Little Bird

I feel kind of bad reviewing this one after so many people likened it to the smell of poo, lol. Czernobog is the BPAL that turned to poo-smell on my skin. Disclaimer: I like civet. A lot. First on this was mostly sage. I hate sage, it smells like sweaty, dirty skin to me. Thankfully, the sage fades away quite quickly and I get juniper berry and oakmoss . I love juniper berry. Mixed with the oakmoss this is a wonderfully crisp foresty smell. And then the civet comes out and I am in *heaven*. I realize that is not a commonly heard phrase around here . Civet and grape. I am all over this. I wish that I could get a big bottle of this one. It's hard to explain how well civet works with my skin chemistry. But I don't have to explain it... I'll just sit over here and enjoy it... away from everyone else, lol.

Frost Moon is one of my least favorite lunar blends. That's not surprising... mint, eucalyptus and I don't play well together. On me, this has a very menthol/Vicks Vaporub smell to it. Medicinal mint. I had it on for about an hour before I tried to scrub it off. It was still going strong into that hour and I could still smell it after repeated hand washings. This has a lot of throw. It's just very not me.

Hm. I can't add much that hasn't already been said about this one. This reminds me of being sick as a child and my mother forcing this medicinal lemon & honey tea on me. It was supposed to be soothing and good for my sore throat. The smell and taste made me sicker than I already was. Fans of honey or sweet/mellow lemon might really like this one. Unfortunately, I don't like warm tea or honey, and I have a hard time wearing lemon fragrances. So this obviously doesn't really work on me at all. It just reminds me of having a cold

Rose works on me in very rare instances (Alice, Beatrice, & Whip). I love when the roses smell green, fresh, and wet, while still being slightly sweet and a little bit spicy. That's a good rose, in my opinion. More often it goes soapy, powdery, or sickeningly acidic and sharp on me. London starts out sharp and burning. It's enough to make my eyes water. Given a few minutes to dry down though, I see what others mean by describing it as a dried rose petals scent. It smells so dry on me that it has a dusty quality. It's stifling. I keep imagining dead yellow roses for some reason. After an hour or so, this is *very* powdery on me. It smells like a dish of rose potpourri that has been sprinkled liberally with baby powder . London is just too dry and powdery on me... I prefer a more lively dark rose. I think that my mum would like this one though, so at least the imp won't be going to waste.

Frozen ferns . I think that ferns are beautiful, so that image sticks in my mind when I wear Cold Moon, even if the green scent doesn't last long on me. It's a crisp dark green while it lasts. I figured that this would smell minty (since that's what most frost or cool perfumes use as a copout) but there is no mint here at all on me. Lovely, because I hate mint. It has an aquatic chill to it that reminds me of icicles thawing and dripping down the side of the house. Very clean, cold water. After a few minutes a fruity sweetness comes out, like berries smashed over a blanket of hard snow. I love this stage. It gets much lighter and slightly powdery after a few hours, but I happily never get any headache-inducing florals florals. If there are florals, they're staying in the background and holding everything up, but I can't pick them out. Overall I'd say this is very well blended. I couldn't pick out any mint or floral. This is just a unique and pretty aquatic tinged with greenery on me. Harvest Moon is going to be my main scent this fall/winter, but I'll happily use up my decant of Cold Moon when spring and summer come back around.

Much thanks to SyringaVulgaris for gifting me with an imp of this one I have been wanting to try it for a while now. First on... definitely dragon's blood, pepper, and some sort of minty smell. Gah. This is *so* reminding me of cough syrup. I'm going to give this one a few minutes to calm down and hope that it gets better. 15 minutes later. The harsh pepper/mint edge has faded, but this is still awful on me . It is dragon's blood at its worst. Metallic and rotten smelling. Pure headache in a bottle. Oh well. At least I finally got to try this one. Though I was hoping for it to be cinnamon and clove... all I'm getting is dragon's blood.

This smells like some sort of citrus, but I cannot pick out what kind. It's like lemon or orange, but not quite. There's also a dry woods smell in the background. Maybe sandalwood and sage. Trying on Tarot Oils is always like playing a guessing game to me. Citrus - woods - herbal. In the first stage at least. For a while this has a great burst of sugary sweetness, but it quickly dries down into what smells like green tea, ozone, and some sort of floral on me. It's giving me a headache and I'm not sure why. Reading over the other reviews, yes, perhaps this has violet in it. Violet can sometimes go bad on me and give me a headache, and it would account for that slightly soapy floral smell that I'm getting. In the end this is probably too much floral for me. I doubt that I'll be getting a full bottle of this one.

In the imp and on my skin, this is like being beaten over the head with sweet SWEET berries. It has a quality to it that's mostly like a berry flavored bubble gum (including something like the odd, powdery thing that's on certain chewing gums) with hints of sweet tarts. It's definitely a candy scent on me and not the grownup, deadly scent that I'd expect for this Lady. I don't get wine, I get super-sweet berry candy and powder. Too sweet, too tart, and too powdery for me.

Blue Moon '04 is a fresh, mostly floral smell on my skin. In the bottle, it sort of reminds me of a fresh, floral shampoo. Florals and a watery cucumber. On my skin at first, I'm surprised that this doesn't have any snow note listed in it. It reminds me a little bit of toothpaste, softly minty and reminiscent of bpal's snow note. This isn't really a cool scent on my skin, though. It's mostly floral and the floral notes are warm and perfumey. After five minutes, this has dried down to all perfumey, cheap florals on me. It's like drugstore white floral perfume mixed with hairspray, with a hint of watery, fresh cucumber in the background. It's headache inducing for me in its sharpness. I don't really get all of the love for this blend.

First on this reminds me a bit of Kostnice. A sort of herbaly frankincense scent. Very nice. After a few minutes, there is definitely cinnamon coming out. And maybe some pepper. This is very spicy and I'm in love . After about a half hour this is mostly cinnamon and clove, but with a definite woodsy scent underneath it all. Maybe some cedar? This is a lovely warm scent. I'll probably keep my decant and use it up over the chilly winter months.

When I first applied this... juicy currants (I agree with the reviewer who likened this to prune juice, I get that smell as well) and... dill pickles? Very odd. But surprisingly good. I get a kind of dill pickle scent in Kostnice that I *love*. In the drydown this shifts a bit and I can smell ginger and clove. It's warmer and spicier now. I'm also getting a bit of a powdery woods smell. Hours later it's the myrrh that's left, I can still smell traces of it on my skin. This is nice and rather unlike anything that I've ever smelled before. Weird is the word that keeps coming into my mind. I'll probably keep my imp, but I'm undecided about getting a big bottle.

The sandalwood and musk are prominent in this one at first. It's heavy and woodsy to me. The musk has that hairspray smell going for it, and it's already giving me a headache. The sandalwood fades and perfumey florals come out to play. Did I mention that this is giving me a headache? After about an hour, all of the other notes fade and this turns into a powdery violet perfume. Baby powder and violets. I'm sad that this doesn't work on me. I really wanted to be able to wear a perfume called Fallen, when I was in one of my moody/self pitying moods. It would have gone along perfectly with my teenage angst, lol.

Buck Moon is very similar to bpal's Ochosi scent (GC located in the Excolo category). Ochosi's description is: "His ofrenda is the soft shea he shares with Obatala, forest herbs, and sprucewood arrow shafts." They share the same delicately sweet, creamy green scent. Buck Moon just has the addition of a powdery, fuzzy muskiness (same as in Ivanushka, another LE blend). I have trouble with green and grass type scents, but this smells green without screaming of grass or any particular herb. It makes me think of clover and water plants. All in all, Buck Moon is a soft, creamy scent that mixes dewy greenery with powdery musk. It really does make me think of antlers (with fuzz still on them) and deer nuzzling through forest vegetation on a cool day. I do catch odd whiffs from this every once in a while in the mid-stage (too powdery and smells oddly or tortilla chips), but the initial smell and the drydown are both very pretty and evocative on me. ETA: With age, this has a drydown (after about an hour of wear) that's very powdery and green-earthy and bitter, like a very dry and bitter patchouli.. reminds me of a bad patchouli note I got from Starring Fragrance's. I wish that the beautiful green stage stuck around for longer.

Baron Samedi wasn't a winner on me. First on it smelled like almond (boozy cherries). Then in the drydown it was like coca cola, clove, and dust. It makes me sneeze. Off to swaps with this one.

This is the first BPAL blend with carnation in it that I've tried where I can actually pick out the carnation. Spicy white carnations. This makes me think of Valentine's Day... you know, where schools always have those 'send a carnation to your crush for $1' deals. First on I can smell the rose for a minute or so, but then it disappears and I'm left with a pure carnation smell. I can even smell a bit of green, like the stems. I'm not getting any tea at all. I like this a lot. Like most white florals, it's giving me a headache... but I can't stop sniffing it. If I could wear florals, I would bathe in Maiden.

I don't really like Arcana. Even though I don't really like lavender, I still try every blend that it's in, expecting to like it. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's one of those 'well everyone else loves it' sort of things. I do really like frankincense, but I don't smell it at all in Arcana. First on this is very sharp, herbal lavender. Then in the drydown it's sharp lemon verbena and citrusy neroli. This isn't really green or herbal to me. Just citrus. And I don't really like strong citrus smells. Sorry, Arcana, we just don't get along.

Gah, the Marquise de Merteuil made me quite ill. When I read the description for this one, I was blinded by 'peach' and 'vetiver'. Somehow I completely missed 'French florals'. My wishful thinking often does just scan out the florals, lol. I hate florals. And this is all extremely perfumey florals on me. Like unidentifiable flowers and that hairspray smell that makes my brain ache so well. I feel like I walked into Marshall Fields and got attacked by a hundred awful generic floral perfumes. Off to swaps with the Marquise.

I couldn't even stand to smell Zombi when I first put it on. It was the worst sort of perfumey rose on me. Pure overpowering headache in a bottle. After about a half hour this turns colder and greener though. The rose is still there, but softer and in the background. When I smell it, I do get the image of moss clinging to heavy gray tombstones. It's more bearable once it calms down, but I still don't love it. I like my fragrances to be spicy and warm. This is a chilling wet moss sort of fragrance. Plus, I catch whiffs of black dirt every once in a while, and I hate that smell in a perfume. Zombi just isn't me. I like my fragrances warm, spicy, cheery, and edible, lol.

Tamora is one of the most beautiful blends that I've ever had the pleasure of wearing. I don't even know how to begin to describe how amazing this is. I don't really like fruity scents. This is fruity, but not. Sweet, yet not really sugary sweet. On first sniff, I thought of white grapes drenched in dew. This is soft, sweet, and creamy, yet at the same time sparkling. Very girlie. In the drydown this reminds me of when I was little, sitting up in the branches of our peach tree and touching all of the soft, fuzzy fruits. They smelled sweet, delicate, and magical. Tamora smells magical to me. I must have a few 10 ml bottles of this.

I have a deep and passionate love for patchouli, so I thought that I would really love this one. I've liked a few blends with vetivert in them too... so I'm not sure why this went so funky on my skin. For the first 15 minutes or so that I wore this, it smelled like burning wood and something rotten. Very sharp and acrid. In the drydown it started to smell a bit peppery, but also like sweat. Sweat in a bad way. I ended up scrubbing this off after about a half hour. It doesn't smell anything like the earthy spicy patchouli that I've grown to love. This was just foul on me.

... The autumnal scents of gladiola, chrysanthemum, aster, dahlia, anemone, bergamot, marigold, sage and verbena dust a blend of wine-soaked apples, plums, and red pears, mulling spices and brown sugar, the ivy leaves of Dionysus and Janus’ amaranth and lingum aloe. I was so happy to get my latest BPAL order that included a bottle of Harvest Moon 2005 and Beatrice... both of which have completely adorable labels. This one has Harvest Moon 2005 on it, with the cutest little pumpkin picture. I love unique BPAL labels as much as I love the actual perfume oils This reminds me of something that I cannot place. It is definitely the embodiment of fall/halloween. It smells like yummy spiced apples. A hint of cinnamon, a lot of brown sugar, and the sweetness of baked apples. But underneath that warmth and sweetness is a chill that smells exactly like fall air. I have no clue how anyone managed to bottle the scent of air and fallen leaves, but it's definitely here. It's like walking out of a cozy warm house where desserts are baking, into the crisp fall air... crunching leaves under your feet and snuggling down deeper into your jacket. I'm so glad that this doesn't go floral on me and the wine never really comes out. In the drydown it gets a bit earthier, but it retains the spiced foodie quality. I'm just swooning between this and Beatrice. They both smell heavenly and the bottles are so cute.

First thought - this has the most beautiful BPAL label that I've ever seen. First on - Beatrice is now battling it out with Whip for title of my favorite rose perfume in existence. It's a lush, juicy rose. Could there also be black orchid in this? I'm getting the same glorious floral that I got in Phantom Queen. It's so rare that I love florals... but wow Thankfully, this doesn't go powdery on me at all, as some other reviewers have experienced. In the drydown there is a cool, sweet vanilla smell. But mostly it is spicy rose and black orchid on me. This is a great floral, and I normally hate florals. This fades away into oblivion after only an hour or so on my skin, but it is so worth it to reapply. The vanilla smell does get stronger as the minutes go on. It's just so unbelievably good. I'm completely smitten with my bottle. Everything from the label to the scent has charmed me. The boy will love this, he always wishes that I would wear more girly floral blends (alas, they usually give me headaches, not so with lovely Beatrice).

I love O (one of my big bottle purchases <3 ) and Haunted went really awful on my skin chemistry. It turned into really strong musky baby powder

There are a couple BPAL scents that remind me of rainy moments from my childhood. Hurricane (one of my favorites) on me smells like walking around in a raspberry patch after a summer rain. It doesn't smell fruity, it smells like raspberry branches. Brimstone smells like a rained out bonfire at the creek. "It reminds me of the way rain water smells on the sidewalk on a warm summer day." - snippet from my review of Thunderbird. And Glasgow and Thunderbird smelled similar to me. So you might want to give those a try Also, I don't like florals... but I did like the wet/tropical smell of Bayou.

Yay for frimps. Velvet is one that I haven't tried yet for some odd reason. I usually happily grab up anything with the mention of 'cocoa' in it, so I'm not sure what has taken me so long to give Velvet a chance. When I first dabbed some on my wrists I was overwhelmed with the delicious smell of hot chocolate and a sweet buttery vanilla. I keep thinking of hot cocoa with little mini marshmallows in it. 15 minutes later, the sandalwood and myrrh are making their presences known. A lovely warm/spicy woods note coming in under the chocolate and vanilla. This is such a warm and cozy scent. The same sort of cozy you find snuggled up in front of a fire in a log cabin, cradling a cup of hot chocolate and a favorite partner. After about 6 hours this has left a gorgeous buttery vanilla smell on my skin. I love it in every stage. I'll be getting a big bottle of this one to slather myself in when the winter chills start getting to me