juniperus

Bottle: the nutmeg and sassafras are at the fore, with a hint of something as yet undiscernible behind. Wet: sweet and something here is headachy...the spice is like that of freshly ground nutmeg, not that store stuff that has sat around under the florescents getting weaker daily. Dry: almost...peppery. sweet and spice and the myrrh..teetering on the edge of sweet, for me, and that headachy quality lurking in the shadows. How appropriate, methinks. Later: even more peppery and, uh, papery, even. This leaves with the impression of aged and fading..something. Paper labels on long-since-faded bottles of powders and miracle cures on old apothecary shelves.

Bottle: mmmmusk, and civet. Wet: the same, a bit sweet..definitely red musk in play. Dry: the grape and orange are in the background, but add an edge - still mainly musk and civet, I'd call this masculine but the sweet lends itself to a not merely masculine affect, if that makes sense. Later: deeper and broader, but same basic personality - animalistic, a little sweet, and the warm red-golden glowy loveliness of an ebbing fire late in the night.

Same here. I can't even get near a commercial perfume counter without getting a headache. I recall vividly as a child trying to hold my breath as we walked through that section of the store. I've only run into one death-BPAL (and I don't know the notes, erg) that actually aggravated my asthma - otherwise I get sinus reactions, like Kaki, from certain classes of notes. But even when something doesn't work on me (vetiver!) it doesn't make me sick, just smells like crappola. I can wear scent now, and I very, very rarely would even attempt before.. I feel fortunate to have discovered BPAL, honestly..

A radiant blend of solar oils: golden amber, saffron, heliotrope, hibiscus, citron, frangipani, frankincense, tangerine, mock orange, and orange blossom. Bottle: citrus and frankincense, like how a chocolate orange would smell if the chocolate were replaced by sharp resin Wet: deeping, layering, but still primarily as above Dry: the shades of gold are separating and glimmering on their own accounts, the amber identifiable, now. Later: The florals are competing a bit with the resins, the sweet with the sharp making a sort of fruit-affect to my nose for some reason, but it's mellowing in time. It's not lovely, as in a thing of beauty to behold - it's something to be experienced, like the heat of the sun itself. That makes little sense, I suppose, but that's what I step away with..the fruit keeps this from going sexy on me, the florals keep the fruit from growing too oddly sweet, and the resins keep the florals from a cloying fate. Damn interesting.

Bottle: orris with a hint of chilled violets Wet: a sharp, cold aquatic note, and the orris is shifting a little. ruh roh raggy. Dry: the violets are standing out on their own, more, and that sharp twinge when I first caught the aquatic note isn't developing further. no amber, yet. Later: The orris has shifted and amped a bit, but not into anything unpleasant, and the violet is tentative but lovely. The chill snow has quieted to the same uneasy, but not unfrieldly, aquatic Amsterdam goes on me..and saved bv the warmth of amber, it's a winner.

That's one of my sister's faves. When she was up in August (she lives several states away, alas) I brought out the BPAL. She liked Phantom Queen, Amsterdam, and...hm. Something else. Peony Moon? Anyway. None of these share notes, but she said they had the same feel to her. FWIW.

Mantis eta: And Orpheus

Bottle: spicy cider Wet: same, with the deep apple-ness of fresh apple peelings Dry: spicy, berry-apple, and a tad like a yankee candle. hm. Later: Yep, candle. Definitely candle. how unforunate - that fresh apple smell was so short-lived, but it was really wonderful while it lasted. I don't know if it's the cranberry responsible for the shift, but it's sad. I'll have to try it as a room scent, though, since it may stay truer in that form.

Bottle: sweet cake Wet: same, clearly with currants..reminds me of a currant scone with a sugared top Dry: the incense has really come forward, it's mingling with the cake nicely. Later: the currant and incense with a sweet edge are what remains, very lovely, not at all foody..a more subtle, adult version of how the Lush 'Twas the Night Before Christmas soap smells on my skin after a shower...in other words, I love it!

Bottle: incense and flowers Wet: the myrrh is prominent, the incense taking center stage, here Dry: incense and really faded floals, much nicer than last year's version was on me (that went all amped lily) Later: faded, but still lovely - subtle, incensey but slightly sweet. very nice on me.

Bottle: dark, damp, earthy Wet: same, with pines and moss accenting Dry: vetiver amping slightly, the patchouli and moss lending to the damp darkness, little of the clove. Later: well, as I suspected it would, the vetiver is going it's usual thing on me - I'm starting to smell like greasy dirt and death. splendid.

Bottle: lovely, subtle floral. no particular note standing out for identification. Wet: same, but with a bit of a spicy zing. still not picking out the notes with ease. Dry: that spiciness reminds me of the cinnamon I get from forsythia...but this is warming, so spice by itself is also a possibility. really lovely. Later: I'm so glad I managed to get this from a forumite, it's such a subtle floral, and that zing really gives it dimension - this isn't a garden floral, it's a floral perfume on the skin of someone exotic; a very sensual floral (and I never thought I'd ever be able to describe a floral that way). Gorgeous!

Bottle: blood orange and unremarkable floralness Wet: the floral notes are separating a bit, but still I can't quite pick out which is on top..maybe the tobacco flower, I'm unfamiliar with it. Dry: something here doesn't care for me at all, and it's more than just the jasmine..perhaps the magnolia. no sign of the frankincense, and the rose appeared only briefly, but is now gone. Later: this remains a seriously unhappy floral on my skin - it's not getting oddly sweet, it's getting sour. damn damn damn.

Bottle: sharp, dark, and terribly sinister. Wet: clove, leather, and patchouli are more clearly identifiable, the ginger a hint behind. And pepper, for some reason. Dry: very masculine, the leather is foremost, followed by the dark notes..no sign of the neroli or tonka. Later: much the same, only slightly mellowed. might need to try this on Bri, but leather doesn't care much for me.

Bottle: Softer than I expected, hints of dry leaves and warmth since passed. Wet: leaves, spice, and pine needles. Dry: still very subtle, almost dusty. Later: it's faded, but not gone - just a wispy hint of a scent, clinging to my skin like the smell of burning leaves will if I pass through the smoke. haunting.

Bottle: sharp, green...this is what I imagine 'fresh' smelling like when I read it in an ad... Wet: piney and minty...oddly like a wintergreen altoids (complete with that sinus-opening feeling) Dry: I can catch hints of the florals, now, but the wintergreen-ness hasn't faded away completely. this is very foresty, but not really a pine forest, there is pine, but this reminds me of primarily beech and birch stands I've walked through. Later: interesting...I'm not sure it's me, I will have to wear it again...but it's very evocative. I get a scent memory from this...somewhere in northern Michigan.

Bottle: honey, lily, and the plum blossom..immediate and heady Wet: the same Dry: the lily is starting to amp. despite that this is translucent, heady, sweet, and sensual. Later: this is beautiful, and the honey didn't morph into a sweet-but-bitter note..but it's turning ever so slightly soapy. Alas.

Bottle: wow, this is interesting! cold steel plus fire..and dragon's blood. Wet: I caught the pepper, and I actually coughed. LOL the dragon's blood and labdanum are at the fore, hints of the leather way behind. Dry: the layers are both intermingling and opposed, this is not a static blend at all, not chaos per se...but the clash of the calvaries of two great armies...yes. Later: very masculine, powerful. though I oft wear very unisex/masculine scents I really can't pull this off. but it's amazing!

Well, it's Tamil, a classical language of India and older than sanskrit. It's supposed to be, when pronounced and spoken correctly, rather sing-songy. Kumari Kandam, I am extrapolating, wouldn't have stresses on the first syllable (so no CONdom)...I'm no linguist and no student of classical India, but from what I've read and trying to make guesses based on the cadence of a couple of other languages of India I've heard spoken I pronounce it kuMARee kanDAM with all A's short.

Mantis - bitter herbal

Me? woods and incences, resins, musks, a few florals. I don't like most commercial perfumes/colognes...headaches, or cloying. I've tried a few things on the hub, but I haven't found one I'm that thrilled about yet (and he could care, really). I am attracted to warm scents, golden or earthy or red toned if that makes sense. I think what I like to smell on me is what I like to smell on anyone around me - and I'm fortunate when some of those things actually work on my skin. I suppose this should make me a mutable earth or maybe fixed fire...but no, I'm tons-o-water...almost no fire, equally small proportions of earth and air. mostly cardinal water, too. eta: ok, so I consider some of the right-at-the-top social qualities of the signs and think about what, therefore, might attract...a gemini might like a really complex blend with a lot of notes to notice and contemplate, avoiding the obviously foody connotation a cancer might like to smell a scent they find warm and comforting or homey, and that leo might like something as much of a supahstah as they are. a libra wants a balanced blend, a taurus would like to smell something that smells expensive or rich or otherwise exquisitely beautiful, a scorpio a deeper, darker scent, er....

I'm a Cancer (an uber-Cancer, in fact), and I can't deal with aquatics (headaches), I'm not much for foody scents for the most part. I think so much of this is skin chemistry and associations (he might, hypothetically, love or hate jasmine because of a memory of someone who wore it) that astrology (and I am an astro-head) is just not something I will take into account on this topic.

Bottle: astringent booze, sinus-grabbing. Wet: getting me right behind the eyes...sweet and sharp and OMG. Dry: sweet amping, the hyssop? still painful..I can pick out the mints, not so with the cardamom. The anise is more clearly anise, that was the sharp. Later: the headache period has subsided, but it left a sugary sweetness that's just floating there without grounding - disorienting, like the Toulouse-Lautrec absinthe drinkers expressions.

Bottle: fruity floral. funky. wacky. disjointed - yes. Wet: more with the floral madness. Dry: it's grown more gentle, but it's still leaving a feeling of notes fighting with one another, it's just not settling down at all. Later: floral with a side of sweet fruity...it's not liking me, something is growing oddly sour-sweet here.

Bottle: tropical fruit cup. Wet: same, the musks faint but now noticeable. Dry: the fruit cup is changing to a car air freshener. no, really. Later: pom is amping sweet out of control, and now I'm getting a hint of burning plastic. yegods!