Poenari

Here is another fairly recent thread: http://www.bpal.org/topic/86808-the-perfect-patchouli/?do=findComment&comment=2526090 But if you want a thorough education on BPAL patchouli, go here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/21428-bpal-patchouli/?do=findComment&comment=40522

I tried this once a few years ago, and recall that it didn't work for me so I gave away my frimp in a swap. I received another frimp in a Trading Post order recently, so I thought I should try it out again. Nope! Once again, this scent is not for me. I love the smell of good coffee, and I love to drink flavored coffees, but I have yet to find any coffee scent that works on my skin. Usually any hint of coffee turns to burnt coffee on my skin. This one is too sweet, and is giving me a headache. Have to wash this off.

The Wooden Bullet smells like so much more than the notes. This is woods warmed by a golden sunset, slightly sweet and not too masculine, exotic and rich. I'm so happy I bought a bottle and just might need a backup. It's not like any other woody or woodsy scents in my collection.

I am sure that I reviewed Snake Charmer ages ago, but this thread indicates that I didn't, so in honor of the hair gloss coming out, I decided to wear and review my bottle. Actually, I have bottles of the original as well as the resurrected Snake Charmer, so I retested both of them. In actuality, they smell and wear the same on my skin. I adore Snake Oil and this is my favorite variant on it. Snake Oil is a heavily vanillic incense on me, and the plum and coconut in Snake Charmer add more sweetness to that vanilla incense. I can smell the plum, but the coconut has never stood out as a distinct note. However, together, this is just heavenly. It is also extremely long-wearing on my skin. I would love it if this reappeared as part of the new Carnival Diabolique, whenever that returns.

On my skin, this is a perfume version of Fae Forest room spray. It's lighter than Black Forest, but very much in the same family. I definitely would never wear this during the day but this is the kind of scent that I periodically like to use as a sleep scent. Going to drop this one into the nightstand drawer.

Trying out a frimp from a Lab or Post order that has been sitting in my imp stash for who knows how long. Well, this is very foodie! It reminds me of the smell of hot Cream of Wheat cereal, with milk and sugar on top, the way my mom served it when we were kids. Unfortunately, I dislike Cream of Wheat and milk, so this is a no-go. I always had Cocoa Wheats cereal instead, without milk.

I ordered decants of the entire OLLA set immediately after they went live last year. When they arrived, I tested them and put up mini-reviews on the Lab's FB group since the forums were down, but then I lost those when the FB group went away. So here we are, nearly a year later, and I'm re-testing the ones that I didn't immediately buy bottles of after testing. I remember testing Diamond Star, because my impression hasn't changed a bit! On my skin, this is identical to the early 1970's original Bonne Bell Skin Musk perfume oil that I wore all through high school. Soft, slightly sweet skin musk scent, the original one in this bottle, not the crap that they sell now. I can't believe I haven't ordered a bottle of Diamond Star because I need this for old time's sake and because I love how it smells on me.

Dracul is also a nice masculine scent that has just enough fir to give it a hint of forest. It smells wonderful on my husband. "Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom."

Freshly applied to wrist, I get BLASTED with super-sweet cherry almond scent. This reminds me of the pink Breck Crème Rinse that my mother used to use on my hair as a child of the 60's. You had to mix it with water before pouring it over your hair. So pink! So sweet! And no tangles! And then the sweet almond disappears and this turns into cumin. Not soft spices, but bitter and nose-wrinkly. Oh, my Queen, you stink.

This is the One.True.Spray. Banshee Beat in a room spray. Sweet patchouli, vanilla, just a touch of hemp. Several years ago we went to Disney World during the holiday season. I was so struck by how they incorporated smell into the attractions and parades to create a total sensory experience. Well, I want the whole world to smell like this.

For me, I haven't quit them per se--in fact, getting into BPAL has given me a greater appreciation for how "regular" perfume also evolves throughout a day--but I just have so much BPAL now that I forget to ever wear the other stuff! I often recommend to people who aren't used to wearing oils that it can be helpful to give up alcohol based perfumes for a while in the beginning, so that your nose gets used to the notes on your skin without the alcohol. Alcohol based perfumes are intended to be stable enough to smell pretty nearly the same on everyone, making them recognizable (and marketable) when you smell them on someone. If you give them up while testing out oils, your nose will learn to pick out the notes, and more importantly, differentiate how they smell on your skin while wet, drydown, and during hormonal changes. As for me, I stopped buying or asking for alcohol based perfumes after getting into BPAL. I still have some of my old favorites that I wear on occasion, or I pack them when going on trips so I don't have to worry about losing my Preciousss. But mostly I find that I just prefer to wear BPAL because then I don't smell like anyone else!

I love champa and wine scents, so I decided to take a chance on this one based on reviews, hoping I would just get a hint of rose petals. I was not disappointed! This is a beautiful incensed soft rose wine scent, that's pretty much all I can say. I love it and will wear it a lot this spring and summer. It goes great with Blood Rose, Zombi, and other softer rose scents.

This is the perfect companion to the bath oil and atmo spray. Sweet vanilla'd patchouli with a hint of hemp. Long-lasting in my hair, and even though my hair is short, I can get wafts of it. I applied it yesterday to freshly shampooed hair (a bit to damp hair to comb through and a bit more run through my curls after my hair was dry for extra shine and scent.). I could smell it on my pillowcase this morning! Definitely grabbing a backup bottle (even with my huge stash of hair glosses) because I need this in my life. Amber & Patchouli hair gloss has been my favorite of all the glosses, and this equals it. Instead of the semi-sweet amber with the patchouli, RR is sweeter due to the vanilla, and the patchouli is also sweeter and more wearable around those who don't like patchouli. It is also sweeter than my well-aged (5 years) Banshee Beat, but it's the same scent, just without the aging.

I am a major patchouli lover, and I have several bottles of Banshee Beat purchased from UO back in the day, so RR was an instabuy in every format. The only question is how many bottles of each to hoard? I use my bath oils as after shower moisturizers, so fresh from the mailbox I applied some RR to my hands like a lotion. It definitely smells like Banshee Beat! I couldn't wear any scent that day due to a dentist appointment, so I had to wash it off. But I pulled out my bottle of perfume for a bottle-sniff comparison. The main difference is the aging factor. My bottle of perfume is initially stronger on the patchouli and the vanilla stays in the background, whereas the bath oil initially comes off as a sweet vanilla scent with a hit of patchouli. But if I recall correctly, the perfume was sweeter initially as well, with the vanilla initially more prominent. Full on body test the next day, and this is just fabulous! It is a sweet vanilla'd patchouli scent, just a hint of the hemp to give it a dried greenery note, like those rope/straw bracelets made from hemp. This is definitely hoard-worthy, and I'm sure it will age fabulously, since patchouli usually does so. It's still sweeter than my bottle of BB perfume, but that makes it more wearable in situations where you might need to tone down the patchouli. But going for broke and applying perfume on top of the bath oil (and adding the hair gloss) makes this unfuckingbelievable. I seriously hope this becomes GC so I don't have to buy all my bottles at once and can spread out the finances as well as the aging process.

Interfector is a sweet, chewy tobacco scent with a hint of woods and resin. This reminds me of a pipe tobacco that my dad used to use. It smells like that smelled in the pouch, not during or after smoking it. It's very nice and although I like it, my decant will suffice.

In the decant, I initially don't detect anything! What on earth, is my nose blind to this? After applying to my wrist, the complete opposite happens. Lavender blasts off my wrist and into my nose! It's so strong that it gives off a medicinal fume that I can feel in my eyes. I'm not certain that I can ride this one out until drydown, but I force myself to wait. After 30 minutes, the fumes and medicinal smell has faded into that familiar herbal lavender that is good for a sleep-scent. The magnolia has arrived! Just a hint of floral gives this some sweetness, but it's still primarily lavender to me. I really don't detect any of the other notes in this. Misericordia is mostly miserable on me, and not my type of vampire.

Whew! White lily to the max! This is extremely sweet, a very white floral scent on my skin, with no frankincense (which I usually amp). If you love florals, definitely check this one out. It is very pretty and feminine. This one is not for me, however, as I prefer my vampires to be dark, sexy, and bloodthirsty.

A grounded, earthy scent, evocative of the soul’s finer qualities: patchouli, clove, neroli, night-blooming jasmine, sage, and iris. Decant from azurephoenix' circle. I'm finally getting to try out the rest of this line of scents besides my long-beloved Tombeur, one per day. In the decant, my initial reaction is good. This is a spicy incense blend. On skin, oh hello clove! And welcome to my wrist, patchouli! There is a slight sage note on the drydown, and hallelujah no jasmine! Actually, I get no florals from this at all. After 30 minutes, Vespillo has become a softer, gentler version of Clemence: all patchouli and clove. I really like it, but my decant will suffice because I love Clemence even more. Vespillo is much too kindly of a vampire for me. I guess it has to be, to assist with human acceptance. But if I'm going to wear patch and clove, I want it to be INYOURFACE the way Clemence wears on me .

Decant from azurephoenix' circle. I'm finally getting to try out the rest of this line of scents besides my long-beloved Tombeur. OK, this is not at all what I expected. I applied to my wrists before reading the notes and sniffed. Wet, dry, and after 30 minutes this is a generic rose cologne. Nothing like described, not unpleasant or soapy, but not special enough to invest in a bottle. Uh-oh, and now while typing it's starting to give me a headache.

Decant from azurephoenix' circle. I'm finally getting to try out the rest of this line of scents besides my long-beloved Tombeur. Cicuta is as many reviewers have described: dry, dusty rose with incense. I can see the similarities to Rose Cross, but that turned into soapy rose on my skin. Cicuta's rose is the type that I have only recently learned that I can wear. The scent stays close to the skin, and is lovely. This is almost a ghost of the Nosferatu vampire, hiding and ghostly white in the tombs. This scent bears a startling and happy similarity on my skin to the Trading Post's Rose Petals and Champa hair gloss, but without the wine note that is in the hair gloss. I look forward to wearing them together!

I could swear that I reviewed Tombeur years ago, but it's not here, so I will give it another go in simple terms. I ordered my first bottle of Tombeur when the Vampires line initially went live. The mention of Snake Oil coupled with other notes that I love made it a blind insta-buy. I love this scent and went through my first bottle very quickly, because I wanted to bathe in it. On my skin, Tombeur is my beloved Snake Oil mingled with an extra bit of vanilla'd sandalwood and lavender. I can wear vetiver, but I don't even detect it on my skin, so for those who fear vetiver, you shouldn't have to worry. This is just gorgeous! I have a couple of backup bottles aging in my stash, it's that good.

Grave beauty: Spanish moss, lilac, wisteria, myrrh, and olibanum. Decant from azurephoenix' circle. I'm finally getting to try out the rest of this line of scents besides my long-beloved Tombeur. I love Beth's "graveyard" scents, and they are usually the only florals I really like, so I have high hopes for Silenti. On initial application, I smell the olibanum, which doesn't surprise me since I amp frankincense. But it is not harsh or overpowering, and immediately after application the moss and florals come forward. Upon drydown, the myrrh is present. This is just lovely, a soft resinous floral with hints of spring as well as the grave, but without the dirt note. I can see a bottle of this added to my future purchases!

Another hair gloss in the WIN column! I have to echo those who say this is reminiscent of The Infernal Lover. In fact, I sprayed my decant on my wrist and then compared it to my bottle of perfume. The hair gloss has a bit more honey and slightly less red musk than IL, and the saffron gives it a somewhat dry, dusty note, while there is an overall incense vibe to this. Altogether, it's just gorgeous and will go beautifully with other red musk scents. If you missed out on the Red Shirt Diaries, you should be snatching this one ASAP!

I don't usually wear "white" scents, as they typically become sharp in my nose and go straight to my sinuses. In the decant, I can smell the musk and a lot of floral, and it's beautiful. Unfortunately, Ava's notes are too white and once applied, she slaps me in the forehead and flounces straight into my sinuses. Damn you, girl, couldn't you give me a break from your bratty immortal teenage nonsense? Edited to add: review is based on retest of my aged decant that was purchased at initial release of OLLAs.

In the decant, Café Mille is a gorgeous scent. While the coffee is the initial note that I smell, I can also detect the shisha. This is absolutely evocative of an exotic coffee shop! However, once on my skin, the coffee does what coffee notes have always done. It amps, stomps over all the other notes, and turns into the smell of the remnants of day old stale coffee burning on the warmer. So sad, as I had very high hopes that this one would be different on my skin. If it stayed like the decant, it would have been bottle-worthy for sure. I'm jealous of those who can wear this beautiful scent!