Flightless

On first sniff it reminded me of some of my beloved '09 yules... cold, pine, snow... on second sniff a few days later it seemed to warm up a little into an early spring scent- the snow is still hiding under the pine, but small spring flowers are starting to emerge and everything is beginning to thaw. The berries in this one are very muted- i seem to find more gentle floral than berry here. Love love. Definitely want a bottle.

Wow... this one just reeks Anise... a very herbal Anise too, reminiscent of Absinthe on me. It's an aged imp, so that might have something to do with it. I think this one gets destashed- not a fan.

I was really excited to try this one out- In the bottle: Floral... definitely gardenia here- I was expecting more peach, but I can't seem to find it. Wet: I found some peach blossoms, but the gardenia is still very strong here... I don't smell any Jasmine, but is that honeysuckle? There's a memory on the fringe of this scent for me... my mothers honeysuckles growing in the garden after a spring rainstorm... No rain or aqua scents here, it's just the memory it conjured. Is it just me or does this oil have an odd texture? It's much lighter than others I've tried, almost watery... maybe it's because it's so fresh? Drydown: Despite it's attempt at being lighter, this is a much heavier scent on me than I had expected... I didn't put on more than I usually do and it's very strong on me. I suspect it will fade as the day goes on, but in the first hour it gives me a slight headache... which is really sad because overall I like this blend. In addition to the florals I'm getting the slightest soapy note and some sort of plastic smell on the edges too... that kind of reminds me of pulling a new Barbie doll out of the box when I was little. o.O I do like this scent so far, aside from the headache (which is mild and starting to fade now) it's a very nice blend. I'm curious to see how it ages- hopefully the "plastic" mellows out a bit. This is a wonderful spring floral, it would be very nice for a wedding. 4.5/5 stars.

This is an aged imp with a hand-written tag I received along with a purchase from a forum member. Since it's not "fresh", my experience may vary a bit. In the Imp: A soapy, flowery blend- I can't really pick out one distinct fragrance, except maybe something akin to honey. If anything this one is really well blended. On the skin: I think Patchouli must just turn to powder on me, because that seems to be a trend in those blends. It also reminds me of some local metaphysical shops I've visited with friends, so definitely a incensy-type scent on me. There's brushes of slightly-musky florals on the fringes and some lingering hints of the soapy touch. Drydown: More florals make it through now, but it's still a very smoky incense. Is that... *sniff* jasmine (or something similar) hiding on the edge? Maybe that's the grape I couldn't find earlier. Beautiful! ETA: I think I found the elusive grape- it decided to show up fashionably late to the party. It's not the fake, syrupy grape that I'm used to smelling; it's a warm, late-summer, stroll through a champagne vineyard kind of grape. So delicious. Not bad, but it makes me wonder what a fresh imp would do on me. This is definitely something I could wear with a sarong and tank-top while sipping chai at the corner cafe... it reminds me of late summer/autumn with it's earthy smokyness that comes from the incense. 3.5 stars.

Wet: Very sweet... hints of a powdery, almost cocoa note in the very background... Wet on skin: The powdery cocoa comes out a bit more, it kind of reminds me of 13 from May 2011. Dry-down: It smells almost like baby powder on me... or slightly mineral, like the talcum powder from my grandmothers vanity. Not bad, but not at all what I expected from this scent. I applied more a few minutes after the first application and I can still smell the sweetness but the powder takes a backseat... it's almost flowery now, which I know is odd because there isn't any flowers in this blend. I've never had a honey scent before, so maybe that's what I'm picking up? I think ylang ylang and fig likes me... I can't find any clove in this one, which is a pity because I like clove. All in all it's a very nice, light-weight scent. I'd call this a spring/early summer scent, but could be a nice cooling oil for the hot summer days.

I wanted to throw another plug in for Lysander: I got to wear it for the first time today and was pleasantly surprised when I put it on. It's just flowery enough that I can wear it, but I think it's the masculine Benzoin that I'm attracted to (I might be wrong, I still can't pick up scent nuances) and keeps it fairly gender-neutral. Overall, it's a nice, sturdy floral scent that doesn't seem to push far into the feminine side.

Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. Received this imp from a very generous seller In the Imp: I smell flowers and flowery musk... almost aquatic (like sitting around a swimming pool in the summer time). Very bright and warm. On my Skin: Still very flowery, but a bit more of the spice comes out now. Definitely a musk that likes me. (Yay!) I wonder if it's the Benzoin that reminds me of my granddad... I'd have to look at the description, it's not overly powerful or anything but I can smell a more masculin tone ... It's also softened a little by a slightly soapy/powdery note. And just on the fringe... if I turn my head just right... was that a hint of clove? Odd... I think this is a more gender-neutral scent- it's flowery enough that I can get away with it, but has just a touch of musky masculinity that a guy can wear it without much thought. I'll update this if it changes, but I really like this as a summer scent. 4 out of 5 stars here, Wonderfully done.

The LE Yules are a good place to look if you can get your hands on some. My *favorite* winter scent is a somewhat hard to find blend called Hypothermia (and reminds me of your wintry scene), but luckily it's reminiscent of The Snow Maiden and Snow White, which are a little easier to find... and I *love* them all. When the Lab does snow and cold, they do it well (imho). Vega was very kind and pointed me to a few snowy GC scents in this post for when my precious is gone. I haven't had the pleasure of trying any of her recommendations yet, but hopefully that will give you a good place to start... and maybe a few more experienced noses will chime in here too. Good luck!

It requires a bit of forethought, but would electric/Pluming tape around the lid and neck of a new bottle help prevent this? I have a couple LE bottles that are a few years old and living in a dry climate, I'd like to prevent this as much as possible.

For use when working with the many Gods of Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares. In the bottle: A Strong, astringent, slightly mentholated lemony scent hits my nose first thing out of the imp. This really surprised me- The only other Sominium I've worn up to this point was Oneiroi and it wasn't nearly that shocking... I guess I expect a more calm scent to come wafting out on my initial sniff. Hmmmmm Wet: The lemon and herbal sticks around, but it's intriguing to me. Dry-down: This turned to clove on my skin. Very odd. I was kind of worried that I wouldn't get a relaxing, calming effect, but I fell asleep very easily with this one. Next morning: I had pretty cohesive dreams all night, more so than usual and as with Oneiroi, this scent is completely gone in the morning light. I definitely want to try this one again.

This scent description intrigued me. I have hardly any incense or lemon in my stash, and the cocoa piqued my curiosity so I figured I'd give it a shot and was lucky enough to get my hands on a full bottle second-hand. First Impressions/In the bottle: Cocoa and mint hit me almost immediately... it reminds me of mint chocolate (of which I'm not a fan) so I was caught a little off guard. I'm finding a sweet, powdery, slightly dry blend with hints of incense in the background (I can never keep patchouli and sandalwood separate in my head, so it's just "incense" to me). Wet on the Skin: Baby powdery now but the cocoa and mint seem to scurry to the shadows and the oil develops a slight lemony tinge. The sharp, sweet lemon that comes about kind of reminded me of lemon drop candy and is tamed just enough by the spice of incense. On the Dry-down: about 15min later the incense and baby powder is all that remains. Is still dry and sort of sweet to me. Very soothing- warm and nice: Kind of a lazy late-summer/autumn feel. My husband hated it wet, but liked it better on the dry-down after it mellowed out. Because this blend is so complex I'm sure I didn't pick out all the scents, and I'm very new to all the more exotic notes so I'll probably wear more of this tomorrow to see if it does other interesting things on me. All in all, this is a fun sort of scent: it morphs in so many different ways from bottle to dry-down; kind of unexpected but not at all unwelcome... just odd and new and wonderful. 6/15: I think I'm picking out the hints of rose this morning: they're sunning gently in the background dusted by a fine layer of baby powder... a nostalgic sort of smell for me, but not pronounced enough to remain wistfully in the past while wearing it. Today, I find myself wanting to find more rose in this blend... Rose is usually a "have to be in the mood to wear it" type scent, so it might be a rose kind of day. I was a little worried when I put this on first thing... I kept thinking I wouldn't like it because the cocoa stuck around a little longer than last time but I think it's warranted a couple more trials.

I'm kind of assuming this has been discontinued, but I figured it was worth an ask: Benevolent Triple Conjection... was it a limited TAL blend? I can't find it anywhere and was kind of hoping for a sniffle, but sale postings for BTC seem to be for trade only. Gomennasai... my search-fu failed me prior to posting this: I found the answer in the TAL section. Thank you.

In the imp: Cold, but I found hints of cinnamon first thing this morning, which surprised me a little- I normally really dislike cinnamon, but this is just muted enough I wanted to give it a try. Wet: Still Cinnamon but that takes a backseat and the flowers are much more pronounced now. It's cold, but not nearly as cold as Snow Maiden and Hypothermia. I can't find the typical mint/pine notes that I'm used to picking out in snow scents... so it's more of an Autumn feel than winter time. Dry: More floral now with just a hint of the cinamon-type spice in the background... I can't place if it is actually Cinnamon or not but it's not pronounced at all, in fact it adds just a bit of definition to a scent that might be pretty vague otherwise. Still no pine or mint, but you don't really miss them here: the Narcissus is a new scent for me and its very very nice. Not a terribly long-lasting BPAL, but my favorites usually aren't. Also, not my favorite snow scent, but definitely a strong 4 out of 5 stars. This one is very nice on me.

I really love this scent, I've tried it a couple times but never really paid attention to how it acted on me all day. Cold, snowy scents seem to be very kind to me and this one is no exception: Chilly but not as stark as my beloved Hypothermia- it's a gentle soft virgin snow that is inviting to frolic in. I thought I picked up very faint traces of Cinnamon, maybe cloves on the initial wet sniff this morning. As it dries it becomes sweeter... the traces of spice disappear and hints of pine whisper in the back ground and the whole scent reminds me of champagne powder snow under a winter-berry canopy. One thing I really like about these scents is that despite being pregnant, they don't make me nauseous on an empty stomach as many perfumes will do first thing in the morning. Probably has something to do with the natural oils. Another keeper!

As of June 2011, I'm still very new to the wide world of BPAL so this list will change as I try more new things. I'm never opposed to trying new things. Notes that I enjoy: Peaches Snow Eucalyptus Rain Wet, Earthy scents Cold Scents Ion Green Tea Lavender White Wine Cloves White florals (Gardenia, Honeysuckle, etc.) Some things I dislike: Anise/Black Licorice Strong Citrus (it might be tolerable if it's very reserved) Heavy Musk (I'm not a fan of "old lady" scents, however musk can be tolerable if muted, and White Musk seems to like me ok) Strong Mint Cinnamon Leather (as much as I want to like it, leather scents seems to amp. on me and punch my nose in all the wrong ways) Scents I'm Neutral on: - I can take 'em or leave 'em Vanilla (it really just depends on how sweet the scent is: I don't really enjoy sugary-sweet vanilla, but I like a rich bourbon vanilla) Rose (It's kind of a mood thing I guess) Misc. Likes: Tea (Black, Green, White... I love it all) Coffee Dark Chocolate Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, Macadamia) Stationary (Stickers, pens, paper... it all makes me happy) Tiny nick-knacks (dollhouse and curio cabinet stuff) Kwaii/Japanese/Cute things Bats and Ladybugs Knitting paraphernalia Sci-fi/Fantasy