Inanna9

If, from these fruitless yearnings Thou wouldst deliver me, Say that the charms of Nature Are lovely still to thee; While I am thus repining, O! let me but believe, 'These pleasures are not lost to her,' And I will cease to grieve. O, scorn not Nature's bounties! My soul partakes with thee. Drink bliss from all her fountains, Drink for thyself and me! Say not, 'My soul is buried In dungeon gloom with thine;' But say, 'His heart is here with me; His spirit drinks with mine.' As sweet as death, as deep as the grave: pomegranate, raspberry, gardenia, plum, and rose with patchouli, black pepper, rose musk, and a hint of blood accord. How could I pass up the chance to be first (me! Aries! yay!) to review the Crypt Queen? I've been fragrance-free all day in anticipation of Her arrival. Alas, the pressure is on... In the bottle: Fruity! A lovely melding of pomegranate and raspberry, with just a hint of something sinister beneath, something musky and a little dirty. I suspect I'm going to like this. On, still wet: The pomegranate is ripe...dark and juicy - not a note that always works for me, but I'm swooning already. I think the raspberry gives it a heady zing. Then the patchouli and plum kick in... omg, this is...so good. Sorry, I'm at a loss for purple prose at the moment because I can't stop sniffing my wrist. Fear not, dirty-hippyphobes: this is the patch of Mme. Moriarty and Dark Delicacies. Very smooth and sultry. *sniff* Oh yeah, Crypt Queen gets her very own branch on that family tree. Drying: The juiciness of the fruits starts to fade, appropriately enough, and the darker plum takes over the job. I think it keeps the florals in line, because I can smell the richness of rose and gardenia wafting along beside it, but no single note is amping its loveliness all up in my nose. I'll also give credit to the musk and the soft bite of the black pepper for doing the same - they (and that amazing patchouli) lend this the earthy, creepy nuance it needs. But nothing takes over, everything blends. It's a friggin' symphony: dark fruits...regal yet subdued florals...all grounded by some sexy, spooky base notes. Already in my Top Ten. Really, really gorgeous and sophisticated. ETA Later that evening... I've been running errands with this all afternoon, and I keep catching the most beautiful clouds of dark, earthy florals. Good thing this is such a stunner, because Crypt Queen lasts and lasts. And the coffin is possibly the coolest thing ever. My Halloween is already Happy. I need a swooning vampiress emoticon or something. Brava, Beth!

Sol Invictus Sane, sol et in cloacam radios suos defert nec inquinatur. A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom. Once the amber kicks in, this is to die for. In the bottle and wet, the first thing I get is lots of soft (as opposed to juicy) citrus and creamy floral, and something almost sharp and harsh --maybe that was the saffron and frankincense before they dried down, I dunno. Once the amber begins to amp, this gets warm and a little sweet, with a muted orange tone, all grounded nicely by the frankincense. I'm even getting the saffron and yay! it blends seamlessly. The whole thing is so balanced and smooth. This a very cozy, comforting blend, almost a softer, fruitier version of Sol - more feminine and without the spice. I love that this is warm and golden without using any allspice or anything that would make it smell like a Yankee Candle, and yet I still get that homey, kitchen vibe from it. This is wonderful...I'm so happy that I finally have my golden sunny scent!

No description Chthonic pronounced Ka-thon-ic, Thon-ic, or sometimes Ka-ton-ic (<--not so sure about that last one) adj. Of or relating to the underworld. [From Greek khthonios, of the earth, from khthn, earth.] -American Heritage Dictionary ETA: I've been meaning to add this link to an article that does an excellent job of covering these concepts (much better than my rambling review). Look it over if you get a chance...it's pretty darn good. An excerpt from the opening: ******************* Okay, two word review: It Works. Wait...two more words: Be Careful. All right, here's a whole lot more words: I used this for dream and shadow work. I was somewhat obsessed with Pluto: The Planet, appropriately enough, and was still nursing an ongoing love/lust thing for Lord Shiva, and was looking to dig up a few mental/emotional blocks that I felt were holding me back. So what is that oft-quoted phrase? Oh, right: "The real problem with magick is not so much the question of whether it works, but the fact that it does." At the time, I considered myself to be doing psychological workings. But that's a mighty fine line there, I've discovered. This blend will be very useful to anyone looking to get deep into the recesses of their psyche through meditation, ritual or dreamwork. I used it for a little over a week and had some of the biggest breakthroughs I've had in a long while. It started in my dreams and soon even bled into wakefullness, with revelations and other things that would sometimes hit me in the middle of day. I mentioned caution in using this for two reasons, the first one being that this will dredge up your demons and shadows if you want, and maybe it goes without saying, but it's important to be prepared for that. There's a lot of transformative power in the underworld, but there are also nearly always repercussions. That's not to say it's bad, it may not even be scary, just...powerful. Some people may want to use this to invoke some of the more chthonic deities or energies, and that's the second reason I would urge caution. At the risk of sounding repetitive--it freaking works. The week I was using this was also the week I got what--to me--felt an awful lot like a visit from Lilith. Of course, at the time I was also burning some incense named for her, just not with intent or anything (I got it on ebay fer chrissakes...I didn't actually think it would work). But for a few spooky moments that evening, it felt as if she were skulking around the periphery of my backyard and/or consciousness, wondering why this silly girl had summoned Her. (picture me at this point snuffing the incense stick out on the ground with my shoe.) So...yeah. And no, I'm not crazy, if anyone's wondering that now (pretty sure, anyway ). What I tell myself, is that She was probably just a product of my sometimes very overactive imagination. I sleep better that way. So there you go. This stuff rocks. Use with caution. oh yeah...and it smells kind of spicy edited to add link: read it...it's good!

well, crap. I fell in love with my decant of Black Death and was going to order a bottle, but I'll be holding out until I hear what is going on with the new batch. Thanks for the heads up, guys.

Ooooooo....the vampire labels are everything I was hoping they would be. Nice work, Lab! And thanks for the pics, ladies. I usually avoid spoilers but I couldn't resist a peek this time.

Darkness is a good one if you like opium.

awesome dirt crack. Seriously, if the hit lasted more than 50 seconds this would be my absolute signature blend. I would wear it everywhere. But sadly, all soil note perfection quickly turns to perfumy perfume on me. It's worth keeping just for the first huff though. Crack, I tell you.

I've found it. My sugary-sweet Holy Grail. At last. Every other sweet candy blend has had something just a little bit off: Beaver Moon went a little too plastic cheesecake; Sticky Pillowcase had a brown sugar note that I didn't care for; Velvet Unicorn was too...toooo. Even my previous favorite, Treat #1 went a little too sharp for my taste. This one is perfect. The cream note is pure and marshmellowy instead of buttery or caramelized, the strawberry sugar is clear and pink and plastic-free, and the dandelion is just the right touch of fresh. This is my own personal Pink Princess scent. I feel like I'm wearing my Strawberry Shortcake flannel nightgown, clutching My Pretty Pony every time I put this on. Bottles and bottles, yes :love:

Prettiest soap scent ever. I mean it. And as a compliment, too This is so delicate and feminine and clean that i can't stop sniffing my wrist. It's soapy in the best way ever; a perfect scent if you need something pretty but neutral, or something to put on when you're wearing your crisp linen shirt or lounging around in your white fluffy robe and slippers. But that's just me. i love it. and even though I'm desperately trying to talk myself down from a massive bottle order before the Lupercalias go away, I'm finding it hard *not* to put this one on my MUST GET BOTTLE! list.

There's something in Fruit Moon that lifts my spirits; even when I think I'm not in the mood to wear it, I put it on and end up happy. Hungry Ghost Moon is the same way. Also: Sagittarius Moxie Tiki Queen Blue Fire Tarot: The Sun Jasmine Cottage Garden Path with Chickens El Dia de Reyes

This reminds of a honeyed-up version of Kindly Moon. It's very pretty and feminine. Peaches and magnolias and a warm cozy amber honey-vanilla. The perfect scent to wear when Smut would be inappropriate. I like it a lot. I may try to track down more (and it's got me missing that bottle of Kindly Moon I sold off ).

stream of consciousness review: Wow, this smells much prettier than I expected it to. But at the same time, it almost has a masculine vibe. Mostly it's just rich, sweet and deep. I get primarily cedar and vanilla (and I'm guessing the benzoin gives it that little extra sweet kick) and a hint of generic holiday spice I can't attribute to anything in particular - but maybe that's the patchouli combined with the cedar. It all blends really well. Lovely, and not much patch or leather or twigs at all - and I think it was those notes that made me expect something more sinister. That's okay, I have All Hallow's Eve for that.

This is the lovely and sophisticated green in Orpheus combined with the lush dandelion meadow of Garden Path With Chickens. With maybe a dash of the bright juiciness in Green Phoenix. I'm feeling lazy today so comparisons are all I've got. My apologies to the new folks Needless to say, if you like Green you'll love this.

This is Sagittarius' demure little sister and Luperci's cousin. Starts out herbal and cozy, and then adds a soft floral note as it dries. OMG so pretty.

I haven't done a review in ages, but this one has knocked me over. I expected the musks to be much heavier and in-your-face, but I swear there's some of my beloved skin musk in here. I don't know, maybe it's just an illusion from the high-pitch of the leather accord (a leather that dries down to absolute perfection, btw). Regardless, this blend is much more suave and subliminal than I expected - pheromone-like, really. Totally evocative of a man's man, but the kind who talks softly and carries a big...stick. yeah. Thumbs up.

Oh thank you, stellans! Beautiful labels...

Anyone know if the new Schwarzer Mond and Lune Noire bottles have the same labels as last time?

From the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle (although I'm not sure there's civet in here): Hate sound like a certain celebutante skank, but...this is hawt. Satyr was one of the first BPALs I tried, and I remember at the time thinking it was just a wee bit too strong. My nose must be thoroughly broken in, because I'm positively swooning right now. This is Smut with cloves. It's sweet enough to be feminine, but if a man were sitting next to me wearing this right now...well, let's just say I wouldn't be typing. I want a bottle.

From the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle, courtesy of Fatalbellydance: wet - ooh! pretty! I recognize the sage from Sagittarius, one of my all time loves. I guess this makes it official that I'm a fan of sage. The iris emerges and it is a lovely compliment to the herbal sage. Not too heady a floral. I thought I caught a whiff of something high and sharp like civet, but it's gone as the florals amp. I think it kind of comes and goes as I sniff. This is very pretty, but it gets stronger and more insistent - not overpowering, but maybe an eensie bit menacing. Which seems appropriate.

From the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle, courtesy of Sealgair" Ah yes...civet. The Force is strong with this one. For a moment, it almost goes sweet from what I imagined was red or dark musk, and I'm catching something low and deep like myrrh, but mostly it's a sharp, musky civet that mellows into something sulphur-ish (not a horrible egg-like odor, but that's what pops in my head when I sniff) and brown. It's not awful, but not something I'd wear as perfume, that's for sure.

From the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle: Wet, I get rose and ylang-ylang and musk. I'm not picking up on the civet, but just when I think I'm catching a whiff -- BAM! -- hello, rose! And ylang-ylang! Wow, this one really amps more than I remember. Maybe it's the aging. I have a bottle of the resurrected version, and I'm not sure if this decant is the original or later edition...but wow. Lotsa lotsa rose, thickened and enriched by heady ylang-ylang. It doesn't smell as kick-ass as I recall, more old ladyish. Now a little red musk is peeking out. So maybe a kick-ass old lady.

From JennyGardener and the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle. Sweet wine and sex. That's how I picture this one. I think people shouldn't be as scared of civet as they are. Anyone who likes a strong musk should do fine with civet. This makes me think of a purple Smut sometimes. Although the longer it goes on, the less sweet and the more musky it gets. It's not a wear to the office scent Once it's over and dry it's more like sweet, fermented wine and sex...ambiance of the after-after party. And well done, I must say.

From JennyGardener and the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle: Black Annis has got to be in the BPAL Top 5 of Most Evocative Scents. Wet, it's dank and feral. Every time I put this one on I can just see this clawed, disheveled crone stooped over in some dark cave, smelling like she hasn't seen a bath in a few centuries Not that I want to scare anyone away from this one. Because it doesn't smell bad...just musky dank and scary. The anise saves the day, surprisingly enough. It gives this a cool, almost sweet edge and seems to counteract the civet so that the musk isn't overpowering. Same goes for the vetiver: it's dark but not too oily -- it almost seems sweet as well -- and gives this a nice depth, grounding all these crazy notes into one spooky whole.

via the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle (courtesy of Moonarcana) I thought this would be major vetiver based on a sniff of the imp, but there's no vetiver to be found now that it's on. I'm catching thyme and something lemon-like but dark. The bottom note is thick, so I guess that's the vetiver, but overall this is high and a bit sharp on me. Oh, of course...it's the white musk. It doesn't care for me much, and it tries to turn everything into aftershave. At this point I can't detect the difference between a drop of civet and white musk throwing a wobbly. Striking out with Lenore.

via the Civet Evangelism sniffing circle. In the imp I got a strong hit of cedar and I was positive that this would be a disaster on me. BPAL's cedar and I don't get along. But this is really pretty and the woody note does what it was intended to do and evokes parchment to me, and a dim dusty study. I'm having trouble differentiating between the cedar and the juniper as this goes on, but that's probably my skin trying to turn the cedar into pencil shavings. The cedar holds strong and true, but drowns out everything else in the process - I'm not getting any orange either, only a musky, dusty cedar. It's really quite delicate and lovely though. I'm surprised how much I like this.