edenssixthday

Galvanic Goggles - This is a masculine, warm, bronzy scent. It smells strongly of metal and lemon zest and is very bitter. It's got intensely strong throw and staying power. It's too masculine and metallic for my taste.

No. 93 Engine - This is a warm, golden, spicy resin scent with a hint of powder. It seems very gender-neutral on me. As it dries down, the scent of clean metal becomes more prevalent and also has a hint of something slightly smoky that reminds me of nag champa. The throw and staying power are both above average.

The Obsidian Widow - When I first sniffed this, my first thought is that it’s a more complicated version of Wicked. I looked up Wicked and sure enough, these two scents share three common notes: myrrh, jasmine, and rose. As The Obsidian Widow dried down on my skin, I was impressed with how the scent became dark and deep without ever becoming a menacing type of scent. I have worn this only once, but it lasted all day and all night and I could smell it still the next morning. It has some of the best staying power I’ve encountered in a BPAL. The last 12-14 hours of wear, however, it lost a lot of it’s complicated nature and smelled exactly like Wicked (again) to me.

Ether - When I first apply this, it smells like a really light, clean, bright, pretty floral. It was a lot stronger on my skin than I expected. However, as it began to dry down, it took on a soapy quality that got heavier and heavier until it consumed all of the other lovely smells, so it’s one that’s just not going to work for me at all.

The Contract of Theophilus of Adana - This is a gorgeous scent! It smells dark and rough in the vial, as the brimstone note is really strong. But on my skin, it's a gorgeous musky blend of incense and daemonorops. I had no idea was going to be this gorgeous and have such a perfect level of throw. I should probably try to get more of this while it's still available.

Tabula Smaragdina - This is very pretty, but it's the lightest incense scent I've ever encountered. It sticks very close to my skin, has just about zero throw, and when I'm wearing it, I never catch even the faintest waft of it. As much as I can like incense scents, this one is too light for me.

Aeronwen - This stars out on me as entirely black musk. Soon, however, I can detect a bit of sweetness and at the 10 minute point, it smells mostly of fig, black musk, orange, and there's a hint of redwood. It stays that way and doesn't morph after drydown. It has a nice level of throw and turns out to be a really pretty, unique scent. I don't need a bottle, but I have a couple of imps that I plan to enjoy until they're gone.

Sir Hugh Ockram's Winding Sheet - This opens up a bit dusty-smelling, but soon the scent of linen and light hyssop are noticeable. There's just a touch of white sandalwood, too. It's surprisingly pretty, nothing like I had expected. It has a low level of throw and wear length.

Two-Headed Goat - I didn’t think I was going to like this. The scent description didn’t jump out at me as something I’d be drawn to, and when I first smelled the oil in the bottle, I didn’t find it highly offensive, but didn’t think I’d ever wear it beyond testing it one time. Well, I was wrong. I put a tiny bit on the back of my wrist and the scent lasted all day and every time I caught a waft of it, I wondered for a split second what smelled so good. It’s a scent I could imagine being part of the old Dogs Playing Poker line of fragrances. It would have fit perfectly with that theme. It’s got the tiniest hint of a bright berry scent that reminds me the slightest bit of the berry scent in Mistletoe, but more than that, it smells strongly of oak and petitgrain. It’s smooth and warm, verging on masculine but retaining its unisex nature. I will be wearing this one again. The throw is quite strong and a tiny bit goes a very long way. The staying power is impressive, as it lasted about 10 hours on me, when most BPALs fade completely on me after 2-3 hours.

Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht - I don’t like a number of notes in this blend, so I knew before opening the bottle and sniffing that it wouldn’t agree with me. When I do smell it and then try it on my skin, it’s predominantly caramel, amber, and teak, but mostly caramel. There’s a hint of the cream accord noted in the scent description. I don’t smell the honey or skin musk at all, and the apple blossom does not turn soapy on me as it usually does. It reminds me a lot of Monster Bait: Ventriloquist Dummy in its woody gooiness. The throw and staying power are both above average.

Marguerite - This is a really strong, fresh-cut, real rose scent at first, but then the tuberose scent comes out and smells really sweet and I really love it (I'm a huge fan of tuberose). Something in it is powdery and it starts to smell like a rose-scented LUSH Rock Star soap. It's gorgeous but a bit much, and needs to be worn very lightly due to how strong it is. It's not one I'll wear often, but probably on occasion when I want a really sweet rose scent.

Licwiglunga - This smells strongly of hemp and lavender, two of my least favorite notes. It dreis down to a soft scent (I can't identify what note it reminds me of), but it's slightly floral/herbal and gently sweet. It's definitely not a blend for me with my dislike of both hemp and lavender.

The Grand Inquisitor's Heretic's Fork - Wow, this is really heavy on the blood and smoke notes when I first apply it, but it dries down to a faint coppery scent. To me, it's neither impressive nor appealing, but I imagine people who tend to like those coppery blood and smoke type scents will find this one right up their alley.

The Blasphemare Reliquary - Thyis is an intensely resinous scent, and very incensey, but not smoky. The various resins blend in perfect harmony to keep the scent smelling deep, rich, husky, and highly enticing. The rose in the scent keeps it from being too dark and brightens it up a bit. It's just a lovely scent. It's fairly light after drydown, but still beautiful.

Shrunken Heads - This is the a dark, brown, and very basic leather scent without much nuance or dimension. For reference, it's darker than Dead Man's Hand but lighter than Spanked. The other notes are drowned out by the leather note and it's actually a fairly faint scent on my skin and doesn't last as long as most leather scents tend to last.

Cytherea - This is a very subtle scent on me. It's mostly the rooty scent of orris blended with the sweetness of bourbon vanilla and a hint of dry champaca. It's pretty, but to me, it seems slightly common and doesn't really jump out as something unique and oustanding. It has a very short wear-length on my skin, as well.

Bezoar - Hay blends never work work on me, and this one smells like dust and hay - lots of dust and hay. It smells kind of like the front room of my mom's barn. It's gone in two hours and on me, the sillage is quite poor.

Inez - Inez is a strong vanilla and powdery amber scent. It's sweet, warm, and golden. I'd definitely put it in the same category as Glowing Vulva. I ordered a full bottle and will definitely be giving it much love. It has very strong throw and lasts all day long.

Marcilla - This is a gorgeous fruity-floral. The scent starts out smelling strongly of nectarine and lily and makes me think of the orchards outside of "Green Gables," as it's very pure and innocent. It dries down to a soft scent of tea and beeswax and is really beautiful. I imagine this would make a gorgeous springtime room scent.

Clemence - This is dark, heavy, and spicy. The dominant note on me is the clove and it reminds me of a richer, spicier version of The Smiling Spider. The throw is very strong when I first apply, but after about 20 minutes, it sticks pretty close to my skin, although the slightest breeze catching it will waft the scent around me. It’s lovely and spicy-scent lovers will adore this one.

Faeu Boulanger - This is a clean, slightly murky, powerdy water scent with a hint of mint and sweet violet, and perhaps a faint trace of dirt. It's a beautiful, ethereal scent and very clean smelling, despite the use of the words "swamp" and "bog" in the scent description, which normally make me think of something heavy and stagnant. I ordered a full bottle and am considering getting another. It has a lovely level of throw and the staying power is well above average.

Ashlultum - When first applied, this scent is full of musk and coconut, but is particularly heavy on the lilac. It dries to a soft, musky scent without the other notes evident, and it fades very quickly on my skin. It's completely gone 30 minutes after drydown.

The East - WIN WIN WIN!!! This is a GORGEOUS fruity-floral scent. The first note I is the passion flower, which makes me think for a second that this is going to be a tropical scent, but it quickly moves into the background and then I smell the bluebonnet, freesia and red currant stronger than anything else. Upon drydown, the freesia remains the dominant note by a very slight margin over the jasmine tea (it's distinctly jasmine tea, and not any other type of tea), and it's at this point that I can detect the faintest trace of soft mint and a trace of herbal thyme. This is a perfect summer feminine fragrance and it makes me want to jump up and drive to my favorite teahouse and sit in the garden while drinking a cup of their jasmine tea. Overall, it's a very soft scent and sticks fairly close to my skin. (May 08)

April Fool – The first time I tested this scent, it was really green, bitter, and nothing but icky parsley, so I sold my bottle. Then I got a tester imp and decided to test it again. This time, it came across as strong huckleberry and rose, a bit of tangerine, and a drop of parsley, which sharpened it up, but didn’t cause it to be bitter like it was the first time. I loved it the second time around. The scent is really strong and has incredible throw. I’m going to have to track down more of this. What a bummer that I sold my bottle! Lesson learned: always test things twice in case your body chemistry is “off” the first time you try and don’t like something.

The Ifrit – Before I opened this, I thought about the Ifrit and what I think he would smell like. Then I opened my little decant of this scent, and was instantly stunned because it smelled exactly like I imagined – dry, warm, spicy and seriously hot and sexy. The notes all blend together in absolutely perfect harmony, and the ones that dominate by only the slightest bit from time to time are the dragon’s blood and desert sand. It’s a truly gorgeous scent that I am going to wear, but which I find incredibly masculine, as well. It’s a really great fragrance and another one that makes me cry over the fact that my husband can’t wear fragrances.