zenvodunista

delicate, sweet. Mostly gladiola and rose. Very floral, while still being light. n.

Soft and melancholy, a poignant blend of Roman chamomile, rosewood, cypress, Rose Otto, lavender, sandalwood and ylang ylang. this is fresh and pretty. it also reminds me of Libertine. if you are missing this scent, i think you could easily substitute Libertine and still be pretty happy. n.

All rose, with the tiniest hint of doeskin leather. Very pretty. If I didn't have Peacock Queen, I'd get this. n.

i keep being reminded of the "skin musk" in Wanda, and layering that with Perversion. but where Wanda is sweet, this is spicy. and where Perversion is tobacco, this is musk. it's so lovely! i can't stop sniffing myself. sure, it sounds sweet in the description, all that honey and tuberose -- but in fact is this a spicy skin musk that is reminiscent of Snake Oil, but just so.... oh. i can't describe it. it makes me think of wood paneled room, wood that's been polished with beeswax. there are candles lit, paddles, and ropes, and blindfolds, and dildoes lie used and abandoned scattered on the floor. two (or more?) bodies moving rhythmically. this is the scent of a sensual and intense fuck, it's wet lust, it's raw sex, it's soft skin on skin, it's teeth in the back of your neck. hell yes! n.

this is mostly sweet grape on me. But excellent for learning that civet and I get along just fine! What a thrill to learn: i've got whole worlds open to me now! for me, i amp berry. the same thing happens with the grape here, Puck is all grape... if i sniff really REALLY hard right at skin level, i can smell something kinda animalistic under it. it's really interesting, and if it were stronger i could see it being bad, but here it's just intriguing and kind of .... rutty. which isn't bad. i'll be looking forward to more "rutty" scents in the future n.

sooo not what I expected. A delicate and fleeting floral. For some reason it reminds me of Snow White -- not note wise, but feel. Maybe because it's white florals? I am not sure. Really pretty and surprising. Not aquatic to me in the least. I can see why this is such a comfort scent for so many on the forum. i bet the BF would like this one on me. n.

in the bottle, i could smell the plum blossom, the peony, that note that must be lotus root becuase i know it from Al Araaf. no ginger. on me though, the sweetness of what i think is the plum blossom just amps up and up and up, until i smell like Sweet-Tarts candy. it's kind of nostalgic, but not really something that makes me want to wear it. ah well! n.

sadly for me, Red Lantern is all caramel on me. don't get me wrong, i like the sugar. and for a little while, the sugar was supporting and allowing some other things like spices and tobacco to come through. i LOVE tobacco, so i was thrilled. now though? it's caramel. on my skin, it smells like Hearth 05, and Sugar Skull. there's no difference. and i wonder how many sugar scents i need i'm sad, but someone will be very happy when it goes to swap. n.

Khajuraho taught me that yes, i was right, sandalwood and i don't get along. but this one... Sweet jasmine, filled out with the roundness of apples and quinces, tarted up with citron. Slightly musky and spicy, this one is just GORGEOUS on my skin, and i can't stop smelling myself. i checked the description again, and discovered that there is sandalwood in this blend too, "indian sandalwood" whereas Khajuraho is "white sandalwood". so the white is funky, but the indian just lends this a gravity. i think the Perfumed Garden would be too sweet without the wood. absolutely lovely, this one collapses into a pure blend in which i cannot pick any single note out of. i am very glad to have two bottles (one here, and one on the way!). and let me tell you, i am SO HAPPY as a landscape architect, to finally have a "garden" themed perfume to wear! n.

i should note that sometimes sandalwood makes a weird b/o thing on me, and sadly, that happens here. however, because of this update, i now know that white sandalwood is not great, but indian sandawood is. so that's a blessing. Khajuraho is far less sweet than i worried it would be. it's masterfully blended, and has some kind of bitter herbal that keeps the sweetness of the vanilla, tuberose, and honey, from becoming overwhelming. if my skin didn't make the white sandalwood become somewhat funky, i'd be in love. n.

i can't believe i didn't review this! if i did, i can't find the review... at any rate, this is one of my top 10. it was still available when i first started collecting BPAL, but i had no idea what i liked or didn't. it became unavailable while i waited for my first order, and later on i snagged an imp and promptly fell in love. i only have two imps, and i've been hoarding them for a special occasion. but what kind of occasion? Cheshire Cat is playful and silly, bright and cheerful. not a scent for a romantic night or even for anyone else. for me, this is a personal scent -- one that sort of embodies how i see myself: sweet, tart, pretty goofy, and slightly elegant. funky, but in the George Clinton way, not the garbage can way today it's raining out, and i've been sick since January 17th, and it's now February. today i busted out the Cat. when he comes around again (whenever that may be) i'll be purchasing 10 ml stat. i want all my mornings to start out this way! n.

Beth's dragon blood is almost fruity, and her gorgeous amber is there too. I usually amp amber in blends, so I am interested to see what happens here. On though, I absorb this almost instantly. Weird. ....time passes.... Oy, and now it's just downright gross. Kinda plastic. Blech! Stupid skin! n.

a lot of it depends on your skin. however, oils that last a long time on me (and i have skin that eats a lot of scents) are: Beaver Moon Lenore Snake Oil Wanda Perversion Tezcatlipoca Sugar Skull if your skin supports amber at all, a lot of the ambers tend to go for a long time on people (my skin hates amber ) n.

:rips open latest package and rummages through frimps: Lovely, dark and almost almondesque in the bottle. Lovely! On: ugh! Ughbra! What is that smell? :Checks List: Oh, cedarwood. That explains the sort of dusty B/O thing. oh well. n.

how did i forget to post a review of this? or did my review get eaten? at any rate, Snow Angel is a pretty little piece of work, she smells like a candied violet looks: bright, crystyline, sweet, and just so darn pretty. on me the lemon and tea fade pretty fast (i have a tendency to absorb both those smells) and i'm left with spun sugar and an almost marshamallow (the confection, not the plant) type scent. but prettier than marshmallows sound. not the cheapo ones in the grocery store. gourmet marshmallows! i don't seem to reach for it often. we'll see if i end up keeping it, but she sure is a pretty lil' thang! n.

is that oude? that intoxicating smell? i recognize tea, dry and light, and bamboo pulp all green and bright. but that smell... that etheareal smell that isn't quite floral, and isn't quite wood. it's neither soapy nor powdery, and yet contains elements of both. it's warm but not hot, cool but not cold, neither is it lukewarm or tepid, but body heat -- yet not fevered. it's not musk, for certain it isn't. it's the smell of warm sunlight through a green gap in the canopy. it's a cool starry night, so bright you can see the ground all covered in broken twigs and bent grass from where the dryads have been dancing. it's flowers from Faerie, gracing your hair, twinging about you to make a dress. is this oude? this mysterious scent that envelops me, not like a blanket but rather like the bits of fabric that drape Botticelli's Venus? that rises up like a Capricorn Moon, on a cold January night? is this it? n.

for some reason, though it's not listed, this smelled like orange flower water on me, and just OFW. Pretty and clean, and a little too boring. Too bad. n.

so weird! i expected this to be dark and brooding, but i got a bright and cheerful floral. i'm going to test it again. but, still.... weird. n.

like most honey-heavy scents i've smelled, this one smells like sexmusk to me, just like Honey Moon did, so i'm not super surprised. however, Honey Moon stayed sweet honey sexmusk on my skin, and O turned to babypowder in less than 5 minutes. i'm pretty sure it took only 2 minutes in fact. and i mean that literally. oh well. n.

usually woods don't work on my skin. and with the "dry dusty woods" description of this scent, combined the "feral" in the title, well, frankly, i was terrified what it would do. but i got a decant anyway because i like to try them all. and this one was a surprise. rather than the bad, B/O funk that cypress and cedar make on my skin, this was a bright woods scent. maybe birch? not sweet birch (which is the birch that you use for birch-beer), but more like a river birch, "regular" birch. and other bright woods. it put me in mind of ash, beech, sweetgum. i can't imagine wearing it very often because i'm not feeling like it's "me", but i am thrilled to find that not all "woods" or "feral" scents are bad on me. BPAL is always a scent educator. and i'm thankful that i got to try, and that it wasn't terrible n.

High John, mos' def. besides being a voodoo oil meant to enhance personal power, and invoke the power of the cunning trickster High John, it also smells clean and herbal. very professional. not pretty, but ... *clear*. i adore it! (cradles her 10 ml bottle) n.

i will say right off the bat, woods rarely agree with me. usually, there's cedar in there somewhere and everything turns to bad body odor on my skin. that doesn't happen here, although i can't see myself wear the good Herr. there is a distinctly *musty* smell to this perfume that is fascinating, but not wearable for me. that smell is reminiscent of musty books. truly! i must pass my imp on to a friend of mine who desperately wants to smell like a stack of old books. this might do the trick! n.

i am surprised, i thought, like many of the "incense" and "church" blends, the frankinscense in this would overwhelm me and smolder like it usually does. that is not the case! MM is lovely, warm, and reminicent of the glow of candles in an old stone church. soft, regal, and spiritual. there is a slight touch of floral here, not intense, just enough to sweeten the incense. i may end up getting a bottle of this. i think i like it more than the Cracked Bell. n.

GSoW is surprisingly light in wearing. after a confusing drydown, it settled into a sort of cheerful and bright mandarin, backed up by a chorus of warm spices. this is what i remember hoping Kustkammer would smell like, warm and cheerful. i don't know how well it captures the terror of the War to End All Wars, but! it's a gorgeous scent! i'm still a bit weirded out at how cheerful it is! also: very cool label, Macha! n.

Dear Gods of BPAL, i have learnt my lesson finally, no more Spice Based Scents. they always turn to plastic on me. i'm sorry. n.