JazzieCazzie

BOTTLE: Cinnamon or carnation (which to me is spicy-cinnamon anyway) and cookie spices. WET: There is some kind of Christmas holiday cookies that this smells like but for the life of me I can't remember what they're called ... this is sort of the more sophisticated and pious version of Sugar Cookie I think ... DRYDOWN: OK, apparently we who do reviews on the Lush board are a slightly less reverential bunch or else we have dirtier minds ... but honestly, for those of you who have smelled Lush's Red Rooster soap (also a cinnamon blend) and know what that is often compared to in terms of "scent," well this is just like that ... beneath the delicious cinnamon and carnation, there is an undeniable scent of ... um, maybe your boyfriend ate a whole bunch of those Christmas cookies and then you had cookie nookie. Yeah, well, that was pretty much enough for me to put it in the swap pile. :/ I gave it about a 3.5 wet and a 2 dry.

BOTTLE: I couldn't put my finger on a note here but it was just so familiar, I think it smelled like something my mom wore ... WET: It burns slightly on application so I guess that's the cinnamon, but to be honest I don't get ANY cinnamon vibe from this at all. I keep thinking high-end slightly sophisticated, the scent an older woman would wear. DRYDOWN: Not too strong or overwhelming but nothing that really "does it" for me either ... I can see all the notes others are talking about, pine, cinnamon, resin, etc., but none of them stand out for me individually. On a scale of 1-5, I'd give it a solid 3 but it will go in the swap pile.

BOTTLE: Pure sweet almonds, but though I usually don't like "almond scent" it didn't make me run screaming. Just the opposite ... almond soap. WET: Cinnamon-sweet almonds, like the 'Hot Nuts" stands at the craft fairs. But there is also something I can't put my finger on that makes it very clean and fresh, maybe the same herb that is in Goatmilk soap? Divinely yummy. It's a really CLEAN smell but not soapy. DRYDOWN: The only thing that keeps me from putting this on my fall "big bottle" list is something slightly funky in the drydown that is just barely salty and sweaty. I'd be afraid to slather this too much and be in close quarters because of that ... On a scale of 1-5, I'd give this a strong 4 and will definitely use up my imp. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED JUNE 2013: Bought a bottle of the vintage scent from the BPAL Etsy and so glad I did ... this is one scent that age has made even better!!! IN THE IMP: Much less "in your face" almond and much more of the clean slightly herbal and slightly sweet scent. Applied pretty lavishly ... both wrists, both crooks of arms, pulse points and cleavage. WET: Maybe it's the aging, maybe it's my chemistry, maybe it's my nose but to me this is much more of a definitive blend of the herbal scent that made me think of Goats Milk (I actually think it could be lavender but not sure) and cinnamon and the almond takes a back seat. It's not the HOT HOT HOT scent I remember but rather a warm and cool balance. DRYDOWN: Light, clean, lovely ... I would no longer call this a foody blend but rather a really meditative and calming one. OVERALL: I am SO glad I bought this. I absolutely love it. ON a scale of 1-5, a 5.

The first of my many "finally must review my older scents" ... this is one that I was smart enough to buy a 5 ML of prior to discontinuation. I LOVE the scent of lilac. A city girl, I knew it was spring when my mom came home with the first lilacs of the year and put them in a huge vase in the entryway to our apartment. I would bury my nose in them every time I walked in or out. They never lasted long enough and until I grew up and moved to the suburbs I didn't even know "where" or "how" they grew. Though it's one of my favorite smells, it's not one that always worked that well ON me, tending to go a little cloying. No matter, I had to have the bottle just so I could sniff. Occasionally there would be another scent that was just missing "something" and layering a little lilac in there is the je ne sais quoi. Lately, as I've been going through my oversized stash, I've been trying to figure out what I NEEDED and what I could share and disseminate and decided I could live with just an imp of this since it's more of a sniffer than a wearer and as such I swapped several impies and made people very happy. I am now down to my last imp and that ain't going anywhere except my imp keeper box Ironically, I bought a tiny lilac twig about five years ago and planted it in the backyard. Last year, now about 10 feet tall, it had many blooms. This year, none. It was a bad year for the lilacs. At least I have my imp. Scale of 1-5, I give this a strong 4 and it's a keeper.

There is not much I can add here since everyone before me has said it so well ... as a big ginger fan, I had had such high hopes for Gingerbread Poppet but it just didn't "do it" for me ... But wow, does Shub Niggurath DO IT FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is exactly what I had been hoping GP would be but wasn't ... I am transported here and can't stop smelling my arms and if I could eat them I would do that too but then I couldn't type. Shelldo said and that is EXACTLY what I had written down on my notepad where I chronicle my reviews. I have a bottle of this but now must run off and try to acquire another if possible ... This has shot to my Top 10 with no trouble and BEGS, I tell you, BEGS to be made into a bottle of lotion as well ... REVISITING AND RE-REVIEWING APRIL 2013: Working my way through my entire collection of BPAL, reviewing for the first time in some cases, re-reviewing in others. Today, oh happy happy day, is Shub Day. IN THE IMP: Ginger ginger ginger and something fizzy cola-ish ... is it possible that one of the resins is opoponax which, I've finally figured out, seems to be the "cola scent"? Dabbed on wrist and in crook of arm. WET: This is a WYSIWYG scent. It is identical in the imp and on my skin and that is a VERY good thing. To me, at least wet, it's not gingerbread and it's not fresh ginger. It's gingerY. It's spicy. It's sweet. It's hot. It's ... indescribably delicious. DRYDOWN: The gingery scent remains and cools off a little. It is still divine. The non-BPAL perfume that was always my signature scent (Andiamo by Borghese) went on spicy floriental but when it dried down, I used to say my shoulders smelled like gingerbread and it's a very very similar drydown. And it lasts for a really long time which is fantastic. OVERALL: This has been, since I first tried it, and remains 8 years later, one of my all-time favorite BPAL scents. It is SO different and unique and I can't possibly have enough of it. On a scale of 1-5, a 5 as in "5 gingers."

I cannot thank Olympia301 enough for sending me this in a swap ... this is an absolutely amazing scent to me, and one that I could see becoming my BPAL signature scent (well, at least as long as Peace remains unavailable) ... I always wanted to find a scent that really and truly smelled like a florist's shop when you walk in and there are all the wet, fresh-cut green stems all around and this is the first one that did ... Yet there is something else that comes up that offsets it on drydown, I'm guessing from the reviews from more experienced noses that it's amber ... that gives it a more rounded and deeper sweetness but not in a cloying way. My only regret about this is that it doesn't last as long as I'd like it to ... however, with just an imp I was reasonably sparing with it. I plan on ordering a big bottle ... maybe even two! ... on Wednesday (depending on how much if any Carnivale Noir I order on my austerity kick here ... I plan on being VERY restrained, especially wiht FIVE outstanding orders already including an apparently wayward 4/1 CnS ... but this scent is a necessity). Once I get a YOOGE supply of it, I can slather AND make a nice Strength lotion as well ... This is definitely a top 10 for me now ...

I cannot for the life of me identify a single note in Peace (and even checking the reviews is no help because everyone comes up with something different) ... but that doesn't keep it from being my favoritist BPAL scent ... SO ... for anyone who has tried it, can anyone tell me a BPAL scent that they think smells like Peace??? By the way, I think Omen = Spellbound for dudes.

Funny thing, I didn't think that Hetairae smelled like one Lush product in particular but rather that it smells like a Lush store in general ... that scent you can smell all the way down the street! Which I love so I swapped for a 5 ML of it Last night, thanks to a swap from the lovely Olympia, I dsicovered Baku!!! At first I was thinking Ice Hotel because of the lavender crossed with something ineffable, like mint, but later I realized that there was fennel in there and in fact BAKU SMELLS LIKE WAVING NOT DROWNING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!! Also, not sure if this is cheating since it's not a Lush product, but try matching Velvet (yum) to Philosophy's 3-in-1 Double Rich Hot Cocoa ... it is PERFECT!!!!!!!!

Received this as a frimp in my Pink Moon order, and not something I ever woould have ordered on my own since I don't like leather (which also explains why I have no idea if this smells like all the leather jackets, corsets and whips and stuff everyone else thinks it smells like) ... To me, this smells like new car. And that's not a bad smell (except that I won't be able to afford one for a long time so it's sort of a poignant smell right now). It's much better than I thought it would be, but to me it's not a scent I'd wear. It's a scent I like to smell. Probably goes to the swap box but I would still give it a solid 3 on my 1-5 scale.

Received an imp via swap from the lovely Olympia and am forever in her debt, because I'm not sure if I would have thought to get this on my own (though now that I am in love with both this and Somnus, I just ordered imps of Nanshe, Temple of Dreams and Oneroi to see what I've been missing on the rest of this line ... lavender lover that I am) ... My first thought was lavender and mint ... Lush's Ice Hotel is one of my favorite products but I never quite took to Pain, which many folks told me was the closest BPAL equivalent ... so for a little while I was thinking that Baku is what I HOPED Pain would be ... and in fact I still do get the lavender/mint scent ... BUT then the fennel came out and I realized that Baku is even closer to being the perfume equivalent of WAVING NOT DROWNING, my absolute single favorite Lush scent and the one that whenever there is a "what should we make next" thread, I always write in "WAVING NOT DROWNING PERFUME"!!! Now I don't have to ask for it anymore because it exists right here ... however, like a few others have said, the only downside is it's not something I could wear all day because of the obvious soporific effects of it ... Am planning a big bottle purchase sometime this summer, once I've had a chance to go through ALL my incoming and existing imps (now have five outstanding orders so am hoping I'll have more than a few on my list) ... this is the first one on that list, though I did just order two more imps to tide me over REVISITED FEBRUARY 2013: So after test-driving a few other imps today that were all washouts, I decided to do my revisit of a tried and true scent to help me trot off to dreamland. Imp from Lab -- cannot remember when I ordered it. IN IMP: That absolute blessed lovely light lavender with just a kick of "something else" that gives it complexity and golden lightness. Dabbed on both wrists and in the crooks of both arms as well as cleavage. Almost bedtime. WET: Now that I have been able to recognize the fennel Waving-Not-Drowning notes I wonder how I could have ever wondered exactly what else was in it? Surprisingly, I do not get ANY eucalyptus or lemon from it, but the frequency of their mentions in reviews makes me think they must be there, they just don't amp up on me.Just complex lavender. DRYDOWN: This is absolutely bliss in a bottle. Clean, lovely, golden lavender joy. How a scent can be supremely relaxing and uplifting at the same time is a Beth-wrought miracle. OVERALL: Truly a 5. Not sure why I don't have a big bottle. Next major purchase I will get two, one for me and one for my daughter who has been having issues (as I so often do) with sleep, nightmares and headaches. She's not a big perfume person but I think Baku would work wonders for her quality of life as it has mine (plus she lives right near the Lab and DD). Now if ONLY ONLY ONLY Puddin' would consider making THIS as a candle!!! It would be so divine. RE-EDITING AGAIN JULY 2013: So since my last review, I have added two more Lab imps of Baku to my box, as well as a 5 ML bottle ... and have also been using it very specifically as a sleep aid as well as just a lovely scent. I finished up the imp I had reviewed from and opened a new one and will say that the fennel/anise/licorice-like note is MUCH stronger than it had been in my Baku of old, when the scent is wet. To the point that it probably overrides the lavender. Not to a bad extent, but I do prefer the lavender first, everything else second version. As it dries down, it is much less prevalent. And I'm not sure if it's a slightly adjusted blend, or simply a matter of my older imp having been more aged and, as a result, less "licorice-y." But I thought it was worth mentioning here in case there are people who are really anti-licorice. Also, and this may or may not be something worth mentioning in a scent review, but from an "effect" POV, oh myyyyyy this is wonderful. I apply a bit to my pulse points and my "third eye" about a half-hour before turning off the lights and have slept more deeply, for longer periods of time and with vivid but often quite wonderful dreams. Thank you, Baku, for eating my nightmares.

Exactly how I summed it up on the Lush board ... and ironically, I don't think there is one Lush product that creates that "Lush store" smell which I love ... happily, I was able to immediately swap for a 5 ML of this from another Lushie! (ETA: In fact ... is it possible that was you???? ) When I ordered it I ALMOST bought a 5 ML unsniffed because of the notes listed but held off ... it is really awesome. REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED MARCH 2013: Working my way through my imps and bottles, I am at H and so glad that I am!!! IN THE IMP: Heavenly, heavenly, heavenly. Honey and fig and ylang-ylang. Three very different notes, but all favorites of mine and they co-exist so beautifully together. Dabbed on both wrists, crooks of arms and cleavage. WET: It definitely has the "Lush store" smell and I can attest to that even more now that I've worked the holiday season at one! When wet, I get NONE of the clove or patchouli, just glorious sweet honey, luscious fig and glorious ylang ylang. DRYDOWN: Once it's dried, both the clove and patchouli emerge to give this a wonderful CLEAN smell, temper the very vivid other notes, and combine to a truly fantabulous scent. OVERALL: This is just as wonderful as I remember, maybe even better. A bath oil would be awesome. On a scale of 1-5, a definite 5.

The baseball writer in me must step to the plate (hee!) to say that actually, the term would be "batting a thousand" ... or "batting 1.000" .. to be batting a hundred would mean you were only 1-for-10. NOT as good. /end hijack and onto Dragon's Milk ... I didn't get Playdoh on this one (though to me Snow White was pure Playdoh and Spooky had it as well) ... but I got a lot of Snake Oil vibe on this ... a little TOO vanilla-candy-sweet for me though the Dragon's Blood cuts that a bit. I also got a slightly plastic vibe ... I don't think this one will play as nicely with me over time as the others ... REVISITED AND RE-REVIEWED Sept. 17, 2013: Received an imp of this as a frimp from the Lab with my eBay purchase of my preshuss Enyalios. I knew I must have tried it at some point since I loves me my Ars Draconis but took my notes before checking my original review. They share MUCH in common with my first read except, apparently, a new post-menopausal body chemistry! IN THE IMP: Oddly, I get neither full-on dragons blood NOR full-on honeyed vanilla but more of a spicy Snake Oil. Dabbed on one wrist and in the crook of one arm (double-test driving with a swappie extra of Secret Lovers & Sleeping Husband on the other arm) WET: Yes yes yes yes yes. Sweet and sultry and sexxxxxxy. I absolutely still see this as being in the Snake Oil family but while Snake Oil tends to be just TOO sweet for me, the dragons blood brings on the spice and shakes things up with a perfect compromise. DRYDOWN: Happily, one of the good effects of menopause, is that this does not go plastic on me at all. It remains true to the marvelous marriage of sweet and spicy and the floraly goodness of DB. I <3 this very much. OVERALL: SO glad to have gotten this again because it's a real keeper. On a scale of 1-5, a 4.7

I am fascinated by how Dragon's Blood as a note reacts so differently on so many people ... on me, it is pure gardenia, as if I were drenched in White Shoulders, memories of eighth grade when it was my first real "signature scent" ... I love having a few imps of this so I can play with layering it beyond the wonderful other Ars Draconis blends. REVISITED MARCH 2013: Picked up another imp in a small imp purchase on the forum. IMP: Again, amazed as always how this is so many things to so many people and so relieved that to me it is NOT cherry (one of my top dealbreaker scents). I DO see the lilac comps more now than I did a few years ago (maybe menopause will do that). I'd still also say gardenia, but maybe a combination of the two? Dabbed on right wrist and in crook of right arm, with Dragon's Bone test-driving on left. WET: I still get gardenia but more like a "red gardenia" if there were such a thing. And definitely FRESH lilacs as if I were sticking my nose in the 10-foot-tall lilac bush that grows in my backyard for about 15 minutes every spring (hey, I bought a one-foot sprig at Whole Foods one year and stuck in the in the ground ... I'm glad to have ANYTHING). It's just pure, gorgeous floral, something lush and rich and heady and yet at the same time just slightly other-worldly and healing. DRYDOWN: This has a LOT of legs on me. When I dab on a scent heavy in DB I can smell it in little throws for DAYS afterwards (I guess from my desk, or chair, or whatever). And every single throw is comforting and uplifting. OVERALL: Yup. Big bottle required for layering. Because, dontcha know, EVERYTHING goes better with a little dragon's blood. On a scale of 1-5, you guessed it, a 5.

White floral. VERY strong white floral. I couldn't place a particular flower, and wouldn't have thought jasmine had so many other noses here identified it as such (mainly because I usually like jasmine) ... I agree with the comparison to Eternal. This is just too flowery for me and as such it strikes me as closer to the "commercial" perfumes. But since there are a lot of floral fans in this world, it could be a very popular scent I think ... just not for me. I didn't put on much but wet it packs a punch ... to the point that my daughter chose to drive with her dad to her gig rather than me because I stank. Luckily the drydown is very quick and it almost completely evaporated ...

At first it just struck me as very very clean (but not necessarily soapy). Like a young man rolling up his shirtsleeves to dig up a yard. Earthy, strong, wet, clean dirt. Then the fruit starts teasing my nose, and I see yellow but not citrus ... believe it or not, I think it was banana! Maybe banana leaf? I did not get any of the cedar or frankincense others have mentioned ... The drydown was slightly nauseating and I ended up taking a hot bath at 1 a.m. to wash it off. Oh well ...

Wow ... Upon application, it reminded me a lot of my beloved Peace for some reason ... incensey and clean and sweet and floral and earthy all rolled into one ... I was worried about a soapy lily drydown as some had experienced but instead, on drydown, it reminded me a lot of Spellbound ... So far, having tried four of the Sephiroth, this is definitely my favorite ...

Just have to reiterate what others have said, in that this may be one of the most aptly-named scents in Beth's catalogue ... Languor really does describe this sexy, sultry scent ... VERY hothouse floral ... but I think for my own purposes, when I want something like this I'd be more likely to reach for the Black Dahlia. This isn't really "me" ... it might be the lily, which always goes just cloyingly soapy on me.

This didn't work on me at all and so it's interesting to see the comparisons to Samhain, one of the most wonky scents ever to my nose ... Upon application, this went completely and utterly sour, pungent and bitter on me. As it dried down it was much less offensive, to the point that I didn't feel the need to wash it off ... it was reasonably light and green and department-store-perfume on me for the rest of the day, not terribly strong or noticeable. I wonder what note it was that hates me so much???

I LOVE THIS LINE ... is there a Dragon's Blood scent I DON'T love (wondering why Serpent's Kiss isn't in this line as well) ... Anyway, there is something about my first whiff of most of these Ars Draconis scents that makes me teary-eyed with joy ... for whatever reason it is evocatiev of good times in my childhood ... This is, I don't get the berries that some have mentioned, at all (which was a relief, I was slightly concerned about that note) ... there is something quite sweet though, almost cloying but not quite ... and then also something I can't put my finger on that is herbal ... Is there a chance there is a touch of lavender in here??? It is droolworthy.

Very very very woody ... cedar to the max, I'm guessing ... for some reason I was expecting some sandalwood but never got a hint of it ... no smoke or sandalwood or incense, like others have gotten, just pure cedar ... It reminds me a lot of Kathmandu and Fire of Love. I like it a lot but with a big bottle of Kathmandu already in my box I think it would be overkill to buy a big bottle of this ...

This is absolutely lovely when wet ... a sweet spring evening. Sadly, though it went soapy on me on drydown ... I think people who like Hymn would like this as well. The two remind me a LOT of each other ... definitely a must-try for floral fans.

Received as a frimp ... Hmmmm ... sharp, shiny and clean are the words that first impressions bring to mind. Slightly astringent with spicy incensey notes. VERY promising. It's got some serious green to it and my only concern is it may be too "guy" for me to wear ... not in a bad way though. I think I would find this unbearably sexy on a hot guy. It's kind of like Spellbound for guys ...

BOTTLE: Sweet (duh) ... I've never tried the much-ballyhooed "Pink Sugar" but this is what I would imagine that would or should smell like. There is more than a little "Chaste Moon" to this but the butter rum is replaced with strawberry. It's kind of like a kids breakfast cereal. WET: Applied to wrists and crooks of arms ... VERY sweet but not in a nauseating way. The light strawberry somehow cuts the cloying potential in a good way. There's a little bit of strawberry bubble gum action but not in the Maenad way that sent me screaming in the other direction. And the best news, no welts (was concerned from my reaction to Malkuth that it could have been the strawberries) DRYDOWN: What I love about this is it is really subtle. For me, many of these notes individually or combined could often make me queasy but this is such a lovely blend that instead they all work wonderfully. This is not only not a swapper, it's a keeper I could see wearing often and will DEFINITELY try a lotion from it ... I think it would make a marvelous summer lotion!!!

I had the EXACT same reaction, my first ever to a BPAL scent, and I have LOADS of cinnamon blends because it's one of my favorites ... so I wonder if it is another note causing this? Maybe strawberry or whatever fruit it is? Because I generally don't "do" fruit so if I were allergic I might not know ... Anyway, that said ... In the bottle: Yup, fruity ... and though I generally, as I said, don't "do" fruit, I want to sample all 10 Sephiroth fairly so I forge ahead and dab it on wrists, crooks of arm, pulse points on neck and cleavage. Wet: Though it's fruity ... and I would also guess strawberry ... it's also rich and deep and a bit spicy ... more like a strawberry daiquiri than the Strawberry Shortcake doll ... Drydown: A little cinnamony and spicy but really, the fruit is still the prevailing scent. The funny thing is I actually rather liked this, more so than most fruit scents. But within five minutes I had HUGE welts on the crooks of my arms and my neck (like three-four inches long and two inches wide), but none on my wrists or cleavage.

If you are, please move over and make room for me next to you on the crazy train ... I was pleasantly ... no, delightedly ... thrilled and surprised by Tushmanatay and its sandalwoodiness. It is on my next big bottle list. I am a YOOGE sandalwood fanatic and Elizabeth is a genius with the scent so there are very few BPAL scents with that note that I DON'T love (Queen Mab is one of them because orchid is very wonky on my and takes over everything). I think my favorites are Veil, even though it would probably be classified as floral, and Gaueko. Veil was my first BPAL scent ... I sat there with the "catalogue", senses in overdrive, narrowing down my choices to buy three 5 MLs based strictly on the notes and chose Veil, Twilight and Envy. Loved all three but through all my tests and trials and revamping of my top 10 over and over, Veil always triumphs as near-perfection. And Gaueko ... I know it doesn't seem to be one of those classic favorites but, oh my, sandalwood and lavender ... heaven on earth. I would give anything to turn back time and have bought up a few single-note bottles of sandalwood ... *le sigh*