eatingthesea

wow, this scent hits fast and it hits hard! i'm immediately slapped with a definite antiseptic/evergreen note layered with juniper, but almost just as quickly, it settles down a bit. however, I still get the "cleanser" aspect i usually do with tree scents. i was hoping for more dirt...the patchouli just doesn't come to the top as i'd hoped. eta: patchouli creeps out. maybe a little too masculine for me.

Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreaker's perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli. This is such a diverse and variegated scent -- and I am absolutely intrigued! I would NOT normally go for any of the elements in vixen (this was a frimp) but they meld together well and stand on their own singularly quite splendidly. On me, per drydown, the orange blossom recedes a bit so it is not as sweet, and the ginger seems to float atop the patchouli. It loses a bit of its complexity by subtracting the orange blossom, but for some weird reason, after deeply inhaling vixen, i can still get the feel for the blossom in the depths of my nasal passages (sniff sniff). It is certainly a spicy scent. I would be curious to see how it entails in a, er...sensual setting, as others have suggested, but as a daytime scent, nuh uh (as most of the love potions are for me...i'm a daytime prude hehe).

wet, this is almost all tea rose on me, yet something about it is "starchy" in the background, which usually (on me) indicates something arboreal. as it dries down, it becomes more violet-y (wee) and starts to remind me of marie. something about this suggests honey, but it's a faint suggestion. dry, this is...lemon rose. rose lemon. hmm. i don't like citrus on my skin all that much; too sour. i am picky about rose scents in general but i was fascinated by the idea of rose, lilac and violet leaf all in the same place at the same time. unfortunately, the notes i normally don't like (and was hoping would behave in rose moon) popped up and shoved the beloved ones out of the way. however, i do love how rose moon smells upon application...maybe i'll use it for home scenting. overall, though, it's not as impressive as i'd hoped.

marie is not my usual type of scent; i hardly ever like singular or dualistic scents like this (what can i say, i like complication). however, i love violet and i do like roses. with marie, violet is at front and center, which is perfect for me. however, the rose can be picked out upon concentration and i suppose it makes the violet less "sharp." it reminds me of my favorite violet candy. this is certainly a very feminine scent and perfect for dressing up. on me, marie keeps going and going and going. but perhaps that's just my happy relationship with violet speaking. not something i'd wear daily, but maybe at my next...garden party for rare occasions!

i just have to pipe in and say that i just tried depraved for the first time, and i am amazed at how fantastically this combination of fruit and patchouli works. in fact, i may hunt down other bpal's that make use of this combo and hope that i have even more success.

this scent is such a surprise for me. i usually shun the fruity scents because they go bizarro on my skin and i can only take patchouli in small doses. maybe it's the simplicity of this one, but it just works beautifully. upon first applying, it's bursting with yumminess that reminds me of apricot preserves -- yet not too intensely sweet -- and then drying down, it does become more "grounded." i like the other reviewer's observation of it being like an apricot that has fallen to the ground. what an unusual concept for an oil, but it certainly is delicious to experience. i think depraved would make a great bathtime scent.

who knows what ambergris smells like? quick research says that its synthetic sister is often derived from clary sage. so that gives me some idea. maybe that's what gives cathode its herbaceous feel? either way, i <3 cathode very much and cannot wait to get a bottle. i love both mint and moss and they are happily married here. a little mischievous green wood sprite in a bottle. cathode is so tasty i wish i could convert it into something drinkable. perfect for those rather nasty los angeles summer days. i can't wait to battle them out draped in cathode!

salome is a scent that gives me hope for jasmine-based scents on my skin. and jasmine is pretty much all i can pick out of all the scents combined here, at least while it's going strong. when it dries up, there is something woody about it, and i think it might be the almond...maybe the sandalwood. i don't think it's musky at all. i was hoping for more oakmoss. i don't perceive the aggression and "commerciality" some others find. honestly, this isn't an entirely impressive scent. i'm still waiting for that magnificent jasmine scent...this one just doesn't "pop" as much as i'd hoped. i'm neutral about it.

i don't understand this scent i love martinis. i do. even the sweet ones. and i love pomegranate. but i do not see anything of a pomegranate martini in swank. i'm unsure as to why, but a couple bpal scents that are meant to be sweet are nothing but lollipops on me. the generic kind. i just don't want to smell that way. here, that is what i get: sticky (melting in the sun sticky) red lollipops. if it at least had the twang of a martini, i'd appreciate swank, but i get not even that. too bad.

when i first smelled this, i coughed...a lot! but that's alright, it's all about the smokiness. it is certainly husky and gray...but almost choking. i like fire scents, but more when they're more like spicy fireplace-type scents. this one is pure smokiness. and someone in my office just asked me if i was burning or smoking something...at my desk. haha! so much for testing bpal at work! i think this is no. such is life!

upon opening, i smell that "faint breath" of flowers. on my skin, this heads straight to the berries full-on. red berries. juicy, too. flowers still faint. i was hoping for more greenery to balance out the immense sweetness. i like that i can get a sense of "dewiness" out of rosalind, however. but, i'm thinking this is a bit too feminine and girly for me.

what.the.hell. i seriously want to know whether what is in my imp of delight is really truly delight. because i smell like, uh...indian spices. for cooking. curry with a little bit of floral. is this coincidence? i can only think this may be the frangipani, as roses usually work just fine. granted, i am not entirely sure how jasmine reacts with me as i don't have many jasmine-laced scents, but...wow. just way too spicy and strange for me. i figure this is a chemistry-related fluke and should stoically accept my fate. actually, on drydown, the spices begin to subside, i get more tuberose, i think jasmine is working his teeny butt off to take the stage...but this is still just too pungent. poo.

i never really considered this scent before, as it didn't seem my "thing." it is definitely very bitter and a sniff of it concentrated/wet releases some weird "starchy" element, which i assume comes from the arboreal ingredients. interestingly, at a distance, anubis is slightly powdery and a tinge sweet...for how?! i'm starting to think myrrh likes to play tricks on me. either way, anubis becomes another type of scent completely at drydown, very unexpectedly. a touch nicer than massaging myself with incense. while this is for the better, it is probably something i'd rather smell on a man person. so i shall slather le boy in it against or in keeping with his will eta: someone told me, literally minutes after i applied it, that i smelled "amazing." so i guess i'll share it with manchild. it definitely has lasting power, which is not something i can say about many oils i've tried...hrm. perhaps i'll change my tune on this one.

this is not normally my kind of scent, because it is so icy, but its complexity and refreshing attitude draws me to it. it is very much a juniper-based scent on me when it's wet, yet it is "feminized" by the lotus. now, i will say that undertow has a house cleaner quality to it, but surprisingly, this doesn't disqualify it as being an amazing oil. i would clean my house way more often if undertow were in a spray bottle! yet i have no problem slathering it on me, too. it's almost sparkly...very much a scent for energizing. i shall reserve undertow for therapy purposes

i feel so lucky to have gotten this from the loverly diana. i'm one of those types who buys books because of the beautiful illustrations/covers - i'm not ashamed! - and similarly, i wanted this lunar blend because of the label! but beyond its good looks, this is a gorgeous scent. i want to eat it. i get honey all the way through, but it's tempered by the mums, which i am thankful shine through...but they are almost crumbly, as if they were aged, dried or drying out. a beautiful "antique" sort of scent. it feels very...sleepy, too, which i suppose could be suggestive of the barest whiffs of opium smoke. i don't get as much spice as other reviewers do, but it certainly is a creamy scent. i lerv this!

this review will be short and sweet (very sweet). bubblegum. that's it. in all stages. sad

i ordered vinland because it has all those wonderful flowers and vegetation of which i have absolutely no concept (what is a loganberry? and who's ever smelled crocus or mayflower? not a native los angelean!). i'm so very glad i took a chance on vinland. when i open it, it is all berries and breezes. i definitely imagine some valley in a cool, windy place, populated by delicious vegetation. on my skin, i begin to smell a very peculiar flower, and i'm beginning to think it may be this elusive mayflower. maybe it's just because of the word association, but it reminds me of a discontinued bath & body works scent called may bouquet, which is amazing. it's a greenish floral, but very rich, almost dense. it just smells like the month of may! i think i also pick up the iris, which i am pleased to learn works on my skin. drydown...grasses and roses, but still with that dense floral i cannot pinpoint but would love to believe is mayflower, tempered by the non-floral maple leaf and birch this seems like a wonderful indian summer scent...cool, calming, delicious. 5ml!

i agree with a reviewer who says that sea of glass is a "mood scent." it's not something i'd reach for everyday. i was surprised by the way sea of glass smelled upon opening, as i suppose i expected it to be either more aquatic or more light and airy. and it appears others here do indeed find these aspects. but i don't. i get lotsss of lemon (or lime?) and white floral. i couldn't put my finger on what flower really amps out, but i believe it's either magnolia or calla lily. whichever one it is, it reminds me of my childhood, so i can see this scent corresponding with moods characterized as "nostalgic." i suppose i'm a little confused as to how this scent is interpreted as a glassy sea, though it does definitely seem reflective, if that makes sense...very smooth. it's not a combination of scents i'd usually wear but yeah...certain times may call for this.

another frimp that i never knew existed in the GC. based on the description, though, it seemed like it might be right up my olfactory alley. upon opening: deep, dark woods. wet on my skin: very chocolatey cedar! very curious indeed. wasn't getting any fig, and who knows what palm smells like (i have tried to pick it out in hanging gardens, too). i let intrigue alone for awhile and came back, and it was a beautifully sweetened wood...seemed a very aged wood, too, if that makes sense. i think the cocoa receded a bit and made room for the fig, though the fig isn't as prominent as i had hoped. also, the chocolate became more cocoa-like (i.e., less sugary, more earthy). i'm still waiting for that fig scent that will bring me back to that endlessly reproductive fig tree in my backyard of youth. maybe strangler fig? but anyway, intrigue is a pleasant surprise and will be an excellent choice on those days that i long for fall weather. thanks, lab!

i see so many complaints about wilting lilies in the reviews that, of course, i wanted to go (as a newbie) directly to a 5ml of straightforward lily to see if i'd have the same problem. i would have to say that most florals do indeed work out quite smashingly for me, lilies included. there is an intoxicating element to black lily, which is part of its allure, i'd suppose. it has depth, if that doesn't sound too trite. i can't say much else (helpful!) other than this is a gorgeous scent, long-lasting, and prompts me to want to try other lily-laden scents. hooray for agreeable (well, mostly) chemistry. eta: blah blah blah...i can't believe i didn't rave about this scent more back then other than to go on about my "amazing" chemistry, haha. this is actually the first BPAL bottle i ever bought. i still have some left, maybe about 1/7th of it, but i rarely wore it until recently, when i realized it is just gorgeous. it's dark, a little spicy, but alllll creamy lily. if you have or ever had misgivings about wearing 100% florals, do not be afraid of black lily. especially the foodies out there...black lily delivers on both fronts, and does a smashing job of it. i can't believe this one isn't in my top ten. remedying that now.

nocnitsa is one of the first bpal scents that screamed "buy me!" through its description; i was fascinated by both the namesake and the elements of the oil itself. now that i finally have it and have tested it a couple times, i realized i must've overlooked one potential problem before succombing to paypal: that lightless wood? it's fir-ry! at christmas time, neat. otherwise, as of yet, it has no place on my skin. so the fir wood, combined with the ozone factor, outshines the moss and earth (the two things i most wanted) and i get astringent to the maximum. admittedly it does calm down after awhile, but thus far, i find nocnitsa appropriate only for home-scenting. i do not want to smell like a christmas tree lot. i couldn't pick up one minute hunk o' dirt or moss with her

like the other love potions i've tried, les bijoux is not exactly for daily wear. i felt almost guilty walking down the street at midnight in jeans and a sweatshirt to the grocery store while being draped in les bijoux. as if i had some excess voluptuousness unable to be completely disguised and i'm being watched...lasciviously! not that this is completely bad. i'm just surprised at how these love potions dredge up the ol' cliched catholic guilt. i loves me some catholic guilt, especially when it smells like this. this combination of scents works well, but i'm determined to discover what "apple" smells like in oil form, because i still haven't been able to separate it out. les bijoux is all lollipops upon application but yummy honeyed rose afterward, drying out to a sweeter combination of myrrh and musk. alas, just as quickly as i forgot about my many trips to the confession booth in the days of yore, les bijoux completely dropped off to who-knows-where. a sad thing. i really love peachy scents and was hoping the white peach would be as forthcoming here as with titania. sigh. i tried! it was fun trying.

i bought this as a newbie who had never before smelled snake oil on its own (for shame, i know!). so i had no idea what to expect there, but i already knew i loved moss scents, so i figured banded sea snake could do no wrong. and i was right. i was a little unsure upon initial application because it reminded me of tree bark floating in olive juice - really - but after it dried down, i couldn't detach my nostrils from my wrist. i don't know how to describe this one; it's not slithery like some watery scents, and it doesn't have the earth/dirt of many moss-based scents. it almost reminds me of a cream-and-sugar-covered moss, and this scent has introduced me to the scent of olive leaf, which i believe is front and center here. a very unusual combination of elements, and i love it; it is, i'd venture to say, one of those perfect blends that is at once mysterious and simple. added to this, it is THE longest-lasting bpal oil i've tried thus far. i usually have to reapply my oils every few hours, but not so with banded sea snake. another plus: it smells even better on the boyfriend than on me. and this doesn't make me jealous; it makes me...happy must purchase another bottle (or two...or three) long before 2008 approaches!

i kiss bpal passionately for frimping me death cap, for it was on my upcoming-imp-pack list. i was debating on my last order between this and destroying angel, and i end up getting both in the same lot! wee. i'm not so good at reviewing oils overall since i'm still developing my bloodhound nose for particular notes, and rappaccini's garden is even more difficult because most of them are so...natural and singular. but i will try. straight out of the bottle, i smell the vegetable section at your local grocery mart. hmm. once on, it begins to settle down and seem less ambiguous and definitely becomes more 'shroomy, fleshy. i personally love smelling earthy and slightly dirty (zombi's my favorite) so when i begin to pick up some dirt undertones, i am pleased. on me, death cap becomes almost smoky and wet - not dry - after some time sitting. okay, i now can picture this: camping out in the woods in an area particularly populated by fairy circles, stoking a fire that's blazing comfortably despite a light drizzle from above. and, ladies and gents, this is all very good. i can't believe it, but i'm going for a scent that doesn't have flowers anywhere. yummy. i can see how death cap is responsible for the majority of the world's mushroom-consumption deaths because of its delicious taste. a perfect rendering of the real thing, me thinks. i hope destroying angel is just as much of a hit.

i really really wanted to like this one. and i thought it couldn't go wrong since it has the base note of tonka, which normally works well with me. i think what caused perversion's downfall was the alcoholic notes (chardonnay and rum), which made the whole scent go stale. or perhaps it was the tobacco...or leather! gee, i guess i was hoping for tonka to redeem the whole shebang. in actuality, though, this one didn't morph into anything disastrous, but it did seem very stale on me and just overall unimpressive. i guess it's probably due to the fact that i prefer my scents to have at least a small amount of flower or musk to even out an otherwise "hard" scent. in the end, this one gave the impression of how i might feel after being out at club perversion (in hollywood)...stale smoke in my hair, various alcoholic drinks on the breath, taboo memories to sift through...guilt for doing things i can't remember! not my cup of tea anymore i know, a useless review. oops.