Little Bird

I don't do well with lemongrass (very sour and overwhelming on my skin), so the fact that it was mentioned twice in the list of notes here worried me. Red patchouli also tends to smell rather sour and dirty on me. But Hekaerge isn't so bad. It's not bad at all on me, actually. In the bottle, this smells like thick, sweet honey and lavender with a little bit of sweet myrrh. On my skin, something in this smells woody and smoky, and it reminds me of the tobacco shops I've been in. The honey lingers but thankfully calms down after a few minutes and isn't cloying. Hekaerge, after about fifteen minutes, settles into a really beautiful woods blend on my skin. It's like polished wood, slightly spicy in the way that cedar can smell spicy, and sensual resins. It actually smells quite a bit like a more wearable version of Kostnice on me. Kostnice with warm woods and sultry incense smoke. I'm happy to have a partial bottle of this'n a new favorite in the woody resins category for me.

I love or like every note listed in this blend, so I had high hopes for this scent. I expected a sweet, juicy mix of currant and orange, and a resinous-earthy base from the other notes. There's nothing really juicy about this scent, though. It's dark and dry, and makes me think of pine needles crunching underneath my feet in a forest that hasn't seen nearly enough rain lately. The oakmoss and patchouli blend together in a way that's masculine and wonderfully reminiscent of pine forests on my skin, and the blood orange adds this dark citrus kick that's like a blood red sunset setting over the trees. Sexy, dry and dark forest. Over time, the citrus is a little too sharp on me and the scent overall isn't quite sweet enough for me to pull off. I do like this, but I'll be giving the bottle to my hubby instead of keeping it for myself.

In the vial and on my skin, this mostly smells like sweet honey/beeswax. It's cloying and slightly baby powdery. There's something almost fruity/fizzy underneath it, like a hint of lime and seltzer water, that dries down to a hint of something metallic smelling. I don't really like the cloying honey or powdery aspects of this one.

Elf v4 is like sweet vanilla (reminds me of Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener). There's something cool and reminiscent of night-time underneath the sweet vanilla for me at first(a sparkly, crystalline musk? a hint of lavender or some cool, creamy floral?). And the scent is creamy and a little clean linen-esque, but mostly a glorious vanilla. It's sweet, but also cool and breezy, the sort of vanilla that you could wear even in the sticky summer heat. The drydown smells a bit like golden amber on me, but not powdery the way bpal's ambers usually are. ETA: Wearing this scent again, I realized what it reminds me of - bpal's Berenice (notes of stargazer lily, white musk, clear aloe, blonde amber and winding-cloth linen). Elf v4 is like creamy, cool, sweet lily with clean musk/linen, hints of warm amber, and a good dose of sweet vanilla. Like a SSS's vanilla meets the floral and musk part of Berenice on my skin. ETAA: I don't like the way this has aged (which is going to save me a lot of time and money in tracking down more, thank God, lol). It still smells like white floral and sweet vanilla, but it turns soapy on me now and gives me a headache after a while. I actually prefer Lyonesse for a similar scent.

The fantasy, dreamy, mythology mentions make me think of the Marchen category. Perhaps something pretty and ladylike, like: *Roses Pearls and Diamonds - "Red roses, dazzling crystalline musks, and pearlescent coconut-tinged orris." *Vasilissa - "She herself had cheeks like blood and milk and grew every day more and more beautiful: creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine." Maybe one of the ladies from The District: *Hilma - "Miss Burt, while very young, is of a type that pleases most men of today - the witty, pretty, and natty - a lady of fashion...Don't forget to converse with her, as she is very clever, jolly, and cultured...Honeysuckle, Bulgarian rose, night blooming jasmine, sweet clove, cedarwood, black tea, and nectarine." And Hollywood Babylon makes me think of pinup models: "The essence of innocence shattered: glittering Egyptian amber and heliotrope, infused with the sweetness of strawberry and vanilla - dragged into debauch by lusty red musk and a dribble of black cherry."

My current perfume lists these: Head: Bergamots, orange, raspberry, fig leaf Heart: Liquorice blossom, lily, barbe-a-papa, red fruits, strawberry Base: Vanilla, candy, musk, tonka, sandalwood I basically smell like a fresh-baked jelly donut with raspberry filling, with a hint of something musky underneath. If you can find some Golletes, that's a great jelly donut type scent, but it was a LE. Eat Me (Mad Tea Party) is available and is a great dark fruit and cake scent with a little bit of dark muskiness. Also kinda similar sounding - Hollywood Babylon (Wanderlust) - notes of amber, heliotrope, strawberry, vanilla, red musk, and black cherry. Akuma (Diabolus) - notes of blood orange, neroli, and raspberry. And Black Opal (Bewitching Brews) is a bit like Pink Sugar, and so is High-Strung Daisies (Mad Tea Party - daisy, pink carnation, pink pepper, and sugar).

reeology: *Dee (Bewitching Brews) - "His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods." Reminds me of 'library stuff' and is a bit of a masculine scent, but it smells soft and dreamy on a girl, I think. It really is a delicate, cozy woods and vanilla-y tonka with a bit of masculine leather and a cologne-y vibe. *Liz (Hellboy) - "A light, feminine vanilla floral perfume and a swirl of smoke and leather." I think that this is the best mix of feminine and masculine in the bpal catalogue. I may be biased, as it is one of my personal favorites to wear, lol. It's a dry, unusual, girly floral and sweet vanilla, with a slightly smoky, dark leather that isn't exactly masculine, but smells darker and edgy. It smells like a proud, strong woman to me. *Alice (Mad Tea Party) - "Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot." Smells very girly and romantic to me, and ages well. *Les Bijoux (Ars Amatoria) - "Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh." Again for the feminine and romantic side <3. What sort of notes and other perfumes do you like?

I liked this a lot when I first got it, but I hate it now that it has aged. It was originally a sweet, juicy raspberry scent with smooth vanilla cream and a little bit of musk & tobacco. It was like Black Lace's hyper, outgoing little sister. I wish I'd worn it more when it was fresh. With age, the tobacco is now heavy and dominant, and I can't even really pick out the raspberry and vanilla anymore. Lots of sour, dirty smelling tobacco. I'm selling my bottles of all of the Laces, except for Black Lace (which is still musky and vanilla-y on me).

Sugar Moon 08 is a failure on me (sort of like watered down berry kool-aid, cheap hairspray, baby powder, and a hint of pepper - with not much throw or staying power). Thankfully, Sugar Moon 2011 is a total improvement. In fact, I think that this might be my Favorite Lunacy Scent EVER. I'm always on the lookout for a sexy, heavy, grown-up, dark floral blend with enough sweetness to keep it interesting and wearable, and this definitely fits that description for me. I have a hard time wearing floral blends and usually find them too sharp, but the black orchid is intense and rich without being sharp or perfumey, and the violet musk is dark and sensual. There's a bit of black currant that adds a hint of dark, syrupy sweetness, and a good dose of perfect strawberry underneath the floral. It's not a candied strawberry, but smells sweet and juicy like real, ripe strawberries. Heavenly. Juicy orchid, sensual violet musk, sweet black currant, and true ripe strawberry = gorgeous on my skin.

This is by far my favorite of the chocolate scents for Lupercalia 2011. I was a little worried about the bacon, but I don't get anything meat-like, salty, or even smoky from this. There's something sort of dark, sultry, warm, and interesting underneath the sweet spice and silky chocolate, but I'd never even begin to guess that it was supposed to be bacon. The chocolate here reminds me of Bella Lucce's Peruvian Chocolate Moisturizing Syrup, which is really decadent and lovely. Cassia is one of those notes that can be overwhelming on my skin, but it's very well-behaved here. It lets the chocolate come out and be an equal partner instead of turning into an aggressive single note spice. Milk Chocolate, Cassia, and Bacon is the only Lupercalia blend this year that I want a full bottle of. Delicious chocolate syrup and dark spice with that mysterious something underneath it all <3.

In the bottle, this smells yummy. Juicy, fresh, tropical mango and sweet, slightly salty buttercream. On my skin, the fruitiness turns a bit sweeter and reminds me of hard candy more than actual fruit. And the buttercream is nonexistent on my skin, sadly, but I do smell lots of the creamy white chocolate for about the first half hour of wear. The drydown after a half hour is almost all mango candy, though I do catch tiny whiffs of white chocolate every once in a while. I'm not sure about this one. I like it more in the bottle than on my skin. It might be a bit too fruity/candied for my tastes. It's like tropical fruit hard candy...

CDXCIV. This smells mostly like crisp, watery, sweet honeydew melon to me, with a bit of nuttiness (hazelnut? chestnut?) that gives it a warm, dry edge. As it dries down, it's much the same, but perhaps with some creamy vanilla tones and a hint of soap. It actually smells a lot like Fée on my skin, if Fée rolled around in a pile of clean laundry.

Les Bijoux has that feel for me. The peach and apple are pretty, sweet, and fresh while the skin musk is sensual and the other notes give it slightly darker tones.

None of my many bpal and (much larger) bptp orders have been hit with extra fees yet (knock on wood).

The only listed note that I really like in this is apple (and the lab's apple notes tend to turn to heavy spice or soap), so I didn't have high hopes for Mitzvah Goreret Mitzvah. First on, this smells like intense, heavy, cloying honey on my skin. Then it dries down to more of a spiced pomegranate with hints of honeyed sweetness. The pom smells very tart and red to me and the apple seems to be more cider spice than actual fruit. It has a very potpourri-esque quality on me that even my husband noticed. Not so good. The lab's pomegranate just doesn't seem to get along well with me at all...

I was hoping that this would be a gardenia-y Josie. I usually get along well with both gardenia and peach notes. But I can't pick gardenia or peach out of this. I get a very perfumey, sharp white floral (I would have guessed iris, but I guess I can see it being a very perfumey sort of gardenia, and I'm not the best with floral notes) type of smell with a hint of soap in the background. It's that musky, chemical sort of floral smell that I can't stand. Very sharp and strong on my skin.

I was looking forward to this because of the mentions of black licorice, but this smells like all lemon verbena on me (which is sour and unpleasant on my skin). The drydown is herbal, tart lemon with something going baby powdery. Not a fan of this one.

Some LEs with rice notes: *Hungry Ghost Moon (Lunacy 2006 LE) : "Offerings of ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost's perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe." *Joulumuori (Yule 2009 LE) : "Her scent invokes the comforts of Christmastime and the warmth of love and cheerful companionship: a glowing hearth, luumukiisseli, riisipuuro, and sima." *Loosening of the Obi (current LE) : "Rice wine, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, and white musk." *Lovers in a Ricefield (Lupercalia 2009 LE) : "Plum blossom, vanilla sandalwood, nutmeg, and wild rice." *Großvater Tanz (Yule 2010 LE) : "rice porridge, candied fruits, heavy cream, powdered clove, and lebkuchen." *Tissue (Lupercalia 2009) : "Rice paper, white gardenia, and raw honey." My personal favorite is Harimise, and I think it's probably the closest to that cozy cooked rice smell. It was a Lupercalia 2010 LE with these notes: "Rice powder, osmanthus, rose geranium, magnolia, khus, and chestnut." I also think that Egg'd Mailbox has a cooked rice smell to it, but that blend is a bit hard to find.

I think that The Death of Sardanapal and The Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil (Salon blends) are both a bit similar in feel to Red Lantern. Snake Charmer layered with Red Lantern is gorgeous. And I've never personally tried it, but I could see Goblin's sweet coconut and darker tones working well with RL. Milk Chocolate, Raw Ginger, and Butterscotch would add more of the spiced caramel scent...

I was hoping that this would be like Lovers in a Carp Streamer or The Hamptons (both smell similar on me - playful, rich, juicy cranberry) with the addition of coconut and wisteria. Unfortunately, the lemongrass does its usual amping of doom on me and makes the cranberry turn pretty sour on my skin. It starts off very bright and fruity and then dries down to more of a perfumey floral with hints of fruit. The sandalwood and coconut husk are a slightly powdery, slightly sweet, woody base to the clean floral and tart fruitiness. Springtime Playfulness isn't the stunner that I was hoping it would be, but it's not bad. I don't think that it's something that I'll personally be wearing a lot, but I can see its appeal. And, on a side note, it made me think to try layering Lovers in a Carp Streamer with Harigata II, and that is a lovely combo on me <3.

I think that Interfector would fall into this category for me. It always makes me think of wood roasting away in a fireplace - very warm, slightly smoky/ashy, sweet and spicy goodness. It's one of the few smoky scents that I can actually wear <3.

This is a heavy, soapy, sharp, harsh sort of floral-aquatic. It's like walking down the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart, where all of the floral scented soap smells are just suffocating. I hate it; it gives me a terrible headache. I've only sprayed this on a throw pillow so far, but I can't see myself actually using this to scent a room... I'm fond of clean scented room scents, but this one is just too heavy and soap-powdery for me.

This scent is way too perfumey and fruity, which I was expecting, because plum and lemongrass don't often play nicely on my skin. The plum smells strangely dry and potpourri-esque, the lemongrass is sour, and the honeysuckle adds a warm, perfumey edge to the whole thing. There's a darkly powdery something in the drydown that might be the teak, but it doesn't smell much like woods or resins on me. It's a very dry smell.

I get a little burst of sweet orange when I first put this on, but it quickly dries down to powdery amber, dry & earthy brown patchouli, and pale green, dry, herbal sage. It's a very dry scent that's almost a little oakmoss-y on me for a bit. Baby powder, dry herbs, and dry earth. It's something that I'd probably like more in an oil warmer or massage oil rather than a perfume oil.

I was intrigued by the linen in this, as I've been more into clean/laundry scents lately, but Male Nude is mostly intense masculine musk and hints of citrus (lemony?) on my skin. The musk just smells like cheap, heavily applied men's cologne to me. Something in the drydown is slightly powdery and a bit sour. Too heavy and too sharply musky.