Rheliwen

FS, thanks for this wonderful post! You said everything that I knew but didn't want/have the time to do. 5 stars for you

I took a big chance with this one and have been worried about it ever since I ordered. But I love it! Wet this really reminded me of a more smooth Ides of March. It was very green pine and green herbs. I was so excited at this stage! Once dry it becomes Midnight Mass incense meets a very subtle Ides of March meets cedar. Incense and geenery and cold stone bricks in the countryside. I adore this so much! At first I was afraid this might be too cologne-y or masculine but it isn't in he slightest.

Lily then lilac. I'm not a huge fan of lily so I wish there was more lilac in here. Nonetheless, this is the first bpal that I notice the lilac and that makes me happy. Once this dries a green sappy scent comes from below. It's like when you break a leaf or a fresh budding branch and the gooey stuff that comes out. The sandalwood combined with the lily is creating a some powdered soap effect too. This smells ok but once the dry down hits my lilac is gone I wanted to add that it reminds me of Beltane 2005. There was a flower in that that was sour to my nose and I get it here too...must be the lily. I am crushed this didn't work, I was so excited about it.

Wow, this one is weird. I totally got pledge musk when wet...but my eyes start to roll back into my head when I take big whiffs. This is a strong masculine blend without the roughness and anger. It's smooth enough for a woman to wear for sure...I think it's the myrrh. I find myrrh very smooth and comforting. It's totally about the sweet patchouli and myrrh here. So very spicey without trying too hard. SM is so comfident in itself that it doesn't need gimmicks or flash to get attention. It knows it's beautiful but isn't totally egocentric.

This really reminded me of Scorpio in the bottle, but not quite on. I find this to like a more tropical and floral black pearl. It has that same purple electric quality going on, but with orchids and pears and musk. As it dries, it gets more crystalline from the musk. It's really lovely overall...so different than I expected based on the other reviews I read.

In the bottle: buttered pumpkin, a lot like Jack It goes on pumpkiny strong. The buttery note is definitely there but quickly fading away. At mid dry stage it's all pumpkin but it has a dryness about it, I think it's the cardamom. Dry it is totally pumpkin pie, crust and all. I'm glad I don't get a lot of the citrus but sad that I can't detect the fig leaf and amber. Overall, it's the best pumpkin scent from BPAL I've tried. Hmm, now that I've had it on for a while I am getting some tart orange and something really creammy...now I really like this stage!

I ordered this for the boy because I LOVE Dracul on him but I think he secretly thinks it's too sweet for him (he really amps anything fruity or sweet). I was starting to worry that they wouldn't be very similar...but they are! I think I found a more husky Dracul that he'll love even more! Initially on I really smell the ginger and bitter clove. It's very dusty and dry, almost like dry tobacco is in here somewhere (I definitely smell something reminiscent of Hellfire, which the boy also loves so double yay!). Behind it all is the glorious black musk all hot and fiery. The patchouli is only present if you really smell for it...I think the musk is more dominant. Wow is this sexy! I want to bite my arm. Must.wait.for.boyfriend.to.get.home.from.work...

I have to say that I was starting to worry about Brides based on the reviews above. I was pleasantly surprised though! In the bottle and initially on it smells like musky honey and plummy bubblegummy florals. As it dries, the honey all but disappears and the florals do get a little more cloying. At this point I really smell the lily and osmanthus. It reminds me of a combination of Night's Pavilion and Budding Moon. This is definitely more floral than I was expecting, but it is still creamy and soft with no powder in sight. I wanted to add that I really wanted to love both budding moon and night's pavilion but couldn't in the end. I find Brides to be akin to each but totally lovable and wearable.

I managed to squeeze some from my empty imp and rubbed it on. For a lighter scent, this one sure lasts a long time without going generic BPAL base scent on me. I also think it's my favorite vanilla blend. It almost reminds me of Midway a bit, minus the fried funnel cakes and with a pinch of lily. It also resembles Snake Charmer's drydown. I mostly get vanilla, creamy creamy amber and a touch of floral. It's absolutely gorgeous!

Initially, this was all xmas candle on me. I can smell the woods from Anne Bonny in the background while something red and fruity plays at the forefront. As this dries something strange happens to the fruit that's really hard to explain. They don't go away, but get creamier...more bearable and less xmas-y. Court mentioned fougere which I think best describes this phenomenon. The wood does dwindle a bit, I have to sniff at the wrist to smell it. The drydown is absolutely lovely and I think I can live through the xmas candle bit to get to the good stuff. I love Anne Bonny but sometimes wonder if it's too manly at times. Port Royal doesn't quite give me a less masculine Bonny but I still like it.

I never in my wildest dreams expected to like Sundew, but once my frimp came my way by a lovely forumite I discovered I did!!! My imp leaked and now I smell it all throughout my room and it's lovely. It's tangy and juicy for sure, but also a sweet floral however it goes on extremely soapy but smoothes out as it dries. There's a tinge of spiciness there as well...like the spice carnation has but obviously not carnation. To me it most closely resembles honeysuckle with a smidge of amber. It's fresh without being astringent and floral without being cloying. Definitely a keeper.

This smells noticeably similar to Harvest Moon 05 but they are quite different as well. 05 was less apple and more spice, 06 is more apple and less spice. Overall I mostly smell the dusty wheat and apple...baked red apples, no granny smith tart apples here, with a dash of sage. It's less tart than 05 but still fruity just in a different way. Overall it smells wonderful but as I have a wheaty fave already (Litha) and Harvest Moon 05 is the closest thing to a signature scent, I'm not sure I'll keep this one.

This is an incredibly strong and cloying floral initially. From a distance it smells delish, but it hurts my nose up close. Mostly I smell ylang ylang and heliotrope with a small dash of sunflower and honey. As it dries the amber comes out more as a powdery backdrop. Very pretty, very spring/summer, very floral.

If you want spices I'd try Silk Road for sure.

Oh good lord is this fab! The boy and I were oohing and aahing at the scent from the bottle. In the bottle its wet and tart with a exotic feel to it. On, it turns into sweet sugar, grapefruit and other fresh scents (I think I smell a little aloe, but it's faint), vanilla, and very subtle pale sandalwood. So original and so wonderful! It isn't foody fruity at all. I have gotten more compliments on it in the last 2 days than I have ever gotten on my entire BPAL collection...combined!

Litha is yummy summer in a bottle. Initially it goes on pretty lemony with a wheat/hay note in the background (most likely the meade). That note develops into the frankincense and woody oak while the lemon morphs into a citrus yellow floral. I don't smell much honey in this (yay since it hates me) but I can almost feel its presence. Litha smells more sophisticated and I can see why it was more expensive, the ingredients are just so smooth. It dries down to an almost shea lotion creaminess swirling around all the other notes. Very interesting indeed. ADD: Litha has turned into a less pink/cotton candy Pink Moon. They definitely have a similar feeling to me.

1. I know there is a custom cart being developed. 2. I think BPAL might have a contract/subscription with CCNow so they are partnered for a period of time.

I definitely smell dragon's blood in here, but where it tends to overwhelm other blends for me, the dragon's blood ends up being outshined by the bamboo. The combination is quite pleasant, expecially since I don't particularly like bamboo. Underneath it all I get a little cherry blossom...not too cherry smelling, but fruity and floral. The staying power of Dragon Moon is amazing! It was still going strong at 5pm after running around for 2 hours in the morning and then running around being frantic at the work all day. Possibly the longest lasting BPAL scent I have. Dragon's blood is like that though. All in all, this might be nudging out Blood Amber as my favorite dragon's blood blend. It's just so well blended...harmonious.

If you check the CnS thread you'll see most shipments going out are still in the early to mid April range. You should be ok. If you still are worried, put a stop on your mail with the post office. They'll hold it for you for like 30 days I think, maybe longer. I wish CCNOW would rename their "shipping" status because it has nothing to do with the shipment of the product.

Yup, spicey plums...Christmas candle type spicey plums. As it dries it gets a little less candle-y. It's all plum, carnation and soft skin musk. A good fall scent for me.

Not exact matches, but similar: Queen Mab ~ Rose Red :: on me I get the green part of rose red in queen mab. The floral is different, but that tart greenery is there. The Fool ~ Usher :: they have the same mint but not mint vibe to me. I'm also getting the same fougere feeling from the fool. However, the fool is a little more mentholy and sharp and doesn't have the pretty fruity backdrop Usher does.

I need something to do other than my school work and I've already gone over the entire forum. So, I guess I'll talk about my work. April has been a hell month for me. I have a total of 60 pages for 6 papers to write. I think I want to write them all down just to see their awesomeness Paper #1: Military Statecraft: Analyze the Iran nuclear case and provide policy prescriptions. 5 pages...done Paper #2: Globilization and the market from my readings. 5 pages...done Paper #3: Environmental global governance. 20 page research paper...finish tomorrow Paper #4: Policy Analysis: US intervention in El Salvador in the 70s. 10 page research paper...done Paper #5: Finance and Trade: US-China trade relations and why it isn't a bad thing. 10 pages...done Paper #6: Globalization and Outsourcing: Why outsourcing is good for the US. 10 pages...done I've known about #3 and #4 all semester so it's my fault for procrastinating. #5 and #6 were given to me last Monday and I had until today to do them both. I have to say that I was so releaved when I turned them in! Tonight, I will be writing my oral presentation for #4 and tommorow I'll finish the last 3 pages of #3...then it's summertime! Summer will be busy too. I didn't manage to find an internship because no one thinks I'm good enough, so I need to find a job. In addition, I'm going to be applying to the Presidential Managemenr Fellowship. Cross your fingers here people! School is amazing and mindblowing but I'll be excited when it's over next year. But, then I fear finding a job. Anyways, school's on the brain so I must get back to work! I have a bottle of wine calling me...

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed Usher yet. It's my absoluate favorite of the Maelstrom series. Initially, Usher smells very spearminty with an undercurrent of lavender tea and white musk. As it dries the tartness factor gets amped up. I would never have picked currants and mandarins from this if I didn't have the description to read. However, I can sort of smell the juiciness of each, however both fruits are really just a backdrop. I simply can't get over how wonderful fougere is. Combined with the mint and musk, this is a perfect, non floral summer scent. It's actually pretty feminine on me, but it seems like the type of scent that accomodates the gender of the wearer. The fourgere gives this a similar feel to Dorian, but Usher is so much different. If you don't like mint at all, then this might not be for you. However, if you are looking for a non foody mint, this one's it. It's moving to my top 10.

In the bottle this smells like boozey Mitzvah. YES! I never got any booze from Smut (pout pout) but I get it here! 1 for 2 on the slutty scents is all a girl can really ask for. It stays pretty sugary and boozey into the drydown, however, the sandalwood comes out and offers its little dryness to the blend. It really does smell similar to Misk U + sugar - books and oak. Of all the boozey, sugary, syrupy sweet blends that have come out, I like this one the best.

Oh lord! This smells so heavenly in the bottle. It sort of reminds me of a really subtle Buck Moon from the bottle...the way Buck Moon itself smells in its bottle Wet: Yum! The musk is very much at the forefront. It's got that tingly spicey touch to it. I definitely smell the clover...sweet and green. Drying: The clover really starts to pop out now. It almost remind me of citrus and bamboo from spirits of the dead, but more green. After a while, the bamboo-like smell I was getting disappears and I'm left with a sweet clover lotion smell. A little sharper than I was expecting, but still nice.