moonarcana

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Djinn first sniff: this one is interesting, compelling even - I can't identify components, but despite the dark name I'm not afraid to try it. tested wet: it does have a firey soul...a real invasive and permeating. It doesn't feel or smell "hot" like spicy or woody, but it's like the electricity that bounces off the flames as they crackle and dance under a night sky. tested dry: the sparks fly for quite awhile and then settles innocuously into a pile of lightly powdered ash. Then *poof* the whole thing suddenly disappears. Conclusion: If an imp should happen to cross my path I'd enjoy dancing in the flames with Djinn again. 3/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Dee first sniff: medicinally antiseptic. Not sure I want to put this on my skin. tested wet: but I did and it smelled like strong aftershave wet on my skin. tested dry: but it mellows nicely. it now has an attractive scent - definitely more of a man's cologne (at least in my opinion) It has a rugged sophistication about it. conclusion: I wouldn't wear it, but I would recommend or give as a gift to a quy who appreciates fragrance. 2/5 additional note - this one is really hard to wash off the smell

This is currently one of my favorite scents - it is soft and beautiful yet deeply dark and wicked all at the same time. Sniffing from the bottle, a fragrant sweet ylang ylang wafts above the full breath of patchouli. When applied to the skin, the notes compete with each other a bit - alternately chaotic and harmonius. As it dries, it settles into the most amazing warm and spicy floral. The clove is more noticable now, but it is well partnered with the patchouli incense and ultimately mellowed by the persistent blooming of the ylang ylang. Ylang ylang can be difficult to love, but I find this presentation to be extremely enjoyable. I have to give it a 5/5 ...and as somewhat of a layering note, Malice really rocks with a dab of Opium Poppy placed nearby.

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Cobra Lily first sniff: beautiful floral - bright and summery! tested wet: much the same like sticking your face in a big garden bouquet. tested dry: a light incense-y note starts to emerge and give the fragrance more depth and complexity. conclusion: I like this - it's going on my imp list! 3/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Bon Vivant first sniff: pink sugary lolipops. not at all unpleasant but a real girly girl scent. tested wet: Reminds me of when I was a kid and had 'Little Kiddle' dolls that came in plastic perfume bottles that opened like a clamshell. tested dry: primary scent does not change much, but it seems to fade pretty quickly. conclusion: I wouldn't wear this myself, but I don't find it offensive. 2/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Bengal first sniff: cinnamon rolls...fresh and gooey delicious. tested wet: the cinnamon spikes a bit and the sweet takes a back seat. tested dry: soft cinnamon and clove (hello clove, glad to smell ya!) and a fabulous light sweetness that holds it all together in a way that the dubious 1 out of those 10 dentists probably would go ahead and recommend. conclusion: Totally wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I do. Definitely seeking an imp soon and can see this as potential bottle fodder. 4/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Bastet first sniff: omg! Almonds and spice! This is the one in the packet that I was most eager to try...and so far it meets my expectation. tested wet: now I can smell the amber and musk, the Almonds are taking a back seat as the oil settles into my skin. tested dry: As it dries, the scent develops into a gorgeous harmony...I can actually pick up most of the fragrance notes listed in the description but not one of them is more predominate than any other. conclusion: I've already ordered a bottle! 5/5

Alice first sniff: soft and sweet creamy floral. tested wet: afternoon tea in a secret garden....sweet with extra cream please. tested dry: less cream and more floral...light and wafting and oh so purely sweet and innocent. After awhile the spicy note of carnation makes an appearance and the fragrance settles into a pleasant powdery wisp. conclusion: I have much love for this scent. 5/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Al-Shairan first sniff: cinnamon...not sweet, just strong cinnamon. tested wet: still cinnamon...maybe a touch of other dry bark spiciness, like maybe clove, but definitely no fruit. (peaches?...oranges? um...sorry but they're lost in the cinnamon) tested dry: the cinnamon has mellowed nicely now, and I can smell a faint incense note...rather ethereal in relationship to the spicy note. Never did find the fruit notes on this one. conclusion: the end result was nice, but more in a comforting room scent sort of way. I like cinnamon, but not when it overpowers everything else. This one is not for me. 1/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Ahathoor first sniff: citrus (lemon?) balanced with myrrh or frankincense - not exactly sure of the notes but that's what I'd guess. tested wet: the resiny smell comes out more, nearly eclipsing the bright citrus note. A very pleasing scent. tested dry: stays nice throughout - sometimes the lemon whiffs and sometimes the dry resin wafts. conclusion: I might look up an imp of this sometime, but there's others I like better. 3/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Oberon first sniff: soapy men's aftershave. tested wet: soapy men's aftershave. tested dry: not as soapy but still men's aftershave. A very nice and appealing aftershave, but... conclusion: nothing I want to wear. 2/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Urd first sniff: ooh yeah, head shop patchouli and nag champa at it's head buzzy best...I can tell I'm going to like this already. tested wet: this is quite an ideal presentation of patchouli...it's not the heavy incense that hangs in the air and permeates every porous surface it touches kind of head shop smell - it's the 'good stuff' that's kept behind the counter. Tested dry: the scent just keeps being awesome...I LOVE it! conclusion: Definitely searching out an imp soon, but I can see a bottle of this in my future. 4/5 ADDED March 9: I was talking with a friend of mine about Urd and he said that he'd never tried it because of the grape note and never thought he'd like it. I was like, "Grapes? ...WTF are you talking about?" So I thought I'd toddle on over and look at the reviews (something I've obviously never done with this scent) and sure enough there are a lot of people smelling grapes. I'm SO glad that I'm not one of them! Urd is the ultimate patchouli hippy headshop scent to me. (and I mean that as a huge compliment) I love a lot of BPAL's patchouli scents though, but I almost get the munchies after wafting around in some Urd for awhile. (contact buzz) Now there is a touch of a fruity sweetness, which to me deepens the Patchouli note and balances the dryness of the Nag Champa - but for me it's not flat out grapes, if anything it's a nice spicy mulled wine. I've put Urd on every night this week - just kept the bottle out beside my computer because I knew that I wanted to have a prolonged affair with it for awhile. The bottle I have is pretty well aged according to the wonderful valentina, who I purchased it from...and I can tell a definite difference between it and a few frimps that I've received from the Lab. Patchouli ages so great you know. Wet it is smooth and rich and here is where the sweetness exists, once it starts to dry it goes full-out patchouli/nag incense and wafts in and out of your consciousness, sometimes you'll get a big whiff that makes you go 'aaaahhhh' and other times the scent nearly dissapears but stays close to your skin. But as Arlo Guthrie says "wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part harmony and feeling" and sure enough Urd wafts up again like somebody just lit up another one. This one is definitely among my top favorite BPAL scents. Fabulous!

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Tzadikim Nistarim first sniff: fruity - very clear and fresh like white grape juice. tested wet: there's a mixture of things going on here, overall still fruity but there's a slight incense whiff and a mild bright floral note overlayed with a nice leafy herbaceousness. tested dry: I really can't quite describe it...it's a very 'live' kind of herbal smell. conclusion: I very much like this and will put it on my imp wish list. 3/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Skuld first sniff: sweet...like cherry lifesavers taste. Nothing at all what I was expecting from the description. tested wet: something turned plastic on me, I'm thinking it's the combo of the ylang ylang and honey. I smell no musk what-so-ever here. tested dry: I start smelling a faint musk but it's overpowered by the smell of plastic goo. conclusion: This one doesn't like me at all...I'd have to take a pass on any imp that came my way. 0/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslver's GC circle swap Port Au Prince first sniff: spicy (clove, cinnamon - all those woody bark type of spices) and slightly tropical tested wet: like chewing on cinnamon toothpicks after the HOT spice of the cinnamon is gone. tested dry: definite clove now - not sweet, but dry and spicy. conclusion: Nice smell - I like it...enough to get an imp, but probably not a bottle. 3/5

reviewed courtesy of Quikslvr's GC circle swap Penny Dreadful first sniff: oh my god this smells just like copper! tested wet: metallic dirt. tested dry: more earthy, like the smell of the dirt that clings to the tangled roots of the weeds being pulled as you get the garden ready for planting. Very strong...makes my skin tingle a bit. conclusion: It's interesting and I like the aroma - but I highly doubt that I could wear this as perfume. 3/5

The Caterpillar is my favorite GC scent so far - but I don't get the real heavy 'head shop' aroma from it at all...on me it's an earthy floral with sporadic wisps of incense. Quite magical to my senses. I recently tried Urd and totally *love* it. Here's an excerpt from the notes I made about the scent... this is quite an ideal presentation of patchouli...it's not the heavy incense that hangs in the air and permeates every porous surface it touches kind of head shop smell - it's the 'good stuff' that's kept behind the counter. I'm wearing Hollywood Babylon today, and through it's cherry sweetness, it has a really great combo of amber and musk...probably not what you're looking for though. I've tried some of the others that have been mentioned in the thread here too, but I'd give my strongest vote to Urd.

A frimp from the wonderful Rhowan! This was my #1 wanting to try scent from my wishlist - and now that I have an imp and have had the chance to wear it a couple of times, it's moved to my #1 wanting to get a 5ml bottle of spot! This is a perfect harmony of tulips, peonies and grass - all very REAL and natural smelling too. As somebody who favors floral fragrance, this one makes me very happy. From the imp as well as on the skin wet, it's a very heady bouquet - I smell more tulip from the start. As it starts to dry down, the peonies and green start to poke out a bit. It does get noticibly lighter as time goes on - I reapplied after about 4 hours so I could marinate in it's florally goodness some more, but before I did I asked a coworker if she could still smell my perfume...I was standing about 3 feet away from her and didn't shove my arm in her face or anything...and she told me that she could and it smelled very nice. Of course that didn't keep me from putting on a bit more - for purely selfish reasons! I have to agree with jolarocknrolla's review (a few back up the page) that Amsterdam smells very much like Estee Lauder's Pleasures. I've worn (and loved) Pleasures for years and think that the comparison is quite apt. My rating for Amsterdam is 5/5 A bottle will definitely be ordered along with the Hungry Ghost a few days from now!

13bodies - #3 received from 13bodies 5/27 OBERON PENNY DREADFUL PORT AU PRINCE SKULD TZADIKIM NISTARIM URD all are new to me! mailed on to Arylkin 6/05

13bodies - #2 received from 13bodies 5/27 BON VIVANT COBRA LILY DEE DJINN KURUKULLA all are new to me! mailed on to Arylkin 6/05

13bodies - #1 received 5/27 - replacement imp from Quikslvr received 6/6 AHATHOOR AL-SHAIRAN ALICE BASTET BENGAL all are new except for Alice mailed on to Arylkin 6/7

Bengal first sniff: cinnamon rolls...fresh and gooey delicious. tested wet: the cinnamon spikes a bit and the sweet takes a back seat. tested dry: soft cinnamon and clove (hello clove, glad to smell ya!) and a fabulous light sweetness that holds it all together in a way that the dubious 1 out of those 10 dentists probably would go ahead and recommend. conclusion: Totally wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I do. Definitely seeking an imp soon and can see this as potential bottle fodder. 4/5

Bastet first sniff: omg! Almonds and spice! This is the one of the bunch that I was most eager to try...and so far it meets my expectation. tested wet: now I can smell the amber and musk, the Almonds are taking a back seat as the oil settles into my skin. tested dry: As it dries, the scent develops into a gorgeous harmony...I can actually pick up most of the fragrance notes listed in the description but not one of them is more predominate than any other. conclusion: This one is going on my bottle wish list. My cats aren't even in the room to influence my decision. The big cat (Bengal) nearly won out this round, but I have to give my vote for Best of the Bunch to Bastet! Meow! 5/5

Alice - reviewed from my own bottle first sniff: soft and sweet creamy floral. tested wet: afternoon tea in a secret garden....sweet with extra cream please. tested dry: less cream and more floral...light and wafting and oh so purely sweet and innocent. After awhile the spicy note of carnation makes an appearance and the fragrance settles into a nice and light powdery wisp. conclusion: I have much love for this scent. 5/5

Al-Shairan first sniff: cinnamon...not sweet, just strong cinnamon. tested wet: still cinnamon...maybe a touch of other dry bark spiciness, like maybe clove, but definitely no fruit. (peaches?...oranges? um...sorry but they're lost in the cinnamon) tested dry: the cinnamon has mellowed nicely now, and I can smell a faint incense note...rather ethereal in relationship to the spicy note. Never did find the fruit notes on this one. conclusion: the end result was nice, but more in a comforting room scent sort of way. I like cinnamon, but not when it overpowers everything else. This one is not for me. 1/5