OctoberGwen

I would recommend Great Vampire Bat, if you can find some, and The Lurid Library, which is a current Weenie.

 

Good luck and enjoy the search!

Mmmmm...a smoky Lab scent that doesn't smell like a filthy ashtray!

 

Beautiful campfire/bonfire burnt wood and rich dark treacly smoky sweetness. This is not a scent I'd choose to wear, but I love the experience.

This is the 2012 version.

 

Holy fuck, this is so weird. Is that what brimstone smells like?

 

This smells PRECISELY like the description. I definitely get rotting wood and a sharp nastiness with a metallic twang that has got to be brimstone. Occasionally I get a whiff of cognac, which promptly fades into nothingness.

 

Wowza. Beth is crazy good.

 

I have to scrub this off, as it is freaking me out a little bit.

This review is for the 2012 version.

 

Atrocious Attic smells exactly as it is described: dusty, faded, dried flowers and the hint of a child's perfume and perhaps a touch of mustiness. If I huff my skin and close my eyes, I could be standing in an attic in front of a trunk filled with Victorian ladies' memorabilia and broken toys.

 

It's very pretty, but also slightly unsettling.

This is very pretty, slightly creamy and sweet - not cloying sweet, but gentle and faded sweet. It's what I imagine you might smell in a little old lady's front entry: a whiff of the delicious baked goods she took out of the oven hours ago, and a sense of her sachet that she keeps in her clothes drawer as she greets you.

 

It's not something I would wear, but it's very nice.

As the poster above said: a very woody green scent, without rosemary's usual distinct smell. It's pretty much what I would expect to experience if I stuck my face into a hedge and inhaled.

 

I quite like it, but it's not something for me to wear.

I love Third Charm, as it is smack in the middle of the red musky/spicy/dry scent family that I adore. (Note: when I say "spice", I don't mean cinnamon, I mean exotic spices.) Of which none are listed in Third Charm's notes, but it calls that type of a scent to mind for me. In my opinion, it could be a sweeter cousin to Mama Ji, for example.

 

It starts with a signature blast of red musk, which is absolutely lovely, but as it dries down the musk begins to blend with a sweetish smell that is really fabulous. I am not a fan of honey at all, but the honey here is definitely of the "peculiar" variety in that it's not heavy and cloying but in fact feels almost dry to my senses. I do not know where the slight spicy feeling I'm getting is coming from. The patchouli is very much in the background with the woods, just sort of grounding everything.

 

I really love this, and the blend is unique enough to warrant a bottle, I think. I can't wait to see how it ages.

 

ETA: Today I slathered some into my cleavage (where things always smell different than on my wrists), and I am definitely getting more of the patch, blended beautifully with that dry honey and the gorgeous musk. I think I'm getting a whiff of the hemlock, too. I absolutely love this blend, and I've just ordered a bottle.

The Arabian Dance started out in such a promising fashion; I love the Lab's coffee and tobacco notes, and initially the leather was behaving and the hazelnut was barely discernible as just a wisp of smokiness. (My skin hates that evil little nut.)

 

As I sat happily sniffing, wondering when the (I imagined) glorious Middle Eastern spices would kick in, it began to happen...hazelnut's takeover.

 

I ended up smelling like I put a cigarette butt out in my coffee and then spilled it all over my leather coat.

 

Stupid hazelnut.

I'm not generally a wearer of rose perfume, but I love this one a lot. Cherokee Rose is very fresh, light, and zingy - I understand why some might get citrus. To me, it smells like a blend of one of my mother's antique roses and some lemon balm that would have been growing nearby. There is nothing cloying or overpowering about it whatsoever. I don't get greenery per se, just a refreshing vibe.

 

It's absolutely lovely, and probably my favorite of Beth's roses to date.

 

As I've mentioned elsewhere on the forum, the Lunacy blends usually do not smell good on my skin; I can only conclude that there's a common ingredient hidden in the lunar oils that just hates me. This makes me sad, as I'm all about the magic of the moon.

However, being a good BPALista I do keep trying. Harvest Moon was one that I really wanted to have for several reasons, and next to Chrysanthemum Moon it comes the closest to working on me.

This is a nostalgic, familiar scent and I find it very evocative of this time of year. I'm not getting any individual components (thankfully, as I was concerned about the ale and Dionysus's grapes), rather, it's a woodsy, rich, ripe scent that brings to mind a late Summer garden on the edge of the forest at night. It's not that Harvest Moon smells of decaying vegetables or heavy vegetation, but the rich backdrop of the scent somehow evokes the bounty of this time of year. There's also a hint of smokiness and perhaps a faint breath of the clove. It borders on having a perfumey quality to it, but doesn't quite cross that line.

There's a certain feeling that I get when standing under the brightest moon of the year on a late August or early September night, and this scent captures that feeling. You can almost feel the wheel of the year turning. That's the best I can do, I'm afraid.

I'm glad I took another chance on Lunacies with this one. The label art is just gorgeous, too.

I bought this because I have resigned myself to buying ALL the new single notes (no, I do not have a problem!), but I didn't think I would care for it much because I really dislike wearing aquatics.

 

However...this scent is really lovely. It smells so pure, and spiritual. It is reminiscent of a little white temple by the water, but it is not particularly watery.

 

It's a soft, creamy white scent with a good bit of green. Very, very subtle; I don't see this being offensive even in a situation where people dislike perfume use. Quite exquisite, really.

I am absolutely in agreement that this is one of Snake Oil's secret ingredients. Be warned: this is NOT Snake Oil, though! SO is complex, and this is a single note.

 

It is a gorgeous, smooth, not-terribly-musky or dirty musk (at least on me.) The drydown has a sweet quality that I don't pick up in SO, almost (but not quite) cola-ish. It's unique among musks, in my opinion.

 

This note is one that I will definitely use to venture into layering, along with the Spanish Carnation. On its own it seems to fade relatively quickly into a very soft, subtle scent.

 

For the first few minutes this is really lovely on me: a nice blend of honey (which I don't always like) and a bit of soft herbiness, with some pale floral thrown in.

 

Sadly, the honey then begins to amp, and amp, and amp to high holy hell until it's so sickeningly sweet I have to scrub it off.

 

I hate when honey does that.

When first applied, Iago smells like marijuana to me.

 

Once it dries down, it becomes the first leather-containing scent that I kind of enjoy. Something about the musk (I love you here, black musk) really blends nicely with the leather, which is of the decidedly non-chemical variety. I wish my husband wore scent, because I'd love to see what this smells like on him.

 

Not something I would wear myself, but I enjoyed the experience. It is definitely sexy, and the right sort of woman must totally rock this. I'm sure it's fantastic on a man, also.

Oh dear sweet baby Jesus. This smells WONDERFUL.

 

I adore Spanish Red Carnation, the perfect spicy floral. This is the note in L'Essence de La Passion that I find so rich and gorgeous, distilled to its essence. Perfect. I may actually try some layering, for the first time evah, just to see how this smells with other things.

This is, indeed, a very "fresh and crisp" scent - in addition to the apple blossoms, I get juicy green apples themselves, too. The mix is very nice.

 

While apple is not particularly a scent that I like to wear, I find Annurca delicious and refreshing. It's the sort of thing I would pull out if I had to spend time in a hot, humid environment. It's cooling without being a "cold" scent.

I am so bummed the salon is ending, though probably not for the same reason everyone else is.

I'm a newbie to Bpal, just received the CnS for my second order yesterday, and I still haven't figured out what works for me, what doesn't, etc etc, so ordering anything from the salon would be a complete waste without that knowledge. I didn't buy an imp pack because they seemed pretty expensive and what's the point when you're just starting out, right?

However, it pains me to see all these beautiful scent opportunities slipping away before I have enough expertise to tackle them. Arghhh.

I've been desperately reading reviews and this thread, but that just makes it worse because there are so many that sound so good. D:

 

I had the same experience with the Carnavale Diabolique last year, which left town just a few short months after I'd found BPAL. I know exactly how you feel!

Well, Lucretia has arrived in the mail, and sadly, she is not a must-have for me. Hopefully she will find a good home with someone else! Not sure whether I feel like taking another gamble before the Salon exhibition closes....

 

That's too bad. I don't care for Cloister Graveyard on my skin (and I thought I might not), but I love the painting so much and the scent embodies it so perfectly that I'm not too bummed out. (Plus, Great Cry In Egypt is really lovely to wear. I was fortunate that I could afford two.)

 

There are more I wish I could try, but I don't think I'll be gambling on any more bottles before they're gone.

Looks like I've neglected to mention the Salons I've tried:

 

Sunrise With Sea Monsters. Ocean mist, kelp, ambergris, amber, white pear, osmanthus, freesia, and seafoam accord.

I agree that this isn't a terribly aquatic aquatic, but the salt water/ocean air is definitely present. The amber probably grounds it. I don't play well with pear, but for those who do this would be a lovely choice.

 

Kiyohime Changes From a Serpent. Salty ocean spray, red kelp, black plum, lychee, sea moss, green musk, hachiya, plum blossom, and matcha.

The aquatics are much more present in this one, with a whisper of plum. Alas, aquatics and plum are both no-go's for me.

 

Love and Pain. Lavender, Balkan tobacco, black musk, dark vanilla, and golden copaifera.

I wish I'd held on to this one; I would appreciate it so much more now. I recall it as a smooth, somewhat dark blend with the lavender very much present.

 

Arrival At The Sabbath and Homage To The Devil. Bourbon vanilla, benzoin, caramel, Mysore sandalwood, aged black patchouli, carnation, and iris florentina.

Caramel is simply too much for me as it immediately amps into nauseating sweetness on my skin. Any sweet foodie fans will drool over this one, though.

 

(Just a note: these were all included in the haul I inherited from a fellow forumite on Aeclectic Tarot. I was a newbie, therefore, and I'm pretty sure the only one out of these that I'd choose for myself today would be Love and Pain.)

wickedgoddess just stated in the NE Will Call thread that the retail exclusive Salons are NOT being discontinued. Yay!

I really want to try Schlafende Baigneuse and Carceri D'Invenzione.

Well, I've ordered my bottles of There Was A Great Cry In Egypt and Cloister Graveyard In the Snow.

 

Farewell, Salon.

I love Banshee Beat when it's hot. Another good one is Golden Wave, when I'm in a fruity-tropical mood.

This is pretty and does have a clean, slightly soapy quality. I don't know what magic Beth has worked here but both Fraggle scents I tried really do smell like...well, Fraggles.

 

There's a childlike, fun quality to these scents that is delightful, but just not my style at all.

I love Beth's take on Autumn, and this fits wonderfully into that category along with Samhain, Samhainophobia, Elegy IX, and several others. I do have to be in the right mood to appreciate these scents; they are not for everyday wear.

 

I, too get a bit of a vetiver vibe from Phoenix in Autumn - it's very sharp and woodsy and has ridiculous amounts of throw.

 

Also, I adore the label.