donnatron

Imp: It's... well, it's dragon's blood. Sort of lilac/cherry/just a general "red" smell. If you're familiar with dragon's blood then you know what it smells like. It's also a really high quality dragon's blood--very true to the burning scent. Wet: Dragon's blood goes pretty rich and floral on my skin. It smells like lilacs and honeysuckle with a hint of something... ungodly. It's very beautiful until the "aftersniff." There's something lingering that reminds me of port a potties. Dry: The port a potty scent burns off and I'm left with a clean, rich, primarily lilac scent. It still smells very red and slightly resinous. Very sweet and pretty. Much more delicate and well-tempered than you'd expect something called "dragon's blood" to be. Throw: Strong. Overall: It's a single note scent as far as I know. If you like dragon's blood, you'll like it. f you don't, you won't. If you've never tried dragon's blood this is a very good way to try it out.

Imp: White. Just very clean, soft and white. I received it along with a frimp of Midnight and thought I had cracked Midnight by mistake. Wet: The vanilla makes itself heard as does the jasmine. This reminds me of biggerCritters but there's an underlying hint of metal that reminds me there be clove here. Dry: Beautiful. Drop dead beautiful. The jasmine and lily combine into this amazing, soft floral. The musk and vanilla are like the most sensuous skin scent you can imagine. The clove doesn't do its usual "blood metal" thing it does to me. I get a sense of th sandalwood but it's not overly woody or cloying. Gorgeous. Just... gorgeous. This isn't necessarily a list of my holy grail ingredients, and it is definitely more than the sum of its parts. Throw: Average. Overall: The drydown is pretty and the final stage is gorgeous. This is sexy and womanly and just smells amazing on my skin. I'm glad to have tried it and this unlikely black horse has shot straight to the top of my five ml list.

It might not help you if you want to wear it in public, but I find that TKO and the Emathides share a lot of commonalities. I find that the drydown of the Emathides smells a LOT like the scent of residual TKO when I wake up. Otherwise I get a more masculine Emathides vibe from the Bow and Crown of Conquest. Violet Ray is a sweeter, candied Emathides. Psyche has a similar orchid/lavender/rose scent but is drier and more reserved. Lysander has a bit more of a tropical, fruity sense but I find the lilac musk similar to blue musk.

Imp: Clean, almost citrusy resin. Wet: It smells like a perfume my grandmother used to have on her dresser. It doesn't smell old, necessarily, but more classic. Dry: It retains that perfume scent. It's very elegant. I get a hint of ozone or similar, along with a touch of dry incense. Overall, though, it really, really, REALLY smells like a classic perfume, the name of which escapes me at the moment. Probably one of the most "traditional" BPALs I've ever smelled. Throw: Polite. Overall: I don't know. I like it but I don't like it mainly due to the description. The description of Ozymandias was just so incredible that I can't reconcile this genteel classic perfume scent with the scent description. I can see wearing it every once in awhile when I feel like evoking some nostalgia, but I don't see a bottle in the future.

Imp: Primarily linden blossom. I can't even smell the Snake Oil. Wet: The Snake Oil comes out but the linden still dominates. This smells very sweet and clean. It reminds me of laundry but only in a conceptual way. Dry: I can definitely smell the sweetness of the Snake Oil and a hint of the darker, more resinous aspects of it. It's veiled by a crush of white florals, led by the linden. It's probably the most interesting Snake Pit scent I've tried so far, since it's the one where I smell the new additions to the scent more strongly than the original SO. Throw: Faint. Very skin-close. Overall: It's pretty. I know that sounds boring and simple, but it's a good way to describe Cottonmouth. Snake Oil is a pretty commanding scent and it kind of grabs a hold of you. Cottonmouth is more demure and it has a bit of the Snake Oil allure but is more a wallflower. Shy, pretty and very feminine. Definitely considering a bottle before the Carnival leaves town.

Imp: LOAM. LOAMY LOAMY LOAMY LOAMY LOAM LOAM LOAM!!! And a bit of wine. Wine? Wet: More loam. More strong, dirty loam. And it's cut by a sweet winey smell. I check my imp to make sure it's not Nosferatu. It's not. But right now this smells a lot like Nosferatu on me, if not a little less intense version. The loam is so dry smelling it makes my tongue curl. It's really contrasting with the sweet winey scent. I get a hint of florals coming through--maybe magnolia and jasmine? Dry: Jazz funeral calms down nicely. I still get a hint of that dry loamy smell, but the florals have sweetened considerably and the bay rum and bourbon add an amazing smoky spiciness to this. It's a bit dirty and woody. I like it. Throw: Strong. Overall: An interesting experience. I'm not a fan of the drydown so I can't see ever needing more than an imp. An unusual and fun dirt scent.

Bottle: Patchouli. Heavy, dense patchouli and a hint of something a bit sweet and dusty. Wet: The patchouli does go a bit dusty and I can smell an identifiable apricot sweetness underneath it. Dry: The apricot comes through full force and becomes the dominant note. It's a sweet, juicy apricot. I'm actually really impressed because apricot is usually not a winning note on my skin. This is a really simple scent but it is definitely more than the sum of it's part. The patchouli grounds the apricot and gives it a lot of gravitas. It's fruity and sweet without being too youthful or frivolous. The apricot adds some playfulness to the resinous patchouli. Throw: Good. Overall: A nice patchouli go to scent. It's casual enough for every day and the patchouli isn't so intrusive that it will stun and horrify the patchouli haters among us. Despite the awesome name ("I like your perfume, what's it called?" "It's called Depraved." "...Oh.") it seems more like a cosy jeans and sweater type of scent. Not dressy or upscale to my nose, but fun, unusual and comfortable.

Imp: Sharp, herbal lavender with the scent of unscented stick deodorant lingering in the background. I get a very faint hint of rose. Wet: On the skin it immediately reminds me of Gladdener of All Hearts. The lavender is the dominant scent and it's very astringent and herbal. The musks blend underneath, creating this soft, milky scent. I can smell the cherry but at this point it's just a hint of sweetness. The rose and rosewood are present but only if I actively sniff for them. Dry: This is almost a dead ringer for Gladdener on me. It's a bit less creamy, but I do get a hint of milkiness from the combo of the musks. The lavender calms down into a gentle, clean herbal quality. The cherry, rose and rosewood are there but just barely. This is very soft and clean, very gentle but definitely unusual. It would make a good bath or massage oil. Throw: Decent. Overall: I like it. I think I would use it more in products than I would as an actual perfume but it's got a bit of backbone and strength to it without being overpowering. A very interesting scent.

Bottle: Soft florals, a bit creamy. I detect what I think is a milk or cream note and a bit of the opium note. Wet: The scent goes a bit green for a while--I get a heavy waft of lily at this point and a touch of what I think is carnation. Dry: Gorgeous. There's definitely a creaminess to this but it's not foody--I think it's opium and it sort of reminds me of a more daytime friendly Sleepy Moon. I get predominantly lilies with undercurrents of rose, carnation and a sort of "blue" smell I recognize from Dreamland. Very floral but also very soft and skin close. It smells like skin that has been brushed with these florals rather than the florals themselves. Throw: Close to the skin. Overall: I love Beatrice. It's a beautifulm unusual scent that's appropriate for pretty much any situation you find yourself in. The florals are present but are a little reigned in, so it's not as lush or heady as some of the other floral scents. It evokes Beatrice perfectly--that swirl of (opium?) creaminess adds a lot of dimension to the existing florals and there's a definite tint of poison and intrigue to the blend.

I wore Alice on Christmas because it's creamy and calming and family time is stressful, yo. NYE is just going to be spent at the boy's so I only have to impress him. I'm leaning towards Snake Oil. It's just a good scent all around.

Aged Snake Oil acquires a very heavy consistency. Mine is around nine months old and it's really starting to thiken up. Heavier, resinous scents are going to be thicker in consistancy. Sloth is pretty heavy and thick as is Malice. The Illustrated Woman is starting to thicken as well and I acquired her in July. For the most part, if you want something thick and heavy your best bet is to either scour the forums for older bottes of resinous scents or to purchase a few and cellar them for a couple months. Patchouli, vetiver, musks and dragon's blood are going to thicken with time.

Imp: For some reason, in the imp this smells like honeysuckle. In fact, I sincerely believed it was honeysuckle until I looked up the notes. Wet: It gets rosy. Intensely rosy. SRSLY rosy. I don't even smell the narcissus and usually that's pretty noticeable on me. Dry: Pink rose, through and through. I like it. It's a bit like Two, Five and Seven but without the sour grass quality. Throw: Mild. Overall: A fun, random scent. I think it's dressy and quite classical and probably wouldn't reach for it for every day wear but it's a cute scent and very feminine.

Imp: Tobacco and leather. A hint of something sweet. Very, very masculine. Wet: Who smells like a dude? Oh yeah, it's PaperRose! It starts out intensely masculine as the leather and tobacco have an all out fist fight on my skin. What I guess is the snakeroot is lending a heavy wood quality. Dry: Manly. It's like a tropical Dee. It smells like a guy but it doesn't smell strange on my skin. It's an intriguing scent. I get predominantly leather and tobacco with a slight sweetness and woodsiness. I like it but I'm not in love with it. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I like it. I don't need a bottle but I could see wanting the imp around in the future.

I'm iffy on recommending a LE but it seems to be fairly common on the swaps so it's not horribly cruel Monsterbait: BiggerCritters is a really nice non-lavender scent that I find helps relax me. Jasmine is a good sleep aid and the vanilla is warm and gentle and very familiar.

Imp: Lemongrass. Mostly lemongrass with a hint of something woodsy and something floral underneath. It reminds me of a Vietnamese restaurant in a way. Wet: Strong, loud, screaming lemongrass. My skin LOVES the lemongrass. It's all I can smell. Dry: I can smell the faintest hint of patchouli and rose. Like I applied a patchouli and rose perfume yesterday and it's lingering under the single note lemongrass I've applied. In a way, I like it. It has a very idealized neo-hippie quality to it and it's quite fresh and bright. Just because I amp lemongrass to unholy proportions doesn't mean I don't like lemongrass. And I find it a sort of intriguing scent. It morphs and changes the longer it's on my skin. And citrus rarely lasts long on me so it's kind of interesting to have a long lasting citrus-like quality from the lemongrass. Throw: Strong. Overall: My imp is of indeterminate age. I think I'm going to hang onto it for a while longer to see if time will help bring out the other elements more. I don't know if I necessarily like the scent as it is now but I really like the promise of the scent. It's very earthy, vibrant and could work well on a man or a woman. Definitely worth a try.

Bottle: Creamy lavender. I love lavender and love BPAL's lavender but Dorian's lavender is a lavender all its own. It's underscored by a bit of citrus-vanilla sweetness. Wet: The musks amp up and the whole scent sweetens up considerably. The dominant scent is lavender followed by vanilla and tea. The musks are in the background. They're noticable but not dominant. Dry: Dorian dries down to a sweet lavender scent tinged with a strange bakery smell. I say strange but it's not unpleasant. Just a sweet, creamy, vanilla-tinged loveliness. Not necessarily foody but bordering on it. Throw: Strong. Overall: Dorian is one of those scents that I love every time I remember I have it. It's a little wicked, a little gentle and very, very sexy. I like the gourmand quality of it but the musks and lavender reign it in enough that I feel comfortable wearing it at work or in situations where I have to project that I am an adult woman but I can still smell damn good. With 22 pages of reviews and counting this probably isn't going to tilt anyone's opinion in the yes direction but Dorian is more than worth a try.

Cockaigne is probably your best bet in the general catalogue. It's a strong, rich, enourmously foody scent. I like the currant tartness in Eat Me but I can consider the two against each other and Cockaigne is somewhat of a richer, foodier, darker scent. Hellcat is more nutty but retains a lot of that sugary, buttery sweetness. If you're okay playing with the Conjure Oils, #20 Love Oil was like heavy, buttery marzipan on my skin. A lot of people pull rose from it, but I found it really, really cake-y. I'm also something of a Demeter fan (can you still get the tomato scent? I haven't seen that in my area in years) and I understand how quickly they fade--as I understand it they're made more as pick me ups than proper perfumes. All three of the ones I've listed have throw for days and days although I have to say that Cockaigne was one of the strongest oils I've ever tested to the point where I had to wash it off. Let us know if you find anything else. There are a couple of threads that might help you: All I want in the world is to smell like a bakery and general foody scents.

Speaking of Conjure Bag Oils: I'm wearing Love Me today and it is a wonderful, soft, creamy musk with cinammon. Fresh I smell a lot of honeysuckle and lotus but my bottle has been sitting around unloved (ironically) for a few months and it smells wonderful. Definitely grab an imp if you get the chance--it really has a bit of that wafting cinammon bun scent to it.

Urd. Urd is super strong patchouli/nag champa. It reeks of hippies in the most wonderful way possible. A couple other suggestions: Masquerade: My favourite patchouli blend. Patchouli with orange blossom, amergris and carnation. It's unusual, unisex and handsome. Heavy patchouli and very earthy. Bloodlust: Patchouli, red musk, vetiver, dragon's blood, cinammon. Dark, resinous, a bit dangerous and very sexy on a man or a woman. Lust: Obviously this one depends on your relationship with him and if you're comfortable giving him something so overtly sexual. It's a bit softer version of Bloodlust. Personally, I think a lot of men have great chemistry for vetiver so I'd rec Bloodlust over this. Voodoo: The patchouli, vetiver and vanilla just shine in this one.

Bottle: Bubble tea. It kind of reminds me of the smell of a bubble tea shop--sort of the scent of all the differennt ingredients and flavours mingling over a bright, clean tea like scent. Wet: It kind of reminds me of Hungry Ghost Moon at first. I think it's the combination of a light musk and ginger. The ginger amps out of control for a second or two but burns down leaving a scent that's a little reminiscent of peach blossom but more... creamy. Dry: Gorgeous. It smells like soft, fresh skin just brushed with herbs and unguents. I think it's the benzoin/skin musk combo lending to the softness of the base and then the florals and the giner just sort of drift over. The sandalwood smoke is present more as a straight up sandalwood but there is a hint of incense to this. Throw: Great. Overall: I love the Asian moons and this is no exception. It's light, fresh and girly. I think it's a little better suited to the spring and summer months, but it's one of those scents that jibes so perfectly with my personality and chemistry that I can't really be bothered to consider the time of year when I slather it on. Definitely a winner.

Imp: Rosemary, cypress and cardamom. Strong and foresty. Wet: The patchouli strengthens and I get a bit of weird sweetness underneath a strong, borderline eucalyptus scent. I think it's the rosemary. It's very fresh and clean but blends oddly with the woody base. Dry: Nephilim has an extremely long drydown before it's pleasant. It's tolerable after a few moments but still not pleasant. The vetiver and patchouli blend together into an amazing soft, smokiness. The fig lends a bit of sticky sweetness. The other notes are fresh and led by the rosemary and cardamom. It's a bit sharp but an interesting, evocative scent. Throw: Strong. Overall: I like it. Warm and woodsy with a perfect herbal bite. It morphs considerably and has an interesting and evocative drydown. It's definitely a time-and-place scent. Not something I'd want to wear where I'll be in close quarters with others and not really work appropriate but definitely good for Saturday mornings and crisp winter days.

Imp: Sweet apple and patchouli. Wet: The apple is remarkably strong on first application. It collides with the rose and musk and all sort of have a tussle for dominance. The patchouli is present but it's not headshoppy or unpleasant in any way. It's a perfect patchouli. Dry: GORGEOUS! There's something in this that reminds me of Snake Oil but it's a lighter and more skin-like scent. The apple and rose have calmed down and the neroli has peaked out. The vanilla is amazing. The more I smell this the better it gets. It's sweet and pretty but I can easily see how this would be chemistry dependent--I'd be interested to smell this on a guy. Throw: Good. Overall: Desire is... well, it lives up to its name. It's sweet and sexy and a perfect blend of floral, resin and sweet. I'm finding it difficult to explain exactly how I feel about this scent. I like it and a bottle is on my list even if it's not at the top of my priorities. It seems like a strange mix of Snake Oil, Sed Non Satiata and Les Bijoux together. It's a gorgeous blend and definitely worth a try.

Imp: Sweet woods with lily and peony. Wet: This is really, really light. I can barely smell it but what I do smell is dry wood with lily trying its hardest to trample over it. All the other notes are not interested in joining this power struggle and have decided to take off. Dry: Faint wood with the faint sweetness of lily and peony in the background. It's very, very dry. It reminds me of my deck in the summer. But it smells more like dry wood in the sun with a faint tinge of florals rather than a lovely scent memory. It's not unpleasant, but it just doesn't work for me. Throw: Close to zero. Overall: Eh. I'm glad to have tried it but it's really not what I was expecting. Once again I am clobbered by the woods.

Imp: Pomegranate softened by peach blossom (or at least a foody floral scent) touched with aquatics. Wet: On the skin the aquatics just bloom. The aquatic note is considerably softened by the pomegranate and peach blossom and some of the rose is peaking out. This has a much more cuddly feel than most aquatics do on my skin. It feels like a more sultry version of the Lady of Shallot. Dry: The pomegranate and the peach blossom are the star players here. I get a touch of rose, the aquatic notes fade to more of a grounding background note and this is overall a beautiful, soft and feminine scent. I'm surprised how much I like this. It perfectly walks the line between classic and modern. Throw: The pomegranate is the strongest note, but the throw itself is fairly light. Overall: Pretty, feminine, somewhat overlooked scent. A good mix of fruity, floral and aquatic and a good way to ease oneself into a new scent family.

If she likes patchouli, it blends marvelously with orange blossom. Masquerade (Patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom) is predominantly orange blossom when fresh and it's beautiful. It's a bit sweet and spicy from the ambergris and carnation, the patchouli adds some earthy grounding and the orange blossom is lovely and fresh. It smells very orange to my nose and is one of my BPAL favourites, let alone orange blossom favourites. Vixen (The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli): This one is a lot more earthy and spiced from the patchouli but it's a popular blend and is quite lovely. It's more of a dirty and sultry Masquerade. If she likes her scents a bit lighter: Les Bijoux (Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh): A sexy, close-to-the-skin scent. The honey/skin musk combo sweetens everything considerably and I find that the orange blossom and frankincense seem to dominate. Catherine (orange blossom, rosemary and rose): A bit of a softer floral/herbal combo. The rosemary is really interesting and unusual in this. Katharina (white musk with a trickle of bright, sharp apricot and orange blossom): Light and clean with a bit of fruity sweetness. Arcana (Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena): Fresh, light and herbal. And if she likes just plain unusual orange blossom: Vice (A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom): Very foody and sweet. Made a bit more palatable as a perfume by the orange blossom. Dracul (Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom): Very dark and heavy. The orange blossom is definitely a top note. Titus Andronicus: (Dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot): I find this one kind of like a really idealized incense blend. It's smells almost exactly like a Persian rug store near my office. The Caterpillar (Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver): I'm just kind of throwing this one out here because I wear it all the time but I rarely notice the neroli. It might be a good way to expand her scent repetoire if she just wants to start out with neroli notes.