Poenari

Knock-A-Dolly I love you! You smell just like my beloved Death of Autumn perfume, but with an after-shot of cinnamon sugar. Just terrific! (but it definitely benefits from a shake rattle or roll to re-blend the leaves with the cinnamon before spraying) I hope that the terrible component problems that plagued Puddin' with this spray don't keep it from ever returning.

On Halloween, I dressed as a vampire so I wore Crypt Queen. Today I wore Pumpkin IV (2009) layered over BPTP's Pumpkin Pie Bath Oil. For Christmas Eve, definitely Midnight Mass. Christmas Day, I haven't decided yet. Either Lick It Again or Shub, depending on whether I feel more pepperminty or gingerbready

Another win for me! This is another one of Beth's dark and smoky clove scents, which I love. I don't know how she manages to It reminds me of Valentine of Rome layered with Mort de Cesar. I will have to skin-test each of these next to each other and report back.

I'm another one who needs to make the comparison to Fearful Pleasure. Let me say first that I adore Fearful Pleasure, which when fresh was all smoky apple cider on me, and has now aged to an even smokier cider. It's one of my absolute favorite Halloween scents and I am rationing my bottles (two) because I just don't want to be without it. So I was uncertain about whether I needed Lambs-Wool, due to the similarities in the reviews. However, I am so glad I ordered a bottle, and I even need to order a backup before it goes away. On my skin, Lambs-Wool is exactly like Fearful Pleasure but without the smoke! This is also a good thing, because there have been times I've worn FP to work and thought it was just too strong and smoky for that environment. So for the times I really want to wear a spicy but creamy apple cider that goes on strong and seems to last a long time, then Lambs-Wool fits the bill perfectly! If the smoke was the only note putting you off from FP, then get Lambs-Wool. Get some!

Puddin' graced me with a generous supply of Asylum to make up for a long-lost order, and I am so happy to have this! Asylum starts off with a whoosh of cold mint, and as Mordath said, it's slightly antiseptic and with ozone. I am not good at deciphering floral notes, but I think I detect geranium- at least that's what seems to be lurking just underneath the mint. If you get locked into this Asylum you won't get out any time soon! It lasts and lasts. I have a silk ivy arrangement hanging in my guest bathroom and sprayed a couple of pumps on it yesterday morning, and it is still scenting the entire bathroom this morning. If I were having a Halloween party this year (and sadly I am not) Asylum would be the perfect scent to spray throughout the house. My husband's favorite movie is "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", and this Asylum is the perfectly evocative depiction of that movie! The first "blast" is a fresh scent of Nurse Ratched in her starched white uniform greeting you with her icy smile as you are admitted; there are a few floral arrangements scattered around the common room you pass through, but as you are walked down the hallway to your room, you realize with an unsettling sense of horror that you are not leaving this Asylum any time soon. I hope Puddin' makes this one available so everyone can try it!

The only ingredient in Lucy, Kissed that made me pause slightly before ordering was the rose, because rose hates me. But there is supposedly rose in Crypt Queen, which is a scent I adore and which doesn't at all come across as rose on my skin, so I had to take a chance on this too. I am so glad that I did! Initially, it is all red musk, patchouli, and dragon's blood yumminess on me- not a bad start, but very reminiscent of Lust, which I already have. The red musk stays out in front of the patchouli, and they both quickly dry down to the point where I can detect a violet/rose floral mingled with the dragon's blood. Fortunately it's not overpoweringly rose. There is an earthiness to this, but not the Graveyard Dirt kind of earthiness. Overall, this is very evocative of Lucy's dark seductiveness after she's been turned. My body chemistry allows me to easily wear scents that others describe as dark and heavy, and this is something I can see myself wearing frequently. This is so nice that I'm thinking it may even be 2nd bottle-worthy.

Other than Mme. Moriarty (which I cannot live without) I've puposely avoided trying any other CD scents because I feared getting hooked on more of them. I finally caved, and ordered some decants of a few that I just knew would work on me. Clemence was one of these, and my fears have been realized. She's fabulous! At first application on my wrist, I am getting- not a smackdown, but definitely a detectable hint of patchouli, enough to say "oh hai, patchooli!" but then it is gone. This was immediately followed by the most beautiful spicy clove-y carnation I've smelled in years! This is the kind of carnation I remember from my childhood, when my dad would occasionally give my mom flowers. Carnations were always my favorite flower because of this- they were so spicy and warm smelling, but they just don't smell like that from the florist nowadays. This is a blended clove and carnation all swirled together and I just love it! After about 20 minutes, I get a woodsy teak note coming through, but maybe that's the cardamom and tea. All in all, Clemence is a huge hit and I am now forced to order a bottle!

I finally "bit the bullet" and ordered some Snake Pit decants. I love Snake Oil, whether fresh or aged, but wasn't sure if I'd like it with mint. Green Tree Viper is a combination of F5 and Snake Oil, and I really like this! I often wear either one of those scents at bedtime, but would have never thought of layering them. This is very warm and soothing, and yet fresh... it's not a sharp mint, but the kind that makes you want to snuggle under the covers.

This is all dark smoky vetiver and licorice on my skin- way more than a hint of vetiver and anise! Fortunately, I love both of those notes. The smoky note is predominant at first, with the anise trailing behind. This is very earthy and dark, but softens to a sweeter blend at drydown, though the smoke never fades on me. It definitely won't be for everyone, and I am certain that my husband won't like it, as he never likes any of my vetiver-based scents, neither on me nor on him. But this is the kind of scent that I can wear to work on those rainy, cloudy days in the spring when I know my office will be freezing- it would warm me up!

Wow- the minute I opened the imp, the pennyroyal hit me in the face! Strong minty lavendar scent. I don't think I'll skin-test this one till I have a headache and need something strong. But my cat loved it- he is a mint-freak, and this is the first BPAL that he's actually come over immediately to sniff. None of the "Lick-it's" have attracted him. I'll have to find out if pennyroyal is in the catnip family!

Trauma Whipped layers very nicely under Agape, for a soft, fruity spring scent.

My decant broke during shipping, but the oil-soaked envelope really made my mailbox smell great! And when I brought it inside, I could smell Makhanitis across my entire kitchen. There was enough oil soaking the bubblewrap that I could get a skin-test. I can definitely understand the comparisons to Urd, which I love. It's strong plum and champaca, but the sandalwood gives this a darker undertone on me. At first I didn't think I'd need a bottle of this because of the similarity to Urd, but I could still smell this lingering in my kitchen the next day, and there is enough difference that I decided I must order a bottle.

I should just know better by now than to try scents with rose. They just never work with my chemistry. This is all soap with a strong sour green smell. Not good on me at all, and had to wash it off.

hackess, I just have to say thank you thank you thank you, for taking the time to keep this spreadsheet updated! I know it's a lot of work, and probably a labor of love, but I appreciate it sooooo much!

Resurrecting this thread, because I received a frimp of Imp in my most recent lab order, and realized that it's perfect for wearing over Trauma Whipped. They have many of the same notes, and the others go well with each other: Imp- Devilishly playful: white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli Trauma- Ripe peaches dripping with dragon’s blood, against a sweet skin-scent of Egyptian musk, amber and myrrh.

I adore autumn scents and will wear them year round, or at least from late August through May. I love scents that are spicy, smoky, and strong. So I thought Fearful Pleasure would be perfect, although I decided to order a decant instead of buying a bottle unsniffed. At first, this was all fresh apple cider- slightly spicy, and not very strong. I thought it was ok, but not a real keeper because there just wasn't enough throw. But I've never had a BPAL scent morph on me the way this one does, and thankfully, it's all good. About two hours after application, I started smelling something smoky, like someone had a fireplace going. But I was indoors, and thought that wasn't possible. Then I realized the smell was me! The cider has faded, and I am catching wafts of smoke when I move. I really do love this and now I must buy a bottle! Must update my review~ Now that it's been aged nearly a year, the smoke has become a lot stronger, as if you are standing over a wood stove stirring a pot of bubbling apple cider. You take a deep breath, and the smoke from the woodfire blends with the cider as you inhale. This has become even more long-lasting on my skin. I put some on yesterday afternoon and can still smell the smoke on my skin this morning, the way smoke from a bonfire stays in your hair. This is the perfect autumn scent if you like smoke, and I'm so glad I bought backup bottles!

I adore Snake Oil, whether fresh or aged, but I've never tried Dorian so I am not really sure what it would smell like on me, and I don't care for lavender except in a mild form at bedtime. I almost skipped this one entirely, but then I was frimped a decant and OMG I immediately ordered two bottles! Lilith Victoria is such a beautiful scent. I absolutely get Snake Oil in the imp as well as on my skin, which is all good, but this is a softer version. Snake Oil is INYOURFACE vanilla on me, and I've never understood the people who get baby powder from Snake Oil, but now I understand. I don't know if it's the Dorian or the lavender, but the combination softens the Snake Oil into a gentle smooth vanilla lavender. I know I will wear this to bed, but I really think this will be very wearable for work. It's very pretty and I wish I were better at describing scents. I put some on my wrists before bed, and I recall sniffing myself during the night whenever I turned over. Lovely vanilla and lavender and oh so soothing. edited for spelling and to add: This lasts forever and the throw is amazing- the next evening, I went into my bedroom to change clothes after work and the minute I entered the room I could smell LV! It must have gotten on my pillow or sheets from my wrists.

The 2007 version was my first try of Sugar Skull and I fell completely in love with the brown sugar/caramel/incense scent of it and bought multiple bottles. I still have one backup bottle, but thought I'd better try a decant of the 2008 version to compare them and decide if I need a bottle of 2008 as well. I think I do! 2008 is slightly fruitier at first, though on my skin it seems to dry down the same. This might simply be the difference between fresh and aged Sugar Skull; it's been long enough that I can't remember if my 2007 had that same initial fruityness when I first wore it. If so, it disappeared with aging. If not, then I'll be happy to have each version.

I finally tried my frimp from the lab. Rose-ish scents aren't usually good on my skin, though I like the smell of roses, so I decided to try it in my oil burner. But first I had to try it on my skin to be sure. At first, it was overwhelmingly cherry-almond, but that faded in seconds, and then the rosewood came out and immediately turned to soap on my skin. As I expected. In the burner, however, it's a mild rosewood. So mild that I used the entire imp mixed into 1/4 of a melted tealight in the burner, and can still only smell it when very close to the burner. It's very nice and soothing, however, and would be a great scent for someone who likes a softer rose scent that is not overpowering.

Reading back through this thread, I can see that there are a lot of fans of Embargo. Today I tried Embargo Whipped over under my BPAL Goblin. Obviously it ramps up the patchouli, but the coconutty goodness hangs in there. Yummy! (edited because I was upside down)

I was on vacation for a week and left my Villainess at home. I decided to give Quick or Dead another try, but I still don't care for it on it's own. However, after applying Snake Oil on top, we have a winner!

I just got my order from The Soapbox Co today, with the following never-before-sniffed scents: Xia, Kill Switch, Trauma, and Quick or Dead in Whipped, Trauma and Quick or Dead in soaps. I had to test each of the scents right away. So far my favorite is Kill Switch. I think it will be perfect for layering with Crypt Queen, Prospero, and Mme. Moriarty. On my little arm-testing site I don't get much scent at all from Trauma or Xia- I wonder if they need a little more time to "cure." If not, at least I will be able to layer them freely with almost any BPAL I own. Unfortunately, I am not at all happy with my initial test of Quick or Dead. It's definitely got a strong leather smell, but there is another note overpowering the leather that smells like a mens' bathroom to me. That one might have to go straight to the swap pile...

Very strong red wine scent. Almost too boozy, but the honey sweetens it and the myrrh darkens it. I almost get a chocolate note- that might be the myrrh reacting to my body chemistry. I like this but not enough to get a bottle. This invokes a similar "feeling" to me as Centzon Totochtin, which I prefer.

Valentine of Rome and Mort de Cesar! They are heavy on the clove to me- both are LE's but fairly available. Also, I didn't get any clove from Dracul at all, and wondered what everyone was talking about. I set my bottle aside (it's now aged for two years) and just tried it again this week, and it's OMGClove! If you like dragon's blood, then I also recommend Blood. It's all clove and dragon's blood, and one of my very very favorites.

I thought I already asked this, but apparently not.... I live in dread of running out of my beloved Crypt Queen. Has anyone come up with something similar enough to keep me from crying when it's gone? I did a search of this thread, and found one recommendation, for Mme. Moriarty. I agree that the Mme. could be a distant relative, but I am hoping that someone can recommend another option.