izile

Another very surprising one to me. In this one, I expected watery aquatic notes. But all I get is lemon pledge. It went on wet as WOW LEMON! it is now dry as slightly dusty lemon pledge. I love New Orleans and used to spend a lot of time there as a sophomore in college, and this is too bright and clean and not at all watery and way all too lemony for the New Orleans I remember.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised/confused when I compared the note description to what I smell. The first thing that jumps out at me is the aquatic nature. It's very clean, but definitely aquatic. As it fades, it becomes a little more flowery, but trees/woods I never smelled. Water when wet, soft flowers when dry.

I had wanted to skin test all the Dawn scents at D*Con, but Dawn: Maiden was the one that screamed "TAKE ME HOME!" No death-notes like the Priestess, not sharp, bordering on acric like Mother, Dawn: Maiden was just lovely from start to finish. In the bottle, I'm reminded of a slighly fruity version of "The Rose." I know there's no fruit notes listed, but many actual roses do have fruit-like notes, and there was a light hint of that to this rose. I couldn't smell much of anything else in the bottle. Wet on the skin, it becomes a bit more complex, it's sweet, but not at all smelling of "honey" the way the recent apiary scents do, or like "O" or other honey scents have, to me. It reminds me of the honey in Lady Una most. The rose starts to get some friendliness from the other flowers, there's something kind of sunny smelling, I assumed it was the heliotrope, though, in retrospect, the sweetness could have also been to do with the honeysuckle. Dry, it lasts for hours, has a good throw, and I smelled of sweet - but not at all candy-like - roses with a hint of fruitiness that lingers. The "milk" note never showed up on me, and I can't say I ever smelled an olive blossom to know if it were there or not. The guy I was with kept smelling me and telling me how nice it was. Bonus. It was great for the Steampunk Ball, too.

It's July 4th. I'm throwing a cookout in my backyard. . . I have 4 hours to figure out what BPAL to wear! ACK! Last time, my natural inclination was to go along with the kind of clean, crisp, plant-y thing and I wore Enchanted Florists, but it was just so soft it completely disappeared. I am also considering starting with a Snake Oil Bath Oil base (as there may or may not be persons unmentioned at this gathering whom I might want to smell very yummy to). ---- Also, may start going on weekly picnics to see movies in the park with a guy friend whom I know LOVES my BPAL habit. I've ALMOST got him enabled, so suggestions for that too. Basically, what do you wear/suggest when you know you're mostly going to be outside, and possibly around a lot of people?

I like both Yvaine and Josie for magnolia, but they go in two completely different directions. The lavender in Yvaine can be very strong (well, mine's probably a couple of years old, too, so it might be aged yvaine is very lavender strong). Josie is probably my absolute favorite, the balance of slightly honey-sweetened peaches with the magnolia is just so very evocative. I wear it when I want to be reminded of home (Mississippi).

This reminds me of a lot less orange version of Knick-Knack. In the bottle, i was really excited. It's dusty/mossy tree bark with a spicy-orange kind of smell. On my skin, I'm not very aware of the orange at all. It's very cedar-y. Spicy wood, warm, still a little dusty-mossy-barky. But oranges? They're booking it out the back, high-tailing for the hills and I'm not sure they'll come back. This might be a very good scent for a guy. But, it's different enough and pleasant enough that I'm not going to put it out to swap anytime soon.

wet.. . weird. . . it almost immediately reminds me of that woody-forest note used in the Winter seasonal LEs. . . except. . . cinnamon, red hot cinnamon candy (am I insane?) it's like if those candies grew on a tree, this would be that tree. drying, the honey is trying to assert balance, but I'm not sure if it's going to be able to. It is a very dry spicy scent, I agree with saralaughs there. It's nice, but I'm not really a cinnamon wearing girl, so off to the swap pile it goes.

wet: oh, I agree, very sharp and green and herbacious! Not really tomato-plant-y as something more wild and non-edible. as it's drying I'm still waiting for the honey. . maybe a little bit of sweetness in the background as it's drying down. But very little. It's kinda nice . I smell like I've been tending my garden, as I should.

Wet this smells almost identical to Suck It, to me. As it's drying, the honey is coming out more, but the "fruit+brandy" aspect smells just like Suck It to me.

I had really wanted this to work. Even though I'm not entirely familiar with all of the notes as scents on their own. In the bottle it did smell kind of omni-floral, though I got no hints of flaming windmills or anything like that. Just light (not at all magnolia) mixed wildflower bouquette. On me. . dishwashing soap. Full power, that's all she wrote. I've never gotten the dishwashing soap reaction to a skintest before, so I wonder what caused it. But yup, hours later, it smells like I'm doing dishes. Disappointed.

The reviews had me excited when this showed up as a surprise frimp at my door. In the imp it smells like lovely green roses, like The Rose, but there's something tempering it, giving it a smoother, almost creamy edge. It's probably coconut, but it's not really "hey! I'm coconut!" or anything like that. Wet - very rosey but starts to morph fast. . . . changes to baby powder, all the time (damn those musks). Dry - I smell like a giant bottle of Johnson and Johnson baby powder. Nothing but. Dry - much later - I slathered as I ran out the door for work, so I wasn't able to wash it off, I just figured I'd cope and smelling like baby powder, while not enjoyable for me, isn't a *bad* smell. It took a couple of hours, but the rose is starting to fight back. I haven't quite made my mind up on this one yet. I like the rose note, and it is balancing. . . but it's balancing with. . . baby powder? maybe slightly coconut hinted baby powder? maybe? (snuffling my arm, currently) no, no coconut, juust baby powder, with a touch of rose.

I feel your pain. . . I don't mind the smell of musks, but my skin chemistry turns almost all musks straight into Baby-Powder-of-Doom, which means, the perfume has to go. So, I avoid anything with musk in it as much as possible (and it's really hard, because it's one of the most frequently used notes in BPAL, it seems.) Some musk free scents I've had really good luck with: Josie - honey peaches and magnolia Bon Vivant - Strawberry and champagne Persephone - roses and pomegranates Shattered - champagne, grapefruit, lotus, mint and aquatic flowers. Delirium - apple, rose, lemon The Hesperides - oak bark, apples, greenery - smells *just* like a real apple orchard Lightning - ozone, rain, "marine notes" Swank - pomegranate martini Les Fleurs du Mal - rose, lilac, wisteria Akuma - Blood orange, neroli, raspberry Marie - violet and tea rose Carnal - Mandarin and fig Whip - rose and leather Jester - huckleberry, neroli and red currant Elegba - coconut, tobacco, sugared rum Obatala - milk, coconut, shea butter, water The Rose - smell just like a real-life, green, fresh, rose bush Prunella - plums, wildflowers and cream

Some of my favorites are Fruit+Floral simple blends. Josie is definitely one of my all-time favorites. peaches, magnolia, it's perfection! I also like, though it's got a different mood to it, Persephone (roses and pomegranate) Strawberry Moon '09 is another absolute favorite and maybe Prunella, if you're OK with a cream note, but I like the fresh plums and slightly herby/green wild flower smell together.

Just checking to ask what kind of response time or response I might be expecting: I ordered 3 bottles on Jan 31st, after paypal stopped sending them email addresses, but before they had warned us about that change here on the forum, so I knew I wouldn't get a Click-n-Ship or anything like that. Today the package arrived but it contained 5 bottles, none of which are the ones I ordered - obviously someone else's dearly awaited order. I wrote an email, but I don't think I've ever had an issue before, so I don't know how long it will take to correct the issue, what the response will be, etc. I guess I'm also worried, since the paypal change, I included the paypal order number with the original information and order in my email, but they won't have my email on file for that order, so? I hope that won't matter? Little bit fretful. There's no chance they could have run out of the Candle Moon and I just won't get mine because of the mix-up + delay, is there? (not so worried about the other bottles, just I know the Lunacies are only available for such a short period of time). --------------- Edit: Got a reply the same day! Said they would have the new package out ASAP! Yeah! No mention of running out of Candle Moon or anything else my worried, fevered imagination was cooking up!

I do not believe single variety rose essential oils exist because of the great quantity of roses needed to make even a little of the essential oil (it's extremely expensive). I believe Damascus Rose is the standard for most EOs. The scent of roses varies wildly, but has very little to do with color. (The smell or a red tea rose will vary wildly from the scent of a red modern hybrid from a red old English, and even then, different breeds of red old English roses will have different scents completely independent one from the other.) My belief is that when BPAL lists a rose by color, that they have created a bouquet by blending other oils together to give the impression and feeling that they associate with rose and the color they are picturing in their mind. Like, you might think that black roses would be extremely potent, with dark musky notes, and would want to use component oils to lend to that idea [even though "black" roses (only extremely dark red or purple, real black doesn't exist) tend to be modern hybrids and therefore, have been bred for looks over smell and frequently have barely any scent at all], meanwhile, you would think that a white rose might be extremely light and ghostly and try and capture more of a fleeting and light feel to the scent, while some old English white roses are potent enough to cast their fragrance for dozens of yards.

Ow, I wanted this one so badly after reading some of the reviews, and finally traded off for half an imp. In the imp: beautiful bright limes with what could be a little vanilla sugar in the background, very faint. *swoon* LOVE! Wet: Wonderful! sweetened limes, but still sharp and citrusy and acidic with that lingering warmness somewhere in the background. Dry: OMGWTF HAPPENED??!!?! No limes, no citrus, what is this smell? it's horrible! It's giving me a headache, it's powdery and cloyingly sweet and *weeps* dammit!

I had been scared away from this one because of the black musk (musks 99.9% of the time = Baby Powder of Doom), but I kept reading great reviews and got a tiny tester. Smelled lovely in the imp, like rich, dark, unsweetened cocoa powder from some really exotic, gourmet purveyor. Wet: like cocoa powder in one of those *nice* tobacco stores Dry: Baby Powder of Doom with a hint of cocoa *sighs*

I was just going to say - Woah! No one's mentioned Josie?? (possibly my new favorite, and definitely the first oil I've gotten and gone "WOW! PEACHES!!") Unfortunately, London, I've never smelled Algaea or Katharina, so I can't say how it compares to those two. However, Josie is lovely, succulent, fresh, ripe, southern peaches. I only get a little drizzle of honey, just to amp the sweetness. But the Magnolia is a major contender and needs to be considered. If you are iffy or are not that fond of Magnolia, I think Josie would not be a good idea. I love Magnolia (reminds me of home) and Josie is very well balanced so I adore it absolutely!

I think The Rose will actually be the closest to Whip that you will find. Peacock Queen was much sweeter and less sharp. More like straight rose oil, it was lacking the fresh element of Whip. Victoria is tea rose so I don't think it will smell anything like Whip plus the vanilla musk will make it too innocent. I hadn't been able to pinpoint it myself, but I did want to say I think The Rose is too green. The rose in Whip is all petals, no stem, sap, green or leaf. I do agree that Peacock Queen was too much in the other direction, though. 2-5-7 might be a good middle ground.

Obatala is probably one of my favorite oils for summer - ever. I love it on beachy days, and last summer I blended an imp into an ounce of sparkly Skin Milk lotion and enjoyed slathering it for months. - I've never smelled another BPAL that was really like Obatala, it seems really unique. ELEGBA - the first imp of this I got I gave to a guy friend, because it smelled so delicious on him I thought he definitely should have it. I've gotten myself one since. It's second fiddle to Obatala, but different enough I'm saving an imp for summer. As for the others: OCHOSI - have somehow missed this one, never tried, needs to go on wishlist. OGUN - haven't tried it, but the notes scare me. OLOKUN - aquatics don't work on me. OSUN - I should add this to my wishlist since I've decided to give honey scents another try. OYA - dunno. SHANGO - bananas . . . I hate bananas. . . this smells of bananas. .. YEMAYA - I'd love to get a tester of this, the aquatic scares me, but the other notes sound yummy! PORT-AU-PRINCE - I have it marked on my xl sheet with red, which means "get it away from me as quick as you can - aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"

I found Marie very "perfume-y" and over powering, but I liked it, so I just diluted mine into 3 oz of unscented shampoo. Was quite lovely then.

Peacock Queen may be a bit heavy if I'm understanding you correctly. It's very lush and deep and more like what I think a commercial rose smell would be like. Pink Snowballs is OK, but a bit of a disappointment as it's not a balanced Rose Red + Snow White, it's more like 75% Snow White and 25% Rose Red. So, if the main note you want is rose, it's going to fall short. However, my FAVORITE rose BPAL, because I've never liked rose scents or rose perfumes, but I ADORE my Mothers rose garden with antique English roses and their smell, I like "The Rose" under Marchen. It smells the most realistic out of all the rose BPAL's I've tried. You really get the smell of a real, fresh, antique rose bush - yes, the whole bush. To me, it's the end all be all for the most true-to-life rose smell. oh, and for those considering Rose Red from the LE line, the difference between Rose Red and The Rose is *very* negligible. I believe Rose Red has *slightly* less "bush" and more "flower", but you'd really have to have them side by side to hash it out.

I will start out by saying. .. LOOOOOOVE! This was the only scent from the District that sounded like it might even potentially work and it did not let me down! This may be my new "go to" scent. In the Bottle: Fresh southern peaches with just a drizzle of honey and a backing of a summer warmed magnolia somewhere in the distance. Wet: The magnolia is stepping up and the honey is almost too much to overpower the peaches which have taken the backstage now. This is really heady. Dry: Peach has stepped back up to the front, and is ripe and juicy with just a hint of warm honey, the magnolia is probably at it's strongest now, but is soft and warm and just lovely. Depending on how the wiff hits me, it trades places back and forth with the peaches for dominance. This thing has some THROW and some staying power. When I was gifted with my BPALs, I had a bad sinus infection and couldn't smell a thing. This was the first thing I was able to smell (that, and then my parents' ancient basset hound's farts -ack!). It is definitely one of the most potent oils I've ever tried, but not in a bad way, and not at all cloying. Reminds me a lot of real magnolia trees, you can smell them for what seems like miles, but it's never "too much."

Bottle: it's like strawberry candy with something really wrong about it. The kind of strawberry candy that would make you go "YEAH! - hey wait a minute. . . " like the drugged candy of bad strangers in vans with no windows. Wet: Still very candy-strawberry smell, but not nearly as concentrated in it's syrupy-ness. I guess I don't really know what mimosa is supposed to smell like (drink or flowering tree?) Dry: It's still candy-sweet but starting to get a bit more balance to it. I'm a bit undecided at the moment, it's nice, but I'm normally not one to smell like candy.

I like the analogy of Mom's purse. Wet, it's soft, reminds me of Puff's tissue packets with the smell of old pennies and maybe a hint of old candy/gum? Not getting any leather. Dry, OK, I'm getting that hard to define "old lady" smell, and the smell of old corroded pennies, it's not just metallic, it's coppery. There's still something Puff's-like as, despite the corroded penny smell, it's stills soft and vaguely powdery. Corroded pennies wrapped in tissue?