cyberpuff

Personally I think the name of this scent is a misnomer- it should encompass coastal California during all of the lovely, hot, burning fall. Wet: there's a chemical element at play over sweet sage. I can see how this could smell like asphalt, or tar. It reminds me of the smoke from Devil's Night. Drydown: Sweet, smoldering wild grasses. Later: The scent doesn't change on me much from the drydown. The grass, sage and smoke are really well balanced. Verdict: Just lovely. I love the time of year that this scent evokes (basically, right now). I smell this smell every morning on hot days, up in the dry hills, and I love it. I will wear this when it's hot like now, and when it's cool to remind me of my favorite season. It's a bright and mischievous scent, on the sweeter side, but I bet the smoke would smell lovely on a man.

Wet in the imp: Sweet, smoky and peppery. Swoon.... Drydown on skin: I do get tequila at this stage, along with vanilla and dry, unsweetened cocoa. A bit later: The smoky and sweet are trying to balance out here. It smells like when I open my spice cabinet, when it's stocked with flush dried peppers. An hour later: This has become kind of tart now. It's not my favorite at this stage. Verdict: I think it may be too soon to write this one off, but I'm tempted to do so. I had high hopes for it, which is keeping me from dismissing it. Also, I remember Raven Moon behaving the same way on me it first, and now it's one of my favorites. The pros on it are the way the vanilla and the pepper blend so well, and how the chocolate is dark and not sweet at all, and the tequila is not cheap but a complex reposada. The con is that tart thing it goes into. So, I'm officially on the fence and will come back and edit if things pull me off that fence either way. Update: After a month of aging in the imp, Calaveras has lost the tart part that put me off, or I just don't mind it anymore, I'm not sure which. Seems like at that stage now all I get are the notes of vanilla, jalapeno, cajeta and incense. I've got a bottle on order now!

Because I'm kind of technologically challenged, I decided to blog my wishlist since I can never find it in the wishlist area. I will update and change, because you know, we update and change! GC: Ars Amorata Satyr Whip Bewitching Brews Blood Kiss La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente Ouija Phantasm Scherezade Seance Zephyr #20 Love Oil Black Cat Chuparosa Love Me Diabolis Black Phoenix Catherine Excolo Coyote Elegba Gaueko Hecate Nuit Santa Muerte Euphrosyne Skuld Illyria Lady MacBeth Mad Tea Party The Mouse's Long And Sad Tale The Red Queen Marchen Prunella Old Demons Of The First Class The Night-Raven Roses, Diamonds And Pearls A Picnic In Arkham The High Priest Not To Be Described RPG Elf Half Elf Fighter Paladin Rogue Neutral Evil Rappaccini's Garden Moon Rose Oleander Honey Tobacco Honey Sin And Salvation Dorian Jailbait Somnium Nanshe Temple Of Dreams Somnus Steamworks Obsidian Widow Violet Ray Wanderlust Crossroads Delphi Eden El Dorado Florence Hollywood Babylon Venice Cockaigne Lyonesse Listed LEs Panacea Lustration Bitch Detox TKO Carnaval Diabolique Midnight On The Midway The Phantom Calliope Organ Grinder Xanthe The Weeping Clown Theodosius The Legerdemian Parliament Of Monsters Faiza The Black Mamba Death Adder King Cobra Tiresias, The Androgyne Zarita, The Doll Girl The Grindhouse Clemence Clythera The District Josie Hellboy Liz Hero Initiative Heroine Witchblade Witchblade Sara Pezzini Dawn Priestess Last Unicorn Schmendrick Other LEs (kind of listed in order of impossibility, with most possible first) Black Helicopters Illuminati Cotillion Coulrophabia Bones Trombone Knockout Drops Lunacies Falling Leaf Black Butterfly Joyful Raven Beaver Moon '11 & earlier versions other than '10 Yules Lick It Discreetly Onduris Winter Heavens Amiable and Lovely Creatures Inextinguishable Hatred A Wonderful Light Thousands of Lights Gelt On Darkness Stardust Lupers Nymphia Red Lantern White Chocolate, Coconut And Marshmallow Zadok Allen Vineyard Halloweenies The Glittering Apple of the Stars Samhain Feeding The Dead Huesos De Santo Sticky Pillowcase Bite Me Day Of The Skulls Goulish Dia de Los Muertos Carnaval Noir Snake Charmer Midway Trading Post Spanked Kitty Ninon *Virginia* (Any bath salts too!) atmosphere sprays- Red Lantern Fig & White Sandalwood Hair Gloss Other Hygeia Cake smash- original, protos Sprinklecakes Pink Phoenix Silver Phoenix Tin Phoenix Pink Plastic Flamingo Velvet Unicorn

In the bottle: cinnamon sugar dusted... doughnuts. Wet on skin/drydown: Still doughnut-like, with espresso and just a slight bit of buttery pumpkin poking through. An hour later: Wow, espresso! Like, the freshly fine ground dry espresso. Rich, full and sugary. The pumpkin is trying to assert itself, but espresso is still daddy right now. It hasn't gone dusty on me like other coffee scents will do sometimes. A few hours later: This has sweetened up a bit but the dryness of the espresso and cinnamon have kept the scent from getting candy-like. The pumpkin has come forward, and vanilla has stepped up a bit too. Very cafe-in-autumn. The throw is medium. Verdict: This was a chance I took, buying this bottle unsniffed. I haven't ever been a fan of pumpkin scents- they seem too canned and craft store. Pumpkin Latte is not that at all- the espresso is dry, and the pumpkin earthy, and the rest of the notes are well blended to make this a very warm scent. It's maybe a tad bit on the foodie side, but one it goes through the doughnut stage, it calms down. I like this way more than I thought I would!

In the bottle: Green, leaves and grass. Drydown: This stage I'm reminded of Pa-Pow. Something about the green is similar to my nose/skin. Also the salt is coming forward now. An hour later: Very salty/wet/aquatic over green. I'm not getting anything of dry leaves from this at all, in case anyone was wondering, these are all green and fresh. Which works well for a San Francisco scent- the leaves don't really get a chance to dry before the wind yanks them off the trees. Couple of hours later: This has faded a bit but it's definitely still there. The green and wet and salt are all in an equal balance right now. Very clean. The salt is definitely reminding me of tears, more so than Pool of Tears. It's like you've cried your eyes out all day and have forced yourself to leave your house- you're glad you did but the tears still overshadow even though you're not crying anymore. Verdict: It's lovely. It's a quite a classic type scent, easily unisex, and clean. I'm glad I took the risk of an unsniffed bottle purchase, and may consider a backup before it comes down.

Cool, thanks!

A little while back I received a frimp with a forum purchase (what's worse is I can't remember who frimped it to me!) and I have searched in the LEs, Retail Only, Event Only and discontinued and can't find it. It's called Spare Change, and it's got the lab label on it. Can anyone help? I'll be super embarrassed if it's in one of the places I've already looked...

Wet: This is leather right away, the chemical smell. It smells that way in the decant and fresh on my skin. Drydown: The leather definitely calms down, and quickly. I can smell the red musk, sandalwood and clove. An hour later: So far I've seen comparisons to Raven Moon, but what I get out of this is Romantigoth Litetm. Dark eastern florals? Maybe? Maybe VILF was in the same room that an incense burning romantigoth was in, and laughed and walked out but some of the incense crept into the leather jacket VILF was wearing? The honey/smokey vanilla combination is in the background, and it's nice, and I wish it would come forward a bit more. Overall: It's nice. It's a good "dark" for warmer weather (what is that, anyway, it's been 59 degrees all summer here). This one reinforced the "don't be afraid to skin test!" rule I have for bpals that don't speak to me in the wet stage. It's unisex leaning toward masculine with a light throw.

In the imp: Spanish moss! Drydown: Spanish moss! About an hour later: Spanish moss! and maybe a tiny bit of wisteria. I was hoping Silenti would be a dark gentle floral, but it's got such a strong throw on me. A day later I still smell traces of it on me, so it's got longevity too. I've now found the note that I amp- it's spanish moss. I think I like the smell on other people better, and don't want to write Silenti off entirely- it might work best in an oil burner for me. edited to correct moss

I got Amber CT #390 here. In the bottle: Green floral and amber. Kind of reminds me of Isle of Demons. I think there's some lily at play here. Drydown on skin: Here comes the amber. There's a light musk here too. A little later: All I smell right now is amber, but not the powdery kind- just straight amber. Good amber. What powdery amber aspires to be. An hour later: This is amber well balanced with whatever the other notes really are. The final thing going here is nothing like Isle of Demons- all the green is gone- and is more like an amber version of Smut. Verdict: This will be getting a lot of attention from me, I predict!

If this CT, which is #171 from the Frankincense group, was listed in the GC or even as an LE somewhere it would have this as its description: The incense and atmosphere from the Consecration of the Vintage Motorcycle Temple: frankincense, black pepper, mixed musks, clean denim with aged leather and polished cherrywood. And you'd want to hoard it and give it a name like Cafe Racer Cutie. And you all are right to be steaming jealous of me. Seriously. I die. I did have to suffer through the initial reaction to the wet in bottle smell of "Oh JEEZ this smells like corrosion protectant!" It only acted like that for about five minutes, then the black pepper went all submissive and an hour later the above description is what it smells like.

Oh... ouch. I hate to be the dissenter in the love fest for Fledgling Raptor Moon, but here I go... In the bottle: I get herbs and medicinal and everything about chinese medicine shops that I hate. I try to remain open minded, I know the stages bpal oils can go through. So, in the spirit of the song "Love Potion #9," I hold my nose and close my eyes and skin test. Drydown: Same as in the bottle, but diminishing slightly. Slightly. Not enough for me to be hopeful, so I go back to smelling my other wrist, which has another oil I'm testing. A little later: I guess the combination that I'm smelling of bay/sandalwood is what is disagreeing with me the most. I'm getting cedar shavings and bird seed. This is maybe where the bird/feather thing comes in for others- to me it smells like someone forgot to clean the cockatiel's cage for a few days. I'm not getting any vanilla or floral here at all, just a rank compost. Later still: Okay, now I can understand, at least intellectually, where all the love is coming from. It's now finally rounded out into something interesting or unusual scent wise, but doesn't work with my skin at all. Which is good because I don't want to smell like this. For the record, I have to say that FRM is full of notes I love, so I'm guessing the culprits for me are the bay and the strange woods.

So, this is for #595, and it's fresh out of the mailbox. The bottle is so full that there's barely an air bubble in it! In the bottle: creamy vanilla and... magic marker. Grape magic marker, to be exact, meaning it doesn't really smell grape but smells like something pretending to be grape. Fresh on my skin: The vanilla is very warm. The magic marker part is fading and I don't know what it's changing to- I remember my initial impression of Hod, and I'm reminded of that now. Drydown: It's not a terribly sweet vanilla, but something is happening with the magic marker and now this smells very pink. I think there might be a small touch of coconut here too. I'm all confused as to what's in here. It really reminded me of one of the shungas after things calmed down and I think I may have pinpointed the one- if you took the star anise out of Pink Mood and added a tiny bit of coconut, you'd have Vanilla CT #595. I'll rest it for a little while, I'm sure that it will calm down/morph into something else, and if anything interesting happens I'll add it here. Right now I don't love it but I don't hate it either. ETA: The "grape" has returned and now I get a vanilla/white wine/taffy combo- an upscale carnival scent. ETA: Okay, you know what? After an overnight rest, this CT is a super close ringer for Twilight Alchemy Lionheart. Remember where I said I don't love it? Well, that's changed!

I ordered Panther Moon since it was the moon of my birthday month, and for the three notes of champaca, benzoin, and myrrh, which always make me happy in theory. In the bottle: Holy Hippy Headshop Batman! Some kids somewhere must be smoking reefer with this cover up! Wet: Ah, lovely, lovely champaca flower. This is like Now Winter's Nights Enlarge without the caramel. Dry (20 mins later-ish): Spicy dark floral. I suspect this is the egyptian musk and myrrh. It's rounded out and nowhere near the Reefer Madness Cover-Up that the first bottle hit gave me. There's a tiny vanilla here and there-benzoin?- which stays more along the lines of a vanilla orchid and not candy vanilla. Much later: I keep catching wafts of something/someone beguiling and intriguing, soft, sexy and not at all safe. That's Panther Moon hours later. Verdict overall: This is one of the most sophisticated Lab scents that comfortably works on my skin. The musk never goes powdery, neither does the myrrh. It has the complexity of Mme Moriarty but with a stealth sexiness. I can see the comparisons that have been made to Satyr too, but Panther is more dark floral and spice j'ne sais quoi. I'm impressed with the way this changed from blatant hippy to lurking sexy beast. I was afraid to review this and let people know just how fantastic this Moon is, but everyone knows the big cat is out of the bag now.

In the decant, I get cucumber, biscuit and- almond? Wet on my skin- It's cucumber and biscuit, buttery flaky biscuit, both doing a see-saw balancing act. In theory, these should not be good scents to mesh together, but it's really lovely. Drydown- Everything is blending nicely- now there is tea coming forward which I think helps the cucumber from being too salad like. I'm also getting a peppery kind of scent, and I have no idea why that's happening. An hour later- I can't really pick out individual notes anymore. It's turned into a foodie scent that's not too foodie- kind of like a green or fresh version of Cake Smash. Overall- This is great warm weather scent. I was really skeptical of all the notes because I've never had a tea note work on me, and none of the others seemed like they'd play well together at all. It's a lovely surprise.

This is a floral I can wear! In the decant/wet: It's very sharp lilac but also creamy. Drydown: The smoky vanilla and ho wood balance out the lilac. It has a dreamy light incense feeling here. An hour later: There's a tartness that has come out, I think the lilac wants to be the star here. It's fine though because the it still plays nice with the smoky vanilla. My verdict: I haven't ever gone wrong with the lab's smoky vanilla. This is no exception, even though it's quite different from Raven Moon and The Illustrated Woman. It's a lovely, feminine springtime smoky vanilla blend. And what will I say when someone asks what I'm wearing? Probably, "Oh, you know, just another one of those hippie oils..."

This is for the 2009 version. This is the most delicious cup of mexican hot chocolate condensed into a 5 ml bottle ready for loving concentrated application to your skin. Like others have noted, on me it's not much of a morpher. It goes on rich, delicious cocoa with cinnamon lurking and coffee hiding out nearby. It's not a tremendous foodie scent the way that Eat Me or Boo are, yet it represents chocolate like no other scents I've tried. Which doesn't make a ton of sense so I'll try to elaborate further. It lacks the sweet that those other two have. I've sniffed Candy Butcher and White Chocolate Coconut Marshmallow and to me those are in the same sweet family. They're all delicious but El Dia de los Reyes is some serious Adult Drinking Chocolate . It's also really comforting during the dark rainy days we've been having. I had to buy a backup bottle before the yules came down.

This was a scent where the literature that accompanied the scent description got me more than the notes in the scent. That said- in the imp: it's a citrus- pink grapefruit and yuzu at the top- and floral mid- very soft peony. wet on my skin: the same, with an earthy undertone. a little later: The frankincense comes out, so does the pikaki. I think there's a friendly fight going on for Who's Going To Conquer Citrus. An hour later: I don't know what violet leaf smells like, but I think that's the wild note that makes the floral, citrus and resin play nice on my skin. Overall, this is a very pink scent like other people have noted. The combination is unusual, but there's something oddly familiar about it. It has the effect of being a "good witch" scent, because it has such a cheery citrus that's tempered by the tonka and frankincense. Maybe the violet leaf with those two makes a kind of bpal base that makes the scent be not-so-sunny-florida-orange-juice-girl.

Wow. Okay. In the decant I get cool, wet woods. Wet: I get patchouli and oakmoss, which sadly reminds me of a cleaning solution. It's a cleaner with depth and I don't hate it, but I don't love it in this stage. It's also very sweet. Later: The clove, ginger and pimento berry have stepped up and squashed the cleaner smell. Every so often the smoky vanilla steps up, but mostly it seems like it's a binder for the the rest of these strong notes. I think the smoky vanilla is the peace-keeper, if you will. Overall: This is one I think I'll have to get a bottle of. I can see the comparison that was made to Raven Moon, and like others have noted, the Lab blends that have smoky vanilla as a note age really well. My bottle of Raven Moon has changed since I bought it and now it's a precious favorite, so I think with a little age, But Men Loved Darkness will grow out of the initial cleaner stage. The drydown is a lovely, complex, night-dwellers scent.

In the decant: I get pipe smoke and cabinet, of the medicinal kind. On wet: Same as above. I smell no coffee or chocolate. Drydown: Oh hey, I'm getting the extra baby powder that others have noticed. Way too powdery for me to be happy. I really wanted to love this one. I think it's that black musk that hates me. I am perplexed that I pick up none of the loveliness, through any of the stages, that everyone else does. I'm going to give it another week and try it again, but I may have to pass this one on to someone who can work it better.

In the imp: whoa. This is strong. I get patchouli, nutmeg and red musk straddling sweetness. Drydown: Caramel. I think the red musk keeps it from becoming too sweet, and maybe my own chemistry makes the caramel a salted version rather than too sweet. There's also a smell that reminds me of a wet pet coming in from the rain... it's not unpleasant to my nose, and it's fleeting and in the background. I have no idea which of the notes make this happen- if I had to guess it would be musk and patchouli. Couple hours later: Musk and dark floral, with burnt sugar. It's like an adult candy store. Overall: Other than the sweet notes and champaca, there's nothing about the notes listed in Now Winter Nights Enlarge that really speak to me or seem unusual. But again, patchouli, (which I've vowed to hate) and nutmeg, (which means nothing to me but pumpkin pie and latte accidents) have worked really well on my skin. Most everyone who has smelled it on me likes it, then they smell the imp and go,"Ew, why did you make me smell that?!!" I'm glad it works on me. I really love this one! Even with the rain soaked pet stage!

This is one I should have reviewed a while back. I purchased a bottle off the sales page here, so I don't know how aged it is. Whatever age, it's divine. In the bottle, it's snake oil + something tropical. That's the coconut. Wet: it's snake oil plus coconut plus something dark. Drydown: This does not go into the powder/semi play-dough stage that Snake oil goes through before it becomes lovely. It's a blend of sophisticated coconut and dark vanilla and all the lovely spices of snake oil. I'm guessing the dark is vetiver. I'm also learning that opoponax is something that makes all oils great on my skin. Overall: one of my favorites. Not just of the snake pit, of everything! It's warm, dark, sweet and complex.

This is one of the most bright and cheery scents I've experienced from Bpal! In the bottle: Florals and dried grass. Clover flower and baby yellow blooms. Wet on skin: I really want to try to stay specific with notes on this, but it's hard! Once I get it on my skin, I get an indian summer morning, with the sun drying the dew on the dried hillside plants. If anyone can help me with what those notes are, please do! Drydown-20 mins later: The fur is there, at least I think it's fur. It's a warm softness that's rounded out the florals. An hour later: It's barely there, but it still smells like a happy day. My verdict: Everyone should own a bottle of this. Buy it for your friends who think all bpal smells the same/like hippies/like a headshop. There's something mainstream, almost commercial about this one, but that's not a bad thing, it just means it's accessible to a wider audience. I will probably buy a couple more bottles of this to give out at xmas.

When I first smelled Raven Moon at will call, I had a split second of flashback memory. I couldn't place it and needed to save some focus for all the other scents, so I just moved on. I ordered a bottle, because the notes of smoky vanilla and chili pepper were too tempting. In the bottle, I get that memory and I've placed it- it's from high school, a long time ago, and I was hanging out with this group of older deathrock people (that's what we called it before someone termed it goth) and they took me to this witch's apartment in the haight ashbury because one of them had to pick up her psychic advice for the week. This bottle smells like that witch's apartment- dark, complex, earthy and smoky. But clean. I pick up myrrh, benzoin and patchouli right away with the bottle sniff. It's got more going on than that, but those three stand out first. Wet on my skin, it's the same. There's a little bit of musk creeping up, and smokiness. I'm reminded of a more colorful version of Cathedral. Drydown, I get patchouli. And myrrh. Where is the vanilla? It's still earthy, almost like pulling up roots. After an hour, something really sour kicks in. I think that's chili pepper, which does.not.work. on me. I know this now. I'm really sad about this. I tried it two days in a row and the same thing happened. What made it better once it hit the sour on the second day was that I put Snake Oil over it and they mingled together wonderfully. Maybe one day I can still hang out with the cool kids... I'm going to keep the bottle around to see how it ages. Maybe that chili will soften. Also, I love love love the label artwork.

So, for the record, I have had a lifelong hate of patchouli (thanks, hippie parents!). Every BPAL that I've sniffed with patchouli as a note has rocketed to the top of my favorite list, and now I have to re-think that grudge. Falling Leaf Moon was a purchase I made after reading people's will call impressions. In the bottle: rain soaked leaves and trees. Wet: Sweet, wet smokiness. All three of those are so well balanced, and the sweet is definitely apple. I worry that it might start smelling like a fall potpourri. Dried down: The wet water has faded to the background, and a spicyness comes up to balance the sweet. I think that on me the sweet is the patchouli, and what's making it less hippie/more sophisticated on me is the oakmoss. Not sure if the spicyness is the agarwood or the other two notes. Later: This scent behaves beautifully on me, and it's one that given the description I would have passed on it. I'm glad that the early reviews of this prompted me to purchase a bottle.