OctoberGwen

I fell in love with this immediately. It just smells...fantastic. Blanket-comfy, yes, but the blanket is cashmere, top of the line. I Big Bottled this baby.

I really wish I'd had more time to evaluate my Lupercalia decants properly, because after wearing this a few times I would have gotten a bottle. This is just a lovely, soft, well blended scent. The plum was worrisome for me, because I usually dislike smelling of it. In this case, though, I think "plum incense" is apt and it's actually working very nicely on me. (Note to self: try any plum scent that also has sandalwood!) The mint adds a wonderful freshness to the scent without being overpowering. I like this very much. An awesome Spring or Summer blend: very feminine and pretty, without being floral OR too fruity. Nice.

2013 This is a fascinating scent! Initially it's very astringent, and that quality does soften after a few minutes but continues to sit on top. Right underneath that is something that smells like apples. If I stop actively sniffing my wrist and just sort of ignore it, I get a lovely, soft-feeling but powerful waft of incensey sweetness mixed with a woody smell. I can't decide if this is something I'd wear or not, and I don't even know if I like it, but I can't stop waving my arms around in an effort to catch that intriguing waft.

FYI: My decant's got a bit of sludge. This starts off okay, with mostly cocoa and white rose with a hint of lemon blossom. I can tell it's probably going to be too sweet, though. Sure enough, after several minutes it begins to veer into nauseating, cloying, must-wash-it-off sweetness. Something about the bourbon vanilla (which almost never agrees with me), the custard smell, and the skin musk combined is just not working on my skin at all. Faugh. This is almost a combination of perfumey and foody sweet. Not for me!

All I get from Corinna is jasmine. It's the nice kind, not the stinky cat pee one, but still...just jasmine. I don't usually amp jasmine, but...yup....still just jasmine. On someone else, this is probably very pretty. On me...let me check... Yeah. Jasmine.

I love scented geraniums, and bourbon is not one I've encountered IRL. In Sic Erit, it is what keeps this scent from being too dry and woodsy or too red musky - but it's by no means all geranium, all the time. I definitely get the wonderfully aged patchouli, just a hint, and I bet this note will come out as the scent ages. I like the red amber, too; it's a bit deeper in tone and goes very nicely with the musk and wood notes. The geranium sort of swirls through it all and lifts it up a bit. I'm contemplating a bottle, despite my limited last-minute Luper budget. I think this blend will age magnificently.

2013 This almost works for me, but the grape makes it much too fruity for my taste. It is a very light, bright scent and lovers of fruity blends will really appreciate it. A pity, because I love lemon balm and don't see it often.

This smells very generic on my skin: it's not unpleasant (although I have discovered that I'm not a fan of Moroccan jasmine), it's just sort of 'meh' to my nose. I'm getting a very perfumey quality, a little neroli and rose, and quite a bit of the jasmine. No musk per se, although it's probably combining with the bourbon vanilla (another not-so-fave) to create this strong generic "perfume" impression. No tobacco whatsoever. Surely a classic on some, but sadly...not for me.

This is lovely: warm and soft and powdery, very comforting. It dries down into a quiet skin scent, and would be great for days or situations where one just wants to unobtrusively smell good without overpowering anyone. I will probably keep and enjoy my decant, but I don't need a bottle.

MMMMMMM! Lovely, bright citrus; delicious black tea (how I love you); and a tart pop of ginger with a splash of juicy red currant. A soft but refreshing blend, this would be a perfectly inoffensive scent for everyday in warm weather. It would also be nice for relieving the Winter doldrums, I would imagine. It stays close to the skin. The tea really keeps this from being too fruity or ho-hum. I knew I would like this, as the Lab's tea note is a favorite of mine and I enjoy all of the other notes here as well. My "last minute Lupercalia" budget is pretty tight, but I'm contemplating a bottle of this.

2013 I was looking forward to this one, but wow...it does not work on my skin at all. It smells like a shitload of apples steeped in gasoline! It is literally making my eyes water, from just a swipe from the imp wand on each wrist. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I am so, so grateful that I had a chance to try this. Come on: a scent based on a traditional Sumerian perfume! What! When first applied I get distinct almond, but after a few minutes it blends seamlessly with the other notes instead of choosing to amp on me. There's a lovely waft coming from my wrists...if I concentrate, I can smell what has to be lavender honey and rose, but really everything just blends together in a seriously gorgeous way. I agree with the reviewer who said this is an ancient fragrance: it feels timeless to me. I can completely imagine the wealthy women of an ancient civilization smelling of this. It's quite beautiful, and I will treasure my decant.

This starts off fresh and lemony, with coconut. Love it, but I was close to dismissing it as a pretty but ultimately forgettable fragrance. Then when the anise began to show itself, I thought it was all over...I dislike anise, as a rule, and it tends to amp on me. Here it does remain in check, and I get a bit of the very lovely florals, too. (I adore orchids and mimosa.) These elements all combine to make this a light but still complex and very refreshing scent. The longer Rigorous Love sits on my skin, the more I'm liking it. This would be wonderful for sweltering summer days, I think.

This opens with a very strong blast of opium and dries to a gorgeous floral/opium/tobacco with a definite presence of cypress tar. Like Alethia, I'm relieved the plum doesn't become apparent here because that's not a favorite of mine. Perhaps wild plum smells a bit more tame? I'm hoping the opium takes more of a back seat as this ages, too, because the middle part of the scent, with the florals mixing and wafting with these other notes is just amazing. It's a wildly feminine and intriguing scent; a fascinating mix. Yet another win for Our Lady Of Pain! ETA: This is aging magnificently. The opium has smoothed out beautifully and this is now one well-blended, sexy beast.

What! A unisex blend I can wear? A unisex blend I absolutely love on my skin? Yes!! On me, Knucklebones has a fabulous fizzy gin/lime and sweet orange blossom top over a gorgeous black musk/tobacco base. I freaking love it. This will get heavy rotation in the Summer months.

Oh, Our Lady of Pain. Like every other scent in this collection, it is beautifully blended and quite sophisticated. Initially I can pick out the lavender and the patchouli; after several minutes I am definitely able to smell the gorgeous, gorgeous orchid. The blood musk is lending a slightly dangerous edge. This is sultry and intimidating; a very adult scent. I love it. It just smells fantastic.

Mirror of Spring Pleasures starts off fresh and sort of grassy on me. It's very pretty. I'm getting the beeswax, for sure, which gives a slightly creamy and almost chewy quality to the scent. The grassy note is not fresh-mown, it is more like grass that is recently uncovered from Winter's snows, still brownish in places and flattened. There's no wetness here, though. I completely agree with boomtownrat: it is actually very reminiscent of Entangled, without any of the smokiness. They definitely share a quality that I'm having a hard time defining right now. Entangled is uncut hay in high Summer, and this is that same long grass earlier in the season. Later Mirror of Spring Pleasures becomes a bit more perfumey, which I assume is when the black currant and honeysuckle make an appearance though I don't necessarily identify those notes singularly. This stays close to the skin and is very different from things I usually wear, but it has a place in my collection when I want something similar to Entangled but a bit more fresh and Spring-like. I do not find this resembling Banshee Beat at all.

I just have to say: whaaaaaaaaaaat. This is my very favorite of the Our Lady of Pain scents thus far. It is absolutely gorgeous. Heady, feminine, lush, complex. Perfect. A perfect blend.

This is....so lovely. A gorgeous, musky white floral. Very feminine with some definite depth; this is not a simple fragrance, nor is it as innocent as the listed notes would imply. I detect a faint corruption under all those blossoms... Another stunner from Our Lady Of Pain.

I'm getting a lot of the fabulous geranium (I spent my childhood smelling scented geraniums, because my mother always grew them. I think they all smell wonderful.) I also detect a hint of a very tame ginger - not "in your face" at all - and some rosemary (another favorite herb of mine.) The sandalwood is giving it a bit of roundness, and the pink pepper adds a pop which becomes more pronounced after a couple of minutes on my skin. I was actually worried about the dragon's blood here, because that often amps into nauseatingly sweet territory on me, but it's really just providing a smooth, sweetish base for these sharper notes. What a brilliant scent. It's unique but oh so wearable. Another giant win for Our Lady of Pain...probably my favorite update ever. ETA: I do have to add that the dragon's blood did indeed become just a tad too strong for me. I wish the geranium and rosemary had stayed more dominant, though they don't disappear entirely and the pink pepper stays present, too. People who love dragon's blood resin should try this, though be warned that it's not your typical note takeover. ETA 2/19/14 A year later, this blend has really smoothed out into a unique, treasured part of my collection. The sharp and spicy herbal elements are balanced quite well by the usually too-sweet DBR. It suits that portion of the poem beautifully.

Oh, this smells like a rainy day in South Carolina to me. (Mind you, I have never been to South Carolina.) I adore honey myrtle, it turns out. This is mostly soft lily, honey myrtle, and ivy. The cypress and yew are lending a very subtle depth of greenness, and the black rose is gently wafting on top of all the Southern flora. It's soft and green and flowery; I keep getting the most beautiful wafts from my wrists. Another stellar Lady of Pain blend. This one is a close second for my favorite and most wearable scent from this update. I really love this.

This strikes me as a gloss that will be perfect for warmer weather, for those who don't want a tropical or too fresh (read: shampoo-like) scent for their hair. The honey is very similar to the honey in O, so fans of that scent should eat this up. Ultimately, it's too much honey for me, but it's a very nice gloss with a sweet but light smell. I much prefer the sister scent from Our Lady Of Pain, Implacable Beautiful Tyrant.

I absolutely love this; it smells so quintessentially "BPAL" to me. Not too heavy, not too light, just a delightful, delicious scent for the hair. It's perfect. For those afraid of ginger: try this. It is not gingery at all; I think the ginger just serves to lift the frankincense and amber, keeping it from being too powdery or heavy. It's still a rich and deliciously resiny scent for the hair, with a nice waft. Like all the hair glosses, it creates a nice shine and tames flyaways like nobody's business. I was trying to convince myself that my decant would be enough, especially since I am so devoted to my Snake Oil HG, but...I really think I need a bottle of this. Ten out of ten for me. Divine.

This is unique among florals, a scent that is both spicy and fresh. Spicy-sweet lily. I like it, but I don't think it is something I would want to wear on my skin. It would be wonderful as a room scent, specifically for the powder room.

Sadly, nope: I had the same urge! Haha. I need help. ( Shitfire! )