lysithea

I did get a lot of citrus from this blend initially. Unfortunately, the entire blend just screamed on my skin. Cedar definitely lasts a long while yet it isn't too woody or fresh. It is a pervasive blend. I got a thumbs down from the hubby. Amber has a tendency to amp like crazy and take over a blend when I wear it and that is precisely what happened in this case. It is a warm scent in feeling. Amber lovers should really dig this blend. Throw is above average. Wear length is well above average. Disclaimer: I knew going into the Steamworks scents that most of the notes were not the kind of things that usually work on my skin. Aquatics, ozone, leather, etc. all tend to amp and turn into masculine cologne for me to varying degrees. This entire line is very unisex, by nature. I love the concept and feel that the blends deliver exactly as described. Even if I can't enjoy them to their fullest, I can appreciate the intent and artistry behind them. I hope that all our BPAL fellows have a ball with this new line. I imagine that there are several blends here that will totally rock their socks. I only wish I could turn my hubby into one of those guys because I know there are several things here that would smell amazing on him.

Cathedral would be divine in a trunk. In fact, there is something so nostalgic about that scent for me anyway. Every time I smell it I am taken back in time. I don't usually wear it on skin but every so often I have to open up the imp just for the scent memory.

There is nothing like this in the general catalog. Initially, there is the familiar scent associated with root beer. It's a real hand crafted root beer. Nothing overly medicinal or sharp. It's so round and smooth. The addition of the CO2 butter is honestly, pure genius! This note lends a lush creaminess to the blend, but manages to uplift it to the extraordinary. It's vanilla-esque, but not. It's sweet, but it's not. There is a slight citrus undertone that I can barely, barely detect on the backend of the middle notes. I can certainly tell that CO2 butter is one note that must have an accomplished perfumer's hand to make it sing. Too heavy of a hand and you'd get a smear of heavy oily mess. I think that this blend will appeal to foodies and non-foodies alike. Throw is slightly above average, but will depend primarily on application. Wearlength is above average. It does last quite well and pretty true on clothing (however, the root beer notes fade rather quickly...) If you are looking for something different to add to your collection, do not hesitate to add this gem! Even if it's not your thing, I am certain that you will be able to appreciate the artistry behind it. Bravo, Brian! I am glad to see more of your work available for the general catalog.

Overall scent impression: Leather drenched in ozoney, aquatic notes. It does come off in a refined cologne way - not too masculine, but it does still have an edge. Unfortunately, I didn't even get a wiff of anise. I would have loved that that note to be pulled to the top. I agree with slave1 about the sharpness. Typically, this type of scent just screams on my skin. Luckily, that has been a bit toned down. Frankincense always does this on my skin. Sometimes I even get pickles! Blech! Throw is strong. Use sparingly. Wearlength has been average. Lingers on clothes quite pervasively. Fades to a sweet soap scent direct on skin. The frankincense can still be detected after 10 hours. Disclaimer: my skin chemistry has been a bit off all week. I have no idea what's going on, but it seems that everything has either been flat or disappeared very quickly. I may edit this review when I try it again at a later date.

Love's Philosophy and Underpants are definitely in the same scent family. Except that Underpants, ehrem...has more wood. I think that they are both lovely in their own right. If you dig Underpants, LP should make you happy as well. LP has a bit more saffron to my nose but it doesn't present as harsh or overly dry.

Mmmmm.... This is fruity, but not sweet in your face fruits. It has a creaminess that I think would work well for most people. It has the lovely guava that I enjoyed so much from Xanthe. This is a morpher. It is difficult to classify it. It's kinda foody, but it's not. One of the notes is really grounding this and giving it some great staying power, but I can't determine which one. It is unique, so it's possible it's one of the new component that I haven't encountered before (banyan fruit perhaps?) Th lunar blossoms and lunar oils aren't the traditional set to my nose. This is definitely something new to experience. There is a gentle, soft floral quality in the drydown. Cheshire Moon is both comforting and lively at the same time.

I am sorry to hear about your friend's passing. From your description, he sounds like a character I would have loved to have met. I am happy that your life was enriched by such a free soul, despite the short time he was able to be a part of your life. May your heart find comfort and peace.

This is the oddest review that I will probably ever write. Kill-Devil turns into a sophisticated, somewhat spicy version of Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth on my skin. I cannot for the life of me figure this one out. It is funny. I was once a ho' for Electric Youth. Must have been the snazzy packaging or something like that. Kill-Devil is sweet and has an odd fruitiness to it. I guess that's how the sugar cane and honey meld. Initially, it is a syrupy sweet dark caramel. Delicious. I hated Sugar Skull, but love this. If you like foody scents, give it a try.

The pear isn't the fresh, juicy kind. It's more like caramelized or poached. I can smell it when wet, but it recedes and adds a sweet edge to the underlying vanilla. It definitely has a creamy feel. I loved last year's Quincey Morris so I was really looking forward to another pear + vanilla creation. This does not disappoint. On my skin, it is fairly long lasting. In the end, settling into a warm vanilla skin scent for me. I can recommend this to fans of Black Opal or Quincey Morris (minus the leather and musk).

umm...if it's your house and your party, the things you are serving as the hostess should be up to up and not anyone else. i think being asked to remove items or not serve them at all is incredibly rude. so, i can definitely relate to your feelings. if they don't want their kids to eat it, well...they should have left the kiddos at home. ;-)

When I first sniffed this, I wasn't sure that I was going to like it. So, I let it site for a couple of weeks. On a whim I broke out the imp earlier this week. I've worn the same scent 3 days in a row!!! The lime is subdued, so it doesn't come off as a masculine scent. The tonka and the lilac musk are absolutely divine. The benzoin adds a nice lift to the overall. I love the sexy smokiness from the tonka. I can't recommend this enough. If you are a fan of Lyonnese, Dorian, or Morocco, I think this would be a nice addition to your BPAL box.

If you liked Fae, but found the oakmoss off-putting, give Tamora a try. Similar enough to try, as Tamora wears a bit better. For fruity, without too much sweetness, I also like Tweedledum. It's a darker fruit blend. Often the lighter fruit such as Cheshire Cat and maybe something like Hungry Ghost Moon would appeal to you. The musks keep them from going sacchrine sweet.

The closest TKO-ish vanilla I have found was in Tokyo Stomp. Of course, TS added mint to the mix. The mint burned off fairly quickly and left a sweet, round, buttermint behind. Maybe look into some blends with cereus or orchid vanill notes. I find that those tend to round out quite well.

Perhaps Hermia for a nice, toned-down version of spice. Very nice! I am fans of most of the blends on your list and I think Hermia would fit right in. Also, for a fruity spiciness try Scherazade. Sin is spice with patchouli. It's also a fav!

This is a creamy, rendition of March Hare. Spicy and warm with wonderfully pleasant citrusy/fruity top notes. The "peachy" feel comes off much more apricot for me which gives it plenty of fruity zip and zing. I cannot pick out any individual notes, however, for it is such a finely blended perfume.

From what I understand, the lab packs and fills orders in whatever order makes the most sense to them at the time. Obviously, orders with large number of imps can slow down packaging time since they don't keep imps of every single general catalog fragrance on hand. They do receive orders from two different methods, PayPal and CCNow, so sometimes that has something to do with it as well. I wouldn't worry. It is well within the range. I also ordered on 4/1 and have yet to hear a peep from the lab about my order. But then again, I always feel like I'm the last person to receive my orders anyway. ;-) I'm sure we'll hear something between now and Saturday, for sure. Then, we can squee with the rest of them.

I second Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil. Definitely caramel. It's more pronounced when it's fresh, but still yummy after it's had a bit of time to settle in.

There is a dark, dryness to this blend. I get the black musk (which I'm not the biggest fan of most times) and a dry leathery crackle sparked with clove. At first it is a bit bitter. It goes through a moment of real clovey spiciness, but then settles into a cologne-meets-wood stage. I also think that it will age well. However, I think it might be a bit too manly for me to pull off. Too bad my hubby is smelly-adverse. I might have to sneak some on him after a shower anyway. I'm sure it would really get my motor purring to smell this blend on him.

You picked some pretty intense blends for a first-timer. Don't be dismayed. Even if you don't like the scent in the vial, try it on your skin. You'll be surprised how different a blend can smell from imp to skin. It's really the only way to test them. Also, don't despair if you don't like too many of your first picks. The same thing has happened to many of us. I liked my first imps well enough - but juuuusssst enough to try a couple more. And that was how I became a BPAL addict. I'm glad that you found a new favorite in Jack. I don't think that I gave that one as much credit when I first tried it. I was too quick to swap it away without giving it a fair shake. I might have to revist this little pumpkiny goodness. The trick to opening and closing imp is to go slowly. Don't pull the top straight up off the top. I made that mistake my first time out too. It was a disaster. I sorta do a slight tilt, twist to the side, then gently work it out of the top. All done slowly. It saves the precious from spillage. Enjoy your new smellies!!

Oh please! Merging finances does not work for all couples. In fact, I've seen too many couples divorce needlessly because they chose to combine their finacnes when separate accounts could have solved the issue. If separate accounts work for you, then by all means keep at it. My husband and I do combine our finances because that's what makes sense to us. There are times I wish I had more of money I earned (for more BPAL, of course), but I deal with it the best I can. There is no need to explain yourself - or the way you choose to handle you finances - to anyone in this world. And that's advice you can "take to the bank".

TKO if you just need to get to sleep, sleep soundly, and get rested. I find that Nanshe gives me vivid dreams. Although the lemony herbal note sometimes wakes my brain up a bit. I prefer the comforting sweet vanilla lavender of TKO. Baku was way too strong - and Somnus turned into a weird lavender rose.

TKO is a comforting hug. With gentle lavender tumbled in a soft, sweet vanilla, you will find your soul wrapped in a warm embrace. I find that when using TKO my mind become blank and at ease. I can still read, but it is as if I have become still - inside and out. There is a sweet chilly herbaceousness that brightens and enlivens the blend - but not so much as the "awakening" effect that euculyptus and peppermint often have. When I do drift off to sleep it's a gentle lulling into the in-between state of awakeness and dreaming. It is quite ethereal. I do suggest this to people that tend to hash-out their thoughts at night and those that have trouble calming the circling thoughts within their brains. I've used it near exclusively for the past week and I can attest that I have slept through the night, peacefully and awake rested. If anyone is hoping that by slathering this on it will "knock them out", they may find that this blend is much more subtle that that. It seems to work by calming the mind so that the body can follow. All in all, another stunner from the Lab. Sweet dreams!

This has soared into my Top 10 favs! A warm, golden, sexy caress upon my skin. The amber does not go powder overload. Vanilla is toned down with spice. That musk is oh so sexy. *Swoon* It is beachy. I'm surprised how the orris plays off the sandalwood. Usually, orris amps to the n-th degree on me. If you're dithering on ordering this, just jump on in (to a 5ml. that is!) because Lyonnesse is fine! May appeal to lovers of Morocco, Antique Lace - yet, it is a very unique blend.

In the bottle and initially, this is a sweet fruity jumble. Very sweet and pink fruits - pink bubblegum, pink cotton candy, cherry lollipops. Once on, the fruitiness retreats as the sugar is pulled deeper into the skin. I will agree that this scent doesn't warm up much. It retains a razor-sharp metallic coolness to it throughout. The later drydown is a sweetness tempered with a bite of pepper. It's neither too sweet nor too spicy at this point. Wear length is moderate if you apply a decent amount - throw is moderate. Tiny dabbers may find this scent fleeting, so slather for best results. I think my husband's sniffer is broken because he continued to say that I smelled of "sweet smoke" while I was wearing this. Even after prompting him with "candy, sugar, fruits" he still didn't change his tune. He's not the biggest fan of my addiction so I just don't know with him sometimes. He always comes up with the weirdest things.

Red musk always gives me the Snake Oil vibe. This is in the same class as Snake Oil, Snake Charmer, and just a wee bit: Smut - but it stands on its own. Balanced, spicy, mellow round fruits. This is a scent that blooms on the skin and wraps itself around all the edges. Barely sweetened with the vanilla and pomegrante, this scent exudes sexiness with all sultry slithering hip shimmying. You can't catch it. You can't pin this one down. The patchouli is lovely and so warm. Yet, unless you knew that that's what it is, you'd probably never be able to determine it. I believe we all picked this out to be the early favorite of the first two acts of the Carnaval. It falls right in with some of my favorite BPAL blends: Snake Charmer, Snake Oil, Smut, & Queen of Clubs - and finds itself now among them.