angelamaria

In decant: dusty, and very very faintly bitter orange blossom honey. No, wait, it's not bitter--it's the tobacco. So, smoky? I can also detect that brown-sugar-sweetness. Wet on skin: orange blossom, honey, tobacco, and...tonka. Definitely creamy and complex, but not overwhelming and confusing. It's definitely gender neutral. As it dries, the saffron is coming up--I very distinctly recognize it from my Monster Bait: Underpants sniffie! Mmmm, this is a nice saffron. Maybe this is a good Underpants substitute? I'm definitely getting the same feel I got from Underpants, but slightly spicier. Note that I'm going by memory, so it may be hazy. Dry: mmmmm, delish. Smooth and creamy saffron, honey, and orange blossom. Very, very beautiful blend, I need to get a backup of this even though I already have a bottle winging its way to me! It's a perfect balance between sweet and spicy and smoky, a perfect sexy low-key blend. Later on, it's softened into a smoky/tobacco-ey saffron, and the orange blossom almost gone, which is a shame. I can still sense it, but faint. Verdict: I'm not as excited as I was when it was drying/newly dry, but I'm definitely liking this blend a lot and I'm pleased as punch I'll have a chance to purchase it at lab prices. Need backups!

Weee!! Thanks so much You're fabulous!

Too... too many wolfy scents? I'm sorry, that doesn't compute *hugs bottles of wolfy scents close* Well, I hope she doesn't have exactly the same tastes that I do, then! Usually darker scents are a no go for me--tried out WILF and it wasn't for me but it's a good 50/50 chance she will like what y'all like

I actually went through this entire thread a couple of weeks ago and put every blend suggested for every aspect of Harry Potter into a spreadsheet... I've been meaning to organize it and post it here but I just haven't had time. (New house, lots of cleaning and painting, sigh.) I'll try to get that up soon for you! In the meantime, I have to suggest No. 93 Engine - to me, the scent of Dumbledore's office. It's so warm and comforting, which immediately makes me think of Dumbledore, plus the steampunk aspect reminds me of all the little gadgets and gizmos he always had scattered around. If your friend is a Dumbledore fan (like I am!), I'd definitely say get some No. 93 Engine for her. Oh fabulous! I would love to see that list And maybe take some for myself No. 93 Engine is interesting--I'll definitely try to get my hands on one myself!

Oh thank you! I did not know there was a Badger blend now--I'll definitely track it down. I haven't smelled/tested Misk U nor Tintagel, haha, so I can't comment, but I will definitely try both. Maybe include both! I think Coyote sounds fabulous--a feminine Fenris Wolf sounds like a good match I was also frimped A Howl in the Darkness some time ago and I'm saving that low partial to give to her as well. Haha I'm feeling a bit worried that there will be too many wolfy scents though!

When I saw this prototype, I knew I had to have it. An aswang is a Philippine monster--not necessarily one specific type of monster, as the term is used loosely to identify all kinds of horrific beings. Aswang as a term is usually used for any vague monster, as opposed to kapre, tikbalang, manananggal, etc which are more well-known under their own particular type. Wikipedia has its own definition, of course: "Aswangs" are often described as a combination of vampire and witch and are almost always female. They are sometimes used as a generic term applied to all types of witches, vampires, manananggals, shapeshifters, therianthropes, and monsters in general. Aswang stories and definitions vary greatly from region to region and person to person, so no one particular set of characteristics can be ascribed to the term. However, the term is often used interchangeably with manananggal, which is a particular creature with a specific set of features. They are often portrayed as a monster with wings which flap loudly when she's far away and quietly when she's nearer. The most popular original definition however, is that it is a bal-bal (maninilong in Catanauan, Quezon), an eater of the dead. After consumption, the bal-bal replaces the cadaver with banana trunks. On to the prototype review! In the bottle: very green banana leaf scent. Faintly sweet, and faintly medicinal. This is rather evocative of provinces in the Philippines and medicine doctors and manghihilot and their oils. Chilly without being minty. Wet on skin: on my skin the greenness amps up over the sweetness, and there is sometimes an almost sharp green note, like broken stalks. There is a rather spicy, almost dark note in the background, almost menacing. Dry: this is a lot more medicinal to my nose when dry, and it's developed a slight powdery note, maybe somewhat smoky. Green banana leaves and dark spices, and the sharp green broken-stalk whiffs still come up from time to time. As it lasts longer on my skin, a faint dirt note starts to develop, which seems perfect for what it's supposed to be. I'd honestly expect a darker, more sinister feel from an aswang although this is so brightly sinister and very tropical in feel that it doesn't disappoint.

So I'm trying to put together an imp (or decant) pack for a friend, who is not into BPAL but is into Harry Potter. We've never actually met in person (not yet!) so I have no idea what type of scents she prefers, what she smells like, etc--what I'm looking to collect for her would be scents that are evocative of the series (or parts of the series), but also possibly good for someone new to BPAL. So they don't have to be all universal crowd-pleasers, but maybe one or two, at least. As for the series, her favorite character is Remus, so I'm thinking of definitely decanting WILF for her, and maybe Fenris Wolf. I'll also be looking for a decant of Werepuppy for Teddy, but not sure about Tonks--I skimmed the thread and didn't find any scent that screams of Tonks to me. Maybe something has come out recently that works for her? Certainly getting her: The Lion The Raven Snake Oil (unsure about Hufflepuff--someone suggested Enraged Groundhog Musk? in terms of feel, I think Halfling might work, but Halfling is a bit too steeped in RPG/etc that I want to steer clear of it, if possible) Likely shoo-ins: Magus London I don't have anything for Hogwarts yet though. I've seen recs of Miskatonic U and Tintagel, I might decide for the former myself. I'm also steering clear from the ingredients suggestions (i.e. Boomslang) because then I'd feel like I'd have to included ALLLLL of them. I don't want to overwhelm her haha.

I'd have to chime in on the Halfling recommendation. It was a very "comfortable" scent for me, the type to lounge in at home wearing sweatpants and curled up on the couch It ultimately wasn't for me, but it's a very distinctive oatmeal blend.

In bottle: mmm, creamy sarsaparilla. Definitely rootbeer-y, slightly cologney. yum. Foody, but not overly so, with just the right amount of sweetness. Wet on skin: this doesn't change a lot on my skin from the bottle smell; I'm not sure if it's creamier, or "bubblier"--it seems to be both at different whiffs. As it dries, the bubbliness and the cologne-y-ness seems to be disappearing, but it fluctuates between perfectly creamy and very slightly plasticky. I tested this on two places, my wrist and my arm (where I usually wear my oils; since I work on computers wrists tend to disappear quickly). The one on my arm does not seem to be developing any plastic, or it's very faint. Dry: oh wow. This actually seems to work! It's not "sweet" on me; it's faintly sweet, but in a rootbeer sort of way instead of a cake/treats one...which is probably why it's not screaming plastic on me! My wrist does have a pinch of plastic if I sniff hard and think about it; but the bit on my arm is perfect, even after a whole day of wear. Dry, it's creamy rootbeer with a bit of ginger, but in a soft, smooth way. Verdict: yay!! I finally have a foody blend that works on my skin. It's lovely and yummy without being over the top, which is just what I love. Yum.

My favorite green blends include 51, Jerusalem Cherry Infused Honey, and more recently, Sea of Glass and Envy.

In tester: creamy, soft florals. The description is so, so apt: this is a soft, faded cologne! Definitely spot on. Amazing. Very, very pretty. I can smell that beautiful vanilla as well. Wistful and nostalgic. Wet on skin: clean, soft, and nostalgic, yes. Again, faded perfume and cologne, soft and creamy and rounded. It's faintly floral, but this is not a "feminine scent", although neither is it a gender neutral one, exactly--it's kind of in the middle of feminine and neutral. It's difficult to explain! The vanilla is fabulous. I can understand why this is such a holy grail scent. And I am sad that this is continued. And I am sad that the other laces are not this pretty. Dry: I AM SAD PANDA. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. ONLY CAPS CAN EXPRESS THE BEAUTY OF THIS. Ahem. Vanilla and non-flowery florals, if that makes sense...faded slightly-floral/sweet perfumes and colognes. Clean and soft. I can't stop sniffing my hand where I put the small amount on; it is true to itself for pretty much the whole time it was on my skin. I am going to hoard my sniffie, hoard it so, so, so much. Verdict: I am sad. I am very sad. This is so pretty, and so expensive. As if being in absolute love with Snowblind and The Unicorn and Regan and (etc etc) isn't enough, I have to add this. SIGH. But it is BEAUTIFUL. DO YOU HEAR ME? IT IS BEAUTIFUL. Edited to add: see my three-way deathmatch between Antique Lace, Elf v4, and XCDL13 here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/65148-death-matchin/page__view__findpost__p__2050792

In tester: funereal and heady; that first whiff reminded me solidly of Annabel Lee. Elegant and almost aloof; creamy but also cologney, somehow. There's that definite incense and Indian musk tones. Not very promising, but we'll see! Wet on skin: whew, hello incense. I know there's no mention of it in the notes, but I am getting vetiver from this....which is not promising in the slightest. Also some patchouli? My nose can interchange the two scents sometimes. This is definitely on the dark/black side. Dry: ah, powdery patchouli now, I think! Over the times I've given patchouli blends a try, I usually end up with some powder, in varying degrees. Given that these types of notes are so popular in the community, I can get the demand for this; and even though I don't usually like patchouli, and I usually hate vetiver, I can say that this IS pretty. But...it's going to powder fairly quickly, just a few minutes drying and everything else seems to have gotten swamped by it. Oh well! Verdict: as I said, I can understand the demand for this blend, but thankfully this is not something I would wear, or can even wear. Very pretty, though!

In bottle: oooh, citrusy bright! Tea and bourbon vanilla, and slightly woody, slightly green. Woody-green, I suppose? I'm not entirely sure how that translates to "tattered lace", but okay! Wet on skin: creamy, spicy vanilla and lemon tea. Beautiful! This is green and citrusy, smells rather yellow-green for me. It's light, and bright, but not overwhelmingly so; it has a creamy feel to it, as well. Very promising. Dry: all dry, it's a creamy lemon tea. It reminds me a bit of Dorian, with the spiciness of Red Lace, but it's lighter and definitely more my style than Red Lace, as it is. Throw is light, stays close to skin, and sexy in a different way from Red Lace--this is more of a demure kind of sexiness. Later on, it's gotten a lot fainter, definitely hugging the skin, and "clean" smelling. Verdict: I'm not too "sold" on this one yet. It's very pretty, but it feels a little...flat? Maybe it just needs a good bit of aging to have it smooth out some more and really come into its own.

In bottle: sexy! I'm getting vanilla, and faintly fruity, sweet, and musky notes. I started writing "yum", but decided that this isn't "foody", but it IS almost yummy. Very nice, and promising! Wet on skin: I'm able to get the fruits better now--the pomegranate and raspberry are out on top, and a bit of the tobacco and sandalwood rounding the blend out, giving it depth. I like the sandalwood here. Very sexy, quite creamy, and spicy-sweet. As it dries, I'm getting a bit of powder, but so far so good; the sandalwood, red fruits, and vanilla are coming together really nicely, a sexy spicy-sweet vanilla. Dry: aha, there you are, patchouli. It's come to the fore now, with a good dose of pomegranate to sweeten it up, and the tobacco is giving it some of that spicy feeling. Pretty, sexy, and those fruity notes are love, but it's getting more and more powdery the longer is stays on my skin, until it's pretty much powdery patchouli and spices. Where are the fruits? Verdict: maybe some aging will do this some good? But I daresay the patchouli will just get even more prominent. I'll give it a shot, but this isn't very promising, what with the powder and all. I'm sad, I did want to have this work on me.

Ah, Spirits of the Dead. Still looking for a bottle of that! I'm collecting the Poe bottles :x Weisse Maus v4 is still available on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/listing/75957096/weisse-maus-v4-5ml-black-phoenix-alchemy it's in my cart actually, waiting for the next Etsy update

Well, other than The Unicorn and Cottonmouth, the other three are limited editions! But yes, it is pretty sad. Someone frimped me The Unicorn while I was new and buying imps left and right--and I fell right in love. It's crazy difficult to find, and expensive when you do, usually. Add that to the fact that it's got a relatively light throw and thus you'd likely want to slather... I wouldn't be surprised the reason why it's so rare now is because everyone who had it before it got DC'ed had pretty much used it all up, haha.

Here you go! http://www.bpal.org/search/index.php?term=linden&mybutton=1&search=1 Not a lot based on that search; I'm also looking for them as well

Reviving the thread! Can anyone suggest a scent that's similar to The Body Shop's Africa? It's shea butter and sesame oil.

In imp: pink and sweet, with a faintly citrusy note from the mandarin blending well with the florals. Very promising! High-pitched is definitely the right term for its brightness, but it's not too "screeching" to be discordant; in the mix of all these different floral notes (I can almost tell them apart, almost, but not quite) it all still blends well together. Wet on skin: hmm, this has gone on faint on my skin. The lily is topmost for me here, and it's a bright elegant floral, with a touch of the ethereal--not really as "high pitched" as the bottle scent. It's also more white now, than pink. I'm a little sad, but maybe it will make a comeback. Dry: well, it did come back, of a sort! The bright fruity note is back--lightly pink-sweet, and the throw is also better. It's sweet and ethereal, and the scent changes every so often in terms of what's at the top: at various points I'd say it would be lily, or the musk, or the sweet mandarin, peony, etc. As it stays on my skin though, something goes powdery, until it's pretty much disappeared into powder. Verdict: very pretty, in both a bright and soothing way, but alas, there is the powder again. I don't know what turned into powder--maybe the laurel?--but it was rather disappointing.

In imp: a heady, fruity-floral blend. I'm very clearly smelling iris and berries, sweet and almost intoxicating. I'm also getting the slightly-powdery amber. Wet on skin: the powdery amber is the first thing I can identify, which doesn't bode well for me :/ The iris has gone missing, it's mostly just berries now--and thus fruity, but on second thought--it feels more "foody" than "fruity" to me. Dry: sadly, this is an amber I apparently can't wear. The powder's overwhelmed the scent, and it's gone slightly oily as well, and as it stays longer on my skin, it's giving me a definite Blood Pearl vibe: that same sort of oiliness. Verdict: I love the place--I've just been there a few weeks ago!--but I'm afraid the blend is just not for me. It is a pretty scent, and it feels quite appropriate for Florence, but even if it had not gone powdery, I'm not sure a heady scent like this is for me.

A truly fae nectar! Dragon’s blood resin and honeyed vanilla. In imp: hmm. Resiny milk? I can get a bit of the vanilla, but it's not much to my nose. Wet on skin: huhhh. This is surprisingly sweet! It's almost candylike, but rather ethereal. I can get at a hint of the resin at the end. Honey honey honey--very sweet, very creamy. It's not so much "vanilla" as cream to me, it melds well with the other notes here. As it dries, I'm also getting a bit of cherry. Huh where did that come from? Dry: sweet cherry! Very sweet, and unexpected, and quite nice and yummy. It's slightly powdery at the start, and I thought that it was nice at this stage, but soon (about 2-3 hours later) it's gone all powder: a sweet, almost cherry-like powder but...it's still powder. Verdict: aww, I really liked this one. It's frustrating how it's disappeared into slightly-cherry-smelling baby powder.

In imp: this is a powdery-tart floral, with the violets and lilies more noticeable than the rest. Bittersweet is just about right. Wet on skin: wow O_O it's gone all to powder on my skin immediately! This usually only happens with rose; I'm not entirely sure which is the culprit here. Everything else is pretty much overpowdered, er, I mean overpowered Sniffing (very) deeply, I can get the cypress as well as a floral--but it's too faint for me to distinguish which floral it is. It can very well be a blend of the "leftover" florals, or just one. Dry: the powder has quieted down slightly, but still out in full force. Powdery violet, somewhat ticklish to my nose, but not a lot more. I thiiiiink I can get a little lily, and a little cypress, but at this point the notes are too washed out to be very sure what they are. Verdict: nope, my skin doesn't like this.

Yes, it is ...bah, too late!

A brief introduction: I am an Edgar Allan Poe fan, and I've been hunting for the bottles of his since-discontinued series in BPAL, mostly to collect. Annabel Lee, in particular, is my favorite poem of his--well, actually, it's my favorite poem, hands down. It moves me, and when feeling particularly emotional, yes, it makes me cry. I gave an impromptu in-class reading of this poem when I was in high school, and I was almost in tears when I finished--and some of my classmates were, too. Needless to say, this was the first BPAL that I felt an actual emotional need to own (as opposed to "oh! pretty shiny perfume blends! want! *grabby hands*"). AHEM. Let's get on with it!! In bottle: well, funereal is just about right. This is a gloomy, dark, sorrowful, and--yes--funereal floral. I wasn't looking at the description when I had my first whiff, and I immediately thought of funerals. I actually felt a little disappointed, and dreading the actual test--I'm generally a "bright" sort of person, and this does not seem like it would be something that would fit me. However, it IS a sweet, gentle, soft and innocent blend, it is perfect for the image I always had of Annabel Lee (sans the gloominess): a gently-smiling, almost-ladylike young girl just starting to become a woman. The florals are well-blended, but if there's any scent that I would say I get easier than the rest, it's the wild peony and the sea lilies. Wet on skin: wow, this is actually brighter on my skin, not as gloomy--much more "alive". It's almost the same as the bottle scent, but without the almost overpowering gloominess and sadness. There is a kind of..."ache", though. Not a literal ache, but more of a feeling. This is...amazing. Very, very evocative of Annabel Lee, that sweet beautiful sadness, almost ethereal. ...What? Oh yes, the notes. Well, now I'm getting the lilies more, against the other florals, and there is an almost-woodsy, green note, which I'm supposing is the moss. And maybe the cucumber, so it's not too heavy. Dry: same as above. Ohhhh, so pretty. So BEAUTIFUL. I love this. I love love love this. It's a soft, sweet floral, sometimes almost bubblegummy but never really going into that direction. It's a somewhat sweet-spicy-dusty sort of blend now, dry on my skin, so it's everything, absolutely everything that seems to encapsulate Annabel Lee. A young, pretty, sweet innocent girl; the young love they had; the ache of longing, the sadness of tragedy, and yet the brightness, almost-exultant sweetness of having that love and sharing that love with someone, even fleetingly. And amazingly, after an hour or two on my skin, I'm starting to detect a slight salty aquatic vibe with the scent that was NOT there before: which is AMAZINGLY apt, given the poem--you can almost see that "sepulchre there by the sea", and Annabel Lee becoming one with the vast waters, and the sorrow of loss, and salty tears. And oh lastly--this has AMAZING longevity. This is the first time that a scent has lasted me for the whole day! I expected, as with all florals, for this to be gone by midday, or not even as long as that--but it's past 10 hours now since I put it on, and I can still smell it on my arm. Good throw, as well, up until a bit past midday, when it started to be more fleeting. Verdict: well, duh! This is probably the longest blend review I've ever done so far. A very, very worthy purchase, and I must hunt for more. I am sad that she is discontinued, but I am so happy to have found her.

In imp: bread! and some butter! I want toast now, from smelling this blend. Yum. There is a sugary sweetness at the end of my whiffs. Wet on skin: nom nom nom. Toasted bread with butter. I'm getting a bit of the tea, but only in the background--weak tea is the right phrase for it. Definitely foody. Hmm, I might be getting more of the tea than I thought--I think I'm getting a lemon note, quite faint. Definitely foody. This reminds me of my favorite snack when I was a kid: toasted and buttered bread, with lots of sugar crystals dusting the top. Dry: mostly the same as the wet on skin scent, some vanilla-like note is emerging and making it creamier than before. Yummy, and interesting, but I'm not entirely sure--it feels like it's missing a little something. Verdict: I might end up getting a bottle for nostalgia, but it's not an "omg must have one now" sort of scent for me.