zenvodunista

This is lovely, and strangely mellow, on me. In the bottle I can smell the sage, but on my skin this is all Snake Oil with leather and LOTS of vanilla-esque tonka. It's very rounded on my skin, and the leather is more like doe-skin than rawhide. I can't wear some leather blends but I can wear this one. I'll probably get a bottle. I don't think ti's too masculine at all, but it is gender neutral. It smelled great on both myself and my BF N.

Snake Charmer + Lenore = Death Adder. I happen to love these, so yes, I will be getting a bottle. This is gorgeous! And the vertiver isn't BAM like in Lenore which is ALL vertiver - it's a lot more mellow than that. But really, this smells almost exactly like SC to me, with vertiver instead of plum. I am the happy N.

Snake Oil. Cake Oil. Foody lovers will be sad. N.

Today I decanted for my Snake Pit circle and I very quickly wanted to write about this oil. Two friends were over to supportively sniff, chatter & decant assist, and when I did Boomslang the room went quiet because this stuff is SO THICK. It's so thick it's difficult to decant, it doesn't actually want to go up into the pipette. It's like decanting maple syrup. And the color? I put it in the clear imp and capped it and held it to the overhead light to try and see the color. At the very edge it is almost maroon, but other than that? BLACK. No light passes through this oil. It's that dark. I squitched out one the last pipette droplets onto my skin. I couldn't pass it up. Just glorious. I wager this isn't just cocoa in there, it's got to be cocoa absolute of extremely high quality. That, mixed with the sugared indonesian spices of our beloved Snake Oil. I can't wear Beth's "chocolate" note, but I can wear cocoa - and I can wear this. And yes, it's cocoa slathered snake oil - but it's cocoa the way vanilla is in SO. It's resinous cocoa. Deep, sexy, not foody in the slightest. Divine! I will be getting several bottles while it's available for the aging - and hoarding. Oh yes, I will be hoarding this one. ETA: Took Boomslang out for a full ride today - at full slather. I don't think this is "foody" in the slightest. This is pure elegance. Up there with the great classics of perfume. Yep, many bottles to hoard, coming this way. I'll need at least 20 ml. ETA (again): BTW, while wearing this, occasionally I will get whiffs of something that makes me think of the caramel macchiato from Starbucks - a drink I love. My skin chemistry won't let me wear a lot of caramel scents, and we only have two coffee scents and both don't work on me. But Boomslang lets me pretend I have Misk U. on. I can't wear Misk. U in the slightest. It's disgusting on my skin - and the Boomslang isn't like that all the time. Just as my body changes through the day, I get these whiffs of caramel macchiato, followed by a sophisticated and elegant "oriental" styled perfume. I love this stuff! SO complex!!! N.

Bottle: This smells like the patchouli that hates me in Madame Moriarty. On: This is the patchouli that hates me in Mme. Moriarty. 15 minutes: this is the patchouli that hates me Mme. Moriarty with lots of sweet fruit. 1 hour: this is fruit. I may age this one. Sandalwood and I have a tumultuous relationship and I think that's what is going bad on me in this blend. Khajurajo did something similar to me when I first got it, but now is very lovely. I may swap it though. I can't smell any of the amber or the oude, both of which I adore. We'll see. N.

Don't feel silly! I've been collecting BPAL for at least 2 years now, and I recently got a frimp of Black Tower and had NO idea if it was a new or old scent. Turned out to be part of the GC and had all these pages of reviews. D'oh! The catalog has like 500 blends in it. No worries if you can't remember them ALL! N.

Black Ice was a total washout on me. Pure aquatics, no smoke, no earth, nothing but florals and water. Ah well. Ya can't win 'em all, can you? N.

Snow Flake and Snow White are definitely in the same family of scents. In the bottle, I can't really disguish them from one another at all. On, Snow Flake's mint bursts forward and actually does a simultaneous cool/warm thing to my skin for a bit. I'm wearing one on each arm right now, and for me, they are so close as to be pretty much interchangeable. Where Snow White gets deeper and more creamy/coconutty, Snow Flake is cooler/minty. I think that difference will register as huge to some folks noses, and less so to others. For me, it's more a "vibe" than a difference. I think if you are a huge lover of this kind of scent, you'll really dig Snow Flake. And if you are new to BPAL and missed out on Snow White, get yourself a bottle of this. I think it makes a most excellent substitute. It's not exact - nor should it be - but it is most definitely very related. Similar to the way that Snake Oil & Snake Charmer are sisters, so these two. In fact, I bet Snow Flake will be great in summer. That sweet mysterious quality of Snow White, paired with cool mint will do wonders in the terrible heat. ... Dries a bit more... Is that cucumber I smell? Yeah, there's some cucumber in there keeping the mint cool. Good work, lab! Just lovely.... ETA: The longer this is on... the more it smells like Blue Moon @.@ That's not a bad thing, and in some ways makes sense. I mean, it's Sleeping Snow White and the Light of the Blue Moon kissing her. I'm getting more blown away by the minute here. Really complex. I think this one will morph a LOT with skin chemistry, and I want to read all about it. So y'all go out and get yer bottles and report back here to me Just wonderfully complex. A real BPAL experience. Too chilly for me to wear in winter (I get cold so easily that cool scents make me feel cold) but a keeper nonetheless. n.

In the bottle: Chocolate & Vanilla, together at LAST! On: I was worried that the sandalwood would go bad on me - it's an iffy note often... But on me this is all Chocolate & Vanilla. The sandalwood is there grounding it, the other stuff is just sweetening it a bit. Maybe a moment of lavender and then it's ball back to Chocolate & Vanilla goodness. And unlike a most other chocolate blends, there is not a hint of the hated hazelnut. I am SO happy! At last I can wear one of my favorite numbers! This is a very fun scent. I think it'd be great for pretty much anywhere except for the high/end date, super sexy mama type thing. Totally fine with going out with friends, home cuddling, going to the movies, at work, whatever. Thanks, lab!!! ETA: Yesterday while wearing this, I would notice that the throw (the "sillage") would change a lot. Sometimes it was lavendar, then it was a sweet brightness which I think was mimosa & starfruit, for a bit tea-like. The cool part was that while the throw was morphing, by my skin it stayed true to chocolate/vanilla/sandalwood. By the end of teh day the throw was what was nearest my skin. It's a wonderfully complex scent. And SO much fun. Comforting too. I 13. n.

Pretty, but more incense than cake. Actually, last night I tried Haloa, and I think I like it more than All Souls. All Souls on me is all incense and no cake. The Haloa is far more complex with a lot more depth. I'm glad I got to sniff this though. n.

This is the secret hit of tOotD. Eveyrone is oohing and ahing over Lucy, and Quincy... and here is mad John Seward quietly gibbering in the corner. Lean close though, and you'll find he's not as mad as he seems and quite possibly holds the keys to the kingdom of understanding. Sweetly mysterious, rich without being ostentatious, I LOVE this Doctor and will be getting a bottle ASAP. It's extraordinarily blended, I can't pick out the notes. It smells very .... sophisticated, expensive, elegant. Powerful. It's almost reminiscent of honey or mead somehow, but without the cloying qualities of those notes. That must be the champaca that reminds me of a drier Kajuraho... I love this. Sorry for the inchoherence... ETA: It finally struck me what this scent is like! If Khajurajo and Two Monsters had a baby. Yep. So, if you like both those scents, get this. As for me, I love it. Especially since I find Khajurajo to be a little to *sweet* for my skin chemistry - John Seward is a drier champaca. n.

In the bottle: Hmm. Some kinda funk is residing in there On: well, that burnt away quick. BAM! Now we gots the fruits. And that wine? THat's fruity red ya got goin' on. Yup. THere's a lot of different kinds of sweetness happening in the scent, and I can faintly pick them out. I think that funk might have been the honey which to my nose is very... shall we say... feminine? I'd love to see how this one ages. Right now the resins are lingering at the edges of the party. I wonder if they will deepen with age. I'll be keeping the imp for testing, me thinks. This is definitely one for those of you that like Lady MacBeth. n.

DCXXXI (631) I swapped Oedipa for this, and I am glad I did. To my nose this is all Sugar Skull, mixed with incense. My skin happens to amp sugar so it's more SS than incense, but there's a lot of incense here. Weaving in and out of the scent as I wear it, is a faint hint of some kind of fruit - I am tempted to say cherry. Really excellent, adn something I'll actually wear. Thanks! n.

The last of my CTIIIs: DCCCLIX: a hit of light musk (skin maybe?) and a touch of some kind of fruiting flower and something clean. DCCCXXXII: Clean, but I can't ID it farther than that. For some reason it's reminding me of Sea of Glass. These last two are very related. They are variations on each other. On my skin they are barely distinguishable. Both are a little bit aquatic. Both remind me a bit of City in the Sea. Maybe it's sea lily? I don't know my notes for these as they seem to be related to a class of scents I am not ever really interested in. n.

In the bottle: OMG. It's Storyville with berries. *DIES* On: On, the initial blast sultry and warm vanilla-musky-sexyness dies back a good bit and everything else begins to come forward. OH GOD this is FUCKING AMAZING. Even when I feel like the Oakwood might be too much, it gets pulled back. Nothing ever seems to overwhelm the other one. Berries - which can be candy on me - are tempered by the bitterness of the pine. The wood is sweetened by the berry and mellowed by the vanilla. The tobacco is perfect. The pomegranate not too sweet at all - it's tartness is grounded by the pink pepper. This is flat out amazing. I'm.... completely overwhelmed. Oh god! n.

SMOKY is right. This smells pretty much only like smoke on me, with a background of opium resin. I love the smell of opium smoke and opium itself, but this was more smoke and less opium on my skin. I'll probably use the rest of the imp in the oil burner though. Sexy! Interestingly enough, Kathmandu does the same thing on my skin. It's all burnt herbs and smoke. n.

CMXXXIX In the bottle this has potential. I smell some similar notes to Snow White, and a bit of mint. On me, something floral comes out though, and the mint and the cream go way to the background. Will I wear this ever? I doubt it. It's perfectly fine, but while I like these kinds of notes, I hardly ever wear them :/ MLXI In the bottle: cheese. Cheese and ... alchochol? Something like that. On: musty dust and vaguely medicinal institutional floor scrubbing liquid. ETA: You know what? The cheese? I think it's the same musk that's in Queen. To me it's kind of like a sweaty foot cheese. THat's this scent. Horrible on me. Wonderful on other people. *sigh* Chaos Theory Hates Me. I have a couple more bottles to go, but I am pretty sure they won't work on me since I can tell they have some of those berry-florals that go Sweettart on me. n.

You know what Kindly Moon reminds me of? Al Araaf. That sort of sweetly honeyed lily. It must be the beeswax combining with the stargazer lily. The other florals and musk are really not here for me. It's mostly stargazer, and it fades super fast on me. My skin is known for that though, and it's one of the reasons I go for darker scents - they have more staying power on me. This is very pretty, girlish, and a touch posh. n.

In the bottle this reminds me of some of the ambergris blends I've smelled. The black musk is very strong. I could not smell the vertiver. On, sadly, my skin seems to revolt for a bit and it's all powerful musk that isn't happy with me -- but hten it settles down into a structured oriental/spice scent. The tamarind and mimosa sweeten up the blend, while soft and powdery resins come to the forefront, that are almost reminiscent of cocoa. Dark like cocoa, and a combination of bitter and sweet. I'll be trying this again. It's very complex and mysterious. n.

Black Moon reminds me of a very sophisticated, old world, vintage style perfume. Perhaps from somewhere like Guerlain. It is seamlessly blended. In the bottle, I can pick out the pear, cooled and tempered by the cucumber and the juicy blue lotus. But on, it blends and becomes something else. I don't know if I can wear it. But it makes me think of that beautiful photograph of Greta Garbo, the light on her face, her mysterious eyes, and her skin so flawless, that it fairly glows. n.

In the bottle this is simply glorious. In fact, while being different, it also reminds me of Luperci. That sort of warm man smell thing going on. On me it's terrible, and I am so sad and hating my skin right now. Something in it is doing what cedar does on my skin - turning into a sort of stale BO thing. Granted, my BF says it just smells "gentle" on me, but I smell it. *sniffs more* I don't know. I'm confused. Further away it doesn't smell like BO, just very structured and woody almost, with hints of spice. But I don't think it's working. I'll try it again, several times I'm sure, but I think for my spiced woods I'll go to Port Royal and P&T of the Carnaval. My skin is bad! Now, Schwartzer Mond on the BF? Simply glorious. He fell in love first sniff at the bottle and pulled out his wallet and asked "how much?". It's his now! And I get to semll it on him! On him I smell lovely cloves and leather. The musk warms it up and there's a gentle sweetness to it. It's simply gorgeous on him, and I'm very glad I get to snuggle up to that. So Schwartzer Mond broke my heart and mended it again all one one evening. Powerful, to be sure. n.

MXIX (1019) This is a Snake Oil variant. Basically, it's Snake Oil with Cedar instead of Vanilla. It's totally gorgeous! The only problem is that Cedar smells like Body Odor when it mixes with my (stupid!) skin chemistry. Weep for me? n.

This oddly medicinal in the vial, but on my skin for a brief moment flowers into the most glorious vanilla musk/kasmirwood/violet combo -- that gets very soapy. It must be the iris. If you can wear Iris though, get this. Poor me! n.

This is simply a GORGEOUS oriental/spicy/floral. I can't pick out a single note in this, though something about it reminds me of honey. Not that it's sweet, but that it's some kind of essence of something else, refined, purified and then transformed. It is not floral, not spicy, not sweet, not woody -- and yet it is all of these things together. It absolutely defies description. Even saying it is beautiful, or seductive, or mysterious, doesn't quite cover it. I love this one. ETA: I couldn't wear Love in the Asylum, or Haunted Palace (both went to powder on me), but I can wear this. A great alternative! n.

I'll be coming back to this. But I just got my order and had to, of course, throw some Mum Moon on. In the bottle this is hot ginger all the way. On.... It's strangely clean smelling. A ginger floral with a touch of soap that I don't really mind. Right now I'm not getting any opium, nor smoke, nor cream, nor.... not anything anyone else seems to be getting actually! I'm getting the mums, sweet skin musk, and invigorating ginger. I'm not getting the opium den below, but the smell of my invigorating guide and the golden mum she handed me. n.