LittleGreyKitten

Boys are so annoying sometimes. This was the first bottle my husband actually ASKED ME TO ORDER FOR HIM. Shocking. I read the notes to him, he was all intrigued and liked the name and stuff. So along came the Count with my other goodies. I plopped the Bottle o' Dracula next to the boy when it arrived. Where it sat, gathered dust, and was never opened even after weeks went by. So I filched it. On me, the ginger amps a lot. I've noticed that with other things- Storyville is so very ginger on me it's like a vanilla version of Shub. Shub Niggurath itself is a whopping boatload of ginger. I don't mind. I like Beth's ginger note. Dracula is like the manly version of Shub, on my skin. It's got much less of a "foody ginger" thing going on, and more of a sharp masculine thing. Not so much for me now I reaaallly want the boy to wear it. I do get a hint of clove, a bit of leather, but primarily it's ginger. The musk and patchouli are quiet for now. I assume they may have more to say for themselves as time goes by. Now, I'm gonna find the boy, pin him down and douse him with Dracula, no matter how much he protests (and he will- he's committed to Talvikuu at the moment and won't have anything to do with any other scents). I have no doubt that it will be swoon-worthy on him, and probably less gingery.

Florals usually worry me. I like moonflower and phlox though, and sandalwood and night musk sounded awesome. And if I like any florals, it's usually white florals. So despite my misgivings I ordered a White Moon. Unfortunately violet, lily and probably lilac and wisteria are all I smell. It's ultra-cloying and everything I don't wear in one wee bottle. Violet is one of those that if I smell it strongly, it's nasty on me. So many of Beth's blends do tame the violet though, that it was worth trying. Oh well. Floral gambles often go wrong for me. On me, 2 out of 5. And oddly enough, I love the smell of real lilacs... no clue why I hate the scent in perfumes so much!

I am utterly bummed by Trick #2. Reading the glowing reviews above, I curse my skin chemistry even more for it's weirdness with pine that is not just plain pine (pitch, bark etc). As with Organ Grinder this just went horribly wrong. There is this scent in both, which isn't in the bottle, that appears as it dries on my skin that smells like death-mixed-with-a-hint-of-pine. Not so good. So many good notes in this ruined by that horrible DeathPine scent. I can smell them, but the other scent is just too strong and stomach churning. Oh well, 3 out of 4 isn't too bad.

SO DAMN GOOD. Oh lord, don't lick the arm, it won't taste as good as it smells! Gotta keep reminding myself... Anyway, this blend was the one I was most looking forward to. Boy was I right. It has great throw and wear length brand-new, which bodes well for it aging even better. The chocolate, coconut and fig are the strongest notes on my skin. Yet there is still orange... possibly the slightest breath of ginger (I heart Beth's ginger!). No mint to my nose, too bad but I don't really notice faint mint notes much, frankly. Essentially, this smells like something Godiva chocolates just WISHES they could create. The most decadent truffle ever. And you know what? It's not the sort of foody you get self concious about; something is keeping it sort of elegant, despite the drool-worthy qualities. I'm thinking it's the fact that it isn't bowl-you-over sweet. Its sort of grown-up, like an 85% dark chocolate; something that is rich and velvety but not tooth-achingly sweet. This is totally a BPAL masterpiece, and worth the extra $. Despite the orange chocolate thing, it is nothing like 13, I should add. They're totally different, though I like 13 a lot too. Now, I need to resign myself to one single bottle. Cannot hoard this one! Painful as that realization may be for me! Totally a 5 out of 5 for me, if not higher. (Thanks, labbies, for getting these out before Halloween- I can wear the shirts at work, they're seasonal, and therefore OK, whereas usually shirts with writing aren't, so I'm gonna wear these puppies constantly!!)

Huh. This is quite faint on me, which I *never* would have guessed from the description. It is almost totally gone after 30 minutes. It does smell quite good initially, though it requires nose-to-wrist plastering to get the scent. I don't get any florals (yay and halleluja!) but the red musk, patchouli, ginger, and vanilla are delicious. This is a candidate for The Sock Drawer of BPAL Aging if anything ever was. I suspect in a few weeks it will deepen a lot, and in a year it will be swoon-worthy. Now? Not quite yet, unfortunately. But it has major potential. Tricky indeed! I usually give scents a number rating but I just can't yet, it needs some time to mellow. EDIT: All right, now it's been in the wood box for 3 months or so. It is a little deeper, the notes are blended a bit more, and it's a little longer lasting, which is a very good thing. It is still a shy, understated blend on my skin though. I think it has it's place- when you want something that isn't to femme and floral but won't, say, freak your mother in law out for example. It is always going to be a "skin scent" on me- that is, you have to be within touching distance to smell it, it has no throw really. The components meld quite well- it's very smooth smelling, no one scent wins out over another. It's subdued and sweet with no sharp edges; if anything it's become so smooth that I can't pick out the notes at all, which I usually can, at least a bit. Trick 1 has no one prominent note though- if it was a Chaos Theory I'd be totally stumped. I wished it has a bit more backbone when I first got it, probably because that's what I was expecting from the list of notes. But I have come to appreciate it for it's own subtle qualities- it is a scent I'll wake up and just *have* to wear on occasion, though it's not one I grab frequently, as it's so precious in nature. I'd call this one a 4 out of 5, with some potential yet to be realized- I'm thinking it'll take a year at *least* for it to hit it's stride age-wise, which is another reason I'm trying to go easy on the bottle.

So much fun! Jolly ranchers, spot on. My husband took one sniff (and I didn't even force him to) and said "You smell like watermelon Jolly Ranchers!" He's learning. Yep, I do indeed. I likee. It has more complexity than just watermelon, there's other yummy fruitiness in there, but the sugar is killer good. Crystalline sweet, just like a hard candy. Very cool. May not wear it constantly, but for a treat (sorry, sorry! couldn't resist...) it will be fun. 5 out of 5. I found Xanthe to be very similar to Treat 1 here. Same sparkly sugared fruit scent, though not as watermelony (guava is prominent instead). But very much alike to my nose.

I ordered Brides with much, much trepidation. Florals are not my friend, even less so than I thought when I first got hooked on BPAL. Even the nice ones, I just do NOT wear. And osmanthus was a prominent note on one of the worst disappointments ever- Night's Pavilion. But I had to try Brides! The other notes sounded good. Plus the boy wanted the Count, so I just had to try Brides. On my skin, honey is quite noticeable. Musk, ditto. Unfortunately I'm getting some of the sharp/weirdness osmanthus too, and I still don't love it. The musk is nice though, and is much more noticeable. I'll be thinking on it, and possibly aging it some. And hoping the osmanthus backs off. Basically it's a nice, slightly darker blend with a note I don't love, and several I do. Luckily the musk and honey do overpower the floral by quite a bit, so it is possible it may grow on me. My skin is definitely amping the musk & honey- the longer it dries, the stronger they get. YMMV. For now it's a 3.5 out of 5.

Apples and apples and apples and apples and cranberry with spice. Yum! I really like it actually. It's a bit sweeter and spicier than a real apple, more like cider. I find it very fall-like and beautiful. If you don't like apples? No Punkie Night for you! 5 out of 5.

Awesome blend. Another wicked-good Weenie scent. This is similar to Jack, but like Jack poured over Storyville. This is sodamngood. Buttery. Gingery. Punkiny. Amazing. My husband hates it. I don't care. He can suffer. Because I want to roll in it. (He smells bubblegum out of it, which proves he's lost his olfactory sense.) Another off-the-scale good: 7 out of 5! Must get a second one to age. Oh and it lasts forever on me.

Oh wow. How cool is this? A soft, gorgeous incense blend, wafting over CAKE for god's sake! Oh man. This is awesome. The combination of scents is amazing. I love that it has the best incense in it ever. And cake. And together they're even better! The Halloweenies have totally blown me away. Thanks Beth!!! 6 or 7 out of 5. I should add that this scent loves my skin- it lingers, and lingers, and throws, and throws. I have to apply with caution or it'll leap across rooms at people.

This is flippin' gorgeous. I must have more! I forsee hoarding in my future... this is amazing on me. It's all caramel at first, and butterscotch and so, so good. It's like I wished Red Lantern smelled on me (but didn't). Then the apple peeks out. And it's even better. And then I smell the rum from Spooky. And it's just as good as it was in Spooky. And then I need to stop myself from licking my arm again. It's been almost impossible for me to pry myself away from this bottle and try the others. Damn this is good. EDITED TO ADD: My husband has lost his bloody mind. He hates this! And the only reason he can come up with is, "it's sweet." Yet he loves Spooky. Screw it. I don't care. He can suffer, I love this blend so much I really don't care.

This is very floral on me, not necessarily a dark one though, at least not to my nose. I'd call it a moonlit-smelling floral, like Nuit. It's not a heady one either, I'll give it that. The jasmine somehow remains under control- no death by uber-jasmine evil, yet you can still smell it. The black orchid is also noticeable- I sniffed my wee implet of Black Orchid and it actually is so similar to the most prominent floral note, I'm gonna have to say the black orchid in Black Moon is the most noticeable note- it's also the one that throws the farthest. This actually does remind me of Blue Moon- not the actual scent, but I can smell some of the background components in common, if you get what I mean. Mostly the cucumber, which is definitely there, but faint... This is also a scent that throws differently than it smells up close. The throw is almost all orchid and jasmine on me, but up close the more herbal and cucumber notes come out. Honestly I appreciate the up-close scent a lot more. This lasted an average length of time on me- about 4 hours. Anyway, 4 out of 5. That being said, this is exactly the type of dark/night-evocative/moonlight-y floral that I think I'll love and yet never use. (Nuit... Evening Star...)

This smells like Coke on me. Not bad, not great. I will put it in the BPAL Sock Drawer of Aging rather than write it off, though, as it may improve drastically given some time to mellow. For now, it's a 3 out of 5 on me- it smells good, but I'm not wild about smelling like soda pop.

Dude. I always kind of blew this scent off. Not sure if it was because the imps I tried were too new, or if I just never spent enough quality time with Bordello, but I got a swap-extra decant of Bordello that obviously had been through many hands and was thus quite aged. OH MY GOD. So so so good! It's deep, creamy, sexy and awesome. The plum is deep, velvety and amazing. There's this wonderful under-scent I can't even describe. Creamy is close. Boozy maybe. Just YUM qualifies. 5 out of 5.

This gets so much better on my skin. I guess maybe it's to make up for my skin chemistry wrecking several other scents for me that I got in this batch. Anyway, Gennivre smells funky-nasty in the bottle, and also wet, but when it dries it gets way better. This harsh, bitter edge evaporates, and it becomes much more tea-mint-sugar, thank god. It really surprised me how much it transformed, actually- the difference between wet and dry was immense. Anyway, dry it's a nice blend, and hopefully will be one I reach for some. I wish the mint was more noticeable. I love mint. 4 out of 5.

Theodosius is one of the awesome Carnaval scents on me. (Joining Mme Moriarty, Candy Butcher and Xanthe). I wouldn't have guessed it. I like Beth's fougere base a lot, in Dorian too, and the vanilla and musk make it even better. I get no tea or jasmine, yay. I mostly get vanilla, musk and...? something light, crisp and almost citrusy but not really. Very nice. Probably also will work on The Boy. But it's one I'm keeping for myself- I think this is truly a unisex scent more than most. The vanilla warms it up nicely. Will probably get a 2nd bottle sometime. 4.5 out of 5, for the fact that it evaporates pretty fast (for now, it might get better in a month or so).

Ah. Yes, it's manly. Pine like whoa. A hint of leather. Some other major sharp thing happening in the background too. Not sure I'd like it on my man, not sure he'd like it on him either. Though he does love Talvikuu, so I'll probably douse him at some point. (He has actually broken down and requested a scent- Dracula. Shocking! I may convert him yet.) Anyway, I'll run this by him but I don't have a huge hope for it- it's just so sharp. Might age OK, but I'm finding that several of the CD scents are weirdly sharp and green on me, this one is no exception. For myself, it's a no-go; perhaps unfair to rate it, but I'd call it a 1 or 1.5 really, out of 5. We'll see if it's better on the boy.

The lemon, as everyone else has mentioned, comes out most strongly. But where's my coconut? I love coconut, and instead, there's this sort of ultra sharp green scent beneath it, no matter how patiently I wait for it to emerge. Man, I wish it smelled creamy on me or even smokey. But no, there's this green ick happening. Bah. Frankly it smells like I smashed the freshest lemongrass I could find onto my wrist- not very sweet, not precisely lemon, slightly exotic, but very green. I like lemongrass in my Tom Kha soup but not on my wrist, I guess. Not wearable for me- 2 out of 5. It's just annoying when something bloody well SHOULD work and it doesn't; this scent is one, in my opinion, as well as Gennivre.

Just barely there on me. It's... interesting. Not quite sweet, very subtle. It has a rather herbal smell to me. I wish it had a bit more scent, honestly. I can't smell it at all without plastering my nose up against it, and then it's like "Is that where I put it? OK, I kind of smell something..." I guess it makes sense, with what it's embodying. Still, not a fave. 2.5 out of 5.

The jasmine is major player here. It's a nice jasmine, for jasmine. While honestly I don't hate it, I so rarely use florals that I really doubt I'll use this. It's well blended, for sure, it's so primarily jasmine, and so not me. If there be violets, musk or vanilla, they're well buried.

This is a really lovely blend. The vanilla is a strong creamy base, and the most prominent note on me. The ambergris is what I suspect is the powdery thing I'm noticing- not bad powdery, but yes, powdery. Or possibly the grey amber. Or maybe both together. Anyway, it's totally pretty and feminine. I will have to wait and see if I use it enough to do it justice. 4 out of 5.

Cherry cola! Cassia continues to hate me though- instant pain on wrists when applied. Interesting smell, like no other BPAL. It keeps stinging my skin something awful and I had to wash it off ASAP. Blasted cassia.

This is just awful on my skin. It starts out OK, soft almond milk when wet. Then it becomes... OHGODMAKEITSTOP. I rarely react that strongly negatively to BPAL. (Except Cockaigne which I also tried tonight, I can't really think of the last time I raced to wash my wrists so fast). It just has this pungent, not-sweet, vile aroma after it dries. Not patchouli. Not pine. Not almond milk. Probably not tobacco. I dunno. Its just painfully and eyewateringly strong. Unwearable on me. 1 out of 5. I think this is a skin-chemistry reaction though, really, since it smelled OK wet.

Dammit! It annoys me so much that this is horrible on me. Foody blends are almost always gorgeous on me. Monster Baits, Candy Butcher, Eat Me, Drink Me... favorites, all. Then, there was Cockaigne. I was so sure this would work! Instead there was this evil, awful reek. It's foody, yeah. It's overpowering, it's so sweet it's unbelievable. I don't know why this was so Not Good on me, but oh boy was it. 1 out of 5 on me. Stomach turning. One of the very few BPALs I've ever raced to wash off (Brimstone!)

Initially, this smells like the best, most luxe clothes washing detergent ever. Ozone, I hate you! Then it dries. And improves. It starts smelling less like detergent, and more vanilla-yum. I'll play with it some more, but so far, it's hard to say whether this will be one I am able to wear or not. Could go either way.