Medici

Scarecrow has turned into the scent I wear when reading the Sandman (I'm ploughing through the first batch of eleven as I get them). It doesn't evolve much - but having skimmed this thread I'm most ecstatic that I don't get any of the nailpolish a few have described. Scarecrow is a warmer-than-usual autumn evening while the sunsets - all I get the the burnt tinge of a fire in the long-distance, the scent of a heavy breeze (slightly charred) and hay. It's very dry all around, though I love the fact that its "heavy" quality adds to the sombreness of the blend. Whether or not Scarecrow will become a big bottle is yet to be seen, since it isn't something I wear everyday.

Has anyone come across a nice compliment for Jungle? ... (And is there a Villainess/BPAL scent similarities thread somewhere? I neeeeeed Spun Sugar in bottle-format so I can slather. Sorry if I'm being redundant.)

Wrath is big red gum. Inferno is a more "refined" cinnamon - a little more malignant in the mood department, and while Chimera is definately very sweet because of almost and vanilla notes - it's more like a creamy cinnamon. Wrath is chewing gum cinnamon. Edit: Meant to say "almond", not "almost".

*deep breath* ALICE! (There's day one)

*hums happily* I'm a woodsy person by nature - that is to say, I'm drawn to woodsy notes - damp woods, rotting woods, lush woods, dripping jungles, drooping cypress - now, it's all about the dry woods. Ouija is the pinnacle of supernatural grace on me, thank you very much. So much so that I'm bypassing a 5ml and jumping straight into 10ml bliss. It's like a soft, dusky rose tinged with brown at the edges - like an old linen closet. I don't get a lot of lilac from this blend, as mentioned by a couple of other people - I do get rosewood, dried roses and a touch of that "cabinet" smell that is startlingly feminine in an austere sort of way. It's not a dramatic blend - very subdued with exceptionally good staying power. I quite like it for day wear - and as I said, in my case it's worthy of a 10ml.

I just recieved an imp with my QoC/AoH order. It's a little difficult to tell because its so faint. Even in the vial - it's just barely there. I've been sticking my nose directly to my arm to try and figure out what it is - it's almost like a soapy residue left behind - though it's not at all sterile, just very tranquil (as far as inspiration and actual scent go). I do detect a bit of lavender, and something green - but predominantly, this is a very gentle soap smell.

Ok, here we go, into lunges... (heh) DCXX (620) In the Bottle: Cherry, berry, saccharine insanity - bit of strawberry, bit of the bubbly (uh oh - there's champagne and fruit here). Me and Bon Vivant do not get along in the slightest - though the initial impression is a psychotic cacaphony of red and violet fruits which pleases me. It is, however, making my nose tingle and that's a sure sign of a champage note. Wet: Blackberry, blueberry, strawberry - all floating in a chilled glass of champage. Drydown: Berries soften - a white floral comes up - and then it settles into the boozy bubble of champage. Seems like there's a touch (like the barest drop) of vanilla in here to cream everything up a little. (I'm wondering if this is a dessert wine on my wrist and not a perfume) Surprising. Verdict: This morning it made me sneeze, now I'm contemplating. I love the berries and the initial sweetness, even as it turns somewhat tart because of the champagne it does have a life of its own. Rather lovely, though perhaps not something I would have chosen for myself. CDXCI (491) In the Bottle: Hellllooo Lah-lah-lavender! There's a floral and just the barest daub of green underneath - but both are extremely pale. Wet: Lavender to green - sage maybe - fading extremely fast and slipping into a white floral bouquet. It pinks up a bit (yes, pinks) and then we step into drydown. (The scent is fading rapidly at this point) Drydown: Lavender's gone entirely, now the florals are rising fast and furious. Lily - what kind of lily - I have no idea, and violet. Sharp, sexy, and very powerful. This is like the uber-femine warrior-goddess floral. Two hours in and the throw just gaining momentum. It plateaus around 3 hours and tapers off a little. Very nice evolution - very distinctive as it progresses. Funny, I thought the lavender would have stuck around longer. Verdict: a keeper, though I might not wear it that often, it's definately an inderesting combination.

Damp earth with a sharp bite of something almost powdery (Samhain does this to me too - thankfully, it only lasted about ten minutes before softening up again). Evolution-wise - I get some trampled, delicate florals about half an hour in. Two hours and the "soil" smell has faded entirely and now all I've got is pastel dust. It is quite nice though. I'd like to add since this isn't really a proper review because I'm not detailling the scent's evolution, that the onset - magically - carries such a strong sense of grounding that I was really shocked. This won't be something I wear everyday - but because of that instantaneous pull to the midsection, and the emotional settling afterwards, Queen of Clubs will definately be a good ... ah... "esoteric" blend shall we say. After a little charge, I think I might use her quite a bit in ritual. (Even without an extra mental push, she does a damned good job)

Dirty would work since it's... well it is a scent... but it's a clean linen scent. Perfect for a gym bag at least even if you can't actually wear perfume while working out.

Aunt Carolyn's Jooooooooy Mojo. Or Titania. Though I'm starting to get curious about Moxie.

Hellooooo bubblegum fairy! In the bottle: sticky pink molten candy - of the hard variety that's been stuck to pavement on a hot summer's day and is now running freely. Wet: Amped cherries, amped strawberry, amped pink chewing gum and lollipops and every single bit of pink sugary goodness I attribute to both childhood and raves... which aren't entirely different depending on who you talk to. Drydown: Much the same in the scent department, though it softens up a bit. Throw: Medium Reapplication: 3 hour stretches Effectiveness: I loaded myself with Aunt Carloyn a couple of days ago when I hit a particularly rough patch. I wasn't feeling particularly great in the emotional department - within half an hour of application my mood was elevated somewhat. Were I to wear this on a day when I wasn't feeling particularly blue - it might make me neurotic - in a good, glued-to-the-ceiling sort of way, of course. One of my resident favourites.

Milk Moon behaves like its the love child of Antique Lace and Spooky on me (I know this doesn't help since one's discontinued and the other was a Limited itself). Then again, anything with coconut comes up mint on me... hmm... maybe a cross between Elegba and something a little softer... Dorian perhaps. Though that'd be missing the sweeter side to Milk Moon. ... On another note (to Penance). I was back-skimming and you said you found Kali and DDLM to be closely related. For me, they're total polar opposites... So now I'm beginning to wonder, do you get more wine and chocolate on Kali? Because DDLM is like baked sweet breads and tobacco with my chemistry without the insane sweetness of Kali (and I wonder if I didn't get knocked off when I bought it on ebay a few months ago)

All I want to know is, where is this elusive figfigfig everyone's been talking about? I've broken the half hour mark and Eden is insisting on staying green. The onslaught when wet is a waxy green canopy - very sharp herbal, with a reasonable amount of throw that hangs around for a good twenty minutes or so before a fig or two peek out of the canopy. Oh... wait a second, there we go (after 45 minutes). Figfigfigfigfigfig. Bit of a sweet almond base (quite nice), though it took a while to cream up a bit. Very nice evolution on this scent, very deceptive as well - definately worth a journey into the forbidden garden. Contemplating a 5ml because its so unique in its evolution - not nearly enough throw though. Will do a few more demos over the course of a month to establish whether or not I'm on a whim or not. Towards the end (I'm noticing now) there's just the barest hint of coconut - toasted at that. Quite nice, really - still with a bit of the leaves in the background, though not as sharp. Definately a consideration for the next huge catalogue order I put through.

They say dirt, they mean dirt - of the freshly turned variety with a bit of lichen for seasoning. It's a little strange to be smelling like a hole in the ground - I'll give you that much. If there's anything I can say about this blend, it's definately an attestation to Beth's blending skills because it smells exactly like a loamy grave - it's a little freaky how accurate the scent is, actually. There isn't much evolution with the scent, the throw isn't particularly strong after the drydown either, however - if I return to the spot on my arm where I dabbed Graveyard Dirt - the scent is still going strong after quite some time. Not an everyday perfume though - but definately something to consider if I ever wanted to go in costume as a Dementor.

Strawberry Moon is a bit of a toughie - I adore strawberry scents with a passion that has yet to be rivalled, and as much as I am impressed with the blend of this bottle - I'm probably going to have to give this Lunacy another go before I make any final verdicts. Anyhow, let's get on with it shall we... In the Bottle: Fat, plump, ripe berries hanging still attached to the bush. There's a smattering of leafy green, and just the barest hint of earthiness that smacks of fresh, ripe, ready-to-be-plucked strawberries. Wet: Within half an hour, the berryness has reached it's climax, a bit of the sage perks up right before dry down and amplifies the visual idea that you're plopped down in front of a strawberry bush, readying to gorge yourself (this goes doubly if you've ever gone strawberry picking) Dry down: The strawberry softens up slightly, and I detect a bit of a floral note (what exactly, I'm afraid I couldn't tell you) - the hints at leafy green are totally gone now and I’m left with the overripe fruit - not the essence of the fruit, mind, but something that smacks of the real deal (bloody incredible, really). After about an hour or so it softens up a little too much with my chemistry, and morphs into a pink strawberry eraser... a bit of plastic. Fortunately, pink strawberry bargain bin erasers remind me of my childhood - specifically, sniffing the smelly variety of those erasers at the back of the classroom when the teacher wasn't looking - so the blend's made me very nostalgic all in all. The throw for the first hour and half is very strong, and gradually it dies down to cling to the area where the oil has been applied. Verdict: A lovely summer blend, I'm not so sure if I want to smell like the erasers all the time, but the onset really was worth the dry down.

It's... wow.. it's definately honey honey and more honey - in a liquid, but cool format, in the bottle - so it's sweet but not overly cloying. It is runny hunny, if that makes any sense - not molten or thick, but surprisingly light. Wet: Retains teh bottle-scent for all of thirty seconds and then fades to nothingness. Three minutes pass and the liquid sweetness rises up softly once again. Drydown: It's quick to morph, almost turning into a floral - but a candy-coated floral that's not overtly flowery. Quite nice actually, still not as heavy as I'd expected. I was hoping for something that drips like molasses with sweetness, but this is rather refreshing. It picks up momentum as it wears - though at this point, I think it might plateau within about 2-3 hours and then fade out. There are definite flowery notes here, but what they are, I'm afraid I can't pick off any one in particular. I'm going to hold on to my bottle for sure, I do enjoy the sweet stuff, even if it turns out being a lot airier than I expected.

I came very close to not ordering Miskatonic U - so close, in fact, that the bottle I now posess was a last minute order right before the SiA's were taken off the market. I was unsure about the whole coffee thing - really because when I think of the scent I'm reminded of stale brew. (Stupid me.) Miskatonic U is the smell of freshly brewed coffee witha heavy drop of cream, and sweetened - then at the very tail end there's a heady spike of whiskey that gives it a real flavour. Sadly, I don't catch any of the dust or old tomes - it won't disuade me from wearing the scent however, because even without the smell of the library, this really is a fantastic scent - especially if you're a reluctant foody-lover.

GOD! *dies* I bought a bottle of Jack unsniffed. It was daring, I'll admit, since just recently after placing the order I browsed the reviews - hearing that Jack was Samhain's little brother scared me to no-end (Samhain and I do not get along whstsoever). So I was a little apprehensive. I really shouldn't have been. Jack is slated to be my everyday happy Autumn scent without question. I can't coddle the happy little pumpkin man enough (and he is a jolly little round orange thing). In the bottle: butter, spice, pumpkin pie Onset: Exactly like the bottle Drydown: it creams up a bit, the peaches come out for a few moments to smack you upside the head, and then they settle in snuggly with the spices. It's a sweet, warm, creamy pumpkin scent coloured a light orange with dribbles of brown and white (if you're a visual olfactory person). The spiciness continues throughout, though it is softened by melted butter and a wisftul scent of summer with the peach cobbler. When I restock, Jack will come in 10ml format because he's the type of scent that makes you go "Awe! How cute!" - before you poke him in the stomach like the Pilsbury doughboy and he starts giggling.

I was under the impression that Hexennacht was heavy on the pine/fir? (I've always assumed that plops it into the 'winter forest' category instead of 'fall forest' ) Black Forest, however, I will happily dig for. (I'm assuming that's an LE as well?)

Are there any notable brooding autumnal scents? Like... heavy, melancholic, forboding, sinister, it's all-hallows-eve-and-i'm-a-succubus-on-the-prowl-and-risen-from-the-grave type deals? I like the wet woods of Grandmother of Ghosts, so I'm putting bets on Hamadryad, Ouija and hopefully something dirt-ish to come out of Zombi - it's all compensation for Jack being too happy (though I love the little pumpkin man) and Samhain hates me - turning my skin into something that smells like a changing table for a baby. I need dark without being masculine, and feral without being as animalistic (Haunted's got a distinct beastial side to it that I love - but I want to go a step beyond that), but still feel like I'm in a dark forest with wet leaves and lichens and mossy rocks and such. Does it exist? (I wouldn't doubt it if several did.)

Oh. My. God. Ok, first off - I put in an order for Milk Moon with a backing of La Bella Donne Della Mia Mente and Snake Oil. Let me say that this order has probably been the best three complimentary fragrances that set up the evolutionary process of smell... but really - I cracked open the bottle of Milk Moon, sniffed, swore loudly and started cackling madly. I'm an imbecile for not being slightly more risque and buying two bottles. Alas, such is life. On with the show: Creamy, whipped milk and sugar. Through and through. As it started settling it became a slightly spiced, toasted coconut and vanilla - but really, being a lover of Spooky, Milk Moon is its docile, friendly cousin. And I ADORE her. The throw is insane with the comforting, warm fragrance - it is innocent, but Milk Moon makes her presence known despite that. Sheer adoration right now for nailing down a new favourite. Love you, BPAL. Keep serving it up, please, I beg you.

^^ I cannot wait to get my hands on an imp of silk road. holy hell. I would also like to add, to the original question, Gingerbread Poppet - if you can get your hands on some. For me, it is the essence of a winter kitchen.

^^ ditto that on the inferno. additionally, anything with heavy spices - snake oil without question. unless of course you feel like the ice queen, in which case my vote goes to titania.

Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper. I had my doubts, in the bottle she seemed a touch too animalistic for my liking, but after wearing her for under half an hour – the Grandmother has elevated herself to a place among my most revered and exalted scents. I will *definitely* be getting a big bottle of this, and here I thought I wouldn’t like woodsy notes. Grandmother of Ghosts elicits images of dark forests, walkways draped in shadows, moon-speared hills and the elegant, surreal atmosphere of a graveyard at night on an August evening. This is so good I could cry. I’m just trailing along behind the black shroud of Mania – there are strong woodsy elements here that are tempered by sharp jabs of pepper and hints of citrus. It’s accented by these delicate, bursting snaps of floral that come up intermittently – overall, a very complex, rolling fragrance that lifts you up with it and carries you along for a night time romp with the spirits. I am in love with this scent. I need more and I need it now because I have every intention of slathering myself with it regularly. Considering I went through a complete and utter floral indulgence today between Aeval, Florence and Old New Orleans – this is the way floral needs to be executed, on me at least, because there’s something much more seductive about the mystique that gathers around this fragrance – as opposed to the heavy wilting flowers of Old New Orleans and the whip-crack and subdued berry-stupor of Florence - they’re both lovely by the way, I’m just too enthralled right now with Grandmother to give a damn about anything else in my collection.

What a wonderful surprise! I got a frimp of Aeval with my most recent order (alongside Dublin, which has proved to be equally as impressive) and I have to say that right now I feel wonderful in this scent. "Gossamer" is the best way to describe it, very light and airy and it feels as if its full of white flowers. I get a bit of sage and a lot of sweet pea in the dry-down, and the overall impression is that of something otherworldly. A very delicate, mysterious scent that still grasps at innocence (with just a touch of faery mischievousness behind it).