Lyssa

Ceres was resolved to win her daughter back from Haides. Not so fate permitted, for the girl had broken her fast and wandering, childlike, through the orchard trees from a low branch had picked a pomegranate and peeled the yellow rind and found the seeds and nibbled seven. The only one who saw was Orphne's son, Ascalaphus, whom she, no the least famous of the Nymphae Avernales, bore once to Acheron in her dusky bower. He saw and told, in spite, and by his tale stole her return away. The Regina Erebi groaned in distress and changed the tale-bearer into a bird. She threw into his face water from Phlegethon, and lo! a beak and feathers and enormous eyes! Reshaped, he wears great tawny wings, his head swells huge . . . a loathsome bird, ill omen for mankind, a skulking screech-owl, sorrow's harbinger. The daimon that tends the orchards of the Underworld: pomegranate, wonder-flowers, asphodel, and black soil. When I opened the imp, the first scent to hit me was the pomegranate. I don't know the smell of wonder-flowers or asphodel, so all I can think is that they take away the edge from this being a purely fruity scent. Well, that and the soil. The soil really is black. It reminds me of gardening and packing in wet, soft ground. It's crumbling and full of nutrients for the flowers and pomegranate -- nutrients FROM DEATH. I think I'd really like this blend much more if not for the soil. It's the perfect balance of sweetness from the pomegranate and flowers. The pomegranate is juicy on my skin. I'm a bit obsessed with Persephone, which means I will often make myself drink pomegranate juice even if it's sometimes too tart. In Askalaphos, the pom really does come through, but it's not kicking the other notes to the curb. The longer my nose hovers over my wrist, the more soil I get. It doesn't make much sense, but imagining the soil makes me think of crushed Oreo cookies minus the filling. The soil dirties the pomegranate and makes it earthier, which could really work for some people. There's something else, too, that is almost minty about this. The soil kind of sours it up a bit for me, but so far I still like it a lot more than I thought I would. It has nice throw, and most of what reaches my nose is sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Edited an hour later to add: this scent fades really quickly. The dirty flowers aspect is a bit stronger, but overall it's now an echo of what it was.

This is the 2011 version. When I first placed my Halloweenie order, Samhain called out to me, but I pushed it away because of the "damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli." I mean, those are going to be the predominant notes, so it sounded more like something for my boyfriend than me. I still couldn't get it out of my head, so instead of a bottle, I purchased a decant from the lovely schackjj. Maoric and I decided to try them together today. He and I are long-distance, so we can't smell them on each other, but we wanted to share the experience. I was right: it's definitely more a scent for him. He tried Iago as one of his first scents, which we were in person for and both hated. It was truly disgusting on him. Samhain 2011 gave me kind of the same feeling. There is something about it that is leathery, although it may be the earthiness of the patchouli. Upon first application, it's all dark woods and sharp fir. I wanted to wash it off immediately, but held out for my beloved apple and spices. Yeah, they eventually came out to play, especially the apple. The whole thing sweetened up, but I can't get past that first stage or the leather association. The leathery bit sort of sticks around as a backdrop. I'm not really a fan of leather for many reasons, so it just didn't work for me. Maoric described it as an apple pie at the edge of the woods, whereas I see it as an apple pie that has been stomped on with nasty, muddy boots, so it's covered in fir needles, leaves, and mud. Maybe a rider took his horse over it a few times, and I'm smelling the saddle leather. This sucker also has some staying power! I've scrubbed my wrist no less than three times and rubbed it with alcohol, and Samhain is clinging to me desperately. I appreciate the description and what it evokes, as it's pretty spot on, but it's not something I want to wear.

The pomegranate in Regina Erebi is a dominant note on me, particularly after first applying, but the whole thing is very much like Askalaphos minus the soil. Later, the mulberry comes along to play with the pomegranate. At times, Regina Erebi is sweetly fruity, with the bite as mentioned from the spearmint. It's an attractive scent, but it's nothing special on my skin. It does have some pretty good staying power, as I've since washed and rubbed my wrist with alcohol, and I can still smell a hint of the fruit hours later. It doesn't have much throw, and I couldn't really smell it unless I actively considered it. Because it wasn't as delicious on me as I'd hoped, I actually tended to forget about it.

Poisoned Apple is pretty true to its name. It starts out with a sweet, bright, red apple, but after it begins to dry, the poisons seep out. It's everything I would expect from this scent: an apple masking dangerous florals. Poisoned Apple is VERY sweet on my skin. The apple is most definitely red for me, which isn't my favorite type of apple. I think it's very pretty, but not a "me" scent as it's just too sweet and cloying. Apple as a note usually works for me, but Poisoned Apple will either be a scent I use sparingly or gift to a friend who fell in love with it.

I got a decant of Snake Oil that I think is something like 5 years old, so I can't attest for any newer batches of it, or even a brand new imp. I'm one of the few who didn't like it, although I think I need to try it again just to make sure. Rather than vanilla, I got spicy oils that were coated in sugar. Overall, it was too dark, too heady, and too incensey for my tastes. I wanted a lot more vanilla/sugar with those hints of delicious darkness, but the vanilla/sugar are definitely backdrops to the spiced oils. I mostly tried it because it's the most popular scent, and I see why people would like it. It's just not for me.

In the bottle, it smells completely like cherry cough syrup or cough drops or even NyQuil. It's very medicinal and very cherry. However, after applying, it really becomes more like a candy. I do feel like cinnamon red hots, or cinnamon candy hearts. The cherry is there, making the cinnamon nicely fruity, but that cinnamon has a real kick to it and is now the powerhouse of the fragrance. I think the cherry makes it seem more candy-like, as this is definitely not a straight-up cinnamon or a spice overload (in the most delicious way) like in Autumn Cider. Within about 10 minutes, the licorice finally makes an appearance. Honestly, it just emphasizes the candy feeling. Then, without warning, it all dies down and becomes very subtle. I guess this one is a slatherer. It's pretty faint now. Smells good, but way more delicate than I would imagine a hideous heart to be. Usually I hope for lighter scents, but I wish this one stayed darker and juicier. I like it, and it has a kind of nice little throw as it's giving me echoes of cinnamon candies every now and then. If it's going to be eaten by my skin so quickly, though, it might find more love somewhere else.

This is for the 2006 version. Snow-Flakes is a very fresh, cold, delicate scent. There is a hint of florals, but nothing here is too strong or sharp. It's an incredibly light, refreshing mint with a backdrop of light flowers and a hint of vanilla to soften it even more. It never gets powdery on me. I'm not really a floral lover (it really depends), and this scent is just beautiful. I think there must be a hint of a fruit in here, something sweet like peach, pear, or apple. It's SO faint, though, and it only shows up on my skin later into wearing. At the end of its wear, it gets lightly musky the way other pretty fruit scents have on me. I don't love musk most of the time, but I don't mind this stage. It wasn't incredibly long-lasting, and I don't remember the throw being amazing. It's a sweet, close, well-blended scent, and I love it. It definitely evokes feelings of snow and winter. It's going to be a Yule scent for me for sure, and it's convinced me to try Snow White since I've seen them compared. Even if Snow White doesn't work for me, Snow-Flakes is gorgeous and will be loved.

Silver Phoenix definitely evokes the feeling of silver. It's cold, clear, crisp, delicate, and shimmering. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. I thought maybe it was the orris, but The Silver Apple of the Moon has orris and doesn't react this way on me. At first, Silver Phoenix is lovely and gleaming and elegant, but on me it morphs into sickly, powdery, sour flowers. I don't get much of the sweetness others have mentioned, and I only experience a hint of the pear right at the very beginning of wear. I had to wash it off after about two and a half hours because it started to make me sneeze and just wasn't getting any better. It had real potential, just not for my chemistry. I'm thankful I still have my Silver Apple.

Blood Kiss and I have had a troubled history. I bought my first set of BPAL imps in early 2007, and Blood Kiss was one of those scents that I didn't seek, but was included in the eBay lot. I read the description on the BPAL website, and was willing to try it. When my imps arrived, Blood Kiss was broken. It spilled over everything else, dousing other labels with its sweet, juicy, musky, sensual aroma. I didn't quite understand how scents could change on skin at the time. I mean, I was aware of it, but hadn't really experienced it. With Blood Kiss, I never got the chance. Something about the conditions it was kept in actually solidified Blood Kiss to the container it was shipped in, so it's almost like I have little globs of Blood Kiss amber. It still smells. For years, I kept it on my desk, and the scent of Blood Kiss would waft up to my nose at random intervals. I hated it at first. It was so dark and fruity and overpowering and strong. Well, of course it was! The whole imp had spilled all over the place! But after a while, it mellowed out, and I began to crave it. Recently, I purchased another imp of it to finally try on my skin. I'd taken a hiatus from BPAL (I'm honestly not much of a perfume person most of the time), but it was one of the first I sought out when I began looking again. Blood Kiss is everything I remember. It's sweet, which I now identify with dragon's blood resin and cherry. It's sensual, which I think on me is the vetiver, wine, musk, and clove. The vanilla is lush, like the description states. It adds a warmth and creaminess to the fruitiness, but the vanilla isn't incredibly noticeable overall. When it dries down a bit, it morphs into a muskier, clovey vetiver with hints of the cherry, dragon's blood, and wine. I don't know that I'm picking up the poppy or the honey. After a while, it flips back and forth on me between fruity musk (not my favorite -- I blame the vetiver) and the delicious, ripe, lickable Blood Kiss I fell in love with years ago. The musk/vetiver stays close to my skin, and the whiffs that hit my nose are less of the vetiver. It's juicy, rich, sensual, and I'd love to smell it on my boyfriend because it has just enough spice and darkness to work as a masculine scent. Despite being so delicious, I don't think it's a bottle scent. I'm going to happily use my imp and decide then if I need more in an imp or a bottle, but I think the vetiver keeps me from loving it more.

I think you should try the Halloweenie, just in case! It might be what you're looking for, despite all those other notes.

In the imp, it smelled like a thick, spicy, citrusy resin. I definitely get the furniture polish vibe. This is totally not orange on me. There are some hints of it, but the citruses I get are lemon and lime. I think this is mostly lime for me. I'm wondering if this is the verbena, the citrus, or both. I get a tiny hint of the pencil shaving feeling, enough to make me kind of dislike it. It makes me feel like I have them on my hands and need to wipe them. I definitely get a very sweet citrus and some amber, which I like, but it doesn't drown out what I'm guessing is cedar enough. My dad used to work at a telescope company, and he has a brass refracting telescope. When I was a kid, it used to be in the living room. I remember watching TV while my mom cleaned, and she'd use some sort of citrus-scented polish on it. Aelopile actually does remind me of that, weirdly enough. The polish is cleaner-like and brassy, the wood makes it sort of chemical-like to me, and I can't get that telescope out of my head. As the scent matures on my skin, more of the woods come out to play. I think it's nice, but it's just not my bag, baby. When I get the whiffs of citrus, I like it. Unfortunately, those whiffs are kind of few and far between. I'd rather smell it on the boyfriend (Maoric, above ), which is good because it's one of his favorites.

I seem to be in a minority because I'm hating this scent. I hated it in the imp (my brain screamed, "SOOOOAAAP!"). I don't even think I can give it an hour. I've had it on for maybe a half hour, and it's changed a lot in that time. Upon first application, it was pure soap. I'm guessing this is the lily of the valley. I'm a lily kind of person, in that I love the flower and the name and its variants. Lily of the valley can stay far away from me, though. After SOAP!!!1~~ for ten minutes, it was like rose clashing with the lily of the valley. Soapy rose. My skin already tends to amp rose, and the lily is just not helping. Now I'm writhing, toes curling, trying to bide my time to see how the scent develops. I can't stand it, and this isn't in an anticipatory way. GROSS. After 10-15 minutes, pear. OH, PEAR. THANK YOU. I am so glad to have pear because it sweetens the whole thing and makes it slightly bearable. Unfortunately, that lasts for a whopping two minutes, and now it's back to a faded, soapy rose. It's so soapy, it feels like it's coating the back of my throat. Occasionally -- and I mean OCCASIONALLY, like 2 out of every 15 sniffs -- I get a hint of that pear. It's just not enough. Soapy peary rose. I don't even get why the rose is such a champ because "bois du rose" is, to my understanding, ROSEWOOD. How is that supposed to smell like rose? Ah, well. Can't stand it. I can't even wait this out, it's bugging me so much and I have to do things that require concentration. Right now, my brain is just like, "Get it off, get it off, GET THIS OFF." I'm gonna go listen. Now, I don't know that I should be testing scents during hormonal times of the month, but I am. I will keep Endymion to try again in the future, but right now I just want it off my skin. I get why people would like this, as it's pretty delicate once past the initial stage and seems very traditional, but it's totally not for me.

I had a dream the other night where I found a bottle of "dragon's blood musk." I'm not really a musk sort of person, so I wasn't going to go for Dragon's Musk, but I picked the next best thing I bought an imp of: Ladon. I love everything about apples, and Autumn always puts me in an apple sort of mood, so when the stash feature on the forum recommended Ladon, I grabbed it immediately. Now, I don't know how much this affects the scent, but it is that time of the month, and my hormones are a bit wonky. Either way, I love this. When I first put it on, something about it was so familiar somehow. It took me back to my childhood, getting one of my first tarot decks (I collect them) from one of my favorite spiritual shops, DragonMarsh. It smelled like DragonMarsh, which sells herbs and essential oils of their own. It also reminded me of my Dragon Tarot, which isn't a deck I use, but it was one of my first. Somehow, this scent brought up memories associated with getting the deck and visiting the store. I just think it's interesting that two "dragon" things would pop up for me because I'd honestly forgotten that Ladon is in the Ars Draconis collection. It's so sweet and soft and golden. I don't think it's heavily dragon's blood, but I think the dragon's blood lends warmth to the apple and florals so it's not too crisp or sharp. I like the throw on this. I keep sniffing myself occasionally, and it makes me happy. It's really lovely and has faded (somewhat quickly) to a sweet, warm apple.

This is delicious if you're into foody scents. It smells like an apple spice candle I have. There's definitely the apple, LOADS of cinnamon and other spices, and a kick of citrus that lends the apple some sweetness. I get a boozy touch after first applying, but when it dries down, it's pure apple cider awesomeness. It has nice throw, and it's a definite Autumn scent for me. It's raining right now in Vegas, and this scent is wrapping me in a cozy, spicy little blanket that reminds me why I LOVE this time of year. I can't see myself wearing it too much aside from this time of year, unless I really miss Autumn and feel the need to experience some apple cider.

I honestly don't know what I smell. Comparing it to Pumpkin Queen, it's softer (not weak, just not a sharp scent) and quite warm. I'm not good at picking out individual notes, especially those I really don't know. I don't get chocolate, but I do get the caramel JasminDreams2010 mentioned. I also don't get the tropical floral others have suggested. I might be getting the honey. Either way, I don't love this scent, which is disappointing because I really wanted to. It's almost a band-aid/plastic smell. I'm going to test it with Pumpkin Queen on the other wrist to compare them, but all I can say is that I'm glad the Pumpkin Princess grew up into a Pumpkin Queen.

I agree that this is a dry apple. It's very sweet and very light on me. I definitely get the lunar association. It's a pretty floral, but the sweetness of the apple (almost tart at times) is there, too. There's something very clean and kind of soapy about it; I don't enjoy soapy scents, but this one isn't gross at all in terms of soapiness. It feels almost like a commercial perfume, but I'll be honest and say that I don't wear commercial perfumes and can't compare it more than that. When I first opened the bottle, it smelled light and pretty and familiar. After an hour and a half of wear, it hasn't changed much. Light, pretty, feminine, lunar. Not a lot of throw to this one, but I kind of want to keep it as a private, just for me scent when I'm feeling reflective.

Hymn to Proserpine is a blend of ripe, dark fruits and amber. The amber is very powdery on me, although I was hoping that it would just warm the fruits. Unfortunately, although it's not BAD and isn't reacting poorly with my skin, I just don't like it the way I wanted. The throw is pretty good, but all I get when I'm not actively sniffing my wrists is the powdery amber. It almost feels like it has rose in it on my skin, but I have no idea. Previous reviews have said it's incensey, and I guess the powdery aspect of the amber could also be more like incense. I adore the Persephone myth and am disappointed that this isn't the scent for me.

I just snatched up a bottle of this from eBay. Thanks to whoever the seller is, as I was obsessively checking the swaps to procure this in any form! I'm still not very good at picking out individual notes, so I will say that in the bottle, it's, um. Interesting. There's something very medicinal about it to my nose when I take a whiff, and I have no idea what it is. I suppose it could be the ginger. I can't smell the mandarin at ALL, neither in the bottle or on my skin. I don't think I'm getting the orange peel, either. So, on my skin, it was OMG YUMMY SPICY DELICIOUSNESS. And I was thrilled. Then, after a bit, it got the "buttery" aspect a lot of people have mentioned. I was less thrilled, but still not disliking it. I have never tried Jack, but if Jack is incredibly buttery, I think it's best for me to avoid it. Pumpkin Queen is buttery, but not overpoweringly so. Occasionally, it gives me a taste in the back of my throat of being at the movies, though. I feel kind of oily (har har, yes, but in an "I just put my fingers in popcorn" oily way). An hour after applying, it's reminiscent of a buttery pumpkin pie with a bit of spice and something . . . darker. Maybe it's the amber or fig leaf (or both). There's definitely something that grounds it and keeps it away from being straight up pumpkin pie, but it's pretty close. When I first put it on, it made me feel very regal and sensual. That has faded a little, but it's still there. For me, this is a perfect Autumn-type scent that will extend well into Winter -- at least until I get this batch's Halloweenies and continue to go through my desired oils. With Pumpkin Princess on order, I'm VERY curious to compare the two. Pumpkin Queen has changed from something downright sensual to just feeling very cozy. It definitely feels seasonal to me: I wouldn't want to wear this in the summer because it's just too warm and makes me think of cuddling next to a fireplace. Final verdict: Pumpkin Queen is currently on my list of favorites, but I think that's because I've tried relatively few scents and haven't loved much of what I've tried (out of 10, I've only liked maybe 3 or 4). It is a little too buttery for my tastes, even if it's not overpowering. I do really enjoy it, but hope there's something better. (edited to fix a typo!)

I feel the same as StinkyPinky. I'm a singer, and even for my weekly lessons, I try to keep things to a minimum for my teacher in case she has any sensitivities. I'm going to ask her eventually if she cares, but for an audition I say keep it safe.

As seems to be a common experience from what I've read, Ophelia is ROSE ROSE ROSE FREAKING ROSE on me. In the vial, it's sweet and watery, and the rose isn't as pronounced. When I first put it on my skin, it was very floral but also VERY aquatic. It smelled like roses that were being drowned, just like I would imagine Shakespeare's text to evoke. For ten minutes, it was a delicate rose with a distinct aquatic covering, and it was light enough that it didn't bother me. After that, however, it went into OH NO THIS IS ROOOOOOSE in a strong, headache-inducing kind of way. Rose must really like my skin to come out SO strongly, but that was all I could smell. After a bit longer, I could get a hint of the watery aspect again, but it was still so much rose that I had to wash it off. It was very strong, even though I only put it on one wrist. After washing, I could still smell a hint of the rose on my wrist. I'm definitely NOT getting a big bottle of this. It reminded me of one of my grandmothers.