MissAnthropy

EGG NOG Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. Oh, Mama. This one is DEAD ON ACCURATE. I am madly obsessed with Egg Nog. For me, the Holidays wouldn't be the same without it. And a good batch of Egg Nog has a scent to it that is equally as appealing as the taste. And BPAL's limited edition masterpiece has that scent... the smell of the perfect batch of Egg nog, served up in an antique crystal and gold trimmed goblet. Brimming over with spice, rum, sugary goodness, and oh, oh, oh... that BRANDY. It really leaps out at me and my happy little nose! That's my 'First Whiff' experience. Now *on* gets even better... After some dry down time, the rum is really prominent. But it's accented by the nutmeg and the brandy. It's so sweet and subtle. Warm. Inviting. Almost... alluring. I can't believe I'm wearing an "Egg Nog" scented oil! It's downright delightful and so far, it's really holding. The spice of this scent gets better and better with my body warmth, too. About 30 minutes later: It's still going fairly strong. Much of the other notes had faded off, but that rum is still there. Sweet, sweet rum. I couldn't resist... I HAD to do a re-app, just so I could sniff the contents of the bottle again. I decanted some straight to an imp, and am applying from that so that I can really slather it on now. I hate Holiday shopping, and so I have decided this is going to be my "Holiday Shopping Blues Pick-Me-Up" scent. It does the trick! -Leslie

Chuparosa: The Hummingbird of Love, the Rose Sucker. A potent, benevolent, merciful love blend. I am really bad at picking out individual notes in some of the harder to identify areas, but I'll give this one a go since I like it so very much. A Gift-Imp of this came to me with one of my orders, and I was anxious to try it, so it was the first I applied. First whiff: Very floral. I can smell some rose, and some very water floral notes. I think I smell Lily of the Valley and Tea Rose. This is a very green scent. Fresh. VERY bright, clean, and a little sweet. In fact, it smells VERY much like the blend of 'Chaos Theory' I purchased. So faerie-ish. On: Still can't pull out any other hints. Green... very, very green though. An hour later: The blend has really faded off thanks to my chemistry. But I should have known this would happen because this is what always happens with me and 'watery floral' scents. But I can still smell it. I re-applied to try and get a better feel for the scent, and now I think I smell Lily of the Valley more than I did before and Sweet Pea? Water Lily? I think I even smell some Wistera! Oh this is driving me insane! I really want to know what's in this blend! Final thoughts: This would make an amazing linen spray scent for me. I like to spray my linens down with very clean, fresh, springtime scents. And this one is perfect. But, I don't think I'd wear it again because it just doesn't jive with me. I'm more of a spicy/incense scent kind of gal. I know a lot of people are going to love this one though! -Leslie

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry. Just received this as a 'freebie' with my 6/17 order. I don't know WHAT'S in it exactly, but I am in !!! I'm pretty sure I smell strawberry in there somewhere. Mayhaps a hint of cinnamon? I just can't tell! It very much reminds of a lighter, more gentle version of 'Hollywood Babylon', though, which is one of my top 10 favorites. I'm curious to see what others think of this scent. I have no description of any kind and no listing of the scent elements. -Leslie [added description ~qs]

The embodiment of heart-wrenching loss, torment, of mad, obsessive cruelty and chilly revenge. This is the scent of a frost-limed wedding bouquet, frozen forever in time. First Whiff (from bottle): Mmmm. As much as I figured this would be a very heavy scent, I was way off base. Extraordinary! Fresh, clean, and floral. Specifically, a very 'watery floral' scent. It's already winning my affection. This oil REALLY embodies "Miss Havisham" - cool/icy and a little minty (frozen in time), watery (like tears), floral (wedding bouquet). Perfect, just perfect. There seems to be herbal hints I can't quite put a finger on though. BUT, everything is working really well together, and nothing is stepping on any toes. On (still wet) : My skin has pulled out the more herbal hints of this scent, and pushed the floral hints into the background. I rather enjoy that this happened, because the floral notes were almost getting to be too much for me. An hour later (dry): STILL going strong. No reapplication needed. THIS means bonus points for this scent! Lasting power is something I always look for in a scent. Later in the evening: She's pretty much gone, and thus, it's time for a reapplication. Again, I catch a whiff of her straight from the bottle that makes me glad I bought a 10ml of this scent!!! If ever our Lab Goddess, Beth, created a meaningful, and memorble scent, Havisham is it! -Leslie

You know what scent I wear a lot when I'm dancing?? Believe it or not... "Anne Bonny". Anne Bonny smells the most like a belly dance scent to me. More so than a pirate scent. But I also wear "Tushnamatay", and "Cathedral", too, which most people wouldn't associate with dance by the descriptions. On me, the resin and spice bases REALLY jump out. And to me, that's what dance scents should smell like. Spice... warm... inviting. -L

So you'd probably like 'Ozone/Marine/Fresh'' scents... you can look for those in the search engine by that scent family listing. You might like 'Embalming Fluid'. Or how about 'Sea of Glass'. Or 'Danube' which isn't floral AT ALL for me, but mostly fresh and watery. Namaste, Leslie

Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Chaos Theory LXXXVII (87?? I failed Roman Numerals 101, sorry!!) One word: SARSAPARILLA!!!!! Well, I'm sure there's a lot of other notes in there, two of which are definitely anise and sandalwood, but the sarsaparilla is over powering pretty much everything. When I wear it, I smell like one of those root beer hard candies - the ones shaped like the little barrels? Tre' Yum. And, this baby has lasting power. Oh boy does she ever!!!! I am so much happier with my CTII than I was with the first one. I am NOT a floral person, and my CTI was all florals. My CT? All spicy and warm. Just how I like it. -Leslie

In the bottle: fresh, bright, ozone. VERY ozone. On: such an oddly clean, and yet almost too soapy scent on me. I don't smell any 'dark' types of notes in it. I can't really even pick out any notes other than something a little herbal. And even more strange, the more I wear it, the more soapy it gets. Final thought: I think perhaps if this was an actual soap scent, I would LOVE it. But, I've never been one for ozone scents, and this one is not only ozone-y, but, very laundry detergent-ish. Like how I make up my own words to describe things? I think perhaps this one is going into the swap pile. I know someone else out there is going to love this. It's just not for me. -Leslie

In the bottle: Vanilla... entwined ever so perfectly with what I consider to be a more 'powdery' floral combination. It also smells very much like a lingering perfume scent you might detect on someone's clothing. The vanilla is demure, and yet, it's the most prominent of the notes in this blend. I like that. Another thing I find endearing about this scent, is it seems to be very personal. It smells like... home. It smells like... my Mom. It smells like an emotion. How weird is that? Ok. Yeah, I'm weird. On: The scent has become very clean smelling, and warmer. I don't think I've smelled many warm *and* clean scents, so this one is really unique. But, I suspect the warmth may have something to do with my own body heat and chemistry. For some reason, I'm detecting cinnamon. But maybe that's just me. It's not very singular, but, I swear I smell cinnamon. An hour later: This is where I make the final decision that 'Antique Lace' is a scent I am going to cherish. Why? Because it has STAYING POWER. It hasn't faded much at all. I can smell it all over me, and even around me. And, I'm not sick of it. Not even a little. Yup. She's a keeper. I shall covet thee bottle... until you are dry Why must I fall in love with discontinued scents. Why oh why!!! -Leslie

I don't know why, but when I'm wearing this blend, I feel as if I'm sitting in tall grass, mingled with breath taking wild flowers. The blend isn't woody at all on me, and I don't detect any pepper at all. Just... flowers... and a warm, lingering note of white musk. I had assumed this scent would fade fast from my skin, but I was wrong. It really stuck around. I put some in one of my scent lockets, and, it REALLY held it's ground. Very nice -Leslie

Beltane... slather it on and prepare to dance around the Maypole! This Festival scent is just bursting with the joy of The Goddess, the Sarcred Rituals of Beltane, and all it's merrymaking!!! I think there may even be a Faerie in my bottle This blend is BRIGHT: the flowers of Spring... Tulips, maybe some Daffodils, definitely fresh, uncut wild grass, and some spice (or at least I think I detect some spicy goodness! In fact, I'm sure I detect some smudging type spices and herbs). It's also a slightly watery scent, which makes me think of the showers of April that bring the May flowers. But as a whole, it does have a fresh cut bouquet scent. Perhaps it's the fresh cut bouquet of flowers making up a gorgeous hand fasting head wreath. Or maybe this is the scent wafting from the floral offerings of Beltane. The possibilities are endless. Then again, this is Beltane we're talking about here. Fresh. New beginnings. Awakenings. Sunshine. Celebration! And I have to add that I think this is one heck of a sexy little blend. I did not think it would be, but, oh mama, is it ever. I'm not big on florals, but this one... yeah, I love her. The May Queen is alive and well, and swimming around in this amazing Black Phoenix Blend!!! -Leslie

Hexennacht has just joined the ranks amongst my favorite BPAL scents of all time. Of course, it's a Limited Edition. For some reason, I always seem to fall in love with the LE's. Tis a curse I tell you!! In the bottle: my friends and I have evening bonfire gatherings quite frequently during the late spring, summer, and fall. Many of BPAL's scents remind me of the late spring, and autumn gatherings, but Hexennacht is *definitely* my summer bonfire scent. Since the bonfires are often out near the woods, close to all kinds of evergreens and other greenery, there is always this scent drifting through the air... a woodsy, warm scent, laced with the smoke of the bonfire, and dew covered grass. Hexennacht is *ALL* of those, in one, magical blend. It's dead on accurate, and I'm floored. On: It fades down to a more smoky scent, but the herbal undertones are still there. Gorgeous. I am so happy that my chemistry hasn't eaten this one alive. That would have been heart breaking. Conclusion: As I said before... magical. Perfection. During the cold winter months, when I am longing for a bonfire, and all that comes with it, I will wear Hexennacht, -Leslie

First whiff: green, very herbal, lightly floral. Lemony! The first whiff gave me a nice impression of most of the notes, but the rosemary is definatly the strongest. It's not obnoxious, thank goodness. This is a very fresh scent. On: WOWZERS. Here comes the rosemary in a BIG WAY! Again, it's strong, but it's not obnoxious. I can wear this out, and I'm not too worried that people will think I smell like a spice rack. I'm glad it wore down to smell like this, because I was also worried I'd end up smelling like nothing but lemon. Lemon noted scents always worry me just a little because for some reason, my chemistry grabs on to the lemon and expands on it Later: Sadly, this nice scent has faded into oblivion for me. Now, all that's left is a faint, medicinal scent. A quick re-app brings the entire scent back - rosemary and all, but, a blend that requires me to reapply it in order to avoid a strange dry-down scent, is kind of a problem when I'm out someplace. So, this will be more of a 'at home' scent, and a locket scent for sure. I like it. But, I don't LOVE it. I wanted to love it, considering my Birthday is in March. Maybe with time, and warmer weather, this scent will grow on me. I hope, I HOPE!!!! -Leslie

Nope. I seem to pick up on a sandalwood note in it, too. It just doesn't seem strong enough to me. I like Hamadryad, but as I was telling people the other day, there's something in it that does not like my skin. I think it may be the cinnamon (which we deducted may be cassia). I can wear it on my wrists, and no where else. If I do, it stings and irritated my skin, especially on my neck. -Leslie

AH HA!!!!! I re-found the Sandalwood thred (well, Andra found it for me). THANK GOODNESS!! I am with VorpalBunny. I like Queen Mab, but she doesn't SCREAM sandalwood the way I want a scent to. In fact, I am still trying to find what refer to as "The Sandalwood Scent of My Dreams". It *was* Noir - which, though it did not list it as a note, was perfectly sandalwoody to me. Now I'm hooked on Cathedral. And, I'm ordering either a 5ml or 10ml of it, but... I keep thinking I'm missing out on some other fantastic sandalwood scents. In fact, I know I am. So... does anyone have any suggestions for me? -Leslie

I decided to slather some Cathedral on. I sniffed it once a long time ago, and tossed it into the imp box. I think I was uninterested in it because at the time, I was more into lilac and violet noted scents. I didn't pay much attention to resins. And I did NOT notice the sandalwood in this scent when I first sniffed it. Oh... my... stars. I'm so sorry I passed this scent by for so long! All I can say is... SANDALWOOD! My beloved, beloved sandalwood. A little more cedar than sandalwood, but oh, the sandalwood is divine. I know some folks don't like this scent because it smells, well, pretty much just like a church. Woody. Resin. Incense. Warm burning smokey kind of scent. It lingers. And it sticks. But for me... it's beautiful. This is going to be a 10ml for me. ASAP. -Leslie

I am so very sad that this scent was discontinued. I received it recently in a swap, and it's fabulous. Cinnamon... but not over powering cinnamon. And, it's not a sickly sweet cinnamon based scent, either. That's what I find so alluring about it. Same with the clove. It's there, and it's perfect... not too strong, murky, or obnoxious. There's such a balance to this scent. There seems to be other notes in there as well, but picking them out is hard. I think I decent some sandalwood, but, the clove and cinnamon are the most prominent notes, and for me it's hard to sniff around em' Either way, this was a great experience. I received one compliment when I was wearing it. When I was at the vet with my puppy, the receptionist said, "Ooh! Who smells good!!!" - and that made me smile. -Leslie

Oh yes! Dragon's Milk for sure. And... I adore Intrigue, too. I find that to be a very warm scent. -Leslie

I personally find Hamadryad to be a very warm scent. Scylla mentioned Three Witches, too. Yes, I put that one in the warm scent category as well. But here are some of my other warm scents: Haunted, Velvet, Bliss, O, Morrocco, Jack (but I'm still using the original Jack, so I don't know about the current one), Ravenous, and Serpent's Kiss. And my all time favorite warm scent: Antique Lace... -Leslie

It's driving me insane trying to pick notes out of this scent, so I've been applying it several times over the course of the evening. As others have said, it's very sweet. I keep thinking I smell magnolia, and... apple. But, when the scent starts to dry down, I detect more of the apple, and less of the floral scent of the magnolia. But is that magnolia? Someone else said honeysuckle, but I can't seem to distinguish between the two, and I'm leaning more towards magnolia. While I do like this scent, it's far too sweet and floral for my taste. It's very fitting for it's name though. The Hanged Man often shows it's face when there's confusion and even delirium in a situation. This is a very flighty scent in my opinion. The lab did a great job with this one, it just doesn't work for me. -Leslie

I am madly in love with this scent. And to think I put her into the scent box after I first smelled her. She didn't impress me then for some reason. But I believe there's a time and a place for everything... including scents. And now was the time for me to have a romantic little romp with Namaste I am a sucker for sandalwood scents. And this one is one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of wearing. None of the other scents drown out the sandalwood, thank goodness, and so the scent is very warm and spicy on me. Just how I like it.... *smile* For some odd reason, I can't really detect the rose or jasmine as much as the sandalwood, cedarwood, and lemongrass. But that's just fine with me because I'm not a huge fan of most rose and jasmine noted scents. :love: -Leslie

For 'Fresh Scents' I grab: June Gloom, Shattered (minty, sweet, floral), Havisham, Amsterdam, Tears and Wildfire (which I consider to be a fresh scent). But June Gloom is, hands down, the uber-freshest BPAL I've ever sniffed. Someone once said it smelled like a garden of Lemon Verbana, after a light rain shower. And that's pretty dead on for me. And, it really lifts my spirits, too, because I grow Lemon Verbana, and when it rains, the whole yard smells like June Gloom. In the winter, I sniff the bottle, and have instant memories of summer. -Leslie

Oh, Dorian. How I love thee. Dorian is currently my 'evening, relaxing' scent. It's everything I always wanted in a 'tea' scent. It layers well with so many other scents, too. It doesn't have major staying power on me, but I don't care because I wear it mostly for me, when I'm just spending an evening at home. I have this 'Vanilla' tea that smells so much like Dorian it's uncanny. So, I like to slather on the Dorian, make a cup of that tea, and really relish in the whole experience. I also carry a little decant of Dorian with me, in my purse. When I'm done at the gym, or am coming back from some kind of work out, I like to put it on because it's such a clean scent. It's clean, and yet, it's warm. I really like that. I haven't experienced many scents like that. Clean, usually means bright and even a little crisp and cold. So I am REALLY loving this scent's magic. -Leslie

HAUNTED!!! Haunted A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk. Animalic / Musky Resin / Incense / Smoky -Leslie

Actually, I had some Snake Oil stain a white t-shirt of mine once. And I used hydrogen peroxide. It took it right out. I had surgery this past summer, and unfoturnatly, healing included some bleeding... and so I had the HP down in the laundry room already. It does work wonder on blood stains. So, here's me saying... HP worked for me. It got the Snake Oil stain out of my shirt All I did was soak the area of the shirt that was stained in the HP for about 10 minutes, then I washed it as normal. -Leslie