Aldercy

According to one website's translation that I saw, it means "The Sleeping Bather". Most of the pages that I translated came up with "Sleeping", but weren't quite sure what "Baigneuse" was... this was the first that gave me more than "The Sleeping Baigneuse". --M "Bather" actually sounds right for "baigneuse." I vaguely remember that "bain" is "bath" in French. Um... is "schlafende" German and "baigneuse" French (or a related Romance language)? o_O

Hm, I actually get some almond and red sandalwood from this along with the cherry (I'm beginning to realize that black cherry works much better for me than red ) and lots of orange. It's a very sweet, rusty scent that reminds me of Salome, Kabuki or even Queen of Sheba (I was not the best of friends with most of those perfumes). The scent is not to my taste, but the oil itself is, as I expected, so gentle and soft. Nothing has ever made my skin feel as good as BPTP bath oils.

Lots of briny sea salt (very green and muddy) and some slightly alcoholic? lychee. Like a... lychee sake martini (which is a very interesting drink, btw). No plum, but there is a bit of floral/lime mist. Odd. Hm. Not a bad scent (especially for something that could have been an aquatic disaster) but I don't know if I would wear it much.

How is it even possible that this smells like Giant Vulva to me? It's really sophisticated, wispy traditional perfume. WHAAA? Okay, as it dries I'm getting a little more of the sheer metallic notes and sage (yay fuzzy sage), and it's not so much like GV anymore. Metal notes usually smell "true" on me (not ozoney or weird) but the problem is that I just don't always like it. The metals of Phoenix Steamworks, however, are really nice-- not very heavy, but still rich and shiny (glazed in beeswax?). Big success here. It retains that elegant, feminine quality it had at first, but on the drydown it's spiked with herbs and warm, soft metallics that take it out of the realm of the usual.

I think I actually smell all of those notes if I concentrate on them (except no vanilla or caraway and the musk does not smell like black musk to me). Mostly, however, it's murky, slippery amber, tart orange juice, honey and ginger. But despite all those gold notes, Faiza is green. Like they've all been filtered through a dark haze of plant material. Very nice. Possible bottle.

Tea (more black than green to me) and plum mostly (yum), with chrysanthemum and sage starting to come out in the drydown. There's also something that strikes me as glassy acai berry (perhaps the elderberry is responsible? or even the pomegranate? or maybe just the whole concoction of fruits). This is very different from my other autumnal scents, but still notably autumnal. Actually, it smells like what I imagine autumn might smell like in a completely foreign country-- same cool, breezy feeling, but with a different assortment of native plants. It's sweet and chilly. Nice.

Yep, this is the purest dirt note I've yet encountered. Not as sweet as Earth Phoenix and not as herbal as Planting Moon. My color impression of Death Cap is that it's kind of a reddish, clay-based earth. Georgia dirt. There's really nothing interfering with that single note for me.

Well, I count the total lack of pickles a success! Mm, this is a down-and-dirty forest scent-- I smell warm, dark soil, ancient trees with damp bark, and a whole... lot... of... musk. It's a really lithe, sinuous, stirring musk. Somewhat masculine, but so good. And my mental impression of the "fur" note is more of a shaggy brown fur-- like a bear-- as opposed to sleek silver wolf fur. Not sure why. Ivanushka is a little like Coyote but I would say the strongest parallel I'm getting is with Hunter Moon 07-- the sweet, wholesome decomposition note of the fallen leaves is very similar. I would never have need of a 5ml of this, but I wish I had more than a half decant. I will definitely pick up another if it comes my way. ETA: Highly persistent and resilient scent. It's almost 8 hours later, and Ivanushka shows no signs of stopping despite my having layered it with Death Cap about 4 hours in. The Death Cap is gone. The Ivanushka is still there.

Pink pepper, you are the light of my small, perfume-centric life. This is like Pothon Meter with honeysuckle instead of rose, and amber instead of balsam. A little airier and more innocent, but the two are definitely sisters. I just love the pepper/flower/resin combination. Hermia is sweet and cheerful with this playful bite of fury from the spicy pink pepper. You can just picture the character this scent belongs to. Delightful.

I heartily approve of this. I haven't tried many scents with ylang ylang, but I do not get much in the way of florals from La Petite Mort (old-ish imp; I don't know how much difference that makes). This is mostly a humid honey and sheer, clean myrrh blend on my skin. There's really only a light misting of musk for me. It has a similar mood to The Lion, but not as spicy or feral. Also a bit like O, as many have mentioned.

Vinland is all tart rose water when wet. It's getting ever more complex as it dries-- with more bitter bramble berries (and almost a hint of hay). The pale, paper-thin rose note is a very cold one, shot through with something almost like an iron-y metallic. I wish more of the birch and maple would appear and give Vinland greater depth, but it's still interesting. I might consider layering this with something a bit more earthy/autumnal.

Oh! This smells like Old Moon! With plum replacing the various winter berries. But the "shiny" evergreen note is just the same-- I don't know how to describe it (I often don't like pine) but it's like a particularly sparkly, magical snowbound pine that crops up only in certain blends. The scent is exquisite. I tried this as a end-of-shower moisturizer and I feel all soft and sleek now. I would take a vat of Ice Prince if I ever found one.

Mm. Woodsy not as in actual wood, but as in camping. Soft smoke over an ancient bed of dry fir needles and a kind of mischievous, earthy brown musk. With... amber? and honey? I definitely get the sticky warm nectar of those notes lingering behind the others. It's not sugary or heavy, but just a distant golden note. Ah. Actually, I think it's congealing into more of a honeyed wine as it dries-- that makes more sense. The "dry leaves" component is not quite as prominent and crunchy as I would have liked, but there's a slight airy, sweet note that makes me think of the general "healthy decomposition" of fall (quite different and much more pleasant that "something is rotting in here, isn't it?"). I'm very glad I have my decant , but it's a very specific kind of scent that wouldn't lend itself to everyday use, so I'm probably fine without more.

Um... patchouli cola? Why is red musk going all "stale root beer" on me? It's never done that before, and is usually mouthwatering. I don't sense even a drop of vanilla, pomegranate or plum (the notes I wanted). It's all big, dirty patchouli and eeevil red musk (I still can't get over the sudden betrayal). And it's giving me a headache, which is super-rare for BPAL. Oh man. I had such high hopes. Will test again in a few days just because I refuse to believe Mme. Moriarty could really be this bad. ETA: Tested again today with significantly better results. Still not a favorite, but it was wearable and I kept curiously sniffing myself. Maybe this is an acquired taste.

Dorian! Theodosius is Dorian, to the point where I'm considering testing them side by side to make sure this isn't some kind of devilish trick on the part of a decanter somewhere. Specifically, it's like aged Dorian (ultra-smooth). Maybe infinitesimally more masculine. And the slight citrus note is more bergamot than lemon. If you dislike jasmine, you've little to fear from this oil-- I can't smell it at all. Naturally, I love it, but I don't need a bottle when I already have something so similar. ETA: By the time I got to work with Theodosius, he was laughing maniacally and waving around icky rubber gloves in the manner of Mad Hatter and Phantom Cow. And then, after amusing himself with that for about half an hour, he put them away and settled into this kind of general white fog nothing like Dorian and nothing like rubber gloves. o_O

This is a really nutty, sugary caramel with a woodsy, slightly apple-tinged background. I was hoping for some more prominence from the lighter notes (skin musk, cream), but I think Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht is too busy being all darkly foody to acknowledge them. Very little apple, but it's a sheer, sharp green apple to me. Still mostly caramel and wood on the drydown (hints of maple? and tobacco?)... it's a bold, autumnal scent, but overall not so different from some other caramel blends I have. I like her, but a bottle is optional, I think.

In the imp I get my beloved ambergris and kelp (yay!), but the second Sunrise With Sea Monsters hits skin, it's Attack of the Freesia time. Freesia over ultra-clean, clear aquatic. Now there's nothing actually wrong with that, but apparently both of those notes are the epitome of "perfumey" on me. Perfectly pleasant and perfectly uninteresting. Very cool, traditional and beachy-- just not my style.

Detestable Putrescence alternates between mouthwatering vanilla bean ice cream (exactly like it) with lashings of butterscotch to waxy vanilla candle. And I think it's leaning toward candle as it dries. It actually smells like Yankee Candle's Sugar Cookie scent now. I don't think anyone could ever find this offensive, but it's a bit bland after the lovely wet stage. If I had a scent locket and more than a half decant of this, I would probably try to fix this so that it stays more true to its first stages, but oh well. Glad I tried it.

Priala is like the glowing embers from a mountain of myrrh incense. Sweet myrrh, dark myrrh, all kinds of myrrh (mostly sweet though, I think... opoponax?) The smoke note is wispy and warm-- not a sharp, black vetiver smoke (unless this decant is super aged, in which case it could be a really mellowed vetiver). The cinnamon is almost non-existent, but it's definitely more of a rusty cinnamon bark than a hot cinnamon candy. No Red Hots here! Mm. I like it. Not sure if I need a bottle, but this is a lovely, very wearable blend. It actually does not have a huge throw on me, which is good because this is not something you'd want to assault people with. But up close it's dead sexy.

Dark, almost bloody, cherry lollipop with cinnamon goo. No licorice. It's really powerful wet (my nose burned when I sniffed it straight in the imp), but not as much on the drydown. It's still spiced red candy, but with a dry, antiqued edge. It's hard, serious candy-- lonely and bitter because it was left to sit at the bottom of the bowl for years, uneaten and unloved. Sigh. not so much for me.

Oh, I always knew this would be an interesting one! True, glowing Snake Oil, but almost unrecognizable under the extra spike of vanilla and a huge orgy of red and gold fruit. It's such a strange contrast of light and dark-- there are almost two perfect layers of scent. Rich, dark, resinous SO with this glassy surface of sweet, succulent cardamom-laced fruit juice glazed over it. What I suppose is the acai berry is quite bright and there's almost something like soft banana note. Australian Copperhead is a Snake Oil smoothie (note: never ever make an actual Snake Oil smoothie). I don't know how old this particular decant is, but I feel that, like SO, this would only get better with time. This one will be making a home with me before the Carnaval leaves.

Sandy cider FTW! Actually, it smells more like pure, pulpy apple juice-- not particularly "mulled" or "spiced" in any way, to my nose-- but unimaginably beautiful. Much better than straight apple, which is sometimes a little sharp, fake and headache-inducing (if you have that problem with "apple" notes, try this, it's very different). Apple juice with lovely brash carnation (there's a slightly gentler, more traditional floral as well, which is a bit like rosy plumeria, but it's pretty far in the background) and a hint of warm sugar-- kind of pastry-ish. Queen Alice is exquisitely sophisticated and feminine, yet still totally unconventional.

Earth Rat is a a very cool, smooth, Asian blend. Candied melon (cantaloupe with a bit of honeydew) is the strongest note for me and reminds me very much of this delicious Japanese gum I used to chew all the time. After that there's definite bursts of lychee, gentle citrus, peony and a drop of that kumquat I love so, so much in Tweedledee and Night-Gaunt. This is like fruity, feminine fireworks. It's extremely festive and lighthearted with a softly earthy, humble base (probably attributable to the pine, but I don't actually smell pine). It makes me happy. ETA: Very short-lived though. Earth Rat was gone within a half hour. Still, if your skin doesn't apparently swallow these notes, it's lovely.

Hm, cherry? Somehow the red musk note is sweeter than usual and reminding me of the cherry/red musk combination in Kabuki. All under a mad haze of opium smoke. I have never tried anything with civet before, but there's nothing in here that jumps out at me as "oh, that's what civet smells like." Other than lending the blend an extra jolt of sin, I'm not really sure if I can pick it out. Very aggressive, this one.

Oh my. Oh my. This. Is. Intoxicating. And that's coming from someone who thought they hated vetiver. It's normally really scary on me, but Serpent's Kiss is hot. It's not that I can't smell the vetiver-- it's definitely a violent main note-- it's just that this combination apparently works. Dragon's blood is normally so strong on me that it overpowers all other notes, but vetiver can seriously stand up to it and just transforms the blend into, I don't know... freaking lava. Lava sprinkled with cassia or cinnamon bark. Amazing, and completely unlike anything else I've tried. I would like to point out that this particular imp is aged. I'm pretty sure that's making a huge difference (for the positive) with the vetiver. On another note: I have a lot of other "dragon's bloody" imps and I've sometimes noticed a slight pink staining of the cap, but Serpent's Kiss has actually completely infiltrated the plastic and turned it dark, furious red. Crazy. ETA: Serpent's Kiss lasts forever. I went to sleep with this still on a couple of days ago and my pillow still smells true to Serpent's Kiss. And then my face does as well for about an hour after I get up. No complaints, but be aware that it's persistent!