minnalavender

Ooooh I LOVE this! I'm not a big evergreen/pine fan, but Shanghai Tunnel is the exception to the rule. It is so fresh and brisk, with great throw and lasting power. Sweet, slightly floral, very fresh and evergreen - on my skin it's like a walk in a springtime forest - but as in Black Opal, I can faintly detect that "stone" note. How does Beth do that?? I can see wearing this both in the summer to combat the insane dry heat here, and also in the winter near Yule when pine is seasonally appropriate. Very gender neutral - anyone could wear this and smell great! Like Western Diamondback, oh would I love to smell this on a man! Gorgeous, unique scent, and my surprise favorite of the Convergence scents!

I suck at picking out notes even when they're listed, so I'll just list impressions here. Guhhhhh. Sex in a bottle. The Unheavenly City is a dusky, creamy, languid floral, with some spice and a little sting, so I'm tentatively guessing cinnamon or cassia is in there - the red color of the oil would tend to support that guess. I don't know if musk is a note, but it has the down and dirty yet somehow sweet smell that musks turn into on my skin. The throw is very close, and I applied a generous dab to my inner wrist. If I could wear it, this is something I'd slather on if I were going out at night, esp. if I knew I'd be cuddling with someone. Unfortunately I think the stinging and skin irritation it produces is going to make TUC a strictly scent locket candidate for me. But hey - just because my skin objects to it, my nose doesn't. It's gorgeous! I can see this scent being one of the all-around favorites of the CXIII offerings. It's a beautiful, sultry, sexy scent and I love it.

Tamamo-no-Mae’s scent is soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo soke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha. AAARRGGHHH!!! *bang bang bang* That's the sound of me kicking my own ass for not picking up another bottle of this at the vending booth at the Con. I knew I'd love it unsniffed, and I do! I was so distracted I forgot. (Someone needs to invent Post-Its for the skin. lol If I could write stuff down on my hand like in school I'd remember!) Probably not. I'm kind of a flake. But I'd at least be trying! Tamamo-no-Mae is nearly identical to Hungry Ghost Moon on me, which is one of the highest compliments I can give a scent. HGM is my Holy Grail of feel-good scents, the one I turn to when I'm so down and blue that it's hard to muster the courage to soldier on. T-n-M is even brighter and more cheery than the Ghost. It's just pure in a bottle. Notes? You want notes? Fancy that. Sultry, sweet citrus and tea and Asian spices is as close as my nose and brain will ever get to the actual contents. It just SMELLS REALLY FUCKING GOOD. Trust me. Well, I'll be searching the secondary market for T-n-M. *squares shoulders* I cannot possibly go on with only one measly bottle of it! (edited to add Lab's description)

Ah'Duno what all's in this, but it's a hoot! In the vial: mint? I smell Dragon's Blood and and almost spearminty/cinnamon gum note! This is very spicy and fresh, not at all floral, but not really foody either. Wet on my skin, it blooms like crazy! I just dotted on a dab and I can smell it all around me. I totally get the root beer/sarsaparilla reference too - it's an almost effervescent scent. Very gender-neutral, almost asexual despite its sweetness. My skin amps sweet notes but I bet on another person the musky and mysterious aspects of the DB would predominate... The drydown is very similar to the initial application - it doesn't morph much on me, other than my skin amping the Dragon's Blood, a sweet and somehow mysterious note that I really enjoy. The cinnamon is definitely holding its own with its wonderful scent (and not so wonderful stinging). This is a very fresh and uplifting and amusing scent. Ah'Duno if I will wear it much, but it's fun and silly and a wonderful memento of a totally great evening!

Skin chemistry is an interesting thing. In the bottle, MB:BC smells like a delicious orange creamsicle melting atop a buttery slice of yellow cake. Wet on my skin, the dreaded gardenia and jasmine immediately begin to do their Evil Southern Belle "HEY YA'LL!!!!" routine. (Those two notes... it's sort of like being ganged up on by Delta Burke and Paula Dean.) I'm of half a mind to get out the rubbing alcohol. FORTUNATELY, this stage is extremely short-lived. UNFORTUNATELY, the scent itself is nearly as short-lived as that phase. The flowers mellow down and I get a nice cakey vanilla for about 15 minutes, then it's gone. Poof! If I press my nose to my arm I can still detect a trace of vanilla, but the lovely grapefruit note never even makes a token appearance. Fuckities. But them's the breaks!

Bloody Mary is a strange one. In the vial and on my skin wet, there's a slightly funky note that I can't identify, but is slightly offputting. I smell cherries and sugar and something else, similar to the milk in Milk Moon...? In the first five minutes I'm not sure if I like her or not - is she a victim of my skin chemistry? But once she dries down she's a nice sweet ultra sugary cherry scent. Unfortunately I think Bloody Mary is a little too sweet and girlish for me. I can see how she'd be gorgeous on the right woman - one a lot younger than me.

My profound thanks to the Labbie who threw Al-Azif in to my last order as a frimp. Wow. Just wow. I LOVE this. I never would have tried it based upon the description - I thought it was be strong and dark. My bad. I would have really missed out! This scent is so farking complex I can't begin to guess what's in it. But on my skin it's a floral, brown sugar, resiny incense with subtle, sweet vanilla layered underneath. I can't stop huffing my wrist! Even though it's quite light, it has good throw and average length of wear. I won't mind carrying an imp of it with me for frequent reapplication either. 5ml bottle for SURE. It's so relaxing and pretty, the best of three of my favorite families of notes: floral, sugar, and incense. Yum.

I had high hopes for Lady Luck - all the notes, with the exception of dreaded iris, are favorites - and she doesn't disappoint. This is a beautiful rose scent from beginning to end, with a faint breath of peony and the benzoin and tonka to add depth and contrast. Lady Luck is smiling on me as iris doesn't amp and give me a headache! If you're a fan of understated, wistful florals then you will adore this scent. Everyone who loves rose scents like Parlement of Foules, Rose Red, London, etc. should grab a bottle of it to add to their collection - it's a must-have! Gorgeous. Thanks to Beth for this beautiful rose fragrance and the added boon of Lady Luck. I really lucked out on this update - three for three!

I just had a nosegasm. lol Wet, MB: TS combines the sharp, biting peppermint of Lick It and the smooth, buttercake vanilla frosting of Snowblind in one bottle, but with some foody, dark note not listed but definitely present - almost a wood or cardamom note. Godzilla is definitely NOT a sweet, innocuous mint on my skin. Underneath the edible goodness lurks a darker scent. It is SO not what I expected, either from the description or the reviews! Vanilla is usually as innocent as hell on me, fluffy, candy sweet, but this dark note lurking beneath the surface of the ocean from which Godzilla has arisen is far from fluffy. I'm really glad, too! I wanted something different from a monster, and I got it. I am really glad I gambled on two bottles unsniffed. I will use this far more often than the LI or SB, the former because it's such a pure peppermint and the latter because it's so friggin' rare and costly. I can see layering this with the new 13 - oh my God, would that smell awesome - sweetly sinister. And it would be AMAZING layered with Snowblind - sweet candy with a mysterious dark center. As it dries down, the peppermint recedes, but the darker note remains, combining with the sweet vanilla top note. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. What a fantastic mint scent. This monster is awesome.

None of the previous incarnations of 13 have appealed to me or worked well with my skin chemistry, yet when it returned I bought another bottle of it unsniffed anyway. Hope springs eternal, etc. Luckily, this version works much, much better! I think it's the cocoa absolute and the cardamom. Oh man - on my skin, 13 smells like what I wished Enraged Groundhog Musk smelled like, rich dark cocoa and cardamom being the predominant notes. In the bottle and wet on my skin, cocoa absolute is the main player. (My bottle did have a small amount of c.a. at the bottom, necessitating a good spin to mix it.) Once it hits my skin, it starts morphing. Cocoa, slightly bitter spices, and a brief whiff of sweet, rich cardamom... each stage another note comes to the fore. The drydown is the gem in this scent. Oh, the cocoa and the cardamom... it's EGM meets Treat #2! Mmmmm. It continues to sweeten as it fades, too. 13 is fairly gender-neutral on me, nothing floral or too sweet, really more foody than anything else. I think this would smell delicious on the right man. I really like this version and unlike the other two, I'm keeping it!

Can't believe I've never reviewed this scent! It's one of my faves from the Carnavale. In the bottle and on my skin, Antonino is mostly lemon verbena, fig, and a touch of lavender. No coconut and no vetiver, which is quite strange as my skin amps vetiver. In this stage, it reminds me of a grownup lemon drop, sugary sweet and tart, but with something herbal, almost sage-ish, and mature beneath the sweetness. Very unisex - this would smell delicious on the right man, too. The throw is slight to none - this is definitely a nuzzling type of fragrance - but it lasts forever. This is one I'd love to smell a trace of on the pillowcases in the morning. As it dries down it becomes the most delicious wisp of figgy lemon sweetness, kept from innocence by the musk. Oh, how I love musk! It's got to be the sexiest note in the world; combined with the delicious lemon verbena it's both crisp and erotic. Antonino smells so good I could eat my arm. This scent will be in heavy rotation this summer during the warm evenings when I want to feel alluring, yet need something that isn't too heavy. We have a winnar!

Blinding Glory of Love is gorgeous stuff! I know I'm not supposed to, but I'm gonna wear this as perfume. A minty, herbal red musk? It's like one of my dream fragrances. I layered Blinding Glory of Love with Smut today, and the drydown was almost indistinguishable from it. I know my skin amps musk like crazy so that's probably why, but for me that's a good thing. I love that boozy red musk in Smut, and it blends seamlessly with the red musk note in Blinding Glory of Love. I can smell the rosy note in the bottle, but it doesn't amp on my skin. My skin holds onto the minty herbal and musk notes, for a long time too. I just dabbed a tiny bit behind my ears and I could smell it strongly on my pillowcase the next morning. Mmmmm. It works, too - not indiscriminately, thank goodness, but quite well with my spouse. That was lovely. I am extremely happy. A lovely, effective blend. I foresee many bottles of this in my future.

My sympathies to you for your heartache. I have a whole box full of TALs and Voodoo blends for depression and heartache that unfortunately I use quite frequently. I wholly recommend Dove's Heart, TAL Anthelion, and Water of Notre Dame. They work miracles. I also recommend Has No Hanna, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo, and TAL Joy - they all help me to smile again. Hungry Ghost Moon always makes me smile. It's the most quietly, sweetly, indomitably cheerful scent. I recommend it too. Sometimes just a genuine smile sets me on the road back out of the dark lake. Best of luck to you.

This is soooo good. Rec'd as a frimp in last Lab order - thank you Labbies!! In the vial: fruity, spicy dragon's blood and a sweet blast of vanilla. No honey, thank goodness - the lab's honey note goes terribly wrong on me, sickly sweet honeybun funkiness. Wet on my skin: same as in the vial, but the vanilla really emerges as it warms. The drydown is amazing. The honeyed vanilla is more amber powder than honey powder and the dragon's blood gives the scent lots of spice and depth. It's sweet, but not too sweet. Medium to low throw and fairly short-lived on my skin, but I will be happy to slather, as the wet stage is just as nice as the dry! This, Dragon's Heart, and Dragon's Musk are all going to be bottle purchases with the upcoming LE orders!

I received Dragon's Heart as a frimp in my last order, and I'm glad, for here is yet another delicious musk scent! On my musk-loving skin it's in the same family as Spellbound, Imp, and Smut, which is to say "YUM." In the imp, all I can smell is dragon's blood, but once it hits my skin the musks jump out and scream "HI!!!" as they are wont to do. I love the way the powdery sweet dragon's blood blends with the sexy musk. I don't have a good nose for notes but my skin seems to be amping the red musk, which is just fine with me. The fruits add a touch of juiciness and playfulness to the wet phase, but the drydown is musk musk musk. GREAT alternative for Smut on me! It has much less throw, which is sometimes a good thing. Big bottle purchase!

Oh goddess... this is exquisite. In the bottle and on my skin, Taurus is a breath of cold spring air - minty, soft florals, sweet and delicate. It's incredibly dainty and feminine. Ethereal! It's got a small throw, but it's strong up close. Even on a slatherer like myself just a dab is all I need. It's not a scent that should scream its presence. Taurus should be a whisper. I love the bottle art, but on my skin the bull should have long eyelashes and be wearing a wreath of apple blossoms, like Clo the Cow.

I haven't had any luck with the Lunacies lately. YAY for Milk Moon! On my skin, it's a tropical fruity, creamy, delicious scent. I love it. In the bottle: juicy tropical fruits and the milky note. I have to say, in the bottle the milk note has a funk to it. Kind of baby formula that's been sitting in a bottle in a hot car... having four kids, I know that smell all too well. Luckily, on my skin that note morphs into creamy sweetness and blends beautifully with the almost pina colada-smelling fruit. I swear I smell coconut milk and pineapple, too! This is the scent I'll put on all summer after swimming. It's sunny, cheerful, and delightful! Applied sparingly, the throw is light and it fades fairly quickly on me. Don't let any funk in the bottle scare you off. It's all in the skin chemistry.

Morocco is one of my favorite scents in the whole catalog. It's also one that improves with age, becoming stronger and deeper. This review is for new Morocco. Both in the bottle and on my skin, it's a soft whisper of vanilla, musk, and exotic spices. It has almost no throw and my skin eats it, yet I love it nearly as much as Black Opal and even Snow White. It's in that same category of soft, comforting, quiet blends I don't want to live without. Morocco suits me perfectly, somehow enhancing my own personal body chemistry and scent. Is there vanilla in Morocco? If not, something else in it transforms into pure, delicate vanilla on my skin. I absolutely love this scent. I never thought I could like, let alone love a vanilla fragrance after enduring years of my daughter wearing the Body Shop vanilla, but it's scents like Morocco and Mouse's LaST that have changed my opinion about the note. If the lab comes out with scented lotion, I hope they consider making a Morocco-scented one! It would really help it carry, and a fragrance this lovely should have good throw!

Gorgeous! I can't wear the original Alice - it's too girlish for me - but Queen Alice is my cup of tea. In the vial, I mostly smell the carnations, wine, and treacle/molasses/caramel, all favorite notes of mine. Wet on my skin, the carnations and treacle amp, the spiciness of the carnation mixing beautifully with the smoky creme brulee caramel note. As it dries down, the combination of the two notes is almost tobacco-ish. I'm really glad for the treacle/tobacco in QA - the way I amp sweet notes, it would be cloyingly sweet without them. However, as it dries the deeper tones continue to emerge, creating a dark, ultra-sweet blend of floral and spicy smokiness. Goddess, I love this! My only complaint is that I wish the wine note stuck around longer because it smells so good on me, but it rarely does past drydown. Fleeting thing. It must be like the dream rushes. The throw is medium, but close up QA remains strong and intense. This is a scent to wear when being nuzzled, I would think. There's nothing girlish or innocent about this version of Alice, for even though she's sweet and floral, she's all grown up now. Dead effing sexy - that's Queen Alice. Bottle purchase next time!

ITA w/PilotKitten & eleventhousand: 51 does remind me of Clinique Happy! It also reminds me of Prescriptives Calyx. Not surprisingly, those are the only two commercial perfumes I like, and can actually wear without getting a headache or feeling ill. I can't really add much to the previous reviews other than that 51 is a sophisticated, adult, bright and refreshing scent that I could wear anywhere, for any occasion. Just absolutely gorgeous - I love it! It's the perfume equivalent of a LBD & pumps. Brava, Beth!

Oh, how I love this scent!!! It's the brightest, prettiest, happiest, sunniest thing - sunshine and citrus in a bottle. If you like grapefruity, crisp, clean scents you'll adore it. It's effervescent! Instant pick-me-up. Yet like Shanghai and Dirty (to name but two similar scents), it's also sophisticated and understated enough to wear to a formal occasion. People won't notice you're wearing a fragrance - they're notice how wonderful you smell wearing it. On me, the citrus is predominant - I can't detect any patchouli. The musk, too, is just a trace note on my skin. It's almost all grapefruit and nectarine, with a touch of silvery sage and rose in the drydown. The throw on me is close to the skin, very light, and as with all citrus-based scents, fades fast. Croquet would make an awesome spray or spritz, kept in the fridge and reapplied as necessary to refresh you when it's warm outside. I will go through multiple bottles this spring and summer.

I am not usually a fan of foody scents, but I LOVE this one! Both in the vial and on my skin, I can smell the buttery, cakey pastry, the sweet spicy black currants, and as it dries down, I smell the rose in the background. It's utterly delicious. Not much of a morpher, yet the drydown is darker, somehow. It reminds me of my beloved Sugar Skull and/or Red Lantern: caramel so deep it smells like tobacco somehow... How can cake and currants be dark?? The Knave was a thief, though... Mmmmm.

THE most complicated, morphing red musk scent I've yet tried! I am also lousy at picking out any complicated notes and Bien Loin d'Ici has a LOT of them, so I apologize for the vagueness of the review. Smut is one of my top five favorite scents. Contrary to its name, on my skin Smut is sweet and sexy but never lascivious. I also love red musk in every other blend I've sampled it in - all big bottle purchases. Whether it's blended with a fruit, flower, or booze, red musk is candy sweet on my skin. So whatever is behaving all civet-y and sour on my skin during the first hour is not the musk. In the bottle this is almost all sweet, Smutty red musk - love it! Once it hits my skin something goes awry. Below the sweet musk lurks a note suspiciously similar to cat pee. HOWEVER, after about a half hour the red musk amps up again and it's gorgeous. On me, the throw is almost non-existent - I have to put my arm up to my nose to smell it - and every time I do I smell something slightly different. I never detect any caramel, but after an hour the honey is doing a baby powder thing What a morpher! I'll try layering Bien Loin d'Ici with Sugar Skull or Red Lantern to amp the caramel note. It's not my favorite red musk blend, but it's pretty in a strange, exotic, dark and unguenty way and I like it.

Can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! It's one of my very favorites in the Snake Pit. As many others have remarked, Temple Viper is sugary sweet, juicy champaca incensey Snake Oil. I love the sugar cane in the wet stages. In the vial it's all fruity sweet spices - delicious! Once on my skin the incense notes, the opoponox, and the frankinsence bloom - oh, it smells wonderful, exotic, resinous, and mysterious. There's a note in there I can't identify, but reminds me of summertime. I slather it because the throw is pretty close to the skin, and the more skin I scent, the more places I can enjoy during the drydown. Oh, the drydown. It's smoky and still resinous, but Snake Oil vanilla sweet, too. It's glorious. If you like incense blends you'll love Temple Viper. I have one bottle and I'm stocking up on a few more before the Carnaval rolls out of town.

Carnation . I LOVE carnation. It's my second-favorite floral note, and just like my favorite, lavender, it's rare to find it playing center-stage in a blend - probably because just like lavender, it can take over the whole show. I can never smell it in blends, though! I've purchased scents just because it's a listed note, yet rarely a trace can I discern. Pink Moon is pure carnation, just lightly sugared, on me - a trace of phlox doesn't emerge until the drydown. I am so in love with this scent. The best, most emotional and amazing part of being a bpalista is the scent memories Beth can evoke with her artistry. A carnation single note oil was my very first perfume when I was 13 and Pink Moon takes me right back to freshman year in high school... which could be scary, but I choose to remember only the best, cheerful, spiciest parts of it in honor of this beautiful fragrance. DAMN! Now I wish I'd purchased two bottles!