biocarolyn

SNOWBALL FRACAS This means war. A scent tight with delirious adrenaline. Muddy dirt and frost-covered moss from the trenches rubbed into winter clothes and snow impact overspray. This scent hits like the sting from those dang icy hard snowballs... the ones that have been packed too hard by someone who is not playing nice... nailing you right in the face. I wanted to try snowball fracas because I like dirt scents, and was really curious about the ice/snow note. This is my first BPAL Yule season, so it's new to me. In the bottle, this does smell cold. Really cold, but it is hard to determine exactly what is giving that impression. This doesn't smell at all like mint, but it almost has the same feel as wintergreen- that chilly scent. When I put this on, wet the dirt note comes out more strongly. This isn't the loamy warm dirt in Destroying Angel, more like the dry dirt that I smell in Zombi. I haven't smelled Graveyard Dirt, but it smells like I would expect that to smell. As it dries down, the dirt note becomes less prominent and this is a strong version of icy-snow smells. It is similar to Moon of Ice, which I also enjoyed. This will be a great winter scent.

Smell like you’ve been on a Full Moon Stalk even when you’re at the office! Himalayan cedar, vanilla musk, lavender, black clove, honeyed coconut, fir balsam, and juniper berry! Now with natural flea repellants! (FOR WEREBEAST USE ONLY. DO NOT SPRAY ON PETS, PLS!) This is really interesting. The first scent I get is the cedar, but that kind of decreases in strength after a few minutes. Along with the cedar, the clove is probably the next strongest thing, followed by the vanilla musk. Underneath is the balsam and lavender, just barely noticeable. As time goes by, the clove and vanilla musk become the strongest scent to me. I get no hint of coconut, and the juniper might be part of what I'm perceiving as balsam but it isn't strong. This is really nice! Airy and outdoorsy... Almost gender neutral in scent. And I have very fine hair, so this was two squirts on nearly dripping hair, and even still it lasted for quite a while. I definitely see this getting a lot of use, and more hair glosses in my future.

A quiet, warming blend of red maple, redwood, honey, and saffron. This is amazing... it reapply teeters on the edge perfectly, not too sweet and not too woody. There is a strong hint of maple syrup, but I guess the redwood prevents it from smelling like pancakes and instead males it smell like forest. This is my clear favorite of 2016 Halloweenies.

The first thing that comes to mind is Gun Moll: honeycomb, red amber, narcissus, bergamot, Zanzibar clove, opium poppy, tobacco leaf, skin musk, dark fruits, night blooming jasmine, tarragon, and gunpowder. I love this blend, it's a very sophisticated, slightly perfume-y scent and the gunpowder is relatively strong and gives it an unusual edge. Also, Tattie Bogle: Hay, gunpowder, patchouli, autumn herbs, and sun-baked wood. To me, this is most strongly autumn herbs and gunpowder.

Have you tried The Rose, from Marchen? I feel like I remember that includes the greenery that makes Two, Five, and Seven a little more interesting than straight rose to me.

I'll play! I'd love some suggestions. My top five: 1. CC Female: Leather, golden amber, vanilla orchid, Spanish moss, Oxford clay, and tonka. 2. Ü: A mélange of balsams, leathers, and raw vanilla designed to evoke images of unearthed secrets and dusty, ancient libraries. 3. Door: Golden honey, nicotiana, blue chamomile, and cistus. 4. Pussy: Orange blossom honey, brown sugar, saffron, tonka absolute, and tobacco leaf. 5. Kypris: Peru balsam, vanilla bean, Rainier cherry, bitter almond, golden honey, rose water, lemon peel, sugar cane, and benzoin. Although I like vanilla and honey, I really don't react well to overly sweet scents (Pussy dries down very heavy on tobacco leaf on me.) I've been mostly on hiatus since 2013ish... and don't mind tracking things down.

In the bottle, all I can smell is straight buttered popcorn. But on the skin, that scent goes away and I'm left with a warm, dry coconut. Nothing much else, just real coconut. It doesn't veer into fake tropical, suntan lotion coconut, hooray!

This is a beautiful skin scent. I'm not getting the super dominant coconut that everyone else is smelling, and the honey in the is more of a mood than sweet or toothache territory. This just smells like... skin, baked in the sun, lounging around. It's relaxed, and while I can smell all three notes since I know what's there, it's blended and even and warm.

No cream for me. This is strongly red musk and dragon's blood, with an undertone of leather. The leather gets stronger on my skin and the three are equally balanced, just a hint of honey, almost imperceptible but slightly sweetening the whole blend. I like it.

This is strong apricot in the bottle, with just a hint of spice. On my skin, the cardamom comes out. This isn't a sweet vanilla to me, supporting this, but one with more of a bite. The apricot stays strong and spiced, really delicious. This in certain ways reminds me of Ushi- not that they have notes in common, but the intensity of the fruit with something else underneath- as much as they should be seem like they'd be best in warmer weather, they are perfect this time of year. This is really delicious and not overly sweet or juicy, just intense fruit with the cardamom spice and vanilla rounding it out. I really like this.

In the bottle I smell mostly almonds, with a hint of something floral. I don't know if it's the mimosa or the blossom part of the almond blossom. Oddly, it almost felt like a hint of effervescence. Wet on my wrists the vanilla cream comes out, strongly, sweetening this up and hiding the floral note entirely. Now that's it's dry, it's a sweet, creamy almond. Very foody, and smells like almond paste more than almond extract. Brings back memories of making butter letters with my ex husband's grandmother. Very pretty, light throw, and stays close to the skin.

Pink for sure, but no grapefruit on me. Peony and tuberose, with some white floral behind it. Nothing sharp about this to me, it's all creamy florals.

I agree with the comparison to Sea of Glass. Sea of Glass is quieter, more gentle, but similar in tone. The aquatic notes in this are stronger for me, and I think the lily is the strongest floral. I don't get a strong lemon scent, and while there's a sweetness, I probably wouldn't identify it as honey if I wasn't told it was present. After it warms up on the skin, the rose joins the lily. Basically this stays a very clear, strong, predominantly aquatic with heavy lily and other florals. On me, this is one aquatic that reads as distinctly feminine... many seem unisex on my skin but I think the florals keep this one in traditional feminine territory.

I sadly had the same reaction as Violaine- had to scrub this off. I usually like amber, but this crosses into very strong department store perfume territory. It was such a disappointment to me because amber and purple fruits are among my favorite notes. The fruits are noticeable too, but the whole thing was just immensely too strong for me. Opening the imp was enough! I did test it, but sadly it didn't change in the first 5 minutes and I couldn't stick with it after that. Sigh... can't win them all, I guess. I'm glad it's working out for some people, but this one isn't for me.

I have this... neighbor. She lives downstairs from me. I'm utterly confounded by her aggressive, angry, bizarre behavior. She refuses to actually speak to me (I've tried, politely), screams at me through the ceiling, and bangs on the walls. She's the loudest neighbor I've ever lived near (her TV and stereo begin blasting to the point of being unable to hear my own tv at 6:00am and don't stop until 11:00pm), and she literally shrieks physical threats if she hears me walking (in socks, while nearly tiptoeing, at 6:30pm when I get home from work.) I could go into detail about the situation, but suffice it to say it's like she's a parody, no one would believe she acts the way she does. I think she's got some sort of imbalance, and my response at this point is just to ignore her. But it's a hostile environment for sure, and the apartment complex and police won't or can't do anything. So... Fiery Wall of Protection, a while candle, and some salt. The scent is primarily Dragon's Blood, as others have said. There's something soft and floral, and something else spicy like cloves or cinnamon. It isn't an unpleasant scent, not at all. As far as using it, I'd thought long and hard about all of this, and I was fully intent on using the blend for protection, and additionally, allows any attacks sent my way to rebound. While I'm not part of an ethical framework that forbids me from doing harm, I do believe you ought to be careful what you send out into the universe... in this case, I've had enough and if someone's willing to actively, aggressively send negativity my way, I'm perfectly fine with them receiving what they sent. I have to say, there has seemed to be some effect. She's not around as much, there is definitely less screaming of curses and threats through the ceiling. It's kind of... amazing. I will definitely be repeating this regularly. TALs are really amazing. Even if they're doing nothing but allowing me to focus my intentions and changing the way I perceive a situation... I'll take it. Remarkably effective for me.

Wow this is evocative. A little spooky even. In the bottle and wet on the skin this is strongly dirt and ivy. It reminds me of Post mortem lauretus at that stage... But on the dry down it sweetens, and the sweet fig and cypress become clearer and stronger. The ivy and graveyard dirt are still hanging around a bit, but in the background. This is unusual, unlike any of the blends I have. I really like it!

The gunpowder smoky scent was much more prominent in the bottle and wet. Now that this has dried down a few hours later, it's all green herbs and clean smelling. Maybe the hay is coming out too... but this goes through quite a morph for me! So fun.

I agree with the comparisons to Dorian... there is something that reads citrus on me. Not cleaning fluid lemon, much softer than that. But as it dries, the bourbon vanilla becomes more prominent, and I feel like it's tempering the fougere to make it feel sweeter. The resins are in the background on my skin. This is pretty, understated, and classic smelling. A real, womanly perfume. I just sniffed my wrist again and I've had a crazy epiphany... the lemon fougere and the vanilla with resins make this smell like... echoes of Dorian and Snake Oil. A much gauzier version of both, but it's there. Not in your face directly, just hints. It suggests the combination. That's... that's just amazing.

Last night fresh from the mailbox, it was clear this hadn't settled yet. It's so strange that this morning it smells totally different to me.... In the bottle, the leaves are prominent, and if I concentrate I can smell the ambergris, but the currant is nowhere to be found. Bt once this touches my skin, it opens up and just.... blooms. The currant appears, fights with the ambergris to be heard over the leaves, and then it all folds together and blends beautifully. On my skin, ambergris has a tendency to go masculine but I think the currant in I his prevents that from happening. It's a fairly simple scent that eventually ends up an equal part of all three notes with a contemplative mood.

This is really beautiful. The sage note has something else that smells like the Southern California desert behind it... Maybe the chaparral? After that I get honey and fig. The carnation was more present in the bottle than this is on my wrist. I think calling it a spa blend was right on target. It's just gentle and loving and grounding in mood... I really like this. Very different from anything else in my collection. ETA: the later dry down in very heavy on the honey and fig. The rest of the notes eventually fade behind these, keeping it from getting too sweet, or from allowing it to feel foody. Instead it's a warm golden glow.

This is soooo beautiful. I get mostly tobacco, soft, worn-in leather, and Oudh. The patchouli and clove aren't dominant for me, just a hint of spiciness behind the leather. It isn't as sweet as I'd imagine from the tobacco, so maybe that's the rum accord, which I can't pick out consciously. I agree with GypsyRoseRed, this is sexy. It isn't so heavy that it's unappealing in August, however. Really nice.

Oh, wow. This was kind of an impulse buy to tag along with something else I wanted (thanks Deek!), and it's so beautiful on me. The vanilla and honey musk are balanced perfectly and are fuzzy and soft, with the plum behind them adding a little tartness to keep it from getting too monotonous. This is soft and lovely and reminds me a little of the honey musk in Berry Moon (I only have 2009) but it's like the cool weather companion. Edited to add that I put some on this morning and forgot all about the very weird way this smells in the bottle and wet. Within three minutes it's lovely... but wet, there is something very off about it in a strange way. I don't even know how to describe it- not the bakery scent others are mentioning... something else and I don't know what. Weird... it makes a complete 180 and gets so much nicer, so if you think it smells odd in the bottle, give it a try.

This is so pretty... I recognize the green cognac from Elegy IX: The Autumnal. I also get the tobacco pretty strongly, and the vanilla underneath. The light flowers are a wispy background, on me this is all cognac, tobacco, and vanilla. The only Lace I have to compare this to is Red, and the vanilla and tobacco backbone are similar but this isn't as sweet on me.

Apple cider and Hawaiian Punch (!) LOL. But a lot of fun, and a nice apple cider scent. I "layer" this with Autumn Grove, and the balance of the two is amazing.

Dry dry leaves and acorns... very airy, not heavy or cloying, just a crisp autumn day.