Ohmaude

... Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name. Count me in as one of those folks who can't believe they haven't reviewed this yet. This, on me, is straight up sweet Almond Milk with a hint of green spiceyness. This is the only honey scent I can wear. Comforting, soft and happy, it is fantastic to wear on a cold day. It envelopes you with warmth. There is a tiny something in it that keeps it a breath away from being foody. Perfect and one of my favorites!

In the vial: Well after all the other reviews, duh, sweet pear. I love pear scents. I love pears! On my wrist: Woah. That is very, very sweet. This isn't fresh pear, but canned pears, like my grandma makes. This is finding a beautiful golden jar of canned pears on the pantry shelf in the dead of winter, and that first waft of pear when you break the seal. Within a minute, the vanilla kicks in, and this for me, is where it takes a little downward turn. I love vanilla, and love many of the BPAL blends with vanilla, (I LOVE Snake Oil, for example) but this is the vanilla note that was in Tokyo Stomp. For some reason my chemistry makes this overly sweet and burned-plasticky. Luckily, a few minutes later, it calms down a bit, and I get a more vanilla fruit scent, but there is still a little of that burned-plastic edge to it. That continues to fade, and later in the day and what I am left with is a pear brandy vanilla desert smell. My verdict? An interesting scent indeed, but I don't see a bottle in my future.

Mmm..I love the Verbena and Iris in this. This is dry, sweet and soft. Powdery and sexy, but not sultry, if you know what I mean. It kind of reminds me a little of sweettarts, if sweettarts were hand crafted by victorian nuns in a convent in the country side. I'm in love Regarding the name, at first I thought, crows, really? I love crows. I guess my first thought would someone would make them all vetiver and patchouli, etc. But then smelling this I could picture crows scattered around a recently harvested wheat field on an overcast fall day. Even though this scent is subtle, it has a pretty good throw about it, more so than I realized. I have gotten quite a few complements, but I swear I can barely detect it, and I used it sparingly, for obvious reason. Just as I was afraid, I'm really, really loving this, I want to wear it all the time. It's been in heavy rotation. I'm sad I can't buy gallons of this stuff.

In the vial: This is pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin and something savory. It reminds me of the dessert stage at Thanksgiving dinner: You are eating pumpkin pie, but still burping stuffing. Ok, ok that sounds gross. I should say that this is mainly pumpkin, with a touch of savory sage. On my wrist, wet, there is a tiny moment when it is all the sage and sweet grass, and then it quicly morphs and the floral cactus blossom amps like mad. What I am left with, on the dry down is tons of cactus blossom; very sharp, almost lemon-metallic, with a bit of sweet grass and sage. The pumpkin is there, but barely. It is dry, almost dusty. I like the idea of these notes together, but in reality I just amp the cactus blossom too much (i'm iffy with some florals) and it overhwhelms the rest of what seems like a very lovely scent.

Pumpkin with benzoin, bourbon vanilla, lemon peel, neroli, blood orange, and red ginger. Yum. Yay I love this. This is lemony-boozy-spice and ginger-pumpkin. There isn't much change from the imp to the dry down on my wrist. It is, as others mentioned, similar to Pumpkin Queen, which didn't work for me on account of the buttery note aspect. I'm very happy to report I don't get a buttery smell in Pumpkin V. I love the balance of notes in this: it is a little less foody, a little more spicy and way awesome. I never thought of a pumpkin as being so sexy!

I didn't expect to like this, but I'm ordering a bottle stat. In the imp I'm getting wine, amber and a high pretty dust note. On my wrist, this is beautiful. Very dry, Amber and lots of powder, a bit of wine, a bit of spice, a bit of earth. This is the hardest scent I have ever had to describe. I just can't call the notes, but I love it. This is almost three gorgons, with out the citrus note. It's very earthy. I never knew I liked wine, but this is the second scent I have tried with it as a note, and I think I love it. I knew I was a lush, I didn't realize I like to smell like one. I agree with whoever said this smells like a winery's oak barrels, it totally does. I'm in love with the Chilling Cellar, but the BPAL enthusiasist who sniffed my wrist said, "cabbage." Chemistry is strange, no? Maybe it's being from a damp part of the world, where cellars are regularly flooded and smell like mold: this doesn't smell like a cellar to me. This smells fantastic.

Got this as a frimp from the lab. Thanks guys! In the vial: cocoa, amber, and something sparkly, like grape soda? That must be the wine and nicotania. The cocoa isn't foody at all, it is more of a botanical cocoa. On my skin: Wow, this is beautiful, and so well-blended, I'm afraid I really can't really describe the notes seperately, but I'm going to try: The nicotania is giving it a high happy floral note, the sandalwood and patchouli are very quietly grounding it. The wine, red musk, amber and cocoa are hanging out as midnotes, making the whole thing festive. My mental image is the red musk of Scherezade, drunk on wine, laughing and rolling around in a field of flowers, scratch that, a backyard garden party with flowers. It is totally a bubbly party scent, very happy. This is not a sulk-around-listening-to-Bauhaus scent. I can't stop sniffing it....I think I want to go make out with someone. I have a feeling this is going to be mighty popular. edited because I'm a spelling moron sometimes.

When I read the notes in Goblin I ordered a bottle unsniffed. I have never done that with a GC before, but I knew I loved coconut-patchouli-vanilla blends because my exboy's housemate had a handblended shower gel with those oils added and I used to sneak sniffs of it in the shower and swoon. I quietly wished Beth would come up with a blend because her coconut note makes me weep. When dudeboy and I ended things there was no more sniffing the gel, but who has the last laugh now, sucka! Ahem, uh..on to the review... In the bottle: Dark, sweet coconut with patchouli On my skin: POW! That is no-holds barred patchouli right there. That is get down and dirty who's-your hippie-daddy-where's-my-bong-lets-live-in-a-treehouse patchouli. "Gnarly" patchouli indeed. If patchouli ain't your thing, this probably ain't your scent. Did I mention there was patchouli? On the drydown: This mellows, I can barely detect the coconut but it is there. The benzoin is present in the sweetness. The patchouli is still strong and earthy. I could def. go with more coconut. I like this, I'm keeping the bottle, BUT I'm looking forward to seeing it mellow as it ages, since my experience with BPAL patchouli blends is they really need at least a couple of months to realize their potential. Coconut, I'm looking at you.

I can't believe I have been wearing BPAL for two years plus and finally got around to trying Morocco. Now I understand what all the fuss is about. This is a perfect scent; soft warm and comforting with the sweet vanilla and carnation, balanced with the spices that add just a little kick, a mere suggestion of sultry and sexy. Like a sex goddess on her day off, wearing comfy clothes and drinking tea. The musk is positively creamy. This is warm, but not sultry, and doesn't have much throw. I practically have to press my nose to my wrist to get a strong whiff of it. It is a subtle scent, one you can slather yourself in without being overwhelming. It's perfect for this cool fall day. This added to an unscented lotion would be mother-truckin' divine. I want several bottles of this! Ohmaude + Morocco =

To add to the comic book expressions... KAPOW! Orange, Orange, Orange and a bit of bitter peel, a little tiny bit of sharp woodiness? As if our dear labbies pulled out an orange tree by the roots, juiced it whole and boiled it down to the thickest tar. There is kind of a bitter leaf sap smell. Somewhere at the edge is a tiny whisp of ginger. I put this in my oil diffuser the other day and suddenly my room was clean and I had scrubbed the kitchen floor all the while bounding about the house like I was hopped up on pills. This stuff is strong. Wear it on your wrist and expect people to perk up when you enter the room. Tis the awake citrus awesome of yummy doom!!

Lavender and vanilla sweetness with a cup of chamomile tea. It truly knocks my socks off and puts my ass to bed. It's equally fantastic on my skin, in the bath or in my oil burner. However, it seems to umm, excite the couple of fellas who have been around my bed to smell it. heh. So a word of caution if you plan on using it in mixed company! (Not that I am complaining!)

I love ginger, but I have had difficulty finding a ginger BPAL that I truly love. It is a note that is many scents, but I desire something that screams "ginger, bitch!" Siren is great, but it ends up being just jasmine after an hour or so. Shub just went all baked good on me, and I am not foody enough to pull it off. Sudha Segara just straight wimps out. Saw-Scaled viper just has too much going on, and it is usually the cassia/snake oil that wins out. So, I was hesitant but full of hope for War. (Never thought I would write that sentence, big old pacifist hippie that I am!) In the imp its all very red ginger and pepper, sort of an ornery scent that makes the eyes water. Once on my wrist it is GINGER. Yum! I get a bit of the musk, the patchouli is there, but very subtle, it is spicy, but not food-spicy. In fact, this isn't foody at all. This is what I hoped Shub would smell like. After a few minutes on the skin, the honeysuckle totally, totally blooms. (picture harp music at this point) This is the same honeysuckle note as in Chimera and I am in love. Just like the honeysuckle and cinammon play off each other wonderfully in Chimera, the ginger and honeysuckle in War are fantastic partners, blending sweet and spicy without being overwhelming. If this is supposed to be a battle between ginger and honeysuckle then it is at best a dance-off, ala "Beat It." What remains after an hour is a lovely, spicy red ginger and sweet honeysuckle scent with just enough musk underneath to not feel like a chump. AND no hint of foodiness. Joy! So if you love ginger, but you are a bpal mutant like me and shub is just too much cookie for you, perhaps War is your ticket to ginger awesomeness.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed White Moon yet. White florals are dangerous ground for me, but this scent is all about the Lilacs; heady, rich lilacs. Usually violet and Lily are just too much for me and amp like crazy, but here they take a backseat to the Lilac. The rest of the flowers are also whispering in the background. This isn't a height of spring scent however, but instead is the fading memory of one in late fall. What is revealed on the wrist is a scent that makes me picture purple clouds. It's misty and pale, the Sandlewood grounds it with warmth and green, and keeps the sweetness from getting to sickly. It is prefect to wear on a rainy day.

You know the golden flecks and background present in so many Klimt paintings? Three Gorgons is what the glowing sex-infused gold of Klimt paintings smells like. It was the first thougtht I had when I dabbed some of this beautiful oil on my inner arm and took a whiff. Spot on. This is golden, sweet yet slighty bitter citrus: citrus with a slightness of zest and the candied floral joy of tangerine. It is all pure golden amber together with the citrus, and it is all made feathery light, dry and soft by the pepper, tobacco and vetiver. The vetiver is so faint, its almost as if there is just a drop of it in the whole bottle, but it is perfect. This doesn't have a ton of throw, it hovers close to the skin and smells of clean sexy nakedness, and it lingers softly for hours. Anyone lucky enough to be in my presence wouldn't be aware of the scent outright, but would be driven by some hint of it to lean in closer to get a stronger sniif. Then they would be mine! I smell that good. Now to go find a, ahem, victim. This is going on the most loved list.

I was greatly anticipating this one, as from reading the reviews I was wondering if I would fall into the "yay" or "nay" camp. I love Vanilla and Mint. I love Monsters. However my chemistry doesn't handle the baked goods category of BPAL very well. So...I was very curious. In the vial, this is what everyone else has said: Girl scout thin mint cookie! Yum Yum! On to the skin test.. On my wrist, wet to drydown: Okay, here are where things get crazy: This scent takes me on a journey that is like riding shotgun with a partially blind, drunken driver on a winding mountain pass road. It keeps morphing into "Oh No!" territory, only to swing back on to the road at the very last second. So first it's much like in the bottle, but after a few seconds the sugar comes out, which is ok, then that classic BPAL baked good scent.... it's getting bad, oh no, but screeech... oh that's good.....rich, heady, vanilla, mmmmmm.....then it starts veering into vanilla plastic land, no, no! ohh...whew, there it is softening, I start to relax, really loving this, wondering how I am going to score a bottle of this popular blend, when suddenly! over a cliff into a fiery crash of burnt tires and vanilla! Really, that's where this ends up. Burnt tires and Vanilla. I had to wash it off. Damn you skin chemistry. Damn. You.

I totally got lured in, again, by the labs description of this scent. Sometimes, I too have nights of debauchery which I would like to pretend never happened. Dirty supposedly, has the answer. And you know, this scent is everything the other reviewers have said about it, and it fully lives up to the description. "Clean laundry?" check! "flowers?" why yes! "sunshine" I loves me some sun! "dryer sheets" oh... yeah... I smell that too...and that's the rub. This smells exactly like it is supposed to, and is lovely, but I'm not sure if I like it. I think it's associations, but the scent of "laundry" makes me think of the detergent aisle at the local grocery store. You know the aisle, it promises clean but Oh! the chemicals! Your gametes (whether they are eggs or sperm) run and hide! A scary, scary, aisle. (disclaimer: I am a hippy biologist) While there is something really sweet and lovely wafting off my arm, this dirty, at the same time it has a slight waft of the pure evil that is fabric softener, which makes me feel like I am doing chores! So, I can't decide if I like this or not. Maybe I would wear this if I was going to ask my grandma for money? Which of course I would never do, but this scent def. makes me think of sweeping the dark side under the rug, so to speak. Maybe I should hold on to this one and retest it when I haven't had a couple of glasses of wine. hmm...stay tuned. This scent is great for those people who would like to pretend like they are wearing clean clothes. There, I said it!

I received a almost full bottle of Peacock Queen in a swap at a meet-n-sniff last weekend. (Thanks again to all!) I liked the artwork, it's beautiful! I liked the scent wafting from the bottle so it seemed like a decent swap. I probably tried it on my wrist but at that point I was reeking from trying so many different scents that I was having getting overwhelmed, and didn't realize what had just fallen into my lap... First, let me start out, as I have said before in other reviews of BPAL scents where rose is a component, I usually can't handle rose. However, I have been pleasantly suprised by a couple of scents, Two, Five and Seven and Dia De Los Muertos. Both have loverly roses. I wear dia quite often (though more in the winter/fall) This here Peacock Queen, however, this has the most lovely, deep, sweet, spicy, full, haughty, sophisticated rose I have ever, ever, ever had the honor to experience. It smells great in the bottle, but on my wrist... HO SWEET JEEBUS. It smells friggin incredible. There isn't much change during the dry down, it just deepens and softens and relaxes.. and there aren't many notes here, just rose, rose, rose. It gives me such a postive boost. I sit taller, and feel incredibly sexy, sophisticated and delightful when I am wearing it. I have to give it three loves! This is great for any season, any time of day but I good def. see wearing this on a first date.

I was very excited about this blend, but when I first tried the scent it was overshadowed by the fantastic snake pit. However, this spring morning while selecting what scent to wear, my mind went "orange pulp" and I reached for Faiza. I agree with most of the previous reviews. This is bergamot, orange pulp (as opposed to the sharper, stronger peel) and amber, the other notes are there too, I just can't seperate them all. It is a green, wet scent, living, tropical but not bright. Envoking green vines and serpentine associations. Totally unique from every other bpal I have tried. It is quiet, soft, like the jungle floor. I'm glad I got a bottle of this.

This was so light in the bottle and on my wrist when I first applied it that I applied way more than I usually do... but BAM a few moments after applying I realized I shouldn't have slathered quite so much. It is a creeper and it really becomes active as it warms up on the skin. (Just like a snake!!) It becomes glorious, but for the safety of others I will apply a little more sparingly next time. Funny, I also smell the slight root beer scent that Nidaba picked up. Most of all this is Champaca, Champaca and Frankincense and of course keeping it all steady is Snake oil. Not to sweet, and very balanced. It is beautiful. I keep saying this, but I can't wait to smell the snake pit aged. I wasn't a huge fan of snake oil until my imp was about a year old. My point is, the Temple Viper smells fantastic now, I can only imagine what a few months aged in the bottle will do! It's going to be really interesting to experience the aging with other notes.

Death Adder is the snake pit scent that caught my eye first. I mean, Snake oil with Coconut? I just had to try it. Black Pearl is one of my top GC scents. I didn't know before trying bpal, but I love, love, love smoky coconut. I was worried about the vetiver, as I hadn't tried that note before, and people seem to love it or hate it. When I smelled the vetiver, I knew it instantly. There is a wild grass that I have smelled before while doing field work in various regions of the tropics. Every time I experience it I freak out: "oh there it is! what is that yummy grass smell!?" I was never able to identify it, and I don't know if it is also vetiver but they smell identical. I guess that makes me a vetiver lover. In the bottle the vetiver makes me think of hot sun, yet it smells like dark night. This is instantly followed by my beloved smoky coconut. It is is rich and dark, (but an out-of-doors dark, not a dungeon dark.) A hot dark night with cicadas and stars. On my writst, the vetiver and coconut is going strong, followed by the snake oil and vanilla. As it dries down it sweetens up and mellows out. It is dry grass, earth, coconut and sweet snake oil. The final verdict? Damn. Damn, Damn. This is sexy, smoky , botanical scent. Like all the snakes; as this one ages I think it is going to ge even better: the vetiver is going to mellow out a bit and the snake oil will become fuller. Overall, fantastic Beth!

I'll try to not repeat too much what others have already said. There is not much transition from application to dry down, the scent just mellows over time on my wrist. The dominant scent is powdery soft lemon, but it is accompanied by sweet opium smoke, the floral of the heliotrope and a hint of creamy cocount. Yet t isn't tropical, or candy sweet, or too floral. You would think all these ingredients together would just be a sugar-lemon-floral overdose, instead it is sophisticated, subtle and just a touch sinister. It lives up to it's name. It is a confident scent, soft without being whimpy, complex but not confusing. I love it.

Mmm. I was very curious to try this for a couple of reasons: One, because I love me some Sandlewood, and two, because I have come to enjoy the warm earthy smell of rooibos tea and wanted to see just how that would come out in a scent. I'm so glad I got this! 13 is a very sweet, very young scent. It morphs so much in the wearing, starting off as orange chocolate in the bottle. A couple minutes after applying, the lavender and rooibos come out, and then the vanilla kicks in... Slowly, but dramatically, it turns warm ambery tea vanilla with the orange and cocoa staying close by..Sort of Dorian's kid sister who smells slightly of lavender and likes wearing chocolate-flavored lip gloss. The sandlewood sort of stays in the background, keeping all the other components in line. Wow, it keeps mellowing over time. Very pretty! I think my bottle will do me well. ETA: I'm getting the tiniest hint of the florals and nutmeg now...wow, this is perfect

Mmm. Black Pearl. In the bottle, this is Iris (I think) and coconut. On my skin, Dark, Yummy, Smoky Coconut. It makes me think of being on a beach in Hawaii at night with a bonfire. The hazlenut comes out and it gets this rich, sultry smoky coconut. It is warm and dark. I love it.

I don't know if there is much to add after the other reviews. This stuff is liquid yummy, of the snake oil family. I get the pom and much plum, woodsy patchouli and a wee bit of smoky vanilla. After a few hours it fades, and becomes this subtle hint of a scent that is quiet but very becoming, like something you can't see unless you look with the corner of your eye. It's like the scent that remains after something big went down. It is an echo, but not in a bad way. What I am most excited for, is what it is going to smell like with a bit of aging. It seems like the scent can only ripen and deepen.

The Apothecary is a very light, clean pretty scent. In the imp I get fig and green tea-minus the nuttiness you get in green tea. Upon wearing it progresses and becomes more of a herby lemon tea. After a few minutes, oh! there is a slight touch of ginger. I lurves me some ginger, for reals. This is really light though, and if I hadn't cheated and seen the list of components, I don't know if I would be able to identify it, it is the tiniest little whisper of sweet and spicy behind the much more prominent herb and lemon. But the prominent notes aren't brassy or pushy, they kind of just float in the room... A few minutes later: Dang it just gets better. It really fills out but stays green and remains light and sophisticated. I really dig this. It makes me think of spring green. This is a totally work-safe scent. Not much throw, light and sweet. (Some BPAL I stopped wearing to work because it makes me a little more sultry than I feel is appropriate for a scientist. heh.) That doesn't mean The Apothecary is bland by any means, just subtle. This is going on my "me wants the bottle!" list.