pekeana

This reminds me of some of the other solar blends (Sol, Solar Phoenix, Civil Twilight) in that it has that bright amber-citrus hit with frankincense and other solar oils before it dries down with a more aquatic resin finish.

This is a delicious rich blend, sparkling and effervescent champagne on the top and warm earthy sandalwood and musk on the bottom.

I get none of the fruits in this, just amber, a light floral, a slight sweetness from the honey, and a smoky wooden note that dominates everything else. (Go rosewood!) My skin will amp up any wood and amber notes now and go to town, so ymmv (and it definitely will in this case).

Roman chamomile is one of my death notes. It almost invariably despises my skin. Solar Phoenix is the only exception to this rule. I get the warmth of the frankincense and cinnamon, the juicy smokiness of the pineapple (for the Lab's pineapple notes all invariably go smoky on my skin), and the sweet floral depths of the rose and heliotrope. I can smell all of the notes individually (even the chamomile), but the scent as a whole works as one of deep knowledge, understanding, and comfort with one's self. I'm so very glad I took a chance and got a bottle of this because it really speaks to me.

I never would have picked this for myself to test, so I thank the Labbies for chucking a squirt into my last order. I was kind of all like, "OMG WHUT" in the bottle, then I sprayed it on my pillow and waited about 10 minutes and went straight to sleep. Which is not normal for me. I'm usually a toss & turner for hours before I finally sleep kind of a girl. So... yay? The scent is extremely strong, dark leather with a depth borne of tobacco and smoke notes. I don't get any whiskey or alochol or sweet to it (but my sinuses are blocked and my ability to smell sweet is usually impaired at this point), so it's just strong, potent leather and tobacco smoke. It's not my favorite thing to smell, but I can't stop myself from smelling my pillow. Or wanting to go back under the pillows and sleep for another 14 hours.

So, I bought this without reading the reviews because I saw it up on the BPAL Etsy shop and giggled at the name. Because I'm 30something going on 12. (Pecker. ) I know, worst reason ever to buy a perfume, but what the heck, right? I wasn't expecting this level of heinously diabolical deliciousness. I really wasn't. When I open the bottle and take a big, deep whiff, I get all kinds of warm, dry woods and a deeply "berryish" dragons blood. (Normally when I smell dragons blood, I get more of the lilac-resin end of things.) It could be off-putting if I wasn't already familiar with BPAL and the fact that the bottle + the skin = totally different. Duuuuuuuuuude. There's a hint of golden musk in here somewhere, and, to be honest, once it hits my skin, it smells like Aureus + dragons blood + golden musk + a touch of cedar. I know there's some patchouli and some sandalwood, maybe hinoki wood or teak?, and the cedar. But definitely one of the musks from Dorian is in here at the very bottom holding it glued together - my skin is amping that and the dragons blood. The end result is heaaaaavenly. Apparently, woods are beginning to like me more - and who can complain about that? Smelling like a Dragon's Pecker is awesome.

In the bottle, this is all radishes, flax, incense and dirt to me. Which is great! On my skin, it smells like the worst possible BO ever. There's cumin in here somewhere and that's the culprit - cumin smells like the worst kind of working-up-a-sweat-not-showering-for-a-month kind of death on me.

So, the moment I saw Leo Stellium on the Etsy site, I was all, "zOMG, sounds amazing!" As someone who has a deeply abiding love of Beth's solar oils, I knew it would be perfect. And you have no idea how perfect it is. When I open the bottle and sniff it, I get whiffs of solar resins and rose geranium and lemon balm along with other things I can't identify - but it is a deeply complex warm citrus and resin scent with a touch of floral and... oh, forget it. It just smells like blissful happiness. It really does. Pure, utter bliss. I use it two-fold: I feed my solar amulet with Leo Stellium and Sol, and it helps me sleep. But when I wear it on my skin? It stays all warm and sunny for a couple of hours, then fades to a deep, close-to-the-skin resin (I want to say amber, but it would have to be some really DAMN good amber not to go powdery on me) scent. And it has the side effect of making me utterly and completely calm, collected, and chill. Forget spurring me into action, it takes me from that place of overwhelming panic and fast-paced insanity and drops me into the middle of a field of "everybody stand back - I've got this". Maybe that's not what was intended by this triple conjunction, but I will take it as a blessing. (And buy more. Oh, wait, I already did.)

So, yeah... Lich's Laboratory smells like crazy mad scientist on a bender. I smell decaying plants, dirt, and the barest hint of incense. It's very overwhelmingly dark and dank, just like I'd imagine a stone dungeon to be. Not exactly the best scent for bedtime spritzing, but interesting nonetheless.

So, like many other people have said, it smells like aged Morocco. (Because, well, yeah, it probably is scented with aged Morocco. *salute to Captain Obvious*) So, my review will focus on the actual application of the gloss, etc. I have baby fine, medium-thickness hair, that has a touch of natural curl to it and which generally does its own thing no matter what I try to make it do. So I spend a lot of time with it up in a ponytail. There is a marked difference between application of the hair gloss on my hair while wet v. while dry. Dry, it goes on oily and tends to clump up in one spot, which leads to random patches of, y'know, slightly more oily, straighter hair. Wet, it glides through my hair evenly. (So, wet application is better for fine hair!) Some days, I can get away with one pump of oil, others (if my hair feels particularly tangled or dry) two pumps will do me fine. The gloss does not weigh my hair down that much when applied wet - it absorbs in and actually helps define my curls/waves when they dry in. (For example? Just washed my hair and applied my gloss, and I randomly have a few perfect banana curls appearing as my hair dries. They'll go away as soon as I run a brush through, but...) The longetivity of the scent of the Morocco gloss is debatable. I have a rough time keeping scent in my hair, but this lasts about 12-14 hours in mine, then disappears completely. However, when it does stay, I will turn my head and get a snappy whiff of delight. I don't find it to be overpowering to my other perfume (since my hair eats the fragrance), but your mileage may vary. Verdict: definitely lives up to expectations. Works as well as my (now former) conditioner to keep my hair soft and moisturized.

I sprayed this on my pillow last night (trying different ways to help knock myself out), and it actually kept me awake longer instead of lulling me into rest. It should be soothing and simple, but it actually is invigorating to me. Tea and a slightly bitter sake edge with cherry blossom... it's nice, fairly generic, and exactly what I thought it would be. (Just no more trying to sleep with it.)

Mmmm, reminds me a little like a cross between Bengal and Plunder, but with amber and warm resins instead of tea. SO much love. Like, seriously. Spices make me happy.

WERERAT-INFESTED SEWER Moist, moss-crusted stone, stagnant, silty wastewater, wererat musk, and wet leather. So... yes. Wererats and sewers, oh my! I smell stagnancy and leather and something green and slimy. Not in a bad way, mind you. It's a very warm, if slightly disquieting, scent.

In the bottle it's all pumpkin and mango - I barely smell any spice or anything else, just PUMPKIN and MANGO!!! And when I put it on my skin, it's all mango for the first ten minutes, then settles into a nice buttery pumpkin-mango combo with some spice and a slightly sour milk note. After about 4 hours, the sour milk note vanishes and the coconut suddenly comes out to play. 13 hours after application, I'm left with dusky cardamom and coconut.

OMG OMG OMG OMG, YOU GUYS, OMG. You know what Goldenrod Crab Spider reminds me of? (And this is going to date me as a BPALer...) Tarot: The Star. Yes, you heard that correctly - Goldenrod Crab Spider reminds me of Tarot: The Star. Where The Star was bright and crisp and cold coconut and lime, Goldenrod Crab Spider is warm, lush, and sexy coconut and lime - with just a hint of champaca that reminds me of Temple Viper from the Snake Pit. <3 I'm so happy with this bottle of happy goodness, I just don't even. <3