LadyMedb

It's funny - Libra was nearly all cherry on me...very disappointing as it's my sun sign!

I didn't find Victoria all that soapy, and my skin likes to turn things to soap, especially lilies. Have you tried Peacock Queen (while it's still up)? It's clean and straightforward, yet dark and not-cloying, and I'm marinating in it today. mmm. Hmm, I never thought of trying Peacock Queen. I'll have to give it a shot. I really want to try Victoria, but I'm sure it has more to do with reading Stardust way too many times. Hopefully it'll stay soap-free. I really quite liked Victoria (the scent, not the Stardust character)!! To me it's similar to Whip, but without the leather - a lovely clean soft rose, no powder or soap or old lady. Another really lovely one is The Last Rose of Summer, but only if you like a little incense with your rose (I do - I have about 5 gazillion BPAL variations on this theme).

I didn't find Victoria all that soapy, and my skin likes to turn things to soap, especially lilies. Have you tried Peacock Queen (while it's still up)? It's clean and straightforward, yet dark and not-cloying, and I'm marinating in it today. mmm.

Maybe you could try Victoria... Also, if you could get your hands on Rose Moon from 2007, that might work.

The Girl has a bit of that quality, with the (slightly) wintergreeny birch thing and the soft white florals. It's soft, but cold and distant.

It smells exactly like some kind of hard candy I used to eat a lot - I've forgotten what that is, but I'm having some sort of repressed guava memory. The blend is lovely for those who like to smell of candy, but just too fruity, cloying, and facile for me - that orange note in particular just sings and sings. I also should have known better than to jump on something with caramel in it - it's usually a deal-breaker note for me. Swaps.

Kind of a two-dimensional pine tar-clove, neither one overly enchanting. Pleasant and all, but with all the other dazzling riffs on both notes in the BPAL catalog, this was not thrilling to me or my guy.

2009: I had an older version of this (think it may have been the '05) and stupidly sold it, and while this 2009 version seems a little lighter than the other one I had (which could be down to aging), it's still the same sophisticated, velvety, darkened rose that I love. As has been said ad nauseam, it's the same true-rose smell as Rose Red, minus the green stem and plus a whole lot of sexy. It's a bit like London, too, but darker and more well-blended. It is in no way soapy, scratch-and-sniff-smelling, or old-lady shrieking. This is just about the perfect rose and I adore it.

Urd is a purple-black - dark patchouli and champa plus a subtle hint of something grape-ity (not foody, just sexy).

Rose, musk, and some opium. I'm really fond of Beth's opium, and, unlike many others here, I love rose. But I don't love soap, and this thing went from being a delicate old-fashioned (but not old lady) rose scent to straight-up soap on me. It must be that white musk, although The Girl didn't do this to me. My skin chemistry favors turning things to soap more often than on other people, but this is an especially egregious offender. Pass.

This is a very sophisticated, well-blended dark rose. It's frankincensy like Rose Cross, but dark like the Blasphemary Reliquary. However, it's more delicate than either, and somehow more of a whole than the other two - although the individual notes are detectable, they harmonize a lot more fluidly. It's very smooth - the neroli-ness with the rose up against the resins. I love rose incenses, and I love Beth's rose incenses (I have nearly all of them), so this one was a no-brainer. However, I feel like TLROS is the kind of upmarket, delicate, more "expensive perfumy" smelling version of this formula, and I love that for a change. The only downside to this one is it fades really quickly on me unless I use a lot. No real worries there, though!

I bought this unsniffed, even though lavender usually turns into shrill, screaming soap on me - I was hoping that the incense would dampen it down a bit. I got very lucky, as this worked out just that way - although the lavender starts out strong, after it dies down, it and the carnation just add the most subtle sweetness to this intoxicating blend of poppy, amber, and incense (all of which my skin really likes). The drydown is uniquely smoky and gentle-smelling...it's a very come-closer, complex scent. A gorgeous change of pace for me. Love it.

OK, so I smell like a goth club. But WHO CARES? This is gorgeous, like a more sophisticated Caterpillar, but not quite as sweet. The rose is haughty and sophisticated - very present indeed, but not in-your-face about it. The fresh clove balances out the smoky patchouli. Overall, the blend is warm, beautiful, and perfect for the winter - it even smells good, in small doses, on my husband. I will probably try to get a full bottle of this one.

*sigh* I really wanted to love this one, but it seems to have that sweet (almost nutty?) note that turns me off about Al Azif if I'm around it for too long. Otherwise, it's a deliciously smoky blend of precious woods, soft and intimate and very ecclesiastical. You can almost smell the resins drying on the trees. I'm going to pass this along to someone who doesn't think it's too sweet.

Hmmm....this one smells a lot like an expensive mixed drink on me. It could be the magnolia making it kind of sharp (the carnation is especially dry), combined with the sweetness of the honey. This is a pretty and sophisticated blend, but it really doesn't work too well with my chemistry.

This is a lot like O, except with a very sweet hazelnut note. I think that the foody elements balance out really beautifully with the sandalwood and myrrh, but that hazelnut top not is just a little bit too sticky for me to keep the imp. Someone will love this one, though.

This smells a lot like Blue Moon, which means it's a white musky floral that doesn't turn to laundry soap flakes on me. It's slightly aquatic (guess that's the lotus), seductively sweet, and a little bit syrupy - is that the sugar cane giving it that extra body? I've learned that osmanthus never steers me wrong, even in the face of lavender, which I love, but usually doesn't work with my chemistry (here it's perfect, and wintry-chilly next to the sandalwood). How great is that? Love this stuff.

This is gorgeous! It's a little green-stemmy when I first put it on, but then it just settles into this amazing soft rose incense scent, fresh, sweet, and romantic - no sharpness at all, and no dreaded soap. It's ultra-feminine, and you can wear it absolutely anywhere. I adore it!

This is a beautiful, fresh aquatic floral, softly musky and very clean. The mint note is especially lovely. For some reason, I could swear I smell opium, too! I don't think I'm going to hang onto it, because it's just a little too fresh to be a "me" scent, but someone will love this perfectly blended beauty!

Melisande is a beautiful candied jasmine, gentle and sweet, with a slight rich hint of mimosa. It's powdery-soft (but not baby powderish), gorgeously blended, and just a tiny bit musky to give it a hint of sharpness and throw. It's beautiful in every way - I can't see how anyone would dislike it. I've heard it compared to LUSH's Silky Underwear, and that's basically true, but Melisande is a bit more mysterious and complex - possibly the best jasmine the Lab has ever produced!

Blissful Love - Romance - Passion - Grace - Beauty - Joy Good Luck in Love and Money - Kindness - Affection - Artistic Inspiration and Success - Harmony - Reconciliation - Sensuosity - Charm - Elegance - Delight This starts out beautiful pink roses and mint, with kind of a Rose Red-like stem note. The drydown is initially soapy, but if you wait the five or ten minutes necessary for this to go away, it becomes a beautiful light rose scent, like a paler Rose Red or a sweeter Rose Moon. I love this scent!

Rose Red is fuller than London (think ROSE straight from the florist), Peacock Queen is similar to London but deeper (think roses sitting in a room with maybe some incense) and darker. I'd really try both to see which works better for you, but I'd almost say PQ would be better. It's really, really, relative with these roses, though, so keep that in mind...

Here's a belated reply... Gibbous Moon: cucumber, white ginger, moonflower, madonna lily, hyacinth, Irish moss, orris. So you can compare my sniffs, I got cucumber bitter green, lily/hyacinth floral, and moss/orris earthy. There are two LEs and two GCs you might want to try. I wouldn't say they're similar enough to buy a bottle unsniffed, though. Singing Moon (grave grass, meadowsweet, marsh hellebore, rock sea-lavender, Irish Lady's-tresses, thistle, wood bitter-vetch, autumn fires) - Not cucumber, but a slightly bitter green floral. Ghastly Garden, still available until 11/15 (oleander, water hemlock, sugared nectar, putrefying wet greenery, sap, rosary peas, withered roses, nightshade berries) - Another green floral, slightly tart despite the sugared nectar. There's just the lightest fruit note when dry. Orpheus, Salon (green mandarin, citrus peel, neroli, narcissus, stephanotis, blue lavender, crushed green stems, willow branch, cedar, benzoin, pale musk) - Tart, slightly green floral. I'd say the florals in this are the most similar to Gibbous Moon of these four suggestions, but it's less green. Schrodinger's Cat (tangerine, pink grapefruit, sugared lime, chocolate, peppermint, lavender, oakmoss, zdravetz) - OK, I would not call this "similar", but you might like it as an inexpensive substitute. It's not green, but quite citrusy so it's still a cool scent (cool-smelling not Cool, dude). The lavender and peppermint blend into an herby floral, not as heady as Gibbous Moon. The moss and zdravetz give it a similar earthiness. And when it dries, there's just a hint of chocolate, not sweet or foody. What about Midnight? No cucumber, but all those night-bloomers, and that absolutely beautiful moonflower. I think Blue Moon (this year's at least), if you can get your hands on it, is close too. And maybe Zorya?

I only did a costume for my chorus concert, so the BPAL was definitely Schwarzer Mond, which brings me luck singing. I wore more Mond when I went out to the goth club that night - although by then I was tired of wearing a costume and put on a Jeannie Nitro brocade gown I hadn't worn before. For my Samhain ritual tonight? Well, Samhain, but at various other points during the day I was wearing Jack and Pumpkin III.

New weirdness for me - I ordered on Saturday and CCnow initially took the money out of my account, and then put it back. I have enough money, so it's not like it bounced. Also, the order still appears to be pending. Can someone tell me what's going on? This has never happened to me before with the Lab.