Gold Dust Kitten

Event Horizon A disconcerting scent, heavy and oppressive, through which no light, no matter, and no spirit can escape. Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin. Mircalla Languid, melancholy fire: red musk, purple orchid, frankincense, smoky vanilla, Styrian herbs, peru balsam, tonka, Zanzibar clove, and patchouli. (LE--but you may still find it on sale/swap pages) Eshe Embalming herbs, black myrrh, white sandalwood, black orchid, paperwhites, tomb dust, and Moroccan jasmine (Since the CD is dark, you may be able to find a decant around here) Lamia Deadly elegance: pale orchid, vanilla amber, black currant, white peach, champaca, coconut, Arabian myrrh, Burmese vetiver, and oude

I skin tested this when I received a carded imp from a sale or swap awhile back. I probably didn't review it at the time because I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I had to go through. I recognize the sweet vanilla orchid from Celeste, but it's not beating me over the head. This is a softer, smokier orchid with coconut, hints of young peach, and a beautiful smooth Arabian myrrh. Like the reviewer above, I get a plasticky note here and there, and I know it's the peach. Peach always does that to me. I don't believe it's the coconut, because the Lab's coconut and I get along very well together. The dry down is a yummy black currant amber with some sweetness from the orchid and champaca. I'm not getting any vetiver, but maybe it's such a small amount that it pulls everything together. Either way, this dark tropical floral makes me happy.

I tried one of the Somnium blends before, and it was sharp lavender which bothered me so bad I had to wash it off. This was a frimp from the Lab I think. It smells like lemongrass and fresh lavender in the imp. I also get Fruit Loops. Its a sugary lemongrass, lavender, bergamot and ginger blend. I keep the imp on my nightstand and dab on my pillow. I usually fall asleep quickly when I use the oil but as usual, I don't remember my dreams.

The oil unites the energies of the two Benefics with Mercury, resulting in an oil of movement, adaptability, expansion, optimism, creativity, confidence, attraction, and inspiration. It holds the qualities of positive fearlessness, expansive courage, and helps to bolster the spirit so barriers that we have erected for ourselves in the past can finally be overcome. I have no idea how to use a TAL oil, but I bought this because I couldn't resist the description of what it's supposed to help with. I was concerned by the reviews of it being rose + lavender + lemony floral, because rose with florals give me an ice-pick like headache and the usual BPAL lavender smells like diapers to me. When I smelled the oil, it wasn't rosy at all. I suppose there's a drop of rose and a bit of lavender, but mostly I get a soothing and sweet lemon balm. I'm surprised the lavender smells very "real" here. It's very uplifting yet calming. The dry down is a sweet lemon-vanilla that I didn't notice the first times I tested it...I'm smelling it on my wrist now and it's unmistakably vanilla. I find myself putting this on more than I thought I would. I know TALs aren't supposed to be "perfume", but this one really works on me, smells pretty, and makes me feel good. Hopefully that positive outlook can help open doors.

I also really enjoy Sinner. I'm not sure if any bpal scent really has the same feel for me, but you might try: *Eclipse (Bewitching Brews) - "A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon." Kinda has a similar dark, sweet, spiced vanilla quality. *Sin (Sin & Salvation) - "Thouroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon." If you liked the spicy-earthy-sweet aspects of Sinner, this is like the cinnamon and patchouli amped up. *Mme Moriarty (not currently available, but I'd definitely recommend picking up a bottle of this when the Carnaval collection is back up and running) - "Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum." The vanilla really stands out a lot for me in Sinner. If you like the vanilla-y qualities, look into these blends: *The Antikythera Mechanism (Steamworks) - "Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco." *Black Opal (Bewitching Brews) - "A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire." *Dorian (Sin & Salvation) - "A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea." *Hunger (Ars Amatoria) - "Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla." *Lyonesse (Wanderlust) - "Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss." You're awesome! I have some of those imps on the way I am really wanting some of the Mme Moriarty! I'm going to be adding these to my wishlist. I tried Sinner on today while I was in Sephora. It's definitely a dark fruity vanilla perfume. I would also recommend Mme Moriarty, although she has more patchouli (which I love). Another one I thought of was Hymn to Proserpine-The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine. I just skin tested it and it's very similar to the dry down of Sinner.

I remember I avoided this initially because it had vetiver. As I discovered later on, vetiver works in certain blends, especially those with Snake Oil (Tombeur). This is a darker, more venomous Snake Charmer; or like Goblin and Snake Oil together. The gorgeous, sinuous black coconut, vetiver and opoponax notes take the already sexy Snake Oil to another level. I's so in love with this, and I'll definitely be stocking up on backups!

The Carnaval going dark temporarily scared me into finally buying a bottle of this unsniffed. The "pine pitch" note scared me off, and I hoped a decant would float by one way or another but never did. I'm SO glad I tried this. There's not much to the first sniff. I was expecting "whoa pine" from previous reviews, but there's only a faint woody pine note there. On my skin, it's a very faint smoky sweet vanilla-honey with woody pine, but in a couple minutes it jumps to a whole other level of awesome! I can pick out every note here, and they are so well blended that no note is fighting another for attention. It's such a unique, exotic and sexy scent. The dry stage makes me think of what a sexy patchouli/resin men's cologne smells like at the end of the day. I can't wait for this to come back with it's new label. I'm telling you right now this is multiple-bottle worthy.

This was positively nauseating in the imp, like a blackened rotten banana. I didn't smell anything else, but perhaps the combination of oak, sugar and molasses = banana, which is a note I dislike. I couldn't bear to skin test.

This Grand Guignol prototype is a heady blend of red musk, apricot tobacco and plum brandy. It's very boozy and completely different than the released version, which was straight apricot brandy on me. My nose is doing weird things with scents tonight or my skin is just sucking it up, because it's not lasting at all.

This prototype is a combination between a lighter version of Mme. Moriarty and Snake Charmer. It's a sweet, smokey plum and patchouli with a smooth vanilla like the one in aged Snake Oil. It fades significantly once it dries, and I'm left with a sweet plummy resin that has virtually no throw. It's nice if you think Mme. Moriarty is too heavy for you, but I prefer the released version.

… Her scent is a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices. AAACK! ALMONDS! Spicy, sickenenly (is that a word?) sweet almonds.

This is a lot less threatening as it sounds. Olukun was murkier and more Cthulhu-like. It's actually a bright aquatic men's cologne. I can imagine it smells nice on a clean shaven man but I prefer resiny musks on my men.

Orange blossom is always iffy on me. It can be amazing in creamy musk blends but soapy-perfumey with other florals or resins. This is the latter. It's very intense, like fresh orange oil mixed with dirty-smelling resins.

I have a sniffie of this so I can't really give a proper review, but it's a mildly sweet blueberry with something spicy/mossy. Now I want to go smell Blue Fire because it's kind of like that blueberry before the gin kicks in...

This has the same vanilla from Tombstone or aged Snake Oil, plus fresh, intense juniper and pine sap. Smells manly but sweet. I like it!

Lemongrass, lemon verbena and tart grapefruit. I get a Mr. Clean and Lemon Pledge vibe from this but it doesn't smell like cleaner, rather a very syrupy sweet drink. Minutes later...I guess it reminds me too much of cleaner that I just have to wash it off.

I'm happy I finally received an imp of this to try. I love dirt, moss, bourbon and bay rum, but not florals. In the imp, it's delicious dirt and Spanish moss! They fade once it's on my skin, and the bay rum and bourbon come out sweet and smooth. Some decaying florals make an appearance, and while they aren't headache-inducing I'm still not a fan of how heavy they become. Later, it dries down to sweetgrass and rum. It's a very interesting blend and I love how many changes the scent goes through.

I had an imp of this previously, but never reviewed. I get the resins, black currant and a lavender note that doesn't smell diaper-y. It's kind of cologneish because of the ozone and white musk.

Menthol!? Sweet coconut, fresh roses, orris and menthol. Something isn't right here, I don't know what the menthol note is doing in my imp and I don't see anybody mentioned this in their reviews. I'm a fan of coconut but this isn't my thing. The menthol burns off and I'm left with a powdery, cool coconut-rose with a very high white musk.

Grapefruit isn't listed as a note, but this has a citrus zest that makes me think of grapefruit. There's also a light green tea note, something green and a bit of soapy floral. It's really pretty and fresh once it's dried, there is no soapiness which makes me very happy because I love the citrus/tea notes. Grapefruit isn't listed as a note, but this has a citrus zest that makes me think of grapefruit. There's also a light green tea note, something green and a bit of soapy floral. It's really pretty and fresh once it's dried, there is no soapiness which makes me very happy because I love the citrus/tea notes.

Fetish.Goth leather is very smooth. I'm very sensitive to chemical-harsh leather notes and this is nothing like that. It's soft leather and resins. I think the myrrh in this stands out more than the leather, and it's my favorite myrrh scent right now.

Thanks Penance and Stellans! You're right, looks like a Lab oopsie! Those are gorgeous labels, I need to place an order ASAP.

Mahogany wood, black cherry and currant. The cherry is a grown-up cherry like the one in Gothabilly. At first, I feel like this imp is very aged and I feel like this would be so much better fresh, but then the notes start to get stronger on my skin. I really love the tart dark fruits with dry woods in this blend.

This is a very strange ginger. It's like ginger that's old and has lost it's fresh spiciness. I can barely get vanilla or even apricot from this.

Sweet apples and stale perfumey rose.