tesao

in the bottle: warm amber and incense. on my wrist, wet: when i first put it on, it reminded me of the dancing moon, which is the local "witchy" shop where i buy books and supplies. sort of incensy, smoky, sweet. on my wrist, dry: after it settled a bit, it reminded me of Snake Oil but different...as if there was a fruit note that wasn't quite fruit...it was bordering on evil, and it danced around the way that i imagine a cobra would as the charmer played her flute, the snake undulating to the movement. i admit that had me worried a bit, as fruit tends to amp way up on me and then go NASTY. but this didn't. it simply blended. the result: a dry down that is orgasmic. reminiscent of Snake Oil but sweeter. one that i actually like better. and that the mister liked, too!

many thanks to the lovely lady ell who gifted me with a decant of chaos theory XXI. this smells just like tom yum on me. that's right. thai coconut milk soup. flavoured with lemongrass and lime. it's delicious. on my husband, there was much more of a pronounced tobacco note...reminiscent of perversion. i just love how these blends smell so different on all of us! and yet....oddly similar. Last reviewed by glampyre.

provenance:lady ell!! oh my yum. in the imp: cloves. cloves screaming: let me out, let me out!!! on my wrist: the cloves have toned down a bit. there is a boozy nutty smell mixed in with them now. the way hot buttered rum smells. drydown: there is something else in the blend that i can't identify. it too is spicy, and reminds me of something gingery, but it isn't ginger. it is almost a spicy wood smell. but who cares??? when something smells this good, i don't need to know what is in it!

provenance: lab lagniappe! in the imp: hmmmm. this is interesting. it is almost metallic smelling. an old copper penny. blood. on my wrist, wet: that metallic tang is the first thing that i smell. it fades fairly fast. i feel as though i ought to know what this is; i've smelled it before. it is a dark scent, very much like -- dirt. i know, that sounds odd. but it's great smelling dirt. there is something spicy, here, as well. sandalwood but not. on my wrist, dry: the spicy dirt lingers. this reminds me of the priest's censer at mass. dry, slightly smoky. similar to amber, but not amber. it is soothing and calming, in the dark way that being alone in an unlit room can be. interesting.

provenance: lagniappe from the lab rats!! yayay!! gotta love them! in the imp: two thoughts. 1) mmmm. gardenia or pikake? 2) oh no. florals. on my wrist, wet: at first, this smelled the way it did in the bottle. yay! hawai'i! it smells vaguely reminiscent of Pele. then, jasmine showed up. and about a minute or so later, violets started hammering on the door. my skin has the unfortunate (for me) vice of amping violets waaaaaaay up. on my wrist, dry: yep. the violets have arrived in full force. squadrons. platoons. the other, white florals are hinted at still, but very much in the background, and very much in little tiny whispers. and it is starting to get very powdery. drydown: screaming, powdery violets. massive headache. loads of throw. time for this one to get scrubbed off.

perfect, dead-on juniper, eucalyptus and evergreen. exactly. unfortunately, juniper reminds me of gin. and gin makes me quite literally sick.

provenance: lab lagniappe! in the imp: whoa. strong -- and i mean strong -- tobacco. on my wrist, wet: my instant reaction to this was ICK. i really like tobacco, and this was just too much for me. but i should know better by now. on my wrist, dry: hmmm. the tobacco has been soothed by crisp cold fir trees and soft, pretty orange blossoms. not girly. just soft. but underneath that softness is a hardness that is aaaaaaaaaaall male. musky, sexy, animalistic man. drydown: i think that this is the very first time that i've tried a bpal scent and thought: this would be so much better on a man. there are spicy notes popping out from time to time now. everything blends and yet i keep being reminded of individual notes. as though i were sniffing a man that i knew in my skin, down to his bones, down to my blood, but keep finding new discoveries as i am engulfed further and further into him. ensorcelled, as it were. ::shakes head to clear it:: hmmm. as long as no one calls me lucy tonight, i think i'm safe.

A bawdy, gleefully wicked and unruly scent: Kentucky Bourbon, sugar and a sprig of mint. woooo hooooo. this is a mint julep in an imp. loads of mint, booze, sugar. nothing else to say, really. really!

in the imp: spicy rose scented sandalwood. on my wrist, wet: as above, with citrusy notes. on my wrist, dry: bah. it's getting soapy. why me???? drydown: hmmm. this is better. this is a toned down version of what it smelled like in the imp. i don't get any saffron, which has always smelled bitter to me. i can't decide about this. i liked it, then i didn't and then i did. i'm going to be trying this one again before it goes anywhere. that's one of the things that i love about bpal. a new day, and the same scent could be totally different!

provenance: lab lagniappe!! thank you! in the imp: whoa. strong, in your face fruit. on my wrist, wet: apricots. honest, true to life, ripe apricots on my wrist, dry: a fruit scent that doesn't make me run screaming from the room! or give me a headache! yayay!! drydown: now with loads of spicy clove. yessssss!! spice loves me! maybe this is why the apricot works??? all i know, is that this reminds me of the fried pies that my dear husband has introduced me to since i have come to live in the southern usa. this is a good thing. i don't normally like sweets, especially if they are not chocolate in nature, and dark at that. but this???? omg. yum. edited because i can't spell.

provenance: a decant from the lovely lady ell. muito obrigada!! yesterday was delightful. the phone people finally came to fix the phone that hadn't been working correctly for almost two weeks. it was an easy fix and didn't cost a thing. then i went to an interpreting job that the client never showed up for. i still got paid, for four hours work even though i didn't do a thing except read my book. minor annoyances didn't annoy. the day flowed smoothly. and i slept like a dream. bam! this morning is the pits. i wish i had used the helping hand two days in a row!! i need a bottle of this! (and yes, scent notes are mint, chocolate, vanilla and spice. yummy smelling, too - but realy, who cares what it smells like if it has this effect every time???)

mmmmmm. the forbidden forest near hogwarts. don't play here, children. evergreen, but without the clean smell i've come to associate with them. there is something dark here, sinister. the shadows hiding behind the huge trees. no sunlight falls from between the tightly knit branches of the ancient, enchanted trees. just reread the scent notes. no idea what oakmoss smells like. myrhh usually hates me, so i'm guessing that there is more patchouli than myrhh. and once again, i find i'm partial to gender neutral scents. this is really lovely. yay!

provenance: lab lagniappe love! in the imp: sugar sweet, jammy fruit. this bodes not well. on my wrist, wet: fruit flavoured jelly beans. loads of throw. there is something in the background that is trying to say good morning, but my skin amps fruit notes up so high that it is just the tiniest whisper. i want to say it is vanilla or almond. on my wrist, dry:all right, it is almond. but it is still very much a background note...which is really too bad, as it helps to cut the overpowering fruity sweetness. i'll keep on sniffing, and sooner or later, i will find a fruit scent that i can wear!

provenance: lagniappe from the lab! this was the first of the dark elements that i have had the pleasure to experience. make no mistake, experience is exactly the right word to describe it. the lab has truly lived up to their name with this one. this scent is dark air. air is ever changing. it picks up the essence of whatever it passes, scoops up into itself, merges with. there are aquatic notes here aplenty, but there is also earth. at one point early in the drydown, there was an off scent of bruised mint, or perhaps camphor, which disappeared as the wind passed, and left me feeling battered but not bowed. feet still firmly planted on the edge of the sand. now i've just got to experience the other three!

i ordered all three of the zorya because i loved the concept. this was the last one that i tried, and i had almost no hope for it. that is primarily because musk seems to hate me. welllllll...... this is beautiful. clean, clear, crisp. there is something here that is reminiscent of what i think of as aquatics. it reminds me of a cold winter's night in finland, with deep snow on the ground and the sky so clear that the stars could freeze you with their brightness. this scent is pristine, elegant, surreal. stars limned in light. a tall, regal beauty that you can only admire from afar. this would be a great business scent. it is demure, but elegant and lean without being in your face. it would also be a great scent for a very fancy ball, with a floor length ball gown and an updo.

in the imp: screaming jasmine!!!!! on my wrist, wet: other floral notes are amping up. i can distinguish iris and something else that i recognize but can't quite place. i've smelled it somewhere besides in bpal scents. the jasmine is still predominant, the big sister who gets all the attention. drydown: floral. overwhelmingly floral. although i'm now detecting slight spicy notes, they are more the spice inherent in flowers, the type of spice that is in carnation, and in showy lilies. jasmine still isn't playing well with others. and she has loads of throw and staying power. if you like jasmine, this is for you!

provenance: lagniappe from the lab. the morrigan rules me on dark nights. how did they know that? in the bottle: overripe fruit. something sinister, that i can't quite put my finger on. on my wrist, wet: the fruit is so ripe, it is almost alcoholic. if this were wine, i would say that it was fruity, with hints of apple, and that the terroir was heavy in minerals, flint and moss. drydown: the fruit is still there, but lightly now. the alcohol is gone. florals weave in and out, but hide a bitter core of something that defies description. it makes me want it, without ever knowing why.

provenance: lagniappe from the lab! how do they know what i haven't tried and want to? how do they know that i am drawn to the excolo and wanderlust scents???? in the imp: warm butterscotch. lots of boozy alcohol. on my wrist, wet: still boozy. heavy florals underneath, perhaps damask rose petals? there is a sour note here that i can't quite identify. drydown: definitely rose. the booze has disappeared, which is not a bad thing. there is now an incensey element, with a hint of smoke. the sourness is still evident, which is really too bad, as it would be lovely on me without that note. overall: right, now i've looked up the scent description. bah, myrhh still hates me, obviously.

in the imp: spice! warm, dusty, pungent spice. on my wrist, wet: cinnamon, clove, ginger, allspice. with a hint of ... something else. on my wrist, dry: my husband came and sniffed my wrist and: that smells really good on you! this is exotic. it smells to me the way i have always imagined that the Spice that comes from Makers on the planet Arakis would smell. Dune. heady. hallucinatory. sought after. out of this world. drydown: all of the above rolled into one. i was worried at one point that it might turn soapy, but it never did. i kept getting whiffs of it all day, and wondering: what is that i'm smelling. it always surprised me when i remembered, oh, that's ME! so, just like Spice, a little goes quite fast, and it is addicting. any day now, my eyes will turn blue on blue.....

provenance: lagniappe from the lab!! i don't know what myrtle smells like, so bear that in mind. in the imp: jasmine. on my wrist, wet: jasmine and spicy, heady lilies. on my wrist, dry: subtle, spicy and sweet. i'm picking up sandalwood and vanilla notes now. there is something else as well, something deeper. i'd say musk if it didn't hate me so much. it smells the way that musk does on others.... drydown: this stays close to the wrist (which could be because i have namaste on my other wrist, and it has amazing throw!) and has blended into a swirl of vanilla spice floral woods. i don't get clove per se, but the spice is definitely there. this is a YUM, from someone who doesn't like florals.

in the imp: lemon, lemon, lemon! a strong herbal lemon. perhaps lemon verbena. on my wrist, wet: the lemon is still the key top note. underneath, i am beginning to detect woodsy scents. on my wrist, dry: florals have now popped out. mixed with the lemon, herbs and woods there are hints of dry rose. drydown: all of the above have blended marvellously. there is also a touch of smoke now, which is probably the patchouli. this scent is clean, soothing and calming. the citrus clears the mind, and the florals and smoke help you to breathe and center yourself. a little goes a long way with this one. you don't need much. it has good throw and lasting power.

this one baffled me. both in the imp and on my wrist, wet, there is some sharp scent that just jumps out at me and overpowers everything else. can't put my finger on it. it is metallic, somehow. it smells the way that blood tastes to me. that top note lingers for over an hour. once past that phase, it is creamy and warm. i think i recognize amber. if it smelled this way from the first, i think i would keep it. but there are so many other scents out there to try!!!

first sniff: cloyingly sweet/sharp and then a dry down that is almost pure apricot. there is a sharp note which may be what others are calling brandy, but it isn't a hot, alcoholic smell to me. it's almost grassy, with hints of a white floral wafting in ever so randomly. but yes: heavy apricot. dead on.

i have a carved sandalwood statue that a friend of my husband's gifted us with when he returned from a trip home to india. it sits on my altar and absorbs the scents that i use for daily rituals. sri lanka smells exactly the same way that the statue does. soft sandalwood, hints of spice. it doesn't have a huge amount of throw, but it does have amazingly long staying power. i put this on at about 21:00 last night, and it is still there, wafts of it haunting my nose as i type this. during the drydown last night, i could smell something which was akin to a light tobacco note. it isn't present this morning, but the hint of smoke remains. no idea what olibanum or gum mastic smell like. whatever they are, they apparently like me! yay!

in the imp: mmmmmmm. warm woods and resin. on my wrist, wet: amber is there now. reminiscent of warm dry sunny days, plains grass parched for miles. everything within view is tawny coloured and parched, waiting for rain. on my wrist, dry: but all is not as it seems. hidden amongst the tall grass, someone is resting. only the keenest of eyes can spot him, seek him out and tease his visage out from his surroundings. the best of messengers stays alive often through suberfuge. there are notes of musk now, but they are not waging war with my skin. they are -- just there, beneath the surface. you can't even say for sure that they are there. if you sensed them...or not. drydown: coyote and his habitat. tricksters don't need to cheat to accomplish their goals. all they need to do is hide themselves, and their true intentions.....