blu°

This is slightly off-topic, I hope it's still within the limits... Two days ago there was a boy in the metro that smelled so strongly of something TAL, that I couldn't refrain from asking him if he was wearing perfume, and whether it was White Light. However, he replied it was a Joop perfume. I've looked at Joop's website, and there are several male fragrances... I'll try to check them out in a perfume shop one of these days and will report back which one it was that smells like magickal things.

I, too, love rose-incense blends, but initially I don't get much rose from this. It mostly reminds me of a note shared by many TAL blends... something in the ceremonial incense? A wood? High John root maybe? It also reminds me of Magus a lot. A blend I cherish, and which I classify as green-white. Illuminati Cotillion accordingly doesn't strike me as a dark blend at all. Ok, I can see how there might be some kind of rose incense in this... It's very, very lightly dusty rose-y. Nothing too sweet and lush... more of an airy feel to it. I really like this... not sure that it is so different to Magus on me to warrant a bottle, though. Will have to compare them side by side one of these days.

I get fresh, young corn with the green leaves and dirt out of this, and something almst creamy... It doesn't smell very dry on me, nor too green... I don't wear grass (or green notes in general) well, and if there's any in here, it is light on my skin and doesn't stand out at all. So far I really like it. Drying down, I get a hint of cinnamon... Hm... this smells hotter and drier now. I hope it doesn't take over completely. I liked what I got out of the wet stage... A bit later... the fresh corn note is still there, as is the dirt, which is lovely in this combination... the hint of cinnamon is gone, or maybe I just don't register it anymore... So far, I think this might replace Deep in Earth as my favourite green-dirt scent.

I like this much more than I thought I would based on there being ambergris (my nemesis) in it. However, it seems to be working for me in this combination of notes... Go figure. On me, Beanies is a predominantly coconutty smell - creamy coconut refined by the florals and the white amber - which make it more feminine, more pretty in a way. The ambergris serves as a slightly salty backdrop to that. It does remind of Snow White a little, maybe an offspring of Snow White and one of those clean white scents like The Girl. The only thing I don't like about this blend at this time, is that it is pretty light. I'm having trouble smelling it about 2 hours after application - even though I've slathered it on. I guess, to last me through a day, I'd have to reapply twice or thrice a day. I think that makes buying at least two bottles a good idea. ETA: After wearing this a couple of other times, I have to say that my first reaction was a bit over-enthusiastic... I did get the ambergris later on... and it smelled sweaty/stale on me again.

This is my favourite of all the Lupers this year (so far). I almost cannot believe, there is leather in it, since I usually don't like leather scents much. Prosperity on me is a smooth complex scent that somehow smells woody without having any wood notes, lol. It's not too heavy, neither too light. As far as colour associations go, I get a not-too-dark beige-orange glow with a reddish tint to it. Somehow the scent's structure (what I'd imagine something that smells like this would feel like to the touch) reminds me of Pinched with Four Aces, that grounded yet not too heavy smoothness. At no point makes this think me of leather. Only after realizing it should be in there, I can sniff it out among the other notes. It is very light, airy and gentle, though. I've already ordered two back-up bottles.

I, too, am surprised that I like this. Red musk is usually too heavy on me, and jasmine goes soapy and sharp. I'm also not always doing well with oakmoss and vetiver. Alas, this blend smells not that bad on me. It's a tad perfumey, but in the way Lush stuff is perfumey. I kinda like it in here. It's a blend that remains somewhat foreign to my body chemistry, i. e. it doesn't blend as well with my personal scent as other scents do. It's a bit too formal/perfumey for that. But I still enjoy it. Not sure, I'd reach for it very often, though. It's a stranger on my skin. Might be nice when I want to dress up as somebody else. Weirdly, it has a pleasant metallic/ozoney aspect to it. I say "weirdly", because 1) there's no note listed to contribute for that, and 2) I don't usually consider metallic or ozoney "pleasant", but it works in here, taking some of the heaviness, I guess.

I'm not sure I like the vanilla in Penis Admiration. I tried it once before, and thought I liked it, but today, it is going plasticky/play-doh-y on me... I think it's the creaminess others have talked about. It reminds me of Love's Philosophy with it's vanilla cream note that I didn't like on my skin, neither. There also seems to be some kind of menthol hidden somewhere... totally weird, unless it is part of the characteristics of ho wood. Or maybe I am testing too many oils at the same time.

The first reviews of Pink Mood had me expect the worst, but after testing, I have to say, it isn't. The anise is soft, not sharp, possibly due to the vanilla. While I can't clearly single out the vanilla, the cherry blossom is very noticeable and gives this the pink hue promised by the title. It's soft and girly with an edge. I'm not usually into anise/licorice but thought this was worth a try, and I'm not disappointed. I'll have to see how often I'll reach for this, though, as it is not a typical choice for me.

I really like this one. It's a promising candidate for my perfect dark-red scent. Thanks to the non-tart cherry and plum and the lovely coffee note this is not sour or grape-y in the least. It's very smooth with the coffee and oak base. Of all the wine blends it reminds me most of The Feast For The Greatly Revered Ones, as that one wasn't sour on me, neither. This is much nicer, though, since I prefer the coffee and oak to Feast's corn and cocoa. It's dark-purple/red, very smooth, slightly bitter but with background sweetness, great throw. Reminds me a bit of The Red Queen, too, in structure and color-play, but is much stronger, deeper and darker. I can't stop huffing my wrists.

Ochosi doesn't smell all that GREEN to me. It's a very soft, almost aquatic, innocent blend. The shea makes it very wearable. It might be me, but I don't get almond from Oya. Then again, I don't have problems with almond, so maybe I just didn't notice. Shango is a very unique fruity scent. The chili in it gives it almost a red musk tinge. It does feel electric, fizzy, airy somehow. It's not overly sweet, nor is it by any means masculine. It's rather a fruity scent men could wear IMO. Also, I'll second that Obatala is very unique.

From the imp and freshly applied this smells like the washing detergent from Aldi (supercheap discounter supermarket chain) - sharp, bright, somewhat soapy. It soon mellows out, however - verbena is still strong, but backed up by the frankincense and I guess, the ambers, which remain undistinguishable. Overall, Gold Phoenix is a smooth woodsy/herbal scent with quite a lot of throw and some sweetness in the background. The frankincense behaves much in the same way as it does in King Cobra, which makes me a bit wary to jump to a bottle. I stopped liking King Cobra just after I got a bottle of it back then. I'm still tempted, though.

This is very pretty, and that's despite the fact that I don't wear orris all that well. Very soft and sparkly, very girly. Powdery in a good way. A bright shiny soft silver like an elven broche right out of Middle Earth, not the darkened antique sort. Really nice. Not a me-scent, but very attractive. Will have to make up my mind about a bottle.

Wow, the cinnamon in this seems to work as a softener for the green. It's making the scent almost creamy. I can see how people get Christmas tree from it, but I'm not sure, that there is evergreens inside. It might be an olfactory illusion. More than of a Christmas Tree it reminds me of the green foamy stuff that you use to stick flowers or evergreen twigs inside to make decorations. I think sometimes the stuff is also used in Christmas tree holders. I get something citrussy about 3 minutes after application, dusted with the cinnamon it gives an almost sparkly effect. País de la Canela reminds me of Lush's Jungle hair conditioner a lot, that kind of creamy green scent. Maybe Lush's Jungle has cinnamon, too. There also was a bubble bath back in 2004 or so that had the same or a very similar scent. This is really nice and quite different from all that I've smelled in BPAL in the last five years. I'm not sure that it is working all that well as a personal scent for me, but I dig the experience and am sure that this could become a favourite for a lot of people.

No real review since I'm at work... This shares the blown-out candle note with Gypsy Queen, I think. It's pretty nice although I don't wear neither honey nor, to a lesser degree, beeswax well.

very gritty, with some dustiness... I had to look up the notes to remember that there's supposed to be rose in here. I think I mostly smell the opoponax. Sorry for short review, am at work, just wanted to point out, that I think this smells gritty.

When I saw this compared to The House in one of the first reviews, it made my initial excitement at reading the notes cool down a little, as that blend was a weird sour dusty one on me (Pulcinella & Teresina was another one in that category for me). I'm glad I could swap for a bottle, since it turns out, Gothic Horror doesn't go sour and weird on my skin. On the contrary, it's really pretty. I'd rather compare it with Blasphemare Reliquary. Gothic Horror's frankincense is a lot less dense, though. Where Blasphemare R can be almost suffocating, the frankincense in Gothic Horror is well-balanced against the other notes. Also, the rose/rosewood note in GH is fantastic! I have to hunt it down with my nose through the incense, but when I smell it, it's the most refined, sweet thing. It also combines beautifully with the other notes in the scent's throw. I think it's the oud that gives GH a backbone. A delicate streak of something more substantial that also holds some sweetness. Verdict: Will cherish my bottle and possibly look to swap for a back up. ETA: Just remembered, that at one point during my testing this yesterday, I had the idea it might have the tiniest drop of a berry/fruit note in it together with the rose or rosewood. Some reddish-purple-pink note, possibly with a dribble of citrus, too?

I'm sharing the experience of a lot of reviewers in that I'm surprised to like this scent. It's a dark green herbal-woody/rooty scent. So herbal and woody that it almost drowns out the greenness. Something in the back gives it a bite, and I wonder if it is something red - blood note anyone? As much as I try I cannot think of this blend representing fleshy greenery. It's not wet enough for that, rather woodsy-dry/herbal-airy. Thorns and spikes, yes. It does smell a bit masculine, but in a good way. I second the comparison to Loup Garou.

The first autumn rains dripping onto fallen leaves against a backdrop of opoponax, labdanum, patchouli, agarwood, and oakmoss. This! There are a few fall/leaves scents I love (Death of Autumn, Chant d'Automne, L'Autunno Atmosphere Spray), but this is autumn leaves scent perfection. At first, there's the crisp but soft rain note over woody-leafy brown notes. The rain is a bit like the slushy snow note, yet softer, and once on skin, it starts to mingle with the warmer-smoky-airy leaves and woods, ever so slowly retreating into the background. The leaves and woods become warmer, there's something sweet behind the leaves, and I think that would be the agarwood - it gives the oil a backbone, some substance in an otherwise airy-thin scent. There's also a smokiness, not thick, suffocating smoke, but delightful whiffs of woodsmoke running through the cool air of an autumn evening. After some time I get the comparison to Samhain, there's something similar in here. Samhain never worked for me, it's pumpkin and fruit notes just didn't combine well with the leaves and patchouli on my skin. I almost didn't get this Moon because I was weary of the rain note. (I don't really like aquatics and ozone scents, although there have been a few scents with rain/snow/ozone notes before, that I enjoy.) Now I'm so glad the Lunacy was still up on the site when I made up my mind to get my two bottles days after it should have gone down.

It's not a dialect of German. I guess that the French baigneuse might have been used by a certain class of educated people around the time the painting was done. Maybe it was only the painter who used it in this case. Maybe it was a German speaking painter who painted bathing women in a French bath. Or something.

Arkham has a dogwood note.

I find the coconut deo powder to be pretty similar to White Rose.

I have two imps of Blood, one of which is a deep spiced red, the other one a light brown. I've ordered a bottle and it seems to be brown, too. I think to remember having compared the two imps and that the brown one was sweeter and more spicy, the red one a bit deeper and less dry. Anybody has a recent imp of Blood that has a deep red colour? I'm thinking there might have been a general change in either the type or amount of dragon blood in the formula.

Very fruity, more fruity than floral IMO. I don't know why but I detect a (fortunately light) hint of brown sugar/caramel. Maybe that's a part of the golden-note? This mingles with the coconut and vanilla to give a base to the juicy fruit and floral notes. Very pleasant, especially some time into drydown.

Very much vanilla/heliotrope and pear on my skin. It's incredibly creamy and I get how it might produce a fake plasticky smell for some people. It's love from the imp, and a strong like on my skin so far. Still a bit undecided. It somehow reminds of other fruit-cream combinations (Bloody Mary, Miller vs California e.g.) that I wasn't too fond of in the end. But the pear and grape have a certain sparkle, possibly enhanced by the white rose, that is to die for. Alas, the longer it stays on my skin, the more of that sparkle is lost while the creaminess becomes stronger. I think this might be even nicer with less heliotrope and a tad more grape and rose instead. For me, that is.

This is a bit sharp and much dryer on my skin than I would have thought it to be. I get woods and some sharp powdery/dry notes. There might be lotus hidden behind that somewhere, but lotus usually is much more of a wet, round note for me. I'm also not sure if there's honey in here, but then honey never works for me and never smells liquid as it should on my skin, so maybe it's playing a part.