sophia_helix

Last year's Beltane was too sweet for me, so I tried an imp of the '06 vintage. And alas -- still too sweet, not enough of the new "herbal" scent, although at least it didn't go soapy. But I don't find it different enough that it works for me, damn.

This is the most delicious scent in the bottle. On me, it stays yummy for a while, then fades out and gets a tad cloying, probably because I have super-sweet skin chemisty. I'll hang onto my imp, though, because of high, cakey-fruity YUM factor.

Selene, the Moon Goddess, fell in love with a beautiful shepherd named Endymion. She appealed to Zeus, asking him to cast Endymion into everlasting slumber so that she could be with him for all eternity. Her wish was granted, and every night the Goddess visited her love as he slept. A sweet, wistful blend of d’Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk. At first, a juicy pear topnote which faded quickly. Underneath was a strong, headache-inducing (for me) rose/floral/musk combo, the kind most people seem to like and which I find far too perfumy. That didn't last long either, and an hour later I have a pleasant, sweet lily-of-the-valley scent on my wrist if I sniff, hard, but there's no throw whatsoever. Basically not my type of scent, so I'll send it to someone else to love.

I'd also suggest the Dormouse, Rosalind, and Glasgow. All three have a bit of floral in them as well.

I'm the opposite of everyone here -- Sheol is strong, spicy resins on me at first, reminding me a lot of Snake Charmer, before it decides to go floral. It's sweet and rich and very sophisticated, and I like it a lot, although it reminds me slightly of something my grandmother wears. I like her perfume, though, so it's not really a bad thing. I'll hang onto the imp, at least, for times when I need to be dressed up and smelling like it...although that's not what I expected from a perfume named after the underworld. Edit: Why do I never wait long enough to review? After two hours and a shower, this perfume still screams GRANDMA'S PERFUME. Not that it smells like some stuffy old grandma, mind you -- just like the particular, resinous, sophisticated perfume my grandmother's been wearing for at least twenty years. Now I just wonder what the hell notes are the same, since I've never had this happen before. At any rate, it's far too familiar and distinctive for me to wear.

Pretty and fruity at first, then soapy as hell, with headache-inducing flowers. I didn't realize this had lotus until I tried it on, but I'm not getting the traditional bubblegum, just bubblebath. I really can't wear mystery florals, though, so the problem with this one is all chemistry.

This seemed really unpleasantly sharp and murky in the imp, but cleaned up once it got on my skin. Mostly an herbal, spicy orange scent, very reminiscent of potpourri and the like. I liked it well enough, but it seemed more like a room scent than a perfume. I may hang onto it, though, because the clove actually shows up -- it's one of my favorite notes and I rarely find a blend I can smell it in.

Belle Epoque is way heavy on the sandalwood, nothing like J'Adore or any commercial perfume, but if you layer it with Kitsune-Tsuki, Flower Moon, or something else strongly floral, you might get a similar effect.

This one didn't grab me. The spices are reminiscent of Snake Charmer or Snake Oil, I guess, but this seemed a little heavy and oily. None of the notes were very prominent on my skin, and the overall blended effect wasn't very unique. Probably just a chemistry thing, as usual.

Thanks to ayelienne for passing this imp along. It's definitely vetiver and something else powerful-smelling -- I've been using it for my law school finals, and while it's not exactly pleasant, it does give me this almost acidic feeling of determination. I don't feel happy...but I feel like I need to get my damned work done even though it's taking me all night and killing me.

This was a lovely, juicy, glowing green at first, and then the vetiver kicked in. I'm happy to say that, since most popular scents are horrible on me, the universe has compensated by making me really LOVE vetiver. However, I think my skin also loves vetiver, given the way it amps it like crazy, so sometimes I have to struggle to smell anything else in a blend. It calms down after a while, and I really like the combo of the musky/bitter vetiver and the softer flowers. It's definitely a calming and comforting blend, in an earthy way. I'm just going to have to try it again to decide how well it works on me.

I've had a bottle of J'Adore sitting around for years, so I just went and tried some on. Hate to tell you this, but the absolute closest thing I've smelled is Mabon -- which has blackberries and hops and is just about impossible to get these days. It also reminded me a bit of Harvest Moon '05, which is a little easier to find. Mabon might come out again this year, since Beth just put out Beltane, but I wouldn't count on it. I wouldn't go looking for blackberry scents, though; the ones I've tried, like Bewitched and Glasgow, smell nothing like this. ::sniffs wrist some more:: Maybe try some of the orchid scents in Rappaccinni's Garden? Baneberry isn't too far off either...but I haven't had commercial perfume on in years, and I'd forgotten about the very high, chemical topnotes. All of Beth's oils are more rich and fruity, so it's true, you won't find anything else with that particular scent. Hope that rambling helped!

Other people would love this. The jasmine isn't plasticky, for once, and it's a very smooth, boozy vanilla-musk with a hint of clove. Alas, the vanilla-musk that makes everyone else swoon is one of my least favorite BPAL scents. It's too sweet, and it makes me vaguely ill. So, off to someone else to love.

The rose is strongest note, naturally. Rose is usually sickly-sweet on me, but this is a little better, more like Parlement of Foules -- not the true rose of Rose Red, but at least bearable. I'm not crazy about the astringent herbal scent beneath, though, since it's kind of painful in the nose.

A frimp, because I usually avoid white florals. Like most of them on me, it goes somewhat soapy, but I just had on SN Gardenia yesterday and while I'm sure gardenia is in this, it's nowhere near the SOAP! of the pure scent. I'm smiling at all the different types of flowers people are tossing around in this review thread, but yeah, I'm thinking that there's some wisteria or honeysuckle in this, and definitely lily of the valley/muguet (it smells like a Crabtree & Evelyn soap my mom used to have). It turns into a drier floral later, and has pretty good throw for such a wispy scent. It also evokes its namesake well -- while it's quite sweet, there's also something kind of ghostly and deep about this, like you're miles underground in a quiet, dark cavern. Whoever said "Minas Morgul" was right. I'm not quite sure on this, although any scent that actually has throw and staying power gets points with me, just because it's a little more bath-productish than I like my BPAL.

I've had a tarted, half-full imp of this lying around for a while, and finally gave it a try today. It's soapy in the vial, but a beautifully true gardenia scent on my skin...for about three minutes. Then it's right back to super-soapy, just like most pure florals on me. I'll probably let my mom try this, since she loves gardenias and florals work better on her, and then send it on its way to a happy new home.

Different reasons at different times. Usually it's an issue of an ingredient that's no longer available.

Chocolate always has a tendency to get sort of metallic and bitter on me, and this is no exception. Strangely, the other scent impression I'm getting from this is Snow White, which I'm going to chalk up to the coconut. I liked the scent of this in the bottle, and at first it had this interesting alcoholic topnote that reminded me of cake with liqueur in it, but that faded. Too bad -- onto a new owner.

Hmph. I'd been pining for this since before it was resurrected, based on the notes. But the iris/orris turns to soap, and the sage/civet smells like something greasy and herby cooking in a Middle Eastern restaurant. Not a good combo for me, and it's back to Florence as my only standby iris scent.

Oh, this is really lovely. Normally I don't like lemon, but this is that bright, fizzy lemon scent everyone is talking about, with lovely, creamy florals beneath. Mmm.

The Dormouse meets Budding Moon, on me. Plum blossom clearly loves me more than peony, since I smell much more like fruity candy than flowers. Fresh and sweet, and if it has better throw and is longer lasting than the other two, I'll swap them and keep this instead.

A warm, rich, red scent, well-blended with distinct stages of spicy, creamy crimson and smoky burgandy. It makes me think of scents like Red Phoenix, so I'll have to give it another try to two to see what makes it stand out, but it's a keeper for those who love this type of scent.

Fresh and sweet like new-washed linen in the bottle; on me, it's instantly, piercingly sweet and makes me a little sick. An overwhelmingly white scent. It fades pretty quickly over the next few hours, and then I'm getting that vanilla-type white musk that everyone else loves and I always find to be too cloying. The aloe/linen uplifts it a bit from the queasy-sweetness of Dorian or Lick It, but this is still not my favorite kind of scent. Off to someone whose it is.

I absolutely cannot describe this scent properly. There's definitely a touch of cinnamon, but the topnote is some juicy fruit, like a honeydew melon. Under that is a sweetly herbal scent I can't put my finger on. The cool herbal/fruity scent mixed with the warm cinnamon/spicy scent is really addictive and mesmerizing. I had a good day when I wore this blend. I managed to get a couple things done I'd been putting off, and whether that's a psychological effect or what, I don't know. I do know that I kept sniffing all day, because the scent kept me intrigued, and I will definitely be wearing more.

I had an old imp of this lying around, and tried it on quickly tonight to decide if I wanted to order a bottle. Got the usual progression -- cedar chips/pencil shavings, then strong redwood bark, then a hint of unidentifable fruits later on. It's a little murky and unpleasant to my nose, definitely suited more to ritual purpose than pretty-perfume-wearing, so I think I'll be satisfied with the imp I've got.