PurringPulsar

Sacred Whore of Babylon In the imp: gardenia, with something else in the background-either spice or incense. Wet on skin: oh dear, it's that astringent sharp note again. I don't think gardenia likes me! But here, there's also a sweetness, and the sharp note isn't too bothersome. Dry on skin: still gardenia, with that green sharpness fading fast, leaving the gorgeous white floral scent. There's something else there-maybe some resins? Or spices? Possibly vanilla? I don't know, but it's an inviting scent…it's sweet and tempting! After a while: oh wow, this is a wonderful scent. No more evil rough green smell! It's now a sweet, pleasant, seductive gardenia flower smell with something else enhancing it-a sweetness, possibly vanilla, or something spicy or resinous. I don't know what it is, but it's lovely-and very sexy indeed! There are still hints of green here, but that sweet, deep, smooth note in the background is so addictive…I just wish I knew what it was! I can't really smell the cinnamon that others mention, yet. After about 30-45 minutes, the sweet, deep scent behind the gardenia develops a warmth. Yup, there's something spicy in this. It could be cinnamon, but I'm not sure. But I do love the spice that's coming through. Verdict: at first I thought, oh no, gardenia goes wonky on my skin-this was, at first, sharp, gritty and astringent. However, the 'Ho has a gardenia that is much nicer on my skin-the sharp note fades fast as the scent dries and reacts with my skin. And then, it becomes glorious! This is a wonderful gardenia flower, full bodied and backed up by another sweet, voluptuous, slightly smoky scent…I'm not sure what this other scent is, but it smells sexy! It could be vanilla, honey, or a kind of musk. It could be incense-maybe myrrh, or something spicy. Maybe a mix of them all. It's gorgeous though. Smooth and seductive, but with a twist of confidence and a bit of darkness. This is the scent of a sultry, up-front woman who means business and doesn't take bullshit from anyone. I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle, because the wet stage is slightly scary, but the drydown is fantastic!

The Moon In the imp: watery, slightly soapy florals. Possibly jasmine and/or gardenia. There's a little bit of something citrussy or aquatic. Wet on skin: there's a slightly sharp, green, astringent note there, it's slightly off putting and feels dry, but in here it's not too unpleasant. The white florals are still there and there may be either mint or some kind of citrus fruit. Dry on skin: mmm, this is interesting. there's something there that's green and astringent, and yet there are also soft, slightly soapy floral notes, no doubt gardenia or jasmine, maybe both. There's a watery aspect to this scent, and I'm also wondering if there's a wood or pine note, or herbs, or anise, pepper or something along those lines. After a while: there's something green in this scent, like crushed flower stems. It's still very flowery. The scent also loses that watery quality it had before and becomes dry and dusty (like the surface of the moon!) I think the scent becomes more tolerable as time passes. I think this is a scent that requires patience. I eventually get used to the green sharp note and the florals smell nicer, richer and fuller. I don't get the vanilla note that others describe though. I do get a light wood scent though, possibly sandalwood or balsam wood? Verdict: hmm. I'm not keen on the dry astringent note in this, but this calms down eventually. There are some lovely, if slightly soapy, white florals here, and the scent has a hint of something aquatic, like dew drops on petals. There's definitely gardenia or tuberose in this, and possibly also jasmine. There's also something else in here that I can't quite put my finger on, a herbal or peppery scent of sorts, this may be what contributes to the sharp scent. It lives up to it's name-it has watery qualities at first, which then grow dusty and dry like the moon itself, with white, possibly night blooming flowers, the scent has an ethereal, yet mysterious, distant, withdrawn feeling-it's not warm and approachable like the Sun. It is also a scent that requires patience as it does improve as time passes. If it didn't have that dry astringency, I would love this scent. It's nice, but I'm unsure if I'd buy a bottle. But it does seem very apt for a lunar scent.

Yog Sothoth In the imp: hmm. Interesting. this smells clean and fresh, with a hint of floral and maybe a hint of forest, it has a soapy feel, but it's also quite nostalgic, like the smell of one of my aunt's perfumes or soaps. Wet on skin: yup, still soapy, but not in a negative way. I swear there's a scent in this that reminds me of a forest at night. And it really does smell like something I've smelt before. Dry on skin: my mum smelt this, and she said it reminds her of an old perfume. And indeed it does. It has a soapy scent that reminds me of something but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. It's very clean, fresh, cool, slightly powdery-it's not minty though. There's a hint of white florals here, or maybe even white musk. Maybe some pine, herbs or another forest scent. Unfortunately I'm not getting the 'dark unsettling vastness of space' feel from this scent. I just get a scent of soap or clean linen that brings back memories. After a while: the scent gets cooler and fresher as time passes. It still has that powdery quality, but I think the 'night air' scent is coming through, the 'soapiness' seems to tone down. It is very airy, like linen sheets hung to dry in the breeze, there's a hint of something like ozone, but not storm or marine ozone-maybe more like the upper atmosphere ozone layer? It has the 'air' smell, but I'm not getting the 'darkness' aspect, this scent is very bright and white to me. It has a scent of white flowers blooming at night, with a bit of white musk. After about half an hour or so, there seems to be a sense of the 'scent of nothingness'. The light white floral scent still lingers, but there's a smell that precedes it that seems to smell of…nothing. The only thing that I can describe it as is a void, a cleaning and cooling of the air, slightly like air conditioning, but more natural than that-maybe this is the vacuum of space scent that people describe? After a few hours it smells a bit like...warm soap bubbles. There may be some pine here as BPAL's pine turns to Badedas on me, and now this smells like Badedas bubbles floating through space! Verdict: this is a really hard to pin down scent, indeed. But there's one thing it reminds me of-a more ethereal, ozone tinged version of perfume, soap or washing powder that one of my old aunts or babysitters used to wear or use. (Rheliwen's description of antique perfumes in ozone is spot on) It's clean, fresh, light, powdery, with white florals and maybe white musk. It has an airy, luminescent quality, at first it's a very 'white' scent to me. To me, this scent has a sense of nostalgia. It reminds me of something familiar, like something I know I've smelt before, even though I don't know what it is. It doesn't feel unsettling. It does, however, develop a sense of mystery, as the scent progresses…I soon notice this 'vacuum of scent' preceding the powdery florals I smelt before. It's hard to describe but this is probably that 'scent of space' people describe, it's like night air, or ozone, but more cold and 'empty' than that. However, I prefer Nuit as my night air smell, but this one is really complex and baffling to me. I'm not sure if it's a favourite, but I think this may be a scent that will grow on me.

The Fool In the imp: mint! I think there are two mints here-spearmint and another greener mint, plus a sweet candy like scent underneath. Wet on skin: yup, still minty. There's a green aspect to the mint, but also a spearmint note. And like most mint blends, it feels cool on the skin. Dry on skin: this reminds me a bit of Undertow, it has that sweet mint smell. This also has the green mint (pennyroyal?) smell from the High Priestess. It's a very cooling, fresh scent. After a while: I'm wondering if there's lotus or vanilla, or something sweet in this, as this has a slight scent that reminds me of candy floss! It's sweet mint with a hint of green. Very nice. Verdict: this is one of the mintiest BPAL scents ever. It's just pure, full on mint. There are two distinct mints here, sweet, chewing gum-ish spearmint, and a greener, more herbal mint that may be pennyroyal. It's a very fresh, carefree, cooling scent, playful and youthful-quite mischievous! Apparently this card corresponds with Air, and this scent is like a blast of fresh air, bright and breezy. It has a sweet aspect in the background, quite sugary, like candy floss. I'm not sure if I'd get a bottle, but I really like it, it's great for summer because it's so cooling and light.

The Magician In the imp: wood polish? Maybe not, but it's slightly reminiscent of it-but not unpleasantly so. It's resinous but not sweet. There's that 'tarot blend' I've noticed in a lot of these blends, but with an aspect of dark varnished wood-I think there may be frankincense in here too. Wet on skin: whoa, this is really unusual! There's that sweet-floral tarot blend there, mingled with a herbal-woody-frankincense smell. It's mysterious, deep, with hints of resin and something that reminds me of lavender… Dry on skin: now there's a sweetness that starts to surface. There's frankincense in this, I'm pretty sure of it. There's also lavender that I can smell here-which gets stronger and stronger. There are herbal and woody notes, some sweeter resin notes too, possibly myrrh as well? This is a complex and mysterious blend that is compelling to smell. The lavender eventually dominates the blend. After a while: it's now lavender, with other herbs. My skin must be wonky, as something in this smells like olives? There could be thyme in this as well…this reminds me of holidays in the Mediterranean, it's very calming. It does also remind me of a herb garden or kitchen. Verdict: this is very complicated and so fascinating, full of mystery. At first it reminded me of wood polish, but on the skin, a lavender note surfaces and mingles with the sweet-fruity-floral 'tarot scent' and possibly other herbs, and also resins like frankincense-then it turns more herbal, with a smell reminiscent of olives or thyme. I'm not sure if I'd buy a bottle but I do like this little quarter imp of it I have!

Maiden In the imp: dry, crisp rose tea. Not tea rose (although that may be the case) but rose and white tea. Wet on skin: yup, still roses and white tea. The rose here has a slightly lemony scent, which is accentuated by the tea. This is a very refreshing and bright rose scent. Dry on skin: this is lovely! I've noticed that with many rose BPALs, the rose note warms and strengthens on my skin as the oil dries and mingles with my chemistry. This is almost like a crisp rose like Rose Red, but warmer and with a strong tea note. I can't smell the carnation yet, but I think it is just about there. After a while: oh, the rose note gets better and better! This is a lovely rose scent, warm and full bloomed but the tea's still there giving it a nice tart edge. And now I can smell the carnation underneath it all-it's a very subtle note, but it's there. Verdict: if London is tea rose, then this is rose tea. There's a lovely crisp rose note and a strong white tea scent which is slightly astringent in a pleasant way. This is a lovely, light rose scent which is warm and fresh, a perfect scent for summer. I'm not sure if this is a favourite, as I still prefer Alice as my rose-carnation scent, but this one is another one of those amazing rose blends that Beth excels at.

Bathsheba In the imp: a single plum floating in perfume! (Yup, Simpsons addict here! lol) Wet on skin: wow, that is one hell of a juicy, sweet plum! It smells so real, very sweet and fruity. There's the musk underneath, and possibly the carnation as well. Dry on skin: oh, this is nice. This is really exotic and juicy. There's plum there, with musk and a bit of carnation. It smells slinky and seductive, it's fruity yet sophisticated. After a while: after a moment when the plum note smells a bit weird, not as sweet as before, a bit tart, it smoothes out nicely and the musk note becomes more apparent. I love the sweet musk in this, even though it smells more 'perfume-y' than most, I don't mind. It also has a dry aspect now. It doesn't have the juiciness of the wet stage-it's now dry musk with a bit of plum and the barest hint of carnation. Verdict: this is interesting, as this scent manages to be both juicy and sweet, and yet also sophisticated and mature. This smells like a real plum, ripened to the max and bursting with juice, but there's also the musk, which adds a seductive and exotic touch. I can't really smell the carnation that much, but it's there. I'm not sure if it's a favourite as the plum makes it a bit too sweet, but it's a very nice, exotic, slinky scent.

Skuld In the imp: sweet honey nectar. This is the same honey from the Honey SN, with a floral sweetness added-no doubt the ylang ylang. Wet on skin: oh wow, honey is amping up! This reminds me of O or Jezebel, only this time with ylang-and I think I can just make out some musk, but it's predominantly honey. Dry on skin: I think the labdanum is giving this a lovely, resinous aspect, adding depth to the honey. And oh my, who's this? Egyptian musk has come out to play, I think! Or is it Arabian musk? Probably both- under the ylang and honey, there's a gorgeous, gorgeous, sweet musky scent. After a while: the notes seem to settle down nicely. Honey and musk are the prominent notes here-and they go together surprisingly well. It's like a coating of wildflower honey with musk beneath it. It's even got a slight fruitiness. Verdict: another lovely honey blend! this has the same note from O and Jezebel and Honey SN, but with a wonderful, soft musk underneath. Ylang ylang adds a slight floral touch, and labdanum deepens the honey. The more I smell, the more I love this scent-I adore the musk which gives this such an exotic touch. I may get a big bottle of this.

Anne Bonny In the imp: dark, woody patchouli! Wet on skin: mmm, this is lovely! It's dark patchouli with a woody undertone. The frankincense adds a nice, bright, resinous feel to this, blended with the sandalwood note, which is amazing. Dry on skin: it doesn't change much, it still has its dark, woody, resinous quality. It smells gorgeous! The wood in this reminds me of the polished wooden beams of some great tall ship! Arr! And I loooove the frankincense in this, and the patchouli is lovely. The scents work fantastically together. After a while: oh, the sandalwood in this is amazing-really strong and oh-so woody, with patchouli adding lovely dark, almost leathery tone, (the patchouli and sandalwood keep swapping round as the most prominent note) with the golden brightness of frankincense. I am in love! Verdict: this is the total opposite of the perfumes I normally wear-usually I wear light, floral perfumes. But guess what-I love Anne Bonny! This is the perfect perfume for those days when I don't want to be frilly and flowery. This perfume means business. It's strong, it's woody and dark, and it's the perfect piratical blend. The dark woody scent is like the beams of a mighty galleon, with a leathery aspect from the patchouli, with frankincense glistening like pirate gold. It really fits the image of a kick ass pirate queen. I will get a bottle of this! Arr!

Spellbound In the imp: rich musk and a hint of rose. Wet on skin: oh wow. Now the rose comes out and blossoms on my skin! Oh I love rose. And red musk. And just a tiny hint of amber. This is gorgeous!! Dry on skin: this is lovely. The rose and musk are nicely balanced and smell so divine together. The amber gives it a rich sweetness. I have fallen in love! After a while: this blend just gets better and better! The notes settle down and the rose warms up wonderfully, complementing the musk and backed by amber. it has a slight powderiness, but I don't mind that at all! Verdict: this is amazing, gorgeous, and beautiful. All these rose blends have wowed me, this is another one. I'm impressed at the way the notes in this are so nicely blended and balanced and they go so well together. The rose note is wonderful here and mingles so nicely with the red musk, whilst amber adds a golden sweetness to the blend. Another one to add to my list of 5mls to buy! I am truly spellbound by this scent!

Flower Moon In the imp: yup, it's floral. But it's very light and breezy, quite sweet, and almost reminiscent of melon! Wet on skin: this is a very sweet scent, like honeydew, or honeydew melons. I can smell the nectar and the pollen in this blend. It's sweet, light spring flowers dusted with sugar, Dry on skin: still very sweet, springy, light, playful. This is the scent of springtime crossing over into summer. I can't make out the individual flowers, but it really does smell like nectar and pollen, it's so sweet, I keep getting images in my head of a meadow of wild flowers on a sunny day with bees buzzing round the flowers. After a while: the scent becomes more 'fuzzy', it smells sweeter, and it reminds me of the big yellow centres of flowers full of pollen. That's what the scent now reminds me of. It's also got a fresh aspect to it, like dewdrops on petals, and also has a slight greenness. I can also make out the lunar oils in the background. Verdict: this is a sweet, honeydew like scent. I was expecting it to be more floral, and it is quite floral, yes indeed, but totally different. This is light, breezy, and very sweet. It almost smells like melon at some points, but that's probably the smell of honeydew, or flower nectar, I can smell the pollen here. (Thank goodness I'm not a hayfever sufferer!) It's a sunny, bright, playful floral, like a meadow of sweet flowers in the springtime. However, there are other floral scents I prefer to this, but even so, this is really lovely and really evocative of spring and early summer.

oh dear...to me IPS smelt like perfumed vinegar I hope that's not what you mean, because I have Nanshe coming to me in a swap!

Fig This smells slightly reminiscent of pomegranate in the imp, which is weird. It's sweet, but also tart and quite dry and slightly green. On the skin, a nice, soft, slightly waxy sweetness is apparent, but it still has a tangy, sharp, crisp, almost green scent. It's like slightly unripe figs and fig leaves. I really like the sweetness in this though, which reminds me of dried figs. The tangy scent tones down a bit as time passes and the fig scent 'ripens' very nicely from green figs to ripe red figs. This is a lovely, tangy-sweet fruity scent, but again, I would prefer it as part of a blend. But I love the drydown of this.

Honey This is interesting. In the imp, this is a slightly floral, slightly tart honey rather than a sweet honey. On the skin, it has a real 'wildflower' scent, and a bit of a nutty or grainy scent. Quite unexpected for a honey scent! It does have honeyed aspects, but it's not blatant honey. It's like honey flavoured herbal tea, actually (in fact, I swear I can smell camomile in this), or like the fresh wildflower honey you can get at a country fair. It has green, herbal, grainy, nutty, floral/nectar like aspects, with a honey undertone. As time passes, the scent gets more and more like true honey, but it's not over-sweet. It's slightly similar to O and Jezebel's honey (only more herbal), and very different from Hetairae, Queen of Sheba, Tiger Lily, Dana o'Shee and Alice's honey. Very interesting, quite nice, but not what I expected from a Honey SN, but I still like it. It also goes to show that Beth uses many different honey notes in her blends.

Yuletide In the imp: holy moly, this smells like Christmas! Cinnamon, sweet berries, and pine trees! Wet on skin: oh, this smells like a Christmas tree! It has a soft pine/fir scent-it also reminds me of Badedas, which used to be my favourite bubble bath before Lush came along-with cinnamon. Dry on skin: yup, still Xmas trees with cinnamon! This is a lovely scent, it's festive, and warm. This smells a bit like a Christmas candle. There also cloves in here. The scent has a soapy quality to it, the scent reminds me of taking a Badedas bath at Christmas time. After a while: this doesn't change much, it still has that comforting, festive scent of Xmas tree and spices. I think this would make a wonderful scented candle/room fragrance. The drydown after a few hours is fantastic. It's got that wonderful pine/fir scent from Val sans Retour, but unlike VSR, which only lasted 15 minutes on me, this one lasts for ages. Verdict: this is another BPAL, along with Skadi, Sugar Cookie, Gingerbread Poppet and Three Witches, that reminds me so much of Christmas. This one is the scent of Christmas trees decorated with cinnamon sticks and pomanders studded with cloves. It also has a soapy quality that reminds me of Badedas, one of my favourite bubble baths. I can't really smell berries though, but it does have a waxy sweetness, which could be the berries. The drydown is wonderful, the scent of pine forests and Xmas trees lingers on my skin. This scent is lovely and makes me feel happy and warm inside, and I think it would be even better as room fragrance or a candle fragrance. I'm still undecided as to whether it's my favourite Xmas fragrance though.

Tiphareth In the imp: something boozy in here. there's also a hint of fruitiness, or something floral. Wet on skin: this reminds me of a perfume my mum wears. There's a slightly alcoholic perfume-y quality to this, with a sweet sherbet-like note with a floral aspect. This fruity-floral scent reminds me of some of the tarot oils. Dry on skin: mm, this is interesting. This is sweet, fruity, floral, but with a sophisticated depth reminiscent of posh perfume. It's light and citrus-sweet, but has a darker, heady feel. It's quite hard to describe, actually. After a while: dang it, this scent is complex! I think there's a citrus note of some kind in here. it's like sugared candied oranges, or orange sherbet, or maybe even apricot and there's probably vanilla here too. I also think there's a floral in here, not sure what though-I think it could be heliotrope, but I'm not 100% certain. There may also be a resinous note, maybe frankincense or amber? Possibly some sandalwood too? There's also a note there reminiscent of a perfume I've smelt before. It has some resemblance to some of the stations of the sun scents and tarot oils, but that could be my skin. It seems to fade quite fast, but the scent it leaves behind is really nice-sweet sandalwood and sugared fruits. Verdict: I'm having so much trouble identifying notes in this blend, it is so complex and well blended. Overall, the scent is very sweet, yet mysterious. There's a mixture of all sorts of scents here-fruity (citrus?), sweet (vanilla? Amber?), a bit of floral (not sure what), and also something deep and mysterious, possibly some resin or wood notes. This scent has a quality that reminds me of expensive perfume, like the one my mum wears. This is a lovely scent, very calming and soothing, but it reminds me of other BPAL blends, so I'm not sure if I'll keep it.

It's ok, I got a reply (and a very friendly one too!) just now

I sent an email to the lab at the answers address on Monday, and I haven't got a reply. Usually they reply quickly though...

Pomegranate In the imp, this is a delicious, edible smelling juicy scent which is both sweet and tart. On the skin, the sweetness develops, it smells red and juicy like a real pomegranate, but also has a slight berry like aspect to it's sweetness, and a sharp undertone. This is a very fruity, fresh smell which is both sweet and sharp simultaneously, and is both juicy and dry. It does go a bit over-sweet and candle waxy after a while. This is nice, but i prefer it as part of a blend, like Persephone, than as a SN.

Lucy's Kiss In the imp: rose…freshly bloomed Victorian rose. Similar to London, but less dry. Wet on skin: oh rose, I love you! This is like a traditional English rose perfume, it's quite nostalgic. It's fresh and quite tart and wet, and yet has a slight dry or powdery aspect. Dry on skin: this is lovely! This is really nice, soft, mature rose-and yet it has a crisp, fresh, wet and slightly green aspect to it. I think there's something else there-maybe the Victorian spices? It's not very spicy, but there is something else there-a soft, powdery smell backing up the roses. After a while: this stays lovely and rosy, simple as that. it gets a bit more powdery, and also quite dry. This is like a rose perfume from a posh Victorian lady's boudoir! Verdict: another beautiful rose smell from BPAL. This one has a nostalgic, old fashioned, traditional feel to it, and yet also has a certain freshness and tangyness about it, but there's also a dry scent there as well that develops as time passes. It's a gorgeous, feminine fragrance, and quite warm as well. This is another perfect example of the English rose blooming in a summer garden, or a sophisticated Victorian rose perfume.

Holy friggin' squee. That Midway label is wonderful-and it really does fit in the CN theme-I mean, a bat-rousel! How cool is that!!

Chimera In the imp: cinnamon! Me likes cinnamon very much! There's also a resinous, slightly sweet background. Wet on skin: ooh, this is interesting…it's quite soft, in fact. The cinnamon isn't very strong here, but, it's lovely and like the real ground spice. There's a dark depth here, thanks to the resins. Dry on skin: mmm, lovely. It doesn't have much throw on me but there's a slight sweet honey like floral scent-must be the honeysuckle. I can also smell the myrrh there, adding it's thick, deep, sweet scent. The only problem is that it is really faint on me… After a while: oh yeah, that's more like it. The scent has warmed up, the throw's improved greatly, and the smell is wonderful-a warm, gorgeous cinnamon myrrh scent, with a golden resinous touch-I'm not familiar with copal but I'm assuming that's what it is. The cinnamon fades over time and the scent then turns almost Snake Oil like! Mmm! Verdict: this is another lovely BPAL cinnamon blend. At first I was worried my skin ate it up, but no, it then warmed up nicely to make a mysterious spicy-incense scent. this smells delicious and sweet, with a dark side. The resins back up the cinnamon nicely. I'm not sure if I'll get a bottle yet as there are loads of other cinnamon BPALs which I love and this scent is slightly reminiscent of Eclipse and Snake Oil, but I will consider getting more Chimera another time because it's wonderful.

Alice In the imp: ooh, lovely, soft honey almond with a hint of floral, rose and carnation. This is like a floral Dana O'Shee! Wet on skin: soft creamy florals with honey. I can smell a bit of carnation and rose, nicely blended, with the creamy honey on top. The milk note in this is lovely! Dry on skin: oh, this is lovely. Creamy honeyed florals. The rose and carnation are mixed nicely so they form one lovely slightly spicy pink floral scent, and goes together wonderfully with the milk and honey. After a while: the florals become more pronounced, they get warmer and start to bloom on my skin, mingling ever so nicely with the honey. This blend makes me feel cosy and fuzzy inside, and it reminds me of happy childhood days. Verdict: this is a gorgeous, gentle, sweet creamy honeyed floral scent. I was worried that the milk note would be too sickly in here, but thankfully this wasn't the case-it was like the milk in Dana. The honey is very soft, and the florals are just perfect, carnation and rose blended to make a soft, girly, youthful scent. This would be wonderful as a body lotion. I'm thinking of getting a bottle of this, because this scent is so lovely!

I'll PM fallow deer because I think she's another Londoner...it's specifically London I'm concerned about because Paypal lists it as a county as well as a city. So other UK people won't have such problems.

Do you think I should email the lab to ask about this?