kikithepirate

Review of Snake Charmer: Resurrected I have to disagree with the people who say this has nothing in common with Snake Oil - when it's wet, there is definitely the same note that makes Snake Oil smell like old medicine on me. HOWEVER, amazingly as the oil dries, that sharp smell goes away in Snake Charmer! Which is fantastic, because amber, vanilla, and coconut are some of my favorite notes. I don't really catch the plum here, and I think that it's the benzoin and/or resin that gives it that slightly medicinal smell. I can still catch it, but luckily it's covered by a sweet and musky scent - slightly floral, caused by the ambrette, I imagine. It's certainly not my favorite BPAL ever, but I'm willing to give it a chance to age before I form a full opinion, as it's not terrible, either.

Dear God. I went back and forth about ordering this scent - but something about its simplicity kept calling out to me. Finally, I put it into my cart and figured I could swap it if it didn't work out. Let me just say that this is one of the best BPAL scents that I've tested to date. On my skin, the beeswax is dominant, and it takes on a sweet, almost floral quality, which I think is partly the olive oil. I don't catch any smoke at all, which is fine with me, as that was the part I was nervous about. I agree with the person that said this perfume has more of an orange color than an actual orange fruit scent - I don't catch any of the latter, but it certainly has a warm, glowing feeling to it. It takes all of the great aspects of candles and makes it into a wearable perfume that won't make people in the bar look around and ask, "Who's burning the candle?" In addition, this one has a pretty strong throw on my skin. I feel bad for people who didn't get to try it out, and it'll be hard work to make my bottle last!

This is pure soap on me, nothing else. I can't even pick out a single note, just "soap." Oh, skin chemistry, you suck.

This is very nice, but thankfully I'm not head-over-heels in love with it. In fact, it smells VERY similar to Tintagel, except with an added sweet creaminess. It's not too much of a morpher - before I even looked up the ingredients, I could pick out the red wine, cinnamon, and honey.

I find this very strange, but something in Eat Me causes my skin to burn in sensitive places, like the back of my neck, and it seems to have gotten a lot worse as my bottle has aged. It's strange, because the only other oil I've ever reacted to before was Inferno, which caused GIANT RED WELTS where applied, I'm assuming due to the cinnamon. I searched the reviews, but no one else seems to have had this problem with Eat Me, so I wonder if I'm just a freak!

I pulled out a random imp tonight to test, and it was this. At first, I thought to myself, "Why on earth did I ever throw this into the swap pile? This is awesome!" It was all musks and delicious almond. But then, after about five minutes, it morphed. And I was sad - a medicinal jasmine. Woe. It covers up the almond and even the musks, mostly, though I can still catch the rounding-out of those. The sandalwood is barely noticeable.I pulled out a random imp tonight to test, and it was this. At first, I thought to myself, "Why on earth did I ever throw this into the swap pile? This is awesome!" It was all musks and delicious almond. But then, after about five minutes, it morphed. And I was sad - a medicinal jasmine. Woe. It covers up the almond and even the musks, mostly, though I can still catch the rounding-out of those. The sandalwood is barely noticeable.

My very first impression was, "Ugh, the dreaded BPAL pumpkin scent." Which, to me, smells nothing at all like pumpkin. However, almost immediately the other notes take over, and the room smells like chocolate chip cookie dough mixed up with a caramel ribbon. REALLY great for those with a sweet tooth. Strangely, after the spray sits for a while, it smells (to me, anyway) exactly like honey. I don't know why, it's actually really strange, but honey is all I can smell. It last for a really really REALLY long time, too, which is great - though I wish it would keep the creamy/doughy scent that it has in the beginning.

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits including vanilla bean, white ginger, orchid, golden peach, massoia bark, clove, honey, and starfruit. I absolutely ADORE the 7/08 version of 13, so this one had a lot of competition. However, it seems to hold its own due to the fact that its components actually create a very different scent. It\'s not as chocolate-y as the 7/08 version, but the peach and clove really bring a fruity/spicy scent to the forefront, which is nice. As it fades over the next few hours, it becomes a subtle chocolate/vanilla smell.

Upon application, this is a very strong (and accurate) scent of freshly cut grass. In fact, that makes me think of it as more of a summer scent than fall scent, though there is a hint of leaves in there, too. Unfortunately, once dry, this turns pure soap/detergent on me. Blech.

Ooh, I like this so much more than I thought I would. The rose definitely takes prominence in this blend, and instead of giving it a soapy feel as I feared, the other florals simply offer a sort of sweetness in the background. The myrrh and sandalwood keep the scent grounded without taking over - of course, on my skin, it is nearly impossible for ANYTHING to take over rose in a blend. I like this a lot, but I don't think it would be worth buying a bottle over the rose blends I already own and love (Hope and Katrina van Tassel).

This has a deep, dark cherry scent, which I loved at first. However, my friends all noted that I smelled like a scented candle, and I had to agree. On some applications I've gotten a slight ammonia smell, too - I'm not sure if that's from aging, though.

Sticky Pillowcase is nice, but just not amazing. It just sort of smells like sugar - and not the deep sugar of Mitzvah, just a light, silly sugar. It has a bit of a creamy undertone, but not enough to make it last for very long. After an hour, I have trouble smelling it at all on my skin.

Woooaaah. Down, boy. This is definitely a "sharp" smell. Lots of gritty smoke and loads of vetiver. Sort of smells less like a nice autumn fire, and more like a house that just burned down. Extremely overpowering - a little of this will go a long way.

Hmm. I was SO EXCITED to find an affordable bottle of this, and I snatched it up. I had hiiiiigh hopes. But unfortunately, it smells... just like Jack. Which I can get for $15, any old time I want. BPAL's pumpkin note is VERY distinctive, and a little too tartly sweet for me. When Pumpkin Cheesecake goes on, it smells nearly identical to Jack, though there is a sweet creaminess that is definitely identifiable. About an hour after it dries, I can definitely smell a small touch of graham cracker. This is nice, but it's just not AMAZING on my skin like other BPAL scents are. I really wish there had been a bit more cinnamon and spices.

Try Green Tree Viper, especially if you like mint. I too wanted Snake Oil to be more creamy/vanilla, and GTV is the only blend where I actually like the addition of Snake Oil. The mint sort of mitigates and calms the other stuff in Snake Oil, but picks up a creamy niceness. "A creamy niceness?" That sounds ridiculous. I should probably go to bed.

OH HAI THERE, ROSE. Rose. Seriously. In-your-face, still-on-the vine roses. I can smell the honeyed cream, too, but it really just serves to give a little more oomph to the rose (as if it needed it!) This is so amazing, but I'm going to have to be REALLY care to use it sparingly. I just have a bit on my hand that I tested, and it is almost overwhelming in its rose-y sweetness. This is certainly a woman's rose. While Hope is a girly, flirtation rose, Katrina van Tassel is a strong, classy lady. Who will probably either ravage you in bed, or convince you to propose. Or both.

Oh man, I LOVE this - so glad I trusted my instincts and bought a bottle without sniffing. Immediately I smell the dusty wool and black pepper - and it certainly has the tea and cream backing it up. As it dries, the light florals come out, but they are certainly still grounded by the other, more solid scents. The beeswax starts to float up toward the end, too. This scent is pure comfort for me - like being wrapped up in a warm blanket in front of a fire. Simply lovely.

Patchouli, Kashmiri tea, cardamom, black pepper, carnation, and clove. This is such a lovely morpher! It's quite dark and scary in the bottle: all patchouli, pepper, and clove. But don't let that frighten you away! When it dries on my skin, the patchouli fades into the background, providing a sort of warm depth, and the carnation is the leading note. I can catch whiffs of everything else, but strangely enough as it sounds, this dries down to a much spicier, less creamy version of Alice on me! I think it's definitely going to be a great fall and winter scent.

At first, this is very musky and heady, and it's really blended to perfection: you can pick out almost everything. As it dries, it REALLY morphs, and is completely rose and red wine on my skin. I really like those things, so I love it! The musk helps the scent stick around, though it doesn't last nearly as well as a lot of other scents.

I was hoping for more bergamot, nectarines, and tea, but on me Marcilla is just a very light floral scent. It teters dangerously on the edge of soapiness, but thankfully avoids falling over the cliff. I think it's the beeswax that helps the scent stay grounded a bit, and I do like the smell, it's just really not my type of perfume.

To me, this is an even richer version of Eat Me. I am totally and completely in love with it, and sort of wish I'd never gotten the imp! It's slightly warm, slightly fruity, but not so much that you smell like a scented candle. Mmm.

This is Mme. Moriarty's calmer, younger sister. It smells extremely similar, yet while there is something a bit overbearing about Moriarty that puts me off, The Grindhouse is really, really lovely. It's something that you have to think about for a few minutes to really grasp, not a smell that smacks you in the face. No one floral overpowers, they simply add a nice, soft touch to the background of the vanilla bean and red musk. I love this in the way that I was HOPING to love Mme. Moriarty.

This is a very spicy, warm scent, and the apple certainly comes out to play in a very crisp, fall sort of way. I agree with the people who said it smells like a candle or a sachet you might use in your house as the leaves are turning colors. Really, it smells exactly like a cute, crafty antique store would smell if you walked into it in October. The scents blend together pretty well for the most part, but I'm not sure that I want to smell like a yummy spiced scented autumn candle... but I might feel different when autumn actually rolls around!

Holy crapnuggets, L'Estate is strong! Based on the fact that EVERYONE in the office noticed when I opened my inquest bottles to sniff, I played on my instincts and only used a tiny bit instead of my standard slathering amount, which was most definitely a good call on my part. That said, this is most definitely the most "perfumey" BPAL that I've ever liked. It really does smell a lot like a brand-name perfume, but not in a bad way. I think it's due to the overwhelming nature of both the musk and the florals. I can catch both the lily and the sunflower, and in the bottle there's even something slightly fruity about it. I think this is going to be a really good date scent... I picture myself wearing it in a floral-print dress, eating out on a patio at a nice restaurant on a warm summer's day.

YAY! Finally, a BPAL chocolate scent that actually WORKS on me! Boomslang smelled like "old Pepto Bismal" on my skin according to my mom, and Hunger made me feel like I was in a hospital ward. Candy Butcher started to smell like cheap plastic. This 13 is just PERFECT. The way that the chocolate (it's more of a light, dusty cocoa note, really) blends in with the apple blossom is just AMAZING. The apple in Agrat-Baht-Malaht made me naseous, it was so overwhelming and sweet, but here it just makes me want to huff my arm all day. You can tell that there's other stuff in there, because there's something that keeps this scent very grounded - I'm guessing it's the spices and sandalwood, both of which usually take over on my skin, but I can't even pick them out here. This is now going on my "top favorites" list. Which sucks, because I'm going to have to con people out of their bottles, as I only bought one. Woe!