catalyst

Unfortunately, that's exactly what I got. At work. And I'm a guy. The throw is so strong that someone wondered what the deal was with the air freshener when she walked into the building. Um, sure, that's what it is. Air freshener. *headdesk* Awkward. Uh... I was just looking for some luck, not to smell like a whorehouse. I'm also wondering what hanna is, and why I don't want any. Anybody know?

That's what I'm wondering. The more I think about Black Tower, however, the more I'm thinking it's ambergris.

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Got a tiny, tiny sample in a batch of imps, with only a couple drops in it, but this one likes me a lot. Sucks that it's gone forever, both from the lab and from my vial. I would never have guessed half those notes, and didn't, in fact. I was guessing musk, amber, and maybe a little leather. It's warm and furry, but not the cruel monster people think of when they think of a Minotaur. It has a soul, a softness, that makes you want to bury your face in it, but it's a little bit on the wild side, too. Definitely a strong resin that makes a statement. I would have slathered it if I could. I can see this as a masculine soap or massage oil too, although it's not as overtly sexual as Satyr is. Love it. I really wish I could get more of this somehow.

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I don't like vanilla, which ruined The Antiklsfjksa Mechanism for me, but otherwise it was a really great wood.

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I have a huge list of everything I've ever tried. It's currently 11 pages long and still growing. I have yet to figure out what that lingering death note is that I keep encountering. It's the very last thing that hangs on for hours, that can turn an amazing scent like Antony into a powdery cheap cologne thing at the very end of it. I'm suspecting amber, ambergris, frankincense, myrrh, benzoin and musk. Which sucks, because I like where all of them start off. But sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn't, it's very puzzling. I think I need to start a "suspect note" database. But what if more than one are doing it? Or a combination? God, Antony was a heartbreaker. That still kills me. In every other way it was freaking perfect. tl;dr Suspect note database.

I like how clean this is. Just fresh aquatic with a little dragon's blood, but not much. It does ride that edge of maybe floral, but I think I can get away with it in the right situation. This would be great as a shower soap.

I like it, especially when it's still in the honeymoon stage of the first hour or so after drying, but that last lingering note that hangs around for the rest of the day is something I don't like. Not sure what it is, but after a few hours I'm done with it. I can see the appeal, though. It's just not for me.

I like this a lot. I didn't get any cat pee type of thing. This one is hard to pick the notes out of for me, maybe because I don't know them that well, but I know what I like. And I do like this a lot. It seems like a light wood to me, not sweet like sandalwood, but about the same weight, if that makes any sense. There's a definite raw edge to it, like a broken wooden cedar or balsam board in a forest house. The musk and civet give it an animal feel, but something with pale fur, not a bear. If it was like a bear I'd say this must be what Beorn's house smells like in The Hobbit. This is a fantastic blend. Unisex but on the masculine side. Going off to see if I can find a bottle of it.

I was intregued by the name of this one, and I'm not very familiar with those notes, so I thought maybe I was taking a chance that I'd hate it in a recent swap. I really don't get the overly-dramatic gothic description at all. This is a 1940s sultry bombshell on a stage in a dark, upscale nightclub where it's cigars instead of cigarettes, and 20-year port instead of bourbon. It's the female version of Satyr. Almost so sweet and sticky that it goes foodie, like a dark burnt sugar chocolate caramel, but not quite. It stays on the resin/pipe tobacco side of that. My female housemate has already claimed it for her own. Way too sweet and floral for me. They should re-name this Eartha Kitt. That's perfect. Yes.

Interesting. I get a lot more wet leaves and cinnamon out of this than fir and wine. Which is not a bad thing. It's not overly... anything. It's a good even blend with a definite fall personality that, in my opinion, is toward the feminine side of unisex, because there's an underlying fruity sweetness that pushes it that direction. What throws is the spices, however, so I think I can get away with this one. This gift imp is a keeper. Very nice.

I'm confused about something. There's no rose in the notes anywhere, unless I don't understand what "Byzantine incense" is, but the first page of reviews is talking about how there's tons of rose in this. What? I got no rose. Which is good, because I don't want any rose. There's something bright yet musky in there that could maybe be mistaken for rose? Maybe there's some dark musky rose in the "Byzantine incense?" Maybe they changed the formula and backed off on the rose, or it depends on the batch? Whatever the case, this seems very unisex to me, and I like it a lot actually. I don't do florals. But something unisex with a little bit of floral in the background is all right, which is what this is on me. I agree with voodoocatwoman, it has a sharpness to it, but it's a good herb and resin sharpness that I like, along the lines of Licwiglunga. I get incense, resins, herbs and maybe a sweet wood. When it's totally dry and the heavier notes are gone, it goes a little powdery, but it's a unisex powdery that I don't mind. It's not one of those lingering notes that goes "cheap cologne" at the end (like whatever did that in Antony that ruined an otherwise perfect scent for me). The imp's a keeper. Might look for a bottle, not sure yet.

No, actually, that was pretty accurate. I didn't get nearly as much floral, though. But dirt, a hint of something metallic and then... I'm not sure what. A dry leafy woody something with a hint of dried flowers. Whatever the heck is in it, I really like it a lot. I consider it unisex because the dried flowers are subtle and maybe a little elegant, like a sweet wood or a sweet tobacco. Where I didn't like the dirt in Zombi because it was just too moldy (ignoring the overbearing rose, ew), this is much more dry and goes with all the other dry elements. This is a keeper.

If you're one of those people that picks up on that indole family thing that paperwhites have, do not get this. Indole, turns out, is in a family of scents like paperwhites, stargazer lillies and jasmine, and is one of the chemicals that causes feces to smell bad. Which some people can detect more than others, men more than women apparently. So... musky flower poop. No thanks.

In the first couple of minutes, it was pretty good, a lot of autumn notes, and I thought I'd like it. Then the fir and green cognac got in a fistfight and everybody lost. It turned into a sharp green and went sort of cat piss once the mellower short-lived brown notes started to go. Had to wipe it off, which is unusual for me.

I like this. It seems very masculine to me, so I'm surprised by how many women like it, and how it's created for a female creature. At first it's a dark forest full of decomposing branches and oakmoss but with an undertone of anise. After about five or ten, I'm getting what I have to call tobacco leaf, even though it's not in the notes. I think it's the moss combining with the anise. I'm not getting any civet at all, as far as I can tell. My verdict is that it ends up as tobacco leaf with a hint of cologne, whatever the notes started out as. The imp is a keeper, but I don't think I want a whole bottle of it.

My one and only complaint is that it disappears so quickly. After an hour, it's gone except for the faintest hint of a dusty leather right on the skin itself. I've checked out other book and paper scents, like Philologus, but this one actually really does smell like a very old leather-bound book that's been around the block. I don't get any of the smoker's tar that some other people have mentioned, the tobacco is very mellow like a plain pipe tobacco in a pouch, which some very old books can actually smell like a bit, depending on the type of paper and where they've been. Keep in mind that this is about a Bible, so the incense in the background is perfect. Frankincense, probably, and maybe a little dot of something floral, like for Mary. It seems like there's an aged wood in here too, like old oak pews maybe, but it's not on the note list. Could be my imagination. Years and years of church incense and candle smoke has worked its way into a leather-bound Bible that's several hundred years old. As an ex-Catholic, this hits home with me. It's comforting and familiar. The lab has done a perfect job with this one. It's on my wish list for future bottle purchases.

Native to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, this fruit turns to ashes when plucked as a sign of God’s displeasure. Green apple with an herbal background. Eh. Boring. Swapping.

*sigh* I've been wanting to try this one really badly, and just got it in a swap. I definitely get that medicinal note strongly when it's wet, and after about 15 it's still there faintly. It reminds me of a veterinarian's office, where you get that medicinal twang mixed with something furry and a little musky. I like the sassafras in Tombstone, but here it's clashing with something in a bad way. Off to the swaps.

I was a little worried about the booze note, but oh man is this good. There's refined leather, like in The White Rider, and then there's this. It's raw, masculine, tough cowboy leather and it's amazing. It's almost entirely leather on me but with hints of other things that make it more interesting and complex. Good thing you ladies can't smell me through the screen because I'd have to beat you off with a stick. *charming grin* This is going on my short list for future purchases. I think this is my favorite rough leather blend yet, with my favorite refined leather blend being The White Rider, of course. This is in my top 15 for sure, and possibly my top 10. Love it.

This is pretty much exactly what I got too, other than the citrus, although I can see why someone might say that. I couldn't put my finger on the honey part, but yes, exactly, there's a honey-like overtone, but like honeyed wood. Which makes no sense, but that's it. Myrrh and sweet herbs that are unidentifiable. You can't say "Oh, this is oregano and rosemary," it's just a nice mellow slightly herbal greenness that adds depth and sweetness. Keeper. I really like this. It's in the gray area of unisex, and walks the line of being feminine because of the sweetness, but I can get away with it I think. Edit: You know... I just tried this again four months after my original review, and the sweetness is morphing after about an hour into this cloying honey plastic kind of thing that I don't like. I don't get plastic notes out of most other BPAL, but this one ends up that direction the longer it goes on and after a few hours I want to wash it off. I just hit the "enough is enough" point and I'm done. Swapping it out, unfortunately.

Wow. I really like this. I was worried about the pine, because when I see pine, I think of Christmas candles that you want to huck out a window after a half hour. Not this. This is... *huffs*.... like being in a balsam forest, but darker and thicker somehow. Like a hyper-reality version of a balsam forest, like a real one is in 2D and this is in 3D. It's a sweet pitch with a thickness that makes your mouth water. I can't even describe this in English. Love it. Putting it on my buy list.