edenssixthday

Sudha Segara seems to be a universal favorite among BPALers, so I figured I had to try it. It's supposed to smell like... ginger and milk, I believe? Well, on me, it smells about like what skim milk would smell like if I dabbed it on my skin. That is to say, it's milk-scented, but very faint, and well, it just doesn't have anything there that really grabs me. After continuing to hear rave reviews I thought maybe I got an old imp (since I'd swapped for it), so I ordered an imp directly from the Lab, yet even the Lab-fresh oil had the same reaction on me. Swapped it away and won't be bothering with it again. I really wish I could smell whatever it is that everyone else finds so enticing about this particular blend.

Tempest is the first of Beth's ozone-scents I ever tried. I don't usually go for this type of fragrance, but it was included as a frimp with an order, and I always try the frimps because sometimes scents I think I wouldn't like turn out to be my favorites. When I first applied this, it smelled crisp and clean, and kind of like fabric softener. Upon dry down, it definitely has a sea-salt scent to it that actually reminds me of the cold winter ocean in New England. It's very soft and subtle and stays close to my skin. It's certainly not an offensive scent, but it's definitely not me, and it's actually pretty boring. I won't be repurchasing and I swapped the imp to someone who enjoys the ozone-aquatic scents more than I do.

Eclipse was incredibly deep and dark, and very much a “hippie” scent on me. The almond note and the frankincense were the only notes I could detect on my skin. The almond was bitter and almost rancid, while the frankincense deepened and darkened the almond. I’m sure this blend works well on many people, but on me, it just smelled awful. It did have good staying power, but fortunately (for me) not much throw.

Shattered (pre-discontinued version) - I was expecting Shattered to be a strongly aquatic scent based on what I’d heard about it. However, on my skin, it’s full of sweet, pink grapefruit, the tiniest hint of lotus, and a touch of mint. Sadly, the mint turns this scent into “cat pee” on me, the same way it does in Ultraviolet. If it weren’t for the mint, I think I would be absolutely crazy about this blend. Fortunately, that icky cat pee scent fades significantly after about 20 minutes, although there is still a cat pee after-scent. But when sniffed up close, the top notes are definitely pink grapefruit and something else that’s almost bubble-gum sweet. If it weren’t for that pesky mint, I’d definitely be enjoying it more. As it is, I’m not going to be able to wear this again. It was frimped to me, so I’ll frimp it off to someone else.

Scarecrow - Sniffed wet in the vial, the first thing I smell is nail polish. Then, as it dries down, in addition to the nail polish scent, it begins to smell like eau de pieds. Yeah, that’s right: nail polish and feet. Not stanky feet – just feet. Ooh…and what’s that? It’s lotion! It smells like a nail salon! It’s not a foul scent, but certainly not what I want to wear on my skin as a fragrance. I’ll be sending the Eau de Pieds to someone else. Blech!

Voodoo - Smelling Voodoo wet out of the imp, I didn't think I would like this at all. It is just sickeningly sweet. But we all know how BPAL scents can change once you actually put them on your skin, so I thought I'd try it out. For the first 15 minutes or so, it was nauseatingly sweet and unpleasantly pungent. But after about 15 minutes, the sweet and acrid notes faded away and what replaced it was an incense-like, pine scent. I was instantly whisked away to the evergreen forests where my family would camp when I was a kid. I smelled just like fresh pine. And then, only a few minutes later, I smelled distinctly like fresh pine dusted with ... baby powder? What an incredibly strange (and not particularly pleasant) combination. What this has to do with Voodoo, I have no idea. If I were making something called Voodoo, I'd make it smell like the deep Louisiana bayou -- but that's just me. If you're a person who likes pine, then this might work for you. On me, it just doesn't work. Fortunately for me, the scent faded within 90 minutes, until I was left with a whole lotta nothin'. No, I won't buy a full bottle of this and the imp will be going up for swap and hopefully it'll work better on whoever ends up with it! Edited 2/17/10: My skin chemistry has changed dramatically in the past 1.5 or 2 years, and so I've been re-testing a lot of scents that didn't used to work on me, but which seemed now like they should. Voodoo was one of the first BPAL blends I ever swapped for and I initially disliked it. Now, I have a full bottle of it. I love it. It starts out with a strong almond note over myrrh and pine and lime. As it dries down on my skin, the almond sweetness fades significantly, the myrrh comes out even stronger, the clove doesn't amp on me as it usually does, but instead accents the husky/spicy myrrh gorgeously. The patchouli doesn't overwhelm and the vetiver is hardly even noticeable. The vanilla is also barely noticeable. The lime is present and does an awesome job of pulling all the other notes together in a really lovely way. This has become one of my go-to blends. Who would have ever thought?

Empyreal Mist - This is a soft, sweet and very "misty" blend -- just like the name suggests. Its ethereal nature reminds me a lot of The Unicorn. I am completely unable to distinguish any particular notes, but it evokes images for me of a meadow in a forest with brilliant green grasses and flowers swathed in early-morning dew. It's definitely a grassy floral, and has the slightest touch of something sweet that is not honey, but possibly some sort of nectar? It's got a faint hint of department-store perfume about it, which makes it slightly unpleasant for me, but which also gives it significantly more throw than other ethereal scents like it. It's nice, but to me, it doesn't really stand out from the majority of the BPAL general catalogue.

Aeval – In the vial, it smells sweet and slighty floral and with a bit of herbal goodness. Unfortunately, I can’t smell any of the notes on my skin because the instant it touches my skin it turns into soap -- Ivory brand dishsoap, to be precise. And wow does it ever have some serious throw! The whole room smells like I just scrubbed it down with Ivory! I’ve never had a scent turn this soapy and never had a scent turn so soapy so fast. Another friend loves it, so I guess it’s just a bad mix with my skin chemistry.

Fae is a beautiful scent that's full of light. It's crisply sweet while somehow also being soft and soothing. Reading the description of this blend, I thought I wouldn't like it as it has several notes I don't like, but the Lab frimped me with it, so I decided to give it a try, and every time I've used it now, I've been absolutely head-over-heels with it. The peach and oakmoss are the strongest notes, and they blend so beautifully together -- I would have never guessed. They lay on a bed of white musk, which lends an ethereal note to this blend. It's positively gorgeous and this is going on my list of 5 ml bottles to buy. The scent has the perfect amount of throw -- enough that I catch wafts of it on occasion and people say I smell good, but not so much that anyone is overwhelmed by the scent. It unfortunately doesn't last more than an hour on my skin, but I don't mind reapplying because it's so pretty and uplifting.

Ozymandias - I didn’t know what to expect from this one, and my first thought was that it was warm and golden like vanilla, yet it definitely isn’t vanilla. Next, I noticed a very “perfumey” quality about this oil that instantly reminded me of my mother’s classic perfumes. By that, I don’t in any way mean to imply “old lady” perfume, because it’s not. It’s simply very classic and gorgeous. It’s warm, golden, dry, and has a lovely level of throw when it’s wet. As the oil dries down, the throw decreases, but the perfuminess of this scent also dissipates, leaving it softer and rounder. It is very difficult to determine the notes in this, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say amber, musk, and possibly even orange blossom (because it turns just the slightest touch powdery on me, the way orange blossom always does on my skin). It’s a gorgeous blend and I’m delighted to have discovered it. It’s definitely the kind of scent I will wear when I want to feel grown up, sophisticated, and elegant. I really like it. Sadly, it doesn’t last on my skin more than an hour, but I won’t mind reapplying when I wear it because it is so pretty.

Ultraviolet - It’s cat pee!!! Well, for the first two minutes until it begins to dry down, it’s full-on cat pee. And wow, does this cat pee have some amazing throw! At about the two minute mark, it starts to smell like cat pee and mint. At about the 10 minute point, the cat pee fades away almost completely, and it’s 99% mint with about 1% of something floral. The throw is still incredible and overwhelms all three other BPAL scents that I’m testing out along with Ultraviolet. At about the 20 minute point, the “cold metal” aspect of this scents bursts forth, and actually hurts my teeth and is overwhelmingly unpleasant and definitely has a “cold” scent about it. At about the 45 minute point, it starts to stick very close to my skin, and I no longer notice what it smells like and soon forget about it. Then, about two hours after first applying, suddenly, it gets a second wind, and suddenly and unexpectedly, the air around me is filled with the soft, sweet, purple scent of violets and none of the unpleasant cat pee, mint, or metal. At this point, it’s so beautiful and surprising and unexpected. I’ve never had any scent gain strength after disappearing on me. How fun! I don’t know if the cat pee, mint and metal are worth the after-effects, however. I’m not a fan of cat pee and I’m not a fan of mint and I have discovered with this scent that I’m not a fan of metal in my perfumes. But violets are one of my favorite scents, so I’m a bit torn. I will probably just stick with Nocturne, which is all violets all the time.

Brimstone - Egad! I didn't think it was possible to find a BPAL oil that was more vile than Highwayman, but I have found it. Brimstone smells like an ashtray -- one that's sitting next to a rotten egg. Oh wow, this is just gross. I'm sorry I can't even attempt an objective review of this one, it makes me physically ill! Despite my complete revulsion to this blend, it matches the description perfectly, and I have a feeling this is exactly the scent Beth was intending to create. It is highly reminiscent of standing on the edge of a huge sulfur pot up in Yellowstone National Park. If you like smoke, ash, and sulfuric blends, you may like this, but I sure don't.

Lightning - At first, it smells exactly like the air right before a summer storm is about to let loose. But after just a couple of minutes, Lightning becomes bitter, acrid, tangy, and sour, and within 30 minutes has made me nauseated and light-headed to the point where I have to wash it off and give it up.

Grog - When I first got into BPAL, a friend told me Grog was the worst one on her and not to ever try it. So I didn’t for the longest time, but now, I have finally tried it, and I like it! It’s smells like a Butter Baby shooter (my favorite shooter drink of all time). It’s sweet and creamy and smells like rum and butterscotch. I don’t normally like scents like this, but this one is fabulous! I’m going to most definitely burn it in my oil burner, but I’m afraid if I keep wearing it on my skin I’m going to have indentations in my arms from where I can’t stop licking myself. It has the perfect amount of throw, and moderate staying power. I need more Grog! Love it!

Arachne is a beautiful, feminine fragrance. It’s a lovely, soft woody-floral that reminds me a lot of Theirry Mugler’s Angel. I don’t really know what else to say about it except that it’s got a moderately-light level of throw (I do catch the occasional waft of the scent when I’m moving around), and the staying power isn’t that great, but it’s really, really pretty. I’m going to hold on to this one and probably get some use out of it this summer. I think it’s a perfect soft, subtle, pretty scent for spring (and now that I’m thinking about it, I’m thinking I’m going to try layering it with my Enraged Bunny Musk – I could totally see that combo working well together!)

Jack - On my skin, Jack smells like someone mixed a bit of pumpkin butter in with a big bin of buttered popcorn. It's rich and nauseating. Unfortunately, it also lasts a really long time on my skin. It's one of the few BPALs that I couldn't wear until it wore off, and had to wash off after 30 minutes or so. It's not quite in the category of "truly vile," but it's not something I ever want to touch again.

Jolly Roger is going to go in my Top 10 Worst Scents list. Not that I keep an active list, but it’s definitely one of the worst as far as how it works on my skin. The scent description is: “Sea spray with an undercurrent of leather, Bay Rum, and salty, dry woods.” However, on my skin, it doesn’t smell like any of this at all. In fact, what it smells like is quite unpleasant. Stop reading now if you have a sensitive stomach. It reminds me of the inside of a portable toilet – the kind they set up at construction sites and some outdoor concerts. It’s the combination of … well … you-know-what combined with the overwhelming and artificially-sweet scent of the chemicals used in an attempt to cover up the odor of the you-know-what of the port-o-potty. I feel terrible comparing one of Beth’s blends to a port-o-potty, but on me, that’s what it turns to. It’s positively putrid on me. After about 3.5 hours, the scent has mellowed out significantly, at which point I detect the scent of sea spray and leather. I’m definitely passing this along and I hope it goes to the home of someone who will have much better luck with it.

Rakshasa smells entirely of sandalwood to me. It's a dry sandalwood that has no unique qualities to it whatsoever. There's nothing wrong with it -- it certainly doesn't smell bad, but it's boring. There's nothing special about it. It smells like just about any sandalwood I could pick up anywhere. One thing about it is that it does last a long time on my skin -- a good 8 hours or more, although it doesn't have much throw, and gets particularly subtle on my skin around the three hour point. If you're looking for a plain sandalwood with nothing particularly interesting about it, this may be a nice sandalwood for you. As far as sandalwood scents go, I definitely prefer Tamora, and really have no reason to wear Rakshasa again if I could be wearing Tamora instead.

Zephyr - This is such a pretty scent! From the very first moment, it smells strongly of vanilla. The scent description says “a drop of vanilla,” but on my skin, it’s all vanilla with a hint of floral. I don’t smell any of the sandalwood, bergamot, lemon or lemon verbena. It’s all vanilla and white florals on me, and smells like a fraternal twin of Regan. This is a fabulous vanilla scent and next to Regan, my favorite vanilla blend so far. It has really powerful throw and phenomenal staying power, so I only need one drop on my body to be swathed in a swirl of sweet vanilla and florals for hours on end. I’m holding on tight to this one!

Black Forest is most definitely the scent of evergreen forests, and is crisp and cool. When wearing it, I don't feel like I should be hanging from the rearview mirror of a car, like I do with most pine blends. This one is really pretty and the musk in it makes it almost "creamy", if that makes sense. It's quite possibly my favorite of BPAL pine scents, but still not a favorite overall. It sticks fairly close to my skin and lasts for about 3 hours before fading into oblivion.

Bliss- I don't usually wear bakery scents and especially not chocolate. But this gets such rave reviews that I decided to buy an imp and check it out. It's definitely the most authentically chocolate of any chocolate fragrances I've experienced (whether in perfume, shampoo, body wash, etc. form) But I couldn't fathom the idea of putting it on my skin and smelling like it. Like I said, I'm just not much of a bakery scent girl. But this morning, I got the bright idea to mix it with Strawberry Moon, and VOILA! Chocolate-covered strawberries! And it smelled sooo good! So then I experimented with mixing it with Bon Vivant, and VOILA! again! Chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne! I've been told it blends amazingly well with Lick It! and Swank, both of which are on their way to me, and if that's the case, then while I probably won't ever buy a full bottle, I may always keep an imp on hand for those times when I want a change of pace and want to ramp up one of the scents I already use and adore. For its versatility when it comes to blending, I'm awarding Bliss more points than I would just on its own.

Blood Pearl - I have a new best coconut friend!!! I didn’t know what to expect when I tried this blend, not having read the description first. When I do read the description, I can’t figure out why I am so nutty-crazy about this scent. The notes in it sound nice, but not mind-blowingly spectacular, so this must be a major case of synergy where these three notes work together to create something greater than the sum of all three, because HOT DAMN am I in love with this scent! It’s heavy on the coconut and heavy on the musk and heavy on the orris and the three blend together so incredibly gorgeously well, like I never would have guessed. This scent does not change at all whether it’s in the vial, freshly applied, dried down, or toward the end of it’s life on my skin. It’s stable, consistent, powerful, and so very pretty. It’s also pretty strong, and I will be very careful when applying this so I don’t overwhelm others with it. This is definitely going on my list of bottles to buy. I’m so glad it’s a GC!

Séance is a beautiful rose blend. If you like tea rose, you’d love Séance! It’s a beautiful rose scent that’s woody and dry and smells a lot like the inside of my antique china cabinet where, in addition to my china, I also keep a bit of tea rose potpourri. I love the smell of opening up that china hutch and smelling the 100-year old wood and the scent of all the years that have passed since it was created, combined with the scent of dry rose leaves. That’s exactly what Séance smells like. It’s gorgeous and evocative of past eras and distant memories and loved ones that have gone before us. While the fragrance is so incredibly perfect and while it has a lovely level of throw when it’s still wet on my skin, once it dries down, the throw fades completely and the entire scent is undetectable an hour later. I think this would be a good one for a scent locket. I guess I could also use it to “spruce up” the tea rose potpourri in my china cabinet, since the scent has started to fade significantly.

Leanan Sidhe smells very aquatic on me, although according to the Lab description, it is not. It’s highly “perfumey” and cloying. It’s stays very close to my skin, and lasts a long time. Unfortunately, the scent isn’t going to work on me, and I hope it finds a good home with someone else.

La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente is a pretty scent, the perfect blend of fruits and florals and a touch of an aquatic note. Unfortunately, it’s too subtle for me, doesn’t last long, and really doesn’t leave much of an impression. I’ll be passing this one on.