eatingthesea

omg...EAU DE BODY ODOR. once in a blue moon i come across a blend that smells nothing more and nothing less than putrid on my skin. it baffles me that something could go that wonky with my chemistry, but it does happen. then i look at the notes. duh. verbena. neroli. lavender. rosemary. the frankincense is just not enough to save this diaper mess on my skin shame, because i loved the idea of this one. but arcana is just poo on me.

this is such an interesting, conceptual scent that has been in my top favorites for some time now. i do not like foody vanillas, which is why antique lace and black opal are the only acceptable ones. black opal really does display, somehow, a mineral-y countenance, but it goes so much deeper than that, almost to the point where i'd liken it to being cave-deep. but that doesn't leave such a nice impression, does it. because it's definitely not "dark." sometimes when i'm wearing it, it reminds me of sunlight. it's difficult to describe in terms of relativeness to other scents, because it's so individualistic. so i won't try anymore. i'm not sure how much of a general "crowd pleaser" it is, but if you're into "concepts" of bpal blends, try this one. it's so unique. i shall continue to treasure and hoard. eta: this is one of the longest-lasting bpal blends on me ever. it astounds me that i can still smell this after a long day at work. usually my cells are just thirsty for any old scent, but this one just riiiiides my skin into the sunset, lol.

mmm...when i first put this on, i immediately thought "snow bunny?" i still think that a little though this scent is a lot more "red berry" than SB. i agree with the reviewer who said this is very much "forest trail." however, i feel and smell no sharpness from this one...i think some other(s) here may've found that. very breezy, bright, yet warm somehow. i think these single notes have the ability to transport than blends because they remind us of some singular, natural thing from memory or youth. i can see why they're so coveted.

i also chose my halloween purchases very carefully, and this was one of two i bought (the other being october). i'm glad i got the chilling cellar, though i should've known it would've been "me" anyway. i lovvve red clay (after being introduced to it by bathed & infused) and was thrilled to see it being utilized in a BPAL blend (please use it again, beth, pretty please?!). the chilling cellar goes powdery on me but it's a very delectable powder, swirled with a fruity red wine, tempered by that earth note that i love so much. it is very much a below-ground sort of scent (but not a "buried" one, like other earth blends). someone noted this is very wearable, and i highly agree. i think it's suitable for everyday wear while still being unique enough to not be basic and predictable. this definitely ranks as one of my all-time favorite wine-based oils.

i get what one reviewer says when the house is cologne-like. it does have a bit of that dry. when it's wet on my skin, i get lotsss of yummy soil tinged with a greenish floral, which i assume is them "blighted roses." this is not like my beloved nosferatu or penny dreadful, which both remain creamy dirt scents throughout. i think it's the wood and incense that gives this one its bite, its sharpness. it's certainly not a soft scent. although i wish the floral note was fixed through the dryout period, i still rank the house up there with my other cherished dirty scents (though of this series, the premature burial is favored), and this bottle will be treasured.

i'd been curious to try a really figgy BPAL scent for some time. i love intrigue but i don't really "get" the fig in that one...mostly cocoa and those elusive "shadowy wooded notes." so i figured strangler fig would give me a proper introduction, and it did...just not in the way i expected. i grew up with an out-of-control fig tree overwhelming my childhood backyard, bruised purple-fleshed figs drooling and seeping their overly ripe reddish-pink flesh all over the ivy-covered ground...clearly a very evocative memory. we ate them only occasionally, but i shall never forget the unusual, grainy texture or the completely unique, indescribable sickly sweetness of the fruit. feeling weird to be eating the fruit -- especially given we buried our pets in shoeboxes somewhere near the roots of the tree -- and being simultaneously attracted to its mysteriousness and seemingly corrupt nature really drove the imagery and symbolism of this tree into my subconscious. all that being said...strangler fig only barely hints at the offering of fig fruit. what i really get from this oil is the supportive foliage of the fig tree...its leaves, branches, its "aura." people say this all the time in BPAL reviews, so i may as well chime in, since i believe i have yet to voice it: "it's amazing how beth can capture the idea of something into a bottle." i mean seriously...how does one pinpoint the aura of some...thing...and encapsulate it into a wearable scent? truly a gift i, for one, admire and readily admit to envy (oh and that's just another favorite scent of mine there that really hits the head on the "smell" of a concept-of green envy-does it ever). but anyway...if i hadn't had this foreboding fig tree in the corner of my childhood backyard looming over my cerebrum all these years, i suppose strangler fig wouldn't be very impressive. it's not sweet, definitely not fruity, and not pretty. it's mysterious...a little threatening...but beautiful in its starkness. this is a special scent for me. i love the realism of the rappaccini's garden blends. this one is no exception and in fact defines what the line is about, i think

this is the perfect pine scent, to my nostrils, because it doesn't go the way of car fresheners as some others occasionally do, which can linger and singe mah nostril hairs (non-visible, of course, haha). i'm still a little ignorant of what a "snow scent" is really all about, as the few i've tested/tried have all varied greatly. either way, i don't really pick up this elusive snowness i figure i should: just a glamorous yet simple oil that most certainly evokes happy outdoor REAL WINTER memories that i don't really have (as a born-and-bred southern californian). i do get some initial spiciness that others discover, but it tempers after awhile and i get just a few succulent red berries that actually call to mind one of my all-time faves, lady macbeth. i just barely got a decant of snow bunny 05 today and i'm already craving a bottle or three. too bad for moi! i shall cherish this. eta: another 2 reasons i like this: it doesn't vary wildly from the bottle through the dry-out phase; it's pretty uniform straight through...and its wear has some sky-high legs! mmmm...

good thing this one's on my list. anyone try ebisu making love as two octopuses look on? as oakmoss is the first note listed, i'm hoping it's nice and mossy (love its simplicity and the musk; i have high hopes).

i snipped some various moss note descriptions from dsh perfumes' site. does this make me a traitor?? BROWN OAKMOSS: A deep, earthy, burnt campfire-like note with a powdery sweetness in the dry down. (Masculine) GREEN OAKMOSS: A lighter, more damp-earth-like oakmoss note. (Unisex) FRENCH OAKMOSS: A drier, more earthy-mildew oakmoss note. (Unisex) MOSS: A warm, dark aroma reminiscent of damp earth. (Unisex) TREEMOSS: Intensely earthy and dense with very subtle green and fruity nuances in the top note and with smoky warmth in its base note. (Unisex) i'd love to see treemoss in bpal's blends...yum. and from some other sites... SEA MOSS: This fragrance could be described as fresh, green and almost a little kelp-y. (does sea moss even exist?) SPANISH MOSS: a damp, earthy scent with a touch of southern mystery (how vague can you get...i couldn't find an accurate description anywhere, other than the fact that spanish moss isn't really a moss...its flower blossoms are what create the scent).

this one has been on my list for ages. this is a sign, i must try it asap. as far as all the urd rec's, i could've sworn i tried this once and got nothing but "burn" smell. evil grape sounds much more appealing. i'll have to give it another try. whoa...if this is an accurate representation of imp, i MUST have it immediately! nephilim and lucifer going onto my list as well. thanks!

i've always been curious about tweedledum...Green mango, fig, patchouli and green tea...is this "dirty"? or does the green tea "spike" it too much?

i am so totally anti-fruit (or anything else edible, for that matter) when it comes to fragrance. it's generally okay for bathtime stuff, but when it comes to my pulse points, please...dear gad...no. however. when i was urged to try bpal's depraved, i realized there was a favorable way to wear concentrated fruit -- when it's dirrrrrty. (depraved is nothing but apricot and black patchouli -- and i never even liked patchouli before). however, thus far, that's the only dirty fruit i've encountered. does anyone here have any recommendations as far this type of fruit goes? doesn't necessarily have to be patchouli-based, just as long as it ends up smelling semi-rotten, sorta moldy, but most definitely pitch-dark and dirt-laden!

i bought a bottle on a whim, untested, because it sounded like a sure thing. and how. before i praise it, i must say that i'm disappointed in the rather weak lasting power of this scent, but i knew not to set my expectations too high upon first sniff as it just didn't seem a Strong Scent. this is a subdued, beautifully dark oil which reminds me a lot of the "black ____" scents of rappaccini's garden, especially one of my all-time favorites, black lily. this is a unique, exotic combination of floral and spices/incense, slightly sugary but not anything near midway proper, for example...this is akin to snake oil. a syrupy floral...that's how i'd like to categorize it. like i said, wear length (and throw) are not incredible, but i like this enough to slather repeatedly, until my skin's second natural layer consists entirely of midnight on the midway

i'd never tried this blend in the past but everything i'd heard about it certainly made my expectations high. i'm sooo very glad they were met, even exceeded. truth be told, i was nervous, considering roses and i aren't typically friendly. there are but two ways i like my roses: dead, or surrounded by greenery (oxymoron, i know ). nonetheless, i was reeled in by the recurring likenesses to "a fresh, juicy rose in a florist's fridge." hoping "fresh, juicy" didn't somehow equate "tea rose" or anything else suggestive of doilies and teatime (ruuuuunnnn!), i went for it. and now i think i may be in love. more than anything, i'm finding myself fond of rose red's incredible throw and wear length. the beau-man could not believe how strong it was -- but in a good way. definitely very feminine, but not prissy. though i've never tried peacock queen, i get the idea it's a "stately" rose. rose red is not that, either. this is sensuous yet not really romantic. kind of wild but not slutty. coquettish, mayhaps? a rose with a wink and a grin, really gifted at putting on the pure but carrying around wayyy too many wonderful secrets. yeah, that's this kind of rose. tasty, indeed

A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. i hate to clash with the graceful, emotional response the above reviewer has to snow white, but i must ask...does snow white have crack in it? if so, i'm sooo a crack wh*re. what took me so long to try this?!

why oh why did i have to fall for la noche buena? all my BPAL yule funds have been spent and i cannot buy a bottle before it's buried away for the season (i'll be praying for its return in 08). can anyone think of a GC equivalent???

scrub-a-dub-dub...all soapy. thus far, one of my very least favorite bpal oils. i wish i could offer more but i can't. i'm just shocked at the sheer soapiness. eek.

i couldn't believe how much malediction smells like burning leaves/wood to my nose! give this one a try.

i second satyr, which i tried for the first time yesterday. very very heavy on the cinnamon...though i couldn't particularly see myself wearing it during spring...much too hot to be wearing a flamin' scent. then again, i'm in california, where spring is more like summer. i would definitely go for satyr during the cooler months.

thanks all for your suggestions! i, in fact, love both roux-ga-roux and whippoorwill, which both satisfy my desire for moss, though both of those do get a little powdery/sweet on me, but not so much that i don't feel that lovely, smushy, swamp-grade moss creeping through. i recently tried bayou and that one hits the nail on the head, too, but it's very...steamy! i like the coolish mosses, if that makes sense. jazz funeral may be a bit too boozy for my tastes. nocnitsa is loverly, but still a bit too foresty, at least on my skin. robin goodfellow is less foresty, more...crackling leaves, branches and dried-out moss. which are all good things. now, renfield is an interesting suggestion, and i'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for that one, as well as luperci! cathode is also an interesting one...i've tried it and never really extracted the moss, but i do love it muchly. it certainly has that "cool-dark" effect i so crave. and lastly, i believe banded sea snake is THE best moss-laden BPAL scent i've tried thus far. for any of you seeking the kind'a moss i love, you MUST grab this snake before it disappears!!! ...and i would love to try graveyard dirt, if i could only find it...sigh.

i second (or third, whatever) hanging gardens, though i think the suggestion of swank may be a little too cloying for your tastes (it tasted like a big ol' red lollipop to me). you might also want to try machu picchu, which is an "airy" fruity-floral, or at least i think so. i too am not a fan of too much sweetness, and i loved fae, too...though i love oakmoss hehe good luck.

If you're looking for a softer, less biting, powdery lemon, try to hunt down Enraged Bunny Musk. Though I don't believe lemon is one of the listed ingredients (or maybe it is), I seem to recall that other reviewers, as well as I, pick up a soft lemon. Kinda like a powdered-sugar-covered lemon cookie. mmmm. Delousing Powder, an unreleased scent, is similar to it. I know lemon and lime are two completely different scents, but if you also like lime, try Envy...it's one of my favorites...very fresh, juicy, bright -- just like lemon is.

cherry. spicy cherry. i love cherry. it hates me. you know what it does to me? it BURNS ME SKIN ugh. while this would be a perfect candidate for a locket, i'm so frustrated that i can't put this on any part of me without turning red and spicy myself, i'm sending it off. so sad :/

suck me dry, nosferatu! including my wallet, for i shall purchase several bottles of the ol' rotting chap as soon as possible. one week after receiving him in imp form, i have elevated him to "favorites" status. as another reviewer said, nosferatu is akin to zombi, but definitely more...alive, and less "torn," than the latter. while zombi is rather dead and dry, nosferatu is flowing with zee lifeblood. i am so glad that the wine note is omnipresent yet does not override the earth, which is super-important to me. the herbs make for an interesting, lilting "tang" to an otherwise very earth-tight scent. i consider these types of dirt-based scents my "signature." i cannot stop sniffing my skin while it wears nosferatu. i wanna suck me own blood!

Wow, I've never smelled an oil like this before. Oftentimes, bpal oils (to my nose, at least) sometimes have a common denominator which makes them distinctly bpal. But this one is in a category all its own. I'm not quite sure how peach and oakmoss get along, but they do. I'm not usually a fan of citrus, and therefore not a fan of bergamot (which has that citrusy "bite" to it), but it brightens Fae wonderfully here. I'm always sad that i can't pick up on heliotrope in oils, but that's resolved here. Overall, a loverly scent...but over time, i do notice it stays a bit too candy-ish for my tastes, is not musky enough and therefore, not something that "speaks to me." However, it is something I'd love to sniff now and then to lift my spirits and most definitely a candidate for bathtime or other household scenting needs. Very pretty.