lady_pandora

Maybe layering something pink and sugary over something a little more sinister? The first thing I thought of for her was High-Strung Daisies Ack, I think I had High-Strung Daisies long ago, but swapped it away. Not sure I really have much in the way of sugary scents in general, other than maybe Midnight on the Midway.

Thread necromancy for any Umbridge recommendations! I'm dressing as her for a Halloween party. I feel like it ought to be something kind of evil, but that someone of her tastes would see as ladylike. I'm kind of stuck on Wicked at the moment, but any other ideas would be welcome! Maybe even Lucille Sharpe, but I think Lucille might be offended.

I let out an audible "unf" when I opened this, which is always a good sign! On me, this smells kind of like a Yankee Candle, in the best possible way. I think it smells like a specific one I loved, called "Harvest," but I haven't smelled the candle in years and can't say for sure. I looked up Harvest and the listed notes are cinnamon, apple, clove, vanilla, musk, and pumpkin, so I can see how they'd end up similar. Anyway, this is largely a spiced cider scent on me, but with something sweet and amazing rounding it out (other reviewers mentioned brown sugar; that might be it! I'd been wondering about beeswax or sweet resins). There's a hint of smoke, too, and there's something green and vegetal hanging around in the background, which I've never been able to pin down but think of as the "celery note." This note sometimes gets out of hand, but it behaves well here and doesn't try to take over. It's really lovely, and probably the first oil that stands a chance of stealing Fearful Pleasure's throne as my favorite autumn scent--time will tell. I'm very glad I got this.

2016 version, decant, accidentally aged a year before testing. (I know, I know!) This is one of those times when I'm not totally sure my experience makes sense with the listed notes, but here goes. Witch Dance starts out smelling like vetiver and cherry cola on me, and gradually the cola-ness goes away and leaves a throw that reminds me of the cherry/vetiver blend from Blood Kiss, though without the honey sweetness of the latter. Then, I have this red musk amping thing, so eventually that comes out to play. The throw remains largely fruity vetiver while the skin scent is the musk. It smells like Blood Kiss went out dancing in the woods and got sweaty and funky, except it smells better than real sweat does--it smells like what sweat would smell like if it were more poetic. I probably don't need a whole bottle of this, but will be keeping the decant.

Mmmm...if oil and pitch were perfume, this is what they'd smell like. Dark heavy slightly sweet resins. Reminds me somewhat of Event Horizon but without the high-pitched floral notes. I think I'm going to join the "wish I'd bought more of this" club.

Hoo boy, I used this a few weeks ago, and I was not prepared. Disclaimer: there were a couple of different things going on. I was at a convention and cosplaying a famously fanservicey character, and I've also lost a bunch of weight. So it might not all be the oil. But still, I dressed cute the previous evening, had the same figure, and didn't get this weird effect. I put this on to complement the sexy costume. Liked the scent--it smells kind of like Venus and Charisma mixed together, which seems appropriate--I get the watery floral of Venus and the warm ambergris(?) thing Charisma does, and it's quite pretty. As I walked around the convention, I got a ton of attention. None of it was even really bad; mostly it was just random guys walking by and saying "Hi, (Character's Name)" or "How you doin', (Character's Name)." But after about half an hour of it, I just started feeling really bombarded, like every random comment was a tiny little needle sticking me. I'm not used to getting that much attention, I guess? I felt like I was missing some vital protective membrane. I will definitely use this again, but I'll have to remember to shield first, for my sanity's sake.

O and Lights of Men's Lives definitely! Also in the GC, I find Brown Jenkin and Miskatonic University to be cozy--you don't necessarily expect that in the Lovecraft section, but they totally are, to me! From last year's Yules, Winter: My Secret, if you can find someone selling it.

I was pipe-dreaming of something akin to Lucille with this, with the rose/black lily combo, but now that it's here, it reminds me more of Fresh and Blooming as a Rose from BPTP's Yules a couple years ago. Except I like this one better, as it has a "perfumy" element to it that smells more mature and upscale than Fresh and Blooming. I'm getting this very elegant lily note and a rose that comes across as "sweetened," like maybe there's an unspoken amber note in here. Definitely going to be looking into a bottle. Rose fans need this.

ESBAT OIL This is a full moon ritual oil, and is suitable for both celebratory and religious ritual. Like all of our small-batch short-run TAL blends, it contains subtle energies imprinted onto the oil by shifts in intention, subtle changes to the formulas, and the effects of astronomical phenomena. This batch of Esbat oil emphasizes Luna’s sense of mystery and wonder, and as such, this oil can also be used in spellwork to draw into yourself a dreamy, wondrous sort of creativity, to rekindle childlike wonder, and to awaken an understanding and appreciation of the beauty of the Sublime within your soul. It is an oil of understanding your true potential through unconventional means. This Esbat Oil contains steam-distilled fractionated white camphor, organic clary sage essential oil, orris C02 extract, liquidambar, blue lotus absolute, steam-distilled lemon scented gum essential oil, organic lemon essential oil, Hungarian juniper berry essential oil, and ethically farmed Roman chamomile oil from flowering tops. I recently had the opportunity to buy a decant of this small-batch oil, and this month's Full Moon seemed a great time to give it a whirl. I really like this--it has a palpable sense of the sacred about it. I get mostly the lemon up front and then the sage, scent-wise; it's got a smoky, incensey vibe to it and I felt a warm, peaceful energy from it. I will definitely use this again on other Esbats.

My general sense of Luna is cool, watery, green. It has a family resemblance to Water of Notre Dame to my nose. I think there's maybe water lily in this, and rose, and there's something herbal that reminds me a bit of mint, but isn't mint, and I think might be mugwort. I used it in worship rather than in spellwork, so I can't speak to its power in that sense yet, but the ritual definitely felt charged-up, and it's a lovely scent. I will update if I use it in spells.

I'm normally all about orange/amber combinations, but Four Seasons: Winter goes wrong on me in a way it really shouldn't. It's just too sweet and reminds me of a shampoo I didn't really like much. I can't pick out the apricot in its own right--I mostly just smell SUPER SUPER SWEET orange--but maybe I can't wear apricot, despite how much I like eating them! Depraved didn't work on me either. Ah, well, at least I have my other orange ambers to keep me warm at night.

2016 version AMBER AMBER AMBER. ALL THE AMBER. It doesn't really morph much on me; it's a bit powdery in the early going, and then stops being powdery pretty quickly and is just sweet resinous amber amber amber amber amber SO MUCH amber. Lasts forever. It reminds me a bit of Brisingamen, which makes sense because that has multiple ambers in it too, but Jacob's Ladder is without the honeyish note Brisingamen has (I know Brisingamen is not supposed to have honey, but I totally smell it there). Pure and golden. Probably more one for the cold weather. Maybe that's why it's a freaking Yule and I shouldn't have waited until June to test it.

Eden and I did not get along, but I love Nasty Woman.

Her Strong Enchantments Failing starts out grape gum, and then shifts to a less gummy grape combined with an incense note I last smelled in 7 Word Love Story: Lust and something "clean perfumey." I think it's white musk representing the "pale rage"--I know Beth likes that kind of scent pun. I can see the comparison to Morgause, though Morgause gets jasminey in the later stages on me while this doesn't have jasmine. It's mostly a purple fruit/incense/I-think-white-musk blend. And the morning after I tried it on, it was AMAZING. I have no idea what magic happened to this when I was sleeping, but it went from "This is a nice scent" to "HOMG." Definite keeper. Might be nice for when I want to jump somebody and then jump him again in the morning.

My nose thinks VILF is cherry for a brief moment when it's wet, then it morphs to leather. At this stage it kind of reminds me of Haute Macabre and As Above. The leather is really strong at first and gradually softens, as I start smelling some vanilla coming in to calm it down. At about the half-hour mark, I start to think I can smell a blend similar to Blood Kiss hanging out in the background behind the leather--I can smell that whole vanilla/honey/clove magic back there, but the leather is still kind of whomping on it. At an hour, I really like it! Patchouli has joined the party. The leather is behaving, and the Blood Kiss-like thing is still going on in the background. The throw starts to get smokier. In the later stages, the whole scent fades a fair amount; I can still smell it on my arm, but most of the throw is gone. I like this, and it's definitely sexy, but I probably won't move the earth to locate more of it--I have other oils that fill the same niche in my collection. VILF sits at sort of an intersection between Blood Kiss, the Haute Macabre scents, and maybe Pleasures of the Imagination I, all of which I have.

Capricorn starts out with a pleasant soapy greenness. It's not a piney sort of green--is this the ivy? I suppose I've never actually sniffed an ivy vine before, so I'm not sure. It becomes less soapy as it dries down, but there's still some of that mingling with a mossier green note that reminds me of the drydown of Bewitched. I'm not really sure what I'm smelling here, but I like it! Very clean, very green, watery without being an ozone headache. I get none of the dark notes, oddly! ETA: When applying a bigger slather, I can make out the poppy!

I got a sniffie of Lead Phoenix a while back from a lovely forumite as an extra, and it turns out there was just enough oil for a skin test! It starts out plum and dark incense, and then the plum fades and a note I can't identify takes over; it really does smell like metal a bit! It's faint on me, but that may just be because there isn't much oil. Glad I got the chance to try it!

This starts out with a citrus that has a green and bitter tang to it, and reminds me a lot of the opening stages of 51. I cross-checked 51's note list in an attempt to narrow down whether the mandarin was doing this or the neroli, but 51 shares both notes! So I'm no closer to figuring it out, but at least I know why they smell similar! The bitterness recedes somewhat over the wear-time, and the sweet notes bring up the rear in a quiet, subtle blend to balance it out. I can't pick apart the amber from the honey from the vanilla, as they are low-key and in perfect harmony. A certain tang remains, and surprises me with tart little wafts from time to time--this is not the super-round orange of something like Haunted Palace! (Which I also love--they're just totally different!) This is a really great summer scent, and it does throw "flashes" at me throughout the day! I'm starting to figure out that I really like BPALs that surprise me periodically throughout the day--"Hey, what's that really interesting smell?...Oh, it's me!"

Last night I tried Alecto and thought I smelled pine instead of vetiver, and tonight I'm testing a scent with fir and I thought it was vetiver. Anyway, starts out as a dark green blast and then becomes woodier, and at that point I like it, but then I start amping the musk way too much and it becomes overpowering. Alas.

Alecto was a frimp from the Lab! Thanks Lab! Wet, this is kind of smoky for just a few minutes, and then settles down into a really nice pine scent. It doesn't smell like vetiver and it doesn't smell like cedar--somehow, the two are making magical alchemy together and smelling like pine instead. I'm not sure exactly what raspberry leaf smells like, but if it bears a resemblance to the fruit, I think that's what creates just a little bit of sweetness on the back end here. It reminds me somewhat of Christogenniatiko Dentrophobia, except without the tobacco phase that I didn't like in C.D. Alecto is surprisingly comforting, and has kind of a wild innocence about it. I feel like this isn't the kind of Fury who comes for you when you kill your relatives, but one of the Black Furies from Werewolf the Apocalypse, guarding a long-lost temple out in the woods against evil logging companies or something. And in fact, I'm wondering how this would layer with Wolf Moon 2016. This one's wood with a tiny hint of berry, that one's berry with a tiny hint of wood--I feel like it could work!

This starts out plum with woods, and then the plum dominates for a while; it's a really "purple" scent in the vein of Oya/Purple Phoenix/Bathsheba/Morgause. As the scent develops, I begin to pick up what I think is the mulberry along with the plum; it's sweeter but less loud, and reminds of of the Lab's blackberry note. There's also a subtle sensation of "cold" when I sniff close to the skin. I'm not totally sure if I'm imagining it based on other reviews or if there really is a bit of menthol here. Anyway, the scent is really pretty and I like it.

I've tested Zorya P twice now, and gotten basically the same result. It starts out a super sweet vanilla on me, kind of oscillating between a "waxy" candle-type scent and a "foody" scent that reminds me of white chocolate, or maybe it's just a waxy white chocolate! From about the one-hour point on, I can sniff out a delicate floral amid the vanilla, if I'm looking for it--I think this is moonflower, based on my experience with Long Night Moon, but I wouldn't swear to it. It doesn't fade super fast on me, but has little throw. This is a sweet scent, and a snuggly comfort scent, though so far it's not as transcendent on me as what others have described. I felt like I wanted some kind of contrasting dark note, like a wood or incense note, to balance out the sweetness, though conceptually I get why there isn't such a note here. I bet it'll age beautifully, though! ETA, 1/27/18: I really love the way this is aging. There's something kind of smoky about it now, giving it a bit of a noir feeling and that edge I was wishing for when it was fresh.

I had to buy Ascendancy because the word itself earworms me with "My Shot." Ritually, I'm using it for sort of a long-term project, so it'll be a while before I can report on its efficacy, but so far I can report that it does indeed have a warm energy to it, and that it smells like maple freakin' syrup. This is definitely one that I'll enjoy for the scent even though I'm wearing it for Reasons. ETA, 5/23/2018: Almost a year later, and I can say now that the long-term project mostly worked, and also that I wore this for a test for promotion at work and aced the thing even though I was hung over and sleep-deprived at the time. Powerful oil!

This review is going to be a shameless testimonial, because Veils and Mist totally works. I'll start by saying it also smells lovely. I want a BPAL that smells like this too, because it's a super pretty aquatic floral, I think mostly water lily. Putting that together with the "Mist" in the name, I think it might be an Avalon thing. My first experience with V&M was a while back when the vial itself sneakily hid from me--I'd transferred all my TAL to a new box, was sure I'd gotten them all out of the previous box, and months later realized V&M was still hiding in there! But on to what I did with it. I wanted this vintage dress from Etsy, and I couldn't afford it yet. Obviously, being vintage, it was one of a kind, and once it was gone, it would be gone. I was sitting there thinking, "Huh, I wish I knew some magic to hide it till I can afford it," and then I was like "...Wait, I have Veils and Mist." A couple of rules I set for myself: I had to put something in the petition to keep the seller's business from suffering while I was mojo-ing the dress. So I added in a line about redirecting other people's eyes to different things she was selling. Also to keep from harming the seller's business, if I did this working, I was absolutely committing myself to buying the dress if it was still there on payday. No takesie-backsies. I wanted to avoid looking back at the listing as much as possible. Partly, this was practical--I was worried that every time I looked at the listing, Etsy's algorithm would bump it. But it also seemed like a good superstitious thing to do. Trust that the spell is working, and don't look back at it every minute! As it turned out, I only looked back at the listing once after I started the working, and that was because it occurred to me to print the listing and put it with my candle. It was about ten days. I got a gray candle, and every day, I would anoint the candle with V&M and burn it for an hour. I improvised the words I said, but by the end, they'd gotten pretty consistent. It was something like this: "May the mists surround the X dress being sold by Y. May the eyes of others glance away from the X dress. May the eyes of others fall upon the other wares of Y. May the X dress wait in the mists until I come to buy it on (Date). So mote it be." Today was payday, and overnight I kept dreaming about it. I had one dream where it was still available, and one where it was already sold. I woke up at about 3am and I just had to know. So I fired up the laptop, first checked to see if my direct deposit had landed (it had), and then checked the dress listing. And now it is coming to me. Thank you, Veils and Mist!

It smells like I put on Winter, My Secret and then went to the BDSM shop. I really like this!