Poenari

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.

Very disappointing to me, because I like all of the individual notes. But this smells like a tiny bathroom that has extra rolls of dry toilet paper, the industrial kind, stacked on the back of the toilet. Not disgusting, just not a pleasant smell.

Have you tried Proserpina with Crypt Queen? OMGYUM. OMG you are soooo right about Proserpina and Crypt Queen! I wore them today and caught amazing wafts of scent coming from me all day long! And the Embargo/Urd combo is definitely made of win!

So far, my favorite combos of Villianess Whipped and BPAL are: Grundy and Premature Burial Grundy and Crypt Queen Proserpina and Mme. Moriarty and I'm off to try the earlier recommendation of Embargo and Urd- I bet that will be my favorite.

I love Bloodlust, but I don't get any cinnamon spicyness from it. On me, it's very heavy on the vetiver and patchouli. For a spicy dragon's blood blend, you might try Tanin'iver. One of the notes is cassia, and when I first opened the bottle, all I could smell was cinnamon. I must amp cassia, because that is the predominant note when I wear it- mmmm all cinnamon and dragon's blood.

I finally tried my frimp of Midnight Kiss, and instead of cocoa being out front and center, I get a wonderful blend of the sandalwood, musk, and patchouli with just a hint of boozy grape. On my skin, it reminds me of a softer, and less GRAPE!!! version of Urd. editing to add another recommendation: I received a frimp of Centzon Totochtin, and after trying it, I think this one is much closer to Midnight Kiss. It has the same cocoa and boozy wine, but less of the patchouli and musk. I'm afraid layering a little Centzon Totochtin and Urd would be too much grape. I'll have to think about which patchouli/musk scent would be a better layer with the Centzon Totochtin, and will report back later.

I'm a major chocoholic, but as much as I love eating chocolate, I've learned that I hate smelling like it. So even though I was excited to received frimps of Midnight Kiss twice from the lab, I put them right into my imp box for future swapping. Fear of the cocoa kept me from even trying it. Last night I was in the mood to try something new, and thought what the heck, let's do it! Midnight Kiss it is. Well, this is not at all what I expected on my skin! This is all warm sandalwood, musk and patchouli, with a hint of boozy berries. And none of the feared chocolate! I can smell the cocoa in the vial, but it does not come out on my skin at all. I applied before going to bed, and can still smell it on my wrists this morning. This is a lovely scent, and I will now be keeping my frimps, but I have enough other similar scents that I won't need a bottle.

On my skin, Lucifer is a beautiful blend of patchouli and vetiver, with an underlying sweetness that I think must be the fig. I tend to amp vetiver, and this is no exception, but the patchouli also stays right there with it. This is a warm scent, and it lasts forever on my skin. I applied a few drops on my way home from the Cinci meet'n'sniff, and could still smell it hours later when I went to bed that night. Many thanks to Forspecial Plate, who so generously gifted me with this decant of Lucifer!