ViolentKitten

Faith is lovely. This reminds me though, I really need to start up my fragrance diary again. Was going to restart it a month ago. Me = Fail.

Much better that you used them on yourself. You deserve them.

This is really, really good; and a surprise favourite of mine so far of the T&T’s!!! It’s a perfect blend of wine and fruits. It’s very boozy but doesn’t have a vapour of alcohol coming off it, like, say Mad Sweeney, but a rich sweetness and a delicious grapey, red berry fruitiness that’s not overdone at all. So yummy, and lasts too.

How about Chimera? I get cinnamon toast (and the cinnamon isn't too strong on me), but with a little honeysuckle....

I completely agree with all of Juniperus Intrepidus' recommendations. All of these have been loves to some extent of mine and Spellbound was my first BPAL love. Scherezade and Loviatar are two full sizes I own and adore. A couple of others maybe: Blood Rose (red rose with red wine and dragon's blood resin) ~ This reminds me a little of the incense from Spellbound along with the grapey red wine note from Lilith, and a touch of the sweetness from Persephone. It's all round darker though. And speaking of Persephone, if she likes a fruitier rose, this could be worth a go too.

Krampus is one sexy bastard. Red musk and leather, but not strong and I get whispers of the dust and wood. Amazing. I can't believe how I can smell the notes so clearly, though of course it would be harder for me to decipher them without the description It also reminds me an old Czech town I visited for some reason…mmmm, Český Krumlov is where it's at. It smells like that beautiful place looked and felt to me somehow, in a really wonderful memory-filled way. Old wood, but not too dusty, people with leather aprons, warm skin. Something…a little like a green plant of some sort too, almost, but not quite, herbal minty and a touch cool on my skin. Not too leathery, not that I mind a bit of leather. Ten minutes later, it's morphed almost completely. There's more red musk coming out, warming and sweetening it up, just a little sweetness though. Unusual and so sniffable.

The first time I tried The Fox-woman, I was a little disappointed to find that it went through a bit of a boring soapy stage; but once it began to dry down, and the sillage found it’s way up to my nose, I found that it had blossomed on my skin. An ever so slightly soapy floral with something a little different about it; and I think that’s the white tea and teak, which takes it away from the usual soapy-floral realm making it a little dry, yet smooth and elegant. The lush star jasmine and teak give the fragrance a depth which tones down the soapiness of the wisteria on my skin. It might be obvious to say it, but this all this brings to mind a finely polished teak table, its smooth, rich brown colour glinting in the sunlight; a pot of strong, steaming jasmine tea brewed to give it that hint of dry bitterness, and the scent of flowers drifting in from a warm breeze. I love florals like this, something different, not what you’d expect. It is beautiful.

Antoninio is appropriately convivial, with just a hint of darkness. He starts out cool on my skin with a light and zesty verbena and a touch of lavender which combines perfectly with the tart (and a little sweet, but not candy sweet) wild plum. I don’t pick up any coconut, which is strange, because it usually amps on my skin big-time. Antoninio reminds me a little of The Bow and Crown of Conquest but with the tart plum note and no leather. I think Antoninio could be worn by either sex, it seems to be right in between. Final dry-down is lightly herbal, but mostly musky dark plum. I love this one.

Theodosius has a wonderful, rich, dry warmth with a little sweetness. When I first tried it, I was instantly reminded of Florence. For a moment I couldn’t work out why, then it hit me: Fendi Theorema! When I was in Italy in 2002, I bought Theorema in a chemist in Florence, and Theodosis reminded me straight away of that creamy, lightly spiced citrus chocolate. When compared side by side though, they are quite different. Theodosius is not as smooth as Theorema, it’s more aggressive, but I like that. Theodosius has that citrus feel from the Earl Grey, but the tea gives it that lovely dry note and the fougere, I think a very light leathery lavender note, which makes it a little masculine. I’m not sure what the jasmine leaf smells like but it’s not at all jasminey, it might be adding a touch of green. At the base, there is a stunning vanilla musk which sweetens everything up, but doesn’t take over, that slightly bitter black tea. It’s just so good. Discreetly sexy, a little masculine and sophisticated.

Whoa! Honey. Lotsa honey! Niiiiice honey, and it's mixing so nicely with the almond. The spices are very soft and there's a dry tea note. Few minutes later, oooh! This could be the Chai I've been searching for! The spices are a bit stronger now, but not too strong and there’s the skin musk, all softly wisping off the skin. Another 10 minutes later... oh my. This is DELICIOUS! Honey, almond and spices (cinnamon, clove, ginger). I adore the honey note in this, it’s just heaven. But, 20 minutes later, GAH, somehow the spices end up amping up big time along with the almond, and make anywhere I applied it red... and itch like a bastard. Damn. This is still a gorgeous one though and I think I need to try it in a scent locket.

I like Beyond Paradise too, though I've not worn it for quite a while. Checking back through my perfume notes, I've written that Kali reminds me of BP and trying them both on again now, hmmmm, yes they are still similar on me! BP is a little more rounded and lush. Definitely give Kali a whirl!

Mme. Moriarty is Snake Charmer, Snake Oil and Perversion having a threesome. There’s a few notes added and missing from there, but that’s mostly the feel I get: incensey, vanilla-ish, a little fruit… except there’s a note that makes it cool and almost fizzy (fizzy for a brief moment) on my skin. It’s something almost minty. It must be the patchouli leaf. It’s starting to add a herbal dryness. The vanilla, red musk and fruits meld into the leaf, it pokes out the most to my nose initially. After a while, the vanilla and red musk come out a little more, but it’s not how I expected, they’re lovely, but missing something that makes me swoon. The final drydown has an odd feel: waxy, almost plasticky, it’s not horrible though and it’s right at the end. Mme. Moriarty is gorgeous, but overall, it’s not one for regular wear as I wished for it to be. I’ll try it again in a few months and see though.

I’ve had my Snake Charmer for over a year now…oop, I think it’s time to review! Snake Charmer to me is one of Beth’s most incredible pieces of fragrant art. It is blended beautifully, seamlessly. It makes my mouth water. In the bottle, it’s divine, and on, even more so. Though distinct from each other, I agree, Charmer is definitely in the same realm as Snake Oil and Mme. Moriarty, but much closer to Snake Oil on me. Snake Oil though is much more incensey, spicier and sugarier. In Mme. Moriarty, the patchouli leaf really pokes out making it spicier and a tad herbal. I love them both, but Snake Charmer is stunning on me right off the bat, deliciously smooth straight away. Charmer is sweet, silky and mesmerising. It’s soft, but still has amazing sillage and lasting power. It’s the most exquisitely different vanilla musk, and I think it’s the Arabian Musk which does it along with the vanilla mixed with ambrette and benzoin which turns to a kind of sugared honey feel. So lush. I can also sniff a little black plum and the barest touch of coconut. It’s not like the usual Black Coconut which can go very dark and woody on my skin; in fact, I can hardly smell it at all. As for how it’s aged, I think it has mellowed somewhat and maybe become a teeny bit sweeter. Snake Charmer is absolutely one of my favourite BPAL blends. Sigh worthy and stunningly scrumptious. *No matter how many times I check my stuff for typos, I don't find them till after I've posted!

SM is nice, but I was hoping for some more complexity on my skin, it's mostly spicy powdery patchouli. There is a slightly soft sweet powder note which I think is coming from the opoponax and I’m getting a tiny touch of amber, myrrh and musk and maybe some other stuff going on way in the backgroud, but they can’t make their way out to mix in. Mr Patchouli is just so strong here and the other notes are amping it up and making it too powdery. I kind of like it, but I don’t think it’s one I’d wear right now. Definitely one to age though, I’m looking forward to seeing how mellows and how those other notes mix in.

TOG is such a uniquely strange combination of notes, but it seems to work on me. First on, I get toasted almonds and milk and it’s all warm and comforting. Suddenly the pine rushes in on a breeze, followed soon after by a brush of smoke and patchouli. All at once, it’s all very… oddly refreshing, comforting and a little dark. Twenty or so minutes later, it all softens; the pine, smoke and patchouli fade to the background and all I can mostly smell is lovely soft sweet milk. It’s not very almondy, it’s more like light and creamy condensed milk, very similar to Arcana’s Sweet Milk with just a hint of pine and maybe the sarsaparilla, so that it’s little savoury, not fully sweet. Not one I’d wear all the time, but one I like to sniff now and then, it’s just so unusual!