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[see previous entries for what I'm doing here.] Picking a favorite grapefruit scent is a toughie for me because I tend to like it. I didn't think I would like it, when I first started trying BPAL scents. In fact, that was during the time when several of the GC grapefruit scents were discontinued because of a component problem, and that was just fine with me because I didn't think I'd like them anyway. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I liked Cheshire Cat. Weird. Then I tried other grapefruit scents and liked those too. So now I have to admit that I do indeed like grapefruit scents. I do NOT, however, like yuzu. In fact, I really hate it. I like that pretty sparkly quality that grapefruit has, and not the harsh acidic yuzu. I'm not even going to bother doing a "favorite yuzu" because I can't stand any of them. Grapefruit always comes out strong on me when I first put on a scent, so all of these are fair game for "primarily grapefruit scents" for me. GCs THAT CONTAIN GRAPEFRUIT Baobhan Sith: Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger. I tried this one again because when I reviewed it I said I liked it but it didn't suit me... but that was back before I realized I like grapefruit. I do like the scent -- it's nice with the tea. The ginger makes it smell a bit off, though. Cheshire Cat: Grapefruit, red currant, dark musk, Roman chamomile, delphinium, and lavender. Smooth, crisp, bright, and shiny. I have a bottle of this and wear it pretty often. Croquet: Pink lime, pink grapefruit, white nectarine, wild rose, sage, woody patchouli, bergamot, and ornery hedgehog musk. I like this one a lot too, just like Cheshire Cat -- I'd need to do a side-by-side comparison to see which one I like better. Megaera: Orris, black amber, bergamot, plum and grapefruit. My notes on this said it was "too citrusy for me," but I probably need to re-try it. Manhattan: sheer amber, black leather, white mint, lemon peel, white tea, grapefruit, kush, teakwood and orchid. I like this one a lot, and I have a 10ml of it. It took a couple of tries before it grew on me, but it grew on me in a big way. My only problem with this scent is that it fades out on me more quickly than most BPAL oils do. Mania: Screeching white musk collides with a howl of red musk, with sharp white grapefruit and pale strawberry leaf. This is another one I like a lot. It's a lot different from the others due to the red musk. Night-gaunt: something akin to yuzu, white grapefruit, and kumquat mixed with the snow-dusted flowers of Mount Ngranek. Very, very bitter on me, and I didn't like it at all. Phobos: Chilling white musk, lemon verbena, white grapefruit and lemongrass. The lemongrass killed this one for me. Shattered: A blend of white champagne notes, grapefruit, lotus, slivered mint and crystalline aquatic blooms. Didn't work because the mint was way too much for me and seemed menthol-y. Also, Versailles has "citrus" in it that smelled like grapefruit to me, but I didn't like that one. I thought Detox maybe had grapefruit in it too, and I liked that one all right, but not as perfume of course. Out of that list, I really like Cheshire Cat, Croquet, Manhattan, and Mania. I tried them all on at once to compare them (plus Baobhan Sith), and I was surprised to discover that I like Croquet better than Cheshire Cat. And although I really like Mania, the red musk in it overpowers the grapefruit, so I can't say it's primarily a grapefruit scent on me. It's primarily red musk. However... Manhattan is the winner. I like its sleekness better than the pretty florals in Croquet. LEs THAT CONTAIN GRAPEFRUIT Hungry Ghost Moon: Offerings of ginger candy, sugar cane, smoky vanilla and rice wine mingle with a ghost's perfume of white sandalwood, ho wood, ti, white grapefruit, crystalline musk and aloe. This scent is tapered by the presence of seven herbs, woods and resins used in the purification of the spirit and the purging of earthly concerns from the soul. This one smells like sugary grapefruit on me, and I liked it. However... I haven't worn this in a year. (Wow, I didn't realize it had been that long.) I need to get out my bottle and test it again. The Ectasy Of Infatuation: Black cherry, pink grapefruit, white musk, lemon verbena, champagne grape, pikaki, plumeria, and Hawaiian ginger. This one is a little too floral for me when it's dry. Monster Bait: Biggercritters: Five vanillas with Moroccan jasmine, white gardenia, and pink grapefruit. The jasmine in this smelled pungent on me. I need to try one of the white-label bottles, though, because when I smelled one at a meet n' sniff it smelled a lot different in the bottle than the critter-label one I tried at Convergence. Queen Of Diamonds: A glittering icicle of a woman, regal, proud and cold: shimmering white grapefruit, pale flowers and lemon bark with orchid, rose and a dash of mandarin. The grapefruit in this one seems to have disappeared. I like it, but I don't think it'll ever be my favorite grapefruit scent because I can't really smell much grapefruit in it. Out of those, I think Hungry Ghost Moon is my favorite. But I like the GC grapefruit scents better than any of these. Verdict on Favorite Grapefruit Scent: Manhattan

June Gloom smelled really strongly of lemon verbena to me -- have you tried Polyhymnia? I though it was sort of close. As far as I know there are only two scents with banana: Manila and Shango. They're both awesome. But coconut is one of the notes I'm planning to do!

A long time ago, when I was wending my merry way through the BPAL GC, I thought that some day I ought to figure out which BPAL blend was my favorite of all the BPAL blends that had one particular primary note. For example, I noticed that I LOVED about 12 dragon's blood blends, but I didn't think I needed bottles of all of them so I thought I should figure out my favorite out of those and just have one bottle of that one. I utterly failed with the dragon's blood one. I bought about 5 different bottles of those. But, there are a few other notes that I like only occasionally, and I really need only one bottle. I don't need to keep around all the various imps, either. So I'm going to try to do this, now that I've made it through the whole GC. I'm starting with VIOLET. GCs THAT CONTAIN VIOLET Arkham: A shadowy, unapproachable forest of maple, birch, dogwood, cypress and pine softened by a garland of New England wildflowers: bergamot, columbine, rue anemone, blue violet, creeping phlox, bloodroot, toadflax, and pixie moss. Light pretty floral, but not primarily violet. Bluebeard: Violet, lavender, white musk and vetiver. Smells more of lavender than violet to me. Ephemera: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves. Pretty, but soft and wistful. Not the sort of loud VIOLET! scent I was thinking of. Fallen: Cherubic white sandalwood and golden musk with a dark halo of amber, a breath of imperial florals, unbending woods, and the shadow cast by vetiver and violet. Not primarily violet at all. Faustus: frankincense and cinnamon, darkened by violet. Not primarily violet. House Of Night: (Maybe has Primrose, violet, Daisies, Narcissus, spotted pinks, yew, myrtle, elm, cypress, cedars, osier, pine, tamarisks, weeping willows, poplar, lotos, lime, poppy amaranthus rose, mint, laurel.) A sorrowful graveyard bouquet of somber blooms, funereal boughs, dismal green and laden with grief. Need to try this again because I can't remember if the violet is a stand-out in this. I Died For Beauty: The Venusian splendor of ylang ylang and violet stirred by hyssop, frankincense, and grave loam. [grave loam, in this case, is oakmoss and Spanish Moss] Not heavily violet, and didn't like it that much. Le Serpent Qui Danse: Violet entwined with vanilla and gardenia. I like this one. Libertine: Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk. This was one of the first BPAL oils I tried, but my husband told me it smelled like old ladies and didn't like it. I swapped it away and haven't tried it since. Need to try it again. Lucretia: Iris, black amber, sage, Kashmir wood, vanilla musk, mandarin and violet. I like this a lot, but it's not primarily violet. Lysander: Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. The myrtle killed this one for me. Marie: A blend of sinuous violet and elegant tea rose. Didn't smell good on me at all. Monna Vanna: Russian rose, mimosa, gardenia, bois du rose, parma violet, calla lily, red currant, ambergris, and bourbon vanilla. Haven't tried it. Morgause: A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. I would include this one in the "primarily violet" family. However, I liked other ones better. Nocturne: Deepest violet touched with lilac and tuberose. I like this one, but it seems mostly lilac to me, rather than violet. Queen Gertrude: Imperial violet softened by wisteria and chrysanthemum, but edged with the regal iciness of delphinium. I need to try this again. It did seem to be strongly violet, but it reminded me so much of Libertine that I sort of ignored it. The Raven: Violet and neroli mingled with iris, white sandalwood and dark musk. I need to try this one again too. I don't remember it well enough to try to do a side-by-side comparison based on my memory of the scent. Saturnalia: Violet deepened with vetiver. Smelled awful on me. Sybaris: Bright violet with sweet clove, Mediterranean spice notes and tonka bean. I like this one a lot, but it seems like it's mostly spicy on me with just a moderate violet undertone. Ultraviolet: Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint. The eucalyptus blast at the beginning really turned me off, but I like the violet+mint combination in dry-down. I think the eucalyptus will keep this from ever being a favorite for me, though. Utrennyaya: Osmanthus, Damascus rose, violet, delphinium, white mint, palmarosa and white sandalwood. Smelled not quite right on me for some reason. Veil: White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang. The lilac and gardenia were strongest in this one, for me. Venice: lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf. Not primarily violet, but I didn't really like it anyway. Wings Of Azrael: Warm myrrh swirled with a bittersweet blend of violet, Lily of the Valley, juniper, cypess and cajeput. Not primarily violet at all for me, and it was only OK. So far it seems like I like Le Serpent Qui Danse the best, but I need to re-try Libertine, Queen Gertrude, and The Raven. I don't have any of those imps. LEs THAT CONTAIN VIOLET The Agony Of Longing: Attar of rose, violet, white pear, Queen Elizabeth root, and freesia. I LOVE THIS ONE. Don't have a bottle of it, but I really want a bottle of it. Bearded Lady: Turkish rose, stargazer lily, violet, honeysuckle, amber, star jasmine and vanilla. I like this a lot and have a bottle, but it doesn't smell primarily violet to me. Crow Moon: vervain, black violet, white musk, and Chinese cedar, is brushed by the last cold wind of winter on their wings, and the scent of evergreen boughs touched by the season's final flowers and the first blossoms of spring: wintersweet, green-barked dogwood, primrose, snowdrop, and lenten rose hellebore bouquet. Like this one too (and have a bottle), but also not primarily violet. The Darkling Thrush: Snow, darkness, and icy air illuminated by the thrush's song: warm amber, soft orris, and melancholy violet. The cold/snowy note dominates in this one. This is one for the cold/snowy decision rather than the violet decision. Faith: Sugared violet. I like this a lot and have a bottle. Flower Moon: a bouquet of vivid, sexy blooms… tulip, daffodil, violet, dewdrop, rhododendron, iris, daisy, and a mix of California wildflowers. Doesn't smell primarily of violet. Melisande, The Puppet Mistress: Jasmine sambac, dark musk, violet water, vanilla bean and mimosa. The jasmine's way too strong in this for me. Ostara: orris root, bergamot, frankincense, daffodil, orange pulp, attar of rose, jonquil, strawberry leaf, benzoin, violet leaf, copal, honey cakes, sweet cream, and the blossoms of springtime. I liked this okay, but I sold my bottle. Purple Phoenix: myrrh, plum blossom, African violet, cognac, fig, orris, lilac, wisteria, black plum, and Burgundy wine grapes. Have a bottle, but doesn't smell mainly of violet to me. Rose Moon: Bulgarian rose, tea rose, violet leaf, opium poppy, Bois de Jasmin, patchouli leaf, honey, blue lilac, balsam, woodruff, and lemon peel. Largely rose, not violet. Taurus 2007: Rose, daisy, apple blossom, violet, poppy, columbine, thyme, and mint. Not primarily violet, and it's not my fave. I'm trying to sell my bottle. White Moon: Lilac, calla lily, wisteria, white sandalwood, moonflower, night musk, phlox, and violet. I like this, but it's definitely more of a white floral than a violet scent. So! Favorite LEs are The Agony of Longing and Faith. If I had my choice the only primarily violet blend I'd ever wear is The Agony of Longing, but I don't have a bottle of it. Faith is pretty, and I have a bottle, but I like the Possets Silver Violets scent just as much if not more than Faith. Verdict on Favorite Violet Scent: The Agony of Longing.

[see previous entries for what I'm doing.] I've lumped these all together because they smell sort of similar on me. I generally dislike dirt and earth notes because they amp so much on me, and often I don't like moss or oakmoss either. Sometimes, though, I find a moss/oakmoss blend that really works on me. GCs THAT CONTAIN DIRT/EARTH/MOSS/OAKMOSS Arkham: maple, birch, dogwood, cypress and pine softened by a garland of New England wildflowers: bergamot, columbine, rue anemone, blue violet, creeping phlox, bloodroot, toadflax, and pixie moss. Bayou: Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms. Burial: The Dark Side of Earth: deep, brooding forest scents, including juniper and patchouli. The scent of upturned cemetary loam mingling with floral offerings to the dead. Cathode: Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints. Crossroads: A chill twilit garden of blooms over dry earth and mosses, heavily laden with incense and offertory herbs. Danse Macabre: Black cypress with oakmoss, frankincense, oude, and a sliver of toasted hazelnut. Death of the Gravedigger: Snow, soil, opoponax and myrrh. Destroying Angel: Papery white notes evoke the grace of this fungi, grounded by thin, crisp soil. Fae: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. Greed: patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss. Horreur Sympathique: blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane. I Died For Beauty: The Venusian splendor of ylang ylang and violet stirred by hyssop, frankincense, and grave loam. [grave loam, in this case, is oakmoss and Spanish Moss] Jazz Funeral: Bittersweet bay rum and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss. Jezirat al Tennyn: smoke and fire, earth and wind. Kiyohime Changes From A Serpent: Salty ocean spray, red kelp, black plum, lychee, sea moss, green musk, hachiya, plum blossom, and matcha. Les Anges Déchus: Khus, blonde tobacco, life everlasting, orris root, black currant, cabreuva, Spanish moss, leather, and ambrette. Les Infortunes de la Vertu: A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with A breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense. Lyonesse: Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. Mad Meg: Fire-scorched earth, black mandarin, cinnamon bark, bitter almond, sage, vetiver, and balsam of peru. Nephilim: Holy frankincense and hyssop in union with earthy fig, defiled by black patchouli and vetiver, with a chaotic infusion of lavender, cardamom, tamarind, rosemary, oakmoss and cypress. Nocnitsa: Her scent is that of a lightless fir wood, nighttime air, wet forest mosses and upturned earth. Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines. Nuit: Her perfume is starry and crystalline, a jewel-clad and glittering paean to night: dazzling white musks, white rose and night-blooming jasmine with the soft moss of moonlit meadows, a waft of Egyptian incense, and a gentle breath of moonflower. Omen: oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli. Penny Dreadful: Soft perfume evocative of noir heroines over rich red grave loam. Phantom Queen: Black orchid, apple blossom, meadowsweet, and rue over Irish moss, hawthorn and red clover. Robin Goodfellow: Dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage. Salomé: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk. Sunflower: Sunflower bouquet, black amber, creeping black moss, wilted greenery, and scorched, dry stems. Thanatos: Dry white sandalwood and soft Siamese benzoin over a lugubrious blend of myrrh, Moroccan rose, mastic, tomb moss and a thin whiff of Greek incense. Two Monsters: Oakmoss, vetiver, black musk, champaca flower, leather, patchouli, ginger, Japanese pittosporum, ambergris and white pepper. Urania: Moonflower, Moroccan jasmine, benzoin, white musk, iris, moss and a flash of ozone. Vicomte de Valmont: ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary. Viola: Gentle tea rose, lilac, Calla Lily, and Somalian Rose layered over golden Peruvian amber, Spanish moss, red sandalwood, rosewood, and myrrh, with the lightest touch of Mandarin. Wilde: A sophisticated traditional gentleman's cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli's passion, tonka bean's decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss' cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme. Zombi: Dried roses, rose leaf, Spanish moss, oakmoss and deep brown earth. Of those ones, the ones that seem to be primarily dirt/earth/moss scents are Bayou, Burial, Cathode, Crossroads, Jazz Funeral, Jezirat al Tennyn, Nocnitsa, Nosferatu, Penny Dreadful, Robin Goodfellow, and Zombi. Of those, I like Bayou, Jazz Funeral, Nocnitsa, and Robin Goodfellow. My favorite is Robin Goodfellow. By the way, although it isn't mentioned in the notes, Ulalume smells like it has a little bit of dirt/earth in it too, and I like that one as well. Death Cap and Masabakes smell like they have some dirt/earth in them as well, and I don't like either of those at all. LEs THAT CONTAIN DIRT/EARTH/MOSS/OAKMOSS Annabel Lee: wild peony, sweet pea, cucumber and white sage with sea lilies and moss. Bad Luck Woman Blues: Spanish moss, black pepper, mullein, sweet sage, vandal root, cypress, cigar tobacco, and a puff of goofer dust cloaked by a swarthy cologne of vetiver, lime, dark musk, caramel accord, and lilac. Banded Sea Snake: Snake Oil with oakmoss, sea moss, and olive leaf. The Castle: A distant whisper of pine, wet moss and dry leaves passing through vast halls and winding dungeons whose scent bears the memory of blood, faded splendor, imperial elegance and stunning violence. Fée: Auoyant, dulcetlend of vanilla, sunflower, carnation, honeydew, peachlossom, lychee, oakmoss and white tea. Faiza The Black Mamba: black amber, caraway, oakmoss, green sandalwood, bergamot, jasmine sambac, gardenia, orange pulp, vanilla, blackberry, black musk, white honey, ti leaf, and ginger. Gnome: No notes listed, but when I tried it, it clearly had dirt/earth in it. Graveyard Dirt: This is the scent of pure graveyard dust, spattered with grave loam and dusted lightly with tombstone moss. Hunger Moon: Ozone, white sandalwood, crystallized white amber, verbena, oakmoss, clary sage, and a hint of white citrus rind. Jólasveinar: Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries. King of Clubs: deeper, darker [than Queen of Clubs] earth notes with dark musk, tobacco leaf, oakmoss, amber, leather, sage and vetiver with fig and bitter almond. Luperci: Raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk. Oborot: Balkan fir sap, dark mosses, Greek Mountain tea flower, black pine, salty ocean spray, deep black earth, and a moon-touched magickal incense of sandarac, frankincense, and ravensara. The Premature Burial: Oppressive darkness, expressed through black orchid and patchouli, smothered by wet soil, a coffin’s teakwood, and the funereal gloom of cypress. Privilege: Armoise, tuberose, white citrus, rose absolute, oakmoss, tiare, tuberose, vanilla, linden, and lemon tree blossom. Queen of Clubs: Soft, deep earth notes with myrrh, amber, pomegranate, dark incense, red currant, rose and vanilla. R M Renfield: moss, cumin, patchouli, Balsam of Peru, and neroli. Roux-ga-roux: Spanish moss, swamp jessamine, bog water, cypress, hickory wood, lobelia, sweet flag, wisteria, and marsh milkweed. Samhainophobia: Menacing Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and clove with a shock of bourbon geranium, grim oakmoss, and dread-inspiring balsams pierce the innocuous scent of autumn leaves. The Sleeper: Night-blooming jasmine, opium poppy, wild rosemary, Calla lily, oakmoss and crypt musk. Swadhisthana: Vanilla, nutmeg, orris root, gardenia, damiana, jasmine, patchouli, ylang, tangerine, bergamot, sandalwood, oakmoss. Vipralabda: benzoin, Greek sage, hay, melaleuca ericifolia, oakmoss, and blue chamomile. Whipporwill: Spanish moss, cedar, black pepper, oakmoss, juniper, bamboo reeds and cardamom. The Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn: red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower. Of those ones, the ones that seem to be primarily dirt/earth/moss scents are Bad Luck Woman Blues, Graveyard Dirt, King of Clubs, Oborot, The Premature Burial, Queen of Clubs, R M Renfield, Roux-ga-Roux, and Whippoorwill. Of those, I like the last three in that list a lot. I'd have a hard time choosing a favorite among those three actually, but if I had to, I'd pick R M Renfield. Verdict on Favorite Dirt/Earth/Moss/Oakmoss Scent: R M Renfield.

I just saw this entry and read it -- congratulations! I'm sorry things didn't go very smoothly for you and Lily, but it sounds like everything turned out all right and that's what's important. I love the name you chose, too.

[see previous blog entry for an explanation of what I'm doing here.] BPAL's chocolate note is usually not so great on me, but my luck is much better with cocoa. So I'll give chocolate/cocoa a whirl. GCs THAT CONTAIN CHOCOLATE/COCOA Bliss: The serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate. This one wasn't my fave. The chocolate didn't work so great on me. Centzon Totochtin: Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood. I like this one, but it's not my favorite because of the red wine. Gluttony: Thick, sugared and bloated with sweetness. Dark chocolate, vanilla, buttercream, and hops with pralines, hazelnut, toffee and caramel. Not primarily chocolate on me at all, mostly nutty/creamy. The Great Sword Of War: Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict. Mainly herby on my skin. Didn't like it. Intrigue: Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes. I like this one a lot; it smells mainly like a cocoa/fig scent on me. Kali: This perfume is a blend of the sacred blooms of cassia, hibiscus, musk rose, Himalayan wild tulip, lotus and osmanthus swirled with offertory dark chocolate, red wine, tobacco, balsam and honey. I like this one okay, but it's not primarily chocolate on me. Mostly honey and wine. Tezcatlipoca: Deep cocoa laced with patchouli, leather armor, ritual incense, and a touch of Xochiquetzal's flowers. I like this one a lot. I used to have a bottle and I gave it to someone who was looking for it. I miss that bottle and often wish I still had it. Vice: A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom. The chocolate just didn't work that well on me. Smelled like tootsie rolls. Velvet: gentle sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla and a veil of deep myrrh. I like this one a lot. A lot of sandalwood and myrrh with just a little bit of cocoa. Favorite GCs are Intrigue, Tezcatlipoca, and Velvet. (Not a surprise that they all contain cocoa and not chocolate.) The cocoa is prominent in all of them, but it's hard to choose a favorite because they all smell so different. I think my favorite is Velvet, though. LEs THAT CONTAIN CHOCOLATE/COCOA Boomslang: Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk. Ahhhh, I love this one. Have 2 bottles. The Candy Butcher: Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone. Didn't work on me at all. Enraged Groundhog Musk: Cranky groundhog musk sweetened up by chocolate-covered black cherries, cardamom, French vanilla, and caramel. The cardamom amped too much in this for me, to my disappointment. Freak Show: fig, pomegranate and cocoa bean with lemon, bergamot, vanilla, mellow honey musk, calamus and tonka. I really like this, but the cocoa bean isn't prominent. This one is similar to Intrigue and Carnal from the GC. I have a bottle of this. Monster Bait: Underbed: Cassia-caked cocoa coconut over angel food cake. The cassia is really really strong in this. I have a bottle of this... not sure why though. I never wear it. The Pumpkin Patch #2: Pumpkin with cocoa, hazelnut and walnut. Largely pumpkin with just a little cocoa. Spooky (Yule 2003 & 2005) A maddeningly festive blend of warm, buttery rum, cocoa, coconut, vanilla and a jolt of peppermint. Mostly minty on me, not too cocoa-ish. The Tell-tale Heart: blood musk, cocoa, black pepper, allspice, dragon's blood resin and vetiver. This is a fantastic scent but seems like mainly spicy dragon's blood on me. I have a couple of bottles of this. Thirteen (4/13/07): A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits: cardamom, fig meat, grains of paradise, rice flower, chamomile, sandalwood, catnip, clove, and a bundle of five blessed blossoms and herbs. This is the purple label one. Too herby for me. Thirteen (10/13/06): Cocoa and vanilla beans, Mysore sandalwood, star fruit, orange rind, red amber, fig leaf, mimosa, rooibos tea, bourbon geranium, rose otto, nutmeg, and lavender. My favorite of the 13s so far. I have one bottle of this. Thirteen (5/13/05 & 1/13/06): thirteen lucky and unlucky components, including white chocolate, tangerine, currant, mandarin, white tea and iris. I like this one (the white label one) but I liked Oct 06 (the orange label) better. Treat #2: A fine confection for discriminating trick or treaters: a fig meat, coconut, anduttercreamonbon rolled in orange rind, mint leaf, cardamom, clove and ginger, dipped in milk chocolate. Not primarily chocolate on me at all, more like Fruit Loops. Wulric, The Wolfman: cocoa absolute, French vanilla, birch tar, lavender, bourbon vetiver, wild musk, clary sage, and cistus. This smelled a little weird and not harmonic on me. Of those, the Oct 06 (orange label) is my favorite of the 13s, but Boomslang is clearly my favorite. I'm so glad that has cocoa in it and not chocolate. I would say that Boomslang is mostly Snake Oil rather than mostly cocoa, but Velvet is my favorite GC and that one's more myrrh & sandalwood than cocoa. Between Velvet and Boomslang I prefer Boomslang, but I'd love to have a bottle of Velvet too. They're really different. (Of all of these, I'd like to have bottles of Boomslang, Velvet, Tezcatlipoca, and 13 orange label.) Verdict on Favorite Cocoa/Chocolate Scent: Boomslang

I get a lot of pink grapefruit from this at first, and just a very faint whiff of florals. As it dries the grapefruit isn't quite so showy, and the florals are more pronounced. It smells sweet and rather tropical to me. It's bright and cheerful, and the whole scent smells pink. Also I can't really tell there's any lemon verbena in here at all, which is a good thing for me. When it's dry it's a little too floral for me, but I like it better than most other florals. It's quite pretty.

Sweet, light green, and soft. The pear is gentle in this, and mostly it seems like a supersweet chamomile to me. I wasn't sure what lettuce would smell like in perfume, but it seems like it's giving the scent a watery crispness. It has a watery feel to it, but I wouldn't call it primarily aquatic. That part of the scent isn't strong. And surprisingly, the sweet pea doesn't ruin it for me at all. This isn't my usual kind of scent, but it does smell good. It seems like a great scent for Cancer, to me.

I know a lot of people think that cat-macro-speak is really cute and funny, and I'm glad that people are enjoying themselves. Personally, though, I really dislike it. A lot. It was sort of cute the first time I saw a cat macro about a year ago, but it got old fast, and now it's pretty much into clenched teeth territory. It wasn't so bad when the macro thread first came out and it was contained just to that thread, but that way of writing and arranging words/letters has now leaked into posts in other threads and it's been showing up on the LJ BPAL communities too. It's gone beyond just being annoying for me. I can ignore it if it happens once in a while, but all of a sudden it's everywhere. I guess that means I have to avoid the forums and the LJ communities for a while. It's kind of weird because I feel like I've put up with lots of things -- being swaplifted, being snarked at, trying to avoid the drama -- and in the end it was cat-macro-speak that ended up being more than I could deal with.

Judging by other reviews I'd say this smells different on me than it smells on most people, but... I think French Love is the best-smelling oil of all the Voodoo Blends. It's one of the few that I'd wear as perfume. It's a spicy but smooth dragon's blood. Sometimes dragon's blood smells kind of sticky and sweet on me, but it doesn't in this one. It's all smooth and wonderful. I don't know what spice that is with it... actually, that might not be true. It's a little bit floral and a little bit spicy, so it might be carnation. It does smell sort of like carnation to me. I already have a bottle of this, and I love it. It's such a great scent -- comforting and alluring all at the same time.

At first I smell a very faint tinge of pear and sweet pea that is amping into the stratosphere. I love lilies and heliotrope, and I like pear too. But sweet pea goes nutso on my skin. It's really not behaving itself at all. When it's dry I can smell lily a little bit, but not enough to save the scent for me. Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is the only BPAL blend I've found so far that works on me even though it has sweet pea in it. I was hoping Juliet would be another exception to the rule, but sadly no.

Sweet mercy. That is STRONG. She is not kidding about that "spiked hard with eucalyptus" part. Fortunately the eucalyptus dies down after a bit and then it smells more like violets and mint. That part is actually not so bad. But I really strongly dislike the blast of eucalyptus at the beginning. I swear it was so strong that when I sniffed my wrist I thought it was going to singe my eyebrows off. It was like a raging bonfire of eucalyptus. I'm liking the violet/mint combination well enough that I'm thinking about keeping this imp around. It seems like a good scent for a hot day, so maybe I'll give it a whirl one of these days in July and August. Some day when I'm feeling really, really brave.

A curious blend of rose and light apples. It smells better than it sounds, I think. The ylang ylang doesn't make it go too sweet at all on me. Interesting... I don't usually like rose or apple scents, but I like them together in this. The apple blossom keeps the scent bright so the rose doesn't remind me of an old lady perfume. This smells young and fresh. Yeah, I like this. I'm surprised that I do, but I do. I'm even sort of wishing I had a bottle of this.

Nobility and haughtiness befitting the Antichrist: sage, carnation and cedar with lavender, vanilla, white musk and leather. This one and Tombstone are my favorite BPAL GC scents that my husband wears. It smells GREAT on him and suits him really well. (Although, to be honest, I can't imagine a man this wouldn't suit.) The leather is pretty strong in it, and the cedar and vanilla are wonderful with it. The whole thing smells a little rugged and manly. Obviously, I really like this one a LOT. It's not one I'd wear myself, but I'm glad my husband has a bottle of it!

The black narcissus is lovely in this and smells great with the opoponax and labdanum. It's dark and hazy without being smoky. It smells kind of lazy and languid to me. Narcissus has a very particular scent, and I can see how some people might not like this if they don't like narcissus. However, I like that flower -- it's one of the few I do like. This one's a keeper.

These Muses don't seem to be working for me at all. Melpomene is no exception. It smells like powdery orange blossom and sharp lavender on me, with some sort of dry wood behind it. I guess that's the cypress. It has a significant edge to it that I don't really care for. It's a little medicinal. *sigh* I wish just one of the Muses would work for me.

This smells extremely familiar to me, but I have no idea what it reminds me of. I feel like it's on the tip of my tongue. It reminds me of lilacs more than a little, but more like lilac perfume rather than the actual flower. It's turning kind of powdery on my skin, which isn't a good thing. It mostly smells like a floral-scented dusting powder to me. I'm uber-picky about florals and this one doesn't make the cut for me. It's really unusual, though, and I'm glad I tried it.

As soon as I opened the imp I got a big whiff of melon. I put it on my skin, and the melon scent morphed into something like cucumber. Green, sweet, and a little juicy. This smells fresh and pleasant. Not clean like laundry detergent, but clean like pure. When it's dry it has more of a floral aspect to it, something bright and almost watery. Very slightly tart. I end up with the overall impression that it smells odd. I'm not sure why. As I was sniffing it while it was drying down, it seemed like I kept liking it. But when it's dry there's something about it that's off-putting to me. I wish I knew what it was. It's like there's an underlying green-ness. Eucalyptus, maybe? Also, it's unbelievably strong on me. I feel like someone would be able to smell it from a mile away. I really can't make up my mind whether I like this. I liked the melon & cucumber stages. But when it's dry whenever I sniff it I feel like I'm getting a sudden headache. It's sort of weird.

OK. I now have 3 BPAL blends that should have smelled terrible on me but turned out to be wonderful. Whippoorwill, R. M. Renfield, and now Robin Goodfellow. I really dislike herbs in perfumes, and sage is like the kiss of death. Moss is generally blech, too. However... when these notes all come together the end result is gorgeous. I thought this oil smelled horrifying in the imp and I was reluctant to even try it. When I first put it on I thought it was terrible. Smelled like wet weeds. Then I ignored it for about 10 minutes and came back to it. Woah! What a difference. The musk and moss came out and stomped out the herbs, and it turned into a rich, deep mossy scent. Dark, and with an edge. I'm still amazed that I like this so much. It's not something I'd wear every day, or for every occasion, but I will definitely wear it.

Hunh. Not what I was expecting. This smells kind of foodie on me. A bit like caramel and amber. I can't smell any floral notes at all here. The pink pepper gives it a really tiny kick but it's barely noticeable. Mostly it seems like a really smooth, warm amber. I'm not complaining! Golden amber is my favorite amber -- it never goes powdery on me. Just smells deep and rich. The pink pepper comes out a little more when it's dry, and yes, it is definitely PINK. Wow. This is a surprise winner. Wasn't sure I'd like it, but I really do. It has great throw, too.

If lilac musk is what I'm smelling here, I like it. (I don't think I've ever smelled lilac musk before.) This isn't something I'd describe as "floral" at all, but there's a very slight floral undertone. My overall impression is that this is mostly a masculine scent. Unfortunately when it's dry the myrtle comes out strongly. That might be great except I don't like myrtle. It smells herby and dusty. This doesn't smell foodie AT ALL on me. Sadly this one isn't going to work for me. I think the myrtle and the blackberry leaf make it a little too dry/dusty for me. If it was mostly tonka and lilac musk on my skin I'd probably love it. However, apparently my skin had other plans.

At first it's an extraordinarily sweet rose. Not the creamy soft kind of rose that I like. But, it's also not soapy or artificial-smelling. As it dries it deepens and isn't quite so sweet. It's quite light, too. I don't like rose scents that knock you over with their rose-ness. This one warms up into a pretty rose scent that isn't very strong. It has a faintly dewy quality and smells pure and rather innocent. I'm not usually a fan of floral scents, and particularly not rose scents, but this is nice. I don't think it's for me, but I'd love to smell this on someone else.

I'm back already! I couldn't even stay away for a week. I think I've developed a tolerance. I can mostly just scroll by now, and it doesn't annoy me any more. I still hope it's a phase, though. Yep. If you want to see lots of examples of this sort of thing, try cuteoverload.com. I can't look at that site without wanting to claw my eyes out, but apparently lots of people think it's great. The macro/lolcats thing has kind of developed a life of its own and it's all over the internet now instead of being confined to certain sites.

Yeah. Me too. (About the Internet-speak, I mean.) I promise, I really do have a sense of humor. I even think some of the cat macros are funny. I laughed at the one that showed a cat hitting a keyboard with the caption "F5! F5! F5!" But the baby talk and purposely stupid-sounding grammar... that's just not my thing. However, since I'm fully aware that I'm rather a killjoy on this and many people love it, I'll just politely excuse myself until things return to normal.

Night-blooming flowers are usually pretty good ones for me, and these are good! I like the florals in this a lot. However, the herbs are not really my fave. I bet if the herbs weren't there I'd probably like to wear this one. It has sweet, pretty, fresh feel.