CapricornSister

THE KNAVE OF HEARTS 'Herald, read the accusation!' said the King. On this the White Rabbit blew three blasts on the trumpet, and then unrolled the parchment scroll, and read as follows:-- 'The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer day: The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts, And took them quite away!' Crushed roses and blackcurrant tarts. Wow, my first time being the first to review a blend!! I hope I do it some justice I love roses, so I have to try all of Beth's rose blends no matter what the other notes are. When I first opened the bottle, all I could think was "Eat Me". Not literally of course It reminds me very much of Eat Me, but with a floral underneath. It is quite strong in the bottle. Once I put it on it calmed down pretty quickly. It has average throw and seems to be lasting quite awhile on me. Once dry, the blackcurrant tart note remains on top but the rose comes out to play a bit more. All those afraid of roses shouldn't worry, it doesn't scream rose. The rose just adds a bit of green to make it less foody. Overall I think I like this quite a bit. I will definitely hang onto it

HOUSE OF UNQUENCHABLE FIRE O garment not golden but gilded, O garden where all men may dwell, O tower not of ivory, but builded By hands that reach heaven from hell; O mystical rose of the mire, O house not of gold but of gain, O house of unquenchable fire, Our Lady of Pain! Glittering amber, frankincense, neroli, vanilla silk, and champaca. WOWEEEE! This stuff is GORGEOUS! MINE MINE MINE. ALL MINE. Ok, I will share....Nothing in here screams *smell me and only me*, just blended so well. Not sure how they did it but the amber certainly feels like it is glittering! Frankincense/amber/champaca is what I get out of the bottle, but it's all very soft. Then it all sweetens up a bit from the vanilla/neroli. The scent certainly lingers but not in an obnoxious way. Comforting and happy to me, like a soft fuzzy sweater on that first NYC spring day when the temp finally gets above 55! Another bottle (or two) is in my future. Puddin' and the labbies, you guys are amazing!

Your hands lie open in the long fresh grass, – The finger-points look through like rosy blooms: Your eyes smile peace. The pasture gleams and glooms ‘Neath billowing skies that scatter and amass. All round our nest, far as the eye can pass, Are golden kingcup-fields with silver edge Where the cow-parsley skirts the hawthorn-hedge. ‘Tis visible silence, still as the hour-glass. Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragon-fly Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky: – So this wing’d hour is dropt to us from above. Oh! clasp we to our hearts, for deathless dower, This close-companioned inarticulate hour When twofold silence was the song of love. The blazing fires of nona hora: blood orange, mimosa, gingergrass, golden amber, saffron, tonka absolute, pomegranate, neroli, and bourbon geranium. This Phoenix embodies vitality, ferocity, determination, passion, and strength of will. I received my most recent BPAL haul at work yesterday. Due to a work outing, I left the box here and came in unscented this morning. I figured I would try Phoenix at Midday, even though it was 10 am here. I am loving it so far! I definitely get the comfort of the amber/blood orange mix right away. Initially it was a bit candyish to me, with something sharp (saffron?). As it dried it mellowed out. Then I got hints of Tonka, pom and geranium blending with the amber and Orange. This is definitely a golden, springlike Midday! Fitting, considering it is a balmy 51 degrees here in NYC!

Love this! I definitely get the sugar, lemon, and floral tea notes in this. It almost reminds me of a candy necklace. It seems like the sugar stands out above all for me. It's a very youthful and cheerful scent to me. I think I may need a back up bottle for the spring/summer Yummy!!

Oh my I am so glad I ordered two bottles of this as It should age superbly! I get Geranium right off the top, mixed with a bit Red musk. The geranium seems to fade on me pretty quickly with the musk coming through more. On drydown I am left with that wonderful patch, blended with the amber/benzoin/musk. I love it!! Well done Beth, truly beautiful Just need to add that this is the scent I was hoping for when I first discovered BPAL back in 2005. So in love.

Blood orange, ylang ylang, red musk, jasmine, and mimosa. This stuff is da bomb! I have been using this since I got it last Thursday and I can safely say this bottle will be gone soon, so I need to order more asap! Initially I get the orange with the jasmine/ylang combo giving it a slightly heady floral feel. The red musk is lurking in the background at first. On drydown (on my sheets and blankets), the red musk is the star! Slightly dirty but warm and glorious. I literally grin ear to ear when smelling this! This combo is just fantastic. Very sexy! (a perfume version of this would be great! *hint hint*) =)

This is just gorgeous!! The patchouli is not smacking you upside the head at all, but it's there and is smooth. Amber is definitely more prominent. I am absolutely in love <3 I have gotten quite a few compliments already!!

Before this I only had the original Smut, which I did swap away. I love musk, but there was something disturbing to me about it. I figured I would give it another try this year and it is different. This one ROCKS! I get a slight cherry with sugared musk and it is swoon-worthy So much love

Erebos is mostly Lavender to me as well. I hope you enjoy it!

I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by this one. Sometimes sugar and strawberry notes can smell strange on me. That didn't happen with this! It is really well balanced. I get an initial blast of strawberry, not too loud though. The vanilla is subtle as well, but gives it a creamy backdrop. The sugar is more apparent on the drydown. It is definitely a scent for when you're feeling girly!

I think Whip and Liz are both amazing! Both have leather, but are quite different. Whip is a gorgeous light rose with leather that smells slightly airy to me. Clean leather. Liz is mostly vanilla, leather and a touch of smoke. Warmer than Whip. I think either could represent the femme fatale. To be fair, i haven't tried many of the others on the list.

This scent is absolutely gorgeous! Just so soft and warm. I don't get much rose, but definitely an underlying sweetness which could be the combo of amber, rose and wisteria. The myrrh is very subtle but brings an earthy quality to it without screaming at you. Just beautiful and a multiple bottle purchase for sure!

Red musk, pomegranate, red cherry, myrrh, and blood orange. OMG! I am in love! Cherry is usually amped on me, but here it is more subtle. I get more Myrrh and Red musk on the drydown, barely sweetened by the fruits. It is fantastic!! And it layers well with the perfume oil. I literally walked around after my shower thinking I could die happy smelling like this I must go hoard now....

I haven't worn this one in awhile. I did remember that I loved how it smelled on my skin as opposed to out of the bottle, and I was right I'm not usually a fan of aquatics, hence why I wasn't as fond of this sniffing from the bottle. I am a huge fan of red musk, but I don't get that from this. Musk yes, but it must be so well blended that it doesn't scream at me. Maybe the lime is what is giving me the "aquatic" smell. This is so delicious! Very unisex to me. Sweet and sultry. I love it Great waft too!

Miss Edith + Madeline (I bet Maiden would work too) Embargo + Vixen

I have a friend who had used one of Aveda's conditioners and I could have sworn she was wearing Spellbound. It is one of my faves and definitely has an underlying "herbal" smell. It's rose, amber and I think red musk. Not too rosy, but sweet and the musk gives it a sharp edge.

As others have said, the packaging is just gorgeous! I carefully opened mine and cut a piece off the end to use. It lathers very well and I was even able to use it to shave my legs, and they are nice and smooth It definitely has a hint of Snake Oil in it, maybe a bit spicier to me. It's not overpowering and didn't really linger on my skin afterwards. Still a great soap overall!!

Hi there I just recently (as in TODAY) realized there is a blog section here at BPAL! So I started to read a couple and hit yours because of the title...I'm a gen-x gal too. When I read this post about your mom, my heart sank. I went through the same thing two and a half years ago. My decision alone to pull the plug. eek. I still have a hard time with it. Anyway, I know it's coming up on a year for you. I hope that you are doing better, and that you have found a way to keep her memory close to your heart without being reminded of that day specifically. Does that make any sense? Take care!

Out of the bottle this reminds me of Sugar Skull, as others have said. I had Sugar Skull twice and swapped it both times, so this isn't looking good. I was patient though, and waited for the drydown. It is quite yummy after 15-20 minutes- a mellow, creamy floral. I just don't know if I can suffer through the initial stages . I will hold on to this for awhile though...

I this!! Most of the blends I get with frankincense in it don't work on me, even though I love frankincense. This one is fantastic though! Wet, I get a slightly sweeter version of Snake Oil. As it dries, the frankincense comes out and stays out. It has a sweet underbelly that lingers and I've gotten quite a few compliments on it! It has great throw and lasts forever, not subtle at all Great work Beth!!

I have a problem with the lab's patchouli. I want to love it, and do love straight patchouli on others. For me, even a sniff of a BPAL blend with patchouli makes my throat tickle I've tried alot of them too. I have had success with these blends, thankfully: Imp, Sin, Lust, Snake Oil, Malice. These are all pretty heavy scents though!!

I had high hopes for this one. I absolutely adore red musk, plum and vanilla. On the fence about pomegranate and patchouli. I do like patchouli, but for some reason BPAL blends with patchouli in it make my throat itch I was nervous going in for the first sniff if Mme. Moriarty because of that. Sure enough, that tickle in my throat appeared. Darn! I tried it anyway, then promptly knocked the bottle over. I was able to get most of the oil back in the bottle and used a cotton ball to get the rest. Anyway...I see the similarity to the Snake Oil/Charmer family, but this is much less sweet to my nose. On the drydown I get a very earthy/woodsy vibe from this one. I don't really smell the fruit or vanilla bean, but I'm sure they are there softening up the patchouli and musk. It is very sexy and warm scent, I will give it more time before making my final decision. My boy loves it He may wear it more than me!

This is sugary incense to my nose and it stays very true on my skin. I can't really pick out the flower notes, but they may be adding to the sweetness of the scent. The sugar hits me first, then underneath is that nag champa smell that I do love I have to say that this is quickly becoming one of my favorite oils! I feel like hoarding this one and have to keep reminding myself that it's up until next August Bravo Beth!

To my nose Phantom Queen is similar to Flower Moon . I will have to look up the descriptions to see if they share notes.

I love Tamora!! It took me awhile, but it has grown on me in a big way. I have a 5ml on order, I hope my imp can make it until then! In the imp it is a sweet peach. Once it hits my skin though, it becomes very warm and creamy. I have no idea why, I'm still not great at picking out notes (maybe it's the vanilla?). It lasts quite a long time and has good throw, I keep getting wafts of peach ice cream around me . It is the perfect spring/summer scent, especially during the day. Also, sandalwood has a tendency to smell like pencil shavings on me but it's mostly quiet in this blend.