patina

I was interested in this one, but it has a sweetish, powdery scent that reminds me of hairspray mixed with dust. There's also the suggestion of the powdery insides of latex gloves. After a little while it becomes more pleasant. The sandalwood, while still powdery, loses some of the sickly hairspray sweetness.

The Vetiver is very present, but it doesn't overpower the champa, clove, and cognac. The champa here does have a kind of rootbeeresque scent. Right now, this is a bit manly for me, but I think this is one of those scents that has to be smoothed out by aging before I can appreciate it. It has the potential to be very pleasant dark scent in the future. Edit: actually, as I wear it, this is getting smoother, spicier and more likable. I may get a bottle.

I've read that this could be compared to Smut with cloves, but I don't know because Smut immediately turned to plastic on me. What it does remind me of is Old Demons of the First Class. No black pepper, of course and the musk doesn't seem so shiny and black in this one. Also, Sentimental Initiation is less sharp and woody. The edges are rounded and sweetened a bit, but that doesn't mean it's any less powerful. If anything it may be more powerful than Old Demons. Strangely I get an ash note under the clove. Ashes and something that's almost a burning clove cigarette mixed with those orange circus peanut candies. Well, maybe not quite those, but the mandarin and the fruity red musk seem an odd contrast with the rest of the scent. Later on the drydown, I think I can smell a darker musky version of a ginger-citrus bodywash I had once. That had clove in it too, so maybe that association's not so crazy. This is wonderful to wear in chilly weather, but people who don't like cloves or patchouli should probably stay away.

How about Hymn for the angel/housewife? Or maybe Pink Plastic Flamingo. For Sally, I'd imagine something with cloth. Boo has linen.

Gnome's pretty good, though it is peppery. Weirdly, I get fizzy gingerale from Eau de Ghoul. But there's also leather and dirt.

Far sweeter than I expected. Immediately after putting it on, it smelled candy-like and artificial. Then the apple toned down, turning into a sweet, tart slice of dried apple (not totally dry, still chewy). There's some undistinguished dark stuff in the background that smells a tiny bit artificial. Overall there's a craft store vibe that I'm not liking. I haven't tried the other apples, but should I want an apple perfume in the future, I'd probably go with the Poison Apple instead. Edit: Wait, this has turned into fresh green apple (quince?) It's a lot less crafts-candley and the cypress is nice. I may actually want to keep this one. It's a bit similar to Black Death without the sandalwood and clove.

Wow. That's furniture stripper for people who bathe in champagne and use hundreds for toilet paper.

Decadentroots: It's hard to guess what you'd like from your interests, but maybe you could check out the Mad Tea Party section for something that interested you? I'd suggest a foody chocolate scent that isn't too sweet or has other elements involved. Sadly I can't remember any from the GC like that, but there have been some Lupercalia scents that were based on chocolate. The Mother Shubs in particular: Mother Shub's Dark Chocolate and Pepper Caramel, among others. And there's The Seekim which is in this year's Halloweenies. I don't know if you can wear patchouli, though.

They are usually up until mid November. There is usually a few weeks overlap when the Yules and Halloweenies are both available. Thank you so much!! I feel good knowing I have time. Actually, on the BPAL site at the top of the Limited Editions page, it says that Halloweenies will be up until November 13.

I had to try this one because Scorpio 2007 was mentioned in review. I don't get that one, but I do get a similarity to the Ode to Mars: Aatos Polemoio. They smell almost like twins at first. There's strong, splintery cedar and saffron. Up close it's a bit much, but as the spray dissipates, it turns into something lovely and spicy. Eventually I can detect something like vanilla or old books which must be the balsam. I think the black amber is there sweetening things up a bit too. This is not nearly as smooth as Cathedral. These pews would be full of splinters. This is lighter on the frankenscence than that one. Conclusion: Dry, spicy, rugged and a little bit dark. Good for the cold midwinter.

Frenchwaffle, The Knave of Hearts isn't terribly quirky, but it does have cake, roses (roses remind me of Victorians) and blackcurrant. Maybe also The Buggre Alle This Bible. I haven't tried that one, though.

I could stand to be an honorary Leo, and the 15th of August was an outstanding time for me, so I have hopes for this bottle Opening bottle: Whoa! Herbal lemon and frankincense. It's not bad, though. On, the frankincense comes out more strongly, and there seems to be a creamsicle note somewhere in there. Something creamy, anyway. I don't generally like lemon (herbal lemon can be ok sometimes), but this is good. There seems to be a lot of energy to the blend and I feel a bit of relaxed alertness that wasn't there before. Very leonine. Over time: Yep, still like a leo. A relaxed big cat. Edit: Beth clears up my misconceptions here: Hm. The blend still seems to be a little leonine to me, but it is quite good for art and self-expression, I've found.

Halloween: San Francisco Falling Leaf Moon Nothing Gold Can Stay- for those pre leaf-fall days in September with bright blue skies The Hell-Gate of Ireland Carlin- a cool, dark green scent GC: Danse Macabre- More toasted hazelnut, please! It's smoky, but you don't get the feeling you just rolled in a bonfire. Les Infortunes de Vertu- not everyone will like this, but it does nice things on my skin when aged. Like Danse Macabre, this gives the sense of smoke without it being overwhelming. Rumplestiltzchen- This scent is for you if you do want to smell like you rolled in a bonfire.

I'd like to suggest Robin Goodfellow for the troll- Black musk, moss-covered wood, heather, and sage. I find it smells like a forest floor. Some people find the sage a little too guyish, but I haven't had that problem. Ranger and Troll might work, but they're not as murky. I tried Bayou, but it was mostly bright flowers and cedar on me. Black forest is good though it's all pine. Omen (patchouli, oakmoss, myrrh, juniper) is another dark forest floor blend, but the juniper is overwhelming and masculine on some people. From the LE's- which you might be able to find on the forum- I think Montauk project would fit, since it has lots of different dark woods and a bit of a spooky forest feel. For the Huldra, someone else suggested Kitsune-Tsuki or Vixen and those fit the theme, though they're not especially foresty. Fae is good too. I've tried The Forest Reverie and was amazed at how much it actually smelled like a sunlit forest, despite the grapes and opium.

The sage and heather make this smell a whole lot like Carlin, a halloweenie from 2009. While Carlin was green, this is dark and (softly) woody. At first when I tried this, I thought there was tonka here, because there's a sense of sweet powderyness. Not baby powder, but something sweet. Turns out it was the moss. Very pleasant in a dark forest floor way. I love it.

This smells a lot like Cathedral. Cathedral with some soft, purple florals. It's light and very beautiful, but the plum is just the tiniest bit sharp.

Oh my. Why have I waited so long to try this? Tobacco is usually an amping note of doom on me and honey is suspect, but everything in this blend keeps everything else in line and perfectly balanced. It's sweet and it reminds me of bare skin. The pine is very evident at first (not in a bad way), but it gradually takes more of a backseat to the honey. In effect, the scent goes from woodswoman to pin-up girl. The hue of this is fairly light, though it has good (not obnoxious) throw.

Fruity, traditionally perfumy, a little headshoppy. The berry element reminds me of Bordello, very slightly, though it's missing the vanilla and it has musk. I'm also reminded of The Night Raven, though I don't have an imp right now so I can't check that. Overall this is a very simple blend that smells very much like traditional perfume. Something, maybe the blackberries, becomes just a tiny bit too loud and sharp and the amber veers towards powdery old lady perfume. I think I'll keep this a while to see if it smooths out. (By the way, layering this with Opium Poppy makes most of the sharpness go away on me. Your taste may vary, of course )

Whoooaa, manly. I was really looking forward to this one because of the resins, but I was surprised at how spicy it was. Spicy and woody. The galangal root is really present and that may be what smells sulfurous. Not bad, especially not if you like mosses and (non-cooking) spice. But I'm thinking this is a scent for spraying in a study with leather chairs in the middle of winter. It's a good deal less awesome in my bedroom at the height of summer. Edit: Actually, as this disperses it gets lighter, sweeter and more appealing to me. I can imagine using this when I'm doing serious studying or trying to pretend I'm doing serious studying. There's a certain sense of power to it.

In the imp, this is so powdery, old-ladyish and perfumy that I don't want to apply it. However, my chemistry seems to do wonderful things to it, especially the opium. Tobacco has a huge throw on me and this is no exception. It mingles with the green tea and opium to create a yellowish, lingering haze that's just a bit stifling. It's like being in an evil conference room, (or maybe a smoky back room in a bar) next to a business woman with overpowering (but good-smelling) opium-plum perfume. I'd say it almost smells corporate, except it's too sexy for that. Sexy in a very deliberate, aggressive way. Whoever said the musk had an 80's vibe was right.

I found Silenti not "dark" exactly, but ghostly and haunted. Like an old, well cared for house by a graveyard. a bit creepy in a pleasant way. I think almost everyone else got "wilted flowers" though. Evil has sweet plum, of course, but there's also something like an unsavory cloud of yellowish tobacco smoke and haze that's starting to disturb me a bit. Like an evil conference room. German Expressionist Horror is like an old theater with dusty velvet curtains and a silent pine forest. It's dark in a non-evil way. Debauchery is the darkest (both in color and feeling) Ars Amorata scent I've tried. I don't get either dark or evil from Pain or Bluebeard, though. They mostly smell just like masculine colognes to me.

I don't care for Gnome on its own, but it's beautiful with resinous scents like Mage or Cleric. With Neutral, it even turns Good into something more than a sugary mess on me. Neutral Good Gnome Cleric is sweet, gingery rose and resin that fades quite a bit. Chaotic Neutral Gnome is fruity musk overkill with a tiny hint of ginger. Neutral Evil Gnome Rogue is very dark and the ginger meshes well with Evil's green tea and Neutral's fruit musk. Gorgeous! But Good Gnome (sweet gingerale!) or Chaotic Good Gnome are my favorites.

Wow. And I don't even like marmalade or springtime scents. This is just so cozy and realistic. I can practically smell twigs and dirt, but dirt-fearers don't fret, the dirt never overtakes the orange and sweet floral. I didn't even know daisies had a smell, let alone one so pleasant. I'm giving this one a 5/5.

Cool, pure floral scent, creamy and mild, with maybe a little dark musk mixed in. It would be lovely for summer, except occasionally it turns into scented tissues. Darn. Years Later~ Okay, okay, actually I love this for the photo realistic white lily and the sheer sweet black musk. I don't even care that there's a bit of scented tissue. Elegant noir is right and it makes me think of Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams. Layered with Opium Poppy this is my ideal goth summer scent.

It's ginger. The ginger in Eau de Ghoul, not sweet at all. It's very woody and sharp(possibly assisted by the black pepper.) (By the way, layering with Mage does wonders for this, turning it into soft, sweet ginger ale.) Still, I don't think it's bottle worthy for me. (2018) Bizarrely I don't get ginger ale any more. It's more gingery spicy baby powder and pine? I am confused but I like it.