atomic*orange

My well-beloved was stripped. Knowing my whim, She wore her tinkling gems, but naught besides: And showed such pride as, while her luck betides, A sultan's favored slave may show to him. When it lets off its lively, crackling sound, This blazing blend of metal crossed with stone Gives me an ecstasy I've only known Where league of sound and lustre can be found. She let herself be loved: then, drowsy-eyed, Smiled down from her high couch in languid ease. My love was deep and gentle as the seas And rose to her as to a cliff the tide. My own approval of each dreamy pose, Like a tamed tiger, cunningly she sighted: And candour, with lubricity united, Gave piquancy to every one she chose. Her limbs and hips, burnished with changing lustres Before my eyes, clairvoyant and serene, Swanned themselves, undulating in their sheen; Her breasts and belly, of my vine the clusters, Like evil angels rose, my fancy twitting, To kill the peace which over me she'd thrown, And to disturb her from the crystal throne Where, calm and solitary, she was sitting. So swerved her pelvis that, in one design, Antiope's white rump it seemed to graft To a boy's torso, merging fore and aft. The talc on her brown tan seemed half-divine. The lamp resigned its dying flame. Within, The hearth alone lit up the darkened air, And every time it sighed a crimson flare It drowned in blood that amber-coloured skin. Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh. Tried this one at the Harvest Moon will call. In bottle: fruity and a little sweet. Mostly peach coming out, and a little bit of the orange blossom that gives a general ambrosial feel. For comparison, this peach is softer than that in Fae. On skin: Still fruity and sweet, a little "perfumy". The frank/myrrh never comes out and announces itself, but it's there (might be the myrrh registering as the "expensive and sophisticated" note) as a rich base for the fruit to play on. The peachy ambrosia turns into fresh apple and the rose comes to the fore. The rose note is like that in Whip, which is sparkling and slightly citrusy on me. It sort of cuddles up next to the apple, both enveloped by a soft glowing musk. Very apple-y at this stage. The honey is not explicit but adds to the warmth and sweetness. Wouldn't call this an incense scent exactly, nor a honey scent because those elements don't call too much attention to themselves. It's a very nicely blended, apple-musk-rose by lamplight. The scent stays close to the body. The next morning it smelled mostly of peach and leftover musky glow. Overall nice and cozy, very angora-sweater-on-a-bombshell-ish, but also languorously seductive. Meet your lover at the door by candlelight, clad in aught but your best jewelry and a smile. Bonus points if you have a fireplace and/or furry rug.

A buoyant, dulcet blend of vanilla, sunflower, carnation, honeydew, peach blossom, lychee, oakmoss and white tea. The one I was hoping for--mostly because it doesn't sound too sweet or foody (they're always trouble), or overly floral either, but rather a nicely balanced combination of notes. The inclusion of carnation and oakmoss gave me hope. First sniff: bright true honeydew with a very slight deep green edge Wet on skin: A bit sweet but not overly, a bit lemony but not tart. At turns sharp, golden, mossy, and...vanilla? There's a brief fuzz of vanilla, but (luckily, 'cause it never works on me) that's limited to a quick wave hello/goodbye, and I'm waiting for the sharpness to abate...but it could just be my nose being fussy with a new blend. Still though, it's the golden herbal sharpness I'd imagine from sticking one's nose into a sunflower, not necessarily a bad thing. More testing is needed to be sure. Overall though, it's bright and cheery and pure in an unaffected way. Drydown: tea scented with white peaches, maybe a little carnation dancing around in the background. ~~~~~ There's little throw and the party doesn't last long, but damn it made me smile, evoked a happy nostalgia and brought back memories I haven't visited in a long time. This is an utterly guileless blend. Imagine running around a meadow, playing chase with your pooch or a small child for half a day. Or rolling around a field of sunflowers, or birthday parties with panda bear cakes, captured decades-ago with super 8 footage and polaroids and just now revisited. Yeah, it's happy-making. This would be great for summer, or whenever you need a little sunny-day idealism in your life.

Right on, LushNatty. It may sound silly, but be kind to yourself. I would get down on myself for being down/feeling isolated/being trapped in a crappy job, which made things worse. I learned to cut myself some slack, acknowledge my feelings, try for some perspective, and go from there--but it took work to get there. And by all means don't be afraid to talk to someone who's trained to handle such things if you need to. As far as TAL, I have plans for a bottle of White Light as soon as the site goes live. Seems like it would be good for clearing out the assorted psychic debris one can accumulate. I've also had great, unexpected results with Block Buster. Several weekends ago and in the foulest, most hopeless mood I opened my bottle for the heck of it...and it (or something, anyway) really kicked me out of my funk and made the little yet seemingly overwhelming things much easier to deal with. Doesn't hurt that it smells fabulous. YMMV of course, but it's a thought.

In bottle: Whoo! It's a wonder that pirates were able to accomplish much in the way of pillage and plunder as they did with this stuff available by the cask. Strong, sweet, kind of sickening, and I already know the boozy note won't work on me. Such is the allure of BPAL that I must press forward anyway. It took a few weeks to screw up the courage to try it on. Wet, on skin: The metallic rum phase, as expected, and sweet! Dries down to a butterscotch disc. Considering I knew it wouldn't work from the get-go, it's not that bad, it just ain't it for me.

The musk-and-forest description really tapped my fancy and tipped my wallet in favor of this blend. While my previous lunacy attempt (Milk Moon) was way too sweet and disappointing, I was going for broke on the promise of musk/wood/herbal notes. In bottle: Very light and fresh. Reminds me immediately of Yggdrasil, with a deeper, musky and very mysterious base. Nice. The lunar oils are there too, but very much in the background. Wet, on skin: A slightly less minty/herbal Yggdrasil, adding soft buttery florals underneath. This is off to a great start. Drydown: Hours later it reminds me of the drydown of Bvlgari Black or Organza Indecence, my pre-BPAL perfumes, (both discontinued now) plus musk which equals deeelicious! It also seems to morph throughout the day, so I'll get the musk sometimes, then the night breeze, maybe a bit of lunar oils, and back to the musk, very mysterious. It shifts like a forest in the wind, harboring a wild creature that stares back at you but won't let you get close enough to touch. A keeper. Though I like wearing this as scentual adornment, this blend has weight. I think it will be very good for meditation purposes. Now I understand the hype surrounding the lunacy oils. Amazing job, Beth.

In bottle: Very nearly chai, just missing the cardamom. Wet, on skin: Ginger and CINNAMON! The cinnamon immediately intensifies, and it's all I can smell. Dry, on skin: I seem to be leaving a trail of atomic fireballs in my wake. Occasionally I'll catch a whiff of something honey-like around me, but when I put my nose to my arm all I'm getting is yet more cinnamon. This mofo is strong! Oh how I wanted musky honey, but this is just one-note on me.

In bottle: Right, there's the Loam...but I didn't expect chocolate. Hmmm...and scratchy spices. Wet, on skin: Slightly chocolatey and spiced. Rather like, but not as rich as, Tezcatlipoca for a moment, and something about the spiciness makes me feel like the roof of my mouth is coated in peanut butter, the same effect I get with Ulalume. Thankfully this fades away in a few minutes. Dry, on skin: There's a soft perfuminess lurking there. It's kind of spicy and a touch powdery. I'm getting the dirt, too, and the imagery is really coming together. In time it turns to pure powder. I see a beautiful young dame cornered in a powder factory by her jealous lover, and brutally tossed into a vat of talc. Adding insult to injury, it's dirty talc. That vat hasn't been rinsed out in ages. It's suffocatingly deadly and our doomed dame never stood a chance. Okay, so I'm sort of getting the imagery. I like the concept but it doesn't work on me.

In bottle: Fruity/figgy and dirty herbs Wet, on skin: Rapidly losing the fig and there's a soapy spicy smell that reminds me of Silk Road. Gets more and more soapy. Dry, on skin: The fig comes out to play, the soapiness fades and it gets fruitier by the minute. I can't tell if it's fig, or currant, or date, or whatever but the herbs keep it from getting too kool-aid like. I like the figgy drydown, but that weird sharp-soapy phase kills it for me. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant surprise to find a fruity scent that didn't turn to screaming berries. If fruity notes tend to go crazy on you, this would be a good blend to try.

In bottle: A one-two punch of juniper and PINE. Wet, on skin: This blend gives off heat...it's warm, warm pine that radiates. Dry, on skin: Lots of pine still, and there's definitely some warm and slightly powdery amber in the background...or is that vanilla? It's kind of creamy, slightly plasticky, and gets more vanilla-ish as time goes on. It's morphing bit by bit, but not in the right direction. No rosewood, unfortunately, and the notes never seem to meld on my skin...pine and vanilla on a blind date, finding they have nothing in common. It's not bad, but doesn't sing on me either. Sweet pine-and-vanilla is all. I do like it enough to pass it to Mr. Atomic, this could be very sexy with the right chemistry.

In bottle: Strong sweet lily and honeysuckle. Wet on skin: There's an immediate soapy stage. After about 15 minutes we're done with that and it turns to softer, still very sweet, florals. The sweet pea perhaps? I don't detect any pear or heliotrope. Dry on skin: After about 30mins. the musk really comes out and it's much like the musk in Vechernyaya. There's a little bit of floral left to soften the dryness of the white musk, which tends to be a bit masculine on me. At this point it's a very "clean" kind of smell. After several hours the florals seem to come back to the fore, and the musk is much softer. Good throw--I'm getting whiffs hours after application. There really is youth and innocence here, and it makes me think of a young girl who hasn't yet chosen her path and faces endless possibilities for the future. It does remind me a bit of a less-edible zephyr, but that's just the musk talking. Too girly for me but I'd like to see how it evolves on a guy.

In bottle: Juicy apricots and orange. Wet, on skin: Intense peach jolly rancher. Dry, on skin: Peach jolly rancher with a hint of floral creaminess. I thought the bitterness of the orange blossom would balance out the sweet bright apricot, but it seems to amplify the juicyness instead. I never get any musk. Good throw. Nummy but I really don't want to smell like canned peaches.

In bottle: bitter orange blossom and smokiness. The orange blossom is so strong that it is nearly off-putting...too close to neroli. Wet, on skin: The orange blossom really stands out. It's dusky and more bitter, juicy, and less sharp than neroli. I'm liking this. Coupled with the ambergris, the scent is all bitter smoke, mysterious and sexy. Dry, on skin: Oranges and soft smoke. There's definitely patchouli in there, but it's nicely balanced with the ambergris and the effect is smooth, warm and gently earthy. No dirty hippies here...or carnation, for that matter. I always look forward to carnation, but it's not showing up here. The scent stays close to the skin. Hours later I'm left with smooth patchouli. Even got a few compliments. Very nice, very sensual, makes me think of eating tangerines in the fall. Soft and mysterious and I'm definitely going for a big bottle. Also, a big thanks to the Lab for including this as a frimp. The Labbies ROCK!

In bottle: light and musky, with a hint of soft lemon and vanilla. Wet on skin: the lemon cedes to light florals, and it's gentle flowers and musk, similar to white musk, all the way through the drydown. This was a gift from the lab, my first BPAL light musk and a pleasant surprise. Very pretty and refreshing. A good scent for summer and makes me think of bounding barefoot through a meadow in slow motion. Really. Not very strong, I had to apply liberally to get a good dose of fragrance on me.

Based on the description, not something I'd wear as perfume, but way intriguing. In bottle: green dandelions and beer...and memories of rolling down hills as a child (just the dandelion part), college parties and family reunions. Wet, on skin: very hopsy, green, and smoky. I like the dandelion note a lot. Drydown: beer dumped in the grass, getting all warm and aromatic in the sun on a lazy summer day. This is a real flashback to childhood for me, watching the adults in their lawnchairs drinking Busch and talking about home improvements. A sniff of this now and then would remind me to write my extended family and a few old drinking buddies.

In bottle: golden-haloed maraschino cherries and spiced rum...or buttercream...or buttered spiced rum. Hard to tell, but quite mouthwatering, and I usually don't like foody scents. It does smell like an autumnally spiced Yankee Candle of some kind. Wet, on skin: quite sweet, and metallic from the boozy notes. The rum note is always for me like chewing on foil. Has "dirty syrup" phase similar to hearth and black lotus. Drydown: unexpectedly, soft spiced apples. Interesting blend...I thought I was an almond-hater, but here it wasn't overwhelming at all. This might be good to scent the house with during the holidays.

In bottle: A toasted marshmallow Jelly Belly. Wet on skin: Strong vanilla and more of that marshmallow. Very sweet, almost unbearably so. Drydown: I get the mint under the sugary vanilla notes, just a tiny bit of cool blue mint that cuts the sweetness and is a soft little complement to the creamier notes. Earlier I read Malista's review with the comparison to Mock Angel Food Cake...and now having smelled Milk Moon, I really want to go out and get the ingredients to make Mock Angel Food Cake. This is a delectable blend that I'd rather eat than smell like, as it's way too sweet on me. However, I can see how it would be a big hit among those who like their fragrances foody.

In Bottle/Wet: Red musk and deep urine notes. On Skin, etc.: Wow, this really is feral. As it dried it got more...ripe...in an unwashed unisex bathroom sort of way. So *that's* civet, huh? Something in this blend made both of my cats turned and RUN AWAY when they caught a whiff--making it the first BPAL they've actually fled from. Spice, moss and sweetness would have been great...but it was more on the goat side of things instead. Way, way on the goat side. This is a very powerfully animalistic fragrance and would be a good sex blend for someone with the right chemistry. Just not me!

bottle: Astringent lavender cushioned by soft amber. wet/dry: Heavy on the lavender, which fades into the background as the carnation pops up. The amber reminds me of Brisingamen, but here underlying the amber there's something green yet earthy--the mosses. This scent is smooth with an edge, sharp and soft at the same time. Not overtly masculine, rather overtly self-possessed. Saint-Germain would be Brisingamen's wry, sophisticated sibling. Well, it was nice while it lasted--in an hour it's faded into pencil shavings, heavy on the graphite.

bottle: Warm, golden, very pretty! wet/dry: Yummy without being explicitly foody, if that makes sense. While upon initial application it was kind of strong, upon drying the scent turns soft and wafts its beautiful golden eroticism close to the body. I don't know what myrtle or apple smells like, but there's a lovely honeyed note that makes me think of being drizzled with orange blossom (or another light variety of) honey. It's just so well-blended that everything melds together into sunny warm sexiness. This is fantastic, and will probably be my warm-weather amber blend. Goes on the big-bottle list.

This was a freebie from the lab, as these are not notes I would normally pick for myself. But that's half the fun, right? bottle: Neroli and heavy floral. wet: Hello, neroli! Sharp sharp sharp, with a big foofy cloud of jasmine underneath. The dreaded neroli recedes, leaving persistent jasmine and something of a very soft near-lemony quality. The mandarin/bergamot? dry: Mostly jasmine, not much rose here and no myrrh in sight. conclusion: I love smelling jasmine on the vine but this is just too old-lady on me (florals generally don't work for me anyway.) This imp will go on to make someone else happy. Off to swap!

bottle: Gentle dewy florals and light musk. wet: Soft musk and mild grasses. A bit ambery, and warm. Does bring to mind burying one's nose in an animal's soft coat. dry: A "second skin" type of scent, fresh, soft and sueded. Not very distinctive on me, but very intimate.

bottle: dry grasses and something warm wet/dry: The grasses are there, but this dried quickly to scratchy play-doh. No tea, spices, or beautiful golden amber in it for me. It stayed a bit sharp, gave me a headache and I had to wash it off. Despite my efforts it continued to cling, as later in the evening my husband could still smell it and said it was nice...wish I could smell what he smelled!

OOB: More burning smudge stick rather than leather. It's intense, smokey and I can feel the glowing embers underneath. Wet: What one would smell like having spent the night dancing around a bonfire. Smoke plumes rising from my wrist. What I hoped Demeter's Fireplace would be. Dry: The smoke clears and the scent softens, calms down to something which could indeed be described as leathery. The bonfire has died down and the embers have cooled in the pre-dawn. Mmmmmm, smells like I rolled in the ashes. Has a nice pungency. Rather like the topnote in Bvlgari Black but BETTER. Oh yum. Originally for the husband but we'll be sharing this one or getting a second bottle and then we're off to slather city.

OOB: Voluptuous, ripe berries and neroli. I picture a sexy woman with a raspy voice. Wet on skin: Kinda digging this, despite an aversion to neroli. The berry really softens the scratchy edges of the neroli and the neroli gives the berry depth and an interesting twist. No blood orange to be found. Drydown: Bubblegum? Something pink and vaguely Bazooka Joe. It's morphing into strawberry jam and amoxicillin and I'm having a flashback to childhood. The aforementioned sexy woman with the raspy voice is now Lolita, a gooey lollipop stuck in her hair. Only lasted about an hour on me. Conclusion: Has convinced me to try blends w/neroli that I would otherwise have avoided. But this one's just not for me.