LittleGreyKitten

The Imp here was absolutely unwearable. To tell the truth I didn't even try it on- just smelling it in the imp was enough. I could just barely smell the roses; whatever it was that was in there that overwhelmed them was just terrible. It didn't smell like cognac; it just smelled um, bad. Sorry for the underwhelming description but I just couldn't spend enough time sniffing it to analyze. I kind of feel like it was intended to be a weird smell- after all, it's the Imp of the Perverse... and it is. Unrate-able.

First of all, I like jasmine usually. However, Ligeia went horribly, horribly awry on me. It was one of the few BPAL scents that turned my stomach a bit. (Many commercial perfumes do, and probably only 2 or 3 out of god-knows-how-many BPALs have). So Ligeia had that dubious distinction. It smelled innocuous in the bottle, and for a minute it seemed to be a nice cool floral but then WHAP! This revolting undertone developed and overwhelmed everything. No clue what it is. I actually thought it was the one with civet before I rechecked the descriptions; there was nothing in Ligeia that seems likely to be the culprit. I'm not even sure how to describe the scent that was so very bad- unsweet, acrid, and nauseating come to mind. I suspect it was a quirk of my chemistry. Anyway, sadly, a 1 out of 5.

Montresor gets a gold star from me. It is the one single fruity BPAL that 1. smells fruity on me and 2. doesn't turn sour and transform into buttfruit. Instead, it stays deep, dark red fruit with this amazingly interesting other aroma that gets stronger. The vanilla oaken note, I guess- it's great. It reminds me a bit of Miskatonic U, not in any way it smells but in the way that it has an under-aroma that makes the scent. (Books and wood in Misk U, oak and vanilla in this). Anyway, it's fun. Spicy and deep burgundy in my mind's eye. I must admit that despite it being a wearable fruit scent on me, I may not reach for it a huge amount. Fruit isn't a favorite note for me even when it works... though BPAL has been known to make me eat my preconceived notions before! A keeper though, it's completely unique. I'd give it a 5 out of 5, for being interesting and amazing. Edited: My review was of a very lab-fresh one. Now, after mellowing, its even better. The fruit is less sharp, more deep. There's way more "backbone" to this scent now, in a great way. The vanilla is way more prominent. I really liked it initially but didn't wind up wearing it much. That's going to change, now that the oils have melded together better.

A truly sweet and generous swapper (dragon_mintz on LJ) swapped me an imp of Mitzvah for my Spanked, which did nothing good on me. Mitzvah reminds me intensely of Trick or Treat in the bottle-almost exactly. On skin, it's mostly sugary-sweet, with a bit of butteriness coming through. It still reminds me a lot of Trick or Treat, but Trick or Treat smells like... something more somehow. Mitzvah doesn't have much backbone, or something. Just sweet sweet with a bit of butter. It doesn't remind me at ALL of Milk Moon, which I worship, love, and regularly practically roll in. Milk Moon is like heavy cream, thick and rich. Mitzvah is like a spun sugar sculpture, with only a hint of butter, not cream on my skin anyway. It also is ephemeral, disappearing quickly and lingering close to the wrist. Anyhoo, yes, I will pet and cherish my imp of this (partly just because the care that dragon_minz put into the swap package she sent me was amazing and wonderful, and I will think happy thoughts about her every time I smell it). But no, I don't need to spend $50 on a bottle on Teh Evil EBay. Thank god. (Now, Snowblind... that may be my downfall!)

Almond? Cherry? Thank goodness, no. Just a soft lunar floral on me, with enough backbone to not be too sweet. It smells like a lunacy blend- it seems to have the signature Beth Lunar Oil base going on, overlaid with a gorgeous jasmine/ylang ylang. I love ylang ylang, and I usually do OK with jasmine. This is a nice blend, indeed. So far the celestial I like the best. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

Dorian is indeed lovely. The musks are very present, yet light, on my skin. The vanilla is a lot like the Black Opal vanilla, and I do smell a bit of tea- not a whallop of it, like in Spirits of the Dead and Holiday Moon, but a gentle touch of tea. I don't really notice any lemon. As it dries, the musks come out even more. At first I wasn't sure about Dorian, but it grew on me a LOT. It's just the perfect thing sometimes, delicate yet creamy. Mmmm. Got a bottle on the way, it's taking way too long! OK, so I had to figure out what the heck a fougere was. This is what perfumery.net says: THE FOUGERE FRAGRANCE CONCEPT - MASCULINE The "Fougere" fragrance concept is based upon the interplay between lavender, oakmoss and coumarin and is a classical creation which was to pave the way for the further development of masculine perfumery Hmm. I'm not sure this is what Beth used in Dorian- I sure don't get lavender, thank goodness, or much of a masculine scent. I'd give it a 5 out of 5. I was wearing Dorian at work when one of my male co-workers grabbed me and said "What is that you're wearing?? I absolutely LOVE it!" Eventually he kept sniffing me so much I gave him my imp. He's almost finished it- it smells damn good on him, too. Every time he wears it though, he gets molested by a customer, I swear. It's too funny. Enablement fully achieved!

Ah, Trick or Treat. I ignore you, yet now that I revisit you, you're amazing. Spicy foody gorgeousness. There's this wonderful under-scent that is like a fluffy, light cake, or something. Actually what comes to mind, and this is kind of odd, but it makes me think of a cruller donut, with a spiced glaze. It's very sugary definitely, but the spiciness cuts the sweetness perfectly. And its an airy sweetness, not heavy or too strong. Also, I think it's improved over time- I don't remember it being remotely this gorgeous when I first got it, sometime in February. I actually just tucked it away in my BPAL Drawer of Aging and forgot about it, after kind of going "meh". Now I'm going to have to troll for more! Its so lovely now and perfect for fall with the spiciness it has- I'm thinking nutmeg for sure, possibly some cinnamon and luckily for me, if there's any cassia it's impossible to pinpoint. 5 out of 5, need more!

I get bathroom cleaner. It's like a cheap industrial strength cleaner, generic brand. It is incredibly strong- I tested it amongst an armful of others, and as I moved around my apartment I kept getting whiffs of Numb, Numb and more Numb. I liked the name. I liked the idea. An imp was worth a try. But no, it's not a happy thing on me. I really don't get violets, at all, just a hint of dryer sheet on top of a squeaky clean bathroom. Mrr. No.

On me this is very bamboo pulp and ylang ylang. There's a hint of lavender in the bottle, which thankfully goes away on skin. I also think there's some opium poppy coming through, as there is a hint of some cool white floral too. It's pretty darn potent- I think it will be easy to overapply this one. I did like it but it's not incredibly "me" smelling- I will probably end up swapping the bonus bottle I got. I think it might be a nice one to dilute into a spray bottle or something, to spray onto sheets and/or pillows, as I did find it a calming blend. Very nice, but not a sock-knocker-off for me. I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5. I just noticed that my bottle that I tested (not the swap one) is way, way more full that usual. Like to the top of the rim, no air at all in the bottle. Huh. Probably about an extra fourth as much perfume, I've never seen BPAL do that before.

Red musk. Amazing stuff. It smells like a haunted dresser or something- deep, mysterious and somehow woody. I don't smell the saffron at all, just the musk. It lasts well. It's one of the darker, deeper ones that I'm always attracted to. I'd give it a 5 out of 5. ADDED March 12: Scherezade is a basically red musk on me, which is a good thing. Initially wet it reminded me strongly of Enraged Orangutan Musk. Dry the other notes come out much stronger, like nameless but yummy spices and the saffron. I definitely sense the saffron. It's interesting but I don't think I love it in perfume as much as I love it in, say, risotto. Nevertheless I do enjoy this blend, but I'm not sure I'll need more than an imp of it. For me, 3.5 out of 5.

OK, I am a big dork and put Ice Queen, Talvikuu, and Nuclear Winter all together, as those were the ones I thought were the most similar (Snow Bunny, Skadi, Snow Moon, and Dublin all being much sweeter and pinier in my opinion, though they also do have the slushy/icy note too). Ice Queen is minty and slushy, as is Nuclear Winter. NW is mintier than Ice Queen, and a hair sweeter. Talvikuu is a wee bit more aquatic, and seems a little bit more masculine. Nevertheless, they're all remarkably alike. Nuclear Winter of them all is the one I like the best. The extra mintiness is great, and the fact that it's a hair sweeter is also a plus. Talvikuu is wonderful on my husband but I don't wear it much myself. Ice Queen is a lovely scent but it's not unique enough to keep. I love the slushy note, and the lack of much pine, but it's my second favorite in the group of similar slushy scents. I don't necessarily get the musk note- it just smells cold, slushy, and a little minty.

I'm such a dork. I bought this, and thought I didn't like it, I felt it was too sharp. Dagnabbit! I got an imp in a bottle and now I love it. It doesn't go sour like most roses, and like a friend said when she sniffed it, it smells like CREEPY roses. Which is neat. It does. Big red roses, damp with some green-ness in there, and something that makes it darker. Mmm! Snark. Off to skulk around eBay. I'm thinking it may have aged some, and that helped it or something. I dunno, but it's definitely good now. 4.5 out of 5.

... This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Evil: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood. This scent is fascinating. It's creamy/milky, it's definitely a hint of coconut- but yes, toasted is the word- and something that reminds me of Thai curry. Lemongrass? Something that smells like it? It's like sweet Thai curry to me. But not in a "I don't want to smell like that" sort of way, you know? I like it, is what I'm trying to say here, in a roundabout fashion. It is unusual, and very creamy. No almond or fig that I can pick out. However, there is something in there that is indeed green, that I keep thinking smells like lemongrass. Interesting, indeed. I'd give it a 4 out of 5.

Oh wow, this is an amazing one. It is definitely reminding me of some other general catalogue scent, but heck if I can recall which. It's incredibly creamy, not precisely vanilla on me, but a creamy warm amazing floral. I'm not always a fan of florals but the right ones are just YUMMY. Regan is one. It also tickles me since it's one of my names. Mmmm! Regan is awesome and I need a full size. Full on 5 out of 5. Discovering this today almost made up for me hating all but Smut of the Lupercalias.

... This is a blissful, euphoric blend based on an ancient Indian love potion: honey, date palm, tuberose, davana blossom, amber, white sandalwood, vanilla bean, Damask rose, and champaca flower. Hi. I'm rewriting my whole review. I hated the blend, while it was brand new. It smelled like old, rancid perfume on my skin, sadly- just like that scum in 20 year old bottles of commercial perfume. So I traded the bottle, but kept an imp. Months later, it's become absolutely different. The wet scent still has a wee trace of the icky old-commercial-perfume note I got when it was new. Dry, though, its a whole new ball game. The notes have melded, the rancid/perfume-gone-bad smell is gone, and it is a beautiful perfume now. I had the exact same experience with Luperci, and even Red Lantern became more wearable. (Not Night's Pavilion, though!) The Lupercalia series really needed time to calm down, for the notes to mellow. I'm definitely hunting down a bottle of this. It's much nicer. I can smell the honey, amber and vanilla now- before, it was pure floral hell. The throw is especially nice. I'm glad. Out of all the blends that I couldn't wear, this one especially broke my heart since it really should have worked on me, looking at the notes. Glad it finally does! 4 out of 5, after aging. I'd definitely recommend others who had a hard time with this scent when it was lab-fresh, to try an older imp. It has changed to the better, at least in my opinion.

This is the one Lupercalia (except Smut) that I haven't gotten rid of. It is one I keep looking at, rereading the descrip of, and thinking "You should damn well work on me!" After aging a bit, it's somewhat better than it was initially. The tobacco has mellowed, some, which is the part I wasn't loving. The notes have blended some more, and it smells less sharp to me too. It is strongly coconut, a lot of caramel, a very noticeable hint of pipe tobacco, and exotic spiciness. The coconut is not a giant favorite. The caramel is nice. The tobacco I don't care for, but it is less harsh than when fresh. It's definitely better after a month, much less tobacco-y. I'll definitely keep playing with it, perhaps it and I will eventually work out our differences. For now, a 3 out of 5.

This is 100% rose on me. I have had bad luck with BPAL rose scents- unexpectedly since I usually like them- but they often go sour. I am afraid this one is no different, though I'll give it a few more tries before giving up. It smell so incredibly good in the bottle, and wet on my skin, I am truly going to be bummed if my skin sours this. It is the best BPAL rose I've smelled wet. The resins make it just perfect. EDIT: I get about 15 minutes of yummy smooth rosiness, followed by sour nastiness. BUMMER. This smelled so very good while wet! Wretched skin chemistry, ruining perfectly good rose blends.

Huh. I dunno what to think about Luperci. It smells sharp to me. And green/brown. I'm not nailing the honeycomb scent, and the patchouli is different smelling to me than some. I will try it a few more times, but I am not so far liking it a ton. It's just too odd. OK, I contemplated it a bit more. It smells very sweet besides the weird sharpness that comes out on me. The juniper is quite noticeable, and I don't like juniper. The beeswax is also coming out. The combination isn't pleasing me. It just smells weird, that's the only word that really applies to it. I love patchouli generally, and the patchouli in this is not doing it for me. Sadly. I thought the notes sounded great, so I'm definitely disappointed. Oh well, on to a better home for you. I'll be cuddling my Smut and hoping for my Enraged Orangutan to come in the mail. So far, I'd call it a 2.5 or 3 out of 5. EDIT: Ok. This either had two versions or it simply aged amazingly. I got an imp of this the other day, and it smells every bit as divine as I'd hoped it would based on the descrip. The weird, unpleasant sharpness (which I also found in Night's Pavilion) is not there. It is much, much honey-combier. The soft beeswax/honeycomb is predominating, with a soft earthy background of delectably good patchouli. No major juniper. Exactly what I'd hoped for. But so very not what my bottle was. So I'm gambling for a swap and hoping the new bottle will be like my imp, and not like my ex-bottle. Because the imp is diviiiiiine. Oh my yes. It is definitely a 5 out of 5.

OK. This is one I've re-edited the review on twice. First I thought it was the bee's knees, then I changed my mind, and now I've re-fallen in love. I dunno why it is that this scent strikes me differently at different times, but it does. It has a strong resiny/musky base, with soft fruity goodness over the top. I like it better than all the Lupercalia except Smut, which I love. I will keep playing with this, see if it is a favorite or not. It is well blended, nothing sticking out sharply over the smooth muskiness. 4 out of 5.

What. The. HELL. I have not a clue what makes this absolutely awful on my skin, but it's woefully horrid. It smells exactly like some sharp, pungent kitchen herb I hate. It's not remotely sweet, I get no lily or aquatic or resin or musk anything. It's just pungent unsweet herb scent. Salty smelling in fact (miso soup, not precisely to me, but I do see where she's getting that association). Very very very weird. It doesn't smell sweet in the bottle either. Boy, is this going to swap like what. Dang. I absolutely adore the label though! Of all the BPAL blends I've tried this is the one that works the worst on me, hands down. For me, 0 out of 5, or possibly -1. I have to say I like 95% of all BPAL scents, and love probably 90% of the ones I get in bottles, and I'm pretty good at guessing what I'd like by description. Edit: It's just bizarre how mixed the reviews are here. Some describe a scent I believe I would love, but then there's a few like me who get something very different: miso, yerba mate tea, hay, etc- I'm sure it's the same weird scent I'm getting. I wonder if there's something in there that is like cilanto: about a third of people smell & taste straight soap, whereas others don't. At first I wondered if there were some bottles that smelled different, but after swapping a few imps around I've never smelled anything other than that weird pungent unsweet scent, and the girl who got my bottle, we swapped in person, and she thought it smelled OK to her.

Thanks ever so much to SevenSins for parting with a precioussss imp. I absolutely adore the Queen! I don't get as much of a citrus feel as I would have assumed from the description. Instead the scent is cool, white, chilly, and indeed "perfumey", but in a good way. It smells expensive. It wouldn't be out of place in a Bvlgari bottle with a $60/oz price tag. It's different than the ones I usually love but I did enjoy it immensely. I will cherish my imp! It lasted pretty well, actually, for a lighter scent. It was nothing like the Cheshire Cat, which I didn't like much at all. I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

I love Teh Smut! Oh my. After getting my Click n Ship indicating the whole Lupercalia collection is presumably on it's way to me, I've been rabidly anticipating the arrival. So far not yet. But! I got an imp (a girl needs some Porta Smut, right?) and it beat the order in the mail. So! I've been officially smutted, and totally thrilled that I got two bottles (and kind of wishing I'd gotten the third I'd considered). Anyway, it is just amazing. No idea what the notes are (besides musk, duh) but oh my, do they ever work. I didn't slather, I only applied modestly, and the Smut was major potent nevertheless, lingering all day. Longer than any other BPAL I've tried. It kept returning even after I tested other things, washed my wrists three times, and even now I'm getting the occasional Smut echo. Wow, I begin to comprehend the term "throw" thanks to Smut. It smells so dark, creamy, vanilla/musky, it's remarkable. It's definitely in the Snake Oil/Snake Charmer family, which I adore. However, Smut has it's own thing going on; it's a family resemblance, not identical twins, if you know what I mean. I do still prefer Snake Charmer- it's my #1 all time fave by far, but Smut's definitely wedged in there as #2. While I've loved lots of BPAL scents, there are certain ones that one just reaches for over and over again, and Smut is one that will definitely be there. EDIT: The more I use Smut, the less it captivates me. It just isn't as lovely as other blends, it's too strong and dirty for constant useage. Don't get me wrong- there will be some occasions where Smut will be perfect, but franky I much prefer it's sister stinkies, Snake Oil and Snake Charmer. They're simply more user-friendly. Changed rating to 3 out of 5.

Venus smells soooo good in the bottle! Rosey, but soft and with other interesting scents to make the rose less aggressive. On, it turns sour in 5 minutes. When I have it on initially, I get the same lovely sweet cool rose scent, but then BAM. Sourness. My skin chemistry just hates this. Too bad! I have always been a fan of rose blends, but rarely do BPALs work on me. Weirdly enough. Anyway, sorry Venus, but you're moving on to the next person. For me, 2 out of 5.

This is the epitome of incense blends for me. Deep, dark, incredibly thick and sweet, smoky, resiny and potent. It is definitely the best incense BPAL I've tried. Throws like mad, I do best with small, small dabs, or it can overwhelm me. I don't use it a ton, but it's perfect for what it is. I find Pit & Pendulum very similar but not as perfect- there's a bit of a jarring note in it, so Al-Azif wins hands down. It's so beautifully dark. I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

This is a fascinating scent. I would never have guessed that "mineral" would have a particular scent that I'd sniff and go, "Yeah, that's a mineral scent all right." Yet Black Opal has it. Interesting! It then has the soft, creamy vanilla white-musky goodness that Antique Lace has all over the top of the interesting wet mineral smell. Very, very unique and I like it very much. Definitely one I reach for a lot out of the GC scents, and I'll definitely get a full size bottle eventually. I'd give it it a 5 for uniqueness and yumminess, absolutely.