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Bump for 2013 reviews: HONEY MOON 2013From honey sprang this Plant to life; with honey now we dig thee up. Make us as sweet as honey, for from honey hast thou been produced. My tongue hath honey at the tip, and sweetest honey at the root: Thou yieldest to my wish and will, and shalt be mine and only mine. My coming in is honey-sweet and honey-sweet, my going forth: My voice and words are sweet: I fain would be like honey in my look. Sweeter am I than honey, yet more full of sweets than licorice: So mayst thou love me as a branch full of all sweets, and only me. Around thee have I girt a zone of sugar-cane to banish hate. That thou mayst be in love with me, my darling never to depart. - Hymns of the Atharva Veda, XXXIV Honey Moon contains five different honeys, ranging from pale and sweet to deep and heady, with hints of jasmine, white gardenia, Hawaiian white ginger and thyme.

All the musks are good on me. Black, red, white, blue, green, skin, dark, Moroccan, Siberian, Egyptian; clean, dirty, perfumey, powdery, soapy -- you name it. I am a musk monster. My only caveat is I can't wear them if they also contain boozy notes or vanilla (with a few exceptions) -- adding those notes generally will make a musk blend smell sour or plastic-y on my skin. So, I can't wear, for example, Snow White or Smut. But I'm always looking for new ones to try. My favorite musky scents are: Psychological Horror, Black Lace, Anactoria 2013, Scherezade, Dragon's Musk (I've gone through at least 10 bottles of this), Senelion, Berenice, Siberian Musk SN, Hygeia, The Velvets, The Shadowy and the Sublime, The Grindhouse, Coxcomb, Creature Feature, Lust v7, Buck Moon, Enraged Orangutan Musk, Old Demons of the First Class, Unveil the Grace in Thine Eyes, and Infernal Lover (all versions). The one BPAL musky LE I would bring back, if I could, is Senelion. It's as close to being perfect as a red musk blend can be. When I wear it, I am in love with myself.

I always thought Uninhibited smelled kind of like licorice and rootbeer. Maybe look for a BPAL scent with vanilla and anise, or sasparilla notes?

This starts off promising, with a strong cocoa note, progresses into a lovely foody skin musk, but then the drydown, on me, has the dreaded plastic note that is present in some vanillas. Darn.

If you like jasmine, you need to try this. It is the uber-jasmine. The jasminator. Upon application, it smells like a very strong jasmine single note. Wet and loud. As it dries down, the orris and amber kick in and help soften the jasmine, so it is less intense. But still, this is predominantly a jasmine fragrance. It's sweet and strong, but not sharp or headache-inducing. I'm not sure how Beth manages to pull that off, but she does! It's pretty enough that I am almost considering getting a bottle, even though I am an avowed floral hater. I think this oil would be brilliant with a colorful sundress and sandals on a hot summer day.

I love this scent! But then, I thought I would, the first time I read the description. Every single note in this oil is a winner for me, and I love anything powdery or musky. On my skin, this starts out with a strong orris note, so strong it almost registers as a soapy violet -- like an expensive bubble bath. But it quickly settles down into a cool, powdery sort of musk. As it dries down further, the amber and ambergris notes are more apparent, and it becomes a bit sweeter. The orris hangs on for the duration like a fine French talc. If opals or mother-of-pearl were a fragrance, this would be it. It's simply stunning if you like powdery or light-musky blends. The only thing I can say negative about it? It's light, and it doesn't seem to have a lot of staying power. And it's very close to the skin, not a lot of sillage. However, I've got a couple of bottles on the way, and I'm planning to hoard mass quantities in an upcoming Lab purchase, so I'll be able to slather. Comparing this to other oils, I'd say it's like the love child of Cytherea and Psychological Horror. It's different from Cytherea in that it's sweeter, more musky and less dry and dusty. The main difference from Psych Horror is that it's powdery, but not *baby* powdery, and it's much lighter and less tenacious, with a different musk (or at least, one that seems different to me).

This is a light, pleasant scent. On me it starts out almondy, almost foody, then changes to a woodsy, lightly spicy, herbal honey. Kind of unisex. Subtle and elegant. I am not getting any rose at all (rose is a note I can't stand, so for me, that's a good thing!). I'm not sure I'm going to need a bottle of this, but it would be gorgeous as a room scent or candle. It smells "warm" and comforting, and very natural.

How about Skuld? Ylang ylang, honey, Egyptian and Arabian musks and labdanum. On me, the honey note is very strong.

I was worried about the possible rose and floral notes, but they really don't seem to be that apparent. This isn't what I'd consider a floral scent. I really like this, although it's hard to describe what it smells like. It's kind of sweet and fresh and soapy and resinous and musky all at once. Like a feminine version of a high-end men's cologne. The opoponax is a sweet kind of myrrh, so that's probably why it registers as "sweet" to me. But by "sweet" I don't mean high-pitched or sugary. It's not the least bit foody. It reminds me a little bit of Sheol from the GC, and a Salon blend I can't recall the name of right now. It's bright and fresh and "clear." Not fuzzy or powdery at all. A really nice "clean" sort of scent. And yes, I would say, perfumey. Elegant, even. As it dries down it becomes a little more resinous and sweet-incensey. I may have to get a bottle of this.

I recently got a set of Panacea imps. They are ALL super herbal. But I think possibly the most herbal of them all is Lustration. The Forest Reverie smelled herbal on me, too.

Have you tried Lady Death: Savage? I just got a bottle. It's a bit more rich/deep than Elf v4, and not as straight-up vanilla, but it's in the same family. Another suggestion would be Lyonesse, but I'm guessing you've probably tried that.

Quick review: Snake Oil without the vanilla. Longer review: Upon application, the honey is a dominant note for me, overpowering the others. As it dries down, the red musk, patchouli and cedar make themselves known. Within an hour or so, what this smells like is a red musky, woodsy, incensey sort of scent, tempered with just a dribble of sweetness from the honey. It's a soft, comfortable way to wear red musk, especially if you like your red musk mixed with woods and incense. This is definitely an oil in the Womb Furie/Infernal Lover family. However, it seems a bit "drier" and not as juicy and powerful as Infernal Lover. It reminds me quite a bit of Hygeia, actually, and it could be Senelion's little sister. I don't think it smells anything Scherezade -- although both Third Charm and Scherezade feature red musk, Third Charm completely lacks Scherezade's over-the-top sexiness and soapiness. It's not as "hippie-ish" or headshoppy as Lust and Vixen, because the patchouli is not the dominant note, although I can certainly see someone who likes Lust or Vixen liking Third Charm. If you've run out of Infernal Lover or Senelion, Third Charm is a great substitute.

Have you tried Whoso List to Hunt? I believe it has oakmoss, or something very similar, as a base note.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to try this oil, but now that I have, I know I need to get a bottle of it. Lyonesse is a bright, creamy vanilla musk with enough of a floral note to elevate it to a more sophisticated level. It's not a foodie vanilla; the other notes keep it from smelling like cupcakes or cookies. If you like L'Estate, The Girl or other oils with florals and crystallline musk, you may like this. It's not as sharp/floral as L'Estate, though, which is what redeems it for me. I am a hater of florals and lover of musks. Lyonesse, to me, is more about the vanilla and the musk than the floral. And I agree with previous reviewers who have noted the vanilla note in this oil does not turn to a "plastic" scent on my skin as many others do. The ambergris and orris come out more in the drydown and give it a soft, cottony kind of scent after it's been on your skin for a while. Here is the only thing I could see being a potential problem -- when first applied, Lyonesse is just a tad sharp. It's like it approaches that line but doesn't get close enough to touch it. Once it dries down it's all kinds of soft and cuddly and feminine. But it's an oil you might not want to wear if you feel a headache or nausea coming on, or if you're about to get into a car with closed windows for a long ride, and it's one you don't want to overapply and overwhelm your senses. A little bit goes a long way. This a versatile oil that, although elegant and somewhat "perfumey," and perfectly complementary to a feminine dress and high heels, could just as easily be dressed down and worn with jeans and a T-shirt. When you wear this, people will tell you that you smell good. It's clean, vanilla, perfumey, musky. If you liked Antique Lace, you really should try this.

Anyone who likes Snake Charmer really ought to buy a bottle of Die Sundë, Vom Tod Verfolgt -- and be quick about it, since the Pickman Gallery is only live for one more day! I tested them side by side -- they are very much alike.