Victory

Bordello doesn't make me think of velvet, it makes me think of satin. There is something completely cool, smooth, and silky-slick about this scent. Some scents seem to have colors, this one smells exactly the way satin feels. None of the notes stand out to me (possibly because I smell Bordello and my brain starts chanting satin, satin, satin). This isn't a street walker's scent, it's a courtesan's.

When I was younger, my mother had a beautiful lily of the valley single note perfume that I would spritz on and hope she didn't notice I was wearing, and smelling Asphodel reminds me of that. The first sniff is all lily of the valley, but when it dries down, I can smell that green note that others have mentioned. I liked it, and I was sad to see it go, but it wouldn't have gotten skin time, because I already have so much perfume.

I think the Lab's description (white, soothing, pure) is spot-on for Obatala. I was trying to think of how to describe the scent and those are the words I used myself. It's hard to pin down what I'm smelling, even with the notes listed, since I don't smell the notes so much separately as together. The coconut is a very different one than what's used in Black Pearl- there I could see the suntan lotion comparisons, but in the two years I've had my imp of Obatala, I've never once smelled the dreaded suntan lotion smell. I'm not familiar with shea butter, but I imagine that that's the strongest note in the blend to my nose. There's definitely a watery sense to the scent, but to me, it really just smells like a creamy (but very light, not thick at all) white milk creamed with shea butter and coconut. It's very nice.

I've had my two imps of Dorian for coming on two years now, and it's taken that long for me to appreciate them. When I first got Dorian, both my mother and I smelled cheap, mass-production-type musks- the kind I forswore any musks for before BPAL. Later, the cheap musk scent faded away and it was a lemon musk bu nothing special. Now, my aged imps are divine. The lemon has remained strong but it's backed up by the tea and vanilla and the musks are wonderful. It makes me want to buy a bottle and let it age.

I've had my bottle of Tamamo-no-Mae aging since it became available because for the first several months there was a note that smelled musty to me that was unattractive and happily, it's finally gone away. (I remember Persephone was like this too- musty and then after a long aging period, not. They don't share any notes, so I'm not sure what causes this.) I bought the oil partly because I have a rice flower lotion that I love the smell of and I was hoping the rice flower would be strong in this. I don't smell any peach in Tamamo-no-Mae, instead I mostly smell the skin musk, which I think is backed up by the white tea leaf and the rice flower. I am not overly familiar with most of the notes though, so they are probably present as well and my nose just isn't "reading" them. When I press my nose to my skin, I think I can maybe smell florals. I'm extremely picky about florals, and while I like these, I am happy they stay on the periphery. T-n-M's label art is very appropriate for the scent- the scent is pale beige (if you think in terms of colors) and a little musky. I'm glad I kept my bottle.

Mmm, Coyote. This is an oil that, in my experience, needs to be aged for it to be at its best. I got several imps about two years ago, and at first they were a sort of sharp musk that I didn't much care for, but now. Oh, now. The leather's come out, and the musk is downy and the amber ties everything together and mmmm. So good. It's like sitting out in tall grass on a sunny day and burying your face into soft, fluffy fur. I got a bottle about three months ago and the musk's sharp like the imps were, so I am going to age it up and it will be DIVINE and ALL MINE. Mmmmmmmm.

Kubla Khan reminds me of Drink Me not because it smells ANYTHING like Drink Me but because my nose reacts in much the same way to KK as to DM: get it away. It doesn't smell bad, but if my nose can't figure out what it's smelling, it rejects it. I think that it's a combination of superior blending and an overwhelming number of notes for my nose to sort through. Is it hay? Opium? Vanilla? My nose needs a direction to sniff in, as it were, and I don't get any from KK. So if you really like very complex, complicated perfumes, KK may be for you! On the other hand, I put some on my mother, who prefers complex perfumes, and she didn't like it either. It's really too bad.

I got a quick sniff of Hearth '04 from quikslvr at a meet-n-sniff, swabbed some on a piece of paper and then promptly lost the paper- how disappointing. I liked '04 so much better than '05 and thought that it conveyed "comforting" better to me than did '05. The cherry was the predominant note, but it didn't smell like a pie cherry or a tart cherry or a maraschino cherry. The wood and leather were not noticeable on my brief sniff, but they must have been backing the cherry up to make it cherry wood and not cherry pie.

Thanks to quikslvr, I got to sniff this lovely oil! I didn't buy The Oval Portrait because I'm not a floral girl, but oh oh, I should have. It is just so nice. The florals remind me strongly of those in Et Lux Fuit, except without that really strong, sharp one. These are beautiful, wearable florals, not sweet, not spicy, not strong, just... delicate and gentle. As the oil dries, they linger and then the vanilla musk appears and gradually takes over. Really, really nice.

In the bottle and freshly applied, Hony Mone is all about the florals. The jasmine is stronger than the honeysuckle, which I don't smell per se but recognize that it's there. I haven't had problems with jasmine except in biggerCritters, but this is a different jasmine. It doesn't scream on me, happily, but I'm not a floral person, so I'm happy enough when the honeys creep in. For a while, it's a jasmine-honey-nutty scent- not almond the way I recognize it, it just smells... nutty. Last time I wore Hony Mone, the final drydown was honey (and I am a honey lover, so it made me very happy) but today it has dried down to a very soft honey/floral/fruity scent. It's very pretty, and I am looking forward to wearing it in the spring and summer.

I ordered an imp of Bastet in my very first lab order, way back in August of 2005. In the imp and freshly on the skin, almond is the predominant note. Slowly, the saffron slinks in and the other spices and resins appear. The almond beats a hasty retreat (sadly, because I am someone who loves almond) and I'm left with a saffron-spice scent. I caught a faint whiff of the golden lotus once (I know some people find lotus bubblegummy, and while I don't usually wear/notice lotus or find that it smells like that, I almost smelled bubblegum, so it MUST be the lotus). Bastet does smell desert-y to me- dry, sandy, and golden.

Violets never seem to smell floral to me, strangely- I only recognize it because I've smelled other violet blends. First I smelled eucalyptus (maybe my brain is connecting to Ultraviolet?) and then the violet slips in and grabs the microphone. I think the musk and sandalwood must be anchoring the scent down, with the neroli just at the edges. The Raven is indeed dark and ominous. When I was thinking how to describe it, I thought of a funeral parlor rather than a perfume. It doesn't smell deathly, of course, but it does have that forbidding feeling.

I got an imp of Osun as soon as the oil became avaailable because-- HONEY! I LOVE honey! Back then, the herbs were really powerful and astringent, but they've mellowed out a lot and made the oil wearable for me. In the imp, I can smell delicious honey and to my nose, honey is the main note when the oil is on my skin. There are herbs there as well (I'm not going to even TRY to pinpoint what they are) but they really seem to be backing the honey up. The honey seems to performing a sinuous dance on my skin- here and gone, here and gone, here and gone, like it's beckoning somebody closer. I'm really glad I kept and aged the imp- the honey is really beautiful.

Black Pearl is very much a tropical scent. Maybe it's the coconut that makes me think this, though Obatala doesn't smell tropical, so perhaps it's a different coconut or a combination of the notes in Black Pearl. When I tried the oil out, there was something off to my nose, just a bit discordant; I wish the white musk were stronger. As far as tropical scents go, I prefer still Black Pearl to Manila, but it just seemed really weird to wear such a beachy oil in my neck of the woods, so I sent the imp along to a friend with whom I have a running cabana boy joke.

I am sharing much of this post with my review of Lionheart (the TAL) for reasons that should be obvious. I received Wolf's Heart as a frimp two years ago and used it once with little effect, but yesterday I was truly blessed to have this oil. Two months ago I made a major mistake and left my two dogs in the car while I ran to a meeting, not realizing how hot it was outside, and I received a summons to court for cruelty to animals. If you know me at all, you know how completely devoted to my dogs I am, how every other day of my life I conduct myself in the most animal-friendly way you can imagine. So this case has been hugely emotionally distressing. Yesterday was my arraignment, and I needed a huge boost in courage. I wore Wolf's Heart to boost my courage and Lionheart for the positive aspect (having forgotten it also boosts courage). I made an X over my heart with Wolf's Heart and swiped some Lionheart above it, then wore Wolf's Heart on my wrists and swiped Lionheart on my forehead. (I am not magically trained at all, those just seemed like good places to put the oils- by my heart and where I could smell them.) As I applied the oils, I repeated to myself that I was asking for courage, and almost immediately I was completely calm. I was even humming to myself as I walked around the house getting ready. As I drove to the courthouse I marveled at myself. As I waited, I mostly smelled Lionheart, but with some of the spiciness from Wolf's Heart. It sort of wreathed around me. I was worried that the scent would bother other people, but they could probably use the positive energy and courage, too. I did get a little nervous as my name was called, but even then it was ok. As it turned out, the assistant district attorney present thought the criminal charge was excessive and is going behind his hard-line coworker's back to knock the charge down to a civil charge. Whether the courage came more from Wolf's Heart or Lionheart I don't know, probably both. I think that Lionheart gave me some positive energy he must have picked up on. I guess when I really needed these oils, they gave me a major boost. As far as what Wolf's Heart smells like, it first faded into my skin, then reappeared as a faintly spicy (I see why cinnamon's been speculated, and it makes me think of that but I'm not sure that it is) scent with a tinge of floral and at the tail end of a breath, I could smell the cherry others have mentioned. Wolf's Heart wasn't particularly strong, it seemed to be on the edges of the cloud of Lionheart, peeping in occasionally to say, yes, I'm here, don't worry.

I am sharing much of this post with my review of Wolf's Heart (the voodoo oil) for reasons that should be obvious. I purchased Lionheart two years ago and have used it occasionally with little effect, but yesterday I was truly blessed to have this oil. Two months ago I made a major mistake and left my two dogs in the car while I ran to a meeting, not realizing how hot it was outside, and I received a summons to court for cruelty to animals. If you know me at all, you know how completely devoted to my dogs I am, how every other day of my life I conduct myself in the most animal-friendly way you can imagine. So this case has been hugely emotionally distressing. Yesterday was my arraignment, and I needed a huge boost in courage. I had forgotten that Lionheart aids in courage, I just remembered that it was supposed to help with having a positive outlook, so I wore Wolf's Heart for courage. I made an X over my heart with Wolf's Heart and swiped some Lionheart above it, then wore Wolf's Heart on my wrists and swiped Lionheart on my forehead. (I am not magically trained at all, those just seemed like good places to put the oils- by my heart and where I could smell them.) As I applied the oils, I repeated to myself that I was asking for courage, and almost immediately I was completely calm. I was even humming to myself as I walked around the house getting ready. As I drove to the courthouse I marveled at myself. As I waited, I mostly smelled Lionheart, but with some of the spiciness from Wolf's Heart. It sort of wreathed around me. I was worried that the scent would bother other people, but they could probably use the positive energy and courage, too. I did get a little nervous as my name was called, but even then it was ok. As it turned out, the assistant district attorney present thought the criminal charge was excessive and is going behind his hard-line coworker's back to knock the charge down to a civil charge. Whether the courage came more from Wolf's Heart or Lionheart I don't know, probably both. I think that Lionheart gave me some positive energy he must have picked up on. I guess when I really needed these oils, they gave me a major boost. As far as what Lionheart smells like, it is a powdery scent, but what it comes from I don't know. It isn't a scent I'd reach for purely for the smell- not because I dislike it but because I have others that I like even better, but yesterday showed be that it can be very, very effective.

I originally received Nuit as a frimp about two years ago, tried it once, wasn't particularly impressed, and tossed it into the imp pile. A year and a half later I saw it and thought, "I think I liked this," and put it on and it was love. I ordered a bottle in my next order. Moonflower seems to be the predominant note (I think I must amp it) with the white musks backing it up and the rose and mosses occasionally peeping out. The incense and jasmine are really muted, if they're there at all on my skin. Moonflower doesn't really read as a floral note to my nose- it's more of a powdery, white, translucent one. That's a good thing for me- I'm a real floral-phobe. Nuit would suit a classy black dress though I wear it in jeans, it's pretty but not high-maintenance, it's just really, really nice. And yes, it is reminiscent of night- staring up into the sky, seeing how heavy and full the moon is, the white smear of stars, the gentle push of breeze... Yes. This is nice.

Aged Perversion is divine. Seriously. I got it as a frimp two years ago and there was something really off about it (I don't remember what, but my mother and I really didn't like it) until late in the drydown, when it reminded my mother of the smell of one of her grandmother's wooden boxes. I put the imp away, wearing it occasionally, and liking it more and more. I am guessing that the tobacco's part of the reason that I like it now more than before- it took a long time before I could wear Herr Drosselmeyer (though I suspect the cypress I smelled in it had to do with that as well). A few months ago the tonka had come out more and now it's all melded together perfectly. Maybe because my mother tied the scent to a mental image of a box, I do think of pale, glossy wood with a beautiful grain when I wear Perversion. This is a really wonderful oil.

I think I must amp moonflower- or I have a sensitive nose to it- because this is a moonflower blend, the same way Blue Moon '07 and Nuit are. The first time I wore the oil it was MOONFLOWER and friends, today moonflower is just tying all of the notes together. Fortunately for me, I like moonflower. The other scents I'm unfamiliar with, although there's something that I seem to know that pops up here and again. When I inhale, I smell the other flowers, then the moonflower, then the other flowers. The others are really herby, not quite bitter but very wild smelling. This makes me think of being a ghost and flying across the world, smelling overgrown, wild gardens in crumbling estates. Sometimes you land to smell a particularly interesting flower, and then you sail away again in the night.

This is an oil that really seems to smell different to different people, isn't it? Sacred Whore opens as strong gardenia, then morphs to another white floral (it smells similar to Hell's Belle on me, so maybe magnolia?) and yes- the second time I wore it I SWORE I smelled banana, so I'm so glad not to have been the only one! Like Hell's Belle, this is an oil that doesn't smell bad but is just one that I don't want to smell like. The power florals really don't do it for me, but if you love love love them, give this oil a try!

For some reason, my nose interprets pumpkin as being very similar to a cidery note though when I compare to dried Punkie Night I say, "No, it's not the same at all!" Really weird but that's the first thing I think when I smell the two pumpkin blends I bought this year. Both blends also disappear really quickly unless I slather, but I found that putting it in my hair helped a lot. Anyway, on to the review! I have to say that I'm pretty unimpressed. I don't get florals or tonka, Pumpkin II opens with pumpkin and then transitions to tobacco. There's nothing offensive about the scent, but there's also nothing special about it. It feels like it's missing something (having the florals make an appearance on my skin might do it, I don't know). Meh. I might try aging this until next year and see if the scent becomes richer, since I didn't love last year's 'weenies until this year.

First on, there is something very bitter and sour. I'm not sure what it is (maybe the lemon verbena???) but it does go away after a few minutes, thankfully, and leaves a sweet floral. I'm not sure why it smells sweet, maybe that's the honeysuckle, but I think the sweetness saves it from being cloying or overblown. I think this is a scent that would be lovely on bright spring days when the wind is gently swirling and sundresses and beginning to emerge from the depths of closets.

Slobbering Pine doesn't much smell like either slobber or pine. It smells like laundry detergent. It's not a bad smell, it's just... laundry detergent. I tried the oil first on my finer in case it was awful the waft wouldn't be all over, then on my wrist, and the same thing happened both times. the pine shows up for about ten seconds when the oil is wet, then it morphs into the detergent. Maybe it's the florals/ozone/citrus others have mentioned. I personally don't get much citrus, but it may be in the background, but the ozone and florals do seem to be there to my nose. Luckily, I'm no pine lover so I'm not really mourning that aspect of the scent. Despite the detergent smell, it's pretty non-offensive so I'd wear this to work but for the overabundance of scents already in my bottle and imp boxes.

I received an imp of Seraglio somewhere around two years ago, loved the almond and hated the rest (I think it was the rose and other florals, maybe the clove was a factor in that, too) so I put the imp away, never to be worn again. I put some behind my ears today and there was the burst of gorgeous, beautiful, lovely almond as I remembered that died almost immediately, followed up by rose. Rose is a scent that can be hit or miss with me- it misses not by smelling bad per se, but because my nose can't detect it. This rose is one that I can smell (obviously) and from behind my ears, Seraglio is now single note rose. I'm not really a floral lover, but I like this aged version so much better than the fresh that I may very well wear this some more.

When I first opened my bottle of Hunter Moon on the day it arrived it smelled strongly of alcohol- not wine, almost a rubbing alcohol. Yech. On, Hunter Moon wears as a pale brown, slightly furry musk. Not the deep furry musk of Coyote that makes me think of sinking my hand into thick fur, but furry all the same. Maybe it's the musk of the deer running from the hunter. Something about Hunter Moon makes me think of O, even though when I wear O it smells nothing like it. (O isn't sweet on me, it's more a musky scent like this oil.) I don't really smell any vanilla, but the muskiness + vanilla may be fueling this similarity in my mind. Hunter Moon is like O-light. I think that I would have liked Hunter Moon to have some more wine/leaf/smokiness, but I'll let it age some and see if it'll come out but even if the wine and leaves and smoke never come out, I'll enjoy this oil.