Lycanthrope

Held on December 5th, this is the festival of the Horned God of the Forest, one of the di indigetes of Rome, god of cattle, fertility, wild, untamed nature, and prophecy through dreams. The scent of a thick, starlit, unspoiled forest, with a burst of wild musk, opobalsamum, black bryony, mandragora, and hemlock. The label art on this is a little strange, a dapper young man riding Krampus. The dood on Krampus has a Victorian mustache. Anyways... Sniffed from the bottle, this is a sweet, cool pine with a touch of a skin-musk, sort of like Coyote / Ivanushka. On the skin, this scent develops a little bit of the metallic snap of pine, similar to Black Forest/Nocnitsa (without the dirt). It's not a sharp, airy pine by any means, and there may be a hint of snow but this is not a predominant note. The scent dries down to a soft, snuggly Coyote-esque forest aroma, with the pine and woods being a full, rounded note as opposed to bracing. It's actually quite nice and close to the skin, and if you're scared of 'forest' notes, you shouldn't be of this one!

The name of this moon refers to the color of wild ground phlox, a primary component of this Lunacy Blend, which is one of the most widespread floral signposts of springtime in North America. This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, pink columbine, delphinium, pink carnation, peony, and muscari, dusted with pink sugar and honey, bourbon vanilla, a hint of white chocolate, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season. Pink Moon is very different from prior incarnations while still being very 'pink.' From the bottle, it smells like wet strawberry flesh and a strong hint of cocoa butter. On the skin, it starts off as a summery blast of strawberry and white chocolate, with a floral that may be stemmier/greener than most. There is carnation that is lending a ruffly floral note, but it's definitely not predominantly a carnation blend like some of the prior Pink Moons. On the skin, the blend retains the top note of strawberry, but with an undercurrent of white chocolate. This chocolate aroma is also, like, white, as in buttery, but a cold, vanilla butter, blended with pips of strawberries and seeds. Further drydown, the florals come up but as a whisper behind the slightly foodiness of the oil. All in all, it has aspects from many families of perfume, while not really being too predominant in any one. The end result is a very complex, sugary, and yes, pink (although it took a while to get there from 'squishy red' for me) scent.

LADY AMALTHEA Molly Grue had taken the white girl's head onto her lap, and was whispering over and over, "What have you done?" The girl's face, quiet in sleep and close to smiling, was the most beautiful that Schmendrick had ever seen. It hurt him and warmed him at the same time. Molly smoothed the strange hair, and Schmendrick noticed on the forehead, above and between the closed eyes, a small, raised mark, darker than the rest of the skin. It was neither a scar nor a bruise. It looked like a flower. A luminous white winter musk with lilac, wisteria, white chocolate, white mint, and tuberose. This is a cool, very light purple scent, definitely strong on the lilac and wisteria, so it's quite sharply floral, but in a good way. I mostly get an undercurrent of neutral mint. There's the waxiness of tuberose, and it is reminding me of lying in near a snowdrift, with tons of petals, the small delicate lilac flowers with drippy purply cold, fleshy wisteria, and the icy tuberose... drydown is more towards lilac wax in only the best way possible. The mint is also present as a freshness behind the whole thing. It has a Yule-feel without being overly Yuley, if that makes sense. Drydown is not to strong on chocolate, mostly sweet hint of mint and mixed florals / cold flowers.

The end is nigh: sweet pink musk, spun sugar, red currant, candied rose petals, and rose jelly. In the bottle, this is a strong, very candy-like rose, a bit of Hope, but there's definitely sooooo much sugar, even a bit of Sugar Skull sweetness? The jelly, spun sugar, sweet, candied, so much... makes this a very powerful sugary scent. The red currant does add a bit of sharp snappiness, but it's presenting floral forward (and that flower is... ja... no, ROSE). Initially on, I get much more of the red currant, but only for a moment, and then a hint of a kind of pastille candy, maybe a conversation heart, but then the conversation becomes a shouting, shouting match of ROSE, PETALS, ROSE, with maybe a bit of cotton candy and bubblegum peeking around, but always walloped by the rose! The color I get is definitely a pink. Pink, catastrophic, end-times pink, like, the world is engulfed in a deluge of petals, and there is no escape. With some time, it still remains rose-forward but is not a single like 'The Rose' or 'The First Rose,' there's enough extra sugary-ness and crystallized sugar around that it is a candy rose. Much more potent than Hope. Much, much more so.

The Lord of All Waters, Master of Wealth, Keeper of the Secrets in the Depths of the Ocean, Lord of the Lightless Deep, God of the Unknown. This secretive and enigmatic Orisha is symbolized by the Seven Seas, and the vast riches and unplumbed mysteries of the ocean are His. Though His reach extends over three-quarters of earth’s surface, He concedes the right to rule to Obatala out of respect for the age, wisdom and discretion of the venerable King of the White Cloth. Olokun is the depth of the ocean at which the sun’s light fails to penetrate. He is perpetual darkness, incomprehensible pressure, and his abode is the birthplace of mythical monsters. The ocean floor is also a Land of the Dead: in its darkness, all will fall to rest, and in this darkness is the Home of the Spirits, souls that, in the cold and dark, rest awaiting reincarnation. Olokun represents all things that remain unknown to man, and all questions may be answered in the halls of His Kingdom. In this, he holds sway over the power of divination. Though decaying matter settles in His home, the Kingdom itself does not decay or erode. He is represented by the mudfish and his favor is shown through red coral and shark spines. His ofrenda is the scent of the lightless deep: the glorious, unknowable gloom of the ocean floor. This is a remarkably fresh, bright marine. It reminds me of Jolly Roger without the leather and wood notes, a fresher, saltier scent... which may be a good alternative when JR is too pirate! for me. Over time this goes really, really grassy on me. Like fresh cut grass. Edited to add description - clover

THE RAPTURES AND ROSES OF VICE Red roses, heady Moroccan musk, cinnamon, lobelia, coconut flesh, magnolia blossoms, and tobacco tar. Creamy, dewy, fleshy rose in the bottle, swirling rapidly towards a smooth, exuberant and beautiful musk - definitely has some hint of Morocco, the scent, however, there's a very deep, thrummy, almost resinous / churchlike element to this. I can lightly detect the tobacco in the background adding a hint of grit. The coconut and magnolia together add a butter-yellow creamy tone to the overall scent. The cinnamon and tobacco meld great with the rose... this is a beautiful, non-amping rose. It's breaking up my usual rose amp fail This reminds me a bit of White Rose (the BPTP) scent, but less rose and more spices and rose unguent. Yes. Like... a lot.

Orbiting alone: cold black labdanum, olibanum, and eucalyptus bulb drifting on a starry white aldehyde. The oil smells cool, like a little wisp of the eucalyptus. On the skin, it's a very rich, resinous oil. Quite thick. Reminds me very much of Oblivion, the chewy, costus/labdanum is strong, and one of my favorite essential oils. There's just a tiny little whisper of cold. I don't detect too much brightness from olibanum. It's nice, and quite resinous - a little bit like a colder Jacob's Ladder from the Yules, but not nearly as complex. It's a chewy resin that does veer towards cold, but not minty by any means. Once it's drier, the dry aldehydic notes do arise, kind of like an aura of shine.

An organonitrogen haze of iris, orange blossom, and neroli obfuscating seas of ethane and mountains of ice, buffeted by gusts of methane and smoky rain. Yes. YES. This is amazing, and definitely NOT methanous! Wet, it smells like a sparkling, crystalline translucent yellow-orange, really bright orange blossom, definitely hazy, gauzy. On the skin, it's a real mix of ice, clouds, marine, lightning... like all of Beth's fun storms swirled together over a crystalline ocean and is whipping it into a frothy frenzy. There's definitely an ice note in here, I think the one from like Monastery in the Mountains - definitely a high clarity, non-slushy ice note, mixed together with a bit of Lightning's bright ozone. There's also a little bit of orange rind jumping in and out here, adding a bit of weirdly citrus warmth (spark?) to the melange of atmospherics. I don't get much iris, but if there is some powderiness holding everything together it is thrumming in the background. Over all this, I can definitely pull out that clarion call of neroli - the smooth glow of that note ascends and orbits all the rest of the scent. It truly is a core of ice, rain, wind, ocean, resonating with a bright, high-pitched sweet citrus-floral haze. I got two on impulse, will love them to death!

THE WORM SHALL REVIVE THEE WITH KISSES But the worm shall revive thee with kisses; Thou shalt change and transmute as a god, As the rod to a serpent that hisses, As the serpent again to a rod. Thy life shall not cease though thou doff it; Thou shalt live until evil be slain, And good shall die first, said thy prophet, Our Lady of Pain. Bourbon vetiver, oakmoss, and pomegranate. So... weird... Starts off this very dischordant blend of dark dark vetiver and moss, with the fruity blast of pomegranate. On the skin, the pomegranate turns more to candy, like candy dipped in vetiver oil. Oh, no... not playing well in my skin, it's both syrupy sweet yet fundamentally spicy and gritty. I'm not sure I'm liking the two together, it smells on my skin at least like a scorched pomegranate. Sorry!

It is the lady of midnight and she has arrived! She of Two Faces, She Who Eats Filth, the Death Caused by Lust – Tlazolteotl – is the Aztec goddess of the regenerative function of the earth, human sexuality, and fertility. She represents the active female principle in the eternal cycle of life feeding death and death feeding life. Her arms, dressed in flayed skins, embrace mirrored principles of sin and purification: she inspires lust, depravity, overindulgence, vice, lechery, and licentiousness, and is also empowered to cleanse and forgive moral, spiritual, and fleshly sins. Her scent is a melding of her symbols and offerings: chapapote and black copal with cacao, black honey, maize, and cotton blossoms. Hooray! I hope this doesn't smell like teh pewp. Or, if it does, it will be my precious BPAL PEWP. Sweet. From the bottle, this smells like a little gritty, chewy, resinous chocolate. Wet, the initial cocoa rises to the surface, and reminds me just a touch of a less-lavender Wulric. It has hints of that delicious Boomslang-like cocoa absolute! It is marvelous in this initial wet stage. Over a little more time something slightly remniscent of corn flakes does arise, but only in the best way possible, giving the entire scent a touch more of a mild food-y vibe without veering into cake or cookie territory. I don't get much floral, but there is a gentle sweetness suffusing the scent, reminding me a touch of the Xmvlzencab soap, which was more sweet ginger honey floral to my nose. With more drydown, the copal is maybe a hint more noticeable, and I have no idea if what I am smelling is cotton blossom. Definitely no strong florals in this one. This reads and projects like an awesome, deep, dirty cocoa that I could swear has patchouli in it due to the wonderfully deep, chewy and rich chocolate, that dries down into a smoky, complicated slightly foody drydown. I think the pitch/chapapote is manifest as the slighty dirt-y but mostly sand-like essence that is granting the cocoa some wondrous complexity. I have my bottle, and I will HOAAAARD.

"Hey," said Shadow. "Huginn or Muninn, or whoever you are." The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and it stared at him with bright eyes. "Say 'Nevermore,'" said Shadow. "Fuck you," said the raven." Glossy black, rough, and gravelly: violet-gilded opoponax, black patchouli, myrrh, and oak leaf. Smokey in the bottle. Rocks. Gray gravel. On, wet, a weirdly sweet, dark, biting caramelly resin. The topnotes of the resin recede a bit and I'm getting a bit of the burnt/dried leaves note, but not much, and it's tempered by a dry woodsiness. There's a depth beneath this all with the patchouli and myrrh lending a soft, but solid base. I was hoping for a bit more front-forward violet, but I'm not getting that as much with the initial drydown. Over time, the resins/woods unify and turn more towards a very excellent, subdued but dark patchouli, with a touch of rockiness - not Black Opal rockiness, but... still a huskiness. There are whispers of violet petals but don't be afraid if you're not a floral person. This is just enough to lend a glint to the feathers. I will not F this blend! It's quite good!

By day, these tiny blossoms of white, pink, and purple appear withered, fragile, and weedy, but as evening approaches, they reveal their true magnificence: their petals open, and a rich, melodic perfume fills the night air. Initially, wet, from the bottle, this smells like a plush, round, puffy light purple flower, like wisteria. On my skin, the aroma develops a markedly sharper tone, like a... perfume, powdery aroma. Not really honey, per se, but this sweetens up and goes up in pitch and tone, such that it becomes a sweet, more light blue note, if that makes sense. An ethereal, light, night floral for sure.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Olibanum, labdanum, spikenard, cade, cardamom pod, and olive blossom. Super light and airy wet from the bottle. On skin, it's a very wonderful topnote of frankincense (olibanum), with a bit of creaminess and thrummy warm gumminess of labdanum. The olive blossom reminds me of Succor (I love(d) that blend!). The spikenard/cade/cardamom add a little herbal spiciness to the resins and it ends up feeling very comforting, supportive... for me those resins send up meditation vibes. It's still very light, not too 'churchy,' though as it dries down sparkles of the frankincense resin predominate. Cardamom is nice but not too powerful, as it can be, just a kiss. Wonderful!

A dry perfume, solemn and riddled with ancient, whispered secrets: brittle bones, the well-worn leather spines of forgotten books, crumbling papyrus, and the warm, strange scent of yellowed, crumbling manuscripts. A soft, musty and a little sharp (bone?) leather-patchouli. This is a neutral leather in terms of warmth, so more like 'Dee' leather rather than Quincy Morris / Brom Bones (cool, slick) and not fiery or red like The Red Rider. It kind of smells like paper, but is more of a dust and deep, thrummy woods kind of scent. I like it a lot but it's more atmospheric on me than pleasant, to my nose. Fitting!

Iron and fire: red-hot ginger, fossilized amber, prickly poppy, red cedar, cubeb, star anise, and scorpion pepper. This scent is very hot. Crimson red oil. I can feel my nostrils singe a little smelling it. On my skin, it's immediately spicy and I get a whiff of pepper rind, like in the Mayan/Annatto/Pepper chocolate scent. That fleshy warm pepper foodiness. This goes away pretty fast. Anise and cedar are there to add a very potent dry twangy chord to the overall scent. This amber is not sweet, but there is that powderiness on me. Ambers tend to go sweet on me, and this is starting to go that way. I get no poppy, but I'm notoriously bad at finding that note in perfumes. It's very jarring, doesn't quite mesh into one thing on my skin. I can't tell if this is trying to be purposely cacophonous, but it's doing a good job of being very fragmented and chaotic. I smell more fire than iron. Over time this is trying to settle into a spicy wood. It is not melding well with me, but if you like warm, woodsy resins and are okay with ginger, I would give this a whirl.

Violet wolf checking in. Sniff from the bottle, a sharper, slightly green and gritty mist over a subtle violet. Fresh on skin, quite sharp, getting a lot of initial ambergris, some sweetness from the opium segueing into a resinous mossy green, I think maybe a hiiiiint of coconut. Right now I can't find the violet, oh no! It's reading very much as a somewhat sharper aquatic misty ambergris musk. There's a shadow of patchouli lurking in the background. Coconut and orris is giving it a bit of a Black Pearl vibe. On for about an hour... ok, there's a bit of violet base now, but like the painting, I think this scent is more about the ethereal, airy white gauziness of the dress and the violets are a complement, not the main focus. It's quieted down a bit so that most of what I can smell is a bit of powdery violet petal, with a planty, leafy moss-musk. It's a very interesting blend of scents. I think from afar I get whiffs of pure violet but just like the ionones do, the petals peek into and out of presence, hiding in the folds of the misty white of the dress and the shadowy gritty dark of the patchouli/oakmoss. It's definitely unique! I would say: if you love violets, and are expecting them, they are here but not front and forwards. If you usually dislike violets, this won't whomp you on the head with them, and may be a more tolerable experience of them. It's a very beautiful interpretation of the painting.

Then said Jafnhárr: It was many ages before the earth was shaped that the Mist-World was made; and midmost within it lies the well that is called Hvergelmir, from which spring the rivers called Svöl, Gunnthrá, Fjörm, Fimbulthul, Slídr and Hríd, Sylgr and Ylgr, Víd, Leiptr; Gjöll is hard by Hel-gates. The first vision, obfuscated by fog sprung from Hvergelmir: a world within dream, formed of nebulous possibility. Thin strands of white resin-smoke, star jasmine, and white violet. This is a very pleasant, light incensey scent that reads primarily as a soft violet. It's not as lush as in Sybaris, per se, and definitely not as 'chewy' as Fleurette's Purple Snails, which was a robust, unfurling PURPLE violet. On the skin it's sweet, gentle violets, mixed with maybe a wisp of light sandalwood. The star jasmine I guess reads as a hint of misty floral, but this is not a jasmine-forward blend at all. It's mostly a slightly dewy absolutely beautiful violet, and I must get tons of it. Light overall throw, but it's delicious.

I really love the concept of this scent! Alas, it is perhaps one of the least rosey Rose scents from BPAL that I own, and it is a bit cacophonous and chaotic. Overall, it reads as a fruity tropical floral, which may be totally up someone's alley - it's not quite the type of scent I wear or reach for often (the fruits - I'm a tropical floral wolf for sure) Whiff from the bottle and immediately on is a very sweet blackberry, primarily, on the skin and for the first few moments it's really orchid forward, with a smidge of sweet opium-like smoke, but not very much of that lingers or remains. As a violet lover I was really hoping for that to be up center, but I can't really detect that. It must be, like the rose and blue musk, sort of lending an undercurrent of sweet - but I think the blackberry and orchid really steal the show here. Even with more time, I can't get much more than a very well blended and chewy blackberry scent, with a floral backdrop, but not a classic rose at all. I'll still keep and reach for this here and there, the bottle and concept are wonderful, a bit of a miss on this violet and blue musk lover.

Snow drifting on black pine, blood red apple, rosewood, osmanthus, and lemon peel. Wet, this is pine, and a hint of the slushy delicious wintry notes of Beth's Yules. The comparison for sure would be to Snow, Glass, Apples, which this does have some relation to, but the pine is definitely present in this scent. It doesn't make it masculine, but it does take the scent from a purely poisonous, translucent apple (SGA) to a more grounded, earthy kind of scent. On me, the snow/slush note goes more into the 'sweet snow' note, similar to the room spray Christmas Present, so not the spearminty/eucalyptus snow present in things like Nuclear Winter/Country of Eternal Light. This is a cold scent but illuminated by an unearthly warmth, even if the lady's skin is pale white you know beneath it there's blood, pulsing, purring. The apple note is also not a green/winesap type of scent, but rather the fleshy, slightly mealy (in a good way) red delicious, one that gives way under the teeth a bit too well and lets your incisors rend through its flesh. I don't get a huge amount of lemon peel, or the rose part of rosewood. I think the osmanthus and rosewood are lending a bit of complexity to the scent but not overpowering in any way. This reads most forward as a top note pine/forest that segues into a snow-kissed apple resting on an ornate perfume box carved of rich, brown wood, sparkling with devilish, cold intent.

A whisper of the vanilla mint, and on me, the honeyed sugar and strawberries brings to mind Pink Moons of yore with a smidge of chilly snow. It's pretty much perfect and a great transition scent balancing Yule and Lupers! On me the red wine comes out more and more as times passes, to lend a bit of Athens-like goopiness to the whole blend. I could have swore this had rose in it but maybe it's my mind inventing florals when I think 'Valentine!'

For me, foody to start with the buttercream but veers straight into cinnamon and clove territory, and slight pistachio nutmeat in the dry down. Very excellent if you’re a spice gourmand lover.

If you missed out on Stealthily, Stealthily, this feels a very similar type of fragrance. It reads as a well blended misty and puffy purple scent, a bit powdery from the orris, and some sweetness from the violet. I think it has more of a honeyed aroma and a smidge salty from the ambergris. I like it bunches.

Eau de Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. The cumulative weight of hundreds of scents -- a cacophony of mythology, fiction, folk magic, and other arcane influences, all clamoring for your attention at once. Wet... this smells like... chocolate? A waxy kind of chocolate scent? And then maybe the... touch of a cookie-like vanilla. It's surprisingly foody but then also registers as 'weird floral.' On me, the color of the oil is a faint slippery translucent green. As it first dries, I definitely get a mishmash of leafy... chocolate... malt?... This is giving me flashbacks to Chaos Theories of past. Is that... caramel? No... I ... what. This is like the equivalent of nose static. I can't identify any one thing, but it just smells... pleasantly everything, but nothing. So it's not super sharp or overbearing. I keep saying 'wafer?' Like those square wafer cookies you can buy, Manner, I think. I smell crunched up Manner cookies, but like the same slightly neutral powderiness. If you've had those wafers before they're pleasantly bland but not terribly powerful in terms of their flavor. Oh. Bother. I think I'm getting a hint of... formaldehyde??!?! That can't be right, but it's like the weird mishmash of all smells merging into a vaguely rubbery everything. Oh GOD, why is it doing THAT. As a former medical student, how is THIS the smell I'm getting? Holy cow. Yikes! Oh... a little more time and the chemical scent starts going orange/citrus? Man, I'm so confused. Starts off foodie, then goes totes chemical, then... fruit rinds? I can't even.

Dark chocolate and clove bud with smoked amber, bourbon vanilla tar, and black and pink peppers. Whoa. This is a little weird from the bottle, definitely spicy, and peppery. I definitely get a potent black pepper vibe, like black pepper essential oil. The chocolate is a dusky, dusty dark cocoa thing, definitely not sugary sweet! On my skin the pepper and cloves bloom immediately into a cloud of potent heat, with the cocoa riding along. After a few minutes, the immediate spiciness recedes, leaving a very sexy gourmand, cocoa-kissed incensy resin. I'm still getting a good deal of clove, kissed with depth with the amber and vanilla, which are not front and center. The cocoa always remains a slight foody twang on an otherwise beautifully sensual spice blend. Over a bit more time, this actually is veering towards Gelt (but like, sexier?) Grandma's handing out fake coin candies but watch out! She's dangerous (and in lingerie). I like this! I'll have to give it a few wears, but I do have my single bottle now lol. #blindbottlelifeyolo

A song of meagre comfort, lilting in the wind: orris root, white sandalwood, grey amber, and soft white chocolate. I really like this one! From the sprayer and spritzer it's a very buttery chocolate. I get actually a bit more milk chocolate, but not sure if it's because of the slight smoky sandalwood. I get a chocolatey violet, like a fine French confection. Sprayed in the air it definitely is a blast of foody, buttery vanilla-chocolate, with a dusty but violet/orris powderiness. I think there's definitely a bit of grounding from the sandalwood but by no means is it a very powerful woodsiness. The amber probably makes this glitter a bit, but I recall the grey amber being uber-smooth, and not terribly sweet. This reads as a slightly floral gourmand, in the violet-chocolate family. I kind of love it. Backups, plox.