slave1

NYX Named in honor of the primeval Greek Goddess of Night. A scent reflecting inky black skies and eternal desolation. Night-blooming jasmine, warmed by myrrh, lifted by the promise of rose. In Bottle: Myrrh On Skin: This is pure myrrh. I have Penitence on my other arm and they smell quite similar except Penitence has the smoky frankincense and Nyx has florals. Nyx is a bit sickly sweet due to the jasmine whick quickly overpowers the myrrh and becomes the dominant note. I don’t really smell the rose other than a slight sour echo in the background. Nyx is much more feminine than Penitence and it doesn’t please me as much. I think the jasmine is just too strong for me because it’s starting to give me a headache. It has a super strong throw and fades slowly so an average wearlength.

BLACK HELLEBORE In Bottle: Sweet earthy floral On Skin: Not what I was expecting… it does have the rose note but there is also a sweet earthy note that darkens the scent and gives it weight. It’s also a bit fruity,,, hmm… green in feel… I love it! It’s actually quite hard to pin down what I’m smelling. I do still smell the slightly sour rose. The roots earthy scent is moist and not dusty dirt at all. The fruity note also has a kind of vegtable feel to it, maybe like sweet cucumber? Seriously, this scent is really confusing my nose. I smell the lily from Black Lily, that almost vanilla milky sweetness. It has an average thorw and short to average wearlength.

PENITENCE In Bottle: Wood On Skin: I smell cedar, like a sauna or fresh wood at a lumber yard. Very sweet… The myrrh is golden and absolutely royal. The frankincense is gorgeous as well, resinous and slightly smokey. It seems quite masculine to me. While it is a pretty scent, it isn’t really me. If you’re a fan of incense or scents like Midnight Mass, this one is for you. Very sweet and resinous and also quite strong, it’s not a subtle scent at all. Dark in feel with a golden center. I love how royal it feels, I think this scent stands on it’s own. Strong throw and long wearlength.

SCHEREZADE In Bottle: Spicy musk On Skin: The musk is the strongest note by far! This is very sensual and warm. I instantly feel seduced by the first whiff. It’s like an exotic spicier Snake Oil. It has a nice soft incense note and the spices weave in and out of the scent without being overwhelmingly spicy like they are in Morrocco on me. It does turn a bit powdery, but I think I can handle it. If you are a fan of musks try this, if you’re a fan of musks AND spices… get a bottle! It is dark, mysterious and super sexy. It’s perfect for a gothy girl too… it just reminds me a lot of incenses my gothy friends use. Beautiful and I can imagine it on a man or woman both. Medium to strong throw, average wearlength.

MIDNIGHT In Bottle: Chemicals On Skin: At first this smelled like Elmers Glue. But as it warmed up on my skin, individual flowers started to come out and it became much prettier. The florals stay quite sour though… I wish this had a nice musk or amber to soften it up. This scent is extremely potent and very floral. If you like florals, try this one for sure. I like that it does have a “night” quality to it. Not a bright garden in the daytime, more of lush sticky florals on a hot night. Pretty and very feminine, but just a bit too perfumey for me. Strong throw and long wearlength.

SHUB-NIGGURATH Original blend and 2006 version In Bottle: Both versions smell very foody and gingery in the bottle. The 2006 has a little lemon to it. On Skin: I decided to compare the two versions side by side to tell subtle differences. It also appears I never wrote a review for the original version which I’ve had for over a year. Interesting. Anyway, here we go: Original blend: Extreme gingerbread. Yum, this makes me slaivate and I don’t even like to eat gingerbread! I think it’s just because it reminds me of holiday cooking and I want cookies right now!! It is warm and slightly dark, the spices so playful and teasing. I agree with the “aphrodisiacal” description because this would seduce almost anyone. It makes me lean in and bury my face in my arm… I could see other people following me around and leaning in close too. I smell ginger the strongest, but it is sweetened by a little cinnamon and clove. The resins are gorgeous and remind me of the sweet resins in Schwarzer Mond. I adore this scent. It has light to moderate throw and short to average wearlength. 2006 Blend: The first obvious difference is the prescence of lemon. I smelled no lemon in the original version. In the 06 version it is there, but it’s not an overwhelming “lemon blend”. The sweetness from the ginger and spices mellow it out and keep it from being too sour or citrus. Again I smell the sweet resins which are “pure love” on my skin, I could bathe in them every day. The original version is also much lighter and fades muck more quickly than the 06 version. Maybe it’s because the original is old and may be losing it’s potency? I applied the scents around the same time on each wrist, and after I sniffed the 06 version, I can barely smell the original version on my other wrist. The 06 version also seems much more moist and foody, like gingerbread freshly baked. The cinnamon is also stronger in the 06 version. This version has a strong throw and average to long wearlength.

WOLF MOON 2006 In Bottle: Woody pine On Skin: The 2006 is a much more piney/woody scent than the 2004 version. 2004’s seem much more light and slightly aquatic. This years version is much more outdoorsy and sweet. The juniper berry has a sappy sweetness, the pine, sandalwood and cedar give very robust woody notes. The amber is beautiful and adds warmth along with the dark musk. Gorgeous. The tonka doesn’t really stand out on it’s own but I think it’s helps sweeten the scent overall. There is a cold feel to this scent, even with some of the warmer notes. I would describe it as a chilling scent with a beautiful warm center. I think it is completely different than the 2004 version but that’s fine, it’s an amazing scent on it’s own. I would also tell people who worry about the pine note to still give it a try. While it is a woody scent, there are so many levels that I wouldn’t just cast it off as “a pine scent”. I personally am not fond of pine scents but I think this blend is a keeper. The overall feeling it evokes and how absolutely feral and wild it feels makes it worth trying. Strong throw and long wearlength.

LYCAON In Bottle: Resin and musk On Skin: A beautiful dark scent, feral and spicy. This reminds me of Scwarzer Mond, but a little darker and not as sweet. The dark myrrh, musk and resins really give a delicious depth. The olive leaf offers a very nice green slice through the scent. The patchouli in this scent is like the patchouli in Schwarzer Mond, dark but not overwhelming, which is very good for me because patchouli is usually evil on me. Here is works perfectly fine! The ginger offers a gorgeous spice and the incense gives even more depth with a nice sweet smoke. Very animalistic and fits it’s description perfectly!! If you like Scwarzer Mond I have a feeling you’ll love Lycaon. It has an average to strong throw but it does fade quite quickly on me so I’d say shortt to average wearlength.

SPELLBOUND In Bottle: Rose and resin On Skin: The rose comes out right away. Sadly rose is one of my least favorite scents. This rose is sharp, it cuts through the amber and musk right away. They do their best to try and tame it, but it doesn’t work. This scent is sour and quite powdery. I get a very red feel from this. If you like rose, you should try this for sure. It’s a more sexual rose, not a prim and proper old lady rose. It has depth and grit, it’s a very dark red velvet rose. Not a scent for me though. Strong throw and long wearlength.

THE CASTLE In Bottle: Wood, spice and resin On Skin: I smell smoke and dragon’s blood right away… a dragon blood incense it seems. The pine is tame, not sharp at all… and the wet moss and dry leaves give a beautiful earthy sweet decay. I also smell something very spicy, I’m thinking cassia. I do get an old feel from this, I could completely picture this as how a castle would smell. It tells stories of many years and generations… wise and allknowing. Very dark and cold, shadows and darkness… things forgotten. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. I’d also like to smell this on a man. I do love the feelings and stories it evokes. Light throw and average wearlength.

TAROT: THE LOVERS In Bottle: Citrus and floral On Skin: I get a lemon note from this, soft and slightly tart, maybe verbena? This scent is very golden yellow in feel. I loved it at first, about a year ago, but now my opinion has changed a little. I haven’t been liking lemon or vebena scents lately, not sure why, I’m just not in the mood for them. It also has a soapy note with a velvet feel so I’m thinking there might be white musk in this. I looked at other people reviews of this scent, and for some odd reason people say they smell cinnamon in it. So either they got a funky batch or I did, because there not even the slightest hint of cinnamon in my bottle. None at all!! I do smell a cool note, quite chilling. Menthol for sure so I’m guessing a herbal mint or eucalyptus. That note becomes quite strong, chilling my nostrils as I inhale. This is a pretty scent, very light and refreshing. Moderate throw and long wearlength.

TYPHON resurrected In Bottle: Patchouli and vetiver On Skin: The original version of this scent actually worked on me even with patchouli and vetiver being pretty much my worst enemies. This resurrected blend is much more smoky and not working on me. I thought with Schwarzer Mond and Mme Moriarty patchoulis working on me, I might have a chance but nope… not this time. This scent is super dark and very very earthy and smoky. The patchouli and vetiver are the strongest notes by far. The black musk adds to the dark feel and the scent is very powdery. The sandalwood adds another earthy woody note. All in all, much too heavy for me. It echos Schwarzer Mond, but SM worked on me because it had the super sweet resins in front with the patchouli in the background. This scent seems quite more masculine than the origianl. It’s for people who love dark earthy and smoky scents. Strong throw and long wearlength.

INTERGALACTIC In Bottle: Sweet musky florals and fruit On Skin: At first I smell a light skin musk, soft and velvety. There is a bright fruity note, melon I think and maybe a twist of citrus. Overall the feeling of the scent is beautiful sweetness. Nothing ooey gooey sweet, more fruity and musky. Maybe a bit of shea which I remember from Obatala. I also get a hint of the vanilla-like lily in Black Lily. So maybe if Obatala, Yemaya and Black Lily had a baby and let it play in a lightly musky velvety bed? All scents and notes I love… why do I only have a half imp?? Very pretty, very feminine and damn I wish I had a bottle!!! Absolutely gorgeous!!! It has a light to medium throw and short to average wearlength.

CHAOS THEORY MCC: In Bottle: Honey and grapes On Skin: This is number 1200. This is a beautiful scent. I get BPAL honey right away and also a bit of grapes or wine. Very sweet, very feminine. It reminds me a bit of O mixed with grapes. After the drydown, it gets a little powdery and fake smelling, but I still enjoy it. It has a super light throw and fades completely in about 20 minutes sadly. CHAOS THEORY MXIII: Strange Attractors In Bottle: Floral and spices On Skin: I’m really at a loss on this one. I think this is the first fragrance that has really stummped me. I smell a light floral… but dark in tone, I smell spice, but not sweet spice, more like pepper. Also, something earthy, a light clean touch of aquatic earthy. Makes no sense I’m sure, but that’s what I’m getting from this scent. It is not like anything BPAL I have ever smelled. This is a dark scent, somewhat brooding but still pleasant. To my fellow BPAler that I reviewed this for, I’m sorry I wasn’t much help. Beth really stumped me here! Light throw and average wearlength.

PSYCHE In Bottle: Sour rose On Skin: This scent is almost violently sour on me. The rose is severely sharp, especially combined with the lavender which always turns super sharp and sour on me. The white musk provides a pretty soapy and clean background note. The orchid is very soft, just a nice floral compliment. The franincense saves the scent, it gives a great sweet and smoky depth that helps cut through the other sharp notes. Still, this scent is heavily rose and lavender on me, two notes I really dislike so I think it’s off to the swaps. To me this scent isn’t true love, it actually reminds me of old women and super strong perfume that makes your eyes water… sorry it just isn’t working on me. Very strong throw but it fades although it does have quite a long wearlength.

FENRIS WOLF In Bottle: Red musk, resin and woods On Skin: For anyone that likes feral, musky, dark, resinous scents, here is your best friend. Fenris Wolf is all those to an extreme. Quite beautiful and sexy. I have Jacob’s Ladder on one wrist and Fenris Wolf on the other and Fenris is like Jacob’s naughty, darker cousin. While Jacob’s Ladder is warm and golden, Fenris wolf is even warmer and dark red. Very lusty, abit woody and animalistic but still that gorgeous resinous, slightly powdery seductive feel. The rosewood in FW is a bit stronger than the rockrose in JL so it does have a slightly sharper tone as well. I also think FW is just a tad more masculine than JL… but a woman could still wear it for sure. All in all, a lovely scent I’m going to love wearing. Strong throw and long wearlength.

YGGDRASIL In Bottle: Minty herbs On Skin: This is a super herbal scent, it clears the sinuses right away. I smell herbs, fresh cut… like when you break a sprig off and it bleeds on your finger tips a bit. Very sharp and fresh. This has an obvious green tone. As with most herbal scents, I get a medicinal feel… kind of cough drops meets toothpaste. There is also a darker woody undertone that keeps it from being too bright and sharp. It’s an interesting scent, but not for me. Fairly strong throw and long wearlength.

JACOB'S LADDER 2006 In Bottle: Lovely golden resin On Skin: I smell the amber and benzoin right away. This is almost exactly like last years version which is one of my favorite Yule scents ever. Beautiful resins… melting perfectly together. Sweet tonka with a light feminine rockrose just slightly peeking through. This scent to me is dropdead sexy and puts me in a good mood whenever I wear it. It is very warm and golden in feel. If you like resinous sexy scents, you must get a bottle of Jacob’s Ladder. This is a scent I could wear everyday, it’s not strictly a holiday scent. An ace in my book!! Good moderate throw and long wearlength.

SOL INVICTUS In Bottle: Orange blossom and incense On Skin: The orange blossom comes out in full force in this blend. Wow, it’s usually a light note on me but here it’s in command. Maybe because it has the other citrus notes amping it and the florals amping it’s sweetness... it reamins a velvety soft scent, not ripe, sour or extreme citrus at all though. I smell the super sweet heliotrope, and the soft spice of the saffron. The amber adds to the golden orange feel of this scents and really warms it up and gives it a nice resinous base… a perfect compliment to the frankincense. This scent evokes a warm and comforting feeling with a slight powder feel to it. It has a light throw and short to average wearlength.

YULE In Bottle: Wood cleaner On Skin: I get a very chemical feel from this at first. It seems whenever a lemon note and woods are mixed, I smell Lemon Pledge. But this scent quickly develops into something better. Yes the verbena is the strongest note, it LOVES to amp on me for some reason. The next doninant notes in line are the woody evergreen and juniper, very pungent and sharp especially when combined with the herbal thyme. The berries provide a nice sweet and red contrast that is needed and the myrrh and frankincense soften the whole scent with their smoky sweetness. It is a pretty scent but not really for me. It has a strong throw and average to long wearlength.

THE DARKLING THRUSH In Bottle: Violet aquatic On Skin: This scent has a strong ozone/aquatic feel. Very bright and light blue in feel. I can feel a cold chill wind blowing through the pine trees carrying a light pine scent with them. This reminds me of Skadi right away. Very pretty but slightly dark. The violet in this scent is actually not innocent like it always seems to feel on me. I get a sinister scary lost in the dark feel from this scent. During the drydown the amber warms up the scent a bit, not a lot, just enough to give it a bit more depth. All in all I like this scent. It’s very clean with the aquatic note, and the violet is tame enough that I wouldn’t call this a floral and the amber gives it a soft warmth. I love this as a unisex fragrance and also as a room scent. I think I need a bottle.

BITTER MOON In Bottle: Sour and herbal On Skin: I smell rose right away, very sour... I also get a slight citrus note even though it isn't listed. Then the herbs come out and combined with the lavendar they are very sharp. The vetiver is quite tame and only adds a light earthy feel far in the background. I was pretty sure this blend wouldn’t work on me because I only like 2 of the notes in it… lotus root and tonka. While I like blackberry it seems to almost always have a bit of a “cat-pee” tone on me. Here it does as well… I recognize it right away from MonsterBait Closet. So sadly, this scent is pretty much sour, sharp and cat pee on me with a very bitter undertone. It has a light to medium throw and average to long wearlength. Actually, after a few hours the lotus and tonka come out and sweeten the scent and I don’t mind it at all. Not sure if I can wait that long though every time I wear the scent.

PURPLE PHOENIX In Bottle: Grapes and violets On Skin: I have dying to try this scent. From the description and fact that it is PURPLE Phoenix, I figured it would become my signature scent. Purple is my favorite color… I almost always have purple hair and purple everything… I ordered 3 bottles right away. I’ve been wearing it throughout the day giving it a much more detailed review than normal. First off, the scent is the definition of purple, it screams violets and grapes… two very purple things. It’s also a very mellow scent, not sharp or strong. It smells like purple velvet feels. While it is regal, it’s the kind hearted mothering queen, not the bitter tyrant. To me this is like the sweet version of Queen of Spades… Queen of Spades is much more in your face and demanding. I think I would wear this when I was feeling happy and content and wear Queen of Spades when I’m going somewhere I want to stand out or feel confident. As for the other notes, they’re just supporting players in this court. The myrrh is soft and adds to the velvet feel. The plum blossom is innocent and compliments the violets perfectly as does the lilac and wisteria. The other notes tame them and keep them from being too floral. The plum, fig and cognac add a beautiful fruity/boozy darker purple depth and add another chapter to this scent. I love this scent, it is freaking gorgeous. I do wish the throw and wearlength were stronger and longer though. The throw is light to moderate and I do have to reapply this scent about 4 times throughout the day to keep it at the potency I like. I’m going to make a lotion and spray with one of the bottles I purchased so at least I can layer and get better throw.

ALL SAINTS 06 In Bottle: Smoky rose On Skin: This seems quite similar to the last version of this scent as well. It is heavily rose with a nice incense that floats throughout the blend. The rose is actually quite sharp and begins to turn on me after about 10 minutes. It’s a sour rose I can’t stand sadly. The frankincense and myrrh offer soft resinous notes but they don’t sweeten up the rose enough for me. The other florals also seem to be drowned out by my rose nemesis. I liked this at first but the rose just kills it for me… It has a strong throw and long wearlength.

SAMHAINOPHOBIA In Bottle: Smoky darkness On Skin: I am overwhelmed by the scent of smoke and patchouli. The vetiver is super earthy and the clove is slightly metallic but very spicy. Those 3 notes are 3 of my least favorite notes ever, so this scent doesn’t seem to be working for me so far. The balsam is in the background but really makes itself known with a sharp masculine punch. This is a very earthy, dark and feral scent. It isn’t something I’d wear but I’d like to smell it on a man. Moderate throw and short to average wearlength.