sunstone

Bought this at the final Seattle Will Call. It has become an unexpected favorite of mine. In bottle: A pleasant, mild blend of honey, milk, and an indistinct soft note I assume is linen. Almost flowery. Some days I can detect the tea in this phase, too. On skin: The linen becomes more pronounced. Reminds me of laundry soap. The honey and faint whiff of pepper keep it tolerable. Some days the cream note lingers longer and goes buttery, which is wonderful. Conclusion: Smooth and comforting.

In imp: Reminds Sunlitgarden of rosewater. I do not smell roses, but it's definitely floral. Drydown: Almost like the dreaded dryer sheets, but something besides the high quality of the ingredients is saving it from "yuck" territory. Later: The note that stings my throat has faded. What remains is a gentle damp floral, appropriate for the theme. Unfortunately, it fades quickly -- almost gone within a half hour. I still enjoy it.

In bottle: Tart, dry wood and concord grape. Odd, and a bit unpleasant. On skin: Turning a bit softer & sweeter. Close up, I can catch a whiff of honey and perhaps red musk...but the grapelike scent persists. The throw on it is crazy. I am sad. I thought this smelled amazing at Will Call. Perhaps it was too close to something else I was testing. I regret buying it, now.

Decided to try this again last night, and put some on after I laid down. In imp: A relaxing blend of pungent herbs. Rosemary, lavender and a few notes I couldn't identify...Maybe a touch of lemon or lemon verbena. Wet: Exclusively ROSEMARY with the widest throw I have encountered on my own skin. My partner could smell it 3-4 feet away! Pretty overpowering, but I love rosemary, so it was all right. After a half hour-ish: The rosemary quieted down, and let the other notes come out and play. There was something sweet and a tad spicy, like anise or fennel. Delicious. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist. Definitely a keeper. I did not have extraordinary dreams. In fact, I don't remember them at all. I did however sleep more soundly and continuously than I have for weeks. So, thanks Beth. ETA: My partner Sunlitgarden did not remember her dreams either, but she slept well too.

Got this as a frimp at some point, and rescued it from Sunlitgarden's swap pile. Finally decided to try it. In imp: A pleasant apple, with hints of flowers and maybe something darker underneath. Wet/Drydown: Sour apple. Throat-constricting, almost eye-watering levels of sour. Thankfully it stayed close to my skin. Later: In time, the tartness quieted down and what I got was a blank apple scent. Not bad, but it reminds me of the cheap shower gels I used to get. No hint of the lovely-sounding mint and/or ash. Back in the swap-box it goes.

"A negatively charged scent. Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints." In imp: Pleasantly cool, earthy, and minty. With less mint, it would smell like an early autumn day. Wet/Drydown: The mint disappears immediately on my skin. Now it smells like stereotypical perfume. Perhaps it's the ambergris...? Several minutes later: The mosses came back. Good. The scent is balanced again, though the mint has all but disappeared. Conclusion? Not bad, but not great on my skin, either. I think this one is destined for the swap box, unfortunately. Unless I try it another day and like it better.

"Soft golden amber with a touch of murky black musk." In imp: Mostly the musk: furry, but sweet and clean. Reminds me a bit of lemon, or lemon verbena. On skin: About the same. Amber notes in general come out nicely on my skin. Makes me a bit itchy, though. After a minute, the lemony-ness fades. Now I smell warm and spicy, like strong chai. This has quickly catapulted to the top of my favorites! Will wear it as perfume tomorrow, and see how it lasts through the day.

In imp: Sage and sweet berries. I caught a whiff of the dark musk, too. On skin: Blackberries and musk, primarily, still with a leafy undertone. I smell like a delicious tea blend...or a neglected garden in late summer, where the blackberries have taken over. Verdict: I enjoy this scent. It's oddly comforting, probably because as a kid I lived in a house with a greenbelt behind the back yard, which was overrun with blackberries. I owe a lot of how I am today to that narrow strip of foliage. Definitely keeping. Maybe I'll buy a full bottle when this imp runs out.

This scent is incredibly well-balanced. In the imp and on drydown, I couldn't distinguish between the notes -- it was one solid chord. A little later, the orange and apricot reached the fore. Another poster (Marared, early in the thread) likened it to Sunny D, and it was like that for me too, briefly...but the other things were still there, so it didn't remind me too much of gradeschool. My verdict: A warm, well-rounded scent, that I swear is taking on a metallic tang as I type this. I will definitely hang on to this imp.

Kindly ignore the ramblings in my previous post. I was slightly drunk and having trouble focusing. After sleeping and reading more of the BPAL catalog with a clear head, I realized that I could suggest scents for all six party members in Tales of the Abyss. Luke: Chimera (Bewitching Brews). "The fiery, volatile scent of cinnamon, thickened by myrrh, honeysuckle, and copal." A scent for a fiery, ignorant, but good-hearted youth. Guy: Aelopile (Steamworks). "Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud." Clean and attractive, with the suggestion of machine-geekery as a bonus. Tear: Moon Rose (Rappaccini's Garden, discontinued). "A crisp, pale, almost translucent rose dusted by moonflower and midnight dew." Soft, feminine, and a touch mysterious. Natalia: Cordelia (Illyria). "The essence of faith, love and devotion: lilac, lemon, green tea, wisteria, osmanthus, white cedar, and Chinese musk." Suitable for an active, determined, devoted princess who still wears lace on her battle costume. Jade: Herbert West (A Picnic in Arkham). "Aftershave, embalming fluid, and splatterings from a panoply of reanimation reagents." A scent for a gentleman with a brutal wit and a sordid past who still carries the title of Necromancer. Anise: Jailbait (Sin & Salvation). Unquestionably. "Innocence defiled. Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume." Perfect for a thirteen-year-old girl wiser than her years, yearning to grow up. I could go on, but I've interrupted the flow of conversation enough. Tales of the Abyss is a Japanese RPG that came out in 2006 or 2007 for the PS2. Gameplay-wise, it's rather clunky, and the plot can get drawn out, but the characterization is amazing (each person even opens doors differently -- how detailed can you get?). The game was also released for the 3DS recently. All right, I'm done. Carry on.

Why not have a scent with the more refined death or devilish notes? You could also layer, death with cologne, to reflect how he tried to hide details of his sordid past. Suggestions (primarily from descriptions, as I haven't smelled all of them): Single scents: HAUNTED A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk. VILLAIN A classic Victorian men's cologne: a lavender fougere, with hints of lilac, lime, and citrus musk. SIN Thoroughly corrupted: amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon. Layered: VILLIAN / YORICK "A classic Victorian men's cologne" [...]" overlaying "Grave dirt, bone, decay, angel's trumpet, and moldering scraps of shroud: the essence of finality." And...pretty much any of those above with Yorick or Zombi...Though Jade would stay away from anything with a whiff of rose, as it reminds him of his loathsome former partner, Dist the Flaming Rose Reaper.

In imp: Rose is faint, almost nonexistent. Another floral note masks it -- presumably the moonflower, though it smells like jasmine right now. On skin/Drydown: Still almost no rose. The moonflower warps into something like gardenia. Unfortunately, it reminds me of soap: that is, a good version of those crappy generic perfumes. Ugh, why does this happen to me? Dry: ...Okay. Now I can smell the rose, and...it is indeed soft, pretty, and delicate. Along with the description, it calls up an image of white roses shining in the moonlight. Verdict: I'm not sure about this one. It's only pleasant on me once it dries. I should try it again later...perhaps at a different point in my monthly cycle.

In imp: Leather, old smoke perhaps, and a fragrant wood -- I assume this is the rosin. On skin: A very soft leather scent underpins the other two notes. I like the rosin, though it makes me think of a ranger. I hadn't paid much attention to how hemp smells before, but after sticking my nose in a coil of hemp cord I recently bought, I can say it's as I expected: dry, grassy-sweet, and sneezy. This is actually the strongest note on me, but I like it. Conclusion: Pretty much smells like a rogue. I have a feeling this would be nice when combined with Whip, to make a kind of Dominatrix Rogue, or Rogue Fleeing Through The Rose Garden In the Rain. This is one my favorites, both thematically and olfactorily.

(Edited for formatting.) In imp: Clean and watery. A bit like the first rain. Drying on skin: Gyeh, I smell nothing but the cheap perfume used for dryer sheets. Makes me gag a little. There's only the faintest hint of the lovely wet storminess I smelled in the container. One for the giveaway pile, unfortunately.

Got this as a frimp in Sunlitgarden's most recent order. In container: ANISE. Delicious. Drying on skin: Still a lot of anise, but there's something woodsy underneath. That was the first word that came to mind, "woodsy"...When I wrote that I hadn't read the official description yet. Several minutes later: A scent like blackened wood emerges. Sunlitgarden tells me this is vetiver. There is also musk. Eventually, the anise calmed down and let the other notes come out. I get a gentle whiff of earthiness (the cave lichen and oak leaves) underlying the rest. It's a pleasant plant-y scent to me, because I don't know the tales of its namesake. If I did, I might be more wary.

Disclaimer: I do not know what each note smells like on its own, except amber. Descriptions will be vague. In bottle/imp: Resinous, with a touch of floral sweetness. Wet/Drydown: Heavy, almost overpoweringly floral. The amber is struggling to balance it. Several minutes later: This is a potent blend; it's too strong to enjoy with my nose nearly touching my wrist. Time to back off an inch or so. The blend of amber and the flowers is still strong, but there's...a sharper, more cologne-ish thread in there. Quite pleasant. Also, after about fifteen minutes, I swear I can smell woodsmoke. Must be something about my nose -- Sunlitgarden doesn't detect it on me right now. Verdict: At first I was hesitant, but now I'll definitely keep this imp.

I believe this was a frimp from the lab. It has aged for at least a year, maybe more. I don't remember how it smelled when Sunlitgarden and I first got it. In bottle/imp: Bitterly medicinal when it first hit my nose. But as I let it air (and sniffed some more), I detected the citrus and cinnamon. Decided to try it on after all. Wet: The cinnamon and cloves were the strongest, but it retained the unpleasant overtone that I am not thrilled about. Must've been the "dark incense" notes, settling in. 1-3 minutes later: ...I smell like the Yankee Candle scent Kitchen Spice. (It shares the orange, cinnamon, and clove notes.) I like that one, but it reminds me of Hallmark, where I work. The oranginess is more realistic in the BPAL though...obviously. Later still: The spices and the incense remain bold, the orange diminished, and the peach undetectable throughout. Maybe the fruity notes just don't last on my skin. Overall, Al-Shairan is a pleasant scent, but it's the first one I've reviewed that I'm not thrilled about. I blame the association with my job, which is often draining and frustrating.

Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. A lovely vanilla & amber scent. After a few minutes, I can detect something faintly salty. I assume it's the sea moss. Combined with the snippet of poetic description, brings to mind a golden sea-strand with an island in the distance. (This may be due to my past obsession with Tolkien's writings, and his Elves.) Lyonesse is a good "starter" scent, in my opinion (it was one of mine): good for when you just want to smell nice, and don't have a theme going. You may need to apply it more than once a day for it to last, though.

My partner (sunlitgarden) got this as a frimp from one of her swaps. I wondered what smelled so delicious when she was testing it, so I put some on my skin and decided to write my own review! Wet: GINGER. Plus something sweeter, perhaps orange, though that may be because I'm used to ginger being paired with citrus. There is also the barest hint of smoke present. After a few minutes, the smoke grows more prominent, but not overwhelming. The ginger loses sharpness with time, and after about a half hour or so, it smells more like a cookie. Sunlitgarden likened it to ginger tea softened by milk, and that also works; either way, the note is dimmed. Delicious but fades out rather quickly on me.

In the bottle and wet, Cicuta smells of pungent roses and beeswax. I don't know if it's the oil Beth uses for all candle notes, or just my nose interpreting the combination in this particular blend. At least I'm not alone in the "beeswax candle" deduction. Anyway, after a few minutes it turns smokier, and the frankincense emerges. It brings up a mental image of a dusty, candlelit study strewn with mature roses, the favorite nook of a lonely, malformed vampire. Good for rainy, introspective days. Lasts a long time, too, at least on my skin.

I'm new to BPAL and the first bottles I got for myself included Whip. On me, the wetness of the roses really stands out for a while, but it's a fresh smell: it reminds me of cool mornings with the dew heavy on the flowers. However there's a richer scent underneath that grows bolder with time. It resolves itself into the leather, still balanced with roses. I have smelled other BPAL oils with (I think) leather notes in them, but I didn't enjoy them. I enjoy this. I really don't feel the "agony and ecstasy." I find this scent relaxing, with delightfully naughty implications thanks to the title. But others may disagree. ~_^