euterpe414

Arachnina is a very strong and commanding blend. The currant and lilies makes it sweet, but overall there is a domineering feel from the pathcouli, musk and the poppy together. I love poppy, but if you do not, I would not suggest getting this blend. It is indeed very pronounced. This is definitely a "girl who knows what she wants" scent. One for a predatory night out. I really love this one, since I am a poppy enthusiast, it is a quite unique one of the lab's poppy scents. However, I may deem this a bit too dominating for eveyrday wear, if you know what I mean.

Wow, this one is powerful and gorgeous. The firs thing that came ot my mind when I put this on my skin was: Black Moon goes on a tropical vacation. I am really getting a Black Moon similarity, but sans the pear and with coconut and a bit of something richer and darker in the background (patchouli?). Like others have said, this scent stays close to you- not a lot of throw at all. However it does last a long time. I really like this, because I can wear it and feel very sensual and dark, but I don't have to invade others' space at the same time, like some of the other dark blends I prefer. Dark Delicacies is my own personal dark vacation!

I ordered this one simply because I had NO idea what it would smell like with all those notes. So this one was definitely a gamble. At first on my skin, it was a sharp, crip tea scent. I could really detect the bergamot in action. Honestly, I was a little turned off by this phase since it was *so* sharp and acidic (like when you oversteep tea), but I was willing to wait it out. Later, as it dried, the blend darkened a lot. The honey, amber, sandalwood and musk become a base for the original sharp tea-ness of the scent. It basically stayed this way, and lasted for hours, which a medium amount of throw. I was not sure about this at first, but the drydown is so gorgeous and dark that I feel like I can put up with the beginning screechiness. Definitely a slithery, predatory scent indeed. I also agree with others about the "dark green" and "mossy" feel to this. It is definitely a "jungle-y" type scent. Fabulous! Glad I took a chance...

This is such a lovely, gentle scent (yes, gentle, even amidst the spices). It is a bit less "orange spice tea" than I expected it to be, and a touch more on the musky side. I would definitely not consider this to be a citrus blend, primarily. I love how warm Bakeneko feels. It really captures this warm, purring fluffy cat quality. It's extremely comforting and perfect for rainy days (of which there are many here!). There is something in this (most likely the spice) that is reminding me a bit of Winter of Our Discontent, but they are definitely different blends, just a similar feel I suppose. Great blend, and I am happy to have a bottle.

Yes, the title says it all. It has been a quiet evening. Full of mundane activities such as doing laundry, cleaning, and practicing the piece I have to play in rehearsal tomorrow. I talked to the bf for a while, but there was not much to say since both of our lives have been on the mundane side this past week. I really miss my social life. I don't know what happened to me, but I am seriously being a recluse. Well, not entirely, but my social life has been dramatically reduced from what it was in California. (i.e. from at least a few nights a week and coffee with someone almost every day to going out once or twice a week and nothing else) Perhaps it is the language barrier? But I think not. It's just lately when I have been given a choice in my mind of staying at home or going out I find that I prefer my comfy apartment and my dog to going out. But then I feel lonely. Oh, the catch 22! I think I would want to go out more if I knew that there was at least one person that I related to in the damn city, but so far I haven't found them. I don't know how I would find them. So I suppose I have resigned myself to the fact that these years here are years to work and nothing else. I can resume my social butterfly-ness for when I go home. Or for when I travel to visit friends in Switzerland or Germany (but really I don't have the money to do that often). This depresses me, but not as much now as it did when I first arrived. In other news, I have been really pining over the idea of getting dreadlocks. However, I think the folks at the conservatoire would shit a brick if I came into school with them. The tattoos are enough weirdness for them, I don't need to make my life worse, I suppose (sad but true ). I decided that when I am done here I perhaps will reward myself with dreads. By that time my hair should be long, anyhow. I don't think my bf would appreciate the dreads, but hey, I have never been one to cater to significant others as far as looks are concerned. So that is all. I better go finish sorting my socks, it's getting late and I would like to meditate before I go to bed...

I have to agree with sookster here- if you are going to buy one of the Snake Pits, this has to be it. it is seriously orgasmic. This is the most SO out of all the pit blends I have tried so far. However I can detect the woodiness and of course the cocoa. The rice milk, I think, just adds to the SO vanilla to make it richer. In short, I think I could do with, oh 39472347 bottles of this. It is THAT good. I must note- the wood keeps this from being overly foody, so even you folks that don't like foody blends should give it a try. This one's going to have to duke it out with Smut as my favorite LE so far...

Ginger, ginger, and more ginger. with some cassia and cinnamon on the side. This is perhaps the most extreme spicy scent I have ever smelled. There's definitely enough spice in here to clear your sinuses, and then some! Thankfully my skin is not sensitive, or else I could see this becoming a complete disaster. I can only smell the Snake Oil base when it has been dry for while, i.e. over an hour. But at this point the blend becomes wonderfully balanced, and not so much like a spice rack explosion. It lasts and lasts, too. At first I wasn't sure if I like this one since it was a bit on the intense side, but it is just so exotic and creamy when it's dry. I catch wafts of it whenever I move my hand and those wafts are just...yum. I think that this one needs a little while to age, though, so that the SO can come out a little more and the ginger can mellow. Still, all in all a fantastic blend!

Zarita quite strongly resembles Sugar Skull on my skin as well. (this is good since I love, love love Sugar Skull) However, the fruity part of SS is more berry-ish, whereas with Zarita I get a brown sugary orange/floral. I'm not getting much of a cream note in here, which is a little sad since I was looking forward to it. This blend seems to last quite a while (i.e. 3 or so hours) on my skin with a medium amount of throw. All in all Zarita is a sweet, charming blend. Perfect for a psycho doll girl, or for days when I feel girly I am definitely holding on to this one!

This is a havenly scent for any vetiver lover! It does not morph much from the wet to dry phases, unlike the other snakes I have tried. I can really sense all fo the notes in this one, they seem to meld with a SO base to create a really heavy, rich scent. For some reason thought the vetiver and smoky coconut waft most of all, and it is positively intoxicating. I will definitely cherish this one! It's so lovely and perfect for my tastes. many many thanks to the lab for this wonderful Snake Oil incarnation.

This was the first one I tried from my order. The tart berry scent from the bottle just seemed to grab my attention. For a good long while, that's all this scent is on my skin- tart, juicy berry. As it dries, the other notes seem to come forward more- especially the smoky vanilla and amber. This is positively scrumptious! I am not getting a lot of neroli or spice. mostly a creamy sweet berry/vanilla with a smoky edge. After it's been on for about an hour or more I can detect some of the Snake Oil spice. It adds some wonderful depth to what was already there. This is just amazing. I can't even imagine how much better this could get with age, it is just so "eat my arm I smell so good" perfect now.

I'm so sorry to hear this...

I lose at this blogging thing! I forgot yesterday that I needed to select "publish" instead of "draft". Anyhow, not much to say today, except a funny little story from Los Angeles... My friend Lewis played a concert with sound artist Toshi Nakamura. Of course, or so he said, everything went well. As the applause went on after their set, a man stood up in the audience and began to yell. He yelled about how what just happened wasn't music, and that he was disgusted that he had paid money to go to this concert. And that, as Lewis said, was how he knew that he had played a good concert. I must agree with him, although I don't know whether or not I would have enjoyed his performance. Probably. Anyhow, I am really glad to know that there was a concert that happened that garnered such a strong reaction, be it positive or negative. Too often I feel that people go to concerts for the sake of appearances or obligation and really don't pay attention to what is happening. Also, and better still, it could have also been due to the fact that something innovative and interesting happened that people couldn't yet analyze. Often times I have seen this sort of thing cause people to shut down and just call it "bad" or "not music". Anyhow, I hope it was a little bit of both. On a completely different note, I hope it snows tonight or tomorrow. Snow is much prettier and more manageable that sleet or freezing rain, which is what is has been doing here for, oh, the past week. I say this because I no longer have to drive The snow is pretty and I haven't seen it in so long.

So...this is my first blog post ever. I am not quite sure what the point of my blog will be, probably just to put my random thoughts, if not for my own personal amusement. Hopefully this blog won't contain a lot of whining, but I can't guarantee anything What I can guarantee is a lot of typos and the occasional (or not so occasional) grammatical error. I am definitely not an eloquent writer, that is for sure! So, on to some random thoughts... I am pretty happy with myself as of late. My French is getting much better. as in MUCH better. I don't have to think anymore when I form basic sentences in conversation. I guess taking night classes three days a week has helped. Thank goodness that they gave me a discount on them! So yeah, now I can actually participate in my improv classes without just saying "Tu joues vraiment bien" or something dumb like that. I'm also happy that I have successfully performed three pieces from memory in a concert without having a total memory lapse. I never thought I could do it, and I am glad I pushed myself these past couple of months so that this is no logner a fear for me. Whew! Now onto the challenge of performing a minimalist work from memory. Hopefully I can create some sort of device for myself to remember the patterns and number of repetitions, etc. In a nutshell, things are going OK if not better than that. Maybe this evening after my practicing is done I will finally attack the project of stretching my ears (not a lot but I have a few sizes to go before I can wear this lovely pair of wooden claws that I bought). Hm. It's funny that I find that relaxing activity but anyway... OK that's all for now. My dog is pleading with my to turn off the M.I.A. on my itunes. It just doesn't sit right with her for some reason and she's being quite grumbly. She can tolerate when i play Ministry but not M.I.A.- strange creature indeed. Over and out...

well, that is the question ... probably for two years but possibly three. It all depends on whether or not I finish my studies in a timely manner. Honestly I like it here but I hope it is two years 'cause I am a silly person who's homesick for California

This may the murkiest scent that I have tried yet from BPAL. It is so evocative of a swamp to me- stagnant water with algae, flowers and...a bit of rottenness. Now, I appreciate it being quite accurate for what the scent is supposed to depict but, I really don't wish to smell like a ton algae and such. Also, after a while it goes a tad soapy, too. Oh well. All in all no for me, but an interesting one to try out nonetheless.

Thanks to the lab again for throwing this one in my last order. I would have never gone out of my way to try it but it's great! Inferno is a spicy cinnamon made creamy by the almond. My skin is not realing advertising the neroli in this for some reason. hm. Anyway, it's just like creamy cinnamon candy! It lasts a long while but stays close to the skin. Not much else to say about this blend since it is a very straightforward smell. I do like it, and perhaps someday I will get a bottle. I do agree with revious reviewers- I think this would be fabulous for layering since it a true cinnamon scent. Yum.

This one is a very dry dragon's blood on me. The spice really mellows out the sweetness that I usually get from DBR. This one isn't really bright red, more of a terra cotta- an earthy dusty red. There's not a lot of throw in this one, but it does stick around. It doesn't change much from wet to dry, escept for a slight increase in pepperiness. Thankfully I didn't sneeze! Right now I have so many DB blends and this one is not one that I would find myself thinking of often enough to keep. It is nice, just too reminiscent of some DB LE's (Tell Tale Heart, the Castle in particular) that I already own.

I was always awary of trying this one b/c of the jasmine, but now that I learned that night blooming jasmine is OK for me, I gave the imp that was sitting around a try. At first on my skin it was all orchid. Nice, tropical lush and velvety. then...the evil dry down. ALL rose and jasmine. It smells very much like the unreleased Vieux Carre that I got a while back. This scent is really really not me. I like orchid very much, but I can't handle the sharp rose with jasmine. off you go, Queen Mab!

I really love the blackberry sage combo, and so I knew this scent would work on me. However...(I am so sad that there is a however in this!) this one seems to not want to stick around very long on my skin. I thought maybe the musk would hold it in place, but it's not doing its job. Ah well, this one makes a fabulous room scent, and perhaps I will try using it in a scent locket or lotion one day to extend its mileage. It is truly lovely, and if your skin will let berries and sage stick around then I recommend giving it a go.

Oh I am in love with this! I don't quite know how to pin down what this smells like on me, but it is sweet, creamy and a hint spicy. I know that I'm getting florals from this, but not any one in particular, definitely a well rounded bouquet. If there's rose in this, it's behaving very very well and is not sharp at all! Others have been mentioning a cherry type scent, and, while I do not specifically get cherry it is possible since this blend has a bit of a candy sweetness to it. Floating on top of this sweetness is a spice that must be dragon's blood and myrhh (?) perhaps. This one lasts and lasts on my skin and does not morph. I do not have anyone to test it on right now but when my bf comes to visit I will perhaps give this one a go... I can see myself wearing this one as a perfum quite regularly though, especially in spring. Absolutely lovely, and glad I got it as a frimp, I would have never thought to try it!

This one smells just as I thought it would- a light tea scent with hints of hibiscus and osmanthus. It is a very delicate blend, yet manages to have super lasting power and a bit of throw. I am so glad that there is a scent like this because hibiscus tea is one of my favorite beverages and this scent is quite reminiscent of that. In its final dry stages this scent sweetens up a lot- the honey seems to move more to the forefront- this stage reminds me a bit of Hungry Ghost Moon in feel (not in exact scent, though!) An absolutely perfect blend for summer, and a must for people who love Asian inspired scents!

This one is really a morpher on me! At first it started out pure cedar on me- nothing else in sight. I was highly skeptical, since I'd heard so many good things about this blend... Then, after about 15 minutes or so the vanilla and sassafras came out to play. I didn't get much balsam, maybe it was just rounding out the cedar? This stage was completely gorgeous- the vanilla was round and made slightly spicy by the sassafrass. It smelled bit like rootbeer, but not like you spilled rootbeer on yourself or anything . I've been wearing this for a few hours now and it sort of vascillates between being predominantly cedar and predominantly vanilla. Mainly it stays on the sweet side of things but sometimes I get shiffs of pure cedar. Hm. I don't mind, though, since i don't dislike cedar, but I do prefer to smell this blend in its entirety. Overall I am glad I snagged a bottle of this unsniffed. It is lovely and unique, and I will definitely wear it, despite the initial blast o' cedar. Maybe with a little aging the notes will meld together more from the get go.

Man, this is fantastic stuff! I was surprised to find out that on my skin, though, Vixen is quite the gingery scent (meaning that this is the most prominent note). Actually, it makes me happy cause I like Ravenous for my orange and patchouli fix. This is such a sexy, sultry scent that really blooms on your skin- it starts out a bit sharp and biting at first, but after it dries it becomes creamy, warm and inviting- and very reminiscent of Snake Oil, indeed. I don't know what else to say about this that hasn't been said in these pages of reviews, but seriously- go try this one if you like exotic, sultry scents. You won't be let down! I suspect this one may wiggle its way into my GC top 10...and i can only imagine how orgasmic this one will be with a little aging.

Being the Alice in Wonderland addict that I am, I was surprised one day when I realized that I had not tried this one yet. So of course I did the sensible thing, I ordered a bottle unsniffed. I am not a huuuge citrus fan, although I enjoy it now and and then, but I must agree with the other reviewers when I say that this scent is addictive! It is a sweet, screamy, herbal grapefruit. This scent has a very silky feel to it and seems to gracefully make itself known (who knew a Cheshire Cat was graceful? ). I had no idea ordering this what it would smell like with such a hodgepodge of notes (imo at least) but it is simply glorious! Any lovers of citrus MUST try this as well as those who think they can't do citrus- trust me, you will be pleasantly surprised!

On me, this is a very dry, herbal citrus. There is a hint of a foresty scent in this one, but it is nowhere near the forefront. I really am enjoying this one a lot, it is very different from the scents that I usually prefer, but it's so cool and refreshing and I find myself drawn to it. I also agree that it is similar to HGM, but less sweet. I can definitely see myself wearing this one in the spring and summer months, especially.