topaz

METAL RABBIT A new year's blessing! Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, cypress for longevity, and peach fruit and hemp to represent the fourth phase of Wu Xing, with a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian. Yum! This starts out as very citrusy with some sweet floral undertones. Wasn't terribly long lasting on my winter dry skin but dried down to a powdery dragon's blood with maybe a hint of tangerine and pine. Stays close to the skin too. Love it!

Pink rock candy, strawberry cream, and splashes of gin, vermouth, and grenadine. In the bottle and wet: Oh hi gin! The juniper scent really jumps out and tweaks your nose. Dry: This reminds me of my great-grandmother's martinis-- she'd pour a glass of gin and wave the vermouth bottle over her glass and call it good. Scared me for a bit as martinis always smelled like motor oil when I was a kid. However, this martini has been garnished with a strawberry and stirred with a swizzle stick of rock candy-- a tart and sweet fruity tone that balances out the juniper. I can't say it blends together. It is rather like wearing two scents but they compliment each other nicely. This brings to mind a picture of a Anne Margaret in a vintage 50's dress, wearing pearls and white pumps after labor day, sipping from a martini glass in one hand and a long black cigarette holder in the other. Total vintage cocktail party! Love it but I'd be afraid to wear it while driving. I'm too klutzy to pass a field sobriety test and if the 5-0 takes a whiff of me, they'd never believe I'm not soused

In August, the large masses of berries, which, when in flower, had attracted many wild bees, gradually assumed their bright velvety crimson hue, and by their weight again bent down and broke their tender limbs. -- Henry David Thoreau A golden summer musk with warm fig, orange blossom honey, sweet blueberries, and bright velvety crimson raspberries. Aagh! First poster and I hope I do it justice. In the bottle: Musky, figgy honey. (DS described it as "cat pee" but what does he know?) Wet: Musk and blueberries...oh, I'm liking this one. Dry: still there after two hours. Sun warmed berries, slightly tart with some figgy goodness in the background. I need to go nom my arm now. :love!:

Even though I have quit smoking, I still cannot pick out many individual notes in my BPALs. Come to Me starts out a little too herbal for my tastes but dries down to a green floral, not powder, but it reminds me of a lily-of-the-valley perfume my aunt wore when I was little. I'm a food/ incense type so I could take this or leave it. It is pretty and feminine. However, I put this on for the first time in hopes a specific someone would "Come to Me". Holy Manbait Batman- this stuff works. I've had more compliments in the past 2 weeks than I have in the past 5 years from men and women. A few of them have even seemed surprised when they say something to me! I've heard about my hair, my eyes, my weight loss (not really enough to notice as far as I'm concerned), and even my nails for Pete's sake! I've been hugged, touched, patted and on occasion, subtly caressed. People have just been nicer to me. Yeah, I bought a bottle

Once again, I wonder if I got the same mix as the rest of the folks that reviewed Queen. This turns into a chocolate lavender scent on my skin, with a touch of smoke. It starts out strong and dries down to a smooth scent that reminds me of Wulric (from the Carnival Diabolique line). It is Wulric at a bonfire. I almost didn't buy this one but rawr! I will need a bottle of this one. I also layered it with Dragon's Milk today on accident- it only got delicious

Beautiful, sweet, rich honey. I buy honey at a local market and they have clover honey sticks. This reminds me of the rich taste of those honey sticks. Love this one and had to buy a 5 mL (I'm always afraid my favorites will be discontinued before I get a bottle)

I was given a frimp of this pale pink fluid. I read through the reviews and expected something dark and heady. Nope. Not earthy, incensey or even animalistic. Wet and dry, I can make out dragon's blood and maybe a hint of musk. It has serious throw and I occasionally get a whiff of sugar cookies or a tart fruit. It seems to morph from minute to minute. I'm going to have to try this one at work to see how it goes over.

I love roses. I wish I didn't have a brown thumb specifically so I can grow those wonderful Old English roses with rose hips. I thought I would adore Two, Five and Seven. I've aged this bottle for over a year because it has turned into stale beer on me. I was just ready to give up and give the bottle away. Lo' and behold...roses. WTH? Guess if I want more, I better order well ahead of running out.

Nothing Gold Can Stay is totally wet Autumn leaves. The Host of the Air is more grassy than leafy but still good.

A sweet red musk. My beloved Scherezade without the spiciness. Oh yes! Must have two bottles of this one- I bet it will only grow better with age!

My daughter sums up Nothing Gold Can Stay very well- "That smells like a big leaf pile!" This is like the Fall version of Host of the Air- leafy and a dewy grass smell. Lovely with some decent throw and my skin doesn't suck it up like it does Host.

Scherezade is not "animalistic" but the combo of saffron and red musk has earned tons of compliments from men and women alike.

I've read through the reviews and I guess what I'm smelling is unique to me. Yes, it is earthy but completely metallic. It smells like a bag of new pennies. This is so metallic, I can almost taste it when I sniff. Will save this one for ritual use.

This one reminds me of Death Adder when I first dab it on. That sweet and spicy vetiver. Then it smells like the Adder took a dip in a vat of syrup. This one is so sweet for a sinister scent. I like it. A lot.

Initially I can make out a seed smell (like a wild birdseed mix). This one dries down to soap. A nice, feminine, creamy, floral soap. I don't care for the "fresh, clean" scents". If I want that type of scent, I just don't wear perfume that day. This would be a good one for the girl though. A better Love's Baby Soft type smell.

Why oh why did I wait so long to try this one? I fell asleep this afternoon (my night) with my wrist close to my nose just to keep huffing in my dreams. Pure sweet tea with cream. Every once in a while, I get a hint of lemon. This is delicious (and I don't even like tea all that much). Will be buying more of this one.

Mmmmm, I'm wearing some from my imp and anxiously awaiting my 5mL. The notes seem to work in the reverse for me. I get a blast of the salty sea (similar to Jolly Roger which I love and my son has almost used up), and mulled rum. The salty sea is present in all stages but most prominent when wet. The delicious rum slowly fades and the wood comes out. The first several times I tried this, there was absolutely NO perfume. Today, when Aunt Flo made her visit, I guess the prostitute wanted to remind me I am female. It isn't overpowering and reminds me a bit of my mom's old Cinnabar perfume (which is jasmine, orange flower and clove) so it blends nicely with the other notes.

Guh! This just makes me drool...I don't get this thick, rich buttery scent like most of the reviews (of course, my imp has aged over a year). No coffee either. I must amp the spice because this is sweet, cinnamon baklava. Very rich but it stays close to my skin. Glad I've got a bottle of this one coming my way.

I went through my BPAL list to find things that are CG/ CD. I have two types of Summer scents- those that go great with hot, sticky skin and those that make me feel cooler: Hot & Sticky: Anne Bonny, Bayou, Boomslang, Brown Jenkins, Death Adder, Grog, Hellcat, Jazz Funeral, Kill-Devil, Mme. Moriarty, Obatala, Plunder, Port Royal, Jolly Roger, Ravenous, Scherezade, Shango, Snake Oil, Swank (hmmm, I see a theme with the pirate scents) Cooler: Aizen-Myoo, Black Peral, Dana O'Shee, Faith & Hope (love 'em layered), Lenan Sidhe, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, The Coil, Tweedledum, Violet Ray, Xanthe.

Another frimp turning into a bottle want. Reminds me of Black Pearl in some way...this is a sweet coconut smell. Once it dried, I get figs and coconut. If this could be made into a drink, I'd never touch soda again!

I loved this one from the start. I now have 2 bottles aged for over a year. Thick, rich, sweet dark chocolate (even stains my skin but I so don't care) with precious snake oil trailing behind. This one only gets pulled out for special occasions 'cause I'm not wasting it on just anybody! Hoarding this one.

OMG! Scentgasm! I was planning on getting another bottle of Snake Oil to age (my 2007 bottle is getting low) but I'm just going to order another Womb Furie. (I wish this one would become GC!!) This is pre-aged Snake Oil with sweet, sweet honey! The honey is similar to O but not powdery. I could quite happily bathe in this scent

In the bottle: an orange citrus note, wood and a hint of leather. Wet: The citrus note dominates but I can still smell wood. There's a local store called "The Village Merchant" that sells all sorts of trinkets but it is a beautiful historic home with wood floors. The wood smells like this store-I guess aged wood? Dry: the citrus backs down and now I'm sitting in a comfy old leather recliner in the old house and all the wood is freshly polished. This is an oddly cozy scent considering the symbology. I'd say this one is very unisex. I like it

Hmm, what can I add to the reviews? This is not in your face sex or smut. This is sensual and heady. It swirls through the room, trailing veils with a sway of the hips. It is exotic and powerful. When I wear this one, I feel like I smolder. I get more attention from this scent than any other in my 80+ bottle collection. It has literally stopped conversation, turned the mood of violent patients and gotten some bizarre comments ("Are you muslim?" "Are you married to a black man?" "Is that a Led Zeppelin perfume?" ). I've had people follow me to ask what I am wearing (and because I want to keep Beth in business, I gladly share even though I want to be selfish). In short, I love this scent but I am astonished by the emotion and response it evokes from others!

Much more minty than Lick It Like You Mean It. Straight up, old fashioned candy cane.