected, very close to the skin. It starts out as the buttery pumpkin note I smell in all of the Patch, but I can also smell sweet cocoa - it actually smells a lot like the early stages of 13, to me. It just gets softer as it dries; the nuts don't really come forward, but I can tell they're there because the cocoa doesn't turn super sweet. This just settles in closer and closer to the skin, making it a very warm and comforting scent.

Yay! Pumpkin Patch! This is the Halloween scent for which I had the highest hopes, and it doesn't disappoint. It starts out with a very buttery pumpkin note, which is not my favorite, but the super-buttery note dries away in a half an hour or so, and this becomes very appley. There's a hint of something sweet at the back, perhaps that's the pumpkin again. I do wish the spices were a bit more predominate on my skin, but I can smell them, and they do become more prominent after quite some time. Gorgeous!

Okay - think about Swank. You know how it's very sweet, juicy and tart at the same time, with that very cool vodka-y note in the background? SN Pomegranate is (unsurprisingly) like that, but without the alcoholy feel. It begins as a very sweet fruity scent - almost akin to the drydown of Blue Moon on my skin - kind of like gummy fruit. Unlike any gummy fruit I've tried, though, it has this very tart, almost bitter note in the background. I can't say that it smells exactly like a pomegranate, because it's been awhile since I stuck my nose into the middle of a fruit I was eating, but this is just like eating one - a burst of sweet juice, and a tart end that makes your mouth pucker a little bit.

Like the last poster, I just cannot wear Snake Oil. I'm envious of the multitudes of you that smell dead sexy with it on, because it hates me. However, Vanilla Bean is very reminiscent of Snake Oil, and I can wear it - in small amounts. It's certainly not the sweetest vanilla; though it starts out smelling slightly reminiscent of vanilla cake frosting, it doesn't stay that way. This smells lightly spicy when it dries down, while still sweet, dark, exotic, and somehow creamy at the same time - it's incredible. It is, as others have said, very decadent, and it has a hell of a lot of throw. I quickly learned not to wear more than the teeniest bit at once, because a little goes a very, very long way.

I keep meaning to review this one, But I just get distracted smelling myself, and I forget all about it. Blue Moon is like nothing I've ever smelled. It starts as a very well-blended scent; the notes are indistinguishable, but very light and clean. After a little while, it turns into a lovely cucumber melon scent, very cool, and with a clean floral edge - I think, after sticking my nose in an aloe plant, I think that's what I'm smelling behind the fruity cucumber. After a few hours, I smell the cucumber less, and this is a very light fruity, aloe-y smell. It's very sweet, too - I'm almost reminded of gummy fruits, but this is just ... well, it's lighter, and cooler, and it's utterly impossible to do justice to it in words. I will treasure this one, and hope it'll last until 2007.

Wet: This smells like flowers. In the bottle, on my skin, it starts out as powdery flowers. I cannot distinguish any flowers out of the bunch, it's just a sneezy floral mixture. However, Bearded Lady doesn't stay that way. After a long but indeterminate amount of time (I'm talking at least one hour, and easily even two or more) the powdery floral finally dries down, and I'm left with a beautiful creamy vanilla. At this stage, I really can see the comparisons to Antique Lace - creamy, sweet vanilla with a faint floral background. It's yummy!

This is the most feminine lavendar blend I've ever smelled. It does start out as the typical manly sort of lavendar I associate with scents like Villain, but it doesn't stay that way very long. This is warm and spicy, which I take to be the influence of amber, tonka or both. I say tha tbecause I can't definitively smell either - just their influence. There's a hint of rosewood, and strangely, something like soft citrus. What I don't smell is patchouli, which I have to admit makes me one happy girl. Not a strong scent, Old Scratch is another one of those that fades, and just stays very close to my skin, which is the way I like my prefumes, so I'm thrilled. Not too sweet, not too masculine, this is wonderful.

First sniff: spicy honey. On, this is really, really cinnamony on me. I get a sense of honey in it, but it's more of an "aftersniff" - I smell it, I smell cinnamon, and then as I move away from my hand, there's the honey. Of course, as a caveat - this is realy honey and real cinnamon I smell, and not an impression of either one. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was involved in some sort of tragic but delicious pantry accident. It's funny, if I don't try to smell my hand, this smells complex, and oh so edible - honey and cinnaomn, with a bit of heat, for lack of a better word. Of course, I first tried Bengal a few weeks ago, and it smelled like Big Red cinnamon, and nothing else. I don't know if it's a chemistry thing, or if the scent is just growing on me, but I do like what it's turned into this time around, so here's hoping it stays that way.

First sniff: Citrus and rose, and something slightly musky. This is so evocative! It's bright, citrussy, with a bit of powdrey amber and rose. There is little to no jasmine. If ever a perfume really were grand and courtly, this would be it. It doesn't change much in dry-down; it's still rich citrus and rose, with a powdery amber background, and is, as Andrabell said, soft and glowing, and very close to the skin.

First sniff: this is strangely sweet. I can't place any of the notes; it just smells good. On, this is immediately very green. I smell almost like I smeared my arm in ivy, which I like. Early on, the red wine is very prominent, but that fades quite a bit as it dries, and it takes on a very woody-ivy tone, with hints of red wine, smoke and something sweet - I don't know what it is, but after reading reviews of the SN, I'm going to take a stab at it, and say that that's the ambergris. Overall: This is really interesting - it's a rather complex blend, for sure. And it smells a bit like a greener Mabon to me.

Okay, I knew I had to have Black Opal as soon as it came out, even before reviews went up - something about its description made me know I'd love it. Let me tell you, it does not disappoint. Black Opal starts out a bit powdery for my taste, but moves quickly out of that stage. It's a creamy vanilla, not too sweet, with a hint of the same musk I smell in Dorian and Ice Queen. I completely agree with reviewers who've compared it to Antique Lace - it's a darker, more grown up Antique Lace. It does stay very close to the skin, but it doesn't fade quickly - it's just one of those second-skin type scents.

Kunstkammer is very fruity. It's bright orange, with a touch of what smells like raspberry to me. (But then, blood oranges always tasted a bit like raspberry to me, so that could be my mind playing tricks on me.) As it dries, I start to smell something rather difficult to pin down, somewhat dark and almost metallic, which is interesting. It smells almost powdery, but not in a Johnson's baby powder sort of way. There's definately a touch of pepper in the background. This is very intriguing, if hard to describe once it's not entirely fruity. I love it. Plus, the name is fun to say. Kunstkammer! See?

At the center of the Garden of Eden stands the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Though modern interpretations of the Bible claim that it was an apple that the Serpent of the Tree offered to Eve, it is widely believed that the true Fruit of True Knowledge was, in fact, a fig. This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Evil: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood. I bought a bottle of this, unsniffed, because it sounded so good. Immediately on, this smells like almonds - tons, and tons of almonds, with a bit of coconut in the background. I don't smell any of the green notes I keep hearing about. Interesting. The almond fades as Eden dries, and sadly, most of the scent seems to fade with it. Within about ten minutes, I smell a faint milk and coconut scent, which is itself quite pretty, but also, well, faint. At this point, there's a bit of fig coming out - and I think I'm starting to be glad it faded, because the fig doesn't overpower everything else - it's more like a bit of sweet fruit stirred into coconutty, milky goodness. I actually tried this out last night, before trying it again today to review, and perhaps I applied it more strongly then, but it didn't fade like it has today - and it smelled strongly of fig. Either way, Eden is a nice scent, and I suppose I'll have to keep experimenting before I peg down exactly what it does on my skin.

In the bottle this is green and spicy - carnation, I think, and perhaps the balsam? On, this is very rosy. Roses always seem very strong on my skin, and sometimes it works out beautifully, and sometimes it doesn't. This is a gorgeous rose blend. Many of the notes - the tobacco leaf, the "greenness" I smell in the bottle - don't seem to develop on my skin. In fact, this reminds me very much of Havisham, in a way. They're both predominatley rosy scents, with backgrounds that give them a unique aort of "atmosphere." However, where Havisham is a cool, aquatic rose on my skin, the tonka and ambergris make Love in the Asylum a warm rose blend, with a hint of carnation in the background. What can I say? I knew I'd love this one, and I do. Hooray!

This is a different type of review from what I usually write, as I haven't yet tried this directly on my skin. Still, I had such a wonderful experience with this blend, that I had to review it. The scent itself is very nice - mostly bright citrus, with strong herbal overtones. They don't smell like rosemary per se - it has such a distinctive scent - but but it adds a very fresh, green herbal scent. The rose is very much in the background, and I only get a whiff of it every now and then. I've been having horrble headaches every night when it gets to be about time for me to go to bed. It was especially bad tonight, so I decided to take a warm bath, and pour a couple drops of something into the tub. Since rosemary is supposed to be good for promoting healing, I chose Catherine. My reaction was immediate - as soon as the oils hit the water, I felt better, both physically and mentally. My headache was gone, and I felt instantly happy, and even somewhat nostalgic, though I'm not entirely sure why. As a bonus, I smell awesome. A 10 ml of this will be going on my next order - I have a feeling my head will be needing it.

Numb! How wonderful to get to try this, since it's stupidly hot out here in the desert. First sniff: This seems to have an almost citrussy quality to it, though very lightly. It smells gently powdery. On, this smells immediately of soft white flowers, with a touch of the sort of powdery clean note I smelled in Yog-Sothoth. There's no mint, the citrus I thought I smelled isn't there - or at least, if it is, it's not prominent. In fact, there isn't really a single prominent note. Rather, this is a very cool, clean, and impossibly well blended floral, with a hint of something sugar, and perhaps a bit of ozone. Very lovely! I'm extremely grateful for getting the chance to try this one out. Edit 11/20: I've tested this out three or four times now, and each time it's given me a roaring headache. Weird.

I might as well write two reviews, as this scent has been so different on me each time I tried it on. It's a real morpher. In the bottle, this is a bright, lemony floral. The first time I took Chiroptera out for a test drive, it was extremely floral. The lemon balm was very much a background scent - supporting the floral, which was mainly honeysuckle (mmmm), and keeping it from getting too sweet. The second time, the scent more or less reversed itself. I could only barely smell any floral in the background, which is a shame since I adore honeysuckle, and the lemon balm is the most prominent note. Where the first test run was a sweet, girly floral, this is a bright, cheery citrus scent. Thankfully, I like both versions. I had received an imp of this as a lagniappe in an order several months ago - in time that I could still order a big bottle. I'm glad I did, because this scent is so pretty, but nothing I would have picked out for myself, just from reading the description.

My bottle of Cerberus has moved on to a better home, but I might as well add my review notes: This scent is intriguing, and it's beautiful in the bottle - I blame my skn for ruining it on me. As soon as the oil touches me, it turns ... weird. I really can't think of any other way to describe it. The bottle's dark, foody scent turns into something akin to evil fig - bitter to the point of inspiring a pounding headache. This smells lovely on a friend of mine, though - like nutty, chocolate musk.

I find it so interesting that this smells masculine to almost everyone else - i must have some weird skin chemistry, because it's a beautifully soft, feminine scent on me! One of Beth's musk bouquets turns wonderfully sweet on me, like a sugared, vanilla musk. That scent is in Dorian, it's in Ice Queen, and it's in Oisin. In the bottle: At this point, it smells just like everyone else has been describing it - clean, and manly-rugged - after whiffing the bottle, a tiny part of me wants to go cut down a tree or something. On: the clean, masculine cologne scent disappears quickly. Very, very quickly. Within five minutes, I smell like I'm wearing Dorian, but with a cleaner, slightly wilder edge to it. It's sweet, but not tooth-decayingly so, it's warm, and it's really, really sexy. If this is what Beth's White Musk does, I might just be willing to fight to the death for a bottle. Wow.

I can't believe I've not reviewed this one yet. Amsterdam is easily one of my top 5 favorite scents. It's pretty much the same from the bottle to my skin: predominately tulip (one of my favorite flowers) with a green and aquatic background. What I think is absolutely marvellous about this scent is that it never, ever turns on my skin - I have some trouble with florals, in that a lot of them seem to wind up heavy and overly sweet - the floral equivalent of overripe fruit, I suppose. Amsterdam never comes close to reaching that state; it is nothing but crisp, clean floral, and I absolutely adore it. This is the perfect warm weather scent. The only issue is that it doesn't last very long on my skin - I don't care. I carry an imp with me when I wear it and slather. It's far too beautiful not to wear, and its probably the scent that I get the most compliments on - it's created at least one other BPAL addict amongst the people I know.

This is a very interesting scent. I've never tried one that progressed quite like Santa Eularia Des Riu. In the bottle, I smell predominately sharp lavender and citrus. Immediately on, this turns very strange. It still smells a bit of citrus, but with an odor that I can only liken to burning tires. Yick. However! I persevered, mostly because I was immediately distracted by checking the mail and then promptly forgetting that I was trying on perfume. Now, much later, this is beautiful! It's light citrus with sweet jasmine, and surprisingly, it smells lovely on me - I of the "I don't do strong florals." Overall - while I'm certainly not rushing out to try every jasmine or magnolia blend that I've held off from trying (hey, I know my skin chemistry), Santa Eularia is proof that somewhere, somehow, Beth's jasmine will smell lovely on you, too.

I tried House of Mirrors on one hand and Snake Charmer on the other, then had to check and make sure I had correctly identified which one I'd put where - each smells like what I thought the other would smell like! In the bottle: Amber! And a light sweet note, which I suppose would be the "clear crystal and glass". On: Where did the glass note go? This is sweet, sweet amber - I can see why everyone immediately thinks "vanilla" despite it not being a listed note; that's my first impression as well. This is spicy amber, something sweet, and a very incensy background - and at times I can smell a note that's a bit darker and sweeter, almost like a black, incensy cherry. This is so very, very reminiscent of Snake Oil, though I'd say it's a bit less spicy and incensy. It's very warm, and I find it more wearable than Snake Oil, though I don't believe I will wear it until the weather cools down - this strikes me as a very autumnal scent. This is lovely, if not the sort of scent I usually wear. I can see this being the scent that most people would absolutely adore. So go, buy many bottles! EDIT: This is really Snake Charmer --Shollin

Snake Charmer smells to me like nothing I expected, based on the notes listed and the reviews. In the bottle it's citrussy and light, and rather cool smelling. On, this smells to me very light and crisp, though minus the perfumey note that others have mentioned. It's quite similar to Dirty, at this stage, though more aquatic. This doesn't change much as I wear it, either. It's actually very reminiscent of a rain scent to me, very much like what I'd hoped Storm Moon would be. I live in the desert, and last night we had wonderful weather - it was frighteningly windy, and you could smell rain in the air (though sadly, we never actually got any - stupid desert). Snake Charmer reminds me very much of that scent. ETA: After several wearing this several times, without change - there's now a light vanilla smell several hours after this has dried. Interesting. EDIT: This is really House of Mirrors --Shollin

In the Bottle: Chocolate and light fruit, with a bit of something warm and spicy. On: This starts out strongly chocolate, with the same spicy note I picked up in the bottle - my guess would be either the honey muck or the tonka. I detect a hint of bergamot in the background. The chocolate quickly dries away, and I think this is more predominately vanilla, tonka, and honey musk. After approximately half an hour, I smell a hint of pomegranate. Surprisingly - to me, at least - I don't really get any fig. Usually, fig is overpowering on my skin. Here, however, I think the foody notes ground the fig - it seems to be absorbed into them, appearing every now and then, and only after a few hours. Overall - I'l echo what other reviewers have said: this is amazingly complex, and since pretty much all of the notes happen to be ones that I love, this is instantly one of my favorites.

Initially, 13 smells like creamy chocolate, and while I can't distinguish between the smell of white chocolate versus any other variety, this does make me want to drink the contents of the bottle, so that's a good sign. On, 13 begins as strong chocolate, and quickly a light background citrusy note emerges, though far be it for me to decide it it's mandarin or tangerine - it just smells good. As it dries, the white chocolate fades quite a bit, and a sweet amber scent emerges, which is a bit similar to O on my skin - amber and white chocolate, or possibly honey. I wore 13 to a party last Saturday, and at this amber/sweet stage, a male friend proclaimed that I smelled like waffles (I'm inclined to disagree somewhat) while a very drunk girl said I smelled "good," and then passed out. Putting superstition aside, I wore 13 last Friday to my French 201 final exam, and received 100%, making me suspect that Beth has created a lucky 13 scent. Overall: I'm a teensy bit sad that I never got tea on my skin, but it does smell delicious, as my boyfriend, my waffle-loving friend, and one drunk girl can attest.