Mountaingrrl00

In the bottle, it's a mishmash of notes - and yeah, rather medicinal. On me, it's earthy ginger root! A pleasant surprise, to be sure. The mood I associate with this one is fiery and outspoken, so it does fit. So much so, in fact, that it might actually be good to balance this with other chakra oils.

“Many things -- such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly -- are done worst when we try hardest to do them.” TKO is a beautiful scent, but it hasn't worked for me as a sleep aid. (Fortunately, I have TAL Nocturne for that.) It is definitely a comfort scent for smelling on myself, and it's got such a nice edible/sophisticated balance, I want other people to smell it on me too. I think it's making me crave sweets, though.

Insatiable lust, unending vigor! A truly carnal, energetic men’s blend: vanilla and amber with juniper, rosewood and white pine. I got this as a frimp in a swap, and when I sniffed it I thought, "This swapper sure knows my taste!" I've been really into the evergreen scents lately, and in the vial, this is a gorgeous Rocky Mountain scent - all tangy pine and wood. If it stayed that way on my skin, I'd be happy. Wet, it gets sweeter, kind of like sassafrass, or maybe root beer. I'm not so crazy about this. Drying down, the wood returns, minus the sharpness of the pine. Then it's a soft, sweet vanilla. I actually like the soft vanilla very much, but I miss the pine! One trickster of a scent, on me, anyway.

I smelled this at a Meet & Sniff, and was impressed enough with its in-bottle stage to put it on my must-order list. It smelled like musky, earthy herbs. First applied to my skin, it's still deep, dark musk, plus something piney/astringent, something tangy/sour and a sort of fizziness, like Dr. Pepper without the sweetener. It's a bit odd at first - the sour tang is too strong for my liking. I'm hoping that will fade. As it dries down, the sourness is replaced by a dark sweetness very much like Smut's. The piney, herbal quality is still there, but softer, and this I do like. The shifting mixture of musks is fabulous, and the greenery cuts through the heaviness and makes it more interesting. I predict this will be a lasting favorite. If you like strong musks, definitely try this.

There is a quality that reminds me of the best aspects of Dorian - a lightly sweet creaminess and a hint of lemony tartness. Perhaps the Chinese musk is the common note? At any rate, it smoothes out the florals. Orchid is the only floral note that really stands out, which is the way I like it. The sandalwood gives the blend some staying power, although it's still not a very tenacious scent. I've ended up carrying around an imp for frequent re-applications. I don't find the scent particularly dark or strong, but it is quite lovely for dressy daytime wear.

How about Tarot: The Sun?

For all its sharp greenness, Slobbering Pine also has a sweeter, resinous dimension. You can smell the sap and the wood as well as the needles. The pine wood smell is most noticeable after the oil has had some time to dry down. For me, it's a very comforting scent that reminds me of camping in a forest. It stays close to my skin and hangs around a long time for lots of wrist-sniffing moments.

In the imp, Mania smells similar to Hollywood Babylon, with a sugary strawberry roundness. Wet, there's a sparkling grapefruit note, too - very pretty and happy. The strawberry backs off, and the white musk melds with the grapefruit to make the scent lighter and higher. Later, the deeper red musk comes out and the strawberry comes back with it, but less sugary and more sultry. It stays melded after it dries, and becomes complex, retaining a playful edge. This scent is a lot of fun. I enjoy the way it morphs, and like all of its phases. I recommend it to anyone who likes fruity BPAL and wants to try something a little different. Strawberry and grapefruit work surprisingly well together, and the white and red musks give the blend a lovely richness.

It does smell a little funky in the vial, but as soon as it hits my wrists it smells great! The only note I can pick out with reasonable certainty is sweetgrass, which I like very much. There's something spicy and some lightly sweet flower, but it's very well blended and I can tell there are other things in here too. I'd wear this for scent alone. I have nothing to report yet on using it for intent, although I will say it makes me feel good to wear it.

Others have identified possible components, and I don't know that I can do a better job. Orange softened by heliotrope, certainly, maybe amber, vanilla, and some additional floral? What I do know is that this scent makes me feel good when I sniff it and when I wear it. It really does give an impression of light and warmth. When The Sun dries, the florals in here turn a bit perfumey, in the most beautiful, "what is THAT?" kind of way. Amazingly, the citrus has a pretty good wear length, too. Comforting, attractive, and well-blended. I can tell this is going to become a favorite.

Malediction and Tarot: Death are two good ones with an herbal bitterness.

In the vial: A fresh fruit melange, dominated by citrus. Yummy! Wet: Slightly earthier fruit and green tea. Dry: The citrus has faded and the earthy fruit remains. The green tea threatens to go to powdery Japanese soap. Less than an hour later: This has completely evaporated, even though I slathered. I miss it a bit, though I'm glad the green tea powder event never occurred.

I love wood and resin scents, and this one is right up my alley. It's like dark, polished wood - rich, deep, strong, slightly sweet. I don't get anything aquatic or salty, just a lovely wood/resin blend. I guess the red patchouli does start out with a hint of sharpness, but it's quickly rounded out by the sandalwood and especially the frankincense. It lasts about eight hours on my skin, fading to single-note frankincense in the last couple hours. The throw is light, but it's quite strong up close.

No BPAL I've sniffed so far has really smelled like black coffee. (And I've sniffed a lot!) There has been speculation about this upcoming weekend's Bitter Moon smelling like bitter coffee, but that's just speculation. We shall see.

This is a familiar, calming smell. It's lightly sweet, creamy and resinous. I want to say nag champa, and maybe some sandalwood, too. It's more straightforward than a lot of the BPALs I've tried. Smells pretty single-note-like, and doesn't morph on my skin. I used to have a thin cotton hippy dress that smelled like this. Youthful, earthy, mellow associations here.

I've had good results with TAL Nocturne, which works fast and even seems to help several days after I use it. I do find it makes me want to sleep more than 8 hours on the nights I use it, though. I also like rotating the different Somnium oils and Quietude for different dreams. Other BPALs I've found good for sleep have been Kostnice, (GC) Nocturne, and Chuparosa.

I smelled this at the Madison Meet & Sniff last night and was enchanted. It smells like rich, wet soil and evergreens. I wore it to bed and the slight sharpness of the evergreens dried down to a soft-but-not-soapy balsam smell. There's definitely oakmoss in here. I don't know what the other notes are. It's very well-blended and natural-smelling. It's like being in the cool shade of a healthy forest. I find it refreshing and comforting. Well done!

Are you interested in a TAL sleep blend? Because TAL Nocturne sounds close to what you describe. To me it's more rose, and there's a touch of geranium, but most reviewers smelled lavender. And it's definitely soft, natural, soothing and beautiful.

This smells lovely - like fresh geraniums and soft pink roses. The effect is dramatic. I went to bed early, anointed as instructed, and lay back with a book. After a few pages I felt pleasantly spacey, then started yawning. I slept long and well. I probably didn't need to reapply during the night after external factors woke me up. I slept longer than I needed to this time. Next time I might just try a sniff from the bottle, or nothing at all, and see what happens.

I was excited to try a decant of this from a generous forumite. The descriptions of dirt and rooty smells appealed to me big-time (I love Graveyard Dirt!) and I did get a hint of the earthiness when I sniffed it in the vial. But on my skin, it's mostly cedar and doesn't change until it fades away. Plus there's that weird viscous texture that others have described, making this oil unappealing for personal wear. What it is lovely for is scenting my wardrobe and storage cabinets.

This is autumn in a bottle - burnt sugar, pumpkin pie spice, leaf piles, golden light. I don't recognize musk, but I do find a hint of something piney which adds an herbal dimension to the sweetness. My nose has barely left my wrist since I put it on. I'll bet this is a fabulous seduction scent, too.

In the bottle, and on, this is a lemony fresh floral with a waft of the same spices (cloves? allspice?) that are in Brass Balls. It's an outgoing scent, and I found myself wanting to slather it, but restrained myself, since I just have the one imp from kiio's Unreleased TALs decant circle. Fortunately, it has good staying power - surprising for a citrusy scent. This oil is for use in drawing influential people to one, and that did indeed happen when I wore it. Edited to add: I've had this decant for two years, and have used little dabs ritually from time to time. Always effective!

In addition to the good suggestions others have made, I'll add a recommendation to try imps of the five Somnium oils. The one I find most calming is Temple of Dreams.

This was one that distinguished itself among the oodles of bottles I encountered at a Meet & Sniff recently. It's just so richly woody at first sniff. It reminds me of a cool, dark forest. Others are undoubtedly right that the predominant notes are patchouli and vetiver, but it has a different feel from the patchouli-and-vetiver of Malediction. There is balsam or something like it in here - a soft, not sharp, evergreen scent. And some kind of resin is here, contributing to the richness. Grounding, comforting, earthy, natural, deep ... I like this very much!

XXVIII I got a decant of this from a fellow meet 'n' sniffer who thought it smelled like banana. I don't smell any banana, but I think I know where she got that association. To me, this smells like a tropical drink - something with a couple kinds of booze (and I swear one of them is Curacao) and mixed fruit juices. I think I can even smell the maraschino cherry and a dash of grenadine. I really like this! It's fun, light and summery, and I predict I will be wearing it to some parties.