sophia_helix

Scent-wise, this started off like eating Thin Mints in an herb shop, sort of murky and vaguely medicinal. It made me a little queasy to have that very earthy mint, which is probably pennyroyal like people suggest. Later...well, I can't pinpoint vertiver, so maybe that was it, but I swear this smells like straight-up geranium. Eventually a more boozy, tobacco-like note took over, but I still smell geraniums underneath. It's a dark color, and incredibly strong -- I put the tiniest drop on my wrist and managed to spread that to both my wrists and my neck pulse-points while still smelling it for hours, and I'm normally a slatherer. Magic-wise, I didn't do any ritual activities, but I did put this one when I was expecting a crappy day. My classes all covered just the little bit of reading I'd done and didn't go any farther (anyone in law school knows what a blessing that is), it was another unseasonably warm February day, and so far nothing really bad has happened yet. I also felt a little calmer and more confident, and everything has been a little more pleasant than usual, I suppose. I'd have to give this a trial run in a really difficult situation, I guess. EDIT: And then at the end of the day I found out that all of my Con Law classes for the week had been canceled, due to a family emergency for my favorite professor. I'm ashamed to say I'm relieved, becacuse that will give me four free afternoons and time to catch up on last week's reading, but I'm also feeling a little weird. What was that someone said about "be careful what you wish for..." with this oil? :yikes:

This is quite similar to Snake Charmer on me, although with more patchouli and a sort of smoky incense. I like it a lot, I think, although I'm trying to avoid scents that smell a lot alike. But it has great throw and staying power, and dries down to a really intriguing scent, so I might have to scout out more of this.

The Perfumed Garden for the Soul’s Recreation. This scent is based on a venerable Tunisian perfume that was used to excite the senses, inspire sensuality and inflame passion. Myrrh and Moroccan jasmine with apple peel, Indian sandalwood, myrtle, quince, citron, and thyme poured over soft musk. Damn. I've been desperately awaiting this literally from the moment I ordered it...but something is desperately awry. Lovely fruit and florals in the bottle, then unscented, melted candlewax on my skin, making me literally sick. I guess it's probably the jasmine.

Whoo, the second rose scent I've liked! Nothing like Rose Red, which was all dirt and water, but a pretty rose scent kept grounded by the deeper resin. Thanks, Jemz!

Tried this today at the Meet n' Sniff. A lovely, tender early-spring floral for the first few minutes, then chemical sweetener like Pink Moon and most other spring florals on me. Boo.

In the bottle: A fresh, aquatic scent with a hint of woods behind. Wet: Now the woodsy scent is stronger, although the freshness is still there. Drydown: Well, this is a first. Normally if there's any scent in a blend that could turn sweet on me, that's what comes to the fore. However, the lilies stayed totally in the background, barely noticeable. Instead it was a powerfully woodsy scent, rather dusty and peppery, like wandering under big trees over a lake. The water was there too, fresh but a little stagnant. So maybe wandering around by a pond instead. It reminded me strongly of Whipporwill, which I ended up swapping. I think I prefer more floral scents to more woody ones.

In the bottle: A somewhat dry and bittersweet chocolate (this is fine dark chocolate, not brownies), with a hint of something fruity behind. Wet: Oh, chocolate, you are my friend at last. I know I hated you in Bliss and Vice; you're home now, baby. Sophisticated and only slightly sweet, with a hint of sour citrus beneath. I know everyone else is getting those candied Chocolate Oranges, but this doesn't smell foody to me. It smells like I thought Dia de los Muertos was going to. Drydown: A dry floral with a hint of tea starts sneaking in, and then this scent is perfection -- for about two minutes. Then I discover that iris really IS all I'm smelling in Florence and Black Pearl, and whatever, I love it anyhow. It's a delicious, almost marzipan-almondy scent, but I am quite sad about the snazzy chocolate-orange being gone. It does come back a few hours later, although it's rather faint. I'm going to smother myself in this, though, because I've never smelt something so delicious that didn't actually smell like food. Yum yum.

Wet, this was a lovely, bright lemon. I'm not even all that crazy about lemon, but it was very pleasant. Eventually it began to sweeten (the honeysuckle) and then get an incense/resin note (the myrrh, I assume). I don't really get any of the specific herbs listed, which is too bad. After an hour, it smells dead-on like Tarot: The Sun. That same very warm, sweet, slightly spicy citrus combo is unmistakeable. Sadly, this gives me a bit of a headache for some reason (unlike The Sun), and although I like the fact that the herbs are a little stronger, I may have to swap..

This is definitely a plum-blossom scent on me -- sweet, round, and fruity. The peony and lotus root are the supporting players, barely peeking through. It's very light, but delicious while it lasts.

This is very much an initial review, because I feel like I need to wear this scent several times to really understand it. First -- dirt. Deep, wet earth, pungent and surprisingly lovely. And slowly the flowers bloom over the next hour, until it's all sweet, bright floral. I get no booze, and I'm pants at picking out individual flowers, but if this is what New Orleans smells like I am going there NOW.

Mmm. This one's really interesting. Right out of the bottle it's a fresh, fruity scent -- quite a lot like a slice of ripe green apple. Then a sort of astringent, sweet floral kicks in, with a hint of potpourri of all things, and it smells just like Spring Rain, a Crabtree & Evelyn fragrance my mom used to love. Now I get a touch of the hops, but it smells like a nice microbrew, not crappy Bud Lite. Not getting any tobacco right now, thank goodness. I wish the throw was better on this, but I'm really enjoying it.

This was spicy, warm, and incensy. And then...a perfect dupe of Snake Charmer. No idea what's up with that, but since Snake Charmer is, uh, a FAVORITE, to put it mildly? I'm not at all sorry.

This starts off as a very rich, fruity lily scent, as others have said. It's more of a warm blood-orange than a tangy citrus, adding a juicy quality to the sweet lily. Over time, a little spice makes its way in. It fades pretty quickly, though, and becomes less bright and full. This would be a slatherer, if I keep the imp.

In the bottle: This is just a heavenly scent. There's a strong, sophisticated sweetness, and something else herbal that isn't either sweet or bitter. Wet: Whoa! It suddenly because that fresh, sweet citrus everyone is talking about. I don't normally like this type of scent, but it's really beautiful here. I agree with the comparisons to sugared lemons, but there is an indefinable, watery freshness, something like Danube, that goes with this. Drydown: Here's where my skin chemistry turns on me. I start getting hints of honey, maybe a bit of spice, and them BAM, vanilla musk. Heavy, heavy vanilla musk. It's absolutely nothing like the earlier scent, which is really interesting, but also disappointing. Plus the throw drops to nothing. However, the initial scent was so lovely, and at least lasted for 15-20 minutes, so I'll hang onto this just for that.

Nicely sweet and fruity at first, and then it amped up to soapy levels on me. Not a surprise, since rose almost never works.

First, thanks to the awesome Voleuse for passing along this imp. In the bottle: Sweet, but not in a floral OR a fruity way, and not too strong/cloying. Hard to describe. Wet: Even harder to describe. I'm thinking it's predominantly honeydew I'm smelling, because it's a touch fruity, but not piercingly sweet or sour, just sort of soft and watery the way honeydew is. Something about it smells slightly "oily," although not in a bad way. Drydown: Damn. This really is the hardest to describe scent I've ever reviewed. I think the oily scent is the sunflower; it makes me think of dried seeds, although not salty or burnt smelling. I know I'm not getting tea, because it always goes lemon on me, and I'm thinking perhaps the carnation and oakmoss are contributing to the "not-sweet" planty/floral element. Argh! I feel totally useless at this. I actually wasn't crazy about the first ten minutes of this, just because I couldn't get a handle on the scent, but eventually it sweetened up (the way almost all BPAL does on me), and I got a definite hint of vanilla and peach blossom around the edges. Luckily, though, they didn't become overwhelming, and added just enough sweetness to define the scent a little better. This is definitely a sunny, pale green, happy blend, and I'll look forward to trying it again and trying to pin it down some more.

This was such an interesting scent. The red musk and amber were the definite top notes, but over time it went through a sweet, juicy-mango sage, and then eventually boiled down to a dark, smoky blend of sage and lavender. It's somewhat dark and incensual, but the fruity stage makes it glow. Nice!

....damnit. I was really holding out hope on this one. No strongly tea-scented oil has ever worked for me (Embalming Fluid, Spirits of the Dead, etc.), because they all go yucky lemon. This was fresh and woody, though, and even the hint of citrus sneaking in was still nice enough. It was like...a slightly lemon-scented rainfall, cool and lovely. Then it dried down, faded out, and started to get that drugstore perfume aspect that so many of the clean/fresh scents do to me, where it's a completely indistinct, yet cloying smell. GRAH. I will try it again. Maybe burn it, maybe try a locket. But I repeat: GRAH.

This is really a lovely oil. It's very sweet at first (I thought it was honeysuckle, but now I read the reviews and realize it was heliotrope), and then citrus notes come in. I'm usually not a fan of citrus (lemon = ick on me), but instead this is more like a sweet orange, a satsuma or something. It's all quite creamy and sweet, with maybe a touch of amber. An hour in, the spices do show up, and I think I detect cinnamon. It's definitely a second-skin scent. I feel like I'm echoing everyone else, but I'm actually just pleased I had the same reaction, since I often don't like popular oils. But this is really just a lovely mix of sweet floral, juicy/sweet fruit, and that bit of spice and resin. I wore it on a freezing cold, cloudy day, and I swear to god, five minutes after I got to the bus stop the sun broke through, shining warmth onto my face, and all the clouds have disappeared.

Like everyone else, I'm getting Skadi and Snow Bunny out of this. I wish the pretty flowers had come out to play, but knowing me, they would have made this unbearably sweet on my skin, so it's probably good that it's just that lovely pine note. Besides, I have Dublin for my rose/pine fix. I'll definitely hang onto this, though, because I am a pine-lover and it's just different enough to not be duplicative.

Yup, just as powdery-sweet as expected/promised. There was a strange sour note in it for a little while, but that cleared up and made it pure, somewhat musty vanilla. It's perfectly nice, a touch sweet for my tastes (I'm not a big vanilla fan), but while on its own I wouldn't keep it, Joseybird is right -- it layers excellently with Three Witches. It'll probably be useful for sweetening up other scents that need a hint of sugar, so I'll hang onto it for that.

In the bottle: A very clean floral. Wet: This reminds me a lot of Venus when wet -- the herbal, mint/rose combo is very distinctive. Drydown: In the end, this doesn't work for me, because rose and violet both turn soapy. But if you're looking for something similar to Venus, I'd recommend this.

Nope, catalogue 10mls have the same labels as the 5mls. And in fact the fancy labels are something relatively new -- my 2004 bottle of Mabon has the usual label.

This was lovely mint and eucalyptus at first, slushy and frozen the way I hoped Wolf Moon would stay. But I'm a moron and overlooked "lotus" in the description -- one again it had its evil way with me, sweetening the eucalyptus unbearably, and my wrist ended up smelling like a mentholated cough drop. Onto another home with this imp, and back to Ultraviolet for my mint/eucalyptus fix.

Yup, looks like I'm getting the reaction half of us do -- very sweet, milky vanilla in the bottle, a hint of yummy mint, and then sickly-sweet plastic. Yuck. For what it's worth, this is similar to the way Lick It and Black Opal turned out on me, so I don't think BPAL vanilla and I are friends. But it's also quite similar to Tarot: The Star (which in turn was like a less minty/foody version of Spooky), so if you like this in the bottle and it didn't work on your skin, you might want to go for that one instead.