renaissancerouge

To me, Blood Lotus smells an awful lot like White Shoulders, only an eviller and sexier White Shoulders...(unfortunately it still takes me back to Mrs. Naylor, my 4th grade teacher) If you like watery scents like Cool Water or...other watery scents you might like Old Amsterdam. Otherwise I haven't smelled an oil that really reminds me of a similar blend from the outside world

To me: Old Shanghai is very similar to Kumiho (crisp, clean, tea, ginger, water) La Belle Dame Sans Merci is like a more potent Silentium Amoris (roses, soapy freshness) I have a hard time telling Eclipse from Black Phoenix, both are very cherry almond cinnamon sweet to me I could see comparisons as well between: Undertow and Hurricane Chypre and Ace of Swords Old Port-au-Prince and Voodoo But even with the similarities the scents aren't interchangeable...they were blended to capture an idea or character or mood and I haven't smelled any unsuccessful creations (pre- my freaky deaky skin)

'Member that old Smurfs Scratch n' Sniff board book from the eighties, and on that one page has cook Smurf (Munchy? Bakey?) making sugared violets (that smell kind of like melted plastic and rose water), presumably to ease the village's shakes as they all came out of their her-opi-juana dreamtime? Yeah, Nocturne doesn't smell like that at all. Nocturne is a gorgeous thicket of inky violets under a night sky pulsing with stars. If it were a song it would be "Walking on Air" by King Crimson. It's the blue highlights in truly black hair. It's a deeply peaceful constitutional on a summer evening in the woods when the insects aren't too loud and no one argued at the dinner table. It's that dark, luscious sleep that comes so easily after a long day of swimming in cold water. It's damn wistful and reminds me of the one that got away, but so beautiful and limpid that I don't mind all that much if I'm sniffing my wrists...

After some quality time spent with an imp of Delerium, it's definitely become one of my favorite oils...After a hellacious week (and I mean a truly awful seven days sent straight from Pazuzu, Lord of the Southwestern Winds), the lemon-rose softness of this scent was comforting and grounding for me...odd considering the name, right? Anyway, I just realized that it takes me straight back to a beautiful summer when we had this thriving rose bush in our backyard, and the scent they gave off on unbearably hot days was ambrosia...they were these lush, floppy, satiny, bubble-gum pink blooms that I always dreamed of wearing in my hair but didn't. I don't really pick up on the apple, but it has to be one of the elements softening up the rose and rounding out this gorgeous bouquet.

I really wanted to love Seraphim, to dab it on and feel like a golden-haired angel in a deserted baroque cathedral soaring up to the...but no. I did love it in the imp- where it met my angelic expectations, being both dry and light and floral with an underlayer of incense smoke. However, my skin sucked all the flowers and delicacy and light out of this and left me smelling like gold...golden showers, that is! So I sent it to my sister who claims not to smell the pee. I have fairly oily skin which I think can wreak absolute havoc on the more delicate florals.

I got a bottle of this because I don't get the Ace of Cups often in readings, but when I do it's an instantly reassuring sign that no matter how bad my present situation, the pendulum has to swing back towards prosperity sometime. It's amazing how the Ace of Cups captures the essence of one of my favorite cards! The first time I slathered my wrist in it, I closed my eyes and saw dark, cold cherry wine pouring into a silver chalice- I felt the meaning of the card through the way it smelled. Which sounds hokey, but my best and most accurate readings have relied on my visceral reactions to the archetypes. Ok, my more concrete review would read: a bountiful bunch of bright red cherries that dries down to a mellow and slightly aquatic floral.

Yummo- Strong, rich, ruby goodness that neatly balances the resiny and the rosy. Highly appropriate for masked balls, defenestrations, and salacious trysts. This is the velvety courtesan in a bottle that I was expecting from Old Venice.

Ophelia is sad and wistful and ethereal- wilting pink petals and water. It's the perfect weight for summer, also. Not cloying or sticky. This is weird- but two parts Ophelia to one part Snake Oil is oddly compelling but then so is my freakish body chemistry.

It could just be the time of the month, but I've just tried Snake Oil on my wrists for the first time and all I can smell is musk. Dry, powdery, and slightly acrid. I think it's just me because in the imp's ear it smells rich and thick and divine. For me, Snake Oil might have to be an oil diffuser scent only, because right now I smell like my mom's Emeraude. Nothing against Emeraude, but I'd rather enjoy the vanilla sweetness I detect in the vial than the papery dryness that is Snake Oil on my skin. It vaguely reminds me of Shalimar also, not surprisingly, but deeper and more interesting. Alright, I wrote the above a couple of months ago and have since amended my opinion of Snake Oil, very much in its favor!! I've learned to appreciate it, and for some reason, the more I drain the imp, the less it smells like Emeraude and the more I'm able to detect the spices and vanilla. It's even kind of a "cool" scent to me, not as incendiary as Voodoo or Siren or Vixen...for now, on me, it exudes lush elegance and I HAVE to get some more!

Maenad was the first imp's ear I chose, and it was right on the mark as far as my expectations. In the bottle, I smelled dark strawberry, with some green craziness going on, too. When I wear it though, it becomes all candy apple and sugar sweetness, with a hint of rose and pomegranate to my nose. Maenad lasts twelve hours and then some on me...it's really thick and humid here, so I think I'll wait till autumn to enjoy it again. It's crazy and feral and makes me want to run into the woods and participate in a little bit of sparagmos. Ok, the figurative kind.

Ophelia is such a poignant scent, it's so amazing the way Beth has captured the essence of a broken flower this way. It is definitely a soft and powdery floral, and not to be banal but this reminds me of a summer when I wore Nivea Creme with the original scent. It's deffo way more fragile and translucent and haunting. This is for introspective, melancholy days when the rain is hitting the windows...you won't be devastated but if sadness can be bottled, Ophelia is it.

Mmmm...I can pick out the neroli, ginger and patchouli from Vixen it I try, but if I don't try it's a gorgeous, thick, syrupy, complex scent that dries slowly and lingers for a REALLY long time. I love this, because even though it's complex it doesn't remind me of anything I've ever smelled. BPAL is really making me disdain department store perfume, which I don't think I'll ever buy again even if I could afford it. I think Vixen and Siren are sisters, with Vixen being the slightly more sophisticated and experienced of the two.

I love Juliet even though I have to reapply this delicate scent often. It's all lilies and innocence...last year I saw the Mediaeval Baebes and was in the front row, and I noticed that they all seemed to be wearing the same lily-of-the-valley scent because it fairly wafted from the stage, and didn't really remember till I opened my imp's ear of Juliet. Anyway, seeing them live was totally cool, and Juliet reminds me of the experience. Although the Baebes are earthy and sexy and it was a little surreal that they smelled like delicate white flowers... Anyway...even for those of you that wouldn't have memories awakened by this, it's a beautiful and delicate floral that maintains just a hint of sweet-tartness, like the character herself. [changed the color because Chartreuse made my eyes bleed, and i doubt i'm the only one ~qs]

I agree with Shollin about the apple in Undertow, it's like an icy minty apple sno-cone with the ozone smell right before a thunderstorm. I wore this over some orange-scented lotion and smelled dee-licious. It lasted a long time on me, too which is unusual for such a green scent. Definitely a keeper. But they're all keepers. Lately I haven't been paying as much attention to what clothes I put on, it's all about which imp's ear I'm going to try. Ok, in summary, Undertow: aqua and green and cool, yet with a lingering sweetness. The most unique and original oil I've smelled yet.

The first thing I loved about Siren is it's deep orange hue; even the color is sexy and fertile. In the vial it is very deep and strong, all ginger and citrus and musk. I can see why some might find it a little too organic smelling, but I haven't found a BPAL scent I don't appreciate, and the earthiness just made it even sexier to me. Wet, it retains the spicy orange but then on me mellowed into sweet (but not cloying) incense, with a little bit of fruit that kept it interesting. Maybe I like Siren so much because I drenched myself in it before watching a beautiful sunset on a very hot humid night with a very hot guy...I can't wear it on work days now, makes me blush!