Little Bird

At first, the main thing that I smell in this blend is the sandalwood. It is a spicy wooden scent. After a few minutes, the sharp tuberose comes out and starts making my head ache. Sandalwood, perfumery tuberose, and a golden powdery amber. It stays pretty true to that as well. The tuberose calms down a bit after 15 minutes or so (thankfully) but this still has a very perfumey floral scent going on. The sandalwood stays in the background, and the amber rounds out the blend. Khajuraho has a lot of throw and is really overpowering on me. I don't like florals or amber. This one gives me a headache.

The Perfumed Garden is more crisp and herbal than I expected it to be. Jasmine is usually overpowering and sharp on my skin, but the jasmine here is light and sweet. I can definitely smell the thyme and apple peel as well. The soft musk comes out after about an hour. This is not the overpowering headache-inducing floral blend that I was expecting at all. It really does smell like a garden. I imagine lots of greenery, little flowers, and a stream running through. Herbal and slightly earthy, with a dash of sweet flowers and crisp fruitiness. This smells rather sophisticated. It's not something that I would wear, but I think that my mother would really like this one.

I agree that Budding Moon does smell rather similar to Dirty, especially for the first half hour that it is on. It's almost a softer, sweeter version of Dirty on me. Less soapy, but still a clean floral scent. Sweet, delicate, and pretty. It gets sweeter in the drydown. I don't know if Budding Moon is really me, it's not the sort of fragrance that I usually wear. It's a lovely subtle floral though.

I don't like Snake Oil or Snake Charmer, so I was kind of afraid to try this one after reading some of the reviews. This isn't anything like I had expected. It's actually rather fruity on me, and I'm not getting any sort of boozy notes. It doesn't even smell that sugary. I keep thinking of raisins, actually. I am also getting the strange fragrance the turned me off in Snake Oil. Smut on me smells like Snake Oil eating raisins. After about 15 minutes, this smells very cold on me. Cold and slinky, with a sort of wooden fruitiness. After a half hour. This smells pretty much the same, but it also has a strangely burnt quality to it. It makes me feel nauseous. I should know better. Anytime that someone compares a scent to Snake Oil, it tends to make my stomach turn. Smut, sadly, isn't one that I'll be wearing (I so wanted to tell someone that I was wearing Smut too, lol). Maybe I'll try to age the oil and try it again in a few months.

Red Lantern was one of those blends that could go either way for me. Amber and tobacco usually smell awful on my skin... but the coconut, caramel, and black currant sounded like an absolute dream to me. Thankfully, it is as good as I had dared to hope. In the bottle, this smells like gooey caramel and sticky fruits. My mouth literally started watering at first sniff. First on my skin, this is exactly what I had hoped it would be. The sweet caramel is dominant, with a swirl of exotic spice and dark fruitiness underneath it. The coconut also comes out after a few minutes. It is a sensual, intoxicating sort of sweetness. Throughout the next half hour I kept catching whiffs of this one and thinking of caramel apples. I am in foodie heaven. Surprisingly, I also don't ever really smell the amber or tobacco (which, for me, is a GREAT thing). I also am not getting the coffee comparison that others have mentioned. The coconut ends up being strongest for me after an hour, like coconut drizzled with caramel. The sweet fruitiness fades in and out on my skin. Two hours later, this has faded away to nothing. But it's such a unique and wonderfully foodie scent on my skin, I will happily slather and reapply. I especially adore the first 15 minutes or so on my skin. I'm glad that I bought two bottles.

Luperci 2006: I was so looking forward to trying Luperci (first one that I tore out of my package), and I have not been disappointed. First on, it is shockingly similar to LUSH's Tramp showergel (which I love), though it does get sweeter and loses the close similarity in the drydown. I love patchouli, but I think that this one would appeal to people who aren't so fond of it as well. It's a sweet and golden smelling patchouli that grounds the entire blend. Luperci has a good deal of subtle throw, but it clings to my skin in a very sensual way. It's earthy, but has a unique and edible sweetness to it. I usually hate honey, but I think the honey-ish note that I smell here is the beeswax, and I love it. Sweet patchouli, honeyish musk, and other sweet, exotic wafts of delightful, sensual things. I think this might be my favorite perfume *ever*. I can't even describe it well because I'm so in love with it. It's making me swoon. This would smell AMAZING on my boy, but he can't have any. It's all mine. ETA: I loved Luperci 06 (seriously thought that it was my ultimate signature scent and bought a dozen bottles of it), but it has aged terribly, much to my disappointment. After about 6 months, it turned into this weak, dry, powdery wood chip smell with hints of honey. Very bland and sad. I bought the later versions in the hope that it would smell good again, but I don't even recognize the scent. The most recent one, 2010, smells nothing like the original to me. It smells a little bit like a soapy, sharper version of Black Lace. It smells like sharp musk, intense soap, and gritty tobacco.

Wow. I love the Lupercalia labels especially the colours on Night's Pavilion. And I can't wait to see what sort of labels my two bottles of Smut have. I wonder how many different labels there are in total...

I was so excited when I read the description for Holiday Moon, because BPAL really does glorious things with tea scents. I loved the green tea fragrance of Spirits of the Dead, Shanghai, and Embalming Fluid, so I had high hopes for Holiday Moon. Sadly, this one isn't so great with my skin chemistry. First on it reminded me quite a bit of Whippoorwill (which I love), green and wet and slightly mossy. This differs from Whippoorwill though, because it is going soapy on me . There is also something sharply citrus in the background. 5 minutes later. This is... floral? It smells like floral fabric softener sheets on me, and it's making me sneeze. After a half hour this one has given me a headache. I was expecting something smooth, cool, green, and slightly sweet (like Spirits of the Dead, I suppose)... but this has just gone horribly awry on me. It really does smell like floral dryer sheets. It is sharp, soapy, and perfumey. I usually do well with tea blends, so I'm shocked that this one went so badly on my skin. Oh well, I'm glad that I have a bottle of this one anyhow, just because the label art is so beautiful.

La Fée Verte isn't anything like what I had been expecting, perhaps because I wasn't sure what most of the notes in this were even supposed to smell like, so I made up my own little interpretation in my fantasy world, lol. I was expecting something very smooth and sweet (more green tea-ish), so this was more musky, powdery, and 'jagged' than I had anticipated. I was also expecting anise, and I don't find any of that here. In the bottle and on my skin this does smell very green. It smells rather herbal in the bottle, but with a definite edge of sugary sweetness. I like it more in the bottle than I do on my skin at first. I was surprised when I first put this on because it was much more musky than I thought it would be, and it goes rather powdery on me as well. It's all powdery musk at first, and I was feeling pretty disappointed. After a few minutes, this then gets very lemony. I don't care for lemon either. This stage is the 'jagged' stage that I mentioned. Lemon usually smells rather harsh to me, and powdery lemon is about as bad as it gets, in my opinion. There was also a strangely burnt, spicy smell lingering in the background. Thankfully, after fifteen minutes, this completely settles and morphs on my skin (though I still don't love it). The powdery edge and the citrus completely disappear, leaving behind a silky musk and sweetness. It makes me think of sugar cubes, creamy vanilla, and creamy white musk. A sort of metallic honey scent comes out after about an hour. It's light and edible. I love it in this stage right before it disappears, but it's hardly noticeable at this point. La Fée Verte fades pretty fast on me and doesn't have a lot of throw (Hellion is stronger on me)... I wore it to a doctor's appointment and, 2 hours later, could barely smell a slight sweetness clinging to my wrists. I like it, especially after the first hour of wear, but I don't really *love* it. I'll probably end up decanting away most of my bottle.

I tried to take a picture, but I came to the conclusion that my digi-cam is a piece of garbage. UltraViolet has a really good picture of the entire set and label in her Hellion review though.

I also have a label question... if I were to buy a 10 ml of Black Phoenix, would it have a large phoenix label? Or do just the 5 mls have the new labels? I'd love to have a bottle with a supersized phoenix label, or supersized Come and See labels

It has been difficult for me to describe the naughty/nice blends because they are just all so wonderful. They are some of the best fragrances that I have ever had the pleasure of wearing. I want to hoard bottles of Lump of Coal and Fee, and now I’m also in love with Snow Angel. I really wanted a bottle of Snow Angel because I imagined that it would smell a lot like Fresh’s Lemon Sugar fragrance (fizzy sweet lemons, which I love). It smells exactly like Lemon Sugar in the bottle, and is also rather similar on my skin. Similar, but a lot better. It is sweeter and stronger, and slightly boozy, but not in a chemical/sickening way. A sweet, fizzy sort of boozy lemon. This is definitely a very effervescent blend, bright and bubbly. I normally don’t like citrus because it is too sharp on me, but this is very smooth and sweet lemon. I think that the peach and floral tea in the background help to keep this one grounded. I'm so glad to have a bottle of this one.

I thought that the leather in this would be really strong, but I am getting mostly a cassia sort of fragrance at first. Cinnamony with a bit of spicy, dark leather in the background. A half hour later the leather has really come through, but it hasn't completely drowned out the nother notes as it usually does on my skin. It's a warm sort of leather and I am really enjoying it. Spicy and hot. There is a sweet spiciness that is lingering nicely behind the leather as well. I would probably like this one a lot more on a man, but I can see myself wearing it from time to time as well. Spanked is pretty strong and has a good deal of throw, 6 hours on my skin and it is still going.

I am so unbelievably happy that I managed to swap for a bottle of this one (much thanks to Laurel ). I am also happy that Fee is every bit as beautiful as I had hoped that it would be. In the bottle it is sweet honeydew melon, and that is all I smell when I first apply it as well. It smells fresh, sweet and juicy. After a few minutes I can smell sweet, unique florals, smooth white tea, and sweet vanilla. They are very well blended and I have never smelled anything quite like this before, but it is gorgeous. The vanilla gets much stronger in the drydown, but the juicy honeydew remains the dominant part of the blend. Sugary vanilla and juicy melon makes a mouthwatering combination. Something about this scent really grabs me. When I was little my father and I had a garden where we grew honeydew melons and huge sunflower plants... and that memory is what I think of whenever I smell this or read the listed notes. It has a magical and enchanting feel for me. My mother and my cat really liked this one as well. My cat sniffed my wrist, fell on the floor, and started purring when I first put this on, while my mother exclaimed that this is the best perfume that I own. It might very well be in my top ten favorites, and it is definitely my favorite of the naughty/nice blends, next to Lump of Coal. This is really strong on me and has a lot of throw. I could still smell it lingering around me even 8 hours after I had applied it. I love Fee. ETA: I wish I'd worn this more when it was 'fresh.' With age this has a very baby powdery edge on me. It has lost the juicy melon and now just goes to baby powder with a hint of sickly sweet vanilla

I agree with sarada on the comparison to The Rat King at first. Clio has the same sort of dried grasses, dust and sour something that I smelled in The Rat King, but with a sweeter orange citrus edge to it. Also, this is softer and lighter than The Rat King was on me. On my skin for a few minutes it is as if the sweet orange is battling the patchouli for dominance... and the sweet orange eventually wins. In the drydown this smells like someone dropped orange hard candies into a dusty attic and the smell of the sugar is mingling with the dust earthy scent. I am also getting the comforting scent of old paper after about a half hour, reminding me of a warm library. I'm not smelling anything that reminds me of The Rat King anymore either. Clio morphs from The Rat King plus orange citrus into a warm old library with a pleasant sweetness lingering in the background. I haven't really enjoyed any of the muses, but this one is definitely my favorite. It is very lovely and unique in the drydown.

First on this is sweet neroli... but it quickly dries down to perfumey florals and something sharp and herbal. After about a half hour, there is just a trace of something strange and sour on my skin. I had high hopes for Terpsichore, being a dancer... but this is another muse scent that doesn't work on me

First on this is sweet, citrusy blood orange and a hint of apricot. Over the first few minutes on my skin, the blood orange disappears and the apricot takes over. It's a sweet, fruity scent. I can smell the tangy, slightly perfumey honey and ylang ylang underneath the apricot after about an hour, but I never smell any tonka. This is definitely mostly an apricot scent on me. Thaleia is a cheery fruity blend... not really my type of fragrance, but lovely.

There are a lot of icy/snowy/piny blends that smell similar on me this year. Talvikuu was menthol and perfumey snow, Snow Bunny was grapefruit and snow on me, Mistletoe is a dark green wonderful chilly snow (my obvious favorite)... and now Snow Moon. Snow Moon, at first on me, was like Snow Bunny, but with orange instead of grapefruit. I'm getting an odd orange citrus and snow mix. Then after a few minutes I think I smell cinnamon candies underneath the orange juice and snow. It seems like it should be similar to Skadi, but I loved Skadi and am not crazy about this . Snow Moon also doesn't smell floral on me at all, which is what I was expecting. After about an hour this has sweetened out quite a bit and lost the sharper citrus edge that I thought I smelled. It's still more like snow and cinnamon candies than it is snow and florals though. My skin chemistry seems to be doing odd things with this one.

I am so glad that I bought two bottles of this one . I worried that this might be too fruity or too sickeningly sweet, but it isn't at all. It actually has a very pleasant creaminess to it and is very well blended. I think of smooth vanilla and strawberry flavored spun sugar when I smell this. It's very light and playful. My boy sniffed me and said that I smelled like strawberry icecream and whipped cream, then he proceeded to nibble on me. So I am rather fond of Pink Phoenix

I was so excited to get my phoenix orders, as they definitely have my favorite bottle art on them. Unfortunately, Red Phoenix is not working so well on me as a fragrance. First on, this is insanely strong cassia... smells like a smoother version of cinnamon on me. After about fifteen minutes the patchouli starts to get stronger, but the combination just smells off on me. It's very strong and has a LOT of throw too, and I only put a small drop on my wrist. After a half hour the cassia is still going strong with a hint of patchouli in the background, but I can also smell a bit of fruity plum now as well. I have to really concentrate to pick out the plum or patchouli though, mostly this is just screaming CINNAMON to me. Too much cinnamon. I'll probably end up decanting away most of my bottle. Blood Moon had a similar feel, but was much more wearable to me, this one is just too strong and heavy for me.

I have not been having the greatest of luck with the muses. Urania starts out a very perfumey ozone on me (the sort of perfumey that gives me great migraines), and I was tempted to run and wash it off immediately. Happily, this gets much better after only a few minutes on my skin. Urania really is a scent that makes me think of a dark night, a sky full of stars and a slight chill in the air. It is mostly ozone, with a swirl of pretty florals in the background. I usually hate anything with jasmine in it, but I cannot pick out any one floral exactly. I'll probably end up swapping my imp, because ozone and florals aren't really my favorites, but I do like this one, and was surprised that it didn't give me a headache.

First on, this smells overwhelmingly of cheap hairspray. It reminds me of Stardust, which was also awful on me. After a few minutes a honeyed lemon scent starts to come in under the hairspray, but I am already getting a headache. This is so strong and sharp. Sometimes white musk smells creamy and lovely on me, and other times I get this throat clogging awful hairspray scent. The cheap hairspray is killing any other notes that might be in this one. After about 15 minutes, I started to smell what seemed like soapy white florals underneath the sharpness. By then I had a migraine and I had to wash this one off though. Euterpe hates me

First on, this is all lemon balm, pleasantly sweet and soft. It makes me think of warm sunshine and spring. After a few minutes some very sweet honeysuckle begins to peek in around the lemon balm. It's a very yellow and cheery blend. It also has an almost fizzy quality to it, like soda. I'm loving this one. 15 minutes later. The lovely lemon and honeysuckle have disappeared and this is going soapy on me . Polyhymnia ends up smelling like thin incense smoke and soap. I wish that the first stage would have stayed strong on me... I'll probably be swapping my imp, since the drydown goes soapy.

First off, I agree with everyone who said that this is reminiscent of 13. It has the same chocolate and citrus scent going on, but the citrus starts out insanely sharp on me. It also has an odd black licorice tang in the background. After 5 minutes or so the citrus has mellowed out quite a bit and it isn't quite as sharp. The mandarin is still definitely the strongest note here though, and it makes my eyes water. The cocoa-tonka combo is also fading and giving way to a sharp musky scent. After a half hour. This is all musky mandarin. Unfortunately, I am not much of a fan of citrus scents, and this one is very sharp on me. Of all of the Come and See blends, I think that this one is my least favorite.

So far I have been very pleased with all of the Come and See scents. This and Death on a Pale Horse are definite big bottle purchases for me. Leather usually makes me feel rather ill, as it is often too cold on my skin, but the leather in The Bow & Crown of Conquest is attractively warm and spicy. The leather stays in the background here and the other notes seem to rest upon it, with the lavender and vanilla being the strongest on me. I can smell hints of sage, carnation, and cedar in the background, making the blend spicier and more complex. It's just delicious. Leather, vanilla, and lavender make an interesting and wonderful combination. This blend is hot, sexy, and manly. I would do anything for a man who was wearing this scent