edenssixthday

I Died for Beauty - This is a gorgeous scent! It’s predominantly a violet blend, but the violet is soft, and doesn’t get overly-sweet as violet sometimes does, and I think this is due to the hyssop in the blend, tempering the violet. . The grave loam note frightened me, but it’s incredibly subtle, and stay far in the background, and doesn’t give this blend a dirt or earthy scent at all, it just grounds the other notes. The frankincense is also very light. The ylang ylang is also subtle and doesn’t give the blend a sharp twist, as it usually does on me. Overall, this is a gorgeous, soft, and feminine scent. It’s slightly powdery, but not like baby powder, and is very romantic. I love this. I could see this being a gorgeous blend to wear on your wedding day or for a romantic picnic. Although it stays close to my skin, which is a feature I don’t usually care for, I’m going to give this one much love. I really just can’t say enough about what a pretty scent this is.

I am very surprised that the redwood and red sandalwood don’t show up in this blend on me at all. It’s 90% black pepper and frankincense with the slightest hint of tobacco in the background. I am totally digging the frankincense and tobacco, but the pepper is too strong, and hurts my sinuses. It’s not what I’d call a “pretty” scent, but it’s very rich and sexy. This is something that I think would smell so superhot’n’sexy on my husband. The more I think about how it might smell on him, wow, the less I care that it doesn’t work on me. I have yet to convince my husband to wear BPAL, but this might just be the blend that makes me start working on him again to give it a go. It has a really nice level of throw and the wear length is above average.

Two Monsters - I put this on, wrinkled my nose and before I realized what was happening, I caught myself saying out loud, “That just stinks!” It’s a truly foul blend on my skin and smells like a combination of ambergris (the one part I like), leather, poo and nail polish remover. As the blend dries down, the leather and the nail polish remover get stronger, the ambergris warms up and smells sweet and musky, and I’m smelling a swirl of several other notes that I can’t identify. I feel like this would be such a warm and gorgeous scent if it weren’t for the traces of poo and nail polish remover that just won’t go away. I’m very frustrated because I feel like this is a scent that should work on me, but it doesn’t. I am not going to give up, however. I’ll try it at a different time of month and see if my hormones are making it go wonky right now, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll give it a go in a scent locket. If I could just avoid that poo and polish remover scent, the leather, ambergris, oakmoss and vetiver would be the dominant notes and truly an outstanding combination.

Intrigue - This is a highly woody scent on me. The wood is sweetened by the fig, but it’s still very much a predominantly woody blend. The fig comes out more as the oil warms up on my skin, and the fig is lovely, but the wood is too much like cedar for my liking. The cocoa is barely discernible and it mostly just gives the wood a bit more depth and keeps it from smelling completely like pencil shavings. It’s too bad the fig note isn’t more prevalent in this blend, otherwise I might be able to wear it. As it is, it’s off to the swap pile.

Tweedledum - When I first apply this, it’s predominantly mango and although it’s light, it smells so fresh and delectable. As the oil warms up on my skin, the scent of the green tea mixing with the mango becomes noticeable (and it makes me thirsty for mango iced tea!) It’s not long until the sweet and meaty scent of the fig comes bouncing out with the rest of the notes. I’m so surprised by what a fun and delightful fragrance this is. Patchouli sometimes works on me and sometimes doesn’t, and this is one instance where it really works well. Upon full drydown, the patchouli becomes noticeable and provides depth and richness to the fruit and tea notes, grounding them and keeping them down-to-earth. Overall, I’m really impressed by this interesting and unexpected combination of notes. The throw is well below average, as is the staying power, but it’s such a fun scent, that when I wear it, I won’t mind reapplying over and over to keep the scent about me all day long.

Chaos Theory 3: XDVII (517) - The friend I split this bottle with smelled a bitter and herbal vinegar in the bottle. In the bottle, I smell something that kind of reminds me of buttery pumpkin...but not quite. I dislike pumpkin, so I have really low hopes for this scent. I apply the scent and still smell that smooth, buttery, and almost greasy scent. Then I ignore it for a while, and when I come back to it, I am totally and completely blown away by the scent I smell now that it's dry: I smell a very honey-like benzoin (or is it storax?) and the tiniest hint of plumeria and a whole lot of orchid. My bottle-splitting partner smelled plumeria and rose. I agree with her that "this one does an extreme 180º compared to the way it smells in the bottle." However, that benzoin/storax scent pretty much blows it for me. If it were just the floral notes, I'd probably be loving it down t o the very last drop. As it is, it's just too sweet for me. Previously reviewed by Jettcat.

Les Bijoux - This opens up as an over-the-top fruit blend. The peach and apple blend to make an almost pear-like scent. It’s fresh, bright, and crisp. The rose is evident upon drydown, but it’s far, far in the background of this blend. This might be the first time a blend with orange blossom in it hasn’t become faintly powdery, too! I can’t smell the myrrh in this at all, and the frankincense is very subtle, and only really reveals itself after the oil has been on my skin for quite some time. I am simply delighted that the honey note doesn’t ruin this blend for me and that the apple doesn’t turn rancid on me, as BPAL apple notes usually do. This is a wonderful fragrance, perfect for sunny summer days. It has really strong throw initially, but that mellows out upon drydown. The staying power is longer than most fruit blends are on my skin.

Lyoness - I am absolutely thrilled with this scent. I tend to have pretty good luck with Wanderlust blends, but this one is jumping right to the top of the pack. It has so many notes in it that I adore, and it works fabulously on me. It opens with a blast of vanilla, and I can’t smell much beyond that. Once it begins to dry, the vanilla and ambergris blend together to create a warm, sweet, musky scent that is one of the pretty scents I’ve ever encountered. The stargazer lily lends a hint of a sweet pink-sugar type note to this blend, and the sandalwood grounds it and provides a foundation for the other notes. It’s gorgeous, truly gorgeous. It is a warm and sweet blend, and I have a feeling it is going to become a favorite for the upcoming Autumn months.

Wisteria - Whenever I smell blends with wisteria in them, I always think I’m smelling lilac, until I read the scent description. I was so excited to get to swap for an imp of Wisteria! I was especially excited to get to compare Wisteria and Blue Lilac side-by-side, but here’s what a dumbass I am: I swapped the Blue Lilac for the Wisteria! Ha ha! Anyway, it turns out I don’t need to compare them side-by-side, after all. While it reminds me a lot of lilac in BPAL blends, on it’s own, I can definitely tell why I find it similar to lilac in blends, but when it’s flying solo, it totally has that bad breath/cat pee scent that civet has. It’s the floral equivalent of civet. It’s incredibly pungent and heady. However, I must say that I only smell that nasty aspect of it when I’m sniffing my skin up close. When I let the scent waft around me (and it does because it has really strong throw), all I smell is the part that reminds me of lilac. No, I would not wear this by itself due to that cat pee odor, but it’s been great to test it and to understand why I always confused wisteria and lilac, and now I know the difference and hopefully won’t mix those two up anymore.

Stargazer Lily - I think Stargazer Lilies are gorgeous flowers, but I hate the way they smell. Whenever we have a bouquet of flowers that contain Stargazers at the front desk at work, I have to avoid the reception desk all week because the scent is one that I find highly offensive. Stargazer Lily single note, however, doesn’t remind me at all of the real plant – it’s way too pretty to smell like the real thing! I first discovered how much I enjoy BPAL Stargazer Lily with the Maelstrom blend, Berenice. I couldn’t get over how much I liked that blend consider my dislike of the scent of the actual flower. Now that I’ve tried the single note, I completely understand. The single note is sweet and floral and so very pretty. It’s soft and highly feminine. It reminds me a lot of Calla Lily, but more “pink,” yet more sophisticated. It’s hard to describe, so I’ll just simply say that this is a single note I could easily wear by itself for a personal fragrance. But since I only have one imp’s worth, I’ll just stick with my beloved bottle of Berenice when I want that strong, beautiful Stargazer Lily scent. The throw is light, although I catch occasional wafts of it, and the staying power seems to be below average on me.

Chaos Theory 3: DCCCXXI (821) - Both in the vial and when first applied, this is a strong lemon scent. It’s a really unusual lemon – almost like some sort of sweet, fizzy, lemon drink. Underneath it is a subtle scent of what I think is white sandalwood and a soft, light floral. I don’t usually like lemon blends, but this one is absolutely perfect for a sunny late-spring/early-summer day. It’s bright and sunny, but it’s got a nice depth to it, as well. After an hour or so, the lemon scent is very faint, and the sandalwood shows up stronger than before, and there’s also a light, sweet grassy note that I can smell at this point. For a reference point, this blend reminds me somewhat of Shadow and Polyhymnia. The throw is light and the staying power is about average. I’m so glad my friend shared her bottle of this with me!

Nahemoth - When I first smelled this in the bottle, it smelled very "foody" to me, and I could tell immediately that of all the Qliphoths, it was probably going to be the most popular -- and it seems that it actually is. Once I put it on my skin, it is not "foody" at all in the gourmand sense, although it is very spicy to my nose at first. As it dries, it has a warm, golden feel about it, like a deep, resinous amber smothered in all sorts of woody-incense notes. It reminds me a lot of Hellion, which I love, yet there's something about this blend that’s sweeter than Hellion, and I think it’s that sweet note I don't care for too much -- it reminds me of the overly-ripe fruit note in Haitian Lover. In the end, it’s a perfectly good and nice scent, but it’s so similar to Hellion that whenever I’m in the mood for this particular kind of scent, I think I would just choose Hellion instead (because it lacks that rotting fruit note). However, it will be a tolerable replacement when I run out of Hellion. The throw is strong and the wear length is long.

Ghagiel - When I first apply this, it smells like a light, watery floral. Almost instantly, it becomes a really soapy, watery floral. The only floral I have discovered so far that turns to soap on me is sweet pea, and this smells exactly like that. I’m envious of some of the results other reviewers have had with this because it sounds quite lovely, but on me, the soapy floral note overpowers anything else that might possibly be in this blend. It lasts about two hours on my skin, and has only a light level of throw.

Antonino, the Carny Talker - This is one of those blends that predominantly has notes in it I adore, and a couple that I don’t exactly hate, but which rarely make the cut for me. Sniffed in the bottle, I smell only lemon verbena and lavender. When I apply this, the very first note I smell is the strong scent of lemon verbena, followed immediately by a very strange, thick, and heavy combination of lavender, fig, and plum. It's one of the truly oddest collection of notes I've encountered on my skin. At this point, they don't seem to layer well, but of course, we all know that first impressions of BPAL can be quite deceiving, so I decide to sit back, wait, and see what happens next. So I go off and do some other stuff, and about 20-30 minutes, I remember to check in on Antonino, and what do I smell? A whole lot of barely nothing! There is the faintest (I mean, almost completely indiscernible) trace of very light fruits, and nothing more. Where is the vetiver?! I have yet to meet a blend with vetiver in it that doesn't leave at least a residual vetiver note on my skin for hours. The entire scent has completely disappeared on my skin. I'll give it another go, but if the results are the same, it's off to a new home.

Carnaval Diabolique - There is not a single note in this that I don’t like, with the exception of the "lemon flower", which I didn’t think I'd smelled before. I figured lemon flower wouldn't smell like lemons just like apple blossom and orange blossom don’t smell like apple and orange, respectively. However, the top note in this blend is absolutely lemon. It is not the thick and heavy scent of lemon Pledge, but this is definitely a predominantly lemon scent that reminds me a lot of lemon verbena, and it really bums me out because I don’t care for lemon all that much. The longer it sits on my skin, the more the lemon softens, and eventually becomes a background note (after about 45 minutes or so). Once the lemon scent dissipates, what remains is the lovely floral scents of tuberose and heliotrope blended with a creamy vanilla-coconut swirl. Although this starts out as what I would typically classify a "light" scent, the drydown has a depth that most lighter blends don’t have, and I believe this is attributable to the opium (in particular) and the musk. It’s fascinating how it morphs. I'm really not quite sure what I think of this blend. Should it stay or should it go? I think it needs to stay, age a bit, and hopefully smell even better in a few months.

Mme. Moriarty, the Misfortune Teller - Upon reading the scent description, this was the blend from Carnaval Diabolique that I have been the most excited about. It is full of my favorite notes. Sniffing it in the bottle, I knew I was going to love it. As soon as it touched my skin, it instantly reminded me of my favorite layering combo: Snake Oil + Smut. I was absolutely enthralled that Beth created a blend that smells like my two favorite blends combined! Any time vanilla and red musk are combined I’m in sheer heaven. Add to it two of my favorite fruit scents, and I’m over-the-top with joy. The patchouli leaf provides a slightly earthy touch to the overall scent, but it doesn’t smell like outright patchouli: it’s softer and more subtle. I am surprised, however, upon drydown, how soft this scent becomes on my skin. It is surprisingly subtle, and after about 30 minutes, I get the slightest touch of a Play-Doh scent when I sniff my skin up close. I absolutely love the way this one smells before it "turns" on me, so it's most definitely a keeper, but will need to be used in a scent locket or made into a spray that I can spritz my clothing with, and hopefully that Play-Doh bit will go away as this ages, because it's quite evident from the notes in this blend that it's going to age really damn well. Edited to note that since I wrote this review, I have had had much better luck with both throw and wear length with this blend. Also, while I still get the "play-doh" smell when I sniff my skin up close, it doesn't have a play-doh scent as it wafts about me. I'm guessing my earlier experience with this was just a weird hormonal thing. I'm just loving it to pieces now!

Chaos Theory 3: CMXIX (919) – This scent had me really, really stumped. I’m usually pretty good at definitively picking out at least one note in blends, but this one threw me for a loop. I could tell it was soft, wispy, and ethereal, slightly floral, and I had a hunch about another note, but nothing for sure. So I enlisted the noses of three other BPALers, and once they got back to me with their comments, I realized I was right about the note I was hunching about: white tea. Two of the three others also identified pear right away. Now that I know what I’m looking for, I smell the pear, as well, although it’s not quite as sweet and bright as D’Anjou Pear, so I’m really curious if it’s a different type of pear or if the pear has been tempered by the other notes in the blend. The floral note(s) is really light, and one of the reviewers thought maybe it’s Lily of the Valley or Linden, like in The Unicorn. I definitely get a similar feel with this blend as I got from The Unicorn, so she may be right. It also reminds me somewhat of Empyreal Mist. All in all, it’s a very nice scent, quite wispy, and as one of my “borrowed noses” commented: It’s like dusting powder without being powdery. It’s pretty and will make a lovely springtime scent. I don’t think it’s one I’d wear too often because it is so soft, and it does disappear on my skin within an hour. Still, it’s nice and very pretty.

Swallow’s Blood - I was surprised at how soft and sweet it is. I expected it to be a much deeper “blood” scent. Rather, it’s a very soft and light floral with a touch of dragon’s blood, the tiniest drop of jasmine, and something that reminds me of water without being a salty aquatic (if that makes sense) – more like the crisp, clear, cold, and fresh water of a mountain creek in late-spring. I don’t get the “powder” aspect of this blend that many other reviewers seem to get, but it’s so whisper-soft and ethereal, that I can understand how it could become “powdery” with the right skin chemistry. It’s a beautiful blend, but sticks very close to my skin (surprising, considering the jasmine and dragon’s blood in it!) I find it incredibly comforting, relaxing, and quite a peaceful blend. Scent-wise, I think this is my favorite of the Voodoo blends.

Glasya - Oh my gosh! I can’t get over what a beautiful blend this is. It’s deep and rich yet simultaneously soft and sweet. It’s a truly spectacular blend with just the right amount of every note to create a truly lovely soft “red” scent. I’m actually surprised that none of the other reviewers have compared this to Red Moon, because it definitely reminds me of a darker, deeper, huskier version of Red Moon. This blend is a perfect example of a bunch of notes I don’t like individually (e.g., civet, ylang ylang, black musk, red patchouli, and sometimes dragon’s blood) coming together fabulously to create a blend that is greater than the sum of its parts. The dragon’s blood is the strongest note, but it by no means dominates the blend. The musks are right there behind it – all of them. The civet is definitely distinctive, but as with most civet blends (i.e., not civet by itself) it works well on me. The rose, myrrh, and ylang ylang blend together in the background in a way that is just sooo pretty and tempers the musks to keep them from being too strong in this blend. The red patchouli is far, far in the background, and barely discernible. It gives this blend the lightest touch of huskiness that it wouldn’t have without it. Overall, this is a truly spectacular blend and I am hoping it will be reinstituted into the general catalogue again someday. The throw is below average and the staying power is good – it better be with all that musk, dragon’s blood, patchouli, myrrh, and rose in it (all notes that tend to linger on my skin).

Vieux Carré - I didn’t know what to expect when I tried this. In the vial, it smells floral, but I can’t determine exactly what type of floral. When I apply it, it smells sweet and strong, and almost immediately I smell jasmine. I’m really surprised, however, that the jasmine smells sweet and soft, and very much like an old non-BPAL jasmine oil that I used to wear. I normally detest BPAL jasmine, but in this blend, it’s really beautiful. Underneath the jasmine is the soft scent of (white?) rose, but it’s very subtle. There is also a third note that is very familiar, but which I can’t place. It’s green and just a touch pungent, not quite like dandelion and not quite like grass, but in a similar category. After about 40 minutes of wear, the pungent aspect of the greenery disappears, and the jasmine becomes so subtle that I begin to wonder if this isn’t jasmine, but some other white floral that I’m not correctly identifying. Either way, this is a very pretty scent, and while I don’t find it reminiscent in the least of the Vieux Carré itself, it does remind me of the Garden District neighborhood, just a few blocks over from Vieux Carré. It’s a lovely scent (surprising, considering that Evil Jasmine is in it!) and I see this being a really beautiful springtime scent – very feminine, sultry, and charming. The throw and staying power are both about average.

Sagittarius - First impression is that this is a eucalyptus and cedar blend. Almost instantly behind that, I detect something strong and sharp like clove and maybe a bit of pepper. The eucalyptus softens upon drydown and becomes less overwhelming and blends nicely with the other notes, and around this same point, the clove really begins to amp up and become the dominant note in this blend, with the cedar not too far behind it. This is an incredibly earthy blend. It’s very masculine and outdoorsy. It’s definitely not a blend that would become a part of my personal repertoire, but I can imagine that there are quite a few people who would enjoy this, possibly men in particular (I think I'd really like to smell it on my husband!). It has a nice level of throw – enough to enjoy yourself without offending others, and its wear length is about average.

Indonesian Red Patchouli - This is the particular patchouli that is lovely on me at times and horrific on me other times. I really wanted to try it on its own to see what it’s like unblended. As a single note, it’s not quite horrible on me, but certainly not something I’d wear again! It’s very strong and woody, but when wet, it also contains a strong acetone-like scent, that I often get from red patchouli blends. Despite that weird nail polish remover scent that it has until dry-down, I can still smell the aspect of this blend that works for me when blended with the right combination of other notes. Definitely an interesting single note, but not one I’d choose to wear by itself.

Dark Myrrh - This is the myrrh that I love! When I tried light myrrh, which I didn’t care for at all, I realized that the reason I was never sure if I liked myrrh or not is because I dislike light myrrh and maybe it is dark myrrh that I like. Now that I’ve tried it, I can say that yes, indeed, that is the case. This is the myrrh that I love so much in one of my favorite blends, Wicked. It’s thick and incense-sweet, a little scratchy, and very deep. It’s a bit on the strong side for me to ever wear it alone (as if I would be lucky enough to get enough of this to wear by itself regularly! Ha!) but my mind is running wild with all sorts of notes that this would blend beautifully with. It’s gorgeous. Really, really gorgeous. And it lasts for-freak’n-ever on my skin, too.

Chaos Theory 3: CLXXVII (177) - This opens up with the strong, sweet scent of peppermint. Since peppermint tends to amp up on my skin and overpower all other notes, I don’t have much hope for this. However, I’m surprised after about 5-10 minutes, when the peppermint scent dissipates almost completely, and behind it is a sweet, fruity scent. It takes me a few minutes to figure out what it is, and finally, I realize, it’s blood orange! It’s got that candy-like orangey sweetness to it that blood orange has. Just to be certain, however, I tested it against my blood orange single note, and it’s not blood orange. So I tested it against my regular plan orange single note, and sure enough, that’s what it is: peppermint and orange. I can’t help but wonder if there is a hint of sugar in this blend that’s giving it that candy-like sweetness, but I can’t really differentiate a separate sugar note, so it may just all be in my imagination. The scent sticks close to my skin, and (as orange single note does on my skin) it disappears completely after only 30 minutes or so. It’s definitely an interesting scent, and I’m glad I got to try it. Previously reviewed by filigree_shadow.

Chaos Theory 2: CLXXXVI (186) - When I received this imp, it was labeled with the notes "amber myrrh, jasmine." I'm pretty sure I agree with this, but I would also add "tobacco flower" to the mix. This is a scent that upon first application, strongly reminded me of Formula 54 so much so that I had to apply a bit of F54 to compare the two. They are strikingly similar, and I believe tobacco flower is the reason why. This scent also reminds me in many aspects of the GC blend Wicked, which is one of my all-time favorite blends (currently). I believe that is due to the myrrh and jasmine notes in this blend. It is an incredibly husky blend where the jasmine works in perfect harmony with the other notes so as not to overwhelm the whole lot. I did a 1/4 imp Chaos Theory swap, and I'm sad that I only have a few drops of this, but it's similar enough to Wicked, which I have a 10 ml of, so I'm not too angsty about not bein g able to get more. It has truly spectacular throw and a little goes a very long way for a very long time.