Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!

ajansuz

Members
  • Content Count

    1,382
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by ajansuz

  1. ajansuz

    The Fainting Couch Atmosphere Spray

    I just got this as a freebie Goblin Squirt with my latest order, and OMG, I am so in love. I don't smell much in the way of roses. What I got was violets, lots and lots of violets with possibly an orris note, something a little dry in there. It's beautiful! I can't wait to sleep on clean sheets misted with this tonight. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
  2. ajansuz

    Ether

    This was an imp gifted to me from the lab. As I'm not familiar with any of the floral notes listed for this blend, I can honestly say I would never have chosen it for myself. Those Lab folks know what they're doing! Of my first BPAL order ever, Ether is actually my favorite on me. THANKS!! In the imp, there was a bit of a sharp, sort of chemical odor, a touch of white floral, but overall, it was faint and hard to smell. I was a little hesitant, but I've already learned not to judge these babies by the bottles. They do all sorts of interesting, unexpected things on skin. Wet it tickled my nose. I applied it very sparingly, then BOOM! This fragrance exploded on me like I had stepped into a Victorian hothouse. Huge florals. They actually remind me of a bouquet of frangipani I had at my wedding. There's something a little smoky keeping them from totally flying away, and still something a little sharp and tangy. Maybe neroli? I honestly can't tell which citrus; I just think it has to be one of them, one of the sweeter ones. I swear, I just did two tiny wand dabs, one to each wrist, and it smelled like I dumped the entire imp all over myself. Over an hour later, I feel like I'm sitting in a cloud of this fragrance. It hasn't changed much from the wet. It's delicious and cooling, very, very feminine. A tiny, tiny little dab appears to be plenty for my body chemistry. I wouldn't have thought I'd want a bottle of a blend called "Ether". The associations I made mentally were very medicinal and chemical. The reality of the blend is nothing like the real thing, thankfully. I declare this bottle worthy.
  3. ajansuz

    Embalming Fluid

    This is such an interesting blend. I bought it because initially I had bought the soap, and even though I haven't used it yet, (using Shub first), I liked the fragrance, and I like layering same scent products for added longevity. Normally, I'm not big on citrus blends, with grapefruit or orange notes making me physically ill. Lemon and lime are more tolerable, but still not my favorites, one reason this blend pleasantly surprised me. Strangely, I can't smell this too well in the imp. Little light, clean bursts of scent hit my nose almost flirtatiously, a little lemon, a little tea, something sweet I can't quite put a name to, maybe the white musk? Wet on me for about five seconds it smelled like a very strong, chemical lemon dish soap, or maybe Pledge. I applied it very sparingly, and I was amazed at how strong it came on. I was horrified, but that sharp burst of lemon almost immediately tamed and transformed. On the dry down is where this blend really shone. The lemon settled into something refreshing, crisp, and cool. The tea amped up significantly, but not in a foodie way, just very fresh. This sounds so weird, but it's a scent that quenches thirst without actually making you want to drink it. Perfect for hot summer days. It has nice staying power, too. Seven hours later, there's still a lingering sweet, clean scent, not at all overpowering or overbearing, but friendly. I'm not 100% sold on whether I want a bottle of this or not, but I know for sure I'll be happily using the imp to scent me, not my house. I definitely see this as being a blend I could learn to love, particularly when the mercury starts hitting 100F plus.
  4. ajansuz

    Haunted

    In the imp, I could really smell the amber more than the musk, a sweet, calming scent, rich and almost creamy. On me wet, hubby turns to look at me and says, "Are you wearing baby powder?" Gawd. Baby powder. The kiss of death. Dry down, still baby powder. Usually, my skin does really well both with amber and musk. I can't figure out what's going on here, unless my body chemistry is wack right now from that time of the month. I'm leaving it on to see if it'll morph out of this phase, and I'll try it when the hormones are less wonky. If I can't get out of the powder phase, this one will have to line up for a swap. EDIT: For a brief moment, the fragrance bloomed on me after about an hour, very lush musk and amber, both in equal measure. Then the whole thing went playdoh! I have never had that happen to me with any fragrance before, but I've seen a few others on the forums talk about getting that scent from various blends. I had to wash it off. It was super strong playdoh, and it showed no sign of changing. I'll still give this another chance in about a week or two, just in case, but I'm not feeling too hopeful for this blend at the moment.
  5. ajansuz

    Black Dahlia

    I really wanted to love this one. It has a lot of notes I adore. In the imp, it was delicious. A big, voluptuous dose of magnolia supported and courted by rose and jasmine. I couldn't smell much of the amber in the bottle. On wet, the rose started climbing to the fore. And kept climbing. Then something horrible happened. I don't know what did it, but it took on a ghastly, sickly sweet smell, like funeral flowers that have been out in the sun too long, cloying, almost rotting. It kept going downhill from there to the point I washed it off at the three hour mark. I'm going to give this one another shot when I'm off my period. I'm hoping my body chemistry at this time of the month is what made it go haywire, because I hate that something that smells so wonderful in the bottle smells so wretched on me. EDIT: I'm glad that I gave this another chance. The second time of wearing, it settled into something really nice, kind of evocative of Old Hollywood. It's a grown up scent. I'll use up the imp, just avoid it at that time of the month.
  6. ajansuz

    London

    Venerable Victorian Tea Rose… twisted, blackened and emboldened with wickedness. This was a gift from the Lab with my order. When I opened the bottle, I was instantly transported to my Grandmother's rose garden. Strong, old fashioned tea rose all the way. I dig roses, so that was a pleasant surprise. Good pick, Lab! On wet, still tea rose, but there's something a little dry, a little astringent under it. It keeps it from being frou frou and stodgy. As it dried, it didn't morph. It stayed tea rose with that little something extra. My biggest complaint is that my skin ate it all within three hours. I prefer roses in a blend rather than as a single note, so I doubt I'd buy a bottle of this, but I'm sure I'll enjoy using the imp. It made me feel feminine and lightly flirty.
  7. ajansuz

    Horreur Sympathique

    There was something in the imp that smelled really sour, a very unpleasant note. However, I've told myself to give anything I buy a chance on my skin before saying yes or no. With this one, I'm really glad I made that decision. I didn't catch so much as a trace of whatever bothered me in the bottle on my skin, either wet or after the dry down. I've seen a lot of people mention sweet notes with this blend. It didn't come out super sweet on me. Wet, the tobacco scent came on strong with something dark and almost smoky under it. I'm assuming that's the musk. After about five minutes there was a pretty strong incense effect. It was difficult to pick out any specific note during this phase for me. I liked it, but it also reminded me of a couple of metaphysical book stores I used to frequent. I wasn't too sure I wanted to run around smelling like a bookstore. Within an hour, that was gone. The honey and wine started to amp up a little and stayed grounded with the musk. Seven hours later, I'm left with a pleasant, sweet scent. The tobacco seems to have come back to say a little hello. The throw is still medium on me. I keep catching whiffs of this without bringing my wrist close to my nose. I was sparing in application to begin with, because this had a very strong scent on me. I liked the way it morphed over time. I'm not sure I'll go for a whole bottle, but I'm going to enjoy using up this imp. ETA: After just a couple of months of aging in the imp, this has gotten even more lovely. It's one of the most sophisticated BPAL scents I've tried to date, complex, heady, and beautiful. Lots of resin, sweet-ish tobacco. I'm loving it more with a bit of age to it.
  8. ajansuz

    Hell's Belle

    Heaven...I'm in heaven... I mean, seriously, if Hell is supposed to smell like this, it's no Hell to me. I opened the imp and apparently said, "Oh, my frickin' God," so loudly my husband called up the stairs to ask me what was wrong. Wrong? Au contraire. Right. So very, very right. In the bottle, the magnolia jumped out, grabbed my nose, and gave me a little slap. Right under her was the subtlest touch of mandarin giving a little peek-a-boo and promising great things later. The spice note reminded me of my favorite spicy floral, miss carnation with her cheeky, flirty bite. I put this on. I thought I'd need the fainting couch for just a moment. The magnolia bloomed so lush it nearly knocked me out. About five minutes later, mandarin made good on her promise and tamed the floral. Carnation had staying power. This scent was morphing faster than my nose could keep up with. I don't really know what oleander smells like. They grow like crazy around here, but when I've sniffed them, I've never gotten a thing from the petals and never tried crushing them because I don't have a death wish. About 2 1/2 hours later, I am so happy this scent loves my skin and vice versa. It has softened down without losing any of its wicked charm. This is a grown up perfume that I couldn't have carried 20 years ago, but I can't wait to get a bottle now. Sexy, sizzling, and Southern through and through.
  9. ajansuz

    Bordello

    In the imp this was candy sweet, berry and fruit that reminded me of something I couldn't put my finger on. It was a happy memory, but it wasn't coming to me, so I put a tiny drop on my wrists. For about the first 15 minutes, I wondered if I'd be able to stay with it. The sweet wet on my skin was nearly overwhelming and gave me that tickling sensation in the back of my throat I saw another reviewer mention. I waited it out, and it started to fade down. Two hours later, a more subtle note started to emerge, not quite cherry, not quite licorice. I could smell a little bit of the wine, as well, but unfortunately, the fruit really amped up on me, too. I finally realized what the scent reminded me of. It was something I used to find at this tiny little trading post in Booger Hollow, Arkansas, some little scented bulb that you could put in your drawers to make your clothing smell fresh, a nice scent, but just too sweet for me. After five hours, I decided to scrub the remainder off. It was still way too sweet for my taste, something I'd probably love to smell on someone else but not for me. It didn't help that my husband, who was in the next room, asked me what I was burning and said it was giving him a headache.
  10. ajansuz

    Blood Countess Claw Polish

    I am very impressed with the staying power of this polish on my toenails. I've had it on over a week, and not only has it yet to chip, it is still as glossy and shiny as it was the day I applied it. My hands haven't fared nearly as well, but I am utter hell on nail polish, so this is hardly an indictment of the quality of the product. The color is so red as to be nearly black, very rich and beautiful. I think it would be flattering on a variety of skin tones. It took three coats to get it fully opaque for me and not streaky, but it was well worth the effort. The brush applicator is forgiving. I didn't have any glop accidents like I have with other polishes in the past. I can't wait to try more colors!
  11. ajansuz

    Shub-Niggurath Soap

    This is the first soap I've ever tried from the trading post, so I have no base of comparison to other products. First of all, the look of this soap is a sensual treat all its own, rich, deep cinnamon brown with a light dusting of bronze across the top. It was so pretty I just admired it for a while after unwrapping it. The scent is incredibly rich and spicy, lots of resinous base tones. I have extremely hard water, and I still got a decent, silky lather from the soap. I can only imagine how lovely this would be in softer water. Unlike the previous reviewer, this scent lingers on both me and my husband for hours after the shower, even in hot, sticky weather. It's not such a feminine scent that he won't use it. He's very picky about things like that. I've actually had to "fight" him over this soap, as he uses way more than is needed in one shower just because he likes it so much. I don't shower with this soap at night anymore, because the first time I did that, the scent left on me was so powerful I couldn't get to sleep. Maybe it's all the ginger, which is very energizing. Not only will I be buying more of this, it has inspired me to buy the oil, too. It's addictive! EDIT: Last week we finally used up this bar. This is one of the only bars of soap I have ever had where I fanatically used it down to the last tiny sliver. The scent was still there, from start to finish. This soap held up very well to heavy use and frequent showers. It never got soft and gooey like some vegetable soaps can. I feel like it was well worth every penny.
×