Eros

I tend to amp red musk and it's what I get most in this. It's not like a single note, to be sure, but definitely the strongest. Very reminiscent of Smut & Mme. M, but less sweet and with more of an incense thing going on. More than either of those it reminds me of Scherezade. Like the three mentioned above, Marianne is a rich, dark seductive blend with a hint of earthiness & a touch of the exotic. Quite lovely.

Every one of the notes in Inez is a favorite for me so there was no way I could pass it up =) First sniff both in the bottle and for the first few seconds after application it's almost lotus sweet. The sweetness fades and the musky vanilla and myrrh start to emerge with a beautiful, non-powdery amber hovering close behind. Another few seconds and I can barely smell a thing, then suddenly, a beautiful, spicy-sweetish carnation gently rises in a cloud of loveliness. The myrrh, combined with the amber and sandalwood add a gorgeous touch of incense, and along with a very subtle, barely there cedar(which I usually amp like mad), keep this beauty from being too girly. It has depth, it's rich...And while it's similar to Hod, Inez is much more interesting. Delirium1009 describes it as, "a nuzzling, sexy type of scent", and it most certainly is Each time I've worn this my husband has reacted with, "Mmm, you smell really good", as he then proceeds to move in closer to nuzzle my neck This one(along with The Illustrated Woman), absolutely multi-bottle worthy.

Smoky resins & vanilla with the sweetness of honey and the gorgeous musk slithering underneath. The tobacco adds depth and richness, the patchouli gives it the perfect touch of earthiness without overwhelming. There's a sense of the pine pitch but it's barely there. It reminds me a bit of Temple Viper but not as sweet. Smoldering, intoxicating...beautiful blend.

First time around this one didn't do much for me. There was barely any amber, maybe a touch of orange and the black musk seemed to be laying in wait threatening to overwhelm everything. SO much better now! It seems lately that most(not all), of the blends I fall in love with come through as some kind of Snake Oil variant. This one is no exception. Very well blended, I can't really pick out individual notes. What I do get is a beautiful, dark, slightly spicy/slightly smoky incense and resins. While it's somewhat musty-dry it also manages to be juicy with a touch of perfect sweetness. There's something slightly sharp and herbal way in the background-tarragon, perhaps? Wonderful throw and stays with me for hours. As far as the SO similarity-Aeronwen has that same, beautiful, exotic & dead sexy thing going on that Snake Oil does. LOVE this!!

Huh...In the bottle it's sweet White Hawaiin Ginger(??), not good. Applied to skin it quickly turns to sickeningly sweet, powdered gardenia. I don't think it's the lilac, while it's not a favorite note it's never done this before so maybe it's just the right(or wrong for *me*) blending of notes to cause my nose and skin to turn it into evilness? Doesn't change at all as the hours go by, blah. Ah well, they can't all work, right?

Dionysia is lovely when I first put it on. The patchouli is gorgeous, with the frankincense hovering gently in the background & there's a subtle sweetness from the fruits. No mahogany to be found, which is strange, I tend to amp wood notes. First time tested it's a softer, fruitier/sweeter version of Midnight Kiss, with ripe raspberries taking control fairly quickly. Second time around(again cleanly tested on side hand), the fruits are staying well in the background, they do no more than lend a touch of sweetness for about an hour. More Hellion than MK at this point. After that hour the fruit notes take over completely. Like shriekingviolet, I love each of these fruit notes...Individually, and not in a starring role. And tart, I like tart fruit in my perfume. This dries down to nothing but fruity-sweet. Too sweet for me, unfortunately. I had to wash it off

First let me say, the color of this oil is gorgeous! Not quite deep enough to look like a small vial of blood, but close Starts out a sweetish, woodsy vanilla. As it warms on the skin the tobacco emerges and blends beautifully with the other notes. Is it just me or does anyone else get a hint of something that smells like vetiver waaaaay in the background? Whatever it is, it stays way back there, which is just fine with me. Wears for hours and has nice throw. Not overpowering by any means, just a nice whiff when you least expect it. Beautiful blend! To my nose it's Dorian meets Lucifer meets Black Lace. Just lovely!

In the bottle this doesn't really smell like much of anything. Maybe slightly piney. On skin it's immediately overwhelmingly pine. I normally love pine but this is rather artificial smelling pine, like generic, drugstore men's cologne :l There's a very slight sweetness in the background but aside from that, yep, pine. Doesn't smell anything like original, and beautiful, Hex to me. Not even a similarity. In fact, the second time I tested it I got kind of queasy and my head started hurting. :[ Oh well.

First sniff from the bottle- Soft patchouli with a subtle booziness and hint of sweetness. After that initial whiff the currant came through just a bit. On skin- This is gorgeous! Like others have said, it leans towards the masculine side but not so much so that it can't be worn by a woman. It reminds me a lot of Dorian, that sweet vanilla musk but richer...the amber musk, I guess? Has the same smoothness to it, as well. Very well blended this. Aside from what I've mentioned already I'm having a hard time picking out individual notes. One thing I'm for sure not getting is any rose, *whew*. Lovely throw. While not overwhelming, it's everywhere. A sweet, musky cloud of loveliness. But yep, I definitely keep thinking Dorian. Dorian is foul on me but gorgeous on the husband. Frederic is beautiful on me. On him? Even better. I had my nose plastered to his neck until he tore himself away to go to work Frederic is beautiful, elegant...but dangerous. Dangerous in that this is a *leaves you weak in the knees/he'll have his way with you* scent. Every man should smell like this. Frederic has only been here a day and already, I catch a whiff and I think of the hubby. Almost from the initial sniff I thought, "Oh yeah, this is him". I want him to bathe in this.

In the bottle- Soft, slightly sweet and herbal. On skin- Sweetens a bit, there are hints of musk, sugar cane and amber. There's a feeling of cold, not minty, no eucalyptus, either, just cold. The rest of the notes blend so well it's hard to pick them out. Dries down to a softly sweet, white scent, fluffy almost, if that makes sense. Nice throw and wears for hours. On me, similar to both Black Opal and Black Lace. Elegant, ethereal and quite lovely.

This is different(in the bottle), every time I take a whiff. Today it's mostly vetiver, which is what I think is causing the "stale cigarette/ashtray" thing for a few people because tobacco/tobacco leaf most definitely don't smell that way Sweet berries with the light scent of damp earth. The tobacco is rich, adding depth and roundness. I tend to amp red musk like mad but in this blend it stays in the background adding just the right touch. Goes through a minty anise phase on and off then more of a spiced incense(yummy!). The other notes are harder to pick out individually but overall, on me, it's rich incense and spice with a hint of berries. Lovely!

In the bottle and upon application I get burnt sugar and sweet wood smoke with a hint of strawberry and currant. Rather like Al Azif meets Strawberry Moon and it's working beautifully =) As it wears(and wears well, I might add), the strawberry reveals itself more, along with sugar cane and a hint of musk. The wood notes hover gently in the background, like an anchor that keeps the blend from becoming too light(for me). Not getting any of the florals which is fine-black orchid works, violet and rose, not so much, so yay for that I agree with Purrsnikety's sex kitten scent comment, and btw, so does the husband Loving this one! Definitely worthy of a backup bottle!

Oh gosh yes! Valentine of Rome is a MUST if you love frankincense. Absolutely beautiful

Quietly cold. The pine is soft and to my nose, the blend is more mint-like than it is eucalyptus. The florals are barely there but seem to add a touch of delicate sweetness which is quite nice. This reminds me of Snow-Flakes and maybe a little of Snow Bunny. There's also a touch of something incense-like upon drydown...Lunar oils, perhaps?? Soft throw, it's there but not overwhelming. As I stated in the beginning, quietly cold. A cold, after a snowfall peace, when you can almost hear the hush. Beautifully done.

Gave it a quick try within minutes of its arrival, sniff from the bottle and small dab on the wrist. There was a hint of incense, wood, and clove :l I amp clove more often than not, aside from that...eh? Took another sniff, yep, clove. Hubby smelled cloves, too, so we must've both been a little off in the sniffer department yesterday. Today, MUCH better =) It's all I hoped it would be, deep resiny incense with a hint of smoke. There's a very subtle wood background with just the right touch of spice and sweetness. The frankincense here is really lovely but doesn't scream out its presence. Very well blended and very beautiful!

Huh, at this point, after a few tries, I'm pretty much right there with Tempest. With a few differences(no wintergreen for me, no wonderful). First time I took a sniff from the bottle, rotted cream. Not *sour*, I can do sour(reminds me of puppy breath ), but rotted, foul. Applied it to skin and yep, same thing, and...chalk. The vanilla eventually takes over, and it's quite a lovely vanilla, too, but where's the saffron?? Today, after 3-4 hours, artifical marshmallow with a hint of coconut dusting powder(??), and cardboard. In spite of the mention of marshmallow & coconut(and rotted cream), it's not really foody on me, which is fine. It's not reached the magic stage for me yet. Hope it does soon. I'm going to hang onto it for a while, with fingers crossed

This is very similar to Midnight Kiss on me...Urd, a bit of Hellion and Ecstasy of True Love. Mostly what I get is the currant coming through as grape. Perhaps a hint of musk & soft, woodsy background, but not much else. It's lovely, nonetheless, but similar enough to others I have that it's going to a new home.

Took a big chance on this one. Love jasmine, can't wear BPAL jasmine, gives me a raging headache :l Cinnamon amps like crazy... First sniff from the bottle, jasmine. *But*, not screaming jasmine, and lo and behold, not a even a hint of cinnamon =) Tried it on wrist and ACK, jasmine(still not overpowering, though). As usual, here comes the headache, so I washed the oil off and put the bottle away. Next evening I tried it again and this time what I got is the same lovely jasmine found in LUSH's Flying Fox =) Best part, no headache this time, yay! The champaca, which I also tend to amp although not to the point of complete takeover, starts to come through beautifully, blending just right with the jasmine, the vanilla adding just the right amount of smoky sweetness. The other notes all blend beautifully. The honey and olive blossom keep it from becoming too head shop incensey(for those of you who shy away from those blends, try this one). I don't get much, if any, sandalwood and the cinnamon is nowhere to be found. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists. Whether that's due to being thrilled that I've found a BPAL jasmine blend I can wear, or because this is so lovely, or both, I can't say. Either way, beautiful!! The husband took a sniff of my wrist and said, "Mmm, yummy!"

Another perhaps crazy rec/comparison but Black Opal is the closest thing I've found to Black Lace.

In the bottle I get a blast of cold and forest tree(yes, all of them), resins. On skin, even better. Snow, slush, cold, trees...with the moon reflecting its light off the frost of frozen, lightly sweet berries. A lovely, barely sweet, barely there mint hovers beautifully in the background. This is easily one of the most perfect snow/winter blends ever. Truly a work of art. Quite simply, stunning.

In the vial- mildew and baby powder. Not good. On skin- Same, with the addition of laundry soap and dryer sheets. Gave me a headache and made me feel queasy within seconds. Oh well, they can't all work, right?

I think those will work for you My husband's collection/favorites so far~ Black Forest Tombstone TKO Antony The Perlious Parlor Dorian Dogs Playing Poker: A Bold Bluff Scorpio '07 Dracul Nosferatu Bow and Crown of Conquest Scales of Deprivation 13(orange label) Bonfire Night The High Priest Not To Be Described Anubis Al Azif Satyr I think I listed all of them. He doesn't wear Snake Oil often but it's also among his favorites. They all smell absolutely divine on him

In the bottle- Vetiver and something sweetly herbal. On skin-The vetiver is subtle and there's a beautiful spicy wood that emerges almost immediately. There's a lovely, sweet smoke here, like walking through chill woods at night with the smell of sweet burning chimney smoke in the distance. And saffron, a hint, but definitely there. A good thing! I also get a very very light, dry cinnamon spice that flutters around here and there. I suppose this could be considered more of a masculine blend, but barely, imo. Very evocative and very beautiful!

At first it's a very light & airy floral, ACK. Fortunately, the opium quickly shows up-a sweet, spicy opium. I can't seem to find the other notes although I do get a bit of a baby aspirin powdery thing going on after about ten minutes. A bit too light for me but nice nonetheless.

When the bottle is first opened, and at a few inches from nose, buttery spiced vanilla. Closer and it's mostly cinnamon. Not strong, but definitely cinnamon. On skin, same thing, subtle and dry cinnamon. After a few minutes, however, the other notes start to make an appearance and I get fleeting whiffs of deliciousness. No one note stands out, really. Beautifully blended & non-foody after the initial sniff/application. In fact, this ends up being more of an almost incensy blend with hints of vanilla and chocolate flitting around teasingly. While it doesn't smell like it, to my nose it's similar in *feel* as Blood Kiss. It's quite lovely and definitely a keeper.