OctoberGwen

(I'm reviewing an aged imp of this: 2007 or earlier.) This starts off as pure pine trees on me, and then after a minute it smells like cold air. No menthol, but I swear my skin felt cooler and when I inhaled I was standing in a pine forest in the cold. Incredible. This dries into a beautiful musky-with-a-hint-of-cedar smell, but those cold trees are still in the background. What a magical, evocative scent. I didn't actually think I would want to wear this but it smells gorgeous on me. WOW. Later: I really, really love the drydown phase of this, but the initial cold blast of pine is too much when applied to my cleavage. Great for evoking a mood, not so great for wearing. I'll have to try and find some scents with those drydown notes for sure!

A brilliant, ethereal scent: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. I like florals with complexity and this one has it in spades. It's a really lovely, well blended scent that I would easily wear all Summer long. ETA: A year later, I've just tried Fae again and I decided to revisit my initial review, which in hindsight was both uninteresting and inaccurate. This scent is mostly white musk and peach, with a bit of zing from the bergamot and a touch of brightness from the heliotrope. The oakmoss is like a fuzzy background note to my nose, one that I dislike in most scents. The smell of oakmoss almost wants to get stuck in my throat. Fae has a sentimental place in my heart as one of the earliest BPALs I tried, but it's not really something I reach for or even like on me very much.

I'm using an aged version of this (no later than 2007) and it is diviiiine. I actually like it better on me than Snake Oil, I think. The cocoa and rice milk give it a rounder, softer edge which is perfect with the exotic spicy/resiny smell. The cocoa dusting pretty much stays put, but it does get a little more subtle as this dries down. Love, love this. I'll be wearing it constantly come Winter, I'll bet. It's delicious! The Carnaval is going dark, so I would advise anyone who doesn't have this one yet to grab it. It ages really, really well. ETA: 2/13/12 Just checking back in to say that yes, my eyes still roll to the back of my head when I smell this. I now have three bottles - my only multi-bottle scent. Boomslang is fantastic. ETA: 4/24/12 I wanted to note that Boomslang is one of only three scents that I can wear during Shark Week, and in fact it almost smells better at that time. I worship this oil, it's the best of the Snake Pit scents, and I will hoard many bottles when the Carnaval returns.

This is obviously a well-aged bottle! Uncapped, I smell rich and spicy gingerbread. Yum. When first applied and wet it turns into buttery pumpkin pie and gingerbread. Delicious. As it dried further, it conjured walking through a pumpkin patch at midnight...sadly, it then very quickly morphed to a single spicy note and faded completely. After about an hour I had to press my nose to wrist to catch a faint whiff of pumpkin pie. After two hours it was long gone. Sadly, Pumpkin Queen doesn't seem to work well on me. ETA 11/22/11 I tried layering it with Snake Oil last night and what a disaster. UGH! It smells awful on me, and the SO simply gave it mega staying power...I couldn't even smell my beloved SO. I really don't like the Queen at all, and she hates me. Love the little bottle, though.

I obtained an aged version of this (no later than 2007.) I like florals but this didn't work for me at all. It's sickly-sweet with a bitter undertone, a very cloying scent that I just couldn't stand to keep on my wrist for too long. It was very hard to wash off, too. A pity, because I visited the city of New Orleans once and was entranced by it.

This is the 2006 version. I don't smell apple or pumpkin at all, just a smoky/woodsy Autumn scent. The patchouli was more evident when I put it on but it mellowed as the oil dried. I love this and have never smelled anything like it. Tonight it's raining outside and this scent is perfect for the damp and chill. I will definitely be wearing it in the Fall. Edited 1/25/12 I appreciate Samhain 2006 even more now than I did seven months ago when I was first starting out on my BPAL journey. This is the quintessential smell of Fall for me: deeply magical, earthy, smoky, and evocative. I adore it.

I am a very recent BPAL convert, and OMG do I love this scent! I smell delicious; sweet but not too sweet, creamy, luscious, slightly spicy, rich, and sensuous. My first BPAL experience is everything I hoped it would be and I can't imagine ever going back to flat commercial perfumes. Hell's Belle is floral, but in the most lush and complex way possible. I would wear this every day. ETA: I should probably add that I'm wearing an aged version. I sure hope the current one smells the same, because I want a BIG bottle of this.