PurringPulsar

High John the Conqueror In the imp: an oddly sweet, oddly, dry, slightly grassy-woody scent, very unusual. Wet on skin: a strange and slightly chemical sweet scent with a hint of bitter almond and dry reeds. Dry: this is such a bizarre scent! there’s something bitter to it which reminds me of a bitter almond perfume I tried once which had an almond note with a bitterly medicinal undertone. There’s also an odd pink sweetness, and a note reminiscent of dragon’s blood (clear, red, metallic and piercing) and there’s also a scent to it reminiscent of dry reeds (it reminds me of some oils which have a reedy/marshy/’aquatic plants’ note to them from other brands) or maybe dried medicinal roots in a dusty cupboard. But the overall bitter scent is very medicinal, but it also reminds me of a component in some TALs. I think this might be in Catalyst, and Clarity as well. After a while: now this smells soapy. As in, bad soapy. I don’t like this smell now…it reminds me of antiseptic soap, the kind you get in hospitals and public toilets, with a hint of root-based herbal tinctures and dragon’s blood. It becomes a dry, harsh chemical soap scent over time. Verdict: there’s an odd scent to a lot of TAL/magickal BPAL oils I’ve tried, and I had no idea what it was until now. Assuming this is either single note High John or a HJ accord, I think that the mystery component in some of Beth’s ritual oils is High John. It definitely has a medicinal smell to it, and it certainly doesn’t have the feel of a perfume, this is more ritualistic to me-it reminds me of dragon’s blood at times (which also smells like a magickal component more than a perfume, when on it’s own). It smells oddly soapy, bitter, and with aspects of dry roots, almost like a tincture of dry roots used in herbal remedies (afaik, HJ is a root). It also solves the mystery of the ‘dragon’s blood’ like scent I get in some scents which aren’t red coloured. It definitely isn’t something I’d wear as perfume. I’ll see if this works regarding purpose, but I have other magickal/TAL oils which fulfil a similar purpose to this which I prefer. I never got anything like grapes or wine from here at all, which is a shame. Not for me. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I don’t like the smell much, but if it works for effect I might keep the imp.

Samhainophobia In the imp: vetiver! there’s moss here and autumn leaves, but mainly Teh Vet. Wet on skin: mossy vetiver with damp soil, a hint of geranium and patchouli. Dry: mmm, I quite like this…in fact, this smells like a damp autumn night. The moss note is much more mossy than I expected (more like the Spanish variety than oak moss) but it really evokes wet soil, along with the patch and autumn leaves. The vetiver adds it’s distinctive touch of earth and ash, there’s a hint of fir, and there’s also some sweet clove here too, with the richness of geranium just detectable. But it’s mainly a rainy October scent, wet mushed up leaves trodden into soil with the remains of bonfires. It has that same ‘honeyed cider’ scent as Samhain as well. After a while: this now smells very similar to Samhain 05, actually, but with mossy vetiver added, and pumpkin taken away! It’s surprisingly sweet and almost sugary now, almost honeyed or like mulled cider, but still with that damp autumnal, smoky background. The moss and vetiver gives a very agitated, fearful feel to the scent, a bit like Black Annis without that scaaaaary civet and anise… The vetiver gets stronger at the end, surrounded by a sweet, almost sugared apple-like scent and damp leaves and patchouli with a covering of moss. This vetiver is powerful, powerful stuff. Verdict: this really is the sinister side of Samhain. Think Samhain’s warm sweet patchouli and clove and something like the apple cider note it has, and add vetiver and moss…whilst Samhain 06 is cheerful and light hearted with food and warmth and mischief, this is the dark side. For starters, I’m amazed at how much, initially, it smells like a damp October night. Wet soil and leaves with moss and the gritty ashen scent of vetiver, it’s like a typical rainy autumn evening. Then the sweetness appears, but it’s thickly cloaked with a growing vetiver which is indeed menacing as the description says. Along with the strong moss note, I get a dissonant effect, clashing with the smoothness of the sweet clove-patchouli, it brings to mind my nerves being on edge, being scared of the dark, frightened of what lurks in the shadows. This scent is very aptly named, there’s definitely a feel of ‘phobia’ to it, as well as the direct resemblance to Samhain. I love the spooky atmosphere this scent evokes but it’s not something I’d wear much as perfume, but Beth has captured the fear of Halloween and the smell of autumn perfectly here. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I’ll keep the imp, it’s so evocative of autumn, but I prefer Samhain as perfume. I have a feeling my mum will love this. If you like this, try: Samhain, Saturnalia, Hurricane, RM Renfield, Black Annis

Lilium Inter Spinas In the imp: crisp green apple…in here the blossom smells like the fruit, and it’s gorgeous. Wet on skin: crisp apple blossom over lily of the valley and green fig skin. Dry: this is so pretty! It is a little soapy but this is one of the few soapy scents I like-it’s clean and dewy and fresh. I smell the dry, pale, almost green scent of white sandalwood, soft apple blossom, a tart fig note and lily of the valley. I’m not familiar with hibiscus so I’m not sure if I smell it here. But this is an innocent, white and green springtime blossom scent. I picture a young maiden running through fields in spring, a shy girl with child-like features, and curious, doe-like eyes. After a while: sometimes I have problems with lily of the valley turning to all-out green soap on me but not here. This is a very pretty smooth floral scent which has a cleanness to it, a purity. The sandalwood provides a nice pale soft base for the flowers to rest and the fig isn’t as sharp as I expected. It’s very delicate and gentle but it has amazing throw. The LotV and sandalwood get stronger at times but I also get another floral note which may be hibiscus. I don’t smell the fig as much now. What I really like about this scent is that it doesn’t turn sharply acrid green or wilted like some white lily/LotV/white floral scents can-it fades away gracefully, a soft rounded white flower and greenish sandalwood scent lingering and staying true on my skin until the end. Verdict: normally I don’t like soapy scents, and lily of the valley is hit and miss-but this is surprisingly beautiful on me. It has a soapiness that I quite enjoy, it’s clean and pure and gentle. And the floral notes in here are so well blended that nothing seems to go off or funny on my skin. It starts off with apple blossom, moves into fig and then lily and sandalwood, I think the hibiscus holds it all together and makes the scent more rounded. There’s a lovely innocent feel to this scent, almost vulnerable, like a fresh spring flower, dewy and fragile, or a blushing young girl surrounded by blossoms, the scent is very tender and moving, I think. It is such a springtime scent and as such, I wear this scent much more by then. But it’s probably one of my favourite LotV scents so far. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? I’ll keep the imp for spring. If you like this, try: The Penitent Magdalene, Endymion, Phantom Queen, Eden, Empyreal Mist

Horreur Sympathique In the imp: thick honeyed wine, very similar to Athens, but darker. Wet on skin: honey-wine but now other, sweeter notes come out… Dry: this is really good! It’s predominantly champagne and wine and lots of sharp honey, this is like drunken O, initially. But underneath I smell a hint of the delicate plum blossom and tobacco flower, attempting to lift the scent and make it pretty, and I think the sweet resins, the tonka and musk are there too, adding depth and broadness to the sweetness, whilst carnation adds a light spicy touch. This is honeyed wine but with complexity behind it. After a while: the sharpness of the champagne tones down a little and the wine note smells more like sweet grapes, the plum blossom and sugar cane enhance the sugary fruitiness of this scent. It now smells like pale sugar plums and grapes drizzled in honey with hints of wine, resins and tonka. This scent is decadent and sweet. Mmm. But I’m surprised at how strong the plum blossom is here-gives the scent a lighter side. Eventually the sharpness of the wine returns, along with the honey…there’s an oddly salty scent to it now, reminiscent of the almost salty honey I got in O. but it’s not bad. The salty stage doesn’t last, thankfully, and soon it becomes a scent of crystallised honey with fruit syrup, which is really nice. I don’t get as much musk or opoponax as I hoped… Verdict: I really like this fruity, full, sweet honeyed wine scent. It’s mainly honey and sweet wine and grapes, very fruity and dark. It is rich and deep and there are times when it smells really complex, and other times when it’s a very pretty sugary fruit and honey scent. It seems perfect for autumn and winter, I think, a warm, boozy and indulgently sweet fragrance. Surprisingly for the scent’s theme it’s also got an unusually light, playful side to it from the floral/fruit notes, I was hoping for more resins and musk and I certainly wasn’t expecting sugar plums to appear with the wine and honey-an unexpected but very pleasant reaction. However it’s not the ‘wow!’ scent I was expecting but I’m definitely keeping the imp I have of this scent. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes, the imp, for now. If you like this, try: Athens, Madrid, The Masque, Skuld, Sed Non Satiata, Tum, O, Death of Sardapanal

Trick #1 In the imp: a gorgeous 'sparkling' musk with a darker undertone, probably leather and patchouli. Wet on skin: the ginger comes out adding a lovely spicy warmth, as do black leather and red musk. Dry on skin: mmm! This is lovely stuff. It's an amazing mixture of spicy, floral, musky, earthy, honeyed and leathery. I smell a huge hit of honeycomb, a note which here smells like beeswax candles (which I love) smeared in runny honey, with breezy hints of the floral notes, and the ginger note which in here is almost peppery-smoky. I smell the musk notes-light skin musk and darker, sexy red-and the base of gritty patchouli and spiced leather. I definitely get the 'starry' and 'airy' quality of the musk-maybe it's the skin musk and the floral notes mixed? It's almost perfume like and contrasts nicely with the smoky, spicy, dark leather base. After a while: smoky treacle? This smells like the sort of smoky caramel scent I get in foody BPALs, along with leather, honey, light musk, and now a stronger magnolia note comes forth. It's feminine yet darkened and sexed up. The magnolia note is surprisingly strong, I must say. The scent eventually becomes a very intriguing smoky floral, but it doesn't have the gingery patchouli-red musk it had before. The words 'roasting flowers' comes to mind when I smell this, but it doesn't smell like the floral notes are burnt-more that there's a smouldering background behind the floral-skin musk scent. The scent after a few hours is similar to Black Dahlia, but smokier. Verdict: this is a gorgeous fragrance-especially at the start, when a fantastic blend of many complex notes-mainly the sweet musks, leather, ginger, and an amazing honeycomb note could be smelt. It was dark, sexy, entrancing, a little dirty (in the best way) and cheeky! The drydown is a lot more floral, like fragrant magnolia blooms strewn on black leather with a waft of smoke over it all, like sweet wood-smoke, sparkling floral musk over a night-black background. Very womanly, sexual and glamorous in feel, but veiled in shadows, concealing dark secrets. However, I was hoping for more 'oomph' from the red musk and vanilla, I hoped for something like Mme Moriarty, but the red musk fizzled away and was nudged out by magnolia, and the vanilla was faint. I wanted that amazing beeswax-honey scent to last longer as well. It's a gorgeous fragrance but I actually don't love it as much as I hoped I would…I'll keep the decant though, this seems like a very good scent for decadent nights out. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? mmm, yes! Will cherish my decant, but I'm not desperate for more. If you like this, try: Black Dahlia, Loviatar, Trick #2, Count Dracula, Perversion, Hell's Belle

Yule In the bottle: this smells very much like Lush's Fox in the Flowers or Green Day-the smell of mushed up grass and herbs and a hint of something which I think is hemp. Very much a 'Green Man' scent. Wet on skin: a green grass-leaf pulp mixed with lemon verbena, evergreen, a hint of frankincense, juniper and green wood. Dry on skin: lemon and pine and a wonderful green wood scent. This is like fresh wood that's still full of life, freshly chopped and green and moist, with a scent like chopped grass pulp, like the stuff that comes out of the lawnmower, but less summery. There's something here which I'm sure is hemp since it reminds me of a hemp hand cream I once had. This scent is the most intense dark green but with sparkles of vivid gold in it. it's surprisingly lemony for now but hopefully the verbena will die down. But this is such a natural scent, like outdoor winter vegetation…it also reminds me of Litha, but it's the winter equivalent, with the sunny spiced herbal mead replaced by the shadowy green of the darkest time of year. After a while: this smells festive without smelling like a Christmas tree. This may have pine like notes to it but this is no trimmed pine tree in a cosy house…this is much more natural. I love the way this smells so pagan! A very natural yet celebratory scent, which now has lost it's lemon bite and now smells like sweeter citrus, like the lovely citrus-frankincense sweetness from Litha, but with that wonderful leaf-mulch scent, pine needles, a hint of mistletoe and green tree timber. Like a golden shimmer over dark green-one could say it's like tinsel over a holly wreath but that doesn't do this justice, it's more like flickering flames or winter sunlight reflected on glossy holly leaves. There are times here when it takes on a strange olive like scent like what happened with Talvikuu and the Carpathian Mountains, but it's not too bad. There's now a scent here of soil, earth, and tree moss, a scent which almost smells like decaying plants, but with still with that lively greenness to it. there's also a sweetness creeping up reminiscent of the sweet soil in Death of the Gravedigger. And then the hemp scent returns, along with a hint of frankincense, under the mushy oily leaves. I never got rose. Verdict: another amazingly evocative sabbat oil from Beth. As I suspected, this is the opposite of Litha-the scents share similarities with their lemony herbs but they also contrast. This is the winter solstice in scent, a time of darkness but also of rebirth, exemplified by the vivid dark greenness of this scent, a mix of evergreens and crushed leaves and green, wet woods still full of life in the dead of winter. It's strongly reminsicent of Lush's 'green and grassy' themed products (Fox in the Flowers, Soap Sod, Green Day etc) but much more complex than those are. It isn't commercial or stereotypical festive-ness at all. This takes the winter holiday straight to it's roots. This starts out so nicely but the drydown is a little odd on me, however, this is much better than Yuletide (which smelt a little fake and candle like for me), and another incredibly well blended representation of a pagan festival in scent, but not my favourite-but I'm keeping the bottle. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Just one bottle for now. If you like this, try: Litha, Yew Trees, Black Forest, Hemlock, Mistletoe, Yuletide

Sol Invictus In the bottle: bright sunny citrus with orange blossom. Reminds me of a younger version of Ra. Wet on skin: this sweetens and softens beautifully once it hits my skin, almost like sugared citrus, which I love. Dry on skin: now I smell spicy notes of saffron and frankincense come out-this is beautiful! This is reminiscent of two of the Stations of the Sun, Ra and Ahathoor, mixed together and softened with droplets of Et Lux Fuit and Litha! It smells of sharp yet lightly sugared citrus fruits and flowers with a resinous coating of piercing frankincense, a sprinkling of hot, spicy saffron and a gentle, almost innocent undertone of soft heliotrope, and hints of a more exotic floral scent, either frangipani or hibiscus. Like Ra, there's a sweet fruit scent like apricot, but I think that's amber with heliotrope and orange mixed together. This is a stunning and ever-so-sunny scent, brlliantly bright, filled with a youthful energy but with a hint of golden magnificence. After a while: little Sol has grown up. Gone is the citrus buzz, now I get an almost incense like scent which reminds me of Delight's drydown, no doubt the frangipani. The desert-like dry heat of saffron and smoky frankincense still lingers but is mixed with petals of tropical blooms now. This now smells quite exotic, with rich floral notes mingling with fruity golden amber, saffron and incense. The amber is amazing now, really strong, almost sugared. It seems the sun has moved from it's young, happy, bouncy state to something more regal and sophisticated, a king on a golden throne. Eventually I'm left with floral amber with just a smidge of spice and citrus. So pretty and full of light. Verdict: I think I might have a new favourite among the solar oils! I adore this glowing, luminous, warm, gorgeous mix of citrus, floral, spice and resins, it's a scent which brings to mind vivid yellows, gold and orange with tinges of sunrise/set colours thrown in. This brings to mind the divine solar child born at the winter solstice, with the promise of summer's warmth in his eyes. It seems a celebration of many worldly and cultural aspects of the sun-from the sunny vitality it brings, to faraway kingdoms of spice and mystery touched by it's intense heat, to the incenses and offerings offered to solar deities, all mingled with a scent of smiling youth and brilliant light. It's very much like another aspect of Ra or Sol, much nicer and bolder than Et Lux Fuit (which I like better now it's aged, but this one is a little more my thing), and another fantastic rendition of the sun in scent by Beth. It's a fantastic fragrance that could be used ritually, or just as a general pick-me-up, if I ever feel the seasonal-affective thing come on during those dark winter days-or any time my life feels dull and grey, I'll be sniffing this. This really is distilled sunshine in a bottle, and I might need another bottle or two of this! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! One for multiple bottles! If you like this, try: Ra, Ahathoor (in fact, all of the Stations of the Sun range!), The Sun, Litha, Et Lux Fuit, The Sun, Sol

Treat #2 In the imp: chocolate orange! Whoever made the Terry's comparison is spot on, although this is heavier on the orange. I was expecting it to smell like Lush Whipstick, but it smells like TBS Chocolate Orange lip balm. Wet on skin: orange buttercream with a hint of chocolate and ginger. Tons of orange in here. Dry on skin: orange and fig buttercream surrounded by a wreath of sparkling spices! This smells like a very expensive Christmas dessert, or a hand crafted Christmas chocolate imported straight from Belgium or Switzerland. It's luxurious and decadent yet sweet and light hearted! This does keep the Chocolate Orange scent but the fig adds a fruity green sharpness, reminiscent of Carnal. And I smell little bits of ginger and cardamom peeping out of this rich, creamy, chocolate mixture. Mmm. After a while: I'm surprised at how long the orange note is lasting in here! It's bonded with the fig and is sticking around for some time. Surprisingly it's the fruit and the cream which are the longest lasting notes here. But I still get a nice gingery backing to it all. It's not as dark and rich as I hoped it would be now…I don't get coconut either. It's very pretty at drydown, very fun and sparkly orange powder, but it does remind me of orange sherbet powder with cocoa powder, not the posh chocolate it was before. I still smell ginger but no more cardamom, and hardly any clove either. Verdict: at first, I adore this to bits-it's like something concocted by a master chocolatier, a luxuriant mix of figgy buttercream with spices and lots of orange, enrobed in chocolate. very delicious and also strongly reminiscent of Christmas. I do wish that initial scent lasted a little longer though. The drydown is pretty enough, a light, fizzy orange powder (whoa, that's some orange note, lasting so long-or is my skin hanging on to the citrus notes longer these days?) with cocoa and hints of ginger and fig, but it smells more like sherbet powder and less like decadent chocolate. Maybe because this scent seems to be being eclipsed by the magnificence that is 13 Revisited, it just pales in comparison? I do like this enough to keep the bottle but I won't need to scour Ebay for more of this. It does seem a perfect scent to wear (or use as room scent) for the Yuletide period. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Just one bottle will do. If you like this, try: the original 13, Tezcatipoca, Pumpkin Queen, Great Sword of War, Xiuhtecuhtli, Candy Butcher, Bliss

13 (reformulated) In the bottle: lavender chocolate with a perfume like sharpness, possibly a mix of rooibos, starfruit and orange. Wet on skin: now I think I can smell geranium, gorgeous bourbon geranium, along with sandalwood! the lavender is also much stronger. Dry on skin: this smells so wonderful! Lavender, chocolate, geranium, sandalwood, orange and dry tea, with a hint of rose and a warmth provided by nutmeg, this smells amazing. The lavender is very strong at the moment, giving an almost therapeutic feel, but the sandalwood and vanilla undertone mingles so nicely with the cocoa, and I smell that sharp tea and orange overtone. Complex and with many layers, it reminds me of a very good quality perfume and smells quite expensive! My mum even says it smells similar to Thierry Mugler's Angel. After a while: the lavender lasts an amazingly long time, but now a wonderful sophisticated perfume like fragrance appears in the scent. it's incredibly well blended. The chocolate deepens and I get the vanilla-sandalwood undertone which is indeed reminiscent of Underpants. The nutmeg note is gorgeous, adds a lovely bit of spice, and I like the way the geranium adds a slight earthy-herbal scent to it, whilst a sharp, fruity note hovers on top-either orange or rooibos. Eventually this is like chocolatey Underpants, with a geranium-nutmeg-rose undertone…there's also something sweet and bright to it which may be this 'red amber' note? it smells like amber, but it's different to the golden/Egyptian/black amber notes I'm familiar with, it's actually more perfumey, but it's really good. The sandalwood is top-notch, really rich and very red and dry and almost aged in feel. After a couple of hours this really does smell like chocolate Underpants (hmm, slightly more fun than a chocolate teapot? ) or chocolate Morocco with a waft of orange-amber, a scent which is like gold over velvety maroon. Verdict: wow, this is better than 13 v.1. I wasn't sure how all the notes would work together but they blend together so well that I'm impressed-nothing clashes here. It smells like really expensive, well made, quality perfume. First it's like lavender chocolate and orange-starfruit tea, then the nutmeg, geranium and rose come out, then the vanilla and sandalwood, and then the amber. All in smooth, slow succession, merging so nicely, making for a scent that is simply sublime. This is the grown up, sophisticated sister of the last incarnation of 13, which was more fun and youthful. Beautiful, well crafted, this smells like it should cost a million dollars, goes to show how much of an olfactory artist, what a pro Beth is with scent (and another reason I love BPAL…Beth makes wonderful perfumes that sometimes smell costly but are an absolute bargain!) Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? YES! Might need to search for another bottle! If you like this, try: 13 (the original), Velvet, Candy Butcher, Morocco, Great Sword of War, Tezcatipoca, Xiuhtecuhtli

Blood Countess In the imp: the prettiest sweet sugar plum ever! Nothing evil or savage, yet. Just sweet, pretty plum goodness. Wet on skin: I wonder if this has the same gardenia as Euphrosyne? Because I’m not getting an evil gardenia reaction here! Just a sweet plum and flowers scent, with blackcurrant! Dry: this is really a lot nicer than I expected. Beautifully feminine and very fruity, the plum and berries are dominant here. It smells like blackberries, blackcurrant and Megaera’s sugar plum. There’s a nice opium veil over it-very faint but it darkens the scent nicely. And the gardenia is of the ‘good’ kind, ie it smells like a lovely full white flower and not mutant celery. The only worry is that the blackcurrant/berry I smell here is like the one in Monster Bait Closet/Montresor, which does turn to cat pee during that time of the month…but today it smells like Ribena! After a while: eventually the scent darkens but doesn’t lose its fruity delicious scent. The floral notes come out a bit more-I smell a gorgeous lilac-gardenia thing going on with a hint of rose petals. This scent is a wonderful purple hue, decadent and lavish. The plum gets riper and at times I worry that it will smell overripe and cloying, even banana like on me (which is more of a characteristic of plum blossom than fruit) but the lilac and rose prevent this from happening. It still smells very sweet but there’s a lovely blackberry tartness counteracting this. The scent is even deeper and darker now but I don’t smell opium. There’s a gorgeous sweet almost musky plum-floral-smoky drydown and now the opium comes out a little more, cloaking the plum and blackberries gently. This is lovely. The end scent before it fades is a gentle gardenia-berry scent. So pretty. Verdict: for such a notorious character with bloodthirsty beauty regimes, this scent is so gorgeous. A wonderful mix of rich sweet sugared plum and dark berries with a lovely blend of flowers. The plum note is fantastic and bonds well with various berry notes-mainly blackberries and currants, whilst the surprisingly nice gardenia note mingles with rose, lilac and a little bit of opium and forms a nice base for the fruits. This scent is voluptuous and sumptuous, very feminine and full bodied, it’s dark and deep and smells lovely from start to finish. This might be heading for the bottle list. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Might get a bottle if it doesn’t disagree with my hormones. The imp is a keeper. If you like this, try: Bordello, Megaera, Montresor, Monster Bait Closet, Bathsheba

The Bloody Sword In the imp: peppery but oddly sweet dragon’s blood. Wet on skin: a strangely floral-green DB scent with lots of pepper, and out come some lovely resins. Dry: mmm, I like this better than the Castle. This is a peppery dragon’s blood scent with a lovely warm leather base, hints of labdanum/benzoin, and indeed, a hint of steel. Amazing how there’s a hint of gleaming metal to this. And there’s smoke too-the ‘fire’ perhaps? It’s a warm scent, warm and powerful, but there’s also something to this scent reminiscent of perfume or cologne, an almost citrus-green scent with the slightly floral-fruity clear redness of DB enhanced. After a while: whoa. METAAAAAAL!!! This really does smell steely. It’s actually quite an ozonic note though-which is probably what I thought was ‘cologne’ at the wet stage. But it smells like wet metal, a hot, forge-fresh sword cooled by rain. I still smell the pepper and some wonderful resinous notes underneath but it’s the steel that’s domiant. Eventually this becomes less resinous, and smells more like a cool, ‘sporty’ men’s perfume. Metallic but fresh and wet and breezy, like salty ozone. it actually smells like what a good sea spray scent should smell like, but it smells a little too much like men’s sporty perfume for me. The drydown is sweeter and gentler, but oddly fruity. It still smells like sporty perfume though, but it’s not as masculine now. And then, just as I thought it would stay like sporty cologne, I smell a gorgeous, soft sweetness. I think that’s the benzoin, and it’s come out and added a lovely sweet resin scent, almost vanilla like, to the overall fragrance. it still smells of steely perfume, but sweeter. But this pretty sweetness is fleeting and the scent goes back to dragon’s blood and steel tinged sporty perfume. Verdict: this is so unusual-it really does smell steely and does seem a very appropriate scent for a sword. It starts off with a lovely dragon’s blood and peppery resins mix, but gradually the sword is removed from this forge of spiced resins and the scent becomes decidedly metallic, then cools down a great deal, and smells fresh and almost airy-aquatic, like ozone, a sword in the rain. If Quincey was the cowboy in this series, then this is the ninja/samurai! It also strongly resembles mainstream perfumes in the ‘fresh and sporty’ genre…which is no bad thing. The other components like the resins and particularly the benzoin and myrrh make this different, but there is a slight hint of fresh perfume to it, it’s almost masculine. It’s very well done, very wearable for such a conceptually-themed scent with a definite metallic tinge, but it’s a little too manly for me. I could see this being a lot nicer on a really fit guy though. But I do like it enough to keep. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Just the imp, for that unusual, fresh steel scent. If you like this, try: The Castle, The Black Tower, Tintagel, Mars, Wrath, maybe Bed of Nails (which I haven’t tried but it seems like it would be similar)

Johnathan Harker In the imp: lavender, lemon and tea. Very much a cologne type scent. Wet on skin: lavender gets overtaken by the verbena-tea. Dry: verbena, and lots of it, mixed with tea. This is now strongly reminiscent of Shanghai with lavender, but with the verbena amped up x10. this does come across as a fresh, gentlemanly cologne, very refreshing, bright and sharply piercing. The verbena is so strong in here though, it’s like the verbena plant in my garden just got up and assaulted me! After a while: the verbena isn’t as strong as before but it’s still there, however now the iris has a chance to show itself. Mingled with verbena this floral note gains a fruity aspect, almost like the two notes have merged to create an unusual and new hybrid fruit. Very pretty but quite faint. A soft iris-sandalwood scent lingers on the skin after a few hours-powdery and pale purple with a fruity aspect to it. Verdict: this was a lot nicer than I expected. I was expecting the verbena tea to take over, it did at first but the drydown is so pretty. I like the verbena in here after 30 minutes, despite it’s full on, overwhelming wet and just-dry stage…it did that in Mag Mell too, but like MM’s verbena, this one doesn’t go soapy/oily on me, and I like that. It is very refined, I must agree, I could really imagine a Victorian gentleman smelling like this. Refined, sophisticated, and somewhat reserved as well. It is reminiscent of Usher but not as complex. The iris adds a lovely touch, it’s a powdery purple flower made fruity by the verbena and it smells almost like a kind of lemon sweet at the drydown stage. It’s very nice but I don’t need a bottle-I still prefer Dorian as my ‘Victorian gentleman’ scent, but I might keep the decant. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Maybe just the decant. If you like this, try: Shanghai, Santa Eularia, Villain, Florence, Usher

The Castle In the imp: pine! This reminds me of Beth’s forest scents. Wet on skin: a sweetish note now appears, and like dragon’s blood, but I also smell black pepper! Dry: I quite like this. Now the ‘dry leaves’ really come out, the pine still hangs around, but I smell other stuff in here…there’s a little hint of clear dragon’s blood, some dusty woods, something almost like earthy patchouli, and pepper. Possibly even a hint of leather, and there’s something damp to this scent as well. This actually reminds me of Tintagel, but without the fruitiness. This definitely brings to mind an old castle with memories of blood. After a while: the dragon’s blood becomes the dominant note but this is such a pretty DB note! It doesn’t have the bitter red harshness that I sometimes get in some DB scents, it has a tinge of the metallic-ness but this is a very soft, sweet, almost floral dragon’s blood, almost watery and soft with a hint of pleasant spice to it. It seems odd to compare the two but it reminds me of French Love’s lilac-DB. After a while I’m also reminded of the Cracked Bell, only lighter…I do get the almost amber like sweetness and dark smokiness I got in that scent, without the musk. Eventually the smoky scent gets darker, the DB becomes bitter, and vetiver appears. Verdict: another dark, blood tinged and fascinating Dracula scent…this one starts off deceptively sweet, actually. A surprisingly light and sweet, lilac like dragon’s blood scent with hints of spicy pepper and pine and autumn leaves. But then the sweetness deepens a touch and gets clouded with smoke and a hint of amber, the dragon’s blood becomes more metallic and then vetiver comes out to add a sinister touch. It’s very much like other castle themed scents like Tintagel and the Black Tower, only this one starts off light and inviting, but then darkens dramatically. It’s not a favourite of the ‘atmospheric Dracula location’ scents-Carfax is my fav of those-but I might keep the decant because it’s very unique as perfume. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Maybe just the decant. If you like this, try: Tintagel, The Black Tower, The Telltale Heart, Blood Amber, Serpent’s Kiss

Black Dahlia In the imp: crisp and slightly sharp yet heady white flowers. Wet on skin: the ‘smoky’ aspect of the rose note is very apparent now, this is a very smoky floral blend. Dry: interesting. It’s a smoky, almost spicy floral scent on me. pale and delicate flowers but with a dry, smoky, almost burnt scent at the back, like pale woods and herbs lightly smouldering, almost along the lines of light incense, opium or tobacco. I can smell a pale orchid note, possibly jasmine and/or magnolia too, no amber or rose. After a while: the smoky scent takes a back seat and the orchid and magnolia come to the front. The magnolia isn’t very sweet here, it reminds me of the mag in Hell’s Belle, but the white, heady flowers in this scent now smell more full and make for a sophisticated scent, but there’s a smoky dryness that just about lingers there. Eventually magnolia and orchid really stand out, but there’s a sweetness now apparent, I think it’s the black amber coming out. I smell the barest hint of rose too. The scent becomes much drier, like the petals are drying out, over time. Verdict: this is a sophisticated, traditional floral scent. Pale and pretty florals wreathed in smoke, this scent is feminine and almost delicate-fragile even, yet sombre and shadowed. The scent is surprisingly dusty and smoky to start but then it settles into a pleasant mix of rich heady flowers. Very womanly and indeed, voluptuous, but with a hint of something darker to it. I do like this but there are other floral scents in the same vein that I much prefer. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Maybe just the imp. If you like this, try: Hell’s Belle, La Belle au Bois Dormant, Magdalene, Queen Mab

Carfax Abbey In the imp: something resinous, and a hint of green herbs. Wet on skin: mmm, there’s frankincense here, and it’s getting nice and strong! Dry: I like this. This is a herbal incense scent-mainly frankincense, possibly some myrrh as well, but with a deep green herbal aspect (these are dry herbs, I smell dried sage here) and a dusty woodsy base, and also an unexpected sweetness lurking behind it all. this reminds me of something else I’ve smelt but now it’s less like the Rat King and more like the church incense themed scents, along similar lines to Midnight Mass or the Pit and the Pendulum, but with a dusty aspect, it’s almost like a forgotten abbey. Very atmospheric. This is what I hoped Arcana would be like. After a while: is there amber in here? I get a lovely sweetness to this scent which is highly reminiscent of amber, but it could actually be sandalwood as well, a red sandalwood note? Or musk? It’s powdery, and dusty as well, and I smell moss here as well. I wish I could remember what scent this strongly this reminds me of…there’s a dusty, almost decayed feel to the scent which does remind me very slightly of attics, and historical yet forgotten buildings-religious ones particularly-with wooden frames crumbling, everything covered with the dust of ages, and yet I get a strong visual of sunlight streaming through a broken church window, playing on dust motes floating in the air. And then suddenly it hits me…the familiar powdery scent is orris! Of course! Sweet and pale and powdery and almost old fashioned, and in here, almost ghostly. It also reminds me very slightly of Morella, especially with the sage scent I get here. There may even be a very slight smidgen of violet, and just before the scent fades completely, I get a lovely light musk with smoky woods, and then a sweet resin which smells almost like amber. Verdict: Beth is so good at creating such atmospheric, evocative scents that vividly captures the image of a place, the climate, the mood, and the memories. This is one of those scents. It brings to mind a vivid visual of an abandoned-maybe even haunted-church or abbey in an autumn woodland on a warm sunny day, the foundations are crumbling, the roof is almost ruined, and the frames of exotic wood are dry and fragrant yet overgrown with moss and weeds. The incense once burnt here still lingers strongly and it’s a scent that’s almost comforting…dust covers everything and the warm sun filters through the dusty air through the broken roof, in muted, golden rays. I can’t understand why but there’s something almost approachable about the incense-woods aspect of the scent, warm and sweet. It’s almost like there’s amber or musk permeates this, there’s certainly some orris here that really comes out at drydown, which makes this a perfume as well as the scent of a place. This dusty evocative scent with a traditional perfume aspect is along similar lines to the likes of Ozymandias though this is damper and mossier, with hints of dry leaves and orris/violet…it’s very wearable and makes for a very interesting yet delightful perfume. Amazing stuff. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes, I need at least one bottle! If you like this, try: Pit and Pendulum, Midnight Mass, Clio, Arcana, Aureus, Ozymandias, Morella

RM Renfield In the imp: mossy cumin. I can really smell the cumin here, and it contrasts with the green, wet moss. Wet on skin: spiced moss! Very unusual indeed. There’s a very faint hint of neroli. Dry: this is a very unusual scent indeed. The dominant note is moss-this isn’t the soft, powdery-green scent of oak moss that I like, this is damp, green, wet and marshy moss, this is like Spanish moss, very much like the one in Bayou. It really dominates the scent, and over it is a bitter, spicy, savoury cumin note. After a while: still very mossy. The cumin just adds dry heat to the moss, but it’s an overpowering green wet moss scent, it smells humid and muggy but also piercing and a little bit crazy. I can’t smell the other notes. It stays like mossy cumin until the end, it doesn’t change much. Very swampy. Verdict: when it comes to moss, I like the subtle drydown that oak moss provides, but I think my skin seems to amp Spanish moss these days. I think that’s the moss in here, because that’s pretty much all I smell-damp, wet, green swamp moss. A really ‘agitated’, edgy moss note made gritty by cumin. I suppose that could be considered unhinged. But it’s just all powerful, all consuming green moss on my skin. I don’t smell the neroli or patchouli much, and I have no idea what balsam of Peru smells like so I can’t say if I smell that. I’m not too keen on moss being amped up to that level and I think this scent may be a lot better on a man, so I think I won’t keep this. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Probably not. If you like this, try: Bayou, Dracul, Zombi

Dr John Seward In the imp: hmm, I can’t really describe it any more than soft and sweet yet smoky, along the lines of Chrysanthemum Moon but without the sourness I got there. Wet on skin: soft smoky opium spiced with pepper and sweetened by tonka, I think. Dry: mmm, I like this. This has the same opiate ambiance as Mum Moon did-where the opium hovers in the air and clings to fabric, but here I smell a sweet floral note which I think might be champaca, since it reminds me strongly of Khajuraho. It’s a very sweet, soft flower resting on a pale bed of sandalwood, surrounded by an opium haze, but with a faint undercurrent of spicy pepper, possibly ginger too. There’s a very dusty feel to this scent, dry and old. After a while: champaca sometimes has a habit of smelling like overripe fruit on me-it did that in Khajuraho but was held back by the other notes, and it does that even more here. I still smell the scent of opium tinged cloth, but the champaca is a little too sickly sweet for me now. Normally I love tonka but it seems to be exaggerating the cloying champaca even more here. The scent that lingers on my skin afterwards is much more agreeable-it’s sweet parchment. It’s a kind of dusty old books with pale dry petals and leaves from trees scent, infused with poppy smoke and sweet tonka and champaca, the dryness enhanced greatly by sandalwood. Verdict: I’m not sure what to think of this. I like the just-dry stage and the end drydown but I can’t handle the scent after half an hour of wear for a few hours after…at first it’s a similar ‘fabric infused with poppy smoke and a hint of ginger’ scent to Mum Moon, but with a sweeter floral aspect, sort of like a muted Mum Moon. But then the champaca gets oversweet and takes over for a long time. It seems that champaca might be another one of my problem notes, though it does sometimes work, it depends on the scent…but in here, magnified by sweet tonka, it smells like overripe fruit, almost verging on banana! I agree that there is a certain madness to this scent. The drydown is more like ‘mad opium-addicted librarian’ as I get something like books and parchment creeping into the scent. I really like this stage and if the champaca didn’t go crazy on me I’d keep this but I’m afraid the scent is too cloying and sickly for me to keep. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Probably not. If you like this, try: Chrysanthemum Moon, Khajuraho, Red Lantern, Languor

Count Dracula In the imp: a spicy sweet ginger scent. Wonderfully warm spices, almost comforting. Wet on skin: mmm, now the leather and woods start to come in, and the cinnamon is apparent. Dry: whoa! This is wonderful stuff. Hot, fiery, sweet spices like cinnamon, clove and ginger burst into life, dancing on top of a layer of black, sexy leather, musk, patchouli and woods. But it’s so fantastically spicy and warm, it’s almost like evil chai tea spilt on leather. The spicy scent is almost like that of Three Witches. After a while: now the spices tone down a touch, and the woodsy, musky leather comes out a little more. There’s a lovely smooth sweetness to it and I can barely smell the patchouli. The ginger still hovers around. The tonka comes out a little more and I realise that’s the source of the rich sweetness. Now this strongly resembles Perversion, and I love that. Verdict: the only word that comes to mind when I wear this isn't a word but a noise...rrrrroooowww! I knew this would be good from the notes but I wasn’t expecting it to be this. Fucking. Delicious. It starts off with the most wonderfully spicy scent, a fabulous, warm, cracking blend of my favourite spices all over black leather. This is like Three Witches down at the bondage club. This is vampire chai tea. This is better than Geek. And it’s sexy as hell. The spicy scent does fade a bit but that’s when the woody leather and the tonka do their thing and this becomes the unholy lovechild of Bow and Crown and Perversion. It’s wonderful from start to finish. It’s strange because this is both comforting and warming-a perfect winter scent-and yet evil and naughty and a little kinky as well. That’s all good to me. I’m getting more of this. Who would have thought that Dracula could smell so shaggable? It smells good on me but I bet this will smell devastatingly good on a guy. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes. I need more! If you like this, try: Dracul, Three Witches, Perversion, Bengal, Bow and Crown

Wilhelmina Murray In the imp: a soft, sweet, floral scent with a hint of lilac-possibly dragon’s blood? Wet on skin: lilac and soft white flowers, and a hint of rose. Dry: now I smell blackcurrant, and a sweeter, deeper, musky scent begins to filter through the gentle floral fragrance, and the sharpness of tea rose becomes apparent. This is a really beautiful scent, I must say. The lilac note is still prominent, maybe it’s the dragon’s blood or maybe even one of the ‘virginal blossoms’. I also smell sweet nectar-y white flowers, maybe tuberose or frangipani could be among those? Underneath I smell fruity currant and hints of musk and myrrh, and dry sandalwood. After a while: far from the wrist, the scent of lilac-like dragon’s blood wafts, it’s a dry, almost bitter lilac, with a hint of dry red rose. But close two the wrist, the scent is so gorgeous-a soft white flower, pure and sweet, white and luminous. It reminds me of the luminous floral side of Fallen, but also reminds me of a note from Stardust and Khajuraho, and I’m certain that there’s tuberose in here now. Underneath I smell what could be musk. It’s almost like this scent has a split personality. And then I realise that what I was smelling which I thought was lilac is actually hyacinth! How could I be so dense…well, both are purple spring flowers. I can really smell the hyacinth now among the sweet white flowers, and it’s beautiful. The soft virginal whiteness does fade, leaving hyacinth and sharp rose with bitter dragon’s blood. Verdict: another fascinating fragrance from the Order of the Dragon, this scent seems to have many facets-a soft, sweet, spring-like floral scent of sweet and heady flowers, delicate, innocent, glowing petals covered in nectar and hyacinth blooms. There’s a darkness here though, a hint of sweet dark musk, a sharp touch of crisp rose, fruity currants and the bite of dragon’s blood. It’s a gorgeous fragrance, very feminine, innocence with a sinister shadowy aspect. I adore the soft virginal blooms aspect of the scent and the hyacinth note that I get for about 2 hours, this does fade away though. I love this scent and I’m glad I have a bottle, but it’s not as amazingly wonderful as Lucy Westenra so one bottle will be fine. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes, one bottle. If you like this, try: Lucy Westenra, Lilith, Phantom, Pontarlier, Fallen, Ladon

Creepy In the imp: sweet rum! This is even more boozy than Grog-this really is dark sweet rum! Wet on skin: now I can smell caramel apples and smoke appearing in the rum… Dry on skin: whoa. This smells like apple bobbing in a vat of rum instead of water. A sweet yet crisp and sharp apple covered in home-made brown sugar caramel with a hint of butter, with lots of rum (no coconut yet). I also get the scents of crisp autumn smoke, dry leaves and a hint of bonfire in here, and the cool 'windy' note that early reviews mention. I love that aspect of it-unexpected autumnal notes creeping into the boozy caramel apple scent. After a while: the smoky aspect of the scent, like darkened sugar/syrup and chestnut smoke, increases over time. It reminds me of the likes of Gluttony and Cockaigne now, really caramelised and almost like treacle. It still smells of boozy apples (especially close to the skin) but with a hint of roasted chestnuts, maple syrup and autumnal wood-smoke. This smoky, nutty, dry and leafy scent gets stronger over time, and the apple note starts to morph into pumpkin, it seems. The end scent is all sugary smoke and maple syrup and walnuts/chestnuts/pecans on me. It's really nutty! I really like this, but it's very similar to the drydown of Cockaigne or Drink Me, I don't smell as much apple now. Verdict: this is the smell of an intoxicating autumn. At first it smells like boozy, dizzying rum splashed over sweet red apples covered in home made caramel made with brown sugar and butter and melted until brown and almost-but-not-quite burnt. But I also can make out a chilly autumn breeze (more of a fresh 'feeling' than a scent) and smoky autumn leaves burning in a distant bonfire. Out of the two Halloween apple scents (the other being Punkie Night), this is my favourite. The drydown is less about apples and rum and more about the caramel-a smoky caramel scent, like cooked brown sugar with maple syrup and, oddly, a nutty scent like pecans and walnuts and roasted chestnut smoke wafting in the air. I tend to get this 'caramelised nuts' scent with a lot of the sugary/caramel-themed foody scents. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle because of this drydown which smell so similar to some other scents, but it may be worth it just for the rum-soaked toffee apples scent I get at the start, which smells so authentic and unique. I'll keep the decant though. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Definitely keeping the decant. Might get a bottle, if finances allow. If you like this, try: Samhain, Devil's Night, Verdandi, Grog, Sugar Skull, Hearth 05

Punkie Night In the imp: crisp, tart apples. Wet on skin: I smell green apples, red apples and cider in here now. Dry on skin: mmm, interesting. this is very apple-y indeed. It's predominantly a dry, crisp, sharp apple very similar to that of the Hesperides, as opposed to the sweeter apples in Verdandi and Les Bijoux, it's also very much a 'fizzy apple drink' scent as well, bubbly as well as crisp and green. I smell a hint of sweeter red apple underneath. I think the cranberry note may be adding more sharpness to it all. After a while: eventually the cider scent really, really comes out. It's not the odd 'papery-dry' or the 'Appletise' scent I get with other cider scents, but a definite smell of booze and fermentation. This really does smell alcoholic now, like true cider, freshly brewed from the apple harvest. I still get the crisp sharp green apple scent around the outside, the tartness enhanced by the cranberries. The only worry is that this fermenting apple scent has the potential to turn rotten on me. This nearly goes into 'rotting fruit' territory but doesn't, thankfully, it turns to boozy cider, sharp and clear with hints of apple skin (something here really does smell like the skin of an apple) to it. After a few hours, the scent of apple skins, green apple flesh, and cider linger faintly. Verdict: I love eating apples, and the smell of real apples. But when it comes to apple scents, I prefer them to be very complex (like the Harvest Moons), or well grounded with unusual notes, or sweetened and spiced, otherwise the apple note smells a little too sharp and thin on me. This was the case here-it was all apple and no depth, the apple scent was too dry and tart, not sweet or juicy. It was also quite thin on me. I must say that the cider note in here is spot on though-the cider here smells more true than most apple cider scents-this has a real feel of booze and fermentation to it, like home brewed cider. But in the end, the scent isn't my favourite when it comes to apples-it's very similar to the Hesperides, and I prefer Creepy as my apple Halloween LE. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Probably not, I prefer my apple scents to be sweeter, more spicy, or mixed with deeper and richer notes. If you like this, try: The Hesperides, Harvest Moon (any), Ladon

Pumpkin Queen In the imp: oh no…this is Jack's sister. Very buttery pumpkin. I really hope this doesn't go the way Jack did on me. Wet on skin: good, the butter note has faded, and now the spices come out! Dry on skin: gorgeous! This is beautiful now…I smell an almost fruity pumpkin note with delicious notes of cardamom and ginger, and hints of orange! This is so good! The red ginger in here doesn't seem to be the one that turns to rubber on me, in fact, I can see where the comparisons with Shub come from. the orange is very nice and the cardamom is as fantastic as ever. And I must make another comparison…the Queen smells somewhat similar-or rather, complementary-to the King. Only the King is more cinnamon-spicy and much drier and less rich and more bakery-like, but there's a similar spicy theme here. They definitely make a good couple, that's for sure. I can't wait for the amber to appear. After a while: still as good as ever! The orange is gone now, but the spices still linger. I can't really smell the deep green of fig leaf, so apparent in blends like Eden and Uruk, but I can barely detect it. It gives the effect of pumpkin leaves, but the scent is still sweet, fruity, spicy pumpkin, with a hint of something smoky or cooked to it now. Eventually the spices become more muted, smoother, and there's a smokiness to it. The only way I can describe this is as a spicy-fruity cloud. A warm ambient scent which is very pretty. Underneath this ambient 'orange mist' is a tantalising hint of Egyptian Amber. At the end, the scent lingering is a muted, warm, fruity pumpkin. Some of BPAL's pumpkin notes can smell a little fake on me but not this. I don't smell amber as much, more like a bare hint of it-it seems to have bonded with the pumpkin note. Verdict: ok, she may be a diva with a reputation for being fashionably late and holding up everything and everyone in the process, but boy, she smells damn good. This is my favourite of the pumpkin scents. Well, I love the King but he ain't that easy to come by. I've noticed that a lot of pumpkin scents (ie, the Patch) tend to smell fake on me these days, but not the Queen-her pumpkin note is delicious. I was worried, from the buttery intro, that she'd smell like a Jack clone but that wasn't the case. On the skin, the spices explode into life and add their sparkling, comforting warmth to the pumpkin fragrance, whis. The amber note, whilst not as strong as I hoped, really brings it all together and seems to enhance the pumpkin scent, adding a gorgeous golden accent to it. I love the way this puts a whole new spin on the 'spiced pumpkin' scents, it's different from the usual, thanks to the exotic spices and the amber, it's foody but not your average foody scent. This is perfect for Halloween of course but it also seems to be apt for Christmas, probably because of the orange-spice. Love it and will get more! Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! One to hoard! If you like this, try: Jack, any Pumpkin Patch oil (especially #1), Samhain (any)

Quincey Morris In the imp: leather, but totally, totally different to the usual BPAL black leather like De Sade or Loviatar etc. This is definitely saddle leather or rawhide. Wet on skin: the 'cowboy leather' sweetens with a juicy hint of pear, and vanilla, and woody cedar. Dry on skin: what a unique scent! It smells of rawhide leather and suede, with dry, dusty cedar, sweet vanilla, a hint of tobacco and musk, and pear. I'm surprised at how nicely the pear note mixes with the other notes-it adds a juicy sweetness which contrasts but doesn't clash with the dusty leather scent. the vanilla note isn't like the one in Tombstone-it's a lot more gentle, mingling nicely with all the notes. After a while: whoa, it's like I've walked into a leather shop. This is now all LEATHER to me-and the most genuine and scarily authentic leather ever. It's so different to De Sade's black leather jackets and shoes, this is brown leather, the leather used to make bags, heavy duty coats, and of course saddles. It smells so leathery that I don't think I can bear it. Gone are all the other notes. It's still a little sweet but it's leather, leather and more leather now. This may be more of a guy scent. and then something weird happens. After about 4-5 hours, the smell becomes like leather and chlorine! Just like what LGK's review said, it smells like chlorine on me now, like I've been in a swimming pool with a leather swimsuit! Verdict: I haven't tried Dead Man's Hand but I think this is the quintessential cowboy scent-at first it's much nicer and more complex than Tombstone which was vanilla bean SN on me. This scent is all about the rawhide. The pear note is a nice touch and the dusty cedar and tobacco with the soft vanilla backs up the leather nicely. The leather note is like no other in BPAL that I've tried. Whereas the usual BPAL leather is like either new shoes or sofas, this is like suede, like saddles, it's a very intense leather scent, makes me think I've walked into a leather shop. In fact, I find this leather a little too much for me-I like my leather a bit more discreet and smooth. Especially when this leather takes over the whole scent at drydown, it's nothing but unbelievably genuine-smelling leather after an hour or so. I'll keep the decant for the 'novelty factor' because I do like the smell of suede leather and Beth's got it spot-on here, but not as perfume. Maybe it'll be better as a room scent. Emoticon rating: this board doesn't have a cowboy emoticon, so it'll be this Is it a keeper? Yes, just the decant -it's a little too intensely leathery for me. If you like this, try: Coyote, Tombstone, Bow and Crown of Conquest

The Carpathian Mountains In the imp: wintergreen, pine and juniper! This is an almost medicinal evergreen smell. Very cold. Wet on skin: whoa, this is very, very wintergreen indeed! Dry on skin: wintergreen. A very medicinal wintergreen scent, but it does give an impression of a dry, cold breeze from the mountains. It's nothing like the Skadi snow note though. Under this wintergreen I smell glimpses of currant, fir, pine, moss, juniper and grass, maybe some floral notes, and an odd olive like note as well, which I also got in Talvikuu, if I remember rightly. But mainly medicinal wintergreen and dry pale wood rubbed with wintergreen oil. After a while: this doesn't change much-it's still that odd scent of antiseptic, pale woods and hints of grass and an 'oily' scent. I was expecting a lot more complexity and variety from here but it's flat and bitter on my skin. But it definitely has a cold and mountainous feel to it. The wintergreen-antiseptic scent just doesn't budge at all. it's not even a nice menthol scent, and that bitter sickly green smell has also got worse. Verdict: from the wonderfully varied and complex list of notes this scent has, I was expecting a fantastic and multifaceted forest scent with foliage, woods, flowers, fruits and moss, with a cold, snowy note over it all. but I didn't get this at all…I got mainly strong wintergreen. It smells very medicinal, almost antiseptic, and hardly any of the other notes mentioned in the description show up-there are hints of currant and evergreen trees, some wood and greenery, but it's mainly flat wintergreen with a nasty oily feel like bitter olives. However, the thinness this scent has could definitely be evocative of thin, cold mountain air with hints of greenness. But really, this was a real disappointment on my skin…I'm going to swap this off, it just doesn't work. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? No. If you like this, try: Hamadryad, Talvikuu, Ulalume

Treat #1 In the bottle: fizzy pink lemonade and watermelon flavoured boiled sweets. It's an explosion of fruit and sugar! Wet on skin: this scent sweetens and becomes even more sugary but also more citrus-y, and effervesces on my skin! Dry on skin: oh, such a fun scent! This is pink lemonade and sugar on me! So wonderfully sweet but with that lemon-lime sharp bite to it that adds a really 'fizzy' feel to the scent. I smell watermelon candy as well, as opposed to watermelon fruit. The sugar note in here is very similar to Xanthe's. This scent really sparkles…it's like fairy dust, sherbet and summer lemonade. This is the lovechild of Fee and Snow Angel. After a while: I am surprised at how long the lime note is lasting. Usually citrus notes fade fast, but it seems this 'pink lime' component (I didn't know limes could be pink!) is one of two citrus notes that lasts ages on my skin, the other one being blood orange. The sugar is still the strongest note of all, but I like the balance of sugary sweetness and citrus sharpness-and it's not that annoying fake 'sour sweets' scent, it smells like real (albeit highly sugared) citrus. Verdict: this is what happens when Fee and Snow Angel have a child…it's this little treat. This is a lot more wonderful than I expected. This is like sherbet lemons and pink lemonade with spun sugar and boiled sweets in watermelon, strawberry and lime flavours all mixed up in a fantastic sugar overload. I was worried this would be too sweet, almost enough to give me cavities, but Beth seems to have a wonderful new sugar accord which is in Xanthe, and also in here-it smells like pure sugar but isn't cloying at all. And there's a lovely citrus side to the scent which balances out the sugar. This scent is full of happiness and smiles, it's energetic and bubbly and so damn FUN! There's nothing serious or deep to this. It makes me smile, makes me think that I'm six years old and that the sun is shining and the world is a wonderful place full of lollipops, rainbows and fairy dust. This is the perfect scent to nurture my inner child. I'm not sure if I need a bottle because it's so similar to Xanthe and Yemaya at times, but it's also different to these. I love it anyway. This is being reserved for summer. Emoticon rating: Is it a keeper? Yes! Though whether I need a bottle and not just a decant, I'm not sure. If you like this, try: Yemaya, Glitter, Bon Vivant, Xanthe the Weeping Clown