Juliet's Silk

Oh thanks, at least I do have the notes now. Now, if I only knew what is the dominant note in there... to me, it smells like... perfume. Ick. Too bad that it doesn't smell like roses and carnation at all... I love roses and carnation. Apart from that, it does resemble Szepassony a bit, I think, with the perfumey scent and all. I think I'm going to compare the notes just now.

Ah I need your help! Now, I own over a dozen BPALs or so that I love sooo much. Unfortunately, my boyfriend isn't so excited about them. Sure, when I ask him whether he likes a scent or not he'll say "oh it's nice"; but he never comments on his own. Now, I also own a couple of perfume bottles from "before-BPAL", which I usually don't use - I do like the scents, to some extent, but this distinct chemical smell of them... hmhm. Anyway, when I was in a hurry a couple of days ago I grabbed one of those bottles and sprayed myself with it. It's Pure (femme) by Jil Sander The bf noticed it right away. "Wow you smell great!!!" and now whenever I wear it he'll hug me tight, sniff at my neck, doesn't want to let go. Uhm.... yay? The worst is... it's the one of my perfumes I like the least, it's somewhat ozoney, chemical perfumey smelling... sigh. Nothing at all like the scents I prefer (like, Snow White, Alice, you get it). So... maybe you can help me find a) maybe a BPAL that is similar to it and b ) find out why my bf likes it so much. There has to be a note in it he loves, but we don't know what and I can't find a note description on the internet, so I don't know what's in it. Please help that I don't have to endure the Pure smell for much longer, I get headaches from it

Resurrected Version - 2008 Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut. On, wet, this smells exactly like (aged!) Snake Oil on me. Aged Snake Oil lacks the note that goes extremely medicincal on me. I really like Snake Oil - but for the patchouli. It's much too dark for me. So, Snake Charmer smells exactly like that, minus that medicinical note. Good so far, but nothing I'd wear because if I did, I'd wear Snake Oil, ね? Drying, the scent gets lighter. The vanilla comes through now. There is something powdery lurking in the background (amber I guess), but I start to congratulate myself for buying this. Now, a couple of more minutes into the drying process, the vanilla is dominant. Now, what does this remind me of? Ack! I guess I still get the Snake Oil vibe, but... different. Hm! I start thinking this is really like I hoped it would be: Snake Oil, without the dark patchouli vibe. There is hope! It smells so eerily familiar but I can't convince my brain that this is the Snake Oil I'm smelling. My brain tells me that it reminds me of something else but I just can't come up with WHAT. It's vanilla, dark vanilla now. The darkness comes from something I'd say is the patchouli but without the cloying attribute to it. It's just dark, exactly right. Hah!

Just to update that - I finally received my order (WHEW) and didn't even had to pay whopping customs but "only" 11€. For some reason this BPAL package was declared differently than all my previous orders - my previous orders were always declared as a gift while this one was declared "merchandise". I think the German customs had problems with that because the package lacked a bill inside or something, at least this is what they said. Can anyone confirm that? I don't know if I should email the Lab about it or something because I don't want to have to go through this again with my next order...

50€?! Problem is that I'm not home... I KNEW customs would mess up my order this time, just when I'm not home to sort it out! I hope my mother is able to print that PayPal Email or something and sort it out. Ack! Just when I stopped worrying about customs...

My latest package from the Lab is caught in the customs. I'm supposed to bring a bill and payment confirmation and a translation of contents or something to that extent. Eh? Anybody had that happen? Advice?

1. Katrina van Tassel 2. Samhain 3. Backup for Lilith Victoria Imps: Morocco Shub-Niggurath Silk Road Lyonesse No. 93 Engine Velvet

Need GC: Bengal A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger. Sounds good no? I need something spicy without being heady. Baghdad Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood. Huh, amber AND musk.... Embalming Fluid A light, pure scent: white musk, green tea, aloe and lemon. I think I might hate it. But as sooo many people love it, I should at least try it. The lemon is a real dealbreaker, though. Harlot Based on a Romany incense blend reputed to induce sexual dreams: Somalian rose, Moroccan rose and Bulgar rose with a sultry dribble of cinnamon. Roses and cinnamon? I'm almost sold just by that. Hollywood Babylon The essence of innocence shattered: glittering Egyptian amber and heliotrope, infused with the sweetness of strawberry and vanilla - dragged into debauch by lusty red musk and a dribble of black cherry. Supposed to be sexy as well. Strawberry, vanilla? Interesting. I can imagine this to work great but it highly depends on the strawberry used. Also - it has red musk. Hum. Undecided. Jack The scent of warm, glowing jack o'lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove. New Formulation. Sounds good. Lyonesse Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. I love the thought of this, I'm a sucker for everything Arthurian. Is described as O without the honey. Vanilla and amber. Hm! Amber can turn into powdery mess on me. March Hare A twisted teatime tart: apricot and sweet clove. Apricot clove and cinammon sounds like a hit. Doesn't seem to have a lot of throw, while other people say it's strong? I loved every Mad Tea Party scent so far. Morocco The intoxicating perfume of exotic incenses wafting on warm desert breezes. Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia. Supposed to have a lot of throw and similar to Scherezade. Mouse's Long and Sad Tale Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood. everyone seems to love it. I'm scared by the sweet pea though, and again, amber. No. 93 Engine Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage. beeswax! I loooove how beeswax smells. Obatala Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water. Regan A deceptively sweet orchid vanille with a faint trace of stephanotis. Sounds a bit one-dimensional if you ask me. SHUB-NIGGURATH Iä! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young, the All-Mother and wife of the Not-to-Be-Named-One. The lust incense of a corrupted Astarte. A blend of ritual herbs and dark resins, shot through with three gingers and aphrodisiacal spices. everybody loves it, goodness knows why, has been compared to Red Hots Silk Road A panoply of cultural treasures, spanning the herbs, flowers, oils and balms of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Iran, the Bulgar-Kypchak, Mesopotamia, the Crimean Peninsula, Anatolia, Antioch, and North Africa. Sudha Segara Named after the primordial ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu reclines upon the thousand-headed Naga. Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia. Supposedly calming and soothing. Just the thing that I'm going to need this winter for sure. Doesn't seem to have a lot of throw or staying power, meh. Velvet Envelop yourself in the soft, sensual embrace of gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh. everybody loves it – and I love the cocoa in Tezcatlopica or how you write it. Water of Notre Dame Brings peace to the spirit, a sense of calm and fulfillment, and attracts the aid of beneficial spirits. Limited Editions: Love's Philosophy Vanilla, saffron, and cream. sounds good but is supposedly boring Snake Charmer Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut. Three Witches If it gets ever back

In the imp, this smells sweet and soft. I'm not able to tell the notes apart, but the first impression is really lovely. On my skin though, the lemon (why is lemon in here!?) comes forward. Ouch! Biting, sharp - I can only guess that beneath the lemon, there is the niceness I smelled in the imp. Go away, lemon. Sadly, it stays this way and doesn't change anymore. I bet this is delicious once the lemon is gone after proper aging.

When I read the description I thought "uh-oh... that is going to smell... interesting". I was quite surprised when I sniffed the imp - it smelled like some kind of candy or bubblegum to me. On the skin it's obviously an aquatic, ozoney and salty and yet... sweet. Now that I've read the other reviews I can detect a hint of bitter grapefruit, but without knowing it, I wouldn't have guessed it. My skin usually makes scents disappear quite fast, but this one has a good amount of throw on me. It's nothing I would wear, but really interesting nonetheless. It reminds me of Szepasszony.

Snake Oil blended with Dorian, plus soft vanilla flower, lily of the valley, lavender, and fennel. In the bottle I can smell lavender and something sweet, citrussy, but I can't really discern different notes. Wet on the skin I get something quite sharp, citrussy, I think this is the Dorian part. I already lose hope but then, suddenly as it starts drying, the Snake Oil comes forward. And it's Snake Oil minus the patchouli. Snake Oil like I always wanted it to be. It is light, clean, fresh Snake Oil. I love it. The Dorian part fades and I get neither lavender nor fennel or anything else - only a light Snake Oil. Perfect.

The tale of Cupid and Psyche is both a perfect love story and an allegory for the soul's search to reunite with Deity. This is the scent of true love, your heart's deepest, purest desires. Bulgar rose, Chinese white musk, lavender, orchid and frankincense. I used a rather aged imp, I'm guessing it is already 2-3 years old. In the imp and wet on skin: Muted lavender with something else to it, I'm guessing it could be the orchid. On my skin it stays very light, I have to sniff my wrist to detect the scent, even though I slathered quite a lot. On drydown, the rose comes through and mingles with the lavender, it now smells like a sibling of Somnus. It's now even fainter so it is hard to judge how it smells like... but it still remembers me a lot of Somnus. Musk usually smells perfumey and powderey on me, so I'm glad that I don't get any musk here. I also don't get orchid or anything else - only rose with a hint of lavender in the background. After like 20 minutes on my skin... this has almost faded away to nothingness.

10/1 - Parlement of Foules 10/2 - Psyche; Gladdener of all Hearts, Lilith Victoria, Bon Vivant - test drive 10/3 - random smell I never tried before - The Deep Ones, Night-Gaunt, The Phantom Wooer, Tezcatlipoca - test drive 10/4 - Viola, Scherezade 10/5 - random smell I never tried before - Hi'iaka, Athens 10/6 - Kajuraho 10/7 - White Rabbit 10/8 - exam day - Lilith Victoria to the party in the evening 10/9 - Antique Lace 10/10 - Samhain 07 10/11 - Kurukulla, Magus 10/13 - random smell I never tried before 10/14 - 10/15 - 10/16 - 10/17 - 10/18 - 10/19 - 10/20 - 10/21 - 10/22 - 10/23 - departure available BPAL: 1 Alice 2 Antique Lace 3 Athens* 4 Black Cat* 5 Bon Vivant* 6 Dana O'Shee 7 Dragon Moon 8 Dragon's Milk 9 Enraged Bunny Musk 10 Fae 11 Gladdener of all Hearts 12 Hearth* 13 Hi'iaka* 14 Inez 15 Kajuraho 16 Kurukulla* 17 Lilith 18 Lilith Victoria 19 Magus* 20 Maltese Cross 21 Marianne 22 Night-Gaunt* 23 Parlement of Foules 24 Persephone 25 Psyche 26 Samhain 27 Scherezade 28 Snake Oil 29 Snow White 30 Tezcatlipoca* 31 The Deep Ones* 32 The Phantom Wooer* 33 Viola 34 White Rabbit (* scent I never tried before)

I guess I don't need to explain why I wanted to try this scent. And I wanted this scent to work! But alas - hello sweet pea. As with Aeval, the Sweet Pea is very prominent on me, so much, that it almost smells like Aeval, only not as sweet; my skin seems to amp sweet pea. As it dries, this reminds of a face cream I used to use. I can't remember, which... I think this is the honeysuckle coming through. The whole scent is grounded by the white musk, which is very nice. It is sweet, warm and floral. I don't get pear or lilies. All in all, it is a very nice, pleasing scent - just... the sweet pea. I don't know what problem I have with it, I just do. I like to smell it, just... not on me.

To me, this smells like Cool Water woman. It has a fresh, ozoney quality I always associate with perfume, maybe because I was an avid worshipper of Cool Water back in the days. Nowadays.. it gives me a headache. It DOES have an aquatic quality to it that I associate with rain, but for me, it smells too perfumey, sadly. I love the smell of rain. If I concentrate on the scent I can smell the "rain", but everything is dominated by that "perfumey" scent. Sigh.