Avery

I was pretty excited about this, especially as I've come back from my fear of vetiver and have found some blends where it not only works, but it's amazing! Yay for persistence in trying different notes! Enter Banana Sloth. As others have described, this one is like banana laffy taffy with something dark and smoky underneath. If it stayed how it starts on my skin, or morphed into something gentler, then I'd love it. BUT. Dun dun dun! Enter Vetiver with a hammer. This vetiver doesn't mess around, and does the dreaded things with my skin chemistry that made me avoid it in the first place. Namely, make me smell like a stinky old man (no offense to stinky old men, but...). SO I need to rehome this little beaut to somebody who loves a fun playful scent but can effectively disarm the vetiver with better skin chemistry.

Skin like silk: bourbon vanilla, caramelized patchouli, Siamese red benzoin, and fig. First off, this perfume is AMAZING. When I first got it it was a little ruffled from traveling, so I let it rest in the box for awhile. When I tried it the other night... DAMN it's gorgeous. I couldn't remember any of the notes, so tried to pick them out but all I got were color palette impressions (how I often do with scents). It felt hazy, a little silver, a little green, but warm, smoky, and delectable. Now I can tell that the fig is what is giving the green impression, but all the other notes blend so well together that this just becomes an incredibly sexy, earthy skin scent. I LOVE it and it may have just catapulted into my top 10 for sure, I am so glad I have a bottle. Based on the other reviews, ymmv! I have Mme Moriarty, and this smells absolutely nothing alike to my nose or on my skin (probably because my skin doesn't love red musk, though I still like Madame!). It also doesn't smell anything like Red Lantern to me, which was a much heavier, sweeter and more powdery scent on me (I traded away RL). It also doesn't smell like King Cobra (with or without the Snake Oil to me) as that one has a different scent profile entirely. I mentioned I get strong color associations with these perfumes, and King Cobra is most definitely a RED and vibrant scent to me, whereas Mistress Going to Bed is smoky and pale, slinky, dark and earthy. Either way, it's a scent unlike anything else I have and I adore it.

I hesitate to mention this scent, as it may be my #1 (you know how hard it is to choose!) but Velvet Bandito offers an amazing clove. I love it so much!

Mad Sweeney is oak barrel aged whisky and it made me absolutely fall in love with Oak. It's boozy at the beginning, even sharp, but not at all green. The booze burns off quickly and the scent ultimately ends up smelling like the most amazing oak walled sauna (on me). LOVE, it's my favorite.

This is one I'm hanging on to for aging purposes. I've made the mistake too many times of swapping off something that's "lab fresh" only to realize later that all it needed was some aging (I'm looking at you, Snake Charmer). Ian definitely has potential. I tend to veer more towards the "masculine" blends (Tombstone, Mad Sweeney, Velvet Bandito are my three favorites) but some manly blends are, indeed, too manly for me (ex: Dee!). Ian might be in the latter category. Fresh from the lab it's intensely leather plus the butterscotchy rum that others have mentioned. Together they make an intriguing, yet moderately nauseating, combination. Really, hate to say it but my stomach was a bit churned up after putting it on. That feeling stuck around for hours. I persevered, though, as when I sniffed my wrist I got something that still smelled pretty good. It definitely has lasting power. So. I can't say much more than that, at this point, but am going to shelve Ian and come back in a year. Happy aging, Ian!!

I've been going through my collection and culling those that don't pass the "love it" test. Today I tried Spooky again, and it's a love. I have the original (or possibly '05) version in a cobalt blue bottle. I get no rum or coconut, this is all chocolate mint on my skin. It's a very different mint than "lick it" (which is pure peppermint) but this is highly reminiscent of Thin Mint cookies. No plastic, but over time it does get a bit of a crumbly, soft feeling to it which I adore. Keeper!

Temple Viper is the softest velvety silvered lavendar purple, just lovely. Urd is also a deeper, darker purple. I get purplish from Mme. Moriarty (though maybe a bit more on the bordeaux side) and Mama Ji was definitely a purple scent to me, too. TV and Urd are two of my favorites.

YMMV, but for a somewhat "foody" sexy blend is Miskatonic U. My boyfriend always goes wild when I put it on, and it is THE ONLY blend that he really and truly likes. But really... it is delicious.

I got my decants from a ´Weenie circle yesterday (oh that sounds like something else doesn´t it ) and was very excited to try them all. I´d have to say that of the 6 decants I got... Pomona is definitely the most disappointing for me. Fresh on the skin... acetone. Maybe a fruity acetone, but this stuff is definitely taking my nail polish off. After it dries down... a very light apple shampoo. I don´t get any nuts or berries, and I´m finding that (like some other reviewers) that apple on my skin smells more than a little soapy. It´s fresh and clean smelling, but it´s not even a YUMMM shampoo, more like one that you don´t really register. Oh well! At least now I know.

I have a bottle of Snake Oil that I´ve tucked into a dark corner and periodically retest hoping that I´ll grow to lovelovelove it. So far, it smells best on my skin during those few premenstrual days of the month. I hope that after it´s been in there a couple of years (I think it´s 1.5 so far) that it´ll keep getting darker and spicier and a little less... powdery. Snake Pit scents on the other hand... LOVE! So far I have bottles of: Boomslang Western Diamondback Temple Viper Green Tree Viper Asp Viper King Cobra Death Adder Saw Scaled Viper Of those, I looooooove Temple Viper and King Cobra the most. The King is actually the blend that lead me to learn I love resins, frankincense, copal... yum. Temple Viper is sultry champaca deliciousness. Both are incensy, very different from another: KC is a red glow "perfume-y" scent to me whereas TV is purple and soft and fuzzy. I really like WD (though can´t say I get a lot of leather from it--it´s a bit more sultry dust and sun warmed sage but this Nevada native says it feels like the desert!) and Green Tree Viper is fantastic on hot days... The mint is so sultry and syrupy. I also really like SSV in spite of the reaction my skin has to it (but prefer Shub for my ginger fix). All these successes lead me to try Death Adder (in spite of my fear of vetiver) and Asp Viper, neither of which work very well on me. Death Adder is too much vetiver, and Asp Viper smells yummy at first but then dries to a flowery soapy feeling that is just "ok" and also fades fast. I really still want to try Australian Copperhead, and based on these reviews I need to try Habu (I have fear of the bandaid stench that comes when my skin meets black musk). All said, I just love these snakes!

Another Nevada native here, but I feel I can chime in on the whole Southwest Vibe: Western Diamondback! I got a mental panorama of desert canyons with this one. Well above and beyond what I got with anything else, ever. Coyote doesn´t even come close to this for me (although I like it).

I just love Urd. I went through the imp I ordered in just a few days (and I´m one who can usually stretch an imp for MONTHS), so I knew I needed a bottle. I wear her all the time now. Somebody upthread wrote that this scent is "chewy" and I can get behind that descriptor. I never liked patchouli until I met BPAL´s patch, and now I just love it-- I don´t know the difference or why but I *never* get the dirty hippy smell that I previously associated with it. This scent has a bit of a hippie vibe, but it´s more like earth goddess than woodstock. The scent is a bit harsh on first application--strident mixing of the "grape" (muscadine?) patchouli and nag champa, but it quickly settles into itself and as it dries (and dry) becomes one of the most mouth-watering delectable scents I´ve ever had the pleasure to wear. The nag champa and muscadine do give a musty (in a good way) grape-y incense vibe, harnessed with the earthy chewy patchouli that makes it just feel warm and cozy. I don´t know why, but between the grape incense and the earth goodness (I don´t know how else to put it... it doesn´t smell like earth or dirt) I get a very strong mental image of coconut husks. It feels, at least on my skin, like there´s coconut tying all of this together. Which I LOVE, especially since the straight-up coconut scents have not worked out on my skin (they sing too, too sweet). I have a 5ml now, and see another in my future. I´m wearing her today and can´t stop sniffing myself. I also already got one strong compliment from someone who asked what my perfume was called and said that they LOVED it. I know I do. YUM!

No mention of Tombstone! I´m surprised. Tombstone is a lovely warm and sweet cedar (cedar trunk with vanilla spilled inside that dried with some sassafrass) that may be my no.1 scent. Mad Sweeny is also an awesome wood scent (if your skin can process the whisky) that comes from the oak cask. Mmm. I echo the Mary Read and Misk. U, and now this thread has me needing to try Sri Lanka!

Compelling, complex, and utterly enigmatic: a luxuriant, exotic blend of cherry, red musk, and star anise. Wow, I can´t believe I´ve gone so long without posting a review for Kabuki. It is interesting to read through the other reviews and see how many of you get very strong (even medicinal) cherry vibe from this. First and foremost, I am a lover of anise and black licorice. Although I have tried several anise blends, this one comes to the forefront as a favorite, my ultimate scent for when I want to smell like a naughty, sexy black jellybean. Hey, the mood strikes! I´m also a scent/color coordinator kind of girl, and this is good for the very dark pallete. Anyway, on my skin Kabuki lasts well beyond 12 hours, and doesn´t change very much from beginning to end. There is an underlying cherry scent that gives the scent a "juicy" feeling, maybe it´s part of what adds to the naughty/nice appeal, but it´s definitely in the background and is in no way medicinal on me. I originally was frimped this, bought a 2ml bottle, and when I got another frimp realized that I should never be without it. I immediately sought a bottle, and wear it a few times a week. Definitely in my top 10! Now I have to try Le Pere Fouettard, because... vanilla, licorice and leather? I´m going to have to try layering LP and Dead Man´s Hand with Kabuki now.

second Temple Viper!! Urd is great too, but it does definitely have a heavier patchouli influence in case you´re averse to that. I love it, though. I have a bottle of each, and Temple is definitely the one that smells most deliciously nag champa to my nose.

Smelled nice at first. Wet I got the spiciness (I thought I smelled nutmeg and cardamom) over a blanket of warm and cuddly softness (must be the vanilla). However, it faded fast into a non-descript powder smell. Huh. I´ll retest in hopes of a better result soon... *crosses fingers* I really want to like Inez. Not too surprised, unfortunately, as amber tends towards powder on me. May keep the imp, no way on a bottle at this rate.

well, I just got my long awaited bottle of Love´s Philosophy yesterday, so I guess some might consider it aged. When first on there is an unpleasant "tang" to the vanilla that I can´t quite place... it brings to mind the similar sort-of medicinal sharpness that Mr. Nancy´s entry brings with him, minus the lime. In about 10 minutes that tang goes away, and I can smell the wintergreen that people keep mentioning. It isn´t too strong, and I don´t mind mint, so that doesn´t bother me... rather like one of those chalky after dinner mints in this stage. and THEN it morphs into the yummy warm ice cream soda scent that many mentioned upthread. There is not a lot of throw, but it is a warm and delicious personal scent with a rootbeer-y undertone that I really enjoy. I sniffed my wrist a lot at this point. Anybody going in for a hug would get a pleasant whiff. The cream soda vibe hangs out for a long time, too. I wore Love´s Philosophy yesterday, and today stumbled on my stored bottle of Beaver Moon (I just moved) so I went for the slather with the Beav (one of my favorites). I just sniffed myself with the Beav, 10 hours or so post application, and I can smell a *very* similar smell to how Love´s Philosophy dries down on me. I can´t really see needing *both* of these, but since they are both LE I´ll be hanging onto them and using LP intermittently in order not to run out of my beloved Beaver.

well, I got the green tree viper unsniffed because the Snakes have all worked out pretty well for me so far (better than plain SO) and I live in a warm climate so figured the mint would enable summer wearing. It´s been awhile since the GTV and I have gone out, but I decided to do a little slathering today and see how we´re getting along (I´d guess my bottle is about 8mos - a year old now?). Well, turns out that we can keep a steady thing happening. While regular SO (in spite of repeated vain attepmts) goes powdery on me, GTV does nothing of the kind. There is a soft powdery sense to it, but this feels like the powder that you get on your fingers when you pick up or rub marshmallows. To my nose today this is fabulous green tea slightly herbal barely minty marshmallows! DIVINE. Yay. Sexy. I have to try the rest of the snakes...

This thread called my attention because I have recently been (somewhat oddly) compelled to put on BPAL before the gym, and I love it! Usually I would pick something light, like hungry ghost moon, that is just fresh and sparkly. That´s nice enough but this week I put on spooky (figured the mint would keep me feeling cooler, mingling with the coconut chocolate would be invigorating) and it was just delightful! I don´t know if anybody else noticed. I LOVED wearing Tombstone during my yoga class, and was feeling a little mean the other day and wore Dia de los Reyes (yummy chocolate) to my cardio class. hehee. honesly I don´t think I could wear anything really heavy or powdery (like snake oil!) to the gym, but they tend to stay personal enough on me I don´t think it´s being TOO invasive to anybody else´s sensibilities (I hope!). I´d like to try Coiled Serpent to yoga next time... ETA: On the topic of spicy perfumes... the one day that I had Shub on at the gym I noticed that *everybody* seemed a little bit friendlier. hee.

Hey there Yes, you've come to the right place!! BPAL has all kinds of interesting scents for you to try out. I have dabbled in some and while the "strange" don't end up being my favorites, I did enjoy giving them a go! I second Roadhouse. It's not dark, but it is fun A couple darker scents for you to try, off the top of my head are: Saturnalia, Black Annis, Blood Kiss Brimstone then there's Jailbait (cherry lollipops, think lolita) Shub-Niggurath (evil gingerbread) Miskatonic U (coffee in a library) Golden Priapus (vanilla pine) Drink Me Penny Dreadful It's kind of hard not to venture into the LE's but you can always buy off the forum swap boards to try new and fun blends out. Good luck and have fun!

I still don´t quite know what to think of La Befana. I love the story and was intrigued by the notes listed. I always think I´m going to love violet, but seems that i haven´t found one I really like yet. La Befana is an "interesting" smell on my skin. A little powdery, a little *coughcough* smokey (the charcoal?) and a little flowery. It smells a little like there are violet candies blooming on a tree outside and there´s a fire off in the distance being put out by old powder puffs. It´s curious, but it definitely doesn´t fall into "good"ville, and is oh so not me. I keep trying my imp from time to time, but usually am only inspired to raise an eyebrow at the lingering scent.

Pirate Rum. Spicy butterscotch rum goodness. it has throw like craz and the boy always comments positively when I wear it... he initially always confuses it with Misk. U and Pinched, so I can see the sweet comparisons but there is no coffee here. A light hearted fun scent that is good in warm or cool weather. I´m pondering a 5ml...

Diwali is one of the lightest and shortest-lasting BPALs I have tried (right up there with Dana O'Shee) . It smells promising in the imp, and if I *slather* it on my skin it wafts teh yummy indian fruity incense coconut spice for a solid ten minutes, and then it disappears. Oh well, I'll likely dump my imp into hair treatment, as those make light scents last longer. boo.

Gomorrah! I don't do fruity fruit either, but this one is just divine. One of the Biblical Cities on the Plain, destroyed by God with fire and brimstone because of its people’s pride, prosperous ease, deceit, hedonism and indolence, and their callous, uncharitable hearts. A gritty, sordid and languid scent: ripe fig, date and currant with black herbs.

Hmm. Black Lace is not a scent for me. Based on the description of the notes I thought it would be *love*, but I think that these fabric-y/cotton/linen/lace notes don´t work on me. It´s not that it smells BAD . . . it just doesn´t smell like "me". I don´t smell cognac (yum) and don´t really smell much of the vanilla... it´s overwhelmed with the fabric note. I must amp that, as I think that might be what ruined White Rabbit for me too. Anyway Black Lace is very feminine feeling. However, I´m not a girlie girl and usually don´t like floral or overly femmy perfumes. This one makes me feel like I was up in grandma´s attic trying on all of her fancy dresses and funky hats, playing dress-up from a long-forgotten trunk. While it´s fun to play, I never really feel at home in those dusty clothes from a different era (maybe as a costume) and wouldn´t feel comfortable going to work in it, going out with my friends, doing much of anything wearing those clothes. So, black lace is sort of the scent equivalent of that feeling. Oh well, can´t win ´em all. I am glad I just got a decant, as my swap pile is growing and growing without access to a reliable postal service.