edenssixthday

Masquerade - The patchouli is the first note I pick up on, and it tricked me. I thought for sure it was teakwood or rosewood. Right behind it was something floral, but the patch overwhelmed it to the point that I couldn’t identify it. I was certain I didn’t like the scent. It was too warm and woody. At the point of dry-down, the scent turned soapy on me, but oddly enough, about 90 minutes later, the soapiness disappeared and the carnation and orange blossom suddenly burst through, and it became a sweet, warm floral scent that is almost pretty. The patchouli scent remains in the background and is now obviously patchouli (as opposed to masquerading as teakwood or rosewood). The most amazing thing about this scent is that when testing, I applied to the back of my hand. I have vigorously scrubbed my hands several times over the course of the last several hours (not to get rid of the scent, just because it’s been a part of my daily activities and washing off the things I’ve been doing) and the scent has not gone away. I’ve been wearing it for at least 4 hours now, with quite a few hand washings, and the scent is still evident. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s soapy for the first 90 minutes, I would probably wear this scent for the staying power if nothing else.

Bess - When I first applied this, all I could smell was something wet and green like moss and dirt. It was icky and cloying. But after the first 15 minutes or so, it mellowed out into a really lovely fruity/floral. The light crispness of the grape is the predominant note on me, followed by a soft bit of rose and orange flower, and far, far in the background the lemon peel peeks out here and there. It turned into quite a pretty fragrance after all. The second time I tried it, the acrid and pungent “icky and cloying” scent I noticed the first time lasted a full 45 minutes. It did get pretty after that, but I won’t be wearing it again. The full dry-down is pretty, but not pretty enough to be worth the first 45 or so minutes where I want to escape my skin to get away from the scent. This definitely doesn’t work on me.

Omen - I received a frimp from the Lab (thank you!) the day after I arranged to swap for some, so it was obvious that I was meant to have this blend. It is chock full of notes that I dislike, yet for some reason, I absolutely adore it. It is deep and dark and definitely a "dirty hippie" scent, but I just adore it. It smells slightly incensey on my skin, and it's incredibly warm and comforting. I am really amazed by the throw -- I put the tiniest dab on my wrist, and I'm surrounded by this amazingly light veil of fragrance. The throw is incredible, but it's not overwhelming. It is also very long-lasting. It's just really beautiful and warm -- kind of like the fragrance version of the loving hug from a friend.

Ulalume - This is one of those scents that I half love and half hate. The aquatic/floral scent is beyond gorgeous. However, there’s a dirt scent (that after reading the description I believe to be dried leaves) that just stinks to high heaven on me and reminds me raking wet, musty leaves when I was a kid. It is a vile and nasty scent. But the other half of the scent is glorious. It makes me so sad that I can smell the beauty in this scent, but that it’s accompanied by something so dank and old-smelling.

The Hesperides - When first applied, the apple note is so strong and über-sweet that I’m concerned I’m going to end up nauseated. However, as the oil dries, the apple scent fades into a really pretty and very genuine scent of fresh, crisp apple. I do not like this scent at all when it’s wet, but as it dries, it really mellows out and becomes very soft and subtle, and definitely has some forest-like aspects to it. It’s slightly woody, a touch green, and that bit of crisp apple really round out the scent in the end. It’s so subtle that it’s not something I’d wear as a fragrance, but I imagine that people who like light, fresh scents would really like this one. On my skin, the staying power is poor, as it has completely disappeared by the 90 minute mark.

Highwayman - I got NONE of the scents listed in the description. From the first moment I whiffed the imp, to the first moment I applied it to my skin, the only thing I smelled was the most horrific scent I've personally ever experienced. There weren't any more moments after those first two -- I ran to the bathroom so fast and pulled out my strongest cleanser and had to scrub scrub scrub that horrific stank off me. I wasn't even about to give it time to dry down and possibly mellow out. I would rather rub cat butt on me than wear this stuff. It is by far the most digusting oil I have ever smelled. I can't believe someone actually thought it was a good idea to sell this stuff. Thankfully it was just an "extra" thrown into a BPAL imp order and I didn't actually pay for it or I'd be demanding my money back. Truly disgusting. Don't even go there.

Veil is one of the most classic floral BPAL scents I’ve tried. It’s soft and sweet, and the florals are inextricably blended so that none of the individual notes is distinguishable, but they all work together to create an absolutely gorgeous fragrance. The scent initially appears very subtle to me, but as I wear it, it leaves a light veil of flowery fragrance around me throughout the day. It’s soft and pretty, incredibly feminine, and I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this scent. It’s slightly powdery, but not in an unpleasant way at all. It just adds to the feminine touch that Veil carries with it. It’s a scent that’s perfect for just about any occasion from a day on the job to a walk through the park to a nice evening out with my husband. I will not be passing off my imp and will probably purchase more sometime down the road.

Dana O’Shee - Wow. I don't understand how Dana O'Shee can have so many fans. It is sickeningly sweet, and smells nothing like real almond, but has that atrocious artifical almond scent found in cheap almond pastes and amaretto liqueurs. It lasted on my skin a good long while, had a moderate level of throw, but the scent was nauseatingly cloying. Off to the swap pile it went and is thankfully long gone from my life now.

The Coiled Serpent - I do not like the fragrance of this blend. It’s smoky and woody, full of dry patchouli and what smells like vetiver and frankincense to me. I understand it has a spiritual purpose relating to the root chakra, but I am not one for chakra work, so I can only judge it on scent. This seems highly masculine and I can’t imagine ever wearing it for fragrance purposes. I don’t find it a pleasant scent in the least. The level of throw is far, and the staying power is a good 4-5 hours, as patch usually lasts on me longer than other lighter scents. This one isn’t for me. ETA: Over time, I've noticed that after the drydown, vetiver works gorgeously on me, and this one has turned into a lovely scent on me. I love revisiting scents I tried years ago and finding I can enjoy them now, as my skin chemistry and scent preferences change. This one smells resinous, woody, gritty, husky, smoky, and lovely on me now!

Namaste - I can’t express my delight at finding yet another BPAL blend with jasmine in it where the jasmine doesn’t overpower everything it comes in contact with. This is a gorgeous scent on me. In the vial, it’s predominantly dry and woody, but as soon as it touches my skin, the lemongrass becomes the dominant note, and it’s really fresh and invigorating. The jasmine is barely discernible and lends an odd twist to the overall scent, but it’s not unpleasant, just … well…unexpected. The rose serves to smooth and round out the scent, keeping the lemongrass from being overly-sharp and crisp. On my skin, the patchouli is nowhere to be found and there is the faintest touch of sandalwood and cedarwood that does little more than serve as a backdrop to emphasize the other notes that stand in center-stage. This is the kind of scent I would love to have in a body lotion that I apply after showing in the morning as an invigorating force that would help wake me up. Likewise, I think it would make a gorgeous room scent. It has a light amount of throw and lasts for hours. Phenomenal scent. I think I’ll hang on to this one for a while.

Magus is very woody and on me, quite masculine. I didn’t smell any of the “wet, green” scent that a lot of reviewers notes. Rather, it was predominantly sandalwood with a hint of cedar. I couldn’t detect any of the High John or frankincense notes. It was simply a dry, woody scent on my skin. Not bad, but certainly neither impressive nor memorable. On me, it just smells very common. It smelled the same an hour later as it did when I first applied it. The scent stayed pretty close to my skin, and I was testing it on the back of my hand and fairly sad to discover that it only lasted about an hour and then disappeared with my first hand-washing (whereas the other scent I was testing on the back of my other hand lasted about 8 hours and survived many hand-washings). I’m not impressed.

Velvet – My first impression to Velvet, immediately upon putting it on my skin, was that it was all cocoa. I thought perhaps I’d found a less sweet replacement for Bliss (which I wear, but is too sweet for my taste). Within two minutes, however, the dark cocoa faded into a soft, dark, and deep sandalwood that was slightly reminiscent of Freak Show. This is a truly gorgeous scent! This is not, however, something I would wear. It’s not feminine enough for me. But I told my husband I want him to wear it, and I’m really hoping he will. This is a really sexy scent and I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my hands off my husband if he decides to wear it.

Arcana - This scent rocks! On my skin, it is predominantly lemon verbena with a touch of herbs and the smoky-incense quality of frankincense – a scent I don’t normally like, but which blends gorgeously with the other notes. It’s simultaneously bright and dark, and I love that about it. Arcana has just a lovely level of throw, where I don’t smell it all the time, but I get wafts of it that perk me up and make me wonder where that pretty scent is coming from, and of course, I smile and sniff my arm as soon as I realize it’s me! It has good staying power, and when it fades, all of the notes seem to go out together and none fade before any of the others. This is a gorgeous and perfectly-blended scent that will stay in my collection and be worn again soon.

Blood Amber - Absolutely gorgeous! Blood Amber is a beautiful combination of warm, sensual amber mixed with a pinch of resinous dragon's blood, and the combination knocks my socks off! It's rich and warm and comforting and soothing. I find that when I don't know what scent I want to wear, if I pick Blood Amber, it fits perfectly, no matter what my mood. It's also a great soothing, warm scent to wear at night and while it's not (to my knowledge) known for being a scent that aids sleep, it lulls me off into happy, cozy, dreamland every time. I have a decanted imp someone sent me, and I fully plan to buy a 10 ml bottle. Two actually -- I think my sister will love this, too.

Ephemera - I had really hoped that the violet in Ephemera would be the dominant note – or at least be somewhat present, but I couldn’t smell it at all. Upon first applying it, the tea rose and chamomile were the dominant notes, but upon dry-down, Ephemera became an incredibly subtle and light scent. It’s very pretty and softly floral, but incredibly faint and sticks closer to my skin than almost any other BPAL scent. If I didn’t know I was wearing it, I probably wouldn’t notice it at all. I don’t care to wear it on my skin due to how quickly it fades on me, but if I can get a little more scent strength by using a scent locket, I’ll definitely keep it around.

Delirium - This is a nice apple scent on me. I don't get any of the rose or lemon, which bums me out because I'm a huge fan of BPAL rose scents. I applied this a little over 3 hours ago, and it's fading fast, although the 3-4 hour point is usually when I have to reapply BPAL oils. It's nice and there's really nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't WOW! me, and if I want to smell sweet, tart, crisp apples, I'm just going to use my DKNY Be Delicious perfume spray.

Umbra is dark and heavy on my skin – way too dark and heavy for me. It is chock full of notes that don’t work on me individually (black patch, cedar, vetiver, and cinnamon) and which, I’ve discovered, are thoroughly appalling on my skin when blended together. The scent is very heavy, thick, and woody, and it’s not feminine at all, which precludes it from being something I’d ever wear. It has a pretty strong level of throw and while the cinnamon fades within the first hour, the other notes last on my skin for about 6 hours.

Blood - About four years ago, I picked up a bottle of Dragon’s Blood from a vendor at a street fair. I got their card, and promptly lost it. It was a gorgeous blend – the best Dragon’s Blood I’d ever encountered, and since I used it up, I’ve never quite forgiven myself for losing their business card. I have been searching for the perfect Dragon’s Blood fragrance ever since, and while I like most of them, none of them are the Dragon’s Blood. And then I tried Blood. It’s so beautiful and it’s exactly like the Dragon’s Blood oil for which I’ve been searching for years. It’s so perfectly like the other oil, that the first time I applied it, a flood of memories from that time in my life rushed over me. The drop of cherry blends perfectly with the other notes, but gives it a hint of fruitiness that makes me slightly tempted to pour it into a goblet and drink it up – but that would be yucky in the end! The myrrh doesn’t bother me in the least in this blend. It depends and darkens the fragrance. The clove adds just the tiniest touch of dark spice, adding yet another dimension to this oil that makes it just so incredibly gorgeous. It has the perfect amount of throw and it lasts and lasts. This is worth a full bottle. Yes, it really is. Out of the past 100 or so BPAL blends I’ve tried, this one is by far the most beautiful and emotionally evocative scent.

Twenty-One - I have never cared for Gin. I think it smells and tastes exactly like Pine Sol. As someone who enjoys all different types of vodka and liqeuer martinis, and who has not touched gin since the last time I kissed a guy I used to date who drank gin (which was quite a few years ago), it didn't even occur to me that Twenty-One might be made to smell like a gin martini. But that's apparently what it's supposed to be, and I found it foul immediately upon opening up the imp. It smelled like I'd dunked my head in a bucket of Pine Sol. And the moment I applied it to my skin, it smelled like Pine-Sol. It's an incredibly powerful scent with tons of throw, and for as long as I wore it, I was sure people would think I would the Pine Sol Fairy because of the way I smelled. I can't speak to it's staying power, as I had to wash it off after 20-30 minutes. It was too strong and unpleasant. I won't be touching this one ever again. Into the swap pile it goes!

Absinthe - I love Absinthe!!! It smells just like the homemade absinthe an ex-bf and I used to make when we were young and silly. It's strange because it's very powerful (i.e., a little goes a very long way), but not in the least cloying. I really smell the mint in it, and while I don't usually like mint-scented things, this blend is just lovely. Very fresh and refreshing. The folks at work, however, followed the trail of licorice scent they were smelling, and it led right to my office, so apparently to others, it's more licorice-ey and less minty. I am getting a second imp of this, and at that point, I'll decide if I will wear it enough to warrant the purchase of a full bottle. But I could really see myself potentially wearing a lot of this in the spring/summer months especially/

Din, Madim, the Heavenly Court, the Consuming Fire, Divine Wrath, the Force that Contains the Seeds of Sitra Ahra. Geburah is predominantly leather on me. More specifically, it is almost a duplicate of De Sade. However, once it dries down, it has something dark and husky in the background that reminds me of frankincense or myrrh, and I like it a lot more than De Sade. It's got some kick-ass staying power, and a nice level of throw that lasts and lasts, as well. This is one blend that I can apply in the morning and not have to reapply all day long, and I can still catch wafts of it when I'm simply going about my daily business and not trying to smell it. Fabulous blend, and I highly recommend it to the leather-lovers out there.

Chokmah - Sniffed in the vial, it smelled slightly fruity and resinous, and reminds me a lot of Hunger. As soon as I applied it to my skin, the note that I'd identified as fruity was still evident, but it was less fruity to the point that I think it's something other than fruit. It's hard to explain -- it's fruity...but not. On my skin, the scent is even more resinous than in the vial, and reminds me a lot of Snake Oil. It takes on a slightly floral and light powdery scent, so I'm pretty certain this blend has a touch of orange blossom in it (because orange blossom usually gets slightly powdery on me). I would also guess that there's amber in this blend, as well as vanilla. It reminds me of what I'd get if I layered Snake Oil and Hunger. I have only tried three Sephiroth blends on my skin so far, although I've sniffed all of them. I look forward to testing the others, but I think I may have found the Sephiroth that will be my favorite. Chokmah is gorgeous, sweet, resinous, and exotic. It's a lovely blend, and will be well-loved by me.

Malkuth - Oh wow, this is a gorgeous scent! The tiniest bit on the back of my hand fills the air around me with scent. It’s warm and spicy, and has a hint of something that I think may be cocoa. The scent lasts for hours and the throw remains strong for several hours, as well. As it starts to fade, the scent of patchouli becomes evident, something I hadn’t noticed at all during the first few hours of wearing it. This is a complicated and gorgeous blend. Truly an excellent work of art on Beth’s part!

Tiphareth - I have a strong physical reaction to this scent. I completely repulsed by it. The scent makes me nauseated. After first applying it, I thought perhaps whatever is in it that makes me sick would wear off, but after 90 minutes, it was still making me sick to my stomach. The scent is some sort of wood (pine?) combined with a powdery floral and probably some sort of resin, as well. All of the notes combine together to create an overall scent of burnt tires. Reminds me somewhat of really cheap scotch. It doesn't work on me, and I can't imagine having this near me ever again. It's just awful. It doesn't have much throw, fortunately, but it does have incredible staying power. I'm going to go wash it off now as best as I can so I don't get even more sick to my stomach. This is bad on me. Really bad.

Netzach - Roses! This is the typical BPAL rose that's found in blends like Kurukulla, Erato, Persephone, The Empress, Water of Notre Dame, Nocturne (TAL), etc. However, it's blended with a note that initially makes me think of dry herbs, but as the blend dries down, that herbal note morphs into more of an incense-like note. Upon dry-down, there is also a very faint aquatic note in the background of this blend. It's very pretty. It lasts for a couple of hours on my skin, which for me, is fair to average staying power. However, it has virtually no throw on me, even when it's first applied. This is a nice rose, but doesn't knock my socks off enough to buy a bottle.