Cielamara

It seems like everyone and their brother has reviewed this one, but I'm in a review sort of mood today, and I'm currently sampling Snake Oil for the first time. I had high hopes for this one...I had been craving a vanilla punch, and this one seemed to fit the bill. Plus I'd heard good things about it. Wet--it is not quite as inspiring as it had seemed it would be. It smells a bit like sugar cookies, and the spices seem heavy. No worries. I put it on. Drying--I keep getting whiffs of it, and it is nice. I'm not about to weep with joy over it--in order to do that, I have to also be nuts about the concept, too. For me, BPAL is not just great perfume...it's magic, literature, history, spirituality, emotions, sexuality. So in order for something to truly work for me...the concept has to be one that resonates in me, as well as the oil needing to smell good. But this does smell good. Dry down--This one dries beautifully on me. I smell like...I don't know. It reminds me of this drink my mom used to make for me to go to sleep with...warm milk, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. That's what I smell like. It's just warm, rich pulsating vanilla, throbbing on my skin. It makes me want to lick my wrist or something. It's really very sexy. I'm probably not going to go batshit and buy six bottles of it--but I could see myself buying a 5ml. It's very warm and sensuous.

Wow, the different reactions people have had to this perfume are amazing. Fruity and chocolatey, out of a perfume made up of honey, vanilla and amber...that's just so cool to me. The story of O: I had not, originally, ever particularly thought of trying O. There was a person I knew who raved about it when I was first venturing into BPAL, and as I did not particularly like her...I had bad associations. But O was determined to find me anyway. Two of my friends in college to whom I had introduced BPAL both LOVED the sound of it and were determined to order imps of it. So one chilly Saturday evening, my friend brought over her newly-arrived imps and half a bottle of Cavalier rum. She had her imp of O in that pile. As we passed the rum back and forth, I asked her to pick one for me to try. She picked O. I opened the imp, and dabbed some on. Immediately the sense of woozy intoxication from the rum doubled when the smell hit my nose. "Oh, GOD," I said. "This is INCREDIBLE." It was. On me, no one note stands out--it's simply all creamy sweet golden beauty. It is not the raw, musky REALITY of sex, but rather the bright golden creaminess of the first stages of arousal, like when you're reading erotica, or salsa dancing, or when your pursuit of a sexual prey is nearing its end and you are sweetly confident that you'll get your way. It is innocent...but dangerously sexy. As I smelled it again and again--between swigs of rum and gossip--I finally came up with a good [drunken] comparison. I looked at my friend solemnly and announced, "I smell...like a freshly fucked Catholic schoolgirl...LOOKS. All sweet and innocent in that cute little uniform...but with her skirt up around her waist and her shirt missing a few buttons...and her panties danging off her ankle." I say this with my nice big 10ml in front of me. *grins*

Suspiro was one of the very first BPAL scents that went on my [very long] list of things to try. There were four blends that I starred on that list--they were my Desperate list contenders, the ones I thought I'd die before I got to try them. Suspiro was one of them. I just thought it would be so perfect for me--I'm very much the wistful, slightly melancholy, dreamy sort. And the notes are all ones I LOVE...especially all the lilies. When Suspiro arrived, I was so excited about it I almost didn't want to open the imp. But when I did, I was so happy. In the bottle, all I smelled was that musky, slightly cloying, creamy smell of jasmine and calla lily. Wet on--lily and jasmine are the stars of the show. Calla lily, I think, more than the lily-of-the-valley. It smells somewhat dark and moody...it is a soft and dreamy fragrance, but in a heavy somber kind of way. Drying--oh, how lovely. The cloying jasmine has settled down, and that beautiful sweet plum has taken over, swirling with the lily-of-the-valley. It is fruity, but in a subtle way. Oh, this is beautiful. Sweet, fruity-floral, and, while it doesn't have as much lasting power as Scherezade does (another of my original Big Four) ...it doesn't require marinating in it to get it to last all day. I write this review with the 10ml bottle in front of me for reference purposes.

I feel like Suspiro is a mottled purple and creamy white...deep bruise-purple, plum-colored.

Ohhhh, Scherezade. I've been longing to try this one since the first time I ever visited the site--that was months and months ago. And I just waited patiently till I saw that someone had it up for swap/sell, and pounced! In the bottle: This smells like...potpourri, like incense. Yes, that's it. It smells like a bag of potpourri that hasn't been heated yet. While I love to visit them, I don't really want to smell like one of the hippie stores here in Asheville. Wet on: It still smells like potpourri, but it's warmer and lusher than I realized. This is blooming rapidly. I can smell a lot of spiciness, and it's sweetening. Drying down. Oh my GOD. This is...perfect. I'm so glad to see my beloved Scherezade done justice--a character like that deserves it. This has turned into a lush honey-creamy sweetness, laden with rich spices. I feel very womanly and mature wearing this, very sexy and warm. I feel creative and clever, even while I feel very sensuous and a bit drowsy. It's a gorgeous blend. Stunning. Sweet musk and rather hedonistic spices...mmmmmm.

The Storm Moon marks the darkest portion of the year. A season of long, impenetrable nights and turbulent tempests. A raging, electric and wet scent: slashing rain notes, rolling thunder, and sharp, cold winds layered by a breath of softly wafting lunar incense, a hint of Luna’s blooms, and the brittle herbs of winter. Hee, my first review. In the Bottle Hmm, this is an appealing scent. Mostly cool pine, to my nose, with something almost creamy to soften it. Wet This is a very cool pine. Very clean--though not "soapy", and watery and cool. It smells like it feels to step out of a cold shower. There's still that creamy sweetness; it smells delicious. I can't stop smelling my wrists! Dry down Those creamy florals have taken over. The pine is still present, but it's like a knife slicing through soft-serve ice cream or something. It's still a clean scent, but now it's a little warmer, and gentler. My first BPAL fragrance, and I'm in love!