pekeana

Mmmmmmm, I looooooove The Star! In the vial, this is very much a pina colada/lime-frosted macaroons scent. I get a little bit of coconut, a little bit of mint, a touch of lemon verbena, a touch of lime, and something white floral hiding in the background -- maybe moonflower or plumeria? On me, this smells like lime Froot Loops and a touch of minty-fresh coconut that makes my sinuses tingle and beg for more. And the verbena peeks out once in a while to round it out. It's a brightly white-light-yellow-green scent, and has a cooling effect on my skin. It's very strong and not at all sweet, and I do so love it. Must have a bottle, like, NOW.

Hmm... I like this, but it's very heavy. I get oak, sandalwood, cedar, and a touch of amber and incensy resin -- it smells very much like a nice, warm bonfire... But it's so heavy. It might layer well with something floral or boozy, though.

I put just a little of this on my hand at lunch this afternoon -- it started off a bright and mega-plummy scent with almost a ginger and grapefruit kick. It lasted about 2 1/2 hours, and picked up a little bit of the waxy scent I get with the BPAL plum note. Overall, very pleasant and I'll have to keep reaching for it.

I almost forgot The Hesperides. A lot of younger girls I know salivate and foam at the mouth for it, for some reason.

Sudha Segara, I think, would be a lovely treat for her. It's not as sweet as Alice or Dana O'Shee, but it's lovely in and of itself. Or possibly Pele -- it's a sweet floral [except on me, where it goes all spicy]. ETA: And Fae. Fae is looooovely fruity/musky/sweet.

My migraines are pretty much considered chronic, so I just go on with life and wear whatever I darn well please to wear... Until I realized that Mabon was what triggered one of my worst migraines ever. *siiigh* In me, it seems that apple/cider/blackberry notes tend to trigger headaches -- except when worn lightly when I go to bed -- and most florals tend to make my migraines worse. The light florals in Snow White, and the floral in Sacred Whore of Babylon don't bother me nearly as much as rose, lavender, and pansy, though. I have noticed lately that vetiver, or something like it, strangely enough, helps relieve the tension from my headaches -- it's the deep, herbal/woody note in Helping Hand, which is a herbal/woody with very bright mint scent.

Mmmm, I love Nero. I have to keep it! In the vial, Nero is overwhelmingly rosemary, with a touch of pine. On me, it's bright, fresh, clean and airy, with just a twist of lemon beneath the surface. It's not really masculine at all on me, just very fresh and sharp.

Hmm... In the vial, this is a very striking, heady green scent that stabs at my sinuses and screams to be smelled. It's not a bad thing, but it's a little disconcerting. Once on my skin, it stays very green. I don't get the myrrh at all, and I'm pretty sure it's the sassafrass that's making it so herbal on my skin. I love the nutmeg and poppy mix, though -- that part reminds me of these cookies my grandma used to make with poppy seeds and gingerbread spices. Even as I type, Laudanum has taken on a smoother, softer edge and is fading fast. Ah well. I really like this in theory, but I'm not quite sure what I really think about it just yet.

In the vial, Forbidden Fruit is all floral, with just a hint of citrus. On me, it reeks of musk and floral. I caught a hint of lotus and a hint of grapefruit for a minute, then it was just musk and floral -- almost identical to the debacle of Ave Maria Gratia Plena a while back. I just... I can't stand this one. I'm sorry, Beth, I just can't -- it's just so incredibly, horrifically bad on me.

Mmmm, stranger and stranger... I've had this on for a while and I've been trying to figure it out. But I can't, so I give up. Dia De Los Muertos is a cross between Kali, Harvest Moon, and Jailbait on me. It's got the winey-chocolate from Kali, the intense & heavy floral from Harvest Moon, and the candy twist of Jailbait. It's pleasant enough, but can be rather overbearing with the florals at times. This is definitely screaming winter at me, for some reason -- not fall, not festival, just winter. ETA: I wore this to work today, all day, in order to bond with it. And boy, did I ever. When it's first on, it's all woodsmoke and crisp leaves, like a bonfire. The florals come up later, like you've thrown them on top of the fire. And then the candied sweetness rises up and settles into a nice, warm, incensy/sweet mix that reminds me of the bonfire parties I used to go to for Halloween when I was in gradeschool. I looooove it. Part of my reluctance in the earlier portion of this review was due to the fact that I couldn't quite wrap my brain around it. Dia De Los Muertos is definitely one of Beth's most complicated and frustratingly elusive creations.

*slobber, drool, eats arm* I probably shouldn't test when I'm hungry, eh? In the bottle, Sugar Skull has some serious sweetness going on -- I smell toasted marshmallows that have been absolutely drowned in maple syrup and butter. So sweet I can feel cavities forming back in the very back of my mouth. On me, for the first 10 minutes, it smells like absolutely nothing at all. I mean, nada. Not a stinking trace. But then the toasted marshmallow smell rises up. After about an hour, I get some other sugary smells that come up, and I definitely get a hint of the fruit -- it's kind of like a sugar plum that's been triple-coated and set by the fire to warm up. About an hour and fifteen minutes in, the plummy smell dies and I'm left with toasted sugar and spice. This oil reminds me of Yankee Candle's Hot Buttermilk Pancakes fragrance, and their Brown Sugar & Spice fragrance. Which is totally not a bad thing. I love it, I love it, I love it!

In the vial, Vicomte de Valmont is very sharp and astringent -- not in an unpleasant way, but it smells very much like one of the cheap aftershaves we carry at work. On me, it really mellows out and loses the sharp minty aspect. It's a smooth, polished, masculine floral with a hint of sex. It smells like a reeeeeeally good man.

I'll be working all day on Sunday, so... I'm thinking, if all goes according to plan and my Halloween LEs arrive tomorrow [please let the Postal guys not be asshats], I'll most likely wear Dia De Los Muertos. Otherwise, I'll be wearing something random from my collection -- maybe Blood to match my uniform shirt.

I generally use 2-3 drops at a time from my bottles -- slightly more or less depending on the strength of the oil on my skin. I have 10 bottles at the moment, and have barely made dents in any... except The Hesperides and Queen of Spades. I got my first bottle at the beginning of August. If that gives you an idea.

Old Port-Au-Prince has a really orange-ish undercurrent with spice, which reminds me of Christmas wassail.

India Bouquet [which is being discontinued, WAH!] has a lot of the "exotic" spice notes of Old Morocco -- and a few more spices to make it pretty much a straight up spice blend.

*drools all over self and tries to eat arm* In the vial, Old Port-Au-Prince is all about the boozy amaretto and cherry-almond scent. On me, it smells predominately of orange and spice for the first hour or so, then settles into this lovely soft mulled wassail booziness that I love. Totally must have a bottle of this. The imp's going to go fast. [And thanks to pkwench for giving it to me.]

In most cases, the BPAL precious comes in simple, generic blue essential oil bottles with pretty labels on them. I find that it's not so much a matter of what the bottle looks like as it's all about the oils inside -- the blue bottles just do a good job of keeping out the light.

pkwench gave me a little of her F'54, and oooooh boy! I certainly hope it comes back when I can afford to get it for myself. *twitch* In the vial, this is all smoke and mirrors -- it's a very heady, sexy scent that manages to be soft and sweet for all its edginess. The cognac and musk are very strong, with just a hint of rose. On me, it itches a little from the rose, but it's not burning, so I'm perservering! It hits my skin with a rush of warm smoky booziness and the clove really starts to rise up to the top, making the rose fade back behind the delicious smell of cognac. It manages to stay thick and smoothly smoky and sweet, but with a touch of something darker and headier playing out beneath it. [i wish I had more than this little bit... alas, no money for my own bottle.]

Thanks to pkwench for letting me try this at lunch... In the vial, Carnivale is berries and carnation, with a twist of softness beneath it. On me, the carnation comes out strongly for the first helf hour or so, then the berries come up and choke me with the bubblegum. I like it, but that bubblegum stage never goes away, so I'll just let this one pass by...

*melts into a puddle* In the vial, Perversion is soft wine and coconut with a hint of tonka bean. It's a very sweet and heady scent. On me, it's coconut and tonka bean with just a hint of something else that I can't quite identify, but oh my gosh, it's good.

Guh. Oh my god, just guh! In the vial, this smells like the curry mix I like to throw in with my potato soup -- a mix of curry powder, anise/five spice powder, fennel, coriander, and just the barest hint of vanilla bean and cardamom, with a final twist of saffron. On me, it's almost entirely anise, but with a soft twist of fennel and the barest bit of sweetness. It's a very soft and spicy blend that's just to die for... especially in close proximity of Perversion. It makes you feel like a dirty belly-dancer. I'm definitely getting a 10ml of this before it goes bye-bye.

Mars and Three Witches have very similar ingredients, and thus, a similar dry-down. But Three Witches has a sweetness that Mars doesn't.

Mmmm, I love Mars. It's very similar to Three Witches on me, but without the sweet that tends to rise up in Three Witches. I get a lot of clove and a bit of cinnamon, and just the barest hint of pepper... But there's sandalwood and maybe a hint of patchouli down beneath the rest of it. This is a very deep, sexy scent, and shouldn't be taken lightly because it's very strong and powerful with a forceful kick.

I love Kali -- in the vial, I smell a lot of the wine, chocolate, and just a hint of tobacco and floral. On me, the scent lightens and deepens. There's a lot of floral, and the balsam comes up beneath it and keeps it grounded. The wine is also quite prominent, but the chocolate is just a tiny bit and it's not strong at all. My friend Gwen loved this on me, and I love it, too.