edenssixthday

Sunflower - This goes on clean, pristine, bright, sunny, and it's one of the prettiest and most uncomplicated florals I've encountered. It's really truly stunning. After about 30 minutes, it starts to really fade, but for several hours after application, I continue to get wafts of the scent; however, after that first 30 minutes, the scent is no longer as clean and bright and sunny as it initially was. Rather, it's warm and husky and almost smoky. It's still gorgeous, though! I really love this blend and I do think it's bottle-worthy. The throw is amazing initially, but wears off somewhat quickly. The wear length is average to above-average.

Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Those Condemned to Death - What a rich, thick, heavy, viscous, sticky, syrupy scent! This is predominantly honey, saffron, myrrh, and frankincense on my skin -- but mostly honey. It's incredibly exotic and reminds me of something more Middle Eastern than Egyptian, actually. The throw is amazing and when I first apply just a tiny bit, I feel very self-conscious around other people, because it's such a heavy scent with so much throw that I'm concerned people who smell it (and who don't like it) may feel socked in by it. After about 20-30 minutes, it calms down significantly, leaving a honey-smeared resinous scent on my skin. Very pretty, but probably too heavy for me to wear regularly.

CT3: DCXXXIII (633) - This goes on super sweet and artificially sweet, like flavored hard candy. Within five minutes, the juicy, flavored part is gone and all that's left is the scent of lighty flavored, sweet sugar. My skin eats up all of the fruity, juicy scent. Previously reviewed by Sofia Blackthorne.

CT3: CCXI (211) - I just got enough to lightly test a couple of times, and that's all I needed! This is several soapy scents all combined to make one really, really soapy scent! Ha! Actually, when I first apply it, it smells fresh and clean and lightly floral -- like maybe lily of the valley? But the soapiness overtakes it on a matter of seconds and while it certainly smells "clean" in the "soapy tub of laundry" sense, it's not what I'm interested fragrance-wise. Previously reviewed by LdyKnight. CT3: DCCCIC (901) - Ooh, this is amber love! It starts of smelling soapy and ambery, but the soapy scent soon dies down and what's left behind is a musky amber. The musk is most likely either a white musk or skin musk, and is somewhat feral, yet pretty. The amber is warm, golden, a touch powdery, and just perfect. Lovely scent. I'm glad I got to try it.

Thunder Moon - I love aquatics, so I was looking forward to trying this one out. It didn't let me down at all. It's not an ocean-aquatic, but more the scent of the air after a powerful, summer, afternoon thunderstorm -- full of ozone and highly charged, almost static with electricity. As it dries down, the amber comes out much stronger than it does initially, giving it a hint of powdery sweetness, and it becomes very much an ozone-amber scent. Although this is probably considered gender neutral, to me, it seems somewhat masculine, and I told my husband that as soon as he's not stuffed up anymore, I'm going to be having him give this a test run. I think it will smell absolutely fantastic on him. I was looking for the perfect word to describe the overall scent, and saw Forspecial Plate's term "sporty" and I realized that's exactly what it is. It's sporty. It has a nice level of throw and the staying power is quite impressive for a lunar blend, most of which fade on me quickly.

Lysander – This is a strange scent on me. It’s sweet to the point of being almost foody, and it’s very woody. It actually reminds me a lot of Ventriloquist Dummy, even though it doesn’t have the same notes. The longer this is on my skin, the more the blackberry leaf comes out, but the overall scent is screwed up by the benzoin, which tends to smell weird on my skin. The throw is light but the staying power is quite strong. This is one for the swap pile.

Robin Goodfellow – Ooh, this is mossy and so dank as to be almost sweet. It's woodsy, yet doesn't smell like a forest. There's also a hint of something softly spicy in the background of the scent. It’s very well blended and it’s difficult to discern the various notes. It’s hard to describe except to say that as much as I like the scent, it’s not the type I would choose to wear. However, I think this will smell amazing on my husband and will give him that warm, man-scent that I just adore. I’m definitely passing this one to him. ETA: I put this on around 7:00 p.m. last night. This morning at 8:00 a.m., I was still catching wafts of it off my skin, and it was still quite strong. I think it would have lingered for much longer, but I don't know because a shower was a little more important than finding out how long I could keep this scent going. It had become a little bit of a "musty old man" scent at this point, but not so much that I don't still want to pass it on to my husband!

Love In Idleness - Once again, I had no clue what this flower is, so I had to look it up. It's a pansy! I love pansies! Sadly, I had no idea what they smelled like, so I'd have never known if I hadn't looked it up. (So glad I did!) Anyway, I always wondered why some people would refer to a wimpy guy as a "pansy" when pansies are actually such tough and hardy little flowers. Anyway, like the spirit of the flower, the scent in this perfume oil is beautiful, strong, and positively delightful. There's nothing timid or wimpy about it. I wish I could describe it better, but it really doesn't smell much like any of the florals I'm familiar with. It's probably not something that floral-haters would find appealing, but floral lovers should all try this one out. It's quite stunning.

Dian's Bud - I did a modicum of research and what came up is that "Dian's Bud" is another name for Wormwood. This surprised me because I thought wormwood was bitter, but this blend is watery and sweet, and almost melon-like... kind of like drinking the juice of a casaba melon. It's very pretty and perfect, light summer-time scent. It sticks close to the skin and the staying power is below-average, but it's just so delicate and pretty that it's positively irresistible.

Helena - When I first apply this, it smells of water lilies and little more. It's very pretty and innocent-smelling at this point. As it begins to warm up on my skin, the rose and calla lily blossom on my skin and it becomes an absolutely gorgeous, highly feminine, floral fragrance. I'm amazed that I can't detect the jasmine for the life of me. It's entirely rose and lily and reminds me of a blend that I might find in the Ars Moriendi category. The throw is light for a rose blend, but it's very pretty and sticks around for a respectable amount of time.

Hermia - Oooh, SPICY! Floral and spicy is my first impression. As I sniff it, I accidentally get some on my lip, and man, does it burn! But on my wrist, it smells delightful. I can't stop sniffing! As the blend dries down, the pepper note mellows out a bit and the powdery amber becomes evident. At this point, it's just a gorgeous floriental fragrance. The honeysuckle isn't very strong and while I don't know what passion flower smells like, I'm guessing that's the dominant floral note that I'm smelling and if so, it's really pretty. Sadly, my skin sucks this scent up like crazy and after 30 minutes, I smell just the faintest trace of spicy amber. Still, it's really gorgeous and I think it would be really pretty in a scent locket, although probably spicier than it is on my skin.

Cancer 2007 - Oh. WOW. Seriously, I am blown away by this blend so much that I had a crazy notion to get rid of ALL of my BPAL and make this my #1 scent. I didn't have high hopes for this blend because sweet pea typically turns soapy on my skin and overwhelms all other notes. But I'm a Cancer's Cancer, so I had to order this. I am so glad I did! When I sniff it in the vial, I don't smell much at all -- it just smells light, clean, and almost watery. When I apply it to my skin, the lettuce and chamomile are the strongest notes. It smells very grassy and herbal and I definitely smell the spicy note that Mattie mentioned in her review. However, as the oil dries down, the green and spicy notes dissipate, and suddenly, I am caught off guard by the most gorgeous waft of "sweet pink" that I have ever encountered. The sweet pea is not turning to soap on me. Rather, it blends with the mallow to make the most gorgeous floral I have possibly ever encountered. I am just stunned at the way this morphs on my skin and becomes so ultra-pretty. I am so glad I bought this despite the sweet pea! It's got the most perfect level of throw -- enough that you can experience it around you, yet it's not noxious or offensive in the least. It's almost like it's just a scented extension of me, as a Cancer. It also lasts and lasts. I really can't say enough good things about this year's Cancer blend. It really may be the climax of my entire BPAL experience.

Selkie - Oh you guys, this is so gorgeous! It's nothing like I expected and yet everything it should be. I would put this in the same category as the original Blue Moon, as it leaves me with the same type of feeling -- only Selkie is about a million times better. It's not the typical dark, heavy, salty aquatic that I am usually drawn to. It's cleaner and clearer and is more "watery" than aquatic. There is a gorgeous layer of melon in this blend that is not too light and not too heavy. It's just right for giving this scent a clean, fresh, summery type aroma. There is most definitely warm, sweet, golden honey in this blend, too, and I'm thrilled that it's not only behaving on my skin, but it is definitely what ties the whole blend together and makes it so incredibly wonderful. It sticks somewhat close to my skin, but occasionally I catch a surprise waft of it and I am very sad that I didn't buy two bottles.

Minotaur – Wouldn’t you know the one lunar blend I didn’t buy a bottle of is my favorite of the entire year (if not the entire lunacy series!) This scent is incredible. I’m surprised by all the Schwarzer Mond references in previous reviews. To me, it doesn’t smell at all like Schwarzer Mond. Rather, it smells remarkably like Priala the Human Phoenix, only sweeter than Priala. Minotaur is primarily a myrrh scent – husky, resinous, powdery, spicy, dark myrrh. It’s got the feel of something ancient, sacred and potentially very dangerous. This scent has incredible staying power, massive throw, and I’m devastated that I only purchased one wee decant when really, I could use a 55 gallon drum of this stuff.

Bilquis – Mmm… this open ups as a warm, resinous, almond scent. As it dries down, it becomes evident that there is a lot of honey in this blend, and there’s a bit of apple tartness that surprisingly does not turn rancid on my skin. This scent is very hard to describe – it’s warm, sweet, smooth, resinous, and a very full and well-rounded scent. This is probably my favorite honey blend, and I’m just delighted at how gorgeously the honey, myrrh, almond, and apple blend together – it’s not something I would have ever thought I’d like, but it’s really gorgeous. This blend starts off with very strong throw, but after about an hour on my skin, it becomes mostly a skin scent. I’m not sure I need a full bottle, but I definitely need more than an imp.

Rose Moon - This is one of the prettiest rose blends I’ve ever encountered. It’s predominantly tea rose on my skin, which is bolstered by the dry, woody scent of leaves. While I don’t smell the jasmine distinctly (which is odd because my skin usually amps jasmine), there’s a kind of jasmine undercurrent to the blend. It’s hard to explain – the jasmine is there, but it’s not. The honey is only the slightest bit evident, and for another note that often dislikes me, it’s behaving itself quite well in this blend, adding a soft, powder-like sweetness to the blend. I don’t detect the lilac at all and the lemon peel I can only smell upon drydown when I sniff my skin up close. The lemon doesn’t smell like Pledge – it’s more like a tiny drop of sweet, summer lemonade had been added to the mix. This is such an incredibly gorgeous scent. To bad it fades completely within 10 minutes. I guess this is one for the scent locket – it’s just way too pretty not to figure out a way to wear it!

Cancer - I had to pay an arm and a leg for my bottle of this, but it was worth every penny. I think this is my favorite summer scent! Before I tried cancer, I was concerned about two of the four elements in it -- lilac and lemon, both of which are very "iffy" on me and in most cases, don't work out for me. However, I'm just stunned by the simple perfection of this blend. Each note is in perfect balance with the others and none of them dominate the blend. Lilac is often too strong and heady for me when in a perfume oil (although I can't get enough of the actual flower), but it blends beautifully with the rose to create a strong -- but not remotely overwhelming -- floral fragrance. The lemon brightens up the scent, but it doesn't give it that weird lemon Pledge touch at all. It just makes the scent a bit more spritely than it would be otherwise. The chamomile is the absolute perfect note to round out the blend. It keeps the blend soft and mellow while adding an herbaceous coating to the whole thing. The scent lasts and lasts and I didn't think it had very good throw, but someone just complimented me on my perfume when she was standing a good four or five feet away from me. I am sad this has long been discontinued, but am thrilled to have procured a good amount and this isn't one I'm going to not wear for fear of using up -- it's just way too pretty not to wear a LOT this summer time!

13 (April 2007) – When I initially apply this, I am blasted with the sickly sweet smell of artificial chocolate, and am almost immediately blasted a second time by a massive wave of spices – cardamom and clove, in particular. As it warms up on my skin, it gets spicier and spicier until the spice is stronger than the chocolate – although the chocolate is definitely still the foundational scent. And then I smell the orange – it’s bright and sweet and I smell exactly like a really spicy chocolate orange. About 10 minutes after the orange appears, it disappears, and it once again smell like really spicy chocolate only now, I smell the fig meat and a thin veil of flowers. It’s a strange scent on me, but it’s rare that BPAL’s chocolate note works on me. However, of the various iterations of 13, this is my second favorite (the first being the 10/06 version). I kind of wish I could have this exact blend but without the chocolate in it. I think it would be absolutely perfect for me without the chocolate. As it is, I had to find a new home for it, because the chocolate in it will just never work for me. The throw is very strong and the staying power is well above average, although toward the end, it loses all notes except for the spices.

Blue Moon 2007 - The original Blue Moon smells like fish to me, so I'm delighted that the revisited version is not the same. It's definitely got some qualities that are in the same vein as the Asian lunar blends, but it's different than them, too. It's a clear, cool, floral-sweet blend that's grounded by a touch of woodiness. It's not aquatic in the least, yet it's slightly watery. It's not herbal, yet it's full of clean, green, fresh-plant goodness. I wish I could describe this blend accurately, but it's just not possible. It's beautiful, feminine, soft, light, ethereal, and has an almost haunted quality about it. I really love it. I mean, I really, really, really love it. I love it enough that I'm going to have to buy another bottle when it's available again. *sigh* My poor pocketbook.

Gemini 2007 - I am a Cancer Sun/Gemini Rising/Gemini Moon, so I thought perhaps the Gemini in me would love this blend -- especially with goodies like orchid and frankincense in it. Sadly, it smelled terribly like b.o. on me and just got worse the longer it was on. Lavender and I don't really like each other too much and I discovered that lavender blended with frankincense (which I normally love) creates a dirt-sweat b.o. scent on my skin. I almost cried because I could smell how it could potentially work well on other skin chemistry types, but it was just so bad on me. I let it sit for a while, and as it dried, the orchid came out a bit, but that lavender-frank mix managed to dominate the blend and keep it from smelling anything but good on me. The throw and staying power were both slightly above average. Yeah, this one really bums me out because I was just so hopeful for it.

Ah'Duno - This scent completely cracks me up mostly because when I look at my imp, I think of Beth sitting there telling us the story of how it came to be, and it absolutely tickles me to no end that Everyone's Favorite Artist has her "duh!" moments just like the rest of us. Aaaaanyway, back to the matter at hand: when I open the imp, I'm pretty much blasted away with the strong, spicy scent of red-hot cinnamon. I'm talking YEE HAW!!!! kind of hot red spicy cinnamon. On my skin, it's all sweet candy red hots for the first 20-30 minutes, then it begins to settle down to something softer and more subtle. It's still a very red scent without being "hot" and at this point, it's mostly dragon's blood with a strong creaminess to it that must be the milk/vanilla/honey from White Rabbit. The throw seems fairly soft after drydown, and the staying power is about average. I can't say it's something I'm going to pine over when it's gone, but I will cherish my imp as it's a souvenir of a lovely evening, not to mention that it was created by Beth -- whom I adore to no end, and it was handed to me by Puddin', who is one of the nicest people I could ever hope to know.

Crumpet Rebellion - I've never had a crumpet, but I've had scones and sweet pastries, and this reminds me of a sweet pastry or scone smothered with some sort of fruity jam -- definitely dark berries. I can't rule out blackberry, but I can't fully identify it in this blend, either. Rather, it is much more of a black currant type scent. I'm not the foody type, but this smells really good and actually works on my skin. It happened to get combined with some BiggerCritters in my scent locket, and the two blends layer surprisingly well, together, by the way! The staying power on my skin is about average, but the sweater I was wearing last night still smells quite strongly of Crumpet Rebellion. Overall, it's a very yummy blend.

Lydia - Jasmine apparently does not have to be bad on me! Ghostly and ethereal, this is a soft, jasmine blend with a note of something bright and almost effervescent that reminds me of the champagne note in Bon Vivant, without being uber-sweet. This is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Just a lovely floral! ETA: I'm back to say that after sampling my Pikaki single note, I think maybe it's Pikaki in this blend, not jasmine. That would explain why my skin doesn't amp it, but why it still has that soft jasmine effect.

Shanghai Tunnel - This is my favorite of the three C13 blends, which kind of surprises me because I'll bet if I had seen a written description (to my knowledge there isn't one), I wouldn't have cared for it. It starts off very dank and salty, like puddles in an underground tunnel (no surprise there!), but as it dries, the very distinct scent of rocks and stone dominates the blend. Someone asked what it smelled like, and I said, "Stone!" and her husband couldn't believe a perfume could smell like stone, until he sniffed my arm, and he agreed, "Yep, it smells like stone." It's not something I would typically be drawn to (dank puddles and stone? Not my style at all!) but I love this one. It's murky, slightly aquatic, definitely has the feel of an underground tunnel and is really, really a neat scent. ETA: I smelled it on darkitysnark, and it has a soft, sweet, woody drydown on her.

The Unheavenly City - On me, this is a soft, wet gardenia. I feel like there may be some rose in it, but I don't know if it's because I was hoping for rose or if it's because it's actually there. It's very strong on me -- a little goes a very long way. ETA: I just asked Beth about this blend, and she said, "We have no secrets here!" then confirmed for me some of the notes in it: gardenia, magnolia, jasmine, and red musk. She said it's kind of like a stronger version of Hell's Belle, and of course, she's absolutely right! However, it's still predominantly gardenia on me, although now I know it's there, I smell some of the gardenia, too. I still don't smell the red musk, which is strange, since red musk usually smells amazingly good on me.