LittleGreyKitten

This Full Moon marks the time of the year when the new antlers of buck deer emerge from their foreheads, coated in soft velvet. This is a time of masculine vigor, thunder, balmy nights, glorious sunlight and hot winds. Buck Moon is an animalistic, deep scent: an amplification of one's natural musk coupled with forest herbs, a hint of clear, warm evening air and a crystalline spark of lunar oil. OK. The first imp I got of this had gone off or something. I got a second one and liked it much more- side by side they smell different... the first one, the musk had drowned everything and gone a bit sour or something, basically an example of bad aging I guess. Then I ended up lucking into a bottle and it's the same yum as the second imp. It's this soft, airy musk that throws this beautiful aura of scent. I like the throw more than the aroma I get with my nose plastered to my wrist, but I like that, too! I find this one hard to describe. It's very moonlit- fragile, dark, yet airy. The muskiness is lovely and light, not an overbearing dark musk. It is also a slightly cool smell; crisp with a hint of chill. Basically beautiful. It's not that long lasting on me- maybe only two hours or so. , 5 out of 5- utterly unique in the BPAL pantheon.

One of the sweet ladies I swapped with sent me an empty imp of Shub Niggurath to sniff, which I appreciated mightily. Much to my delight, since I've loved *way too many* hard to find expensive BPALs, I hated Shubbie. I hate, hate, hate gingersnaps, which probably explains this. I'm a huge unfan of sweet ginger things, and fresh ginger. I don't mind it in savory stuff, or cooked, but raw and/or sweet just icks me out. And Shub Niggurath smells sharply of sweet and raw ginge. Bleh. Thank god! I'm too biased against ginger to even bother rating it. It smells like it's description.

Hmm. This scent is kind of cacophonous. (Is that really I word?) The thirteen elements perhaps are not all sharing space cozily, but fighting a bit. I suspect this might do well with some aging, though. I get a TON of chocolate- not white at all- and something else, not really orangy but kind of fruity. And loads of spiciness in the background. Still I rather like it. It just is kind of extra strong on me. I may not wear it a ton. We'll see. I was wondering if it was going to remind me of Bulgari's Omnia, since it shares some notes in common (white chocolate, mandarin, tea) but not at all. (Omnia happens to me my very favorite perfume-perfume, which I still wear even now that I have BPAL to fritter money away on, and I once had a customer threaten to launch himself over the counter and molest me due to how good it smelled on me. Urg. Some days customer service is just SCARY.) Still, it's definitely interesting and I keep sniffing it trying to figure out what exactly it is I'm smelling. I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Another great Poe inspired scent. The cool white florals are definitely subtle, nobody is overwhelming in there. Moonflower is the major note I pick up. It reminds me intensely of a scent I wore about 10 years ago called Chinese Musk, which (contrary to the name) was very unmusky. This is less "me" than some BPAL smells, but I still am liking it a lot. The delicacy of the blend is really nice- I will definitely be able to wear this working customer service and not worry about annoying people with strong perfume. Not much throw, someone would have to be really close to you to smell it. I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5. EDIT: I bought this one lab-fresh in... January? Now, in April, it has aged some. Boy, has it improved. While I liked it before, I ended up not wearing it much- I guess I felt it was a little wimpy, honestly, it had some stiff competition, there are so many amazing BPAL oils. Now, it has developed quite a bit more depth and simply... changed. I am having a hard time explaining exactly how, but it smells significantly different than it did bright-and-shiny-new. Better. Definitely better. I suspect the orris has come out to play a bit more. The lily is a bit creamier smelling, and more noticeable I think, too. While before it could have masqueraded as a single-note moonflower to me, it has definitely become more than that with some time to mellow. It still isn't an overwhelming, heady floral- it is still absolutely dead on to it's description of being chill, white and crystalline, indeed star-like. But DEFINITELY give this a chance to age before making a decision about it. It really made an enormous difference for me, bumping it up from an enjoyable-but-seldom-used scent to one I reach for several times a week. I'd change my rating to a 5 for the aged version. And I'll probably be hunting down an extra bottle or two, the first I've needed for the DiMV scents.

Mmmm. This is a beautiful scent. It's got to be the amber and red musk sweeping me off my feet. The florals are blended so well I can't pinpoint any specific one- definitely no rose standing out, though I do like rose- but wow, the scent itself is delightful. The orange also seems so fully blended I can't discern it specifically. It does capture decadence and a golden pinnacle, I think. Very nice. It does remind me of something else by BPAL, mostly when it's wet, but I can't pinpoint just what. I thought maybe it was Jacob's Ladder, but not really. I'd give it a 5 out of 5, I'll definitely be wearing this one a lot. Edit: The thing it reminds me of is Tarot: The Sun. It's not identical, but it must have some note or two in common. Of the two, Haunted Palace is my favorite, though I like The Sun quite a lot too.

This just doesn't smell appealing on me. Evil dryer sheets is about what I would call it. It might smell OK on the boy, but I'm not entirely convinced of that. It may just make him smell of Satan's Laundromat or something. I really can't pinpoint the notes, and I didn't really leave it on all that long to contemplate them either. I didn't get floral, or aquatic, or spicy, though, that's for sure.

Dunwich is what I'd hoped Yog Sothoth would smell like, but didn't. It's cool, unagressive (almost faint) and has an airy sweetness to it. I get more ozone than aquatic from it. The bog lilies are just a background sweet note, not deadly strong, at least on my skin anyway. It reminds me more of "air and darkness" than a bog. Nothing sharp and green, and it smells kind of like clean sheets in a weird way. And it has a bit of a sharpness to it too, that I can't pinpoint. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

I found this to be a lovely scent- I had to get a full size in the last BPAL order I placed, since my imp is going fast! It's creamy and soft, not overwhelmingly sweet, with a lovely spicy undertone, with a bit of smokiness but not too much. I'm not sure what pure dragon's blood smells like, but I am charmed by this scent. It doesn't last very long on me though; it's one I'll need to reapply during the day, or put something else on midday. I like though, very much. It does remind me a bit of Snake Oil, but much less potent. I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5, rather than a full 5 due to it's disappearing act.

The initial wet scent reminds me a lot of O, which makes sense since O is honeyed too. Then the honey fades on drydown, and then it gets strongly incensy, which some of the lunar oils (sweet or foody ones usually) seem to do on me. I do like BPAL's honey smells, but O is it for me, this one can't replace it by a long shot. The other notes in O combine to make heaven, while the other notes in this one just don't tickle my fancy nearly as much. I'd give it a 3 out of 5, with no need for a full size.

I was surprised at how lovely this was on me. I wasn't sure what jasmine would do- seems to be a love-or-hate note to many, and the reports of much rosemary also worried me; rosemary is my least favorite herb to eat, anyway. So I didn't order a full size, figuring I'd imp it first. And wow, it is amazing. I can't pick out the notes really, but I don't smell rosemary thank god. It is pretty floral but also light, which is nice. It doesn't whop one over the head with floweriness. The color that pops into my head when I sniff this is a medium bluegreen, vibrant but soft. It has a bit of good sharpness too, just a hint- if that's rosemary, it isn't much like any experience I've ever had with it before. I have no clue what opium poppies in perfume smell like. Real opium poppies smell bitter, bitter, bitter, bitter, and densely "green"- not in a good way. Not anything we'd want to smell like, in other words. So anyway, I'm happy to report that Sleeper doesn't smell of bitter green ass. Yay! I'd also say that this lasts pretty well, especially for a lighter scent (I mean, I expect Snake Charmer to last, but not this one!) I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I'll definitely get a full size (OK, I already have one on the way, I admit it!)

Wow, this is incredibly similar to Snow Moon to me. I love, love, love Snow Moon. I had no clue I loved well-done pine/fir scents until I encountered it. Then came Talvikuu. Now Snow Bunny. When I first tried an imp of this off eBay, I truly wondered if it was labeled right, it smelled so much like Snow Moon to me. Then I got a second imp in swap, and it was identical to the first, so I know it was correct after all. Time to experiment, clearly! So as I sit here with one wrist wet with Snow Bunny, and one wet with Snow Moon, I find Snow Bunny to be significantly sweeter and less icy than Snow Moon. They have an equal, strong hit of fir needle, and an icy, snowy heart. I don't get cute or girly out of Snow Bunny. It's too wintery and foresty. I'm picturing this as the "day" version of Snow Moon- a frozen forest, but with bright sun glinting off individual snowflakes, making sparkles everywhere, rather than illuminated cooly by a full moon. (Pink Moon and Pink Phoenix though, those are G-I-R-L-Y). To me it's crisp & cold- bottled winter forest. I love the name though! OK, as I sit here wrist-sniffing, they get way more identical dry. I can barely tell which wrist had what. *Pause. Sniff.* Actually, there's some mint now in Snow Bunny. And it isn't as sweet as it started out. Actually I'd say that Snow Moon is sweeter now. *Pause. Sniff.* Yep. It is. It started out vice versa, and now that they're almost dry but not quite, the Bunny is actually the one I'd call icier, colder and not as sweet. Huh. Funky body chemistry I guess. *Pause for more sniffing of self.* No doubt about it. On me this morphs from a sweeter, lighter version of Snow Moon's wet scent, to a colder and darker version of Snow Moon. Snow Moon gets much sweeter and softer on me as it dries, and Snow Bunny gets cooler and deeper. I had The Boy sniff wrists, and with no prompting he confirmed that Snow Moon is much sweeter on me. "Hm. Like sitting on an ice shelf with a penguin!" he says about Snow Bunny. (Maybe it's true name is Snow Penguin?) I love them both. They're awfully similar still but heck if I care. I would bathe in either one if I could. I have an imp of Skadi to test soon, I'll update with my comparison of that too. I can't say that Talvikuu is too similar (when I wear it) to either of these, though it does have the "icy" and "piney" thing going. It has a much darker, colder heart, that reminds me way more of a pine rather than mint version of Nuclear Winter. I also heart those two as well. Guess icy scents really do it for me. 5 out of 5.

I have an ancient imp of this, which (before I knew it was discontinued) I got around to re-testing recently. Indeed, I didn't love it. I found it too sharp, too lavender-y, and just not as wonderful as plenty of other BPAL scents. I lost probably 2/3 of this in the bottom of a tackle box over the two years it was hiding in it, oh well. At least it wasn't my true love! Though my tackle box now smells potently of Cheshire Cat.

Glad I full-bottled this one (thanks Carolyn!!) This is a truly nice sweet but bright scent. Light in feeling but it is pretty strong- I don't need much. I get the tea scent, but mostly because it's akin to other perfumes that claim "tea" notes, not that it actually smells much like real tea (real green tea=fishy to me) but it is similar to Bulgari's Green Tea, etc. In all the good ways. I have not a friggin clue what oude smells like- it must be good though, since HM is lovely. Or bamboo for that matter I'd give it a 5 out of 5. Good for anywhere, anytime- not too sexy for work, not too mild mannered to go out and cause trouble

It's taken me almost a year and a half to appreciate this one. At first try it was almost like I had an allergic reaction to it, itching and turning my skin red and stuff. Now, after some time has passed, it doesn't bother my skin and thus I can appreciate it more. It does have the strawberry undertone that is the basis of Strawberry Moon. It is a lot like Pink Moon, but darker. This one has an incense undertone on me that is interesting, and makes it a lot less fluffycute than I think most folks are getting. It's like pink strawberry sugar with a waft of incense. Unusual and fun! It is quite strong on me too. I really like it but don't wear it a ton... I tend to grab Pink Moon a bit more instead, as it isn't quite as strong on me. Pink Phoenix is almost too strong, like I worry about annoying people around me. Pink Moon is less incensy and more just pinksugary goodness, and much less potent smelling on me. So it gets more wear. But I'm trying to remember to grab this one more, it's fun. I don't pick the notes of pear, honeycomb or vanilla, actually. Just strawberry, incense and sugar. Still, it's yummy, and I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5. And yeah, it lasts like mad- if I didn't shower, probably 24 hours. At least.

Spooky is my new pet. Spooky smells like minty coconutty (but not bad) sweet yumminess. I need more Spooky, clearly. It's pretty complex for such a sweet scent. I get a bare hint of chocolate. I smell no rum on my skin. It has a creamy background scent. It's one I reach for a whole lot. My boy asked to be Spookified the last time I was fussing with an imp of this and we were watching a movie. I caught him nose/wristing a few times after that! I'm not the only one around here who's hooked on the Spook. I don't get any rum out of it, and I swear there's something buttery in there. It reminds me of the butteriness of Midway. I use a LOT of Spooky- it's just perfect on me. I get lots of compliments on it too. The mint is the most fugitive note- it lasts for a few hours, while the buttery creamy slightly chocolate/coconutty goodness lasts for a really long time, about 6 hours or so. My skin is rather dry so that's a long time for me. I'd give it a 5 out of 5. Edited some months later to add: Spooky is still one of my go-to blends (some I obsess over at first, and then burn out on; not Teh Spook though). I wear it a ton, I slather it, and just generally enjoy the hell out of it. At this point in my BPAL addiction, the boy is fully jaded and uninterested, and almost never comments, but whenever I put Spooky on he says "Wait, wait, which one is that? I like that one!" It's great in the summer too, light and minty and yummy.

Mrrr. There's something that turns horribly wrong on my skin in this. I suspect the fruit is the culprit- I'm betting on plums, and boy are they disagreeing with me (same as they did in one of the Yule blends described similarly- Midwinter's Eve I think). I do get sweet but I then get soouuur icky nasty pruny fruit. Bleh. Buttfruit is the way I described the smell in Midwinter's Eve, and it's definitely the same as in Sugar Skull. But I love the name! On me, 2 out of 5.

Beaver Moon was one I first loved, then rejected, and now have made peace with. In fact I've been adoring it, to be honest. It's extremely strong on my skin, and must be applied with caution- I do best when I have an imp to apply with rather than the bottle, I tend to get too much on with the bottle. Anyway, the scent of cheesecake, frosting, and definite graham cracker crust is amazing. Delicious. Husband always says "You smell like cotton candy" when I wear it. Yes. Beav is yummy. 5 out of 5. I had no idea foody scents captivated me as much as they have, but there you go. Edited to add: the graham cracker crust scent is cassia. I realize that now after the unpleasant experience that was Monster Bait: Underbed. A little bit of cassia like in the Beav here goes a looonnnnng way. Too much is unpleasant, and irritates my skin. Beaver Moon can too, actually- I have to apply it far up on my forearms because it makes my wrists itch.

Like SpringSnow up there, I got MAAAAJOR incense out of this. So strong that I had someone walk in the front door of the store I work at and say "What smells like incense?" Um. Me. From 15 or 20 feet away, behind a counter. And someone I work with chimed in "Yep, it's your perfume!" (She's been helping me test my various smelly things ) And I'd only swiped the teeeeeensiest bit of PM on me from the lip of the bottle. That is some seriously strong stuff, whoa! I did love the scent- sweet, sugary, with this amazingly strong smokey, background aroma. Then there was this crystalline smell too, that must be the lunar oil thing going on, since it shares that with Chaste Moon & Milk Moon. Of them, I like Pink the best- it's the most interesting, and the smoky/sweet thing it alchemizes into is amazing. I checked again and there really is a huge difference between what it smells like in the bottle vs. skin. I'll definitely handle with care- my 5ml will probably last forever. And the dab I put on lasted, and lasted, and lasted. Dang. I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

Midway was amazing on me. I sometimes like pink'n'sickly-sweet things. I admit it. Midway is definitely SWEET and not just a little, but it is delicious, and luckily it didn't do anything funky on my skin. Caramel is in there, so is popcorn... basically a fun girly smell. It didn't last forever on me though- I think it lasted about 3 or 4 hours, which is not that long for a BPAL scent. Still, worth reapplying. I'd call it a 5 out of 5. EDIT: This is one I use a lot more than I guessed I would. I really love it. I love the fact that there's just a hint of creaminess under it all, and the mix of sweet scents is just divine.

In the bottle, it smells overwhelmingly sweet and creamy. Then, as it dries it softens, leaving a luscious heavy-cream vanilla sweet scent. It's very comforting. It is absolutely like the description. I LOVE going to sleep wearing it. This one I liked a lot when I tried first, but it's become one of my absolute favorites. It lasts shockingly well too. It's delish and creamy when wet, but even better dry. Absolutely the bee's knees. I'm sooo grateful to a sweet forum member (bloodlotus1) for being so kind as to sell it here rather than auctioning it on eBay. I looove it and am very glad to have a full size! I broke down and got a second bottle, after I'd realized I'd made a decent dent in this one already. I really think this is one of the most amazing BPAL blends by far, it's amazingly creamy but not foody at all in my opinion. I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

Again with the regret for not getting a full size. I really love Cracked Bell, and had no clue I would from the description. It is a little sharp- the metallic note I guess- but it is sweetly incensy which I love, and basically lovely. Especially as it develops, it softens and becomes yummier yet. I have not a clue what it is I'm smelling- metal and blood are not what I'd actually use to describe this one, yet actually picking out notes is tough. It has no florals that I can tell, it does have some smokiness in a good way, and it's a bit spicy. It has a clear sharp note above all, that I'm not sure what it is but is sweet. 5 out of 5.

I thought there wasn't a chance this would work for me. Plums? Usually they of all fruit are sour butt when in contact with my skin. Surprise! Kitsune-Tsuki is a white smelling light floral with just enough backbone to keep it from being generic. I like it quite a bit. The only down side is that it didn't last well on me, compared to many BPALs. It kind of evaporated after about an hour. So I'll probably enjoy my imp, but not likely to upgrade to a bottle. Still, nice scent! I'd give it a 3.5 factoring in the disappearing act.

I was sure Lenore wouldn't work for me. (So sure, in fact, that I didn't order a bottle ) Anyway, I sniffed the imp and thought, yuck. Not a chance. And the first 10 minutes or so on my skin also supported that conclusion. Then I caught this amazing, spicy, dark and lovely aroma wafting by. Huh? Yep, after it dries it transforms into something quite beautiful and unique. I absolutely adore it. Dang it! It is totally unique. The only note I can pick out is the lemon, which is very faint on me. The description does nail it- it is extremely dark smelling. I frankly have no clue what vetiver smells like, but it seems to be something I enjoy, since other blends with vetiver have been good for me. I made my wrist-sniffing-slave, oh, I mean husband, smell it both wet and dry and he agreed that it indeed did smell like a wholly different perfume. Poor boy, he's had my wrist stuck under his nose so many times a day nowadays! I'd give this a 4.5 out of 5. EDIT: I just read the other reviews and I was surprised to see that I wasn't the only one reminded of Snake Charmer. I thought I'd lost my mind and was imagining it- reading the notes, there aren't any in common that I noticed. Anyway, it's much darker and I do like Snake Charmer more- I could safely say it's my favorite I think- but Lenore is lovely too, just darker and more herbal.

Jack surprised me. I don't do well with fruits, and the idea of smelling like a pumpkin really didn't grab me. I hadn't read any reviews of it- it simply never sounded interesting enough to bother- and I really wasn't expecting any buttery aroma. However, I imp-sniffed and thought... hmm? Buttery gingerbread? Interesting! On the skin the butter stays but the spice comes out strongly, and a wonderful sweet clear peach. And the butter smell is really a great one on me- delicious, not cloying. I can't believe it! A fruit smell that didn't immediately sour on me. Wow. I still don't get a "jack-o-lantern" idea from this but oh, man, it's just the perfect thing for long rainy Northwest winters. Seratonin in a bottle. It's pitch dark and pouring outside as it has been for almost forty straight days, and wrapping myself in a lap blanket and reading while slathered with Jack sounds perfect. Truly a wonderful surprise. I didn't expect much of anything, and instead it's amazing. Cool! 5 out of 5.

This scent fascinated me when I test drove it today. When I plastered my nose to my wrist, I got strong floral all the way- a beautiful blend which I really liked, but basically just a sweet flowery smell. However, from a distance the tobacco came out intensely. When I just caught a whiff as I moved around, it was the sweet, deep and dark scent of vanilla infused pipe tobacco. I actually love that smell, and I really enjoyed this. The boy wasn't as huge a fan, but who cares right? I'll wear it for sure. I did happen to have an asthma attack while this was still pretty strong, so I'm PRAYING it wasn't the perfume, since it's rare that I have one without some allergy-inducing thing around. We'll see, I'm sure. I'd give it a 4.5 out of 5, just because Devil's Night was even better when I tried it today too.