Nightgaunt

Cream accord, amber, teak, and lotus blossom. This velvety golden floral gives the feel of a warm, lazy day in some exotic Paradise, where the air smells of promised love. Soft, creamy and delecate, it evokes like the languid peace of afterglow. Should anyoneask, however, I'll tell them that it's simply called "Glowing."

...and there... sat a lumpish figure robed in yellow silk with red and having a yellow silken mask over its face. To this being the slant-eyed man made certain signs with his hands, and the lurker in the dark replied by raising a disgustingly carven flute of ivory in silk covered paws and blowing certain loathesome sounds from beneath its flowing silken mask. Monastic incense, blood musk, black leather, cypress, pimento, white pepper, and Roman chamomile. This is a winner--smooth leather, aromatic spice, the herbal freshness of chamomile. It's a dark, exotic, sexy scent. It calls to mind underground passages full of secrets, and wonderous (and possibly dangerous) treasures brought by caravan from unknown lands. It is full of delightful nightmares.

I smell the moss more than the cherry blossoms. This has the freshness and exuberance of Garden Path with Chickens, but the latter's complexity and peppery bite is replaced by a zen-like simplicity. It is truly the scent of spring.

Damned if this doesn't smell exactly like the glue they used to use on envelopes! It's weird, but I like it---it gives me a nostalgic glow. Now if you could come up with an oil that smells like ditto paper, you would really have captured the scent of my childhood.

This is a very resinous O. I smell the dry perfume of frankincense, perhaps benzoin as well, a little myrrh, and perhaps a touch of spice. It's a deep, regal scent, and makes me think of red velvet and gold brocade.

Archangel Winter smells pure and clean, like snow, but there are flowers blooming in this snow. In fact, I think I caught a whiff of those rare blossoms that give Snow White its unique quality. Are they flowers that were gathered in Hyperborea, the land beyond the north wind?

I've always loved the Japanese salon scents best--they have an understated elegance about them. In Harikata (is this the Japanese word for "strap-on dildo?") this elegance is levened by a sense of play and flirtation. The osmanthus , honey and vanilla gives it warmth and richness, the ginger gives it spark. It smell opulant, exotic, and very, very sensual. Good stuff.

I know I commented on this before when it came out the first time, but I have something new to say: Until BPAL comes out with a "Lost Carcosa" scent (hint hint hint hint!), this essence of royalty will be what I wear when I want to be in a King in Yellow frame of mind.

This is definately a bad-girl scent. It smells like Antique Lace after a really wild party. I love it.

When I first put this on, it smells powerfully of honeysuckle--this flower does tend to overwhelm other notes in a blend. But the honeysuckle dies away in a minute or two and makes way for a lighter, more subtle floral. Ths is a very feminine scent, and gives a feeling of velvet draperies and gilt candleabra. It's like Swan Maiden's more sophisticated sister.

What's with this "pickle" business people keep talking about? To my nose, Ivanushka smells like warm, soft, woodsy musk with a touch of Christmas spice. It makes me feel like curling up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate and the world's sexiest man.

"The Secret Rose My soul hath dreamt of a rose, whose marvellous and secret flower, fraught with unimaginable perfume, hath never grown in any garden. Only in valleys of the shifting cloud, only among the palms and fountains of a land of mirage, only in isles beyond the seas of sunset, it booms for a moment, and is gone. But ever the ghost of its fragrance haunts the halls of slumber, and the women whom I meet in dreams wear always its blossom for coronal." -Clark Ashton Smith To me, Magdalene smells like Smith's Secret Rose.

I have always love the smell of carnations, and this is the perfect carnation scent. The tea and rose are simply supporting characters for the cool, spicy perfume of carnation. It's a perfect oil for hot summer days.

If anybody is looking for the perfect mermaid scent, this is it-- the purest sea breeze with a touch of golden sweetness in the backround.

This is very much a naked- skin scent. It isn't strong and doesn't last long, but damn, it makes you feel sophisticated when you wear it. Creamy musk and dry crysanthamum and something exotic that might be the legendary wide-throated yellow monkeyflower accord (where do you GET wide-throated yellow monkeyflower accord anyway?) This might be a good scent for situations in which a stronger perfume wouldn't be welcome, but I wear in entirely for myself.

I have waited all year for a swan maiden scent, and it was worth the wait. This is the perfect white floral-- pure, lush, elegant. It really does give the feeling of a proud white swan drifting on a lake full of water lilies.

Unlike everybody else, I didn't smell citrus at all in the bottle. Only when I put it on my skin can I detect the grapefruit and neroli--and with heavy-duty flowers like wisteria, honeysuckle, and jasmine, you need that citrus astringency. It goes on almost overwhelmingly sweet, but after a minute or so the citrus appears, and then it becomes lovely.

On me, Fox-Woman works beautifully. It's lush and feminine when wet, regal and understated when dry, and the tea and teak keeps the flowers from being overpoweringly sweet. It's one of my favorites. I can just see Lady Kuzunoha, in her silken robes and ornaments of jade and coral. She looks so elegant and refined that you'd never suspect she was out chasing rabbits in the wood last night.

How do you create a shoggoth? You put the lime in the coconut and ...run like hell! This is a sweet, fun, tropical scent that makes conjures up images of an amorphous, protoplasmic monster sipping margaritas on the beach. Next to High Priest, it's my favorite of the new PIA oils.

This oil reminds me of the writings of Clark Ashton Smith. It conjures up images of his lamia-princess Morthylla out for a moonlight stroll in her mortuary guarden. Strange noctornal flowers scent the air as she pauses in a white marble gazebo to watch the bats skim gracefully over the lotus pool.

Oddly enough, this doesn't smell like much at all in the bottle. It's only on my skin that its character shows. Sandalwood. moonflower, tea leaf. and mint create a dry, chilly, austere, and rather melancholy scent. It really does evoke the atmosphere of the painting. Not my favorite, but it's interesting, and would be really good for those who like minimalist perfumes.

This does feel very Japanese--understated, graceful, and refined. It makes me thnk of a lady in a pink kimono, composing poetry on a riverbank. And do I detect sandalwood in the drydown? Very nice.

This is such a warm, comforting scent! It makes me think of a cozy book-lined study, full of leather armchairs, with lamps that shed a tranquil golden light. Espcially nice for stone-cold winter days.

Aizen-Myoo goes on bracingly tart--appropriately enough for a god of tarts!--and dries down to a crisp, airy floral that is light-heartedly elegant. It is a wonderful hot-weather scent.

I didn't think I would like this, but it's a wonderfully warm, festive scent--tingly with dragon's blood and cinnamon, soft with leather and wood, and its wine note never turns into that ghastly essance of Grape Nehi that makes Madrid so nasty in drydown. Tintagal would be perfect to wear to a Renaissance Faire or SCA event.