tinyvulture

This is the blast of cold air that hits you when you step outside during a snowstorm, combined with the scent of smoke lingering in the air after a candle has been snuffed (sort of like Darkness). It’s as though a cold draft came in the front door and blew out the candle! I like scents that evoke such strong imagery in my mind. The wintry, slightly soapy ozone is enhanced by a touch of chill mint (just a little bit – this isn’t really a minty or foody scent). The candle smoke is, well, smoky, but not too strong. All in all, a clean, cool, pleasant scent. And it’s one of the rare occasions where I am finding ozone wearable. Hooray for that!

smoky vetiver and juicy citrus – what an odd, yet fascinating combination! calling this vetiver “earthy” doesn’t do it justice. it is strong, like coffee grounds. the satsuma orange and tangerine are sweet like jellied orange slices. they soak into the vetiver like… like coffee grounds soaking in freshly-squeezed o.j.? that sounds really unappetizing. and yet this scent is not bad. it’s very powerful, particularly the vetiver and citrus notes. i can smell the licorice cowering in the background if i really hunt for it. the teak, cinnamon and amber? forget it. after about 5 minutes, the vetiver has died down considerably and this is a mostly citrus scent with a nice grounding of earthiness. i don’t particularly love citrus scents, so i'm glad i didn't order a whole bottle. but velvet tiger is definitely unique, and appealing in its own weird way.

A BEAUTIFUL, sophisticated, dark and mysterious rose. I love it. To me it smells of dried red roses –that powdery yet concentrated deep rose scent that comes with age. Add to that the spicy kick of clove and tobacco (think clove cigarettes and you’re not far off) and the amber, musk and tonka, which tease out and enhance the warmth and sweetness of the rose. I only vaguely smell the fir when I inhale sharply – its astringent quality is noticeable then. This is so well-blended – I don’t find the rose overpowering. It mixes in so smoothly with the other notes. Rich and complex, possibly my favorite rose scent.

I was curious how this bonfire scent compared to Bonfire Night, which I enjoy. While Bonfire Night is smoke mixed with a syrupy, foody note, St. John’s Eve, on the other hand, is thick smoke combined with a strong bay rum note (think Baron Samedi) and a gentle touch of incense – not foody at all. I prefer it. I got a decant and now I wonder if I should track down a bottle. It’s such a great outdoorsy, woodsy scent – the campfire smoke that leads you to the bonfire where everyone is drinking and having a good time.

This makes me wish for a big bag of toasted coconut marshmallows to devour. That’s exactly what it smells like - with a handful of white chocolate curls mixed in. The coconut note is a dead ringer for the sweetened, toasted coconut used in baking, not the raw coconut note found in some other BPAL blends. I used to have some chocolate-coconut bath bombs that smelled sorta like this and I wish I had some now because I could definitely bathe in this scent. It’s awesome!

Lavender is the strongest note in this bouquet. For some reason I’ve never cared for the lab’s lavender note. It’s too powdery and sweet on my skin. It’s weird here in combination with the ylang-ylang, which is quite heavy. The lilac, gardenia and orris are harder to pick out. The overall effect is an extremely powdery, sickly sweet, old-ladyish floral blend. It’s just not for me.

I received this as a freebie in a swap. It's a must for jasmine-lovers. Jasmine works with my skin chemistry about 50% of the time. Unfortunately, it's not working here. It's kind of powdery and old-ladyish. The soft tuberose is noticeable in the background, but it can't compete with the strong jasmine. Surprisingly, since it usually amps on me, I can't pick out the lotus at all. And, there's just a tiny hint of sugary lime. It's as though the jasmine has muted all of the other notes. I'll send this one one its way and hopefully it will work better on the next recipient.

100% leather…a great replacement for my bottle of Dead Man’s Hand that I foolishly parted ways with. There’s something a little sweaty and dirty about it, but not in a bad way. Like a leather jacket that’s taken on the owner’s scent, maybe. This scent is not super strong, but up close it’s very sexy.

At first, I smell dragon’s blood and complimentary spices like cinnamon and ginger – a very ‘potpourri on Christmas Eve’, kitchen-y, cozy scent. And then…I smell vetiver. Now, normally, I am a huge fan of vetiver. Can’t get enough of it in those woodsy, outdoorsy blends. But it doesn’t belong in my holiday kitchen. It’s jarring to my sense of smell, mixed in with all these spices. It seems dull and heavy. Oh well -- can’t love ‘em all! Note -- after about 5 minutes the vetiver has calmed down a bit and is mingling more evenly with the other notes. But still, the vetiver-cinnamon combo isn't really doing it for me.

Oberon has reminded me to give the GC’s some love! I was in no particular hurry to try this scent, thinking, as I do with most GC’s, “oh, it will always be there to try…some day.” I sometimes forget how pretty and lovely they are! This is my new favorite orchid scent. The orchids are in full bloom, gorgeous, and they’re livened up by a squirt of citrusy bergamot and a sprinkling of juniper berries which, for some reason, always reminds me of a party. It’s the gin and tonic association I guess! So, to me, this is a festive, fun, flirtatious scent. Reminds me of the holidays, New Year’s Eve, that kind of thing.

soft and charming, Brisingamen is mostly amber, similar to Haunted, but with gentle whispers of carnation. warm, golden, sweet, and powdery, very classy and feminine. it’s not one of those over-the-top scents that turns heads when you walk into a room, but it smells heavenly up close.

grapey, woodsy, smoky and buttery are all descriptive words that come to mind when i first apply this. i had a bottle of ’04 and, from what i can remember of it, this is similar yet different (’04 was nutty, like walnuts). i haven’t tried any of the other years. anyway, i’m wishing i’d grabbed a bottle of this when it came out, because i love autumn scents, and this screams autumn. it’s in the same family as hexxennacht ’08, but i like this better because it’s not powdery. over time, the fruitiness of the wine fades, and i’m left with the gentle warmth of smoke and animal musk. beautifully blended, the encapsulation of a season.

This is mostly violet on me. A strong, heady floral perfume. The red currant in the background is unmistakable. I love its tart fruitiness. And there’s also something soapy and lemony that clears your head. Not catching any patchouli or moss at all. I’m a fan of violet from time to time, so I’ll keep this imp to wear when the mood hits me, although I don’t think a bottle is needed.

i love all things tiki, so i had to have a bottle of this. first off, i adore the label! at first sniff, it’s like i’m sipping a pina colada poolside at a polynesian resort. reminiscent of manila (minus the banana) or shango (sans melon note), it’s totally tropical and fruity. the coconut and pineapple stand out for me. there’s also a good dose of vanilla and florals. i think i will enjoy this year-round. it’s perfect for humid summer days and, come winter, i will apply it whenever i can’t take the cold anymore and need to close my eyes and imagine a tropical paradise.

This starts off as a boozy cherry scent, like a children’s cough syrup. It reminds me of The Red Queen without the wood note. The licorice note must be red licorice, since I don’t smell any black licorice at all. The initial strong whiskey note starts to fade after a couple minutes, and now I’m smelling burnt sugar and cherry, as well as the greasepaint. For me it evokes Halloweens of my childhood -- the various candy scents that rise from a pillowcase full of goodies, and the scent of the face paint we used to complete our disguises. This is how I hoped Sticky Pillowcase would sell. It’s not something I will wear everyday. I have to be in the mood for it. I’ll probably start wearing it a lot in the fall. Definitely a bottle to hang onto.

I never tried Pinched With Four Aces, so I can’t say how this compares. For me, it’s a cousin of MonsterBait: Ventriloquist’s Dummy and Red Lantern. There’s a strong caramel note and dry, polished wood – most likely cedar. I don’t see caramel listed in the scent description. I’m guessing that the boozy sweetness of Irish cream, mixed with sweet tonka, has somehow morphed into what my nose recognizes as “caramel.” I don’t smell any coffee AT ALL – weird. After about 5 minutes, the pipe smoke is finally noticeable, and it’s squashed some of the initial sweetness. It’s really nice now – complex and not as foody as it initially was. Glad to have a bottle – it’s a keeper.

first impression: clove cigarettes! my husband agreed, saying, “there are a LOT of cloves in that perfume.” it’s a very sexy tobacco scent that can go either masculine or feminine. the cedar note is nice, too, although it takes a backseat to the cloves. and i also keep thinking i smell carnations. as someone else said, it’s very similar to Lush’s Chai shower gel. really glad i ordered a bottle unsniffed.

ooh, another snowy, slushy scent, chock-full of pine needles. at first, this one reminds me somewhat of Snow Bunny, with a breeze of floral, girly perfume, although it’s subtler. then the warm, slightly sour animal musk appears, and i’m reminded more of Snow Maiden (although there are no berry notes in Frau Holle). can i ever have enough wintry pine blends? probably… but i nevertheless enjoy having so many to choose from!

the true scent of dirt, undiluted by florals or perfume as with some other BPAL “dirt” blends (I love Penny Dreadful, I’m just saying this is different). it’s like opening a bag of topsoil and taking a deep breath. if this smells like anything other than pure dirt, it would be the occasional breath of mildew or dust, and that’s about it. i’m glad this made a return appearance for halloween ‘08. it can be a spooky and evocative scent... a haunted crypt in an abandoned graveyard at midnight... of course, it also reminds me of working in my little garden on a sunny spring morning. so it can go either way.

I’d been wanting to try Ladon for some time because it sounded like a nice autumn scent, with the apple and dragon’s blood. Now that I’m wearing it, I smell mostly sweet, ripe apples, but also a strong whiff of fresh florals. Must be the hyacinth. The dragon’s blood is another strong note, but it’s on the powdery side. So, this is not what I was hoping for -- powder and florals are usually not my scene. But it’s not bad really. It would make a nice soap. It’s just a bit too floral for me to enjoy as a perfume.

often when i am reviewing an LE, it reminds me in some way of a GC. it didn't surprise me at all to find that there is already a huge thread for this! i went through my reviews this morning and here are my equivalents. the "*" notes ones that were already named in ivyandpeony's awesome comprehensive list. *All Souls = Brown Jenkins *Black Lace = The Antikythera Mechanism Blood Moon = Mr. Jacquel *Cerberus = Great Sword of War The Chilling Cellar = Centzon Totochtin The Clod and the Pebble = Sri Lanka Dionysia = Urd Frederic = Baron Samedi Giant Vulva = Kill-Devil Hexennacht ’08 = Yew Trees The House = Penny Dreadful The Illustrated Woman = Florence (to me, this is the strongest match of all of them, i can't tell them apart!!) Jacob’s Ladder = Lyonesse Krampus = Loviatar *Marae = Euphrosyne MVJBA Spring Training 2008 = Gluttony Opuhi = Sudha Segara Pirate Moon = Blood Pearl *The Pit and the Pendulum = Cathedral Priala the Human Phoenix = Chimera Saw-Scaled Viper = Vixen *Smut = Scheherezade Stranger in Camp = Nocnitsa *Sugar Skull = Kill-Devil Tabula Smaragdina = Rose Cross

this is amazing. i foolishly opted not to buy a bottle, telling myself, “you have enough chocolate blends!” after sniffing this, however, i realize there is no such thing as enough. it’s dry, powdery cocoa – the really good kind, that will make the richest, creamiest, most wonderful cup of hot chocolate you’ve ever tasted. and then there’s the unmistakable, beautiful amber, intensifying the cocoa, melting into it with its golden, liquid warmth until they are indistinguishable. please come back in ’09!

this is probably the most vanilla-riffic blend in the BPAL catalog. i have a huge bottle of non-BPAL single note vanilla, because it’s just such a handy note to blend with so many things. this almost reminds me of it, but of course it’s a bit more complex since it’s BPAL. the amber adds warmth and seems to amplify the vanilla’s innate sweetness even more. then there’s the sweet pea which, i admit, i often find insipid and boring, but it’s so gentle here, it really adds just a perfect little hint of floral. not even a hint, a suggestion. the vanilla is really the star here. it smells, to me, exactly like the vanilla in Black Lace. well, what else should i say? i always adore vanilla. this is lovely.

THIS is the scent of summer childhoods, back when kids actually played outside every day. the precisely mown front lawn that Dad has tried so hard to keep green is baking under the unforgiving sun. you pick the dandelions off the lawn and sing a song about popping their heads off. you can smell the heat in the air. it’s oppressive and muggy. the air-conditioning feels so nice when you run inside for a glass of kool-aid. but school is right around the corner, you can feel it sneaking up. so you race back outside to play some more. a dip in the pool to wash the sweat off, sounds so good. at night you sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, worn out and ready to do it again tomorrow.

when i read "clove smoke" in the description, i thought, "clove cigarettes!" but it's not really like that. there's clove and there is smoke, but it's not reminiscent of the Sampoernas i used to torment my lungs with back in college . this is a woodsy, smoky, sweet autumnal blend. the dirty, earthy vetiver is sweetened by oozing pine sap and clove, with just a hint of bitter cumin. this troll must be baking up some goodies in his forest kitchen. i can never say no to pine or vetiver -- a bottle is most likely in my future.