olympia301

Yog Sothoth. Very cold.

Strong strong strawberry at first. I second the emotion of strawberries and sage. I would not have thought that combination would be great but it is great. They do go together so well, there is something in common between them and I don't know what the bridge is that allows such beautiful combination. As it dries, Strawberry Moon becomes slightly medicinal in a very pleasant way.There is still a fun factor involved here but somehow there is solemness too. This one lasts and lasts. For once the tea note didn't turn to mildew on my skin. That is what flagged me down from getting it in the first place. Sorry I didn't, this one is a beauty.

At first I was assaulted by Aizen-Myoo. It smelled like: human sweat, grapefruit, and Xmas trees. I thought I would just hate this one, hate it. But there was a very green part pushing its way through to the front of Aizen-Myoo and so I gave it a chance to mature and dry. The drier it got, more of a perfume note came in behind the green wedge which was now busy calming the raging sweating Xmas trees hung with grapefruits. Then *poof* it all congealed into a really poetic harmony. Quite extraordinary. This was actually turning beautiful on my skin. Cool, summery, citrus astringent in the gentle but persistent way it can turn. The grapefruit was so beautiful in Aizen-Myoo. It stayed on my skin and broadcast like a cool hand on a hot brow in the summer. Then the biggest wonder came about. I was wearing a scent locket which swung in front of my nose, and the contents were "glorified" when I breathed them in. In other words, they were the same blend but it smelled just a little bit better than I had ever smelled it. I sniffed my skin which had something entirely different on it. The scent became a bit clearer and was refreshed but it was better than I had ever smelled it before. Eureka! Aizen-Myoo is sort of the MSG of the perfume world! Just like everything you eat after you eat an artichoke tastes sweeter, Aizen Myoo makes everything you smell after you smell it, into something even better than what it started out as being. Smelling other scents through a veil of Aizen-Myoo makes them smell at least twice as beautiful as they did before. Aizen-Myoo is a magical compound. Thanks, Beth, for giving it to us.

I like Le Must du Cartier....I like Snow White better. I think it's an improved version because it's minus the Windex part.

One of the originals from BPAL, it's a beautiful blend and I am sorry I waited as long as I did to try it. Lavender immediately makes it's impression, followed soon by just enough jasmine to give this a feminine edge to go along with cerebral nature of Sophia. I can get a floral melange in the background which really adds a wall of sweetness behind solemn lavenderness. This blend works perfectly as a portrait of Wisdom as a Woman. It's overall effect is subtle and deep. It's something of the womanly response to Antony. Try them both together. You might have a clever love affair going. The icon is the interior of the beautiful Hagia Sophia in Turkey, it's now known as The Blue Mosque, but it has been the church of St. Sophia.

I can't wear it, but Embalming Fluid is one of the coldest scents I can think of, really delightful on a sweltering night if it likes your skin.

My mom used to drench me in perfume from about day 1. Once the first grade teacher told her,"I love it when your daughter comes to class, she always smells so good." As the twig is bent, so groweth the tree.

I bet he would love that. I also like the notion of Dana O'Shee.

I smell lavender, but it doesn't grab center stage here, it's made to start off in league with the other ingredients, which is a very pleasant surprise. It is very masculine, but if a woman were to wear it I think it would come off more like she'd just been for a roll in the hay with a great smelling guy rather than she stole his cologne. After that it gathers itself into an almost floral (masculine floral) melange, with a citrus like bit and the blend is so seamless I can't begin to pick out anything other than amber of some sort holding it together. It is really a beautiful creation which has to be experienced to be understood. I think Antony is one of the seminal works from BPAL. A gorgeous item for anyone.

Welp, I wanted this one and I got it. I love love love the label and the concept. Perfect for this time of year. I opened the bottle and carefully applied this magic juice. Lemongrass madness, as if the beast was springing upon me from a concealed underbrush and making for my throat! All the while, passionate powder was thumping away in the background like a backup band on dope. This wasn't any ordinary tweet wittle bun-bun. No, this was a furious god of fertility which was screwing everything in its path. It lasts a long time and does settle down to a powdery and sweet life on your skin and the lemongrass background lasts a long time as well, even if it does gracefully degrade into the chorus after its mad beginning. At last musk made its entrance, and a mighty musk it is, though used with a judicious hand and does not overstep it's limits. I can only describe it as jelly beans laced with crank and carefully tucked into an Easter basket for some unsuspecting adult. Great fun, the perversion of all things twee and sugary.

Damn! I LOVE those new labels! They look more like BPAL labels should look! They really show off the invetiveness of the blends and appear much more cutting (nay BLEEDING) edge than the old ones. Hip Hip Hooray! Macha, you rocka!

Just to be a contrarian, I got a bottle of Velvet from a forumite and is it different from the Velvets I have known and loved before. It's like Velvet in its Glory! My word. I don't know what's different, I'm picking sandalwood out of the lineup of The Usual Suspects. It's positivly strong (not one of Velvet's usual characteristics) and somehow more perfumy (another uncharacteristic part regarding Velvet). I chalk this up to improvement. I hope this is the way that Velvet is going to be from now on. But, if it isn't, I can be just as happy with the old version as I am with the new. Different variations on a theme. Either way, I look at it that I win.

Toxicology Report: Appearance: Clear yellowish liquid of viscosity lower than water. Scent: Citrus (possibly yuzu), aquatic, green, slippery, astringent, slight perfume in the background some slight floral component. Scent Longevity: Quite good, even for a citrus based scent, it remained noticeable for over an hour. Diagnosis: A very nice scent indeed. Cool and refreshing. Particularly appropriate for warm weather wear. Would make an excellent addition to a cold compress to combat heat stroke.

Zero was va va va voom floral on me. Lasted for hours (a miracle on my skin) and was just lovely. There is some element of Queen Mab in Zero, and almost red orchid scent (that is a lyrical idea, not a real plant). It's clean, pleasantly astringent in a flowery way, and almost spicy. This one is a real winner and I hope it comes out soon because if it does, I'm going to snag me a bottle of Zero toot sweet.

Macha, the Monsters are original and very good indeed. Pure your imagination & skill. Peony Moon is lovely.

Wow! this is really a great blend but let me preface it by saying that wet in the bottle (that means concentrated and "uncured" by the air) Chango smells like airplane cement. Don't pay that any attention, put it on your skin and shut your pie hole.This stuff goes on a tropical rampage that is really nifty. You can smell the civet in here and it is actually very sexy and blends well with the fruity bits. That is a major miracle. Just for the scent jolt, Chango is a great oil. What is that icon all about? Well, yes there is a story. The image is of St. Barbara whose picture is associated with Chango due to her being the patron saint of artillery, so she is actually fitting as a symbol of this most masculine of gods, the God of Lightening (a blinding flash of light and huge destruction).

For woody, try: Aglaea-aprocot and myrtle Hesperides-apple and wood Velvet-cocoa, myrrh, and sandalwood. Clean scents: Dirty-of course Dorian-very modern outdoorsy and squeeky clean to me Baneberry-berries and cleanliness to me Sea of Glass-grapefruit makes this a pleasantly astringent scent and it lasts.

A very eye popping opening, almost metallic is how Opium Poppy starts out. It is hard to tell where this one is going judging from the beginning alone. As time mellows it out, Opium Poppy starts to fall deeper and deeper into an almost carnation-like floral scent, with spices bringing up an otherwise simply floral atmosphere. It is not carnation, but very much like carnation and does have a character all of its own. This is a very nice blend and one which deserves a lot of attention and love.

Very hot and heavy classic perfume. I smell a lot of musk in it (I don't get dirt though). Exceptionally long lasting, too. This is very formal to my taste and it is a special night out blend which would be at home in the fanciest of restaurants under candlelight. My only reservation about it is that it is pretty generic to my nose, it doesn't have a particular personality which I admire so much in many of BPAL blends, and I would never have guessed that this is orchid unless I had read the label on the bottle.

Hmmm...so you know something, josey? sounds like my credit card will start weeping like some statue of the Blessed Virgin!

Sudha Segara is milky as in chai, Dana O'Shee might fill your bill, too. You might also want to try out the caramel like ones, many of those are LE's though: Midway, Mitzvah for example. Also try searching on the Lab site for all the things you could be looking for and things that are close: milk, cream, creamy, milky, sweet, etc. You might want to investigate the sugar/honey connection as well. Sometimes the things that are close or related to what you are looking for surprise you, and those are the ones which hit the spot. Good luck. I am a milky lover too.

Snow white is a definate coconut. This is one time it doesn't grab center stage, it actually plays nicely with the other parts of it. Beth, being the clever person she is, got the coconut to sing harmony with the rest of the items, I don't ever think I have seen that before. It's outrageously good.

A very fine addition to the heavy orientals aka The Snake Oil Family. This one is indeed full of Dragon's Blood along with the spices that are really the jewels in Beth's crown. I do smell what I think is Red Musk and they are all perking along nicely with the Dragon's Blood. It lasts a long time There is indeed cocoa (not milk chocolate or dark chocolate but cocoa) as a raging topnote, and that does indeed go away after a while and snuggle down into a rich but cheery scent which blends so nicely with your skin. The image is a creation by Salvador Dali. It's a flaming sacred hear studded with jewels and it contains another heart inside which actually does "beat" by mechanical means. It's in the Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres Spain.

Roses, and very nice ones, with a backbeat of something highly metallic. I am afraid that this one does not bring out the best of the roses, a pairing not made in heaven or hell. They just don't get along, even with the best of intentions. Cognac should go with roses, but alas, the combination only fires their unpleasant sides and like two members of an unfortunate marriage, they fight constantly. It was a real privilage to get this one to try, and I can't say I washed it off. It's just that some things sound like they are going to be the hit of the century and they end up as less than stellar.

Very aquatic, I smell a related scent to Sea of Glass here without the grapefruit but with flowers. I find it to be medium strong and with a green undertone of cholrophyll coming through. On drydown there are more flowers than the other components. It wears close to your body and I would say it is a great candidate for a scent locket if you fancy the aquatic beginnings. This one I would put in more than one scent locket because it is that delicate.