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!

... The Master of Lightning’s ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane. A little syrupy and sweet, but I love the sillage of this one. It’s banana with a hint of incense first on, but when that fades a little, I get that tropical fruity feel. I don’t really get the fruits invididually, but it adds up to fruit cocktail and strawberry incense (reminds me a bit of Hell’s Belle here), but not overpowering fake strawberry. The spices in the background - I guess that’s the chili pepper – and something warm, akin to a touch of dark musk and patchouli, give it a different feel from your usual fruity scent. Really good.

Sundew is warm and crisp. It’s freshly washed clothes dried and warmed by the sun and lying in the green grass feeling your body being warmed by the sun. Yup: yellow, orange golden sunshine. A floral with a dry sweetness and maybe some white musk. I don’t think it’s one I’d wear on its own, as it feels a bit too dry and clean, but along with other sunny and fruity (like Shango whch I’m wearing it with today) scents, it’s lovely.

Ooooh, nice! At first, dark chocolate, musk, candied rose or orange (I think that’s my nose's interpretation of the dragon’s blood) and incensey… Ten minutes later, oooh, very nice. No, scratch that, this is GORGEOUS! The cocoa reminds me the cocoa in Tezcatlipoca and Centzon Totochtin, but lighter. And I get a similar feel to The Great Sword of War too, I think that’s the orangey feel there, but The Tell-Tale Heart is less rounded. The musk is just stunning mixed with the dragon’s blood and vetiver, makes it a little powdery, but in a beautifully light way. The incense note is similar to the one in The Cracked Bell and Blood Amber, but moreso The Cracked Bell, that sort of airy nag champa feel. And I can softly smell it about me. Gah, all round, this is SO good, a wonderfully spiced, musky incense with a hint of the gourmand…a full bottle would be lovely.

In the Imp: Ooh nice, a little spicy and like a man’s cologne? Not as heavy as the notes suggest though. On: Incensey, but with something different, reminds me of my very vague memories of the Old Spice aftershave in my dad’s bathroom cupboard (which isn’t a bad thing), but with something else. Hmmm, it’s a slightly oily and resinous aspect adding to the softly spiced woods. I was a bit worried about the 'dark musk'…that it might go powdery in that bad way that dark musk has done on me before, but it doesn’t…joy! In fact, it’s gorgeously soft and velvety and as well as being good on me, would be great on a bloke, as it does have a masculine feel, but not too heavy. I can see how it could be a heftier relation to one of my favourites, Morocco, with its slightly dry, soft spices and musk; it does have a similar feel. It also reminds me a tad of the dry-down of Serge Lutens Chergui, which I adore. A little while later, it’s becoming a little smoky and that is good. Oblivion manages to be strong, but it also has a soft sweetness at the same time. Absolutely beautifully blended!

In the Imp: A pretty, soft pink rose with some body! I might like this one. On: Mmm, yes, this is lovely. Roses. Beautiful roses with a hint of something fruity and something just a touch dry, like carnation. A little musk or maybe some amber too. This is not a deep rose to me, it’s light...ethereal. And pale pink. As soon as I smell it, it’s the colour I see. Whenever I wear lighter pinks, I want to wear The Empress. Such a pretty rose, and though I wouldn’t wear it a lot, The Empress does hit my mmm button. It reminds me too, of a very, very soft Spellbound (the first rose I ever truly fell for) but without the heavy incense. Sillage is light, but just far enough from the skin to attract someone nearby. The man smelt it and I was surprised when he became instantly enamored, just like I did!

What? There’s jasmine in this? Funny, the first time I sniffed Peitho, I’d read the notes, and I could sniff the jasmine right away, though it wasn’t as JASMINE! I GOT YER JASMINE RIGHT HERE! as jasmine usually is on me. It waved a big hello right at the start, but then went into the background to mingle with the other notes, who'd quickly gathered around. Actually, I think it was the myrtle that threw me off the scent the second time around, about four months after my first try. And on this second try, I didn’t read the notes. I had absolutely no idea what I was smelling. After crossing off in my mind what it wasn’t, I ended up with maybe a white floral, a slightly spicy, baby powdered, white floral. Oh, right. THERE it is! So, upon reading the notes again, it was an “Ohhhhhh, ahhhhhh, I see.” moment. Yep, definitely jasmine, but mixed in with the unfamiliar myrtle and stargazer lily, and the bourbon vanilla, which provides a dark, powdery vanilla base for it all to rest on. The clove isn’t noticeable as clove, but does lend a bit of spice. I can hardly sniff the sandalwood at all. But all those notes still stop me from feeling this is a mostly jasmine perfume, even though I think that's what my nose is mostly smelling. It’s definitely a very beautiful perfume, long-lasting, and stays mostly the same on me from beginning to end, as a rounded, powdery floral that is heady at the start, but softens gorgeously, with a final drydown of soft powder, mostly jasmine. Part of me quite likes it and is intrigued by how it smells so pretty and quite different, yet reminiscent of something I’ve smelt in my past. But another part is not thrilled, not grabbed by the whole thing or certain notes that make me melt and sigh, so ultimately, Peitho is not for me.

So bright and head-clearing! Just what you need when you have a cold or feeling washed out in general. This is not a perfume for me, but pure aromatherapy (though all perfume is kind of aromatherapy to me!) Jabberwocky is wonderful to just apply and rub between my hands and inhale, long and deep. When applied as I would a perfume, to test it, my skin felt very cold and stayed that way, it feels very odd - another reason I think I’d just prefer to rub it between my palms. Eucalyptus is the strongest note by far: jumps up and smacks me in the face. Pine is not far behind. Fifteen minutes later, I’m wondering if I’ve spilt orange juice on myself. I sniff my hand and the orange is definitely coming out, the eucalypt has faded somewhat, but the chilling pine is still there, though softer now, and keeps the orange company as it starts to fade away.

Shill has two moods on me: 1. Sweet, salty, melty, buttered popcorn. Fabulous!!! Amazingly true. How did Beth capture this? It’s SO. freaking. GOOD!!! Tongue tingly mouth watering…hand to nose de-freaking-licious! 2. Strong, bitter butter. As it dries down, a bit of slightly burnt caramel popcorn, and then... almost woody! Interesting. I don’t really want to smell like popcorn, but it is so wonderful to have a decant of this, as it really is the closest thing I've smelt to popcorn, in either mood, and I especially like it when my nose takes me No. 1.

In the Imp: Cherry and pumpkin pie? Definitely edible. Hmmm, maybe some toffee. On: Cherry gone bye bye and I’m getting a load of buttery liquid caramel and sweet apple/pumpkin pie, but no spices. As it dries down there’s a baked/toasted/pastry note, but not too baked…mmmm, oh yes, like, like…a sweet caramel custard soaked crust or sugared butter melted over toast, or…that’s it! Pineapple upside-down cake! Drizzled with caramel sauce and a couple of maraschino cherries plopped on top! It’s all that and it’s all good, with a soft caramel dry-down.

Ochosi does share some of the lovely shea that Obatala has, but the herbs and an overriding fruitiness mostly covers it. It’s really strong and unexpectedly fruity sweet first on, and kinds of gets stuck in my throat. I can’t really pick the fruit or the herbs, except to say that the fruits have the barest tropical feel and the herbs are really soft, and not spicy or woody. The shea comes out a little more on the dry-down, and the fruity herbalness fades a little into the background. I prefer this stage, which is also a little aquatic and the watery aspect reminds me just a touch of Ulalume, but without the dirt and with creaminess. Final dry-down though, has a slight plasticky aspect. I agree with the some of the other reviewers that Ochosi is like/would be good as, a shampoo. Overall, it is nice, but doesn’t thrill me, and for the shea scent, Obatala with its coconut meat is the one for me.