sophia_helix

Wet, this was a really evocative scent -- faint hint of rose sweetness, but something much richer and more woody/incense/sophisticated over it. It's hard to describe, except that I really did think of a seance in a Victorian parlour. (More specifically, I thought of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion!) On the drydown, the rose got stronger and stronger, and while it didn't go sickly like most rose scents on me, it didn't quite hit the heavenly scent of Rose Red (although, not bad, for rose). It lost some of the mysterious, herbal scent from earlier, which is too bad, and the throw was very light. I might try this again, but I think I'll probably be swapping it along.

A "high," sweet, perfumy scent at first... and then the vanilla-musk slaps me hard. After a long time it fades, and I get that nice, oily, dry scent of daisies and carnations, like Fee minus the honeydew, but at this point the throw is practically nothing. Another vanilla-musky scent that's not for me, alas.

Chaos Theory III: CDLXXXIX (489) I got the partial bottle from GypsyRoseRed, after she finished up her decant circle. And I am SO happy with it. To me, this was strongly reminiscent of -- gasp! -- Misk U at first. No coffee, but that warm, honey-oak scent that reminds me of eating croissants in a bookstore cafe. There's definitely a sweet, astringent note underneath, which might be pine (like YBNB says) or might be some herb (tarragon, like GRR says), I'm not sure. All I know is that it saves the scent from being too caramelly-creamy-sweet on my skin, and makes it absolutely enchanting. I do detect the sort of candy-nut Hearth scent YBNB got, and a Christmas-type aroma, but it really does make me think more of a coffee-less Misk. I'm not getting a lot of the other spicy-type notes she mentions, but then my skin seems to amp certain notes and kill subtlety in a blend. Which is fine, because this blend is absolutely delicious as it is. Last reviewed by yeahbutnobut.

A strong, high, planty note at first, kind of bitter -- I'm pretty sure it's neroli. Then some citrus and florals, which is pretty and sweet... and then the vanilla and musk hit me, HARD. I don't know what this curse is that makes me both amp vanilla-musk in the tiniest amounts, and not really like it at all, but there it is. Someone else would love how this smells on me, but not me.

Hm. I was all set to write a "meh" review, and then I read lorajc's and feeling like I should give this oil a third try. I got basically the same things -- green apples at first, kinda like Samhain, then some grain, then a faint drydown very similar to '05 (and '04, come to think of it) -- but maybe I'll pick out something different the next time I try it. Especially since I can't really describe what any of the Harvest Moons smell like, other than "kinda fruity herbal planty," which isn't very helpful.

The last of the Convergence scents -- thanks again to Brienze! This one was quite a surprise. I expected it would be something strong, super-musky/sweet, and long-lasting, like Snake Oil or any of Beth's other sexy blends. I got a very different "story," which I will tell because I pretty much never get strong visual impressions from BPAL other than colors. A sweet-faced young blonde girl is reclining on a plush red velvet chesterfield in the lounge of a famous brothel, fanning herself with an creamy white ostrich-feather fan. She smells pretty and innocent, like vanilla and cookies, with a hint of baking spice. The warm afternoon sun slants in and catches the dust in the air of the stuffy lounge. A customer strolls up and takes her by the hand; he's paid extra for an "inexperienced" lady of the night. He takes her upstairs to her little back room, decorated in pink and yellow. He pours them each a glass of aged rum; she drinks it with surprising ease. We fade to black... and come in a few hours later. The room smells like stale, sweet honey now. The man is asleep on the bed, his black, pomaded hair rumpled, his mouth open beneath his handlebar mustache. The girl is awake, resting back on the pillows. Her eyes are green, and catlike, and much more knowing that a girl who's supposed to have just been deflowered. She gets up and pours herself a little more rum, applies some sweet, cloying perfume, and leaves the man asleep in her bed. She has more customers waiting downstairs, after all. In other words, cookie-sweet like Sugar Cookie, than stale-sweet like O, then a hint of booze, then -- nothing but a faint memory.

Another one from Brienze's Convergence circle, yay! At first, Doc Buzzard is quite similar to Voodoo Queen, with a similar spicy, musky resin thing. But it's much lighter and more herbal, and smells like it's got sarsaparilla and a bit of tobacco, instead of the smoky incense. It reminds me of visiting Columbia, a restored gold rush town with board sidewalks and rabbit pelts for sale and real sasparilla. It's a "wild west" kind of scent, to my nose. I think I like this better than Voodoo Queen, just because of the lightness and that sort of sweet, manly herbal thing. It dries down to a juicy pine at the end, with maybe a hint of something like patchouli. I would definitely try this on my husband, and might have to see what I can do about securing an imp.

Another oil I got to try through the supreme generosity of Brienze and her Convergence circle. At the risk of repeating everyone else... this reminds me of Snake Charmer, Perversion, Smut, Gypsy Queen, Venom, etc.... all spicy, oily, heady resin, but with this incredible, sweet, smoky incense on top. It's really amazingly complex and deep, with crazy throw, and just gorgeous. So evocative. I think it gives me a bit of a headache, though (most of those super-musky scents do), but it was fantastic to wear for an afternoon.

Another lucky PK sniffer thanks to Brienze's circle here. This was such a strange scent on me. There was a sort of oily, spicy scent it at first, like Snake Oil, and then the real spices kicked in -- cinnamon, clove, maybe some pepper, very much like Three Witches, with what I think is ginger thrown in. None of the buttery note from Jack or the Pumpkin Patch, thank goodness. It had a really small throw (although I didn't dab very much on), and as it dried down it just went...funky. I don't know how to describe it, since it wasn't the foody, baked goods smell I was expecting, nor particularly woody. And it's not sweet at all, which is bizarre because my skin makes EVERYTHING sweet. And bizarrely, at the end, it smelled exactly like Determination, which I suspect means it has... vetiver? All in all I'm glad I got a sniff of this, esp. since I really don't think I like it. Now I don't have to worry about hunting down more!

This is great on my husband -- very earthy and full of sandalwood. I don't pick up amber like others, but amber doesn't show up on his skin very strongly. This is just the type of scent he likes, so it may be a bottle eventually.

This was really different scent for me. "Gritty and sordid" just about nails it. I smelled the dates, maybe the fig, but mostly a really dark, bitter scent. My husband kind of liked it, but it just didn't smell like "me" -- I'm much more for brighter, sweeter, cleaner scents than this. But I can see how well it would work on a more sensual woman than me.

Sweet, soapy white florals. I'm getting gardenia very strongly, and almost nothing else. And a headache. Alas.

My very last lunacy! Can't believe I've tried them all, now... This was a tough scent to describe. It's not foody at all on me, it's not really floral or herbal, and it's definitely not spicy or clean. I got a bit of pumpkin at first, but it went away fast -- which made me happy, since it tends to go super-buttery on me. Then I got a strong apple scent which I finally pinned down as reminiscent of Samhain. That faded after five minutes or so, and it started to smell more like HM '05, with that grassy, sugary chrysanthemum scent. Finally, it turned a little sharply perfumey and alcoholic, reminding me of Mabon. So... basically, this was like a blend of all the summer/late-fall BPALs. Not surprising.

Rats. And this was so lovely in the bottle, too. Wet, I mostly get strong, sweet, almost chocolatey coconut, with a dash of grounding, smoky tobacco, and some of the sugar (but not the rum). But the coconut quickly amps up to wayyyy too sweet, even more so than something like tanning oil, and it's a little too plasticky. Black Pearl did this on me too, so I think I need to stick to scents like Snake Charmer or Snow White, where coconut is a featured player but not a starring role.

Wow, this is so not what I expected. At first application, this is a bright, sweet, extremely clean grapefruit scent. It fades down a bit, but not all the way, and the sweetness takes over. It's a complex sort of sweetness, though -- I'm not picking out ginger, but it's a general resinous sort of scent, very warm. The vanilla isn't taking over (yay!), and now it's just lovely. There is a hint of a "bath product" scent about this, but the expensive kind. I'll have to give it another wearing or two, but this might be the first Asian moon that worked on me!

Well, now I know for sure. On me, this was sweet and fresh and clean for like a minute, and then raging, cloying, terribly sweet musk. So all those scents that kept getting ruined by going too sweet were definitely due to musk. Blast. On the bright side, Oisin on my husband smells like the most divinely fresh Irish Spring soap you ever smelled, with only a hint of musk. Within five minutes of trying this on, he had kidnapped my imp and demanded more. Lose some, win some.

There's no doubt about the honey mead in Litha -- that sour-sweet scent is all I can smell for the first fifteen minutes. Then it's like Honey Moon meets Mabon, with the honey-thyme-flowers wrapped in booziness. Later it gets a little too soft and cloying for my taste, but it's pretty glorious for the first hour or so. I think this is my new Ren Faire scent....

I feel stupid even reviewing this frimp, since rose never works on me, but... yup. That's some rose, there. Smells awful and sickly-sweet on me, as always. Sigh. *clings to Rose Red, the only blend that works*

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this blend had violet in it, since wet this was a delicious interplay of sweet, slightly fruity floral notes, and violet is always soapy-bad on me. It did become more apparent as the oil dried, though, and had a little of that dreaded, slightly sweaty "old lady" scent about it. This is really light and sweet and pretty, though, and I would almost keep it...but it faded fast, and I really can't imagine myself reaching for it anyhow. I think Ultraviolet will remain my only violet blend.

This smells exactly like LUSH's dc'd Bollywood bath bomb to me, which is ginger, black pepper, and orange. Siren has maybe a touch of sweetness, but it's absolutely nothing like I expected -- I can barely smell the apricot at all, where usually that note goes cloying on me, and jasmine isn't doing that plastic thing either. The main note isn't actually something I would identify as "ginger" (it's lacking that juicy bite), so I really can only describe it as smelling like Bollywood! Kind of spicy, kind of foody (but not in a dessert way), kind of like an interesting shop. My husband really liked it, so I'll probably hang onto it.

A frimp, and this is sooooo not me. I get the strongest leather you've ever smelled, and eventually a touch of spicy resin beneath. But it's mostly bitter, musky LEATHER, like someone dressed in it head to toe. My husband wanted to try it on, but I'm not sure I'll let him -- if it smells anything like it did on me, I'll just be picturing the big hairy guys in leather aprons from the sex club scene in Eurotrip. In case you can't tell, leather ain't my thing -- but I know there are people for whom this would be a holy grail scent!

There were some ominous, plasticky jasmine-like notes* at the beginning, but I needn't have worried -- this dries down to a dustier, less juicy Fruit Moon, heavy on the pear, and finally subsides to a very quiet little rose potpourri scent. Not really grabbing me, so on her way! *Although I think now that was the quince, since the Perfumed Garden did the same thing on me. Maybe I need to avoid all scents with the word "Garden" in the title!

Sigh. Another Orisha misses with me. The fruit was nicely candy-sweet at the beginning, but the scent just turned vaguely fake-smelling on me, like a spicy-fruity potpourri or something. Not nearly that bad, just not as fresh as I'd like.

Definitely cheesecake at first, and after a while, more cupcake-like. It reminds me a lot of Monsterbait: Closet, only without the yummy blackberries. It wears kind of stale on my skin, like most of the super-foody scents, and by the day I'm tired of it. I'm glad to know that my instinct to not order a bottle last November was correct, although I'm happy to have tried it.

At first this was too strongly winey, with a metallic, almost fake-grape scent. After a while, though, it settled down to a very dark, woodsy, leafy scent, with a thread of smoke running through it. I don't like it as much as Samhain, but I admit it's what Samhain should really smell like. I'll keep it around for those autumn days.