lookingglass

I love myrrh, vanilla, and bookish notes, so I was very surprised that this did not work for me at all. It's very green...wet even. I was expecting something much drier with strong, sweet incense notes.

Hag Grey is beautiful and could be SO popular. It smells fresh, a little sweet, and slightly creamy...reminding me of the grey hair trend on young people. It reminds me of a scent by the Thymes that I smelled in Florida years ago but has since been discontinued. It has that boutique feel to it...expensive and unoffensive.

This smells like the old, haunted cider mill that I visited every year as a child: the strong scent of crushed apples in the air, and rich, kind of dank, wet, woody notes. My favorite of the apples this year.

LOVELOVELOVE! Honey notes can sometimes smell green or waxy or indolic (kinda pissy on me. This, though, is amazingness. The honey is golden, sweet, and earthy. The cake note is rich and dense, but not buttery. I imagine it to be made like a pudding cake, but with a sticky honey liquor infusion and glaze. I want to hoard this! It will layer with everything!

This is the Lil I HAD to have. It really wasn't even on my radar until I just happened to smell it at Will Call. It's deliciously sweet and spicy...a sophisticated, gourmet confection. On my skin, it does not read as "foody". The cardamom is distinct, forward, fresh, and bright on application, but soon dries down, warming with the skin, and combining with complex vanilla notes that are both creamy and dry. I love the cake note...it's similar to the one in Eat Me. This cake becomes like sweet incense on my skin, not plasticy or sophomoric like other brands' It's not as heavily spiced as say, Shub or other pumpkin spiced Weens. It has good sillage and better than average wear length on me, but it's not at all cloying or heavy like you might imagine a cupcake to be. I love it and plan to rip through the bottle!

I'm in LUUUUUUST. Villainess makes the best scrubs on the planet, and all notes for the WIN, so this purchase was a no brainer! The scrub is nice and scrubby, but not too harsh on my sensitive skin. It dissolves slowly on damp skin, and it rinses with a magical combination of both clean and moisturized! It's not at all sticky or filmy like other scrubs I've tried. I didn't realize that this a different Lust scent than the GC, which I also love, until I opened it up to smell it, and thought, "huh...it's DIVINE, but different!". I get mainly a sweet, creamy, patchouli, but made red by the musk and slightly rosey incense. The honeyed amber shines through all golden with copal in the drydown, but the patchouli/musk lingers, and the rose adds a touch of fresh powder. It's just perfect for stepping out of the bath or shower, ready to go, but plays nicely when layering, too!

Oh! I was expecting this to be way more funky with the ho wood and honey, but it's not at all! It's a soft, pretty, creamy skin scent, but not as sexual as say, O (GC sweet amber w/out wood). I'm not really getting a lot of wood! I would guess beeswax, vanilla, amber, and a touch of wood, if I didn't know differently. It's like if The (Not So) Penitent Mini Magdalene and Some Strangeness in the Proportion had a baby in the springtime! It sits close to, and fades quickly on my skin. It'll be nice to wear around the house during the day when I know I'm going to wear something else that night that amps to high hell. I believe it will layer very well, too.

I love BPAL's Paramnorman version of The Book, Picture Books in Winter (another book scent, quite soft, with tiny flowers and a touch of caramelized sugar), and have this tumultuous relationship with rose, so of course I had to go for the Luper Book. The rose is pink and fresh and forward when wet, but this quickly dries down to a leathery scent quite quickly, that reminds me much more of Hand of Glory than the other Book. It has a sharpness that is more like new, hard, fresh leather, yes, like in Whip, but gentler and a pinker. The Paranorman Book is more vanillic, more creamy and dusty, like an old, worn book, and I have to say prefer it.

Ooooh! How can a Smut lover say "no" to the HAIR Gloss?! Hair glosses go well all oh-vah the body, anyway...! I, too, think this is brighter, lighter than previous Smuts, which is just fine for all over spraying. It's slightly juicy, with a thick, chewy sweetness, and reminds me of the color and consistency of Chambord. The musks are rich and dark...maybe red, Siberian, and brown? It's dark, velvety, and delicious. The bottle art is absolutely perfect.

Red ALL THE SEXY THINGS! The fruity headiness of the red musk leads out of the bottle, soon enveloped by vanilla amber. Red patchouli always smells a bit rosey to me, and combined with the red musk, becomes thick and jammy...heavy and rich. The drydown of orris and oude is glorious...so BODILY, scalpy, creamy...fleshy. This is a more vanillaed version of Crimson or Scheherazade, her red, spicy, incensey sisters. The Lady in Black reminds me of the wanton women in Edward Gorey drawings...all kohl eyed, mysterious, full of glamour, but of an almost indescribable place and time.

Heartacheingly beautiful! This is the peony scent I have always wanted. As a little girl, I was fascinated with the giant, heady blooms that emerged from the ant covered buds. The honey and sweet peach notes add just enough creamy sweetness and depth to the floral to make it sink in to the skin, personifying the flower.

Freshly sprayed: macerated, sweet strawberry juice! So realistic, wet, strawberry, with even a touch of green stem. Drying down, now, the juice is pouring over a plop of cream, and as it melts, the orris and musk blend it all seamlessly into skin...a living, grown up Strawberry Shortcake doll! I love it! It's just as fun and silly and wearable as I hoped! It's just perfect to get me through strawberry season! De-licious!

I have Banshee Beat purchased from UO back in the day, as well as the Lab's re-release as OGBB. They are identical because the Lab found a big supply and rebottled it as OGBB. Revenant Rhythm is the same, so I highly recommend getting some of that from the Trading Post while it's available. You can read threads on the many uses for hair gloss and bath oil and atmo in the BPTP threads. So, I love patchouli, and especially patchouli with vanilla so I have many bottles of BPALs with those notes. Mind you, these are just my thoughts and skin chemistry is different on everyone yadda yadda yadda I'll run down a few that I have: Goblin (bonus- it's a GC scent and impable) is the closest that I've found to BB. The benzoin and coconut blend into a sweetness with the patchouli. The coconut is nothing like suntan lotion, so have no fear there. The patch is the same kind as in BB. I highly recommend this one as a great alternative. Ask the Nearest Hippie: the weed is very prominent in the bottle and when first applied, and although it dries down fairly quickly, it makes this a more gnarly scent and not as wearable in public. The patch is dry and dark and the scent is not as sweet as BB. Feed Me and Fill Me with Pleasure (also kind of hard to find): this is beautiful, the same patch to me as in BB and the amber here takes this into a different realm, but the honey keeps this on the sweet side. #occupywallstreet: another dark, black patch, but with cocoa and tobacco as well as vanilla. This one is another dark patchouli, not as sweet due to the tobacco and the cocoa lending a dryness to it. Gorgeous and wearable, but the dark counterpoint to BB. These are the first ones that pop into my head whenever this question is asked. I might have more suggestions after I've finished my coffee If you do a search in this thread alone, you will find many recommendations with addition comments. Also, here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/1838-bpal-patchouli-theres-nothing-else-like-it/page-6?hl=banshee&do=findComment&comment=1779184 And here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/21163-searching-for-the-perfect-vanilla/page-14?hl=banshee&do=findComment&comment=1848794 But keep an eye out for Revenant Rhythm for sure! Those would be my recs exactly! On another note, I found To His Mistress Going to Bed similar to Hetairae, in their figgy patchouliness.

I got vanilla323's bottle and I'm SO happy! It reminds me of a less sweet/honeyed Hetairae (which is GC, in case you miss this beauty). The ripe fig, freshly cut, gives a juicy, greenish lift, but is, yeah, patchouli heavy with a bit of rich caramel. My partner says it smells "really, good", and like "a piece of wood kept in a shaman's pocket". It is very woody (both fig and patchouli give off this vibe, and together, they dance), incensey, and warm, which is just perfect for me, especially in early spring. Dried out, the fruit seems to cook down, making a delicious, creamy, sweet, fleshy note. It has a subtle but distinct feeling of growth and wetness (without being aquatic) in deep, sweet earth...but personified...like making love on a forest floor. I'm sure this will age beautifully as well.

Oh, yes! This is QUITE like Crimson in hair gloss form! It's a bit sweeter from the amber, and less funky, because it's minus the oude and musk, but it still has a similar red, incensey feel. The drydown is deliciously creamy sandalwood. I love, love, love it! I want a sandalwood like this in the GC pleaseohpleaseohpleeeeeeeze!

Dark and Weary is a "difficult" perfume, and it took me a few wears to really "get" it, because it's not just the sum of its parts. Wet, it reminds me of Midnight on the Midway: zingy, sharp, (I would guess ambergris or ozone, but none is listed...) and incensey, but kind of strangely sweet as well...almost fruity, which I didn't expect. Then, yes, as it dries, their is a distinctive bodily note: musky, kind of grassy, and earthy, yet still sweet, and it seems to thicken and darken with the tobacco notes. It's how I imagine a vardo would smell: very lived in, with piles of incense and campfire smoked belongings, dried fruit, and herbs hanging. I really like it. ETA: I put a few drops in my incense warmer, and TADA! I'm completely transported! It filled the entire house in a matter of minutes!! I think this would fit well into the Carnival.

Darling, sweet, fresh, dewy, rose with a touch of Snow White notes: a creamy, live floral...soft pink. Searching for the musk, it appears on the drydown, as the rose fades just a bit...dimming...losing a bit of it's blush, turning a bit sepia colored on the edges. I'm reminded of the breath of one of my loves, Whoso List to Hunt.

Oh. Oh, god... Fresh on, it's all marshmallow cream. Drying out, it becomes slightly musky, and like...oh, gods in heaven...like a sweet little baby Antique Lace. It does seem to flush a bit pink. Like marshmallow made flesh. Unholy yet divine. I weep! The JOY! My bottle! My LOVE!

Yaaaaassssss! I don't know what kept me from this so long! The petigrain, probably. Silly, silly me. I was expecting this to be a caramel fest from all the reviews, but no...it's quite red musk heavy with sexy, foodiental notes! And by that I mean it smells like a PERFUME, a sexy, red musk heavy PERFUME, slightly floral from the champaca and ylang ylang, a tangy, slightly fresh woody lift from the petigrain, but with richly spicy, sweet notes. Oh, and the DEPTH from the honey/vanilla/patchouli...it keeps it hanging on so lusciously. Someone said, "tarry". Yes. Yes. Love. Love. LOVE!

I adore this color! It reminds me of an overripe blackberry. It has purple undertones compared to my other dark polishes, but on my toes, it reads as just rich and dark, almost black.

This is the perfect nude shade for my pale skin. It's not too pink or orange or brown or white, which are my frequent complaints about other nudes. It's truly neutral and pale with the tiniest micro shimmer that makes my nails look healthy and clean. The formula is dreamy: not too streaky or milky, which is no small task for a semi sheer polish. This is two coats with Orly Bonder as a base, and Out The Door as a topcoat. My mani lasted all week! It's JUST what I was hoping for. Mwah!

YES! This smells like a more playful version of Mme Moriarty, red with juicy plum and touch of brooding patchouli, but brighter on the top with the fresh white musk and fig. The drydown is still dark and sticky sweet, with the gooiness of the lollipop and benzion making a silly, delicious incense. I love it so, so much! I've been spraying it all over myself, my scarves, and the people around me! YEA!!!! THE PORTAL OF DEATH!!!!!

Hell's Belle is the scent that reminds me of Tennessee in the summer: Sweet, smoky and sensually wicked. A thick, steamy scent, truly sinister in its voluptuous sexuality. The perfume of a demon's favored consort, or of the devil herself. Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice.

This has a very classic chypre feel. I smell a mossy, woody patchouli with heady opium notes, creating a dark mori/boho vibe. The soft touches of floral add to the fuzziness of the mossy notes, and mingle with wafts of incense. I do not smell grape at all for some time; in the drydown, since I'm looking for it, it is only there enough to add a hint of purple hue to the soft florals, like a juicy violet, but ever so slight, like one squish in a surrounding of moss covered, damp woods. It sits very close to the skin, and is dark, mature, and warm. Forest is related to my beloved DC'd Ekhidna, and her GC sister, Medea. It's beautifully gender neutral. I don't know what took me so long to try it! I will certainly be wearing this often.

Evil Marshmallows!!! This is so yummy! Sticky marshmallows, drizzled with semi sweet chocolate, with a crumbly, cookie (not too buttery, yea!) crust! I love daaark (magic...), sweet scents, and this delivers. It's a light, silky, moisturizer, which I find nice for both hair and body.