Altaira

As I spoke, rage sparkled in my eyes; the magistrate was intimidated. “You are mistaken,” said he. “I will exert myself, and if it is in my power to seize the monster, be assured that he shall suffer punishment proportionate to his crimes. But I fear, from what you have yourself described to be his properties, that this will prove impracticable; and thus, while every proper measure is pursued, you should make up your mind to disappointment.” “That cannot be; but all that I can say will be of little avail. My revenge is of no moment to you; yet, while I allow it to be a vice, I confess that it is the devouring and only passion of my soul. My rage is unspeakable when I reflect that the murderer, whom I have turned loose upon society, still exists. You refuse my just demand; I have but one resource, and I devote myself, either in my life or death, to his destruction.” I trembled with excess of agitation as I said this; there was a frenzy in my manner, and something, I doubt not, of that haughty fierceness which the martyrs of old are said to have possessed. But to a Genevan magistrate, whose mind was occupied by far other ideas than those of devotion and heroism, this elevation of mind had much the appearance of madness. He endeavoured to soothe me as a nurse does a child and reverted to my tale as the effects of delirium. “Man,” I cried, “how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you say.” The pride of wisdom: Roman chamomile, rosehips, ginseng, and fig. In the bottle: Bright, fresh, lightly herbal rose. On skin: pretty much the same, stays true on drydown. But pretty much stays mostly rose with the chamomile and ginseng adding a fresh herbal quality. I don't get any fig from this. Rosehips (the fruit of beach roses) are one of my favorite scents in nature. I was hoping for a bit more of that and not just "rose" from this blend. I'm thinking this might work better for me layered with something beachy, like R'Lyeh.

I wan to second the rec for The Last Unicorn (Frosty lilac petals, iris pallida root, orris, violet leaf, white chocolate, coconut, wild lettuce, white sandalwood, and oakmoss.) It has a light floral perfume mixed with sweet chocolate and coconut that is very pretty. Given that you like florals, I think it would be a great choice for a chocolatey scent for you. It's not available on it's own in imp form, only as part of the Series I imp set, but you might want to track it down in the forums. And it's not an LE, just one of the more expensive special collections in the GC.

The Bards are usually in March, but some years none are released. The Metamorphosis series (moths and butterflies) have come out in the summer the last 2 years, but didn't exist before then and haven't been promised for the future. "Phobia" scents are often released around April first. The other scent collections are mostly one-offs; they just show up from time to time, then go away never to return.

One thing to keep in mind is that several of the HTFs were made to commemorate specific events. Storyville was for one of the Convergences and Gothabilly was for a Bat's Day, I believe. Others have been for things like Comicon. Very small batches are produced because they are only meant to be purchased by people who physically go to the event. They are not available on-line to anyone, ever. Very small batches also mean the Lab can use rare ingredients that they may only have a limited supply of and may never get again. This is why resurecteds are rare, the ingredients for the recipe just don't exist (and in some cases, the recipes themselves were lost). And some things, like Candy Butcher and VILF weren't meant to be limited, but an ingredient is no longer available, so they were discontinued before their time.

It's funny because I had the oposite negative reaction to Hollywood Babylon. On me it smells exactly like those strawberry hard candies that come wrapped in foil that looks like a stawberry: It was way too sweet and cloying, but then I amp sugar scents. Skin chemistry is a funny thing.

From the general catalog, Red Queen is great. It smells like cough syrup when first applied, but quickly dries down to a great thick fruit scent. Reminds me of raspberry squares. And it is an older LE (Yule 2009) but if you can find Mason and Jenkins Port Jelly it is a thick jam scent. Smells kinda like red Swedish Fish candy.

I have steered clear of Erebos because of 2 listed notes: jasmine and hyacinth. While I merely dislike jasmine (well, ok: loath. It smells exactly like cat shit to me) I can ignore it in small amounts. Hyacinth however, I am highly allergic to. I have no idea what it even smells like because whenever I've tried to smell it, my nasal passages slam shut

Beeswax is the wax bees make to store honey in. It is not sweet, but is often blended with sweet notes. Have you ever smelled a beeswax candle? Real ones are a dull golden color. The BPAL beeswax scent smells exactly like that (because it is made from actual beeswax). I can't wear strong sweet smells (they make me nauseous) and honey smells like baby powder once it hits my skin, but I love beeswax blends. So, while you may end up loving beeswax, it won't be because it is sweet or foody.

It's well, beeswax. Like in a candle. Not sure I can describe it if you haven't smelt it before.

2011 version. In decant: Huh! Did not expect this. It's sweet like hard candies. On skin: Still candy. Rd with a hint of citrus. Not melancholy at all. Nostalgic in that is smells like a candy shop... I like it enough to try is again for longer wear.

In decant: Mostly honeysuckle. Light and pretty but not my usual thing. On skin: Sweet, innocent florals. Still not my thing.

In decant: Bracing sharp ginger and pepper. There's a base note that smells unclean. On skin: Calms down considerably. Bright ginger and hint of citrus. There is a dry wood note in the background. Fades quickly. I like it, but not enough to get a bottle.

In decant: Strong floral perfume. Rose and other flowers. On skin: Pear becomes noticeable, but the florals are still very strong and prompting a headache. Washed off.

In decant: This is a light, high pitched scent with the kind of white florals I usually interpret as cat-poop (Jasmine, orange blossom, etc.) On skin: Straight up floral perfume. Not my thing at all.

2011 version. In decant: A medium strength vanilla with hints of coconut and cat-poop jasmine. On skin: Mostly coconut with cloying headache inducing flowers. At least the dirty littler box scent has gone away. The vanilla has faded far into the background. The best I can say is it's not as gross of Pink Snowballs. But this just doesn't work for me at all.

A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging! 2011 version. So, what I smell is not at all what other people smell with this. In the decant: Not cold at all. In fact it is a very warm vanilla with cloying floral perfume. Not just rose. I like rose, this has some sort of 'white' flower in it that I always find gross. On skin: Super sweet vanilla and rancid flowers. It's disgusting and I'm baffled that it is so popular. Is my nose broken?

It's not available in imp form, but it is available from the Lab: http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/stickybat.html

Is the label hand written? Is it clearly "Danube" or could it be a different word (or words?) Decants of GC scents aren't all that common, it may be a similar looking name of an LE. Maybe Dancing Koi (Brown musk, leather accord, toasted sandalwood, clove, labdanum, and champaca). Can you take a pic of the label and post it?

2011 version. In decant: Fresh garden rose. I like this much more than Rose Red which was a more cultivated, florist type rose scent. On skin: The same. Fresh garden rose single note. When I asked my husband what he thought, he said "smells like rose water" Longer wear: Grows faint after about 2 hours. I like this, but I'm not sure I'll get a bottle since it fades so fast and I hate reapplying during the day. I also think I prefer more complex blends that have rose as a note, but other things as well.

In decant: Sweet, soft resins and just a touch of rose. On skin: Sweet but dry. Comforting and light. Longer wear: Eh. Light, resins. I have so many other resiny blends that I rarely wear, don't think this one is going to make the cut. It just doesn't stand out for me.

2011 version. In decant: Fresh "florist" roses. Clearly the scent of a bouquet of flowers, not wild or garden flowers. There is almost a dusty note. On skin: The dusty note fades and a juiciness comes forward. Longer wear: I like this when wet, but it fades very fast; after about 90 minutes I can hardly tell it's there. Nice, but doesn't rise to the top of the many rose scents I already have.

In the decant: A clean skin musk with a hint of camphor. Very promising. On skin: Musk, soap, and woods. This is the best light musk I've ever tried from BPAL. It smells like freshly washed skin with a bit of dry woods (probably the combo of frankincense and camphor). Seriously considering a bottle. This is awesome. 10 minutes later: Apparently I'm allergic to one of these ingredients because I can't breath through my nose and a nasal congestion headache is squeezing my brain. I'm so sad I can't wear this. After washing it off, I'm still getting wiffs of the musk where it rubbed on my clothes and it is still wonderful. I think it's the camphor I'm reacting to, but can't be sure. Whatever it is, it changed what was going to be a bottle purchase to something I had to scrub off my skin. Because of this, I can't comment on how long it lasts. If you like other light musks like Neutral or Mr. Ibis, you should try Breathless Horror.

The overall impression I get is of resins; frankincense and myrrh, very dark and deep. Then I start sneezing and my head feels tight. I sprayed in in my bathroom on my cloth shower curtain. It was too strong for me in such a small space. It was a lot nicer the next morning, but it still provoked an allergic recation, so it's not for me.

I see Ranger, Paladin, and Fighter; but no Rogue? That's one of my favorite leather scents ever. Soft and sophisticated and just a little devious. It was the RPG with the most prominent leather note on me. Ranger was mostly pine, Paladin was heavy on the cedar and reminded my of an uptight Tombstone, and Fighter is heavy on the metal scent and the leather is the sharp bitter version I don't like.

Right. But that is in the BPTP section, I was looking for one here in Recs that compared TP stuff with Lab stuff.