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Snake Oil does not like me, though aged Snake Oil is vaguely more palatable than brand new. However, Boomslang is amazing! The other Snake Pit scents have all pretty much worked on me, but I do like Boomslang the best. Lilith Victoria is also a winner.

Beautiful honey-incense with just a touch of summer greens underneath. If I could, I would totally roll around in this scent! It's certainly much lighter than the L'Estate Atmospheric Spray that I use. I would almost say that it was like L'Estate's younger cousin. It seems good for those hot, summer days when you just want a bit of a golden summer scent.

I'd certainly invest in 10mls of Velvet, Dorian, Schrodinger's Cat, and Antique Lace.

Vanilla Puff Powder Dusting Powder smells like Antique Lace! It's awesome!

My favorite Gaiman scents are: Mama-ji (Spices, cardamom, nutmeg, and flowers.) The Ifrit (Desert sand, red musk, blackened ginger, dragon's blood resin, black pepper, cinnamon, and tobacco.) Ligur (Dry olibanum, black moss, soggy ti, khus, and opoponax.) I can't deal with aquatics and fruit, so that cuts out a lot of the Gaiman scents for me. But I love the above scents. The Ifrit is the only bottle that I've bought without getting a tester first and it was exactly as I imagined it.

It's not like chocolate amber at all. Gelt is more dry and less perfumy. On me, it's very similar, though less sweet. I like Gelt a lot more, but I still love my Chocolate Amber lotion.

I've been having the problem of not only lingering scents (that don't mix well with each other) and dryness on my wrists. I've tried scrubbing and using citrus washes to little effect. But then I used Lush's Ultra Bland Cleanser and it takes the scent away and moisturizes! My wrists are happy campers again!

This is from an imp I got at the Dark Delicacies trunk show on 11/30/08. In the Imp: Not what I expected considering I can see the cocoa absolute sinking down to the bottom of the vial. The top note is not cocoa, but a nutty, woodsy smell with an undertone of sweetness. It reminds me of lightly candied walnuts. Initial Wet: Yep, definitely nutty. In fact, it smells just like Pumpkin Patch 2 from 2005 if you take out the pumpkin. It has a warm note to it too, maybe caramel, but not a sticky sweet caramel. Initial Dry: Warm and dry. There's an herbalish note to the blend that I can't put my nose on... it could be patchouli, but not overwhelming-incense-patchouli. The cocoa note still doesn't leap out at me, but it's certainly there. Drier Dry: It dries down to a woodsy caramel with an undertone of cocoa. The throw is a dry woodsy, almost dried-grassy, smell. I love almost all of the Lab's cocoa/chocolate blends and this is not one of the exceptions. I love that this one is drier than other foody scents. It reminds me more of dry cocoa powder than a hot chocolate. It's also not overly sweet, and though I love sweet scents, I'm very charmed by this one's subtlety.

It's not Halloween anymore, but I will be playing the role of The Ice Queen later this month. I will be outdoors, so I'm looking for something that has a lot of throw. Snow/ice/aquatic scents usually don't work on me, and I don't have any on hand, so I was thinking of Nocnitsa because a pine forest always makes me think of cold mountaintops. I'm looking for a scent that evokes coldness or harshness. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm wondering about Schrodinger's Cat. I just got a bottle and have never had an imp or bottle before. I dipped my toothpick into the bottle, swirled it around a bit and then pulled it out... it had this sticky orange stuff all over it. It smelled like citrus, so I was thinking maybe it was an absolute, but the description has no citrus absolutes in it. I tried to scrape as much off the toothpick as possible (so as to keep the scent mixture) and now there's just this goo in the neck of the bottle. What is this stuff? (The scent seems just as the reviews say it should be, so it hasn't affected the blend.)

This is such a deliciously complicated blend of scents that morph each time I sniff my wrists, it's hard to pin them down. (I'm not even sure what hay absolute smells like ) In the Imp: Astringent and smoky. I can detect some sweetness and jasmine. Initial Wet: Strangely, both I and the hubby swear it smells like violet soap. Violet soap with some sandalwood and vanilla and a hint of jasmine. It remains astringent until it dries. Initial Dry: The vanilla and amber tobacco really come out. It reminds me of Red Lantern, but with sweet florals, jasmine most prominently. The florals keep dying down as it dries further. Drier Dry: Vanilla sweet with resin and spice. The faint undercurrent of roses and jasmine adds a different type of sweetness to the blend, though very subtle. The overall effect is dark, almost musky, but softened with sweetness. Overall, I really, really like this blend (it gets points for the hubby liking it once it dries down). I was leery of the leather as that tends to go sour on me, but even with several applications throughout the day, I couldn't pick out any hint of leather or its going bad.

Crushed Smooch + Knave of Hearts FTW! I smell like berries, but not overwhelmingly sweet or candy-like.

It could be the tonka--it has a spicy, vanilla meets clove and cinnamon like scent. Now I want to go home and sniff my imp of A Bold Bluff

Smut, Mme. Moriarty, Velvet, and Gingerbread Poppet have gotten me the most unsolicited compliments. I'm usually the type who demands that people (who know of my BPAL obsession) smell me. Mme. Moriarty is a favorite of several of the ladies I work with. I think mainly because it's the one with the most throw on me. Oddly, my straight guy friends love Smut, while my gay guy friends like Velvet.

According to the interwebs, "the [Holi powder] colors are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors". Neem is a lovely woody-herbal scent that they use in soap a lot in India. I've used neem soap and you can probably get it at a health food type store. Kumkum and Haldi are made from tumeric, that spicy powder in the ginger family that turns curries yellow. Bilva seems to be a tree used in Āyurvedic and other alternative medicine, but I can't find anything on what it smells like. Off hand, I think the best recommendation I can make is Mama-Ji (spices, cardamom, nutmeg, and flowers).

I foodie scents! The hubby says that I always smell like dessert. I happen to like woodsy, but the woods that are paired with foods seem different than the foresty woods, so if you don't like woods in other, non-foodie blends, you might try them in a foodie blend. Here are some of my favorites, but there are a ton to choose from: Antique Lace (a soft, wistful blend of dry flowers, aged linens, and the faint breath of long-faded perfumes) - Don't let the description fool you, this is a vanilla lover's dream. Bliss (the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate) - Exactly as its description, milk chocolaty goodness. Boomslang (Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk) - Spiced dark cocoa. Candy Butcher (dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone) - A milk chocolate, but drier than Bliss. El Dia de Reyes (Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar) - Spicy hot cocoa! Glowing Vulva at Ryogoku Bridge (cream accord, amber, teak, and lotus blossom) - I swear it smells like ice cream! Gluttony (dark chocolate, vanilla, buttercream, and hops with pralines, hazelnut, toffee and caramel) - My first foodie scent. Extraordinarily sweet, like a caramel toffee sticky bun glazed with chocolate and topped with candied nuts. Monster Bait: Ventriloquist Dummy (savage apricot, depraved dry woods, and psychopathic patchouli covered by a disarmingly sweet mishmosh of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut, and butterscotch) - Sweet caramel with hazelnuts, almost Nutella-like. O (amber and honey with a touch of vanilla) - Honey goodness. Tiresias, The Androgyne (black currant, patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon leaf, caramel, muguet, and red sandalwood) - Sweet caramel with a dash of spice and an undertone of wood. Velvet (gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh) - My #1 fave and the one I wear as a default. On me, the cocoa vanilla is the most prominent, followed by the sandalwood and then the myrrh. White Rabbit (strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen) - A lot like sweet chai tea to me. Fruits don't work on me, but Pumpkin does. I love the Pumpkin Patches, especially the ones with chocolate in them.

In the Bottle: Honey and almonds followed by warm vanilla flowers. Initial Wet: Marzipan is my first impression followed by apricots and carnations. Initial Dry: Wow, this dries complex. In the forefront are the flowers--honeyed jasmine with a backdrop of honeysuckle and just a hint of carnation. The apricot has faded, but the fig is deep and warming somehow, though it almost wants to turn sour on me as fruits tend to do on my skin. Drier Dry: It dries down to soft, honeyed flowers with fig and almond. The tonka, draws together the different types of sweetness into a blend that's sweet (but not overly so) and seductive. I was initially leery of this scent since apricot and fig have not gotten along with me in the past, but they behave quite nicely in this blend, staying in the background and not going sour. I like all three of the florals and this is in nice blend of them, though the carnation is very light under the jasmine. I like that it's not overly sweet. I'm glad I took the risk and bought a bottle. This one's a keeper.

When I need some sunshine in a bottle, tea, citrus and amber seem to work for me. Bakeneko - Warm amber musk, Satsuma tangerine, black tea leaf, cardamom, cherry blossom and cinnamon Dorian - A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea. Et Lux Fuit - golden amber, heliotrope, vanilla musk, carnation, daisy and sunflower bouquet, neroli, lemon peel, ylang ylang and honeycomb Mr. Jacquel - Golden amber, hyssop, North African patchouli, and embalming spices

In the Imp: A sticky sweetness that reminds me of the frangipani (plumeria) tree at my parents' home in Hawaii. In the hottest humidity, the fallen flowers have this particular sweet, almost overripe fruit smell. Initial Wet: It goes on a little sour, the way most fruit scents react with my skin, and the jasmine is prominent. The throw is very powerful and is a sweet, tropical floral. Not getting much rose. Initial Dry: As it dries, the sourness fades. The rose starts to come out, but it is a base note under the frangipani. The frangipani is definitely the dominant note with the jasmine coming in second. Drier Dry: Sweet and almost-spicy floral, still retaining a pretty strong throw for all that it's been on for several hours and survived a handwashing. Still, it's not an overpowering floral. I didn't know that frangipani was plumeria until I looked it up. I've been looking for a nice plumeria scent that didn't scream "tourist!" because I miss the smells of my island home. I wanted something tropical, but not fruity. I think this scent is perfect and I'll have to invest in a bottle at some point.

I'm a chocolate wearer and I'd recommend these as scents that aren't too foody (and I like the foody): The Tell-tale Heart - This is a swollen, pulsating, thudding scent, heavy with dread; a steady, unceasing, throbbing harbinger of retribution and doom: blood musk, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, dragon's blood resin and vetiver. Sadly this is a Limited Edition, but it was pretty popular so you can find it floating around in the swaps forums. Velvet - Envelop yourself in the soft, sensual embrace of gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh. This is my all time favorite scent and I find it more spicy and woodsy than chocolaty. Wulric, The Wolfman - Friendly, charming, and cuddly, but possessing one hell of a mean streak: cocoa absolute, French vanilla, birch tar, lavender, bourbon vetiver, wild musk, clary sage, and cistus. On me, the lavender and sage come out more than anything else. The cocoa is a nice base, but it doesn't seem like a foody scent to me at all. Boomslang seems foody to me, but I eat dark chocolates and it reminds me of a spicy dark chocolate. It might not seem foody to you if you associate light milk chocolates with food. I see it's on your list, so definitely give it a shot.

Ah, yes, I totally forgot about Priala as I just tried it recently. I love it!

Mmm, myrrh... I didn't know that myrrh could be used in perfume until I discovered BPAL. Now I love myrrh and if a new blend comes out with it, I just have to try it. Here are my top five general catalog myrrh favorites. Velvet is my OMG scent. As soon as I discovered that scent, I knew I had to try anything else with myrrh. Velvet gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh Voodoo resonant blend of myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove Bastet luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus Hecate deep, buttery almond layered over myrrh and dark musk La Petite Mort The scent of warm, damp skin flushed with the glow of passion, touched by the luxuriant potency of ylang ylang and myrrh Here are my top five limited edition scents. Haloa is my favorite of the five and smells like incense cakes. Purple Phoenix is an awesome violet blend in addition to the myrrh base and the Perfumed Garden was the first floral blend that I really liked (I'm usually not a flower scent wearing person). Haloa wine grapes, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes The Perfumed Garden myrrh and Moroccan jasmine with apple peel, Indian sandalwood, myrtle, quince, citron, and thyme poured over soft musk Schwarzer Mond: Brian's Creation opoponax, Tunisian black amber, night musk, antique patchouli, zdravetz, terebinth, myrrh, and Pimenta racemosa Minotaur deep, swarthy black musk dusted by a dark, resinous blend of sacred bisabol myrrh, atramentous benzoin, tsori, balsam, and galbanum Purple Phoenix myrrh, plum blossom, African violet, cognac, fig, orris, lilac, wisteria, black plum, and Burgundy wine grapes Since you like Snake Oil, you'll definitely want to try Asp Viper Snake Oil with red mandarin, myrrh, and almond from the Carnaval Diabolique collection. It smelled lovely to me in the bottle, but my skin chemistry and Snake Oil don't get along very well.

In the Bottle: Mmm, chocolate. Very chocolaty with hints of spice. Initial Wet: *gag* The peach and starfruit go rotten on me. I get whiffs of the starfruit and peach, but they're sour and I can't smell anything else beyond that, not even the chocolate. I must resist the urge to wash it off. I'll update this if it changes at all. Why must fruit ruin my chocolaty goodness? ETA: Drier Dry: The rotten fruit smell does eventually fade and now it's starfruit with an undercurrent of cocoa. The hubby says that I smell good, but I don't smell like chocolate. It certainly lasts a long time--12 hours after application it's still there. I don't get honey or clove or floral once it hits this stage. It's certainly not what I was expecting. I was hoping for lots of chocolate with a bit of fruit and spice. Sadly, my skin chemistry developed quite the opposite. Still, the hubby likes it, so maybe I'll let it sit for a while and see if aging makes the cocoa more prominent.

I'm not fond of most fruit blends because of the sweetness, but I'm wearing Hetairae (golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig and clove, and a blushing touch of ylang ylang) right now and I kinda like it. It goes on sweet, but then the sweet fades as the spiciness comes out.

In the Bottle: Sharp orange and herbs. Initial Wet: Spicy dragon's blood and herbs. Not the heavy scent I was expecting, rather much more like a light, warm breeze. There's something vaguely floral, perhaps sunflower, but I never noticed that sunflowers had any particular scent before. Initial Dry: Ah, there's the red musk and amber, giving it that weight that I like. There's the orange peel too, not sweet as I'd feared, just that almost-bitter orange tinge that doesn't push the blend into the fruity range. Drier Dry: The herbs come out a bit more, enough to be recognized but not enough to take over the blend. It's like resins brushed through a dry summer field. As it dries down even more, the amber definitely comes out to play and the herbs recede a little. I definitely love the amber over the dragon's blood. Overall, I like this one, and I think it'll grow on me the more I wear it. It's not my usually foody-woodsy scent, but I like the mix. I was afraid the herbs would go bad on me, I've found that chamomile usually does, and I'm glad they remain a dusting. I think I've found a nice resin blend that won't be too heavy in the summer heat.