The_Witching_Hour

If I'm not mistaken, those are some of BlackRayne's personal bottles she had on LJ (Marketplace) awhile back. She had about 4-5 of theses 30ml bottles listed and Dragon's Milk, Dana O'Shee and Dorian were a few that I remember sold first (so maybe wikkidraven purchased these 2), there were pictures on her entry and these look just like them. The 'give-away' for me is the fact they don't have handwriting on the label's as Beth and the Lab's 30ml bottles DO have personal hand written names on the labels as I purchased one of the Lab's on Ebay when they were cleaning house.

In the vial: This is all Granny Smith apples with a tartness that leaves you going, "Oooooooooooo!" and makes your cheeks pucker! On the skin, first five minutes (wet stage): I have to mirror fairnymph's impression on this part as it has a 'cooling' smell/feel to it that keeps you guessing...."Is it menthol? Is it Spearmint? Is it Peppermint? Is it Eucalyptus?"....my vote (or guess) is eucalyptus and as it takes over somewhat, the sweetness of the apple fades and the tartness remains. No mistaking, its still going strong! Drydown: The apple is almost gone and can only be felt at close range (nose touching your skin practically) but the winter fresh feel that emerged within minutes of application is what remains the strongest. If ozone had a color (and I usually associate the Lab's ozone note with the color of a deep blue), this would be white/gray just like the hours before the snow storm when there's tons of snow on the ground already but the sky looms gray with the next onslaught of a snow storm. My only wish was that it lasted longer. I applied this almost 2 and a half hours ago and its barely there anymore. Maybe this is a scent that should be captured in 'glass' so it would last forever.....

Cinnamon incense burning somewhere...... You hear the thrums of soft melodic music with the constant beat of it in your veins....... You're behind the curtain in a head-shop engrossed in contortionist sex. That's SIN, plain and simple. I should have reviewed this one ages ago. I *love* it!

I've been waiting for someone to post a recommendation from "The Phantom Islands" (under the Wanderlust section)! Thanks, erraticprophet! My husband and I vacationed on Kauai for 2 weeks about 6 years ago, rented a Mustang convertable to cruise 3/4 of the Island (the remaining 1/4 can only be reached by helicopter, horseback or hiking...and we did ALL THREE!) and we had the time of our lives! The helicopter ride took us over the area of the Island that can only be reached that way (a rocky cliff dropping not accessible by beach), where 'South Pacific' and 'Six Days and Seven Nights' were filmed, among others. We drove past the lush, tropical forest area where 'Jurassic Park' was filmed, we ate ice cream next to a local soap company at what looked like a General Store off the side of the road.....just *pure romance*! The smell of the Island? Others have posted how many things it has to be stored inside this little bottle and I do agree for the most part. Mixing from some areas of the older general catalog would get this effect but the closest without having to mix and match scents are (IMO) from The Phantom Islands: The Isle of Demons Kumari Kandam Jezirat Al Tennyn And if your chemistry will allow this one: Uruk (from Wanderlust) Depending on your mood and chemistry, these are the 3 (or 4) closet IMO. In our time there, I never experienced everything Kauai had to offer in one day so I'm thinking.....If I hit the volcanic side where South Pacific was filmed and feel in that mood, I'd pick The Isle of Demons, etc.... You get the idea. I know the Island is small but we didn't see or experience the whole thing in one day. Thank you for bringing me back to a wonderful vacation and helping me experience the priceless memories!

In the bottle I smell pines and resins. When freshly put on, it does scream pine but after 5 minutes, the pine turns into pine bark and something really solid.....CYPRESS. This really is pretty and of course I smell pine bark more than anything. As it dries, it really is a mix of leaves, bark, cypress and pine and a subtle (nice surprise) appearance of something familiar to tobacco. This is more complex than I expected after reading the earlier reviews but VERY well done!!

Smelling this in the bottle gives me the urge to *giggle*. Its bright and has a sense of humor (to me, but there are times when a fragrance literally talks and has a personality). On? WOW....this is SASSY! Very energetic, too. After 30 minutes and into drydown it stays true. A very well rounded blend of ripe fruits (the yuzu and mandarin are very well represented but not knocking you over. I suspect the bamboo reed grounds them both) and subtle florals. This is *fun* in a bottle. It smiles when you can't manage one yourself and one of the blends I could use more than one bottle of. I seem to be having more luck with the shapeshifters this year.

I agree with savage_rose that this one smells like candy-fluff in the bottle. As soon as I apply it, I smell the (white) amber struggling to make an appearance. After those fleeting 5 minutes, I assume that passion flower and lotus are what I smell that settle down with the blend until drydown. I don't know buttonweed and white poppy as notes, per say so I can't comment on them in particular. Rose otto never screams and waves, "Hey, I'm over here!!! Over HERE!!!!!" thankfully. Nice, spicy-floral drydown.

In the bottle, it almost smells like a mix of cocoa and vanilla. I know it doesn't list cocoa but it has a smell of the Jello pudding that mixes chocolate and vanilla together. On the skin, though....completely different! I smell a mix of carnation and jasmine but it has a warmth of something edible behind it. On drydown, this one smells exactly like The Oval Portrait on me. Wow, funny how skin chemistry changes things! This is a nice blend of gourmand and florals!

HOLY SMOKES. I'm shocked to the NTH degree for several notes/reasons!! Patchouli and Skin Musk are forerunners in the beginning and for once in my BPAL career, honeycomb (or beeswax, honey, honey soaked peaches, honey drenched SUNSHINE for Christ's sake! Are you getting the picture/feeling that honey of any sort ruins a scent at some point for me???) doesn't come screaching out at me with a vengeance! Carnation (oooo....I LOVE *you*, Carnation!) makes a brief appearance and settles this blend of Patchouli and Skin Musk closer to the skin. GAH.....this is such a fucking sexy blend! Yes, it *did* get me laid 2 days ago(!) Another 'come hither' scent that marks itself a firm bottle spot in my collection!

From the imp and in the first 30 minutes the Water Lily springs to the surface and fights against anything else in it to remain at the top. I need to just admit that most types of Lily just don't work with my skin chemistry so I won't be so disappointed when a blend sounds so romantic (to me). On the dry-down and in the end its all Water-Lily and Peony for me, baby! No moss or greenery whatsoever.

This blend starts off way heady, lemon-y (almost like a lemon scented Mr. clean) and slightly floral. Sad to say that this one rounded itself off (for me) as a lemon-scented Mr. Clean.

WOWSA! This is an eye-opener! White peach and tangerine steal the show in this blend on application until the first 30 minutes or so and are ALMOST too tart. Whatever grounds this fragrance and keeps it from going tart-sour are absolutely life affirming in this! Is it Iris? Is it White Wine-Grape? Is it the Osmanthus or Cream Accord? I can't begin to guess but this is one of those scents that transcends you to a place of: Swinging in a hammock.....you're rocking back and forth. You almost hit the apex at the top of the branches. Then you feel the swoop of the grass at your ass on each swing of the pendulum......back and forth, back and forth......higher each time. A feeling of liberation beyond the air we breathe. A trip into space where you start to see the black beyond the the sky blue. This is a fragrance of imagination for all fruit and floral lovers! Very masterfully done. BRAVO!

I have to echo Slave1's reference to her Catholic upbringing when smelling/wearing this blend. I smell the frankincense, the teak, the ambergris, the individual resins, then they all embrace themselves to utter perfection. My description of utter perfection = church pews drenched in the deepest of wood finishes. While this is a lovely room fragrance, I'd rarely wear this as a perfume. It lends a room something that is 'otherworldly' in terms of time and space. This is one of those 'transport me to......1594, please!' scents.

This really is all clean, fresh, sun-drenched flowers fragrance right from the imp and down to the last 8 hours. It never changes which is a pleasant surprise for me as I have skin chemistry that changes the smallest of notes (one would think) in most blends. I don't personally seek out the 'clean, just washed the sheets and they're hanging out on the line in back' scent but for those that search something as unique and 'clear'....this is the blend you are after!

This blend initially DOES remind me of Fire Pig but only in the first 3 minutes of wear (from imp to wet on wrists). After that, it takes on a whole body all its own. This is a juicy and bright fragrance without being 'high-pitched', which is what I reference floral or fruit blends that I just can't wear. I agree with Sarada that something indeed does GLOW in this. This is a bottle purchase for me after wearing the imp and will revere itself from other blends I reserve "for Spring only" wear. I think in its initial phase it does have a similarity to 51 but whatever is in this blend.....sprouts roots and wings and just goes beyond anything in comparison. It really is a BEAUTY (30ml, please?!)!

GRR posted a very good review on this and I have to agree with the majority of her impressions! For me, on initial application I sense the same feel as 'the best vanilla' blend to date. To me, this is a more muted vanilla (almost like Door 13) and sandalwood peeking its head to make an appearance. All in all on a drydown period (as this stays true to mid-time of 30 mintes to drydown) if you love Antigue Lace but would like to bypass the sharper portions of the wet stages, this blend is for *you*!!!! After 30 minutes, I feel as if I've applied Antique Lace but with a much smoother hand.

GRR posted a very good review on this and I have to agree with the majority of her impressions! For me, on initial application I sense the same feel as Storyville as mentioned above by GRR. In the first portion of the drydown (after about 20-30 minutes) it seems the red sandalwood fights with clove, vanilla and hazelnut bean to see which one will best the other. The outcome is a foody blend that reeks of tooth rot & decay (foody-sweet) but is a 'come hither' sense that will entice the most unlikey of victims. I wish it had more throw as it only lasts a few hours. Maybe aging will amp up the strenght in this baby!!!!

Sarada posted a very good review on this and I have to agree with the majority of her impressions! For me, on initial application I sense sweet woods, amber and figs. In the first portion of the drydown (after about 20-30 minutes) the figs fade somewhat quickly, which has me a little disheartened but this still remains the resins of all resins with a beauty all its own. It dries down to a lovely ambery/patchouli/sweet ending that is *so* mellow*. Nice! Save for the fig departure.................

For me, on initial application I sense a high-pitched floral (maybe Gardenia) that's tempered somehow. The first portion of the drydown (after about 20-30 minutes) is finally evident to be tempered by honeycomb. Very soft drydown but not one I'd personally reach for as honeycomb has a weirdness I can't even describe on me. As the longest lasting note in this blend, its just a no-no, unfortunately.

For me, on initial application I get a sense of some sort of 'berry' quality. Is it the osmanthus and leaves combined? The drydown in this is strong and I have to attribute it to the sandalwood. I don't get a real sensation for this fragrance and have to attribute it to the combination of sandalwoon and rose absolute. Sandalwood gives a sense of 'strong perfume' in the drydown and rose absolute (rose to begin with) is a wild card for me and my skin chemistry. POOP!

GRR posted a very good review on this and I have to agree with the majority of her impressions! For me, on initial application I sense the same feel as Voodoo Queen as mentioned above by GRR. In the first portion of the drydown (after about 20-30 minutes) it seems the red sandalwood fights the clove and seemingly wins as I get wafts of clove but it never seems to surface, unfortunately. What a tease! This is very perfumey in the drydown, which I can only attribute to the throw of sandalwood. Long lasting, INDEED! My only wish was that it would have kept the original feel/smell of Voodoo Queen. Still, a gorgeous drydown and a perfume that sets it aside from others.

naeelah! I couldn't have said it better. Your post ought to be put in the recs thread on which Snake Pit blend to try.

In the bottle this has a sharp metallic feel with a twang of citrus (the citrus being lemon to my nose but barely detectable in the bottle). On me within the first 10 minutes this is smooth and a little 'cold'. A clean scent with a touch of ozone that the metallic edge has turned to. Dry, it doesn't morph too much but the gentle changes are gorgeous on this one. It waffles every once in awhile and almost kicks up a powdery feel (oh, no!) but never turns powdery. This is my pick of the 2 scents made for Bat's Day. It retains interest from bottle to drydown and having visited The Queen Mary (and the infamous Door 13 that killed a crewman mechanic named "John", in particular on Erika Frost's tour) this blend is a real time machine for me!

I have to say that The Queen's Salon started out pretting promising to me when sniffed on the bottle. Very complex, a floral with some dark undertones.... However, after 10 minutes and until drydown the rose in this took over the driver's wheel and ran the rest of the course. Makes me mad. Just can't be any forgiveness from crazy skin chemistry!

Onto more 'dead ringers' for Opium.... Wild Men (Carnaval Diabolique) wears just like Opium on me but just a tad lighter. It has the same base/mid/top note feel to it on me. Everyone's skin chemistry is different, of course but if you haven't tried Wild Men yet.....don't pass it up!!! Put it on the list to try.