Rheliwen

OMG...I'm so lucked out on this one. It's my first 5ml catalog oil bought un-sniffed. Like the others have said, this is a beautiful, spicey, herbal, even a touch floraly blend. It's by no means foody. In fact, the first thought I had was, "this reminds me of Three Witches." Don't get me wrong, I find them to have similar qualities, but Silk Road is just so much more complex and a completely different scent. That said, if you like one, you might like the other. I found Three Witches to be too peppery. The Silk Road has the balance of ingredients that never allows one note to take dominance. As this dries I almost get a grainy note from it, like oatmeal or wheat that draws the spice away just a teeny, tiny bit. Quite interesting! I smell other spices like coriander and a hint of cinnamon that have that powdery smell as if you were smelling them right out of their little kitchen bottles. They all blend so beautifully together. Silk Road isn't one thing, it's many things: herbal, spicey, floral. On the second wear, I get a slight mandarin note. Damn this one is so good Now go on and get yourself some because Silk Road is so wonderful! ADDITION: I forgot to mention this, but I also think it smells like a more herbal/spicey Hamadryad if that helps

Oh my! This is so beautiful!!! I'll compare it to de Sade ~~ de Sade is like an upscale, polished black leather jacket. Dead Man's Hand is soft, brown suede fresh from the dusty plains. I like this even more than de Sade and so does the boy. The only problem is: who's box is it going to reside in??

Hmm, I've tried this one three time and everytime it gets more floraly and light. I think it's because I'm on the tail end of "that time." My first encounter was a bit bitter, like day old orange rind combined with the opium and a more masculine sandalwood. It had a very odd, but not displeasing scent. I had a hard time getting any throw from it, so I've tried it a couple more times since. Today: I can really detect the red sandalwood, which is a bit more manly than normal sandalwood it has this neat redness about it, somewhat like very subtle dragon's blood. But that could be the combo of it, vanilla and madarin...which is more likely. The lily, never really comes out, but it does keep the whole blend from getting too dark. As it dries, it's turning into spiced powder. It isn't very strong, which is fantastic! If it were, it would be stinging my nose. I think the vanilla must be tempering the sharper, bitter notes in there, keeping this a subtle blend. I remember when I first smelled this I thought it was a very sophisticated, evening out scent. I compared it to the same feelings I get when wearing F54 (but nothing can compare to the glam and expensive feeling of F54). Don't take this as I believe it smells like F54, it's more the general feeling of the blend. I'd wear Belle Epoque when I want to be regal yet sultry and sexy. It's definitely vintage glam sex kitten.

Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea. Yum!!! This smells very lemony in the bottle, but with a jolt of vanilla. I just know this is going to be good. On, the vanilla is initially the first scent that hits my nose. Second comes the lemon and last is the tea. As it begins to dry everything starts to blend together so they aren't individual scents, but rather vanilla-lemon tea...if that makes sense. I can see how this could be a bit masculine, but vanilla works on everyone and I wanna wear this, so that's what I am going to do! Dorian is such a nice, clean neutral scent that can be worn all year round, at any time of day. It's a cozy, comforting scent.

Wow! This one is a truly beautiful, bright and cheery scent. Right out of the imp it smells like juicy, juicy pear with a hint of amber. I didn't get overwhelmed by the fruitiness, since pear is a more subtle scent. As it dried, I started to smell the sage and other ingredients. It made the blend into a sweet, spicy pear scent. After about an hour, I smell the wonderful light poppy with the pear and an undercurrent of amber. This smells a lot like another BPAL that I can't remember at the moment. Nonetheless, I love this!! It's green, cheery, fruity and floraly in a non fruit and floral sort of way. If you like subtle juiciness and poppy, you'll love this. The amber is very, very light and I don't get much coriander. It's blended so beautifully, it smells divine.

This blend is very sharp and fresh smelling. It's sort of creepy how Beth can bottle the scent of fresh rain...but she did. Lightning is what the air smells like after an electric storm in a tropical forest. It's windy, moist and a bit chaotic. At first I thought this smelled like lemon cleaning product, but as it dried it actually got slightly floraly. It's heavy on the ozone, but I quite like it. This is a tropical, air and water scent. I think it smells fab and would make a great scent to welcome in spring

EvilKitten has my description right on the money. When the description said "hint of mint" I was expecting just that. But, mint seems to amplify x11 on my skin. So Undertow, for me, is prominently mint, with an undercurrent of fresh juniper. Underneath that is the lotus. It's very faint and really only provides an aquatic feel to this blend. After I've worn it a while, I get sweet powdered mint, with a backdrop of very, very faint pine notes. It smells nice and fresh. It's not my favorite BPAL mint scent, but it is still lovely. Lotus and I have an odd relationship, but it worked in Undertow...so don't let the lotus stop you from trying this one.

An agricultural gargoyle. Though he is the Guardian of the Crops and Keeper of the Fields, his visage is still the stuff of nightmares. The scent of a hot wind blowing through desolate, scorched, barren fields. This is one of the BPAL blends where the description is dead on. Scarcrow from start to finish was like standing in a scorched desert with the hot, hot air, whipping around your face. It had a lot of oomph to it...so much so that I started to get a bit light headed and needed to wipe some off. I'm just so blown away by the imagery I get from this. Scarecrow is temperture hot, golden fiery amber color, and scorched and dry all at the same time. It doesn't smell like earth, or dead brush..nothing like that...it's more the emotion you feel when you are in the middle of the desert, stranded, no water or shelter, the air whipping all around and the sun beating down on your burnt skin. It's the panic you feel, the powerlessness of your situation. While Scarecrow is definitely the most visual BPAL blend I've ever tried, it was a little much for me. I really loved it at first, but the "hotness" of it, really just got to be too much in the end.

I love the scent of a fresh rose, but I often find that rose in a perfume smells more musty and old grandma-ish to me. I have been holding out on Wanton because of this. Right out of the bottle, Wanton is very sweet and juicy. As it dries, I swear it smells exactly like rose water (that's a good thing) with a background of sweet sandalwood. I've not been able to find a perfume that has the same sweet qualities as plain old rose water, but this one does it...with a bonus of musky, sweet sandalwood. I have to say, this is one of my favorite rose blends from BPAL (right behind Rose Red) simply because of the life in it. Wanton is bright and cheery, very springtime.

Fear not! I had to do that with many of my recent orders. I have actually received one of them and the lab did indeed read the special instructions field and give me the correct imps. I wonder why it changed though?

Both in the bottle and wet, Catherine smells very herby and medicinal. The rosemary, orange blossom combination is very odd to my nose. As the blend dries, the rose starts to come out and I am left with medicinal powder with a tinge of citrus. I don't much like the whiffs I get, but the smell on my wrist is much more pleasant and girly. The final phase of the drydown turns into a light orange blossom, powdery scent. The don't really smell the rosemary anymore. This blend does seem very vintage to me. It smells like the racks of an upscale vintage store. Catherine is not the type of perfume women wear nowadays, but I can see how this might have been popular in other times. It evokes images of power and confidence. While not my personal favorite, I appreciate Catherine for its uniqueness.

OMG! When I first opened the bottle I was like, "this is the scent that makes me swoon over Snake Oil!" It's definitely a dark musk. But it has that hint of eastern spices and warm vanilla that is very reminiscent of Snake Oil. When I put this on, it turned more animalistic on me and is a bit sharp. I smell amber in this as well. When I get whiffs of myself sitting here I swoon, but if I put my nose to my skin and smell, it gets to be a bit too sour and animalistic. I so love this and was fortunate to find it. I think a little goes a long way and less on means I'll enjoy it better. ADDITION: After wearing this for about a couple of hours, I started to get all hot and bothered. I knew my mood was coming from the scent. It's like when you're in love for the very first time and you get all tingly looking at your love. It was like that, with a jolt of sexual tension. I have seriously never experienced such an extreme reaction to any scent...ever! It really makes me wonder if Beth slipped in some pheromones!!

So way back in the day when I purchased my first order, Phantom Queen was one of the imps I selected. Unfortunately, I was only able to smell it from the bottle before someone at work stole my entire package. But bygones! I remember that I thought it was too sweet and high in the nose so when I placed my second order, I decided not to get it. But alas, this queen is definitely a phantom and has been lingering in the back of my mind for a long time. When I was offered it a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist. This time around, I didn't think it was as sweet in the bottle. I think my nose has grown wiser since the last time the Queen and I met. It definitely smelled floral and summery. On, the Queen turns into this wonderful creamy floral. I stays away from all the high floral notes that make me sneeze and lingers somewhere near the sweet grasses and blooming flowers. I imagine a farm in the countryside, rolling hills full of wildflowers, sweet grasses blowing in the wind, and a hint of grains from the farmhouse. I know there are no grains in this, but it feels like there are I'm kicking myself for waiting this long to find a replacement for my stolen imp...but at least I finally got to try her because I definitely love her!

Three Witches, to me, is completely enveloped by cinnamon from start to finish. When wet, I very faintly smell pepper, but it's pale...I guess because it's WHITE! I never really notice the clove, which is odd because it tends to trump everything else around it. I guess cinnamon is higher on the totem pole according to my skin As Three Witches dries, a creamy base starts to emerge. It isn't very prominent, but it balances out the Christmas potpourri smell a bit and creates more of a "perfume blend" to me. Overall, this is too spicey for me. I smell like a Christmas potpourri. Three Witches would smell HEAVENLY layered with something else...hmm, maybe Snake Oil. I'll have to try that.

In the bottle this is incense and resin. It smells very rich and true to its amber color. Wet, this is resinous and a lad sour. I can really smell the lavender in the background. Combined with the other notes, it's very odd, but works for some reason. The last time I wore this the drydown was drastically different than the wet stage, but today, they are very similar, which is definitely odd. But then again, it was a "different time." Dry, I get dusty nag champa, hints of lavender, sour resin, and a mossy, moldy smell. There's an animalistic quality to this, which I am assuming is coming from the black sandalwood. The first time I wore this, I did not get the headshop drydown I am getting now. I liked it better the first time. I never really got to smell the smokiness itself, it was more of a complimentary note. I'd say if you like the smell of nag champa, you will like Gaueko. For me, I don't want to smell like a headshop. Overall, Gaueko is definitely a complex blend that at first, doesn't seem like it should work...but does. I am enjoying the complexity of this blend, but it's just not me.

In the bottle, Cordelia is a lemon with a bitter herbal background. I didn't even realize this had lemon in it until I read the description before putting it on. So I have to say I developed some opinions of it immediately since I am not fond of lemon at all. Fortunately, the lemon, though a very prominent note at first, isn't terribly overwhelming. I immediately smell the lemon along with a backdrop of cedar, and green tea. As it starts to dry, the tea disappears and a bitter floral arrives...and then it's all crayon wax on me. Before it turned to crayon wax, it was mostly lemony green tea with a hint of cedar. I might need to try this in about a week and see if the wax smell goes away.

Wow! In the bottle, Shattered is white crystalline mint. Transferred to my skin, the mint takes hold. I now take back everything I said about mint not being a good thing for me. This is light, slightly powdery, but very smooth mint. As the blend begins to dry, the champagne notes really start to pop! It smells like a wine cooler. It's amazing how the bubbly personality of champagne is so easily transferred into a fragrance. Combined with the florals, Shattered turns into a night out on the town with the most popular, glamorous and extroverted girlfriend. It literally made me giggly for about 15 minutes. I've been looking for a nice light scent that isn't floraly and is way original. Shattered fills my requirements and I think I'll need a big bottle just because it makes me feel happy, young, and sexy when I wear it.

Brings a rush of good luck, lifts the spirit, and helps alleviate depression. I decided to wear this one today because I've been having a bad week and I needed something to cheer me up. It's still morning so I cannot tell you how much luck I've had with this, but I can say the power of suggestion does work. Becuase I know this is supposed to bring me out of my depression, I feel more cheery and happy. Who knows if it's my mind or the blend In the bottle this was very dry and tobaccoy. It reminded me of Wrath a bit. Once I put it on it became a lot more juicy. It smells a lot like Wrath. It has the red richness of dragon's blood, and the dry scent of tobacco and clove. As it dried, I could detect some white-ish florals in the background. Now that I've worn it about an hour, it's gone tobacco soap on me...very odd. I don't much like this final product. I liked it more when it was juicy with dry tobacco. I'll give it the day and see what the outcome is. If I get lucky this will be a keeper

No the LE bottles are the same. The labels come with different border colors and the LEs tend to get colored differenty.

In the bottle this smelled oily with a touch of cinnamon. I have been looking forward to this one and it dissapointed me in the bottle. Once I got it on, things started to change. Cinnamon is definitely in the forefront. It's very dry and I can't pick out a specific tree scent. It's the same sort of dry like the bone part in Dragon's Bone, but less revealing. As it dried, the florals really started to sprout from the background. Oh my god this smells so wonderful now! The cinnamon against the light, green florals is to die for! And for some reason, Hamadryad is proving to be both dry and creamy at the same time. The top notes are very dusty, but underneath it all, lingering beneath the soft florals, is a creamy center. This one was on the verge of being a cinnamon potpourri scent. It reminded me of the holidays. But, the florals saved it and is now a more complex, well-rounded scent. This is a keeper for sure...yay!

When I first applied this it was a bit candy sweet. As it gradually dried, it just got better and better! Carnal has made me realize how much I really love fig. Carnal is has a touch of spicey orange and fig. It has a kind of muskiness that really makes this blend pop and prevents it from staying candy sweet. As it dried it got a little powdery, but it was a nice, spicey/musky powder...something I can definitely live with. This reminded me of Nemesis minus the woods, R'Lyeh minus the aquatics and Bathsheba. I wouldn't have picked this one out for myself for some reason, but this is now on my big bottle list.

In the bottle: Sharp, salty aquatic (similar to Jolly Roger). This is a pretty watery green color scent. Wet: Very strong and bright! The aquatics are definitely the most prominent scents. Underneath them I can faintly smell the moss. As it begins to dry all the bright, watery blooms start to pop. They are the same strong, cloying kinds of flowers that are in midnight. Dry: The wrist I applied Bayou on smells like soap, and the other wrist that just got the rub still smells bright anf cheery...strange. After about an hour, they have both turned to soap. The moss has dissappeared and I never was able to detect the evergreen or cypress unfortunately. I think they both got swallowed up in the aquatics. Overall: If you like a slightly soapy floral blend with plenty of aquatic behind it, then this will be beautiful for you. It's kind of like Desdemona and Sea of Glass put together.

Spreadsheet on Ebay!!!??? I hope everyone here knows how generous we are here and would kindly give out spreadsheets for free...like Andradell ...eww, and it's in Word.

Evokes sheer, unadulterated carnal lust. An undeniably warm and sensual scent. Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla. In the bottle: Very resiny...amberish. It's true to its color. Wet: Hmm, narcissus smells very similar to lotus to me. Heavy, resiny floral. I can barely detect the vanilla in this one and the orange is merely an afterthought. It almost smells like there is cinnamon or clove in there. Dry: Still very thick, but the orange is more noticeable. It's a very spicey orange, like potpourri orange slices. Still no vanilla unfortunately. The overall scent is still very thick and resinous. It smells similar to The World and some of the Blood scents. Overall: The narcissus killed it for me. Otherwise I think I would have gotten along quite well with this.

In the bottle: Incredibly resiny, like dense amber. Wet: It seems to stay true to the bottle scent here. It's definitely resiny. It has a tinge of medicine in there, but fades after about a minute. This one is funny because with each passing moment, another scent is added...like a symphony. Dry: The resin has dried down a bit and I have now been introduced to salty aquatics, ozone and bright summer florals. It's definitely getting softer over time...fine by me! Now it's a soft resiny floral, salty and bright. Overall: This one is definitely complex...but how could it not be!? I can most definitely pick out elements for earth, air, fire (less so) and water. What an interesting blend!