Little Bird

Ghagiel is one of those blends that reminds me of why I tend to dislike florals. I don't really like floral perfumes when I can't pick out what sort of flower I think they smell like. This is like a mish-mash of white florals with a soapy bite to them. It doesn't remind me of any flower in particular, just smells like that cliche floral perfume fragrance that I find so unappealing when I walk through department stores in the mall. Ghagiel gives me a headache

Samael smells a bit like a more perfumey version of Phantom Queen on me at first, in that fruity-floral sort of way. As it dries down a bit, the perfumey note stays and begins to take on a powdery musk sort of feel. After 15 minutes, I'm getting something like honey musk that others have mentioned. Now this is a bit like powdery lilies and honey musk on me. It's more something that smells clasically floral to me, but with a sweeter edge... and it's probably not something that I would wear a lot.

This is orange citrus and spice to my nose. I find it works better as a room scent than a personal one. Orange + cinnamon/clove always makes me think of potpourri. It's very warm and pleasant in an oil burner.

I tried out Wolf's Heart after reading filigree_shadow's review of how it helped in getting to sleep. I suffer from post traumatic stress disorder that causes me to have some issues with insomnia. I've been prescribed all sorts of sleep medications and none of them have worked (though some of them caused me to have hallucinations, which in turn made me even more anxious). I have serious problems with hypervigilance. On a bad night (like the last two weeks), every little noise or shadow causes me to feel threatened and anxious. Wolf's Heart smells rather pleasant and happy to me. Sort of like watered down orange juice and an herbal, almost metallic note. It almost smells a bit like eucalyptus on me at times as well, with a soapy edge. This isn't something that I'd wear as a perfume with the sole purpose of making myself smell appealing, but it isn't an awful smell either. And I did manage to fall to sleep the night that I wore this. A very deep sleep for a few hours. Though I'm not sure if it was from the feeling of comfort that Wolf's Heart gave me or the fact that I'm just flatout exhausted from not sleeping well for weeks beforehand. I woke up after four hours during the middle of a thunderstorm feeling pretty hysterical, but I managed to fall back to sleep after the wind calmed down. I'll try this out over a few more nights and see if it helps me to have some anxiety-free sleep as well...

Middle Pillar doesn't have a great fragrance (at least to my nose). It has a strong shot of eucalyptus/menthol on me at first, and something like a powdery/dry cedar note. In the drydown, it smells a bit like sweet woods layered over powdery florals. Sweet, powdery, and very dry. I do get a hint of the mentioned cinnamon in the drydown as well. It's not an awful or off-putting smell at all, it just isn't something that I'd wear as a personal fragrance. It makes a beautiful room scent in an oil burner though, as it's very calming and warm. I enjoyed using Middle Pillar as a room fragrance to calm me down, make me feel at ease, and ground me as I was taking some time out for prayer. And it worked very well for that purpose

I'm definitely going to have to swap away Temple: Polynesian. I know that some people don't care about the fragrance of the TAL blends, but the way that something smells plays a major factor in whether or not I will ever be able to use it or wear it. Temple: Polynesian has a very strong opium poppy note to it. That painfully sharp, white, hairspray-ish sort of note that gives me an instant, horrible migraine. In the imp it smells like opium poppy with a background of tropical fruits. On me, pure opium poppy. I couldn't use or wear this one

I have not used this for any real purpose yet, so this will be a review only of the scent itself. On me, Temple: Rosicrucian smells like a mixture of tomato leaf and tea rose. It's interesting and rather pretty, and evokes a pleasant garden picture to my mind. Leafy green, but with the sweetness of the tea rose and the spiciness that comes from the tomato leaves. The tomato leaf is more prevalent at first, but the drydown is more tea rose with a hint of greenery in the background. I like this one a lot.

You might want to try Shango. It was a very cool, crisp, clean apple scent on me at first, and then morphed into something of a chilled fruit salad smell after a few hours. It's clean, crisp, and fruity. "The Master of Lightning’s ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane." It's not as sweet or artificially fruity as it sounds. At least, it isn't on me, lol. The Pool of Tears is an interesting aquatic. Sort of a salt water and florals blend. "A sea of salty tears drowning out Alice's light floral perfume." And I'd recommend The Mock Turtle for a clean/fresh scent, "Not quite Turtle Soup: blurry aquatic notes, with a confusing, contrary splort of iris, ambrette, green apple, vodka, white mint and a squish of lime." You might also want to try out Sundew. It was all bright lemony sugar and greenery on me. A nice, refreshing, uplifting sort of scent. And Ochosi has a cheery, warm herbal/green sort of smell to it that reminds me a bit of the herbal in The Dormouse. And Aizen-Myoo is "yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea." More floral and fresh... Off of your current list... Dublin, Dorian, and Envy don't really strike me as clean/fresh scents at all. Dorian is a sugared vanilla tea (sweet and lovely), Dublin was like those foresty air freshener trees on me, and Envy was more of an herbal mint.

Strawberry singlenote is very sticky sweet on me. It does smell like real strawberries, but with some sugar added. We used to have a half acre strawberry garden when I was little, so I remember picking them and my mother turning them into everything that you can possibly turn a strawberry into (jams and sugary pastes for strawberry shortcake being her favorite). This singlenote smells like sliced up, ripe strawberries that were mixed with sugar. Juicy and sweet. I don't love fruity scents normally, but I might want a full bottle of this one if I ever got the chance to purchase it

I've been on a sandalwood spree lately, so I was excited to try out the Red Mysor Sandalwood. Plus, I've had good luck with the red sandalwood in blends. On me, this is a very warm and spicy sandalwood. The sort of spicy that makes me think of cassia. A very woodsy, slightly powdery cassia, with a background that reminds me of dry cedar chests. When I wear this, my brain will flip between thinking that it smells like cassia and cedar before settling on the realization that it's a beautifully warm sandalwood. If that makes any sense... I'd get a big bottle of this one if I could.

Bergamot singlenote is not a winner on my skin. I don't think that I could ever wear this one alone. It's a very tart, sharp citrus (neither lemon nor orange, but somehow reminiscent of both) on me, with some herbal undertones. This is the sort of citrus that makes me cringe, as it's almost bitter or chemical smelling on me, lacking any sweetness that I'd enjoy. Reminds me of some sort of harsh cleaning fluid...

Florentine Iris starts out rather sharp and soapy on my skin. A rather harsh, slightly aquatic, floral fragrance. In the drydown, if I didn't know what I was wearing, I would have guessed that this was a violet blend. It smells like a dark, bruised little floral. A hint soapy, a bit powdery, and purple. This one becomes more and more powdery on me over time, getting lighter and fading away entirely within 2 hours. I feel very 'meh' about this one. Florentine Iris is not my sort of floral.

Tweedledee is the purest orange blossom scent on me (and the only one where orange blossom really works on me as a sweet floral and doesn't smell like oddly burnt citrus). It winds up smelling like a beautiful orange blossom singlenote on me in the drydown. I highly recommend Masquerade was the strongest patchouli for me out of the three that you listed. Vixen had a very noticeable patchouli on me, and the orange blossom smelled sharply burnt, but they were more of equal strength. I don't get any patchouli at all from Ravenous... it actually smells more like an orange creamsicle on me (orange blossom and vanilla).

Vetiver has ruined a lot of blends for me... but it's also in a few blends that I really love, and lends a dark, earthy background to some of them. I like it if it lingers lightly in the background. By itself, oh Lord. This is strong and EARTHY. It kind of reminds me of the smell of decaying leaves, roots, and soil... but with a more pungent bite. Woodsy, but insanely deep and dark. I only used the tiniest drop of this on one of my fingertips, and it's almost overpowering on me. It goes a bit powdery and sweeter on me after about a half hour, and I actually like it more then. I could never wear this alone as a perfume. I'm not really sure what I would layer it with either, so I think I'll leave that up to Beth, lol. Vetiver singlenote is a frightening thing.

Ylang ylang is one of my most feared notes, and it has ruined quite a few blends for me. In the vial it actually didn't smell so bad, it was a cheerful, sunny-yellow sort of floral. It was tricking me into trying it on. On me... ylang ylang is so viciously sharp and acrid. It makes me think of the way my hands smell (and taste) after handling dirty coins. That metallic bite that I always associate with ylang ylang. I washed this one off after about a half hour, and it was still clinging to my skin after repeated hand washings, smelling like sharp, dirty metal

I don't like Sweet Grass much when I first dab it on, it has a sharp lemony citrus bite to it that I find unpleasant. However, in the drydown, this is really quite lovely. It's not as strong and darkly green as the fresh cut grass smell, but it does smell grassy. Sweet Grass on me almost smells like a field of wildflowers, minus the flowers. It has a green and fresh quality to it, but not dark green, and it's slightly more herbal. I'd get a bottle of this one if I could

I've been playing around with my wee imp of Siberian Musk over the last several weeks, trying it out on myself and my boy. It smells very off on my skin, but not as bad on him. Siberian Musk might be the note that I hated in Snake Oil. It has a nauseating sort of sweetness on me that reminds me of the way that greasy hair smells. Oily and slightly powdery. It's so strong on me and makes me kind of sick. The boy said, "This makes you smell dirty... in a bad way." On the boy, this is much better. It clings close and has a hint of sweetness, a hint of powder, and a darkly sensual muskiness. Unfortunately, it's not his cup of tea either. Perhaps we just aren't musk people, lol.

I've wanted to try the Gardenia singlenote for a while now, just because Sacred Whore of Babylon is one of my all-time favorite fragrances, and I don't really pick out any gardenia in it. In the imp vial, this is a bitter and pungent floral, and I'm a bit afraid of it. On me, it quickly calms down to more of a creamy, tropical floral scent. Warm and a bit reminiscent of coconut milk. It smells nothing like what Sacred Whore of Babylon smells like on me (honeyed vanilla, almonds, and spicy-sweet dragon's blood). But this is pleasantly warm, sweet, and strong on my skin. I might get a 5 ml of this one if I could...

For some reason, I think that's one of the best quotes ever, lol. Anyhoo. Some quick thoughts: If you're looking for strong scents with a lot of throw and staying power, BPAL is great for those . So many of their scents are wonderfully strong and clingy on me. I'd definitely recommend Dragon's Milk for a candied/sweet scent (and it layers well with Snow Fairy). Dorian is a strong musk and vanilla tea. Snake Oil is intensely strong and one of BPAL's most popular blends. Eat Me is a strong sugary/foodie scent. The Hanging Gardens and Gomorrah were both very strong on me as well, and heavy on the fig. If you can get ahold of Snow White, it's my favorite sort-of-sugared floral scent and it has amazing throw and staying power. Dragon's Eye gets good reviews for being a very strong lilac floral, so you might be interested in that one. Envy is a pretty strong, dark mint scent that remins me a bit of Demon in the Dark. If this is your first order, you should try to get a good variety of scents. And you should get Voodoo (I pretty much always recommend that one), because it's strong and rather complex and gorgeous. Hope that helps somewhat

The Death of Sardanapal was the last of the current The Salon blends for me to try. I saved it for last because it smells kind of promising in the bottle, and so far none of The Salon blends have worked on me. The boy is mildly fond of a couple of them, but I haven't found a blend for me yet. Maybe this is it? I love cassia, and I can definitely smell it in the bottle, mingling with sticky-sweet honey and some dark wine notes. It smells dark and has a very sexy, heady quality to it. On me, The Death of Sardanapal reminds me of the way those "old-time country" stores smell. You know, the country stores where you can smell the wood foundation, along with the homemade jams and wines and honeys and spices. It has that yummy, comforting smell. Cassia is one of my favorite BPAL notes. I don't like cinnamon, but I love the darker, more woodsy smell of cassia. This is a wonderful blend of it and the fruity red wine, with the other notes swirling in the background. In the drydown it gets more of a sweet, sugary note to it and starts reminding me a bit of cinnamon toast (cassia toast?). After an hour, the spice has calmed down and the honey is getting stronger. Honey usually doesn't work on my skin, but it's silky, golden, and perfectly sweet here. I love it. It does remind me a bit of apple pie and honey after a while (and that's a delicious thing, in my opinion). This is my winner of The Salon. It's the only one that has been full bottle worthy on me. Kinda foodie, definitely spicy, and with a mingling of pleasantly sweet and comforting notes.

In the bottle this smells like rather sharp/metallic ylang ylang and (perhaps I am insane) plum. On me... the only note that I can definitely pick out of the blend is ylang ylang. Then the ylang ylang fades away into the background and this is a warm, slightly powdery, sweet blend that makes me think of vanilla, without smelling like vanilla exactly. After a half hour, this is a rather cliche smelling rose perfume on me . Slightly powdery and very perfumey-sharp. This is the sort of perfume that disappoints me when I test out department store blends at the mall. None of The Salon blends have wowed me yet. ETA 2016 frimp review: This smells completely different when compared to the 2006, but it still doesn't smell much like its listed notes to me. I'm still getting something dark and fruity, like a sweet red wine note, under lots of golden, powdery, sweet resins. So sweet that it leans towards cloying, and too powdery for my tastes. The drydown has a perfumey/musky, sickly floral feel to it, like sweetly rotting flowers.

I think that it's benzoin that always smells like very powdery amber on me. In the bottle this is a sharp orange blossom note smothered in a powdery amber-like fragrance. I do not like. Unfortunately, it smells the same on my skin. In the drydown... sharp orange blossom, powder, and something that smells sickeningly like burnt rubber on me I had to wash this one off after a half hour. It was way too sharp on me.

Bat-Woman is very, very light on me. I have to press my nose up against my wrist to smell anything after about a half hour. That said, this is still a lovely fragrance, even with my hatred of jasmine (which I thankfully do not detect). This one actually reminds me of a slowly blooming flower. It starts off all soft lavender and hints of citrussy verbena, then the sweet honeysuckle comes into play, and it finishes off with a gorgeous moonflower and crisp air sort of smell. I love moonflower, it's such an airy, cool, elegant floral with a slight sweetness on me. I'm not sure if this is full bottle material, because I don't love it (none of The Salon blends have been major hits on me, sadly)... but I like this one a lot. It's just not something that I would normally wear, with it being so light on me.

Mostly this is a very heady floral on my skin, with wafts of vanilla musk and burning sage every once in a while. This is a very purple fragrance. The iris is an almost spicy floral, adding some oomph into the background of the dark, sickly sweet violets. This is primarily a strong violet perfume on me, but they don't go soapy or powdery as they often do. The other notes swirl around the violet and pop up every once in a while to lend a more exotic feel to them. It smells like a very expensive, rich violet perfume. ETA 2016 frimp review, as I find most of these scents are composed completely differently over the years as components get discontinued and replaced: Buttery iris that reminds me of Prada's Infusion d'Iris, baby powdery, clean musk, and a hint of sharp citrus mandarin and powdery violet. A powdery, clean floral-citrus that's just slightly sweet from the violet and vanilla. Has a warm, dry woodiness in the drydown and more of a powdery vanilla feel. Warm, powdery, buttery, vanilla-iris with the other notes adding a hint of sweetness and dry, warm wood. Too baby powdery for me, but very pleasant, soft and easy to wear. This smells like a completely different fragrance to me when compared to the 2006 version. More iris than violet, and overall a warm, pale, white fragrance.

Orpheus really does smell like crushed green stems on me, but with a sort of musky/perfumey edge. It's a very clean scent, but also a very green and bitter one. It makes me think of the taste of unripe fruit and fresh herbs. In the drydown, a sweet and slightly powdery lavender starts to come through. It becomes almost sickly sweet after an hour. I never recognize any of the citrus notes or cedar. After about a half hour, this becomes nauseatingly sharp on me. So much sharp musk that it makes my eyes sting. I won't be able to wear this one at all.