coulrophobe

In the bottle: Sharp citrus On: Ah, that's better! The grapefruit loses it's sharpness quickly, and it becomes a sweet, fruity blend. There's a "roundness" to it that I'm attributing to the musk and vanilla - those notes aren't pronounced, but I can smell them if I sniff deeply. It starts off a bit "green" to my nose, but after it's dried down the color association I'm drawing from it is a mellow peachy color. Basically, I'm echoing everyone else here. HGM is lovely.

I've had excellent luck with Al-Araaf, but it's getting hard to find these days (luckily I have a few bottles stashed away). And I haven't had any guy-feedback on them per se, but I'll second Morocco, Antique Lace, Dorian, Regan and Snake Oil as great "all occasion" scents that are clean enough for the office but still have a little something sexy to 'em (I'm a big fan of light musks and vanilla, obviously). The one scent that had the somewhat surprising effect of making my very platonic guy-friend say, "Um... please don't wear that one, it's making me think impure thoughts" -- Yerevan!? So I guess it just goes to show, kind of depends on the guy when you're talking about what turns their cranks.

In the bottle: Definitely not the wallop of lotus I was expecting - light and herby, with a tinge of lotus lurking around the edges. I don't smell any pine resin or rose - which is actually a bit of a relief to me, as neither of those notes work well with my chemistry. On: Really quite lovely. The lotus does move to the forefront as it dries down - on me, this is a soft, mild, slightly watery lotus, rather than the strong bubblegummy variety. Very cool and calming.

In the bottle: Mead? Where are you? I smell herbs and fruits, but not honey mead! It does smell wonderful, mind you. On: Ah, there's the honey. And I was a little nervous about it, because honey can be a fickle note for me - luckily, this seems to be a honey blend that likes me! I am still getting a mysterious fruity note - maybe it's just in the way that the honey combines with the herbs and florals. Or perhaps my nose is on crack again. Regardless, it's lovely, and the honey-mead scent gets more and more prominent as it dries down, without ever reaching that cloying stage that some honey blends seem to settle into, at least with my chemistry. A beautiful, decadent summer scent.

For me, the notes that tend to make me think of sex - anywhere from a vague suggestion of it, to being clobbered over the head with it caveman style - are MUSKS. Which one(s) works for you depends on chemistry, of course - I'm partial to white and black, though the ones that are most reminiscent of actual sex (sometimes not in the most attractive way, mind you) are red musk blends. White/light musk scents include things like Dorian, Morocco and Antique Lace (which doesn't have it listed, but I have a whole bottle of White Musk SN to compare it to, and they smell pretty darn similar); and in a lot of more floral blends like Juliet and Fae. White musk is clean, soft, and a little powdery to my nose, but still sexy - it's what I was meant to smell like! Red musk includes the oft mentioned Smut (which sadly, smelled like peanutbutter and dirty sheets on me - not the sort of "sex scent" I was looking for). I also think the TAL Blinding Glory of Love has red musk - and I highly recommend it. Another dead sexy blend containing red musk is Loviatar. Black musk is in Iago, Lilith, Desire - a lot of the "dark" scents, as well as in things like Mad Hatter, which I love. To me, it's a kind of rich and buttery musk. It seems to be the one that goes funky on a lot of folks though.

Scent: Huh... this is one of the few rose-based scents I can wear! There's a minty note that dies down pretty quickly on my skin, and something that I was interpreting as amber, but looks to be red musk, from the other reviews... um, I'm just going to stick my fingers in my ears and shout "LA LA LA LA LA CAN'T HEAR YOU" to that, because if I know there's red musk in a blend, my nose will inevitably start smelling that dirty peanut butter smell. Anyway, I wore it out to my local pub (wow, that sounds like a brilliant idea, no?), and one of my guy friends said I smelled like "really good incense." Effectiveness: Well, yes, I did end up bringing one of the usual suspects home (every single girl should have usual suspects!). Not sure how much of that had to do with BGofL, as he's a fairly frequent chew-toy... that just means I need to do more research on this blend!

In the imp: Without even checking the description, I could tell there was neroli in there - to my nose, neroli is a sharp, earthy floral. On: Like a lot of folks, I get lemon. Actually more of a lemon-candy scent, very similar to what I get from glitter - the common note is lotus (which isn't lemony on me in other blends), so I'm betting there might be unlisted ingredients coming in to play. The lavender doesn't really come in to play, and for me, that's a positive thing (especially in combination with lotus - Paris was not very kind to me). During drydown, it gets a bit powdery/dusty and less noticeably lemon - I find this one quite pleasant and pretty.

In the imp: How odd... I can't really decide what this smells like. A bit floral, but also almost woody. Like a flower bed with a fresh layer of that bark stuff they put on flower beds. Or something. I'm rambling and confused. On: Floral with a bit of a soapy/watery tinge to it - reminds me of lily of the valley. Maybe narcissus. Very light and pretty.

In the imp: sharp herbal/floral, maybe with some resins? On: Turns a bit powdery on my skin (a lot of things do). The sharpness reminds me of neroli, but I'm not quite sure if that's what it is - I can't quite place it. It's a bit perfumey, but the herbal-ish notes - whatever they are - keep it from being too sweet. On me, this dries down to something that's sort of like sun-warmed dried herbs. To me it has the same "feel" as The Sun from the Tarot blends, but without the citrus. It smells like late August.

In the imp: Perfumey, light and clean. On: A very light, slightly powdery rose scent. I'm not big on roses, but it's not bad; most rose blends smell fake and plasticky on me (and are very strong), while this one stays relatively light, and while not "real rose" to my senses, isn't as overtly fakey as most blends. Not my cup of tea, but not bad either.

To my nose this was a woody/earthy/herbal dark green scent... with a whopping dose of LIME. Both in the bottle and on my skin, the strongest note for me was lime. The C12 scents have really made me wonder whether my nose is completely out of whack - my reactions to these have been totally different from the other reviewers!

Evidently I had an unusual reaction - to me, this is the same musk as Smut and Sed Non Satiata. And while I'm a fan of musk, there's one I really can't wear (I think it may be a red musk, though some other red musk blends have been OK on me) - to my nose, it smells like funk, and not the good kind. Like peanut butter and dirty sheets. I'm mystified as to why I got a similarity to Smut and no one else did... and other people found Storyville similar to Smut and I smelled no similarity whatsoever! My nose is weird. ETA: Breaking News! I must have been having a "weird chemistry day" when I tried this before, because I tried it again and just had to spring for a whole bottle! The musk isn't my absolute favorite - I'm more of a white musk kind of girl - but I managed to escape the peanut butter curse and instead I'm getting a deep, spicy/earthy musk - maybe a touch of clove and patchouli? Much better this time around.

Wet, this reminds me a bit of the cocoa in blends like Freak Show and Cerberus (but without the citrusy bits of those particular scents); it's a dry, nutty cocoa and not too sweet. As it dries down, warm spices and a hint of musk start to emerge, and possibly hints of tobacco and honey? Not a super-sweet cloying honey, but a light, dry one. I'm not a fan of foody scents, but once the cocoa settles down a bit and the spices amp up, this really works for me. There is definitely a bit of musk - but my opinion is it's NOT the same musk as Smut (which was horribly stinky on me). I got much more of a Smut-like scent from Voodoo Queen, but no similarity to Storyville (thankfully!).

Uranus smells so spicy! *snickers* I'm in the minority evidently - I get loads of clove, not cinnamon. Regardless, it is the spicy goodness.

In the imp: Ack! This smells a bit almondy to me, or maybe cherry. On: The cherry/almond note is still there - I can just barely smell the plum, but the other notes are too heavy for me to enjoy it. As it dries down and the almond-like scent fades a bit, I can smell a bit of... florals, maybe? This blend is bizarrely indistinct on me once the initial phase passes. I can smell it, but the smell itself doesn't leave much of an impression on my senses. Vaguely fruity, vaguely floral... with my chemistry, Oya just doesn't assert herself, which seems odd, given the description.

In the imp: As others have said, definitely a yellow floral scent; reminds me of daffodils and dandelions. On: Lush yellow flowers and greenery. On me it's not overly sweet (as far as florals go), but there is a sense of "stickiness" that's definitely appropriate for a carnivorous plant! In the background, there's something that smells a lot like Empyreal Mist to me. An unusual golden floral, very pretty.

In the imp: Poppies and smoke! On: It's a dark, smokey floral - heavily sweet and lazy smelling. It's completely and utterly soporific to my nose; just taking a whiff makes my eyelids heavy. I think I'll try using it as a sleep blend!

I agree with Sarada that this is very much like Rat King. Unfortunately, Rat King got the "Aaaiiieeee, get it off me!" reaction! To me, Destroying Angel has a bit of a sourness to it when in the imp; on my skin, it just smells like pure, dry soil. It's not a scent that goes very well with my chemistry or my sense of aesthetics, so not for me - but soil-scent enthusiasts may really enjoy it.

In the imp: Am I even smelling the same oil as everyone else? To me, this smells overwhelmingly alcohol/chemically. It's very strange. On: Well, yes, evidently it *is* the same oil, because one it hits my skin, I can smell dirt, resin, and a little spice. That was one of the oddest BPAL imp-to-skin morphs I've encountered. Now, I don't do well with dirt. But here, there's only a hint of actual soil lurking in the background; it's more of a warm, earthy, lightly spicy scent. A pleasant surprise, ultimately - though I'm still weirded out by how it smells in the imp!

In the imp: I can definitely smell the fig lurking beneath the surface - but mainly, I smell bark and green leaves. On: Very much like my impressions of the oil in the imp. The fig note I know and love is still there, but this is a sharper, greener, earthier fig blend than the others I've tried. It mellows as it dries, but still retains the more natural smell, rather than smelling like a fig candle. Fully dry, I find this to be delicious, earthy fig. The "green" stage is a little unsettling for me - this is definitely a Rappaccini's Garden scent, because it smells dark and a bit deadly. This would be a great one for people who find the foody fig blends too sweet, and would probably smell lovely on the fellas, too.

In the imp: OK, the first time I took a whiff it seriously smelled like grape bubblegum - luckily, I sniffed more deeply, and my nose was able to detect something besides the artificial candy-smell. On: I'm getting a lot of spice - but it's more of a cinnamon/cassia smell on my skin, rather than carnation. And there's definitely fruit - the plum isn't too sweet, but a nice, tart, juicy note. I love spicy-fruit smells like QofS, Malkuth, Carnal... but there's always the chance I'll end up smelling like a candle. And I *do* smell like a candle wearing Frumious Bandersnatch, but it's a damn good candle. And how could I not approve of a perfume named Frumious Bandersnatch?

In the imp: Sweet and foody, but with a hint of either sweet herbs or light florals. It smelled familiar to me, so I compared it to some of the lunar oils - while I thought it would be closest to Honey Moon, it actually smells more like Pink Moon to my nose. On: It doesn't really smell like honey on my skin, but it does have kind of a milky/foody feel mixed with herbs/florals. It's light and sweet, but also has kind of an indulgent, luxurious feel to it - like bathing in heavy cream (not that I've done that... but, well, you get the idea). Final Verdict: While not really "me," Osun is quite pleasant, and I think the scent matches the concept extremely well.

Preconceived notions: Most of the notes sound great, but roses? Gah! And honey? Iffy. We'll see. In the bottle: Surprisingly woody. Dry woods are often quite nice on me, once my chemistry sweetens them up, so that's a promising sign. On: Sandalwood! It's almost "commercial perfumey" to my nose - but that dissipates quickly. As it dries down, it grows almost fruity on me - I have no idea what that could be, looking at the notes. It settles down into a lovely blend - part fruity, part floral, part woody, part incensey - very unusual. I really like this one, and I'm so relieved the rose stays in the background. Yum. My biggest surprise out of the Lupercalia collection.

Preconceived notions: All the notes sounded perfect to me - except the caramel. Foody scents have a tendency to make me a bit queasy. In the bottle: I can smell a red-berryish scent - must be the currant. And unfortunately... lots of caramel. On: The caramel is definitely threatening to wreck this blend for me - but the non-foody notes aren't quite ready to give up the fight. I can catch whiffs of amber and tobacco if I inhale deeply. And finally, the coconut peeks out - the good kind of coconut, not the one that goes all plasticky on my skin. What I end up with is a scent that's definitely sweeter than my usual tastes - but intriguing, and not bad at all for a foody blend. Maybe more of a cozy autumn scent.

In the bottle: This reminds me of Titania quite a bit - or Fee, as mentioned already by Ms. Belladonnastrap. On: Yes, like Titania, but a bit more floral than fruity. It's light, fresh, green - and softens to a gorgeous pale musk as it dries down. It stays pretty close to the skin and fades a bit faster than I'd like - but those are my only criticisms. It's a lovely blend, and one I was sure I'd like. Great for springtime (or if you're longing for an end to the rain and cold, like I am). Very pretty and uplifting.