coulrophobe

In the imp: I can barely smell this - just the faint hint of green herbs. On: It's stronger now - for me, it's still very green and herbal, but now with a hint of florals. Usually, rose not only blooms but runs rampant on my skin, but it uncharacteristically stays in check in this blend, just adding a bit of sweetness without being overtly rosey. It blends well with the peony, adding a pink tone to an otherwise sharp herbal scent. This blend sweetens a little during drydown on my skin, and some of the sharpness dissipates. I end up with a very light, pleasant, and not too sweet floral scent, with all the notes well blended.

Er... yum? The first thing to hit me when trying on Hod isn't any note in particular, but just a big ol' wallop of creamy warmth. As it dries down, I can really smell the carnation, and I'm betting a bit of amber as well. While I can see the comparisons to O, I find Hod to be much better for me - O turns into what one of my friends calls "happy little ferrets and play-doh," while Hod stays warm and creamy. My guess is there's less honey (or none at all), since honey is the note that has a tendency to go a bit ferrety on me. Hod is gorgeous, light, and not cloying... I may just have to go for a whole bottle of this one. It's the sort of smell that makes me want to gnaw my wrist.

The Womb, Shabbathai, the Uppermost Feminine in the Godhead, Supernal Mother, Divine Sorrow, Supernal Shekhinah, and the source of the 50 Gates of Understanding. The first note to hit me is the sweet, syrupy ooze of myrrh... I love most incense, but myrrh is just a bit to heavy and sticky for me. There's also an initial sourness to the blend, but luckily, that seems to evaporate on my skin. I'm also getting a hint of floral - roses, I think, but they're not as overpowering as roses are with my chemistry. All in all, this seems well-blended to me, but just not my thing. Myrrh and roses just aren't notes that work well for me.

First impression out of the imp was "pencil shavings!" - definitely cedary. I don't like to smell like cedar all the time, but it is a comforting kind of smell... takes me back to elementary school. On my skin, the fruity note emerges - peach or apricot (I can't tell BPAL's peach/apricot notes apart, but they're both gorgeous on me). This reminds me of a more innocent version of depraved; the cedar adds a clean, earthy tone to the peach/apricot and keeps it from getting too overpowering. Even the non-fruity folks might like this one. Final verdict - very pleasant and pretty without being to sweet or frou-frou. One of my favorites in the Sephiroth category.

I'll agree with everyone else and say jasmine, and maybe a bit of something else... possibly gardenia? Sadly, jasmine always smells like it's the slightest bit rotten on me - not horribly so, but a few days past the expiration date. That sickly sweet waft of decay before it goes full-on rancid. Not the best of associations, so I've concluded that it's just not a note that works for me. Sadly, it appears to be the most prominent note in Yesod, so I can't see myself wearing this one.

The roses hit me first - and for me, that's never a good thing. I can sense something else, making it warm and resiny; perhaps some amber? But as it dries down, a weird sour note flits around in the background. To my nose, this is vinegar and roses. I feel like I'm eating fries with malt vinegar while wearing rose/amber perfume. While I love fries with vinegar, I don't want to smell like them, and I certainly don't want to smell like roses, either. Not for me!

From the color of the oil, I expected patchouli... but I got rootbeer, like several of the reviews above. Must be sassafras! On my skin, I'm also getting black musk, and maybe some herbs, and a bit of vanilla. It's an unusual scent, but oddly compelling. Clean, fizzy, and definitely quirky. I like it, but it's not something I'd wear too often. Another one that is a bit masculine, and therefore would probably smell fabulous on someone of the masculine persuasion, though I do like it on me as well.

To me, this is the smell of leather and clean skin - masculine and a bit soapy (not at all a bad thing in my book). It reminds me of Les Infortunes de la Vertu, which I also found to be a soapy leather smell. Nice on me, but would be even better on a fella.

I'm going as a phoenix - but sadly, Black Phoenix won't work because of the dreaded almonds (and, I'm a *red* phoenix!). The Living Flame, maybe? Last night I forgot about being all thematic and just wore Devil's Night, while my guy buddy wore Samhain '05.

The first time I tried The Raven (back in spring or early summer, I think), I remember my reaction being that it didn't smell at all dark and ominous, but rather like a soft, light floral, barely there on my wrist. Maybe I was having a bad nose day, or something, because while it's still predominantly floral on my skin, it's much more assertive. The violet (and to a lesser extent, the iris) is very noticeable to me, triggering the "ooooh, purple!" response in my brain. The musk/sandalwood is very subdued on me, but provides a nice base. There's a sharpness flitting around the edges - I'm assuming that's the neroli, which is a bit troublesome with my chemistry. All in all, it's a nice violet blend, but a bit strong and sharp. I think I'd like it more without the neroli, and with a bit less violet and a bit more iris. But it's still quite pleasant.

Preconceived notions: I'm not the biggest fan of anise, so this may be disasterous, but I'm willing to try anything once, at least when it comes to BPAL. In the imp: I'm smelling strong, sweet anise and cherry... do cherry blossoms even smell like cherry? I have no idea. Maybe I'm projecting, the way people often smell "orange" from orange blossom. On: Total change. I smell no anise now, and nothing even vaguely cherry - the sandalwood comes out strongest, with something clean, sharp and fresh on top of it (an interesting contrast to the warm smokey sandalwood). But just when I think I'm safe, the evil anise rears its head, slowly overpowering the sandalwood... and I wind up smelling like those "Good & Plenty" candies. I wind up with sweet, vaguely smokey-floral licorice. Well, I had to try.

2005 vintage: I've smelled the '04 blend, but have never actually tried it on my skin, so I can't compare the two. In the bottle: A bit floral; I'm having a hard time really smelling it and figuring out the notes. On me: Much more perfumey than I expected. This is a well-blended floral, and I agree with Shelldoo that it's a bit lily-like, maybe that's the cactus flower? (Up here in drizzly Washington, I don't get to smell a lot of cactus flower, so I'm not sure what they're like!). I don't really smell much of the foody notes, which is fine with me as cocoa always goes wrong on my skin. I can catch a few whiffs as it dries down, but it's more of an underlying deepness, rather than the dusty dry fake chocolate (think Flake bars) I get from blends like Bliss - this is a more mocha-like chocolate. So sweet, yet rich, a bit smokey... I'm surprised how much I like this, as I was scared of the foody notes! It's quite pretty, and very autumnal.

Since I never reviewed my '04 bottle, I'll do a side-by-side '04/'05 comparison right here. Out of the bottle, '05 smells a bit more piney - that would be the fir needle. It's sharper than the '04 vintage - almost medicinal to my nose. On: While both are spicy autumnal scents, Samhain '04 is "rounder" and sweeter to my nose; I can smell the apple and pumpkin much more, and the fir and patchouli stay in the background. The '05 blend loses the medicinal quality I smelled in the bottle, but it's darker, chillier and wilder than the '04 version; while it's still spicy and autumny, it's the difference between snuggling up under a blanket with a cup of hot cider on a stormy night ('04), and taking a walk in dry, chilly forest of leafless trees in the middle of the night, with a full moon lighting the skeletal trees in sharp relief and creating creepy shadows ('05). In other words, I find '04 to be a rich, warm homey scent, while '05 is more Sleepy Hollow. Both are completely lovely, though!

Preconceived notions: I'm worried that this will be too sweet and buttery on me (and the buttery notes tend to go a bit stale on my skin) - but if I've learned anything, it's that my preconceived notions are often wrong! In the bottle: Whoa... I definitely agree with Astrid's butterscotch pudding assessment! Now, I like butterscotch pudding, but do I want to walk around smelling like it? Hrm... On: What a drastic change - slightly burnt sugar! Which is a good thing - rather that buttery, it's a nice, dry, lightly-spicy/smokey scent. This reminds me a lot of last year's Sugar Skull (I only have an imp, but I didn't get much fruit from it, just burnt sugar). I'm glad I went ahead with getting a bottle of Trick or Treat, despite my misgivings - it's a fun scent that makes me think of toasted marshmallows, or the crust on top of creme brulee. Tasty.

Preconceived notions: I have an imp of the 2004 version somewhere, but I've misplaced it - I recall that on me it was a light and pleasant floral. I'm hoping this will be similar, but a bit heavier on the incense. In the bottle: Ack... rose. On: Very heavy roses. Nothing but roses. Rose is a note that works on me very rarely - and only if it's a minor player in a complex blend - and this is not one of those blends. As it dries down it gets slightly more tolerable... but with so many more scents that are amazing on me as opposed to "tolerable," I can't see myself wearing this. But rose lovers should be quite pleased with it!

Preconceived notions: This was the Halloween scent I was looking forward to most - love the concept, and most of the notes work for me. Booze can be iffy if it's rum, but smoke, musk and sugar usually work. In the bottle: Smells a bit more foody than I expected - a bit buttery (nooo!), yet smokey... very odd. On: Ah, that's better! Now I'm getting a warm, spicy-smoke smell that just shrieks of autumn. I can't smell the booze at all; instead, I get something reminescent of Sugar Cookie, but with smoke (Sugar Cookie is a dry-sweet-spicy scent on me, rather than an overtly foody one). I rather like this one. It take a long time for the musk to emerge, but all stages of the blend are absolutely lovely.

I don't get light florals from Antique Lace, but I do have one bottle that smells different from my other four - it has a carmel-like smell to it. It's still vanilla musk, but with something warmer, sweeter, and more foody added in. It's still lovely, but I don't like it quite as much as the non-carmelly version.

In the imp: Hmm, without looking at the description, I'd guess there's jasmine in here. *looks at description* Why, yes. On: Neither night-blooming jasmine nor regular jasmine are very good with my chemistry - they tend towards cloyingly sweet yet dusty. While I'm not allergic, I get the feeling of breathing in pollen when I smell jasmine scents - I can just picture spiky little particles attacking my nose. In Pannychis, I get hints of other notes - a faint fruitiness from the currant, in particular - but the night-blooming jasmine is just too powerful - the blend is too sweet and heavy, and ends up reminding me less of a moonlit garden, and more of a stagnant-aired, sweltering one at midday. Bummer.

In the imp: Sharp and herbal, very green smelling... a bit sour. A scent that hollers, "WAKE UP!" On: More citrusy - lemony to be precise. I don't play well with lemon most of the time, and this one's going a bit Pledge-like on me. I can sense the amber in the background, trying to fight its way through the lemon-herbal sharpness. Oddly, I can't smell patchouli at all - and while normally I'm not a patchouli sort of girl, I think I'd like Mantis more with a bit of an earthy note to cut the sharp citrus. It's not quite so sharp and unsettling once it's dried down some, but I fear Mantis is still to lemony for my chemistry.

In the imp: Eeeeek, lemon! On skin: Ah, much better. The lemon is still there (and perhaps some form of orange, as well?), but the edge is taken off the citrus notes by loads and loads of amber. Other than the tiniest hint of rose in the background, I'm really not smelling the florals in Versailles - just rich citrus fruits with creamy, golden resiny goodness. It's a rich, golden, decadent scent - I really wasn't expecting to like it this much, based on the notes, but it's quite delicious.

In the imp: Pale and watery florals, with splash of green leaves. On me: As with most of the other reviewers, violet is the most prominent note for me. This is a light, watery violet, though - not the heavy or powder violet scent I've gotten in other blends. I'm finding it delicate and feminine, a little cool - a great scent for springtime. This would be one I'd recommend for a little girl's scent - it's light, fresh, and quietly girlish to my nose. It's not very "me," but I do find it quite pretty.

Preconceived notions: Lilies work for me, but cherry is an iffy note - fine if it's a bright fruity cherry, but if it's the more almondy/artificial/maraschino type, suffice to say I'm not a fan. Embarrassingly - I have no clue what stephanotis smells like. In the imp: Clean, crisp, soapy... nothing here says "red" to me (or "tyrant," or "off with her head" for that matter). On: This stays pretty close to how it smells in the imp - clean and a little bit soapy, yet feminine. It's a bright white kind of smell to me, and I'm not detecting any cherry whatsoever. Frankly, I'm not getting much lily either - so perhaps the stephanotis is what's most prominent on my skin. All in all, it's pleasant and quite pretty, but isn't conjuring up much of the Queen of Hearts for me.

Preconceived notions: This is one of those blends that could go either way on me - I adore most musk scents, but attar of rose is usually horrible on me, and myrrh has a tendency to go somewhat maple-syrupish on my skin. We shall see. In the imp: Huh... this smells a bit fresher and more airy than I expected - I think it's the attar of rose doing it. On: The fleeting "fresh" sensation is gone, and now I'm smelling musk - it's a soft, deep dusky musk, so I'm going to guess that it's black (I'm very grateful that my chemistry doesn't change black musk to a feral/cat pee scent, as I know that's how it goes on some people!). I can smell a bit of myrrh - but it's a small enough amount that it stays sweet, incensey, and vaguely spicy, rather than being overwhelmingly syrupy. The attar of rose and ylang ylang are quite faint on me, and blend in well with the warmer notes. All in all, I'm surprised at how good this is with my chemistry - not an all-time favorite, but great for when I want to feel all dark and mysterious!

In the voodoo oils, I find Chuparosa to be quite uplifting (to my nose, it's happy little humming birds zooming around a huge old-fashioned rose bush that's tangled up in honeysuckle). In the TALs, I'd go for White Light, if you can get your hands on any. Other than that, it really depends on what notes are comforting, uplifting, etc. due to associations. I'm a big fan of mints (Cathode, Mad Hatter) for energizing and uplifting, clean white florals (Pele, The Unicorn) for feeling peaceful, perfumey leathers (Loviatar) for making me feel sexy and confident when I haven't felt that way for too long, and musks (Morocco, Antique Lace) for making me feel like "me" when I'm out of sorts. Fruits and spices are also scent categories that just make me feel good, whether they're happy-fresh-bubbly (Titania, Jester) or warm and homey (Carnal, any of the autumnal blends).

Preconceived notions: I want to love this one, not only for the mythology behind it, but because it's one of my favorite Pogues songs! In the imp: A somewhat damp floral, not too sweet. On: The sandalwood takes over, making it a dry, sweet incense smell instead of the damp floral I smelled in the vial. The neroli provides a bit of sharpness to it. I'm finding it pleasant, but just not very distinctive on my skin. Like others, I'm finding this one "lovely, but not for me."