misfitroxy

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cyder-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours. Where are the songs of spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, - While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The red-breat whistles from a garden-croft; And gathering swallows twitter in the skies. Mist and mellow fruitfulness: mist-swirled, moss-covered bark and dry red leaves, apple pulp and knotty galangal, with poppy juice and nutmeat. I'm still all a'flutter over my Hollows and this whole starting a new thread thing is rather new, but practice makes perfect, right? {Wet}: Sweet and buttery with a hint of apple-y goodness. {First Applied}: Very much a dessert fragrance. Apple with dustings of spice and some buttery crust (more than likely the nutmeat) to round it out. {Drying}: Ahhhh, so there's the rest of it. Definitely picking up on the leaves now. There's an almost peppery, yet woody scent coming out as well (which seems in almost direct opposition to the toothsome turnout beforehand). I haven't tried any of the other Lab blends with galangal in them, so I'm new to this element. I've heard it can be reminiscent to pine and fir, though. And that all fits. But not in an overwhelming, TREE ATTACK! sort of way. {Final Thoughts}: A strange amalgamation of the bakery and the bonfire. Like quickly-melting caramel apples served over a plate of smoldering, burning leaves. Pleasant but peculiar. Certainly autumnal. Intriguingly unique. Worth the journey in full. Just make sure to clean any leftover foliage stems out of your teeth afterwards! ;}

The sequestered situation of this church seems always to have made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It stands on a knoll, surrounded by locust-trees and lofty elms, from among which its decent whitewashed walls shine modestly forth, like Christian purity beaming through the shades of retirement. A gentle slope descends from it to a silver sheet of water, bordered by high trees, between which, peeps may be caught at the blue hills of the Hudson. To look upon its grass-grown yard, where the sunbeams seem to sleep so quietly, one would think that there at least the dead might rest in peace. On one side of the church extends a wide woody dell, along which raves a large brook among broken rocks and trunks of fallen trees. Over a deep black part of the stream, not far from the church, was formerly thrown a wooden bridge; the road that led to it, and the bridge itself, were thickly shaded by overhanging trees, which cast a gloom about it, even in the daytime; but occasioned a fearful darkness at night. This was one of the favorite haunts of the headless horseman; and the place where he was most frequently encountered. Overgrown dark green bullrush, midnight roses, dwarf St. John's Wort, frankincense, blackberry leaf, and moss-covered, half-buried tree bark. No thread in sight that I could click my mouse on, so I guess I'm going first! I must first say that I've been obsessed with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow since I was a wee one (I remember gleefully tormenting my friends when I was maybe 7ish by telling the story over and over again at sleepovers, complete with voices and frequent pauses to build dramatic suspense - and they say goth is a phase ), so this is hands-down my most favorite Halloween sub-theme (or probably any special series set) yet. I had to be frugal, though, and could only nab up a few to try initially. With the squee-ing out of the way (for now), let me set the stage for our tale... Do I sense movement in the trees? {Wet}: kinda herbal and sweet with a hint of nuttiness. Maybe that's the bark. Was that neighing or someone screaming? {First applied}: I can smell it on my arm as I type, so it definitely has decent throw. It's bright and clean. Not necessarily soapy, but much cheerier than I'd expected. The Hessian approaches {Drying (Dying?)}: The blend starts to mellow substantially. Something arises which almost smells like apple to my nose. But I'm guessing it's the roses mingling with the blackberry (naughty things). Nothing stands out as particularly sharp or potent, though. If you've heard the swish of the blade, I'm afraid it's too late {Final Thoughts}: After it dries, I'm left with moss and slight sweetness (the blackberry is goooooood) and fallen leaves and a faint memory of incense and everything that makes this season perfection. The scent is nicely unisex. Not too heavy either. It starts to cling much more closely to the skin and is merely wafting around pleasantly at this point instead of jumping out in surprise as before. A fitting fragrance for dusky Autumn tale-telling by firelight... punctuated by the slightest underscore of heavy horses' hooves echoing through the distant woods.

I've already been a'gushing over my love for this story in my review for The Churchyard. But keeping with in that vein... The batting of long lashes {Wet}: Mmm, cream and rose. Delicate and delectable. A swish of silken skirts {First Applied}: More rose than cream to start (whereas they were in balance when I sniffed directly from the bottle). But it's a light rose. Certainly more white than red. With just a smidgeon of green. I'm reminded of a more subtle Peacock Queen. I call this reaction "skin rose", as it brings about a rose scent that smells as if it's blending perfectly with my chemistry and is simply wafting gently from my pores. In other words, I wish I smelled this way naturally! She collapses her fan and holds it, trembling, in a small, gloved hand {Drying}: There's the cream. It was hiding for a bit. And it's only just popping out enough now to round out the rose. It takes away some of the sharpness that can be characteristic of florals ('specially the single/prominent note ones). And makes the blend positively pretty. Like a delicate bouquet at the center of a table set for high tea. Interestingly, it almost turns the rose to candy. I haven't tried Hope from the CD line yet, so I can't make comparisons there. But this does come across as a lightly sugared rose. Maybe a slightly vanilla-brushed one, or honeyed, as lookingglass said above. OMG!! I know what this blend smells like. If you remember Maxie dolls from the 80s ("Who's that girl with the beautiful hair?") and the scented heart necklace they all came with - that's TOTALLY what KvT stirs from the memory box. Minus the plastic overtone. d0000d. I just fell (teased & Aquanet-ed) head over (stilettoed) heeds for this one!! Leaving only the tinkling bells of her laughter in her wake {Final Thoughts}: Light, girlie, associated with favorite childhood toys. A sure winner. And even though it's probably crazy dirty to suggest it... I can imagine that she'd be fabulous with a bit of tea and spice added. Even if it wasn't to be in the Irving fable, I see much blending of the Lady Katrina and Ichabod Crane in the future...

I'm finally over my cold, so I can officially chime in and add to/edit my initial impressions from the BPTP thread. There is a LOT of floral notes that jump out from this blend. I can really detect the magnolia (and/or possibly the Queen Elizabeth/orris root, depending on how much that actually smells like iris flowers), pretty much over everything else (in fact, when I sniffed this at the will call, I thought it was Trick #2 at first because my nose was confusing the magnolia with the tobacco leaf note, since they both have a kind of strong sweetness to them, especially when wet. But with Trick #2, when you first sniff that one, it's much more vibrant and berry-like, so that gave away the ghost so to speak). When it dries, it's sweet yet musky. Still feminine, but quite dark and potent. I don't get leather or ginger from the blend at all (even minus the cold). Overall, it's heady and very "womanly". This is powerful, aggressive sexuality for certain, as it definitely screams "Notice ME! I'm hot and sultry, dammit!". Interestingly, I also find it slightly comforting and maternal, especially once the blend dries in full and has settled into my skin. Which probably says something very strange about at least one corner of my psyche. In truth, all kinds of vivid images come into my mind when I have this on, mostly focusing on the figure of a well-endowed older woman, wrapped in various layers of deep red, vibrant fabrics, who's reaching her arms around me in support and love. I can't explain this vision at all, but she keeps showing up each time I open the bottle. Honestly, I'm extremely surprised by how wearable this is on me. I'm not big on florals, especially the ultra strong variety. But everything is so well blended and balanced that I can't help but adore my Trick #1. I am going to have to be careful with how much I dab on as a little goes a loooooong way (it heads 'round the corner, up the street, out of the neighborhood and then *still* manages to find its way back again!) to the extent that it could become cloying super fast. That just means more of it will stick around to age with time, a prospect which delights me to no end, as I'm in complete agreement with the other reviewers who expect it to become all the more superb in the months to come. I feel much more as though I've been treated with this Trick and will cherish it for certain. Cheers, m'dears!

Ha! On first sniff, Osun smells just like my imp box!! This is a clean yet heady, girlie kind of scent. Not quite soft but not quite sharp either. On my skin, the blend turns powdery almost immediately. It is a tad herbal, maybe a little floral too, and kind of baby powder-esque. An uber feminine skin musk of sorts. I don't detect honey. At least not the typical golden, sticky honey note that I'm used to. But that's ok, because I think any strong sweetness on top of what I'm smelling would be overwhelming. Overall, this blend emits a strong and bright cleansing aura to me. Much like TAL's White Light. While this isn't a blend I'd wear, I bought it more for Osun's associative properties, so the imp will make its way to my alter instead of my vanity table. I look forward to working with Her, and do find this oil to be a fitting tribute in full.

When I opened the imp, I noted that Cordelia smells just like my BPAL box - a bit sweet, a bit smoky. Very intriguing. On my skin, the lighter notes were present for about ten seconds. Then the cedar and musk ran ahead shouting "me first!" all the way. Seriously, I'm just getting body odor and pencil shavings from it now. I wish I could say more, but so far as this blend is concerned, I seem to have silly personal chemistry. ;p

Ooh, pretty. I can see why others have referred to this blend as aquatic. It is very light and refreshing. A pale scent that's not overwhelming, throw-wise. I'm not very familiar with the smell of peonies, so I'm just going to have to take that note for granted. But the oil does have an herbal quality to it as opposed to a more overt floral one. It would be very nice for summer. I like how clean it is, yet very girlie. Overall, I'd call this sharp yet sweet. Not entirely my tastes, but still very lovely.

There's some kind of cologne/alcoholic tinge to Arkham Revisited in the imp. And the oil smells kinda chemical on my skin. I'd describe this as ozone floral by my nose. It's really sharp and something in it does not agree with me. It seems to sweeten as it dries and turns a bit more woodsy. But it's still far too potent for me to properly appreciate. I'm pleased that I was able to try it out, and would highly recommend this blend to bright floral fans. It's simply not for me, though.

VERY bright white floral to start out with. And something that smells like fresh cedar in the background. The flowers mellow as it dries, but the cedar amps and smells more and more like pencil shavings to me. It starts turning very chemical after a while, like a powerful cleanser that can't decide if its base note should be forest-fresh or meadow-breeze. Ugh, and now it's turning into cat urine and natural litter chips. Totally and utterly not for me, which is disappointing because I really love the description for this one. Off to the swaps goes Arachne!

Bengal is milky and spicy in the imp, like a chai tea made with heavy cream. It stays pretty true on my skin, but turns even more warm and rich. If I hadn't just eaten lunch, this would certainly make me very hungry! It blends well with my skin, and wafts pleasantly. But it would not be something I'd want to slather on as I could see it becoming too much too quickly. The longer I sit with it, the more the clove is trying incredibly hard to turn to ABC gum/plastic on me. Mean clove!!! The cinnamon bark and ginger are gorgeous, though, and are trying to fight the good fight to keep this from turning funky on me. All in all, I think I'll hang onto the imp and try to swipe it in my hair or wear it in a scent locket to keep it more true to its original state. This is a great winter cozy blend or gourmand scent when you want the illusion of indulgence without taking a caloric plunge.

Mmm. This is so light and nummy smelling in the imp. The juice notes are so spot-on, they're making my mouth water. The gin hits you on the third or fourth whiff (isn't that always the way?), and it is turning very herbal/pine-like on me. It's not necessarily unpleasant, I just prefer the citrus and cranberry that I was getting when I first swabbed the oil on. Otherwise, not much booze from this on me. Note-wise, this totally kills Demeter's Cosmopolitan blend and then some. Everything's much more real-to-life and vibrant. But I think my chemistry is rejecting it, as I smell more like I've been sucking down tree sap than drinking one of my favorite alcoholic beverages. ;{

Nothing's really jumping out at me in the imp. There's a sweetness that's present in a lot of oils for me, but I can't detect any one note or element. It seems to be sinking into my skin as it dries. I'm catching a bit of the oleander and magnolia, but they're not heavy in the least. Just pleasantly sweet and rich. Something about these flowers tend to make them turn almost chemical on my skin, like they're tinged with rubbing alcohol or hairspray. And it just seems to be getting stronger the longer I sit with it. I can't say I'm getting any spice from the blend either. Also, my allergies aren't really appreciating it, from what I can tell. Ah well.

Ooh! Very cherry-berry, sticky sweet in the imp. I don't have many fruit scents, and most of them are "dark" in nature, so this is a new one for me. The throw is intense. I'm trying to let this dry before I start huffing my wrist, and I can smell it from down around the keyboard! Wow. This is totally not what I expected from this blend. I was anticipating a girlie scent, like candy. And while the sweetness is there, the musk and amber totally tame it. I know the comparison is odd, but this is like the fruit version of Medea to me. They're very similar in tone on my skin. I'd say Hollywood Babylon is more bubbly to an extent. This is the start of the party before it transcends into a melange of sweaty limbs and assorted chemical substances. I'm concerned about the red musk, as it goes a bit body odor-esque on me. I think the other elements counteract it enough to prevent it from smelling offensive. I think this would make the perfect club-night scent to counteract the sweat and smoke. I don't know that I'd reach for it often, but I'm enjoying it enough to keep the imp close for a while.

A gentle vision of purity, goodness and virtue: white tea, carnation and Damask Rose. Lots of carnation from the start with Maiden. It's super clean and just a touch powdery and white. I love the tea in the background, adding depth, along with the wet sweetness of the rose. And there's a slight tinge of sharp green in the background, like the smell of a bud before it blooms, or a new leaf. I nabbed Maiden in an attempt at finding a light summer floral, despite the fact that carnation is always a hit or miss for me. I'd say that this blend is exactly what I'd hoped Alice would be on me. I love it to bits and need a bottle for certain. I think this would make a glorious linen/clothing spray as well since it's so airy and refreshing. Thoroughly angelic, and a nice balance to my heavier resin and smoky scents.

I really can't say what this reminds me of in the imp. Something bright and warm and heady. With just a touch of musk from the patchouli. Golden is a word that comes to mind. On my skin, something goes terribly wrong. I think it's the patchouli, quite honestly, as I'm getting this overwhelming, almost urine-like pungent smell that I've never encountered from BPAL before. And it's making the rose smell horribly synthetic. There's an old designer perfume that this reminds me of, but I can't place it off-hand. I had high hopes for Rakshasa, but it's not to be. It sounds like it's working beautifully for many others, though, so hopefully I can pass it along to be worn and loved.

Versailles smells a little soapy in the imp. Very squeaky clean and zest-y. There's certainly a lot of citrus in this, which leaps forward immediately. It's a deep red, sunny kind of scent, though, like rich, ripe grapefruit. The florals take a while longer to present themselves, but I'm gradually picking them up more and more. Not a whole lot of rose (though I will say that I can detect it mingling with the citrus, and that's a divine, if unexpected, combination!). I think the jasmine is the most obvious out of the bunch. After sitting with it for a while, it turns more floral on me than I would like. I can't say I'm sensing the amber at all, which would probably help balance it for me. But the scent is dead-on to its description, and is a beautiful melange of elements that is certainly worth a try if you prefer bright and bold scents. (I'll add that with my last couple of whiffs, it's developed a muted note that reminds me of sun tea, brewed on a Southern porch in the middle of summer. Very relaxing and decadent, in a comforting kind of way.)

Very spicy vetiver in the imp. I applied this rather lightly because I'm anticipating that it will be a strong scent. I can definitely catch the three distinct elements very clearly after I've brushed it on. The dragon's blood smells just a bit plastic to me, which could also be attributed to clove if that's one of the spices in the blend. As others have noted, this is probably the closest BPAL I've found that smells almost identical to red hots candies. With just a bit of the woodsy vetiver to round it out. I like the scent, and I wouldn't mind smelling this blended with a more masculine individual's chemistry. But it's not really working for me.

VERY herbal in the imp. The back of my throat just got a wake-up call!!! I can sense the creamy almond kind of scent that others have referenced, but it's sharply augmented by something sour. Whatever that sourness is, it jumps out on my skin. Wow, it's odd. I haven't encountered this reaction before. It's almost acrid and smells like generic liquid handsoap that's gone bad (if such a thing is possible). I will keep the faith and try layering it with something else to see if I can eliminating the offending note. Otherwise, no courtesan-inspired love for me. ;{

Love Me smells very pretty in the imp, though I'm getting a huge whiff of jasmine already. On my skin, it's pretty much all jasmine (at least to start), though not the type of tropical, wet jasmine I'm accustomed to. It's almost more of a muted, dried-petal jasmine. There's a spicy element behind the sweet floral that's definitely cola-esque. I'm getting a bunch of sunny images from this oil. It's bright and warm and yellow-orange (both literally and figuratively!). I'm not a jasmine-wearer, so I could only see this being used in the context of spellwork. But that's not a bad thing in the least, as it's always nice to find new blends to set a certain mood/exemplify certain intentions.

Van Van is somewhat musky and deep in the imp. It reminds me of wet vetiver. That note stays strong on my skin, very herbal and deep woodsy. Though I agree with others that it's astringent as well. Just not in an alcohol-containing kind of way. More a potiony tonic. I'm starting to catch some of the lemon powder sweetness that's mentioned in several of the above reviews. It does smell more like lemongrass than straight lemon essence or peel. This is really a curious blend for me. Going by wearability alone, it's simultaneously invigorating and soft. I think my skin makes it smell too much like baby powder for my tastes. I wouldn't mind testing it out in a purification ritual, though. The oil is very cleansing in a way and mind-clearing (in a positive sense, not a comatose one!).

The Peacock Queen does the most interesting thing on my skin. At first, I thought it was because I was dabbing it on very lightly when I first tested it (the OMG, I just got a bunch of bottles, so where do I find skin to put all of this on RIGHT NOW? test). But since I'm doing the full slather for this go 'round, I'm still noticing it - it melds into my skin. It doesn't disappear, as I can certainly smell the rose. Rather, the blend turns into something that smells an awful lot like my skin on any given day without the advantage of oils. It's kind of clean smelling. Like fresh laundry without the addition of fabric softeners and chemicals. How thoroughly curious. I don't find this rose hauty or vain at all. In fact, she's far more dew-kissed to me than Rose Red. Very subtle and enveloping and warm. I'm oddly comforted, which I *never* get from rose (love the note(s) though I do). This is a great "general" rose for me (I use the quotations because I'm not trying to imply that it's generic. Far from that. I just don't view it as either a day or night time fragrance, making it perfect for any time I want to smell of rose and nothing else). And I'm absolutely curious to see how it ages.

This is my first experience with Lady RR, so I'm delighted to make her acquaintance. Hmm, the oil starts out very bright and vine-y green to me, almost fresh, juicy green apple-like (or maybe crab apple-like). But apples buried in dirt. How interesting. I'm not getting a single whiff of rose. Though I'm overwhelmed with the impression that I'm sniffing its sharp, woody thorns. As the apple fades, the scent turns slightly musky. It doesn't remind me of fresh dirt so much as it makes me think of my grandfather's underground cellar which always smelled decrepit and of wet, moldy musk. Of course, I'm one of the rare people who *adores* the smell of damp, moldy basements, so I'm not exactly thrown off by this development. However, I'm uncertain that I'd want to smell of this all day long. I am starting to detect a touch of rose, but it's coming across as chemical to me, a bit like Pledge. Wow. My chemistry is not Rose Red's warm cuddly bear friend in the least. I think I might actually have to part with this one, which is a huge shock, as rose is normally always a go for me. I may let it sit for a while and see if it morphs after a few months just to say I tried!! After scores of glowing reviews, I really want to experience what everyone else has. Then again, maybe I need to start putting my scent lockets to work!

Medea is my official "I will *cut* you" blend (which works, given the name and all).

As one of the fortunate few to catch a whiff of The Cracked Bell during the BPAL store opening last month (I didn't feel I could describe it properly without slathering myself in it and sitting with the scent for a while, though so I wanted to wait until I had it in hand before saying anything definitive), I knew immediately that it was going to be one of my new favorites. My recently acquired bottle did not prove me wrong in the least. It's slightly medicinal to start. Kinda herbal, kinda sweet. During the beginning phases, it has a quality that reminds me of Blood Moon without the spicy overtones or grain-like tinges (which would make sense with the shared references to "blood"). That same soft, smoky musk with a hint of kitchen-y warmth. Instead of morphing into a vanilla-like cinnamon powder (which is what Blood Moon does on my skin), though, The Cracked Bell retains a jagged edge. I find that it's not metallic in the way real blood smells, and I don't view it as necessarily cold, but it *is* sharp (almost like the first hit of blends containing ozone) and provides a nice contrast to the incense. I think this is what UltraViolet is picking up on as "lime" because it does have that bright "zing" sort of quality to it. I can see The Cracked Bell working well as a unisex fragrance. It's not too dark, not too light (though it's more "winter" to me and might be a tad heavy for the summer months). The oil has its own unique, sultry appeal that's ever so delicious. I'm off to go inhale my wrist for a while. ;}

It took me a long time to decide if I was going to add the 2005 version to my list or not. A bunch of the 2004 reviews extolled this blend's floral qualities. And while I adore rose, most other flowers tend to give me vicious headaches (or morph strangely on my skin). But I took the plunge in the end and am very pleased that I did. All Saints' starts out as rose, rose, ROSE on me. It's a dry rose, very dusty (it's probably my brain imposing images on the blend, but it sort of smells like it's mixed with candle wax), though far from powdery or soap-y. While the oil is wet, it reminds me a bunch of one of my Top 5 faves BPAL creations - Rose Cross. Eventually, the incense elements present themselves and the perfume begins to sweeten. The sweetness intensifies over time (though not in a food-y way. It's more of a sticky resin and wet petals kind of sweetness). The wax-like scent returns a tad stronger (I'm curious if maybe that's the "Autumn winds"), but it doesn't take away from the gorgeousness of the blend in the least. I wouldn't wear this as often as Rose Cross (partially because I can't get my hands on more bottles quite as easily!), but it is a truly sacred rose for me and I'll keep the bottle near and dear.