MisterShrapnel

The famous Snow White blend. D: I'm curious about this one even though it might not be something I'd wear. ... Woah this is cold. How does one do that? I know there are "warm" scents but this is crazy... Not specifically minty, but wet on my skin it actually feels like a chilly breeze is emanating from my wrist. There's a light, sweet coconut note... and it truly has a "powdered snow" texture. Gets a tad watery at moments, very light and fresh but not weak. In two words: Coconut sorbet. As a color : Bright white. Fresh and light "pretty" scents aren't really my cup of tea but I think I'll appreciate this when the weather turns unbearably hot. I'll save it.

I can't believe I get to try this! Wet: Y HELLO THAR PEPPERMINT Before trying I was worried that this might go in the direction of toothpaste, but on the skin it smells exactly like peppermint hard candies. I can picture the way they shatter when you bite down on them, and my mouth is watering. A strong and sugary mint, like it says! Oddly this isn't too sharp and "clean" either... there's a hint of smooth and enticing warmth to it, and other reviews say there might be some vanilla or skin musk in it? I think I agree. Win.

Holy moly, I smell nuts! ... Okay the nuts faded out very quickly and it suddenly turns to powder (not baby powder, but is has a distinctly powdery or even dusty "texture"). It smells just like a tin of cocoa powder! Not a very dark chocolate, nor is it rich and creamy. I think it's probably the amber's reaction to my skin chemistry that gives it such a dry quality. Unfortunately this is a little too dusty for me to really enjoy wearing, but I'm curious to see how the amber ages... I may hang on to this and test it in a couple months. An interesting experience. And I love the label art!

Wet, it's warm, buttery-sweet golden cookies and spicy leather ( ), with a hint of black licorice candy. Yum! As it dries it become a little less buttery and the black licorice stands out a little more, but it's never very strong. The whole time I can still smell the amazing leather (it doesn't go sharp and soapy! Hooray! This could be the delicious variety that I first found in Crowley...), and after a while I think I can get a little bit of the coal dust (though I might just be imagining it because I looked at the description), tempering all the sweet notes. And there's probably some vanilla extract in those cookies... This is definitely foody, but the leather makes it kinda sexy. I am amazed at this blend because I can actually parade it as a scent AND it smells like food D: I have a bad, bad urge to hoard this one.

I have a huge weakness for ginger in both savory foods and baking sooo.... this is totally a favorite. Smells like the most heavenly spicy gingerbread or gingerbread cookies, not too sweet (yes), with an undercurrent of... darkness. D: The resin reminds me of Schwarzer Mond (08), a little. WHICH IS A VERY GOOD THING. I find most foody blends hard to wear, but I have no trouble with this one! ;D

Can't say anything new, unfortunately. It's the smell of the best afternoon alone ever--reading books in an old-fashioned study, with loads of caffeine. Prominently a rich, buttery dessert-like confection of a hot coffee drink, leaving ring-shaped stains on bookshelves and tables made of dark wood, and-- holy crap I even get the dust motes. After a while the coffee backs off and only the dregs remain, and my wrist starts smelling mostly like dusty paper. A bit... er... dry for my tastes, but this is so spot on. Amazing. I don't want to wear this as a perfume, but I reach for the imp when I get dessert-cravings. (It doesn't really tide me over though) Yay.

To me this smells like two things... 1) what dried blood looks like. If that makes sense. Dark and dull red with some of it rubbing/flaking off, though not exactly powdery... Sorry, kind of graphic. D: 2) really bitter chocolate ETA: Or maybe if you want to be economical, it's the closest you'll (hopefully) ever get to drinking an alcoholic (?!) Mexican hot chocolate made NOT with milk, but BLOOD. Where is my evil laughter icon. oh: There's a bit of a tang from the red wine ( ), and when wet on the skin the rum makes this very boozy. The most prominent note here is vetiver (good thing I've started liking vetiver though). The strong vetiver working with the cocoa creates a really deep and dark scent: rich, spicy, and smoky, and it's making me think of a bar of 85% dark chocolate (the kind you can get at Trader Joe's). Not exactly foody, but I want to eat myself. But as with the chocolate, it's something to be appreciated sparingly, because it's very intense. I wish I just went ahead and got a bottle. This is my first experience with anything "blood"-like, and now I'm very curious about trying out other blood+vetiver blends. I'd go for a bottle when the imp runs out!

Created to invoke the ancient Greek deities of dreams. On the shores of the ocean, somewhere in the West, they dwell behind their gates of horn and ivory. Soporific, dark, and unfathomable: a somnambular blend of deep lavender, white sandalwood, jasmine, bergamot and mugwort. This should come with one of those Ambien/Lunesta-like warnings ("do not take unless you have 7 to 8 hours to dedicate to sleeping") because both times I tried Oneiroi it knocked me out. Both nights I had been trying to go to bed at a more normal hour (10 or 11 pm-ish) but my mind had been a little too restless and active to really get to sleep (which is probably the until-now-undiscovered reason why I go to bed so late), so I applied it to my chakra points and around my temples and neck (so I could smell it too). It's always my habit to take some deep breaths when trying to fall asleep and count each time I exhale, and I'm not entirely sure of how effective this blend is at making one fall asleep (I did calm down immensely but there's always the placebo thing...); the most noticeable effect for me was the staying-asleep part. I overslept like no one's business. I couldn't remember turning off my alarm clock, and couldn't remember when my mom came up to literally drag me out of bed and make sure I was standing up and walking around... she came back to my room thirty minutes later to find me passed out on the bed again, and she told me she was positive I was awake. It almost makes me a little wary of using this As for the smell, it's lavender and a floral note that makes me rather sick (others say jasmine?), but thankfully it's all about the function (and boy is it effective). It was a sample with my first ever purchase and I thought it was meant to be a perfume The smell is off-putting enough that I don't really want a bottle, but I'm glad I have a sample of this, and it makes me curious to try out Temple of Dreams (I totally miss having bizarre dreams... or even nightmares). Effective stuff!

This is one of the first blends I ever picked up. It was INSTANT LOVE in the bottle, mouthwatering and delicious. It's like raspberry Jell-O! In synesthetic terms, this makes me think of a bright, transparent magenta. Boozy, wet, and very sweet for quite a while, and once it's dry there's a faint curl of smokiness. If I smell it too long I start thinking of car air fresheners (because it stays so tasty for so long that it feels a little artificial...) but really that's just scent associations... and it's hard to take this one seriously since it's so fun and frivolous, but I CAN'T STOP SMELLING MY ARM. And it's made me rather giggly. Edited to say that I've never actually worn this outside the house as a scent because I'd feel a little... cheap?, but I like dabbing it on when I get a sweet craving. Love this. If you fancy a red fruit overdose, this might be just what you're looking for!

My nose likes earthy, incense-y, woody, that kind of thing best, and anything other than that often gets interpreted as high and keening and "soapy," unfortunately. Even so, I keep coming back to my imp of Whip! Really I probably just huff my wrist too hard instead of letting scents waft... Certainly it's a lot "higher," more aggressive than what I tend to like but somehow this is intoxicating as long as I don't inhale too deeply (which you really aren't supposed to do anyway... ). And it's not just me being enamored of the idea of smelling like leather and roses. The rose is fantastic in this.... really full and deep, damp for sure, and a gorgeous velvety red. I can just see it. It's hard to distinguish the rose and the leather, for me, as black leather inevitably takes on a sharp, almost soapy quality on my skin, but the rose is so deep that it has to be backed by... something. In Severin and Tezcatlipoca and other black leather blends I recognize the same sharpness that I got in this, and I think "ohhhh thaaat's right...". I can only recognize it in retrospect, kinda. My nose will get better, I hope... I think an earlier reviewer said it, but... S'like holding the bunch of roses (or maybe just one really nice one) in your hand in front of you, while you hide the whip behind your back so the... er... recipient can't see it. They'll find out what you've got in your left hand soon enough anyway. (BPAL stop making me write dirty reviews. >:U Self, stop being dirty!) Edit: Bah, if I add any more than a minimal swipe from the imp (i.e. when I reapply), this gets too strong and sharp for me... probably my skin chemistry... It looks like I can't handle the Whip's sting after all! (ack I hope Rose Red will be an exception to my usual reaction to roses...). I keep wanting this to work on me but I guess it's not meant to be.

Block Buster indeed! Part of my first ever foray into the Twilight arm of the Lab, and it's been a wonderful experience. It's a deliciously sweet and caramel-y smell, almost makes me think of candles, but that's not the main point... (although interestingly the librarian came up to me suddenly and asked me what perfume I was wearing. She loves the way this smells! Maybe Block Buster helped... er... open up opportunities to share info about the Lab? I'm always eager to do so anyway...) I put it on in the mornings now, as kind of a support for Concentration. And I've tried some informal n00b-y "rituals" with it, dressing candles and anointing certain things to help create opportunities and openings and at the very least (haven't heard yet) I feel incredibly confident. Also tried using it on my assignment planner, basically streaking a finger down the huge pile of things to do because most days I can hardly scratch the surface of one thing. However, for the last three days I've been working with Block Buster (and Concentration) I've gotten an uncharacteristically large quantity of things done, barreling through it like an absolute devil, or at least I'm not passed out on the desk after school drooling into my triumphant Calculus book... Basically Block Buster helps me to remember and keep in mind and really FEEL like there isn't a single damned thing in this universe that can get in my way, unless I say it can. I feel like an arrow, a bullet, like I'm driven by fire, and it's terribly inspiring. Can't tell if it's the Concentration in conjunction, but one of my biggest barriers for productivity is a bizarre and "chronic" apathy, fatigue, ennui, and extreme reluctance to start things. I used to have the upper hand over my procrastination habits but I've been overwhelmed in the last few years, like I've been buried under a weight. Block Buster, I think, helped me to banish all of those impediments, because these days I've been incredibly, otherwise-inexplicably energetic and driven. If I don't really "feel like" doing something (especially starting something lengthy and nasty... another huge barrier for me on most days) Block Buster has helped me to shove those negative attitudes aside and forge ahead. Challenges become trifles. Curious to see how Block Buster might have a different effect from Determination... And a lot of times I have trouble talking to teachers about questions and any problems I have because I'm shy or "I don't feel like it right now" but I've definitely talked to them more, and straight away (without even thinking to myself "should I? or should I just wait? Gah I don't know I'll just do it later..."). Shyness, blasted to smithereens. I'm applied to my top college choice Early Decision and I've already sent everything in (before I even knew of TALs... hee), and I'll hear back on the 15th. I'm a bit nervous (I don't want to have to write more applications, really! and I want to go to this school so badly it aches...) but I'm going to try doing a little bit more work with Block Buster because so far it's been terribly reassuring. I keep imagining all the competing applications that might be covering mine blowing away from the admissions desk (like autumn leaves before a strong gust of wind) and leaving behind only mine shining on the polished wooden desk. And all the other applicants clamoring at the gates of the school being blown away too (like the nannies in "Mary Poppins" )... it's a funny and reassuring image. Block Buster is definitely useful for a wide variety of purposes, it's fantastic stuff. Throughout the day I kept thinking of different things I can apply it to and I'm terribly excited to try. Eeee, thank you Labbies!

UM. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THIS IS IT. From this moment onward, I am a avid (rabid) fanatic for TALs, because this TOTALLY WORKS! I have a hideous, and I mean absolutely hideous work ethic. I'm apathetic and tired and lazy all day, can't focus on a single thing and can't muster up the self-discipline to immerse myself in an assignment unless it's, say the 3 AM before the assignment is due, I've got a hearty dose of caffeine trickling down my throat at the moment, and... yeah. So I think part of me could have used some Determination (maybe that's for more long-term effects, and projects...), but I used this in conjunction with Block Buster, and for the last three days that I've been using it I got crap done. Not sure if part of the effect is from Block Buster (great stuff) but... wow. Usually other people are a major distraction from homework, especially in the afternoons. But today I was actually a little bit cold (oops) and aloof without really meaning to be, because in my head I was thinking "Can't talk now, have to read this thing first, have to kick some ass" and I never stopped to chat with anyone even when they came up to me. Even at lunch I couldn't "turn it off" and the conversation was making me antsy after I had finished eating, and I went to the library to do more work. WHAT?! Even after a good night's sleep I can be so tired all day, and it's frustrating when I fall asleep almost every afternoon in class and in the library after school when waiting to go home (where I could be getting some stuff done, but I don't). Once I'm home I collapse in an (inexplicably) exhausted heap and amble about aimlessly on the Internet and shuffle through the rest of the evening wishing I could get something done. I have serious suspicions that I could have maybe ADHD inattentive or at least some sort of mild depression (people have brought it up), and I've tried a temporary prescription for Ritalin and I get the same creepy, MAGICAL effect from Concentration. It's like my brain is wearing blinders (like for horses). Tunnel-vision. Also, this brain/horse is on serious steroids. Everything that isn't part of the plan, the schedule is irrelevant and for once (save for the Ritalin doses) in my life I feel like I can get things done normally. Even better, my heart isn't beating a painfully and frighteningly fast tattoo against my ribcage like it does when I'm on Methylphenidate, and my head doesn't hurt quite as bad (just a little bit, unfortunately), I'm not a snappy cranky obnoxious bitch when Concentration "wears off," and I don't need an Rx! Sometimes when I try to throw myself into something I get a twinge/tic of the old bitter reluctance, but I just shove it aside (Block Buster? Concentration? Sorry that I haven't reviewed these independently!) and forge ahead. And I have the drive to switch to a new assignment when I've finished the first, and that too is fantastic. Also, I'm usually "on" at least 200 mg caffeine in the mornings to wake up, and in the afternoons to try to stay awake and function like a normal person for the rest of the day. However for the last three days, I haven't touched a single mg of caffeine and I've actually had trouble sleeping (just like with the Ritalin) and I've been fantastically energetic and driven all day. God, what does the Lab put in this?! At this rate I'm going to go through a bottle a month... I've been carrying it with me everywhere. As for scent (which really shouldn't matter for something so effective), it's a minty eucalyptus-y lemongrass-y treat. Kind of sugary for me, and yet herbal. I really like it. (Lemonade with ice? Lemon Italian ice? Sorry.) Fades quickly from my palms but the effects are strong. VWOOSH, etc.

I set this aside for a while because it's so complex and hard to read for a wee n00b like me, but I revisited tonight. Dabbed some on my arm and sniffed. "OMG " I remember thinking "huh" the last time I smelled this... delicious resins. GAH RESINS this is fantastic and I'm glad I could get my greedy appendages on some of this! Dark and delicious resins. I can't say it enough. And gorgeous patchouli. Kinda syrupy in the beginning for me, it "dries" off and morphs into deep and layered shadows, the cloak of the night, with a shiver of the swirling air from within the dark as you try to fathom its depths... (Okay whenever I try to say something creative I worry that I've read it in a past review and I'm plagiarizing. Someone poke me if I've finally done it.) There's also a hint of something kind of peppery in it. A couple months ago I used to be afraid this would be too strange and dirty but now I LOVE how dark it is, all I can think of is huge expansive rooms, all pitch-dark and quiet, with a growl of the monster stirring in the depths of the labyrinth (kept getting mental images of scenes from the book House of Leaves, has anyone read it?). And at the same time it's beautifully mysterious and alluring, if it is a bit unnerving. I want more.

Ooh. Something outside my comfort zone for sure! I wasn't expecting this to have such a floral/perfume-y hit (lolz "unguents"). Eventually that part backs off a little but still... Honeyed. Thick and sweet incense. Womanly and "indolent" for sure! I'm digging the red musk... Definitely NOT something to wear to work or school, more of something for the night. But I think it's gorgeous, and it does indeed have a "classic" feeling to it, even if it is kinda heavy/dirty... I get worried that I like this one, since it's very strong and heady and kind of out of character for someone my age, maybe... do I lack subtlety? "Potent" is a good word for this. I don't know what the responses would be if I went out wearing this, but I'd like to try it sometime. Summarizing my reaction in an emoticon:

Short version: Awesome. Elaborated: Wet, it has a bit of a gingerbread-y bite to it, which is unexpected but not unpleasant by any means... Then it smooths out to be, a wonderfully smooth vanilla, masculine, earthy and smoky, a little spicy and a touch herbal, and... Oddly I was expecting it to be more sinister or heavy--I kept looking nervously at the "brimstone" bit (though that kind of scent wouldn't really fit the concept) but the smoothness of the vanilla makes this so... wearable. I keep thinking of a nice white shirt, kind of clean and proper, manly in that sort of respectable way... and the person wearing it is a really handsome guy. It's a warm day, and you can see a slight sheen of sweat on his freshly-showered skin. Er. I don't know if that impression is wrong or something but... gah. It's still a lovely smooth non-"foofy" vanilla (in the way that a starched white shirt isn't the same as a lady's blouse), but you can't hide that it's inherently sexy because of that special smokiness/spiciness/earthiness(/manlinesssss). Sigh. Someday, I will write worthwhile reviews. This is so nice. It's got a rather gentle throw, though. I wonder what the "life everlasting" is?

Aw, damn I ended up liking this after all. I was kind of hoping I might swap it away (my conscience's feeble attempt to hold onto the remaining shreds of dignity in the face of my growing bottle collection. ). That said, I think I ought to wait a couple months before I say anything less than rabidly positive about a blend... Huesos de Santo definitely taught me that. Initially it's very custardy (delicious), and it transforms quickly into to a nice moist orange cake (it's similar to Eat Me, only without the berries, as others have said). At this stage it used to smell kind of stale and burned when I last tried it, and I was convinced that I hated all forms of orange (or maybe just rich foody blends?), but it's amazing this time around. Maybe things just needed to settle down... or maybe I needed to be in the right sort of mood? My nose is still quite the novice, so I can't find the anise or the flowers. Shrug. I'm glad I have some of this, it's perfectly suited for fall. And the bottle art for this is great! (Secret: I have Huesos on my wrists and Perversion on the inside of my elbows and I think they kind of go well together And the cake smell gives me the strangest craving for some Graveyard Dirt...) ETA: A little after my first time testing this, I realized that anise is actually quite prominent when dry. I was somehow misinterpreting the note to be orange. So yes: when dry, the custard and orange cake fade to a tasty aniseed (not licorice).

I'm going to be adding another positive review to the pile Sweet, smoky well-worn leather and tobacco. Beautiful. Actually I find this kind of comforting because of memory associations of my dad. He used to smoke a lot with a tobacco pipe (even though it's healthy that he stopped, I still kind of miss it >_>) and when I was teeny tiny kindergarden little, I used to sneak out of my room after my mom tucked me in and would go to his study to sit with him while he read/worked/whatever until my mom found me. Thus Perversion gives me the ultimate comforting mental imagery of my dad's study; Tobacco smoke and the leather armchair! And I *think* I can detect the chardonnay... A lighter note, still sweet but also sort of clear or "sparkle-y," it fades away after a bit... and I love the tonka underneath it all. Smooth and almost reminiscent of vanilla, not quite "edible" (I'm still learning about the notes... ). I can definitely see others getting a "dirty" impression from it, but for me it's more sinful in it's comfortable self-indulgence (dammit now I want to be a dude with his own expensively furnished tobacco-smoke-infused study...). Bottom line is, I'd get a bottle

Uhhhohohoho man the little vial of this stuff gets better every time I come back to it. I like the name, too. I endorse all positive comments about this posted so far x234352663462352^100 (for whatever small amount my opinion is worth). This is legendary for a reason! Kind of hard to describe, really... "resiny, warm, sweet, spicy, incense-y vanilla" does not quite express how delicious (but not quite foody) this is. You shouldn't even be reading any reviews for Snake Oil if you're on the fence about trying it. You shouldn't be hesitating in the first place. (This after the first dozen pages the reviews are probably just for people to talk about how much they love this scent or to record their reactions for their personal reference anyway That's pretty much what I'm doing since this will just get lost in the sea of reviews that will get posted sooner or later... ) If you were disappointed by an initial trial with an imp/bottle that you received recently, wait a month or two and try it again (imps of Snake Oil will apparently "age" faster than a bottle, I've heard?), because it's an entirely different creature when it's... "mature." When the oil was still fairly light and fresh, the throw was a powerful blast of baby powder (eghh) but now it's a viscous dark syrup that's basically Extract of Awesome (this is where I get shot for being cheesy...). I looove this and I kind of need a bottle now. Elizabeth is very generous to share her special personal blend with us (along with all the hundreds of other amazing oils...).

This is basically what would happen if Dorian lost some of his sweetness and effeminacy and got into Severin's more questionable hobbies. Or maybe he's stopped socializing every evening and got his head into business? A less "frilly" Dorian, I guess. He takes his tea with one lump of sugar instead of two now, but he's still pretty. I like a lot this even though I found the same Earl Grey note a bit sickly in Severin (maybe I just didn't like the leather?). Inoffensive, clean, and refined but definitely not weak or invisible. More unisex than masculine. Glad to try it!

I added a bottle of Crowley to my list without even checking the notes because Crowley's character struck me as AWESOME when I read Good Omens and I secretly was in love with and/or wanted to be him. But anyway. I will tell you a secret: I find this knee-cripplingly sexy in a very masculine way; it's one of my favorite blends to smell but it's a little hard for me to get away with wearing sometimes. There is definitely some cologne in it, which might make people look at me funny (short hair on a short girl = little boy wearing cologne? LOLZ wut), but it's still a really nice cologne. This is sort of a masculine and English (haha?) version Mme. Moriarty, without the red-fruit-juiciness (apparently they share the same musk and patchouli?), and at times I was also reminded of Snake Oil (though less sugary, heh). Fitting, considering Crowley's... first job in the Garden. I'm not very good at picking out some of the notes but this really does feel like the idea of Mr. Crowley. Soft English leather and polished mahogany from his "full body glove" (the Bentley), lots of smooth charisma and persuasive charm (oakmoss? vanilla husk, lemon rind, lilac?), a hint of something serpentine, and radiating with fiery warmth (is that his car on fire or just his being a demon?). Agh this is so nice. Kind of my all-time-favourite blend. I sometimes wear a teeny drop of it on my wrist or chest just to get the occasional distracting waft of Damn-I'm-Sexy even though I'll be sporting some other fantastic blend for the day.

Since my first BPAL order I have tried making friends with my imp of Snake Oil repeatedly, multiple times, wondering desperately why I had to have the kind of skin that turns it into a magical aura of baby powder. And I was also heartbroken over my bottle of Boomslang for the first two months of ownership because the cocoa seemed to fade to nothing in minutes, leaving the only slightly spicy baby powder to mock me. BUT THEN. THEN. Today I was suddenly hell-bent on forcing my skin into loving Snake Oil ("and you WILL enjoy this...") and dabbed some Boomslang on my chest today, not really expecting much but hoping anyway. Studying at the coffee shop, two ladies walked in through the door near where I was sitting and said, "It smells great in here!", which may or may not be a kind of compliment (maybe it was just the coffee. *shrug* One did add that she wanted a drink with vanilla in it though). And a couple hours later I was in Trader Joe's and suddenly the delicious scent wafting up from somewhere made me stop dead in the aisle ("can that be...?") and after furtively checking that there wasn't anyone looking in my general direction I quickly pulled aside the collar of my shirt, stuck my nose as close to my chest as possible and inhaled. And kept inhaling. Exhaling suddenly became a waste of time, a necessary evil. And the whole time my wallet was panicking and going "oh no oh no oh no OH NO--" and my nose was going "OH YES. " And that was that. For me, Boomslang is an extremely delicious and smooth dark chocolate in the bottle and when it first goes on. This part of it hangs around on the skin for a little longer than when I first got the bottle, but ultimately the dark chocolate coating melts away to leave a center of a hard-to-describe spicy sweetness (almost medicinal-bitter in that "bourbon vanilla extract" sort of way, which I like) that has to be the Snake Oil. It's ridiculously addictive stuff. I can't tell if the teak and rice milk are easy to pick out (still a bit inexperienced). And maybe other people will still smell babies, but for me I now have access to a personal cloud of awesome. I'm so happy this works now! And I thought I was going to save money by being able to pass this one up.

I'd been putting off my trial run of Mme Moriarty, mostly because the scent in the bottle didn't particularly grab my attention. ... however.... The first thing I noticed was the "Snake Oil smell," and I was instantly alarmed because, while I love this patchouli stuff as it is when I have my nose very close to my wrist, something about the ingredients in Snake Oil always turn in to an aura of sweet baby powder on me that I can't stand. I waited, prepared for what I thought to be the inevitable. ... And then I forgot I was testing a new scent and continued about my evening, my thoughts periodically interrupted with "what smells good...?" (that being said, this one is quite strong and I didn't have to put on much)... Mme. Moriarty is a teeny bit medicinal when it's wet, but I like it (it's in Snake Oil too, underneath all that powder...), and after a while a "leafiness" comes out holding hands with the vanilla. I'm not familiar with pomegranate as a note but I was expecting something juicier (not that I would have Mme smell any different though!). Hm. It's odd, but at this stage I get the sudden and undeniable notion in my head that the crook of my arm, judging by the way it smells, must be incredibly smooth and soft, and sort of cool to the touch. I'm not very good at picking out musk as a note yet (still a bit of a noob to perfume in general), but it's probably the red musk that makes the blend all the more inviting without my knowing why. Wearing this, I feel "collected," cool-headed and a bit more clairvoyant. I recently tried Snake Oil and was rather disappointed (feeling like I was missing out on something), but Mme helped me get over that almost immediately. It's unexpected, but this is one of my favorites! I'll need to stock up (majorly liek woah) before the Carnaval series ends. D: I mean I need a BOX, a separate BOX, just for Mme. Moriarty. So I can smell this way my whole friggin' life. I wonder how this smells after aging? Also I love the tarot card that came with her. It's eerily appropriate (the Eight of Pentacles! For someone freaking out about upcoming years in college!) and makes for a highly motivational fortune (hooray!).

Bastet is definitely dead-on with the luxuriant and yet sinuous goddess feel-- when I first wore it I felt like it didn't fit my personality at all (even though I loved the idea of smelling like a cat/lioness goddess...), very womanly and golden. After a couple tries Bastet somehow shot up to one of my for-sure favorites (This many people can't be wrong!). It seems like a lot of people don't like that initial warm cherry note, but I think it's delicious and enticing and it's what lured me into buying a bottle at my first Will-Call in the first place. It fades quickly (I get a kind of sweet almost... bubble-gum??? like tone in the background from then on, not sure if it's supposed to be lotus ... Obviously I don't understand all the notes in this one yet) but that's fine with me as it might get sickening otherwise. From then on it's very... golden. Like warm afternoon rays of sunshine, soft fur, and siestas (I guess this makes me a fan of amber? I love that this isn't powdery on me!); I want to lie on my side and prop myself up lazily on an elbow and just observe. The saffron/myrrh (not familiar enough with those notes yet) give the whole thing an exotic tone (it made me think of saffron pistachio ice cream, rose water sorbet and cherry syrup that I had in a Persian restaurant once). During my first couple of tries those two somehow became too "perfume-y" for me to handle but I really started to love this scent once the perfumeyness (iso a better word plz) toned down (where did it go? ). I love the musk, it integrates the whole blend seamlessly with my skin and makes me feel like I just naturally smell this amazing all the time (rather than having a magical bottle to thank). It was only until later when I noticed the cardamom-- the spice warms the entire blend up, and when it's dry on my skin I can feel the inviting and comfortingly warm sand, bringing to mind images of Egypt. I sometimes get the ridiculous urge to rub up against the my skin (catlike) because the scent is so comforting... hopefully that didn't sound too strange. A positive side-effect of wearing Bastet, for me at least, is a boost in self-confidence (which is she's great for when I'm going somewhere unfamiliar and intimidating ); There is something of a smile on my face all day, I feel at ease, capable, protected, powerful even, and I wonder if people can see the difference when I look them in the eye.

With 21 pages of reviews and counting, I'm afraid I can't add anything new to the pile (the very first review is amazing ), but thus far Dorian is my hands-down favorite blend, and also my first ever, so I feel a certain need to say something. Dorian makes me think of pale, creamy colors, delicate fingers, and, somehow, innocence, reflected in the startled eyes and barely parted lips of the blend's namesake. The tea (with a hint of lemon! which makes it all the more tea-like for me...) and fougere give it an air of polite behavior and refinement, and the smooth, sweet, and creamy vanilla is delicious and pleasant and comforting. But the musks... the musks make it perfect. It exudes a certain... something (hahhaa sorry, I don't know how to say it! It's SEXY but it doesn't scream it... which makes it even better in a way... DDD: maybe this is just me and my inexperience with musks overreacting? ). It's like the barely perceptible shadow in his eye, the one that betrays, beneath all those proper manners and that sweet smile, that what's on his mind probably isn't so innocent after all... You get a little... ah, suspicious that this flawless exterior could be concealing an undercurrent of hedonism, an oft-overlooked and well-hidden penchant for debauchery. When I smell it wafting up from my skin, I feel like I'm dangerously close to someone gorgeous and seductive (even though he (she? this scent is not so much gender-neutral as it is delicious enough to the point where you wonder, "does gender even matter? " ) doesn't even have to try, and when wearing it I get a tad worried that the wrong people are going to have the same response ("OMGZ KL;AN EWG;AWEGIO WHAT SMELLS LIKE COITUS?! NOT-THAT-I'D-KNOW-WHAT-THAT-SMELLS-LIKE") as I did. People wearing this should be careful not to get jumped by people like me. Ahhh it's perfect and lovely and I could wear it anywhere and for years to come (if the Lab is willing ). (hahhaha have I completely over-done my first review? Are people staring? Ah well, it was quite an entertaining exercise and I think it conveys the point. First ever BPAL review completed!)