Heavenlyrabbit

THIS is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless, Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done, Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best. Night, sleep, death and the stars. The cold fire of distant stars: indigo musk, black iris, orris root, rosewood, night-blooming jasmine, and honeysuckle. This Phoenix embodies introspection, reflection, spiritual freedom, and hope springing eternal. Rosewood & Dark Musk front and center, which works for me. I do not get the usual Jasmine rush nor the sweet kiss of honeysuckle. They both seem to be mellowing out with the Orris. This is a deep, inwards scent. Again, captures mood intended very well. I think many BPAL lovers who shy away from florals should definitely give this one a whirl.

Red and sticky! From a genuine Old Salem recipe! Sweet red wine that is surprisingly delicate. More fruit than booze. In fact, if I didn't have the cute little label proclaiming "Port Jelly" I'd have said maybe Red Currant with one drop of Plum with no mention of wine at all. Maybe there is some beeswax? This isn't hyper-sweet. Although my skin chemistry does burn through sweet BPAL very quickly, I don't think that's the case here. It really is a mild, lovely fruity sweet scent.

No description given This smells EXACTLY like a Raspberry Thumbprint Cookie. Or, in my case, Heaven. That is all.

As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls, to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say, 'The breath goes now,' and some say, 'No:' So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; 'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears; Men reckon what it did, and meant; But trepidation of the spheres, Though greater far, is innocent. Dull sublunary lovers' love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elemented it. But we by a love so much refin'd, That ourselves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to airy thinness beat. If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two; Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if the' other do. And though it in the centre sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must Like th' other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end, where I begun. Ethereal, somber, and woeful: Chinese musk, wisteria, white grapefruit, calla lily, violet leaf, orange, gaiac wood, balsam of Peru, and Florentine iris. I get a soft yet resinous musk mixed with an understated floral. The woods/resins definitely have the upper hand here. None of the brightness I'd anticipated from the grapefruit and orange. Which makes sense since this in Mourning Moon. Still unexpected that they can blend so well with the stronger bottom notes. A non-floral floral, IMO. And something there is something very -Classic- about this.

BRAHMIN Rose otto, red ginger, caraway seed, myrrh, orange peel, mandarin leaf, black peppercorn, and vanilla orchid. WHOA! The Caraway pops out on opening the bottle. Wouldn't have known what it was without having read the notes. It is a sort of herbal "dust" note to my nose and is immediately succeeded by warm rush from Ginger, Peppercorn and Orange. Very quickly the Florals present themselves and they are complemented quite well. Really, really unusual Floral. If Florals often overwhelm your skin chemistry, you might try this one. ETA- ultimately this dries down on my skin as Ginger Incense with a mere suggestion of Floral.

AQUARIUS 2007 Fixed air: the essence of idealism. Wisteria, myrrh, anise, galbanum, bryony, and pomegranate. Nature can only evolve so far on its own. Aquarius is the stage of evolution where humans take themselves in hand and advance to their full potential. This scent does indeed capture the sacred, Angelic side of Aquarius with the incense. The Anise and Bryony give this a somewhat bracing herbal touch and the floral is a gentle sweetness (I wouldn't have guessed wisteria). The Pomegranate! Oh, it's so perfect. Intimating a certain ripeness and fullness. There's a gentle balsamic, slightly sweet edge. This is strongly aromatic. It has terrific throw and wear length. Although Aquarius is an Air sign, I personally don't get an ozone feel. Not that was even suggested by the description. Just my own stereotypical thinking. From Virgo to Scorpio to Aquarius, I've gotten the feel of a Magus either in the garden (Virgo) or in the study with incense wafting out towards the garden (Scorpio). Aquarius would be the Magus totally outside the bounds of time-space whilst Meditating. The body is in the study with incense burning and the window to the garden is open... but there is something of Heaven here That's my story and I'm sticking to it. This Moon in Aquarius loves this blend. But it had me written all over it anyway.

Sleek iris and verbena, grey amber, benzoin, davana, and glossy herbs. Deeply herbal yet sexy blend. I love herbals but haven't yet used the word 'sexy' in the same sentence while writing a review(I don't think). Something reminiscent of blond tobacco? I kept thinking of the Luperci Heroine scents. The Indian ones. My nose isn't sophisticated like a lot of other BPAL'ers so after doing a search it seems its the Davana that is most prominent. To me it reminds me of tobacco, aromatic cooking spices, tomato leaf even. Murder of Crows also reminds me of the herbs found in blends like ..... ? Couple of days later, with the full moon and my hormones switching around I find the herbal side more prominent. Slightly warm, dry and just a touch powdery. Overall, this is a sexy herbal. Not sexy in a black leather or mini-skirt way. More approachable and friendly.

No description given Spice bread. The Ginger is somewhat biting at first but it does mellow out. The Honey is rather sedate ... and it might be my imagination but it seems to me to have a slight floral bouquet to it. It's like O and Gingerbread Poppet had a baby. Ultimately like O, this ends up a skin scent rather than a more emotive Gingerbread Poppet.

LICWIGLUNGA What language is this? I have never seen graphemes such as this before. Hemp paper, frankincense, dried pomegranate juice, lavender, gum mastic, verbena, fennel, star anise, and Dittany of Crete. Starting a thread for a new BPAL has never given me pause. I have met my match in Licwiglunga. I do love herbals but find this one totally unique. Without notes listed, earlier today I kept thinking cherry or lotus but find it's dried pomegranate. Emphasis on dried. This must be a variation on the usual note Beth uses? So this is an herbal incense with a smooth character and a touch of fruit. It smells better as time goes on . Thank heavens, cause in the bottle it is quite sharp to my nose. Ultimately, it dries to pomegranate incense. This is very pleasant. Which sounds like faint praise but is meant in the best sense of the word. I've a hard time imagining someone outright NOT liking this. Besides being a nice casual blend for everyday wear, I think this would make awesome room scent. Here's the extra-fun part, researching the Scent's name and notes: Licwiglunga- Incantation or Magic Circle for conjuring the dead (necromancy), usually for advice. Dittany of Crete- an herb "used in divination and contact with spirits. When using Dittany of Crete as an incense, it is cautioned that spirits materialize in the smoke." Related to oregano and marjoram. Gum Mastic- Resin from trees related to pistachio which grow only on the southern part of the island of Chios, Greece and nowhere else in the world. Egypt imported this as a key ingredient in their Kyphi recipes. "Mastic creates a light, balsamlike, fresh, lemony, gentle fragrance. It is cleansing, clarifying and mentally refreshing."

You darkness, that I come from, I love you more than all the fires that fence in the world, for the fire makes a circle of light for everyone, and then no one outside learns of you. But the darkness pulls in everything; shapes and fires, animals and myself, how easily it gathers them! -- powers and people -- and it is possible a great energy is moving near me. I have faith in nights. An embrace: black poppy, lavender, thick black incense, black amber, rose geranium, Brazilian rosewood, and benzoin. This is pretty close to a signature scent for me. After all these years of BPAL, it's still a special feeling when you find a perfume that works so well. And to think I wavered on reading "lavender". Every other note reached out beckoning me. This is indeed dark, in a deeply Victorian way. It's like carved Whitby jet. Smelling this, it draws me in. Benzoin seems to be a Magical Agent. Not so pronounced on its own, but it gives other notes more resonance. A unisex blend, too. Not girly or masculine. Just.... Victorian (can't think of a better adjective, sorry).

Woody, green scent that approaches the feel of ozone with only brief flashes of the fruit.

I used to host a Pumpkin Carving party for my artist friends every year.... This is the perfume that captures that. Carving fresh pumpkins into Jack O' Lantern's on a wooden butcher block table while drinking beer with cookies in the oven. Thank heavens I escape the cucumber route others have mentioned. A fun mash-up of notes and in that I put this in the novelty gourmand category along with Velvet Clown.

Apparently you reach the very murky Waters of Oblivion by descending a path of opalescent stones and find them surrounded by dark, mysterious flowers.

Androgynous people mingling amidst swirls of purple fruit suspended in the air above them

The one word out of mouth upon applying this to my skin without sniffing it in the imp first was "No". Actually, it was more like NO! Nononononono. Dank, musty filthy Patchouli. There have been miraculous BPAL perfumes where the Patchouli worked wonders on me. This is not one of them. Just. No.

This is a beautiful, deceptively simple floral with a very brief, sharp bite to it. Evokes the name perfectly. There is something that makes me think citrus and lavender. But I don't think either is actually in here. I don't know. But this ends up fascinating me. There's more going on here then meets the nose.

Dark Alice said it for me "sweet, dark and delicious". Jonquil can be a heavy weight but everything else here keeps it absolutely in place.

This is the first BPAL Cherry perfume that has worked on me. It's so complex. LOTS of layering of notes here. I'm having a great time smelling it cause it keeps on getting more and more interesting and lovely. Reminds me of making my own granola mix. And thus, by extension, Sleipnir.

Raw, dark sugar and a wild, musky version of coconut. This definitely pushes all the right buttons for me.

Sweet creamy perfection. Get this one. You won't regret it.

Stunning. This is literally breathtaking. It was a complete wild card for me and I am so very happy to have a partial bottle. The Esprit de Eucalyptus is ethereal. with just enough of the Blue Musk to keep it from floating away into nothingness. This is a cold breath of air from a muffled whisper, hovering in the netherworld just before it evaporates. For me, it evokes the stories ending so completely and so beautifully. AND it smells divine. I am over the Moon with this one.

This was a frimp with my Christmas Stocking from the Trading Post. Only one year of Sugar Cookie ever worked on me. 2005. This is like that with an extra dash of Cinnamon which for some reason doesn't overwhelm the way it usually does. I think it's the Eggnog keeping it from being dominant. This really delivers exactly what it's name promises. So if you like the Lab's foodie blends, this almost certainly is worth a try.

The smoothest, deepest sexiest combination I've tried in a long time. Not getting that Matcha blast others mention. My skin chemistry goes right to the Resin and Patchouli and Leather. And Patchouli and Leather are highly problematic notes for me. But this and The Ta-Ta are the epitome of soft, supple Leather. So glad I took a chance, this will only become more outrageously wonderful with time. The only reservation I have is it's decidedly unisex. Not masculine, unisex. I don't have a boy to give this to.

I don't get blazing hot. I get glowing hot. Vibrating warmth hot. Golden not Red hot. I get a restrained warmth from the Gingergrass a juicy lushness from Blood Orange along with the Fruity/Candy vibe Capricorn Sister gets.

Perky, bright without being blinding or hot. A touch youthful without being infantile or girly. I think this is because the Vanilla is restrained and the White Patchouli gives it a more earthy base. So far, after many years of not doing well w/ Anniversary blends, I'm getting lots of lovely successes.